news_text
stringlengths 0
312k
| title
stringlengths 0
11.1k
| hyperpartisan
bool 2
classes | url
stringlengths 20
344
| published_at
stringlengths 0
10
| bias
class label 5
classes | text
stringlengths 19
312k
| uid
int64 0
600k
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
<p>CHENEY, Wash. (AP) - Bogdan Bliznyuk had 28 points and 12 rebounds and Eastern Washington held off Portland State's late charge for an 81-74 victory on Thursday night.</p>
<p>Bliznyuk's 3-pointer gave the Eagles a 75-65 lead with 4:12 to play before Portland State used a 9-1 surge and pulled to 76-74 with 42 seconds left. Brandon Hollins scored four points and Deontae North made a 3-pointer during the stretch, but Jack Perry hit a 3 with 15 seconds remaining to help seal it for Eastern Washington.</p>
<p>Bliznyuk was 7 of 13 from the field and made all 13 free-throw attempts. Jesse Hunt added 11 points and Ty Gibson had 10 for Eastern Washington, (7-9, 2-1 Big Sky Conference), which has won four of its last five games since snapping a five-game losing skid.</p>
<p>North scored 21 points and Hollins chipped in 13 to lead the Vikings (10-5, 0-2), who have lost consecutive games for the second time this season.</p>
<p>CHENEY, Wash. (AP) - Bogdan Bliznyuk had 28 points and 12 rebounds and Eastern Washington held off Portland State's late charge for an 81-74 victory on Thursday night.</p>
<p>Bliznyuk's 3-pointer gave the Eagles a 75-65 lead with 4:12 to play before Portland State used a 9-1 surge and pulled to 76-74 with 42 seconds left. Brandon Hollins scored four points and Deontae North made a 3-pointer during the stretch, but Jack Perry hit a 3 with 15 seconds remaining to help seal it for Eastern Washington.</p>
<p>Bliznyuk was 7 of 13 from the field and made all 13 free-throw attempts. Jesse Hunt added 11 points and Ty Gibson had 10 for Eastern Washington, (7-9, 2-1 Big Sky Conference), which has won four of its last five games since snapping a five-game losing skid.</p>
<p>North scored 21 points and Hollins chipped in 13 to lead the Vikings (10-5, 0-2), who have lost consecutive games for the second time this season.</p> | Bliznyuk's double-double helps EWU beat Portland State 81-74 | false | https://apnews.com/amp/cc46a2affb4444e7b9a3610f2f7edc05 | 2018-01-05 | 2least
| Bliznyuk's double-double helps EWU beat Portland State 81-74
<p>CHENEY, Wash. (AP) - Bogdan Bliznyuk had 28 points and 12 rebounds and Eastern Washington held off Portland State's late charge for an 81-74 victory on Thursday night.</p>
<p>Bliznyuk's 3-pointer gave the Eagles a 75-65 lead with 4:12 to play before Portland State used a 9-1 surge and pulled to 76-74 with 42 seconds left. Brandon Hollins scored four points and Deontae North made a 3-pointer during the stretch, but Jack Perry hit a 3 with 15 seconds remaining to help seal it for Eastern Washington.</p>
<p>Bliznyuk was 7 of 13 from the field and made all 13 free-throw attempts. Jesse Hunt added 11 points and Ty Gibson had 10 for Eastern Washington, (7-9, 2-1 Big Sky Conference), which has won four of its last five games since snapping a five-game losing skid.</p>
<p>North scored 21 points and Hollins chipped in 13 to lead the Vikings (10-5, 0-2), who have lost consecutive games for the second time this season.</p>
<p>CHENEY, Wash. (AP) - Bogdan Bliznyuk had 28 points and 12 rebounds and Eastern Washington held off Portland State's late charge for an 81-74 victory on Thursday night.</p>
<p>Bliznyuk's 3-pointer gave the Eagles a 75-65 lead with 4:12 to play before Portland State used a 9-1 surge and pulled to 76-74 with 42 seconds left. Brandon Hollins scored four points and Deontae North made a 3-pointer during the stretch, but Jack Perry hit a 3 with 15 seconds remaining to help seal it for Eastern Washington.</p>
<p>Bliznyuk was 7 of 13 from the field and made all 13 free-throw attempts. Jesse Hunt added 11 points and Ty Gibson had 10 for Eastern Washington, (7-9, 2-1 Big Sky Conference), which has won four of its last five games since snapping a five-game losing skid.</p>
<p>North scored 21 points and Hollins chipped in 13 to lead the Vikings (10-5, 0-2), who have lost consecutive games for the second time this season.</p> | 3,400 |
<p><a href="http://variety.com/t/nielsen/" type="external">Nielsen</a> Holdings filed a lawsuit Friday seeking to block rival <a href="http://variety.com/t/comscore/" type="external">ComScore</a> from offering a new service, Extended TV, that will provide TV audience data.</p>
<p>Nielsen alleges that the ComScore service will make use of Nielsen’s own People Meter data, violating an agreement between the two companies. Nielsen is seeking an injunction that would bar ComScore from launching the service.</p>
<p>The litigation marks an escalation of <a href="http://variety.com/2016/digital/news/nielsen-comscore-digital-ratings-1201756811/" type="external">the bitter rivalry</a> between the two audience measurement firms.</p>
<p>The groundwork for the dispute was laid back in 2013, when Nielsen acquired Arbitron. In order to preserve competition in the audience measurement business, the Federal Trade Commission approved a consent agreement requiring Nielsen to license People Meter data to ComScore, for the purpose of creating a “cross-platform” measurement service. Such a service would have to measure both TV and online viewership, Nielsen contends.</p>
<p>Nielsen alleges that ComScore’s new service, called Extended TV, violates that agreement. On a February investor call, ComScore CEO Gian Fulgoni said the new service provides “a TV-centric view of the world,” and contrasted it with its existing cross-platform service.</p>
<p>“In almost all circumstances. Extended TV will provide a linear television audience measurement with requisite demographics for broadcast daypart/program, but will fail to provide any material online audience measurement (instead reporting an online measurement of “zero” for almost all dayparts, programs, and episodes),” Nielsen alleges.</p>
<p>Nielsen objected to ComScore executives, arguing that ComScore is improperly using Nielsen’s own People Meter data to compete with it.</p>
<p>In an Aug. 8 letter, ComScore’s attorneys countered that Extended TV meets the definition of a “cross-platform service.”</p>
<p>“Extended TV is not limited to linear TV estimates as it measures content across multiple platforms, including but not limited to television, online, mobile, tablets, etc.,” the letter states.</p>
<p>Nielsen alleges that ComScore is seeking to offer Extended TV at a lower price than Nielsen’s service, thereby cutting into Nielsen’s client base. Nielsen’s attorneys claim that TV networks are already beta-testing Extended TV, and that one client has already announced its intention to switch to Extended TV.</p>
<p>“Given that comScore plans to launch Extended TV in the next few months, with the intention of having the product available at the end of 2017, it is possible that Nielsen will lose other clients, particularly given that Nielsen has several large client contracts up for renewal,” Nielsen states.</p>
<p>Nielsen filed for arbitration on Friday to resolve the dispute, while also seeking an injunction in New York federal court to block ComScore from releasing Extended TV.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/359620598/Nielsen-Comscore-Suit#from_embed" type="external">Nielsen Comscore Suit</a> by <a href="https://www.scribd.com/user/70135302/gmaddaus#from_embed" type="external">gmaddaus</a> on Scribd</p> | Nielsen Sues ComScore to Block New TV Audience Measurement Service | false | https://newsline.com/nielsen-sues-comscore-to-block-new-tv-audience-measurement-service/ | 2017-09-22 | 1right-center
| Nielsen Sues ComScore to Block New TV Audience Measurement Service
<p><a href="http://variety.com/t/nielsen/" type="external">Nielsen</a> Holdings filed a lawsuit Friday seeking to block rival <a href="http://variety.com/t/comscore/" type="external">ComScore</a> from offering a new service, Extended TV, that will provide TV audience data.</p>
<p>Nielsen alleges that the ComScore service will make use of Nielsen’s own People Meter data, violating an agreement between the two companies. Nielsen is seeking an injunction that would bar ComScore from launching the service.</p>
<p>The litigation marks an escalation of <a href="http://variety.com/2016/digital/news/nielsen-comscore-digital-ratings-1201756811/" type="external">the bitter rivalry</a> between the two audience measurement firms.</p>
<p>The groundwork for the dispute was laid back in 2013, when Nielsen acquired Arbitron. In order to preserve competition in the audience measurement business, the Federal Trade Commission approved a consent agreement requiring Nielsen to license People Meter data to ComScore, for the purpose of creating a “cross-platform” measurement service. Such a service would have to measure both TV and online viewership, Nielsen contends.</p>
<p>Nielsen alleges that ComScore’s new service, called Extended TV, violates that agreement. On a February investor call, ComScore CEO Gian Fulgoni said the new service provides “a TV-centric view of the world,” and contrasted it with its existing cross-platform service.</p>
<p>“In almost all circumstances. Extended TV will provide a linear television audience measurement with requisite demographics for broadcast daypart/program, but will fail to provide any material online audience measurement (instead reporting an online measurement of “zero” for almost all dayparts, programs, and episodes),” Nielsen alleges.</p>
<p>Nielsen objected to ComScore executives, arguing that ComScore is improperly using Nielsen’s own People Meter data to compete with it.</p>
<p>In an Aug. 8 letter, ComScore’s attorneys countered that Extended TV meets the definition of a “cross-platform service.”</p>
<p>“Extended TV is not limited to linear TV estimates as it measures content across multiple platforms, including but not limited to television, online, mobile, tablets, etc.,” the letter states.</p>
<p>Nielsen alleges that ComScore is seeking to offer Extended TV at a lower price than Nielsen’s service, thereby cutting into Nielsen’s client base. Nielsen’s attorneys claim that TV networks are already beta-testing Extended TV, and that one client has already announced its intention to switch to Extended TV.</p>
<p>“Given that comScore plans to launch Extended TV in the next few months, with the intention of having the product available at the end of 2017, it is possible that Nielsen will lose other clients, particularly given that Nielsen has several large client contracts up for renewal,” Nielsen states.</p>
<p>Nielsen filed for arbitration on Friday to resolve the dispute, while also seeking an injunction in New York federal court to block ComScore from releasing Extended TV.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/359620598/Nielsen-Comscore-Suit#from_embed" type="external">Nielsen Comscore Suit</a> by <a href="https://www.scribd.com/user/70135302/gmaddaus#from_embed" type="external">gmaddaus</a> on Scribd</p> | 3,401 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The Army plans to improve recruit conditioning with a revamped approach to health, fitness and diet. Out: soda fountains, white bread and bayonet drills. In: fruit juices, whole grains and core strength workouts.</p>
<p>“This is not (just) an Army problem,” Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, of the Army’s Training and Doctrine Command, told the AP. “This is a civilian problem that we’re receiving — and fixing.”</p>
<p>The “soldier athlete” initiative will prepare recruits as if they were elite athletes. That means more attention to nutrition, injury prevention, flexibility and mobility, coordination and endurance. Drill sergeants will stress aerobic activity and present one-hour sessions on performance nutrition.</p>
<p>The Army is gradually rolling out the program at its five training installations — Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.; Fort Sill, Okla.; Fort Benning, Ga.; Fort Jackson, S.C.; and Fort Knox, Ky.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Army Adds Nutrition to Basic Training | false | https://abqjournal.com/508770/army-adds-nutrition-to-basic-training.html | 2least
| Army Adds Nutrition to Basic Training
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The Army plans to improve recruit conditioning with a revamped approach to health, fitness and diet. Out: soda fountains, white bread and bayonet drills. In: fruit juices, whole grains and core strength workouts.</p>
<p>“This is not (just) an Army problem,” Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, of the Army’s Training and Doctrine Command, told the AP. “This is a civilian problem that we’re receiving — and fixing.”</p>
<p>The “soldier athlete” initiative will prepare recruits as if they were elite athletes. That means more attention to nutrition, injury prevention, flexibility and mobility, coordination and endurance. Drill sergeants will stress aerobic activity and present one-hour sessions on performance nutrition.</p>
<p>The Army is gradually rolling out the program at its five training installations — Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.; Fort Sill, Okla.; Fort Benning, Ga.; Fort Jackson, S.C.; and Fort Knox, Ky.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 3,402 |
|
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>About 40 gingerbread houses made by local adults and children have been entered into the center’s ninth annual Pueblo Gingerbread House Contest.</p>
<p>“It smells so good here,” said Monique Fragua, museum director at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. “It smells like sugar and pepppermint and sweetness. They look phenomenal, but they smell delicious.”</p>
<p>The children’s category features entries by children ages 12 and younger. Entrants who are older than 12 are placed in the adult category.</p>
<p>Children’s second-place winner by Kylena Valencia in a past Pueblo Gingerbread House Contest. (Courtesy of the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center)</p>
<p>“Their design or entry just sort of has to be pueblo-inspired,” Fragua said. “It can be an ancestral site, it can be a home with vigas and that sort of look to it,and it has to be edible. It can be graham crackers and cookies. It can be rice crispy treats, so it doesn’t have to be the traditional gingerbread house. This is more of a fun take on representing a pueblo community village, historical dwelling, church.”</p>
<p>Every year participants get creative. This year is no different.</p>
<p>Adult third-place winner by Tara Churchill in a previous Pueblo Gingerbread House Contest. (Courtesy of The Indian Pueblo Cultural Center)</p>
<p>“There’s actually an entry down there that is Mesa Verde, and it’s phenomenal,” Fragua said. “I mean, it has kivas and different elements that are just stunning. … There’s even one that looks like a moccasin, and that’s pretty cool. It’s really nice to see the kids’ ones and sort of their take on pueblo architecture. We don’t necessarily know where the entries come from or who made each house, but you can definitely see some of the pueblo elements or their reflections of home and community. It’s pretty neat.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The judging is on a couple of different categories. IPCC chooses people from the community and local celebrities to come in and do the official judging for first, second, and third place in the adult and children’s categories. The general public can vote for the People’s Choice Award. Everyone receives a complimentary ballot with museum admission. Three additional ballots can be purchased for $1 or five ballots for $3.</p>
<p>Adult second-place winner by Christian George in a previous Pueblo Gingerbread House Contest. (Courtesy of the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center)</p>
<p>Prizes are $650 for first place, $400 for second place and $250 for third place in the adult category. First place in the children’s category receives $250, with second place winning $150 and third place getting $100. The People’s Choice Award adult prize is $500, and the children’s prize is $250. The People’s Choice Award is sponsored by Isleta Resort &amp; Casino, which provides the prize money for that category.</p>
<p>“It’s really neat the attention to detail and the creativity,” Fragua said. “One of the parents was telling me that they make this as a family. … They use it as an opportunity to talk to their children about pueblo culture and ancestral home sites. Last year, we had another entry from Isleta, and they did the Isleta church and they were telling us about the time that it took to really make sure that the proportions and the look of it was really accurate. So it’s pretty neat that people don’t just look at it as a contest but it’s also a learning opportunity. That’s cool.”</p>
<p /> | Sweet tradition: Gingerbread house contest celebrates NM, pueblo styles | false | https://abqjournal.com/1106385/gingerbread-house-contest-celebrates-nm-pueblo-styles.html | 2least
| Sweet tradition: Gingerbread house contest celebrates NM, pueblo styles
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>About 40 gingerbread houses made by local adults and children have been entered into the center’s ninth annual Pueblo Gingerbread House Contest.</p>
<p>“It smells so good here,” said Monique Fragua, museum director at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. “It smells like sugar and pepppermint and sweetness. They look phenomenal, but they smell delicious.”</p>
<p>The children’s category features entries by children ages 12 and younger. Entrants who are older than 12 are placed in the adult category.</p>
<p>Children’s second-place winner by Kylena Valencia in a past Pueblo Gingerbread House Contest. (Courtesy of the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center)</p>
<p>“Their design or entry just sort of has to be pueblo-inspired,” Fragua said. “It can be an ancestral site, it can be a home with vigas and that sort of look to it,and it has to be edible. It can be graham crackers and cookies. It can be rice crispy treats, so it doesn’t have to be the traditional gingerbread house. This is more of a fun take on representing a pueblo community village, historical dwelling, church.”</p>
<p>Every year participants get creative. This year is no different.</p>
<p>Adult third-place winner by Tara Churchill in a previous Pueblo Gingerbread House Contest. (Courtesy of The Indian Pueblo Cultural Center)</p>
<p>“There’s actually an entry down there that is Mesa Verde, and it’s phenomenal,” Fragua said. “I mean, it has kivas and different elements that are just stunning. … There’s even one that looks like a moccasin, and that’s pretty cool. It’s really nice to see the kids’ ones and sort of their take on pueblo architecture. We don’t necessarily know where the entries come from or who made each house, but you can definitely see some of the pueblo elements or their reflections of home and community. It’s pretty neat.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The judging is on a couple of different categories. IPCC chooses people from the community and local celebrities to come in and do the official judging for first, second, and third place in the adult and children’s categories. The general public can vote for the People’s Choice Award. Everyone receives a complimentary ballot with museum admission. Three additional ballots can be purchased for $1 or five ballots for $3.</p>
<p>Adult second-place winner by Christian George in a previous Pueblo Gingerbread House Contest. (Courtesy of the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center)</p>
<p>Prizes are $650 for first place, $400 for second place and $250 for third place in the adult category. First place in the children’s category receives $250, with second place winning $150 and third place getting $100. The People’s Choice Award adult prize is $500, and the children’s prize is $250. The People’s Choice Award is sponsored by Isleta Resort &amp; Casino, which provides the prize money for that category.</p>
<p>“It’s really neat the attention to detail and the creativity,” Fragua said. “One of the parents was telling me that they make this as a family. … They use it as an opportunity to talk to their children about pueblo culture and ancestral home sites. Last year, we had another entry from Isleta, and they did the Isleta church and they were telling us about the time that it took to really make sure that the proportions and the look of it was really accurate. So it’s pretty neat that people don’t just look at it as a contest but it’s also a learning opportunity. That’s cool.”</p>
<p /> | 3,403 |
|
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p><a href="http://freebeacon.com/culture/woman-brings-reporter-beer/" type="external">Via Free Beacon.</a></p>
<p>A kind woman brought Fox News reporter Casey Stegall a beer on Friday as he was reporting live in the midst of Hurricane Harvey.</p>
<p>With rain and wind pouring down, Stegall was reporting on site in Galveston, Texas. A woman ran over to him and his crew and handed the reporter a six-pack.</p>
<p>"Have some Galveston beer!" she yelled to Stegall.</p>
<p>Stegall thanked the woman, who ran off. He said that the beer would be enjoyed after the broadcast.</p>
<p>"Just friendly people here," he said.</p> | true | http://tammybruce.com/2017/08/video-woman-brings-fox-news-reporter-beer-during-hurricane-harvey.html | 0right
|
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p><a href="http://freebeacon.com/culture/woman-brings-reporter-beer/" type="external">Via Free Beacon.</a></p>
<p>A kind woman brought Fox News reporter Casey Stegall a beer on Friday as he was reporting live in the midst of Hurricane Harvey.</p>
<p>With rain and wind pouring down, Stegall was reporting on site in Galveston, Texas. A woman ran over to him and his crew and handed the reporter a six-pack.</p>
<p>"Have some Galveston beer!" she yelled to Stegall.</p>
<p>Stegall thanked the woman, who ran off. He said that the beer would be enjoyed after the broadcast.</p>
<p>"Just friendly people here," he said.</p> | 3,404 |
||
<p>Members of the Bermuda Senate have approved a bill that would rescind marriage rights for same-sex couples in the British territory. (Photo by Mike Oropeza; via Wikimedia Commons)</p>
<p>The Bermuda Senate on Wednesday approved a bill that would rescind marriage rights for same-sex couples in the British island territory.</p>
<p>The 8-3 vote took place less than a week after the Bermuda House of Representatives <a href="" type="internal">approved the measure,</a> which would allow same-sex couples to enter into domestic partnerships as opposed to get married. The bill will become law unless Gov. John Rankin refuses to sign it.</p>
<p>LGBT rights advocates urged lawmakers to oppose the measure, which is known as the Domestic Partnership Bill.</p>
<p>The Bermuda Tourism Authority in <a href="http://www.gotobermuda.com/sites/default/master/files/171212_domestic_partnerships_senate_senators.pdf" type="external">a letter</a> it sent to senators on Tuesday noted North Carolina’s economy lost $3.76 billion after then-Gov. Pat McCrory in 2016 signed a bill that banned transgender people from using public bathrooms consistent with their gender identity and banned municipalities from enacting LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination measures. The letter also noted Indiana’s religious freedom bill that then-Gov. Mike Pence signed in 2015 had a similar impact on his state’s economy.</p>
<p>“We are convinced it will result in lost tourism business for Bermuda,” said the Bermuda Tourism Authority. “While we cannot responsibly estimate what the scale of those losses will be, we can point to contemporary examples that tell a cautionary tale.”</p>
<p>More than 60 percent of Bermuda voters in 2016 rejected marriage and civil unions for same-sex couples in a non-binding referendum. Same-sex couples have nevertheless been able to marry in Bermuda since Charles-Etta Simmons, a judge on the territory’s Supreme Court, ruled in favor of the issue.</p>
<p>California voters in 2008 approved Proposition 8, which banned same-sex couples from marrying in the state. Gays and lesbians had legally married in California before Prop 8’s approval.</p>
<p>Same-sex couples were able to legally marry in California again in June 2013 after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Prop 8’s proponents did not have legal standing to appeal previous rulings against them. Bermuda would become the first government in the world outside the U.S. to rescind marriage rights for same-sex couples if Rankin signs the bill.</p>
<p>“If Governor Rankin signs this measure into law, it will rip away the right of loving same-sex couples in Bermuda to marry,” said Human Rights Campaign Global Director Ty Cobb in a press release. “That’s unconscionable.”</p>
<p>“With international business and tourism as its major industries, Bermuda’s people, international reputation, and economy would all be harmed by this legislation,” he added. “It is crucial that Governor Rankin reject this assault on equality.”</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Bermuda</a> <a href="" type="internal">Bermuda Tourism Authority</a> <a href="" type="internal">Human Rights Campaign Global</a> <a href="" type="internal">John Rankin</a> <a href="" type="internal">same-sex marriage</a> <a href="" type="internal">Ty Cobb</a></p> | Bermuda Senate approves marriage repeal bill | false | http://washingtonblade.com/2017/12/13/bermuda-senate-approves-sex-marriage-bill/ | 3left-center
| Bermuda Senate approves marriage repeal bill
<p>Members of the Bermuda Senate have approved a bill that would rescind marriage rights for same-sex couples in the British territory. (Photo by Mike Oropeza; via Wikimedia Commons)</p>
<p>The Bermuda Senate on Wednesday approved a bill that would rescind marriage rights for same-sex couples in the British island territory.</p>
<p>The 8-3 vote took place less than a week after the Bermuda House of Representatives <a href="" type="internal">approved the measure,</a> which would allow same-sex couples to enter into domestic partnerships as opposed to get married. The bill will become law unless Gov. John Rankin refuses to sign it.</p>
<p>LGBT rights advocates urged lawmakers to oppose the measure, which is known as the Domestic Partnership Bill.</p>
<p>The Bermuda Tourism Authority in <a href="http://www.gotobermuda.com/sites/default/master/files/171212_domestic_partnerships_senate_senators.pdf" type="external">a letter</a> it sent to senators on Tuesday noted North Carolina’s economy lost $3.76 billion after then-Gov. Pat McCrory in 2016 signed a bill that banned transgender people from using public bathrooms consistent with their gender identity and banned municipalities from enacting LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination measures. The letter also noted Indiana’s religious freedom bill that then-Gov. Mike Pence signed in 2015 had a similar impact on his state’s economy.</p>
<p>“We are convinced it will result in lost tourism business for Bermuda,” said the Bermuda Tourism Authority. “While we cannot responsibly estimate what the scale of those losses will be, we can point to contemporary examples that tell a cautionary tale.”</p>
<p>More than 60 percent of Bermuda voters in 2016 rejected marriage and civil unions for same-sex couples in a non-binding referendum. Same-sex couples have nevertheless been able to marry in Bermuda since Charles-Etta Simmons, a judge on the territory’s Supreme Court, ruled in favor of the issue.</p>
<p>California voters in 2008 approved Proposition 8, which banned same-sex couples from marrying in the state. Gays and lesbians had legally married in California before Prop 8’s approval.</p>
<p>Same-sex couples were able to legally marry in California again in June 2013 after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Prop 8’s proponents did not have legal standing to appeal previous rulings against them. Bermuda would become the first government in the world outside the U.S. to rescind marriage rights for same-sex couples if Rankin signs the bill.</p>
<p>“If Governor Rankin signs this measure into law, it will rip away the right of loving same-sex couples in Bermuda to marry,” said Human Rights Campaign Global Director Ty Cobb in a press release. “That’s unconscionable.”</p>
<p>“With international business and tourism as its major industries, Bermuda’s people, international reputation, and economy would all be harmed by this legislation,” he added. “It is crucial that Governor Rankin reject this assault on equality.”</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Bermuda</a> <a href="" type="internal">Bermuda Tourism Authority</a> <a href="" type="internal">Human Rights Campaign Global</a> <a href="" type="internal">John Rankin</a> <a href="" type="internal">same-sex marriage</a> <a href="" type="internal">Ty Cobb</a></p> | 3,405 |
|
<p />
<p>Our <a href="/toc/2007/09/index.html" type="external">current issue</a>‘s cover story, on a facility in Massachusetts that uses electric shock to discipline special needs and other kids, “ <a href="/news/feature/2007/09/school_of_shock.html" type="external">School of Shock</a>,” has garnered a huge onslaught of responses, prompting <a href="/mojoblog/archives/2007/09/5461_aftershocks_of.html" type="external">legislation</a> in two states and getting literally hundreds of comments on our site. One reader, Brandeis University student Nathan Robinson, was especially outraged by the painful electric shocks administered to autistic and retarded students at the school, and decided to take action himself.</p>
<p>Robinson, who will graduate in 2011, convened an impromptu, late-night meeting of Brandeis students to make fliers and talk about the issue. In the process, the students formed a Facebook group (Massachusetts Students United Against the Judge Rotenberg Center), which now has more than 300 members. Robinson holds regular meetings where concerned citizens coordinate an old-fashioned letter-writing campaign. The group, Robinson says, is trying “to spread the word among students as best we can.”</p>
<p>Read more about Robinson’s efforts <a href="http://media.www.thejusticeonline.com/media/storage/paper573/news/2007/09/25/News/Club-Fights.Electric.Shock.Therapy-2988405.shtml" type="external">here</a>, and our story on the school and related articles <a href="/news/feature/2007/09/school_of_shock.html" type="external">here</a>.</p>
<p /> | ‘School of Shock’ Gets Facebook Group, College Activism | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2007/10/school-shock-gets-facebook-group-college-activism/ | 2007-10-04 | 4left
| ‘School of Shock’ Gets Facebook Group, College Activism
<p />
<p>Our <a href="/toc/2007/09/index.html" type="external">current issue</a>‘s cover story, on a facility in Massachusetts that uses electric shock to discipline special needs and other kids, “ <a href="/news/feature/2007/09/school_of_shock.html" type="external">School of Shock</a>,” has garnered a huge onslaught of responses, prompting <a href="/mojoblog/archives/2007/09/5461_aftershocks_of.html" type="external">legislation</a> in two states and getting literally hundreds of comments on our site. One reader, Brandeis University student Nathan Robinson, was especially outraged by the painful electric shocks administered to autistic and retarded students at the school, and decided to take action himself.</p>
<p>Robinson, who will graduate in 2011, convened an impromptu, late-night meeting of Brandeis students to make fliers and talk about the issue. In the process, the students formed a Facebook group (Massachusetts Students United Against the Judge Rotenberg Center), which now has more than 300 members. Robinson holds regular meetings where concerned citizens coordinate an old-fashioned letter-writing campaign. The group, Robinson says, is trying “to spread the word among students as best we can.”</p>
<p>Read more about Robinson’s efforts <a href="http://media.www.thejusticeonline.com/media/storage/paper573/news/2007/09/25/News/Club-Fights.Electric.Shock.Therapy-2988405.shtml" type="external">here</a>, and our story on the school and related articles <a href="/news/feature/2007/09/school_of_shock.html" type="external">here</a>.</p>
<p /> | 3,406 |
<p>SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - About 170 tons of trash and tires have been cleaned up from two sites in southeastern New Mexico as the State Land Office continues efforts to mitigate trespassing and illegal dumping concerns on trust lands.</p>
<p>The Land Office said people had been dumping trash at two pits in Lea County where caliche was mined for use in road construction and for oil drilling well pads.</p>
<p>The pits became home to discarded appliances, rotting upholstery, animal carcasses and other hazardous materials. After the trash was removed, the sites were graded and seeded with native grasses and flowering plants.</p>
<p>The cleanup work totaled more than $88,000.</p>
<p>In the 2017 fiscal year, crews removed more than 550 tons of waste from 11 caliche pits on state trust lands in Eddy and Lea counties.</p>
<p>SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - About 170 tons of trash and tires have been cleaned up from two sites in southeastern New Mexico as the State Land Office continues efforts to mitigate trespassing and illegal dumping concerns on trust lands.</p>
<p>The Land Office said people had been dumping trash at two pits in Lea County where caliche was mined for use in road construction and for oil drilling well pads.</p>
<p>The pits became home to discarded appliances, rotting upholstery, animal carcasses and other hazardous materials. After the trash was removed, the sites were graded and seeded with native grasses and flowering plants.</p>
<p>The cleanup work totaled more than $88,000.</p>
<p>In the 2017 fiscal year, crews removed more than 550 tons of waste from 11 caliche pits on state trust lands in Eddy and Lea counties.</p> | Land Office targets dumping sites in southern New Mexico | false | https://apnews.com/2e9b66e1600e43918969bc44ebdc968e | 2018-01-04 | 2least
| Land Office targets dumping sites in southern New Mexico
<p>SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - About 170 tons of trash and tires have been cleaned up from two sites in southeastern New Mexico as the State Land Office continues efforts to mitigate trespassing and illegal dumping concerns on trust lands.</p>
<p>The Land Office said people had been dumping trash at two pits in Lea County where caliche was mined for use in road construction and for oil drilling well pads.</p>
<p>The pits became home to discarded appliances, rotting upholstery, animal carcasses and other hazardous materials. After the trash was removed, the sites were graded and seeded with native grasses and flowering plants.</p>
<p>The cleanup work totaled more than $88,000.</p>
<p>In the 2017 fiscal year, crews removed more than 550 tons of waste from 11 caliche pits on state trust lands in Eddy and Lea counties.</p>
<p>SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - About 170 tons of trash and tires have been cleaned up from two sites in southeastern New Mexico as the State Land Office continues efforts to mitigate trespassing and illegal dumping concerns on trust lands.</p>
<p>The Land Office said people had been dumping trash at two pits in Lea County where caliche was mined for use in road construction and for oil drilling well pads.</p>
<p>The pits became home to discarded appliances, rotting upholstery, animal carcasses and other hazardous materials. After the trash was removed, the sites were graded and seeded with native grasses and flowering plants.</p>
<p>The cleanup work totaled more than $88,000.</p>
<p>In the 2017 fiscal year, crews removed more than 550 tons of waste from 11 caliche pits on state trust lands in Eddy and Lea counties.</p> | 3,407 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>A U.S. intelligence official and a Mideast diplomat said al-Zawahri’s message was picked up several weeks ago and appeared to initially target Yemeni interests. The threat was expanded to include American or other Western sites abroad, officials said, indicating the target could be a single embassy, a number of posts or some other site. Lawmakers have said it was a massive plot in the final stages, but they have offered no specifics.</p>
<p>The intelligence official said the message was sent to Nasser al-Wahishi, the head of the terror network’s organization, based in Yemen, known as al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula.</p>
<p>American spies and intelligence analysts on Monday scoured email, phone calls and radio communications between al-Qaida operatives in Yemen and the organization’s senior leaders to determine the timing and targets of the planned attack.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The call from al-Zawahri, who took over for Osama bin Laden after U.S. Navy SEALs killed the al-Qaida leader in May 2011, led the Obama administration to close diplomatic posts from Mauritania on Africa’s west coast through the Middle East to Bangladesh, east of India, and as far south as Madagascar.</p>
<p>The U.S. did decide to reopen some posts Monday, including well-defended embassies in Kabul, Afghanistan and Baghdad.</p>
<p>Authorities in Yemen, meanwhile, released the names of 25 wanted al-Qaida suspects and said those people had been planning terrorist attacks targeting “foreign offices and organizations and Yemeni installations” in the capital Sanaa and other cities across the country.</p>
<p>The Yemeni government also went on high alert Monday, stepping up security at government facilities and checkpoints.</p>
<p>Officials in the U.S. wouldn’t say who intercepted the initial suspect communications – the CIA, the National Security Agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency or one of the other intelligence agencies – that kicked off the sweeping pre-emptive closure of U.S. facilities. But an intelligence official said the controversial NSA programs that gather data on American phone calls or track Internet communications with suspected terrorists played no part in detecting the initial tip.</p>
<p>A U.S. official familiar with the threat information said the decision to close the embassies was based on a broad swath of information, not just the intercept. The official said the U.S. has made clear in the past that AQAP makes its own operational decisions – that there are back-and-forth communications between al-Qaida leadership and AQAP, but that they operate independently.</p>
<p>Once the plot was detected, NSA analysts could use the programs that leaker Edward Snowden revealed to determine whom the plotters may have contacted around the world. Snowden revealed one program that collected telephone data, such as the numbers called and the duration of calls on U.S. telephone networks. Another program searched global Internet usage. Therefore, if a new name was detected in the initial chatter, the name or phone number of that person could be run through the NSA databases to see whom he called or what websites or emails he visited.</p>
<p>The surveillance is part of the continuing effort to track the spread of al-Qaida from its birthplace in Afghanistan and Pakistan to countries where governments and security forces are weaker and less welcoming to the U.S. or harder for American counterterrorist forces to penetrate – such as Syria, Iraq, Somalia, Mali and Libya – as well as Yemen.</p>
<p>AQAP also has been blamed for the foiled Christmas Day 2009 effort to bomb an airliner over Detroit and the explosives-laden parcels intercepted the following year aboard cargo flights.</p>
<p />
<p /> | Al-Qaida chatter led to embassy closures | false | https://abqjournal.com/242818/alqaida-chatter-led-to-closures.html | 2least
| Al-Qaida chatter led to embassy closures
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>A U.S. intelligence official and a Mideast diplomat said al-Zawahri’s message was picked up several weeks ago and appeared to initially target Yemeni interests. The threat was expanded to include American or other Western sites abroad, officials said, indicating the target could be a single embassy, a number of posts or some other site. Lawmakers have said it was a massive plot in the final stages, but they have offered no specifics.</p>
<p>The intelligence official said the message was sent to Nasser al-Wahishi, the head of the terror network’s organization, based in Yemen, known as al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula.</p>
<p>American spies and intelligence analysts on Monday scoured email, phone calls and radio communications between al-Qaida operatives in Yemen and the organization’s senior leaders to determine the timing and targets of the planned attack.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The call from al-Zawahri, who took over for Osama bin Laden after U.S. Navy SEALs killed the al-Qaida leader in May 2011, led the Obama administration to close diplomatic posts from Mauritania on Africa’s west coast through the Middle East to Bangladesh, east of India, and as far south as Madagascar.</p>
<p>The U.S. did decide to reopen some posts Monday, including well-defended embassies in Kabul, Afghanistan and Baghdad.</p>
<p>Authorities in Yemen, meanwhile, released the names of 25 wanted al-Qaida suspects and said those people had been planning terrorist attacks targeting “foreign offices and organizations and Yemeni installations” in the capital Sanaa and other cities across the country.</p>
<p>The Yemeni government also went on high alert Monday, stepping up security at government facilities and checkpoints.</p>
<p>Officials in the U.S. wouldn’t say who intercepted the initial suspect communications – the CIA, the National Security Agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency or one of the other intelligence agencies – that kicked off the sweeping pre-emptive closure of U.S. facilities. But an intelligence official said the controversial NSA programs that gather data on American phone calls or track Internet communications with suspected terrorists played no part in detecting the initial tip.</p>
<p>A U.S. official familiar with the threat information said the decision to close the embassies was based on a broad swath of information, not just the intercept. The official said the U.S. has made clear in the past that AQAP makes its own operational decisions – that there are back-and-forth communications between al-Qaida leadership and AQAP, but that they operate independently.</p>
<p>Once the plot was detected, NSA analysts could use the programs that leaker Edward Snowden revealed to determine whom the plotters may have contacted around the world. Snowden revealed one program that collected telephone data, such as the numbers called and the duration of calls on U.S. telephone networks. Another program searched global Internet usage. Therefore, if a new name was detected in the initial chatter, the name or phone number of that person could be run through the NSA databases to see whom he called or what websites or emails he visited.</p>
<p>The surveillance is part of the continuing effort to track the spread of al-Qaida from its birthplace in Afghanistan and Pakistan to countries where governments and security forces are weaker and less welcoming to the U.S. or harder for American counterterrorist forces to penetrate – such as Syria, Iraq, Somalia, Mali and Libya – as well as Yemen.</p>
<p>AQAP also has been blamed for the foiled Christmas Day 2009 effort to bomb an airliner over Detroit and the explosives-laden parcels intercepted the following year aboard cargo flights.</p>
<p />
<p /> | 3,408 |
|
<p>The problem with Sarah Palin, argues speechwriter Dan Conley on the Political Wire, isn’t that she’s inexperienced — it’s that she’s a total unknown. Where does she really stand on anything? Either John McCain doesn’t know, or he doesn’t want the American people to know before they have to make a decision about her.</p>
<p>According to Conley, it’s a “well-developed GOP strategy for Supreme Court justices.” Look how that turned out.</p>
<p>Dan Conley in the Political Wire:</p>
<p>Now that she’s the VP nominee, Palin will just assume all of John McCain’s positions on foreign and domestic policies. It’s what a VP candidate always does. But in this case, when she has never been asked to express her opinions or her thinking behind those views, we’re left with a terrifying national scenario — if John McCain were to die shortly after taking office, we would elevate someone to the Presidency who could be in support of anything … fill in the blank.</p>
<p />
<p>If the McCain campaign is being truthful and did in fact vet Palin fully, then they are guilty of hiding Palin. Unlike other longshot candidates like Bobby Jindal, she was kept off the campaign trail and away from the Sunday talk circuit. What they’ve done is taken the well-developed GOP strategy for Supreme Court justices … drop them into Circuit Court slots shortly before tapping them for the top job … to avoid a paper trail which could cause a public backlash.</p>
<p>This strategy is cynical, undemocratic and frankly, unpatriotic. Americans have a right to know who they are elevating to the Presidency. The McCain campaign is using Gov. Palin for tactical political gain with no regard for the voters’ right to select a candidate who they know and trust.</p>
<p><a href="http://politicalwire.com/archives/2008/08/31/experience_isnt_the_issue.html" type="external">Read more</a></p> | Running a Nobody | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/running-a-nobody/ | 2008-09-01 | 4left
| Running a Nobody
<p>The problem with Sarah Palin, argues speechwriter Dan Conley on the Political Wire, isn’t that she’s inexperienced — it’s that she’s a total unknown. Where does she really stand on anything? Either John McCain doesn’t know, or he doesn’t want the American people to know before they have to make a decision about her.</p>
<p>According to Conley, it’s a “well-developed GOP strategy for Supreme Court justices.” Look how that turned out.</p>
<p>Dan Conley in the Political Wire:</p>
<p>Now that she’s the VP nominee, Palin will just assume all of John McCain’s positions on foreign and domestic policies. It’s what a VP candidate always does. But in this case, when she has never been asked to express her opinions or her thinking behind those views, we’re left with a terrifying national scenario — if John McCain were to die shortly after taking office, we would elevate someone to the Presidency who could be in support of anything … fill in the blank.</p>
<p />
<p>If the McCain campaign is being truthful and did in fact vet Palin fully, then they are guilty of hiding Palin. Unlike other longshot candidates like Bobby Jindal, she was kept off the campaign trail and away from the Sunday talk circuit. What they’ve done is taken the well-developed GOP strategy for Supreme Court justices … drop them into Circuit Court slots shortly before tapping them for the top job … to avoid a paper trail which could cause a public backlash.</p>
<p>This strategy is cynical, undemocratic and frankly, unpatriotic. Americans have a right to know who they are elevating to the Presidency. The McCain campaign is using Gov. Palin for tactical political gain with no regard for the voters’ right to select a candidate who they know and trust.</p>
<p><a href="http://politicalwire.com/archives/2008/08/31/experience_isnt_the_issue.html" type="external">Read more</a></p> | 3,409 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>“This is just a precursor of what’s to come,” he said.</p>
<p>The Santa Fe County Fire Department responded to one brush fire, which reached a salvage yard and burned old tires at about 3 p.m. Friday near Paycheck Lane, which is off the East Frontage Road along Interstate 25. Sperling said he did not know how many acres were involved in the fire.</p>
<p>Both city and county fire crews worked together on that fire, which threw up a lot of smoke as it fed on old tires and other material in the salvage yard, Sperling said.</p>
<p>The other fire also occurred at about 3 p.m. in an arroyo near St. Francis Drive and West Zia Road, according to city Assistant Fire Chief Erik Litzenberg. The one-acre fire, which was near an Albertsons grocery store and some apartment buildings, was under control by about 4 p.m. Fire crews were positioned on each side of the arroyo spraying water down into the fire.</p>
<p>There were reports of people leaving their homes during the fire, but Litzenberg said these were not “official” evacuations and they were likely just people moving away from the smoke. Traffic was disrupted in the area for a short time, with St. Francis Drive narrowed from three to one northbound lane as crews worked on the blaze.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>No injuries, structure damage or evacuations were reported in either fire. The department did not have a suspected cause of either fire as of Friday afternoon. Crews fighting the fires were expected to remain on scene for several hours mopping up hot spots.</p>
<p>Sperling advised people to be on their guard after a winter that went by without much moisture.</p>
<p>“People need to be super careful with what they do around fire,” he said.</p>
<p>Conditions are expected to get worse through the weekend, with Santa Fe on the edge of a fire weather watch issued by the National Weather Service. The high is expected to reach the upper 60s today and, while it will be cooler on Sunday, the forecast calls for 20- to 30-mph winds, with gusts up to 40 mph in the Santa Fe area.</p>
<p>The seven-day forecast calls for only a slim 10 percent chance of rain on a few days.</p>
<p>An onlooker checks out the progress of a brush fire near the Santa Fe Suites on St. Francis Drive on Friday. The blaze was contained without damage to any of the nearby structures.(Eddie Moore/Albuquerque Journal)</p>
<p>A fire hose lays water over a brush fire that drew a quick reaction from Santa Fe firefighters near St. Francis Drive on Friday afternoon but still sent billowing black smoke into the sky.(Eddie Moore/Albuquerque Journal)</p> | Two fires a precursor | false | https://abqjournal.com/179034/two-fires-a-precursor.html | 2013-03-16 | 2least
| Two fires a precursor
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>“This is just a precursor of what’s to come,” he said.</p>
<p>The Santa Fe County Fire Department responded to one brush fire, which reached a salvage yard and burned old tires at about 3 p.m. Friday near Paycheck Lane, which is off the East Frontage Road along Interstate 25. Sperling said he did not know how many acres were involved in the fire.</p>
<p>Both city and county fire crews worked together on that fire, which threw up a lot of smoke as it fed on old tires and other material in the salvage yard, Sperling said.</p>
<p>The other fire also occurred at about 3 p.m. in an arroyo near St. Francis Drive and West Zia Road, according to city Assistant Fire Chief Erik Litzenberg. The one-acre fire, which was near an Albertsons grocery store and some apartment buildings, was under control by about 4 p.m. Fire crews were positioned on each side of the arroyo spraying water down into the fire.</p>
<p>There were reports of people leaving their homes during the fire, but Litzenberg said these were not “official” evacuations and they were likely just people moving away from the smoke. Traffic was disrupted in the area for a short time, with St. Francis Drive narrowed from three to one northbound lane as crews worked on the blaze.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>No injuries, structure damage or evacuations were reported in either fire. The department did not have a suspected cause of either fire as of Friday afternoon. Crews fighting the fires were expected to remain on scene for several hours mopping up hot spots.</p>
<p>Sperling advised people to be on their guard after a winter that went by without much moisture.</p>
<p>“People need to be super careful with what they do around fire,” he said.</p>
<p>Conditions are expected to get worse through the weekend, with Santa Fe on the edge of a fire weather watch issued by the National Weather Service. The high is expected to reach the upper 60s today and, while it will be cooler on Sunday, the forecast calls for 20- to 30-mph winds, with gusts up to 40 mph in the Santa Fe area.</p>
<p>The seven-day forecast calls for only a slim 10 percent chance of rain on a few days.</p>
<p>An onlooker checks out the progress of a brush fire near the Santa Fe Suites on St. Francis Drive on Friday. The blaze was contained without damage to any of the nearby structures.(Eddie Moore/Albuquerque Journal)</p>
<p>A fire hose lays water over a brush fire that drew a quick reaction from Santa Fe firefighters near St. Francis Drive on Friday afternoon but still sent billowing black smoke into the sky.(Eddie Moore/Albuquerque Journal)</p> | 3,410 |
<p>Less than a day after another US appeals court blocked President Trump’s revised travel ban against Muslim nations that are known to harbor radical Islamic jihadists, top Democrats like Rep. Debbie Wassermann Schultz (FL) are out pushing the notion that the president’s actions are “un-American and unconstitutional.”</p>
<p>While the ban on its face seems a bit broad and intrusive, Trump’s case that “severe” vetting needs to take place before immigrants from these Islamic nations are allowed to enter the U.S., is air tight.</p>
<p>This issue is not about Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative, rather its about self-preservation and national security.</p>
<p>Not all Muslims prescribe to jihadism, but there are a quite a few who are terrorists or sympathize with the cause. Wasserman Schultz, who knows better than anyone the grave threat radical Islamists pose, understands all of this, but is probably just doing her job of pushing back against the opposition.</p>
<p>She has seen first hand what Islamists have done in Israel.</p>
<p>Republicans did this during the Obama years. This is the unfortunate game we play in politics.</p>
<p /> | Democrats Cheer Appeals Court Blocking Of Trump’s Travel Ban | true | http://shark-tank.com/2017/06/13/appeals/ | 0right
| Democrats Cheer Appeals Court Blocking Of Trump’s Travel Ban
<p>Less than a day after another US appeals court blocked President Trump’s revised travel ban against Muslim nations that are known to harbor radical Islamic jihadists, top Democrats like Rep. Debbie Wassermann Schultz (FL) are out pushing the notion that the president’s actions are “un-American and unconstitutional.”</p>
<p>While the ban on its face seems a bit broad and intrusive, Trump’s case that “severe” vetting needs to take place before immigrants from these Islamic nations are allowed to enter the U.S., is air tight.</p>
<p>This issue is not about Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative, rather its about self-preservation and national security.</p>
<p>Not all Muslims prescribe to jihadism, but there are a quite a few who are terrorists or sympathize with the cause. Wasserman Schultz, who knows better than anyone the grave threat radical Islamists pose, understands all of this, but is probably just doing her job of pushing back against the opposition.</p>
<p>She has seen first hand what Islamists have done in Israel.</p>
<p>Republicans did this during the Obama years. This is the unfortunate game we play in politics.</p>
<p /> | 3,411 |
|
<p>by Richard Morin</p>
<p>Members of Congress tell the truth — the whole truth — only about a quarter of the time when debating major legislation on the floor of the House and Senate.</p>
<p>Instead, legislators mostly rely on half-truths, misleading exaggerations or outright inaccuracies when debating the nation’s business, according to two political scientists who have studied the quality of debate in Congress.</p>
<p>Gary Mucciaroni of Temple University and Paul J. Quirk of the University of British Columbia sought to see how truthful America’s lawmakers were in debating three major bills: welfare reform in 1995-96, the estate tax in 1999-2000 and telecommunication deregulation in 1996.</p>
<p>They meticulously sifted through the Congressional record to identify key claims made by each side to support its own case and to rebut the assertions of its opponents. Then they compared the claims with available data to see if they were true, false or somewhere in between. In all, they examined the accuracy of 18 claims made in 43 separate House and Senate debates.</p>
<p>How did the nation’s lawmakers do?</p>
<p>Not so well. In all, these researchers judged the claims made in only 11 of the 43 debates to have been largely substantiated by the facts. Another 16 were deemed to be “unsubstantiated” — a polite way of saying they were misleading, mostly false or flatly wrong. An additional 16 were judged a politically artful mix of fact and fiction. In all, as reported in their new book, Deliberative Choices: Debating Public Policy in Congress, the researchers rated the quality of the debates somewhere between “fair” and “poor” — a C-, at best.</p>
<p>Does one party tell whoppers more often than the other? It’s hard to tell, Mucciaroni said. “The Republicans performed worse than the Democrats in the welfare reform and estate tax debates, but not as much in telecommunications. We feel that this is probably due to the Republicans controlling Congress, especially the House. We might expect Democrats to do as poorly if they were in control…because majority status emboldens the majority to make more extravagant claims and they feel pressure to deliver ‘results.'”</p>
<p>The researchers stopped short of claiming that members of the House and Senate told deliberate lies to advance their positions. “We don’t pretend to know whether they are lying, are ignorant, or misperceive the facts and informed opinion on an issue,” he said. “Instead of using ‘flatly lying,’ we prefer ‘flatly incorrect’ or ‘flatly inaccurate’.”</p>
<p>Somehow, that’s not reassuring.</p>
<p>Researchers have known for decades that taller people earn more and have better jobs. Some researchers said it was because tall people had more self esteem. Others said taller individuals physically and psychologically dominated their shorter colleagues. Still others said it was height discrimination.</p>
<p>Two economists have a simpler explanation: “Taller people earn more because they are smarter,” claim Anne Case and Christina Paxson of Princeton University. “As early as age 3 — before schooling has had a chance to play a role — and throughout childhood, taller children perform significantly better on cognitive tests.”</p>
<p>“For both men and women, an increase in height of four inches is associated with an earnings premium of approximately 10 percent,” they report in a new working paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research. “An American man who is 6 feet 2 inches tall is 3 percentage points more likely to be an executive and 2 percentage points more likely to be a professional than is a man who stands 5 feet 10.”</p>
<p>They based their claims on an analysis of four data sets from the United States and the United Kingdom.</p>
<p>School Makes You Smart and Ballet Tights Make You Embarrassed</p>
<p>“The effect of education on cognitive ability” by Torberg Falch and Sofia Sandgren. Working paper published by the Department of Economics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology. Two economists find that every year of formal education raises a student’s IQ an average of about 3 points, regardless of family income or parents’ educational levels, raising new doubts that genetics alone determines intelligence.</p>
<p>“The effect of ballet dance attire on body and self-perceptions of female dancers” by Brena R. Price and Terry F. Pettijohn II. Social Behavior and Personality Vol. 34 No. 8. Two Mercyhurst College researchers find that female ballet dancers hate the way they look in black leotards with pink tights and think they look better in loose-fitting clothes.</p> | How Often Do Members of Congress Tell the Truth? | false | http://pewresearch.org/2006/09/05/how-often-do-members-of-congress-tell-the-truth/ | 2006-09-05 | 2least
| How Often Do Members of Congress Tell the Truth?
<p>by Richard Morin</p>
<p>Members of Congress tell the truth — the whole truth — only about a quarter of the time when debating major legislation on the floor of the House and Senate.</p>
<p>Instead, legislators mostly rely on half-truths, misleading exaggerations or outright inaccuracies when debating the nation’s business, according to two political scientists who have studied the quality of debate in Congress.</p>
<p>Gary Mucciaroni of Temple University and Paul J. Quirk of the University of British Columbia sought to see how truthful America’s lawmakers were in debating three major bills: welfare reform in 1995-96, the estate tax in 1999-2000 and telecommunication deregulation in 1996.</p>
<p>They meticulously sifted through the Congressional record to identify key claims made by each side to support its own case and to rebut the assertions of its opponents. Then they compared the claims with available data to see if they were true, false or somewhere in between. In all, they examined the accuracy of 18 claims made in 43 separate House and Senate debates.</p>
<p>How did the nation’s lawmakers do?</p>
<p>Not so well. In all, these researchers judged the claims made in only 11 of the 43 debates to have been largely substantiated by the facts. Another 16 were deemed to be “unsubstantiated” — a polite way of saying they were misleading, mostly false or flatly wrong. An additional 16 were judged a politically artful mix of fact and fiction. In all, as reported in their new book, Deliberative Choices: Debating Public Policy in Congress, the researchers rated the quality of the debates somewhere between “fair” and “poor” — a C-, at best.</p>
<p>Does one party tell whoppers more often than the other? It’s hard to tell, Mucciaroni said. “The Republicans performed worse than the Democrats in the welfare reform and estate tax debates, but not as much in telecommunications. We feel that this is probably due to the Republicans controlling Congress, especially the House. We might expect Democrats to do as poorly if they were in control…because majority status emboldens the majority to make more extravagant claims and they feel pressure to deliver ‘results.'”</p>
<p>The researchers stopped short of claiming that members of the House and Senate told deliberate lies to advance their positions. “We don’t pretend to know whether they are lying, are ignorant, or misperceive the facts and informed opinion on an issue,” he said. “Instead of using ‘flatly lying,’ we prefer ‘flatly incorrect’ or ‘flatly inaccurate’.”</p>
<p>Somehow, that’s not reassuring.</p>
<p>Researchers have known for decades that taller people earn more and have better jobs. Some researchers said it was because tall people had more self esteem. Others said taller individuals physically and psychologically dominated their shorter colleagues. Still others said it was height discrimination.</p>
<p>Two economists have a simpler explanation: “Taller people earn more because they are smarter,” claim Anne Case and Christina Paxson of Princeton University. “As early as age 3 — before schooling has had a chance to play a role — and throughout childhood, taller children perform significantly better on cognitive tests.”</p>
<p>“For both men and women, an increase in height of four inches is associated with an earnings premium of approximately 10 percent,” they report in a new working paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research. “An American man who is 6 feet 2 inches tall is 3 percentage points more likely to be an executive and 2 percentage points more likely to be a professional than is a man who stands 5 feet 10.”</p>
<p>They based their claims on an analysis of four data sets from the United States and the United Kingdom.</p>
<p>School Makes You Smart and Ballet Tights Make You Embarrassed</p>
<p>“The effect of education on cognitive ability” by Torberg Falch and Sofia Sandgren. Working paper published by the Department of Economics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology. Two economists find that every year of formal education raises a student’s IQ an average of about 3 points, regardless of family income or parents’ educational levels, raising new doubts that genetics alone determines intelligence.</p>
<p>“The effect of ballet dance attire on body and self-perceptions of female dancers” by Brena R. Price and Terry F. Pettijohn II. Social Behavior and Personality Vol. 34 No. 8. Two Mercyhurst College researchers find that female ballet dancers hate the way they look in black leotards with pink tights and think they look better in loose-fitting clothes.</p> | 3,412 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>SANTA FE (AP) — A lawsuit over straight party ticket voting is on hold in the New Mexico Supreme Court while a federal court considers the legal dispute.</p>
<p>The state’s highest court on Tuesday postponed proceedings in a case brought by Democrats to restore the option of straight ticket voting — the ability to vote for a political party’s entire slate of candidate with a single mark on a ballot.</p>
<p>The court order came a day after Republican Secretary of State Dianna Duran asked the U.S. District Court to handle the case. She contends it will violate the Constitution’s equal protection guarantee if ballots are redesigned after some New Mexicans already have voted.</p>
<p>Straight ticket voting has been allowed until this election. Duran says it’s not authorized by state law, but Democrats disagree.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | High Court Puts Voting Case on Hold | false | https://abqjournal.com/139205/high-court-puts-voting-case-on-hold.html | 2012-10-17 | 2least
| High Court Puts Voting Case on Hold
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>SANTA FE (AP) — A lawsuit over straight party ticket voting is on hold in the New Mexico Supreme Court while a federal court considers the legal dispute.</p>
<p>The state’s highest court on Tuesday postponed proceedings in a case brought by Democrats to restore the option of straight ticket voting — the ability to vote for a political party’s entire slate of candidate with a single mark on a ballot.</p>
<p>The court order came a day after Republican Secretary of State Dianna Duran asked the U.S. District Court to handle the case. She contends it will violate the Constitution’s equal protection guarantee if ballots are redesigned after some New Mexicans already have voted.</p>
<p>Straight ticket voting has been allowed until this election. Duran says it’s not authorized by state law, but Democrats disagree.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 3,413 |
<p>PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - The Oregon Court of Appeals opened the door for Portland to reinstate its ban on the expansion of bulk fossil fuel terminals.</p>
<p>The city passed the ban in 2016 after deciding not to make zoning changes to accommodate a $500 million terminal proposed by a Canadian energy company. The Land Use Board of Appeals struck down Portland's ordinance, but the Appeals Court reversed that decision Thursday, saying it wasn't a violation of the commerce clause.</p>
<p>Business groups such as the Western States Petroleum Association say Portland discriminated against out-of-state companies looking to build terminals to export fuels versus those serving in-state customers. The rules limited bulk fuel tanks to 2 million gallons - too small for an international distribution terminal.</p>
<p>The Petroleum Association tells <a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2018/01/appeals_court_upholds_portland.html" type="external">The Oregonian/OregonLive</a> it's disappointed by the decision. General counsel Oyango Snell says the Portland ordinance punishes Oregon consumers and businesses that rely on affordable fuel.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: The Oregonian/OregonLive, <a href="http://www.oregonlive.com" type="external">http://www.oregonlive.com</a></p>
<p>PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - The Oregon Court of Appeals opened the door for Portland to reinstate its ban on the expansion of bulk fossil fuel terminals.</p>
<p>The city passed the ban in 2016 after deciding not to make zoning changes to accommodate a $500 million terminal proposed by a Canadian energy company. The Land Use Board of Appeals struck down Portland's ordinance, but the Appeals Court reversed that decision Thursday, saying it wasn't a violation of the commerce clause.</p>
<p>Business groups such as the Western States Petroleum Association say Portland discriminated against out-of-state companies looking to build terminals to export fuels versus those serving in-state customers. The rules limited bulk fuel tanks to 2 million gallons - too small for an international distribution terminal.</p>
<p>The Petroleum Association tells <a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2018/01/appeals_court_upholds_portland.html" type="external">The Oregonian/OregonLive</a> it's disappointed by the decision. General counsel Oyango Snell says the Portland ordinance punishes Oregon consumers and businesses that rely on affordable fuel.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: The Oregonian/OregonLive, <a href="http://www.oregonlive.com" type="external">http://www.oregonlive.com</a></p> | Court sides with Portland limit on fossil fuel terminals | false | https://apnews.com/amp/c2efb7e63b2e45e9bb11ac3d2402ce6f | 2018-01-05 | 2least
| Court sides with Portland limit on fossil fuel terminals
<p>PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - The Oregon Court of Appeals opened the door for Portland to reinstate its ban on the expansion of bulk fossil fuel terminals.</p>
<p>The city passed the ban in 2016 after deciding not to make zoning changes to accommodate a $500 million terminal proposed by a Canadian energy company. The Land Use Board of Appeals struck down Portland's ordinance, but the Appeals Court reversed that decision Thursday, saying it wasn't a violation of the commerce clause.</p>
<p>Business groups such as the Western States Petroleum Association say Portland discriminated against out-of-state companies looking to build terminals to export fuels versus those serving in-state customers. The rules limited bulk fuel tanks to 2 million gallons - too small for an international distribution terminal.</p>
<p>The Petroleum Association tells <a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2018/01/appeals_court_upholds_portland.html" type="external">The Oregonian/OregonLive</a> it's disappointed by the decision. General counsel Oyango Snell says the Portland ordinance punishes Oregon consumers and businesses that rely on affordable fuel.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: The Oregonian/OregonLive, <a href="http://www.oregonlive.com" type="external">http://www.oregonlive.com</a></p>
<p>PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - The Oregon Court of Appeals opened the door for Portland to reinstate its ban on the expansion of bulk fossil fuel terminals.</p>
<p>The city passed the ban in 2016 after deciding not to make zoning changes to accommodate a $500 million terminal proposed by a Canadian energy company. The Land Use Board of Appeals struck down Portland's ordinance, but the Appeals Court reversed that decision Thursday, saying it wasn't a violation of the commerce clause.</p>
<p>Business groups such as the Western States Petroleum Association say Portland discriminated against out-of-state companies looking to build terminals to export fuels versus those serving in-state customers. The rules limited bulk fuel tanks to 2 million gallons - too small for an international distribution terminal.</p>
<p>The Petroleum Association tells <a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2018/01/appeals_court_upholds_portland.html" type="external">The Oregonian/OregonLive</a> it's disappointed by the decision. General counsel Oyango Snell says the Portland ordinance punishes Oregon consumers and businesses that rely on affordable fuel.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: The Oregonian/OregonLive, <a href="http://www.oregonlive.com" type="external">http://www.oregonlive.com</a></p> | 3,414 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>New Mexico Community Capital, a nonprofit that started out as a local venture investment fund, has expanded and blossomed into a bustling center in Downtown Albuquerque for existing and aspiring Native American entrepreneurs to get the assistance they need to launch and grow businesses.</p>
<p>Backed by about $5 million in federal funding and grants, the NMCC’s flagship Native Entrepreneur in Residence Program has helped more than two dozen companies since launching in 2014, many of which are now flourishing. The program functions as an incubator and accelerator for tribal enterprises.</p>
<p>“At last count, the 26 companies that have graduated from the program have generated 84 new jobs and over $7 million in gross revenue,” said NMCC Managing Director Peter Holter.</p>
<p>New Mexico Community Capital Managing Director Peter Holter. Courtesy NMCC</p>
<p>“That includes pre-revenue startups that launched through the program, early-stage businesses looking to grow, and established firms seeking to expand.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The program provides a culturally appropriate, supportive place for Native American participants to gain confidence, grow and become successful, Holter said. It offers intensive, one-on-one mentorship stretched over six months to dive deep into every aspect of a business.</p>
<p>That includes essential skills of financial and cash management, marketing, sales, production and administration, plus supportive mentoring to manage the unique pressures entrepreneurs face.</p>
<p>It also includes a $12,000 stipend and modern office space for companies that need it. In addition, financing from the federal Community Development Financial Institution allows NMCC to invest up to $150,000 in businesses graduating from its program.</p>
<p>A new, $1.2 million grant from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation in October will also allow NMCC to launch a financial literacy and business basics program in January for Native American parents with young children. And, the program is now supporting a new Native Women Business Summit that held its first conference in October, with another one planned for February.</p>
<p>Program graduates say NMCC provided critical support.</p>
<p>Mahadevi, a combination health beverage business and support network for new mothers, is now expanding its reach online through a new website and email system NMCC helped build, said founder and owner Lisa Foreman, a Shawnee who grew up in Albuquerque.</p>
<p>“The program taught me the nuts and bolts of everything I need to succeed,” Foreman said. “They helped me talk through my ideas, get clear what I actually wanted to do, and then break things down into doable, bite-size pieces.”</p>
<p>Cochiti Pueblo member Phoebe Suina, co-founder and owner of environmental consulting firm High Water Mark LLC, said NMCC helped her create a “growth action plan.”</p>
<p>“I expect to expand from eight employees now to 20 to 30 in the next three to four years,” Suina said. “I can’t say enough about all the knowledge, skills, mentoring and support NMCC has provided.”</p> | Program lifts NM Native businesses | false | https://abqjournal.com/1097332/program-lifts-nm-native-businesses.html | 2least
| Program lifts NM Native businesses
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>New Mexico Community Capital, a nonprofit that started out as a local venture investment fund, has expanded and blossomed into a bustling center in Downtown Albuquerque for existing and aspiring Native American entrepreneurs to get the assistance they need to launch and grow businesses.</p>
<p>Backed by about $5 million in federal funding and grants, the NMCC’s flagship Native Entrepreneur in Residence Program has helped more than two dozen companies since launching in 2014, many of which are now flourishing. The program functions as an incubator and accelerator for tribal enterprises.</p>
<p>“At last count, the 26 companies that have graduated from the program have generated 84 new jobs and over $7 million in gross revenue,” said NMCC Managing Director Peter Holter.</p>
<p>New Mexico Community Capital Managing Director Peter Holter. Courtesy NMCC</p>
<p>“That includes pre-revenue startups that launched through the program, early-stage businesses looking to grow, and established firms seeking to expand.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The program provides a culturally appropriate, supportive place for Native American participants to gain confidence, grow and become successful, Holter said. It offers intensive, one-on-one mentorship stretched over six months to dive deep into every aspect of a business.</p>
<p>That includes essential skills of financial and cash management, marketing, sales, production and administration, plus supportive mentoring to manage the unique pressures entrepreneurs face.</p>
<p>It also includes a $12,000 stipend and modern office space for companies that need it. In addition, financing from the federal Community Development Financial Institution allows NMCC to invest up to $150,000 in businesses graduating from its program.</p>
<p>A new, $1.2 million grant from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation in October will also allow NMCC to launch a financial literacy and business basics program in January for Native American parents with young children. And, the program is now supporting a new Native Women Business Summit that held its first conference in October, with another one planned for February.</p>
<p>Program graduates say NMCC provided critical support.</p>
<p>Mahadevi, a combination health beverage business and support network for new mothers, is now expanding its reach online through a new website and email system NMCC helped build, said founder and owner Lisa Foreman, a Shawnee who grew up in Albuquerque.</p>
<p>“The program taught me the nuts and bolts of everything I need to succeed,” Foreman said. “They helped me talk through my ideas, get clear what I actually wanted to do, and then break things down into doable, bite-size pieces.”</p>
<p>Cochiti Pueblo member Phoebe Suina, co-founder and owner of environmental consulting firm High Water Mark LLC, said NMCC helped her create a “growth action plan.”</p>
<p>“I expect to expand from eight employees now to 20 to 30 in the next three to four years,” Suina said. “I can’t say enough about all the knowledge, skills, mentoring and support NMCC has provided.”</p> | 3,415 |
|
<p>As predicted, it wasn’t all that long before Hillary Clinton reared her unsightly AquaNetted head once more. She disappeared for a few months to concoct potions for which to dress her battle wounds, but now it seems she’s back ( <a href="" type="internal">THE NIGHTMARE RETURNS: Sexist Hillary Clinton Says ‘The Future is Female’…</a>). Not as the President (thank you, Sweet Baby Jesus), but as an example for why you should moisturize your face flesh daily. Because the leathery saddlebag accepted a Champion For Girls award. For all her “accomplishments” on behalf of girls “everywhere.” Yeah, I’m sure you can see where this is going…</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>If you don’t want to watch the whole video, and why would you, let me sum up…</p>
<p>&lt;img class="aligncenter wp-image-35711" src="http://www.louderwithcrowder.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/raw-1-1.gif" alt="Gwen Stefani" width="449" height="347" /&gt;</p>
<p>You know who has an issue with this? Juanita Broaddrick. As in the same Juanita that Bill Clinton (allegedly) sexually assaulted, along with a number of other women (see&#160; <a href="" type="internal">New Wikileaks Reveals How Clinton Campaign Would ‘Handle’ Juanita Broaddrick</a>&#160;and&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Juanita Broaddrick Exclusive Interview: “Bill Clinton Raped Me…”</a>). Also, the same Juanita that Champion For Girls Hillary Clinton tried to destroy. #GirlPower</p>
<p><a href="http://www.theamericanmirror.com/juanita-broaddrick-slams-hillarys-champion-girls-award/#more-24471" type="external">Broaddrick is quite put off by this</a>…</p>
<p>Broaddrick, who has accused Bill Clinton of sexually assaulting her in 1978, said, “It is difficult for me, a rape survivor of Bill Clinton, to understand how Hillary Clinton could be given the ‘2017 Champion for Girls Award’ from Girls Inc.</p>
<p>“Hillary was never a champion for the women her husband abused. She was the opposite. She threatened and humiliated us,” Broaddrick tells The American Mirror, referring to Paula Jones and Kathleen Willey, as well.</p>
<p>“The leaders of this young women’s group should be ashamed of their actions. By giving this award to Hillary Clinton, they are implying enablers of sexual abuse crimes should not be held accountable.”</p>
<p>In other words, champion for some girls. Other girls who aren’t convenient to the agenda?</p>
<p>&lt;img class=" wp-image-20847 aligncenter" src="http://www.louderwithcrowder.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/no-walken.gif" alt="" width="450" height="188" /&gt;</p>
<p>Mind you, this is the same Hillary who’s also an adamant rape apologist (see <a href="" type="internal">Child Rape Victim Speaks Out: ‘Hillary Defended My Rapist…’</a>). Being hosted at a girls’ awards ceremony. As it turns out, none of that stuff matters as long as you’re a lady, or some variation thereof, and support the right special interest groups.</p>
<p>You can bet your left testicle (if you’re a dude) or your right ta-ta (if you’re a girl or think you’re a girl), this same organization awarding Cankles for being a “champion of front hole havers” (as would be the SJW definition, as not to exclude the trannies) would likely never honor someone like <a href="" type="internal">Ivanka Trump</a>, <a href="" type="internal">Nikki Haley</a>, or the amazing <a href="" type="internal">Omarosa</a>. Perhaps because none of those ladies, to our knowledge, tried covering up for their significant other’s sexual assaults. Just guessing.</p>
<p>Basically, feminism…</p>
<p />
<p />
<p /> | Hillary Wins Champion for Girls Award. Bill Clinton Victim Juanita Broaddrick Has NONE of It… | true | http://louderwithcrowder.com/hillary-wins-champion-girls-award/ | 2017-03-12 | 0right
| Hillary Wins Champion for Girls Award. Bill Clinton Victim Juanita Broaddrick Has NONE of It…
<p>As predicted, it wasn’t all that long before Hillary Clinton reared her unsightly AquaNetted head once more. She disappeared for a few months to concoct potions for which to dress her battle wounds, but now it seems she’s back ( <a href="" type="internal">THE NIGHTMARE RETURNS: Sexist Hillary Clinton Says ‘The Future is Female’…</a>). Not as the President (thank you, Sweet Baby Jesus), but as an example for why you should moisturize your face flesh daily. Because the leathery saddlebag accepted a Champion For Girls award. For all her “accomplishments” on behalf of girls “everywhere.” Yeah, I’m sure you can see where this is going…</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>If you don’t want to watch the whole video, and why would you, let me sum up…</p>
<p>&lt;img class="aligncenter wp-image-35711" src="http://www.louderwithcrowder.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/raw-1-1.gif" alt="Gwen Stefani" width="449" height="347" /&gt;</p>
<p>You know who has an issue with this? Juanita Broaddrick. As in the same Juanita that Bill Clinton (allegedly) sexually assaulted, along with a number of other women (see&#160; <a href="" type="internal">New Wikileaks Reveals How Clinton Campaign Would ‘Handle’ Juanita Broaddrick</a>&#160;and&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Juanita Broaddrick Exclusive Interview: “Bill Clinton Raped Me…”</a>). Also, the same Juanita that Champion For Girls Hillary Clinton tried to destroy. #GirlPower</p>
<p><a href="http://www.theamericanmirror.com/juanita-broaddrick-slams-hillarys-champion-girls-award/#more-24471" type="external">Broaddrick is quite put off by this</a>…</p>
<p>Broaddrick, who has accused Bill Clinton of sexually assaulting her in 1978, said, “It is difficult for me, a rape survivor of Bill Clinton, to understand how Hillary Clinton could be given the ‘2017 Champion for Girls Award’ from Girls Inc.</p>
<p>“Hillary was never a champion for the women her husband abused. She was the opposite. She threatened and humiliated us,” Broaddrick tells The American Mirror, referring to Paula Jones and Kathleen Willey, as well.</p>
<p>“The leaders of this young women’s group should be ashamed of their actions. By giving this award to Hillary Clinton, they are implying enablers of sexual abuse crimes should not be held accountable.”</p>
<p>In other words, champion for some girls. Other girls who aren’t convenient to the agenda?</p>
<p>&lt;img class=" wp-image-20847 aligncenter" src="http://www.louderwithcrowder.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/no-walken.gif" alt="" width="450" height="188" /&gt;</p>
<p>Mind you, this is the same Hillary who’s also an adamant rape apologist (see <a href="" type="internal">Child Rape Victim Speaks Out: ‘Hillary Defended My Rapist…’</a>). Being hosted at a girls’ awards ceremony. As it turns out, none of that stuff matters as long as you’re a lady, or some variation thereof, and support the right special interest groups.</p>
<p>You can bet your left testicle (if you’re a dude) or your right ta-ta (if you’re a girl or think you’re a girl), this same organization awarding Cankles for being a “champion of front hole havers” (as would be the SJW definition, as not to exclude the trannies) would likely never honor someone like <a href="" type="internal">Ivanka Trump</a>, <a href="" type="internal">Nikki Haley</a>, or the amazing <a href="" type="internal">Omarosa</a>. Perhaps because none of those ladies, to our knowledge, tried covering up for their significant other’s sexual assaults. Just guessing.</p>
<p>Basically, feminism…</p>
<p />
<p />
<p /> | 3,416 |
<p>It’s college signing night.</p>
<p>Jose Garcia is in charge of music.</p>
<p>At this ceremony in May, the&#160;determination of this teacher — and his school —&#160;to get students into college is on full display. Instead of celebrating a few top athletes choosing where to play, his school&#160;treats every student heading to college like a star.</p>
<p>One by one, each graduating senior takes the mic, flanked by parents, and declares where he or she will graduate from college four years from now.</p>
<p>“My name is Manny Cardoza and I’ll be graduating from St. Olaf College,” says one student as he opens up a t-shirt emblazoned with the St. Olaf logo. Jose helped Manny with his applications. Manny&#160;ultimately was accepted into 11 colleges and got lots of scholarships.</p>
<p>Parents and families are dressed up, taking pictures, and cheering like it’s a Friday night championship football game in the heart of Texas. Except this is the near Northwest Side of Chicago — and all the players are low-income, students of color.</p>
<p>Jose hits play and the sound of the Chicago Bulls lineup music fills the auditorium. Teachers who advise seniors are announced as if they’re famous basketball players, by name and by the university they attended.</p>
<p>Standing to the side of the stage, Jose is taking official school photos as each student signs a “contract” that commits to Noble that they will finish college. After the ceremony is over, Jose chats with a teacher he’s known since he was 14.</p>
<p>“If I had to pick between this and graduation, it would be this, 100 percent,” Jake Lessem says. “I could watch it all night long.”</p>
<p>Related:&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Training America's next teachers: Sometimes they learn in the very schools where they'll teach&#160;</a></p>
<p>Lessem was Jose’s adviser when he was a student at Rauner. He’s the most veteran teacher here. A picture of the two at Denison’s graduation last May flashes on a screen behind them. Lessem tells Jose what he’s heard now from lots of other teachers.</p>
<p>“The only reason you survive your first year of teaching is you have no idea how hard it’s going to be until you’re already in the middle of it,” Lessem says.&#160; “Because if anybody really told you, you probably wouldn’t sign up for it.”</p>
<p>Lessem cautions that teaching is never easy. If it feels that way, it’s probably time for Jose to find something else to do.</p>
<p>“It’s always about getting better,” Lessem says. “I did the best I could for Jose, but I’m a much better teacher now, and I hope I’m a much better teacher in three and five and 10 years. The thing about teaching is you never feel like you nail it.”</p>
<p>Jose never wanted to be a teacher.&#160;But he says he signed up to come back&#160;to teach because of what the school did for him. Tonight is a reminder of all that.</p>
<p>“It reminds me that I’m not here for me,” he says, choking back tears. “It's just… it's emotional… it's emotional because… it's about them, and their families.”</p>
<p>Walking away now would be the wrong thing to do, Jose says. He says this week he gave the sophomore students an end of the year survey and he was surprised by how many students wrote that they liked that, “Mr. Garcia didn’t give up on me.”</p>
<p>“I didn’t know the students were noticing,” Jose says, before being interrupted by a senior, who wanted to introduce him to her mom.</p>
<p>The school's principal, Mindy Sjoblom, says this is the moment when a teacher becomes a teacher.</p>
<p>“For some people, they set out do it and then they’re like, ‘Man, this is so hard’ and ‘Whoa, I don’t think I should be teaching,’” she says, noting that a few people she recruited for the program for new teachers had dropped out.&#160;</p>
<p>“It’s good for them to make that choice now. For most people, though, I think when you’re good at working with kids that kind of connection helps drive you through that mess and muddling that you have to do to figure out what works for you.”</p>
<p>Related:&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Training</a> <a href="" type="internal" /> <a href="" type="internal">America's</a> <a href="" type="internal" /> <a href="" type="internal">next</a> <a href="" type="internal" /> <a href="" type="internal">teachers</a> <a href="" type="internal">:</a> <a href="" type="internal">A&#160;rookie teacher resists the urge to throw in the towel</a></p>
<p>Jose is still figuring out what works for him. It’s mid-June and the students have left for the summer, but there are still stacks of papers all over Jose’s desk and big cardboard boxes at the back of room 205, where he taught sophomore English since February.</p>
<p>He unexpectedly took responsibility for about 70 students and did the best he could. But he wasn’t sure if he was the best teacher for them.</p>
<p>“When I saw their scores… I was mad because we went over this so many times in class, “ Jose says. “Maybe I was a little too confident.”</p>
<p>Jose says he learned a lot.</p>
<p>“Don’t assume they remember what you did a day ago,” he laughs.</p>
<p>However, when all the results of a final assessment of students&#160;come through, Jose's students have actually done better than he thought. Most students did improve since the mid-year test.</p>
<p>But he’s now hyper-aware of those tests. Next year, Jose’s graduate school&#160;will require him to prove his students learned with him as their teacher. Noble and school districts all over the country use student test scores to measure teachers.</p>
