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<p>In his “free-speech experiment” five years ago, senior Joseph Frederick displayed a large banner outside his school in Juneau, Alaska, with the message, “Bong Hits 4 Jesus.” Frederick’s banner was quickly confiscated by his high school principal, and he was suspended for 10 days. In response, Frederick took his school all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.</p>
<p>On Monday, the court ruled against Frederick, finding that schools “may take steps to safeguard those entrusted to their care from speech that can reasonably be regarded as encouraging illegal drug use.” Frederick, who is now 23 and living in China, sought damages from his high school principal, arguing that his free-speech rights, protected under the First Amendment, had been violated.</p>
<p>AFP via Breitbart.com:</p>
<p>Frederick was 18 when he displayed his huge banner just outside the school grounds at Juneau, Alaska in front of television cameras as the Olympic flame passed in front of a crowd.</p>
<p />
<p>Principal Deborah Morse was not amused by Frederick’s linkage between Jesus and a bong, a pipe used to smoke marijuana. She took away the banner and suspended Frederick from school for 10 days.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=070625171239.87j0a1gu&amp;show_article=1" type="external">Read more</a></p> | Top Court: 'Bong Hits 4 Jesus' Not School-Friendly | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/top-court-bong-hits-4-jesus-not-school-friendly/ | 2007-06-26 | 4left
| Top Court: 'Bong Hits 4 Jesus' Not School-Friendly
<p>In his “free-speech experiment” five years ago, senior Joseph Frederick displayed a large banner outside his school in Juneau, Alaska, with the message, “Bong Hits 4 Jesus.” Frederick’s banner was quickly confiscated by his high school principal, and he was suspended for 10 days. In response, Frederick took his school all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.</p>
<p>On Monday, the court ruled against Frederick, finding that schools “may take steps to safeguard those entrusted to their care from speech that can reasonably be regarded as encouraging illegal drug use.” Frederick, who is now 23 and living in China, sought damages from his high school principal, arguing that his free-speech rights, protected under the First Amendment, had been violated.</p>
<p>AFP via Breitbart.com:</p>
<p>Frederick was 18 when he displayed his huge banner just outside the school grounds at Juneau, Alaska in front of television cameras as the Olympic flame passed in front of a crowd.</p>
<p />
<p>Principal Deborah Morse was not amused by Frederick’s linkage between Jesus and a bong, a pipe used to smoke marijuana. She took away the banner and suspended Frederick from school for 10 days.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=070625171239.87j0a1gu&amp;show_article=1" type="external">Read more</a></p> | 4,400 |
<p>(Reuters) - U.S. crude stocks fell for a record 10th straight week as levels at the Cushing, Oklahoma hub continued to draw down to three-year lows, while gasoline and distillate inventories rose, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.</p>
<p>Crude inventories fell 1.1 million barrels in the week to Jan. 19, compared with analyst expectations for a decrease of 1.6 million barrels.</p>
<p>At 411.6 million barrels, crude stocks were at the lowest since February 2015, and the string of drawdowns that began late November represents a record, according to EIA figures dating to 1982.</p> Related Coverage
<a href="/article/us-usa-oil-eia-milestones/u-s-east-coast-crude-stocks-at-lowest-levels-since-oct-14-eia-idUSKBN1FD2B1" type="external">U.S. East Coast crude stocks at lowest levels since Oct '14: EIA</a>
<p>Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub for U.S. crude futures fell by 3.2 million barrels to 39.2 million, their lowest since January 2015, the EIA said.</p>
<p>The steady drawdown in U.S. stocks comes even as production increased again, this time to 9.9 million barrels per day, not far from the all-time U.S. record of 10.04 million bpd set in 1970, and as refining runs declined.</p>
<p>“The report is mixed, due to the further rise in domestic production to 9.9 million bpd, but the large decline in Gulf Coast crude oil inventories and the continued fairly rapid decline at Cushing, Oklahoma is offsetting,” said John Kilduff, partner at energy hedge fund Again Capital LLC in New York.</p>
<p>Gasoline and distillate demand has been strong, with motor gasoline product supplied over the past four weeks rising 5.4 percent from the year-ago period, and distillate fuels seeing a 15.3 percent increase from a year ago.</p>
<p>Crude prices rose on the data, with U.S. futures gaining 58 cents to $65.05 a barrel as of 10:59 a.m. EST (1559 GMT), after earlier touching their highest since December 2014, while Brent rose 15 cents to $70.12 a barrel.</p>
<p>Refinery crude runs fell 392,000 bpd, EIA data showed. Refinery utilization rates fell by 2.1 percentage points to 90.9 percent of total capacity.</p>
<p>Gasoline stocks rose 3.1 million barrels, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 2.5 million-barrel gain.</p>
<p>Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 639,000 barrels, versus expectations for a 1.5 million-barrel drop, the EIA data showed.</p>
<p>Net U.S. crude imports fell last week by 71,000 bpd.</p>
<p>Reporting By David Gaffen; Editing by Marguerita Choy</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a> | U.S. crude oil inventories down for record 10th week: EIA | false | https://reuters.com/article/us-usa-oil-eia/us-crude-oil-inventories-down-for-record-10th-week-eia-idUSKBN1FD28G | 2018-01-24 | 2least
| U.S. crude oil inventories down for record 10th week: EIA
<p>(Reuters) - U.S. crude stocks fell for a record 10th straight week as levels at the Cushing, Oklahoma hub continued to draw down to three-year lows, while gasoline and distillate inventories rose, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.</p>
<p>Crude inventories fell 1.1 million barrels in the week to Jan. 19, compared with analyst expectations for a decrease of 1.6 million barrels.</p>
<p>At 411.6 million barrels, crude stocks were at the lowest since February 2015, and the string of drawdowns that began late November represents a record, according to EIA figures dating to 1982.</p> Related Coverage
<a href="/article/us-usa-oil-eia-milestones/u-s-east-coast-crude-stocks-at-lowest-levels-since-oct-14-eia-idUSKBN1FD2B1" type="external">U.S. East Coast crude stocks at lowest levels since Oct '14: EIA</a>
<p>Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub for U.S. crude futures fell by 3.2 million barrels to 39.2 million, their lowest since January 2015, the EIA said.</p>
<p>The steady drawdown in U.S. stocks comes even as production increased again, this time to 9.9 million barrels per day, not far from the all-time U.S. record of 10.04 million bpd set in 1970, and as refining runs declined.</p>
<p>“The report is mixed, due to the further rise in domestic production to 9.9 million bpd, but the large decline in Gulf Coast crude oil inventories and the continued fairly rapid decline at Cushing, Oklahoma is offsetting,” said John Kilduff, partner at energy hedge fund Again Capital LLC in New York.</p>
<p>Gasoline and distillate demand has been strong, with motor gasoline product supplied over the past four weeks rising 5.4 percent from the year-ago period, and distillate fuels seeing a 15.3 percent increase from a year ago.</p>
<p>Crude prices rose on the data, with U.S. futures gaining 58 cents to $65.05 a barrel as of 10:59 a.m. EST (1559 GMT), after earlier touching their highest since December 2014, while Brent rose 15 cents to $70.12 a barrel.</p>
<p>Refinery crude runs fell 392,000 bpd, EIA data showed. Refinery utilization rates fell by 2.1 percentage points to 90.9 percent of total capacity.</p>
<p>Gasoline stocks rose 3.1 million barrels, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 2.5 million-barrel gain.</p>
<p>Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 639,000 barrels, versus expectations for a 1.5 million-barrel drop, the EIA data showed.</p>
<p>Net U.S. crude imports fell last week by 71,000 bpd.</p>
<p>Reporting By David Gaffen; Editing by Marguerita Choy</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a> | 4,401 |
<p />
<p>The Food and Drug Administration places a clinical hold!Inovio Pharmaceuticals' (NASDAQ: INO) shares nosedive! The end is near!</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>While the first two overly punctuated statements are true, the last one isn't. (At least, I don't think it is.) Yes, the FDA recently put a clinical hold on a late-stage study planned by Inovio. And, yes, the biotech's stock dropped 17% on the news. But the market has overreacted in my opinion. Here's why.</p>
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>The term "clinical hold" sounds pretty scary. But the FDA places studies on clinical hold for lots of reasons. By far, the most concerning cases are when patient safety is at stake. Is that what happened with VGX-3100? Nope.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Inovio hasn't started the late-stage study for the experimental cervical dysplasia vaccine. No patients have been enrolled. None have been dosed. No other clinical study that Inovio has in progress was affected by the FDA's decision.</p>
<p>This particular clinical hold appears to be related to thethe shelf-life of parts of Inovio's Cellectra 5PSP immunotherapy delivery device. The device uses an electric pulse to open the pores in cell membranes and then delivers DNA immunotherapy into the patient's muscle tissue.</p>
<p>Note that I said the clinical hold appears to be related to the Cellectra 5PSP device. Inovio hasn't received the formal letter from the FDA yet. However, the agency did request additional data about the 5PSP and apparently nothing else. It stands to reason that the device is at the center of the FDA's concerns.</p>
<p>Investors would definitely need to be worried if some problem was found with VGX-3100's safety or efficacy. Such an issue would warrant a huge sell-off like the one that occurred this week. Based on what we know right now, though, I don't think Inovio is suddenly worth $300 million less than it was just a few days ago.</p>
<p>Not to put every word in Inovio's announcement under a microscope here, but my take is that the key phrase to consider was "shelf-life." It sounds like how the 5PSP works isn't a problem but rather how long the device or its components last. That seems like something that Inovio could address relatively easily.</p>
<p>Cellectra 5PSP. Image source: Inovio Pharmaceuticals.</p>
<p>In fact, Inovio's public statement hinted that the company thinks it can move past the clinical hold without too big of a delay. Inovio is working with the FDA and expects that the requested data will be provided before the end of this year. The late-stage study of VGX-3100 won't begin in 2016 as originally scheduled, but Inovio anticipates starting in the first half of 2017 assuming that it works things out with the FDA.</p>
<p>Although VGX-3100 is Inovio's lead candidate, the biotech's recent fortunes have been driven by another vaccine. Positive results from pre-clinical studies of an experimental Zika vaccine in mice and monkeys sent Inovio's shares soaring. So did the initiation of early-stage testing of the Zika vaccine in humans.</p>
<p>More of Inovio's current valuation is connected to the Zika potential than to VGX-3100. However, the cervical dysplasia vaccine is important to the biotech. Peak annual sales for VGX-3100 are estimated to be up to $500 million. Another pipeline candidate's fate could also hinge on the vaccine's success. INO-3112 combines VGX-3100 with DNA-based immune activator encoded for IL-12.</p>
<p>I predict that Inovio will get past the clinical hold and move forward with its planned pivotal study of VGX-3100 by the early second quarter of 2017. Beyond that point, my view is that the appropriate punctuation for comments about Inovio aren't exclamation points but instead question marks.</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=2518&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/TMFFishBiz/info.aspx" type="external">Keith Speights 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=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> | Did the Market Overreact to Inovio Pharmaceuticals' Clinical Hold? | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/10/27/did-market-overreact-to-inovio-pharmaceuticals-clinical-hold.html | 2016-10-27 | 0right
| Did the Market Overreact to Inovio Pharmaceuticals' Clinical Hold?
<p />
<p>The Food and Drug Administration places a clinical hold!Inovio Pharmaceuticals' (NASDAQ: INO) shares nosedive! The end is near!</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>While the first two overly punctuated statements are true, the last one isn't. (At least, I don't think it is.) Yes, the FDA recently put a clinical hold on a late-stage study planned by Inovio. And, yes, the biotech's stock dropped 17% on the news. But the market has overreacted in my opinion. Here's why.</p>
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>The term "clinical hold" sounds pretty scary. But the FDA places studies on clinical hold for lots of reasons. By far, the most concerning cases are when patient safety is at stake. Is that what happened with VGX-3100? Nope.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Inovio hasn't started the late-stage study for the experimental cervical dysplasia vaccine. No patients have been enrolled. None have been dosed. No other clinical study that Inovio has in progress was affected by the FDA's decision.</p>
<p>This particular clinical hold appears to be related to thethe shelf-life of parts of Inovio's Cellectra 5PSP immunotherapy delivery device. The device uses an electric pulse to open the pores in cell membranes and then delivers DNA immunotherapy into the patient's muscle tissue.</p>
<p>Note that I said the clinical hold appears to be related to the Cellectra 5PSP device. Inovio hasn't received the formal letter from the FDA yet. However, the agency did request additional data about the 5PSP and apparently nothing else. It stands to reason that the device is at the center of the FDA's concerns.</p>
<p>Investors would definitely need to be worried if some problem was found with VGX-3100's safety or efficacy. Such an issue would warrant a huge sell-off like the one that occurred this week. Based on what we know right now, though, I don't think Inovio is suddenly worth $300 million less than it was just a few days ago.</p>
<p>Not to put every word in Inovio's announcement under a microscope here, but my take is that the key phrase to consider was "shelf-life." It sounds like how the 5PSP works isn't a problem but rather how long the device or its components last. That seems like something that Inovio could address relatively easily.</p>
<p>Cellectra 5PSP. Image source: Inovio Pharmaceuticals.</p>
<p>In fact, Inovio's public statement hinted that the company thinks it can move past the clinical hold without too big of a delay. Inovio is working with the FDA and expects that the requested data will be provided before the end of this year. The late-stage study of VGX-3100 won't begin in 2016 as originally scheduled, but Inovio anticipates starting in the first half of 2017 assuming that it works things out with the FDA.</p>
<p>Although VGX-3100 is Inovio's lead candidate, the biotech's recent fortunes have been driven by another vaccine. Positive results from pre-clinical studies of an experimental Zika vaccine in mice and monkeys sent Inovio's shares soaring. So did the initiation of early-stage testing of the Zika vaccine in humans.</p>
<p>More of Inovio's current valuation is connected to the Zika potential than to VGX-3100. However, the cervical dysplasia vaccine is important to the biotech. Peak annual sales for VGX-3100 are estimated to be up to $500 million. Another pipeline candidate's fate could also hinge on the vaccine's success. INO-3112 combines VGX-3100 with DNA-based immune activator encoded for IL-12.</p>
<p>I predict that Inovio will get past the clinical hold and move forward with its planned pivotal study of VGX-3100 by the early second quarter of 2017. Beyond that point, my view is that the appropriate punctuation for comments about Inovio aren't exclamation points but instead question marks.</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=2518&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/TMFFishBiz/info.aspx" type="external">Keith Speights 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=isiedilnk018048&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://www.fool.com/knowledge-center/motley.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | 4,402 |
<p>Australian journalist John Pilger, who speaks with the moral voice of George Orwell, discusses how a majority of Britons polled could say fewer than 10,000 Iraqis have been killed since the British- and American-led 2003 invasion of Iraq, when the real number is closer to a million.</p>
<p>A full transcript of the talk below can be read <a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article37306.htm" type="external">here</a>.</p>
<p>— Posted by <a href="" type="internal">Alexander Reed Kelly</a>.</p>
<p>BBC Radio 4:</p>
<p />
<p>(function() { var po = document.createElement(“script”); po.type = “text/javascript”; po.async = true; po.src = “https://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js”; var s = document.getElementsByTagName(“script”)[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();</p> | John Pilger: 'We Have Been Misled' | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/john-pilger-we-have-been-misled/ | 2014-01-07 | 4left
| John Pilger: 'We Have Been Misled'
<p>Australian journalist John Pilger, who speaks with the moral voice of George Orwell, discusses how a majority of Britons polled could say fewer than 10,000 Iraqis have been killed since the British- and American-led 2003 invasion of Iraq, when the real number is closer to a million.</p>
<p>A full transcript of the talk below can be read <a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article37306.htm" type="external">here</a>.</p>
<p>— Posted by <a href="" type="internal">Alexander Reed Kelly</a>.</p>
<p>BBC Radio 4:</p>
<p />
<p>(function() { var po = document.createElement(“script”); po.type = “text/javascript”; po.async = true; po.src = “https://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js”; var s = document.getElementsByTagName(“script”)[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();</p> | 4,403 |
<p>Image from SIGTARP report. Click &lt;a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/wp-content/uploads/images/user5/imageroot/madoff/Mortgage%20Market.jpg"&gt;here&lt;/a&gt; for a larger version.</p>
<p />
<p>There’s plenty to sink your teeth into in the latest report to Congress [ <a href="http://www.sigtarp.gov/reports/congress/2010/January2010_Quarterly_Report_to_Congress.pdf" type="external">PDF</a>] from <a href="" type="internal">Neil Barofsky</a>, the main bailout watchdog, including yet more questions about the Treasury and Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s handling of AIG’s rescue. In essence, Barofsky, whose title is special inspector general for TARP (SIGTARP), calls the Treasury hypocrites for failing to extract concessions from <a href="" type="internal">AIG’s counterparties</a> (like Goldman Sachs and Societe Generale) when they did just that with General Motors and Chrysler’s creditors during the automotive bailout. Barofsky’s report also criticizes the Treasury for failing to anticipate the backlash over <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/15/business/15AIG.html" type="external">AIG’s post-bailout executive compensation</a>, especially to its Financial Products division that was at the epicenter of the financial meltdown.</p>
<p>But arguably the most fascinating finding in the SIGTARP report is the extent to which the federal government now backstops the housing market—in short, the federal government today is&#160;the housing market. According to SIGTARP, in the past two years, the private sector has shed $1.5 trillion in mortgage assets, and it’s the government who’s filled that massive void. “Between net mortgage lending and existing mortgage management,” the report says, “the Federal Government now completely dominates the housing mortgage market, with the taxpayer shouldering the risk that had once been borne by the private sector.” As the above chart shows, the government’s support of the housing market nears a staggering $11.5 trillion.</p>
<p>More worrying than the size of that support, without which frankly there wouldn’t be a housing market, is the fact that it could be ending soon. As the Washington Post&#160; <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/24/AR2010012402996.html" type="external">recently reported</a>, the federal government plans to wind down some of that backing in the next couple of months, and when that time comes, officials say they hope the industry will stand on its own. But as the SIGTARP report shows, that’s blind optimism; a major pullback in housing support could very well send the industry into freefall again and&#160;derail the <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100129/bs_nm/us_usa_economy" type="external">glimmers of recovery</a> we’re now seeing. It could undercut the Obama administration’s stimulus efforts, and possibly drag Obama’s support down with it. Even with government support, housing’s future is very much unclear—foreclosures <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2010/01/14-1" type="external">set new records last year</a>, too many homeowners still owe more than their houses are worth, more people are <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/10/magazine/10FOB-wwln-t.html" type="external">voluntarily defaulting</a>&#160;and walking away from their homes. Yet the federal government wants to walk away from the industry itself sooner rather than later.</p>
<p>If SIGTARP’s findings reveal anything, it’s how much the government’s backstopping is critical to economic recovery. Without it, we could see shades of 2007 and 2008 all over again.</p>
<p /> | How to Kill the Recovery | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2010/02/sigtarp-barofsky-housing-support-recovery/ | 2010-02-01 | 4left
| How to Kill the Recovery
<p>Image from SIGTARP report. Click &lt;a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/wp-content/uploads/images/user5/imageroot/madoff/Mortgage%20Market.jpg"&gt;here&lt;/a&gt; for a larger version.</p>
<p />
<p>There’s plenty to sink your teeth into in the latest report to Congress [ <a href="http://www.sigtarp.gov/reports/congress/2010/January2010_Quarterly_Report_to_Congress.pdf" type="external">PDF</a>] from <a href="" type="internal">Neil Barofsky</a>, the main bailout watchdog, including yet more questions about the Treasury and Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s handling of AIG’s rescue. In essence, Barofsky, whose title is special inspector general for TARP (SIGTARP), calls the Treasury hypocrites for failing to extract concessions from <a href="" type="internal">AIG’s counterparties</a> (like Goldman Sachs and Societe Generale) when they did just that with General Motors and Chrysler’s creditors during the automotive bailout. Barofsky’s report also criticizes the Treasury for failing to anticipate the backlash over <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/15/business/15AIG.html" type="external">AIG’s post-bailout executive compensation</a>, especially to its Financial Products division that was at the epicenter of the financial meltdown.</p>
<p>But arguably the most fascinating finding in the SIGTARP report is the extent to which the federal government now backstops the housing market—in short, the federal government today is&#160;the housing market. According to SIGTARP, in the past two years, the private sector has shed $1.5 trillion in mortgage assets, and it’s the government who’s filled that massive void. “Between net mortgage lending and existing mortgage management,” the report says, “the Federal Government now completely dominates the housing mortgage market, with the taxpayer shouldering the risk that had once been borne by the private sector.” As the above chart shows, the government’s support of the housing market nears a staggering $11.5 trillion.</p>
<p>More worrying than the size of that support, without which frankly there wouldn’t be a housing market, is the fact that it could be ending soon. As the Washington Post&#160; <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/24/AR2010012402996.html" type="external">recently reported</a>, the federal government plans to wind down some of that backing in the next couple of months, and when that time comes, officials say they hope the industry will stand on its own. But as the SIGTARP report shows, that’s blind optimism; a major pullback in housing support could very well send the industry into freefall again and&#160;derail the <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100129/bs_nm/us_usa_economy" type="external">glimmers of recovery</a> we’re now seeing. It could undercut the Obama administration’s stimulus efforts, and possibly drag Obama’s support down with it. Even with government support, housing’s future is very much unclear—foreclosures <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2010/01/14-1" type="external">set new records last year</a>, too many homeowners still owe more than their houses are worth, more people are <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/10/magazine/10FOB-wwln-t.html" type="external">voluntarily defaulting</a>&#160;and walking away from their homes. Yet the federal government wants to walk away from the industry itself sooner rather than later.</p>
<p>If SIGTARP’s findings reveal anything, it’s how much the government’s backstopping is critical to economic recovery. Without it, we could see shades of 2007 and 2008 all over again.</p>
<p /> | 4,404 |
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<p>NASCHITTI – An evacuation order has been lifted for some residents of the small northwestern New Mexico town of Naschitti after fire crews extinguished a burning big rig hauling hazardous materials.</p>
<p>San Juan County Fire Department officials say the tractor-trailer was carrying a load of propane bottles and adhesive product.</p>
<p>Crews let the fire burn itself out so the adhesive would not spread out on the highway.</p>
<p>Navajo Nation officials say the truck crashed and burned around 6:40 a.m. Thursday on U.S. 491.</p>
<p>An evacuation order was issued for residents within two miles of the site and temporary evacuation shelters were mobilized as fire crews and a hazmat team responded to the fire.</p>
<p>No injuries were reported.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Truck fire prompts evacuation order | false | https://abqjournal.com/442628/truck-fire-prompts-evacuation-order.html | 2least
| Truck fire prompts evacuation order
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<p>NASCHITTI – An evacuation order has been lifted for some residents of the small northwestern New Mexico town of Naschitti after fire crews extinguished a burning big rig hauling hazardous materials.</p>
<p>San Juan County Fire Department officials say the tractor-trailer was carrying a load of propane bottles and adhesive product.</p>
<p>Crews let the fire burn itself out so the adhesive would not spread out on the highway.</p>
<p>Navajo Nation officials say the truck crashed and burned around 6:40 a.m. Thursday on U.S. 491.</p>
<p>An evacuation order was issued for residents within two miles of the site and temporary evacuation shelters were mobilized as fire crews and a hazmat team responded to the fire.</p>
<p>No injuries were reported.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 4,405 |
|
<p>J. Scott Applewhite/AP</p>
<p />
<p>Back in December, Hillary Clinton and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) reportedly met in private for what is being described as a “cordial and productive” conversation inside Clinton’s Washington D.C. residence. The New York Times’&#160;Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Martin have the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/02/17/hillary-clinton-met-with-elizabeth-warren-in-december/?_r=0" type="external">scoop</a>, published Tuesday, which makes clear Clinton did not ask for Warren’s endorsement, but instead sought the senator’s thoughts on a number of policy issues.</p>
<p>News of the one-on-one conversation comes not only as Clinton continues to build a formidable 2016 campaign team—most recently with the hire of <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2015/02/mandy-grunwald-joins-hillary-clinton-team-114949.html" type="external">Mandy Grunwald,</a> a longtime Clinton confidant who had lately been advising Warren—but also as liberal activist groups urge the Massachusetts senator to challenge her for the Democratic nomination.&#160;While Clinton, who has yet to formally announce her candidacy, is widely viewed as the party’s frontrunner, a possible run by Warren and her trademark populist message would <a href="http://www.newrepublic.com/article/115509/elizabeth-warren-hillary-clintons-nightmare" type="external">certainly complicate</a> her campaign.</p>
<p>Despite calls for her to run, however, Warren has repeatedly said she will not be seeking the nomination.&#160;But a sit-down at Clinton’s home, sans political aides and initiated by Clinton, is the most clear signal Clinton is well aware she will be needing Warren’s deeply popular economic liberalism in order to be successful come 2016, especially at a time when even <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-01-26/why-republicans-are-talking-about-income-inequality" type="external">Republicans appear to be freely borrowing</a> from the senator’s populist platform.</p>
<p /> | Clinton Courts Warren | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2015/02/hillary-clinton-liz-warren-nice-little-chat/ | 2015-02-17 | 4left
| Clinton Courts Warren
<p>J. Scott Applewhite/AP</p>
<p />
<p>Back in December, Hillary Clinton and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) reportedly met in private for what is being described as a “cordial and productive” conversation inside Clinton’s Washington D.C. residence. The New York Times’&#160;Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Martin have the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/02/17/hillary-clinton-met-with-elizabeth-warren-in-december/?_r=0" type="external">scoop</a>, published Tuesday, which makes clear Clinton did not ask for Warren’s endorsement, but instead sought the senator’s thoughts on a number of policy issues.</p>
<p>News of the one-on-one conversation comes not only as Clinton continues to build a formidable 2016 campaign team—most recently with the hire of <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2015/02/mandy-grunwald-joins-hillary-clinton-team-114949.html" type="external">Mandy Grunwald,</a> a longtime Clinton confidant who had lately been advising Warren—but also as liberal activist groups urge the Massachusetts senator to challenge her for the Democratic nomination.&#160;While Clinton, who has yet to formally announce her candidacy, is widely viewed as the party’s frontrunner, a possible run by Warren and her trademark populist message would <a href="http://www.newrepublic.com/article/115509/elizabeth-warren-hillary-clintons-nightmare" type="external">certainly complicate</a> her campaign.</p>
<p>Despite calls for her to run, however, Warren has repeatedly said she will not be seeking the nomination.&#160;But a sit-down at Clinton’s home, sans political aides and initiated by Clinton, is the most clear signal Clinton is well aware she will be needing Warren’s deeply popular economic liberalism in order to be successful come 2016, especially at a time when even <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-01-26/why-republicans-are-talking-about-income-inequality" type="external">Republicans appear to be freely borrowing</a> from the senator’s populist platform.</p>
<p /> | 4,406 |
<p>In Alaska, a homeless man with a history of drug abuse killed a random bystander. In Colorado, a psychiatric patient who had struggled academically gunned down a dozen people in a movie theater.</p>
<p>Both crimes are linked by recent court rulings, as judges decided in two separate lawsuits that those who sold the purported killers weapons should not be held responsible.</p>
<p>The cases reveal how difficult it is to go after what the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence calls “bad apple” gun dealers. The group defines bad apples as dealers who don’t operate ethically and responsibly. Brady says most federally licensed gun dealers run the proper background checks and fill out the appropriate paperwork so firearms can be tracked. But a handful of dealers operate lax shops or skirt federal laws, Brady has found. These “bad apple” shops comprise five percent of dealers but are responsible for 90 percent of the guns used in crimes, <a href="http://www.bradycampaign.org/sites/default/files/When-Is-A-Gun-A-Crime-Gun.pdf" type="external">according to the campaign</a>.</p>
<p>Brady has tried to go after these so-called bad apples in court, but the group’s efforts have been stymied by a 2005 law called the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, or PLCAA.</p>
<p>The Brady Campaign <a href="http://www.bradycampaign.org/our-impact/resources/current-cases-against-gun-dealers" type="external">has filed about a dozen lawsuits around the country</a>, pointing out the ways dealers allowed their weapons to fall into the wrong hands. In Kansas, in Shirley v. Glass, Brady lawyers sued a gun shop because they believed its owners knew a would-be purchaser was a felon and allowed his grandmother to complete a straw purchase for a gun. In a Missouri case, Delana v. Odessa Gun &amp;&#160;Pawn, a mother whose daughter was a paranoid schizophrenic tried to urge a gun store not to sell her daughter more weapons, according to Brady. A day after purchasing a weapon, the woman’s daughter shot and killed her father. Brady has appealed the Missouri case to the state’s Supreme Court, after a trial court dismissed some of its claims. The Kansas case, following several appeals, will be heard later this year.</p>
<p>PLCAA was passed after years of successful lawsuits against gun dealers and manufacturers. The bill, passed with the&#160;NRA’s strong backing, assures that gun dealers cannot be held responsible for criminal acts done with their products. It’s a protection, advocates say, no other industry enjoys.</p>
<p>Brady believes it puts gun stores and manufacturers above the law. Not everyone agrees.</p>
<p>Take the&#160;lawsuit against Lucky Gunner, an e-commerce site that sold ammunition to the gunman who killed 12 and wounded many others during a shooting spree in Aurora, Colorado, in 2012. <a href="http://www.bradycampaign.org/press-room/brady-center-sues-online-sellers-of-ammunition-and-equipment-used-in-aurora-movie-theater" type="external">Brady lawyers represented the plaintiffs</a> — Sandy and Lonnie Phillips, the parents of Jessica Redfield Ghawi, a 24-year-old woman who&#160;died as a result&#160;of the shooting — and alleged that the site lacks reasonable safeguards to prevent dangerous people from acquiring weapons. But the suit garnered particularly strong criticism from a federal judge in Colorado, who said there was&#160;little evidence that Lucky Gunner was, in fact, a bad apple.</p>
<p>U.S. District Court Judge Richard Matsch <a href="https://docs.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/colorado/codce/1:2014cv02822/151625/66" type="external">wrote in a June 17 court order</a> that the plaintiffs and Brady, the “ <a href="https://docs.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/colorado/codce/1:2014cv02822/151625/66" type="external">apparent sponsor of this case</a>,”&#160;were not only wrong to challenge the e-commerce site, but that they&#160;had also used the lawsuit to play off of the emotions of the shooter’s&#160;ongoing trial in an effort to sway public opinion. He ordered the plaintiffs&#160;to pay Lucky Gunner’s $203,000 in legal fees.</p>
<p>Adam Winkler, a law professor at University of California at Los Angeles, tells The Trace that, in cases like the Lucky Gunner suit, the PLCAA has worked precisely as intended. “While some of us scratched our heads when we saw Brady’s lawsuit (in Colorado), the organization took a big risk bringing this case, and it didn’t work out,” he says. “The PLCAA was written by gun rights advocates for the specific purpose of stopping lawsuits against gun dealers. They have worked very well for that purpose.”</p>
<p>Many hoped the case in Alaska would prove to be a breakthrough on PLCAA cases. After all, the plantiffs’ attorneys believed, the facts were on their side.</p>
<p>Jason Coday, a 29-year-old on the run from another gun crime in Nevada, had his eye on two .22-caliber rifles when he walked into Rayco Sales in Juneau. He chose one. But before owner Raymond Coxe could run a required background check and fill out the proper paperwork, <a href="http://juneauempire.com/local/2015-05-31/eight-years-later-gun-shop-trial-begin" type="external">Coxe later testified</a>, Coday slipped out the door unnoticed with one of the guns in hand. For reasons that Coxe couldn’t explain, Coday left $200 on the counter before exiting the store.</p>
<p>Two days later, Coday shot and killed Simone Young Kim, a 26-year-old who was working as a painting contractor outside Juneau’s Fred Meyer (a chain of big-box stores). There was no apparent motive for the crime, and Coday was convicted and sentenced to 101 years in prison.</p>
<p>The family sued the gun shop. But despite what Kim’s lawyers said was a mountain of evidence against him, the jury earlier this month decided that Ray Coxe was not at fault for Kim’s death. They blamed the murder squarely on the shooter and awarded the family $10 million from Coday. (It’s unlikely the Kims will recover a cent.)</p>
<p>Mark Choate, the Kim’s family lawyer, tells The Trace he believed it was a winnable case. An audit by the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) showed hundreds of guns that had gone unaccounted for at Coxe’s shop. And despite warnings from the ATF, Coxe had failed to properly secure the weapons and had hundreds of other infractions that pointed to evidence of an off-the-books, illegal gun-sale operation, Choate said. Indeed, Coxe’s federal gun-dealer license was revoked earlier this year by federal authorities for those very reasons.</p>
<p>But the PLCAA law meant that Coxe couldn’t be sued for negligence, a common standard. Instead, Kim’s attorneys had to prove that the gun was obtained illegally — a much tougher hurdle to clear.</p>
<p>“The biggest issue is PLCAA,” Choate says about the suit. “There’s no other business in America that gets to operate like that.” Choate used the example of a farmer selling watermelons on the side of the road. If the farmer’s wares made someone sick because of something the farmer did or failed to do, he could be sued more easily than a gun dealer.</p>
<p>Coxe’s attorney, Anthony Sholty, agrees that the PLCAA sets a high bar in cases like this one. “If this had been a negligence case, we would have had some problems,” Sholty tells The Trace. Even so, he says, there were other reasons the jury sided with Coxe. For one thing, Sholty successfully convinced the jury that, while Coxe might have been sloppy with things like paperwork and securing weapons, nothing criminal was going on.</p>
<p>Plus, Sholty notes, soon after Coday left the store, Coxe or an employee called the police to report that the gun had been stolen. While the Kim family doesn’t believe that should exonerate Coxe, Sholty says it points to his client’s innocence. “It seems very strange that someone who has just done an illegal firearms sale would call the police.”</p>
<p>In 2012, four years after the lawsuit was initially filed, opponents of the law hoped the case would serve as the beginning of a winding legal road to weaken PLCAA. The Brady Campaign asked the Alaska Supreme Court that year to find the law unconstitutional.</p>
<p>Justices upheld the law. But the case’s attorneys hoped that a lower court would decide that one of PLCAA’s exceptions applied — namely, whether the gun was sold illegally or Coxe knew his sale would result in a murder.</p>
<p>Choate said the Kim family is considering whether to appeal the verdict. He compares the PLCAA fight to the years-long legal battle against tobacco companies. “Probably, unfortunately, somebody with some power will have to have their relative killed with a bad gun … and they’ll make changes that haven’t happened,” Choate says. “I would challenge the law again.”</p>
<p>Correction: The original version of this article mistakenly identified the firearm taken from Rayco Sales in Juneau as a .22 caliber shotgun. The weapon is a .22 caliber rifle.</p>
<p>[Photo: <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/Rayco+Sales/@58.361223,-134.57027,3a,75y,192.76h,87.45t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s7Of8ApA8EToa6z0b3iAS5w!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x39e14a1d5d4b2796!6m1!1e1" type="external">Google Maps</a>]</p> | Fresh Court Challenges to Gun Sellers Undercut by Decade-Old Law | false | https://thetrace.org/2015/06/fresh-court-challenges-to-gun-sellers-undercut-by-decade-old-law/ | 2015-06-29 | 3left-center
| Fresh Court Challenges to Gun Sellers Undercut by Decade-Old Law
<p>In Alaska, a homeless man with a history of drug abuse killed a random bystander. In Colorado, a psychiatric patient who had struggled academically gunned down a dozen people in a movie theater.</p>
<p>Both crimes are linked by recent court rulings, as judges decided in two separate lawsuits that those who sold the purported killers weapons should not be held responsible.</p>
<p>The cases reveal how difficult it is to go after what the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence calls “bad apple” gun dealers. The group defines bad apples as dealers who don’t operate ethically and responsibly. Brady says most federally licensed gun dealers run the proper background checks and fill out the appropriate paperwork so firearms can be tracked. But a handful of dealers operate lax shops or skirt federal laws, Brady has found. These “bad apple” shops comprise five percent of dealers but are responsible for 90 percent of the guns used in crimes, <a href="http://www.bradycampaign.org/sites/default/files/When-Is-A-Gun-A-Crime-Gun.pdf" type="external">according to the campaign</a>.</p>
<p>Brady has tried to go after these so-called bad apples in court, but the group’s efforts have been stymied by a 2005 law called the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, or PLCAA.</p>
<p>The Brady Campaign <a href="http://www.bradycampaign.org/our-impact/resources/current-cases-against-gun-dealers" type="external">has filed about a dozen lawsuits around the country</a>, pointing out the ways dealers allowed their weapons to fall into the wrong hands. In Kansas, in Shirley v. Glass, Brady lawyers sued a gun shop because they believed its owners knew a would-be purchaser was a felon and allowed his grandmother to complete a straw purchase for a gun. In a Missouri case, Delana v. Odessa Gun &amp;&#160;Pawn, a mother whose daughter was a paranoid schizophrenic tried to urge a gun store not to sell her daughter more weapons, according to Brady. A day after purchasing a weapon, the woman’s daughter shot and killed her father. Brady has appealed the Missouri case to the state’s Supreme Court, after a trial court dismissed some of its claims. The Kansas case, following several appeals, will be heard later this year.</p>
<p>PLCAA was passed after years of successful lawsuits against gun dealers and manufacturers. The bill, passed with the&#160;NRA’s strong backing, assures that gun dealers cannot be held responsible for criminal acts done with their products. It’s a protection, advocates say, no other industry enjoys.</p>
<p>Brady believes it puts gun stores and manufacturers above the law. Not everyone agrees.</p>
<p>Take the&#160;lawsuit against Lucky Gunner, an e-commerce site that sold ammunition to the gunman who killed 12 and wounded many others during a shooting spree in Aurora, Colorado, in 2012. <a href="http://www.bradycampaign.org/press-room/brady-center-sues-online-sellers-of-ammunition-and-equipment-used-in-aurora-movie-theater" type="external">Brady lawyers represented the plaintiffs</a> — Sandy and Lonnie Phillips, the parents of Jessica Redfield Ghawi, a 24-year-old woman who&#160;died as a result&#160;of the shooting — and alleged that the site lacks reasonable safeguards to prevent dangerous people from acquiring weapons. But the suit garnered particularly strong criticism from a federal judge in Colorado, who said there was&#160;little evidence that Lucky Gunner was, in fact, a bad apple.</p>
<p>U.S. District Court Judge Richard Matsch <a href="https://docs.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/colorado/codce/1:2014cv02822/151625/66" type="external">wrote in a June 17 court order</a> that the plaintiffs and Brady, the “ <a href="https://docs.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/colorado/codce/1:2014cv02822/151625/66" type="external">apparent sponsor of this case</a>,”&#160;were not only wrong to challenge the e-commerce site, but that they&#160;had also used the lawsuit to play off of the emotions of the shooter’s&#160;ongoing trial in an effort to sway public opinion. He ordered the plaintiffs&#160;to pay Lucky Gunner’s $203,000 in legal fees.</p>
<p>Adam Winkler, a law professor at University of California at Los Angeles, tells The Trace that, in cases like the Lucky Gunner suit, the PLCAA has worked precisely as intended. “While some of us scratched our heads when we saw Brady’s lawsuit (in Colorado), the organization took a big risk bringing this case, and it didn’t work out,” he says. “The PLCAA was written by gun rights advocates for the specific purpose of stopping lawsuits against gun dealers. They have worked very well for that purpose.”</p>
<p>Many hoped the case in Alaska would prove to be a breakthrough on PLCAA cases. After all, the plantiffs’ attorneys believed, the facts were on their side.</p>
<p>Jason Coday, a 29-year-old on the run from another gun crime in Nevada, had his eye on two .22-caliber rifles when he walked into Rayco Sales in Juneau. He chose one. But before owner Raymond Coxe could run a required background check and fill out the proper paperwork, <a href="http://juneauempire.com/local/2015-05-31/eight-years-later-gun-shop-trial-begin" type="external">Coxe later testified</a>, Coday slipped out the door unnoticed with one of the guns in hand. For reasons that Coxe couldn’t explain, Coday left $200 on the counter before exiting the store.</p>
<p>Two days later, Coday shot and killed Simone Young Kim, a 26-year-old who was working as a painting contractor outside Juneau’s Fred Meyer (a chain of big-box stores). There was no apparent motive for the crime, and Coday was convicted and sentenced to 101 years in prison.</p>
<p>The family sued the gun shop. But despite what Kim’s lawyers said was a mountain of evidence against him, the jury earlier this month decided that Ray Coxe was not at fault for Kim’s death. They blamed the murder squarely on the shooter and awarded the family $10 million from Coday. (It’s unlikely the Kims will recover a cent.)</p>
<p>Mark Choate, the Kim’s family lawyer, tells The Trace he believed it was a winnable case. An audit by the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) showed hundreds of guns that had gone unaccounted for at Coxe’s shop. And despite warnings from the ATF, Coxe had failed to properly secure the weapons and had hundreds of other infractions that pointed to evidence of an off-the-books, illegal gun-sale operation, Choate said. Indeed, Coxe’s federal gun-dealer license was revoked earlier this year by federal authorities for those very reasons.</p>
<p>But the PLCAA law meant that Coxe couldn’t be sued for negligence, a common standard. Instead, Kim’s attorneys had to prove that the gun was obtained illegally — a much tougher hurdle to clear.</p>
<p>“The biggest issue is PLCAA,” Choate says about the suit. “There’s no other business in America that gets to operate like that.” Choate used the example of a farmer selling watermelons on the side of the road. If the farmer’s wares made someone sick because of something the farmer did or failed to do, he could be sued more easily than a gun dealer.</p>
<p>Coxe’s attorney, Anthony Sholty, agrees that the PLCAA sets a high bar in cases like this one. “If this had been a negligence case, we would have had some problems,” Sholty tells The Trace. Even so, he says, there were other reasons the jury sided with Coxe. For one thing, Sholty successfully convinced the jury that, while Coxe might have been sloppy with things like paperwork and securing weapons, nothing criminal was going on.</p>
<p>Plus, Sholty notes, soon after Coday left the store, Coxe or an employee called the police to report that the gun had been stolen. While the Kim family doesn’t believe that should exonerate Coxe, Sholty says it points to his client’s innocence. “It seems very strange that someone who has just done an illegal firearms sale would call the police.”</p>
<p>In 2012, four years after the lawsuit was initially filed, opponents of the law hoped the case would serve as the beginning of a winding legal road to weaken PLCAA. The Brady Campaign asked the Alaska Supreme Court that year to find the law unconstitutional.</p>
<p>Justices upheld the law. But the case’s attorneys hoped that a lower court would decide that one of PLCAA’s exceptions applied — namely, whether the gun was sold illegally or Coxe knew his sale would result in a murder.</p>
<p>Choate said the Kim family is considering whether to appeal the verdict. He compares the PLCAA fight to the years-long legal battle against tobacco companies. “Probably, unfortunately, somebody with some power will have to have their relative killed with a bad gun … and they’ll make changes that haven’t happened,” Choate says. “I would challenge the law again.”</p>
<p>Correction: The original version of this article mistakenly identified the firearm taken from Rayco Sales in Juneau as a .22 caliber shotgun. The weapon is a .22 caliber rifle.</p>
<p>[Photo: <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/Rayco+Sales/@58.361223,-134.57027,3a,75y,192.76h,87.45t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s7Of8ApA8EToa6z0b3iAS5w!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x39e14a1d5d4b2796!6m1!1e1" type="external">Google Maps</a>]</p> | 4,407 |
<p><a href="" type="internal">At least 59 people were killed</a> and over 500 were injured after a gunman perched on the 32nd floor of a Las Vegas hotel-casino opened fire on Sunday night at the Route 91 music festival.</p>
<p>It was the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.</p>
<p>Officials are still working to identify the victims and notify their families. We will update this list as names are released.</p>
<p>Remembering the victims:</p>
<p>AUSTIN DAVIS</p>
<p>JENNIFER TOPAZ</p>
<p>CHRISTOPHER ROYBAL, 28</p>
<p>Roybal was a southern California native who had recently returned from Afghanistan. He was at the concert with his mother.</p>
<p>HANNAH AHLERS, 34</p>
<p>She leaves behind her husband and three children.</p>
<p>STACEE ETCHEBER, 50</p>
<p>Etcheber leaves behind two children aged 10 and 13.</p>
<p />
<p>JOHN PHIPPEN</p>
<p>Friends of Phippen created <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/for-the-children-of-john-phippen" type="external">a Go Fund Me page for his his five children.</a></p>
<p>"John has five children and one grandson of which he absolutely adored. His youngest daughter is only 14 and who lost her Mom only 3 short years ago. It is a tragedy to lose your father and mother both at such a young age," they wrote. "This is a man who loved his family and his friends as if they were family. It is unfortunate to say he left a lot behind."</p>
<p>ADRIAN MURFITT, 35</p>
<p>He was a commercial fisherman from Anchorage, Alaska.</p>
<p>His sister, Shannon Gothard, said the family heard from one of Murfitt's friends who was with him when hedied, though they haven't received official confirmation about his death. Asked if the family was holding out hope that he made it after all, she said, "No. No."</p>
<p>Gothard described her brother as a man with a hearty laugh, a former competitive hockey player who still dabbled in the game.</p>
<p>"His whole life was always around hockey," she said.</p>
<p>After graduating from high school, he became a fisherman, picking up odd jobs in the offseason.He had just come off an extremely successful fishing season when he made the trip to Las Vegas with some good friends, Gothard said.</p>
<p>Her brother "was happy to pay some things off and had made some really good money and decided to go out and celebrate and go to the concert and treat himself to something nice and fun," she said.</p>
<p>BAILEY SCHWEITZER, 20</p>
<p>Her father, Bakersfield Speedway owner Scott Schweitzer, <a href="http://bakersfieldnow.com/news/local/bakersfield-woman-killed-in-vegas-mass-shooting" type="external">confirmed her death to Eyewitness News.</a></p>
<p>DENISE SALMON BURDITUS</p>
<p><a href="http://wjla.com/news/local/woman-from-west-virginia-among-las-vegas-massacre-victims" type="external">Denise Salmon Burditus</a>had attended the Route 91 Harvest Festival for the past three years. The West Virginia native was attending the festival with her husband, Tony. About a half hour before the shooting began, the couple snapped a photo together.</p>
<p><a href="http://wvmetronews.com/2017/10/02/west-virginian-is-among-first-las-vegas-shooting-victims-to-be-identified/" type="external">According to reports</a>, she died in her husband’s arms.</p>
<p>ANGIE GOMEZ</p>
<p>California’s Riverside Polytechnic High School <a href="https://www.facebook.com/RiversidePolyPTSA/photos/a.415559915219462.1073741828.397006753741445/1356357477806363/?type=3&amp;theater" type="external">wrote a post on Facebook</a> identifying Gomez as one of the victims. She graduated in 2015.</p>
<p>RACHEL PARKER, 33</p>
<p>Rachael Parker, a police records technician, was shot and ultimately died in the hospital, the Manhattan Beach Police Department said.</p>
<p>The Manhattan Beach Police Department <a href="http://www.nixle.us/9M6A7" type="external">released a statement identifying officer Rachel Parker</a> as one of the victims killed. She was off duty and attending the concert with another officer who was also shot but received minor injures.</p>
<p>NEYSA TONKS</p>
<p>Neysa Tonks was a mother of three from Salt Lake City, Utah.</p>
<p>SONNY MELTON, 29</p>
<p><a href="http://wjla.com/news/nation-world/tennessee-man-killed-in-country-music-festival-concert-in-las-vegas" type="external">Sonny Melton</a>, of Big Sandy, Tennessee, was one of at least 58 people killed when a gunman opened fire Sunday night on the crowd of 22,000.</p>
<p>Melton's wife, Heather Gulish Melton, said she is in complete disbelief.</p>
<p>"At this point, I'm in complete disbelief and despair. I don't know what to say. Sonny was the most kind-hearted, loving man I have ever met. He saved my life and lost his," Heather said in a statement to Fox 17 News.</p>
<p>A coworker said the Meltons were in Las Vegas celebrating their first wedding anniversary.</p>
<p>Melton worked as a nurse at Henry County Medical Center, where his wife also works as an Orthopedic Surgeon. Community members also tell Fox 17 that Heather is the team physician for the Henry County High School football team.</p>
<p>SANDY CASEY, 35</p>
<p>Sandy Casey, a middle school special education teacher from Manhattan Beach, California, was killed in Sunday night's attack, the school district said.</p>
<p>JENNY PARKS</p>
<p>Jenny Parks was a mother of two and a kindergarten teacher for the Lancaster School District in California. She was at the concert with her husband, Bobby Parks who was injured in the shooting. One of his co-workers created <a href="" type="external">a Go Fund Me page to raise money for the family.</a></p>
<p>JESSICA KLYMCHUK, 28</p>
<p>Klymchuk was a mother of four and teachers assistant from Alberta, Canada. A post on Klymchuk's Facebook page says she got engaged in April, and was in Vegas with her fiance. <a href="https://www.youcaring.com/paulineklymchuk-968914" type="external">According to a donation page</a> set up by her friends, she "passed away with her fiance Brent Irla by her side."</p>
<p>JORDAN MCLLDOON, 23</p>
<p>Mclldoon was just days away from his 24th birthday. British Columbia Premier John Horgan said in a statement Tuesday Jordan Mclldoon, a 23-year-old mechanic's apprentice from Maple, Ridge, British Columbia was among those killed.</p>
<p>"We only had one child," Al and Angela McIldoon, <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/2-canadians-among-59-killed-in-las-vegas-mass-shooting-1.4316485" type="external">told the CBC.</a>"We just don't know what to do."</p>
<p>Heather Gooze stayed by McIldoon's side for more than five hours after he succumbed to his gunshot wounds, even though she'd never met him. "I couldn't just leave him by himself," <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-monday-edition-1.4316671/i-just-couldn-t-leave-him-says-vegas-bartender-who-held-canadian-s-hand-as-he-died-1.4316986" type="external">Gooze told the CBC.</a> "I don't know, I just couldn't leave him."</p>
<p>SUSAN SMITH, 53</p>
<p>(Courtesy of the Simi Valley Unified School District)</p>
<p>Susan Smith was married with two adult children. She was a resident of Simi Valley, California, near Los Angeles and had worked for the local school district since 2001 as the office manager at Vista Elementary School.</p>
<p>"Susan was wonderful with the kids and the staff and was an integral part of the school community here," said Jake Finch, the public information officer for the district. "She was the hub of everything that happened at the school. If a kid is sick, she's the one calling the parents and no matter how chaotic things got here, she was always smiling."</p>
<p>LISA ROMERO, 48</p>
<p>Lisa Romero, a high school secretary from Gallup, New Mexico, was an "incredible loving and sincere friend, mentor and advocate for students," the Gallup-McKinley County Public Schools interim superintendent said Monday.</p>
<p>"Last night during the mass shooting in Las Vegas we lost one of our staff members," interim superintendent Mike Hyatt wrote to employees. "Lisa Romero, discipline secretary at Miyamura (High School), was a victim in the shooting. Our prayers go out to her family during this tragic time."</p>
<p>Survivors included Romero-Muniz's husband, children and grandchildren, Hyatt said.</p>
<p>JACK BEATON</p>
<p><a href="http://bakersfieldnow.com/news/local/family-confirms-bakersfield-man-killed-in-vegas-mass-shooting" type="external">Jack Beaton</a>'s death was confirmed directly to KBAK/KBFX by his mother-in-law.</p>
<p>CHARLESTON HARTFIELD, 34</p>
<p /> | Lives lost: Remembering the victims of the Las Vegas shooting | false | https://circa.com/story/2017/10/02/lives-lost-remembering-the-victims-of-the-las-vegas-shooting | 2017-10-03 | 1right-center
| Lives lost: Remembering the victims of the Las Vegas shooting
<p><a href="" type="internal">At least 59 people were killed</a> and over 500 were injured after a gunman perched on the 32nd floor of a Las Vegas hotel-casino opened fire on Sunday night at the Route 91 music festival.</p>
<p>It was the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.</p>
<p>Officials are still working to identify the victims and notify their families. We will update this list as names are released.</p>
<p>Remembering the victims:</p>
<p>AUSTIN DAVIS</p>
<p>JENNIFER TOPAZ</p>
<p>CHRISTOPHER ROYBAL, 28</p>
<p>Roybal was a southern California native who had recently returned from Afghanistan. He was at the concert with his mother.</p>
<p>HANNAH AHLERS, 34</p>
<p>She leaves behind her husband and three children.</p>
<p>STACEE ETCHEBER, 50</p>
<p>Etcheber leaves behind two children aged 10 and 13.</p>
<p />
<p>JOHN PHIPPEN</p>
<p>Friends of Phippen created <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/for-the-children-of-john-phippen" type="external">a Go Fund Me page for his his five children.</a></p>
<p>"John has five children and one grandson of which he absolutely adored. His youngest daughter is only 14 and who lost her Mom only 3 short years ago. It is a tragedy to lose your father and mother both at such a young age," they wrote. "This is a man who loved his family and his friends as if they were family. It is unfortunate to say he left a lot behind."</p>
<p>ADRIAN MURFITT, 35</p>
<p>He was a commercial fisherman from Anchorage, Alaska.</p>
<p>His sister, Shannon Gothard, said the family heard from one of Murfitt's friends who was with him when hedied, though they haven't received official confirmation about his death. Asked if the family was holding out hope that he made it after all, she said, "No. No."</p>
<p>Gothard described her brother as a man with a hearty laugh, a former competitive hockey player who still dabbled in the game.</p>
<p>"His whole life was always around hockey," she said.</p>
<p>After graduating from high school, he became a fisherman, picking up odd jobs in the offseason.He had just come off an extremely successful fishing season when he made the trip to Las Vegas with some good friends, Gothard said.</p>
<p>Her brother "was happy to pay some things off and had made some really good money and decided to go out and celebrate and go to the concert and treat himself to something nice and fun," she said.</p>
<p>BAILEY SCHWEITZER, 20</p>
<p>Her father, Bakersfield Speedway owner Scott Schweitzer, <a href="http://bakersfieldnow.com/news/local/bakersfield-woman-killed-in-vegas-mass-shooting" type="external">confirmed her death to Eyewitness News.</a></p>
<p>DENISE SALMON BURDITUS</p>
<p><a href="http://wjla.com/news/local/woman-from-west-virginia-among-las-vegas-massacre-victims" type="external">Denise Salmon Burditus</a>had attended the Route 91 Harvest Festival for the past three years. The West Virginia native was attending the festival with her husband, Tony. About a half hour before the shooting began, the couple snapped a photo together.</p>
<p><a href="http://wvmetronews.com/2017/10/02/west-virginian-is-among-first-las-vegas-shooting-victims-to-be-identified/" type="external">According to reports</a>, she died in her husband’s arms.</p>
<p>ANGIE GOMEZ</p>
<p>California’s Riverside Polytechnic High School <a href="https://www.facebook.com/RiversidePolyPTSA/photos/a.415559915219462.1073741828.397006753741445/1356357477806363/?type=3&amp;theater" type="external">wrote a post on Facebook</a> identifying Gomez as one of the victims. She graduated in 2015.</p>
<p>RACHEL PARKER, 33</p>
<p>Rachael Parker, a police records technician, was shot and ultimately died in the hospital, the Manhattan Beach Police Department said.</p>
<p>The Manhattan Beach Police Department <a href="http://www.nixle.us/9M6A7" type="external">released a statement identifying officer Rachel Parker</a> as one of the victims killed. She was off duty and attending the concert with another officer who was also shot but received minor injures.</p>
<p>NEYSA TONKS</p>
<p>Neysa Tonks was a mother of three from Salt Lake City, Utah.</p>
<p>SONNY MELTON, 29</p>
<p><a href="http://wjla.com/news/nation-world/tennessee-man-killed-in-country-music-festival-concert-in-las-vegas" type="external">Sonny Melton</a>, of Big Sandy, Tennessee, was one of at least 58 people killed when a gunman opened fire Sunday night on the crowd of 22,000.</p>
<p>Melton's wife, Heather Gulish Melton, said she is in complete disbelief.</p>
<p>"At this point, I'm in complete disbelief and despair. I don't know what to say. Sonny was the most kind-hearted, loving man I have ever met. He saved my life and lost his," Heather said in a statement to Fox 17 News.</p>
<p>A coworker said the Meltons were in Las Vegas celebrating their first wedding anniversary.</p>
<p>Melton worked as a nurse at Henry County Medical Center, where his wife also works as an Orthopedic Surgeon. Community members also tell Fox 17 that Heather is the team physician for the Henry County High School football team.</p>
<p>SANDY CASEY, 35</p>
<p>Sandy Casey, a middle school special education teacher from Manhattan Beach, California, was killed in Sunday night's attack, the school district said.</p>
<p>JENNY PARKS</p>
<p>Jenny Parks was a mother of two and a kindergarten teacher for the Lancaster School District in California. She was at the concert with her husband, Bobby Parks who was injured in the shooting. One of his co-workers created <a href="" type="external">a Go Fund Me page to raise money for the family.</a></p>
<p>JESSICA KLYMCHUK, 28</p>
<p>Klymchuk was a mother of four and teachers assistant from Alberta, Canada. A post on Klymchuk's Facebook page says she got engaged in April, and was in Vegas with her fiance. <a href="https://www.youcaring.com/paulineklymchuk-968914" type="external">According to a donation page</a> set up by her friends, she "passed away with her fiance Brent Irla by her side."</p>
<p>JORDAN MCLLDOON, 23</p>
<p>Mclldoon was just days away from his 24th birthday. British Columbia Premier John Horgan said in a statement Tuesday Jordan Mclldoon, a 23-year-old mechanic's apprentice from Maple, Ridge, British Columbia was among those killed.</p>
<p>"We only had one child," Al and Angela McIldoon, <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/2-canadians-among-59-killed-in-las-vegas-mass-shooting-1.4316485" type="external">told the CBC.</a>"We just don't know what to do."</p>
<p>Heather Gooze stayed by McIldoon's side for more than five hours after he succumbed to his gunshot wounds, even though she'd never met him. "I couldn't just leave him by himself," <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-monday-edition-1.4316671/i-just-couldn-t-leave-him-says-vegas-bartender-who-held-canadian-s-hand-as-he-died-1.4316986" type="external">Gooze told the CBC.</a> "I don't know, I just couldn't leave him."</p>
<p>SUSAN SMITH, 53</p>
<p>(Courtesy of the Simi Valley Unified School District)</p>
<p>Susan Smith was married with two adult children. She was a resident of Simi Valley, California, near Los Angeles and had worked for the local school district since 2001 as the office manager at Vista Elementary School.</p>
<p>"Susan was wonderful with the kids and the staff and was an integral part of the school community here," said Jake Finch, the public information officer for the district. "She was the hub of everything that happened at the school. If a kid is sick, she's the one calling the parents and no matter how chaotic things got here, she was always smiling."</p>
<p>LISA ROMERO, 48</p>
<p>Lisa Romero, a high school secretary from Gallup, New Mexico, was an "incredible loving and sincere friend, mentor and advocate for students," the Gallup-McKinley County Public Schools interim superintendent said Monday.</p>
<p>"Last night during the mass shooting in Las Vegas we lost one of our staff members," interim superintendent Mike Hyatt wrote to employees. "Lisa Romero, discipline secretary at Miyamura (High School), was a victim in the shooting. Our prayers go out to her family during this tragic time."</p>
<p>Survivors included Romero-Muniz's husband, children and grandchildren, Hyatt said.</p>
<p>JACK BEATON</p>
<p><a href="http://bakersfieldnow.com/news/local/family-confirms-bakersfield-man-killed-in-vegas-mass-shooting" type="external">Jack Beaton</a>'s death was confirmed directly to KBAK/KBFX by his mother-in-law.</p>
<p>CHARLESTON HARTFIELD, 34</p>
<p /> | 4,408 |
<p>Photo: Cuban National Archives.</p>
<p>This is our first year without Fidel. At least the first 365-day cycle that will end in November, without the physical presence of the historic leader of the Revolution – without a piece of advice or timely warning, like that he offered in the 7th Party Congress on the super-human effort required to govern any people in times of crisis.</p>
<p>But Fidel leaves us a guiding body of thought, a way of understanding the world through his ideas, which will never lose their relevance. Just as philosophers continue to read Aristotle, revolutionaries of today and tomorrow will reach for the guerilla of the Sierra Maestra, for the statesman who put a small Caribbean archipelago on the map.</p>
<p>Dispersed among thousands of speeches, reflections, and interviews, there are answers to some of the questions we ask ourselves in 2017. They are also questions that remain unanswered in a society that prefers ignorance: How can we feed millions of people without access to water or basic natural resources? What can be done to close the ever-increasing gap between developed and poor nations? Who will pay for environmental destruction? What use are nuclear weapons in a world ravaged by poverty and hunger?</p>
<p>We share with our readers some of the Comandante en Jefe’s reflections and ideas on issues which impact the world today.</p>
<p>THE THREAT OF MILITARISM</p>
<p>Fidel is a symbol of revolutionary struggle, but he always called for attention to the “historic moment” and respect for conditions in a given country. If the use of arms is justified in Fidel’s thinking – with the strict adherence to ethical principles and against oppression – militarism and the threats to world peace of great powers were a constant source of concern for him.</p>
<p>Fidel faced threats of all types over more than half a century of confrontation with the greatest military power in history, located just 90 miles away from our shores. His experience in this field is vast.</p>
<p>In his last public speech during the 7th Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba, held last year, he addressed this issue: “Perhaps, the greatest danger closing in on the globe is the destructive power of modern weaponry, which obstructs peace on the planet and could make human life on the earth’s surface impossible.”</p>
<p>As a statesman of universal dimensions, Fidel explained to Cubans the origin and consequences of dozens of armed conflicts and social struggles that occurred around the world during recent decades.</p>
<p>Instability on the Korean Peninsula, which is once again filling headlines, was addressed in a reflection of Fidel’s, written in April of 2013 and entitled “The duty to avoid war in Korea.”</p>
<p>He criticized “the seriousness of such an incredible and absurd act like the situation created in the Korean Peninsula, in a geographical area where almost five of the seven billion persons on the planet live at this time.</p>
<p>“This is one of the most serious threats of nuclear war since the October Crisis of 1962 around Cuba, 50 years ago. In the Korean Peninsula, General Douglas MacArthur wanted to use atomic weapons against the Democratic Republic of Korea. Not even Harry Truman would allow it,” he added.</p>
<p>“As has been stated, the People’s Republic of China lost a million valiant soldiers to stop an enemy army from installing itself along the border with its homeland. The USSR, for its part, supplied arms, aerial support, and technological and economic aid.</p>
<p>“If a war were to break out there, the people in both parts of the peninsula will be terribly sacrificed, to the benefit of neither one of them. The Democratic Republic of Korea has always been friendly toward Cuba, as Cuba has always been, and will be, with her.”</p>
<p>Regarding Syria, another conflict that has continued for more than five years as a result of the intervention of western powers supporting armed groups, the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution foresaw the endurance of this Arab people.</p>
<p>“This is not simply about the cruise missiles pointed toward Syrian military targets, but rather the fact that this brave Arab country, located amidst a billion Muslims, whose fighting spirit is proverbial, has declared that it will resist any attack on the country until the last breath,” he wrote in a reflection called, “The costly lie” of August, 2013.</p>
<p>“Everyone knows that Bashar al Assad was not a politician. He studied medicine. He graduated in 1988 and specialized in ophthalmology. He took on a political role when his father, Hafez al Assad, died in 2000 and after the accidental death of a brother, before taking on that task,” he said, referring to the Syrian leader who has weathered western attacks.</p>
<p>CUBA-UNITED STATES RELATIONS</p>
<p>“Was Fidel Castro an obstacle to the normalization of relations between the United States and Cuba?” asked Cuban researcher and historian Elier Ramírez Cañedo, in a recent article. The question is related to the myth promoted by the right wing intelligentsia to blame Cuba for the continuing existence of the blockade.</p>
<p>His answer was categorical: no. In the article, he quotes a recent book by former Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari revealing the role he and Gabriel García Márquez played as mediators between U.S. President Bill Clinton and Fidel.</p>
<p>The book contains a letter – previously unpublished – from Fidel to Salinas, dated September 22, 1994.</p>
<p>The mediation of Salinas and Gabo bore fruit, and the two countries sat down to negotiate a solution to the migratory crisis of 1994 and an agreement was signed. Fidel made clear that the negotiation and establishment of a relationship was needed, to resolve other issues between the United States and Cuba, which were the real cause of the migratory crisis.</p>
<p>Over these months, and those that followed, Clinton’s verbal commitment to discuss other issues never materialized.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, as the letter to Salinas demonstrated, the leader of the Cuban Revolution maintained his longstanding position in favor of negotiation and dialogue with the United States, and if possible, moving toward the normalization of relations between the two countries, on the basis of absolute respect for Cuba’s sovereignty.</p>
<p>“The normalization of relations between the two countries is the only alternative; a naval blockade will not resolve anything, nor will an atomic bomb, to speak figuratively. Making our country explode, as has been attempted and is still being attempted, does not benefit the interests of the United States in any way. This would only make it ungovernable for a 100 years, and the struggle would never end. Only a Revolution can make progress and the future viable for this country,” Fidel wrote in his message to Salinas.</p>
<p>This past June 16, the new U.S. President, Donald Trump, announced a change in the country’s policy toward Cuba and measures to reinforce the blockade. Thus he aligned himself with the interests of an anti-Cuban minority in Florida, and distanced himself from the line taken by his Democratic predecessor, seeking to improve relations between the two countries.</p>
<p>Half a century ago, January 1, 1961, the Eisenhower administration broke relations with Cuba and took steps that would lead to the blockade, which has been maintained to this day.</p>
<p>January 20, 1961, before a crowd of militia members returning from the fight to meet in Havana’s Plaza de la Revolución, Fidel addressed the future of ties with the northern neighbor.</p>
<p>“The President has just taken office,” Fidel said referring to John F. Kennedy, “He spoke of a new beginning. Good. For our part, we also say: We’re going to start over. Our attitude will be one of waiting, waiting for actions, because actions are always more eloquent than words. Our attitude will not be one of resentment. Our attitude is not, and never will be, one of fear; we do not fear absolutely anything. Our attitude will always be a disinterested attitude; we will never expect absolutely anything from imperialism! Our attitude will be the attitude of all other governments and peoples of the world: an attitude of waiting for action; no unwarranted attacks will be launched on our part; we will take no hostile action gratuitously.</p>
<p>“We do not expect any favors from Washington, or any economic aid,” he continued.</p>
