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<p>A large majority of likely voters in Albuquerque expressed a gloomy economic outlook, with more than four in five saying the strength of the city’s economy is fair or poor, in a new Journal Poll.</p>
<p>About two-thirds of city voters also said their personal financial situation is unchanged from a year ago.</p>
<p>“Albuquerqueans do not perceive that the strength of the economy is rebounding yet,” said Journal pollster Brian Sanderoff, president of Research &amp; Polling Inc.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Fewer than one in five respondents said Albuquerque’s economy is in good or excellent shape.</p>
<p>“The poll demonstrates that people think we have not recovered yet economically,” Sanderoff said.</p>
<p>The poll asked likely city voters: “How would you rate the current strength of Albuquerque’s economy? Would you say it is excellent, good, fair or poor?”</p>
<p>Nearly half – 47 percent – said the economy is in fair shape, and 35 percent called it poor. Only 1 percent said the strength of the economy is excellent, and 16 percent said it is good.</p>
<p>Seniors were somewhat more optimistic. Among voters 65 and older, only 27 percent said the economy is in poor condition. Sanderoff said older voters tend to be less affected by ups and downs of the economy.</p>
<p>“If you’re retired, you are not worried about losing your job,” he said.</p>
<p>A second question asked voters about their finances. It asked: “Next, we are interested in how people’s financial situation may have changed. Would you say you are financially better off, worse off, or about the same than you were a year ago?”</p>
<p>About two-thirds – 67 percent – said they were in about the same shape financially than a year ago, while 16 percent said they were better off, and 16 percent worse off.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“The good news is that if we had asked that question eight years ago, we would have had more pessimistic results,” Sanderoff said.</p>
<p>New Mexico’s economy has struggled for years but has shown some improvement in recent months. The state’s unemployment rate declined from 6.7 percent in March to 6.3 percent in August but remained the second-highest in the nation, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.</p>
<p>The poll did reveal a bright spot: Voters under age 50 were more likely than older voters to say they were better off financially than a year ago.</p>
<p>Among voters ages 18 to 49, 28 percent said they were financially better off this year than a year ago. Sanderoff said their responses reflect that younger voters are more likely to have gotten a raise or a promotion in the past year.</p>
<p>“Younger people are still on an upward curve regarding their career ladder,” he said.</p>
<p>The Journal Poll is based on a scientific, citywide sample of 516 voters who said they planned to vote this year, and voted in the 2013 regular municipal election, the late-term abortion measure special election or the 2015 regular municipal election.</p>
<p>The poll was conducted Sept. 11-14 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.3 percentage points.</p>
<p>All interviews were conducted by live, professional interviewers, with multiple callbacks to households that did not initially answer the phone.</p>
<p>Both cellphone numbers (44 percent) and landlines (56 percent) of proven municipal election voters were used.</p>
<p>More from ABQJournal.com</p>
<p>Tim Keller is the winner of the mayor's race. Check for complete results of the 2017 election.… continue reading »</p>
<p />
<p /> | Journal Poll: Voters down on economy | false | https://abqjournal.com/1065755/poll-voters-down-on-economy.html | 2least
| Journal Poll: Voters down on economy
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<p />
<p>A large majority of likely voters in Albuquerque expressed a gloomy economic outlook, with more than four in five saying the strength of the city’s economy is fair or poor, in a new Journal Poll.</p>
<p>About two-thirds of city voters also said their personal financial situation is unchanged from a year ago.</p>
<p>“Albuquerqueans do not perceive that the strength of the economy is rebounding yet,” said Journal pollster Brian Sanderoff, president of Research &amp; Polling Inc.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Fewer than one in five respondents said Albuquerque’s economy is in good or excellent shape.</p>
<p>“The poll demonstrates that people think we have not recovered yet economically,” Sanderoff said.</p>
<p>The poll asked likely city voters: “How would you rate the current strength of Albuquerque’s economy? Would you say it is excellent, good, fair or poor?”</p>
<p>Nearly half – 47 percent – said the economy is in fair shape, and 35 percent called it poor. Only 1 percent said the strength of the economy is excellent, and 16 percent said it is good.</p>
<p>Seniors were somewhat more optimistic. Among voters 65 and older, only 27 percent said the economy is in poor condition. Sanderoff said older voters tend to be less affected by ups and downs of the economy.</p>
<p>“If you’re retired, you are not worried about losing your job,” he said.</p>
<p>A second question asked voters about their finances. It asked: “Next, we are interested in how people’s financial situation may have changed. Would you say you are financially better off, worse off, or about the same than you were a year ago?”</p>
<p>About two-thirds – 67 percent – said they were in about the same shape financially than a year ago, while 16 percent said they were better off, and 16 percent worse off.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“The good news is that if we had asked that question eight years ago, we would have had more pessimistic results,” Sanderoff said.</p>
<p>New Mexico’s economy has struggled for years but has shown some improvement in recent months. The state’s unemployment rate declined from 6.7 percent in March to 6.3 percent in August but remained the second-highest in the nation, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.</p>
<p>The poll did reveal a bright spot: Voters under age 50 were more likely than older voters to say they were better off financially than a year ago.</p>
<p>Among voters ages 18 to 49, 28 percent said they were financially better off this year than a year ago. Sanderoff said their responses reflect that younger voters are more likely to have gotten a raise or a promotion in the past year.</p>
<p>“Younger people are still on an upward curve regarding their career ladder,” he said.</p>
<p>The Journal Poll is based on a scientific, citywide sample of 516 voters who said they planned to vote this year, and voted in the 2013 regular municipal election, the late-term abortion measure special election or the 2015 regular municipal election.</p>
<p>The poll was conducted Sept. 11-14 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.3 percentage points.</p>
<p>All interviews were conducted by live, professional interviewers, with multiple callbacks to households that did not initially answer the phone.</p>
<p>Both cellphone numbers (44 percent) and landlines (56 percent) of proven municipal election voters were used.</p>
<p>More from ABQJournal.com</p>
<p>Tim Keller is the winner of the mayor's race. Check for complete results of the 2017 election.… continue reading »</p>
<p />
<p /> | 3,900 |
|
<p>PERTH, Australia (AP) - Angelique Kerber won her singles and contributed heavily in the deciding mixed doubles victory that gave Germany a 2-1 win over Australia and a spot in the Hopman Cup final against Switzerland.</p>
<p>Kerber beat Australia's Daria Gavrilova 6-1, 6-2 on Friday to put Germany within one win of reaching the final against Roger Federer and Belinda Bencic.</p>
<p>But Thanasi Kokkinakis edged Alexander Zverev 5-7, 7-6 (4), 6-4 in a close tussle to level for Australia, meaning Germany needed to win the doubles to advance.</p>
<p>A Germany loss to Australia in the last of the group matches would have meant three teams ended with 2-1 records, and that would have sent Belgium into Saturday's championship decider at Germany's expense.</p>
<p>Kokkinakis retained momentum in the first set of the doubles, but Kerber remained composed despite a succession of unforced errors from Zverev - and taking the full brunt of a Kokkinakis forehand on her hip - to steer Germany to a 1-4, 4-1, 4-3 (3) in the Fast 4 format.</p>
<p>Zverev praised two-time major winner Kerber's performance, admitting he almost lost the match for Germany.</p>
<p>"Angie played unbelievable in both of her matches - she's the reason we're in the final," Zverev said. "I'm going to give all the credit to her. I didn't play my best today - luckily I have an unbelievable partner."</p>
<p>Germany has won the Hopman Cup twice, but not since Boris Becker and Anke Huber teamed up in 1995.</p>
<p>Earlier, Belgium won its second match and handed Canada its third consecutive defeat with singles victories by David Goffin and Elise Mertens.</p>
<p>Mertens beat Eugenie Bouchard 6-4, 6-4, before Goffin defeated Vasek Pospisil 6-2, 6-4.</p>
<p>PERTH, Australia (AP) - Angelique Kerber won her singles and contributed heavily in the deciding mixed doubles victory that gave Germany a 2-1 win over Australia and a spot in the Hopman Cup final against Switzerland.</p>
<p>Kerber beat Australia's Daria Gavrilova 6-1, 6-2 on Friday to put Germany within one win of reaching the final against Roger Federer and Belinda Bencic.</p>
<p>But Thanasi Kokkinakis edged Alexander Zverev 5-7, 7-6 (4), 6-4 in a close tussle to level for Australia, meaning Germany needed to win the doubles to advance.</p>
<p>A Germany loss to Australia in the last of the group matches would have meant three teams ended with 2-1 records, and that would have sent Belgium into Saturday's championship decider at Germany's expense.</p>
<p>Kokkinakis retained momentum in the first set of the doubles, but Kerber remained composed despite a succession of unforced errors from Zverev - and taking the full brunt of a Kokkinakis forehand on her hip - to steer Germany to a 1-4, 4-1, 4-3 (3) in the Fast 4 format.</p>
<p>Zverev praised two-time major winner Kerber's performance, admitting he almost lost the match for Germany.</p>
<p>"Angie played unbelievable in both of her matches - she's the reason we're in the final," Zverev said. "I'm going to give all the credit to her. I didn't play my best today - luckily I have an unbelievable partner."</p>
<p>Germany has won the Hopman Cup twice, but not since Boris Becker and Anke Huber teamed up in 1995.</p>
<p>Earlier, Belgium won its second match and handed Canada its third consecutive defeat with singles victories by David Goffin and Elise Mertens.</p>
<p>Mertens beat Eugenie Bouchard 6-4, 6-4, before Goffin defeated Vasek Pospisil 6-2, 6-4.</p> | Germany through to Hopman Cup final vs. Switzerland | false | https://apnews.com/amp/fbd24b78e0ac4ef08cafefb5b88602ea | 2018-01-05 | 2least
| Germany through to Hopman Cup final vs. Switzerland
<p>PERTH, Australia (AP) - Angelique Kerber won her singles and contributed heavily in the deciding mixed doubles victory that gave Germany a 2-1 win over Australia and a spot in the Hopman Cup final against Switzerland.</p>
<p>Kerber beat Australia's Daria Gavrilova 6-1, 6-2 on Friday to put Germany within one win of reaching the final against Roger Federer and Belinda Bencic.</p>
<p>But Thanasi Kokkinakis edged Alexander Zverev 5-7, 7-6 (4), 6-4 in a close tussle to level for Australia, meaning Germany needed to win the doubles to advance.</p>
<p>A Germany loss to Australia in the last of the group matches would have meant three teams ended with 2-1 records, and that would have sent Belgium into Saturday's championship decider at Germany's expense.</p>
<p>Kokkinakis retained momentum in the first set of the doubles, but Kerber remained composed despite a succession of unforced errors from Zverev - and taking the full brunt of a Kokkinakis forehand on her hip - to steer Germany to a 1-4, 4-1, 4-3 (3) in the Fast 4 format.</p>
<p>Zverev praised two-time major winner Kerber's performance, admitting he almost lost the match for Germany.</p>
<p>"Angie played unbelievable in both of her matches - she's the reason we're in the final," Zverev said. "I'm going to give all the credit to her. I didn't play my best today - luckily I have an unbelievable partner."</p>
<p>Germany has won the Hopman Cup twice, but not since Boris Becker and Anke Huber teamed up in 1995.</p>
<p>Earlier, Belgium won its second match and handed Canada its third consecutive defeat with singles victories by David Goffin and Elise Mertens.</p>
<p>Mertens beat Eugenie Bouchard 6-4, 6-4, before Goffin defeated Vasek Pospisil 6-2, 6-4.</p>
<p>PERTH, Australia (AP) - Angelique Kerber won her singles and contributed heavily in the deciding mixed doubles victory that gave Germany a 2-1 win over Australia and a spot in the Hopman Cup final against Switzerland.</p>
<p>Kerber beat Australia's Daria Gavrilova 6-1, 6-2 on Friday to put Germany within one win of reaching the final against Roger Federer and Belinda Bencic.</p>
<p>But Thanasi Kokkinakis edged Alexander Zverev 5-7, 7-6 (4), 6-4 in a close tussle to level for Australia, meaning Germany needed to win the doubles to advance.</p>
<p>A Germany loss to Australia in the last of the group matches would have meant three teams ended with 2-1 records, and that would have sent Belgium into Saturday's championship decider at Germany's expense.</p>
<p>Kokkinakis retained momentum in the first set of the doubles, but Kerber remained composed despite a succession of unforced errors from Zverev - and taking the full brunt of a Kokkinakis forehand on her hip - to steer Germany to a 1-4, 4-1, 4-3 (3) in the Fast 4 format.</p>
<p>Zverev praised two-time major winner Kerber's performance, admitting he almost lost the match for Germany.</p>
<p>"Angie played unbelievable in both of her matches - she's the reason we're in the final," Zverev said. "I'm going to give all the credit to her. I didn't play my best today - luckily I have an unbelievable partner."</p>
<p>Germany has won the Hopman Cup twice, but not since Boris Becker and Anke Huber teamed up in 1995.</p>
<p>Earlier, Belgium won its second match and handed Canada its third consecutive defeat with singles victories by David Goffin and Elise Mertens.</p>
<p>Mertens beat Eugenie Bouchard 6-4, 6-4, before Goffin defeated Vasek Pospisil 6-2, 6-4.</p> | 3,901 |
<p>At the easternmost point of the Indonesian archipelago, just north of the Arafura Sea, lies the province of Papua. An area of astonishing cultural and biological diversity, it is home to hundreds of tribes, languages, and endemic species, and <a href="http://pacificecologist.org/archive/papuaforgotten.html" type="external">contains</a> the largest continuous stretch of rainforest outside the Amazon. Yet for decades, this resplendent land has also been the site of a bloody&#160;struggle for self-determination.</p>
<p>In 1949, the Netherlands surrendered its control of the Dutch East Indies, recognizing the Republic of Indonesia’s sovereignty over the entire territory, with the exception of Netherlands New Guinea (West Papua). This area remained temporarily under Dutch control, its future left up to international negotiations. These discussions ended with the New York Agreement of 1962, which handed over the territory to Indonesia.</p>
<p>The agreement&#160; <a href="http://colonywestpapua.info/NYA.html" type="external">stipulated</a> Indonesia’s responsibility “to give the people of the territory, the opportunity to exercise freedom of choice,” calling on the government to allow all adults to participate in a plebiscite to determine “whether they wish[ed] to remain with Indonesia.”</p>
<p>But no such referendum was ever held.</p>
<p>Instead, in 1969, Indonesian officials <a href="http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=tRKthcNy1hAC&amp;pg=PA22&amp;dq=act+of+free+choice+papua&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ei=z5AqVO2eCYPC7gafuIDoAg&amp;ved=0CDAQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&amp;q=act%20of%20free%20choice%20papua&amp;f=false" type="external">handpicked</a> 1,025 men and women to participate in the “Act of Free Choice.” They were <a href="http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=tRKthcNy1hAC&amp;pg=PA22&amp;dq=act+of+free+choice+papua&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ei=z5AqVO2eCYPC7gafuIDoAg&amp;ved=0CDAQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&amp;q=act%20of%20free%20choice%20papua&amp;f=false" type="external">corrupted</a>, goaded, and threatened to ensure they voted the right way. The result was unanimous — all of the chosen representatives voted against Papuan independence. The United Nations criticized the proceedings, but eventually sanctioned their outcome.</p>
<p>Responding to what they saw as an occupation of their own territory, a Papuan resistance movement emerged. It endures today, expressed through a heterogeneous array of umbrella organizations, coalitions, tribes, churches, and local groups. Organisasi Papua Merdeka (OPM), perhaps the most well-known organization, has played a key role since its founding in 1965. For decades, OPM’s military wing (TPN-PB) waged a low-level guerrilla war against the Indonesian authorities. (It has has since renounced the use of violence, except in cases of self-defense.)</p>
<p>Groups&#160;such as KNPB (West Papua National Committee) or Forum Demokras focus their attention on nonviolent popular mobilization, and there is also an active student movement, spearheaded by the Papuan Students Alliance (AMP). Other groups such as the Papua Peace Network work to facilitate dialogue both with the central government, and between separatist organizations. Cultural and tribal organizations like Demmak or the Papuan People’s Assembly, which address indigenous rights and representation, are also significant actors.</p>
<p>Intent on quelling any disobedience from the local population, the Indonesian state has fiercely clamped down on these groups. Daily life in the region is&#160; <a href="http://www.newsrecord.co/indonesias-military-crackdown-on-the-west-papuan-independence-movement/" type="external">marked</a> by pervasive violence, intimidation, and stifled dissent. Human rights abuses are rife.&#160;Extra-judicial killings and arbitrary detentions are <a href="http://www.humanrights.asia/resources/journals-magazines/article2/1202/09" type="external">commonplace</a>. Dozens of political prisoners languish in jail, victims of what Human Rights Watch has&#160; <a href="http://freewestpapua.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/protest-and-punishment.pdf" type="external">referred</a> to as a “long history of suppression of peaceful activism in Papua.”</p>
<p>Since the eruption of resistance, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-08-27/human-rights-abuses-in-west-papua/4225844" type="external">according to</a> Amnesty International, over one hundred thousand West Papuans have been killed. Just last year, two scholars from Sydney University <a href="http://freewestpapua.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/A-Slow-Motion-Genocide-Indonesian-Rule-in-West-Papua.pdf" type="external">characterized</a> the conflict as a “slow-motion genocide” committed by an Indonesian state intent on “destroy[ing] that part of the West Papuan ‘group’ who are pro-independence: a very substantial part of the West Papuan population.”</p>
<p>Despite its abundant wealth in natural resources and the hefty&#160;profits reaped by multinational corporations operating in the province, Indonesia has kept West Papua impoverished. Nearly <a href="http://pacificpolicy.org/blog/2013/06/14/3788/" type="external">31&#160;percent</a> of its population lives below&#160;the poverty line (compared to 12&#160;percent in Indonesia), and access to health care and educational services is scarce.</p>
<p>Thirteen thousand kilometers&#160;away, in the academic quaintness of Oxford, exiled independence leader Benny Wenda works to alert the world of the injustices his people suffer. Born in the 1970s, Benny grew up in a remote village in Papua’s central highlands, far removed from any semblance of conflict. As he explains, “at the time, I didn’t know anything — my first reaction was that there was nobody out there, just our house, my family, and that’s all.”</p>
<p>This life was shattered one morning, as the Indonesian army appeared in the village, initiating a brutal military presence during which many members of Benny’s family were killed, injured, and raped. In response to these grisly atrocities, villagers in the area rose up against the army, which retaliated with further aggression and aerial raids. Benny and his family then fled to the bush, where they hid for five years, before eventually settling in the city of Jayapura.</p>
<p>Daniel Macmillen Voskoboynik recently spoke to the two-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee about his life, the contours of Papuan apartheid,&#160;and the future of the self-determination struggle.</p> | “I Don’t Want to See My People Die” | true | https://jacobinmag.com/2014/10/resisting-postcolonial-apartheid/ | 2018-10-04 | 4left
| “I Don’t Want to See My People Die”
<p>At the easternmost point of the Indonesian archipelago, just north of the Arafura Sea, lies the province of Papua. An area of astonishing cultural and biological diversity, it is home to hundreds of tribes, languages, and endemic species, and <a href="http://pacificecologist.org/archive/papuaforgotten.html" type="external">contains</a> the largest continuous stretch of rainforest outside the Amazon. Yet for decades, this resplendent land has also been the site of a bloody&#160;struggle for self-determination.</p>
<p>In 1949, the Netherlands surrendered its control of the Dutch East Indies, recognizing the Republic of Indonesia’s sovereignty over the entire territory, with the exception of Netherlands New Guinea (West Papua). This area remained temporarily under Dutch control, its future left up to international negotiations. These discussions ended with the New York Agreement of 1962, which handed over the territory to Indonesia.</p>
<p>The agreement&#160; <a href="http://colonywestpapua.info/NYA.html" type="external">stipulated</a> Indonesia’s responsibility “to give the people of the territory, the opportunity to exercise freedom of choice,” calling on the government to allow all adults to participate in a plebiscite to determine “whether they wish[ed] to remain with Indonesia.”</p>
<p>But no such referendum was ever held.</p>
<p>Instead, in 1969, Indonesian officials <a href="http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=tRKthcNy1hAC&amp;pg=PA22&amp;dq=act+of+free+choice+papua&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ei=z5AqVO2eCYPC7gafuIDoAg&amp;ved=0CDAQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&amp;q=act%20of%20free%20choice%20papua&amp;f=false" type="external">handpicked</a> 1,025 men and women to participate in the “Act of Free Choice.” They were <a href="http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=tRKthcNy1hAC&amp;pg=PA22&amp;dq=act+of+free+choice+papua&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ei=z5AqVO2eCYPC7gafuIDoAg&amp;ved=0CDAQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&amp;q=act%20of%20free%20choice%20papua&amp;f=false" type="external">corrupted</a>, goaded, and threatened to ensure they voted the right way. The result was unanimous — all of the chosen representatives voted against Papuan independence. The United Nations criticized the proceedings, but eventually sanctioned their outcome.</p>
<p>Responding to what they saw as an occupation of their own territory, a Papuan resistance movement emerged. It endures today, expressed through a heterogeneous array of umbrella organizations, coalitions, tribes, churches, and local groups. Organisasi Papua Merdeka (OPM), perhaps the most well-known organization, has played a key role since its founding in 1965. For decades, OPM’s military wing (TPN-PB) waged a low-level guerrilla war against the Indonesian authorities. (It has has since renounced the use of violence, except in cases of self-defense.)</p>
<p>Groups&#160;such as KNPB (West Papua National Committee) or Forum Demokras focus their attention on nonviolent popular mobilization, and there is also an active student movement, spearheaded by the Papuan Students Alliance (AMP). Other groups such as the Papua Peace Network work to facilitate dialogue both with the central government, and between separatist organizations. Cultural and tribal organizations like Demmak or the Papuan People’s Assembly, which address indigenous rights and representation, are also significant actors.</p>
<p>Intent on quelling any disobedience from the local population, the Indonesian state has fiercely clamped down on these groups. Daily life in the region is&#160; <a href="http://www.newsrecord.co/indonesias-military-crackdown-on-the-west-papuan-independence-movement/" type="external">marked</a> by pervasive violence, intimidation, and stifled dissent. Human rights abuses are rife.&#160;Extra-judicial killings and arbitrary detentions are <a href="http://www.humanrights.asia/resources/journals-magazines/article2/1202/09" type="external">commonplace</a>. Dozens of political prisoners languish in jail, victims of what Human Rights Watch has&#160; <a href="http://freewestpapua.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/protest-and-punishment.pdf" type="external">referred</a> to as a “long history of suppression of peaceful activism in Papua.”</p>
<p>Since the eruption of resistance, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-08-27/human-rights-abuses-in-west-papua/4225844" type="external">according to</a> Amnesty International, over one hundred thousand West Papuans have been killed. Just last year, two scholars from Sydney University <a href="http://freewestpapua.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/A-Slow-Motion-Genocide-Indonesian-Rule-in-West-Papua.pdf" type="external">characterized</a> the conflict as a “slow-motion genocide” committed by an Indonesian state intent on “destroy[ing] that part of the West Papuan ‘group’ who are pro-independence: a very substantial part of the West Papuan population.”</p>
<p>Despite its abundant wealth in natural resources and the hefty&#160;profits reaped by multinational corporations operating in the province, Indonesia has kept West Papua impoverished. Nearly <a href="http://pacificpolicy.org/blog/2013/06/14/3788/" type="external">31&#160;percent</a> of its population lives below&#160;the poverty line (compared to 12&#160;percent in Indonesia), and access to health care and educational services is scarce.</p>
<p>Thirteen thousand kilometers&#160;away, in the academic quaintness of Oxford, exiled independence leader Benny Wenda works to alert the world of the injustices his people suffer. Born in the 1970s, Benny grew up in a remote village in Papua’s central highlands, far removed from any semblance of conflict. As he explains, “at the time, I didn’t know anything — my first reaction was that there was nobody out there, just our house, my family, and that’s all.”</p>
<p>This life was shattered one morning, as the Indonesian army appeared in the village, initiating a brutal military presence during which many members of Benny’s family were killed, injured, and raped. In response to these grisly atrocities, villagers in the area rose up against the army, which retaliated with further aggression and aerial raids. Benny and his family then fled to the bush, where they hid for five years, before eventually settling in the city of Jayapura.</p>
<p>Daniel Macmillen Voskoboynik recently spoke to the two-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee about his life, the contours of Papuan apartheid,&#160;and the future of the self-determination struggle.</p> | 3,902 |
<p>“Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful.”</p>
<p>— George Orwell, author of “1984.”</p>
<p>The election of Donald Trump as U.S. president, upending projections of pollsters and pundits that predicted his defeat, has triggered comparisons with Brexit, the vote earlier this summer where British citizens voted to leave the European Union, also catching the pollsters and pundits by surprise.</p>
<p>And yes, the campaigns for Brexit and the Trump presidency each employed similarities. Each campaign utilized ‘make our country great again’ slogans.</p>
<p>Further, each campaign also targeted immigrants as the source of deep-seated societal problems, particularly in the employment arena. Trump targeted Mexican immigrants while Brexit targeted Eastern European immigrants in Britain, primarily those coming from Poland as well as Muslims and blacks.</p>
<p>Despite accurately citing some similarities, too many of the news media comparisons of Brexit and Trump on both sides of ‘The Pond’ have been simplistic, infused with failures to sufficiently contextualize the array of forces entangled in those stunning votes.</p>
<p>Comparisons on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, for example, have downplayed the upsurge in racist attacks, primarily targeting blacks and Muslims during the immediate aftermaths of both the Brexit and Trump victories.</p>
<p>In the weeks after the June Brexit vote, police in Britain received reports of more than 5,000 racist assaults, verbal abuse (in-person and online) and xenophobic graffiti. Surveys in Britain of white Brexit supporters found negative sentiments about multiculturalism and social liberalism in excess of 80 percent. Meanwhile, here in the US nearly 50 percent of Trump supporters who participated in a February 2016 poll disapproved of the end of slavery for blacks.</p>
<p>Far too many of the examinations into the Brexit and Trump victories logged across America’s ideological spectrum –- right to left –- have sought to minimize the role of racism in those electoral victories.</p>
<p>Veteran British anti-racist activist Lee Jasper made an observation about the Brexit vote that is applicable to the Trump victory in America.</p>
<p>“The fact that large parts of the British working class were so easily convinced that immigrants were the cause of their woes, not the bankers, is a result of the reservoir of latent racism in Britain, left unaddressed and festering under the poisonous weight of austerity,” Jasper wrote a few days after the Brexit vote.</p>
<p>The ‘austerity’ policies pursued by conservative British governments have sharply slashed social spending. The austerity cuts in areas from education to housing to health care and jobs creation have impacted lower income whites and non-whites alike albeit slamming non-whites more harshly due to institutional race-based deprivations.</p>
<p>Over 35 percent of the non-whites in Britain live in poverty compared to 17.2 percent of whites, according to a report released in September by Britain’s Equality and Human Rights Commission. That Rights Commission report listed the unemployment rate for blacks at 12.9 percent compared to 6.3 percent for whites. Another indicator of institutional deprivations is the fact that blacks with college degrees earn 23 percent less than whites with the same degrees in Britain.</p>
<p>British austerity is similar to budget-cutting initiatives pursued vigorously by conservative Republican politicians here in the US.</p>
<p>Some of the poorest regions in America and Britain are predominately white areas that have been controlled for years by conservative politicians who’ve provided more tax cuts to corporations than increases in economic opportunities for their lower income white constituents.</p>
<p>The area in England consistently listed among the most deprived, Tendring, where whites comprise 97.5 percent of the population, gave Brexit 70 percent of its votes. Britain’s ruling Conservative Party (which enacted the austerity policies) and Britain’s ultra-conservative United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) control Tendring. Voters in West Virginia, the state persistently ranked as having the highest levels of poverty among whites, gave Trump 68.7 percent of their votes.</p>
<p>Activist Jasper noted, “I certainly don’t think all Brexiters are racist. However, I have never met a racist who wasn’t a Brexit supporter.” America’s KKK endorsed the presidential candidacy of Donald Trump as did other white supremacist organizations –- endorsements which Trump declined only tepidly to accept during his campaign.</p>
<p>Leaders of the Brexit and Trump campaigns have denied exploiting racial and religious bigotry in their respective campaigns.</p>
<p>Yet, those denials clash with the realities of the incendiary rhetoric each campaign embraced.</p>
<p>Additionally, persons elevated to ranking governmental posts in the wake of the Brexit and Trump victories have histories of engaging in racial discriminatory behaviors.</p>
<p>Trump selected Steve Bannon as his top White House advisor. Before joining Trump’s campaign in late summer Bannon had headed the virulently anti-immigrant/anti-Semitic/pro-white supremacist Breitbart website.</p>
<p>Britain’s post-Brexit Prime Minister selected London’s former mayor Boris Johnson as her Foreign Secretary – the position comparable to America’s Secretary of State. Johnson’s mayoral tenure was marked by racially discriminatory actions. Johnson, like Bannon, shares past service in a key role in a media outlet frequently castigated for racist content.</p>
<p>Respected British journalist, publisher and social observer Duton Adebayo wrote shortly after the June Brexit vote that the anti-immigration emphasis of Brexit campaign rhetoric “allowed” racism to rise again in Britain. Adebayo, a top-rated BBC radio broadcaster of Nigerian ancestry, wrote that Brexit enabled racists to “come out boldly and claim that they are not racist but just anti-European Union immigration policy.”</p>
<p>The respective Brexit and Trump victories did evidence similarities in societal sentiments along geographic, economic and demographic fault lines.</p>
<p>For example, voters in America’s deindustrialized Rust Belt and voters in England’s deindustrialized Midlands provided strong support for the respective Trump and Brexit victories. A majority of the twenty-something age group in America and Britain voted to oppose Trump and Brexit respectively while a majority of the 65-year-old-plus demographic in each nation gave their votes to Trump and Brexit.</p>
<p>Many analysts who rightly identify the class fault lines evident in the Brexit and Trump votes give short-shrift to the fact that One Percenters’ everywhere have historically manipulated racism to mask the class-based economic exploitation of the 99 Percent — ripped off regardless of color, class or creed.</p>
<p>British activist/academic Cecil Gutzmore paints Brexit as “fundamentally racist-nationalist, undoubtedly economically foolish.” Gutzmore’s analysis concludes that Brexit will produce negative economic, social and ideological effects “across the board for years” on non-whites and the poor generally in Britain. “I can’t help feeling that [non-whites] who voted Brexit un/consciously voted White in the sense in which I heard a White American say: “I am poor but I vote rich.””</p>
<p>The sparkplug behind Brexit, far right-wing British politician Nigel Farage, was the first foreign politician to visit Donald Trump after Trump’s election victory. Farage, leader of the UKIP, campaigned with Trump this summer in Mississippi -– the state most identified historically with racist sentiments in America.</p>
<p>Trump recently Tweeted that Farage should become his nation’s ambassador to America, a suggestion quickly snuffed by Britain’s conservative government.</p> | Brexit-Trump Comparisons Miss Some Key Points | true | https://counterpunch.org/2016/11/24/brexit-trump-comparisons-miss-some-key-points/ | 2016-11-24 | 4left
| Brexit-Trump Comparisons Miss Some Key Points
<p>“Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful.”</p>
<p>— George Orwell, author of “1984.”</p>
<p>The election of Donald Trump as U.S. president, upending projections of pollsters and pundits that predicted his defeat, has triggered comparisons with Brexit, the vote earlier this summer where British citizens voted to leave the European Union, also catching the pollsters and pundits by surprise.</p>
<p>And yes, the campaigns for Brexit and the Trump presidency each employed similarities. Each campaign utilized ‘make our country great again’ slogans.</p>
<p>Further, each campaign also targeted immigrants as the source of deep-seated societal problems, particularly in the employment arena. Trump targeted Mexican immigrants while Brexit targeted Eastern European immigrants in Britain, primarily those coming from Poland as well as Muslims and blacks.</p>
<p>Despite accurately citing some similarities, too many of the news media comparisons of Brexit and Trump on both sides of ‘The Pond’ have been simplistic, infused with failures to sufficiently contextualize the array of forces entangled in those stunning votes.</p>
<p>Comparisons on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, for example, have downplayed the upsurge in racist attacks, primarily targeting blacks and Muslims during the immediate aftermaths of both the Brexit and Trump victories.</p>
<p>In the weeks after the June Brexit vote, police in Britain received reports of more than 5,000 racist assaults, verbal abuse (in-person and online) and xenophobic graffiti. Surveys in Britain of white Brexit supporters found negative sentiments about multiculturalism and social liberalism in excess of 80 percent. Meanwhile, here in the US nearly 50 percent of Trump supporters who participated in a February 2016 poll disapproved of the end of slavery for blacks.</p>
<p>Far too many of the examinations into the Brexit and Trump victories logged across America’s ideological spectrum –- right to left –- have sought to minimize the role of racism in those electoral victories.</p>
<p>Veteran British anti-racist activist Lee Jasper made an observation about the Brexit vote that is applicable to the Trump victory in America.</p>
<p>“The fact that large parts of the British working class were so easily convinced that immigrants were the cause of their woes, not the bankers, is a result of the reservoir of latent racism in Britain, left unaddressed and festering under the poisonous weight of austerity,” Jasper wrote a few days after the Brexit vote.</p>
<p>The ‘austerity’ policies pursued by conservative British governments have sharply slashed social spending. The austerity cuts in areas from education to housing to health care and jobs creation have impacted lower income whites and non-whites alike albeit slamming non-whites more harshly due to institutional race-based deprivations.</p>
<p>Over 35 percent of the non-whites in Britain live in poverty compared to 17.2 percent of whites, according to a report released in September by Britain’s Equality and Human Rights Commission. That Rights Commission report listed the unemployment rate for blacks at 12.9 percent compared to 6.3 percent for whites. Another indicator of institutional deprivations is the fact that blacks with college degrees earn 23 percent less than whites with the same degrees in Britain.</p>
<p>British austerity is similar to budget-cutting initiatives pursued vigorously by conservative Republican politicians here in the US.</p>
<p>Some of the poorest regions in America and Britain are predominately white areas that have been controlled for years by conservative politicians who’ve provided more tax cuts to corporations than increases in economic opportunities for their lower income white constituents.</p>
<p>The area in England consistently listed among the most deprived, Tendring, where whites comprise 97.5 percent of the population, gave Brexit 70 percent of its votes. Britain’s ruling Conservative Party (which enacted the austerity policies) and Britain’s ultra-conservative United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) control Tendring. Voters in West Virginia, the state persistently ranked as having the highest levels of poverty among whites, gave Trump 68.7 percent of their votes.</p>
<p>Activist Jasper noted, “I certainly don’t think all Brexiters are racist. However, I have never met a racist who wasn’t a Brexit supporter.” America’s KKK endorsed the presidential candidacy of Donald Trump as did other white supremacist organizations –- endorsements which Trump declined only tepidly to accept during his campaign.</p>
<p>Leaders of the Brexit and Trump campaigns have denied exploiting racial and religious bigotry in their respective campaigns.</p>
<p>Yet, those denials clash with the realities of the incendiary rhetoric each campaign embraced.</p>
<p>Additionally, persons elevated to ranking governmental posts in the wake of the Brexit and Trump victories have histories of engaging in racial discriminatory behaviors.</p>
<p>Trump selected Steve Bannon as his top White House advisor. Before joining Trump’s campaign in late summer Bannon had headed the virulently anti-immigrant/anti-Semitic/pro-white supremacist Breitbart website.</p>
<p>Britain’s post-Brexit Prime Minister selected London’s former mayor Boris Johnson as her Foreign Secretary – the position comparable to America’s Secretary of State. Johnson’s mayoral tenure was marked by racially discriminatory actions. Johnson, like Bannon, shares past service in a key role in a media outlet frequently castigated for racist content.</p>
<p>Respected British journalist, publisher and social observer Duton Adebayo wrote shortly after the June Brexit vote that the anti-immigration emphasis of Brexit campaign rhetoric “allowed” racism to rise again in Britain. Adebayo, a top-rated BBC radio broadcaster of Nigerian ancestry, wrote that Brexit enabled racists to “come out boldly and claim that they are not racist but just anti-European Union immigration policy.”</p>
<p>The respective Brexit and Trump victories did evidence similarities in societal sentiments along geographic, economic and demographic fault lines.</p>
<p>For example, voters in America’s deindustrialized Rust Belt and voters in England’s deindustrialized Midlands provided strong support for the respective Trump and Brexit victories. A majority of the twenty-something age group in America and Britain voted to oppose Trump and Brexit respectively while a majority of the 65-year-old-plus demographic in each nation gave their votes to Trump and Brexit.</p>
<p>Many analysts who rightly identify the class fault lines evident in the Brexit and Trump votes give short-shrift to the fact that One Percenters’ everywhere have historically manipulated racism to mask the class-based economic exploitation of the 99 Percent — ripped off regardless of color, class or creed.</p>
<p>British activist/academic Cecil Gutzmore paints Brexit as “fundamentally racist-nationalist, undoubtedly economically foolish.” Gutzmore’s analysis concludes that Brexit will produce negative economic, social and ideological effects “across the board for years” on non-whites and the poor generally in Britain. “I can’t help feeling that [non-whites] who voted Brexit un/consciously voted White in the sense in which I heard a White American say: “I am poor but I vote rich.””</p>
<p>The sparkplug behind Brexit, far right-wing British politician Nigel Farage, was the first foreign politician to visit Donald Trump after Trump’s election victory. Farage, leader of the UKIP, campaigned with Trump this summer in Mississippi -– the state most identified historically with racist sentiments in America.</p>
<p>Trump recently Tweeted that Farage should become his nation’s ambassador to America, a suggestion quickly snuffed by Britain’s conservative government.</p> | 3,903 |
<p>TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The U.S. Senate is moving toward a vote on Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback's nomination for an ambassador's post.</p>
<p>Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell filed a motion Monday to cut off debate on President Donald Trump's nomination of the conservative Republican governor to serve as U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom.</p>
<p>McConnell communications director David Popp said in an email that a vote on the motion would occur Friday unless minority Democrats agree to have a vote sooner. Ending debate would clear the way for a second vote on Brownback's nomination.</p>
<p>Trump first nominated Brownback for the ambassador's post in July, but his appointment has faced opposition from Democrats and LGBT groups.</p>
<p>Brownback would resign if he is confirmed. Fellow Republican Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer would be elevated to governor.</p>
<p>TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The U.S. Senate is moving toward a vote on Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback's nomination for an ambassador's post.</p>
<p>Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell filed a motion Monday to cut off debate on President Donald Trump's nomination of the conservative Republican governor to serve as U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom.</p>
<p>McConnell communications director David Popp said in an email that a vote on the motion would occur Friday unless minority Democrats agree to have a vote sooner. Ending debate would clear the way for a second vote on Brownback's nomination.</p>
<p>Trump first nominated Brownback for the ambassador's post in July, but his appointment has faced opposition from Democrats and LGBT groups.</p>
<p>Brownback would resign if he is confirmed. Fellow Republican Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer would be elevated to governor.</p> | Senate closer to vote on ambassadorship for Kansas governor | false | https://apnews.com/amp/012a9f48a8274571a5863abdc8a5a7e6 | 2018-01-23 | 2least
| Senate closer to vote on ambassadorship for Kansas governor
<p>TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The U.S. Senate is moving toward a vote on Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback's nomination for an ambassador's post.</p>
<p>Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell filed a motion Monday to cut off debate on President Donald Trump's nomination of the conservative Republican governor to serve as U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom.</p>
<p>McConnell communications director David Popp said in an email that a vote on the motion would occur Friday unless minority Democrats agree to have a vote sooner. Ending debate would clear the way for a second vote on Brownback's nomination.</p>
<p>Trump first nominated Brownback for the ambassador's post in July, but his appointment has faced opposition from Democrats and LGBT groups.</p>
<p>Brownback would resign if he is confirmed. Fellow Republican Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer would be elevated to governor.</p>
<p>TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The U.S. Senate is moving toward a vote on Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback's nomination for an ambassador's post.</p>
<p>Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell filed a motion Monday to cut off debate on President Donald Trump's nomination of the conservative Republican governor to serve as U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom.</p>
<p>McConnell communications director David Popp said in an email that a vote on the motion would occur Friday unless minority Democrats agree to have a vote sooner. Ending debate would clear the way for a second vote on Brownback's nomination.</p>
<p>Trump first nominated Brownback for the ambassador's post in July, but his appointment has faced opposition from Democrats and LGBT groups.</p>
<p>Brownback would resign if he is confirmed. Fellow Republican Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer would be elevated to governor.</p> | 3,904 |
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<p />
<p>The tax collecting agency said 390,000 more taxpayer accounts may have compromised than the 334,000 it warned about a year and a half ago. The breach was first discovered in May 2015, and the increase first reported by The Wall Street Journal.</p>
<p>The sensitive information can be used for identity theft or to claim fraudulent tax refunds.</p>
<p>The thieves accessed a system called "Get Transcript," where taxpayers can get tax returns and other filings from previous years. In order to access the information, the thieves cleared a security screen that required knowledge about the taxpayer.</p>
<p>The IRS says it is immediately moving to notify taxpayers, offering identity theft protection services and giving them access to a program that assigns them special ID numbers that they must use to file their tax returns.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>"The IRS is committed to protecting taxpayers on multiple fronts against tax-related identity theft," said IRS Commissioner John Koskinen. "We are moving quickly to help these taxpayers."</p>
<p>In addition, hackers have tried to access almost 600,000 additional IRS accounts in an attempt to gain private information on taxpayers.</p>
<p>The IRS has earlier said that agency investigators believe the identity thieves are part of a sophisticated criminal operation based in Russia.</p> | IRS: Computer breach bigger than first thought | false | https://abqjournal.com/731071/irs-computer-breach-bigger-than-first-thought.html | 2016-02-26 | 2least
| IRS: Computer breach bigger than first thought
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>The tax collecting agency said 390,000 more taxpayer accounts may have compromised than the 334,000 it warned about a year and a half ago. The breach was first discovered in May 2015, and the increase first reported by The Wall Street Journal.</p>
<p>The sensitive information can be used for identity theft or to claim fraudulent tax refunds.</p>
<p>The thieves accessed a system called "Get Transcript," where taxpayers can get tax returns and other filings from previous years. In order to access the information, the thieves cleared a security screen that required knowledge about the taxpayer.</p>
<p>The IRS says it is immediately moving to notify taxpayers, offering identity theft protection services and giving them access to a program that assigns them special ID numbers that they must use to file their tax returns.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>"The IRS is committed to protecting taxpayers on multiple fronts against tax-related identity theft," said IRS Commissioner John Koskinen. "We are moving quickly to help these taxpayers."</p>
<p>In addition, hackers have tried to access almost 600,000 additional IRS accounts in an attempt to gain private information on taxpayers.</p>
<p>The IRS has earlier said that agency investigators believe the identity thieves are part of a sophisticated criminal operation based in Russia.</p> | 3,905 |
<p>On Tuesday, three top officials of the Democratic National Committee, including its CEO, <a href="http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CAMPAIGN_2016_DEMOCRATIC_RESIGNATION?SITE=AP&amp;SECTION=HOME&amp;TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&amp;CTIME=2016-08-02-14-54-33" type="external">resigned</a> following the release of emails last week on Wikileaks, believed to have been <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/dnc-hack-fits-pattern-of-past-russian-meddling-1469469535" type="external">facilitated</a> by the Russian government.</p>
<p>CEO Amy Dacey, chief finance officer Brad Marshall and communications director Luis Miranda all exited their jobs with the committee. Dacey has been hired by Squared Communications, a Democratic consulting firm, whose founder, Michael Meehan, stated, “As one of the top campaign strategists in our party, and with our experiences together on presidential, Senate and congressional campaigns, Amy will help our firm's clients navigate this and future election cycles.” Dacey had previously served as executive director of EMILY's List, an organization devoted to electing female Democrats.</p>
<p>Marshall had written an email in which he allegedly attacked Bernie Sanders' Jewish faith, urging that he be portrayed as an atheist. He <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/three-more-democratic-national-committee-officials-resign-in-wake-of-email-leak-1470164138" type="external">wrote</a>, “Does he believe in a god. He had skated on saying he has a Jewish heritage. I think I read he is an atheist. This could make several points difference with my peeps.”</p>
<p>Miranda was <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/09/dnc-names-luis-miranda-as-comms-director/432855/" type="external">hired</a> last October as the new communications director for the Democratic National Committee. He had worked as deputy communications director at the DNC, where he headed a 50-state regional communications program.</p>
<p>Party chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz resigned last week and was replaced by Donna Brazile, who said Tuesday that she has created a "transition team" in order to ready the party for the months until the November election. She named Tom McMahon, a former DNC executive director, to lead the group.</p> | 3 Top Officials Of Democratic National Committee Resign After Email Leaks | true | https://dailywire.com/news/8025/3-top-officials-democratic-national-committee-hank-berrien | 2016-08-02 | 0right
| 3 Top Officials Of Democratic National Committee Resign After Email Leaks
<p>On Tuesday, three top officials of the Democratic National Committee, including its CEO, <a href="http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CAMPAIGN_2016_DEMOCRATIC_RESIGNATION?SITE=AP&amp;SECTION=HOME&amp;TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&amp;CTIME=2016-08-02-14-54-33" type="external">resigned</a> following the release of emails last week on Wikileaks, believed to have been <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/dnc-hack-fits-pattern-of-past-russian-meddling-1469469535" type="external">facilitated</a> by the Russian government.</p>
<p>CEO Amy Dacey, chief finance officer Brad Marshall and communications director Luis Miranda all exited their jobs with the committee. Dacey has been hired by Squared Communications, a Democratic consulting firm, whose founder, Michael Meehan, stated, “As one of the top campaign strategists in our party, and with our experiences together on presidential, Senate and congressional campaigns, Amy will help our firm's clients navigate this and future election cycles.” Dacey had previously served as executive director of EMILY's List, an organization devoted to electing female Democrats.</p>
<p>Marshall had written an email in which he allegedly attacked Bernie Sanders' Jewish faith, urging that he be portrayed as an atheist. He <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/three-more-democratic-national-committee-officials-resign-in-wake-of-email-leak-1470164138" type="external">wrote</a>, “Does he believe in a god. He had skated on saying he has a Jewish heritage. I think I read he is an atheist. This could make several points difference with my peeps.”</p>
<p>Miranda was <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/09/dnc-names-luis-miranda-as-comms-director/432855/" type="external">hired</a> last October as the new communications director for the Democratic National Committee. He had worked as deputy communications director at the DNC, where he headed a 50-state regional communications program.</p>
<p>Party chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz resigned last week and was replaced by Donna Brazile, who said Tuesday that she has created a "transition team" in order to ready the party for the months until the November election. She named Tom McMahon, a former DNC executive director, to lead the group.</p> | 3,906 |
<p>What an odd pair of front runners Republicans appear to have ended up with. Not the usual conservative vs. moderate pairing, but two quite unusual political figures with remarkably similar policy and political profiles but remarkably different temperaments and dispositions.</p>
<p>Let me say first: I used to work for Newt Gingrich. In the last year of his speakership, I was a “staff assistant” in his congressional office. I was 21 when I started there. No offense to anyone reading this who is now a staff assistant on the Hill, but that's a very junior job—or at least it certainly was in my case: some policy research, some note-taking in meetings, some answering of phones, and the like. I didn't spend all that much time with Gingrich (when I did, he was always very nice to me and to other junior staffers), and I don't pretend to have learned much about him that you wouldn't have learned from just following politics. So I offer my views as an observer of politics, not as any kind of expert on Gingrich.</p>
<p>What stands out about Romney and Gingrich, to me, is that they have in common a very unusual profile for a Republican politician. Both of them are fundamentally moderates: Very wonky Rockefeller Republicans who moved to the right over time as their party moved right and maybe as events persuaded them to move right, and they both still very much exhibit the technocratic countenance of the Rockefeller Republican—a program for every problem. Conservative humility about human nature and about the potential of technical solutions is not readily discernible in either one.</p>
<p>They're also essentially in the same place politically—I can't think of a single major issue on which Gingrich is more conservative than Romney, and with the possible exception of immigration (and perhaps Medicare reform, as I mention <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/285080/choosing-failure-medicare-yuval-levin" type="external">here</a>, though it's hard to be sure) I can't think of one where Romney is more conservative. Substantively, their views are largely indistinguishable from one another. They're part of a very broad consensus on policy among Republicans this year, which is one of the underreported stories of the year and is frankly in many ways a testament to Paul Ryan, who really defined the Republican agenda with his budget. The House Republican budget caused both Romney and Gingrich to take significantly more conservative positions on entitlement reform in particular than either one would otherwise have taken.</p>
<p>Moreover, both of them have moved back and forth on the same key issues in recent years—on health care, on climate, on immigration, on the social issues including the life issues; and these are obviously some of the most important issues to Republican voters. So the question of flip-flops, or the question of reliability, hangs heavy over both of them.</p>
<p>And yet, similar as they are, you don't naturally think of them as belonging in the same category, because they have very different temperaments, and temperament can often matter even more than substance. Romney has a thoroughly executive disposition: He appears to have a very organized mind, intense discipline, a general sense of calm and restraint, and a systematic approach to everything he does. He expects change to result from a process, and so thinks about politics in terms of process. He exhibits each of these qualities to a fault—and as a result he can often seem rather cold, and his past flip-flops can seem even more unprincipled.</p>
<p>Gingrich has what you might call a revolutionary disposition: He has great intensity and energy. His mind is drawn to stark and diametrical distinctions; he expects change to occur through cataclysmic clashes and so seems always to be seeking after ways to accelerate the contradictions. This allows him to much more easily thunder over his own inconsistencies and past changes of mind. But he has no discipline whatsoever, can be almost unbelievably erratic and unfocused, and is unironically conceited.</p>
<p>I think Gingrich has the intensity and the understanding of the importance of the moment that many Republican voters are looking for—he radiates a sense that the choice before us is utterly crucial and decisive (even if one sometimes gets the impression that he would radiate the same sense when asked to choose between paper and plastic), and with regard to the coming election a lot of Republicans share that sense. I certainly do. He also of course has a record in high office that includes some impressive accomplishments during his speakership—welfare reform, the balanced budget—though also some <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-06/heartbreak-awaits-republicans-who-love-gingrich-ramesh-ponnuru.html" type="external">very costly failures</a>&#160;that seemed to flow from deficiencies in his temperament or his style of management.</p>
<p>And that's where I think Romney has some advantages. The presidency is an executive position—for all the political elements of the job, which are obviously very important, the presidency is fundamentally a matter of making decisions and seeing to it that they are carried out: A president has to be a decisive, focused, prudent, disciplined person, who knows what he wants and how to use the power he has to achieve it. Romney's record on that front is very impressive.</p>
<p>Mental and organizational discipline is also very important in a candidate, not just in a president, and it certainly seems like Romney is better positioned to run a focused and effective campaign. Gingrich is likely to run a much more frenetic campaign—remember, that story about his senior team resigning in a huff and accusing him of lacking focus is not from fifteen years ago, it happened in June of this year. Frenetic campaigns tend to turn voters off, as John McCain learned in the fall of 2008, and I think it's important for Republicans to understand that this fall they must appeal to independent voters with a terrible case of buyer's remorse about Obama: Those people don't think they voted for a socialist revolutionary last time, they think they voted for a charismatic politician who turned out to be much more liberal and much less competent than they bargained for. They are ready for someone else, but they want to be sure he is up to the job.</p>
<p>In a sense, then, the choice before Republican voters is a choice of two temperaments. And they must ask themselves not only which best speaks to their mood, but also which is likely to best serve the right in a general election and to best serve the country in the White House. The policy agenda of a President Romney and a President Gingrich would likely be very similar—especially if a Republican congress is elected with him. But whether that agenda or the next chapter of the Obama agenda is what we must contend with in 2013 will depend on whether Republican voters discern just how substantively similar their two leading candidates are, and just how temperamentally different they are.</p>
<p>Yuval Levin is the Hertog Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and the editor of National Affairs.</p> | A Choice of Two Temperaments | false | https://eppc.org/publications/a-choice-of-two-temperaments/ | 1right-center
| A Choice of Two Temperaments
<p>What an odd pair of front runners Republicans appear to have ended up with. Not the usual conservative vs. moderate pairing, but two quite unusual political figures with remarkably similar policy and political profiles but remarkably different temperaments and dispositions.</p>
<p>Let me say first: I used to work for Newt Gingrich. In the last year of his speakership, I was a “staff assistant” in his congressional office. I was 21 when I started there. No offense to anyone reading this who is now a staff assistant on the Hill, but that's a very junior job—or at least it certainly was in my case: some policy research, some note-taking in meetings, some answering of phones, and the like. I didn't spend all that much time with Gingrich (when I did, he was always very nice to me and to other junior staffers), and I don't pretend to have learned much about him that you wouldn't have learned from just following politics. So I offer my views as an observer of politics, not as any kind of expert on Gingrich.</p>
<p>What stands out about Romney and Gingrich, to me, is that they have in common a very unusual profile for a Republican politician. Both of them are fundamentally moderates: Very wonky Rockefeller Republicans who moved to the right over time as their party moved right and maybe as events persuaded them to move right, and they both still very much exhibit the technocratic countenance of the Rockefeller Republican—a program for every problem. Conservative humility about human nature and about the potential of technical solutions is not readily discernible in either one.</p>
<p>They're also essentially in the same place politically—I can't think of a single major issue on which Gingrich is more conservative than Romney, and with the possible exception of immigration (and perhaps Medicare reform, as I mention <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/285080/choosing-failure-medicare-yuval-levin" type="external">here</a>, though it's hard to be sure) I can't think of one where Romney is more conservative. Substantively, their views are largely indistinguishable from one another. They're part of a very broad consensus on policy among Republicans this year, which is one of the underreported stories of the year and is frankly in many ways a testament to Paul Ryan, who really defined the Republican agenda with his budget. The House Republican budget caused both Romney and Gingrich to take significantly more conservative positions on entitlement reform in particular than either one would otherwise have taken.</p>
<p>Moreover, both of them have moved back and forth on the same key issues in recent years—on health care, on climate, on immigration, on the social issues including the life issues; and these are obviously some of the most important issues to Republican voters. So the question of flip-flops, or the question of reliability, hangs heavy over both of them.</p>
<p>And yet, similar as they are, you don't naturally think of them as belonging in the same category, because they have very different temperaments, and temperament can often matter even more than substance. Romney has a thoroughly executive disposition: He appears to have a very organized mind, intense discipline, a general sense of calm and restraint, and a systematic approach to everything he does. He expects change to result from a process, and so thinks about politics in terms of process. He exhibits each of these qualities to a fault—and as a result he can often seem rather cold, and his past flip-flops can seem even more unprincipled.</p>
<p>Gingrich has what you might call a revolutionary disposition: He has great intensity and energy. His mind is drawn to stark and diametrical distinctions; he expects change to occur through cataclysmic clashes and so seems always to be seeking after ways to accelerate the contradictions. This allows him to much more easily thunder over his own inconsistencies and past changes of mind. But he has no discipline whatsoever, can be almost unbelievably erratic and unfocused, and is unironically conceited.</p>
<p>I think Gingrich has the intensity and the understanding of the importance of the moment that many Republican voters are looking for—he radiates a sense that the choice before us is utterly crucial and decisive (even if one sometimes gets the impression that he would radiate the same sense when asked to choose between paper and plastic), and with regard to the coming election a lot of Republicans share that sense. I certainly do. He also of course has a record in high office that includes some impressive accomplishments during his speakership—welfare reform, the balanced budget—though also some <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-06/heartbreak-awaits-republicans-who-love-gingrich-ramesh-ponnuru.html" type="external">very costly failures</a>&#160;that seemed to flow from deficiencies in his temperament or his style of management.</p>
<p>And that's where I think Romney has some advantages. The presidency is an executive position—for all the political elements of the job, which are obviously very important, the presidency is fundamentally a matter of making decisions and seeing to it that they are carried out: A president has to be a decisive, focused, prudent, disciplined person, who knows what he wants and how to use the power he has to achieve it. Romney's record on that front is very impressive.</p>
<p>Mental and organizational discipline is also very important in a candidate, not just in a president, and it certainly seems like Romney is better positioned to run a focused and effective campaign. Gingrich is likely to run a much more frenetic campaign—remember, that story about his senior team resigning in a huff and accusing him of lacking focus is not from fifteen years ago, it happened in June of this year. Frenetic campaigns tend to turn voters off, as John McCain learned in the fall of 2008, and I think it's important for Republicans to understand that this fall they must appeal to independent voters with a terrible case of buyer's remorse about Obama: Those people don't think they voted for a socialist revolutionary last time, they think they voted for a charismatic politician who turned out to be much more liberal and much less competent than they bargained for. They are ready for someone else, but they want to be sure he is up to the job.</p>
<p>In a sense, then, the choice before Republican voters is a choice of two temperaments. And they must ask themselves not only which best speaks to their mood, but also which is likely to best serve the right in a general election and to best serve the country in the White House. The policy agenda of a President Romney and a President Gingrich would likely be very similar—especially if a Republican congress is elected with him. But whether that agenda or the next chapter of the Obama agenda is what we must contend with in 2013 will depend on whether Republican voters discern just how substantively similar their two leading candidates are, and just how temperamentally different they are.</p>
<p>Yuval Levin is the Hertog Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and the editor of National Affairs.</p> | 3,907 |
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<p><a href="" type="internal" /></p>
<p>Former President Bill Clinton sat down for an <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bill-clinton-on-clinton-foundation-weve-been-as-transparent-as-we-can-be/" type="external">interview</a> with Charlie Rose on Monday where he addressed, among other things, his <a href="" type="internal">wife’s collapse</a> during a 9/11 memorial on Sunday.</p>
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<p>Clinton said of his <a href="" type="internal">wife’s condition</a>, “She’s doing fine, she was even better last night before she went to sleep. She had a good night’s sleep she’s doing fine.”</p>
<p>Bill claimed that “there’s a lot of it going around,” in reference to Hillary’s pneumonia diagnosis. He even referenced her campaign staff getting sick:</p>
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<p>“We’ve gotten all these, as you might imagine, emails and text messages and calls. A friend of ours called and left a message today, that her husband had actually just been hospitalized for pneumonia apparently there’s a lot of it going around and a bunch of her staff has gotten sick. But she’s just doing fine. She just got dehydrated yesterday.”</p>
<p>Hillary’s campaign is clearly scrambling, even her husband, due to their inability to keep her failing health under wraps.</p>
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<p>The campaign clearly <a href="" type="internal">staged the scene</a> with the little girl that ran up to Clinton on Sunday. If Clinton knew she had pneumonia since Friday, how sick is it that they let her anywhere near a child, her <a href="" type="internal">campaign staff</a>, and everyone else she came in contact with?</p>
<p>Her campaign claimed she was “overheated” on a day that hovered in the upper 70’s – low 80’s, where 70-year-old GOP nominee Donald Trump — two years Clinton’s senior — managed to remain on his feet.</p>
<p>Rose asked Clinton if his wife’s collapse indicated a more serious condition, to which he replied:</p>
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<p>“Well if it is, it’s a mystery to me and all of her doctors,” he said, “because frequently—well not frequently, rarely—but on more than one occasion, over the last many, many years, the same sort of thing happened to her when she got severely dehydrated.”</p>
<p>Sounds like her health has been an issue for quite a while, then. With her entourage, including a physician (at least one) with her, how in the world does she get dehydrated, unless she has a much more serious underlying condition?</p>
<p>According to Bill, Hillary had “two and a half hard days” on the campaign trail before her collapse on Sunday.</p>
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<p>What was she doing, digging ditches? If she can’t campaign for two and a half days without collapsing, there’s no way she can handle the rigors of the presidency.</p>
<p>But guess who will be right behind her to step in, good old Slick Willy, the disgraced, impeached former president who, along with his wife, should not be allowed anywhere near the White House.</p>
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<p>As long as they can prop Hillary up, it’s highly likely that Bill will be there pulling the strings if she’s elected president.</p>
<p>According to <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bill-clinton-on-clinton-foundation-weve-been-as-transparent-as-we-can-be/" type="external">CBS News</a>, the Clinton campaign has announced that Bill is going to stand in for his wife on Tuesday and Wednesday at campaign events.</p>
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<p>The former president also claimed that his wife “looked like a million bucks this morning” in an ironic segue into a discussion about the pay-to-play scheme conducted during Hillary’s time as Secretary of State via “donations” made to the family slush fund, a.k.a. The Clinton Foundation.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">ALERT: How To Be Sure To Continue Seeing Our Content On Facebook.</a></p>
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<p>What do you think? Scroll down to comment below.</p> | Bill Clinton Makes STUNNING Statement About Hillary’s Health | true | http://thefederalistpapers.org/us/bill-clinton-makes-stunning-statement-about-hillarys-health | 0right
| Bill Clinton Makes STUNNING Statement About Hillary’s Health
<p><a href="" type="internal" /></p>
<p>Former President Bill Clinton sat down for an <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bill-clinton-on-clinton-foundation-weve-been-as-transparent-as-we-can-be/" type="external">interview</a> with Charlie Rose on Monday where he addressed, among other things, his <a href="" type="internal">wife’s collapse</a> during a 9/11 memorial on Sunday.</p>
<p>Advertisement - story continues below</p>
<p>Clinton said of his <a href="" type="internal">wife’s condition</a>, “She’s doing fine, she was even better last night before she went to sleep. She had a good night’s sleep she’s doing fine.”</p>
<p>Bill claimed that “there’s a lot of it going around,” in reference to Hillary’s pneumonia diagnosis. He even referenced her campaign staff getting sick:</p>
<p>Advertisement - story continues below</p>
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<p>[otw_shortcode_sidebars sidebar_id=”otw-sidebar-1″][/otw_shortcode_sidebars]</p>
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<p>“We’ve gotten all these, as you might imagine, emails and text messages and calls. A friend of ours called and left a message today, that her husband had actually just been hospitalized for pneumonia apparently there’s a lot of it going around and a bunch of her staff has gotten sick. But she’s just doing fine. She just got dehydrated yesterday.”</p>
<p>Hillary’s campaign is clearly scrambling, even her husband, due to their inability to keep her failing health under wraps.</p>
<p>Advertisement - story continues below</p>
<p>The campaign clearly <a href="" type="internal">staged the scene</a> with the little girl that ran up to Clinton on Sunday. If Clinton knew she had pneumonia since Friday, how sick is it that they let her anywhere near a child, her <a href="" type="internal">campaign staff</a>, and everyone else she came in contact with?</p>
<p>Her campaign claimed she was “overheated” on a day that hovered in the upper 70’s – low 80’s, where 70-year-old GOP nominee Donald Trump — two years Clinton’s senior — managed to remain on his feet.</p>
<p>Rose asked Clinton if his wife’s collapse indicated a more serious condition, to which he replied:</p>
<p>Advertisement - story continues below</p>
<p>“Well if it is, it’s a mystery to me and all of her doctors,” he said, “because frequently—well not frequently, rarely—but on more than one occasion, over the last many, many years, the same sort of thing happened to her when she got severely dehydrated.”</p>
<p>Sounds like her health has been an issue for quite a while, then. With her entourage, including a physician (at least one) with her, how in the world does she get dehydrated, unless she has a much more serious underlying condition?</p>
<p>According to Bill, Hillary had “two and a half hard days” on the campaign trail before her collapse on Sunday.</p>
<p>Advertisement - story continues below</p>
<p>What was she doing, digging ditches? If she can’t campaign for two and a half days without collapsing, there’s no way she can handle the rigors of the presidency.</p>
<p>But guess who will be right behind her to step in, good old Slick Willy, the disgraced, impeached former president who, along with his wife, should not be allowed anywhere near the White House.</p>
<p>Advertisement - story continues below</p>
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<p>[otw_shortcode_sidebars sidebar_id=”otw-sidebar-3″][/otw_shortcode_sidebars]</p>
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<p>As long as they can prop Hillary up, it’s highly likely that Bill will be there pulling the strings if she’s elected president.</p>
<p>According to <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bill-clinton-on-clinton-foundation-weve-been-as-transparent-as-we-can-be/" type="external">CBS News</a>, the Clinton campaign has announced that Bill is going to stand in for his wife on Tuesday and Wednesday at campaign events.</p>
<p>Advertisement - story continues below</p>
<p>The former president also claimed that his wife “looked like a million bucks this morning” in an ironic segue into a discussion about the pay-to-play scheme conducted during Hillary’s time as Secretary of State via “donations” made to the family slush fund, a.k.a. The Clinton Foundation.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">ALERT: How To Be Sure To Continue Seeing Our Content On Facebook.</a></p>
<p>[otw_shortcode_sidebars sidebar_id=”otw-sidebar-5″][/otw_shortcode_sidebars][easy-share buttons=”facebook,twitter,google,pinterest,mail” counters=0 native=”no”][otw_shortcode_sidebars sidebar_id=”otw-sidebar-2″][/otw_shortcode_sidebars]</p>
<p>What do you think? Scroll down to comment below.</p> | 3,908 |
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<p>Children bullied during their early years are up to three times more likely to hurt themselves than their classmates when they reach adolescence, a study suggests.</p>
<p><a href="http://news.nurse.com/article/20120427/NATIONAL02/105070013/-1/frontpage" type="external">According to Nurse.com</a>,&#160;researchers studied more than 1,000 pairs of twins at ages 5, 7, 10 and 12. The children, who were born in 1994 and 1995 in England and Wales, were assessed for risk of self-harm in the six months before their 12th birthday.</p>
<p>The study found that half of 12-year-olds who self harm were frequently bullied, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17868476" type="external">according to BBC News</a>. The researchers involved in the study, which was&#160; <a href="http://www.bmj.com/content/344/bmj.e2683" type="external">published in the British Medical Journal</a>, are calling for more effective programs in school to prevent bullying.</p>
<p>The research also showed that children who are victimized and have mental health difficulties or come from troubled families are at greater risk of resorting to destructive behavior, <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5hGlmMXdSmIex3oHb4nPrRmwj68mA?docId=N0549231335398499617A" type="external">reported the Press Association</a>. This could also have serious long-term effects later in life.</p>
<p>"Bullying by peers is a major problem during the early school years," they said. "This study found that before 12 years of age a small proportion of children frequently exposed to this form of victimization already deliberately harmed themselves and in some cases attempted to take their own lives. Frequent victimization by peers increased the risk of self harm," the study said, according to PA.</p>
<p>"This finding is even more concerning given that studies have suggested that early patterns of self harm can persist through adolescence into adulthood and increase the risk of later psychological problems. Therefore, such maladaptive coping strategies need to be tackled in childhood and early adolescence before they become a persistent problem or lead to serious injury or death."</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost:&#160; <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/united-states/120428/bullying-child-autism-verbally-abused-by-teacher" type="external">Bullying: Child with autism verbally abused in classroom, teacher put on leave (VIDEOS)</a></p> | Bullied children more prone to self-harm later in life, study shows | false | https://pri.org/stories/2012-04-29/bullied-children-more-prone-self-harm-later-life-study-shows | 2012-04-29 | 3left-center
| Bullied children more prone to self-harm later in life, study shows
<p>Children bullied during their early years are up to three times more likely to hurt themselves than their classmates when they reach adolescence, a study suggests.</p>
<p><a href="http://news.nurse.com/article/20120427/NATIONAL02/105070013/-1/frontpage" type="external">According to Nurse.com</a>,&#160;researchers studied more than 1,000 pairs of twins at ages 5, 7, 10 and 12. The children, who were born in 1994 and 1995 in England and Wales, were assessed for risk of self-harm in the six months before their 12th birthday.</p>
<p>The study found that half of 12-year-olds who self harm were frequently bullied, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17868476" type="external">according to BBC News</a>. The researchers involved in the study, which was&#160; <a href="http://www.bmj.com/content/344/bmj.e2683" type="external">published in the British Medical Journal</a>, are calling for more effective programs in school to prevent bullying.</p>
<p>The research also showed that children who are victimized and have mental health difficulties or come from troubled families are at greater risk of resorting to destructive behavior, <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5hGlmMXdSmIex3oHb4nPrRmwj68mA?docId=N0549231335398499617A" type="external">reported the Press Association</a>. This could also have serious long-term effects later in life.</p>
<p>"Bullying by peers is a major problem during the early school years," they said. "This study found that before 12 years of age a small proportion of children frequently exposed to this form of victimization already deliberately harmed themselves and in some cases attempted to take their own lives. Frequent victimization by peers increased the risk of self harm," the study said, according to PA.</p>
<p>"This finding is even more concerning given that studies have suggested that early patterns of self harm can persist through adolescence into adulthood and increase the risk of later psychological problems. Therefore, such maladaptive coping strategies need to be tackled in childhood and early adolescence before they become a persistent problem or lead to serious injury or death."</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost:&#160; <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/united-states/120428/bullying-child-autism-verbally-abused-by-teacher" type="external">Bullying: Child with autism verbally abused in classroom, teacher put on leave (VIDEOS)</a></p> | 3,909 |
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<p>It's going to take a bit of alchemy to bring Bayer and Monsanto investors together since they stand so far apart on what a reasonable price is for the biotech. Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>German chemical giant Bayer will need to raise its offer for Monsanto from the current $122 per share if it wants a more detailed look at its books. Monsanto still seems like it wants to do a deal with its rival, but it wants to see more money on the table.</p>
<p>It is possible Bayer will come back with a new, higher offer, but can it offer enough money to satisfy Monsanto shareholders without causing an <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/05/24/monsanto-was-smart-to-reject-bayers-bid.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">outright rebellion Opens a New Window.</a> among its own investors? The answer is increasingly looking like "no."</p>
<p>Global asset management firm Sanford C. Bernstein recently conducted a survey of Bayer and Monsanto shareholders to gauge their opinion of the proposed buyout, and though it was unsurprising the latter favored the deal and the former opposed it, the wide gulf between the two when it comes to the price suggests the possibility they'll be able to negotiate an agreement is slim.</p>
<p>Bayer's $62 billion all-cash unsolicited offer for Monsanto marks a dramatic departure from the chemical and pharmaceutical company's previous path of selling off non-core assets and focusing on its primary competencies, but it has a new CEO in Werner Baumann, who only assumed the duties last month and may be trying to imprint his vision on the company.</p>
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<p>That outlook, though, isn't <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/05/24/why-bayers-bid-for-monsanto-is-bad-news-for-all-pa.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">sitting well with investors Opens a New Window.</a>, who, immediately after the takeover offer was announced, castigated it as an "immediate destruction" of shareholder value. That view seems to be shared by the investors surveyed by Bernstein, who by and large believe Bayer should focus on either healthcare (50% of respondents) or its pharma pipeline (39%). Only 7% believe it should do the deal with Monsanto.</p>
<p>Bayer investors don't want to merge with Monsanto and think the German company should stick to its knitting, focusing on either pharmaceuticals or healthcare. Image source: Bayer.</p>
<p>In contrast, Bernstein found 84% of Monsanto shareholders thought the best way to maximize value was to get the deal done. The problem is in the price: On average,Monsanto investors believe $137 a share would be reasonable, yet the Bernstein notes Bayer's management is rumored to have already nixed the idea of a secondary bid going that high.Worse, 56% of Bayer investors think the initial $122 was already way too high, and fully 69% of them said it shouldn't go any higher than that.</p>
<p>Bayer seems to have put itself into a position where it's already bid well above what most of its investors think is a fair price, yet well below what Monsanto investors think their company is worth.</p>
<p>It's clear Monsanto shareholders are on the same page with their management team, which is why Monsanto didn't disparage the takeover attempt beyond saying the offer was "incomplete and financially inadequate." It even went out of its way to praise Bayer's business and argued "substantial benefits" could be derived from a merger of the two companies.</p>
<p>Yet there's good reason why Bayer might not be willing to go much higher, beyond just the ire of its shareholders. Monsanto is facing headwinds on multiple fronts, from falling crop prices and lower demand for fertilizer and seed, to fluctuating foreign currency exchange rates. It still has to deal with widespread opposition to its products, conflicting opinions of whether those products are carcinogenic, and the impact all of that has on its profits.</p>
<p>Earlier this year it cut its earnings outlook to a range of $3.72 to $4.48 per share from its prior estimate of $4.12 to $4.79 per share. While that's partially a result of the restructuring Monsanto isundergoing, it also highlights the difficulty it will face of going it alone in the future.</p>
<p>It probably would have been more beneficial to both companies had Bayer sought to pursue a series of joint ventures with Monsanto rather than trying to buy it outright, though only 13% of the Monsanto shareholders Bernstein surveyed thought that was the best way to maximize value for them.</p>
<p>While the Bernstein survey is admittedly only a small sampling, it does highlight the wide gulf the two sides face in trying to negotiate this deal. Bayer seems to have the most to lose as it offered too much too soon, without support, essentially painting itself into a corner..And Monsanto might not need to do a deal -- the fact that it tried to buy Syngentaon its own indicates it sees the benefit of a potential merger.</p>
<p>Bayer, though, seemingly doesn't care. In a filing with the SEC on Tuesday, the life sciences company released a partial transcript of a conference call it had with select shareholders wherein it reminded them it didn't need their approval to pursue the deal.</p>
<p>In it, Bayer executives admonish the investors saying, "One final point. Let me be very clear on this. A shareholder vote is not required by German law...The success of our offer...is also dependent on the transaction not being subject to financing or shareholder approval conditions."</p>
<p>Just seeing how wide the chasm is between Bayer and Monsanto, and the short shrift Bayer is paying to its shareholders, there doesn't appear to be any price that can be offered that would be satisfactory for all parties.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/06/23/is-there-any-price-at-which-bayer-investors-will-a.aspx" type="external">Is There Any Price at Which Bayer Investors Will Accept a Monsanto Buyout? (Hint: The Answer Is No) Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFCop/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Rich Duprey Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://wiki.fool.com/Motley?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/help/index.htm?display=about02" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | Is There Any Price at Which Bayer Investors Will Accept a Monsanto Buyout? (Hint: The Answer Is No) | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/06/23/is-there-any-price-at-which-bayer-investors-will-accept-monsanto-buyout-hint.html | 2016-06-23 | 0right
| Is There Any Price at Which Bayer Investors Will Accept a Monsanto Buyout? (Hint: The Answer Is No)
<p />
<p>It's going to take a bit of alchemy to bring Bayer and Monsanto investors together since they stand so far apart on what a reasonable price is for the biotech. Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>German chemical giant Bayer will need to raise its offer for Monsanto from the current $122 per share if it wants a more detailed look at its books. Monsanto still seems like it wants to do a deal with its rival, but it wants to see more money on the table.</p>
<p>It is possible Bayer will come back with a new, higher offer, but can it offer enough money to satisfy Monsanto shareholders without causing an <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/05/24/monsanto-was-smart-to-reject-bayers-bid.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">outright rebellion Opens a New Window.</a> among its own investors? The answer is increasingly looking like "no."</p>
<p>Global asset management firm Sanford C. Bernstein recently conducted a survey of Bayer and Monsanto shareholders to gauge their opinion of the proposed buyout, and though it was unsurprising the latter favored the deal and the former opposed it, the wide gulf between the two when it comes to the price suggests the possibility they'll be able to negotiate an agreement is slim.</p>
<p>Bayer's $62 billion all-cash unsolicited offer for Monsanto marks a dramatic departure from the chemical and pharmaceutical company's previous path of selling off non-core assets and focusing on its primary competencies, but it has a new CEO in Werner Baumann, who only assumed the duties last month and may be trying to imprint his vision on the company.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>That outlook, though, isn't <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/05/24/why-bayers-bid-for-monsanto-is-bad-news-for-all-pa.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">sitting well with investors Opens a New Window.</a>, who, immediately after the takeover offer was announced, castigated it as an "immediate destruction" of shareholder value. That view seems to be shared by the investors surveyed by Bernstein, who by and large believe Bayer should focus on either healthcare (50% of respondents) or its pharma pipeline (39%). Only 7% believe it should do the deal with Monsanto.</p>
<p>Bayer investors don't want to merge with Monsanto and think the German company should stick to its knitting, focusing on either pharmaceuticals or healthcare. Image source: Bayer.</p>
<p>In contrast, Bernstein found 84% of Monsanto shareholders thought the best way to maximize value was to get the deal done. The problem is in the price: On average,Monsanto investors believe $137 a share would be reasonable, yet the Bernstein notes Bayer's management is rumored to have already nixed the idea of a secondary bid going that high.Worse, 56% of Bayer investors think the initial $122 was already way too high, and fully 69% of them said it shouldn't go any higher than that.</p>
<p>Bayer seems to have put itself into a position where it's already bid well above what most of its investors think is a fair price, yet well below what Monsanto investors think their company is worth.</p>
<p>It's clear Monsanto shareholders are on the same page with their management team, which is why Monsanto didn't disparage the takeover attempt beyond saying the offer was "incomplete and financially inadequate." It even went out of its way to praise Bayer's business and argued "substantial benefits" could be derived from a merger of the two companies.</p>
<p>Yet there's good reason why Bayer might not be willing to go much higher, beyond just the ire of its shareholders. Monsanto is facing headwinds on multiple fronts, from falling crop prices and lower demand for fertilizer and seed, to fluctuating foreign currency exchange rates. It still has to deal with widespread opposition to its products, conflicting opinions of whether those products are carcinogenic, and the impact all of that has on its profits.</p>
<p>Earlier this year it cut its earnings outlook to a range of $3.72 to $4.48 per share from its prior estimate of $4.12 to $4.79 per share. While that's partially a result of the restructuring Monsanto isundergoing, it also highlights the difficulty it will face of going it alone in the future.</p>
<p>It probably would have been more beneficial to both companies had Bayer sought to pursue a series of joint ventures with Monsanto rather than trying to buy it outright, though only 13% of the Monsanto shareholders Bernstein surveyed thought that was the best way to maximize value for them.</p>
<p>While the Bernstein survey is admittedly only a small sampling, it does highlight the wide gulf the two sides face in trying to negotiate this deal. Bayer seems to have the most to lose as it offered too much too soon, without support, essentially painting itself into a corner..And Monsanto might not need to do a deal -- the fact that it tried to buy Syngentaon its own indicates it sees the benefit of a potential merger.</p>
<p>Bayer, though, seemingly doesn't care. In a filing with the SEC on Tuesday, the life sciences company released a partial transcript of a conference call it had with select shareholders wherein it reminded them it didn't need their approval to pursue the deal.</p>
<p>In it, Bayer executives admonish the investors saying, "One final point. Let me be very clear on this. A shareholder vote is not required by German law...The success of our offer...is also dependent on the transaction not being subject to financing or shareholder approval conditions."</p>
<p>Just seeing how wide the chasm is between Bayer and Monsanto, and the short shrift Bayer is paying to its shareholders, there doesn't appear to be any price that can be offered that would be satisfactory for all parties.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/06/23/is-there-any-price-at-which-bayer-investors-will-a.aspx" type="external">Is There Any Price at Which Bayer Investors Will Accept a Monsanto Buyout? (Hint: The Answer Is No) Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFCop/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Rich Duprey Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://wiki.fool.com/Motley?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/help/index.htm?display=about02" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | 3,910 |
<p>SAN DIEGO (AP) — The brother of a San Diego man believed to be the first American citizen killed while fighting alongside the Islamic State in Syria has been sentenced to 10 years in prison on terrorism-related charges.</p>
<p>Marchello Dsaun McCain, 35, was sentenced Friday in federal court in San Diego for illegal possession of a cache of firearms and body armor and making false statements to federal agents about international terrorism.</p>
<p>McCain is the brother of 33-year-old Douglas McCain who was killed in 2014.</p>
<p>The United States also unsealed a two-count indictment charging Canadian national and former San Diego resident Abdullahi Ahmed Abdullahi with conspiring with Douglas McCain and others in the United States and Canada to provide support to terrorists in Syria carrying out kidnappings and killings.</p>
<p>Marchello McCain pleaded guilty in 2016 to making false statements during several interviews with federal agents from 2014 to 2015, including denying knowing that his brother planned to fight for the terrorist group. He told the FBI that he thought his brother was going to Turkey to play music and teach English.</p>
<p>In his plea agreement, McCain acknowledged that he allowed his brother to use a debit/credit card belonging to McCain’s wife to buy airline tickets to Turkey and put money to cover the purchase into his wife’s account.</p>
<p>“ISIS has brought the war on terror closer to home by directing and inspiring attacks in the U.S. and other countries, thereby putting American lives in danger,” U.S. Attorney Adam Braverman said in a statement. “By lying to federal agents, Marchello McCain delayed, frustrated and thwarted an investigation into a group that supplied U.S. and Canadian fighters to ISIS.”</p>
<p>McCain’s brother left the United States in March 2014 and five months later was reported killed fighting against the Free Syrian Army.</p>
<p>Marchello McCain, who was convicted of shooting at two people in Minnesota in 2005, also pleaded guilty in 2016 to six counts of being a felon in possession of guns, ammunition and body armor.</p>
<p>In that plea agreement, Marchello McCain acknowledged that about three weeks before his brother departed, the two went to a San Diego gun range and shot weapons that included a semi-automatic-style rifle and a shotgun, federal prosecutors said.</p>
<p>Prosecutors said McCain not only helped his brother to get to Syria, he agreed to travel there and join him in violent jihadist activities. He regularly communicated with his brother and other individuals regarding the financial and logistical needs of foreign fighters in Syria, and wired $800 to an Islamic State operative in Turkey to support his brother and others.</p>
<p>On Sept. 15, 2017, pursuant to an extradition request by the United States, Canadian authorities arrested Abdullahi.</p>
<p>Abdullahi is currently detained in Canadian custody without bail, pending an extradition hearing. He also faces charges in Canada for a Jan. 9, 2014 armed robbery of an Edmonton jewelry store, which prosecutors said Abdullahi carried out to finance the travel of Douglas McCain and others to fight for the Islamic State in Syria.</p>
<p>Besides Douglas McCain, four others left the U.S. and traveled to Syria as part of the conspiracy. All were killed in fighting there, according to prosecutors.</p>
<p>SAN DIEGO (AP) — The brother of a San Diego man believed to be the first American citizen killed while fighting alongside the Islamic State in Syria has been sentenced to 10 years in prison on terrorism-related charges.</p>
<p>Marchello Dsaun McCain, 35, was sentenced Friday in federal court in San Diego for illegal possession of a cache of firearms and body armor and making false statements to federal agents about international terrorism.</p>
<p>McCain is the brother of 33-year-old Douglas McCain who was killed in 2014.</p>
<p>The United States also unsealed a two-count indictment charging Canadian national and former San Diego resident Abdullahi Ahmed Abdullahi with conspiring with Douglas McCain and others in the United States and Canada to provide support to terrorists in Syria carrying out kidnappings and killings.</p>
<p>Marchello McCain pleaded guilty in 2016 to making false statements during several interviews with federal agents from 2014 to 2015, including denying knowing that his brother planned to fight for the terrorist group. He told the FBI that he thought his brother was going to Turkey to play music and teach English.</p>
<p>In his plea agreement, McCain acknowledged that he allowed his brother to use a debit/credit card belonging to McCain’s wife to buy airline tickets to Turkey and put money to cover the purchase into his wife’s account.</p>
<p>“ISIS has brought the war on terror closer to home by directing and inspiring attacks in the U.S. and other countries, thereby putting American lives in danger,” U.S. Attorney Adam Braverman said in a statement. “By lying to federal agents, Marchello McCain delayed, frustrated and thwarted an investigation into a group that supplied U.S. and Canadian fighters to ISIS.”</p>
<p>McCain’s brother left the United States in March 2014 and five months later was reported killed fighting against the Free Syrian Army.</p>
<p>Marchello McCain, who was convicted of shooting at two people in Minnesota in 2005, also pleaded guilty in 2016 to six counts of being a felon in possession of guns, ammunition and body armor.</p>
<p>In that plea agreement, Marchello McCain acknowledged that about three weeks before his brother departed, the two went to a San Diego gun range and shot weapons that included a semi-automatic-style rifle and a shotgun, federal prosecutors said.</p>
<p>Prosecutors said McCain not only helped his brother to get to Syria, he agreed to travel there and join him in violent jihadist activities. He regularly communicated with his brother and other individuals regarding the financial and logistical needs of foreign fighters in Syria, and wired $800 to an Islamic State operative in Turkey to support his brother and others.</p>
<p>On Sept. 15, 2017, pursuant to an extradition request by the United States, Canadian authorities arrested Abdullahi.</p>
<p>Abdullahi is currently detained in Canadian custody without bail, pending an extradition hearing. He also faces charges in Canada for a Jan. 9, 2014 armed robbery of an Edmonton jewelry store, which prosecutors said Abdullahi carried out to finance the travel of Douglas McCain and others to fight for the Islamic State in Syria.</p>
<p>Besides Douglas McCain, four others left the U.S. and traveled to Syria as part of the conspiracy. All were killed in fighting there, according to prosecutors.</p> | Brother of US man killed fighting for ISIS sentenced | false | https://apnews.com/f941daca787140879f0000dec0af3842 | 2018-01-13 | 2least
| Brother of US man killed fighting for ISIS sentenced
<p>SAN DIEGO (AP) — The brother of a San Diego man believed to be the first American citizen killed while fighting alongside the Islamic State in Syria has been sentenced to 10 years in prison on terrorism-related charges.</p>
<p>Marchello Dsaun McCain, 35, was sentenced Friday in federal court in San Diego for illegal possession of a cache of firearms and body armor and making false statements to federal agents about international terrorism.</p>
<p>McCain is the brother of 33-year-old Douglas McCain who was killed in 2014.</p>
<p>The United States also unsealed a two-count indictment charging Canadian national and former San Diego resident Abdullahi Ahmed Abdullahi with conspiring with Douglas McCain and others in the United States and Canada to provide support to terrorists in Syria carrying out kidnappings and killings.</p>
<p>Marchello McCain pleaded guilty in 2016 to making false statements during several interviews with federal agents from 2014 to 2015, including denying knowing that his brother planned to fight for the terrorist group. He told the FBI that he thought his brother was going to Turkey to play music and teach English.</p>
<p>In his plea agreement, McCain acknowledged that he allowed his brother to use a debit/credit card belonging to McCain’s wife to buy airline tickets to Turkey and put money to cover the purchase into his wife’s account.</p>
<p>“ISIS has brought the war on terror closer to home by directing and inspiring attacks in the U.S. and other countries, thereby putting American lives in danger,” U.S. Attorney Adam Braverman said in a statement. “By lying to federal agents, Marchello McCain delayed, frustrated and thwarted an investigation into a group that supplied U.S. and Canadian fighters to ISIS.”</p>
<p>McCain’s brother left the United States in March 2014 and five months later was reported killed fighting against the Free Syrian Army.</p>
<p>Marchello McCain, who was convicted of shooting at two people in Minnesota in 2005, also pleaded guilty in 2016 to six counts of being a felon in possession of guns, ammunition and body armor.</p>
<p>In that plea agreement, Marchello McCain acknowledged that about three weeks before his brother departed, the two went to a San Diego gun range and shot weapons that included a semi-automatic-style rifle and a shotgun, federal prosecutors said.</p>
<p>Prosecutors said McCain not only helped his brother to get to Syria, he agreed to travel there and join him in violent jihadist activities. He regularly communicated with his brother and other individuals regarding the financial and logistical needs of foreign fighters in Syria, and wired $800 to an Islamic State operative in Turkey to support his brother and others.</p>
<p>On Sept. 15, 2017, pursuant to an extradition request by the United States, Canadian authorities arrested Abdullahi.</p>
<p>Abdullahi is currently detained in Canadian custody without bail, pending an extradition hearing. He also faces charges in Canada for a Jan. 9, 2014 armed robbery of an Edmonton jewelry store, which prosecutors said Abdullahi carried out to finance the travel of Douglas McCain and others to fight for the Islamic State in Syria.</p>
<p>Besides Douglas McCain, four others left the U.S. and traveled to Syria as part of the conspiracy. All were killed in fighting there, according to prosecutors.</p>
<p>SAN DIEGO (AP) — The brother of a San Diego man believed to be the first American citizen killed while fighting alongside the Islamic State in Syria has been sentenced to 10 years in prison on terrorism-related charges.</p>
<p>Marchello Dsaun McCain, 35, was sentenced Friday in federal court in San Diego for illegal possession of a cache of firearms and body armor and making false statements to federal agents about international terrorism.</p>
<p>McCain is the brother of 33-year-old Douglas McCain who was killed in 2014.</p>
<p>The United States also unsealed a two-count indictment charging Canadian national and former San Diego resident Abdullahi Ahmed Abdullahi with conspiring with Douglas McCain and others in the United States and Canada to provide support to terrorists in Syria carrying out kidnappings and killings.</p>
<p>Marchello McCain pleaded guilty in 2016 to making false statements during several interviews with federal agents from 2014 to 2015, including denying knowing that his brother planned to fight for the terrorist group. He told the FBI that he thought his brother was going to Turkey to play music and teach English.</p>
<p>In his plea agreement, McCain acknowledged that he allowed his brother to use a debit/credit card belonging to McCain’s wife to buy airline tickets to Turkey and put money to cover the purchase into his wife’s account.</p>
<p>“ISIS has brought the war on terror closer to home by directing and inspiring attacks in the U.S. and other countries, thereby putting American lives in danger,” U.S. Attorney Adam Braverman said in a statement. “By lying to federal agents, Marchello McCain delayed, frustrated and thwarted an investigation into a group that supplied U.S. and Canadian fighters to ISIS.”</p>
<p>McCain’s brother left the United States in March 2014 and five months later was reported killed fighting against the Free Syrian Army.</p>
<p>Marchello McCain, who was convicted of shooting at two people in Minnesota in 2005, also pleaded guilty in 2016 to six counts of being a felon in possession of guns, ammunition and body armor.</p>
<p>In that plea agreement, Marchello McCain acknowledged that about three weeks before his brother departed, the two went to a San Diego gun range and shot weapons that included a semi-automatic-style rifle and a shotgun, federal prosecutors said.</p>
<p>Prosecutors said McCain not only helped his brother to get to Syria, he agreed to travel there and join him in violent jihadist activities. He regularly communicated with his brother and other individuals regarding the financial and logistical needs of foreign fighters in Syria, and wired $800 to an Islamic State operative in Turkey to support his brother and others.</p>
<p>On Sept. 15, 2017, pursuant to an extradition request by the United States, Canadian authorities arrested Abdullahi.</p>
<p>Abdullahi is currently detained in Canadian custody without bail, pending an extradition hearing. He also faces charges in Canada for a Jan. 9, 2014 armed robbery of an Edmonton jewelry store, which prosecutors said Abdullahi carried out to finance the travel of Douglas McCain and others to fight for the Islamic State in Syria.</p>
<p>Besides Douglas McCain, four others left the U.S. and traveled to Syria as part of the conspiracy. All were killed in fighting there, according to prosecutors.</p> | 3,911 |
<p>President-elect Trump’s election night win has instilled the fear of GOD into the hearts and minds of thousands upon thousands of illegal immigrants currently living in the United States.</p>
<p>Trump campaigned on deporting all illegal immigrants and constructing a border wall, which is inline with bipartisan legislation that already calls for enforcing existing immigration laws and building a wall or fence along the U.S.-Mexico border.</p>
<p>Because of a fear of deportation now looms over the heads of many illegal immigrants, a growing movement around the country has emerged on a college campuses.</p>
<p>One thing to point out is the President Obama has deported more illegal immigrants than any other U.S. President in history.</p>
<p>Two Florida publics colleges or universities are taking part in a “sanctuary campuses” campaign to help prevent the Trump Administration from deporting illegal immigrant students already enrolled in school.</p>
<p>As few colleges and universities nationally have adopted such a label, it’s not exactly clear what self-identifying as a The basic idea is that administrators would resist efforts by immigration authorities to enter campus or seize undocumented students, refuse to share their information with the federal government and provide them with scholarships or other supports as necessary.-POLITICO</p>
<p>The New College of Florida, with its 850 students, is one of those colleges along with Florida International University in Miami, that are circulating petitions to make their campuses deportation-proof.</p>
<p>“With the post-election results and increased violence toward undocumented immigrants/refugees, we the students, alumni, faculty, and staff on this campus ask you to implement a plan to declare our campus a sanctuary for all undocumented students, staff, faculty, and their family members, including especially those who face imminent deportation.”- NCF “sanctuary campus” petition</p>
<p>FIU and other Florida colleges and universities like the Universities of Florida, South Florida, and Central Florida, joined&#160; together to ask President-elect Trump to extend the “moral imperative and a national necessity” they call DACA.</p>
<p>“With DACA, our students and alumni have been able to pursue opportunities in business, education, high tech, and the non-profit sector; they have gone to medical school, law school, and graduate schools in numerous disciplines.</p>
<p>“America needs talent — and these students, who have been raised and educated in the United States, are already part of our national community,” it says. “They represent what is best about America, and as scholars and leaders they are essential to the future.”-FIU</p>
<p>While most Americans and sympathize, some even empathize with the plight of so many “anchor babies” and other children of illegal immigrants who have assimilated into the Americans society, there are consequences for breaking the law.</p>
<p>Didn’t President Obama famously state that “elections have consequences?”</p>
<p>Well, breaking any U.S. law has consequences.</p>
<p>Like we have been saying, immigration reform will be a “yuge” issue when Donald Trump is sworn into office.</p> | College students want “sanctuary campuses” for illegal immigrants | true | http://shark-tank.com/2016/11/30/college-students-want-sanctuary-campuses-illegal-immigrants/ | 0right
| College students want “sanctuary campuses” for illegal immigrants
<p>President-elect Trump’s election night win has instilled the fear of GOD into the hearts and minds of thousands upon thousands of illegal immigrants currently living in the United States.</p>
<p>Trump campaigned on deporting all illegal immigrants and constructing a border wall, which is inline with bipartisan legislation that already calls for enforcing existing immigration laws and building a wall or fence along the U.S.-Mexico border.</p>
<p>Because of a fear of deportation now looms over the heads of many illegal immigrants, a growing movement around the country has emerged on a college campuses.</p>
<p>One thing to point out is the President Obama has deported more illegal immigrants than any other U.S. President in history.</p>
<p>Two Florida publics colleges or universities are taking part in a “sanctuary campuses” campaign to help prevent the Trump Administration from deporting illegal immigrant students already enrolled in school.</p>
<p>As few colleges and universities nationally have adopted such a label, it’s not exactly clear what self-identifying as a The basic idea is that administrators would resist efforts by immigration authorities to enter campus or seize undocumented students, refuse to share their information with the federal government and provide them with scholarships or other supports as necessary.-POLITICO</p>
<p>The New College of Florida, with its 850 students, is one of those colleges along with Florida International University in Miami, that are circulating petitions to make their campuses deportation-proof.</p>
<p>“With the post-election results and increased violence toward undocumented immigrants/refugees, we the students, alumni, faculty, and staff on this campus ask you to implement a plan to declare our campus a sanctuary for all undocumented students, staff, faculty, and their family members, including especially those who face imminent deportation.”- NCF “sanctuary campus” petition</p>
<p>FIU and other Florida colleges and universities like the Universities of Florida, South Florida, and Central Florida, joined&#160; together to ask President-elect Trump to extend the “moral imperative and a national necessity” they call DACA.</p>
<p>“With DACA, our students and alumni have been able to pursue opportunities in business, education, high tech, and the non-profit sector; they have gone to medical school, law school, and graduate schools in numerous disciplines.</p>
<p>“America needs talent — and these students, who have been raised and educated in the United States, are already part of our national community,” it says. “They represent what is best about America, and as scholars and leaders they are essential to the future.”-FIU</p>
<p>While most Americans and sympathize, some even empathize with the plight of so many “anchor babies” and other children of illegal immigrants who have assimilated into the Americans society, there are consequences for breaking the law.</p>
<p>Didn’t President Obama famously state that “elections have consequences?”</p>
<p>Well, breaking any U.S. law has consequences.</p>
<p>Like we have been saying, immigration reform will be a “yuge” issue when Donald Trump is sworn into office.</p> | 3,912 |
|
<p>When I wrote last week about the Nebraska reactor surrounded by floodwaters I, like most, still considered it a highly remote possibility of cataclysm.</p>
<p>Upon further investigation, it seems much more likely now. The New York Times has exposed some major criminal negligence and game playing with the safety of the nation by the plant’s operator. Peter Behr’s June 24th report examines what we’ve been told vs. what’s there on the ground at Fort Calhoun’s nuclear power station. This is truly frightening with water levels approaching the 1007 ft. above sea level mark.</p>
<p>The “aqua berm” collapsed on Sunday, and nothing holds back the waters but random chance at this point.</p>
<p>The Ft. Calhoun reactor was repeatedly reported to be in “cold” shutdown, with an endless supply of happy talk in the press about how safe the situation remains. Not one of these reports gives the actual temperature inside the reactor. “Cold” is a relative term when dealing wtih nuclear reactors.</p>
<p>A June 22 Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) press release inspires no confidence whatsoever:</p>
<p>“If there is a complete loss of power on site temporary pumps that run on gas can circulate cooling water through the spent fuel pool and reactor core.”</p>
<p>And reactor core? But I thought it was in “cold shutdown?” Why would that be necessary? The NRC release avoids the word “cold,” and merely restates the term “shutdown.”</p>
<p>The Omaha World Herald offers another clue:</p>
<p>“The NRC says its inspectors were at the plant when the berm failed and have confirmed that the flooding has had no impact on the reactor shutdown cooling or the spent fuel pool cooling.” (Sam Womack, June 26)</p>
<p>The term “reactor shutdown cooling” implies it is not quite “cold” but requiring cooling still.</p>
<p>In an outstanding bit of hubris, the second threatened plant at Cooper is still operating at “full power.” It’s as if some are incapable of learning any lessons whatsoever.</p>
<p>CNN — and almost all other news sources — is still reporting the claims of the Omaha Public Power District (OPPD) unquestioningly:</p>
<p>“The [Ft. Calhoun] plant is designed to withstand waters up to 1,014 feet above mean sea level, according to the OPPD.”</p>
<p>That reassuring number ignores quite a bit. In the end it may prove to be the equivalent of the TEPCO assurances and the Japanese Government’s claims that no meltdowns had occured.</p>
<p>“But a year ago, those new defenses were not in place, and the plant’s hard barriers could have failed against a 1,010-foot flood … at flooding levels above 1,008 feet, the plant “would experience a loss of offsite power and loss of intake structure” (NYT)</p>
<p>The NRC gave the operator OPPD a wristslap last October 6 to try and force some improvements of “substatntal importance” to the facility. The OPPD predictably stalled and tried to fight spending any money on improvements up through this year.</p>
<p>The plot thickened back in the 1990s, where a series of floods threatened the area. The Army Corps of Engineers warned the plant operator to increase its defenses by at least 3 feet, back in 2003. The plant however did not “properly act” on the “deficiencies.” No surprises there.</p>
<p>When a senior nuclear investigator for NRC was asked how these situations can go on so long with no meaningful action taken to protect the public from disaster, Gerond George answered, “We only sample certain parts of their design basis…” This admission reveals gaping holes at the NRC.</p>
<p>Now it gets ugly. The plant was not actually “designed” for the 1014 ft flood level at all. Whether sufficient “improvements” to the original design have been implemented properly is anyone’s guess. The plant was originally created to:</p>
<p>“The precise level — 1,009.5 feet — is written into the plant’s operating licenses as a flooding ‘design basis’ threat that the plant must be guarded against.” (NYT)</p>
<p>Here’s the Omaha Public Power’s solution to historic floodwaters lapping at their reactor:</p>
<p>“OPPD planned to extend the barrier to 1,014 feet by stacking sandbags on top of some steel floodgates that protected the auxiliary building, and to use more sandbags to safeguard the water intake structure and its essential cooling water pumps. “</p>
<p>You can’t make this stuff up.</p>
<p>Yes, there’s a reactor at Diablo Canyon in Southern California near an earthquake fault and designed magnitudes short of what could be unleashed there. Yes, they drilled so far below the Gulf of Mexico that they couldn’t plug a leak until the Gulf was thick with oil and toxins. And yes, people in charge of the public safety at a Nebraska nuclear reactor thought piling up sandbags five feet high would safeguard against massive flooding.</p>
<p>These are the same geniuses who allegedly have performed the upgrades as instructed by NRC, just this year, to reluctantly fortify the plant against raging floodwaters.</p>
<p>I won’t be touring the site personally.</p>
<p>The OPPD remains out of jail and in control of the situation. Its spokesman Michael Jones explained:</p>
<p>“We presented our analysis to [NRC] which we felt indicated that the design basis [for the flooding threat] should remain 1,009 feet,” rather than 1,014 feet, he said.” (NYT)</p>
<p>The current river level is just below 1007 feet.</p>
<p>“At 1,008.5 feet, the technical support center used by emergency technicians would have been inundated… At 1,010 feet, water would begin to enter the auxiliary building, “shorting power and submerging pumps. The plant could then experience a station blackout with core damage estimated within 15 to 18 hours…” (NYT)</p>
<p>The OPPD still clung to the absurdity that their fire truck would simply pump out the auxiliary building. That’s their ace in the hole, apparently. One can picture Slim Pickens at the conclusion of Dr. Strangelove riding the nuclear warhead down and proudly waving his Stetson about with a victorious holler.</p>
<p>The NRC, it was reported deadpan, found that “it was not clear how workers could operate a crane to lift the fire truck into position if outside power were lost.”</p>
<p>The Times waited until the end of the two page story to finally let the hammer drop:</p>
<p>“The NRC has not completed its evaluation of the new defenses installed at Fort Calhoun…”</p>
<p>The plant has not actually passed inspection, nor was it originally designed to handle the current reality. Its operator is criminally negligent in the extreme and incompetent also in the extreme. The operator has clearly fought the very safety improvements that are now desperately needed to hold back the river and avert a possible full meltdown a la Fukushima.</p>
<p>The age of nuclear power should be swiftly coming to an end. Do you really trust your family’s lives to the sandbag plan? To the men who fight any reasonable action to make the nuclear reactors they have been entrusted with as safe as possible?</p>
<p>It’s an indefensible industry. The situation is profit vs. public safety. The latter stands no chance over the long term.</p>
<p>Joe Giambrone is a filmmaker and author of <a href="" type="internal">Hell of a Deal: a Supernatural Satire</a>. He edits the <a href="http://politicalfilm.wordpress.com/" type="external">Political Film Blog</a>. He be reached at: polfilmblog at gmail.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Nuclear Catastrophe Imminent in Nebraska? | true | https://counterpunch.org/2011/06/27/nuclear-catastrophe-imminent-in-nebraska/ | 2011-06-27 | 4left
| Nuclear Catastrophe Imminent in Nebraska?