<p>“I think tests are not an accurate reflection of what students know,” &#160;jose&#160;says. “But I mean, that’s the game we have to play it. If students want to get into college they have to get a good ACT score, this is the game that we have to play. So I think I’m kind of learning how to play the game.”</p>
<p>Sjoblom says Jose wasn’t the only teacher-in-training who was disappointed with his student’s test scores. She’s taking a closer look at it for next year, because ultimately, the whole point of&#160;training their own teachers is to get more great teachers in front of students.</p>
<p>Related:&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Global Nation Education</a></p>
<p>She says there are a lot of complicating factors for the first year because most of the prospective new teachers&#160;were not in full-time teaching jobs. Jose was in a weird situation. But she does believe he became a better teacher by having his own class.</p>
<p>“He wouldn’t have felt bad about those scores if he didn’t own it,” she says.</p>
<p>Jose says he’s not sure how long he’ll stay in teaching. He says teachers in Chicago fight an uphill battle and can only fight for so long. Plus, he’d like to work at a place like Denison someday, helping first generation college students adjust to campus life.</p>
<p>But this fall, Jose has been&#160;teaching two different classes. It’s a job that he feels fits with the whole reason he came back — college counseling a group of seniors for 90 minutes every day and teaching two sections of a brand new class to freshmen and sophomore students. It’s called Identity and Justice Studies.</p>
<p>“We have to decorate a little bit more,” he says, opening the door to room 300. “I was thinking, Sunday night, when I was cleaning my room [at home], I stumbled on my diploma frame from Denison. It’s still in the box and, I thought, maybe I would hang it in the classroom.”</p>
<p>This <a href="http://www.wbez.org/news/education-jose-garcia-part-3-112944" type="external">story</a> is part of a series originally published by <a href="http://www.wbez.org" type="external">WBEZ</a>. Reporter Becky Vevea spent the last year following Jose Garcia&#160;in his first year as a teacher. Read parts <a href="" type="internal">one</a> and <a href="" type="internal">two</a>.</p>
<p>Share your thoughts and ideas on Facebook at our&#160; <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/globalnation/" type="external">Global Nation Exchange</a>, on Twitter&#160; <a href="https://twitter.com/globalnation" type="external">@globalnation</a>, or contact us&#160; <a href="" type="internal">here</a>. Is there a question you wanted answered in this story? Let reporter <a href="https://twitter.com/WBEZeducation" type="external">Becky&#160;Vevea</a>&#160;know.&#160;</p> | That moment when a teacher becomes a teacher | false | https://pri.org/stories/2015-11-13/training-americas-next-teachers-moment-when-teacher-becomes-teacher | 2015-11-13 | 3left-center
| That moment when a teacher becomes a teacher
<p>It’s college signing night.</p>
<p>Jose Garcia is in charge of music.</p>
<p>At this ceremony in May, the&#160;determination of this teacher — and his school —&#160;to get students into college is on full display. Instead of celebrating a few top athletes choosing where to play, his school&#160;treats every student heading to college like a star.</p>
<p>One by one, each graduating senior takes the mic, flanked by parents, and declares where he or she will graduate from college four years from now.</p>
<p>“My name is Manny Cardoza and I’ll be graduating from St. Olaf College,” says one student as he opens up a t-shirt emblazoned with the St. Olaf logo. Jose helped Manny with his applications. Manny&#160;ultimately was accepted into 11 colleges and got lots of scholarships.</p>
<p>Parents and families are dressed up, taking pictures, and cheering like it’s a Friday night championship football game in the heart of Texas. Except this is the near Northwest Side of Chicago — and all the players are low-income, students of color.</p>
<p>Jose hits play and the sound of the Chicago Bulls lineup music fills the auditorium. Teachers who advise seniors are announced as if they’re famous basketball players, by name and by the university they attended.</p>
<p>Standing to the side of the stage, Jose is taking official school photos as each student signs a “contract” that commits to Noble that they will finish college. After the ceremony is over, Jose chats with a teacher he’s known since he was 14.</p>
<p>“If I had to pick between this and graduation, it would be this, 100 percent,” Jake Lessem says. “I could watch it all night long.”</p>
<p>Related:&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Training America's next teachers: Sometimes they learn in the very schools where they'll teach&#160;</a></p>
<p>Lessem was Jose’s adviser when he was a student at Rauner. He’s the most veteran teacher here. A picture of the two at Denison’s graduation last May flashes on a screen behind them. Lessem tells Jose what he’s heard now from lots of other teachers.</p>
<p>“The only reason you survive your first year of teaching is you have no idea how hard it’s going to be until you’re already in the middle of it,” Lessem says.&#160; “Because if anybody really told you, you probably wouldn’t sign up for it.”</p>
<p>Lessem cautions that teaching is never easy. If it feels that way, it’s probably time for Jose to find something else to do.</p>
<p>“It’s always about getting better,” Lessem says. “I did the best I could for Jose, but I’m a much better teacher now, and I hope I’m a much better teacher in three and five and 10 years. The thing about teaching is you never feel like you nail it.”</p>
<p>Jose never wanted to be a teacher.&#160;But he says he signed up to come back&#160;to teach because of what the school did for him. Tonight is a reminder of all that.</p>
<p>“It reminds me that I’m not here for me,” he says, choking back tears. “It's just… it's emotional… it's emotional because… it's about them, and their families.”</p>
<p>Walking away now would be the wrong thing to do, Jose says. He says this week he gave the sophomore students an end of the year survey and he was surprised by how many students wrote that they liked that, “Mr. Garcia didn’t give up on me.”</p>
<p>“I didn’t know the students were noticing,” Jose says, before being interrupted by a senior, who wanted to introduce him to her mom.</p>
<p>The school's principal, Mindy Sjoblom, says this is the moment when a teacher becomes a teacher.</p>
<p>“For some people, they set out do it and then they’re like, ‘Man, this is so hard’ and ‘Whoa, I don’t think I should be teaching,’” she says, noting that a few people she recruited for the program for new teachers had dropped out.&#160;</p>
<p>“It’s good for them to make that choice now. For most people, though, I think when you’re good at working with kids that kind of connection helps drive you through that mess and muddling that you have to do to figure out what works for you.”</p>
<p>Related:&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Training</a> <a href="" type="internal" /> <a href="" type="internal">America's</a> <a href="" type="internal" /> <a href="" type="internal">next</a> <a href="" type="internal" /> <a href="" type="internal">teachers</a> <a href="" type="internal">:</a> <a href="" type="internal">A&#160;rookie teacher resists the urge to throw in the towel</a></p>
<p>Jose is still figuring out what works for him. It’s mid-June and the students have left for the summer, but there are still stacks of papers all over Jose’s desk and big cardboard boxes at the back of room 205, where he taught sophomore English since February.</p>
<p>He unexpectedly took responsibility for about 70 students and did the best he could. But he wasn’t sure if he was the best teacher for them.</p>
<p>“When I saw their scores… I was mad because we went over this so many times in class, “ Jose says. “Maybe I was a little too confident.”</p>
<p>Jose says he learned a lot.</p>
<p>“Don’t assume they remember what you did a day ago,” he laughs.</p>
<p>However, when all the results of a final assessment of students&#160;come through, Jose's students have actually done better than he thought. Most students did improve since the mid-year test.</p>
<p>But he’s now hyper-aware of those tests. Next year, Jose’s graduate school&#160;will require him to prove his students learned with him as their teacher. Noble and school districts all over the country use student test scores to measure teachers.</p>
<p>“I think tests are not an accurate reflection of what students know,” &#160;jose&#160;says. “But I mean, that’s the game we have to play it. If students want to get into college they have to get a good ACT score, this is the game that we have to play. So I think I’m kind of learning how to play the game.”</p>
<p>Sjoblom says Jose wasn’t the only teacher-in-training who was disappointed with his student’s test scores. She’s taking a closer look at it for next year, because ultimately, the whole point of&#160;training their own teachers is to get more great teachers in front of students.</p>
<p>Related:&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Global Nation Education</a></p>
<p>She says there are a lot of complicating factors for the first year because most of the prospective new teachers&#160;were not in full-time teaching jobs. Jose was in a weird situation. But she does believe he became a better teacher by having his own class.</p>
<p>“He wouldn’t have felt bad about those scores if he didn’t own it,” she says.</p>
<p>Jose says he’s not sure how long he’ll stay in teaching. He says teachers in Chicago fight an uphill battle and can only fight for so long. Plus, he’d like to work at a place like Denison someday, helping first generation college students adjust to campus life.</p>
<p>But this fall, Jose has been&#160;teaching two different classes. It’s a job that he feels fits with the whole reason he came back — college counseling a group of seniors for 90 minutes every day and teaching two sections of a brand new class to freshmen and sophomore students. It’s called Identity and Justice Studies.</p>
<p>“We have to decorate a little bit more,” he says, opening the door to room 300. “I was thinking, Sunday night, when I was cleaning my room [at home], I stumbled on my diploma frame from Denison. It’s still in the box and, I thought, maybe I would hang it in the classroom.”</p>
<p>This <a href="http://www.wbez.org/news/education-jose-garcia-part-3-112944" type="external">story</a> is part of a series originally published by <a href="http://www.wbez.org" type="external">WBEZ</a>. Reporter Becky Vevea spent the last year following Jose Garcia&#160;in his first year as a teacher. Read parts <a href="" type="internal">one</a> and <a href="" type="internal">two</a>.</p>
<p>Share your thoughts and ideas on Facebook at our&#160; <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/globalnation/" type="external">Global Nation Exchange</a>, on Twitter&#160; <a href="https://twitter.com/globalnation" type="external">@globalnation</a>, or contact us&#160; <a href="" type="internal">here</a>. Is there a question you wanted answered in this story? Let reporter <a href="https://twitter.com/WBEZeducation" type="external">Becky&#160;Vevea</a>&#160;know.&#160;</p> | 3,417 |
<p>New reports are surfacing that former FreedomWorks Chairman Dick Armey attempted a power grab of the tea party organization before he left it. According to The Washington Post, the former House majority leader staged the “coup” in September, bringing along his wife and an aide who had a handgun holstered at his waist into the group’s Capitol Hill office. The goal: oust Armey’s enemies and retake control of FreedomWorks.</p>
<p>The Washington Post:</p>
<p>The gun-wielding assistant escorted FreedomWorks’ top two employees off the premises, while Armey suspended several others who broke down in sobs at the news.</p>
<p>The coup lasted all of six days. By Sept. 10, Armey was gone — with a promise of $8 million — and the five ousted employees were back. The force behind their return was Richard J. Stephenson, a reclusive Illinois millionaire who has exerted increasing control over one of Washington’s most influential conservative grass-roots organizations.</p>
<p />
<p>…FreedomWorks has been on a remarkable run in recent election cycles, growing its annual budget from $7 million to $40 million in just a few years and helping lead the tea party movement against Obama’s agenda. The group was among several that rose up last week in opposition to a failed proposal from House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) to raise federal taxes on millionaires.</p>
<p>The group played a crucial role in ushering a wave of tea party candidates into office in recent years, staging rallies, hawking books and videos, and organizing media appearances with conservative personalities such as Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/freedomworks-tea-party-group-nearly-falls-apart-in-fight-between-old-and-new-guard/2012/12/25/dd095b68-4545-11e2-8061-253bccfc7532_story.html" type="external">Read more</a></p>
<p>— Posted by <a href="" type="internal">Tracy Bloom</a>.</p> | The Time Dick Armey Attempted an Armed Coup of Tea Party Group | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/the-time-dick-armey-attempted-an-armed-coup-of-tea-party-group/ | 2012-12-27 | 4left
| The Time Dick Armey Attempted an Armed Coup of Tea Party Group
<p>New reports are surfacing that former FreedomWorks Chairman Dick Armey attempted a power grab of the tea party organization before he left it. According to The Washington Post, the former House majority leader staged the “coup” in September, bringing along his wife and an aide who had a handgun holstered at his waist into the group’s Capitol Hill office. The goal: oust Armey’s enemies and retake control of FreedomWorks.</p>
<p>The Washington Post:</p>
<p>The gun-wielding assistant escorted FreedomWorks’ top two employees off the premises, while Armey suspended several others who broke down in sobs at the news.</p>
<p>The coup lasted all of six days. By Sept. 10, Armey was gone — with a promise of $8 million — and the five ousted employees were back. The force behind their return was Richard J. Stephenson, a reclusive Illinois millionaire who has exerted increasing control over one of Washington’s most influential conservative grass-roots organizations.</p>
<p />
<p>…FreedomWorks has been on a remarkable run in recent election cycles, growing its annual budget from $7 million to $40 million in just a few years and helping lead the tea party movement against Obama’s agenda. The group was among several that rose up last week in opposition to a failed proposal from House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) to raise federal taxes on millionaires.</p>
<p>The group played a crucial role in ushering a wave of tea party candidates into office in recent years, staging rallies, hawking books and videos, and organizing media appearances with conservative personalities such as Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/freedomworks-tea-party-group-nearly-falls-apart-in-fight-between-old-and-new-guard/2012/12/25/dd095b68-4545-11e2-8061-253bccfc7532_story.html" type="external">Read more</a></p>
<p>— Posted by <a href="" type="internal">Tracy Bloom</a>.</p> | 3,418 |
<p>FULLERTON, Calif. (AP) — Kyle Allman scored 27 points and Khalil Ahmad added 25 with seven boards as Cal State Fullerton notched its fourth-straight win, beating UC Davis 85-70 on Saturday night.</p>
<p>Jackson Rowe chipped in 10 points and six rebounds for the Titans (11-5, 4-0 Big West) who were 10 of 20 from 3-point range.</p>
<p>Allman, Ahmad and Rowe each drained two 3-pointers in the game's first eight minutes, helping to give the Titans a 26-16 advantage with 11:51 left in the half and they built it into a 48-37 lead at the break.</p>
<p>Allman made a dunk and a 3-pointer and Ahmad followed with another 3 early in the second half to push it to 56-41 with 15:37 to play. Arkim Robertson's layup made it 69-49 with 9:30 left and the Titans cruised from there.</p>
<p>Chima Moneke scored a career-best 29 points with 12 rebounds to lead the Aggies (11-6, 2-1). The only other player to score in double figures for UC Davis was TJ Shorts with 13 points.</p>
<p>FULLERTON, Calif. (AP) — Kyle Allman scored 27 points and Khalil Ahmad added 25 with seven boards as Cal State Fullerton notched its fourth-straight win, beating UC Davis 85-70 on Saturday night.</p>
<p>Jackson Rowe chipped in 10 points and six rebounds for the Titans (11-5, 4-0 Big West) who were 10 of 20 from 3-point range.</p>
<p>Allman, Ahmad and Rowe each drained two 3-pointers in the game's first eight minutes, helping to give the Titans a 26-16 advantage with 11:51 left in the half and they built it into a 48-37 lead at the break.</p>
<p>Allman made a dunk and a 3-pointer and Ahmad followed with another 3 early in the second half to push it to 56-41 with 15:37 to play. Arkim Robertson's layup made it 69-49 with 9:30 left and the Titans cruised from there.</p>
<p>Chima Moneke scored a career-best 29 points with 12 rebounds to lead the Aggies (11-6, 2-1). The only other player to score in double figures for UC Davis was TJ Shorts with 13 points.</p> | CS Fullerton cruises to 85-70 win over UC Davis | false | https://apnews.com/amp/371b9db42ea1413587408aad5f39aa39 | 2018-01-14 | 2least
| CS Fullerton cruises to 85-70 win over UC Davis
<p>FULLERTON, Calif. (AP) — Kyle Allman scored 27 points and Khalil Ahmad added 25 with seven boards as Cal State Fullerton notched its fourth-straight win, beating UC Davis 85-70 on Saturday night.</p>
<p>Jackson Rowe chipped in 10 points and six rebounds for the Titans (11-5, 4-0 Big West) who were 10 of 20 from 3-point range.</p>
<p>Allman, Ahmad and Rowe each drained two 3-pointers in the game's first eight minutes, helping to give the Titans a 26-16 advantage with 11:51 left in the half and they built it into a 48-37 lead at the break.</p>
<p>Allman made a dunk and a 3-pointer and Ahmad followed with another 3 early in the second half to push it to 56-41 with 15:37 to play. Arkim Robertson's layup made it 69-49 with 9:30 left and the Titans cruised from there.</p>
<p>Chima Moneke scored a career-best 29 points with 12 rebounds to lead the Aggies (11-6, 2-1). The only other player to score in double figures for UC Davis was TJ Shorts with 13 points.</p>
<p>FULLERTON, Calif. (AP) — Kyle Allman scored 27 points and Khalil Ahmad added 25 with seven boards as Cal State Fullerton notched its fourth-straight win, beating UC Davis 85-70 on Saturday night.</p>
<p>Jackson Rowe chipped in 10 points and six rebounds for the Titans (11-5, 4-0 Big West) who were 10 of 20 from 3-point range.</p>
<p>Allman, Ahmad and Rowe each drained two 3-pointers in the game's first eight minutes, helping to give the Titans a 26-16 advantage with 11:51 left in the half and they built it into a 48-37 lead at the break.</p>
<p>Allman made a dunk and a 3-pointer and Ahmad followed with another 3 early in the second half to push it to 56-41 with 15:37 to play. Arkim Robertson's layup made it 69-49 with 9:30 left and the Titans cruised from there.</p>
<p>Chima Moneke scored a career-best 29 points with 12 rebounds to lead the Aggies (11-6, 2-1). The only other player to score in double figures for UC Davis was TJ Shorts with 13 points.</p> | 3,419 |
<p>Many fear that Iraq is dangerously close to an all-out sectarian civil war.</p>
<p>That's because the militants from the group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, are Sunni Muslims, while&#160;the Iraqi army and government are dominated by Shiite Muslims. The ISIS militants have successfully taken large&#160;areas of northern and western Iraq, where the population is predominantly Sunni like them.&#160;</p>
<p>So far, the ISIS jihadists have focused most of their violence against Iraqi Shiites. And that puts&#160;Iraq's minority Sunni Muslims in a difficult position, says&#160;Fareed Sabri of the London-based Cordoba Foundation. “Many people are very afraid and apprehensive.”</p>
<p>Sunnis in Iraq fear reprisals against them by the Iraqi government and army, says Sabri,&#160;who is&#160;himself a member of the Sunni-dominated Iraqi Islamic Party.&#160;The Sunni community, he says, has been politically marginalized by the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.</p>
<p>“This is a real irony — when people see ISIS as less harmful than the government,” he notes.</p>
<p>“Nobody supports ISIS, because people know it's a murderous organization,” Sabri says, but Sunnis do compare ISIS to the government in Baghdad. “And they see that the government has [perpetrated] heinous crimes.”</p>
<p>ISIS is boasting about executing hundreds of mainly Shiite members of Iraq's security forces captured in recent days. Many Sunnis find it difficult to conjure up much sympathy for the government forces, says Sabri, because of the way those same security forces have conducted themselves in Sunni areas over the last several years.</p>
<p>Sabri claims the government of Prime Minister al-Maliki is guilty of arbitrary detentions and abuse of Sunni prisoners. Independent reports from human rights groups like <a href="http://www.amnestyusa.org/research/reports/annual-report-iraq-2013" type="external">Amnesty Interational</a>&#160;back up some of those claims.</p>
<p>If the international community wants to help pull Iraq back from the brink of sectarian civil war, Sabri says, the US and European governments need to open a direct dialogue with political leaders on the ground in Iraq.&#160;“Not ISIS,” Sabri says, "but tribal groups who have a lot of grievances with ISIS itself. There is a kind of truce between ISIS and other groups on the ground, but this will not continue.”</p>
<p>If outside powers don't bring all of the country's factions into the process, Sabri says, Iraq could head down the road of becoming a failed state, much like Syria next door.</p> | Sunni Muslims in Iraq are caught between violent militants and violent government troops | false | https://pri.org/stories/2014-06-16/sunni-muslims-iraq-are-caught-between-violent-militants-and-violent-government | 2014-06-17 | 3left-center
| Sunni Muslims in Iraq are caught between violent militants and violent government troops
<p>Many fear that Iraq is dangerously close to an all-out sectarian civil war.</p>
<p>That's because the militants from the group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, are Sunni Muslims, while&#160;the Iraqi army and government are dominated by Shiite Muslims. The ISIS militants have successfully taken large&#160;areas of northern and western Iraq, where the population is predominantly Sunni like them.&#160;</p>
<p>So far, the ISIS jihadists have focused most of their violence against Iraqi Shiites. And that puts&#160;Iraq's minority Sunni Muslims in a difficult position, says&#160;Fareed Sabri of the London-based Cordoba Foundation. “Many people are very afraid and apprehensive.”</p>
<p>Sunnis in Iraq fear reprisals against them by the Iraqi government and army, says Sabri,&#160;who is&#160;himself a member of the Sunni-dominated Iraqi Islamic Party.&#160;The Sunni community, he says, has been politically marginalized by the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.</p>
<p>“This is a real irony — when people see ISIS as less harmful than the government,” he notes.</p>
<p>“Nobody supports ISIS, because people know it's a murderous organization,” Sabri says, but Sunnis do compare ISIS to the government in Baghdad. “And they see that the government has [perpetrated] heinous crimes.”</p>
<p>ISIS is boasting about executing hundreds of mainly Shiite members of Iraq's security forces captured in recent days. Many Sunnis find it difficult to conjure up much sympathy for the government forces, says Sabri, because of the way those same security forces have conducted themselves in Sunni areas over the last several years.</p>
<p>Sabri claims the government of Prime Minister al-Maliki is guilty of arbitrary detentions and abuse of Sunni prisoners. Independent reports from human rights groups like <a href="http://www.amnestyusa.org/research/reports/annual-report-iraq-2013" type="external">Amnesty Interational</a>&#160;back up some of those claims.</p>
<p>If the international community wants to help pull Iraq back from the brink of sectarian civil war, Sabri says, the US and European governments need to open a direct dialogue with political leaders on the ground in Iraq.&#160;“Not ISIS,” Sabri says, "but tribal groups who have a lot of grievances with ISIS itself. There is a kind of truce between ISIS and other groups on the ground, but this will not continue.”</p>
<p>If outside powers don't bring all of the country's factions into the process, Sabri says, Iraq could head down the road of becoming a failed state, much like Syria next door.</p> | 3,420 |
<p />
<p />
<p>Two boy scouts with a local Boy Scout troop have been pronounced dead. The two were aged 16 and 18, they were killed on Saturday when their sailboat hit a power line on an East Texas lake.</p>
<p>The third scout,11, was injured and is hospitalized from his injuries. The Scouts were sailing on Alley Creek at Lake O' The Pines near Avinger, Texas, when they lost control of their sailboat and hit a power transmission line.</p>
<p>The Scouts were from Boy Scout Troop 620 in Hallsville, Texas. After Texas Parks and Wildlife Game Wardens arrived, they found the Catamaran sailboat on fire. The 18-year-old was found dead onboard the boat and a 16-year old was found in the water.</p>
<p>The 11-year-old was pulled by rescuers onto another boat and started CPR until he could be taken from the scene to LSU Medical Center-Shreveport.</p>
<p>A statement was released by East Texas Area Council, BSA Scout Executive &amp; CEO Dewayne Stephens saying that the accident has caused an extremely difficult time for the Scouting family.</p>
<p>The statement said that the community was sad to confirm the deaths of two youth participants following a boating incident. Another boy has been airlifted to an area hospital after sustaining injuries.</p>
<p>Community members have set up a GoFundMe for the 11-year-old, who family members identified as Thomas Larry.</p>
<p>The mother of Thomas revealed that her son's lungs have not functioned on their own since the accident. He also received a blood transfusion at the hospital.</p>
<p>The KETK crews on scene say Upshur County Rural Electric Cooperative was on scene Sunday taking a look at the power line the boys hit. The Wildlife Department and Texas Parks is conducting the investigation.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://www.easttexasmatters.com/news/local-news/two-boy-scouts-killed-one-hospitalized-following-freak-accident-at-lake-o-the-pines/784099086" type="external">easttexasmatters.com/news/local-news/two-boy-scouts-killed-one-hospitalized-following-freak-accident-at-lake-o-the-pines/784099086</a></p> | Two East Texas Boy Scouts Killed at Lake O' the Pines | true | http://thegoldwater.com/news/6161-Two-East-Texas-Boy-Scouts-Killed-at-Lake-O-the-Pines | 2017-08-06 | 0right
| Two East Texas Boy Scouts Killed at Lake O' the Pines
<p />
<p />
<p>Two boy scouts with a local Boy Scout troop have been pronounced dead. The two were aged 16 and 18, they were killed on Saturday when their sailboat hit a power line on an East Texas lake.</p>
<p>The third scout,11, was injured and is hospitalized from his injuries. The Scouts were sailing on Alley Creek at Lake O' The Pines near Avinger, Texas, when they lost control of their sailboat and hit a power transmission line.</p>
<p>The Scouts were from Boy Scout Troop 620 in Hallsville, Texas. After Texas Parks and Wildlife Game Wardens arrived, they found the Catamaran sailboat on fire. The 18-year-old was found dead onboard the boat and a 16-year old was found in the water.</p>
<p>The 11-year-old was pulled by rescuers onto another boat and started CPR until he could be taken from the scene to LSU Medical Center-Shreveport.</p>
<p>A statement was released by East Texas Area Council, BSA Scout Executive &amp; CEO Dewayne Stephens saying that the accident has caused an extremely difficult time for the Scouting family.</p>
<p>The statement said that the community was sad to confirm the deaths of two youth participants following a boating incident. Another boy has been airlifted to an area hospital after sustaining injuries.</p>
<p>Community members have set up a GoFundMe for the 11-year-old, who family members identified as Thomas Larry.</p>
<p>The mother of Thomas revealed that her son's lungs have not functioned on their own since the accident. He also received a blood transfusion at the hospital.</p>
<p>The KETK crews on scene say Upshur County Rural Electric Cooperative was on scene Sunday taking a look at the power line the boys hit. The Wildlife Department and Texas Parks is conducting the investigation.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://www.easttexasmatters.com/news/local-news/two-boy-scouts-killed-one-hospitalized-following-freak-accident-at-lake-o-the-pines/784099086" type="external">easttexasmatters.com/news/local-news/two-boy-scouts-killed-one-hospitalized-following-freak-accident-at-lake-o-the-pines/784099086</a></p> | 3,421 |
<p>Happy Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride month everyone!&#160;Screw what the majority of the American population feels or thinks. By royal decree, the King has just announced that the month of June will be dedicated to celebrating&#160;the LBGT community. Here's King Obama's royal decree, which can be found on <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/05/31/presidential-proclamation-lgbt-pride-month-2016" type="external">Whitehouse.gov:</a></p>
<p />
<p>Since our founding, America has advanced on an unending path toward becoming a more perfect Union.&#160; This journey, led by forward-thinking individuals who have set their sights on reaching for a brighter tomorrow, has never been easy or smooth.&#160; The fight for dignity and equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people is reflected in the tireless dedication of advocates and allies who strive to forge a more inclusive society.&#160; They have spurred sweeping progress by changing hearts and minds and by demanding equal treatment - under our laws, from our courts, and in our politics.&#160; This month, we recognize all they have done to bring us to this point, and we recommit to bending the arc of our Nation toward justice.</p>
<p>Last year's landmark Supreme Court decision guaranteeing marriage equality in all 50 States was a historic victory for LGBT Americans, ensuring dignity for same-sex couples and greater equality across State lines.&#160; For every partnership that was not previously recognized under the law and for every American who was denied their basic civil rights, this monumental ruling instilled newfound hope, affirming the belief that we are all more free when we are treated as equals.</p>
<p>LGBT individuals deserve to know their country stands beside them.&#160; That is why my Administration is striving to better understand the needs of LGBT adults and to provide affordable, welcoming, and supportive housing to aging LGBT Americans.&#160; It is also why we oppose subjecting minors to the harmful practice of conversion therapy, and why we are continuing to promote equality and foster safe and supportive learning environments for all students.&#160; We remain committed to addressing health disparities in the LGBT community - gay and bisexual men and transgender women of color are at a particularly high risk for HIV, and we have worked to strengthen our National HIV/AIDS Strategy to reduce new infections, increase access to care, and improve health outcomes for people living with HIV.</p>
<p>Despite the extraordinary progress of the past few years, LGBT Americans still face discrimination simply for being who they are.&#160; I signed an Executive Order in 2014 that prohibits discrimination against Federal employees and contractors on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.&#160; I urge the Congress to enact legislation that builds upon the progress we have made, because no one should live in fear of losing their job simply because of who they are or who they love.&#160; And our commitment to combatting discrimination against the LGBT community does not stop at our borders:&#160; Advancing the fair&#160;treatment of all people has long been a cornerstone of American diplomacy, and we have made defending and promoting the human rights of LGBT individuals a priority in our engagement across the globe.&#160; In line with America's commitment to the notion that all people should be treated fairly and with respect, champions of this cause at home and abroad are upholding the simple truth that LGBT rights are human rights.</p>
<p>There remains much work to do to extend the promise of our country to every American, but because of the acts of courage of the millions who came out and spoke out to demand justice and of those who quietly toiled and pushed for progress, our Nation has made great strides in recognizing what these brave individuals long knew to be true in their hearts - that love is love and that no person should be judged by anything but the content of their character.&#160; During Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month, as Americans wave their flags of pride high and march boldly forward in parades and demonstrations, let us celebrate how far we have come and reaffirm our steadfast belief in the equal dignity of all Americans.</p>
<p>IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirty-first day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand sixteen, and of the Independence of the&#160;United States of America the two hundred and fortieth.</p>
<p>H/T [ <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/05/31/presidential-proclamation-lgbt-pride-month-2016" type="external">Whitehouse.gov</a>]</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/newsfury/" type="external">Like Us on Facebook</a></p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/americafyea/" type="external">Join Our Facebook Group</a></p>
<p /> | King Obama DEMANDS All Americans Celebrate Gay and Bisexual Sex For the Month Of June | true | http://fury.news/2016/06/king-obama-just-proclaimed-month-june-will-dedicated-celebrating-gay-sex/ | 2016-06-01 | 0right
| King Obama DEMANDS All Americans Celebrate Gay and Bisexual Sex For the Month Of June
<p>Happy Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride month everyone!&#160;Screw what the majority of the American population feels or thinks. By royal decree, the King has just announced that the month of June will be dedicated to celebrating&#160;the LBGT community. Here's King Obama's royal decree, which can be found on <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/05/31/presidential-proclamation-lgbt-pride-month-2016" type="external">Whitehouse.gov:</a></p>
<p />
<p>Since our founding, America has advanced on an unending path toward becoming a more perfect Union.&#160; This journey, led by forward-thinking individuals who have set their sights on reaching for a brighter tomorrow, has never been easy or smooth.&#160; The fight for dignity and equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people is reflected in the tireless dedication of advocates and allies who strive to forge a more inclusive society.&#160; They have spurred sweeping progress by changing hearts and minds and by demanding equal treatment - under our laws, from our courts, and in our politics.&#160; This month, we recognize all they have done to bring us to this point, and we recommit to bending the arc of our Nation toward justice.</p>
<p>Last year's landmark Supreme Court decision guaranteeing marriage equality in all 50 States was a historic victory for LGBT Americans, ensuring dignity for same-sex couples and greater equality across State lines.&#160; For every partnership that was not previously recognized under the law and for every American who was denied their basic civil rights, this monumental ruling instilled newfound hope, affirming the belief that we are all more free when we are treated as equals.</p>
<p>LGBT individuals deserve to know their country stands beside them.&#160; That is why my Administration is striving to better understand the needs of LGBT adults and to provide affordable, welcoming, and supportive housing to aging LGBT Americans.&#160; It is also why we oppose subjecting minors to the harmful practice of conversion therapy, and why we are continuing to promote equality and foster safe and supportive learning environments for all students.&#160; We remain committed to addressing health disparities in the LGBT community - gay and bisexual men and transgender women of color are at a particularly high risk for HIV, and we have worked to strengthen our National HIV/AIDS Strategy to reduce new infections, increase access to care, and improve health outcomes for people living with HIV.</p>
<p>Despite the extraordinary progress of the past few years, LGBT Americans still face discrimination simply for being who they are.&#160; I signed an Executive Order in 2014 that prohibits discrimination against Federal employees and contractors on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.&#160; I urge the Congress to enact legislation that builds upon the progress we have made, because no one should live in fear of losing their job simply because of who they are or who they love.&#160; And our commitment to combatting discrimination against the LGBT community does not stop at our borders:&#160; Advancing the fair&#160;treatment of all people has long been a cornerstone of American diplomacy, and we have made defending and promoting the human rights of LGBT individuals a priority in our engagement across the globe.&#160; In line with America's commitment to the notion that all people should be treated fairly and with respect, champions of this cause at home and abroad are upholding the simple truth that LGBT rights are human rights.</p>
<p>There remains much work to do to extend the promise of our country to every American, but because of the acts of courage of the millions who came out and spoke out to demand justice and of those who quietly toiled and pushed for progress, our Nation has made great strides in recognizing what these brave individuals long knew to be true in their hearts - that love is love and that no person should be judged by anything but the content of their character.&#160; During Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month, as Americans wave their flags of pride high and march boldly forward in parades and demonstrations, let us celebrate how far we have come and reaffirm our steadfast belief in the equal dignity of all Americans.</p>
<p>IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirty-first day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand sixteen, and of the Independence of the&#160;United States of America the two hundred and fortieth.</p>
<p>H/T [ <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/05/31/presidential-proclamation-lgbt-pride-month-2016" type="external">Whitehouse.gov</a>]</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/newsfury/" type="external">Like Us on Facebook</a></p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/americafyea/" type="external">Join Our Facebook Group</a></p>
<p /> | 3,422 |
<p>Editor’s note:&#160;To celebrate four decades of muckraking on issues of race and poverty, we kick off this 40th anniversary edition with a focus on four of The Chicago Reporter’s key beats–criminal justice, immigration, labor and housing.</p>
<p>The history behind each issue has had its own trajectory since the Reporter’s founding in 1972. To illustrate that, we sat down with prominent figures whose activism has made its mark in their respective fields and asked them to reflect on their experiences.</p>
<p>We are confident these retrospective articles provide a unique insight into what it’s been like to work “in the trenches” of the nation’s toughest social justice issues.&#160;</p>
<p>In 1981, then-President Ronald Reagan confronted nearly 13,000 striking members of the Professional Air Traffic Controller Organization in a way that no other president had ever done.</p>
<p>Unlike in the private sector, the government “cannot close down the assembly line,” Reagan told reporters on the first day of the strike. “It is for this reason that I must tell those who fail to report to work this morning they are in violation of the law and, if they don’t return to work within 48 hours, they have forfeited their jobs and will be terminated.”</p>
<p>Kim Bobo, a longtime Chicago labor activist, said the president’s stand was a turning point. “Reagan, at the highest level of the nation, said it is OK to permanently replace workers. It was just an opening of the flood gates in terms of replacing” workers, she said recently as she reflected on the labor movement’s history during the 40 years since the The Chicago Reporter launched.</p>
<p>Back then, Bobo was working as an organizer at Bread for the World, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that works to prevent world hunger. “I didn’t really understand how significant it was at the time,” she said. But she soon realized its implications as she began helping striking coal miners in West Virginia in the late ‘80s.</p>
<p>What Bobo has witnessed in the decades since is a fundamental shift in the American order: The era of Big Labor being supplanted by the era of efficiency and profit–a shift that’s marked by a steep decline in union membership and the power of collective bargaining.</p>
<p>But unions have been fighting back. In recent years, they have worked to bring the potent bloc of immigrant workers into the fold and adapted new organizing strategies to resist tidal waves of anti-union initiatives.</p>
<p>The numbers demonstrate their enduring influence: According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the wages for unionized workers in 2011 were about 28.7 percent higher than nonunionized workers. The median weekly wage of union members was $938, compared with $729 for nonunionized workers.</p>
<p>Fewer people, however, are sharing the spoils. Between 1973 and 2011, the proportion of the nation’s labor force represented by unions declined by more than half–from 26.7 percent to 13.1 percent, according a 2012 report by the Economic Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based nonpartisan economic research group.</p>
<p>One of the most glaring results is the widening gap between incomes of the working class and top earners. The Economic Policy Institute found that, between 1979 and 2007, annual earnings for the top 1 percent of taxpayers nationwide grew by 156 percent, while compensation for an average worker remained relatively stagnant.</p>
<p>“By and large, workers shared the prosperity in the 1970s,” Bobo said. “But in the last decade workers have not shared the prosperity.”</p>
<p>For labor activists like Bobo, their work has been about reversing this trend–often by filling the void created by the lack of union representation. “Initially, I thought I would be working directly with labor unions, and we have done a lot of that,” she said. “But it became clear that we had to do more.”</p>
<p>So, in 1991, she created the Chicago Interfaith Committee on Worker Issues, with a mission to engage the religious community on low-wage worker issues. Eleven years later, the nonprofit–now&#160; renamed Interfaith Worker Justice–established the Arise Chicago worker center, where workers learn about their rights and how to organize themselves against “wage theft.” In subsequent years, the group also helped start 27 other worker centers across the country.</p>
<p>But Bobo and her fellow labor activists are fighting dauntingly massive forces.</p>
<p>In recent decades, the acceleration of the global economy has led companies to outsource millions of jobs overseas in search of cheap labor. During the past decade alone, the United States has lost more than 2.1 million manufacturing jobs, according to the Economic Policy Institute report.</p>
<p>This shift, in turn, has undercut domestic workers’ wages and working conditions, as well as creating a strong disincentive to organize, Bobo said.</p>
<p>For unscrupulous employers, she said, the condition is ripe for abuse. “Companies have become global, and there’s a sense of no responsibility,” Bobo said.</p>
<p>Bobo cited a recent phenomenon: The rising popularity of staffing agencies, where companies can hire workers without having to worry about paying for medical insurance and other benefits. At some companies, these employees can end up becoming permanent temporary workers, she said.</p>
<p>“We’re seeing that kind of temporary work hours in huge numbers now–and in a way that makes employers feel like they don’t have responsibility for workers,” she said. “We didn’t see that kind before.”</p>
<p>A recent influx of millions of undocumented workers has had as much of an impact as the global economy. Initially, the unions’ reaction to this new population was hostile–seeing them as an unwanted force that drove down wages.</p>
<p>But some labor leaders like Andy Stern, who took the helm of the Service Employee International Union in 1996, recognized that labor abuse endured by immigrant workers was essentially the same quandary faced by unionized workers. So Stern, whom some observers call a “union maverick,” led the effort in organizing undocumented workers–even while others deemed it too risky.</p>
<p>The move was one of several new organizing approaches devised by a new crop of union leaders to reinvigorate the labor movement. Stern, in particular, was instrumental in injecting a political dimension into his union’s work, turning it into one of the most influential forces in the movement. By the time Stern stepped down in 2010, his union had doubled in size to 1.9 million members.</p>
<p>Yet anti-union initiatives continue.</p>
<p>In 2011, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker proposed a bill that he said would help close the state’s growing deficit. But critics pointed out that the legislation would also strip most state employees of any meaningful collective bargaining rights. Walker countered, saying that the state was facing a massive deficit, and state workers needed to share the pain of necessary austerity measures.</p>
<p>For labor leaders, Walker’s proposal was threatening the last bastion of union power. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the public sector has a union membership rate of 37 percent–five times higher than that in the private sector. Last year, for the first time in U.S. history, most union members worked in government jobs. “It has been a lot easier to organize in the public sector,” Bobo said. “This is why this attack on public sector workers we’ve seen in the last year and a half is so significant.”</p>
<p>In February 2011, more than 10,000 protesters flooded Wisconsin’s state capitol in Madison and tried to block Walker’s plan, but the governor persevered, and the Wisconsin Assembly approved the measure in March 2011.</p>
<p>Unions fought back by launching a recall election against Walker but lost that battle by a narrow margin.</p>
<p>Elsewhere in the country, however, unions have had better results.</p>
<p>“Issue 2,” pitched by Ohio Gov. John Kasich in 2010, would have restricted public workers’ collective bargaining rights in his state–much in the same way as in Wisconsin. But after vocal opposition from unions, voters eventually struck down the measure.</p>
<p>And in September, Chicago took center stage in the national debate when the Chicago Teachers Union’s bitter dispute with Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Chicago Public Schools officials triggered the first teacher’s strike in 25 years.</p>
<p>Bobo observed that, by and large, the strike was well received nationally. It’s a sign that bodes well for unions, she said. “The strike was widely supported by community members, especially public school parents–those most hurt by the strike,” she said.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">[email protected]</a></p> | Getting re-organized | false | http://chicagoreporter.com/getting-re-organized/ | 2012-01-01 | 3left-center
| Getting re-organized
<p>Editor’s note:&#160;To celebrate four decades of muckraking on issues of race and poverty, we kick off this 40th anniversary edition with a focus on four of The Chicago Reporter’s key beats–criminal justice, immigration, labor and housing.</p>
<p>The history behind each issue has had its own trajectory since the Reporter’s founding in 1972. To illustrate that, we sat down with prominent figures whose activism has made its mark in their respective fields and asked them to reflect on their experiences.</p>
<p>We are confident these retrospective articles provide a unique insight into what it’s been like to work “in the trenches” of the nation’s toughest social justice issues.&#160;</p>
<p>In 1981, then-President Ronald Reagan confronted nearly 13,000 striking members of the Professional Air Traffic Controller Organization in a way that no other president had ever done.</p>
<p>Unlike in the private sector, the government “cannot close down the assembly line,” Reagan told reporters on the first day of the strike. “It is for this reason that I must tell those who fail to report to work this morning they are in violation of the law and, if they don’t return to work within 48 hours, they have forfeited their jobs and will be terminated.”</p>
<p>Kim Bobo, a longtime Chicago labor activist, said the president’s stand was a turning point. “Reagan, at the highest level of the nation, said it is OK to permanently replace workers. It was just an opening of the flood gates in terms of replacing” workers, she said recently as she reflected on the labor movement’s history during the 40 years since the The Chicago Reporter launched.</p>
<p>Back then, Bobo was working as an organizer at Bread for the World, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that works to prevent world hunger. “I didn’t really understand how significant it was at the time,” she said. But she soon realized its implications as she began helping striking coal miners in West Virginia in the late ‘80s.</p>
<p>What Bobo has witnessed in the decades since is a fundamental shift in the American order: The era of Big Labor being supplanted by the era of efficiency and profit–a shift that’s marked by a steep decline in union membership and the power of collective bargaining.</p>
<p>But unions have been fighting back. In recent years, they have worked to bring the potent bloc of immigrant workers into the fold and adapted new organizing strategies to resist tidal waves of anti-union initiatives.</p>
<p>The numbers demonstrate their enduring influence: According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the wages for unionized workers in 2011 were about 28.7 percent higher than nonunionized workers. The median weekly wage of union members was $938, compared with $729 for nonunionized workers.</p>
<p>Fewer people, however, are sharing the spoils. Between 1973 and 2011, the proportion of the nation’s labor force represented by unions declined by more than half–from 26.7 percent to 13.1 percent, according a 2012 report by the Economic Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based nonpartisan economic research group.</p>
<p>One of the most glaring results is the widening gap between incomes of the working class and top earners. The Economic Policy Institute found that, between 1979 and 2007, annual earnings for the top 1 percent of taxpayers nationwide grew by 156 percent, while compensation for an average worker remained relatively stagnant.</p>
<p>“By and large, workers shared the prosperity in the 1970s,” Bobo said. “But in the last decade workers have not shared the prosperity.”</p>
<p>For labor activists like Bobo, their work has been about reversing this trend–often by filling the void created by the lack of union representation. “Initially, I thought I would be working directly with labor unions, and we have done a lot of that,” she said. “But it became clear that we had to do more.”</p>
<p>So, in 1991, she created the Chicago Interfaith Committee on Worker Issues, with a mission to engage the religious community on low-wage worker issues. Eleven years later, the nonprofit–now&#160; renamed Interfaith Worker Justice–established the Arise Chicago worker center, where workers learn about their rights and how to organize themselves against “wage theft.” In subsequent years, the group also helped start 27 other worker centers across the country.</p>
<p>But Bobo and her fellow labor activists are fighting dauntingly massive forces.</p>
<p>In recent decades, the acceleration of the global economy has led companies to outsource millions of jobs overseas in search of cheap labor. During the past decade alone, the United States has lost more than 2.1 million manufacturing jobs, according to the Economic Policy Institute report.</p>
<p>This shift, in turn, has undercut domestic workers’ wages and working conditions, as well as creating a strong disincentive to organize, Bobo said.</p>
<p>For unscrupulous employers, she said, the condition is ripe for abuse. “Companies have become global, and there’s a sense of no responsibility,” Bobo said.</p>
<p>Bobo cited a recent phenomenon: The rising popularity of staffing agencies, where companies can hire workers without having to worry about paying for medical insurance and other benefits. At some companies, these employees can end up becoming permanent temporary workers, she said.</p>
<p>“We’re seeing that kind of temporary work hours in huge numbers now–and in a way that makes employers feel like they don’t have responsibility for workers,” she said. “We didn’t see that kind before.”</p>
<p>A recent influx of millions of undocumented workers has had as much of an impact as the global economy. Initially, the unions’ reaction to this new population was hostile–seeing them as an unwanted force that drove down wages.</p>
<p>But some labor leaders like Andy Stern, who took the helm of the Service Employee International Union in 1996, recognized that labor abuse endured by immigrant workers was essentially the same quandary faced by unionized workers. So Stern, whom some observers call a “union maverick,” led the effort in organizing undocumented workers–even while others deemed it too risky.</p>
<p>The move was one of several new organizing approaches devised by a new crop of union leaders to reinvigorate the labor movement. Stern, in particular, was instrumental in injecting a political dimension into his union’s work, turning it into one of the most influential forces in the movement. By the time Stern stepped down in 2010, his union had doubled in size to 1.9 million members.</p>
<p>Yet anti-union initiatives continue.</p>
<p>In 2011, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker proposed a bill that he said would help close the state’s growing deficit. But critics pointed out that the legislation would also strip most state employees of any meaningful collective bargaining rights. Walker countered, saying that the state was facing a massive deficit, and state workers needed to share the pain of necessary austerity measures.</p>
<p>For labor leaders, Walker’s proposal was threatening the last bastion of union power. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the public sector has a union membership rate of 37 percent–five times higher than that in the private sector. Last year, for the first time in U.S. history, most union members worked in government jobs. “It has been a lot easier to organize in the public sector,” Bobo said. “This is why this attack on public sector workers we’ve seen in the last year and a half is so significant.”</p>
<p>In February 2011, more than 10,000 protesters flooded Wisconsin’s state capitol in Madison and tried to block Walker’s plan, but the governor persevered, and the Wisconsin Assembly approved the measure in March 2011.</p>
<p>Unions fought back by launching a recall election against Walker but lost that battle by a narrow margin.</p>
<p>Elsewhere in the country, however, unions have had better results.</p>
<p>“Issue 2,” pitched by Ohio Gov. John Kasich in 2010, would have restricted public workers’ collective bargaining rights in his state–much in the same way as in Wisconsin. But after vocal opposition from unions, voters eventually struck down the measure.</p>
<p>And in September, Chicago took center stage in the national debate when the Chicago Teachers Union’s bitter dispute with Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Chicago Public Schools officials triggered the first teacher’s strike in 25 years.</p>
<p>Bobo observed that, by and large, the strike was well received nationally. It’s a sign that bodes well for unions, she said. “The strike was widely supported by community members, especially public school parents–those most hurt by the strike,” she said.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">[email protected]</a></p> | 3,423 |
<p>Asia-Pacific equities experienced fresh selling Wednesday following modest overnight declines in Europe and the U.S., as commodity prices added to ongoing softness.</p>
<p>Tech stocks were key to Tuesday's weakness in Asia and the up-to-3% overnight slide in metals prices added to pressure on Wednesday.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The Nikkei ended morning trading down 0.9% Wednesday, just off session lows, on weakness in commodity stocks and yen gains. The U.S. dollar fell to Yen112.40 from Yen112.60 earlier.</p>
<p>The Topix mining subindex finished the early session down 1.5%, while the iron and steel group dropped 1.2%.</p>
<p>Old-economy stocks also lagged in China, where the Shanghai Composite fell 0.7%. The Shenzhen Composite, which has a greater tech profile, was 0.2% lower.</p>
<p>Australia's S&amp;P/ASX 200 fell 0.3% despite roughly 2% declines for big miners Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton. The country's big banks rebounded about 0.5% as the local dollar slid to its lowest level of the week following lower-than-expected economic growth for the third quarter.</p>
<p>Broadly speaking, "we are starting to see a little bit of diversification outside of the highly concentrated names" as the year draws to an end, said Paul Kitney, chief equity strategist for Asia Pacific at Daiwa Capital Markets.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>He said the recent pullback in some hot areas, notably tech, was healthy and it isn't a sign that things have changed fundamentally. "The mind-set now is so used to low volatility that a healthy correction of 2% to 3% is making people talk about it."</p>
<p>But the tech sector isn't out of the woods. In Tokyo, Apple vendor Alps Electric fell 2%. Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Taiex index in Taiwan dropped 1.1% to near three-month lows and Korea's Kospi declined 0.5%.</p>
<p>Some tech companies were lower in Hong Kong, with AAC Technologies Holdings and Sunny Optical Technology Group skidding 3% and 7%, respectively.</p>
<p>But Tencent Holdings was up slightly after a substantial pullback over the past two weeks. And Geely Automobile Holdings slid 7%. The Hang Seng Index was recently down 1.4%.</p>
<p>Following tech-driven stock gains this year, investors have become skittish about tax implications from U.S. legislation, said Douglas Morton, head of research for Asia at Northern Trust Capital Markets. But "little has changed fundamentally in our opinion."</p>
<p>Still, there has been caution this week as Republicans continue work on the tax policy.</p>
<p>Elsewhere, oil futures were down nearly 0.5% in Asia and the U.S. gasoline benchmark fell 1% after an industry group said inventories jumped in America last week.</p>
<p>Write to Kenan Machado at [email protected]</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>December 05, 2017 22:28 ET (03:28 GMT)</p> | Major Asia-Pacific Equity Markets Are Slightly Lower -- Update | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/12/05/major-asia-pacific-equity-markets-are-slightly-lower-update.html | 2017-12-05 | 0right
| Major Asia-Pacific Equity Markets Are Slightly Lower -- Update
<p>Asia-Pacific equities experienced fresh selling Wednesday following modest overnight declines in Europe and the U.S., as commodity prices added to ongoing softness.</p>
<p>Tech stocks were key to Tuesday's weakness in Asia and the up-to-3% overnight slide in metals prices added to pressure on Wednesday.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The Nikkei ended morning trading down 0.9% Wednesday, just off session lows, on weakness in commodity stocks and yen gains. The U.S. dollar fell to Yen112.40 from Yen112.60 earlier.</p>
<p>The Topix mining subindex finished the early session down 1.5%, while the iron and steel group dropped 1.2%.</p>
<p>Old-economy stocks also lagged in China, where the Shanghai Composite fell 0.7%. The Shenzhen Composite, which has a greater tech profile, was 0.2% lower.</p>
<p>Australia's S&amp;P/ASX 200 fell 0.3% despite roughly 2% declines for big miners Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton. The country's big banks rebounded about 0.5% as the local dollar slid to its lowest level of the week following lower-than-expected economic growth for the third quarter.</p>
<p>Broadly speaking, "we are starting to see a little bit of diversification outside of the highly concentrated names" as the year draws to an end, said Paul Kitney, chief equity strategist for Asia Pacific at Daiwa Capital Markets.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>He said the recent pullback in some hot areas, notably tech, was healthy and it isn't a sign that things have changed fundamentally. "The mind-set now is so used to low volatility that a healthy correction of 2% to 3% is making people talk about it."</p>
<p>But the tech sector isn't out of the woods. In Tokyo, Apple vendor Alps Electric fell 2%. Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Taiex index in Taiwan dropped 1.1% to near three-month lows and Korea's Kospi declined 0.5%.</p>
<p>Some tech companies were lower in Hong Kong, with AAC Technologies Holdings and Sunny Optical Technology Group skidding 3% and 7%, respectively.</p>
<p>But Tencent Holdings was up slightly after a substantial pullback over the past two weeks. And Geely Automobile Holdings slid 7%. The Hang Seng Index was recently down 1.4%.</p>
<p>Following tech-driven stock gains this year, investors have become skittish about tax implications from U.S. legislation, said Douglas Morton, head of research for Asia at Northern Trust Capital Markets. But "little has changed fundamentally in our opinion."</p>
<p>Still, there has been caution this week as Republicans continue work on the tax policy.</p>
<p>Elsewhere, oil futures were down nearly 0.5% in Asia and the U.S. gasoline benchmark fell 1% after an industry group said inventories jumped in America last week.</p>
<p>Write to Kenan Machado at [email protected]</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>December 05, 2017 22:28 ET (03:28 GMT)</p> | 3,424 |
<p>At the unveiling of her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, actress Gillian Anderson said she’s fully behind an Oprah Winfrey presidential run, saying it would be “extraordinary.” (Jan. 9)</p>
<p>At the unveiling of her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, actress Gillian Anderson said she’s fully behind an Oprah Winfrey presidential run, saying it would be “extraordinary.” (Jan. 9)</p> | Gillian Anderson: ‘President Oprah has my vote’ | false | https://apnews.com/aef7c9c740ba40158ef7cbd1f443b427 | 2018-01-09 | 2least
| Gillian Anderson: ‘President Oprah has my vote’
<p>At the unveiling of her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, actress Gillian Anderson said she’s fully behind an Oprah Winfrey presidential run, saying it would be “extraordinary.” (Jan. 9)</p>
<p>At the unveiling of her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, actress Gillian Anderson said she’s fully behind an Oprah Winfrey presidential run, saying it would be “extraordinary.” (Jan. 9)</p> | 3,425 |
<p>Aug. 8 (UPI) — The U.S. <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Marine_Corps/" type="external">Marine Corps</a> has identified three soldiers who were killed over the weekend after their helicopter went down off the east Australian coast.</p>
<p>The Marines were riding in an Osprey MV-22 helicopter when it crashed <a href="https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2017/08/06/Search-suspended-for-3-US-Marines-missing-off-Australia/1271502021217/" type="external">during military exercises</a> at the Shoalwater Bay Training Area in Queensland Saturday.</p>
<p>The three missing Marines <a href="http://www.marines.mil/News/Press-Releases/Press-Release-Display/Article/1271084/marine-corps-identifies-names-of-deceased-marines-in-mv-22-osprey-mishap/" type="external">were declared dead</a> Monday by the Department of Defense.</p>
<p>Twenty-three others aboard the chopper were rescued, and the aircraft was found Monday by the Australian Navy. They were all members of the USMC’s 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit.</p>
<p>The dead soldiers were identified as 1st Lt. Benjamin R. Cross, 26, of Oxford, Maine; Cpl. Nathaniel F. Ordway, 21, of Sedgwick, Kan., and Pfc. Ruben P. Velasco, 19, of Los Angeles. <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/07/politics/australia-us-aircraft/index.html" type="external">Their bodies</a> have not been recovered, spokeswoman Lt. Christina Metzler said.</p>
<p>“The loss of every Marine is felt across our entire Marine Corps family. To the families of the brave Marines we lost — there is no way for us to understand what you are going through,” USMC Col. Tye R. Wallace said in a statement. “What we do know is that your Marines left a lasting impression on the 31st MEU, the Marine Corps, and the world.</p>
<p>“They will live on forever in our thoughts and our hearts. You will always be a part of the Marine Corps family, and you will remain in our prayers.”</p>
<p>The helicopter took off from the USS <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Bonhomme_Richard/" type="external">Bonhomme Richard</a>, a Navy amphibious assault ship before it fell into the water. The military training exercises involved more than 30,000 U.S. and Australian personnel.</p> | Pentagon identifies Marines killed in chopper crash off Australia | false | https://newsline.com/pentagon-identifies-marines-killed-in-chopper-crash-off-australia/ | 2017-08-08 | 1right-center
| Pentagon identifies Marines killed in chopper crash off Australia
<p>Aug. 8 (UPI) — The U.S. <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Marine_Corps/" type="external">Marine Corps</a> has identified three soldiers who were killed over the weekend after their helicopter went down off the east Australian coast.</p>
<p>The Marines were riding in an Osprey MV-22 helicopter when it crashed <a href="https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2017/08/06/Search-suspended-for-3-US-Marines-missing-off-Australia/1271502021217/" type="external">during military exercises</a> at the Shoalwater Bay Training Area in Queensland Saturday.</p>
<p>The three missing Marines <a href="http://www.marines.mil/News/Press-Releases/Press-Release-Display/Article/1271084/marine-corps-identifies-names-of-deceased-marines-in-mv-22-osprey-mishap/" type="external">were declared dead</a> Monday by the Department of Defense.</p>
<p>Twenty-three others aboard the chopper were rescued, and the aircraft was found Monday by the Australian Navy. They were all members of the USMC’s 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit.</p>
<p>The dead soldiers were identified as 1st Lt. Benjamin R. Cross, 26, of Oxford, Maine; Cpl. Nathaniel F. Ordway, 21, of Sedgwick, Kan., and Pfc. Ruben P. Velasco, 19, of Los Angeles. <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/07/politics/australia-us-aircraft/index.html" type="external">Their bodies</a> have not been recovered, spokeswoman Lt. Christina Metzler said.</p>
<p>“The loss of every Marine is felt across our entire Marine Corps family. To the families of the brave Marines we lost — there is no way for us to understand what you are going through,” USMC Col. Tye R. Wallace said in a statement. “What we do know is that your Marines left a lasting impression on the 31st MEU, the Marine Corps, and the world.</p>
<p>“They will live on forever in our thoughts and our hearts. You will always be a part of the Marine Corps family, and you will remain in our prayers.”</p>
<p>The helicopter took off from the USS <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Bonhomme_Richard/" type="external">Bonhomme Richard</a>, a Navy amphibious assault ship before it fell into the water. The military training exercises involved more than 30,000 U.S. and Australian personnel.</p> | 3,426 |
<p>State senators in North Carolina passed a measure Tuesday in open defiance of the laws of nature, making it illegal to take into account events such as melting polar ice caps when forecasting the rate of ocean level rise along the state’s 300 miles of vulnerable, tourist-saturated coast.</p>
<p>ScienceInsider:</p>
<p>The bill, HB 819, requires North Carolina’s Coastal Resources Commission, which sets rules and policies for coastal development and grants permits, to base predictions of future sea level rise along the state’s coast on a steady, linear rate of increase. Opponents say that would prevent the commission from considering events, such as melting of polar ice caps caused by increased global temperatures, which might accelerate the rate at which seas are expected to rise.</p>
<p>The bill’s supporters, however, worry about the money it would take to plan for accelerated sea level rise, and that any predicted acceleration is based on flimsy data. They brush aside the fact that most scientists agree that rising seas will accelerate. “Science, according to [the science fiction author] Michael Crichton, is not about agreement, it’s about facts,” says Tom Thompson, chair of NC-20, a nonprofit advocacy group comprised of representatives from local businesses and governments as well as private citizens. “[And] there is no record of acceleration anywhere in the world that we know of.”</p>
<p />
<p><a href="http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2012/06/legislating-sea-level-rise.html?ref=hp" type="external">Read more</a></p>
<p>The 34 legislators who voted for the law allege the government’s acceptance of high sea level predictions would scare investors away from coastal development projects and harm the region’s economy.</p>
<p>In the short term, perhaps. But the hubris of such a bid will likely have <a href="http://blogs.redding.com/dcraig/archives/2012/06/sea-level-rise.html" type="external">disastrous consequences</a> for those living along the coast in the decades ahead. While North Carolina prepares for a sea level rise of a little over half a foot by the century’s end, Maine is getting ready for a wall of water at least 78 inches high. Delaware is planning for a 58-inch rise while Louisiana mounts a defense against a 39-inch one.</p>
<p>“Canst thou draw out leviathan with a hook?” asked the author of the Book of Job in the Hebrew Bible, acknowledging the absolute tyranny of nature over all men, including those foolish enough to think that they can ignore it.</p>
<p>— Posted by <a href="" type="internal">Alexander Reed Kelly</a></p>
<p>Also see <a href="" type="internal">Stephen Colbert’s take</a> on the law when the North Carolina House passed the legislation last week.</p> | North Carolina Lawmakers Legislate Sea Level Rise | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/north-carolina-lawmakers-legislate-sea-level-rise/ | 2012-06-13 | 4left
| North Carolina Lawmakers Legislate Sea Level Rise
<p>State senators in North Carolina passed a measure Tuesday in open defiance of the laws of nature, making it illegal to take into account events such as melting polar ice caps when forecasting the rate of ocean level rise along the state’s 300 miles of vulnerable, tourist-saturated coast.</p>
<p>ScienceInsider:</p>
<p>The bill, HB 819, requires North Carolina’s Coastal Resources Commission, which sets rules and policies for coastal development and grants permits, to base predictions of future sea level rise along the state’s coast on a steady, linear rate of increase. Opponents say that would prevent the commission from considering events, such as melting of polar ice caps caused by increased global temperatures, which might accelerate the rate at which seas are expected to rise.</p>
<p>The bill’s supporters, however, worry about the money it would take to plan for accelerated sea level rise, and that any predicted acceleration is based on flimsy data. They brush aside the fact that most scientists agree that rising seas will accelerate. “Science, according to [the science fiction author] Michael Crichton, is not about agreement, it’s about facts,” says Tom Thompson, chair of NC-20, a nonprofit advocacy group comprised of representatives from local businesses and governments as well as private citizens. “[And] there is no record of acceleration anywhere in the world that we know of.”</p>
<p />
<p><a href="http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2012/06/legislating-sea-level-rise.html?ref=hp" type="external">Read more</a></p>
<p>The 34 legislators who voted for the law allege the government’s acceptance of high sea level predictions would scare investors away from coastal development projects and harm the region’s economy.</p>
<p>In the short term, perhaps. But the hubris of such a bid will likely have <a href="http://blogs.redding.com/dcraig/archives/2012/06/sea-level-rise.html" type="external">disastrous consequences</a> for those living along the coast in the decades ahead. While North Carolina prepares for a sea level rise of a little over half a foot by the century’s end, Maine is getting ready for a wall of water at least 78 inches high. Delaware is planning for a 58-inch rise while Louisiana mounts a defense against a 39-inch one.</p>
<p>“Canst thou draw out leviathan with a hook?” asked the author of the Book of Job in the Hebrew Bible, acknowledging the absolute tyranny of nature over all men, including those foolish enough to think that they can ignore it.</p>
<p>— Posted by <a href="" type="internal">Alexander Reed Kelly</a></p>
<p>Also see <a href="" type="internal">Stephen Colbert’s take</a> on the law when the North Carolina House passed the legislation last week.</p> | 3,427 |
<p>“The river rose all day, The river rose all night. Some people got lost in the flood, Some people got away all right. The river have busted through clear down to Plaquemine: Six feet of water in the streets of Evangeline.</p>
<p>“Louisiana, Louisiana, They’re trying to wash us away, They’re trying to wash us away.”</p>
<p>— Randy Newman, Louisiana 1927</p>
<p>The destruction of New Orleans represents a confluence of many of the most pernicious trends in American politics and culture: poverty, racism, militarism, elitist greed, environmental abuse, public corruption and the decay of democracy at every level.</p>
<p>Much of this is embodied in the odd phrasing that even the most circumspect mainstream media sources have been using to describe the hardest-hit victims of the storm and its devastating aftermath: “those who chose to stay behind.” Instantly, the situation has been framed with language to flatter the prejudices of the comfortable and deny the reality of the most vulnerable.</p>
<p>It is obvious that the vast majority of those who failed to evacuate are poor: they had nowhere else to go, no way to get there, no means to sustain themselves and their families on strange ground. While there were certainly people who stayed behind by choice, most stayed behind because they had no choice. They were trapped by their poverty ­ and many have paid the price with their lives.</p>
<p>Yet across the media spectrum, the faint hint of disapproval drips from the affluent observers, the clear implication that the victims were just too lazy and shiftless to get out of harm’s way. There is simply no understanding ­ not even an attempt at understanding ­ the destitution, the isolation, the immobility of the poor and the sick and the broken among us.</p>
<p>This is from the “respectable” media; the great right-wing echo chamber was even less restrained, of course, leaping straight into giddy convulsions of racism at the first reports of looting in the devastated city. In the pinched-gonad squeals of Rush Limbaugh and his fellow hatemongers, the hard-right media immediately conjured up images of wild-eyed darkies rampaging through the streets in an orgy of violence and thievery.</p>
<p>Not that the mainstreamers ignored the racist angle. There was the already infamous juxtaposition of captions for wire service photos, where depictions of essentially the same scene ­ desperate people wading through flood waters, clutching plastic bags full of groceries ­ were given markedly different spins. In one picture, a white couple are described as struggling along after finding bread and soda at a grocery store. But beneath an almost identical photo of a young black man with a bag of groceries, we are told that a “looter” wades through the streets after robbing a grocery store. In the photo I saw, this evil miscreant also had a ­ gasp! ­ pack of diapers under his arm.</p>
<p>Almost all of the early “looting” was like this: desperate people ­ of all colors ­ stranded by the floodwaters broke into abandoned stores and carried off food, clean water, medicine, clothes. Perhaps they should have left a check on the counter, but then again ­ what exactly was going to happen to all those perishables and consumer goods, sitting around in fetid, diseased water for weeks on end? (The mayor now says it could be up to 16 weeks before people can return to their homes and businesses.) Obviously, most if not all of it would have been thrown away or written off in any case. Later, of course, there was more organized looting by criminal gangs, the type of lawless element ­ of every hue, in every society ­ whose chief victims are, of course, the poor and vulnerable. These criminal operations were quickly conflated with the earlier pilferage to paint a single seamless picture of the American media’s favorite horror story: Black Folk Gone Wild.</p>
<p>But here again another question was left unasked: Where were the resources ­ the money, manpower, materiel, transport ­ that could have removed all those forced to stay behind, and given them someplace safe and sustaining to take shelter? Where, indeed, were the resources that could have bolstered the city’s defenses and shored up its levees? Where were the National Guard troops that could have secured the streets and directed survivors to food and aid? Where were the public resources ­ the physical manifestation of the citizenry’s commitment to the common good ­ that could have greatly mitigated the brutal effects of this natural disaster?</p>
<p>“President Coolidge came down here in a railroad train, With a little fat man with a notebook in his hand. The president say, “Little fat man, isn’t it a shame What the river has done to this poor cracker’s land?”</p>
<p>Well, we all know what happened to those vital resources. They had been cut back, stripped down, gutted, pilfered ­ looted ­ to pay for a war of aggression, to pay for a tax cut for the wealthiest, safest, most protected Americans, to gorge the coffers of a small number of private and corporate fortunes, while letting the public sector ­ the common good ­ wither and die on the vine. These were all specific actions of the Bush Administration ­ including the devastating budget cuts on projects specifically designed to bolster New Orleans’ defenses against a catastrophic hurricane. Bush even cut money for strengthening the very levees that broke and delivered the deathblow to the city. All this, in the face of specific warnings of what would happen if these measures were neglected: the city would go down “under 20 feet of water,” one expert predicted just a few weeks ago.</p>
<p>But Bush said there was no money for this kind of folderol anymore. The federal budget had been busted by his tax cuts and his war. And this was a deliberate policy: as Bush’s mentor Grover Norquist famously put it, the whole Bushist ethos was to starve the federal government of funds, shrinking it down so “we can drown it in the bathtub.” As it turned out, the bathtub wasn’t quite big enough — so they drowned it in the streets of New Orleans instead.</p>
<p>But as culpable, criminal and loathsome as the Bush Administration is, it is only the apotheosis of an overarching trend in American society that has been gathering force for decades: the destruction of the idea of a common good, a public sector whose benefits and responsibilities are shared by all, and directed by the consent of the governed. For more than 30 years, the corporate Right has waged a relentless and highly focused campaign against the common good, seeking to atomize individuals into isolated “consumer units” whose political energies ­ kept deliberately underinformed by the ubiquitous corporate media ­ can be diverted into emotionalized “hot button” issues (gay marriage, school prayer, intelligent design, flag burning, welfare queens, drugs, porn, abortion, teen sex, commie subversion, terrorist threats, etc., etc.) that never threaten Big Money’s bottom line.</p>
<p>Again deliberately, with smear, spin and sham, they have sought ­ and succeeded ­ in poisoning the well of the democratic process, turning it into a tabloid melee where only “character counts” while the rapacious policies of Big Money’s bought-and-sold candidates are completely ignored. As Big Money solidified its ascendancy over government, pouring billions ­ over and under the table ­ into campaign coffers, politicians could ignore larger and larger swathes of the people. If you can’t hook yourself up to a well-funded, coffer-filling interest group, if you can’t hire a big-time Beltway player to lobby your cause and get you “a seat at the table,” then your voice goes unheard, your concerns are shunted aside. (Apart from a few cynical gestures around election-time, of course.) The poor, the sick, the weak, the vulnerable have become invisible ­ in the media, in the corporate boardroom, “at the table” of the power players in national, state and local governments. The increasingly marginalized and unstable middle class is also fading from the consciousness of the rulers, whose servicing of the elite goes more brazen and frantic all the time.</p>
<p>When unbridled commercial development of delicately balanced environments like the Mississippi Delta is bruited “at the table,” whose voice is heard? Not the poor, who, as we have seen this week, will overwhelmingly bear the brunt of the overstressed environment. And not the middle class, who might opt for the security of safer, saner development policies to protect their hard-won homes and businesses. No, the only voice that matters is that of the developers themselves, and the elite investors who stand behind them.</p>
<p>“Louisiana, Louisiana, They’re trying to wash us away”</p>
<p>The destruction of New Orleans was a work of nature ­ but a nature that has been worked upon by human hands and human policies. As global climate change continues its deadly symbiosis with unbridled commercial development for elite profit, we will see more such destruction, far more, on an even more devastating scale. As the harsh, aggressive militarism and brutal corporate ethos that Bush has injected into the mainstream of American society continues to spread its poison, we will see fewer and fewer resources available to nurture the common good. As the political process becomes more and more corrupt, ever more a creation of elite puppetmasters and their craven bagmen, we will see the poor and the weak and even the middle class driven further and further into the low ground of society, where every passing storm ­ economic, political, natural ­ will threaten their homes, their livelihoods, their very existence.</p>
<p>“Louisiana, Louisiana, They’re trying to wash us away They’re trying to wash us away They’re trying to wash us away They’re trying to wash us away”</p>
<p>CHRIS FLOYD is a columnist for The Moscow Times and regular contributor to CounterPunch. A new, upgraded version of his blog, “Empire Burlesque,” can be found at <a href="http://www.chris-floyd.com/" type="external">www.chris-floyd.com</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> | New Orleans and the Death of the Common Good | true | https://counterpunch.org/2005/09/01/new-orleans-and-the-death-of-the-common-good/ | 2005-09-01 | 4left
| New Orleans and the Death of the Common Good
<p>“The river rose all day, The river rose all night. Some people got lost in the flood, Some people got away all right. The river have busted through clear down to Plaquemine: Six feet of water in the streets of Evangeline.</p>
<p>“Louisiana, Louisiana, They’re trying to wash us away, They’re trying to wash us away.”</p>
<p>— Randy Newman, Louisiana 1927</p>
<p>The destruction of New Orleans represents a confluence of many of the most pernicious trends in American politics and culture: poverty, racism, militarism, elitist greed, environmental abuse, public corruption and the decay of democracy at every level.</p>
<p>Much of this is embodied in the odd phrasing that even the most circumspect mainstream media sources have been using to describe the hardest-hit victims of the storm and its devastating aftermath: “those who chose to stay behind.” Instantly, the situation has been framed with language to flatter the prejudices of the comfortable and deny the reality of the most vulnerable.</p>
<p>It is obvious that the vast majority of those who failed to evacuate are poor: they had nowhere else to go, no way to get there, no means to sustain themselves and their families on strange ground. While there were certainly people who stayed behind by choice, most stayed behind because they had no choice. They were trapped by their poverty ­ and many have paid the price with their lives.</p>
<p>Yet across the media spectrum, the faint hint of disapproval drips from the affluent observers, the clear implication that the victims were just too lazy and shiftless to get out of harm’s way. There is simply no understanding ­ not even an attempt at understanding ­ the destitution, the isolation, the immobility of the poor and the sick and the broken among us.</p>
<p>This is from the “respectable” media; the great right-wing echo chamber was even less restrained, of course, leaping straight into giddy convulsions of racism at the first reports of looting in the devastated city. In the pinched-gonad squeals of Rush Limbaugh and his fellow hatemongers, the hard-right media immediately conjured up images of wild-eyed darkies rampaging through the streets in an orgy of violence and thievery.</p>
<p>Not that the mainstreamers ignored the racist angle. There was the already infamous juxtaposition of captions for wire service photos, where depictions of essentially the same scene ­ desperate people wading through flood waters, clutching plastic bags full of groceries ­ were given markedly different spins. In one picture, a white couple are described as struggling along after finding bread and soda at a grocery store. But beneath an almost identical photo of a young black man with a bag of groceries, we are told that a “looter” wades through the streets after robbing a grocery store. In the photo I saw, this evil miscreant also had a ­ gasp! ­ pack of diapers under his arm.</p>
<p>Almost all of the early “looting” was like this: desperate people ­ of all colors ­ stranded by the floodwaters broke into abandoned stores and carried off food, clean water, medicine, clothes. Perhaps they should have left a check on the counter, but then again ­ what exactly was going to happen to all those perishables and consumer goods, sitting around in fetid, diseased water for weeks on end? (The mayor now says it could be up to 16 weeks before people can return to their homes and businesses.) Obviously, most if not all of it would have been thrown away or written off in any case. Later, of course, there was more organized looting by criminal gangs, the type of lawless element ­ of every hue, in every society ­ whose chief victims are, of course, the poor and vulnerable. These criminal operations were quickly conflated with the earlier pilferage to paint a single seamless picture of the American media’s favorite horror story: Black Folk Gone Wild.</p>
<p>But here again another question was left unasked: Where were the resources ­ the money, manpower, materiel, transport ­ that could have removed all those forced to stay behind, and given them someplace safe and sustaining to take shelter? Where, indeed, were the resources that could have bolstered the city’s defenses and shored up its levees? Where were the National Guard troops that could have secured the streets and directed survivors to food and aid? Where were the public resources ­ the physical manifestation of the citizenry’s commitment to the common good ­ that could have greatly mitigated the brutal effects of this natural disaster?</p>
<p>“President Coolidge came down here in a railroad train, With a little fat man with a notebook in his hand. The president say, “Little fat man, isn’t it a shame What the river has done to this poor cracker’s land?”</p>
<p>Well, we all know what happened to those vital resources. They had been cut back, stripped down, gutted, pilfered ­ looted ­ to pay for a war of aggression, to pay for a tax cut for the wealthiest, safest, most protected Americans, to gorge the coffers of a small number of private and corporate fortunes, while letting the public sector ­ the common good ­ wither and die on the vine. These were all specific actions of the Bush Administration ­ including the devastating budget cuts on projects specifically designed to bolster New Orleans’ defenses against a catastrophic hurricane. Bush even cut money for strengthening the very levees that broke and delivered the deathblow to the city. All this, in the face of specific warnings of what would happen if these measures were neglected: the city would go down “under 20 feet of water,” one expert predicted just a few weeks ago.</p>
<p>But Bush said there was no money for this kind of folderol anymore. The federal budget had been busted by his tax cuts and his war. And this was a deliberate policy: as Bush’s mentor Grover Norquist famously put it, the whole Bushist ethos was to starve the federal government of funds, shrinking it down so “we can drown it in the bathtub.” As it turned out, the bathtub wasn’t quite big enough — so they drowned it in the streets of New Orleans instead.</p>
<p>But as culpable, criminal and loathsome as the Bush Administration is, it is only the apotheosis of an overarching trend in American society that has been gathering force for decades: the destruction of the idea of a common good, a public sector whose benefits and responsibilities are shared by all, and directed by the consent of the governed. For more than 30 years, the corporate Right has waged a relentless and highly focused campaign against the common good, seeking to atomize individuals into isolated “consumer units” whose political energies ­ kept deliberately underinformed by the ubiquitous corporate media ­ can be diverted into emotionalized “hot button” issues (gay marriage, school prayer, intelligent design, flag burning, welfare queens, drugs, porn, abortion, teen sex, commie subversion, terrorist threats, etc., etc.) that never threaten Big Money’s bottom line.</p>