<p>“We know and have learned that any endeavor we propose for ourselves, we can take on; we know that for our people nothing is impossible; we know our people are capable of taking on the most extraordinary goals; thus we are confident in ourselves, and we expect everything from ourselves.”</p>
<p>In March of 2016, after President Barack Obama’s visit to Cuba, Fidel used practically the same words in his article entitled Brother Obama, saying, “No one should have any illusions that the people of this honorable and self-sacrificing country will renounce the glory, the rights, or the spiritual wealth which they have achieved with the development of education, science, and culture.</p>
<p>“I also forewarn that we are capable of producing all the food and the material wealth we need with the effort and intelligence of our people. We don’t need the empire to give us absolutely anything.</p>
<p>“Our efforts will be legal and peaceful, because we are committed to peace and the fraternity of all human beings living on this planet.”</p>
<p>WALLS AND MIGRATION</p>
<p>“I do not believe that it is an example for the world, that it is a good example, in my opinion, that a wall be built between Latin America and the United States, there on the border with Mexico, where Mexicans attempt to cross over from part of their territory to the part of their territory taken from them one hundred and some years ago, in that famous war, which we know was a war of expansion.”</p>
<p>This statement of Fidel’s is not about Trump’s proposal to build a wall along the southern U.S. border, but rather goes back some 20 years to a speech given during a solidarity event for the 4th U.S-Cuba Friendship Caravan, held September 19, 1996, at Havana’s Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology.</p>
<p>“The wall they want to build is really 300 times bigger than that in Berlin, more sophisticated, and everyday people die there trying to get over this wall.</p>
<p>“Everyday there are more means and more technique in this wall, while poverty, unemployment, and misery grow in all of the rest of Latin America. These are the situations that drive emigration. They become economic emigrants, they are people who have no way to resolve their problems, and they emigrate,” Fidel concluded.</p>
<p>THE BOLIVARIAN REVOLUTION</p>
<p>The 1999 Bolivarian Revolution of Hugo Chávez opened a new chapter in the history of Latin America. Beyond the unquestionable impact of the Bolivarian Comandante on the international level, his relationship with Fidel became one of father and son.</p>
<p>After the death of Chávez in March of 2013, Fidel called him “The best friend the Cuban people have had,” in recognition of the solidarity he showed under all circumstances.</p>
<p>“We have the honor of sharing with the Bolivarian leader the same ideals of social justice and support of the exploited. The poor are the poor in any part of the world,” he added.</p>
<p>In innumerable other texts, the leader of the Cuban Revolution refers to threats made against Bolivarian Venezuela. Today with the new right wing offensive against the government of Nicolás Maduro, Fidel’s statements and fears are confirmed.</p>
<p>“A great battle has been unleashed in Venezuela. Internal and external enemies of the Revolution prefer chaos, as Chávez states, as opposed to the just, ordered, peaceful development of the country,” he said in his reflection entitled “The brilliance of Chávez,” in January of 2012.</p>
<p>“Promoting a profound Revolution is no easy task in Venezuela, a country with a glorious history, but enormously rich in resources of vital necessity to imperialist powers, which have set and still set guidelines for the world,” he wrote.</p>
<p>“Given its extraordinary educational, cultural, and social development, and its vast natural and energy resources, Venezuela is called upon to become a revolutionary model for the world,” he added in another text, “The two Venezuelas,” published in October of 2011.</p>
<p>In a message to President Nicolás Maduro in March of 2015, Fidel noted that he had been able to “observe the attitude not only of the heroic people of Bolívar and Chávez, but also a special feature: the exemplary discipline and spirit of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces.</p>
<p>“Whatever U.S. imperialism may do, it will never be able to count on them to do what they did for so many years. Venezuela today has the best equipped soldiers and officers in Latin America. When you met with officers recently, one could note that they were ready to give even their last drop of blood for the homeland.”</p>
<p>THE LEFT AND LATIN AMERICAN UNITY</p>
<p>Perhaps one of the Comandante en Jefe’s most important speeches on the future of the left and the importance of unity in Latin America was delivered during the closing session of the fourth meeting of the São Paulo Forum, held in Havana’s International Conference Center, July 24, 1993.</p>
<p>The very creation of the Forum was an idea of his and Brazilian leader Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, after the collapse of the socialist camp and the disintegration of the Soviet Union. The first gathering, held in the Brazilian city which gave the group its name, served to chart a course for the struggle for justice under new conditions, and erase the defeatism that permeated a part of the left at that time.</p>
<p>The conference in Havana took on special value, since it was held in the only country upholding the banner of socialism in the region.</p>
<p>Fidel’s ideas and his call for unity despite differences were a premonition of what would happen years later after the creation of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).</p>
<p>“The greatness of Bolívar must be admired, when so early on he proposed the union of the peoples of Latin America, in an era when aviation did not exist, or automobiles, or locomotives, or the telegraph, or the telephone, or radio, or television. Today in a matter of seconds, one can contact anyone from Mexico to</p>
<p>Buenos Aires, and the news is disseminated simultaneously in all parts of the world; today in a matter of hours, one can travel thousands and thousands of kilometers; today there are fabulous means of communication. And Bolívar talked about the necessity of unifying Latin America, when none of this existed. Perhaps it might have been impossible at that time. Later, Martí was one of the most fervent defenders of Latin American unity, 80 years later, in another era, and he proposed it as a vital necessity for our peoples.</p>
<p>“Europe, that spent five centuries warring amongst themselves, would like to have the things that we Latin Americans and Caribbeans have in common. It is however working for integration, working for unity, and knows that it cannot compete with Japan if it does not integrate; it knows it cannot compete with the United States if it does not integrate; it knows it cannot play any role in the world if it does not integrate.</p>
<p>“How can we do less ourselves, and how can the left in Latin America do less that create consciousness in favor of unity? This must be inscribed on the banners of the left. With or without socialism. Those who think socialism is a possibility and want to struggle for socialism, but also those who do not conceive of socialism, even in capitalist countries, we have no future without unity, without integration.”</p>
<p>THE ENVIRONMENT AND SURVIVAL OF THE SPECIES</p>
<p>The decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement made by the White House comes at a time when scientists are making an increasingly urgent call to recognize the impact of human activity on the climate. Adopted by 159 countries in December of 2015, the agreement has as its objective the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change.</p>
<p>It specifically seeks to keep the increase in world temperatures below two degrees Celsius, as compared to pre-industrial era levels, while continuing to adopt measures to limit the rise to 1.5 degrees.</p>
<p>The departure of the United States, one of the world’s biggest polluters, puts the achievement of this objective at risk.</p>
<p>In a reflection written in January of 2011, entitled, “It’s time to do something now,” Fidel addressed the cynicism of great powers, writing, “At this time, humanity is confronting serious, unprecedented problems.</p>
<p>“The worst is that solutions will depend, in large part, on the richest developed countries, which will reach a situation that they are truly not in a position to confront without the destruction of the world, that they have been attempting to shape to favor their selfish interests, and inevitably leads to disaster,” the leader of the Cuban Revolution wrote.</p>
<p>“I refer to the food crisis caused by economic acts and climate changes that are already apparently irreversible as a consequence of human activity, but which, in any event, human minds are obliged to confront hastily.</p>
<p>“For years, which in reality was time lost, the issue has been discussed. But the greatest emitter of contaminating gases, the United States, regularly refuses to take world opinion into account.</p>
<p>It was also Fidel who in Río de Janeiro, in 1992, stated, “An important biological species is in danger of disappearing as a result of the rapid, progressive deterioration of its natural conditions: man.”</p>
<p>This warning, 25 years later in 2017, is more relevant that ever.</p>
<p>Sergio Alejandro Gómez writes for Granma.</p>
<p>This article originally appeared in <a href="http://en.granma.cu/" type="external">Granma International</a>.</p> | 2017, According to Fidel | true | https://counterpunch.org/2017/08/25/2017-according-to-fidel/ | 2017-08-25 | 4left
| 2017, According to Fidel
<p>Photo: Cuban National Archives.</p>
<p>This is our first year without Fidel. At least the first 365-day cycle that will end in November, without the physical presence of the historic leader of the Revolution – without a piece of advice or timely warning, like that he offered in the 7th Party Congress on the super-human effort required to govern any people in times of crisis.</p>
<p>But Fidel leaves us a guiding body of thought, a way of understanding the world through his ideas, which will never lose their relevance. Just as philosophers continue to read Aristotle, revolutionaries of today and tomorrow will reach for the guerilla of the Sierra Maestra, for the statesman who put a small Caribbean archipelago on the map.</p>
<p>Dispersed among thousands of speeches, reflections, and interviews, there are answers to some of the questions we ask ourselves in 2017. They are also questions that remain unanswered in a society that prefers ignorance: How can we feed millions of people without access to water or basic natural resources? What can be done to close the ever-increasing gap between developed and poor nations? Who will pay for environmental destruction? What use are nuclear weapons in a world ravaged by poverty and hunger?</p>
<p>We share with our readers some of the Comandante en Jefe’s reflections and ideas on issues which impact the world today.</p>
<p>THE THREAT OF MILITARISM</p>
<p>Fidel is a symbol of revolutionary struggle, but he always called for attention to the “historic moment” and respect for conditions in a given country. If the use of arms is justified in Fidel’s thinking – with the strict adherence to ethical principles and against oppression – militarism and the threats to world peace of great powers were a constant source of concern for him.</p>
<p>Fidel faced threats of all types over more than half a century of confrontation with the greatest military power in history, located just 90 miles away from our shores. His experience in this field is vast.</p>
<p>In his last public speech during the 7th Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba, held last year, he addressed this issue: “Perhaps, the greatest danger closing in on the globe is the destructive power of modern weaponry, which obstructs peace on the planet and could make human life on the earth’s surface impossible.”</p>
<p>As a statesman of universal dimensions, Fidel explained to Cubans the origin and consequences of dozens of armed conflicts and social struggles that occurred around the world during recent decades.</p>
<p>Instability on the Korean Peninsula, which is once again filling headlines, was addressed in a reflection of Fidel’s, written in April of 2013 and entitled “The duty to avoid war in Korea.”</p>
<p>He criticized “the seriousness of such an incredible and absurd act like the situation created in the Korean Peninsula, in a geographical area where almost five of the seven billion persons on the planet live at this time.</p>
<p>“This is one of the most serious threats of nuclear war since the October Crisis of 1962 around Cuba, 50 years ago. In the Korean Peninsula, General Douglas MacArthur wanted to use atomic weapons against the Democratic Republic of Korea. Not even Harry Truman would allow it,” he added.</p>
<p>“As has been stated, the People’s Republic of China lost a million valiant soldiers to stop an enemy army from installing itself along the border with its homeland. The USSR, for its part, supplied arms, aerial support, and technological and economic aid.</p>
<p>“If a war were to break out there, the people in both parts of the peninsula will be terribly sacrificed, to the benefit of neither one of them. The Democratic Republic of Korea has always been friendly toward Cuba, as Cuba has always been, and will be, with her.”</p>
<p>Regarding Syria, another conflict that has continued for more than five years as a result of the intervention of western powers supporting armed groups, the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution foresaw the endurance of this Arab people.</p>
<p>“This is not simply about the cruise missiles pointed toward Syrian military targets, but rather the fact that this brave Arab country, located amidst a billion Muslims, whose fighting spirit is proverbial, has declared that it will resist any attack on the country until the last breath,” he wrote in a reflection called, “The costly lie” of August, 2013.</p>
<p>“Everyone knows that Bashar al Assad was not a politician. He studied medicine. He graduated in 1988 and specialized in ophthalmology. He took on a political role when his father, Hafez al Assad, died in 2000 and after the accidental death of a brother, before taking on that task,” he said, referring to the Syrian leader who has weathered western attacks.</p>
<p>CUBA-UNITED STATES RELATIONS</p>
<p>“Was Fidel Castro an obstacle to the normalization of relations between the United States and Cuba?” asked Cuban researcher and historian Elier Ramírez Cañedo, in a recent article. The question is related to the myth promoted by the right wing intelligentsia to blame Cuba for the continuing existence of the blockade.</p>
<p>His answer was categorical: no. In the article, he quotes a recent book by former Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari revealing the role he and Gabriel García Márquez played as mediators between U.S. President Bill Clinton and Fidel.</p>
<p>The book contains a letter – previously unpublished – from Fidel to Salinas, dated September 22, 1994.</p>
<p>The mediation of Salinas and Gabo bore fruit, and the two countries sat down to negotiate a solution to the migratory crisis of 1994 and an agreement was signed. Fidel made clear that the negotiation and establishment of a relationship was needed, to resolve other issues between the United States and Cuba, which were the real cause of the migratory crisis.</p>
<p>Over these months, and those that followed, Clinton’s verbal commitment to discuss other issues never materialized.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, as the letter to Salinas demonstrated, the leader of the Cuban Revolution maintained his longstanding position in favor of negotiation and dialogue with the United States, and if possible, moving toward the normalization of relations between the two countries, on the basis of absolute respect for Cuba’s sovereignty.</p>
<p>“The normalization of relations between the two countries is the only alternative; a naval blockade will not resolve anything, nor will an atomic bomb, to speak figuratively. Making our country explode, as has been attempted and is still being attempted, does not benefit the interests of the United States in any way. This would only make it ungovernable for a 100 years, and the struggle would never end. Only a Revolution can make progress and the future viable for this country,” Fidel wrote in his message to Salinas.</p>
<p>This past June 16, the new U.S. President, Donald Trump, announced a change in the country’s policy toward Cuba and measures to reinforce the blockade. Thus he aligned himself with the interests of an anti-Cuban minority in Florida, and distanced himself from the line taken by his Democratic predecessor, seeking to improve relations between the two countries.</p>
<p>Half a century ago, January 1, 1961, the Eisenhower administration broke relations with Cuba and took steps that would lead to the blockade, which has been maintained to this day.</p>
<p>January 20, 1961, before a crowd of militia members returning from the fight to meet in Havana’s Plaza de la Revolución, Fidel addressed the future of ties with the northern neighbor.</p>
<p>“The President has just taken office,” Fidel said referring to John F. Kennedy, “He spoke of a new beginning. Good. For our part, we also say: We’re going to start over. Our attitude will be one of waiting, waiting for actions, because actions are always more eloquent than words. Our attitude will not be one of resentment. Our attitude is not, and never will be, one of fear; we do not fear absolutely anything. Our attitude will always be a disinterested attitude; we will never expect absolutely anything from imperialism! Our attitude will be the attitude of all other governments and peoples of the world: an attitude of waiting for action; no unwarranted attacks will be launched on our part; we will take no hostile action gratuitously.</p>
<p>“We do not expect any favors from Washington, or any economic aid,” he continued.</p>
<p>“We know and have learned that any endeavor we propose for ourselves, we can take on; we know that for our people nothing is impossible; we know our people are capable of taking on the most extraordinary goals; thus we are confident in ourselves, and we expect everything from ourselves.”</p>
<p>In March of 2016, after President Barack Obama’s visit to Cuba, Fidel used practically the same words in his article entitled Brother Obama, saying, “No one should have any illusions that the people of this honorable and self-sacrificing country will renounce the glory, the rights, or the spiritual wealth which they have achieved with the development of education, science, and culture.</p>
<p>“I also forewarn that we are capable of producing all the food and the material wealth we need with the effort and intelligence of our people. We don’t need the empire to give us absolutely anything.</p>
<p>“Our efforts will be legal and peaceful, because we are committed to peace and the fraternity of all human beings living on this planet.”</p>
<p>WALLS AND MIGRATION</p>
<p>“I do not believe that it is an example for the world, that it is a good example, in my opinion, that a wall be built between Latin America and the United States, there on the border with Mexico, where Mexicans attempt to cross over from part of their territory to the part of their territory taken from them one hundred and some years ago, in that famous war, which we know was a war of expansion.”</p>
<p>This statement of Fidel’s is not about Trump’s proposal to build a wall along the southern U.S. border, but rather goes back some 20 years to a speech given during a solidarity event for the 4th U.S-Cuba Friendship Caravan, held September 19, 1996, at Havana’s Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology.</p>
<p>“The wall they want to build is really 300 times bigger than that in Berlin, more sophisticated, and everyday people die there trying to get over this wall.</p>
<p>“Everyday there are more means and more technique in this wall, while poverty, unemployment, and misery grow in all of the rest of Latin America. These are the situations that drive emigration. They become economic emigrants, they are people who have no way to resolve their problems, and they emigrate,” Fidel concluded.</p>
<p>THE BOLIVARIAN REVOLUTION</p>
<p>The 1999 Bolivarian Revolution of Hugo Chávez opened a new chapter in the history of Latin America. Beyond the unquestionable impact of the Bolivarian Comandante on the international level, his relationship with Fidel became one of father and son.</p>
<p>After the death of Chávez in March of 2013, Fidel called him “The best friend the Cuban people have had,” in recognition of the solidarity he showed under all circumstances.</p>
<p>“We have the honor of sharing with the Bolivarian leader the same ideals of social justice and support of the exploited. The poor are the poor in any part of the world,” he added.</p>
<p>In innumerable other texts, the leader of the Cuban Revolution refers to threats made against Bolivarian Venezuela. Today with the new right wing offensive against the government of Nicolás Maduro, Fidel’s statements and fears are confirmed.</p>
<p>“A great battle has been unleashed in Venezuela. Internal and external enemies of the Revolution prefer chaos, as Chávez states, as opposed to the just, ordered, peaceful development of the country,” he said in his reflection entitled “The brilliance of Chávez,” in January of 2012.</p>
<p>“Promoting a profound Revolution is no easy task in Venezuela, a country with a glorious history, but enormously rich in resources of vital necessity to imperialist powers, which have set and still set guidelines for the world,” he wrote.</p>
<p>“Given its extraordinary educational, cultural, and social development, and its vast natural and energy resources, Venezuela is called upon to become a revolutionary model for the world,” he added in another text, “The two Venezuelas,” published in October of 2011.</p>
<p>In a message to President Nicolás Maduro in March of 2015, Fidel noted that he had been able to “observe the attitude not only of the heroic people of Bolívar and Chávez, but also a special feature: the exemplary discipline and spirit of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces.</p>
<p>“Whatever U.S. imperialism may do, it will never be able to count on them to do what they did for so many years. Venezuela today has the best equipped soldiers and officers in Latin America. When you met with officers recently, one could note that they were ready to give even their last drop of blood for the homeland.”</p>
<p>THE LEFT AND LATIN AMERICAN UNITY</p>
<p>Perhaps one of the Comandante en Jefe’s most important speeches on the future of the left and the importance of unity in Latin America was delivered during the closing session of the fourth meeting of the São Paulo Forum, held in Havana’s International Conference Center, July 24, 1993.</p>
<p>The very creation of the Forum was an idea of his and Brazilian leader Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, after the collapse of the socialist camp and the disintegration of the Soviet Union. The first gathering, held in the Brazilian city which gave the group its name, served to chart a course for the struggle for justice under new conditions, and erase the defeatism that permeated a part of the left at that time.</p>
<p>The conference in Havana took on special value, since it was held in the only country upholding the banner of socialism in the region.</p>
<p>Fidel’s ideas and his call for unity despite differences were a premonition of what would happen years later after the creation of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).</p>
<p>“The greatness of Bolívar must be admired, when so early on he proposed the union of the peoples of Latin America, in an era when aviation did not exist, or automobiles, or locomotives, or the telegraph, or the telephone, or radio, or television. Today in a matter of seconds, one can contact anyone from Mexico to</p>
<p>Buenos Aires, and the news is disseminated simultaneously in all parts of the world; today in a matter of hours, one can travel thousands and thousands of kilometers; today there are fabulous means of communication. And Bolívar talked about the necessity of unifying Latin America, when none of this existed. Perhaps it might have been impossible at that time. Later, Martí was one of the most fervent defenders of Latin American unity, 80 years later, in another era, and he proposed it as a vital necessity for our peoples.</p>
<p>“Europe, that spent five centuries warring amongst themselves, would like to have the things that we Latin Americans and Caribbeans have in common. It is however working for integration, working for unity, and knows that it cannot compete with Japan if it does not integrate; it knows it cannot compete with the United States if it does not integrate; it knows it cannot play any role in the world if it does not integrate.</p>
<p>“How can we do less ourselves, and how can the left in Latin America do less that create consciousness in favor of unity? This must be inscribed on the banners of the left. With or without socialism. Those who think socialism is a possibility and want to struggle for socialism, but also those who do not conceive of socialism, even in capitalist countries, we have no future without unity, without integration.”</p>
<p>THE ENVIRONMENT AND SURVIVAL OF THE SPECIES</p>
<p>The decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement made by the White House comes at a time when scientists are making an increasingly urgent call to recognize the impact of human activity on the climate. Adopted by 159 countries in December of 2015, the agreement has as its objective the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change.</p>
<p>It specifically seeks to keep the increase in world temperatures below two degrees Celsius, as compared to pre-industrial era levels, while continuing to adopt measures to limit the rise to 1.5 degrees.</p>
<p>The departure of the United States, one of the world’s biggest polluters, puts the achievement of this objective at risk.</p>
<p>In a reflection written in January of 2011, entitled, “It’s time to do something now,” Fidel addressed the cynicism of great powers, writing, “At this time, humanity is confronting serious, unprecedented problems.</p>
<p>“The worst is that solutions will depend, in large part, on the richest developed countries, which will reach a situation that they are truly not in a position to confront without the destruction of the world, that they have been attempting to shape to favor their selfish interests, and inevitably leads to disaster,” the leader of the Cuban Revolution wrote.</p>
<p>“I refer to the food crisis caused by economic acts and climate changes that are already apparently irreversible as a consequence of human activity, but which, in any event, human minds are obliged to confront hastily.</p>
<p>“For years, which in reality was time lost, the issue has been discussed. But the greatest emitter of contaminating gases, the United States, regularly refuses to take world opinion into account.</p>
<p>It was also Fidel who in Río de Janeiro, in 1992, stated, “An important biological species is in danger of disappearing as a result of the rapid, progressive deterioration of its natural conditions: man.”</p>
<p>This warning, 25 years later in 2017, is more relevant that ever.</p>
<p>Sergio Alejandro Gómez writes for Granma.</p>
<p>This article originally appeared in <a href="http://en.granma.cu/" type="external">Granma International</a>.</p> | 4,409 |
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<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Gallup man to stand trial for murder of 16-year-old high school girl.</p>
<p>Kenneth Durante, 48, was ordered to go on trial for murder and evidence-tampering following a 6-hour preliminary hearing Monday before McKinley County Magistrate George Galanis, according to a report on KOB-TV’s Web site.</p>
<p>Durante is the second man ordered to stand trial in the killing of Felizia Hope Penaloza, 16, whose bound body was found on Sept. 12 lying in water beneath a bridge northwest of Gallup.</p>
<p>Authorities believe Penaloza, a student at Gallup High School, was killed some time between Sept. 3 and Sept. 5.</p>
<p>The other suspect, 30-year-old Joseph Evans, waived a preliminary hearing in Magistrate Court late last month and was ordered to stand trial for murder, kidnapping and tampering with evidence.</p>
<p>In Monday’s preliminary hearing, the judge did not find probable cause for Durante to stand trial for kidnapping, according to the KOB-TV story.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 1pm — Bound Over for Trial | false | https://abqjournal.com/22030/1pm-bound-over-for-trial.html | 2least
| 1pm — Bound Over for Trial
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<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Gallup man to stand trial for murder of 16-year-old high school girl.</p>
<p>Kenneth Durante, 48, was ordered to go on trial for murder and evidence-tampering following a 6-hour preliminary hearing Monday before McKinley County Magistrate George Galanis, according to a report on KOB-TV’s Web site.</p>
<p>Durante is the second man ordered to stand trial in the killing of Felizia Hope Penaloza, 16, whose bound body was found on Sept. 12 lying in water beneath a bridge northwest of Gallup.</p>
<p>Authorities believe Penaloza, a student at Gallup High School, was killed some time between Sept. 3 and Sept. 5.</p>
<p>The other suspect, 30-year-old Joseph Evans, waived a preliminary hearing in Magistrate Court late last month and was ordered to stand trial for murder, kidnapping and tampering with evidence.</p>
<p>In Monday’s preliminary hearing, the judge did not find probable cause for Durante to stand trial for kidnapping, according to the KOB-TV story.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 4,410 |
|
<p />
<p>Last fall, the U.S. restaurant industry hit a wall of worry it has so far been unable to climb. Foot traffic went into retreat, and profits at many chains followed suit. Six months into the so-called "restaurant recession," the news has yet to show that the industry is on the mend.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Total sales at restaurants have enjoyed strong growth ever since the Great Recession, and 2016 was no exception. Driven by a combination of increasingly confident consumers and steady growth in new restaurant locations, Americans' hunger for meals outside of the home has been impressive. Menu prices have also been on the rise, helping boost the figuresfurther. Spending was up nearly 6% in 2016 compared to the previous year.</p>
<p>Chart by author. Data source: U.S. Census Bureau's Monthly Retail Sales Report.</p>
<p>2017 is off to a similar start, with total sales up 2.4% compared with the first couple of months last year. While those positive figures are a good signthe economy is still growing, they can also be deceiving. Overall sales are up, but foot traffic at individual restaurant locations is shrinking at the fastest rate andover the longest periodsince 2009.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>During the third and fourth quarters of 2016, same-store sales (which accounts for traffic and average ticket size) declined 1.1% and 2.4%, respectively, according to TDn2K's monthly restaurant report. Comparable sales were flat and down 3.7% in January and February, respectively, to kick off 2017.</p>
<p>A number of issues like falling prices at the grocery store and the rising cost of necessities like rent and healthcare have been blamed for keeping people at home rather than dining out. But that isn't the main culprit, because nationwide sales are still on the rise. The numbers point to one key item being the primary problem: too many new restaurant openings fighting over limited growth in eating-out budgets.</p>
<p>This is a common problem when an industry experiences strong demand growth. Supply is increased to keep up with growing appetites, and if that appetite suddenly slows down, suppliers can find themselves running off of a cliff. The global oil industry found itself in a similar situation back in 2014, and it seems U.S. restaurants are experiencing it now.</p>
<p>With the industry cannibalizing itself thanks to over-optimisticexpansion, it looks like the "recession" isn't over yet. Despite this fact, many young national chains are still pushing the envelope with new openings. Fast-casual brands in particular continue to develop locations at aggressive rates, furthering the pain the industry is feeling overall. Here are a few notable examples:</p>
<p>Chart by author. Data sources: Shake Shack, Zoe's Kitchen, and Chipotle fourth-quarter 2016 earnings reports.</p>
<p>There might be light at the end of the tunnel, though, as business is expected to improve in the year ahead. Rising wages and continued improvement in employment could help put a floor under traffic declines. After all, when households get a raise, one of theitems in the family budget that gets a quick boost is eating out.</p>
<p>Image source: Zoe's Kitchen.</p>
<p>Restaurants could also get a bump in profitability in 2017as strong wage and benefits increases paid to employeesin the last year could begin to abate. While wages aren't going down, they are expected to grow at a slower rate than last year. Other benefits paid, like healthcare insurance premiums, have already been accounted for in many restaurant chain business models, so the impact there is also expected to slow. .</p>
<p>As a result of that improved outlook, restaurant stocks overall have rebounded.</p>
<p>Dow Jones US Restaurant and Bars Index. Data by <a href="http://ycharts.com" type="external">YCharts</a>.</p>
<p>General consensus is that foot traffic at fast-food and casual sit-down chains will suffer at the expense of the growing fast-casual space this year, a trend that has been in force for several years now. U.S. consumers want convenience, but not at the expense of food quality. Fast-casual is a sector to watch.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than Chipotle Mexican GrillWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*</p>
<p>David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the <a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=862ae63f-5799-45c1-94c8-89641527e036&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">10 best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now...and Chipotle Mexican Grill wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.</p>
<p><a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=862ae63f-5799-45c1-94c8-89641527e036&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</a> to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of February 6, 2017.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/nrossolillo/info.aspx" type="external">Nicholas Rossolillo Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of Zoe's Kitchen. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Chipotle Mexican Grill and Zoe's Kitchen. The Motley Fool is short Shake Shack. 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> | Is the Restaurant Recession Over? | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/04/08/is-restaurant-recession-over.html | 2017-04-08 | 0right
| Is the Restaurant Recession Over?
<p />
<p>Last fall, the U.S. restaurant industry hit a wall of worry it has so far been unable to climb. Foot traffic went into retreat, and profits at many chains followed suit. Six months into the so-called "restaurant recession," the news has yet to show that the industry is on the mend.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Total sales at restaurants have enjoyed strong growth ever since the Great Recession, and 2016 was no exception. Driven by a combination of increasingly confident consumers and steady growth in new restaurant locations, Americans' hunger for meals outside of the home has been impressive. Menu prices have also been on the rise, helping boost the figuresfurther. Spending was up nearly 6% in 2016 compared to the previous year.</p>
<p>Chart by author. Data source: U.S. Census Bureau's Monthly Retail Sales Report.</p>
<p>2017 is off to a similar start, with total sales up 2.4% compared with the first couple of months last year. While those positive figures are a good signthe economy is still growing, they can also be deceiving. Overall sales are up, but foot traffic at individual restaurant locations is shrinking at the fastest rate andover the longest periodsince 2009.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>During the third and fourth quarters of 2016, same-store sales (which accounts for traffic and average ticket size) declined 1.1% and 2.4%, respectively, according to TDn2K's monthly restaurant report. Comparable sales were flat and down 3.7% in January and February, respectively, to kick off 2017.</p>
<p>A number of issues like falling prices at the grocery store and the rising cost of necessities like rent and healthcare have been blamed for keeping people at home rather than dining out. But that isn't the main culprit, because nationwide sales are still on the rise. The numbers point to one key item being the primary problem: too many new restaurant openings fighting over limited growth in eating-out budgets.</p>
<p>This is a common problem when an industry experiences strong demand growth. Supply is increased to keep up with growing appetites, and if that appetite suddenly slows down, suppliers can find themselves running off of a cliff. The global oil industry found itself in a similar situation back in 2014, and it seems U.S. restaurants are experiencing it now.</p>
<p>With the industry cannibalizing itself thanks to over-optimisticexpansion, it looks like the "recession" isn't over yet. Despite this fact, many young national chains are still pushing the envelope with new openings. Fast-casual brands in particular continue to develop locations at aggressive rates, furthering the pain the industry is feeling overall. Here are a few notable examples:</p>
<p>Chart by author. Data sources: Shake Shack, Zoe's Kitchen, and Chipotle fourth-quarter 2016 earnings reports.</p>
<p>There might be light at the end of the tunnel, though, as business is expected to improve in the year ahead. Rising wages and continued improvement in employment could help put a floor under traffic declines. After all, when households get a raise, one of theitems in the family budget that gets a quick boost is eating out.</p>
<p>Image source: Zoe's Kitchen.</p>
<p>Restaurants could also get a bump in profitability in 2017as strong wage and benefits increases paid to employeesin the last year could begin to abate. While wages aren't going down, they are expected to grow at a slower rate than last year. Other benefits paid, like healthcare insurance premiums, have already been accounted for in many restaurant chain business models, so the impact there is also expected to slow. .</p>
<p>As a result of that improved outlook, restaurant stocks overall have rebounded.</p>
<p>Dow Jones US Restaurant and Bars Index. Data by <a href="http://ycharts.com" type="external">YCharts</a>.</p>
<p>General consensus is that foot traffic at fast-food and casual sit-down chains will suffer at the expense of the growing fast-casual space this year, a trend that has been in force for several years now. U.S. consumers want convenience, but not at the expense of food quality. Fast-casual is a sector to watch.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than Chipotle Mexican GrillWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*</p>
<p>David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the <a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=862ae63f-5799-45c1-94c8-89641527e036&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">10 best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now...and Chipotle Mexican Grill wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.</p>
<p><a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=862ae63f-5799-45c1-94c8-89641527e036&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</a> to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of February 6, 2017.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/nrossolillo/info.aspx" type="external">Nicholas Rossolillo Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of Zoe's Kitchen. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Chipotle Mexican Grill and Zoe's Kitchen. The Motley Fool is short Shake Shack. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | 4,411 |
<p>Colorado man, Wayne Watson, used to love to eat microwaved popcorn.</p>
<p>For 10 years, he would consume about two bags a day until he discovered the potentially dangerous consequences.</p>
<p>Watson developed bronchiolitis obliterans, dubbed "popcorn lung," which permanently scars airways and leaves victims fighting for breath.</p>
<p>The 59-year-old sued the manufacturer, Gilster-Mary Lee, and Kroger and Dillon Foods, the supermarket chains that sold the dangerous snack, claiming he developed the lung condition from&#160;inhaling the vapors of the additive diacetyl, which gives the popcorn its irresistibly buttery taste, <a href="http://denver.cbslocal.com/2012/09/19/centennial-man-wins-7m-in-popcorn-lung-case/" type="external">CBS Denver reported</a>.</p>
<p>Popcorn makers stopped using diacetyl in 2007 after it was linked to lung ailments in workers at plants where the popcorn was produced.</p>
<p>"[The popcorn makers] did absolutely no testing whatsoever that the consumer might be at risk," Watson, 59, told CBS Denver.</p>
<p>"The only experiment they did was go sell the product and see what happens. They rolled the dice and lost," said Watson.</p>
<p>The jury heard evidence from a doctor from National Jewish Hospital who diagnosed Watson's condition as "popcorn lung" five years ago.</p>
<p>It took the jurors almost two days of deliberations to reach their verdict, awarding Watson $7.2million.&#160;</p>
<p><a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/colorado-man-awarded-7-million-popcorn-lung-case-claimed-breathing-fumes-microwave-popcorn-damaged-lungs-article-1.1163543" type="external">The New York Daily News said</a>defense lawyers claimed the popcorn was not to blame for Watson's illness. They said he became sick from the chemicals used in his carpet-cleaning business.</p>
<p>"We are certainly very disappointed by the decision of the jury in this case in light of the very clear evidence which was presented, including the millions of consumers who have safely used and enjoyed microwave popcorn since it was introduced," Gilster-Mary Lee said in a statement.</p>
<p>Watson said he no longer eats microwaved popcorn, preferring to cook it on the stove the old-fashioned way.</p> | Man wins $7 million in 'popcorn lung' case | false | https://pri.org/stories/2012-09-20/man-wins-7-million-popcorn-lung-case | 2012-09-20 | 3left-center
| Man wins $7 million in 'popcorn lung' case
<p>Colorado man, Wayne Watson, used to love to eat microwaved popcorn.</p>
<p>For 10 years, he would consume about two bags a day until he discovered the potentially dangerous consequences.</p>
<p>Watson developed bronchiolitis obliterans, dubbed "popcorn lung," which permanently scars airways and leaves victims fighting for breath.</p>
<p>The 59-year-old sued the manufacturer, Gilster-Mary Lee, and Kroger and Dillon Foods, the supermarket chains that sold the dangerous snack, claiming he developed the lung condition from&#160;inhaling the vapors of the additive diacetyl, which gives the popcorn its irresistibly buttery taste, <a href="http://denver.cbslocal.com/2012/09/19/centennial-man-wins-7m-in-popcorn-lung-case/" type="external">CBS Denver reported</a>.</p>
<p>Popcorn makers stopped using diacetyl in 2007 after it was linked to lung ailments in workers at plants where the popcorn was produced.</p>
<p>"[The popcorn makers] did absolutely no testing whatsoever that the consumer might be at risk," Watson, 59, told CBS Denver.</p>
<p>"The only experiment they did was go sell the product and see what happens. They rolled the dice and lost," said Watson.</p>
<p>The jury heard evidence from a doctor from National Jewish Hospital who diagnosed Watson's condition as "popcorn lung" five years ago.</p>
<p>It took the jurors almost two days of deliberations to reach their verdict, awarding Watson $7.2million.&#160;</p>
<p><a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/colorado-man-awarded-7-million-popcorn-lung-case-claimed-breathing-fumes-microwave-popcorn-damaged-lungs-article-1.1163543" type="external">The New York Daily News said</a>defense lawyers claimed the popcorn was not to blame for Watson's illness. They said he became sick from the chemicals used in his carpet-cleaning business.</p>
<p>"We are certainly very disappointed by the decision of the jury in this case in light of the very clear evidence which was presented, including the millions of consumers who have safely used and enjoyed microwave popcorn since it was introduced," Gilster-Mary Lee said in a statement.</p>
<p>Watson said he no longer eats microwaved popcorn, preferring to cook it on the stove the old-fashioned way.</p> | 4,412 |
<p>By David Lawder</p>
<p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) – World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said on Thursday that the “vast majority” of the bank’s 189 member countries support a capital increase for the institution’s main lending arm and he hoped to soon set a deadline for a final decision.</p>
<p>Kim told a media conference call that members would discuss the issue at the World Bank and International Monetary Fund meetings next week, where he will also roll out a new initiative to encourage more investment in human capital and education.</p>
<p>“We are moving in a direction and the vast majority of countries now, we think, are on board and it’s just a question of when the capital increase will actually happen,” Kim said.</p>
<p>He views a capital increase for the World Bank Group’s International Bank for Reconstruction and Development as critical to his strategy of trying to mobilize more private capital for development by “de-risking” projects with World Bank backing and issuing more debt on capital markets.</p>
<p>“We definitely are focused on crowding in more private capital, but there is no way to do that without us having more capital ourselves,” Kim said. “I think now everybody on the board understands that.”</p>
<p>He said the bank has made the case for raising additional capital by showing the extent of demand for its lending and assistance and the outcome is now “a question of timing.”</p>
<p>However, Kim has one major obstacle to increasing the bank’s capital base: a reluctant Trump administration, which as the World Bank’s largest shareholder, effectively holds veto power over its decisions.</p>
<p>“Everybody’s willing to do this except for the United States at this point,” said Scott Morris, a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development, a Washington-based think tank. “We have to convince a new administration on the basic case. I think all the evidence is that they’re not there yet.”</p>
<p>Morris, a former U.S. Treasury official who oversaw U.S. membership in the World Bank and IMF Fund during the Obama administration, said the administration likely has some objections to the World Bank’s continued lending to China and some other large emerging market countries.</p>
<p>A Treasury spokesman did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment on the matter.</p>
<p>The World Bank in 2015 initially had set a goal of agreeing on a capital boost by the end of 2017, with a deal finalized at this year’s annual meetings.</p>
<p />
<p>Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.</p> | World Bank's Kim says most members 'on board' with capital hike | false | https://newsline.com/world-bank039s-kim-says-most-members-039on-board039-with-capital-hike/ | 2017-10-05 | 1right-center
| World Bank's Kim says most members 'on board' with capital hike
<p>By David Lawder</p>
<p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) – World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said on Thursday that the “vast majority” of the bank’s 189 member countries support a capital increase for the institution’s main lending arm and he hoped to soon set a deadline for a final decision.</p>
<p>Kim told a media conference call that members would discuss the issue at the World Bank and International Monetary Fund meetings next week, where he will also roll out a new initiative to encourage more investment in human capital and education.</p>
<p>“We are moving in a direction and the vast majority of countries now, we think, are on board and it’s just a question of when the capital increase will actually happen,” Kim said.</p>
<p>He views a capital increase for the World Bank Group’s International Bank for Reconstruction and Development as critical to his strategy of trying to mobilize more private capital for development by “de-risking” projects with World Bank backing and issuing more debt on capital markets.</p>
<p>“We definitely are focused on crowding in more private capital, but there is no way to do that without us having more capital ourselves,” Kim said. “I think now everybody on the board understands that.”</p>
<p>He said the bank has made the case for raising additional capital by showing the extent of demand for its lending and assistance and the outcome is now “a question of timing.”</p>
<p>However, Kim has one major obstacle to increasing the bank’s capital base: a reluctant Trump administration, which as the World Bank’s largest shareholder, effectively holds veto power over its decisions.</p>
<p>“Everybody’s willing to do this except for the United States at this point,” said Scott Morris, a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development, a Washington-based think tank. “We have to convince a new administration on the basic case. I think all the evidence is that they’re not there yet.”</p>
<p>Morris, a former U.S. Treasury official who oversaw U.S. membership in the World Bank and IMF Fund during the Obama administration, said the administration likely has some objections to the World Bank’s continued lending to China and some other large emerging market countries.</p>
<p>A Treasury spokesman did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment on the matter.</p>
<p>The World Bank in 2015 initially had set a goal of agreeing on a capital boost by the end of 2017, with a deal finalized at this year’s annual meetings.</p>
<p />
<p>Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.</p> | 4,413 |
<p>Andrew Klavan, who is a City Journal contributing editor, has <a href="http://www.city-journal.org/html/silent-nasty-14394.html" type="external">penned a column</a> that points out the hypocrisy of the Left’s disdain for the vulgar, vicious rhetoric displayed by Donald Trump. Klavan delineates how the Left has been employing the same tactics since the 1960’s.</p>
<p>Klavan begins, “As a proud right-winger, I’m appalled and disgusted by Donald Trump. Nonetheless, I feel a certain schadenfreudean glee at watching leftists reel in horror at his unbridled incivility. They truly don’t seem to realize: he is only the loud and manifest avatar of their own silent and invisible nastiness.”</p>
<p>After noting President Obama’s recent disingenuous claim that he was “dismayed” at the “vulgar and divisive rhetoric” evidenced in the GOP campaign, Obama continued, “In America, there is no law that says we have to be nice to each other, or courteous, or treat each other with respect,” the president said. “But there are norms. There are customs.”</p>
<p>Klavan bluntly asks, “Are there? When I hear this sort of thing from Obama and his fellow leftists, what I wonder is: Have they not listened to themselves for the past 50 years? Do they really have no idea how vicious, how low, how cruel, and how dishonest their attacks on the Right have been?” He answers, No, they haven’t; and, no, they don’t. The Democrat-monopolized media, which explodes with rage at any minor unmannerliness on the right, falls so silent at the Left’s almost ceaseless acrimony that leftists are never forced to confront what despicable little Trumps they often are.</p>
<p>Klavan then cites various occurrences of Democrats’ smears: Obama comparing GOP opposition to the Iranian nuclear deal by chortling,. “Those hard-liners chanting ‘Death to America.” They’re making common cause with the Republican caucus.” At the same time, Obama intoned, “There are norms. There are customs.”</p>
<p>Pointing out the devastation of black communities in Democrat-controlled cities such as Detroit and Baltimore, Klavan observes that Eric Holder accused administration critics of “racial animus,” and Vice President Joe Biden pontificated to a partly black audience that Republicans want to “put y’all back in chains.”</p>
<p>Klavan writes acidly, “Norms. Customs.” He continues, ‘’Such reflexive insults from the top die to nothing in the media’s left-wing echo chamber, leaving the rank-and-file free to imitate them without self-awareness or remorse. If a conservative expresses concern that Koranic ideas seem to be conducive to oppression and violence in every country where they hold sway, leftists label him “Islamophobic.” If he feels unborn children might have a right to life, leftists say he is a sexist waging war on women. If he feels that secure borders and the rule of law might be necessary to the maintenance of a sovereign nation, leftists cry that he’s a nativist who hates immigrants.”</p>
<p>Klavan then segues that leftists have redefined standard behavior with offensive phrases, such as “objectification of women” rather than men’s normal sexual yearnings; “racial profiling” instead of police doing their jobs to protect communities, and “climate deniers” (ala “Holocaust deniers,” for God’s sake) to vilify those who deny the climate change scam.</p>
<p>After explaining that political correctness assumes that the “human heart is infinitely malleable and that words can endlessly reshape the reality of its experience,” Klavan sarcastically targets the fantasies of the Left: “Force people to declare that all cultures are morally equal, and morally equal those cultures will become; demand we pretend that gender differences are a myth, and gender differences will disappear; shame us out of noticing the color of a criminal’s skin, and <a href="http://city-journal.org/html/stat-crimes-matter-14277.html" type="external">crime statistics</a> will lose their power.”</p>
<p>His stirring conclusion:</p>
<p>It is in seeking these transformations that the Left has felt blithely justified in sneering at opposing opinions it deems racist, sexist, or otherwise hateful. But it just doesn’t work. The eyes see what they see; the heart knows what it knows. Bottle up the human experience in silence, and it will ultimately break forth in rage. Thus, the result of these last 50 years of ceaseless left-wing incivility has been not a rainbow-striped paradise of social justice, but the utter collapse of our civic dialogue as the Right now responds with vulgar cruelty of its own. “Those to whom evil is done,” as the poet Auden wrote, “do evil in return.”</p>
<p>You might say to me, as my mother used to say, “Two wrongs don’t make a right.” But I say to you, as I used to say to my mother, “They started it.”</p>
<p>Andrew Klavan’s <a href="" type="internal">podcast</a> can be heard Monday through Thursday at The DailyWire.com.</p> | Klavan To Democrats: Trump Didn't Originate Nasty Rhetoric, You Did | true | https://dailywire.com/news/4975/klavan-democrats-trump-didnt-originate-nasty-hank-berrien | 2016-04-14 | 0right
| Klavan To Democrats: Trump Didn't Originate Nasty Rhetoric, You Did
<p>Andrew Klavan, who is a City Journal contributing editor, has <a href="http://www.city-journal.org/html/silent-nasty-14394.html" type="external">penned a column</a> that points out the hypocrisy of the Left’s disdain for the vulgar, vicious rhetoric displayed by Donald Trump. Klavan delineates how the Left has been employing the same tactics since the 1960’s.</p>
<p>Klavan begins, “As a proud right-winger, I’m appalled and disgusted by Donald Trump. Nonetheless, I feel a certain schadenfreudean glee at watching leftists reel in horror at his unbridled incivility. They truly don’t seem to realize: he is only the loud and manifest avatar of their own silent and invisible nastiness.”</p>
<p>After noting President Obama’s recent disingenuous claim that he was “dismayed” at the “vulgar and divisive rhetoric” evidenced in the GOP campaign, Obama continued, “In America, there is no law that says we have to be nice to each other, or courteous, or treat each other with respect,” the president said. “But there are norms. There are customs.”</p>
<p>Klavan bluntly asks, “Are there? When I hear this sort of thing from Obama and his fellow leftists, what I wonder is: Have they not listened to themselves for the past 50 years? Do they really have no idea how vicious, how low, how cruel, and how dishonest their attacks on the Right have been?” He answers, No, they haven’t; and, no, they don’t. The Democrat-monopolized media, which explodes with rage at any minor unmannerliness on the right, falls so silent at the Left’s almost ceaseless acrimony that leftists are never forced to confront what despicable little Trumps they often are.</p>
<p>Klavan then cites various occurrences of Democrats’ smears: Obama comparing GOP opposition to the Iranian nuclear deal by chortling,. “Those hard-liners chanting ‘Death to America.” They’re making common cause with the Republican caucus.” At the same time, Obama intoned, “There are norms. There are customs.”</p>
<p>Pointing out the devastation of black communities in Democrat-controlled cities such as Detroit and Baltimore, Klavan observes that Eric Holder accused administration critics of “racial animus,” and Vice President Joe Biden pontificated to a partly black audience that Republicans want to “put y’all back in chains.”</p>
<p>Klavan writes acidly, “Norms. Customs.” He continues, ‘’Such reflexive insults from the top die to nothing in the media’s left-wing echo chamber, leaving the rank-and-file free to imitate them without self-awareness or remorse. If a conservative expresses concern that Koranic ideas seem to be conducive to oppression and violence in every country where they hold sway, leftists label him “Islamophobic.” If he feels unborn children might have a right to life, leftists say he is a sexist waging war on women. If he feels that secure borders and the rule of law might be necessary to the maintenance of a sovereign nation, leftists cry that he’s a nativist who hates immigrants.”</p>
<p>Klavan then segues that leftists have redefined standard behavior with offensive phrases, such as “objectification of women” rather than men’s normal sexual yearnings; “racial profiling” instead of police doing their jobs to protect communities, and “climate deniers” (ala “Holocaust deniers,” for God’s sake) to vilify those who deny the climate change scam.</p>
<p>After explaining that political correctness assumes that the “human heart is infinitely malleable and that words can endlessly reshape the reality of its experience,” Klavan sarcastically targets the fantasies of the Left: “Force people to declare that all cultures are morally equal, and morally equal those cultures will become; demand we pretend that gender differences are a myth, and gender differences will disappear; shame us out of noticing the color of a criminal’s skin, and <a href="http://city-journal.org/html/stat-crimes-matter-14277.html" type="external">crime statistics</a> will lose their power.”</p>
<p>His stirring conclusion:</p>
<p>It is in seeking these transformations that the Left has felt blithely justified in sneering at opposing opinions it deems racist, sexist, or otherwise hateful. But it just doesn’t work. The eyes see what they see; the heart knows what it knows. Bottle up the human experience in silence, and it will ultimately break forth in rage. Thus, the result of these last 50 years of ceaseless left-wing incivility has been not a rainbow-striped paradise of social justice, but the utter collapse of our civic dialogue as the Right now responds with vulgar cruelty of its own. “Those to whom evil is done,” as the poet Auden wrote, “do evil in return.”</p>
<p>You might say to me, as my mother used to say, “Two wrongs don’t make a right.” But I say to you, as I used to say to my mother, “They started it.”</p>
<p>Andrew Klavan’s <a href="" type="internal">podcast</a> can be heard Monday through Thursday at The DailyWire.com.</p> | 4,414 |
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<p>COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — A Colorado resort said Wednesday that it will not host a conference organized by a national anti-immigration group following criticism in the wake of violent protests in Charlottesville, Virginia.</p>
<p>The Cheyenne Mountain Resort in Colorado Springs did not offer any explanation or comment on the cancellation of the VDARE Foundation conference that had been planned for April, other than saying that it “remained committed to respecting the privacy guests at the resort.”</p>
<p>The Connecticut-based VDARE Foundation, a tax exempt charity, posted a notice about the event being canceled on its website, along with another one telling supporters that PayPal had kicked it off its payment service without warning for avoiding its use terms.</p>
<p>The organizer of the white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Jason Kessler, is a contributing writer to VDARE’s website. But group founder Peter Brimelow says the group does not advocate violence and had nothing to do with the rally.</p>
<p>“Cheyenne Mountain Resort’s cancellation is a further example of what President Trump has correctly called the Alt-Left: a conspiracy against the civil liberties of Americans by internet vigilantes,” he wrote on the website Wednesday night.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Elsewhere on the website he told supporters that he suspected it was kicked off PayPal over Charlottesville, which he said “is being used as an excuse for the authoritarian Communist Left to punish anyone who disagrees with their anti-American violence against patriotic people.”</p>
<p>He has previously denied that his group and website, named after Virginia Dare, the first English child born in North America in 1587, is white nationalist. But Brimelow has acknowledged it publishes works by writers who fit that description “in the sense that they aim to defend the interests of American whites.”</p>
<p>The group planned to hold a conference at a lodge in Yosemite National Park earlier this year. But its private operator canceled, saying hosting the event would violate its values.</p>
<p>Opponents of the Colorado gathering launched an online petition to pressure the resort to back out. On Tuesday, Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers, a Republican and former state attorney general, said the city would not provide any support or resources for the gathering and said it was committed to enforcing anti-discrimination laws.</p>
<p>“I know I am joined by many Colorado Springs residents when I say I appreciate Cheyenne Mountain Resort’s action to cancel this conference, and its conscientious decision not to bring this group to Colorado Springs,” he said Wednesday.</p> | Colorado resort won’t host anti-immigration conference | false | https://abqjournal.com/1048913/immigration-reform-group-wont-hold-conference-in-colorado.html | 2017-08-16 | 2least
| Colorado resort won’t host anti-immigration conference
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — A Colorado resort said Wednesday that it will not host a conference organized by a national anti-immigration group following criticism in the wake of violent protests in Charlottesville, Virginia.</p>
<p>The Cheyenne Mountain Resort in Colorado Springs did not offer any explanation or comment on the cancellation of the VDARE Foundation conference that had been planned for April, other than saying that it “remained committed to respecting the privacy guests at the resort.”</p>
<p>The Connecticut-based VDARE Foundation, a tax exempt charity, posted a notice about the event being canceled on its website, along with another one telling supporters that PayPal had kicked it off its payment service without warning for avoiding its use terms.</p>
<p>The organizer of the white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Jason Kessler, is a contributing writer to VDARE’s website. But group founder Peter Brimelow says the group does not advocate violence and had nothing to do with the rally.</p>
<p>“Cheyenne Mountain Resort’s cancellation is a further example of what President Trump has correctly called the Alt-Left: a conspiracy against the civil liberties of Americans by internet vigilantes,” he wrote on the website Wednesday night.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Elsewhere on the website he told supporters that he suspected it was kicked off PayPal over Charlottesville, which he said “is being used as an excuse for the authoritarian Communist Left to punish anyone who disagrees with their anti-American violence against patriotic people.”</p>
<p>He has previously denied that his group and website, named after Virginia Dare, the first English child born in North America in 1587, is white nationalist. But Brimelow has acknowledged it publishes works by writers who fit that description “in the sense that they aim to defend the interests of American whites.”</p>
<p>The group planned to hold a conference at a lodge in Yosemite National Park earlier this year. But its private operator canceled, saying hosting the event would violate its values.</p>
<p>Opponents of the Colorado gathering launched an online petition to pressure the resort to back out. On Tuesday, Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers, a Republican and former state attorney general, said the city would not provide any support or resources for the gathering and said it was committed to enforcing anti-discrimination laws.</p>
<p>“I know I am joined by many Colorado Springs residents when I say I appreciate Cheyenne Mountain Resort’s action to cancel this conference, and its conscientious decision not to bring this group to Colorado Springs,” he said Wednesday.</p> | 4,415 |
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<p />
<p>Ringing in a new year is an opportunity to focus on the future and can provide the momentum needed to set new goals and challenge ourselves in a new way. As 2013 begins, New Mexico faces such a defining opportunity in education.</p>
<p>On the one hand, there is the aspiration of the state’s “Kids First, New Mexico Wins” plan, which provides a focus on school accountability, early literacy and higher standards for all students, regardless of ZIP code or family income, race or ethnicity. New Mexico also has ambitious plans to better identify, recruit and keep its most effective teachers.</p>
<p>On the other hand, there is the status quo.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>For the first time in state history, New Mexico’s young people face the likelihood of being less educated than their parents. According to the Nation’s Report Card from the U.S. Department of Education, New Mexico fourth-graders rank 49th in the United States in reading and 48th in mathematics. The achievement gap between poor and minority students and their Anglo peers is enormous.</p>
<p>The higher education landscape is grim as well.</p>
<p>At a time when we must educate more students to higher levels than ever before, only one percent of New Mexico students who enroll in a four-year institution after high school actually graduate in four years.</p>
<p>By the end of the decade, more than 60 percent of jobs in New Mexico will require a career certificate or degree. But, today, only about 30 percent of adults in the state currently have such qualifications.</p>
<p>As we look ahead, what will it take to make New Mexico schools work better in 2013?</p>
<p>First, it requires will and resolve. We must refuse to accept the myth that some students can’t learn. We must recognize that what gets measured is what gets done and we must stand by testing systems that expose our education shortcomings even when that makes us uncomfortable.</p>
<p>Honest transparency about student and school performance provides educators with critical information that allows them to move forward with a compass rather than searching for solutions to misunderstood challenges and without understanding what is working for which students, where and when.</p>
<p>With compass in hand, state, district and school leaders must work to connect our best and brightest teachers with the kids who need them most and reward those teachers for their hard work.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The bottom line: when it comes to our schools, adults must face difficult truths, do the hard work required to rectify them and truly hold ourselves accountable for the results.</p>
<p>All of us — parents, teachers, school administrators, business leaders, and public officials — are in this together.</p>
<p>New Year’s resolutions, more often than not, are pledges we make rather than promises we keep. It can’t be that way with education.</p>
<p>The great promise of America has always been that each individual — with a dream, an education and an opportunity — can forge a path to a meaningful and prosperous life for themselves and provide their children with the tools to do the same.</p>
<p>Let’s rededicate ourselves to that promise in 2013. Our future depends on it.</p>
<p>Margaret Spellings is president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation. This week, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for a Competitive Workforce brought its Breaking the Monopoly of Mediocrity tour to Albuquerque.</p> | N.M. Must Set 2013 Education Goals | false | https://abqjournal.com/158624/nm-must-set-2013-education-goals.html | 2013-01-09 | 2least
| N.M. Must Set 2013 Education Goals
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<p />
<p>Ringing in a new year is an opportunity to focus on the future and can provide the momentum needed to set new goals and challenge ourselves in a new way. As 2013 begins, New Mexico faces such a defining opportunity in education.</p>
<p>On the one hand, there is the aspiration of the state’s “Kids First, New Mexico Wins” plan, which provides a focus on school accountability, early literacy and higher standards for all students, regardless of ZIP code or family income, race or ethnicity. New Mexico also has ambitious plans to better identify, recruit and keep its most effective teachers.</p>
<p>On the other hand, there is the status quo.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>For the first time in state history, New Mexico’s young people face the likelihood of being less educated than their parents. According to the Nation’s Report Card from the U.S. Department of Education, New Mexico fourth-graders rank 49th in the United States in reading and 48th in mathematics. The achievement gap between poor and minority students and their Anglo peers is enormous.</p>
<p>The higher education landscape is grim as well.</p>
<p>At a time when we must educate more students to higher levels than ever before, only one percent of New Mexico students who enroll in a four-year institution after high school actually graduate in four years.</p>
<p>By the end of the decade, more than 60 percent of jobs in New Mexico will require a career certificate or degree. But, today, only about 30 percent of adults in the state currently have such qualifications.</p>
<p>As we look ahead, what will it take to make New Mexico schools work better in 2013?</p>
<p>First, it requires will and resolve. We must refuse to accept the myth that some students can’t learn. We must recognize that what gets measured is what gets done and we must stand by testing systems that expose our education shortcomings even when that makes us uncomfortable.</p>
<p>Honest transparency about student and school performance provides educators with critical information that allows them to move forward with a compass rather than searching for solutions to misunderstood challenges and without understanding what is working for which students, where and when.</p>
<p>With compass in hand, state, district and school leaders must work to connect our best and brightest teachers with the kids who need them most and reward those teachers for their hard work.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The bottom line: when it comes to our schools, adults must face difficult truths, do the hard work required to rectify them and truly hold ourselves accountable for the results.</p>
<p>All of us — parents, teachers, school administrators, business leaders, and public officials — are in this together.</p>
<p>New Year’s resolutions, more often than not, are pledges we make rather than promises we keep. It can’t be that way with education.</p>
<p>The great promise of America has always been that each individual — with a dream, an education and an opportunity — can forge a path to a meaningful and prosperous life for themselves and provide their children with the tools to do the same.</p>
<p>Let’s rededicate ourselves to that promise in 2013. Our future depends on it.</p>
<p>Margaret Spellings is president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation. This week, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for a Competitive Workforce brought its Breaking the Monopoly of Mediocrity tour to Albuquerque.</p> | 4,416 |
<p>WASHINGTON (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday evening’s drawing of the Dist. of Columbia Lottery’s “DC 5 Evening” game were:</p>
<p>9-4-5-0-8</p>
<p>(nine, four, five, zero, eight)</p>
<p>WASHINGTON (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday evening’s drawing of the Dist. of Columbia Lottery’s “DC 5 Evening” game were:</p>
<p>9-4-5-0-8</p>
<p>(nine, four, five, zero, eight)</p> | Winning numbers drawn in ‘DC 5 Evening’ game | false | https://apnews.com/7100eadeec184c279f73361519ef620c | 2018-01-26 | 2least
| Winning numbers drawn in ‘DC 5 Evening’ game
<p>WASHINGTON (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday evening’s drawing of the Dist. of Columbia Lottery’s “DC 5 Evening” game were:</p>
<p>9-4-5-0-8</p>
<p>(nine, four, five, zero, eight)</p>
<p>WASHINGTON (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday evening’s drawing of the Dist. of Columbia Lottery’s “DC 5 Evening” game were:</p>
<p>9-4-5-0-8</p>
<p>(nine, four, five, zero, eight)</p> | 4,417 |
<p>They might be famous – but they’re still someone’s daughter. Celeb entrepreneurs from Heidi Klum to Ivanka Trump dish on the best business advice Mom gave them.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>What she’s working on: Aside from being one of the world’s most famous supermodels, Heidi Klum is juggling a judging gig on America’s Got Talent, hosting Germany’s Next Top Model and executive producing and judging Project Runway.</p>
<p>And as if that weren’t enough, she just launched her new Heidi Klum for New Balance collection, and designed a collection for Babies ”R” Us called Truly Scrumptious by Heidi Klum.</p>
<p>Best lesson she learned from Mom: “My mom was a hairdresser, so she was always trying out new styles and techniques on me. Because of this, the best advice she has given me is to pursue what I really love, even if it requires me to explore areas of work that I am not familiar with.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>For example, I always wanted to be a designer growing up and even though I started off in the modeling world, I wasn’t going to let that stop me from pursuing my other dreams.</p>
<p>And now, even though it took a few years, I am a model, TV producer and host, and designer all in one. I definitely attribute that to having a great mother who always told me never to give up."</p>
<p>Even today, Klum still seeks her mom out for business advice.</p>
<p>“If you want an honest answer, ask your parents!,” says Klum.</p>
<p>What she’s working on: In addition to overseeing the $200 million renovation of Miami’s iconic Doral resort and a project in Washington, D.C., Ivanka Trump just launched her eponymous debut fragrance. Next up? She’s adding an accessories and home décor line, which will complement her already successful shoe collection, also called Ivanka Trump.</p>