<p>When I wrote last week about the Nebraska reactor surrounded by floodwaters I, like most, still considered it a highly remote possibility of cataclysm.</p>
<p>Upon further investigation, it seems much more likely now. The New York Times has exposed some major criminal negligence and game playing with the safety of the nation by the plant’s operator. Peter Behr’s June 24th report examines what we’ve been told vs. what’s there on the ground at Fort Calhoun’s nuclear power station. This is truly frightening with water levels approaching the 1007 ft. above sea level mark.</p>
<p>The “aqua berm” collapsed on Sunday, and nothing holds back the waters but random chance at this point.</p>
<p>The Ft. Calhoun reactor was repeatedly reported to be in “cold” shutdown, with an endless supply of happy talk in the press about how safe the situation remains. Not one of these reports gives the actual temperature inside the reactor. “Cold” is a relative term when dealing wtih nuclear reactors.</p>
<p>A June 22 Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) press release inspires no confidence whatsoever:</p>
<p>“If there is a complete loss of power on site temporary pumps that run on gas can circulate cooling water through the spent fuel pool and reactor core.”</p>
<p>And reactor core? But I thought it was in “cold shutdown?” Why would that be necessary? The NRC release avoids the word “cold,” and merely restates the term “shutdown.”</p>
<p>The Omaha World Herald offers another clue:</p>
<p>“The NRC says its inspectors were at the plant when the berm failed and have confirmed that the flooding has had no impact on the reactor shutdown cooling or the spent fuel pool cooling.” (Sam Womack, June 26)</p>
<p>The term “reactor shutdown cooling” implies it is not quite “cold” but requiring cooling still.</p>
<p>In an outstanding bit of hubris, the second threatened plant at Cooper is still operating at “full power.” It’s as if some are incapable of learning any lessons whatsoever.</p>
<p>CNN — and almost all other news sources — is still reporting the claims of the Omaha Public Power District (OPPD) unquestioningly:</p>
<p>“The [Ft. Calhoun] plant is designed to withstand waters up to 1,014 feet above mean sea level, according to the OPPD.”</p>
<p>That reassuring number ignores quite a bit. In the end it may prove to be the equivalent of the TEPCO assurances and the Japanese Government’s claims that no meltdowns had occured.</p>
<p>“But a year ago, those new defenses were not in place, and the plant’s hard barriers could have failed against a 1,010-foot flood … at flooding levels above 1,008 feet, the plant “would experience a loss of offsite power and loss of intake structure” (NYT)</p>
<p>The NRC gave the operator OPPD a wristslap last October 6 to try and force some improvements of “substatntal importance” to the facility. The OPPD predictably stalled and tried to fight spending any money on improvements up through this year.</p>
<p>The plot thickened back in the 1990s, where a series of floods threatened the area. The Army Corps of Engineers warned the plant operator to increase its defenses by at least 3 feet, back in 2003. The plant however did not “properly act” on the “deficiencies.” No surprises there.</p>
<p>When a senior nuclear investigator for NRC was asked how these situations can go on so long with no meaningful action taken to protect the public from disaster, Gerond George answered, “We only sample certain parts of their design basis…” This admission reveals gaping holes at the NRC.</p>
<p>Now it gets ugly. The plant was not actually “designed” for the 1014 ft flood level at all. Whether sufficient “improvements” to the original design have been implemented properly is anyone’s guess. The plant was originally created to:</p>
<p>“The precise level — 1,009.5 feet — is written into the plant’s operating licenses as a flooding ‘design basis’ threat that the plant must be guarded against.” (NYT)</p>
<p>Here’s the Omaha Public Power’s solution to historic floodwaters lapping at their reactor:</p>
<p>“OPPD planned to extend the barrier to 1,014 feet by stacking sandbags on top of some steel floodgates that protected the auxiliary building, and to use more sandbags to safeguard the water intake structure and its essential cooling water pumps. “</p>
<p>You can’t make this stuff up.</p>
<p>Yes, there’s a reactor at Diablo Canyon in Southern California near an earthquake fault and designed magnitudes short of what could be unleashed there. Yes, they drilled so far below the Gulf of Mexico that they couldn’t plug a leak until the Gulf was thick with oil and toxins. And yes, people in charge of the public safety at a Nebraska nuclear reactor thought piling up sandbags five feet high would safeguard against massive flooding.</p>
<p>These are the same geniuses who allegedly have performed the upgrades as instructed by NRC, just this year, to reluctantly fortify the plant against raging floodwaters.</p>
<p>I won’t be touring the site personally.</p>
<p>The OPPD remains out of jail and in control of the situation. Its spokesman Michael Jones explained:</p>
<p>“We presented our analysis to [NRC] which we felt indicated that the design basis [for the flooding threat] should remain 1,009 feet,” rather than 1,014 feet, he said.” (NYT)</p>
<p>The current river level is just below 1007 feet.</p>
<p>“At 1,008.5 feet, the technical support center used by emergency technicians would have been inundated… At 1,010 feet, water would begin to enter the auxiliary building, “shorting power and submerging pumps. The plant could then experience a station blackout with core damage estimated within 15 to 18 hours…” (NYT)</p>
<p>The OPPD still clung to the absurdity that their fire truck would simply pump out the auxiliary building. That’s their ace in the hole, apparently. One can picture Slim Pickens at the conclusion of Dr. Strangelove riding the nuclear warhead down and proudly waving his Stetson about with a victorious holler.</p>
<p>The NRC, it was reported deadpan, found that “it was not clear how workers could operate a crane to lift the fire truck into position if outside power were lost.”</p>
<p>The Times waited until the end of the two page story to finally let the hammer drop:</p>
<p>“The NRC has not completed its evaluation of the new defenses installed at Fort Calhoun…”</p>
<p>The plant has not actually passed inspection, nor was it originally designed to handle the current reality. Its operator is criminally negligent in the extreme and incompetent also in the extreme. The operator has clearly fought the very safety improvements that are now desperately needed to hold back the river and avert a possible full meltdown a la Fukushima.</p>
<p>The age of nuclear power should be swiftly coming to an end. Do you really trust your family’s lives to the sandbag plan? To the men who fight any reasonable action to make the nuclear reactors they have been entrusted with as safe as possible?</p>
<p>It’s an indefensible industry. The situation is profit vs. public safety. The latter stands no chance over the long term.</p>
<p>Joe Giambrone is a filmmaker and author of <a href="" type="internal">Hell of a Deal: a Supernatural Satire</a>. He edits the <a href="http://politicalfilm.wordpress.com/" type="external">Political Film Blog</a>. He be reached at: polfilmblog at gmail.</p>
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<p>&#160;</p> | 3,913 |
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<p>PUEBLO, Colo. - Authorities have arrested the father of two boys who drowned after they fell through the ice on a pond in southern Colorado.</p>
<p>The Pueblo Chieftain reports ( <a href="http://goo.gl/WiSamM" type="external">http://goo.gl/WiSamM</a> ) Las Animas County sheriff's deputies arrested 33-year-old Silvino Garcia on Wednesday in connection with the deaths of 9-year-old Jorge Pancho-Garcia and 4-year-old Orlando Pancho-Garcia. Garcia is facing child abuse charges.</p>
<p>The brothers fell through the ice Friday afternoon, and doctors worked for several hours to try to save them. The pond is on the Robinson Sawmill property in Weston, which is about 20 minutes west of Trinidad.</p>
<p>Garcia is being held in the Las Animas County jail on $45,000 bail. A woman who answered the phone at the jail Wednesday night said she did not know if he has hired an attorney.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: The Pueblo Chieftain, <a href="http://www.chieftain.com" type="external">http://www.chieftain.com</a></p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Deputies arrest father of 2 boys who drowned in S Colorado | false | https://abqjournal.com/688879/deputies-arrest-father-of-2-boys-who-drowned-in-s-colorado.html | 2least
| Deputies arrest father of 2 boys who drowned in S Colorado
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<p>PUEBLO, Colo. - Authorities have arrested the father of two boys who drowned after they fell through the ice on a pond in southern Colorado.</p>
<p>The Pueblo Chieftain reports ( <a href="http://goo.gl/WiSamM" type="external">http://goo.gl/WiSamM</a> ) Las Animas County sheriff's deputies arrested 33-year-old Silvino Garcia on Wednesday in connection with the deaths of 9-year-old Jorge Pancho-Garcia and 4-year-old Orlando Pancho-Garcia. Garcia is facing child abuse charges.</p>
<p>The brothers fell through the ice Friday afternoon, and doctors worked for several hours to try to save them. The pond is on the Robinson Sawmill property in Weston, which is about 20 minutes west of Trinidad.</p>
<p>Garcia is being held in the Las Animas County jail on $45,000 bail. A woman who answered the phone at the jail Wednesday night said she did not know if he has hired an attorney.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: The Pueblo Chieftain, <a href="http://www.chieftain.com" type="external">http://www.chieftain.com</a></p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 3,914 |
|
<p><a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-163361342.html" type="external">Shutterstock</a></p>
<p>On Sunday, Pope Francis wrapped up the synod, or bishops meeting, he presided over for the last two weeks with a beatification service at the Vatican for Pope Paul VI but without significant progress made on hot-button topics such as homosexuality, divorce and cohabitation.</p>
<p>The pope sounded a hopeful note in a sermon in St. Peter’s Square, declaring that “God is not afraid of new things.” But some of the Catholic Church’s higher-ups who voted on how the Holy See should approach these issues seemed less inclined to revise long-standing attitudes and policies. The promise of a big shift in the church’s stance on gays, which seemed imminent during a headline-grabbing <a href="http://breakingnews.suntimes.com/nationworld/catholic-bishops-say-gays-have-gifts-to-offer-church/" type="external">moment</a> halfway through the summit, was diminished (but not extinguished) by the end of the synod, as the Chicago Sun-Times <a href="http://breakingnews.suntimes.com/nationworld/high-level-discussions-about-gays-in-catholic-church-is-significant-step/" type="external">reported</a>:</p>
<p>The bishops determined gays should be “welcomed with respect and sensitivity” – a watered-down version of an initial proposal – and one that ultimately failed to get the necessary two-thirds majority vote to pass.</p>
<p />
<p>Nevertheless, the simple fact that dialogue and debate took place is significant.</p>
<p>“It’s not very that often that you see senior Catholic clerics disagreeing on fundamental issues and practices in the church,” said the Reverend Stan Chu Ilo, research fellow and assistant professor at the Center for World Catholicism &amp; Intercultural Theology at DePaul University. “It’s a positive thing.”</p>
<p>It’s also not the end of the discussion, as New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2014/10/cardinal-timothy-dolan-this-synod-was-not-to-make-any-decisions/" type="external">pointed out</a> to ABC News — more meetings, and another synod, will take place over the course of the next year.</p>
<p>–Posted by <a href="" type="internal">Kasia Anderson</a></p> | Pope Francis' Synod: Change Is in the Air, but Not Yet on the Books | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/pope-francis-synod-change-is-in-the-air-but-not-yet-on-the-books/ | 2014-10-20 | 4left
| Pope Francis' Synod: Change Is in the Air, but Not Yet on the Books
<p><a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-163361342.html" type="external">Shutterstock</a></p>
<p>On Sunday, Pope Francis wrapped up the synod, or bishops meeting, he presided over for the last two weeks with a beatification service at the Vatican for Pope Paul VI but without significant progress made on hot-button topics such as homosexuality, divorce and cohabitation.</p>
<p>The pope sounded a hopeful note in a sermon in St. Peter’s Square, declaring that “God is not afraid of new things.” But some of the Catholic Church’s higher-ups who voted on how the Holy See should approach these issues seemed less inclined to revise long-standing attitudes and policies. The promise of a big shift in the church’s stance on gays, which seemed imminent during a headline-grabbing <a href="http://breakingnews.suntimes.com/nationworld/catholic-bishops-say-gays-have-gifts-to-offer-church/" type="external">moment</a> halfway through the summit, was diminished (but not extinguished) by the end of the synod, as the Chicago Sun-Times <a href="http://breakingnews.suntimes.com/nationworld/high-level-discussions-about-gays-in-catholic-church-is-significant-step/" type="external">reported</a>:</p>
<p>The bishops determined gays should be “welcomed with respect and sensitivity” – a watered-down version of an initial proposal – and one that ultimately failed to get the necessary two-thirds majority vote to pass.</p>
<p />
<p>Nevertheless, the simple fact that dialogue and debate took place is significant.</p>
<p>“It’s not very that often that you see senior Catholic clerics disagreeing on fundamental issues and practices in the church,” said the Reverend Stan Chu Ilo, research fellow and assistant professor at the Center for World Catholicism &amp; Intercultural Theology at DePaul University. “It’s a positive thing.”</p>
<p>It’s also not the end of the discussion, as New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2014/10/cardinal-timothy-dolan-this-synod-was-not-to-make-any-decisions/" type="external">pointed out</a> to ABC News — more meetings, and another synod, will take place over the course of the next year.</p>
<p>–Posted by <a href="" type="internal">Kasia Anderson</a></p> | 3,915 |
<p>By Nora O. Lozano</p>
<p>Dear Mary,</p>
<p>I am not sure if when you were on this earth, there was anything similar in your time and culture to Mother’s Day. Regardless of the day, I do hope that Jesus and your other children found ways to celebrate and honor you.</p>
<p>Around this time, the beginning of May, many countries celebrate Mother’s Day. As I remembered several mothers, I thought about you. I am sure it was a good day for you because now you are with your son. After much suffering for both of you, you two are together and fine.</p>
<p>But I thought also about the mothers who do not have their sons with them. What about my neighbor who recently lost her son to cancer? What about Ms. Sybrina Fulton (Trayvon Martin’s mother), Ms. Lesley McSpadden (Michael Brown’s mother), Ms. Samaria Rice (Tamir Rice’s mother) and the other mothers in United States who have lost their sons to senseless violence? What about the mothers of the 43 students in Ayotzinapa, Mexico, and the ones of the disappeared in Argentina, El Salvador, Nicaragua and other places in the world? People say that many of these children were perceived as troublemakers, but your son was, too. They said the same about your Jesus (John 14:45-57).</p>
<p>Injustice is still happening! Many mothers are still crying and suffering today like you did.</p>
<p>I had a good Mother’s Day! I went to church, received some presents from my children, enjoyed a delicious lunch surrounded with conversation and laughter, and then took a fabulous nap. But the most important present for me is that my son and daughter are still safe and sound right now. I feel strange saying this because I know many mothers cannot say the same thing. For now, I surely count my blessings, and do not take anything for granted.</p>
<p>I just cannot imagine your pain and anguish; seeing so much suffering in the life of your son, and in consequence in yours. Traditionally you are called Mater Dolorosa (mother of sorrows), and I understand why: Finding yourself pregnant with your son and single, facing Joseph’s questions and rejection (Matthew 1:18-19). All mothers know that delivery is stressful, but if you add the conditions of yours, I am sure it was tough (Luke 2:4-7). Then listening to Simon’s prophecy (Luke 2:34-35), fleeing to Egypt, returning again (Matthew 2:13-23), losing Jesus for three days at the temple (Luke 2:41-51), seeing how, little by little, he was getting into more trouble, learning of the threats against his life (Luke 4:28-29; John 8:6; Matthew 26:3-4), and then his torture and crucifixion (Matthew 26:67-68; 27:27-50). Finally, you recovered him after the resurrection, I am sure you were overjoyed, but then he left you again (Acts 1:3, 9-11).</p>
<p>Yes, of course I know he had to go so the Holy Spirit could come, and that this was part of a divine plan (John 16:7-14). As a theologian, I know these matters well, but from a mother to a mother, I am sure it was hard — the weight of the physical absence. On the other hand, I am certain you were relieved that with your son in heaven, nothing bad was going to happen to him anymore. I am delighted that right now you two are together and well.</p>
<p>But you are also recognized as a model of faith. You believed when the angel Gabriel told you that you would be blessed among all women. Even though you pondered and pondered about his words, your pregnancy, and all the other events in your life and your son’s life, you believed that somehow God was going to make all things right at the end, not only for your son, but for you, and for the rest of us, human beings (Luke 1:26-35, 45; Matthew 1:21-23).</p>
<p>Recently my daughter asked me: “How can parents let their kids go to school, places, and activities? Who can assure them that they will come back safe and sound?” I told her that parenthood requires a great deal of faith and prayer. The only thing that allows me to go through the day in a peaceful, productive, creative way is praying, entrusting my loved ones to God’s care. The knowledge that God is there in our times of joy, but also in our times of sorrow, assures me that even if something goes wrong in a particular day, God is still there watching over us as a faithful, loving protector and companion. Surely you, Mary, knew this well. I am certain that many times your only recourse was praying for God’s mercy on you and your son.</p>
<p>I thank you Mary, for sharing yourself and your son with us. I am glad your response to the angel was: “Let this happen to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). I admire your faith, trust in God, and fortitude.</p>
<p>I do feel sorry for your suffering, and as I go through mine, even though it cannot compare to yours, your story gives me hope that in God’s timing everything will be fine. I just have to keep going, doing my best, and confiding in the loving and wise plans of our good God. I trust your story brings hope to other mothers (and fathers, too), who may be in a harder situation than mine.</p>
<p>Happy Mother’s Day, dear Mary! You deserve it! Thanks for everything!</p>
<p>With much love,</p>
<p>Nora</p> | Thinking about you on Mother’s Day, dear Mary | false | https://baptistnews.com/article/thinking-about-you-on-mother-s-day-dear-mary/ | 3left-center
| Thinking about you on Mother’s Day, dear Mary
<p>By Nora O. Lozano</p>
<p>Dear Mary,</p>
<p>I am not sure if when you were on this earth, there was anything similar in your time and culture to Mother’s Day. Regardless of the day, I do hope that Jesus and your other children found ways to celebrate and honor you.</p>
<p>Around this time, the beginning of May, many countries celebrate Mother’s Day. As I remembered several mothers, I thought about you. I am sure it was a good day for you because now you are with your son. After much suffering for both of you, you two are together and fine.</p>
<p>But I thought also about the mothers who do not have their sons with them. What about my neighbor who recently lost her son to cancer? What about Ms. Sybrina Fulton (Trayvon Martin’s mother), Ms. Lesley McSpadden (Michael Brown’s mother), Ms. Samaria Rice (Tamir Rice’s mother) and the other mothers in United States who have lost their sons to senseless violence? What about the mothers of the 43 students in Ayotzinapa, Mexico, and the ones of the disappeared in Argentina, El Salvador, Nicaragua and other places in the world? People say that many of these children were perceived as troublemakers, but your son was, too. They said the same about your Jesus (John 14:45-57).</p>
<p>Injustice is still happening! Many mothers are still crying and suffering today like you did.</p>
<p>I had a good Mother’s Day! I went to church, received some presents from my children, enjoyed a delicious lunch surrounded with conversation and laughter, and then took a fabulous nap. But the most important present for me is that my son and daughter are still safe and sound right now. I feel strange saying this because I know many mothers cannot say the same thing. For now, I surely count my blessings, and do not take anything for granted.</p>
<p>I just cannot imagine your pain and anguish; seeing so much suffering in the life of your son, and in consequence in yours. Traditionally you are called Mater Dolorosa (mother of sorrows), and I understand why: Finding yourself pregnant with your son and single, facing Joseph’s questions and rejection (Matthew 1:18-19). All mothers know that delivery is stressful, but if you add the conditions of yours, I am sure it was tough (Luke 2:4-7). Then listening to Simon’s prophecy (Luke 2:34-35), fleeing to Egypt, returning again (Matthew 2:13-23), losing Jesus for three days at the temple (Luke 2:41-51), seeing how, little by little, he was getting into more trouble, learning of the threats against his life (Luke 4:28-29; John 8:6; Matthew 26:3-4), and then his torture and crucifixion (Matthew 26:67-68; 27:27-50). Finally, you recovered him after the resurrection, I am sure you were overjoyed, but then he left you again (Acts 1:3, 9-11).</p>
<p>Yes, of course I know he had to go so the Holy Spirit could come, and that this was part of a divine plan (John 16:7-14). As a theologian, I know these matters well, but from a mother to a mother, I am sure it was hard — the weight of the physical absence. On the other hand, I am certain you were relieved that with your son in heaven, nothing bad was going to happen to him anymore. I am delighted that right now you two are together and well.</p>
<p>But you are also recognized as a model of faith. You believed when the angel Gabriel told you that you would be blessed among all women. Even though you pondered and pondered about his words, your pregnancy, and all the other events in your life and your son’s life, you believed that somehow God was going to make all things right at the end, not only for your son, but for you, and for the rest of us, human beings (Luke 1:26-35, 45; Matthew 1:21-23).</p>
<p>Recently my daughter asked me: “How can parents let their kids go to school, places, and activities? Who can assure them that they will come back safe and sound?” I told her that parenthood requires a great deal of faith and prayer. The only thing that allows me to go through the day in a peaceful, productive, creative way is praying, entrusting my loved ones to God’s care. The knowledge that God is there in our times of joy, but also in our times of sorrow, assures me that even if something goes wrong in a particular day, God is still there watching over us as a faithful, loving protector and companion. Surely you, Mary, knew this well. I am certain that many times your only recourse was praying for God’s mercy on you and your son.</p>
<p>I thank you Mary, for sharing yourself and your son with us. I am glad your response to the angel was: “Let this happen to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). I admire your faith, trust in God, and fortitude.</p>
<p>I do feel sorry for your suffering, and as I go through mine, even though it cannot compare to yours, your story gives me hope that in God’s timing everything will be fine. I just have to keep going, doing my best, and confiding in the loving and wise plans of our good God. I trust your story brings hope to other mothers (and fathers, too), who may be in a harder situation than mine.</p>
<p>Happy Mother’s Day, dear Mary! You deserve it! Thanks for everything!</p>
<p>With much love,</p>
<p>Nora</p> | 3,916 |
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<p />
<p>Junior Tshilidzi Nephawe's 15-point, 13-rebound performance led the Aggie men to a resounding 71-48 victory over Missouri-Kansas City, a team they had lost to 68-66 on Jan. 18.</p>
<p>With the Lou Henson Classic win - the former Aggies coach reclaimed a seat on the bench for the once-a-year tradition - NMSU (19-8, 8-3) crept closer to Western Athletic Conference-leading Utah Valley (14-9, 8-2).</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The Wolverines were surprised at home in a 71-57 loss to Seattle University. Now, if the Aggies win their remaining five league games, including Feb. 27 at Utah Valley, they will at least tie for the regular-season title and win the top seed for the subsequent WAC Tournament.</p>
<p />
<p>The Aggies limited UMKC to 26.4 percent shooting from the field. The Kangaroos connected on only 19 of 72 attempts from the floor and 2 of 13 from long range.</p>
<p>"I thought our defense was off the charts. Even when we messed up, we played with a lot of energy," said NMSU coach Marvin Menzies. He had been candidly critical earlier this week of his team's efforts in some letdown losses.</p>
<p>Renaldo Dixon had 11 points, and DK Eldridge and Ian Baker each added 10 for New Mexico State .</p>
<p>Martez Harrison scored 13 points on 6-of-14 shooting to lead the Kangaroos (7-16, 4-6). Nelson Kirksey added 12 points.</p>
<p />
<p /> | Aggies win easily, get closer to lead in WAC | false | https://abqjournal.com/353091/aggies-win-easily-get-closer-to-lead-in-wac.html | 2014-02-14 | 2least
| Aggies win easily, get closer to lead in WAC
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<p />
<p>Junior Tshilidzi Nephawe's 15-point, 13-rebound performance led the Aggie men to a resounding 71-48 victory over Missouri-Kansas City, a team they had lost to 68-66 on Jan. 18.</p>
<p>With the Lou Henson Classic win - the former Aggies coach reclaimed a seat on the bench for the once-a-year tradition - NMSU (19-8, 8-3) crept closer to Western Athletic Conference-leading Utah Valley (14-9, 8-2).</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The Wolverines were surprised at home in a 71-57 loss to Seattle University. Now, if the Aggies win their remaining five league games, including Feb. 27 at Utah Valley, they will at least tie for the regular-season title and win the top seed for the subsequent WAC Tournament.</p>
<p />
<p>The Aggies limited UMKC to 26.4 percent shooting from the field. The Kangaroos connected on only 19 of 72 attempts from the floor and 2 of 13 from long range.</p>
<p>"I thought our defense was off the charts. Even when we messed up, we played with a lot of energy," said NMSU coach Marvin Menzies. He had been candidly critical earlier this week of his team's efforts in some letdown losses.</p>
<p>Renaldo Dixon had 11 points, and DK Eldridge and Ian Baker each added 10 for New Mexico State .</p>
<p>Martez Harrison scored 13 points on 6-of-14 shooting to lead the Kangaroos (7-16, 4-6). Nelson Kirksey added 12 points.</p>
<p />
<p /> | 3,917 |
<p>The Stonewall Inn in 1969 (Photo by Diana Davies; courtesy Wikimedia Commons)</p>
<p>A Stonewall Reunion Dance will take place on Sunday, June 19 from 1 to 5 p.m. at Flavor to commemorate the beginnings of LGBTQ Pride. The event will be a fundraiser to support the victims and families of the attack in Orlando. Flavor is located at 15 E. Centre St. in Baltimore.</p>
<p>There will be a buffet of family reunion/picnic-themed food, as created by executive chef of Flavor, Julia Belton, as well as a signature cocktail. To celebrate the first decade after the Stonewall uprising, music from 1969-1979 will be played. It will be an all ages dance so that fathers can take their kids for Father’s Day. There will also be games and prizes.</p>
<p>“It shouldn’t be that we only run into friends once a year at Pride,” Bethany Henderson, SAGECAP Program Manager, told the Blade. “The Stonewall Family Reunion is a celebration halfway in between Honor Our LGBT Elder Day and Baltimore Pride, and it brings us together around an important time in our history.”</p>
<p>Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door and can be purchased at <a href="http://stonewallfamilyreunion.eventbrite.com" type="external">http://stonewallfamilyreunion.eventbrite.com</a>.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Baltimore</a> <a href="" type="internal">Baltimore Pride</a> <a href="" type="internal">Bethany Henderson</a> <a href="" type="internal">Flavor</a> <a href="" type="internal">Honor Our LGBT Elder Day</a> <a href="" type="internal">Julia Belton</a> <a href="" type="internal">LGBT</a> <a href="" type="internal">Maryland</a> <a href="" type="internal">Orlando</a> <a href="" type="internal">Pride</a> <a href="" type="internal">Pride 2016</a> <a href="" type="internal">SAGECAP</a> <a href="" type="internal">Stonewall Inn</a> <a href="" type="internal">Stonewall Reunion Dance</a> <a href="" type="internal">Stonewall Riots</a></p> | Chase Brexton to commemorate Stonewall | false | http://washingtonblade.com/2016/06/16/chase-brexton-to-commemorate-stonewall/ | 3left-center
| Chase Brexton to commemorate Stonewall
<p>The Stonewall Inn in 1969 (Photo by Diana Davies; courtesy Wikimedia Commons)</p>
<p>A Stonewall Reunion Dance will take place on Sunday, June 19 from 1 to 5 p.m. at Flavor to commemorate the beginnings of LGBTQ Pride. The event will be a fundraiser to support the victims and families of the attack in Orlando. Flavor is located at 15 E. Centre St. in Baltimore.</p>
<p>There will be a buffet of family reunion/picnic-themed food, as created by executive chef of Flavor, Julia Belton, as well as a signature cocktail. To celebrate the first decade after the Stonewall uprising, music from 1969-1979 will be played. It will be an all ages dance so that fathers can take their kids for Father’s Day. There will also be games and prizes.</p>
<p>“It shouldn’t be that we only run into friends once a year at Pride,” Bethany Henderson, SAGECAP Program Manager, told the Blade. “The Stonewall Family Reunion is a celebration halfway in between Honor Our LGBT Elder Day and Baltimore Pride, and it brings us together around an important time in our history.”</p>
<p>Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door and can be purchased at <a href="http://stonewallfamilyreunion.eventbrite.com" type="external">http://stonewallfamilyreunion.eventbrite.com</a>.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Baltimore</a> <a href="" type="internal">Baltimore Pride</a> <a href="" type="internal">Bethany Henderson</a> <a href="" type="internal">Flavor</a> <a href="" type="internal">Honor Our LGBT Elder Day</a> <a href="" type="internal">Julia Belton</a> <a href="" type="internal">LGBT</a> <a href="" type="internal">Maryland</a> <a href="" type="internal">Orlando</a> <a href="" type="internal">Pride</a> <a href="" type="internal">Pride 2016</a> <a href="" type="internal">SAGECAP</a> <a href="" type="internal">Stonewall Inn</a> <a href="" type="internal">Stonewall Reunion Dance</a> <a href="" type="internal">Stonewall Riots</a></p> | 3,918 |
|
<p><a href="" type="internal" />April 19, 2013</p>
<p>By Josephine Djuhana</p>
<p>The war on plastic bags has returned with a vengeance, as legislators introduce new regulations that dictate what kinds of bags California shoppers are allowed to use when out shopping for groceries.</p>
<p><a href="http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140SB405" type="external">SB 405</a>, authored by state Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Los Angeles, would effectively prohibit stores from providing a single-use carryout plastic bag to customers. According to a press release on Sen. Padilla’s website:</p>
<p>* “Beginning January 1, 2015, grocery stores and pharmacies would be prohibited from making available single-use plastic bags. If paper bags are offered to customers, they would have to include recycled content and customers would have to be charged the actual cost of providing the recycled paper bags.</p>
<p>* “Beginning July 1, 2016, convenience stores and liquor stores would be required to meet the same standard.</p>
<p>* “The bill would not pre-empt local ordinances already in place.”</p>
<p>“SB 405 will help protect our environment by phasing out single-use plastic bags in California,” said Padilla. “Single-use plastic bags fill our landfills, clog inland waterways, litter our coastline, and kill thousands of fish, marine mammals and seabirds.”</p>
<p>The hearing for the bill occurred on Wednesday, and SB 405 has since passed the Senate environmental quality committee on a 5-3 vote. The bag ban, however, has been met with some bipartisan opposition, and many members of the business community have come against it.</p>
<p>Cathy Browne, general manager at plastic bag maker Crown Poly Inc., called SB 405 “misguided legislation” that was not fact-based. In a press conference call on Tuesday, she warned that 300 Angelenos would be put out of manufacturing jobs if the bill was made law. “Our employees … work very hard at their jobs, and they shouldn’t lose their jobs just because politicians are listening to environmental rhetoric,” she said.</p>
<p>“Plastic bag bans are simply bad public policy,” said Mark Daniels, chairman of the American Progressive Bag Alliance, during the call. “To date, the debate on plastic bags has been supported by unfounded stats, junk science and myths. The reality is that American made plastic bags are a better choice for the environment and banning them will cause more harm to the environment. If California wants to lead in the fight against global warming, banning plastic bags will have the exact opposite effect.”</p>
<p>More than 72 California cities and counties have adopted ordinances to ban the use of plastic bags, among them a number of beach cities, including Huntington Beach.</p>
<p>“As a conservationist and local surfer in Huntington Beach, I’ve heard from my district that these bag bans are not the appropriate approach,” Assemblyman Travis Allen, R-Huntington Beach, told me. “While these bans are addressing less than .5 percent of the U.S. municipal solid waste stream, we are exposing people to serious health risks and stressing Southern California water conservation efforts. There is a far bigger picture that needs to be considered and not just settle on a single issue when voting on these bans.”</p>
<p>Bag bans are largely introduced as a measure to preserve the environment and prevent plastics from clogging inland waterways, filling up landfills and becoming floating marine debris. But there are many devils in the details, and banning plastic bags actually may be more costly to the environment, and result in more waste and energy expenditure.</p>
<p>The American Progressive Bag Alliance made the following findings on plastic bags:</p>
<p>* Plastic bags produce fewer greenhouse gases than paper or cotton bags.</p>
<p>* Plastic grocery bags require 70 percent less energy to manufacture than paper bags.</p>
<p>* The production of plastic bags consumes less than 4 percent of the water needed to make paper bags.</p>
<p>* Plastic bags generate 80 percent less waste than paper bags.</p>
<p>* For every seven trucks needed to deliver paper bags, only one truck is needed for the same number of plastic bags.</p>
<p>* American plastic bags are made from natural gas, not oil. In the U.S., 85 percent of the raw material used to make plastic bags is produced from natural gas.</p>
<p>APBA Chairman Mark Daniels also highlighted the fallacies in using reusable bags. He said the reusable bags are often “made to look like cotton” but are, in actuality, made of nonwoven poly-propylene, which is essentially a plastic. Additionally, many reusable bags cannot be recycled and “are mostly shipped from overseas and are made from foreign oil.”</p>
<p>The science behind reusable bags belies a more insidious impact that plastic bag bans have brought. Not only are reusable bags less energy-efficient to produce and more harmful to the environment, multiple reports have shown that reusable bags spread disease. And Californians need not look further than San Francisco to see the potential health hazards caused by contaminated reusable bags.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.utexas.edu/law/colloquium/papers-public/2012-2013/10-01-12_Grocery%20Bag%20Bans%20and%20Foodborne%20Illness.pdf" type="external">Research</a> by Jonathan Klick and Joshua Wright showed that reusable bags “contain potentially harmful bacteria, especially coliform bacteria such as E. coli.” In fact, since San Francisco County banned plastic bags in 2007, the researchers found that “both deaths and ER visits spiked as soon as the ban went into effect” and that, relative to other counties, “deaths in San Francisco increase by 50-100 percent, and ER visits increase by a comparable amount.”</p>
<p>Then, consider a <a href="http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/health/story/2012-05-10/Oregon-norovirus-grocery-bags/54874814/1" type="external">case in Oregon</a>, where a girl on a soccer team got sick and “spent six hours in a chaperone’s bathroom” suffering from “vomiting, diarrhea and stomach cramps”:</p>
<p>“The soccer team of 13- and 14-year-olds traveled to Seattle for a weekend tournament in October 2010.</p>
<p>“At the tournament, one girl got sick on Saturday and spent six hours in a chaperone’s bathroom. Symptoms of the bug, often called “stomach flu,” include vomiting, diarrhea and stomach cramps. The chaperone took the girl back to Oregon.</p>
<p>“On Sunday, team members had lunch in a hotel room, passing around the bag and eating cookies it held. On Monday, six girls got sick.”</p>
<p>A <a href="http://www.foodprotection.org/publications/food-protection-trends/article-archive/2011-08assessment-of-the-potential-for-cross-contamination-of-food-products-by-reusable-shopping-bag/" type="external">2011 study</a> did show that washing reusable bags would reduce bacteria by 99.9 percent, but considering that only 3 percent of people actually wash their bags, health problems still abound.</p>
<p>Despite mounting concerns on banning plastic bags, California legislators continue on this quest. From&#160; <a href="http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/03-04/bill/sen/sb_1501-1550/sb_1520_bill_20040929_chaptered.pdf" type="external">foie gras</a> to <a href="http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2012/02/14/la-county-updating-beach-regulations/" type="external">frisbees</a>, state lawmakers see no area of private life where government does not have a place even in spite of Governor Jerry Brown’s public admonishment that not every human condition is deserving of a new law. We don’t yet have to worry about California regulating Big Gulps like Mayor Bloomberg&#160; did in New York, but if the State Legislature can justify banning plastic bags in the interest of the public good, so too could it justify soda next.</p> | Bill to ban plastic bags in California clears Senate committee | false | https://calwatchdog.com/2013/04/19/bill-to-ban-plastic-bags-in-california-clears-senate-committee/ | 2018-04-20 | 3left-center
| Bill to ban plastic bags in California clears Senate committee
<p><a href="" type="internal" />April 19, 2013</p>
<p>By Josephine Djuhana</p>
<p>The war on plastic bags has returned with a vengeance, as legislators introduce new regulations that dictate what kinds of bags California shoppers are allowed to use when out shopping for groceries.</p>
<p><a href="http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140SB405" type="external">SB 405</a>, authored by state Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Los Angeles, would effectively prohibit stores from providing a single-use carryout plastic bag to customers. According to a press release on Sen. Padilla’s website:</p>
<p>* “Beginning January 1, 2015, grocery stores and pharmacies would be prohibited from making available single-use plastic bags. If paper bags are offered to customers, they would have to include recycled content and customers would have to be charged the actual cost of providing the recycled paper bags.</p>
<p>* “Beginning July 1, 2016, convenience stores and liquor stores would be required to meet the same standard.</p>
<p>* “The bill would not pre-empt local ordinances already in place.”</p>
<p>“SB 405 will help protect our environment by phasing out single-use plastic bags in California,” said Padilla. “Single-use plastic bags fill our landfills, clog inland waterways, litter our coastline, and kill thousands of fish, marine mammals and seabirds.”</p>
<p>The hearing for the bill occurred on Wednesday, and SB 405 has since passed the Senate environmental quality committee on a 5-3 vote. The bag ban, however, has been met with some bipartisan opposition, and many members of the business community have come against it.</p>
<p>Cathy Browne, general manager at plastic bag maker Crown Poly Inc., called SB 405 “misguided legislation” that was not fact-based. In a press conference call on Tuesday, she warned that 300 Angelenos would be put out of manufacturing jobs if the bill was made law. “Our employees … work very hard at their jobs, and they shouldn’t lose their jobs just because politicians are listening to environmental rhetoric,” she said.</p>
<p>“Plastic bag bans are simply bad public policy,” said Mark Daniels, chairman of the American Progressive Bag Alliance, during the call. “To date, the debate on plastic bags has been supported by unfounded stats, junk science and myths. The reality is that American made plastic bags are a better choice for the environment and banning them will cause more harm to the environment. If California wants to lead in the fight against global warming, banning plastic bags will have the exact opposite effect.”</p>
<p>More than 72 California cities and counties have adopted ordinances to ban the use of plastic bags, among them a number of beach cities, including Huntington Beach.</p>
<p>“As a conservationist and local surfer in Huntington Beach, I’ve heard from my district that these bag bans are not the appropriate approach,” Assemblyman Travis Allen, R-Huntington Beach, told me. “While these bans are addressing less than .5 percent of the U.S. municipal solid waste stream, we are exposing people to serious health risks and stressing Southern California water conservation efforts. There is a far bigger picture that needs to be considered and not just settle on a single issue when voting on these bans.”</p>
<p>Bag bans are largely introduced as a measure to preserve the environment and prevent plastics from clogging inland waterways, filling up landfills and becoming floating marine debris. But there are many devils in the details, and banning plastic bags actually may be more costly to the environment, and result in more waste and energy expenditure.</p>
<p>The American Progressive Bag Alliance made the following findings on plastic bags:</p>
<p>* Plastic bags produce fewer greenhouse gases than paper or cotton bags.</p>
<p>* Plastic grocery bags require 70 percent less energy to manufacture than paper bags.</p>
<p>* The production of plastic bags consumes less than 4 percent of the water needed to make paper bags.</p>
<p>* Plastic bags generate 80 percent less waste than paper bags.</p>
<p>* For every seven trucks needed to deliver paper bags, only one truck is needed for the same number of plastic bags.</p>
<p>* American plastic bags are made from natural gas, not oil. In the U.S., 85 percent of the raw material used to make plastic bags is produced from natural gas.</p>
<p>APBA Chairman Mark Daniels also highlighted the fallacies in using reusable bags. He said the reusable bags are often “made to look like cotton” but are, in actuality, made of nonwoven poly-propylene, which is essentially a plastic. Additionally, many reusable bags cannot be recycled and “are mostly shipped from overseas and are made from foreign oil.”</p>
<p>The science behind reusable bags belies a more insidious impact that plastic bag bans have brought. Not only are reusable bags less energy-efficient to produce and more harmful to the environment, multiple reports have shown that reusable bags spread disease. And Californians need not look further than San Francisco to see the potential health hazards caused by contaminated reusable bags.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.utexas.edu/law/colloquium/papers-public/2012-2013/10-01-12_Grocery%20Bag%20Bans%20and%20Foodborne%20Illness.pdf" type="external">Research</a> by Jonathan Klick and Joshua Wright showed that reusable bags “contain potentially harmful bacteria, especially coliform bacteria such as E. coli.” In fact, since San Francisco County banned plastic bags in 2007, the researchers found that “both deaths and ER visits spiked as soon as the ban went into effect” and that, relative to other counties, “deaths in San Francisco increase by 50-100 percent, and ER visits increase by a comparable amount.”</p>
<p>Then, consider a <a href="http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/health/story/2012-05-10/Oregon-norovirus-grocery-bags/54874814/1" type="external">case in Oregon</a>, where a girl on a soccer team got sick and “spent six hours in a chaperone’s bathroom” suffering from “vomiting, diarrhea and stomach cramps”:</p>
<p>“The soccer team of 13- and 14-year-olds traveled to Seattle for a weekend tournament in October 2010.</p>
<p>“At the tournament, one girl got sick on Saturday and spent six hours in a chaperone’s bathroom. Symptoms of the bug, often called “stomach flu,” include vomiting, diarrhea and stomach cramps. The chaperone took the girl back to Oregon.</p>
<p>“On Sunday, team members had lunch in a hotel room, passing around the bag and eating cookies it held. On Monday, six girls got sick.”</p>
<p>A <a href="http://www.foodprotection.org/publications/food-protection-trends/article-archive/2011-08assessment-of-the-potential-for-cross-contamination-of-food-products-by-reusable-shopping-bag/" type="external">2011 study</a> did show that washing reusable bags would reduce bacteria by 99.9 percent, but considering that only 3 percent of people actually wash their bags, health problems still abound.</p>
<p>Despite mounting concerns on banning plastic bags, California legislators continue on this quest. From&#160; <a href="http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/03-04/bill/sen/sb_1501-1550/sb_1520_bill_20040929_chaptered.pdf" type="external">foie gras</a> to <a href="http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2012/02/14/la-county-updating-beach-regulations/" type="external">frisbees</a>, state lawmakers see no area of private life where government does not have a place even in spite of Governor Jerry Brown’s public admonishment that not every human condition is deserving of a new law. We don’t yet have to worry about California regulating Big Gulps like Mayor Bloomberg&#160; did in New York, but if the State Legislature can justify banning plastic bags in the interest of the public good, so too could it justify soda next.</p> | 3,919 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A person was shot multiple times this evening, apparently at a car wash in the North Valley.</p>
<p>Around&#160; 6:40 p.m., officers were sent to Fourth and Aztec NW in reference to a shooting, according to an Albuquerque police spokesman.</p>
<p>The offenders were reportedly in a gold Cutlass leaving the area. The victim later showed up at University of New Mexico&#160; Hospital with several gunshot wounds, none of which are life threatening, police said.</p>
<p>It appears the shooting may have happened at a self-serve car wash on Fourth just north of Menaul, APD said, but officers had not located the scene.</p>
<p>The investigation is continuing.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Person shot in the North Valley | false | https://abqjournal.com/187077/person-shot-in-the-north-valley.html | 2013-04-09 | 2least
| Person shot in the North Valley
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A person was shot multiple times this evening, apparently at a car wash in the North Valley.</p>
<p>Around&#160; 6:40 p.m., officers were sent to Fourth and Aztec NW in reference to a shooting, according to an Albuquerque police spokesman.</p>
<p>The offenders were reportedly in a gold Cutlass leaving the area. The victim later showed up at University of New Mexico&#160; Hospital with several gunshot wounds, none of which are life threatening, police said.</p>
<p>It appears the shooting may have happened at a self-serve car wash on Fourth just north of Menaul, APD said, but officers had not located the scene.</p>
<p>The investigation is continuing.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 3,920 |
<p>In the hours after&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s death</a>, some are questioning the cause of death. A county judge present at the scene has refuted the widely spread claim that it was a heart attack.</p>
<p>From the&#160; <a href="http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2016/02/14/it-wasnt-a-heart-attack-confusion-and-conflicting-reports-surround-justice-scalias-death/" type="external">The Blaze</a>:</p>
<p>Presidio County Judge Cinderela Guevara refuted a Dallas TV station’s report quoting her as saying Scalia died of “myocardial infarction” — in an interview with the Post, she said she had meant only that his heart had stopped.</p>
<p>“It wasn’t a heart attack,” Guevara told the Post. “He died of natural causes.”</p>
<p>What’s more, following Scalia’s&#160; <a href="http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2016/02/13/supreme-court-justice-antonin-scalia-found-dead/" type="external">death</a>&#160;at the remote Cibolo Creek Ranch near the Mexican border, authorities said it took hours to find a justice of the peace. When Presidio&#160;County Sheriff Danny Dominguez finally tracked down Guevara on her cellphone Saturday afternoon, she&#160; <a href="http://www.wfaa.com/news/local/texas-news/scalia-to-have-autopsy-in-texas-according-to-state-law/42898331" type="external">told WFAA-TV</a>&#160;she was shopping.</p>
<p>“He says, ‘Judge, I’m at Cibolo Creek Ranch, and a Supreme Court Justice has just passed away, and I need someone here immediately. Both justices of the peace are out of town at this time,’” Guevara recalled to the station.</p>
<p />
<p>Image source: WFAA-TV</p>
<p>“I said, ‘Sheriff, what did you say? Which Supreme Court Justice died at Cibolo Creek Ranch?’ And the phone went dead, because our connection was very bad,” she told WFAA, which added that cell service is inconsistent in the area and there’s&#160;no service at the ranch.</p>
<p>“He called me back and he gave me a few more sentences until it broke up again,” Guevara told the station. “And that’s how the conversation went for 20 minutes.” Finally she recognized Scalia’s name.</p>
<p>Guevara acknowledged to the Post that she pronounced Scalia dead over the phone on Saturday&#160;without seeing his body. She told WFAA she had planned to head to the ranch but that a U.S. Marshal told her over the phone,&#160;“It’s not necessary for you to come, judge. If you’re asking for an autopsy, that’s what we need to clarify.”</p>
<p>Guevara told the station before deciding that she wanted details of Scalia’s death.</p>
<p>“As part of my investigation one of the things I did ask the sheriff and the U.S. Marshal: ‘Were there any signs of foul play? And they said, ‘Absolutely not.’ At that time, I still wanted to be careful and asked them if [Scalia’s] physician would call me,” Guevara told WFAA.</p>
<p>When Scalia’s doctor called Guevara at 8 p.m. Saturday, she told the station that the doctor told her Scalia “had just visited on Wednesday and Thursday, and [the doctor] had done an MRI, then I felt comfortable what I knew was going on with him physically.” She added to WFAA that Scalia also suffered from several chronic ailments.</p>
<p>“He was having health issues,” Guevara told the Post, adding that she’s waiting for a statement from Scalia’s doctor to add to his death certificate when it’s issued later this week.</p>
<p>The Post reported that another justice of the peace was called but couldn’t get to Scalia’s body in time — and that she would have made a different decision.&#160;“If it had been me … I would want to know,” Juanita Bishop, a justice of the peace in Presidio, Texas, told the paper in a Sunday interview.</p>
<p>But Guevara cited Texas laws that permit a justice of the peace to declare someone dead without seeing the body, the Post said.</p>
<p>When Scalia didn’t show up for breakfast Saturday morning, John&#160;Poindexter — a Houston businessman who owns the ranch and invited Scalia and others — told the Post that&#160;he and another person knocked on Scalia’s suite door. After getting no answer, they entered.</p>
<p>“Everything was in perfect order,” Poindexter told the Post. “He was in his pajamas, peacefully, in bed.”</p>
<p>The U.S. Marshals Service provides security for Supreme Court justices and told the Post that Scalia had declined a security detail at the ranch. “Deputy U.S. Marshals from the Western District of Texas responded immediately upon notification of Justice Scalia’s passing,” the U.S. Marshals Service&#160;statement said, according to the paper.</p>
<p>Scalia’s body was taken to Sunset Funeral Homes&#160;in El Paso — about 3 1/2 hours away — on Saturday evening. The procession got there about&#160;2:30 a.m. Sunday, the Post said, citing funeral home manager Chris Lujan. Then&#160;about 3:30 a.m. Sunday,&#160;Scalia’s family declined to have an autopsy performed, Lujan added to the paper.</p>
<p>Lujan told WFAA Scalia’s body was embalmed, which is required by Texas law before remains can be taken out of state.&#160;Lujan told the Associated Press that&#160;Scalia’s body was taken to an El Paso airport late Sunday afternoon and will be flown to Virginia.</p>
<p>WFAA reported that Guevara told the station Sunday that Scalia’s heart stopped beating during his sleep. But WFAA added that she told the station hours earlier that myocardial infarction — or a heart attack — would likely be the cause of death listed.</p>
<p>However, the statements on his offical cause of death have done little to quell many. Even Fox News anchors were questioning the verdict.</p>
<p>Media error: Format(s) not supported or source(s) not found</p>
<p>What do you think? Natural death? Or is this something else at play here?</p>
<p>0 comments</p> | “Pillow over his head,” conflicting reports surround Justice Scalia’s death | true | http://freedomsfinalstand.com/pillow-over-his-head-conflicting-reports-surround-justice-scalias-death/ | 0right
| “Pillow over his head,” conflicting reports surround Justice Scalia’s death
<p>In the hours after&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s death</a>, some are questioning the cause of death. A county judge present at the scene has refuted the widely spread claim that it was a heart attack.</p>
<p>From the&#160; <a href="http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2016/02/14/it-wasnt-a-heart-attack-confusion-and-conflicting-reports-surround-justice-scalias-death/" type="external">The Blaze</a>:</p>
<p>Presidio County Judge Cinderela Guevara refuted a Dallas TV station’s report quoting her as saying Scalia died of “myocardial infarction” — in an interview with the Post, she said she had meant only that his heart had stopped.</p>
<p>“It wasn’t a heart attack,” Guevara told the Post. “He died of natural causes.”</p>
<p>What’s more, following Scalia’s&#160; <a href="http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2016/02/13/supreme-court-justice-antonin-scalia-found-dead/" type="external">death</a>&#160;at the remote Cibolo Creek Ranch near the Mexican border, authorities said it took hours to find a justice of the peace. When Presidio&#160;County Sheriff Danny Dominguez finally tracked down Guevara on her cellphone Saturday afternoon, she&#160; <a href="http://www.wfaa.com/news/local/texas-news/scalia-to-have-autopsy-in-texas-according-to-state-law/42898331" type="external">told WFAA-TV</a>&#160;she was shopping.</p>
<p>“He says, ‘Judge, I’m at Cibolo Creek Ranch, and a Supreme Court Justice has just passed away, and I need someone here immediately. Both justices of the peace are out of town at this time,’” Guevara recalled to the station.</p>
<p />
<p>Image source: WFAA-TV</p>
<p>“I said, ‘Sheriff, what did you say? Which Supreme Court Justice died at Cibolo Creek Ranch?’ And the phone went dead, because our connection was very bad,” she told WFAA, which added that cell service is inconsistent in the area and there’s&#160;no service at the ranch.</p>
<p>“He called me back and he gave me a few more sentences until it broke up again,” Guevara told the station. “And that’s how the conversation went for 20 minutes.” Finally she recognized Scalia’s name.</p>
<p>Guevara acknowledged to the Post that she pronounced Scalia dead over the phone on Saturday&#160;without seeing his body. She told WFAA she had planned to head to the ranch but that a U.S. Marshal told her over the phone,&#160;“It’s not necessary for you to come, judge. If you’re asking for an autopsy, that’s what we need to clarify.”</p>
<p>Guevara told the station before deciding that she wanted details of Scalia’s death.</p>
<p>“As part of my investigation one of the things I did ask the sheriff and the U.S. Marshal: ‘Were there any signs of foul play? And they said, ‘Absolutely not.’ At that time, I still wanted to be careful and asked them if [Scalia’s] physician would call me,” Guevara told WFAA.</p>
<p>When Scalia’s doctor called Guevara at 8 p.m. Saturday, she told the station that the doctor told her Scalia “had just visited on Wednesday and Thursday, and [the doctor] had done an MRI, then I felt comfortable what I knew was going on with him physically.” She added to WFAA that Scalia also suffered from several chronic ailments.</p>
<p>“He was having health issues,” Guevara told the Post, adding that she’s waiting for a statement from Scalia’s doctor to add to his death certificate when it’s issued later this week.</p>
<p>The Post reported that another justice of the peace was called but couldn’t get to Scalia’s body in time — and that she would have made a different decision.&#160;“If it had been me … I would want to know,” Juanita Bishop, a justice of the peace in Presidio, Texas, told the paper in a Sunday interview.</p>
<p>But Guevara cited Texas laws that permit a justice of the peace to declare someone dead without seeing the body, the Post said.</p>
<p>When Scalia didn’t show up for breakfast Saturday morning, John&#160;Poindexter — a Houston businessman who owns the ranch and invited Scalia and others — told the Post that&#160;he and another person knocked on Scalia’s suite door. After getting no answer, they entered.</p>
<p>“Everything was in perfect order,” Poindexter told the Post. “He was in his pajamas, peacefully, in bed.”</p>
<p>The U.S. Marshals Service provides security for Supreme Court justices and told the Post that Scalia had declined a security detail at the ranch. “Deputy U.S. Marshals from the Western District of Texas responded immediately upon notification of Justice Scalia’s passing,” the U.S. Marshals Service&#160;statement said, according to the paper.</p>
<p>Scalia’s body was taken to Sunset Funeral Homes&#160;in El Paso — about 3 1/2 hours away — on Saturday evening. The procession got there about&#160;2:30 a.m. Sunday, the Post said, citing funeral home manager Chris Lujan. Then&#160;about 3:30 a.m. Sunday,&#160;Scalia’s family declined to have an autopsy performed, Lujan added to the paper.</p>
<p>Lujan told WFAA Scalia’s body was embalmed, which is required by Texas law before remains can be taken out of state.&#160;Lujan told the Associated Press that&#160;Scalia’s body was taken to an El Paso airport late Sunday afternoon and will be flown to Virginia.</p>
<p>WFAA reported that Guevara told the station Sunday that Scalia’s heart stopped beating during his sleep. But WFAA added that she told the station hours earlier that myocardial infarction — or a heart attack — would likely be the cause of death listed.</p>
<p>However, the statements on his offical cause of death have done little to quell many. Even Fox News anchors were questioning the verdict.</p>
<p>Media error: Format(s) not supported or source(s) not found</p>
<p>What do you think? Natural death? Or is this something else at play here?</p>
<p>0 comments</p> | 3,921 |
|
<p>The president of Sierra Leone is calling on the world to send millions of dollars, hundreds of doctors and thousands of nurses to his nation to help fight what he calls "a tragedy unforeseen in modern times."</p>
<p>President Ernst Bai Koroma says, "Our people are dying." He's speaking by videoconference at a World Bank meeting on the Ebola epidemic.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>He says children are being orphaned, doctors and nurses are dying, and Sierra Leone's health care system is overwhelmed.</p>
<p>Koroma says the world's response has been slower than the spread of the disease, and its spread will threaten people everywhere.</p>
<p>The presidents of Guinea and Liberia also made pleas for more aid to fight the virus that has killed more than 3,800 people in West Africa.</p> | Ebola summit: Leaders of Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone discuss crisis with UN, IMF, World Bank | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2014/10/09/ebola-summit-leaders-guinea-liberia-sierra-leone-discuss-crisis-with-un-imf.html | 2016-03-05 | 0right
| Ebola summit: Leaders of Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone discuss crisis with UN, IMF, World Bank
<p>The president of Sierra Leone is calling on the world to send millions of dollars, hundreds of doctors and thousands of nurses to his nation to help fight what he calls "a tragedy unforeseen in modern times."</p>
<p>President Ernst Bai Koroma says, "Our people are dying." He's speaking by videoconference at a World Bank meeting on the Ebola epidemic.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>He says children are being orphaned, doctors and nurses are dying, and Sierra Leone's health care system is overwhelmed.</p>
<p>Koroma says the world's response has been slower than the spread of the disease, and its spread will threaten people everywhere.</p>
<p>The presidents of Guinea and Liberia also made pleas for more aid to fight the virus that has killed more than 3,800 people in West Africa.</p> | 3,922 |
<p>The final seconds of Meet The Press are often disturbing and today was no exception. Here's how it went down.</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD: Carly Fiorina, before I let you go, how serious are you about running for president?</p>
<p>CARLY FIORINA: That'll be something I consider at the right time.</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD: So are you considering?</p>
<p>CARLY FIORINA: Well, when people ask you over and over again, you have to pause and reflect. So I'll pause and reflect at the right time.</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD: So that means it's something you're pondering? You're going to go Iowa soon?</p>
<p>CARLY FIORINA: You have to ponder when people keep asking. And I've been to Iowa plenty to help women engage and isn't it fantastic that Joni Ernst won?</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Carly Fiorina,</a>is the ex-HP CEO who many blame for the demise of Hewlitt Packard. She is exactly the kind of person who helped create the financial collapse of 2008. She also was instrumental in the eventual demise of <a href="http://fortune.com/2010/10/15/carly-fiorinas-troubling-telecom-past/" type="external">Lucent Technologies</a> which was forced to merge with Alcatel in 2006 to remain solvent. Whatever the exact extent of Fiorina’s role, Lucent was soon sucked in deep, making big loans to sketchy customers... Fiorina made it known that Wall Street would generously reward companies that emphasized and delivered robust revenue growth...the company’s wild pursuit of growth gave it much further to fall (in the dot com bubble collapse).</p>
<p>Carly praised the election of <a href="" type="internal">Joni Ernst</a>, as if electing Senator Hogballs was a good thing. Ernst was elected by the same corporate media that keeps telling Fiorina that running for office is a good idea. Thanks to Lil' Luke 'the Lesser' Russert, people are actually touting the hog-castrating fundamentalist as a <a href="" type="internal">good VP candidate</a>.</p>
<p>In less than thirty seconds, the idea of a Fiorina/Ernst run almost seems plausible. Carly thought that it was a statement for the power of women in politics, that she helped get Ernst elected. I suppose that was the only thing in which Fiorina succeeded, after her corporate raidership, her failed advisement of the McCain campaign in 2008 and her failed Senatorial run in 2010.</p>
<p>We'd rather not wait til these self-loathing women who believe in voter suppression, off-shoring jobs, the regulation of women's bodies and low taxes for big corporations get elected to a higher office. There's no question they'd create Armageddon and bring the rapture a lot sooner than a level-headed Democrat ever would.</p>
<p />
<p /> | Carly Fiorina Would Consider Running America Into The Ground In 2016 | true | http://crooksandliars.com/2014/11/carly-fiorina-wouldnt-mind-running-america | 2014-11-16 | 4left
| Carly Fiorina Would Consider Running America Into The Ground In 2016
<p>The final seconds of Meet The Press are often disturbing and today was no exception. Here's how it went down.</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD: Carly Fiorina, before I let you go, how serious are you about running for president?</p>
<p>CARLY FIORINA: That'll be something I consider at the right time.</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD: So are you considering?</p>
<p>CARLY FIORINA: Well, when people ask you over and over again, you have to pause and reflect. So I'll pause and reflect at the right time.</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD: So that means it's something you're pondering? You're going to go Iowa soon?</p>
<p>CARLY FIORINA: You have to ponder when people keep asking. And I've been to Iowa plenty to help women engage and isn't it fantastic that Joni Ernst won?</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Carly Fiorina,</a>is the ex-HP CEO who many blame for the demise of Hewlitt Packard. She is exactly the kind of person who helped create the financial collapse of 2008. She also was instrumental in the eventual demise of <a href="http://fortune.com/2010/10/15/carly-fiorinas-troubling-telecom-past/" type="external">Lucent Technologies</a> which was forced to merge with Alcatel in 2006 to remain solvent. Whatever the exact extent of Fiorina’s role, Lucent was soon sucked in deep, making big loans to sketchy customers... Fiorina made it known that Wall Street would generously reward companies that emphasized and delivered robust revenue growth...the company’s wild pursuit of growth gave it much further to fall (in the dot com bubble collapse).</p>
<p>Carly praised the election of <a href="" type="internal">Joni Ernst</a>, as if electing Senator Hogballs was a good thing. Ernst was elected by the same corporate media that keeps telling Fiorina that running for office is a good idea. Thanks to Lil' Luke 'the Lesser' Russert, people are actually touting the hog-castrating fundamentalist as a <a href="" type="internal">good VP candidate</a>.</p>
<p>In less than thirty seconds, the idea of a Fiorina/Ernst run almost seems plausible. Carly thought that it was a statement for the power of women in politics, that she helped get Ernst elected. I suppose that was the only thing in which Fiorina succeeded, after her corporate raidership, her failed advisement of the McCain campaign in 2008 and her failed Senatorial run in 2010.</p>
<p>We'd rather not wait til these self-loathing women who believe in voter suppression, off-shoring jobs, the regulation of women's bodies and low taxes for big corporations get elected to a higher office. There's no question they'd create Armageddon and bring the rapture a lot sooner than a level-headed Democrat ever would.</p>
<p />
<p /> | 3,923 |
<p>DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — It started with a pill — a sedative before bed, a powerful painkiller to cure a headache.</p>
<p>The dosage grew gradually, turning teenager Makell Graves into an addict. Then the injections started.</p>
<p>From that point, Makell can recall her childhood only in fits and fragments, mangled in her memory by the trauma that followed.</p>
<p>What she does remember she'd rather not conjure — nauseating visions of being bound and battered as old men violated her body and mind.</p>
<p>Afterward, her mother would drive her home.</p>
<p>"I've kind of always known there was something different between my life and other kids," Makell, now 19, told The News-Journal. She has undergone extensive therapy to combat her addiction and restore her mental health. "I don't really know if I ever realized what was going on because when you're a kid, you automatically think to trust your parents, and that's what I did."</p>
<p>By age 14, Makell's mother was shooting narcotics into her veins in the bathroom of the family's DeBary home, then selling her to strange men for sex, sometimes for as little as a single prescription pill.</p>
<p>The drugs wiped many markers of time and place from Makell's memory. But she thinks the drugs and sexual abuse went on for about two years before local law enforcement poured into her quiet neighborhood and removed her and her sister to safety.</p>
<p>Makell's parents, Michael and Cynthia Graves, were arrested three months later. But under Florida law, the parents were able to trade pleas for light penalties. Meanwhile, Makell's sentence stretches out before her with no end in sight.</p>
<p>Feeling "cheated" out of justice by the punishment meted out to her parents, Makell has come forward, identifying herself in the media to advance her intent to push legislators to strengthen Florida's statute on human trafficking.</p>
<p>Sex trafficking "is not happening somewhere far away from us like everyone thinks," Makell said. "It's literally happening all around you. People either choose to ignore it or they have no idea what it is."</p>
<p>'You don't have to lie anymore'</p>
<p>Holly Ware wasn't expecting the frantic voice she heard when she answered a call from Cynthia Graves. "They're taking my kids!" Graves screamed. "Please don't let my kids go to foster care."</p>
<p>Ware loved Makell's younger sister, Kaytee, like a daughter. Her longtime partner had a daughter Kaytee's age and the two girls were close friends.</p>
<p>Kaytee had spent three summers and countless weekends at Ware's home. "Mama Holly," as Ware was known, often had paid for Kaytee's school clothes, immunizations and doctor visits.</p>
<p>Kaytee was a "good girl" who talked about "God and boys," Ware said. When Ware drove Kaytee home, she'd see Makell outside, scantily clad and smoking a cigarette. Ware thought Makell was a stoner and a street thug.</p>
<p>After hearing Graves' phoned plea that late summer afternoon in 2014, Ware agreed to meet the girls at a state Department of Children and Families facility where they were taken to be interviewed.</p>
<p>There, she got the full story.</p>
<p>Graves had decided to pick Kaytee up early from her Orange City middle school. She took Makell, who hadn't been to class in two years, along for the drive.</p>
<p>On their way home, a neighbor called with a warning: Law enforcement had surrounded the Graves residence.</p>
<p>Graves went home anyway. When they arrived, Volusia County deputies escorted Makell and Kaytee inside to pack their bags. Later at the DCF office, Ware's assumptions about Makell were shattered in seconds.</p>
<p>"(FBI agents) said (Makell's parents) have been IV drugging Makell and selling her to their drug dealers, and that's called human trafficking," Ware recalled. "My jaw fell to the floor. I just thought she was this little pothead. I felt shame for judging her."</p>
<p>That was all it took to shift Ware into "mama bear" mode. "You're gonna come stay with me," she told Makell. "You're gonna be safe."</p>
<p>Makell was skeptical. The first time investigators questioned her, she lied.</p>
<p>"Both my parents would coach me into thinking (what they did to me) was OK, and if anything were to happen, to take the fall for it so they wouldn't get in trouble," Makell said.</p>
<p>Ware convinced her to come clean.</p>
<p>"(Ware) looked at me and said, 'Makell, I know you don't know me like that, but (the authorities) know everything and you don't have to lie anymore,'" Makell recalled. "And I said OK."</p>
<p>Ware's daughter, Reagan, was waiting for Makell outside the interview room. "She just hugged me," Makell said, blinking back tears. "I will never forget that day."</p>
<p>That night, Makell slept on a mattress in Ware's living room. Ware stayed close on the couch to remind Makell she was safe.</p>
<p>"I slept for the first time in two years," Makell said.</p>
<p>Sold for sex</p>
<p>Arrest reports fill in some of the memory gaps Makell would prefer to leave empty.</p>
<p>They tell how Robert Richards, 60-year-old owner of Fresh Off the Hook restaurant in DeLand, handcuffed Makell's hands behind her back and then to a bedpost while he raped her with an object as another young woman watched.</p>
<p>When Richards was finished, Cynthia Graves picked up Makell and the other young woman — one of several Graves prostituted, records show — demanded payment from Richards and drove to Deltona to purchase pills.</p>
<p>Makell was 14.</p>
<p>She usually was "sedated" during sexual encounters, but not always. Sometimes, Makell recalled, her mother would say, "We need money so we can get our drugs, so I need you to do this. It kind of just became like a normalcy or routine in my life for a while."</p>
<p>Makell thinks she was 12 the first time her parents medicated her. She had watched them openly abuse drugs for years. "They didn't try to hide it," she said.</p>
<p>They fed her progressively stronger pills, and then began injecting liquefied narcotics — Dilaudid, Xanax, oxycodone — into her arms, buttocks and between her fingers. Once her parents started shooting her up with drugs, Makell said her memories became muddled.</p>
<p>"There were times when I would wake up in someone's house, or I have little memories of driving to Sanford or just like little bits here and there," she said. "But, you know, the more time that I try to heal, I remember more and more from flashbacks and dreams and stuff like that."</p>
<p>She recalls a Sanford neighborhood haunted by drug dealers, addicts and prostitutes. "(My mother) knew everyone in that neighborhood," Makell said.</p>
<p>Graves could count on collecting cash from two Sanford men in particular, an informant told investigators. To one, Graves sold shoplifted steaks. To the other, she sold Makell.</p>
<p>Police reports refer to those buyers as "James" and "Reggie." Reggie was an active member of the military, according to an informant. Reggie rented hotel rooms for sex acts with Makell and her mother to hide his illicit activities from his wife. Neither man has been prosecuted.</p>
<p>Makell believes her mother sold her to eight different men, including at least three in Seminole County. Only two of the men — both in West Volusia — have been publicly identified.</p>
<p>Richards, the DeLand restaurant owner, was a regular. His reputed preference for underage girls attracted FBI attention. Besides Makell, Richards liked to hire young female employees he could entice with money or gifts in exchange for after-hours sex, a confidential source told investigators.</p>
<p>Cynthia Graves planned to start selling Kaytee as well, the source said, but Makell intervened. "No, take me," Makell insisted.</p>
<p>Richards was arrested Dec. 17, 2014, the same day as Makell's parents. He was charged with child abuse and two counts of lewd or lascivious sexual battery on a child age 12 but less than 16.</p>
<p>He died while awaiting trial. Records do not show the cause of death. If convicted, Roberts would have faced up to 35 years in prison.</p>
<p>In comparison, Makell's parents received relatively light sentences.</p>
<p>Michael Graves pleaded no contest to child abuse. He was sentenced in late August 2015 to a year and a day, with credit for six months in Volusia County jail. He was released in February 2016 after five months in prison, and returned to his DeBary home for three years of supervised probation.</p>
<p>A month after her husband, Cindy Graves pleaded no contest to procuring a minor for prostitution, deriving support from the proceeds of prostitution and child abuse. She was sentenced to five years in prison. She's scheduled for release April 5, 2019.</p>
<p>Reliving the trauma</p>
<p>"Five years? Am I only worth five years?" Makell asked Ware when she heard the news of her parents' short sentences. She was devastated.</p>
<p>But part of the challenge for prosecutors was Makell's state of mind as a result of the trauma she'd experienced.</p>
<p>In sex crime cases, it's common for prosecutors and defense attorneys to discuss a plea that does not require the victim to testify, Assistant State Attorney Shannon Peters said.</p>
<p>The deposition process alone is "very rigorous," Peters told The News-Journal. A defense attorney's role is to protect the accused, and though some handle victims with care, others take the opportunity to intimidate.</p>
<p>When Makell was scheduled to speak with prosecutors, she experienced mental and emotional upheaval and was not able to follow through.</p>
<p>"You're confronted with forcing a girl to come into court whether she's having seizures or throwing up," Peters said.</p>
<p>A trial would have required Makell to relive her trauma yet again and be cross examined in a public courtroom.</p>
<p>"She didn't want to have to face the perpetrators in court," said Peters. (Though Makell has come forward in the media, prosecutors are prohibited from naming her.) "If the victim isn't willing to come to court and (testify), we don't have a case. If you don't make a plea deal and they don't come to court, you don't get a second bite of that apple."</p>
<p>Had Michael Graves gone to trial, he could have been sentenced to five years in prison. Cindy Graves could have faced 25 years, but five years was "what the defendant was willing to plead to without putting the victim through a deposition or any court proceedings," Peters said.</p>
<p>Still, Makell said she felt "cheated" by the justice system.</p>
<p>"I think if my parents had been charged the proper way in the beginning and served what they deserved, I would probably be in a different place with everything," she said.</p>
<p>'The law let us down'</p>
<p>An investigation by the Volusia County Sheriff's Office revealed Cindy Graves was "sex trafficking (Makell) for money," an arrest report states.</p>
<p>Human trafficking, a first-degree felony, carries a maximum prison sentence of 30 years. But Cynthia Graves wasn't charged with human trafficking. No one has ever been prosecuted for human trafficking in the 7th Judicial Circuit, comprised of Volusia, Flagler, St. Johns and Putnam counties.</p>
<p>Makell is seeking support among Florida's legislators to change that. Aided by Don Mair, who helped draft Gabby's Law after his daughter was hit by a car and killed at a school bus stop, Makell is advocating for a rewrite of Florida's human trafficking statute.</p>
<p>The proposed bill emphasizes harsher penalties and removal of plea deals for those charged with the crime.</p>
<p>"The law let us down," Holly Ware said, "so let's change the law."</p>
<p>State Rep. Tom Leek, R-Ormond Beach, said he is working with the House of Representatives' criminal justice staff to draft an effective bill, but it will not be completed in time for the 2018 legislative session.</p>
<p>Leek, an attorney, said the punishment Makell's parents received for "one of the most atrocious crimes I can think of being committed is offensive."</p>
<p>But, he added, "We have to make sure to give law enforcement and the state attorney the discretion they need to put together the best case they can without unnecessary restrictions. It was easy to recognize the problem, but it's hard to find a solution that works."</p>
<p>Florida's human trafficking law requires prosecutors to prove the victim was subjected to force, fraud or coercion. Proof of coercion is usually developed through victim testimony, Peters said.</p>
<p>Drugging a child for the purpose of sexual exploitation is a form of coercion, but there must be a direct connection between the two. In Makell's case, Peters said, "Every time (her parents provided her with drugs), it wasn't for the purpose of sexual acts."</p>
<p>Makell's father — though guilty of giving his underage daughter drugs — was never alleged to have sold her for sex.</p>
<p>"The charges we used didn't have to prove coercion and covered the facts exactly," Peters said. "I don't think the problem is what we charged. The end result is what people are upset about."</p>
<p>Leek said the solution may be to change the standard of proof from coercion to facilitation. While it may be difficult to prove the purpose of Makell's mother's actions was to sell her for sex, Leek said, "What her parents did by drugging her is they took away her ability to reject, her ability to reason.</p>
<p>"What I do know is parents who sell their kids into the sex trade should not be able to walk away with (a short sentence)," Leek said. "There's got to be a better solution."</p>
<p>A taste of justice</p>
<p>In June 2016, nine months after her mother went to prison, Makell suffered a flashback to a sexual assault by a man she could only identify as "Buzz." Ware notified the FBI.</p>
<p>The next day, FBI agents drove Makell to her parents' home and she directed them turn by turn to the door of John Szolosi of DeBary.</p>
<p>Szolosi, 70, pleaded no contest to lewd or lascivious sexual battery, but later admitted his guilt to the court. Szolosi told investigators he paid Cindy Graves a single Xanax for the sex act with Makell.</p>
<p>New charges were filed against Graves, too. But the incident had occurred during the date range already covered by her plea.</p>
<p>In the months leading up to Szolosi's sentencing, Makell had returned to school. Outwardly, she seemed like any other University High School student. But the trauma she has suffered still lingers. One day earlier this year, she pulled into the University High School parking lot for a typical day of classes when memories simmering below the surface struck without warning.</p>
<p>She panicked and dialed Ware, whom she now calls "Mom." Ware officially adopted Makell and Kaytee in 2015, and both girls have taken their adoptive mother's last name.</p>
<p>Ware calmed her. "You're in control. You're not trapped. You can drive home."</p>
<p>When she reached home that day, a wave of nausea hit Makell the moment she stepped through the front door. She vomited again and again until she blacked out. Ware put her to bed. When Makell awoke, she shared previously suppressed details from her hours-long encounter with Szolosi.</p>
<p>"That (memory) was actually so traumatizing," Makell said, "I had to tell my mom what I remembered and what happened because I couldn't physically write it down."</p>
<p>Awaiting sentencing at his home earlier this year, Szolosi told The News-Journal he had "a lot of feelings" about what he did to Makell.</p>
<p>Leaning against his doorframe, an ankle monitor hidden under his jeans, he indicated a desire to express those feelings, but ultimately declined to divulge them without his attorney present. His attorney, Michael Nielsen, did not respond to multiple attempts to contact him. Szolosi was sentenced in September to 10 years in prison and declared a sex offender.</p>
<p>To Makell, Szolosi's sentence felt like justice.</p>
<p>When Ware arrived home from Szolosi's sentencing, Makell ran outside to greet her in the driveway.</p>
<p>"What are we gonna do now?" Ware asked as they wiped away tears.</p>
<p>Makell answered, "Live our lives."</p>
<p>'I want to be a kid'</p>
<p>"Pretty but stupid" is what Makell said her parents called her. They pulled her from public school soon after she started seventh grade.</p>
<p>A teacher came to her house at first, and she was expected to complete her courses online. She didn't, and the teacher quit coming.</p>
<p>When Ware took custody of Makell and Kaytee, Makell should have been a high school freshman. Instead, Ware re-enrolled her in middle school. She made honor roll.</p>
<p>"She did a 180 in a week," Ware said. "She wanted to be a good kid. She didn't want to be what they made her."</p>
<p>Makell will graduate high school in May, and is dual enrolled at Daytona State College. She had planned to pursue a nursing certification, but is now considering a career in law enforcement.</p>
<p>She still has counseling three times a week. Patrick Nave and Diena Cannavino, founders of Bikers Against Trafficking, give their services free to Makell at their state-licensed addiction treatment and counseling center, Ware said.</p>
<p>Survivors of sex trafficking have wounds and addictions they will deal with for the rest of their lives, Nave told The News-Journal.</p>
<p>"Something that happened 30 years ago can be triggered by a movie. Everything is still in the brain."</p>
<p>Scent, he said, is the biggest trigger, and can catch a survivor off guard.</p>
<p>For Makell, each day is a minefield.</p>
<p>Last year, a grocery shopping trip took a dark turn when an elderly man passed Makell in the aisle. The "old man smell" plunged Makell into a disturbing memory. She crumbled to the floor in hysterics.</p>
<p>"In that moment, you don't feel like you're in the middle of a store. You feel like you're back in that bad situation," Makell explained. "And all I had was my mom to just stand there and hold me and tell me, 'It's OK, you're safe.'"</p>
<p>The threat of a sneak attack from her subconscious lingers. Makell still lives in DeBary. Ware has moved them to a new neighborhood. But at any turn, Makell worries she could encounter her father or grandparents or previously unidentified rapists.</p>
<p>"For the longest time I was literally running out of stores and just running from anyone in my past and anything that reminded me," Makell said. "It hasn't really been until recently I've tried to stop running, but it is hard to go into Walmart."</p>
<p>Walter and Esther Graves, Makell's grandparents, live with Michael Graves. Esther said her son won't talk about the case. She and her husband are "very upset that we can't see (Makell and Kaytee)," she told The News-Journal. "We've tried, but (Ware) won't let us."</p>
<p>Michael Graves was prohibited by law from contacting Makell until she turned 18. Makell said her dad doesn't have her number, but if he called she'd have some choice words for him.</p>
<p>Makell didn't want to celebrate her 18th birthday. "I didn't get to be a kid," she told Ware. "I'm not an adult. I want to be a kid."</p>
<p>In recent months, she has finally started sleeping in a bedroom rather than in the living room with Ware.</p>
<p>And another significant thing has changed: Since Szolosi's sentencing — and the toll it took on her mental and physical well-being — she's decided not to pursue prosecution of any perpetrators she remembers in the future.</p>
<p>"Even when there's no more court hearings or interviews like this, we're not going to be a completely normal family," Makell said. "But we're all just really ready to just be done with this."</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: Daytona Beach (Fla.) News-Journal, <a href="http://www.news-journalonline.com" type="external">http://www.news-journalonline.com</a></p>
<p>DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — It started with a pill — a sedative before bed, a powerful painkiller to cure a headache.</p>
<p>The dosage grew gradually, turning teenager Makell Graves into an addict. Then the injections started.</p>
<p>From that point, Makell can recall her childhood only in fits and fragments, mangled in her memory by the trauma that followed.</p>
<p>What she does remember she'd rather not conjure — nauseating visions of being bound and battered as old men violated her body and mind.</p>
<p>Afterward, her mother would drive her home.</p>
<p>"I've kind of always known there was something different between my life and other kids," Makell, now 19, told The News-Journal. She has undergone extensive therapy to combat her addiction and restore her mental health. "I don't really know if I ever realized what was going on because when you're a kid, you automatically think to trust your parents, and that's what I did."</p>
<p>By age 14, Makell's mother was shooting narcotics into her veins in the bathroom of the family's DeBary home, then selling her to strange men for sex, sometimes for as little as a single prescription pill.</p>
<p>The drugs wiped many markers of time and place from Makell's memory. But she thinks the drugs and sexual abuse went on for about two years before local law enforcement poured into her quiet neighborhood and removed her and her sister to safety.</p>
<p>Makell's parents, Michael and Cynthia Graves, were arrested three months later. But under Florida law, the parents were able to trade pleas for light penalties. Meanwhile, Makell's sentence stretches out before her with no end in sight.</p>
<p>Feeling "cheated" out of justice by the punishment meted out to her parents, Makell has come forward, identifying herself in the media to advance her intent to push legislators to strengthen Florida's statute on human trafficking.</p>
<p>Sex trafficking "is not happening somewhere far away from us like everyone thinks," Makell said. "It's literally happening all around you. People either choose to ignore it or they have no idea what it is."</p>
<p>'You don't have to lie anymore'</p>
<p>Holly Ware wasn't expecting the frantic voice she heard when she answered a call from Cynthia Graves. "They're taking my kids!" Graves screamed. "Please don't let my kids go to foster care."</p>
<p>Ware loved Makell's younger sister, Kaytee, like a daughter. Her longtime partner had a daughter Kaytee's age and the two girls were close friends.</p>
<p>Kaytee had spent three summers and countless weekends at Ware's home. "Mama Holly," as Ware was known, often had paid for Kaytee's school clothes, immunizations and doctor visits.</p>
<p>Kaytee was a "good girl" who talked about "God and boys," Ware said. When Ware drove Kaytee home, she'd see Makell outside, scantily clad and smoking a cigarette. Ware thought Makell was a stoner and a street thug.</p>
<p>After hearing Graves' phoned plea that late summer afternoon in 2014, Ware agreed to meet the girls at a state Department of Children and Families facility where they were taken to be interviewed.</p>
<p>There, she got the full story.</p>
<p>Graves had decided to pick Kaytee up early from her Orange City middle school. She took Makell, who hadn't been to class in two years, along for the drive.</p>
<p>On their way home, a neighbor called with a warning: Law enforcement had surrounded the Graves residence.</p>
<p>Graves went home anyway. When they arrived, Volusia County deputies escorted Makell and Kaytee inside to pack their bags. Later at the DCF office, Ware's assumptions about Makell were shattered in seconds.</p>
<p>"(FBI agents) said (Makell's parents) have been IV drugging Makell and selling her to their drug dealers, and that's called human trafficking," Ware recalled. "My jaw fell to the floor. I just thought she was this little pothead. I felt shame for judging her."</p>
<p>That was all it took to shift Ware into "mama bear" mode. "You're gonna come stay with me," she told Makell. "You're gonna be safe."</p>
<p>Makell was skeptical. The first time investigators questioned her, she lied.</p>
<p>"Both my parents would coach me into thinking (what they did to me) was OK, and if anything were to happen, to take the fall for it so they wouldn't get in trouble," Makell said.</p>
<p>Ware convinced her to come clean.</p>
<p>"(Ware) looked at me and said, 'Makell, I know you don't know me like that, but (the authorities) know everything and you don't have to lie anymore,'" Makell recalled. "And I said OK."</p>
<p>Ware's daughter, Reagan, was waiting for Makell outside the interview room. "She just hugged me," Makell said, blinking back tears. "I will never forget that day."</p>
<p>That night, Makell slept on a mattress in Ware's living room. Ware stayed close on the couch to remind Makell she was safe.</p>
<p>"I slept for the first time in two years," Makell said.</p>
<p>Sold for sex</p>
<p>Arrest reports fill in some of the memory gaps Makell would prefer to leave empty.</p>
<p>They tell how Robert Richards, 60-year-old owner of Fresh Off the Hook restaurant in DeLand, handcuffed Makell's hands behind her back and then to a bedpost while he raped her with an object as another young woman watched.</p>
<p>When Richards was finished, Cynthia Graves picked up Makell and the other young woman — one of several Graves prostituted, records show — demanded payment from Richards and drove to Deltona to purchase pills.</p>
<p>Makell was 14.</p>
<p>She usually was "sedated" during sexual encounters, but not always. Sometimes, Makell recalled, her mother would say, "We need money so we can get our drugs, so I need you to do this. It kind of just became like a normalcy or routine in my life for a while."</p>
<p>Makell thinks she was 12 the first time her parents medicated her. She had watched them openly abuse drugs for years. "They didn't try to hide it," she said.</p>
<p>They fed her progressively stronger pills, and then began injecting liquefied narcotics — Dilaudid, Xanax, oxycodone — into her arms, buttocks and between her fingers. Once her parents started shooting her up with drugs, Makell said her memories became muddled.</p>
<p>"There were times when I would wake up in someone's house, or I have little memories of driving to Sanford or just like little bits here and there," she said. "But, you know, the more time that I try to heal, I remember more and more from flashbacks and dreams and stuff like that."</p>
<p>She recalls a Sanford neighborhood haunted by drug dealers, addicts and prostitutes. "(My mother) knew everyone in that neighborhood," Makell said.</p>
<p>Graves could count on collecting cash from two Sanford men in particular, an informant told investigators. To one, Graves sold shoplifted steaks. To the other, she sold Makell.</p>
<p>Police reports refer to those buyers as "James" and "Reggie." Reggie was an active member of the military, according to an informant. Reggie rented hotel rooms for sex acts with Makell and her mother to hide his illicit activities from his wife. Neither man has been prosecuted.</p>
<p>Makell believes her mother sold her to eight different men, including at least three in Seminole County. Only two of the men — both in West Volusia — have been publicly identified.</p>
<p>Richards, the DeLand restaurant owner, was a regular. His reputed preference for underage girls attracted FBI attention. Besides Makell, Richards liked to hire young female employees he could entice with money or gifts in exchange for after-hours sex, a confidential source told investigators.</p>
<p>Cynthia Graves planned to start selling Kaytee as well, the source said, but Makell intervened. "No, take me," Makell insisted.</p>
<p>Richards was arrested Dec. 17, 2014, the same day as Makell's parents. He was charged with child abuse and two counts of lewd or lascivious sexual battery on a child age 12 but less than 16.</p>
<p>He died while awaiting trial. Records do not show the cause of death. If convicted, Roberts would have faced up to 35 years in prison.</p>
<p>In comparison, Makell's parents received relatively light sentences.</p>
<p>Michael Graves pleaded no contest to child abuse. He was sentenced in late August 2015 to a year and a day, with credit for six months in Volusia County jail. He was released in February 2016 after five months in prison, and returned to his DeBary home for three years of supervised probation.</p>
<p>A month after her husband, Cindy Graves pleaded no contest to procuring a minor for prostitution, deriving support from the proceeds of prostitution and child abuse. She was sentenced to five years in prison. She's scheduled for release April 5, 2019.</p>
<p>Reliving the trauma</p>
<p>"Five years? Am I only worth five years?" Makell asked Ware when she heard the news of her parents' short sentences. She was devastated.</p>
<p>But part of the challenge for prosecutors was Makell's state of mind as a result of the trauma she'd experienced.</p>
<p>In sex crime cases, it's common for prosecutors and defense attorneys to discuss a plea that does not require the victim to testify, Assistant State Attorney Shannon Peters said.</p>
<p>The deposition process alone is "very rigorous," Peters told The News-Journal. A defense attorney's role is to protect the accused, and though some handle victims with care, others take the opportunity to intimidate.</p>
<p>When Makell was scheduled to speak with prosecutors, she experienced mental and emotional upheaval and was not able to follow through.</p>
<p>"You're confronted with forcing a girl to come into court whether she's having seizures or throwing up," Peters said.</p>
<p>A trial would have required Makell to relive her trauma yet again and be cross examined in a public courtroom.</p>
<p>"She didn't want to have to face the perpetrators in court," said Peters. (Though Makell has come forward in the media, prosecutors are prohibited from naming her.) "If the victim isn't willing to come to court and (testify), we don't have a case. If you don't make a plea deal and they don't come to court, you don't get a second bite of that apple."</p>
<p>Had Michael Graves gone to trial, he could have been sentenced to five years in prison. Cindy Graves could have faced 25 years, but five years was "what the defendant was willing to plead to without putting the victim through a deposition or any court proceedings," Peters said.</p>
<p>Still, Makell said she felt "cheated" by the justice system.</p>
<p>"I think if my parents had been charged the proper way in the beginning and served what they deserved, I would probably be in a different place with everything," she said.</p>
<p>'The law let us down'</p>
<p>An investigation by the Volusia County Sheriff's Office revealed Cindy Graves was "sex trafficking (Makell) for money," an arrest report states.</p>
<p>Human trafficking, a first-degree felony, carries a maximum prison sentence of 30 years. But Cynthia Graves wasn't charged with human trafficking. No one has ever been prosecuted for human trafficking in the 7th Judicial Circuit, comprised of Volusia, Flagler, St. Johns and Putnam counties.</p>
<p>Makell is seeking support among Florida's legislators to change that. Aided by Don Mair, who helped draft Gabby's Law after his daughter was hit by a car and killed at a school bus stop, Makell is advocating for a rewrite of Florida's human trafficking statute.</p>
<p>The proposed bill emphasizes harsher penalties and removal of plea deals for those charged with the crime.</p>
<p>"The law let us down," Holly Ware said, "so let's change the law."</p>
<p>State Rep. Tom Leek, R-Ormond Beach, said he is working with the House of Representatives' criminal justice staff to draft an effective bill, but it will not be completed in time for the 2018 legislative session.</p>
<p>Leek, an attorney, said the punishment Makell's parents received for "one of the most atrocious crimes I can think of being committed is offensive."</p>
<p>But, he added, "We have to make sure to give law enforcement and the state attorney the discretion they need to put together the best case they can without unnecessary restrictions. It was easy to recognize the problem, but it's hard to find a solution that works."</p>
<p>Florida's human trafficking law requires prosecutors to prove the victim was subjected to force, fraud or coercion. Proof of coercion is usually developed through victim testimony, Peters said.</p>
<p>Drugging a child for the purpose of sexual exploitation is a form of coercion, but there must be a direct connection between the two. In Makell's case, Peters said, "Every time (her parents provided her with drugs), it wasn't for the purpose of sexual acts."</p>
<p>Makell's father — though guilty of giving his underage daughter drugs — was never alleged to have sold her for sex.</p>
<p>"The charges we used didn't have to prove coercion and covered the facts exactly," Peters said. "I don't think the problem is what we charged. The end result is what people are upset about."</p>
<p>Leek said the solution may be to change the standard of proof from coercion to facilitation. While it may be difficult to prove the purpose of Makell's mother's actions was to sell her for sex, Leek said, "What her parents did by drugging her is they took away her ability to reject, her ability to reason.</p>
<p>"What I do know is parents who sell their kids into the sex trade should not be able to walk away with (a short sentence)," Leek said. "There's got to be a better solution."</p>
<p>A taste of justice</p>
<p>In June 2016, nine months after her mother went to prison, Makell suffered a flashback to a sexual assault by a man she could only identify as "Buzz." Ware notified the FBI.</p>
<p>The next day, FBI agents drove Makell to her parents' home and she directed them turn by turn to the door of John Szolosi of DeBary.</p>
<p>Szolosi, 70, pleaded no contest to lewd or lascivious sexual battery, but later admitted his guilt to the court. Szolosi told investigators he paid Cindy Graves a single Xanax for the sex act with Makell.</p>
<p>New charges were filed against Graves, too. But the incident had occurred during the date range already covered by her plea.</p>
<p>In the months leading up to Szolosi's sentencing, Makell had returned to school. Outwardly, she seemed like any other University High School student. But the trauma she has suffered still lingers. One day earlier this year, she pulled into the University High School parking lot for a typical day of classes when memories simmering below the surface struck without warning.</p>
<p>She panicked and dialed Ware, whom she now calls "Mom." Ware officially adopted Makell and Kaytee in 2015, and both girls have taken their adoptive mother's last name.</p>
<p>Ware calmed her. "You're in control. You're not trapped. You can drive home."</p>
<p>When she reached home that day, a wave of nausea hit Makell the moment she stepped through the front door. She vomited again and again until she blacked out. Ware put her to bed. When Makell awoke, she shared previously suppressed details from her hours-long encounter with Szolosi.</p>
<p>"That (memory) was actually so traumatizing," Makell said, "I had to tell my mom what I remembered and what happened because I couldn't physically write it down."</p>
<p>Awaiting sentencing at his home earlier this year, Szolosi told The News-Journal he had "a lot of feelings" about what he did to Makell.</p>
<p>Leaning against his doorframe, an ankle monitor hidden under his jeans, he indicated a desire to express those feelings, but ultimately declined to divulge them without his attorney present. His attorney, Michael Nielsen, did not respond to multiple attempts to contact him. Szolosi was sentenced in September to 10 years in prison and declared a sex offender.</p>
<p>To Makell, Szolosi's sentence felt like justice.</p>
<p>When Ware arrived home from Szolosi's sentencing, Makell ran outside to greet her in the driveway.</p>
<p>"What are we gonna do now?" Ware asked as they wiped away tears.</p>
<p>Makell answered, "Live our lives."</p>
<p>'I want to be a kid'</p>
<p>"Pretty but stupid" is what Makell said her parents called her. They pulled her from public school soon after she started seventh grade.</p>
<p>A teacher came to her house at first, and she was expected to complete her courses online. She didn't, and the teacher quit coming.</p>
<p>When Ware took custody of Makell and Kaytee, Makell should have been a high school freshman. Instead, Ware re-enrolled her in middle school. She made honor roll.</p>
<p>"She did a 180 in a week," Ware said. "She wanted to be a good kid. She didn't want to be what they made her."</p>
<p>Makell will graduate high school in May, and is dual enrolled at Daytona State College. She had planned to pursue a nursing certification, but is now considering a career in law enforcement.</p>
<p>She still has counseling three times a week. Patrick Nave and Diena Cannavino, founders of Bikers Against Trafficking, give their services free to Makell at their state-licensed addiction treatment and counseling center, Ware said.</p>
<p>Survivors of sex trafficking have wounds and addictions they will deal with for the rest of their lives, Nave told The News-Journal.</p>
<p>"Something that happened 30 years ago can be triggered by a movie. Everything is still in the brain."</p>
<p>Scent, he said, is the biggest trigger, and can catch a survivor off guard.</p>
<p>For Makell, each day is a minefield.</p>
<p>Last year, a grocery shopping trip took a dark turn when an elderly man passed Makell in the aisle. The "old man smell" plunged Makell into a disturbing memory. She crumbled to the floor in hysterics.</p>
<p>"In that moment, you don't feel like you're in the middle of a store. You feel like you're back in that bad situation," Makell explained. "And all I had was my mom to just stand there and hold me and tell me, 'It's OK, you're safe.'"</p>
<p>The threat of a sneak attack from her subconscious lingers. Makell still lives in DeBary. Ware has moved them to a new neighborhood. But at any turn, Makell worries she could encounter her father or grandparents or previously unidentified rapists.</p>
<p>"For the longest time I was literally running out of stores and just running from anyone in my past and anything that reminded me," Makell said. "It hasn't really been until recently I've tried to stop running, but it is hard to go into Walmart."</p>
<p>Walter and Esther Graves, Makell's grandparents, live with Michael Graves. Esther said her son won't talk about the case. She and her husband are "very upset that we can't see (Makell and Kaytee)," she told The News-Journal. "We've tried, but (Ware) won't let us."</p>
<p>Michael Graves was prohibited by law from contacting Makell until she turned 18. Makell said her dad doesn't have her number, but if he called she'd have some choice words for him.</p>
<p>Makell didn't want to celebrate her 18th birthday. "I didn't get to be a kid," she told Ware. "I'm not an adult. I want to be a kid."</p>
<p>In recent months, she has finally started sleeping in a bedroom rather than in the living room with Ware.</p>
<p>And another significant thing has changed: Since Szolosi's sentencing — and the toll it took on her mental and physical well-being — she's decided not to pursue prosecution of any perpetrators she remembers in the future.</p>
<p>"Even when there's no more court hearings or interviews like this, we're not going to be a completely normal family," Makell said. "But we're all just really ready to just be done with this."</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: Daytona Beach (Fla.) News-Journal, <a href="http://www.news-journalonline.com" type="external">http://www.news-journalonline.com</a></p> | 'Cheated' out of justice | false | https://apnews.com/amp/e7adb729fb2f441e89f5aafceb950cb9 | 2018-01-01 | 2least