<p>Again deliberately, with smear, spin and sham, they have sought ­ and succeeded ­ in poisoning the well of the democratic process, turning it into a tabloid melee where only “character counts” while the rapacious policies of Big Money’s bought-and-sold candidates are completely ignored. As Big Money solidified its ascendancy over government, pouring billions ­ over and under the table ­ into campaign coffers, politicians could ignore larger and larger swathes of the people. If you can’t hook yourself up to a well-funded, coffer-filling interest group, if you can’t hire a big-time Beltway player to lobby your cause and get you “a seat at the table,” then your voice goes unheard, your concerns are shunted aside. (Apart from a few cynical gestures around election-time, of course.) The poor, the sick, the weak, the vulnerable have become invisible ­ in the media, in the corporate boardroom, “at the table” of the power players in national, state and local governments. The increasingly marginalized and unstable middle class is also fading from the consciousness of the rulers, whose servicing of the elite goes more brazen and frantic all the time.</p>
<p>When unbridled commercial development of delicately balanced environments like the Mississippi Delta is bruited “at the table,” whose voice is heard? Not the poor, who, as we have seen this week, will overwhelmingly bear the brunt of the overstressed environment. And not the middle class, who might opt for the security of safer, saner development policies to protect their hard-won homes and businesses. No, the only voice that matters is that of the developers themselves, and the elite investors who stand behind them.</p>
<p>“Louisiana, Louisiana, They’re trying to wash us away”</p>
<p>The destruction of New Orleans was a work of nature ­ but a nature that has been worked upon by human hands and human policies. As global climate change continues its deadly symbiosis with unbridled commercial development for elite profit, we will see more such destruction, far more, on an even more devastating scale. As the harsh, aggressive militarism and brutal corporate ethos that Bush has injected into the mainstream of American society continues to spread its poison, we will see fewer and fewer resources available to nurture the common good. As the political process becomes more and more corrupt, ever more a creation of elite puppetmasters and their craven bagmen, we will see the poor and the weak and even the middle class driven further and further into the low ground of society, where every passing storm ­ economic, political, natural ­ will threaten their homes, their livelihoods, their very existence.</p>
<p>“Louisiana, Louisiana, They’re trying to wash us away They’re trying to wash us away They’re trying to wash us away They’re trying to wash us away”</p>
<p>CHRIS FLOYD is a columnist for The Moscow Times and regular contributor to CounterPunch. A new, upgraded version of his blog, “Empire Burlesque,” can be found at <a href="http://www.chris-floyd.com/" type="external">www.chris-floyd.com</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> | 3,428 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Henrieke I. Strecker</p>
<p>Strecker grew up in the Black Forest of southwestern Germany. Â&#160;She attended school later in Berlin and Frankfurt. Â&#160;In 2008, she relocated to the United States and lives and works in New Hampshire’s White Mountains.</p>
<p>She has spent her lifetime in photography and what some people call alternative photographic techniques.Â&#160;Strecker’s work appears in photographic journals, catalogues, blogs and in books on photographic practices. Â&#160;She teaches photography (analog) and historic photographic processes at New Hampshire’s Plymouth State University. “I am very much interested in even the simple photographs; sometimes, they are not simple at all,” Strecker said in a telephone interview. “I feel more like an archaeologist who tries to keep to old techniques.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“What I use are not ‘alternative’ techniques,” she said fiercely. “There are no alternatives to the old techniques. These are not alternative processes. It’s just a process.”</p>
<p>Strecker’s training includes screen-printing, old photographic techniques, pinhole photography, photogram, and Camerae Obscurae. Â&#160;She teaches workshops in Cyanotype, solar plate etching, traces of light photogram, zone plate photography, printmaking and poetry, bookmaking, painting, digital negatives, photography and video.</p>
<p>The artist makes her own Kozo paper for her etchings. Kozo is a handmade paper that adds texture to photo etchings. Using her handmade pinhole cameras with long exposures allows her to make hauntingly rich portraits. In addition, Strecker uses Chine-collé, which is a special printmaking technique that allows her to use very delicate paper or linen that allows for finer detail to be pulled off the coated copper plate. In addition, the process also provides a background color behind the image that differs from the surrounding matte backboard. The finer detailed image on paper or linen is then transferred or bonded to another surface, a heavier support not unlike a matte, to which the finer paper or linen is attached.</p>
<p>“With handmade paper every sheet is different,” she said. “You have to cook the fiber, and fiber by fiber it makes the sheet. It’s like, if you have a drawing, every single line makes the drawing.</p>
<p>“I’m interested in simplicity,” she said. “Although the photogravure is not as simple, in a way, these are all simple tools. I’m very much interested in Zen studies – although I hesitate to call anything ‘Zen’; it’s such an inflated word. I started with pinhole photography, which leads to a long exposure. I was sitting sometimes for a very long time in one place. Slowness is a tool. It only exists if we compare time. It’s a deepening. You only get to the treasure if you deepen something.</p>
<p>“And sometimes you come to places where sometimes you don’t want to be,” she added perceptively. “If you hold still for a while, everything you suppress comes up. It’s almost like archaeology: you go layer and layer.”</p>
<p>Maggie Taylor</p>
<p>Taylor’s exhibition is a selection of images from “No Ordinary Days,” a recent book that is a survey of Taylor’s work from 1998 to 2012. Â&#160;Taylor has continued her characteristic style of scanning and enhancing daguerreotypes, tintypes, figurines, illustrations and photographs for which she then creates surrealistic settings for the featured portrait. Â&#160;Â&#160; “I began using the computer to make my images in 1996; however, it took several years to find a good method of making prints,” Taylor said in an email interview.Â&#160;“Initially, I wanted to be able to just do some experimenting with Photoshop, so I started using a scanner as a camera because it was quicker than sending film off to be drum-scanned back then. By layering different objects together I guess my still lifes sort of evolved as I learned more and more about the program.”</p>
<p>Taylor was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and was awarded her bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Yale University. Her master’s degree in photography came from the University of Florida. Â&#160;After more than 10 years as a still-life photographer, in 1996, she began to use the scanner and computer to create her digital photomontage images. She has published five books.</p>
<p>Taylor’s images have been widely exhibited and have been collected by many museums. She lives with her husband, Jerry Uelsmann, in Gainesville, Fla.</p>
<p>The portraits that Maggie uses for her photomontages, the daguerreotypes and the tintypes, are 19th-century pictures. The plates that captured the subject of the photographs were slow and not very light-sensitive. Often, the taking of a picture took several seconds, even minutes. Â&#160;While the lens cap was removed from the camera, the photographic subjects were required to sit or stand, perfectly motionless, until the lens cap was replaced on the camera. Photographers used specially made props such as the Brady Stand, a 19th-century, factory- made, cast iron side table to act as a prop and to assist the subject to be still. Photographers also learned that a smile was always in motion. Pictures of those who smiled rendered the face blurred and the photo was useless. Hence, the portrait subject was admonished not to move, not to smile, not to blink, and, most importantly, not to change their expression. The subjects dressed for this special occasion in their best, probably their only, formal wear. The clothing was dark, often black, creating a setting that had a funereal air or suggesting the subject was suffering some anguish or discomfort. If the photograph was taken in a studio there would be props, such as a table, sofas, stools, and chair, and perhaps a backdrop, a pastoral setting of trees or the like as the hand-painted backdrops found on a stage. Rarely does anyone know the name of the person who was photographed. That identity has long been lost to posterity. Â&#160;Finally, the print made of the subject was totally without color, ashen, just shades of gray. Â&#160;Consequently, these 19th-century portraits took on a stilted, stoic and stiff expression, and worst of all, they were gray. No one ever looked happy; they couldn’t smile. In her book “Maggie Taylor’s Landscape of Dreams,” Taylor shows four examples of original daguerreotypes and tintypes as she collected them and then how she reconstructs them as her own art.</p>
<p>“I always marvel at the colors, both as I am working and seeing the image on screen, and later when I see it as an inkjet print,” Taylor said of the results of her process. “There are also such infinite and surprising options when using the computer to put together these images. Sometimes I feel like a little girl playing with a dollhouse and rearranging objects.”</p>
<p>Of her most recent book, she added, “I really wanted to have a book that was more of a retrospective to this point, featuring the images, not a lot of text.Â&#160;“I worked with the graphic designer Connie Hwang to make the book very elegant and detailed, kind of like a jewel box.”</p> | No Ordinary Days | false | https://abqjournal.com/200000/no.html | 2013-05-17 | 2least
| No Ordinary Days
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Henrieke I. Strecker</p>
<p>Strecker grew up in the Black Forest of southwestern Germany. Â&#160;She attended school later in Berlin and Frankfurt. Â&#160;In 2008, she relocated to the United States and lives and works in New Hampshire’s White Mountains.</p>
<p>She has spent her lifetime in photography and what some people call alternative photographic techniques.Â&#160;Strecker’s work appears in photographic journals, catalogues, blogs and in books on photographic practices. Â&#160;She teaches photography (analog) and historic photographic processes at New Hampshire’s Plymouth State University. “I am very much interested in even the simple photographs; sometimes, they are not simple at all,” Strecker said in a telephone interview. “I feel more like an archaeologist who tries to keep to old techniques.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“What I use are not ‘alternative’ techniques,” she said fiercely. “There are no alternatives to the old techniques. These are not alternative processes. It’s just a process.”</p>
<p>Strecker’s training includes screen-printing, old photographic techniques, pinhole photography, photogram, and Camerae Obscurae. Â&#160;She teaches workshops in Cyanotype, solar plate etching, traces of light photogram, zone plate photography, printmaking and poetry, bookmaking, painting, digital negatives, photography and video.</p>
<p>The artist makes her own Kozo paper for her etchings. Kozo is a handmade paper that adds texture to photo etchings. Using her handmade pinhole cameras with long exposures allows her to make hauntingly rich portraits. In addition, Strecker uses Chine-collé, which is a special printmaking technique that allows her to use very delicate paper or linen that allows for finer detail to be pulled off the coated copper plate. In addition, the process also provides a background color behind the image that differs from the surrounding matte backboard. The finer detailed image on paper or linen is then transferred or bonded to another surface, a heavier support not unlike a matte, to which the finer paper or linen is attached.</p>
<p>“With handmade paper every sheet is different,” she said. “You have to cook the fiber, and fiber by fiber it makes the sheet. It’s like, if you have a drawing, every single line makes the drawing.</p>
<p>“I’m interested in simplicity,” she said. “Although the photogravure is not as simple, in a way, these are all simple tools. I’m very much interested in Zen studies – although I hesitate to call anything ‘Zen’; it’s such an inflated word. I started with pinhole photography, which leads to a long exposure. I was sitting sometimes for a very long time in one place. Slowness is a tool. It only exists if we compare time. It’s a deepening. You only get to the treasure if you deepen something.</p>
<p>“And sometimes you come to places where sometimes you don’t want to be,” she added perceptively. “If you hold still for a while, everything you suppress comes up. It’s almost like archaeology: you go layer and layer.”</p>
<p>Maggie Taylor</p>
<p>Taylor’s exhibition is a selection of images from “No Ordinary Days,” a recent book that is a survey of Taylor’s work from 1998 to 2012. Â&#160;Taylor has continued her characteristic style of scanning and enhancing daguerreotypes, tintypes, figurines, illustrations and photographs for which she then creates surrealistic settings for the featured portrait. Â&#160;Â&#160; “I began using the computer to make my images in 1996; however, it took several years to find a good method of making prints,” Taylor said in an email interview.Â&#160;“Initially, I wanted to be able to just do some experimenting with Photoshop, so I started using a scanner as a camera because it was quicker than sending film off to be drum-scanned back then. By layering different objects together I guess my still lifes sort of evolved as I learned more and more about the program.”</p>
<p>Taylor was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and was awarded her bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Yale University. Her master’s degree in photography came from the University of Florida. Â&#160;After more than 10 years as a still-life photographer, in 1996, she began to use the scanner and computer to create her digital photomontage images. She has published five books.</p>
<p>Taylor’s images have been widely exhibited and have been collected by many museums. She lives with her husband, Jerry Uelsmann, in Gainesville, Fla.</p>
<p>The portraits that Maggie uses for her photomontages, the daguerreotypes and the tintypes, are 19th-century pictures. The plates that captured the subject of the photographs were slow and not very light-sensitive. Often, the taking of a picture took several seconds, even minutes. Â&#160;While the lens cap was removed from the camera, the photographic subjects were required to sit or stand, perfectly motionless, until the lens cap was replaced on the camera. Photographers used specially made props such as the Brady Stand, a 19th-century, factory- made, cast iron side table to act as a prop and to assist the subject to be still. Photographers also learned that a smile was always in motion. Pictures of those who smiled rendered the face blurred and the photo was useless. Hence, the portrait subject was admonished not to move, not to smile, not to blink, and, most importantly, not to change their expression. The subjects dressed for this special occasion in their best, probably their only, formal wear. The clothing was dark, often black, creating a setting that had a funereal air or suggesting the subject was suffering some anguish or discomfort. If the photograph was taken in a studio there would be props, such as a table, sofas, stools, and chair, and perhaps a backdrop, a pastoral setting of trees or the like as the hand-painted backdrops found on a stage. Rarely does anyone know the name of the person who was photographed. That identity has long been lost to posterity. Â&#160;Finally, the print made of the subject was totally without color, ashen, just shades of gray. Â&#160;Consequently, these 19th-century portraits took on a stilted, stoic and stiff expression, and worst of all, they were gray. No one ever looked happy; they couldn’t smile. In her book “Maggie Taylor’s Landscape of Dreams,” Taylor shows four examples of original daguerreotypes and tintypes as she collected them and then how she reconstructs them as her own art.</p>
<p>“I always marvel at the colors, both as I am working and seeing the image on screen, and later when I see it as an inkjet print,” Taylor said of the results of her process. “There are also such infinite and surprising options when using the computer to put together these images. Sometimes I feel like a little girl playing with a dollhouse and rearranging objects.”</p>
<p>Of her most recent book, she added, “I really wanted to have a book that was more of a retrospective to this point, featuring the images, not a lot of text.Â&#160;“I worked with the graphic designer Connie Hwang to make the book very elegant and detailed, kind of like a jewel box.”</p> | 3,429 |
<p>Can you guess the artist?</p>
<p>A strong, confident black woman rises from performing on the streets to superstardom. Her music is filled with talk of sex and violence, and her private life is just as transgressive as her lyrics. Rumors circulate about her hookups with various men and women, and she even hints at these affairs in her songs. Many are shocked, but audiences flock to her performances and her recordings sell millions of copies.</p>
<p>Maybe Nicki Minaj? Or Rihanna? Or some other in-your-face hip-hop diva.</p>
<p>No, you’re not even close.</p>
<p>Here’s one last clue: my mystery singer was born in 1894.</p>
<p>Yes, ladies such as Bessie Smith did exist back during the Victorian era. Well, at least one woman like that was around. And she became the biggest-selling black female singer of her day. Even white audiences fell under Bessie Smith’s spell, and the major record companies of the era soon figured out they needed to sign her, or find someone else who could imitate her.</p>
<p>But no one could really imitate Bessie Smith. Even now, almost a century after the release of her first records, she still stands out as the greatest blues singer in history. You can hear the echoes of her style in current-day divas such as Ruthie Foster, who just a few days ago got honored by the Blues Foundation as best female blues singer of the year, or Cécile McLorin Salvant, who was picked as top female jazz vocalist in the most recent Down Beat critics poll.</p>
<p>No singer is hotter in the jazz world right now than 25-year-old Salvant, but she will sing a song by Bessie Smith at almost every performance. When I spoke to her recently about her influences, Smith’s name was the first one she mentioned. “Bessie Smith,” Salvant added, “is very important to me.”</p>
<p>Singers still learn from Bessie Smith, and for a very good reason. These songs work like a charm in live performance, even in the year 2015. They are filled with raw passion and raunchy comedy. They tell stories that seem just as relevant today as when Smith recorded them during the Calvin Coolidge administration. In fact, they might be even more appropriate in the current day, almost as if this blues singer from our great-grandma’s generation were sending a time capsule to millennials.</p>
<p>Frankly, I’m not surprised that HBO decided to turn Bessie Smith’s life into a biopic. I’m only puzzled why it took so long. Of all the celebrity entertainers from the first half of the 20th century, Bessie Smith is the one most suited for a posthumous revival. She was Nicki Minaj before there was a Nicki Minaj. She wrote the rulebook for hip-hop ladies before hip-hop existed. She was the Empress of the Blues, and her reign never really ended.</p>
<p>HBO’s casting of <a href="/content/dailybeast/articles/2015/05/13/queen-latifah-takes-on-nudity-sexuality-and-the-indomitable-bessie-smith.html" type="external">Queen Latifah</a> as Bessie Smith was an inspired choice. Who better to play an Empress than a Queen? “I had no idea who Bessie Smith was, to be honest with you,” Latifah recently admitted to an interviewer. But after she had immersed herself in Smith’s music, she walked away in awe. “I could hear her voice in so many people who came after her,” Latifah has explained. “If there was a Bessie Smith alive today, she’d blow everyone else out of the water.” Now Latifah is charged with convincing others who know nothing about Bessie Smith why they should care about a singer whose most important recordings were made almost 90 years ago. I have a hunch that she will succeed.</p>
<p>Bessie Smith’s life story may be filled with rule-breaking and hell-raising, but also conforms to the classic rags-to-riches formula of traditional American narratives. Smith was an orphan before the age of ten, and survived by performing on the streets of her native Chattanooga, Tennessee along with her brother Andrew. She toured with blues singer Ma Rainey while still in her teens, but soon went out on her own as a star attraction, performing in theaters and tent shows in the South and along the Eastern Seaboard.</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>Smith dazzled audiences in live performance, with her larger-than-life stage presence and a big, earthy voice that could reach the back row in the days before microphones and amplification. But her recordings made her into a superstar, and even today I listen in rapt admiration to these old tracks, wondering how such a fragile medium of sound waves preserved in grooves on a shellac disk can contain so much life force and emotional power.</p>
<p>Clearly audiences in the ’20s felt the same. Smith’s 1923 recording of “Downhearted Blues” would eventually sell 2 million copies, and she followed it up with more than a dozen other mega-hits over the next half-decade. At the peak of her fame, she was earning $2,000 per week (equivalent to $25,000 in 2015 purchasing power) and traveled in her own private rail car as part of an entourage of 40 troupers.</p>
<p>Smith was fearless, both onstage and off. Stories circulate of her staring down the Ku Klux Klan, or taking on an impertinent drunk in a fistfight. Many have been inspired by her courage, and not just musicians. Edward Albee drew on her biography for his play The Death of Bessie Smith, and J.D. Salinger did the same in his short story “Blue Melody.” Editor David Lehman included one Smith’s song lyrics, “Empty Bed Blues,” in The Oxford Book of American Poetry, where it appears alongside works by Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson.</p>
<p>Author James Baldwin later stressed the influence of Bessie Smith on his illustrious career. “I was working on my first novel—I thought I would never be able to finish it,” he recalled. But the blues singer helped him find his own voice as a writer. “I played Bessie Smith every day. A lot of the book is in dialogue, and I corrected things according to what I was able to hear when Bessie sang… It’s that tone, that sound which is in me.”</p>
<p>No other blues singer could challenge her. But Bessie Smith finally encountered an obstacle she couldn’t overcome. The Great Depression destroyed the U.S. recording industry. Record sales declined by more than 90 percent, and the labels exited the blues market even faster than they had entered it a few years before.</p>
<p>Smith’s voice never lost its magic, and she continued to perform wherever she could find work. And I am confident that she would have enjoyed renewed acclaim in the post World War II era, when mainstream America began its love affair with R&amp;B and the first stirrings of the blues revival reverberated through the music industry.</p>
<p>But she never got the chance. Smith died on September 26, 1937 from injuries suffered in an auto collision while heading to an engagement in Darling, Mississippi. She was just 43 years old. In the aftermath of her death, many debated whether she could have been saved with better medical intervention after the accident. Rumors circulated about her death just as they had about her life, almost as her artistry were a footnote to all the gossip and scandalmongering.</p>
<p>Smith deserved better. She still does. She earned our respect through her music and her bravery in the face of obstacles that would have overwhelmed a less courageous woman. Above all, she deserves that revival she never enjoyed during her lifetime. Perhaps she will finally get it in 2015, thanks to Queen Latifah and HBO.</p> | Why Blues Titan Bessie Smith Still Kills It | true | https://thedailybeast.com/why-blues-titan-bessie-smith-still-kills-it | 2018-10-06 | 4left
| Why Blues Titan Bessie Smith Still Kills It
<p>Can you guess the artist?</p>
<p>A strong, confident black woman rises from performing on the streets to superstardom. Her music is filled with talk of sex and violence, and her private life is just as transgressive as her lyrics. Rumors circulate about her hookups with various men and women, and she even hints at these affairs in her songs. Many are shocked, but audiences flock to her performances and her recordings sell millions of copies.</p>
<p>Maybe Nicki Minaj? Or Rihanna? Or some other in-your-face hip-hop diva.</p>
<p>No, you’re not even close.</p>
<p>Here’s one last clue: my mystery singer was born in 1894.</p>
<p>Yes, ladies such as Bessie Smith did exist back during the Victorian era. Well, at least one woman like that was around. And she became the biggest-selling black female singer of her day. Even white audiences fell under Bessie Smith’s spell, and the major record companies of the era soon figured out they needed to sign her, or find someone else who could imitate her.</p>
<p>But no one could really imitate Bessie Smith. Even now, almost a century after the release of her first records, she still stands out as the greatest blues singer in history. You can hear the echoes of her style in current-day divas such as Ruthie Foster, who just a few days ago got honored by the Blues Foundation as best female blues singer of the year, or Cécile McLorin Salvant, who was picked as top female jazz vocalist in the most recent Down Beat critics poll.</p>
<p>No singer is hotter in the jazz world right now than 25-year-old Salvant, but she will sing a song by Bessie Smith at almost every performance. When I spoke to her recently about her influences, Smith’s name was the first one she mentioned. “Bessie Smith,” Salvant added, “is very important to me.”</p>
<p>Singers still learn from Bessie Smith, and for a very good reason. These songs work like a charm in live performance, even in the year 2015. They are filled with raw passion and raunchy comedy. They tell stories that seem just as relevant today as when Smith recorded them during the Calvin Coolidge administration. In fact, they might be even more appropriate in the current day, almost as if this blues singer from our great-grandma’s generation were sending a time capsule to millennials.</p>
<p>Frankly, I’m not surprised that HBO decided to turn Bessie Smith’s life into a biopic. I’m only puzzled why it took so long. Of all the celebrity entertainers from the first half of the 20th century, Bessie Smith is the one most suited for a posthumous revival. She was Nicki Minaj before there was a Nicki Minaj. She wrote the rulebook for hip-hop ladies before hip-hop existed. She was the Empress of the Blues, and her reign never really ended.</p>
<p>HBO’s casting of <a href="/content/dailybeast/articles/2015/05/13/queen-latifah-takes-on-nudity-sexuality-and-the-indomitable-bessie-smith.html" type="external">Queen Latifah</a> as Bessie Smith was an inspired choice. Who better to play an Empress than a Queen? “I had no idea who Bessie Smith was, to be honest with you,” Latifah recently admitted to an interviewer. But after she had immersed herself in Smith’s music, she walked away in awe. “I could hear her voice in so many people who came after her,” Latifah has explained. “If there was a Bessie Smith alive today, she’d blow everyone else out of the water.” Now Latifah is charged with convincing others who know nothing about Bessie Smith why they should care about a singer whose most important recordings were made almost 90 years ago. I have a hunch that she will succeed.</p>
<p>Bessie Smith’s life story may be filled with rule-breaking and hell-raising, but also conforms to the classic rags-to-riches formula of traditional American narratives. Smith was an orphan before the age of ten, and survived by performing on the streets of her native Chattanooga, Tennessee along with her brother Andrew. She toured with blues singer Ma Rainey while still in her teens, but soon went out on her own as a star attraction, performing in theaters and tent shows in the South and along the Eastern Seaboard.</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>Smith dazzled audiences in live performance, with her larger-than-life stage presence and a big, earthy voice that could reach the back row in the days before microphones and amplification. But her recordings made her into a superstar, and even today I listen in rapt admiration to these old tracks, wondering how such a fragile medium of sound waves preserved in grooves on a shellac disk can contain so much life force and emotional power.</p>
<p>Clearly audiences in the ’20s felt the same. Smith’s 1923 recording of “Downhearted Blues” would eventually sell 2 million copies, and she followed it up with more than a dozen other mega-hits over the next half-decade. At the peak of her fame, she was earning $2,000 per week (equivalent to $25,000 in 2015 purchasing power) and traveled in her own private rail car as part of an entourage of 40 troupers.</p>
<p>Smith was fearless, both onstage and off. Stories circulate of her staring down the Ku Klux Klan, or taking on an impertinent drunk in a fistfight. Many have been inspired by her courage, and not just musicians. Edward Albee drew on her biography for his play The Death of Bessie Smith, and J.D. Salinger did the same in his short story “Blue Melody.” Editor David Lehman included one Smith’s song lyrics, “Empty Bed Blues,” in The Oxford Book of American Poetry, where it appears alongside works by Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson.</p>
<p>Author James Baldwin later stressed the influence of Bessie Smith on his illustrious career. “I was working on my first novel—I thought I would never be able to finish it,” he recalled. But the blues singer helped him find his own voice as a writer. “I played Bessie Smith every day. A lot of the book is in dialogue, and I corrected things according to what I was able to hear when Bessie sang… It’s that tone, that sound which is in me.”</p>
<p>No other blues singer could challenge her. But Bessie Smith finally encountered an obstacle she couldn’t overcome. The Great Depression destroyed the U.S. recording industry. Record sales declined by more than 90 percent, and the labels exited the blues market even faster than they had entered it a few years before.</p>
<p>Smith’s voice never lost its magic, and she continued to perform wherever she could find work. And I am confident that she would have enjoyed renewed acclaim in the post World War II era, when mainstream America began its love affair with R&amp;B and the first stirrings of the blues revival reverberated through the music industry.</p>
<p>But she never got the chance. Smith died on September 26, 1937 from injuries suffered in an auto collision while heading to an engagement in Darling, Mississippi. She was just 43 years old. In the aftermath of her death, many debated whether she could have been saved with better medical intervention after the accident. Rumors circulated about her death just as they had about her life, almost as her artistry were a footnote to all the gossip and scandalmongering.</p>
<p>Smith deserved better. She still does. She earned our respect through her music and her bravery in the face of obstacles that would have overwhelmed a less courageous woman. Above all, she deserves that revival she never enjoyed during her lifetime. Perhaps she will finally get it in 2015, thanks to Queen Latifah and HBO.</p> | 3,430 |
<p>Q:&#160;How can one get inauguration tickets?</p>
<p>A:&#160;Tickets to watch the swearing-in can be requested through the Washington, D.C., offices of an individual’s representative or senators. But you’ll need some luck to score one.</p>
<p>Tickets can be <a href="http://inaugural.senate.gov/2009/tickets.cfm" type="external">acquired</a> free of charge from members of Congress, who will get them the week before the Jan. 20, 2009, inauguration. The person requesting tickets must pick them up in person. But it’s going to be tough to get them.</p>
<p>There are about 240,000 tickets available to the public, but officials <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/17/AR2008111703672_2.html?sid=ST2008111800082&amp;s_pos=" type="external">are expecting</a> a crowd that could be as large as 4 million. Tickets allow entry to the Capitol lawn to witness Obama’s swearing-in, but no tickets will be needed to be part of the throng on the Mall or along the Pennsylvania Avenue inaugural parade route, where officials are planning to set up extra JumboTron video screens.</p>
<p>Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the chairwoman of the Joint Congressional Committee for Inaugural Ceremonies, has <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081111/ap_on_go_co/inauguration_tickets" type="external">said</a> that the demand for tickets is very high. Feinstein’s office received 8,000 ticket requests the day after the election, according to the Associated Press. The Wall Street Journal <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/11/17/requests-for-obama-inauguration-tickets-pour-in/" type="external">reported</a> in a Nov. 17 story that Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia had received "29,000 calls or emails requesting tickets to the inauguration, with some asking for as many as 25 tickets." Webb’s office told reporters the senator expected to get about 500 tickets to hand out, and he has asked for more than other senators, since Virginia is close to the nation’s capital. Each House member will get only 198 tickets to hand out, <a href="http://www.rollcall.com/news/30171-1.html" type="external">according to Roll Call</a>. Washington state Sens. Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray have <a href="http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/thebigblog/archives/154606.asp" type="external">stopped taking ticket requests</a>.</p>
<p>As with any hot ticket event, there have been reported cases of tickets being sold online. Concern about scalping is one reason the actual tickets won’t be handed out until a week before the swearing-in. In fact, Howard Gantman, a Feinstein aide and staff director of the inaugural committee, <a href="http://inaugural.senate.gov/2009/tickets.cfm" type="external">cautions</a> people who find tickets for sale to be very skeptical, since no one has the tickets in hand now. Feinstein also <a href="http://feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=NewsRoom.PressReleases&amp;ContentRecord_id=ac2e5bfe-0aff-c7c6-7607-69007a17c6f4&amp;Region_id=&amp;Issue_id=" type="external">has introduced a bill</a> that would make it a federal crime, a misdemeanor, for anyone to sell or attempt to sell, or forge inauguration tickets. Offenders would face up to a year in jail and up to $100,000 in fines.</p>
<p>After meeting with members of the inaugural committee, eBay Inc. <a href="http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/INAUGURATION_TICKETS?SITE=DCUSN&amp;SECTION=HOME&amp;TEMPLATE=DEFAULT" type="external">announced</a> it won’t allow tickets to be sold on its Web sites.</p>
<p>-Ronald Lampard, with D’Angelo Gore</p>
<p><a href="http://inaugural.senate.gov/2009/tickets.cfm" type="external">Inaugural Tickets</a>. Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies. Inaugural.senate.gov, accessed 21 Nov. 2008.</p>
<p>Werner, Erica. <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081111/ap_on_go_co/inauguration_tickets" type="external">Senator Asks Sites not to Sell Inaugural Tickets</a>. Associated Press, 11 Nov. 2008.</p>
<p>Stewart, Nikita and Michael E. Ruane. " <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/17/AR2008111703672.html?" type="external">Can Mall Be Filled For an Inauguration? 4 Million May Try It</a>." Washington Post, 18 Nov. 2008.&#160;</p> | Tickets to History | false | https://factcheck.org/2008/11/tickets-to-history/ | 2008-11-24 | 2least
| Tickets to History
<p>Q:&#160;How can one get inauguration tickets?</p>
<p>A:&#160;Tickets to watch the swearing-in can be requested through the Washington, D.C., offices of an individual’s representative or senators. But you’ll need some luck to score one.</p>
<p>Tickets can be <a href="http://inaugural.senate.gov/2009/tickets.cfm" type="external">acquired</a> free of charge from members of Congress, who will get them the week before the Jan. 20, 2009, inauguration. The person requesting tickets must pick them up in person. But it’s going to be tough to get them.</p>
<p>There are about 240,000 tickets available to the public, but officials <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/17/AR2008111703672_2.html?sid=ST2008111800082&amp;s_pos=" type="external">are expecting</a> a crowd that could be as large as 4 million. Tickets allow entry to the Capitol lawn to witness Obama’s swearing-in, but no tickets will be needed to be part of the throng on the Mall or along the Pennsylvania Avenue inaugural parade route, where officials are planning to set up extra JumboTron video screens.</p>
<p>Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the chairwoman of the Joint Congressional Committee for Inaugural Ceremonies, has <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081111/ap_on_go_co/inauguration_tickets" type="external">said</a> that the demand for tickets is very high. Feinstein’s office received 8,000 ticket requests the day after the election, according to the Associated Press. The Wall Street Journal <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/11/17/requests-for-obama-inauguration-tickets-pour-in/" type="external">reported</a> in a Nov. 17 story that Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia had received "29,000 calls or emails requesting tickets to the inauguration, with some asking for as many as 25 tickets." Webb’s office told reporters the senator expected to get about 500 tickets to hand out, and he has asked for more than other senators, since Virginia is close to the nation’s capital. Each House member will get only 198 tickets to hand out, <a href="http://www.rollcall.com/news/30171-1.html" type="external">according to Roll Call</a>. Washington state Sens. Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray have <a href="http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/thebigblog/archives/154606.asp" type="external">stopped taking ticket requests</a>.</p>
<p>As with any hot ticket event, there have been reported cases of tickets being sold online. Concern about scalping is one reason the actual tickets won’t be handed out until a week before the swearing-in. In fact, Howard Gantman, a Feinstein aide and staff director of the inaugural committee, <a href="http://inaugural.senate.gov/2009/tickets.cfm" type="external">cautions</a> people who find tickets for sale to be very skeptical, since no one has the tickets in hand now. Feinstein also <a href="http://feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=NewsRoom.PressReleases&amp;ContentRecord_id=ac2e5bfe-0aff-c7c6-7607-69007a17c6f4&amp;Region_id=&amp;Issue_id=" type="external">has introduced a bill</a> that would make it a federal crime, a misdemeanor, for anyone to sell or attempt to sell, or forge inauguration tickets. Offenders would face up to a year in jail and up to $100,000 in fines.</p>
<p>After meeting with members of the inaugural committee, eBay Inc. <a href="http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/INAUGURATION_TICKETS?SITE=DCUSN&amp;SECTION=HOME&amp;TEMPLATE=DEFAULT" type="external">announced</a> it won’t allow tickets to be sold on its Web sites.</p>
<p>-Ronald Lampard, with D’Angelo Gore</p>
<p><a href="http://inaugural.senate.gov/2009/tickets.cfm" type="external">Inaugural Tickets</a>. Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies. Inaugural.senate.gov, accessed 21 Nov. 2008.</p>
<p>Werner, Erica. <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081111/ap_on_go_co/inauguration_tickets" type="external">Senator Asks Sites not to Sell Inaugural Tickets</a>. Associated Press, 11 Nov. 2008.</p>
<p>Stewart, Nikita and Michael E. Ruane. " <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/17/AR2008111703672.html?" type="external">Can Mall Be Filled For an Inauguration? 4 Million May Try It</a>." Washington Post, 18 Nov. 2008.&#160;</p> | 3,431 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant said it postponed plans for workers to re-enter the underground nuclear waste repository Tuesday&#160;due to missing gear.</p>
<p>A team was scheduled to make an initial entry into the underground, the first time since a radiation leak shut down the facility on Feb. 14. WIPP said delivery of a set of radiation monitors to be worn on workers' lapels did not arrive on time.</p>
<p>In a statement, WIPP said the re-entry would be postponed until the monitors arrive but did not say when the shipment&#160;is expected.</p>
<p>Located outside Carlsbad, WIPP stores the low-level waste of the country's nuclear defense program. The facility has been closed to shipments since two February incidents, a truck fire underground and a radiation leak.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | WIPP postpones manned re-entry | false | https://abqjournal.com/377514/wipp-postpones-manned-re-entry.html | 2least
| WIPP postpones manned re-entry
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant said it postponed plans for workers to re-enter the underground nuclear waste repository Tuesday&#160;due to missing gear.</p>
<p>A team was scheduled to make an initial entry into the underground, the first time since a radiation leak shut down the facility on Feb. 14. WIPP said delivery of a set of radiation monitors to be worn on workers' lapels did not arrive on time.</p>
<p>In a statement, WIPP said the re-entry would be postponed until the monitors arrive but did not say when the shipment&#160;is expected.</p>
<p>Located outside Carlsbad, WIPP stores the low-level waste of the country's nuclear defense program. The facility has been closed to shipments since two February incidents, a truck fire underground and a radiation leak.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 3,432 |
|
<p>TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday evening’s drawing of the Florida Lottery’s “Pick 5 Evening” game were:</p>
<p>6-0-7-9-1</p>
<p>(six, zero, seven, nine, one)</p>
<p>TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday evening’s drawing of the Florida Lottery’s “Pick 5 Evening” game were:</p>
<p>6-0-7-9-1</p>
<p>(six, zero, seven, nine, one)</p> | Winning numbers drawn in ‘Pick 5 Evening’ game | false | https://apnews.com/8d2a916b49d642f7b710f2e756dda32b | 2018-01-26 | 2least
| Winning numbers drawn in ‘Pick 5 Evening’ game
<p>TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday evening’s drawing of the Florida Lottery’s “Pick 5 Evening” game were:</p>
<p>6-0-7-9-1</p>
<p>(six, zero, seven, nine, one)</p>
<p>TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday evening’s drawing of the Florida Lottery’s “Pick 5 Evening” game were:</p>
<p>6-0-7-9-1</p>
<p>(six, zero, seven, nine, one)</p> | 3,433 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>AT BOOKWORKS: Tina Carlson will read from “Ground, Wind, This Body” at 3 today.</p>
<p>This debut collection explores the vestiges of war and the effects they can have on a family.</p>
<p>Carlson is a psychiatric nurse practitioner at Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Dos Gatos Press publisher and editor Scott Wiggerman and David Meischen will present their free monthly poetry writing workshop with prompts from their anthology “Wingbeats” at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 14. Please bring writing materials.</p>
<p>Layli Long Soldier will read from her new book of poetry, “Whereas,” at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 16.</p>
<p>“Whereas” confronts the coercive language of the U.S. government in its responses, treaties, and apologies to Native American peoples and tribes.</p>
<p>Rachel Bate will sign “Desert Bliss” at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 18.</p>
<p>Meet a calico kitten who decides to go on a very dangerous journey.</p>
<p>Bookworks is at 4022 Rio Grande NW. Call 344-8139.</p>
<p>AT COLLECTED WORKS: Journey Santa Fe will present former New Mexico Democratic gubernatorial candidate Alan Webber at 11 a.m. today.</p>
<p>The Santa Fe Opera Guild Book Club Presents: “Steve Jobs” by Walter Isaacson at 6 p.m. Monday, March 13.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Rick Marcum will sign “West Texas Crude” from 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday, March 18.</p>
<p>Collected Works is at 202 Galisteo St. in Santa Fe. Call 505-988-4226.</p>
<p>AT THE MAIN SANTA FE PUBLIC LIBRARY: Award-winning author Loretta Hall will talk about New Mexico’s contributions to space history at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 18. Her book “Out of This World” won Best Book in the New Mexico Book Awards. Her new book is the “Space Buff’s Bucket List book.” She is set to release a new children’s book on the New Mexico Spaceport.</p>
<p>The Main Santa Fe Public Library is at 145 Washington Ave. Call 505-955-6781.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p /> | Nurse’s writing deals with war and aftermath | false | https://abqjournal.com/966791/nurses-writing-deals-with-war-and-aftermath.html | 2least
| Nurse’s writing deals with war and aftermath
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>AT BOOKWORKS: Tina Carlson will read from “Ground, Wind, This Body” at 3 today.</p>
<p>This debut collection explores the vestiges of war and the effects they can have on a family.</p>
<p>Carlson is a psychiatric nurse practitioner at Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Dos Gatos Press publisher and editor Scott Wiggerman and David Meischen will present their free monthly poetry writing workshop with prompts from their anthology “Wingbeats” at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 14. Please bring writing materials.</p>
<p>Layli Long Soldier will read from her new book of poetry, “Whereas,” at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 16.</p>
<p>“Whereas” confronts the coercive language of the U.S. government in its responses, treaties, and apologies to Native American peoples and tribes.</p>
<p>Rachel Bate will sign “Desert Bliss” at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 18.</p>
<p>Meet a calico kitten who decides to go on a very dangerous journey.</p>
<p>Bookworks is at 4022 Rio Grande NW. Call 344-8139.</p>
<p>AT COLLECTED WORKS: Journey Santa Fe will present former New Mexico Democratic gubernatorial candidate Alan Webber at 11 a.m. today.</p>
<p>The Santa Fe Opera Guild Book Club Presents: “Steve Jobs” by Walter Isaacson at 6 p.m. Monday, March 13.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Rick Marcum will sign “West Texas Crude” from 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday, March 18.</p>
<p>Collected Works is at 202 Galisteo St. in Santa Fe. Call 505-988-4226.</p>
<p>AT THE MAIN SANTA FE PUBLIC LIBRARY: Award-winning author Loretta Hall will talk about New Mexico’s contributions to space history at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 18. Her book “Out of This World” won Best Book in the New Mexico Book Awards. Her new book is the “Space Buff’s Bucket List book.” She is set to release a new children’s book on the New Mexico Spaceport.</p>
<p>The Main Santa Fe Public Library is at 145 Washington Ave. Call 505-955-6781.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p /> | 3,434 |
|
<p>Nov. 10 (UPI) — A <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Rhode_Island/" type="external">Rhode Island</a> woman who placed some of her mother’s cremated ashes in a bottle along with a message said the object floated all the way to Florida.</p>
<p>Athina McAleer of Charlestown said she decorated a bottle and filled it with some of the cremated ashes of her mother Cindy Rounds, who died in 2010, and included a letter about the woman’s death from cancer.</p>
<p>“I put the story of where she started and got sick and unfortunately how it ended,” McAleer <a href="http://wpri.com/2017/11/08/florida-woman-finds-message-in-bottle-from-narragansett/" type="external">told WPRI-TV</a>.</p>
<p>McAleer’s fiance, a fisherman, released the bottle from a vessel in Georges Bank in September 2013.</p>
<p>“She was always someone giving to other people and she always sacrificed everything for her children. She never got to travel. This was my little inspiration to let her travel, see the world,” McAleer <a href="http://turnto10.com/news/local/a-special-message-in-a-bottle-found-four-years-later-at-sea" type="external">told WJAR-TV</a>. “I never thought in a million years I would hear somebody found my mom’s bottle.”</p>
<p>McAleer said the ocean holds a special significance for her family. She said she even named her daughter Ocean.</p>
<p>“Anytime me or my brother or my sisters miss my mom, we come to the beach,” she said.</p>
<p>McAleer said time passed and she started to believe she would never hear word of the bottle — until she heard from Stephanie Winnek.</p>
<p>Winnek said she found the bottle on Cinnamon Beach in Palm Coast, Fla.</p>
<p>“I could definitely tell there was something in it like a rolled up baggy and tied like a message in a bottle,” Winnek <a href="http://www.fox35orlando.com/news/local-news/cremated-remains-in-a-bottle-wash-up-on-palm-coast-beach-with-a-message" type="external">told WOFL-TV</a>.</p>
<p>Winnek said she had her husband, Steve, break the bottle open because the cork would not budge. She said she was surprised when she read the message inside.</p>
<p>“And I said ‘Oh my god their mom is in this bottle these are her ashes. She’s been on a long journey four years,” Winnek said.</p>
<p>Winnek said she and her husband spread some of Cindy’s ashes around a palm tree before putting the rest into a new bottle to continue her journey.</p>
<p>McAleer said she was grateful for the Winneks’ kindness.</p>
<p>“I was very overwhelmed, it just makes me feel like there are still good people out there,” she said.</p> | Bottle with mom's ashes travels from Rhode Island to Florida | false | https://newsline.com/bottle-with-moms-ashes-travels-from-rhode-island-to-florida/ | 2017-11-10 | 1right-center
| Bottle with mom's ashes travels from Rhode Island to Florida
<p>Nov. 10 (UPI) — A <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Rhode_Island/" type="external">Rhode Island</a> woman who placed some of her mother’s cremated ashes in a bottle along with a message said the object floated all the way to Florida.</p>
<p>Athina McAleer of Charlestown said she decorated a bottle and filled it with some of the cremated ashes of her mother Cindy Rounds, who died in 2010, and included a letter about the woman’s death from cancer.</p>
<p>“I put the story of where she started and got sick and unfortunately how it ended,” McAleer <a href="http://wpri.com/2017/11/08/florida-woman-finds-message-in-bottle-from-narragansett/" type="external">told WPRI-TV</a>.</p>
<p>McAleer’s fiance, a fisherman, released the bottle from a vessel in Georges Bank in September 2013.</p>
<p>“She was always someone giving to other people and she always sacrificed everything for her children. She never got to travel. This was my little inspiration to let her travel, see the world,” McAleer <a href="http://turnto10.com/news/local/a-special-message-in-a-bottle-found-four-years-later-at-sea" type="external">told WJAR-TV</a>. “I never thought in a million years I would hear somebody found my mom’s bottle.”</p>
<p>McAleer said the ocean holds a special significance for her family. She said she even named her daughter Ocean.</p>
<p>“Anytime me or my brother or my sisters miss my mom, we come to the beach,” she said.</p>
<p>McAleer said time passed and she started to believe she would never hear word of the bottle — until she heard from Stephanie Winnek.</p>
<p>Winnek said she found the bottle on Cinnamon Beach in Palm Coast, Fla.</p>
<p>“I could definitely tell there was something in it like a rolled up baggy and tied like a message in a bottle,” Winnek <a href="http://www.fox35orlando.com/news/local-news/cremated-remains-in-a-bottle-wash-up-on-palm-coast-beach-with-a-message" type="external">told WOFL-TV</a>.</p>
<p>Winnek said she had her husband, Steve, break the bottle open because the cork would not budge. She said she was surprised when she read the message inside.</p>
<p>“And I said ‘Oh my god their mom is in this bottle these are her ashes. She’s been on a long journey four years,” Winnek said.</p>
<p>Winnek said she and her husband spread some of Cindy’s ashes around a palm tree before putting the rest into a new bottle to continue her journey.</p>
<p>McAleer said she was grateful for the Winneks’ kindness.</p>
<p>“I was very overwhelmed, it just makes me feel like there are still good people out there,” she said.</p> | 3,435 |
<p />
<p>If political conventions are ranked on a one to ten scale for intelligence, I give the Republican Convention zero and the Democrats one.</p>
<p>How can the United States be a superpower when both political parties are unaware of everything that is happening at home and abroad?</p>
<p>The Republicans are relying for victory on four years of anti-Obama propaganda and their proprietary programed electronic voting machines.&#160; For nearly four years Republican operatives have flooded the Internet with portraits of Obama as a non-US citizen, as a Muslim (even while Obama was murdering Muslims in seven countries), and as a Marxist (put in power by the Israel Lobby, Wall Street, and the military/security complex).</p>
<p>Most Republican voters will vote against Obama based on these charges despite the curious fact that no committee in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives held a hearing to determine if Obama is a citizen.&#160; If Obama were not a citizen, why would the very aggressive House Republicans not capitalize on it?&#160; It would be easy for a Congressional committee to determine if Obama were a citizen. Despite the propaganda, the Republicans in office have shown no interest in the propaganda charges spread by Republican operatives over the Internet.</p>
<p>Either Republicans have no confidence in the charges and do not want to end up proving with Congressional hearings that Obama is a citizen, or the Republicans, having destroyed every other aspect of the US Constitution, reducing it to “a scrap of paper,” feel that making an issue of the last remaining Constitutional provision other than the Second Amendment would be the height of hypocrisy and don’t want to risk opening the constitutional issues that Republicans have run roughshod over.</p>
<p>If the Republicans can destroy habeas corpus, due process, violate both US statutory and international law, ignore the separation of powers, and create a Caesar, why can’t the Democrats run a non-citizen?</p>
<p>Why didn’t the Republican convention raise the issue about the Obama regime’s claim that the executive branch has the power to assassinate US citizens without due process of law?&#160; No such power exists in the US Constitution or in US statutory law. This gestapo police state claim exists only as an assertion. Republicans ignored this most important of all issues, because they support it.</p>
<p>Why didn’t the Democrat convention raise the issue that the Republicans took us to wars based on 9/11 assertions without ever conducting an investigation of 9/11?&#160; No qualified high-rise architect, structural engineer, physicist, chemist, or national security expert believes a word of the US government’s 9/11 story. Neither do the first responders who were on the scene and witnessed and experienced the event.</p>
<p>Many experts keep their opinions to themselves, because otherwise the federal grants to their universities are over and done with or their architectural and engineering businesses are boycotted by patriotic former clients.</p>
<p>Regardless of these risks, there are 1,700 architects and engineers who have sent a petition to Congress that they do not believe one word of the official explanation and who demand a real investigation.</p>
<p>Why did neither party raise the question of how the US economy can recover when corporations have offshored millions of US middle class jobs, both manufacturing jobs and professional service jobs. For at least a decade, the US economy has been able to create only lowly paid domestic non-tradable (not exportable) service jobs, such as waitresses, bartenders, and hospital orderlies.</p>
<p>Both parties talk total nonsense about jobs. The Republicans say they can create jobs by not taxing the rich. The Democrats say they can create jobs by financing jobs programs.&#160; The Republicans say that the Democrats’ jobs programs simply take money from business investments and give it to those who patronize bars and the drug trade. The Democrats say that the low taxes of the Republicans just subsidize yachts, exotic cars, private aircraft, and $800,000 wrist watches for the one percent, most of which is produced abroad.</p>
<p>Neither political party will admit that when US corporations offshore their production for US markets, Americans are removed from the incomes associated with the production of the goods and services that they consume. Offshoring is defended by both moronic political parties as “free trade.”&#160; In fact, offshoring is the gift of what was US GDP to China, India, and the other countries to which US corporations locate their production that they sell to Americans. US GDP goes down, the GDP of the countries who make the American goods sold to Americans goes up. The idiot free market economists call the de-industrializing of America “free trade.”</p>
<p>As an intelligent economist—an oxymoron—would know, destroying consumer incomes by moving their jobs to other countries, leaves consumers without incomes to purchase the imported offshored goods.</p>
<p>Neither American political party recognizes this disconnect. Neither party can afford to recognize it, as both parties are dependent on corporate campaign financing, and offshoring boosts executive bonuses and share prices. A political party that opposes offshoring of US jobs simply does not get financed.</p>
<p>So, the great “superpower,” the “indispensable nation,” the world hegemon, is going into an election, and no one knows what the stakes are.</p>
<p>Why did not either political party ask: if Washington has demonized Iran, why did the 120 countries that comprise the non-aligned movement convene in Iran last week?</p>
<p>Is Washington’s propaganda failing? Can Washington no longer convince the world that the countries that Washington wants to destroy are evil and must be destroyed?</p>
<p>If Washington’s propaganda is failing, the world rule of the hegemonic power will not succeed. As world rule is Washington’s goal in keeping with the neoconservative ideology, then Washington is failing and is not the superpower it pretends to be.</p>
<p>Most credible foreign policy experts, none of which either political party has, believe that Washington has thrown away US “soft power” by its obvious lies and unjustified military attacks on seven Muslim countries, its encirclement of Russia with missile bases, and its encirclement of China with air, naval, and troop bases.</p>
<p>In other words, Washington’s moral force no longer exists.&#160; All that exists is financial and military force, and both will fail as they are insufficient.</p>
<p>Neither party asked why the US is at wars with Muslims for Israel. Why should Americans be losing lives and limbs for Israel while going broke and running up enormous war debts for our children and grandchildren?&#160; The answer from both parties is to blame the country’s bankruptcy on what Washington does for its own economically disenfranchised citizens. America’s financial problems are all the fault of Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare, food stamps, housing subsidies, Pell grants—any and every thing that gives a leg up to the non-one percent.</p>
<p>In short, the attitude of both parties is: if you are not the one percent, you are disposable.</p>
<p>Both Obamacare and the alternative Republican voucher program dispose of ill Americans who confront potentially terminal diseases. The American people and the ill no longer count; only the budget counts. Letting the elderly die sooner is cheaper. We can therefore afford more wars for hegemony and more tax cuts for the one percent.</p>
<p>Have any peoples in human history ever been less represented by their government and political parties than Americans?</p>
<p>The US government represents Israel and the one to ten percent. Everyone else is disposable.</p>
<p>Regardless of the political party whose lever is pulled in November, every American who votes will be voting for Israel and for their own demise.</p>
<p>This article was originally published at <a href="http://www.paulcraigroberts.org/" type="external">PaulCraigRoberts.org</a> and has been used here with permission.</p> | The Message from Both Parties Is That Americans Are Disposable | false | http://foreignpolicyjournal.com/2012/09/08/the-message-from-both-parties-is-that-americans-are-disposable/ | 2012-09-08 | 1right-center
| The Message from Both Parties Is That Americans Are Disposable
<p />
<p>If political conventions are ranked on a one to ten scale for intelligence, I give the Republican Convention zero and the Democrats one.</p>
<p>How can the United States be a superpower when both political parties are unaware of everything that is happening at home and abroad?</p>
<p>The Republicans are relying for victory on four years of anti-Obama propaganda and their proprietary programed electronic voting machines.&#160; For nearly four years Republican operatives have flooded the Internet with portraits of Obama as a non-US citizen, as a Muslim (even while Obama was murdering Muslims in seven countries), and as a Marxist (put in power by the Israel Lobby, Wall Street, and the military/security complex).</p>
<p>Most Republican voters will vote against Obama based on these charges despite the curious fact that no committee in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives held a hearing to determine if Obama is a citizen.&#160; If Obama were not a citizen, why would the very aggressive House Republicans not capitalize on it?&#160; It would be easy for a Congressional committee to determine if Obama were a citizen. Despite the propaganda, the Republicans in office have shown no interest in the propaganda charges spread by Republican operatives over the Internet.</p>
<p>Either Republicans have no confidence in the charges and do not want to end up proving with Congressional hearings that Obama is a citizen, or the Republicans, having destroyed every other aspect of the US Constitution, reducing it to “a scrap of paper,” feel that making an issue of the last remaining Constitutional provision other than the Second Amendment would be the height of hypocrisy and don’t want to risk opening the constitutional issues that Republicans have run roughshod over.</p>
<p>If the Republicans can destroy habeas corpus, due process, violate both US statutory and international law, ignore the separation of powers, and create a Caesar, why can’t the Democrats run a non-citizen?</p>
<p>Why didn’t the Republican convention raise the issue about the Obama regime’s claim that the executive branch has the power to assassinate US citizens without due process of law?&#160; No such power exists in the US Constitution or in US statutory law. This gestapo police state claim exists only as an assertion. Republicans ignored this most important of all issues, because they support it.</p>
<p>Why didn’t the Democrat convention raise the issue that the Republicans took us to wars based on 9/11 assertions without ever conducting an investigation of 9/11?&#160; No qualified high-rise architect, structural engineer, physicist, chemist, or national security expert believes a word of the US government’s 9/11 story. Neither do the first responders who were on the scene and witnessed and experienced the event.</p>
<p>Many experts keep their opinions to themselves, because otherwise the federal grants to their universities are over and done with or their architectural and engineering businesses are boycotted by patriotic former clients.</p>
<p>Regardless of these risks, there are 1,700 architects and engineers who have sent a petition to Congress that they do not believe one word of the official explanation and who demand a real investigation.</p>
<p>Why did neither party raise the question of how the US economy can recover when corporations have offshored millions of US middle class jobs, both manufacturing jobs and professional service jobs. For at least a decade, the US economy has been able to create only lowly paid domestic non-tradable (not exportable) service jobs, such as waitresses, bartenders, and hospital orderlies.</p>
<p>Both parties talk total nonsense about jobs. The Republicans say they can create jobs by not taxing the rich. The Democrats say they can create jobs by financing jobs programs.&#160; The Republicans say that the Democrats’ jobs programs simply take money from business investments and give it to those who patronize bars and the drug trade. The Democrats say that the low taxes of the Republicans just subsidize yachts, exotic cars, private aircraft, and $800,000 wrist watches for the one percent, most of which is produced abroad.</p>
<p>Neither political party will admit that when US corporations offshore their production for US markets, Americans are removed from the incomes associated with the production of the goods and services that they consume. Offshoring is defended by both moronic political parties as “free trade.”&#160; In fact, offshoring is the gift of what was US GDP to China, India, and the other countries to which US corporations locate their production that they sell to Americans. US GDP goes down, the GDP of the countries who make the American goods sold to Americans goes up. The idiot free market economists call the de-industrializing of America “free trade.”</p>
<p>As an intelligent economist—an oxymoron—would know, destroying consumer incomes by moving their jobs to other countries, leaves consumers without incomes to purchase the imported offshored goods.</p>
<p>Neither American political party recognizes this disconnect. Neither party can afford to recognize it, as both parties are dependent on corporate campaign financing, and offshoring boosts executive bonuses and share prices. A political party that opposes offshoring of US jobs simply does not get financed.</p>
<p>So, the great “superpower,” the “indispensable nation,” the world hegemon, is going into an election, and no one knows what the stakes are.</p>
<p>Why did not either political party ask: if Washington has demonized Iran, why did the 120 countries that comprise the non-aligned movement convene in Iran last week?</p>
<p>Is Washington’s propaganda failing? Can Washington no longer convince the world that the countries that Washington wants to destroy are evil and must be destroyed?</p>
<p>If Washington’s propaganda is failing, the world rule of the hegemonic power will not succeed. As world rule is Washington’s goal in keeping with the neoconservative ideology, then Washington is failing and is not the superpower it pretends to be.</p>
<p>Most credible foreign policy experts, none of which either political party has, believe that Washington has thrown away US “soft power” by its obvious lies and unjustified military attacks on seven Muslim countries, its encirclement of Russia with missile bases, and its encirclement of China with air, naval, and troop bases.</p>
<p>In other words, Washington’s moral force no longer exists.&#160; All that exists is financial and military force, and both will fail as they are insufficient.</p>
<p>Neither party asked why the US is at wars with Muslims for Israel. Why should Americans be losing lives and limbs for Israel while going broke and running up enormous war debts for our children and grandchildren?&#160; The answer from both parties is to blame the country’s bankruptcy on what Washington does for its own economically disenfranchised citizens. America’s financial problems are all the fault of Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare, food stamps, housing subsidies, Pell grants—any and every thing that gives a leg up to the non-one percent.</p>
<p>In short, the attitude of both parties is: if you are not the one percent, you are disposable.</p>
<p>Both Obamacare and the alternative Republican voucher program dispose of ill Americans who confront potentially terminal diseases. The American people and the ill no longer count; only the budget counts. Letting the elderly die sooner is cheaper. We can therefore afford more wars for hegemony and more tax cuts for the one percent.</p>
<p>Have any peoples in human history ever been less represented by their government and political parties than Americans?</p>
<p>The US government represents Israel and the one to ten percent. Everyone else is disposable.</p>
<p>Regardless of the political party whose lever is pulled in November, every American who votes will be voting for Israel and for their own demise.</p>
<p>This article was originally published at <a href="http://www.paulcraigroberts.org/" type="external">PaulCraigRoberts.org</a> and has been used here with permission.</p> | 3,436 |
<p><a href="" type="internal">Scholarship Application [PDF]</a></p>
<p>Want to get a better job in journalism? Then Poynter Institute has a suggestion: Team up with the best young journalists in the country. Become skilled in the craft of journalism. Make connections that will last a lifetime. And work toward landing a great job.</p>
<p>We're looking for graduates in journalism, the liberal arts, and graphic or visual design who will become leaders in tomorrow's newsrooms -- people with talent and the drive to succeed. Only 16 students will be selected for each program.</p>
<p>The six-week summer program at Poynter will teach you the skills you need to become a better writer, designer, or photojournalist. Poynter's program has been an important stepping stone for many of today's best journalists. Over the years, all of the past participants who wanted to work in journalism got jobs in the industry.FAQ on Poynter's summer program for recent college graduates.</p>
<p>1. Why should I come to Poynter instead of heading straight into the job market?</p>
<p>The Poynter Institute's summer program is like a finishing school for journalists. Although, on some days boot camp might be a better description. Regardless of your skill level when you start the program, you'll leave as a much stronger journalist&#160;-- your skills will have been bumped up a notch or two. While you're here, you'll gain access to a network of aspiring and accomplished journalists. You'll meet people who do the hiring in newsrooms and people who can get you hired. The summer program begins with a crash course on covering communities and it ends with a full day of interviews with newsroom recruiters looking to hire designers, photographers, and reporters.</p>
<p>We'll introduce you to the fundamentals of good journalism in the first week, covering ethics, collaboration, and diversity. The next five weeks will be spent covering geographic beats around St. Petersburg while being coached by some of the top journalists in the industry.</p>
<p>2. Will my work be published?</p>
<p>Yes. Participants spend at least half of their time documenting life in the surrounding communities and producing stories and designs that are published online. Check out work from <a href="http://www.poyntersummerfellows.org" type="external">previous years'</a> participants (check out the left rail of the summer program homepage).</p>
<p>3. Am I guaranteed a job?</p>
<p>Not exactly. But you'll be head and shoulders above the rest of your graduating class. Recent graduates of this program are working at Gannett News Service, the Miami Herald, the Houston Chronicle, The Des Moines Register, The New Republic, the Battle Creek (Mich.) Enquirer, The Spokesman-Review (in Spokane, Wash.), the Post Register (Idaho Falls, Idaho), and many other newsrooms. Most of our graduates who want to work in newsrooms get jobs within a few months of leaving Poynter.</p>
<p>4. What qualities do you look for in an applicant?</p>
<p>Passion, versatility, and an ability to collaborate. The most important parts of your application package are your work samples and your essay. You must be a recent college graduate with the intention of working in a newsroom to qualify for this program.</p>
<p>5. How much does this cost?</p>
<p>Tuition, which includes housing, is $3,000.</p>
<p>6. Do you offer scholarships?</p>
<p>Yes, a limited number of scholarships are available. If we agree you are right for this program and you qualify for scholarship support, we'll find a way to help you afford tuition and housing. If you need a scholarship, please include the <a href="" type="internal">scholarship application</a> with your fellowship application.</p>
<p>7. When will I know whether I'm selected?</p>
<p>By early December, we plan to narrow the applicants to a list of finalists. We will interview the finalists by phone, and, by the first of the year, select the participants and alternates for the program.</p>
<p>8. Where do participants live during the program?</p>
<p>Housing will likely be single dorm rooms at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg. Residential rooms are grouped four to a suite, with a common living area and kitchenette. Each individual student room has a private bathroom and shower.</p>
<p>Here is a link to <a href="http://www.eckerd.edu/housing/index.php?f=nu" type="external">more information about the dorms</a>, called the <a href="http://www.eckerd.edu/housing/index.php?f=nu" type="external">Nu Complex</a>, at Eckerd College.&#160;</p>
<p>Eckerd will provide basic furniture, including twin beds. Each suite has a refrigerator. Eckerd will also provide basic cable hookups. Bedding and towels are available for a small fee (though you might want to bring your own).</p>
<p>You and your suitemates will be responsible for televisions, a telephone, microwave and toaster ovens, etc.</p>
<p>9. May I arrange my own housing?</p>
<p>Yes, but it doesn't lower the cost of the tuition.</p>
<p>10. Do I need a car?</p>
<p>A car is very helpful but not required. You will have to make your way around your beat. In the past, participants have made do with bicycles and public transportation.</p>
<p>11. What equipment do I need?</p>
<p>We work in a digital environment. If you have a digital camera, bring it. If you are a photographer, bring whatever you have. If you have a laptop, that comes in handy, too. We will have some pool camera equipment available.</p>
<p>12.&#160; What other expenses should I expect?</p>
<p>Participants are responsible for their travel to St. Petersburg, gas for their cars, most of their meals, personal needs, and entertainment.</p>
<p>13. Okay, you've sold me on the program. Where can I apply?</p>
<p>You can download a PDF of the application form <a href="" type="internal">here</a>.&#160;If you would like to see a Web site put together by former program participants, <a href="http://www.davidm.net/poynter/index.html" type="external">click here</a>.</p> | 2006 Poynter Summer Fellowship for Young Journalists | false | https://poynter.org/news/2006-poynter-summer-fellowship-young-journalists | 2005-10-10 | 2least
| 2006 Poynter Summer Fellowship for Young Journalists
<p><a href="" type="internal">Scholarship Application [PDF]</a></p>
<p>Want to get a better job in journalism? Then Poynter Institute has a suggestion: Team up with the best young journalists in the country. Become skilled in the craft of journalism. Make connections that will last a lifetime. And work toward landing a great job.</p>
<p>We're looking for graduates in journalism, the liberal arts, and graphic or visual design who will become leaders in tomorrow's newsrooms -- people with talent and the drive to succeed. Only 16 students will be selected for each program.</p>
<p>The six-week summer program at Poynter will teach you the skills you need to become a better writer, designer, or photojournalist. Poynter's program has been an important stepping stone for many of today's best journalists. Over the years, all of the past participants who wanted to work in journalism got jobs in the industry.FAQ on Poynter's summer program for recent college graduates.</p>
<p>1. Why should I come to Poynter instead of heading straight into the job market?</p>
<p>The Poynter Institute's summer program is like a finishing school for journalists. Although, on some days boot camp might be a better description. Regardless of your skill level when you start the program, you'll leave as a much stronger journalist&#160;-- your skills will have been bumped up a notch or two. While you're here, you'll gain access to a network of aspiring and accomplished journalists. You'll meet people who do the hiring in newsrooms and people who can get you hired. The summer program begins with a crash course on covering communities and it ends with a full day of interviews with newsroom recruiters looking to hire designers, photographers, and reporters.</p>
<p>We'll introduce you to the fundamentals of good journalism in the first week, covering ethics, collaboration, and diversity. The next five weeks will be spent covering geographic beats around St. Petersburg while being coached by some of the top journalists in the industry.</p>
<p>2. Will my work be published?</p>
<p>Yes. Participants spend at least half of their time documenting life in the surrounding communities and producing stories and designs that are published online. Check out work from <a href="http://www.poyntersummerfellows.org" type="external">previous years'</a> participants (check out the left rail of the summer program homepage).</p>
<p>3. Am I guaranteed a job?</p>
<p>Not exactly. But you'll be head and shoulders above the rest of your graduating class. Recent graduates of this program are working at Gannett News Service, the Miami Herald, the Houston Chronicle, The Des Moines Register, The New Republic, the Battle Creek (Mich.) Enquirer, The Spokesman-Review (in Spokane, Wash.), the Post Register (Idaho Falls, Idaho), and many other newsrooms. Most of our graduates who want to work in newsrooms get jobs within a few months of leaving Poynter.</p>
<p>4. What qualities do you look for in an applicant?</p>
<p>Passion, versatility, and an ability to collaborate. The most important parts of your application package are your work samples and your essay. You must be a recent college graduate with the intention of working in a newsroom to qualify for this program.</p>
<p>5. How much does this cost?</p>
<p>Tuition, which includes housing, is $3,000.</p>
<p>6. Do you offer scholarships?</p>
<p>Yes, a limited number of scholarships are available. If we agree you are right for this program and you qualify for scholarship support, we'll find a way to help you afford tuition and housing. If you need a scholarship, please include the <a href="" type="internal">scholarship application</a> with your fellowship application.</p>
<p>7. When will I know whether I'm selected?</p>
<p>By early December, we plan to narrow the applicants to a list of finalists. We will interview the finalists by phone, and, by the first of the year, select the participants and alternates for the program.</p>
<p>8. Where do participants live during the program?</p>
<p>Housing will likely be single dorm rooms at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg. Residential rooms are grouped four to a suite, with a common living area and kitchenette. Each individual student room has a private bathroom and shower.</p>
<p>Here is a link to <a href="http://www.eckerd.edu/housing/index.php?f=nu" type="external">more information about the dorms</a>, called the <a href="http://www.eckerd.edu/housing/index.php?f=nu" type="external">Nu Complex</a>, at Eckerd College.&#160;</p>
<p>Eckerd will provide basic furniture, including twin beds. Each suite has a refrigerator. Eckerd will also provide basic cable hookups. Bedding and towels are available for a small fee (though you might want to bring your own).</p>
<p>You and your suitemates will be responsible for televisions, a telephone, microwave and toaster ovens, etc.</p>
<p>9. May I arrange my own housing?</p>
<p>Yes, but it doesn't lower the cost of the tuition.</p>
<p>10. Do I need a car?</p>
<p>A car is very helpful but not required. You will have to make your way around your beat. In the past, participants have made do with bicycles and public transportation.</p>
<p>11. What equipment do I need?</p>
<p>We work in a digital environment. If you have a digital camera, bring it. If you are a photographer, bring whatever you have. If you have a laptop, that comes in handy, too. We will have some pool camera equipment available.</p>
<p>12.&#160; What other expenses should I expect?</p>
<p>Participants are responsible for their travel to St. Petersburg, gas for their cars, most of their meals, personal needs, and entertainment.</p>
<p>13. Okay, you've sold me on the program. Where can I apply?</p>
<p>You can download a PDF of the application form <a href="" type="internal">here</a>.&#160;If you would like to see a Web site put together by former program participants, <a href="http://www.davidm.net/poynter/index.html" type="external">click here</a>.</p> | 3,437 |
<p>Everyone has at least one embarrassing moment from childhood&#160;that makes them cringe whenever they look back. For little Claudia Moser, this moment is probably it.</p>
<p>Accompanying her parents during an April visit to celebrate Passover at the White House, Claudia decided to throw a full-blown temper tantrum in the Red Room – right in front of President Barack Obama. During the epic meltdown, Claudia threw&#160;herself onto the carpet, buried her face in the floor and pounded her frustration into the fabric, leaving President Obama and the First Lady speechless.</p>
<p>A photo capturing the moment was <a href="https://twitter.com/BenjaminFMoser/status/601437345733185536" type="external">posted to Twitter</a> by Claudia’s Uncle, writer and journalist Benjamin Moser, showing not only Claudia’s crying spell, but President Obama’s amazing reaction to it:</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /></p>
<p>This is a moment that all parents can relate to, and sometimes the only thing you can do is just let the child ride a fit out. Accepting that he couldn’t do anything to pull Claudia out of her cranky mood, Obama raises his hands in defeat while keeping completely composed – a technique he probably picked up from dealing with conservatives on a regular basis. Michelle Obama, also rendered helpless in the situation, looks on sympathetically in the background.</p>
<p>The photograph was taken by White House photographer Peter Souza and has gone viral since Benjamin posted it on Twitter this week. Responding to Twitter comments, Claudia’s mother Laura Moser suggested that it had not only been a long day for little Claudia – but for anyone else who had to witness Claudia’s “ten tantrums” that hour!</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /></p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Claudia’s mother also made sure to have a good sense of humor while her daughter’s photo circulated all over the internet. One thing is for sure: this photo is going to haunt Claudia for the rest of her life!</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /></p>
<p>President Obama, who finally got <a href="" type="internal">his own official Twitter account</a> earlier this week, has diplomatically refrained&#160;from commenting on the hysterical event.</p>
<p>Featured image courtesy of Benjamin Moser Twitter.</p> | Obama Has Priceless Reaction To Little Girl’s White House Meltdown (IMAGE) | true | http://addictinginfo.org/2015/05/23/obama-has-priceless-reaction-to-little-girls-white-house-meltdown-image/ | 2015-05-23 | 4left
| Obama Has Priceless Reaction To Little Girl’s White House Meltdown (IMAGE)
<p>Everyone has at least one embarrassing moment from childhood&#160;that makes them cringe whenever they look back. For little Claudia Moser, this moment is probably it.</p>
<p>Accompanying her parents during an April visit to celebrate Passover at the White House, Claudia decided to throw a full-blown temper tantrum in the Red Room – right in front of President Barack Obama. During the epic meltdown, Claudia threw&#160;herself onto the carpet, buried her face in the floor and pounded her frustration into the fabric, leaving President Obama and the First Lady speechless.</p>
<p>A photo capturing the moment was <a href="https://twitter.com/BenjaminFMoser/status/601437345733185536" type="external">posted to Twitter</a> by Claudia’s Uncle, writer and journalist Benjamin Moser, showing not only Claudia’s crying spell, but President Obama’s amazing reaction to it:</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /></p>
<p>This is a moment that all parents can relate to, and sometimes the only thing you can do is just let the child ride a fit out. Accepting that he couldn’t do anything to pull Claudia out of her cranky mood, Obama raises his hands in defeat while keeping completely composed – a technique he probably picked up from dealing with conservatives on a regular basis. Michelle Obama, also rendered helpless in the situation, looks on sympathetically in the background.</p>
<p>The photograph was taken by White House photographer Peter Souza and has gone viral since Benjamin posted it on Twitter this week. Responding to Twitter comments, Claudia’s mother Laura Moser suggested that it had not only been a long day for little Claudia – but for anyone else who had to witness Claudia’s “ten tantrums” that hour!</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /></p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Claudia’s mother also made sure to have a good sense of humor while her daughter’s photo circulated all over the internet. One thing is for sure: this photo is going to haunt Claudia for the rest of her life!</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /></p>
<p>President Obama, who finally got <a href="" type="internal">his own official Twitter account</a> earlier this week, has diplomatically refrained&#160;from commenting on the hysterical event.</p>
<p>Featured image courtesy of Benjamin Moser Twitter.</p> | 3,438 |
<p />
<p>Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) is launching a long-awaited subscription service for magazines, newspapers, videos and music--a move that could dent the fortunes of successful services such as Netflix and Hulu.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Shares of Netflix Inc fell nearly 3% after Apple unveiled plans for a subscription service that allows it to keep 30% of fees from participating media companies.</p>
<p>Under Apple's new plan, application publishers such as The New York Times, video service Netflix or music service Rhapsody that already sell subscriptions on their own would be required to offer those same terms to anyone signing up through Apple.</p>
<p>Publishers can set the price and length of a subscription, but Apple will process all payments and keep 30% of the revenue, it said Tuesday.</p>
<p>In other words, customers who want to sign up for Netflix would have two choices: They could do so through the Netflix website, in which case Netflix would keep the full fee; or they could subscribe through the applications in their iPhone or iPad, which would cost Netflix nearly a third of its fees.</p>
<p>In launching the service, Apple is taking yet another bold step in securing a major role for itself in the future of digital media. Until now, Apple has invited media companies such as Netflix to create applications for the iPhone and iPad without taking a financial stake.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>It was not immediately clear when all publishers must comply with these new rules.</p>
<p>The subscription service is a major break from the previous practice of "newsstand sales" under which each issue of a magazine, for instance, would be bought separately. Apple also keeps 30 percent of the sales fee in those cases.</p>
<p>Publishers are betting that the simplicity of Apple's system will help boost sales, offsetting any losses they may suffer by sharing revenue.</p>
<p>But for months, publishers debated whether Apple's policy would put them at the mercy of one of the most powerful technology companies in the world -- placing them in the same uncomfortable position as music companies. For example, they will be barred from putting links to their own websites within the apps.</p>
<p>"When Apple brings a new subscriber to the app, Apple earns a 30% share; when the publisher brings an existing or new subscriber to the app, the publisher keeps 100% and Apple earns nothing," Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs said in a prepared statement. Jobs is currently on leave.</p>
<p>What to do with customer data has been one of the main sticking points in working out agreements for a subscription service. The current plan will allow customers to decide how much information to supply publishers when they sign up for subscriptions.</p>
<p>How that information is be used will then be decided by the publishers -- who are particularly protective of subscriber data such as names, addresses and credit cards because it helps them court advertisers and market new products to existing readers.</p>
<p>The decision to broadly introduce a subscription service comes just weeks after Apple teamed up with News Corp to launch The Daily, which was the first subscription product available through Apple's iTunes store.</p>
<p>At the launch of The Daily earlier this month, Apple hinted that the company would soon make an announcement on subscription services for other publishers.</p>
<p>Netflix shares fell $6.78, or 2.7%, to $240.76 in morning trading. Apple's shares gained 17 cents to $359.35.</p> | Apple Introduces Digital Subscription Service for App Store | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2011/02/15/apple-rolls-digital-subscription-service-app-store.html | 2016-03-07 | 0right
| Apple Introduces Digital Subscription Service for App Store
<p />
<p>Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) is launching a long-awaited subscription service for magazines, newspapers, videos and music--a move that could dent the fortunes of successful services such as Netflix and Hulu.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Shares of Netflix Inc fell nearly 3% after Apple unveiled plans for a subscription service that allows it to keep 30% of fees from participating media companies.</p>
<p>Under Apple's new plan, application publishers such as The New York Times, video service Netflix or music service Rhapsody that already sell subscriptions on their own would be required to offer those same terms to anyone signing up through Apple.</p>