<p>Best business lesson from Mom: “My mother taught me attention to detail is essential. This applies to every aspect of my career,” Trump says, from her interior and fashion projects to negotiating a deal.</p>
<p>“I never want to overlook something important and this advice serves as a great reminder to pay close attention to even the most minor aspects of my businesses,” she adds.</p>
<p>Additionally, Trump says she’s not afraid to go to either of her parents to pick their brains. “I’m always willing to ask advice and get their opinions, because I know I will be better for it in the end,” she says.</p>
<p>What she’s working on: When it comes to America’s most famous blonde, the better question is, “What isn’t she working on?” From racecar driver to engineer and from architect to veterinarian, Barbie has had pretty much every career a doll could dream of.</p>
<p>Best business lesson from Mom: The iconic brand, Barbie was created in 1959 by her “mom” Ruth Handler. “I have to tip my pink hat to my creator Ruth Handler who believed in shattering that glass ceiling and providing girls with a way to play out all their dreams and aspirations -- after all, she is the reason I am here,” says Barbie’s spokesperson.</p>
<p>What she’s working on: Rosie Pope, star of Bravo’s “Pregnant in Heels,” got her start making custom maternity gowns and knits, but realized that she “wasn’t reaching all the women that [she] wanted to reach.” So, she began adding custom education and concierge packages to her offerings, guiding clients through pregnancy and early motherhood.</p>
<p>“I am now proud to say we [offer] clothing that ranges from $40 to $295, and classes from complimentary to $250,” says Pope. And for new moms out there, Pope’s next project will be hosting the New York Baby Show on May 18th and 19th.</p>
<p>Best business lesson from Mom: Pope’s mom shaped the outlook that has allowed her to succeed: “Be present in everything you do.” But now, she turns to her mother for support more than business advice, helping her out at “the end of a hard day.”</p>
<p>What she’s working on: Gretchen Rossi, a star of Bravo’s “Real Housewives of Orange County,” worked as a successful realtor for many years. Recently, she launched her own brand, The Gretchen Christine Collection, which consists of beauty, handbag and swimwear lines.</p>
<p>“My goal with Gretchen Christine is to make it a lifestyle brand and eventually move into all categories within the beauty and fashion spaces,” says Rossi.</p>
<p>Best lesson from Mom: Rossi says her mother taught her how to achieve, showing her the importance of having “drive, focus, passion and commitment to reach your goals.”</p>
<p>Even though she’s a success in her own right, Rossi still turns to her mom for help with everything from software programs to accounting and customer service questions.</p>
<p>Talking about both parents, Rossi says, “I sincerely admire and trust them as successful entrepreneurs that started from the ground up.”</p> | Heidi Klum, Ivanka Trump and More Celeb Entrepreneurs on Mom’s Best Business Advice | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2013/05/10/celebrity-entrepreneurs-on-best-lessons-learned-from-mom.html | 2016-06-14 | 0right
| Heidi Klum, Ivanka Trump and More Celeb Entrepreneurs on Mom’s Best Business Advice
<p>They might be famous – but they’re still someone’s daughter. Celeb entrepreneurs from Heidi Klum to Ivanka Trump dish on the best business advice Mom gave them.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>What she’s working on: Aside from being one of the world’s most famous supermodels, Heidi Klum is juggling a judging gig on America’s Got Talent, hosting Germany’s Next Top Model and executive producing and judging Project Runway.</p>
<p>And as if that weren’t enough, she just launched her new Heidi Klum for New Balance collection, and designed a collection for Babies ”R” Us called Truly Scrumptious by Heidi Klum.</p>
<p>Best lesson she learned from Mom: “My mom was a hairdresser, so she was always trying out new styles and techniques on me. Because of this, the best advice she has given me is to pursue what I really love, even if it requires me to explore areas of work that I am not familiar with.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>For example, I always wanted to be a designer growing up and even though I started off in the modeling world, I wasn’t going to let that stop me from pursuing my other dreams.</p>
<p>And now, even though it took a few years, I am a model, TV producer and host, and designer all in one. I definitely attribute that to having a great mother who always told me never to give up."</p>
<p>Even today, Klum still seeks her mom out for business advice.</p>
<p>“If you want an honest answer, ask your parents!,” says Klum.</p>
<p>What she’s working on: In addition to overseeing the $200 million renovation of Miami’s iconic Doral resort and a project in Washington, D.C., Ivanka Trump just launched her eponymous debut fragrance. Next up? She’s adding an accessories and home décor line, which will complement her already successful shoe collection, also called Ivanka Trump.</p>
<p>Best business lesson from Mom: “My mother taught me attention to detail is essential. This applies to every aspect of my career,” Trump says, from her interior and fashion projects to negotiating a deal.</p>
<p>“I never want to overlook something important and this advice serves as a great reminder to pay close attention to even the most minor aspects of my businesses,” she adds.</p>
<p>Additionally, Trump says she’s not afraid to go to either of her parents to pick their brains. “I’m always willing to ask advice and get their opinions, because I know I will be better for it in the end,” she says.</p>
<p>What she’s working on: When it comes to America’s most famous blonde, the better question is, “What isn’t she working on?” From racecar driver to engineer and from architect to veterinarian, Barbie has had pretty much every career a doll could dream of.</p>
<p>Best business lesson from Mom: The iconic brand, Barbie was created in 1959 by her “mom” Ruth Handler. “I have to tip my pink hat to my creator Ruth Handler who believed in shattering that glass ceiling and providing girls with a way to play out all their dreams and aspirations -- after all, she is the reason I am here,” says Barbie’s spokesperson.</p>
<p>What she’s working on: Rosie Pope, star of Bravo’s “Pregnant in Heels,” got her start making custom maternity gowns and knits, but realized that she “wasn’t reaching all the women that [she] wanted to reach.” So, she began adding custom education and concierge packages to her offerings, guiding clients through pregnancy and early motherhood.</p>
<p>“I am now proud to say we [offer] clothing that ranges from $40 to $295, and classes from complimentary to $250,” says Pope. And for new moms out there, Pope’s next project will be hosting the New York Baby Show on May 18th and 19th.</p>
<p>Best business lesson from Mom: Pope’s mom shaped the outlook that has allowed her to succeed: “Be present in everything you do.” But now, she turns to her mother for support more than business advice, helping her out at “the end of a hard day.”</p>
<p>What she’s working on: Gretchen Rossi, a star of Bravo’s “Real Housewives of Orange County,” worked as a successful realtor for many years. Recently, she launched her own brand, The Gretchen Christine Collection, which consists of beauty, handbag and swimwear lines.</p>
<p>“My goal with Gretchen Christine is to make it a lifestyle brand and eventually move into all categories within the beauty and fashion spaces,” says Rossi.</p>
<p>Best lesson from Mom: Rossi says her mother taught her how to achieve, showing her the importance of having “drive, focus, passion and commitment to reach your goals.”</p>
<p>Even though she’s a success in her own right, Rossi still turns to her mom for help with everything from software programs to accounting and customer service questions.</p>
<p>Talking about both parents, Rossi says, “I sincerely admire and trust them as successful entrepreneurs that started from the ground up.”</p> | 4,418 |
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<p>Carlsbad leaders are urging New Mexico and the U.S. Department of Energy to reach a speedy resolution to the brewing fight over the state’s decision to levy $54 million in fines for failings at Los Alamos and WIPP that led to a radiation leak last year.</p>
<p>The city of Carlsbad, Eddy County and Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce are expected to sign an open letter to Gov. Susana Martinez, state Environment Secretary Ryan Flynn and U.S. Energy Sec. Ernest Moniz – as well as congressional delegations from all states with DOE facilities – making their case.</p>
<p>The “WIPP Resolution” argues that New Mexico has the right to fine the federal government, and DOE should not subtract funds to pay the fines from site budgets, “which takes money away from cleanup activities in the community most impacted by DOE’s violation of the law.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>It also contends that fines “should not be considered a revenue-enhancing vehicle” and should be used solely “to improve the status and safety of the WIPP project.”</p>
<p>The city and Carlsbad Department of Development have already adopted the resolution. Eddy County and the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce are expected to vote on the resolution in the coming days.</p>
<p>“It is very important that this gets resolved and gets resolved as soon as possible,” said John Heaton, chairman of the Carlsbad Mayor’s Nuclear Task Force.</p>
<p>Settlement discussions have been underway since the Environment Department in December issued a compliance order requiring DOE to pay $36.6 million for permit violations at Los Alamos National Laboratory and $17.7 million for permit violations at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant.</p>
<p>The fines correspond to failings at both facilities that the DOE largely admitted to in its own accident investigation reports on a Feb. 14, 2014, WIPP radiation leak that originated in a drum of Los Alamos waste.</p>
<p>But the DOE took a hard line in its legal response to the compliance order in January, calling the fines “arbitrary” and challenging the state’s ability to fine the federal government.</p>
<p>A hearing is scheduled for July.</p>
<p>Flynn warned last month that another $100 million in fines for additional permit violations could be on the table if an agreement isn’t reached with the DOE.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>However, Flynn described the ongoing negotiations as “productive” and said “there has been high-level engagement.”</p>
<p>WIPP will need permit modifications from NMED before it can reopen, a public process “that could take two years and affect the opening date of WIPP,” Heaton said.</p>
<p>That process is unlikely to get underway before the fines are reconciled, he said.</p>
<p>“I don’t see that these negotiations are the biggest obstacle to WIPP reopening,” Flynn said. “There are a lot of other issues that need to be addressed in order to move forward. We have to make sure that when we do open that it’s safe for the men and women who have to go back underground and for the citizens of the state who have to have the waste moving on highways.”</p>
<p>“I think from the community’s standpoint the idea is to encourage everyone to get to the table and get this thing resolved,” said John Waters, executive director of Carlsbad’s Department of Development. “It’s a sentiment across town.”</p>
<p />
<p /> | Carlsbad-area leaders weigh in on WIPP fine | false | https://abqjournal.com/554691/hedline-goes-hereryhery-hed-plz.html | 2least
| Carlsbad-area leaders weigh in on WIPP fine
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Carlsbad leaders are urging New Mexico and the U.S. Department of Energy to reach a speedy resolution to the brewing fight over the state’s decision to levy $54 million in fines for failings at Los Alamos and WIPP that led to a radiation leak last year.</p>
<p>The city of Carlsbad, Eddy County and Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce are expected to sign an open letter to Gov. Susana Martinez, state Environment Secretary Ryan Flynn and U.S. Energy Sec. Ernest Moniz – as well as congressional delegations from all states with DOE facilities – making their case.</p>
<p>The “WIPP Resolution” argues that New Mexico has the right to fine the federal government, and DOE should not subtract funds to pay the fines from site budgets, “which takes money away from cleanup activities in the community most impacted by DOE’s violation of the law.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>It also contends that fines “should not be considered a revenue-enhancing vehicle” and should be used solely “to improve the status and safety of the WIPP project.”</p>
<p>The city and Carlsbad Department of Development have already adopted the resolution. Eddy County and the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce are expected to vote on the resolution in the coming days.</p>
<p>“It is very important that this gets resolved and gets resolved as soon as possible,” said John Heaton, chairman of the Carlsbad Mayor’s Nuclear Task Force.</p>
<p>Settlement discussions have been underway since the Environment Department in December issued a compliance order requiring DOE to pay $36.6 million for permit violations at Los Alamos National Laboratory and $17.7 million for permit violations at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant.</p>
<p>The fines correspond to failings at both facilities that the DOE largely admitted to in its own accident investigation reports on a Feb. 14, 2014, WIPP radiation leak that originated in a drum of Los Alamos waste.</p>
<p>But the DOE took a hard line in its legal response to the compliance order in January, calling the fines “arbitrary” and challenging the state’s ability to fine the federal government.</p>
<p>A hearing is scheduled for July.</p>
<p>Flynn warned last month that another $100 million in fines for additional permit violations could be on the table if an agreement isn’t reached with the DOE.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>However, Flynn described the ongoing negotiations as “productive” and said “there has been high-level engagement.”</p>
<p>WIPP will need permit modifications from NMED before it can reopen, a public process “that could take two years and affect the opening date of WIPP,” Heaton said.</p>
<p>That process is unlikely to get underway before the fines are reconciled, he said.</p>
<p>“I don’t see that these negotiations are the biggest obstacle to WIPP reopening,” Flynn said. “There are a lot of other issues that need to be addressed in order to move forward. We have to make sure that when we do open that it’s safe for the men and women who have to go back underground and for the citizens of the state who have to have the waste moving on highways.”</p>
<p>“I think from the community’s standpoint the idea is to encourage everyone to get to the table and get this thing resolved,” said John Waters, executive director of Carlsbad’s Department of Development. “It’s a sentiment across town.”</p>
<p />
<p /> | 4,419 |
|
<p>WHOA. NBC News <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/21/sean-spicer-resigns-as-white-house-press-secretary-after-objecting-to-scaramucci-hire-nyt.html" type="external">reports</a>:</p>
<p>President Donald Trump’s press secretary Sean Spicer has resigned after opposing Trump’s appointment of Anthony Scaramucci as communications director, NBC has confirmed with two people familiar with the matter.</p>
<p>A source close to the White House told NBC that Scaramucci met with Trump and it went well. When NBC asked whether Trump would change is mind, the source said the president’s mind is made up. But Trump chief of staff Reince Priebus and top adviser Steve Bannon had resisted the appointment, NBC News reported Friday. It said the two were kept out of the loop on the decision.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p /> | BREAKING: WH Press Secretary Sean Spicer Resigns | true | http://joemygod.com/2017/07/21/breaking-sean-spicer-resigns/ | 2017-07-21 | 4left
| BREAKING: WH Press Secretary Sean Spicer Resigns
<p>WHOA. NBC News <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/21/sean-spicer-resigns-as-white-house-press-secretary-after-objecting-to-scaramucci-hire-nyt.html" type="external">reports</a>:</p>
<p>President Donald Trump’s press secretary Sean Spicer has resigned after opposing Trump’s appointment of Anthony Scaramucci as communications director, NBC has confirmed with two people familiar with the matter.</p>
<p>A source close to the White House told NBC that Scaramucci met with Trump and it went well. When NBC asked whether Trump would change is mind, the source said the president’s mind is made up. But Trump chief of staff Reince Priebus and top adviser Steve Bannon had resisted the appointment, NBC News reported Friday. It said the two were kept out of the loop on the decision.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p /> | 4,420 |
<p>Sorry, Hillary, she’s just not that into you.</p>
<p>During a campaign rally in Eau Claire, Wisconsin on Saturday, at least one campaign supporter seemed to be less than impressed with Clinton’s presentation.</p>
<p>The woman, positioned by the campaign perfectly in front of the cameras and standing right behind the candidate, repeatedly yawned and clapped tepidly throughout the Democratic front runner’s remarks.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>At one point, she held up her “Fighting For Us” rally sign over her face to try to conceal her yawn, but even that didn’t seem to help.</p>
<p>Liz Kreutz of ABC News <a href="https://twitter.com/ABCLiz/status/716372614311186433" type="external">tweeted</a> that about 850 people attended the rally.</p>
<p>By comparison, Kreutz reports Clinton rival Bernie Sanders was in the same town earlier in the day and was greeted by a crowd of 3,400.</p> | VIDEO: Hillary supporter yawns throughout speech | true | http://theamericanmirror.com/video-hillary-supporter-yawns-throughout-speech/ | 2016-04-03 | 0right
| VIDEO: Hillary supporter yawns throughout speech
<p>Sorry, Hillary, she’s just not that into you.</p>
<p>During a campaign rally in Eau Claire, Wisconsin on Saturday, at least one campaign supporter seemed to be less than impressed with Clinton’s presentation.</p>
<p>The woman, positioned by the campaign perfectly in front of the cameras and standing right behind the candidate, repeatedly yawned and clapped tepidly throughout the Democratic front runner’s remarks.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>At one point, she held up her “Fighting For Us” rally sign over her face to try to conceal her yawn, but even that didn’t seem to help.</p>
<p>Liz Kreutz of ABC News <a href="https://twitter.com/ABCLiz/status/716372614311186433" type="external">tweeted</a> that about 850 people attended the rally.</p>
<p>By comparison, Kreutz reports Clinton rival Bernie Sanders was in the same town earlier in the day and was greeted by a crowd of 3,400.</p> | 4,421 |
<p />
<p>The recent sell-off in equities has been violent, and while it’s natural to be gun shy after such extreme volatility, investors should continue to take the long view. Going forward, the game plan should be to take advantage of dislocations by patiently buying assets that have been disproportionately technically impacted, but not fundamentally impaired.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>We can’t predict what will happen the next few days or weeks, but given the strength of the U.S. economy and European recovery, coupled with expected Fed patience and European Central Bank Quantitative Easing, we would be surprised if equities are not meaningfully higher in 6 to 12 months. However, not all assets are created equal, and it’s important to make the distinction between technical and fundamental damage.</p>
<p>1. Avoid anything that has been fundamentally impaired.</p>
<p>a.&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; Emerging markets are suffering from slowing growth, China’s competitive devaluation, deteriorating currencies, elevated geo-political risk, plummeting commodity prices and no clear catalyst even when the knife stops falling.</p>
<p>b.&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; With regard to China, all negatives relating to emerging markets are compounded by the fact nobody has any idea what’s actually going on there. The economy is trending worse and disturbing (and ineffective) government intervention in financial markets could signal that things are far worse than the government is letting on.</p>
<p>c.&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; The commodities supercycle that began in 2000 is now unwinding in spectacular fashion (as they always do). Where should oil/copper/iron ore/etc. trade? Nobody knows, but the steep decline is being driven by imploding fundamentals (too much supply, not enough demand).</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>d.&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; Many will argue that everything is getting cheap, and it may be, but it can get a lot cheaper before it rebounds, if it rebounds at all.</p>
<p>2. Look to buy assets with short-term technical challenges but strong fundamentals.</p>
<p>a.&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; The Healthcare sector is enjoying strong growth and cheap valuations, with the recent selling driven by technicals and management’s maniacal focus on boosting shareholder returns. In addition, accretive consolidation should continue after recent regulatory changes.</p>
<p>b.&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; U.S. consumer stocks, especially those with a high percentage of domestic sales, are the brightest spot of the brightest economy in the world. The American consumer is deleveraged, rationally cautious and enjoying all-time low debt-service costs, a rebounding housing market, an improving labor market, low but real wage gains (consumer income up 4.5% in last 12 months), and of course, lower energy costs. The majority, if not all, of the selling has been driven by technical liquidation and not fundamental changes.</p>
<p>c.&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; Technology follows much of the same logic as healthcare, but valuations are much tougher to call here. Projecting forward business fundamentals in the technology sector is much more difficult than in healthcare, so our conviction is not as high.</p>
<p>d.&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; European equities have been absolutely bludgeoned (down around twice what U.S. equities are down) despite the European recovery accelerating so far in Q3 with earnings growth at multi-year highs, M&amp;A activity picking up and ECB QE in full swing. This is another one we have lower conviction on than U.S. Healthcare and Consumer companies, but you potentially have more upside if things turn around.</p>
<p>Broad lessons from recent volatility are:</p>
<p>The good news for hedge fund investors is that most top-tier event-driven and activist managers are already following this game plan. It’s been a tough month, but we believe the U.S. economy and European recovery are too robust for this to turn into a sustained bear market. Furthermore, given the strength of the financial system—banks are completely deleveraged with massive tier one capital levels—there is virtually no chance of a repeat of 2008.</p> | Market Correction 2015 – Game Plan for Investors Going Forward | true | http://foxbusiness.com/business-leaders/2015/08/27/correction-2015-game-plan-for-investors-going-forward.html | 2016-03-04 | 0right
| Market Correction 2015 – Game Plan for Investors Going Forward
<p />
<p>The recent sell-off in equities has been violent, and while it’s natural to be gun shy after such extreme volatility, investors should continue to take the long view. Going forward, the game plan should be to take advantage of dislocations by patiently buying assets that have been disproportionately technically impacted, but not fundamentally impaired.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>We can’t predict what will happen the next few days or weeks, but given the strength of the U.S. economy and European recovery, coupled with expected Fed patience and European Central Bank Quantitative Easing, we would be surprised if equities are not meaningfully higher in 6 to 12 months. However, not all assets are created equal, and it’s important to make the distinction between technical and fundamental damage.</p>
<p>1. Avoid anything that has been fundamentally impaired.</p>
<p>a.&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; Emerging markets are suffering from slowing growth, China’s competitive devaluation, deteriorating currencies, elevated geo-political risk, plummeting commodity prices and no clear catalyst even when the knife stops falling.</p>
<p>b.&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; With regard to China, all negatives relating to emerging markets are compounded by the fact nobody has any idea what’s actually going on there. The economy is trending worse and disturbing (and ineffective) government intervention in financial markets could signal that things are far worse than the government is letting on.</p>
<p>c.&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; The commodities supercycle that began in 2000 is now unwinding in spectacular fashion (as they always do). Where should oil/copper/iron ore/etc. trade? Nobody knows, but the steep decline is being driven by imploding fundamentals (too much supply, not enough demand).</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>d.&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; Many will argue that everything is getting cheap, and it may be, but it can get a lot cheaper before it rebounds, if it rebounds at all.</p>
<p>2. Look to buy assets with short-term technical challenges but strong fundamentals.</p>
<p>a.&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; The Healthcare sector is enjoying strong growth and cheap valuations, with the recent selling driven by technicals and management’s maniacal focus on boosting shareholder returns. In addition, accretive consolidation should continue after recent regulatory changes.</p>
<p>b.&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; U.S. consumer stocks, especially those with a high percentage of domestic sales, are the brightest spot of the brightest economy in the world. The American consumer is deleveraged, rationally cautious and enjoying all-time low debt-service costs, a rebounding housing market, an improving labor market, low but real wage gains (consumer income up 4.5% in last 12 months), and of course, lower energy costs. The majority, if not all, of the selling has been driven by technical liquidation and not fundamental changes.</p>
<p>c.&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; Technology follows much of the same logic as healthcare, but valuations are much tougher to call here. Projecting forward business fundamentals in the technology sector is much more difficult than in healthcare, so our conviction is not as high.</p>
<p>d.&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; European equities have been absolutely bludgeoned (down around twice what U.S. equities are down) despite the European recovery accelerating so far in Q3 with earnings growth at multi-year highs, M&amp;A activity picking up and ECB QE in full swing. This is another one we have lower conviction on than U.S. Healthcare and Consumer companies, but you potentially have more upside if things turn around.</p>
<p>Broad lessons from recent volatility are:</p>
<p>The good news for hedge fund investors is that most top-tier event-driven and activist managers are already following this game plan. It’s been a tough month, but we believe the U.S. economy and European recovery are too robust for this to turn into a sustained bear market. Furthermore, given the strength of the financial system—banks are completely deleveraged with massive tier one capital levels—there is virtually no chance of a repeat of 2008.</p> | 4,422 |
<p>The US understands it’s challenging to ask North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program, but without a long-term solution, within five to ten years Pyongyang will acquire a minimum credible nuclear deterrence, said political scientist Joseph Cheng.</p>
<p>South Korea and the US are conducting their largest joint aerial exercises called Vigilant Ace which will run from December 4 to 8, according to officials in Seoul.</p>
<p>The exercises come as Washington indicates war with North Korea is becoming increasingly <a href="https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/12/04/asia-pacific/politics-diplomacy-asia-pacific/pre-emptive-war-north-korea-increasingly-likely-u-s-military-dependents-exit-south-lindsey-graham/#.WiUhtlWWZaQ" type="external">likely</a> while South Korea says they are aimed at improving the allies’ wartime capabilities.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said on Sunday the US is “getting close to military conflict because North Korea is marching toward marrying up the technology of an ICBM with a nuclear weapon on top that can not only get to America but deliver the weapon. We’re running out of time.”</p>
<p>Read more</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/usa/411817-us-military-korea-graham/" type="external" /></p>
<p>Hong Kong political scientist Joseph Cheng says the recent developments indicate the parties to the conflict are unwilling to negotiate.</p>
<p>RT asked the expert whether these exercises are a sensible response to the current situation on the Korean Peninsula.</p>
<p>Joseph Cheng: This is certainly not sensible. This is not going to be very effective. Both the US and South Korea feel that they had to respond to rather significant missile tests on the part of Pyongyang a while ago. But this means that the vicious circle has been maintained and even exacerbated. It also clearly shows that both the US and South Korea are not ready to accept the suggestion on the part of China and Russia, namely to stop nuclear missile tests on the part of North Korea and missile and military exercises on the part of the US in South Korea to generate a better atmosphere for negotiations. At the moment, it seems that the situation remains tense and we can find no breakthrough in the foreseeable future.</p>
<p>RT: How dangerous is the situation at the moment?</p>
<p>JC: It is largely rhetoric, as we know because the US is not ready to exercise the military option because both Russia and China are strongly against it. And South Korea is not ready to support any military option. In this scenario, you certainly can see that the people in Seoul, the people in South Korea, remain quite calm. The stock market has not been affected, and you see no panic in South Korea as well. But the atmosphere is certainly deteriorating, and there is no attempt to initiate negotiations, and in that kind of atmosphere, further missile tests on the part of North Korea are almost inevitable. And one or two nuclear tests on the part of Pyongyang are also quite likely.</p>
<p>RT: Do the exercises indicate that the US may really be expecting war to break out?</p>
<p>JC: I think it is actually a facade to the lack of progress on many fronts, and the Donald Trump administration is under a lot of pressure to demonstrate that it is ready to do something. But in actual practice, we see no realistic options being considered and implemented by the Donald Trump administration.</p>
<p>Read more</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/news/411353-korea-military-us-missile-nuclear/" type="external" /></p>
<p>RT: Should China be taking a tougher stance on North Korea?</p>
<p>JC: I believe that China is willing to do more if there are also significant initiatives on the part of the Donald Trump’s administration. It will be difficult to expect Beijing to do more while the US refuses to do anything to bring about peaceful negotiations. China is certainly unwilling to exert pressure on North Korea to … kill its economy because any serious economic difficulties in North Korea may generate flows of refugees to China across the border in the North-East part of China.</p>
<p>RT: Is there a solution to the crisis? Is it now a choice for Washington between conflict and accepting a nuclear-armed North Korea?</p>
<p>JC: On a rational basis, I think the US probably understands it is now extremely difficult to ask North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program. So, the only way out is to negotiate…But the US also understands it needs a long-term and ultimate solution, otherwise, in five to ten years North Korea will probably acquire a minimum credible nuclear deterrence.</p>
<p>RT: Are you hopeful a solution can be found?</p>
<p>JC: We still count on the wisdom of the parties concerned, and we still assume that they remain rational. And on the last point, it certainly means that at the moment all parties do not want a military conflict in the region.</p> | ‘More N. Korea nuclear tests likely in current atmosphere’ | false | https://newsline.com/more-n-korea-nuclear-tests-likely-in-current-atmosphere/ | 2017-12-04 | 1right-center
| ‘More N. Korea nuclear tests likely in current atmosphere’
<p>The US understands it’s challenging to ask North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program, but without a long-term solution, within five to ten years Pyongyang will acquire a minimum credible nuclear deterrence, said political scientist Joseph Cheng.</p>
<p>South Korea and the US are conducting their largest joint aerial exercises called Vigilant Ace which will run from December 4 to 8, according to officials in Seoul.</p>
<p>The exercises come as Washington indicates war with North Korea is becoming increasingly <a href="https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/12/04/asia-pacific/politics-diplomacy-asia-pacific/pre-emptive-war-north-korea-increasingly-likely-u-s-military-dependents-exit-south-lindsey-graham/#.WiUhtlWWZaQ" type="external">likely</a> while South Korea says they are aimed at improving the allies’ wartime capabilities.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said on Sunday the US is “getting close to military conflict because North Korea is marching toward marrying up the technology of an ICBM with a nuclear weapon on top that can not only get to America but deliver the weapon. We’re running out of time.”</p>
<p>Read more</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/usa/411817-us-military-korea-graham/" type="external" /></p>
<p>Hong Kong political scientist Joseph Cheng says the recent developments indicate the parties to the conflict are unwilling to negotiate.</p>
<p>RT asked the expert whether these exercises are a sensible response to the current situation on the Korean Peninsula.</p>
<p>Joseph Cheng: This is certainly not sensible. This is not going to be very effective. Both the US and South Korea feel that they had to respond to rather significant missile tests on the part of Pyongyang a while ago. But this means that the vicious circle has been maintained and even exacerbated. It also clearly shows that both the US and South Korea are not ready to accept the suggestion on the part of China and Russia, namely to stop nuclear missile tests on the part of North Korea and missile and military exercises on the part of the US in South Korea to generate a better atmosphere for negotiations. At the moment, it seems that the situation remains tense and we can find no breakthrough in the foreseeable future.</p>
<p>RT: How dangerous is the situation at the moment?</p>
<p>JC: It is largely rhetoric, as we know because the US is not ready to exercise the military option because both Russia and China are strongly against it. And South Korea is not ready to support any military option. In this scenario, you certainly can see that the people in Seoul, the people in South Korea, remain quite calm. The stock market has not been affected, and you see no panic in South Korea as well. But the atmosphere is certainly deteriorating, and there is no attempt to initiate negotiations, and in that kind of atmosphere, further missile tests on the part of North Korea are almost inevitable. And one or two nuclear tests on the part of Pyongyang are also quite likely.</p>
<p>RT: Do the exercises indicate that the US may really be expecting war to break out?</p>
<p>JC: I think it is actually a facade to the lack of progress on many fronts, and the Donald Trump administration is under a lot of pressure to demonstrate that it is ready to do something. But in actual practice, we see no realistic options being considered and implemented by the Donald Trump administration.</p>
<p>Read more</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/news/411353-korea-military-us-missile-nuclear/" type="external" /></p>
<p>RT: Should China be taking a tougher stance on North Korea?</p>
<p>JC: I believe that China is willing to do more if there are also significant initiatives on the part of the Donald Trump’s administration. It will be difficult to expect Beijing to do more while the US refuses to do anything to bring about peaceful negotiations. China is certainly unwilling to exert pressure on North Korea to … kill its economy because any serious economic difficulties in North Korea may generate flows of refugees to China across the border in the North-East part of China.</p>
<p>RT: Is there a solution to the crisis? Is it now a choice for Washington between conflict and accepting a nuclear-armed North Korea?</p>
<p>JC: On a rational basis, I think the US probably understands it is now extremely difficult to ask North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program. So, the only way out is to negotiate…But the US also understands it needs a long-term and ultimate solution, otherwise, in five to ten years North Korea will probably acquire a minimum credible nuclear deterrence.</p>
<p>RT: Are you hopeful a solution can be found?</p>
<p>JC: We still count on the wisdom of the parties concerned, and we still assume that they remain rational. And on the last point, it certainly means that at the moment all parties do not want a military conflict in the region.</p> | 4,423 |
<p>The ongoing debate of recent weeks around how, or if, to confront demonstrations of white supremacists and fascists is the latest manifestation of arguments the Left and liberals have been having for many years. For this is not simply a question of tactics but incorporates broader ideas of how we conceptualize the threat from the extreme Right.</p>
<p>For decades, the liberal “solution” to fascists, including marches by undisguised neo-Nazis, has traditionally been to go to the other side of town, pray and hope they go away. Critiques of antifa and other groups who courageously stood up to the white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia, are variations on that pacifist theme. We need do no more than refer to&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Cornel West’s support of</a>&#160;“the anti-fascists, and then, crucial, the anarchists, because they saved our lives, actually. We would have been completely crushed, and I’ll never forget that.”</p>
<p>The problem with liberal-pacifist responses is that, if adopted, the only result would be to embolden the fascists. The white-nationalist gangs behind the Charlottesville rally unmistakably intended to intimidate. Remember that another demonstration was scheduled for Boston the following weekend and several others were planned. Instead, because they were confronted in Charlottesville, their Boston rally became a fiasco for them and appearances in other locations were called off. Communities showed what they think of them. The result for speaks for itself.</p>
<p>The foremost problem with liberal-pacifist responses is that it tells people they have no right to defend themselves. That should be rejected, emphatically. The violence of hate-mongers like those carrying the torches in Charlottesville and any violence that is used in defense by people who have no choice but to physically defend themselves has no equivalence. Should people have just stood there and allowed violence to be perpetrated against them and allow gangs of white supremacists and fascists to intimidate the majority — the vast majority — into silence? Do we really need to ponder this question?</p>
<p>Sufficient numbers in themselves stop fascists</p>
<p>Fighting back needn’t be physical, and generally does not need to be if there are sufficient counter-forces. I’ll draw here on two examples from late 1990s in New York City.</p>
<p>In the first example, a small band of neo-Nazis were running loose on Staten Island, the city’s right-wing outpost situated at a distance from the rest of the city. There were five of them, apparently inspired by a truly loathsome “novel” called&#160;The Turner Diaries, which features scenes of vast groups of people hung by Nazis during a race war. (To give you an idea of the demographics there, Donald Trump won Staten Island even though he received only 18 percent of the overall New York City presidential vote.)</p>
<p>A small group that I was then a member in, New York Workers Against Fascism, organized a coalition to confront the neo-Nazis. It was quickly decided to organize a series of peaceful demonstrations on the belief that a violent response would only alienate the community we were attempting to rally against the neo-Nazis. At one rally, in a park, the neo-Nazis actually showed up in uniform, across a busy street, and started giving Hitler salutes while shouting “white power.” They were simultaneously pathetic and representative of a potentially highly dangerous trend. In this instance, we had to hold back a group of anarchists from Love and Rage who wanted to charge, one of whom angrily told me “I came here to smash fascists.” I answered that today we were going to smash them peacefully. Conceding to the coalition’s consensus, he didn’t charge although he remained angry. Tactics had to be a serious consideration here.</p>
<p>Note the coalition did not go to another part of the island and pray the neo-Nazis would go away. In this case, a confrontation needed to be non-violent, although we did have some baseball bats hidden in case we were attacked. Fortunately, they stayed hidden as the coalition significantly out-numbered the neo-Nazis.</p>
<p>A few years later, a Ku Klux Klan group decided to have a rally in Manhattan. Setting aside the idiocy of them thinking they could get a foothold in a place like New York City (fascists aren’t the brightest bulbs, to put it mildly), one can’t help but wonder how they thought they could get any reception other than the one they got. Their appearance was scheduled for Foley Square, a downtown location with wide spaces. Eight of them showed up, guarded by hundreds of police officers and surrounded and heckled by about 80,000 counter-demonstrators. Yes, we outnumbered them 10,000 to one! The Klan ended its event early and were said to have received an escort by the police to the Holland Tunnel, the nearest exit from the city.</p>
<p>Similarly, the white supremacists were badly outnumbered in Boston last month and had to be protected from the people of Boston by rings of police and metal barricades. They had to slink home. They were successfully confronted. Not by praying they would go away but by so out-numbering them that they had to concede defeat and realize how unpopular their racism and misogyny is, even if they are highly unlikely to admit to themselves.</p>
<p>Communities are entitled to defend themselves</p>
<p>Questions of tactics, based on the immediate situation, the size of the forces on the two sides and the community being defended and/or reached out to, should predominate. Should we condemn antifa for a physical defense in light of the other outcomes discussed here? Emphatically no. The situation in Charlottesville called for such a defense, as Professor West directly said. The next time a community needs to defend against physical jeopardy, we can only hope there will be people ready to provide it.</p>
<p>Let’s not forget what fascists stand for. They stand not simply for hate, but for supremacy of one group over another, violence to enforce such supremacy and ultimately the annihilation of demonized peoples and groups. We all understand what fascism led to Nazi Germany.</p>
<p>The Holocaust should not be out of our minds when fascists carrying torches march in formation chanting “Jews will not replace us.” When we think about where fantasies of white supremacy lead, such as in the apartheid systems of South Africa and the United States South of the pre-civil rights era, and in slavery, ideologies of white supremacy should not be taken lightly. When we see the results of misogyny globally, especially but far from only in régimes run by religious fundamentalists, talk of making women subordinate to men can’t be laughed off as anything but the fantasy of losers who can’t get a girlfriend.</p>
<p>Liberals who don’t want to confront these threats but insist on an absolutist free-speech position, even to the point of saying we should engage with fascists, are playing with fire. You don’t “debate” people who deliver their message only with violence. You don’t debate whether one racial group if superior to another. You don’t debate whether we should adopt social forms reminiscent of Margaret Atwood’s&#160;The Handmaid’s Tale. You don’t debate whether the Holocaust happened or if there is an international Jewish conspiracy. Just as the proverbial “you can’t yell fire in a crowded theater” put limits on free speech, advocating the annihilation of people (always conveniently different) is outside any reasonable definition of free speech. Yes, that means “no platform for fascists” — we shouldn’t apologize for such a stance, which is what the non-violent confrontations recounted above amount to.</p>
<p>All working people are ultimately threatened by fascist ideologies. Beyond all the reasons already discussed (more than sufficient in themselves), there is the question of who fascist movements serve. That there is no immediate danger of a fascist takeover in the United States (or almost any other global North country, Hungary and Poland excepted) does not mean we should ignore the class nature of fascism.</p>
<p>Who would a dictatorship serve?</p>
<p>As always, we should carefully distinguish between right-wing demagogues like Donald Trump (whose election is ultimately a product of decades of&#160; <a href="" type="internal">routine Republican Party rhetoric</a>) and his ability to actually implement fascist rule. Once again, it might be best to see the Trump phenomenon as constituting the seeds for a potential fascist movement rather than a fully-fledged fascism. That ought to be scary enough, and enough for all of us to make a stand against it. To say this is not to ignore the glaring connections between the Trump administration and white supremacists and the so-called “alt-right” (let’s retire that silly term and just call them fascists or fascist wannabes), but rather to note that most of the U.S. ruling class — industrialists and financiers — backed Hillary Clinton and not President Trump in the 2016 election.</p>
<p>That matters, because at its most basic level, fascism is a&#160; <a href="" type="internal">dictatorship established through and maintained with terror</a>&#160;on behalf of big business. It has a social base, which provides the support and the terror squads, but which is badly misled since the fascist dictatorship operates decisively against the interest of its social base. Militarism, extreme nationalism, the creation of enemies and scapegoats, and, perhaps the most critical component, a rabid propaganda that intentionally raises panic and hate while disguising its true nature and intentions under the cover of a phony populism, are among the necessary elements, although not sufficient in themselves.</p>
<p>Despite national differences that result in major variations in the appearances of fascism, the class nature is consistent. Big business is invariably the supporter of fascism, no matter what a fascist movement’s rhetoric contains, and is invariably the beneficiary. For even if it is intended to benefit them, these big businessmen are giving up some of their own freedom since they will not directly control the dictatorship; it is a dictatorship&#160;for&#160;them, not&#160;by&#160;them. After using violent militias to gain power, those militias are quickly sidelined.</p>
<p>Hitler would never have reached power without significant material support from German industrialists. German industrialists and aristocrats, and the conservative politicians who served them, thought they could control Hitler if they put him in government. They couldn’t, but profited enormously as wages for German workers declined sharply and were enforced by labor codes that even a Nazi paper once said were “reminiscent of penal codes.” It was little different in Mussolini’s Spain or Franco’s Spain or Pinochet’s Chile.</p>
<p>Think it can’t happen in your country? It can. Any country dominated by the capitalist system is at risk of fascism because fascism is capitalism with all the democratic veneers stripped away, when capitalists come to believe they can’t continue to rule and maintain profits any other way. That fascist groups, even the Nazi Party, start out as small bands of deluded misfits lashing out at scapegoats because they don’t have the intellectual capacity to understand the world they live in, in no way alters this picture.</p>
<p>Better to definitively defeat fascist grouplets now, before they have any chance of becoming tools. Anti-fascist organizers are doing humanity a service, whether peacefully counter-demonstrating or using more militant tactics such as those of antifa.</p> | The Problem is Fascists, Not Those Who Stand Up To Them | true | https://counterpunch.org/2017/09/15/the-problem-is-fascists-not-those-who-stand-up-to-them/ | 2017-09-15 | 4left
| The Problem is Fascists, Not Those Who Stand Up To Them
<p>The ongoing debate of recent weeks around how, or if, to confront demonstrations of white supremacists and fascists is the latest manifestation of arguments the Left and liberals have been having for many years. For this is not simply a question of tactics but incorporates broader ideas of how we conceptualize the threat from the extreme Right.</p>
<p>For decades, the liberal “solution” to fascists, including marches by undisguised neo-Nazis, has traditionally been to go to the other side of town, pray and hope they go away. Critiques of antifa and other groups who courageously stood up to the white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia, are variations on that pacifist theme. We need do no more than refer to&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Cornel West’s support of</a>&#160;“the anti-fascists, and then, crucial, the anarchists, because they saved our lives, actually. We would have been completely crushed, and I’ll never forget that.”</p>
<p>The problem with liberal-pacifist responses is that, if adopted, the only result would be to embolden the fascists. The white-nationalist gangs behind the Charlottesville rally unmistakably intended to intimidate. Remember that another demonstration was scheduled for Boston the following weekend and several others were planned. Instead, because they were confronted in Charlottesville, their Boston rally became a fiasco for them and appearances in other locations were called off. Communities showed what they think of them. The result for speaks for itself.</p>
<p>The foremost problem with liberal-pacifist responses is that it tells people they have no right to defend themselves. That should be rejected, emphatically. The violence of hate-mongers like those carrying the torches in Charlottesville and any violence that is used in defense by people who have no choice but to physically defend themselves has no equivalence. Should people have just stood there and allowed violence to be perpetrated against them and allow gangs of white supremacists and fascists to intimidate the majority — the vast majority — into silence? Do we really need to ponder this question?</p>
<p>Sufficient numbers in themselves stop fascists</p>
<p>Fighting back needn’t be physical, and generally does not need to be if there are sufficient counter-forces. I’ll draw here on two examples from late 1990s in New York City.</p>
<p>In the first example, a small band of neo-Nazis were running loose on Staten Island, the city’s right-wing outpost situated at a distance from the rest of the city. There were five of them, apparently inspired by a truly loathsome “novel” called&#160;The Turner Diaries, which features scenes of vast groups of people hung by Nazis during a race war. (To give you an idea of the demographics there, Donald Trump won Staten Island even though he received only 18 percent of the overall New York City presidential vote.)</p>
<p>A small group that I was then a member in, New York Workers Against Fascism, organized a coalition to confront the neo-Nazis. It was quickly decided to organize a series of peaceful demonstrations on the belief that a violent response would only alienate the community we were attempting to rally against the neo-Nazis. At one rally, in a park, the neo-Nazis actually showed up in uniform, across a busy street, and started giving Hitler salutes while shouting “white power.” They were simultaneously pathetic and representative of a potentially highly dangerous trend. In this instance, we had to hold back a group of anarchists from Love and Rage who wanted to charge, one of whom angrily told me “I came here to smash fascists.” I answered that today we were going to smash them peacefully. Conceding to the coalition’s consensus, he didn’t charge although he remained angry. Tactics had to be a serious consideration here.</p>
<p>Note the coalition did not go to another part of the island and pray the neo-Nazis would go away. In this case, a confrontation needed to be non-violent, although we did have some baseball bats hidden in case we were attacked. Fortunately, they stayed hidden as the coalition significantly out-numbered the neo-Nazis.</p>
<p>A few years later, a Ku Klux Klan group decided to have a rally in Manhattan. Setting aside the idiocy of them thinking they could get a foothold in a place like New York City (fascists aren’t the brightest bulbs, to put it mildly), one can’t help but wonder how they thought they could get any reception other than the one they got. Their appearance was scheduled for Foley Square, a downtown location with wide spaces. Eight of them showed up, guarded by hundreds of police officers and surrounded and heckled by about 80,000 counter-demonstrators. Yes, we outnumbered them 10,000 to one! The Klan ended its event early and were said to have received an escort by the police to the Holland Tunnel, the nearest exit from the city.</p>
<p>Similarly, the white supremacists were badly outnumbered in Boston last month and had to be protected from the people of Boston by rings of police and metal barricades. They had to slink home. They were successfully confronted. Not by praying they would go away but by so out-numbering them that they had to concede defeat and realize how unpopular their racism and misogyny is, even if they are highly unlikely to admit to themselves.</p>
<p>Communities are entitled to defend themselves</p>
<p>Questions of tactics, based on the immediate situation, the size of the forces on the two sides and the community being defended and/or reached out to, should predominate. Should we condemn antifa for a physical defense in light of the other outcomes discussed here? Emphatically no. The situation in Charlottesville called for such a defense, as Professor West directly said. The next time a community needs to defend against physical jeopardy, we can only hope there will be people ready to provide it.</p>
<p>Let’s not forget what fascists stand for. They stand not simply for hate, but for supremacy of one group over another, violence to enforce such supremacy and ultimately the annihilation of demonized peoples and groups. We all understand what fascism led to Nazi Germany.</p>
<p>The Holocaust should not be out of our minds when fascists carrying torches march in formation chanting “Jews will not replace us.” When we think about where fantasies of white supremacy lead, such as in the apartheid systems of South Africa and the United States South of the pre-civil rights era, and in slavery, ideologies of white supremacy should not be taken lightly. When we see the results of misogyny globally, especially but far from only in régimes run by religious fundamentalists, talk of making women subordinate to men can’t be laughed off as anything but the fantasy of losers who can’t get a girlfriend.</p>
<p>Liberals who don’t want to confront these threats but insist on an absolutist free-speech position, even to the point of saying we should engage with fascists, are playing with fire. You don’t “debate” people who deliver their message only with violence. You don’t debate whether one racial group if superior to another. You don’t debate whether we should adopt social forms reminiscent of Margaret Atwood’s&#160;The Handmaid’s Tale. You don’t debate whether the Holocaust happened or if there is an international Jewish conspiracy. Just as the proverbial “you can’t yell fire in a crowded theater” put limits on free speech, advocating the annihilation of people (always conveniently different) is outside any reasonable definition of free speech. Yes, that means “no platform for fascists” — we shouldn’t apologize for such a stance, which is what the non-violent confrontations recounted above amount to.</p>
<p>All working people are ultimately threatened by fascist ideologies. Beyond all the reasons already discussed (more than sufficient in themselves), there is the question of who fascist movements serve. That there is no immediate danger of a fascist takeover in the United States (or almost any other global North country, Hungary and Poland excepted) does not mean we should ignore the class nature of fascism.</p>
<p>Who would a dictatorship serve?</p>
<p>As always, we should carefully distinguish between right-wing demagogues like Donald Trump (whose election is ultimately a product of decades of&#160; <a href="" type="internal">routine Republican Party rhetoric</a>) and his ability to actually implement fascist rule. Once again, it might be best to see the Trump phenomenon as constituting the seeds for a potential fascist movement rather than a fully-fledged fascism. That ought to be scary enough, and enough for all of us to make a stand against it. To say this is not to ignore the glaring connections between the Trump administration and white supremacists and the so-called “alt-right” (let’s retire that silly term and just call them fascists or fascist wannabes), but rather to note that most of the U.S. ruling class — industrialists and financiers — backed Hillary Clinton and not President Trump in the 2016 election.</p>
<p>That matters, because at its most basic level, fascism is a&#160; <a href="" type="internal">dictatorship established through and maintained with terror</a>&#160;on behalf of big business. It has a social base, which provides the support and the terror squads, but which is badly misled since the fascist dictatorship operates decisively against the interest of its social base. Militarism, extreme nationalism, the creation of enemies and scapegoats, and, perhaps the most critical component, a rabid propaganda that intentionally raises panic and hate while disguising its true nature and intentions under the cover of a phony populism, are among the necessary elements, although not sufficient in themselves.</p>
<p>Despite national differences that result in major variations in the appearances of fascism, the class nature is consistent. Big business is invariably the supporter of fascism, no matter what a fascist movement’s rhetoric contains, and is invariably the beneficiary. For even if it is intended to benefit them, these big businessmen are giving up some of their own freedom since they will not directly control the dictatorship; it is a dictatorship&#160;for&#160;them, not&#160;by&#160;them. After using violent militias to gain power, those militias are quickly sidelined.</p>
<p>Hitler would never have reached power without significant material support from German industrialists. German industrialists and aristocrats, and the conservative politicians who served them, thought they could control Hitler if they put him in government. They couldn’t, but profited enormously as wages for German workers declined sharply and were enforced by labor codes that even a Nazi paper once said were “reminiscent of penal codes.” It was little different in Mussolini’s Spain or Franco’s Spain or Pinochet’s Chile.</p>
<p>Think it can’t happen in your country? It can. Any country dominated by the capitalist system is at risk of fascism because fascism is capitalism with all the democratic veneers stripped away, when capitalists come to believe they can’t continue to rule and maintain profits any other way. That fascist groups, even the Nazi Party, start out as small bands of deluded misfits lashing out at scapegoats because they don’t have the intellectual capacity to understand the world they live in, in no way alters this picture.</p>
<p>Better to definitively defeat fascist grouplets now, before they have any chance of becoming tools. Anti-fascist organizers are doing humanity a service, whether peacefully counter-demonstrating or using more militant tactics such as those of antifa.</p> | 4,424 |
<p>Shares of Chinese cloud computing provider Xunlei Limited (NASDAQ: XNET) are up 20% as of Noon EST Thursday. In contrast to the stock's sudden <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/10/17/xunlei-limited-stock-jumps-nearly-20.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=6401998c-caf2-11e7-9008-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">jump nearly one month ago Opens a New Window.</a>, this time there appears to be at least a nominal reason for the pop: earnings.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Xunlei reported its financial results for fiscal Q3 2017 Thursday morning. Sales for the quarter grew 15.6% year over year to $47.3 million. Gross margins, however, declined steeply, falling 920 basis points to just 38.7%. At the same time, Xunlei's operating expenses exploded -- 61% higher to $48.7 million.</p>
<p>Thus, Xunlei actually spent more on operating costs than it collected in revenue for the quarter.</p>
<p>On the bottom line, the company ended up with a $25.6 million net loss, which translates to an $0.08-per-share loss, and a loss of $0.38 per American Depositary Share. (Each Xunlei ADS is comprised of five shares of common stock).</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>No analysts have earnings projections out on Xunlei stock. Thus, Xunlei neither "beat" nor "missed" estimates. It did, however, exceed its own guidance for Q3 revenues. What's more, management predicted "the growth momentum to continue into the fourth quarter of 2017 with improvement in both the top and the bottom lines."</p>
<p>Of course, the real kicker that's driving Xunlei's stock price, one imagines, is the fact that management has set itself the goal of "transforming itself from a traditional internet service provider" into one that is "exploring emerging blockchain technology."</p>
<p>"Blockchain is reminiscent of the internet technology in the 80's [but] with millions of DAUs of Xunlei APPs and subscription members, we have the natural advantage of developing blockchain technology and exploring its applications to the mass markets," said Xunlei CEO Lei Chen.</p>
<p>Investors apparently like that idea a lot -- enough so to buy into a virtually unknown Chinese company with no earnings and mounting losses, all in search of a blockchain dream.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than XunleiWhen 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=167356fe-399a-4ed4-ab23-79584ec81e12&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=6401998c-caf2-11e7-9008-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">10 best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now... and Xunlei 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=167356fe-399a-4ed4-ab23-79584ec81e12&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=6401998c-caf2-11e7-9008-0050569d4be0&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/TMFDitty/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=6401998c-caf2-11e7-9008-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Rich Smith Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. 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=6401998c-caf2-11e7-9008-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | Why Xunlei Limited Stock Just Jumped 20% | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/11/17/why-xunlei-limited-stock-just-jumped-20.html | 2017-11-17 | 0right
| Why Xunlei Limited Stock Just Jumped 20%
<p>Shares of Chinese cloud computing provider Xunlei Limited (NASDAQ: XNET) are up 20% as of Noon EST Thursday. In contrast to the stock's sudden <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/10/17/xunlei-limited-stock-jumps-nearly-20.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=6401998c-caf2-11e7-9008-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">jump nearly one month ago Opens a New Window.</a>, this time there appears to be at least a nominal reason for the pop: earnings.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Xunlei reported its financial results for fiscal Q3 2017 Thursday morning. Sales for the quarter grew 15.6% year over year to $47.3 million. Gross margins, however, declined steeply, falling 920 basis points to just 38.7%. At the same time, Xunlei's operating expenses exploded -- 61% higher to $48.7 million.</p>
<p>Thus, Xunlei actually spent more on operating costs than it collected in revenue for the quarter.</p>
<p>On the bottom line, the company ended up with a $25.6 million net loss, which translates to an $0.08-per-share loss, and a loss of $0.38 per American Depositary Share. (Each Xunlei ADS is comprised of five shares of common stock).</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>No analysts have earnings projections out on Xunlei stock. Thus, Xunlei neither "beat" nor "missed" estimates. It did, however, exceed its own guidance for Q3 revenues. What's more, management predicted "the growth momentum to continue into the fourth quarter of 2017 with improvement in both the top and the bottom lines."</p>
<p>Of course, the real kicker that's driving Xunlei's stock price, one imagines, is the fact that management has set itself the goal of "transforming itself from a traditional internet service provider" into one that is "exploring emerging blockchain technology."</p>
<p>"Blockchain is reminiscent of the internet technology in the 80's [but] with millions of DAUs of Xunlei APPs and subscription members, we have the natural advantage of developing blockchain technology and exploring its applications to the mass markets," said Xunlei CEO Lei Chen.</p>
<p>Investors apparently like that idea a lot -- enough so to buy into a virtually unknown Chinese company with no earnings and mounting losses, all in search of a blockchain dream.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than XunleiWhen 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=167356fe-399a-4ed4-ab23-79584ec81e12&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=6401998c-caf2-11e7-9008-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">10 best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now... and Xunlei 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=167356fe-399a-4ed4-ab23-79584ec81e12&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=6401998c-caf2-11e7-9008-0050569d4be0&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/TMFDitty/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=6401998c-caf2-11e7-9008-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Rich Smith Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. 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=6401998c-caf2-11e7-9008-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | 4,425 |
<p>Many years ago I discovered a style of basketball defense played by small high schools called a box and one defense. Four players would form a box near the basket they were defending, and the fifth player would follow whoever had the ball. It’s a little more complicated than that, but this is the essence.</p>
<p />
<p>Several years later when reading Phil Jackson’s book —&#160;Sacred Hoops —&#160;it occurred to me that box and one was the style of offense —&#160;not defense —&#160;the Chicago Bulls were playing before he became head coach. Four players would stand around on offense, feed the ball to Michael Jordan, and then watch what he could do with it.</p>
<p>While obviously this is an overstatement, the principle is true. The end result? The Bulls were a good basketball team, but not a great one. They never won an NBA championship until Phil Jackson changed the offense.</p>
<p>The reason? Michael could not carry the team on his back for the four quarters of the game. Even this superman of basketball had his limits.</p>
<p>The way Phil Jackson tells the story is he initiated a conversation with Michael Jordan. He wanted Michael to endorse the offense approach known as triangle offense. This approach would involve Michael getting the ball less, and other team members getting the ball more. It also preserved Michael’s energy so he could play strong in all four quarters.</p>
<p>I recall that Michael’s response was, “OK, coach. I get it. I will play the triangle offense. But if in the fourth quarter we are losing, yet close enough that we could win, then I am taking over.” In the next decade, did you ever notice how many points Michael Jordan scored in the fourth quarter? A lot!</p>
<p>This approach worked. Within a few years the Chicago Bulls had won three NBA championships. Then Michael Jordan took time off to try professional baseball. When he returned to the Bulls, within a few years they won another three NBA championships. All the time they were playing the triangle offense for at least three quarters.</p>
<p>Implications for congregational committees, teams, and boards</p>
<p>Too many congregations use a box and one offense in the way their committees, teams, and boards function. They have a leader who initiates ideas, and the leadership or governance group simply responds to that initiative and authorizes the leader to move forward. It is a simple way to do committee, team, or board work with the following implications.</p>
<p>First, it calls for the least amount of investment by the majority of the members in the processes of leadership and governance. Ownership is low because the leader is carrying all the weight of responsibility. The leader carries the group on his or her back.</p>
<p>Second, it does not increase the capacities of the majority of participants to lead. No one is learning how to lead. They are only learning how to have harmony and generally hoping it is never their turn to lead. Or, some individuals are silently waiting their turn to lead.</p>
<p>Third, it assumes the focus should be on the leader and not the process of leadership. The difference between leader and leadership is not just a ship. Leadership is a significantly different concept of smooth sailing than is leader.</p>
<p>Fourth, it limits the capacity of the committee, team, or board to what the leader has the capacity to do. Like the Chicago Bulls, the group is waiting to see what the superstar leader can do. Effective deep change is avoided.</p>
<p>Fifth, many of the decisions are shallow ones based on a desire to make quick decisions, dispense with the agenda, and end the meeting. Success is measured by how quickly the meeting ends, not how effectively the work of ministry was accomplished.</p>
<p>Sixth, it burns out the leader before the game is over. The spiritual, emotional, and intellectual capacity of the leader limits what the group can accomplish. If the leader is distracted or absent, it makes the group leaderless without a way to move forward.</p>
<p>Seventh, it often results in control of the decision-making processes by the leader. The leader’s intentions and motivations may be genuine, but the tendency is to lead the group to do only what the leader wants. That is not always healthy and positive.</p> | A box and one basketball offense does not work in congregations | false | https://baptistnews.com/article/a-box-and-one-basketball-offense-does-not-work-in-congregations/ | 3left-center
| A box and one basketball offense does not work in congregations
<p>Many years ago I discovered a style of basketball defense played by small high schools called a box and one defense. Four players would form a box near the basket they were defending, and the fifth player would follow whoever had the ball. It’s a little more complicated than that, but this is the essence.</p>
<p />
<p>Several years later when reading Phil Jackson’s book —&#160;Sacred Hoops —&#160;it occurred to me that box and one was the style of offense —&#160;not defense —&#160;the Chicago Bulls were playing before he became head coach. Four players would stand around on offense, feed the ball to Michael Jordan, and then watch what he could do with it.</p>
<p>While obviously this is an overstatement, the principle is true. The end result? The Bulls were a good basketball team, but not a great one. They never won an NBA championship until Phil Jackson changed the offense.</p>
<p>The reason? Michael could not carry the team on his back for the four quarters of the game. Even this superman of basketball had his limits.</p>
<p>The way Phil Jackson tells the story is he initiated a conversation with Michael Jordan. He wanted Michael to endorse the offense approach known as triangle offense. This approach would involve Michael getting the ball less, and other team members getting the ball more. It also preserved Michael’s energy so he could play strong in all four quarters.</p>
<p>I recall that Michael’s response was, “OK, coach. I get it. I will play the triangle offense. But if in the fourth quarter we are losing, yet close enough that we could win, then I am taking over.” In the next decade, did you ever notice how many points Michael Jordan scored in the fourth quarter? A lot!</p>
<p>This approach worked. Within a few years the Chicago Bulls had won three NBA championships. Then Michael Jordan took time off to try professional baseball. When he returned to the Bulls, within a few years they won another three NBA championships. All the time they were playing the triangle offense for at least three quarters.</p>
<p>Implications for congregational committees, teams, and boards</p>
<p>Too many congregations use a box and one offense in the way their committees, teams, and boards function. They have a leader who initiates ideas, and the leadership or governance group simply responds to that initiative and authorizes the leader to move forward. It is a simple way to do committee, team, or board work with the following implications.</p>
<p>First, it calls for the least amount of investment by the majority of the members in the processes of leadership and governance. Ownership is low because the leader is carrying all the weight of responsibility. The leader carries the group on his or her back.</p>
<p>Second, it does not increase the capacities of the majority of participants to lead. No one is learning how to lead. They are only learning how to have harmony and generally hoping it is never their turn to lead. Or, some individuals are silently waiting their turn to lead.</p>
<p>Third, it assumes the focus should be on the leader and not the process of leadership. The difference between leader and leadership is not just a ship. Leadership is a significantly different concept of smooth sailing than is leader.</p>
<p>Fourth, it limits the capacity of the committee, team, or board to what the leader has the capacity to do. Like the Chicago Bulls, the group is waiting to see what the superstar leader can do. Effective deep change is avoided.</p>