| 'Cheated' out of justice
<p>DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — It started with a pill — a sedative before bed, a powerful painkiller to cure a headache.</p>
<p>The dosage grew gradually, turning teenager Makell Graves into an addict. Then the injections started.</p>
<p>From that point, Makell can recall her childhood only in fits and fragments, mangled in her memory by the trauma that followed.</p>
<p>What she does remember she'd rather not conjure — nauseating visions of being bound and battered as old men violated her body and mind.</p>
<p>Afterward, her mother would drive her home.</p>
<p>"I've kind of always known there was something different between my life and other kids," Makell, now 19, told The News-Journal. She has undergone extensive therapy to combat her addiction and restore her mental health. "I don't really know if I ever realized what was going on because when you're a kid, you automatically think to trust your parents, and that's what I did."</p>
<p>By age 14, Makell's mother was shooting narcotics into her veins in the bathroom of the family's DeBary home, then selling her to strange men for sex, sometimes for as little as a single prescription pill.</p>
<p>The drugs wiped many markers of time and place from Makell's memory. But she thinks the drugs and sexual abuse went on for about two years before local law enforcement poured into her quiet neighborhood and removed her and her sister to safety.</p>
<p>Makell's parents, Michael and Cynthia Graves, were arrested three months later. But under Florida law, the parents were able to trade pleas for light penalties. Meanwhile, Makell's sentence stretches out before her with no end in sight.</p>
<p>Feeling "cheated" out of justice by the punishment meted out to her parents, Makell has come forward, identifying herself in the media to advance her intent to push legislators to strengthen Florida's statute on human trafficking.</p>
<p>Sex trafficking "is not happening somewhere far away from us like everyone thinks," Makell said. "It's literally happening all around you. People either choose to ignore it or they have no idea what it is."</p>
<p>'You don't have to lie anymore'</p>
<p>Holly Ware wasn't expecting the frantic voice she heard when she answered a call from Cynthia Graves. "They're taking my kids!" Graves screamed. "Please don't let my kids go to foster care."</p>
<p>Ware loved Makell's younger sister, Kaytee, like a daughter. Her longtime partner had a daughter Kaytee's age and the two girls were close friends.</p>
<p>Kaytee had spent three summers and countless weekends at Ware's home. "Mama Holly," as Ware was known, often had paid for Kaytee's school clothes, immunizations and doctor visits.</p>
<p>Kaytee was a "good girl" who talked about "God and boys," Ware said. When Ware drove Kaytee home, she'd see Makell outside, scantily clad and smoking a cigarette. Ware thought Makell was a stoner and a street thug.</p>
<p>After hearing Graves' phoned plea that late summer afternoon in 2014, Ware agreed to meet the girls at a state Department of Children and Families facility where they were taken to be interviewed.</p>
<p>There, she got the full story.</p>
<p>Graves had decided to pick Kaytee up early from her Orange City middle school. She took Makell, who hadn't been to class in two years, along for the drive.</p>
<p>On their way home, a neighbor called with a warning: Law enforcement had surrounded the Graves residence.</p>
<p>Graves went home anyway. When they arrived, Volusia County deputies escorted Makell and Kaytee inside to pack their bags. Later at the DCF office, Ware's assumptions about Makell were shattered in seconds.</p>
<p>"(FBI agents) said (Makell's parents) have been IV drugging Makell and selling her to their drug dealers, and that's called human trafficking," Ware recalled. "My jaw fell to the floor. I just thought she was this little pothead. I felt shame for judging her."</p>
<p>That was all it took to shift Ware into "mama bear" mode. "You're gonna come stay with me," she told Makell. "You're gonna be safe."</p>
<p>Makell was skeptical. The first time investigators questioned her, she lied.</p>
<p>"Both my parents would coach me into thinking (what they did to me) was OK, and if anything were to happen, to take the fall for it so they wouldn't get in trouble," Makell said.</p>
<p>Ware convinced her to come clean.</p>
<p>"(Ware) looked at me and said, 'Makell, I know you don't know me like that, but (the authorities) know everything and you don't have to lie anymore,'" Makell recalled. "And I said OK."</p>
<p>Ware's daughter, Reagan, was waiting for Makell outside the interview room. "She just hugged me," Makell said, blinking back tears. "I will never forget that day."</p>
<p>That night, Makell slept on a mattress in Ware's living room. Ware stayed close on the couch to remind Makell she was safe.</p>
<p>"I slept for the first time in two years," Makell said.</p>
<p>Sold for sex</p>
<p>Arrest reports fill in some of the memory gaps Makell would prefer to leave empty.</p>
<p>They tell how Robert Richards, 60-year-old owner of Fresh Off the Hook restaurant in DeLand, handcuffed Makell's hands behind her back and then to a bedpost while he raped her with an object as another young woman watched.</p>
<p>When Richards was finished, Cynthia Graves picked up Makell and the other young woman — one of several Graves prostituted, records show — demanded payment from Richards and drove to Deltona to purchase pills.</p>
<p>Makell was 14.</p>
<p>She usually was "sedated" during sexual encounters, but not always. Sometimes, Makell recalled, her mother would say, "We need money so we can get our drugs, so I need you to do this. It kind of just became like a normalcy or routine in my life for a while."</p>
<p>Makell thinks she was 12 the first time her parents medicated her. She had watched them openly abuse drugs for years. "They didn't try to hide it," she said.</p>
<p>They fed her progressively stronger pills, and then began injecting liquefied narcotics — Dilaudid, Xanax, oxycodone — into her arms, buttocks and between her fingers. Once her parents started shooting her up with drugs, Makell said her memories became muddled.</p>
<p>"There were times when I would wake up in someone's house, or I have little memories of driving to Sanford or just like little bits here and there," she said. "But, you know, the more time that I try to heal, I remember more and more from flashbacks and dreams and stuff like that."</p>
<p>She recalls a Sanford neighborhood haunted by drug dealers, addicts and prostitutes. "(My mother) knew everyone in that neighborhood," Makell said.</p>
<p>Graves could count on collecting cash from two Sanford men in particular, an informant told investigators. To one, Graves sold shoplifted steaks. To the other, she sold Makell.</p>
<p>Police reports refer to those buyers as "James" and "Reggie." Reggie was an active member of the military, according to an informant. Reggie rented hotel rooms for sex acts with Makell and her mother to hide his illicit activities from his wife. Neither man has been prosecuted.</p>
<p>Makell believes her mother sold her to eight different men, including at least three in Seminole County. Only two of the men — both in West Volusia — have been publicly identified.</p>
<p>Richards, the DeLand restaurant owner, was a regular. His reputed preference for underage girls attracted FBI attention. Besides Makell, Richards liked to hire young female employees he could entice with money or gifts in exchange for after-hours sex, a confidential source told investigators.</p>
<p>Cynthia Graves planned to start selling Kaytee as well, the source said, but Makell intervened. "No, take me," Makell insisted.</p>
<p>Richards was arrested Dec. 17, 2014, the same day as Makell's parents. He was charged with child abuse and two counts of lewd or lascivious sexual battery on a child age 12 but less than 16.</p>
<p>He died while awaiting trial. Records do not show the cause of death. If convicted, Roberts would have faced up to 35 years in prison.</p>
<p>In comparison, Makell's parents received relatively light sentences.</p>
<p>Michael Graves pleaded no contest to child abuse. He was sentenced in late August 2015 to a year and a day, with credit for six months in Volusia County jail. He was released in February 2016 after five months in prison, and returned to his DeBary home for three years of supervised probation.</p>
<p>A month after her husband, Cindy Graves pleaded no contest to procuring a minor for prostitution, deriving support from the proceeds of prostitution and child abuse. She was sentenced to five years in prison. She's scheduled for release April 5, 2019.</p>
<p>Reliving the trauma</p>
<p>"Five years? Am I only worth five years?" Makell asked Ware when she heard the news of her parents' short sentences. She was devastated.</p>
<p>But part of the challenge for prosecutors was Makell's state of mind as a result of the trauma she'd experienced.</p>
<p>In sex crime cases, it's common for prosecutors and defense attorneys to discuss a plea that does not require the victim to testify, Assistant State Attorney Shannon Peters said.</p>
<p>The deposition process alone is "very rigorous," Peters told The News-Journal. A defense attorney's role is to protect the accused, and though some handle victims with care, others take the opportunity to intimidate.</p>
<p>When Makell was scheduled to speak with prosecutors, she experienced mental and emotional upheaval and was not able to follow through.</p>
<p>"You're confronted with forcing a girl to come into court whether she's having seizures or throwing up," Peters said.</p>
<p>A trial would have required Makell to relive her trauma yet again and be cross examined in a public courtroom.</p>
<p>"She didn't want to have to face the perpetrators in court," said Peters. (Though Makell has come forward in the media, prosecutors are prohibited from naming her.) "If the victim isn't willing to come to court and (testify), we don't have a case. If you don't make a plea deal and they don't come to court, you don't get a second bite of that apple."</p>
<p>Had Michael Graves gone to trial, he could have been sentenced to five years in prison. Cindy Graves could have faced 25 years, but five years was "what the defendant was willing to plead to without putting the victim through a deposition or any court proceedings," Peters said.</p>
<p>Still, Makell said she felt "cheated" by the justice system.</p>
<p>"I think if my parents had been charged the proper way in the beginning and served what they deserved, I would probably be in a different place with everything," she said.</p>
<p>'The law let us down'</p>
<p>An investigation by the Volusia County Sheriff's Office revealed Cindy Graves was "sex trafficking (Makell) for money," an arrest report states.</p>
<p>Human trafficking, a first-degree felony, carries a maximum prison sentence of 30 years. But Cynthia Graves wasn't charged with human trafficking. No one has ever been prosecuted for human trafficking in the 7th Judicial Circuit, comprised of Volusia, Flagler, St. Johns and Putnam counties.</p>
<p>Makell is seeking support among Florida's legislators to change that. Aided by Don Mair, who helped draft Gabby's Law after his daughter was hit by a car and killed at a school bus stop, Makell is advocating for a rewrite of Florida's human trafficking statute.</p>
<p>The proposed bill emphasizes harsher penalties and removal of plea deals for those charged with the crime.</p>
<p>"The law let us down," Holly Ware said, "so let's change the law."</p>
<p>State Rep. Tom Leek, R-Ormond Beach, said he is working with the House of Representatives' criminal justice staff to draft an effective bill, but it will not be completed in time for the 2018 legislative session.</p>
<p>Leek, an attorney, said the punishment Makell's parents received for "one of the most atrocious crimes I can think of being committed is offensive."</p>
<p>But, he added, "We have to make sure to give law enforcement and the state attorney the discretion they need to put together the best case they can without unnecessary restrictions. It was easy to recognize the problem, but it's hard to find a solution that works."</p>
<p>Florida's human trafficking law requires prosecutors to prove the victim was subjected to force, fraud or coercion. Proof of coercion is usually developed through victim testimony, Peters said.</p>
<p>Drugging a child for the purpose of sexual exploitation is a form of coercion, but there must be a direct connection between the two. In Makell's case, Peters said, "Every time (her parents provided her with drugs), it wasn't for the purpose of sexual acts."</p>
<p>Makell's father — though guilty of giving his underage daughter drugs — was never alleged to have sold her for sex.</p>
<p>"The charges we used didn't have to prove coercion and covered the facts exactly," Peters said. "I don't think the problem is what we charged. The end result is what people are upset about."</p>
<p>Leek said the solution may be to change the standard of proof from coercion to facilitation. While it may be difficult to prove the purpose of Makell's mother's actions was to sell her for sex, Leek said, "What her parents did by drugging her is they took away her ability to reject, her ability to reason.</p>
<p>"What I do know is parents who sell their kids into the sex trade should not be able to walk away with (a short sentence)," Leek said. "There's got to be a better solution."</p>
<p>A taste of justice</p>
<p>In June 2016, nine months after her mother went to prison, Makell suffered a flashback to a sexual assault by a man she could only identify as "Buzz." Ware notified the FBI.</p>
<p>The next day, FBI agents drove Makell to her parents' home and she directed them turn by turn to the door of John Szolosi of DeBary.</p>
<p>Szolosi, 70, pleaded no contest to lewd or lascivious sexual battery, but later admitted his guilt to the court. Szolosi told investigators he paid Cindy Graves a single Xanax for the sex act with Makell.</p>
<p>New charges were filed against Graves, too. But the incident had occurred during the date range already covered by her plea.</p>
<p>In the months leading up to Szolosi's sentencing, Makell had returned to school. Outwardly, she seemed like any other University High School student. But the trauma she has suffered still lingers. One day earlier this year, she pulled into the University High School parking lot for a typical day of classes when memories simmering below the surface struck without warning.</p>
<p>She panicked and dialed Ware, whom she now calls "Mom." Ware officially adopted Makell and Kaytee in 2015, and both girls have taken their adoptive mother's last name.</p>
<p>Ware calmed her. "You're in control. You're not trapped. You can drive home."</p>
<p>When she reached home that day, a wave of nausea hit Makell the moment she stepped through the front door. She vomited again and again until she blacked out. Ware put her to bed. When Makell awoke, she shared previously suppressed details from her hours-long encounter with Szolosi.</p>
<p>"That (memory) was actually so traumatizing," Makell said, "I had to tell my mom what I remembered and what happened because I couldn't physically write it down."</p>
<p>Awaiting sentencing at his home earlier this year, Szolosi told The News-Journal he had "a lot of feelings" about what he did to Makell.</p>
<p>Leaning against his doorframe, an ankle monitor hidden under his jeans, he indicated a desire to express those feelings, but ultimately declined to divulge them without his attorney present. His attorney, Michael Nielsen, did not respond to multiple attempts to contact him. Szolosi was sentenced in September to 10 years in prison and declared a sex offender.</p>
<p>To Makell, Szolosi's sentence felt like justice.</p>
<p>When Ware arrived home from Szolosi's sentencing, Makell ran outside to greet her in the driveway.</p>
<p>"What are we gonna do now?" Ware asked as they wiped away tears.</p>
<p>Makell answered, "Live our lives."</p>
<p>'I want to be a kid'</p>
<p>"Pretty but stupid" is what Makell said her parents called her. They pulled her from public school soon after she started seventh grade.</p>
<p>A teacher came to her house at first, and she was expected to complete her courses online. She didn't, and the teacher quit coming.</p>
<p>When Ware took custody of Makell and Kaytee, Makell should have been a high school freshman. Instead, Ware re-enrolled her in middle school. She made honor roll.</p>
<p>"She did a 180 in a week," Ware said. "She wanted to be a good kid. She didn't want to be what they made her."</p>
<p>Makell will graduate high school in May, and is dual enrolled at Daytona State College. She had planned to pursue a nursing certification, but is now considering a career in law enforcement.</p>
<p>She still has counseling three times a week. Patrick Nave and Diena Cannavino, founders of Bikers Against Trafficking, give their services free to Makell at their state-licensed addiction treatment and counseling center, Ware said.</p>
<p>Survivors of sex trafficking have wounds and addictions they will deal with for the rest of their lives, Nave told The News-Journal.</p>
<p>"Something that happened 30 years ago can be triggered by a movie. Everything is still in the brain."</p>
<p>Scent, he said, is the biggest trigger, and can catch a survivor off guard.</p>
<p>For Makell, each day is a minefield.</p>
<p>Last year, a grocery shopping trip took a dark turn when an elderly man passed Makell in the aisle. The "old man smell" plunged Makell into a disturbing memory. She crumbled to the floor in hysterics.</p>
<p>"In that moment, you don't feel like you're in the middle of a store. You feel like you're back in that bad situation," Makell explained. "And all I had was my mom to just stand there and hold me and tell me, 'It's OK, you're safe.'"</p>
<p>The threat of a sneak attack from her subconscious lingers. Makell still lives in DeBary. Ware has moved them to a new neighborhood. But at any turn, Makell worries she could encounter her father or grandparents or previously unidentified rapists.</p>
<p>"For the longest time I was literally running out of stores and just running from anyone in my past and anything that reminded me," Makell said. "It hasn't really been until recently I've tried to stop running, but it is hard to go into Walmart."</p>
<p>Walter and Esther Graves, Makell's grandparents, live with Michael Graves. Esther said her son won't talk about the case. She and her husband are "very upset that we can't see (Makell and Kaytee)," she told The News-Journal. "We've tried, but (Ware) won't let us."</p>
<p>Michael Graves was prohibited by law from contacting Makell until she turned 18. Makell said her dad doesn't have her number, but if he called she'd have some choice words for him.</p>
<p>Makell didn't want to celebrate her 18th birthday. "I didn't get to be a kid," she told Ware. "I'm not an adult. I want to be a kid."</p>
<p>In recent months, she has finally started sleeping in a bedroom rather than in the living room with Ware.</p>
<p>And another significant thing has changed: Since Szolosi's sentencing — and the toll it took on her mental and physical well-being — she's decided not to pursue prosecution of any perpetrators she remembers in the future.</p>
<p>"Even when there's no more court hearings or interviews like this, we're not going to be a completely normal family," Makell said. "But we're all just really ready to just be done with this."</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: Daytona Beach (Fla.) News-Journal, <a href="http://www.news-journalonline.com" type="external">http://www.news-journalonline.com</a></p>
<p>DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — It started with a pill — a sedative before bed, a powerful painkiller to cure a headache.</p>
<p>The dosage grew gradually, turning teenager Makell Graves into an addict. Then the injections started.</p>
<p>From that point, Makell can recall her childhood only in fits and fragments, mangled in her memory by the trauma that followed.</p>
<p>What she does remember she'd rather not conjure — nauseating visions of being bound and battered as old men violated her body and mind.</p>
<p>Afterward, her mother would drive her home.</p>
<p>"I've kind of always known there was something different between my life and other kids," Makell, now 19, told The News-Journal. She has undergone extensive therapy to combat her addiction and restore her mental health. "I don't really know if I ever realized what was going on because when you're a kid, you automatically think to trust your parents, and that's what I did."</p>
<p>By age 14, Makell's mother was shooting narcotics into her veins in the bathroom of the family's DeBary home, then selling her to strange men for sex, sometimes for as little as a single prescription pill.</p>
<p>The drugs wiped many markers of time and place from Makell's memory. But she thinks the drugs and sexual abuse went on for about two years before local law enforcement poured into her quiet neighborhood and removed her and her sister to safety.</p>
<p>Makell's parents, Michael and Cynthia Graves, were arrested three months later. But under Florida law, the parents were able to trade pleas for light penalties. Meanwhile, Makell's sentence stretches out before her with no end in sight.</p>
<p>Feeling "cheated" out of justice by the punishment meted out to her parents, Makell has come forward, identifying herself in the media to advance her intent to push legislators to strengthen Florida's statute on human trafficking.</p>
<p>Sex trafficking "is not happening somewhere far away from us like everyone thinks," Makell said. "It's literally happening all around you. People either choose to ignore it or they have no idea what it is."</p>
<p>'You don't have to lie anymore'</p>
<p>Holly Ware wasn't expecting the frantic voice she heard when she answered a call from Cynthia Graves. "They're taking my kids!" Graves screamed. "Please don't let my kids go to foster care."</p>
<p>Ware loved Makell's younger sister, Kaytee, like a daughter. Her longtime partner had a daughter Kaytee's age and the two girls were close friends.</p>
<p>Kaytee had spent three summers and countless weekends at Ware's home. "Mama Holly," as Ware was known, often had paid for Kaytee's school clothes, immunizations and doctor visits.</p>
<p>Kaytee was a "good girl" who talked about "God and boys," Ware said. When Ware drove Kaytee home, she'd see Makell outside, scantily clad and smoking a cigarette. Ware thought Makell was a stoner and a street thug.</p>
<p>After hearing Graves' phoned plea that late summer afternoon in 2014, Ware agreed to meet the girls at a state Department of Children and Families facility where they were taken to be interviewed.</p>
<p>There, she got the full story.</p>
<p>Graves had decided to pick Kaytee up early from her Orange City middle school. She took Makell, who hadn't been to class in two years, along for the drive.</p>
<p>On their way home, a neighbor called with a warning: Law enforcement had surrounded the Graves residence.</p>
<p>Graves went home anyway. When they arrived, Volusia County deputies escorted Makell and Kaytee inside to pack their bags. Later at the DCF office, Ware's assumptions about Makell were shattered in seconds.</p>
<p>"(FBI agents) said (Makell's parents) have been IV drugging Makell and selling her to their drug dealers, and that's called human trafficking," Ware recalled. "My jaw fell to the floor. I just thought she was this little pothead. I felt shame for judging her."</p>
<p>That was all it took to shift Ware into "mama bear" mode. "You're gonna come stay with me," she told Makell. "You're gonna be safe."</p>
<p>Makell was skeptical. The first time investigators questioned her, she lied.</p>
<p>"Both my parents would coach me into thinking (what they did to me) was OK, and if anything were to happen, to take the fall for it so they wouldn't get in trouble," Makell said.</p>
<p>Ware convinced her to come clean.</p>
<p>"(Ware) looked at me and said, 'Makell, I know you don't know me like that, but (the authorities) know everything and you don't have to lie anymore,'" Makell recalled. "And I said OK."</p>
<p>Ware's daughter, Reagan, was waiting for Makell outside the interview room. "She just hugged me," Makell said, blinking back tears. "I will never forget that day."</p>
<p>That night, Makell slept on a mattress in Ware's living room. Ware stayed close on the couch to remind Makell she was safe.</p>
<p>"I slept for the first time in two years," Makell said.</p>
<p>Sold for sex</p>
<p>Arrest reports fill in some of the memory gaps Makell would prefer to leave empty.</p>
<p>They tell how Robert Richards, 60-year-old owner of Fresh Off the Hook restaurant in DeLand, handcuffed Makell's hands behind her back and then to a bedpost while he raped her with an object as another young woman watched.</p>
<p>When Richards was finished, Cynthia Graves picked up Makell and the other young woman — one of several Graves prostituted, records show — demanded payment from Richards and drove to Deltona to purchase pills.</p>
<p>Makell was 14.</p>
<p>She usually was "sedated" during sexual encounters, but not always. Sometimes, Makell recalled, her mother would say, "We need money so we can get our drugs, so I need you to do this. It kind of just became like a normalcy or routine in my life for a while."</p>
<p>Makell thinks she was 12 the first time her parents medicated her. She had watched them openly abuse drugs for years. "They didn't try to hide it," she said.</p>
<p>They fed her progressively stronger pills, and then began injecting liquefied narcotics — Dilaudid, Xanax, oxycodone — into her arms, buttocks and between her fingers. Once her parents started shooting her up with drugs, Makell said her memories became muddled.</p>
<p>"There were times when I would wake up in someone's house, or I have little memories of driving to Sanford or just like little bits here and there," she said. "But, you know, the more time that I try to heal, I remember more and more from flashbacks and dreams and stuff like that."</p>
<p>She recalls a Sanford neighborhood haunted by drug dealers, addicts and prostitutes. "(My mother) knew everyone in that neighborhood," Makell said.</p>
<p>Graves could count on collecting cash from two Sanford men in particular, an informant told investigators. To one, Graves sold shoplifted steaks. To the other, she sold Makell.</p>
<p>Police reports refer to those buyers as "James" and "Reggie." Reggie was an active member of the military, according to an informant. Reggie rented hotel rooms for sex acts with Makell and her mother to hide his illicit activities from his wife. Neither man has been prosecuted.</p>
<p>Makell believes her mother sold her to eight different men, including at least three in Seminole County. Only two of the men — both in West Volusia — have been publicly identified.</p>
<p>Richards, the DeLand restaurant owner, was a regular. His reputed preference for underage girls attracted FBI attention. Besides Makell, Richards liked to hire young female employees he could entice with money or gifts in exchange for after-hours sex, a confidential source told investigators.</p>
<p>Cynthia Graves planned to start selling Kaytee as well, the source said, but Makell intervened. "No, take me," Makell insisted.</p>
<p>Richards was arrested Dec. 17, 2014, the same day as Makell's parents. He was charged with child abuse and two counts of lewd or lascivious sexual battery on a child age 12 but less than 16.</p>
<p>He died while awaiting trial. Records do not show the cause of death. If convicted, Roberts would have faced up to 35 years in prison.</p>
<p>In comparison, Makell's parents received relatively light sentences.</p>
<p>Michael Graves pleaded no contest to child abuse. He was sentenced in late August 2015 to a year and a day, with credit for six months in Volusia County jail. He was released in February 2016 after five months in prison, and returned to his DeBary home for three years of supervised probation.</p>
<p>A month after her husband, Cindy Graves pleaded no contest to procuring a minor for prostitution, deriving support from the proceeds of prostitution and child abuse. She was sentenced to five years in prison. She's scheduled for release April 5, 2019.</p>
<p>Reliving the trauma</p>
<p>"Five years? Am I only worth five years?" Makell asked Ware when she heard the news of her parents' short sentences. She was devastated.</p>
<p>But part of the challenge for prosecutors was Makell's state of mind as a result of the trauma she'd experienced.</p>
<p>In sex crime cases, it's common for prosecutors and defense attorneys to discuss a plea that does not require the victim to testify, Assistant State Attorney Shannon Peters said.</p>
<p>The deposition process alone is "very rigorous," Peters told The News-Journal. A defense attorney's role is to protect the accused, and though some handle victims with care, others take the opportunity to intimidate.</p>
<p>When Makell was scheduled to speak with prosecutors, she experienced mental and emotional upheaval and was not able to follow through.</p>
<p>"You're confronted with forcing a girl to come into court whether she's having seizures or throwing up," Peters said.</p>
<p>A trial would have required Makell to relive her trauma yet again and be cross examined in a public courtroom.</p>
<p>"She didn't want to have to face the perpetrators in court," said Peters. (Though Makell has come forward in the media, prosecutors are prohibited from naming her.) "If the victim isn't willing to come to court and (testify), we don't have a case. If you don't make a plea deal and they don't come to court, you don't get a second bite of that apple."</p>
<p>Had Michael Graves gone to trial, he could have been sentenced to five years in prison. Cindy Graves could have faced 25 years, but five years was "what the defendant was willing to plead to without putting the victim through a deposition or any court proceedings," Peters said.</p>
<p>Still, Makell said she felt "cheated" by the justice system.</p>
<p>"I think if my parents had been charged the proper way in the beginning and served what they deserved, I would probably be in a different place with everything," she said.</p>
<p>'The law let us down'</p>
<p>An investigation by the Volusia County Sheriff's Office revealed Cindy Graves was "sex trafficking (Makell) for money," an arrest report states.</p>
<p>Human trafficking, a first-degree felony, carries a maximum prison sentence of 30 years. But Cynthia Graves wasn't charged with human trafficking. No one has ever been prosecuted for human trafficking in the 7th Judicial Circuit, comprised of Volusia, Flagler, St. Johns and Putnam counties.</p>
<p>Makell is seeking support among Florida's legislators to change that. Aided by Don Mair, who helped draft Gabby's Law after his daughter was hit by a car and killed at a school bus stop, Makell is advocating for a rewrite of Florida's human trafficking statute.</p>
<p>The proposed bill emphasizes harsher penalties and removal of plea deals for those charged with the crime.</p>
<p>"The law let us down," Holly Ware said, "so let's change the law."</p>
<p>State Rep. Tom Leek, R-Ormond Beach, said he is working with the House of Representatives' criminal justice staff to draft an effective bill, but it will not be completed in time for the 2018 legislative session.</p>
<p>Leek, an attorney, said the punishment Makell's parents received for "one of the most atrocious crimes I can think of being committed is offensive."</p>
<p>But, he added, "We have to make sure to give law enforcement and the state attorney the discretion they need to put together the best case they can without unnecessary restrictions. It was easy to recognize the problem, but it's hard to find a solution that works."</p>
<p>Florida's human trafficking law requires prosecutors to prove the victim was subjected to force, fraud or coercion. Proof of coercion is usually developed through victim testimony, Peters said.</p>
<p>Drugging a child for the purpose of sexual exploitation is a form of coercion, but there must be a direct connection between the two. In Makell's case, Peters said, "Every time (her parents provided her with drugs), it wasn't for the purpose of sexual acts."</p>
<p>Makell's father — though guilty of giving his underage daughter drugs — was never alleged to have sold her for sex.</p>
<p>"The charges we used didn't have to prove coercion and covered the facts exactly," Peters said. "I don't think the problem is what we charged. The end result is what people are upset about."</p>
<p>Leek said the solution may be to change the standard of proof from coercion to facilitation. While it may be difficult to prove the purpose of Makell's mother's actions was to sell her for sex, Leek said, "What her parents did by drugging her is they took away her ability to reject, her ability to reason.</p>
<p>"What I do know is parents who sell their kids into the sex trade should not be able to walk away with (a short sentence)," Leek said. "There's got to be a better solution."</p>
<p>A taste of justice</p>
<p>In June 2016, nine months after her mother went to prison, Makell suffered a flashback to a sexual assault by a man she could only identify as "Buzz." Ware notified the FBI.</p>
<p>The next day, FBI agents drove Makell to her parents' home and she directed them turn by turn to the door of John Szolosi of DeBary.</p>
<p>Szolosi, 70, pleaded no contest to lewd or lascivious sexual battery, but later admitted his guilt to the court. Szolosi told investigators he paid Cindy Graves a single Xanax for the sex act with Makell.</p>
<p>New charges were filed against Graves, too. But the incident had occurred during the date range already covered by her plea.</p>
<p>In the months leading up to Szolosi's sentencing, Makell had returned to school. Outwardly, she seemed like any other University High School student. But the trauma she has suffered still lingers. One day earlier this year, she pulled into the University High School parking lot for a typical day of classes when memories simmering below the surface struck without warning.</p>
<p>She panicked and dialed Ware, whom she now calls "Mom." Ware officially adopted Makell and Kaytee in 2015, and both girls have taken their adoptive mother's last name.</p>
<p>Ware calmed her. "You're in control. You're not trapped. You can drive home."</p>
<p>When she reached home that day, a wave of nausea hit Makell the moment she stepped through the front door. She vomited again and again until she blacked out. Ware put her to bed. When Makell awoke, she shared previously suppressed details from her hours-long encounter with Szolosi.</p>
<p>"That (memory) was actually so traumatizing," Makell said, "I had to tell my mom what I remembered and what happened because I couldn't physically write it down."</p>
<p>Awaiting sentencing at his home earlier this year, Szolosi told The News-Journal he had "a lot of feelings" about what he did to Makell.</p>
<p>Leaning against his doorframe, an ankle monitor hidden under his jeans, he indicated a desire to express those feelings, but ultimately declined to divulge them without his attorney present. His attorney, Michael Nielsen, did not respond to multiple attempts to contact him. Szolosi was sentenced in September to 10 years in prison and declared a sex offender.</p>
<p>To Makell, Szolosi's sentence felt like justice.</p>
<p>When Ware arrived home from Szolosi's sentencing, Makell ran outside to greet her in the driveway.</p>
<p>"What are we gonna do now?" Ware asked as they wiped away tears.</p>
<p>Makell answered, "Live our lives."</p>
<p>'I want to be a kid'</p>
<p>"Pretty but stupid" is what Makell said her parents called her. They pulled her from public school soon after she started seventh grade.</p>
<p>A teacher came to her house at first, and she was expected to complete her courses online. She didn't, and the teacher quit coming.</p>
<p>When Ware took custody of Makell and Kaytee, Makell should have been a high school freshman. Instead, Ware re-enrolled her in middle school. She made honor roll.</p>
<p>"She did a 180 in a week," Ware said. "She wanted to be a good kid. She didn't want to be what they made her."</p>
<p>Makell will graduate high school in May, and is dual enrolled at Daytona State College. She had planned to pursue a nursing certification, but is now considering a career in law enforcement.</p>
<p>She still has counseling three times a week. Patrick Nave and Diena Cannavino, founders of Bikers Against Trafficking, give their services free to Makell at their state-licensed addiction treatment and counseling center, Ware said.</p>
<p>Survivors of sex trafficking have wounds and addictions they will deal with for the rest of their lives, Nave told The News-Journal.</p>
<p>"Something that happened 30 years ago can be triggered by a movie. Everything is still in the brain."</p>
<p>Scent, he said, is the biggest trigger, and can catch a survivor off guard.</p>
<p>For Makell, each day is a minefield.</p>
<p>Last year, a grocery shopping trip took a dark turn when an elderly man passed Makell in the aisle. The "old man smell" plunged Makell into a disturbing memory. She crumbled to the floor in hysterics.</p>
<p>"In that moment, you don't feel like you're in the middle of a store. You feel like you're back in that bad situation," Makell explained. "And all I had was my mom to just stand there and hold me and tell me, 'It's OK, you're safe.'"</p>
<p>The threat of a sneak attack from her subconscious lingers. Makell still lives in DeBary. Ware has moved them to a new neighborhood. But at any turn, Makell worries she could encounter her father or grandparents or previously unidentified rapists.</p>
<p>"For the longest time I was literally running out of stores and just running from anyone in my past and anything that reminded me," Makell said. "It hasn't really been until recently I've tried to stop running, but it is hard to go into Walmart."</p>
<p>Walter and Esther Graves, Makell's grandparents, live with Michael Graves. Esther said her son won't talk about the case. She and her husband are "very upset that we can't see (Makell and Kaytee)," she told The News-Journal. "We've tried, but (Ware) won't let us."</p>
<p>Michael Graves was prohibited by law from contacting Makell until she turned 18. Makell said her dad doesn't have her number, but if he called she'd have some choice words for him.</p>
<p>Makell didn't want to celebrate her 18th birthday. "I didn't get to be a kid," she told Ware. "I'm not an adult. I want to be a kid."</p>
<p>In recent months, she has finally started sleeping in a bedroom rather than in the living room with Ware.</p>
<p>And another significant thing has changed: Since Szolosi's sentencing — and the toll it took on her mental and physical well-being — she's decided not to pursue prosecution of any perpetrators she remembers in the future.</p>
<p>"Even when there's no more court hearings or interviews like this, we're not going to be a completely normal family," Makell said. "But we're all just really ready to just be done with this."</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: Daytona Beach (Fla.) News-Journal, <a href="http://www.news-journalonline.com" type="external">http://www.news-journalonline.com</a></p> | 3,924 |
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<p>Nearly 150 years after the end of the Civil War, the justices heard arguments in a case over Texas’ refusal to issue a license plate bearing the battle flag. Nine other states allow drivers to display plates with the flag, which remains both a potent image of heritage and a racially charged symbol of repression.</p>
<p>Specialty license plates are big business in Texas. They brought in $17.6 million last year and state officials said there are now nearly 450 messages to choose from, from “Choose Life” to the Boy Scouts and hamburger chains.</p>
<p>The state rarely rejects a specialty plate, but it did turn down a request by the Texas division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans for a license plate with its logo bearing the battle flag. The group’s lawsuit led to Monday’s hearing.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The justices seemed uncomfortable with arguments advanced by both sides — the state in defense of its actions, and the Sons of Confederate Veterans in their appeal for the symbol.</p>
<p>If the court finds the state must permit the battle flag on license plates, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg asked in a series of questions, would it be forced also to allow plates with a swastika, the word “jihad,” and a call to make marijuana legal?</p>
<p>Yes, lawyer R. James George Jr., a law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall 45 years ago, responded each time on behalf of the veterans group.</p>
<p>“That’s okay? And ‘Bong hits for Jesus?'” Ginsburg said, reaching back to an earlier case involving students’ speech rights.</p>
<p>Again, George said yes, and remained firm even when Justice Elena Kagan added in “the most offensive racial epithet you can imagine.”</p>
<p>He told the justices that “speech that we hate is something that we should be proud of protecting.”</p>
<p>The result of such a ruling, Justice Anthony Kennedy said, probably would be the end of the state’s program of allowing many specialized license plates, and a loss of free speech. “If you prevail, it’s going to prevent a lot of Texans from conveying a message,” Kennedy said.</p>
<p>More skeptical about the state’s argument, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito said the sheer number of messages and their wide range show that the state’s only interest is financial.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“They’re only doing this to get the money,” Roberts said. “Texas will put its name on anything.”</p>
<p>Texas Solicitor General Scott Keller said the state makes the plates and owns them. “Texas has its name on every license plate,” Keller said.</p>
<p>Car owners remain free to express any message they wish by attaching bumper stickers or painting their cars, he said.</p>
<p>Keller urged the court not to force Texas to recognize offensive speech. “Texas should not have to allow speech about al-Qaida or the Nazi party simply because it offers a license plate propagating the message ‘Fight Terrorism,'” Keller said.</p>
<p>But Roberts was unpersuaded by that argument. “If you don’t want to have the al-Qaida license plate, don’t get into the business of allowing people to buy…the space to put on whatever they want to say,” the chief justice said.</p>
<p>Texas commemorates the Confederacy in many ways. The battle flag is etched on a century-old Civil War monument on the grounds of the state Capitol in Austin.</p>
<p>The First Amendment dispute has brought together some unlikely allies, including the American Civil Liberties Union, anti-abortion groups, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, civil libertarian Nat Hentoff and conservative satirist P.J. O’Rourke.</p>
<p>“In a free society, offensive speech should not just be tolerated, its regular presence should be celebrated as a symbol of democratic health — however odorous the products of a democracy may be,” Hentoff, O’Rourke and others said in a brief backing the group.</p>
<p>The case could be important for how the Supreme Court determines whether the speech at issue belongs to private individuals or the government.</p>
<p>Eleven states are supporting Texas because they fear that a ruling against the state would call into question license plates that promote national and state pride and specific positions on such controversial issues as abortion.</p>
<p>George said states concerned about seeming to endorse controversial messages could print on the plates “This is not the state’s speech,” in large orange lettering.</p>
<p>“Where is that going to fit on the license plate?” Justice Sonia Sotomayor asked.</p>
<p>A decision in Walker v. Sons of Confederate Veterans, 14-144, is expected by late June.</p>
<p>——</p>
<p>Follow Mark Sherman on Twitter at <a href="http://www.twitter.com/shermancourt" type="external">http://www.twitter.com/shermancourt</a></p> | Justices struggle with free speech case over license plates | false | https://abqjournal.com/558944/justices-hear-free-speech-dispute-over-license-plates.html | 2least
| Justices struggle with free speech case over license plates
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<p />
<p>Nearly 150 years after the end of the Civil War, the justices heard arguments in a case over Texas’ refusal to issue a license plate bearing the battle flag. Nine other states allow drivers to display plates with the flag, which remains both a potent image of heritage and a racially charged symbol of repression.</p>
<p>Specialty license plates are big business in Texas. They brought in $17.6 million last year and state officials said there are now nearly 450 messages to choose from, from “Choose Life” to the Boy Scouts and hamburger chains.</p>
<p>The state rarely rejects a specialty plate, but it did turn down a request by the Texas division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans for a license plate with its logo bearing the battle flag. The group’s lawsuit led to Monday’s hearing.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The justices seemed uncomfortable with arguments advanced by both sides — the state in defense of its actions, and the Sons of Confederate Veterans in their appeal for the symbol.</p>
<p>If the court finds the state must permit the battle flag on license plates, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg asked in a series of questions, would it be forced also to allow plates with a swastika, the word “jihad,” and a call to make marijuana legal?</p>
<p>Yes, lawyer R. James George Jr., a law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall 45 years ago, responded each time on behalf of the veterans group.</p>
<p>“That’s okay? And ‘Bong hits for Jesus?'” Ginsburg said, reaching back to an earlier case involving students’ speech rights.</p>
<p>Again, George said yes, and remained firm even when Justice Elena Kagan added in “the most offensive racial epithet you can imagine.”</p>
<p>He told the justices that “speech that we hate is something that we should be proud of protecting.”</p>
<p>The result of such a ruling, Justice Anthony Kennedy said, probably would be the end of the state’s program of allowing many specialized license plates, and a loss of free speech. “If you prevail, it’s going to prevent a lot of Texans from conveying a message,” Kennedy said.</p>
<p>More skeptical about the state’s argument, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito said the sheer number of messages and their wide range show that the state’s only interest is financial.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“They’re only doing this to get the money,” Roberts said. “Texas will put its name on anything.”</p>
<p>Texas Solicitor General Scott Keller said the state makes the plates and owns them. “Texas has its name on every license plate,” Keller said.</p>
<p>Car owners remain free to express any message they wish by attaching bumper stickers or painting their cars, he said.</p>
<p>Keller urged the court not to force Texas to recognize offensive speech. “Texas should not have to allow speech about al-Qaida or the Nazi party simply because it offers a license plate propagating the message ‘Fight Terrorism,'” Keller said.</p>
<p>But Roberts was unpersuaded by that argument. “If you don’t want to have the al-Qaida license plate, don’t get into the business of allowing people to buy…the space to put on whatever they want to say,” the chief justice said.</p>
<p>Texas commemorates the Confederacy in many ways. The battle flag is etched on a century-old Civil War monument on the grounds of the state Capitol in Austin.</p>
<p>The First Amendment dispute has brought together some unlikely allies, including the American Civil Liberties Union, anti-abortion groups, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, civil libertarian Nat Hentoff and conservative satirist P.J. O’Rourke.</p>
<p>“In a free society, offensive speech should not just be tolerated, its regular presence should be celebrated as a symbol of democratic health — however odorous the products of a democracy may be,” Hentoff, O’Rourke and others said in a brief backing the group.</p>
<p>The case could be important for how the Supreme Court determines whether the speech at issue belongs to private individuals or the government.</p>
<p>Eleven states are supporting Texas because they fear that a ruling against the state would call into question license plates that promote national and state pride and specific positions on such controversial issues as abortion.</p>
<p>George said states concerned about seeming to endorse controversial messages could print on the plates “This is not the state’s speech,” in large orange lettering.</p>
<p>“Where is that going to fit on the license plate?” Justice Sonia Sotomayor asked.</p>
<p>A decision in Walker v. Sons of Confederate Veterans, 14-144, is expected by late June.</p>
<p>——</p>
<p>Follow Mark Sherman on Twitter at <a href="http://www.twitter.com/shermancourt" type="external">http://www.twitter.com/shermancourt</a></p> | 3,925 |
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<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — About half the New Mexicans who selected a plan through the BeWellNM.com portal were new to the exchange, while the remainder were automatically re-enrolled in health coverage, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.</p>
<p>As of Feb. 22, 52,358 people selected a plan or were automatically re-enrolled. Of those, 26,702 or 51 percent, were new to the exchange, and 49 percent were re-enrollees. Nearly half of the active re-enrollees switched their plan from the previous year.</p>
<p>In New Mexico, 76 percent of those who selected a plan were eligible for financial assistance. The average tax credit reduced their premium payments by 61 percent. Nearly half of consumers paid $100 or less for monthly premiums after the tax credit, according to the release.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Half of those who enrolled in health plan were new to exchange | false | https://abqjournal.com/555098/half-of-those-who-enrolled-in-health-plan-were-new-to-exchange.html | 2least
| Half of those who enrolled in health plan were new to exchange
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — About half the New Mexicans who selected a plan through the BeWellNM.com portal were new to the exchange, while the remainder were automatically re-enrolled in health coverage, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.</p>
<p>As of Feb. 22, 52,358 people selected a plan or were automatically re-enrolled. Of those, 26,702 or 51 percent, were new to the exchange, and 49 percent were re-enrollees. Nearly half of the active re-enrollees switched their plan from the previous year.</p>
<p>In New Mexico, 76 percent of those who selected a plan were eligible for financial assistance. The average tax credit reduced their premium payments by 61 percent. Nearly half of consumers paid $100 or less for monthly premiums after the tax credit, according to the release.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 3,926 |
|
<p>By Ralph Nader</p>
<p>The Republican and Democratic conventions are mercifully over but their corrosive impacts on our democracy persist.</p>
<p>First, did you know that taxpayers helped fund these conventions at a level of $100 million for logistics and police sequestrations of demonstrators in Tampa and Charlotte and an additional $18.2 million each for general convention expenses?</p>
<p>The two party duopoly obviously controls the honey pot in Congress. That corporate welfare is what they enacted in spite of the fact that the party’s convention committees are private corporations that should pay for their own big political party and their many smaller social parties with plentiful food and drink. No third party – Green, Libertarian or others – received any taxpayer money for their conventions this year.</p>
<p />
<p>Second, the Republican and Democratic conventions have jettisoned their original purposes which were to resolve the contest for the presidential nomination and work up a platform. Both functions are now decided beforehand, setting the stage for a choreographed theatrical event of political pomposity and braggadocio. On the periphery are the omnipresent corporate lobbyists and their parties of free food and drink.</p>
<p>Did they ask you the taxpayers to foot so much of this bill? Silly question for an oligarchy greased by a plutocracy.</p>
<p>Taking these conventions at face value, one is shocked by how they are scripted right down to every line of every speech vetted by the politicos. Clint Eastwood’s spontaneity that so angered the GOP operatives was the exception.</p>
<p>The Republicans put three themes in just about every speech. Tell your personal story, recount your humble beginnings and describe how you pulled yourself up by your own bootstraps. Show the people you’re human or at least humanoid, not corporatist. Keep heralding small business so you don’t have to talk about Big Business which has bad vibrations these days around the country. Also, praise, praise, praise Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan as family men with family values. Imagine Republicans telling the press that the convention was to “humanize” Romney and give the voters a warm, fuzzy feeling about their candidate so as to forget that his campaign is a clenched-teeth mouthpiece for Big Business.</p>
<p>The Democratic Convention evokes pity. They too had similar scripts at the podium – narrate your humble, hardworking family lines, talk incessantly about jobs so you won’t have to talk about wages. Especially muzzled was the willing Richard Trumka, head of the AFL-CIO, who, since 2009, has been given the back of Obama’s hand on “card check organizing rights” and on an inflation-adjusted minimum wage. His staged remarks even withheld any mention of a $10 minimum wage (See H.R. 5901 bill “Catching up with 1968”) and the raiding of worker pensions by corporate raptors.</p>
<p>The repetitive over-wrought praise of “el Presidente” in every speech became mawkish, reminding one of the “politics of personalism,” present in many countries with underdeveloped political institutions. Michelle Obama found no time for mentioning the Obama family and America’s mission to grow and consume nutritious food and keep fit to avoid the ravages of obesity. She was too occupied gushing over her aggressive drone commander’s touching nightly reading of letters from Americans about their problems.</p>
<p>The mass obeisance ended when the commander-in-chief himself sprung onto the stage to speak the language of hope, meanwhile avoiding addressing the number of undesirable conditions that need his attention at this singular opportunity.</p>
<p>Conservative New York Times columnist David Brooks, trying to be sympathetic, was looking for some significant specificity:</p>
<p>“What I was mostly looking for were big proposals, big as health care was four years ago. I had spent the three previous days watching more than 80 convention speeches without hearing a single major policy proposal in any of them. I asked governors, mayors and legislators to name a significant law that they’d like to see Obama pass in a second term. Not one could. At its base, this is a party with a protective agenda, not a change agenda…”</p>
<p>Fortifying Brooks’ observation was Obama’s recounting of the differences between the Democrats and Republicans. They are almost all defensive in nature. Defend social security, Medicare, and abortion from the Republican offensive. The Democrats are not on the offensive – getting tough on: corporate crime, consumer gouging, bank abuses, corporate tax avoidance and evasions. They are not on the offensive fighting for worker’s safety and labor rights or minimum wage increases or helping the poor earn more and pay less.</p>
<p>Even when Obama mentioned climate change – a recent no-no in the Democrat’s lexicon – his words were defensive, namely “climate change is not a hoax” he did not elaborate.</p>
<p>This defensive attitude against the cruelest, most ignorant corporate-indentured, anti-worker, war mongering Republican Party in history is also seen in the debates and programs of Democratic Congressional and state candidates.</p>
<p>Being on the offense with an agenda standing for and with the people who economically are being driven, along with their country, into the ground by unpatriotic global corporations and their political minions, should be easy. Unless, that is, the Democrats want to continue dialing for the same corporate campaign dollars.</p>
<p>Playing defense explains why veteran Democrat members of the House of Representatives tell me that the party is going to lose the House again to the likes of John Boehner and Eric Cantor. The Democrats cannot even defend the country from Republicans who think Ronald Reagan was too moderate and unelectable today.</p>
<p /> | Two Conventions: Profiles in Decadent Cowardliness | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/two-conventions-profiles-in-decadent-cowardliness/ | 2012-09-13 | 4left
| Two Conventions: Profiles in Decadent Cowardliness
<p>By Ralph Nader</p>
<p>The Republican and Democratic conventions are mercifully over but their corrosive impacts on our democracy persist.</p>
<p>First, did you know that taxpayers helped fund these conventions at a level of $100 million for logistics and police sequestrations of demonstrators in Tampa and Charlotte and an additional $18.2 million each for general convention expenses?</p>
<p>The two party duopoly obviously controls the honey pot in Congress. That corporate welfare is what they enacted in spite of the fact that the party’s convention committees are private corporations that should pay for their own big political party and their many smaller social parties with plentiful food and drink. No third party – Green, Libertarian or others – received any taxpayer money for their conventions this year.</p>
<p />
<p>Second, the Republican and Democratic conventions have jettisoned their original purposes which were to resolve the contest for the presidential nomination and work up a platform. Both functions are now decided beforehand, setting the stage for a choreographed theatrical event of political pomposity and braggadocio. On the periphery are the omnipresent corporate lobbyists and their parties of free food and drink.</p>
<p>Did they ask you the taxpayers to foot so much of this bill? Silly question for an oligarchy greased by a plutocracy.</p>
<p>Taking these conventions at face value, one is shocked by how they are scripted right down to every line of every speech vetted by the politicos. Clint Eastwood’s spontaneity that so angered the GOP operatives was the exception.</p>
<p>The Republicans put three themes in just about every speech. Tell your personal story, recount your humble beginnings and describe how you pulled yourself up by your own bootstraps. Show the people you’re human or at least humanoid, not corporatist. Keep heralding small business so you don’t have to talk about Big Business which has bad vibrations these days around the country. Also, praise, praise, praise Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan as family men with family values. Imagine Republicans telling the press that the convention was to “humanize” Romney and give the voters a warm, fuzzy feeling about their candidate so as to forget that his campaign is a clenched-teeth mouthpiece for Big Business.</p>
<p>The Democratic Convention evokes pity. They too had similar scripts at the podium – narrate your humble, hardworking family lines, talk incessantly about jobs so you won’t have to talk about wages. Especially muzzled was the willing Richard Trumka, head of the AFL-CIO, who, since 2009, has been given the back of Obama’s hand on “card check organizing rights” and on an inflation-adjusted minimum wage. His staged remarks even withheld any mention of a $10 minimum wage (See H.R. 5901 bill “Catching up with 1968”) and the raiding of worker pensions by corporate raptors.</p>
<p>The repetitive over-wrought praise of “el Presidente” in every speech became mawkish, reminding one of the “politics of personalism,” present in many countries with underdeveloped political institutions. Michelle Obama found no time for mentioning the Obama family and America’s mission to grow and consume nutritious food and keep fit to avoid the ravages of obesity. She was too occupied gushing over her aggressive drone commander’s touching nightly reading of letters from Americans about their problems.</p>
<p>The mass obeisance ended when the commander-in-chief himself sprung onto the stage to speak the language of hope, meanwhile avoiding addressing the number of undesirable conditions that need his attention at this singular opportunity.</p>
<p>Conservative New York Times columnist David Brooks, trying to be sympathetic, was looking for some significant specificity:</p>
<p>“What I was mostly looking for were big proposals, big as health care was four years ago. I had spent the three previous days watching more than 80 convention speeches without hearing a single major policy proposal in any of them. I asked governors, mayors and legislators to name a significant law that they’d like to see Obama pass in a second term. Not one could. At its base, this is a party with a protective agenda, not a change agenda…”</p>
<p>Fortifying Brooks’ observation was Obama’s recounting of the differences between the Democrats and Republicans. They are almost all defensive in nature. Defend social security, Medicare, and abortion from the Republican offensive. The Democrats are not on the offensive – getting tough on: corporate crime, consumer gouging, bank abuses, corporate tax avoidance and evasions. They are not on the offensive fighting for worker’s safety and labor rights or minimum wage increases or helping the poor earn more and pay less.</p>
<p>Even when Obama mentioned climate change – a recent no-no in the Democrat’s lexicon – his words were defensive, namely “climate change is not a hoax” he did not elaborate.</p>
<p>This defensive attitude against the cruelest, most ignorant corporate-indentured, anti-worker, war mongering Republican Party in history is also seen in the debates and programs of Democratic Congressional and state candidates.</p>
<p>Being on the offense with an agenda standing for and with the people who economically are being driven, along with their country, into the ground by unpatriotic global corporations and their political minions, should be easy. Unless, that is, the Democrats want to continue dialing for the same corporate campaign dollars.</p>
<p>Playing defense explains why veteran Democrat members of the House of Representatives tell me that the party is going to lose the House again to the likes of John Boehner and Eric Cantor. The Democrats cannot even defend the country from Republicans who think Ronald Reagan was too moderate and unelectable today.</p>
<p /> | 3,927 |
<p>Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD) on Thursday reported a fiscal second-quarter loss of $395 million, after reporting a profit in the same period a year earlier.</p>
<p>The Hoffman Estates, Illinois-based company said it had a loss of $3.70 per share. Losses, adjusted for non-recurring costs, came to $2.03 per share.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The department store operator posted revenue of $5.66 billion in the period.</p>
<p>Sears shares have decreased 29 percent since the beginning of the year. The stock has fallen 33 percent in the last 12 months.</p>
<p>_____</p>
<p>This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on SHLD at http://www.zacks.com/ap/SHLD</p>
<p>_____</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Keywords: Sears Holdings, Earnings Report, Priority Earnings</p> | Sears reports 2Q loss | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/08/25/sears-reports-2q-loss.html | 2016-08-25 | 0right
| Sears reports 2Q loss
<p>Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD) on Thursday reported a fiscal second-quarter loss of $395 million, after reporting a profit in the same period a year earlier.</p>
<p>The Hoffman Estates, Illinois-based company said it had a loss of $3.70 per share. Losses, adjusted for non-recurring costs, came to $2.03 per share.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The department store operator posted revenue of $5.66 billion in the period.</p>
<p>Sears shares have decreased 29 percent since the beginning of the year. The stock has fallen 33 percent in the last 12 months.</p>
<p>_____</p>
<p>This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on SHLD at http://www.zacks.com/ap/SHLD</p>
<p>_____</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Keywords: Sears Holdings, Earnings Report, Priority Earnings</p> | 3,928 |
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<p />
<p>It seems that he declined a $5,000 bonus check awarded to him by the state of New Mexico for helping improve student achievement in his classroom. Hahn claims, “The idea that the state would need to offer me a bonus to do my job, frankly is insulting.”</p>
<p>Personally, there are a number of things I find insulting about this story. Let me explain.</p>
<p>Recently, the state has been offering teachers various performance bonuses. STEM teachers can receive a bonus for staying in the STEM teaching field. Teachers at highly effective schools can receive bonuses for taking jobs at struggling schools and AP teachers can receive bonuses for improving AP test scores.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The Legislature also recently approved $7.2 million to be used by districts that develop incentive-based programs for their employees. These funds can be used as individual incentives or as more of a profit-sharing type of program where entire departments/schools can receive bonuses for meeting incentives.</p>
<p>I believe many of these types of incentive-based measures have been used with varying degrees of success in the private sector for years and, although I agree with Hahn when he says, “Teachers, education, is not Wall Street. Teachers don’t work for bonuses. We work for the kids,” I believe that teachers in New Mexico are grossly underpaid.</p>
<p>Surely Hahn agrees with me. According to Hahn, he is so underpaid that he and his wife could not afford to go on a honeymoon when they were married.</p>
<p>Hahn seems to be disappointed that he was the only teacher that was awarded this bonus. Well, as I stated earlier, I agree with him that “… education, is not Wall Street.” However, I also believe that it should not be treated like pee-wee soccer either.</p>
<p>You see, in pee-wee soccer, everybody receives a participation trophy. Teacher salaries are similar to those participation trophies. Everybody gets the same pay regardless of performance.</p>
<p>Not only is this frustrating for me and many other educators, I believe it also prevents us from recruiting the top candidates out of high school into education schools at universities throughout New Mexico.</p>
<p>And that brings me back to why I am insulted.</p>
<p>Hahn’s actions, along with the help of media outlets that have not fully researched both sides of the story, may ultimately influence politicians to vote against incentive-based legislation in the future, ultimately taking money out of the pockets of hard-working teachers.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Also, Hahn offered just one side of a very complex story. It may have been unintentional, but Hahn did not explain that there are bonus opportunities for individual educators, as well as schools and districts in this state, not just AP teachers, misleading the readers of the article. By not presenting all of the facts, unintentionally or not, he has insulted the intelligence of educated individuals everywhere and created the facade that he is a martyr.</p>
<p>In the end, I teach because of the intrinsic rewards. When a student comes back years after he or she was in your class and thanks you, it is extremely rewarding.</p>
<p>However, I believe that it is ridiculous to say that a great teacher like Hahn should simply enjoy the intrinsic rewards, accept the vow of poverty and not worry about ever experiencing financial stability unless all educators in New Mexico receive the same bonus or raise in salary, whether they have earned it or not.</p>
<p>I do not always agree with politicians. However, I believe the governor and the Legislature got it right when they started implementing incentive-based bonuses for educators.</p>
<p>These programs are bilateral in that both the state government, as well as individual districts, have a say in how the bonuses will be awarded.</p>
<p>School districts have $7.2 million to design plans that reward individual educators, as well as entire departments, schools, etc., in many ways. Is an incentive-based bonus system going to be perfect right out of the box? No, but it is a start and should be supported by all educators in New Mexico.</p>
<p /> | NM on the right track with bonuses | false | https://abqjournal.com/425513/nm-on-the-right-track-with-bonuses.html | 2least
| NM on the right track with bonuses
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>It seems that he declined a $5,000 bonus check awarded to him by the state of New Mexico for helping improve student achievement in his classroom. Hahn claims, “The idea that the state would need to offer me a bonus to do my job, frankly is insulting.”</p>
<p>Personally, there are a number of things I find insulting about this story. Let me explain.</p>
<p>Recently, the state has been offering teachers various performance bonuses. STEM teachers can receive a bonus for staying in the STEM teaching field. Teachers at highly effective schools can receive bonuses for taking jobs at struggling schools and AP teachers can receive bonuses for improving AP test scores.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The Legislature also recently approved $7.2 million to be used by districts that develop incentive-based programs for their employees. These funds can be used as individual incentives or as more of a profit-sharing type of program where entire departments/schools can receive bonuses for meeting incentives.</p>
<p>I believe many of these types of incentive-based measures have been used with varying degrees of success in the private sector for years and, although I agree with Hahn when he says, “Teachers, education, is not Wall Street. Teachers don’t work for bonuses. We work for the kids,” I believe that teachers in New Mexico are grossly underpaid.</p>
<p>Surely Hahn agrees with me. According to Hahn, he is so underpaid that he and his wife could not afford to go on a honeymoon when they were married.</p>
<p>Hahn seems to be disappointed that he was the only teacher that was awarded this bonus. Well, as I stated earlier, I agree with him that “… education, is not Wall Street.” However, I also believe that it should not be treated like pee-wee soccer either.</p>
<p>You see, in pee-wee soccer, everybody receives a participation trophy. Teacher salaries are similar to those participation trophies. Everybody gets the same pay regardless of performance.</p>
<p>Not only is this frustrating for me and many other educators, I believe it also prevents us from recruiting the top candidates out of high school into education schools at universities throughout New Mexico.</p>
<p>And that brings me back to why I am insulted.</p>
<p>Hahn’s actions, along with the help of media outlets that have not fully researched both sides of the story, may ultimately influence politicians to vote against incentive-based legislation in the future, ultimately taking money out of the pockets of hard-working teachers.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Also, Hahn offered just one side of a very complex story. It may have been unintentional, but Hahn did not explain that there are bonus opportunities for individual educators, as well as schools and districts in this state, not just AP teachers, misleading the readers of the article. By not presenting all of the facts, unintentionally or not, he has insulted the intelligence of educated individuals everywhere and created the facade that he is a martyr.</p>
<p>In the end, I teach because of the intrinsic rewards. When a student comes back years after he or she was in your class and thanks you, it is extremely rewarding.</p>
<p>However, I believe that it is ridiculous to say that a great teacher like Hahn should simply enjoy the intrinsic rewards, accept the vow of poverty and not worry about ever experiencing financial stability unless all educators in New Mexico receive the same bonus or raise in salary, whether they have earned it or not.</p>
<p>I do not always agree with politicians. However, I believe the governor and the Legislature got it right when they started implementing incentive-based bonuses for educators.</p>
<p>These programs are bilateral in that both the state government, as well as individual districts, have a say in how the bonuses will be awarded.</p>
<p>School districts have $7.2 million to design plans that reward individual educators, as well as entire departments, schools, etc., in many ways. Is an incentive-based bonus system going to be perfect right out of the box? No, but it is a start and should be supported by all educators in New Mexico.</p>
<p /> | 3,929 |
|
<p>Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) said that its sales in Europe rose 5.4% in October, as strong SUV sales helped offset still-tight supplies of the all-new Fiesta.</p>
<p>It was Ford's first monthly sales gain in the Old World since May. The Blue Oval's sales in Europe have sagged as it has worked to ramp up <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/08/14/why-an-all-new-fiesta-is-hurting-fords-sales-in-eu.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=489b53aa-c975-11e7-aaa9-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">manufacturing of the all-new Fiesta Opens a New Window.</a>, its biggest seller in the region. But in October, it was able to more than keep pace with big rival&#160;Volkswagen AG&#160;(NASDAQOTH: VLKAY), which reported a slight year-over-year decline in European sales for its namesake VW brand.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Ford sold about 104,800 vehicles in October in the 20 Western and Central European markets that it considers its primary market in Europe (what Ford calls the "Euro 20"). That was up 5.4%, or about 5,400 vehicles, from its total in October 2016. Ford's market share in the region stayed roughly flat from a year ago, at 7.6% for the month.</p>
<p>Year to date, Ford's sales in the Euro 20 are up 0.8% from a year ago, but its market share has fallen 30 basis points to 7.7%.</p>
<p>In Europe as a whole, including Russia, Turkey, the former Soviet republics, and the countries of Eastern Europe (what Ford calls the "Euro 50"), Ford sold about 122,700 vehicles in October, roughly flat from a year ago. Ford's market share in the Euro 50 fell about 10 basis points from its year-ago result, to 7.3%.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>We think of Europe as a place where small cars dominate the market, thanks to narrow streets and high gas prices. That's true: For years, Ford's best-seller in Europe has been the subcompact Fiesta. But the trends that have more buyers favoring SUVs over cars in the U.S. and China are starting to play out in Europe as well. And just as it is in the U.S., Ford is making hay in Europe on that jump in consumer demand for SUVs.</p>
<p>Sales of Ford's SUVs as a group rose 28.5% last month, driven by a nice gain for the revamped small EcoSport (up 13%) and a big jump in sales of the Kuga. The Kuga is the European version of the compact Escape, and sales are booming: Kuga sales rose 44% in October, to about 12,400 sold. Year to date, sales of the Kuga in the Euro 20 are up 22%.</p>
<p>It's still true that Europeans favor smaller vehicles, though. Ford hasn't had much luck in Europe with its midsize Edge: Sales fell 17% to about 1,000 vehicles in October. Ford doesn't even try with its larger SUVs. The Explorer and Expedition aren't offered in most of Europe.</p>
<p>It's harder to discern trends in the European sales results for Ford's car models, in part because supplies of the huge-selling Fiesta have been tight for several months. Supplies are improving -- Ford sold 20,500 Fiestas in Europe in October, down 9.7% from a year ago -- but totals should rise further from here over the next few months.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Ford had some success in October with the one-size-up Focus, perhaps upsetting impatient Fiesta buyers. Focus sales rose almost 20% to about 15,900, more than offsetting the Fiesta's year-over-year drop.</p>
<p>But sales of the largest car Ford offers in Europe, the Mondeo, fell 4% to about 4,700. The Mondeo is a near-twin to the U.S.-market Fusion, with a twist: In Europe, it's offered in "five-door" hatchback and wagon versions.</p>
<p>Ford Europe posted an <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/10/26/ford-motor-co-profits-up-63-on-strong-truck-sales.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=489b53aa-c975-11e7-aaa9-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">$86 million loss in the third quarter Opens a New Window.</a>, down from a $138 million profit a year ago. CFO Bob Shanks attributed that dip to a few different factors, but it was clear that the sales slump caused by tight Fiesta supplies was a big deal.</p>
<p>During the third-quarter earnings call, Shanks said that Ford expects Europe to be profitable in the fourth quarter because sales volumes will be higher than they were in the fourth quarter of 2016. The new Fiesta is part of that, of course, but the strong demand we're seeing for Ford's SUVs will also be a significant factor.</p>
<p>With a third of the fourth quarter now in the books, it looks like Ford is on track for a quarterly -- and full-year -- profit in Europe.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than FordWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*</p>
<p>David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the <a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-static%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=2bcd354a-34b6-433f-b317-c44d658e9d9c&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=489b53aa-c975-11e7-aaa9-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">10 best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now... and Ford wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.</p>
<p><a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-static%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=2bcd354a-34b6-433f-b317-c44d658e9d9c&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=489b53aa-c975-11e7-aaa9-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</a> to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of November 6, 2017</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFMarlowe/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=489b53aa-c975-11e7-aaa9-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">John Rosevear Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of Ford. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Ford. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=489b53aa-c975-11e7-aaa9-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | Ford's SUVs Are Powering Sales Gains in Europe | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/11/15/fords-suvs-are-powering-sales-gains-in-europe.html | 2017-11-15 | 0right
| Ford's SUVs Are Powering Sales Gains in Europe
<p>Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) said that its sales in Europe rose 5.4% in October, as strong SUV sales helped offset still-tight supplies of the all-new Fiesta.</p>
<p>It was Ford's first monthly sales gain in the Old World since May. The Blue Oval's sales in Europe have sagged as it has worked to ramp up <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/08/14/why-an-all-new-fiesta-is-hurting-fords-sales-in-eu.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=489b53aa-c975-11e7-aaa9-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">manufacturing of the all-new Fiesta Opens a New Window.</a>, its biggest seller in the region. But in October, it was able to more than keep pace with big rival&#160;Volkswagen AG&#160;(NASDAQOTH: VLKAY), which reported a slight year-over-year decline in European sales for its namesake VW brand.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Ford sold about 104,800 vehicles in October in the 20 Western and Central European markets that it considers its primary market in Europe (what Ford calls the "Euro 20"). That was up 5.4%, or about 5,400 vehicles, from its total in October 2016. Ford's market share in the region stayed roughly flat from a year ago, at 7.6% for the month.</p>
<p>Year to date, Ford's sales in the Euro 20 are up 0.8% from a year ago, but its market share has fallen 30 basis points to 7.7%.</p>
<p>In Europe as a whole, including Russia, Turkey, the former Soviet republics, and the countries of Eastern Europe (what Ford calls the "Euro 50"), Ford sold about 122,700 vehicles in October, roughly flat from a year ago. Ford's market share in the Euro 50 fell about 10 basis points from its year-ago result, to 7.3%.</p>
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<p>We think of Europe as a place where small cars dominate the market, thanks to narrow streets and high gas prices. That's true: For years, Ford's best-seller in Europe has been the subcompact Fiesta. But the trends that have more buyers favoring SUVs over cars in the U.S. and China are starting to play out in Europe as well. And just as it is in the U.S., Ford is making hay in Europe on that jump in consumer demand for SUVs.</p>
<p>Sales of Ford's SUVs as a group rose 28.5% last month, driven by a nice gain for the revamped small EcoSport (up 13%) and a big jump in sales of the Kuga. The Kuga is the European version of the compact Escape, and sales are booming: Kuga sales rose 44% in October, to about 12,400 sold. Year to date, sales of the Kuga in the Euro 20 are up 22%.</p>
<p>It's still true that Europeans favor smaller vehicles, though. Ford hasn't had much luck in Europe with its midsize Edge: Sales fell 17% to about 1,000 vehicles in October. Ford doesn't even try with its larger SUVs. The Explorer and Expedition aren't offered in most of Europe.</p>
<p>It's harder to discern trends in the European sales results for Ford's car models, in part because supplies of the huge-selling Fiesta have been tight for several months. Supplies are improving -- Ford sold 20,500 Fiestas in Europe in October, down 9.7% from a year ago -- but totals should rise further from here over the next few months.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Ford had some success in October with the one-size-up Focus, perhaps upsetting impatient Fiesta buyers. Focus sales rose almost 20% to about 15,900, more than offsetting the Fiesta's year-over-year drop.</p>
<p>But sales of the largest car Ford offers in Europe, the Mondeo, fell 4% to about 4,700. The Mondeo is a near-twin to the U.S.-market Fusion, with a twist: In Europe, it's offered in "five-door" hatchback and wagon versions.</p>
<p>Ford Europe posted an <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/10/26/ford-motor-co-profits-up-63-on-strong-truck-sales.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=489b53aa-c975-11e7-aaa9-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">$86 million loss in the third quarter Opens a New Window.</a>, down from a $138 million profit a year ago. CFO Bob Shanks attributed that dip to a few different factors, but it was clear that the sales slump caused by tight Fiesta supplies was a big deal.</p>
<p>During the third-quarter earnings call, Shanks said that Ford expects Europe to be profitable in the fourth quarter because sales volumes will be higher than they were in the fourth quarter of 2016. The new Fiesta is part of that, of course, but the strong demand we're seeing for Ford's SUVs will also be a significant factor.</p>
<p>With a third of the fourth quarter now in the books, it looks like Ford is on track for a quarterly -- and full-year -- profit in Europe.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than FordWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*</p>
<p>David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the <a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-static%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=2bcd354a-34b6-433f-b317-c44d658e9d9c&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=489b53aa-c975-11e7-aaa9-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">10 best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now... and Ford wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.</p>
<p><a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-static%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=2bcd354a-34b6-433f-b317-c44d658e9d9c&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=489b53aa-c975-11e7-aaa9-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</a> to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of November 6, 2017</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFMarlowe/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=489b53aa-c975-11e7-aaa9-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">John Rosevear Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of Ford. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Ford. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=489b53aa-c975-11e7-aaa9-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | 3,930 |
<p>Editor &amp; Publisher "They were all for operational security reasons, (revealing) something that would have been of use to the enemy," says Maj. Kris Meyle, who runs the embed program. "Usually it was something that was not done intentionally by the reporter." &gt; <a href="http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000748155" type="external">Tennessee newsman at center of armor question flap still in Iraq (E&amp;P)</a></p> | Five reporters booted from embed slots in recent months | false | https://poynter.org/news/five-reporters-booted-embed-slots-recent-months | 2005-01-07 | 2least
| Five reporters booted from embed slots in recent months
<p>Editor &amp; Publisher "They were all for operational security reasons, (revealing) something that would have been of use to the enemy," says Maj. Kris Meyle, who runs the embed program. "Usually it was something that was not done intentionally by the reporter." &gt; <a href="http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000748155" type="external">Tennessee newsman at center of armor question flap still in Iraq (E&amp;P)</a></p> | 3,931 |
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<p>Police spokeswoman Celina Espinoza said officers did not fire their weapons during the SWAT situation and are not responsible for the man’s death. But she said she couldn’t elaborate on what investigators believe he died of.</p>
<p>“It does not appear at this point in the investigation that … officers’ actions caused his death,” she said.</p>
<p>A multi-jurisdictional team is investigating, she said.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“It’s simply to add a level of transparency and ensure the thoroughness of the investigation,” Espinoza said.</p>
<p>A woman called police around 3:30 a.m. to say another woman had been shot nearby. The victim was rushed to a local hospital and was in critical but stable condition later Wednesday, Espinoza said. She wasn’t identified.</p>
<p>The victim described to officers the man who shot her. But when officers tried to arrest him, Espinoza said he refused to come out of a trailer that was behind a home in the 100 block of Tyrone NW near Griegos and Second Street.</p>
<p>The SWAT team was called around 6:30 a.m. and officers believed the suspect was alive then because an officer saw a shadow moving in the trailer.</p>
<p>Second Street was closed for most of the day while SWAT officers tried to negotiate with the suspect. They eventually used flash bangs and gas before forcing their way in around noon and finding the man’s body.</p>
<p>Espinoza did not release his name.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p /> | Shooting suspect dead after standoff with SWAT officers | false | https://abqjournal.com/1038427/swat-officers-trying-to-arrest-shooting-suspect-near-2nd-street-and-griegos.html | 2017-07-26 | 2least
| Shooting suspect dead after standoff with SWAT officers
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<p />
<p>Police spokeswoman Celina Espinoza said officers did not fire their weapons during the SWAT situation and are not responsible for the man’s death. But she said she couldn’t elaborate on what investigators believe he died of.</p>
<p>“It does not appear at this point in the investigation that … officers’ actions caused his death,” she said.</p>
<p>A multi-jurisdictional team is investigating, she said.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“It’s simply to add a level of transparency and ensure the thoroughness of the investigation,” Espinoza said.</p>
<p>A woman called police around 3:30 a.m. to say another woman had been shot nearby. The victim was rushed to a local hospital and was in critical but stable condition later Wednesday, Espinoza said. She wasn’t identified.</p>
<p>The victim described to officers the man who shot her. But when officers tried to arrest him, Espinoza said he refused to come out of a trailer that was behind a home in the 100 block of Tyrone NW near Griegos and Second Street.</p>
<p>The SWAT team was called around 6:30 a.m. and officers believed the suspect was alive then because an officer saw a shadow moving in the trailer.</p>
<p>Second Street was closed for most of the day while SWAT officers tried to negotiate with the suspect. They eventually used flash bangs and gas before forcing their way in around noon and finding the man’s body.</p>
<p>Espinoza did not release his name.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p /> | 3,932 |
<p>They were taxed excessively. They had foreign soldiers forcibly living in their homes. They could not express their grievances publicly under threat of legal action. If one got captured, he did not receive a fair trial by jury. Following April 19, 1775, they were outgunned, outnumbered, and short on resources as the world's most ferocious armed force sailed across the Atlantic to destroy their insurrection. The following year, the British captured New York City under a barrage of heavy fire as the streets were lined with the blood of patriots. From the perspective of many men, women, and children, the American Revolution was going to die out in a sea of red.</p>
<p>King George III was ruthless in his ambition to hold these traitors accountable for their sins against the British Crown. He threatened the lives of all who sought to liberate the colonies from his grasp. Given how stacked the deck was in his favor, he had every reason to believe he would emerge victorious against farmers and fisherman turned minutemen. However, the greatest mistake the King made was underestimating the men who refused to cave under pressure; he did not realize the lengths to which these men would go toward ensuring liberty for the populace.</p>
<p>In Philadelphia, a band of fifty-six men representing all thirteen colonies looked at the stark reality their Continental Army faced and decided their cause was still worth fighting for. Five of these men were tasked with drafting a document finalizing their intent as a united people. It started with this famous opening:</p>
<p>When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.</p>
<p>Under the premise that the Laws of Nature required separation from the British Empire to secure a free people, these five men believed the rights of all who sought freedom from tyranny were mandated by The Lord; no man-made system of governance could infringe upon them. This concept deliberately spat in the face of the British King, who viewed himself as chosen by The Lord to rule over his subjects however he pleased. However, the promise for a free people undeterred by an intrusive government became a reality:</p>
<p>We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creatorwith certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.</p>
<p>That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.</p>
<p>Following this proclamation, the fifty-six men listed off a tremendous indictment against the British Crown, his subjects, and the nation he represented that violated The Lord's natural rights to man, compelling their decision to be a free and liberated people. This paved the way for one of the most remarkable moments in international law.</p>
<p>We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.</p>
<p>Citing The Almighty as the source of their rights and formally announcing the Colonies' independence, these fifty-six men understood that signing this legal separation from the British Crown effectively signed their own death warrants. If any of these men were captured by the British Army, they would receive no mercy and face the King's wrath. No quarter would have been given to anyone who dared defy the Crown.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, these men persisted. Nevertheless, these men decided to put their lives on the line for the promise of freedom from tyranny and abusive government.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.dsdi1776.com/members-only/william-floyd/" type="external">William Floyd</a> was one of these fifty-six. He not only signed the Declaration on behalf of New York but also served as a Major General of the Long Island militia. He took his quest for American independence by both the pen and sword, ensuring the promise of freedom remained alive in the face of adversity. He dedicated his life to public service, serving in the United States Congress and New York Senate. While he is seen as a patriot to a majority of Americans, he is my great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather.</p>
<p>Bravery is <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bravery?utm_campaign=sd&amp;utm_medium=serp&amp;utm_source=jsonld" type="external">defined</a> in Merriam-Webster as "the quality or state of having or showing mental or moral strength to face danger, fear, or difficulty." In contemporary times, some people define bravery not as legitimately risking your life for freedom's promise, but as expressing your grievances about a cause du jour while not having to do anything of substance about it. For those people, it is more brave to speak against the phantom patriarchy outside of a safe space than to enlist in the Armed Forces, deploy overseas, and fight against Nazism, communism, or radical Islamism. It is one of the saddest eventualities of a nation where many of its citizens lost sight of the Founding Fathers' vision.</p>
<p>While the United States was founded upon the principle that one's freedom of speech and press is a G-d given right, many have lost perspective of the character of men who paved the way for those rights' materialization. These fifty-six men did not sit around the private confides of a collegiate institution petting puppies and drawing with crayons. Instead, they left their homes under threat of capture and imminent execution, deliberated on the Laws of Nature and rights of man, drafted a crowning achievement in international law, signed it, and gave a newly-founded nation hope for freedom. It took men of remarkable bravery, principle, and character to muster that type of courage in the face of tyranny. We would not have an Independence Day without these men and we cannot forget their names:</p>
<p>John Hancock</p>
<p>Josiah Bartlett</p>
<p>William Whipple</p>
<p>Matthew Thornton</p>
<p>Samuel Adams</p>
<p>John Adams</p>
<p>Robert Treat Paine</p>
<p>Elbridge Gerry</p>
<p>Stephen Hopkins</p>
<p>William Ellery</p>
<p>Roger Sherman</p>
<p>Samuel Huntington</p>
<p>William Williams</p>
<p>Oliver Wolcott</p>
<p>William Floyd</p>
<p>Philip Livingston</p>
<p>Francis Lewis</p>
<p>Lewis Morris</p>
<p>Richard Stockton</p>
<p>John Witherspoon</p>
<p>Francis Hopkinson</p>
<p>John Hart</p>
<p>Abraham Clark</p>
<p>Robert Morris</p>
<p>Benjamin Rush</p>
<p>Benjamin Franklin</p>
<p>John Morton</p>
<p>George Clymer</p>
<p>James Smith</p>
<p>George Taylor</p>
<p>James Wilson</p>
<p>George Ross</p>
<p>Caesar Rodney</p>
<p>George Read</p>
<p>Thomas McKean</p>
<p>Samuel Chase</p>
<p>William Paca</p>
<p>Thomas Stone</p>
<p>Charles Carroll of Carrollton</p>
<p>George Wythe</p>
<p>Richard Henry Lee</p>
<p>Thomas Jefferson</p>
<p>Benjamin Harrison</p>
<p>Thomas Nelson, Jr.</p>
<p>Francis Lightfoot Lee</p>
<p>Carter Braxton</p>
<p>William Hooper</p>
<p>Joseph Hewes</p>
<p>John Penn</p>
<p>Edward Rutledge</p>
<p>Thomas Heyward, Jr.</p>
<p>Thomas Lynch, Jr.</p>
<p>Arthur Middleton</p>
<p>Button Gwinnett</p>
<p>Lyman Hall</p>
<p>George Walton</p>
<p>From the bottom of my heart, Happy 241st Independence Day! G-d bless these brave men. G-d bless the United States of America.</p>
<p>Follow Elliott on <a href="https://twitter.com/ElliottRHams" type="external">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ElliottRHams/" type="external">Facebook</a>.</p> | Remembering the Fifty-Six Bravest Men in History | true | https://dailywire.com/news/18253/remembering-fifty-six-bravest-men-history-elliott-hamilton | 2017-07-04 | 0right
| Remembering the Fifty-Six Bravest Men in History
<p>They were taxed excessively. They had foreign soldiers forcibly living in their homes. They could not express their grievances publicly under threat of legal action. If one got captured, he did not receive a fair trial by jury. Following April 19, 1775, they were outgunned, outnumbered, and short on resources as the world's most ferocious armed force sailed across the Atlantic to destroy their insurrection. The following year, the British captured New York City under a barrage of heavy fire as the streets were lined with the blood of patriots. From the perspective of many men, women, and children, the American Revolution was going to die out in a sea of red.</p>
<p>King George III was ruthless in his ambition to hold these traitors accountable for their sins against the British Crown. He threatened the lives of all who sought to liberate the colonies from his grasp. Given how stacked the deck was in his favor, he had every reason to believe he would emerge victorious against farmers and fisherman turned minutemen. However, the greatest mistake the King made was underestimating the men who refused to cave under pressure; he did not realize the lengths to which these men would go toward ensuring liberty for the populace.</p>
<p>In Philadelphia, a band of fifty-six men representing all thirteen colonies looked at the stark reality their Continental Army faced and decided their cause was still worth fighting for. Five of these men were tasked with drafting a document finalizing their intent as a united people. It started with this famous opening:</p>
<p>When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.</p>
<p>Under the premise that the Laws of Nature required separation from the British Empire to secure a free people, these five men believed the rights of all who sought freedom from tyranny were mandated by The Lord; no man-made system of governance could infringe upon them. This concept deliberately spat in the face of the British King, who viewed himself as chosen by The Lord to rule over his subjects however he pleased. However, the promise for a free people undeterred by an intrusive government became a reality:</p>
<p>We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creatorwith certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.</p>
<p>That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.</p>
<p>Following this proclamation, the fifty-six men listed off a tremendous indictment against the British Crown, his subjects, and the nation he represented that violated The Lord's natural rights to man, compelling their decision to be a free and liberated people. This paved the way for one of the most remarkable moments in international law.</p>
<p>We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.</p>
<p>Citing The Almighty as the source of their rights and formally announcing the Colonies' independence, these fifty-six men understood that signing this legal separation from the British Crown effectively signed their own death warrants. If any of these men were captured by the British Army, they would receive no mercy and face the King's wrath. No quarter would have been given to anyone who dared defy the Crown.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, these men persisted. Nevertheless, these men decided to put their lives on the line for the promise of freedom from tyranny and abusive government.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.dsdi1776.com/members-only/william-floyd/" type="external">William Floyd</a> was one of these fifty-six. He not only signed the Declaration on behalf of New York but also served as a Major General of the Long Island militia. He took his quest for American independence by both the pen and sword, ensuring the promise of freedom remained alive in the face of adversity. He dedicated his life to public service, serving in the United States Congress and New York Senate. While he is seen as a patriot to a majority of Americans, he is my great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather.</p>
<p>Bravery is <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bravery?utm_campaign=sd&amp;utm_medium=serp&amp;utm_source=jsonld" type="external">defined</a> in Merriam-Webster as "the quality or state of having or showing mental or moral strength to face danger, fear, or difficulty." In contemporary times, some people define bravery not as legitimately risking your life for freedom's promise, but as expressing your grievances about a cause du jour while not having to do anything of substance about it. For those people, it is more brave to speak against the phantom patriarchy outside of a safe space than to enlist in the Armed Forces, deploy overseas, and fight against Nazism, communism, or radical Islamism. It is one of the saddest eventualities of a nation where many of its citizens lost sight of the Founding Fathers' vision.</p>
<p>While the United States was founded upon the principle that one's freedom of speech and press is a G-d given right, many have lost perspective of the character of men who paved the way for those rights' materialization. These fifty-six men did not sit around the private confides of a collegiate institution petting puppies and drawing with crayons. Instead, they left their homes under threat of capture and imminent execution, deliberated on the Laws of Nature and rights of man, drafted a crowning achievement in international law, signed it, and gave a newly-founded nation hope for freedom. It took men of remarkable bravery, principle, and character to muster that type of courage in the face of tyranny. We would not have an Independence Day without these men and we cannot forget their names:</p>
<p>John Hancock</p>
<p>Josiah Bartlett</p>
<p>William Whipple</p>
<p>Matthew Thornton</p>
<p>Samuel Adams</p>
<p>John Adams</p>
<p>Robert Treat Paine</p>
<p>Elbridge Gerry</p>
<p>Stephen Hopkins</p>
<p>William Ellery</p>
<p>Roger Sherman</p>
<p>Samuel Huntington</p>
<p>William Williams</p>
<p>Oliver Wolcott</p>
<p>William Floyd</p>
<p>Philip Livingston</p>
<p>Francis Lewis</p>
<p>Lewis Morris</p>
<p>Richard Stockton</p>
<p>John Witherspoon</p>
<p>Francis Hopkinson</p>
<p>John Hart</p>
<p>Abraham Clark</p>
<p>Robert Morris</p>
<p>Benjamin Rush</p>
<p>Benjamin Franklin</p>
<p>John Morton</p>
<p>George Clymer</p>
<p>James Smith</p>
<p>George Taylor</p>
<p>James Wilson</p>
<p>George Ross</p>
<p>Caesar Rodney</p>
<p>George Read</p>
<p>Thomas McKean</p>
<p>Samuel Chase</p>
<p>William Paca</p>
<p>Thomas Stone</p>
<p>Charles Carroll of Carrollton</p>
<p>George Wythe</p>
<p>Richard Henry Lee</p>
<p>Thomas Jefferson</p>
<p>Benjamin Harrison</p>
<p>Thomas Nelson, Jr.</p>
<p>Francis Lightfoot Lee</p>
<p>Carter Braxton</p>
<p>William Hooper</p>
<p>Joseph Hewes</p>
<p>John Penn</p>
<p>Edward Rutledge</p>
<p>Thomas Heyward, Jr.</p>
<p>Thomas Lynch, Jr.</p>
<p>Arthur Middleton</p>
<p>Button Gwinnett</p>
<p>Lyman Hall</p>
<p>George Walton</p>
<p>From the bottom of my heart, Happy 241st Independence Day! G-d bless these brave men. G-d bless the United States of America.</p>
<p>Follow Elliott on <a href="https://twitter.com/ElliottRHams" type="external">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ElliottRHams/" type="external">Facebook</a>.</p> | 3,933 |
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<p>China's rise to power once again confirms this truism.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>It is a stunning reversal. During the Cultural Revolution (1966-?76) - Mao Zedong's grisly effort to purify the Communist Party by banishing millions of Chinese to the countryside - China repudiated modern science. It effectively shut many universities. Admission exams were suspended. No new undergraduates entered from 1966 to 1969. The ban on graduate students lasted until 1977.</p>
<p>Since then, China has been on a science and technology tear, as a new study by Harvard economists Richard Freeman and Wei Huang shows. Here are highlights:</p>
<p>"China's leap forward in science and engineering," Freeman and Huang say, "is one of the defining events in modern intellectual history."</p>
<p>Still, they caution against overstating China's advances. They note that China's population is roughly four times that of the United States; the huge numbers of college graduates reflect this - not "high rates of college-going."</p>
<p>Also, the quality of China's colleges and universities lags. In one global ranking of universities, no Chinese institution made the top 100 (52 U.S. universities did). Among the top 1 percent of scientific papers cited in other studies, U.S. papers led at 46.4 percent in 2012; China's share was 5.8 percent.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The United States has played an important role in China's advance. The U.S. is the destination of choice for Chinese students.</p>
<p>In 2012, almost 60 percent of the roughly 400,000 Chinese students studying abroad did so at American schools. They constituted one-quarter of foreign students in the United States.</p>
<p>Freeman and Huang don't say how many ultimately remain, although they do cite one estimate that three-quarters of Chinese Ph.D.s were still in the United States a decade after receiving their degrees.</p>
<p>The other avenue of U.S. influence has been collaboration. U.S. and Chinese scientists are becoming each other's favorite foreign research partners.</p>
<p>Americans represent about half of China's overseas collaborations. Chinese researchers can learn the best practices of U.S. laboratories - and Americans can glean Chinese insights.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>All this bodes well, Freeman and Huang say. Global knowledge will "advance more rapidly than if China had remained a scientific backwater." Everyone benefits. Scientific collaboration could spill over into broader "cooperative relations between the two countries."</p>
<p>That is the upbeat view. It is plausible.</p>
<p>But so is the pessimistic view that the two countries are already economic rivals and might become military adversaries. Cooperation with China might then seem shortsighted behavior that made us more vulnerable.</p>
<p>The central question remains: Are American and Chinese interests compatible - or on a collision course?</p>
<p>Copyright, The Washington Post Writers Group.</p>
<p /> | Are China's scientific gains beneficial or harmful to U.S.? | false | https://abqjournal.com/577756/are-chinas-scientific-gains-beneficial-or-harmful-to-us.html | 2least
| Are China's scientific gains beneficial or harmful to U.S.?