<p>Publishers can set the price and length of a subscription, but Apple will process all payments and keep 30% of the revenue, it said Tuesday.</p>
<p>In other words, customers who want to sign up for Netflix would have two choices: They could do so through the Netflix website, in which case Netflix would keep the full fee; or they could subscribe through the applications in their iPhone or iPad, which would cost Netflix nearly a third of its fees.</p>
<p>In launching the service, Apple is taking yet another bold step in securing a major role for itself in the future of digital media. Until now, Apple has invited media companies such as Netflix to create applications for the iPhone and iPad without taking a financial stake.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>It was not immediately clear when all publishers must comply with these new rules.</p>
<p>The subscription service is a major break from the previous practice of "newsstand sales" under which each issue of a magazine, for instance, would be bought separately. Apple also keeps 30 percent of the sales fee in those cases.</p>
<p>Publishers are betting that the simplicity of Apple's system will help boost sales, offsetting any losses they may suffer by sharing revenue.</p>
<p>But for months, publishers debated whether Apple's policy would put them at the mercy of one of the most powerful technology companies in the world -- placing them in the same uncomfortable position as music companies. For example, they will be barred from putting links to their own websites within the apps.</p>
<p>"When Apple brings a new subscriber to the app, Apple earns a 30% share; when the publisher brings an existing or new subscriber to the app, the publisher keeps 100% and Apple earns nothing," Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs said in a prepared statement. Jobs is currently on leave.</p>
<p>What to do with customer data has been one of the main sticking points in working out agreements for a subscription service. The current plan will allow customers to decide how much information to supply publishers when they sign up for subscriptions.</p>
<p>How that information is be used will then be decided by the publishers -- who are particularly protective of subscriber data such as names, addresses and credit cards because it helps them court advertisers and market new products to existing readers.</p>
<p>The decision to broadly introduce a subscription service comes just weeks after Apple teamed up with News Corp to launch The Daily, which was the first subscription product available through Apple's iTunes store.</p>
<p>At the launch of The Daily earlier this month, Apple hinted that the company would soon make an announcement on subscription services for other publishers.</p>
<p>Netflix shares fell $6.78, or 2.7%, to $240.76 in morning trading. Apple's shares gained 17 cents to $359.35.</p> | 3,439 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>“Grappling with how government protects the American people from adverse events while … making sure that government itself is not abusing its capabilities is hard,” Obama said Friday during a visit to Stanford University. “The cyber world is sort of the wild, wild West and, to some degree, we’re asked to be the sheriff.”</p>
<p>OBAMA: It must be easier to share information</p>
<p>Obama told more than 1,500 business leaders, students, professors and reporters that threat information must be shared and responded to quickly.</p>
<p>And he signed an executive order aimed at making it easier for private firms to access classified information about cyber attacks. He also stressed there would be oversight to ensure protections for privacy and civil liberties.</p>
<p>Partnering with the federal government is a hard sell in Silicon Valley. The pace of innovation in California’s tech hub outstrips the Beltway bureaucracy and tech firms chafe at regulations that could limit their reach.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Further, disclosures from former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden exposing sweeping U.S. government surveillance programs have angered many.</p>
<p>“The new proposals face significant headwinds, both from Congress and from heavyweights in the tech sector,” said Ben Desjardins, director of security solutions at cybersecurity firm Radware. “Based on the Snowden leaks, these companies believe they’ve already been badly burned by the government and have very little to gain by publicly backing the president’s proposals.”</p>
<p />
<p /> | Obama asks tech elite, feds to fight cyber attacks | false | https://abqjournal.com/541356/obama-asks-tech-elite-feds-to-fight-cyber-attacks.html | 2least
| Obama asks tech elite, feds to fight cyber attacks
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>“Grappling with how government protects the American people from adverse events while … making sure that government itself is not abusing its capabilities is hard,” Obama said Friday during a visit to Stanford University. “The cyber world is sort of the wild, wild West and, to some degree, we’re asked to be the sheriff.”</p>
<p>OBAMA: It must be easier to share information</p>
<p>Obama told more than 1,500 business leaders, students, professors and reporters that threat information must be shared and responded to quickly.</p>
<p>And he signed an executive order aimed at making it easier for private firms to access classified information about cyber attacks. He also stressed there would be oversight to ensure protections for privacy and civil liberties.</p>
<p>Partnering with the federal government is a hard sell in Silicon Valley. The pace of innovation in California’s tech hub outstrips the Beltway bureaucracy and tech firms chafe at regulations that could limit their reach.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Further, disclosures from former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden exposing sweeping U.S. government surveillance programs have angered many.</p>
<p>“The new proposals face significant headwinds, both from Congress and from heavyweights in the tech sector,” said Ben Desjardins, director of security solutions at cybersecurity firm Radware. “Based on the Snowden leaks, these companies believe they’ve already been badly burned by the government and have very little to gain by publicly backing the president’s proposals.”</p>
<p />
<p /> | 3,440 |
|
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>Former Rio Rancho Mayor Thomas Swisstack is unopposed in his bid for re-election to the District 3 seat on the College of Central New Mexico Governing Board.</p>
<p>Candidates formally filed Tuesday for five of the seven board seats up for election on Feb. 7.</p>
<p>Tom Swisstack</p>
<p>According to the Bernalillo County Clerk’s Office, Swisstack is unopposed in District 3, which includes Rio Rancho.</p>
<p>Swisstack, 70, was selected by the governing board in June to fill the position vacated by Debbi Moore, who stepped down last spring as CEO and president of the Rio Rancho Regional Chamber of Commerce to head the chamber of commerce in Las Cruces.</p>
<p />
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Swisstack unopposed for CNM seat | false | https://abqjournal.com/915346/swisstack-unopposed-for-cnm-seat.html | 2least
| Swisstack unopposed for CNM seat
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>Former Rio Rancho Mayor Thomas Swisstack is unopposed in his bid for re-election to the District 3 seat on the College of Central New Mexico Governing Board.</p>
<p>Candidates formally filed Tuesday for five of the seven board seats up for election on Feb. 7.</p>
<p>Tom Swisstack</p>
<p>According to the Bernalillo County Clerk’s Office, Swisstack is unopposed in District 3, which includes Rio Rancho.</p>
<p>Swisstack, 70, was selected by the governing board in June to fill the position vacated by Debbi Moore, who stepped down last spring as CEO and president of the Rio Rancho Regional Chamber of Commerce to head the chamber of commerce in Las Cruces.</p>
<p />
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 3,441 |
|
<p />
<p>Coffee prices got a double shot of espresso this week, posting their biggest seven-day advance in 14 years. But consumers need not worry about a corresponding jump in prices at grocery stores and diners.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Arabica coffee for March delivery, the most actively traded contact, traded about 5% higher on Wednesday and has surged 26% over the last seven sessions. Analysts are attributing the jump to drought conditions in Brazil that could pressure output from the world’s largest coffee producer.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, hedge funds and other speculators have been net-short Arabica for some time, according to FBN’s Charlie Brady. Traders covering those shorts may also be magnifying the recent coffee surge.</p>
<p>Bob Maltsbarger, a senior agricultural economist for IHS, said the impact on prices for packaged coffee and other consumer products will largely depend on how long the market uptick is maintained. However, any blip in consumer prices would be minimal.</p>
<p>“I don’t believe the impact will be huge. Even though coffee is coming up, consumer prices are kind of sticky,” he explained. “Generally, prices will not come up with the market.”</p>
<p>He went on to cite the bloated prices in May, and even higher prices seen in 2012. Arabica coffee, which rose nearly seven cents to $1.43 a pound on Wednesday, last eclipsed $1.40 last spring but was well above $1.90 the prior year.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>“We’re still nowhere near the magnitude seen in 2012,” Maltsbarger said.</p>
<p>Consumer prices for most raw commodities don’t get shaken up by the ebbs and flows of the market, he noted. An immediate upswing in commodity prices is usually captured by the retail market, with a dip in prices providing an opportunity for wider margins that help make up the difference.</p>
<p>Compared to prices in the commodities market, price swings seen by consumers are “slower and the magnitude isn’t as great,” Maltsbarger added.</p>
<p>However, the situation in Brazil remains the most significant factor in near-term coffee futures. Maltsbarger said the drought conditions may be compounded by additional pruning that occurred when prices were lower. So if trees do recover, they may not produce as much coffee as they could have.</p>
<p>There will likely be more clarity during the summer, when production reports will shed light on the &#160;&#160;weather’s ultimate impact on Brazilian coffee.</p>
<p>“I think we’ll see most of the risk premium in the market come off,” Maltsbarger said.</p> | Consumers Likely Safe from Coffee Price Surge | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2014/02/05/consumers-likely-safe-from-coffee-price-surge.html | 2016-03-06 | 0right
| Consumers Likely Safe from Coffee Price Surge
<p />
<p>Coffee prices got a double shot of espresso this week, posting their biggest seven-day advance in 14 years. But consumers need not worry about a corresponding jump in prices at grocery stores and diners.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Arabica coffee for March delivery, the most actively traded contact, traded about 5% higher on Wednesday and has surged 26% over the last seven sessions. Analysts are attributing the jump to drought conditions in Brazil that could pressure output from the world’s largest coffee producer.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, hedge funds and other speculators have been net-short Arabica for some time, according to FBN’s Charlie Brady. Traders covering those shorts may also be magnifying the recent coffee surge.</p>
<p>Bob Maltsbarger, a senior agricultural economist for IHS, said the impact on prices for packaged coffee and other consumer products will largely depend on how long the market uptick is maintained. However, any blip in consumer prices would be minimal.</p>
<p>“I don’t believe the impact will be huge. Even though coffee is coming up, consumer prices are kind of sticky,” he explained. “Generally, prices will not come up with the market.”</p>
<p>He went on to cite the bloated prices in May, and even higher prices seen in 2012. Arabica coffee, which rose nearly seven cents to $1.43 a pound on Wednesday, last eclipsed $1.40 last spring but was well above $1.90 the prior year.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>“We’re still nowhere near the magnitude seen in 2012,” Maltsbarger said.</p>
<p>Consumer prices for most raw commodities don’t get shaken up by the ebbs and flows of the market, he noted. An immediate upswing in commodity prices is usually captured by the retail market, with a dip in prices providing an opportunity for wider margins that help make up the difference.</p>
<p>Compared to prices in the commodities market, price swings seen by consumers are “slower and the magnitude isn’t as great,” Maltsbarger added.</p>
<p>However, the situation in Brazil remains the most significant factor in near-term coffee futures. Maltsbarger said the drought conditions may be compounded by additional pruning that occurred when prices were lower. So if trees do recover, they may not produce as much coffee as they could have.</p>
<p>There will likely be more clarity during the summer, when production reports will shed light on the &#160;&#160;weather’s ultimate impact on Brazilian coffee.</p>
<p>“I think we’ll see most of the risk premium in the market come off,” Maltsbarger said.</p> | 3,442 |
<p>SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) - The Bahamas navy says it has intercepted a boat carrying 76 Haitian migrants. It's the second large group stopped in the past two weeks.</p>
<p>The navy said Sunday the Haitians were aboard a 40-foot (13-meter) boat stopped about 20 miles (12 kilometers) west of the Exuma islands. It says the Haitians were turned over to immigration authorities for eventual repatriation.</p>
<p>The navy recently stopped another boat carrying 87 Haitians.</p>
<p>Hundreds of Haitians each year try to reach the Bahamas in search of work, despite the island chain's threat to deport unauthorized foreigners. The International Organization for Migration estimated in 2014 that there were nearly 70,000 Haitians in the Bahamas, 50,000 of them without residence permits.</p>
<p>SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) - The Bahamas navy says it has intercepted a boat carrying 76 Haitian migrants. It's the second large group stopped in the past two weeks.</p>
<p>The navy said Sunday the Haitians were aboard a 40-foot (13-meter) boat stopped about 20 miles (12 kilometers) west of the Exuma islands. It says the Haitians were turned over to immigration authorities for eventual repatriation.</p>
<p>The navy recently stopped another boat carrying 87 Haitians.</p>
<p>Hundreds of Haitians each year try to reach the Bahamas in search of work, despite the island chain's threat to deport unauthorized foreigners. The International Organization for Migration estimated in 2014 that there were nearly 70,000 Haitians in the Bahamas, 50,000 of them without residence permits.</p> | Bahamas navy intercepts boat carrying 76 Haitian migrants | false | https://apnews.com/amp/2ba92c514899478e8de9cb03636475d4 | 2017-12-31 | 2least
| Bahamas navy intercepts boat carrying 76 Haitian migrants
<p>SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) - The Bahamas navy says it has intercepted a boat carrying 76 Haitian migrants. It's the second large group stopped in the past two weeks.</p>
<p>The navy said Sunday the Haitians were aboard a 40-foot (13-meter) boat stopped about 20 miles (12 kilometers) west of the Exuma islands. It says the Haitians were turned over to immigration authorities for eventual repatriation.</p>
<p>The navy recently stopped another boat carrying 87 Haitians.</p>
<p>Hundreds of Haitians each year try to reach the Bahamas in search of work, despite the island chain's threat to deport unauthorized foreigners. The International Organization for Migration estimated in 2014 that there were nearly 70,000 Haitians in the Bahamas, 50,000 of them without residence permits.</p>
<p>SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) - The Bahamas navy says it has intercepted a boat carrying 76 Haitian migrants. It's the second large group stopped in the past two weeks.</p>
<p>The navy said Sunday the Haitians were aboard a 40-foot (13-meter) boat stopped about 20 miles (12 kilometers) west of the Exuma islands. It says the Haitians were turned over to immigration authorities for eventual repatriation.</p>
<p>The navy recently stopped another boat carrying 87 Haitians.</p>
<p>Hundreds of Haitians each year try to reach the Bahamas in search of work, despite the island chain's threat to deport unauthorized foreigners. The International Organization for Migration estimated in 2014 that there were nearly 70,000 Haitians in the Bahamas, 50,000 of them without residence permits.</p> | 3,443 |
<p>LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) _ These Nebraska lotteries were drawn Thursday:</p>
<p>2 By 2</p>
<p>Red Balls: 13-26, White Balls: 9-21</p>
<p>(Red Balls: thirteen, twenty-six; White Balls: nine, twenty-one)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $22,000</p>
<p>Lucky For Life</p>
<p>11-12-19-28-46, Lucky Ball: 4</p>
<p>(eleven, twelve, nineteen, twenty-eight, forty-six; Lucky Ball: four)</p>
<p>Mega Millions</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $418 million</p>
<p>MyDaY</p>
<p>Month: 7, Day: 16, Year: 88</p>
<p>(Month: seven; Day: sixteen; Year: eighty-eight)</p>
<p>Pick 3</p>
<p>2-7-9</p>
<p>(two, seven, nine)</p>
<p>Pick 5</p>
<p>01-02-20-31-37</p>
<p>(one, two, twenty, thirty-one, thirty-seven)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $62,000</p>
<p>Powerball</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $550 million</p>
<p>LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) _ These Nebraska lotteries were drawn Thursday:</p>
<p>2 By 2</p>
<p>Red Balls: 13-26, White Balls: 9-21</p>
<p>(Red Balls: thirteen, twenty-six; White Balls: nine, twenty-one)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $22,000</p>
<p>Lucky For Life</p>
<p>11-12-19-28-46, Lucky Ball: 4</p>
<p>(eleven, twelve, nineteen, twenty-eight, forty-six; Lucky Ball: four)</p>
<p>Mega Millions</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $418 million</p>
<p>MyDaY</p>
<p>Month: 7, Day: 16, Year: 88</p>
<p>(Month: seven; Day: sixteen; Year: eighty-eight)</p>
<p>Pick 3</p>
<p>2-7-9</p>
<p>(two, seven, nine)</p>
<p>Pick 5</p>
<p>01-02-20-31-37</p>
<p>(one, two, twenty, thirty-one, thirty-seven)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $62,000</p>
<p>Powerball</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $550 million</p> | NE Lottery | false | https://apnews.com/3fa3d36a49c441739d68140e861427c3 | 2018-01-05 | 2least
| NE Lottery
<p>LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) _ These Nebraska lotteries were drawn Thursday:</p>
<p>2 By 2</p>
<p>Red Balls: 13-26, White Balls: 9-21</p>
<p>(Red Balls: thirteen, twenty-six; White Balls: nine, twenty-one)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $22,000</p>
<p>Lucky For Life</p>
<p>11-12-19-28-46, Lucky Ball: 4</p>
<p>(eleven, twelve, nineteen, twenty-eight, forty-six; Lucky Ball: four)</p>
<p>Mega Millions</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $418 million</p>
<p>MyDaY</p>
<p>Month: 7, Day: 16, Year: 88</p>
<p>(Month: seven; Day: sixteen; Year: eighty-eight)</p>
<p>Pick 3</p>
<p>2-7-9</p>
<p>(two, seven, nine)</p>
<p>Pick 5</p>
<p>01-02-20-31-37</p>
<p>(one, two, twenty, thirty-one, thirty-seven)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $62,000</p>
<p>Powerball</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $550 million</p>
<p>LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) _ These Nebraska lotteries were drawn Thursday:</p>
<p>2 By 2</p>
<p>Red Balls: 13-26, White Balls: 9-21</p>
<p>(Red Balls: thirteen, twenty-six; White Balls: nine, twenty-one)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $22,000</p>
<p>Lucky For Life</p>
<p>11-12-19-28-46, Lucky Ball: 4</p>
<p>(eleven, twelve, nineteen, twenty-eight, forty-six; Lucky Ball: four)</p>
<p>Mega Millions</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $418 million</p>
<p>MyDaY</p>
<p>Month: 7, Day: 16, Year: 88</p>
<p>(Month: seven; Day: sixteen; Year: eighty-eight)</p>
<p>Pick 3</p>
<p>2-7-9</p>
<p>(two, seven, nine)</p>
<p>Pick 5</p>
<p>01-02-20-31-37</p>
<p>(one, two, twenty, thirty-one, thirty-seven)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $62,000</p>
<p>Powerball</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $550 million</p> | 3,444 |
<p>Of course, one wishes that the 1968 New York teachers' strike had not happened. The social fabric of the city was severely tried and suffered grievous wounds. Reconciliation is to be hoped for, but I fear it is unlikely, pretty much for the same reasons that made the strike all but inevitable. Still, there is no need to repeat history in quite the same dismal fashion, here or elsewhere. So, one attempts analysis. Perhaps the tragic conflict of the last few months will yield some measure of understanding.</p>
<p>Instant liberalism has already produced an explanation for the strike??white teachers' racism.? Jimmy Breslin, Nat Hentoff, Murray Kempton, and James Wechsler have all chimed in. In the November 1968 issue of Ramparts, Sol Stem huffs: "Caught in the cross fire of rising demands from the black ghettos in which they work, and confronted with the necessity of adaptation to black authority, white middle-class New York teachers may quietly vote for George Wallace."</p>
<p /> | Tragedy at Ocean Hill | true | https://dissentmagazine.org/article/tragedy-at-ocean-hill | 2018-01-01 | 4left
| Tragedy at Ocean Hill
<p>Of course, one wishes that the 1968 New York teachers' strike had not happened. The social fabric of the city was severely tried and suffered grievous wounds. Reconciliation is to be hoped for, but I fear it is unlikely, pretty much for the same reasons that made the strike all but inevitable. Still, there is no need to repeat history in quite the same dismal fashion, here or elsewhere. So, one attempts analysis. Perhaps the tragic conflict of the last few months will yield some measure of understanding.</p>
<p>Instant liberalism has already produced an explanation for the strike??white teachers' racism.? Jimmy Breslin, Nat Hentoff, Murray Kempton, and James Wechsler have all chimed in. In the November 1968 issue of Ramparts, Sol Stem huffs: "Caught in the cross fire of rising demands from the black ghettos in which they work, and confronted with the necessity of adaptation to black authority, white middle-class New York teachers may quietly vote for George Wallace."</p>
<p /> | 3,445 |
<p>No one in the Norden family of Stoneham, Mass., wants to focus on the first anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings.</p>
<p>Not Liz Norden, who got the call every parent dreads last April 15: “Ma, I’m hurt real bad.”</p>
<p>And not her sons J.P. Norden and Paul Norden, the close-knit brothers who each lost a leg and suffered burns and other lingering injuries in the makeshift bomb blasts that killed three people and injured 264.</p>
<p>“As of right now, I don’t think of it as the anniversary. I don’t really think of it like that,” J.P. Norden, 34, told NBC News. “I think of it as another day of getting myself better.”</p>
<p>The months since the twin pressure-cooker bombs exploded on that April afternoon have been a whirlwind of devastating loss and unexpected triumph as the young men grappled with the severity of their injuries, said Liz Norden, 51.</p>
<p>“We’re just regular people from a small town,” she said. “This year has been like a roller coaster ride with ups, downs and everything in between. It’s just that your life can change in the blink of an eye.”</p>
<p>Both brothers lost their right legs. J.P.’s is gone below the knee, leaving behind a stump riddled with sensitive nerve endings that have made fitting a prosthetic limb difficult. He’s endured several operations, including one that left him hospitalized for a month after doctors removed skin from his back to graft to the end of his leg. He lost 80 percent of the hearing in both ears from the force of the blasts.</p>
<p>“This year has been like a roller coaster ride with ups, downs and everything in between. It’s just that your life can change in the blink of an eye.”</p>
<p>Paul, 32, had to have his leg amputated above the knee, and he’s gotten adept at using his high-tech prosthetic with its microprocessor joint. But his injuries put him in a coma and left him with life-threatening infections and a right hand that still doesn’t work correctly. At the same time, the normally private, reserved man still hasn’t gotten used to being stopped on the street as a local celebrity.</p>
<p>“It took some getting used to when I realized that people were looking at me because of the news,” Paul said in their just-out book “Twice as Strong: 12 seconds, 2 Brothers and the Marathon that Changed Their Lives,” written with David Smitherman. “It’s humbling because that’s not something that we really thought about before.”</p>
<p>The brothers, who were out-of-work roofers before the attack, hope to return to their trade, perhaps as early as this summer, Liz Norden said. Though they won’t be able to clamber on rooftops, J.P. Norden may handle the business side of the venture while Paul Norden fabricates metal.</p>
<p>In addition, both brothers have been kept busy with constant media requests and the publicity demands of telling — and re-telling — their story.</p>
<p>“I literally had probably last week three to five interviews a day,” said J.P. Norden. “It keeps you real busy and it keeps your mind off of a lot of things.”</p>
<p>Going through such a traumatic ordeal together was a mixed experience for the young men, they say. Although they had the common experience of limb loss, surgery and recovery, they had their individual trials as well, J.P. Norden said.</p>
<p>“We were hurt so differently,” he said. “Watching Paul actually be hurt, that sucked. I didn’t want to see that. Even though it was good for us to help each other out, it sucked to see that.”</p>
<p>As they’ve worked hard to get well, the Norden brothers have refused to follow the investigation and criminal proceedings surrounding Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the surviving suspect accused of planting the marathon bombs.</p>
<p>In contrast, Liz Norden attended a court hearing in July and said she plans to follow every detail of an upcoming trial.</p>
<p>“I want to know what happened to my boys that day,” Liz Norden said. “Their lives are forever changed. As a mom or a parent, I just want to know.”</p>
<p>Slowly, the Norden brothers are moving forward with their lives. Paul Norden proposed to his longtime girlfriend, Jacqui Webb, at Christmas, and the pair plan to wed sometime after next year. J.P. Norden said he and his girlfriend, Kelly Castine, are closer than ever.</p>
<p>“When you come that close to dying and being that hurt, it can only change your outlook. They’re different. They appreciate things more.”</p>
<p>“Me and her have always been pretty tight,” he said.</p>
<p>But Liz Norden said her boys have been altered in ways that go beyond their injuries.</p>
<p>“They were both on death’s door,” she said. “When you come that close to dying and being that hurt, it can only change your outlook. They’re different. They appreciate things more.”</p>
<p>That’s the biggest reason that the anniversary of the bombing is less important than what comes next, Liz Norden said.</p>
<p>“They’ve come such full circle, that I personally don’t focus on the anniversary. I’ve been focusing on getting them back to where they want to be.”</p> | ‘Twice as Strong’: Brothers Rebound After Boston Bombing | false | http://nbcnews.com/storyline/boston-bombing-anniversary/twice-strong-brothers-rebound-after-boston-bombing-n78416 | 2014-04-14 | 3left-center
| ‘Twice as Strong’: Brothers Rebound After Boston Bombing
<p>No one in the Norden family of Stoneham, Mass., wants to focus on the first anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings.</p>
<p>Not Liz Norden, who got the call every parent dreads last April 15: “Ma, I’m hurt real bad.”</p>
<p>And not her sons J.P. Norden and Paul Norden, the close-knit brothers who each lost a leg and suffered burns and other lingering injuries in the makeshift bomb blasts that killed three people and injured 264.</p>
<p>“As of right now, I don’t think of it as the anniversary. I don’t really think of it like that,” J.P. Norden, 34, told NBC News. “I think of it as another day of getting myself better.”</p>
<p>The months since the twin pressure-cooker bombs exploded on that April afternoon have been a whirlwind of devastating loss and unexpected triumph as the young men grappled with the severity of their injuries, said Liz Norden, 51.</p>
<p>“We’re just regular people from a small town,” she said. “This year has been like a roller coaster ride with ups, downs and everything in between. It’s just that your life can change in the blink of an eye.”</p>
<p>Both brothers lost their right legs. J.P.’s is gone below the knee, leaving behind a stump riddled with sensitive nerve endings that have made fitting a prosthetic limb difficult. He’s endured several operations, including one that left him hospitalized for a month after doctors removed skin from his back to graft to the end of his leg. He lost 80 percent of the hearing in both ears from the force of the blasts.</p>
<p>“This year has been like a roller coaster ride with ups, downs and everything in between. It’s just that your life can change in the blink of an eye.”</p>
<p>Paul, 32, had to have his leg amputated above the knee, and he’s gotten adept at using his high-tech prosthetic with its microprocessor joint. But his injuries put him in a coma and left him with life-threatening infections and a right hand that still doesn’t work correctly. At the same time, the normally private, reserved man still hasn’t gotten used to being stopped on the street as a local celebrity.</p>
<p>“It took some getting used to when I realized that people were looking at me because of the news,” Paul said in their just-out book “Twice as Strong: 12 seconds, 2 Brothers and the Marathon that Changed Their Lives,” written with David Smitherman. “It’s humbling because that’s not something that we really thought about before.”</p>
<p>The brothers, who were out-of-work roofers before the attack, hope to return to their trade, perhaps as early as this summer, Liz Norden said. Though they won’t be able to clamber on rooftops, J.P. Norden may handle the business side of the venture while Paul Norden fabricates metal.</p>
<p>In addition, both brothers have been kept busy with constant media requests and the publicity demands of telling — and re-telling — their story.</p>
<p>“I literally had probably last week three to five interviews a day,” said J.P. Norden. “It keeps you real busy and it keeps your mind off of a lot of things.”</p>
<p>Going through such a traumatic ordeal together was a mixed experience for the young men, they say. Although they had the common experience of limb loss, surgery and recovery, they had their individual trials as well, J.P. Norden said.</p>
<p>“We were hurt so differently,” he said. “Watching Paul actually be hurt, that sucked. I didn’t want to see that. Even though it was good for us to help each other out, it sucked to see that.”</p>
<p>As they’ve worked hard to get well, the Norden brothers have refused to follow the investigation and criminal proceedings surrounding Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the surviving suspect accused of planting the marathon bombs.</p>
<p>In contrast, Liz Norden attended a court hearing in July and said she plans to follow every detail of an upcoming trial.</p>
<p>“I want to know what happened to my boys that day,” Liz Norden said. “Their lives are forever changed. As a mom or a parent, I just want to know.”</p>
<p>Slowly, the Norden brothers are moving forward with their lives. Paul Norden proposed to his longtime girlfriend, Jacqui Webb, at Christmas, and the pair plan to wed sometime after next year. J.P. Norden said he and his girlfriend, Kelly Castine, are closer than ever.</p>
<p>“When you come that close to dying and being that hurt, it can only change your outlook. They’re different. They appreciate things more.”</p>
<p>“Me and her have always been pretty tight,” he said.</p>
<p>But Liz Norden said her boys have been altered in ways that go beyond their injuries.</p>
<p>“They were both on death’s door,” she said. “When you come that close to dying and being that hurt, it can only change your outlook. They’re different. They appreciate things more.”</p>
<p>That’s the biggest reason that the anniversary of the bombing is less important than what comes next, Liz Norden said.</p>
<p>“They’ve come such full circle, that I personally don’t focus on the anniversary. I’ve been focusing on getting them back to where they want to be.”</p> | 3,446 |
<p />
<p>Source: <a href="http://www.bigstockphoto.com/image-6926433/stock-photo-elderly-seniors-couple" type="external">BIGSTOCK Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>One of the toughest choices for Americans approaching retirement is when to start taking Social Security benefits. You can claim as early as age 62, but waiting longer to file can boost your eventual monthly payments substantially. Although most of the advice you'll see suggests that waiting past age 62 is the smartest decision, there are some situations in which filing as early as possible is in fact the best move.</p>
<p>Situation 1: If the Windfall Elimination Provision will affect your retirement benefitsFor most workers, the Social Security Administration won't cut your benefits even if you have outside sources of retirement income from an employee pension. However, for public employees who didn't pay Social Security payroll taxes throughout their careers and instead paid into a public pension plan, the <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2015/10/10/will-the-windfall-elimination-provision-cut-your-s.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Windfall Elimination Provision Opens a New Window.</a> can reduce what you'll get from Social Security.</p>
<p>If you paid Social Security taxes for fewer than 30 years during your career, then your Social Security benefits are subject to reductions of up to half your government pension payment. The reduction is subject to a maximum of $428 per month for 2016 for those who worked 20 or fewer years in the Social Security system, and that maximum slides downward for those with 21 to 29 years of Social Security payroll tax-paying employment.</p>
<p>This reduction only takes effect when you start receiving your government pension. For some public employees, pension payments don't start until age 65 or later, so claiming Social Security at 62 can give you three or more years of unreduced payments. Depending on the size of your Social Security benefit and your pension, the fact that you can avoid the Windfall Elimination Provision for a while can offset the fact that you'll get smaller payments throughout your retirement.</p>
<p>Situation 2: If the Government Pension Offset will affect your spousal benefitsA situation similar to the one above occurs for those seeking to claim spousal benefits based on their spouse's work history. If you receive a government pension based on wages on which you didn't pay Social Security payroll tax, then the Social Security Administration will use the <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/08/29/will-my-pension-cut-my-social-security-payments.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Government Pension Offset Opens a New Window.</a> to reduce any spousal benefits you're entitled to receive. In general, spouses of eligible workers are entitled to spousal Social Security benefits.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The Government Pension Offset can be more draconian than the Windfall Elimination Provision. Your Social Security benefits will be reduced by two-thirds of your pension amount, with no maximum limit. That means some spouses end up getting no spousal benefit at all because of the Government Pension Offset.</p>
<p>Like the Windfall Elimination Provision, the Government Pension Offset only applies once you start receiving your government pension. Therefore filing for Social Security early can sometimes get you at least a few years of spousal benefits before the Government Pension Offset reduces or eliminates them.</p>
<p>Situation 3: You have a terminal illness, and your decision won't harm surviving family membersPart of the reason why Social Security payments are lower if you file earlier is that the Social Security program factors life-expectancy assumptions into its payment formula. If you know you won't live long enough to take benefits at full retirement age or later, then claiming early Social Security is your best way to get at least some money from the program.</p>
<p>It's important to remember that your filing decisions can affect a surviving spouse and children, so you should check to see how filing early will affect any survivor benefits your family would be eligible to receive. For many retirees, though, their decision won't have an adverse impact on family members, so it makes sense to file early and get something from Social Security.</p>
<p>Claiming Social Security at 62 isn't always the right answer. But in these situations, defying the general rule and taking your benefits as soon as possible could be the smartest possible move.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/retirement/general/2016/03/27/3-times-its-smart-to-take-social-security-benefits.aspx" type="external">3 Times It's Smart to Take Social Security Benefits at 62 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> | 3 Times It's Smart to Take Social Security Benefits at 62 | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/03/27/3-times-it-smart-to-take-social-security-benefits-at-62.html | 2016-03-27 | 0right
| 3 Times It's Smart to Take Social Security Benefits at 62
<p />
<p>Source: <a href="http://www.bigstockphoto.com/image-6926433/stock-photo-elderly-seniors-couple" type="external">BIGSTOCK Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>One of the toughest choices for Americans approaching retirement is when to start taking Social Security benefits. You can claim as early as age 62, but waiting longer to file can boost your eventual monthly payments substantially. Although most of the advice you'll see suggests that waiting past age 62 is the smartest decision, there are some situations in which filing as early as possible is in fact the best move.</p>
<p>Situation 1: If the Windfall Elimination Provision will affect your retirement benefitsFor most workers, the Social Security Administration won't cut your benefits even if you have outside sources of retirement income from an employee pension. However, for public employees who didn't pay Social Security payroll taxes throughout their careers and instead paid into a public pension plan, the <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2015/10/10/will-the-windfall-elimination-provision-cut-your-s.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Windfall Elimination Provision Opens a New Window.</a> can reduce what you'll get from Social Security.</p>
<p>If you paid Social Security taxes for fewer than 30 years during your career, then your Social Security benefits are subject to reductions of up to half your government pension payment. The reduction is subject to a maximum of $428 per month for 2016 for those who worked 20 or fewer years in the Social Security system, and that maximum slides downward for those with 21 to 29 years of Social Security payroll tax-paying employment.</p>
<p>This reduction only takes effect when you start receiving your government pension. For some public employees, pension payments don't start until age 65 or later, so claiming Social Security at 62 can give you three or more years of unreduced payments. Depending on the size of your Social Security benefit and your pension, the fact that you can avoid the Windfall Elimination Provision for a while can offset the fact that you'll get smaller payments throughout your retirement.</p>
<p>Situation 2: If the Government Pension Offset will affect your spousal benefitsA situation similar to the one above occurs for those seeking to claim spousal benefits based on their spouse's work history. If you receive a government pension based on wages on which you didn't pay Social Security payroll tax, then the Social Security Administration will use the <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/08/29/will-my-pension-cut-my-social-security-payments.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Government Pension Offset Opens a New Window.</a> to reduce any spousal benefits you're entitled to receive. In general, spouses of eligible workers are entitled to spousal Social Security benefits.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The Government Pension Offset can be more draconian than the Windfall Elimination Provision. Your Social Security benefits will be reduced by two-thirds of your pension amount, with no maximum limit. That means some spouses end up getting no spousal benefit at all because of the Government Pension Offset.</p>
<p>Like the Windfall Elimination Provision, the Government Pension Offset only applies once you start receiving your government pension. Therefore filing for Social Security early can sometimes get you at least a few years of spousal benefits before the Government Pension Offset reduces or eliminates them.</p>
<p>Situation 3: You have a terminal illness, and your decision won't harm surviving family membersPart of the reason why Social Security payments are lower if you file earlier is that the Social Security program factors life-expectancy assumptions into its payment formula. If you know you won't live long enough to take benefits at full retirement age or later, then claiming early Social Security is your best way to get at least some money from the program.</p>
<p>It's important to remember that your filing decisions can affect a surviving spouse and children, so you should check to see how filing early will affect any survivor benefits your family would be eligible to receive. For many retirees, though, their decision won't have an adverse impact on family members, so it makes sense to file early and get something from Social Security.</p>
<p>Claiming Social Security at 62 isn't always the right answer. But in these situations, defying the general rule and taking your benefits as soon as possible could be the smartest possible move.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/retirement/general/2016/03/27/3-times-its-smart-to-take-social-security-benefits.aspx" type="external">3 Times It's Smart to Take Social Security Benefits at 62 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> | 3,447 |
<p />
<p>Memory has a way of distorting time, stretching it or compressing it according to our emotional response to the events at hand. That subjective temporal elasticity is captured in “ <a href="http://variety.com/t/narratage/" type="external">Narratage</a>,” a trembling, intricately structured first-love story from well-regarded Japanese helmer <a href="http://variety.com/t/isao-yukisada/" type="external">Isao Yukisada</a> — but even with that said, at 140 minutes, this delicate tale risks letting the viewer’s own mind wander off at its own pace. When it does hold our attention, that’s largely thanks to its young star&#160;Kasumi Arimura, sweetly affecting as a sensitive teen held in limbo by an enduring love for her kindly high school teacher. Gliding past the less palatable aspects of the student-master relationship at its core, Yukisada’s film instead places both lovers on an equal plane of heartsore vulnerability, with alternately tender and maudlin results. Adapted from a Japanese bestseller, “Narratage” should perform well at home, but its softness makes for a harder sell internationally.</p>
<p>“I guess you’ve matured,” says youngish drama teacher Takashi (Jun Matsumoto) upon reuniting with winsome college sophomore Izumi (Arimura) a year after their last encounter at her high school graduation. “You’re still the same,” comes her reply. It’s a line that could sound like a caustic burn coming from many an actress’s lips, though Arimura delivers it wistfully, with earnest melancholy — as if disappointed that a full year of official adulthood hasn’t flipped her perspective more radically. It’s an exchange that encapsulates the trickiest thematic ground that Yukisada and screenwriter&#160;Anne Horiizumi (working from Rio Shimamoto’s 2005 novel of the same name) attempt to cover in “Narratage”: how the coming-of-age process is felt at different speeds from within and without, how love can either hasten or stay the passage of time, and how a year can make all or none of the difference at certain stages of life.</p>
<p>Bookended by present-day scenes in which Izumi, now an office worker, reflects on her life thus far while poring over an antique pocket watch — symbolic subtlety is not on Yukisada’s agenda — the film embraces a slip-sliding narrative structure, frequently doubling back on itself as it returns to key incidents with added psychological subtext. As such, there are few significant or salacious revelations in its account of the blossoming extra-friendship between Takashi and Izumi, a shy classroom misfit whom the teacher correctly suspects will find confidence and camaraderie in his drama club; rather, as we comb and recomb the arc of their stifled romance, we perceive more of their shared human frailties, and the dynamic between them shifts and levels.</p>
<p>Developed in parallel — or perhaps concentrically, given the film’s shape — to Izumi and Takashi’s relationship is her college dalliance with fellow student Ono (Kentaro Sakaguchi), whose affections, she gradually and reluctantly realizes, she can’t fully return. With Takashi reentering her life after an absence, these formative romances turn concurrent, blurring and smearing the film’s timeline like the autumnal rain that accompanies much of the action: It alternates with screen-bleaching floods of afternoon light, though cinematographer Jun Fukumoto accords all weather its own luminescence. Even when “Narratage” tilts into unabashed melodrama — as Ono slips into the agony of unrequited adoration, while Takashi negotiates his estrangement from his criminally deranged wife — it remains a primarily interior, mood-fixated piece, taking its own precious time to track incremental psychological developments.</p>
<p>Such sincere patience might wind up testing that of many in the audience. Izumi’s troubles are credible and moving, and Arimura plays them with winning, guileless grace, but she’s not the most inherently fascinating of protagonists to subject to such lengthy scrutiny. Weepily scored with a heavy hand on the strings by Yôko Kumagai and Hidehiko Urayama, the film doesn’t hold back from heartbreak; as if in sympathy with his stymied characters, Yukisada dwells on it to an evocative fault. “Narratage” is fully in touch with its very real emotions — perhaps, at certain disarming points, it’s even overwhelmed by them — but it’s finally a film that feels a little more than it says.</p>
<p /> | Busan Film Review: ‘Narratage’ | false | https://newsline.com/busan-film-review-narratage/ | 2017-10-13 | 1right-center
| Busan Film Review: ‘Narratage’
<p />
<p>Memory has a way of distorting time, stretching it or compressing it according to our emotional response to the events at hand. That subjective temporal elasticity is captured in “ <a href="http://variety.com/t/narratage/" type="external">Narratage</a>,” a trembling, intricately structured first-love story from well-regarded Japanese helmer <a href="http://variety.com/t/isao-yukisada/" type="external">Isao Yukisada</a> — but even with that said, at 140 minutes, this delicate tale risks letting the viewer’s own mind wander off at its own pace. When it does hold our attention, that’s largely thanks to its young star&#160;Kasumi Arimura, sweetly affecting as a sensitive teen held in limbo by an enduring love for her kindly high school teacher. Gliding past the less palatable aspects of the student-master relationship at its core, Yukisada’s film instead places both lovers on an equal plane of heartsore vulnerability, with alternately tender and maudlin results. Adapted from a Japanese bestseller, “Narratage” should perform well at home, but its softness makes for a harder sell internationally.</p>
<p>“I guess you’ve matured,” says youngish drama teacher Takashi (Jun Matsumoto) upon reuniting with winsome college sophomore Izumi (Arimura) a year after their last encounter at her high school graduation. “You’re still the same,” comes her reply. It’s a line that could sound like a caustic burn coming from many an actress’s lips, though Arimura delivers it wistfully, with earnest melancholy — as if disappointed that a full year of official adulthood hasn’t flipped her perspective more radically. It’s an exchange that encapsulates the trickiest thematic ground that Yukisada and screenwriter&#160;Anne Horiizumi (working from Rio Shimamoto’s 2005 novel of the same name) attempt to cover in “Narratage”: how the coming-of-age process is felt at different speeds from within and without, how love can either hasten or stay the passage of time, and how a year can make all or none of the difference at certain stages of life.</p>
<p>Bookended by present-day scenes in which Izumi, now an office worker, reflects on her life thus far while poring over an antique pocket watch — symbolic subtlety is not on Yukisada’s agenda — the film embraces a slip-sliding narrative structure, frequently doubling back on itself as it returns to key incidents with added psychological subtext. As such, there are few significant or salacious revelations in its account of the blossoming extra-friendship between Takashi and Izumi, a shy classroom misfit whom the teacher correctly suspects will find confidence and camaraderie in his drama club; rather, as we comb and recomb the arc of their stifled romance, we perceive more of their shared human frailties, and the dynamic between them shifts and levels.</p>
<p>Developed in parallel — or perhaps concentrically, given the film’s shape — to Izumi and Takashi’s relationship is her college dalliance with fellow student Ono (Kentaro Sakaguchi), whose affections, she gradually and reluctantly realizes, she can’t fully return. With Takashi reentering her life after an absence, these formative romances turn concurrent, blurring and smearing the film’s timeline like the autumnal rain that accompanies much of the action: It alternates with screen-bleaching floods of afternoon light, though cinematographer Jun Fukumoto accords all weather its own luminescence. Even when “Narratage” tilts into unabashed melodrama — as Ono slips into the agony of unrequited adoration, while Takashi negotiates his estrangement from his criminally deranged wife — it remains a primarily interior, mood-fixated piece, taking its own precious time to track incremental psychological developments.</p>
<p>Such sincere patience might wind up testing that of many in the audience. Izumi’s troubles are credible and moving, and Arimura plays them with winning, guileless grace, but she’s not the most inherently fascinating of protagonists to subject to such lengthy scrutiny. Weepily scored with a heavy hand on the strings by Yôko Kumagai and Hidehiko Urayama, the film doesn’t hold back from heartbreak; as if in sympathy with his stymied characters, Yukisada dwells on it to an evocative fault. “Narratage” is fully in touch with its very real emotions — perhaps, at certain disarming points, it’s even overwhelmed by them — but it’s finally a film that feels a little more than it says.</p>
<p /> | 3,448 |
<p>CEMEX, S.A.B. de C.V. (CX) will report its next earnings on Nov 02 BMO. The company reported the earnings of $0.19/Share in the last quarter where the estimated EPS by analysts was $0.16/share. The difference between the expected and actual EPS was $0.03/share, which represents an Earnings surprise of 18.8%.</p>
<p>Many analysts are providing their Estimated Earnings analysis for CEMEX, S.A.B. de C.V. and for the current quarter 5 analysts have projected that the stock could give an Average Earnings estimate of $0.15/share. These analysts have also projected a Low Estimate of $0.09/share and a High Estimate of $0.2/share.</p>
<p>In case of Revenue Estimates, 3 analysts have provided their consensus Average Revenue Estimates for CEMEX, S.A.B. de C.V. as 3.36 Billion. According to these analysts, the Low Revenue Estimate for CEMEX, S.A.B. de C.V. is 3.3 Billion and the High Revenue Estimate is 3.43 Billion. The company had Year Ago Sales of 3.19 Billion.</p>
<p>These analysts also forecasted Growth Estimates for the Current Quarter for CX to be 7.1%. They are projecting Next Quarter growth of -42.9%. For the next 5 years, CEMEX, S.A.B. de C.V. is expecting Growth of 2.01% per annum, whereas in the past 5 years the growth was -53.14% per annum.</p>
<p>Some buy side analysts are also providing their Analysis on CEMEX, S.A.B. de C.V., where 2 analysts have rated the stock as Strong buy, 1 analysts have given a Buy signal, 0 said it’s a HOLD, and 0 analysts rated the stock as Sell. (These Recommendations are for the Current Month Only reported by Yahoo Finance.)</p>
<p>When it comes to the Analysis of a Stock, Price Target plays a vital role. Analysts reported that the Price Target for CEMEX, S.A.B. de C.V. might touch $12.05 high while the Average Price Target and Low price Target is $10.45 and $8.4 respectively.</p>
<p>The Relative Volume of the company is 1.49 and Average Volume (3 months) is 9.53 million. The company’s P/E (price to earnings) ratio is 12.49 and Forward P/E ratio of 11.73.</p>
<p>The company shows its Return on Assets (ROA) value of 3.9%. The Return on Equity (ROE) value stands at 12.8%. While it’s Return on Investment (ROI) value is 6.5%.</p>
<p>While looking at the Stock’s Performance, CEMEX, S.A.B. de C.V. currently shows a Weekly Performance of -3.56%, where Monthly Performance is -9.41%, Quarterly performance is -20.17%, 6 Months performance is -21.04% and yearly performance percentage is -10.65%. Year to Date performance value (YTD perf) value is -5.2%. The Stock currently has a Weekly Volatility of 2.97% and Monthly Volatility of 2.20%.</p> | Investors Catching Stocks CEMEX, S.A.B. de C.V. (CX) | false | https://newsline.com/investors-catching-stocks-cemex-s-a-b-de-c-v-cx/ | 2017-12-08 | 1right-center
| Investors Catching Stocks CEMEX, S.A.B. de C.V. (CX)
<p>CEMEX, S.A.B. de C.V. (CX) will report its next earnings on Nov 02 BMO. The company reported the earnings of $0.19/Share in the last quarter where the estimated EPS by analysts was $0.16/share. The difference between the expected and actual EPS was $0.03/share, which represents an Earnings surprise of 18.8%.</p>
<p>Many analysts are providing their Estimated Earnings analysis for CEMEX, S.A.B. de C.V. and for the current quarter 5 analysts have projected that the stock could give an Average Earnings estimate of $0.15/share. These analysts have also projected a Low Estimate of $0.09/share and a High Estimate of $0.2/share.</p>
<p>In case of Revenue Estimates, 3 analysts have provided their consensus Average Revenue Estimates for CEMEX, S.A.B. de C.V. as 3.36 Billion. According to these analysts, the Low Revenue Estimate for CEMEX, S.A.B. de C.V. is 3.3 Billion and the High Revenue Estimate is 3.43 Billion. The company had Year Ago Sales of 3.19 Billion.</p>
<p>These analysts also forecasted Growth Estimates for the Current Quarter for CX to be 7.1%. They are projecting Next Quarter growth of -42.9%. For the next 5 years, CEMEX, S.A.B. de C.V. is expecting Growth of 2.01% per annum, whereas in the past 5 years the growth was -53.14% per annum.</p>
<p>Some buy side analysts are also providing their Analysis on CEMEX, S.A.B. de C.V., where 2 analysts have rated the stock as Strong buy, 1 analysts have given a Buy signal, 0 said it’s a HOLD, and 0 analysts rated the stock as Sell. (These Recommendations are for the Current Month Only reported by Yahoo Finance.)</p>
<p>When it comes to the Analysis of a Stock, Price Target plays a vital role. Analysts reported that the Price Target for CEMEX, S.A.B. de C.V. might touch $12.05 high while the Average Price Target and Low price Target is $10.45 and $8.4 respectively.</p>
<p>The Relative Volume of the company is 1.49 and Average Volume (3 months) is 9.53 million. The company’s P/E (price to earnings) ratio is 12.49 and Forward P/E ratio of 11.73.</p>
<p>The company shows its Return on Assets (ROA) value of 3.9%. The Return on Equity (ROE) value stands at 12.8%. While it’s Return on Investment (ROI) value is 6.5%.</p>
<p>While looking at the Stock’s Performance, CEMEX, S.A.B. de C.V. currently shows a Weekly Performance of -3.56%, where Monthly Performance is -9.41%, Quarterly performance is -20.17%, 6 Months performance is -21.04% and yearly performance percentage is -10.65%. Year to Date performance value (YTD perf) value is -5.2%. The Stock currently has a Weekly Volatility of 2.97% and Monthly Volatility of 2.20%.</p> | 3,449 |
<p>Here’s a chilling thought: what if we don’t go to war with Iraq? I know, that’s the kind of crazy pessimistic talk that causes people to drink snifters of benzene. But we need to at least consider the idea, if only from a distance, poking it with sticks to see if it will explode. Surely there’s no chance, you say. After all we’re already at war, in an informal kind of way, slipping into it gradually like a hot bath. We’ve bombed Iraq thirty-odd times this year, and with some countries, you bomb them even once and they would call it war, even if you were just fooling. This war could even be considered a resumption of hostilities from the last war. We never did finish that one, but left it lying around like one of those model airplane kits that turns out to be too difficult to build, but which is too expensive to just throw away. Or maybe the intervening decade was just an intermission. But the various appurtenances of a proper war, such as a rationale, a strategy, or an opponent, just haven’t materialized. There’s a fighting chance this war is not going to happen.</p>
<p>Only days ago, the odds of this exigency eventuating were at a neap. But now Iraq is willing, almost eager, panting slightly with lips moistly parted, to allow weapons inspectors to have their way with her– and the UN says it can have inspectors over there in a couple of weeks, complete with snazzy mission patches and logo hats. That justification for war is gone, and it was pretty much the only one left, unless we include George W. Bush, Jr.’s plaint that Saddam Hussein intended trucidation on his old man. As I recall George Sr. was also trying to kill Saddam right back, and the war took place much closer to Saddam’s digs than the Bush stronghold in Washington, DC, so this isn’t a great excuse. All the other reasons, like indisputable proof of the hypothetical possibility that Iraq could someday possess weapons of mass destruction if it was given some as a holiday gift, have evaporated. So unless we proceed to war on the basis that Saddam is a spoilsport, America is out of ratiocinations.</p>
<p>An optimist might suggest we could have a war anyway if, for instance, Iraq were to shoot down one of our bombers by mistake. We’ve been flying awfully close to Baghdad lately, and you know how these things happen, especially when the enemy army is mostly teenagers. You think they’re careless with automobiles, see what they do with an anti-aircraft battery! Then we could have one of those retaliatory wars like after the Vietnamese almost attacked us in the Gulf of Tonkin and we put the kibosh on their godless Commie selves. But what if the unthinkable happens, and we can’t even fake a reason for going to war? Then what? Damn your eyes, think! If we don’t come up with something, this entire nation could wake up to the ruin of the domestic economy, the destruction of our environment, our freedoms, and our futures , and then people would get really, really bummed out and be freakin on badness.</p>
<p>In this case the Republicans would probably lose by a landslide, which would mean savage retaliation by the White House and possibly the death of American Democracy as we know it (again). Without this war, the GOP is doomed, and that’s a nightmare waiting to happen- just ask the Supreme Court. What, then, are the options? We can’t just not have a war. Here are my suggestions, humble as they may be (unlike myself), to avert this fatal war-free collision with reality:</p>
<p>1. Start a war with some other country. The “Axis of Evil” includes Iraq, North Korea, Iran, and Drugs, as I recall. Iran is right next door to Iraq. We could use the same amassed troops we amassed over there, en masse. And Ari Fleischer could claim we never meant “Iraq”, we were always after “Iran”, but there was a typographical error. The names are so similar and all those dune goons look the same.</p>
<p>2. Create a new domestic crisis. Ideally of such immensity that it requires the elections be postponed. This could be as simple as having some out-of-work actor, like the guy who played “Harry” in the “Harry and Louise” anti-universal healthcare ads, dress up as Osama Bin Laden and attack the White House. Maybe Bush could even do a stage fight with him, like Harrison Ford in “Air Force One”. That would be so cool. He could like fight off Bin Laden and knock off his turban, exposing these like green pulsing brains underneath and then he beats the pretzels out of him. Then maybe we wouldn’t even need elections any more, because Bush is like so in charge, why not have him be President forever?</p>
<p>3. Lie about everything. Actually, this tactic is working pretty well, so maybe just stick with it. If “Osama who?” is an acceptable response, how about “Saddam who?” Just claim the Democrats made the whole thing up as a smokescreen to hide their favoritism for Negroes, women, the elderly, and other dangerous fringe elements of society. People will buy pretty much anything these days, why not?</p>
<p>I’m sure there are other approaches, but I can’t think clearly what with all this anxiety, the vodka bong hits, and the Dilaudin. I’ll make it through somehow. But the question is, how will we as a nation make it through? Such lofty American choux pastries as our economy and freedoms have already been devoured from the inside until they’re nothing more than hollow shells; a non-war might shatter the crust. Yet looking on the bright side, isn’t it better not to fight a war, if possible? Won’t a war damage the economy even further, and allow the domestic oppressions to expand, as often happens in such times? After all, without the war or any Republicans in office, maybe we could rebuild our nation. Realistically, what have we got to lose by giving up this ill-considered war with Iraq?</p>
<p>We will lose the most important thing of all, like falling headfirst into an industrial belt sander.</p>
<p>We will lose face.</p>
<p>BEN TRIPP is a screenwriter. He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Let Wag the Dogs of War or No Peace at Any price | true | https://counterpunch.org/2002/10/09/let-wag-the-dogs-of-war-or-no-peace-at-any-price/ | 2002-10-09 | 4left
| Let Wag the Dogs of War or No Peace at Any price
<p>Here’s a chilling thought: what if we don’t go to war with Iraq? I know, that’s the kind of crazy pessimistic talk that causes people to drink snifters of benzene. But we need to at least consider the idea, if only from a distance, poking it with sticks to see if it will explode. Surely there’s no chance, you say. After all we’re already at war, in an informal kind of way, slipping into it gradually like a hot bath. We’ve bombed Iraq thirty-odd times this year, and with some countries, you bomb them even once and they would call it war, even if you were just fooling. This war could even be considered a resumption of hostilities from the last war. We never did finish that one, but left it lying around like one of those model airplane kits that turns out to be too difficult to build, but which is too expensive to just throw away. Or maybe the intervening decade was just an intermission. But the various appurtenances of a proper war, such as a rationale, a strategy, or an opponent, just haven’t materialized. There’s a fighting chance this war is not going to happen.</p>
<p>Only days ago, the odds of this exigency eventuating were at a neap. But now Iraq is willing, almost eager, panting slightly with lips moistly parted, to allow weapons inspectors to have their way with her– and the UN says it can have inspectors over there in a couple of weeks, complete with snazzy mission patches and logo hats. That justification for war is gone, and it was pretty much the only one left, unless we include George W. Bush, Jr.’s plaint that Saddam Hussein intended trucidation on his old man. As I recall George Sr. was also trying to kill Saddam right back, and the war took place much closer to Saddam’s digs than the Bush stronghold in Washington, DC, so this isn’t a great excuse. All the other reasons, like indisputable proof of the hypothetical possibility that Iraq could someday possess weapons of mass destruction if it was given some as a holiday gift, have evaporated. So unless we proceed to war on the basis that Saddam is a spoilsport, America is out of ratiocinations.</p>
<p>An optimist might suggest we could have a war anyway if, for instance, Iraq were to shoot down one of our bombers by mistake. We’ve been flying awfully close to Baghdad lately, and you know how these things happen, especially when the enemy army is mostly teenagers. You think they’re careless with automobiles, see what they do with an anti-aircraft battery! Then we could have one of those retaliatory wars like after the Vietnamese almost attacked us in the Gulf of Tonkin and we put the kibosh on their godless Commie selves. But what if the unthinkable happens, and we can’t even fake a reason for going to war? Then what? Damn your eyes, think! If we don’t come up with something, this entire nation could wake up to the ruin of the domestic economy, the destruction of our environment, our freedoms, and our futures , and then people would get really, really bummed out and be freakin on badness.</p>
<p>In this case the Republicans would probably lose by a landslide, which would mean savage retaliation by the White House and possibly the death of American Democracy as we know it (again). Without this war, the GOP is doomed, and that’s a nightmare waiting to happen- just ask the Supreme Court. What, then, are the options? We can’t just not have a war. Here are my suggestions, humble as they may be (unlike myself), to avert this fatal war-free collision with reality:</p>
<p>1. Start a war with some other country. The “Axis of Evil” includes Iraq, North Korea, Iran, and Drugs, as I recall. Iran is right next door to Iraq. We could use the same amassed troops we amassed over there, en masse. And Ari Fleischer could claim we never meant “Iraq”, we were always after “Iran”, but there was a typographical error. The names are so similar and all those dune goons look the same.</p>
<p>2. Create a new domestic crisis. Ideally of such immensity that it requires the elections be postponed. This could be as simple as having some out-of-work actor, like the guy who played “Harry” in the “Harry and Louise” anti-universal healthcare ads, dress up as Osama Bin Laden and attack the White House. Maybe Bush could even do a stage fight with him, like Harrison Ford in “Air Force One”. That would be so cool. He could like fight off Bin Laden and knock off his turban, exposing these like green pulsing brains underneath and then he beats the pretzels out of him. Then maybe we wouldn’t even need elections any more, because Bush is like so in charge, why not have him be President forever?</p>
<p>3. Lie about everything. Actually, this tactic is working pretty well, so maybe just stick with it. If “Osama who?” is an acceptable response, how about “Saddam who?” Just claim the Democrats made the whole thing up as a smokescreen to hide their favoritism for Negroes, women, the elderly, and other dangerous fringe elements of society. People will buy pretty much anything these days, why not?</p>
<p>I’m sure there are other approaches, but I can’t think clearly what with all this anxiety, the vodka bong hits, and the Dilaudin. I’ll make it through somehow. But the question is, how will we as a nation make it through? Such lofty American choux pastries as our economy and freedoms have already been devoured from the inside until they’re nothing more than hollow shells; a non-war might shatter the crust. Yet looking on the bright side, isn’t it better not to fight a war, if possible? Won’t a war damage the economy even further, and allow the domestic oppressions to expand, as often happens in such times? After all, without the war or any Republicans in office, maybe we could rebuild our nation. Realistically, what have we got to lose by giving up this ill-considered war with Iraq?</p>
<p>We will lose the most important thing of all, like falling headfirst into an industrial belt sander.</p>
<p>We will lose face.</p>
<p>BEN TRIPP is a screenwriter. He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p> | 3,450 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>HONG KONG — Asian shares slipped Thursday as investors digested the scant details of President Donald Trump’s U.S. tax overhaul, and economic and corporate reports. Investors also were awaiting a policy statement from the Bank of Japan that’s expected to provide fresh insights into the state of Asia’s second-biggest economy.</p>
<p>KEEPING SCORE: Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index lost 0.2 percent to 19,243.76 while South Korea’s Kospi dipped 0.3 percent to 2,201.39. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 0.1 percent to 24,565.60 and the Shanghai Composite index in mainland China fell 0.4 percent to 3,128.42. Australia’s S&amp;P/ASX 200 edged up a fraction to 5,914.00. Benchmarks in Taiwan and Southeast Asia slipped.</p>
<p>TRUMP ON TAX: The White House unveiled the broad outlines of Trump’s tax plan while leaving out many of the details. Officials said they hoped to slash corporate taxes to 15 percent from 35 percent, but specifics are still to be negotiated. Stocks have been lifted by investor anticipation of big tax cuts as well as Trump’s vow to cut red tape for businesses. But based on the few specifics spelled out so far, most experts suggested the plan would add little to growth while swelling the budget deficit and potentially handing large windfalls to wealthier taxpayers.</p>
<p>QUOTEWORTHY: “As expected, the Trump administration rolled out the tax reform roadshow on Wednesday,” said Stephen Innes, senior trader at OANDA. “Given the markets lofty expectations, traders are viewing it as little more than a road map, rather than the much ballyhooed ‘big announcement,’ because the statement did not provide any comprehensive details.”</p>
<p>SOUTH KOREAN GROWTH: A recovery in exports helped the South Korean economy expanded at the fastest pace in a year, the country’s central bank said. Asia’s No. 4 economy beat forecasts by growing 2.7 percent in the first quarter, defying a backlash from Chinese consumers over deployment of a U.S. missile defense system.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>SAMSUNG IN THE MONEY: The South Korean electronics giant posted its fattest quarterly profits in more than three years, boosted by stellar performance at its semiconductor division. The first-quarter earnings, which come after a tough period for the company, leaped 46 percent over the year-ago period.</p>
<p>TAKATA SHARES SUSPENDED: Shares in troubled airbag and seatbelt maker Takata Corp. were suspended from trading on Thursday after the financial newspaper Nikkei reported the company was planning to file for bankruptcy protection. Company officials said the company had made no announcement but planned to issue a statement. The Nikkei reported that Key Safety Systems, a subsidiary of China’s Ningbo Joyson Electronic Corp., would establish a new company to buy Takata’s operations.</p>
<p>WALL STREET: The Standard &amp; Poor’s 500 index slipped less than 0.1 percent to 2,387.45 after briefly climbing above its record closing level earlier in the day. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 0.1 percent to 20,975.09 and the Nasdaq composite slipped less than 0.1 percent to 6,025.23. The Russell 2000 index of small-caps rose 0.6 percent to 1,419.43.</p>
<p>ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude oil fell 22 cents to $49.40 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 6 cents to settle at $49.62 a barrel on Wednesday. Brent crude, which is used to price international oils, fell 17 cents to $52.24.</p>
<p>CURRENCIES: The euro rose to $1.0913 from $1.0905 late Wednesday, while the dollar rose to 111.21 yen from 111.07 yen.</p> | Asian stock slip as investors mull Trump tax plan | false | https://abqjournal.com/993669/stocks-hold-steady-ahead-of-tax-plan-announcement.html | 2017-04-26 | 2least
| Asian stock slip as investors mull Trump tax plan
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>HONG KONG — Asian shares slipped Thursday as investors digested the scant details of President Donald Trump’s U.S. tax overhaul, and economic and corporate reports. Investors also were awaiting a policy statement from the Bank of Japan that’s expected to provide fresh insights into the state of Asia’s second-biggest economy.</p>
<p>KEEPING SCORE: Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index lost 0.2 percent to 19,243.76 while South Korea’s Kospi dipped 0.3 percent to 2,201.39. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 0.1 percent to 24,565.60 and the Shanghai Composite index in mainland China fell 0.4 percent to 3,128.42. Australia’s S&amp;P/ASX 200 edged up a fraction to 5,914.00. Benchmarks in Taiwan and Southeast Asia slipped.</p>
<p>TRUMP ON TAX: The White House unveiled the broad outlines of Trump’s tax plan while leaving out many of the details. Officials said they hoped to slash corporate taxes to 15 percent from 35 percent, but specifics are still to be negotiated. Stocks have been lifted by investor anticipation of big tax cuts as well as Trump’s vow to cut red tape for businesses. But based on the few specifics spelled out so far, most experts suggested the plan would add little to growth while swelling the budget deficit and potentially handing large windfalls to wealthier taxpayers.</p>
<p>QUOTEWORTHY: “As expected, the Trump administration rolled out the tax reform roadshow on Wednesday,” said Stephen Innes, senior trader at OANDA. “Given the markets lofty expectations, traders are viewing it as little more than a road map, rather than the much ballyhooed ‘big announcement,’ because the statement did not provide any comprehensive details.”</p>
<p>SOUTH KOREAN GROWTH: A recovery in exports helped the South Korean economy expanded at the fastest pace in a year, the country’s central bank said. Asia’s No. 4 economy beat forecasts by growing 2.7 percent in the first quarter, defying a backlash from Chinese consumers over deployment of a U.S. missile defense system.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>SAMSUNG IN THE MONEY: The South Korean electronics giant posted its fattest quarterly profits in more than three years, boosted by stellar performance at its semiconductor division. The first-quarter earnings, which come after a tough period for the company, leaped 46 percent over the year-ago period.</p>
<p>TAKATA SHARES SUSPENDED: Shares in troubled airbag and seatbelt maker Takata Corp. were suspended from trading on Thursday after the financial newspaper Nikkei reported the company was planning to file for bankruptcy protection. Company officials said the company had made no announcement but planned to issue a statement. The Nikkei reported that Key Safety Systems, a subsidiary of China’s Ningbo Joyson Electronic Corp., would establish a new company to buy Takata’s operations.</p>
<p>WALL STREET: The Standard &amp; Poor’s 500 index slipped less than 0.1 percent to 2,387.45 after briefly climbing above its record closing level earlier in the day. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 0.1 percent to 20,975.09 and the Nasdaq composite slipped less than 0.1 percent to 6,025.23. The Russell 2000 index of small-caps rose 0.6 percent to 1,419.43.</p>
<p>ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude oil fell 22 cents to $49.40 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 6 cents to settle at $49.62 a barrel on Wednesday. Brent crude, which is used to price international oils, fell 17 cents to $52.24.</p>
<p>CURRENCIES: The euro rose to $1.0913 from $1.0905 late Wednesday, while the dollar rose to 111.21 yen from 111.07 yen.</p> | 3,451 |
<p>“Few things under heaven are as instructive as the lessons of Silence.” – Lao Tzu</p>
<p>Tim Armstrong has got to be getting a little tired of having to apologize after nearly every meeting with AOL employees. We all shoot ourselves in the foot from time to time, but you wouldn’t think the CEO of a public company would do it very often.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Well, think again.</p>
<p>On a call with employees last week, <a href="http://foxnewsinsider.com/2014/02/10/aol-ceo-apologizes-blaming-scaled-back-401k-policy-sick-babies" type="external">Armstrong explained Opens a New Window.</a> how the company’s rising healthcare costs were in part due to million dollar payouts made for two employees that had distressed babies. And this bizarre reference was somehow meant to explain why the company had to change its 401K plan.</p>
<p>I’ve got a little tip for the communication genius who thought that was a good idea: Someday you’ll find your ideal profession. Keep looking. And if it was Armstrong’s idea, he should maybe read Lao Tzu’s Tao Teh Ching, especially the parts about the benefits of keeping your big mouth shut (my admittedly crude translation).</p>
<p>Not to pick on Armstrong, but this does seem to happen to him a lot. Last year, while chewing out a thousand or so employees of the company’s troubled Patch unit on an all-hands conference call, he stopped mid-sentence and <a href="" type="internal">fired an employee</a>. Just like that, he said, “Abel, put that camera down right now! Abel, you’re fired. Out!”</p>
<p>Unfortunately, this sort of thing happens a lot more often than you’d think, and certainly not just at AOL.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Last week, <a href="http://venturebeat.com/2014/02/11/paypal-chief-reams-employees-use-our-app-or-quit/" type="external">PayPal president David Marcus Opens a New Window.</a> scolded employees of the eBay unit’s San Jose headquarters for not installing PayPal’s mobile payment app, forgetting their passwords, and not hacking into Coke machines that don’t accept PayPal. His message to those employees was more or less: Don’t let the door hit you on your way out.</p>
<p>Now, I’ve read an awful lot of flame email over the years – written a few myself, I have to admit – but I have to tell you, that was one of the most trivial and demotivating diatribes I’ve read in some time.</p>
<p>Whenever this sort of thing happens, every self-proclaimed leadership and communication guru on planet Earth comes out of the woodwork with their 20-20 hindsight lessons on how executives should be more effective communicators and crisis managers in an era where anything juicy gets recorded, leaked, posted, and tweeted.</p>
<p>But here’s the thing. Those are the same experts who sold corporate America on the whole idea that communication is the most critical leadership skill, that it’s the best thing since Homo Sapiens evolved lips, and there is no such thing as too much communication.</p>
<p>Therein, lies the rub.</p>
<p>Let me muster up all my years of executive communication training and say this as eloquently and diplomatically as I can. With all due respect, those experts are wrong.</p>
<p>This isn’t about executives needing to communicate more often, more effectively, or more sensitively. This is about CEOs communicating too much because their communications people tell them to. And they’re flat out wrong. The now ubiquitous all-hands meetings, town-hall meetings, and all-employee emails are not the best way to communicate with and motivate employees.</p>
<p>I’ll let you in on a little secret: CEOs have been saying and doing dumb things that do more harm than good since the beginning of time. That’s because they have a lot going on and, for the most part, they’re far better at running the show than they are at putting on a show.</p>
<p>Sure, top executives may give lip service to the idea that they need to communicate and do so effectively, but it’s simply not their highest priority. So, things don’t come out the way they should, feet end up in mouths, and the next thing you know, it’s crisis management time.</p>
<p>Granted, we now have smartphones, social media, a 24/7 news cycle, and an insatiable appetite for train wrecks. But all that means is the public now gets to hear and see all the dumb things CEOs say and do when they bend over backwards desperately trying to explain every little decision they make.</p>
<p>The modern day movement for top executives to over-communicate is way overblown. &#160;Don’t just believe me. Lao Tzu says it loud and clear:</p>
<p>“The wise leader speaks rarely and briefly. After all, no other natural outpouring goes on and on. It rains and then it stops. It thunders and then it stops...The leader teaches more through being than through doing. The quality of one’s silence conveys more than long speeches.”</p>
<p>The point is simple. Instead of learning to be better communicators, leaders should learn to be better leaders. Instead of all-hands meetings and company-wide memos, leaders should create a culture where communication occurs in more natural and organic ways.</p>
<p>What that means is CEOs should communicate openly and frequently with their staffs. Likewise, those executives should speak candidly and often with their direct reports, and so on. Sure, there are times when a CEO or some other top executive should speak with the troops, but those times should be rare.</p>
<p>When it comes to communication, as with so many things in business, less is usually more.</p> | Leaders Should Communicate Less, Not More | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2014/02/18/leaders-should-communicate-less-not-more.html | 2016-03-04 | 0right
| Leaders Should Communicate Less, Not More
<p>“Few things under heaven are as instructive as the lessons of Silence.” – Lao Tzu</p>
<p>Tim Armstrong has got to be getting a little tired of having to apologize after nearly every meeting with AOL employees. We all shoot ourselves in the foot from time to time, but you wouldn’t think the CEO of a public company would do it very often.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Well, think again.</p>
<p>On a call with employees last week, <a href="http://foxnewsinsider.com/2014/02/10/aol-ceo-apologizes-blaming-scaled-back-401k-policy-sick-babies" type="external">Armstrong explained Opens a New Window.</a> how the company’s rising healthcare costs were in part due to million dollar payouts made for two employees that had distressed babies. And this bizarre reference was somehow meant to explain why the company had to change its 401K plan.</p>
<p>I’ve got a little tip for the communication genius who thought that was a good idea: Someday you’ll find your ideal profession. Keep looking. And if it was Armstrong’s idea, he should maybe read Lao Tzu’s Tao Teh Ching, especially the parts about the benefits of keeping your big mouth shut (my admittedly crude translation).</p>
<p>Not to pick on Armstrong, but this does seem to happen to him a lot. Last year, while chewing out a thousand or so employees of the company’s troubled Patch unit on an all-hands conference call, he stopped mid-sentence and <a href="" type="internal">fired an employee</a>. Just like that, he said, “Abel, put that camera down right now! Abel, you’re fired. Out!”</p>
<p>Unfortunately, this sort of thing happens a lot more often than you’d think, and certainly not just at AOL.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Last week, <a href="http://venturebeat.com/2014/02/11/paypal-chief-reams-employees-use-our-app-or-quit/" type="external">PayPal president David Marcus Opens a New Window.</a> scolded employees of the eBay unit’s San Jose headquarters for not installing PayPal’s mobile payment app, forgetting their passwords, and not hacking into Coke machines that don’t accept PayPal. His message to those employees was more or less: Don’t let the door hit you on your way out.</p>
<p>Now, I’ve read an awful lot of flame email over the years – written a few myself, I have to admit – but I have to tell you, that was one of the most trivial and demotivating diatribes I’ve read in some time.</p>
<p>Whenever this sort of thing happens, every self-proclaimed leadership and communication guru on planet Earth comes out of the woodwork with their 20-20 hindsight lessons on how executives should be more effective communicators and crisis managers in an era where anything juicy gets recorded, leaked, posted, and tweeted.</p>
<p>But here’s the thing. Those are the same experts who sold corporate America on the whole idea that communication is the most critical leadership skill, that it’s the best thing since Homo Sapiens evolved lips, and there is no such thing as too much communication.</p>
<p>Therein, lies the rub.</p>
<p>Let me muster up all my years of executive communication training and say this as eloquently and diplomatically as I can. With all due respect, those experts are wrong.</p>
<p>This isn’t about executives needing to communicate more often, more effectively, or more sensitively. This is about CEOs communicating too much because their communications people tell them to. And they’re flat out wrong. The now ubiquitous all-hands meetings, town-hall meetings, and all-employee emails are not the best way to communicate with and motivate employees.</p>
<p>I’ll let you in on a little secret: CEOs have been saying and doing dumb things that do more harm than good since the beginning of time. That’s because they have a lot going on and, for the most part, they’re far better at running the show than they are at putting on a show.</p>
<p>Sure, top executives may give lip service to the idea that they need to communicate and do so effectively, but it’s simply not their highest priority. So, things don’t come out the way they should, feet end up in mouths, and the next thing you know, it’s crisis management time.</p>
<p>Granted, we now have smartphones, social media, a 24/7 news cycle, and an insatiable appetite for train wrecks. But all that means is the public now gets to hear and see all the dumb things CEOs say and do when they bend over backwards desperately trying to explain every little decision they make.</p>
<p>The modern day movement for top executives to over-communicate is way overblown. &#160;Don’t just believe me. Lao Tzu says it loud and clear:</p>
<p>“The wise leader speaks rarely and briefly. After all, no other natural outpouring goes on and on. It rains and then it stops. It thunders and then it stops...The leader teaches more through being than through doing. The quality of one’s silence conveys more than long speeches.”</p>
<p>The point is simple. Instead of learning to be better communicators, leaders should learn to be better leaders. Instead of all-hands meetings and company-wide memos, leaders should create a culture where communication occurs in more natural and organic ways.</p>
<p>What that means is CEOs should communicate openly and frequently with their staffs. Likewise, those executives should speak candidly and often with their direct reports, and so on. Sure, there are times when a CEO or some other top executive should speak with the troops, but those times should be rare.</p>
<p>When it comes to communication, as with so many things in business, less is usually more.</p> | 3,452 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>The county that is home to Los Alamos National Laboratory had a median household income of $108,477 in 2014, the Census Bureau report states.</p>
<p>Falls Church, Va. - an independent city which the Census Bureau counts as a county - had the highest median household income, $125,635, for 2014. Loudon County, Va., was second at $122,641 and Fairfax County, Va., was third $110,507.</p>
<p>Luna County in New Mexico made the list of the 30 counties with the lowest median household incomes, coming in 30th from the bottom at $27,268. Mora County was slightly higher, at $27,627.</p>
<p>Buffalo County, S.D., had the lowest median household income, $21,658, the Census Bureau reported.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Santa Fe County's median household income is $52,628. Bernalillo County is at $47,192.</p>
<p>New Mexico overall has the eighth lowest median household income, $44,905, but has the second-worst poverty rate, 20.6 percent, better than only Mississippi, the Census Bureau report shows.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Census Bureau: As usual, Los Alamos among nation's wealthiest counties, NM near bottom | false | https://abqjournal.com/688482/census-bureau-los-alamos-among-nations-wealthiest-counties-state-numbers-near-bottom.html | 2least
| Census Bureau: As usual, Los Alamos among nation's wealthiest counties, NM near bottom
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>The county that is home to Los Alamos National Laboratory had a median household income of $108,477 in 2014, the Census Bureau report states.</p>
<p>Falls Church, Va. - an independent city which the Census Bureau counts as a county - had the highest median household income, $125,635, for 2014. Loudon County, Va., was second at $122,641 and Fairfax County, Va., was third $110,507.</p>
<p>Luna County in New Mexico made the list of the 30 counties with the lowest median household incomes, coming in 30th from the bottom at $27,268. Mora County was slightly higher, at $27,627.</p>
<p>Buffalo County, S.D., had the lowest median household income, $21,658, the Census Bureau reported.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Santa Fe County's median household income is $52,628. Bernalillo County is at $47,192.</p>
<p>New Mexico overall has the eighth lowest median household income, $44,905, but has the second-worst poverty rate, 20.6 percent, better than only Mississippi, the Census Bureau report shows.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | 3,453 |
|
<p />
<p>Future college students looking at a difficult job market and staggering student loan debt levels may be rethinking the value of a degree, especially as colleges continue to increase overall costs.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>According to the <a href="http://www.collegeboard.org/" type="external">College Board Opens a New Window.</a>, the overall average cost to attend an in-state public college for the 2012-13 academic year for students who don’t receive any financial aid rose 3.8% to a record $22,261, with tuition accounting for about half of that increase.</p>
<p>The report also shows that public university tuition and fees alone rose 4.8% to $8,655 and climbed 4.2% at four-year private schools to an average of $29,056 this year.</p>