<p>Fifth, many of the decisions are shallow ones based on a desire to make quick decisions, dispense with the agenda, and end the meeting. Success is measured by how quickly the meeting ends, not how effectively the work of ministry was accomplished.</p>
<p>Sixth, it burns out the leader before the game is over. The spiritual, emotional, and intellectual capacity of the leader limits what the group can accomplish. If the leader is distracted or absent, it makes the group leaderless without a way to move forward.</p>
<p>Seventh, it often results in control of the decision-making processes by the leader. The leader’s intentions and motivations may be genuine, but the tendency is to lead the group to do only what the leader wants. That is not always healthy and positive.</p> | 4,426 |
|
<p>Former CIA analysts</p>
<p>Chapter 12 of the 9/11 Commission’s report, titled “What to Do? A Global Strategy,” is the philosophical heart of the entire report. It is certainly the most important chapter for those who believe that nothing the U.S. can do in expanding and reorganizing its military and intelligence apparatus will contribute anything of value to the future peace and stability of the world. If implemented, the recommendations in this chapter will instead take U.S. foreign policies down precisely the wrong roads — roads that will lead to less peace and greater instability for both the United States and the entire globe.</p>
<p>Everyone had undoubtedly seen, if not read, the 567-page volume — perhaps half the length of the bible — issued on July 23, and the commission seems to hope that the book will achieve at least half the importance that is accorded the bible by good Christians. The executive summary, a separate document not included in the ten-dollar reprint of the report available in bookstores nationwide, begins with two ponderous statements that, in substantive and functional ways, set a tone of self-importance for the commission. On September 11, the commission declares, “the United States became a nation transformed.” In almost the same breath, the commission congratulates itself for achieving unity in these difficult times: “Ten Commissioners — five Republicans and five Democrats chosen by elected leaders from our nation’s capital at a time of great partisan division — have come together to present this report without dissent.”</p>
<p>Chapter 12, with which we are concerned here, covers nearly 40 pages. Early in this chapter, in what may be the key passage of the report, the commissioners emphasize that, “The enemy is not just ‘terrorism,’ some generic evil. . . . It is the threat posed by Islamist terrorism. . . . [Extremist Islam] is further fed by grievances stressed by Bin Ladin and widely felt throughout the Muslim world — against the U.S. military presence in the Middle East, policies perceived as anti-Arab and anti-Muslim, and support of Israel. Bin Ladin and Islamist terrorists mean exactly what they say: to them America is the font of all evil, the ‘head of the snake,’ and it must be converted or destroyed.”</p>
<p>So far so good, but exactly at this point in the report, all ten commissioners approved the following assertion of their utter myopia. The Islamist position described above, they say, “is not a position with which Americans can bargain or negotiate. With it there is no common ground — not even respect for life — on which to begin a dialogue. It can only be destroyed or utterly isolated.” The statement does pay some lip service to the notion that “cures” to this situation must come “from within Muslim societies themselves,” but emphasizes that “this process is likely to be measured in decades, not years.” Then comes a little more lip service, saying that, of course, “Islam is not the enemy. It is not synonymous with terror.”</p>
<p>But overall, the commission’s categorical statements paint a bleak picture, describing a situation that allegedly cannot improve for decades. Many of us would argue the contrary case, that if the U.S. actually changed its foreign policies, seriously addressed legitimate grievances of Arabs and Muslims on the Palestine-Israel issue, and ceased its drive for political and economic domination over their areas of the world — the very grievances the commission acknowledges are widespread in the Muslim world — we could reduce the threat of terrorism against us in far less time. In addition, many of us believe that, unless the U.S. does change its foreign policies, the threat, and the actuality, of a heightened level of terrorism, and probably of nuclear warfare as well, against us and our allies will persist far longer than just decades. Given that fewer than 300 million people now reside in the U.S., whereas the rest of the world’s population, at 6 billion, is 20 times as large, American leaders today are playing an unwinnable hand and their drive for global domination is doomed beyond the very short term.</p>
<p>Quite grandiosely, the report states in more than one place, “The present transnational danger is Islamist terrorism.” Danger to whom? If you were a Muslim, might you instead figure that the “present transnational danger” to you was Christian fundamentalist extremism, given some of the statements certain fundamentalist leaders in the U.S. have recently made about Islam? Or might you see transnational danger arising from the alliance of Christian and Jewish fundamentalism arrayed against your world? It is not helpful to the future of global peace and stability that a combination of Republican and Democratic leaders in the U.S. would put out such a self-centered report, and then praise their own achievement of unity in doing so.</p>
<p>U.S. self-centeredness is also on display in the recommendations of the report. One recommendation in Chapter 12 is that the U.S. “must identify and prioritize actual or potential terrorist sanctuaries. For each, it should have a realistic strategy to keep possible terrorists insecure and on the run, using all elements of national power. . . . We offer three illustrations that are particularly applicable today, in 2004: Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Saudi Arabia.” Why was Israel not mentioned here? Is not Israel a potential or actual sanctuary for terrorists targeting Palestinians? Do not Israeli settlers ever commit terrorism? Do not Israeli soldiers ever commit state terrorism?</p>
<p>There is yet more in Chapter 12 that demonstrates the one-sidedness of this report. In discussing Saudi Arabia, the report says, with no qualifications, “The Western notion of separation of civic and religious duty does not exist in Islamic cultures.” This at least needs further discussion. The statement may be applicable to Saudi Arabia, but it is not entirely accurate with respect to Arab states that were or are largely secular, such as Iraq and Syria. It was and is not fully applicable either to the Palestinian Authority, although the secular aspects of that body have certainly weakened in recent years under the pressures of occupation.</p>
<p>Here is another recommendation of this one-sided commission. “The problems in the U.S.-Saudi relationship must be confronted, openly. . . . [An effort should be made to work toward] a shared interest in greater tolerance and cultural respect, translating into a commitment to fight the violent extremists who foment hatred.” Should not problems in the U.S.-Israeli relationship be confronted just as openly? If you were a Muslim, would you not regard it as equally important to global peace and stability that the U.S. work for tolerance and cultural respect in both America and Israel as well, and work toward translating that into a commitment to fight extremists who foment hatred of Islam in both nations?</p>
<p>One short paragraph of Chapter 12 reads this way. “In short, the United States has to help defeat an ideology, not just a group of people, and we must do so under difficult circumstances. How can the United States and its friends help moderate Muslims combat the extremist ideas?” The report wastes several hundred words trying to answer this question, but does not mention or discuss even the possibility that the U.S. might — just might — pursue policies toward Palestine fairer than those we have pursued in the past. If it is true that the U.S. “has to help defeat” an Islamic ideology espoused by a minority of Muslims, might not the best way be to help defeat another ideology — the ideology of a minority of Jews that “Judea and Samaria” should belong entirely and exclusively to Israel? Suggesting this may be a third rail of American politics, but that is not an argument that will persuade many moderate Muslims whom the U.S. is allegedly seeking to influence.</p>
<p>Anyone can find numerous other examples in Chapter 12, all leading to similar conclusions. Only one more point is worth making here. The executive summary of the commission report, which your ten dollars will not provide to you but is all that many government leaders around the world are likely to read, does not contain a single use of the words “Israel” or “Israeli” — or, one will not be surprised to learn, of words like “Palestinian” or “oppression” or “injustice.” This certainly gives high-level readers precisely the kind of picture of what’s going on in the world that U.S. leaders of both major political parties, and the leaders of the present government of Israel, want the world to believe. It is clearly not a fair and exact picture.</p>
<p>Bill Christison was a senior official of the CIA. He served as a National Intelligence Officer and as Director of the CIA’s Office of Regional and Political Analysis. He is a contributor to <a href="http://www.easycarts.net/ecarts/CounterPunch/CP_Books.html" type="external">Imperial Crusades</a>, CounterPunch’s new history of the wars on Iraq and Afghanistan.</p>
<p>Kathleen Christison, a former CIA political analyst, is the author of Perceptions of Palestine: Their Influence on U.S. Middle East Policy and The Wound of Dispossession: Telling the Palestinian Story. They can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>.</p> | Dodging the Issue of Palestine-Israel; Blinkered on Causes of Terrorism | true | https://counterpunch.org/2004/07/27/dodging-the-issue-of-palestine-israel-blinkered-on-causes-of-terrorism/ | 2004-07-27 | 4left
| Dodging the Issue of Palestine-Israel; Blinkered on Causes of Terrorism
<p>Former CIA analysts</p>
<p>Chapter 12 of the 9/11 Commission’s report, titled “What to Do? A Global Strategy,” is the philosophical heart of the entire report. It is certainly the most important chapter for those who believe that nothing the U.S. can do in expanding and reorganizing its military and intelligence apparatus will contribute anything of value to the future peace and stability of the world. If implemented, the recommendations in this chapter will instead take U.S. foreign policies down precisely the wrong roads — roads that will lead to less peace and greater instability for both the United States and the entire globe.</p>
<p>Everyone had undoubtedly seen, if not read, the 567-page volume — perhaps half the length of the bible — issued on July 23, and the commission seems to hope that the book will achieve at least half the importance that is accorded the bible by good Christians. The executive summary, a separate document not included in the ten-dollar reprint of the report available in bookstores nationwide, begins with two ponderous statements that, in substantive and functional ways, set a tone of self-importance for the commission. On September 11, the commission declares, “the United States became a nation transformed.” In almost the same breath, the commission congratulates itself for achieving unity in these difficult times: “Ten Commissioners — five Republicans and five Democrats chosen by elected leaders from our nation’s capital at a time of great partisan division — have come together to present this report without dissent.”</p>
<p>Chapter 12, with which we are concerned here, covers nearly 40 pages. Early in this chapter, in what may be the key passage of the report, the commissioners emphasize that, “The enemy is not just ‘terrorism,’ some generic evil. . . . It is the threat posed by Islamist terrorism. . . . [Extremist Islam] is further fed by grievances stressed by Bin Ladin and widely felt throughout the Muslim world — against the U.S. military presence in the Middle East, policies perceived as anti-Arab and anti-Muslim, and support of Israel. Bin Ladin and Islamist terrorists mean exactly what they say: to them America is the font of all evil, the ‘head of the snake,’ and it must be converted or destroyed.”</p>
<p>So far so good, but exactly at this point in the report, all ten commissioners approved the following assertion of their utter myopia. The Islamist position described above, they say, “is not a position with which Americans can bargain or negotiate. With it there is no common ground — not even respect for life — on which to begin a dialogue. It can only be destroyed or utterly isolated.” The statement does pay some lip service to the notion that “cures” to this situation must come “from within Muslim societies themselves,” but emphasizes that “this process is likely to be measured in decades, not years.” Then comes a little more lip service, saying that, of course, “Islam is not the enemy. It is not synonymous with terror.”</p>
<p>But overall, the commission’s categorical statements paint a bleak picture, describing a situation that allegedly cannot improve for decades. Many of us would argue the contrary case, that if the U.S. actually changed its foreign policies, seriously addressed legitimate grievances of Arabs and Muslims on the Palestine-Israel issue, and ceased its drive for political and economic domination over their areas of the world — the very grievances the commission acknowledges are widespread in the Muslim world — we could reduce the threat of terrorism against us in far less time. In addition, many of us believe that, unless the U.S. does change its foreign policies, the threat, and the actuality, of a heightened level of terrorism, and probably of nuclear warfare as well, against us and our allies will persist far longer than just decades. Given that fewer than 300 million people now reside in the U.S., whereas the rest of the world’s population, at 6 billion, is 20 times as large, American leaders today are playing an unwinnable hand and their drive for global domination is doomed beyond the very short term.</p>
<p>Quite grandiosely, the report states in more than one place, “The present transnational danger is Islamist terrorism.” Danger to whom? If you were a Muslim, might you instead figure that the “present transnational danger” to you was Christian fundamentalist extremism, given some of the statements certain fundamentalist leaders in the U.S. have recently made about Islam? Or might you see transnational danger arising from the alliance of Christian and Jewish fundamentalism arrayed against your world? It is not helpful to the future of global peace and stability that a combination of Republican and Democratic leaders in the U.S. would put out such a self-centered report, and then praise their own achievement of unity in doing so.</p>
<p>U.S. self-centeredness is also on display in the recommendations of the report. One recommendation in Chapter 12 is that the U.S. “must identify and prioritize actual or potential terrorist sanctuaries. For each, it should have a realistic strategy to keep possible terrorists insecure and on the run, using all elements of national power. . . . We offer three illustrations that are particularly applicable today, in 2004: Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Saudi Arabia.” Why was Israel not mentioned here? Is not Israel a potential or actual sanctuary for terrorists targeting Palestinians? Do not Israeli settlers ever commit terrorism? Do not Israeli soldiers ever commit state terrorism?</p>
<p>There is yet more in Chapter 12 that demonstrates the one-sidedness of this report. In discussing Saudi Arabia, the report says, with no qualifications, “The Western notion of separation of civic and religious duty does not exist in Islamic cultures.” This at least needs further discussion. The statement may be applicable to Saudi Arabia, but it is not entirely accurate with respect to Arab states that were or are largely secular, such as Iraq and Syria. It was and is not fully applicable either to the Palestinian Authority, although the secular aspects of that body have certainly weakened in recent years under the pressures of occupation.</p>
<p>Here is another recommendation of this one-sided commission. “The problems in the U.S.-Saudi relationship must be confronted, openly. . . . [An effort should be made to work toward] a shared interest in greater tolerance and cultural respect, translating into a commitment to fight the violent extremists who foment hatred.” Should not problems in the U.S.-Israeli relationship be confronted just as openly? If you were a Muslim, would you not regard it as equally important to global peace and stability that the U.S. work for tolerance and cultural respect in both America and Israel as well, and work toward translating that into a commitment to fight extremists who foment hatred of Islam in both nations?</p>
<p>One short paragraph of Chapter 12 reads this way. “In short, the United States has to help defeat an ideology, not just a group of people, and we must do so under difficult circumstances. How can the United States and its friends help moderate Muslims combat the extremist ideas?” The report wastes several hundred words trying to answer this question, but does not mention or discuss even the possibility that the U.S. might — just might — pursue policies toward Palestine fairer than those we have pursued in the past. If it is true that the U.S. “has to help defeat” an Islamic ideology espoused by a minority of Muslims, might not the best way be to help defeat another ideology — the ideology of a minority of Jews that “Judea and Samaria” should belong entirely and exclusively to Israel? Suggesting this may be a third rail of American politics, but that is not an argument that will persuade many moderate Muslims whom the U.S. is allegedly seeking to influence.</p>
<p>Anyone can find numerous other examples in Chapter 12, all leading to similar conclusions. Only one more point is worth making here. The executive summary of the commission report, which your ten dollars will not provide to you but is all that many government leaders around the world are likely to read, does not contain a single use of the words “Israel” or “Israeli” — or, one will not be surprised to learn, of words like “Palestinian” or “oppression” or “injustice.” This certainly gives high-level readers precisely the kind of picture of what’s going on in the world that U.S. leaders of both major political parties, and the leaders of the present government of Israel, want the world to believe. It is clearly not a fair and exact picture.</p>
<p>Bill Christison was a senior official of the CIA. He served as a National Intelligence Officer and as Director of the CIA’s Office of Regional and Political Analysis. He is a contributor to <a href="http://www.easycarts.net/ecarts/CounterPunch/CP_Books.html" type="external">Imperial Crusades</a>, CounterPunch’s new history of the wars on Iraq and Afghanistan.</p>
<p>Kathleen Christison, a former CIA political analyst, is the author of Perceptions of Palestine: Their Influence on U.S. Middle East Policy and The Wound of Dispossession: Telling the Palestinian Story. They can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>.</p> | 4,427 |
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<p>One of the deans named as a finalist Tuesday during a special meeting of the Board of Regents is Garrey Carruthers, the former Repubican governor of New Mexico who currently heads NMSU’s College of Business and also holds the title of vice president for economic development.</p>
<p>The other dean listed as a finalist also has ties to NMSU. Daniel Howard, (CQ) dean of the University of Colorado at Denver’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, was a biology professor at NMSU starting in 1988, and was interim associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences before taking a job in Colorado in 2008.</p>
<p>The other three finalists are:</p>
<p>– David B. Ashley, professor of engineering and former president of the University of Nevada at Las Vegas.</p>
<p>– Guy Bailey, professor of English and former president of the University of Alabama and Texas Tech University.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>– Elsa A. Murano, former president of Texas A&amp;M University and currently interim director of the Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture there.</p>
<p>The five finalists will go through meetings with various NMSU stakeholder groups from April 21 through May 2, with the Board of Regents expected to announce the next president no later than May 10, said Regents Chairman Mike Cheney.</p>
<p>The search for a new permanent president was launched following the resignation of former president Barbara Couture in October.</p>
<p>“We focused on excellence throughout,” said Larry Lujan, chair of the presidential search committee, which presented regents with five recommended finalists during a closed-door meeting early Tuesday. “We wanted to deliver a list of finalists that would make the regents selection difficult because any one of them will be a great president for our university.” .</p> | Breaking: NMSU names finalists for president | false | https://abqjournal.com/186956/breaking-nmsu-names-finalists-for-president.html | 2least
| Breaking: NMSU names finalists for president
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<p />
<p>One of the deans named as a finalist Tuesday during a special meeting of the Board of Regents is Garrey Carruthers, the former Repubican governor of New Mexico who currently heads NMSU’s College of Business and also holds the title of vice president for economic development.</p>
<p>The other dean listed as a finalist also has ties to NMSU. Daniel Howard, (CQ) dean of the University of Colorado at Denver’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, was a biology professor at NMSU starting in 1988, and was interim associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences before taking a job in Colorado in 2008.</p>
<p>The other three finalists are:</p>
<p>– David B. Ashley, professor of engineering and former president of the University of Nevada at Las Vegas.</p>
<p>– Guy Bailey, professor of English and former president of the University of Alabama and Texas Tech University.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>– Elsa A. Murano, former president of Texas A&amp;M University and currently interim director of the Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture there.</p>
<p>The five finalists will go through meetings with various NMSU stakeholder groups from April 21 through May 2, with the Board of Regents expected to announce the next president no later than May 10, said Regents Chairman Mike Cheney.</p>
<p>The search for a new permanent president was launched following the resignation of former president Barbara Couture in October.</p>
<p>“We focused on excellence throughout,” said Larry Lujan, chair of the presidential search committee, which presented regents with five recommended finalists during a closed-door meeting early Tuesday. “We wanted to deliver a list of finalists that would make the regents selection difficult because any one of them will be a great president for our university.” .</p> | 4,428 |
|
<p>Syndicated columnist Richard Cohen declared in the Washington Post on Tuesday that an-eye-for-an-eye would be a hopelessly wimpy policy for the Israeli government.</p>
<p>“Anyone who knows anything about the Middle East knows that proportionality is madness,” he wrote. “For Israel, a small country within reach, as we are finding out, of a missile launched from any enemy’s back yard, proportionality is not only inapplicable, it is suicide. The last thing it needs is a war of attrition. It is not good enough to take out this or that missile battery. It is necessary to reestablish deterrence: You slap me, I will punch out your lights.”</p>
<p>Cohen likes to sit in front of a computer and use flip phrases like “punch out your lights” as euphemisms for burning human flesh and bones with high-tech weapons, courtesy of American taxpayers.</p>
<p>In mid-November 1998, when President Clinton canceled plans for air attacks on Iraq after Saddam Hussein promised full cooperation with U.N. weapons inspectors, Cohen wrote: “Something is out of balance here. The Clinton administration waited too long to act. It needed to punch out Iraq’s lights, and it did not do so.”</p>
<p>The resort to euphemism tells us a lot. So does Cohen’s track record of sweeping statements on behalf of his zeal for military actions funded by the U.S. Treasury.</p>
<p>On February 6, 2003, the Washington Post published Richard Cohen’s judgment the morning after Colin Powell made his televised presentation to the U.N. Security Council. “The evidence he presented to the United Nations — some of it circumstantial, some of it absolutely bone-chilling in its detail — had to prove to anyone that Iraq not only hasn’t accounted for its weapons of mass destruction but without a doubt still retains them,” Cohen wrote. “Only a fool — or possibly a Frenchman — could conclude otherwise.”</p>
<p>Cohen’s moral certainties are on a par with his technical ones. While he condemns rockets fired into Israel, he expresses pleasure about missiles fired by the Israeli government. That the death toll of civilians is far higher from Israel’s weaponry does not appear to bother him. On the contrary, he seems glad about the killing spree by the Israeli military.</p>
<p>In a column with bigoted overtones (“Israel is, as I have often said, unfortunately located, gentrifying a pretty bad neighborhood”), Cohen’s eagerness to support additional large-scale bombing by Israel is thematic. Consider this passage: “Hezbollah, with the aid of Iran and Syria, has shown that it is no longer necessary to send a dazed suicide bomber over the border — all that is needed is the requisite amount of thrust and a warhead. That being the case, it’s either stupid or mean for anyone to call for proportionality. The only way to ensure that babies don’t die in their cribs and old people in the streets is to make the Lebanese or the Palestinians understand that if they, no matter how reluctantly, host those rockets, they will pay a very, very steep price.”</p>
<p>Such phrasing is classic evasion by keyboard cheerleaders for war: “The” Lebanese. “The” Palestinians. “They will pay a very, very steep price.” Meanwhile, in the real world, the vast majority of the victims of the Israeli onslaught are civilians being subjected to collective punishment.</p>
<p>Cohen — like so many others in the American punditocracy — depicts the death of an Israeli civilian as far more tragic and important than the death of an Arab civilian.</p>
<p>There’s something really sick about such righteous support for civilian death and destruction.</p>
<p>Osama bin Laden, meet Richard Cohen.</p>
<p>Richard, meet Osama.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Applauding While Lebanon Burns | true | https://counterpunch.org/2006/07/26/applauding-while-lebanon-burns/ | 2006-07-26 | 4left
| Applauding While Lebanon Burns
<p>Syndicated columnist Richard Cohen declared in the Washington Post on Tuesday that an-eye-for-an-eye would be a hopelessly wimpy policy for the Israeli government.</p>
<p>“Anyone who knows anything about the Middle East knows that proportionality is madness,” he wrote. “For Israel, a small country within reach, as we are finding out, of a missile launched from any enemy’s back yard, proportionality is not only inapplicable, it is suicide. The last thing it needs is a war of attrition. It is not good enough to take out this or that missile battery. It is necessary to reestablish deterrence: You slap me, I will punch out your lights.”</p>
<p>Cohen likes to sit in front of a computer and use flip phrases like “punch out your lights” as euphemisms for burning human flesh and bones with high-tech weapons, courtesy of American taxpayers.</p>
<p>In mid-November 1998, when President Clinton canceled plans for air attacks on Iraq after Saddam Hussein promised full cooperation with U.N. weapons inspectors, Cohen wrote: “Something is out of balance here. The Clinton administration waited too long to act. It needed to punch out Iraq’s lights, and it did not do so.”</p>
<p>The resort to euphemism tells us a lot. So does Cohen’s track record of sweeping statements on behalf of his zeal for military actions funded by the U.S. Treasury.</p>
<p>On February 6, 2003, the Washington Post published Richard Cohen’s judgment the morning after Colin Powell made his televised presentation to the U.N. Security Council. “The evidence he presented to the United Nations — some of it circumstantial, some of it absolutely bone-chilling in its detail — had to prove to anyone that Iraq not only hasn’t accounted for its weapons of mass destruction but without a doubt still retains them,” Cohen wrote. “Only a fool — or possibly a Frenchman — could conclude otherwise.”</p>
<p>Cohen’s moral certainties are on a par with his technical ones. While he condemns rockets fired into Israel, he expresses pleasure about missiles fired by the Israeli government. That the death toll of civilians is far higher from Israel’s weaponry does not appear to bother him. On the contrary, he seems glad about the killing spree by the Israeli military.</p>
<p>In a column with bigoted overtones (“Israel is, as I have often said, unfortunately located, gentrifying a pretty bad neighborhood”), Cohen’s eagerness to support additional large-scale bombing by Israel is thematic. Consider this passage: “Hezbollah, with the aid of Iran and Syria, has shown that it is no longer necessary to send a dazed suicide bomber over the border — all that is needed is the requisite amount of thrust and a warhead. That being the case, it’s either stupid or mean for anyone to call for proportionality. The only way to ensure that babies don’t die in their cribs and old people in the streets is to make the Lebanese or the Palestinians understand that if they, no matter how reluctantly, host those rockets, they will pay a very, very steep price.”</p>
<p>Such phrasing is classic evasion by keyboard cheerleaders for war: “The” Lebanese. “The” Palestinians. “They will pay a very, very steep price.” Meanwhile, in the real world, the vast majority of the victims of the Israeli onslaught are civilians being subjected to collective punishment.</p>
<p>Cohen — like so many others in the American punditocracy — depicts the death of an Israeli civilian as far more tragic and important than the death of an Arab civilian.</p>
<p>There’s something really sick about such righteous support for civilian death and destruction.</p>
<p>Osama bin Laden, meet Richard Cohen.</p>
<p>Richard, meet Osama.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | 4,429 |
<p>20th Century Fox and <a href="http://variety.com/t/locksmith/" type="external">Locksmith</a> Animation have entered into a long-term co-production and development deal, Variety has learned.</p>
<p>It comes as Fox is ramping up the number of family films it makes. Stacey Snider, who took over as the sole head of the studio a year ago, wants Fox to release an animated picture annually. The studio had been distributing pictures from DreamWorks Animation, but that deal is ending after Comcast bought the company. Fox owns Blue Sky, the makers of the “Ice Age” films. Locksmith will create a new film every 18 months, which will augment Blue Sky’s slate.</p>
<p>“We don’t want to miss a season when it comes to animated films,” said Snider.</p>
<p>The animation studio will enter the pact with three projects that are far along in their development — one has been greenlit. Locksmith’s first film with Fox will hit theaters in the autumn of 2020. Founder Sarah Smith won’t announce the project, but said that the company’s movies are entirely original and not based on books or pre-existing intellectual property.</p>
<p>“They’re big comedy adventures with contemporary kids in mind,” she said.</p>
<p>Animation continues to be big business in Hollywood. For example, four of the ten highest-grossing domestic releases in 2016 were animated features.</p>
<p>Smith the writer and director of “Arthur Christmas” founded the company with producer Julie Lockhart (“Shaun the Sheep Movie,” “Pirates! In an Adventure With Scientists!”). It has backing from Elisabeth Murdoch, the daughter of Fox’s owner Rupert Murdoch. Locksmith initially had a deal set up at Paramount, but that was signed under the studio’s former chief Brad Grey. When Grey was forced out this year and replaced by Jim Gianopulos, Locksmith’s projects were deemed to not be a fit and Gianopulos gave the company his blessing to find alternative distribution.</p>
<p>“We met with many studios, but Fox leapt at our projects with the most enthusiasm,” said Smith. “Strategically at this moment it made the most sense.”</p>
<p>Snider says she was attracted to the company because Smith is a filmmaker, not just an executive.</p>
<p>“When filmmakers are recruiting talent, they can recruit in a unique way,” she said.</p>
<p>The companies began talking about a possible deal in June.</p>
<p>“I was told by executives there that this deal moved faster than anything they’d seen before,” said Smith.</p> | Fox, Locksmith Animation Ink Multi-Year Production, Development Deal (EXCLUSIVE) | false | https://newsline.com/fox-locksmith-animation-ink-multi-year-production-development-deal-exclusive/ | 2017-09-20 | 1right-center
| Fox, Locksmith Animation Ink Multi-Year Production, Development Deal (EXCLUSIVE)
<p>20th Century Fox and <a href="http://variety.com/t/locksmith/" type="external">Locksmith</a> Animation have entered into a long-term co-production and development deal, Variety has learned.</p>
<p>It comes as Fox is ramping up the number of family films it makes. Stacey Snider, who took over as the sole head of the studio a year ago, wants Fox to release an animated picture annually. The studio had been distributing pictures from DreamWorks Animation, but that deal is ending after Comcast bought the company. Fox owns Blue Sky, the makers of the “Ice Age” films. Locksmith will create a new film every 18 months, which will augment Blue Sky’s slate.</p>
<p>“We don’t want to miss a season when it comes to animated films,” said Snider.</p>
<p>The animation studio will enter the pact with three projects that are far along in their development — one has been greenlit. Locksmith’s first film with Fox will hit theaters in the autumn of 2020. Founder Sarah Smith won’t announce the project, but said that the company’s movies are entirely original and not based on books or pre-existing intellectual property.</p>
<p>“They’re big comedy adventures with contemporary kids in mind,” she said.</p>
<p>Animation continues to be big business in Hollywood. For example, four of the ten highest-grossing domestic releases in 2016 were animated features.</p>
<p>Smith the writer and director of “Arthur Christmas” founded the company with producer Julie Lockhart (“Shaun the Sheep Movie,” “Pirates! In an Adventure With Scientists!”). It has backing from Elisabeth Murdoch, the daughter of Fox’s owner Rupert Murdoch. Locksmith initially had a deal set up at Paramount, but that was signed under the studio’s former chief Brad Grey. When Grey was forced out this year and replaced by Jim Gianopulos, Locksmith’s projects were deemed to not be a fit and Gianopulos gave the company his blessing to find alternative distribution.</p>
<p>“We met with many studios, but Fox leapt at our projects with the most enthusiasm,” said Smith. “Strategically at this moment it made the most sense.”</p>
<p>Snider says she was attracted to the company because Smith is a filmmaker, not just an executive.</p>
<p>“When filmmakers are recruiting talent, they can recruit in a unique way,” she said.</p>
<p>The companies began talking about a possible deal in June.</p>
<p>“I was told by executives there that this deal moved faster than anything they’d seen before,” said Smith.</p> | 4,430 |
<p>Photo by flickr user &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tracy_olson/61056391/sizes/l/" target="blank"&gt;Tracy O&lt;/a&gt; used under a Creative Commons license.</p>
<p>This is Part II of a Mother Jones <a href="" type="internal">special report</a> on the defense budget. Click the links for Parts <a href="" type="internal">I</a>, <a href="" type="internal">III</a>, <a href="" type="internal">IV</a> and <a href="" type="internal">V</a>.</p>
<p>Let’s start with the biggest no-brainer of a problem: the Pentagon’s mind-boggling budget blowouts. That is, setting aside for a moment the question of which weapons the DOD should or shouldn’t buy, how much money does it waste?</p>
<p>In 2008, the Pentagon calculated that its existing weapons commitments will ultimately cost the government $1.6 trillion. A big chunk of that total—$296 billion, to be exact—is cost overruns. &#160;</p>
<p />
<p>Source: GAO</p>
<p>That $296 billion doesn’t come from a few big programs running over budget and messing up the balance sheet, either. Blowouts are the norm, not the exception.</p>
<p />
<p>Source: GAO</p>
<p>And the overruns are frequently significant—in fact, on average weapons programs cost 26 percent more than the initial estimates. Missed deadlines are also standard practice:</p>
<p />
<p>Source: GAO</p>
<p>In other words, almost nothing about Pentagon contracting works as it should. It would be tempting to blame all of these excesses on the Bush administration’s lax attitude toward oversight: Overruns and delays definitely got worse between 2000 and 2008. But if you take a look further back, you see that overruns have increased at a predictable clip over the past 15 years—an average of 1.86 percent a year, to be exact. If Pentagon spending continues at its current rate, average overruns will reach 46 percent in 10 years.</p>
<p />
<p>Source: <a href="http://www.deloitte.com/dtt/article/0,1002,sid%253D2223%2526cid%253D233750,00.html" type="external">Deloitte Consulting LLP</a></p>
<p>There has been much fanfare about Gates’ spending “cuts,” and there will be a brief obsession with whatever Congress approves when it eventually passes a defense budget. But even if Congress resists the urge to stuff the bill with pork and gives Gates everything he wants, real Pentagon spending will inevitably be far, far higher.</p>
<p />
<p>That $296 billion in cost overruns is so staggering that I wanted to put it in some perspective. There is no single country whose entire military costs even close to what the US has wasted to date on big-ticket weapons programs. To wit:</p>
<p />
<p>(Foreign defense budget totals are for 2008)</p>
<p>That’s right: China, which was the world’s single second-biggest defense spender in 2008 after the US and supposedly such an existential threat that it justified the purchase of obsolete and exorbitant weapons programs, spends less than a third of what the Pentagon is wasting.</p>
<p>In fact, the amount the US is wasting on weapons exceeds the GDPs of some sizeable countries, including:</p>
<p>Research credit: Taylor Wiles</p>
<p>(Links will go live as reports are published.)</p> | Operation Overrun | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2009/06/operation-overrun/ | 2009-06-23 | 4left
| Operation Overrun
<p>Photo by flickr user &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tracy_olson/61056391/sizes/l/" target="blank"&gt;Tracy O&lt;/a&gt; used under a Creative Commons license.</p>
<p>This is Part II of a Mother Jones <a href="" type="internal">special report</a> on the defense budget. Click the links for Parts <a href="" type="internal">I</a>, <a href="" type="internal">III</a>, <a href="" type="internal">IV</a> and <a href="" type="internal">V</a>.</p>
<p>Let’s start with the biggest no-brainer of a problem: the Pentagon’s mind-boggling budget blowouts. That is, setting aside for a moment the question of which weapons the DOD should or shouldn’t buy, how much money does it waste?</p>
<p>In 2008, the Pentagon calculated that its existing weapons commitments will ultimately cost the government $1.6 trillion. A big chunk of that total—$296 billion, to be exact—is cost overruns. &#160;</p>
<p />
<p>Source: GAO</p>
<p>That $296 billion doesn’t come from a few big programs running over budget and messing up the balance sheet, either. Blowouts are the norm, not the exception.</p>
<p />
<p>Source: GAO</p>
<p>And the overruns are frequently significant—in fact, on average weapons programs cost 26 percent more than the initial estimates. Missed deadlines are also standard practice:</p>
<p />
<p>Source: GAO</p>
<p>In other words, almost nothing about Pentagon contracting works as it should. It would be tempting to blame all of these excesses on the Bush administration’s lax attitude toward oversight: Overruns and delays definitely got worse between 2000 and 2008. But if you take a look further back, you see that overruns have increased at a predictable clip over the past 15 years—an average of 1.86 percent a year, to be exact. If Pentagon spending continues at its current rate, average overruns will reach 46 percent in 10 years.</p>
<p />
<p>Source: <a href="http://www.deloitte.com/dtt/article/0,1002,sid%253D2223%2526cid%253D233750,00.html" type="external">Deloitte Consulting LLP</a></p>
<p>There has been much fanfare about Gates’ spending “cuts,” and there will be a brief obsession with whatever Congress approves when it eventually passes a defense budget. But even if Congress resists the urge to stuff the bill with pork and gives Gates everything he wants, real Pentagon spending will inevitably be far, far higher.</p>
<p />
<p>That $296 billion in cost overruns is so staggering that I wanted to put it in some perspective. There is no single country whose entire military costs even close to what the US has wasted to date on big-ticket weapons programs. To wit:</p>
<p />
<p>(Foreign defense budget totals are for 2008)</p>
<p>That’s right: China, which was the world’s single second-biggest defense spender in 2008 after the US and supposedly such an existential threat that it justified the purchase of obsolete and exorbitant weapons programs, spends less than a third of what the Pentagon is wasting.</p>
<p>In fact, the amount the US is wasting on weapons exceeds the GDPs of some sizeable countries, including:</p>
<p>Research credit: Taylor Wiles</p>
<p>(Links will go live as reports are published.)</p> | 4,431 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Cuomo has embarked on projects to rebuild Penn Station and LaGuardia and Kennedy airports, and to replace the aging Tappan Zee Bridge. There are also plans to invest billions of dollars into upstate highways, modernize New York City’s subways and build a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River.</p>
<p>Federal support could be critical to getting the work done. And while they disagree on immigration, abortion and many other issues, the Democrat Cuomo is hoping a fondness for building things can be the common ground with the Republican Trump. Cuomo said he spoke to Trump the day after the election and specifically mentioned the importance of infrastructure.</p>
<p>“He is a New Yorker,” Cuomo said. “Mr. Trump is very much a private sector builder. … So, he has a natural orientation toward the needs of this type of urban area. I think that’s a good thing.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Trump has bemoaned the state of American infrastructure, saying some of it reminds him of the Third World. He has called for a massive push to rebuild roads, airports, the power grid and other infrastructure. One plan would cost as much as $1 trillion, to be funded primarily through private investment encouraged by big tax incentives.</p>
<p>“We will build the roads, highways, bridges, tunnels, airports and the railways of tomorrow,” Trump said in his speech at the Republican National Convention. “This, in turn, will create millions more jobs.”</p>
<p>Messages left with the Trump transition team regarding specific investments in New York state projects were not returned.</p>
<p>Trump and Cuomo have known each other for decades as the two Queens natives built professional lives in New York City. Trump had a cordial relationship with former Gov. Mario Cuomo, Andrew’s late father, that turned sour in the’90s. Trump was briefly mentioned as a possible challenger to Cuomo in the 2014 gubernatorial election.</p>
<p>Any cooperation on infrastructure between Trump and Cuomo could be undermined, however, by their sharp disagreements on most other issues. Cuomo has taken a harder line since their postelection phone call, expressing concerns about what Trump’s election has meant for racial tolerance and immigration. His name was also added to the list of Democrats seen as possible contenders for the White House in 2020.</p>
<p>“That could impact the interaction between the president-elect and the governor,” said Larry Bridwell, international business professor at Pace University. But he added that supporting infrastructure in and around New York City would have one other added benefit for Trump: “It would obviously increase the real estate value of the Trump Organization.”</p>
<p>Several of the projects on New York state’s to-do-list can’t be accomplished without significant federal investment. The Hudson Rail tunnel, which would ease congestion on busy commuter rail lines coming from New Jersey, is expected to cost $20 billion. New York and New Jersey have agreed to pay for half of the work, with the federal government on the hook for the remaining $10 billion.</p>
<p>Amtrak CEO Wick Moorman said Wednesday at a packed Penn Station that he is hopeful about Trump’s talk on infrastructure, especially because of the need for another Hudson River tunnel.</p>
<p>“We have two. They’re a hundred-plus years old. They have to be rehabilitated. We’re out of space in the station, we’re out of space in the tunnels, we have hundred-year-old bridges on both sides of Manhattan,” he said. “So there’re huge projects like that and we’re very optimistic that if there’s money for infrastructure a lot of these basic needs are going to be addressed.”</p>
<p>Federal support is also vital to maintaining the state’s drinking water and sewer systems, which will need an estimated $80 billion in repairs, replacements and upgrades over the next two decades.</p> | NY’s Cuomo finds common ground with Trump on infrastructure | false | https://abqjournal.com/895733/nys-cuomo-finds-common-ground-with-trump-on-infrastructure.html | 2016-11-24 | 2least
| NY’s Cuomo finds common ground with Trump on infrastructure
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<p />
<p>Cuomo has embarked on projects to rebuild Penn Station and LaGuardia and Kennedy airports, and to replace the aging Tappan Zee Bridge. There are also plans to invest billions of dollars into upstate highways, modernize New York City’s subways and build a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River.</p>
<p>Federal support could be critical to getting the work done. And while they disagree on immigration, abortion and many other issues, the Democrat Cuomo is hoping a fondness for building things can be the common ground with the Republican Trump. Cuomo said he spoke to Trump the day after the election and specifically mentioned the importance of infrastructure.</p>
<p>“He is a New Yorker,” Cuomo said. “Mr. Trump is very much a private sector builder. … So, he has a natural orientation toward the needs of this type of urban area. I think that’s a good thing.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Trump has bemoaned the state of American infrastructure, saying some of it reminds him of the Third World. He has called for a massive push to rebuild roads, airports, the power grid and other infrastructure. One plan would cost as much as $1 trillion, to be funded primarily through private investment encouraged by big tax incentives.</p>
<p>“We will build the roads, highways, bridges, tunnels, airports and the railways of tomorrow,” Trump said in his speech at the Republican National Convention. “This, in turn, will create millions more jobs.”</p>
<p>Messages left with the Trump transition team regarding specific investments in New York state projects were not returned.</p>
<p>Trump and Cuomo have known each other for decades as the two Queens natives built professional lives in New York City. Trump had a cordial relationship with former Gov. Mario Cuomo, Andrew’s late father, that turned sour in the’90s. Trump was briefly mentioned as a possible challenger to Cuomo in the 2014 gubernatorial election.</p>
<p>Any cooperation on infrastructure between Trump and Cuomo could be undermined, however, by their sharp disagreements on most other issues. Cuomo has taken a harder line since their postelection phone call, expressing concerns about what Trump’s election has meant for racial tolerance and immigration. His name was also added to the list of Democrats seen as possible contenders for the White House in 2020.</p>
<p>“That could impact the interaction between the president-elect and the governor,” said Larry Bridwell, international business professor at Pace University. But he added that supporting infrastructure in and around New York City would have one other added benefit for Trump: “It would obviously increase the real estate value of the Trump Organization.”</p>
<p>Several of the projects on New York state’s to-do-list can’t be accomplished without significant federal investment. The Hudson Rail tunnel, which would ease congestion on busy commuter rail lines coming from New Jersey, is expected to cost $20 billion. New York and New Jersey have agreed to pay for half of the work, with the federal government on the hook for the remaining $10 billion.</p>
<p>Amtrak CEO Wick Moorman said Wednesday at a packed Penn Station that he is hopeful about Trump’s talk on infrastructure, especially because of the need for another Hudson River tunnel.</p>
<p>“We have two. They’re a hundred-plus years old. They have to be rehabilitated. We’re out of space in the station, we’re out of space in the tunnels, we have hundred-year-old bridges on both sides of Manhattan,” he said. “So there’re huge projects like that and we’re very optimistic that if there’s money for infrastructure a lot of these basic needs are going to be addressed.”</p>
<p>Federal support is also vital to maintaining the state’s drinking water and sewer systems, which will need an estimated $80 billion in repairs, replacements and upgrades over the next two decades.</p> | 4,432 |
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<p />
<p>Last year, violent crime and property crime in Las Cruces were both down 6 percent, according to the Las Cruces Police Department’s annual crime statistics.</p>
<p>“Being the leading safe city in our region demonstrates our commitment to creating and maintaining a safe and comforting environment for our residents and guests,” City Manager Stuart C. Ed said in a statement.</p>
<p>“But we are striving to do better. I compliment the women and men of the Las Cruces Police Department for their commitment to duty. Through their efforts and public partnership through the principles of community policing, we will continue to improve our service delivery,” Ed said.</p>
<p>Ed extended his thanks to LCPD Chief Jaime Montoya, who plans to retire at the end of this month following 26 years of service. “Chief Montoya was instrumental in Las Cruces obtaining this ranking. His leadership resulted in many positive outcomes,” Ed said.</p>
<p>In addition, Ed thanked the families of law enforcement for the ongoing support they give those in uniform each and every day.</p>
<p>WalletHub reports that its analysts compared 182 cities — including the 150 most populated U.S. cities — across three key dimensions: home and community safety; financial safety; and natural-disaster risk.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>More information at https://wallethub.com/edu/safest-cities-in-america/41926/</p>
<p>——</p>
<p>©2017 the Las Cruces Sun-News (Las Cruces, N.M.)</p>
<p>Visit the Las Cruces Sun-News (Las Cruces, N.M.) at <a href="http://www.lcsun-news.com" type="external">www.lcsun-news.com</a></p>
<p>Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.</p> | Las Cruces ranks among safest cities in US | false | https://abqjournal.com/1102721/las-cruces-ranks-among-safest-cities-in-us.html | 2least
| Las Cruces ranks among safest cities in US
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<p />
<p>Last year, violent crime and property crime in Las Cruces were both down 6 percent, according to the Las Cruces Police Department’s annual crime statistics.</p>
<p>“Being the leading safe city in our region demonstrates our commitment to creating and maintaining a safe and comforting environment for our residents and guests,” City Manager Stuart C. Ed said in a statement.</p>
<p>“But we are striving to do better. I compliment the women and men of the Las Cruces Police Department for their commitment to duty. Through their efforts and public partnership through the principles of community policing, we will continue to improve our service delivery,” Ed said.</p>
<p>Ed extended his thanks to LCPD Chief Jaime Montoya, who plans to retire at the end of this month following 26 years of service. “Chief Montoya was instrumental in Las Cruces obtaining this ranking. His leadership resulted in many positive outcomes,” Ed said.</p>
<p>In addition, Ed thanked the families of law enforcement for the ongoing support they give those in uniform each and every day.</p>
<p>WalletHub reports that its analysts compared 182 cities — including the 150 most populated U.S. cities — across three key dimensions: home and community safety; financial safety; and natural-disaster risk.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>More information at https://wallethub.com/edu/safest-cities-in-america/41926/</p>
<p>——</p>
<p>©2017 the Las Cruces Sun-News (Las Cruces, N.M.)</p>
<p>Visit the Las Cruces Sun-News (Las Cruces, N.M.) at <a href="http://www.lcsun-news.com" type="external">www.lcsun-news.com</a></p>
<p>Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.</p> | 4,433 |
|
<p>This post originally ran on Robert Reich’s Web page, <a href="http://robertreich.org" type="external">www.robertreich.org</a>.</p>
<p>When he meets with congressional leaders this Friday to begin discussions about avoiding the upcoming “fiscal cliff,” the President should make crystal clear that America faces two big economic challenges ahead: getting the economy back on track and getting the budget deficit under control.</p>
<p>But the two require opposite strategies. We get the economy back on track by boosting demand through low taxes on the middle class and more government spending. We get the budget deficit under control by raising taxes and reducing government spending. (Taxes can be raised on the wealthy in the short term without harming the economy because the wealthy already spend as much as they want — that’s what it means to be rich.)</p>
<p>It all boils down to timing and sequencing: First, get the economy back on track. Then tackle the budget deficit.</p>
<p />
<p>If we do too much deficit reduction too soon, we’re in trouble. That’s why the fiscal cliff is so dangerous. The Congressional Budget Office and most independent economists say it will suck so much demand out of the economy that it will push us back into recession. That’s the austerity trap of low growth, high unemployment, and falling government revenues Europe finds itself in. We don’t want to go there.</p>
<p>Although the U.S. economy is picking up and unemployment trending downward, we’re still not out of the woods. So in the foreseeable future – the next six months to a year, at least — the government has to continue to spend, and the vast middle class has to keep spending as well, unimpeded by any tax increase.</p>
<p>But waiting too long to reduce the deficit will also harm the economy – spooking creditors and causing interest rates to rise.</p>
<p>This is why any “grand bargain” to avert the fiscal cliff should contain a starting trigger that begins spending cuts and any middle-class tax increases only when the economy is strong enough. I’d make that trigger two consecutive quarters of 6 percent unemployment and 3 percent economic growth.</p>
<p>To make sure this doesn’t become a means of avoiding deficit reduction altogether, that trigger should be built right into any “grand bargain” legislation – irrevocable unless two-thirds of the House and Senate agree, and the President signs on.</p>
<p>The trigger would reassure creditors we’re serious about getting our fiscal house in order. And it would allow us to achieve our two goals in the right sequence – getting the economy back on track, and then getting the budget deficit under control. It’s sensible and do-able. But will Congress and the President do it?</p>
<p>Robert B. Reich, chancellor’s professor of public policy at UC Berkeley, was secretary of labor in the Clinton administration. Time magazine named him one of the 10 most effective Cabinet secretaries of the last century. He has written 13 books, including the best-sellers “Aftershock” and “The Work of Nations.” His latest, <a href="http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780345804372?aff=Truthdig" type="external">“Beyond Outrage,”</a> is now out in paperback. He is also a founding editor of The American Prospect magazine and chairman of Common Cause.</p>
<p /> | The President’s Opening Bid on a Grand Bargain (II): Put a Trigger Mechanism in the Legislation | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/the-presidents-opening-bid-on-a-grand-bargain-ii-put-a-trigger-mechanism-in-the-legislation/ | 2012-11-14 | 4left
| The President’s Opening Bid on a Grand Bargain (II): Put a Trigger Mechanism in the Legislation
<p>This post originally ran on Robert Reich’s Web page, <a href="http://robertreich.org" type="external">www.robertreich.org</a>.</p>
<p>When he meets with congressional leaders this Friday to begin discussions about avoiding the upcoming “fiscal cliff,” the President should make crystal clear that America faces two big economic challenges ahead: getting the economy back on track and getting the budget deficit under control.</p>
<p>But the two require opposite strategies. We get the economy back on track by boosting demand through low taxes on the middle class and more government spending. We get the budget deficit under control by raising taxes and reducing government spending. (Taxes can be raised on the wealthy in the short term without harming the economy because the wealthy already spend as much as they want — that’s what it means to be rich.)</p>
<p>It all boils down to timing and sequencing: First, get the economy back on track. Then tackle the budget deficit.</p>
<p />
<p>If we do too much deficit reduction too soon, we’re in trouble. That’s why the fiscal cliff is so dangerous. The Congressional Budget Office and most independent economists say it will suck so much demand out of the economy that it will push us back into recession. That’s the austerity trap of low growth, high unemployment, and falling government revenues Europe finds itself in. We don’t want to go there.</p>
<p>Although the U.S. economy is picking up and unemployment trending downward, we’re still not out of the woods. So in the foreseeable future – the next six months to a year, at least — the government has to continue to spend, and the vast middle class has to keep spending as well, unimpeded by any tax increase.</p>
<p>But waiting too long to reduce the deficit will also harm the economy – spooking creditors and causing interest rates to rise.</p>
<p>This is why any “grand bargain” to avert the fiscal cliff should contain a starting trigger that begins spending cuts and any middle-class tax increases only when the economy is strong enough. I’d make that trigger two consecutive quarters of 6 percent unemployment and 3 percent economic growth.</p>
<p>To make sure this doesn’t become a means of avoiding deficit reduction altogether, that trigger should be built right into any “grand bargain” legislation – irrevocable unless two-thirds of the House and Senate agree, and the President signs on.</p>
<p>The trigger would reassure creditors we’re serious about getting our fiscal house in order. And it would allow us to achieve our two goals in the right sequence – getting the economy back on track, and then getting the budget deficit under control. It’s sensible and do-able. But will Congress and the President do it?</p>
<p>Robert B. Reich, chancellor’s professor of public policy at UC Berkeley, was secretary of labor in the Clinton administration. Time magazine named him one of the 10 most effective Cabinet secretaries of the last century. He has written 13 books, including the best-sellers “Aftershock” and “The Work of Nations.” His latest, <a href="http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780345804372?aff=Truthdig" type="external">“Beyond Outrage,”</a> is now out in paperback. He is also a founding editor of The American Prospect magazine and chairman of Common Cause.</p>
<p /> | 4,434 |
<p>"It is going to be more of a Wal-Mart approach than a Gucci approach." That's how a senior Defense Department official, quoted in the L.A. Times, describes perennial Defense Secretary Robert Gates' vision for Pentagon spending priorities.</p>
<p>Now that Gates plans to stick around in the Obama administration, he'll have to walk the walk on spending cuts, a favorite talking point of his.</p>
<p>Los Angeles Times:</p>
<p>Pentagon officials, meanwhile, are bracing to see how Gates translates his words into action. Many officials believe that, under President Bush, Gates "punted" on key decisions such as the competition to build a new refueling tanker and whether to halt production of the F-22.</p>
<p />
<p>"Now he is going to be the recipient of those punts, and he won't be calling a fair catch," said Geoff Morrell, Pentagon press secretary. "He is prepared to deal with them head-on."</p>
<p><a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-weapons10-2008dec10,0,5493668.story" type="external">Read more</a></p> | For Pentagon, More Wal-Mart, Less Gucci | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/for-pentagon-more-wal-mart-less-gucci/ | 2008-12-10 | 4left
| For Pentagon, More Wal-Mart, Less Gucci
<p>"It is going to be more of a Wal-Mart approach than a Gucci approach." That's how a senior Defense Department official, quoted in the L.A. Times, describes perennial Defense Secretary Robert Gates' vision for Pentagon spending priorities.</p>
<p>Now that Gates plans to stick around in the Obama administration, he'll have to walk the walk on spending cuts, a favorite talking point of his.</p>
<p>Los Angeles Times:</p>
<p>Pentagon officials, meanwhile, are bracing to see how Gates translates his words into action. Many officials believe that, under President Bush, Gates "punted" on key decisions such as the competition to build a new refueling tanker and whether to halt production of the F-22.</p>
<p />
<p>"Now he is going to be the recipient of those punts, and he won't be calling a fair catch," said Geoff Morrell, Pentagon press secretary. "He is prepared to deal with them head-on."</p>
<p><a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-weapons10-2008dec10,0,5493668.story" type="external">Read more</a></p> | 4,435 |
<p>WARM SPRINGS, Va.—Despite mechanical troubles along the way, a Virginia Baptist Mission Board feeding unit arrived in storm-damaged Bath County, Va., in the early hours of July 2 and by 1 p.m. had set up operations in time to distribute lunch to hundreds of residents with no electricity.</p>
<p>The team was dispatched by the <a href="http://www.vbmb.org/Ministries/Disaster-Relief/default.cfm" type="external">Mission Board’s disaster relief ministry</a> to assist recovery operations in Bath, Alleghany and Highland counties, where thousands of households remain without power following violent thunderstorms that swept the region June 29.</p>
<p />
<p>By mid-afternoon July 2 the Mechanicsville, Va.-based unit had served about 500 meals, said Gerri McDaniel, a parish nurse and chaplain in Roanoke, Va., who volunteers as a crisis care chaplain for the Mission Board’s disaster relief ministry.</p>
<p>“We are anticipating that numbers will increase as people hear about the food,” said McDaniel, who was assisting the unit set up at Bath County High School in Warm Springs, Va.</p>
<p>McDaniel said the Virginia Baptist team was working in conjunction with the American Red Cross, which has organized a shelter with showers there. While some residents were coming to the feeding site, volunteers also were distributing much of the food in the area.</p>
<p>The Mission Board’s disaster relief trailer and the truck pulling it nearly didn’t make the 165-mile trip from central Virginia to the Allegheny Mountains along the state’s western border. At Covington, Va.—25 miles shy of the goal—the truck’s “transmission blew out,” said Nichole Prillaman, the Mission Board’s missions volunteer coordinator.</p>
<p>One of the local disaster relief volunteers called a friend with towing equipment and “he immediately dropped everything to come help,” said Prillaman. By a little after midnight, both the trailer and the truck had been towed to the feeding site.</p>
<p>“We were really grateful for his help,” Prillaman said.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, in Lynchburg, Va.—where about 75 percent of the city and its suburbs were still without power July 2—Baptist churches opened their facilities as cooling centers as temperatures remained unusually high.</p>
<p>“We had about 16 people spend the night here last night,” said Derik Hamby, pastor of <a href="http://randolphalive.org/cgi-bin/menu.pl?churchid=church143" type="external">Randolph Memorial Baptist Church</a> in Madison Heights, Va., just across the James River from downtown Lynchburg. “And people have been coming by all day, perhaps as many as 40 people at one time.”</p>
<p>Hamby said the American Red Cross had delivered 10 cases of bottled water and the Virginia Baptist Mission Board has offered to reimburse the church for food it distributes.</p>
<p>“We’re really grateful for those kinds of partnerships,” he said.</p>
<p>Another oasis of coolness in Lynchburg was <a href="http://www.peaklandbaptistchurch.com/" type="external">Peakland Baptist Church</a> in the city’s heavily-wooded northwestern section.</p>
<p>“The neighborhood around the church is still pretty hard hit, lots of trees are down,” said Don Harvey, Peakland’s intentional interim minister. “We’re hoping the church can be a respite from the heat.”</p>
<p>Also providing assistance in Lynchburg are the Southern Baptist Convention’s North American Mission Board and the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia, which have set up a shelter at the city’s well-known Thomas Road Baptist Church, the late evangelist Jerry Falwell’s congregation.</p>
<p>Robert Dilday ( <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>) is managing editor of the Religious Herald.</p> | Team begins food distribution, despite travel challenges | false | https://baptistnews.com/article/teambeginsfooddistributiondespitetravelchallenges/ | 3left-center
| Team begins food distribution, despite travel challenges
<p>WARM SPRINGS, Va.—Despite mechanical troubles along the way, a Virginia Baptist Mission Board feeding unit arrived in storm-damaged Bath County, Va., in the early hours of July 2 and by 1 p.m. had set up operations in time to distribute lunch to hundreds of residents with no electricity.</p>
<p>The team was dispatched by the <a href="http://www.vbmb.org/Ministries/Disaster-Relief/default.cfm" type="external">Mission Board’s disaster relief ministry</a> to assist recovery operations in Bath, Alleghany and Highland counties, where thousands of households remain without power following violent thunderstorms that swept the region June 29.</p>
<p />
<p>By mid-afternoon July 2 the Mechanicsville, Va.-based unit had served about 500 meals, said Gerri McDaniel, a parish nurse and chaplain in Roanoke, Va., who volunteers as a crisis care chaplain for the Mission Board’s disaster relief ministry.</p>
<p>“We are anticipating that numbers will increase as people hear about the food,” said McDaniel, who was assisting the unit set up at Bath County High School in Warm Springs, Va.</p>
<p>McDaniel said the Virginia Baptist team was working in conjunction with the American Red Cross, which has organized a shelter with showers there. While some residents were coming to the feeding site, volunteers also were distributing much of the food in the area.</p>
<p>The Mission Board’s disaster relief trailer and the truck pulling it nearly didn’t make the 165-mile trip from central Virginia to the Allegheny Mountains along the state’s western border. At Covington, Va.—25 miles shy of the goal—the truck’s “transmission blew out,” said Nichole Prillaman, the Mission Board’s missions volunteer coordinator.</p>
<p>One of the local disaster relief volunteers called a friend with towing equipment and “he immediately dropped everything to come help,” said Prillaman. By a little after midnight, both the trailer and the truck had been towed to the feeding site.</p>
<p>“We were really grateful for his help,” Prillaman said.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, in Lynchburg, Va.—where about 75 percent of the city and its suburbs were still without power July 2—Baptist churches opened their facilities as cooling centers as temperatures remained unusually high.</p>
<p>“We had about 16 people spend the night here last night,” said Derik Hamby, pastor of <a href="http://randolphalive.org/cgi-bin/menu.pl?churchid=church143" type="external">Randolph Memorial Baptist Church</a> in Madison Heights, Va., just across the James River from downtown Lynchburg. “And people have been coming by all day, perhaps as many as 40 people at one time.”</p>
<p>Hamby said the American Red Cross had delivered 10 cases of bottled water and the Virginia Baptist Mission Board has offered to reimburse the church for food it distributes.</p>
<p>“We’re really grateful for those kinds of partnerships,” he said.</p>
<p>Another oasis of coolness in Lynchburg was <a href="http://www.peaklandbaptistchurch.com/" type="external">Peakland Baptist Church</a> in the city’s heavily-wooded northwestern section.</p>
<p>“The neighborhood around the church is still pretty hard hit, lots of trees are down,” said Don Harvey, Peakland’s intentional interim minister. “We’re hoping the church can be a respite from the heat.”</p>
<p>Also providing assistance in Lynchburg are the Southern Baptist Convention’s North American Mission Board and the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia, which have set up a shelter at the city’s well-known Thomas Road Baptist Church, the late evangelist Jerry Falwell’s congregation.</p>
<p>Robert Dilday ( <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>) is managing editor of the Religious Herald.</p> | 4,436 |
|
<p />
<p>Intercontinental Exchange, the owner of the New York Stock Exchange, announced a 5-for-1 stock split on Wednesday and said it would buy back up to $1 billion of shares.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The company also reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit, as revenue from data services more than doubled.</p>
<p>Net income attributable to ICE rose 26 percent to $357 million, or $2.98 per share, in the second quarter ended June 30 from $283 million, or $2.54 per share, a year earlier.</p>
<p>Shares of the Atlanta-based company were up about 1 percent at $266.69 in light premarket trading.</p>
<p>Exchange operators benefited from a bout of market volatility during the latest quarter, sparked by Britain's referendum to leave the European Union as well as uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates and the global economy.</p>
<p>Last week, CBOE Holdings, operator of the largest U.S. options exchange, reported a 13.6 percent rise in profit, while CME Group Inc, the world's largest futures market operator, said its profit rose 21 percent.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Excluding items, Atlanta-based ICE earned $3.43 per share, topping analysts' average estimate of $3.38 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.</p>
<p>ICE's total revenue rose 37 percent to $1.50 billion, as revenue from its data services more than doubled to $497 million. The company said it expected 2016 data services revenue to rise by about 125 percent on a GAAP basis.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Kirti Pandey and Ted Kerr)</p> | ICE Announces 5-for-1 Stock Split, Share Buyback | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/08/03/ice-announces-5-for-1-stock-split-share-buyback.html | 2016-08-03 | 0right
| ICE Announces 5-for-1 Stock Split, Share Buyback
<p />
<p>Intercontinental Exchange, the owner of the New York Stock Exchange, announced a 5-for-1 stock split on Wednesday and said it would buy back up to $1 billion of shares.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The company also reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit, as revenue from data services more than doubled.</p>
<p>Net income attributable to ICE rose 26 percent to $357 million, or $2.98 per share, in the second quarter ended June 30 from $283 million, or $2.54 per share, a year earlier.</p>
<p>Shares of the Atlanta-based company were up about 1 percent at $266.69 in light premarket trading.</p>
<p>Exchange operators benefited from a bout of market volatility during the latest quarter, sparked by Britain's referendum to leave the European Union as well as uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates and the global economy.</p>
<p>Last week, CBOE Holdings, operator of the largest U.S. options exchange, reported a 13.6 percent rise in profit, while CME Group Inc, the world's largest futures market operator, said its profit rose 21 percent.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Excluding items, Atlanta-based ICE earned $3.43 per share, topping analysts' average estimate of $3.38 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.</p>
<p>ICE's total revenue rose 37 percent to $1.50 billion, as revenue from its data services more than doubled to $497 million. The company said it expected 2016 data services revenue to rise by about 125 percent on a GAAP basis.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Kirti Pandey and Ted Kerr)</p> | 4,437 |
<p>The story is a familiar one. Amid the collapse of two-party dominance, an independent leader rises to power. In an effort to calm frazzled nerves, he insists he will respect the rule of law and the will of the voters by maintaining the peaceful transfer of power at the end of his legally-established term. “There’s no organization that I know that would put somebody in charge for a long period of time,” he insists, “you always want turnover and change.” But in power for nearly eight years, having established a fervent support base and concentrated power in his own hands, our fair leader no longer feels the need to comfort his opponents, and his discourse radicalizes as his view of term limits shifts. Dismissing his opposition as rigid “dogmatists,” the leader now insists on the need to change course flexibly to meet circumstances. True and sustained change, he argues, requires the continuity of his successful leadership.</p>
<p>Unsurprisingly, his opponents fiercely oppose the move as dangerous: “It shows a fundamental contempt for the democratic process,” one maintains, “and it’s changing the rules to benefit yourself directly.” Ironically, it was this very same argument that the leader himself had made five years prior, when vetoing efforts to loosen term limits. Not without controversy, then, was the decision of the region’s largest newspaper–aligned politically with the leader–to wade into these conflictive waters with the following declaration:</p>
<p>The bedrock of… democracy is the voters’ right to choose. Though well intentioned… the term limits law severely limits that right, which is why this page has opposed term limits from the outset… Term limits are seductive, promising relief from mediocre, self-perpetuating incumbents and gridlocked legislatures. They are also profoundly undemocratic, arbitrarily denying voters the ability to choose between good politicians and bad.</p>