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<p />
<p>China's rise to power once again confirms this truism.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>It is a stunning reversal. During the Cultural Revolution (1966-?76) - Mao Zedong's grisly effort to purify the Communist Party by banishing millions of Chinese to the countryside - China repudiated modern science. It effectively shut many universities. Admission exams were suspended. No new undergraduates entered from 1966 to 1969. The ban on graduate students lasted until 1977.</p>
<p>Since then, China has been on a science and technology tear, as a new study by Harvard economists Richard Freeman and Wei Huang shows. Here are highlights:</p>
<p>"China's leap forward in science and engineering," Freeman and Huang say, "is one of the defining events in modern intellectual history."</p>
<p>Still, they caution against overstating China's advances. They note that China's population is roughly four times that of the United States; the huge numbers of college graduates reflect this - not "high rates of college-going."</p>
<p>Also, the quality of China's colleges and universities lags. In one global ranking of universities, no Chinese institution made the top 100 (52 U.S. universities did). Among the top 1 percent of scientific papers cited in other studies, U.S. papers led at 46.4 percent in 2012; China's share was 5.8 percent.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The United States has played an important role in China's advance. The U.S. is the destination of choice for Chinese students.</p>
<p>In 2012, almost 60 percent of the roughly 400,000 Chinese students studying abroad did so at American schools. They constituted one-quarter of foreign students in the United States.</p>
<p>Freeman and Huang don't say how many ultimately remain, although they do cite one estimate that three-quarters of Chinese Ph.D.s were still in the United States a decade after receiving their degrees.</p>
<p>The other avenue of U.S. influence has been collaboration. U.S. and Chinese scientists are becoming each other's favorite foreign research partners.</p>
<p>Americans represent about half of China's overseas collaborations. Chinese researchers can learn the best practices of U.S. laboratories - and Americans can glean Chinese insights.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>All this bodes well, Freeman and Huang say. Global knowledge will "advance more rapidly than if China had remained a scientific backwater." Everyone benefits. Scientific collaboration could spill over into broader "cooperative relations between the two countries."</p>
<p>That is the upbeat view. It is plausible.</p>
<p>But so is the pessimistic view that the two countries are already economic rivals and might become military adversaries. Cooperation with China might then seem shortsighted behavior that made us more vulnerable.</p>
<p>The central question remains: Are American and Chinese interests compatible - or on a collision course?</p>
<p>Copyright, The Washington Post Writers Group.</p>
<p /> | 3,934 |
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<p>By Sebastian Rotella, ProPublicaThis report first appeared on <a href="http://www.propublica.org/article/syrias-jihadi-migration-emerges-as-top-terror-threat-in-europe-beyond" type="external">ProPublica</a>.</p>
<p>MADRID — Rachid Wahbi came to Syria from a Spanish slum, rushing toward death.</p>
<p>And he didn’t plan to die alone.</p>
<p>Facing a camera hours before the end, the bearded, 33-year-old cabdriver wore a black headdress and a black flak vest and held an AK-47 rifle. He spoke in hesitant classical Arabic with a north Moroccan accent. He said he had studied his target and, God willing, his action would end in triumph. He wished the glory of martyrdom for his fellow fighters in the al-Nusrah Front, al-Qaida’s Syrian branch.</p>
<p />
<p>When the cameraman asked about his mother, the Spaniard became emotional.</p>
<p>“I want to thank my mother because she inspired me,” Wahbi said, according to a translation by the Spanish national police. “Mother, you must be happy because God will reward you.”</p>
<p>The al-Nusrah propaganda video shows Wahbi disguised in the helmet and uniform of a Syrian soldier as he hugs a comrade and climbs into a truck packed with explosives. The truck bears down on an army outpost. An explosion thunders. A column of smoke, seen from multiple camera angles, climbs toward the sky.</p>
<p>Wahbi killed 130 people in that suicide bombing on the al-Nairab military base in northern Syria on June 1 of last year, according to Spanish authorities. And the numbers get grimmer.</p>
<p>Five holy warriors from Spain have died in Syria, three in bombings that killed another 100 people, police say. Last month, Spanish police stormed the hillside ghetto where Wahbi lived in Ceuta, a Spanish territory in North Africa, and arrested a ring of extremists who are charged with sending as many as 50 fighters to Syria. Indicating a threat much closer to home, the accused leader had previously been acquitted of plotting attacks on targets in Spain with a group linked to al-Qaida and a former Guantanamo inmate.</p>
<p>“The global jihad has prioritized the Syrian conflict as its principal front,” said a top Spanish intelligence official who requested anonymity because of the continuing investigation. “And it has directed its subsidiaries to move combatants to the zone. What worries us is that this experience could serve as preparation, as training to return to European countries and carry out attacks at home.”</p>
<p>Hundreds of Europeans and thousands of other Sunni Muslim foreign fighters have made Syria the new land of jihad. The migration complicates an already delicate calculus in Washington and in European capitals that are aiding the fractious rebel coalition in Syria. European security chiefs see the flow of extremists to and from Syria as their top terrorist threat. It also raises concerns that European militants radicalized by or returning from the Syrian conflict could strike U.S. targets overseas or travel across the Atlantic.</p>
<p>“Imagine this: Between 2001 and 2010, we identified 50 jihadists who went from France to Afghanistan,” said a senior French counterterror official who also requested anonymity. “Surely there were more, but we identified 50. With Syria, in one year, we have already identified 135. It has been very fast and strong.”</p>
<p>The statistics are even stronger in adjoining Belgium, one-sixth the size of France. Between 100 and 300 jihadis have journeyed from Belgium’s extremist enclaves to Syria, according to a veteran Belgian counterterror official. Other significant fighting contingents represent Britain, Denmark, the Netherlands, Canada, Central Asia, Libya, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia. The senior French official estimated the total number of Europeans to be at least 400. Others say it could be double that, but counterterror officials warn that precise numbers are difficult to establish.</p>
<p>The foreign fighter phenomenon in Syria “is one of the things that most worries a number of European government agencies,” Italian Defense Minister Mario Mauro said in an interview. “But this is also within the reactive capacity of a system built by democracies, therefore based not on preventive arrests but on monitoring and intelligence activity to prevent situations like this from degenerating.”</p>
<p>The total number of the rebel forces – Syrians and foreigners, full-time and occasional fighters – is thought to be in the tens of thousands. Estimates range from above 60,000 to below 100,000, based on interviews with U.S. and European officials and experts.</p>
<p>A recent private report examines the role of Sunni foreign fighters who have converged from across the Muslim world to battle the regime of Bashir Assad and his powerful Shiite allies, Hezbollah and Iran. Foreign fighters account for up to 10 percent of the rebels in the data sample examined by the study, which relies on sources including online obituaries of militants and social networks and is titled <a href="http://www.propublica.org/documents/item/739377-convoy-of-martyrs-in-the-levant-flashpoint" type="external">“Convoy of Martyrs in the Levant.”</a></p>
<p>Released last month by Flashpoint Partners, a New York security contracting firm, and the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a think tank that tends to align with Israeli views, the report compares the conflict to previous arenas that attracted extremists: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Yemen.</p>
<p>“At the very least, the current war in Syria can be considered the third-largest foreign mujahideen mobilization since the early 1980s — falling short only of Afghanistan in the 1980s and Iraq during the last decade,” the study concludes. “[T]he mobilization has been stunningly rapid — what took six years to build in Iraq at the height of the U.S. occupation may have accumulated inside Syria in less than half that time.”</p>
<p>Syria is familiar turf that once served as a hub for militants en route to fight in Iraq. It is closer and more accessible to Europe than other jihadi destinations: Militants travel by air or land to Turkey, where smugglers sneak them across the border. There is little interference by authorities in Turkey, a major sponsor of the Syrian rebels.</p>
<p>Despite the ferocity of the civil war, Syrian cities offer better living conditions to foreign volunteers than al-Qaida’s remote compounds in Pakistan or the impoverished wastes where Islamists operate in Somalia and Mali. The ever-improving technology of the Internet and mobile phones allow combatants to trumpet their exploits and remain in close communication with comrades back home.</p>
<p>“There are guys who regularly update their Facebook pages from Syria,” said Claudio Galzerano, the chief of the international terrorism unit of the Italian police in Rome.</p>
<p>Moreover, the cause enjoys unique popularity. Many Sunnis and non-Muslims alike regard it as a crusade to overthrow a brutal dictator who uses chemical weapons to slaughter his people. The Obama administration and European governments support the Syrian opposition and the Supreme Military Command, which encompasses the Free Syrian Army and other relatively moderate groups. The Convoy of Martyrs study describes “Arab Spring-motivated, pro-democratic revolutionary fervor” that pushes foreign volunteers to join the Free Syrian Army, rather than extremist rebel units.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, secular idealists are a minority among the foreign fighters, according to European counterterror officials. The octopus-like embrace of anti-Western, al Qaida-connected networks in Europe and the Muslim world— sometimes led by the same chiefs as in past conflicts — has shifted to Syria. Many foreign recruits join al-Nusrah or the Islamic State of Iraq, al Qaida allies that field some of the toughest fighters. These Sunni Islamist groups clash with other rebel factions and argue among themselves about whether to widen their jihad beyond the borders of Syria, according to counterterror officials.</p>
<p>European police fear that well-trained, battle-hardened veterans will return from Syria and, on their own or acting on orders from terrorist bosses, decide to continue the war. Western leaders say they are taking pains to prevent stepped-up aid to the Syrian opposition from reinforcing the extremists. When the European Union ended an arms embargo to the rebels in May, reluctance about that decision resulted partly from concerns that the weapons would end up in the wrong hands.</p>
<p>“There is a risk, and how,” said Stefano Dambruoso, an Italian parliamentary deputy who is a former top anti-terror prosecutor. “In a situation that is out of control like the one in Syria, it is really very dangerous. Italy supported maintaining the embargo because really we don’t know who we are dealing with. The rebels are still not clearly identifiable.”</p>
<p>Dambruoso knows the treacherous turf. Based in Milan in the early 2000s, he led prosecutions of al Qaida operatives involved in plots in Europe and linked to the assassination of Ahmed Shah Massoud, a legendary anti-Taliban commander in Afghanistan, just two days before the 9/11 attacks on New York.</p>
<p>Several cases in Italy involved the Tunisian Combatant Group, part of al Qaida’s terrorist coalition. Some Italian cells sent recruits via Syria to join the insurgency in Iraq. Key operatives were arrested by Italian police and then deported to prisons in Tunisia, sometimes after serving time in Italy.</p>
<p>After the Tunisian revolution ended in 2011, however, a new government in Tunis released convicted terrorists and allowed them to create a radical Islamic party, Ansar al Sharia. It is led by Seifallah Ben Hassine, who is a founder of the Tunisian Combatant Group and a former ally of Osama bin Laden, according to European and UN counterterror officials and documents. His party has been recruiting and deploying holy warriors to the Syrian front from camps in the south of Tunisia, according to European investigators.</p>
<p>Tunisians account for 16 percent of foreign fighters in Syria, the second-largest group there, according to the data sample in the Convoy of Martyrs Study.</p>
<p>“This is one of our top concerns,” said Galzerano, the Italian police commander. “They are sending a lot of Tunisians to Syria. Everyone is welcomed by the rebels, including those who have little skills or experience.”</p>
<p>Syria holds another attraction for aspiring holy warriors: It serves as a refuge from law enforcement. Some Europeans in Syria are seen as active threats to their homelands. An illustrative case began last September when someone threw a hand grenade at a kosher grocery store in a suburb north of Paris, wounding one person. Traces of DNA on the grenade led French investigators to a known Islamic radical and revealed a dangerous network operating in three cities.</p>
<p>When a police tactical team raided the Strasbourg apartment of the suspected leader, a Muslim convert of French-Caribbean descent, he opened fire and died in the ensuing shootout, authorities said. Police made a dozen arrests and discovered a garaged stockpile of explosives, including pressure-cooker bombs like those used in the Boston Marathon attack.</p>
<p>“We learned they were planning a campaign of attacks, including car bombs,” said the senior French counterterror official. “They wanted to launch the attacks, then flee to Syria and fight there. Three of them were able to escape to Syria.”</p>
<p>The three suspects who fled the French manhunt joined the al-Nusrah front. One has been badly wounded in combat against the Syrian military, according to the French counterterror official.</p>
<p>Western investigators track the communications and travels of foreign fighters because of their proven capacity for violence and potential contact with al Qaida and its affiliates, who hate the West as much as they hate Assad, investigators say.</p>
<p>“We hear threatening rhetoric in the intercepts,” a European police commander said.</p>
<p>The presence of a minority of hardcore Islamic terrorists in the insurgency poses a conundrum when it comes to Western intervention. One school of thought urges restraint in order to avoid creating a monster comparable to the U.S.-backed Islamists who fought the Soviets in Afghanistan in the 1980s and then morphed into al Qaida. Others, in contrast, believe the West could influence the Syrian rebel movement by doing more.</p>
<p>A former CIA counterterror chief leans in the latter direction. Author Charles (Sam) Faddis served in South Asia and the Middle East, where he led clandestine CIA operations in Iraq that preceded the U.S. invasion in 2003. He communicates periodically with leaders of the Free Syrian Army and thinks the Western support is “too little, too late.”</p>
<p>“I’m the first guy who parts company with the neo-cons (neo-conservative Republicans in Washington) who think we should get involved everywhere,” Faddis said. “I’m against putting American troops in there, and I’m against a no-fly zone. But our approach has been short-sighted.”</p>
<p>There is a real threat of a blowback against the West even from a relatively small number of trained, combat-hardened veterans of the conflict, Faddis said. But he criticizes the Obama administration for not having moved quickly to provide arms and intelligence to the Free Syrian Army.</p>
<p>“You were going to have extremists flocking in there anyway,” he said. “Now you’ve increased their influence. Their power has been enhanced by our not getting involved in a more significant way. We need to get on the ground, map the terrain, figure out who we can work with.”</p>
<p>Last month, President Obama authorized providing small arms and training to Syrian rebels to augment nonlethal aid that they already receive. The U.S. government is working hard to support the pro-democracy forces and thwart al-Nusrah, which the U.S. designated as a terrorist group last year, and other extremist groups, State Department officials say.</p>
<p>“We remain deeply concerned by the violent extremism there,” said a State Department official who requested anonymity because he is not authorized to speak publicly. “We distinguish between those in the opposition seeking a moderate, democratic Syria and those who are trying to hijack it. We make clear with the armed opposition leaders who don’t espouse these [extremist] ideals the importance of isolating the extremists, so it doesn’t take root in the future Syria they are trying to fight for.”</p>
<p>The U.S. has committed $250 million in nonlethal assistance to the rebels and $815 million in humanitarian aid to those affected by the conflict, according to a State Department fact sheet. In areas of Syria under rebel control, the U.S. attempts to shore up the democratic opposition by helping local governments deliver security and other essential services, providing material such as trucks, communications equipment and computers. U.S. officials put the recipients through a vetting process intended to prevent aid from going to the extremists, the State Department official said.</p>
<p>“It’s important that the vetting is in place precisely because there are groups like al-Nusrah trying to intercept things,” the official said. “Sometimes there’s a delay as a result.”</p>
<p>In Europe, authorities have a hard time identifying and prosecuting suspected jihadis for terrorist activity when they return from Syria. Some known extremists insist they fought in the Free Syrian Army, which they indignantly point out has the backing of President Obama, French President François Hollande and others. Judges are more skeptical of the prosecutions than they were with defendants returning from Afghanistan or Iraq, counterterror officials say.</p>
<p>Courts in Europe often struggle to find enough evidence to lock up Islamic extremists if their alleged crimes center on ideological activity or combat in foreign countries.</p>
<p>Raphael Gendron is an example. In late 2008, Italian police arrested Gendron, a Frenchman residing in Belgium, and Bassam Ayachi, a Syrian-Belgian imam, in a camping vehicle coming off a ferry from Greece in Bari, a city at the heel of the Italian boot. Police discovered five illegal immigrants and a trove of jihadi propaganda in the vehicle.</p>
<p>In 2006, Gendron had been convicted of a charge of inciting hate and violence against Jews with Internet propaganda in Belgium. Ayachi had performed the marriage in Brussels of the Tunisian suicide bomber who later killed Massoud in Afghanistan, investigators say. Both had longtime ties to networks that had been implicated in terror plots and had sent jihadis to Bosnia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq, according to investigators and Italian court documents.</p>
<p>An Italian court convicted the duo of acting as recruiters and operatives for al Qaida, but an appellate panel freed them last year. Soon Gendron went to Syria to join a rebel battalion commanded by Ayachi’s son, a veteran of the Belgian military, according to Belgian investigators. In April, the 37-year-old Gendron died in combat near Homs, Syria.</p>
<p>Most suspects in past al Qaida-related terrorist plots against the West traveled first to jihadi combat theaters, and many were European or spent time in Europe. The combat zones and training venues of Pakistan and Afghanistan generated a stream of militants intent on striking the West — from the Sept. 11 hijackers to the failed Times Square bomber in 2010.</p>
<p>Fears of massive blowback against Western nations from Iraq did not materialize, however. The Iraqi conflict certainly played a role in radicalization. But some European jihadis who returned from Iraq told investigators that, despite their eagerness to fight in a war zone, they would not commit violence against civilians at home.</p>
<p>The background of foreign volunteers determines the reception they get from Syrian extremist groups, investigators say.</p>
<p>“We see a little of everything in the profile of the recruits,” the top Spanish intelligence official said. “There are people who are clearly with al Qaida, or are associates of its subsidiaries. Then there are people who have no connection with anything. Solitary actors inspired to go to there and fight.”</p>
<p>Militants with useful skills, such as medical professionals or computer experts, are kept out of combat and given support roles. Men with military experience deploy in front-line units.</p>
<p>Those with little to offer quickly become human bombs.</p>
<p>Wahbi, the Spanish suicide attacker, died soon after his arrival in Syria. He had no criminal record. Also known as Rachid Mohamed, he had supported his wife and children driving a white Mercedes taxi in Ceuta, one of two Spanish cities on the Moroccan coast. His predominantly Muslim neighborhood, known as El Principe, resembles a Brazilian favela or a North African casbah: The slum sprawls over a canyon near the Moroccan border and serves as a fortress for organized crime and Islamic extremism.</p>
<p>In 2006, 300 Spanish police officers raided El Principe, a show of force planned for the rough topography and hostility to law enforcement. Police rounded up 11 suspects accused of belonging to an al Qaida-linked group that allegedly plotted to attack a military base and a fairground in Ceuta and discussed joining the jihad in Iraq or Afghanistan. The suspects included an accused ideologue known as “Marquitos” and two brothers of a Spaniard once imprisoned in the U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.</p>
<p>However, the prosecution ran into problems with turning intelligence into evidence and presenting the testimony of two protected witnesses. The trial ended last year in acquittals. There were cries in the media and Muslim community that innocent men had been railroaded.</p>
<p>Spanish prosecutors now have filed an indictment alleging that the accused ideologue never relinquished his command role in Ceuta’s Islamic underworld. After war broke out in Syria in 2011, Marquitos allegedly recruited men from Ceuta and neighboring Morocco to join the new jihad, according to Spanish intelligence officials.</p>
<p>The taxi driver and two friends were among the first recruits. They departed in April of last year, flying via Malaga and Madrid to Istanbul, where smugglers helped them enter Syria and join al-Nusrah.</p>
<p>“They were in Syria very few days,” Wahbi’s widow, Sanaa, told El País newspaper last year. “Maybe not even a week. During the trip, which lasted a month and a half, he communicated with us by Messenger (internet chat). They were in Turkey quite a while because it seems they couldn’t reach Damascus. When they arrived in Syria he called us, but he didn’t give us details of what he was doing.”</p>
<p>Wahbi’s attack stands out as one of the war’s deadliest. Police say the ring in Ceuta sent at least 20 and up to 50 recruits along the same route or via Morocco. The sophisticated operation paid for travel and provided funds to widows and children of fallen fighters. Police are still trying to determine if the financing came from the criminal activity such as the drug trade, according to Spanish intelligence officials.</p>
<p>On June 21, authorities launched another raid on El Principe. Four hundred officers of the police and Guardia Civil participated, backed by a helicopter hovering over the densely populated canyon. Police once again arrested Marquitos, now 39, and seven accused accomplices. They are awaiting trial.</p>
<p>Police believe the clandestine flow to Syria continues from European hotbeds of extremism.</p>
<p>“There are two categories,” said a Spanish intelligence official who requested anonymity because of the continuing investigation. “Those who go intending to die quickly in a suicide attack. And there are those who want to participate in an act of jihad, taking a great risk because they are going to acquire contacts, training and experience. They want to fight, survive and return. Those are the ones who worry us the most.”</p>
<p /> | Syria's Jihadi Migration Emerges as Top Terror Threat in Europe, Beyond | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/syrias-jihadi-migration-emerges-as-top-terror-threat-in-europe-beyond/ | 2013-07-30 | 4left
| Syria's Jihadi Migration Emerges as Top Terror Threat in Europe, Beyond
<p>By Sebastian Rotella, ProPublicaThis report first appeared on <a href="http://www.propublica.org/article/syrias-jihadi-migration-emerges-as-top-terror-threat-in-europe-beyond" type="external">ProPublica</a>.</p>
<p>MADRID — Rachid Wahbi came to Syria from a Spanish slum, rushing toward death.</p>
<p>And he didn’t plan to die alone.</p>
<p>Facing a camera hours before the end, the bearded, 33-year-old cabdriver wore a black headdress and a black flak vest and held an AK-47 rifle. He spoke in hesitant classical Arabic with a north Moroccan accent. He said he had studied his target and, God willing, his action would end in triumph. He wished the glory of martyrdom for his fellow fighters in the al-Nusrah Front, al-Qaida’s Syrian branch.</p>
<p />
<p>When the cameraman asked about his mother, the Spaniard became emotional.</p>
<p>“I want to thank my mother because she inspired me,” Wahbi said, according to a translation by the Spanish national police. “Mother, you must be happy because God will reward you.”</p>
<p>The al-Nusrah propaganda video shows Wahbi disguised in the helmet and uniform of a Syrian soldier as he hugs a comrade and climbs into a truck packed with explosives. The truck bears down on an army outpost. An explosion thunders. A column of smoke, seen from multiple camera angles, climbs toward the sky.</p>
<p>Wahbi killed 130 people in that suicide bombing on the al-Nairab military base in northern Syria on June 1 of last year, according to Spanish authorities. And the numbers get grimmer.</p>
<p>Five holy warriors from Spain have died in Syria, three in bombings that killed another 100 people, police say. Last month, Spanish police stormed the hillside ghetto where Wahbi lived in Ceuta, a Spanish territory in North Africa, and arrested a ring of extremists who are charged with sending as many as 50 fighters to Syria. Indicating a threat much closer to home, the accused leader had previously been acquitted of plotting attacks on targets in Spain with a group linked to al-Qaida and a former Guantanamo inmate.</p>
<p>“The global jihad has prioritized the Syrian conflict as its principal front,” said a top Spanish intelligence official who requested anonymity because of the continuing investigation. “And it has directed its subsidiaries to move combatants to the zone. What worries us is that this experience could serve as preparation, as training to return to European countries and carry out attacks at home.”</p>
<p>Hundreds of Europeans and thousands of other Sunni Muslim foreign fighters have made Syria the new land of jihad. The migration complicates an already delicate calculus in Washington and in European capitals that are aiding the fractious rebel coalition in Syria. European security chiefs see the flow of extremists to and from Syria as their top terrorist threat. It also raises concerns that European militants radicalized by or returning from the Syrian conflict could strike U.S. targets overseas or travel across the Atlantic.</p>
<p>“Imagine this: Between 2001 and 2010, we identified 50 jihadists who went from France to Afghanistan,” said a senior French counterterror official who also requested anonymity. “Surely there were more, but we identified 50. With Syria, in one year, we have already identified 135. It has been very fast and strong.”</p>
<p>The statistics are even stronger in adjoining Belgium, one-sixth the size of France. Between 100 and 300 jihadis have journeyed from Belgium’s extremist enclaves to Syria, according to a veteran Belgian counterterror official. Other significant fighting contingents represent Britain, Denmark, the Netherlands, Canada, Central Asia, Libya, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia. The senior French official estimated the total number of Europeans to be at least 400. Others say it could be double that, but counterterror officials warn that precise numbers are difficult to establish.</p>
<p>The foreign fighter phenomenon in Syria “is one of the things that most worries a number of European government agencies,” Italian Defense Minister Mario Mauro said in an interview. “But this is also within the reactive capacity of a system built by democracies, therefore based not on preventive arrests but on monitoring and intelligence activity to prevent situations like this from degenerating.”</p>
<p>The total number of the rebel forces – Syrians and foreigners, full-time and occasional fighters – is thought to be in the tens of thousands. Estimates range from above 60,000 to below 100,000, based on interviews with U.S. and European officials and experts.</p>
<p>A recent private report examines the role of Sunni foreign fighters who have converged from across the Muslim world to battle the regime of Bashir Assad and his powerful Shiite allies, Hezbollah and Iran. Foreign fighters account for up to 10 percent of the rebels in the data sample examined by the study, which relies on sources including online obituaries of militants and social networks and is titled <a href="http://www.propublica.org/documents/item/739377-convoy-of-martyrs-in-the-levant-flashpoint" type="external">“Convoy of Martyrs in the Levant.”</a></p>
<p>Released last month by Flashpoint Partners, a New York security contracting firm, and the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a think tank that tends to align with Israeli views, the report compares the conflict to previous arenas that attracted extremists: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Yemen.</p>
<p>“At the very least, the current war in Syria can be considered the third-largest foreign mujahideen mobilization since the early 1980s — falling short only of Afghanistan in the 1980s and Iraq during the last decade,” the study concludes. “[T]he mobilization has been stunningly rapid — what took six years to build in Iraq at the height of the U.S. occupation may have accumulated inside Syria in less than half that time.”</p>
<p>Syria is familiar turf that once served as a hub for militants en route to fight in Iraq. It is closer and more accessible to Europe than other jihadi destinations: Militants travel by air or land to Turkey, where smugglers sneak them across the border. There is little interference by authorities in Turkey, a major sponsor of the Syrian rebels.</p>
<p>Despite the ferocity of the civil war, Syrian cities offer better living conditions to foreign volunteers than al-Qaida’s remote compounds in Pakistan or the impoverished wastes where Islamists operate in Somalia and Mali. The ever-improving technology of the Internet and mobile phones allow combatants to trumpet their exploits and remain in close communication with comrades back home.</p>
<p>“There are guys who regularly update their Facebook pages from Syria,” said Claudio Galzerano, the chief of the international terrorism unit of the Italian police in Rome.</p>
<p>Moreover, the cause enjoys unique popularity. Many Sunnis and non-Muslims alike regard it as a crusade to overthrow a brutal dictator who uses chemical weapons to slaughter his people. The Obama administration and European governments support the Syrian opposition and the Supreme Military Command, which encompasses the Free Syrian Army and other relatively moderate groups. The Convoy of Martyrs study describes “Arab Spring-motivated, pro-democratic revolutionary fervor” that pushes foreign volunteers to join the Free Syrian Army, rather than extremist rebel units.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, secular idealists are a minority among the foreign fighters, according to European counterterror officials. The octopus-like embrace of anti-Western, al Qaida-connected networks in Europe and the Muslim world— sometimes led by the same chiefs as in past conflicts — has shifted to Syria. Many foreign recruits join al-Nusrah or the Islamic State of Iraq, al Qaida allies that field some of the toughest fighters. These Sunni Islamist groups clash with other rebel factions and argue among themselves about whether to widen their jihad beyond the borders of Syria, according to counterterror officials.</p>
<p>European police fear that well-trained, battle-hardened veterans will return from Syria and, on their own or acting on orders from terrorist bosses, decide to continue the war. Western leaders say they are taking pains to prevent stepped-up aid to the Syrian opposition from reinforcing the extremists. When the European Union ended an arms embargo to the rebels in May, reluctance about that decision resulted partly from concerns that the weapons would end up in the wrong hands.</p>
<p>“There is a risk, and how,” said Stefano Dambruoso, an Italian parliamentary deputy who is a former top anti-terror prosecutor. “In a situation that is out of control like the one in Syria, it is really very dangerous. Italy supported maintaining the embargo because really we don’t know who we are dealing with. The rebels are still not clearly identifiable.”</p>
<p>Dambruoso knows the treacherous turf. Based in Milan in the early 2000s, he led prosecutions of al Qaida operatives involved in plots in Europe and linked to the assassination of Ahmed Shah Massoud, a legendary anti-Taliban commander in Afghanistan, just two days before the 9/11 attacks on New York.</p>
<p>Several cases in Italy involved the Tunisian Combatant Group, part of al Qaida’s terrorist coalition. Some Italian cells sent recruits via Syria to join the insurgency in Iraq. Key operatives were arrested by Italian police and then deported to prisons in Tunisia, sometimes after serving time in Italy.</p>
<p>After the Tunisian revolution ended in 2011, however, a new government in Tunis released convicted terrorists and allowed them to create a radical Islamic party, Ansar al Sharia. It is led by Seifallah Ben Hassine, who is a founder of the Tunisian Combatant Group and a former ally of Osama bin Laden, according to European and UN counterterror officials and documents. His party has been recruiting and deploying holy warriors to the Syrian front from camps in the south of Tunisia, according to European investigators.</p>
<p>Tunisians account for 16 percent of foreign fighters in Syria, the second-largest group there, according to the data sample in the Convoy of Martyrs Study.</p>
<p>“This is one of our top concerns,” said Galzerano, the Italian police commander. “They are sending a lot of Tunisians to Syria. Everyone is welcomed by the rebels, including those who have little skills or experience.”</p>
<p>Syria holds another attraction for aspiring holy warriors: It serves as a refuge from law enforcement. Some Europeans in Syria are seen as active threats to their homelands. An illustrative case began last September when someone threw a hand grenade at a kosher grocery store in a suburb north of Paris, wounding one person. Traces of DNA on the grenade led French investigators to a known Islamic radical and revealed a dangerous network operating in three cities.</p>
<p>When a police tactical team raided the Strasbourg apartment of the suspected leader, a Muslim convert of French-Caribbean descent, he opened fire and died in the ensuing shootout, authorities said. Police made a dozen arrests and discovered a garaged stockpile of explosives, including pressure-cooker bombs like those used in the Boston Marathon attack.</p>
<p>“We learned they were planning a campaign of attacks, including car bombs,” said the senior French counterterror official. “They wanted to launch the attacks, then flee to Syria and fight there. Three of them were able to escape to Syria.”</p>
<p>The three suspects who fled the French manhunt joined the al-Nusrah front. One has been badly wounded in combat against the Syrian military, according to the French counterterror official.</p>
<p>Western investigators track the communications and travels of foreign fighters because of their proven capacity for violence and potential contact with al Qaida and its affiliates, who hate the West as much as they hate Assad, investigators say.</p>
<p>“We hear threatening rhetoric in the intercepts,” a European police commander said.</p>
<p>The presence of a minority of hardcore Islamic terrorists in the insurgency poses a conundrum when it comes to Western intervention. One school of thought urges restraint in order to avoid creating a monster comparable to the U.S.-backed Islamists who fought the Soviets in Afghanistan in the 1980s and then morphed into al Qaida. Others, in contrast, believe the West could influence the Syrian rebel movement by doing more.</p>
<p>A former CIA counterterror chief leans in the latter direction. Author Charles (Sam) Faddis served in South Asia and the Middle East, where he led clandestine CIA operations in Iraq that preceded the U.S. invasion in 2003. He communicates periodically with leaders of the Free Syrian Army and thinks the Western support is “too little, too late.”</p>
<p>“I’m the first guy who parts company with the neo-cons (neo-conservative Republicans in Washington) who think we should get involved everywhere,” Faddis said. “I’m against putting American troops in there, and I’m against a no-fly zone. But our approach has been short-sighted.”</p>
<p>There is a real threat of a blowback against the West even from a relatively small number of trained, combat-hardened veterans of the conflict, Faddis said. But he criticizes the Obama administration for not having moved quickly to provide arms and intelligence to the Free Syrian Army.</p>
<p>“You were going to have extremists flocking in there anyway,” he said. “Now you’ve increased their influence. Their power has been enhanced by our not getting involved in a more significant way. We need to get on the ground, map the terrain, figure out who we can work with.”</p>
<p>Last month, President Obama authorized providing small arms and training to Syrian rebels to augment nonlethal aid that they already receive. The U.S. government is working hard to support the pro-democracy forces and thwart al-Nusrah, which the U.S. designated as a terrorist group last year, and other extremist groups, State Department officials say.</p>
<p>“We remain deeply concerned by the violent extremism there,” said a State Department official who requested anonymity because he is not authorized to speak publicly. “We distinguish between those in the opposition seeking a moderate, democratic Syria and those who are trying to hijack it. We make clear with the armed opposition leaders who don’t espouse these [extremist] ideals the importance of isolating the extremists, so it doesn’t take root in the future Syria they are trying to fight for.”</p>
<p>The U.S. has committed $250 million in nonlethal assistance to the rebels and $815 million in humanitarian aid to those affected by the conflict, according to a State Department fact sheet. In areas of Syria under rebel control, the U.S. attempts to shore up the democratic opposition by helping local governments deliver security and other essential services, providing material such as trucks, communications equipment and computers. U.S. officials put the recipients through a vetting process intended to prevent aid from going to the extremists, the State Department official said.</p>
<p>“It’s important that the vetting is in place precisely because there are groups like al-Nusrah trying to intercept things,” the official said. “Sometimes there’s a delay as a result.”</p>
<p>In Europe, authorities have a hard time identifying and prosecuting suspected jihadis for terrorist activity when they return from Syria. Some known extremists insist they fought in the Free Syrian Army, which they indignantly point out has the backing of President Obama, French President François Hollande and others. Judges are more skeptical of the prosecutions than they were with defendants returning from Afghanistan or Iraq, counterterror officials say.</p>
<p>Courts in Europe often struggle to find enough evidence to lock up Islamic extremists if their alleged crimes center on ideological activity or combat in foreign countries.</p>
<p>Raphael Gendron is an example. In late 2008, Italian police arrested Gendron, a Frenchman residing in Belgium, and Bassam Ayachi, a Syrian-Belgian imam, in a camping vehicle coming off a ferry from Greece in Bari, a city at the heel of the Italian boot. Police discovered five illegal immigrants and a trove of jihadi propaganda in the vehicle.</p>
<p>In 2006, Gendron had been convicted of a charge of inciting hate and violence against Jews with Internet propaganda in Belgium. Ayachi had performed the marriage in Brussels of the Tunisian suicide bomber who later killed Massoud in Afghanistan, investigators say. Both had longtime ties to networks that had been implicated in terror plots and had sent jihadis to Bosnia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq, according to investigators and Italian court documents.</p>
<p>An Italian court convicted the duo of acting as recruiters and operatives for al Qaida, but an appellate panel freed them last year. Soon Gendron went to Syria to join a rebel battalion commanded by Ayachi’s son, a veteran of the Belgian military, according to Belgian investigators. In April, the 37-year-old Gendron died in combat near Homs, Syria.</p>
<p>Most suspects in past al Qaida-related terrorist plots against the West traveled first to jihadi combat theaters, and many were European or spent time in Europe. The combat zones and training venues of Pakistan and Afghanistan generated a stream of militants intent on striking the West — from the Sept. 11 hijackers to the failed Times Square bomber in 2010.</p>
<p>Fears of massive blowback against Western nations from Iraq did not materialize, however. The Iraqi conflict certainly played a role in radicalization. But some European jihadis who returned from Iraq told investigators that, despite their eagerness to fight in a war zone, they would not commit violence against civilians at home.</p>
<p>The background of foreign volunteers determines the reception they get from Syrian extremist groups, investigators say.</p>
<p>“We see a little of everything in the profile of the recruits,” the top Spanish intelligence official said. “There are people who are clearly with al Qaida, or are associates of its subsidiaries. Then there are people who have no connection with anything. Solitary actors inspired to go to there and fight.”</p>
<p>Militants with useful skills, such as medical professionals or computer experts, are kept out of combat and given support roles. Men with military experience deploy in front-line units.</p>
<p>Those with little to offer quickly become human bombs.</p>
<p>Wahbi, the Spanish suicide attacker, died soon after his arrival in Syria. He had no criminal record. Also known as Rachid Mohamed, he had supported his wife and children driving a white Mercedes taxi in Ceuta, one of two Spanish cities on the Moroccan coast. His predominantly Muslim neighborhood, known as El Principe, resembles a Brazilian favela or a North African casbah: The slum sprawls over a canyon near the Moroccan border and serves as a fortress for organized crime and Islamic extremism.</p>
<p>In 2006, 300 Spanish police officers raided El Principe, a show of force planned for the rough topography and hostility to law enforcement. Police rounded up 11 suspects accused of belonging to an al Qaida-linked group that allegedly plotted to attack a military base and a fairground in Ceuta and discussed joining the jihad in Iraq or Afghanistan. The suspects included an accused ideologue known as “Marquitos” and two brothers of a Spaniard once imprisoned in the U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.</p>
<p>However, the prosecution ran into problems with turning intelligence into evidence and presenting the testimony of two protected witnesses. The trial ended last year in acquittals. There were cries in the media and Muslim community that innocent men had been railroaded.</p>
<p>Spanish prosecutors now have filed an indictment alleging that the accused ideologue never relinquished his command role in Ceuta’s Islamic underworld. After war broke out in Syria in 2011, Marquitos allegedly recruited men from Ceuta and neighboring Morocco to join the new jihad, according to Spanish intelligence officials.</p>
<p>The taxi driver and two friends were among the first recruits. They departed in April of last year, flying via Malaga and Madrid to Istanbul, where smugglers helped them enter Syria and join al-Nusrah.</p>
<p>“They were in Syria very few days,” Wahbi’s widow, Sanaa, told El País newspaper last year. “Maybe not even a week. During the trip, which lasted a month and a half, he communicated with us by Messenger (internet chat). They were in Turkey quite a while because it seems they couldn’t reach Damascus. When they arrived in Syria he called us, but he didn’t give us details of what he was doing.”</p>
<p>Wahbi’s attack stands out as one of the war’s deadliest. Police say the ring in Ceuta sent at least 20 and up to 50 recruits along the same route or via Morocco. The sophisticated operation paid for travel and provided funds to widows and children of fallen fighters. Police are still trying to determine if the financing came from the criminal activity such as the drug trade, according to Spanish intelligence officials.</p>
<p>On June 21, authorities launched another raid on El Principe. Four hundred officers of the police and Guardia Civil participated, backed by a helicopter hovering over the densely populated canyon. Police once again arrested Marquitos, now 39, and seven accused accomplices. They are awaiting trial.</p>
<p>Police believe the clandestine flow to Syria continues from European hotbeds of extremism.</p>
<p>“There are two categories,” said a Spanish intelligence official who requested anonymity because of the continuing investigation. “Those who go intending to die quickly in a suicide attack. And there are those who want to participate in an act of jihad, taking a great risk because they are going to acquire contacts, training and experience. They want to fight, survive and return. Those are the ones who worry us the most.”</p>
<p /> | 3,935 |
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>So Scooter Libby has taken the fall.</p>
<p>Three and a half years and a long bloody war after he and a gang of war-mongers in the White House and Blair House, including President Bush and Vice President Cheney, set out to undermine and trash the reputation of an Iraq war critic, former ambassador Joseph Wilson, Libby has been found guilty of perjury, lying to the FBI and obstruction of justice by a Washington jury.</p>
<p>Now maybe what passes for journalists in the mainstream media can get down to the real business of finding out just why the entire White House smear operation was unleashed upon a minor state department official and why they went so far as to violate federal law and expose his CIA-operative wife, Valerie Plame, in the process destroying her entire network of contacts for monitoring the spread of nuclear weapons in the Middle East.</p>
<p>Because that’s what this whole Libby story is really about.</p>
<p>The whole focus of the media in this case has been on the narrow, inside-the-Beltway question of who leaked information about Plame to the media.</p>
<p>Entirely forgotten or ignored has been what this leak was all about to begin with.</p>
<p>For that, you have to go back and look at what Wilson did in the first place that so enraged or frightened the Vice President and the President.</p>
<p>And that was to go to Niger, one of the poorest nations in Africa, to prove conclusively that there was no truth to a set of forged notes on the letterhead of the Niger embassy in Rome, purporting to be receipts for 400 tons of Niger uranium ore allegedly being sought by Iraq’s Saddam Hussein.</p>
<p>Wilson knew those documents were cheap forgeries–the name of the mines official on the papers was someone who hadn’t been in office for years–but he went to Niger anyhow, just to make doubly certain that no such purchase attempt had been made.</p>
<p>None had.</p>
<p>So the real question then is, who is behind those forged documents?</p>
<p>There is an interesting story here–and an important mystery to be solved.</p>
<p>As it happens, way back in early 2001 there was a pair of burglaries at the Niger Embassy in Rome and at the home of the Niger ambassador. Police investigating the crimes found that the only things stolen were official stationary and some official stamps, used to make documents official. A cleaning lady and a former member of Italy’s intelligence service were arrested for the crimes. They were odd burglaries to be sure, since there is precious little one could use, or sell, such documents for, given the country involved. I mean, it might make sense to steal official stationary from the French Embassy in Rome, which a thief might use to finagle a pass to the Cannes Festival. But Niger?</p>
<p>Jump to October 2001. A few weeks after the 9-11 attacks, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, accompanied by his ministers of defense and intelligence, made a visit to the White House. There he reportedly handed over the forged Niger documents (they were on Niger government stationary, and had Niger government stamps!), which appeared to be receipts for uranium ore, made out to Saddam Hussein. Now forget the matter of why either Hussein or Niger’s government would want paper receipts for such an illegal transaction, and forget the matter of how Hussein would have transported 400 tons of yellow dust across the Sahara to his country without somebody noticing. The simple fact is that Bush’s own intelligence experts at the CIA and State Department promptly spotted the forgeries, and they were dumped.</p>
<p>We know this because we know, from the likes of onetime National Security Council counterterrorism head Richard Clarke and former Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill, that Bush was pushing for war with Iraq almost as soon as he finished reading My Pet Goat following the attack on the Twin Towers. Surely if the White House had even thought those Niger documents might be legit, they would have leaked or broadcast them all over creation.</p>
<p>They didn’t. The documents were deep-sixed, and mentioned to no one.</p>
<p>But according to some dedicated investigative reporters at the respected Italian newspaper La Repubblica, they resurfaced before long at a very suspicious meeting. This meeting occurred in December 2001 in Rome, and included Michael Ledeen, an associate of Defense Department Undersecretary for Policy Douglas Feith and a key figure in the White House’s war-propaganda program, Larry Franklin, a top Defense Intelligence Agency Middle East analyst who later pleaded guilty to passing classified information to two employees of the America Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), convicted Iraqi bank swindler Ahmed Chalabi, then head of the CIA-created Iraqi National Congress, and Harold Rhode of the sinister Defense Department Office of Special Plans, that office set up by the White House and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld under Feith’s direction to manufacture “evidence” to justify a war on Iraq. Also at this peculiar meeting were the heads of the Italian Defense Department and of SISMI, the Italian intelligence agency.</p>
<p>According to La Repubblica, it was at that meeting that a plan was hatched to resurrect the forged Niger documents, and to give them credibility by recycling them through British intelligence.</p>
<p>And that is what Bush was referring to when, in his 2003 State of the Union address, he famously frightened a nation by declaring, “The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.”</p>
<p>Bush lyingly implied that this was new information, when in fact he knew–had to know–that the “evidence” in British hands was the same set of documents he had been offered by Berlusconi almost a year and a half earlier, which had been declared to be bogus.</p>
<p>No mainstream American media organization has pursued this story, or even published the details as reported in Italy. Most Americans, consequently, don’t even know what a grand lie Bush and the White House perpetrated upon them and the Congress in order to win approval for an attack on Iraq.</p>
<p>Perhaps now that Libby has gone down for his part in this grotesque crime, some editor will ask the obvious question: Why did the White House and the Office of Vice President go to such extraordinary lengths to attack Wilson and his wife? And more importantly, who was behind those Niger embassy burglaries and the forged uranium ore sale documents? And what was OSP doing meeting in Rome in December 2001 with the head of Italian intelligence?</p>
<p>Make no mistake: this whole story has the odor of a “black op” designed to target the American people.</p>
<p>If so it was an act of high treason.</p>
<p>It is not just Libby who should go to jail for this crime. It is the president and vice president.</p>
<p>At this point, what should happen is that Fitzgerald, with Libby in the bag, would take the next step and hold the prospect of a lengthy prison sentence recommendation over the convict’s head in order to try and win from him a promise of cooperation with the prosecution. Because Libby knows who was behind all this.</p>
<p>That’s the way prosecutors go after criminal syndicates and conspiracies, but Fitzgerald has folded his tent, reportedly saying that he plans no further prosecutions.</p>
<p>That means it’s up to Congress, which should take the cue and initiate impeachment proceedings against Bush and Cheney based on the evidence of crimes and obstruction that came out during the Libby trial testimony.</p>
<p>And of course, it’s up to the media, which if they were still doing their job, would be all over this story.</p>
<p>DAVE LINDORFF is the author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1567512283/counterpunchmaga" type="external">Killing Time: an Investigation into the Death Row Case of Mumia Abu-Jamal</a>. His n book of CounterPunch columns titled “ <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1567512984/counterpunchmaga" type="external">This Can’t be Happening!</a>” is published by Common Courage Press. Lindorff’s newest book is “ <a href="" type="internal">The Case for Impeachment</a>“, co-authored by Barbara Olshansky.</p>
<p>He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p> | The Fall Guy Has Fallen | true | https://counterpunch.org/2007/03/07/the-fall-guy-has-fallen/ | 2007-03-07 | 4left
| The Fall Guy Has Fallen
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>So Scooter Libby has taken the fall.</p>
<p>Three and a half years and a long bloody war after he and a gang of war-mongers in the White House and Blair House, including President Bush and Vice President Cheney, set out to undermine and trash the reputation of an Iraq war critic, former ambassador Joseph Wilson, Libby has been found guilty of perjury, lying to the FBI and obstruction of justice by a Washington jury.</p>
<p>Now maybe what passes for journalists in the mainstream media can get down to the real business of finding out just why the entire White House smear operation was unleashed upon a minor state department official and why they went so far as to violate federal law and expose his CIA-operative wife, Valerie Plame, in the process destroying her entire network of contacts for monitoring the spread of nuclear weapons in the Middle East.</p>
<p>Because that’s what this whole Libby story is really about.</p>
<p>The whole focus of the media in this case has been on the narrow, inside-the-Beltway question of who leaked information about Plame to the media.</p>
<p>Entirely forgotten or ignored has been what this leak was all about to begin with.</p>
<p>For that, you have to go back and look at what Wilson did in the first place that so enraged or frightened the Vice President and the President.</p>
<p>And that was to go to Niger, one of the poorest nations in Africa, to prove conclusively that there was no truth to a set of forged notes on the letterhead of the Niger embassy in Rome, purporting to be receipts for 400 tons of Niger uranium ore allegedly being sought by Iraq’s Saddam Hussein.</p>
<p>Wilson knew those documents were cheap forgeries–the name of the mines official on the papers was someone who hadn’t been in office for years–but he went to Niger anyhow, just to make doubly certain that no such purchase attempt had been made.</p>
<p>None had.</p>
<p>So the real question then is, who is behind those forged documents?</p>
<p>There is an interesting story here–and an important mystery to be solved.</p>
<p>As it happens, way back in early 2001 there was a pair of burglaries at the Niger Embassy in Rome and at the home of the Niger ambassador. Police investigating the crimes found that the only things stolen were official stationary and some official stamps, used to make documents official. A cleaning lady and a former member of Italy’s intelligence service were arrested for the crimes. They were odd burglaries to be sure, since there is precious little one could use, or sell, such documents for, given the country involved. I mean, it might make sense to steal official stationary from the French Embassy in Rome, which a thief might use to finagle a pass to the Cannes Festival. But Niger?</p>
<p>Jump to October 2001. A few weeks after the 9-11 attacks, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, accompanied by his ministers of defense and intelligence, made a visit to the White House. There he reportedly handed over the forged Niger documents (they were on Niger government stationary, and had Niger government stamps!), which appeared to be receipts for uranium ore, made out to Saddam Hussein. Now forget the matter of why either Hussein or Niger’s government would want paper receipts for such an illegal transaction, and forget the matter of how Hussein would have transported 400 tons of yellow dust across the Sahara to his country without somebody noticing. The simple fact is that Bush’s own intelligence experts at the CIA and State Department promptly spotted the forgeries, and they were dumped.</p>
<p>We know this because we know, from the likes of onetime National Security Council counterterrorism head Richard Clarke and former Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill, that Bush was pushing for war with Iraq almost as soon as he finished reading My Pet Goat following the attack on the Twin Towers. Surely if the White House had even thought those Niger documents might be legit, they would have leaked or broadcast them all over creation.</p>
<p>They didn’t. The documents were deep-sixed, and mentioned to no one.</p>
<p>But according to some dedicated investigative reporters at the respected Italian newspaper La Repubblica, they resurfaced before long at a very suspicious meeting. This meeting occurred in December 2001 in Rome, and included Michael Ledeen, an associate of Defense Department Undersecretary for Policy Douglas Feith and a key figure in the White House’s war-propaganda program, Larry Franklin, a top Defense Intelligence Agency Middle East analyst who later pleaded guilty to passing classified information to two employees of the America Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), convicted Iraqi bank swindler Ahmed Chalabi, then head of the CIA-created Iraqi National Congress, and Harold Rhode of the sinister Defense Department Office of Special Plans, that office set up by the White House and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld under Feith’s direction to manufacture “evidence” to justify a war on Iraq. Also at this peculiar meeting were the heads of the Italian Defense Department and of SISMI, the Italian intelligence agency.</p>
<p>According to La Repubblica, it was at that meeting that a plan was hatched to resurrect the forged Niger documents, and to give them credibility by recycling them through British intelligence.</p>
<p>And that is what Bush was referring to when, in his 2003 State of the Union address, he famously frightened a nation by declaring, “The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.”</p>
<p>Bush lyingly implied that this was new information, when in fact he knew–had to know–that the “evidence” in British hands was the same set of documents he had been offered by Berlusconi almost a year and a half earlier, which had been declared to be bogus.</p>
<p>No mainstream American media organization has pursued this story, or even published the details as reported in Italy. Most Americans, consequently, don’t even know what a grand lie Bush and the White House perpetrated upon them and the Congress in order to win approval for an attack on Iraq.</p>
<p>Perhaps now that Libby has gone down for his part in this grotesque crime, some editor will ask the obvious question: Why did the White House and the Office of Vice President go to such extraordinary lengths to attack Wilson and his wife? And more importantly, who was behind those Niger embassy burglaries and the forged uranium ore sale documents? And what was OSP doing meeting in Rome in December 2001 with the head of Italian intelligence?</p>
<p>Make no mistake: this whole story has the odor of a “black op” designed to target the American people.</p>
<p>If so it was an act of high treason.</p>
<p>It is not just Libby who should go to jail for this crime. It is the president and vice president.</p>
<p>At this point, what should happen is that Fitzgerald, with Libby in the bag, would take the next step and hold the prospect of a lengthy prison sentence recommendation over the convict’s head in order to try and win from him a promise of cooperation with the prosecution. Because Libby knows who was behind all this.</p>
<p>That’s the way prosecutors go after criminal syndicates and conspiracies, but Fitzgerald has folded his tent, reportedly saying that he plans no further prosecutions.</p>
<p>That means it’s up to Congress, which should take the cue and initiate impeachment proceedings against Bush and Cheney based on the evidence of crimes and obstruction that came out during the Libby trial testimony.</p>
<p>And of course, it’s up to the media, which if they were still doing their job, would be all over this story.</p>
<p>DAVE LINDORFF is the author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1567512283/counterpunchmaga" type="external">Killing Time: an Investigation into the Death Row Case of Mumia Abu-Jamal</a>. His n book of CounterPunch columns titled “ <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1567512984/counterpunchmaga" type="external">This Can’t be Happening!</a>” is published by Common Courage Press. Lindorff’s newest book is “ <a href="" type="internal">The Case for Impeachment</a>“, co-authored by Barbara Olshansky.</p>
<p>He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p> | 3,936 |
<p>Only <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/politics/wire/sns-ap-troubled-republicans,1,2496586.story?coll=sns-ap-politics-headlines" type="external">36%</a> of the public approves of Bush's performance, according to an Ap-Ipsos poll released Friday. The GOP-led Congress fared even worse, with an approval rating of only 30%. Nixon's numbers were in the high 20s during the Watergate scandal. What's the magic number for regime change?</p>
<p>L.A. Times</p>
<p>President Bush's approval ratings hit a series of new lows in an AP-Ipsos poll that also shows Republicans surrendering their advantage on national security - grim election-year news for a party struggling to stay in power.</p>
<p>Democratic leaders predicted they will seize control of one or both chambers of Congress in November. Republicans said they feared the worst unless the political landscape quickly changes.</p>
<p />
<p><a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/politics/wire/sns-ap-troubled-republicans,1,2496586.story?coll=sns-ap-politics-headlines" type="external">link</a></p> | Bush's Job Approval Rating at All Time Low | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/bushs-job-approval-rating-at-all-time-low/ | 2006-04-07 | 4left
| Bush's Job Approval Rating at All Time Low
<p>Only <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/politics/wire/sns-ap-troubled-republicans,1,2496586.story?coll=sns-ap-politics-headlines" type="external">36%</a> of the public approves of Bush's performance, according to an Ap-Ipsos poll released Friday. The GOP-led Congress fared even worse, with an approval rating of only 30%. Nixon's numbers were in the high 20s during the Watergate scandal. What's the magic number for regime change?</p>
<p>L.A. Times</p>
<p>President Bush's approval ratings hit a series of new lows in an AP-Ipsos poll that also shows Republicans surrendering their advantage on national security - grim election-year news for a party struggling to stay in power.</p>
<p>Democratic leaders predicted they will seize control of one or both chambers of Congress in November. Republicans said they feared the worst unless the political landscape quickly changes.</p>
<p />
<p><a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/politics/wire/sns-ap-troubled-republicans,1,2496586.story?coll=sns-ap-politics-headlines" type="external">link</a></p> | 3,937 |
<p>From left, New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair Ray Buckley and Harvey Milk Foundation Board of Directors President Stuart Milk (Photo courtesy Buckley)</p>
<p>Stuart Milk, the LGBT advocate and nephew of gay rights pioneer Harvey Milk, has thrown his support behind Raymond Buckley in his bid to become Democratic National Committee chair, calling the gay candidate “a passionate, courageous, strategic leader.”</p>
<p>Stuart Milk said Thursday in a statement Buckley isn’t unlike Harvey Milk, who upon becoming a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1978 was one of the first openly gay people to be elected to public office in the United States.</p>
<p>“Like Uncle Harvey, Ray, too, has been a ground-breaker, becoming the first openly gay state legislator in New Hampshire, the first openly gay chair of a state political party, and the first openly gay vice chair of the Democratic National Committee,” Stuart Milk said. “Ray is a work-horse, who has demonstrated that he knows progress is built from the local level up, not the top down.”</p>
<p>In 2009, Stuart Milk co-founded the Harvey Milk Foundation, which seeks to encourage organizing within the United States and overseas to advance LGBT and human rights. Among other things, the Foundation led efforts to create the Harvey Milk stamp, organized a transgender summit in Italy and the first Pride parade in Istanbul.</p>
<p>“For all those DNC members who have seen the powerful impact of uncle Harvey’s courage, authenticity, and visibility, and who have seen how all Americans have benefited from his ultimate sacrifice, I ask you to join me in supporting Ray,” Stuart Milk said. “I hope all DNC members agree that Ray Buckley is absolutely the right person that we all need, at this critical moment, to the lead the DNC.”</p>
<p>Buckley, who served as chair of the New Hampshire Democratic Party and would be the first openly gay person elected as chair of the Democratic National Committee, said in a statement he’s “honored” to have Stuart Milk’s support.</p>
<p>“As a gay teen in rural New Hampshire Harvey Milk’s victory gave me hope and inspiration, his assassination gave me courage to fight for my rights,” Buckley said. “I am proud of my decades of work in the national LGBT community. I appreciate the support I am receiving for my candidacy across the nation. This is an historic moment to reform the DNC and start winning again.”</p>
<p>Others seeking the position of DNC chair are Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.); outgoing Labor Secretary Tom Perez; Sally Boynton Brown, executive director of the Idaho Democratic Party; Jaime Harrison, chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party; and Pete Buttigieg, mayor of South Bend, Ind. Buttigieg is also gay.</p>
<p>The election for chair will take place at the DNC’s winter meeting in Atlanta, scheduled for Feb. 23-26.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Democratic National Committe</a> <a href="" type="internal">Ray Buckley</a> <a href="" type="internal">Stuart Milk</a></p> | Harvey Milk’s nephew endorses Ray Buckley for DNC chair | false | http://washingtonblade.com/2017/01/12/harvey-milks-nephew-endorsed-buckley-dnc-chair/ | 3left-center
| Harvey Milk’s nephew endorses Ray Buckley for DNC chair
<p>From left, New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair Ray Buckley and Harvey Milk Foundation Board of Directors President Stuart Milk (Photo courtesy Buckley)</p>
<p>Stuart Milk, the LGBT advocate and nephew of gay rights pioneer Harvey Milk, has thrown his support behind Raymond Buckley in his bid to become Democratic National Committee chair, calling the gay candidate “a passionate, courageous, strategic leader.”</p>
<p>Stuart Milk said Thursday in a statement Buckley isn’t unlike Harvey Milk, who upon becoming a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1978 was one of the first openly gay people to be elected to public office in the United States.</p>
<p>“Like Uncle Harvey, Ray, too, has been a ground-breaker, becoming the first openly gay state legislator in New Hampshire, the first openly gay chair of a state political party, and the first openly gay vice chair of the Democratic National Committee,” Stuart Milk said. “Ray is a work-horse, who has demonstrated that he knows progress is built from the local level up, not the top down.”</p>
<p>In 2009, Stuart Milk co-founded the Harvey Milk Foundation, which seeks to encourage organizing within the United States and overseas to advance LGBT and human rights. Among other things, the Foundation led efforts to create the Harvey Milk stamp, organized a transgender summit in Italy and the first Pride parade in Istanbul.</p>
<p>“For all those DNC members who have seen the powerful impact of uncle Harvey’s courage, authenticity, and visibility, and who have seen how all Americans have benefited from his ultimate sacrifice, I ask you to join me in supporting Ray,” Stuart Milk said. “I hope all DNC members agree that Ray Buckley is absolutely the right person that we all need, at this critical moment, to the lead the DNC.”</p>
<p>Buckley, who served as chair of the New Hampshire Democratic Party and would be the first openly gay person elected as chair of the Democratic National Committee, said in a statement he’s “honored” to have Stuart Milk’s support.</p>
<p>“As a gay teen in rural New Hampshire Harvey Milk’s victory gave me hope and inspiration, his assassination gave me courage to fight for my rights,” Buckley said. “I am proud of my decades of work in the national LGBT community. I appreciate the support I am receiving for my candidacy across the nation. This is an historic moment to reform the DNC and start winning again.”</p>
<p>Others seeking the position of DNC chair are Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.); outgoing Labor Secretary Tom Perez; Sally Boynton Brown, executive director of the Idaho Democratic Party; Jaime Harrison, chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party; and Pete Buttigieg, mayor of South Bend, Ind. Buttigieg is also gay.</p>
<p>The election for chair will take place at the DNC’s winter meeting in Atlanta, scheduled for Feb. 23-26.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Democratic National Committe</a> <a href="" type="internal">Ray Buckley</a> <a href="" type="internal">Stuart Milk</a></p> | 3,938 |
|
<p>Technology companies are scrambling to fix serious security flaws affecting computer processors built by Intel and other chipmakers and found in many of the world's personal computers and smartphones.</p>
<p>The two hardware bugs discovered can be exploited to allow the memory content of a computer to be leaked. Such a leak could potentially expose stored passwords and other sensitive data, including personal photos, emails and instant messages.</p>
<p>Researchers at Google's Project Zero and academic institutions including the Graz University of Technology in Austria discovered the problem last year and disclosed it Wednesday.</p>
<p>There's no evidence that bad actors have yet exploited the bugs, but companies from Microsoft to Mozilla said this week they have worked to patch up vulnerabilities to their operating systems and browsers to protect against one of the bugs. Researchers say the other is harder to fix and "will haunt us for quite some time."</p>
<p>Here's a look at what's affected, what's being done about it and whether you should worry.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>INTEL INSIDE</p>
<p>Intel is at the center of the problem because it supplies the processors used in many of the world's PCs. Researchers say one of the bugs, called Meltdown, affects nearly every processor it's made since the mid-1990s.</p>
<p>While security flaws are typically limited to a specific company or product, Intel says the problem is "not a bug or a flaw in Intel products" but rather a broader problem affecting processing techniques common to modern computing platforms.</p>
<p>Both the chipmaker and Google, which informed Intel about the vulnerability in June, said they were planning to disclose the issue next week when fixes will be available. Tech companies typically withhold details about security problems until fixes are available so that hackers wouldn't have a roadmap to exploit the flaws. But in this case, Intel was forced to disclose the problem Wednesday after British technology site The Register reported it, causing Intel's stock to fall.</p>
<p>Most of the immediate fixes will be limited to the Meltdown bug. The other, Spectre, is harder to fix, but also harder to exploit, making it less of an immediate threat to consumer devices.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>OTHER CHIPMAKERS</p>
<p>While researchers say the Meltdown bug is limited to Intel processors, they have verified Spectre as a problem for Intel, Advanced Micro Devices and ARM processors. AMD chips are also common in PCs, while ARM chips are found in many smartphones and other internet-connected products, including cars and home appliances.</p>
<p>AMD said there is "near zero risk" to its own processors, either because its chips are designed differently, or security fixes for Microsoft Windows and other operating systems will take care of the problem. ARM Holdings said it's working with Intel, AMD and operating system vendors to address the problem. The ARM design is also used in Apple's mobile chips. Apple said late Thursday that all of its devices are affected, but it's already made fixes to help defend against Meltdown in laptops and phones and soon plans to release mitigations in the Safari browser to help defend against Spectre.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>SECURING THE CLOUD</p>
<p>The bugs also affect cloud-computing services powering much of the internet. These services, offered by Amazon, Microsoft, Google, IBM and others, give smaller companies access to data centers, web hosting and other services they need to run their businesses. But these cloud services also use computers with the same types of problem chips.</p>
<p>Unauthorized access will be difficult to detect so cloud-computing providers need to act quickly to protect against these vulnerabilities, said Ryan Kalember, senior vice president of cybersecurity at Proofpoint. The good news, he said, is that major cloud providers have known about this for months and have had time to tackle the problem.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>WHAT TO DO NEXT?</p>
<p>There are limits to what consumers can do now to protect their computers.</p>
<p>Advice from the U.S Computer Emergency Readiness Team's was grim. The federal organization says that "fully removing the vulnerability" requires replacing the hardware already embedded in millions of computing devices.</p>
<p>That's not to say nothing can be done.</p>
<p>Consumers can mitigate the underlying vulnerability by making sure they patch up their operating systems with the latest software upgrades. There are already Meltdown patches for Microsoft's Windows, Apple's macOS and Linux. Mozilla says it's also implementing a short-term mitigation that disables some capabilities of its Firefox browser. Google says Android devices are protected if they have the latest security updates.</p>
<p>"If you download the latest update from Microsoft, Apple, or Linux, then the problem is fixed for you and you don't have to worry," security researcher Rob Graham said in a blog post Thursday. "If you aren't up to date, then there's a lot of other nasties out there you should probably also be worrying about."</p>
<p>Technology companies are scrambling to fix serious security flaws affecting computer processors built by Intel and other chipmakers and found in many of the world's personal computers and smartphones.</p>
<p>The two hardware bugs discovered can be exploited to allow the memory content of a computer to be leaked. Such a leak could potentially expose stored passwords and other sensitive data, including personal photos, emails and instant messages.</p>
<p>Researchers at Google's Project Zero and academic institutions including the Graz University of Technology in Austria discovered the problem last year and disclosed it Wednesday.</p>
<p>There's no evidence that bad actors have yet exploited the bugs, but companies from Microsoft to Mozilla said this week they have worked to patch up vulnerabilities to their operating systems and browsers to protect against one of the bugs. Researchers say the other is harder to fix and "will haunt us for quite some time."</p>
<p>Here's a look at what's affected, what's being done about it and whether you should worry.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>INTEL INSIDE</p>
<p>Intel is at the center of the problem because it supplies the processors used in many of the world's PCs. Researchers say one of the bugs, called Meltdown, affects nearly every processor it's made since the mid-1990s.</p>
<p>While security flaws are typically limited to a specific company or product, Intel says the problem is "not a bug or a flaw in Intel products" but rather a broader problem affecting processing techniques common to modern computing platforms.</p>
<p>Both the chipmaker and Google, which informed Intel about the vulnerability in June, said they were planning to disclose the issue next week when fixes will be available. Tech companies typically withhold details about security problems until fixes are available so that hackers wouldn't have a roadmap to exploit the flaws. But in this case, Intel was forced to disclose the problem Wednesday after British technology site The Register reported it, causing Intel's stock to fall.</p>
<p>Most of the immediate fixes will be limited to the Meltdown bug. The other, Spectre, is harder to fix, but also harder to exploit, making it less of an immediate threat to consumer devices.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>OTHER CHIPMAKERS</p>
<p>While researchers say the Meltdown bug is limited to Intel processors, they have verified Spectre as a problem for Intel, Advanced Micro Devices and ARM processors. AMD chips are also common in PCs, while ARM chips are found in many smartphones and other internet-connected products, including cars and home appliances.</p>
<p>AMD said there is "near zero risk" to its own processors, either because its chips are designed differently, or security fixes for Microsoft Windows and other operating systems will take care of the problem. ARM Holdings said it's working with Intel, AMD and operating system vendors to address the problem. The ARM design is also used in Apple's mobile chips. Apple said late Thursday that all of its devices are affected, but it's already made fixes to help defend against Meltdown in laptops and phones and soon plans to release mitigations in the Safari browser to help defend against Spectre.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>SECURING THE CLOUD</p>
<p>The bugs also affect cloud-computing services powering much of the internet. These services, offered by Amazon, Microsoft, Google, IBM and others, give smaller companies access to data centers, web hosting and other services they need to run their businesses. But these cloud services also use computers with the same types of problem chips.</p>
<p>Unauthorized access will be difficult to detect so cloud-computing providers need to act quickly to protect against these vulnerabilities, said Ryan Kalember, senior vice president of cybersecurity at Proofpoint. The good news, he said, is that major cloud providers have known about this for months and have had time to tackle the problem.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>WHAT TO DO NEXT?</p>
<p>There are limits to what consumers can do now to protect their computers.</p>
<p>Advice from the U.S Computer Emergency Readiness Team's was grim. The federal organization says that "fully removing the vulnerability" requires replacing the hardware already embedded in millions of computing devices.</p>
<p>That's not to say nothing can be done.</p>
<p>Consumers can mitigate the underlying vulnerability by making sure they patch up their operating systems with the latest software upgrades. There are already Meltdown patches for Microsoft's Windows, Apple's macOS and Linux. Mozilla says it's also implementing a short-term mitigation that disables some capabilities of its Firefox browser. Google says Android devices are protected if they have the latest security updates.</p>
<p>"If you download the latest update from Microsoft, Apple, or Linux, then the problem is fixed for you and you don't have to worry," security researcher Rob Graham said in a blog post Thursday. "If you aren't up to date, then there's a lot of other nasties out there you should probably also be worrying about."</p> | AP Explains: Who's affected by computer chip security flaw | false | https://apnews.com/amp/872b4ffd446b466fabe7dff1e115f5b5 | 2018-01-05 | 2least
| AP Explains: Who's affected by computer chip security flaw
<p>Technology companies are scrambling to fix serious security flaws affecting computer processors built by Intel and other chipmakers and found in many of the world's personal computers and smartphones.</p>
<p>The two hardware bugs discovered can be exploited to allow the memory content of a computer to be leaked. Such a leak could potentially expose stored passwords and other sensitive data, including personal photos, emails and instant messages.</p>
<p>Researchers at Google's Project Zero and academic institutions including the Graz University of Technology in Austria discovered the problem last year and disclosed it Wednesday.</p>
<p>There's no evidence that bad actors have yet exploited the bugs, but companies from Microsoft to Mozilla said this week they have worked to patch up vulnerabilities to their operating systems and browsers to protect against one of the bugs. Researchers say the other is harder to fix and "will haunt us for quite some time."</p>
<p>Here's a look at what's affected, what's being done about it and whether you should worry.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>INTEL INSIDE</p>
<p>Intel is at the center of the problem because it supplies the processors used in many of the world's PCs. Researchers say one of the bugs, called Meltdown, affects nearly every processor it's made since the mid-1990s.</p>
<p>While security flaws are typically limited to a specific company or product, Intel says the problem is "not a bug or a flaw in Intel products" but rather a broader problem affecting processing techniques common to modern computing platforms.</p>
<p>Both the chipmaker and Google, which informed Intel about the vulnerability in June, said they were planning to disclose the issue next week when fixes will be available. Tech companies typically withhold details about security problems until fixes are available so that hackers wouldn't have a roadmap to exploit the flaws. But in this case, Intel was forced to disclose the problem Wednesday after British technology site The Register reported it, causing Intel's stock to fall.</p>
<p>Most of the immediate fixes will be limited to the Meltdown bug. The other, Spectre, is harder to fix, but also harder to exploit, making it less of an immediate threat to consumer devices.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>OTHER CHIPMAKERS</p>
<p>While researchers say the Meltdown bug is limited to Intel processors, they have verified Spectre as a problem for Intel, Advanced Micro Devices and ARM processors. AMD chips are also common in PCs, while ARM chips are found in many smartphones and other internet-connected products, including cars and home appliances.</p>
<p>AMD said there is "near zero risk" to its own processors, either because its chips are designed differently, or security fixes for Microsoft Windows and other operating systems will take care of the problem. ARM Holdings said it's working with Intel, AMD and operating system vendors to address the problem. The ARM design is also used in Apple's mobile chips. Apple said late Thursday that all of its devices are affected, but it's already made fixes to help defend against Meltdown in laptops and phones and soon plans to release mitigations in the Safari browser to help defend against Spectre.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>SECURING THE CLOUD</p>
<p>The bugs also affect cloud-computing services powering much of the internet. These services, offered by Amazon, Microsoft, Google, IBM and others, give smaller companies access to data centers, web hosting and other services they need to run their businesses. But these cloud services also use computers with the same types of problem chips.</p>
<p>Unauthorized access will be difficult to detect so cloud-computing providers need to act quickly to protect against these vulnerabilities, said Ryan Kalember, senior vice president of cybersecurity at Proofpoint. The good news, he said, is that major cloud providers have known about this for months and have had time to tackle the problem.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>WHAT TO DO NEXT?</p>
<p>There are limits to what consumers can do now to protect their computers.</p>
<p>Advice from the U.S Computer Emergency Readiness Team's was grim. The federal organization says that "fully removing the vulnerability" requires replacing the hardware already embedded in millions of computing devices.</p>
<p>That's not to say nothing can be done.</p>
<p>Consumers can mitigate the underlying vulnerability by making sure they patch up their operating systems with the latest software upgrades. There are already Meltdown patches for Microsoft's Windows, Apple's macOS and Linux. Mozilla says it's also implementing a short-term mitigation that disables some capabilities of its Firefox browser. Google says Android devices are protected if they have the latest security updates.</p>
<p>"If you download the latest update from Microsoft, Apple, or Linux, then the problem is fixed for you and you don't have to worry," security researcher Rob Graham said in a blog post Thursday. "If you aren't up to date, then there's a lot of other nasties out there you should probably also be worrying about."</p>
<p>Technology companies are scrambling to fix serious security flaws affecting computer processors built by Intel and other chipmakers and found in many of the world's personal computers and smartphones.</p>
<p>The two hardware bugs discovered can be exploited to allow the memory content of a computer to be leaked. Such a leak could potentially expose stored passwords and other sensitive data, including personal photos, emails and instant messages.</p>
<p>Researchers at Google's Project Zero and academic institutions including the Graz University of Technology in Austria discovered the problem last year and disclosed it Wednesday.</p>
<p>There's no evidence that bad actors have yet exploited the bugs, but companies from Microsoft to Mozilla said this week they have worked to patch up vulnerabilities to their operating systems and browsers to protect against one of the bugs. Researchers say the other is harder to fix and "will haunt us for quite some time."</p>
<p>Here's a look at what's affected, what's being done about it and whether you should worry.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>INTEL INSIDE</p>
<p>Intel is at the center of the problem because it supplies the processors used in many of the world's PCs. Researchers say one of the bugs, called Meltdown, affects nearly every processor it's made since the mid-1990s.</p>
<p>While security flaws are typically limited to a specific company or product, Intel says the problem is "not a bug or a flaw in Intel products" but rather a broader problem affecting processing techniques common to modern computing platforms.</p>
<p>Both the chipmaker and Google, which informed Intel about the vulnerability in June, said they were planning to disclose the issue next week when fixes will be available. Tech companies typically withhold details about security problems until fixes are available so that hackers wouldn't have a roadmap to exploit the flaws. But in this case, Intel was forced to disclose the problem Wednesday after British technology site The Register reported it, causing Intel's stock to fall.</p>
<p>Most of the immediate fixes will be limited to the Meltdown bug. The other, Spectre, is harder to fix, but also harder to exploit, making it less of an immediate threat to consumer devices.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>OTHER CHIPMAKERS</p>
<p>While researchers say the Meltdown bug is limited to Intel processors, they have verified Spectre as a problem for Intel, Advanced Micro Devices and ARM processors. AMD chips are also common in PCs, while ARM chips are found in many smartphones and other internet-connected products, including cars and home appliances.</p>
<p>AMD said there is "near zero risk" to its own processors, either because its chips are designed differently, or security fixes for Microsoft Windows and other operating systems will take care of the problem. ARM Holdings said it's working with Intel, AMD and operating system vendors to address the problem. The ARM design is also used in Apple's mobile chips. Apple said late Thursday that all of its devices are affected, but it's already made fixes to help defend against Meltdown in laptops and phones and soon plans to release mitigations in the Safari browser to help defend against Spectre.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>SECURING THE CLOUD</p>
<p>The bugs also affect cloud-computing services powering much of the internet. These services, offered by Amazon, Microsoft, Google, IBM and others, give smaller companies access to data centers, web hosting and other services they need to run their businesses. But these cloud services also use computers with the same types of problem chips.</p>
<p>Unauthorized access will be difficult to detect so cloud-computing providers need to act quickly to protect against these vulnerabilities, said Ryan Kalember, senior vice president of cybersecurity at Proofpoint. The good news, he said, is that major cloud providers have known about this for months and have had time to tackle the problem.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>WHAT TO DO NEXT?</p>
<p>There are limits to what consumers can do now to protect their computers.</p>
<p>Advice from the U.S Computer Emergency Readiness Team's was grim. The federal organization says that "fully removing the vulnerability" requires replacing the hardware already embedded in millions of computing devices.</p>
<p>That's not to say nothing can be done.</p>
<p>Consumers can mitigate the underlying vulnerability by making sure they patch up their operating systems with the latest software upgrades. There are already Meltdown patches for Microsoft's Windows, Apple's macOS and Linux. Mozilla says it's also implementing a short-term mitigation that disables some capabilities of its Firefox browser. Google says Android devices are protected if they have the latest security updates.</p>
<p>"If you download the latest update from Microsoft, Apple, or Linux, then the problem is fixed for you and you don't have to worry," security researcher Rob Graham said in a blog post Thursday. "If you aren't up to date, then there's a lot of other nasties out there you should probably also be worrying about."</p> | 3,939 |
<p>LONDON — Uncertainty over <a href="" type="internal">"Brexit"</a>deepened Thursday when a court ruled that Britain’s government can’t trigger the process of withdrawal from the European Union without approval from parliament — a decision that could scupper the entire process.</p>
<p>In a major blow for Prime Minister Theresa May, the High Court in London said her government needs the consent of lawmakers before launching Britain’s withdrawal from the bloc.</p>
<p>It opens the possibility that members of the House of Commons could vote against Brexit, defying British voters who chose to quit the EU by 52 percent to 48 percent in a June 23 referendum.</p>
<p>May has repeatedly promised to respect the outcome of the referendum and indicated she would trigger <a href="" type="internal">Article 50 — the two-year process of negotiations toward EU withdrawal</a> — by the end of March 2017.</p>
<p>However, her government will now appeal Thursday’s ruling, which could leave her Brexit timetable in tatters.</p>
<p>British prime ministers can use the historic power of royal prerogative to make decisions on foreign affairs, such as withdrawal from treaties, without a parliamentary vote.</p>
<p>Campaigners filed a court challenge, arguing that leaving the EU would remove rights of employment and free movement — a change serious enough to require the approval of parliament.</p>
<p>Three senior judges ruled [ <a href="https://www.judiciary.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/summary-r-miller-v-secretary-of-state-for-exiting-the-eu-20161103.pdf" type="external">PDF link here</a>] that "the government does not have the power under the Crown's prerogative" to start EU exit talks.</p>
<p>May’s government has a working majority in the House of Commons but the Brexit referendum campaign was cross-party and members of her party could join opposition lawmakers and soften or even veto the plans.</p>
<p>While British voters chose Brexit in the referendum, the result was a surprise for the government which had campaigned to remain in the EU and did not draw up contingency plans for what Brexit might entail.</p>
<p>No details were presented about the details of Britain’s withdrawal — whether it would quit the bloc but remain inside a single market, for example — and many lawmakers believe the referendum result alone is not enough to allow Brexit on any terms.</p>
<p>May says those terms won’t be known until the negotiation process begins. She has only repeated the mantra that "Brexit means Brexit" — without elaborating — leaving many voters, industry leaders and major employers in the dark about what a post-EU Britain would look like.</p>
<p>The confusion has done little to calm markets, which have seen the British pound tumble against the dollar and the euro. The pound has lost almost one fifth its value against the dollar since June. Minutes after Thursday’s decision, the pound rose back up by 1.1 percent to $1.2430 as traders reacted to the news, Reuters reported.</p>
<p>The judges said their ruling was purely a question of law, not politics. "The court is not concerned with and does not express any view about the merits of leaving the European Union: that is a political issue," the judgement said.</p>
<p>“We will appeal this judgment,” the U.K. government said in a statement. It said Brexit was endorsed "in a referendum approved by an Act of Parliament … and the government is determined to respect the result of the referendum."</p>
<p>Financial entrepreneur Gina Miller, one of the leading claimants, said the case was "not an attempt to stop Brexit — just to ensure that parliament is sovereign."</p>
<p>It was the second embarrassment for May in less than 24 hours. At a dinner attended by journalists late Wednesday, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson told his audience: "Brexit means Brexit and we are going to make a Titanic success of it."</p>
<p>Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage told reporters he was angered at the decision.</p>
<p>“I worry that a betrayal may be near at hand … I now fear that every attempt will be made to block or delay the triggering of Article 50,” he said. “If this is so, they have no idea of the level of public anger they will provoke.”</p>
<p>However, conservative commentator Mark Wallace said he doubted lawmakers would veto the whole Brexit process.</p>
<p>“Anyone who thinks MPs will reject Article 50 … deluding themselves,” he wrote on <a href="http://www.conservativehome.com/thetorydiary/2016/11/calm-down-dears-article-50-is-still-going-to-happen.html" type="external">website Conservative Home</a>. “The majority of the parliamentary Conservative Party now wants to get on with implementing the outcome of the referendum, regardless of which side they were on in the campaign. A pleasantly surprising number of Labour MPs have also taken on board the message from their Leave-voting constituencies. Having gone through the unpleasant experience of being at loggerheads with their voters on the doorstep, they rightly don’t want to defy them now they have spoken.”</p>
<p /> | Brexit in Chaos as U.K. Government Loses Court Case on EU Withdrawal | false | http://nbcnews.com/storyline/brexit-referendum/brexit-chaos-u-k-government-loses-court-case-eu-withdrawal-n677241 | 2016-11-03 | 3left-center
| Brexit in Chaos as U.K. Government Loses Court Case on EU Withdrawal
<p>LONDON — Uncertainty over <a href="" type="internal">"Brexit"</a>deepened Thursday when a court ruled that Britain’s government can’t trigger the process of withdrawal from the European Union without approval from parliament — a decision that could scupper the entire process.</p>
<p>In a major blow for Prime Minister Theresa May, the High Court in London said her government needs the consent of lawmakers before launching Britain’s withdrawal from the bloc.</p>
<p>It opens the possibility that members of the House of Commons could vote against Brexit, defying British voters who chose to quit the EU by 52 percent to 48 percent in a June 23 referendum.</p>
<p>May has repeatedly promised to respect the outcome of the referendum and indicated she would trigger <a href="" type="internal">Article 50 — the two-year process of negotiations toward EU withdrawal</a> — by the end of March 2017.</p>
<p>However, her government will now appeal Thursday’s ruling, which could leave her Brexit timetable in tatters.</p>
<p>British prime ministers can use the historic power of royal prerogative to make decisions on foreign affairs, such as withdrawal from treaties, without a parliamentary vote.</p>
<p>Campaigners filed a court challenge, arguing that leaving the EU would remove rights of employment and free movement — a change serious enough to require the approval of parliament.</p>
<p>Three senior judges ruled [ <a href="https://www.judiciary.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/summary-r-miller-v-secretary-of-state-for-exiting-the-eu-20161103.pdf" type="external">PDF link here</a>] that "the government does not have the power under the Crown's prerogative" to start EU exit talks.</p>
<p>May’s government has a working majority in the House of Commons but the Brexit referendum campaign was cross-party and members of her party could join opposition lawmakers and soften or even veto the plans.</p>
<p>While British voters chose Brexit in the referendum, the result was a surprise for the government which had campaigned to remain in the EU and did not draw up contingency plans for what Brexit might entail.</p>
<p>No details were presented about the details of Britain’s withdrawal — whether it would quit the bloc but remain inside a single market, for example — and many lawmakers believe the referendum result alone is not enough to allow Brexit on any terms.</p>
<p>May says those terms won’t be known until the negotiation process begins. She has only repeated the mantra that "Brexit means Brexit" — without elaborating — leaving many voters, industry leaders and major employers in the dark about what a post-EU Britain would look like.</p>
<p>The confusion has done little to calm markets, which have seen the British pound tumble against the dollar and the euro. The pound has lost almost one fifth its value against the dollar since June. Minutes after Thursday’s decision, the pound rose back up by 1.1 percent to $1.2430 as traders reacted to the news, Reuters reported.</p>
<p>The judges said their ruling was purely a question of law, not politics. "The court is not concerned with and does not express any view about the merits of leaving the European Union: that is a political issue," the judgement said.</p>
<p>“We will appeal this judgment,” the U.K. government said in a statement. It said Brexit was endorsed "in a referendum approved by an Act of Parliament … and the government is determined to respect the result of the referendum."</p>
<p>Financial entrepreneur Gina Miller, one of the leading claimants, said the case was "not an attempt to stop Brexit — just to ensure that parliament is sovereign."</p>
<p>It was the second embarrassment for May in less than 24 hours. At a dinner attended by journalists late Wednesday, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson told his audience: "Brexit means Brexit and we are going to make a Titanic success of it."</p>
<p>Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage told reporters he was angered at the decision.</p>
<p>“I worry that a betrayal may be near at hand … I now fear that every attempt will be made to block or delay the triggering of Article 50,” he said. “If this is so, they have no idea of the level of public anger they will provoke.”</p>
<p>However, conservative commentator Mark Wallace said he doubted lawmakers would veto the whole Brexit process.</p>
<p>“Anyone who thinks MPs will reject Article 50 … deluding themselves,” he wrote on <a href="http://www.conservativehome.com/thetorydiary/2016/11/calm-down-dears-article-50-is-still-going-to-happen.html" type="external">website Conservative Home</a>. “The majority of the parliamentary Conservative Party now wants to get on with implementing the outcome of the referendum, regardless of which side they were on in the campaign. A pleasantly surprising number of Labour MPs have also taken on board the message from their Leave-voting constituencies. Having gone through the unpleasant experience of being at loggerheads with their voters on the doorstep, they rightly don’t want to defy them now they have spoken.”</p>
<p /> | 3,940 |
<p>Edward Snowden said he sought and accepted a job as a US government contractor with Booz Allen Hamilton "for one reason alone" — to collect information about the US National Security Agency’s secret surveillance programs.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1268209/exclusive-snowden-sought-booz-allen-job-gather-evidence-nsa" type="external">The Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported</a> Monday that Snowden admitted in an interview that he had planned to leak the information to the media.</p>
<p>"My position with Booz Allen Hamilton granted me access to lists of machines all over the world the NSA hacked," Snowden told the SCMP in a June 12 interview. “That is why I accepted that position about three months ago.”</p>
<p>He said during the time he worked as a computer systems administrator for the US government he was collecting a "cache of classified document[s]," according to the paper.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/united-states/130624/edward-snowden-expected-leave-moscow-fly-havana" type="external">The 17A Diaries: Snowden's non-exit from Moscow goes viral</a></p>
<p>Snowden's current whereabouts remain unknown. He left Hong Kong on Sunday for Russia but <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/united-states/130624/edward-snowden-expected-leave-moscow-fly-havana" type="external">failed to board his flight Monday from Moscow</a> to Havana, Cuba on his way to Ecuador.</p>
<p>The White House said Monday it <a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/article/carney-release-snowden-hurts-china-relations" type="external">expected Russian authorities to be more cooperative than the Chinese and expel Snowden</a> to face charges in the US.</p>
<p>Spokesman Jay Carney added that China's decision to let Snowden go has <a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/article/carney-release-snowden-hurts-china-relations" type="external">"unquestionably" damaged US-China relations.</a></p>
<p>In his interview with the SCMP before he left Hong Kong, Snowden claimed his intention was to collect information about hacking into “the whole world” and “not specifically Hong Kong and China:”</p>
<p>“I don’t want to simply dump huge amounts of documents without regard to their content... I have to screen everything before releasing it to journalists.”</p>
<p>Snowden has signaled that he intended to leak more documents at a later date.</p> | Edward Snowden says he took contractor job to collect NSA surveillance evidence: report | false | https://pri.org/stories/2013-06-24/edward-snowden-says-he-took-contractor-job-collect-nsa-surveillance-evidence | 2013-06-24 | 3left-center
| Edward Snowden says he took contractor job to collect NSA surveillance evidence: report
<p>Edward Snowden said he sought and accepted a job as a US government contractor with Booz Allen Hamilton "for one reason alone" — to collect information about the US National Security Agency’s secret surveillance programs.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1268209/exclusive-snowden-sought-booz-allen-job-gather-evidence-nsa" type="external">The Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported</a> Monday that Snowden admitted in an interview that he had planned to leak the information to the media.</p>
<p>"My position with Booz Allen Hamilton granted me access to lists of machines all over the world the NSA hacked," Snowden told the SCMP in a June 12 interview. “That is why I accepted that position about three months ago.”</p>
<p>He said during the time he worked as a computer systems administrator for the US government he was collecting a "cache of classified document[s]," according to the paper.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/united-states/130624/edward-snowden-expected-leave-moscow-fly-havana" type="external">The 17A Diaries: Snowden's non-exit from Moscow goes viral</a></p>
<p>Snowden's current whereabouts remain unknown. He left Hong Kong on Sunday for Russia but <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/united-states/130624/edward-snowden-expected-leave-moscow-fly-havana" type="external">failed to board his flight Monday from Moscow</a> to Havana, Cuba on his way to Ecuador.</p>
<p>The White House said Monday it <a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/article/carney-release-snowden-hurts-china-relations" type="external">expected Russian authorities to be more cooperative than the Chinese and expel Snowden</a> to face charges in the US.</p>
<p>Spokesman Jay Carney added that China's decision to let Snowden go has <a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/article/carney-release-snowden-hurts-china-relations" type="external">"unquestionably" damaged US-China relations.</a></p>
<p>In his interview with the SCMP before he left Hong Kong, Snowden claimed his intention was to collect information about hacking into “the whole world” and “not specifically Hong Kong and China:”</p>
<p>“I don’t want to simply dump huge amounts of documents without regard to their content... I have to screen everything before releasing it to journalists.”</p>
<p>Snowden has signaled that he intended to leak more documents at a later date.</p> | 3,941 |
<p>Mamphela Ramphele, a fervent anti-apartheid activist and founder of&#160;South Africa’s Black Conscious Movement, announced the formation of her new political party on Monday.&#160;</p>
<p>Called "Agang," the&#160;Sesotho word for "Let us build," Ramphele said she hopes that it would further the country's dream of a "Rainbow Nation," <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/18/us-safrica-politics-idUSBRE91H05B20130218" type="external">Reuters reported</a>.&#160;</p>
<p>"Today I announce that I am working with a group of fellow citizens to form a party political platform that will focus on rekindling hope that building the country of our dreams is possible in our lifetime," the 65-year-old said in Johannesburg, <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/130218/star-safrican-activist-launches-party-challenge-anc" type="external">according to Agence France Presse</a>.</p>
<p>Ramphele, who served as the World Bank's managing director in 2000 and is a trained medical doctor, claimed that South Africa's progress has stalled under the African National Congress, and accused them of lack of accountability and corruption, AFP reported.&#160;</p>
<p>“The dream has faded for the many living in poverty and destitution in our increasingly unequal society,” Ramphele said, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/anti-apartheid-fighter-mamphela-ramphele-forms-party-to-build-the-south-africa-of-our-dreams/2013/02/18/0a14a160-79af-11e2-9c27-fdd594ea6286_story.html" type="external">according to the Associated Press</a>. “And perhaps worst of all, my generation has to confess to the young people of our country: We have failed you.”</p>
<p>Agang will campaign for seats ahead of the 2014 parliamentary elections, <a href="http://allafrica.com/stories/201302180934.html" type="external">AllAfrica.com reported</a>.&#160;</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost:&#160; <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/africa/south-africa/121218/south-africas-jacob-zuma-re-elected-anc-leader" type="external">South Africa's Jacob Zuma re-elected as ANC leader</a></p>
<p />
<p />
<p>[ <a href="//storify.com/globalpost/south-african-anti-apartheid-activist-forms-new-po" type="external">View the story "South African anti-apartheid activist forms new political party" on Storify</a>]</p> | Mamphela Ramphele, anti-Apartheid activist, launches new political party 'Agang' | false | https://pri.org/stories/2013-02-18/mamphela-ramphele-anti-apartheid-activist-launches-new-political-party-agang | 2013-02-18 | 3left-center
| Mamphela Ramphele, anti-Apartheid activist, launches new political party 'Agang'
<p>Mamphela Ramphele, a fervent anti-apartheid activist and founder of&#160;South Africa’s Black Conscious Movement, announced the formation of her new political party on Monday.&#160;</p>
<p>Called "Agang," the&#160;Sesotho word for "Let us build," Ramphele said she hopes that it would further the country's dream of a "Rainbow Nation," <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/18/us-safrica-politics-idUSBRE91H05B20130218" type="external">Reuters reported</a>.&#160;</p>
<p>"Today I announce that I am working with a group of fellow citizens to form a party political platform that will focus on rekindling hope that building the country of our dreams is possible in our lifetime," the 65-year-old said in Johannesburg, <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/130218/star-safrican-activist-launches-party-challenge-anc" type="external">according to Agence France Presse</a>.</p>
<p>Ramphele, who served as the World Bank's managing director in 2000 and is a trained medical doctor, claimed that South Africa's progress has stalled under the African National Congress, and accused them of lack of accountability and corruption, AFP reported.&#160;</p>
<p>“The dream has faded for the many living in poverty and destitution in our increasingly unequal society,” Ramphele said, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/anti-apartheid-fighter-mamphela-ramphele-forms-party-to-build-the-south-africa-of-our-dreams/2013/02/18/0a14a160-79af-11e2-9c27-fdd594ea6286_story.html" type="external">according to the Associated Press</a>. “And perhaps worst of all, my generation has to confess to the young people of our country: We have failed you.”</p>
<p>Agang will campaign for seats ahead of the 2014 parliamentary elections, <a href="http://allafrica.com/stories/201302180934.html" type="external">AllAfrica.com reported</a>.&#160;</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost:&#160; <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/africa/south-africa/121218/south-africas-jacob-zuma-re-elected-anc-leader" type="external">South Africa's Jacob Zuma re-elected as ANC leader</a></p>
<p />
<p />
<p>[ <a href="//storify.com/globalpost/south-african-anti-apartheid-activist-forms-new-po" type="external">View the story "South African anti-apartheid activist forms new political party" on Storify</a>]</p> | 3,942 |
<p>As President Barack Obama enters his fifth year in the White House, 68 percent of Americans say the country is either stagnant or worse off since he took office, according to the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.</p>
<p>Just 31 percent say the country is better off, and a deep pessimism continues to fuel the public's mood. Most respondents used words like “divided,” “troubled,” and “deteriorating” to describe the current state of the nation.</p>
<p>On the eve of Tuesday’s State of the Union address, more than six-in-10 Americans believe that the nation is headed in the wrong direction and 70 percent are dissatisfied with the economy.</p>
<p>It’s not just Obama under fire. A whopping 81 percent disapprove of Congress and twice as many Americans now hold negative views about the Republican Party as positive ones.</p>
<p>Democratic pollster Fred Yang, whose firm conducted this survey with Republican pollster Bill McInturff, compares these findings to the 1993 movie “Groundhog Day,” in which the protagonist finds himself living the same day over and over.</p>
<p>“It seems like we’ve been re-living the same basic dynamics -- a public that is anxious, dissatisfied and dismayed -- in a continuous loop,” he said.</p>
<p>But Yang adds that Obama’s upcoming State of the Union address is his administration’s “best chance to try to achieve a reset with a focus on the economy after last year’s glitches” with the health care law.</p>
<p>Obama’s job rating stands at 43 percentAhead of the president’s Tuesday speech, the NBC/WSJ poll finds 43 percent of adults approving of his job and 51 percent disapproving -- virtually unchanged from a month ago.</p>
<p>Also, for the third-straight survey, those who view Obama negatively (44 percent) outnumber those who view him positively (42 percent).</p>
<p>According to GOP pollster McInturff, the president’s net-negative personal rating makes it more challenging for him to boost his overall job-performance number.</p>
<p>“His personal standing has taken a … hit that makes trying to restore your job approval very difficult.”</p>
<p>In more tough numbers for the president, only a combined 40 percent say they are “optimistic and confident” or “satisfied and hopeful” about the president’s remaining time in office. By contrast, a combined 59 percent say they are “uncertain and wondering” or “pessimistic and worried.”</p>
<p>And by a 39 percent to 31 percent margin, Americans believe the country is currently worse off compared with where it was when Obama first took office; 29 percent say it’s in the same place.</p>
<p>Key Obama priorities enjoy majority supportBut there are other numbers in the poll suggesting a foundation on which the president can improve his standing.</p>
<p>For one thing, a majority of respondents -- 51 percent -- say he has a clear agenda, versus 43 percent who believe he doesn’t.</p>
<p>Additionally, many of the priorities Obama is expected to address in his State of the Union speech enjoy support from the public:</p>
<p>63 percent say ensuring all children have access to preschool education should be a priority this year;</p>
<p>59 percent say the same about closing tax loopholes benefiting corporations;</p>
<p>And 51 percent say the same about increasing the minimum wage.</p>
<p>And despite all the troubles associated with last fall’s health care rollout, 54 percent of respondents say fixing and keeping the law should be a priority, signaling a public that might want to move on from the partisan battles over the issue.</p>
<p>That said, the poll still finds that the law is unpopular, with 34 percent viewing it as a good idea, compared with 48 percent seeing it as a bad idea -- virtually unchanged from last month.</p>
<p>A public that’s sour on the economyYet perhaps Obama’s biggest challenge will be addressing a public that remains sour about the economy and the state of American politics.</p>
<p>Only 28 percent believe the country is headed in the right direction, while 63 percent say it’s on the wrong track.</p>
<p>What’s more, 71 percent are dissatisfied with the state of the economy (although more than 60 percent say they’re satisfied with their own financial situation).</p>
<p>And when respondents were asked which one or two words best describe the current state of the nation, the top answers were all negative: “divided” (37 percent), “troubled” (23 percent), and “deteriorating” (21 percent).</p>
<p>Those answers were followed by “recovering” (19 percent), “broken” (14 percent), and “hopeful” (13 percent).</p>
<p>And just 3 percent of all respondents picked “strong.”</p>
<p>Congress’ job-approval rating: 13 percentThat pessimism isn’t only directed at the White House.</p>
<p>According to poll, just 13 percent approve of Congress’ job – 1 point off the all-time low in the poll – while 81 percent disapprove.</p>
<p>The Republican Party’s favorable/unfavorable score stands at an upside-down 24 percent to 47 percent rating (versus the Democratic Party’s 37 percent to 40 percent favorable/unfavorable score).</p>
<p>And a majority of Americans -- 51 percent -- say Republicans in Congress are too inflexible in their dealings with Obama, while 39 percent say the same of the president.</p>
<p>The NBC/WSJ poll was conducted Jan. 22-25 of 800 adults (including 240 reached by cell phone), and it has an overall margin of error of plus-minus 3.5 percentage points.</p> | NBC News Poll: Pessimism Defines the State of the Union | false | http://nbcnews.com/storyline/state-of-the-union/nbc-news-poll-pessimism-defines-state-union-n17576 | 2014-01-28 | 3left-center
| NBC News Poll: Pessimism Defines the State of the Union
<p>As President Barack Obama enters his fifth year in the White House, 68 percent of Americans say the country is either stagnant or worse off since he took office, according to the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.</p>
<p>Just 31 percent say the country is better off, and a deep pessimism continues to fuel the public's mood. Most respondents used words like “divided,” “troubled,” and “deteriorating” to describe the current state of the nation.</p>
<p>On the eve of Tuesday’s State of the Union address, more than six-in-10 Americans believe that the nation is headed in the wrong direction and 70 percent are dissatisfied with the economy.</p>
<p>It’s not just Obama under fire. A whopping 81 percent disapprove of Congress and twice as many Americans now hold negative views about the Republican Party as positive ones.</p>
<p>Democratic pollster Fred Yang, whose firm conducted this survey with Republican pollster Bill McInturff, compares these findings to the 1993 movie “Groundhog Day,” in which the protagonist finds himself living the same day over and over.</p>
<p>“It seems like we’ve been re-living the same basic dynamics -- a public that is anxious, dissatisfied and dismayed -- in a continuous loop,” he said.</p>
<p>But Yang adds that Obama’s upcoming State of the Union address is his administration’s “best chance to try to achieve a reset with a focus on the economy after last year’s glitches” with the health care law.</p>
<p>Obama’s job rating stands at 43 percentAhead of the president’s Tuesday speech, the NBC/WSJ poll finds 43 percent of adults approving of his job and 51 percent disapproving -- virtually unchanged from a month ago.</p>
<p>Also, for the third-straight survey, those who view Obama negatively (44 percent) outnumber those who view him positively (42 percent).</p>
<p>According to GOP pollster McInturff, the president’s net-negative personal rating makes it more challenging for him to boost his overall job-performance number.</p>
<p>“His personal standing has taken a … hit that makes trying to restore your job approval very difficult.”</p>
<p>In more tough numbers for the president, only a combined 40 percent say they are “optimistic and confident” or “satisfied and hopeful” about the president’s remaining time in office. By contrast, a combined 59 percent say they are “uncertain and wondering” or “pessimistic and worried.”</p>
<p>And by a 39 percent to 31 percent margin, Americans believe the country is currently worse off compared with where it was when Obama first took office; 29 percent say it’s in the same place.</p>
<p>Key Obama priorities enjoy majority supportBut there are other numbers in the poll suggesting a foundation on which the president can improve his standing.</p>
<p>For one thing, a majority of respondents -- 51 percent -- say he has a clear agenda, versus 43 percent who believe he doesn’t.</p>
<p>Additionally, many of the priorities Obama is expected to address in his State of the Union speech enjoy support from the public:</p>
<p>63 percent say ensuring all children have access to preschool education should be a priority this year;</p>
<p>59 percent say the same about closing tax loopholes benefiting corporations;</p>
<p>And 51 percent say the same about increasing the minimum wage.</p>
<p>And despite all the troubles associated with last fall’s health care rollout, 54 percent of respondents say fixing and keeping the law should be a priority, signaling a public that might want to move on from the partisan battles over the issue.</p>
<p>That said, the poll still finds that the law is unpopular, with 34 percent viewing it as a good idea, compared with 48 percent seeing it as a bad idea -- virtually unchanged from last month.</p>
<p>A public that’s sour on the economyYet perhaps Obama’s biggest challenge will be addressing a public that remains sour about the economy and the state of American politics.</p>
<p>Only 28 percent believe the country is headed in the right direction, while 63 percent say it’s on the wrong track.</p>
<p>What’s more, 71 percent are dissatisfied with the state of the economy (although more than 60 percent say they’re satisfied with their own financial situation).</p>
<p>And when respondents were asked which one or two words best describe the current state of the nation, the top answers were all negative: “divided” (37 percent), “troubled” (23 percent), and “deteriorating” (21 percent).</p>
<p>Those answers were followed by “recovering” (19 percent), “broken” (14 percent), and “hopeful” (13 percent).</p>
<p>And just 3 percent of all respondents picked “strong.”</p>
<p>Congress’ job-approval rating: 13 percentThat pessimism isn’t only directed at the White House.</p>
<p>According to poll, just 13 percent approve of Congress’ job – 1 point off the all-time low in the poll – while 81 percent disapprove.</p>
<p>The Republican Party’s favorable/unfavorable score stands at an upside-down 24 percent to 47 percent rating (versus the Democratic Party’s 37 percent to 40 percent favorable/unfavorable score).</p>
<p>And a majority of Americans -- 51 percent -- say Republicans in Congress are too inflexible in their dealings with Obama, while 39 percent say the same of the president.</p>
<p>The NBC/WSJ poll was conducted Jan. 22-25 of 800 adults (including 240 reached by cell phone), and it has an overall margin of error of plus-minus 3.5 percentage points.</p> | 3,943 |
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<p>Under the sentence imposed, Zach Pagett can expect to spend at least 8 1/2 more years in custody, on top of the five he has spent at the New Mexico Behavioral Health Institute in Las Vegas, N.M.</p>
<p>His parents implored the court to impose probation so they could oversee his continued rehabilitation from what was described in court as a diagnosis of schizo-affective disorder, an illness characterized by recurring abnormal mood and psychotic components.</p>
<p>They said the likelihood of his continuing to improve under a structured regimen of medication and counseling while living at home was far more likely than in the vagaries of the state prison system, where meds may be administered intermittently and a premium is placed on cost-saving measures.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Pagett was so delusional at the time he shot his older brother Neal that he described various conspiracies involving movie stars and political figures, including George W. Bush and Bill Richardson, when he turned himself in to authorities at the Metropolitan Detention Center a day after the shooting.</p>
<p>Initially, authorities refused to believe him.</p>
<p>Soon enough, though, it became clear that Zach, then 22, had fired three shots – to his brother’s back, stomach and head – at the family home on Monte Vista SE while his parents were away. Then, he wrapped Neal in a blanket, put him in the basement grave he’d had his brother dig and placed deer antlers atop it.</p>
<p>Pagett was found incompetent to stand trial in 2008 and received a criminal commitment to Las Vegas until he could be treated to competency. That didn’t occur until last July. In September, he entered a plea to second-degree murder and two counts of aggravated battery with a weapon.</p>
<p>Nakamura inherited the case, which had been assigned to at least three other judges, when she joined district court in January. She told parties at the sentencing hearing that she had studied every item in the file of the troubling case.</p>
<p>She said she understood that the court couldn’t do what so often happens – warehousing the mentally ill in prisons – and that Pagett was “somewhat stable.” But she said his recovery had come about in a secure setting, and that even so some delusions do occur. She told Pagett she knew that he had worked hard to achieve the competency he’d reached. But she also said she was bothered by aspects of the crime – multiple shots and alcohol use beforehand – and that the recidivism rate is higher among defendants in which mental illness is a contributor to the crime.</p>
<p>“Really,” she said, “I’ve gone everywhere” trying to figure out a sentence.</p>
<p>Sheila Pagett, the defendant’s mother, told the judge that Zach, a St. Pius High School wrestler and member of the homecoming court, was “the kid everyone wanted to be around.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“The first 18 years of his life were amazing,” she said. Although the first hints of what were to come began appearing in his late teens, she said, “I’m a nurse, and I missed it.”</p>
<p>She said he decided to go to California after high school, “and it’s really in those couple of years that he fell apart.”</p>
<p>She said her husband, Ken, had declared that Neal, the deceased brother, “would want us to help Zach.”</p>
<p>“I’m pleading with you, let him go with time served. I want my son back,” she told Nakamura, adding that the death resulted from an illness and not from evil.</p>
<p>Pagett told Nakamura he was quite willing to take medications and undergo counseling.</p>
<p>“I’m not perfect, but I’m 90 percent better,” he said. “I assure you nothing like this will ever happen again.”</p>
<p>Jeff Rein, who represented Pagett for several years before going into private practice, told Nakamura there was no need for punishment and encouraged her not to impose custody.</p>
<p>Pagett’s current lawyer, Marc Gordon, said the family had lost two sons that day in 2008, and said he had learned from his experience with habeas corpus cases that Pagett cannot expect the level of psychiatric care in prison he could have on the outside. Corrections also substitutes generic medications for name brand drugs that may work better, he said.</p>