<p>In response to the rising costs, a <a href="http://pewresearch.org/databank/dailynumber/?NumberID=1255" type="external">Pew Research Center poll Opens a New Window.</a> shows that 75% of the public says most people cannot afford to pay for a college education, especially with the average amount of student loan debt for a bachelor’s degree at <a href="http://depts.washington.edu/opbblog/2011/05/recent-pew-survey-on-college-affordability-and-quality-released/" type="external">an all-time high of $23,000 Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>If colleges don’t address the issue of affordability, students may opt out of getting their degree resulting in extreme declines in enrollment, warns Jonathan Robe, research fellow for the <a href="http://centerforcollegeaffordability.org/" type="external">Center for College Affordability and Productivity Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>“Some midlevel bachelor’s liberal arts colleges or even some public midlevel master’s universities may be forced to drastically change their model of operations or even go out of business,” he says. “There has been some talk that some of these schools may not have a sustainable trajectory.”</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>To make an education more attainable for students, here are four ways colleges can keep students’ costs lower and boost the value of their degrees.</p>
<p>Make it easier for students to calculate costs. Colleges and universities <a href="http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/resource/net_price_calculator.asp" type="external">are now required to post a net price calculator Opens a New Window.</a> on their website to provide an estimate to current and prospective students based on their family’s circumstances.</p>
<p>Although school calculators can help families decide whether a school is affordable, colleges can take more steps to make the cost more readily available, says <a href="http://www.feblock.com/index.php" type="external">Francine Block Opens a New Window.</a>, college admissions consultant for the American College Admissions Consultants.</p>
<p>“If you go on a college website, they don’t pop up for you—you really need to go looking,” she says. “Now that colleges have required it, it’s there but it’s not always as accessible and understandable for the families, and the colleges are still playing with it a little bit.”</p>
<p>Streamline the transfer process. Many schools have articulation agreements with community colleges to help students’ credits transfer, but the process isn’t always efficient and can result in students taking additional time and money to make up for lost credits, says Robe.</p>
<p>“There are a lot of problems that need to be addressed in terms of easing the transfer process and certainly we would want students to be able to as long as…they have mastered the material at community college and they are ready for four year level work--we shouldn’t penalize them by requiring them to take additional courses or an additional year,” he says.</p>
<p>Block explains that schools can expand their acceptance of articulation agreements beyond the community college down the road.</p>
<p>“They don’t have to be just within state--it can be within a geographic area but not just staying in state and I definitely think that’s something that they should be doing.”</p>
<p>Curb lavish spending on facilities. In the wake of decreased endowments, colleges and universities curbed some million-dollar renovation projects but they are still competing against each other for prospective students, says Block.</p>
<p>“The building wars that are going on, from the highest climbing walls or the dorm facilities--they are trying to please this generation as opposed to educating them at some point,” she says. “I have students who come back and say, ‘the dorms weren’t nice and the lab wasn’t new,’ and that’s because schools have gone out and spoiled the kids with all of these facilities.”</p>
<p>Randolph Lowry, president of <a href="http://www.lipscomb.edu/" type="external">Lipscomb University Opens a New Window.</a>, explains that despite being far beyond the basics of education, many colleges are merely keeping pace with what students and families are demanding.</p>
<p>“One of the reasons that these places are so expensive is when you’re talking about a full service university, we have to essentially fund a small city,” he says. “We’re not in the business of making money off of this—we try to figure out how to pay for it every year and anything that is extra, we put back into next year.”</p>
<p>Offer more three-year degree programs. Lowry claims more colleges are exploring ways to get more students earning a bachelor’s degree more efficiently, particularly through offering three year degree programs.</p>
<p>“They can finish in three years and they have about $10,000 [saved] in costs and more significant, they get into the work force an entire year earlier, so that can be $50,000 or $60,000 [saved].”</p>
<p>Block points out that although more colleges could stand to offer three year programs, it is also up to the student to work harder and possibly attend school over breaks.</p>
<p>“In many cases, it’s taking five courses per semester versus four and it’s also a matter of maybe getting one or two summers,” she says. “Some schools charge per course and others charge a flat year tuition and if you’re charging a flat year tuition and a student is able to get in 10 courses instead of eight, it can speed up their graduation.”</p> | Four Ways Colleges Can Cut Costs for Students | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2012/10/31/four-ways-colleges-can-cut-costs-for-students.html | 2016-03-04 | 0right
| Four Ways Colleges Can Cut Costs for Students
<p />
<p>Future college students looking at a difficult job market and staggering student loan debt levels may be rethinking the value of a degree, especially as colleges continue to increase overall costs.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>According to the <a href="http://www.collegeboard.org/" type="external">College Board Opens a New Window.</a>, the overall average cost to attend an in-state public college for the 2012-13 academic year for students who don’t receive any financial aid rose 3.8% to a record $22,261, with tuition accounting for about half of that increase.</p>
<p>The report also shows that public university tuition and fees alone rose 4.8% to $8,655 and climbed 4.2% at four-year private schools to an average of $29,056 this year.</p>
<p>In response to the rising costs, a <a href="http://pewresearch.org/databank/dailynumber/?NumberID=1255" type="external">Pew Research Center poll Opens a New Window.</a> shows that 75% of the public says most people cannot afford to pay for a college education, especially with the average amount of student loan debt for a bachelor’s degree at <a href="http://depts.washington.edu/opbblog/2011/05/recent-pew-survey-on-college-affordability-and-quality-released/" type="external">an all-time high of $23,000 Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>If colleges don’t address the issue of affordability, students may opt out of getting their degree resulting in extreme declines in enrollment, warns Jonathan Robe, research fellow for the <a href="http://centerforcollegeaffordability.org/" type="external">Center for College Affordability and Productivity Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>“Some midlevel bachelor’s liberal arts colleges or even some public midlevel master’s universities may be forced to drastically change their model of operations or even go out of business,” he says. “There has been some talk that some of these schools may not have a sustainable trajectory.”</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>To make an education more attainable for students, here are four ways colleges can keep students’ costs lower and boost the value of their degrees.</p>
<p>Make it easier for students to calculate costs. Colleges and universities <a href="http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/resource/net_price_calculator.asp" type="external">are now required to post a net price calculator Opens a New Window.</a> on their website to provide an estimate to current and prospective students based on their family’s circumstances.</p>
<p>Although school calculators can help families decide whether a school is affordable, colleges can take more steps to make the cost more readily available, says <a href="http://www.feblock.com/index.php" type="external">Francine Block Opens a New Window.</a>, college admissions consultant for the American College Admissions Consultants.</p>
<p>“If you go on a college website, they don’t pop up for you—you really need to go looking,” she says. “Now that colleges have required it, it’s there but it’s not always as accessible and understandable for the families, and the colleges are still playing with it a little bit.”</p>
<p>Streamline the transfer process. Many schools have articulation agreements with community colleges to help students’ credits transfer, but the process isn’t always efficient and can result in students taking additional time and money to make up for lost credits, says Robe.</p>
<p>“There are a lot of problems that need to be addressed in terms of easing the transfer process and certainly we would want students to be able to as long as…they have mastered the material at community college and they are ready for four year level work--we shouldn’t penalize them by requiring them to take additional courses or an additional year,” he says.</p>
<p>Block explains that schools can expand their acceptance of articulation agreements beyond the community college down the road.</p>
<p>“They don’t have to be just within state--it can be within a geographic area but not just staying in state and I definitely think that’s something that they should be doing.”</p>
<p>Curb lavish spending on facilities. In the wake of decreased endowments, colleges and universities curbed some million-dollar renovation projects but they are still competing against each other for prospective students, says Block.</p>
<p>“The building wars that are going on, from the highest climbing walls or the dorm facilities--they are trying to please this generation as opposed to educating them at some point,” she says. “I have students who come back and say, ‘the dorms weren’t nice and the lab wasn’t new,’ and that’s because schools have gone out and spoiled the kids with all of these facilities.”</p>
<p>Randolph Lowry, president of <a href="http://www.lipscomb.edu/" type="external">Lipscomb University Opens a New Window.</a>, explains that despite being far beyond the basics of education, many colleges are merely keeping pace with what students and families are demanding.</p>
<p>“One of the reasons that these places are so expensive is when you’re talking about a full service university, we have to essentially fund a small city,” he says. “We’re not in the business of making money off of this—we try to figure out how to pay for it every year and anything that is extra, we put back into next year.”</p>
<p>Offer more three-year degree programs. Lowry claims more colleges are exploring ways to get more students earning a bachelor’s degree more efficiently, particularly through offering three year degree programs.</p>
<p>“They can finish in three years and they have about $10,000 [saved] in costs and more significant, they get into the work force an entire year earlier, so that can be $50,000 or $60,000 [saved].”</p>
<p>Block points out that although more colleges could stand to offer three year programs, it is also up to the student to work harder and possibly attend school over breaks.</p>
<p>“In many cases, it’s taking five courses per semester versus four and it’s also a matter of maybe getting one or two summers,” she says. “Some schools charge per course and others charge a flat year tuition and if you’re charging a flat year tuition and a student is able to get in 10 courses instead of eight, it can speed up their graduation.”</p> | 3,454 |
<p>The ever evolving, strong, and talented Emma Watson recently did an interview and photo shoot for Vanity Fair in <a href="http://people.com/movies/emma-watson-reacts-topless-photos-vanity-fair-controversy/" type="external">response</a> to both her outstanding work for equality and her new role as Belle in the reinvented live action Disney classic, Beauty and the Beast. During the spread she is photographed in many different costume including a white shawl draped over her bare chest.</p>
<p>The photo was very tastefully done but has created a stir among conservatives across the board. The photo immediately became the talk of Twitter starting with this tweet from Julia Hartley-Brewer presenter for talkRadio.</p>
<p />
<p>Watson, however, was not going to sit back and allow the public to take blows at her choices in photographs and turn them into something against the feminist movement. She took to the media, and sat down with Reuters to give express her feelings on the controversy. She <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-people-emmawatson-idUSKBN16C0QV" type="external">stated</a>:</p>
<p>It just always reveals to me how many misconceptions and what a misunderstanding there is about what feminism is.&#160;Feminism is about giving women choice. Feminism is not a stick with which to beat other women with. It’s about freedom, it’s about liberation, it’s about equality. I really don’t know what my t—s have to do with it. It’s very confusing.&#160;I’m confused. Most people are confused. No, I’m just always just quietly stunned.</p>
<p>As the UN Women Goodwill Ambassador and creator of the #HeForShe campaign, Watson is no stranger to condescending attitudes for women’s rights. When participating in the shoot, mocking feminism was the last thing on her mind. Watson continued by saying:</p>
<p>We’d been doing so many crazy things on that shoot but it felt incredibly artistic and I’ve been so creatively involved and engaged with Tim and I’m so thrilled about how interesting and beautiful the photographs were.</p>
<p>Regardless of the few nasty opinions of people who have no real clue what feminism actually stands for, Watson will continue to work her magic both onscreen and off. Belle, having been reinvented with more of a feminist twist, will be just another notch in Watson’s belt towards a clearer and more equal place for women.</p>
<p>Well done Emma, and you look beautiful.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Featured image via&#160;By David Shankbone – Emma Watson, CC <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19179397" type="external">BY 2.0</a>.</p> | Emma Watson Reacts: ‘I Don’t Know What My T*@ts Have To Do With Feminism’ (VIDEO) | true | http://offthemainpage.com/2017/03/06/emma-watson-reacts-i-dont-know-what-my-tts-have-to-do-with-feminism-video/ | 2017-03-06 | 4left
| Emma Watson Reacts: ‘I Don’t Know What My T*@ts Have To Do With Feminism’ (VIDEO)
<p>The ever evolving, strong, and talented Emma Watson recently did an interview and photo shoot for Vanity Fair in <a href="http://people.com/movies/emma-watson-reacts-topless-photos-vanity-fair-controversy/" type="external">response</a> to both her outstanding work for equality and her new role as Belle in the reinvented live action Disney classic, Beauty and the Beast. During the spread she is photographed in many different costume including a white shawl draped over her bare chest.</p>
<p>The photo was very tastefully done but has created a stir among conservatives across the board. The photo immediately became the talk of Twitter starting with this tweet from Julia Hartley-Brewer presenter for talkRadio.</p>
<p />
<p>Watson, however, was not going to sit back and allow the public to take blows at her choices in photographs and turn them into something against the feminist movement. She took to the media, and sat down with Reuters to give express her feelings on the controversy. She <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-people-emmawatson-idUSKBN16C0QV" type="external">stated</a>:</p>
<p>It just always reveals to me how many misconceptions and what a misunderstanding there is about what feminism is.&#160;Feminism is about giving women choice. Feminism is not a stick with which to beat other women with. It’s about freedom, it’s about liberation, it’s about equality. I really don’t know what my t—s have to do with it. It’s very confusing.&#160;I’m confused. Most people are confused. No, I’m just always just quietly stunned.</p>
<p>As the UN Women Goodwill Ambassador and creator of the #HeForShe campaign, Watson is no stranger to condescending attitudes for women’s rights. When participating in the shoot, mocking feminism was the last thing on her mind. Watson continued by saying:</p>
<p>We’d been doing so many crazy things on that shoot but it felt incredibly artistic and I’ve been so creatively involved and engaged with Tim and I’m so thrilled about how interesting and beautiful the photographs were.</p>
<p>Regardless of the few nasty opinions of people who have no real clue what feminism actually stands for, Watson will continue to work her magic both onscreen and off. Belle, having been reinvented with more of a feminist twist, will be just another notch in Watson’s belt towards a clearer and more equal place for women.</p>
<p>Well done Emma, and you look beautiful.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Featured image via&#160;By David Shankbone – Emma Watson, CC <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19179397" type="external">BY 2.0</a>.</p> | 3,455 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>PARIS, Texas – Emergency personnel responding to a 911 call found four men who had been shot to death at a house in northeastern Texas, police said Thursday.The four victims were found in a front room of the Paris home, each with gunshot wounds, police Chief Bob Hundley Jr., said. Investigators have ruled out murder suicide and characterized the killings as a quadruple homicide, Hundley said in a statement.Autopsies have been ordered, Hundley said. He identified three of the dead as men from Paris: Romello Dewain Steward, 18; Devante Larry Atkins, 21; and Brijonne Rashad Woods, 24. The other victim was Billy Charles Carey, 32, of Garland.One of the three Paris residents lived at the home, said police Capt. Danny Huff.A woman called 911 shortly before 11:30 p.m. Wednesday to report “someone bleeding,” Hundley said. Police have not identified any witnesses to the slayings.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 4 men found shot to death in house | false | https://abqjournal.com/279362/4-men-found-shot-to-death-in-house.html | 2013-10-11 | 2least
| 4 men found shot to death in house
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>PARIS, Texas – Emergency personnel responding to a 911 call found four men who had been shot to death at a house in northeastern Texas, police said Thursday.The four victims were found in a front room of the Paris home, each with gunshot wounds, police Chief Bob Hundley Jr., said. Investigators have ruled out murder suicide and characterized the killings as a quadruple homicide, Hundley said in a statement.Autopsies have been ordered, Hundley said. He identified three of the dead as men from Paris: Romello Dewain Steward, 18; Devante Larry Atkins, 21; and Brijonne Rashad Woods, 24. The other victim was Billy Charles Carey, 32, of Garland.One of the three Paris residents lived at the home, said police Capt. Danny Huff.A woman called 911 shortly before 11:30 p.m. Wednesday to report “someone bleeding,” Hundley said. Police have not identified any witnesses to the slayings.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 3,456 |
<p />
<p>It’s not enough for liberals to attack Donald Trump; they’ve also been going after his family, including his 10 year-old son, Barron Trump. But <a href="http://www.bizpacreview.com/2017/01/23/chelsea-clinton-defends-barron-trump-uses-prop-wallop-dad-439011" type="external">he just got a very unlikely defender</a> in Bill and Hillary Clinton’s daughter, Chelsea. But were her motives really altruistic?</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Liberals have been bullying Barron Trump left and right, even going so far as to say that he’s autistic and with one particularly nasty liberal saying that he would be the country’s “first homeschool shooter.” To her credit, Chelsea Clinton spoke up for Barron and slammed the people attacking him. But she also had a little bit more to say than just “leave Barron alone.”</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>So she defended Barron Trump… and then immediately went after his dad. Hmmm.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>She was so close to doing a good thing, too. That corrupt Clinton upbringing must be hard to forget.</p>
<p /> | WHAT!? Chelsea Defends Barron Trump Then Uses Him As Political Prop Against His Dad | true | http://rightwingnews.com/donald-trump/chelsea-defends-barron-trump-uses-political-prop-dad/ | 2018-01-20 | 0right
| WHAT!? Chelsea Defends Barron Trump Then Uses Him As Political Prop Against His Dad
<p />
<p>It’s not enough for liberals to attack Donald Trump; they’ve also been going after his family, including his 10 year-old son, Barron Trump. But <a href="http://www.bizpacreview.com/2017/01/23/chelsea-clinton-defends-barron-trump-uses-prop-wallop-dad-439011" type="external">he just got a very unlikely defender</a> in Bill and Hillary Clinton’s daughter, Chelsea. But were her motives really altruistic?</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Liberals have been bullying Barron Trump left and right, even going so far as to say that he’s autistic and with one particularly nasty liberal saying that he would be the country’s “first homeschool shooter.” To her credit, Chelsea Clinton spoke up for Barron and slammed the people attacking him. But she also had a little bit more to say than just “leave Barron alone.”</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>So she defended Barron Trump… and then immediately went after his dad. Hmmm.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>She was so close to doing a good thing, too. That corrupt Clinton upbringing must be hard to forget.</p>
<p /> | 3,457 |
<p>JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi man who spent 16 years in prison for crimes he didn’t commit has died after an extended illness, a decade after being released.</p>
<p>Levon Brooks died Wednesday at his home in Columbus, Mississippi. He was 58. His widow, Dinah Brooks, said he was diagnosed with colon cancer five years ago.</p>
<p>Brooks was convicted in 1992 and sentenced to life in prison for the 1990 rape and killing of Courtney Smith, the 3-year-old daughter of his former girlfriend. The conviction was partly based on testimony from Dr. Michael West, a forensic dentist who came under intense criticism for his testimony in criminal cases.</p>
<p>Brooks was released from prison in February 2008 after DNA evidence pointed to another man, who confessed. At an exoneration hearing the next month, the prosecutor apologized to Brooks.</p>
<p>“I can’t give you your life back, but I want you to know I believed in what I was doing. For whatever part I played in your prosecution, I’m truly sorry,” said Forrest Allgood, who was district attorney at the time.</p>
<p>Attorneys for the Innocence Project, based in New York, began looking into Brooks’ case as they were challenging the conviction of Kennedy Brewer in a similar killing of another young girl in the same small community in Noxubee County, Mississippi. Because Brewer was on death row, he was entitled to attorneys and appeals. Brooks was not on death row and did not have the same right to post-conviction appeals.</p>
<p>“At some point, being locked away and isolated without any organization to turn to, he basically came to accept the cruel fate that life had inflicted upon him of a life sentence in prison,” Vanessa Potkin, the Innocence Project attorney who took on Brooks’ case, told The Associated Press on Thursday.</p>
<p>During Brooks’ trial, West testified that bite marks on the victim’s body were caused by Brooks. Mississippi pathologist Steven Hayne initially identified the bite marks during his autopsy of the girl, but defense attorneys in the case said the marks couldn’t have been caused by human teeth because they occurred after the child had drowned in the creek where her body was discarded.</p>
<p>Potkin said DNA evidence gathered in the Brewer case pointed to another man who lived in Noxubee County and had been a suspect in the case in which Brooks was convicted. She said that man confessed to killing both girls, which helped clear Brooks and Brewer. Brewer was released on bail in 2007 and exonerated in 2008, after serving 13 years in prison.</p>
<p>Dinah Brooks said she and Levon Brooks met after he was released from prison, and they married in 2016. She said he was outgoing, loved to be around people and loved to hunt and fish. She said he read the Bible daily and was not bitter about his imprisonment.</p>
<p>“He didn’t have any animosity,” Dinah Brooks said. “He didn’t have any hatred.”</p>
<p>Potkin, the Innocence Project’s director of post-conviction litigation, described Brooks as an intuitive, loving person. Speaking of his case, she said: “It also is a reminder there are many more innocent people in prison than we will ever know because they have given up because they are isolated because they don’t have access to anyone to help them.”</p>
<p>JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi man who spent 16 years in prison for crimes he didn’t commit has died after an extended illness, a decade after being released.</p>
<p>Levon Brooks died Wednesday at his home in Columbus, Mississippi. He was 58. His widow, Dinah Brooks, said he was diagnosed with colon cancer five years ago.</p>
<p>Brooks was convicted in 1992 and sentenced to life in prison for the 1990 rape and killing of Courtney Smith, the 3-year-old daughter of his former girlfriend. The conviction was partly based on testimony from Dr. Michael West, a forensic dentist who came under intense criticism for his testimony in criminal cases.</p>
<p>Brooks was released from prison in February 2008 after DNA evidence pointed to another man, who confessed. At an exoneration hearing the next month, the prosecutor apologized to Brooks.</p>
<p>“I can’t give you your life back, but I want you to know I believed in what I was doing. For whatever part I played in your prosecution, I’m truly sorry,” said Forrest Allgood, who was district attorney at the time.</p>
<p>Attorneys for the Innocence Project, based in New York, began looking into Brooks’ case as they were challenging the conviction of Kennedy Brewer in a similar killing of another young girl in the same small community in Noxubee County, Mississippi. Because Brewer was on death row, he was entitled to attorneys and appeals. Brooks was not on death row and did not have the same right to post-conviction appeals.</p>
<p>“At some point, being locked away and isolated without any organization to turn to, he basically came to accept the cruel fate that life had inflicted upon him of a life sentence in prison,” Vanessa Potkin, the Innocence Project attorney who took on Brooks’ case, told The Associated Press on Thursday.</p>
<p>During Brooks’ trial, West testified that bite marks on the victim’s body were caused by Brooks. Mississippi pathologist Steven Hayne initially identified the bite marks during his autopsy of the girl, but defense attorneys in the case said the marks couldn’t have been caused by human teeth because they occurred after the child had drowned in the creek where her body was discarded.</p>
<p>Potkin said DNA evidence gathered in the Brewer case pointed to another man who lived in Noxubee County and had been a suspect in the case in which Brooks was convicted. She said that man confessed to killing both girls, which helped clear Brooks and Brewer. Brewer was released on bail in 2007 and exonerated in 2008, after serving 13 years in prison.</p>
<p>Dinah Brooks said she and Levon Brooks met after he was released from prison, and they married in 2016. She said he was outgoing, loved to be around people and loved to hunt and fish. She said he read the Bible daily and was not bitter about his imprisonment.</p>
<p>“He didn’t have any animosity,” Dinah Brooks said. “He didn’t have any hatred.”</p>
<p>Potkin, the Innocence Project’s director of post-conviction litigation, described Brooks as an intuitive, loving person. Speaking of his case, she said: “It also is a reminder there are many more innocent people in prison than we will ever know because they have given up because they are isolated because they don’t have access to anyone to help them.”</p> | Wrongfully convicted man dies 10 years after prison release | false | https://apnews.com/277a9d268b5f420a85032350a699b124 | 2018-01-25 | 2least
| Wrongfully convicted man dies 10 years after prison release
<p>JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi man who spent 16 years in prison for crimes he didn’t commit has died after an extended illness, a decade after being released.</p>
<p>Levon Brooks died Wednesday at his home in Columbus, Mississippi. He was 58. His widow, Dinah Brooks, said he was diagnosed with colon cancer five years ago.</p>
<p>Brooks was convicted in 1992 and sentenced to life in prison for the 1990 rape and killing of Courtney Smith, the 3-year-old daughter of his former girlfriend. The conviction was partly based on testimony from Dr. Michael West, a forensic dentist who came under intense criticism for his testimony in criminal cases.</p>
<p>Brooks was released from prison in February 2008 after DNA evidence pointed to another man, who confessed. At an exoneration hearing the next month, the prosecutor apologized to Brooks.</p>
<p>“I can’t give you your life back, but I want you to know I believed in what I was doing. For whatever part I played in your prosecution, I’m truly sorry,” said Forrest Allgood, who was district attorney at the time.</p>
<p>Attorneys for the Innocence Project, based in New York, began looking into Brooks’ case as they were challenging the conviction of Kennedy Brewer in a similar killing of another young girl in the same small community in Noxubee County, Mississippi. Because Brewer was on death row, he was entitled to attorneys and appeals. Brooks was not on death row and did not have the same right to post-conviction appeals.</p>
<p>“At some point, being locked away and isolated without any organization to turn to, he basically came to accept the cruel fate that life had inflicted upon him of a life sentence in prison,” Vanessa Potkin, the Innocence Project attorney who took on Brooks’ case, told The Associated Press on Thursday.</p>
<p>During Brooks’ trial, West testified that bite marks on the victim’s body were caused by Brooks. Mississippi pathologist Steven Hayne initially identified the bite marks during his autopsy of the girl, but defense attorneys in the case said the marks couldn’t have been caused by human teeth because they occurred after the child had drowned in the creek where her body was discarded.</p>
<p>Potkin said DNA evidence gathered in the Brewer case pointed to another man who lived in Noxubee County and had been a suspect in the case in which Brooks was convicted. She said that man confessed to killing both girls, which helped clear Brooks and Brewer. Brewer was released on bail in 2007 and exonerated in 2008, after serving 13 years in prison.</p>
<p>Dinah Brooks said she and Levon Brooks met after he was released from prison, and they married in 2016. She said he was outgoing, loved to be around people and loved to hunt and fish. She said he read the Bible daily and was not bitter about his imprisonment.</p>
<p>“He didn’t have any animosity,” Dinah Brooks said. “He didn’t have any hatred.”</p>
<p>Potkin, the Innocence Project’s director of post-conviction litigation, described Brooks as an intuitive, loving person. Speaking of his case, she said: “It also is a reminder there are many more innocent people in prison than we will ever know because they have given up because they are isolated because they don’t have access to anyone to help them.”</p>
<p>JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi man who spent 16 years in prison for crimes he didn’t commit has died after an extended illness, a decade after being released.</p>
<p>Levon Brooks died Wednesday at his home in Columbus, Mississippi. He was 58. His widow, Dinah Brooks, said he was diagnosed with colon cancer five years ago.</p>
<p>Brooks was convicted in 1992 and sentenced to life in prison for the 1990 rape and killing of Courtney Smith, the 3-year-old daughter of his former girlfriend. The conviction was partly based on testimony from Dr. Michael West, a forensic dentist who came under intense criticism for his testimony in criminal cases.</p>
<p>Brooks was released from prison in February 2008 after DNA evidence pointed to another man, who confessed. At an exoneration hearing the next month, the prosecutor apologized to Brooks.</p>
<p>“I can’t give you your life back, but I want you to know I believed in what I was doing. For whatever part I played in your prosecution, I’m truly sorry,” said Forrest Allgood, who was district attorney at the time.</p>
<p>Attorneys for the Innocence Project, based in New York, began looking into Brooks’ case as they were challenging the conviction of Kennedy Brewer in a similar killing of another young girl in the same small community in Noxubee County, Mississippi. Because Brewer was on death row, he was entitled to attorneys and appeals. Brooks was not on death row and did not have the same right to post-conviction appeals.</p>
<p>“At some point, being locked away and isolated without any organization to turn to, he basically came to accept the cruel fate that life had inflicted upon him of a life sentence in prison,” Vanessa Potkin, the Innocence Project attorney who took on Brooks’ case, told The Associated Press on Thursday.</p>
<p>During Brooks’ trial, West testified that bite marks on the victim’s body were caused by Brooks. Mississippi pathologist Steven Hayne initially identified the bite marks during his autopsy of the girl, but defense attorneys in the case said the marks couldn’t have been caused by human teeth because they occurred after the child had drowned in the creek where her body was discarded.</p>
<p>Potkin said DNA evidence gathered in the Brewer case pointed to another man who lived in Noxubee County and had been a suspect in the case in which Brooks was convicted. She said that man confessed to killing both girls, which helped clear Brooks and Brewer. Brewer was released on bail in 2007 and exonerated in 2008, after serving 13 years in prison.</p>
<p>Dinah Brooks said she and Levon Brooks met after he was released from prison, and they married in 2016. She said he was outgoing, loved to be around people and loved to hunt and fish. She said he read the Bible daily and was not bitter about his imprisonment.</p>
<p>“He didn’t have any animosity,” Dinah Brooks said. “He didn’t have any hatred.”</p>
<p>Potkin, the Innocence Project’s director of post-conviction litigation, described Brooks as an intuitive, loving person. Speaking of his case, she said: “It also is a reminder there are many more innocent people in prison than we will ever know because they have given up because they are isolated because they don’t have access to anyone to help them.”</p> | 3,458 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Accounts can be opened at <a href="http://TheEducationPlan.com" type="external">TheEducationPlan.com</a> with as little as a $25 initial contribution.</p>
<p>Parents often ask me, "What can I do to help my student succeed?" The data shows us that one of the best things you can do is start putting money away for your child's education.</p>
<p>According to the Center for Social Development at Washington University of St. Louis, research shows that children with as little as $500 in a college savings account are nearly four times more likely to attend college and two-and-a-half times more likely to graduate.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>You can open a college savings account in The Education Plan for your son, daughter, grandchild, a friend or even yourself. And you can do so completely tax free as long as the account is used for qualified education expenses.</p>
<p>If a student plans to attend a New Mexico state institution, The Education Plan is a great supplement to New Mexico's Legislative Lottery Scholarship. The lottery scholarship only covers part of the tuition cost for eligible students at state institutions. The Education Plan, however, can be used to save for many school costs, including tuition, books, fees, computer equipment and room and board.</p>
<p>That means more time studying, and less time worrying about how a student is going to pay for school.</p>
<p>If a student plans to attend a private or out-of-state school, The Education Plan can be used there as well. The money can be used for any qualified education expense at public and private universities, community colleges and technical colleges across the country and abroad.</p>
<p>The money can even be used for post-graduate education and professional school.</p>
<p>This month, the National Junior Honor Society will announce 500 winners of its inaugural Outstanding Achievement Awards contest. The Education Plan of New Mexico was chosen by the National Junior Honor Society to open college savings accounts of $500 each for the winners of this national award, underscoring the plan's solid reputation.</p>
<p>The winners will be announced at the National Honor Society's first State Summit, which will offer a day of free leadership development workshops. The awards ceremony and state summit will be held at the University of New Mexico on April 28. Several New Mexico junior high students are among the winners of this national award.</p>
<p>We all know that producing a better-educated workforce is key to improving the state's economy. So we are thrilled that the National Junior Honor Society chose New Mexico to highlight these events.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Gov. Susana Martinez understands that our students need to graduate on time and with the skills they need to enter our workforce. The New Mexico Higher Education Department is working with our colleges and universities to take steps to help our students.</p>
<p>We are working to keep costs down, setting graduation requirements at 120 credit hours for a bachelor's degree, establishing meta-majors, and redesigning the general education core curriculum.</p>
<p>Furthermore, we are aligning all lower division courses throughout all of our colleges and universities through a state-wide transfer and articulation initiative that will result in common course numbering across our institutions of higher education.</p>
<p>When students take longer than two or four years to graduate, it means debt piling up - debt that often follows them for the rest of their lives.</p>
<p>That hurts our students, their families, and ultimately, our economy.</p>
<p>So head to <a href="http://TheEducationPlan.com" type="external">TheEducationPlan.com</a>. And with as little as $25, you can start saving. It's an easy and affordable way for New Mexicans to save for college.</p>
<p>It's time to open your college savings account. Start early, save often, and give the gift of success.</p>
<p /> | The Education Plan eases path to college | false | https://abqjournal.com/754433/the-education-plan-eases-path-to-college.html | 2least
| The Education Plan eases path to college
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Accounts can be opened at <a href="http://TheEducationPlan.com" type="external">TheEducationPlan.com</a> with as little as a $25 initial contribution.</p>
<p>Parents often ask me, "What can I do to help my student succeed?" The data shows us that one of the best things you can do is start putting money away for your child's education.</p>
<p>According to the Center for Social Development at Washington University of St. Louis, research shows that children with as little as $500 in a college savings account are nearly four times more likely to attend college and two-and-a-half times more likely to graduate.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>You can open a college savings account in The Education Plan for your son, daughter, grandchild, a friend or even yourself. And you can do so completely tax free as long as the account is used for qualified education expenses.</p>
<p>If a student plans to attend a New Mexico state institution, The Education Plan is a great supplement to New Mexico's Legislative Lottery Scholarship. The lottery scholarship only covers part of the tuition cost for eligible students at state institutions. The Education Plan, however, can be used to save for many school costs, including tuition, books, fees, computer equipment and room and board.</p>
<p>That means more time studying, and less time worrying about how a student is going to pay for school.</p>
<p>If a student plans to attend a private or out-of-state school, The Education Plan can be used there as well. The money can be used for any qualified education expense at public and private universities, community colleges and technical colleges across the country and abroad.</p>
<p>The money can even be used for post-graduate education and professional school.</p>
<p>This month, the National Junior Honor Society will announce 500 winners of its inaugural Outstanding Achievement Awards contest. The Education Plan of New Mexico was chosen by the National Junior Honor Society to open college savings accounts of $500 each for the winners of this national award, underscoring the plan's solid reputation.</p>
<p>The winners will be announced at the National Honor Society's first State Summit, which will offer a day of free leadership development workshops. The awards ceremony and state summit will be held at the University of New Mexico on April 28. Several New Mexico junior high students are among the winners of this national award.</p>
<p>We all know that producing a better-educated workforce is key to improving the state's economy. So we are thrilled that the National Junior Honor Society chose New Mexico to highlight these events.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Gov. Susana Martinez understands that our students need to graduate on time and with the skills they need to enter our workforce. The New Mexico Higher Education Department is working with our colleges and universities to take steps to help our students.</p>
<p>We are working to keep costs down, setting graduation requirements at 120 credit hours for a bachelor's degree, establishing meta-majors, and redesigning the general education core curriculum.</p>
<p>Furthermore, we are aligning all lower division courses throughout all of our colleges and universities through a state-wide transfer and articulation initiative that will result in common course numbering across our institutions of higher education.</p>
<p>When students take longer than two or four years to graduate, it means debt piling up - debt that often follows them for the rest of their lives.</p>
<p>That hurts our students, their families, and ultimately, our economy.</p>
<p>So head to <a href="http://TheEducationPlan.com" type="external">TheEducationPlan.com</a>. And with as little as $25, you can start saving. It's an easy and affordable way for New Mexicans to save for college.</p>
<p>It's time to open your college savings account. Start early, save often, and give the gift of success.</p>
<p /> | 3,459 |
|
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Barack Obama won a moderately close victory over Mitt Romney on Tuesday. But oddly, nothing much has changed. The country is still split nearly 50/50. There is still a Democratic president, and an almost identically Democratic Senate at war with an identically Republican House, in a Groundhog Day America.</p>
<p>Obama’s win did not really reflect affirmation of his first term, given that the president made only halfhearted efforts to defend the Affordable Care Act, the stimulus, huge Keynesian deficits and his attempts to implement cap-and-trade. So if there is a second-term agenda, even Obama supporters don’t quite know what it will be.</p>
<p>Unlike the hope-and-change campaign of 2008, Obama this time around ran on the theme that George W. Bush had been awful and Mitt Romney would be far worse – spending almost $1 billion to brand the latter as a veritable felon who callously let people suffer without health insurance.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>In textbook community-organizing fashion, Obama won the election by brilliantly cobbling together factions with shrill warnings of supposed enemies everywhere. Young women were threatened by sexist Neanderthal males. Minorities were oppressed by neo-Confederate tea partiers. Greens were in danger from greedy smokestack polluters. Gays were bullied by homophobic evangelicals. Illegal aliens were demonized by xenophobic nativists. And the 47 percent were at the mercy of the grasping 1 percent. Almost any American could fall into the category of either an Obama-aligned victim or a Romney-aligned oppressor.</p>
<p>How, then, can a re-elected President Obama put the fractured American Humpty Dumpty back together again after it has been shattered by such a nasty campaign? Certainly, it will no longer work for the president merely to wax eloquently on the need for more civility.</p>
<p>Yet Obama is going to need bipartisan help to solve a number of menacing crises. Four years of Obama’s $1 trillion deficits cannot continue without wrecking the country. A staggering national debt of nearly $17 trillion must also be reduced before our currency is rendered worthless and the interest on the vast borrowing overwhelms the budget. Sequestration looms, with massive cuts in defense and entitlements on the immediate horizon, reminding us that we can neither live with the disease of massive borrowing nor apparently with the medicine of radical cuts and higher taxes.</p>
<p>If most Americans are willing to consider allowing paths to citizenship for law-obeying illegal aliens, then they should be equally adamant in using such discretion to deport those who are have broken the law or who become wards of the state. But does anyone believe such balance will really be the basis for compromise?</p>
<p>The dread of the Affordable Care Act has already helped to spike insurance premiums. No one yet quite knows how the massive wave of new regulations will affect patients, doctors and hospitals. Nearly three years after the bill’s passage, the public is still not happy with even the idea of it.</p>
<p>Abroad, most believe that Iran will either become a nuclear power or have to be stopped during Obama’s second term. Obama’s choices are bad versus worse: a nuclear-armed Iran bullying the Middle East with a sword of Damocles permanently suspended over Israel’s head, or a pre-emptory war to defang the theocracy, leading to an almost certain Middle East wave of terrorism and a flaming Persian Gulf.</p>
<p>There soon must be truth-telling over the September terrorist killing of our ambassador and three Americans in Libya. A mostly pro-Obama media postponed questioning the preposterous administration narrative of a spontaneous demonstration gone awry over an obscure video – in fear of endangering the president’s re-election bid.</p>
<p>But the facts of the worst terrorist attack on Americans since 9/11 remain stubborn things and won’t go away. Al-Qaida is not dismantled, but still killing Americans. Libya is not a model of a democratic Arab Spring, but mired in tribal chaos.</p>
<p>Key administration officials – Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, especially-will have to explain why prior warnings from Libya were ignored with fatal consequences. Others, like Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice, Vice President Joe Biden and perhaps the president himself, must tell us why for so long they claimed that the violence was spontaneous, when they knew, or should have known, it was preplanned terrorism.</p>
<p>Yet not everything ahead is bleak. Vast new gas and oil finds could soon make America energy-independent. The American economy is cyclical and may finally rebound on its own – if Obama just leaves it alone and stops regulating and borrowing.</p>
<p>Popular lore attests that insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results. Let’s hope that the same Democratic president, the same polarized Congress and the same divided country do something differently from the last lost four years.</p>
<p>Victor Davis Hanson is a classicist and historian at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University; email: <a href="" type="external">[email protected]. &gt;</a></p> | More of the Same, or New Path? | false | https://abqjournal.com/145110/more-of-the-same-or-new-path.html | 2012-11-09 | 2least
| More of the Same, or New Path?
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Barack Obama won a moderately close victory over Mitt Romney on Tuesday. But oddly, nothing much has changed. The country is still split nearly 50/50. There is still a Democratic president, and an almost identically Democratic Senate at war with an identically Republican House, in a Groundhog Day America.</p>
<p>Obama’s win did not really reflect affirmation of his first term, given that the president made only halfhearted efforts to defend the Affordable Care Act, the stimulus, huge Keynesian deficits and his attempts to implement cap-and-trade. So if there is a second-term agenda, even Obama supporters don’t quite know what it will be.</p>
<p>Unlike the hope-and-change campaign of 2008, Obama this time around ran on the theme that George W. Bush had been awful and Mitt Romney would be far worse – spending almost $1 billion to brand the latter as a veritable felon who callously let people suffer without health insurance.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>In textbook community-organizing fashion, Obama won the election by brilliantly cobbling together factions with shrill warnings of supposed enemies everywhere. Young women were threatened by sexist Neanderthal males. Minorities were oppressed by neo-Confederate tea partiers. Greens were in danger from greedy smokestack polluters. Gays were bullied by homophobic evangelicals. Illegal aliens were demonized by xenophobic nativists. And the 47 percent were at the mercy of the grasping 1 percent. Almost any American could fall into the category of either an Obama-aligned victim or a Romney-aligned oppressor.</p>
<p>How, then, can a re-elected President Obama put the fractured American Humpty Dumpty back together again after it has been shattered by such a nasty campaign? Certainly, it will no longer work for the president merely to wax eloquently on the need for more civility.</p>
<p>Yet Obama is going to need bipartisan help to solve a number of menacing crises. Four years of Obama’s $1 trillion deficits cannot continue without wrecking the country. A staggering national debt of nearly $17 trillion must also be reduced before our currency is rendered worthless and the interest on the vast borrowing overwhelms the budget. Sequestration looms, with massive cuts in defense and entitlements on the immediate horizon, reminding us that we can neither live with the disease of massive borrowing nor apparently with the medicine of radical cuts and higher taxes.</p>
<p>If most Americans are willing to consider allowing paths to citizenship for law-obeying illegal aliens, then they should be equally adamant in using such discretion to deport those who are have broken the law or who become wards of the state. But does anyone believe such balance will really be the basis for compromise?</p>
<p>The dread of the Affordable Care Act has already helped to spike insurance premiums. No one yet quite knows how the massive wave of new regulations will affect patients, doctors and hospitals. Nearly three years after the bill’s passage, the public is still not happy with even the idea of it.</p>
<p>Abroad, most believe that Iran will either become a nuclear power or have to be stopped during Obama’s second term. Obama’s choices are bad versus worse: a nuclear-armed Iran bullying the Middle East with a sword of Damocles permanently suspended over Israel’s head, or a pre-emptory war to defang the theocracy, leading to an almost certain Middle East wave of terrorism and a flaming Persian Gulf.</p>
<p>There soon must be truth-telling over the September terrorist killing of our ambassador and three Americans in Libya. A mostly pro-Obama media postponed questioning the preposterous administration narrative of a spontaneous demonstration gone awry over an obscure video – in fear of endangering the president’s re-election bid.</p>
<p>But the facts of the worst terrorist attack on Americans since 9/11 remain stubborn things and won’t go away. Al-Qaida is not dismantled, but still killing Americans. Libya is not a model of a democratic Arab Spring, but mired in tribal chaos.</p>
<p>Key administration officials – Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, especially-will have to explain why prior warnings from Libya were ignored with fatal consequences. Others, like Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice, Vice President Joe Biden and perhaps the president himself, must tell us why for so long they claimed that the violence was spontaneous, when they knew, or should have known, it was preplanned terrorism.</p>
<p>Yet not everything ahead is bleak. Vast new gas and oil finds could soon make America energy-independent. The American economy is cyclical and may finally rebound on its own – if Obama just leaves it alone and stops regulating and borrowing.</p>
<p>Popular lore attests that insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results. Let’s hope that the same Democratic president, the same polarized Congress and the same divided country do something differently from the last lost four years.</p>
<p>Victor Davis Hanson is a classicist and historian at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University; email: <a href="" type="external">[email protected]. &gt;</a></p> | 3,460 |
<p>Murray Energy founder Robert Murray on Hillary Clinton’s stance on the coal industry.</p>
<p>During an interview on the FOX Business Network’s Risk &amp; Reward, Murray Energy CEO Robert Murray sounded off on why he believes Hillary Clinton wants to curb the use of fossil fuels.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>“The reason why she wants to see coal eliminated is because she’s getting millions of dollars of kickback to the Clinton Foundation and to her campaign from people who she says needs government help,” Murray said. “She’s talking about Warren Buffett, the Pritzkers, Elon Musk, Tom Steyer—all billionaires that are making billions of dollars off of windmills and solar panels that are made in China that makes 26 cents a kilowatt hour electricity.”</p>
<p>While Clinton has said she wants to steer the country toward using cleaner energy, the former Secretary of State <a href="https://www.hillaryclinton.com/briefing/factsheets/2015/11/12/clinton-plan-to-revitalize-coal-communities/" type="external">released a plan to help the coal communities Opens a New Window.</a>, in November 2015.</p>
<p>Murray explained why he thinks there is a connection between the Democratic presidential candidate's push for cleaner energy and the Clinton Foundation.</p>
<p>“She’s getting hundreds of millions of dollars from some of the largest banks in the country, from some of the largest electric utilities and from these billionaires that I just mentioned,” he said. “And they need the subsidy. Wind and solar is not competitive with coal or other fossil fuels. To exist it has to have a subsidy from the government. So she herself said they need this government subsidy.”</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>He added: “They are making billions of dollars, these billionaires, and they’re kicking back millions to the Clinton Foundation and to Hillary Clinton… The lowest 25 million families on the poverty scale in the country now spend 22 cents of every dollar they earn for energy. We need to be worrying about the energy poverty in this country, not making more billionaires as Hillary Clinton attempts to eliminate the low-cost, reliable electricity and substitute these crony capitalists wind and solar... it’s fraud. It is absolute fraud.”</p> | Murray Energy CEO Sounds Off On Clinton's Energy Policy | true | http://foxbusiness.com/politics/2016/09/07/murray-energy-ceo-sounds-off-on-clintons-energy-policy.html | 2016-09-07 | 0right
| Murray Energy CEO Sounds Off On Clinton's Energy Policy
<p>Murray Energy founder Robert Murray on Hillary Clinton’s stance on the coal industry.</p>
<p>During an interview on the FOX Business Network’s Risk &amp; Reward, Murray Energy CEO Robert Murray sounded off on why he believes Hillary Clinton wants to curb the use of fossil fuels.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>“The reason why she wants to see coal eliminated is because she’s getting millions of dollars of kickback to the Clinton Foundation and to her campaign from people who she says needs government help,” Murray said. “She’s talking about Warren Buffett, the Pritzkers, Elon Musk, Tom Steyer—all billionaires that are making billions of dollars off of windmills and solar panels that are made in China that makes 26 cents a kilowatt hour electricity.”</p>
<p>While Clinton has said she wants to steer the country toward using cleaner energy, the former Secretary of State <a href="https://www.hillaryclinton.com/briefing/factsheets/2015/11/12/clinton-plan-to-revitalize-coal-communities/" type="external">released a plan to help the coal communities Opens a New Window.</a>, in November 2015.</p>
<p>Murray explained why he thinks there is a connection between the Democratic presidential candidate's push for cleaner energy and the Clinton Foundation.</p>
<p>“She’s getting hundreds of millions of dollars from some of the largest banks in the country, from some of the largest electric utilities and from these billionaires that I just mentioned,” he said. “And they need the subsidy. Wind and solar is not competitive with coal or other fossil fuels. To exist it has to have a subsidy from the government. So she herself said they need this government subsidy.”</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>He added: “They are making billions of dollars, these billionaires, and they’re kicking back millions to the Clinton Foundation and to Hillary Clinton… The lowest 25 million families on the poverty scale in the country now spend 22 cents of every dollar they earn for energy. We need to be worrying about the energy poverty in this country, not making more billionaires as Hillary Clinton attempts to eliminate the low-cost, reliable electricity and substitute these crony capitalists wind and solar... it’s fraud. It is absolute fraud.”</p> | 3,461 |
<p>An act that would create uniform GMO labeling throughout the United States passed the U.S. House on Thursday according to The Washington Times report. The Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015, H.R. 1599, was voted 275 in favor to 150 opposed. The act’s uniform labeling would be opposed to each state creating their own laws regarding crops that cross over state lines from farms to various markets. (The Washington Times report <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jul/28/gmo-labeling-might-remain-voluntary/" type="external">here</a>).</p>
<p>Grundy County in Farm Bureau Manager Tasha Bunting in Illinois voiced her approval by saying, “Being voluntary will create a consumer choice,” and added,&#160;“Consumers can purchase what they are comfortable with for their family.” Like organic farmers and the correlated organic labeling, traditional farmers will also have the chance to sell their&#160;foods in niche markets.</p>
<p>IFB President Richard Guebert added in a statement,&#160;“The bill will help to bring greater clarity to food labeling for American consumers by removing the current patchwork system of wide-ranging and diverse state labels on foods.” He also said that the bill would prohibit additional mandatory state-based GMO labeling and would clarify what “natural” defines.</p>
<p>Although the bill is not yet law, the Senate received it and read it twice before referring it to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry. If enacted, it will arrange a USDA certification process and specialized label for companies that decide to list their&#160;ingredients.</p>
<p>The Illinois Manufacturers’ Association and the Illinois Retail Merchants Association said in a statement that if the bill passed legislation would develop a labeling structure based off of the biochemistry of GMOs while inhibiting unnecessary costs related to additional state labeling mandates. Mark Denzler, vice president and chief operating officer of the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association said in a release that&#160;“We believe that any labeling requirements should come from the FDA so that every company is operating under the same guidelines.”</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p /> | GMO labeling bill passes U.S. house | false | http://natmonitor.com/2015/07/28/gmo-labeling-passes-house/ | 2015-07-28 | 3left-center
| GMO labeling bill passes U.S. house
<p>An act that would create uniform GMO labeling throughout the United States passed the U.S. House on Thursday according to The Washington Times report. The Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015, H.R. 1599, was voted 275 in favor to 150 opposed. The act’s uniform labeling would be opposed to each state creating their own laws regarding crops that cross over state lines from farms to various markets. (The Washington Times report <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jul/28/gmo-labeling-might-remain-voluntary/" type="external">here</a>).</p>
<p>Grundy County in Farm Bureau Manager Tasha Bunting in Illinois voiced her approval by saying, “Being voluntary will create a consumer choice,” and added,&#160;“Consumers can purchase what they are comfortable with for their family.” Like organic farmers and the correlated organic labeling, traditional farmers will also have the chance to sell their&#160;foods in niche markets.</p>
<p>IFB President Richard Guebert added in a statement,&#160;“The bill will help to bring greater clarity to food labeling for American consumers by removing the current patchwork system of wide-ranging and diverse state labels on foods.” He also said that the bill would prohibit additional mandatory state-based GMO labeling and would clarify what “natural” defines.</p>
<p>Although the bill is not yet law, the Senate received it and read it twice before referring it to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry. If enacted, it will arrange a USDA certification process and specialized label for companies that decide to list their&#160;ingredients.</p>
<p>The Illinois Manufacturers’ Association and the Illinois Retail Merchants Association said in a statement that if the bill passed legislation would develop a labeling structure based off of the biochemistry of GMOs while inhibiting unnecessary costs related to additional state labeling mandates. Mark Denzler, vice president and chief operating officer of the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association said in a release that&#160;“We believe that any labeling requirements should come from the FDA so that every company is operating under the same guidelines.”</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p /> | 3,462 |
<p>Never before has the half-century decline of American labor revealed itself more clearly than in the last several weeks.</p>
<p>Largely relegated to the sidelines, national union officials are making little effort to interject independent working-class solutions into the current debate of how to resolve the enormous social crisis affecting millions.</p>
<p>“Free market” apologists dominate discussion of both the cause and remedy of the most dramatic collapse of major capitalist financial institutions in over seven decades. Labor’s voice is seldom heard on the air waves or in national newspapers and is certainly excluded, as well, from inner political circles in Washington.</p>
<p>For those of us disgusted by the self-serving solutions being suggested by Wall St., the silence of a genuine alternative is deafening. It is also unprecedented during previous times of profound crisis in American history.</p>
<p>Early Labor Reform Movements</p>
<p>With far less financial and logistical resources than unions have today, early-organized labor played a very prominent political role championing the interests of the working class. Many of our most important social gains were actually achieved in periods of crisis.</p>
<p>Public education and shortening the 16-hour workday were first won during the tumultuous robber-baron years of the late 19th and early 20th century. Social security, unemployment insurance and other “New Deal” reforms were legislated right in the middle of the Great Depression. And finally, the historic GI bill was passed while the government was arguing, unsuccessfully, for “patriotic” extension of the WWII wage freeze.</p>
<p>From a business point of view, any profits diverted to social spending or to increased wages and benefits is a waste. As a result, all these reforms required enormously-powerful popular movements or serious threats of social upheaval such as the incredible 1946 rolling-strike wave in which 10 million participated.</p>
<p>Fortunately, from the very beginning there were many within the ranks of American labor who openly challenged capitalism’s primacy of private profit over public welfare.</p>
<p>In fact, at the beginning of the 20th century, there were actually some 323 newspapers and periodicals that took up the cause of democratic socialism and kept a steady check on the now thoroughly, historically-discredited JP Morgan, Andrew Carnegie and Rockefeller industrialists.</p>
<p>The Appeal to Reason, one of the most widely read socialist papers, reached a weekly circulation of 600,000 copies in 1912.</p>
<p>On Election Day in that same year, labor’s universally-recognized national icon, Eugene V. Debs, won 897,000 votes for President as candidate of the Socialist Party (SP)–and this was before women had the right to vote. The SP had almost 118,000 dues-paying members.</p>
<p>In fact, even the most conservative labor leaders of that era such as AFL leader Samuel Gompers wore the socialist label (some would say through a misunderstanding) because anti-capitalist ideas were so popular, especially among recent European immigrants.</p>
<p>Labor’s Political Decline is More than Numbers Of course, this is very much unlike today, where the right wing invents a caricature of socialism to muzzle any talk of regulating the “free market.”</p>
<p>In no other developed country in the world is the word socialism so anathema to the political discourse. This did not happen naturally.</p>
<p>Thousands of socialists and radicals were physically driven out of many unions in the late 1940s as a result of unconstitutional, repressive and sometimes violent McCarthyite purges. Several proud and defiant unions such as the International Longshore &amp; Warehouse Union (ILWU) were expelled from national union federations for refusing to remove elected officials holding anti-capitalist political views.</p>
<p>Pressure to tone down progressive influences was enormous.</p>
<p>Uncritical political acceptance of capitalism became the norm within most unions as the alliance with the Democratic party deepened, especially since those pesky radicals were mostly gone.</p>
<p>Eventually, greater and greater distance grew between union officials and the rank and file as both shared the supreme illusion that big business would create unlimited prosperity.</p>
<p>Based on this false confidence, labor officials and members settled into a mutually-dysfunctional relationship – union officials sat on top running the show without much involvement of members as long as raises and benefits would periodically flow downward to disengaged members.</p>
<p>Everything seemed to be working fine. The exclusive political alliance with one of the capitalist parties seemed quite justified as post-war prosperity appeared to have no end. Relying on politicians as the unions’ primary bargaining leverage became even more crucial after membership involvement receded more and more each year.</p>
<p>Union strength was gauged by the extent of political connections to the establishment rather than on the number of members participating in the affairs of the organization.</p>
<p>As a result, more than at any other time, labor has today thoroughly immersed itself into the Democratic Party. The AFL-CIO powerful national labor federation has declined to either schedule events to discuss the crisis or to organize protests objecting to a bailout which clearly favors wealthy investors and financial institutions.</p>
<p>Yet, it is precisely today when millions of working class people so desperately need to hear an alternative program.</p>
<p>Labor has a Program</p>
<p>The AFL-CIO actually has very good reform proposals derived from its history and role as a working class organization. It calls for “a moratorium on the foreclosures that are causing the economy at every level to hemorrhage.”</p>
<p>“The ‘Change to Win” coalition of several other national unions, including the Teamsters and SEIU, also calls for “freezes on foreclosures.” Neither of the two major parties advocate this elementary protection for working families.</p>
<p>Another very important national Labor proposal reminiscent of working-class agitation during the1930s calls for massive job-creating public investment to rebuild America’s infrastructure. Our tax dollar “bail-out” money would, as a result, be spread throughout the whole economy instead of just lining the pockets of Wall St. financiers.</p>
<p>Labor also calls for guaranteed protection of retiree pensions that have suffered serious losses as a result of the greed and speculation of those same “fat cat” financiers who are primarily the beneficiaries of the Congressional bail out. Political Laryngitis</p>
<p>Many believe organized labor has lost its clout due to its much-publicized dramatic drop in membership. Unions today represent a little over 15 million workers which is 12% of the workforce, down from a high of 35% in 1955.</p>
<p>But numbers don’t tell the full story. Labor’s dramatic decline in power and influence derives more from it’s lack of political independence from the essentially pro-big business, liberal establishment than from fewer members.</p>
<p>In fact, unions today possess far larger staffs and much bigger treasuries than ever before. For example, AFL-CIO affiliates are expected to fork over an unprecedented $250 million during this election cycle. SEIU is alone predicted to pitch in another $85 million to win the White House for Barack Obama.</p>
<p>Is it not fair to ask what we are getting for our money?</p>
<p>How much support do we loose by not signaling to our members and to the working class as a whole that labor has our own distinct proposals directly responding to their needs? How much credibility do we risk by not honestly advancing criticisms of the worst excesses of the capitalist race for profits at the expense of the greater good? How much of our political identity do we sacrifice by being considered virtually identical to Democratic Party candidates and policy?</p>
<p>If not now, when will criticisms of the capitalist system be any more warranted or relevant?</p>
<p>Millions of working people already enduring rising gas prices, inflation, home foreclosures and dried-up credit are now expected to assume the costs of bailing out banks, major investors and brokerage firms.</p>
<p>We see that Labor has valuable ideas for consideration in the public debate but is reluctant to launch an aggressive national campaign because of its alliance with the Democratic Party to which it politically defers.</p>
<p>Whatever one believes regarding Labor supporting Barack Obama and the Democratic Party, and I obviously don‘t feel too good about it, can’t we agree that labor must still not surrender it’s own unique and independent voice?</p>
<p>CARL FINAMORE is former President (ret), Air Transport Employees, Local Lodge 1781, IAMAW. He can be reached at <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Your Ad Here</a> &#160;</p>
<p />
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Capitalism on Steroids | true | https://counterpunch.org/2008/09/29/capitalism-on-steroids/ | 2008-09-29 | 4left
| Capitalism on Steroids
<p>Never before has the half-century decline of American labor revealed itself more clearly than in the last several weeks.</p>
<p>Largely relegated to the sidelines, national union officials are making little effort to interject independent working-class solutions into the current debate of how to resolve the enormous social crisis affecting millions.</p>
<p>“Free market” apologists dominate discussion of both the cause and remedy of the most dramatic collapse of major capitalist financial institutions in over seven decades. Labor’s voice is seldom heard on the air waves or in national newspapers and is certainly excluded, as well, from inner political circles in Washington.</p>
<p>For those of us disgusted by the self-serving solutions being suggested by Wall St., the silence of a genuine alternative is deafening. It is also unprecedented during previous times of profound crisis in American history.</p>
<p>Early Labor Reform Movements</p>
<p>With far less financial and logistical resources than unions have today, early-organized labor played a very prominent political role championing the interests of the working class. Many of our most important social gains were actually achieved in periods of crisis.</p>
<p>Public education and shortening the 16-hour workday were first won during the tumultuous robber-baron years of the late 19th and early 20th century. Social security, unemployment insurance and other “New Deal” reforms were legislated right in the middle of the Great Depression. And finally, the historic GI bill was passed while the government was arguing, unsuccessfully, for “patriotic” extension of the WWII wage freeze.</p>
<p>From a business point of view, any profits diverted to social spending or to increased wages and benefits is a waste. As a result, all these reforms required enormously-powerful popular movements or serious threats of social upheaval such as the incredible 1946 rolling-strike wave in which 10 million participated.</p>
<p>Fortunately, from the very beginning there were many within the ranks of American labor who openly challenged capitalism’s primacy of private profit over public welfare.</p>
<p>In fact, at the beginning of the 20th century, there were actually some 323 newspapers and periodicals that took up the cause of democratic socialism and kept a steady check on the now thoroughly, historically-discredited JP Morgan, Andrew Carnegie and Rockefeller industrialists.</p>
<p>The Appeal to Reason, one of the most widely read socialist papers, reached a weekly circulation of 600,000 copies in 1912.</p>
<p>On Election Day in that same year, labor’s universally-recognized national icon, Eugene V. Debs, won 897,000 votes for President as candidate of the Socialist Party (SP)–and this was before women had the right to vote. The SP had almost 118,000 dues-paying members.</p>
<p>In fact, even the most conservative labor leaders of that era such as AFL leader Samuel Gompers wore the socialist label (some would say through a misunderstanding) because anti-capitalist ideas were so popular, especially among recent European immigrants.</p>
<p>Labor’s Political Decline is More than Numbers Of course, this is very much unlike today, where the right wing invents a caricature of socialism to muzzle any talk of regulating the “free market.”</p>
<p>In no other developed country in the world is the word socialism so anathema to the political discourse. This did not happen naturally.</p>
<p>Thousands of socialists and radicals were physically driven out of many unions in the late 1940s as a result of unconstitutional, repressive and sometimes violent McCarthyite purges. Several proud and defiant unions such as the International Longshore &amp; Warehouse Union (ILWU) were expelled from national union federations for refusing to remove elected officials holding anti-capitalist political views.</p>
<p>Pressure to tone down progressive influences was enormous.</p>
<p>Uncritical political acceptance of capitalism became the norm within most unions as the alliance with the Democratic party deepened, especially since those pesky radicals were mostly gone.</p>
<p>Eventually, greater and greater distance grew between union officials and the rank and file as both shared the supreme illusion that big business would create unlimited prosperity.</p>
<p>Based on this false confidence, labor officials and members settled into a mutually-dysfunctional relationship – union officials sat on top running the show without much involvement of members as long as raises and benefits would periodically flow downward to disengaged members.</p>
<p>Everything seemed to be working fine. The exclusive political alliance with one of the capitalist parties seemed quite justified as post-war prosperity appeared to have no end. Relying on politicians as the unions’ primary bargaining leverage became even more crucial after membership involvement receded more and more each year.</p>
<p>Union strength was gauged by the extent of political connections to the establishment rather than on the number of members participating in the affairs of the organization.</p>
<p>As a result, more than at any other time, labor has today thoroughly immersed itself into the Democratic Party. The AFL-CIO powerful national labor federation has declined to either schedule events to discuss the crisis or to organize protests objecting to a bailout which clearly favors wealthy investors and financial institutions.</p>
<p>Yet, it is precisely today when millions of working class people so desperately need to hear an alternative program.</p>
<p>Labor has a Program</p>
<p>The AFL-CIO actually has very good reform proposals derived from its history and role as a working class organization. It calls for “a moratorium on the foreclosures that are causing the economy at every level to hemorrhage.”</p>
<p>“The ‘Change to Win” coalition of several other national unions, including the Teamsters and SEIU, also calls for “freezes on foreclosures.” Neither of the two major parties advocate this elementary protection for working families.</p>
<p>Another very important national Labor proposal reminiscent of working-class agitation during the1930s calls for massive job-creating public investment to rebuild America’s infrastructure. Our tax dollar “bail-out” money would, as a result, be spread throughout the whole economy instead of just lining the pockets of Wall St. financiers.</p>
<p>Labor also calls for guaranteed protection of retiree pensions that have suffered serious losses as a result of the greed and speculation of those same “fat cat” financiers who are primarily the beneficiaries of the Congressional bail out. Political Laryngitis</p>
<p>Many believe organized labor has lost its clout due to its much-publicized dramatic drop in membership. Unions today represent a little over 15 million workers which is 12% of the workforce, down from a high of 35% in 1955.</p>
<p>But numbers don’t tell the full story. Labor’s dramatic decline in power and influence derives more from it’s lack of political independence from the essentially pro-big business, liberal establishment than from fewer members.</p>
<p>In fact, unions today possess far larger staffs and much bigger treasuries than ever before. For example, AFL-CIO affiliates are expected to fork over an unprecedented $250 million during this election cycle. SEIU is alone predicted to pitch in another $85 million to win the White House for Barack Obama.</p>
<p>Is it not fair to ask what we are getting for our money?</p>
<p>How much support do we loose by not signaling to our members and to the working class as a whole that labor has our own distinct proposals directly responding to their needs? How much credibility do we risk by not honestly advancing criticisms of the worst excesses of the capitalist race for profits at the expense of the greater good? How much of our political identity do we sacrifice by being considered virtually identical to Democratic Party candidates and policy?</p>
<p>If not now, when will criticisms of the capitalist system be any more warranted or relevant?</p>
<p>Millions of working people already enduring rising gas prices, inflation, home foreclosures and dried-up credit are now expected to assume the costs of bailing out banks, major investors and brokerage firms.</p>
<p>We see that Labor has valuable ideas for consideration in the public debate but is reluctant to launch an aggressive national campaign because of its alliance with the Democratic Party to which it politically defers.</p>
<p>Whatever one believes regarding Labor supporting Barack Obama and the Democratic Party, and I obviously don‘t feel too good about it, can’t we agree that labor must still not surrender it’s own unique and independent voice?</p>
<p>CARL FINAMORE is former President (ret), Air Transport Employees, Local Lodge 1781, IAMAW. He can be reached at <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Your Ad Here</a> &#160;</p>
<p />
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | 3,463 |
<p>In less than a year,&#160;Pope Francis’ star has ascended to dizzying heights. It’s one thing to be world-famous; it’s another thing to be world-famous and well-liked, which is what he is. A staggering 92% of American Catholics, and 69% of all Americans, view the Pope favorably, according to one recent poll.</p>
<p>It’s not hard to see why Francis has quickly become so popular. He’s genial and welcoming, the kind of guy people trust easily, even eagerly. His unassuming style is accompanied by an unshakeable joy that is as compelling as it is contagious. He eschews pomp and embraces simplicity. His love for the poor is unmistakable and genuine. He pays his own hotel bill.</p>
<p>Yet Francis is not out to win a popularity contest; far from it. The trail of controversies – some serious, others less so – that have followed him through the first ten months of his papacy are a clear indication that this is a Pope who is more than willing to rock the boat.</p>
<p>In a long apostolic exhortation published in November, Pope Francis laid his cards on the table: “The great danger in today’s world, pervaded as it is by consumerism, is the desolation and anguish born of a complacent yet covetous heart, the feverish pursuit of frivolous pleasures, and a blunted conscience. Whenever our interior life becomes caught up in its own interests and concerns, there is no longer room for others, no place for the poor.”</p>
<p>This self-centered complacency, the Pope insists, is a danger for believers and non-believers alike. He attacks it again and again, pulling no punches. “We do not live better when we flee, hide, refuse to share, stop giving and lock ourselves up in own comforts. Such a life is nothing less than slow suicide.”</p>
<p>The remedy Pope Francis tirelessly proposes is not a philosophy or a social reform. It is not to be found in economics, politics, or science. What he proposes – what the church exists to propose – is the gospel.</p>
<p>But the gospel can be a hard sell. It makes demands on us and calls us out of ourselves, leaving little room for complacency. In short, it means taking up the cross and following Christ. Christian hope springs from faith in Jesus Christ who passed through death, conquering it, and who offers us a share in his own divine life. Through him, love and life have the last word over sin and death.</p>
<p>If that’s true – and the church is founded on the belief that it is – then our broken world has a cause to rejoice. As Pope Francis put it, “The joy of the gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus.”</p>
<p>That the head of the Catholic Church is going around preaching the gospel is not exactly news. What has caused most of the controversy – and stolen many a headline – is the way in which Pope Francis has undertaken that task. Combine his disarming, even endearing propensity to speak in an unguarded and informal way with his immense popularity and the unique moral authority of his office and reporting on the Pope has become for many, if you’ll forgive the Catholic pun, a near occasion of spin.</p>
<p>Take, for example, the widely reported response Pope Francis gave to a question about Catholic priests who are gay: “If a person is gay and seeks the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge that person?”</p>
<p>As the Pope himself indicated at the time, he wasn’t altering church teaching; he was actually reiterating it: Everyone – gay, straight, or otherwise – is called to “seek the Lord.” Unfortunately, many people took the Pope’s remark to suggest, or at least imply, a lax attitude toward the church’s moral teaching homosexual acts are sinful. Some people were excited about this possibility; others found it implausible or upsetting. In the confusion that followed, the Pope’s actual words, taken in their proper context, were quickly obscured.</p>
<p>Then there was the lengthy interview with a Jesuit magazine in which Pope Francis said, “We cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptive methods.” The church must speak about these issues within the proper context, the Pope maintained, lest they come to be seen as “a disjointed multitude of doctrines to be imposed insistently.”</p>
<p>Yet the all-important context was promptly forgotten as the media (both Catholic and secular, for what it’s worth) proceeded to fixate – obsess, you might say – on his comments on abortion, gay marriage and contraception. Once again, the real meaning of the Pope’s words was largely lost in the media food-fight that ensued.</p>
<p>It must be said that some criticisms of Pope Francis have been warranted; not all of the controversies and confusion can be blamed on shameless ideologues or media bias. The Pope himself has asked for, and expressed gratitude for, fraternal correction. He is aware that his words can, and have been, misinterpreted. He even addressed the problem directly in the apostolic exhortation mentioned above: “In today’s world of instant communication and occasionally biased media coverage, the message we preach runs a greater risk of being distorted or reduced to some of its secondary aspects.”</p>
<p>Ironically, or perhaps predictably, all the media seemed to glean from the same 200+ page document could be found in headlines along the lines of “Pope slams trickle-down economics,” which rather missed the Pope’s specific point about the limits of free markets and completely ignored his larger point about the joy of the gospel.</p>
<p>The point is this: Pope Francis wants to shake us out of our pre-existing ideological categories, so he speaks in a way that cuts against those grains – even if that means causing a ruckus now and then.</p>
<p>From abortion enthusiasts at NARAL now associating themselves with the Pope to advance their agendas all the way over to Rush Limbaugh’s preposterous denunciation of the Pope’s statements on the economy as “pure Marxism,” those most likely to be disappointed by Francis are those who insist on reading his words through the lens of categories into which the gospel simply does not fit.</p>
<p>Permit me two examples.</p>
<p>Self-described progressives who would claim Pope Francis as one of their own because of his manifest love for the poor and his talk of “social justice” are going to have to account sooner or later for his unwavering insistence on fidelity to the church’s teachings they find less progressive, on issues like abortion, contraception, women priests, and gay marriage.</p>
<p>Political conservatives who share the Pope’s horror at the injustice of abortion and share the Pope’s insistence that the family is fundamental to a healthy society would do well to avoid breaking out into hives every time Pope Francis suggests, as his predecessors have, that free markets alone won’t bring about a just society.</p>
<p>There is a wonderful line from Pope Benedict’s encyclical, “God is Love,” which Pope Francis is very fond of quoting: “Being a Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.” The most compelling case for the truth of Christianity is not found in carefully articulated theological arguments – as important as those may be – but in examples of selfless love, lived joyfully.</p>
<p>That is the kind of witness Pope Francis calls Catholics to give.</p>
<p>This awareness of what is really at the heart of discipleship is not new; it’s as old as Christianity itself. But to millions of people – including many of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics – it is news. Many are hearing that Good News for the first time from a Pope who also makes them uneasy. Therein lays the key to understanding why Pope Francis is not likely to start playing it safe any time soon.</p>
<p>As Jesus told Peter – who would become the first Pope: In order to catch fish, sometimes it is necessary to leave the safety and comfort of the shallows and put out into the deep water.</p>
<p>Pope Francis is calling the church and its faithful to do just that.</p>
<p>Stephen P. White is a fellow in the Catholic Studies program at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, DC and coordinator of the Tertio Millennio Seminar on the Free Society.</p> | The Francis Revolution | false | https://eppc.org/publications/the-francis-revolution/ | 1right-center
| The Francis Revolution
<p>In less than a year,&#160;Pope Francis’ star has ascended to dizzying heights. It’s one thing to be world-famous; it’s another thing to be world-famous and well-liked, which is what he is. A staggering 92% of American Catholics, and 69% of all Americans, view the Pope favorably, according to one recent poll.</p>
<p>It’s not hard to see why Francis has quickly become so popular. He’s genial and welcoming, the kind of guy people trust easily, even eagerly. His unassuming style is accompanied by an unshakeable joy that is as compelling as it is contagious. He eschews pomp and embraces simplicity. His love for the poor is unmistakable and genuine. He pays his own hotel bill.</p>
<p>Yet Francis is not out to win a popularity contest; far from it. The trail of controversies – some serious, others less so – that have followed him through the first ten months of his papacy are a clear indication that this is a Pope who is more than willing to rock the boat.</p>
<p>In a long apostolic exhortation published in November, Pope Francis laid his cards on the table: “The great danger in today’s world, pervaded as it is by consumerism, is the desolation and anguish born of a complacent yet covetous heart, the feverish pursuit of frivolous pleasures, and a blunted conscience. Whenever our interior life becomes caught up in its own interests and concerns, there is no longer room for others, no place for the poor.”</p>
<p>This self-centered complacency, the Pope insists, is a danger for believers and non-believers alike. He attacks it again and again, pulling no punches. “We do not live better when we flee, hide, refuse to share, stop giving and lock ourselves up in own comforts. Such a life is nothing less than slow suicide.”</p>
<p>The remedy Pope Francis tirelessly proposes is not a philosophy or a social reform. It is not to be found in economics, politics, or science. What he proposes – what the church exists to propose – is the gospel.</p>