<p>While the paper had previously insisted that any change to term limits come through popular referendum, it now reverses this view, taking the position that for reasons of political expediency, a simple vote in the small executive council will do.</p>
<p>Of which banana republic are we speaking, where thinly-veiled authoritarianism threatens democratic checks and balances, and weak-kneed apologists parade about under the banner of free press? Why, the place is none other than New York City, the leader none other than Michael Bloomberg, and the newspaper none other than the New York Times. Patience: we haven’t even gotten to the hypocrisy part yet.</p>
<p>“Hugo Chávez’s Choice”</p>
<p>Term limits have a long history, dating from ancient Greece and Rome and Aristotle’s concept of “ruling and being ruled in turn.” With a trademark selectiveness (see, e.g., Senate Report 104-158), those upholding the sanctity of this standard in U.S. politics do so with no mention of the other elements Aristotle would associate with democracy, most obviously the filling of all positions by random lot (except for generals, or strategoi, who in an intriguing inversion of our own system, were to be elected). And nor is there much mention of those countries in the wealthy world which see no need for such limitations, or those celebrated leaders who have accomplished purportedly historic tasks without such fetters: Tony Blair served for 10 years, Margaret Thatcher for 11. Franklin D. Roosevelt, consistently ranked among the greatest U.S. presidents served for 12, and would have served for 16 had he survived. And this is not to mention the unlimited terms available to U.S. senators and representatives.</p>
<p>In fact, the North American obsession with term limits as political cure-all is a relatively recent phenomenon, dating largely to the 1990s and the cynical populism of House Republicans, who raised the mantle of term limits as a silver bullet against corruption. Some even seem impervious to this fervent faith: most notably, Rep. Jose Serrano (D-N.Y.), who recently proposed lifting presidential term limits in the aftermath of Barack Obama’s election. Obama himself would add, “I’m generally not in favor of term limits… I believe in one form of term limits. They’re called elections.” Given all this, then, we might expect Obama, but also Mayor Bloomberg and the editorial team at the New York Times to wholeheartedly embrace efforts at rolling back such undemocratic limitations worldwide. And who knows? Were it possible to exclude the most popular democratically-elected leader in the Western Hemisphere, they might.</p>
<p>But for anyone familiar with past Times coverage of Venezuela (including the paper’s now-notorious celebration of Chávez’s 2002 overthrow at the hands of an authoritarian group of right-wing leaders), it would be of little surprise to know that the paper breathed a sigh of relief when “Venezuela’s voters wisely blocked his plans for indefinite re-election” in 2007. And facing what the Times incorrectly considered a defeat in recent local elections, the paper’s tone turned simultaneously celebratory and stern:</p>
<p>The lesson from Sunday’s defeat — less than a year after voters rejected his plan for a power-grabbing constitutional reform — is that Venezuelans don’t want to give Mr. Chávez even more power. He should heed the message… He should abandon for good his push to change the Constitution so that he can run for a third term in 2013. Venezuelans deserve the chance to choose a competent government.</p>
<p>But this is where it gets interesting for the elephant in the room named Colombia.</p>
<p>“Mr. Uribe’s Choice”</p>
<p>Now the New York Times has never been bashful about the crush it has on this tale of hypocrisy’s third character: the narco-terrorist president of Colombia, Alvaro Uribe. Uribe is currently engaged in an effort to change the Colombian constitution for a second time to allow his own re-election, doing so not through popular plebiscite, but rather indirect legislative vote. But not that you would know this from reading the press: a recent report by FAIR shows that press coverage of Colombia and Venezuela represent an inverted mirror-image of reality, exaggerating abuses in the latter while downplaying them in the former and condemning re-election in one while ignoring it in the other. And so one might expect the paper to champion the diminutive Colombian strongman’s own efforts to eliminate term limits for himself, doing so, as in New York, through indirect vote in the legislature rather than the popular referendum Chávez has pursued. But rather than take the more openly-hypocritical route of supporting Uribe’s bid for unlimited re-election, the Times has elected a more subtle, if no less hypocritical path.</p>
<p>In parallel editorials published three months apart, we needn’t get past the titles to realize where we’re headed: whereas Chávez is diminutively called by his first name, Uribe is “Mr.” But both men have a choice, according to the Times. For Chávez, who has wrought unprecedented destruction, the broadsheet recommends quitting while he’s ahead, and before the people lose patience with his childish, anti-democratic antics. For Uribe, on the other hand, the suggestion is the same, but for very different reasons: to assume his place in the Pantheon of great Latin Americans “the leader who brought Colombia back from the brink and onto a path toward peace.” Chávez must leave because he is evil; Uribe should choose to do so because he is great.</p>
<p>So let us review, briefly, the record of this harbinger of peace that is “Mr. Uribe”:</p>
<p>According to a declassified 1991 report by the U.S. government’s Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), Uribe was described as “a close personal friend of Pablo Escobar… dedicated to collaboration with the Medellín cartel a high government levels.” &#160;His legitimacy is questionable, since in a country as divided as Colombia only 27% of the population voted in the last presidential election (compared to 43% in neighboring Venezuela). &#160;And even among that limited electorate, the “Para-Politics” scandal made clear that Uribe’s election depended on the violent duress provided by paramilitaries who have admitted to forcing local populations to vote for Uribe. By mid-2008, 62 members of Congress, mostly Uribe allies,were considered official suspects. &#160;And from the Times glowing review: “After the Supreme Court started investigating dozens of his Congressional allies for alleged ties to right-wing paramilitaries, he accused the court of being politically motivated. He has now proposed reforms that would remove the investigation of members of Congress from the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction.” All of this is not even to mention the accusations of bribery in Uribe’s prior effort to change the constitution, or his role in the recent pyramid investment scheme controversy.</p>
<p>But if Colombia’s friendliness toward U.S. interests is enough to explain the inverse correlation between Uribe’s reality and Times coverage, this political alliance falls short of the paper’s endorsing his unlimited re-election, as their political principles might suggest. It seems as though the racist assumptions of who is capable of self-government trumps principles, and for the New York Times institutional flexibility is to be determined more by the division of First versus Third world than the simple Manichaeism of friends versus enemies.</p>
<p>Chávez Poised to Win</p>
<p>If the western and opposition media is to be believed, the idea of lifting term limits in Venezuela has already been defeated in an election, namely the constitutional reform effort that was narrowly voted down in December of 2007. But while the U.S press focused on unlimited re-election as the cause of the loss for the Chavistas in that election, this is simply incorrect. Let this be clear: were the 2007 reform solely about Chávez’s re-election, it would have passed. This much is clear to those on the ground, and attested to by both Chavista and opposition strategy during the election, as the Chavistas sought to associate the reform with Chávez, and the opposition sought to oppose it without seeming “anti-Chavista.” Rather than the question of re-election, what sunk the 2007 constitutional reform effort was its complexity (it contained 69 provisions), poor campaigns (by conservative Chavistas who felt threatened by the changes), clear opposition to some elements (i.e. education, etc), and above all a failure to mobilize or even interest the Chavista base.</p>
<p>As Sunday’s referendum vote approaches, all indications are that it enjoys the support of a clear, and increasing, majority of the Venezuelan electorate. This fact is borne out in recent polling data released in Venezuela by polling firm GIS XXI. According to the polling firm, 52.9% of voters currently support the effort to eliminate presidential term limits, with only 40% opposing. Moreover, when faced with the statement, “If the people support him, President Chávez has the right to run in the elections as many times as he likes,” nearly 70% expressed agreement, and almost 75% characterize the President’s leadership as either “very good” or “good.” The more independent Venezuelan Data Analysis Institute (IVAD) has, surprisingly, given a more significant margin of victory to the “yes” vote, which it estimates at 54.6% versus 45.5% against (the margin separating the two having increased a full 3 points in recent weeks).</p>
<p>Even Datanálisis, a notoriously anti-Chavista polling firm whose director once insisted to the Los Angeles Times that Chávez needs to be assassinated, currently gives the referendum a margin of more than 3 points.&#160; While such a margin may seem unsurprising to anyone familiar with the reigning political atmosphere in Venezuela, it comes as somewhat of a surprise from Datanálisis, which just in December had the referendum losing by nearly 15 percentage points. And another opposition pollster, Hinterlaces, shows the election to be a dead heat, but does so only on the basis of misleading, urban-only polling, knowing full well that Chávez regularly outpolls the opposition by more than 20% in rural areas.</p>
<p>But if there is one thing that Chavista and anti-Chavista pollers share, it’s a significant shift in support for the referendum in recent weeks. To fully grasp why this has happened, we need to look more closely at the political dynamics underlying the process, and how these dynamics have come to bear on the impending election.</p>
<p>“Military Targets”</p>
<p>As is by now customary in Venezuelan electoral seasons, the dialectic of conflict and polarization has kicked in full-force, deepening contradictions and clarifying the degree of support that either side can claim. This is a risky business for both sides: heightened tension could well chase away moderate Chavistas, but it can equally well damage the opposition, and if the recent shifts in polling data are of any indication, the effect has been more to Chávez’s benefit. But this was as much through opposition bungling as through Chavista stage-management.</p>
<p>In late January, anti-Chávez students led a march against the referendum effort through the streets of Caracas. While the mayor of western Caracas rejected their request to march on the Supreme Court, since a pro-Chávez march would be gathering there and confrontations would be inevitable, the recently-elected metropolitan mayor Antonio Ledezma, a ferocious anti-Chavista, granted a permit. At points, students hurled bottles and rocks at the police, who responded with tear gas (a scenario repeated in various other cities). When a large truck that had been leading the march was detained by police, however, it was found to contain 100 Molotov cocktails, some fully prepared and ready for deployment.</p>
<p>This certainly won the opposition students no sympathy from undecided voters, the so-called “ni-ni’s” (the neither-nors), notwithstanding their efforts (against all video proof) to claim that the Molotovs had been planted. But such a claim would be readily accepted by their far-right base, and seemingly impermeable to hypocrisy, the opposition students continued their efforts to cultivate their image as victims of a tyrannical government by running a half-page ad in El Nacional showing the fierce repression of students by police, under the slogan: “Punish the Criminals, Don’t Repress Our Children – No to Indefinite Re-election.” The problem? The picture was not even taken in Venezuela, but rather at a 2003 march in Greece. Much like the whisky these opposition students sip at luxurious bars on the weekends, it seems even their own repression is in short supply domestically and must be imported.</p>
<p>But it hasn’t been only the opposition who have sought to heighten tensions in the run-up to the February 15th referendum vote. Radical Chavistas, perhaps knowing that the President has tended to gain more than he has lost as a result of conflicts with the opposition, have also sought to raise the electoral temperature. The revolutionary La Piedrita Collective, whose members told me in a recent interview that such heightened tensions have a purgative effect on the revolutionary process, have recently taken the fight to the opposition, declaring various opposition parties, far-right television station Globovisión, and the Vatican offices to be “military targets,” carrying out tear gas attacks against them. But this was merely a warning, according to an interview given by La Piedrita founder Valentín Santana to the newspaper Quinto Día: up to this point, Santana insists, the violence has come from the opposition, and La Piedrita’s targets are precisely those who “call for war, for hatred, for magnicide.” Repeating what he told me earlier, Santana insists that Chávez is the only thing preventing open conflict in Venezuela, and if the referendum doesn’t pass, “we’re headed for a war.”</p>
<p>Initially, the government’s position was subtle. Without endorsing La Piedrita’s actions, Interior and Justice minister Tarek El-Aissami insisted on shifting the discourse of violence back toward those more deserving of it: the students caught with Molotovs and the opposition press that has been calling for violence against a legitimate government for nearly a decade. However, after Santana’s interview in Quinto Día, in which the leader tacitly threatened the lives of opposition leaders, including media magnate Marcel Granier, Chávez himself stepped into the fray, calling for Santana’s arrest. But the effort to appear presidential by opposing the threats issued by his supporters is a double-edged sword, one which threatens to alienate Chávez’s most fiercely devoted base, and it’s unclear if arresting Santana (if this is even possible given the de facto autonomy enjoyed by La Piedrita, would be at all desirable from a political standpoint).</p>
<p>Puerto Rican Vacation</p>
<p>But in this case the strategy of tension encouraged by both far left and far right would have produced little more than a stalemate on its own, with radicalized bases contemplating one another across a chasm populated by undecideds, were it not for the latest in blunders by the anti-Chavista opposition. Returning from a trip to Puerto Rico, representatives of all major opposition parties alongside Globovisión director Federico Ravell were surprised at the airport by a young reporter, Pedro Carvajalino, from the government-sponsored youth-oriented Ávila-TV. When the journalist accused the opposition leaders of meeting with representatives of the United States’ government, and specifically deemed Ravell a palangrista, or a corrupt journalist, the situation became tense, with Ravell spouting offensive slurs and threatening to punch Carvajalino. Luckily for the Chavistas, Ravell displayed a surprising lack of media saavy for a media magnate, and the whole thing played out in front of the cameras.</p>
<p>Things were not going well for the opposition’s electoral strategy. Carvajalino, it seems, had been leaked an email in which Ravell discusses with opposition political leaders a meeting with U.S. embassy officials in Puerto Rico, insinuating that some $3 million would be provided toward defeating the February 15th referendum. On this basis, those involved were subpoenaed to testify before the state Attorney General, where Ravell insisted that, rather than meeting with U.S. government officials, they had instead met with Chilean strategists involved in the unseating of former dictator Augusto Pinochet. As to why a meeting with Chileans took place on U.S. soil, Ravell provided the rather unconvincing answer that the Chileans, who had braved the Pinochet dictatorship, were deterred from entering Venezuela by the high crime rates.</p>
<p>This is ertainly not the press the Venezuelan opposition needed in the run-up to next week’s vote. But is it surprising? Not particularly, for those who have unashamedly eaten out of the poisoned hand of the North far too many times without learning their lesson. While financial support from the U.S. is probably tempting for a discredited opposition utterly lacking any mass base, it is still worth wondering if the money is worth the risk it entails when the media hypocrisy is free.</p>
<p>George Ciccariello-Maher is a Ph.D. candidate in political theory at UC Berkeley. He is currently writing a people’s history of the Bolivarian Revolution entitled We Created Him, and can be reached at gjcm(at)berkeley.edu.</p> | Venezuela’s Term Limits | true | https://counterpunch.org/2009/02/13/venezuela-s-term-limits/ | 2009-02-13 | 4left
| Venezuela’s Term Limits
<p>The story is a familiar one. Amid the collapse of two-party dominance, an independent leader rises to power. In an effort to calm frazzled nerves, he insists he will respect the rule of law and the will of the voters by maintaining the peaceful transfer of power at the end of his legally-established term. “There’s no organization that I know that would put somebody in charge for a long period of time,” he insists, “you always want turnover and change.” But in power for nearly eight years, having established a fervent support base and concentrated power in his own hands, our fair leader no longer feels the need to comfort his opponents, and his discourse radicalizes as his view of term limits shifts. Dismissing his opposition as rigid “dogmatists,” the leader now insists on the need to change course flexibly to meet circumstances. True and sustained change, he argues, requires the continuity of his successful leadership.</p>
<p>Unsurprisingly, his opponents fiercely oppose the move as dangerous: “It shows a fundamental contempt for the democratic process,” one maintains, “and it’s changing the rules to benefit yourself directly.” Ironically, it was this very same argument that the leader himself had made five years prior, when vetoing efforts to loosen term limits. Not without controversy, then, was the decision of the region’s largest newspaper–aligned politically with the leader–to wade into these conflictive waters with the following declaration:</p>
<p>The bedrock of… democracy is the voters’ right to choose. Though well intentioned… the term limits law severely limits that right, which is why this page has opposed term limits from the outset… Term limits are seductive, promising relief from mediocre, self-perpetuating incumbents and gridlocked legislatures. They are also profoundly undemocratic, arbitrarily denying voters the ability to choose between good politicians and bad.</p>
<p>While the paper had previously insisted that any change to term limits come through popular referendum, it now reverses this view, taking the position that for reasons of political expediency, a simple vote in the small executive council will do.</p>
<p>Of which banana republic are we speaking, where thinly-veiled authoritarianism threatens democratic checks and balances, and weak-kneed apologists parade about under the banner of free press? Why, the place is none other than New York City, the leader none other than Michael Bloomberg, and the newspaper none other than the New York Times. Patience: we haven’t even gotten to the hypocrisy part yet.</p>
<p>“Hugo Chávez’s Choice”</p>
<p>Term limits have a long history, dating from ancient Greece and Rome and Aristotle’s concept of “ruling and being ruled in turn.” With a trademark selectiveness (see, e.g., Senate Report 104-158), those upholding the sanctity of this standard in U.S. politics do so with no mention of the other elements Aristotle would associate with democracy, most obviously the filling of all positions by random lot (except for generals, or strategoi, who in an intriguing inversion of our own system, were to be elected). And nor is there much mention of those countries in the wealthy world which see no need for such limitations, or those celebrated leaders who have accomplished purportedly historic tasks without such fetters: Tony Blair served for 10 years, Margaret Thatcher for 11. Franklin D. Roosevelt, consistently ranked among the greatest U.S. presidents served for 12, and would have served for 16 had he survived. And this is not to mention the unlimited terms available to U.S. senators and representatives.</p>
<p>In fact, the North American obsession with term limits as political cure-all is a relatively recent phenomenon, dating largely to the 1990s and the cynical populism of House Republicans, who raised the mantle of term limits as a silver bullet against corruption. Some even seem impervious to this fervent faith: most notably, Rep. Jose Serrano (D-N.Y.), who recently proposed lifting presidential term limits in the aftermath of Barack Obama’s election. Obama himself would add, “I’m generally not in favor of term limits… I believe in one form of term limits. They’re called elections.” Given all this, then, we might expect Obama, but also Mayor Bloomberg and the editorial team at the New York Times to wholeheartedly embrace efforts at rolling back such undemocratic limitations worldwide. And who knows? Were it possible to exclude the most popular democratically-elected leader in the Western Hemisphere, they might.</p>
<p>But for anyone familiar with past Times coverage of Venezuela (including the paper’s now-notorious celebration of Chávez’s 2002 overthrow at the hands of an authoritarian group of right-wing leaders), it would be of little surprise to know that the paper breathed a sigh of relief when “Venezuela’s voters wisely blocked his plans for indefinite re-election” in 2007. And facing what the Times incorrectly considered a defeat in recent local elections, the paper’s tone turned simultaneously celebratory and stern:</p>
<p>The lesson from Sunday’s defeat — less than a year after voters rejected his plan for a power-grabbing constitutional reform — is that Venezuelans don’t want to give Mr. Chávez even more power. He should heed the message… He should abandon for good his push to change the Constitution so that he can run for a third term in 2013. Venezuelans deserve the chance to choose a competent government.</p>
<p>But this is where it gets interesting for the elephant in the room named Colombia.</p>
<p>“Mr. Uribe’s Choice”</p>
<p>Now the New York Times has never been bashful about the crush it has on this tale of hypocrisy’s third character: the narco-terrorist president of Colombia, Alvaro Uribe. Uribe is currently engaged in an effort to change the Colombian constitution for a second time to allow his own re-election, doing so not through popular plebiscite, but rather indirect legislative vote. But not that you would know this from reading the press: a recent report by FAIR shows that press coverage of Colombia and Venezuela represent an inverted mirror-image of reality, exaggerating abuses in the latter while downplaying them in the former and condemning re-election in one while ignoring it in the other. And so one might expect the paper to champion the diminutive Colombian strongman’s own efforts to eliminate term limits for himself, doing so, as in New York, through indirect vote in the legislature rather than the popular referendum Chávez has pursued. But rather than take the more openly-hypocritical route of supporting Uribe’s bid for unlimited re-election, the Times has elected a more subtle, if no less hypocritical path.</p>
<p>In parallel editorials published three months apart, we needn’t get past the titles to realize where we’re headed: whereas Chávez is diminutively called by his first name, Uribe is “Mr.” But both men have a choice, according to the Times. For Chávez, who has wrought unprecedented destruction, the broadsheet recommends quitting while he’s ahead, and before the people lose patience with his childish, anti-democratic antics. For Uribe, on the other hand, the suggestion is the same, but for very different reasons: to assume his place in the Pantheon of great Latin Americans “the leader who brought Colombia back from the brink and onto a path toward peace.” Chávez must leave because he is evil; Uribe should choose to do so because he is great.</p>
<p>So let us review, briefly, the record of this harbinger of peace that is “Mr. Uribe”:</p>
<p>According to a declassified 1991 report by the U.S. government’s Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), Uribe was described as “a close personal friend of Pablo Escobar… dedicated to collaboration with the Medellín cartel a high government levels.” &#160;His legitimacy is questionable, since in a country as divided as Colombia only 27% of the population voted in the last presidential election (compared to 43% in neighboring Venezuela). &#160;And even among that limited electorate, the “Para-Politics” scandal made clear that Uribe’s election depended on the violent duress provided by paramilitaries who have admitted to forcing local populations to vote for Uribe. By mid-2008, 62 members of Congress, mostly Uribe allies,were considered official suspects. &#160;And from the Times glowing review: “After the Supreme Court started investigating dozens of his Congressional allies for alleged ties to right-wing paramilitaries, he accused the court of being politically motivated. He has now proposed reforms that would remove the investigation of members of Congress from the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction.” All of this is not even to mention the accusations of bribery in Uribe’s prior effort to change the constitution, or his role in the recent pyramid investment scheme controversy.</p>
<p>But if Colombia’s friendliness toward U.S. interests is enough to explain the inverse correlation between Uribe’s reality and Times coverage, this political alliance falls short of the paper’s endorsing his unlimited re-election, as their political principles might suggest. It seems as though the racist assumptions of who is capable of self-government trumps principles, and for the New York Times institutional flexibility is to be determined more by the division of First versus Third world than the simple Manichaeism of friends versus enemies.</p>
<p>Chávez Poised to Win</p>
<p>If the western and opposition media is to be believed, the idea of lifting term limits in Venezuela has already been defeated in an election, namely the constitutional reform effort that was narrowly voted down in December of 2007. But while the U.S press focused on unlimited re-election as the cause of the loss for the Chavistas in that election, this is simply incorrect. Let this be clear: were the 2007 reform solely about Chávez’s re-election, it would have passed. This much is clear to those on the ground, and attested to by both Chavista and opposition strategy during the election, as the Chavistas sought to associate the reform with Chávez, and the opposition sought to oppose it without seeming “anti-Chavista.” Rather than the question of re-election, what sunk the 2007 constitutional reform effort was its complexity (it contained 69 provisions), poor campaigns (by conservative Chavistas who felt threatened by the changes), clear opposition to some elements (i.e. education, etc), and above all a failure to mobilize or even interest the Chavista base.</p>
<p>As Sunday’s referendum vote approaches, all indications are that it enjoys the support of a clear, and increasing, majority of the Venezuelan electorate. This fact is borne out in recent polling data released in Venezuela by polling firm GIS XXI. According to the polling firm, 52.9% of voters currently support the effort to eliminate presidential term limits, with only 40% opposing. Moreover, when faced with the statement, “If the people support him, President Chávez has the right to run in the elections as many times as he likes,” nearly 70% expressed agreement, and almost 75% characterize the President’s leadership as either “very good” or “good.” The more independent Venezuelan Data Analysis Institute (IVAD) has, surprisingly, given a more significant margin of victory to the “yes” vote, which it estimates at 54.6% versus 45.5% against (the margin separating the two having increased a full 3 points in recent weeks).</p>
<p>Even Datanálisis, a notoriously anti-Chavista polling firm whose director once insisted to the Los Angeles Times that Chávez needs to be assassinated, currently gives the referendum a margin of more than 3 points.&#160; While such a margin may seem unsurprising to anyone familiar with the reigning political atmosphere in Venezuela, it comes as somewhat of a surprise from Datanálisis, which just in December had the referendum losing by nearly 15 percentage points. And another opposition pollster, Hinterlaces, shows the election to be a dead heat, but does so only on the basis of misleading, urban-only polling, knowing full well that Chávez regularly outpolls the opposition by more than 20% in rural areas.</p>
<p>But if there is one thing that Chavista and anti-Chavista pollers share, it’s a significant shift in support for the referendum in recent weeks. To fully grasp why this has happened, we need to look more closely at the political dynamics underlying the process, and how these dynamics have come to bear on the impending election.</p>
<p>“Military Targets”</p>
<p>As is by now customary in Venezuelan electoral seasons, the dialectic of conflict and polarization has kicked in full-force, deepening contradictions and clarifying the degree of support that either side can claim. This is a risky business for both sides: heightened tension could well chase away moderate Chavistas, but it can equally well damage the opposition, and if the recent shifts in polling data are of any indication, the effect has been more to Chávez’s benefit. But this was as much through opposition bungling as through Chavista stage-management.</p>
<p>In late January, anti-Chávez students led a march against the referendum effort through the streets of Caracas. While the mayor of western Caracas rejected their request to march on the Supreme Court, since a pro-Chávez march would be gathering there and confrontations would be inevitable, the recently-elected metropolitan mayor Antonio Ledezma, a ferocious anti-Chavista, granted a permit. At points, students hurled bottles and rocks at the police, who responded with tear gas (a scenario repeated in various other cities). When a large truck that had been leading the march was detained by police, however, it was found to contain 100 Molotov cocktails, some fully prepared and ready for deployment.</p>
<p>This certainly won the opposition students no sympathy from undecided voters, the so-called “ni-ni’s” (the neither-nors), notwithstanding their efforts (against all video proof) to claim that the Molotovs had been planted. But such a claim would be readily accepted by their far-right base, and seemingly impermeable to hypocrisy, the opposition students continued their efforts to cultivate their image as victims of a tyrannical government by running a half-page ad in El Nacional showing the fierce repression of students by police, under the slogan: “Punish the Criminals, Don’t Repress Our Children – No to Indefinite Re-election.” The problem? The picture was not even taken in Venezuela, but rather at a 2003 march in Greece. Much like the whisky these opposition students sip at luxurious bars on the weekends, it seems even their own repression is in short supply domestically and must be imported.</p>
<p>But it hasn’t been only the opposition who have sought to heighten tensions in the run-up to the February 15th referendum vote. Radical Chavistas, perhaps knowing that the President has tended to gain more than he has lost as a result of conflicts with the opposition, have also sought to raise the electoral temperature. The revolutionary La Piedrita Collective, whose members told me in a recent interview that such heightened tensions have a purgative effect on the revolutionary process, have recently taken the fight to the opposition, declaring various opposition parties, far-right television station Globovisión, and the Vatican offices to be “military targets,” carrying out tear gas attacks against them. But this was merely a warning, according to an interview given by La Piedrita founder Valentín Santana to the newspaper Quinto Día: up to this point, Santana insists, the violence has come from the opposition, and La Piedrita’s targets are precisely those who “call for war, for hatred, for magnicide.” Repeating what he told me earlier, Santana insists that Chávez is the only thing preventing open conflict in Venezuela, and if the referendum doesn’t pass, “we’re headed for a war.”</p>
<p>Initially, the government’s position was subtle. Without endorsing La Piedrita’s actions, Interior and Justice minister Tarek El-Aissami insisted on shifting the discourse of violence back toward those more deserving of it: the students caught with Molotovs and the opposition press that has been calling for violence against a legitimate government for nearly a decade. However, after Santana’s interview in Quinto Día, in which the leader tacitly threatened the lives of opposition leaders, including media magnate Marcel Granier, Chávez himself stepped into the fray, calling for Santana’s arrest. But the effort to appear presidential by opposing the threats issued by his supporters is a double-edged sword, one which threatens to alienate Chávez’s most fiercely devoted base, and it’s unclear if arresting Santana (if this is even possible given the de facto autonomy enjoyed by La Piedrita, would be at all desirable from a political standpoint).</p>
<p>Puerto Rican Vacation</p>
<p>But in this case the strategy of tension encouraged by both far left and far right would have produced little more than a stalemate on its own, with radicalized bases contemplating one another across a chasm populated by undecideds, were it not for the latest in blunders by the anti-Chavista opposition. Returning from a trip to Puerto Rico, representatives of all major opposition parties alongside Globovisión director Federico Ravell were surprised at the airport by a young reporter, Pedro Carvajalino, from the government-sponsored youth-oriented Ávila-TV. When the journalist accused the opposition leaders of meeting with representatives of the United States’ government, and specifically deemed Ravell a palangrista, or a corrupt journalist, the situation became tense, with Ravell spouting offensive slurs and threatening to punch Carvajalino. Luckily for the Chavistas, Ravell displayed a surprising lack of media saavy for a media magnate, and the whole thing played out in front of the cameras.</p>
<p>Things were not going well for the opposition’s electoral strategy. Carvajalino, it seems, had been leaked an email in which Ravell discusses with opposition political leaders a meeting with U.S. embassy officials in Puerto Rico, insinuating that some $3 million would be provided toward defeating the February 15th referendum. On this basis, those involved were subpoenaed to testify before the state Attorney General, where Ravell insisted that, rather than meeting with U.S. government officials, they had instead met with Chilean strategists involved in the unseating of former dictator Augusto Pinochet. As to why a meeting with Chileans took place on U.S. soil, Ravell provided the rather unconvincing answer that the Chileans, who had braved the Pinochet dictatorship, were deterred from entering Venezuela by the high crime rates.</p>
<p>This is ertainly not the press the Venezuelan opposition needed in the run-up to next week’s vote. But is it surprising? Not particularly, for those who have unashamedly eaten out of the poisoned hand of the North far too many times without learning their lesson. While financial support from the U.S. is probably tempting for a discredited opposition utterly lacking any mass base, it is still worth wondering if the money is worth the risk it entails when the media hypocrisy is free.</p>
<p>George Ciccariello-Maher is a Ph.D. candidate in political theory at UC Berkeley. He is currently writing a people’s history of the Bolivarian Revolution entitled We Created Him, and can be reached at gjcm(at)berkeley.edu.</p> | 4,438 |
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<p />
<p>Frank Klotz, administrator of the Energy Department’s National Nuclear Security Administration, made the proposal to members of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board in an Oct. 13 meeting in his office overlooking the Smithsonian Castle on the National Mall, multiple U.S. officials said.</p>
<p>Klotz contended that recent media reports about safety lapses that relied partially on the board’s weekly disclosures were potentially counterproductive to the NNSA’s mission, the officials said. His solution was presented as the Trump administration considers an acceleration and expansion of nuclear warhead production at the federally owned sites inspected by the board in eight states, including California, New Mexico, South Carolina and Tennessee.</p>
<p>Four of the safety board’s five members heard Klotz’s appeal and one of them — Bruce Hamilton, a Republican — responded by drafting and briefly circulating a proposal among the members to stop releasing the board’s weekly and monthly accounts of safety concerns at nuclear weapons factories and laboratories.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Under Hamilton’s proposal, these accounts of accidents and problematic incidents — prepared by board staff that routinely visit or are stationed at these sites — would be replaced by oral reports by those staff members to their superiors in Washington. The reports would not be divulged to the public, according to multiple federal officials.</p>
<p>The proposal represented the second effort by federal officials in recent months to curtail public access to information about persistent safety problems in the nuclear production complex, which the Center for Public Integrity documented in articles published between June and August.</p>
<p>In June, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board’s chairman, Sean Sullivan — Hamilton’s fellow Republican on the board — secretly urged the Trump administration to eliminate the safety board altogether. The White House has said it will address the idea early next year, but some lawmakers have already expressed opposition.</p>
<p>The Center’s articles detailed a series of alarming safety problems, including the mishandling of plutonium, a radioactive explosive, at Los Alamos and a federal laboratory in Idaho; the mis-shipment of hazardous materials, including nuclear explosive materials; and the repeated contamination of work areas and scientists by radioactive particles. The articles were based in part on the board’s reports.</p>
<p>The federal facilities where nuclear weapons are produced are run by corporations that have collectively earned more than $2 billion in profit from the work over the past decade. Many of the firms’ officials have expressed chagrin at occasional publicity about their mishaps and accidents.</p>
<p>Hamilton withdrew his proposal on Oct. 19 — the same date that CPI disclosed in an article copublished with USA Today Sullivan’s plan to eliminate the safety board. Reached by telephone, Hamilton declined comment on the proposal or its withdrawal.</p>
<p>Klotz’s proposal drew criticism from several independent observers of the board’s work. Greg Mello, director of the Los Alamos Study Group, a nonprofit organization that monitors the government’s activities at nuclear sites in New Mexico, said the reports at issue “provide almost the only window into the safety status of defense nuclear facilities.” Without them, he said, the public might never know if an accident occurs.</p>
<p>“It’s not (Klotz’s) job to tell the safety board how to do their work,” Mello said. “Shame on him.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Bob Alvarez, a former senior policy adviser and deputy assistant secretary at the Energy Department, said “this is regressive behavior, rolling back to the old days of the Cold War. The logic behind this is that what the public doesn’t know can’t hurt us, and there’s nothing to be gained by the public knowing what we’re doing. The site reports make sure that the Department of Energy, which includes the NNSA does not … (rely only on) blind, undocumented faith in its contractors.”</p>
<p>Klotz, 67, is a retired Air Force lieutenant general and former commander of the Air Force’s Global Strike Command — which is responsible for nuclear bombers and missiles — who was appointed NNSA administrator and Energy Department undersecretary for nuclear security by President Obama in April 2014. He was retained in the role by President Trump. The NNSA finances and manages the production and maintenance of all U.S. nuclear warheads, a $10.8 billion-a-year effort that Trump has said he wants to fund more richly.</p>
<p>Asked about Klotz’s proposal, his spokesman Gregory Wolf declined any direct comment, but wrote in an email that “to ensure an open line of communication, NNSA and DNFSB leadership meet periodically. … The conversations traditionally have been casual and informal in nature and are not intended nor designed to arrive at any conclusions or decisions.”</p>
<p>September news report</p>
<p>During his meeting with safety board members, according to the officials, Klotz pointed in particular to a Sept. 22 article published in The Santa Fe New Mexican that described persistent safety shortcomings at the government’s laboratory in Los Alamos, the birthplace of the U.S. nuclear arsenal. The article was based on a Sept. 1 public report by the safety board that faulted workers for positioning plutonium so closely that it risked an uncontrolled nuclear reaction, which could be deadly to anyone nearby — a persistent lapse the lab has struggled to overcome. (Editor’s note: Journal North published an article on the same safety board report about a “criticality safety event” at the lab the same day as The New Mexican).</p>
<p>The report also disclosed that several workers at the lab’s Plutonium Facility had been accidentally contaminated by radiation.</p>
<p>The officials said Klotz told the safety board members that if safety lapses like those depicted in the article continued to attract public attention, nuclear workers will grow reluctant to expose their corporate employers to public embarrassment by telling the board about unsafe conditions.</p>
<p>His argument, in short, was that only secrecy could encourage accountability for the corporate managers of the nuclear weapons complex.</p>
<p>The Santa Fe newspaper report that irritated Klotz built on CPI’s recent reporting about unsafe handling of plutonium that has plagued Los Alamos for more than a decade, placing workers in danger and causing setbacks to the lab’s national security mission. Soon after those accounts were published, Los Alamos National Laboratory Director Charles McMillan and Kim Davis Lebak, the top NNSA official assigned to oversee work at Los Alamos, announced plans to retire.</p>
<p>The safety board was created by Congress in 1988 to foster public trust in nuclear weapons work by providing independent oversight of its workplace practices. It is authorized to recommend safety improvements to the Energy Department secretary, based on its inspections. The secretary is not obligated to accept the recommendations but must respond publicly. The public reports that form the basis of these recommendations do not divulge the names of workers who bring safety issues to the board’s attention.</p>
<p>Government officials familiar with the on-site inspectors’ weekly reports say they are one of the most effective ways of inspiring better behavior at the weapons facilities because the contractors intensely dislike public criticism. But the contractors have complained bitterly that the public nature of the discussion goads the NNSA into imposing more costly safety precautions than their managers feel are warranted.</p> | NNSA boss wants secret safety reports | false | https://abqjournal.com/1090682/nnsa-boss-wants-secret-safety-reports.html | 2017-11-09 | 2least
| NNSA boss wants secret safety reports
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<p />
<p>Frank Klotz, administrator of the Energy Department’s National Nuclear Security Administration, made the proposal to members of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board in an Oct. 13 meeting in his office overlooking the Smithsonian Castle on the National Mall, multiple U.S. officials said.</p>
<p>Klotz contended that recent media reports about safety lapses that relied partially on the board’s weekly disclosures were potentially counterproductive to the NNSA’s mission, the officials said. His solution was presented as the Trump administration considers an acceleration and expansion of nuclear warhead production at the federally owned sites inspected by the board in eight states, including California, New Mexico, South Carolina and Tennessee.</p>
<p>Four of the safety board’s five members heard Klotz’s appeal and one of them — Bruce Hamilton, a Republican — responded by drafting and briefly circulating a proposal among the members to stop releasing the board’s weekly and monthly accounts of safety concerns at nuclear weapons factories and laboratories.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Under Hamilton’s proposal, these accounts of accidents and problematic incidents — prepared by board staff that routinely visit or are stationed at these sites — would be replaced by oral reports by those staff members to their superiors in Washington. The reports would not be divulged to the public, according to multiple federal officials.</p>
<p>The proposal represented the second effort by federal officials in recent months to curtail public access to information about persistent safety problems in the nuclear production complex, which the Center for Public Integrity documented in articles published between June and August.</p>
<p>In June, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board’s chairman, Sean Sullivan — Hamilton’s fellow Republican on the board — secretly urged the Trump administration to eliminate the safety board altogether. The White House has said it will address the idea early next year, but some lawmakers have already expressed opposition.</p>
<p>The Center’s articles detailed a series of alarming safety problems, including the mishandling of plutonium, a radioactive explosive, at Los Alamos and a federal laboratory in Idaho; the mis-shipment of hazardous materials, including nuclear explosive materials; and the repeated contamination of work areas and scientists by radioactive particles. The articles were based in part on the board’s reports.</p>
<p>The federal facilities where nuclear weapons are produced are run by corporations that have collectively earned more than $2 billion in profit from the work over the past decade. Many of the firms’ officials have expressed chagrin at occasional publicity about their mishaps and accidents.</p>
<p>Hamilton withdrew his proposal on Oct. 19 — the same date that CPI disclosed in an article copublished with USA Today Sullivan’s plan to eliminate the safety board. Reached by telephone, Hamilton declined comment on the proposal or its withdrawal.</p>
<p>Klotz’s proposal drew criticism from several independent observers of the board’s work. Greg Mello, director of the Los Alamos Study Group, a nonprofit organization that monitors the government’s activities at nuclear sites in New Mexico, said the reports at issue “provide almost the only window into the safety status of defense nuclear facilities.” Without them, he said, the public might never know if an accident occurs.</p>
<p>“It’s not (Klotz’s) job to tell the safety board how to do their work,” Mello said. “Shame on him.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Bob Alvarez, a former senior policy adviser and deputy assistant secretary at the Energy Department, said “this is regressive behavior, rolling back to the old days of the Cold War. The logic behind this is that what the public doesn’t know can’t hurt us, and there’s nothing to be gained by the public knowing what we’re doing. The site reports make sure that the Department of Energy, which includes the NNSA does not … (rely only on) blind, undocumented faith in its contractors.”</p>
<p>Klotz, 67, is a retired Air Force lieutenant general and former commander of the Air Force’s Global Strike Command — which is responsible for nuclear bombers and missiles — who was appointed NNSA administrator and Energy Department undersecretary for nuclear security by President Obama in April 2014. He was retained in the role by President Trump. The NNSA finances and manages the production and maintenance of all U.S. nuclear warheads, a $10.8 billion-a-year effort that Trump has said he wants to fund more richly.</p>
<p>Asked about Klotz’s proposal, his spokesman Gregory Wolf declined any direct comment, but wrote in an email that “to ensure an open line of communication, NNSA and DNFSB leadership meet periodically. … The conversations traditionally have been casual and informal in nature and are not intended nor designed to arrive at any conclusions or decisions.”</p>
<p>September news report</p>
<p>During his meeting with safety board members, according to the officials, Klotz pointed in particular to a Sept. 22 article published in The Santa Fe New Mexican that described persistent safety shortcomings at the government’s laboratory in Los Alamos, the birthplace of the U.S. nuclear arsenal. The article was based on a Sept. 1 public report by the safety board that faulted workers for positioning plutonium so closely that it risked an uncontrolled nuclear reaction, which could be deadly to anyone nearby — a persistent lapse the lab has struggled to overcome. (Editor’s note: Journal North published an article on the same safety board report about a “criticality safety event” at the lab the same day as The New Mexican).</p>
<p>The report also disclosed that several workers at the lab’s Plutonium Facility had been accidentally contaminated by radiation.</p>
<p>The officials said Klotz told the safety board members that if safety lapses like those depicted in the article continued to attract public attention, nuclear workers will grow reluctant to expose their corporate employers to public embarrassment by telling the board about unsafe conditions.</p>
<p>His argument, in short, was that only secrecy could encourage accountability for the corporate managers of the nuclear weapons complex.</p>
<p>The Santa Fe newspaper report that irritated Klotz built on CPI’s recent reporting about unsafe handling of plutonium that has plagued Los Alamos for more than a decade, placing workers in danger and causing setbacks to the lab’s national security mission. Soon after those accounts were published, Los Alamos National Laboratory Director Charles McMillan and Kim Davis Lebak, the top NNSA official assigned to oversee work at Los Alamos, announced plans to retire.</p>
<p>The safety board was created by Congress in 1988 to foster public trust in nuclear weapons work by providing independent oversight of its workplace practices. It is authorized to recommend safety improvements to the Energy Department secretary, based on its inspections. The secretary is not obligated to accept the recommendations but must respond publicly. The public reports that form the basis of these recommendations do not divulge the names of workers who bring safety issues to the board’s attention.</p>
<p>Government officials familiar with the on-site inspectors’ weekly reports say they are one of the most effective ways of inspiring better behavior at the weapons facilities because the contractors intensely dislike public criticism. But the contractors have complained bitterly that the public nature of the discussion goads the NNSA into imposing more costly safety precautions than their managers feel are warranted.</p> | 4,439 |
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<p />
<p>With Cassidy’s victory, Republicans will hold 54 seats when the Senate convenes in January, nine more than they have now. Republican victories in two Louisiana House districts Saturday – including the seat Cassidy now holds – ensure at least 246 seats, compared to 188 for Democrats, the largest GOP advantage since the Truman administration after World War II. An Arizona recount leaves one race still outstanding.</p>
<p>With nearly all the votes counted, unofficial returns showed Cassidy with a commanding victory.</p>
<p>Landrieu had narrowly led a Nov. 4 primary ballot that included eight candidates from all parties. But at 42 percent, she fell well below her marks in previous races and endured a one-month runoff campaign that Republicans dominated via the air waves while national Democrats financially abandoned her effort.</p>
<p>Landrieu’s defeat is a blow for one of Louisiana’s most famous political families, leaving her brother, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, to carry the banner.</p>
<p>In the South, Democrats will be left without a single governor or U.S. senator across nine states stretching from the Carolinas to Texas.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Cassidy, who spent most of his campaign linking Landrieu to Obama, called his win “the exclamation point” on the message that voters sent nationally on Nov. 4.</p>
<p>“This victory happened because people in Louisiana voted for a government that serves us, that does not tell us what to do,” Cassidy said.</p>
<p />
<p /> | Landrieu defeated in Louisiana | false | https://abqjournal.com/507014/landrieu-defeated-in-louisiana.html | 2least
| Landrieu defeated in Louisiana
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<p />
<p>With Cassidy’s victory, Republicans will hold 54 seats when the Senate convenes in January, nine more than they have now. Republican victories in two Louisiana House districts Saturday – including the seat Cassidy now holds – ensure at least 246 seats, compared to 188 for Democrats, the largest GOP advantage since the Truman administration after World War II. An Arizona recount leaves one race still outstanding.</p>
<p>With nearly all the votes counted, unofficial returns showed Cassidy with a commanding victory.</p>
<p>Landrieu had narrowly led a Nov. 4 primary ballot that included eight candidates from all parties. But at 42 percent, she fell well below her marks in previous races and endured a one-month runoff campaign that Republicans dominated via the air waves while national Democrats financially abandoned her effort.</p>
<p>Landrieu’s defeat is a blow for one of Louisiana’s most famous political families, leaving her brother, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, to carry the banner.</p>
<p>In the South, Democrats will be left without a single governor or U.S. senator across nine states stretching from the Carolinas to Texas.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Cassidy, who spent most of his campaign linking Landrieu to Obama, called his win “the exclamation point” on the message that voters sent nationally on Nov. 4.</p>
<p>“This victory happened because people in Louisiana voted for a government that serves us, that does not tell us what to do,” Cassidy said.</p>
<p />
<p /> | 4,440 |
|
<p>WASHINGTON — There is much dispute and dialogue among scholars over what to make of the Christmas narratives in the Scriptures and the connection between what was written and what we can know about what happened. As the Rev. Daniel J. Harrington has noted: “The New Testament contains two Christmas stories, not one. They appear in Matthew 1-2 and Luke 1-2. They have some points in common. But there are many differences in their characters, plot, messages and tone.”</p>
<p>Those of us who celebrate Christmas do not tend to think as scholars or (God forbid!) journalists, but as people of hope. We tend at Christmastime to rely most on Luke, whose telling of Jesus’ birth is, as the Rev. Harrington says, “upbeat, celebratory and even romantic.” We find in Jesus, all at once, inspiration, comfort, challenge and, in one of Pope John Paul II’s favorite phrases, “a sign of contradiction.” And the contradiction is right there in the two Christmas accounts: Matthew emphasizes Jesus’ noble lineage, while Luke tells the story of a savior born in a manger. There is a special moral significance, I think, in Luke’s account: a faith rooted in the Jewish prophetic tradition traces its origins not to a palace but to a stable; not to an aristocratic household but to a family led by a carpenter. It was a powerful way to send one of Christianity’s most important messages: that every single human being is endowed with dignity by God and worthy of respect.</p>
<p>Pope John XXIII offered a take on this idea that quietly reminds us of how the materialism that seems to run rampant at Christmastime is antithetical to the Christmas story. The church, he argued in his 1959 Christmas message, “has always fixed her gaze on the human person and has taught that things and institutions — goods, the economy, the state — are primarily for man; not man for them.” He added: “The disturbances which unsettle the internal peace of nations trace their origins chiefly to this source: that man has been treated almost exclusively as a machine, a piece of merchandise, a worthless cog in some great machine or a mere productive unit. It is only when the dignity of the person comes to be taken as the standard of value for man and his activities that the means will exist to settle civil discord.” In this telling. “Peace on Earth, Good Will Toward Men” is not a greeting card sentiment but a moral demand.</p>
<p>The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. also took “peace on earth” as a personal and social imperative. On Christmas Eve 1967, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. aired King’s “A Christmas Sermon on Peace” as part of the Massey Lecture series. (I draw this from “A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches of Martin Luther King Jr.,” published by Harper Collins.) King argued that “if we are to have peace on earth, our loyalties must become ecumenical rather than sectional,” and he added: “Now the judgment of God is upon us, and we must either learn to live together as brothers or we are all going to perish together as fools.”</p>
<p />
<p>Like so many of Rev. King’s sermons that included stern warnings and tough lessons, this one ended in hope.</p>
<p>“I still have a dream,” he said, four years after his most celebrated speech at the March on Washington, “that with this faith we will be able to adjourn the councils of despair and bring new light into the dark chambers of pessimism. With this faith we will be able to speed up the day when there will be peace on earth and good will toward men. It will be a glorious, the morning stars will sing together, and the sons of God will shout for joy.”</p>
<p>Go tell it on the mountain.</p>
<p>E.J. Dionne’s e-mail address is ejdionne(at)washpost.com.</p>
<p>© 2012, Washington Post Writers Group</p> | Some Christmas Inspirations | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/some-christmas-inspirations/ | 2012-12-25 | 4left
| Some Christmas Inspirations
<p>WASHINGTON — There is much dispute and dialogue among scholars over what to make of the Christmas narratives in the Scriptures and the connection between what was written and what we can know about what happened. As the Rev. Daniel J. Harrington has noted: “The New Testament contains two Christmas stories, not one. They appear in Matthew 1-2 and Luke 1-2. They have some points in common. But there are many differences in their characters, plot, messages and tone.”</p>
<p>Those of us who celebrate Christmas do not tend to think as scholars or (God forbid!) journalists, but as people of hope. We tend at Christmastime to rely most on Luke, whose telling of Jesus’ birth is, as the Rev. Harrington says, “upbeat, celebratory and even romantic.” We find in Jesus, all at once, inspiration, comfort, challenge and, in one of Pope John Paul II’s favorite phrases, “a sign of contradiction.” And the contradiction is right there in the two Christmas accounts: Matthew emphasizes Jesus’ noble lineage, while Luke tells the story of a savior born in a manger. There is a special moral significance, I think, in Luke’s account: a faith rooted in the Jewish prophetic tradition traces its origins not to a palace but to a stable; not to an aristocratic household but to a family led by a carpenter. It was a powerful way to send one of Christianity’s most important messages: that every single human being is endowed with dignity by God and worthy of respect.</p>
<p>Pope John XXIII offered a take on this idea that quietly reminds us of how the materialism that seems to run rampant at Christmastime is antithetical to the Christmas story. The church, he argued in his 1959 Christmas message, “has always fixed her gaze on the human person and has taught that things and institutions — goods, the economy, the state — are primarily for man; not man for them.” He added: “The disturbances which unsettle the internal peace of nations trace their origins chiefly to this source: that man has been treated almost exclusively as a machine, a piece of merchandise, a worthless cog in some great machine or a mere productive unit. It is only when the dignity of the person comes to be taken as the standard of value for man and his activities that the means will exist to settle civil discord.” In this telling. “Peace on Earth, Good Will Toward Men” is not a greeting card sentiment but a moral demand.</p>
<p>The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. also took “peace on earth” as a personal and social imperative. On Christmas Eve 1967, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. aired King’s “A Christmas Sermon on Peace” as part of the Massey Lecture series. (I draw this from “A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches of Martin Luther King Jr.,” published by Harper Collins.) King argued that “if we are to have peace on earth, our loyalties must become ecumenical rather than sectional,” and he added: “Now the judgment of God is upon us, and we must either learn to live together as brothers or we are all going to perish together as fools.”</p>
<p />
<p>Like so many of Rev. King’s sermons that included stern warnings and tough lessons, this one ended in hope.</p>
<p>“I still have a dream,” he said, four years after his most celebrated speech at the March on Washington, “that with this faith we will be able to adjourn the councils of despair and bring new light into the dark chambers of pessimism. With this faith we will be able to speed up the day when there will be peace on earth and good will toward men. It will be a glorious, the morning stars will sing together, and the sons of God will shout for joy.”</p>
<p>Go tell it on the mountain.</p>
<p>E.J. Dionne’s e-mail address is ejdionne(at)washpost.com.</p>
<p>© 2012, Washington Post Writers Group</p> | 4,441 |
<p>Fortress Bush, determined to continue its aggressive, swaggering, Cheney/Rumsfeld-dominated policies and the “with us or against us” theology (which now impels every initiative in foreign relations, to the despair of State Department professionals), has had a dire effect on America’s international credibility, and thus on its capability to exercise long-term influence in world affairs. The vainglorious and exultant ‘Them and Us’ attitude to anyone espousing contrary views to those of the White House has alienated far too many of America’s friends.</p>
<p>Even worse, the Bush fixation with confrontation has solidified distrust among nations already suspicious of Washington’s motives and ambitions. Worse yet, it has spurred vicious extremists who are intent on murdering US citizens and humiliating the world’s most powerful country. The world is a much more dangerous place for all of us since the Bush war on Iraq began. He has created thousands more terrorists who hate America, and, by extension, the west in general.</p>
<p>At the time when Bush began his war in March last year I ended an article titled ‘ <a href="" type="internal">One Law for America</a>‘ by observing that “We have seen the future and it is terrifying, because international laws and agreements mean nothing to Bush and his officials. When useful, they are quoted. When inconvenient they are ignored. There is one law for America–and none, in the eyes of Bush, for those who dare disagree with him.”</p>
<p>There has been no change since then. There is no fading, not the slightest reduction, in the Bush administration’s obstinate and blinkered zeal for total control at home and saber-brandishing supremacy abroad. Forget the Bush claim on June 26 that “the bitter differences of the [Iraq] war are over” so far as Europe is concerned. The governments of the most important European countries (and by far a majority of all European peoples) will not forget the sneers of White House hacks about their accurate warnings concerning the war on Iraq. Last week’s few words from a panicking president whose sole concern is his election in November can’t be considered an initiative towards rapprochement with those who are only too willing to be allies of America–if Bush could bring himself to act in a less domineering and didactic manner. He will not apologize for his conduct or for the insults of his officials, and his wishy-washy statements attempting to prove that all is well between him and the Europeans are indicative of ineffable stupidity.</p>
<p>The Bush pronouncement that Nato “must” come to his assistance in the shambles he has created in Iraq is typical of the clownish insolence with which he regards the world. There is no “must” about it, but he ignored the resentment this caused, and in a clumsy attempt to pressure Turkey to influence its fellow Nato members in his favor he had the nerve to tell Prime Minister Erdogan that “I believe you ought to be given a date by the European Union for your eventual acceptance into the EU.” For once his uncouth arrogance drew public rebuke, and President Chirac stated bluntly that Bush “not only went too far but went on to territory which is not his own . . . It’s as if I was advising the US on how they should manage their relations with Mexico.” Quite so ; and we can imagine how self-righteously choleric the White House would be if a European politician declared that illegal Mexican migrants to the US should be granted amnesty. (This was promised, incidentally, “for consideration” by Bush in January, in order to sway Latino voters, but he has never mentioned it since, because it didn’t play well with the hard Right.) Bush is incapable of perceiving unpalatable reality, and his lack of sensitivity has had dire consequences for us all.</p>
<p>His conduct is reminiscent of Hitler in the final weeks of his Reich. In 1945 Hitler believed, almost to the last, that he had total national support ; that his armies would defeat the Allies ; and that his sycophants were providing him with facts rather than fantasy. Hitler, too, was in a fortress ‘ a bunker ‘ in which he was surrounded by deceitful jackals who barred him from reality. He was trapped by self-deception, by his contempt and hatred for the rest of the world, and by the Messianic conviction that only he could save his country.</p>
<p>Bush is not concerned about his enormous personal unpopularity in Europe, and on June 27 when asked about this sad manifestation of international distrust replied “I must confess, the first polls I worry about are those that are going to take place in early November this year”. Ho hum. It’s politics as usual for the Fortress, even when most of the world is seething with despair, resentment or hatred because of what Bush has done to all of us lesser beings out here. In a small-scale but important international indication of this resentment, his 18 hour visit to Ireland was a tragicomedy.</p>
<p>When an American president needs to be guarded in the Emerald Isle by 4000 police, 2000 troops and 500 of his own security agents, armed to the teeth, there is something tragically unmistakable about the way the world as a whole is looking at the United States. This wasn’t deepest Afghanistan, after all. When over 10,000 citizens of Ireland demonstrated in the streets against the visit of a US president, who has to be spirited away to a troop-surrounded castle ‘ a fortress ‘ where he could not meet any ordinary Irish people, there was a message coming loud, strong and clear that Bush, personally, is not welcome in the country where the US is so much admired. Bush, in complete contrast to his predecessors, snapped rudely at an Irish television interviewer and then cancelled a TV appearance scheduled for his wife, in case she was asked any awkward questions. That’s the fortress mentality.</p>
<p>Fortress Bush has decided, irrevocably, that there is One Law for Bush America, and one for the rest of the world (and especially for US Democrats). But sometimes one can have a deep belly-laugh at the mindset that created the One Law Doctrine, if only because its exponents are so obsessive that their self-deception has become as ludicrous as it is dangerous. Their posturing is not just illogical but decidedly funny, albeit it in a manner suited to the Theatre of the Absurd, in which mankind is held to inhabit a universe with which it is doomed forever to be out of synchrony.</p>
<p>The playwright Eugene Ionesco mused that “I look and see pictures, creatures that move in a kind of timeless time and spaceless space emitting sounds that are a kind of language I no longer understand or ever register.” And so it is with the inhabitants of Fortress Bush, for they do not, cannot, will not relate to real time, extant space, or meaningful language. They are doomed, in their own Theatre of the Absurd, forever to be out of synchrony with the universe.</p>
<p>One splendid piece of irony that exemplifies the One Law Doctrine of Fortress Bush might have been crafted by Ionesco himself. It is from a well-written piece by Andrew Zajac in the Chicago Tribune on June 20, and I imagine he was splitting his sides as he described the circumstances in which the recently-departed, disastrous, incompetent and failed US viceroy of Iraq, Paul Bremer, gave the job of senior economic adviser to one Michael Fleischer.</p>
<p>Mr Zajac reported that “With an assist from his brother, Ari [the former spokesman for Bush], who “got my resume to Bremer,” [Michael] Fleischer landed interviews that led to his appointment [as Bremer’s economic king-pin]. Among Fleischer’s key tasks is training more Iraqi businessmen in the ways of U.S.-style procurement . . . Competitive bidding “is a new world for the Iraqis,” Fleischer said. Under Saddam Hussein, “it was all done by cronies. The only paradigm they know is cronyism. We are teaching them that there is an alternative system with built-in checks and built-in review”.”</p>
<p>To my sorrow and despair I realize that people like Fleischer and his buddies in the Bush administration (and millions of others, alas) will find it impossible to detect anything uproariously funny in such wondrous juxtaposition of contradictions. Michael Fleischer got his job via a well-placed brother, in an openly-admitted display of nepotism (“he got my resume to Bremer”), yet solemnly pronounces that for Iraqis there must be an “alternative system” to “cronyism”. To be sure there is : but, by all the heavens, it does not exist in the mind of little brother Fleischer or in Bush Washington, which is the very foundation and fortress of the empire of cronies.</p>
<p>The essential building blocks of Fortress Bush (‘you are with us or against us’) are composed of cronies. We won’t even begin to talk about Cheney-Halliburton scams, the Bush family and the Saudis, or the pork-engendered, election-cash-oriented Bills approved by almost every legislator in Washington. Iraqi businessmen and politicians will doubtless receive much benefit from advice by little brother Fleischer who, incidentally, has a five year contract and can’t be fired by the ‘sovereign’ government of Iraq.</p>
<p>The Fortress mentality of the Bush administration is such that its defenders, who are becoming increasingly desperate, vindictive and aggressive, must try to counter-attack at any cost. But that cost, unfortunately for them, is increasingly in their own credibility. Here is part of a Washington Post talk-back on June 25 that featured one David Bossie, the attractively-named Chief of a Republican propaganda organization called Citizens United.</p>
<p>The question and answer session concerned the film Fahrenheit 9/11, made by an unappealing fellow called Michael Moore, who is as coarse and grubby a citizen as might be met in many days’ journey. He might even be vice-president of the United States, given the crassness of his language, general vulgarity and total self-obsession. But in spite of this he has made a world-class film about which the Leader Bossie complained that “Moore has stated his motivation is to remove President Bush from office.”</p>
<p>From the turrets of Fortress Bush, in which there can be but one interpretation of world events, the Bossie-man cannot understand why anyone might want to get rid of Bush. And this fascinating dialogue ensued:</p>
<p>Questioner : ‘Moore has stated his motivation is to remove President Bush from office. Aren’t you motivated to keep Bush in office?’</p>
<p>Bossie Boots : ‘I totally support President Bush and I wish I could run ads against John Kerry to help him. But I can’t. If the laws and rules limit my speech they should limit Michael Moore’s as well because he is running anti-Bush ads. Plain and simple.’</p>
<p>Then Bossie declared that “Michael Moore has never let the facts get in the way of a good story ; his movie is nothing more than left wing propaganda,” which prompted a query from a listener in Thomaston, Georgia, who asked “Have you seen the movie?” Pause. Then the Bossie reply was “No, but I am planning to.”</p>
<p>The normal “laws and rules” don’t apply to the Bush coterie and their unquestioning Bossie-style supporters. They don’t need facts in order to condemn the thoughts and ideas of those who disagree with them. And this mind-shutting goes even further.</p>
<p>The laws and Constitution of the United States are regarded as awkward obstacles standing across the righteous path of Bush domination. They are given lip service, because it would be electoral suicide to insult them openly, but, as pointed out by Ruth Wedgwood of Johns Hopkins University, the recently exposed memorandum about torture, written at the request of the White House, did not look at “the law governing torture”, but at “what can we do and remain within the law?” which, as The Economist points out, “ignores or glides over American and international laws that ban or limit torture”. You can say that again, and surround it in neon lights, for this is exactly what the Bush administration is all about : they look for ways around the laws of their country and the world, and if they can’t get their way around the laws, they avoid them and try to camouflage their actions.</p>
<p>Here is an extract from an Order issued by Bush on February 7, 2002, in which he stated : “our values as a nation, values that we share with many nations in the world, call for us to treat detainees humanely, INCLUDING THOSE WHO ARE NOT LEGALLY ENTITLED TO SUCH TREATMENT.” [Emphasis added.] So, according to Bush, there are people in the world who are not legally entitled to humane treatment. They might be foreigners, they might be Americans. Who knows?</p>
<p>There is no other interpretation that can be put on his grotesque pronouncement.</p>