<p>Deputy District Attorney David Waymire said that, although he’d like to think that Pagett’s years at the state hospital and intensive treatment were sufficient to allow probation, the court would still be taking a chance with community safety.</p>
<p>He suggested a sentence of 15 years for the murder and six, suspended, for aggravated battery, with five years credit for his time in psychiatric hospitalization. That leaves 10 years to be served, and with maximum good time he could be released in 8 1/2 years.</p>
<p>That was what Nakamura imposed, while offering to do anything in her power to ensure he is sent to Los Lunas, where the psychological care was said to be better than elsewhere in the system. — This article appeared on page A1 of the Albuquerque Journal</p> | Man faces 8 1/2 years for killing brother | false | https://abqjournal.com/183270/man-faces-8-years-for-killing-brother.html | 2013-03-29 | 2least
| Man faces 8 1/2 years for killing brother
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<p />
<p>Under the sentence imposed, Zach Pagett can expect to spend at least 8 1/2 more years in custody, on top of the five he has spent at the New Mexico Behavioral Health Institute in Las Vegas, N.M.</p>
<p>His parents implored the court to impose probation so they could oversee his continued rehabilitation from what was described in court as a diagnosis of schizo-affective disorder, an illness characterized by recurring abnormal mood and psychotic components.</p>
<p>They said the likelihood of his continuing to improve under a structured regimen of medication and counseling while living at home was far more likely than in the vagaries of the state prison system, where meds may be administered intermittently and a premium is placed on cost-saving measures.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Pagett was so delusional at the time he shot his older brother Neal that he described various conspiracies involving movie stars and political figures, including George W. Bush and Bill Richardson, when he turned himself in to authorities at the Metropolitan Detention Center a day after the shooting.</p>
<p>Initially, authorities refused to believe him.</p>
<p>Soon enough, though, it became clear that Zach, then 22, had fired three shots – to his brother’s back, stomach and head – at the family home on Monte Vista SE while his parents were away. Then, he wrapped Neal in a blanket, put him in the basement grave he’d had his brother dig and placed deer antlers atop it.</p>
<p>Pagett was found incompetent to stand trial in 2008 and received a criminal commitment to Las Vegas until he could be treated to competency. That didn’t occur until last July. In September, he entered a plea to second-degree murder and two counts of aggravated battery with a weapon.</p>
<p>Nakamura inherited the case, which had been assigned to at least three other judges, when she joined district court in January. She told parties at the sentencing hearing that she had studied every item in the file of the troubling case.</p>
<p>She said she understood that the court couldn’t do what so often happens – warehousing the mentally ill in prisons – and that Pagett was “somewhat stable.” But she said his recovery had come about in a secure setting, and that even so some delusions do occur. She told Pagett she knew that he had worked hard to achieve the competency he’d reached. But she also said she was bothered by aspects of the crime – multiple shots and alcohol use beforehand – and that the recidivism rate is higher among defendants in which mental illness is a contributor to the crime.</p>
<p>“Really,” she said, “I’ve gone everywhere” trying to figure out a sentence.</p>
<p>Sheila Pagett, the defendant’s mother, told the judge that Zach, a St. Pius High School wrestler and member of the homecoming court, was “the kid everyone wanted to be around.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“The first 18 years of his life were amazing,” she said. Although the first hints of what were to come began appearing in his late teens, she said, “I’m a nurse, and I missed it.”</p>
<p>She said he decided to go to California after high school, “and it’s really in those couple of years that he fell apart.”</p>
<p>She said her husband, Ken, had declared that Neal, the deceased brother, “would want us to help Zach.”</p>
<p>“I’m pleading with you, let him go with time served. I want my son back,” she told Nakamura, adding that the death resulted from an illness and not from evil.</p>
<p>Pagett told Nakamura he was quite willing to take medications and undergo counseling.</p>
<p>“I’m not perfect, but I’m 90 percent better,” he said. “I assure you nothing like this will ever happen again.”</p>
<p>Jeff Rein, who represented Pagett for several years before going into private practice, told Nakamura there was no need for punishment and encouraged her not to impose custody.</p>
<p>Pagett’s current lawyer, Marc Gordon, said the family had lost two sons that day in 2008, and said he had learned from his experience with habeas corpus cases that Pagett cannot expect the level of psychiatric care in prison he could have on the outside. Corrections also substitutes generic medications for name brand drugs that may work better, he said.</p>
<p>Deputy District Attorney David Waymire said that, although he’d like to think that Pagett’s years at the state hospital and intensive treatment were sufficient to allow probation, the court would still be taking a chance with community safety.</p>
<p>He suggested a sentence of 15 years for the murder and six, suspended, for aggravated battery, with five years credit for his time in psychiatric hospitalization. That leaves 10 years to be served, and with maximum good time he could be released in 8 1/2 years.</p>
<p>That was what Nakamura imposed, while offering to do anything in her power to ensure he is sent to Los Lunas, where the psychological care was said to be better than elsewhere in the system. — This article appeared on page A1 of the Albuquerque Journal</p> | 3,944 |
<p>Delivering a statement Monday at the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), Vice President Mike Pence put North Korea on notice:</p>
<p>"On behalf of the president of the United States, my message to the people of South Korea is this: We are with you 100%. Even in these troubled times, we stand with you for a free and secure future. The United States of America stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the Republic of Korea - and the service and vigilance of some 37,500 U.S. Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines on this frontier of freedom stands as a testament to the enduring partnership between our people.</p>
<p>The alliance between South Korea and the United States is the linchpin of peace and security on the Korean Peninsula, and indeed throughout the Asian Pacific. The United States' commitment to South Korea is ironclad and immutable, and under President Trump's leadership, I know our lands will even be stronger, our nations' will be safer, and the Asian Pacific will be more secure...</p>
<p>Just in the past two weeks, the world witnessed the strength and resolve of our new president in actions taken in Syria and Afghanistan. North Korea would do well not to test his resolve, or the strength of the armed forces of the United States in this region. We will continue to deploy the THAAD missile defense system as a defensive measure, called for by the alliance and for the alliance. We will continue to evolve a comprehensive set of capabilities to ensure the security of South Korea. And as our Secretary of Defense made clear here in South Korea not long ago, we will defeat any attack, and we will meet any use of conventional or nuclear weapons with an overwhelming and effective response...</p>
<p>Strategic patience has been the approach of the last American administration and beyond. For more than two decades, the United States and our allies have worked to peacefully dismantle North Korea's nuclear program, and alleviate the suffering of her people. But at every step of the way, North Korea answered our overtures with willful deception, broken promises, and two nuclear and missile tests. Over the past 18 months, North Korea has conducted two unlawful nuclear tests and an unprecedented number of ballistic missile tests - even conducting a failed missile launch as I traveled here for this visit. The era of strategic patience is over...</p>
<p>Earlier this month, president Trump met with Chinese president Xi at the southern White House. The two leaders noted the urgency of the threat posed by North Korea's weapons programs, and each of them reaffirmed their commitment to a denuclearized Korean Peninsula during that meeting on April 7th. They also committed to fully implement U.N. Security Council resolutions and to increase cooperation to convince North Korea to abandon its illicit weapons program.</p>
<p>It is heartening to see China commit to these actions, but the United States is troubled by China's economic retaliation against South Korea for taking appropriate steps to defend itself. The better path would be for China to address the North Korean threat that is actually making such defensive measures necessary.</p>
<p>Now, while issues like that remain, the president and I have great confidence that China will properly deal with North Korea. But as president Trump made clear just a few short days ago, if China is unable to deal with North Korea, the United States and our allies will."</p>
<p />
<p>What exactly does Pence mean when he says "the era of strategic patience is over"? During an interview with CNN's Dana Bash, the vice president <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/17/politics/vp-mike-pence-dmz-bash/" type="external">said</a>: "...we're going to redouble our efforts to bring diplomatic and economic pressure to bear on North Korea. Our hope is that we can resolve this issue peaceably...I know the President was heartened by his discussions with President Xi (Jinping). We've seen China begin to take some actions to bring pressure on North Korea but there needs to be more."</p> | Mike Pence Sends Stern Warning To North Korea: We Will Meet Any Attack With 'Overwhelming And Effective Response' | true | https://dailywire.com/news/15471/mike-pence-sends-stern-warning-north-korea-we-will-frank-camp | 2017-04-17 | 0right
| Mike Pence Sends Stern Warning To North Korea: We Will Meet Any Attack With 'Overwhelming And Effective Response'
<p>Delivering a statement Monday at the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), Vice President Mike Pence put North Korea on notice:</p>
<p>"On behalf of the president of the United States, my message to the people of South Korea is this: We are with you 100%. Even in these troubled times, we stand with you for a free and secure future. The United States of America stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the Republic of Korea - and the service and vigilance of some 37,500 U.S. Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines on this frontier of freedom stands as a testament to the enduring partnership between our people.</p>
<p>The alliance between South Korea and the United States is the linchpin of peace and security on the Korean Peninsula, and indeed throughout the Asian Pacific. The United States' commitment to South Korea is ironclad and immutable, and under President Trump's leadership, I know our lands will even be stronger, our nations' will be safer, and the Asian Pacific will be more secure...</p>
<p>Just in the past two weeks, the world witnessed the strength and resolve of our new president in actions taken in Syria and Afghanistan. North Korea would do well not to test his resolve, or the strength of the armed forces of the United States in this region. We will continue to deploy the THAAD missile defense system as a defensive measure, called for by the alliance and for the alliance. We will continue to evolve a comprehensive set of capabilities to ensure the security of South Korea. And as our Secretary of Defense made clear here in South Korea not long ago, we will defeat any attack, and we will meet any use of conventional or nuclear weapons with an overwhelming and effective response...</p>
<p>Strategic patience has been the approach of the last American administration and beyond. For more than two decades, the United States and our allies have worked to peacefully dismantle North Korea's nuclear program, and alleviate the suffering of her people. But at every step of the way, North Korea answered our overtures with willful deception, broken promises, and two nuclear and missile tests. Over the past 18 months, North Korea has conducted two unlawful nuclear tests and an unprecedented number of ballistic missile tests - even conducting a failed missile launch as I traveled here for this visit. The era of strategic patience is over...</p>
<p>Earlier this month, president Trump met with Chinese president Xi at the southern White House. The two leaders noted the urgency of the threat posed by North Korea's weapons programs, and each of them reaffirmed their commitment to a denuclearized Korean Peninsula during that meeting on April 7th. They also committed to fully implement U.N. Security Council resolutions and to increase cooperation to convince North Korea to abandon its illicit weapons program.</p>
<p>It is heartening to see China commit to these actions, but the United States is troubled by China's economic retaliation against South Korea for taking appropriate steps to defend itself. The better path would be for China to address the North Korean threat that is actually making such defensive measures necessary.</p>
<p>Now, while issues like that remain, the president and I have great confidence that China will properly deal with North Korea. But as president Trump made clear just a few short days ago, if China is unable to deal with North Korea, the United States and our allies will."</p>
<p />
<p>What exactly does Pence mean when he says "the era of strategic patience is over"? During an interview with CNN's Dana Bash, the vice president <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/17/politics/vp-mike-pence-dmz-bash/" type="external">said</a>: "...we're going to redouble our efforts to bring diplomatic and economic pressure to bear on North Korea. Our hope is that we can resolve this issue peaceably...I know the President was heartened by his discussions with President Xi (Jinping). We've seen China begin to take some actions to bring pressure on North Korea but there needs to be more."</p> | 3,945 |
<p />
<p>CHICAGO (IL)Chicago Sun-TimesBY <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">CATHLEEN FALSANI</a> Religion Reporter</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>A Roman Catholic priest who fled Chicago for his native India amid charges of sexually abusing a minor at his Northwest Side parish has been arrested by Indian police.</p>
<p>The Rev. Sleeva Raju Policetti, 44, was arrested May 22 in Hyderabad, India, an FBI spokesman said Wednesday. Policetti, known at St. Tarcissus parish on West Ardmore as "Father Raju," is awaiting an extradition hearing in India before he can be returned to Chicago.</p>
<p>Policetti left Chicago in early May 2002 after the Archdiocese of Chicago called the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services about an allegation of sexual misconduct involving the priest and a teenage girl at the parish. Policetti was ordained in India and had been on loan in the Chicago archdiocese, serving as an associate pastor at St. Tarcissus for six years.</p>
<p>Cook County prosecutors have charged Policetti with sexually assaulting a minor. He also faces federal charges of fleeing the country to avoid prosecution.</p>
<p>Little is known about what Policetti has been doing since his return to India.</p> | Priest who fled abuse charge arrested in India | false | https://poynter.org/news/priest-who-fled-abuse-charge-arrested-india | 2003-06-05 | 2least
| Priest who fled abuse charge arrested in India
<p />
<p>CHICAGO (IL)Chicago Sun-TimesBY <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">CATHLEEN FALSANI</a> Religion Reporter</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>A Roman Catholic priest who fled Chicago for his native India amid charges of sexually abusing a minor at his Northwest Side parish has been arrested by Indian police.</p>
<p>The Rev. Sleeva Raju Policetti, 44, was arrested May 22 in Hyderabad, India, an FBI spokesman said Wednesday. Policetti, known at St. Tarcissus parish on West Ardmore as "Father Raju," is awaiting an extradition hearing in India before he can be returned to Chicago.</p>
<p>Policetti left Chicago in early May 2002 after the Archdiocese of Chicago called the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services about an allegation of sexual misconduct involving the priest and a teenage girl at the parish. Policetti was ordained in India and had been on loan in the Chicago archdiocese, serving as an associate pastor at St. Tarcissus for six years.</p>
<p>Cook County prosecutors have charged Policetti with sexually assaulting a minor. He also faces federal charges of fleeing the country to avoid prosecution.</p>
<p>Little is known about what Policetti has been doing since his return to India.</p> | 3,946 |
<p />
<p>A10 Fusion chip. Image source: Apple.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>This should come as no surprise considering Apple(NASDAQ: AAPL) has become a world-class semiconductor designer over the past five to six years. The iPhone maker poached John Metcalfe from Imagination Technologies earlier this year, as noted by <a href="http://www.macrumors.com/2016/10/13/apple-imagination-technologies-hires/" type="external">MacRumors Opens a New Window.</a>, citing the executive's public LinkedIn profile. Metcalfe served as Imagination's COO but now works as a senior director at Apple. Digging deeper, MacRumors also notes that there are also over two dozen engineers that Apple has poached from the British graphics chip specialist.</p>
<p>Apple has long licensed Imagination's PowerVR GPU technology for use in its A series of processors, which was paired with CPU architectures licensed from fellow British chip designer ARM Holdings (since acquired by Softbank). Imagination has been on the ropes lately, announcing a corporate restructuring and layoffs earlier this year. There were even reports that Apple was considering a full-blown acquisition. Apple confirmed that there were some negotiations, but no offer materialized.</p>
<p>Why buy the whole company (Apple was already a stakeholder in Imagination) when you can surgically poach what you need?</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>As Apple continues to expand its chip strategy into a diverse range of semiconductors, it's arguably surprising that Apple has only recently begun bringing graphics expertise in-house. The company now designs the system-in-package that powers Apple Watches and wireless audio chips in the new AirPods, among others. Strong graphics performance is integral to Apple's A series of chips, particularly as gaming has become the largest and most popular category of apps on the App Store.</p>
<p>Combined with the never-ending string of evidence that Apple is still <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/10/03/the-clearest-evidence-yet-that-apple-inc-might-be.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">working on an ARM-based Mac Opens a New Window.</a> that will potentially run on an A chip, the company's chip aspirations are only getting grander. Apple prefers using integrated graphics in many of its Macs these days, particularly entry-level machines, so it will need to significantly improve A series graphics performance since Macs have greater graphics needs (larger displays, more graphics-intensive applications, etc.).</p>
<p>Many of these poached engineers are still based in London, and it just so happens that Apple is planning on expanding its U.K. headquarters in London. The Mac maker has decided to consolidate offices and move into the Battersea power station, an iconic decommissioned coal plant, utilizing 500,000 square feet. The company is hoping to open the location in 2021 and expects to relocate 1,400 employees that work in the area. The Battersea power station is about an hour away from Imagination's headquarters.</p>
<p>Apple's presence in London is only getting bigger.</p>
<p>A secret billion-dollar stock opportunity The world's biggest tech company forgot to show you something, but a few Wall Street analysts and the Fool didn't miss a beat: There's a small company that's powering their brand-new gadgets and the coming revolution in technology. And we think its stock price has nearly unlimited room to run for early in-the-know investors! To be one of them, <a href="http://www.fool.com/mms/mark/ecap-foolcom-apple-wearable?aid=6965&amp;source=irbeditxt0000017&amp;ftm_cam=rb-wearable-d&amp;ftm_pit=2668&amp;ftm_veh=article_pitch&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">just click here Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFNewCow/info.aspx" type="external">Evan Niu, CFA Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of Apple and LinkedIn. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Apple. The Motley Fool owns shares of LinkedIn and has the following options: long January 2018 $90 calls on Apple and short January 2018 $95 calls on Apple. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=isiedilnk018048&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://www.fool.com/knowledge-center/motley.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | Apple, Inc. Has Scooped Up Some Major Chip Talent | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/10/13/apple-inc-has-scooped-up-some-major-chip-talent.html | 2016-10-13 | 0right
| Apple, Inc. Has Scooped Up Some Major Chip Talent
<p />
<p>A10 Fusion chip. Image source: Apple.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>This should come as no surprise considering Apple(NASDAQ: AAPL) has become a world-class semiconductor designer over the past five to six years. The iPhone maker poached John Metcalfe from Imagination Technologies earlier this year, as noted by <a href="http://www.macrumors.com/2016/10/13/apple-imagination-technologies-hires/" type="external">MacRumors Opens a New Window.</a>, citing the executive's public LinkedIn profile. Metcalfe served as Imagination's COO but now works as a senior director at Apple. Digging deeper, MacRumors also notes that there are also over two dozen engineers that Apple has poached from the British graphics chip specialist.</p>
<p>Apple has long licensed Imagination's PowerVR GPU technology for use in its A series of processors, which was paired with CPU architectures licensed from fellow British chip designer ARM Holdings (since acquired by Softbank). Imagination has been on the ropes lately, announcing a corporate restructuring and layoffs earlier this year. There were even reports that Apple was considering a full-blown acquisition. Apple confirmed that there were some negotiations, but no offer materialized.</p>
<p>Why buy the whole company (Apple was already a stakeholder in Imagination) when you can surgically poach what you need?</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>As Apple continues to expand its chip strategy into a diverse range of semiconductors, it's arguably surprising that Apple has only recently begun bringing graphics expertise in-house. The company now designs the system-in-package that powers Apple Watches and wireless audio chips in the new AirPods, among others. Strong graphics performance is integral to Apple's A series of chips, particularly as gaming has become the largest and most popular category of apps on the App Store.</p>
<p>Combined with the never-ending string of evidence that Apple is still <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/10/03/the-clearest-evidence-yet-that-apple-inc-might-be.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">working on an ARM-based Mac Opens a New Window.</a> that will potentially run on an A chip, the company's chip aspirations are only getting grander. Apple prefers using integrated graphics in many of its Macs these days, particularly entry-level machines, so it will need to significantly improve A series graphics performance since Macs have greater graphics needs (larger displays, more graphics-intensive applications, etc.).</p>
<p>Many of these poached engineers are still based in London, and it just so happens that Apple is planning on expanding its U.K. headquarters in London. The Mac maker has decided to consolidate offices and move into the Battersea power station, an iconic decommissioned coal plant, utilizing 500,000 square feet. The company is hoping to open the location in 2021 and expects to relocate 1,400 employees that work in the area. The Battersea power station is about an hour away from Imagination's headquarters.</p>
<p>Apple's presence in London is only getting bigger.</p>
<p>A secret billion-dollar stock opportunity The world's biggest tech company forgot to show you something, but a few Wall Street analysts and the Fool didn't miss a beat: There's a small company that's powering their brand-new gadgets and the coming revolution in technology. And we think its stock price has nearly unlimited room to run for early in-the-know investors! To be one of them, <a href="http://www.fool.com/mms/mark/ecap-foolcom-apple-wearable?aid=6965&amp;source=irbeditxt0000017&amp;ftm_cam=rb-wearable-d&amp;ftm_pit=2668&amp;ftm_veh=article_pitch&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">just click here Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFNewCow/info.aspx" type="external">Evan Niu, CFA Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of Apple and LinkedIn. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Apple. The Motley Fool owns shares of LinkedIn and has the following options: long January 2018 $90 calls on Apple and short January 2018 $95 calls on Apple. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=isiedilnk018048&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://www.fool.com/knowledge-center/motley.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | 3,947 |
<p>(Tell us for the US what an independent Kosovo means?) This is unfinished business from the Cold War that is being finished and with their independence, the last Balkan War which was so tragic has now come to an end. (This piece of tape is you speaking before the NATO air strikes a decade ago [clip]. That was from 1998. months after you condemned the terrorist actions by the Kosovo Liberation Army, the US entered talks with the KLA. Bring us back to those talks.) About nine years ago I did find myself negotiating with their rebel commanders of the KLA and they were a mix of good and not good people and I think there was discomfort in our own government about how this was going to turn out. We're pleased to support Kosovo's independence because the leaders of that movement have evolved in a dramatically positive action from terrorist rebels to responsible members of the international community and that evolution was a risk at the time. But the KLA has evolved with the support of the West and of the US. (How much can the US forgive in terms of actions that are still being done because only 10% of the population of Kosovo is made up of Serbs who are afraid of going outside. Thousands have left and ethnic cleansing continues for them). I think scale does matter, and those abuses should be condemned. But this is a miniscule amount compared to the full scale nationwide ethnic cleansing from a decade ago. The ethnic Albanian majority is pledging to resolve these problems but we need to distinguish between Slobodan Milosevic's campaign of mass murder and the difficult situation the minority Serbs find themselves in today. (So the lesson is once again is there aren't total good and total bad guys. Is your reaction then tempered a bit knowing this is imperfect?) Well the world is imperfect. We have to not make the perfect enemy. Democratic nations came out of Milosevic's defeat and by and large Europe is whole and free and democratic. Another important lesson from Kosovo is that the US led the world and NATO on a moral principal and a principal on behalf of Muslims in Europe. And it's a shame that that reality on behalf of Muslims is not better understood in the Muslim World and could perhaps foster a greater understanding between Muslims around the world and the US.</p> | Interview with James Rubin | false | https://pri.org/stories/2008-02-18/interview-james-rubin | 2008-02-18 | 3left-center
| Interview with James Rubin
<p>(Tell us for the US what an independent Kosovo means?) This is unfinished business from the Cold War that is being finished and with their independence, the last Balkan War which was so tragic has now come to an end. (This piece of tape is you speaking before the NATO air strikes a decade ago [clip]. That was from 1998. months after you condemned the terrorist actions by the Kosovo Liberation Army, the US entered talks with the KLA. Bring us back to those talks.) About nine years ago I did find myself negotiating with their rebel commanders of the KLA and they were a mix of good and not good people and I think there was discomfort in our own government about how this was going to turn out. We're pleased to support Kosovo's independence because the leaders of that movement have evolved in a dramatically positive action from terrorist rebels to responsible members of the international community and that evolution was a risk at the time. But the KLA has evolved with the support of the West and of the US. (How much can the US forgive in terms of actions that are still being done because only 10% of the population of Kosovo is made up of Serbs who are afraid of going outside. Thousands have left and ethnic cleansing continues for them). I think scale does matter, and those abuses should be condemned. But this is a miniscule amount compared to the full scale nationwide ethnic cleansing from a decade ago. The ethnic Albanian majority is pledging to resolve these problems but we need to distinguish between Slobodan Milosevic's campaign of mass murder and the difficult situation the minority Serbs find themselves in today. (So the lesson is once again is there aren't total good and total bad guys. Is your reaction then tempered a bit knowing this is imperfect?) Well the world is imperfect. We have to not make the perfect enemy. Democratic nations came out of Milosevic's defeat and by and large Europe is whole and free and democratic. Another important lesson from Kosovo is that the US led the world and NATO on a moral principal and a principal on behalf of Muslims in Europe. And it's a shame that that reality on behalf of Muslims is not better understood in the Muslim World and could perhaps foster a greater understanding between Muslims around the world and the US.</p> | 3,948 |
<p>Embattled Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has avoided political humiliation after his center-right party retained power in his home province of Galicia, <a href="http://nz.sports.yahoo.com/news/spain-regional-votes-test-crisis-024114879.html" type="external">the Agence France-Presse reported today.</a></p>
<p>Exit polls show the ruling People's Party maintained its majority in the northwestern region, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-20022218" type="external">the BBC reported.</a></p>
<p>In the other regional election held this weekend, the Basque nationalist party <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partido_Nacionalista_Vasco" type="external">Partido Nacionalista Vasco</a> looked set to win 24-27 seats in Basque Country, putting it ahead of its rivals, <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/spains-pm-rajoy-wins-key-regional-vote-exit-183540111.html" type="external">Reuters reported,</a> citing exit polls showed.&#160;</p>
<p>The BBC said the result in the Basque Country would likely fuel calls for independence.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/spain-holds-elections-in-northwestern-galicia-and-turbulent-separatism-wracked-basque-region/2012/10/21/f310fda4-1b3c-11e2-ad4a-e5a958b60a1e_story.html" type="external">The Associated Press said</a> the weekend elections - the first held since Rajoy's party introduced tough austerity measures 11 months ago - were seen as a popular test of the government's spending cuts, tax hikes and labor reforms that have led to protests across the country.</p>
<p>Spain, which is suffering its second recession in three years and has near 25 percent unemployment, has implemented the tough measures in order to avoid an international bailout.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost:&#160; <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/spain/121010/standard-poors-spain-credit-rating-junk" type="external">Standard &amp; Poor's cuts Spain credit rating to near junk status</a> &#160;</p>
<p>#next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; }</p> | Spain regional elections: Exit polls show Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy won vote in Galicia | false | https://pri.org/stories/2012-10-21/spain-regional-elections-exit-polls-show-prime-minister-mariano-rajoy-won-vote | 2012-10-21 | 3left-center
| Spain regional elections: Exit polls show Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy won vote in Galicia
<p>Embattled Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has avoided political humiliation after his center-right party retained power in his home province of Galicia, <a href="http://nz.sports.yahoo.com/news/spain-regional-votes-test-crisis-024114879.html" type="external">the Agence France-Presse reported today.</a></p>
<p>Exit polls show the ruling People's Party maintained its majority in the northwestern region, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-20022218" type="external">the BBC reported.</a></p>
<p>In the other regional election held this weekend, the Basque nationalist party <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partido_Nacionalista_Vasco" type="external">Partido Nacionalista Vasco</a> looked set to win 24-27 seats in Basque Country, putting it ahead of its rivals, <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/spains-pm-rajoy-wins-key-regional-vote-exit-183540111.html" type="external">Reuters reported,</a> citing exit polls showed.&#160;</p>
<p>The BBC said the result in the Basque Country would likely fuel calls for independence.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/spain-holds-elections-in-northwestern-galicia-and-turbulent-separatism-wracked-basque-region/2012/10/21/f310fda4-1b3c-11e2-ad4a-e5a958b60a1e_story.html" type="external">The Associated Press said</a> the weekend elections - the first held since Rajoy's party introduced tough austerity measures 11 months ago - were seen as a popular test of the government's spending cuts, tax hikes and labor reforms that have led to protests across the country.</p>
<p>Spain, which is suffering its second recession in three years and has near 25 percent unemployment, has implemented the tough measures in order to avoid an international bailout.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost:&#160; <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/spain/121010/standard-poors-spain-credit-rating-junk" type="external">Standard &amp; Poor's cuts Spain credit rating to near junk status</a> &#160;</p>
<p>#next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; }</p> | 3,949 |
<p>An Ohio law that singles out professional athletes and entertainers for taxation even when they're in the state just a few days a year is unconstitutional, say several sport leagues including the NBA, NFL and NHL who want the state Supreme Court to strike the law down.</p>
<p>At issue is an Ohio law that excludes entertainers or athletes from a ban on municipalities taxing people who perform services 12 or fewer days per year. The leagues say the law singles out professional athletes for less fair tax treatment and overlooks the fact that despite high salaries the athletes' careers are relatively short.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>An ex-NFL players, meanwhile, has sued over Cleveland's interpretation of the law, saying the city unfairly imposes a 2 percent income tax based on games played in the city as a percentage of total games played.</p>
<p>Former Chicago Bears linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer says the city should only have taxed him based on days spent in the city compared with the length of his season, which comes out to a much lower rate.</p>
<p>Cleveland's system, known as the "games-played method," treats professional athletes as if they were paid only to play in games, Stephen Kidder, an attorney representing Hillenmeyer, said in a court filing ahead of oral arguments Wednesday before the Ohio Supreme Court.</p>
<p>This ignores everything else NFL players are paid to do, including mini-camps, preseason training camp, team meetings, and practice sessions, Kidder said.</p>
<p>Under the method most cities use, an NFL player who traveled to a city for two days during a 160-day season would be taxed on 1/80th of his income. But in Cleveland, a visiting football player is taxed just on the game, which amounts to five percent of his income based on a 20-game season (which includes exhibition games), Kidder argued.</p>
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<p>A second former NFL player, retired Indianapolis Colts center Jeff Saturday, argues in a separate lawsuit he shouldn't have been taxed at all by Cleveland during the 2008 season because he was injured and not in the city for the days he was taxed.</p>
<p>Cleveland says its interpretation of the law is based on the thing that players are hired to do: play football games.</p>
<p>A case Hillenmeyer uses to bolster his argument involves the late actor Paul Newman's successful challenge of taxes he paid filming the 1973 movie "The Sting."</p>
<p>California wanted to tax Newman only for the approximate month he was in California filming, but Newman won an appeal that said he should be taxed at a lower rate because his actual contract - similar to a professional athlete's season - was 54 days, according to Kidder's court filing on behalf of Hillenmeyer.</p>
<p>The Ohio Attorney General's office argues the athlete-entertainer exception in the state tax code is constitutional.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Andrew Welsh-Huggins can be reached on Twitter at https://twitter.com/awhcolumbus.</p> | Supreme Court hears arguments over Ohio's 'jock tax' on out-of-town athletes, entertainers | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2015/01/14/supreme-court-hears-arguments-over-ohio-jock-tax-on-out-town-athletes.html | 2016-03-09 | 0right
| Supreme Court hears arguments over Ohio's 'jock tax' on out-of-town athletes, entertainers
<p>An Ohio law that singles out professional athletes and entertainers for taxation even when they're in the state just a few days a year is unconstitutional, say several sport leagues including the NBA, NFL and NHL who want the state Supreme Court to strike the law down.</p>
<p>At issue is an Ohio law that excludes entertainers or athletes from a ban on municipalities taxing people who perform services 12 or fewer days per year. The leagues say the law singles out professional athletes for less fair tax treatment and overlooks the fact that despite high salaries the athletes' careers are relatively short.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>An ex-NFL players, meanwhile, has sued over Cleveland's interpretation of the law, saying the city unfairly imposes a 2 percent income tax based on games played in the city as a percentage of total games played.</p>
<p>Former Chicago Bears linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer says the city should only have taxed him based on days spent in the city compared with the length of his season, which comes out to a much lower rate.</p>
<p>Cleveland's system, known as the "games-played method," treats professional athletes as if they were paid only to play in games, Stephen Kidder, an attorney representing Hillenmeyer, said in a court filing ahead of oral arguments Wednesday before the Ohio Supreme Court.</p>
<p>This ignores everything else NFL players are paid to do, including mini-camps, preseason training camp, team meetings, and practice sessions, Kidder said.</p>
<p>Under the method most cities use, an NFL player who traveled to a city for two days during a 160-day season would be taxed on 1/80th of his income. But in Cleveland, a visiting football player is taxed just on the game, which amounts to five percent of his income based on a 20-game season (which includes exhibition games), Kidder argued.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>A second former NFL player, retired Indianapolis Colts center Jeff Saturday, argues in a separate lawsuit he shouldn't have been taxed at all by Cleveland during the 2008 season because he was injured and not in the city for the days he was taxed.</p>
<p>Cleveland says its interpretation of the law is based on the thing that players are hired to do: play football games.</p>
<p>A case Hillenmeyer uses to bolster his argument involves the late actor Paul Newman's successful challenge of taxes he paid filming the 1973 movie "The Sting."</p>
<p>California wanted to tax Newman only for the approximate month he was in California filming, but Newman won an appeal that said he should be taxed at a lower rate because his actual contract - similar to a professional athlete's season - was 54 days, according to Kidder's court filing on behalf of Hillenmeyer.</p>
<p>The Ohio Attorney General's office argues the athlete-entertainer exception in the state tax code is constitutional.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Andrew Welsh-Huggins can be reached on Twitter at https://twitter.com/awhcolumbus.</p> | 3,950 |
<p>Nestlé SA said a key sales measure weakened in the first nine months of the year and that it doesn't expect an improvement in the final quarter, underscoring the pressure it faces to boost its performance, including from activist investor Daniel Loeb.</p>
<p>The Swiss consumer giant said Thursday it struggled in its largest market, the U.S., where it is trying to sell its confectionery business. Elsewhere, its ability to raise prices was limited by weaker currencies in some emerging markets.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Organic growth, which strips out the effects of currency changes, acquisitions and divestments, came in at just 2.6% through September. Nestlé said that full-year underlying growth will match that nine-month rate, which would be below last year's pace of 3.2%.</p>
<p>Total sales were 65.3 billion Swiss francs ($66.5 billion) in the nine months through September, down 0.4% from the year-ago period. It didn't report profit for the nine-month period.</p>
<p>Nestle shares slid nearly 0.7% in early trading.</p>
<p>With North American representing 30% of Nestle sales, it will be "very difficult for Nestlé to accelerate" its growth rate, said analysts at Vontobel Research.</p>
<p>The results are the latest in a string of disappointing figures from Nestle, which missed a longstanding target of 5% to 6% organic growth for four-straight years through 2016 before ditching the goal earlier this year.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Like other consumer-goods companies, Nestle has struggled with a mix of weaker growth in the world economy and ageing populations that have coincided with changing consumer tastes toward locally growth, organic food and away from mass-produced prepared meals that have long been a Nestle staple.</p>
<p>Nestle signaled a new way of thinking about its business when it brought in health-care executive Mark Schneider as chief executive in January. He was the first CEO chosen from outside Nestle's ranks in nearly a century. Four months after dropping the sales target, Nestle put its U.S. confectionery business -- which sells Butterfinger and Crunch bars -- up for sale and said Thursday that process should be completed by the end of the year.</p>
<p>But Mr. Schneider has faced investor pressure to deliver results quickly. In June, Mr. Loeb's Third Point LLC said it had taken a 1.25% stake in Nestlé and pressed for changes, including the sale of noncore assets such as Nestlé's stake in L'Oréal.</p>
<p>The announcement set up an active summer for Nestle. In late June, it announced a 20 billion franc share-buyback program and said it would orient its capital spending toward high-growth parts of its business, including pet care, infant nutrition, coffee and bottled water. Last month it said it would accelerate the buybacks and adopted a formal profit-margin target.</p>
<p>In between, it made relatively small-scale U.S. acquisitions in fast-growing sectors with the purchases of plant-based food maker Earth Foods and a majority stake in premium coffee chain Blue Bottle.</p>
<p>"Buying a company like Blue Bottle will help us drive growth," said Nestle Chief Financial Officer Francois-Xavier Roger.</p>
<p>He affirmed the company's intention to return to mid-single-digit organic growth by 2020, and the sales figures offered some clues on where that growth could come from.</p>
<p>While underlying sales grew just 0.8% in developed markets, they increased 5.1% in emerging markets. Sales of powdered and liquid beverages, which include coffee, grew 3.5% while Nespresso revenues rose at a double digit rate in North America. Pet care sales advanced 3%.</p>
<p>Sales at its water unit grew just 2.4% on an underlying basis through September, though the company attributed some of that weakness to poor weather last quarter.</p>
<p>Nestle said it expects to spend roughly one billion francs in restructuring costs this year.</p>
<p>Write to Brian Blackstone at [email protected]</p>
<p>Nestle bought Sweet Earth and a majority stake in premium coffee chain Blue Bottle. "Nestle Results Highlight Pressure to Boost Returns -- 2nd Update," at 0742 GMT, misstated the name of a company Nestle purchased in the 12th paragraph. The error occurred in an earlier update at 0652 GMT, It was Sweet Earth, not Earth Foods.</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>October 19, 2017 06:33 ET (10:33 GMT)</p> | Correction to Nestle Updates | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/10/19/nestle-results-highlight-pressure-to-boost-returns-2nd-update.html | 2017-10-19 | 0right
| Correction to Nestle Updates
<p>Nestlé SA said a key sales measure weakened in the first nine months of the year and that it doesn't expect an improvement in the final quarter, underscoring the pressure it faces to boost its performance, including from activist investor Daniel Loeb.</p>
<p>The Swiss consumer giant said Thursday it struggled in its largest market, the U.S., where it is trying to sell its confectionery business. Elsewhere, its ability to raise prices was limited by weaker currencies in some emerging markets.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Organic growth, which strips out the effects of currency changes, acquisitions and divestments, came in at just 2.6% through September. Nestlé said that full-year underlying growth will match that nine-month rate, which would be below last year's pace of 3.2%.</p>
<p>Total sales were 65.3 billion Swiss francs ($66.5 billion) in the nine months through September, down 0.4% from the year-ago period. It didn't report profit for the nine-month period.</p>
<p>Nestle shares slid nearly 0.7% in early trading.</p>
<p>With North American representing 30% of Nestle sales, it will be "very difficult for Nestlé to accelerate" its growth rate, said analysts at Vontobel Research.</p>
<p>The results are the latest in a string of disappointing figures from Nestle, which missed a longstanding target of 5% to 6% organic growth for four-straight years through 2016 before ditching the goal earlier this year.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Like other consumer-goods companies, Nestle has struggled with a mix of weaker growth in the world economy and ageing populations that have coincided with changing consumer tastes toward locally growth, organic food and away from mass-produced prepared meals that have long been a Nestle staple.</p>
<p>Nestle signaled a new way of thinking about its business when it brought in health-care executive Mark Schneider as chief executive in January. He was the first CEO chosen from outside Nestle's ranks in nearly a century. Four months after dropping the sales target, Nestle put its U.S. confectionery business -- which sells Butterfinger and Crunch bars -- up for sale and said Thursday that process should be completed by the end of the year.</p>
<p>But Mr. Schneider has faced investor pressure to deliver results quickly. In June, Mr. Loeb's Third Point LLC said it had taken a 1.25% stake in Nestlé and pressed for changes, including the sale of noncore assets such as Nestlé's stake in L'Oréal.</p>
<p>The announcement set up an active summer for Nestle. In late June, it announced a 20 billion franc share-buyback program and said it would orient its capital spending toward high-growth parts of its business, including pet care, infant nutrition, coffee and bottled water. Last month it said it would accelerate the buybacks and adopted a formal profit-margin target.</p>
<p>In between, it made relatively small-scale U.S. acquisitions in fast-growing sectors with the purchases of plant-based food maker Earth Foods and a majority stake in premium coffee chain Blue Bottle.</p>
<p>"Buying a company like Blue Bottle will help us drive growth," said Nestle Chief Financial Officer Francois-Xavier Roger.</p>
<p>He affirmed the company's intention to return to mid-single-digit organic growth by 2020, and the sales figures offered some clues on where that growth could come from.</p>
<p>While underlying sales grew just 0.8% in developed markets, they increased 5.1% in emerging markets. Sales of powdered and liquid beverages, which include coffee, grew 3.5% while Nespresso revenues rose at a double digit rate in North America. Pet care sales advanced 3%.</p>
<p>Sales at its water unit grew just 2.4% on an underlying basis through September, though the company attributed some of that weakness to poor weather last quarter.</p>
<p>Nestle said it expects to spend roughly one billion francs in restructuring costs this year.</p>
<p>Write to Brian Blackstone at [email protected]</p>
<p>Nestle bought Sweet Earth and a majority stake in premium coffee chain Blue Bottle. "Nestle Results Highlight Pressure to Boost Returns -- 2nd Update," at 0742 GMT, misstated the name of a company Nestle purchased in the 12th paragraph. The error occurred in an earlier update at 0652 GMT, It was Sweet Earth, not Earth Foods.</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>October 19, 2017 06:33 ET (10:33 GMT)</p> | 3,951 |
<p />
<p>We’re just about a month away from Mobile World Congress in Barcelona where we’re expecting a bunch of news. What’s around the bend from Samsung? We recently stumbled upon a product portfolio that contains the firm’s first half 2013 products, including new devices such as the Galaxy Note 8.0, the Galaxy Pocket Plus, the Galaxy Young and the Galaxy X Cover 2.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The Galaxy Note 8.0 is scheduled to launch in March and packs an 8-inch 1280 x 800-pixel display, Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, a quad-core processor clocked at 1.6GHz, a 5-megapixel camera, a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera, support for S Note, S Memo and S Planner, 16GB or 32GB of internal storage that can be expanded using a microSD card slot, Bluetooth 4.0, a 4,600mAh battery and “E-Book” support. Support for 3G/2G frequency bands suggests Samsung is working to launch the device with carrier partners, too.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.technobuffalo.com/2013/01/21/samsung-2013-roadmap-galaxy-note-8-galaxy-young-galaxy-x-cover-2/" type="external">Read the rest of Samsung's 2013 road map on TechnoBuffalo.com Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>Advertisement</p> | Samsung 2013 Roadmap: Galaxy Note 8.0, Galaxy Young, Galaxy X Cover 2 | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2013/01/22/samsung-2013-roadmap-galaxy-note-80-galaxy-young-galaxy-x-cover-2.html | 2016-01-29 | 0right
| Samsung 2013 Roadmap: Galaxy Note 8.0, Galaxy Young, Galaxy X Cover 2
<p />
<p>We’re just about a month away from Mobile World Congress in Barcelona where we’re expecting a bunch of news. What’s around the bend from Samsung? We recently stumbled upon a product portfolio that contains the firm’s first half 2013 products, including new devices such as the Galaxy Note 8.0, the Galaxy Pocket Plus, the Galaxy Young and the Galaxy X Cover 2.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The Galaxy Note 8.0 is scheduled to launch in March and packs an 8-inch 1280 x 800-pixel display, Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, a quad-core processor clocked at 1.6GHz, a 5-megapixel camera, a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera, support for S Note, S Memo and S Planner, 16GB or 32GB of internal storage that can be expanded using a microSD card slot, Bluetooth 4.0, a 4,600mAh battery and “E-Book” support. Support for 3G/2G frequency bands suggests Samsung is working to launch the device with carrier partners, too.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.technobuffalo.com/2013/01/21/samsung-2013-roadmap-galaxy-note-8-galaxy-young-galaxy-x-cover-2/" type="external">Read the rest of Samsung's 2013 road map on TechnoBuffalo.com Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>Advertisement</p> | 3,952 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>FILE – In this Nov. 16, 2016 file photo, Hillary Clinton speaks in Washington. Clinton is blaming Russian interference for her defeat in the presidential race, casting her campaign as fodder in a long-running effort by Russian President Vladimir Putin to discredit the fundamental tenants of American government. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)</p>
<p>Hillary Clinton lumped President Donald Trump in with disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein during a TV interview taped Friday in Britain, saying that the problem of sexual assault is widespread.</p>
<p>“Look, we just elected someone who admitted sexual assault to the presidency,” the former Democratic presidential candidate told Britain’s Channel 4 News. “So there’s a lot of other issues that are swirling around these kinds of behaviors that need to be addressed. I think it’s important that we stay focused, and shine a bright spotlight and try to get people to understand how damaging this is.”</p>
<p>Clinton was being interviewed about her new book, “What Happened,” which chronicles her 2016 presidential campaign. In the book, Clinton includes a vivid description of her mind-set during a presidential debate with Trump last year, just days after The Washington Post reported on taped remarks in which Trump bragged about groping women without their consent.</p>
<p>During the Channel 4 interview, Clinton was asked whether she had heard rumors about Weinstein’s behavior toward women before news reports this month detailed allegations of sexual harassment and assault dating back decades.</p>
<p>Clinton said she and her husband, the former president, have known Weinstein for years, and she attended numerous fundraisers organized or backed by the producer. She has said she was “shocked” and saddened by the allegations against someone she knew as a friend and that she supports the women who have come forward.</p>
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<p>“No, I did not know,” Clinton said in the interview.</p>
<p>She estimated that Weinstein had donated from $12,000 to $16,000 to her election campaigns. She has pledged to donate a commensurate amount to a women’s charity.</p>
<p>Numerous women have accused the longtime movie executive and leading Democratic donor of abuse ranging from creepy insinuation to rape. He was fired by Miramax, the film studio he co-founded with his brother, last week. On Saturday the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences stripped Weinstein of membership.</p>
<p>In her book, Clinton brings up a particular moment during the debate when Trump began moving around the stage and loomed behind her as she answered questions. Narrating her interior conversation at the time, Clinton imagines telling Trump, “Back up, you creep.”</p> | Clinton: Americans elected ‘someone who admitted sexual assault’ | false | https://abqjournal.com/1078286/clinton-americans-elected-someone-who-admitted-sexual-assault.html | 2least
| Clinton: Americans elected ‘someone who admitted sexual assault’
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<p>FILE – In this Nov. 16, 2016 file photo, Hillary Clinton speaks in Washington. Clinton is blaming Russian interference for her defeat in the presidential race, casting her campaign as fodder in a long-running effort by Russian President Vladimir Putin to discredit the fundamental tenants of American government. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)</p>
<p>Hillary Clinton lumped President Donald Trump in with disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein during a TV interview taped Friday in Britain, saying that the problem of sexual assault is widespread.</p>
<p>“Look, we just elected someone who admitted sexual assault to the presidency,” the former Democratic presidential candidate told Britain’s Channel 4 News. “So there’s a lot of other issues that are swirling around these kinds of behaviors that need to be addressed. I think it’s important that we stay focused, and shine a bright spotlight and try to get people to understand how damaging this is.”</p>
<p>Clinton was being interviewed about her new book, “What Happened,” which chronicles her 2016 presidential campaign. In the book, Clinton includes a vivid description of her mind-set during a presidential debate with Trump last year, just days after The Washington Post reported on taped remarks in which Trump bragged about groping women without their consent.</p>
<p>During the Channel 4 interview, Clinton was asked whether she had heard rumors about Weinstein’s behavior toward women before news reports this month detailed allegations of sexual harassment and assault dating back decades.</p>
<p>Clinton said she and her husband, the former president, have known Weinstein for years, and she attended numerous fundraisers organized or backed by the producer. She has said she was “shocked” and saddened by the allegations against someone she knew as a friend and that she supports the women who have come forward.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“No, I did not know,” Clinton said in the interview.</p>
<p>She estimated that Weinstein had donated from $12,000 to $16,000 to her election campaigns. She has pledged to donate a commensurate amount to a women’s charity.</p>
<p>Numerous women have accused the longtime movie executive and leading Democratic donor of abuse ranging from creepy insinuation to rape. He was fired by Miramax, the film studio he co-founded with his brother, last week. On Saturday the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences stripped Weinstein of membership.</p>
<p>In her book, Clinton brings up a particular moment during the debate when Trump began moving around the stage and loomed behind her as she answered questions. Narrating her interior conversation at the time, Clinton imagines telling Trump, “Back up, you creep.”</p> | 3,953 |
|
<p />
<p>The Daily Beast finds the most armed states in America.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>NICS background checks per 100,000 residents (Sept. 2010 - Feb. 2012): 78,703 Previous rank: 1st</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 46,898 Previous rank: 2nd</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 16,888 Previous rank: 3rd</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 15,718 Previous rank: 6th</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 14,616 Previous rank: 5th</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 13,986 Previous rank: 4th</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 13,952 Previous rank: 8th</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 13,624 Previous rank: 7th</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 11,279 Previous rank: 12th</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 11,150 Previous rank: 9th</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>11. Alabama NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 11,070 Previous rank: 10th</p>
<p>12. Tennessee NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 10,889 Previous rank: 11th</p>
<p>13. New Hampshire NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 10,557 Previous rank: 16th</p>
<p>14. Idaho NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 10,261 Previous rank: 13th</p>
<p>15. Missouri NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 10,228 Previous rank: 15th</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>16. Colorado NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 10,208 Previous rank: 14th</p>
<p>17. Mississippi NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 10,035 Previous rank: 17th</p>
<p>18. Illinois NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 9,831 Previous rank: 18th</p>
<p>19. Minnesota NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 9,730 Previous rank: 22nd</p>
<p>20. Louisiana Population: 4,533,372 Previous rank: 21st</p>
<p />
<p /> | States with the most guns in 2012 (Photos). | true | https://thedailybeast.com/states-with-the-most-guns-in-2012-photos | 2018-10-05 | 4left
| States with the most guns in 2012 (Photos).
<p />
<p>The Daily Beast finds the most armed states in America.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>NICS background checks per 100,000 residents (Sept. 2010 - Feb. 2012): 78,703 Previous rank: 1st</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 46,898 Previous rank: 2nd</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 16,888 Previous rank: 3rd</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 15,718 Previous rank: 6th</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 14,616 Previous rank: 5th</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 13,986 Previous rank: 4th</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 13,952 Previous rank: 8th</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 13,624 Previous rank: 7th</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 11,279 Previous rank: 12th</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 11,150 Previous rank: 9th</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>11. Alabama NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 11,070 Previous rank: 10th</p>
<p>12. Tennessee NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 10,889 Previous rank: 11th</p>
<p>13. New Hampshire NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 10,557 Previous rank: 16th</p>
<p>14. Idaho NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 10,261 Previous rank: 13th</p>
<p>15. Missouri NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 10,228 Previous rank: 15th</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>16. Colorado NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 10,208 Previous rank: 14th</p>
<p>17. Mississippi NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 10,035 Previous rank: 17th</p>
<p>18. Illinois NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 9,831 Previous rank: 18th</p>
<p>19. Minnesota NICS background checks per 100,000 residents: 9,730 Previous rank: 22nd</p>
<p>20. Louisiana Population: 4,533,372 Previous rank: 21st</p>
<p />
<p /> | 3,954 |
<p>Tributes poured in over the weekend as fans remembered Cilla Black, a TV personality and singer whose career spanned five decades.&#160;</p>
<p>British Prime Minister David Cameron praised her as a "huge talent"&#160;who made significant contributions to public life.&#160;Those of us in The World's&#160;newsroom who spent time in England know Cilla Black as the host of several popular TV shows that ran through the 80s and 90s.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>But Black got her start as a coatroom clerk at the Cavern, a music club in Liverpool.&#160;That's where she met and befriended&#160;the Beatles. &#160;Here's one of her early tunes, written by John Lennon and Paul&#160;McCartney, who both make a cameo apperarance in the video.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>"She was a lovely girl who infected everyone with a great spirit."&#160;McCartney&#160;said in a statement this weekend.&#160;</p>
<p>Americans may remember her best from a song she recorded a few year later, the title tune for the movie Alfie.&#160;American composer Burt Bacharach flew to London to record Cilla Black singing this song live with a 48-piece orchestra in the famous&#160;Abbey Road studios.&#160;Beatles record producer George Martin ran the session, which was a punishing one. &#160;Cilla Black claimed she did 18 takes of the song.&#160;Others who were there remember&#160;even more.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Cilla Black died at her home in Estepona, Spain on Saturday. She was 72.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Americans and Brits remember Cilla Black | false | https://pri.org/stories/2015-08-03/americans-and-brits-remember-cilla-black | 2015-08-03 | 3left-center
| Americans and Brits remember Cilla Black
<p>Tributes poured in over the weekend as fans remembered Cilla Black, a TV personality and singer whose career spanned five decades.&#160;</p>
<p>British Prime Minister David Cameron praised her as a "huge talent"&#160;who made significant contributions to public life.&#160;Those of us in The World's&#160;newsroom who spent time in England know Cilla Black as the host of several popular TV shows that ran through the 80s and 90s.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>But Black got her start as a coatroom clerk at the Cavern, a music club in Liverpool.&#160;That's where she met and befriended&#160;the Beatles. &#160;Here's one of her early tunes, written by John Lennon and Paul&#160;McCartney, who both make a cameo apperarance in the video.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>"She was a lovely girl who infected everyone with a great spirit."&#160;McCartney&#160;said in a statement this weekend.&#160;</p>
<p>Americans may remember her best from a song she recorded a few year later, the title tune for the movie Alfie.&#160;American composer Burt Bacharach flew to London to record Cilla Black singing this song live with a 48-piece orchestra in the famous&#160;Abbey Road studios.&#160;Beatles record producer George Martin ran the session, which was a punishing one. &#160;Cilla Black claimed she did 18 takes of the song.&#160;Others who were there remember&#160;even more.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Cilla Black died at her home in Estepona, Spain on Saturday. She was 72.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | 3,955 |
<p />
<p>If you have been putting off hiring more employees because of concerns you have about the economy, you are not alone.&#160; A majority of small business owners are also planning to hold off hiring new employees — at least through the end of the year.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Overall, 75 percent of small- and medium-size business owners expect staffing to remain unchanged over the next six months. Instead of hiring more employees, one-third of business owners are planning on doing more work with fewer employees.&#160; However, business owners said they would <a href="http://online-job-listing-review.toptenreviews.com/?cmpid=ttr-bnd" type="external">hire more workers Opens a New Window.</a>&#160;if the government imposed fewer business regulations.</p>
<p>Additionally, fewer small business owners are looking to spend on capital investments in the coming year. Just 58 percent of respondents say they will spend on capital investments this year, down from 70 percent of business owners who said they would make investments last year.&#160; Overall, business owners are focusing on improving business technologies.</p>
<p>Six Steps to Smart Hiring Decisions</p>
<p>Though business owners are not planning to hire new employees this year, they are for the most part optimistic about the country's economic prospects. Overall, 58 percent of business owners say they are optimistic about the economy, up from 42 percent in the fall.&#160; Additionally, fewer small business owners are pessimistic than they were when the poll was taken in the fall.</p>
<p>However, when talking about local economies, small- and medium-size business owners are even more optimistic. Seventy-one percent of business owners say they are optimistic about their local economy, up from 59 percent in the fall.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>"The powerful engine of the U.S. economy is not firing on all cylinders, but there are sparks of optimism related to sales, profits and <a href="http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/4156-dream-own-home.html" type="external">housing prices Opens a New Window.</a>," said&#160;Stuart Hoffman, chief economist at PNC, which conducted the research. "These findings support our baseline forecast that the moderate U.S. economic and jobs expansion will persist in 2013."</p>
<p>The research was based on the responses of 1,718 business owners or decision makers with annual revenues of $100,000 to $250 million. The findings were a part of a biannual survey that began in 2003.</p>
<p>Email&#160; <a href="http://mailto:[email protected]" type="external">David Mielach Opens a New Window.</a>&#160;or follow him @ <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/D_M89" type="external">D_M89</a>. Follow us&#160;@ <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/BNDarticles" type="external">bndarticles Opens a New Window.</a>,&#160; <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BusinessNewsDaily" type="external">Facebook Opens a New Window.</a>&#160;or&#160; <a href="https://plus.google.com/113390396142026041164" type="external">Google+</a>.</p> | Small Business Owners Caught In Hiring Limbo | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2013/04/05/small-business-owners-caught-in-hiring-limbo.html | 2016-04-07 | 0right
| Small Business Owners Caught In Hiring Limbo
<p />
<p>If you have been putting off hiring more employees because of concerns you have about the economy, you are not alone.&#160; A majority of small business owners are also planning to hold off hiring new employees — at least through the end of the year.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Overall, 75 percent of small- and medium-size business owners expect staffing to remain unchanged over the next six months. Instead of hiring more employees, one-third of business owners are planning on doing more work with fewer employees.&#160; However, business owners said they would <a href="http://online-job-listing-review.toptenreviews.com/?cmpid=ttr-bnd" type="external">hire more workers Opens a New Window.</a>&#160;if the government imposed fewer business regulations.</p>
<p>Additionally, fewer small business owners are looking to spend on capital investments in the coming year. Just 58 percent of respondents say they will spend on capital investments this year, down from 70 percent of business owners who said they would make investments last year.&#160; Overall, business owners are focusing on improving business technologies.</p>
<p>Six Steps to Smart Hiring Decisions</p>
<p>Though business owners are not planning to hire new employees this year, they are for the most part optimistic about the country's economic prospects. Overall, 58 percent of business owners say they are optimistic about the economy, up from 42 percent in the fall.&#160; Additionally, fewer small business owners are pessimistic than they were when the poll was taken in the fall.</p>
<p>However, when talking about local economies, small- and medium-size business owners are even more optimistic. Seventy-one percent of business owners say they are optimistic about their local economy, up from 59 percent in the fall.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>"The powerful engine of the U.S. economy is not firing on all cylinders, but there are sparks of optimism related to sales, profits and <a href="http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/4156-dream-own-home.html" type="external">housing prices Opens a New Window.</a>," said&#160;Stuart Hoffman, chief economist at PNC, which conducted the research. "These findings support our baseline forecast that the moderate U.S. economic and jobs expansion will persist in 2013."</p>
<p>The research was based on the responses of 1,718 business owners or decision makers with annual revenues of $100,000 to $250 million. The findings were a part of a biannual survey that began in 2003.</p>
<p>Email&#160; <a href="http://mailto:[email protected]" type="external">David Mielach Opens a New Window.</a>&#160;or follow him @ <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/D_M89" type="external">D_M89</a>. Follow us&#160;@ <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/BNDarticles" type="external">bndarticles Opens a New Window.</a>,&#160; <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BusinessNewsDaily" type="external">Facebook Opens a New Window.</a>&#160;or&#160; <a href="https://plus.google.com/113390396142026041164" type="external">Google+</a>.</p> | 3,956 |
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<p>File-This Jan. 9, 2015, file photo shows President Barack Obama speaking at Pellissippi State Community College, in Knoxville, Tenn. President Obama is turning to his biggest television audience of the year to pitch tax increases on the wealthiest Americans and put the new Republican Congress in the position of defending top income earners over the middle class. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)</p>
<p>WASHINGTON — Republican lawmakers are already signaling they will do what they can to block President Barack Obama’s pitch for tax increases on the wealthiest Americans.</p>
<p>Obama is making that pitch to a huge television audience in hopes of putting the new Republican Congress in the position of defending top income earners over the middle class.</p>
<p>As Obama continues to signal what he will propose during Tuesday’s State of the Union address, senior administration officials said during the weekend that he will call for raising the capital gains rate on top income earners and eliminating a tax break on inheritances. The revenue generated by those changes would fund new tax credits and other cost-saving measures for middle-class taxpayers, officials said.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Tax increases are rarely welcomed by congressional Republicans, who now hold majorities in the House and the Senate for the first time in Obama’s presidency. His tax proposals will probably be dismissed, if not outright ignored, by lawmakers outside the Democratic Party’s liberal base.</p>
<p>Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., said that he had heard all five of Obama’s State of the Union addresses, which he said are filled with proposals both good and bad. But he said on ABC’s “This Week” that the president has fallen short by failing to establish close ties to Congress.</p>
<p>Key Republicans in both chambers indicated they would oppose the plan</p>
<p>“Slapping American small businesses, savers and investors with more tax hikes only negates the benefits of the tax policies that have been successful in helping to expand the economy, promote savings and create jobs,” Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, chairman of the Finance Committee, said in a weekend statement.</p>
<p>“More Washington tax hikes and spending is the same, old top-down approach we’ve come to expect from President Obama that hasn’t worked,” said Michael Steel, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner.</p>
<p>Obama aides were not surprised.</p>
<p>Said White House senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer: “Are they going to agree on everything? Absolutely not. I think we should have a debate in this country between middle-class economics and trickle-down economics and see if we can come to an agreement on the things we do agree on.” He spoke on CBS’s “Face the Nation</p>
<p>Administration officials disclosed details of the tax proposals on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the proposals by name before the president’s speech.</p>
<p>The centerpiece of the president’s tax proposal is an increase in the capital gains rate on couples making more than $500,000 per year to 28 percent, the same level as under President Ronald Reagan. The top capital gains rate has already been raised from 15 percent to 23.8 percent during Obama’s presidency.</p>
<p>Obama also wants to close what the administration is calling the “trust fund loophole,” a change that would require estates to pay capital gains taxes on securities at the time they’re inherited. Officials said the overwhelming impact of the change would be on the top 1 percent of income earners.</p>
<p>Administration officials pointed to a third proposal from the president as one they hope Republicans would support: a fee on the roughly 100 U.S. financial firms with assets of more than $50 billion.</p>
<p>Raising the capital gains rate, ending the inheritance loophole and tacking a fee on financial firms would generate $320 billion in revenue over a decade, according to administration estimates. Obama wants to put the bulk of that money into a series of measures aimed at helping middle-class Americans.</p> | Obama’s tax proposals get cool reception from GOP lawmakers | false | https://abqjournal.com/528449/obamas-tax-proposals-get-cool-reception-from-gop-lawmakers.html | 2least
| Obama’s tax proposals get cool reception from GOP lawmakers
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>File-This Jan. 9, 2015, file photo shows President Barack Obama speaking at Pellissippi State Community College, in Knoxville, Tenn. President Obama is turning to his biggest television audience of the year to pitch tax increases on the wealthiest Americans and put the new Republican Congress in the position of defending top income earners over the middle class. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)</p>
<p>WASHINGTON — Republican lawmakers are already signaling they will do what they can to block President Barack Obama’s pitch for tax increases on the wealthiest Americans.</p>
<p>Obama is making that pitch to a huge television audience in hopes of putting the new Republican Congress in the position of defending top income earners over the middle class.</p>
<p>As Obama continues to signal what he will propose during Tuesday’s State of the Union address, senior administration officials said during the weekend that he will call for raising the capital gains rate on top income earners and eliminating a tax break on inheritances. The revenue generated by those changes would fund new tax credits and other cost-saving measures for middle-class taxpayers, officials said.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Tax increases are rarely welcomed by congressional Republicans, who now hold majorities in the House and the Senate for the first time in Obama’s presidency. His tax proposals will probably be dismissed, if not outright ignored, by lawmakers outside the Democratic Party’s liberal base.</p>
<p>Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., said that he had heard all five of Obama’s State of the Union addresses, which he said are filled with proposals both good and bad. But he said on ABC’s “This Week” that the president has fallen short by failing to establish close ties to Congress.</p>
<p>Key Republicans in both chambers indicated they would oppose the plan</p>
<p>“Slapping American small businesses, savers and investors with more tax hikes only negates the benefits of the tax policies that have been successful in helping to expand the economy, promote savings and create jobs,” Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, chairman of the Finance Committee, said in a weekend statement.</p>
<p>“More Washington tax hikes and spending is the same, old top-down approach we’ve come to expect from President Obama that hasn’t worked,” said Michael Steel, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner.</p>
<p>Obama aides were not surprised.</p>
<p>Said White House senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer: “Are they going to agree on everything? Absolutely not. I think we should have a debate in this country between middle-class economics and trickle-down economics and see if we can come to an agreement on the things we do agree on.” He spoke on CBS’s “Face the Nation</p>
<p>Administration officials disclosed details of the tax proposals on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the proposals by name before the president’s speech.</p>
<p>The centerpiece of the president’s tax proposal is an increase in the capital gains rate on couples making more than $500,000 per year to 28 percent, the same level as under President Ronald Reagan. The top capital gains rate has already been raised from 15 percent to 23.8 percent during Obama’s presidency.</p>
<p>Obama also wants to close what the administration is calling the “trust fund loophole,” a change that would require estates to pay capital gains taxes on securities at the time they’re inherited. Officials said the overwhelming impact of the change would be on the top 1 percent of income earners.</p>
<p>Administration officials pointed to a third proposal from the president as one they hope Republicans would support: a fee on the roughly 100 U.S. financial firms with assets of more than $50 billion.</p>
<p>Raising the capital gains rate, ending the inheritance loophole and tacking a fee on financial firms would generate $320 billion in revenue over a decade, according to administration estimates. Obama wants to put the bulk of that money into a series of measures aimed at helping middle-class Americans.</p> | 3,957 |
|
<p>The White House is expected to send the Pentagon a memo on how to implement a ban on transgender troops within the next few days, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/white-house-sets-rules-for-military-transgender-ban-1503534757?mod=mktw" type="external">the Wall Street Journal reported Opens a New Window.</a> late Wednesday. Officials told the Journal that the White House will order an end to new transgender recruits, a spending freeze on medical treatment for transgender troops currently serving, and will give Defense Secretary James Mattis the authority to consider a service member's ability to deploy when deciding whether to remove them from military service. Mattis will reportedly have six months to figure out how to implement the plan. President Donald Trump first announced the ban in a series of tweets on July 26, taking the Pentagon by surprise and drawing sharp criticism from Democrats and LGBT activists.</p>
<p>Copyright © 2017 MarketWatch, Inc.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p> | White House To Detail Ban On Transgender Troops, Give Mattis 6 Months To Implement: Report | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/08/23/white-house-to-detail-ban-on-transgender-troops-give-mattis-6-months-to.html | 2017-08-23 | 0right
| White House To Detail Ban On Transgender Troops, Give Mattis 6 Months To Implement: Report
<p>The White House is expected to send the Pentagon a memo on how to implement a ban on transgender troops within the next few days, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/white-house-sets-rules-for-military-transgender-ban-1503534757?mod=mktw" type="external">the Wall Street Journal reported Opens a New Window.</a> late Wednesday. Officials told the Journal that the White House will order an end to new transgender recruits, a spending freeze on medical treatment for transgender troops currently serving, and will give Defense Secretary James Mattis the authority to consider a service member's ability to deploy when deciding whether to remove them from military service. Mattis will reportedly have six months to figure out how to implement the plan. President Donald Trump first announced the ban in a series of tweets on July 26, taking the Pentagon by surprise and drawing sharp criticism from Democrats and LGBT activists.</p>
<p>Copyright © 2017 MarketWatch, Inc.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p> | 3,958 |
<p><a href="http://variety.com/t/mashable/" type="external">Mashable</a>, the digital-media player that like many of its peers has refocused on growing its video biz, has engaged in “extensive” discussions with <a href="http://variety.com/t/prosiebensat-1/" type="external">ProSiebenSat.1</a> about a sale, the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/mashable-tests-notion-that-pivot-to-video-leads-to-digital-media-riches-1506250981" type="external">Wall Street Journal reported</a>.</p>
<p>The unprofitable New York-based company had been trying to raised additional investment from a strategic investor but is “now leaning toward an all-out sale, the Journal reported, citing unnamed sources. Viacom “explored a deal” with Mashable, but that didn’t move forward, according to the WSJ. Time Warner’s Turner, which <a href="http://variety.com/2016/digital/news/turner-mashable-investment-1201742807/" type="external">led Mashable’s $15 million round last year</a>, hasn’t been interested in acquiring full control.</p>
<p>The Journal report didn’t include proposed deal terms for a potential ProSieben takeover of Mashable. With its funding round last year, Mashable was valued at around $250 million.</p>
<p>For ProSieben, the addition of Mashable would augment its push into digital media. The German broadcast and media giant <a href="http://variety.com/2015/digital/global/prosieben-collective-digital-studio-acquisition-1201535844/" type="external">owns Studio71</a>, the digital network formed from its acquisition of Collective Digital Studio. ProSieben’s investments in the space include a <a href="http://variety.com/2016/digital/global/pluto-tv-30-million-funding-prosieben-scripps-networks-1201886914/" type="external">stake in online-video aggregator Pluto TV</a>.</p>
<p>Mashable, founded as a blog by Pete Cashmore in 2005 when he was a teen in Scotland, has seen an exodus of top execs recently. That has included <a href="http://variety.com/2017/digital/news/adam-ostrow-tegna-mashable-1202522602/" type="external">chief strategy officer Adam Ostrow</a>, who departed last month for TV broadcaster Tegna, and chief revenue officer Ed Wise (now CRO of Romeo Power). Mashable <a href="http://variety.com/2016/digital/news/mashable-layoffs-cfo-chief-editor-depart-1201748219/" type="external">laid off about 30 employees last year</a>&#160;after the Series C funding, including longtime editor-in-chief Jim Roberts and previous CRO Seth Rogin.</p>
<p>In 2016, Mashable recorded a net loss of $10 million as revenue rose 36% to $42 million, according to the Journal report. The company is targeting $50 million in revenue for 2017 and “may break even,” per the WSJ.</p> | Mashable Looks for Exit in Sale Talks With Germany’s ProSieben (Report) | false | https://newsline.com/mashable-looks-for-exit-in-sale-talks-with-germanys-prosieben-report/ | 2017-09-25 | 1right-center
| Mashable Looks for Exit in Sale Talks With Germany’s ProSieben (Report)
<p><a href="http://variety.com/t/mashable/" type="external">Mashable</a>, the digital-media player that like many of its peers has refocused on growing its video biz, has engaged in “extensive” discussions with <a href="http://variety.com/t/prosiebensat-1/" type="external">ProSiebenSat.1</a> about a sale, the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/mashable-tests-notion-that-pivot-to-video-leads-to-digital-media-riches-1506250981" type="external">Wall Street Journal reported</a>.</p>
<p>The unprofitable New York-based company had been trying to raised additional investment from a strategic investor but is “now leaning toward an all-out sale, the Journal reported, citing unnamed sources. Viacom “explored a deal” with Mashable, but that didn’t move forward, according to the WSJ. Time Warner’s Turner, which <a href="http://variety.com/2016/digital/news/turner-mashable-investment-1201742807/" type="external">led Mashable’s $15 million round last year</a>, hasn’t been interested in acquiring full control.</p>
<p>The Journal report didn’t include proposed deal terms for a potential ProSieben takeover of Mashable. With its funding round last year, Mashable was valued at around $250 million.</p>
<p>For ProSieben, the addition of Mashable would augment its push into digital media. The German broadcast and media giant <a href="http://variety.com/2015/digital/global/prosieben-collective-digital-studio-acquisition-1201535844/" type="external">owns Studio71</a>, the digital network formed from its acquisition of Collective Digital Studio. ProSieben’s investments in the space include a <a href="http://variety.com/2016/digital/global/pluto-tv-30-million-funding-prosieben-scripps-networks-1201886914/" type="external">stake in online-video aggregator Pluto TV</a>.</p>
<p>Mashable, founded as a blog by Pete Cashmore in 2005 when he was a teen in Scotland, has seen an exodus of top execs recently. That has included <a href="http://variety.com/2017/digital/news/adam-ostrow-tegna-mashable-1202522602/" type="external">chief strategy officer Adam Ostrow</a>, who departed last month for TV broadcaster Tegna, and chief revenue officer Ed Wise (now CRO of Romeo Power). Mashable <a href="http://variety.com/2016/digital/news/mashable-layoffs-cfo-chief-editor-depart-1201748219/" type="external">laid off about 30 employees last year</a>&#160;after the Series C funding, including longtime editor-in-chief Jim Roberts and previous CRO Seth Rogin.</p>
<p>In 2016, Mashable recorded a net loss of $10 million as revenue rose 36% to $42 million, according to the Journal report. The company is targeting $50 million in revenue for 2017 and “may break even,” per the WSJ.</p> | 3,959 |
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>Mr Rahm Emmanuel, President Obama's White House chief of staff and a longtime Democratic strategist, was first elected as Chicago's mayor in 2011, mostly thanks to the then-Democratic Presidential backing.</p>
<p />
<p>Ever since becoming Mayor, Mr Emmanuel has regularly issued official proclamations establishing "Women's Equal Pay Day in Chicago" whilst at the same time calling on all employers to adopt a "commitment to advance equal pay for women."</p>
<p />
<p>All very beautiful things to say and do, but according to a newly published report, there is just one public sector branch in Chicago which is not playing by the gender pay equality rules at all: the office of the mayor itself.</p>
<p />
<p>Open the Books, a non-profit that gathers public services salary data show that Mr Emanuel has failed to close the gender pay gap on his own payroll since becoming Mayor, with only 12 of the top 100 salaries for city employees in 2016 being women.</p>
<p />
<p>On a side note, it can always be worse. For example, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has a payroll where only 3 of the top 200 highest-paid city employees are women. Ouch.</p>
<p />
<p>But back to Chicago. Mr Adam Andrzejewski, the managing director of Open the Books, explains: "Mayor Emanuel has serious gender gap issues in budgets he manages yet he supported rallies on Equal Pay Day and sent out mayoral proclamations lamenting, "women continue to suffer the consequences of unequal pay.""</p>
<p />
<p>"Perhaps he should rectify the disparities in his own payroll first."</p>
<p />
<p>"More than 50 years after American women began entering the workforce in droves during the feminist movement of the 1960s, and allegations of gender inequality in the workplace still make the news. Typically, the story stars a politician castigating the private sector.?</p>
<p />
<p>The study found further that gender pay disparities are common at all levels of government.</p>
<p />
<p>Source:</p>
<p><a href="http://freebeacon.com/politics/chicagos-rahm-emanuel-is-latest-gender-pay-gap-hypocrite-says-new-report/" type="external">freebeacon.com/politics/chicagos-rahm-emanuel-is-latest-gender-pay-gap-hypocrite-says-new-report</a></p> | Rahm Emmanuel: Gender Pay Gap Hypocrite | true | http://thegoldwater.com/news/11957-Rahm-Emmanuel-Gender-Pay-Gap-Hypocrite | 2017-11-15 | 0right
| Rahm Emmanuel: Gender Pay Gap Hypocrite
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>Mr Rahm Emmanuel, President Obama's White House chief of staff and a longtime Democratic strategist, was first elected as Chicago's mayor in 2011, mostly thanks to the then-Democratic Presidential backing.</p>
<p />
<p>Ever since becoming Mayor, Mr Emmanuel has regularly issued official proclamations establishing "Women's Equal Pay Day in Chicago" whilst at the same time calling on all employers to adopt a "commitment to advance equal pay for women."</p>
<p />
<p>All very beautiful things to say and do, but according to a newly published report, there is just one public sector branch in Chicago which is not playing by the gender pay equality rules at all: the office of the mayor itself.</p>
<p />
<p>Open the Books, a non-profit that gathers public services salary data show that Mr Emanuel has failed to close the gender pay gap on his own payroll since becoming Mayor, with only 12 of the top 100 salaries for city employees in 2016 being women.</p>
<p />
<p>On a side note, it can always be worse. For example, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has a payroll where only 3 of the top 200 highest-paid city employees are women. Ouch.</p>
<p />
<p>But back to Chicago. Mr Adam Andrzejewski, the managing director of Open the Books, explains: "Mayor Emanuel has serious gender gap issues in budgets he manages yet he supported rallies on Equal Pay Day and sent out mayoral proclamations lamenting, "women continue to suffer the consequences of unequal pay.""</p>
<p />
<p>"Perhaps he should rectify the disparities in his own payroll first."</p>
<p />
<p>"More than 50 years after American women began entering the workforce in droves during the feminist movement of the 1960s, and allegations of gender inequality in the workplace still make the news. Typically, the story stars a politician castigating the private sector.?</p>
<p />
<p>The study found further that gender pay disparities are common at all levels of government.</p>
<p />
<p>Source:</p>
<p><a href="http://freebeacon.com/politics/chicagos-rahm-emanuel-is-latest-gender-pay-gap-hypocrite-says-new-report/" type="external">freebeacon.com/politics/chicagos-rahm-emanuel-is-latest-gender-pay-gap-hypocrite-says-new-report</a></p> | 3,960 |
<p><a href="" type="external" /></p>
<p>While the public controversy currently centers around Weinstein’s sexual abuse of power over young women, the question remains – how young were Weinstein’s victims?</p>
<p />
<p>Former child actor <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/corey-feldman-elijah-wood-hollywood-897403" type="external">Corey Feldman has publicly stated that “I was molested and passed around</a>,” while discussing how in Hollywood adult males in the industry would pass young stars “back and forth to each other.” Feldman revealed that his co-star Corey Haim was raped at 11-years-old.</p>
<p>Actor Elijah Wood confirmed Feldman’s claims in May 2016, describing Hollywood as a den of “vipers” in an interview, and saying “If you can imagine it, it’s probably happened.”</p>
<p>Wood said he was protected from abuse by his mother, who didn’t let him go to Hollywood parties, but he said other young child actors were regularly “preyed upon” by those in power.</p>
<p>Wood also compared <a href="" type="internal">Hollywood</a>’s sexual predators with a known pedophile and English TV personality Jimmy Savile.“You all grew up with Savile,” Wood said. “Jesus, it must have been devastating. Clearly something major was going on in Hollywood. It was all organized.”</p>
<p>X-Men director Bryan Singer is among those publicly accused of sexual abuse of young boys in Hollywood.</p>
<p>Was Weinstein one of the men Elijah Wood says is sexually “preying upon” young children in Hollywood? Is Weinstein one of the men Feldman says would pass young stars around?</p>
<p>The questions must be asked when an apparent industry of pedophilia and sexual abuse has been in the open and yet kept secret for decades. Read more at&#160; <a href="https://100percentfedup.com/whoa-watch-former-teen-hollywood-actor-can-tell-1-problem-hollywood-always-will-pedophilia/" type="external">100%FedUp</a>.</p>
<p />
<p /> | WHOA! Former Teen Hollywood Actor: “I Can Tell You The #1 Problem In Hollywood WAS and IS and ALWAYS Will Be Pedophilia” | true | http://bb4sp.com/former-teen-hollywood-actor-pedophilia/ | 2017-10-12 | 0right
| WHOA! Former Teen Hollywood Actor: “I Can Tell You The #1 Problem In Hollywood WAS and IS and ALWAYS Will Be Pedophilia”
<p><a href="" type="external" /></p>
<p>While the public controversy currently centers around Weinstein’s sexual abuse of power over young women, the question remains – how young were Weinstein’s victims?</p>
<p />
<p>Former child actor <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/corey-feldman-elijah-wood-hollywood-897403" type="external">Corey Feldman has publicly stated that “I was molested and passed around</a>,” while discussing how in Hollywood adult males in the industry would pass young stars “back and forth to each other.” Feldman revealed that his co-star Corey Haim was raped at 11-years-old.</p>
<p>Actor Elijah Wood confirmed Feldman’s claims in May 2016, describing Hollywood as a den of “vipers” in an interview, and saying “If you can imagine it, it’s probably happened.”</p>
<p>Wood said he was protected from abuse by his mother, who didn’t let him go to Hollywood parties, but he said other young child actors were regularly “preyed upon” by those in power.</p>
<p>Wood also compared <a href="" type="internal">Hollywood</a>’s sexual predators with a known pedophile and English TV personality Jimmy Savile.“You all grew up with Savile,” Wood said. “Jesus, it must have been devastating. Clearly something major was going on in Hollywood. It was all organized.”</p>
<p>X-Men director Bryan Singer is among those publicly accused of sexual abuse of young boys in Hollywood.</p>
<p>Was Weinstein one of the men Elijah Wood says is sexually “preying upon” young children in Hollywood? Is Weinstein one of the men Feldman says would pass young stars around?</p>
<p>The questions must be asked when an apparent industry of pedophilia and sexual abuse has been in the open and yet kept secret for decades. Read more at&#160; <a href="https://100percentfedup.com/whoa-watch-former-teen-hollywood-actor-can-tell-1-problem-hollywood-always-will-pedophilia/" type="external">100%FedUp</a>.</p>
<p />
<p /> | 3,961 |
<p>Having accepted that the rebels can’t defeat Moammar Gadhafi themselves, NATO is aggressively expanding its list of targets in Libya. The scope of NATO’s mission had initially been limited to providing aerial support for rebel troops on the ground. However, Gadhafi has regained momentum and control of a significant part of the country.</p>
<p>NATO and its allies will now continually attack major government institutions including palaces, offices and communications centers in an effort to thwart Gadhafi’s command over his soldiers in the field. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said the new strategy is too destructive and violates the mandate given by the U.N. to “ <a href="http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2011/sc10200.doc.htm" type="external">protect civilians</a>.” — KDG</p>
<p>The New York Times:</p>
<p>Officials in Europe and in Washington said that the strikes were meant to reduce the government’s ability to harm civilians by eliminating, link by link, the command, communications and supply chains required for sustaining military operations.</p>
<p />
<p>The broadening of what the alliance views as legitimate targets in recent days comes at a time when the rebels and the government in Libya have been consolidating their positions along more static front lines, raising concerns of a prolonged stalemate. Although it is too soon to assess the results of the shift, a NATO official said on Tuesday that the alliance was watching closely for early signs, like the recent reports of desertions from the Libyan Army.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/27/world/middleeast/27strategy.html?_r=1&amp;hp=&amp;pagewanted=all" type="external">Read more</a></p> | NATO Loses Confidence in Libyan Rebels | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/nato-loses-confidence-in-libyan-rebels/ | 2011-04-26 | 4left
| NATO Loses Confidence in Libyan Rebels
<p>Having accepted that the rebels can’t defeat Moammar Gadhafi themselves, NATO is aggressively expanding its list of targets in Libya. The scope of NATO’s mission had initially been limited to providing aerial support for rebel troops on the ground. However, Gadhafi has regained momentum and control of a significant part of the country.</p>
<p>NATO and its allies will now continually attack major government institutions including palaces, offices and communications centers in an effort to thwart Gadhafi’s command over his soldiers in the field. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said the new strategy is too destructive and violates the mandate given by the U.N. to “ <a href="http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2011/sc10200.doc.htm" type="external">protect civilians</a>.” — KDG</p>
<p>The New York Times:</p>
<p>Officials in Europe and in Washington said that the strikes were meant to reduce the government’s ability to harm civilians by eliminating, link by link, the command, communications and supply chains required for sustaining military operations.</p>
<p />
<p>The broadening of what the alliance views as legitimate targets in recent days comes at a time when the rebels and the government in Libya have been consolidating their positions along more static front lines, raising concerns of a prolonged stalemate. Although it is too soon to assess the results of the shift, a NATO official said on Tuesday that the alliance was watching closely for early signs, like the recent reports of desertions from the Libyan Army.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/27/world/middleeast/27strategy.html?_r=1&amp;hp=&amp;pagewanted=all" type="external">Read more</a></p> | 3,962 |
<p />
<p>One of the most hotly contested issues at Copenhagen is the question of what, if anything, the US and other industrialized countries owe the nations least responsible for the accumulation of planet-warming gases in the atmosphere.</p>
<p>The United States has said that over the next three years it will commit $1.4 billion annually to a $10 billion short-term fund intended to help developing nations cope with the effects of climate change. The European Union volunteered last week to chip in <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/12/science/earth/12climate.html?_r=2&amp;hp" type="external">$3 billion</a>.</p>
<p>But that still leaves the question of how much rich nations will pony up over the long haul. The United Nations estimates that poor countries will need as much as $170 billion per year to adapt to climate change—$50 billion more than developed countries spent on aid in 2008. Other development groups have <a href="http://www.iied.org/climate-change/key-issues/economics-and-equity-adaptation/costs-adapting-climate-change-significantly-under-estimated" type="external">estimated that this task could cost two to three times</a> that much. So far, rich countries have indicated <a href="http://planetark.org/wen/53187" type="external">that they’re only prepared to offer around $100 billion</a>.</p>
<p>Developing nations, many of which are especially vulnerable to climate change, have balked at the prospect that Copenhagen may not produce a sizeable financial commitment from the countries that have contributed most to the warming of the planet. Lumumba Stanislaus Di-Aping, the Sudanese chairman of the <a href="" type="internal">Group of 77</a>, the bloc of least-developed nations, suggested on Thursday that an appropriate fund should total around $200 billion. On Friday his estimate had risen to $400 billion. Dessima Williams of Grenada, who chairs the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), has suggested a figure in the range of 1.5 percent of the GDP of developed nations. “It must be responsive to the damage that’s already done,” said Williams.</p>
<p>Whatever the number, the prevailing sentiment in the developing world is that the United States and other big polluters must pay up. “It was not us who put the waste in the atmosphere, but we are the first to suffer from that,” said Antonio Lima, a delegate from Cape Verde and the vice president of AOSIS. “Those who put the waste in the atmosphere have to clean it.” But negotiators for the most vulnerable nations worry that the matter of climate aid will not be adequately addressed. “We are afraid they are not going to take care of us in this process,” Lima said.</p>
<p>While the US has indicated that it will contribute money to help poor nations deal with climate change, negotiators have categorically rejected the idea of a climate “debt.” “I actually completely reject the notion of a debt or reparations or anything of the like,” said US climate envoy Todd Stern. “I mean, let’s just be mindful of the fact for most of the two hundred years since the industrial revolution, people were blissfully ignorant of the fact that emissions caused a greenhouse effect. This is a relatively recent phenomenon, so I think that’s the wrong way to look at this,” he continued. “We absolutely recognize our historic role in putting emissions in the atmosphere up there that are there now, but the sense of guilt or culpability or reparations, I just categorically reject that.”&#160;</p>
<p>And the dollar figure for climate financing isn’t the only flashpoint. Another sensitive subject is whether any of this money should go to China and other rapidly developing economies. Last week Stern shot down that idea, too. “I don’t envision public funds—certainly not from the United States—going to China,” he said. His remark <a href="" type="internal">prompted some tough talk</a> from Chinese Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei. “I don’t want to say that the gentleman is ignorant,” he said—before adding that Stern “lacks common sense” and is “extremely irresponsible.”</p>
<p>So as the second week of talks begins, the message from developing nations has become overwhelmingly clear: Show us the money.</p>
<p /> | Does the US Owe a Climate Debt? | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2009/12/does-us-owe-climate-debt/ | 2009-12-14 | 4left
| Does the US Owe a Climate Debt?
<p />
<p>One of the most hotly contested issues at Copenhagen is the question of what, if anything, the US and other industrialized countries owe the nations least responsible for the accumulation of planet-warming gases in the atmosphere.</p>
<p>The United States has said that over the next three years it will commit $1.4 billion annually to a $10 billion short-term fund intended to help developing nations cope with the effects of climate change. The European Union volunteered last week to chip in <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/12/science/earth/12climate.html?_r=2&amp;hp" type="external">$3 billion</a>.</p>
<p>But that still leaves the question of how much rich nations will pony up over the long haul. The United Nations estimates that poor countries will need as much as $170 billion per year to adapt to climate change—$50 billion more than developed countries spent on aid in 2008. Other development groups have <a href="http://www.iied.org/climate-change/key-issues/economics-and-equity-adaptation/costs-adapting-climate-change-significantly-under-estimated" type="external">estimated that this task could cost two to three times</a> that much. So far, rich countries have indicated <a href="http://planetark.org/wen/53187" type="external">that they’re only prepared to offer around $100 billion</a>.</p>
<p>Developing nations, many of which are especially vulnerable to climate change, have balked at the prospect that Copenhagen may not produce a sizeable financial commitment from the countries that have contributed most to the warming of the planet. Lumumba Stanislaus Di-Aping, the Sudanese chairman of the <a href="" type="internal">Group of 77</a>, the bloc of least-developed nations, suggested on Thursday that an appropriate fund should total around $200 billion. On Friday his estimate had risen to $400 billion. Dessima Williams of Grenada, who chairs the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), has suggested a figure in the range of 1.5 percent of the GDP of developed nations. “It must be responsive to the damage that’s already done,” said Williams.</p>
<p>Whatever the number, the prevailing sentiment in the developing world is that the United States and other big polluters must pay up. “It was not us who put the waste in the atmosphere, but we are the first to suffer from that,” said Antonio Lima, a delegate from Cape Verde and the vice president of AOSIS. “Those who put the waste in the atmosphere have to clean it.” But negotiators for the most vulnerable nations worry that the matter of climate aid will not be adequately addressed. “We are afraid they are not going to take care of us in this process,” Lima said.</p>
<p>While the US has indicated that it will contribute money to help poor nations deal with climate change, negotiators have categorically rejected the idea of a climate “debt.” “I actually completely reject the notion of a debt or reparations or anything of the like,” said US climate envoy Todd Stern. “I mean, let’s just be mindful of the fact for most of the two hundred years since the industrial revolution, people were blissfully ignorant of the fact that emissions caused a greenhouse effect. This is a relatively recent phenomenon, so I think that’s the wrong way to look at this,” he continued. “We absolutely recognize our historic role in putting emissions in the atmosphere up there that are there now, but the sense of guilt or culpability or reparations, I just categorically reject that.”&#160;</p>
<p>And the dollar figure for climate financing isn’t the only flashpoint. Another sensitive subject is whether any of this money should go to China and other rapidly developing economies. Last week Stern shot down that idea, too. “I don’t envision public funds—certainly not from the United States—going to China,” he said. His remark <a href="" type="internal">prompted some tough talk</a> from Chinese Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei. “I don’t want to say that the gentleman is ignorant,” he said—before adding that Stern “lacks common sense” and is “extremely irresponsible.”</p>
<p>So as the second week of talks begins, the message from developing nations has become overwhelmingly clear: Show us the money.</p>
<p /> | 3,963 |
<p>BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon must cut Iran-backed Hezbollah from the financial sector, a U.S. official on combating illicit finance said on Tuesday, two weeks after Washington began a new push to disrupt the militant group’s global financing routes.</p>
<p>On a two-day visit to Lebanon, the U.S. Treasury’s Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing Marshall Billingslea “urged Lebanon to take every possible measure to ensure (Hezbollah) is not part of the financial sector”.</p>
<p>Billingslea also “stressed the importance of countering Iranian malign activity in Lebanon,” a statement from the United States embassy in Lebanon said.</p>
<p>The Iran-backed, Shi’ite Hezbollah is classified as a terrorist group by Washington, but sits in Lebanon’s delicate national unity government.</p>
<p>U.S. officials say Hezbollah is funded not just by Iran but by global networks of people, businesses and money laundering operations.</p>
<p>The U.S. Hezbollah International Financing Prevention Acts of 2015 and 2017 aimed to sever the group’s funding routes and a number of people linked to Hezbollah are on sanctions lists.</p>
<p>The United States has had to balance its targeting of Hezbollah funding routes with the need to maintain Lebanon’s stability. Lebanese banking and political authorities have lobbied Washington to make sure its anti-Hezbollah measures do not destroy the banking system underpinning the economy.</p>
<p>In his meetings with President Michel Aoun, Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri and other banking and political figures, Billingslea said the U.S. government was committed to work with Lebanon to protect its financial system and support a “strong, stable, and prosperous Lebanon”.</p>
<p>Billingslea also said Washington would help Lebanon protect its financial system from Islamic State and other militants.</p>
<p>Two weeks ago, the Trump administration set up a team to reinvigorate U.S. investigations into Hezbollah-linked drug trafficking.</p>
<p>Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah last week denied any involvement in drug trafficking and said Hezbollah had a very clear religious and moral stance which forbids drugs and drug trading.</p>
<p>Reporting by Lisa Barrington; editing by Grant McCool</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Navy destroyer carried out a “freedom of navigation” operation on Friday, coming within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island built by China in the South China Sea, U.S. officials told Reuters, a move likely to anger Beijing.</p> FILE PHOTO: The warship USS Mustin sails near the port in Sihanoukville, 223 km (139 miles) west of Phnom Penh, October 11, 2008. REUTERS/Stringer
<p>Friday’s operation was the latest attempt to counter what Washington sees as Beijing’s efforts to limit freedom of navigation in the strategic waters.</p>
<p>The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the USS Mustin traveled close to Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands and carried out maneuvering operations. China has territorial disputes with its neighbors over the area.</p>
<p>Neither China’s Foreign nor Defence Ministries immediately responded to a request for comment.</p>
<p>In the past, Beijing has reacted angrily to such moves, saying they are provocative.</p>
<p>The U.S. military has a longstanding position that its operations are carried out throughout the world, including in areas claimed by allies, and they are separate from political considerations.</p>
<p>However, the latest operation, the first since January, comes just a day after U.S. President Donald Trump lit a slow-burning fuse when he signed a presidential memorandum that will target up to $60 billion in Chinese goods with tariffs, but only after a 30-day consultation period that starts once a list is published.</p>
<p>The United States has criticized China’s construction of islands and build-up of military facilities in the sea, and is concerned they could be used to restrict free nautical movement.</p>
<p>China’s claims in the South China Sea, through which about $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes each year, are contested by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam. The U.S. military put countering China and Russia at the center of a new national defense strategy recently unveiled.</p>
<p>China’s navy will carry out combat drills in the South China Sea, the military’s official newspaper said on Friday, describing the move as part of regular annual exercises.</p>
<p>Taiwan’s defense ministry said this week it had shadowed a Chinese aircraft carrier group traversing the Taiwan Strait in a southwesterly direction - meaning into the disputed South China Sea - in what Taiwan judged to be a drill.</p>
<p>The United States has been pushing allies to carry out freedom of navigation operations as well.</p>
<p>Earlier this year, Britain said one of its warships would pass through the South China Sea to assert freedom-of-navigation rights.</p>
<p>Reporting by Idrees Ali; Additional reporting to Ben Blanchard in Beijing; Editing by Larry King and Alison Williams</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>HANOI (Reuters) - Vietnam’s state oil firm, PetroVietnam, has ordered Spanish energy firm Repsol to suspend its “Red Emperor” project off the country’s southeastern coast following pressure from China, the BBC said on Friday.</p> FILE PHOTO: A Repsol logo at a petrol station in Bormujos near the Andalusian capital of Seville, southern Spain March 3, 2016. REUTERS/Marcelo del Pozo/File Photo
<p>It would be the second time in less than a year that Vietnam has had to cancel a major oil development in the busy South China Sea waterway under pressure from China.</p>
<p>The move comes as Repsol was making final preparations for commercial drilling.</p>
<p>A rig, the Ensco 8504, was scheduled to depart from Singapore for the drill site on Thursday, the report said, citing an unnamed energy industry source.</p>
<p>The cancellation could cost Repsol and its partners $200 million in sunk investment, according to the BBC.</p>
<p>Repsol and PetroVietnam executives could not immediately be reached for comment. The Vietnamese foreign ministry did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.</p>
<p>Asked at a regular briefing if China had pressed either Vietnam or Repsol, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said she did not know where such news had come from, but did not elaborate.</p>
<p>“We hope the relevant sides can work together to maintain the hard-earned positive situation in the South China Sea,” she said.</p>
<p>Red Emperor, known in Vietnamese as the Ca Rong Do field, is part of Block 07/03 in the Nam Con Son basin, 440 km (273 miles) off the coast of Vietnam’s southern city of Vung Tau.</p>
<p>The block lies near the U-shaped “nine-dash line” that marks the vast area that China claims in the sea and overlaps what it says are its own oil concessions.</p>
<p>The field can produce 25,000-30,000 barrels of oil and 60 million cubic meters of gas a day, Vietnamese news provider Cafef.vn reported last month.</p>
<p>Repsol spent around 33 million euros ($41 million) on exploration in Vietnam last year, according to the company’s 2017 profit and loss statement.</p>
<p>The Red Emperor site is considered by Repsol’s top management as one of the company’s future growth projects.</p>
<p>Repsol, which has a 51.75 percent stake in the project signed a 384 million euro rental contract for a rig to start work on a Vietnamese site in 2019, according to the statement.</p>
<p>Reporting by Khanh Vu in HANOI; Additional reporting by Jose Elias Rodriguez in MADRID and Christian Shepherd in Beijing; Editing by James Pearson and Clarence Fernandez</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May said on Friday Britain and the European Union had made significant progress in Brexit talks and that she was looking forward to talks on their future economic partnership.</p> Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May leaves a European Union leaders summit in Brussels, Belgium, March 23, 2018. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir
<p>At a summit in Brussels, May also welcomed a move by the United States to exempt the EU from steel tariffs and said she would work with the other 27 leaders to make the exemptions permanent.</p>
<p>“We’ve made good progress on withdrawal agreement but also I’m looking for a new dynamic in the next stage of the negotiations so that we can ensure that we do develop, that we work together to develop, a strong future economic and security partnership which I believe is in the interest of the UK and the European Union,” she told reporters.</p>
<p>Reporting by Jan Strupczewski, writing by Elizabeth Piper</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro ordered a re-denomination of the ailing bolivar currency on Thursday, by knocking three zeroes off amid hyperinflation and a crippling economic crisis.</p> Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro speaks during a meeting with the ministers responsible for the economic sector at Miraflores Palace in Caracas, Venezuela March 22, 2018. REUTERS/Marco Bello
<p>The measure to divide the so-called bolivar fuerte - or “strong bolivar” - currency by 1,000 would take effect from June 4, the socialist leader said. It would not have any impact on the bolivar’s value.</p>
<p>The move illustrates the collapse of the bolivar, which has fallen 99.99 percent against the U.S. dollar on the black market since Maduro came to power in April 2013. A $100 purchase of bolivars then would now be worth just a single U.S. cent.</p>
<p>But Maduro, 55, presented the move as a positive development intended to protect Venezuela against currency speculators and a U.S.-led “economic war” against the OPEC member.</p>
<p>Critics said the currency measure was no panacea for Venezuela’s economic mess and just a psychological ploy to make Venezuelans forget the extent of the hyperinflation.</p>
<p>While the move sounds like a currency revaluation, economists consider it a currency re-denomination as the country is not changing the value of its official exchange rate.</p>
<p>Venezuelans will not need to turn in the currency now in their wallets but all new currency printed or minted will be in the new denominations.</p> Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro holds a sample of the new hundred bolivars note during a meeting with the ministers responsible for the economic sector at Miraflores Palace in Caracas, Venezuela March 22, 2018. Miraflores Palace/Handout via REUTERS
<p>Millions of Venezuelans are suffering from shortages of food and medicines during a fifth year of recession that critics blame on government incompetence and corruption, but Maduro says is due to Western hostility against him plus the fall of oil prices.</p>
<p>“Venezuela has been victim of a brutal, economic war,” said Maduro, whose government has been targeted by the United States, European Union and Canada for sanctions over allegations of abusing democracy and rights.</p>
<p>Maduro made the announcement during an event shown live on TV, flanked by aides and bankers, to discuss Venezuela’s new petro cryptocurrency.</p> Slideshow (4 Images)
<p>Venezuela’s government similarly re-denominated its currency by knocking off three zeroes a decade ago.</p>
<p>Prices in Venezuela rose 6,147 percent in the 12 months through February, according to estimates by the country’s opposition-led National Assembly, broadly in line with independent economists’ figures.</p>
<p>Maduro is running for re-election on May 20 in a vote critics say is rigged to extend the socialists’ rule.</p>
<p>The opposition coalition is boycotting the vote, though one leader Henri Falcon has broken ranks to run against Maduro. He is promising to dollarize Venezuela’s economy as a way to beat hyperinflation and regain investor confidence.</p>
<p>“Amid the biggest economic collapse in the history of Latin America, the government of Nicolas Maduro attempts to hide hyperinflation by knocking zeros off the currency,” said Francisco Rodriguez, a Venezuelan economist and Wall Street analyst working as Falcon’s chief economic adviser.</p>
<p>Reporting by Vivian Sequera and Corina Pons; Writing by Andrew Cawthorne and Girish Gupta; Editing by G Crosse, Toni Reinhold and Lisa Shumaker</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a> | U.S. stresses Lebanon must cut Hezbollah from financial system Exclusive: U.S. warship sails near disputed islands in South China Sea, officials say Vietnam scraps South China Sea oil drilling project under pressure from Beijing: BBC Britain, EU make significant progress in Brexit talks: May Venezuela knocks three zeros off ailing currency amid hyperinflation | false | https://reuters.com/article/us-lebanon-economy-hezbollah/us-stresses-lebanon-must-cut-hezbollah-from-financial-system-idUSKBN1FC35Y | 2018-01-23 | 2least
| U.S. stresses Lebanon must cut Hezbollah from financial system Exclusive: U.S. warship sails near disputed islands in South China Sea, officials say Vietnam scraps South China Sea oil drilling project under pressure from Beijing: BBC Britain, EU make significant progress in Brexit talks: May Venezuela knocks three zeros off ailing currency amid hyperinflation
<p>BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon must cut Iran-backed Hezbollah from the financial sector, a U.S. official on combating illicit finance said on Tuesday, two weeks after Washington began a new push to disrupt the militant group’s global financing routes.</p>
<p>On a two-day visit to Lebanon, the U.S. Treasury’s Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing Marshall Billingslea “urged Lebanon to take every possible measure to ensure (Hezbollah) is not part of the financial sector”.</p>
<p>Billingslea also “stressed the importance of countering Iranian malign activity in Lebanon,” a statement from the United States embassy in Lebanon said.</p>
<p>The Iran-backed, Shi’ite Hezbollah is classified as a terrorist group by Washington, but sits in Lebanon’s delicate national unity government.</p>
<p>U.S. officials say Hezbollah is funded not just by Iran but by global networks of people, businesses and money laundering operations.</p>
<p>The U.S. Hezbollah International Financing Prevention Acts of 2015 and 2017 aimed to sever the group’s funding routes and a number of people linked to Hezbollah are on sanctions lists.</p>
<p>The United States has had to balance its targeting of Hezbollah funding routes with the need to maintain Lebanon’s stability. Lebanese banking and political authorities have lobbied Washington to make sure its anti-Hezbollah measures do not destroy the banking system underpinning the economy.</p>
<p>In his meetings with President Michel Aoun, Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri and other banking and political figures, Billingslea said the U.S. government was committed to work with Lebanon to protect its financial system and support a “strong, stable, and prosperous Lebanon”.</p>
<p>Billingslea also said Washington would help Lebanon protect its financial system from Islamic State and other militants.</p>
<p>Two weeks ago, the Trump administration set up a team to reinvigorate U.S. investigations into Hezbollah-linked drug trafficking.</p>
<p>Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah last week denied any involvement in drug trafficking and said Hezbollah had a very clear religious and moral stance which forbids drugs and drug trading.</p>
<p>Reporting by Lisa Barrington; editing by Grant McCool</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Navy destroyer carried out a “freedom of navigation” operation on Friday, coming within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island built by China in the South China Sea, U.S. officials told Reuters, a move likely to anger Beijing.</p> FILE PHOTO: The warship USS Mustin sails near the port in Sihanoukville, 223 km (139 miles) west of Phnom Penh, October 11, 2008. REUTERS/Stringer
<p>Friday’s operation was the latest attempt to counter what Washington sees as Beijing’s efforts to limit freedom of navigation in the strategic waters.</p>
<p>The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the USS Mustin traveled close to Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands and carried out maneuvering operations. China has territorial disputes with its neighbors over the area.</p>
<p>Neither China’s Foreign nor Defence Ministries immediately responded to a request for comment.</p>
<p>In the past, Beijing has reacted angrily to such moves, saying they are provocative.</p>
<p>The U.S. military has a longstanding position that its operations are carried out throughout the world, including in areas claimed by allies, and they are separate from political considerations.</p>
<p>However, the latest operation, the first since January, comes just a day after U.S. President Donald Trump lit a slow-burning fuse when he signed a presidential memorandum that will target up to $60 billion in Chinese goods with tariffs, but only after a 30-day consultation period that starts once a list is published.</p>
<p>The United States has criticized China’s construction of islands and build-up of military facilities in the sea, and is concerned they could be used to restrict free nautical movement.</p>
<p>China’s claims in the South China Sea, through which about $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes each year, are contested by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam. The U.S. military put countering China and Russia at the center of a new national defense strategy recently unveiled.</p>
<p>China’s navy will carry out combat drills in the South China Sea, the military’s official newspaper said on Friday, describing the move as part of regular annual exercises.</p>