<p>But the gospel can be a hard sell. It makes demands on us and calls us out of ourselves, leaving little room for complacency. In short, it means taking up the cross and following Christ. Christian hope springs from faith in Jesus Christ who passed through death, conquering it, and who offers us a share in his own divine life. Through him, love and life have the last word over sin and death.</p>
<p>If that’s true – and the church is founded on the belief that it is – then our broken world has a cause to rejoice. As Pope Francis put it, “The joy of the gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus.”</p>
<p>That the head of the Catholic Church is going around preaching the gospel is not exactly news. What has caused most of the controversy – and stolen many a headline – is the way in which Pope Francis has undertaken that task. Combine his disarming, even endearing propensity to speak in an unguarded and informal way with his immense popularity and the unique moral authority of his office and reporting on the Pope has become for many, if you’ll forgive the Catholic pun, a near occasion of spin.</p>
<p>Take, for example, the widely reported response Pope Francis gave to a question about Catholic priests who are gay: “If a person is gay and seeks the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge that person?”</p>
<p>As the Pope himself indicated at the time, he wasn’t altering church teaching; he was actually reiterating it: Everyone – gay, straight, or otherwise – is called to “seek the Lord.” Unfortunately, many people took the Pope’s remark to suggest, or at least imply, a lax attitude toward the church’s moral teaching homosexual acts are sinful. Some people were excited about this possibility; others found it implausible or upsetting. In the confusion that followed, the Pope’s actual words, taken in their proper context, were quickly obscured.</p>
<p>Then there was the lengthy interview with a Jesuit magazine in which Pope Francis said, “We cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptive methods.” The church must speak about these issues within the proper context, the Pope maintained, lest they come to be seen as “a disjointed multitude of doctrines to be imposed insistently.”</p>
<p>Yet the all-important context was promptly forgotten as the media (both Catholic and secular, for what it’s worth) proceeded to fixate – obsess, you might say – on his comments on abortion, gay marriage and contraception. Once again, the real meaning of the Pope’s words was largely lost in the media food-fight that ensued.</p>
<p>It must be said that some criticisms of Pope Francis have been warranted; not all of the controversies and confusion can be blamed on shameless ideologues or media bias. The Pope himself has asked for, and expressed gratitude for, fraternal correction. He is aware that his words can, and have been, misinterpreted. He even addressed the problem directly in the apostolic exhortation mentioned above: “In today’s world of instant communication and occasionally biased media coverage, the message we preach runs a greater risk of being distorted or reduced to some of its secondary aspects.”</p>
<p>Ironically, or perhaps predictably, all the media seemed to glean from the same 200+ page document could be found in headlines along the lines of “Pope slams trickle-down economics,” which rather missed the Pope’s specific point about the limits of free markets and completely ignored his larger point about the joy of the gospel.</p>
<p>The point is this: Pope Francis wants to shake us out of our pre-existing ideological categories, so he speaks in a way that cuts against those grains – even if that means causing a ruckus now and then.</p>
<p>From abortion enthusiasts at NARAL now associating themselves with the Pope to advance their agendas all the way over to Rush Limbaugh’s preposterous denunciation of the Pope’s statements on the economy as “pure Marxism,” those most likely to be disappointed by Francis are those who insist on reading his words through the lens of categories into which the gospel simply does not fit.</p>
<p>Permit me two examples.</p>
<p>Self-described progressives who would claim Pope Francis as one of their own because of his manifest love for the poor and his talk of “social justice” are going to have to account sooner or later for his unwavering insistence on fidelity to the church’s teachings they find less progressive, on issues like abortion, contraception, women priests, and gay marriage.</p>
<p>Political conservatives who share the Pope’s horror at the injustice of abortion and share the Pope’s insistence that the family is fundamental to a healthy society would do well to avoid breaking out into hives every time Pope Francis suggests, as his predecessors have, that free markets alone won’t bring about a just society.</p>
<p>There is a wonderful line from Pope Benedict’s encyclical, “God is Love,” which Pope Francis is very fond of quoting: “Being a Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.” The most compelling case for the truth of Christianity is not found in carefully articulated theological arguments – as important as those may be – but in examples of selfless love, lived joyfully.</p>
<p>That is the kind of witness Pope Francis calls Catholics to give.</p>
<p>This awareness of what is really at the heart of discipleship is not new; it’s as old as Christianity itself. But to millions of people – including many of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics – it is news. Many are hearing that Good News for the first time from a Pope who also makes them uneasy. Therein lays the key to understanding why Pope Francis is not likely to start playing it safe any time soon.</p>
<p>As Jesus told Peter – who would become the first Pope: In order to catch fish, sometimes it is necessary to leave the safety and comfort of the shallows and put out into the deep water.</p>
<p>Pope Francis is calling the church and its faithful to do just that.</p>
<p>Stephen P. White is a fellow in the Catholic Studies program at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, DC and coordinator of the Tertio Millennio Seminar on the Free Society.</p> | 3,464 |
|
<p>Paul Watson at infowars has&#160; <a href="https://www.infowars.com/report-fbi-wipes-phones-laptops-of-las-vegas-massacre-eyewitnesses/" type="external">the story</a>:</p>
<p>“Workers at the Route 91 festival during which Stephen Paddock unleashed his massacre have reportedly been given back their phones and laptops by the FBI only to discover that all messages and videos from the night of the attack have been wiped clean.”</p>
<p>“According to a Las Vegas resident who posted a status update on Facebook, ‘A bunch of people that worked the Route 91 [concert] said they got their cell phones back today. They all said that all their phones are completely wiped clean! All messages and info from that weekend are completely gone. Anyone else experience this’?”</p>
<p>“’A few different people who were vendors there are all saying the same thing,’ the woman later comments.”</p>
<p>“Later in the thread, a Route 91 worker confirms the story, commenting, ‘Of course. It’s an active federal crime scene. They can wipe it clean. I was the beverage manager for the entire event. My laptop is wiped clean’.”</p>
<p>What?</p>
<p>First of all,&#160; <a href="https://jonrappoport.wordpress.com/2017/10/09/why-you-shouldnt-believe-anything-the-fbi-says-about-the-vegas-shooting/" type="external">in a recent article</a>, I demonstrated in detail why you can never trust what the FBI says about evidence in any investigation. There is a notorious history of the Bureau cooking and slanting and inventing data to support prosecutions.</p>
<p>Second, who says the FBI can take people’s phones and laptops, watch and copy the video footage, and then wipe it all away before returning the devices to their owners?</p>
<p>The FBI literally owns the crime scene AND any record of what happened at that scene? Baloney.</p>
<p>The obvious reason for wiping out the footage: it contained evidence that contradicts the official scenario. And most likely, that evidence revealed multiple shooters.</p>
<p>As Vegas cops, the FBI, and the owners of the Mandalay Hotel have changed and massaged the official narrative, one assertion has remained constant: there was only one shooter, and he was Stephen Paddock.</p>
<p>Law-enforcement pounced on that claim early on, without the slightest justification. Without interviewing multiple witnesses who state they saw other shooters.</p>
<p>“Okay, the mass shooting happened yesterday and we know there was only one shooter. That’s it. Don’t ask us any questions about this. Anyone who disagrees with us is spreading rumors and impeding the investigation.”</p>
<p>Admitting multiple shooters is admitting there was cooperation, collusion, conspiracy, a plan, and a purpose for that plan beyond “the lone gunman was crazy.” This is the door law-enforcement keeps slamming shut every time it opens.</p>
<p>And now we have reports that the FBI has wiped witnesses’ phones and laptops. No more footage of the shooting. No more evidence.</p>
<p>Let’s be clear: the FBI is impeding the investigation.</p>
<p>There is no Constitutional rule that states private citizens can’t investigate crimes. There never was. There never will be.</p>
<p>Law enforcement doesn’t OWN investigations.</p>
<p>If they did, every time a journalist probes beneath the surface of a crime and uncovers important information, the FBI could say, “Well, we just opened an investigation of that very crime, and therefore we want all your notes and we want you to cease and desist your inquiry. Shut up and go cover Sunday picnics.”</p>
<p>In most cases, law-enforcement&#160; <a href="https://twitter.com/LauraLoomer/status/918668743781253120" type="external">doesn’t have to worry</a>&#160;about mainstream reporters. Those denizens simply take dictation from local cops and federal cops and their stories appear in papers and TV news broadcasts wiped clean of independent thought.</p>
<p>That leaves the truth a wide open field.</p>
<p>Private citizens and non-mainstream journalists own that field, not through edict, but through default. Don’t blame us. If you were doing your jobs, we wouldn’t have to do them for you.</p>
<p>Your first rule would be: stop lying.</p>
<p>Destruction of evidence is a felony. Those concert workers whose phones and laptops were wiped clean had a felony committed against them. By agents of government who have sworn to uphold and protect the Constitution.</p>
<p>Thousands of smart lawyers out there will say, “Come on, there’s no way you could make a charge like that stick.” Well, maybe there would be a way, if enough of you decided there has been enough destruction of the Constitution and it’s time to stand up and be counted, come hell or high water.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, whoever can look past the lies and fabrications and distortions of a criminal investigation can say something because they saw something.</p>
<p>Here is a quick excerpt from my recent piece about the FBI’s stance on crime probes. It should give you a clue about the Bureau’s attitude and reputation:</p>
<p>April 20, 2015, The Atlantic: “…the Washington Post made clear Saturday in an article that begins with a punch to the gut… ‘Nearly every examiner in an elite FBI forensic unit gave flawed testimony in almost all trials in which they offered evidence against criminal defendants over more than a two-decade period before 2000,’ the newspaper reported, adding that ‘the cases include those of 32 defendants sentenced to death’.”</p>
<p>In the Vegas shooting case, the FBI is saying: Trust us. We’re the pros. We do investigations the right way. Now give us your cell phone so we can look at video footage of the shooting and make a copy and wipe your phone clean and give it back to you.</p>
<p>Don’t worry, be happy. All is well. The centurions are on duty.</p>
<p>Jon Rappoport</p>
<p>(To read about Jon’s mega-collection,&#160;The Matrix Revealed,&#160; <a href="http://marketplace.mybigcommerce.com/the-matrix-revealed/" type="external">click here</a>.)</p>
<p>The author of three explosive collections,&#160; <a href="http://marketplace.mybigcommerce.com/the-matrix-revealed/" type="external">THE MATRIX REVEALED</a>,&#160; <a href="http://marketplace.mybigcommerce.com/exit-from-the-matrix/" type="external">EXIT FROM THE MATRIX</a>, and&#160; <a href="http://marketplace.mybigcommerce.com/power-outside-the-matrix/" type="external">POWER OUTSIDE THE MATRIX</a>, Jon was a candidate for a US Congressional seat in the 29th&#160;District of California. He maintains a consulting practice for private clients, the purpose of which is the expansion of personal creative power. Nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, he has worked as an investigative reporter for 30 years, writing articles on politics, medicine, and health for CBS Healthwatch, LA Weekly, Spin Magazine, Stern, and other newspapers and magazines in the US and Europe. Jon has delivered lectures and seminars on global politics, health, logic, and creative power to audiences around the world. You can sign up for his&#160;free&#160;NoMoreFakeNews emails&#160; <a href="http://j.mp/1HvKCU1" type="external">here</a>&#160;or his&#160;free&#160;OutsideTheRealityMachine emails&#160; <a href="http://j.mp/1SfPuzL" type="external">here</a>.</p>
<p />
<p /> | Vegas shooting: concert workers’ phone footage wiped clean by FBI | true | http://dcclothesline.com/2017/10/14/vegas-shooting-concert-workers-phone-footage-wiped-clean-by-fbi/ | 0right
| Vegas shooting: concert workers’ phone footage wiped clean by FBI
<p>Paul Watson at infowars has&#160; <a href="https://www.infowars.com/report-fbi-wipes-phones-laptops-of-las-vegas-massacre-eyewitnesses/" type="external">the story</a>:</p>
<p>“Workers at the Route 91 festival during which Stephen Paddock unleashed his massacre have reportedly been given back their phones and laptops by the FBI only to discover that all messages and videos from the night of the attack have been wiped clean.”</p>
<p>“According to a Las Vegas resident who posted a status update on Facebook, ‘A bunch of people that worked the Route 91 [concert] said they got their cell phones back today. They all said that all their phones are completely wiped clean! All messages and info from that weekend are completely gone. Anyone else experience this’?”</p>
<p>“’A few different people who were vendors there are all saying the same thing,’ the woman later comments.”</p>
<p>“Later in the thread, a Route 91 worker confirms the story, commenting, ‘Of course. It’s an active federal crime scene. They can wipe it clean. I was the beverage manager for the entire event. My laptop is wiped clean’.”</p>
<p>What?</p>
<p>First of all,&#160; <a href="https://jonrappoport.wordpress.com/2017/10/09/why-you-shouldnt-believe-anything-the-fbi-says-about-the-vegas-shooting/" type="external">in a recent article</a>, I demonstrated in detail why you can never trust what the FBI says about evidence in any investigation. There is a notorious history of the Bureau cooking and slanting and inventing data to support prosecutions.</p>
<p>Second, who says the FBI can take people’s phones and laptops, watch and copy the video footage, and then wipe it all away before returning the devices to their owners?</p>
<p>The FBI literally owns the crime scene AND any record of what happened at that scene? Baloney.</p>
<p>The obvious reason for wiping out the footage: it contained evidence that contradicts the official scenario. And most likely, that evidence revealed multiple shooters.</p>
<p>As Vegas cops, the FBI, and the owners of the Mandalay Hotel have changed and massaged the official narrative, one assertion has remained constant: there was only one shooter, and he was Stephen Paddock.</p>
<p>Law-enforcement pounced on that claim early on, without the slightest justification. Without interviewing multiple witnesses who state they saw other shooters.</p>
<p>“Okay, the mass shooting happened yesterday and we know there was only one shooter. That’s it. Don’t ask us any questions about this. Anyone who disagrees with us is spreading rumors and impeding the investigation.”</p>
<p>Admitting multiple shooters is admitting there was cooperation, collusion, conspiracy, a plan, and a purpose for that plan beyond “the lone gunman was crazy.” This is the door law-enforcement keeps slamming shut every time it opens.</p>
<p>And now we have reports that the FBI has wiped witnesses’ phones and laptops. No more footage of the shooting. No more evidence.</p>
<p>Let’s be clear: the FBI is impeding the investigation.</p>
<p>There is no Constitutional rule that states private citizens can’t investigate crimes. There never was. There never will be.</p>
<p>Law enforcement doesn’t OWN investigations.</p>
<p>If they did, every time a journalist probes beneath the surface of a crime and uncovers important information, the FBI could say, “Well, we just opened an investigation of that very crime, and therefore we want all your notes and we want you to cease and desist your inquiry. Shut up and go cover Sunday picnics.”</p>
<p>In most cases, law-enforcement&#160; <a href="https://twitter.com/LauraLoomer/status/918668743781253120" type="external">doesn’t have to worry</a>&#160;about mainstream reporters. Those denizens simply take dictation from local cops and federal cops and their stories appear in papers and TV news broadcasts wiped clean of independent thought.</p>
<p>That leaves the truth a wide open field.</p>
<p>Private citizens and non-mainstream journalists own that field, not through edict, but through default. Don’t blame us. If you were doing your jobs, we wouldn’t have to do them for you.</p>
<p>Your first rule would be: stop lying.</p>
<p>Destruction of evidence is a felony. Those concert workers whose phones and laptops were wiped clean had a felony committed against them. By agents of government who have sworn to uphold and protect the Constitution.</p>
<p>Thousands of smart lawyers out there will say, “Come on, there’s no way you could make a charge like that stick.” Well, maybe there would be a way, if enough of you decided there has been enough destruction of the Constitution and it’s time to stand up and be counted, come hell or high water.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, whoever can look past the lies and fabrications and distortions of a criminal investigation can say something because they saw something.</p>
<p>Here is a quick excerpt from my recent piece about the FBI’s stance on crime probes. It should give you a clue about the Bureau’s attitude and reputation:</p>
<p>April 20, 2015, The Atlantic: “…the Washington Post made clear Saturday in an article that begins with a punch to the gut… ‘Nearly every examiner in an elite FBI forensic unit gave flawed testimony in almost all trials in which they offered evidence against criminal defendants over more than a two-decade period before 2000,’ the newspaper reported, adding that ‘the cases include those of 32 defendants sentenced to death’.”</p>
<p>In the Vegas shooting case, the FBI is saying: Trust us. We’re the pros. We do investigations the right way. Now give us your cell phone so we can look at video footage of the shooting and make a copy and wipe your phone clean and give it back to you.</p>
<p>Don’t worry, be happy. All is well. The centurions are on duty.</p>
<p>Jon Rappoport</p>
<p>(To read about Jon’s mega-collection,&#160;The Matrix Revealed,&#160; <a href="http://marketplace.mybigcommerce.com/the-matrix-revealed/" type="external">click here</a>.)</p>
<p>The author of three explosive collections,&#160; <a href="http://marketplace.mybigcommerce.com/the-matrix-revealed/" type="external">THE MATRIX REVEALED</a>,&#160; <a href="http://marketplace.mybigcommerce.com/exit-from-the-matrix/" type="external">EXIT FROM THE MATRIX</a>, and&#160; <a href="http://marketplace.mybigcommerce.com/power-outside-the-matrix/" type="external">POWER OUTSIDE THE MATRIX</a>, Jon was a candidate for a US Congressional seat in the 29th&#160;District of California. He maintains a consulting practice for private clients, the purpose of which is the expansion of personal creative power. Nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, he has worked as an investigative reporter for 30 years, writing articles on politics, medicine, and health for CBS Healthwatch, LA Weekly, Spin Magazine, Stern, and other newspapers and magazines in the US and Europe. Jon has delivered lectures and seminars on global politics, health, logic, and creative power to audiences around the world. You can sign up for his&#160;free&#160;NoMoreFakeNews emails&#160; <a href="http://j.mp/1HvKCU1" type="external">here</a>&#160;or his&#160;free&#160;OutsideTheRealityMachine emails&#160; <a href="http://j.mp/1SfPuzL" type="external">here</a>.</p>
<p />
<p /> | 3,465 |
|
<p>(Think Progress) –&#160;Head Start programs&#160; <a href="https://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/10/01/2709031/shutdown-head-start/" type="external">have been shuttered</a>, small businesses&#160; <a href="http://www.cpapracticeadvisor.com/news/11186869/government-shutdown-big-for-few-but-minimal-for-most" type="external">can’t get loans</a>&#160;and hundreds of thousands of federal government employees are furloughed. But the exclusive gyms available only to members of Congress have remained open throughout the shutdown.</p>
<p>A House aide confirmed to ThinkProgress that the House member’s gym is open. The House gym features&#160; <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2011/06/a_capitol_workout.html" type="external">a swimming pool, basketball courts, paddleball courts, a sauna, a steam room and flat screen TVs</a>. While towel service is unavailable, taxpayers remain on the hook for cleaning and maintenance, which has been performed daily throughout the shutdown. There are also costs associated with&#160; <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/cost-congressional-gyms-secret/story?id=13859326" type="external">the power required to heat the pools</a>&#160;and keep the lights on.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">SPECIAL: Modern Day Patriots, this is the time to stand shoulder to shoulder with our forefathers in Lexington and Concord. We need the Tea Party now more than ever.&#160;</a></p>
<p>According to the aide, the decision to keep the gym open — even while other critical government services were shelved — came directly from Speaker Boehner’s office. Meanwhile, the staff gym available to Congressional staff&#160; <a href="http://cha.house.gov/sites/republicans.cha.house.gov/files/documents/committee_docs/Expected%20Levels%20of%20Service%20During%20a%20Lapse%20in%20Appropriations_7.pdf" type="external">has been closed</a>.</p>
<p>It appears that the members gym in the Senate remains open on similar terms. Yesterday, Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC) complained to a reporter from the Omaha World-Herald that the members gym was getting “ <a href="https://twitter.com/MortonOWH/status/387342618071269376" type="external">rank</a>.”</p>
<p>The daily operating cost of the House and Senate gyms&#160; <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/cost-congressional-gyms-secret/story?id=13859326" type="external">remains shrouded in secrecy</a>. The Architect of the Capitol, which oversees both gyms, has previously refused to provide information about the gyms for “ <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2011/06/a_capitol_workout.html" type="external">security reasons</a>.” A call to the Architect of the Captol for this story was not immediately returned.</p>
<p>Dozens of House members — including many members of the Tea Party who pushed the government into shutdown over demands to defund Obamacare — live in their offices to save money and&#160; <a href="http://www.citizensforethics.org/legal-filings/entry/capitol-building-is-not-a-frat-house" type="external">use the House gym to shower</a>.</p>
<p>http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2013/10/08/2748461/members-only-congressional-gyms-deemed-essential-remain-open-during-shutdown/</p> | Gyms For Members Of Congress Deemed ‘Essential,’ Remain Open During Shutdown | true | http://teaparty.org/gyms-for-members-of-congress-deemed-essential-remain-open-during-shutdown-29169/ | 0right
| Gyms For Members Of Congress Deemed ‘Essential,’ Remain Open During Shutdown
<p>(Think Progress) –&#160;Head Start programs&#160; <a href="https://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/10/01/2709031/shutdown-head-start/" type="external">have been shuttered</a>, small businesses&#160; <a href="http://www.cpapracticeadvisor.com/news/11186869/government-shutdown-big-for-few-but-minimal-for-most" type="external">can’t get loans</a>&#160;and hundreds of thousands of federal government employees are furloughed. But the exclusive gyms available only to members of Congress have remained open throughout the shutdown.</p>
<p>A House aide confirmed to ThinkProgress that the House member’s gym is open. The House gym features&#160; <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2011/06/a_capitol_workout.html" type="external">a swimming pool, basketball courts, paddleball courts, a sauna, a steam room and flat screen TVs</a>. While towel service is unavailable, taxpayers remain on the hook for cleaning and maintenance, which has been performed daily throughout the shutdown. There are also costs associated with&#160; <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/cost-congressional-gyms-secret/story?id=13859326" type="external">the power required to heat the pools</a>&#160;and keep the lights on.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">SPECIAL: Modern Day Patriots, this is the time to stand shoulder to shoulder with our forefathers in Lexington and Concord. We need the Tea Party now more than ever.&#160;</a></p>
<p>According to the aide, the decision to keep the gym open — even while other critical government services were shelved — came directly from Speaker Boehner’s office. Meanwhile, the staff gym available to Congressional staff&#160; <a href="http://cha.house.gov/sites/republicans.cha.house.gov/files/documents/committee_docs/Expected%20Levels%20of%20Service%20During%20a%20Lapse%20in%20Appropriations_7.pdf" type="external">has been closed</a>.</p>
<p>It appears that the members gym in the Senate remains open on similar terms. Yesterday, Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC) complained to a reporter from the Omaha World-Herald that the members gym was getting “ <a href="https://twitter.com/MortonOWH/status/387342618071269376" type="external">rank</a>.”</p>
<p>The daily operating cost of the House and Senate gyms&#160; <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/cost-congressional-gyms-secret/story?id=13859326" type="external">remains shrouded in secrecy</a>. The Architect of the Capitol, which oversees both gyms, has previously refused to provide information about the gyms for “ <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2011/06/a_capitol_workout.html" type="external">security reasons</a>.” A call to the Architect of the Captol for this story was not immediately returned.</p>
<p>Dozens of House members — including many members of the Tea Party who pushed the government into shutdown over demands to defund Obamacare — live in their offices to save money and&#160; <a href="http://www.citizensforethics.org/legal-filings/entry/capitol-building-is-not-a-frat-house" type="external">use the House gym to shower</a>.</p>
<p>http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2013/10/08/2748461/members-only-congressional-gyms-deemed-essential-remain-open-during-shutdown/</p> | 3,466 |
|
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>They found temples soaked with blood and human hearts being burned in ceramic braziers, according to the Archaeological Institute of America.</p>
<p>They had heard tales of thousands sacrificed at the Great Temple’s dedication, four rows of victims that stretched for miles, all waiting to have their hearts torn out.</p>
<p>The conquistadors and the Spaniards who followed them wrote of the victims of human sacrifices rolling down the steps of the temple, where they were dismembered, then eaten in a stew with chilies and tomatoes.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>But one thing terrified the European newcomers more than almost anything: A rack of human skulls that towered over one corner of the temple to Huitzilopochtli, the Aztec god of the sun, war and human sacrifice</p>
<p>Andres de Tapia, one of Hernán Cortés’ soldiers, wrote that there were so many human skulls, he had to resort to multiplication to count them all.</p>
<p>“We found there were 136,000 heads.”</p>
<p>Those skulls, the conquistadors assumed, were what remained of men who had been defeated in battle.</p>
<p>They were both ornamentation and message: This is what happens to Aztec enemies.</p>
<p>Nearly 500 years later, scientists digging in Mexico City have unearthed the skulls.</p>
<p>They have also turned up more questions about the nature of Aztec human sacrifice that conflict with the conquistadors’ thinking.</p>
<p>Their biggest finding: The skulls weren’t just the heads of male warriors who had been defeated by the Aztecs. Some were the smaller, thinner skulls of women and children.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“We were expecting just men, obviously young men, as warriors would be,” Rodrigo Bolanos, a biological anthropologist investigating the find, told the news agency Reuters, “and the thing about the women and children is that you’d think they wouldn’t be going to war.”</p>
<p>It’s clear the Aztecs had publicly displayed the skulls of women and children, but who were they?</p>
<p>Defeated people from neighboring civilizations? Aztecs who had been sacrificed?</p>
<p>And why did the Aztecs display them in one of their holiest places?</p>
<p>Researchers believe the tower of skulls was definitively a show of power by the Aztecs. But a more detailed explanation has eluded researchers and may have died with the Aztecs.</p>
<p>The skulls were found in the cylindrical edifice near Templo Mayor, one of the main temples in Tenochtitlan.</p>
<p>Bolanos and other researchers from the Mexican National Institute of Anthropology and History have been researching the skull rack since it was discovered in 2015.</p>
<p>The excavation unearthed nearly 700 skulls.</p>
<p>But the dig is ongoing, and researchers expect to find more as they get closer to the base of the tower of skulls.</p>
<p>The conquistadors weren’t exactly known for their attention to historical preservation. They slaughtered the Aztecs, who outnumbered the Spanish, but were literally outgunned. And the Aztecs who avoided Spanish bullets succumbed to Old World diseases, which further decimated the native population.</p>
<p>On the ruins of the Aztec empire, Mexico City began to rise.</p>
<p>In fact, Cortés and the Spaniards who followed him used the pre-Hispanic structures as the foundation for new churches and cathedrals, according to the Associated Press.</p>
<p>It was both a symbolic decision and a practical one.</p>
<p>It showed how the Aztec gods had been displaced by the Christian church, but also saved the Spaniards the trouble of building new foundations, walls and floors.</p>
<p>Over the intervening centuries, forgotten Aztec ruins – and clues about their pre-Hispanic civilization – were buried beneath the largest city in North America.</p>
<p>But the ruins have refused to stay buried. Some were discovered in the rubble of buildings destroyed in a 1985 earthquake.</p>
<p>And in 1978, workers laying electrical cables two blocks from the Zócalo, Mexico City’s main square, discovered the Aztecs’ Templo Mayor, or high temple.</p>
<p>Centuries after the Aztec civilization fell, the surprise find is still yielding new artifacts – and raising new questions.</p>
<p>“Something is happening that we have no record of,” said Bolanos, the biological anthropologist. “This is really new, a first.”</p> | Archaeologists unearth a 500-year-old tower of skulls – and another gruesome Aztec mystery | false | https://abqjournal.com/1027994/archaeologists-unearth-a-500-year-old-tower-of-skulls-and-another-gruesome-aztec-mystery.html | 2least
| Archaeologists unearth a 500-year-old tower of skulls – and another gruesome Aztec mystery
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>They found temples soaked with blood and human hearts being burned in ceramic braziers, according to the Archaeological Institute of America.</p>
<p>They had heard tales of thousands sacrificed at the Great Temple’s dedication, four rows of victims that stretched for miles, all waiting to have their hearts torn out.</p>
<p>The conquistadors and the Spaniards who followed them wrote of the victims of human sacrifices rolling down the steps of the temple, where they were dismembered, then eaten in a stew with chilies and tomatoes.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>But one thing terrified the European newcomers more than almost anything: A rack of human skulls that towered over one corner of the temple to Huitzilopochtli, the Aztec god of the sun, war and human sacrifice</p>
<p>Andres de Tapia, one of Hernán Cortés’ soldiers, wrote that there were so many human skulls, he had to resort to multiplication to count them all.</p>
<p>“We found there were 136,000 heads.”</p>
<p>Those skulls, the conquistadors assumed, were what remained of men who had been defeated in battle.</p>
<p>They were both ornamentation and message: This is what happens to Aztec enemies.</p>
<p>Nearly 500 years later, scientists digging in Mexico City have unearthed the skulls.</p>
<p>They have also turned up more questions about the nature of Aztec human sacrifice that conflict with the conquistadors’ thinking.</p>
<p>Their biggest finding: The skulls weren’t just the heads of male warriors who had been defeated by the Aztecs. Some were the smaller, thinner skulls of women and children.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“We were expecting just men, obviously young men, as warriors would be,” Rodrigo Bolanos, a biological anthropologist investigating the find, told the news agency Reuters, “and the thing about the women and children is that you’d think they wouldn’t be going to war.”</p>
<p>It’s clear the Aztecs had publicly displayed the skulls of women and children, but who were they?</p>
<p>Defeated people from neighboring civilizations? Aztecs who had been sacrificed?</p>
<p>And why did the Aztecs display them in one of their holiest places?</p>
<p>Researchers believe the tower of skulls was definitively a show of power by the Aztecs. But a more detailed explanation has eluded researchers and may have died with the Aztecs.</p>
<p>The skulls were found in the cylindrical edifice near Templo Mayor, one of the main temples in Tenochtitlan.</p>
<p>Bolanos and other researchers from the Mexican National Institute of Anthropology and History have been researching the skull rack since it was discovered in 2015.</p>
<p>The excavation unearthed nearly 700 skulls.</p>
<p>But the dig is ongoing, and researchers expect to find more as they get closer to the base of the tower of skulls.</p>
<p>The conquistadors weren’t exactly known for their attention to historical preservation. They slaughtered the Aztecs, who outnumbered the Spanish, but were literally outgunned. And the Aztecs who avoided Spanish bullets succumbed to Old World diseases, which further decimated the native population.</p>
<p>On the ruins of the Aztec empire, Mexico City began to rise.</p>
<p>In fact, Cortés and the Spaniards who followed him used the pre-Hispanic structures as the foundation for new churches and cathedrals, according to the Associated Press.</p>
<p>It was both a symbolic decision and a practical one.</p>
<p>It showed how the Aztec gods had been displaced by the Christian church, but also saved the Spaniards the trouble of building new foundations, walls and floors.</p>
<p>Over the intervening centuries, forgotten Aztec ruins – and clues about their pre-Hispanic civilization – were buried beneath the largest city in North America.</p>
<p>But the ruins have refused to stay buried. Some were discovered in the rubble of buildings destroyed in a 1985 earthquake.</p>
<p>And in 1978, workers laying electrical cables two blocks from the Zócalo, Mexico City’s main square, discovered the Aztecs’ Templo Mayor, or high temple.</p>
<p>Centuries after the Aztec civilization fell, the surprise find is still yielding new artifacts – and raising new questions.</p>
<p>“Something is happening that we have no record of,” said Bolanos, the biological anthropologist. “This is really new, a first.”</p> | 3,467 |
|
<p>KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - The U.S. military says an American soldier was killed while fighting in eastern Afghanistan.</p>
<p>The Pentagon says four other soldiers were wounded in the Jan. 1 battle in the Achin district of Nangarhar province. Two of the wounded were in stable condition, and the other two have returned to duty.</p>
<p>The dead soldier was identified as 34-year-old Mihail Golin, of Fort Lee, New Jersey. He was assigned to Fort Carson in Colorado.</p>
<p>Gen. John Nicholson, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, says "we are deeply saddened by the loss of one of our own."</p>
<p>The United States formally concluded its combat mission in Afghanistan at the end of 2014 but still carries out operations against the Taliban and an Islamic State affiliate, both of which are active in Nangarhar.</p>
<p>KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - The U.S. military says an American soldier was killed while fighting in eastern Afghanistan.</p>
<p>The Pentagon says four other soldiers were wounded in the Jan. 1 battle in the Achin district of Nangarhar province. Two of the wounded were in stable condition, and the other two have returned to duty.</p>
<p>The dead soldier was identified as 34-year-old Mihail Golin, of Fort Lee, New Jersey. He was assigned to Fort Carson in Colorado.</p>
<p>Gen. John Nicholson, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, says "we are deeply saddened by the loss of one of our own."</p>
<p>The United States formally concluded its combat mission in Afghanistan at the end of 2014 but still carries out operations against the Taliban and an Islamic State affiliate, both of which are active in Nangarhar.</p> | US soldier killed in combat in Afghanistan | false | https://apnews.com/b8853386689e44dd82b3c58b66eddfd2 | 2018-01-04 | 2least
| US soldier killed in combat in Afghanistan
<p>KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - The U.S. military says an American soldier was killed while fighting in eastern Afghanistan.</p>
<p>The Pentagon says four other soldiers were wounded in the Jan. 1 battle in the Achin district of Nangarhar province. Two of the wounded were in stable condition, and the other two have returned to duty.</p>
<p>The dead soldier was identified as 34-year-old Mihail Golin, of Fort Lee, New Jersey. He was assigned to Fort Carson in Colorado.</p>
<p>Gen. John Nicholson, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, says "we are deeply saddened by the loss of one of our own."</p>
<p>The United States formally concluded its combat mission in Afghanistan at the end of 2014 but still carries out operations against the Taliban and an Islamic State affiliate, both of which are active in Nangarhar.</p>
<p>KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - The U.S. military says an American soldier was killed while fighting in eastern Afghanistan.</p>
<p>The Pentagon says four other soldiers were wounded in the Jan. 1 battle in the Achin district of Nangarhar province. Two of the wounded were in stable condition, and the other two have returned to duty.</p>
<p>The dead soldier was identified as 34-year-old Mihail Golin, of Fort Lee, New Jersey. He was assigned to Fort Carson in Colorado.</p>
<p>Gen. John Nicholson, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, says "we are deeply saddened by the loss of one of our own."</p>
<p>The United States formally concluded its combat mission in Afghanistan at the end of 2014 but still carries out operations against the Taliban and an Islamic State affiliate, both of which are active in Nangarhar.</p> | 3,468 |
<p>Joel Embiid scored 29 points, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot added 16 and the Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 116-94 Saturday night at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.</p>
<p>It was Embiid’s third straight game with at least 20 points and the 25th time he has accomplished the feat this season.</p>
<p>Ben Simmons contributed 16 points, nine assists and eight rebounds, Dario Saric and Robert Covington added 13 points apiece and T.J. McConnell had 11 for the 76ers, who moved two games above .500.</p>
<p>Philadelphia was shorthanded without the services of guards JJ Redick (leg) and Jerryd Bayless (wrist).</p>
<p>Khris Middleton had an outstanding all-around game for the Bucks with a triple-double of 23 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists. Tony Snell scored 15 points, while Eric Bledsoe and Sterling Brown had 14 apiece and John Henson chipped in with 11.</p>
<p>The Bucks played without All-Star guard-forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (sore right knee) for the third time this season as well as forward Malcolm Brogdon (personal reasons).</p>
<p>McConnell made a nifty, spinning move for a three-point play, giving the Sixers a 92-82 lead early in the fourth. Covington followed with a short bank shot for a 12-point advantage, forcing the Bucks to call timeout.</p>
<p>Luwawu-Cabarrot soon hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key and the Philadelphia lead was suddenly 97-82.</p>
<p>Philadelphia extending its lead to 108-89 with 4:45 left and ultimately sealed the win.</p>
<p>A 13-2 run by the Bucks tied the game at 75 late in the third. Embiid knocked down a couple of difficult shots and the Sixers went ahead 84-80 heading into the fourth.</p>
<p>The Sixers jumped out to a 16-point lead in the first half but saw it sliced to 61-55 at halftime. Holding onto double-digit advantages has been a problem all season for Philadelphia and this game was no different.</p>
<p>The Sixers built the large lead thanks in large part to hot shooting and committing just one turnover on their first 33 possessions with only three overall at halftime.</p>
<p>Embiid led all scorers with 18 points in the first half.</p>
<p>—Field Level Media</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>SHANGHAI (Reuters) - The United States’ trade investigation into Chinese firms has no factual basis and the environment for intellectual property protection has continuously improved, a leading Chinese trade group for machinery and electronic products said on Wednesday.</p>
<p>The China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products, which has nearly 10,000 members, made the comments in a statement issued to state broadcaster CCTV.</p>
<p>It said that the US’ actions would cause “huge” losses to Chinese and U.S. firms and noted that the Chinese government was ready to take equal measures on U.S. products to safeguard China’s interests. “We will give it full support,” it said.</p>
<p>Reporting by Brenda Goh; Editing by Kim Coghill</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>SAN BRUNO, Calif. (Reuters) - A woman who had voiced complaints online about YouTube opened fire with a handgun at the tech company’s headquarters near San Francisco on Tuesday, wounding three people before shooting herself dead, authorities and media said.</p>
<p>It was the latest in a string of mass shootings in the United States in recent years. Most recently, the massacre of 17 people at a Florida high school has led to calls for tighter curbs on gun ownership.</p>
<p>Police did not identify the suspect or say what might have motivated Tuesday’s shooting at YouTube, a video-sharing service owned by Alphabet Inc’s Google which employs nearly 2,000 people at the San Bruno, California offices.</p>
<p>The woman approached an outdoor patio and dining courtyard on the campus around lunchtime and began to fire before entering the building, police said.</p>
<p>An affiliate of ABC and other local media, citing unnamed sources, identified the woman as Nasim Aghdam.</p>
<p>San Bruno police officials could not immediately be reached for comment on the identity of the attacker.</p> Related Coverage
<a href="/article/us-california-youtube-shooting-ceos/tech-ceos-call-for-gun-control-following-youtube-shooting-idUSKCN1HB05T" type="external">Tech CEOs call for gun control following YouTube shooting</a>
<p>YouTube spokeswoman Jessica Mason could not immediately be reached for comment on the identification by media.</p>
<p>The website NasimeSabz.com, which media said was linked to the attacker, had several posts about Persian culture and veganism, interspersed with screeds against YouTube.</p>
<p>Those complaints included claims the company was not sharing enough revenue with people who create videos for the platform.</p>
<p>“There is no equal growth opportunity on YouTube, or any other video-sharing site, your channel will grow if they want to,” read one posting on the site.</p>
<p>A YouTube account in the name of Nasime Sabz was deleted on Tuesday evening.</p>
<p>A U.S. government security official told Reuters there was no known connection to terrorism.</p>
<p>ABC News, citing unnamed law enforcement sources, said the suspect was 35 to 40 years old, and lived in Southern California.</p>
<p>A YouTube product manager, Todd Sherman, described on Twitter hearing people running, first thinking it was an earthquake before he was told that a person had a gun.</p>
<p>“At that point every new person I saw was a potential shooter. Someone else said that the person shot out the back doors and then shot themselves,” Sherman said in a tweet.</p>
<p>“I looked down and saw blood drips on the floor and stairs. Peeked around for threats and then we headed downstairs, and out the front,” Sherman said.</p>
<p>In a recording of a 911 call posted online by the Los Angeles Times, a dispatcher can be heard saying: “Shooter. Another party said they spotted someone with a gun. Suspect came from the back patio ... Again we have a report of a subject with a gun. They heard seven or eight shots being fired.”</p>
<p>Dozens of emergency vehicles quickly converged on the YouTube campus, and police could be seen on televised aerial video systematically frisking several employees leaving the area with their hands raised.</p>
<p>One victim, a 36-year-old man, was listed in critical condition at San Francisco General Hospital. A 32-year-old woman was listed in serious condition and a 27-year-old woman in fair condition. Authorities did not release names of the victims.</p>
<p>The three patients taken to San Francisco General Hospital were all awake, Dr. Andre Campbell, a trauma surgeon at the hospital, told a news conference. All were victims of gunshot wounds, Campbell said, but none of them had undergone surgery.</p>
<p>A fourth person was taken to a local hospital with an ankle injury from fleeing the scene.</p>
<p>“It’s with great sadness that I tell you - based on the latest information - four people were injured in this horrific act of violence,” Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai said in letter to employees posted on Twitter.</p> Police officers and crime scene tape are seen at Youtube headquarters following an active shooter situation in San Bruno, California, U.S., April 3, 2018. REUTERS/Elijah Nouvelage
<p>“I know a lot of you are in shock right now. Over the coming days, we will continue to provide support to help everyone in our Google family heal from this unimaginable tragedy.”</p>
<p>In a separate tweet, Pichai said he and YouTube Chief Executive Susan Wojcicki were “focused on supporting our employees and the @YouTube community through this difficult time together.”</p>
<p>President Donald Trump said on Twitter that he had been briefed on the shooting.</p>
<p>“Our thoughts and prayers are with everybody involved,” Trump tweeted. “Thank you to our phenomenal law enforcement officers and first responders that are currently on the scene.”</p>
<p>In response, Twitter Chief Executive Jack Dorsey tweeted: “We can’t keep being reactive to this, thinking and praying it won’t happen again at our schools, jobs, or our community spots. It’s beyond time to evolve our policies.”</p>
<p>Last month, YouTube announced it would ban content promoting the sale of guns and gun accessories, as well as videos that teach how to make guns.</p> Slideshow (11 Images)
<p>Female mass shooters are rare. A recent Washington Post analysis shows only three of 150 U.S. shootings with more than four victims since 1966 were carried out by women. In 2015, a husband and wife killed 14 people in San Bernardino, California.</p>
<p>Additional reporting by Gina Cherelus in New York, Suzannah Gonzales in Chicago, Mark Hosenball in Washington, D.C.; Andrew Hay in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Alex Dobuzinskis and Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles; Salvador Rodriguez, Heather Somerville, Noel Randewich, Stephen Nellis and Jeffrey Dastin in San Francisco; Keith Coffman in Denver; Writing by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Peter Cooney and Clarence Fernandez</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>BEIJING (Reuters) - China will raise anti-dumping tariffs on ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol imported from the United States and some European suppliers, the Ministry of Commerce said on Wednesday.</p>
<p>Producers impacted by the tariffs include Dow Chemical, now known as DowDuPont, Equistar, Eastman, Ineos, Sasol and BASF.</p>
<p>The tariffs, which are as high as 75.5 percent for some companies including DowDuPont, will be effective from April 12, the statement said.</p>
<p>Ethylene glycol is used in many consumer products including antifreeze, coolant and other solvents and paints.</p>
<p>Reporting by Cheng Fang and Dominique Patton; Editing by Christian Schmollinger</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Facebook Inc ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=FB.O" type="external">FB.O</a>) Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said on Tuesday that he agreed “in spirit” with a strict new European Union law on data privacy but stopped short of committing to it as the standard for the social network across the world.</p>
<p>As Facebook reels from a scandal over the mishandling of personal information belonging to millions of users, the company is facing demands to improve privacy and learn lessons from the landmark EU law scheduled to take effect next month.</p>
<p>Zuckerberg told Reuters in a phone interview that Facebook was working on a version of the law that would work globally, bringing some European privacy guarantees worldwide, but the 33-year-old billionaire demurred when asked what parts of the law he would not extend worldwide.</p>
<p>“We’re still nailing down details on this, but it should directionally be, in spirit, the whole thing,” Zuckerberg said. He did not elaborate.</p>
<p>His comments signal that U.S. Facebook users, many of them still angry over the company’s admission that political consultancy Cambridge Analytica got hold of Facebook data on 50 million members, could find themselves in a worse position than Europeans.</p>
<p>The European law, called the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), is the biggest overhaul of online privacy since the birth of the internet, giving Europeans the right to know what data is stored on them and the right to have it deleted.</p>
<p>Apple Inc ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=AAPL.O" type="external">AAPL.O</a>) and some other tech firms have said they do plan to give people in the United States and elsewhere the same protections and rights that Europeans will gain.</p>
<p>Shares of Facebook closed up 0.5 percent on Tuesday at $156.11. They are down more than 15 percent since March 16, when the scandal broke over Cambridge Analytica.</p> PUSH FOR DATA PRIVACY
<p>Privacy advocacy groups have been urging Facebook and its Silicon Valley competitors such as Alphabet Inc’s ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=GOOGL.O" type="external">GOOGL.O</a>) Google to apply EU data laws worldwide, largely without success.</p>
<p>“We want Facebook and Google and all the other companies to immediately adopt in the United States and worldwide any new protections that they implement in Europe,” said Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, in Washington.</p>
<p>Zuckerberg said many of the tools that are part of the law, such as the ability of users to delete all their data, are already available for people on Facebook.</p>
<p>“We think that this is a good opportunity to take that moment across the rest of the world,” he said. “The vast majority of what is required here are things that we’ve already had for years across the world for everyone.”</p> FILE PHOTO: Facebook Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks on stage during the annual Facebook F8 developers conference in San Jose, California, U.S., April 18, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Lam/File Photo
<p>Google and Facebook are the global leaders in internet ad revenue. Both based in California, they possess enormous amounts of data on billions of people.</p>
<p>Google has declined to comment on its plans.</p>
<p>When GDPR takes effect on May 25, people in EU countries will gain the right to transfer their data to other social networks, for example. Facebook and its competitors will also need to be much more specific about how they plan to use people’s data, and they will need to get explicit consent.</p>
<p>GDPR is likely to hurt profit at Facebook because it could reduce the value of ads if the company cannot use personal information as freely and the added expense of hiring lawyers to ensure compliance with the new law.</p>
<p>Data is central to Facebook’s advertising business, and it has not yet sketched out a satisfying plan for how it plans to comply, said Pivotal Research analyst Brian Wieser.</p>
<a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=FB.O" type="external">Facebook Inc</a> 156.11 FB.O Nasdaq +0.72 (+0.46%) FB.O AAPL.O GOOGL.O
<p>“I haven’t heard any solutions from Facebook to get ahead of the problem yet,” Wieser said.</p>
<p>Failure to comply with the law carries a maximum penalty of up to 4 percent of annual revenue.</p>
<p>It should not be difficult for companies to extend EU practices and policies elsewhere because they already have systems in place, said Nicole Ozer, director of technology and civil liberties at the American Civil Liberties Union of California.</p>
<p>Companies’ promises are less reassuring than laws, she said: “If user privacy is going to be properly protected, the law has to require it.”</p>
<p>Reporting by David Ingram and Joseph Menn in San Francisco; Additional reporting by Salvador Rodriguez ; Editing by Peter Henderson, Bill Rigby and Himani Sarkar</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a> | Embiid helps 76ers roll past Bucks Chinese trade body says U.S. investigation has 'no factual basis' Woman wounds three at YouTube headquarters in California, then kills herself China raises anti-dumping tariffs on ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol: commerce ministry Exclusive: Facebook CEO stops short of extending European privacy globally | false | https://reuters.com/article/basketball-nba-phi-mil-recap/embiid-helps-76ers-roll-past-bucks-idUSMTZEE1LVY73PJ | 2018-01-21 | 2least
| Embiid helps 76ers roll past Bucks Chinese trade body says U.S. investigation has 'no factual basis' Woman wounds three at YouTube headquarters in California, then kills herself China raises anti-dumping tariffs on ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol: commerce ministry Exclusive: Facebook CEO stops short of extending European privacy globally
<p>Joel Embiid scored 29 points, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot added 16 and the Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 116-94 Saturday night at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.</p>
<p>It was Embiid’s third straight game with at least 20 points and the 25th time he has accomplished the feat this season.</p>
<p>Ben Simmons contributed 16 points, nine assists and eight rebounds, Dario Saric and Robert Covington added 13 points apiece and T.J. McConnell had 11 for the 76ers, who moved two games above .500.</p>
<p>Philadelphia was shorthanded without the services of guards JJ Redick (leg) and Jerryd Bayless (wrist).</p>
<p>Khris Middleton had an outstanding all-around game for the Bucks with a triple-double of 23 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists. Tony Snell scored 15 points, while Eric Bledsoe and Sterling Brown had 14 apiece and John Henson chipped in with 11.</p>
<p>The Bucks played without All-Star guard-forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (sore right knee) for the third time this season as well as forward Malcolm Brogdon (personal reasons).</p>
<p>McConnell made a nifty, spinning move for a three-point play, giving the Sixers a 92-82 lead early in the fourth. Covington followed with a short bank shot for a 12-point advantage, forcing the Bucks to call timeout.</p>
<p>Luwawu-Cabarrot soon hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key and the Philadelphia lead was suddenly 97-82.</p>
<p>Philadelphia extending its lead to 108-89 with 4:45 left and ultimately sealed the win.</p>
<p>A 13-2 run by the Bucks tied the game at 75 late in the third. Embiid knocked down a couple of difficult shots and the Sixers went ahead 84-80 heading into the fourth.</p>
<p>The Sixers jumped out to a 16-point lead in the first half but saw it sliced to 61-55 at halftime. Holding onto double-digit advantages has been a problem all season for Philadelphia and this game was no different.</p>
<p>The Sixers built the large lead thanks in large part to hot shooting and committing just one turnover on their first 33 possessions with only three overall at halftime.</p>
<p>Embiid led all scorers with 18 points in the first half.</p>
<p>—Field Level Media</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>SHANGHAI (Reuters) - The United States’ trade investigation into Chinese firms has no factual basis and the environment for intellectual property protection has continuously improved, a leading Chinese trade group for machinery and electronic products said on Wednesday.</p>
<p>The China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products, which has nearly 10,000 members, made the comments in a statement issued to state broadcaster CCTV.</p>
<p>It said that the US’ actions would cause “huge” losses to Chinese and U.S. firms and noted that the Chinese government was ready to take equal measures on U.S. products to safeguard China’s interests. “We will give it full support,” it said.</p>
<p>Reporting by Brenda Goh; Editing by Kim Coghill</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>SAN BRUNO, Calif. (Reuters) - A woman who had voiced complaints online about YouTube opened fire with a handgun at the tech company’s headquarters near San Francisco on Tuesday, wounding three people before shooting herself dead, authorities and media said.</p>
<p>It was the latest in a string of mass shootings in the United States in recent years. Most recently, the massacre of 17 people at a Florida high school has led to calls for tighter curbs on gun ownership.</p>
<p>Police did not identify the suspect or say what might have motivated Tuesday’s shooting at YouTube, a video-sharing service owned by Alphabet Inc’s Google which employs nearly 2,000 people at the San Bruno, California offices.</p>
<p>The woman approached an outdoor patio and dining courtyard on the campus around lunchtime and began to fire before entering the building, police said.</p>
<p>An affiliate of ABC and other local media, citing unnamed sources, identified the woman as Nasim Aghdam.</p>
<p>San Bruno police officials could not immediately be reached for comment on the identity of the attacker.</p> Related Coverage
<a href="/article/us-california-youtube-shooting-ceos/tech-ceos-call-for-gun-control-following-youtube-shooting-idUSKCN1HB05T" type="external">Tech CEOs call for gun control following YouTube shooting</a>
<p>YouTube spokeswoman Jessica Mason could not immediately be reached for comment on the identification by media.</p>
<p>The website NasimeSabz.com, which media said was linked to the attacker, had several posts about Persian culture and veganism, interspersed with screeds against YouTube.</p>
<p>Those complaints included claims the company was not sharing enough revenue with people who create videos for the platform.</p>
<p>“There is no equal growth opportunity on YouTube, or any other video-sharing site, your channel will grow if they want to,” read one posting on the site.</p>
<p>A YouTube account in the name of Nasime Sabz was deleted on Tuesday evening.</p>
<p>A U.S. government security official told Reuters there was no known connection to terrorism.</p>
<p>ABC News, citing unnamed law enforcement sources, said the suspect was 35 to 40 years old, and lived in Southern California.</p>
<p>A YouTube product manager, Todd Sherman, described on Twitter hearing people running, first thinking it was an earthquake before he was told that a person had a gun.</p>
<p>“At that point every new person I saw was a potential shooter. Someone else said that the person shot out the back doors and then shot themselves,” Sherman said in a tweet.</p>
<p>“I looked down and saw blood drips on the floor and stairs. Peeked around for threats and then we headed downstairs, and out the front,” Sherman said.</p>
<p>In a recording of a 911 call posted online by the Los Angeles Times, a dispatcher can be heard saying: “Shooter. Another party said they spotted someone with a gun. Suspect came from the back patio ... Again we have a report of a subject with a gun. They heard seven or eight shots being fired.”</p>
<p>Dozens of emergency vehicles quickly converged on the YouTube campus, and police could be seen on televised aerial video systematically frisking several employees leaving the area with their hands raised.</p>
<p>One victim, a 36-year-old man, was listed in critical condition at San Francisco General Hospital. A 32-year-old woman was listed in serious condition and a 27-year-old woman in fair condition. Authorities did not release names of the victims.</p>
<p>The three patients taken to San Francisco General Hospital were all awake, Dr. Andre Campbell, a trauma surgeon at the hospital, told a news conference. All were victims of gunshot wounds, Campbell said, but none of them had undergone surgery.</p>
<p>A fourth person was taken to a local hospital with an ankle injury from fleeing the scene.</p>
<p>“It’s with great sadness that I tell you - based on the latest information - four people were injured in this horrific act of violence,” Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai said in letter to employees posted on Twitter.</p> Police officers and crime scene tape are seen at Youtube headquarters following an active shooter situation in San Bruno, California, U.S., April 3, 2018. REUTERS/Elijah Nouvelage
<p>“I know a lot of you are in shock right now. Over the coming days, we will continue to provide support to help everyone in our Google family heal from this unimaginable tragedy.”</p>
<p>In a separate tweet, Pichai said he and YouTube Chief Executive Susan Wojcicki were “focused on supporting our employees and the @YouTube community through this difficult time together.”</p>
<p>President Donald Trump said on Twitter that he had been briefed on the shooting.</p>
<p>“Our thoughts and prayers are with everybody involved,” Trump tweeted. “Thank you to our phenomenal law enforcement officers and first responders that are currently on the scene.”</p>
<p>In response, Twitter Chief Executive Jack Dorsey tweeted: “We can’t keep being reactive to this, thinking and praying it won’t happen again at our schools, jobs, or our community spots. It’s beyond time to evolve our policies.”</p>
<p>Last month, YouTube announced it would ban content promoting the sale of guns and gun accessories, as well as videos that teach how to make guns.</p> Slideshow (11 Images)
<p>Female mass shooters are rare. A recent Washington Post analysis shows only three of 150 U.S. shootings with more than four victims since 1966 were carried out by women. In 2015, a husband and wife killed 14 people in San Bernardino, California.</p>
<p>Additional reporting by Gina Cherelus in New York, Suzannah Gonzales in Chicago, Mark Hosenball in Washington, D.C.; Andrew Hay in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Alex Dobuzinskis and Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles; Salvador Rodriguez, Heather Somerville, Noel Randewich, Stephen Nellis and Jeffrey Dastin in San Francisco; Keith Coffman in Denver; Writing by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Peter Cooney and Clarence Fernandez</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>BEIJING (Reuters) - China will raise anti-dumping tariffs on ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol imported from the United States and some European suppliers, the Ministry of Commerce said on Wednesday.</p>
<p>Producers impacted by the tariffs include Dow Chemical, now known as DowDuPont, Equistar, Eastman, Ineos, Sasol and BASF.</p>
<p>The tariffs, which are as high as 75.5 percent for some companies including DowDuPont, will be effective from April 12, the statement said.</p>
<p>Ethylene glycol is used in many consumer products including antifreeze, coolant and other solvents and paints.</p>
<p>Reporting by Cheng Fang and Dominique Patton; Editing by Christian Schmollinger</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Facebook Inc ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=FB.O" type="external">FB.O</a>) Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said on Tuesday that he agreed “in spirit” with a strict new European Union law on data privacy but stopped short of committing to it as the standard for the social network across the world.</p>
<p>As Facebook reels from a scandal over the mishandling of personal information belonging to millions of users, the company is facing demands to improve privacy and learn lessons from the landmark EU law scheduled to take effect next month.</p>
<p>Zuckerberg told Reuters in a phone interview that Facebook was working on a version of the law that would work globally, bringing some European privacy guarantees worldwide, but the 33-year-old billionaire demurred when asked what parts of the law he would not extend worldwide.</p>
<p>“We’re still nailing down details on this, but it should directionally be, in spirit, the whole thing,” Zuckerberg said. He did not elaborate.</p>
<p>His comments signal that U.S. Facebook users, many of them still angry over the company’s admission that political consultancy Cambridge Analytica got hold of Facebook data on 50 million members, could find themselves in a worse position than Europeans.</p>
<p>The European law, called the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), is the biggest overhaul of online privacy since the birth of the internet, giving Europeans the right to know what data is stored on them and the right to have it deleted.</p>
<p>Apple Inc ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=AAPL.O" type="external">AAPL.O</a>) and some other tech firms have said they do plan to give people in the United States and elsewhere the same protections and rights that Europeans will gain.</p>
<p>Shares of Facebook closed up 0.5 percent on Tuesday at $156.11. They are down more than 15 percent since March 16, when the scandal broke over Cambridge Analytica.</p> PUSH FOR DATA PRIVACY
<p>Privacy advocacy groups have been urging Facebook and its Silicon Valley competitors such as Alphabet Inc’s ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=GOOGL.O" type="external">GOOGL.O</a>) Google to apply EU data laws worldwide, largely without success.</p>
<p>“We want Facebook and Google and all the other companies to immediately adopt in the United States and worldwide any new protections that they implement in Europe,” said Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, in Washington.</p>
<p>Zuckerberg said many of the tools that are part of the law, such as the ability of users to delete all their data, are already available for people on Facebook.</p>
<p>“We think that this is a good opportunity to take that moment across the rest of the world,” he said. “The vast majority of what is required here are things that we’ve already had for years across the world for everyone.”</p> FILE PHOTO: Facebook Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks on stage during the annual Facebook F8 developers conference in San Jose, California, U.S., April 18, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Lam/File Photo
<p>Google and Facebook are the global leaders in internet ad revenue. Both based in California, they possess enormous amounts of data on billions of people.</p>
<p>Google has declined to comment on its plans.</p>
<p>When GDPR takes effect on May 25, people in EU countries will gain the right to transfer their data to other social networks, for example. Facebook and its competitors will also need to be much more specific about how they plan to use people’s data, and they will need to get explicit consent.</p>
<p>GDPR is likely to hurt profit at Facebook because it could reduce the value of ads if the company cannot use personal information as freely and the added expense of hiring lawyers to ensure compliance with the new law.</p>
<p>Data is central to Facebook’s advertising business, and it has not yet sketched out a satisfying plan for how it plans to comply, said Pivotal Research analyst Brian Wieser.</p>
<a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=FB.O" type="external">Facebook Inc</a> 156.11 FB.O Nasdaq +0.72 (+0.46%) FB.O AAPL.O GOOGL.O
<p>“I haven’t heard any solutions from Facebook to get ahead of the problem yet,” Wieser said.</p>
<p>Failure to comply with the law carries a maximum penalty of up to 4 percent of annual revenue.</p>
<p>It should not be difficult for companies to extend EU practices and policies elsewhere because they already have systems in place, said Nicole Ozer, director of technology and civil liberties at the American Civil Liberties Union of California.</p>
<p>Companies’ promises are less reassuring than laws, she said: “If user privacy is going to be properly protected, the law has to require it.”</p>
<p>Reporting by David Ingram and Joseph Menn in San Francisco; Additional reporting by Salvador Rodriguez ; Editing by Peter Henderson, Bill Rigby and Himani Sarkar</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a> | 3,469 |
<p>Lauren Victoria Burke/WDCPix</p>
<p />
<p>Read also: <a href="" type="internal">The rest of this special report</a>, <a href="" type="internal">a note on sourcing</a>, and <a href="" type="internal">MoJo</a> <a href="" type="internal">‘s daily political coverage</a>.</p>
<p>Below, the top corporate donors in the ’08 presidential race.</p>
<p>Barack Obama</p>
<p><a href="http://www2.goldmansachs.com/" type="external">Goldman Sachs</a> $994,795</p>
<p><a href="http://www.microsoft.com/en/us/default.aspx" type="external">Microsoft</a> $833,617</p>
<p><a href="http://www.google.com/" type="external">Google</a> $803,436</p>
<p><a href="http://www.citigroup.com/citi/homepage/" type="external">Citigroup</a> $701,290</p>
<p><a href="http://www.jpmorganchase.com/corporate/Home/home.htm" type="external">JPMorgan Chase</a> $695,132</p>
<p><a href="http://www.timewarner.com/corp/" type="external">Time Warner</a> $590,084</p>
<p><a href="http://www.sidley.com/default.aspx" type="external">Sidley Austin</a> $588,598( <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2007/05/11/sidley-austin-when-barack-met-michelle/" type="external">Chicago law firm where</a> <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2007/05/11/sidley-austin-when-barack-met-michelle/" type="external" /> <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2007/05/11/sidley-austin-when-barack-met-michelle/" type="external">Barack and Michelle met</a>)</p>
<p><a href="http://www.nationalamusements.com/" type="external">National Amusements</a> (theater chain) $551,683</p>
<p><a href="http://www.ubs.com/" type="external">UBS</a> $543,219</p>
<p><a href="http://www.wilmerhale.com/" type="external">WilmerHale</a> (law firm) $542,618</p>
<p>John McCain</p>
<p><a href="http://www.ml.com/index.asp?id=7695_15125" type="external">Merrill Lynch</a> $373,595</p>
<p><a href="http://www.citigroup.com/citi/homepage/" type="external">Citigroup</a> $322,051</p>
<p><a href="http://www.morganstanley.com/" type="external">Morgan Stanley</a> $273,452</p>
<p><a href="http://www2.goldmansachs.com/" type="external">Goldman Sachs</a> $230,095</p>
<p><a href="http://www.jpmorganchase.com/corporate/Home/home.htm" type="external">JPMorgan Chase</a> $228,107</p>
<p><a href="http://www.att.com/" type="external">AT&amp;T</a> $201,438</p>
<p><a href="https://www.wachovia.com/" type="external">Wachovia</a> $195,063</p>
<p><a href="http://www.ubs.com/" type="external">UBS</a> $192,493</p>
<p><a href="https://www.credit-suisse.com/us/" type="external">Credit Suisse</a> $183,353</p>
<p><a href="http://www.pwc.com/" type="external">PricewaterhouseCoopers</a> $167,900</p>
<p><a href="/politics/2010/09/gentleman-victorias-secret-yields-lady-amway" type="external">Previous: The Gentleman From Victoria’s Secret</a></p>
<p><a href="/politics/2010/09/price-admission" type="external">Next: The Incumbent Advantage</a></p>
<p /> | Hope and Spare Change: Obama vs. McCain in Campaign Cash | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2010/10/top-corporate-donors-in-2008-presidential-race/ | 2018-09-01 | 4left
| Hope and Spare Change: Obama vs. McCain in Campaign Cash
<p>Lauren Victoria Burke/WDCPix</p>
<p />
<p>Read also: <a href="" type="internal">The rest of this special report</a>, <a href="" type="internal">a note on sourcing</a>, and <a href="" type="internal">MoJo</a> <a href="" type="internal">‘s daily political coverage</a>.</p>
<p>Below, the top corporate donors in the ’08 presidential race.</p>
<p>Barack Obama</p>
<p><a href="http://www2.goldmansachs.com/" type="external">Goldman Sachs</a> $994,795</p>
<p><a href="http://www.microsoft.com/en/us/default.aspx" type="external">Microsoft</a> $833,617</p>
<p><a href="http://www.google.com/" type="external">Google</a> $803,436</p>
<p><a href="http://www.citigroup.com/citi/homepage/" type="external">Citigroup</a> $701,290</p>
<p><a href="http://www.jpmorganchase.com/corporate/Home/home.htm" type="external">JPMorgan Chase</a> $695,132</p>
<p><a href="http://www.timewarner.com/corp/" type="external">Time Warner</a> $590,084</p>
<p><a href="http://www.sidley.com/default.aspx" type="external">Sidley Austin</a> $588,598( <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2007/05/11/sidley-austin-when-barack-met-michelle/" type="external">Chicago law firm where</a> <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2007/05/11/sidley-austin-when-barack-met-michelle/" type="external" /> <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2007/05/11/sidley-austin-when-barack-met-michelle/" type="external">Barack and Michelle met</a>)</p>
<p><a href="http://www.nationalamusements.com/" type="external">National Amusements</a> (theater chain) $551,683</p>
<p><a href="http://www.ubs.com/" type="external">UBS</a> $543,219</p>
<p><a href="http://www.wilmerhale.com/" type="external">WilmerHale</a> (law firm) $542,618</p>
<p>John McCain</p>
<p><a href="http://www.ml.com/index.asp?id=7695_15125" type="external">Merrill Lynch</a> $373,595</p>
<p><a href="http://www.citigroup.com/citi/homepage/" type="external">Citigroup</a> $322,051</p>
<p><a href="http://www.morganstanley.com/" type="external">Morgan Stanley</a> $273,452</p>
<p><a href="http://www2.goldmansachs.com/" type="external">Goldman Sachs</a> $230,095</p>
<p><a href="http://www.jpmorganchase.com/corporate/Home/home.htm" type="external">JPMorgan Chase</a> $228,107</p>
<p><a href="http://www.att.com/" type="external">AT&amp;T</a> $201,438</p>
<p><a href="https://www.wachovia.com/" type="external">Wachovia</a> $195,063</p>
<p><a href="http://www.ubs.com/" type="external">UBS</a> $192,493</p>
<p><a href="https://www.credit-suisse.com/us/" type="external">Credit Suisse</a> $183,353</p>
<p><a href="http://www.pwc.com/" type="external">PricewaterhouseCoopers</a> $167,900</p>
<p><a href="/politics/2010/09/gentleman-victorias-secret-yields-lady-amway" type="external">Previous: The Gentleman From Victoria’s Secret</a></p>
<p><a href="/politics/2010/09/price-admission" type="external">Next: The Incumbent Advantage</a></p>
<p /> | 3,470 |
<p />
<p>Ezekiel Elliott’s list of pending off-field concerns got a bit smaller on Wednesday after Dallas police said they would drop an investigation into the Dallas Cowboys running back’s alleged role in a bar fight earlier this week.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Police said Wednesday the investigation was suspended "due to the lack of a complaint," and that no other witnesses had come forward. The statement said investigators had made several unsuccessful attempts to reach the 30-year-old man who was punched in the nose Sunday night.</p>
<p>Dallas coach Jason Garrett said Wednesday he hadn't spoken to Elliott about the incident but planned to when players report to the practice facility Friday, a day before the team flies to California for training camp. Elliott wasn't named in the original police report.</p>
<p>Elliott, who turns 22 on Saturday, has been under NFL investigation since 2016 after a former girlfriend accused him of domestic assault. League officials have yet to determine if Elliott will face discipline in connection with the investigation. A suspension, if enacted, could force Elliott to repay part of his signing bonus, ESPN reported.</p>
<p>The 2016 NFL rushing leader also was seen visiting a legal marijuana shop before a preseason game in Seattle last year, and was caught on video pulling down a woman's shirt at a St. Patrick's Day parade.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The Associated Press contributed to this report.</p> | Ezekiel Elliott bar incident: Dallas police suspend investigation into Cowboys star's role | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/07/20/ezekiel-elliott-bar-incident-dallas-police-suspend-investigation-into-cowboys-stars-role.html | 2017-07-20 | 0right
| Ezekiel Elliott bar incident: Dallas police suspend investigation into Cowboys star's role
<p />
<p>Ezekiel Elliott’s list of pending off-field concerns got a bit smaller on Wednesday after Dallas police said they would drop an investigation into the Dallas Cowboys running back’s alleged role in a bar fight earlier this week.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Police said Wednesday the investigation was suspended "due to the lack of a complaint," and that no other witnesses had come forward. The statement said investigators had made several unsuccessful attempts to reach the 30-year-old man who was punched in the nose Sunday night.</p>
<p>Dallas coach Jason Garrett said Wednesday he hadn't spoken to Elliott about the incident but planned to when players report to the practice facility Friday, a day before the team flies to California for training camp. Elliott wasn't named in the original police report.</p>
<p>Elliott, who turns 22 on Saturday, has been under NFL investigation since 2016 after a former girlfriend accused him of domestic assault. League officials have yet to determine if Elliott will face discipline in connection with the investigation. A suspension, if enacted, could force Elliott to repay part of his signing bonus, ESPN reported.</p>
<p>The 2016 NFL rushing leader also was seen visiting a legal marijuana shop before a preseason game in Seattle last year, and was caught on video pulling down a woman's shirt at a St. Patrick's Day parade.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The Associated Press contributed to this report.</p> | 3,471 |
<p>Jan 23 (Reuters) - China Merchants Bank Co Ltd :</p>
<p>* SAYS PRELIM 2017 NET PROFIT UP 13.0 PERCENT Y/Y AT 70.15 BILLION YUAN Source text in Chinese: <a href="http://bit.ly/2n32r7w" type="external">bit.ly/2n32r7w</a> Further company coverage: (Reporting by Hong Kong newsroom)</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>NEW YORK (Reuters) - Crude oil futures slipped on Monday as investors cashed in some profits from last week’s rally but concerns about Saudi-Iran tensions kept losses in check.</p> FILE PHOTO: An oil pump is seen operating in the Permian Basin near Midland, Texas, U.S., May 3, 2017. REUTERS/Ernest Scheyder/File Photo
<p>Brent crude futures LCOc1 slipped 33 cents, or 0.5 percent, to settle at $70.12 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 also lost half a percent, or 33 cents, to end at $65.55.</p>
<p>Last week, Brent gained 6.4 percent and WTI rose 5.7 percent, the strongest weekly gains since July.</p>
<p>“I don’t see anything extraordinarily bearish in the market today. I think some folks here are just ... happy to take profits,” said Bob Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho in New York.</p>
<p>Although crude and product futures slipped on Monday, most share prices for energy companies, especially refiners, were up, Yawger said. The S&amp;P Energy Index .SPNY was up more than 1 percent.</p>
<p>Global stocks came off six-week lows on reports that the United States and China would begin trade talks, easing fears of a trade war. Analysts had been concerned that a trade war could hurt oil demand.</p>
<p>U.S. President Donald Trump last week signed a memorandum that could impose tariffs on up to $60 billion of imports from China.</p>
<p>“The (oil) market is pulling back after pushing strongly high last week. I think the $70 level in Brent, $67 for WTI ... start to trigger worries of increased U.S. production levels,” said Gene McGillian, manager of market research at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut.</p>
<p>The number of active U.S. oil rigs rose to a three-year high of 804 last week, implying further rises in future production. C-OUT-T-EIA</p>
<p>“With U.S. crude production likely to be close to 10.5 million barrels per day by now and NGL (natural gas liquids) output also increasing strongly, there is a clear chance that year-on-year supply growth in the U.S. could at least temporarily hit 2 million bpd over the summer months,” JBC analysts wrote.</p>
<p>The market found support from rising Middle East tensions.</p>
<p>Saudi air defenses shot down ballistic missiles fired by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi militia on Sunday, some of which targeted Saudi capital Riyadh.</p>
<p>In Asia, Shanghai crude oil futures made a strong debut in terms of volume as investors and commodity merchants bought into the world’s newest financial oil trading instrument.</p>
<p>Hedge funds and other money managers raised their net long U.S. crude futures and options positions in the week to March 20 after two weeks of cutting bullish bets, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said on Friday.</p>
<p>Additional reporting by Ahmad Ghaddar in London and Henning Gloystein in Singapore; Editing by Marguerita Choy and David Gregorio</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>(Reuters) - U.S. gunmaker Remington Outdoor Co has obtained commitments for nearly $300 million from its existing lenders, including some of the biggest U.S. banks, after new sources of funding dried up in the months leading up to its filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.</p>
<p>During that time, the company’s investment bank, Lazard Ltd ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=LAZ.N" type="external">LAZ.N</a>), approached more than 30 possible lenders, according to court documents.</p>
<p>“The vast majority of lenders contacted, however, indicated they were reluctant to provide financing to firearms manufacturers,” said Lazard banker Ari Lefkovits in the papers.</p>
<p>Most of the banks providing the bankruptcy funding were lenders to Remington before its current financial problems, according to court records. Without the funds, Remington may have been forced to go out of business and the banks could have seen their investment crash in value.</p>
<p>The company and its investors have been under heightened scrutiny after 17 were killed in a school shooting in Parkland, Florida in February.</p>
<p>Remington filed for bankruptcy one day after hundreds of thousands of Americans took to the streets to demand tighter gun control measures.</p>
<p>Banks often sell troubled loans to hedge funds when a borrower is heading into bankruptcy, but one source told Reuters that even as the Remington loans were heavily discounted, buyers were scarce.</p>
<p>The company’s bankruptcy lenders include Bank of America Corp ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=BAC.N" type="external">BAC.N</a>), Wells Fargo &amp; Co ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=WFC.N" type="external">WFC.N</a>), JPMorgan Chase &amp; Co ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=JPM.N" type="external">JPM.N</a>) and Deutsche Bank AG ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=DBKGn.DE" type="external">DBKGn.DE</a>), according to court documents.</p>
<p>Remington disclosed the loan details in its Sunday bankruptcy filing, which the company said will allow it to cancel $775 million of debt and bring it out of Chapter 11 as soon as May.</p>
<p>Smaller banks Regions Financial Corporation ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=RF.N" type="external">RF.N</a>), BB&amp;T Corp ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=BBT.N" type="external">BBT.N</a>), Synovus Financial Corp ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=SNV.N" type="external">SNV.N</a>) and Fifth Third Bancorp ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=FITB.O" type="external">FITB.O</a>) have also committed to help fund Remington’s bankruptcy loans, court documents show. An affiliate of investment manager Franklin Templeton Investments, another lender, is also providing funds.</p>
<p>Bank of America, Regions, Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan and Synovus declined to comment.</p>
<p>BB&amp;T declined to comment on its lending relationships. The bank said part of its consideration is to listen to its clients and stakeholders, who have a wide range of opinions.</p> FILE PHOTO: A man walks with his Remington 870 Express 12 gauge shotgun during a pro-gun and Second Amendment protest outside the Arizona State Capitol in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S., January 19, 2013. REUTERS/Joshua Lott/File Photo
<p>“We’re deeply concerned with the increasing amount of gun violence in our schools and communities,” the bank said.</p>
<p>The others, along with Remington, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.</p>
<p>The company ran into trouble after borrowing to ramp up production in 2016 in anticipation of greater industry demand, according to court filings.</p>
<p>The expectation of higher sales was in part driven by fears of a Hillary Clinton presidency and tighter gun controls. With the election of Donald Trump, who has said he strongly supports gun ownership, the firearms industry was stuck with a glut of weapons and higher levels of debt.</p>
<a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=LAZ.N" type="external">Lazard Ltd</a> 52.54 LAZ.N New York Stock Exchange +1.77 (+3.49%) LAZ.N BAC.N WFC.N JPM.N DBKGn.DE
<p>Remington, which said in January it was nearly out of cash, plans to tap the loans from the banks to help pay corporate expenses, including payroll, during its bankruptcy filing.</p>
<p>Remington’s bondholders are also providing some of the bankruptcy loan and will receive a stake in the company when it exits bankruptcy.</p>
<p>Their identities were redacted in court documents.</p>
<p>The company also asked the court to seal the letters detailing the fees the lenders will earn from the loans, saying that the sums are commercially sensitive, according to filings in the bankruptcy court in Wilmington, Delaware.</p>
<p>The court records also showed that Remington’s business faces new hurdles in the wake of the Florida shooting.</p>
<p>The company cited a risk to its business from restrictions placed on gun sales by retailers such Walmart Inc ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=WMT.N" type="external">WMT.N</a>), Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=DKS.N" type="external">DKS.N</a>) and Kroger Co ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=KR.N" type="external">KR.N</a>).</p>
<p>Walmart accounted for 11 percent of Remington sales in 2017, according to court documents.</p>
<p>Remington also said sales could be hurt by more government regulation, including enhanced background checks and a broader definition of “dealer” under current gun laws. Remington said if the 1994 federal assault weapons ban were re-enacted it would have an adverse effect on the business.</p>
<p>Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware and Jessica DiNapoli in New York</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>SINGAPORE/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Uber Technologies Inc has agreed to sell its Southeast Asian business to bigger regional rival Grab, the ride-hailing firms said on Monday, marking the U.S. company’s second retreat from an Asian market.</p>
<p>The industry’s first big consolidation in Southeast Asia, home to about 640 million people, puts pressure on Indonesia’s Go-Jek, which is backed by Alphabet Inc’s ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=GOOGL.O" type="external">GOOGL.O</a>) Google and China’s Tencent Holdings Ltd ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=0700.HK" type="external">0700.HK</a>).</p>
<p>A shake-up in Asia’s fiercely competitive ride-hailing industry became likely earlier this year when Japan-based SoftBank Group Corp’s ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=9984.T" type="external">9984.T</a>) Vision Fund made a multi-billion dollar investment in Uber. SoftBank owns stakes in most major global ride services companies, and executives have indicated they favored consolidation.</p>
<p>SoftBank already had investments in Grab and India’s Ola, and Vision Fund Chief Executive Rajeev Misra had urged Uber to focus less on Asia and more on profitable markets such as Latin America, a person familiar with the matter said.</p>
<p>Grab President Ming Maa told Reuters that SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son was “highly supportive” of the deal, which he called “a very independent decision by both” Grab and Uber.</p>
<p>Uber will take a 27.5 percent stake in Singapore-based Grab and Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi will join Grab’s board. Grab was last valued at $6 billion after a financing round in July.</p>
<p>“It will help us double down on our plans for growth as we invest heavily in our products and technology,” Khosrowshahi said in a statement.</p>
<p>The Competition Commission of Singapore (CCS) said it has the mandate to review whether any mergers will result in a “substantial lessening of competition” and take any action to intervene in the deal, but it has yet to receive notice from the companies.</p>
<p>The deal will help bolster Grab’s meal-delivery service, which will merge with Uber Eats, compete with Go-Jek. Go-Jek has become a dominant player and powerful rival in Indonesia, the region’s biggest economy, and it has rapidly expanded beyond ride hailing to digital payments, food delivery and on-demand cleaning and massage.</p>