<p>Can you think of a law that has been passed by any civilized country, and endorsed by anyone in possession of their senses, that allows inhumane treatment of detainees? Bush declared in his Order that he might permit those who are not worthy of being treated humanely to be treated humanely. But into what category of humanity fall the people whom Bush regards as “not legally entitled to such treatment”? It was only under extreme external pressure that the White House released this document, and a swag of others (although who knows what clever papers advocating avoidance of decency remain unrevealed in the deep and fetid bowels of Bush Washington). For this gesture we may be truly thankful, because, even if by oversight, it highlights the One Law Doctrine in all its squalid singularity. There is one law, under Bush, that says some detainees are not legally entitled to treatment as a human being, and it is only by gracious presidential decree that pitiless maltreatment was supposed to have been waived. But of course it wasn’t.</p>
<p>As we know, now, and only because a few hideous photographs were obtained by the media, a host of Bush administration captives in Iraq were treated in a manner that beggars description. They were tormented not just inhumanely, but with spiteful and vile cruelty. They were sadistically bullied to the point of ultimate release by merciful death after gross humiliation by malevolent savages who are successors to the jack-booted beasts of the Nazi regime. Their humiliation and persecution stemmed from the One Law Doctrine that some detainees are not “legally entitled” to humane treatment under US or international statutes.</p>
<p>The total moral detachment from what you and I regard as normal human inter-relation is exemplified by evidence given at a trial in Baghdad on June 24 : “Capt. Donald Reese said that one night in November 2003, he saw the bloodied body of an Iraqi prisoner who had died during interrogation inside a shower stall in a prison cellblock. He said a number of officers were standing around it, discussing what to do.” Why discuss? What’s to discuss? A man was murdered, and the one and only honorable course is to investigate and publicly prosecute. The mere fact that there could be discussion about what to do is demonstrative of the fact that these people have had their moral senses blunted, even destroyed, by the influence of Fortress Bush, which believes it is not subject to normal laws. We should remember, as the NY Times pointed out on July 2, that “Mr. Bush has declared himself free, at times of his choosing, from the Geneva Conventions, following advice from Attorney General John Ashcroft”.</p>
<p>The pack of lies retailed in the administration’s annual report on ‘Patterns of Global Terrorism’ shows what we have to guard against. On the well-tried propaganda principle that headlines catch the eye and subsequent corrections are buried on inside pages (and are not reported atall by some sections of the media, for their own reasons), the newly-created Terrorist Threat Integration Center produced a concoction of nonsense purporting to show that Bush was winning his ‘war on terror’. Another Hitlerian principle employed was that the bigger the lie, the more readily it would be accepted ; but for once this didn’t work. The lies were so poorly constructed that simple arithmetic showed they were baloney.</p>
<p>But the fall guy was Powell, as usual, and he had to apologize because the politically-motivated Center told American voters, and the world at large, that the number of deaths caused by terrorism had fallen in 2003 while in truth they had risen massively (307 became 625), while the number of wounded suddenly increased from 1593 to 3646. The report was announced with great fanfare to try to show that the ‘War President’ was winning, but, curiously, the other news at the end of April, when the report came out, included awkward items that did not suit Fortress Bush. It was discovered that there were prisoners being tortured by US soldiers ; eight soldiers were killed by a car bomb ; a ‘roll-call’ of US war dead was about to be shown on US television ; occupation troops were forced to quite Falluja ; and Bush was facing the 9/11 inquiry. What better time to announce, as the egregious Armitage did, that the Center’s report provided “clear evidence that we are prevailing in the fight”.</p>
<p>The only clear evidence provided by this septic episode is that Fortress Bush cooked the books and was found out.</p>
<p>But even after the lies were exposed, an oaf called Cofer Black (‘State Department Coordinator for Counterterrorism with the rank of Ambassador at Large’), who was ultimately responsible for the debacle, had the barefaced chutzpah to announce on June 22 that although his report was “marred by significant errors,” the “most important things in the report continue to be valid”, and “we have made significant progress”. On July 1 Cheney joined in and declared “our nation has made dramatic progress in the war on terror”. These claims show Fortress Bush at the outer edge of double-think. The report was absurdly invalid, and Cheney’s claim is demonstrably incorrect and silly. The main progress made by the Fortress-bound upholders of the One Law has been in expanding means of deceiving the world about every matter that might possibly show them for the bunch of despicable hypocrites that they are.</p>
<p>But according to Nicholas Kristoff in the New York Times on Wednesday, it isn’t nice of us to describe Bush as a liar. The lead to his article went “Simple-mindedly vilifying the president for dishonesty only polarizes the political scene and impedes understanding.” His exact words were “I’m against the ‘liar’ label for two reasons. First, it further polarizes the political cesspool, and this polarization is making America increasingly difficult to govern. Second, insults and rage impede understanding.” With apologias like that it isn’t difficult to see why Bush has gotten away with being a liar for so long. The political cesspool in Washington is already polarized, and speaking the truth is not insulting (although calling people simple-minded for doing so is a tad rude, at that). Bush is a liar, but, Kristoff says, perhaps with a straight face, “there’s some evidence that Mr Bush carefully avoids the most blatant lies–witness his meticulous descriptions of the periods in which he did not use illegal drugs”. Well, that’s all right, then.</p>
<p>The Bush declaration of “full and complete sovereignty” in the shambles he has created in Iraq is yet another lie and an even more blatant one than usual. It didn’t take long for that to be apparent in basic terms, as reported by London’s Financial Times on the day Bremer quit the country. “Iyad Akmush Kanum learnt the limits of sovereignty on Monday when US prosecutors refused to uphold an Iraqi judges’ order acquitting him of attempted murder of coalition troops. US prosecutors said that he was being returned to . . . Abu Ghraib prison because under the Geneva Conventions they were not bound by Iraqi law. A few hundred metres from where outgoing administrator Paul Bremer formally ended the US occupation of Iraq on Monday, Mr Kanum–prisoner number 27075–cowered handcuffed on a backroom floor in the Central Criminal Court, where Iraqis are tried for attacks against coalition forces.”</p>
<p>If this wasn’t such a squalid example of conqueror’s arrogance, it would be screamingly funny. The boys from Fortress Bush had the gall, the sheer brass-necked, copper-bottomed, brazen impertinence to claim exemption from Iraqi law by quoting the Geneva Conventions that have been worked round, ignored, contravened and violated by this administration and its imperial representatives for three dark years. The prosecutors defied Iraq’s judges with contempt, which is practicing the One Law Doctrine with a vengeance (literally), and makes a public mockery of Bush’s deceitful declaration of “full and complete sovereignty”.</p>
<p>The shameful humbug of quoting regulations to try to justify illegal policy was commented on by the NY Times on Wednesday when it pointed out that “Mr. Rumsfeld’s handling of another issue, the Red Cross reports on Iraq, is the most outrageous example of the administration’s bad faith on the prison scandal. The Bush administration has cited Red Cross confidentiality policies to explain its failure to give up the reports. The trouble is, the Red Cross has repeatedly told the administration to go ahead and share the agency’s findings with Congress, as long as steps are taken to prevent leaks . . . . the Red Cross in Geneva has got it figured out : the administration has no intention of cooperating.”</p>
<p>Of course it hasn’t. Fortress Bush has hunkered down, and the drawbridge has been raised. Boiling oil is being poured over the parapets at representatives of the Red Cross and every human rights organization on the planet. The One Law Doctrine is being enforced at every turn, and the world stands aghast at the destruction of America’s support for international accords. The Theatre of the Absurd lives and has its being in Fortress Bush.</p>
<p>BRIAN CLOUGHLEY writes on military and political affairs. He can be reached through his website <a href="http://www.briancloughley.com/" type="external">www.briancloughley.com</a></p> | Fortress Bush and the One Law Doctrine | true | https://counterpunch.org/2004/07/03/fortress-bush-and-the-one-law-doctrine/ | 2004-07-03 | 4left
| Fortress Bush and the One Law Doctrine
<p>Fortress Bush, determined to continue its aggressive, swaggering, Cheney/Rumsfeld-dominated policies and the “with us or against us” theology (which now impels every initiative in foreign relations, to the despair of State Department professionals), has had a dire effect on America’s international credibility, and thus on its capability to exercise long-term influence in world affairs. The vainglorious and exultant ‘Them and Us’ attitude to anyone espousing contrary views to those of the White House has alienated far too many of America’s friends.</p>
<p>Even worse, the Bush fixation with confrontation has solidified distrust among nations already suspicious of Washington’s motives and ambitions. Worse yet, it has spurred vicious extremists who are intent on murdering US citizens and humiliating the world’s most powerful country. The world is a much more dangerous place for all of us since the Bush war on Iraq began. He has created thousands more terrorists who hate America, and, by extension, the west in general.</p>
<p>At the time when Bush began his war in March last year I ended an article titled ‘ <a href="" type="internal">One Law for America</a>‘ by observing that “We have seen the future and it is terrifying, because international laws and agreements mean nothing to Bush and his officials. When useful, they are quoted. When inconvenient they are ignored. There is one law for America–and none, in the eyes of Bush, for those who dare disagree with him.”</p>
<p>There has been no change since then. There is no fading, not the slightest reduction, in the Bush administration’s obstinate and blinkered zeal for total control at home and saber-brandishing supremacy abroad. Forget the Bush claim on June 26 that “the bitter differences of the [Iraq] war are over” so far as Europe is concerned. The governments of the most important European countries (and by far a majority of all European peoples) will not forget the sneers of White House hacks about their accurate warnings concerning the war on Iraq. Last week’s few words from a panicking president whose sole concern is his election in November can’t be considered an initiative towards rapprochement with those who are only too willing to be allies of America–if Bush could bring himself to act in a less domineering and didactic manner. He will not apologize for his conduct or for the insults of his officials, and his wishy-washy statements attempting to prove that all is well between him and the Europeans are indicative of ineffable stupidity.</p>
<p>The Bush pronouncement that Nato “must” come to his assistance in the shambles he has created in Iraq is typical of the clownish insolence with which he regards the world. There is no “must” about it, but he ignored the resentment this caused, and in a clumsy attempt to pressure Turkey to influence its fellow Nato members in his favor he had the nerve to tell Prime Minister Erdogan that “I believe you ought to be given a date by the European Union for your eventual acceptance into the EU.” For once his uncouth arrogance drew public rebuke, and President Chirac stated bluntly that Bush “not only went too far but went on to territory which is not his own . . . It’s as if I was advising the US on how they should manage their relations with Mexico.” Quite so ; and we can imagine how self-righteously choleric the White House would be if a European politician declared that illegal Mexican migrants to the US should be granted amnesty. (This was promised, incidentally, “for consideration” by Bush in January, in order to sway Latino voters, but he has never mentioned it since, because it didn’t play well with the hard Right.) Bush is incapable of perceiving unpalatable reality, and his lack of sensitivity has had dire consequences for us all.</p>
<p>His conduct is reminiscent of Hitler in the final weeks of his Reich. In 1945 Hitler believed, almost to the last, that he had total national support ; that his armies would defeat the Allies ; and that his sycophants were providing him with facts rather than fantasy. Hitler, too, was in a fortress ‘ a bunker ‘ in which he was surrounded by deceitful jackals who barred him from reality. He was trapped by self-deception, by his contempt and hatred for the rest of the world, and by the Messianic conviction that only he could save his country.</p>
<p>Bush is not concerned about his enormous personal unpopularity in Europe, and on June 27 when asked about this sad manifestation of international distrust replied “I must confess, the first polls I worry about are those that are going to take place in early November this year”. Ho hum. It’s politics as usual for the Fortress, even when most of the world is seething with despair, resentment or hatred because of what Bush has done to all of us lesser beings out here. In a small-scale but important international indication of this resentment, his 18 hour visit to Ireland was a tragicomedy.</p>
<p>When an American president needs to be guarded in the Emerald Isle by 4000 police, 2000 troops and 500 of his own security agents, armed to the teeth, there is something tragically unmistakable about the way the world as a whole is looking at the United States. This wasn’t deepest Afghanistan, after all. When over 10,000 citizens of Ireland demonstrated in the streets against the visit of a US president, who has to be spirited away to a troop-surrounded castle ‘ a fortress ‘ where he could not meet any ordinary Irish people, there was a message coming loud, strong and clear that Bush, personally, is not welcome in the country where the US is so much admired. Bush, in complete contrast to his predecessors, snapped rudely at an Irish television interviewer and then cancelled a TV appearance scheduled for his wife, in case she was asked any awkward questions. That’s the fortress mentality.</p>
<p>Fortress Bush has decided, irrevocably, that there is One Law for Bush America, and one for the rest of the world (and especially for US Democrats). But sometimes one can have a deep belly-laugh at the mindset that created the One Law Doctrine, if only because its exponents are so obsessive that their self-deception has become as ludicrous as it is dangerous. Their posturing is not just illogical but decidedly funny, albeit it in a manner suited to the Theatre of the Absurd, in which mankind is held to inhabit a universe with which it is doomed forever to be out of synchrony.</p>
<p>The playwright Eugene Ionesco mused that “I look and see pictures, creatures that move in a kind of timeless time and spaceless space emitting sounds that are a kind of language I no longer understand or ever register.” And so it is with the inhabitants of Fortress Bush, for they do not, cannot, will not relate to real time, extant space, or meaningful language. They are doomed, in their own Theatre of the Absurd, forever to be out of synchrony with the universe.</p>
<p>One splendid piece of irony that exemplifies the One Law Doctrine of Fortress Bush might have been crafted by Ionesco himself. It is from a well-written piece by Andrew Zajac in the Chicago Tribune on June 20, and I imagine he was splitting his sides as he described the circumstances in which the recently-departed, disastrous, incompetent and failed US viceroy of Iraq, Paul Bremer, gave the job of senior economic adviser to one Michael Fleischer.</p>
<p>Mr Zajac reported that “With an assist from his brother, Ari [the former spokesman for Bush], who “got my resume to Bremer,” [Michael] Fleischer landed interviews that led to his appointment [as Bremer’s economic king-pin]. Among Fleischer’s key tasks is training more Iraqi businessmen in the ways of U.S.-style procurement . . . Competitive bidding “is a new world for the Iraqis,” Fleischer said. Under Saddam Hussein, “it was all done by cronies. The only paradigm they know is cronyism. We are teaching them that there is an alternative system with built-in checks and built-in review”.”</p>
<p>To my sorrow and despair I realize that people like Fleischer and his buddies in the Bush administration (and millions of others, alas) will find it impossible to detect anything uproariously funny in such wondrous juxtaposition of contradictions. Michael Fleischer got his job via a well-placed brother, in an openly-admitted display of nepotism (“he got my resume to Bremer”), yet solemnly pronounces that for Iraqis there must be an “alternative system” to “cronyism”. To be sure there is : but, by all the heavens, it does not exist in the mind of little brother Fleischer or in Bush Washington, which is the very foundation and fortress of the empire of cronies.</p>
<p>The essential building blocks of Fortress Bush (‘you are with us or against us’) are composed of cronies. We won’t even begin to talk about Cheney-Halliburton scams, the Bush family and the Saudis, or the pork-engendered, election-cash-oriented Bills approved by almost every legislator in Washington. Iraqi businessmen and politicians will doubtless receive much benefit from advice by little brother Fleischer who, incidentally, has a five year contract and can’t be fired by the ‘sovereign’ government of Iraq.</p>
<p>The Fortress mentality of the Bush administration is such that its defenders, who are becoming increasingly desperate, vindictive and aggressive, must try to counter-attack at any cost. But that cost, unfortunately for them, is increasingly in their own credibility. Here is part of a Washington Post talk-back on June 25 that featured one David Bossie, the attractively-named Chief of a Republican propaganda organization called Citizens United.</p>
<p>The question and answer session concerned the film Fahrenheit 9/11, made by an unappealing fellow called Michael Moore, who is as coarse and grubby a citizen as might be met in many days’ journey. He might even be vice-president of the United States, given the crassness of his language, general vulgarity and total self-obsession. But in spite of this he has made a world-class film about which the Leader Bossie complained that “Moore has stated his motivation is to remove President Bush from office.”</p>
<p>From the turrets of Fortress Bush, in which there can be but one interpretation of world events, the Bossie-man cannot understand why anyone might want to get rid of Bush. And this fascinating dialogue ensued:</p>
<p>Questioner : ‘Moore has stated his motivation is to remove President Bush from office. Aren’t you motivated to keep Bush in office?’</p>
<p>Bossie Boots : ‘I totally support President Bush and I wish I could run ads against John Kerry to help him. But I can’t. If the laws and rules limit my speech they should limit Michael Moore’s as well because he is running anti-Bush ads. Plain and simple.’</p>
<p>Then Bossie declared that “Michael Moore has never let the facts get in the way of a good story ; his movie is nothing more than left wing propaganda,” which prompted a query from a listener in Thomaston, Georgia, who asked “Have you seen the movie?” Pause. Then the Bossie reply was “No, but I am planning to.”</p>
<p>The normal “laws and rules” don’t apply to the Bush coterie and their unquestioning Bossie-style supporters. They don’t need facts in order to condemn the thoughts and ideas of those who disagree with them. And this mind-shutting goes even further.</p>
<p>The laws and Constitution of the United States are regarded as awkward obstacles standing across the righteous path of Bush domination. They are given lip service, because it would be electoral suicide to insult them openly, but, as pointed out by Ruth Wedgwood of Johns Hopkins University, the recently exposed memorandum about torture, written at the request of the White House, did not look at “the law governing torture”, but at “what can we do and remain within the law?” which, as The Economist points out, “ignores or glides over American and international laws that ban or limit torture”. You can say that again, and surround it in neon lights, for this is exactly what the Bush administration is all about : they look for ways around the laws of their country and the world, and if they can’t get their way around the laws, they avoid them and try to camouflage their actions.</p>
<p>Here is an extract from an Order issued by Bush on February 7, 2002, in which he stated : “our values as a nation, values that we share with many nations in the world, call for us to treat detainees humanely, INCLUDING THOSE WHO ARE NOT LEGALLY ENTITLED TO SUCH TREATMENT.” [Emphasis added.] So, according to Bush, there are people in the world who are not legally entitled to humane treatment. They might be foreigners, they might be Americans. Who knows?</p>
<p>There is no other interpretation that can be put on his grotesque pronouncement.</p>
<p>Can you think of a law that has been passed by any civilized country, and endorsed by anyone in possession of their senses, that allows inhumane treatment of detainees? Bush declared in his Order that he might permit those who are not worthy of being treated humanely to be treated humanely. But into what category of humanity fall the people whom Bush regards as “not legally entitled to such treatment”? It was only under extreme external pressure that the White House released this document, and a swag of others (although who knows what clever papers advocating avoidance of decency remain unrevealed in the deep and fetid bowels of Bush Washington). For this gesture we may be truly thankful, because, even if by oversight, it highlights the One Law Doctrine in all its squalid singularity. There is one law, under Bush, that says some detainees are not legally entitled to treatment as a human being, and it is only by gracious presidential decree that pitiless maltreatment was supposed to have been waived. But of course it wasn’t.</p>
<p>As we know, now, and only because a few hideous photographs were obtained by the media, a host of Bush administration captives in Iraq were treated in a manner that beggars description. They were tormented not just inhumanely, but with spiteful and vile cruelty. They were sadistically bullied to the point of ultimate release by merciful death after gross humiliation by malevolent savages who are successors to the jack-booted beasts of the Nazi regime. Their humiliation and persecution stemmed from the One Law Doctrine that some detainees are not “legally entitled” to humane treatment under US or international statutes.</p>
<p>The total moral detachment from what you and I regard as normal human inter-relation is exemplified by evidence given at a trial in Baghdad on June 24 : “Capt. Donald Reese said that one night in November 2003, he saw the bloodied body of an Iraqi prisoner who had died during interrogation inside a shower stall in a prison cellblock. He said a number of officers were standing around it, discussing what to do.” Why discuss? What’s to discuss? A man was murdered, and the one and only honorable course is to investigate and publicly prosecute. The mere fact that there could be discussion about what to do is demonstrative of the fact that these people have had their moral senses blunted, even destroyed, by the influence of Fortress Bush, which believes it is not subject to normal laws. We should remember, as the NY Times pointed out on July 2, that “Mr. Bush has declared himself free, at times of his choosing, from the Geneva Conventions, following advice from Attorney General John Ashcroft”.</p>
<p>The pack of lies retailed in the administration’s annual report on ‘Patterns of Global Terrorism’ shows what we have to guard against. On the well-tried propaganda principle that headlines catch the eye and subsequent corrections are buried on inside pages (and are not reported atall by some sections of the media, for their own reasons), the newly-created Terrorist Threat Integration Center produced a concoction of nonsense purporting to show that Bush was winning his ‘war on terror’. Another Hitlerian principle employed was that the bigger the lie, the more readily it would be accepted ; but for once this didn’t work. The lies were so poorly constructed that simple arithmetic showed they were baloney.</p>
<p>But the fall guy was Powell, as usual, and he had to apologize because the politically-motivated Center told American voters, and the world at large, that the number of deaths caused by terrorism had fallen in 2003 while in truth they had risen massively (307 became 625), while the number of wounded suddenly increased from 1593 to 3646. The report was announced with great fanfare to try to show that the ‘War President’ was winning, but, curiously, the other news at the end of April, when the report came out, included awkward items that did not suit Fortress Bush. It was discovered that there were prisoners being tortured by US soldiers ; eight soldiers were killed by a car bomb ; a ‘roll-call’ of US war dead was about to be shown on US television ; occupation troops were forced to quite Falluja ; and Bush was facing the 9/11 inquiry. What better time to announce, as the egregious Armitage did, that the Center’s report provided “clear evidence that we are prevailing in the fight”.</p>
<p>The only clear evidence provided by this septic episode is that Fortress Bush cooked the books and was found out.</p>
<p>But even after the lies were exposed, an oaf called Cofer Black (‘State Department Coordinator for Counterterrorism with the rank of Ambassador at Large’), who was ultimately responsible for the debacle, had the barefaced chutzpah to announce on June 22 that although his report was “marred by significant errors,” the “most important things in the report continue to be valid”, and “we have made significant progress”. On July 1 Cheney joined in and declared “our nation has made dramatic progress in the war on terror”. These claims show Fortress Bush at the outer edge of double-think. The report was absurdly invalid, and Cheney’s claim is demonstrably incorrect and silly. The main progress made by the Fortress-bound upholders of the One Law has been in expanding means of deceiving the world about every matter that might possibly show them for the bunch of despicable hypocrites that they are.</p>
<p>But according to Nicholas Kristoff in the New York Times on Wednesday, it isn’t nice of us to describe Bush as a liar. The lead to his article went “Simple-mindedly vilifying the president for dishonesty only polarizes the political scene and impedes understanding.” His exact words were “I’m against the ‘liar’ label for two reasons. First, it further polarizes the political cesspool, and this polarization is making America increasingly difficult to govern. Second, insults and rage impede understanding.” With apologias like that it isn’t difficult to see why Bush has gotten away with being a liar for so long. The political cesspool in Washington is already polarized, and speaking the truth is not insulting (although calling people simple-minded for doing so is a tad rude, at that). Bush is a liar, but, Kristoff says, perhaps with a straight face, “there’s some evidence that Mr Bush carefully avoids the most blatant lies–witness his meticulous descriptions of the periods in which he did not use illegal drugs”. Well, that’s all right, then.</p>
<p>The Bush declaration of “full and complete sovereignty” in the shambles he has created in Iraq is yet another lie and an even more blatant one than usual. It didn’t take long for that to be apparent in basic terms, as reported by London’s Financial Times on the day Bremer quit the country. “Iyad Akmush Kanum learnt the limits of sovereignty on Monday when US prosecutors refused to uphold an Iraqi judges’ order acquitting him of attempted murder of coalition troops. US prosecutors said that he was being returned to . . . Abu Ghraib prison because under the Geneva Conventions they were not bound by Iraqi law. A few hundred metres from where outgoing administrator Paul Bremer formally ended the US occupation of Iraq on Monday, Mr Kanum–prisoner number 27075–cowered handcuffed on a backroom floor in the Central Criminal Court, where Iraqis are tried for attacks against coalition forces.”</p>
<p>If this wasn’t such a squalid example of conqueror’s arrogance, it would be screamingly funny. The boys from Fortress Bush had the gall, the sheer brass-necked, copper-bottomed, brazen impertinence to claim exemption from Iraqi law by quoting the Geneva Conventions that have been worked round, ignored, contravened and violated by this administration and its imperial representatives for three dark years. The prosecutors defied Iraq’s judges with contempt, which is practicing the One Law Doctrine with a vengeance (literally), and makes a public mockery of Bush’s deceitful declaration of “full and complete sovereignty”.</p>
<p>The shameful humbug of quoting regulations to try to justify illegal policy was commented on by the NY Times on Wednesday when it pointed out that “Mr. Rumsfeld’s handling of another issue, the Red Cross reports on Iraq, is the most outrageous example of the administration’s bad faith on the prison scandal. The Bush administration has cited Red Cross confidentiality policies to explain its failure to give up the reports. The trouble is, the Red Cross has repeatedly told the administration to go ahead and share the agency’s findings with Congress, as long as steps are taken to prevent leaks . . . . the Red Cross in Geneva has got it figured out : the administration has no intention of cooperating.”</p>
<p>Of course it hasn’t. Fortress Bush has hunkered down, and the drawbridge has been raised. Boiling oil is being poured over the parapets at representatives of the Red Cross and every human rights organization on the planet. The One Law Doctrine is being enforced at every turn, and the world stands aghast at the destruction of America’s support for international accords. The Theatre of the Absurd lives and has its being in Fortress Bush.</p>
<p>BRIAN CLOUGHLEY writes on military and political affairs. He can be reached through his website <a href="http://www.briancloughley.com/" type="external">www.briancloughley.com</a></p> | 4,442 |
<p />
<p>If you’re a conservative Facebook user who opposes Islamic terrorism, then you are the enemy and you must be silenced by any means necessary.&#160; At least, that seems to be the message being put out by the social media giant.</p>
<p>I’ve documented a number of abuses meted out by Facebook over the last three years, but lately, it seems the social media giant has escalated what can only be called a “jihad” against those of us who oppose terrorism.</p>
<p>My good friend Renee Nal wrote at <a href="http://www.examiner.com/article/exclusive-activists-increasingly-accuse-facebook-of-bias-against-conservatives?no_cache=1449719088" type="external">Examiner</a>:</p>
<p>In a recent <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVUAgXqBiNE" type="external">interview</a> with Sean Hannity, Jennifer Thalasinos, the widow of a victim of last week’s terror attack in San Bernardino Nicholas Thalasinos, commented that her husband – a conservative that she believes was targeted for his views by the Muslim shooters – was previously targeted on Facebook, resulting in him being blocked for extended periods of time.</p>
<p>Hannity related to Thalasinos, indicating that he also had to “deal with the exact same issues” on Facebook.</p>
<p>Here’s audio of that interview:</p>
<p>She also touched on some of my issues with Facebook, which have been going on for quite some time.&#160; Last May, for example, I wrote an article about a claim made by anti-terror expert Dave Gaubatz, who said that a representative of the Muslim Advocates (the same group Loretta Lynch spoke to, promising to prosecute speech against Islam) told him the group was working with Facebook to delete accounts <a href="http://www.examiner.com/article/muslim-mafia-author-muslims-working-with-facebook-to-silence-critics-of-islam" type="external">critical of Islam</a>.</p>
<p>Within a short period of time, Facebook falsely flagged that article as “unsafe.”&#160; The social media site also flagged several other articles as unsafe — all of <a href="http://www.examiner.com/article/facebook-falsely-flags-articles-mentioning-islam-as-unsafe" type="external">which merely mentioned Islam</a>.</p>
<p>Since May of this year alone, I have been banned by Facebook at least five times — all over things I never posted:</p>
<p />
<p>That’s typical of what Facebook has banned me over.&#160; If I did what Facebook did, I could face charges of forgery.&#160; Facebook, however, gets a pass.&#160; And I’ve heard from many others who have been banned for less.</p>
<p>I’ve also been told that veteran-owned businesses have also come under heavy fire in the last 6 months.&#160; And, my source tells me, Facebook has also targeted advertising accounts.&#160; That, however, could present a real problem for the company, especially since money is involved.</p>
<p>But good luck getting an attorney to actually look at or take your case, as I’ve learned the hard way.</p>
<p>If you recall, we reported back in September that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was caught on an open microphone telling German Chancellor Angela Merkel that he was working on <a href="" type="internal">ways to stifle news</a> critical of “refugees.”</p>
<p>But it seems that it’s not just “news” of “refugees” the company is out to stifle.&#160; It’s beginning to look as though Facebook is so dedicated to supporting followers of Islam that it’s willing to do and/or tolerate anything to silence those critical of terrorism.</p>
<p>It’s enough to make one wonder — does Facebook support Islamic jihad?</p>
<p>Related:</p>
<p>If you haven’t checked out and liked our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ConservativeFiringLine?fref=ts" type="external">Facebook</a> page, please go <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ConservativeFiringLine?fref=ts" type="external">here</a> and do so.</p> | Facebook escalates jihad against anti-terror conservatives | true | http://conservativefiringline.com/facebook-escalates-jihad-against-anti-terror-conservatives/ | 2015-12-10 | 0right
| Facebook escalates jihad against anti-terror conservatives
<p />
<p>If you’re a conservative Facebook user who opposes Islamic terrorism, then you are the enemy and you must be silenced by any means necessary.&#160; At least, that seems to be the message being put out by the social media giant.</p>
<p>I’ve documented a number of abuses meted out by Facebook over the last three years, but lately, it seems the social media giant has escalated what can only be called a “jihad” against those of us who oppose terrorism.</p>
<p>My good friend Renee Nal wrote at <a href="http://www.examiner.com/article/exclusive-activists-increasingly-accuse-facebook-of-bias-against-conservatives?no_cache=1449719088" type="external">Examiner</a>:</p>
<p>In a recent <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVUAgXqBiNE" type="external">interview</a> with Sean Hannity, Jennifer Thalasinos, the widow of a victim of last week’s terror attack in San Bernardino Nicholas Thalasinos, commented that her husband – a conservative that she believes was targeted for his views by the Muslim shooters – was previously targeted on Facebook, resulting in him being blocked for extended periods of time.</p>
<p>Hannity related to Thalasinos, indicating that he also had to “deal with the exact same issues” on Facebook.</p>
<p>Here’s audio of that interview:</p>
<p>She also touched on some of my issues with Facebook, which have been going on for quite some time.&#160; Last May, for example, I wrote an article about a claim made by anti-terror expert Dave Gaubatz, who said that a representative of the Muslim Advocates (the same group Loretta Lynch spoke to, promising to prosecute speech against Islam) told him the group was working with Facebook to delete accounts <a href="http://www.examiner.com/article/muslim-mafia-author-muslims-working-with-facebook-to-silence-critics-of-islam" type="external">critical of Islam</a>.</p>
<p>Within a short period of time, Facebook falsely flagged that article as “unsafe.”&#160; The social media site also flagged several other articles as unsafe — all of <a href="http://www.examiner.com/article/facebook-falsely-flags-articles-mentioning-islam-as-unsafe" type="external">which merely mentioned Islam</a>.</p>
<p>Since May of this year alone, I have been banned by Facebook at least five times — all over things I never posted:</p>
<p />
<p>That’s typical of what Facebook has banned me over.&#160; If I did what Facebook did, I could face charges of forgery.&#160; Facebook, however, gets a pass.&#160; And I’ve heard from many others who have been banned for less.</p>
<p>I’ve also been told that veteran-owned businesses have also come under heavy fire in the last 6 months.&#160; And, my source tells me, Facebook has also targeted advertising accounts.&#160; That, however, could present a real problem for the company, especially since money is involved.</p>
<p>But good luck getting an attorney to actually look at or take your case, as I’ve learned the hard way.</p>
<p>If you recall, we reported back in September that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was caught on an open microphone telling German Chancellor Angela Merkel that he was working on <a href="" type="internal">ways to stifle news</a> critical of “refugees.”</p>
<p>But it seems that it’s not just “news” of “refugees” the company is out to stifle.&#160; It’s beginning to look as though Facebook is so dedicated to supporting followers of Islam that it’s willing to do and/or tolerate anything to silence those critical of terrorism.</p>
<p>It’s enough to make one wonder — does Facebook support Islamic jihad?</p>
<p>Related:</p>
<p>If you haven’t checked out and liked our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ConservativeFiringLine?fref=ts" type="external">Facebook</a> page, please go <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ConservativeFiringLine?fref=ts" type="external">here</a> and do so.</p> | 4,443 |
<p>Published time: 1 Dec, 2017 18:45</p>
<p>The European Council has pledged to stand with Ireland on Brexit border negotiations, telling reporters that if the Irish veto the offer tabled by UK PM Theresa May, then the EU will not accept the deal.</p>
<p>European Council President Donald Tusk visited Ireland on Friday. He made the announcement after meeting with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar in Dublin.</p>
<p>“Before proposing guidelines on transition and future relations to the leaders, I will consult the Taoiseach [Irish PM] if the UK offer is sufficient for the Irish Government,” Tusk said.</p>
<p>“Let me say very clearly: If the UK offer is unacceptable for Ireland, it will also be unacceptable for the EU. I realise that for some British politicians this may be hard to understand. This is why the key to the UK’s future lies – in some ways – in Dublin, at least as long as Brexit negotiations continue.”</p>
<p>[embedded content]</p>
<p>The 310-mile border between the UK province of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland is seen as a particularly sensitive part of negotiations, with Northern Ireland leaving the EU and the Republic remaining in the bloc. The division could mean passport and customs checks will have to be imposed at the border, and trade negotiations will have to be held. It could even mean the border becomes a crossing point for EU migrants wanting to enter the UK.</p>
<p>The former Polish prime minister has given the UK PM a deadline of Monday to make a “final offer” on the Northern Irish border issue. The European Council president said the EU will block all further Brexit talks if May’s proposals for the border with Northern Ireland are deemed “unacceptable.”</p>
<p>“The EU is fully behind you and your request that there should be no hard border on the island of Ireland after Brexit,” he said. “The Irish request is the EU’s request.”</p>
<p>“The UK started Brexit, and now it is their responsibility to propose a credible commitment to do what is necessary to avoid a hard border,” he added.</p>
<p>Tusk will chair this month’s crucial summit of European Union leaders in two weeks to decide if Brexit negotiations can move on to the second phase: future relationships and trade agreements.</p>
<p>Former UKIP leader Nigel Farage reacted angrily to the announcement, calling Tusk and the EU “bullies.” He said Theresa May should “walk away.”</p> | ‘If Ireland’s not happy, we’re not happy’: Tusk gives Dublin formal veto on Brexit border issue | false | https://newsline.com/if-irelands-not-happy-were-not-happy-tusk-gives-dublin-formal-veto-on-brexit-border-issue/ | 2017-12-01 | 1right-center
| ‘If Ireland’s not happy, we’re not happy’: Tusk gives Dublin formal veto on Brexit border issue
<p>Published time: 1 Dec, 2017 18:45</p>
<p>The European Council has pledged to stand with Ireland on Brexit border negotiations, telling reporters that if the Irish veto the offer tabled by UK PM Theresa May, then the EU will not accept the deal.</p>
<p>European Council President Donald Tusk visited Ireland on Friday. He made the announcement after meeting with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar in Dublin.</p>
<p>“Before proposing guidelines on transition and future relations to the leaders, I will consult the Taoiseach [Irish PM] if the UK offer is sufficient for the Irish Government,” Tusk said.</p>
<p>“Let me say very clearly: If the UK offer is unacceptable for Ireland, it will also be unacceptable for the EU. I realise that for some British politicians this may be hard to understand. This is why the key to the UK’s future lies – in some ways – in Dublin, at least as long as Brexit negotiations continue.”</p>
<p>[embedded content]</p>
<p>The 310-mile border between the UK province of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland is seen as a particularly sensitive part of negotiations, with Northern Ireland leaving the EU and the Republic remaining in the bloc. The division could mean passport and customs checks will have to be imposed at the border, and trade negotiations will have to be held. It could even mean the border becomes a crossing point for EU migrants wanting to enter the UK.</p>
<p>The former Polish prime minister has given the UK PM a deadline of Monday to make a “final offer” on the Northern Irish border issue. The European Council president said the EU will block all further Brexit talks if May’s proposals for the border with Northern Ireland are deemed “unacceptable.”</p>
<p>“The EU is fully behind you and your request that there should be no hard border on the island of Ireland after Brexit,” he said. “The Irish request is the EU’s request.”</p>
<p>“The UK started Brexit, and now it is their responsibility to propose a credible commitment to do what is necessary to avoid a hard border,” he added.</p>
<p>Tusk will chair this month’s crucial summit of European Union leaders in two weeks to decide if Brexit negotiations can move on to the second phase: future relationships and trade agreements.</p>
<p>Former UKIP leader Nigel Farage reacted angrily to the announcement, calling Tusk and the EU “bullies.” He said Theresa May should “walk away.”</p> | 4,444 |
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<p />
<p>That was before the Tres Lagunas Fire about midway through the scenic and popular canyon, and the Jaroso Fire just north of the canyon.</p>
<p>Now, it’s hard to know what to pray for.</p>
<p>Because when it rains – and it will someday, maybe soon – the water will rush off the fire-scarred steep mountain slopes, washing thousands of tons of ash, soil, boulders, trees and more into the Pecos River and its tributaries.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>It will flood. Lives and property will be at risk. The banks of the river will be eroded. There will be a fish kill. The river could be contaminated with septic waste and household chemicals.</p>
<p>Local, state and federal government agencies, along with private landowners, are working to lessen the impacts. “But we will not stop anything,” says Rhonda Stewart, who headed the U.S. Forest Service team that assessed the risks caused by the Tres Lagunas Fire, which has burned more than 10,000 acres but is nearly fully contained.</p>
<p>At least some part of the Pecos Canyon south of Terrero will likely remain closed to public recreation for at least two years, because of a continuing threat of flooding. Holy Ghost Canyon will also remain closed for years.</p>
<p>The future of the canyon north of the community of Terrero is less clear. The Jaroso Fire – still far from being contained – is burning south of Pecos Baldy near the Pecos River.</p>
<p>It could be weeks before the Forest Service is able to assess the damage and probable after-effects of the Jaroso Fire.</p>
<p>Pecos Canyon, about 25 miles southeast of Santa Fe, is one of New Mexico’s crown jewels and one of its most popular mountain recreation areas.</p>
<p>N.M. 63 winds through the 17-mile canyon, climbing in elevation through piñon, ponderosa, spruce and other conifers. From Terrero to its headwaters, the Pecos River is federally designated as wild and scenic.</p>
<p>After moving to New Mexico in 1989, I spent a lot of time in Pecos Canyon.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>I learned an early lesson in New Mexico cuisine while stopping for lunch one day at the Pecos Drive-In: A chile dog here isn’t the same as a chili dog back East.</p>
<p>At Monastery Lake at the mouth of the Pecos Canyon, I mastered the fine art of spin-fishing for trout with a clear plastic bubble and a Pistol Pete lure.</p>
<p>Sometimes, I would head farther up the canyon, past Terrero, and scramble down a mountainside to fly-fish the Pecos River. Or I would head to one of its tributaries to catch the native and colorful Rio Grande cutthroat.</p>
<p>But it’s been years since I’ve fished in the Pecos Canyon, in large part because of the crowds and the damage that has been caused to the canyon. Some people say we have loved the canyon to death, but I wouldn’t call it love.</p>
<p>Both the U.S. Forest Service and the state Department of Game and Fish manage recreation sites in the canyon, and a 2008 report prepared by the Forest Service painted a grim picture.</p>
<p>Among the problems cited by the report: too many vehicles, campgrounds in poor condition, violence, trash, alcohol abuse, rowdy campers, stream bank erosion and collapse, and off-road and even in-river vehicle use.</p>
<p>A couple years ago, I volunteered with schoolchildren and others to help pick up trash at Monastery Lake, and in and around the Terrero Campground. Lots of beer cans and bottles, a hypodermic needle, fishing line, toilet paper, human waste, clothes and more.</p>
<p>I visited Monastery Lake a few weeks after the cleanup, and it was if we had never been there. Just last spring, Forest Service sites that hadn’t opened yet were littered with trash and human waste.</p>
<p>In recent years, the Department of Game and Fish has made improvements to its campgrounds, including more designated sites, vault toilets, trash bins and fencing to keep vehicles away from the river. The Forest Service has its Respect the Rio program to educate users about the habitat and to restore riparian areas. Private groups have also been at work in the canyon to protect the river.</p>
<p>“We’ve made enormous progress in the last five years,” says Doug Jeffords, president of the Upper Pecos Watershed Association. “This is the most heavily used recreation area that the state of New Mexico has.”</p>
<p>It seems now that at least parts of the Pecos Canyon will get a much-needed rest for a couple or so years.</p>
<p>That time could be used by New Mexicans to reassess the canyon, what it is today, what more we can do in the future to protect it and how we are going to make that happen.</p>
<p>Maybe we’ll decide to move forward on the long-pending plan to create a Pecos Canyon State Park, turning over the Game and Fish Department properties to the State Parks Division, which has far more expertise in managing recreation areas.</p>
<p>Our hearts will break when the rains come to the Pecos Canyon, but out of that disaster will come an opportunity to leave the canyon in better shape for future generations.</p>
<p>UpFront is a daily front-page news and opinion column. Comment directly to Thom Cole at <a href="" type="internal">[email protected]</a> or 505-992-6280 in Santa Fe. Go to <a href="" type="internal">www.abqjournal.com/letters/new</a> to submit a letter to the editor.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p />
<p /> | Beloved river canyon in bull’s-eye | false | https://abqjournal.com/215899/beloved-river-canyon-in-bullseye.html | 2013-06-29 | 2least
| Beloved river canyon in bull’s-eye
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>That was before the Tres Lagunas Fire about midway through the scenic and popular canyon, and the Jaroso Fire just north of the canyon.</p>
<p>Now, it’s hard to know what to pray for.</p>
<p>Because when it rains – and it will someday, maybe soon – the water will rush off the fire-scarred steep mountain slopes, washing thousands of tons of ash, soil, boulders, trees and more into the Pecos River and its tributaries.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>It will flood. Lives and property will be at risk. The banks of the river will be eroded. There will be a fish kill. The river could be contaminated with septic waste and household chemicals.</p>
<p>Local, state and federal government agencies, along with private landowners, are working to lessen the impacts. “But we will not stop anything,” says Rhonda Stewart, who headed the U.S. Forest Service team that assessed the risks caused by the Tres Lagunas Fire, which has burned more than 10,000 acres but is nearly fully contained.</p>
<p>At least some part of the Pecos Canyon south of Terrero will likely remain closed to public recreation for at least two years, because of a continuing threat of flooding. Holy Ghost Canyon will also remain closed for years.</p>
<p>The future of the canyon north of the community of Terrero is less clear. The Jaroso Fire – still far from being contained – is burning south of Pecos Baldy near the Pecos River.</p>
<p>It could be weeks before the Forest Service is able to assess the damage and probable after-effects of the Jaroso Fire.</p>
<p>Pecos Canyon, about 25 miles southeast of Santa Fe, is one of New Mexico’s crown jewels and one of its most popular mountain recreation areas.</p>
<p>N.M. 63 winds through the 17-mile canyon, climbing in elevation through piñon, ponderosa, spruce and other conifers. From Terrero to its headwaters, the Pecos River is federally designated as wild and scenic.</p>
<p>After moving to New Mexico in 1989, I spent a lot of time in Pecos Canyon.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>I learned an early lesson in New Mexico cuisine while stopping for lunch one day at the Pecos Drive-In: A chile dog here isn’t the same as a chili dog back East.</p>
<p>At Monastery Lake at the mouth of the Pecos Canyon, I mastered the fine art of spin-fishing for trout with a clear plastic bubble and a Pistol Pete lure.</p>
<p>Sometimes, I would head farther up the canyon, past Terrero, and scramble down a mountainside to fly-fish the Pecos River. Or I would head to one of its tributaries to catch the native and colorful Rio Grande cutthroat.</p>
<p>But it’s been years since I’ve fished in the Pecos Canyon, in large part because of the crowds and the damage that has been caused to the canyon. Some people say we have loved the canyon to death, but I wouldn’t call it love.</p>
<p>Both the U.S. Forest Service and the state Department of Game and Fish manage recreation sites in the canyon, and a 2008 report prepared by the Forest Service painted a grim picture.</p>
<p>Among the problems cited by the report: too many vehicles, campgrounds in poor condition, violence, trash, alcohol abuse, rowdy campers, stream bank erosion and collapse, and off-road and even in-river vehicle use.</p>
<p>A couple years ago, I volunteered with schoolchildren and others to help pick up trash at Monastery Lake, and in and around the Terrero Campground. Lots of beer cans and bottles, a hypodermic needle, fishing line, toilet paper, human waste, clothes and more.</p>
<p>I visited Monastery Lake a few weeks after the cleanup, and it was if we had never been there. Just last spring, Forest Service sites that hadn’t opened yet were littered with trash and human waste.</p>
<p>In recent years, the Department of Game and Fish has made improvements to its campgrounds, including more designated sites, vault toilets, trash bins and fencing to keep vehicles away from the river. The Forest Service has its Respect the Rio program to educate users about the habitat and to restore riparian areas. Private groups have also been at work in the canyon to protect the river.</p>
<p>“We’ve made enormous progress in the last five years,” says Doug Jeffords, president of the Upper Pecos Watershed Association. “This is the most heavily used recreation area that the state of New Mexico has.”</p>
<p>It seems now that at least parts of the Pecos Canyon will get a much-needed rest for a couple or so years.</p>
<p>That time could be used by New Mexicans to reassess the canyon, what it is today, what more we can do in the future to protect it and how we are going to make that happen.</p>
<p>Maybe we’ll decide to move forward on the long-pending plan to create a Pecos Canyon State Park, turning over the Game and Fish Department properties to the State Parks Division, which has far more expertise in managing recreation areas.</p>
<p>Our hearts will break when the rains come to the Pecos Canyon, but out of that disaster will come an opportunity to leave the canyon in better shape for future generations.</p>
<p>UpFront is a daily front-page news and opinion column. Comment directly to Thom Cole at <a href="" type="internal">[email protected]</a> or 505-992-6280 in Santa Fe. Go to <a href="" type="internal">www.abqjournal.com/letters/new</a> to submit a letter to the editor.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p />
<p /> | 4,445 |
<p>Las Vegas, NV — A maintenance worker for Mandalay Bay has come forward to note that he told hotel dispatchers to call the police and report that a gunman had opened fire inside Mandalay Bay — well before Paddock opened fire on the concert.</p>
<p>The maintenance worker, Stephen Schuck&#160; <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/las-vegas-shooting/las-vegas-shooting-hotel-worker-narrowly-escaped-gunman-s-rampage-n809726" type="external">said</a>&#160;he barely escaped unharmed after Paddock opened fire on him in the hotel and he credited a security guard with saving his life.</p>
<p>“When the first shooting started, I was kind of frozen for a second,” Schuck said Wednesday on “TODAY.” “He yelled at me, ‘Take cover! Take cover!’ If he yelled a second too late, I would have been shot.”</p>
<p>Schuck said he came upon security guard Jesus Campos, who was unarmed and injured in his leg, as Paddock fired more than 200 bullets into the hall and nearby rooms at the beginning of his deadly rampage on Oct. 1. “I am incredibly blessed that somehow I came out of there alive,” Schuck added.</p>
<p>His dramatic account, and the release of audio of those initial shots, comes amid a dispute over the timeline of the events and questions as to how quickly Las Vegas police could have learned about the massacre on an outdoor music festival.</p>
<p>Below is the interview in which he lays out these dramatic details.</p>
<p />
<p>To back up the fact that he did call in to report the shooting at least six minutes before Paddock opened fire on the concert, NBC obtained and then released&#160;an audio recording of Schuck’s dispatch call. In the recording, we can clearly hear Paddock’s first shots into the hallway.</p>
<p>This new information casts serious doubt on the official story and raises the question of why police took over an hour—after they were told the exact location of the shooter—to do anything to stop him.</p>
<p>The official story of how and why Stephen Paddock murdered 58 people at a music festival in Las Vegas last week is falling apart. As TFTP <a href="http://thefreethoughtproject.com/official-narrative-dramatically-changes-vegas/" type="external">&#160;reported</a>&#160;this week, police made massive reversals in their narrative which raised a myriad of questions and speculation. Now, we have definitive proof that a call was made warning of the shooter’s presence and his location.</p>
<p>Also, as TFTP reported on Wednesday, according to a report from ABC, we learned that&#160;Paddock had&#160; <a href="http://thefreethoughtproject.com/stephen-paddock-service-elevator/" type="external">access to and used the service elevator</a>&#160;at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino in the days leading up to his attack on the country music festival.</p>
<p>Had police actually responded to the numerous reports of gunfire&#160;inside the hotel room, before the massacre began,&#160;perhaps 58 people may still be alive.</p>
<p>What’s more, MGM Resorts, which owns Mandalay Bay, said that while they cannot comment on the ongoing investigation, they have many questions about the timeline since “many facts are still unverified.”</p>
<p>“We cannot be certain about the most recent timeline that has been communicated publically (sic), and we believe what is currently being expressed may not be accurate,”&#160; <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/las-vegas-shooting/las-vegas-shooting-hotel-worker-narrowly-escaped-gunman-s-rampage-n809726" type="external">said</a>&#160;MGM Resorts spokesperson Debra DeShong.</p>
<p>It is entirely possible to accidentally fudge a few details of the events because&#160;of the sheer chaos surrounding the shooting and the subsequent investigation. However, the dramatic shifts in narrative coupled with the new information about how police were warned and that the shooter had access to the service elevator, do not constitute mistakes. They are more closely related to deliberate misinformation and false reports.</p>
<p>While many folks are opposed to asking these questions about the holes in the official story, this new information now shows that, if anything, we are not asking enough questions.</p>
<p>Courtesy of The Free Thought Project</p>
<p>Matt Agorist is an honorably discharged veteran of the USMC and former intelligence operator directly tasked by the NSA. This prior experience gives him unique insight into the world of government corruption and the American police state. Agorist has been an independent journalist for over a decade and has been featured on mainstream networks around the world. Agorist is also the Editor at Large at the Free Thought Project.&#160; <a href="https://twitter.com/MattAgorist" type="external">Follow @MattAgorist on Twitter</a>,&#160; <a href="https://steemit.com/@tftproject" type="external">Steemit</a>,&#160;and now on&#160; <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheREALMattAgorist/" type="external">Facebook.</a></p>
<p />
<p /> | BREAKING: Audio Released of Hotel Worker Warning of Shooter BEFORE Vegas Massacre | true | http://dcclothesline.com/2017/10/12/breaking-audio-released-of-hotel-worker-warning-of-shooter-before-vegas-massacre/ | 2017-10-12 | 0right
| BREAKING: Audio Released of Hotel Worker Warning of Shooter BEFORE Vegas Massacre
<p>Las Vegas, NV — A maintenance worker for Mandalay Bay has come forward to note that he told hotel dispatchers to call the police and report that a gunman had opened fire inside Mandalay Bay — well before Paddock opened fire on the concert.</p>
<p>The maintenance worker, Stephen Schuck&#160; <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/las-vegas-shooting/las-vegas-shooting-hotel-worker-narrowly-escaped-gunman-s-rampage-n809726" type="external">said</a>&#160;he barely escaped unharmed after Paddock opened fire on him in the hotel and he credited a security guard with saving his life.</p>
<p>“When the first shooting started, I was kind of frozen for a second,” Schuck said Wednesday on “TODAY.” “He yelled at me, ‘Take cover! Take cover!’ If he yelled a second too late, I would have been shot.”</p>
<p>Schuck said he came upon security guard Jesus Campos, who was unarmed and injured in his leg, as Paddock fired more than 200 bullets into the hall and nearby rooms at the beginning of his deadly rampage on Oct. 1. “I am incredibly blessed that somehow I came out of there alive,” Schuck added.</p>
<p>His dramatic account, and the release of audio of those initial shots, comes amid a dispute over the timeline of the events and questions as to how quickly Las Vegas police could have learned about the massacre on an outdoor music festival.</p>
<p>Below is the interview in which he lays out these dramatic details.</p>
<p />
<p>To back up the fact that he did call in to report the shooting at least six minutes before Paddock opened fire on the concert, NBC obtained and then released&#160;an audio recording of Schuck’s dispatch call. In the recording, we can clearly hear Paddock’s first shots into the hallway.</p>
<p>This new information casts serious doubt on the official story and raises the question of why police took over an hour—after they were told the exact location of the shooter—to do anything to stop him.</p>
<p>The official story of how and why Stephen Paddock murdered 58 people at a music festival in Las Vegas last week is falling apart. As TFTP <a href="http://thefreethoughtproject.com/official-narrative-dramatically-changes-vegas/" type="external">&#160;reported</a>&#160;this week, police made massive reversals in their narrative which raised a myriad of questions and speculation. Now, we have definitive proof that a call was made warning of the shooter’s presence and his location.</p>
<p>Also, as TFTP reported on Wednesday, according to a report from ABC, we learned that&#160;Paddock had&#160; <a href="http://thefreethoughtproject.com/stephen-paddock-service-elevator/" type="external">access to and used the service elevator</a>&#160;at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino in the days leading up to his attack on the country music festival.</p>
<p>Had police actually responded to the numerous reports of gunfire&#160;inside the hotel room, before the massacre began,&#160;perhaps 58 people may still be alive.</p>
<p>What’s more, MGM Resorts, which owns Mandalay Bay, said that while they cannot comment on the ongoing investigation, they have many questions about the timeline since “many facts are still unverified.”</p>
<p>“We cannot be certain about the most recent timeline that has been communicated publically (sic), and we believe what is currently being expressed may not be accurate,”&#160; <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/las-vegas-shooting/las-vegas-shooting-hotel-worker-narrowly-escaped-gunman-s-rampage-n809726" type="external">said</a>&#160;MGM Resorts spokesperson Debra DeShong.</p>
<p>It is entirely possible to accidentally fudge a few details of the events because&#160;of the sheer chaos surrounding the shooting and the subsequent investigation. However, the dramatic shifts in narrative coupled with the new information about how police were warned and that the shooter had access to the service elevator, do not constitute mistakes. They are more closely related to deliberate misinformation and false reports.</p>
<p>While many folks are opposed to asking these questions about the holes in the official story, this new information now shows that, if anything, we are not asking enough questions.</p>
<p>Courtesy of The Free Thought Project</p>
<p>Matt Agorist is an honorably discharged veteran of the USMC and former intelligence operator directly tasked by the NSA. This prior experience gives him unique insight into the world of government corruption and the American police state. Agorist has been an independent journalist for over a decade and has been featured on mainstream networks around the world. Agorist is also the Editor at Large at the Free Thought Project.&#160; <a href="https://twitter.com/MattAgorist" type="external">Follow @MattAgorist on Twitter</a>,&#160; <a href="https://steemit.com/@tftproject" type="external">Steemit</a>,&#160;and now on&#160; <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheREALMattAgorist/" type="external">Facebook.</a></p>
<p />
<p /> | 4,446 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>Angela Gephart, left, 28, and her partner Brynn Hollingsworth, right, 25, from Columbus, Ohio, compete with a duet during the U.S. Masters National Synchronized Swimming Championships at West Mesa Aquatic Center in Albuquerque, N.M. on Saturday. (Marla Brose/Albuquerque Journal)</p>
<p>It’s hard to say which is trickier in synchronized swimming: getting someone to try the sport or getting them to quit.</p>
<p>An eye-catching blend of athleticism, grace and artistry, synchronized swimming has a long history and has been an official Olympic sport since 1984. Still, it’s not exactly the kind of mainstream sport most young athletes dream about.</p>
<p>“My hometown team had a summer camp, and my mom dragged me to it,” said Alyssa Miller, a 23-year-old Florida native who moved to Albuquerque six months ago. “I said, ‘Mom, this is stupid.’ Turned out I loved it.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Gina Cordova’s synchro story is similar. Cordova, 36, was talked into trying the sport by a friend and ended up competing through college and beyond.</p>
<p>Like Miller, Cordova moved to Albuquerque as an adult. She grew up in upstate New York where synchronized swimming has a greater tradition and following.</p>
<p>Both women were drawn to West Mesa Aquatic Center this week because the facility is hosting the U.S. Masters Synchronized Swimming National Championships. They are serving as volunteers at the four-day event, which they hope will springboard local interest.</p>
<p>“There are no teams in New Mexico,” Cordova said, “but there are synchronized swimmers here. We’ve all been popping up this week and we’re trying to come together. It’s such a great sport, we’d love to get it going here.”</p>
<p>Cordova got inspired when she found out the national championships were coming to Albuquerque. She began training in May and ended up winning a silver medal in her age division’s figures competition.</p>
<p>“I hadn’t competed in 12 years,” Cordova said, “so I feel pretty good about it.”</p>
<p>Phyllis Newmark, 59, left, and her mother Jeanne Newmark, 83, from Portland, Oregon, listen to the score they earned while competing in a duet together during the U.S. Masters National Synchronized Swimming Championships at West Mesa Aquatic Center in Albuquerque, N.M. on Saturday. (Marla Brose/Albuquerque Journal)</p>
<p>As one might imagine, synchronized swimming requires a high level of fitness and breath control. Athletes are not allowed to touch the pool’s bottom or sides during three- or five-minute routines that can be remarkably strenuous.</p>
<p>“I describe it like running on treadmill while holding your breath underwater,” Miller said.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>But masters-level synchronized swimming competitors are not all longtime athletes or former racing swimmers. Synchro has masters age divisions in 10-year increments. Competitors range from age 20 into their 80s and sometimes beyond.</p>
<p>Veronica Stofiel, 45, only recently took up synchronized swimming. She traveled to Albuquerque to compete this week with the Tualatin Hills club from Portland, Ore.</p>
<p>“I was just looking for something new when I got into it,” Stofiel said. “I’d taken swimming lessons but I wasn’t a competitive swimmer. Now I’ve really got the bug.”</p>
<p>Stofiel said she loves synchro’s combination of fitness, creativity and music. In Saturday’s free competitions, swimmers performed to music ranging from classical to rock to campy.</p>
<p>“We call ours the ‘Monster Medley,'” Stofiel said of a compilation of themes from TV series “The Addams Family, The Munsters and Alfred Hitchcock Presents.”</p>
<p>Stofiel, like many of the 206 competitors from around the United States and Canada, had never been to Albuquerque before this week. She’s been impressed by the quality of the meet, West Mesa Aquatic Center and by the city, though she had some reservations about competing in Albuquerque.</p>
<p>“A lot of people were kind of afraid of the altitude,” she said. “At first you’re kind of gasping, but it gets better after a few days.”</p>
<p>Oddly, synchronized swimmers can perform solo, competing in forms and technical events. But group competitions (duets, trios or teams ranging from four to 10 swimmers) seem to have more allure.</p>
<p>“You spend a lot of time together practicing and performing,” Cordova said. “You really form bonds with your teammates.”</p>
<p>Cordova and Miller were a bit surprised to find Albuquerque, a city with no synchronized swimming clubs, hosting the masters nationals. They hope that will no longer be the case if and when the competition returns.</p>
<p>“I really hope this gets a few more people here interested in the sport,” Cordova said. “It reminded me how much I love it.”</p>
<p />
<p /> | Synchronized swimming: West Mesa is host pool for event | false | https://abqjournal.com/284685/its-a-time-to-sync-and-swim.html | 2013-10-20 | 2least
| Synchronized swimming: West Mesa is host pool for event
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>Angela Gephart, left, 28, and her partner Brynn Hollingsworth, right, 25, from Columbus, Ohio, compete with a duet during the U.S. Masters National Synchronized Swimming Championships at West Mesa Aquatic Center in Albuquerque, N.M. on Saturday. (Marla Brose/Albuquerque Journal)</p>
<p>It’s hard to say which is trickier in synchronized swimming: getting someone to try the sport or getting them to quit.</p>
<p>An eye-catching blend of athleticism, grace and artistry, synchronized swimming has a long history and has been an official Olympic sport since 1984. Still, it’s not exactly the kind of mainstream sport most young athletes dream about.</p>
<p>“My hometown team had a summer camp, and my mom dragged me to it,” said Alyssa Miller, a 23-year-old Florida native who moved to Albuquerque six months ago. “I said, ‘Mom, this is stupid.’ Turned out I loved it.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Gina Cordova’s synchro story is similar. Cordova, 36, was talked into trying the sport by a friend and ended up competing through college and beyond.</p>
<p>Like Miller, Cordova moved to Albuquerque as an adult. She grew up in upstate New York where synchronized swimming has a greater tradition and following.</p>
<p>Both women were drawn to West Mesa Aquatic Center this week because the facility is hosting the U.S. Masters Synchronized Swimming National Championships. They are serving as volunteers at the four-day event, which they hope will springboard local interest.</p>
<p>“There are no teams in New Mexico,” Cordova said, “but there are synchronized swimmers here. We’ve all been popping up this week and we’re trying to come together. It’s such a great sport, we’d love to get it going here.”</p>
<p>Cordova got inspired when she found out the national championships were coming to Albuquerque. She began training in May and ended up winning a silver medal in her age division’s figures competition.</p>
<p>“I hadn’t competed in 12 years,” Cordova said, “so I feel pretty good about it.”</p>
<p>Phyllis Newmark, 59, left, and her mother Jeanne Newmark, 83, from Portland, Oregon, listen to the score they earned while competing in a duet together during the U.S. Masters National Synchronized Swimming Championships at West Mesa Aquatic Center in Albuquerque, N.M. on Saturday. (Marla Brose/Albuquerque Journal)</p>
<p>As one might imagine, synchronized swimming requires a high level of fitness and breath control. Athletes are not allowed to touch the pool’s bottom or sides during three- or five-minute routines that can be remarkably strenuous.</p>
<p>“I describe it like running on treadmill while holding your breath underwater,” Miller said.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>But masters-level synchronized swimming competitors are not all longtime athletes or former racing swimmers. Synchro has masters age divisions in 10-year increments. Competitors range from age 20 into their 80s and sometimes beyond.</p>
<p>Veronica Stofiel, 45, only recently took up synchronized swimming. She traveled to Albuquerque to compete this week with the Tualatin Hills club from Portland, Ore.</p>
<p>“I was just looking for something new when I got into it,” Stofiel said. “I’d taken swimming lessons but I wasn’t a competitive swimmer. Now I’ve really got the bug.”</p>
<p>Stofiel said she loves synchro’s combination of fitness, creativity and music. In Saturday’s free competitions, swimmers performed to music ranging from classical to rock to campy.</p>
<p>“We call ours the ‘Monster Medley,'” Stofiel said of a compilation of themes from TV series “The Addams Family, The Munsters and Alfred Hitchcock Presents.”</p>
<p>Stofiel, like many of the 206 competitors from around the United States and Canada, had never been to Albuquerque before this week. She’s been impressed by the quality of the meet, West Mesa Aquatic Center and by the city, though she had some reservations about competing in Albuquerque.</p>
<p>“A lot of people were kind of afraid of the altitude,” she said. “At first you’re kind of gasping, but it gets better after a few days.”</p>
<p>Oddly, synchronized swimmers can perform solo, competing in forms and technical events. But group competitions (duets, trios or teams ranging from four to 10 swimmers) seem to have more allure.</p>
<p>“You spend a lot of time together practicing and performing,” Cordova said. “You really form bonds with your teammates.”</p>
<p>Cordova and Miller were a bit surprised to find Albuquerque, a city with no synchronized swimming clubs, hosting the masters nationals. They hope that will no longer be the case if and when the competition returns.</p>
<p>“I really hope this gets a few more people here interested in the sport,” Cordova said. “It reminded me how much I love it.”</p>
<p />
<p /> | 4,447 |
<p>President Donald Trump, whose family and political aides have faced scrutiny over their ties to Russia, rejected a bid by Exxon Mobil Corp. to sidestep U.S. sanctions against Moscow and resume an oil venture with a politically powerful Russian energy firm.</p>
<p>The announcement Friday comes as the White House pushes to firm up the president's foreign-policy and domestic agenda as he nears his 100th day in office next week.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Mr. Trump's decision to block Exxon Mobil, until the end of last year headed by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, also shows how efforts to build bridges with Russian President Vladimir Putin are proving difficult, senior U.S. officials said.</p>
<p>Congressional and Federal Bureau of Investigation probes into ties between Mr. Trump's aides and Russian officials continue to dominate Washington's political debate, these officials said. And Mr. Putin repeatedly has made any strengthening of ties harder by maintaining Moscow's support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and escalating a crackdown on the Kremlin's political opponents at home, the officials said.</p>