<p>Taiwan’s defense ministry said this week it had shadowed a Chinese aircraft carrier group traversing the Taiwan Strait in a southwesterly direction - meaning into the disputed South China Sea - in what Taiwan judged to be a drill.</p>
<p>The United States has been pushing allies to carry out freedom of navigation operations as well.</p>
<p>Earlier this year, Britain said one of its warships would pass through the South China Sea to assert freedom-of-navigation rights.</p>
<p>Reporting by Idrees Ali; Additional reporting to Ben Blanchard in Beijing; Editing by Larry King and Alison Williams</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>HANOI (Reuters) - Vietnam’s state oil firm, PetroVietnam, has ordered Spanish energy firm Repsol to suspend its “Red Emperor” project off the country’s southeastern coast following pressure from China, the BBC said on Friday.</p> FILE PHOTO: A Repsol logo at a petrol station in Bormujos near the Andalusian capital of Seville, southern Spain March 3, 2016. REUTERS/Marcelo del Pozo/File Photo
<p>It would be the second time in less than a year that Vietnam has had to cancel a major oil development in the busy South China Sea waterway under pressure from China.</p>
<p>The move comes as Repsol was making final preparations for commercial drilling.</p>
<p>A rig, the Ensco 8504, was scheduled to depart from Singapore for the drill site on Thursday, the report said, citing an unnamed energy industry source.</p>
<p>The cancellation could cost Repsol and its partners $200 million in sunk investment, according to the BBC.</p>
<p>Repsol and PetroVietnam executives could not immediately be reached for comment. The Vietnamese foreign ministry did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.</p>
<p>Asked at a regular briefing if China had pressed either Vietnam or Repsol, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said she did not know where such news had come from, but did not elaborate.</p>
<p>“We hope the relevant sides can work together to maintain the hard-earned positive situation in the South China Sea,” she said.</p>
<p>Red Emperor, known in Vietnamese as the Ca Rong Do field, is part of Block 07/03 in the Nam Con Son basin, 440 km (273 miles) off the coast of Vietnam’s southern city of Vung Tau.</p>
<p>The block lies near the U-shaped “nine-dash line” that marks the vast area that China claims in the sea and overlaps what it says are its own oil concessions.</p>
<p>The field can produce 25,000-30,000 barrels of oil and 60 million cubic meters of gas a day, Vietnamese news provider Cafef.vn reported last month.</p>
<p>Repsol spent around 33 million euros ($41 million) on exploration in Vietnam last year, according to the company’s 2017 profit and loss statement.</p>
<p>The Red Emperor site is considered by Repsol’s top management as one of the company’s future growth projects.</p>
<p>Repsol, which has a 51.75 percent stake in the project signed a 384 million euro rental contract for a rig to start work on a Vietnamese site in 2019, according to the statement.</p>
<p>Reporting by Khanh Vu in HANOI; Additional reporting by Jose Elias Rodriguez in MADRID and Christian Shepherd in Beijing; Editing by James Pearson and Clarence Fernandez</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May said on Friday Britain and the European Union had made significant progress in Brexit talks and that she was looking forward to talks on their future economic partnership.</p> Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May leaves a European Union leaders summit in Brussels, Belgium, March 23, 2018. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir
<p>At a summit in Brussels, May also welcomed a move by the United States to exempt the EU from steel tariffs and said she would work with the other 27 leaders to make the exemptions permanent.</p>
<p>“We’ve made good progress on withdrawal agreement but also I’m looking for a new dynamic in the next stage of the negotiations so that we can ensure that we do develop, that we work together to develop, a strong future economic and security partnership which I believe is in the interest of the UK and the European Union,” she told reporters.</p>
<p>Reporting by Jan Strupczewski, writing by Elizabeth Piper</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro ordered a re-denomination of the ailing bolivar currency on Thursday, by knocking three zeroes off amid hyperinflation and a crippling economic crisis.</p> Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro speaks during a meeting with the ministers responsible for the economic sector at Miraflores Palace in Caracas, Venezuela March 22, 2018. REUTERS/Marco Bello
<p>The measure to divide the so-called bolivar fuerte - or “strong bolivar” - currency by 1,000 would take effect from June 4, the socialist leader said. It would not have any impact on the bolivar’s value.</p>
<p>The move illustrates the collapse of the bolivar, which has fallen 99.99 percent against the U.S. dollar on the black market since Maduro came to power in April 2013. A $100 purchase of bolivars then would now be worth just a single U.S. cent.</p>
<p>But Maduro, 55, presented the move as a positive development intended to protect Venezuela against currency speculators and a U.S.-led “economic war” against the OPEC member.</p>
<p>Critics said the currency measure was no panacea for Venezuela’s economic mess and just a psychological ploy to make Venezuelans forget the extent of the hyperinflation.</p>
<p>While the move sounds like a currency revaluation, economists consider it a currency re-denomination as the country is not changing the value of its official exchange rate.</p>
<p>Venezuelans will not need to turn in the currency now in their wallets but all new currency printed or minted will be in the new denominations.</p> Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro holds a sample of the new hundred bolivars note during a meeting with the ministers responsible for the economic sector at Miraflores Palace in Caracas, Venezuela March 22, 2018. Miraflores Palace/Handout via REUTERS
<p>Millions of Venezuelans are suffering from shortages of food and medicines during a fifth year of recession that critics blame on government incompetence and corruption, but Maduro says is due to Western hostility against him plus the fall of oil prices.</p>
<p>“Venezuela has been victim of a brutal, economic war,” said Maduro, whose government has been targeted by the United States, European Union and Canada for sanctions over allegations of abusing democracy and rights.</p>
<p>Maduro made the announcement during an event shown live on TV, flanked by aides and bankers, to discuss Venezuela’s new petro cryptocurrency.</p> Slideshow (4 Images)
<p>Venezuela’s government similarly re-denominated its currency by knocking off three zeroes a decade ago.</p>
<p>Prices in Venezuela rose 6,147 percent in the 12 months through February, according to estimates by the country’s opposition-led National Assembly, broadly in line with independent economists’ figures.</p>
<p>Maduro is running for re-election on May 20 in a vote critics say is rigged to extend the socialists’ rule.</p>
<p>The opposition coalition is boycotting the vote, though one leader Henri Falcon has broken ranks to run against Maduro. He is promising to dollarize Venezuela’s economy as a way to beat hyperinflation and regain investor confidence.</p>
<p>“Amid the biggest economic collapse in the history of Latin America, the government of Nicolas Maduro attempts to hide hyperinflation by knocking zeros off the currency,” said Francisco Rodriguez, a Venezuelan economist and Wall Street analyst working as Falcon’s chief economic adviser.</p>
<p>Reporting by Vivian Sequera and Corina Pons; Writing by Andrew Cawthorne and Girish Gupta; Editing by G Crosse, Toni Reinhold and Lisa Shumaker</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a> | 3,964 |
<p />
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<p>Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) shares were up more than 1.5% in the pre-market after Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) upgraded the company from equal weight to overweight. It also upped the price target to $66 a share from $57. Part of the reason for the upgrade was confidence in the tech titans ability to hold onto mid-teens total return profile thanks to strong public cloud positioning , data center share gains, and durable office franchise.</p>
<p>General Motors (NYSE:GM) boosted its 2016 profit outlook to between an adjusted $5.25 and $5.75 a share, up from its October guidance of $5 to $5.50 a share. The company also said it was increasing its share buyback by $4 billion to $9 billion through 2017, and bumping up its quarterly dividend of 6% to 38 cents a share beginning in the first quarter. The revised outlook was a result of strong product launches, more emphasis on core efficiencies, and expectations for modest growth across the global auto industry.</p>
<p>After the bell Tuesday, CSX said it was hit with a one-two punch as quarterly revenue dropped 13% due to coal volumes that plunged 32% during the fourth quarter, and less money from fuel surcharges thanks to lower prices. The railroad company’s chief executive said in a statement 2016 full-year earnings are expected to be down compared to 2015, but he didn’t elaborate on a more detailed outlook.</p>
<p>The parent company of fast-food favorites KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell said same-store sales in China jumped 1% year over year, as KFC sales grew 5%, while Pizza Hut slumped 11%. In the fourth quarter, the company’s China division sales rose 2%. Yum! Brands will release fourth-quarter earnings on February 3 after the market close.</p>
<p>Global crude prices jumped on Wednesday after hitting fresh 12-year lows in the prior session, trading below the psychologically significant $30 a barrel level for the first time since 2003. Prices spiked more than 2% for both West Texas Intermediate crude and Brent, the international benchmark. However, traders will closely eye the latest U.S. weekly inventory data at 10:30 a.m.ET.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p> | What to Watch in the Markets | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/01/27/what-to-watch-in-markets.html | 2016-03-04 | 0right
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<p>Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) shares were up more than 1.5% in the pre-market after Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) upgraded the company from equal weight to overweight. It also upped the price target to $66 a share from $57. Part of the reason for the upgrade was confidence in the tech titans ability to hold onto mid-teens total return profile thanks to strong public cloud positioning , data center share gains, and durable office franchise.</p>
<p>General Motors (NYSE:GM) boosted its 2016 profit outlook to between an adjusted $5.25 and $5.75 a share, up from its October guidance of $5 to $5.50 a share. The company also said it was increasing its share buyback by $4 billion to $9 billion through 2017, and bumping up its quarterly dividend of 6% to 38 cents a share beginning in the first quarter. The revised outlook was a result of strong product launches, more emphasis on core efficiencies, and expectations for modest growth across the global auto industry.</p>
<p>After the bell Tuesday, CSX said it was hit with a one-two punch as quarterly revenue dropped 13% due to coal volumes that plunged 32% during the fourth quarter, and less money from fuel surcharges thanks to lower prices. The railroad company’s chief executive said in a statement 2016 full-year earnings are expected to be down compared to 2015, but he didn’t elaborate on a more detailed outlook.</p>
<p>The parent company of fast-food favorites KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell said same-store sales in China jumped 1% year over year, as KFC sales grew 5%, while Pizza Hut slumped 11%. In the fourth quarter, the company’s China division sales rose 2%. Yum! Brands will release fourth-quarter earnings on February 3 after the market close.</p>
<p>Global crude prices jumped on Wednesday after hitting fresh 12-year lows in the prior session, trading below the psychologically significant $30 a barrel level for the first time since 2003. Prices spiked more than 2% for both West Texas Intermediate crude and Brent, the international benchmark. However, traders will closely eye the latest U.S. weekly inventory data at 10:30 a.m.ET.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p> | 3,965 |
<p>Would you believe me if I told you that in one of my late-night channeling sessions, I made contact with your future self and brought back some really helpful career advice?</p>
<p>That serene, battle-tested version of you simply brims with useful tidbits to enhance your success. And I must add: The person I met is quite the storyteller.</p>
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<p>OK, so I didn't actually fire up my crystal ball -- it's on hiatus, tucked away deep in my bedroom closet.&#160;But at the request of my editor, I did envision that conversation. Curious to know what you saw at the end of the earnings rainbow? Here are my notes from the dialogue, edited for length and clarity.</p>
<p>One of the most emphatic points you made to me: Seek out and embrace guidance from people you admire. Mentors can be invaluable in reducing your learning curve. An engaged mentor will be vested in your success and help you avoid repeating his or her own biggest career mistakes.</p>
<p>Mentors don't necessarily have to be found within your current organization -- sometimes you have to muster up the courage to contact an external expert whom you'd like to get advice from. Who has knowledge and experience which truly inspires you? Take a deep breath and reach out.</p>
<p>As you move through various positions, try to stay in contact with those you've chosen as advisors on your career journey. Long-term mentors are a source of connections, knowledge, and, most of all, support and encouragement.</p>
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<p>In fact, at a crossroads in your career -- which, I must warn you, your future self relayed may come sooner rather than later -- reaching out to your mentors will solidify your sense that, after much deliberation, you're taking the right plunge.</p>
<p>As many personal-finance gurus will attest, it's sensible to allocate part of each paycheck to savings. Everyone needs some emergency funds. But over time, the rates you obtain on savings aren't likely to match the rate of inflation.</p>
<p>To illustrate: According to&#160;Bankrate.com, the national average interest rate on bank savings accounts at the time of this writing is a paltry 0.09%. I wish that was a typo, but you read it correctly -- less than one-tenth of 1%.</p>
<p>Now, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index (CPI), consumer inflation rose 1.6% in the 12 months ending in June. So in the current interest-rate environment, saving is tantamount to capital erosion.</p>
<p>It's better to "salt away" money -- i.e., invest it on a regular basis. The idiom "salt away" comes from the practice, since ancient times, of salting meats and other perishables to preserve them.</p>
<p>This metaphor for investing addresses the deficiencies of saving. To get over that inflation hump, preserve and increase your funds, you've got to invest, and not with an occasional, lump-sum effort, but at a regular cadence. Salt away: Get it?</p>
<p>A common strategy is to allocate 15% to 20% of each paycheck primarily to investments, with 2 to 3 percentage points directed to rainy-day savings. What's left are your "means" within which you can live, and you can budget monthly expenses from this remainder. Your future self wanted me to get on your case about this vital action -- don't procrastinate.</p>
<p>Over the decades of an earning career, what you'll end up preserving are your dreams for retirement and a safety net for your post-working life. Need to bone up on investing? Start here with this <a href="https://www.fool.com/how-to-invest/index.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=098638b2-59ca-11e7-9bf0-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">very Foolish resource Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>There's nothing wrong in plotting out an ambitious career course, but never run so fast that you neglect to pay your dues.</p>
<p>It's hard to see this at the start of the race, but you'll probably see over time that some of the most successful people advance their careers by simply focusing fiercely on what's at hand.</p>
<p>So put in time to learn your job well, from the most basic, boring, routine tasks on up. Staying long enough in a position to make a meaningful contribution can teach you much about the true nature of work.</p>
<p>Certainly, there will be occasions in which a fortuitous event chain opens up a world of advancement -- seize those unanticipated job opportunities. But true masters of any discipline are never afraid to pay their dues, so be fearless in this regard.</p>
<p>Balance is all-important -- but you knew your future self was going to mention this, correct? Cleave tight to family and friends, as they provide a counterweight when stress and dead-ends leave you grounded on one side of the see-saw. These key relationships are in many ways more important than your career -- a lesson, it seems, that too many of us learn after the fact.</p>
<p>Minimize time with toxic co-workers, and avoid the trap of becoming vindictive yourself. Rather, gravitate toward people who have a positive effect on you and others.</p>
<p>As for health, remember to exercise and eat well, and don't skimp on sleep -- it's&#160;your time for cognitive repair. A 2013 study funded by the National Institutes of Health found that during sleep, cerebrospinal fluid flows through the brain through a system of channels, clearing out toxic molecules. Your mind literally cleanses and replenishes itself during an extended period of shut-eye.</p>
<p>At times you may have to pull long hours to finish a project, but don't let that become the norm. Ridiculous hours may be a badge of achievement in some workplaces, but you should strive to work in an environment in which results are valued over Herculean stretches of wakefulness.</p>
<p>This is going to come as a shock, but apparently, at the age of 67, you relayed to me that you went back to school.</p>
<p>It's never too late to fulfill your curiosity, and in fact, the post-career years are an ideal time for learning. In our conversation, your future self was adamant that your numerous luminary achievements, and even the money you made, weren't the highlights of your working days.</p>
<p>Instead, you flourished by making it a priority to spend your career learning. You treated time as a limited resource and never thought to look back. After retirement, you decided to go in for a degree you had long considered outside your expertise. I'd reveal it to you, but that would take the surprise away. Here's the final sentence from my notes, a tip to yourself from which I quote directly: "Hey, kid! Always be in learning mode."</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than&#160;Wal-MartWhen investing geniuses David and Tom&#160;Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they&#160;have run for over a decade, the Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*</p>
<p>David and Tom&#160;just revealed what they believe are the&#160; <a href="https://www.fool.com/mms/mark/e-sa-bbn-eg?aid=8867&amp;source=isaeditxt0000476&amp;ftm_cam=sa-bbn-evergreen&amp;ftm_pit=6627&amp;ftm_veh=article_pitch&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=098638b2-59ca-11e7-9bf0-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">ten best stocks Opens a New Window.</a>&#160;for investors to buy right now... and Wal-Mart wasn't one of them! That's right -- they&#160;think these 10 stocks are even better buys.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.fool.com/mms/mark/e-sa-bbn-eg?aid=8867&amp;source=isaeditxt0000476&amp;ftm_cam=sa-bbn-evergreen&amp;ftm_pit=6627&amp;ftm_veh=article_pitch&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=098638b2-59ca-11e7-9bf0-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</a>&#160;to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*Stock&#160;Advisor returns as of July 6, 2017The author(s) may have a position in any stocks mentioned.</p>
<p>The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=098638b2-59ca-11e7-9bf0-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | Career Advice From Your Future Self | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/08/03/career-advice-from-your-future-self.html | 2017-08-03 | 0right
| Career Advice From Your Future Self
<p>Would you believe me if I told you that in one of my late-night channeling sessions, I made contact with your future self and brought back some really helpful career advice?</p>
<p>That serene, battle-tested version of you simply brims with useful tidbits to enhance your success. And I must add: The person I met is quite the storyteller.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>OK, so I didn't actually fire up my crystal ball -- it's on hiatus, tucked away deep in my bedroom closet.&#160;But at the request of my editor, I did envision that conversation. Curious to know what you saw at the end of the earnings rainbow? Here are my notes from the dialogue, edited for length and clarity.</p>
<p>One of the most emphatic points you made to me: Seek out and embrace guidance from people you admire. Mentors can be invaluable in reducing your learning curve. An engaged mentor will be vested in your success and help you avoid repeating his or her own biggest career mistakes.</p>
<p>Mentors don't necessarily have to be found within your current organization -- sometimes you have to muster up the courage to contact an external expert whom you'd like to get advice from. Who has knowledge and experience which truly inspires you? Take a deep breath and reach out.</p>
<p>As you move through various positions, try to stay in contact with those you've chosen as advisors on your career journey. Long-term mentors are a source of connections, knowledge, and, most of all, support and encouragement.</p>
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<p>In fact, at a crossroads in your career -- which, I must warn you, your future self relayed may come sooner rather than later -- reaching out to your mentors will solidify your sense that, after much deliberation, you're taking the right plunge.</p>
<p>As many personal-finance gurus will attest, it's sensible to allocate part of each paycheck to savings. Everyone needs some emergency funds. But over time, the rates you obtain on savings aren't likely to match the rate of inflation.</p>
<p>To illustrate: According to&#160;Bankrate.com, the national average interest rate on bank savings accounts at the time of this writing is a paltry 0.09%. I wish that was a typo, but you read it correctly -- less than one-tenth of 1%.</p>
<p>Now, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index (CPI), consumer inflation rose 1.6% in the 12 months ending in June. So in the current interest-rate environment, saving is tantamount to capital erosion.</p>
<p>It's better to "salt away" money -- i.e., invest it on a regular basis. The idiom "salt away" comes from the practice, since ancient times, of salting meats and other perishables to preserve them.</p>
<p>This metaphor for investing addresses the deficiencies of saving. To get over that inflation hump, preserve and increase your funds, you've got to invest, and not with an occasional, lump-sum effort, but at a regular cadence. Salt away: Get it?</p>
<p>A common strategy is to allocate 15% to 20% of each paycheck primarily to investments, with 2 to 3 percentage points directed to rainy-day savings. What's left are your "means" within which you can live, and you can budget monthly expenses from this remainder. Your future self wanted me to get on your case about this vital action -- don't procrastinate.</p>
<p>Over the decades of an earning career, what you'll end up preserving are your dreams for retirement and a safety net for your post-working life. Need to bone up on investing? Start here with this <a href="https://www.fool.com/how-to-invest/index.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=098638b2-59ca-11e7-9bf0-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">very Foolish resource Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>There's nothing wrong in plotting out an ambitious career course, but never run so fast that you neglect to pay your dues.</p>
<p>It's hard to see this at the start of the race, but you'll probably see over time that some of the most successful people advance their careers by simply focusing fiercely on what's at hand.</p>
<p>So put in time to learn your job well, from the most basic, boring, routine tasks on up. Staying long enough in a position to make a meaningful contribution can teach you much about the true nature of work.</p>
<p>Certainly, there will be occasions in which a fortuitous event chain opens up a world of advancement -- seize those unanticipated job opportunities. But true masters of any discipline are never afraid to pay their dues, so be fearless in this regard.</p>
<p>Balance is all-important -- but you knew your future self was going to mention this, correct? Cleave tight to family and friends, as they provide a counterweight when stress and dead-ends leave you grounded on one side of the see-saw. These key relationships are in many ways more important than your career -- a lesson, it seems, that too many of us learn after the fact.</p>
<p>Minimize time with toxic co-workers, and avoid the trap of becoming vindictive yourself. Rather, gravitate toward people who have a positive effect on you and others.</p>
<p>As for health, remember to exercise and eat well, and don't skimp on sleep -- it's&#160;your time for cognitive repair. A 2013 study funded by the National Institutes of Health found that during sleep, cerebrospinal fluid flows through the brain through a system of channels, clearing out toxic molecules. Your mind literally cleanses and replenishes itself during an extended period of shut-eye.</p>
<p>At times you may have to pull long hours to finish a project, but don't let that become the norm. Ridiculous hours may be a badge of achievement in some workplaces, but you should strive to work in an environment in which results are valued over Herculean stretches of wakefulness.</p>
<p>This is going to come as a shock, but apparently, at the age of 67, you relayed to me that you went back to school.</p>
<p>It's never too late to fulfill your curiosity, and in fact, the post-career years are an ideal time for learning. In our conversation, your future self was adamant that your numerous luminary achievements, and even the money you made, weren't the highlights of your working days.</p>
<p>Instead, you flourished by making it a priority to spend your career learning. You treated time as a limited resource and never thought to look back. After retirement, you decided to go in for a degree you had long considered outside your expertise. I'd reveal it to you, but that would take the surprise away. Here's the final sentence from my notes, a tip to yourself from which I quote directly: "Hey, kid! Always be in learning mode."</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than&#160;Wal-MartWhen investing geniuses David and Tom&#160;Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they&#160;have run for over a decade, the Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*</p>
<p>David and Tom&#160;just revealed what they believe are the&#160; <a href="https://www.fool.com/mms/mark/e-sa-bbn-eg?aid=8867&amp;source=isaeditxt0000476&amp;ftm_cam=sa-bbn-evergreen&amp;ftm_pit=6627&amp;ftm_veh=article_pitch&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=098638b2-59ca-11e7-9bf0-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">ten best stocks Opens a New Window.</a>&#160;for investors to buy right now... and Wal-Mart wasn't one of them! That's right -- they&#160;think these 10 stocks are even better buys.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.fool.com/mms/mark/e-sa-bbn-eg?aid=8867&amp;source=isaeditxt0000476&amp;ftm_cam=sa-bbn-evergreen&amp;ftm_pit=6627&amp;ftm_veh=article_pitch&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=098638b2-59ca-11e7-9bf0-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</a>&#160;to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*Stock&#160;Advisor returns as of July 6, 2017The author(s) may have a position in any stocks mentioned.</p>
<p>The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=098638b2-59ca-11e7-9bf0-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | 3,966 |
<p />
<p>Investors in retirement typically gravitate toward solid and reliable investments, meaning companies that can deliver consistent returns for shareholders through good and bad economic environments. If you are looking to add those kinds of companies to your portfolio, names such as PepsiCo , Colgate-Palmolive , and Wal-Mart are remarkably attractive dividend stocks for retirees to consider.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>PepsiCoPepsiCo is a market leader in the global snack and soft drink industries: The company owns an enormously valuable portfolio featuring 22 different brands that each make over $1 billion each in annual global sales. This includes not only traditional names such as Pepsi, Lay's, and Doritos, but also more dynamic brands targeted toward health-conscious consumers, like Gatorade, Tropicana, and Quaker Oats.</p>
<p>PepsiCo comes in second to Coca-Cola in traditional carbonated drinks, but the company is about much more than sodas. More than 50% of its profits come from snacks, and the company is rapidly expanding into categories such as bottled water, juice, and other still drinks. In fact, traditional sodas now generate only 25% of PepsiCo's total revenue, and the company is a market leader in many of its main markets.</p>
<p>IMAGE SOURCE: PEPSICO</p>
<p>Management is also running a tight ship; PepsiCo delivered over $1 billion in cost savings during 2015, and core constant currency operating margin increased by 30 basis points versus 2014. The company is planning to achieve an additional $1 billion in costs savings during 2016, as the overall plan is to cut expenses by $5 billion annually from 2015 to 2019.</p>
<p>PepsiCo has a spectacular trajectory of dividend payments over the long term, the company has increased dividends over the last 44 consecutive years, successfully raising its cash distributions for investors under all kinds of economic conditions. The dividend yield is in the neighborhood of 3% at current prices, and PepsiCo is planning to reward investors with $7 billion via dividends and buybacks in 2016.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Colgate-PalmoliveColgate-Palmolive has sizable presence in the hygiene and personal care markets; the company sells household products such as detergents, deodorant, shampoo, and shower gels. In addition, nearly 14% of revenue comes from its pet nutrition business, in which Colgate-Palmolive operates under the Hill's brand. Nevertheless, the lion's share of the company's sales and cash flows come from oral care, where it has a leading presence on a global scale.</p>
<p>According to management, Colgate-Palmolive has44.9% market share in toothpaste, a 32.4% share in manual toothbrushes, and a 41% share in mouthwashes around the world. The company has done an amazing job at expanding internationally; it operates in more than 200 countries and territories, and generates over 80% its total revenue in foreign markets.</p>
<p>IMAGE SOURCE: MOTLEY FOOL</p>
<p>The company is particularly strong in emerging markets, where it has a nearly 50%market share in toothpaste. Currency depreciation and economic turmoil in those markets are dragging on Colgate-Palmolive's financial performance lately, however, its leadership in emerging markets also give it exceptional opportunities for long-term growth. According to data from Euromonitor, nearly 95% of all global population growth in the coming decades will occur in emerging markets, and Colgate-Palmolive is in a position of strength to capitalize on this huge opportunity.</p>
<p>Colgate-Palmolive has paid uninterrupted dividends since 1895 -- a truly extraordinary track-record of consistency over the long term -- and has increased dividends over the last 53 consecutive years. The dividend yield now is in the area of 2.3%.</p>
<p>Wal-MartScale is a crucial source of competitive advantage in discount retail, and Wal-Mart is the biggest retailer on the surface of Earth. The company has more than 11,500 stores serving nearly 260 million customers per week around the world, and Wall Street analysts are, on average, forecasting it will have $482 billion in revenue during the current year.</p>
<p>This gargantuan size provides negotiating power to Wal-Mart, and the company leverages that to obtain low prices and flexible financial conditions from suppliers. Besides, scale allows Wal-Mart to spread its fixed costs on a massive amount of products, thus reducing fixed costs per unit. Needless to say, price competitiveness is of utmost importance to customers in discount retail, and Wal-Mart comes second to none in this area.</p>
<p>IMAGE SOURCE: MOTLEY FOOL.</p>
<p>The company is raising salaries, and increasing expenses in areas such as as employee training and e-commerce technology. These initiatives will hurt profit margins in the short term, but management is doing the right thing by focusing on providing a better shopping experience over the long term, rather than putting too much focus on quarterly profit figures.</p>
<p>Wal-Mart announced its first dividend ever in March 1974, and the company has increased distributions every year since then. Shares of the retail juggernaut are yielding nearly 3% at current market prices.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/03/15/3-top-dividend-stocks-for-retirees.aspx" type="external">3 Top Dividend Stocks for Retirees Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/acardenal/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Andrs Cardenal Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends PepsiCo. The Motley Fool recommends Coca-Cola. 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 Top Dividend Stocks for Retirees | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/03/15/3-top-dividend-stocks-for-retirees.html | 2016-03-15 | 0right
| 3 Top Dividend Stocks for Retirees
<p />
<p>Investors in retirement typically gravitate toward solid and reliable investments, meaning companies that can deliver consistent returns for shareholders through good and bad economic environments. If you are looking to add those kinds of companies to your portfolio, names such as PepsiCo , Colgate-Palmolive , and Wal-Mart are remarkably attractive dividend stocks for retirees to consider.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>PepsiCoPepsiCo is a market leader in the global snack and soft drink industries: The company owns an enormously valuable portfolio featuring 22 different brands that each make over $1 billion each in annual global sales. This includes not only traditional names such as Pepsi, Lay's, and Doritos, but also more dynamic brands targeted toward health-conscious consumers, like Gatorade, Tropicana, and Quaker Oats.</p>
<p>PepsiCo comes in second to Coca-Cola in traditional carbonated drinks, but the company is about much more than sodas. More than 50% of its profits come from snacks, and the company is rapidly expanding into categories such as bottled water, juice, and other still drinks. In fact, traditional sodas now generate only 25% of PepsiCo's total revenue, and the company is a market leader in many of its main markets.</p>
<p>IMAGE SOURCE: PEPSICO</p>
<p>Management is also running a tight ship; PepsiCo delivered over $1 billion in cost savings during 2015, and core constant currency operating margin increased by 30 basis points versus 2014. The company is planning to achieve an additional $1 billion in costs savings during 2016, as the overall plan is to cut expenses by $5 billion annually from 2015 to 2019.</p>
<p>PepsiCo has a spectacular trajectory of dividend payments over the long term, the company has increased dividends over the last 44 consecutive years, successfully raising its cash distributions for investors under all kinds of economic conditions. The dividend yield is in the neighborhood of 3% at current prices, and PepsiCo is planning to reward investors with $7 billion via dividends and buybacks in 2016.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Colgate-PalmoliveColgate-Palmolive has sizable presence in the hygiene and personal care markets; the company sells household products such as detergents, deodorant, shampoo, and shower gels. In addition, nearly 14% of revenue comes from its pet nutrition business, in which Colgate-Palmolive operates under the Hill's brand. Nevertheless, the lion's share of the company's sales and cash flows come from oral care, where it has a leading presence on a global scale.</p>
<p>According to management, Colgate-Palmolive has44.9% market share in toothpaste, a 32.4% share in manual toothbrushes, and a 41% share in mouthwashes around the world. The company has done an amazing job at expanding internationally; it operates in more than 200 countries and territories, and generates over 80% its total revenue in foreign markets.</p>
<p>IMAGE SOURCE: MOTLEY FOOL</p>
<p>The company is particularly strong in emerging markets, where it has a nearly 50%market share in toothpaste. Currency depreciation and economic turmoil in those markets are dragging on Colgate-Palmolive's financial performance lately, however, its leadership in emerging markets also give it exceptional opportunities for long-term growth. According to data from Euromonitor, nearly 95% of all global population growth in the coming decades will occur in emerging markets, and Colgate-Palmolive is in a position of strength to capitalize on this huge opportunity.</p>
<p>Colgate-Palmolive has paid uninterrupted dividends since 1895 -- a truly extraordinary track-record of consistency over the long term -- and has increased dividends over the last 53 consecutive years. The dividend yield now is in the area of 2.3%.</p>
<p>Wal-MartScale is a crucial source of competitive advantage in discount retail, and Wal-Mart is the biggest retailer on the surface of Earth. The company has more than 11,500 stores serving nearly 260 million customers per week around the world, and Wall Street analysts are, on average, forecasting it will have $482 billion in revenue during the current year.</p>
<p>This gargantuan size provides negotiating power to Wal-Mart, and the company leverages that to obtain low prices and flexible financial conditions from suppliers. Besides, scale allows Wal-Mart to spread its fixed costs on a massive amount of products, thus reducing fixed costs per unit. Needless to say, price competitiveness is of utmost importance to customers in discount retail, and Wal-Mart comes second to none in this area.</p>
<p>IMAGE SOURCE: MOTLEY FOOL.</p>
<p>The company is raising salaries, and increasing expenses in areas such as as employee training and e-commerce technology. These initiatives will hurt profit margins in the short term, but management is doing the right thing by focusing on providing a better shopping experience over the long term, rather than putting too much focus on quarterly profit figures.</p>
<p>Wal-Mart announced its first dividend ever in March 1974, and the company has increased distributions every year since then. Shares of the retail juggernaut are yielding nearly 3% at current market prices.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/03/15/3-top-dividend-stocks-for-retirees.aspx" type="external">3 Top Dividend Stocks for Retirees Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/acardenal/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Andrs Cardenal Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends PepsiCo. The Motley Fool recommends Coca-Cola. 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> | 3,967 |
<p>Photo Credit: Jaroslav Moravcik / Shutterstock.com</p>
<p>They’re easy to spot, the neo-Nazi and his driver, strolling side by side up Main Street beneath a noonday sun, flanked by the two-story brick and limestone buildings of Beatrice,&#160; <a href="https://viewer.gutools.co.uk/us-news/nebraska" type="external">Nebraska</a>. But it’s not the way they’re dressed.</p>
<p>Gerhard Lauck, the man they call the “Farm Belt führer” doesn’t draw attention to himself heedlessly, doesn’t swaddle himself in swastikas – not any more, anyway, and not out here in south-east&#160; <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/nebraska" type="external">Nebraska</a>, where he finally retreated after serving a four-year stint in a German prison for distributing neo-Nazi propaganda. He doesn’t bark “Heil Hitler!” He doesn’t shoot his right arm into the air.</p>
<p>No, it’s not the way they’re dressed, though Lauck is wearing a military brown shirt, and his driver, who won’t identify himself, is over-buttoned for a warm spring day. It’s something about their posture, a self-seriousness reflected in their stride, as if they’re not conducting business so much as playing at it.</p>
<p>At 6ft 4in and roughly 240lb, Lauck towers above his driver. Were it not for his illicit activity abroad, his tireless promotion of “racial purity”, his worship of Adolf Hitler (whom he likes to call “too humane” just to revel in the outrage), the pair would seem almost comical, a Laurel and Hardy, or closer still, a Pinky and the Brain.</p>
<p>“A joke? He was never a joke,” said Bob Wolfson, former director of the Anti-Defamation League’s Plains States Region, when I questioned Lauck’s significance. “If you’re talking about American Nazis that have had an impact internationally in the last 50 years, Gerhard is probably number one.”</p>
<p>For Wolfson, Lauck’s trajectory is a valuable case study, a narrative worth repeating to recognize the signs of a budding hatemonger.</p>
<p>According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, “the radical right was more successful in entering the political mainstream last year (2016) than in half a century”. This extremism has reared its head in forms both violent and purely ideological, from the exploding popularity of websites like the&#160;Daily Stormer,founded by an avowed Hitlerite, to the rash of hate crimes&#160; <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2016/12/16/update-1094-bias-related-incidents-month-following-election" type="external">recorded</a>&#160;immediately following Donald Trump’s election.</p>
<p>Lauck fits squarely into a succession of far right ideologues pushing an anti-globalist agenda. But unlike so many shouting their hate today, he has been peddling his particular brand in&#160; <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/europe-news" type="external">Europe</a>&#160;for decades: before, during and after the internet disrupted traditional propaganda channels.</p>
<p>“His methodology and effect have been changed by technology,” Wolfson says, “but the fact that he’s still running a hosting site, that he hasn’t lost his ability to connect all these groups, that he has very good relationships with thousands and thousands of neo-Nazis all over the world – that’s not insignificant.”</p>
<p>I watch from across the street as they enter the restaurant. Above them, a crew of Hispanic workers dangle their legs from the scaffolding as they re-mortar the exterior. He’s not concerned. It’s not the individuals that bother him – it’s the groups, slowly “mongrelizing” the planet, he believes, playing the long con of “white genocide”.</p>
<p>The room is banquet sized and bare. The lights are dim, and the driver, still in his boxy jacket, stands beside our table. He doesn’t greet me when I step inside. I ask if he’s with Gerhard. He nods toward the restroom.</p>
<p>Seconds later, Lauck barrels out, belly forward, thumbs tucked in his waistband, mustache thick, hair peppered and neatly trimmed.</p>
<p>The world’s top supplier of printed neo-Nazi propaganda is ready for his first mainstream media interview in years.</p>
<p>“You do a great public service by saying these folks are around,” says Wolfson, who spent years of his career tracking Lauck’s work. “It’s healthy for people to get close to darkness so they can triangulate what darkness looks like.”</p>
<p>I first contacted Lauck last February, after studying the Southern Poverty Law Center’s newly published “ <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch" type="external">Hate Map</a>”.</p>
<p>Of the 917 active hate groups shown nationwide, 99 were Nazi groups, and five fell within the borders of my home state of Nebraska. Two of them in the neo-Nazi category: the NDSAP/AO, the German acronym for the National Socialist German Workers Party/Overseas Organization and Third Reich Books, both spearheaded by Gary “Gerhard” Lauck. The former was listed in the capital city of Lincoln, the latter in Fairbury, population 3,800.</p>
<p>After finding the website for Third Reich Books, I quickly emailed the only address listed, astonished to find someone with Lauck’s history living quietly among us. I didn’t think he would write back, but just 20 minutes later, his response was sitting in my mailbox.</p>
<p>“I’m semi-retired,” he wrote, “and routinely decline interviews from the local and state media.” If I were writing for a national or international publication, however, he’d be willing to make an exception. Though corresponding with a neo-Nazi fried my nerves – the very thought of his name in my inbox keeping me up at night – we stayed in touch for several months until we finally locked in a time and place to meet.</p>
<p>In person, Lauck is nothing if not self-aware.</p>
<p>He jokes about his “excessive modesty” as often as he calls himself a “sex symbol”, which is to say: frequently. He is fine with being called a Nazi propagandist. He doesn’t argue otherwise, though he insists he fabricates “a lot less than most propagandists” and certainly less than “the mass media”. The more appropriate question, he later tells me, isn’t whether or not what he says is true, but how much he’s omitted. He says these things frequently, purposely throwing himself in doubt, relishing in the grey zone between fact and fiction.</p>
<p>His fluency in German has led many in the past to confuse a very real speech impediment with an affected German accent. He struggles with the “r” sound, substituting a “w” or deleting it entirely. And he often crutches on the phrase “type of thing”, even when the phrase doesn’t apply: “I’m not say’n we should, type of thing, but the conkest of living space to poetect yuh own wace, yuh own culcha is OK.”</p>
<p>Born in Milwaukee in 1953, Lauck grew up in a bubble of pro-German sentiment. Once nicknamed the “German Athens of America”, by the 1930s Milwaukee hosted the largest German-born population in the country outside of Chicago and New York City. But a host of factors shattered the myth of a monolithic German American community, not the least of which was the political approach to preserving its heritage in the wake of the first world war – an era of fierce anti-German sentiment – and the looming shadow of the Third Reich.</p>
<p>Lauck’s parents, both from Wisconsin, grew up in this polarizing atmosphere, though he claims they were non-political. “Of course, there were comments about the United States fighting on the wrong side,” he says. “But, after all, that’s pretty obvious.”</p>
<p>Cocooned by his heritage, Lauck developed an acute sense of family and ethnic identity – something he’d fetishize for the rest of his life.</p>
<p>“I’ve been an American for over 60 years,” he says. “I’ve been a German for over 4,000.”</p>
<p>When Lauck was 11, his father Francis, formerly an engineer with the AO Smith Corporation, accepted a professorship at the University of Nebraska, transplanting the family to Lincoln. They moved into a modest home on a quiet, tree-lined street on the eastern edge of the city: middle class, upwardly mobile and overwhelmingly white.</p>
<p>Though Nebraska, too, boasted significant German heritage, the Germans here were more Americanized, Lauck says. Few of them retained the language, but more than that, they’d lost what he now viewed as the hallmarks of German culture.</p>
<p>This sudden departure from his nationalistic upbringing in Milwaukee, combined with a burgeoning American counterculture, pushed him over the edge. He considered Lincoln “a spiritually foreign country”.</p>
<p>He withdrew into books and filled his room with German war regalia. When he finally asked for Mein Kampf, at just 14, it didn’t seem that peculiar for the same precocious kid who’d asked for The Communist Manifesto just the week before. He hated the former, of course. But Mein Kampf “made perfect sense”, crystallizing the pro-German values he was reared on, and ushering forth the “master race” myth he still preaches today.</p>
<p>He graduated from Lincoln East high school in just three years, sliding further into the national socialist philosophy, submitting essays to Nazi publications and converting both his father and oldest brother Robert to the party.</p>
<p>In an act of “ethnic consciousness”, he changed his name from Gary to “Gerhard”, and neighbors say he’d often correct them on it. “If Cassius Clay can be Muhammad Ali,” he says, “then Gary Lauck can be Gerhard Lauck.”</p>
<p>Neighbors say his mother, Laura, was “the sanest one over there”. They remember her with sadness, pointing out she gave everything to that family and seemed to get so little in return. They say Lauck’s sister Janice struggled for years with what the family thought was a mental disorder, only to find out she had a brain tumor.</p>
<p>What the neighbors didn’t know – what they couldn’t – was that the youngest son of this peculiar Wisconsin family was soon to establish one of the most important and far-reaching neo-Nazi organizations in history, and that he’d do it all in plain sight, right there in his parents’ basement.</p>
<p>After two years at university, Lauck dropped out to focus his efforts abroad. He first connected with a fledgling cell of neo-Nazis in New York before flying to “the fatherland” in 1972, where he found swastikas and slogans written in graffiti, though no signs of a unified movement. He was arrested for distributing Nazi literature, specifically outlawed by Germany’s criminal code as part of the denazification program following the second world war, but it gave him an idea.</p>
<p>He describes it in The Education of an Evil Genius, his self-published autobiography:</p>
<p>“An overseas organization based in a free country would supply the underground resistance with professionally produced printed matter. It would have a uniform contact address in the free country. Inquirers would receive free sample literature and their own unique ‘ID number’ for use in future correspondence instead of their real name and address. This protected their identity in the event of a later interception of the mail.”</p>
<p>Thus the National Socialist German Workers Party/Overseas Organization, or NDSAP/AO, was born.</p>
<p>The idea couldn’t have been simpler, but in the pre-internet age, never before had the neo-Nazi resistance in Europe been so connected. Dissident cells who previously knew nothing of one another were now in communication, and Gerhard Lauck, barely into his 20s, once a bookish teenage pariah, served as the conduit from thousands of miles away.</p>
<p>It started with a run of just 1,000 swastika stickers mailed to&#160; <a href="https://viewer.gutools.co.uk/world/germany" type="external">Germany</a>. A year later, Lauck writes in his autobiography, the average run was 100,000. Soon, the AO published a German-language newspaper, the NS Kampfruf, and later still, an English version called The National Socialist Report.</p>
<p>During the next two decades, between 1975 and 1995, he moved around between Lincoln, Chicago and New York, but he always used the same return address on the propaganda. The newspapers expanded to nearly a dozen languages and 30 countries. Bolstered by its own reflection – “We realized we were not just a bunch of old people ready to die,” Lauck says – the resistance movement in Europe, and especially in&#160; <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/germany" type="external">Germany</a>, exploded.</p>
<p>Though numbers varied widely at the time, the Anti-Defamation League estimated in 1993 that nearly 60,000 Germans were involved in neo-Nazi activity. The German government itself guessed that while only 2,000 Germans fit a strict Nazi mold, nearly 43,000 rightwing extremists were active in various hate groups, and as many as 6,400 had been militarized. Either way, all of the estimates had multiplied significantly since Lauck’s arrival in the 1970s.</p>
<p>In November 1976, celebrating the 38th anniversary of Kristallnacht, neo-Nazis in Frankfurt plastered the city with AO posters that read: “We are here again. Red Front perish. Don’t buy Jewish.”</p>
<p>When a rash of antisemitic crimes broke out in Hanover in February 1978, German sources alleged the demonstrators were financed by the AO through a Swiss bank account.</p>
<p>And when a 26-year-old construction worker shot and killed himself and three foreigners with a pistol at a nightclub in Nuremberg in August 1982, police found his pockets stuffed with AO stickers.</p>
<p>In 1992, Lauck’s propaganda was found at the crime scene of more than 200 criminal investigations, nearly all of them triggered by violent activities. And in the early days of the Yugoslav wars, Lauck used the AO newspapers to recruit and solicit money for a unit of more than 100 neo-Nazi militants of various nationalities to fight for Croatia, a Nazi ally in the second world war.</p>
<p>Lauck’s activities were heavily monitored – by the FBI, by the CIA, by the Anti-Defamation League. And yet, Lauck remained virtually untouchable on American soil. Despite his disdain for democracy, he’d armored himself with the First Amendment.</p>
<p>There were hiccups. Caught in March 1976 with 20,000 stickers, a fake passport and a large sum of money, Lauck spent four and a half months in German prison, or as he calls it, a “state-run luxury hotel”. And he once received a cigar-box sized black powder bomb in the mail, powerful enough to kill anyone within a five- to 10ft radius. That could have been his mother, father or his brother Robert, all of whom frequently picked up his mail. Or it could have been his Lithuanian wife, a sympathizer he met in Chicago named Janina Bareisa.</p>
<p>His brother Jerry, however, who had publicly disavowed his brother’s ideology, never picked up the mail.</p>
<p>Lauck says politics had nothing to do with it, but on 7 February , 1978, he loaded a 12-gauge shotgun, aimed it at Jerry and pulled the trigger, wounding him. At the hearing, Jerry – who hadn’t stepped foot in the home for more than two years – testified that he’d stopped by the home to drop off a package for his ailing twin sister, but his father, weak from lung cancer, rebuffed him. Lauck, who kept a shotgun nearby in case of political blowback, heard the commotion and ran upstairs. When Jerry slapped his father, Lauck took aim and fired. The charges, which carried a penalty of up to 50 years, were dropped after Jerry refused to come forward and the time for a speedy trial elapsed.</p>
<p>None of it slowed Lauck down. Not the deportations. Not the bomb threats. Not the family drama. The mail kept coming. The mail kept going. And by the early 1990s, Lauck was considered “the biggest supplier of neo-Nazi materials in the German scene”, according to Bodo Becker, a spokesman for Germany’s Office for the Protection of the Constitution, established specifically to monitor neo-Nazi activity.</p>
<p>“That’s what I do,” Lauck says. “It’s a really good job.”</p>
<p>His sins would catch up with him. In December 1993, after years of frustration with German law enforcement and powerless to prosecute the man perhaps most responsible for their country’s surge in rightwing extremism, then-FBI director Louis Freeh opened an investigation focused on Americans facilitating German neo-Nazis.</p>
<p>Though he didn’t identify individuals, those who followed the case knew exactly where he’d start.</p>
<p>Two years later, in March 1995, Lauck was arrested in Denmark on warrants issued from Hamburg via Interpol charging him with 36 separate counts of “distributing propaganda against the German constitution, encouraging racial hatred, inciting criminal acts and participating in a criminal organization.” He was soon extradited to Germany, which had been surveilling his activities and wiretapping his German cohorts. What role, if any, the FBI played in Lauck’s seizure remains unclear, though both Lauck himself and other sources close to the case who asked not to be identified claim US officials were involved.</p>
<p>Either way, Lauck was sentenced to four years in German prison. He maintains he knew the arrest was coming, citing the continued publication of the NS Kampfruf after his arrest as proof of the AO’s foresight.</p>
<p>What he wasn’t prepared for, however, was the internet.</p>
<p>By the time he finished his sentence and returned to the US – Chicago first, and then back to his mother’s basement with his wife in tow – the internet had undercut the importance of his work. Dissident neo-Nazi cells all over the world could now easily connect online, and the print industry had lost nearly all of its currency.</p>
<p>He entered prison as a king among his people, Wolfson says.&#160;He&#160;left as something less.</p>
<p>Neighbors in Lincoln say he stayed quiet after his return. Often times, one neighbor told me, the only way you could tell he was home at all was the strange smell of cigarettes wafting from the backyard.</p>
<p>But Lauck wasn’t completely out of the game. In 2000, just a year after his return, he launched a web-hosting platform called Zensurfrei.com, meaning “censorship free”.</p>
<p>Aimed primarily at European hate groups, the website boasts: “We … believe there is no such thing as ‘hate speech,’ only free speech that is hated by the established authorities. Zensurfrei.com is the first fully managed and secure web hosting provider for those denied access to mainstream hosting due to ‘offensive’ content.”</p>
<p>In addition to its still expanding web-hosting platform, the AO continues to publish hard-copy translations of original SS literature through its online bookstore, Third Reich Books. In total, they publish over 400 titles in 13 languages, Lauck says, and recently purchased their own binding equipment, moving the entire book-building process in-house.</p>
<p>“If it was up to me I’d move back to Germany to be on the front lines,” he says. “But it’s not practical … I can do more good here.”</p>
<p>ter our interview, the photographer and I waited for Lauck and his driver to pull away. I had no interest in following them – not in a clandestine sense, anyway – but I wondered how neighbors felt about an internationally notorious Nazi propagandist camping out quietly among them, so we drove the 30 minutes west, slicing through budding cornfields on Route 136.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, I hadn’t planned on bumping into Lauck again just five minutes after parking the car.</p>
<p>He quickly appointed himself my liaison, ushering me into various businesses around town. He asked if I’d like to see his hiking path. We left the square and walked toward the Little Blue river, where the city converted an old rail line for recreational use.</p>
<p>I questioned him throughout the tour about White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, who was once called a “ <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/25/opinion/what-does-steve-bannon-want.html?_r=0" type="external">white supremacist</a>” by Nancy Pelosi. He considers him “watered down” compared to the “Hitler youth and Wehrmacht” he once knew in Germany; about Donald Trump, whom he calls a transitional figure on the path toward revolution, comparable to “Kerensky in Russia”, admitting “the fact that he could be elected on the message he presented … is extremely significant”.</p>
<p>I also asked him about the sharp rise in antisemitic crimes in 2017. “The Jews claim that, but a lot of times Jews commit the crimes themselves and fake it to get sympathy,” he says. “You’ll know they’re really making progress if you watch the stock market for a company that manufactures a lot of Zyklon B.”</p>
<p>Lauck purchased a house some time around 2008. By then, his father had long been dead, and Lauck had let his parents’ home fall into disrepair, termites eating the floors and even the base of his mother’s piano.</p>
<p>Neighbors say he rarely took his mother out of the house. He eventually moved her to a nursing home outside of Lincoln, hastily packing up their belongings and what remained of his operations in the basement. A short string of new owners moved in and out. Nobody stuck around.</p>
<p>Most residents here in Fairbury don’t recognize his name. Those who do raise their eyebrows, whisper about his activities, laugh them away as if it were a quirk of this avid walker’s past. They don’t condone Nazism, certainly, but they won’t run him off. They respect his privacy, and expect he’ll reciprocate. “As long as he stays outta my yard I don’t care what he does,” says David George, who owns Pla Mor Lanes and Café. “As long as he stays on his side of the fence I won’t have to put a barrel in his face.”</p>
<p>Lauck asks that I keep Fairbury out of the story, telling me a cautionary tale of blackmailing a journalist who spied on his mother. He tells me it isn’t a threat.</p>
<p>“If I wanted to threaten you I’d have just taken you out further into the woods and pulled out my Luger and pointed it at you.”</p>
<p>In 2008, a Baghdadi construction worker named Rafid Al Nada, fearing for his young family’s safety in a radicalized Iraq, began trudging his way through the application process for an American visa.</p>
<p>After five interviews, they landed in Lincoln, Nebraska. Al Nada found employment with a local construction company, where he could put his considerable skills to work. At first they lived with his cousin, then an apartment of their own, and then a small house. In 2015, they upgraded again, this time into a modest home on a quiet, tree-lined street on the eastern side of the city: middle class, upwardly mobile and overwhelmingly white.</p>
<p>The yard was a mess and the floors were completely rotted through. Luckily for them, they knew a guy who could fix it up cheap, a skilled handyman with decades of experience behind him.</p>
<p>They’re still working on the yard, but the interior today is in impeccable condition. New floors. New paint. Framed photos of family members hanging from the walls, not a single one atilt. He built a new front porch. He paved a new sidewalk to the front door. He hasn’t finished the basement yet, but it’s on the list. When they first moved in, he says, he found something strange down there.</p>
<p>“He found a book talking about Hitler and things,” his son Mustafa says in perfect English, translating for his father.</p>
<p>I ask if I can see it. Al Nada laughs and gestures towards the trash can.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry, my friend. I tossed it.”</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Carson Vaughan is a freelance writer from Nebraska. His work has appeared in the New York Times, USA Today, the New&#160;Yorker, the Atlantic, Vice, Smithsonian, Slate, Audubon,&#160;and more. Follow him on Twitter at&#160; <a href="https://twitter.com/carsonvaughan" type="external">@carsonvaughan</a>.</p> | The Farm Belt Führer: The Making of a Neo-Nazi | true | http://alternet.org/right-wing/making-neo-nazi | 2017-07-10 | 4left
| The Farm Belt Führer: The Making of a Neo-Nazi
<p>Photo Credit: Jaroslav Moravcik / Shutterstock.com</p>
<p>They’re easy to spot, the neo-Nazi and his driver, strolling side by side up Main Street beneath a noonday sun, flanked by the two-story brick and limestone buildings of Beatrice,&#160; <a href="https://viewer.gutools.co.uk/us-news/nebraska" type="external">Nebraska</a>. But it’s not the way they’re dressed.</p>
<p>Gerhard Lauck, the man they call the “Farm Belt führer” doesn’t draw attention to himself heedlessly, doesn’t swaddle himself in swastikas – not any more, anyway, and not out here in south-east&#160; <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/nebraska" type="external">Nebraska</a>, where he finally retreated after serving a four-year stint in a German prison for distributing neo-Nazi propaganda. He doesn’t bark “Heil Hitler!” He doesn’t shoot his right arm into the air.</p>
<p>No, it’s not the way they’re dressed, though Lauck is wearing a military brown shirt, and his driver, who won’t identify himself, is over-buttoned for a warm spring day. It’s something about their posture, a self-seriousness reflected in their stride, as if they’re not conducting business so much as playing at it.</p>
<p>At 6ft 4in and roughly 240lb, Lauck towers above his driver. Were it not for his illicit activity abroad, his tireless promotion of “racial purity”, his worship of Adolf Hitler (whom he likes to call “too humane” just to revel in the outrage), the pair would seem almost comical, a Laurel and Hardy, or closer still, a Pinky and the Brain.</p>
<p>“A joke? He was never a joke,” said Bob Wolfson, former director of the Anti-Defamation League’s Plains States Region, when I questioned Lauck’s significance. “If you’re talking about American Nazis that have had an impact internationally in the last 50 years, Gerhard is probably number one.”</p>
<p>For Wolfson, Lauck’s trajectory is a valuable case study, a narrative worth repeating to recognize the signs of a budding hatemonger.</p>
<p>According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, “the radical right was more successful in entering the political mainstream last year (2016) than in half a century”. This extremism has reared its head in forms both violent and purely ideological, from the exploding popularity of websites like the&#160;Daily Stormer,founded by an avowed Hitlerite, to the rash of hate crimes&#160; <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2016/12/16/update-1094-bias-related-incidents-month-following-election" type="external">recorded</a>&#160;immediately following Donald Trump’s election.</p>
<p>Lauck fits squarely into a succession of far right ideologues pushing an anti-globalist agenda. But unlike so many shouting their hate today, he has been peddling his particular brand in&#160; <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/europe-news" type="external">Europe</a>&#160;for decades: before, during and after the internet disrupted traditional propaganda channels.</p>
<p>“His methodology and effect have been changed by technology,” Wolfson says, “but the fact that he’s still running a hosting site, that he hasn’t lost his ability to connect all these groups, that he has very good relationships with thousands and thousands of neo-Nazis all over the world – that’s not insignificant.”</p>
<p>I watch from across the street as they enter the restaurant. Above them, a crew of Hispanic workers dangle their legs from the scaffolding as they re-mortar the exterior. He’s not concerned. It’s not the individuals that bother him – it’s the groups, slowly “mongrelizing” the planet, he believes, playing the long con of “white genocide”.</p>
<p>The room is banquet sized and bare. The lights are dim, and the driver, still in his boxy jacket, stands beside our table. He doesn’t greet me when I step inside. I ask if he’s with Gerhard. He nods toward the restroom.</p>
<p>Seconds later, Lauck barrels out, belly forward, thumbs tucked in his waistband, mustache thick, hair peppered and neatly trimmed.</p>
<p>The world’s top supplier of printed neo-Nazi propaganda is ready for his first mainstream media interview in years.</p>
<p>“You do a great public service by saying these folks are around,” says Wolfson, who spent years of his career tracking Lauck’s work. “It’s healthy for people to get close to darkness so they can triangulate what darkness looks like.”</p>
<p>I first contacted Lauck last February, after studying the Southern Poverty Law Center’s newly published “ <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch" type="external">Hate Map</a>”.</p>
<p>Of the 917 active hate groups shown nationwide, 99 were Nazi groups, and five fell within the borders of my home state of Nebraska. Two of them in the neo-Nazi category: the NDSAP/AO, the German acronym for the National Socialist German Workers Party/Overseas Organization and Third Reich Books, both spearheaded by Gary “Gerhard” Lauck. The former was listed in the capital city of Lincoln, the latter in Fairbury, population 3,800.</p>
<p>After finding the website for Third Reich Books, I quickly emailed the only address listed, astonished to find someone with Lauck’s history living quietly among us. I didn’t think he would write back, but just 20 minutes later, his response was sitting in my mailbox.</p>
<p>“I’m semi-retired,” he wrote, “and routinely decline interviews from the local and state media.” If I were writing for a national or international publication, however, he’d be willing to make an exception. Though corresponding with a neo-Nazi fried my nerves – the very thought of his name in my inbox keeping me up at night – we stayed in touch for several months until we finally locked in a time and place to meet.</p>
<p>In person, Lauck is nothing if not self-aware.</p>
<p>He jokes about his “excessive modesty” as often as he calls himself a “sex symbol”, which is to say: frequently. He is fine with being called a Nazi propagandist. He doesn’t argue otherwise, though he insists he fabricates “a lot less than most propagandists” and certainly less than “the mass media”. The more appropriate question, he later tells me, isn’t whether or not what he says is true, but how much he’s omitted. He says these things frequently, purposely throwing himself in doubt, relishing in the grey zone between fact and fiction.</p>
<p>His fluency in German has led many in the past to confuse a very real speech impediment with an affected German accent. He struggles with the “r” sound, substituting a “w” or deleting it entirely. And he often crutches on the phrase “type of thing”, even when the phrase doesn’t apply: “I’m not say’n we should, type of thing, but the conkest of living space to poetect yuh own wace, yuh own culcha is OK.”</p>
<p>Born in Milwaukee in 1953, Lauck grew up in a bubble of pro-German sentiment. Once nicknamed the “German Athens of America”, by the 1930s Milwaukee hosted the largest German-born population in the country outside of Chicago and New York City. But a host of factors shattered the myth of a monolithic German American community, not the least of which was the political approach to preserving its heritage in the wake of the first world war – an era of fierce anti-German sentiment – and the looming shadow of the Third Reich.</p>
<p>Lauck’s parents, both from Wisconsin, grew up in this polarizing atmosphere, though he claims they were non-political. “Of course, there were comments about the United States fighting on the wrong side,” he says. “But, after all, that’s pretty obvious.”</p>
<p>Cocooned by his heritage, Lauck developed an acute sense of family and ethnic identity – something he’d fetishize for the rest of his life.</p>
<p>“I’ve been an American for over 60 years,” he says. “I’ve been a German for over 4,000.”</p>
<p>When Lauck was 11, his father Francis, formerly an engineer with the AO Smith Corporation, accepted a professorship at the University of Nebraska, transplanting the family to Lincoln. They moved into a modest home on a quiet, tree-lined street on the eastern edge of the city: middle class, upwardly mobile and overwhelmingly white.</p>
<p>Though Nebraska, too, boasted significant German heritage, the Germans here were more Americanized, Lauck says. Few of them retained the language, but more than that, they’d lost what he now viewed as the hallmarks of German culture.</p>
<p>This sudden departure from his nationalistic upbringing in Milwaukee, combined with a burgeoning American counterculture, pushed him over the edge. He considered Lincoln “a spiritually foreign country”.</p>
<p>He withdrew into books and filled his room with German war regalia. When he finally asked for Mein Kampf, at just 14, it didn’t seem that peculiar for the same precocious kid who’d asked for The Communist Manifesto just the week before. He hated the former, of course. But Mein Kampf “made perfect sense”, crystallizing the pro-German values he was reared on, and ushering forth the “master race” myth he still preaches today.</p>
<p>He graduated from Lincoln East high school in just three years, sliding further into the national socialist philosophy, submitting essays to Nazi publications and converting both his father and oldest brother Robert to the party.</p>
<p>In an act of “ethnic consciousness”, he changed his name from Gary to “Gerhard”, and neighbors say he’d often correct them on it. “If Cassius Clay can be Muhammad Ali,” he says, “then Gary Lauck can be Gerhard Lauck.”</p>
<p>Neighbors say his mother, Laura, was “the sanest one over there”. They remember her with sadness, pointing out she gave everything to that family and seemed to get so little in return. They say Lauck’s sister Janice struggled for years with what the family thought was a mental disorder, only to find out she had a brain tumor.</p>
<p>What the neighbors didn’t know – what they couldn’t – was that the youngest son of this peculiar Wisconsin family was soon to establish one of the most important and far-reaching neo-Nazi organizations in history, and that he’d do it all in plain sight, right there in his parents’ basement.</p>
<p>After two years at university, Lauck dropped out to focus his efforts abroad. He first connected with a fledgling cell of neo-Nazis in New York before flying to “the fatherland” in 1972, where he found swastikas and slogans written in graffiti, though no signs of a unified movement. He was arrested for distributing Nazi literature, specifically outlawed by Germany’s criminal code as part of the denazification program following the second world war, but it gave him an idea.</p>
<p>He describes it in The Education of an Evil Genius, his self-published autobiography:</p>
<p>“An overseas organization based in a free country would supply the underground resistance with professionally produced printed matter. It would have a uniform contact address in the free country. Inquirers would receive free sample literature and their own unique ‘ID number’ for use in future correspondence instead of their real name and address. This protected their identity in the event of a later interception of the mail.”</p>
<p>Thus the National Socialist German Workers Party/Overseas Organization, or NDSAP/AO, was born.</p>
<p>The idea couldn’t have been simpler, but in the pre-internet age, never before had the neo-Nazi resistance in Europe been so connected. Dissident cells who previously knew nothing of one another were now in communication, and Gerhard Lauck, barely into his 20s, once a bookish teenage pariah, served as the conduit from thousands of miles away.</p>
<p>It started with a run of just 1,000 swastika stickers mailed to&#160; <a href="https://viewer.gutools.co.uk/world/germany" type="external">Germany</a>. A year later, Lauck writes in his autobiography, the average run was 100,000. Soon, the AO published a German-language newspaper, the NS Kampfruf, and later still, an English version called The National Socialist Report.</p>
<p>During the next two decades, between 1975 and 1995, he moved around between Lincoln, Chicago and New York, but he always used the same return address on the propaganda. The newspapers expanded to nearly a dozen languages and 30 countries. Bolstered by its own reflection – “We realized we were not just a bunch of old people ready to die,” Lauck says – the resistance movement in Europe, and especially in&#160; <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/germany" type="external">Germany</a>, exploded.</p>
<p>Though numbers varied widely at the time, the Anti-Defamation League estimated in 1993 that nearly 60,000 Germans were involved in neo-Nazi activity. The German government itself guessed that while only 2,000 Germans fit a strict Nazi mold, nearly 43,000 rightwing extremists were active in various hate groups, and as many as 6,400 had been militarized. Either way, all of the estimates had multiplied significantly since Lauck’s arrival in the 1970s.</p>
<p>In November 1976, celebrating the 38th anniversary of Kristallnacht, neo-Nazis in Frankfurt plastered the city with AO posters that read: “We are here again. Red Front perish. Don’t buy Jewish.”</p>
<p>When a rash of antisemitic crimes broke out in Hanover in February 1978, German sources alleged the demonstrators were financed by the AO through a Swiss bank account.</p>
<p>And when a 26-year-old construction worker shot and killed himself and three foreigners with a pistol at a nightclub in Nuremberg in August 1982, police found his pockets stuffed with AO stickers.</p>
<p>In 1992, Lauck’s propaganda was found at the crime scene of more than 200 criminal investigations, nearly all of them triggered by violent activities. And in the early days of the Yugoslav wars, Lauck used the AO newspapers to recruit and solicit money for a unit of more than 100 neo-Nazi militants of various nationalities to fight for Croatia, a Nazi ally in the second world war.</p>
<p>Lauck’s activities were heavily monitored – by the FBI, by the CIA, by the Anti-Defamation League. And yet, Lauck remained virtually untouchable on American soil. Despite his disdain for democracy, he’d armored himself with the First Amendment.</p>
<p>There were hiccups. Caught in March 1976 with 20,000 stickers, a fake passport and a large sum of money, Lauck spent four and a half months in German prison, or as he calls it, a “state-run luxury hotel”. And he once received a cigar-box sized black powder bomb in the mail, powerful enough to kill anyone within a five- to 10ft radius. That could have been his mother, father or his brother Robert, all of whom frequently picked up his mail. Or it could have been his Lithuanian wife, a sympathizer he met in Chicago named Janina Bareisa.</p>
<p>His brother Jerry, however, who had publicly disavowed his brother’s ideology, never picked up the mail.</p>
<p>Lauck says politics had nothing to do with it, but on 7 February , 1978, he loaded a 12-gauge shotgun, aimed it at Jerry and pulled the trigger, wounding him. At the hearing, Jerry – who hadn’t stepped foot in the home for more than two years – testified that he’d stopped by the home to drop off a package for his ailing twin sister, but his father, weak from lung cancer, rebuffed him. Lauck, who kept a shotgun nearby in case of political blowback, heard the commotion and ran upstairs. When Jerry slapped his father, Lauck took aim and fired. The charges, which carried a penalty of up to 50 years, were dropped after Jerry refused to come forward and the time for a speedy trial elapsed.</p>
<p>None of it slowed Lauck down. Not the deportations. Not the bomb threats. Not the family drama. The mail kept coming. The mail kept going. And by the early 1990s, Lauck was considered “the biggest supplier of neo-Nazi materials in the German scene”, according to Bodo Becker, a spokesman for Germany’s Office for the Protection of the Constitution, established specifically to monitor neo-Nazi activity.</p>
<p>“That’s what I do,” Lauck says. “It’s a really good job.”</p>
<p>His sins would catch up with him. In December 1993, after years of frustration with German law enforcement and powerless to prosecute the man perhaps most responsible for their country’s surge in rightwing extremism, then-FBI director Louis Freeh opened an investigation focused on Americans facilitating German neo-Nazis.</p>
<p>Though he didn’t identify individuals, those who followed the case knew exactly where he’d start.</p>
<p>Two years later, in March 1995, Lauck was arrested in Denmark on warrants issued from Hamburg via Interpol charging him with 36 separate counts of “distributing propaganda against the German constitution, encouraging racial hatred, inciting criminal acts and participating in a criminal organization.” He was soon extradited to Germany, which had been surveilling his activities and wiretapping his German cohorts. What role, if any, the FBI played in Lauck’s seizure remains unclear, though both Lauck himself and other sources close to the case who asked not to be identified claim US officials were involved.</p>
<p>Either way, Lauck was sentenced to four years in German prison. He maintains he knew the arrest was coming, citing the continued publication of the NS Kampfruf after his arrest as proof of the AO’s foresight.</p>
<p>What he wasn’t prepared for, however, was the internet.</p>
<p>By the time he finished his sentence and returned to the US – Chicago first, and then back to his mother’s basement with his wife in tow – the internet had undercut the importance of his work. Dissident neo-Nazi cells all over the world could now easily connect online, and the print industry had lost nearly all of its currency.</p>
<p>He entered prison as a king among his people, Wolfson says.&#160;He&#160;left as something less.</p>
<p>Neighbors in Lincoln say he stayed quiet after his return. Often times, one neighbor told me, the only way you could tell he was home at all was the strange smell of cigarettes wafting from the backyard.</p>
<p>But Lauck wasn’t completely out of the game. In 2000, just a year after his return, he launched a web-hosting platform called Zensurfrei.com, meaning “censorship free”.</p>
<p>Aimed primarily at European hate groups, the website boasts: “We … believe there is no such thing as ‘hate speech,’ only free speech that is hated by the established authorities. Zensurfrei.com is the first fully managed and secure web hosting provider for those denied access to mainstream hosting due to ‘offensive’ content.”</p>
<p>In addition to its still expanding web-hosting platform, the AO continues to publish hard-copy translations of original SS literature through its online bookstore, Third Reich Books. In total, they publish over 400 titles in 13 languages, Lauck says, and recently purchased their own binding equipment, moving the entire book-building process in-house.</p>
<p>“If it was up to me I’d move back to Germany to be on the front lines,” he says. “But it’s not practical … I can do more good here.”</p>
<p>ter our interview, the photographer and I waited for Lauck and his driver to pull away. I had no interest in following them – not in a clandestine sense, anyway – but I wondered how neighbors felt about an internationally notorious Nazi propagandist camping out quietly among them, so we drove the 30 minutes west, slicing through budding cornfields on Route 136.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, I hadn’t planned on bumping into Lauck again just five minutes after parking the car.</p>
<p>He quickly appointed himself my liaison, ushering me into various businesses around town. He asked if I’d like to see his hiking path. We left the square and walked toward the Little Blue river, where the city converted an old rail line for recreational use.</p>
<p>I questioned him throughout the tour about White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, who was once called a “ <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/25/opinion/what-does-steve-bannon-want.html?_r=0" type="external">white supremacist</a>” by Nancy Pelosi. He considers him “watered down” compared to the “Hitler youth and Wehrmacht” he once knew in Germany; about Donald Trump, whom he calls a transitional figure on the path toward revolution, comparable to “Kerensky in Russia”, admitting “the fact that he could be elected on the message he presented … is extremely significant”.</p>
<p>I also asked him about the sharp rise in antisemitic crimes in 2017. “The Jews claim that, but a lot of times Jews commit the crimes themselves and fake it to get sympathy,” he says. “You’ll know they’re really making progress if you watch the stock market for a company that manufactures a lot of Zyklon B.”</p>
<p>Lauck purchased a house some time around 2008. By then, his father had long been dead, and Lauck had let his parents’ home fall into disrepair, termites eating the floors and even the base of his mother’s piano.</p>
<p>Neighbors say he rarely took his mother out of the house. He eventually moved her to a nursing home outside of Lincoln, hastily packing up their belongings and what remained of his operations in the basement. A short string of new owners moved in and out. Nobody stuck around.</p>
<p>Most residents here in Fairbury don’t recognize his name. Those who do raise their eyebrows, whisper about his activities, laugh them away as if it were a quirk of this avid walker’s past. They don’t condone Nazism, certainly, but they won’t run him off. They respect his privacy, and expect he’ll reciprocate. “As long as he stays outta my yard I don’t care what he does,” says David George, who owns Pla Mor Lanes and Café. “As long as he stays on his side of the fence I won’t have to put a barrel in his face.”</p>
<p>Lauck asks that I keep Fairbury out of the story, telling me a cautionary tale of blackmailing a journalist who spied on his mother. He tells me it isn’t a threat.</p>
<p>“If I wanted to threaten you I’d have just taken you out further into the woods and pulled out my Luger and pointed it at you.”</p>
<p>In 2008, a Baghdadi construction worker named Rafid Al Nada, fearing for his young family’s safety in a radicalized Iraq, began trudging his way through the application process for an American visa.</p>
<p>After five interviews, they landed in Lincoln, Nebraska. Al Nada found employment with a local construction company, where he could put his considerable skills to work. At first they lived with his cousin, then an apartment of their own, and then a small house. In 2015, they upgraded again, this time into a modest home on a quiet, tree-lined street on the eastern side of the city: middle class, upwardly mobile and overwhelmingly white.</p>
<p>The yard was a mess and the floors were completely rotted through. Luckily for them, they knew a guy who could fix it up cheap, a skilled handyman with decades of experience behind him.</p>
<p>They’re still working on the yard, but the interior today is in impeccable condition. New floors. New paint. Framed photos of family members hanging from the walls, not a single one atilt. He built a new front porch. He paved a new sidewalk to the front door. He hasn’t finished the basement yet, but it’s on the list. When they first moved in, he says, he found something strange down there.</p>
<p>“He found a book talking about Hitler and things,” his son Mustafa says in perfect English, translating for his father.</p>
<p>I ask if I can see it. Al Nada laughs and gestures towards the trash can.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry, my friend. I tossed it.”</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Carson Vaughan is a freelance writer from Nebraska. His work has appeared in the New York Times, USA Today, the New&#160;Yorker, the Atlantic, Vice, Smithsonian, Slate, Audubon,&#160;and more. Follow him on Twitter at&#160; <a href="https://twitter.com/carsonvaughan" type="external">@carsonvaughan</a>.</p> | 3,968 |
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<p>A: This is a common question this time of year. To answer your second question first: You should never put a house on the market “just the way it is” unless it is perfect. If you have the means, take the time to make repairs, clean and stage. If you list your house without preparing it, and you don’t compensate for that in the price, then you might as well not list it at all. If there are things you need to do to the house, do them. Getting people in the door only to find out the issues you have are going to prevent you from selling is a waste of time. Better to spend the coming months getting the house ready and then really hit the market hard when your house looks as good as possible.</p>
<p>As for timing, spring and summer are prime selling seasons, but people buy houses in the winter, too. If you’re able to get your house ready to sell sometime in October, you’ll still have about a month before Thanksgiving and you might be able to get some good activity and showings. You might even be able to sell it. You’ll also have the beginning of December where there’s some selling activity. I know I’ve sold houses in December.</p>
<p>So, when should you list your house? You mentioned it could be ready in a month. Well, the traditional holiday season can be a tough time to sell, but it can also be an opportunity. Hot cider at open houses, having a holiday party with all of your neighbors, friends and acquaintances invited, sending out a New Year card or letter with a beautiful photo of your living room and information about the sale: These are all things you can do to help sell the house. At a time of year when everyone is party-hopping, you have an opportunity to get lots of people in your house and get them to recommend it to anyone they know who might want to buy in your area. Neighbors are great sales people!</p>
<p>So if your timeline means it’s important to start marketing your house right away, take the time to get it ready and then make the most of the season and show people what makes your house special.</p>
<p>Another benefit of listing in the winter is many other people will remove their houses from the market for the season, leaving you with slightly less competition.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Good luck! As always, if you present it well, make it easy to be seen and price it right, there’s no reason you shouldn’t be able to sell your house.</p>
<p>Talia Freedman is a Realtor with Signature Southwest Properties</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p /> | Should I market my unready house? | false | https://abqjournal.com/275743/should-i-market-my-unready-house.html | 2013-10-05 | 2least
| Should I market my unready house?
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<p />
<p>A: This is a common question this time of year. To answer your second question first: You should never put a house on the market “just the way it is” unless it is perfect. If you have the means, take the time to make repairs, clean and stage. If you list your house without preparing it, and you don’t compensate for that in the price, then you might as well not list it at all. If there are things you need to do to the house, do them. Getting people in the door only to find out the issues you have are going to prevent you from selling is a waste of time. Better to spend the coming months getting the house ready and then really hit the market hard when your house looks as good as possible.</p>
<p>As for timing, spring and summer are prime selling seasons, but people buy houses in the winter, too. If you’re able to get your house ready to sell sometime in October, you’ll still have about a month before Thanksgiving and you might be able to get some good activity and showings. You might even be able to sell it. You’ll also have the beginning of December where there’s some selling activity. I know I’ve sold houses in December.</p>
<p>So, when should you list your house? You mentioned it could be ready in a month. Well, the traditional holiday season can be a tough time to sell, but it can also be an opportunity. Hot cider at open houses, having a holiday party with all of your neighbors, friends and acquaintances invited, sending out a New Year card or letter with a beautiful photo of your living room and information about the sale: These are all things you can do to help sell the house. At a time of year when everyone is party-hopping, you have an opportunity to get lots of people in your house and get them to recommend it to anyone they know who might want to buy in your area. Neighbors are great sales people!</p>
<p>So if your timeline means it’s important to start marketing your house right away, take the time to get it ready and then make the most of the season and show people what makes your house special.</p>
<p>Another benefit of listing in the winter is many other people will remove their houses from the market for the season, leaving you with slightly less competition.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Good luck! As always, if you present it well, make it easy to be seen and price it right, there’s no reason you shouldn’t be able to sell your house.</p>
<p>Talia Freedman is a Realtor with Signature Southwest Properties</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p /> | 3,969 |
<p>The political landscape of the United Kingdom has gone through upheaval in the general election on 8 June 2017, and the country is to begin difficult negotiations to leave the European Union by March 2019. Despite a small majority in the last Parliament, the Prime Minister, Theresa May, called a snap general election, asking the country to give her a landslide victory, and strengthen her hand in dealing with EU negotiators. She promised that she would be a “bloody difficult woman” in the negotiation, calculating that she would charm voters by so doing.</p>
<p>The British electorate denied her the mandate she wanted. From a modest but clear majority, the Conservative Party was reduced to a minority party with the largest number of seats in a hung Parliament. It was a pyrrhic victory, if it could be called a victory, causing heavy loss to her reputation and ability to make judgement.</p>
<p>Theresa May had to sacrifice two of her closest aides, Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill, described by cabinet ministers and Conservative parliamentarians as abusive and authoritarian. But the problem goes much deeper. Theresa May is a shy and secretive individual, reliant on a few loyal associates. Her spell as Prime Minister, and the seven-week general election campaign, demonstrated that she had difficulty articulating her vision, and how she would make it possible, to large audiences.</p>
<p>She avoided debating with opponents, and was often unable to address points directly. She either followed standard responses prepared in advance, or launched personal attacks on her rivals to deflect attention. For instance, she said that if she were not re-elected, the country would be sending Jeremy Corbyn “naked and alone” to the Brexit negotiation. And Jeremy Corbyn “will sneak into 10 Downing Street”, the Prime Minister’s official residence. Such remarks raised eyebrows.</p>
<p>Her tactical mistakes corroded her support base. The result of the June 2016 referendum on whether to exit the European Union was 52% – 48% in favour of leaving. An EU remainer before the referendum, her conversion into a fervent leaver was rapid. She became an advocate of severing all ties from the EU, the European Single Market and the European Court of Justice. She chose to pressure the EU into negotiating a new free trade agreement which would stop the current freedom of movement between the United Kingdom and the other 27 member-countries.</p>
<p>She threatened the other EU members that if she did not get her way in the negotiation, the United Kingdom could stop sharing intelligence with them. The Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, warned that British people would stop buying Italian wine. Several members of her cabinet warned that German car manufacturers would suffer if British customers stopped buying their automobiles. There was never a chance of that happening.</p>
<p>Irritated by attacks on the European Union for years, the EU’s patience seemed to be running out. A “divorce bill” as big as 100 billion euros was mentioned within EU circles. In London, some people talked of no payment at all. The status of several million European immigrants in the UK and British citizens living in the rest of the EU became a matter of contention. Threats were issued by both sides. As talks begin, the relationship between the two sides is far from congenial.</p>
<p>Theresa May played an overtly nationalistic card to draw the anti-immigration UK Independence Party’s supporters towards her. She told the British people: “If you are a citizen of the world, you are a citizen of nowhere.” This rhetoric repelled many cosmopolitan voters often travelling or living abroad. Young voters were attracted towards the main opposition Labour Party. Under its left-wing leader, Jeremy Corbyn, Labour performed much better than expected.</p>
<p>Theresa May’s eagerness to cosy up with the United States President, Donald Trump, also did not help. Keen to show off the United Kingdom’s “special relationship” with America, she was hasty to fly to Washington, to be the “first foreign leader” to meet Trump, where they were seen hand-in-hand in the White House. She gave the clear impression that she was ready to abandon Britain’s EU membership, and accept ever more dependence on an erratic and unreliable American President.</p>
<p>She invited Trump for a state visit to the United Kingdom, generating considerable opposition at home. Trump’s frequent personal attacks on London Mayor Sadiq Khan, a Muslim, and Theresa May’s reluctance to express her disapproval of Trump’s remarks did not go down well in Britain. It all made her look weak. Trump’s state visit has now been put off.</p>
<p>Theresa May will now head a minority government, dependent on Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), a hard-line protestant group, to sustain her government. DUP backed leaving the European Union in the June 2016 referendum. But it does not want a hard border between Northern Ireland and the neighbouring Republic of Ireland, an EU member. With her government now reduced to a minority in Parliament, Theresa May has a very weak hand in the coming Brexit negotiation.</p>
<p>How her political calculations failed so spectacularly will be a matter for analysis for months or longer. Many commentators, including this one, had interpreted the narrow result to leave the EU in June 2016 primarily as a vote against immigration, and the perceived burden immigrants put on the public services – immigrants who work legally in the UK to do jobs British people would not do, and pay tax.</p>
<p>The reality was more complex, for it was the government’s obsession to make financial cuts that did not allow more spending to meet the extra demand on the public services. It was thought that the anti-immigration sentiment whipped up by the UKIP drove the vote to leave the EU. Less than a year after, Theresa May’s Conservative Party adopted the same anti-immigrant rhetoric in the general election campaign in the hope of wooing UKIP voters.</p>
<p>It did not happen. Most working class voters, traditional supporters of the Labour Party, returned to their old party. It now looks as though the referendum was actually a protest vote against deep cuts in the government spending year after year, causing hardship for ordinary people. In the general election just held, Labour came out with a manifesto that promised extra spending on public services, abolition of the University tuition fee and protection for senior citizens’ pensions, financed by an increase in the corporation tax, and income tax on high income earners.</p>
<p>Young people, many of whom did not vote in the past, registered in vast numbers and did vote this time. Labour captured almost 65% of all votes under 40 years of age. This turnaround is both about fact and perception. Two months ago, the focus was on the Labour Party’s infighting, the electoral unacceptability of its socialist leader Jeremy Corbyn, and the image perpetuated by the right-wing press of Theresa May as a “strong and stable” leader. The picture now is the exact opposite. The Conservative Party is in disarray, and the Prime Minister, Theresa May, is seen as the loser. Governing the country has suddenly become a lot more difficult, and the government is not sure what kind of exit from the European Union to negotiate.</p>
<p>Deepak Tripathi is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.</p> | A Dis-United Kingdom: Brexit and Theresa May’s Pyrrhic Victory | true | https://counterpunch.org/2017/06/16/a-dis-united-kingdom-brexit-and-theresa-mays-pyrrhic-victory/ | 2017-06-16 | 4left
| A Dis-United Kingdom: Brexit and Theresa May’s Pyrrhic Victory
<p>The political landscape of the United Kingdom has gone through upheaval in the general election on 8 June 2017, and the country is to begin difficult negotiations to leave the European Union by March 2019. Despite a small majority in the last Parliament, the Prime Minister, Theresa May, called a snap general election, asking the country to give her a landslide victory, and strengthen her hand in dealing with EU negotiators. She promised that she would be a “bloody difficult woman” in the negotiation, calculating that she would charm voters by so doing.</p>
<p>The British electorate denied her the mandate she wanted. From a modest but clear majority, the Conservative Party was reduced to a minority party with the largest number of seats in a hung Parliament. It was a pyrrhic victory, if it could be called a victory, causing heavy loss to her reputation and ability to make judgement.</p>
<p>Theresa May had to sacrifice two of her closest aides, Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill, described by cabinet ministers and Conservative parliamentarians as abusive and authoritarian. But the problem goes much deeper. Theresa May is a shy and secretive individual, reliant on a few loyal associates. Her spell as Prime Minister, and the seven-week general election campaign, demonstrated that she had difficulty articulating her vision, and how she would make it possible, to large audiences.</p>
<p>She avoided debating with opponents, and was often unable to address points directly. She either followed standard responses prepared in advance, or launched personal attacks on her rivals to deflect attention. For instance, she said that if she were not re-elected, the country would be sending Jeremy Corbyn “naked and alone” to the Brexit negotiation. And Jeremy Corbyn “will sneak into 10 Downing Street”, the Prime Minister’s official residence. Such remarks raised eyebrows.</p>
<p>Her tactical mistakes corroded her support base. The result of the June 2016 referendum on whether to exit the European Union was 52% – 48% in favour of leaving. An EU remainer before the referendum, her conversion into a fervent leaver was rapid. She became an advocate of severing all ties from the EU, the European Single Market and the European Court of Justice. She chose to pressure the EU into negotiating a new free trade agreement which would stop the current freedom of movement between the United Kingdom and the other 27 member-countries.</p>
<p>She threatened the other EU members that if she did not get her way in the negotiation, the United Kingdom could stop sharing intelligence with them. The Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, warned that British people would stop buying Italian wine. Several members of her cabinet warned that German car manufacturers would suffer if British customers stopped buying their automobiles. There was never a chance of that happening.</p>
<p>Irritated by attacks on the European Union for years, the EU’s patience seemed to be running out. A “divorce bill” as big as 100 billion euros was mentioned within EU circles. In London, some people talked of no payment at all. The status of several million European immigrants in the UK and British citizens living in the rest of the EU became a matter of contention. Threats were issued by both sides. As talks begin, the relationship between the two sides is far from congenial.</p>
<p>Theresa May played an overtly nationalistic card to draw the anti-immigration UK Independence Party’s supporters towards her. She told the British people: “If you are a citizen of the world, you are a citizen of nowhere.” This rhetoric repelled many cosmopolitan voters often travelling or living abroad. Young voters were attracted towards the main opposition Labour Party. Under its left-wing leader, Jeremy Corbyn, Labour performed much better than expected.</p>
<p>Theresa May’s eagerness to cosy up with the United States President, Donald Trump, also did not help. Keen to show off the United Kingdom’s “special relationship” with America, she was hasty to fly to Washington, to be the “first foreign leader” to meet Trump, where they were seen hand-in-hand in the White House. She gave the clear impression that she was ready to abandon Britain’s EU membership, and accept ever more dependence on an erratic and unreliable American President.</p>
<p>She invited Trump for a state visit to the United Kingdom, generating considerable opposition at home. Trump’s frequent personal attacks on London Mayor Sadiq Khan, a Muslim, and Theresa May’s reluctance to express her disapproval of Trump’s remarks did not go down well in Britain. It all made her look weak. Trump’s state visit has now been put off.</p>
<p>Theresa May will now head a minority government, dependent on Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), a hard-line protestant group, to sustain her government. DUP backed leaving the European Union in the June 2016 referendum. But it does not want a hard border between Northern Ireland and the neighbouring Republic of Ireland, an EU member. With her government now reduced to a minority in Parliament, Theresa May has a very weak hand in the coming Brexit negotiation.</p>
<p>How her political calculations failed so spectacularly will be a matter for analysis for months or longer. Many commentators, including this one, had interpreted the narrow result to leave the EU in June 2016 primarily as a vote against immigration, and the perceived burden immigrants put on the public services – immigrants who work legally in the UK to do jobs British people would not do, and pay tax.</p>
<p>The reality was more complex, for it was the government’s obsession to make financial cuts that did not allow more spending to meet the extra demand on the public services. It was thought that the anti-immigration sentiment whipped up by the UKIP drove the vote to leave the EU. Less than a year after, Theresa May’s Conservative Party adopted the same anti-immigrant rhetoric in the general election campaign in the hope of wooing UKIP voters.</p>
<p>It did not happen. Most working class voters, traditional supporters of the Labour Party, returned to their old party. It now looks as though the referendum was actually a protest vote against deep cuts in the government spending year after year, causing hardship for ordinary people. In the general election just held, Labour came out with a manifesto that promised extra spending on public services, abolition of the University tuition fee and protection for senior citizens’ pensions, financed by an increase in the corporation tax, and income tax on high income earners.</p>
<p>Young people, many of whom did not vote in the past, registered in vast numbers and did vote this time. Labour captured almost 65% of all votes under 40 years of age. This turnaround is both about fact and perception. Two months ago, the focus was on the Labour Party’s infighting, the electoral unacceptability of its socialist leader Jeremy Corbyn, and the image perpetuated by the right-wing press of Theresa May as a “strong and stable” leader. The picture now is the exact opposite. The Conservative Party is in disarray, and the Prime Minister, Theresa May, is seen as the loser. Governing the country has suddenly become a lot more difficult, and the government is not sure what kind of exit from the European Union to negotiate.</p>
<p>Deepak Tripathi is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.</p> | 3,970 |
<p>College campuses were once a place for intellectual discourse, where ideas of all kinds flourished and debate ruled the day.</p>
<p>No longer. Now, "safe spaces" protect coddled snowflakes from ever hearing a thought that doesn't exactly fit into their world view - and if someone dare offer such a thought, they protest.</p>
<p>That's what happened Friday night at Claremont McKenna College in California. Pro-law enforcement scholar Heather MacDonald was set to deliver a speech on campus, but an angry mob surrounded the building, "screaming obscenities and banging on windows," HeatStreet reported.</p>
<p>MacDonald, promoting her book, The War on Cops, which focuses on the Black Lives Matter movement, had to abandon her speech and deliver it on livestream and then "flee the University building under the protection of campus security when things got really scary."</p>
<p>Black Lives Matter activists had planned the protest ahead of time, posting on Facebook that they intended to shut down the “anti-black” “fascist” Mac Donald. Their event called Mac Donald’s work “fascist ideologies and blatant anti-Blackness and white supremacy,” and claimed that “together, we can hold CMC accountable and prevent Mac Donald from spewing her racist, anti-Black, capitalist, imperialist, fascist agenda.”</p>
<p>Mac Donald’s book, released amidst heightened tensions between the black community and the police, argues that better community policing, and familiarity with neighborhoods could reduce crime. She suggests that law enforcement officials actually believe that “black lives matter” more than activists do, and that the narrative that police are “racist” is making minority communities less safe.</p>
<p>The nuances of her argument, however, fell on deaf ears at liberal Claremont McKenna college, and when the time came for Mac Donald to give her speech, protesters (who included what appear to be middle aged activists alongside college students) ringed the building, chanting a range of slogans including, “From Oakland to Greece, f– the police” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”</p>
<p>Mac Donald then moved her speech to a livestream, but when the chants turned into threats, and protesters began banging on the windows, campus police had to escort Mac Donald out of the building, escaping through a kitchen and into an unmarked police van outside.</p>
<p>One student journalist told Campus Reform that they tried to interview protesters about MacDonald’s book, but when it "became clear they weren’t familiar with her work, the mob got violent."</p>
<p>“Protesters tried to prevent me from conducting interviews by pushing me, grabbing me, and blocking my camera. Several protesters followed me around for almost an hour and formed a wall around me,” the student said.</p>
<p>The university’s vice president for academic affairs, Peter Uvin, ripped the protesters.</p>
<p>“What we face here is not an attempt to demonstrate, or to ask tough questions of our speaker, all of which are both protected and cherished on this campus, but rather to make it impossible for her to speak, for you to listen, and for all of us to debate. This we could not accept,” he said.</p> | Violent Mob Shuts Down College Speech By Pro-Police Author | true | https://dailywire.com/news/15251/violent-mob-shuts-down-college-speech-pro-police-joseph-curl | 2017-04-09 | 0right
| Violent Mob Shuts Down College Speech By Pro-Police Author
<p>College campuses were once a place for intellectual discourse, where ideas of all kinds flourished and debate ruled the day.</p>
<p>No longer. Now, "safe spaces" protect coddled snowflakes from ever hearing a thought that doesn't exactly fit into their world view - and if someone dare offer such a thought, they protest.</p>
<p>That's what happened Friday night at Claremont McKenna College in California. Pro-law enforcement scholar Heather MacDonald was set to deliver a speech on campus, but an angry mob surrounded the building, "screaming obscenities and banging on windows," HeatStreet reported.</p>
<p>MacDonald, promoting her book, The War on Cops, which focuses on the Black Lives Matter movement, had to abandon her speech and deliver it on livestream and then "flee the University building under the protection of campus security when things got really scary."</p>
<p>Black Lives Matter activists had planned the protest ahead of time, posting on Facebook that they intended to shut down the “anti-black” “fascist” Mac Donald. Their event called Mac Donald’s work “fascist ideologies and blatant anti-Blackness and white supremacy,” and claimed that “together, we can hold CMC accountable and prevent Mac Donald from spewing her racist, anti-Black, capitalist, imperialist, fascist agenda.”</p>
<p>Mac Donald’s book, released amidst heightened tensions between the black community and the police, argues that better community policing, and familiarity with neighborhoods could reduce crime. She suggests that law enforcement officials actually believe that “black lives matter” more than activists do, and that the narrative that police are “racist” is making minority communities less safe.</p>
<p>The nuances of her argument, however, fell on deaf ears at liberal Claremont McKenna college, and when the time came for Mac Donald to give her speech, protesters (who included what appear to be middle aged activists alongside college students) ringed the building, chanting a range of slogans including, “From Oakland to Greece, f– the police” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”</p>
<p>Mac Donald then moved her speech to a livestream, but when the chants turned into threats, and protesters began banging on the windows, campus police had to escort Mac Donald out of the building, escaping through a kitchen and into an unmarked police van outside.</p>
<p>One student journalist told Campus Reform that they tried to interview protesters about MacDonald’s book, but when it "became clear they weren’t familiar with her work, the mob got violent."</p>
<p>“Protesters tried to prevent me from conducting interviews by pushing me, grabbing me, and blocking my camera. Several protesters followed me around for almost an hour and formed a wall around me,” the student said.</p>
<p>The university’s vice president for academic affairs, Peter Uvin, ripped the protesters.</p>
<p>“What we face here is not an attempt to demonstrate, or to ask tough questions of our speaker, all of which are both protected and cherished on this campus, but rather to make it impossible for her to speak, for you to listen, and for all of us to debate. This we could not accept,” he said.</p> | 3,971 |
<p>HUMBOLDT, Neb. (AP) — Jack Cooper didn’t know the first thing about newspapering when he bought the Humboldt Standard more than 40 years ago in an abrupt, midlife career change.</p>
<p>But the Kansas State agriculture major learned an early lesson he would lean on for decades, even when he was living out his final days in the nursing home last year.</p>
<p>If he worked hard enough, if he filled the Standard with the right stories and pictures, its thin newsprint could support the weight of his small hometown.</p>
<p>“Jack did a super job in Humboldt, and for Humboldt,” said Bill Schock, a friend and former owner of the nearby Falls City Journal. “He tried to cover everything, and he did a lot of it himself.”</p>
<p>Maybe not everything, said his sister, Virginia Babcock. It was rare for anything overly negative about Humboldt to find its way into Cooper’s pages, even as the population dipped from nearly 1,200 to fewer than 900, and his circulation followed.</p>
<p>“He beat the drum for the hometown and when other people said, ‘Oh, gosh, we’re dying, the kids aren’t staying,’ Jack never put that in the paper. It was always positive news.”</p>
<p>The 85-year-old died Jan. 6 in the community he’d almost always called home, beneath a K-State-colored blanket and with the solace that his mission of mostly good news would continue, the <a href="http://journalstar.com/news/state-and-regional/nebraska/humboldt-keeps-its-newspaper-alive-after-owner-s-death/article_6913cb1c-7a75-5109-ab3b-04779640ca68.html" type="external">Lincoln Journal Star</a> reported.</p>
<p>He’d seen to that before he left.</p>
<p>John “Jack” Cooper Jr. rarely strayed from Richardson County in the state’s southeast corner, where his family operated the O.A. Cooper Co., a successful mill. There’s still a pancake mix with their name, though Coopers haven’t been part of the business for years.</p>
<p>He left Humboldt when he was drafted, and again when he crossed the border for college.</p>
<p>He’d hoped to be a veterinarian, his sister said, but that didn’t work out. He returned with a degree in agriculture, expecting a lifetime in the family business.</p>
<p>That didn’t work out, either. “My uncle fired him after a while,” Babcock said. “So that wasn’t going to be his career after all.”</p>
<p>Their father bought a gas station down the road in Falls City, and Cooper ran it for years, until the pull of Humboldt brought him home again. In April 1975, he paid $50,000 for the Standard.</p>
<p>“He didn’t know a thing about it,” Babcock said. “The man who sold it to him stayed one day and said, ‘Here’s what you do, Jack.’ And then he was gone.”</p>
<p>Cooper would later tell others he’d been duped, that the seller told him owning the paper was the easiest job, that he only had to work Monday through Wednesday, and that he could unwind the rest of the week pheasant hunting.</p>
<p>But he was already having fun just a few months later, he told a Lincoln Journal reporter. And he was giving his newspaper a voice — he wrote articles that read like editorials, and editorials that read like articles, the Lincoln reporter wrote.</p>
<p>That first year, Cooper crusaded to save the home for the elderly and its $200,000 payroll. That was a lot of dough for a small town, he explained.</p>
<p>Not everybody in Humboldt was prepared to see the paper take strong stances.</p>
<p>“I’ve lost a few advertisers occasionally, but they come back,” he said at the time. “There are people out there who don’t like me, but that’s OK. I don’t like them, either.”</p>
<p>Those first few months, he was still trying to determine if he could make a living. His bank account was overdrawn $384, he said. “That’s less than it’s been overdrawn in previous months and that’s progress, isn’t it?”</p>
<p>He would make more than a living; he made it a life. He reported on everything good in his community — school events, sports, meetings and gatherings, 4-H and FFA.</p>
<p>For a reporter with no experience, Cooper learned to get around, said his friend, Schock.</p>
<p>“I didn’t see how he put out a paper every week. He wasn’t a professional writer, but he covered stuff. Everything was for Humboldt.”</p>
<p>A few years ago, Cooper won the Nebraska Press Association’s Harpst Award. Its highest honor isn’t a prize for journalism, but for a publisher’s leadership.</p>
<p>The nomination went on, page after page after page, said Allen Beermann, the association’s director. But here’s an excerpt:</p>
<p>“No other person has had the influence as Jack Cooper in coalescing a community to continue to keep our town alive and relevant. His leadership can be counted upon in practically any situation; his cooperation is guaranteed.”</p>
<p>His positions weren’t always popular or universal. If Cooper decided the town needed a new swimming pool, for instance, he’d put his newspaper behind the idea — even if some readers didn’t want to pay, Beermann said.</p>
<p>“He was first a community supporter and, second, a journalist. He really put community ahead of his paper many times, even sometimes to the detriment of his paper.”</p>
<p>But he also knew his duty to report the truth, despite the cost, his sister said. She remembers one of her in-laws canceling the paper after Cooper ran something about what his son had done.</p>
<p>“He would get in trouble sometimes,” she said, “when he put in things that people didn’t want people to know.”</p>
<p>Cooper grew too weak over the summer to continue running the paper full time. He turned the operation over to his two employees, Roxanne Sailors and Jane Hogue.</p>
<p>But he still cared. Every Wednesday afternoon, the two women would carry a paper up to him at the nursing home. “And he’d go over it and give us his critique,” Sailors said. “He was really good, clear up until the end.”</p>
<p>If he thought they were running too many photos, he’d tell them: “Pictures are great if you’re doing a comic book.”</p>
<p>He was also planning the paper’s future.</p>
<p>“He knew he was terminally ill and he wanted to be the person to make the decision who should buy the paper,” his sister said. “It was very important to him that it continue.”</p>
<p>A group of business owners had approached him, suggesting they buy the Standard with their pooled money. But Cooper was wary, because he didn’t know who would run it when he was gone, his sister said. He fielded several other offers.</p>
<p>Then George Marburger showed up. He didn’t know the first thing about newspapering, either, but he knew the Standard’s role in his town.</p>
<p>“We had to keep the paper. In a small town, you close the paper up, you don’t have a town.”</p>
<p>Marburger runs the town’s shoe store, the state’s oldest that has been open since 1879, he said and fixes lawnmowers. And as of the first of December, he also owns a newspaper.</p>
<p>Cooper knew it would be in good hands, his sister said. “Something clicked. They came to terms rather easily, I think.”</p>
<p>Marburger doesn’t spend any time at the newspaper. He has two good people putting out the Standard and he’s been told to stay out of their way. He’s happy to.</p>
<p>“I got nothing to do with the paper other than the money,” he said.</p>
<p>At the newspaper, Sailors and Hogue are making some changes. More photos, more features, more news from other communities. They’re asking people: What do you want to read? What do you want to see?</p>
<p>And they’re hearing: What can we do to help?</p>
<p>Cooper and his newspaper had done so much for Humboldt, and now Humboldt is returning the favor, volunteering to take photos and cover events and submit stories.</p>
<p>“I can tell you, and I’ve said this many times, in our paper, it’s not just Jane and I that put it all together,” Sailors said. “We’ve had so much support from the community.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: Lincoln Journal Star, <a href="http://www.journalstar.com" type="external" /> <a href="http://www.journalstar.com" type="external">http://www.journalstar.com</a></p>
<p>HUMBOLDT, Neb. (AP) — Jack Cooper didn’t know the first thing about newspapering when he bought the Humboldt Standard more than 40 years ago in an abrupt, midlife career change.</p>
<p>But the Kansas State agriculture major learned an early lesson he would lean on for decades, even when he was living out his final days in the nursing home last year.</p>
<p>If he worked hard enough, if he filled the Standard with the right stories and pictures, its thin newsprint could support the weight of his small hometown.</p>
<p>“Jack did a super job in Humboldt, and for Humboldt,” said Bill Schock, a friend and former owner of the nearby Falls City Journal. “He tried to cover everything, and he did a lot of it himself.”</p>
<p>Maybe not everything, said his sister, Virginia Babcock. It was rare for anything overly negative about Humboldt to find its way into Cooper’s pages, even as the population dipped from nearly 1,200 to fewer than 900, and his circulation followed.</p>
<p>“He beat the drum for the hometown and when other people said, ‘Oh, gosh, we’re dying, the kids aren’t staying,’ Jack never put that in the paper. It was always positive news.”</p>
<p>The 85-year-old died Jan. 6 in the community he’d almost always called home, beneath a K-State-colored blanket and with the solace that his mission of mostly good news would continue, the <a href="http://journalstar.com/news/state-and-regional/nebraska/humboldt-keeps-its-newspaper-alive-after-owner-s-death/article_6913cb1c-7a75-5109-ab3b-04779640ca68.html" type="external">Lincoln Journal Star</a> reported.</p>
<p>He’d seen to that before he left.</p>
<p>John “Jack” Cooper Jr. rarely strayed from Richardson County in the state’s southeast corner, where his family operated the O.A. Cooper Co., a successful mill. There’s still a pancake mix with their name, though Coopers haven’t been part of the business for years.</p>
<p>He left Humboldt when he was drafted, and again when he crossed the border for college.</p>
<p>He’d hoped to be a veterinarian, his sister said, but that didn’t work out. He returned with a degree in agriculture, expecting a lifetime in the family business.</p>
<p>That didn’t work out, either. “My uncle fired him after a while,” Babcock said. “So that wasn’t going to be his career after all.”</p>
<p>Their father bought a gas station down the road in Falls City, and Cooper ran it for years, until the pull of Humboldt brought him home again. In April 1975, he paid $50,000 for the Standard.</p>
<p>“He didn’t know a thing about it,” Babcock said. “The man who sold it to him stayed one day and said, ‘Here’s what you do, Jack.’ And then he was gone.”</p>
<p>Cooper would later tell others he’d been duped, that the seller told him owning the paper was the easiest job, that he only had to work Monday through Wednesday, and that he could unwind the rest of the week pheasant hunting.</p>
<p>But he was already having fun just a few months later, he told a Lincoln Journal reporter. And he was giving his newspaper a voice — he wrote articles that read like editorials, and editorials that read like articles, the Lincoln reporter wrote.</p>
<p>That first year, Cooper crusaded to save the home for the elderly and its $200,000 payroll. That was a lot of dough for a small town, he explained.</p>
<p>Not everybody in Humboldt was prepared to see the paper take strong stances.</p>
<p>“I’ve lost a few advertisers occasionally, but they come back,” he said at the time. “There are people out there who don’t like me, but that’s OK. I don’t like them, either.”</p>
<p>Those first few months, he was still trying to determine if he could make a living. His bank account was overdrawn $384, he said. “That’s less than it’s been overdrawn in previous months and that’s progress, isn’t it?”</p>
<p>He would make more than a living; he made it a life. He reported on everything good in his community — school events, sports, meetings and gatherings, 4-H and FFA.</p>
<p>For a reporter with no experience, Cooper learned to get around, said his friend, Schock.</p>
<p>“I didn’t see how he put out a paper every week. He wasn’t a professional writer, but he covered stuff. Everything was for Humboldt.”</p>
<p>A few years ago, Cooper won the Nebraska Press Association’s Harpst Award. Its highest honor isn’t a prize for journalism, but for a publisher’s leadership.</p>
<p>The nomination went on, page after page after page, said Allen Beermann, the association’s director. But here’s an excerpt:</p>
<p>“No other person has had the influence as Jack Cooper in coalescing a community to continue to keep our town alive and relevant. His leadership can be counted upon in practically any situation; his cooperation is guaranteed.”</p>
<p>His positions weren’t always popular or universal. If Cooper decided the town needed a new swimming pool, for instance, he’d put his newspaper behind the idea — even if some readers didn’t want to pay, Beermann said.</p>
<p>“He was first a community supporter and, second, a journalist. He really put community ahead of his paper many times, even sometimes to the detriment of his paper.”</p>
<p>But he also knew his duty to report the truth, despite the cost, his sister said. She remembers one of her in-laws canceling the paper after Cooper ran something about what his son had done.</p>
<p>“He would get in trouble sometimes,” she said, “when he put in things that people didn’t want people to know.”</p>
<p>Cooper grew too weak over the summer to continue running the paper full time. He turned the operation over to his two employees, Roxanne Sailors and Jane Hogue.</p>
<p>But he still cared. Every Wednesday afternoon, the two women would carry a paper up to him at the nursing home. “And he’d go over it and give us his critique,” Sailors said. “He was really good, clear up until the end.”</p>
<p>If he thought they were running too many photos, he’d tell them: “Pictures are great if you’re doing a comic book.”</p>
<p>He was also planning the paper’s future.</p>
<p>“He knew he was terminally ill and he wanted to be the person to make the decision who should buy the paper,” his sister said. “It was very important to him that it continue.”</p>
<p>A group of business owners had approached him, suggesting they buy the Standard with their pooled money. But Cooper was wary, because he didn’t know who would run it when he was gone, his sister said. He fielded several other offers.</p>
<p>Then George Marburger showed up. He didn’t know the first thing about newspapering, either, but he knew the Standard’s role in his town.</p>
<p>“We had to keep the paper. In a small town, you close the paper up, you don’t have a town.”</p>
<p>Marburger runs the town’s shoe store, the state’s oldest that has been open since 1879, he said and fixes lawnmowers. And as of the first of December, he also owns a newspaper.</p>