<p>Ride-hailing companies throughout Asia have relied heavily on discounts and promotions, driving down profit margins and increasing pressure for consolidation.</p> Slideshow (6 Images)
<p>Uber, which is preparing for a potential initial public offering in 2019, lost $4.5 billion last year and is facing fierce competition at home in the United States and across Asia, as well as a regulatory crackdown in Europe.</p>
<p>Uber invested $700 million in its Southeast Asia business.</p>
<p>Uber previously sold operations in China and Russia to local rivals under former CEO Travis Kalanick. The deal with Grab is the first operations sale by Khosrowshahi, who started in September.</p>
<a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=GOOGL.O" type="external">Alphabet Inc</a> 1054.09 GOOGL.O Nasdaq +27.54 (+2.68%) GOOGL.O 0700.HK 9984.T MORE CONSOLIDATION
<p>But Uber’s CEO does not want to make these mergers a pattern, and said he has no plans to do another sale in which it consolidates its operations in exchange for a minority stake in a rival.</p>
<p>“It is fair to ask whether consolidation is now the strategy of the day, given this is the third deal of its kind ... The answer is no,” Khosrowshahi said in a note to employees that was shared with Reuters.</p>
<p>“One of the potential dangers of our global strategy is that we take on too many battles across too many fronts and with too many competitors.”</p>
<p>SoftBank is also an investor in India’s Ola, another competitive and costly market where rivals have heavily subsidized rides in an effort to gain market share. But a source familiar with Uber’s strategy said the company was going to step up its battle with Ola in India, where Uber has close to 60 percent of the market, by some estimates, but is losing money.</p>
<p>SoftBank’s Misra sees opportunities for mergers and joint ventures between SoftBank-backed ride-hailing companies, particularly for collaborating on research and development, but the investor would never get actively involved with management decisions, the person familiar with the matter said.</p> Related Coverage
<a href="/article/us-uber-grab-reaction/as-uber-bows-out-to-grab-drivers-and-riders-bemoan-loss-of-choice-idUSKBN1H21KP" type="external">As Uber bows out to Grab, drivers and riders bemoan loss of choice</a>
<a href="/article/us-uber-grab-strategy/grab-says-uber-deal-driven-independently-by-firms-has-softbank-support-idUSKBN1H20A8" type="external">Grab says Uber deal driven independently by firms, has SoftBank support</a>
<p>Uber includes the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Latin America among its core markets – regions where it has more than 50 percent market share and is profitable or sees a path to profitability.</p>
<p>Reporting by Aradhana Aravindan in Singapore and Heather Somerville in San Francisco; writing by Miyoung Kim; editing by Peter Henderson, Stephen Coates and Lisa Shumaker</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>ULSAN, South Korea (Reuters) - Hyundai Motor’s ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=005380.KS" type="external">005380.KS</a>) union chief warned its workers may face a similar crisis to the one hitting General Motors’ ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=GM.N" type="external">GM.N</a>) South Korean unit as sales in key markets slide, adding that electric cars were ‘evil’ and will destroy jobs.</p> Ha Bu-young, Hyundai Motor's South Korean union chief speaks during an interview with Reuters in Ulsan, South Korea, March 23, 2018. Picture taken March 23, 2018. REUTERS/Hyunjoo Jin
<p>South Korea’s auto industry, known for its robust unions whose workers tend to be paid more and have better benefits than their compatriots in other sectors, has come to a crossroads.</p>
<p>Blaming high labor costs and falling sales, General Motors ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=GM.N" type="external">GM.N</a>) plans to close one of its plants in the country by May and is weighing options for its three other factories.</p>
<p>“We’re feeling job anxiety. We’re feeling a sense of crisis,” Ha Bu-young, the head of the Hyundai Motor union, South Korea’s biggest and most powerful union, told Reuters in an interview late last week.</p>
<p>He said that at three of Hyundai’s five plants in Ulsan, the world’s biggest car factory complex, some workers had been asked to take longer holidays as sales of sedans and older model SUVs like the Santa Fe slow in the United States and other markets.</p>
<p>Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia Motors ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=000270.KS" type="external">000270.KS</a>) were also hit by diplomatic tensions between Seoul and Beijing last year, leading to a slump in sales in the world’s biggest auto market. The two automakers have flagged only modest global sales growth in 2018. &#160;</p>
<p>Longer term, Ha worries about the advent of electric cars, which when they go mainstream could wreak havoc on traditional auto jobs as they don’t require engines and transmissions.</p>
<p>Hyundai’s union has predicted a drastic shift into electric cars could lead to a loss of 70 percent of Hyundai jobs in a worst case scenario.</p>
<p>“Electric cars are disasters. They are evil. We are very nervous,” he said.</p>
<p>Ha said the union is studying how cars of the future might be built without slashing headcount and has proposed the automaker revive a committee to review the impact of new vehicles and new technology on jobs.</p>
<p>He also noted that some 30,000 workers out of 50,000 union members will retire in 15 years, which could cushion the impact that cars of the future could have on staffing levels.</p>
<a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=005380.KS" type="external">Hyundai Motor Co</a> 152000.0 005380.KS Korea Stock Exchange +2,500.00 (+1.67%) 005380.KS GM.N 000270.KS FREE TRIPS TO EUROPE
<p>At GM’s South Korean unit, the threat of potential plant closures has led its union to offer to freeze wages and skip bonuses while about 15 percent of its employees have applied for a voluntary redundancy package.</p>
<p>While there is a sense of crisis at Hyundai’s union, the situation is not that dire.</p>
<p>Hyundai’s management has proposed the scaling back of some benefits such as free week-long trips to Europe for 500 workers annually as well as support for some employees’ sporting events - a proposal that the union plans to oppose, a union official said.</p>
<p>But the union will for the first time seek pay raises for temporary workers this year that are higher than those of full-time auto workers, responding to criticism that regular auto works are generously paid.</p>
<p>It will ask for a 7.4 percent wage increase for temporary workers versus a 5.3 percent wage raise for regular workers, Ha said, in line with a policy advocated by the umbrella union for South Korea’s metal workers.</p>
<p>Last year Hyundai’s union initially demanded annual wage increases of 7 percent for its full-time workers and won a raise of less than 5 percent after tense negotiations that involved strikes.</p>
<p>The shift towards improving pay for non-full time workers could invite opposition within the union, said Ha, adding that he was trying to right old wrongs.</p>
<p>Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Soyoung Kim and Edwina Gibbs</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a> | BRIEF-China Merchants Bank's Preliminary 2017 Net Profit Up 13.0 Percent Y/Y Oil prices dip on profit taking after last week's rally U.S. banks provide rescue financing for gunmaker Remington Uber sells Southeast Asia business to Grab after costly battle Hyundai union head fears GM-like crisis; says electric cars destroy jobs | false | https://reuters.com/article/brief-china-merchants-banks-preliminary/brief-china-merchants-banks-preliminary-2017-net-profit-up-130-percent-y-y-idUSH9N1PE009 | 2018-01-23 | 2least
| BRIEF-China Merchants Bank's Preliminary 2017 Net Profit Up 13.0 Percent Y/Y Oil prices dip on profit taking after last week's rally U.S. banks provide rescue financing for gunmaker Remington Uber sells Southeast Asia business to Grab after costly battle Hyundai union head fears GM-like crisis; says electric cars destroy jobs
<p>Jan 23 (Reuters) - China Merchants Bank Co Ltd :</p>
<p>* SAYS PRELIM 2017 NET PROFIT UP 13.0 PERCENT Y/Y AT 70.15 BILLION YUAN Source text in Chinese: <a href="http://bit.ly/2n32r7w" type="external">bit.ly/2n32r7w</a> Further company coverage: (Reporting by Hong Kong newsroom)</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>NEW YORK (Reuters) - Crude oil futures slipped on Monday as investors cashed in some profits from last week’s rally but concerns about Saudi-Iran tensions kept losses in check.</p> FILE PHOTO: An oil pump is seen operating in the Permian Basin near Midland, Texas, U.S., May 3, 2017. REUTERS/Ernest Scheyder/File Photo
<p>Brent crude futures LCOc1 slipped 33 cents, or 0.5 percent, to settle at $70.12 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 also lost half a percent, or 33 cents, to end at $65.55.</p>
<p>Last week, Brent gained 6.4 percent and WTI rose 5.7 percent, the strongest weekly gains since July.</p>
<p>“I don’t see anything extraordinarily bearish in the market today. I think some folks here are just ... happy to take profits,” said Bob Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho in New York.</p>
<p>Although crude and product futures slipped on Monday, most share prices for energy companies, especially refiners, were up, Yawger said. The S&amp;P Energy Index .SPNY was up more than 1 percent.</p>
<p>Global stocks came off six-week lows on reports that the United States and China would begin trade talks, easing fears of a trade war. Analysts had been concerned that a trade war could hurt oil demand.</p>
<p>U.S. President Donald Trump last week signed a memorandum that could impose tariffs on up to $60 billion of imports from China.</p>
<p>“The (oil) market is pulling back after pushing strongly high last week. I think the $70 level in Brent, $67 for WTI ... start to trigger worries of increased U.S. production levels,” said Gene McGillian, manager of market research at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut.</p>
<p>The number of active U.S. oil rigs rose to a three-year high of 804 last week, implying further rises in future production. C-OUT-T-EIA</p>
<p>“With U.S. crude production likely to be close to 10.5 million barrels per day by now and NGL (natural gas liquids) output also increasing strongly, there is a clear chance that year-on-year supply growth in the U.S. could at least temporarily hit 2 million bpd over the summer months,” JBC analysts wrote.</p>
<p>The market found support from rising Middle East tensions.</p>
<p>Saudi air defenses shot down ballistic missiles fired by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi militia on Sunday, some of which targeted Saudi capital Riyadh.</p>
<p>In Asia, Shanghai crude oil futures made a strong debut in terms of volume as investors and commodity merchants bought into the world’s newest financial oil trading instrument.</p>
<p>Hedge funds and other money managers raised their net long U.S. crude futures and options positions in the week to March 20 after two weeks of cutting bullish bets, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said on Friday.</p>
<p>Additional reporting by Ahmad Ghaddar in London and Henning Gloystein in Singapore; Editing by Marguerita Choy and David Gregorio</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>(Reuters) - U.S. gunmaker Remington Outdoor Co has obtained commitments for nearly $300 million from its existing lenders, including some of the biggest U.S. banks, after new sources of funding dried up in the months leading up to its filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.</p>
<p>During that time, the company’s investment bank, Lazard Ltd ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=LAZ.N" type="external">LAZ.N</a>), approached more than 30 possible lenders, according to court documents.</p>
<p>“The vast majority of lenders contacted, however, indicated they were reluctant to provide financing to firearms manufacturers,” said Lazard banker Ari Lefkovits in the papers.</p>
<p>Most of the banks providing the bankruptcy funding were lenders to Remington before its current financial problems, according to court records. Without the funds, Remington may have been forced to go out of business and the banks could have seen their investment crash in value.</p>
<p>The company and its investors have been under heightened scrutiny after 17 were killed in a school shooting in Parkland, Florida in February.</p>
<p>Remington filed for bankruptcy one day after hundreds of thousands of Americans took to the streets to demand tighter gun control measures.</p>
<p>Banks often sell troubled loans to hedge funds when a borrower is heading into bankruptcy, but one source told Reuters that even as the Remington loans were heavily discounted, buyers were scarce.</p>
<p>The company’s bankruptcy lenders include Bank of America Corp ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=BAC.N" type="external">BAC.N</a>), Wells Fargo &amp; Co ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=WFC.N" type="external">WFC.N</a>), JPMorgan Chase &amp; Co ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=JPM.N" type="external">JPM.N</a>) and Deutsche Bank AG ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=DBKGn.DE" type="external">DBKGn.DE</a>), according to court documents.</p>
<p>Remington disclosed the loan details in its Sunday bankruptcy filing, which the company said will allow it to cancel $775 million of debt and bring it out of Chapter 11 as soon as May.</p>
<p>Smaller banks Regions Financial Corporation ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=RF.N" type="external">RF.N</a>), BB&amp;T Corp ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=BBT.N" type="external">BBT.N</a>), Synovus Financial Corp ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=SNV.N" type="external">SNV.N</a>) and Fifth Third Bancorp ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=FITB.O" type="external">FITB.O</a>) have also committed to help fund Remington’s bankruptcy loans, court documents show. An affiliate of investment manager Franklin Templeton Investments, another lender, is also providing funds.</p>
<p>Bank of America, Regions, Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan and Synovus declined to comment.</p>
<p>BB&amp;T declined to comment on its lending relationships. The bank said part of its consideration is to listen to its clients and stakeholders, who have a wide range of opinions.</p> FILE PHOTO: A man walks with his Remington 870 Express 12 gauge shotgun during a pro-gun and Second Amendment protest outside the Arizona State Capitol in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S., January 19, 2013. REUTERS/Joshua Lott/File Photo
<p>“We’re deeply concerned with the increasing amount of gun violence in our schools and communities,” the bank said.</p>
<p>The others, along with Remington, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.</p>
<p>The company ran into trouble after borrowing to ramp up production in 2016 in anticipation of greater industry demand, according to court filings.</p>
<p>The expectation of higher sales was in part driven by fears of a Hillary Clinton presidency and tighter gun controls. With the election of Donald Trump, who has said he strongly supports gun ownership, the firearms industry was stuck with a glut of weapons and higher levels of debt.</p>
<a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=LAZ.N" type="external">Lazard Ltd</a> 52.54 LAZ.N New York Stock Exchange +1.77 (+3.49%) LAZ.N BAC.N WFC.N JPM.N DBKGn.DE
<p>Remington, which said in January it was nearly out of cash, plans to tap the loans from the banks to help pay corporate expenses, including payroll, during its bankruptcy filing.</p>
<p>Remington’s bondholders are also providing some of the bankruptcy loan and will receive a stake in the company when it exits bankruptcy.</p>
<p>Their identities were redacted in court documents.</p>
<p>The company also asked the court to seal the letters detailing the fees the lenders will earn from the loans, saying that the sums are commercially sensitive, according to filings in the bankruptcy court in Wilmington, Delaware.</p>
<p>The court records also showed that Remington’s business faces new hurdles in the wake of the Florida shooting.</p>
<p>The company cited a risk to its business from restrictions placed on gun sales by retailers such Walmart Inc ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=WMT.N" type="external">WMT.N</a>), Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=DKS.N" type="external">DKS.N</a>) and Kroger Co ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=KR.N" type="external">KR.N</a>).</p>
<p>Walmart accounted for 11 percent of Remington sales in 2017, according to court documents.</p>
<p>Remington also said sales could be hurt by more government regulation, including enhanced background checks and a broader definition of “dealer” under current gun laws. Remington said if the 1994 federal assault weapons ban were re-enacted it would have an adverse effect on the business.</p>
<p>Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware and Jessica DiNapoli in New York</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>SINGAPORE/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Uber Technologies Inc has agreed to sell its Southeast Asian business to bigger regional rival Grab, the ride-hailing firms said on Monday, marking the U.S. company’s second retreat from an Asian market.</p>
<p>The industry’s first big consolidation in Southeast Asia, home to about 640 million people, puts pressure on Indonesia’s Go-Jek, which is backed by Alphabet Inc’s ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=GOOGL.O" type="external">GOOGL.O</a>) Google and China’s Tencent Holdings Ltd ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=0700.HK" type="external">0700.HK</a>).</p>
<p>A shake-up in Asia’s fiercely competitive ride-hailing industry became likely earlier this year when Japan-based SoftBank Group Corp’s ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=9984.T" type="external">9984.T</a>) Vision Fund made a multi-billion dollar investment in Uber. SoftBank owns stakes in most major global ride services companies, and executives have indicated they favored consolidation.</p>
<p>SoftBank already had investments in Grab and India’s Ola, and Vision Fund Chief Executive Rajeev Misra had urged Uber to focus less on Asia and more on profitable markets such as Latin America, a person familiar with the matter said.</p>
<p>Grab President Ming Maa told Reuters that SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son was “highly supportive” of the deal, which he called “a very independent decision by both” Grab and Uber.</p>
<p>Uber will take a 27.5 percent stake in Singapore-based Grab and Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi will join Grab’s board. Grab was last valued at $6 billion after a financing round in July.</p>
<p>“It will help us double down on our plans for growth as we invest heavily in our products and technology,” Khosrowshahi said in a statement.</p>
<p>The Competition Commission of Singapore (CCS) said it has the mandate to review whether any mergers will result in a “substantial lessening of competition” and take any action to intervene in the deal, but it has yet to receive notice from the companies.</p>
<p>The deal will help bolster Grab’s meal-delivery service, which will merge with Uber Eats, compete with Go-Jek. Go-Jek has become a dominant player and powerful rival in Indonesia, the region’s biggest economy, and it has rapidly expanded beyond ride hailing to digital payments, food delivery and on-demand cleaning and massage.</p>
<p>Ride-hailing companies throughout Asia have relied heavily on discounts and promotions, driving down profit margins and increasing pressure for consolidation.</p> Slideshow (6 Images)
<p>Uber, which is preparing for a potential initial public offering in 2019, lost $4.5 billion last year and is facing fierce competition at home in the United States and across Asia, as well as a regulatory crackdown in Europe.</p>
<p>Uber invested $700 million in its Southeast Asia business.</p>
<p>Uber previously sold operations in China and Russia to local rivals under former CEO Travis Kalanick. The deal with Grab is the first operations sale by Khosrowshahi, who started in September.</p>
<a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=GOOGL.O" type="external">Alphabet Inc</a> 1054.09 GOOGL.O Nasdaq +27.54 (+2.68%) GOOGL.O 0700.HK 9984.T MORE CONSOLIDATION
<p>But Uber’s CEO does not want to make these mergers a pattern, and said he has no plans to do another sale in which it consolidates its operations in exchange for a minority stake in a rival.</p>
<p>“It is fair to ask whether consolidation is now the strategy of the day, given this is the third deal of its kind ... The answer is no,” Khosrowshahi said in a note to employees that was shared with Reuters.</p>
<p>“One of the potential dangers of our global strategy is that we take on too many battles across too many fronts and with too many competitors.”</p>
<p>SoftBank is also an investor in India’s Ola, another competitive and costly market where rivals have heavily subsidized rides in an effort to gain market share. But a source familiar with Uber’s strategy said the company was going to step up its battle with Ola in India, where Uber has close to 60 percent of the market, by some estimates, but is losing money.</p>
<p>SoftBank’s Misra sees opportunities for mergers and joint ventures between SoftBank-backed ride-hailing companies, particularly for collaborating on research and development, but the investor would never get actively involved with management decisions, the person familiar with the matter said.</p> Related Coverage
<a href="/article/us-uber-grab-reaction/as-uber-bows-out-to-grab-drivers-and-riders-bemoan-loss-of-choice-idUSKBN1H21KP" type="external">As Uber bows out to Grab, drivers and riders bemoan loss of choice</a>
<a href="/article/us-uber-grab-strategy/grab-says-uber-deal-driven-independently-by-firms-has-softbank-support-idUSKBN1H20A8" type="external">Grab says Uber deal driven independently by firms, has SoftBank support</a>
<p>Uber includes the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Latin America among its core markets – regions where it has more than 50 percent market share and is profitable or sees a path to profitability.</p>
<p>Reporting by Aradhana Aravindan in Singapore and Heather Somerville in San Francisco; writing by Miyoung Kim; editing by Peter Henderson, Stephen Coates and Lisa Shumaker</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>ULSAN, South Korea (Reuters) - Hyundai Motor’s ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=005380.KS" type="external">005380.KS</a>) union chief warned its workers may face a similar crisis to the one hitting General Motors’ ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=GM.N" type="external">GM.N</a>) South Korean unit as sales in key markets slide, adding that electric cars were ‘evil’ and will destroy jobs.</p> Ha Bu-young, Hyundai Motor's South Korean union chief speaks during an interview with Reuters in Ulsan, South Korea, March 23, 2018. Picture taken March 23, 2018. REUTERS/Hyunjoo Jin
<p>South Korea’s auto industry, known for its robust unions whose workers tend to be paid more and have better benefits than their compatriots in other sectors, has come to a crossroads.</p>
<p>Blaming high labor costs and falling sales, General Motors ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=GM.N" type="external">GM.N</a>) plans to close one of its plants in the country by May and is weighing options for its three other factories.</p>
<p>“We’re feeling job anxiety. We’re feeling a sense of crisis,” Ha Bu-young, the head of the Hyundai Motor union, South Korea’s biggest and most powerful union, told Reuters in an interview late last week.</p>
<p>He said that at three of Hyundai’s five plants in Ulsan, the world’s biggest car factory complex, some workers had been asked to take longer holidays as sales of sedans and older model SUVs like the Santa Fe slow in the United States and other markets.</p>
<p>Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia Motors ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=000270.KS" type="external">000270.KS</a>) were also hit by diplomatic tensions between Seoul and Beijing last year, leading to a slump in sales in the world’s biggest auto market. The two automakers have flagged only modest global sales growth in 2018. &#160;</p>
<p>Longer term, Ha worries about the advent of electric cars, which when they go mainstream could wreak havoc on traditional auto jobs as they don’t require engines and transmissions.</p>
<p>Hyundai’s union has predicted a drastic shift into electric cars could lead to a loss of 70 percent of Hyundai jobs in a worst case scenario.</p>
<p>“Electric cars are disasters. They are evil. We are very nervous,” he said.</p>
<p>Ha said the union is studying how cars of the future might be built without slashing headcount and has proposed the automaker revive a committee to review the impact of new vehicles and new technology on jobs.</p>
<p>He also noted that some 30,000 workers out of 50,000 union members will retire in 15 years, which could cushion the impact that cars of the future could have on staffing levels.</p>
<a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=005380.KS" type="external">Hyundai Motor Co</a> 152000.0 005380.KS Korea Stock Exchange +2,500.00 (+1.67%) 005380.KS GM.N 000270.KS FREE TRIPS TO EUROPE
<p>At GM’s South Korean unit, the threat of potential plant closures has led its union to offer to freeze wages and skip bonuses while about 15 percent of its employees have applied for a voluntary redundancy package.</p>
<p>While there is a sense of crisis at Hyundai’s union, the situation is not that dire.</p>
<p>Hyundai’s management has proposed the scaling back of some benefits such as free week-long trips to Europe for 500 workers annually as well as support for some employees’ sporting events - a proposal that the union plans to oppose, a union official said.</p>
<p>But the union will for the first time seek pay raises for temporary workers this year that are higher than those of full-time auto workers, responding to criticism that regular auto works are generously paid.</p>
<p>It will ask for a 7.4 percent wage increase for temporary workers versus a 5.3 percent wage raise for regular workers, Ha said, in line with a policy advocated by the umbrella union for South Korea’s metal workers.</p>
<p>Last year Hyundai’s union initially demanded annual wage increases of 7 percent for its full-time workers and won a raise of less than 5 percent after tense negotiations that involved strikes.</p>
<p>The shift towards improving pay for non-full time workers could invite opposition within the union, said Ha, adding that he was trying to right old wrongs.</p>
<p>Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Soyoung Kim and Edwina Gibbs</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a> | 3,472 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>This project has virtually no environmental hazards: no lined pits, no toxic chemicals and none of the environmental problems classically associated with mining.</p>
<p>This is a clean project that will provide good paying jobs to the people of the Deming area. In short, this is exactly the kind of project that both business and the environmental community should get behind.</p>
<p>Here's the project as planned: Just south of Deming, there is a small foothill of the Florida Mountains with a dolomite reserve containing enough magnesium to provide U.S. domestic needs for 40 years.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Magnesium is used in metal alloys to build cars and planes. Magnesium is one third lighter than aluminum. Since lighter cars use less gas, it's a great way to lessen the greenhouse gases in the U.S.</p>
<p>The dolomite would be quarried at the site with minimal noise and little disruption to the town several miles away.</p>
<p>The dolomite would then be moved by conveyor to the site of an empty business park in the town of Deming that is zoned for industrial use to be processed. This would mean few traffic problems or damage to the roads.</p>
<p>The project would create up to 5,000 good paying jobs for the area.</p>
<p>In short, this project represents something both sides should embrace - better jobs in an economically challenged area with virtually no environmental impact.</p>
<p>In an Albuquerque Journal op-ed of July 6, titled "Proposed magnesium complex raises serious questions," several legitimate questions were raised and should be addressed.</p>
<p>The author asked how much water would be needed for this project.</p>
<p>The process of creating magnesium uses a minimum amount of water, approximately 55 acre-feet per 30,000 tons of magnesium metal produced annually and a small amount at the quarry for dust control.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Another question had to do with an "acidic solution" used to make magnesium.</p>
<p>Let me assure you that no acid is used in this process at all. Natural gas heats the rock and extracts the magnesium as a vapor and then reconstitutes it. At no time is an acidic solution used in the processes at the complex.</p>
<p>Lastly, the question was asked about if the Deming area could support 5,000 workers who would work in the facility.</p>
<p>The answer is a resounding yes.</p>
<p>Many, if not most, of the workers would come from the Deming area and would be glad to work at a higher-paying job.</p>
<p>This project would transform the area and give it an economic boost for decades to come. A rising tide lifts all boats, as they say.</p>
<p>The new magnesium complex would be a much-needed shot in the arm for economic development for Southwest New Mexico.</p>
<p>Here is a project that is an environmentally sound way to drive economic development in the area and for our state.</p>
<p>That is the type of project that we should all embrace.</p>
<p>American Magnesium is the company proposing the magnesium project near Deming.</p>
<p /> | Magnesium a safe boost to economy | false | https://abqjournal.com/614779/magnesium-a-safe-boost-to-economy.html | 2least
| Magnesium a safe boost to economy
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>This project has virtually no environmental hazards: no lined pits, no toxic chemicals and none of the environmental problems classically associated with mining.</p>
<p>This is a clean project that will provide good paying jobs to the people of the Deming area. In short, this is exactly the kind of project that both business and the environmental community should get behind.</p>
<p>Here's the project as planned: Just south of Deming, there is a small foothill of the Florida Mountains with a dolomite reserve containing enough magnesium to provide U.S. domestic needs for 40 years.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Magnesium is used in metal alloys to build cars and planes. Magnesium is one third lighter than aluminum. Since lighter cars use less gas, it's a great way to lessen the greenhouse gases in the U.S.</p>
<p>The dolomite would be quarried at the site with minimal noise and little disruption to the town several miles away.</p>
<p>The dolomite would then be moved by conveyor to the site of an empty business park in the town of Deming that is zoned for industrial use to be processed. This would mean few traffic problems or damage to the roads.</p>
<p>The project would create up to 5,000 good paying jobs for the area.</p>
<p>In short, this project represents something both sides should embrace - better jobs in an economically challenged area with virtually no environmental impact.</p>
<p>In an Albuquerque Journal op-ed of July 6, titled "Proposed magnesium complex raises serious questions," several legitimate questions were raised and should be addressed.</p>
<p>The author asked how much water would be needed for this project.</p>
<p>The process of creating magnesium uses a minimum amount of water, approximately 55 acre-feet per 30,000 tons of magnesium metal produced annually and a small amount at the quarry for dust control.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Another question had to do with an "acidic solution" used to make magnesium.</p>
<p>Let me assure you that no acid is used in this process at all. Natural gas heats the rock and extracts the magnesium as a vapor and then reconstitutes it. At no time is an acidic solution used in the processes at the complex.</p>
<p>Lastly, the question was asked about if the Deming area could support 5,000 workers who would work in the facility.</p>
<p>The answer is a resounding yes.</p>
<p>Many, if not most, of the workers would come from the Deming area and would be glad to work at a higher-paying job.</p>
<p>This project would transform the area and give it an economic boost for decades to come. A rising tide lifts all boats, as they say.</p>
<p>The new magnesium complex would be a much-needed shot in the arm for economic development for Southwest New Mexico.</p>
<p>Here is a project that is an environmentally sound way to drive economic development in the area and for our state.</p>
<p>That is the type of project that we should all embrace.</p>
<p>American Magnesium is the company proposing the magnesium project near Deming.</p>
<p /> | 3,473 |
|
<p>Bachmann’s end-times rhetoric resonates with many of her constituents. When you listen to her pray, the ease and power of her delivery are a clue as to why she’s been re-elected twice, despite her record of incendiary and off-the-wall beliefs. But there is, in every high-wire act, the potential for failure.</p>
<p>Michele Bachmann’s late-career incarnation as a far-Right superstar has always been a high-wire act.</p>
<p>Bachmann’s signature stunt is her willingness to say—loud and proud—outlandish things that make her sound, to many people, delusional. She has said, for example, that America’s founders <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/oshadavidson/2011/07/08/michele-bachmann-salutes-the-upside-to-slavery/" type="external">“worked tirelessly”</a> to end slavery. In 2009, she swatted away the pesky science of climate change by <a href="http://www.politico.com/gallery/2012/07/michele-bachmanns-most-controversial-quotes/000293-003819.html" type="external">declaring</a>&#160;that “there isn’t even one study that can be produced that shows that carbon dioxide is a harmful gas.” And last summer, she claimed that the Muslim Brotherhood <a href="http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2012/07/19/michele-bachmann-sticks-to-accusations-about-muslim-brotherhood" type="external">might be infiltrating</a> the U.S. government and shaping our foreign policy through Huma Abedin, an aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Abedin, who is of Pakistani descent, was born in the U.S. and is married to Anthony Weiner, the former Congressman from New York.</p>
<p>The danger of the act isn’t that Bachmann, who has been the U.S. representative from Minnesota’s 6th&#160;Congressional District since 2007, will say something so off-the-charts nutty that it discredits her with a majority of voters in the district. At this point, that may not be possible.</p>
<p>The danger is that she is so occupied with her crusades that she isn’t bringing home the bacon for the people of her district. Fighting threats from big government and foreign subversives is an excellent way to build your national right-wing reputation. But voters expect their representative to deliver concrete benefits as well.</p>
<p>Which is why a bridge spanning the St. Croix River, and connecting Minnesota to Wisconsin, was a major subject of the <a href="http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2012/10/30/politics/michele-bachmann-jim-graves-debate/" type="external">first debate</a> between Bachman and her <a href="http://www.dfl.org/" type="external">Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party</a> opponent, Jim Graves, this week. (The DFL is the Minnesota affiliate of the Democratic Party, and was formed in 1944 by the merger of the Democratic Party and the Farmer-Labor Party.)&#160;</p>
<p>To move forward, the bridge required a <a href="http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2010/03/michele_bachman_55.php" type="external">legislative exemption</a> from the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. With the help of the Republican leadership, Bachmann was able to obtain the waiver&#160;by&#160;fast-tracking the legislation through the House early this year. At Tuesday’s debate, she claimed that success as one of the major accomplishment of her three terms in Congress and cited it as proof that she had “delivered” for the people of the 6th&#160;CD.</p>
<p>Graves called the design of the bridge extravagant and wasteful—a Rolls-Royce, he said, when a Chevrolet would have served the people just as well. He has also criticized it as a poor use of Minnesota’s money, since it will primarily benefit the rural Wisconsin community on the other side.</p>
<p>Bachmann’s other main contribution to the economic development of the 6th&#160;CD, as she explained in the debate, is her fierce opposition to the Affordable Care Act, which she believes will kill jobs and strangle small businesses.</p>
<p>Helping get a bridge built and opposing “Obamacare” are not, by anyone’s standard, an impressive record of delivering for constituents. That likely accounts for the fact that Bachmann is engaged in a surprisingly close re-election race. In 2010, she defeated her DFL Party opponent by more than 12 points. A <a href="http://www.nj.com/us-politics/index.ssf/2012/10/bachmann_on_defense_after_wh_b.html" type="external">recent poll</a> of the district shows her leading six points. But that poll, Grave pointed out, was conducted exclusively among people who use landline phones. Since his own base of support skews toward young people, the race is actually be much tighter, he believes.</p>
<p>Graves is an entrepreneur who made a fortune in the hospitality business—he built the AmericInn hotel chain—and decided to get into politics specifically because of Bachman. “I’m running because she’s so bad—bad for the country, bad for the future, bad for the people of the 6th&#160;District,” he said. “She epitomizes everything that’s wrong with this government and this culture. It’s not that she doesn’t have some skills. She’s passionate. She believes what she believes. She’s a phenomenal fundraiser. And she creates wonderful headlines for herself. So she should be doing something else. She shouldn’t be in Congress, where you have to find a way to move the process forward and get things done.”</p>
<p>Graves is casting himself as a pro-labor fiscal conservative who will make budget reform along the lines of the <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/10/02/a-few-basic-misconceptions-about-simpson-bowles/" type="external">Simpson-Bowles plan</a>—that is, a combination of budget cuts and tax increases—his highest priority. He has promised that he would serve no more than three terms. “I’m doing this to get the job done and serve the needs of the people and the country,” he said, “and then get the hell out of there.”</p>
<p>His first experience running for Congress has also led Graves to become a strong advocate of campaign-finance reform. “You read about it,” he said. “But the influence of money is even worse than you think it is. It’s terrible. It sucks. It’s a bad deal—really bad. The influence that’s bought and sold in politics is just sickening. Everyone wants you to pledge this or pledge that, and then they’ll give you money.”</p>
<p>Bachmann’s salvation, if she wins, may be precisely the fact that she’s so successful at the fundraising aspect of the political game. Through September, Bachmann <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2012/oct/26/nation/la-na-bachmann-20121027" type="external">had spent</a> about $8 million on her campaign. Graves had spent about $1 million.</p>
<p>Bachmann’s other key advantage is the makeup of the 6th&#160;District, which leaned conservative even before recent redistricting turned it deeper red. The suburban Minneapolis communities that make up the district are over-represented by politically conservative evangelical Christians. For Bachmann, the language and assumptions of that subculture are second nature in a way that they aren’t for Graves, a lifelong Catholic.</p>
<p>In 2006, for example, Bachmann <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2011/07/18/264811/bachmann-predicted-world-end-2006/?mobile=nc" type="external">delivered a public prayer</a> in which she said that “the day is at hand, Lord, when your return will come nigh. Nothing is more important than bringing sheep into the fold, than bringing new life into the kingdom….The harvest is at hand.”</p>
<p>That kind of end-times rhetoric resonates with many of Bachmann’s constituents. When you listen to her pray, the ease and power of her delivery are a clue as to why she’s been re-elected twice, despite her record of incendiary and off-the-wall beliefs. But there is, in every high-wire act, the potential for failure. Bachmann has behaved as if “bringing new life into the kingdom”—while rooting out the nation’s enemies, foreign and domestic—are her most important tasks as a politician. She’s done so at the expense of building bridges, literal and metaphorical, in her own district.</p>
<p>So what does it all add up to? Will building just the one bridge, connecting Minnesota to Wisconsin, be enough to save Bachmann? Or are the end times indeed at hand for her political career?</p>
<p>We’ll know soon enough. &#160;</p>
<p>Theo Anderson, an In These Times writing fellow, has contributed to the magazine since 2010. He has a Ph.D. in modern U.S. history from Yale and writes on the intellectual and religious history of conservatism and progressivism in the United States. Follow him on Twitter @Theoanderson7 and contact him at [email protected].</p> | End Times for Michele Bachmann? | true | https://inthesetimes.com/article/14124/is_it_the_end_times_for_michele_bachmann | 2012-11-04 | 4left
| End Times for Michele Bachmann?
<p>Bachmann’s end-times rhetoric resonates with many of her constituents. When you listen to her pray, the ease and power of her delivery are a clue as to why she’s been re-elected twice, despite her record of incendiary and off-the-wall beliefs. But there is, in every high-wire act, the potential for failure.</p>
<p>Michele Bachmann’s late-career incarnation as a far-Right superstar has always been a high-wire act.</p>
<p>Bachmann’s signature stunt is her willingness to say—loud and proud—outlandish things that make her sound, to many people, delusional. She has said, for example, that America’s founders <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/oshadavidson/2011/07/08/michele-bachmann-salutes-the-upside-to-slavery/" type="external">“worked tirelessly”</a> to end slavery. In 2009, she swatted away the pesky science of climate change by <a href="http://www.politico.com/gallery/2012/07/michele-bachmanns-most-controversial-quotes/000293-003819.html" type="external">declaring</a>&#160;that “there isn’t even one study that can be produced that shows that carbon dioxide is a harmful gas.” And last summer, she claimed that the Muslim Brotherhood <a href="http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2012/07/19/michele-bachmann-sticks-to-accusations-about-muslim-brotherhood" type="external">might be infiltrating</a> the U.S. government and shaping our foreign policy through Huma Abedin, an aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Abedin, who is of Pakistani descent, was born in the U.S. and is married to Anthony Weiner, the former Congressman from New York.</p>
<p>The danger of the act isn’t that Bachmann, who has been the U.S. representative from Minnesota’s 6th&#160;Congressional District since 2007, will say something so off-the-charts nutty that it discredits her with a majority of voters in the district. At this point, that may not be possible.</p>
<p>The danger is that she is so occupied with her crusades that she isn’t bringing home the bacon for the people of her district. Fighting threats from big government and foreign subversives is an excellent way to build your national right-wing reputation. But voters expect their representative to deliver concrete benefits as well.</p>
<p>Which is why a bridge spanning the St. Croix River, and connecting Minnesota to Wisconsin, was a major subject of the <a href="http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2012/10/30/politics/michele-bachmann-jim-graves-debate/" type="external">first debate</a> between Bachman and her <a href="http://www.dfl.org/" type="external">Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party</a> opponent, Jim Graves, this week. (The DFL is the Minnesota affiliate of the Democratic Party, and was formed in 1944 by the merger of the Democratic Party and the Farmer-Labor Party.)&#160;</p>
<p>To move forward, the bridge required a <a href="http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2010/03/michele_bachman_55.php" type="external">legislative exemption</a> from the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. With the help of the Republican leadership, Bachmann was able to obtain the waiver&#160;by&#160;fast-tracking the legislation through the House early this year. At Tuesday’s debate, she claimed that success as one of the major accomplishment of her three terms in Congress and cited it as proof that she had “delivered” for the people of the 6th&#160;CD.</p>
<p>Graves called the design of the bridge extravagant and wasteful—a Rolls-Royce, he said, when a Chevrolet would have served the people just as well. He has also criticized it as a poor use of Minnesota’s money, since it will primarily benefit the rural Wisconsin community on the other side.</p>
<p>Bachmann’s other main contribution to the economic development of the 6th&#160;CD, as she explained in the debate, is her fierce opposition to the Affordable Care Act, which she believes will kill jobs and strangle small businesses.</p>
<p>Helping get a bridge built and opposing “Obamacare” are not, by anyone’s standard, an impressive record of delivering for constituents. That likely accounts for the fact that Bachmann is engaged in a surprisingly close re-election race. In 2010, she defeated her DFL Party opponent by more than 12 points. A <a href="http://www.nj.com/us-politics/index.ssf/2012/10/bachmann_on_defense_after_wh_b.html" type="external">recent poll</a> of the district shows her leading six points. But that poll, Grave pointed out, was conducted exclusively among people who use landline phones. Since his own base of support skews toward young people, the race is actually be much tighter, he believes.</p>
<p>Graves is an entrepreneur who made a fortune in the hospitality business—he built the AmericInn hotel chain—and decided to get into politics specifically because of Bachman. “I’m running because she’s so bad—bad for the country, bad for the future, bad for the people of the 6th&#160;District,” he said. “She epitomizes everything that’s wrong with this government and this culture. It’s not that she doesn’t have some skills. She’s passionate. She believes what she believes. She’s a phenomenal fundraiser. And she creates wonderful headlines for herself. So she should be doing something else. She shouldn’t be in Congress, where you have to find a way to move the process forward and get things done.”</p>
<p>Graves is casting himself as a pro-labor fiscal conservative who will make budget reform along the lines of the <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/10/02/a-few-basic-misconceptions-about-simpson-bowles/" type="external">Simpson-Bowles plan</a>—that is, a combination of budget cuts and tax increases—his highest priority. He has promised that he would serve no more than three terms. “I’m doing this to get the job done and serve the needs of the people and the country,” he said, “and then get the hell out of there.”</p>
<p>His first experience running for Congress has also led Graves to become a strong advocate of campaign-finance reform. “You read about it,” he said. “But the influence of money is even worse than you think it is. It’s terrible. It sucks. It’s a bad deal—really bad. The influence that’s bought and sold in politics is just sickening. Everyone wants you to pledge this or pledge that, and then they’ll give you money.”</p>
<p>Bachmann’s salvation, if she wins, may be precisely the fact that she’s so successful at the fundraising aspect of the political game. Through September, Bachmann <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2012/oct/26/nation/la-na-bachmann-20121027" type="external">had spent</a> about $8 million on her campaign. Graves had spent about $1 million.</p>
<p>Bachmann’s other key advantage is the makeup of the 6th&#160;District, which leaned conservative even before recent redistricting turned it deeper red. The suburban Minneapolis communities that make up the district are over-represented by politically conservative evangelical Christians. For Bachmann, the language and assumptions of that subculture are second nature in a way that they aren’t for Graves, a lifelong Catholic.</p>
<p>In 2006, for example, Bachmann <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2011/07/18/264811/bachmann-predicted-world-end-2006/?mobile=nc" type="external">delivered a public prayer</a> in which she said that “the day is at hand, Lord, when your return will come nigh. Nothing is more important than bringing sheep into the fold, than bringing new life into the kingdom….The harvest is at hand.”</p>
<p>That kind of end-times rhetoric resonates with many of Bachmann’s constituents. When you listen to her pray, the ease and power of her delivery are a clue as to why she’s been re-elected twice, despite her record of incendiary and off-the-wall beliefs. But there is, in every high-wire act, the potential for failure. Bachmann has behaved as if “bringing new life into the kingdom”—while rooting out the nation’s enemies, foreign and domestic—are her most important tasks as a politician. She’s done so at the expense of building bridges, literal and metaphorical, in her own district.</p>
<p>So what does it all add up to? Will building just the one bridge, connecting Minnesota to Wisconsin, be enough to save Bachmann? Or are the end times indeed at hand for her political career?</p>
<p>We’ll know soon enough. &#160;</p>
<p>Theo Anderson, an In These Times writing fellow, has contributed to the magazine since 2010. He has a Ph.D. in modern U.S. history from Yale and writes on the intellectual and religious history of conservatism and progressivism in the United States. Follow him on Twitter @Theoanderson7 and contact him at [email protected].</p> | 3,474 |
<p><a href="http://variety.com/tag/lynda-carter/" type="external">Lynda Carter</a>, who famously portrayed <a href="http://variety.com/tag/wonder-woman/" type="external">Wonder Woman</a> in the 1975 TV series, took to Facebook to call out “Avatar” director <a href="http://variety.com/tag/james-cameron/" type="external">James Cameron</a> for his negative comments regarding Patty Jenkins’ “ <a href="http://variety.com/2017/film/news/patty-jenkins-wonder-woman-sequel-director-1202548413/" type="external">Wonder Woman</a>.”</p>
<p>“You poor soul,” she wrote. “Your thuggish jabs at a brilliant director, Patty Jenkins, are ill advised. This movie was spot on. I know, Mr. Cameron — because I have embodied this character for more than 40 years. So — STOP IT.”</p>
<p>Cameron’s <a href="http://variety.com/2017/film/news/james-cameron-wonder-woman-praise-misguided-step-backwards-1202538440/" type="external">original comments</a>, which he recently doubled down on, came in early August, when he criticized “Wonder Woman’s” favorable reception. He called the film’s glowing reviews “misguided,” and said that Wonder Woman was “an objectified icon.” He continued that the film was “a step backwards,” and that his own creation, Sarah Connor of the “Terminator” franchise, was a better female protagonist.</p>
<p>These comments <a href="http://variety.com/2017/film/news/patty-jenkins-james-cameron-wonder-woman-1202538790/" type="external">elicited a response</a> from Jenkins at the time, who wrote in a tweet that Cameron’s “inability to understand” Wonder Woman was “unsurprising,” given that he is not a woman, adding that there is no “right and wrong kind of powerful woman.” His comments provoked much blowback on Twitter as well.</p>
<p>Cameron is currently on the interview circuit to talk about his upcoming <a href="http://variety.com/2017/film/news/terminator-6-release-date-linda-hamilton-arnold-schwarzenegger-1202574416/" type="external">“Terminator” sequel</a>, as well as the four <a href="http://variety.com/2017/film/news/avatar-sequel-release-dates-2020-1202392897/" type="external">“Avatar” sequels</a> currently in the works, so he may have a response for Carter in the upcoming weeks.</p> | Lynda Carter to James Cameron: ‘Stop Dissing’ ‘Wonder Woman’ | false | https://newsline.com/lynda-carter-to-james-cameron-stop-dissing-wonder-woman/ | 2017-09-28 | 1right-center
| Lynda Carter to James Cameron: ‘Stop Dissing’ ‘Wonder Woman’
<p><a href="http://variety.com/tag/lynda-carter/" type="external">Lynda Carter</a>, who famously portrayed <a href="http://variety.com/tag/wonder-woman/" type="external">Wonder Woman</a> in the 1975 TV series, took to Facebook to call out “Avatar” director <a href="http://variety.com/tag/james-cameron/" type="external">James Cameron</a> for his negative comments regarding Patty Jenkins’ “ <a href="http://variety.com/2017/film/news/patty-jenkins-wonder-woman-sequel-director-1202548413/" type="external">Wonder Woman</a>.”</p>
<p>“You poor soul,” she wrote. “Your thuggish jabs at a brilliant director, Patty Jenkins, are ill advised. This movie was spot on. I know, Mr. Cameron — because I have embodied this character for more than 40 years. So — STOP IT.”</p>
<p>Cameron’s <a href="http://variety.com/2017/film/news/james-cameron-wonder-woman-praise-misguided-step-backwards-1202538440/" type="external">original comments</a>, which he recently doubled down on, came in early August, when he criticized “Wonder Woman’s” favorable reception. He called the film’s glowing reviews “misguided,” and said that Wonder Woman was “an objectified icon.” He continued that the film was “a step backwards,” and that his own creation, Sarah Connor of the “Terminator” franchise, was a better female protagonist.</p>
<p>These comments <a href="http://variety.com/2017/film/news/patty-jenkins-james-cameron-wonder-woman-1202538790/" type="external">elicited a response</a> from Jenkins at the time, who wrote in a tweet that Cameron’s “inability to understand” Wonder Woman was “unsurprising,” given that he is not a woman, adding that there is no “right and wrong kind of powerful woman.” His comments provoked much blowback on Twitter as well.</p>
<p>Cameron is currently on the interview circuit to talk about his upcoming <a href="http://variety.com/2017/film/news/terminator-6-release-date-linda-hamilton-arnold-schwarzenegger-1202574416/" type="external">“Terminator” sequel</a>, as well as the four <a href="http://variety.com/2017/film/news/avatar-sequel-release-dates-2020-1202392897/" type="external">“Avatar” sequels</a> currently in the works, so he may have a response for Carter in the upcoming weeks.</p> | 3,475 |
<p>MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — If Rafael Nadal gave the Australian Open a throwback feel last year with his straight-out-of-the-mid-2000s final against Roger Federer, he’s completed the retro effect this year with a return to his sartorial roots — a sleeveless T-shirt.</p>
<p>Matching the muscle-exposing Nike tank top with neon pink shorts, wristbands and headband, Nadal also found his championship form again in a 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 rout of 37-year-old Victor Estrella Burgos in the first round at Melbourne Park.</p>
<p>The top-ranked Spaniard, who made a splash as a teenager with his trademark sleeveless shirts and knee-length pirate pants, came into this year’s Australian Open with questions about his health and readiness to compete following a taxing season that saw him capture two Grand Slams and return to No. 1.</p>
<p>Nadal had been forced him to withdraw from the ATP Finals in November due to a lingering right knee injury, and when the pain persisted, he also pulled out of a season-opening exhibition event in Abu Dhabi and his first tournament in Brisbane.</p>
<p>With only a few exhibition matches last week to test his form, Nadal had doubts he’d be ready to go in time for the first major of the year. But a dominant performance against Estrella Burgos — he had 28 winners and saved five of six break points he faced — left him feeling positive about his start in Melbourne.</p>
<p>“If I don’t feel myself ready, I will not be here. So I am happy to be here, happy that I’m on court again,” he said.</p>
<p>With several top seeds falling on the women’s side, including 2017 Australian Open finalist Venus Williams and U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens, the men’s draw was largely spared similar upsets.</p>
<p>Third-seeded Grigor Dimitrov advanced with a routine 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 win over qualifier Dennis Novak, while No. 6 Marin Cilic topped Vasek Pospisil 6-2, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (5) and local favorite Nick Kyrgios looked sharp in a 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 victory over Rogerio Dutra Silva.</p>
<p>“Obviously I know I’m hitting the ball well,” Kyrgios said. “But to go out there in front of the crowd again, just trying to play well, I was a bit nervous going out there. (I’m) happy to get through.”</p>
<p>No. 10 Pablo Carreno Busta, No. 23 Gilles Muller, No. 24 Diego Schwartzman, No. 28 Damir Dzumhur, No. 30 Andrei Rublev and No. 31 Pablo Cuevas also advanced.</p>
<p>No. 8 Jack Sock, No. 11 Kevin Anderson and No. 16 John Isner were among the losers.</p>
<p>For Sock, who lost to Yuichi Sugita 6-1, 7-6 (4), 5-7, 6-3, it was a disappointing result given the impressive way he finished last season with a maiden Masters win in Paris and a first-time appearance at the ATP Finals. He came to the Australian Open sporting a career-high ranking of No. 8 and his highest-ever seed at a major.</p>
<p>The American said, however, that he felt the same as Nadal after a lengthy 2017 — physically spent and lacking enough of an off-season to recover fully.</p>
<p>“It’s just a weird feeling because you’re just on the highest of highs after making it (to the ATP Finals),” he said. “And then it’s back to reality and the grind of it.”</p>
<p>Like Nadal and other top players, he said he’s going to be smarter about his schedule now that he’s among the elite on the tour.</p>
<p>His goal for 2018? “Win a match would be a good start,” he deadpanned.</p>
<p>MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — If Rafael Nadal gave the Australian Open a throwback feel last year with his straight-out-of-the-mid-2000s final against Roger Federer, he’s completed the retro effect this year with a return to his sartorial roots — a sleeveless T-shirt.</p>
<p>Matching the muscle-exposing Nike tank top with neon pink shorts, wristbands and headband, Nadal also found his championship form again in a 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 rout of 37-year-old Victor Estrella Burgos in the first round at Melbourne Park.</p>
<p>The top-ranked Spaniard, who made a splash as a teenager with his trademark sleeveless shirts and knee-length pirate pants, came into this year’s Australian Open with questions about his health and readiness to compete following a taxing season that saw him capture two Grand Slams and return to No. 1.</p>
<p>Nadal had been forced him to withdraw from the ATP Finals in November due to a lingering right knee injury, and when the pain persisted, he also pulled out of a season-opening exhibition event in Abu Dhabi and his first tournament in Brisbane.</p>
<p>With only a few exhibition matches last week to test his form, Nadal had doubts he’d be ready to go in time for the first major of the year. But a dominant performance against Estrella Burgos — he had 28 winners and saved five of six break points he faced — left him feeling positive about his start in Melbourne.</p>
<p>“If I don’t feel myself ready, I will not be here. So I am happy to be here, happy that I’m on court again,” he said.</p>
<p>With several top seeds falling on the women’s side, including 2017 Australian Open finalist Venus Williams and U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens, the men’s draw was largely spared similar upsets.</p>
<p>Third-seeded Grigor Dimitrov advanced with a routine 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 win over qualifier Dennis Novak, while No. 6 Marin Cilic topped Vasek Pospisil 6-2, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (5) and local favorite Nick Kyrgios looked sharp in a 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 victory over Rogerio Dutra Silva.</p>
<p>“Obviously I know I’m hitting the ball well,” Kyrgios said. “But to go out there in front of the crowd again, just trying to play well, I was a bit nervous going out there. (I’m) happy to get through.”</p>
<p>No. 10 Pablo Carreno Busta, No. 23 Gilles Muller, No. 24 Diego Schwartzman, No. 28 Damir Dzumhur, No. 30 Andrei Rublev and No. 31 Pablo Cuevas also advanced.</p>
<p>No. 8 Jack Sock, No. 11 Kevin Anderson and No. 16 John Isner were among the losers.</p>
<p>For Sock, who lost to Yuichi Sugita 6-1, 7-6 (4), 5-7, 6-3, it was a disappointing result given the impressive way he finished last season with a maiden Masters win in Paris and a first-time appearance at the ATP Finals. He came to the Australian Open sporting a career-high ranking of No. 8 and his highest-ever seed at a major.</p>
<p>The American said, however, that he felt the same as Nadal after a lengthy 2017 — physically spent and lacking enough of an off-season to recover fully.</p>
<p>“It’s just a weird feeling because you’re just on the highest of highs after making it (to the ATP Finals),” he said. “And then it’s back to reality and the grind of it.”</p>
<p>Like Nadal and other top players, he said he’s going to be smarter about his schedule now that he’s among the elite on the tour.</p>
<p>His goal for 2018? “Win a match would be a good start,” he deadpanned.</p> | Nadal returns to his sleeveless roots _ and pain-free play | false | https://apnews.com/ba7538028c764c409db68d57668d5e69 | 2018-01-15 | 2least
| Nadal returns to his sleeveless roots _ and pain-free play
<p>MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — If Rafael Nadal gave the Australian Open a throwback feel last year with his straight-out-of-the-mid-2000s final against Roger Federer, he’s completed the retro effect this year with a return to his sartorial roots — a sleeveless T-shirt.</p>
<p>Matching the muscle-exposing Nike tank top with neon pink shorts, wristbands and headband, Nadal also found his championship form again in a 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 rout of 37-year-old Victor Estrella Burgos in the first round at Melbourne Park.</p>
<p>The top-ranked Spaniard, who made a splash as a teenager with his trademark sleeveless shirts and knee-length pirate pants, came into this year’s Australian Open with questions about his health and readiness to compete following a taxing season that saw him capture two Grand Slams and return to No. 1.</p>
<p>Nadal had been forced him to withdraw from the ATP Finals in November due to a lingering right knee injury, and when the pain persisted, he also pulled out of a season-opening exhibition event in Abu Dhabi and his first tournament in Brisbane.</p>
<p>With only a few exhibition matches last week to test his form, Nadal had doubts he’d be ready to go in time for the first major of the year. But a dominant performance against Estrella Burgos — he had 28 winners and saved five of six break points he faced — left him feeling positive about his start in Melbourne.</p>
<p>“If I don’t feel myself ready, I will not be here. So I am happy to be here, happy that I’m on court again,” he said.</p>
<p>With several top seeds falling on the women’s side, including 2017 Australian Open finalist Venus Williams and U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens, the men’s draw was largely spared similar upsets.</p>
<p>Third-seeded Grigor Dimitrov advanced with a routine 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 win over qualifier Dennis Novak, while No. 6 Marin Cilic topped Vasek Pospisil 6-2, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (5) and local favorite Nick Kyrgios looked sharp in a 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 victory over Rogerio Dutra Silva.</p>
<p>“Obviously I know I’m hitting the ball well,” Kyrgios said. “But to go out there in front of the crowd again, just trying to play well, I was a bit nervous going out there. (I’m) happy to get through.”</p>
<p>No. 10 Pablo Carreno Busta, No. 23 Gilles Muller, No. 24 Diego Schwartzman, No. 28 Damir Dzumhur, No. 30 Andrei Rublev and No. 31 Pablo Cuevas also advanced.</p>
<p>No. 8 Jack Sock, No. 11 Kevin Anderson and No. 16 John Isner were among the losers.</p>
<p>For Sock, who lost to Yuichi Sugita 6-1, 7-6 (4), 5-7, 6-3, it was a disappointing result given the impressive way he finished last season with a maiden Masters win in Paris and a first-time appearance at the ATP Finals. He came to the Australian Open sporting a career-high ranking of No. 8 and his highest-ever seed at a major.</p>
<p>The American said, however, that he felt the same as Nadal after a lengthy 2017 — physically spent and lacking enough of an off-season to recover fully.</p>
<p>“It’s just a weird feeling because you’re just on the highest of highs after making it (to the ATP Finals),” he said. “And then it’s back to reality and the grind of it.”</p>
<p>Like Nadal and other top players, he said he’s going to be smarter about his schedule now that he’s among the elite on the tour.</p>
<p>His goal for 2018? “Win a match would be a good start,” he deadpanned.</p>
<p>MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — If Rafael Nadal gave the Australian Open a throwback feel last year with his straight-out-of-the-mid-2000s final against Roger Federer, he’s completed the retro effect this year with a return to his sartorial roots — a sleeveless T-shirt.</p>
<p>Matching the muscle-exposing Nike tank top with neon pink shorts, wristbands and headband, Nadal also found his championship form again in a 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 rout of 37-year-old Victor Estrella Burgos in the first round at Melbourne Park.</p>
<p>The top-ranked Spaniard, who made a splash as a teenager with his trademark sleeveless shirts and knee-length pirate pants, came into this year’s Australian Open with questions about his health and readiness to compete following a taxing season that saw him capture two Grand Slams and return to No. 1.</p>
<p>Nadal had been forced him to withdraw from the ATP Finals in November due to a lingering right knee injury, and when the pain persisted, he also pulled out of a season-opening exhibition event in Abu Dhabi and his first tournament in Brisbane.</p>
<p>With only a few exhibition matches last week to test his form, Nadal had doubts he’d be ready to go in time for the first major of the year. But a dominant performance against Estrella Burgos — he had 28 winners and saved five of six break points he faced — left him feeling positive about his start in Melbourne.</p>
<p>“If I don’t feel myself ready, I will not be here. So I am happy to be here, happy that I’m on court again,” he said.</p>
<p>With several top seeds falling on the women’s side, including 2017 Australian Open finalist Venus Williams and U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens, the men’s draw was largely spared similar upsets.</p>
<p>Third-seeded Grigor Dimitrov advanced with a routine 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 win over qualifier Dennis Novak, while No. 6 Marin Cilic topped Vasek Pospisil 6-2, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (5) and local favorite Nick Kyrgios looked sharp in a 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 victory over Rogerio Dutra Silva.</p>
<p>“Obviously I know I’m hitting the ball well,” Kyrgios said. “But to go out there in front of the crowd again, just trying to play well, I was a bit nervous going out there. (I’m) happy to get through.”</p>
<p>No. 10 Pablo Carreno Busta, No. 23 Gilles Muller, No. 24 Diego Schwartzman, No. 28 Damir Dzumhur, No. 30 Andrei Rublev and No. 31 Pablo Cuevas also advanced.</p>
<p>No. 8 Jack Sock, No. 11 Kevin Anderson and No. 16 John Isner were among the losers.</p>
<p>For Sock, who lost to Yuichi Sugita 6-1, 7-6 (4), 5-7, 6-3, it was a disappointing result given the impressive way he finished last season with a maiden Masters win in Paris and a first-time appearance at the ATP Finals. He came to the Australian Open sporting a career-high ranking of No. 8 and his highest-ever seed at a major.</p>
<p>The American said, however, that he felt the same as Nadal after a lengthy 2017 — physically spent and lacking enough of an off-season to recover fully.</p>
<p>“It’s just a weird feeling because you’re just on the highest of highs after making it (to the ATP Finals),” he said. “And then it’s back to reality and the grind of it.”</p>
<p>Like Nadal and other top players, he said he’s going to be smarter about his schedule now that he’s among the elite on the tour.</p>
<p>His goal for 2018? “Win a match would be a good start,” he deadpanned.</p> | 3,476 |
<p />
<p>China offered on Tuesday to talk with the United States about cyber security amid an escalating war of words between the two sides on computer hacking, but suspicion is as deep in Beijing as it is in Washington about the accusations and counter-accusations.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The world's two leading economies have been squaring off for months over the issue of cyber attacks, each accusing the other of hacking into sensitive government and corporate websites.</p>
<p>A U.S. computer security company said last month that a secretive Chinese military unit was likely behind a series of hacking attacks mostly targeting the United States.</p>
<p>On Monday, U.S. National Security Advisor Tom Donilon called on China to acknowledge the scope of the problem and enter a dialogue with the United States on ways to establish acceptable behavior.</p>
<p>China, in response, said it was happy to talk.</p>
<p>"China is willing, on the basis of the principles of mutual respect and mutual trust, to have constructive dialogue and cooperation on this issue with the international community including the United States to maintain the security, openness and peace of the Internet", Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chuying said at a daily news briefing.</p>
<p>"Internet security is a global issue. In fact, China is a marginalized group in this regard, and one of the biggest victims of hacking attacks," she added, echoing a common refrain from Chinese officials.</p>
<p>Two major Chinese military websites, including that of the Defence Ministry, were subject to more than 140,000 hacking attacks a month last year, almost two-thirds from the United States, the ministry said last month.</p>
<p>Senior People's Liberation Army officers interviewed at the ongoing annual meeting of China's largely rubber-stamp parliament repeated government denials of having anything to do with hacking.</p>
<p>"This talk from the U.S. has no foundation whatsoever", said Maj. Gen. Liu Lianhua from the Guangzhou Military District. "And what evidence is there? There isn't any!"</p>
<p>Wang Hongguang, deputy commander of the PLA's Nanjing Military District, called the United States "a thief calling others a thief." But asked if China should develop its hacking capabilities for counter-attacks, Wang said: "Personally, I think we will. If the enemy has it we'll want to have it too. We must have the means at least to defend ourselves."</p>
<p>U.S. officials say they expect hacking to be one of the thorniest issues between Washington and Beijing in the coming months.</p>
<p>Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi on Saturday called cyberspace "a community of common destiny," adding: "What cyberspace needs is not war, but rules and cooperation.</p>
<p>"We oppose turning cyberspace into another battlefield, or using the Internet as a new tool to interfere in other countries' internal affairs," Yang said.</p>
<p>(Additional reporting by Cathy Zhang and Ben Blanchard; Editing by Ian Geoghegan)</p>
<p>Advertisement</p> | China Says Willing to Discuss Cyber Security with the U.S. | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2013/03/12/china-says-willing-to-discuss-cyber-security-with-us.html | 2016-01-29 | 0right
| China Says Willing to Discuss Cyber Security with the U.S.
<p />
<p>China offered on Tuesday to talk with the United States about cyber security amid an escalating war of words between the two sides on computer hacking, but suspicion is as deep in Beijing as it is in Washington about the accusations and counter-accusations.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The world's two leading economies have been squaring off for months over the issue of cyber attacks, each accusing the other of hacking into sensitive government and corporate websites.</p>
<p>A U.S. computer security company said last month that a secretive Chinese military unit was likely behind a series of hacking attacks mostly targeting the United States.</p>
<p>On Monday, U.S. National Security Advisor Tom Donilon called on China to acknowledge the scope of the problem and enter a dialogue with the United States on ways to establish acceptable behavior.</p>
<p>China, in response, said it was happy to talk.</p>
<p>"China is willing, on the basis of the principles of mutual respect and mutual trust, to have constructive dialogue and cooperation on this issue with the international community including the United States to maintain the security, openness and peace of the Internet", Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chuying said at a daily news briefing.</p>
<p>"Internet security is a global issue. In fact, China is a marginalized group in this regard, and one of the biggest victims of hacking attacks," she added, echoing a common refrain from Chinese officials.</p>
<p>Two major Chinese military websites, including that of the Defence Ministry, were subject to more than 140,000 hacking attacks a month last year, almost two-thirds from the United States, the ministry said last month.</p>
<p>Senior People's Liberation Army officers interviewed at the ongoing annual meeting of China's largely rubber-stamp parliament repeated government denials of having anything to do with hacking.</p>
<p>"This talk from the U.S. has no foundation whatsoever", said Maj. Gen. Liu Lianhua from the Guangzhou Military District. "And what evidence is there? There isn't any!"</p>
<p>Wang Hongguang, deputy commander of the PLA's Nanjing Military District, called the United States "a thief calling others a thief." But asked if China should develop its hacking capabilities for counter-attacks, Wang said: "Personally, I think we will. If the enemy has it we'll want to have it too. We must have the means at least to defend ourselves."</p>
<p>U.S. officials say they expect hacking to be one of the thorniest issues between Washington and Beijing in the coming months.</p>
<p>Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi on Saturday called cyberspace "a community of common destiny," adding: "What cyberspace needs is not war, but rules and cooperation.</p>
<p>"We oppose turning cyberspace into another battlefield, or using the Internet as a new tool to interfere in other countries' internal affairs," Yang said.</p>
<p>(Additional reporting by Cathy Zhang and Ben Blanchard; Editing by Ian Geoghegan)</p>
<p>Advertisement</p> | 3,477 |
<p>Discovery network’s morning-after claim that promotions for its “Shark Week” race between Michael Phelps and a great white didn’t mislead viewers has sailed into a storm of social media backlash, already know those who watch “Entertainment Tonight.”</p>
<p><a href="http://www.etonline.com/tv/222299_discovery_responds_to_phelps_vs_shark_backlash_says_their_promotion_wasn_t_misleading/" type="external">Discovery told ET</a> on Monday it was upfront that the Olympic gold medal swimmer would not be side-by-side with a real-live shark while racing. Instead, Sunday’s program used a computer-generated shark to swim next to Phelps, using data on the speed of a great white.</p>
<p>“All the promotion, interviews and the program itself made clear that the challenge wasn’t a side-by-side race,” Discovery told ET. “In ‘Phelps vs. Shark,’ we enlisted world-class scientists to take up the challenge of making the world’s greatest swimmer competitive with a great white. The show took smart science and technology to make the challenge more accessible and fun.”</p>
<p><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/discovery-phelps-shark_us_5976df23e4b0c95f375df14b" type="external">Huffington Post</a>’s Dominique Mosbergen said, though, he believed some of Discovery’s promotional material was purposefully vague, pointing to one statement about the show released June 15.</p>
<p>“But (Phelps) has one competition left to win. An event so monumental no one has ever attempted it before. The world’s most decorated athlete takes on the ocean’s most efficient predator: ‘Phelps V. Shark’ – the race is on,” said the <a href="https://press.discovery.com/us/dsc/press-releases/2017/dive-shark-week-brand-new-jawsome-shark-progr-4068/" type="external">Discovery promotion</a>.</p>
<p>Many still complained on social media, for example:</p>
<p>I feel robbed. Am I the only one who thought <a href="https://twitter.com/MichaelPhelps" type="external">@MichaelPhelps</a> was going up against a real shark and not just a simulation???</p>
<p>— Jessi (@jessiherbold) <a href="https://twitter.com/jessiherbold/status/889293209893052416" type="external">July 24, 2017</a></p>
<p>Don’t say Phelps is racing a shark if you’re not going to put him against an actual shark <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PhelpsVsShark?src=hash" type="external">#PhelpsVsShark</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SharkWeek?src=hash" type="external">#SharkWeek</a> <a href="https://t.co/qy1mlApUiz" type="external">pic.twitter.com/qy1mlApUiz</a></p>
<p>— Breyanna Davis (@breyannachenal) <a href="https://twitter.com/breyannachenal/status/889290061069656064" type="external">July 24, 2017</a></p>
<p>I’m not sure why I really thought Michael Phelps was going to race side by side next to a great white but I’m still really disappointed</p>
<p>— Rick (@Caballs11) <a href="https://twitter.com/Caballs11/status/889582794313056257" type="external">July 24, 2017</a></p>
<p>Some, though, said they recognized that Phelps swimming side-by-side with a shark was not feasible from the start.</p>
<p>People who expected Phelps to literally get in the ocean &amp; race a shark side by side are just plain stupid. Period. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PhelpsVsShark?src=hash" type="external">#PhelpsVsShark</a></p>
<p>— Jonathan Duncan (@jdunc) <a href="https://twitter.com/jdunc/status/889630089499086848" type="external">July 24, 2017</a></p>
<p>For the love of God people!! Phelps would’ve been dinner!!!</p>
<p>— Cheryl Hart (@CherylHartKim) <a href="https://twitter.com/CherylHartKim/status/889589709663608833" type="external">July 24, 2017</a></p>
<p>People are so ignorant. Esp if you thought he be racing s real shark .</p>
<p>— Alley (@CrowFliesStrait) <a href="https://twitter.com/CrowFliesStrait/status/889552809754062848" type="external">July 24, 2017</a></p> | Discovery Claims Phelps-Shark-Race Viewers Not Misled | false | https://newsline.com/discovery-claims-phelps-shark-race-viewers-not-misled/ | 2017-07-25 | 1right-center
| Discovery Claims Phelps-Shark-Race Viewers Not Misled
<p>Discovery network’s morning-after claim that promotions for its “Shark Week” race between Michael Phelps and a great white didn’t mislead viewers has sailed into a storm of social media backlash, already know those who watch “Entertainment Tonight.”</p>
<p><a href="http://www.etonline.com/tv/222299_discovery_responds_to_phelps_vs_shark_backlash_says_their_promotion_wasn_t_misleading/" type="external">Discovery told ET</a> on Monday it was upfront that the Olympic gold medal swimmer would not be side-by-side with a real-live shark while racing. Instead, Sunday’s program used a computer-generated shark to swim next to Phelps, using data on the speed of a great white.</p>
<p>“All the promotion, interviews and the program itself made clear that the challenge wasn’t a side-by-side race,” Discovery told ET. “In ‘Phelps vs. Shark,’ we enlisted world-class scientists to take up the challenge of making the world’s greatest swimmer competitive with a great white. The show took smart science and technology to make the challenge more accessible and fun.”</p>
<p><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/discovery-phelps-shark_us_5976df23e4b0c95f375df14b" type="external">Huffington Post</a>’s Dominique Mosbergen said, though, he believed some of Discovery’s promotional material was purposefully vague, pointing to one statement about the show released June 15.</p>
<p>“But (Phelps) has one competition left to win. An event so monumental no one has ever attempted it before. The world’s most decorated athlete takes on the ocean’s most efficient predator: ‘Phelps V. Shark’ – the race is on,” said the <a href="https://press.discovery.com/us/dsc/press-releases/2017/dive-shark-week-brand-new-jawsome-shark-progr-4068/" type="external">Discovery promotion</a>.</p>
<p>Many still complained on social media, for example:</p>
<p>I feel robbed. Am I the only one who thought <a href="https://twitter.com/MichaelPhelps" type="external">@MichaelPhelps</a> was going up against a real shark and not just a simulation???</p>
<p>— Jessi (@jessiherbold) <a href="https://twitter.com/jessiherbold/status/889293209893052416" type="external">July 24, 2017</a></p>
<p>Don’t say Phelps is racing a shark if you’re not going to put him against an actual shark <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PhelpsVsShark?src=hash" type="external">#PhelpsVsShark</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SharkWeek?src=hash" type="external">#SharkWeek</a> <a href="https://t.co/qy1mlApUiz" type="external">pic.twitter.com/qy1mlApUiz</a></p>
<p>— Breyanna Davis (@breyannachenal) <a href="https://twitter.com/breyannachenal/status/889290061069656064" type="external">July 24, 2017</a></p>
<p>I’m not sure why I really thought Michael Phelps was going to race side by side next to a great white but I’m still really disappointed</p>
<p>— Rick (@Caballs11) <a href="https://twitter.com/Caballs11/status/889582794313056257" type="external">July 24, 2017</a></p>
<p>Some, though, said they recognized that Phelps swimming side-by-side with a shark was not feasible from the start.</p>
<p>People who expected Phelps to literally get in the ocean &amp; race a shark side by side are just plain stupid. Period. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PhelpsVsShark?src=hash" type="external">#PhelpsVsShark</a></p>
<p>— Jonathan Duncan (@jdunc) <a href="https://twitter.com/jdunc/status/889630089499086848" type="external">July 24, 2017</a></p>
<p>For the love of God people!! Phelps would’ve been dinner!!!</p>
<p>— Cheryl Hart (@CherylHartKim) <a href="https://twitter.com/CherylHartKim/status/889589709663608833" type="external">July 24, 2017</a></p>
<p>People are so ignorant. Esp if you thought he be racing s real shark .</p>
<p>— Alley (@CrowFliesStrait) <a href="https://twitter.com/CrowFliesStrait/status/889552809754062848" type="external">July 24, 2017</a></p> | 3,478 |
<p>ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — As the media walked into the <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Buffalo-Bills/" type="external">Buffalo Bills</a>‘ locker room Sunday afternoon, running back <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/LeSean_McCoy/" type="external">LeSean McCoy</a> was there to greet everyone, volubly. Irritated that so many had picked the Bills to lose the game – both locally and nationally – he wanted to make sure everyone knew who actually won the game.</p>
<p>“Y’all picked us to lose; come talk to the winners,” McCoy said, over and over.</p>
<p>Later, when he went to the podium for his actual media session, he had toned it down a bit, saying, “I was just letting the media know that it’s time to talk to the winners. I’m just having fun with it.”</p>
<p>The Bills were having plenty of fun in the wake of their 23-17 upset of the Falcons. Defensive tackle Jerel Worthy tweeted that he thought it was “hilarious how people called this an upset. But we expected today.”</p>
<p>“I don’t think we’re going to sneak up on anybody anymore after the last couple of wins,” Bills center Eric Wood said.</p>
<p>It was a good day to be a Bill as head coach <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Sean-McDermott/" type="external">Sean McDermott</a>‘s team moved into first place all alone in the AFC East, though he cautioned everyone Monday, “There is still a long way to go. We’re not where we need to be, and anyone who thinks we are in this building, they’re not being honest with themselves.”</p>
<p>While some were playful, others followed the lead of McDermott and put the victory into perspective because it is just one-quarter of the way through the season and Buffalo has several tough games ahead on its schedule, starting Sunday in Cincinnati against a Bengals team that may have finally woken up.</p>
<p>“It’s a great win, but there’s no statement wins in Week 4 of the NFL season,” said 34-year-old defensive tackle <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Kyle_Williams/" type="external">Kyle Williams</a>, who has seen a couple fast starts fizzle during his time with the Bills. “We’ve got a long way to go and we’re just going to continue to work and get better. We’ll take them as they come.”</p>
<p>One point that was driven home was the way this team has come together in such a short period of time. Wood said that’s what he believes might be the difference between this team and others he’s been on in Buffalo, and perhaps that’s been the missing ingredient all along during a 17-year playoff drought.</p>
<p>“It’s a very close-knit group of guys,” said Wood. “They did a great job breaking in the right guys that all mesh well. Every person they brought in has a certain type of work ethic, act a certain way, and we all get along because of it because we all respect each other and trust each other. When a guy makes a mistake it’s not, ‘Was that guy out partying? Was he not in his playbook?’ When a guy makes a mistake, it’s because he got beat, it’s not us hurting ourselves and that’s evident on a day-to-day basis.”</p> | Buffalo Bills happy, but realistic after big win over Atlanta Falcons | false | https://newsline.com/buffalo-bills-happy-but-realistic-after-big-win-over-atlanta-falcons/ | 2017-10-02 | 1right-center
| Buffalo Bills happy, but realistic after big win over Atlanta Falcons
<p>ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — As the media walked into the <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Buffalo-Bills/" type="external">Buffalo Bills</a>‘ locker room Sunday afternoon, running back <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/LeSean_McCoy/" type="external">LeSean McCoy</a> was there to greet everyone, volubly. Irritated that so many had picked the Bills to lose the game – both locally and nationally – he wanted to make sure everyone knew who actually won the game.</p>
<p>“Y’all picked us to lose; come talk to the winners,” McCoy said, over and over.</p>
<p>Later, when he went to the podium for his actual media session, he had toned it down a bit, saying, “I was just letting the media know that it’s time to talk to the winners. I’m just having fun with it.”</p>
<p>The Bills were having plenty of fun in the wake of their 23-17 upset of the Falcons. Defensive tackle Jerel Worthy tweeted that he thought it was “hilarious how people called this an upset. But we expected today.”</p>
<p>“I don’t think we’re going to sneak up on anybody anymore after the last couple of wins,” Bills center Eric Wood said.</p>
<p>It was a good day to be a Bill as head coach <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Sean-McDermott/" type="external">Sean McDermott</a>‘s team moved into first place all alone in the AFC East, though he cautioned everyone Monday, “There is still a long way to go. We’re not where we need to be, and anyone who thinks we are in this building, they’re not being honest with themselves.”</p>
<p>While some were playful, others followed the lead of McDermott and put the victory into perspective because it is just one-quarter of the way through the season and Buffalo has several tough games ahead on its schedule, starting Sunday in Cincinnati against a Bengals team that may have finally woken up.</p>
<p>“It’s a great win, but there’s no statement wins in Week 4 of the NFL season,” said 34-year-old defensive tackle <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Kyle_Williams/" type="external">Kyle Williams</a>, who has seen a couple fast starts fizzle during his time with the Bills. “We’ve got a long way to go and we’re just going to continue to work and get better. We’ll take them as they come.”</p>
<p>One point that was driven home was the way this team has come together in such a short period of time. Wood said that’s what he believes might be the difference between this team and others he’s been on in Buffalo, and perhaps that’s been the missing ingredient all along during a 17-year playoff drought.</p>
<p>“It’s a very close-knit group of guys,” said Wood. “They did a great job breaking in the right guys that all mesh well. Every person they brought in has a certain type of work ethic, act a certain way, and we all get along because of it because we all respect each other and trust each other. When a guy makes a mistake it’s not, ‘Was that guy out partying? Was he not in his playbook?’ When a guy makes a mistake, it’s because he got beat, it’s not us hurting ourselves and that’s evident on a day-to-day basis.”</p> | 3,479 |
<p>Jon Stewart has been given a “gift from Heaven.”</p>
<p>Stewart fairly chortled with glee on Tuesday night’s “The Daily Show” over Donald Trump’s announcement that he is entering the presidential race. Stewart called Trump’s announcement “over half an hour of the most beautifully ridiculous jibber-jabber ever to pour forth from the mouth of a batshit billionaire.”</p>
<p>“America’s id is running for president,” he said. “Trump is the part of your brain that’s like at 3 a.m. says, ‘Let’s go take a dump in a mailbox!’”</p>
<p>Plus, in the clip below, watch Hillary Clinton recite the lyrics to The Beatles’ “Yesterday.” And find out what the Bush family and “Game of Thrones” have in common.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>–Posted by Jenna Berbeo</p> | VIDEO: Jon Stewart on Donald Trump: ‘America’s Id Is Running for President!’ | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/video-jon-stewart-on-donald-trump-americas-id-is-running-for-president/ | 2015-06-17 | 4left
| VIDEO: Jon Stewart on Donald Trump: ‘America’s Id Is Running for President!’