<p>The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that Exxon last month sought a waiver on Russian sanctions for its oil exploration venture with PAO Rosneft, the Russian energy conglomerate closely aligned with Mr. Putin. The company had originally submitted the application in 2015, and revived it in March.</p>
<p>The venture was frozen in 2014 after the Obama administration placed sanctions on Rosneft and its chief executive, Igor Sechin, in retaliation for Russia's annexation of the Crimea region of Ukraine.</p>
<p>"In consultation with President Donald J. Trump, the Treasury Department will not be issuing waivers to U.S. companies, including Exxon, authorizing drilling prohibited by current Russian sanctions," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement Friday. U.S. officials said Mr. Trump made the decision after close consultations with Mr. Mnuchin, a former Goldman Sachs executive.</p>
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<p>The Trump administration's decision likely will make it impossible for Exxon to drill in Russia's Black Sea waters before its agreement with Rosneft expires at the end of this year. Under the companies' agreement, Exxon has until 2023 to explore some of Russia's Arctic waters if sanctions are lifted, the company has said.</p>
<p>"We understand the statement today by Secretary Mnuchin in consultation with President Trump," said Alan Jeffers, an Exxon Mobil spokesman. "Our 2015 application for a license under the provisions outlined in the U.S. sanctions was made to enable our company to meet its contractual obligations under a joint venture agreement in Russia, where competitor companies are authorized to undertake such work under European sanctions."</p>
<p>News of Exxon's Treasury application drew sharp criticism in Congress over the past two days. Leading Democrats and some Republicans have said the Trump White House should be increasing sanctions on Russia for its alleged effort to interfere in last year's U.S. election, rather than loosening them. Russia has denied any interference in the election.</p>
<p>Lawmakers also raised concerns the Trump administration could face a conflict of interest in ruling on the Exxon application, given Mr. Tillerson's previous position as CEO, a job he held for 11 years. State Department officials said this past week that Mr. Tillerson has recused himself from any issues related to Exxon for two years.</p>
<p>"Given Russia's well-documented and troubling activities around the world, it is troubling Exxon Mobil would continue to press for its narrow economic advantage at the expense of our national interests," Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said on Friday. "The deals they are seeking would put money in the pockets of Russian oligarchs and the Russian treasury, guaranteed to be used against America, our interests, and our allies."</p>
<p>Lawmakers have said they are investigating a string of contacts between Mr. Trump's aides and Russian officials during the campaign and the presidential transition. These include meetings and phone calls between his former national security adviser, Mike Flynn, and Russia's ambassador to Washington, in which U.S. sanctions on Russia were discussed. They also include meetings that Mr. Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, held with the head of a state-run Russian bank that is on a U.S. sanctions list.</p>
<p>The administration has been in an awkward dance with the Kremlin since Mr. Trump assumed office, after his repeated calls during the campaign for warmer ties.</p>
<p>Earlier this month, the Pentagon launched airstrikes on a Syrian military base believed to have been involved in a chemical-weapons attack against Syrian civilians. The U.S. missiles risked hitting Russian troops that were stationed at the base, according to U.S. officials. Russia and Syria are allies.</p>
<p>Mr. Trump also authorized Montenegro this month to become the 29th member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, despite repeated protests by Russia.</p>
<p>Mr. Tillerson visited Moscow last week to try to forge a more united front and met with Mr. Putin for more than two hours. But the former Exxon Mobil chief left Russia saying Washington's relations with Moscow were at a "low point."</p>
<p>"The problem with sanctions is that they're right there at the center of what went most wrong in Russian-American relations, and that is, of course, the Ukraine crisis," said Stephen Sestanovich, a Columbia University professor and the State Department's ambassador-at-large to the former Soviet Union during the Clinton administration. "There's a low level of trust."</p>
<p>Exxon Mobil's failure to win approval for its Black Sea venture marks a blow for the Texas company's hopes for expansion and could aid its rivals. In 2012, Mr. Putin had said the Exxon partnership could eventually spend up to $500 billion together.</p>
<p>Although some of the European Union's sanctions were crafted in a similar fashion as those in the U.S., they allowed many existing agreements and plans to proceed. Because they allowed companies with contracts under execution at the time of sanctions in 2014 to continue with operations, Italian oil company Eni SpA is now actively exploring Russia's Black Sea and Barents Sea waters, according to the company.</p>
<p>Last year, Norway's Statoil ASA drilled two wells in the Sea of Okhotsk at depths only slightly shallower than the 150-meter limit outlined by the EU. French energy company Total SA in late 2013 launched a giant natural-gas export project in Russia's Yamal Peninsula above the Arctic circle. The country now accounts for about a fifth of Total's reserves, according to Tudor Pickering Holt &amp; Co.</p>
<p>Exxon also has projects that were allowed to proceed in Russia, including further developments of its operations on Sakhalin Island in the country's Far East. Because sanctions focused on the transfer of energy technology in the Arctic, deep water or onshore drilling techniques, the Sakhalin operations were exempt.</p>
<p>The company has said it is exposed to as much as $1 billion in losses from its investments that have been put on hold by sanctions.</p>
<p>--Felicia Schwartz contributed to this article.</p>
<p>Write to Jay Solomon at [email protected] and Bradley Olson at [email protected]</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>April 21, 2017 19:11 ET (23:11 GMT)</p> | U.S. Denies Exxon Bid for Waiver on Russia Sanctions -- 3rd Update | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/04/21/u-s-denies-exxon-bid-for-waiver-on-russia-sanctions-3rd-update.html | 2017-04-21 | 0right
| U.S. Denies Exxon Bid for Waiver on Russia Sanctions -- 3rd Update
<p>President Donald Trump, whose family and political aides have faced scrutiny over their ties to Russia, rejected a bid by Exxon Mobil Corp. to sidestep U.S. sanctions against Moscow and resume an oil venture with a politically powerful Russian energy firm.</p>
<p>The announcement Friday comes as the White House pushes to firm up the president's foreign-policy and domestic agenda as he nears his 100th day in office next week.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Mr. Trump's decision to block Exxon Mobil, until the end of last year headed by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, also shows how efforts to build bridges with Russian President Vladimir Putin are proving difficult, senior U.S. officials said.</p>
<p>Congressional and Federal Bureau of Investigation probes into ties between Mr. Trump's aides and Russian officials continue to dominate Washington's political debate, these officials said. And Mr. Putin repeatedly has made any strengthening of ties harder by maintaining Moscow's support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and escalating a crackdown on the Kremlin's political opponents at home, the officials said.</p>
<p>The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that Exxon last month sought a waiver on Russian sanctions for its oil exploration venture with PAO Rosneft, the Russian energy conglomerate closely aligned with Mr. Putin. The company had originally submitted the application in 2015, and revived it in March.</p>
<p>The venture was frozen in 2014 after the Obama administration placed sanctions on Rosneft and its chief executive, Igor Sechin, in retaliation for Russia's annexation of the Crimea region of Ukraine.</p>
<p>"In consultation with President Donald J. Trump, the Treasury Department will not be issuing waivers to U.S. companies, including Exxon, authorizing drilling prohibited by current Russian sanctions," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement Friday. U.S. officials said Mr. Trump made the decision after close consultations with Mr. Mnuchin, a former Goldman Sachs executive.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The Trump administration's decision likely will make it impossible for Exxon to drill in Russia's Black Sea waters before its agreement with Rosneft expires at the end of this year. Under the companies' agreement, Exxon has until 2023 to explore some of Russia's Arctic waters if sanctions are lifted, the company has said.</p>
<p>"We understand the statement today by Secretary Mnuchin in consultation with President Trump," said Alan Jeffers, an Exxon Mobil spokesman. "Our 2015 application for a license under the provisions outlined in the U.S. sanctions was made to enable our company to meet its contractual obligations under a joint venture agreement in Russia, where competitor companies are authorized to undertake such work under European sanctions."</p>
<p>News of Exxon's Treasury application drew sharp criticism in Congress over the past two days. Leading Democrats and some Republicans have said the Trump White House should be increasing sanctions on Russia for its alleged effort to interfere in last year's U.S. election, rather than loosening them. Russia has denied any interference in the election.</p>
<p>Lawmakers also raised concerns the Trump administration could face a conflict of interest in ruling on the Exxon application, given Mr. Tillerson's previous position as CEO, a job he held for 11 years. State Department officials said this past week that Mr. Tillerson has recused himself from any issues related to Exxon for two years.</p>
<p>"Given Russia's well-documented and troubling activities around the world, it is troubling Exxon Mobil would continue to press for its narrow economic advantage at the expense of our national interests," Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said on Friday. "The deals they are seeking would put money in the pockets of Russian oligarchs and the Russian treasury, guaranteed to be used against America, our interests, and our allies."</p>
<p>Lawmakers have said they are investigating a string of contacts between Mr. Trump's aides and Russian officials during the campaign and the presidential transition. These include meetings and phone calls between his former national security adviser, Mike Flynn, and Russia's ambassador to Washington, in which U.S. sanctions on Russia were discussed. They also include meetings that Mr. Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, held with the head of a state-run Russian bank that is on a U.S. sanctions list.</p>
<p>The administration has been in an awkward dance with the Kremlin since Mr. Trump assumed office, after his repeated calls during the campaign for warmer ties.</p>
<p>Earlier this month, the Pentagon launched airstrikes on a Syrian military base believed to have been involved in a chemical-weapons attack against Syrian civilians. The U.S. missiles risked hitting Russian troops that were stationed at the base, according to U.S. officials. Russia and Syria are allies.</p>
<p>Mr. Trump also authorized Montenegro this month to become the 29th member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, despite repeated protests by Russia.</p>
<p>Mr. Tillerson visited Moscow last week to try to forge a more united front and met with Mr. Putin for more than two hours. But the former Exxon Mobil chief left Russia saying Washington's relations with Moscow were at a "low point."</p>
<p>"The problem with sanctions is that they're right there at the center of what went most wrong in Russian-American relations, and that is, of course, the Ukraine crisis," said Stephen Sestanovich, a Columbia University professor and the State Department's ambassador-at-large to the former Soviet Union during the Clinton administration. "There's a low level of trust."</p>
<p>Exxon Mobil's failure to win approval for its Black Sea venture marks a blow for the Texas company's hopes for expansion and could aid its rivals. In 2012, Mr. Putin had said the Exxon partnership could eventually spend up to $500 billion together.</p>
<p>Although some of the European Union's sanctions were crafted in a similar fashion as those in the U.S., they allowed many existing agreements and plans to proceed. Because they allowed companies with contracts under execution at the time of sanctions in 2014 to continue with operations, Italian oil company Eni SpA is now actively exploring Russia's Black Sea and Barents Sea waters, according to the company.</p>
<p>Last year, Norway's Statoil ASA drilled two wells in the Sea of Okhotsk at depths only slightly shallower than the 150-meter limit outlined by the EU. French energy company Total SA in late 2013 launched a giant natural-gas export project in Russia's Yamal Peninsula above the Arctic circle. The country now accounts for about a fifth of Total's reserves, according to Tudor Pickering Holt &amp; Co.</p>
<p>Exxon also has projects that were allowed to proceed in Russia, including further developments of its operations on Sakhalin Island in the country's Far East. Because sanctions focused on the transfer of energy technology in the Arctic, deep water or onshore drilling techniques, the Sakhalin operations were exempt.</p>
<p>The company has said it is exposed to as much as $1 billion in losses from its investments that have been put on hold by sanctions.</p>
<p>--Felicia Schwartz contributed to this article.</p>
<p>Write to Jay Solomon at [email protected] and Bradley Olson at [email protected]</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>April 21, 2017 19:11 ET (23:11 GMT)</p> | 4,448 |
<p />
<p />
<p>Another debate, another post-debate poll won by an underdog candidate and then hidden by the media outlet commissioning the poll. Sounds outrageous, but it’s almost becoming routine, particularly with <a href="/mojoblog/archives/2007/08/5255_kucinich_wins_d.html" type="external">Kucinich on the left</a> and <a href="http://majorityrights.com/index.php/weblog/comments/ron_paul_demolishes_other_republicans_in_online_polls/" type="external">Ron Paul on the right</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2007/10/15/paul_poll/index.html" type="external">It happened again</a> after the recent <a href="/mojoblog/archives/2007/10/5733_republicans_go.html" type="external">Republican debate on CNBC</a>. Ron Paul’s supporters pounced on the post-debate online poll and gave their man a hefty lead, only to find the poll removed. CNBC.com managing editor Allen Wastler eventually “explained” himself—by saying, petulantly, that <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/21257762" type="external">he’d do it again</a>.</p>
<p>An Open Letter to the Ron Paul Faithful</p>
<p>You guys are good. Real good. You are truly a force on World Wide Web and I tip my hat to you.</p>
<p>That’s based on my first hand experience of your work regarding our CNBC Republican candidate debate. After the debate, we put up a poll on our Web site asking who readers thought won the debate. You guys flooded it.</p>
<p>Now these Internet polls are admittedly unscientific and subject to hacking. In the end, they are really just a way to engage the reader and take a quick temperature reading of your audience. Nothing more and nothing less. The cyber equivalent of asking the room for a show of hands on a certain question.</p>
<p>So there was our after-debate poll. The numbers grew … 7,000-plus votes after a couple of hours … and Ron Paul was at 75%.</p>
<p>Now Paul is a fine gentleman with some substantial backing and, by the way, was a dynamic presence throughout the debate , but I haven’t seen him pull those kind of numbers in any “legit” poll. Our poll was either hacked or the target of a campaign. So we took the poll down.</p>
<p>The next day, our email basket was flooded with Ron Paul support messages. And the computer logs showed the poll had been hit with traffic from Ron Paul chat sites. I learned other Internet polls that night had been hit in similar fashion. Congratulations. You folks are obviously well-organized and feel strongly about your candidate and I can’t help but admire that.</p>
<p>But you also ruined the purpose of the poll. It was no longer an honest “show of hands” — it suddenly was a platform for beating the Ron Paul drum. That certainly wasn’t our intention and certainly doesn’t serve our readers … at least those who aren’t already in the Ron Paul camp.</p>
<p>Some of you Ron Paul fans take issue with my decision to take the poll down. Fine. When a well-organized and committed “few” can throw the results of a system meant to reflect the sentiments of “the many,” I get a little worried. I’d take it down again.</p>
<p>There’s a number of things to point out.</p>
<p>(1) Why commission an admittedly unscientific poll if you are going to get upset by the unscientific results? If you are aware the poll may get caught by the whimsy (or the plotting) of the crowd, why not just see where it takes you?</p>
<p>(2) Wastler must be incredibly naive if he can say, with a straight face, “When a well-organized and committed “few” can throw the results of a system meant to reflect the sentiments of “the many,” I get a little worried.” That’s American democracy, buddy.</p>
<p>(3) Isn’t there something interesting, and newsworthy, in letting the Ron Paul internet phenomenon play out in plain view? A better approach might be to let the poll stand, because it was voted on without corruption or hacking, and then write an article on what CNBC.com’s internal metrics say about who voted. That is to say, as part of CNBC.com’s post-debate coverage, they could have written about the poll and Ron Paul’s unique advantage in the web. It is, after all, news.</p>
<p>One person who agrees with me is CNBC chief Washington correspondent John Harwood. He rebutted Wastler and <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/21270546/site/14081545" type="external">responded to the complaints about the hidden poll</a>.</p>
<p>My Open Letter To Ron Paul Supporters</p>
<p>…I agree with the complaints. I do not believe our poll was “hacked.” Nor do I agree with my colleagues’ decision to take it down, though I know they were acting in good faith.</p>
<p>My reasoning is simple: Political dialogue on the Internet, like democracy itself, ought to be open and participatory. If you sponsor an online poll as we did, you accept the results unless you have very good reason to believe something corrupt has occurred–just as democracies accept results on Election Day at the ballot box without compelling evidence of corruption. I have no reason to believe anything corrupt occurred with respect to our poll.</p>
<p>To the contrary, I believe the results we measured showing an impressive 75% naming Paul reflect the organization and motivation of Paul’s adherents. This is precisely what unscientific surveys of this kind are created to measure. Another indication: the impressive $5-million raised by Paul’s campaign in the third quarter of the year.</p>
<p>To be clear: I believe that Ron Paul’s chances of winning the presidency are no greater than my own, which is to say zero. When he ran as the Libertarian Party candidate for president in 1988, he drew fewer than a half-million votes. In last week’s Wall Street Journal-NBC News Poll of Republican primary voters–which IS a scientific poll with a four percentage point margin for error–Paul drew two percent.</p>
<p>He lacks the support needed to win the GOP nomination, and would even if the media covered him as heavily as we cover Rudy Giuliani. Why? Because Paul’s views–respectable, well-articulated and sincerely held as they are–are plainly out of step with the mainstream sentiment of the party he is running in.</p>
<p>The difference we are discussing–breadth of views vs intensity of views–is a staple of political discussion and always has been in democracies. Highly motivated minorities can and do exert influence out of proportion to their numbers in legislative debates and even in some elections. They most certainly can dominate unscientific online polls. And when they do, we should neither be surprised nor censor the results.</p>
<p>In the end, Harwood’s reasoning adds another reason why the poll should be left up: What’s the harm?</p>
<p /> | Ron Paul Wins Polls, Gets Repeatedly Disrespected by CNBC | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2007/10/ron-paul-wins-polls-gets-repeatedly-disrespected-cnbc/ | 2007-10-16 | 4left
| Ron Paul Wins Polls, Gets Repeatedly Disrespected by CNBC
<p />
<p />
<p>Another debate, another post-debate poll won by an underdog candidate and then hidden by the media outlet commissioning the poll. Sounds outrageous, but it’s almost becoming routine, particularly with <a href="/mojoblog/archives/2007/08/5255_kucinich_wins_d.html" type="external">Kucinich on the left</a> and <a href="http://majorityrights.com/index.php/weblog/comments/ron_paul_demolishes_other_republicans_in_online_polls/" type="external">Ron Paul on the right</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2007/10/15/paul_poll/index.html" type="external">It happened again</a> after the recent <a href="/mojoblog/archives/2007/10/5733_republicans_go.html" type="external">Republican debate on CNBC</a>. Ron Paul’s supporters pounced on the post-debate online poll and gave their man a hefty lead, only to find the poll removed. CNBC.com managing editor Allen Wastler eventually “explained” himself—by saying, petulantly, that <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/21257762" type="external">he’d do it again</a>.</p>
<p>An Open Letter to the Ron Paul Faithful</p>
<p>You guys are good. Real good. You are truly a force on World Wide Web and I tip my hat to you.</p>
<p>That’s based on my first hand experience of your work regarding our CNBC Republican candidate debate. After the debate, we put up a poll on our Web site asking who readers thought won the debate. You guys flooded it.</p>
<p>Now these Internet polls are admittedly unscientific and subject to hacking. In the end, they are really just a way to engage the reader and take a quick temperature reading of your audience. Nothing more and nothing less. The cyber equivalent of asking the room for a show of hands on a certain question.</p>
<p>So there was our after-debate poll. The numbers grew … 7,000-plus votes after a couple of hours … and Ron Paul was at 75%.</p>
<p>Now Paul is a fine gentleman with some substantial backing and, by the way, was a dynamic presence throughout the debate , but I haven’t seen him pull those kind of numbers in any “legit” poll. Our poll was either hacked or the target of a campaign. So we took the poll down.</p>
<p>The next day, our email basket was flooded with Ron Paul support messages. And the computer logs showed the poll had been hit with traffic from Ron Paul chat sites. I learned other Internet polls that night had been hit in similar fashion. Congratulations. You folks are obviously well-organized and feel strongly about your candidate and I can’t help but admire that.</p>
<p>But you also ruined the purpose of the poll. It was no longer an honest “show of hands” — it suddenly was a platform for beating the Ron Paul drum. That certainly wasn’t our intention and certainly doesn’t serve our readers … at least those who aren’t already in the Ron Paul camp.</p>
<p>Some of you Ron Paul fans take issue with my decision to take the poll down. Fine. When a well-organized and committed “few” can throw the results of a system meant to reflect the sentiments of “the many,” I get a little worried. I’d take it down again.</p>
<p>There’s a number of things to point out.</p>
<p>(1) Why commission an admittedly unscientific poll if you are going to get upset by the unscientific results? If you are aware the poll may get caught by the whimsy (or the plotting) of the crowd, why not just see where it takes you?</p>
<p>(2) Wastler must be incredibly naive if he can say, with a straight face, “When a well-organized and committed “few” can throw the results of a system meant to reflect the sentiments of “the many,” I get a little worried.” That’s American democracy, buddy.</p>
<p>(3) Isn’t there something interesting, and newsworthy, in letting the Ron Paul internet phenomenon play out in plain view? A better approach might be to let the poll stand, because it was voted on without corruption or hacking, and then write an article on what CNBC.com’s internal metrics say about who voted. That is to say, as part of CNBC.com’s post-debate coverage, they could have written about the poll and Ron Paul’s unique advantage in the web. It is, after all, news.</p>
<p>One person who agrees with me is CNBC chief Washington correspondent John Harwood. He rebutted Wastler and <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/21270546/site/14081545" type="external">responded to the complaints about the hidden poll</a>.</p>
<p>My Open Letter To Ron Paul Supporters</p>
<p>…I agree with the complaints. I do not believe our poll was “hacked.” Nor do I agree with my colleagues’ decision to take it down, though I know they were acting in good faith.</p>
<p>My reasoning is simple: Political dialogue on the Internet, like democracy itself, ought to be open and participatory. If you sponsor an online poll as we did, you accept the results unless you have very good reason to believe something corrupt has occurred–just as democracies accept results on Election Day at the ballot box without compelling evidence of corruption. I have no reason to believe anything corrupt occurred with respect to our poll.</p>
<p>To the contrary, I believe the results we measured showing an impressive 75% naming Paul reflect the organization and motivation of Paul’s adherents. This is precisely what unscientific surveys of this kind are created to measure. Another indication: the impressive $5-million raised by Paul’s campaign in the third quarter of the year.</p>
<p>To be clear: I believe that Ron Paul’s chances of winning the presidency are no greater than my own, which is to say zero. When he ran as the Libertarian Party candidate for president in 1988, he drew fewer than a half-million votes. In last week’s Wall Street Journal-NBC News Poll of Republican primary voters–which IS a scientific poll with a four percentage point margin for error–Paul drew two percent.</p>
<p>He lacks the support needed to win the GOP nomination, and would even if the media covered him as heavily as we cover Rudy Giuliani. Why? Because Paul’s views–respectable, well-articulated and sincerely held as they are–are plainly out of step with the mainstream sentiment of the party he is running in.</p>
<p>The difference we are discussing–breadth of views vs intensity of views–is a staple of political discussion and always has been in democracies. Highly motivated minorities can and do exert influence out of proportion to their numbers in legislative debates and even in some elections. They most certainly can dominate unscientific online polls. And when they do, we should neither be surprised nor censor the results.</p>
<p>In the end, Harwood’s reasoning adds another reason why the poll should be left up: What’s the harm?</p>
<p /> | 4,449 |
<p>Pakistan is a country with stark inequalities.</p>
<p>Even middle class families can hire domestic help for everything from mowing their lawns to ironing their clothes to cooking their meals. Those who provide these services often live in shantytowns in the shadows of the big, gated houses where they work.</p>
<p>But seeing this stark divide for himself prompted one young person in the country’s capital, Haroon Yasin, to create change.</p>
<p>“I really did not expect something of that sort to sit right in the middle of one of the most expensive sectors in Islamabad, because I’d never seen the village from the inside before,” Yasin, a college student, said.</p>
<p>Yasin decided to step into the slum where his maid, Aziz Bibi, lived after watching her children laze around his house while she worked.</p>
<p>“It wasn’t just one life that was being underutilized in my opinion, it was three lives. Because the other two, when they weren’t watching TV or sitting in the sun, they were helping their mom and it was really inevitable that they would follow the same fate and become servants or something like that, too,” he said.</p>
<p>Like many other low-income parents, Aziz Bibi wouldn’t send her kids to public schools, even though they’re free. Public school teachers in Pakistan are notorious for skipping class and rowdy kids create havoc in overcrowded classrooms.</p>
<p>Yasin says something had to be done to get them out of the cycle of poverty. That meant venturing into the labyrinth of narrow dirt roads lined with open sewers situated just across the street from the large, gated houses where he and his friends live. The difference between these two neighborhoods was jarring.</p>
<p>Yasin says there was a near-total breakdown of law and order in the slum community. The area’s nannies, maids and cooks lived in this congested shantytown — with no running water and only spotty access to electricity.</p>
<p>Though just a college student himself, Yasin says he has always wanted to do something tangible to improve life for people in Pakistan. He saw this as his chance. Yasin decided to start a nonprofit school in the slum.</p>
<p>But even as he filled the school with desks and chalkboards, many remained skeptical of Yasin’s efforts. Even his housekeeper, Aziz Bibi, was suspicious. She says people in her community couldn’t believe that he had good intentions.</p>
<p>“They used to give our children things, and so people started to think that they were bribing them to take them away,” she said in lilting Punjabi. “We all got scared and took our kids out, but then after a while we saw that those who were still enrolled were doing good work so I sent my kids back and so did a lot of other people.”</p>
<p>In the end, Aziz Bibi recalls, people in the slum came to see Yasin’s small school as the best option for their kids.</p>
<p>“I’m thankful to God that my kids are learning something about the world now,” she said. “I don’t want them to be pushing brooms their whole lives like me, simple as that.”</p>
<p>Creating such opportunities has meant more than simply teaching children to read and write. Yasin has had to reach out to parents — both of students and the college-going volunteers who are often discouraged from going into the slum.</p>
<p>“What we’re trying to do over here is pull the string at both ends,” he said. “Invite the parents of the volunteers here too, and invite the parents of the kids here too.”</p>
<p>That because in Pakistan it’s nearly impossible for poor and middle class families, let alone wealthy ones, to connect in any meaningful way.</p>
<p>“What we’re trying to do here is to unite both of these communities by making sure that both sets of people interact,” Yasin said. “It’s very rare, but they do, and when they do, they get an idea of how similar they are in terms of being parents and in terms of realizing that they want the same thing, just that they’ve been taught a wrong perception of each other.”</p>
<p>Events like a celebration of the school’s first birthday where children with bright, beaming smiles burst into cheers when volunteers carry out a small chocolate cake have helped things along.</p>
<p>Looking out at the children, Anila Gul, who teaches at the school says, she sees a lot of unknown faces in the crowd.</p>
<p>“A lot of these students come for maybe just a day or two, then take a holiday and sometimes come back,” she said. “Now they’ve seen the balloons and lights, so a lot of the kids have come.”</p>
<p>Kids like Shaida Sujwar, who says she wouldn’t be at school at all if it weren’t for this place.</p>
<p>“We like our studies and the people here because they come and do so much for us — and not just today,” the first grader said. “They work really hard just so we can get an education.”</p>
<p>The day after the party, there were fewer students in the school, but the ones who came looked focused and excited by the lesson at hand.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Beenish Ahmed is a freelance multimedia journalist based in Islamabad. She reported this story with support form the Pulitzer Center on Crises Reporting.</p> | Pakistani college student creates shantytown school to change society | false | https://pri.org/stories/2013-09-03/pakistani-college-student-creates-shantytown-school-change-society | 2013-09-03 | 3left-center
| Pakistani college student creates shantytown school to change society
<p>Pakistan is a country with stark inequalities.</p>
<p>Even middle class families can hire domestic help for everything from mowing their lawns to ironing their clothes to cooking their meals. Those who provide these services often live in shantytowns in the shadows of the big, gated houses where they work.</p>
<p>But seeing this stark divide for himself prompted one young person in the country’s capital, Haroon Yasin, to create change.</p>
<p>“I really did not expect something of that sort to sit right in the middle of one of the most expensive sectors in Islamabad, because I’d never seen the village from the inside before,” Yasin, a college student, said.</p>
<p>Yasin decided to step into the slum where his maid, Aziz Bibi, lived after watching her children laze around his house while she worked.</p>
<p>“It wasn’t just one life that was being underutilized in my opinion, it was three lives. Because the other two, when they weren’t watching TV or sitting in the sun, they were helping their mom and it was really inevitable that they would follow the same fate and become servants or something like that, too,” he said.</p>
<p>Like many other low-income parents, Aziz Bibi wouldn’t send her kids to public schools, even though they’re free. Public school teachers in Pakistan are notorious for skipping class and rowdy kids create havoc in overcrowded classrooms.</p>
<p>Yasin says something had to be done to get them out of the cycle of poverty. That meant venturing into the labyrinth of narrow dirt roads lined with open sewers situated just across the street from the large, gated houses where he and his friends live. The difference between these two neighborhoods was jarring.</p>
<p>Yasin says there was a near-total breakdown of law and order in the slum community. The area’s nannies, maids and cooks lived in this congested shantytown — with no running water and only spotty access to electricity.</p>
<p>Though just a college student himself, Yasin says he has always wanted to do something tangible to improve life for people in Pakistan. He saw this as his chance. Yasin decided to start a nonprofit school in the slum.</p>
<p>But even as he filled the school with desks and chalkboards, many remained skeptical of Yasin’s efforts. Even his housekeeper, Aziz Bibi, was suspicious. She says people in her community couldn’t believe that he had good intentions.</p>
<p>“They used to give our children things, and so people started to think that they were bribing them to take them away,” she said in lilting Punjabi. “We all got scared and took our kids out, but then after a while we saw that those who were still enrolled were doing good work so I sent my kids back and so did a lot of other people.”</p>
<p>In the end, Aziz Bibi recalls, people in the slum came to see Yasin’s small school as the best option for their kids.</p>
<p>“I’m thankful to God that my kids are learning something about the world now,” she said. “I don’t want them to be pushing brooms their whole lives like me, simple as that.”</p>
<p>Creating such opportunities has meant more than simply teaching children to read and write. Yasin has had to reach out to parents — both of students and the college-going volunteers who are often discouraged from going into the slum.</p>
<p>“What we’re trying to do over here is pull the string at both ends,” he said. “Invite the parents of the volunteers here too, and invite the parents of the kids here too.”</p>
<p>That because in Pakistan it’s nearly impossible for poor and middle class families, let alone wealthy ones, to connect in any meaningful way.</p>
<p>“What we’re trying to do here is to unite both of these communities by making sure that both sets of people interact,” Yasin said. “It’s very rare, but they do, and when they do, they get an idea of how similar they are in terms of being parents and in terms of realizing that they want the same thing, just that they’ve been taught a wrong perception of each other.”</p>
<p>Events like a celebration of the school’s first birthday where children with bright, beaming smiles burst into cheers when volunteers carry out a small chocolate cake have helped things along.</p>
<p>Looking out at the children, Anila Gul, who teaches at the school says, she sees a lot of unknown faces in the crowd.</p>
<p>“A lot of these students come for maybe just a day or two, then take a holiday and sometimes come back,” she said. “Now they’ve seen the balloons and lights, so a lot of the kids have come.”</p>
<p>Kids like Shaida Sujwar, who says she wouldn’t be at school at all if it weren’t for this place.</p>
<p>“We like our studies and the people here because they come and do so much for us — and not just today,” the first grader said. “They work really hard just so we can get an education.”</p>
<p>The day after the party, there were fewer students in the school, but the ones who came looked focused and excited by the lesson at hand.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Beenish Ahmed is a freelance multimedia journalist based in Islamabad. She reported this story with support form the Pulitzer Center on Crises Reporting.</p> | 4,450 |
<p>If one quality characterizes our wars today, it’s their endurance. They never seem to end. Though war itself may not be an American inevitability, these days many factors combine to make constant war an American near certainty. Put metaphorically, our nation’s pursuit of war taps so many wellsprings of our behavior that a concerted effort to cap it would dwarf <a href="" type="internal">BP’s efforts in the Gulf of Mexico</a>.</p>
<p>Our political leaders, the media, and the military interpret enduring war as a measure of our national fitness, our global power, our grit in the face of eternal danger, and our seriousness. A desire to <a href="" type="internal">de-escalate and withdraw</a>, on the other hand, is invariably seen as cut-and-run appeasement and discounted as weakness. Withdrawal options are, in a pet phrase of Washington elites, invariably “off the table” when global policy is at stake, as was true during the Obama administration’s full-scale reconsideration of the Afghan war in the fall of 2009. Viewed in this light, the president’s ultimate decision to surge in Afghanistan was not only predictable, but the only course considered suitable for an American war leader. Rather than the tough choice, it was the path of least resistance.</p>
<p>Why do our elites so readily and regularly give war, not peace, a chance? What exactly are the wellsprings of Washington’s (and America’s) behavior when it comes to war and preparations for more of the same?</p>
<p>We wage war because we think we’re good at it—and because, at a gut level, we’ve come to believe that American wars can bring good to others (hence our feel-good names for them, like Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom). Most Americans are not only convinced we have the best troops, the best training, and the most advanced weapons, but also the purest motives. Unlike the bad guys and the barbarians out there in the global marketplace of death, our warriors and warfighters are seen as gift-givers and freedom-bringers, not as death-dealers and resource-exploiters. Our illusions about the military we “support” serve as catalyst for, and apology for, the persistent war-making we condone.</p>
<p>We wage war because we’ve already <a href="" type="internal">devoted so many of our resources</a> to it. It’s what we’re most prepared to do. More than half of discretionary federal spending goes to fund our military and its war making or war preparations. The military-industrial complex is a well-oiled, extremely profitable machine and the armed forces, our favorite child, the one we’ve lavished the most resources and praise upon. It’s natural to give your favorite child free rein.</p>
<p>We’ve managed to isolate war’s physical and emotional costs, leaving them on the shoulders of a tiny minority of Americans. By eliminating the draft and relying ever more on for-profit private military contractors, we’ve made war a distant abstraction for most Americans, who can choose to consume it as spectacle or simply tune it out as so much background noise.</p>
<p>While war and its costs have, to date, been kept at arm’s length, American society has been militarizing fast. Our media outlets, intelligence agencies, politicians, foreign policy establishment, and “homeland security” bureaucracy are so intertwined with military priorities and agendas as to be inseparable from them. In militarized America, griping about soft-hearted tactics or the outspokenness of a certain general may be tolerated, but forceful criticism of our military or our wars is still treated as deviant and “un-American.”</p>
<p>High-tech drones, such as this Reaper drone are examples of machinery that drive up the cost of war.</p>
<p>Photo by <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MQ-9_Reaper_2.jpg" type="external">US Air Force</a>.</p>
<p>Our profligate, high-tech approach to war, including those Predator and Reaper drones armed with Hellfire missiles, has served to limit American casualties—and so has limited the anger over, and harsh questioning of, our wars that might go with them. While the U.S. has had more than 1,000 troops killed in Afghanistan, over a similar period in Vietnam we lost more than 58,000 troops. Improved medical evacuation and trauma care, greater reliance on standoff precision weaponry and similar “force multipliers,” stronger emphasis on “force protection” within American military units: All these and more have helped tamp down concern about the immeasurable and soaring costs of our wars.</p>
<p>As we incessantly develop those force-multiplying weapons to give us our “edge” (though never an edge that leads to victory), it’s hardly surprising that the United States has come to dominate, if not quite monopolize, the global arms trade. In these years, as American jobs were outsourced or simply disappeared in the Great Recession, armaments have been one of our few growth industries. Endless war has proven endlessly profitable—not perhaps for all of us, but certainly for those in the business of war.</p>
<p>Such fevered nightmares, impossible to disprove, may be conjured at any moment to scare critics into silence. They are a convenient bogeyman, leaving us cowering as we send our superman military out to save us (and the world as well), while preserving our right to visit the mall and travel to Disney World without being nuked.</p>
<p>The truth is that no one really knows what would happen if the United States disengaged from Afghanistan. But we do know what’s happening now, with us fully engaged: We’re pursuing a war that’s costing us nearly $7 billion a month that we’re not winning (and that’s arguably unwinnable), a war that may be increasing the chances of another 9/11, rather than decreasing them.</p>
<p>Each one of these seven wellsprings feeding our enduring wars must be capped. So here are seven suggestions for the sort of “caps”—hopefully more effective than BP’s flailing improvisations —we need to install:</p>
<p>Let’s <a href="" type="internal">retool our economy and reinvest our money</a>, moving it out of the military-industrial complex and into strengthening our anemic system of mass transit, our crumbling infrastructure, and alternative energy technology. We need high-speed rail, safer roads and bridges, and more wind turbines, not more overpriced jet fighters.</p>
<p>Finally, let’s banish nightmare scenarios from our minds. The world is scary enough without forever imagining smoking guns morphing into mushroom clouds.</p>
<p>There you have it: my seven “caps” to contain our gushing support for permanent war. No one said it would be easy. Just ask BP how easy it is to cap one out-of-control gusher.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, if we as a society aren’t willing to work hard for actual change—indeed, to demand it—we’ll be on that military escalatory curve until we implode. And that way madness lies.</p>
<p>Interested?</p> | An End to Constant War | true | http://yesmagazine.org/peace-justice/an-end-to-constant-war?utm_source%3Dfb%26utm_medium%3Dsocmed%26utm_content%3DAstoreW_EndtoConstantWar%26utm_campaign%3D100709_Peace | 4left
| An End to Constant War
<p>If one quality characterizes our wars today, it’s their endurance. They never seem to end. Though war itself may not be an American inevitability, these days many factors combine to make constant war an American near certainty. Put metaphorically, our nation’s pursuit of war taps so many wellsprings of our behavior that a concerted effort to cap it would dwarf <a href="" type="internal">BP’s efforts in the Gulf of Mexico</a>.</p>
<p>Our political leaders, the media, and the military interpret enduring war as a measure of our national fitness, our global power, our grit in the face of eternal danger, and our seriousness. A desire to <a href="" type="internal">de-escalate and withdraw</a>, on the other hand, is invariably seen as cut-and-run appeasement and discounted as weakness. Withdrawal options are, in a pet phrase of Washington elites, invariably “off the table” when global policy is at stake, as was true during the Obama administration’s full-scale reconsideration of the Afghan war in the fall of 2009. Viewed in this light, the president’s ultimate decision to surge in Afghanistan was not only predictable, but the only course considered suitable for an American war leader. Rather than the tough choice, it was the path of least resistance.</p>
<p>Why do our elites so readily and regularly give war, not peace, a chance? What exactly are the wellsprings of Washington’s (and America’s) behavior when it comes to war and preparations for more of the same?</p>
<p>We wage war because we think we’re good at it—and because, at a gut level, we’ve come to believe that American wars can bring good to others (hence our feel-good names for them, like Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom). Most Americans are not only convinced we have the best troops, the best training, and the most advanced weapons, but also the purest motives. Unlike the bad guys and the barbarians out there in the global marketplace of death, our warriors and warfighters are seen as gift-givers and freedom-bringers, not as death-dealers and resource-exploiters. Our illusions about the military we “support” serve as catalyst for, and apology for, the persistent war-making we condone.</p>
<p>We wage war because we’ve already <a href="" type="internal">devoted so many of our resources</a> to it. It’s what we’re most prepared to do. More than half of discretionary federal spending goes to fund our military and its war making or war preparations. The military-industrial complex is a well-oiled, extremely profitable machine and the armed forces, our favorite child, the one we’ve lavished the most resources and praise upon. It’s natural to give your favorite child free rein.</p>
<p>We’ve managed to isolate war’s physical and emotional costs, leaving them on the shoulders of a tiny minority of Americans. By eliminating the draft and relying ever more on for-profit private military contractors, we’ve made war a distant abstraction for most Americans, who can choose to consume it as spectacle or simply tune it out as so much background noise.</p>
<p>While war and its costs have, to date, been kept at arm’s length, American society has been militarizing fast. Our media outlets, intelligence agencies, politicians, foreign policy establishment, and “homeland security” bureaucracy are so intertwined with military priorities and agendas as to be inseparable from them. In militarized America, griping about soft-hearted tactics or the outspokenness of a certain general may be tolerated, but forceful criticism of our military or our wars is still treated as deviant and “un-American.”</p>
<p>High-tech drones, such as this Reaper drone are examples of machinery that drive up the cost of war.</p>
<p>Photo by <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MQ-9_Reaper_2.jpg" type="external">US Air Force</a>.</p>
<p>Our profligate, high-tech approach to war, including those Predator and Reaper drones armed with Hellfire missiles, has served to limit American casualties—and so has limited the anger over, and harsh questioning of, our wars that might go with them. While the U.S. has had more than 1,000 troops killed in Afghanistan, over a similar period in Vietnam we lost more than 58,000 troops. Improved medical evacuation and trauma care, greater reliance on standoff precision weaponry and similar “force multipliers,” stronger emphasis on “force protection” within American military units: All these and more have helped tamp down concern about the immeasurable and soaring costs of our wars.</p>
<p>As we incessantly develop those force-multiplying weapons to give us our “edge” (though never an edge that leads to victory), it’s hardly surprising that the United States has come to dominate, if not quite monopolize, the global arms trade. In these years, as American jobs were outsourced or simply disappeared in the Great Recession, armaments have been one of our few growth industries. Endless war has proven endlessly profitable—not perhaps for all of us, but certainly for those in the business of war.</p>
<p>Such fevered nightmares, impossible to disprove, may be conjured at any moment to scare critics into silence. They are a convenient bogeyman, leaving us cowering as we send our superman military out to save us (and the world as well), while preserving our right to visit the mall and travel to Disney World without being nuked.</p>
<p>The truth is that no one really knows what would happen if the United States disengaged from Afghanistan. But we do know what’s happening now, with us fully engaged: We’re pursuing a war that’s costing us nearly $7 billion a month that we’re not winning (and that’s arguably unwinnable), a war that may be increasing the chances of another 9/11, rather than decreasing them.</p>
<p>Each one of these seven wellsprings feeding our enduring wars must be capped. So here are seven suggestions for the sort of “caps”—hopefully more effective than BP’s flailing improvisations —we need to install:</p>
<p>Let’s <a href="" type="internal">retool our economy and reinvest our money</a>, moving it out of the military-industrial complex and into strengthening our anemic system of mass transit, our crumbling infrastructure, and alternative energy technology. We need high-speed rail, safer roads and bridges, and more wind turbines, not more overpriced jet fighters.</p>
<p>Finally, let’s banish nightmare scenarios from our minds. The world is scary enough without forever imagining smoking guns morphing into mushroom clouds.</p>
<p>There you have it: my seven “caps” to contain our gushing support for permanent war. No one said it would be easy. Just ask BP how easy it is to cap one out-of-control gusher.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, if we as a society aren’t willing to work hard for actual change—indeed, to demand it—we’ll be on that military escalatory curve until we implode. And that way madness lies.</p>
<p>Interested?</p> | 4,451 |
|
<p>I sometimes think peak oil has already hit Manhattan as subways become increasingly unpredictable (although surveillance cameras are state-of-the-art) and escalator shut-downs present stair master survival challenges, a kind of perverse underground amusement. Unfortunately, surfacing on Fifth Avenue does not end the scenario, for where once there was excellence and exquisite fashion, now there are bargain stores catering to New Yorkers who are poor, and yes ­ even starving.</p>
<p>So I was particularly fascinated by the opportunity to listen-in to the telephone conference call that JP Morgan held for its clients on April 7 and 8, “ <a href="" type="internal">Peak Oil: Fact or Fiction</a>“, which I was given exclusive permission to monitor . Maybe there would be answers as to whether or not Manhattan is a harbinger of what’s to come for the rest of the nation, and whether it’s fleeting opulence (not counting all the questionably-financed real estate extravaganzas rising up) is energy-related.</p>
<p>The main speakers faced-off on separate days. First Dr. Colin Campbell, Founder of the Association for the Study of Peak Oil, succinctly gave his position saying that peak oil is “such a geological matter”. Campbell says we’re now at the halfway mark and that “by 2010 volatility comes to an end and then terminal decline” sets in.</p>
<p>The pronouncement is chilling. What’s more, Campbell says that “over the next few years everybody will become aware of this, and in some ways the perception of this growing situation is as serious as the event itself”. Campbell’s a retired geologist with decades of experience in the oil industry in both exploration and executive positions. He compares peak oil to old age ­ saying that a man knows when it has set-in.</p>
<p>Campbell was followed the next day by Michael Lynch, a computer oil and gas modeler for the past 25 years, President/Director of Global Petroleum, Strategic Energy and Economic Research. Lynch came out slugging, informing conference callers that Campbell refuses to appear with him since 1997, saying “you’ll understand why very shortly”. He seems to view Campbell as old school and too tired to be optimistic about the future. Perhaps a bit like Cheney and Rumsfeld having their last hurrahs before retiring into the bed &amp; breakfast business on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.</p>
<p>Lynch believes the Hubbert model that Campbell’s theory relies on ­ discoveries and production follow a bell curve ­ is not only “incorrectly modeled”, but is “much closer to being junk science”. He says further, that while Campbell and his colleague, Jean Laharrere, have now “stopped saying that” . . . they’ve “never admitted they were wrong”.</p>
<p>Lynch takes the position that URR ­ Ultimately Recoverable Resources ­ is not a static amount and therefore cannot follow such creaming curves. “It grows over time,” he says, “as a result of economic changes, development in an area, but also because of technology, and in some cases, better scientific knowledge.”</p>
<p>Campbell says today’s oil supply is finite and that it all came into being during two periods of global warming 90 million and 150 million years ago when “excessive” algal blooms formed on the seas and lakes, became heavier and heavier, and sank to the bottom of the rifts where they were “preserved” and pressure-cooked. The resulting oil and gas then began leaching its way back up to the surface through the sandstone (in the pore spaces between the grains of sand) and rock.</p>
<p>Campbell is adamant about the peak oil issue not being an economic or political one, but simply a case where we’ve now so depleted our “endowment” that peak oil will occur by 2010, and that soon after there will be a rapid fall-off in oil resources, which will profoundly affect world civilization.</p>
<p>So the conference began with a bit of posturing and name calling ­ with Campbell announcing “no common ground” with the “flat Earth economists” (Lynch et al.), who he says believe there’s an infinite supply of oil. (No one believes this, including Saudi Aramco).</p>
<p>Lynch called Campbell, Laharrere (and investment banker Matt Simmons) Malthusian pessimists, and obliquely referred to Simmons’s upcoming book on peak oil as “content free”.</p>
<p>Fortunately, JP Morgan’s clients pressed speakers for details, which made the conference truly worth listening to. Campbell advised that peak discovery of oil was in 1964 and that it’s been falling for 30 years. He also said that by 1981 the world was using more than it produced ­ 1 barrel is now found for every 6 consumed ­ and that there’s little spare capacity anywhere in the world.</p>
<p>As further proof of peak oil, Campbell adds that the major oil companies are getting out of the business ­ shedding staff, divesting marketing sectors, outsourcing jobs, cutting back on exploration and drilling fewer wells ­ the seven sisters are now four. He notes the majors are also buying back company shares (i.e., BP), and argues that “the value of their past is more important than their future”. He quotes the late Robert Anderson of Arco: “This is a sunset industry and the sun is fairly low in the sky.”</p>
<p>However, Campbell does spare the more “nimble” independent oil companies, who he says will press on producing what’s left, subcontracting to state companies however they can, through initiative, enterprise and bribes. And that oil in the ground will become increasingly valuable.</p>
<p>Lynch argues the oil majors are alive and well, thinking about returns and making their money upstream, just not investing in things like refineries, etc. downstream. He says lack of spare capacity and any pullback from the oil business is not because there’s not enough oil out there. It’s due to economics and politics.</p>
<p>Campbell counters that the picture is far worse than anyone’s thought because he’s “pretty sure” we may have to remove over 200 billion barrels of oil from world estimates as a result of Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil producer, and Kuwait misrepresenting their oil numbers. Says Campbell, “If you’re limited to public information and you’re watching reserves grow, you can believe it can go on forever.”</p>
<p>John J. Hoey, who served as President of Atlantic Refining Company as well as Hondo Oil (Robert Anderson was CEO), and is currently founder and Director of Tethys Oil in Stockholm, says the “Peak Oil debate is just that ­ a debate.” Hoey believes the adverse remarks about lack of disclosure and transparency of sovereign entities like Saudi Arabia, Russia, etc. appear self serving and disparaging, that the oil producing countries are not public companies and have no duty or obligation to disclose any more than they deem appropriate. He advises: “Try to get some technical information from a major oil company on a specific ‘tight’ well being drilled or completed in a highly sensitive geological area.”</p>
<p>Moreover, Hoey says he’s listened to all the peak oil arguments (including the JP Morgan call-in) and “gravitates” towards Lynch rather than Campbell or Harvard Business School alumnus and friend, Matt Simmons. He also lived in Saudi Arabia during the 70s and worked closely with Aramco and Petromin; Hoey says he has the “highest respect for the professionalism, integrity and future of their petroleum industry”.</p>
<p>Campbell presents a litany of pessimism on future oil as he deconstructs reserve reporting: He says Iran and Iraq may also have been manipulating their numbers but he’s “less sure”. That UK gas and oil will be “virtually exhausted” by 2020, as acknowledged by the UK government (BBC reports Wood Mackenzie oil consultants described UK North Sea exploration as “the industry’s biggest waste of money over the past five years”). That North American oil and gas is hopelessly depleted ­ it took 40 years for the US to go from peak discovery to peak decline ­ and that “Canada is way into decline”. Norway has the Ecofis “exceptional chalk reservoir,” which has been kept going through technology, but that doesn’t change the overall pattern of decline. Germany has “no hope” and is long past peak. Argentina’s production is down. Colombia has peaked. Egypt, with a teeming population, has hit its peak and has no money for exploration ­ “where will it get its oil from?” Indonesia has “no reason to remain in OPEC”.</p>
<p>The only upbeat pronouncements from Campbell were that Iran will have a “rapid rise” in oil production until 2015 (and then fall), even though a Power Bridge Associates caller told Lynch he’s been studying reserves in southwest Iran’s Khuzestan field and that Iran has about 200 billion barrels of oil and needs capital to develop. He says Iraq holds “north of 300 billion”.</p>
<p>Campbell believes Russia will see a second peak in 2010 ­ the first was under Soviet rule and influenced by OPEC price cutting in the 1980s which made Soviet oil uncompetitive. The increase in OPEC production stemmed from revisions in reserve estimates which allowed OPEC to exceed reserve-connected quotas. Heavy oils of Canada and Venezuela he believes will grow, but so will costs of getting oil out. Canadian oil sands may be a good investment with an expected price of about $20 a barrel, but right now the project is stuck, and is consuming Alberta’s natural gas meant for the MacKenzie pipeline and North America’s gas needs. Polar oil has “uncertain possibilities”. “Deep water booms and goes quickly.” Kashagan field in the Khazakstan sector of the Caspian will produce 10-15 billion barrels, Campbell says, “but not what was hoped for”.</p>
<p>Moreover, Campbell’s bleak scenario includes not only a challenge to home heating and the gas tank. He reminds that the growing of agricultural products (crop nutrients and farm machinery) and their transportation are heavily dependent on petroleum ­ meaning global food shortages.</p>
<p>Lynch’s principal role seemed to be one of resuscitating the audience after Campbell’s address. He backed up the Saudi Aramco claim that its definition of “oil initially in place” (according to Society of Petroleum Engineers, World Petroleum Congress and the American Association of Petroleum Geologists) is the “volume or the amount of oil that’s presently in the subsurface”. Lynch also disclosed during the talk that he has worked off and on for the Saudis and does work in the short sell market, saying “I’m sure there’ll be questions about that.” Curiously, there were none.</p>
<p>Campbell explained the origin of the oil numbers system saying it all began with SEC reporting practices. For financial reasons, US oil company owners were allowed to report both proved producing reserves and proved undeveloped wells. The SEC model then became an international standard. He said “companies found it convenient to be very conservative about what they reported; they effectively reported as much as they needed to give a satisfactory financial result, that meant the build-up of stock of under-reported reserves”.</p>
<p>The Saudi “oil initially in place” numbers, which Lynch refers to, were presented at a Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) meeting in Washington February 24 by Aramco’s Manager of Reserves Management, Dr. Nansen Saleri, and Mahmoud Abdul Baqi, VP of Exploration. They both said that in the last 20 years Saudi Arabia’s oil in the subsurface has grown by 100 billion barrels and it currently has “in the ground” 700 billion barrels.</p>
<p>Aramco also claims a 52% success rate with 64 exploratory wells drilled in the past 10 years and says that for the fourth year in a row the company reduced its water cut levels with the total company aggregate water cut for 2003 less than 27% (Russia’s is 80%); water cuts pose a problem because while water flushes out some oil, it tends to further seal-in a lot of what remains. Aramco cites reserves at 261 billion barrels ­ reserves defined as “oil that can be recovered commercially with current technology”. Aramco says they expect to produce 12 million barrels of oil a day though 2025.</p>
<p>Lynch also obliquely referenced Matt Simmons’s CSIS presentation, calling him an investment banker who “sort of said I read some technical articles and they describe engineering problems in the field. He made a whole bunch of mistakes which the Saudis corrected. . . . And he admitted he wasn’t an engineer.” Simmons referred to Aramco’s sophisticated “MRC (maximum reservoir contact) wells” with multiple branches and high resolution digital imaging ­ as “bottle brush” wells.</p>
<p>Lynch did not question the Aramco claim that by 2025 Saudi Arabia expects to have 900 billion barrels of oil in the ground; Saudi Aramco’s position is that only 14% of their “tank” has been tapped and that the main field Ghawar (actually many fields in one) is only 48% tapped. Lynch did say Saudi Arabia was virtually unexplored when it comes to oil, backing up Aramco statements regarding plans to push forward to the promising Saudi-Iraqi border (Campbell says you won’t find much there) as well as into the previously inaccessible Rub’al-Khali ­ making use of “intelligent wells” and remote control digital imaging with a 10-million and soon 100-million cell resolution.</p>
<p>OPEC advises its figures also refer to member countries’ remaining reserves and not total discovered, but says it does not ask member countries to verify reported numbers unless there is a major discrepancy. OPEC says its figures are in line with USGS and BP numbers, however this means that they are based on projected demand, which leaves things a bit fuzzy. Matt Simmons has called the very concept of proven reserves “still an art form”.</p>
<p>OPEC’s acting Secretary General and Director of Research is Dr. Adnan Shihab-Eldin, a Berkeley-trained nuclear physicist ­ perhaps the most dynamic personality to emerge at OPEC since Sheikh Ahmed Zaki Yamani. Shihab-Eldin is guiding the organization towards greater transparency in reporting its oil numbers by participating in JODI (Joint Oil Data Initiative) with APPEC (Asian and Pacific Petroleum Exporting Countries), IEA and UNSD. Shihab-Eldin previously served as a director of the International Atomic Energy Association and as Director, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Institute ­ where I first met him in the late 1970s when KISR was developing solar energy projects.</p>
<p>Shihab-Eldin said the following regarding world oil supply:</p>
<p>“In the current scenario of heightened political uncertainty in the Middle East, it is widely recognized that there is a premium on current crude prices, related to these events, of as high as $4-$5/b, rather than any basic lack of supply. . . . Our projections, derived from the OPEC World Energy Model, show world oil demand growing from 76 million barrels per day in 2000 to 89 million barrels per day by 2010, and by over 106 million barrels per day by 2020. Two-thirds of the increase in demand over that 20-year period will come from China and developing countries. This highlights the relevance of such projects as the new multi-billion dollar pipeline which will stretch from Eastern Siberia in Russia to Northeast China ­ with construction due to start in 2003. . . . Non-OPEC production is expected to increase throughout the entire period, with the expected decline in North Sea output more than compensated by increases in developing countries, the CIS and the Caspian region [which he says will add an additional 4 million barrels a day to world supply by 2015 and believes that new discoveries will get a boost from newer technologies]. ” ­ Conference on Oil and Gas Transportation in the CIS and Caspian Region, Vienna, Austria, Oct. 2002</p>
<p>Neither Campbell nor Lynch referred to the JODI figures, but there is little doubt that the time has come for the numbers to be counted. Even Lynch admits that OPEC’s reserves numbers in the past were often referred to as “political reserves”. Lynch says: “I was in Kuwait in 1987 and we were laughing about the reserves numbers. Everyone knew those numbers were not reliable”.</p>
<p>And Lynch still believes “There are no good reserve numbers anywhere in the world ­ especially in the past 30 years.” But he says he’s referring to “proved reserves” not the ultimate amount available. And that proved reserves numbers are not really very important in long-term modeling.</p>
<p>He characterizes Colin Campbell’s and Jean Laharrere’s modeling as”curve fitting” ­ not geological research ­ “like people who look at stock market cycles and try to come up with waves”. Lynch acknowledges that field size is determined by geology but says “the process of discovery is an economic one.”</p>
<p>Lynch also accuses Laharrere of mixing up political and economic events with geological ones in terms of the pause in oil exploration in the Middle East after 1980, when Lynch says there was a world oil glut, and the Saudis and Kuwaitis stopped exploring because they have 100 years of oil left. And then the wars happened, Iran/Iraq and the Gulf War. What’s more, Lynch says the creaming curves Campbell produces are not reliable estimates because field sizes are not stable ­ citing field growth according to the IHS database in Norway (where horizontal drilling is producing results which could never be realized otherwise, he says), in Britain and Canada.</p>
<p>Lynch says that Jean Laharrere told the Abu Dhabis their oil was scarce and he just wasn’t believed and that OPEC doesn’t even want to deal with this “nonsense” but people keep asking them. Says Lynch, “If you look at all their [Campbell, Laharrere] curves, what you find is they’re not doing serious statistical analysis. They’re just drawing curves and then eyeballing then. Just looking at them and saying, does this appear to follow a pattern?”</p>
<p>Lynch looks at slides regarding British North Sea production. He says we were told the big fields have been discovered and the small fields don’t matter and new technology won’t increase recovery. But he says Campbell was wrong about his 1991 predictions of 500,000 barrels a day, citing current production at 2 million b/p/d and that this suggests “you don’t know that the estimate of total resources in the UK is reliable, that it is stable”.</p>
<p>Lynch also claims Campbell is himself raising estimates of URR as well as extending the peak out ­ that Campbell first predicted peak oil for 1989. He says in 2002 Campbell updated a table from his 1997 book increasing the amount of URR by over 100 bb in 5 years, attributing it to countries discovering more oil “than they ever would have in 1997”.</p>
<p>Lynch concludes that the danger in the Middle East is more political when it comes to the supply of oil, and not it’s running out. A Barron’s 4/5/2004 editorial suggests the real scare is that “OPEC producers will stop pricing their oil in dollars and switch to a basket of currencies for both the pricing and settlement of crude-oil transactions”. And Crown Prince Abdullah’s historic visit to Moscow and talks with Vladimir Putin are further proof of politics as oil’s ace card.</p>
<p>Says Lynch, “If you believe resouces are scarce and companies should run up their debt levels, buy up reserves, sign a long-term contract for engineers, do everything they can ­ nobody’s doing that. They’re trying to hunker down against another price collapse because that’s much more likely than prices staying up at $35.”</p>
<p>A caller from Arc Asset Management wanted to know why investments in US public oil companies weren’t being realized in the past 2-3 years, although there had been substantial increases in exploration and development spending. The caller questioned why there was a lack of production response, was it because the decline rates have been getting much steeper? (The 1997 oil hype in Azerbaijan, which took me to Baku, came to mind; after the smoke screen came down there were dry holes, investors threatening to jump off the roof and the gobbling up of Amoco by BP plus the resignation of the US Energy Secretary.)</p>
<p>Lynch responded by saying give Capex time, you haven’t seen the results yet, and that “it’s partly delay because what you’re seeing is companies putting money into big projects like deep water West Africa that take longer to come online than a shallow Gulf of Mexico field.” He said the Chad pipeline took 2- 3 years, and mentioned costs on such projects could go up as much as 30%-40%.</p>
<p>John Hoey of Tethys Oil agrees. “It would be folly,” he says, “to solely rely on the old school theories of recoverable reserves, tertiary recovery methods and technologies, old maps and geological interpretations.” Hoey says the technology is moving too fast; they are now drilling faster, smarter deeper and more effectively, revisiting areas that were abandoned, looking for different plays ­ all helped by the economics of $30/bbl oil. He argues, “The worldwide deepwater drilling market expenditures have been estimated at $40 billion between 2003 and 2007 versus a fraction of this amount 10 years earlier, and were virtually nonexistent 10 years prior to that.”</p>
<p>Lynch’s talk was followed by a presentation by Dr. William Fisher, Director of Geoscience at the University of Texas and an advisor to Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham. He held up a slide with some Shell figures (odd, considering Shell’s in the hot seat for overstating its reserves by 20%), which looked at the range of conventional vs unconventional oil in terms of a price scenario ­ ultimate at 3 trillion barrels and unconventional at another trillion barrels ­ and said cost probably will come down due to technology.</p>
<p>Fisher says he concurs with USGS “folks in Denver” who project peakings “at either a high demand of 3% a year out to 2025, and at 1% or less, it extends substantially”. Fisher says future trajectory will be demand-defined not constrained by physical shortage.</p>
<p>Fisher also says, fuel reserve growth “has been the biggest dynamic over the past 25 years”. He notes that the USGS “roughly equates reserve growth potential with new field discovery ­ it’s about 650 bb of each”. Fisher says he feels it’s necessary to address this because some “early peakers” think reserve growth is a myth or assume it’s accounted for in “proved reserve base” numbers.</p>
<p>Fisher sees “multicomponent seismic coming along” to deal with complex high density rock, carbonate rocks, and expects there will be a lot more computer imaging. He says 3D seismic works best in sandstone.</p>
<p>Surprisingly there is some common ground with Colin Campbell. Fisher suggests the oil age is pretty much over ­ though not because the world is running out of oil ­ but because oil will have outlived its usefulness (what will replace it is less clear). Fisher and Campbell both think coal-bed methane will be important. Fisher believes we’re at the “threshold of the methane economy”. And he says worldwide stranded pockets of gas will lead to cost-effective LNG (at a stable price of $4.50 to $5 a barrel).</p>
<p>Over the next 30-50 years, he believes natural gas will be the source for any development of the hydrogen fuel cell. Yet nowhere did he acknowledge well-documented recent supply shortages or obstacles to overseas importation. He says further that some of the downward curves on crude oil demand “out here about 20 or 25 years are factoring in a substantial introduction of the hydrogen fuel cell in the transportation mode.” Now we’re talking volatility!</p>
<p>SUZAN MAZUR first visited Saudi Arabia as a guest of the Saudi Arabian National Center for Science and Techology in 1984 researching a television documentary on solar energy and prior to that interviewed scientists at the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, then headed by OPEC’s now acting Secretary General, Dr. Adnan Shihab-Eldin. Her reports have appeared in the Financial Times, Economist, Forbes, Newsday, Philadelphia Inquirer (partial list), and on PBS, CBC and MBC. She has been a guest on McLaughlin, Charlie Rose and various Fox television programs. Email: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
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<p>&#160;</p> | Debate or Vendetta? | true | https://counterpunch.org/2005/03/24/debate-or-vendetta/ | 2005-03-24 | 4left
| Debate or Vendetta?