<p>Cooper knew it would be in good hands, his sister said. “Something clicked. They came to terms rather easily, I think.”</p>
<p>Marburger doesn’t spend any time at the newspaper. He has two good people putting out the Standard and he’s been told to stay out of their way. He’s happy to.</p>
<p>“I got nothing to do with the paper other than the money,” he said.</p>
<p>At the newspaper, Sailors and Hogue are making some changes. More photos, more features, more news from other communities. They’re asking people: What do you want to read? What do you want to see?</p>
<p>And they’re hearing: What can we do to help?</p>
<p>Cooper and his newspaper had done so much for Humboldt, and now Humboldt is returning the favor, volunteering to take photos and cover events and submit stories.</p>
<p>“I can tell you, and I’ve said this many times, in our paper, it’s not just Jane and I that put it all together,” Sailors said. “We’ve had so much support from the community.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: Lincoln Journal Star, <a href="http://www.journalstar.com" type="external" /> <a href="http://www.journalstar.com" type="external">http://www.journalstar.com</a></p> | Nebraska city keeps its newspaper alive after owner’s death | false | https://apnews.com/6ba8feaa0962417e813ccb0218f172d2 | 2018-01-20 | 2least
| Nebraska city keeps its newspaper alive after owner’s death
<p>HUMBOLDT, Neb. (AP) — Jack Cooper didn’t know the first thing about newspapering when he bought the Humboldt Standard more than 40 years ago in an abrupt, midlife career change.</p>
<p>But the Kansas State agriculture major learned an early lesson he would lean on for decades, even when he was living out his final days in the nursing home last year.</p>
<p>If he worked hard enough, if he filled the Standard with the right stories and pictures, its thin newsprint could support the weight of his small hometown.</p>
<p>“Jack did a super job in Humboldt, and for Humboldt,” said Bill Schock, a friend and former owner of the nearby Falls City Journal. “He tried to cover everything, and he did a lot of it himself.”</p>
<p>Maybe not everything, said his sister, Virginia Babcock. It was rare for anything overly negative about Humboldt to find its way into Cooper’s pages, even as the population dipped from nearly 1,200 to fewer than 900, and his circulation followed.</p>
<p>“He beat the drum for the hometown and when other people said, ‘Oh, gosh, we’re dying, the kids aren’t staying,’ Jack never put that in the paper. It was always positive news.”</p>
<p>The 85-year-old died Jan. 6 in the community he’d almost always called home, beneath a K-State-colored blanket and with the solace that his mission of mostly good news would continue, the <a href="http://journalstar.com/news/state-and-regional/nebraska/humboldt-keeps-its-newspaper-alive-after-owner-s-death/article_6913cb1c-7a75-5109-ab3b-04779640ca68.html" type="external">Lincoln Journal Star</a> reported.</p>
<p>He’d seen to that before he left.</p>
<p>John “Jack” Cooper Jr. rarely strayed from Richardson County in the state’s southeast corner, where his family operated the O.A. Cooper Co., a successful mill. There’s still a pancake mix with their name, though Coopers haven’t been part of the business for years.</p>
<p>He left Humboldt when he was drafted, and again when he crossed the border for college.</p>
<p>He’d hoped to be a veterinarian, his sister said, but that didn’t work out. He returned with a degree in agriculture, expecting a lifetime in the family business.</p>
<p>That didn’t work out, either. “My uncle fired him after a while,” Babcock said. “So that wasn’t going to be his career after all.”</p>
<p>Their father bought a gas station down the road in Falls City, and Cooper ran it for years, until the pull of Humboldt brought him home again. In April 1975, he paid $50,000 for the Standard.</p>
<p>“He didn’t know a thing about it,” Babcock said. “The man who sold it to him stayed one day and said, ‘Here’s what you do, Jack.’ And then he was gone.”</p>
<p>Cooper would later tell others he’d been duped, that the seller told him owning the paper was the easiest job, that he only had to work Monday through Wednesday, and that he could unwind the rest of the week pheasant hunting.</p>
<p>But he was already having fun just a few months later, he told a Lincoln Journal reporter. And he was giving his newspaper a voice — he wrote articles that read like editorials, and editorials that read like articles, the Lincoln reporter wrote.</p>
<p>That first year, Cooper crusaded to save the home for the elderly and its $200,000 payroll. That was a lot of dough for a small town, he explained.</p>
<p>Not everybody in Humboldt was prepared to see the paper take strong stances.</p>
<p>“I’ve lost a few advertisers occasionally, but they come back,” he said at the time. “There are people out there who don’t like me, but that’s OK. I don’t like them, either.”</p>
<p>Those first few months, he was still trying to determine if he could make a living. His bank account was overdrawn $384, he said. “That’s less than it’s been overdrawn in previous months and that’s progress, isn’t it?”</p>
<p>He would make more than a living; he made it a life. He reported on everything good in his community — school events, sports, meetings and gatherings, 4-H and FFA.</p>
<p>For a reporter with no experience, Cooper learned to get around, said his friend, Schock.</p>
<p>“I didn’t see how he put out a paper every week. He wasn’t a professional writer, but he covered stuff. Everything was for Humboldt.”</p>
<p>A few years ago, Cooper won the Nebraska Press Association’s Harpst Award. Its highest honor isn’t a prize for journalism, but for a publisher’s leadership.</p>
<p>The nomination went on, page after page after page, said Allen Beermann, the association’s director. But here’s an excerpt:</p>
<p>“No other person has had the influence as Jack Cooper in coalescing a community to continue to keep our town alive and relevant. His leadership can be counted upon in practically any situation; his cooperation is guaranteed.”</p>
<p>His positions weren’t always popular or universal. If Cooper decided the town needed a new swimming pool, for instance, he’d put his newspaper behind the idea — even if some readers didn’t want to pay, Beermann said.</p>
<p>“He was first a community supporter and, second, a journalist. He really put community ahead of his paper many times, even sometimes to the detriment of his paper.”</p>
<p>But he also knew his duty to report the truth, despite the cost, his sister said. She remembers one of her in-laws canceling the paper after Cooper ran something about what his son had done.</p>
<p>“He would get in trouble sometimes,” she said, “when he put in things that people didn’t want people to know.”</p>
<p>Cooper grew too weak over the summer to continue running the paper full time. He turned the operation over to his two employees, Roxanne Sailors and Jane Hogue.</p>
<p>But he still cared. Every Wednesday afternoon, the two women would carry a paper up to him at the nursing home. “And he’d go over it and give us his critique,” Sailors said. “He was really good, clear up until the end.”</p>
<p>If he thought they were running too many photos, he’d tell them: “Pictures are great if you’re doing a comic book.”</p>
<p>He was also planning the paper’s future.</p>
<p>“He knew he was terminally ill and he wanted to be the person to make the decision who should buy the paper,” his sister said. “It was very important to him that it continue.”</p>
<p>A group of business owners had approached him, suggesting they buy the Standard with their pooled money. But Cooper was wary, because he didn’t know who would run it when he was gone, his sister said. He fielded several other offers.</p>
<p>Then George Marburger showed up. He didn’t know the first thing about newspapering, either, but he knew the Standard’s role in his town.</p>
<p>“We had to keep the paper. In a small town, you close the paper up, you don’t have a town.”</p>
<p>Marburger runs the town’s shoe store, the state’s oldest that has been open since 1879, he said and fixes lawnmowers. And as of the first of December, he also owns a newspaper.</p>
<p>Cooper knew it would be in good hands, his sister said. “Something clicked. They came to terms rather easily, I think.”</p>
<p>Marburger doesn’t spend any time at the newspaper. He has two good people putting out the Standard and he’s been told to stay out of their way. He’s happy to.</p>
<p>“I got nothing to do with the paper other than the money,” he said.</p>
<p>At the newspaper, Sailors and Hogue are making some changes. More photos, more features, more news from other communities. They’re asking people: What do you want to read? What do you want to see?</p>
<p>And they’re hearing: What can we do to help?</p>
<p>Cooper and his newspaper had done so much for Humboldt, and now Humboldt is returning the favor, volunteering to take photos and cover events and submit stories.</p>
<p>“I can tell you, and I’ve said this many times, in our paper, it’s not just Jane and I that put it all together,” Sailors said. “We’ve had so much support from the community.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: Lincoln Journal Star, <a href="http://www.journalstar.com" type="external" /> <a href="http://www.journalstar.com" type="external">http://www.journalstar.com</a></p>
<p>HUMBOLDT, Neb. (AP) — Jack Cooper didn’t know the first thing about newspapering when he bought the Humboldt Standard more than 40 years ago in an abrupt, midlife career change.</p>
<p>But the Kansas State agriculture major learned an early lesson he would lean on for decades, even when he was living out his final days in the nursing home last year.</p>
<p>If he worked hard enough, if he filled the Standard with the right stories and pictures, its thin newsprint could support the weight of his small hometown.</p>
<p>“Jack did a super job in Humboldt, and for Humboldt,” said Bill Schock, a friend and former owner of the nearby Falls City Journal. “He tried to cover everything, and he did a lot of it himself.”</p>
<p>Maybe not everything, said his sister, Virginia Babcock. It was rare for anything overly negative about Humboldt to find its way into Cooper’s pages, even as the population dipped from nearly 1,200 to fewer than 900, and his circulation followed.</p>
<p>“He beat the drum for the hometown and when other people said, ‘Oh, gosh, we’re dying, the kids aren’t staying,’ Jack never put that in the paper. It was always positive news.”</p>
<p>The 85-year-old died Jan. 6 in the community he’d almost always called home, beneath a K-State-colored blanket and with the solace that his mission of mostly good news would continue, the <a href="http://journalstar.com/news/state-and-regional/nebraska/humboldt-keeps-its-newspaper-alive-after-owner-s-death/article_6913cb1c-7a75-5109-ab3b-04779640ca68.html" type="external">Lincoln Journal Star</a> reported.</p>
<p>He’d seen to that before he left.</p>
<p>John “Jack” Cooper Jr. rarely strayed from Richardson County in the state’s southeast corner, where his family operated the O.A. Cooper Co., a successful mill. There’s still a pancake mix with their name, though Coopers haven’t been part of the business for years.</p>
<p>He left Humboldt when he was drafted, and again when he crossed the border for college.</p>
<p>He’d hoped to be a veterinarian, his sister said, but that didn’t work out. He returned with a degree in agriculture, expecting a lifetime in the family business.</p>
<p>That didn’t work out, either. “My uncle fired him after a while,” Babcock said. “So that wasn’t going to be his career after all.”</p>
<p>Their father bought a gas station down the road in Falls City, and Cooper ran it for years, until the pull of Humboldt brought him home again. In April 1975, he paid $50,000 for the Standard.</p>
<p>“He didn’t know a thing about it,” Babcock said. “The man who sold it to him stayed one day and said, ‘Here’s what you do, Jack.’ And then he was gone.”</p>
<p>Cooper would later tell others he’d been duped, that the seller told him owning the paper was the easiest job, that he only had to work Monday through Wednesday, and that he could unwind the rest of the week pheasant hunting.</p>
<p>But he was already having fun just a few months later, he told a Lincoln Journal reporter. And he was giving his newspaper a voice — he wrote articles that read like editorials, and editorials that read like articles, the Lincoln reporter wrote.</p>
<p>That first year, Cooper crusaded to save the home for the elderly and its $200,000 payroll. That was a lot of dough for a small town, he explained.</p>
<p>Not everybody in Humboldt was prepared to see the paper take strong stances.</p>
<p>“I’ve lost a few advertisers occasionally, but they come back,” he said at the time. “There are people out there who don’t like me, but that’s OK. I don’t like them, either.”</p>
<p>Those first few months, he was still trying to determine if he could make a living. His bank account was overdrawn $384, he said. “That’s less than it’s been overdrawn in previous months and that’s progress, isn’t it?”</p>
<p>He would make more than a living; he made it a life. He reported on everything good in his community — school events, sports, meetings and gatherings, 4-H and FFA.</p>
<p>For a reporter with no experience, Cooper learned to get around, said his friend, Schock.</p>
<p>“I didn’t see how he put out a paper every week. He wasn’t a professional writer, but he covered stuff. Everything was for Humboldt.”</p>
<p>A few years ago, Cooper won the Nebraska Press Association’s Harpst Award. Its highest honor isn’t a prize for journalism, but for a publisher’s leadership.</p>
<p>The nomination went on, page after page after page, said Allen Beermann, the association’s director. But here’s an excerpt:</p>
<p>“No other person has had the influence as Jack Cooper in coalescing a community to continue to keep our town alive and relevant. His leadership can be counted upon in practically any situation; his cooperation is guaranteed.”</p>
<p>His positions weren’t always popular or universal. If Cooper decided the town needed a new swimming pool, for instance, he’d put his newspaper behind the idea — even if some readers didn’t want to pay, Beermann said.</p>
<p>“He was first a community supporter and, second, a journalist. He really put community ahead of his paper many times, even sometimes to the detriment of his paper.”</p>
<p>But he also knew his duty to report the truth, despite the cost, his sister said. She remembers one of her in-laws canceling the paper after Cooper ran something about what his son had done.</p>
<p>“He would get in trouble sometimes,” she said, “when he put in things that people didn’t want people to know.”</p>
<p>Cooper grew too weak over the summer to continue running the paper full time. He turned the operation over to his two employees, Roxanne Sailors and Jane Hogue.</p>
<p>But he still cared. Every Wednesday afternoon, the two women would carry a paper up to him at the nursing home. “And he’d go over it and give us his critique,” Sailors said. “He was really good, clear up until the end.”</p>
<p>If he thought they were running too many photos, he’d tell them: “Pictures are great if you’re doing a comic book.”</p>
<p>He was also planning the paper’s future.</p>
<p>“He knew he was terminally ill and he wanted to be the person to make the decision who should buy the paper,” his sister said. “It was very important to him that it continue.”</p>
<p>A group of business owners had approached him, suggesting they buy the Standard with their pooled money. But Cooper was wary, because he didn’t know who would run it when he was gone, his sister said. He fielded several other offers.</p>
<p>Then George Marburger showed up. He didn’t know the first thing about newspapering, either, but he knew the Standard’s role in his town.</p>
<p>“We had to keep the paper. In a small town, you close the paper up, you don’t have a town.”</p>
<p>Marburger runs the town’s shoe store, the state’s oldest that has been open since 1879, he said and fixes lawnmowers. And as of the first of December, he also owns a newspaper.</p>
<p>Cooper knew it would be in good hands, his sister said. “Something clicked. They came to terms rather easily, I think.”</p>
<p>Marburger doesn’t spend any time at the newspaper. He has two good people putting out the Standard and he’s been told to stay out of their way. He’s happy to.</p>
<p>“I got nothing to do with the paper other than the money,” he said.</p>
<p>At the newspaper, Sailors and Hogue are making some changes. More photos, more features, more news from other communities. They’re asking people: What do you want to read? What do you want to see?</p>
<p>And they’re hearing: What can we do to help?</p>
<p>Cooper and his newspaper had done so much for Humboldt, and now Humboldt is returning the favor, volunteering to take photos and cover events and submit stories.</p>
<p>“I can tell you, and I’ve said this many times, in our paper, it’s not just Jane and I that put it all together,” Sailors said. “We’ve had so much support from the community.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: Lincoln Journal Star, <a href="http://www.journalstar.com" type="external" /> <a href="http://www.journalstar.com" type="external">http://www.journalstar.com</a></p> | 3,972 |
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<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A man biking from Rio Rancho to Albuquerque on N.M. 528 was killed after a pickup truck driver hit him and fled the scene Saturday night, according to the Albuquerque Police Department.</p>
<p>The driver was found a short time later in northwest Albuquerque. APD spokesman Daren J. DeAguero late Wednesday night said that the suspect in this case, identified as 22-year-old Cory Lucero, has been taken into custody and charged with vehicular&#160;homicide with great bodily harm while under the influence of an intoxicating liquor or drugs.</p>
<p>The name of the victim has not been released.</p>
<p>The hit and run occurred around 7:15 p.m. at Coors Bypass and N.M. 528. N.M. The victim was biking southbound in the shoulder of N.M. 528 when a Toyota Tacoma hit him and fled, witnesses told police. Witnesses gave the truck’s license plate number to police.</p>
<p>N.M. 528 was closed after the crash. DeAguero said it reopened around 11:30 p.m.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Police: Arrest made in fatal hit-and-run on N.M. 528 | false | https://abqjournal.com/461841/driver-questioned-in-fatal-hit-and-run.html | 2014-09-13 | 2least
| Police: Arrest made in fatal hit-and-run on N.M. 528
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A man biking from Rio Rancho to Albuquerque on N.M. 528 was killed after a pickup truck driver hit him and fled the scene Saturday night, according to the Albuquerque Police Department.</p>
<p>The driver was found a short time later in northwest Albuquerque. APD spokesman Daren J. DeAguero late Wednesday night said that the suspect in this case, identified as 22-year-old Cory Lucero, has been taken into custody and charged with vehicular&#160;homicide with great bodily harm while under the influence of an intoxicating liquor or drugs.</p>
<p>The name of the victim has not been released.</p>
<p>The hit and run occurred around 7:15 p.m. at Coors Bypass and N.M. 528. N.M. The victim was biking southbound in the shoulder of N.M. 528 when a Toyota Tacoma hit him and fled, witnesses told police. Witnesses gave the truck’s license plate number to police.</p>
<p>N.M. 528 was closed after the crash. DeAguero said it reopened around 11:30 p.m.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 3,973 |
<p>Gold prices climbed Friday, finding support as the U.S. dollar dropped to a three-week low after U.S. Federal Reserve Chairwoman failed to discuss monetary policy at the Jackson Hole, Wyo. symposium. December gold added $5.90, or 0.5%, to settle at $1,297.90 an ounce. That was the highest finish for a most-active contract since June 5, according to FactSet data.</p>
<p>Copyright © 2017 MarketWatch, Inc.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p> | Gold Logs Highest Settlement Since Early June, Up 0.5% For The Week | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/08/25/gold-logs-highest-settlement-since-early-june-up-05-for-week.html | 2017-08-25 | 0right
| Gold Logs Highest Settlement Since Early June, Up 0.5% For The Week
<p>Gold prices climbed Friday, finding support as the U.S. dollar dropped to a three-week low after U.S. Federal Reserve Chairwoman failed to discuss monetary policy at the Jackson Hole, Wyo. symposium. December gold added $5.90, or 0.5%, to settle at $1,297.90 an ounce. That was the highest finish for a most-active contract since June 5, according to FactSet data.</p>
<p>Copyright © 2017 MarketWatch, Inc.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p> | 3,974 |
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<p />
<p>Enrollment functions of the healthcare.gov site will be unavailable during off-peak hours this weekend, the Health and Human Services Department said Friday. The website will remain open for general information.</p>
<p>Technology problems overwhelmed the launch of new health insurance markets Tuesday, embarrassing the administration just when the health care law was supposed to be introduced to average consumers.</p>
<p>“Americans have seen once again that Obamacare is not ready for prime time,” Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia, the No. 2 House Republican, said in a statement. “A dysfunctional website is the least of that law’s problems.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The administration is putting the best face on the situation, noting the unexpectedly strong interest from millions of consumers. “Americans are excited to look at their options for health coverage, with record demand in the first days of the marketplaces,” said the release announcing the planned fixes.</p>
<p>The statement was headlined: “Health Insurance Marketplace Open for Business – Week One Success.”</p>
<p>The state-level markets were designed to be the gateway to health insurance for people who don’t have access to coverage on the job. Middle-class consumers will be able to buy government-subsidized private plans, while the poor and near-poor will be steered to Medicaid in states agreeing to expand the program.</p>
<p>Federal and state websites experienced problems this week. Some states, including Maryland, have also announced they are scheduling repairs.</p>
<p>Credit card companies, banks and other online service providers regularly take down websites for repairs. That may also become an aspect of the new insurance program. The HHS release did not provide a specific schedule for this weekend’s repairs.</p>
<p>The federal site, which serves 36 states, drew millions of users, an indication of strong consumer interest. Yet many people were unable to get on the site and others encountered glitches that prevented them from successfully completing their applications.</p>
<p>Many encountered a screen that told them to wait, and they did, sometimes for hours. Refreshing the screen only sent them to the back of the line.</p>
<p>Quite a few got hung up trying to create security questions to protect their accounts. The drop-down menus providing the questions would not populate. As a result, consumers could not advance through the application process and learn if they were eligible for a tax credit to help pay premiums, much less pick a plan.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Some who did make it through were timed out because they took too long comparing plans.</p>
<p>At the end of the first day at most a handful of people had managed to successfully enroll through the federal site.</p>
<p>However, by Friday, enrollments seemed to be picking up – though not yet at desired levels. The administration is not releasing numbers.</p>
<p>“We are pleased that enrollment for health care coverage through the new marketplaces is picking up,” the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association said in a statement. “We expect enrollment to continue to increase.”</p>
<p>The Blues are major players in the individual insurance market, but some smaller insurers have yet to see any new customers.</p>
<p>By Monday, “there will be significant improvements in the online consumer experience,” HHS said.</p>
<p /> | Health insurance website to go down for repairs | false | https://abqjournal.com/275569/health-insurance-website-to-go-down-for-repairs.html | 2013-10-05 | 2least
| Health insurance website to go down for repairs
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Enrollment functions of the healthcare.gov site will be unavailable during off-peak hours this weekend, the Health and Human Services Department said Friday. The website will remain open for general information.</p>
<p>Technology problems overwhelmed the launch of new health insurance markets Tuesday, embarrassing the administration just when the health care law was supposed to be introduced to average consumers.</p>
<p>“Americans have seen once again that Obamacare is not ready for prime time,” Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia, the No. 2 House Republican, said in a statement. “A dysfunctional website is the least of that law’s problems.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The administration is putting the best face on the situation, noting the unexpectedly strong interest from millions of consumers. “Americans are excited to look at their options for health coverage, with record demand in the first days of the marketplaces,” said the release announcing the planned fixes.</p>
<p>The statement was headlined: “Health Insurance Marketplace Open for Business – Week One Success.”</p>
<p>The state-level markets were designed to be the gateway to health insurance for people who don’t have access to coverage on the job. Middle-class consumers will be able to buy government-subsidized private plans, while the poor and near-poor will be steered to Medicaid in states agreeing to expand the program.</p>
<p>Federal and state websites experienced problems this week. Some states, including Maryland, have also announced they are scheduling repairs.</p>
<p>Credit card companies, banks and other online service providers regularly take down websites for repairs. That may also become an aspect of the new insurance program. The HHS release did not provide a specific schedule for this weekend’s repairs.</p>
<p>The federal site, which serves 36 states, drew millions of users, an indication of strong consumer interest. Yet many people were unable to get on the site and others encountered glitches that prevented them from successfully completing their applications.</p>
<p>Many encountered a screen that told them to wait, and they did, sometimes for hours. Refreshing the screen only sent them to the back of the line.</p>
<p>Quite a few got hung up trying to create security questions to protect their accounts. The drop-down menus providing the questions would not populate. As a result, consumers could not advance through the application process and learn if they were eligible for a tax credit to help pay premiums, much less pick a plan.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Some who did make it through were timed out because they took too long comparing plans.</p>
<p>At the end of the first day at most a handful of people had managed to successfully enroll through the federal site.</p>
<p>However, by Friday, enrollments seemed to be picking up – though not yet at desired levels. The administration is not releasing numbers.</p>
<p>“We are pleased that enrollment for health care coverage through the new marketplaces is picking up,” the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association said in a statement. “We expect enrollment to continue to increase.”</p>
<p>The Blues are major players in the individual insurance market, but some smaller insurers have yet to see any new customers.</p>
<p>By Monday, “there will be significant improvements in the online consumer experience,” HHS said.</p>
<p /> | 3,975 |
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<p />
<p>Public employee unions in New Mexico are re-evaluating their approach to Republicans in the Legislature after their push to oust Gov. Susana Martinez and defend the Democratic majority in the state House fell short on Election Day.</p>
<p>The state’s largest unions, including the American Federation of State, Municipal and County Employees and local branches of the National Education Association and American Federation of Teachers, invested big money in the 2014 campaign, including maximum cash donations directly to many of their endorsed candidates and volunteer staffing for several Democratic candidates’ campaigns.</p>
<p>But the unions were also the primary bankrollers for Democratic-leaning political action committees, giving hundreds of thousands of dollars to PACs such as the Patriot Majority Fund that funded campaign efforts on behalf of Democrats in legislative races.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>After the governor’s race, in which incumbent Martinez clobbered Democratic Attorney General Gary King, control of the 70-member state House was the election year’s big prize.</p>
<p>The Patriot Majority Fund drew criticism for caustic campaigning in at least six House races. In the end, five of the six hotly contested districts were won by Republicans, giving them control for the first time in 60 years with a 37-33 majority.</p>
<p>The AFSCME, NEA and AFT unions collectively gave more than $1.6 million to the Patriot Majority PAC.</p>
<p>The AFSCME political director, Carter Bundy, said voter apathy was a key factor in the election, in which turnout dropped to about 40 percent of registered voters, down from 53 percent of voters in 2010. Pundits had said a low turnout would favor Republicans over Democrats, who represent nearly half of all registered voters in New Mexico.</p>
<p>But Bundy said AFSCME will review its strategy to see how its efforts to elect pro-union candidates can be more successful in future races.</p>
<p>“Some of the key ones (candidates) didn’t come in,” Bundy said. “I think over some of the next few months, we’re all going to be taking a hard look as to what can be done better.”</p>
<p>NEA-New Mexico Executive Director Charles Bowyer said the teacher union will also evaluate how it can be more successful in future elections.</p>
<p>“Obviously, we’ll be doing a lot of Monday morning quarterbacking as we analyze the result of this election,” Bowyer said. “… Could we have had a better issue-based campaign? Absolutely. I think to some degree we shied away from issues and we got too much, both (sides of the aisle), into building up personalities and tearing down personalities.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Striking compromise</p>
<p>Public employees and teacher unions are looking for ways to work collaboratively with the state’s Republican governor over the next four years, and with the state’s Republican-majority House for at least the next two years, the union leaders said.</p>
<p>“It didn’t work out,” Bundy said of AFSCME’s backing of King for governor. “We certainly hope we’ll be able to find some common ground with Gov. Martinez in her second term, as we did in her first term.”</p>
<p>Bundy cited agreement between AFSCME and the Martinez administration on the overhaul of the state Public Employees Retirement Association pension fund as an example of a joint accomplishment with the Republican governor.</p>
<p>But Bundy also said he expects the Roundhouse to be a more hostile environment toward unions than in past years.</p>
<p>“There’s no question that some of the people who will now be in positions of power in the Legislature have made many anti-union statements in the past,” Bundy said. “So we expect that when those people win elections, and they campaign on the idea of trying to shut down unions, that some of them will follow through on that.”</p>
<p>NEA spokesman Charles Goodmacher agreed that union advocates and Republican leaders should be able to find a middle ground on many of the issues that will be up for debate in the coming years.</p>
<p>“That was true before the elections,” Goodmacher said of the effort to find political compromise. “The election got things very caustic, that’s true, but here we are, and legislators of both parties are there to govern now, hopefully, partisan politics aside.”</p>
<p>However, the sides appear to be far apart on several issues expected to come up for debate in the coming year. Those include efforts the Martinez administration has proposed to end the practice of deducting union dues from state paychecks. Another issue that could come is a so-called right-to-work law that would prohibit union membership from being a condition of employment.</p>
<p>Teacher unions in New Mexico, meanwhile, are firmly opposed to Martinez administration policies that base teacher evaluations heavily on students’ standardized testing scores and Republicans’ efforts to retain third-graders who don’t read proficiently.</p>
<p>Rep. Nate Gentry, the Republican House whip, said past efforts to find middle ground with the public employee unions did not stop those groups from targeting him personally in the 2014 election. But he said he and other House Republican leaders would hear them out.</p>
<p>“I am willing to sit down – despite how extraordinarily ugly their campaign ads against me were – I’m willing to put that behind me and sit down to reach compromise on some of these issues,” Gentry said. “But that’s got to be a two-way street. Having them in there just to stymie everything we’re trying to do is not compromise.”</p>
<p>Martinez spokesman Enrique Knell said the governor in her first term demonstrated an ability to compromise with political opponents. That approach will continue in the coming years so long as political opponents are working in good faith toward compromise, Knell said.</p>
<p>“She is more than happy to work with people dedicated to moving New Mexico forward, as long as they are honest, good-faith brokers,” Knell said.</p>
<p>Stephanie Ly, president of New Mexico branch of the American Federation of Teachers union, made her feelings clear in a letter to members after the election. She said she was “disappointed” that many union-backed candidates lost but pledged the union will “never stop fighting” for its beliefs.</p>
<p>“We are disappointed that some of our endorsed candidates failed to win their respective races, disappointed about the future of public education in New Mexico, and disappointed at the prospect of the status quo for another four years under the current governor,” Ly said in the letter.</p>
<p />
<p /> | Unions take stock after GOP victories | false | https://abqjournal.com/493258/nm-unions-take-stock-after-gop-victories.html | 2least
| Unions take stock after GOP victories
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Public employee unions in New Mexico are re-evaluating their approach to Republicans in the Legislature after their push to oust Gov. Susana Martinez and defend the Democratic majority in the state House fell short on Election Day.</p>
<p>The state’s largest unions, including the American Federation of State, Municipal and County Employees and local branches of the National Education Association and American Federation of Teachers, invested big money in the 2014 campaign, including maximum cash donations directly to many of their endorsed candidates and volunteer staffing for several Democratic candidates’ campaigns.</p>
<p>But the unions were also the primary bankrollers for Democratic-leaning political action committees, giving hundreds of thousands of dollars to PACs such as the Patriot Majority Fund that funded campaign efforts on behalf of Democrats in legislative races.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>After the governor’s race, in which incumbent Martinez clobbered Democratic Attorney General Gary King, control of the 70-member state House was the election year’s big prize.</p>
<p>The Patriot Majority Fund drew criticism for caustic campaigning in at least six House races. In the end, five of the six hotly contested districts were won by Republicans, giving them control for the first time in 60 years with a 37-33 majority.</p>
<p>The AFSCME, NEA and AFT unions collectively gave more than $1.6 million to the Patriot Majority PAC.</p>
<p>The AFSCME political director, Carter Bundy, said voter apathy was a key factor in the election, in which turnout dropped to about 40 percent of registered voters, down from 53 percent of voters in 2010. Pundits had said a low turnout would favor Republicans over Democrats, who represent nearly half of all registered voters in New Mexico.</p>
<p>But Bundy said AFSCME will review its strategy to see how its efforts to elect pro-union candidates can be more successful in future races.</p>
<p>“Some of the key ones (candidates) didn’t come in,” Bundy said. “I think over some of the next few months, we’re all going to be taking a hard look as to what can be done better.”</p>
<p>NEA-New Mexico Executive Director Charles Bowyer said the teacher union will also evaluate how it can be more successful in future elections.</p>
<p>“Obviously, we’ll be doing a lot of Monday morning quarterbacking as we analyze the result of this election,” Bowyer said. “… Could we have had a better issue-based campaign? Absolutely. I think to some degree we shied away from issues and we got too much, both (sides of the aisle), into building up personalities and tearing down personalities.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Striking compromise</p>
<p>Public employees and teacher unions are looking for ways to work collaboratively with the state’s Republican governor over the next four years, and with the state’s Republican-majority House for at least the next two years, the union leaders said.</p>
<p>“It didn’t work out,” Bundy said of AFSCME’s backing of King for governor. “We certainly hope we’ll be able to find some common ground with Gov. Martinez in her second term, as we did in her first term.”</p>
<p>Bundy cited agreement between AFSCME and the Martinez administration on the overhaul of the state Public Employees Retirement Association pension fund as an example of a joint accomplishment with the Republican governor.</p>
<p>But Bundy also said he expects the Roundhouse to be a more hostile environment toward unions than in past years.</p>
<p>“There’s no question that some of the people who will now be in positions of power in the Legislature have made many anti-union statements in the past,” Bundy said. “So we expect that when those people win elections, and they campaign on the idea of trying to shut down unions, that some of them will follow through on that.”</p>
<p>NEA spokesman Charles Goodmacher agreed that union advocates and Republican leaders should be able to find a middle ground on many of the issues that will be up for debate in the coming years.</p>
<p>“That was true before the elections,” Goodmacher said of the effort to find political compromise. “The election got things very caustic, that’s true, but here we are, and legislators of both parties are there to govern now, hopefully, partisan politics aside.”</p>
<p>However, the sides appear to be far apart on several issues expected to come up for debate in the coming year. Those include efforts the Martinez administration has proposed to end the practice of deducting union dues from state paychecks. Another issue that could come is a so-called right-to-work law that would prohibit union membership from being a condition of employment.</p>
<p>Teacher unions in New Mexico, meanwhile, are firmly opposed to Martinez administration policies that base teacher evaluations heavily on students’ standardized testing scores and Republicans’ efforts to retain third-graders who don’t read proficiently.</p>
<p>Rep. Nate Gentry, the Republican House whip, said past efforts to find middle ground with the public employee unions did not stop those groups from targeting him personally in the 2014 election. But he said he and other House Republican leaders would hear them out.</p>
<p>“I am willing to sit down – despite how extraordinarily ugly their campaign ads against me were – I’m willing to put that behind me and sit down to reach compromise on some of these issues,” Gentry said. “But that’s got to be a two-way street. Having them in there just to stymie everything we’re trying to do is not compromise.”</p>
<p>Martinez spokesman Enrique Knell said the governor in her first term demonstrated an ability to compromise with political opponents. That approach will continue in the coming years so long as political opponents are working in good faith toward compromise, Knell said.</p>
<p>“She is more than happy to work with people dedicated to moving New Mexico forward, as long as they are honest, good-faith brokers,” Knell said.</p>
<p>Stephanie Ly, president of New Mexico branch of the American Federation of Teachers union, made her feelings clear in a letter to members after the election. She said she was “disappointed” that many union-backed candidates lost but pledged the union will “never stop fighting” for its beliefs.</p>
<p>“We are disappointed that some of our endorsed candidates failed to win their respective races, disappointed about the future of public education in New Mexico, and disappointed at the prospect of the status quo for another four years under the current governor,” Ly said in the letter.</p>
<p />
<p /> | 3,976 |
|
<p>LANSING, Mich. (AP) - State officials have scheduled a series of public meetings for this month in Michigan's northeastern Lower Peninsula to discuss bovine tuberculosis and related matters.</p>
<p>Bovine TB is an often-fatal disease that in recent decades has infected numerous cattle and deer in the region.</p>
<p>The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Department of Natural Resources will host three gatherings for cattle producers and community members in Alcona, Alpena, Montmorency and Oscoda counties. They will deal with pending changes to the state's bovine TB zoning order and the local deer herd.</p>
<p>Those meetings will be Jan. 16 in Hubbard Lake, Jan. 17 in Hillman and Jan. 18 in Mio.</p>
<p>The agriculture department will lead two additional meetings Jan. 23 in the Presque Isle County towns of Rogers City and Onaway.</p>
<p>LANSING, Mich. (AP) - State officials have scheduled a series of public meetings for this month in Michigan's northeastern Lower Peninsula to discuss bovine tuberculosis and related matters.</p>
<p>Bovine TB is an often-fatal disease that in recent decades has infected numerous cattle and deer in the region.</p>
<p>The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Department of Natural Resources will host three gatherings for cattle producers and community members in Alcona, Alpena, Montmorency and Oscoda counties. They will deal with pending changes to the state's bovine TB zoning order and the local deer herd.</p>
<p>Those meetings will be Jan. 16 in Hubbard Lake, Jan. 17 in Hillman and Jan. 18 in Mio.</p>
<p>The agriculture department will lead two additional meetings Jan. 23 in the Presque Isle County towns of Rogers City and Onaway.</p> | Bovine tuberculosis public meetings planned for NE Michigan | false | https://apnews.com/8871292a023a4edfbe1f5d0a3d372d96 | 2018-01-07 | 2least
| Bovine tuberculosis public meetings planned for NE Michigan
<p>LANSING, Mich. (AP) - State officials have scheduled a series of public meetings for this month in Michigan's northeastern Lower Peninsula to discuss bovine tuberculosis and related matters.</p>
<p>Bovine TB is an often-fatal disease that in recent decades has infected numerous cattle and deer in the region.</p>
<p>The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Department of Natural Resources will host three gatherings for cattle producers and community members in Alcona, Alpena, Montmorency and Oscoda counties. They will deal with pending changes to the state's bovine TB zoning order and the local deer herd.</p>
<p>Those meetings will be Jan. 16 in Hubbard Lake, Jan. 17 in Hillman and Jan. 18 in Mio.</p>
<p>The agriculture department will lead two additional meetings Jan. 23 in the Presque Isle County towns of Rogers City and Onaway.</p>
<p>LANSING, Mich. (AP) - State officials have scheduled a series of public meetings for this month in Michigan's northeastern Lower Peninsula to discuss bovine tuberculosis and related matters.</p>
<p>Bovine TB is an often-fatal disease that in recent decades has infected numerous cattle and deer in the region.</p>
<p>The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Department of Natural Resources will host three gatherings for cattle producers and community members in Alcona, Alpena, Montmorency and Oscoda counties. They will deal with pending changes to the state's bovine TB zoning order and the local deer herd.</p>
<p>Those meetings will be Jan. 16 in Hubbard Lake, Jan. 17 in Hillman and Jan. 18 in Mio.</p>
<p>The agriculture department will lead two additional meetings Jan. 23 in the Presque Isle County towns of Rogers City and Onaway.</p> | 3,977 |
<p>Katy Perry’s Super Bowl halftime performance sounds like it is going to be pretty&#160;interesting. For one thing, the Roar singer might be dealing with some real life roaring, as she will be welcoming a lion and some sharks into her routine. Perry dropped this bomb at the Pepsi Super Bowl XLIX Halftime Show press conference this <a href="http://www.ecorazzi.com/2015/01/30/katy-perry-to-bring-a-lion-and-sharks-to-halftime-show/" type="external">week</a>, although she did not specify if the lion and sharks were going to be real. The singer does have a history of using live animals in her performances however, including parrots, tigers, elephants, and monkeys.</p>
<p>In the past this has not gone over well with the animal rights organization PETA, so they might be on the lookout for any potential issues with this performance as well. The Super Bowl of course is a loud setup with around 73,000 people in attendance for the game.</p>
<p>Animals aside, Katy will also <a href="http://thehonestyhour.com/2015/01/report-missy-elliott-join-katy-perry-super-bowl-halftime/" type="external">reportedly</a> be joined by rapper Missy Elliot, who she has not collaborated&#160;with since 2011 when Missy joined Katy for the remix of&#160;Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.). This news has been circulating as an anonymous tip and is unconfirmed, but probably did not come out of nowhere.</p>
<p>Past surprise appearances at the Super Bowl halftime shows included Beyonce reuniting with the girls of Destiny’s Child, and Janet Jackson’s infamous wardrobe malfunction. There is generally a good surprise in there somewhere.</p>
<p>Lenny Kravitz has also been confirmed as a guest performer for this year’s half time show, although where exactly he will come into the performance is unknown at this time.</p>
<p>In addition to being a multifaceted performer, Perry also owns her own label called Metamorphosis Music. Last year she signed her first artist named Ferras, who is still an unknown. There is the possibility that Perry will bring him into the performance in some way as well, although this is entirely <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/katy-perry-super-bowl-halftime-show-2015-1" type="external">speculation</a> at this point.</p>
<p>Pepsi has been the title sponsor for the Super Bowl’s halftime show since 2013, and they are also one of the largest advertisers of the game. Pepsi’s VP Marketing strategist Adam Harter is in charge of making&#160;decisions regarding performances with the games and events they are associated with. He spoke out on his decision to choose Katy Perry a performer this year.</p>
<p>For one thing, the Pepsi brand already has a long history with the singer. For another thing, she seems to encapsulate their brand well.</p>
<p>“She’s incredibly positive, very high-energy and has an optimistic point of view. She’s someone that embodies the mind-set that Pepsi strives for. We’ve always seen her as a great fit, and she is no doubt an amazing artist — not to mention the most-followed person on Twitter. The ability to tap into that fan base and social network was really appealing. She’s also creative. We knew that she would take a very unique approach to the show and the performance itself that we thought was worthy of the halftime show stage,” he <a href="http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/6458121/super-bowl-exclusive-pepsis-adam-harter-on-hiring-katy-perry-considering-taylor" type="external">said</a>.</p>
<p>Whatever happens at the show, Katy is confident that it is going to go well.&#160;“When you hear the first ring of the chord, I think jaws will drop and faces will melt,” she said.</p>
<p /> | Missy Elliot rumored to join Katy Perry’s Super Bowl performance | false | http://natmonitor.com/2015/01/31/missy-elliot-rumored-to-join-katy-perrys-super-bowl-performance/ | 2015-01-31 | 3left-center
| Missy Elliot rumored to join Katy Perry’s Super Bowl performance
<p>Katy Perry’s Super Bowl halftime performance sounds like it is going to be pretty&#160;interesting. For one thing, the Roar singer might be dealing with some real life roaring, as she will be welcoming a lion and some sharks into her routine. Perry dropped this bomb at the Pepsi Super Bowl XLIX Halftime Show press conference this <a href="http://www.ecorazzi.com/2015/01/30/katy-perry-to-bring-a-lion-and-sharks-to-halftime-show/" type="external">week</a>, although she did not specify if the lion and sharks were going to be real. The singer does have a history of using live animals in her performances however, including parrots, tigers, elephants, and monkeys.</p>
<p>In the past this has not gone over well with the animal rights organization PETA, so they might be on the lookout for any potential issues with this performance as well. The Super Bowl of course is a loud setup with around 73,000 people in attendance for the game.</p>
<p>Animals aside, Katy will also <a href="http://thehonestyhour.com/2015/01/report-missy-elliott-join-katy-perry-super-bowl-halftime/" type="external">reportedly</a> be joined by rapper Missy Elliot, who she has not collaborated&#160;with since 2011 when Missy joined Katy for the remix of&#160;Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.). This news has been circulating as an anonymous tip and is unconfirmed, but probably did not come out of nowhere.</p>
<p>Past surprise appearances at the Super Bowl halftime shows included Beyonce reuniting with the girls of Destiny’s Child, and Janet Jackson’s infamous wardrobe malfunction. There is generally a good surprise in there somewhere.</p>
<p>Lenny Kravitz has also been confirmed as a guest performer for this year’s half time show, although where exactly he will come into the performance is unknown at this time.</p>
<p>In addition to being a multifaceted performer, Perry also owns her own label called Metamorphosis Music. Last year she signed her first artist named Ferras, who is still an unknown. There is the possibility that Perry will bring him into the performance in some way as well, although this is entirely <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/katy-perry-super-bowl-halftime-show-2015-1" type="external">speculation</a> at this point.</p>
<p>Pepsi has been the title sponsor for the Super Bowl’s halftime show since 2013, and they are also one of the largest advertisers of the game. Pepsi’s VP Marketing strategist Adam Harter is in charge of making&#160;decisions regarding performances with the games and events they are associated with. He spoke out on his decision to choose Katy Perry a performer this year.</p>
<p>For one thing, the Pepsi brand already has a long history with the singer. For another thing, she seems to encapsulate their brand well.</p>
<p>“She’s incredibly positive, very high-energy and has an optimistic point of view. She’s someone that embodies the mind-set that Pepsi strives for. We’ve always seen her as a great fit, and she is no doubt an amazing artist — not to mention the most-followed person on Twitter. The ability to tap into that fan base and social network was really appealing. She’s also creative. We knew that she would take a very unique approach to the show and the performance itself that we thought was worthy of the halftime show stage,” he <a href="http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/6458121/super-bowl-exclusive-pepsis-adam-harter-on-hiring-katy-perry-considering-taylor" type="external">said</a>.</p>
<p>Whatever happens at the show, Katy is confident that it is going to go well.&#160;“When you hear the first ring of the chord, I think jaws will drop and faces will melt,” she said.</p>
<p /> | 3,978 |
<p />
<p>If today were election day….</p>
<p>There are 21 Democrat and 15 Republican seats in play, and, at this point, the seats in danger of flipping are almost all Democrat.There are currently 51 Democrat Senators (plus 2 independents, both of whom caucus with Democrats) and 47 Republicans, making it a 53/47 split. Presuming the Republican seats stay Republican (big presumption) and the 11 Democrat seats go 7-4 for the GOP (2 of the 3 toss-up seats staying Democrat), that will make the new Senate party line 54 Republican, 46 Democrat. That would be awesome! My biggest concern is voter fraud, the ace up the corrupt Democrat sleeve.</p>
<p>From US Conservative Politics:</p>
<p>Democratic Senate Seats Up For Re-Election in 2014</p>
<p>There are 21 US Senate seats up for re-election in 2014 that are currently held by Democrats, with more than half of those being vulnerable. These seats were won during the 2008 sweep year when President Barack Obama brought millions of new first time voters to the polls, and helping many of the down-ticket candidates along the way. While the Republicans are defending 14 seats in mostly conservative states, Democrats are defending a mixture of liberal, moderate, and conservative seats. The GOP would need to swing 6 seats to take control of the US Senate</p>
<p>Likely Safe Democratic Seats</p>
<p>There are nine seats that will probably stay safely in Democratic hands: Delaware – Chris Coons; Illinois – Richard Durbin; Massachusetts 2013 Special Election – Open; Hawaii – Special Election; New Jersey – Frank Lautenberg (Retiring); New Mexico – Tom Udall; Oregon – Jeff Merkley; Rhode Island – Jack Reed; Virginia – Mark Warner. There could be changes to this list. John Kerry’s seat was initially in this section, but after he left to become the Secretary of State it gave Scott Brown a decent shot at the seat. The seat was moved to vulnerable… until Brown bowed out of the special election being held in 2013. Iowa’s Tom Harkin was leaning safe until he opted for retirement. The retirement of Max Baucus also shifted his seat into “vulnerable” territory.</p>
<p>Vulnerable Democratic Seats</p>
<p>Alaska – Mark Begich won by 1-point in 2008 after Republican Ted Stevens was convicted of minor crimes just days before the general election. The conviction was later thrown out when it was later discovered that the prosecution had hidden key evidence that would have likely led to a non-guilty verdict. Without the prosecutorial misconduct, the US Senate outcome would have likely been different. Begich provided the 60th vote for Obamacare.</p>
<p>Arkansas – Mark Pryor didn’t face opposition in 2008, which was odd given the conservative tilt of the state. This will be his first time facing the voters since voting for Obamacare supporting most of the Obama agenda since. Democrat Blanche Lincoln lost by 21-points in 2010 after facing the voters for the first time and the GOP is hoping to repeat that performance against Pryor.</p>
<p>Colorado – Mark Udall won with 53% of the vote in his first contest and would be the favorite to win re-election. But there are a number of candidates who could make the race competitive for Republicans.</p>
<p>Iowa – Tom Harkin won by a healthy 26-point margin in 2008, but he decided not to seek re-election in 2014. Republicans have a fairly wide pool of candidates for a possible takeover.</p>
<p>Louisiana – Mary Landrieu has won election to the US Senate by an average of just 3 points in three elections. She remains one of the few Democratic senators in the south and, along with Pryor, will face voters for the first time since voting for Obamacare. Her blue-dog claims may be less convincing this time. So far, Congressman Bill Cassidy has has declared his candidacy for the GOP side and has raised considerable cash. (Full Louisiana 2014 analysis)</p>
<p>Michigan – The retirement hits keep coming for the Democrats as sure bet Carl Levin announced he would also retire in 2014. Both the GOP and Democratic fields are wide open and each side has recent victories to brag about. President Obama and Debbie Stabenow both won the state in 2010, but the Governor’s mansion any many statewide races flipped to the Republicans previously</p>
<p>Minnesota – “Comedian” Al Franken won by the slimmest of margins in a highly controversial outcome in 2008. Minnesota has trended blue, but Obama did not run away with the state in 2012, having picked up just 52% of the vote. So far, the GOP hasn’t had much luck finding a candidate. Former Governor Tim Pawlenty and US Senator Norm Coleman have passed on a run.</p>
<p>Montana – Mac Baucus announced he was retiring after his current term expires in this red state. Now it is up to the Republicans to find a candidate who can put the state in the win column. Former Democratic Governor Brian Schweitzer would be the best hope for Democrats. Mitt Romney carried the state by double digits in 2012.</p>
<p>New Hampshire – Jeanne Shaheen is one for two in this US Senate race but won’t be going up for round three against John E. Sununu. Sununu won by 5 points in 2002, while Shaheen won by 7 in 2008. New Hampshire is very unpredictable electorally. So far, there is no clear frontrunner to challenge Shaheen.</p>
<p>North Carolina – Kay Hagan enjoyed upset victories in 2008 along with Democrat Governor Bev Purdue and President Obama. Obama lost the state in 2012 and Purdue didn’t even try to run for re-election given her unpopularity (Subsequently won handily by the GOP ticket). Polls show Hagan is upside down in job approval and she will see no shortage of potential opponents.</p>
<p>South Dakota – Tim Johnson is another “moderate” Democrat in a heavily Republican state who announced is retirement rather than face the voters after voting for Obamacare. Former GOP Governor Mike Rounds announced his candidacy and the state’s lone congresswoman Kristi Noem, who just won re-election state-wide by 15 points, is considering a run. The Democrats best (and perhaps only) chance at keeping the seat rests with former congresswoman Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, who lost to Noem by just over 2 points n 2010.</p>
<p>West Virginia – Jay Rockefeller has decided not to run for re-election, giving the GOP a decent chance at finally winning a Senate seat in supposed-to-be-really-conservative West Virginia. Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito is running for the Republicans and very early polls have given her a healthy lead against potential Democratic opponents.</p>
<p>Current Senate make up….</p> | Republican control of the Senate likely in 2014…. | true | https://powderedwigsociety.com/republican-control-of-the-senate-likely-in-2014/ | 2013-12-29 | 0right
| Republican control of the Senate likely in 2014….
<p />
<p>If today were election day….</p>
<p>There are 21 Democrat and 15 Republican seats in play, and, at this point, the seats in danger of flipping are almost all Democrat.There are currently 51 Democrat Senators (plus 2 independents, both of whom caucus with Democrats) and 47 Republicans, making it a 53/47 split. Presuming the Republican seats stay Republican (big presumption) and the 11 Democrat seats go 7-4 for the GOP (2 of the 3 toss-up seats staying Democrat), that will make the new Senate party line 54 Republican, 46 Democrat. That would be awesome! My biggest concern is voter fraud, the ace up the corrupt Democrat sleeve.</p>
<p>From US Conservative Politics:</p>
<p>Democratic Senate Seats Up For Re-Election in 2014</p>
<p>There are 21 US Senate seats up for re-election in 2014 that are currently held by Democrats, with more than half of those being vulnerable. These seats were won during the 2008 sweep year when President Barack Obama brought millions of new first time voters to the polls, and helping many of the down-ticket candidates along the way. While the Republicans are defending 14 seats in mostly conservative states, Democrats are defending a mixture of liberal, moderate, and conservative seats. The GOP would need to swing 6 seats to take control of the US Senate</p>
<p>Likely Safe Democratic Seats</p>
<p>There are nine seats that will probably stay safely in Democratic hands: Delaware – Chris Coons; Illinois – Richard Durbin; Massachusetts 2013 Special Election – Open; Hawaii – Special Election; New Jersey – Frank Lautenberg (Retiring); New Mexico – Tom Udall; Oregon – Jeff Merkley; Rhode Island – Jack Reed; Virginia – Mark Warner. There could be changes to this list. John Kerry’s seat was initially in this section, but after he left to become the Secretary of State it gave Scott Brown a decent shot at the seat. The seat was moved to vulnerable… until Brown bowed out of the special election being held in 2013. Iowa’s Tom Harkin was leaning safe until he opted for retirement. The retirement of Max Baucus also shifted his seat into “vulnerable” territory.</p>
<p>Vulnerable Democratic Seats</p>
<p>Alaska – Mark Begich won by 1-point in 2008 after Republican Ted Stevens was convicted of minor crimes just days before the general election. The conviction was later thrown out when it was later discovered that the prosecution had hidden key evidence that would have likely led to a non-guilty verdict. Without the prosecutorial misconduct, the US Senate outcome would have likely been different. Begich provided the 60th vote for Obamacare.</p>
<p>Arkansas – Mark Pryor didn’t face opposition in 2008, which was odd given the conservative tilt of the state. This will be his first time facing the voters since voting for Obamacare supporting most of the Obama agenda since. Democrat Blanche Lincoln lost by 21-points in 2010 after facing the voters for the first time and the GOP is hoping to repeat that performance against Pryor.</p>
<p>Colorado – Mark Udall won with 53% of the vote in his first contest and would be the favorite to win re-election. But there are a number of candidates who could make the race competitive for Republicans.</p>
<p>Iowa – Tom Harkin won by a healthy 26-point margin in 2008, but he decided not to seek re-election in 2014. Republicans have a fairly wide pool of candidates for a possible takeover.</p>
<p>Louisiana – Mary Landrieu has won election to the US Senate by an average of just 3 points in three elections. She remains one of the few Democratic senators in the south and, along with Pryor, will face voters for the first time since voting for Obamacare. Her blue-dog claims may be less convincing this time. So far, Congressman Bill Cassidy has has declared his candidacy for the GOP side and has raised considerable cash. (Full Louisiana 2014 analysis)</p>
<p>Michigan – The retirement hits keep coming for the Democrats as sure bet Carl Levin announced he would also retire in 2014. Both the GOP and Democratic fields are wide open and each side has recent victories to brag about. President Obama and Debbie Stabenow both won the state in 2010, but the Governor’s mansion any many statewide races flipped to the Republicans previously</p>
<p>Minnesota – “Comedian” Al Franken won by the slimmest of margins in a highly controversial outcome in 2008. Minnesota has trended blue, but Obama did not run away with the state in 2012, having picked up just 52% of the vote. So far, the GOP hasn’t had much luck finding a candidate. Former Governor Tim Pawlenty and US Senator Norm Coleman have passed on a run.</p>
<p>Montana – Mac Baucus announced he was retiring after his current term expires in this red state. Now it is up to the Republicans to find a candidate who can put the state in the win column. Former Democratic Governor Brian Schweitzer would be the best hope for Democrats. Mitt Romney carried the state by double digits in 2012.</p>
<p>New Hampshire – Jeanne Shaheen is one for two in this US Senate race but won’t be going up for round three against John E. Sununu. Sununu won by 5 points in 2002, while Shaheen won by 7 in 2008. New Hampshire is very unpredictable electorally. So far, there is no clear frontrunner to challenge Shaheen.</p>
<p>North Carolina – Kay Hagan enjoyed upset victories in 2008 along with Democrat Governor Bev Purdue and President Obama. Obama lost the state in 2012 and Purdue didn’t even try to run for re-election given her unpopularity (Subsequently won handily by the GOP ticket). Polls show Hagan is upside down in job approval and she will see no shortage of potential opponents.</p>
<p>South Dakota – Tim Johnson is another “moderate” Democrat in a heavily Republican state who announced is retirement rather than face the voters after voting for Obamacare. Former GOP Governor Mike Rounds announced his candidacy and the state’s lone congresswoman Kristi Noem, who just won re-election state-wide by 15 points, is considering a run. The Democrats best (and perhaps only) chance at keeping the seat rests with former congresswoman Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, who lost to Noem by just over 2 points n 2010.</p>
<p>West Virginia – Jay Rockefeller has decided not to run for re-election, giving the GOP a decent chance at finally winning a Senate seat in supposed-to-be-really-conservative West Virginia. Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito is running for the Republicans and very early polls have given her a healthy lead against potential Democratic opponents.</p>
<p>Current Senate make up….</p> | 3,979 |
<p>I went to South Africa in November to report for our project, <a href="" type="internal">Across Women’s Lives</a>. I sat down with a group of students at the University of Cape Town to talk about gender. The discussion quickly turned to race and class as well. Some members of the group knew each other before the conversation began but others did not. I was struck by how frank they all were. Here are some edited highlights from the discussion.</p>
<p>This conversation is just the beginning. Talk&#160;with these students, and add your thoughts on race and gender&#160;in <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pritheworld/posts/10152762850709888" type="external">a discussion on our Facebook page</a>.</p>
<p />
<p>Carolyn Le Tang</p>
<p>Jeb Sharp</p>
<p>Carolyn Le Tang, 31, graduate studies in linguistics</p>
<p>Yes, on paper the constitution will say women are as equal as men, but on the ground and actually in the every day experience of being female, it tells you in every way you are not as equal as a man. You can’t walk down the street without you being made aware that you’re female, a non-white female or whatever it is about you. You cannot escape it in this society.</p>
<p>As someone who grew up abroad, I’ve never been more conscious of my race than here. Race to me was this external thing, but now it’s like a coat that I wear wherever I go. South Africans don’t realize when they talk, they say things like “there was this black guy walking down the street,” and I’m still waiting to hear why his race was important in the story but it’s not! It’s just a way we’ve learned to speak about people.</p>
<p>Not sure I agree people are more open-minded. At the University of Pretoria two girls dressed up as domestic workers, cleaners, maids and they were white women with black makeup and put (something) under their skirts to make their bottoms bigger — and proudly took photos on Facebook and Instagram.</p>
<p />
<p>Robin Molteno</p>
<p>Jeb Sharp</p>
<p>Robin Molteno, 20, philosophy and English</p>
<p>[Are men and women equal in South Africa?] No. Not in a realistic sense. But what’s interesting in South Africa is we have no written-down political baggage because we started with a new constitution (in 1996). [Under] apartheid, if you were a woman and you were working for the apartheid government, and you got pregnant, you lost your job. That’s changed with our new constitution. Women are very equal. But that attitude is still being carried into South African culture, even by like our president, who said of his one daughter, she must get married so that she can learn to be a woman and have kids and perform her role. So it’s a very messy situation.</p>
<p />
<p>Kgabisa Kobue</p>
<p>Jeb Sharp</p>
<p>Kgabisa Kobue, 20, film and media, gender, sociology</p>
<p>[South Africa] is a very patriarchal setting. We usually talk about white privilege and then we find that black women are at the bottom of that whole hierarchy. We find black men being oppressed by white men and at the same time they come home and oppress their black wives. People get away with things like rape. Like our president, for example. If you think of it culturally, his whole argument when he was in court was based on culture: how as a Zulu man, he can do this, because it’s his right. I think in South Africa we have to look at the difference between culture and the constitution.</p>
<p>Update — Kgabisa posted the following in our Facebook chat: "I would also like to correct my statement. The president was found not guilty of rape although it is a controversial topic. I do however believe that men in South Africa get away with the mistreatment of women because of how patriarchal the country's cultures are."</p>
<p />
<p>Robynne Whitfield</p>
<p>Jeb Sharp</p>
<p>Robynne Whitfield,&#160;21, English and linguistics</p>
<p>Almost everything we do becomes dictated by [gender]. I did gender studies last year. Ads that cater to women, that assume you like pink things and makeup and shoes, things I don’t really care about, but also things like being discriminated against or whistled at or guys thinking that you’re their property because you’re a woman.</p>
<p>Rape is obviously very prominent in South Africa, and class and gender really intersect there. Women in townships are much more susceptible to being raped than a woman living in the suburbs. Being a woman, I’m much more afraid of being robbed or raped. I won’t walk down the street by myself. I prefer to have a friend or a guy with me.</p>
<p />
<p>Gift Nyatsambo</p>
<p>Jeb Sharp</p>
<p>Gift Nyatsambo, 20, law</p>
<p>I’m from Zimbabwe and when I came here I noticed how race is such a major issue and I feel like sometimes they take race too seriously and overshadow issues of gender and other problems. From the black face scandal in Pretoria [controversy over white students dressing up as black domestic workers] I feel like people were more outraged by the blackface, but they were not concerned about the perpetuation of the stereotype of women being cleaners.</p>
<p>Culturally, as a black man, the feeling is you are much superior to women and you tend to objectify women because culturally that’s the way it is. Women are like your possessions. It’s kind of a challenge because you try to move out of it but you have people around you and your friends and stuff and the way they see gender, the way they view women may be totally different. For me personally, I am of the view that women and men are equal. I even share it in a blog. But I have friends who tell me a woman is just a woman, she doesn’t have to be equal to you. You say the final thing.</p>
<p>I would say I try to be liberal. As I was growing up I was reading a lot. I read a book by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Purple Hibiscus, and it touched me and I started to see the world in a different way.</p>
<p />
<p>Kirsten Whitfield</p>
<p>Jeb Sharp</p>
<p>Kirsten Whitfield, 26, graduate studies in linguistics</p>
<p>I talk about [gender] pretty much on a daily basis with my friends, in terms of media representation of women and personal experiences of harassment and objectification and how it intersects with issues of race and class in a country like this. It’s a big part of the conversation. It’s pretty much a daily conversation.</p>
<p>Education [in South Africa] covers race. It doesn’t really cover gender equality at all.</p>
<p />
<p>Namita Vanmali</p>
<p>Jeb Sharp</p>
<p>Namita Vanmali, 21, psychology and genetics</p>
<p>It’s hard to change thinking. It’s been just over 20 years and thinking doesn’t change that quickly from generation to generation. How people think translates into their children. We are a generation with more open-mindedness but it still takes time and we’re still struggling to break through that.</p>
<p>I was listening to Cape Talk [radio] and they were talking about how in South Africa, gender and race are so under the microscope, that a story like that [controversy over white students dressing up as black domestic workers] is huge. Then this American guy called in and he said he went to Spur [a restaurant] one day. Spur has this Native American theme going on. He was offended. He was very offended. He said if this was in America there would be outrage and they would be shut down immediately. Just shows different things are sensitive to different countries. Some things are taken more seriously than others. Here gender, sexuality, race are so important and very scrutinized.</p>
<p />
<p>Sebastian Daniels</p>
<p>Jeb Sharp</p>
<p>Sebastian Daniels, 20, finance and accounting</p>
<p>I’m a white male. My mum has been the breadwinner most of my life, so I grew up not really being aware of sexism. I’ve been used to men and women being equal. My eyes aren’t open to these things. I don’t look for differences. It’s different, because I’m a male and I feel safe walking on the road. I never feel I’m going to be raped or have people whistle at me. But I’m always thinking about race. I always try to break down racial stereotypes. We all say South Africans talk about it a lot but I was friends with a lot of the American exchange students from last semester and they say it’s fantastic how much we talk about it. No one talks about it there. We’re quite open about it. We do address it. We do talk about it instead of hiding it in the closet.</p>
<p>I think we don’t talk about gender as much because race has been such a big thing in South Africa’s past.</p>
<p />
<p>Mary Clark</p>
<p>Jeb Sharp</p>
<p>Mary Clark, 20, social work</p>
<p>White people don’t know and can’t see their privilege. Sebastian’s talking about the gender inequality he hasn’t always seen — maybe that reinforces the gender inequalities if people can’t see it. In the same way white people can’t see their privilege.</p>
<p>I think about [gender] every time someone wolf whistles at me, if I’m driving in my car or walking in the street. You can tell by how men look at you. I study social work and I get placed in [townships] and the fact that I’m a white girl driving in a car alone already makes me vulnerable to certain things happening to me and that makes me think about it; the fact that I’m a female and how different my experience and my fear would be if a man was driving in the car with me to those places and how vulnerable I am as a woman … and in South Africa particularly, as a white woman in certain contexts.</p>
<p>To be a white woman, a young white woman in South Africa, class also comes into it, it shows you have money to certain people, it makes you susceptible to crime happening to you. Especially if you go into a township and you’re driving a car or if I’m talking to a client they just assume I have a lot of money, because I’m white, because I’m a woman, together I suppose it just shows I have status and I have money, and in a country that is developing but also has a lot of crime and a lot of poverty that can often be a point of, I suppose you can be victimized for that but also misunderstood for that, as if that’s all that you’re about and there’s nothing else to you. So in terms of being a woman and white particularly with clients there’s been a lot of misconceptions as to how can I help them, how do I have the experience, I don’t know anything about what they’re going through. That’s why I think class comes into it because I’m coming from a different class. Because of my gender and my race.</p>
<p>White man, black man, yellow man does not have to walk down the street and be whistled at! That is regardless of race. It has to do with gender and of course you [men] won’t be aware of it because it doesn’t happen to you!</p>
<p>Jeb's stories from Cape Town were produced in collaboration with South African journalist Kim Cloete.</p> | Here's how South African students talk about race and gender | false | https://pri.org/stories/2015-01-16/heres-how-south-african-students-talk-about-race-and-gender | 2015-01-16 | 3left-center
| Here's how South African students talk about race and gender
<p>I went to South Africa in November to report for our project, <a href="" type="internal">Across Women’s Lives</a>. I sat down with a group of students at the University of Cape Town to talk about gender. The discussion quickly turned to race and class as well. Some members of the group knew each other before the conversation began but others did not. I was struck by how frank they all were. Here are some edited highlights from the discussion.</p>
<p>This conversation is just the beginning. Talk&#160;with these students, and add your thoughts on race and gender&#160;in <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pritheworld/posts/10152762850709888" type="external">a discussion on our Facebook page</a>.</p>
<p />
<p>Carolyn Le Tang</p>
<p>Jeb Sharp</p>
<p>Carolyn Le Tang, 31, graduate studies in linguistics</p>
<p>Yes, on paper the constitution will say women are as equal as men, but on the ground and actually in the every day experience of being female, it tells you in every way you are not as equal as a man. You can’t walk down the street without you being made aware that you’re female, a non-white female or whatever it is about you. You cannot escape it in this society.</p>
<p>As someone who grew up abroad, I’ve never been more conscious of my race than here. Race to me was this external thing, but now it’s like a coat that I wear wherever I go. South Africans don’t realize when they talk, they say things like “there was this black guy walking down the street,” and I’m still waiting to hear why his race was important in the story but it’s not! It’s just a way we’ve learned to speak about people.</p>
<p>Not sure I agree people are more open-minded. At the University of Pretoria two girls dressed up as domestic workers, cleaners, maids and they were white women with black makeup and put (something) under their skirts to make their bottoms bigger — and proudly took photos on Facebook and Instagram.</p>
<p />
<p>Robin Molteno</p>
<p>Jeb Sharp</p>
<p>Robin Molteno, 20, philosophy and English</p>
<p>[Are men and women equal in South Africa?] No. Not in a realistic sense. But what’s interesting in South Africa is we have no written-down political baggage because we started with a new constitution (in 1996). [Under] apartheid, if you were a woman and you were working for the apartheid government, and you got pregnant, you lost your job. That’s changed with our new constitution. Women are very equal. But that attitude is still being carried into South African culture, even by like our president, who said of his one daughter, she must get married so that she can learn to be a woman and have kids and perform her role. So it’s a very messy situation.</p>
<p />
<p>Kgabisa Kobue</p>
<p>Jeb Sharp</p>
<p>Kgabisa Kobue, 20, film and media, gender, sociology</p>
<p>[South Africa] is a very patriarchal setting. We usually talk about white privilege and then we find that black women are at the bottom of that whole hierarchy. We find black men being oppressed by white men and at the same time they come home and oppress their black wives. People get away with things like rape. Like our president, for example. If you think of it culturally, his whole argument when he was in court was based on culture: how as a Zulu man, he can do this, because it’s his right. I think in South Africa we have to look at the difference between culture and the constitution.</p>
<p>Update — Kgabisa posted the following in our Facebook chat: "I would also like to correct my statement. The president was found not guilty of rape although it is a controversial topic. I do however believe that men in South Africa get away with the mistreatment of women because of how patriarchal the country's cultures are."</p>
<p />
<p>Robynne Whitfield</p>
<p>Jeb Sharp</p>
<p>Robynne Whitfield,&#160;21, English and linguistics</p>
<p>Almost everything we do becomes dictated by [gender]. I did gender studies last year. Ads that cater to women, that assume you like pink things and makeup and shoes, things I don’t really care about, but also things like being discriminated against or whistled at or guys thinking that you’re their property because you’re a woman.</p>
<p>Rape is obviously very prominent in South Africa, and class and gender really intersect there. Women in townships are much more susceptible to being raped than a woman living in the suburbs. Being a woman, I’m much more afraid of being robbed or raped. I won’t walk down the street by myself. I prefer to have a friend or a guy with me.</p>
<p />
<p>Gift Nyatsambo</p>
<p>Jeb Sharp</p>
<p>Gift Nyatsambo, 20, law</p>
<p>I’m from Zimbabwe and when I came here I noticed how race is such a major issue and I feel like sometimes they take race too seriously and overshadow issues of gender and other problems. From the black face scandal in Pretoria [controversy over white students dressing up as black domestic workers] I feel like people were more outraged by the blackface, but they were not concerned about the perpetuation of the stereotype of women being cleaners.</p>
<p>Culturally, as a black man, the feeling is you are much superior to women and you tend to objectify women because culturally that’s the way it is. Women are like your possessions. It’s kind of a challenge because you try to move out of it but you have people around you and your friends and stuff and the way they see gender, the way they view women may be totally different. For me personally, I am of the view that women and men are equal. I even share it in a blog. But I have friends who tell me a woman is just a woman, she doesn’t have to be equal to you. You say the final thing.</p>
<p>I would say I try to be liberal. As I was growing up I was reading a lot. I read a book by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Purple Hibiscus, and it touched me and I started to see the world in a different way.</p>
<p />
<p>Kirsten Whitfield</p>
<p>Jeb Sharp</p>
<p>Kirsten Whitfield, 26, graduate studies in linguistics</p>
<p>I talk about [gender] pretty much on a daily basis with my friends, in terms of media representation of women and personal experiences of harassment and objectification and how it intersects with issues of race and class in a country like this. It’s a big part of the conversation. It’s pretty much a daily conversation.</p>
<p>Education [in South Africa] covers race. It doesn’t really cover gender equality at all.</p>
<p />
<p>Namita Vanmali</p>
<p>Jeb Sharp</p>
<p>Namita Vanmali, 21, psychology and genetics</p>
<p>It’s hard to change thinking. It’s been just over 20 years and thinking doesn’t change that quickly from generation to generation. How people think translates into their children. We are a generation with more open-mindedness but it still takes time and we’re still struggling to break through that.</p>
<p>I was listening to Cape Talk [radio] and they were talking about how in South Africa, gender and race are so under the microscope, that a story like that [controversy over white students dressing up as black domestic workers] is huge. Then this American guy called in and he said he went to Spur [a restaurant] one day. Spur has this Native American theme going on. He was offended. He was very offended. He said if this was in America there would be outrage and they would be shut down immediately. Just shows different things are sensitive to different countries. Some things are taken more seriously than others. Here gender, sexuality, race are so important and very scrutinized.</p>
<p />
<p>Sebastian Daniels</p>
<p>Jeb Sharp</p>
<p>Sebastian Daniels, 20, finance and accounting</p>
<p>I’m a white male. My mum has been the breadwinner most of my life, so I grew up not really being aware of sexism. I’ve been used to men and women being equal. My eyes aren’t open to these things. I don’t look for differences. It’s different, because I’m a male and I feel safe walking on the road. I never feel I’m going to be raped or have people whistle at me. But I’m always thinking about race. I always try to break down racial stereotypes. We all say South Africans talk about it a lot but I was friends with a lot of the American exchange students from last semester and they say it’s fantastic how much we talk about it. No one talks about it there. We’re quite open about it. We do address it. We do talk about it instead of hiding it in the closet.</p>
<p>I think we don’t talk about gender as much because race has been such a big thing in South Africa’s past.</p>
<p />
<p>Mary Clark</p>
<p>Jeb Sharp</p>
<p>Mary Clark, 20, social work</p>
<p>White people don’t know and can’t see their privilege. Sebastian’s talking about the gender inequality he hasn’t always seen — maybe that reinforces the gender inequalities if people can’t see it. In the same way white people can’t see their privilege.</p>
<p>I think about [gender] every time someone wolf whistles at me, if I’m driving in my car or walking in the street. You can tell by how men look at you. I study social work and I get placed in [townships] and the fact that I’m a white girl driving in a car alone already makes me vulnerable to certain things happening to me and that makes me think about it; the fact that I’m a female and how different my experience and my fear would be if a man was driving in the car with me to those places and how vulnerable I am as a woman … and in South Africa particularly, as a white woman in certain contexts.</p>
<p>To be a white woman, a young white woman in South Africa, class also comes into it, it shows you have money to certain people, it makes you susceptible to crime happening to you. Especially if you go into a township and you’re driving a car or if I’m talking to a client they just assume I have a lot of money, because I’m white, because I’m a woman, together I suppose it just shows I have status and I have money, and in a country that is developing but also has a lot of crime and a lot of poverty that can often be a point of, I suppose you can be victimized for that but also misunderstood for that, as if that’s all that you’re about and there’s nothing else to you. So in terms of being a woman and white particularly with clients there’s been a lot of misconceptions as to how can I help them, how do I have the experience, I don’t know anything about what they’re going through. That’s why I think class comes into it because I’m coming from a different class. Because of my gender and my race.</p>
<p>White man, black man, yellow man does not have to walk down the street and be whistled at! That is regardless of race. It has to do with gender and of course you [men] won’t be aware of it because it doesn’t happen to you!</p>
<p>Jeb's stories from Cape Town were produced in collaboration with South African journalist Kim Cloete.</p> | 3,980 |
<p>Our nation confronts a challenge this Fourth of July that we face but rarely: We are at odds over the meaning of our history and why, to quote our Declaration of Independence, “governments are instituted.”</p>
<p>Only divisions this deep can explain why we are taking risks with our country’s future we’re usually wise enough to avoid. Arguments over how much government should tax and spend are the very stuff of democracy’s give-and-take. Now, the debate is shadowed by worries that if a willful faction does not get what it wants, it might bring the nation to default.</p>
<p>This is, well, crazy. It makes sense only if politicians believe — or have convinced themselves — that they are fighting over matters of principle so profound that any means to defeat their opponents is defensible.</p>
<p>We are closer to that point than we think, and our friends in the tea party have offered a helpful clue by naming their movement in honor of the 1773 revolt against tea taxes on that momentous night in Boston Harbor.</p>
<p />
<p>Whether they intend it or not, their name suggests they believe that the current elected government in Washington is as illegitimate as was a distant, unelected monarchy. It implies something fundamentally wrong with taxes themselves or, at the least, that current levels of taxation (the lowest in decades) are dangerously oppressive. And it hints that methods outside the normal political channels are justified in confronting such oppression.</p>
<p>We need to recognize the deep flaws in this vision of our present and our past. A reading of the Declaration of Independence makes clear that our forebears were not revolting against taxes as such — and most certainly not against government as such.</p>
<p>In the long list of “abuses and usurpations” the Declaration documents, taxes don’t come up until the 17th item, and that item is neither a complaint about tax rates nor an objection to the idea of taxation. Our founders remonstrated against the British crown “for imposing taxes on us without our consent.” They were concerned about “consent,” i.e., popular rule, not taxes.</p>
<p>The very first item on their list condemned the king because he “refused his assent to laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.” Note that the signers wanted to pass laws, not repeal them, and they began by speaking of “the public good,” not about individuals or “the private sector.” They knew that it takes public action — including effective and responsive government — to secure “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”</p>
<p>Their second grievance reinforced the first, accusing the king of having “forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance.” Again, our forebears wanted to enact laws; they were not anti-government zealots.</p>
<p>Abuses three through nine also referred in some way to how laws were passed or justice was administered. The document doesn’t really get to anything that looks like Big Government oppression (“He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance”) until grievance number 10.</p>
<p>This misunderstanding of our founding document is paralleled by a misunderstanding of our Constitution. “The federal government was created by the states to be an agent for the states, not the other way around,” Gov. Rick Perry of Texas said recently.</p>
<p>No, our Constitution begins with the words “We the People” not “We the States.” The Constitution’s Preamble speaks of promoting “a more perfect Union,” “Justice,” “the common defense,” “the general Welfare” and “the Blessings of Liberty.” These were national goals.</p>
<p>I know states’ rights advocates revere the 10th Amendment. But when the word “states” appears in the Constitution, it typically is part of a compound word, “United States,” or refers to how the states and their people will be represented in the national government. We learned it in elementary school: The Constitution replaced the Articles of Confederation to create a stronger federal government, not a weak confederate government. Perry’s view was rejected in 1787, and again in 1865.</p>
<p>We praise our founders annually for revolting against royal rule and for creating an exceptionally durable system of self-government. We can wreck that system if we forget our founders’ purpose of creating a representative form of national authority robust enough to secure the public good. It is still perfectly capable of doing that. But if we pretend we are living in Boston in 1773, we will draw all the wrong conclusions and make some remarkably foolish choices.</p>
<p>E.J. Dionne’s e-mail address is ejdionne(at)washpost.com.</p>
<p>© 2011, Washington Post Writers Group</p> | What Our Declaration Really Said | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/what-our-declaration-really-said/ | 2011-07-04 | 4left
| What Our Declaration Really Said
<p>Our nation confronts a challenge this Fourth of July that we face but rarely: We are at odds over the meaning of our history and why, to quote our Declaration of Independence, “governments are instituted.”</p>
<p>Only divisions this deep can explain why we are taking risks with our country’s future we’re usually wise enough to avoid. Arguments over how much government should tax and spend are the very stuff of democracy’s give-and-take. Now, the debate is shadowed by worries that if a willful faction does not get what it wants, it might bring the nation to default.</p>
<p>This is, well, crazy. It makes sense only if politicians believe — or have convinced themselves — that they are fighting over matters of principle so profound that any means to defeat their opponents is defensible.</p>
<p>We are closer to that point than we think, and our friends in the tea party have offered a helpful clue by naming their movement in honor of the 1773 revolt against tea taxes on that momentous night in Boston Harbor.</p>
<p />
<p>Whether they intend it or not, their name suggests they believe that the current elected government in Washington is as illegitimate as was a distant, unelected monarchy. It implies something fundamentally wrong with taxes themselves or, at the least, that current levels of taxation (the lowest in decades) are dangerously oppressive. And it hints that methods outside the normal political channels are justified in confronting such oppression.</p>
<p>We need to recognize the deep flaws in this vision of our present and our past. A reading of the Declaration of Independence makes clear that our forebears were not revolting against taxes as such — and most certainly not against government as such.</p>
<p>In the long list of “abuses and usurpations” the Declaration documents, taxes don’t come up until the 17th item, and that item is neither a complaint about tax rates nor an objection to the idea of taxation. Our founders remonstrated against the British crown “for imposing taxes on us without our consent.” They were concerned about “consent,” i.e., popular rule, not taxes.</p>
<p>The very first item on their list condemned the king because he “refused his assent to laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.” Note that the signers wanted to pass laws, not repeal them, and they began by speaking of “the public good,” not about individuals or “the private sector.” They knew that it takes public action — including effective and responsive government — to secure “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”</p>
<p>Their second grievance reinforced the first, accusing the king of having “forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance.” Again, our forebears wanted to enact laws; they were not anti-government zealots.</p>
<p>Abuses three through nine also referred in some way to how laws were passed or justice was administered. The document doesn’t really get to anything that looks like Big Government oppression (“He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance”) until grievance number 10.</p>
<p>This misunderstanding of our founding document is paralleled by a misunderstanding of our Constitution. “The federal government was created by the states to be an agent for the states, not the other way around,” Gov. Rick Perry of Texas said recently.</p>
<p>No, our Constitution begins with the words “We the People” not “We the States.” The Constitution’s Preamble speaks of promoting “a more perfect Union,” “Justice,” “the common defense,” “the general Welfare” and “the Blessings of Liberty.” These were national goals.</p>
<p>I know states’ rights advocates revere the 10th Amendment. But when the word “states” appears in the Constitution, it typically is part of a compound word, “United States,” or refers to how the states and their people will be represented in the national government. We learned it in elementary school: The Constitution replaced the Articles of Confederation to create a stronger federal government, not a weak confederate government. Perry’s view was rejected in 1787, and again in 1865.</p>
<p>We praise our founders annually for revolting against royal rule and for creating an exceptionally durable system of self-government. We can wreck that system if we forget our founders’ purpose of creating a representative form of national authority robust enough to secure the public good. It is still perfectly capable of doing that. But if we pretend we are living in Boston in 1773, we will draw all the wrong conclusions and make some remarkably foolish choices.</p>
<p>E.J. Dionne’s e-mail address is ejdionne(at)washpost.com.</p>
<p>© 2011, Washington Post Writers Group</p> | 3,981 |
<p>MEXICO CITY (AP) — A unique shelter for dogs — and one pig — is struggling to get back on its feet after Mexico's devastating earthquake four months ago.</p>
<p>The tale of perseverance involves the "Can-geles" shelter in Mexico City. Its name is a combination of the Spanish slang for dog, "can," and "angeles" or angels.</p>
<p>The shelter is run by Jair Benavides and his wife, Mariam Gutierrez de Velasco. They go by their "dog family" nicknames of Jair Solcan and Mariam Luzcan, which respectively translate to "Sundog" and "Lightdog" in English.</p>
<p>They have about 20 dogs, and a pig, and regularly take in strays, whose numbers vary because they are quickly trained and put up for adoption.</p>
<p>When the Sept. 19 quake shook Mexico's capital it severely damaged the five-story building next to the couple's row house. They had to get out quickly, and are living in a crowded garage that a neighbor lent them. Authorities are demolishing the quake-damaged neighboring building and it may be three months of more before they get back into their home.</p>
<p>But they continue caring for their canine charges despite the challenges.</p>
<p>The whole pack is quite a sight to see when they go to nearby parks for walks in a patched-up old VW van. The couple also provides daycare and walks for neighbors' dogs.</p>
<p>Mariam estimates she has rescued and placed in adoption upward of 2,000 dogs over the last couple of decades.</p>
<p>"They are part of my life," she says. "They have taught me unconditional love."</p>
<p>MEXICO CITY (AP) — A unique shelter for dogs — and one pig — is struggling to get back on its feet after Mexico's devastating earthquake four months ago.</p>
<p>The tale of perseverance involves the "Can-geles" shelter in Mexico City. Its name is a combination of the Spanish slang for dog, "can," and "angeles" or angels.</p>
<p>The shelter is run by Jair Benavides and his wife, Mariam Gutierrez de Velasco. They go by their "dog family" nicknames of Jair Solcan and Mariam Luzcan, which respectively translate to "Sundog" and "Lightdog" in English.</p>
<p>They have about 20 dogs, and a pig, and regularly take in strays, whose numbers vary because they are quickly trained and put up for adoption.</p>
<p>When the Sept. 19 quake shook Mexico's capital it severely damaged the five-story building next to the couple's row house. They had to get out quickly, and are living in a crowded garage that a neighbor lent them. Authorities are demolishing the quake-damaged neighboring building and it may be three months of more before they get back into their home.</p>
<p>But they continue caring for their canine charges despite the challenges.</p>
<p>The whole pack is quite a sight to see when they go to nearby parks for walks in a patched-up old VW van. The couple also provides daycare and walks for neighbors' dogs.</p>
<p>Mariam estimates she has rescued and placed in adoption upward of 2,000 dogs over the last couple of decades.</p>
<p>"They are part of my life," she says. "They have taught me unconditional love."</p> | AP PHOTOS: Dog shelter struggling since Mexico City quake | false | https://apnews.com/amp/35285df30658490ea54f157f356c574f | 2018-01-23 | 2least
| AP PHOTOS: Dog shelter struggling since Mexico City quake
<p>MEXICO CITY (AP) — A unique shelter for dogs — and one pig — is struggling to get back on its feet after Mexico's devastating earthquake four months ago.</p>
<p>The tale of perseverance involves the "Can-geles" shelter in Mexico City. Its name is a combination of the Spanish slang for dog, "can," and "angeles" or angels.</p>
<p>The shelter is run by Jair Benavides and his wife, Mariam Gutierrez de Velasco. They go by their "dog family" nicknames of Jair Solcan and Mariam Luzcan, which respectively translate to "Sundog" and "Lightdog" in English.</p>
<p>They have about 20 dogs, and a pig, and regularly take in strays, whose numbers vary because they are quickly trained and put up for adoption.</p>
<p>When the Sept. 19 quake shook Mexico's capital it severely damaged the five-story building next to the couple's row house. They had to get out quickly, and are living in a crowded garage that a neighbor lent them. Authorities are demolishing the quake-damaged neighboring building and it may be three months of more before they get back into their home.</p>
<p>But they continue caring for their canine charges despite the challenges.</p>
<p>The whole pack is quite a sight to see when they go to nearby parks for walks in a patched-up old VW van. The couple also provides daycare and walks for neighbors' dogs.</p>
<p>Mariam estimates she has rescued and placed in adoption upward of 2,000 dogs over the last couple of decades.</p>
<p>"They are part of my life," she says. "They have taught me unconditional love."</p>
<p>MEXICO CITY (AP) — A unique shelter for dogs — and one pig — is struggling to get back on its feet after Mexico's devastating earthquake four months ago.</p>
<p>The tale of perseverance involves the "Can-geles" shelter in Mexico City. Its name is a combination of the Spanish slang for dog, "can," and "angeles" or angels.</p>
<p>The shelter is run by Jair Benavides and his wife, Mariam Gutierrez de Velasco. They go by their "dog family" nicknames of Jair Solcan and Mariam Luzcan, which respectively translate to "Sundog" and "Lightdog" in English.</p>
<p>They have about 20 dogs, and a pig, and regularly take in strays, whose numbers vary because they are quickly trained and put up for adoption.</p>
<p>When the Sept. 19 quake shook Mexico's capital it severely damaged the five-story building next to the couple's row house. They had to get out quickly, and are living in a crowded garage that a neighbor lent them. Authorities are demolishing the quake-damaged neighboring building and it may be three months of more before they get back into their home.</p>
<p>But they continue caring for their canine charges despite the challenges.</p>
<p>The whole pack is quite a sight to see when they go to nearby parks for walks in a patched-up old VW van. The couple also provides daycare and walks for neighbors' dogs.</p>
<p>Mariam estimates she has rescued and placed in adoption upward of 2,000 dogs over the last couple of decades.</p>
<p>"They are part of my life," she says. "They have taught me unconditional love."</p> | 3,982 |
<p>KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A historically black college in Tennessee that lost accreditation and was forced to evacuate has filed paperwork to begin re-enrolling and teaching students.</p>
<p>The Knoxville News Sentinel <a href="http://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/education/2017/02/11/knoxville-college-officials-forced-leave-campus/97700408/" type="external">reported</a> Wednesday that Knoxville College applied for the authorization with the Tennessee Higher Education Commission. The school lost state accreditation in 2015 after enrollment decreased to 11. In February, officials were forced to leave the last occupied campus buildings after the City of Knoxville found they weren't meeting codes.</p>
<p>College president Keith Lindsey says the school was granted a conditional authorization to operate in 2018, but awaits the ability to recruit and instruct.</p>
<p>Julie Woodruff, commission assistant executive director and lead attorney, says the application was filed in March and is under review, but there's no deadline for when or if it's approved.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: Knoxville News Sentinel, <a href="http://www.knoxnews.com" type="external" /> <a href="http://www.knoxnews.com" type="external">http://www.knoxnews.com</a></p>
<p>KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A historically black college in Tennessee that lost accreditation and was forced to evacuate has filed paperwork to begin re-enrolling and teaching students.</p>
<p>The Knoxville News Sentinel <a href="http://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/education/2017/02/11/knoxville-college-officials-forced-leave-campus/97700408/" type="external">reported</a> Wednesday that Knoxville College applied for the authorization with the Tennessee Higher Education Commission. The school lost state accreditation in 2015 after enrollment decreased to 11. In February, officials were forced to leave the last occupied campus buildings after the City of Knoxville found they weren't meeting codes.</p>
<p>College president Keith Lindsey says the school was granted a conditional authorization to operate in 2018, but awaits the ability to recruit and instruct.</p>
<p>Julie Woodruff, commission assistant executive director and lead attorney, says the application was filed in March and is under review, but there's no deadline for when or if it's approved.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: Knoxville News Sentinel, <a href="http://www.knoxnews.com" type="external" /> <a href="http://www.knoxnews.com" type="external">http://www.knoxnews.com</a></p> | Historically black college planning to re-enroll students | false | https://apnews.com/07bf40cfd62e4b61a47d9c1f2928c7a4 | 2018-01-03 | 2least
| Historically black college planning to re-enroll students
<p>KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A historically black college in Tennessee that lost accreditation and was forced to evacuate has filed paperwork to begin re-enrolling and teaching students.</p>
<p>The Knoxville News Sentinel <a href="http://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/education/2017/02/11/knoxville-college-officials-forced-leave-campus/97700408/" type="external">reported</a> Wednesday that Knoxville College applied for the authorization with the Tennessee Higher Education Commission. The school lost state accreditation in 2015 after enrollment decreased to 11. In February, officials were forced to leave the last occupied campus buildings after the City of Knoxville found they weren't meeting codes.</p>
<p>College president Keith Lindsey says the school was granted a conditional authorization to operate in 2018, but awaits the ability to recruit and instruct.</p>
<p>Julie Woodruff, commission assistant executive director and lead attorney, says the application was filed in March and is under review, but there's no deadline for when or if it's approved.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: Knoxville News Sentinel, <a href="http://www.knoxnews.com" type="external" /> <a href="http://www.knoxnews.com" type="external">http://www.knoxnews.com</a></p>
<p>KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A historically black college in Tennessee that lost accreditation and was forced to evacuate has filed paperwork to begin re-enrolling and teaching students.</p>
<p>The Knoxville News Sentinel <a href="http://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/education/2017/02/11/knoxville-college-officials-forced-leave-campus/97700408/" type="external">reported</a> Wednesday that Knoxville College applied for the authorization with the Tennessee Higher Education Commission. The school lost state accreditation in 2015 after enrollment decreased to 11. In February, officials were forced to leave the last occupied campus buildings after the City of Knoxville found they weren't meeting codes.</p>
<p>College president Keith Lindsey says the school was granted a conditional authorization to operate in 2018, but awaits the ability to recruit and instruct.</p>
<p>Julie Woodruff, commission assistant executive director and lead attorney, says the application was filed in March and is under review, but there's no deadline for when or if it's approved.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: Knoxville News Sentinel, <a href="http://www.knoxnews.com" type="external" /> <a href="http://www.knoxnews.com" type="external">http://www.knoxnews.com</a></p> | 3,983 |
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<p>A large blaze charring through southern New Mexico’s Gila National Forest grew to 47 square miles Wednesday, and could expand to another nine if wind gusts reach 35 mph, as expected.</p>
<p>Coupled with lower humidity and strong wind, the Silver Fire may rage through more acreage throughout the week, spilling smoke into nearby towns and creating more headaches for firefighters, officials said.</p>
<p>More than 500 crew members are scheduled to continue indirect line construction on the west flank of the fire along existing trails and mop up and patrol in the Kingston and Royal John Mine area.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>An evacuation order remains in effect for the historic mining town of Kingston, where crew worked to building protections to protect structures.</p>
<p>“We have selected areas for fire-line construction along roads, topography breaks and vegetative changes between pine forests and piñon-juniper woodlands that will provide us the greatest probability of success in fire containment,” Incident Commander Matt Reidy said.</p>
<p>Smoke from the ranging blaze was seen from more than 100 miles away on Tuesday.</p>
<p>Officials have temporarily banned campfires and other outdoor burning on the forest, Bureau of Land Management property, state-owned land and private property in Grant County.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, in the northern part of the state, crews continued to battle a 5.5-square-mile wildfire in the Pecos Wilderness.</p>
<p>The Jaroso Fire, started by lightning, is burning six miles southeast of Borrego Mesa, deep in the wilderness. No structures are currently threatened.</p>
<p>The steep, remote terrain where the fire is burning, the density of fuels and weather have made it unsafe for firefighters to try and reach the blaze and fight it from the ground, said John Truett, the operations section chief with the Type 1 National Incident Management team working on the fire.</p>
<p>Fire info</p>
<p>To get the latest information about fire restrictions and closures in the state, go to nmfireinfo.com, or call 1-877-864-6985.</p>
<p />
<p /> | Silver Fire grows; winds forecast | false | https://abqjournal.com/212427/silver-fire-grows-winds-forecast.html | 2013-06-20 | 2least
| Silver Fire grows; winds forecast
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>A large blaze charring through southern New Mexico’s Gila National Forest grew to 47 square miles Wednesday, and could expand to another nine if wind gusts reach 35 mph, as expected.</p>
<p>Coupled with lower humidity and strong wind, the Silver Fire may rage through more acreage throughout the week, spilling smoke into nearby towns and creating more headaches for firefighters, officials said.</p>
<p>More than 500 crew members are scheduled to continue indirect line construction on the west flank of the fire along existing trails and mop up and patrol in the Kingston and Royal John Mine area.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>An evacuation order remains in effect for the historic mining town of Kingston, where crew worked to building protections to protect structures.</p>
<p>“We have selected areas for fire-line construction along roads, topography breaks and vegetative changes between pine forests and piñon-juniper woodlands that will provide us the greatest probability of success in fire containment,” Incident Commander Matt Reidy said.</p>
<p>Smoke from the ranging blaze was seen from more than 100 miles away on Tuesday.</p>
<p>Officials have temporarily banned campfires and other outdoor burning on the forest, Bureau of Land Management property, state-owned land and private property in Grant County.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, in the northern part of the state, crews continued to battle a 5.5-square-mile wildfire in the Pecos Wilderness.</p>
<p>The Jaroso Fire, started by lightning, is burning six miles southeast of Borrego Mesa, deep in the wilderness. No structures are currently threatened.</p>
<p>The steep, remote terrain where the fire is burning, the density of fuels and weather have made it unsafe for firefighters to try and reach the blaze and fight it from the ground, said John Truett, the operations section chief with the Type 1 National Incident Management team working on the fire.</p>
<p>Fire info</p>
<p>To get the latest information about fire restrictions and closures in the state, go to nmfireinfo.com, or call 1-877-864-6985.</p>
<p />
<p /> | 3,984 |
<p>As the Arab Spring blossomed and President Obama hesitated about whether to speak out in favor of protesters seeking democratic change in the Greater Middle East, the Pentagon acted decisively.&#160; It forged ever deeper ties with some of the most repressive regimes in the region,&#160; <a href="http://www.tomdispatch.com/blog/175159/tomgram:_nick_turse,_out_of_iraq,_into_the_gulf/" type="external">building up</a>&#160; <a href="http://www.tomdispatch.com/archive/175338/" type="external">military bases</a>and&#160; <a href="http://www.tomdispatch.com/blog/175393/tomgram%3A_nick_turse%2C_obama_and_the_mideast_arms_trade" type="external">brokering weapons sales</a>&#160;and transfers to&#160; <a href="" type="internal">despots</a>&#160;from&#160; <a href="http://www.tomdispatch.com/blog/175367/tomgram%3A_nick_turse%2C_the_pentagon_and_murder_in_bahrain" type="external">Bahrain</a>&#160;to&#160; <a href="http://www.tomdispatch.com/blog/175385/tomgram%3A_nick_turse%2C_how_to_arm_a_dictator" type="external">Yemen</a>.</p>
<p>As state security forces across the region cracked down on democratic dissent, the Pentagon also repeatedly dispatched American troops on training missions to allied militaries there.&#160; During more than 40 such operations with names like Eager Lion and Friendship Two that sometimes lasted for weeks or months at a time, they taught Middle Eastern security forces the finer points of counterinsurgency, small unit tactics, intelligence gathering, and information operations — skills crucial to defeating popular uprisings.</p>
<p>These recurrent joint-training exercises, seldom reported in the media and rarely mentioned outside the military, constitute the core of an elaborate, longstanding system that binds the Pentagon to the militaries of repressive regimes across the Middle East.&#160; Although the Pentagon shrouds these exercises in secrecy, refusing to answer basic questions about their scale, scope, or cost, an investigation by TomDispatch reveals the outlines of a region-wide training program whose ambitions are large and wholly at odds with Washington’s professed aims of supporting democratic reforms in the Greater Middle East.</p>
<p>Lions, Marines, and Moroccans — Oh My!</p>
<p>On May 19th, President Obama finally addressed the Arab Spring in earnest.&#160; He was unambiguous about standing with the protesters and against repressive governments,&#160; <a href="" type="internal">asserting</a>&#160;that “America’s interests are not hostile to people’s hopes; they’re essential to them.”</p>
<p>Four days earlier, the very demonstrators the president sided with had marched in Temara, Morocco.&#160; They were heading for a facility suspected of housing a secret government interrogation facility to press for political reforms.&#160; It was then that <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1844674517/counterpunchmaga" type="external" /> the kingdom’s security forces attacked.</p>
<p>“I was in a group of about 11 protesters, pursued by police in their cars,” Oussama el-Khlifi, a 23-year-old protester from the capital, Rabat,&#160; <a href="" type="internal">told</a>&#160;Human Rights Watch (HRW). &#160;“They forced me to say, ‘Long live the king,’ and they hit me on my shoulder. When I didn’t fall, they clubbed me on the head and I lost consciousness. When I regained consciousness, I found myself at the hospital, with a broken nose and an injured shoulder.”</p>
<p>About a five-hour drive south, another gathering was taking place under far more hospitable circumstances.&#160; In the seaside city of Agadir, a ceremony marking a transfer of military command was underway.&#160; “We’re here to support… bilateral engagement with one of our most important allies in the region,” said Colonel John Caldwell of the U.S. Marine Corps at a gathering to mark the beginning of the second phase of African Lion, an annual joint-training exercise with Morocco’s armed forces.</p>
<p>U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), the Pentagon’s regional military headquarters that oversees operations in Africa, has planned 13 such major joint-training exercises in 2011 alone from Uganda to South Africa, Senegal to Ghana, including African Lion.&#160; Most U.S. training missions in the Greater Middle East are, however, carried out by Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees wars and other military activities in 20 countries in the Greater Middle East.</p>
<p>“Annually, USCENTCOM executes more than 40 exercises with a wide range of partner nations in the region,”&#160;a military spokesman told TomDispatch.&#160; “Due to host-nation sensitivities, USCENTCOM does not discuss the nature of many of our exercises outside our bilateral relationships.”</p>
<p>Of the dozens of joint-training exercises it sponsored these last years, CENTCOM would only acknowledge two by name: Leading Edge, a 30-nation exercise focused on counter-proliferation last held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in late 2010; and Eager Resolve, an annual exercise to simulate a coordinated response to a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or high yield explosive attack, involving the member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.</p>
<p>However, military documents, open-source reports, and other data analyzed by TomDispatch offer a window into the training relationships that CENTCOM refused to acknowledge.&#160; While details of these missions remain sparse at best, the results are clear: during 2011, U.S. troops regularly partnered with and trained the security forces of numerous regimes that were actively beating back democratic protests and stifling dissent within their borders.</p>
<p>Getting Friendly With the Kingdom</p>
<p>In January, for example, the government of Saudi Arabia curtailed what little freedom of expression existed in the kingdom by instituting&#160; <a href="" type="internal">severe new restrictions</a>&#160;regarding online news and commentary by its citizens.&#160; That same month, Saudi authorities launched a&#160; <a href="" type="internal">crackdown</a>&#160;on peaceful demonstrators.&#160; Shortly afterward, six Saudi men sought government recognition for the country’s first political party whose professed aims, according to Human Rights Watch, included “greater democracy and protection for human rights.”&#160; They were promptly&#160; <a href="" type="internal">arrested</a>.</p>
<p>On February 19th, just three days after those arrests, U.S. and Saudi forces launched Friendship Two, a training exercise in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.&#160; For the next 10 days, 4,100 American and Saudi troops practiced combat maneuvers and counterinsurgency tactics&#160;under an unrelenting desert sun. &#160;“This is a fantastic exercise and a fantastic venue, and we’re sending a real good message out to the people of the region,” insisted&#160;Major General Bob Livingston, a National Guard commander who took part in the mission.&#160; “The engagements that we have with the Saudi Arabian army affect their army, it affects our Army, but it also shows the people of the region our ability to cooperate with each other and our ability to be able to operate together.”</p>
<p>Eager Lights and Lions</p>
<p>As the Arab Spring brought down U.S.-allied autocrats in Tunisia and Egypt, the Kingdom of Jordan, where criticizing King Abdulluh or even peacefully protesting government policies is a crime, continued to&#160; <a href="" type="internal">stifle dissent</a>.&#160; Last year, for instance, state security forces stormed the house of 24-year-old computer science student Imad al-Din al-Ash and arrested him.&#160; His crime?&#160; An online article in which he called the king “effeminate.”</p>
<p>In March, Jordanian security forces typically&#160; <a href="" type="internal">failed to take action</a>, and some even joined in, when pro-government protesters attacked peaceful activists seeking political reforms.&#160; Then came&#160; <a href="" type="internal">allegations</a>&#160;that state forces had tortured Islamist activists.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, in March, U.S. troops joined Jordanian forces in Eager Light 2011, a training exercise in Amman, the country’s capital, that focused on counterinsurgency training.&#160; Then, from June 11th to June 30th, thousands of Jordanian security forces and U.S. troops undertook Eager Lion, focusing on special operations missions and irregular warfare as well as counterinsurgency.</p>
<p>In November, Human Rights Watch’s Christoph Wilcke took Jordan to task for the trial of 150 protesters arrested in the spring on terrorism charges after a public brawl with pro-regime supporters.&#160; “Only members of the opposition face prosecution. The trial… is seriously flawed,”&#160; <a href="" type="internal">wrote Wilcke</a>.&#160; “It singles out Islamists on charges of terrorism and casts doubts on the kingdom’s path towards genuine political reform, its commitment to the rule of law, and its stated desire to protect the rights of freedom of expression and assembly.”</p>
<p>At around the same time, U.S. troops were wrapping up Operation Flexible Saif.&#160; For about four months, American troops had engaged in basic mentoring of the Jordanian military, according to Americans who took part, focusing on subjects ranging from the fundamentals of soldiering to the essentials of intelligence gathering.</p>
<p>Who Are Kuwait’s Lucky Warriors?</p>
<p>Earlier this year, Kuwaiti security forces assaulted and arrested “Bidun” protesters, a minority population&#160; <a href="" type="internal">demanding</a>&#160;citizenship rights after 50 years of stateless status in the oil-rich kingdom.&#160; “Kuwaiti authorities… should allow demonstrators to speak and assemble freely — as is their right,” wrote Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.&#160; More recently, Kuwait has been cracking down on online activists.&#160; In July, HRW’s Priyanka Motaparthy&#160; <a href="" type="internal">wrote</a>&#160;in&#160;Foreign Policy&#160;magazine that 26-year-old&#160;Nasser Abul was led, blindfolded and shackled, into a Kuwaiti courtroom.&#160; His crime, according to Motaparthy, “a few tweets… criticizing the ruling families of Bahrain as well as Saudi Arabia.”</p>
<p>This spring, U.S. troops took part in Lucky Warrior, a four-day training exercise in Kuwait designed to hone U.S. war fighting skills particular to the region.&#160; The sparse material available from the military mentions no direct Kuwaiti involvement in Lucky Warrior, but documents examined&#160;by TomDispatch indicate that translators have been used in past versions of the exercise, suggesting the involvement of Kuwaiti and/or other Arab nations in the operation.&#160; Pentagon secrecy, however, makes it impossible to know the full extent of participation by the Pentagon’s regional partners.</p>
<p>TomDispatch has identified other regional training operations that CENTCOM failed to acknowledge, including Steppe Eagle, an annual multilateral exercise carried out in&#160; <a href="" type="internal">repressive</a>&#160;Kazakhstan from July 31st to August 23rd which trained Kazakh troops in everything from convoy missions to conducting cordon and search operations.&#160; Then there was the Falcon Air Meet, an exercise focusing on close air-support tactics that even included a bombing contest, carried out in October by U.S., Jordanian, and Turkish air forces at Shaheed Mwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan.</p>
<p>The U.S. military also conducted a seminar on public affairs and information operations with members of the Lebanese armed forces including, according to an American in attendance, a discussion of “the use of propaganda in regards to military information support operations.”&#160; In addition, there was a biannual joint underwater demolitions exercise, Operation Eager Mace, carried out with Kuwaiti forces.</p>
<p>These training missions are only a fraction of the dozens carried out each year in secret, far from the prying eyes of the press or local populations.&#160; They are a key component of an outsized Pentagon support system that also shuttles aid and weaponry to a set of allied Middle Eastern kingdoms and autocracies.&#160; These joint missions ensure tight bonds between the U.S. military and the security forces of repressive governments throughout the region, offering Washington access and influence and the host nations of these exercises the latest military strategies, tactics, and tools of the trade at a moment when they are, or fear being, besieged by protesters seeking to tap into the democratic spirit sweeping the region.</p>
<p>Secrets and Lies</p>
<p>The U.S. military ignored TomDispatch’s requests for information about whether any joint operations were postponed, rescheduled, or canceled as a result of Arab Spring protests.&#160; In August, however, Agence France Presse <a href="" type="internal">reported</a>&#160;that Bright Star, a biannual training exercise involving U.S. and Egyptian forces, had been canceled as a result of the popular revolt that overthrew president ally Hosni Mubarak, a Washington ally.</p>
<p>The number of U.S. training exercises across the region disrupted by pro-democracy protests, or even basic information about the total number of the Pentagon’s regional training missions, their locations, durations, and who takes part in them, remain largely unknown.&#160; CENTCOM regularly keeps such information secret from the American public, not to mention populations across the Greater Middle East.</p>
<p>The military also refused to comment on exercises scheduled for 2012.&#160; There is nonetheless good reason to believe that their number will rise as regional autocrats look to beat back the forces of change.&#160; “With the end of Operation New Dawn in Iraq and the reduction of surge forces in Afghanistan, USCENTCOM exercises will continue to focus on…&#160;mutual security concerns and build upon already strong, enduring relationships within the region,” a CENTCOM spokesman told us by email.</p>
<p>Since pro-democracy protests and popular revolt are the “security concerns” of regimes from Saudi Arabia and Bahrain to Jordan and Yemen, it is not hard to imagine just how the Pentagon’s advanced training methods, its schooling in counterinsurgency tactics, and its aid in intelligence gathering techniques might be used in the months ahead.</p>
<p>This spring, as Operation African Lion proceeded and battered Moroccan protesters nursed their wounds, President Obama asserted that the “United States opposes the use of violence and repression against the people of the region” and supports basic human rights for citizens throughout the Greater Middle East. &#160;“And these rights,” he added, “include free speech, the freedom of peaceful assembly, the freedom of religion, equality for men and women under the rule of law, and the right to choose your own leaders — whether you live in Baghdad or Damascus, Sanaa or Tehran.”</p>
<p>The question remains, does the United States believe the same is true for those who live in Amman, Kuwait City, Rabat, or Riyahd?&#160; And if so, why is the Pentagon strengthening the hands of repressive rulers in those capitals?</p>
<p>Nick Turse&#160;is the associate editor of&#160; <a href="http://www.tomdispatch.com/" type="external">TomDispatch.com</a>, where this article originally appeared. His latest book,&#160; <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1844674517/counterpunchmaga" type="external">The Case for Withdrawal from Afghanistan</a>&#160;(Verso Books), which brings together leading analysts from across the political spectrum, has just gone into its second printing. Turse is currently a fellow at Harvard University’s Radcliffe Institute. His website is&#160; <a href="http://NickTurse.com/" type="external">NickTurse.com</a>.</p> | Did the Pentagon Help Strangle the Arab Spring? | true | https://counterpunch.org/2011/12/13/did-the-pentagon-help-strangle-the-arab-spring/ | 2011-12-13 | 4left
| Did the Pentagon Help Strangle the Arab Spring?