<p>Jon Stewart has been given a “gift from Heaven.”</p>
<p>Stewart fairly chortled with glee on Tuesday night’s “The Daily Show” over Donald Trump’s announcement that he is entering the presidential race. Stewart called Trump’s announcement “over half an hour of the most beautifully ridiculous jibber-jabber ever to pour forth from the mouth of a batshit billionaire.”</p>
<p>“America’s id is running for president,” he said. “Trump is the part of your brain that’s like at 3 a.m. says, ‘Let’s go take a dump in a mailbox!’”</p>
<p>Plus, in the clip below, watch Hillary Clinton recite the lyrics to The Beatles’ “Yesterday.” And find out what the Bush family and “Game of Thrones” have in common.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>–Posted by Jenna Berbeo</p> | 3,480 |
<p><a href="http://wp.me/p3bwni-lwz" type="external">21st Century Wire</a> says…</p>
<p>Reports coming out of the Russian Defense Ministry indicate that dozens of bodies dumped in mass graves in newly liberated eastern Aleppo have been discovered. Many of the victims were mutilated, missing body parts and summarily executed by gun shot to the head at close range.</p>
<p>Is this the type of “moderate” behavior that hawks such as John McCain and Lindsey Graham have been backing with arms and cash since the conflict in Syria began? Not only was there the grim discovery of the victims of the western backed “moderate” terrorists but there were large amounts of weapons and supplies found in their former strongholds including enough weapons to arm several squadrons of soldiers, rocket systems, tanks and missile launchers.</p>
<p><a href="http://36s81n24kn0c1i9se62v6acw.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Soldiers_Rockets.jpg" type="external" /> <a href="https://www.rt.com/news/371824-aleppo-mass-graves-civilians/" type="external">RT</a></p>
<p>Mass graves with dozens of bodies of civilians subjected to brutal torture have been discovered in Aleppo neighborhoods left by militants, the Russian Defense Ministry said Monday.</p>
<p>Many of the corpses were found with missing body parts, and most had gunshot wounds to the head, according to a statement by Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Major-General Igor Konashenkov.The completion of a uniquely large-scale humanitarian operation by the Russian Center for Reconciliation in Aleppo will destroy many of the myths that have been fed to the world by Western politicians,” Konashenkov said in a statement.&#160;“The results of only an initial survey of Aleppo neighborhoods abandoned by the so-called ‘opposition’ will shock many.”</p>
<p>In addition to the massacres on militant-held territory, the area had been extensively mined: streets, cars, the entrances to buildings and even children’s toys had been booby-trapped.</p>
<p>In one small area, three tanks, two cannons, two multiple rocket launchers and numerous homemade mortars were found.</p>
<p>Seven huge warehouses filled with ammunition and supplies were also discovered,&#160;Konashenkov said.</p>
<p>On December 23, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu <a href="https://www.rt.com/news/371427-aleppo-evacuation-syria-truce/" type="external">said</a>&#160;all militants had been evacuated from Aleppo. This came shortly after the Syrian Army declared the entire city free from anti-government armed groups.</p>
<p>The Russian military is currently involved in minesweeping the liberated areas and providing humanitarian aid to returning residents…</p>
<p />
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/news/371824-aleppo-mass-graves-civilians/" type="external">Continue this report at RT</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>READ MORE SYRIA NEWS AT: <a href="" type="internal">21st Century Wire Syria Files</a></p> | Mass Graves, Mutilated Victims, Land Mines and Booby Traps Found in Aleppo | true | http://21stcenturywire.com/2016/12/27/mass-graves-mutilated-victims-land-mines-and-booby-traps-found-in-aleppo/ | 2016-12-27 | 4left
| Mass Graves, Mutilated Victims, Land Mines and Booby Traps Found in Aleppo
<p><a href="http://wp.me/p3bwni-lwz" type="external">21st Century Wire</a> says…</p>
<p>Reports coming out of the Russian Defense Ministry indicate that dozens of bodies dumped in mass graves in newly liberated eastern Aleppo have been discovered. Many of the victims were mutilated, missing body parts and summarily executed by gun shot to the head at close range.</p>
<p>Is this the type of “moderate” behavior that hawks such as John McCain and Lindsey Graham have been backing with arms and cash since the conflict in Syria began? Not only was there the grim discovery of the victims of the western backed “moderate” terrorists but there were large amounts of weapons and supplies found in their former strongholds including enough weapons to arm several squadrons of soldiers, rocket systems, tanks and missile launchers.</p>
<p><a href="http://36s81n24kn0c1i9se62v6acw.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Soldiers_Rockets.jpg" type="external" /> <a href="https://www.rt.com/news/371824-aleppo-mass-graves-civilians/" type="external">RT</a></p>
<p>Mass graves with dozens of bodies of civilians subjected to brutal torture have been discovered in Aleppo neighborhoods left by militants, the Russian Defense Ministry said Monday.</p>
<p>Many of the corpses were found with missing body parts, and most had gunshot wounds to the head, according to a statement by Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Major-General Igor Konashenkov.The completion of a uniquely large-scale humanitarian operation by the Russian Center for Reconciliation in Aleppo will destroy many of the myths that have been fed to the world by Western politicians,” Konashenkov said in a statement.&#160;“The results of only an initial survey of Aleppo neighborhoods abandoned by the so-called ‘opposition’ will shock many.”</p>
<p>In addition to the massacres on militant-held territory, the area had been extensively mined: streets, cars, the entrances to buildings and even children’s toys had been booby-trapped.</p>
<p>In one small area, three tanks, two cannons, two multiple rocket launchers and numerous homemade mortars were found.</p>
<p>Seven huge warehouses filled with ammunition and supplies were also discovered,&#160;Konashenkov said.</p>
<p>On December 23, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu <a href="https://www.rt.com/news/371427-aleppo-evacuation-syria-truce/" type="external">said</a>&#160;all militants had been evacuated from Aleppo. This came shortly after the Syrian Army declared the entire city free from anti-government armed groups.</p>
<p>The Russian military is currently involved in minesweeping the liberated areas and providing humanitarian aid to returning residents…</p>
<p />
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/news/371824-aleppo-mass-graves-civilians/" type="external">Continue this report at RT</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>READ MORE SYRIA NEWS AT: <a href="" type="internal">21st Century Wire Syria Files</a></p> | 3,481 |
<p>On Monday, interviewed by powerhouse evangelical leader James Dobson at the Winterset Stage in Winterset, Iowa,Ted Cruz offered a <a href="http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2016/01/04/ted-cruz-supreme-court-will-dismantle-second-amendment-if-hillary-clinton-is-elected-president/" type="external">compelling reason</a> why Hillary Clinton must be defeated in the 2016 election: she would appoint new Supreme Court justices who would eviscerate Americans’ Second Amendment rights.</p>
<p>Cruz, noting that the possibility exists that the next president will appoint as many as four justices to the Supreme Court, said bluntly, “If Hillary Clinton is elected president, the Supreme Court will rule that no individual American has any individual right to keep and bear arms whatsoever. And the government can make it a felony for you to own a firearm and protect your family … We are one justice away from a five-justice, ultra-left wing majority that will tear down our constitutional liberties fundamentally.”</p>
<p>Cruz widened the scope of the havoc wrought by a Hillary Clinton-appointed court far past the Second Amendment, adding, “If Hillary Clinton is elected president, we will see the Supreme Court ordering Ten Commandments monuments to be torn down on courthouses and public steps all across this country.”</p>
<p>When Cruz warned that the government might make gun ownership a felony, an audience member echoed the blunt response of Texas Governor Greg Abbott to Barack Obama’s intended attack on gun rights, calling out, ”Come and take it!” The crowd cheered, as Cruz smiled, “I think Iowa and Texas have some things in common.”</p>
<p>Obama wants to impose more gun control. My response.#? COME &amp; TAKE IT <a href="https://twitter.com/NRA" type="external">@NRA</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/tcot?src=hash" type="external">#tcot</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PJNET?src=hash" type="external">#PJNET</a> <a href="https://t.co/RUPbcev5jY" type="external">https://t.co/RUPbcev5jY</a> <a href="https://t.co/8VNwisj966" type="external">pic.twitter.com/8VNwisj966</a></p>
<p>“If Hillary Clinton is elected president, the Supreme Court will rule that no individual American has any individual right to keep and bear arms whatsoever."</p>
<p>Ted Cruz</p>
<p>Cruz’s accusation that Clinton would appoint justices who would attack the Second Amendment is spot-on: in 2015 she told a supporter in Iowa that she would consider <a href="http://nationalreport.net/hillary-consider-naming-obama-supreme-court-2016-win/" type="external">appointing</a> the most ardent foe of the Second Amendment to the Supreme Court: Barack Obama.</p>
<p>In late September, an audio tape surfaced <a href="http://freebeacon.com/politics/leaked-audio-clinton-says-supreme-court-is-wrong-on-second-amendment/" type="external">revealing</a> Hillary Clinton telling an audience at a small private fundraiser in New York that the Supreme Court was “wrong on the second Amendment,” vis-à-vis an assault weapons ban, snapping, “We’ve got to go after this. And here again, the Supreme Court is wrong on the Second Amendment. And I am going to make that case every chance I get.”</p> | Cruz Gives The SCARIEST Warning Yet About Hillary Gaining The Presidency | true | https://dailywire.com/news/2330/cruz-gives-scariest-warning-yet-about-hillary-hank-berrien | 2016-01-05 | 0right
| Cruz Gives The SCARIEST Warning Yet About Hillary Gaining The Presidency
<p>On Monday, interviewed by powerhouse evangelical leader James Dobson at the Winterset Stage in Winterset, Iowa,Ted Cruz offered a <a href="http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2016/01/04/ted-cruz-supreme-court-will-dismantle-second-amendment-if-hillary-clinton-is-elected-president/" type="external">compelling reason</a> why Hillary Clinton must be defeated in the 2016 election: she would appoint new Supreme Court justices who would eviscerate Americans’ Second Amendment rights.</p>
<p>Cruz, noting that the possibility exists that the next president will appoint as many as four justices to the Supreme Court, said bluntly, “If Hillary Clinton is elected president, the Supreme Court will rule that no individual American has any individual right to keep and bear arms whatsoever. And the government can make it a felony for you to own a firearm and protect your family … We are one justice away from a five-justice, ultra-left wing majority that will tear down our constitutional liberties fundamentally.”</p>
<p>Cruz widened the scope of the havoc wrought by a Hillary Clinton-appointed court far past the Second Amendment, adding, “If Hillary Clinton is elected president, we will see the Supreme Court ordering Ten Commandments monuments to be torn down on courthouses and public steps all across this country.”</p>
<p>When Cruz warned that the government might make gun ownership a felony, an audience member echoed the blunt response of Texas Governor Greg Abbott to Barack Obama’s intended attack on gun rights, calling out, ”Come and take it!” The crowd cheered, as Cruz smiled, “I think Iowa and Texas have some things in common.”</p>
<p>Obama wants to impose more gun control. My response.#? COME &amp; TAKE IT <a href="https://twitter.com/NRA" type="external">@NRA</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/tcot?src=hash" type="external">#tcot</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PJNET?src=hash" type="external">#PJNET</a> <a href="https://t.co/RUPbcev5jY" type="external">https://t.co/RUPbcev5jY</a> <a href="https://t.co/8VNwisj966" type="external">pic.twitter.com/8VNwisj966</a></p>
<p>“If Hillary Clinton is elected president, the Supreme Court will rule that no individual American has any individual right to keep and bear arms whatsoever."</p>
<p>Ted Cruz</p>
<p>Cruz’s accusation that Clinton would appoint justices who would attack the Second Amendment is spot-on: in 2015 she told a supporter in Iowa that she would consider <a href="http://nationalreport.net/hillary-consider-naming-obama-supreme-court-2016-win/" type="external">appointing</a> the most ardent foe of the Second Amendment to the Supreme Court: Barack Obama.</p>
<p>In late September, an audio tape surfaced <a href="http://freebeacon.com/politics/leaked-audio-clinton-says-supreme-court-is-wrong-on-second-amendment/" type="external">revealing</a> Hillary Clinton telling an audience at a small private fundraiser in New York that the Supreme Court was “wrong on the second Amendment,” vis-à-vis an assault weapons ban, snapping, “We’ve got to go after this. And here again, the Supreme Court is wrong on the Second Amendment. And I am going to make that case every chance I get.”</p> | 3,482 |
<p />
<p>The days of spending a career with one company and retiring with a gold watch and a stable pension are long gone. Both companies and workers expect that employees will explore their options and have multiple employers throughout their career — and perhaps even multiple careers. A 2015 survey from Kelly Services reinforces just how much the "free agent" mentality has taken over the worldwide employment landscape.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>According to Kelly's 2015 Global Free Agent survey, almost one-third of all workers identify as free agents. That status is claimed by 31% of US workers, 34% of Asia-Pacific region workers, and 27% of European workers.</p>
<p>The profile of the independent worker may surprise you. The majority of free agents choose to work as independent contractors. Only 10% of those surveyed said they were independent because they had no other viable choice due to economic conditions, down from the 20% in the 2011 Kelly survey.</p>
<p>75% of free agents choose the lifestyle for some positive aspect — freedom to choose their gigs, flexibility in assignments, and balancing their personal and professional lives. These workers report greater satisfaction in opportunities for advancement, development of necessary skills, and work-life balance. Over half look at free agency as a lifelong career choice instead of a transitional phase.</p>
<p>On average, free agent workers have higher levels of education and well-developed specialized skill sets — as they must have to thrive in that lifestyle. 48% of free agents have graduated college and/or have advanced degrees, and 69% hold a specialized skill set (compared to 59% of the general workforce).</p>
<p>This also explains why free agent workers tend to be experienced workers. Only 26% of Millennials identified as free agent workers as compared to 36% of Baby Boomers. As people progress in their careers, they gain the necessary insight, expertise, and skills to become a free agent in their chosen field. They also appreciate the work-life balance as they age and realize that there is more to life than work, as life does not go on forever.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Unfortunately, there is one other explanation for higher numbers of free agent workers. Both free agent and traditional workers have concerns about job security according to the survey, and workers in their fifties and sixties who are let go from a traditional job can have difficulty finding new positions that can accommodate their salary expectations. Some of these displaced workers are drawn to the free agent lifestyle and find it liberating — if their skills are in demand, they can call the shots in ways that they never could before.</p>
<p>While free agency is found across all industries, it is most prevalent in a few professions that often require technical skills and advanced degrees: IT, engineering, finance/accounting, and education.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that the term "free agent" encompasses many different types of working arrangements. Small business owners and temporary agency workers are both considered free agents, but have very different workstyles, skill sets, and motivations. Yet the common threads for most are that they enjoy what they do and have found the proper work-life balance that fits their needs.</p>
<p>The free agent lifestyle does not work for everybody, and if you are content in a traditional job, there's no reason to consider a switch. However, if you are in a transition stage, consider whether the free agent lifestyle may work for you. Assess your preference and the demand for your skills carefully before you begin. Just because LeBron James can make millions of dollars as a free agent does not mean that you can.</p>
<p>If you are interested in working from home as a free agent, download our free eBook,&#160; <a href="http://www.moneytips.com/home-based-business-ebook" type="external">The Modern Entrepreneur: Secrets to Building a Thriving Business from Home Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>More from <a href="http://www.moneytips.com" type="external">MoneyTips.com Opens a New Window.</a>: <a href="http://www.moneytips.com/secrets-of-successful-home-based-entrepreneurs" type="external">Secrets from Successful Home-Based Business Entrepreneurs</a> <a href="http://www.moneytips.com/the-modern-entrepreneur" type="external">The Modern Entrepreneur Opens a New Window.</a> <a href="http://www.moneytips.com/women-own-nearly-one-third-of-american-businesses" type="external">Women Own Nearly One-Third of American Businesses Opens a New Window.</a></p> | One-Third of Workers are Free Agents - New Study Shows More Workers Choose to be Independent | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2015/10/23/one-third-workers-are-free-agents-new-study-shows-more-workers-choose-to-be.html | 2016-03-04 | 0right
| One-Third of Workers are Free Agents - New Study Shows More Workers Choose to be Independent
<p />
<p>The days of spending a career with one company and retiring with a gold watch and a stable pension are long gone. Both companies and workers expect that employees will explore their options and have multiple employers throughout their career — and perhaps even multiple careers. A 2015 survey from Kelly Services reinforces just how much the "free agent" mentality has taken over the worldwide employment landscape.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>According to Kelly's 2015 Global Free Agent survey, almost one-third of all workers identify as free agents. That status is claimed by 31% of US workers, 34% of Asia-Pacific region workers, and 27% of European workers.</p>
<p>The profile of the independent worker may surprise you. The majority of free agents choose to work as independent contractors. Only 10% of those surveyed said they were independent because they had no other viable choice due to economic conditions, down from the 20% in the 2011 Kelly survey.</p>
<p>75% of free agents choose the lifestyle for some positive aspect — freedom to choose their gigs, flexibility in assignments, and balancing their personal and professional lives. These workers report greater satisfaction in opportunities for advancement, development of necessary skills, and work-life balance. Over half look at free agency as a lifelong career choice instead of a transitional phase.</p>
<p>On average, free agent workers have higher levels of education and well-developed specialized skill sets — as they must have to thrive in that lifestyle. 48% of free agents have graduated college and/or have advanced degrees, and 69% hold a specialized skill set (compared to 59% of the general workforce).</p>
<p>This also explains why free agent workers tend to be experienced workers. Only 26% of Millennials identified as free agent workers as compared to 36% of Baby Boomers. As people progress in their careers, they gain the necessary insight, expertise, and skills to become a free agent in their chosen field. They also appreciate the work-life balance as they age and realize that there is more to life than work, as life does not go on forever.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Unfortunately, there is one other explanation for higher numbers of free agent workers. Both free agent and traditional workers have concerns about job security according to the survey, and workers in their fifties and sixties who are let go from a traditional job can have difficulty finding new positions that can accommodate their salary expectations. Some of these displaced workers are drawn to the free agent lifestyle and find it liberating — if their skills are in demand, they can call the shots in ways that they never could before.</p>
<p>While free agency is found across all industries, it is most prevalent in a few professions that often require technical skills and advanced degrees: IT, engineering, finance/accounting, and education.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that the term "free agent" encompasses many different types of working arrangements. Small business owners and temporary agency workers are both considered free agents, but have very different workstyles, skill sets, and motivations. Yet the common threads for most are that they enjoy what they do and have found the proper work-life balance that fits their needs.</p>
<p>The free agent lifestyle does not work for everybody, and if you are content in a traditional job, there's no reason to consider a switch. However, if you are in a transition stage, consider whether the free agent lifestyle may work for you. Assess your preference and the demand for your skills carefully before you begin. Just because LeBron James can make millions of dollars as a free agent does not mean that you can.</p>
<p>If you are interested in working from home as a free agent, download our free eBook,&#160; <a href="http://www.moneytips.com/home-based-business-ebook" type="external">The Modern Entrepreneur: Secrets to Building a Thriving Business from Home Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>More from <a href="http://www.moneytips.com" type="external">MoneyTips.com Opens a New Window.</a>: <a href="http://www.moneytips.com/secrets-of-successful-home-based-entrepreneurs" type="external">Secrets from Successful Home-Based Business Entrepreneurs</a> <a href="http://www.moneytips.com/the-modern-entrepreneur" type="external">The Modern Entrepreneur Opens a New Window.</a> <a href="http://www.moneytips.com/women-own-nearly-one-third-of-american-businesses" type="external">Women Own Nearly One-Third of American Businesses Opens a New Window.</a></p> | 3,483 |
<p>LONDON (AP) — The Morocco 2026 World Cup bid, which has presented scarce details with five months until the vote, has hired international strategy consultants.</p>
<p>London-based VERO, which worked on Qatar’s 2022 World Cup bid, says it will “shape the vision” of the expanded 48-team tournament in Morocco.</p>
<p>Its only rival for the 2026 World Cup is a joint bid from the United States, Mexico and Canada which presented its first plans last April. Morocco announced its bid with a two-sentence statement in August, and is yet to provide details of host cities or stadiums.</p>
<p>Morocco previously bid for the World Cup in 1998 and 2010, and the north African nation has been accused of bribery on both occasions by the U.S. Department of Justice as part of its investigation into FIFA corruption.</p>
<p>The FIFA Congress of 211 soccer nations will vote on the 2026 World Cup host in Moscow in June.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>This story has been corrected to show that the vote is in five months’ time, not six.</p>
<p>LONDON (AP) — The Morocco 2026 World Cup bid, which has presented scarce details with five months until the vote, has hired international strategy consultants.</p>
<p>London-based VERO, which worked on Qatar’s 2022 World Cup bid, says it will “shape the vision” of the expanded 48-team tournament in Morocco.</p>
<p>Its only rival for the 2026 World Cup is a joint bid from the United States, Mexico and Canada which presented its first plans last April. Morocco announced its bid with a two-sentence statement in August, and is yet to provide details of host cities or stadiums.</p>
<p>Morocco previously bid for the World Cup in 1998 and 2010, and the north African nation has been accused of bribery on both occasions by the U.S. Department of Justice as part of its investigation into FIFA corruption.</p>
<p>The FIFA Congress of 211 soccer nations will vote on the 2026 World Cup host in Moscow in June.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>This story has been corrected to show that the vote is in five months’ time, not six.</p> | Morocco 2026 World Cup bid hires international consultants | false | https://apnews.com/e0e3f0b14ee644fab094c7e3e19adcab | 2018-01-12 | 2least
| Morocco 2026 World Cup bid hires international consultants
<p>LONDON (AP) — The Morocco 2026 World Cup bid, which has presented scarce details with five months until the vote, has hired international strategy consultants.</p>
<p>London-based VERO, which worked on Qatar’s 2022 World Cup bid, says it will “shape the vision” of the expanded 48-team tournament in Morocco.</p>
<p>Its only rival for the 2026 World Cup is a joint bid from the United States, Mexico and Canada which presented its first plans last April. Morocco announced its bid with a two-sentence statement in August, and is yet to provide details of host cities or stadiums.</p>
<p>Morocco previously bid for the World Cup in 1998 and 2010, and the north African nation has been accused of bribery on both occasions by the U.S. Department of Justice as part of its investigation into FIFA corruption.</p>
<p>The FIFA Congress of 211 soccer nations will vote on the 2026 World Cup host in Moscow in June.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>This story has been corrected to show that the vote is in five months’ time, not six.</p>
<p>LONDON (AP) — The Morocco 2026 World Cup bid, which has presented scarce details with five months until the vote, has hired international strategy consultants.</p>
<p>London-based VERO, which worked on Qatar’s 2022 World Cup bid, says it will “shape the vision” of the expanded 48-team tournament in Morocco.</p>
<p>Its only rival for the 2026 World Cup is a joint bid from the United States, Mexico and Canada which presented its first plans last April. Morocco announced its bid with a two-sentence statement in August, and is yet to provide details of host cities or stadiums.</p>
<p>Morocco previously bid for the World Cup in 1998 and 2010, and the north African nation has been accused of bribery on both occasions by the U.S. Department of Justice as part of its investigation into FIFA corruption.</p>
<p>The FIFA Congress of 211 soccer nations will vote on the 2026 World Cup host in Moscow in June.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>This story has been corrected to show that the vote is in five months’ time, not six.</p> | 3,484 |
<p>Hotel Oloffson, Port au Prince, January 24, 2010.</p>
<p>Good morning. I’m exhausted. My body hurts. No end in site to any of this. It’s not a news story thats going to go away when journalists leave.</p>
<p>The drone of planes continues in the distance. No indication of what it all means.</p>
<p>We’re starting to rebuild one of the walls that came down, you know, practical stuff.</p>
<p>The flight to Orlando is free 4 American citizens. The shuttle to the regular Orlando airport is free; then you fly to your destination on your own.</p>
<p>Housing is going to be a serious issue here considering how many homes were destroyed. Jobs…an economy.</p>
<p>Lot of homes, buildings, schools went down around us but we seem to be ok. Hotel staff is OK, Band is OK. Grace a Dieu!</p>
<p>I believe US Military planes are flying US citizens out 2 Orlando. Wheelchairs, I’m told, are available. No hostess or snack drink service!</p>
<p>I’m still looking into food distribution. My band wants to volunteer. Have a meeting tomorrow AM. Will be looking for trucks soon, NGO logos help.</p>
<p>The droning of planes is filling the skies. Someone close to the ground told me that hunger will become a big issue if things don’t improve.</p>
<p>After tomorrow AM meeting with food people I’ll have a better idea of where we stand and what we need. If we can hook up.</p>
<p>Rooms at the Oloffson are first come first serve. You just have to show up. When things calm down,phones work etc, we’ll go back 2 the “reservation system”</p>
<p>I’m not sure where people should contribute yet. Will publish names as soon as I am.</p>
<p>I think I hear a bann a pye (band on foot) in the distance. There’s a food handout on Place Jeremie. Truck’s there, but distribution hasn’t started.</p>
<p>Gheskio should be strongly considered for people who want to make contributions to Post-EarthQuake Haiti. Long History of helping Haitian People.</p>
<p>I haven’t felt any aftershocks today, but I do hear a crowd singing in the distance … a big crowd.</p>
<p>I did take a nap…INSIDE!!! Bathed, INSIDE!!! Will sleep tonight, outside…</p>
<p>Sleep inside? In Kreol they say, Atansyon pa kapon. “Being careful is not cowardly.”</p>
<p>Axelle Liataud is fine. She is on a mission to save Haitian art in buildings that were damaged–a wonderful project!</p>
<p>I doubt theyre going to cancel Ash Wednesday, Lent, Good Friday or Easter. Will Carnival create work? Boost the economy? I don’t know.</p>
<p>There’s a website you can contact for supplies to orphans It might help. <a href="http://www.Bagaydwol.wordpress.com" type="external">Bagaydwol.wordpress.com</a> leave a comment &amp; theyll get back to you.</p>
<p>FONKOZE is doing cash/wire transfers. They have 34 branches that are open around Haiti <a href="http://www.fonkoze.org" type="external">www.fonkoze.org.</a> They pay out for CAM/MONEYGRAM etc.</p>
<p>RAM plans to do some food distribution and then hopefully we start to rehearse. First things first.</p>
<p>I want first RAM show in Haiti to be a free concert.</p>
<p>It’s a half moon tonight. Initial shock of the quake is dying down. Heard a car drive by as if it were a normal night. We’re far from normal.</p>
<p>Good night…Bon nuit.</p>
<p>RICHARD MORSE runs the Oloffson Hotel in Port-au-Prince Haiti and the leads the Haitian band RAM.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | We are Far From Normal | true | https://counterpunch.org/2010/01/25/we-are-far-from-normal/ | 2010-01-25 | 4left
| We are Far From Normal
<p>Hotel Oloffson, Port au Prince, January 24, 2010.</p>
<p>Good morning. I’m exhausted. My body hurts. No end in site to any of this. It’s not a news story thats going to go away when journalists leave.</p>
<p>The drone of planes continues in the distance. No indication of what it all means.</p>
<p>We’re starting to rebuild one of the walls that came down, you know, practical stuff.</p>
<p>The flight to Orlando is free 4 American citizens. The shuttle to the regular Orlando airport is free; then you fly to your destination on your own.</p>
<p>Housing is going to be a serious issue here considering how many homes were destroyed. Jobs…an economy.</p>
<p>Lot of homes, buildings, schools went down around us but we seem to be ok. Hotel staff is OK, Band is OK. Grace a Dieu!</p>
<p>I believe US Military planes are flying US citizens out 2 Orlando. Wheelchairs, I’m told, are available. No hostess or snack drink service!</p>
<p>I’m still looking into food distribution. My band wants to volunteer. Have a meeting tomorrow AM. Will be looking for trucks soon, NGO logos help.</p>
<p>The droning of planes is filling the skies. Someone close to the ground told me that hunger will become a big issue if things don’t improve.</p>
<p>After tomorrow AM meeting with food people I’ll have a better idea of where we stand and what we need. If we can hook up.</p>
<p>Rooms at the Oloffson are first come first serve. You just have to show up. When things calm down,phones work etc, we’ll go back 2 the “reservation system”</p>
<p>I’m not sure where people should contribute yet. Will publish names as soon as I am.</p>
<p>I think I hear a bann a pye (band on foot) in the distance. There’s a food handout on Place Jeremie. Truck’s there, but distribution hasn’t started.</p>
<p>Gheskio should be strongly considered for people who want to make contributions to Post-EarthQuake Haiti. Long History of helping Haitian People.</p>
<p>I haven’t felt any aftershocks today, but I do hear a crowd singing in the distance … a big crowd.</p>
<p>I did take a nap…INSIDE!!! Bathed, INSIDE!!! Will sleep tonight, outside…</p>
<p>Sleep inside? In Kreol they say, Atansyon pa kapon. “Being careful is not cowardly.”</p>
<p>Axelle Liataud is fine. She is on a mission to save Haitian art in buildings that were damaged–a wonderful project!</p>
<p>I doubt theyre going to cancel Ash Wednesday, Lent, Good Friday or Easter. Will Carnival create work? Boost the economy? I don’t know.</p>
<p>There’s a website you can contact for supplies to orphans It might help. <a href="http://www.Bagaydwol.wordpress.com" type="external">Bagaydwol.wordpress.com</a> leave a comment &amp; theyll get back to you.</p>
<p>FONKOZE is doing cash/wire transfers. They have 34 branches that are open around Haiti <a href="http://www.fonkoze.org" type="external">www.fonkoze.org.</a> They pay out for CAM/MONEYGRAM etc.</p>
<p>RAM plans to do some food distribution and then hopefully we start to rehearse. First things first.</p>
<p>I want first RAM show in Haiti to be a free concert.</p>
<p>It’s a half moon tonight. Initial shock of the quake is dying down. Heard a car drive by as if it were a normal night. We’re far from normal.</p>
<p>Good night…Bon nuit.</p>
<p>RICHARD MORSE runs the Oloffson Hotel in Port-au-Prince Haiti and the leads the Haitian band RAM.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | 3,485 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>Los Ojos –&#160; Heron Lake State Park has temporarily closed the only remaining boat ramp access point to the lake, as water levels at the drought-plagued lake have dropped even further.</p>
<p>Park officials are discouraging launching and loading larger motorized boats from the shoreline due to the potential for personal property damage.</p>
<p>A news release says the lake “still provides good opportunities for small motorized vessels and non-motorized vessels such as canoes and kayaks that can be launched by hand.”</p>
<p>“We want our park visitors to enjoy safe lake conditions and avoid damaging their boats,” park Superintendent Anthony Marquez said in the release. He said the main ramp at nearby&#160; El Vado Lake is open and available “for folks with larger boats.”</p>
<p>The lake level has dropped approximately five vertical feet within the last two weeks. Park officials are working with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to determine options for re-establishing boat ramp access.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Heron Lake water level drops more, last boat ramp closed | false | https://abqjournal.com/444880/heron-lake-water-level-drops-more-last-boat-ramp-closed.html | 2014-08-12 | 2least
| Heron Lake water level drops more, last boat ramp closed
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>Los Ojos –&#160; Heron Lake State Park has temporarily closed the only remaining boat ramp access point to the lake, as water levels at the drought-plagued lake have dropped even further.</p>
<p>Park officials are discouraging launching and loading larger motorized boats from the shoreline due to the potential for personal property damage.</p>
<p>A news release says the lake “still provides good opportunities for small motorized vessels and non-motorized vessels such as canoes and kayaks that can be launched by hand.”</p>
<p>“We want our park visitors to enjoy safe lake conditions and avoid damaging their boats,” park Superintendent Anthony Marquez said in the release. He said the main ramp at nearby&#160; El Vado Lake is open and available “for folks with larger boats.”</p>
<p>The lake level has dropped approximately five vertical feet within the last two weeks. Park officials are working with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to determine options for re-establishing boat ramp access.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 3,486 |
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Ecuador offered WikiLeaks founder&#160; <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/120816/julian-assange-granted-asylum-ecuador" type="external">Julian Assange asylum</a>&#160;today. It's another key moment in WikiLeaks' turbulent history. Here's a look back.&#160;</p>
<p />
<p>Wikileaks founder Julian Assange speaks to demonstrators from the steps of St Paul's Cathedral in central London on Oct. 15, 2011. (Leon Neal/AFP/Getty)&#160;</p>
<p>Dec. 2007: WikiLeaks officially launches its website.</p>
<p>Sept. 2008: Anonymous hacks Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin's Yahoo account during the presidential campaign. Her emails are then published by WikiLeaks.&#160;</p>
<p>April 2010:&#160;WikiLeaks publishes video of a 2007 helicopter attack in Baghdad that killed Iraqi civilians and two Reuters journalists.</p>
<p>May 2010:&#160;US Army soldier Bradley Manning is arrested on suspicion of providing WikiLeaks with classified material.</p>
<p>July 2010: WikiLeaks publishes 91,000 documents on US involvement in Afghanistan.&#160;</p>
<p>Aug. 2010:&#160;Sweden issues an arrest warrant for Assange on one rape allegation and one&#160;allegation&#160;of molestation.</p>
<p>Oct. 2010: WikiLeaks publishes the Iraq War logs, 400,000 classified US documents on the Iraq war from 2004 to 2009.</p>
<p>Dec. 2010: Interpol puts Assange on its most-wanted list, citing rape allegations.&#160;Paypal cuts off WikiLeaks from using its services to collect donations.&#160;</p>
<p>June 2012: Assange files for political asylum at Eduador's London embassy.&#160;</p>
<p>Aug. 16, 2012: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/120816/julian-assange-granted-asylum-ecuador" type="external">Julian Assange offered asylum in Ecuador.</a></p> | WikiLeaks Timeline: Key moments | false | https://pri.org/stories/2012-08-16/wikileaks-timeline-key-moments | 2012-08-16 | 3left-center
| WikiLeaks Timeline: Key moments
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Ecuador offered WikiLeaks founder&#160; <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/120816/julian-assange-granted-asylum-ecuador" type="external">Julian Assange asylum</a>&#160;today. It's another key moment in WikiLeaks' turbulent history. Here's a look back.&#160;</p>
<p />
<p>Wikileaks founder Julian Assange speaks to demonstrators from the steps of St Paul's Cathedral in central London on Oct. 15, 2011. (Leon Neal/AFP/Getty)&#160;</p>
<p>Dec. 2007: WikiLeaks officially launches its website.</p>
<p>Sept. 2008: Anonymous hacks Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin's Yahoo account during the presidential campaign. Her emails are then published by WikiLeaks.&#160;</p>
<p>April 2010:&#160;WikiLeaks publishes video of a 2007 helicopter attack in Baghdad that killed Iraqi civilians and two Reuters journalists.</p>
<p>May 2010:&#160;US Army soldier Bradley Manning is arrested on suspicion of providing WikiLeaks with classified material.</p>
<p>July 2010: WikiLeaks publishes 91,000 documents on US involvement in Afghanistan.&#160;</p>
<p>Aug. 2010:&#160;Sweden issues an arrest warrant for Assange on one rape allegation and one&#160;allegation&#160;of molestation.</p>
<p>Oct. 2010: WikiLeaks publishes the Iraq War logs, 400,000 classified US documents on the Iraq war from 2004 to 2009.</p>
<p>Dec. 2010: Interpol puts Assange on its most-wanted list, citing rape allegations.&#160;Paypal cuts off WikiLeaks from using its services to collect donations.&#160;</p>
<p>June 2012: Assange files for political asylum at Eduador's London embassy.&#160;</p>
<p>Aug. 16, 2012: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/120816/julian-assange-granted-asylum-ecuador" type="external">Julian Assange offered asylum in Ecuador.</a></p> | 3,487 |
<p>San Francisco Chronicle Fired San Francisco Examiner gossip columnist P.J. Corkery says he was paid $120,000 a year and had a $500 per month expense account. Corkery, who has sued Examiner publisher Florence Fang for wrongful termination, claims he was booted shortly after the Examiner spent the last of a three-year, $66 million publishing subsidy provided by Hearst Corp. CORKERY E-MAILS ROMENESKO: "My expense account was $500 per month. NOT $500 per week (as noted in the Chronicle's story). That error, which is in the court filing, not in Williams' reporting,&#160;is being corrected." &gt; <a href="http://www.sfbg.com/37/33/news_fang.html" type="external">Earlier: Fired SF Exam gossip Corkery wants $2.4M from publisher (SFBG)</a></p> | Ex-SF Examiner gossip had $500/month expense account | false | https://poynter.org/news/ex-sf-examiner-gossip-had-500month-expense-account | 2003-05-16 | 2least
| Ex-SF Examiner gossip had $500/month expense account
<p>San Francisco Chronicle Fired San Francisco Examiner gossip columnist P.J. Corkery says he was paid $120,000 a year and had a $500 per month expense account. Corkery, who has sued Examiner publisher Florence Fang for wrongful termination, claims he was booted shortly after the Examiner spent the last of a three-year, $66 million publishing subsidy provided by Hearst Corp. CORKERY E-MAILS ROMENESKO: "My expense account was $500 per month. NOT $500 per week (as noted in the Chronicle's story). That error, which is in the court filing, not in Williams' reporting,&#160;is being corrected." &gt; <a href="http://www.sfbg.com/37/33/news_fang.html" type="external">Earlier: Fired SF Exam gossip Corkery wants $2.4M from publisher (SFBG)</a></p> | 3,488 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>The high spring runoff has resulted in over-bank flooding in parts of the bosque, including in Corrales. Corrales and Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District officials recommend that all trails within the flooded area not be used. (Jim Thompson/Journal)</p>
<p>Higher-than-normal spring runoff has caused over-bank flooding in the Corrales bosque, and village and conservation district officials are urging people not the use the trails in the inundated area.</p>
<p>“This year's snowpack is reminding us of how wet things normally can be,” Corrales Mayor Scott Kominiak said in joint news release sent out by the village and the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District. “The water's awesome, but it can be dangerous, too.”</p>
<p>Indeed, there are over-bank flows along several areas of the middle Rio Grande from Cochiti to Elephant Butte due to the intense runoff that began in late April, the advisory states.</p>
<p>“Water managers anticipate that high releases near 5,000 cubic feet per second will continue for the next four to six weeks,” the news release says. “Areas within the Corrales bosque that are now flooded due to over-bank flows will continue to be inundated during this period, as is true in many areas along the 150-mile reach of the Rio Grande.”</p>
<p>In advising people not to use the flooded trails, the village and conservancy district said the potential exists for injuries to people and horses.</p>
<p>“The saturated areas are very dangerous due to animal burrows which can give way when stepped on and very muddy areas which can lead to animals or persons being stuck or injured,” the news release reads. “In addition, existing trails will be damaged if used while saturated, potentially requiring significant resources to restore.”</p>
<p>Conservancy District spokesman Mike Hamman said “the district fully supports this recommended restriction in order to keep trail users safe as well as minimize damages to the trails and levee banks.”</p>
<p>The officials said normal use in the dry areas of the bosque is still encouraged.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Avoid flooded areas of Corrales bosque | false | https://abqjournal.com/1006065/over-bank-flooding-in-the-bosque-prompts-trail-advisory.html | 2017-05-19 | 2least
| Avoid flooded areas of Corrales bosque
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>The high spring runoff has resulted in over-bank flooding in parts of the bosque, including in Corrales. Corrales and Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District officials recommend that all trails within the flooded area not be used. (Jim Thompson/Journal)</p>
<p>Higher-than-normal spring runoff has caused over-bank flooding in the Corrales bosque, and village and conservation district officials are urging people not the use the trails in the inundated area.</p>
<p>“This year's snowpack is reminding us of how wet things normally can be,” Corrales Mayor Scott Kominiak said in joint news release sent out by the village and the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District. “The water's awesome, but it can be dangerous, too.”</p>
<p>Indeed, there are over-bank flows along several areas of the middle Rio Grande from Cochiti to Elephant Butte due to the intense runoff that began in late April, the advisory states.</p>
<p>“Water managers anticipate that high releases near 5,000 cubic feet per second will continue for the next four to six weeks,” the news release says. “Areas within the Corrales bosque that are now flooded due to over-bank flows will continue to be inundated during this period, as is true in many areas along the 150-mile reach of the Rio Grande.”</p>
<p>In advising people not to use the flooded trails, the village and conservancy district said the potential exists for injuries to people and horses.</p>
<p>“The saturated areas are very dangerous due to animal burrows which can give way when stepped on and very muddy areas which can lead to animals or persons being stuck or injured,” the news release reads. “In addition, existing trails will be damaged if used while saturated, potentially requiring significant resources to restore.”</p>
<p>Conservancy District spokesman Mike Hamman said “the district fully supports this recommended restriction in order to keep trail users safe as well as minimize damages to the trails and levee banks.”</p>
<p>The officials said normal use in the dry areas of the bosque is still encouraged.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 3,489 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>The department has about 1,500 officers - out of 35,500 - assigned to combat terrorism, including a heavily armed and specially trained "Strategic Response Group" created in January. The new group is intended to be a rapid-reaction force in the event of a terrorist attack.</p>
<p>"The world is changing, even as we stand here," Bratton told members of the new detail Monday at a training facility on Randall's Island. "The world changed dramatically over the weekend and the assignment for which you have volunteered - there is now no more essential assignment in the world of policing in the NYPD. That threat is growing and morphing into new and dangerous directions as evidenced by the events in Paris."</p>
<p>For New Yorkers who experienced the bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993 and the catastrophic Sept. 11, 2001, attack that took almost 3,000 lives, increased vigilance in the aftermath of attacks overseas has become life as usual. What's different this time is the heightened sense that New York may be the Islamic State's next target.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>"We still remain the number one terrorist target in the world, we believe," Bratton said Sunday during an interview with ABC7 television.</p>
<p>Heavily armed police and National Guard troops have been posted at bridge and tunnel crossings and inside transit facilities, while mobile units patrol throughout the city. Other teams guard iconic tourist attractions such as Times Square, religious institutions and the French consulate in Manhattan.</p>
<p>NYPD has had counterterrorism specialists assigned to Paris and other cities around the world for more than a decade, and they are working with local law enforcement to learn all they can about the resources, tactics and strategies used in Friday's attack, Bratton said.</p>
<p>"All of them were equipped with these suicide vests - which are of great concern if you're asking your officers to rush in," Bratton said in the ABC7 interview. "We'll want to know the ballistic capabilities of those vests; how far do those projectiles spew out? In terms of the communications they used, what types of phones were they using?"</p>
<p>The attackers also communicated using devices with encryption technology intelligence agencies can't monitor, Bratton said.</p>
<p>Ever since November 2008 in Mumbai, where Pakistani jihadists killed 164 in a shooting rampage that hit hotels, a Jewish community center, a movie theater and restaurants, New York police have worried about the vulnerability of so-called "soft-targets," such as the venues hit in Paris Friday.</p>
<p>The SRG, as the unit is called, was created to address that weakness, Bratton said.</p>
<p>""</p>
<p>(Terrence Dopp contributed to this report.)</p> | NYC prepares as if it's the next terror target, Bratton says | false | https://abqjournal.com/677147/nyc-prepares-as-if-its-the-next-terror-target-bratton-says.html | 2least
| NYC prepares as if it's the next terror target, Bratton says
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>The department has about 1,500 officers - out of 35,500 - assigned to combat terrorism, including a heavily armed and specially trained "Strategic Response Group" created in January. The new group is intended to be a rapid-reaction force in the event of a terrorist attack.</p>
<p>"The world is changing, even as we stand here," Bratton told members of the new detail Monday at a training facility on Randall's Island. "The world changed dramatically over the weekend and the assignment for which you have volunteered - there is now no more essential assignment in the world of policing in the NYPD. That threat is growing and morphing into new and dangerous directions as evidenced by the events in Paris."</p>
<p>For New Yorkers who experienced the bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993 and the catastrophic Sept. 11, 2001, attack that took almost 3,000 lives, increased vigilance in the aftermath of attacks overseas has become life as usual. What's different this time is the heightened sense that New York may be the Islamic State's next target.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>"We still remain the number one terrorist target in the world, we believe," Bratton said Sunday during an interview with ABC7 television.</p>
<p>Heavily armed police and National Guard troops have been posted at bridge and tunnel crossings and inside transit facilities, while mobile units patrol throughout the city. Other teams guard iconic tourist attractions such as Times Square, religious institutions and the French consulate in Manhattan.</p>
<p>NYPD has had counterterrorism specialists assigned to Paris and other cities around the world for more than a decade, and they are working with local law enforcement to learn all they can about the resources, tactics and strategies used in Friday's attack, Bratton said.</p>
<p>"All of them were equipped with these suicide vests - which are of great concern if you're asking your officers to rush in," Bratton said in the ABC7 interview. "We'll want to know the ballistic capabilities of those vests; how far do those projectiles spew out? In terms of the communications they used, what types of phones were they using?"</p>
<p>The attackers also communicated using devices with encryption technology intelligence agencies can't monitor, Bratton said.</p>
<p>Ever since November 2008 in Mumbai, where Pakistani jihadists killed 164 in a shooting rampage that hit hotels, a Jewish community center, a movie theater and restaurants, New York police have worried about the vulnerability of so-called "soft-targets," such as the venues hit in Paris Friday.</p>
<p>The SRG, as the unit is called, was created to address that weakness, Bratton said.</p>
<p>""</p>
<p>(Terrence Dopp contributed to this report.)</p> | 3,490 |
|
<p>Warren Buffett has long preached the importance of investing in businesses that are hard for competitors to copy. That may be part of why his Berkshire Hathaway Inc. built a $520 million stake in Synchrony Financial during the second quarter.</p>
<p>The credit-card company, which was spun off by General Electric Co. two yearsago, is a leader in issuing plastic under the brands of its retail partners. And like American Express Co., in which Berkshire is the biggest investor, Synchrony operates a payments network while also making loans.</p>
<p>“That’s something that’s difficult to replicate,” Arren Cyganovich, an analyst at DA Davidson &amp; Co., said in a phone interview of the dual roles. “So if you’re thinking about the competitors in the retail and private-label card space, there aren’t too many that have the capabilities that Synchrony has.”</p>
<p>Another reason: A possible bargain. Synchrony slumped 18 percent this year through Monday’s close on concern about risks tied to swelling consumer debt. That could have provided Buffett’s company an opportunity to pick up the stock at attractive prices, said Cyganovich. Berkshire had 17.5 million shares as of June 30, according to a regulatory filing Monday.</p>
<p>Synchrony shares gained 4.4 percent to $30.95 in extended trading as of 5:02 p.m. in New York. Berkshire also has stakes in payments networks Mastercard Inc. and Visa Inc.</p>
<p>Read more: Synchrony CEO Margaret Keane looks beyond retail</p>
<p>Berkshire also said in the filing that it exited its investment in Boston-based GE, which was worth more than $300 million as of March 31. He previously sold a large portion of his GE stake in 2012.</p>
<p>“The outlook for GE has certainly soured,” said David Kass,&#160;a professor at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, citing the recent departure of Jeff Immelt as chief executive officer. “The CEO essentially was forced to resign.”</p>
<p>Kass said Berkshire’s decision to sell GE and buy Synchrony in the same period was probably a coincidence. Buffett oversaw the GE holding, and one of his deputies — Todd Combs or Ted Weschler — was likely responsible for the new investment, given its smaller size in the Berkshire portfolio, Kass said. The filing doesn’t say which money manager is responsible for each pick.</p>
<p>Airlines, IBM</p>
<p>The filing also showed that Berkshire trimmed its stakes in American Airlines Group Inc., Delta Air Lines Inc. and United Continental Holdings Inc., while also exiting most of its investment in Wabco Holdings Inc., an auto-parts maker. Buffett’s company increased its investment in General Motors Co. to 60 million shares from 50 million and again added to its holding of Bank of New York Mellon Corp.</p>
<p>Some of the larger shares moves were previously disclosed, including reductions in the stakes of Wells Fargo &amp; Co. and International Business Machines Corp.</p>
<p>Berkshire said in April it was selling about 9 million shares of Wells Fargo to avoid having a stake of more than 10 percent, a regulatory threshold that requires Federal Reserve review. Buffett had initially sought a waiver, but backed off after it became clear Berkshire would have to limit commercial activity with the bank to do so.</p>
<p>In May, the billionaire said that he’d misjudged IBM’s prospects and had sold about a third of his stake. The investment is a rare blemish on Buffett’s record. Beginning in 2011, he spent more than $13 billion buying shares, only to watch their value fall as the computer-services firm failed to boost sales. At the end of June, Berkshire’s holding was valued at about $8.3 billion.</p>
<p>The filing also showed a stake of about 18.6 million shares in Store Capital Corp., a real estate investment trust. That holding was disclosed in June.</p> | Berkshire Reports Synchrony Stake While Exiting Former Parent GE | false | https://newsline.com/berkshire-reports-synchrony-stake-while-exiting-former-parent-ge/ | 2017-08-15 | 1right-center
| Berkshire Reports Synchrony Stake While Exiting Former Parent GE
<p>Warren Buffett has long preached the importance of investing in businesses that are hard for competitors to copy. That may be part of why his Berkshire Hathaway Inc. built a $520 million stake in Synchrony Financial during the second quarter.</p>
<p>The credit-card company, which was spun off by General Electric Co. two yearsago, is a leader in issuing plastic under the brands of its retail partners. And like American Express Co., in which Berkshire is the biggest investor, Synchrony operates a payments network while also making loans.</p>
<p>“That’s something that’s difficult to replicate,” Arren Cyganovich, an analyst at DA Davidson &amp; Co., said in a phone interview of the dual roles. “So if you’re thinking about the competitors in the retail and private-label card space, there aren’t too many that have the capabilities that Synchrony has.”</p>
<p>Another reason: A possible bargain. Synchrony slumped 18 percent this year through Monday’s close on concern about risks tied to swelling consumer debt. That could have provided Buffett’s company an opportunity to pick up the stock at attractive prices, said Cyganovich. Berkshire had 17.5 million shares as of June 30, according to a regulatory filing Monday.</p>
<p>Synchrony shares gained 4.4 percent to $30.95 in extended trading as of 5:02 p.m. in New York. Berkshire also has stakes in payments networks Mastercard Inc. and Visa Inc.</p>
<p>Read more: Synchrony CEO Margaret Keane looks beyond retail</p>
<p>Berkshire also said in the filing that it exited its investment in Boston-based GE, which was worth more than $300 million as of March 31. He previously sold a large portion of his GE stake in 2012.</p>
<p>“The outlook for GE has certainly soured,” said David Kass,&#160;a professor at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, citing the recent departure of Jeff Immelt as chief executive officer. “The CEO essentially was forced to resign.”</p>
<p>Kass said Berkshire’s decision to sell GE and buy Synchrony in the same period was probably a coincidence. Buffett oversaw the GE holding, and one of his deputies — Todd Combs or Ted Weschler — was likely responsible for the new investment, given its smaller size in the Berkshire portfolio, Kass said. The filing doesn’t say which money manager is responsible for each pick.</p>
<p>Airlines, IBM</p>
<p>The filing also showed that Berkshire trimmed its stakes in American Airlines Group Inc., Delta Air Lines Inc. and United Continental Holdings Inc., while also exiting most of its investment in Wabco Holdings Inc., an auto-parts maker. Buffett’s company increased its investment in General Motors Co. to 60 million shares from 50 million and again added to its holding of Bank of New York Mellon Corp.</p>
<p>Some of the larger shares moves were previously disclosed, including reductions in the stakes of Wells Fargo &amp; Co. and International Business Machines Corp.</p>
<p>Berkshire said in April it was selling about 9 million shares of Wells Fargo to avoid having a stake of more than 10 percent, a regulatory threshold that requires Federal Reserve review. Buffett had initially sought a waiver, but backed off after it became clear Berkshire would have to limit commercial activity with the bank to do so.</p>
<p>In May, the billionaire said that he’d misjudged IBM’s prospects and had sold about a third of his stake. The investment is a rare blemish on Buffett’s record. Beginning in 2011, he spent more than $13 billion buying shares, only to watch their value fall as the computer-services firm failed to boost sales. At the end of June, Berkshire’s holding was valued at about $8.3 billion.</p>
<p>The filing also showed a stake of about 18.6 million shares in Store Capital Corp., a real estate investment trust. That holding was disclosed in June.</p> | 3,491 |
<p>MEXICO CITY (AP) - The early front-runner in Mexico's presidential race is proposing to tackle what he calls the root causes of crime and violence if he wins election in July.</p>
<p>Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador says he would make economic development, job creation and educational opportunities focal points of his administration.</p>
<p>He also proposes to integrate military and police forces into a new national guard, though it's not clear he would have enough legislative support to do so.</p>
<p>Lopez Obrador is a leftist former Mexico City mayor making his third run for president.</p>
<p>On Thursday he criticized security policy over the past decade during a militarized offensive against drug cartels.</p>
<p>He also said he would appoint as his public safety secretary Alfonso Durazo, the former private secretary of conservative ex-President Vicente Fox.</p>
<p>MEXICO CITY (AP) - The early front-runner in Mexico's presidential race is proposing to tackle what he calls the root causes of crime and violence if he wins election in July.</p>
<p>Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador says he would make economic development, job creation and educational opportunities focal points of his administration.</p>
<p>He also proposes to integrate military and police forces into a new national guard, though it's not clear he would have enough legislative support to do so.</p>
<p>Lopez Obrador is a leftist former Mexico City mayor making his third run for president.</p>
<p>On Thursday he criticized security policy over the past decade during a militarized offensive against drug cartels.</p>
<p>He also said he would appoint as his public safety secretary Alfonso Durazo, the former private secretary of conservative ex-President Vicente Fox.</p> | Mexico presidential front-runner sketches security plan | false | https://apnews.com/2369b52bc75640e78c266882537c1f40 | 2018-01-04 | 2least
| Mexico presidential front-runner sketches security plan
<p>MEXICO CITY (AP) - The early front-runner in Mexico's presidential race is proposing to tackle what he calls the root causes of crime and violence if he wins election in July.</p>
<p>Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador says he would make economic development, job creation and educational opportunities focal points of his administration.</p>
<p>He also proposes to integrate military and police forces into a new national guard, though it's not clear he would have enough legislative support to do so.</p>
<p>Lopez Obrador is a leftist former Mexico City mayor making his third run for president.</p>
<p>On Thursday he criticized security policy over the past decade during a militarized offensive against drug cartels.</p>
<p>He also said he would appoint as his public safety secretary Alfonso Durazo, the former private secretary of conservative ex-President Vicente Fox.</p>
<p>MEXICO CITY (AP) - The early front-runner in Mexico's presidential race is proposing to tackle what he calls the root causes of crime and violence if he wins election in July.</p>
<p>Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador says he would make economic development, job creation and educational opportunities focal points of his administration.</p>
<p>He also proposes to integrate military and police forces into a new national guard, though it's not clear he would have enough legislative support to do so.</p>
<p>Lopez Obrador is a leftist former Mexico City mayor making his third run for president.</p>
<p>On Thursday he criticized security policy over the past decade during a militarized offensive against drug cartels.</p>
<p>He also said he would appoint as his public safety secretary Alfonso Durazo, the former private secretary of conservative ex-President Vicente Fox.</p> | 3,492 |
<p>American military officials reported that a suicide bomber killed nine U.S. soldiers and wounded 20 Monday. The bomber detonated a car explosive close to the soldiers’ base in Diyala province, according to the Los Angeles Times. Another American casualty was recorded in Muqdadiya the same day.</p>
<p>L.A. Times:</p>
<p>One Iraqi civilian also was wounded in the suicide bombing. Fifteen of the injured soldiers returned to duty after treatment.</p>
<p>The U.S. military also announced that an American soldier died Monday in Muqdadiya, northeast of Baghdad, when his vehicle hit a roadside bomb.</p>
<p />
<p>A British soldier was killed Monday in Basra, in southern Iraq, by small-arms fire.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-casualties24apr24,1,5123664.story" type="external">Read more</a> (registration wall)</p> | Nine U.S. Troops Killed in Suicide Attack | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/nine-u-s-troops-killed-in-suicide-attack/ | 2007-04-24 | 4left
| Nine U.S. Troops Killed in Suicide Attack
<p>American military officials reported that a suicide bomber killed nine U.S. soldiers and wounded 20 Monday. The bomber detonated a car explosive close to the soldiers’ base in Diyala province, according to the Los Angeles Times. Another American casualty was recorded in Muqdadiya the same day.</p>
<p>L.A. Times:</p>
<p>One Iraqi civilian also was wounded in the suicide bombing. Fifteen of the injured soldiers returned to duty after treatment.</p>
<p>The U.S. military also announced that an American soldier died Monday in Muqdadiya, northeast of Baghdad, when his vehicle hit a roadside bomb.</p>
<p />
<p>A British soldier was killed Monday in Basra, in southern Iraq, by small-arms fire.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-casualties24apr24,1,5123664.story" type="external">Read more</a> (registration wall)</p> | 3,493 |
<p>Eni SpA (ENI.MI) said Tuesday that it has signed an exploration and production sharing agreement for an offshore area in Oman called Block 52.</p>
<p>The block is an underexplored area with approximately 90,000 square kilometers of hydrocarbon potential that sits off the coast of southern Oman, Eni said.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Its subsidiary, Eni Oman BV, will hold a 55% stake in the block, the Oman Oil Company Exploration &amp; Production LLC will hold 15%, and Qatar Petroleum will hold the remaining 30%, following a separate agreement that it reached Monday with Eni. The Eni-Qatar Petroleum agreement is subject to the approval of Oman authorities.</p>
<p>Qatar Petroleum's stake is subject to the approval of Oman authorities.</p>
<p>The financial details of the agreement weren't disclosed.</p>
<p>Write to Alberto Delclaux at [email protected]</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>November 14, 2017 04:46 ET (09:46 GMT)</p> | Eni Signs Exploration and Production Sharing Agreement in Oman | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/11/14/eni-signs-exploration-and-production-sharing-agreement-in-oman.html | 2017-11-14 | 0right
| Eni Signs Exploration and Production Sharing Agreement in Oman
<p>Eni SpA (ENI.MI) said Tuesday that it has signed an exploration and production sharing agreement for an offshore area in Oman called Block 52.</p>
<p>The block is an underexplored area with approximately 90,000 square kilometers of hydrocarbon potential that sits off the coast of southern Oman, Eni said.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Its subsidiary, Eni Oman BV, will hold a 55% stake in the block, the Oman Oil Company Exploration &amp; Production LLC will hold 15%, and Qatar Petroleum will hold the remaining 30%, following a separate agreement that it reached Monday with Eni. The Eni-Qatar Petroleum agreement is subject to the approval of Oman authorities.</p>
<p>Qatar Petroleum's stake is subject to the approval of Oman authorities.</p>
<p>The financial details of the agreement weren't disclosed.</p>
<p>Write to Alberto Delclaux at [email protected]</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>November 14, 2017 04:46 ET (09:46 GMT)</p> | 3,494 |
<p />
<p>TVs are so last century. News outlets are using Facebook Live, Snapchat, YouTube and other tools to offer live coverage of Election Day in ways not possible four years ago.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>It's a fitting close to an election season that has played out on Twitter and Facebook as much as it has on the nightly news, with debates live-streamed online and candidates barbing on social media.</p>
<p>Here's your online guide for Tuesday. All times are Eastern.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>FIND YOUR POLLING PLACE AND MORE</p>
<p>Unless you're one of the millions of Americans who have already voted, it's a good idea to find out where to cast your ballot, preferably before Tuesday. Googling "how to vote" will take you to localized results that include the times the polls are open and any requirements such as an ID. You can also enter your address to locate your polling place.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Facebook's elections tool will show you what's on your ballot and where various candidates stand on key issues. The information comes from the nonpartisan group Center for Technology and Civic Life, which also generates some of the data for Google searches such as "what's on my ballot." To get started, go to https://www.facebook.com/elections/yourplan (you'll need a Facebook account).</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>SNAP AWAY</p>
<p>Snapchat users will be able to see "live stories" on the app — showing people at the polls, election results, acceptance and concession speeches and election night celebrations. In the U.S., users will see overlays they can add to their snaps.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>FACE-OFF ON FACEBOOK</p>
<p>NowThis, a news outlet aimed at millennials, will have video coverage on its Facebook channel. Comedian Jordan Carlos will host the stream, called "No Sleep til POTUS."</p>
<p>CNN will have live coverage with reporters in battleground states, as well as drone shots of voting locations and international reaction throughout the day. Each hour from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. will be streamed from a different location. After 6 p.m., the network will continue Facebook Live streams from various locations, including watch parties and, again, battleground states.</p>
<p>The Washington Post is planning live programming on its Facebook page beginning at 7 p.m. The show will include commentary and updates from Post reporters, including those at campaign headquarters for both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.</p>
<p>The New York Times will also stream election coverage on its Facebook page, beginning at 4:30 p.m., from locations such as polling stations, college campuses and election viewing parties.</p>
<p>Other news outlets with live streaming plans include Univision, PBS NewsHour, the Daily Caller, ABC News and Vox.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>TWITCH ALONG WITH TWITTER</p>
<p>Twitter is partnering with BuzzFeed News for a live stream from BuzzFeed's New York headquarters. The stream will begin at 6 p.m. Twitter says segments will include critiques of traditional news outlets and how they are covering the election, as well as live reports from BuzzFeed journalists at various locations throughout the U.S. and elsewhere. Go to http://election.twitter.com . You don't need an account.</p> | Forget the TV: How to follow Election Day online | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2016/11/07/forget-tv-how-to-follow-election-day-online.html | 2016-11-10 | 0right
| Forget the TV: How to follow Election Day online
<p />
<p>TVs are so last century. News outlets are using Facebook Live, Snapchat, YouTube and other tools to offer live coverage of Election Day in ways not possible four years ago.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>It's a fitting close to an election season that has played out on Twitter and Facebook as much as it has on the nightly news, with debates live-streamed online and candidates barbing on social media.</p>
<p>Here's your online guide for Tuesday. All times are Eastern.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>FIND YOUR POLLING PLACE AND MORE</p>
<p>Unless you're one of the millions of Americans who have already voted, it's a good idea to find out where to cast your ballot, preferably before Tuesday. Googling "how to vote" will take you to localized results that include the times the polls are open and any requirements such as an ID. You can also enter your address to locate your polling place.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Facebook's elections tool will show you what's on your ballot and where various candidates stand on key issues. The information comes from the nonpartisan group Center for Technology and Civic Life, which also generates some of the data for Google searches such as "what's on my ballot." To get started, go to https://www.facebook.com/elections/yourplan (you'll need a Facebook account).</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>SNAP AWAY</p>
<p>Snapchat users will be able to see "live stories" on the app — showing people at the polls, election results, acceptance and concession speeches and election night celebrations. In the U.S., users will see overlays they can add to their snaps.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>FACE-OFF ON FACEBOOK</p>
<p>NowThis, a news outlet aimed at millennials, will have video coverage on its Facebook channel. Comedian Jordan Carlos will host the stream, called "No Sleep til POTUS."</p>
<p>CNN will have live coverage with reporters in battleground states, as well as drone shots of voting locations and international reaction throughout the day. Each hour from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. will be streamed from a different location. After 6 p.m., the network will continue Facebook Live streams from various locations, including watch parties and, again, battleground states.</p>
<p>The Washington Post is planning live programming on its Facebook page beginning at 7 p.m. The show will include commentary and updates from Post reporters, including those at campaign headquarters for both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.</p>
<p>The New York Times will also stream election coverage on its Facebook page, beginning at 4:30 p.m., from locations such as polling stations, college campuses and election viewing parties.</p>
<p>Other news outlets with live streaming plans include Univision, PBS NewsHour, the Daily Caller, ABC News and Vox.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>TWITCH ALONG WITH TWITTER</p>
<p>Twitter is partnering with BuzzFeed News for a live stream from BuzzFeed's New York headquarters. The stream will begin at 6 p.m. Twitter says segments will include critiques of traditional news outlets and how they are covering the election, as well as live reports from BuzzFeed journalists at various locations throughout the U.S. and elsewhere. Go to http://election.twitter.com . You don't need an account.</p> | 3,495 |
<p>US woman spend, on average, two hours longer in childbirth today than they did 50 years ago, according to a new study that will be published in an upcoming issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.</p>
<p>A team led by Dr. S. Katherine Laughon of the National Institutes of Health analyzed historic records from 39,491 women who gave birth between 1959 and 1966, and contemporary records of 98,359 women who gave birth between 2002 and 2008, <a href="http://vitals.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/30/10945882-childbirth-takes-2-hours-longer-than-50-years-ago" type="external">MSNBC reported</a>.</p>
<p>Contemporary Mothers were older, weighed more and used painkillers more during labor and were more likely to have a Cesarean delivery than women 50 years ago, <a href="http://health.usnews.com/health-news/news/articles/2012/03/30/us-women-in-labor-longer-than-they-were-50-years-ago" type="external">HealthDay News reported</a>.</p>
<p>"Older maternal age and increased BMI (body-mass index, a ratio of weight to height) accounted for a part of the increase. We believe that some aspects of delivery-room practice are also responsible for this increase," lead author Dr. Katherine Laughon, an epidemiologist with the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, told reporters during a Friday afternoon news conference, HealthDay News reported.</p>
<p>In the 1960s, episiotomy (a surgical incision to enlarge the vaginal opening during delivery) and forceps (surgical instruments used to extract a baby) were more common delivery-room practices, the researchers said, according to HealthDay News. Both can quicken delivery.</p>
<p>Today, more women receive pain-killing epidural injections, MSNBC reported. Epidurals typically prolong labor by about 40 to 90 minutes.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/health/120209/teen-pregnancy-us" type="external">Teen pregnancy rates in US drop to 40-year low, study shows</a></p>
<p>The study's findings indicate that the medical establishment might want to revisit what is considered "normal" labor time, Laughon said, according to MSNBC. Currently the definition of normal labor time is based on data from the 1950s. If that changes, doctors would wait longer before administering drugs to speed up the labor or perform a C-section, Laughon said.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/120312/burma-economy-myanmar-sanctions" type="external">Burma: Ready for business?</a> &#160;</p> | Childbirth takes longer today than 50 years ago | false | https://pri.org/stories/2012-03-31/childbirth-takes-longer-today-50-years-ago | 2012-03-31 | 3left-center
| Childbirth takes longer today than 50 years ago
<p>US woman spend, on average, two hours longer in childbirth today than they did 50 years ago, according to a new study that will be published in an upcoming issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.</p>
<p>A team led by Dr. S. Katherine Laughon of the National Institutes of Health analyzed historic records from 39,491 women who gave birth between 1959 and 1966, and contemporary records of 98,359 women who gave birth between 2002 and 2008, <a href="http://vitals.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/30/10945882-childbirth-takes-2-hours-longer-than-50-years-ago" type="external">MSNBC reported</a>.</p>
<p>Contemporary Mothers were older, weighed more and used painkillers more during labor and were more likely to have a Cesarean delivery than women 50 years ago, <a href="http://health.usnews.com/health-news/news/articles/2012/03/30/us-women-in-labor-longer-than-they-were-50-years-ago" type="external">HealthDay News reported</a>.</p>
<p>"Older maternal age and increased BMI (body-mass index, a ratio of weight to height) accounted for a part of the increase. We believe that some aspects of delivery-room practice are also responsible for this increase," lead author Dr. Katherine Laughon, an epidemiologist with the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, told reporters during a Friday afternoon news conference, HealthDay News reported.</p>
<p>In the 1960s, episiotomy (a surgical incision to enlarge the vaginal opening during delivery) and forceps (surgical instruments used to extract a baby) were more common delivery-room practices, the researchers said, according to HealthDay News. Both can quicken delivery.</p>
<p>Today, more women receive pain-killing epidural injections, MSNBC reported. Epidurals typically prolong labor by about 40 to 90 minutes.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/health/120209/teen-pregnancy-us" type="external">Teen pregnancy rates in US drop to 40-year low, study shows</a></p>
<p>The study's findings indicate that the medical establishment might want to revisit what is considered "normal" labor time, Laughon said, according to MSNBC. Currently the definition of normal labor time is based on data from the 1950s. If that changes, doctors would wait longer before administering drugs to speed up the labor or perform a C-section, Laughon said.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/120312/burma-economy-myanmar-sanctions" type="external">Burma: Ready for business?</a> &#160;</p> | 3,496 |
<p>A voter commission led by Vice President Mike Pence is requesting that states submit personal records of voters dating back to 2006 – a move that some believe could be laying the groundwork for new voter suppression laws.</p>
<p>According to a <a href="http://bit.ly/2up0vXU" type="external">June 28 letter</a> to Connecticut Secretary of State Denise Merrill from Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach – who serves as vice chairman for Trump’s Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity – the commission is requesting full names, addresses, birth dates and Social Security numbers, as well as voting history, for all registered voters in the state.</p>
<p>According to the letter, the information will be made public.</p>
<p>Kobach, who remains one of the few lawmakers who <a href="http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/333233-kobach-defends-trumps-voter-fraud-commission" type="external">still&#160;believes</a> that millions of people voted illegally in 2016, was <a href="http://politi.co/2t4jXwd" type="external">recently fined</a> by a federal magistrate for making “patently misleading representations” in a lawsuit brought by the ACLU over a law he enacted in Kansas requiring voters to submit proof of citizenship prior to registration. According to the <a href="https://action.aclu.org/secure/sham-voting-commission" type="external">ACLU</a>, it has brought four suits against Kobach’s voter suppression policies and has won each time.</p>
<p><a href="http://bit.ly/2srxZUq" type="external">Merrill said</a> she would comply with the request, but said that Kobach’s history of voter suppression makes it “difficult to have confidence in the work of this commission.”</p>
<p>According to a <a href="http://bit.ly/2s6PtG6" type="external">press release</a> from the Office of the Vice President, a similar letter was sent to each secretary of state in the U.S.</p>
<p>The Pence-led commission was created to investigate the unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud repeatedly made by Trump during and after his presidential campaign, but some voter rights watchdogs believe the commission is merely the first step in a nationwide wave of voter suppression – especially considering Trump, whose 2020 reelection campaign is already underway, lost the popular vote by nearly 2.9 million votes.</p>
<p>The letter <a href="https://twitter.com/KrisKobach1787" type="external">@KrisKobach1787</a> is sending to states confirms: Pence and Kobach are laying the groundwork for voter suppression, plain &amp; simple. <a href="https://t.co/22Ub1TxRS1" type="external">pic.twitter.com/22Ub1TxRS1</a></p>
<p>— Vanita Gupta (@vanitaguptaCR) <a href="https://twitter.com/vanitaguptaCR/status/880479649817649152" type="external">June 29, 2017</a></p>
<p>This is not a voter integrity commission, but one designed to suppress votes. States should refuse to participate <a href="https://t.co/kFFJPL9Wgj" type="external">https://t.co/kFFJPL9Wgj</a></p>
<p>— Ari Berman (@AriBerman) <a href="https://twitter.com/AriBerman/status/880488567646154753" type="external">June 29, 2017</a></p>
<p>Pence’s claim that the commission is “bipartisan” is dubious, as there were only two Democratic secretaries of state – from New Hampshire and Maine, where Republicans control at least one house of legislature in each state – among the initial seven appointees.</p>
<p>It has also been <a href="http://bit.ly/1QwcM4I" type="external">widely proven</a> that most claims of voter fraud are entirely baseless and Trump’s claims regarding the 2016 Presidential election were <a href="http://nyti.ms/2sWfCu2" type="external">without merit</a>.</p> | While we were distracted by Trump’s Mika tweets, Pence quietly advanced voter suppression plan | true | http://resistancereport.com/news/distracted-trumps-mika-tweets-pence-quietly-advanced-voter-suppression-plan/ | 2017-06-29 | 4left
| While we were distracted by Trump’s Mika tweets, Pence quietly advanced voter suppression plan
<p>A voter commission led by Vice President Mike Pence is requesting that states submit personal records of voters dating back to 2006 – a move that some believe could be laying the groundwork for new voter suppression laws.</p>
<p>According to a <a href="http://bit.ly/2up0vXU" type="external">June 28 letter</a> to Connecticut Secretary of State Denise Merrill from Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach – who serves as vice chairman for Trump’s Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity – the commission is requesting full names, addresses, birth dates and Social Security numbers, as well as voting history, for all registered voters in the state.</p>
<p>According to the letter, the information will be made public.</p>
<p>Kobach, who remains one of the few lawmakers who <a href="http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/333233-kobach-defends-trumps-voter-fraud-commission" type="external">still&#160;believes</a> that millions of people voted illegally in 2016, was <a href="http://politi.co/2t4jXwd" type="external">recently fined</a> by a federal magistrate for making “patently misleading representations” in a lawsuit brought by the ACLU over a law he enacted in Kansas requiring voters to submit proof of citizenship prior to registration. According to the <a href="https://action.aclu.org/secure/sham-voting-commission" type="external">ACLU</a>, it has brought four suits against Kobach’s voter suppression policies and has won each time.</p>
<p><a href="http://bit.ly/2srxZUq" type="external">Merrill said</a> she would comply with the request, but said that Kobach’s history of voter suppression makes it “difficult to have confidence in the work of this commission.”</p>
<p>According to a <a href="http://bit.ly/2s6PtG6" type="external">press release</a> from the Office of the Vice President, a similar letter was sent to each secretary of state in the U.S.</p>
<p>The Pence-led commission was created to investigate the unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud repeatedly made by Trump during and after his presidential campaign, but some voter rights watchdogs believe the commission is merely the first step in a nationwide wave of voter suppression – especially considering Trump, whose 2020 reelection campaign is already underway, lost the popular vote by nearly 2.9 million votes.</p>
<p>The letter <a href="https://twitter.com/KrisKobach1787" type="external">@KrisKobach1787</a> is sending to states confirms: Pence and Kobach are laying the groundwork for voter suppression, plain &amp; simple. <a href="https://t.co/22Ub1TxRS1" type="external">pic.twitter.com/22Ub1TxRS1</a></p>
<p>— Vanita Gupta (@vanitaguptaCR) <a href="https://twitter.com/vanitaguptaCR/status/880479649817649152" type="external">June 29, 2017</a></p>
<p>This is not a voter integrity commission, but one designed to suppress votes. States should refuse to participate <a href="https://t.co/kFFJPL9Wgj" type="external">https://t.co/kFFJPL9Wgj</a></p>
<p>— Ari Berman (@AriBerman) <a href="https://twitter.com/AriBerman/status/880488567646154753" type="external">June 29, 2017</a></p>
<p>Pence’s claim that the commission is “bipartisan” is dubious, as there were only two Democratic secretaries of state – from New Hampshire and Maine, where Republicans control at least one house of legislature in each state – among the initial seven appointees.</p>
<p>It has also been <a href="http://bit.ly/1QwcM4I" type="external">widely proven</a> that most claims of voter fraud are entirely baseless and Trump’s claims regarding the 2016 Presidential election were <a href="http://nyti.ms/2sWfCu2" type="external">without merit</a>.</p> | 3,497 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Nicole has now legally changed her name to "Nick" and has begun hormone treatments. They have been going to counseling for the past six months. Since Nick began the transition, I have seen him three times. Last week when I was visiting, I accidentally called Nick by the wrong pronoun, "she" instead of "he" a couple of times. I was either immediately corrected or ignored until I realized I had used the wrong word. It hurt my feelings.</p>
<p>After I got home I sent Nick a text to apologize and explain that it would take time for me to get used to saying "Nick" and referring to him as a he. I told them their correcting me bothered me. All weekend I could tell they were irritated with me, and I felt it was uncalled for.</p>
<p>What do you say? Am I wrong to feel hurt that they haven't given me a chance to get used to the new name? - MARGARET IN MISSISSIPPI</p>
<p>DEAR MARGARET: Adjusting to gender reassignment takes time for all concerned. As your letter illustrates, there are often more people involved than the individual making the change.</p>
<p>It seems only natural that you would need some time to adjust. However, it also seems to me that you are being overly sensitive about what happened. Your daughter and her partner were right to correct you for your slip of the tongue, and it wasn't rude for them to do so. How else is a person to learn that a mistake was made if it isn't pointed out?</p>
<p>DEAR ABBY: Recently, 12 of us women from a retirement home in Dayton were having lunch at a local steakhouse. As we were digging in our purses for money and coupons, our server informed us that we did not owe anything for our bills! He said a gentleman who had been seated nearby had taken care of what we owed. It seems the day we were there was his late mother's birthday.</p>
<p>There are some very good people in this world. We want him to know how very much we appreciated his kind gesture, and we have pledged to "pay it forward" whenever we can. - BLESSED IN OHIO</p>
<p>DEAR BLESSED: I don't know who originated this saying, but your letter certainly proves the truth of it: A good deed is like a pebble thrown into a pond; its ripples continue ever outward. Thank you for an upper of a letter.</p>
<p>DEAR ABBY: We were visiting our son and daughter-in-law last weekend. When I had to use the facilities downstairs, I told her the hand towel was missing. I had used that bathroom the day before. Guess what she said? "Well, that's what pants are for."</p>
<p>Abby, she wasn't joking! We see them only twice a year because we live five hours away. Could they be short of money or what? Should I send her some hand towels? - WET HANDS IN WISCONSIN</p>
<p>DEAR WET HANDS: By all means. And don't forget a short, sweet note thanking her for her "hospitality."</p>
<p>Contact Dear Abby at <a href="http://www.DearAbby.com" type="external">www.DearAbby.com</a> or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.</p>
<p />
<p /> | DEAR ABBY: Old habits die hard during woman's transition to a man | false | https://abqjournal.com/660357/headline.html | 2least
| DEAR ABBY: Old habits die hard during woman's transition to a man
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Nicole has now legally changed her name to "Nick" and has begun hormone treatments. They have been going to counseling for the past six months. Since Nick began the transition, I have seen him three times. Last week when I was visiting, I accidentally called Nick by the wrong pronoun, "she" instead of "he" a couple of times. I was either immediately corrected or ignored until I realized I had used the wrong word. It hurt my feelings.</p>
<p>After I got home I sent Nick a text to apologize and explain that it would take time for me to get used to saying "Nick" and referring to him as a he. I told them their correcting me bothered me. All weekend I could tell they were irritated with me, and I felt it was uncalled for.</p>
<p>What do you say? Am I wrong to feel hurt that they haven't given me a chance to get used to the new name? - MARGARET IN MISSISSIPPI</p>
<p>DEAR MARGARET: Adjusting to gender reassignment takes time for all concerned. As your letter illustrates, there are often more people involved than the individual making the change.</p>
<p>It seems only natural that you would need some time to adjust. However, it also seems to me that you are being overly sensitive about what happened. Your daughter and her partner were right to correct you for your slip of the tongue, and it wasn't rude for them to do so. How else is a person to learn that a mistake was made if it isn't pointed out?</p>
<p>DEAR ABBY: Recently, 12 of us women from a retirement home in Dayton were having lunch at a local steakhouse. As we were digging in our purses for money and coupons, our server informed us that we did not owe anything for our bills! He said a gentleman who had been seated nearby had taken care of what we owed. It seems the day we were there was his late mother's birthday.</p>
<p>There are some very good people in this world. We want him to know how very much we appreciated his kind gesture, and we have pledged to "pay it forward" whenever we can. - BLESSED IN OHIO</p>
<p>DEAR BLESSED: I don't know who originated this saying, but your letter certainly proves the truth of it: A good deed is like a pebble thrown into a pond; its ripples continue ever outward. Thank you for an upper of a letter.</p>
<p>DEAR ABBY: We were visiting our son and daughter-in-law last weekend. When I had to use the facilities downstairs, I told her the hand towel was missing. I had used that bathroom the day before. Guess what she said? "Well, that's what pants are for."</p>
<p>Abby, she wasn't joking! We see them only twice a year because we live five hours away. Could they be short of money or what? Should I send her some hand towels? - WET HANDS IN WISCONSIN</p>
<p>DEAR WET HANDS: By all means. And don't forget a short, sweet note thanking her for her "hospitality."</p>
<p>Contact Dear Abby at <a href="http://www.DearAbby.com" type="external">www.DearAbby.com</a> or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.</p>
<p />
<p /> | 3,498 |
|
<p>With a thwarted sting and dueling videos, the clash between the Washington Post and conservative advocates Project Veritas led University of Minnesota professor Jane Kirtley to toss aside the intended topic for her media ethics class on Tuesday. The news was irresistible.</p>
<p>The Post's story Monday that exposed the group's attempt at deception, along with the newspaper's earlier work on Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore, is valuable beyond the classroom as an illustration of how journalism works at a time "fake news" has become part of the lexicon, she said.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>"This is how good journalists do their jobs and how they don't get taken in by hoaxes," said Kirtley, an expert in media law in Minnesota. "It's such an important lesson."</p>
<p>The Post described how a woman affiliated with Project Veritas, a group that has used disguises and hidden cameras to uncover supposed liberal bias among journalists, sought to convince Post reporters that she had been impregnated by Moore when she was 15 and had an abortion — all of which was false.</p>
<p>Detail by detail, the newspaper outlined how it began to doubt Jaime Phillips' story, all before anything was printed. She told a Post reporter that she had spent only a summer in Alabama decades ago, but her mobile phone had an Alabama area code. The company where she claimed to work had no record of her. Finally, a researcher located a Web page under the woman's name seeking money to move to New York for a job in the conservative media movement.</p>
<p>She was later spotted by Post reporters walking into the New York office of Project Veritas.</p>
<p>Suddenly, the newspaper had a much different story.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>"It was such an amazing piece of journalism," said Dan Kennedy, a professor at Northeastern University. "One can only imagine the world of hurt we'd all be in journalism if the Post had been taken in" by the ruse, he said.</p>
<p>Instead, Project Veritas and its controversial leader, James O'Keefe, were exposed in an act that "does nothing but hurt the cause of conservative journalism," said Brent Bozell, founder of Media Research Center, one of the longest-running organizations critical of liberal bias in the media.</p>
<p>Bozell called it a "shameful" act of deceit, an effort at entrapment through misleading means.</p>
<p>"If this was a liberal, we'd all be screaming from the highest rooftops," Bozell said. "Let's be honest."</p>
<p>Asked to comment on Bozell's statement, Project Veritas spokesman Stephen Gordon said: "We have no response. Watch our next video."</p>
<p>Project Veritas and the Post released dramatically different videos of an encounter between O'Keefe and Post reporter Aaron C. Davis, who had come to the organization's headquarters to interview him about Phillips. O'Keefe asked questions about two "sting" videos featuring Post employees, which Davis said he was not aware of. Davis repeatedly asked O'Keefe if Phillips worked for Project Veritas, and O'Keefe ignored the questions — exchanges that were edited out of the video released by Veritas.</p>
<p>Shortly after the Post story was posted, O'Keefe sent a fundraising letters to his supporters noting that after months of work, "our investigative journalist embedded within the organization had their cover blown."</p>
<p>His group also released videos of the two Post employees, reporter Dan Lamothe and Joey Marburger, director of products, involved in a conversation with an offscreen questioner about the newspaper. Lamothe talked about how much coverage President Donald Trump received, while Marburger discussed Post owner Jeff Bezos' role in the newspaper's slogan, "Democracy Dies in Darkness." A Post spokeswoman had no comment on the videos Tuesday.</p>
<p>Like Kirtley in Minnesota, Northeastern's Kennedy has spent time with his classes going line-by-line through one of the Post's stories — in this case, the Nov. 9 investigation that detailed the experiences of four women who said they were teenagers when Moore, then in his 30s, dated them. In one case that allegedly involved sexual contact, the girl was 14 years old.</p>
<p>The Post explained in meticulous detail how it came upon the story when a reporter who was writing about Moore's supporters was told about then-prosecutor Moore's involvement with teenagers. Six times the Post interviewed Leigh Corfman, the woman who alleged the encounter when she was 14. Reporters spoke to her mother and friends from that time — in all 30 people who said they knew Moore between 1977 and 1982. Election records were checked to confirm none of the women donated to Moore opponents. Corfman's history was checked through public records, revealing she'd filed for bankruptcy three times and was once charged with a misdemeanor for selling a beer to a minor.</p>
<p>While Moore and his supporters have complained about the story and questioned the Post's motives, the story has proven airtight factually, Kennedy said.</p>
<p>"Good journalists don't just take information that is given to them at face value," Kirtley said. "They question it. They check it. They go behind the scenes. Things don't drop into your lap, and I think that's how some people think journalists work."</p>
<p>The stories pull back the veil on how reporters work — for those who want to see, the professors said.</p>
<p>"The true believers will never really grapple with what the Post did," Kennedy said. "These are the times we live in. It's very dispiriting."</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>This story has been amended to correct the second reference to Phillips.</p> | Post story on failed sting is valuable journalism lesson | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/11/28/post-story-on-failed-sting-is-valuable-journalism-lesson.html | 2017-11-28 | 0right
| Post story on failed sting is valuable journalism lesson
<p>With a thwarted sting and dueling videos, the clash between the Washington Post and conservative advocates Project Veritas led University of Minnesota professor Jane Kirtley to toss aside the intended topic for her media ethics class on Tuesday. The news was irresistible.</p>
<p>The Post's story Monday that exposed the group's attempt at deception, along with the newspaper's earlier work on Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore, is valuable beyond the classroom as an illustration of how journalism works at a time "fake news" has become part of the lexicon, she said.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>"This is how good journalists do their jobs and how they don't get taken in by hoaxes," said Kirtley, an expert in media law in Minnesota. "It's such an important lesson."</p>
<p>The Post described how a woman affiliated with Project Veritas, a group that has used disguises and hidden cameras to uncover supposed liberal bias among journalists, sought to convince Post reporters that she had been impregnated by Moore when she was 15 and had an abortion — all of which was false.</p>
<p>Detail by detail, the newspaper outlined how it began to doubt Jaime Phillips' story, all before anything was printed. She told a Post reporter that she had spent only a summer in Alabama decades ago, but her mobile phone had an Alabama area code. The company where she claimed to work had no record of her. Finally, a researcher located a Web page under the woman's name seeking money to move to New York for a job in the conservative media movement.</p>
<p>She was later spotted by Post reporters walking into the New York office of Project Veritas.</p>
<p>Suddenly, the newspaper had a much different story.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>"It was such an amazing piece of journalism," said Dan Kennedy, a professor at Northeastern University. "One can only imagine the world of hurt we'd all be in journalism if the Post had been taken in" by the ruse, he said.</p>
<p>Instead, Project Veritas and its controversial leader, James O'Keefe, were exposed in an act that "does nothing but hurt the cause of conservative journalism," said Brent Bozell, founder of Media Research Center, one of the longest-running organizations critical of liberal bias in the media.</p>
<p>Bozell called it a "shameful" act of deceit, an effort at entrapment through misleading means.</p>
<p>"If this was a liberal, we'd all be screaming from the highest rooftops," Bozell said. "Let's be honest."</p>
<p>Asked to comment on Bozell's statement, Project Veritas spokesman Stephen Gordon said: "We have no response. Watch our next video."</p>
<p>Project Veritas and the Post released dramatically different videos of an encounter between O'Keefe and Post reporter Aaron C. Davis, who had come to the organization's headquarters to interview him about Phillips. O'Keefe asked questions about two "sting" videos featuring Post employees, which Davis said he was not aware of. Davis repeatedly asked O'Keefe if Phillips worked for Project Veritas, and O'Keefe ignored the questions — exchanges that were edited out of the video released by Veritas.</p>
<p>Shortly after the Post story was posted, O'Keefe sent a fundraising letters to his supporters noting that after months of work, "our investigative journalist embedded within the organization had their cover blown."</p>
<p>His group also released videos of the two Post employees, reporter Dan Lamothe and Joey Marburger, director of products, involved in a conversation with an offscreen questioner about the newspaper. Lamothe talked about how much coverage President Donald Trump received, while Marburger discussed Post owner Jeff Bezos' role in the newspaper's slogan, "Democracy Dies in Darkness." A Post spokeswoman had no comment on the videos Tuesday.</p>
<p>Like Kirtley in Minnesota, Northeastern's Kennedy has spent time with his classes going line-by-line through one of the Post's stories — in this case, the Nov. 9 investigation that detailed the experiences of four women who said they were teenagers when Moore, then in his 30s, dated them. In one case that allegedly involved sexual contact, the girl was 14 years old.</p>
<p>The Post explained in meticulous detail how it came upon the story when a reporter who was writing about Moore's supporters was told about then-prosecutor Moore's involvement with teenagers. Six times the Post interviewed Leigh Corfman, the woman who alleged the encounter when she was 14. Reporters spoke to her mother and friends from that time — in all 30 people who said they knew Moore between 1977 and 1982. Election records were checked to confirm none of the women donated to Moore opponents. Corfman's history was checked through public records, revealing she'd filed for bankruptcy three times and was once charged with a misdemeanor for selling a beer to a minor.</p>
<p>While Moore and his supporters have complained about the story and questioned the Post's motives, the story has proven airtight factually, Kennedy said.</p>
<p>"Good journalists don't just take information that is given to them at face value," Kirtley said. "They question it. They check it. They go behind the scenes. Things don't drop into your lap, and I think that's how some people think journalists work."</p>
<p>The stories pull back the veil on how reporters work — for those who want to see, the professors said.</p>
<p>"The true believers will never really grapple with what the Post did," Kennedy said. "These are the times we live in. It's very dispiriting."</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>This story has been amended to correct the second reference to Phillips.</p> | 3,499 |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.