<p>As the Arab Spring blossomed and President Obama hesitated about whether to speak out in favor of protesters seeking democratic change in the Greater Middle East, the Pentagon acted decisively.&#160; It forged ever deeper ties with some of the most repressive regimes in the region,&#160; <a href="http://www.tomdispatch.com/blog/175159/tomgram:_nick_turse,_out_of_iraq,_into_the_gulf/" type="external">building up</a>&#160; <a href="http://www.tomdispatch.com/archive/175338/" type="external">military bases</a>and&#160; <a href="http://www.tomdispatch.com/blog/175393/tomgram%3A_nick_turse%2C_obama_and_the_mideast_arms_trade" type="external">brokering weapons sales</a>&#160;and transfers to&#160; <a href="" type="internal">despots</a>&#160;from&#160; <a href="http://www.tomdispatch.com/blog/175367/tomgram%3A_nick_turse%2C_the_pentagon_and_murder_in_bahrain" type="external">Bahrain</a>&#160;to&#160; <a href="http://www.tomdispatch.com/blog/175385/tomgram%3A_nick_turse%2C_how_to_arm_a_dictator" type="external">Yemen</a>.</p>
<p>As state security forces across the region cracked down on democratic dissent, the Pentagon also repeatedly dispatched American troops on training missions to allied militaries there.&#160; During more than 40 such operations with names like Eager Lion and Friendship Two that sometimes lasted for weeks or months at a time, they taught Middle Eastern security forces the finer points of counterinsurgency, small unit tactics, intelligence gathering, and information operations — skills crucial to defeating popular uprisings.</p>
<p>These recurrent joint-training exercises, seldom reported in the media and rarely mentioned outside the military, constitute the core of an elaborate, longstanding system that binds the Pentagon to the militaries of repressive regimes across the Middle East.&#160; Although the Pentagon shrouds these exercises in secrecy, refusing to answer basic questions about their scale, scope, or cost, an investigation by TomDispatch reveals the outlines of a region-wide training program whose ambitions are large and wholly at odds with Washington’s professed aims of supporting democratic reforms in the Greater Middle East.</p>
<p>Lions, Marines, and Moroccans — Oh My!</p>
<p>On May 19th, President Obama finally addressed the Arab Spring in earnest.&#160; He was unambiguous about standing with the protesters and against repressive governments,&#160; <a href="" type="internal">asserting</a>&#160;that “America’s interests are not hostile to people’s hopes; they’re essential to them.”</p>
<p>Four days earlier, the very demonstrators the president sided with had marched in Temara, Morocco.&#160; They were heading for a facility suspected of housing a secret government interrogation facility to press for political reforms.&#160; It was then that <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1844674517/counterpunchmaga" type="external" /> the kingdom’s security forces attacked.</p>
<p>“I was in a group of about 11 protesters, pursued by police in their cars,” Oussama el-Khlifi, a 23-year-old protester from the capital, Rabat,&#160; <a href="" type="internal">told</a>&#160;Human Rights Watch (HRW). &#160;“They forced me to say, ‘Long live the king,’ and they hit me on my shoulder. When I didn’t fall, they clubbed me on the head and I lost consciousness. When I regained consciousness, I found myself at the hospital, with a broken nose and an injured shoulder.”</p>
<p>About a five-hour drive south, another gathering was taking place under far more hospitable circumstances.&#160; In the seaside city of Agadir, a ceremony marking a transfer of military command was underway.&#160; “We’re here to support… bilateral engagement with one of our most important allies in the region,” said Colonel John Caldwell of the U.S. Marine Corps at a gathering to mark the beginning of the second phase of African Lion, an annual joint-training exercise with Morocco’s armed forces.</p>
<p>U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), the Pentagon’s regional military headquarters that oversees operations in Africa, has planned 13 such major joint-training exercises in 2011 alone from Uganda to South Africa, Senegal to Ghana, including African Lion.&#160; Most U.S. training missions in the Greater Middle East are, however, carried out by Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees wars and other military activities in 20 countries in the Greater Middle East.</p>
<p>“Annually, USCENTCOM executes more than 40 exercises with a wide range of partner nations in the region,”&#160;a military spokesman told TomDispatch.&#160; “Due to host-nation sensitivities, USCENTCOM does not discuss the nature of many of our exercises outside our bilateral relationships.”</p>
<p>Of the dozens of joint-training exercises it sponsored these last years, CENTCOM would only acknowledge two by name: Leading Edge, a 30-nation exercise focused on counter-proliferation last held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in late 2010; and Eager Resolve, an annual exercise to simulate a coordinated response to a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or high yield explosive attack, involving the member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.</p>
<p>However, military documents, open-source reports, and other data analyzed by TomDispatch offer a window into the training relationships that CENTCOM refused to acknowledge.&#160; While details of these missions remain sparse at best, the results are clear: during 2011, U.S. troops regularly partnered with and trained the security forces of numerous regimes that were actively beating back democratic protests and stifling dissent within their borders.</p>
<p>Getting Friendly With the Kingdom</p>
<p>In January, for example, the government of Saudi Arabia curtailed what little freedom of expression existed in the kingdom by instituting&#160; <a href="" type="internal">severe new restrictions</a>&#160;regarding online news and commentary by its citizens.&#160; That same month, Saudi authorities launched a&#160; <a href="" type="internal">crackdown</a>&#160;on peaceful demonstrators.&#160; Shortly afterward, six Saudi men sought government recognition for the country’s first political party whose professed aims, according to Human Rights Watch, included “greater democracy and protection for human rights.”&#160; They were promptly&#160; <a href="" type="internal">arrested</a>.</p>
<p>On February 19th, just three days after those arrests, U.S. and Saudi forces launched Friendship Two, a training exercise in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.&#160; For the next 10 days, 4,100 American and Saudi troops practiced combat maneuvers and counterinsurgency tactics&#160;under an unrelenting desert sun. &#160;“This is a fantastic exercise and a fantastic venue, and we’re sending a real good message out to the people of the region,” insisted&#160;Major General Bob Livingston, a National Guard commander who took part in the mission.&#160; “The engagements that we have with the Saudi Arabian army affect their army, it affects our Army, but it also shows the people of the region our ability to cooperate with each other and our ability to be able to operate together.”</p>
<p>Eager Lights and Lions</p>
<p>As the Arab Spring brought down U.S.-allied autocrats in Tunisia and Egypt, the Kingdom of Jordan, where criticizing King Abdulluh or even peacefully protesting government policies is a crime, continued to&#160; <a href="" type="internal">stifle dissent</a>.&#160; Last year, for instance, state security forces stormed the house of 24-year-old computer science student Imad al-Din al-Ash and arrested him.&#160; His crime?&#160; An online article in which he called the king “effeminate.”</p>
<p>In March, Jordanian security forces typically&#160; <a href="" type="internal">failed to take action</a>, and some even joined in, when pro-government protesters attacked peaceful activists seeking political reforms.&#160; Then came&#160; <a href="" type="internal">allegations</a>&#160;that state forces had tortured Islamist activists.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, in March, U.S. troops joined Jordanian forces in Eager Light 2011, a training exercise in Amman, the country’s capital, that focused on counterinsurgency training.&#160; Then, from June 11th to June 30th, thousands of Jordanian security forces and U.S. troops undertook Eager Lion, focusing on special operations missions and irregular warfare as well as counterinsurgency.</p>
<p>In November, Human Rights Watch’s Christoph Wilcke took Jordan to task for the trial of 150 protesters arrested in the spring on terrorism charges after a public brawl with pro-regime supporters.&#160; “Only members of the opposition face prosecution. The trial… is seriously flawed,”&#160; <a href="" type="internal">wrote Wilcke</a>.&#160; “It singles out Islamists on charges of terrorism and casts doubts on the kingdom’s path towards genuine political reform, its commitment to the rule of law, and its stated desire to protect the rights of freedom of expression and assembly.”</p>
<p>At around the same time, U.S. troops were wrapping up Operation Flexible Saif.&#160; For about four months, American troops had engaged in basic mentoring of the Jordanian military, according to Americans who took part, focusing on subjects ranging from the fundamentals of soldiering to the essentials of intelligence gathering.</p>
<p>Who Are Kuwait’s Lucky Warriors?</p>
<p>Earlier this year, Kuwaiti security forces assaulted and arrested “Bidun” protesters, a minority population&#160; <a href="" type="internal">demanding</a>&#160;citizenship rights after 50 years of stateless status in the oil-rich kingdom.&#160; “Kuwaiti authorities… should allow demonstrators to speak and assemble freely — as is their right,” wrote Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.&#160; More recently, Kuwait has been cracking down on online activists.&#160; In July, HRW’s Priyanka Motaparthy&#160; <a href="" type="internal">wrote</a>&#160;in&#160;Foreign Policy&#160;magazine that 26-year-old&#160;Nasser Abul was led, blindfolded and shackled, into a Kuwaiti courtroom.&#160; His crime, according to Motaparthy, “a few tweets… criticizing the ruling families of Bahrain as well as Saudi Arabia.”</p>
<p>This spring, U.S. troops took part in Lucky Warrior, a four-day training exercise in Kuwait designed to hone U.S. war fighting skills particular to the region.&#160; The sparse material available from the military mentions no direct Kuwaiti involvement in Lucky Warrior, but documents examined&#160;by TomDispatch indicate that translators have been used in past versions of the exercise, suggesting the involvement of Kuwaiti and/or other Arab nations in the operation.&#160; Pentagon secrecy, however, makes it impossible to know the full extent of participation by the Pentagon’s regional partners.</p>
<p>TomDispatch has identified other regional training operations that CENTCOM failed to acknowledge, including Steppe Eagle, an annual multilateral exercise carried out in&#160; <a href="" type="internal">repressive</a>&#160;Kazakhstan from July 31st to August 23rd which trained Kazakh troops in everything from convoy missions to conducting cordon and search operations.&#160; Then there was the Falcon Air Meet, an exercise focusing on close air-support tactics that even included a bombing contest, carried out in October by U.S., Jordanian, and Turkish air forces at Shaheed Mwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan.</p>
<p>The U.S. military also conducted a seminar on public affairs and information operations with members of the Lebanese armed forces including, according to an American in attendance, a discussion of “the use of propaganda in regards to military information support operations.”&#160; In addition, there was a biannual joint underwater demolitions exercise, Operation Eager Mace, carried out with Kuwaiti forces.</p>
<p>These training missions are only a fraction of the dozens carried out each year in secret, far from the prying eyes of the press or local populations.&#160; They are a key component of an outsized Pentagon support system that also shuttles aid and weaponry to a set of allied Middle Eastern kingdoms and autocracies.&#160; These joint missions ensure tight bonds between the U.S. military and the security forces of repressive governments throughout the region, offering Washington access and influence and the host nations of these exercises the latest military strategies, tactics, and tools of the trade at a moment when they are, or fear being, besieged by protesters seeking to tap into the democratic spirit sweeping the region.</p>
<p>Secrets and Lies</p>
<p>The U.S. military ignored TomDispatch’s requests for information about whether any joint operations were postponed, rescheduled, or canceled as a result of Arab Spring protests.&#160; In August, however, Agence France Presse <a href="" type="internal">reported</a>&#160;that Bright Star, a biannual training exercise involving U.S. and Egyptian forces, had been canceled as a result of the popular revolt that overthrew president ally Hosni Mubarak, a Washington ally.</p>
<p>The number of U.S. training exercises across the region disrupted by pro-democracy protests, or even basic information about the total number of the Pentagon’s regional training missions, their locations, durations, and who takes part in them, remain largely unknown.&#160; CENTCOM regularly keeps such information secret from the American public, not to mention populations across the Greater Middle East.</p>
<p>The military also refused to comment on exercises scheduled for 2012.&#160; There is nonetheless good reason to believe that their number will rise as regional autocrats look to beat back the forces of change.&#160; “With the end of Operation New Dawn in Iraq and the reduction of surge forces in Afghanistan, USCENTCOM exercises will continue to focus on…&#160;mutual security concerns and build upon already strong, enduring relationships within the region,” a CENTCOM spokesman told us by email.</p>
<p>Since pro-democracy protests and popular revolt are the “security concerns” of regimes from Saudi Arabia and Bahrain to Jordan and Yemen, it is not hard to imagine just how the Pentagon’s advanced training methods, its schooling in counterinsurgency tactics, and its aid in intelligence gathering techniques might be used in the months ahead.</p>
<p>This spring, as Operation African Lion proceeded and battered Moroccan protesters nursed their wounds, President Obama asserted that the “United States opposes the use of violence and repression against the people of the region” and supports basic human rights for citizens throughout the Greater Middle East. &#160;“And these rights,” he added, “include free speech, the freedom of peaceful assembly, the freedom of religion, equality for men and women under the rule of law, and the right to choose your own leaders — whether you live in Baghdad or Damascus, Sanaa or Tehran.”</p>
<p>The question remains, does the United States believe the same is true for those who live in Amman, Kuwait City, Rabat, or Riyahd?&#160; And if so, why is the Pentagon strengthening the hands of repressive rulers in those capitals?</p>
<p>Nick Turse&#160;is the associate editor of&#160; <a href="http://www.tomdispatch.com/" type="external">TomDispatch.com</a>, where this article originally appeared. His latest book,&#160; <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1844674517/counterpunchmaga" type="external">The Case for Withdrawal from Afghanistan</a>&#160;(Verso Books), which brings together leading analysts from across the political spectrum, has just gone into its second printing. Turse is currently a fellow at Harvard University’s Radcliffe Institute. His website is&#160; <a href="http://NickTurse.com/" type="external">NickTurse.com</a>.</p> | 3,985 |
<p />
<p>President Donald Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, announced on Wednesday she would advise her father without receiving a paycheck.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>“I will instead serve as an unpaid employee in the White House Office, subject to all of the same rules as other federal employees,” Ivanka Trump said in a statement.</p>
<p>The White House also released a statement on Wednesday, saying the administration is proud of the role Ivanka is taking in support of the president.</p>
<p>“Ivanka's service as an unpaid employee furthers our commitment to ethics, transparency, and compliance and affords her increased opportunities to lead initiatives driving real policy benefits for the American public that would not have been available to her previously,” the statement read.</p>
<p>Ivanka, a common presence during the campaign, has continued that role unofficially at the White House and frequently attends meetings with her father. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who visited the White House earlier this month, invited the first daughter to attend a women’s summit in Germany in April after the two met.</p> | Ivanka Trump Will Advise the President Unpaid | true | http://foxbusiness.com/politics/2017/03/29/ivanka-trump-will-advise-president-unpaid.html | 2017-03-29 | 0right
| Ivanka Trump Will Advise the President Unpaid
<p />
<p>President Donald Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, announced on Wednesday she would advise her father without receiving a paycheck.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>“I will instead serve as an unpaid employee in the White House Office, subject to all of the same rules as other federal employees,” Ivanka Trump said in a statement.</p>
<p>The White House also released a statement on Wednesday, saying the administration is proud of the role Ivanka is taking in support of the president.</p>
<p>“Ivanka's service as an unpaid employee furthers our commitment to ethics, transparency, and compliance and affords her increased opportunities to lead initiatives driving real policy benefits for the American public that would not have been available to her previously,” the statement read.</p>
<p>Ivanka, a common presence during the campaign, has continued that role unofficially at the White House and frequently attends meetings with her father. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who visited the White House earlier this month, invited the first daughter to attend a women’s summit in Germany in April after the two met.</p> | 3,986 |
<p>In view of the recommendations made at the International “Against Terrorism, For Peace and Justice” Symposium, the undersigned, members of the “In Defense of Humanity” network of networks, have reviewed the denunciations, proposals and reports submitted by the 681 participants from 67 countries who met in Havana on 2, 3 and 4 June 2005, and make a call to create a movement against terrorism that will denounce and condemn the age of terror spawned by the United States in our hemisphere, affecting us since the second half of the 20th century.</p>
<p>The moving testimonies of victims and their relatives and the well-documented reports of respected jurists, statespeople, journalists, economists and other intellectuals committed to the defense of human rights, allowed us to reconstruct the history of terrorist actions, committed with impunity, which numerous US administrations perpetrated in Souther Cone countries, Central America and the Caribbean, in complicity with Latin American and Caribbean leaders, armies and police forces.</p>
<p>The people have a right to know the truth. Those who wage a genocidal war in the name of a war on terrorism must not be allowed to cover up their systematic use of the most perverse of terrorist methods against the peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean. There is an urgent need to break the silence which shrouds the past, present and forseeable future of this criminal policy.</p>
<p>It is impossible to suppress the intimate, proven and documented ties of international terrorsits to the US White House, State Department and intelligence services. One cannot forget the atrocious consequences of Operation Condor, that International of Terror, as Nobel Prize for Peace recipient Adolfo Pérez Esquivel would call it, nor those of the dirty war waged in Central America and the Caribbean. The crimes of those who have worked for the CIA and of the high officials of successive US administrations cannot go unpunished.</p>
<p>George H. W. Bush, father of the current US leader, must be held accountable, as ex CIA director, for the creation, with Cuban born terrorists, of CORU, an organization responsible for the assassination of ex Chilean Minister of Foreign Affairs Orlando Letelier and the murder of US citizen Ronnie Moffit, the midair bombing of a civilian plane with 73 people on board and other crimes against humanity. The same terrorists collaborated with Pinochet’s DINA, and other repressive bodies of South American military dictatorships, in the planning and execution of Operation Condor. Then Secretary of State Henry Kissinger must also be held accountable for these genocidal crimes.</p>
<p>The close ties of Florida’s current governor, Jeb Bush, to the Cuban American National Foundation and other terrorist groups based in Miami must be denounced. These organizations made a decisive contribution to the fraudulent electoral victory of his brother in the 2000 presidential elections; they financed terrorist actions against Cuban tourist facilities, actions Posada Carriles admitted to in an interview for the New York Times and American television, the latter’s “pardon” in Panama and his stay in the United States the past two months; they organized and financed his escape from a Venezuelan prison and coordinated his work with the White House in Iran-Contra and US-supported state-terrorist and dirty war strategies in Central America. Today more than ever, we must denounce this long-standing network of accomplices which sustains the impunity and the protection illegally granted by US authorities to Luis Posada Carriles, ignoring the well-founded extradition request submitted by the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. It is the same protection they have offered an hope to maintain for Orlando Bosch, securing impunity for his crimes.</p>
<p>We must reveal the terrorist nature of the alliance that, against the interests of the American people, the Bush dynasty has established with the Miami mob and which dishonours the memory of those who perished on 11 September 2001 and in the name of a supposed war on terrorism. The US people, who mobilized against fascism in World War II and contributed to ending the Vietnam war, who supported the civil rights struggle and the return of Elián González to Cuba, must be informed, through all the mass media, about the criminal actions of its government.</p>
<p>The impunity of terrorists cannot continue. No crime can go unpunished.</p>
<p>BECAUSE OF ALL THIS, WE HAVE DECIDED TO INITIATE AN INTERNATIONAL MOVEMENT AGAINST TERRORISM BASED ON THE “IN DEFENSE OF HUMANITY’ NETWORK OF NETWORKS, TO UNDERTAKE THE FOLLOWING ACTIONS:</p>
<p>1. Establish an Anti-Terrorist Observatory for the hemisphere.</p>
<p>2. Create a data base which gathers information on these genocidal policies.</p>
<p>3. Prepare and publish an Encyclopedia on Terrorism in the hemisphere, to include the essential concepts and categories, the background of the genocidal agents, repressive bodies and terrorists involved, a chronology of these criminal actions and a description of the national and supra-national components of the terror apparatus.</p>
<p>4. Create a collection of works on historical memory and terrorism.</p>
<p>5. Create the “Against Terrorism, in Defense of Humanity” Hemisphere Court, to be made up of prestigious jurists, intellectuals and human rights activists, to try Henry Kissenger, George Herbert Walker Bush, Jeb Bush, George Walker Bush and the following current or ex State Department or National Security Council officials Oliver North, John Dimitri Negroponte and Otto Reich, for setting in motion and encouraging state terrorism in Latin America, the Caribbean and even the United States, in flagrant violation of international and US law, putting the lives of their own citizens in danger; for recruiting, training and financing terrorist groups and for the protection they have offered and continue to offer Orlando Bosch, Luis Posada Carriles and other renowned perpetrators of criminal actions that have claimed the lives of ten of thousands of innocent people.</p>
<p>The work of this court will be handled by four commissions: a commission for the gathering of testimonies and documentary evidence; for research and analysis; for technical and juridical matters and for information and dissemination.</p>
<p>This is the commitment assumed in Havana: to defend ethical values and dignity, in defiance of brute force and terror, and to carry out law and justice. All voices must be raised against these crimes. We shall not rest until the murderers are tried and convicted. Silence only benefits terrorists and those who protect them. We shall not rest until the path is cleared for truth. As Fidel has said: “Humanity yearns for justice”.</p>
<p>Havana, 10 June 2005</p>
<p>Francois Houtart, Belgium;</p>
<p>Isabel Parra, Chile;</p>
<p>James Cockcroft, USA;</p>
<p>Pablo González Casanova, Victor Flores Olea, Gilberto López y Rivas and Juan Bañuelo, Mexico;</p>
<p>Thiago de Mello, Beto Almeida, Roberto Amaral, Beth Carvalho, María Ciavatta and Marilia Guimaraes, Brazil;</p>
<p>Roberto Fernandez Retamar, Cuba;</p>
<p>Marcos Roitman, Manuel Talens, Jaime Losada, Alicia Hermida and Carlos Tena, Spain; Miguel Bonasso, Stella Calloni, Ana de Skalon, Tristán Bauer, Atilio Borón, Néstor Kohan, Carlos Ruta, Luciano Alzaga and Marcelo Cafiso, Argentina;</p>
<p>Hernando Calvo Ospina, Colombia; Jorge Sanjinés, Bolivia;</p>
<p>Antonio Pecci, Paraguay;</p>
<p>Raúl Pérez Torres, Ecuador;</p>
<p>Gennaro Carotenuto, Italy;</p>
<p>Tarik Souki, Venezuela;</p>
<p>Samuel Blixen, Uruguay.</p>
<p>For more information contact Yamila Cohén: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Against Terrorism; In Defense of Humanity | true | https://counterpunch.org/2005/06/16/against-terrorism-in-defense-of-humanity/ | 2005-06-16 | 4left
| Against Terrorism; In Defense of Humanity
<p>In view of the recommendations made at the International “Against Terrorism, For Peace and Justice” Symposium, the undersigned, members of the “In Defense of Humanity” network of networks, have reviewed the denunciations, proposals and reports submitted by the 681 participants from 67 countries who met in Havana on 2, 3 and 4 June 2005, and make a call to create a movement against terrorism that will denounce and condemn the age of terror spawned by the United States in our hemisphere, affecting us since the second half of the 20th century.</p>
<p>The moving testimonies of victims and their relatives and the well-documented reports of respected jurists, statespeople, journalists, economists and other intellectuals committed to the defense of human rights, allowed us to reconstruct the history of terrorist actions, committed with impunity, which numerous US administrations perpetrated in Souther Cone countries, Central America and the Caribbean, in complicity with Latin American and Caribbean leaders, armies and police forces.</p>
<p>The people have a right to know the truth. Those who wage a genocidal war in the name of a war on terrorism must not be allowed to cover up their systematic use of the most perverse of terrorist methods against the peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean. There is an urgent need to break the silence which shrouds the past, present and forseeable future of this criminal policy.</p>
<p>It is impossible to suppress the intimate, proven and documented ties of international terrorsits to the US White House, State Department and intelligence services. One cannot forget the atrocious consequences of Operation Condor, that International of Terror, as Nobel Prize for Peace recipient Adolfo Pérez Esquivel would call it, nor those of the dirty war waged in Central America and the Caribbean. The crimes of those who have worked for the CIA and of the high officials of successive US administrations cannot go unpunished.</p>
<p>George H. W. Bush, father of the current US leader, must be held accountable, as ex CIA director, for the creation, with Cuban born terrorists, of CORU, an organization responsible for the assassination of ex Chilean Minister of Foreign Affairs Orlando Letelier and the murder of US citizen Ronnie Moffit, the midair bombing of a civilian plane with 73 people on board and other crimes against humanity. The same terrorists collaborated with Pinochet’s DINA, and other repressive bodies of South American military dictatorships, in the planning and execution of Operation Condor. Then Secretary of State Henry Kissinger must also be held accountable for these genocidal crimes.</p>
<p>The close ties of Florida’s current governor, Jeb Bush, to the Cuban American National Foundation and other terrorist groups based in Miami must be denounced. These organizations made a decisive contribution to the fraudulent electoral victory of his brother in the 2000 presidential elections; they financed terrorist actions against Cuban tourist facilities, actions Posada Carriles admitted to in an interview for the New York Times and American television, the latter’s “pardon” in Panama and his stay in the United States the past two months; they organized and financed his escape from a Venezuelan prison and coordinated his work with the White House in Iran-Contra and US-supported state-terrorist and dirty war strategies in Central America. Today more than ever, we must denounce this long-standing network of accomplices which sustains the impunity and the protection illegally granted by US authorities to Luis Posada Carriles, ignoring the well-founded extradition request submitted by the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. It is the same protection they have offered an hope to maintain for Orlando Bosch, securing impunity for his crimes.</p>
<p>We must reveal the terrorist nature of the alliance that, against the interests of the American people, the Bush dynasty has established with the Miami mob and which dishonours the memory of those who perished on 11 September 2001 and in the name of a supposed war on terrorism. The US people, who mobilized against fascism in World War II and contributed to ending the Vietnam war, who supported the civil rights struggle and the return of Elián González to Cuba, must be informed, through all the mass media, about the criminal actions of its government.</p>
<p>The impunity of terrorists cannot continue. No crime can go unpunished.</p>
<p>BECAUSE OF ALL THIS, WE HAVE DECIDED TO INITIATE AN INTERNATIONAL MOVEMENT AGAINST TERRORISM BASED ON THE “IN DEFENSE OF HUMANITY’ NETWORK OF NETWORKS, TO UNDERTAKE THE FOLLOWING ACTIONS:</p>
<p>1. Establish an Anti-Terrorist Observatory for the hemisphere.</p>
<p>2. Create a data base which gathers information on these genocidal policies.</p>
<p>3. Prepare and publish an Encyclopedia on Terrorism in the hemisphere, to include the essential concepts and categories, the background of the genocidal agents, repressive bodies and terrorists involved, a chronology of these criminal actions and a description of the national and supra-national components of the terror apparatus.</p>
<p>4. Create a collection of works on historical memory and terrorism.</p>
<p>5. Create the “Against Terrorism, in Defense of Humanity” Hemisphere Court, to be made up of prestigious jurists, intellectuals and human rights activists, to try Henry Kissenger, George Herbert Walker Bush, Jeb Bush, George Walker Bush and the following current or ex State Department or National Security Council officials Oliver North, John Dimitri Negroponte and Otto Reich, for setting in motion and encouraging state terrorism in Latin America, the Caribbean and even the United States, in flagrant violation of international and US law, putting the lives of their own citizens in danger; for recruiting, training and financing terrorist groups and for the protection they have offered and continue to offer Orlando Bosch, Luis Posada Carriles and other renowned perpetrators of criminal actions that have claimed the lives of ten of thousands of innocent people.</p>
<p>The work of this court will be handled by four commissions: a commission for the gathering of testimonies and documentary evidence; for research and analysis; for technical and juridical matters and for information and dissemination.</p>
<p>This is the commitment assumed in Havana: to defend ethical values and dignity, in defiance of brute force and terror, and to carry out law and justice. All voices must be raised against these crimes. We shall not rest until the murderers are tried and convicted. Silence only benefits terrorists and those who protect them. We shall not rest until the path is cleared for truth. As Fidel has said: “Humanity yearns for justice”.</p>
<p>Havana, 10 June 2005</p>
<p>Francois Houtart, Belgium;</p>
<p>Isabel Parra, Chile;</p>
<p>James Cockcroft, USA;</p>
<p>Pablo González Casanova, Victor Flores Olea, Gilberto López y Rivas and Juan Bañuelo, Mexico;</p>
<p>Thiago de Mello, Beto Almeida, Roberto Amaral, Beth Carvalho, María Ciavatta and Marilia Guimaraes, Brazil;</p>
<p>Roberto Fernandez Retamar, Cuba;</p>
<p>Marcos Roitman, Manuel Talens, Jaime Losada, Alicia Hermida and Carlos Tena, Spain; Miguel Bonasso, Stella Calloni, Ana de Skalon, Tristán Bauer, Atilio Borón, Néstor Kohan, Carlos Ruta, Luciano Alzaga and Marcelo Cafiso, Argentina;</p>
<p>Hernando Calvo Ospina, Colombia; Jorge Sanjinés, Bolivia;</p>
<p>Antonio Pecci, Paraguay;</p>
<p>Raúl Pérez Torres, Ecuador;</p>
<p>Gennaro Carotenuto, Italy;</p>
<p>Tarik Souki, Venezuela;</p>
<p>Samuel Blixen, Uruguay.</p>
<p>For more information contact Yamila Cohén: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p> | 3,987 |
<p>SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Jim Harbaugh had an ease of sorts about him again, perhaps from a potentially season-saving overtime win on the road at New Orleans, or the fact that defensive lineman Ray McDonald’s domestic violence case has been resolved without charges being filed, allowing everyone to move forward at last.</p>
<p>It might have been a combination of both.</p>
<p>Then, there’s star linebacker Aldon Smith, who has served his nine-game suspension for violations of the NFL’s substance-abuse and personal-conduct policies and will begin practicing again this week. The star pass rusher is likely to play in some capacity Sunday at the New York Giants.</p>
<p>Harbaugh, who had yet to speak with McDonald early Monday afternoon, said everyone can learn from the situations surrounding McDonald and Smith — and that he can have a role in player conduct.</p>
<p>“As an organization and as a coach I think it is proper to advise, to educate. I think we do that as a team,” Harbaugh said. “We continue to look for ways to send the message of good conduct and strive for 100 percent good conduct. We want to have that. We haven’t had that, we want to get there.”</p>
<p>Also improving Harbaugh’s mood, 2013 All-Pro NaVorro Bowman could begin practicing for the first time in the coming days. Harbaugh said the 49ers (5-4) could determine as soon as Tuesday to begin the 21-day window in which he returns to practice and gives the team that span to activate him or place in him on season-ending injured reserve. Bowman is returning from a devastating left knee injury from the NFC championship game at Seattle.</p>
<p>“Tomorrow we’ll see if that window gets opened to start practicing,” Harbaugh said.</p>
<p>San Francisco held on for a 27-24 victory against the Saints on Sunday, and the alternative would have left the Niners on a three-game losing streak and in dire position considering they’re already sitting third in the talented NFC West. They still have two games with the Seahawks remaining and first-place Arizona at home in the regular-season finale.</p>
<p>“As Anquan Boldin said, ‘These now are one-game seasons for us,’ and that’s the way we’ll approach them,” Harbaugh said. “They played with as much heart, as much hustle, as much fight as I’ve ever seen our teams play since we’ve been here.”</p>
<p>Now, he hopes the Niners can build on that as they take on the Giants (3-6), who lost 38-17 on the road to defending Super Bowl champion Seattle.</p>
<p>Harbaugh isn’t ready to say what kind of role Smith will have right away, though defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has certainly expected to have one of his star defenders back in the mix as soon as possible.</p>
<p>They can use his menacing presence.</p>
<p>“We can’t afford to lose any games if we want to accomplish our goals that we set at the beginning of the year,” linebacker Ahmad Brooks said. “It’s imperative for us to win.”</p>
<p>The 25-year-old Smith, one of the NFL’s top pass rushers, missed five games last season to undergo treatment at an inpatient facility following his DUI arrest on Sept. 20, 2013.</p>
<p>Last spring, the 49ers picked up his 2015 contract option despite his legal troubles.</p>
<p>Smith was arrested April 13 at Los Angeles International Airport. Police said Smith was randomly selected for a secondary screening and became uncooperative with the process, telling a TSA agent that he had a bomb. No charges were filed.</p>
<p>In November, he pleaded not guilty to three felony counts of illegal possession of an assault weapon, stemming from a June 2012 party at his home.</p>
<p>Smith’s new start begins with practice this week.</p>
<p>“Very much look forward to that,” Harbaugh said. “There’s consequences for our actions, good and bad. Good consequences for good actions. There’s accountability. He has served that. He has done that and look forward to moving forward in a fresh, clean slate. That’s what I anticipate and look forward to.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>AP NFL websites: www.pro32.ap.org and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/AP_NFL" type="external">www.twitter.com/AP_NFL</a></p>
<p>SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Jim Harbaugh had an ease of sorts about him again, perhaps from a potentially season-saving overtime win on the road at New Orleans, or the fact that defensive lineman Ray McDonald’s domestic violence case has been resolved without charges being filed, allowing everyone to move forward at last.</p>
<p>It might have been a combination of both.</p>
<p>Then, there’s star linebacker Aldon Smith, who has served his nine-game suspension for violations of the NFL’s substance-abuse and personal-conduct policies and will begin practicing again this week. The star pass rusher is likely to play in some capacity Sunday at the New York Giants.</p>
<p>Harbaugh, who had yet to speak with McDonald early Monday afternoon, said everyone can learn from the situations surrounding McDonald and Smith — and that he can have a role in player conduct.</p>
<p>“As an organization and as a coach I think it is proper to advise, to educate. I think we do that as a team,” Harbaugh said. “We continue to look for ways to send the message of good conduct and strive for 100 percent good conduct. We want to have that. We haven’t had that, we want to get there.”</p>
<p>Also improving Harbaugh’s mood, 2013 All-Pro NaVorro Bowman could begin practicing for the first time in the coming days. Harbaugh said the 49ers (5-4) could determine as soon as Tuesday to begin the 21-day window in which he returns to practice and gives the team that span to activate him or place in him on season-ending injured reserve. Bowman is returning from a devastating left knee injury from the NFC championship game at Seattle.</p>
<p>“Tomorrow we’ll see if that window gets opened to start practicing,” Harbaugh said.</p>
<p>San Francisco held on for a 27-24 victory against the Saints on Sunday, and the alternative would have left the Niners on a three-game losing streak and in dire position considering they’re already sitting third in the talented NFC West. They still have two games with the Seahawks remaining and first-place Arizona at home in the regular-season finale.</p>
<p>“As Anquan Boldin said, ‘These now are one-game seasons for us,’ and that’s the way we’ll approach them,” Harbaugh said. “They played with as much heart, as much hustle, as much fight as I’ve ever seen our teams play since we’ve been here.”</p>
<p>Now, he hopes the Niners can build on that as they take on the Giants (3-6), who lost 38-17 on the road to defending Super Bowl champion Seattle.</p>
<p>Harbaugh isn’t ready to say what kind of role Smith will have right away, though defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has certainly expected to have one of his star defenders back in the mix as soon as possible.</p>
<p>They can use his menacing presence.</p>
<p>“We can’t afford to lose any games if we want to accomplish our goals that we set at the beginning of the year,” linebacker Ahmad Brooks said. “It’s imperative for us to win.”</p>
<p>The 25-year-old Smith, one of the NFL’s top pass rushers, missed five games last season to undergo treatment at an inpatient facility following his DUI arrest on Sept. 20, 2013.</p>
<p>Last spring, the 49ers picked up his 2015 contract option despite his legal troubles.</p>
<p>Smith was arrested April 13 at Los Angeles International Airport. Police said Smith was randomly selected for a secondary screening and became uncooperative with the process, telling a TSA agent that he had a bomb. No charges were filed.</p>
<p>In November, he pleaded not guilty to three felony counts of illegal possession of an assault weapon, stemming from a June 2012 party at his home.</p>
<p>Smith’s new start begins with practice this week.</p>
<p>“Very much look forward to that,” Harbaugh said. “There’s consequences for our actions, good and bad. Good consequences for good actions. There’s accountability. He has served that. He has done that and look forward to moving forward in a fresh, clean slate. That’s what I anticipate and look forward to.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>AP NFL websites: www.pro32.ap.org and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/AP_NFL" type="external">www.twitter.com/AP_NFL</a></p> | 49ers can now move forward from legal issues | false | https://apnews.com/b7fa2775304b4a1b863e360ee037c7f9 | 2014-11-10 | 2least
| 49ers can now move forward from legal issues
<p>SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Jim Harbaugh had an ease of sorts about him again, perhaps from a potentially season-saving overtime win on the road at New Orleans, or the fact that defensive lineman Ray McDonald’s domestic violence case has been resolved without charges being filed, allowing everyone to move forward at last.</p>
<p>It might have been a combination of both.</p>
<p>Then, there’s star linebacker Aldon Smith, who has served his nine-game suspension for violations of the NFL’s substance-abuse and personal-conduct policies and will begin practicing again this week. The star pass rusher is likely to play in some capacity Sunday at the New York Giants.</p>
<p>Harbaugh, who had yet to speak with McDonald early Monday afternoon, said everyone can learn from the situations surrounding McDonald and Smith — and that he can have a role in player conduct.</p>
<p>“As an organization and as a coach I think it is proper to advise, to educate. I think we do that as a team,” Harbaugh said. “We continue to look for ways to send the message of good conduct and strive for 100 percent good conduct. We want to have that. We haven’t had that, we want to get there.”</p>
<p>Also improving Harbaugh’s mood, 2013 All-Pro NaVorro Bowman could begin practicing for the first time in the coming days. Harbaugh said the 49ers (5-4) could determine as soon as Tuesday to begin the 21-day window in which he returns to practice and gives the team that span to activate him or place in him on season-ending injured reserve. Bowman is returning from a devastating left knee injury from the NFC championship game at Seattle.</p>
<p>“Tomorrow we’ll see if that window gets opened to start practicing,” Harbaugh said.</p>
<p>San Francisco held on for a 27-24 victory against the Saints on Sunday, and the alternative would have left the Niners on a three-game losing streak and in dire position considering they’re already sitting third in the talented NFC West. They still have two games with the Seahawks remaining and first-place Arizona at home in the regular-season finale.</p>
<p>“As Anquan Boldin said, ‘These now are one-game seasons for us,’ and that’s the way we’ll approach them,” Harbaugh said. “They played with as much heart, as much hustle, as much fight as I’ve ever seen our teams play since we’ve been here.”</p>
<p>Now, he hopes the Niners can build on that as they take on the Giants (3-6), who lost 38-17 on the road to defending Super Bowl champion Seattle.</p>
<p>Harbaugh isn’t ready to say what kind of role Smith will have right away, though defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has certainly expected to have one of his star defenders back in the mix as soon as possible.</p>
<p>They can use his menacing presence.</p>
<p>“We can’t afford to lose any games if we want to accomplish our goals that we set at the beginning of the year,” linebacker Ahmad Brooks said. “It’s imperative for us to win.”</p>
<p>The 25-year-old Smith, one of the NFL’s top pass rushers, missed five games last season to undergo treatment at an inpatient facility following his DUI arrest on Sept. 20, 2013.</p>
<p>Last spring, the 49ers picked up his 2015 contract option despite his legal troubles.</p>
<p>Smith was arrested April 13 at Los Angeles International Airport. Police said Smith was randomly selected for a secondary screening and became uncooperative with the process, telling a TSA agent that he had a bomb. No charges were filed.</p>
<p>In November, he pleaded not guilty to three felony counts of illegal possession of an assault weapon, stemming from a June 2012 party at his home.</p>
<p>Smith’s new start begins with practice this week.</p>
<p>“Very much look forward to that,” Harbaugh said. “There’s consequences for our actions, good and bad. Good consequences for good actions. There’s accountability. He has served that. He has done that and look forward to moving forward in a fresh, clean slate. That’s what I anticipate and look forward to.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>AP NFL websites: www.pro32.ap.org and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/AP_NFL" type="external">www.twitter.com/AP_NFL</a></p>
<p>SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Jim Harbaugh had an ease of sorts about him again, perhaps from a potentially season-saving overtime win on the road at New Orleans, or the fact that defensive lineman Ray McDonald’s domestic violence case has been resolved without charges being filed, allowing everyone to move forward at last.</p>
<p>It might have been a combination of both.</p>
<p>Then, there’s star linebacker Aldon Smith, who has served his nine-game suspension for violations of the NFL’s substance-abuse and personal-conduct policies and will begin practicing again this week. The star pass rusher is likely to play in some capacity Sunday at the New York Giants.</p>
<p>Harbaugh, who had yet to speak with McDonald early Monday afternoon, said everyone can learn from the situations surrounding McDonald and Smith — and that he can have a role in player conduct.</p>
<p>“As an organization and as a coach I think it is proper to advise, to educate. I think we do that as a team,” Harbaugh said. “We continue to look for ways to send the message of good conduct and strive for 100 percent good conduct. We want to have that. We haven’t had that, we want to get there.”</p>
<p>Also improving Harbaugh’s mood, 2013 All-Pro NaVorro Bowman could begin practicing for the first time in the coming days. Harbaugh said the 49ers (5-4) could determine as soon as Tuesday to begin the 21-day window in which he returns to practice and gives the team that span to activate him or place in him on season-ending injured reserve. Bowman is returning from a devastating left knee injury from the NFC championship game at Seattle.</p>
<p>“Tomorrow we’ll see if that window gets opened to start practicing,” Harbaugh said.</p>
<p>San Francisco held on for a 27-24 victory against the Saints on Sunday, and the alternative would have left the Niners on a three-game losing streak and in dire position considering they’re already sitting third in the talented NFC West. They still have two games with the Seahawks remaining and first-place Arizona at home in the regular-season finale.</p>
<p>“As Anquan Boldin said, ‘These now are one-game seasons for us,’ and that’s the way we’ll approach them,” Harbaugh said. “They played with as much heart, as much hustle, as much fight as I’ve ever seen our teams play since we’ve been here.”</p>
<p>Now, he hopes the Niners can build on that as they take on the Giants (3-6), who lost 38-17 on the road to defending Super Bowl champion Seattle.</p>
<p>Harbaugh isn’t ready to say what kind of role Smith will have right away, though defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has certainly expected to have one of his star defenders back in the mix as soon as possible.</p>
<p>They can use his menacing presence.</p>
<p>“We can’t afford to lose any games if we want to accomplish our goals that we set at the beginning of the year,” linebacker Ahmad Brooks said. “It’s imperative for us to win.”</p>
<p>The 25-year-old Smith, one of the NFL’s top pass rushers, missed five games last season to undergo treatment at an inpatient facility following his DUI arrest on Sept. 20, 2013.</p>
<p>Last spring, the 49ers picked up his 2015 contract option despite his legal troubles.</p>
<p>Smith was arrested April 13 at Los Angeles International Airport. Police said Smith was randomly selected for a secondary screening and became uncooperative with the process, telling a TSA agent that he had a bomb. No charges were filed.</p>
<p>In November, he pleaded not guilty to three felony counts of illegal possession of an assault weapon, stemming from a June 2012 party at his home.</p>
<p>Smith’s new start begins with practice this week.</p>
<p>“Very much look forward to that,” Harbaugh said. “There’s consequences for our actions, good and bad. Good consequences for good actions. There’s accountability. He has served that. He has done that and look forward to moving forward in a fresh, clean slate. That’s what I anticipate and look forward to.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>AP NFL websites: www.pro32.ap.org and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/AP_NFL" type="external">www.twitter.com/AP_NFL</a></p> | 3,988 |
<p>Congresswoman Michele Bachmann gets confused, again.</p>
<p>Michele Bachmann is known for flubbing on history, and today is no exception. While speaking today she said that Americans are worried about the rise of China, India, and the Soviet Union. Apparently she hasn’t heard that the Soviet Union already disbanded.</p>
<p>Here’s what she said:</p>
<p>What people recognize is that there’s a fear that the United States is in an unstoppable decline. They see the rise of China, the rise of India, the rise of the Soviet Union and our loss militarily going forward. And especially with this very bad debt ceiling bill, what we have done is given a favor to President Obama and the first thing he’ll whack is five hundred billion out of the military defense at a time when we’re fighting three wars. People recognize that.</p>
<p />
<p>Here’s the audio:</p> | Michele Bachmann Is Scared Of The Soviet Union, Even Though It No Longer Exists | true | http://addictinginfo.org/2011/08/18/michele-bachmann-is-scared/ | 2011-08-18 | 4left
| Michele Bachmann Is Scared Of The Soviet Union, Even Though It No Longer Exists
<p>Congresswoman Michele Bachmann gets confused, again.</p>
<p>Michele Bachmann is known for flubbing on history, and today is no exception. While speaking today she said that Americans are worried about the rise of China, India, and the Soviet Union. Apparently she hasn’t heard that the Soviet Union already disbanded.</p>
<p>Here’s what she said:</p>
<p>What people recognize is that there’s a fear that the United States is in an unstoppable decline. They see the rise of China, the rise of India, the rise of the Soviet Union and our loss militarily going forward. And especially with this very bad debt ceiling bill, what we have done is given a favor to President Obama and the first thing he’ll whack is five hundred billion out of the military defense at a time when we’re fighting three wars. People recognize that.</p>
<p />
<p>Here’s the audio:</p> | 3,989 |
<p>Photo: Juliette Borda</p>
<p />
<p>Unlike some Catholics of a certain age, who moan that the sex abuse scandal that burst onto the front pages almost four years ago shattered their faith in the presumed purity of priests, I didn’t grow up with the notion of priests as saints. Those in my acquaintance ate too much, smoked like stacks, bet on horses, and earned our allegiance, or didn’t, by the quality of their hearts. Saints, in any case, were dead, and I was vaguely aware of my own childish hubris in aspiring to be one. It was much later that I realized many of the saints weren’t even saints, in the colloquial sense of the word. As if to underscore that fact, in the midst of the scandal, in 2002 Pope John Paul II canonized a man who not only wrestled with devils, flagellated himself to bleeding, fasted to the point of collapse, and bore the stigmata but was also accused of having had sexual dalliances with women and of pomading his hair, perfuming his body, and wearing makeup. The Vatican once forbade Padre Pio, or Saint Pio da Pietrelcina as he is now called, from teaching teenage boys and hearing the confessions of women. The ladies had taken to fighting each other for the chance to repent their sins before this voluptuary of suffering. He took money in the confessional, and Rome was so unsettled by the extravagance of his mysticism and his cult that twice it put him under investigation. His own order, the Capuchins, bugged his cell after accusations arose that he brought women there. He died, in 1968, addicted to Valium and downers.</p>
<p>As Michael Bronski noted in a fascinating Boston Phoenix column unearthing this at the time of the canonization, saints are made as object lessons, and by elevating Pio, a doctrinal conservative, in a period of internal upheaval, the pope surely reinforced the ancient Catholicism of miracle, mystery, and authority. And yet, there is something oddly modern about it all, too, this example of colossal frailty, of ambiguity at the edge of hysteria and holiness. Not long before, the Vatican had insisted on modifications in the American bishops’ “zero-tolerance” policy toward accused priests, saying its stipulation to remove permanently from ministry anyone with a single accusation of sex with a minor, whatever the circumstances and however long ago, did not adequately allow for due process and forgiveness. Perhaps unwittingly, the pope expressed something as significant by offering the pancaked visage of Saint Pio for contemplation in a period of puffed-up righteousness, reminding Cath- olics, among them the legion of bishops looking to fix blame everywhere but in their own offices, that our embarrassment, our shame, is us.</p>
<p>Three years on, the Vatican has piled embarrassment on embarrassment, settling the debate initiated then between liberal reformers and reactionary prelates, as it was bound to, in favor of the reactionaries. Reformers had called for democracy, accountability, transparency. Some challenged celibacy, some suggesting that if only priests and bishops had been married with children, the abuse, or at least the silence around it, would not have occurred. That last argument, nonsense given the prevalence of family violence, gave backhanded assent to the reactionaries’ simpler verdict on the scandal: the homosexuals did it. JPII encouraged that line of reasoning, if such it can be called, by ordering seminaries to reject candidates with “obvious signs of deviations,” a stipulation that would have disqualified Pio the moment he first raised the whip against himself. Pope Benedict XVI has now systematized it. Church investigators are scrutinizing America’s 229 seminaries for “evidence of homosexuality,” “signs of particular friendships,” and all-around adherence to the Vatican’s official teaching of homophobia. When the investigation was revealed in August, its overseer, Edwin O’Brien, who is also archbishop for the U.S. military, said the seminary is no place for queers, however virginal or scrupulously chaste. The shoe waiting to drop is a purge of gay priests, men whose sexuality Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua of Philadelphia once declared “a moral evil.” It’s all part of what Benedict, with Teutonic economy, described as “purifying” the church. Put another way, by a gay priest in New York who asked to be nameless, “Everyone fears the knock at the door in the middle of the night.”</p>
<p>Reformers and the press are appalled by the church’s gay panic. They point out, rightly, that there is no statistical correlation between homosexuality and pedophilia, that gay priests are no more likely to flout celibacy than straight ones, and that, while numbers are mushy, many therapists concur that in the universe of priestly victims the vast majority are girls and women. Half the membership of SNAP, or Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, for example, are women. The group’s president, David Clohessy, was astounded that the New York Times, in breaking news of the seminary investigation, reported without qualification the American bishops’ calculation that “about 80 percent of the young people victimized by priests were boys.” Clohessy distrusts everything about the bishops’ numbers and attributes the 80 percent figure to a combination of homophobia and sexism: the greater perceived affront of male-on-male groping which influenced who made noise, who was taken seriously, whose record got kept, who threatened to call a lawyer. But if the numbers are inflated, maybe they appear so believable and are reported so unthinkingly because of all those salacious stories of priests and “boys” (ages 6, 16, 21, the word became elastic) that, particularly in Boston, consumed newspapers, nabbed journalistic prizes, and passed off one-sided accounts—even preposterous “memories”—as ultimate truths, and made the careers of so many good liberal Catholic journalists and prosecutors who were remarkably uncurious about hetero offenses but probably couldn’t imagine themselves accessories to an antigay witch-hunt.</p>
<p>The reactionary churchmen aren’t responding simply, or even mainly, to the press, though, or to the scandal. This isn’t just a pedestrian matter of blame-shifting, as critics contend; it is the gasp of an institution caught in an operatic contradiction. For despite its attempts to organize patriarchy and enforce sexual, particularly same-sexual, shame, the Catholic Church has had, in the form of its priesthood, what today would be called a gay culture for about 1,000 years. Although estimates suggest 20 to 50 percent of American priests are gay (a figure that was probably higher before the Stonewall Riot of 1969 and the birth of the modern gay movement), whether individuals are homo or hetero is secondary. Here is an institution for centuries removed from the everyday construction of straight masculinity: a community of men, living together, freed from admonitions to marry and multiply, engaged in ritual and performance, praising gentleness, wearing dresses, and bound together in worship of a naked man on a cross. Body and blood, a heady mixture of rapture and camp, at once repressive and sensual, dependent, like the army, on structures of submission and domination, only here dedicated to a spiritual doctrine of love—that culture is now exposed and under attack.</p>
<p>For a long time, heterosexuals didn’t think about this much, because no one in the straight world had a clue about the way gay people hid. Even the most flamboyant priest was beyond sexuality. It was all part of the old world, and the church ladies loved the gay priests, the way they loved Liberace, because they were at an angle to the gender universe. No one who grew up in the church pre-Stonewall could miss the way the priest who organized the talent shows and liturgical pageants, decorated the church, drank martinis, and dressed just so dazzled the women, and if in private he rued the deception of it, we wouldn’t have guessed. It wasn’t all deception, of course, but a complex bargain in which renegades from straight sex roles got a measure of authenticity, safety, certainly prestige, though not without sacrificing their most intimate selves in loyalty to policies that declared them deviant, dangerous, sick. With gay liberation came not just an uncloseting of sex but of identity, and eventually the straight world started to recognize all the little markers. For straight men, especially in institutions like the church, the homosocial rituals were suddenly, by association, a little threatening: Might I be queer, too?</p>
<p>The reactionaries’ latest “solution” to this crisis, this embarrassment, has no more chance of success now than it did a generation ago, when John Paul II cracked down on rebellious theologians, and some cardinals tried to clear the seminaries of queers. The problem for the reactionaries is that they love the church culture of the marvelous but hate the identity that has largely sustained it. Purge that identity, and all that’s left are rules, authority, an army. Abandon the regimen of authority and shame, and it’s hardly a church at all, at least in the traditional sense. It’s a fine mess.</p>
<p>Still, even in disdain, the reactionaries’ appreciation of the challenge presented by gay liberation is far more acute than that of reformers, who seem mostly concerned that homophobia is vaguely unhip. Though it has been somewhat obscured by gay-cliché diversions like Queer Eye and debates over gay marriage, that liberationist challenge, at its core, asserts that sexuality is central to human life, not some “don’t tell the children” shameful thing, not something dependent on marriage and a social need to reproduce the workforce or boost the corps of believers. It asserts that sexuality is born with us and is no one’s property but the original owner’s; that desire, pleasure, love, may be complicated, almost certainly will be, but people really do have the right to the pursuit of such happiness; that they also have the right to pursue celibacy, chastity, abnegation, but, like the rest, those are sexual choices; and, among believers, that all of it is God’s creation and nothing God made can be bad, even if it often goes bad. Utopians had always believed such things, along with mavericks, hippies, and some feminists. But with Stonewall “the genie was out of the bottle,” as writer Andrew Kopkind liked to say. For more than 30 years, the ethos of sexual freedom has been working its way through mainstream culture, moving forward, then thrown back, diverted by commerce or expedience from its essentially moral root, surviving but not without a lot of dislocation. Revolution of the body is a lot easier than revolution of the mind, and for all the claims to liberation—and the relentless advertising of sex—we are still groping in the dark, still in a period of transition set off in the 1960s and ’70s.</p>
<p>It’s totally logical, by their lights, that the guardians of an old, punishing morality should fall back on punishment. The harder question is, Where is a reborn morality that doesn’t need retribution, that courts embarrassment and risks freedom with only a radical love to win?</p>
<p /> | Roman Inquisition | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2005/12/roman-inquisition/ | 2005-12-01 | 4left
| Roman Inquisition
<p>Photo: Juliette Borda</p>
<p />
<p>Unlike some Catholics of a certain age, who moan that the sex abuse scandal that burst onto the front pages almost four years ago shattered their faith in the presumed purity of priests, I didn’t grow up with the notion of priests as saints. Those in my acquaintance ate too much, smoked like stacks, bet on horses, and earned our allegiance, or didn’t, by the quality of their hearts. Saints, in any case, were dead, and I was vaguely aware of my own childish hubris in aspiring to be one. It was much later that I realized many of the saints weren’t even saints, in the colloquial sense of the word. As if to underscore that fact, in the midst of the scandal, in 2002 Pope John Paul II canonized a man who not only wrestled with devils, flagellated himself to bleeding, fasted to the point of collapse, and bore the stigmata but was also accused of having had sexual dalliances with women and of pomading his hair, perfuming his body, and wearing makeup. The Vatican once forbade Padre Pio, or Saint Pio da Pietrelcina as he is now called, from teaching teenage boys and hearing the confessions of women. The ladies had taken to fighting each other for the chance to repent their sins before this voluptuary of suffering. He took money in the confessional, and Rome was so unsettled by the extravagance of his mysticism and his cult that twice it put him under investigation. His own order, the Capuchins, bugged his cell after accusations arose that he brought women there. He died, in 1968, addicted to Valium and downers.</p>
<p>As Michael Bronski noted in a fascinating Boston Phoenix column unearthing this at the time of the canonization, saints are made as object lessons, and by elevating Pio, a doctrinal conservative, in a period of internal upheaval, the pope surely reinforced the ancient Catholicism of miracle, mystery, and authority. And yet, there is something oddly modern about it all, too, this example of colossal frailty, of ambiguity at the edge of hysteria and holiness. Not long before, the Vatican had insisted on modifications in the American bishops’ “zero-tolerance” policy toward accused priests, saying its stipulation to remove permanently from ministry anyone with a single accusation of sex with a minor, whatever the circumstances and however long ago, did not adequately allow for due process and forgiveness. Perhaps unwittingly, the pope expressed something as significant by offering the pancaked visage of Saint Pio for contemplation in a period of puffed-up righteousness, reminding Cath- olics, among them the legion of bishops looking to fix blame everywhere but in their own offices, that our embarrassment, our shame, is us.</p>
<p>Three years on, the Vatican has piled embarrassment on embarrassment, settling the debate initiated then between liberal reformers and reactionary prelates, as it was bound to, in favor of the reactionaries. Reformers had called for democracy, accountability, transparency. Some challenged celibacy, some suggesting that if only priests and bishops had been married with children, the abuse, or at least the silence around it, would not have occurred. That last argument, nonsense given the prevalence of family violence, gave backhanded assent to the reactionaries’ simpler verdict on the scandal: the homosexuals did it. JPII encouraged that line of reasoning, if such it can be called, by ordering seminaries to reject candidates with “obvious signs of deviations,” a stipulation that would have disqualified Pio the moment he first raised the whip against himself. Pope Benedict XVI has now systematized it. Church investigators are scrutinizing America’s 229 seminaries for “evidence of homosexuality,” “signs of particular friendships,” and all-around adherence to the Vatican’s official teaching of homophobia. When the investigation was revealed in August, its overseer, Edwin O’Brien, who is also archbishop for the U.S. military, said the seminary is no place for queers, however virginal or scrupulously chaste. The shoe waiting to drop is a purge of gay priests, men whose sexuality Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua of Philadelphia once declared “a moral evil.” It’s all part of what Benedict, with Teutonic economy, described as “purifying” the church. Put another way, by a gay priest in New York who asked to be nameless, “Everyone fears the knock at the door in the middle of the night.”</p>
<p>Reformers and the press are appalled by the church’s gay panic. They point out, rightly, that there is no statistical correlation between homosexuality and pedophilia, that gay priests are no more likely to flout celibacy than straight ones, and that, while numbers are mushy, many therapists concur that in the universe of priestly victims the vast majority are girls and women. Half the membership of SNAP, or Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, for example, are women. The group’s president, David Clohessy, was astounded that the New York Times, in breaking news of the seminary investigation, reported without qualification the American bishops’ calculation that “about 80 percent of the young people victimized by priests were boys.” Clohessy distrusts everything about the bishops’ numbers and attributes the 80 percent figure to a combination of homophobia and sexism: the greater perceived affront of male-on-male groping which influenced who made noise, who was taken seriously, whose record got kept, who threatened to call a lawyer. But if the numbers are inflated, maybe they appear so believable and are reported so unthinkingly because of all those salacious stories of priests and “boys” (ages 6, 16, 21, the word became elastic) that, particularly in Boston, consumed newspapers, nabbed journalistic prizes, and passed off one-sided accounts—even preposterous “memories”—as ultimate truths, and made the careers of so many good liberal Catholic journalists and prosecutors who were remarkably uncurious about hetero offenses but probably couldn’t imagine themselves accessories to an antigay witch-hunt.</p>
<p>The reactionary churchmen aren’t responding simply, or even mainly, to the press, though, or to the scandal. This isn’t just a pedestrian matter of blame-shifting, as critics contend; it is the gasp of an institution caught in an operatic contradiction. For despite its attempts to organize patriarchy and enforce sexual, particularly same-sexual, shame, the Catholic Church has had, in the form of its priesthood, what today would be called a gay culture for about 1,000 years. Although estimates suggest 20 to 50 percent of American priests are gay (a figure that was probably higher before the Stonewall Riot of 1969 and the birth of the modern gay movement), whether individuals are homo or hetero is secondary. Here is an institution for centuries removed from the everyday construction of straight masculinity: a community of men, living together, freed from admonitions to marry and multiply, engaged in ritual and performance, praising gentleness, wearing dresses, and bound together in worship of a naked man on a cross. Body and blood, a heady mixture of rapture and camp, at once repressive and sensual, dependent, like the army, on structures of submission and domination, only here dedicated to a spiritual doctrine of love—that culture is now exposed and under attack.</p>
<p>For a long time, heterosexuals didn’t think about this much, because no one in the straight world had a clue about the way gay people hid. Even the most flamboyant priest was beyond sexuality. It was all part of the old world, and the church ladies loved the gay priests, the way they loved Liberace, because they were at an angle to the gender universe. No one who grew up in the church pre-Stonewall could miss the way the priest who organized the talent shows and liturgical pageants, decorated the church, drank martinis, and dressed just so dazzled the women, and if in private he rued the deception of it, we wouldn’t have guessed. It wasn’t all deception, of course, but a complex bargain in which renegades from straight sex roles got a measure of authenticity, safety, certainly prestige, though not without sacrificing their most intimate selves in loyalty to policies that declared them deviant, dangerous, sick. With gay liberation came not just an uncloseting of sex but of identity, and eventually the straight world started to recognize all the little markers. For straight men, especially in institutions like the church, the homosocial rituals were suddenly, by association, a little threatening: Might I be queer, too?</p>
<p>The reactionaries’ latest “solution” to this crisis, this embarrassment, has no more chance of success now than it did a generation ago, when John Paul II cracked down on rebellious theologians, and some cardinals tried to clear the seminaries of queers. The problem for the reactionaries is that they love the church culture of the marvelous but hate the identity that has largely sustained it. Purge that identity, and all that’s left are rules, authority, an army. Abandon the regimen of authority and shame, and it’s hardly a church at all, at least in the traditional sense. It’s a fine mess.</p>
<p>Still, even in disdain, the reactionaries’ appreciation of the challenge presented by gay liberation is far more acute than that of reformers, who seem mostly concerned that homophobia is vaguely unhip. Though it has been somewhat obscured by gay-cliché diversions like Queer Eye and debates over gay marriage, that liberationist challenge, at its core, asserts that sexuality is central to human life, not some “don’t tell the children” shameful thing, not something dependent on marriage and a social need to reproduce the workforce or boost the corps of believers. It asserts that sexuality is born with us and is no one’s property but the original owner’s; that desire, pleasure, love, may be complicated, almost certainly will be, but people really do have the right to the pursuit of such happiness; that they also have the right to pursue celibacy, chastity, abnegation, but, like the rest, those are sexual choices; and, among believers, that all of it is God’s creation and nothing God made can be bad, even if it often goes bad. Utopians had always believed such things, along with mavericks, hippies, and some feminists. But with Stonewall “the genie was out of the bottle,” as writer Andrew Kopkind liked to say. For more than 30 years, the ethos of sexual freedom has been working its way through mainstream culture, moving forward, then thrown back, diverted by commerce or expedience from its essentially moral root, surviving but not without a lot of dislocation. Revolution of the body is a lot easier than revolution of the mind, and for all the claims to liberation—and the relentless advertising of sex—we are still groping in the dark, still in a period of transition set off in the 1960s and ’70s.</p>
<p>It’s totally logical, by their lights, that the guardians of an old, punishing morality should fall back on punishment. The harder question is, Where is a reborn morality that doesn’t need retribution, that courts embarrassment and risks freedom with only a radical love to win?</p>
<p /> | 3,990 |
<p>Donald Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, stonewalling again, told Chris Wallace of Fox News that he wouldn’t apologize to Michelle Fields, despite the fact that he claims he tried calling her after she called him asking for an apology back in March, when Lewandowski grabbed her after a Donald Trump press conference. Lewandowski had <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2016/04/15/corey-lewandowski-says-he-reached-out-to-reporter-after-encounter/" type="external">told CNN</a>, “I made a phone call to Michelle and I never heard back, and to this day I’ve never heard back from Michelle. So, it’s not that we didn’t try and reach out to get to the bottom of it, it seems to be that she wanted to inject herself into making it a story, and now I’m glad the story’s over.”</p>
<p>Fields has stated, “I have no record of him calling me. Certainly no message.” It would seem a normal person intending to apologize would persist, rather than do what Lewandowski did by calling Fields “delusional,” but the Trump campaign doesn’t exactly devote itself to the truth, as has been <a href="" type="internal">comprehensively documented</a> before.</p>
<p>After the Palm Beach Police decided against prosecuting the battery charge Fields brought against Lewandowski, Fields intimated she would bring a libel suit against Lewandowski for smearing her reputation in the aftermath of the incident.</p>
<p>Wallace, working for a network which has seemingly instructed its employees to align themselves with Trump, (with some heroic exceptions like Megyn Kelly, Bret Baier and Dana Perino) clearly tried to minimize the initial encounter Lewandowski had with Fields, but still attempted to elicit an apology from Lewandowski to Fields.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.mediaite.com/tv/heres-how-it-went-when-chris-wallace-pressed-corey-lewandowski-to-apologize-to-michelle-fields/" type="external">exchange</a> went like this:</p>
<p>Wallace: Mr. Lewandowski, Corey, I’m going to call you that. Let’s start because I guess we have to with the saga over your encounter with Michelle Fields after a Trump news conference back in March. Here’s what she said: “Someone had grabbed me tightly by the arm and yanked me down. I almost fell to the ground, but was able to maintain my balance.” Here’s what you tweeted to Fields: “You are totally delusional. I never touched you.”</p>
<p>Wallace then showed the video of the incident, (continuing with Wallace’s tacit slam at Fields which ignored the bruises on her arm), “And here’s the video from that night, which shows you clearly did grab her, but not as violently as she said. Do you now acknowledge that you did touch Miss Fields, and that she is not delusional?”</p>
<p>Lewandowski: Well, no, what I acknowledge is the sum total of my relationship with Miss Fields was caught on that videotape. She is an individual I had never met before and never spoken to before, and candidly, I didn’t remember the incident. The whole incident lasted less than three seconds, and it was me moving from one location to another location. I would have remembered if I’d tried to violently throw someone to the ground or if there was an incident which would have been memorable. And there wasn’t. I tried to contact Miss Fields after I read on her boyfriend’s Twitter feed that something took place that evening, but to this day I’ve never heard from Mrs. Fields, or Miss Fields, so, you know, I am happy that the Palm Beach County district attorney decided not to move forward with any charges; I’m happy that this is behind us; I’m happy to move forward with the campaign.</p>
<p>Wallace: A couple of points I want to make: One, first of all, she says that she has no record that you ever tried to reach her, doesn’t have a record of your phone, doesn’t have a message that was left. In addition, as we both have pointed out, the Palm Beach prosecutor said that there’s not enough evidence and enough chance for success to actually go ahead and prosecute the case, but on the other hand, Fields has left open the possibility of a civil suit for defamation against you and against Trump. In the interest of avoiding unnecessary litigation, which I know Republicans don’t like, are you prepared, here and now, to apologize to Miss Fields for touching her and for saying that she was delusional?</p>
<p>Lewandowski: Well … here and now I’d like to say is again I’ve never spoken to Miss Fields. And so, I turned over my phone records to the Palm Beach County District Attorney’s office, it clearly shows I called her phone number that evening, when I got back and read about this on the Twitter feed. I’d be happy to have a conversation with her. But to apologize to someone I’ve never spoken to, and candidly don’t ever remember having any interaction with, I think is something that is a little unrealistic right now, but I have said, and would be happy to say again, it’s a person I’ve never spoken to. I’d be happy to have that conversation if we can put this thing behind us.</p> | Lewandowski: No, I Won’t Apologize Even Though I Tried To Before | true | https://dailywire.com/news/5034/lewandowski-no-i-wont-apologize-even-though-i-hank-berrien | 2016-04-18 | 0right
| Lewandowski: No, I Won’t Apologize Even Though I Tried To Before
<p>Donald Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, stonewalling again, told Chris Wallace of Fox News that he wouldn’t apologize to Michelle Fields, despite the fact that he claims he tried calling her after she called him asking for an apology back in March, when Lewandowski grabbed her after a Donald Trump press conference. Lewandowski had <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2016/04/15/corey-lewandowski-says-he-reached-out-to-reporter-after-encounter/" type="external">told CNN</a>, “I made a phone call to Michelle and I never heard back, and to this day I’ve never heard back from Michelle. So, it’s not that we didn’t try and reach out to get to the bottom of it, it seems to be that she wanted to inject herself into making it a story, and now I’m glad the story’s over.”</p>
<p>Fields has stated, “I have no record of him calling me. Certainly no message.” It would seem a normal person intending to apologize would persist, rather than do what Lewandowski did by calling Fields “delusional,” but the Trump campaign doesn’t exactly devote itself to the truth, as has been <a href="" type="internal">comprehensively documented</a> before.</p>
<p>After the Palm Beach Police decided against prosecuting the battery charge Fields brought against Lewandowski, Fields intimated she would bring a libel suit against Lewandowski for smearing her reputation in the aftermath of the incident.</p>
<p>Wallace, working for a network which has seemingly instructed its employees to align themselves with Trump, (with some heroic exceptions like Megyn Kelly, Bret Baier and Dana Perino) clearly tried to minimize the initial encounter Lewandowski had with Fields, but still attempted to elicit an apology from Lewandowski to Fields.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.mediaite.com/tv/heres-how-it-went-when-chris-wallace-pressed-corey-lewandowski-to-apologize-to-michelle-fields/" type="external">exchange</a> went like this:</p>
<p>Wallace: Mr. Lewandowski, Corey, I’m going to call you that. Let’s start because I guess we have to with the saga over your encounter with Michelle Fields after a Trump news conference back in March. Here’s what she said: “Someone had grabbed me tightly by the arm and yanked me down. I almost fell to the ground, but was able to maintain my balance.” Here’s what you tweeted to Fields: “You are totally delusional. I never touched you.”</p>
<p>Wallace then showed the video of the incident, (continuing with Wallace’s tacit slam at Fields which ignored the bruises on her arm), “And here’s the video from that night, which shows you clearly did grab her, but not as violently as she said. Do you now acknowledge that you did touch Miss Fields, and that she is not delusional?”</p>
<p>Lewandowski: Well, no, what I acknowledge is the sum total of my relationship with Miss Fields was caught on that videotape. She is an individual I had never met before and never spoken to before, and candidly, I didn’t remember the incident. The whole incident lasted less than three seconds, and it was me moving from one location to another location. I would have remembered if I’d tried to violently throw someone to the ground or if there was an incident which would have been memorable. And there wasn’t. I tried to contact Miss Fields after I read on her boyfriend’s Twitter feed that something took place that evening, but to this day I’ve never heard from Mrs. Fields, or Miss Fields, so, you know, I am happy that the Palm Beach County district attorney decided not to move forward with any charges; I’m happy that this is behind us; I’m happy to move forward with the campaign.</p>
<p>Wallace: A couple of points I want to make: One, first of all, she says that she has no record that you ever tried to reach her, doesn’t have a record of your phone, doesn’t have a message that was left. In addition, as we both have pointed out, the Palm Beach prosecutor said that there’s not enough evidence and enough chance for success to actually go ahead and prosecute the case, but on the other hand, Fields has left open the possibility of a civil suit for defamation against you and against Trump. In the interest of avoiding unnecessary litigation, which I know Republicans don’t like, are you prepared, here and now, to apologize to Miss Fields for touching her and for saying that she was delusional?</p>
<p>Lewandowski: Well … here and now I’d like to say is again I’ve never spoken to Miss Fields. And so, I turned over my phone records to the Palm Beach County District Attorney’s office, it clearly shows I called her phone number that evening, when I got back and read about this on the Twitter feed. I’d be happy to have a conversation with her. But to apologize to someone I’ve never spoken to, and candidly don’t ever remember having any interaction with, I think is something that is a little unrealistic right now, but I have said, and would be happy to say again, it’s a person I’ve never spoken to. I’d be happy to have that conversation if we can put this thing behind us.</p> | 3,991 |
<p>Published time: 21 Sep, 2017 14:48</p>
<p>Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has expressed her solidarity with Catalans fighting for their right to hold an independence referendum, sharing her concern over Spain’s attempts to stop it.</p>
<p>Speaking during First Minister’s Questions, Sturgeon said she is concerned by reports of Spanish police confiscating ballot papers and raiding newspaper offices. She said the 2014 Scottish independence referendum was the best example for Catalonia to follow.</p>
<p>Read more</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/news/403958-catalonia-spain-protests-searches/" type="external" /></p>
<p>The pro-independence government of Catalonia plans to hold a vote on October 1, despite Spain’s Constitutional Court saying it would be illegal.</p>
<p>“I hope that there will be a dialogue between the Catalan and Spanish governments to try and resolve the situation. That has got to be preferable to the sight of police officers seizing ballot papers and entering newspaper offices,” Sturgeon said.</p>
<p>“It is of course entirely legitimate for Spain to oppose independence for Catalonia. But what I think is of concern anywhere is for a state to seek to deny the right of a people to democratically express their will.</p>
<p>“The right of self-determination is an important international principle and I hope very much that it will be respected in Catalonia and everywhere else.”</p>
<p>Sturgeon said the Edinburgh Agreement, drawn up by the Scottish and UK governments before the 2014 independence referendum in Scotland, could act as a template for others.</p>
<p>“The Edinburgh Agreement is a shining example of two governments with diametrically opposed views on independence nevertheless coming together to agree a process that allowed the people to decide. I think that offers a template that can be used by others elsewhere in the world.”</p>
<p>[embedded content]</p>
<p>Pro-independence parties who control the Catalan parliament pushed through the referendum law earlier this month after years of unsuccessfully demanding the right to hold a free vote on self-determination.</p>
<p>Catalonia, a wealthy region of 7.5 million people in north-eastern Spain which has Barcelona as its capital, has its own language and culture but is not recognized as a separate nation by the Spanish state.</p>
<p>In November 2014, a non-binding vote on independence for Catalonia showed 80 percent of people were in favor. A public survey commissioned by the Catalan government in July suggested 49 percent of Catalans oppose independence, while 41 percent are in favor.</p> | Independence-hungry Scottish nationalist leader sends support to Catalonia | false | https://newsline.com/independence-hungry-scottish-nationalist-leader-sends-support-to-catalonia/ | 2017-09-21 | 1right-center
| Independence-hungry Scottish nationalist leader sends support to Catalonia
<p>Published time: 21 Sep, 2017 14:48</p>
<p>Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has expressed her solidarity with Catalans fighting for their right to hold an independence referendum, sharing her concern over Spain’s attempts to stop it.</p>
<p>Speaking during First Minister’s Questions, Sturgeon said she is concerned by reports of Spanish police confiscating ballot papers and raiding newspaper offices. She said the 2014 Scottish independence referendum was the best example for Catalonia to follow.</p>
<p>Read more</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/news/403958-catalonia-spain-protests-searches/" type="external" /></p>
<p>The pro-independence government of Catalonia plans to hold a vote on October 1, despite Spain’s Constitutional Court saying it would be illegal.</p>
<p>“I hope that there will be a dialogue between the Catalan and Spanish governments to try and resolve the situation. That has got to be preferable to the sight of police officers seizing ballot papers and entering newspaper offices,” Sturgeon said.</p>
<p>“It is of course entirely legitimate for Spain to oppose independence for Catalonia. But what I think is of concern anywhere is for a state to seek to deny the right of a people to democratically express their will.</p>
<p>“The right of self-determination is an important international principle and I hope very much that it will be respected in Catalonia and everywhere else.”</p>
<p>Sturgeon said the Edinburgh Agreement, drawn up by the Scottish and UK governments before the 2014 independence referendum in Scotland, could act as a template for others.</p>
<p>“The Edinburgh Agreement is a shining example of two governments with diametrically opposed views on independence nevertheless coming together to agree a process that allowed the people to decide. I think that offers a template that can be used by others elsewhere in the world.”</p>
<p>[embedded content]</p>
<p>Pro-independence parties who control the Catalan parliament pushed through the referendum law earlier this month after years of unsuccessfully demanding the right to hold a free vote on self-determination.</p>
<p>Catalonia, a wealthy region of 7.5 million people in north-eastern Spain which has Barcelona as its capital, has its own language and culture but is not recognized as a separate nation by the Spanish state.</p>
<p>In November 2014, a non-binding vote on independence for Catalonia showed 80 percent of people were in favor. A public survey commissioned by the Catalan government in July suggested 49 percent of Catalans oppose independence, while 41 percent are in favor.</p> | 3,992 |
<p>House Republicans have sued the Obama administration over steps President Barack Obama took to put his health law into place.</p>
<p>The lawmakers say the president overstepped his legal authority.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The lawsuit was filed Friday against the departments of Health and Human Services and the Treasury.</p>
<p>Republicans voted earlier this year to sue Obama over his actions to unilaterally waive provisions of the law.</p>
<p>Democrats have said any suit would be a political sideshow and waste of money.</p>
<p>The suit comes hours after Obama said he was acting on his own on immigration - further infuriating Republicans.</p> | House GOP sues Obama administration over steps Obama took to put health law into place | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2014/11/21/house-gop-sues-obama-administration-over-steps-obama-took-to-put-health-law.html | 2016-03-09 | 0right
| House GOP sues Obama administration over steps Obama took to put health law into place
<p>House Republicans have sued the Obama administration over steps President Barack Obama took to put his health law into place.</p>
<p>The lawmakers say the president overstepped his legal authority.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The lawsuit was filed Friday against the departments of Health and Human Services and the Treasury.</p>
<p>Republicans voted earlier this year to sue Obama over his actions to unilaterally waive provisions of the law.</p>
<p>Democrats have said any suit would be a political sideshow and waste of money.</p>
<p>The suit comes hours after Obama said he was acting on his own on immigration - further infuriating Republicans.</p> | 3,993 |
<p />
<p>Dynegy Downtown Houston. Image source: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/87253008@N00/1466007230/in/photolist-bAeGHe-5WVu8C-m61pXo-3exESJ-d175Ss-d173fE-B2vivg-c8E4hU-rArgHS-d18nuq-GEV99-riXwJG-c8Uvjh-ypfgX-8gw1WB-a6PtQy-z3CTCK-xHuCVW-65E36f-c8UxmE-4hP4W6-6RU9f5-zZvXDX-zXdvby-zXdvcA-zYnGs3-zH1nu2-zZvXoM-z3ugvm-zZvXp8-zH1ncD-zGVQ4J-zZvXhK-zH1n9H-zZvX2z-z3CSUv-z3CSQx-zYnFCY-8gzi25-f5v7Sb-uyGGUV-uwpZah-bSMmD-wV7ZqL-dK6THX-a6Pxqo-cDYsFf-oyDdc-6RQ6rH-6RQ6A4/" type="external">Flickr Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>What: Shares of Dynegy , a company that operates power generating facilities in eight states across the United States, are trading more than 15% higher late Thursday after two developments hit the newsfeeds.</p>
<p>So what:Dynegy opened the trading day higher after reporting its fourth-quarter and full-year results after the market closed on Wednesday. For the full-year Dynegy reported $850 million in consolidated adjusted EBITDA, which was a $503 million increase over the prior year's results and in the middle to lower end of its $825 million to $925 million guidance range. Much of the full-year increase in adjusted-EBITDA was thanks to newly acquired assets.</p>
<p>On the downside, management lowered its 2016 adjusted-EBITDA guidance to between $1 billion and $1.2 billion, down from $1.1 billion to $1.3 billion. It also lowered its 2016 free cash flow guidance to $200 million to $400 million, down from $300 million to $500 million.</p>
<p>"While the operating environment remains challenging due to low commodity prices and unseasonably moderate weather in the fourth quarter, we achieved our financial targets benefiting from our fuel and geographic diversity and ended the year with $1.5 billion in liquidity." said Dynegy President and Chief Executive Officer, Robert C. Flexon, in a press release.</p>
<p>Now what: With the fourth-quarter and full-year results only briefly available, investor attention turned to the announcement of Dynegy and Energy Capital Partners forming a <a href="http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=147906&amp;p=irol-newsArticle&amp;ID=2143075" type="external">joint venture to acquire ENGIE's United States Fossil Portfolio Opens a New Window.</a>. It's a move that investors liked, sending the stock price roughly 8% higher after the announcement, and management notes that the acquisition will strengthen the company with the right assets, in the right markets, with the right structure, all at the right price.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The price checked in at $3.3 billion, or $378/kW, and the company believes it can generate $90 million in annual synergies. The deal has Dynegy and Energy Capital owning 65% and 35% of the joint venture, respectively, with Dynegy responsible for day-to-day management and operations.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/02/25/shares-of-dynegy-inc-jump-15-after-fourth-quarter.aspx" type="external">Shares of Dynegy Inc. Jump 15% After Fourth-Quarter Results and Joint Venture Announcement Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFTwoCoins/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Daniel Miller Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://wiki.fool.com/Motley?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/help/index.htm?display=about02" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | Shares of Dynegy Inc. Jump 15% After Fourth-Quarter Results and Joint Venture Announcement | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/02/25/shares-dynegy-inc-jump-15-after-fourth-quarter-results-and-joint-venture.html | 2016-03-27 | 0right
| Shares of Dynegy Inc. Jump 15% After Fourth-Quarter Results and Joint Venture Announcement
<p />
<p>Dynegy Downtown Houston. Image source: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/87253008@N00/1466007230/in/photolist-bAeGHe-5WVu8C-m61pXo-3exESJ-d175Ss-d173fE-B2vivg-c8E4hU-rArgHS-d18nuq-GEV99-riXwJG-c8Uvjh-ypfgX-8gw1WB-a6PtQy-z3CTCK-xHuCVW-65E36f-c8UxmE-4hP4W6-6RU9f5-zZvXDX-zXdvby-zXdvcA-zYnGs3-zH1nu2-zZvXoM-z3ugvm-zZvXp8-zH1ncD-zGVQ4J-zZvXhK-zH1n9H-zZvX2z-z3CSUv-z3CSQx-zYnFCY-8gzi25-f5v7Sb-uyGGUV-uwpZah-bSMmD-wV7ZqL-dK6THX-a6Pxqo-cDYsFf-oyDdc-6RQ6rH-6RQ6A4/" type="external">Flickr Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>What: Shares of Dynegy , a company that operates power generating facilities in eight states across the United States, are trading more than 15% higher late Thursday after two developments hit the newsfeeds.</p>
<p>So what:Dynegy opened the trading day higher after reporting its fourth-quarter and full-year results after the market closed on Wednesday. For the full-year Dynegy reported $850 million in consolidated adjusted EBITDA, which was a $503 million increase over the prior year's results and in the middle to lower end of its $825 million to $925 million guidance range. Much of the full-year increase in adjusted-EBITDA was thanks to newly acquired assets.</p>
<p>On the downside, management lowered its 2016 adjusted-EBITDA guidance to between $1 billion and $1.2 billion, down from $1.1 billion to $1.3 billion. It also lowered its 2016 free cash flow guidance to $200 million to $400 million, down from $300 million to $500 million.</p>
<p>"While the operating environment remains challenging due to low commodity prices and unseasonably moderate weather in the fourth quarter, we achieved our financial targets benefiting from our fuel and geographic diversity and ended the year with $1.5 billion in liquidity." said Dynegy President and Chief Executive Officer, Robert C. Flexon, in a press release.</p>
<p>Now what: With the fourth-quarter and full-year results only briefly available, investor attention turned to the announcement of Dynegy and Energy Capital Partners forming a <a href="http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=147906&amp;p=irol-newsArticle&amp;ID=2143075" type="external">joint venture to acquire ENGIE's United States Fossil Portfolio Opens a New Window.</a>. It's a move that investors liked, sending the stock price roughly 8% higher after the announcement, and management notes that the acquisition will strengthen the company with the right assets, in the right markets, with the right structure, all at the right price.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The price checked in at $3.3 billion, or $378/kW, and the company believes it can generate $90 million in annual synergies. The deal has Dynegy and Energy Capital owning 65% and 35% of the joint venture, respectively, with Dynegy responsible for day-to-day management and operations.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/02/25/shares-of-dynegy-inc-jump-15-after-fourth-quarter.aspx" type="external">Shares of Dynegy Inc. Jump 15% After Fourth-Quarter Results and Joint Venture Announcement Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFTwoCoins/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Daniel Miller Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://wiki.fool.com/Motley?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/help/index.htm?display=about02" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | 3,994 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>LOS ALAMOS, N.M. — Workers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in northern New Mexico have started treating 60 drums of remediated nitrate salts.</p>
<p>They plan to treat about one drum per day and have the job completed this summer.</p>
<p>The drums contain an incompatible combination of nitrate salt waste mixed with an organic absorbent added during repackaging to absorb liquids and neutralize the combustible characteristic of the salts.</p>
<p>The drums need to be treated to be safely disposed of at southern New Mexico’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, the nation’s only underground nuclear repository.</p>
<p>The Carlsbad plant was forced to close in February 2014 after an improperly packed drum of waste from Los Alamos ruptured and caused a radiation release.</p>
<p>Shipments of waste only recently began making their way to the plant for disposal.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Los Alamos lab starts treatment of 60 drums of nitrate salts | false | https://abqjournal.com/1005797/los-alamos-lab-starts-treatment-of-60-drums-of-nitrate-salts.html | 2least
| Los Alamos lab starts treatment of 60 drums of nitrate salts
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>LOS ALAMOS, N.M. — Workers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in northern New Mexico have started treating 60 drums of remediated nitrate salts.</p>
<p>They plan to treat about one drum per day and have the job completed this summer.</p>
<p>The drums contain an incompatible combination of nitrate salt waste mixed with an organic absorbent added during repackaging to absorb liquids and neutralize the combustible characteristic of the salts.</p>
<p>The drums need to be treated to be safely disposed of at southern New Mexico’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, the nation’s only underground nuclear repository.</p>
<p>The Carlsbad plant was forced to close in February 2014 after an improperly packed drum of waste from Los Alamos ruptured and caused a radiation release.</p>
<p>Shipments of waste only recently began making their way to the plant for disposal.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 3,995 |
|
<p>OK, now it’s settled, right? I mean, it must be settled by now. Mitt Romney is going to be the nominee. Eat your peas, Republicans, and then fall in line, because Romney’s the guy. Right?</p>
<p>Probably.</p>
<p>Even at this point, after Romney trounced Newt Gingrich in the Florida primary and the Nevada caucuses, there are some fairly compelling reasons for Republicans to pause before bowing to the party establishment’s decision that Mitt must be It.</p>
<p>First is the fact that so many GOP voters still can’t summon much enthusiasm for their likely standard-bearer. In a poll released last week, the Pew Research Center found that an incredible 52 percent of Republicans and GOP-leaning independents consider the field of candidates only fair or poor. Just 46 percent assessed the field as good or excellent — compared to 68 percent who were satisfied with the contenders at the same point in the battle for the nomination four years ago.</p>
<p />
<p>In Florida, exit polls confirmed Pew’s findings: Nearly four in 10 GOP voters said they were unhappy with their choices. It is reasonable to assume that many Republicans who didn’t bother to vote — and thus were not sampled in exit polls — are probably even less enthusiastic.</p>
<p>Last May, as the roster of candidates was shaping up, just 43 percent of Republicans thought the field was fair or poor, according to Pew. In other words, the better Republican voters come to know these candidates, including Romney, the less they like them.</p>
<p>Still, somebody is going to get nominated. At this point, Romney has shown he can beat Gingrich almost everywhere. But that “almost” is important.</p>
<p>Gingrich won big in South Carolina. And while Romney rolled up huge margins in the southern and central parts of Florida, Gingrich beat him in the panhandle counties that border Alabama and Georgia — a part of the state, demographically and culturally, that isn’t South Beach but, rather, just plain South.</p>
<p>This is significant because the South is the Republican Party’s heartland. Romney has shown in other contests that he can put a check mark in every ideological box — that despite Gingrich’s taunt of “Massachusetts moderate,” he can still win the support of voters who call themselves “very conservative” or who say they are tea party members. But maybe the relevant pejorative is the “Massachusetts” part.</p>
<p>So far, Romney has not shown that he can connect with and excite voters in the South the way Gingrich does. If the bruised, battered, underfunded Gingrich campaign can survive long enough — and if Gingrich can rediscover the in-your-face mojo that gave him such a lift in the South Carolina debates — he could potentially beat Romney in Georgia and Tennessee on Super Tuesday, March 6, and in Alabama and Mississippi a week later.</p>
<p>At that point, if I were a GOP pooh-bah, I’d have to worry about going into the November elections with a candidate at the top of the ticket who had received so little love from the party’s most loyal supporters.</p>
<p>Maybe the Gingrich insurgency will prove to be nothing more than a sad, divisive ego trip. Maybe Romney will show that he can win — or at least compete — in the South. Realistically, chances are that his superior resources, organization and discipline will prevail in the end.</p>
<p>Then what? Well, if you believe the polls, Romney probably loses to President Obama in the fall.</p>
<p>A new Washington Post poll, released Monday, shows that Obama leads Romney by 51 percent to 45 percent among registered voters. The poll also showed that Obama’s approval rating is at 50 percent, the first time it has reached that benchmark since May, right after Osama bin Laden was killed. On protecting the middle class and dealing with taxes, international affairs and terrorism, voters believe Obama would do a better job than Romney.</p>
<p>But perhaps the most important figure — found not in the poll, but in Labor Department statistics released Friday — is 8.3 percent. That’s the unemployment rate for January, and it is the lowest since February 2009, right after Obama took office.</p>
<p>Romney’s central argument for the presidency is that he will do a better job of managing the economy. Despite their overall preference for Obama, many voters buy that premise. But if the unemployment rate continues to fall, it won’t matter whether Republicans go with the safe bet or the mercurial firebrand. Economic recovery almost surely equals four more years.</p>
<p>Eugene Robinson’s e-mail address is eugenerobinson(at)washpost.com.</p>
<p>© 2012, Washington Post Writers Group</p> | The Uninspired GOP Electorate | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/the-uninspired-gop-electorate/ | 2012-02-07 | 4left
| The Uninspired GOP Electorate
<p>OK, now it’s settled, right? I mean, it must be settled by now. Mitt Romney is going to be the nominee. Eat your peas, Republicans, and then fall in line, because Romney’s the guy. Right?</p>
<p>Probably.</p>
<p>Even at this point, after Romney trounced Newt Gingrich in the Florida primary and the Nevada caucuses, there are some fairly compelling reasons for Republicans to pause before bowing to the party establishment’s decision that Mitt must be It.</p>
<p>First is the fact that so many GOP voters still can’t summon much enthusiasm for their likely standard-bearer. In a poll released last week, the Pew Research Center found that an incredible 52 percent of Republicans and GOP-leaning independents consider the field of candidates only fair or poor. Just 46 percent assessed the field as good or excellent — compared to 68 percent who were satisfied with the contenders at the same point in the battle for the nomination four years ago.</p>
<p />
<p>In Florida, exit polls confirmed Pew’s findings: Nearly four in 10 GOP voters said they were unhappy with their choices. It is reasonable to assume that many Republicans who didn’t bother to vote — and thus were not sampled in exit polls — are probably even less enthusiastic.</p>
<p>Last May, as the roster of candidates was shaping up, just 43 percent of Republicans thought the field was fair or poor, according to Pew. In other words, the better Republican voters come to know these candidates, including Romney, the less they like them.</p>
<p>Still, somebody is going to get nominated. At this point, Romney has shown he can beat Gingrich almost everywhere. But that “almost” is important.</p>
<p>Gingrich won big in South Carolina. And while Romney rolled up huge margins in the southern and central parts of Florida, Gingrich beat him in the panhandle counties that border Alabama and Georgia — a part of the state, demographically and culturally, that isn’t South Beach but, rather, just plain South.</p>
<p>This is significant because the South is the Republican Party’s heartland. Romney has shown in other contests that he can put a check mark in every ideological box — that despite Gingrich’s taunt of “Massachusetts moderate,” he can still win the support of voters who call themselves “very conservative” or who say they are tea party members. But maybe the relevant pejorative is the “Massachusetts” part.</p>
<p>So far, Romney has not shown that he can connect with and excite voters in the South the way Gingrich does. If the bruised, battered, underfunded Gingrich campaign can survive long enough — and if Gingrich can rediscover the in-your-face mojo that gave him such a lift in the South Carolina debates — he could potentially beat Romney in Georgia and Tennessee on Super Tuesday, March 6, and in Alabama and Mississippi a week later.</p>
<p>At that point, if I were a GOP pooh-bah, I’d have to worry about going into the November elections with a candidate at the top of the ticket who had received so little love from the party’s most loyal supporters.</p>
<p>Maybe the Gingrich insurgency will prove to be nothing more than a sad, divisive ego trip. Maybe Romney will show that he can win — or at least compete — in the South. Realistically, chances are that his superior resources, organization and discipline will prevail in the end.</p>
<p>Then what? Well, if you believe the polls, Romney probably loses to President Obama in the fall.</p>
<p>A new Washington Post poll, released Monday, shows that Obama leads Romney by 51 percent to 45 percent among registered voters. The poll also showed that Obama’s approval rating is at 50 percent, the first time it has reached that benchmark since May, right after Osama bin Laden was killed. On protecting the middle class and dealing with taxes, international affairs and terrorism, voters believe Obama would do a better job than Romney.</p>
<p>But perhaps the most important figure — found not in the poll, but in Labor Department statistics released Friday — is 8.3 percent. That’s the unemployment rate for January, and it is the lowest since February 2009, right after Obama took office.</p>
<p>Romney’s central argument for the presidency is that he will do a better job of managing the economy. Despite their overall preference for Obama, many voters buy that premise. But if the unemployment rate continues to fall, it won’t matter whether Republicans go with the safe bet or the mercurial firebrand. Economic recovery almost surely equals four more years.</p>
<p>Eugene Robinson’s e-mail address is eugenerobinson(at)washpost.com.</p>
<p>© 2012, Washington Post Writers Group</p> | 3,996 |
<p>(Screenshot via YouTube.)</p>
<p>T.V. showrunner Shonda Rimes and “Wonder Woman” screenwriter Allan Heinberg are joining forces to remake Russell T. Davies’ gay dramedies, “Cucumber” and “Banana.”</p>
<p>According to <a href="http://deadline.com/2017/06/wonder-woman-writer-allan-heinberg-abc-studios-overall-deal-dramedy-abc-shondaland-1202117897/" type="external">Deadline</a>, Heinberg has signed a deal with Rimes’ ShondaLand production company for the series titled, “Adult Behavior” for ABC. The show will be based on the the T.V.&#160;show “Banana,” it’s companion web series, “Cucumber” and the online documentary, “Tofu.” Davies is best known as the show creator for the U.K. version of “Queer as Folk” and for the sci-fi revival of “Doctor Who.”</p>
<p>Deadline describes the American remake as “a sexy, multi-generational, comedic drama.”</p>
<p>Both “Cucumber” and “Banana” aired on LOGO in 2015.</p>
<p>Watch the U.K. trailer below.</p>
<p />
<p><a href="" type="internal">ABC</a> <a href="" type="internal">Adult Behavior</a> <a href="" type="internal">Allan Heinberg</a> <a href="" type="internal">Banana</a> <a href="" type="internal">Cucumber</a> <a href="" type="internal">Logo</a> <a href="" type="internal">Shonda Rimes</a> <a href="" type="internal">Shondaland</a> <a href="" type="internal">Tofu</a></p> | Shonda Rhimes to remake ‘Queer as Folk’ creator’s gay dramedies | false | http://washingtonblade.com/2017/06/23/shonda-rhimes-remake-british-gay-shows-cucumber-banana/ | 3left-center
| Shonda Rhimes to remake ‘Queer as Folk’ creator’s gay dramedies
<p>(Screenshot via YouTube.)</p>
<p>T.V. showrunner Shonda Rimes and “Wonder Woman” screenwriter Allan Heinberg are joining forces to remake Russell T. Davies’ gay dramedies, “Cucumber” and “Banana.”</p>
<p>According to <a href="http://deadline.com/2017/06/wonder-woman-writer-allan-heinberg-abc-studios-overall-deal-dramedy-abc-shondaland-1202117897/" type="external">Deadline</a>, Heinberg has signed a deal with Rimes’ ShondaLand production company for the series titled, “Adult Behavior” for ABC. The show will be based on the the T.V.&#160;show “Banana,” it’s companion web series, “Cucumber” and the online documentary, “Tofu.” Davies is best known as the show creator for the U.K. version of “Queer as Folk” and for the sci-fi revival of “Doctor Who.”</p>
<p>Deadline describes the American remake as “a sexy, multi-generational, comedic drama.”</p>
<p>Both “Cucumber” and “Banana” aired on LOGO in 2015.</p>
<p>Watch the U.K. trailer below.</p>
<p />
<p><a href="" type="internal">ABC</a> <a href="" type="internal">Adult Behavior</a> <a href="" type="internal">Allan Heinberg</a> <a href="" type="internal">Banana</a> <a href="" type="internal">Cucumber</a> <a href="" type="internal">Logo</a> <a href="" type="internal">Shonda Rimes</a> <a href="" type="internal">Shondaland</a> <a href="" type="internal">Tofu</a></p> | 3,997 |
|
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>The Downs Racetrack &amp; Casino – seeking hundreds of employees for its new casino set to open in June – will host a job fair from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. for the neighboring community on Monday and then for the general public on Tuesday.</p>
<p>The casino is hiring for positions ranging from valet drivers and slot-machine attendants to security officers, cage cashiers and more, casino representative said in a news release.</p>
<p>The Monday job fair is open to neighborhood communities with the ZIP codes of 87108, 87106, 87123, and 87131.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The job fairs will take place on the first floor of the grandstand at The Downs Racetrack &amp; Casino, located at 201 California NE.</p>
<p>The new building houses more than 700 slot machines, a large patio and viewing area overlooking the racetrack, live horse-racing simulcasts, a 9,000-square-foot lounge and bar, local food and beverage outlets and more.</p>
<p>For more information, visit <a href="http://www.abqdowns.com" type="external">www.abqdowns.com</a> or call 505-266-5555.</p>
<p />
<p>State lawmakers form ‘jobs council’</p>
<p>SANTA FE – Lawmakers are creating a task force to consider how New Mexico can create more jobs in emerging and new industries.</p>
<p>The Legislative Council agreed Tuesday to establish a “jobs council” that will include legislative leaders as well as representatives of universities and the national laboratories in the state.</p>
<p>The group will meet during the next several months and issue a report later this year making recommendations to the Legislature.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>House Speaker W. Ken Martinez and Senate President Mary Kay Papen sponsored a proposal in this year’s legislative session to create the council.</p>
<p>New Mexico lags behind most other states in the region in employment growth. New Mexico gained about 3,800 jobs in the past year ending in March – a growth rate of 0.5 percent.</p>
<p />
<p>Frontier adds fees for bags, drinks</p>
<p>Frontier Airlines is adding a fee for carry-on bags, and plans to start charging $2 for soda and coffee.</p>
<p>The carry-on bag fee announced Wednesday will be $25 if paid in advance, and $100 if paid at the gate. It applies to bags in the overhead bin, so small bags under the seat will still be free.</p>
<p>Passengers who buy their tickets on the airline’s website won’t have to pay.</p>
<p>Frontier says the new fee will take effect this summer, and it will announce a specific date later.</p>
<p>The new drink fee begins July 1. Water will still be free.</p>
<p />
<p>Spirit Airlines Inc. began charging a carry-on fee three years ago.</p>
<p>Frontier’s parent, Republic Airways Holdings Inc., is trying to fix Frontier’s finances and sell it.</p> | In Brief | false | https://abqjournal.com/194877/headline.html | 2least
| In Brief
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>The Downs Racetrack &amp; Casino – seeking hundreds of employees for its new casino set to open in June – will host a job fair from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. for the neighboring community on Monday and then for the general public on Tuesday.</p>
<p>The casino is hiring for positions ranging from valet drivers and slot-machine attendants to security officers, cage cashiers and more, casino representative said in a news release.</p>
<p>The Monday job fair is open to neighborhood communities with the ZIP codes of 87108, 87106, 87123, and 87131.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The job fairs will take place on the first floor of the grandstand at The Downs Racetrack &amp; Casino, located at 201 California NE.</p>
<p>The new building houses more than 700 slot machines, a large patio and viewing area overlooking the racetrack, live horse-racing simulcasts, a 9,000-square-foot lounge and bar, local food and beverage outlets and more.</p>
<p>For more information, visit <a href="http://www.abqdowns.com" type="external">www.abqdowns.com</a> or call 505-266-5555.</p>
<p />
<p>State lawmakers form ‘jobs council’</p>
<p>SANTA FE – Lawmakers are creating a task force to consider how New Mexico can create more jobs in emerging and new industries.</p>
<p>The Legislative Council agreed Tuesday to establish a “jobs council” that will include legislative leaders as well as representatives of universities and the national laboratories in the state.</p>
<p>The group will meet during the next several months and issue a report later this year making recommendations to the Legislature.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>House Speaker W. Ken Martinez and Senate President Mary Kay Papen sponsored a proposal in this year’s legislative session to create the council.</p>
<p>New Mexico lags behind most other states in the region in employment growth. New Mexico gained about 3,800 jobs in the past year ending in March – a growth rate of 0.5 percent.</p>
<p />
<p>Frontier adds fees for bags, drinks</p>
<p>Frontier Airlines is adding a fee for carry-on bags, and plans to start charging $2 for soda and coffee.</p>
<p>The carry-on bag fee announced Wednesday will be $25 if paid in advance, and $100 if paid at the gate. It applies to bags in the overhead bin, so small bags under the seat will still be free.</p>
<p>Passengers who buy their tickets on the airline’s website won’t have to pay.</p>
<p>Frontier says the new fee will take effect this summer, and it will announce a specific date later.</p>
<p>The new drink fee begins July 1. Water will still be free.</p>
<p />
<p>Spirit Airlines Inc. began charging a carry-on fee three years ago.</p>
<p>Frontier’s parent, Republic Airways Holdings Inc., is trying to fix Frontier’s finances and sell it.</p> | 3,998 |
|
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Ashraf Nassar, 29, turned himself in to police Monday, after police found 32 pounds of packaged marijuana and other drugs, plus several guns, in a raid on his house. Bond was initially set at $2.5 million, but Nassar’s attorney persuaded a magistrate judge to reduce it to $500,000 the following day.</p>
<p>Friday, Nassar was back in district court before Judge Stephen Pfeffer, who agreed to accept a 10-acre property owned by a brother, a $162,000 house and property owned by a girlfriend, plus an additional $25,000 in cash as bail.</p>
<p>Nassar owns the Heavenly Boutique on West San Francisco Street. In January, a dispute among family members, including Nassar and his cousin Musa, who owns a business across the street from the boutique, erupted into gunplay.</p>
<p>Musa Nassar and other family members sought a restraining order against Ashraf Nassar, accusing him of making death threats and harassing family members and business partners. Musa is married to Ashraf’s sister, who testified at the restraining order hearing that she was afraid of Ashraf.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Ashraf Nassar’s attorney, Tom Clarke, argued Friday that Nassar, who is a U.S. citizen, did not pose a danger to the community. Nor is he a flight risk, Clarke argued, noting that Ashraf Nassar was born in New Mexico, where his father has lived for 40 years, and has visited the family’s native Jordan only once, 20 years ago.</p>
<p>Clarke reminded the court that Ashraf Nassar has not been charged in connection with the shooting on West San Francisco Street in January, and that it is his brother-in-law, Musa, who was cited later that evening for negligent use of a weapon in connection with shots fired near Musa Nassar’s home.</p>
<p>As a condition of release, Ashraf Nassar has been ordered to wear a GPS monitor and submit to random drug testing twice a week. He can travel to and from work and home, to see his attorney and to go to treatment.</p>
<p>Nassar is charged with distribution of marijuana, distribution of hashish, illegal possession of the prescription drug Oxycontin, all felonies, and use or possession of drug paraphernalia, a misdemeanor.</p> | Merchant out of jail, pending criminal charges | false | https://abqjournal.com/174227/merchant-out-of-jail-pending-criminal-charges.html | 2least
| Merchant out of jail, pending criminal charges
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Ashraf Nassar, 29, turned himself in to police Monday, after police found 32 pounds of packaged marijuana and other drugs, plus several guns, in a raid on his house. Bond was initially set at $2.5 million, but Nassar’s attorney persuaded a magistrate judge to reduce it to $500,000 the following day.</p>
<p>Friday, Nassar was back in district court before Judge Stephen Pfeffer, who agreed to accept a 10-acre property owned by a brother, a $162,000 house and property owned by a girlfriend, plus an additional $25,000 in cash as bail.</p>
<p>Nassar owns the Heavenly Boutique on West San Francisco Street. In January, a dispute among family members, including Nassar and his cousin Musa, who owns a business across the street from the boutique, erupted into gunplay.</p>
<p>Musa Nassar and other family members sought a restraining order against Ashraf Nassar, accusing him of making death threats and harassing family members and business partners. Musa is married to Ashraf’s sister, who testified at the restraining order hearing that she was afraid of Ashraf.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Ashraf Nassar’s attorney, Tom Clarke, argued Friday that Nassar, who is a U.S. citizen, did not pose a danger to the community. Nor is he a flight risk, Clarke argued, noting that Ashraf Nassar was born in New Mexico, where his father has lived for 40 years, and has visited the family’s native Jordan only once, 20 years ago.</p>
<p>Clarke reminded the court that Ashraf Nassar has not been charged in connection with the shooting on West San Francisco Street in January, and that it is his brother-in-law, Musa, who was cited later that evening for negligent use of a weapon in connection with shots fired near Musa Nassar’s home.</p>
<p>As a condition of release, Ashraf Nassar has been ordered to wear a GPS monitor and submit to random drug testing twice a week. He can travel to and from work and home, to see his attorney and to go to treatment.</p>
<p>Nassar is charged with distribution of marijuana, distribution of hashish, illegal possession of the prescription drug Oxycontin, all felonies, and use or possession of drug paraphernalia, a misdemeanor.</p> | 3,999 |
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