<p>I sometimes think peak oil has already hit Manhattan as subways become increasingly unpredictable (although surveillance cameras are state-of-the-art) and escalator shut-downs present stair master survival challenges, a kind of perverse underground amusement. Unfortunately, surfacing on Fifth Avenue does not end the scenario, for where once there was excellence and exquisite fashion, now there are bargain stores catering to New Yorkers who are poor, and yes ­ even starving.</p>
<p>So I was particularly fascinated by the opportunity to listen-in to the telephone conference call that JP Morgan held for its clients on April 7 and 8, “ <a href="" type="internal">Peak Oil: Fact or Fiction</a>“, which I was given exclusive permission to monitor . Maybe there would be answers as to whether or not Manhattan is a harbinger of what’s to come for the rest of the nation, and whether it’s fleeting opulence (not counting all the questionably-financed real estate extravaganzas rising up) is energy-related.</p>
<p>The main speakers faced-off on separate days. First Dr. Colin Campbell, Founder of the Association for the Study of Peak Oil, succinctly gave his position saying that peak oil is “such a geological matter”. Campbell says we’re now at the halfway mark and that “by 2010 volatility comes to an end and then terminal decline” sets in.</p>
<p>The pronouncement is chilling. What’s more, Campbell says that “over the next few years everybody will become aware of this, and in some ways the perception of this growing situation is as serious as the event itself”. Campbell’s a retired geologist with decades of experience in the oil industry in both exploration and executive positions. He compares peak oil to old age ­ saying that a man knows when it has set-in.</p>
<p>Campbell was followed the next day by Michael Lynch, a computer oil and gas modeler for the past 25 years, President/Director of Global Petroleum, Strategic Energy and Economic Research. Lynch came out slugging, informing conference callers that Campbell refuses to appear with him since 1997, saying “you’ll understand why very shortly”. He seems to view Campbell as old school and too tired to be optimistic about the future. Perhaps a bit like Cheney and Rumsfeld having their last hurrahs before retiring into the bed &amp; breakfast business on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.</p>
<p>Lynch believes the Hubbert model that Campbell’s theory relies on ­ discoveries and production follow a bell curve ­ is not only “incorrectly modeled”, but is “much closer to being junk science”. He says further, that while Campbell and his colleague, Jean Laharrere, have now “stopped saying that” . . . they’ve “never admitted they were wrong”.</p>
<p>Lynch takes the position that URR ­ Ultimately Recoverable Resources ­ is not a static amount and therefore cannot follow such creaming curves. “It grows over time,” he says, “as a result of economic changes, development in an area, but also because of technology, and in some cases, better scientific knowledge.”</p>
<p>Campbell says today’s oil supply is finite and that it all came into being during two periods of global warming 90 million and 150 million years ago when “excessive” algal blooms formed on the seas and lakes, became heavier and heavier, and sank to the bottom of the rifts where they were “preserved” and pressure-cooked. The resulting oil and gas then began leaching its way back up to the surface through the sandstone (in the pore spaces between the grains of sand) and rock.</p>
<p>Campbell is adamant about the peak oil issue not being an economic or political one, but simply a case where we’ve now so depleted our “endowment” that peak oil will occur by 2010, and that soon after there will be a rapid fall-off in oil resources, which will profoundly affect world civilization.</p>
<p>So the conference began with a bit of posturing and name calling ­ with Campbell announcing “no common ground” with the “flat Earth economists” (Lynch et al.), who he says believe there’s an infinite supply of oil. (No one believes this, including Saudi Aramco).</p>
<p>Lynch called Campbell, Laharrere (and investment banker Matt Simmons) Malthusian pessimists, and obliquely referred to Simmons’s upcoming book on peak oil as “content free”.</p>
<p>Fortunately, JP Morgan’s clients pressed speakers for details, which made the conference truly worth listening to. Campbell advised that peak discovery of oil was in 1964 and that it’s been falling for 30 years. He also said that by 1981 the world was using more than it produced ­ 1 barrel is now found for every 6 consumed ­ and that there’s little spare capacity anywhere in the world.</p>
<p>As further proof of peak oil, Campbell adds that the major oil companies are getting out of the business ­ shedding staff, divesting marketing sectors, outsourcing jobs, cutting back on exploration and drilling fewer wells ­ the seven sisters are now four. He notes the majors are also buying back company shares (i.e., BP), and argues that “the value of their past is more important than their future”. He quotes the late Robert Anderson of Arco: “This is a sunset industry and the sun is fairly low in the sky.”</p>
<p>However, Campbell does spare the more “nimble” independent oil companies, who he says will press on producing what’s left, subcontracting to state companies however they can, through initiative, enterprise and bribes. And that oil in the ground will become increasingly valuable.</p>
<p>Lynch argues the oil majors are alive and well, thinking about returns and making their money upstream, just not investing in things like refineries, etc. downstream. He says lack of spare capacity and any pullback from the oil business is not because there’s not enough oil out there. It’s due to economics and politics.</p>
<p>Campbell counters that the picture is far worse than anyone’s thought because he’s “pretty sure” we may have to remove over 200 billion barrels of oil from world estimates as a result of Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil producer, and Kuwait misrepresenting their oil numbers. Says Campbell, “If you’re limited to public information and you’re watching reserves grow, you can believe it can go on forever.”</p>
<p>John J. Hoey, who served as President of Atlantic Refining Company as well as Hondo Oil (Robert Anderson was CEO), and is currently founder and Director of Tethys Oil in Stockholm, says the “Peak Oil debate is just that ­ a debate.” Hoey believes the adverse remarks about lack of disclosure and transparency of sovereign entities like Saudi Arabia, Russia, etc. appear self serving and disparaging, that the oil producing countries are not public companies and have no duty or obligation to disclose any more than they deem appropriate. He advises: “Try to get some technical information from a major oil company on a specific ‘tight’ well being drilled or completed in a highly sensitive geological area.”</p>
<p>Moreover, Hoey says he’s listened to all the peak oil arguments (including the JP Morgan call-in) and “gravitates” towards Lynch rather than Campbell or Harvard Business School alumnus and friend, Matt Simmons. He also lived in Saudi Arabia during the 70s and worked closely with Aramco and Petromin; Hoey says he has the “highest respect for the professionalism, integrity and future of their petroleum industry”.</p>
<p>Campbell presents a litany of pessimism on future oil as he deconstructs reserve reporting: He says Iran and Iraq may also have been manipulating their numbers but he’s “less sure”. That UK gas and oil will be “virtually exhausted” by 2020, as acknowledged by the UK government (BBC reports Wood Mackenzie oil consultants described UK North Sea exploration as “the industry’s biggest waste of money over the past five years”). That North American oil and gas is hopelessly depleted ­ it took 40 years for the US to go from peak discovery to peak decline ­ and that “Canada is way into decline”. Norway has the Ecofis “exceptional chalk reservoir,” which has been kept going through technology, but that doesn’t change the overall pattern of decline. Germany has “no hope” and is long past peak. Argentina’s production is down. Colombia has peaked. Egypt, with a teeming population, has hit its peak and has no money for exploration ­ “where will it get its oil from?” Indonesia has “no reason to remain in OPEC”.</p>
<p>The only upbeat pronouncements from Campbell were that Iran will have a “rapid rise” in oil production until 2015 (and then fall), even though a Power Bridge Associates caller told Lynch he’s been studying reserves in southwest Iran’s Khuzestan field and that Iran has about 200 billion barrels of oil and needs capital to develop. He says Iraq holds “north of 300 billion”.</p>
<p>Campbell believes Russia will see a second peak in 2010 ­ the first was under Soviet rule and influenced by OPEC price cutting in the 1980s which made Soviet oil uncompetitive. The increase in OPEC production stemmed from revisions in reserve estimates which allowed OPEC to exceed reserve-connected quotas. Heavy oils of Canada and Venezuela he believes will grow, but so will costs of getting oil out. Canadian oil sands may be a good investment with an expected price of about $20 a barrel, but right now the project is stuck, and is consuming Alberta’s natural gas meant for the MacKenzie pipeline and North America’s gas needs. Polar oil has “uncertain possibilities”. “Deep water booms and goes quickly.” Kashagan field in the Khazakstan sector of the Caspian will produce 10-15 billion barrels, Campbell says, “but not what was hoped for”.</p>
<p>Moreover, Campbell’s bleak scenario includes not only a challenge to home heating and the gas tank. He reminds that the growing of agricultural products (crop nutrients and farm machinery) and their transportation are heavily dependent on petroleum ­ meaning global food shortages.</p>
<p>Lynch’s principal role seemed to be one of resuscitating the audience after Campbell’s address. He backed up the Saudi Aramco claim that its definition of “oil initially in place” (according to Society of Petroleum Engineers, World Petroleum Congress and the American Association of Petroleum Geologists) is the “volume or the amount of oil that’s presently in the subsurface”. Lynch also disclosed during the talk that he has worked off and on for the Saudis and does work in the short sell market, saying “I’m sure there’ll be questions about that.” Curiously, there were none.</p>
<p>Campbell explained the origin of the oil numbers system saying it all began with SEC reporting practices. For financial reasons, US oil company owners were allowed to report both proved producing reserves and proved undeveloped wells. The SEC model then became an international standard. He said “companies found it convenient to be very conservative about what they reported; they effectively reported as much as they needed to give a satisfactory financial result, that meant the build-up of stock of under-reported reserves”.</p>
<p>The Saudi “oil initially in place” numbers, which Lynch refers to, were presented at a Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) meeting in Washington February 24 by Aramco’s Manager of Reserves Management, Dr. Nansen Saleri, and Mahmoud Abdul Baqi, VP of Exploration. They both said that in the last 20 years Saudi Arabia’s oil in the subsurface has grown by 100 billion barrels and it currently has “in the ground” 700 billion barrels.</p>
<p>Aramco also claims a 52% success rate with 64 exploratory wells drilled in the past 10 years and says that for the fourth year in a row the company reduced its water cut levels with the total company aggregate water cut for 2003 less than 27% (Russia’s is 80%); water cuts pose a problem because while water flushes out some oil, it tends to further seal-in a lot of what remains. Aramco cites reserves at 261 billion barrels ­ reserves defined as “oil that can be recovered commercially with current technology”. Aramco says they expect to produce 12 million barrels of oil a day though 2025.</p>
<p>Lynch also obliquely referenced Matt Simmons’s CSIS presentation, calling him an investment banker who “sort of said I read some technical articles and they describe engineering problems in the field. He made a whole bunch of mistakes which the Saudis corrected. . . . And he admitted he wasn’t an engineer.” Simmons referred to Aramco’s sophisticated “MRC (maximum reservoir contact) wells” with multiple branches and high resolution digital imaging ­ as “bottle brush” wells.</p>
<p>Lynch did not question the Aramco claim that by 2025 Saudi Arabia expects to have 900 billion barrels of oil in the ground; Saudi Aramco’s position is that only 14% of their “tank” has been tapped and that the main field Ghawar (actually many fields in one) is only 48% tapped. Lynch did say Saudi Arabia was virtually unexplored when it comes to oil, backing up Aramco statements regarding plans to push forward to the promising Saudi-Iraqi border (Campbell says you won’t find much there) as well as into the previously inaccessible Rub’al-Khali ­ making use of “intelligent wells” and remote control digital imaging with a 10-million and soon 100-million cell resolution.</p>
<p>OPEC advises its figures also refer to member countries’ remaining reserves and not total discovered, but says it does not ask member countries to verify reported numbers unless there is a major discrepancy. OPEC says its figures are in line with USGS and BP numbers, however this means that they are based on projected demand, which leaves things a bit fuzzy. Matt Simmons has called the very concept of proven reserves “still an art form”.</p>
<p>OPEC’s acting Secretary General and Director of Research is Dr. Adnan Shihab-Eldin, a Berkeley-trained nuclear physicist ­ perhaps the most dynamic personality to emerge at OPEC since Sheikh Ahmed Zaki Yamani. Shihab-Eldin is guiding the organization towards greater transparency in reporting its oil numbers by participating in JODI (Joint Oil Data Initiative) with APPEC (Asian and Pacific Petroleum Exporting Countries), IEA and UNSD. Shihab-Eldin previously served as a director of the International Atomic Energy Association and as Director, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Institute ­ where I first met him in the late 1970s when KISR was developing solar energy projects.</p>
<p>Shihab-Eldin said the following regarding world oil supply:</p>
<p>“In the current scenario of heightened political uncertainty in the Middle East, it is widely recognized that there is a premium on current crude prices, related to these events, of as high as $4-$5/b, rather than any basic lack of supply. . . . Our projections, derived from the OPEC World Energy Model, show world oil demand growing from 76 million barrels per day in 2000 to 89 million barrels per day by 2010, and by over 106 million barrels per day by 2020. Two-thirds of the increase in demand over that 20-year period will come from China and developing countries. This highlights the relevance of such projects as the new multi-billion dollar pipeline which will stretch from Eastern Siberia in Russia to Northeast China ­ with construction due to start in 2003. . . . Non-OPEC production is expected to increase throughout the entire period, with the expected decline in North Sea output more than compensated by increases in developing countries, the CIS and the Caspian region [which he says will add an additional 4 million barrels a day to world supply by 2015 and believes that new discoveries will get a boost from newer technologies]. ” ­ Conference on Oil and Gas Transportation in the CIS and Caspian Region, Vienna, Austria, Oct. 2002</p>
<p>Neither Campbell nor Lynch referred to the JODI figures, but there is little doubt that the time has come for the numbers to be counted. Even Lynch admits that OPEC’s reserves numbers in the past were often referred to as “political reserves”. Lynch says: “I was in Kuwait in 1987 and we were laughing about the reserves numbers. Everyone knew those numbers were not reliable”.</p>
<p>And Lynch still believes “There are no good reserve numbers anywhere in the world ­ especially in the past 30 years.” But he says he’s referring to “proved reserves” not the ultimate amount available. And that proved reserves numbers are not really very important in long-term modeling.</p>
<p>He characterizes Colin Campbell’s and Jean Laharrere’s modeling as”curve fitting” ­ not geological research ­ “like people who look at stock market cycles and try to come up with waves”. Lynch acknowledges that field size is determined by geology but says “the process of discovery is an economic one.”</p>
<p>Lynch also accuses Laharrere of mixing up political and economic events with geological ones in terms of the pause in oil exploration in the Middle East after 1980, when Lynch says there was a world oil glut, and the Saudis and Kuwaitis stopped exploring because they have 100 years of oil left. And then the wars happened, Iran/Iraq and the Gulf War. What’s more, Lynch says the creaming curves Campbell produces are not reliable estimates because field sizes are not stable ­ citing field growth according to the IHS database in Norway (where horizontal drilling is producing results which could never be realized otherwise, he says), in Britain and Canada.</p>
<p>Lynch says that Jean Laharrere told the Abu Dhabis their oil was scarce and he just wasn’t believed and that OPEC doesn’t even want to deal with this “nonsense” but people keep asking them. Says Lynch, “If you look at all their [Campbell, Laharrere] curves, what you find is they’re not doing serious statistical analysis. They’re just drawing curves and then eyeballing then. Just looking at them and saying, does this appear to follow a pattern?”</p>
<p>Lynch looks at slides regarding British North Sea production. He says we were told the big fields have been discovered and the small fields don’t matter and new technology won’t increase recovery. But he says Campbell was wrong about his 1991 predictions of 500,000 barrels a day, citing current production at 2 million b/p/d and that this suggests “you don’t know that the estimate of total resources in the UK is reliable, that it is stable”.</p>
<p>Lynch also claims Campbell is himself raising estimates of URR as well as extending the peak out ­ that Campbell first predicted peak oil for 1989. He says in 2002 Campbell updated a table from his 1997 book increasing the amount of URR by over 100 bb in 5 years, attributing it to countries discovering more oil “than they ever would have in 1997”.</p>
<p>Lynch concludes that the danger in the Middle East is more political when it comes to the supply of oil, and not it’s running out. A Barron’s 4/5/2004 editorial suggests the real scare is that “OPEC producers will stop pricing their oil in dollars and switch to a basket of currencies for both the pricing and settlement of crude-oil transactions”. And Crown Prince Abdullah’s historic visit to Moscow and talks with Vladimir Putin are further proof of politics as oil’s ace card.</p>
<p>Says Lynch, “If you believe resouces are scarce and companies should run up their debt levels, buy up reserves, sign a long-term contract for engineers, do everything they can ­ nobody’s doing that. They’re trying to hunker down against another price collapse because that’s much more likely than prices staying up at $35.”</p>
<p>A caller from Arc Asset Management wanted to know why investments in US public oil companies weren’t being realized in the past 2-3 years, although there had been substantial increases in exploration and development spending. The caller questioned why there was a lack of production response, was it because the decline rates have been getting much steeper? (The 1997 oil hype in Azerbaijan, which took me to Baku, came to mind; after the smoke screen came down there were dry holes, investors threatening to jump off the roof and the gobbling up of Amoco by BP plus the resignation of the US Energy Secretary.)</p>
<p>Lynch responded by saying give Capex time, you haven’t seen the results yet, and that “it’s partly delay because what you’re seeing is companies putting money into big projects like deep water West Africa that take longer to come online than a shallow Gulf of Mexico field.” He said the Chad pipeline took 2- 3 years, and mentioned costs on such projects could go up as much as 30%-40%.</p>
<p>John Hoey of Tethys Oil agrees. “It would be folly,” he says, “to solely rely on the old school theories of recoverable reserves, tertiary recovery methods and technologies, old maps and geological interpretations.” Hoey says the technology is moving too fast; they are now drilling faster, smarter deeper and more effectively, revisiting areas that were abandoned, looking for different plays ­ all helped by the economics of $30/bbl oil. He argues, “The worldwide deepwater drilling market expenditures have been estimated at $40 billion between 2003 and 2007 versus a fraction of this amount 10 years earlier, and were virtually nonexistent 10 years prior to that.”</p>
<p>Lynch’s talk was followed by a presentation by Dr. William Fisher, Director of Geoscience at the University of Texas and an advisor to Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham. He held up a slide with some Shell figures (odd, considering Shell’s in the hot seat for overstating its reserves by 20%), which looked at the range of conventional vs unconventional oil in terms of a price scenario ­ ultimate at 3 trillion barrels and unconventional at another trillion barrels ­ and said cost probably will come down due to technology.</p>
<p>Fisher says he concurs with USGS “folks in Denver” who project peakings “at either a high demand of 3% a year out to 2025, and at 1% or less, it extends substantially”. Fisher says future trajectory will be demand-defined not constrained by physical shortage.</p>
<p>Fisher also says, fuel reserve growth “has been the biggest dynamic over the past 25 years”. He notes that the USGS “roughly equates reserve growth potential with new field discovery ­ it’s about 650 bb of each”. Fisher says he feels it’s necessary to address this because some “early peakers” think reserve growth is a myth or assume it’s accounted for in “proved reserve base” numbers.</p>
<p>Fisher sees “multicomponent seismic coming along” to deal with complex high density rock, carbonate rocks, and expects there will be a lot more computer imaging. He says 3D seismic works best in sandstone.</p>
<p>Surprisingly there is some common ground with Colin Campbell. Fisher suggests the oil age is pretty much over ­ though not because the world is running out of oil ­ but because oil will have outlived its usefulness (what will replace it is less clear). Fisher and Campbell both think coal-bed methane will be important. Fisher believes we’re at the “threshold of the methane economy”. And he says worldwide stranded pockets of gas will lead to cost-effective LNG (at a stable price of $4.50 to $5 a barrel).</p>
<p>Over the next 30-50 years, he believes natural gas will be the source for any development of the hydrogen fuel cell. Yet nowhere did he acknowledge well-documented recent supply shortages or obstacles to overseas importation. He says further that some of the downward curves on crude oil demand “out here about 20 or 25 years are factoring in a substantial introduction of the hydrogen fuel cell in the transportation mode.” Now we’re talking volatility!</p>
<p>SUZAN MAZUR first visited Saudi Arabia as a guest of the Saudi Arabian National Center for Science and Techology in 1984 researching a television documentary on solar energy and prior to that interviewed scientists at the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, then headed by OPEC’s now acting Secretary General, Dr. Adnan Shihab-Eldin. Her reports have appeared in the Financial Times, Economist, Forbes, Newsday, Philadelphia Inquirer (partial list), and on PBS, CBC and MBC. She has been a guest on McLaughlin, Charlie Rose and various Fox television programs. Email: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
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<p>&#160;</p> | 4,452 |
<p>The Left today is in a state of <a href="" type="internal">euphoria</a> over the murder of a child.</p>
<p>As I previously reported, the Trump Administration had been locked in a legal battle over a pregnant illegal immigrant in its custody. The teenage girl, over 15 weeks pregnant, wanted an abortion. The government refused to facilitate the procedure, in a marked departure from the bloodthirsty pro-abortion enthusiasm of the previous administration. The girl was given the option to go back to her own country and do what she chooses to do, or stay here and explore options that don't include murdering her baby in its second trimester.</p>
<p>As usual, a fanatical judge stepped in to impose his will on a situation far outside the scope of his authority. The courts insisted that the girl must be allowed to get her abortion, despite lacking the power to infuse "abortion rights" into a non-citizen minor. The decision turns the United States into an abortion mecca where pregnant people from around the globe can bypass their own country's abortion laws by coming here to dispatch their unwanted offspring. I do not think this is what the framers of the Constitution had in mind.</p>
<p>Today, the "procedure" was carried out. The child — who, again, was well over 15 weeks gestation — is now dead. He was torn apart, limb by limb, probably starting with his legs, and then the pieces of him were discarded in a dumpster. That is what we mean when we say "procedure." It's a procedure in the same way that Jeffrey Dahmer carried out procedures. It's a procedure like rape is a procedure. It is not a procedure. It is the taking of innocent human life.</p>
<p>The Left has, of course, celebrated this child's gruesome execution. The ACLU <a href="https://twitter.com/ACLU/status/923196553434673154" type="external">trumpeted</a>that "justice" had prevailed. NARAL <a href="https://twitter.com/NARAL/status/923203786046365696" type="external">said</a>it was "thrilled" with the baby's death. The "Justice for Jane" <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/JusticeforJane?src=hash" type="external">hashtag</a>is filled with people spiking the football and gesticulating wildly in the end zone while standing over top the corpse of a dead child. The whole spectacle is so vile, so rotten, so incomprehensibly evil that I hesitate to even express the wickedness of it because I lack the vocabulary to adequately capture it.</p>
<p>But I'll try. I want to say two things in particular about this story:</p>
<p>1. This is why I equate Leftism with Satanism.</p>
<p>I wrote an entire <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Unholy-Trinity-Blocking-Assault-Marriage/dp/0451495055" type="external">book</a> explaining this, but I will reiterate. Satanism is the worship of self above everything. In Satanism, the only thing that matters is the pleasure and comfort of the individual. All else is secondary and irrelevant. Leftism is exactly this, but secularized and given a different name. This is why they celebrate "justice" for the mother without even pausing to consider what was just for the child. The child literally does not count. He interfered with the mother's lifestyle, so he is worthless. In Leftism, as in Satanism, everything and everyone is subordinate to the desires of the Self. The baby's self does not need to be taken into consideration.</p>
<p>Many people, even conservatives, have scolded me for accusing all Leftists of being Satanists. I'm sorry if the comparison makes your tummy hurt. I really am. But we happen to live in a country where a certain side of the culture war unabashedly cheers the mass murder of infants. What do you expect me to say about them? That they have a point and maybe we should try harder to understand them? No. They have no point. I'll let you empathize with the Left if you choose. I will empathize with the 50 million babies it has killed.</p>
<p>2. True justice will be done, but not here.</p>
<p>If abortion is justice, then there is no justice in America. Not legally, anyway. Justice is dead. It has been for sometime. We should not even call it the Justice System. We have no Justice System. We have courts and men in black robes who decide things. Nothing more.</p>
<p>But there is still justice, though we cannot see it and we will not fully experience it in this world. True justice will come in the next. And let us not fool ourselves into thinking that God will have nothing to say about the mountain of dead and mangled bodies we have put before Him. Vengeance is mine, says the Lord. And it will be His. The blood of these murdered babies cries out to Him for retribution and He will deliver. God is merciful but He is also just. He will repay, He says. And when the bill comes due, I'm afraid the price will be very steep for a great many of us.</p>
<p>I pray for repentance and salvation for all, including myself, but those who have a hand in the mass extermination of the innocent, and who do not repent of it, will burn. We don't like to talk about that or think about it but perhaps we should. Hell is there for a reason. And abortion is a giant funnel sending millions of souls down into it. Not the souls of the children, but of the impenitent butchers who destroy them. And those of us who sit complacently, though we disapprove silently in our heads, may find ourselves in the same camp.</p>
<p>Pray for our country. The day of reckoning will be here soon eough.</p> | WALSH: The Left Is Celebrating The Murder Of A Child, Proving Again That Leftism Is Satanism | true | https://dailywire.com/news/22744/walsh-left-celebrating-murder-child-proving-again-matt-walsh | 2017-10-25 | 0right
| WALSH: The Left Is Celebrating The Murder Of A Child, Proving Again That Leftism Is Satanism
<p>The Left today is in a state of <a href="" type="internal">euphoria</a> over the murder of a child.</p>
<p>As I previously reported, the Trump Administration had been locked in a legal battle over a pregnant illegal immigrant in its custody. The teenage girl, over 15 weeks pregnant, wanted an abortion. The government refused to facilitate the procedure, in a marked departure from the bloodthirsty pro-abortion enthusiasm of the previous administration. The girl was given the option to go back to her own country and do what she chooses to do, or stay here and explore options that don't include murdering her baby in its second trimester.</p>
<p>As usual, a fanatical judge stepped in to impose his will on a situation far outside the scope of his authority. The courts insisted that the girl must be allowed to get her abortion, despite lacking the power to infuse "abortion rights" into a non-citizen minor. The decision turns the United States into an abortion mecca where pregnant people from around the globe can bypass their own country's abortion laws by coming here to dispatch their unwanted offspring. I do not think this is what the framers of the Constitution had in mind.</p>
<p>Today, the "procedure" was carried out. The child — who, again, was well over 15 weeks gestation — is now dead. He was torn apart, limb by limb, probably starting with his legs, and then the pieces of him were discarded in a dumpster. That is what we mean when we say "procedure." It's a procedure in the same way that Jeffrey Dahmer carried out procedures. It's a procedure like rape is a procedure. It is not a procedure. It is the taking of innocent human life.</p>
<p>The Left has, of course, celebrated this child's gruesome execution. The ACLU <a href="https://twitter.com/ACLU/status/923196553434673154" type="external">trumpeted</a>that "justice" had prevailed. NARAL <a href="https://twitter.com/NARAL/status/923203786046365696" type="external">said</a>it was "thrilled" with the baby's death. The "Justice for Jane" <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/JusticeforJane?src=hash" type="external">hashtag</a>is filled with people spiking the football and gesticulating wildly in the end zone while standing over top the corpse of a dead child. The whole spectacle is so vile, so rotten, so incomprehensibly evil that I hesitate to even express the wickedness of it because I lack the vocabulary to adequately capture it.</p>
<p>But I'll try. I want to say two things in particular about this story:</p>
<p>1. This is why I equate Leftism with Satanism.</p>
<p>I wrote an entire <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Unholy-Trinity-Blocking-Assault-Marriage/dp/0451495055" type="external">book</a> explaining this, but I will reiterate. Satanism is the worship of self above everything. In Satanism, the only thing that matters is the pleasure and comfort of the individual. All else is secondary and irrelevant. Leftism is exactly this, but secularized and given a different name. This is why they celebrate "justice" for the mother without even pausing to consider what was just for the child. The child literally does not count. He interfered with the mother's lifestyle, so he is worthless. In Leftism, as in Satanism, everything and everyone is subordinate to the desires of the Self. The baby's self does not need to be taken into consideration.</p>
<p>Many people, even conservatives, have scolded me for accusing all Leftists of being Satanists. I'm sorry if the comparison makes your tummy hurt. I really am. But we happen to live in a country where a certain side of the culture war unabashedly cheers the mass murder of infants. What do you expect me to say about them? That they have a point and maybe we should try harder to understand them? No. They have no point. I'll let you empathize with the Left if you choose. I will empathize with the 50 million babies it has killed.</p>
<p>2. True justice will be done, but not here.</p>
<p>If abortion is justice, then there is no justice in America. Not legally, anyway. Justice is dead. It has been for sometime. We should not even call it the Justice System. We have no Justice System. We have courts and men in black robes who decide things. Nothing more.</p>
<p>But there is still justice, though we cannot see it and we will not fully experience it in this world. True justice will come in the next. And let us not fool ourselves into thinking that God will have nothing to say about the mountain of dead and mangled bodies we have put before Him. Vengeance is mine, says the Lord. And it will be His. The blood of these murdered babies cries out to Him for retribution and He will deliver. God is merciful but He is also just. He will repay, He says. And when the bill comes due, I'm afraid the price will be very steep for a great many of us.</p>
<p>I pray for repentance and salvation for all, including myself, but those who have a hand in the mass extermination of the innocent, and who do not repent of it, will burn. We don't like to talk about that or think about it but perhaps we should. Hell is there for a reason. And abortion is a giant funnel sending millions of souls down into it. Not the souls of the children, but of the impenitent butchers who destroy them. And those of us who sit complacently, though we disapprove silently in our heads, may find ourselves in the same camp.</p>
<p>Pray for our country. The day of reckoning will be here soon eough.</p> | 4,453 |
<p>INDIANAPOLIS (AP) _ These Indiana lotteries were drawn Friday:</p>
<p>Cash 5</p>
<p>04-11-13-34-45</p>
<p>(four, eleven, thirteen, thirty-four, forty-five)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $295,000</p>
<p>Quick Draw Midday</p>
<p>05-08-10-22-23-24-27-32-43-44-45-50-53-54-55-58-60-64-70-77, BE: 64</p>
<p>(five, eight, ten, twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-seven, thirty-two, forty-three, forty-four, forty-five, fifty, fifty-three, fifty-four, fifty-five, fifty-eight, sixty, sixty-four, seventy, seventy-seven; BE: sixty-four)</p>
<p>Daily Three-Midday</p>
<p>6-1-0, SB: 6</p>
<p>(six, one, zero; SB: six)</p>
<p>Daily Three-Evening</p>
<p>4-1-9, SB: 5</p>
<p>(four, one, nine; SB: five)</p>
<p>Daily Four-Midday</p>
<p>6-1-5-5, SB: 6</p>
<p>(six, one, five, five; SB: six)</p>
<p>Daily Four-Evening</p>
<p>5-6-8-0, SB: 5</p>
<p>(five, six, eight, zero; SB: five)</p>
<p>Quick Draw Evening</p>
<p>03-06-09-18-22-23-25-33-36-38-48-50-52-54-59-62-65-66-71-73, BE: 52</p>
<p>(three, six, nine, eighteen, twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-five, thirty-three, thirty-six, thirty-eight, forty-eight, fifty, fifty-two, fifty-four, fifty-nine, sixty-two, sixty-five, sixty-six, seventy-one, seventy-three; BE: fifty-two)</p>
<p>Mega Millions</p>
<p>03-17-23-49-66, Mega Ball: 23, Megaplier: 3</p>
<p>(three, seventeen, twenty-three, forty-nine, sixty-six; Mega Ball: twenty-three; Megaplier: three)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $55 million</p>
<p>Powerball</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $78 million</p>
<p>INDIANAPOLIS (AP) _ These Indiana lotteries were drawn Friday:</p>
<p>Cash 5</p>
<p>04-11-13-34-45</p>
<p>(four, eleven, thirteen, thirty-four, forty-five)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $295,000</p>
<p>Quick Draw Midday</p>
<p>05-08-10-22-23-24-27-32-43-44-45-50-53-54-55-58-60-64-70-77, BE: 64</p>
<p>(five, eight, ten, twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-seven, thirty-two, forty-three, forty-four, forty-five, fifty, fifty-three, fifty-four, fifty-five, fifty-eight, sixty, sixty-four, seventy, seventy-seven; BE: sixty-four)</p>
<p>Daily Three-Midday</p>
<p>6-1-0, SB: 6</p>
<p>(six, one, zero; SB: six)</p>
<p>Daily Three-Evening</p>
<p>4-1-9, SB: 5</p>
<p>(four, one, nine; SB: five)</p>
<p>Daily Four-Midday</p>
<p>6-1-5-5, SB: 6</p>
<p>(six, one, five, five; SB: six)</p>
<p>Daily Four-Evening</p>
<p>5-6-8-0, SB: 5</p>
<p>(five, six, eight, zero; SB: five)</p>
<p>Quick Draw Evening</p>
<p>03-06-09-18-22-23-25-33-36-38-48-50-52-54-59-62-65-66-71-73, BE: 52</p>
<p>(three, six, nine, eighteen, twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-five, thirty-three, thirty-six, thirty-eight, forty-eight, fifty, fifty-two, fifty-four, fifty-nine, sixty-two, sixty-five, sixty-six, seventy-one, seventy-three; BE: fifty-two)</p>
<p>Mega Millions</p>
<p>03-17-23-49-66, Mega Ball: 23, Megaplier: 3</p>
<p>(three, seventeen, twenty-three, forty-nine, sixty-six; Mega Ball: twenty-three; Megaplier: three)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $55 million</p>
<p>Powerball</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $78 million</p> | IN Lottery | false | https://apnews.com/amp/bb23d543f16a45bfa7283d67fbd09344 | 2018-01-20 | 2least
| IN Lottery
<p>INDIANAPOLIS (AP) _ These Indiana lotteries were drawn Friday:</p>
<p>Cash 5</p>
<p>04-11-13-34-45</p>
<p>(four, eleven, thirteen, thirty-four, forty-five)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $295,000</p>
<p>Quick Draw Midday</p>
<p>05-08-10-22-23-24-27-32-43-44-45-50-53-54-55-58-60-64-70-77, BE: 64</p>
<p>(five, eight, ten, twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-seven, thirty-two, forty-three, forty-four, forty-five, fifty, fifty-three, fifty-four, fifty-five, fifty-eight, sixty, sixty-four, seventy, seventy-seven; BE: sixty-four)</p>
<p>Daily Three-Midday</p>
<p>6-1-0, SB: 6</p>
<p>(six, one, zero; SB: six)</p>
<p>Daily Three-Evening</p>
<p>4-1-9, SB: 5</p>
<p>(four, one, nine; SB: five)</p>
<p>Daily Four-Midday</p>
<p>6-1-5-5, SB: 6</p>
<p>(six, one, five, five; SB: six)</p>
<p>Daily Four-Evening</p>
<p>5-6-8-0, SB: 5</p>
<p>(five, six, eight, zero; SB: five)</p>
<p>Quick Draw Evening</p>
<p>03-06-09-18-22-23-25-33-36-38-48-50-52-54-59-62-65-66-71-73, BE: 52</p>
<p>(three, six, nine, eighteen, twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-five, thirty-three, thirty-six, thirty-eight, forty-eight, fifty, fifty-two, fifty-four, fifty-nine, sixty-two, sixty-five, sixty-six, seventy-one, seventy-three; BE: fifty-two)</p>
<p>Mega Millions</p>
<p>03-17-23-49-66, Mega Ball: 23, Megaplier: 3</p>
<p>(three, seventeen, twenty-three, forty-nine, sixty-six; Mega Ball: twenty-three; Megaplier: three)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $55 million</p>
<p>Powerball</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $78 million</p>
<p>INDIANAPOLIS (AP) _ These Indiana lotteries were drawn Friday:</p>
<p>Cash 5</p>
<p>04-11-13-34-45</p>
<p>(four, eleven, thirteen, thirty-four, forty-five)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $295,000</p>
<p>Quick Draw Midday</p>
<p>05-08-10-22-23-24-27-32-43-44-45-50-53-54-55-58-60-64-70-77, BE: 64</p>
<p>(five, eight, ten, twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-seven, thirty-two, forty-three, forty-four, forty-five, fifty, fifty-three, fifty-four, fifty-five, fifty-eight, sixty, sixty-four, seventy, seventy-seven; BE: sixty-four)</p>
<p>Daily Three-Midday</p>
<p>6-1-0, SB: 6</p>
<p>(six, one, zero; SB: six)</p>
<p>Daily Three-Evening</p>
<p>4-1-9, SB: 5</p>
<p>(four, one, nine; SB: five)</p>
<p>Daily Four-Midday</p>
<p>6-1-5-5, SB: 6</p>
<p>(six, one, five, five; SB: six)</p>
<p>Daily Four-Evening</p>
<p>5-6-8-0, SB: 5</p>
<p>(five, six, eight, zero; SB: five)</p>
<p>Quick Draw Evening</p>
<p>03-06-09-18-22-23-25-33-36-38-48-50-52-54-59-62-65-66-71-73, BE: 52</p>
<p>(three, six, nine, eighteen, twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-five, thirty-three, thirty-six, thirty-eight, forty-eight, fifty, fifty-two, fifty-four, fifty-nine, sixty-two, sixty-five, sixty-six, seventy-one, seventy-three; BE: fifty-two)</p>
<p>Mega Millions</p>
<p>03-17-23-49-66, Mega Ball: 23, Megaplier: 3</p>
<p>(three, seventeen, twenty-three, forty-nine, sixty-six; Mega Ball: twenty-three; Megaplier: three)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $55 million</p>
<p>Powerball</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $78 million</p> | 4,454 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>The Bellini is a simple drink created in Italy using white peaches, prosecco and a little cherry juice. We remake this classic summer cocktail with a winter fruit.</p>
<p>While you could make this drink with peach nectar or frozen peaches, passion fruit pulp is an unexpected and delightful change. Italian (Luxardo) maraschino liqueur sets off the tartness of the passion fruit perfectly.</p>
<p>PASSION FRUIT BELLINI</p>
<p>Serves 4</p>
<p>1 cup unsweetened passion fruit pulp, thawed</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>2 tablespoons maraschino liqueur</p>
<p>750-mililiter bottle prosecco</p>
<p>Maraschino cherries or fresh raspberries, to garnish</p>
<p>In a large cocktail shaker, combine the passion fruit pulp and maraschino liqueur. Stir to combine. Add a handful of ice, then shake vigorously for 20 seconds. Strain into wine glasses, dividing it evenly. Stir each glass gently, then top each with Prosecco. Add a cherry or raspberry to each glass. Serve immediately.</p> | Fresh take on a classic cocktail | false | https://abqjournal.com/519170/fresh-take-on-a-classic-cocktail.html | 2least
| Fresh take on a classic cocktail
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>The Bellini is a simple drink created in Italy using white peaches, prosecco and a little cherry juice. We remake this classic summer cocktail with a winter fruit.</p>
<p>While you could make this drink with peach nectar or frozen peaches, passion fruit pulp is an unexpected and delightful change. Italian (Luxardo) maraschino liqueur sets off the tartness of the passion fruit perfectly.</p>
<p>PASSION FRUIT BELLINI</p>
<p>Serves 4</p>
<p>1 cup unsweetened passion fruit pulp, thawed</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>2 tablespoons maraschino liqueur</p>
<p>750-mililiter bottle prosecco</p>
<p>Maraschino cherries or fresh raspberries, to garnish</p>
<p>In a large cocktail shaker, combine the passion fruit pulp and maraschino liqueur. Stir to combine. Add a handful of ice, then shake vigorously for 20 seconds. Strain into wine glasses, dividing it evenly. Stir each glass gently, then top each with Prosecco. Add a cherry or raspberry to each glass. Serve immediately.</p> | 4,455 |
|
<p>Oil futures are down modestly in Asian trade on Friday, but prices have been holding steady in the face of another missile test by North Korea.</p>
<p>--October Nymex light, sweet crude on the New York Mercantile Exchange was recently down 0.3% at $49.73 a barrel in the Globex trading session. Brent futures were off by the same percentage margin at $55.29, while October Nymex gasoline fell 0.2% to $1.6260 a gallon.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>--The price drop in Asia comes following sharp gains throughout the week as U.S. oil facilities recover operations post hurricanes. U.S. and global benchmarks have risen every day this week, with the latest North Korea test providing a handy reason for oil investors to pull back a touch.</p>
<p>--Clearly, oil markets aren't panicking in the wake of the latest North Korean missile test. Still, Wood Mackenzie says that in the event of a military conflict in the Korean Peninsula, shipping lines handling a third of global seaborne crude trade could be disrupted, while half of Asia's refining capacity could be at risk.</p>
<p>Write to Biman Mukherji at [email protected]</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>September 15, 2017 00:31 ET (04:31 GMT)</p> | Oil Down Modestly in Wake of North Korea Missile Test | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/09/15/oil-down-modestly-in-wake-north-korea-missile-test.html | 2017-09-15 | 0right
| Oil Down Modestly in Wake of North Korea Missile Test
<p>Oil futures are down modestly in Asian trade on Friday, but prices have been holding steady in the face of another missile test by North Korea.</p>
<p>--October Nymex light, sweet crude on the New York Mercantile Exchange was recently down 0.3% at $49.73 a barrel in the Globex trading session. Brent futures were off by the same percentage margin at $55.29, while October Nymex gasoline fell 0.2% to $1.6260 a gallon.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>--The price drop in Asia comes following sharp gains throughout the week as U.S. oil facilities recover operations post hurricanes. U.S. and global benchmarks have risen every day this week, with the latest North Korea test providing a handy reason for oil investors to pull back a touch.</p>
<p>--Clearly, oil markets aren't panicking in the wake of the latest North Korean missile test. Still, Wood Mackenzie says that in the event of a military conflict in the Korean Peninsula, shipping lines handling a third of global seaborne crude trade could be disrupted, while half of Asia's refining capacity could be at risk.</p>
<p>Write to Biman Mukherji at [email protected]</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>September 15, 2017 00:31 ET (04:31 GMT)</p> | 4,456 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>State investigators are looking into allegations that teenage boys living at an unlicensed southern New Mexico ranch for troubled youth were beaten by a former staff member and forced to wear leg shackles and handcuffs for minor infractions of ranch rules.</p>
<p>The $80-a-day program at the 30,000-acre Tierra Blanca Ranch in Sierra County near Hillsboro caters to parents who can no longer deal with their children’s drug use or other behaviors. It promises a careful balance between love, discipline and structure. It also promises education based on sound biblical principles. <a href="https://d3el53au0d7w62.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/a00_jd_05oct_YouthProgram-copy.jpg" type="external" /></p>
<p>State Police Sgt. Emmanuel Gutierrez and general counsel Jennifer Saavedra of the Children, Youth and Families Department have confirmed the investigation.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>According to State Police reports, residents of the program say they saw one teen beaten by an employee while the boy was shackled after he had been forced to run all day.</p>
<p>Witnesses said the employee, now living in Texas, beat the boy in the face with what the teens described as a Kubaton, which is akin to a nightstick.</p>
<p>In other cases, employees allegedly had groups of teenage residents beat another resident for being uncooperative, according to police reports.</p>
<p>Officers called to the ranch on at least one occasion found one of the boys in shackles. He had escaped and called State Police on a telephone he had taken from the ranch.</p>
<p>Officers returned the boy to the ranch and had to serve a search warrant later to retrieve him at his mother’s request.</p>
<p>Tierra Blanca owner Scott Chandler said through his attorney, Pete Domenici Jr. of Albuquerque, that the ranch is “proud of its success in serving families and their at-risk children over the years.”</p>
<p>“While at TBR, most youth get on track to successful and rewarding lives outside the ranch,” Chandler said in the statement.</p>
<p>The ranch averages about 15 teens placed there voluntarily by parents. Some stay for more than a year.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Voluntary placement</p>
<p>The working ranch has been home to the High Country Youth Program for 20 years. It is run by the Chandler family and headed by Scott Chandler.</p>
<p>“TBR knows that the rights of parents to educate and raise their children in a manner they deem appropriate are precious and fundamental rights that lie at the core of our nation’s heritage,” Chandler said in his statement.</p>
<p>The teens are voluntarily placed at the ranch by their parents or, in some cases, by one parent. There have been custody disputes between parents over placement of some teens, according to police reports.</p>
<p />
<p>The truck rolled half a turn, coming to rest upside down on its roof.</p>
<p>State Police said Bruce Staeger, 18, who was riding in the bed of the truck, was ejected and suffered serious injuries. He was taken to University Medical Center in El Paso, where he was pronounced dead shortly after midnight on Sept. 23.</p>
<p>Staeger was a former resident of the ranch who had stayed on as an employee.</p>
<p>Parents of some teenagers placed in the program and Pegasus Legal Services for Children began asking for an investigation into the ranch earlier this year, claiming the program appeared to violate fundamental rights of the teenagers staying there.</p>
<p>In a series of letters, Pegasus executive director Elizabeth McGrath urged CYFD Secretary Yolanda Deines to open an investigation into the program.</p>
<p>The ranch has been on CYFD’s radar since 2006, but the agency has taken no action.</p>
<p>At one point, the department was in the process of filing a cease-and-desist action in state court against the ranch because it was not licensed.</p>
<p>According to department records, a decision was reached at some point before the current administration taking office to treat the ranch as a “Wilderness Program” that would not fall under CYFD licensing regulations.</p>
<p>State records show that led to problems in following up on allegations of abuse of residents living at the ranch.</p>
<p>Gutierrez of the State Police confirmed his agency’s investigation in an email to the Journal on Thursday. Saavedra of CYFD stated in a letter to McGrath that “there is an active investigation.”</p>
<p>A CYFD spokesman on Friday said he was still gathering information in response to other Journal questions – including how the determination was made in 2006 or 2007 that the ranch was a wilderness program and therefore not subject to CYFD licensing. Or, why that status would deter CYFD from investigating an allegation of child abuse.</p>
<p>In documents obtained by the Journal, CYFD said it needed to be called in by a law enforcement agency and could not start its own investigation. State Police have now requested CYFD involvement.</p>
<p>Pegasus legal services disputes that interpretation of the state child abuse statutes, claiming the agency does have authority to investigate child abuse allegations at the ranch.</p>
<p>Pegasus director McGrath also said in a letter to CYFD Secretary Deines that it is obvious the Tierra Blanca Ranch program is a residential program and should be licensed by the state.</p>
<p />
<p /> | Claims of shackles, beatings at ranch for troubled boys | false | https://abqjournal.com/275647/boys-ranch-under-scrutiny.html | 2013-10-05 | 2least
| Claims of shackles, beatings at ranch for troubled boys
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>State investigators are looking into allegations that teenage boys living at an unlicensed southern New Mexico ranch for troubled youth were beaten by a former staff member and forced to wear leg shackles and handcuffs for minor infractions of ranch rules.</p>
<p>The $80-a-day program at the 30,000-acre Tierra Blanca Ranch in Sierra County near Hillsboro caters to parents who can no longer deal with their children’s drug use or other behaviors. It promises a careful balance between love, discipline and structure. It also promises education based on sound biblical principles. <a href="https://d3el53au0d7w62.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/a00_jd_05oct_YouthProgram-copy.jpg" type="external" /></p>
<p>State Police Sgt. Emmanuel Gutierrez and general counsel Jennifer Saavedra of the Children, Youth and Families Department have confirmed the investigation.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>According to State Police reports, residents of the program say they saw one teen beaten by an employee while the boy was shackled after he had been forced to run all day.</p>
<p>Witnesses said the employee, now living in Texas, beat the boy in the face with what the teens described as a Kubaton, which is akin to a nightstick.</p>
<p>In other cases, employees allegedly had groups of teenage residents beat another resident for being uncooperative, according to police reports.</p>
<p>Officers called to the ranch on at least one occasion found one of the boys in shackles. He had escaped and called State Police on a telephone he had taken from the ranch.</p>
<p>Officers returned the boy to the ranch and had to serve a search warrant later to retrieve him at his mother’s request.</p>
<p>Tierra Blanca owner Scott Chandler said through his attorney, Pete Domenici Jr. of Albuquerque, that the ranch is “proud of its success in serving families and their at-risk children over the years.”</p>
<p>“While at TBR, most youth get on track to successful and rewarding lives outside the ranch,” Chandler said in the statement.</p>
<p>The ranch averages about 15 teens placed there voluntarily by parents. Some stay for more than a year.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Voluntary placement</p>
<p>The working ranch has been home to the High Country Youth Program for 20 years. It is run by the Chandler family and headed by Scott Chandler.</p>
<p>“TBR knows that the rights of parents to educate and raise their children in a manner they deem appropriate are precious and fundamental rights that lie at the core of our nation’s heritage,” Chandler said in his statement.</p>
<p>The teens are voluntarily placed at the ranch by their parents or, in some cases, by one parent. There have been custody disputes between parents over placement of some teens, according to police reports.</p>
<p />
<p>The truck rolled half a turn, coming to rest upside down on its roof.</p>
<p>State Police said Bruce Staeger, 18, who was riding in the bed of the truck, was ejected and suffered serious injuries. He was taken to University Medical Center in El Paso, where he was pronounced dead shortly after midnight on Sept. 23.</p>
<p>Staeger was a former resident of the ranch who had stayed on as an employee.</p>
<p>Parents of some teenagers placed in the program and Pegasus Legal Services for Children began asking for an investigation into the ranch earlier this year, claiming the program appeared to violate fundamental rights of the teenagers staying there.</p>
<p>In a series of letters, Pegasus executive director Elizabeth McGrath urged CYFD Secretary Yolanda Deines to open an investigation into the program.</p>
<p>The ranch has been on CYFD’s radar since 2006, but the agency has taken no action.</p>
<p>At one point, the department was in the process of filing a cease-and-desist action in state court against the ranch because it was not licensed.</p>
<p>According to department records, a decision was reached at some point before the current administration taking office to treat the ranch as a “Wilderness Program” that would not fall under CYFD licensing regulations.</p>
<p>State records show that led to problems in following up on allegations of abuse of residents living at the ranch.</p>
<p>Gutierrez of the State Police confirmed his agency’s investigation in an email to the Journal on Thursday. Saavedra of CYFD stated in a letter to McGrath that “there is an active investigation.”</p>
<p>A CYFD spokesman on Friday said he was still gathering information in response to other Journal questions – including how the determination was made in 2006 or 2007 that the ranch was a wilderness program and therefore not subject to CYFD licensing. Or, why that status would deter CYFD from investigating an allegation of child abuse.</p>
<p>In documents obtained by the Journal, CYFD said it needed to be called in by a law enforcement agency and could not start its own investigation. State Police have now requested CYFD involvement.</p>
<p>Pegasus legal services disputes that interpretation of the state child abuse statutes, claiming the agency does have authority to investigate child abuse allegations at the ranch.</p>
<p>Pegasus director McGrath also said in a letter to CYFD Secretary Deines that it is obvious the Tierra Blanca Ranch program is a residential program and should be licensed by the state.</p>
<p />
<p /> | 4,457 |
<p>RUSH: We’ve got another tweet going out very soon @Limbaugh on Twitter, and also @RushLimbaugh (and again: no space between RushLimbaugh). We have two places that you can go to follow me, <a href="http://Twitter.com/limbaugh" type="external">@Limbaugh</a> and <a href="http://Twitter.com/rushlimbaugh" type="external">@RushLimbaugh</a>. Another tweet is going out, and another third-generation iPad will be given away today. The way you become eligible? The <a href="" type="internal">contest rules</a> for all of this are at RushLimbaugh.com. That’s the explanation for this. But basically it’s very simple. You simply go to Twitter.com and open an account, and you do that with your e-mail address. That’s it. You don’t really have to do any more to join. Nothing will happen to you as a result of joining. You’re not gonna be solicited and nobody’s gonna be bombarding you, unless you want them to.</p>
<p>You choose people that you wish to follow. And you have the opportunity to retweet things that you see. That’s what we want you to do. Every item that we tweet out to you, we want you to retweet it out. And this expands geometrically the number of people who will see a number of things that we tweeted and want seen. So it’s a tweet in response, reaction to this silly announced effort today by Media Matters: A $100,000 radio campaign to get me off the air. They’re running commercials in some select cities across the country, and I think it’s a sign they’re in trouble. Regardless, this is just one of the many ways we are dealing with this.</p>
<p>People have asked how they can help, and so this is it. This is one way you can. Get a Twitter account, follow <a href="http://Twitter.com/limbaugh" type="external">@Limbaugh</a> or <a href="http://Twitter.com/rushlimbaugh" type="external">@RushLimbaugh</a>, and retweet what we put up there. In the process you become eligible to win a third-generation iPad. The iPad 3. “The new iPad” is what they are officially calling it.</p> | Another Winner in Our Daily Giveaway | true | http://rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2012/03/22/another_winner_in_our_daily_giveaway | 2012-03-22 | 0right
| Another Winner in Our Daily Giveaway
<p>RUSH: We’ve got another tweet going out very soon @Limbaugh on Twitter, and also @RushLimbaugh (and again: no space between RushLimbaugh). We have two places that you can go to follow me, <a href="http://Twitter.com/limbaugh" type="external">@Limbaugh</a> and <a href="http://Twitter.com/rushlimbaugh" type="external">@RushLimbaugh</a>. Another tweet is going out, and another third-generation iPad will be given away today. The way you become eligible? The <a href="" type="internal">contest rules</a> for all of this are at RushLimbaugh.com. That’s the explanation for this. But basically it’s very simple. You simply go to Twitter.com and open an account, and you do that with your e-mail address. That’s it. You don’t really have to do any more to join. Nothing will happen to you as a result of joining. You’re not gonna be solicited and nobody’s gonna be bombarding you, unless you want them to.</p>
<p>You choose people that you wish to follow. And you have the opportunity to retweet things that you see. That’s what we want you to do. Every item that we tweet out to you, we want you to retweet it out. And this expands geometrically the number of people who will see a number of things that we tweeted and want seen. So it’s a tweet in response, reaction to this silly announced effort today by Media Matters: A $100,000 radio campaign to get me off the air. They’re running commercials in some select cities across the country, and I think it’s a sign they’re in trouble. Regardless, this is just one of the many ways we are dealing with this.</p>
<p>People have asked how they can help, and so this is it. This is one way you can. Get a Twitter account, follow <a href="http://Twitter.com/limbaugh" type="external">@Limbaugh</a> or <a href="http://Twitter.com/rushlimbaugh" type="external">@RushLimbaugh</a>, and retweet what we put up there. In the process you become eligible to win a third-generation iPad. The iPad 3. “The new iPad” is what they are officially calling it.</p> | 4,458 |
<p>OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities in Sarpy County south of Omaha say a wrong-way driver caused a head-on crash that killed him and left two others — including a child — seriously injured.</p>
<p>The Sarpy County Sheriff’s Office says the crash happened early Saturday morning on Highway 75 when 32-year-old Juan Pablo Muro, of Lexington, was driving northbound in the southbound lanes of the highway. Officials say a police officer was on the way to the area to check on reports of a wrong-way driver when Muro’s car hit a sport utility vehicle driven by a 32-year-old Bellevue woman.</p>
<p>The woman and her 2-year-old son, who was in the SUV, were seriously injured and remained hospitalized Saturday. Muro died at the scene.</p>
<p>Authorities continue to investigate.</p>
<p>OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities in Sarpy County south of Omaha say a wrong-way driver caused a head-on crash that killed him and left two others — including a child — seriously injured.</p>
<p>The Sarpy County Sheriff’s Office says the crash happened early Saturday morning on Highway 75 when 32-year-old Juan Pablo Muro, of Lexington, was driving northbound in the southbound lanes of the highway. Officials say a police officer was on the way to the area to check on reports of a wrong-way driver when Muro’s car hit a sport utility vehicle driven by a 32-year-old Bellevue woman.</p>
<p>The woman and her 2-year-old son, who was in the SUV, were seriously injured and remained hospitalized Saturday. Muro died at the scene.</p>
<p>Authorities continue to investigate.</p> | Wrong-way driver dies, 2 others injured in Nebraska crash | false | https://apnews.com/7227d4df4d6b42b0a7a11b31374a762c | 2018-01-13 | 2least
| Wrong-way driver dies, 2 others injured in Nebraska crash
<p>OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities in Sarpy County south of Omaha say a wrong-way driver caused a head-on crash that killed him and left two others — including a child — seriously injured.</p>
<p>The Sarpy County Sheriff’s Office says the crash happened early Saturday morning on Highway 75 when 32-year-old Juan Pablo Muro, of Lexington, was driving northbound in the southbound lanes of the highway. Officials say a police officer was on the way to the area to check on reports of a wrong-way driver when Muro’s car hit a sport utility vehicle driven by a 32-year-old Bellevue woman.</p>
<p>The woman and her 2-year-old son, who was in the SUV, were seriously injured and remained hospitalized Saturday. Muro died at the scene.</p>
<p>Authorities continue to investigate.</p>
<p>OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities in Sarpy County south of Omaha say a wrong-way driver caused a head-on crash that killed him and left two others — including a child — seriously injured.</p>
<p>The Sarpy County Sheriff’s Office says the crash happened early Saturday morning on Highway 75 when 32-year-old Juan Pablo Muro, of Lexington, was driving northbound in the southbound lanes of the highway. Officials say a police officer was on the way to the area to check on reports of a wrong-way driver when Muro’s car hit a sport utility vehicle driven by a 32-year-old Bellevue woman.</p>
<p>The woman and her 2-year-old son, who was in the SUV, were seriously injured and remained hospitalized Saturday. Muro died at the scene.</p>
<p>Authorities continue to investigate.</p> | 4,459 |
<p />
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Shares of Abraxas Petroleum (NASDAQ: AXAS) soared 16% by 11 a.m. EDT on Wednesday after the company reported expectation-beating fourth-quarter results.</p>
<p>Despite a challenging operating environment, Abraxas shocked the analyst community by reporting profit during the fourth quarter, ending a string of seven consecutive losing quarters. While the company earned a slim $1 million, or $0.01 per share, after adjustments, that was better than the $0.01 per-share loss that analysts had expected. Fueling the company's stronger-than-expected results was the fact that cash operating expenses came in toward the lower end of management's guidance range, while production came in at the midpoint of the forecast, even though capital spending was 21% lower than than budgeted.</p>
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>As a result of its improving operations, and a recent equity offering, Abraxas sees even better things ahead for 2017. Not only does the company have the financial wherewithal to more than double its budget for capital expenditures this year, but it is pursuing several cost-effective bolt-on acquisition opportunities in the Delaware Basin that could expand its ability to grow.</p>
<p>While Abraxas says that it is working on some compelling acquisitionopportunities, good deals in the Basin are becoming harder to find. Several notable drillers, including Concho Resources (NYSE: CXO), have started to grow more vocal about surging acreage prices. For example, after paying less than $30,000 per acre for land in early 2016, Concho needed to pay more than $40,000 per acre by midyear. Meanwhile, other deals have been above $45,000, to as much as $58,500, over the past few months.</p>
<p>Abraxas seems to have finally turned the corner. Not only has it strengthened its balance sheet, but it has started making money again. That said, the company appears to be getting aggressive with spending, evidenced by the significant budget expansion and plans to make more land deals,which could come back to bite it if oil continues its recent trek back below $50 a barrel.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than Abraxas PetroleumWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*</p>
<p>David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the <a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=651c502c-c48b-486a-a141-f44ab547f12b&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">10 best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now... and Abraxas Petroleum wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.</p>
<p><a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=651c502c-c48b-486a-a141-f44ab547f12b&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</a> to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of February 6, 2017</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFmd19/info.aspx" type="external">Matt DiLallo Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. 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> | Abraxas Petroleum Corp.'s Surprise Profit Sends Stock Soaring | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/03/15/abraxas-petroleum-corp-surprise-profit-sends-stock-soaring.html | 2017-03-17 | 0right
| Abraxas Petroleum Corp.'s Surprise Profit Sends Stock Soaring
<p />
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Shares of Abraxas Petroleum (NASDAQ: AXAS) soared 16% by 11 a.m. EDT on Wednesday after the company reported expectation-beating fourth-quarter results.</p>
<p>Despite a challenging operating environment, Abraxas shocked the analyst community by reporting profit during the fourth quarter, ending a string of seven consecutive losing quarters. While the company earned a slim $1 million, or $0.01 per share, after adjustments, that was better than the $0.01 per-share loss that analysts had expected. Fueling the company's stronger-than-expected results was the fact that cash operating expenses came in toward the lower end of management's guidance range, while production came in at the midpoint of the forecast, even though capital spending was 21% lower than than budgeted.</p>
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>As a result of its improving operations, and a recent equity offering, Abraxas sees even better things ahead for 2017. Not only does the company have the financial wherewithal to more than double its budget for capital expenditures this year, but it is pursuing several cost-effective bolt-on acquisition opportunities in the Delaware Basin that could expand its ability to grow.</p>
<p>While Abraxas says that it is working on some compelling acquisitionopportunities, good deals in the Basin are becoming harder to find. Several notable drillers, including Concho Resources (NYSE: CXO), have started to grow more vocal about surging acreage prices. For example, after paying less than $30,000 per acre for land in early 2016, Concho needed to pay more than $40,000 per acre by midyear. Meanwhile, other deals have been above $45,000, to as much as $58,500, over the past few months.</p>
<p>Abraxas seems to have finally turned the corner. Not only has it strengthened its balance sheet, but it has started making money again. That said, the company appears to be getting aggressive with spending, evidenced by the significant budget expansion and plans to make more land deals,which could come back to bite it if oil continues its recent trek back below $50 a barrel.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than Abraxas PetroleumWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*</p>
<p>David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the <a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=651c502c-c48b-486a-a141-f44ab547f12b&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">10 best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now... and Abraxas Petroleum wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.</p>
<p><a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=651c502c-c48b-486a-a141-f44ab547f12b&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</a> to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of February 6, 2017</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFmd19/info.aspx" type="external">Matt DiLallo Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | 4,460 |
<p>Jan 18 (Reuters) - Netscout Systems Inc:</p>
<p>* NETSCOUT SYSTEMS INC - ‍ON JAN. 16, CO ENTERED INTO AN AMENDMENT AND RESTATEMENT OF ITS CREDIT AGREEMENT, DATED AS OF JULY 14, 2015 - SEC FILING​</p>
<p>* NETSCOUT SYSTEMS INC - ‍COMMITMENTS UNDER AMENDED CREDIT AGREEMENT WILL EXPIRE ON JANUARY 16, 2023, AND ANY OUTSTANDING LOANS WILL BE DUE ON THAT DATE​</p>
<p>* NETSCOUT SYSTEMS INC - ‍AMENDED CREDIT AGREEMENT PROVIDES FOR A NEW FIVE-YEAR $1 BILLION SENIOR SECURED REVOLVING CREDIT FACILITY​</p>
<p>* NETSCOUT SYSTEMS INC - ‍ AMENDED CREDIT AGREEMENT ALSO PROVIDES FOR LETTER OF CREDIT SUB-FACILITY OF UP TO $75 MILLION Source text: ( <a href="http://bit.ly/2FOSMZQ" type="external">bit.ly/2FOSMZQ</a>) Further company coverage:</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippines’ privacy watchdog said on Friday it has started investigating Facebook Inc ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=FB.O" type="external">FB.O</a>) over a data breach involving British firm Cambridge Analytica that affected more than a million Filipino users of social media.</p> FILE PHOTO: Silhouettes of mobile users are seen next to a screen projection of Facebook logo in this picture illustration taken March 28, 2018. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File photo
<p>The move follows a decision by European Union privacy watchdogs to look deeper into the harvesting of personal data from social networks for economic or political purposes.</p>
<p>Outside the United States, the Philippines had the largest amount of user data acquired by Cambridge Analytica, with 1.17 million accounts in the country affected, the National Privacy Commission (NPC) said last week.</p>
<p>In a letter to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, dated April 11, the NPC said it would look into how Facebook shares personal data of Filipino users with third parties, and demand concrete action to protect their data privacy rights.</p>
<p>“We are launching an investigation into Facebook to determine whether there is unauthorized processing of personal data of Filipinos, and other possible violations of the Data Privacy Act,” it said in the letter, made available to the media on Friday.</p>
<p>A Facebook spokesperson said the company is committed to protecting people’s information and is engaged with the Philippines’ privacy watchdog.</p>
<p>“We’ve recently made significant updates to make our&#160;privacy tools easier to find,&#160;restrict data access on Facebook, and&#160;make our terms and data policy clearer,” Facebook said.</p>
<p>Recent research has shown Filipinos to be among the most active social media users in the world, spending on average more than four hours a day on platforms like Facebook.</p>
<p>Facebook has admitted that personal data of nearly 87 million users was improperly accessed by Cambridge Analytica, which has counted U.S. President Donald Trump’s election campaign among its clients.</p>
<p>A Hong Kong newspaper has said several people involved in President Rodrigo Duterte’s 2016 election campaign had met in 2015 with Alexander Nix, the now-suspended chief executive of Cambridge Analytica.</p>
<a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=FB.O" type="external">Facebook Inc</a> 163.87 FB.O Nasdaq -- (--%) FB.O
<p>Those officials said the meeting with Nix was during a lunch break at an information technology seminar in Manila and there has been no contact since.</p>
<p>The president’s spokesman said on Tuesday that Duterte’s election campaign did not rely on information bought from anybody, nor did it hire Cambridge Analytica’s services.</p>
<p>Duterte, a former mayor from outside of the sphere of national politics, successfully tapped Filipinos’ insatiable appetite for social media to help him win a 2016 election by a huge margin.</p>
<p>His office uses social media with gusto, courting popular bloggers, in some cases hiring them, to promote Duterte and discredit his opponents, and amplifying the message through “shares” and “likes”.</p>
<p>Duterte, however, has said he does not need social media, and on Friday denied any links to Cambridge Analytica.</p>
<p>“Why will I pay those Cambridge fools to work on my campaign? I could have lost with that,” Duterte told reporters.</p>
<p>Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales; Editing by Martin Petty and Eric Meijer</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors are optimistic that a pickup in corporate acquisitions stands to support the volatile U.S. stock market, and does not represent a worrisome cyclical sign.</p> Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., April 5, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
<p>Global mergers and acquisitions have had their strongest start to a year ever, according to data from Thomson Reuters Deals Intelligence. The $1.23 trillion in first-quarter global deal-making came in just shy of the $1.31 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2015, which on a quarterly basis marked a multi-year high.</p>
<p>However, heightened deal-making could be an ominous signal, if it suggests companies are desperate to find growth as the economic expansion winds down, or if it indicates a euphoria echoed among stock investors. For example, global M&amp;A on a quarterly basis hit multi-year peaks in 2000 and in 2007, preceding sustained stock market declines.</p>
<p>But market watchers told Reuters they see other reasons for the latest rise in mergers and acquisitions – including incentives from U.S. tax reform and the desire to take advantage of still relatively low interest rates – and instead view the M&amp;A pop as positive for stocks.</p>
<p>“It’s a sign we’re late in the cycle and it eventually gets worrisome,” said Jeffrey Kleintop, chief global investment strategist at Charles Schwab in Boston. “But in the near term it’s probably a plus in that you get deal premiums and more money employed in taking equity out.”</p>
<p>For an interactive graphic on global deal-making, click <a href="" type="internal">here</a></p>
<p>At a time when some on Wall Street worry stocks are trading at expensive valuation levels, investors said the willingness by companies to make purchases is encouraging.</p>
<p>“To the extent you can get cash deals done, it provides a lot of support for the market,” said Rick Meckler, president of investment firm LibertyView Capital Management in Jersey City, New Jersey.</p>
<p>“It takes out equities, where holders are likely to reinvest in other stocks, and helps re-establish that the prices that stocks are trading at are not too high.”</p>
<p>Global quarterly deal-making hit a record $1.42 trillion in the second quarter of 2007. Several months later the S&amp;P 500 began a decline that eventually cut the benchmark index by more than half as the U.S. economy sank into one of the worst recessions in decades.</p>
<p>King Lip, chief investment strategist at Baker Avenue Asset Management in San Francisco, recalls that 2007 M&amp;A spree as fueled by debt, and at the time, there were other signs the economic expansion cycle was ending, as opposed to now.</p>
<p>“I just think we are not at that point in the cycle,” Lip said. “I still think we are mid-cycle in terms of this recovery.”</p>
<p>Indeed, investors point to overall strength in the economy, including S&amp;P 500 profits expected to rise about 20 percent this year.</p>
<p>Another factor that separates the current climate is the recently enacted U.S. tax law, which cuts the corporate rate to 21 percent from 35 percent and includes a tax break for multi-national companies to bring back profits stored overseas.</p>
<p>“I just view this increase in M&amp;A more so related to the increased levels of cash that tax reform is producing,” said Lindsey Bell, investment strategist at CFRA Research in New York.</p>
<p>While the spike in deal-making can indicate too much euphoria in the market, the lack of other indicators also pointing toward over-confidence suggests M&amp;A could be an outlier in this respect, says Stephen Massocca, managing director at Wedbush Securities in San Francisco.</p>
<p>M&amp;A is “more positive than negative right now,” Massocca said. “If everything was over-euphoric, and people were more and more positive, then I would think it is a more dangerous indicator than it is today.”</p>
<p>Reporting by Lewis Krauskopf; editing by Diane Craft</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>WASHINGTON/UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - President Donald Trump and his national security aides on Thursday discussed U.S. options on Syria, where he has threatened missile strikes in response to a suspected poison gas attack, as a Russian envoy voiced fears of wider conflict between Washington and Moscow.</p>
<p>Worries about a confrontation between Russia, Syria’s big ally, and the West have been running high since Trump said on Wednesday that missiles “will be coming” in response to the attack in the Syrian town of Douma on April 7, and lambasted Moscow for standing by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.</p>
<p>Trump tempered those remarks on Thursday and even as he consulted allies such and Britain and France, who could join in any U.S.-led strikes on Syria, there were signs of efforts to prevent the crisis from spiraling out of control.</p>
<p>“Never said when an attack on Syria would take place. Could be very soon or not so soon at all!” Trump wrote on Twitter, raising the prospect that an attack might not be as imminent as he seemed to suggest the day before.</p>
<p>Trump met his national security team on the situation in Syria later in the day and “no final decision has been made,” the White House said in a statement.</p>
<p>“We are continuing to assess intelligence and are engaged in conversations with our partners and allies,” it said.</p> Related Coverage
<a href="/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-britain-corbyn/uk-should-press-for-u-n-led-investigation-in-syria-opposition-leader-corbyn-idUSKBN1HK0JN" type="external">UK should press for U.N.-led investigation in Syria: opposition leader Corbyn</a>
<a href="/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-allies-factbox/factbox-assads-foreign-backers-in-syrias-war-idUSKBN1HJ2DE" type="external">Factbox: Assad's foreign backers in Syria's war</a>
<p>That did not necessarily signal, however, that Trump was cooling to the idea of military action, especially given the high stakes in Syria. U.S. officials noted that Washington was still assessing intelligence and coordinating allies.</p>
<p>For graphic on overview of chemical warfare click: <a href="" type="internal">here</a></p>
<p>Trump spoke to British Prime Minister Theresa May on Thursday and the two leaders talked about the “need for a joint response to Syria’s use of chemical weapons,” the White House said.</p>
<p>May’s office said they agreed on the need to deter Assad’s government from further such attacks.</p>
<p>Trump was also due to speak with French President Emmanuel Macron, who said France had proof the Syrian government carried out the attack near Damascus, which aid groups have said killed dozens of people, and will decide whether to strike back when all the necessary information has been gathered.</p>
<p>“We have proof that last week ... chemical weapons were used, at least with chlorine, and that they were used by the regime of Bashar al-Assad,” Macron said, without offering details of any evidence.</p>
<p>Two U.S. officials familiar with an investigation of samples from Douma and the symptoms of victims said initial indications that a mix of weaponized chlorine gas and sarin were used in the attack appeared to be correct. But U.S. intelligence agencies have not completed their assessment or reached a final conclusion, the officials said.</p>
<p>Russia, Syria and its other main backer, Iran, have said reports of the Douma attack were fabricated by rebels and rescue workers and have accused the United States of seeking to use it as a pretext to attack the Syrian government.</p>
<p>Russia said it deployed military police in Douma on Thursday after the town was taken over by government forces.</p>
<p>“They are the guarantors of law and order in the town,” RIA news agency quoted Russia’s defense ministry as saying.</p>
<p>There were signs of a global effort to head off a direct confrontation between Russia and the West. The Kremlin said a crisis communications link with the United States, created to avoid an accidental clash over Syria, was in use.</p> FEARS OF WAR
<p>Vassily Nebenzia, Moscow’s ambassador to the United Nations, said he “cannot exclude” war between the United States and Russia and urged Washington and its allies to refrain from military action against Syria.</p>
<p>“The immediate priority is to avert the danger of war,” he told reporters. “We hope there will be no point of no return,” the envoy said.</p>
<p>A team of experts from the global chemical weapons watchdog, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, was traveling to Syria and will start its investigations on Saturday, the Netherlands-based agency said.</p>
<p>It was not clear whether Trump and U.S. allies would wait for the results of the investigation before deciding on a strike.</p> U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with governors and members of Congress at the White House in Washington, U.S., April 12, 2018. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
<p>U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told Congress he believed there was a chemical attack in Syria, but added a short while later that the United States had not made any decision to launch military action. He also suggested he was examining ways to prevent any strikes from triggering a broader conflict.</p>
<p>“I don’t want to talk about a specific attack that is not yet in the offing ... This would be pre-decisional,” Mattis told the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee.</p>
<p>Moscow is estimated to have dozens of aircraft at its Hmeymim air base in Syria including fighters and bombers, as well as 10 to 15 warships and support vessels in the Mediterranean.</p>
<p>The Syrian government and Russian forces in Syria possess truck-mounted surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft artillery weapons systems.</p>
<p>Nervous world stock markets showed signs of recovery after Trump’s signal that military strikes might not be imminent.</p>
<p>Britain’s May won backing from her senior ministers to take unspecified action with the United States and France to deter further use of chemical weapons by Syria.</p> Slideshow (3 Images)
<p>May had recalled the ministers from their Easter holiday for the meeting to discuss Britain’s response to what she has cast as a barbaric attack that cannot go unchallenged.</p>
<p>Russian ships had left the Tartus naval base in Syria, Interfax news agency quoted a Russian lawmaker as saying. Vladimir Shamanov, who chairs the defense committee of the lower house, said the vessels had departed the base for their own safety, which was “normal practice” when there were threats of attack.</p>
<p>Any U.S. strike would probably involve the Navy, given the risk to aircraft from Russian and Syrian air defenses. A U.S. guided-missile destroyer, the USS Donald Cook, is in the Mediterranean. Last year, the United States carried out strikes from two Navy destroyers against a Syrian air base after another deadly toxic gas attack on a rebel-controlled area.</p>
<p>Reporting by Jeff Mason in Washington and Michelle Nichols at the United Nations; Additional reporting by Angus McDowall in Beirut, William James, Guy Faulconbridge and David Milliken in London, Andrew Osborn, Maria Kiselyova and Jack Stubbs in Moscow, John Irish in Paris, Graham Fahy in Dublin and John Walcott, Phil Stewart, Matt Spetalnick and Idrees Ali in Washington; Writing by Alistair Bell and Matt Spetalnick; Editing by Will Dunham and Peter Cooney</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>LONDON (Reuters) - Britain should press for an independent U.N.-led investigation into the suspected chemical attack in Syria rather than wait for instructions from the U.S. President Donald Trump on how to proceed, opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn said.</p> Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of Britain's Labour Party, speaks at the launch of their local election campaign, in London, April 9, 2018. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
<p>Prime Minister Theresa May on Thursday won backing from her senior ministers to take unspecified action with the United States and France to deter further use of chemical weapons by Syria. Corbyn has said parliament should be consulted before any military action.</p>
<p>“The government appears to be waiting for instructions from President Donald Trump on how to proceed,” the Labour Party leader said in a statement.</p>
<p>“Britain should press for an independent U.N.-led investigation of last weekend’s horrific chemical weapons attack so that those responsible can be held to account.”&#160;</p>
<p>Reporting by Kate Holton; Editing by Alison Williams</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a> | BRIEF-Netscout Systems Enters Into Amendment And Restatement Of Credit Agreement Philippines' watchdog probes Facebook over Cambridge Analytica data breach Deal-making spike seen as positive sign for U.S. stock market, for now Trump weighs Syria options, Russia envoy says he 'cannot exclude' war UK should press for U.N.-led investigation in Syria: opposition leader Corbyn | false | https://reuters.com/article/brief-netscout-systems-enters-into-amend/brief-netscout-systems-enters-into-amendment-and-restatement-of-credit-agreement-idUSFWN1PD1D9 | 2018-01-18 | 2least
| BRIEF-Netscout Systems Enters Into Amendment And Restatement Of Credit Agreement Philippines' watchdog probes Facebook over Cambridge Analytica data breach Deal-making spike seen as positive sign for U.S. stock market, for now Trump weighs Syria options, Russia envoy says he 'cannot exclude' war UK should press for U.N.-led investigation in Syria: opposition leader Corbyn
<p>Jan 18 (Reuters) - Netscout Systems Inc:</p>
<p>* NETSCOUT SYSTEMS INC - ‍ON JAN. 16, CO ENTERED INTO AN AMENDMENT AND RESTATEMENT OF ITS CREDIT AGREEMENT, DATED AS OF JULY 14, 2015 - SEC FILING​</p>
<p>* NETSCOUT SYSTEMS INC - ‍COMMITMENTS UNDER AMENDED CREDIT AGREEMENT WILL EXPIRE ON JANUARY 16, 2023, AND ANY OUTSTANDING LOANS WILL BE DUE ON THAT DATE​</p>
<p>* NETSCOUT SYSTEMS INC - ‍AMENDED CREDIT AGREEMENT PROVIDES FOR A NEW FIVE-YEAR $1 BILLION SENIOR SECURED REVOLVING CREDIT FACILITY​</p>
<p>* NETSCOUT SYSTEMS INC - ‍ AMENDED CREDIT AGREEMENT ALSO PROVIDES FOR LETTER OF CREDIT SUB-FACILITY OF UP TO $75 MILLION Source text: ( <a href="http://bit.ly/2FOSMZQ" type="external">bit.ly/2FOSMZQ</a>) Further company coverage:</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippines’ privacy watchdog said on Friday it has started investigating Facebook Inc ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=FB.O" type="external">FB.O</a>) over a data breach involving British firm Cambridge Analytica that affected more than a million Filipino users of social media.</p> FILE PHOTO: Silhouettes of mobile users are seen next to a screen projection of Facebook logo in this picture illustration taken March 28, 2018. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File photo
<p>The move follows a decision by European Union privacy watchdogs to look deeper into the harvesting of personal data from social networks for economic or political purposes.</p>
<p>Outside the United States, the Philippines had the largest amount of user data acquired by Cambridge Analytica, with 1.17 million accounts in the country affected, the National Privacy Commission (NPC) said last week.</p>
<p>In a letter to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, dated April 11, the NPC said it would look into how Facebook shares personal data of Filipino users with third parties, and demand concrete action to protect their data privacy rights.</p>
<p>“We are launching an investigation into Facebook to determine whether there is unauthorized processing of personal data of Filipinos, and other possible violations of the Data Privacy Act,” it said in the letter, made available to the media on Friday.</p>
<p>A Facebook spokesperson said the company is committed to protecting people’s information and is engaged with the Philippines’ privacy watchdog.</p>
<p>“We’ve recently made significant updates to make our&#160;privacy tools easier to find,&#160;restrict data access on Facebook, and&#160;make our terms and data policy clearer,” Facebook said.</p>
<p>Recent research has shown Filipinos to be among the most active social media users in the world, spending on average more than four hours a day on platforms like Facebook.</p>
<p>Facebook has admitted that personal data of nearly 87 million users was improperly accessed by Cambridge Analytica, which has counted U.S. President Donald Trump’s election campaign among its clients.</p>
<p>A Hong Kong newspaper has said several people involved in President Rodrigo Duterte’s 2016 election campaign had met in 2015 with Alexander Nix, the now-suspended chief executive of Cambridge Analytica.</p>
<a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=FB.O" type="external">Facebook Inc</a> 163.87 FB.O Nasdaq -- (--%) FB.O
<p>Those officials said the meeting with Nix was during a lunch break at an information technology seminar in Manila and there has been no contact since.</p>
<p>The president’s spokesman said on Tuesday that Duterte’s election campaign did not rely on information bought from anybody, nor did it hire Cambridge Analytica’s services.</p>
<p>Duterte, a former mayor from outside of the sphere of national politics, successfully tapped Filipinos’ insatiable appetite for social media to help him win a 2016 election by a huge margin.</p>
<p>His office uses social media with gusto, courting popular bloggers, in some cases hiring them, to promote Duterte and discredit his opponents, and amplifying the message through “shares” and “likes”.</p>
<p>Duterte, however, has said he does not need social media, and on Friday denied any links to Cambridge Analytica.</p>
<p>“Why will I pay those Cambridge fools to work on my campaign? I could have lost with that,” Duterte told reporters.</p>
<p>Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales; Editing by Martin Petty and Eric Meijer</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors are optimistic that a pickup in corporate acquisitions stands to support the volatile U.S. stock market, and does not represent a worrisome cyclical sign.</p> Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., April 5, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
<p>Global mergers and acquisitions have had their strongest start to a year ever, according to data from Thomson Reuters Deals Intelligence. The $1.23 trillion in first-quarter global deal-making came in just shy of the $1.31 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2015, which on a quarterly basis marked a multi-year high.</p>
<p>However, heightened deal-making could be an ominous signal, if it suggests companies are desperate to find growth as the economic expansion winds down, or if it indicates a euphoria echoed among stock investors. For example, global M&amp;A on a quarterly basis hit multi-year peaks in 2000 and in 2007, preceding sustained stock market declines.</p>
<p>But market watchers told Reuters they see other reasons for the latest rise in mergers and acquisitions – including incentives from U.S. tax reform and the desire to take advantage of still relatively low interest rates – and instead view the M&amp;A pop as positive for stocks.</p>
<p>“It’s a sign we’re late in the cycle and it eventually gets worrisome,” said Jeffrey Kleintop, chief global investment strategist at Charles Schwab in Boston. “But in the near term it’s probably a plus in that you get deal premiums and more money employed in taking equity out.”</p>
<p>For an interactive graphic on global deal-making, click <a href="" type="internal">here</a></p>
<p>At a time when some on Wall Street worry stocks are trading at expensive valuation levels, investors said the willingness by companies to make purchases is encouraging.</p>
<p>“To the extent you can get cash deals done, it provides a lot of support for the market,” said Rick Meckler, president of investment firm LibertyView Capital Management in Jersey City, New Jersey.</p>
<p>“It takes out equities, where holders are likely to reinvest in other stocks, and helps re-establish that the prices that stocks are trading at are not too high.”</p>
<p>Global quarterly deal-making hit a record $1.42 trillion in the second quarter of 2007. Several months later the S&amp;P 500 began a decline that eventually cut the benchmark index by more than half as the U.S. economy sank into one of the worst recessions in decades.</p>
<p>King Lip, chief investment strategist at Baker Avenue Asset Management in San Francisco, recalls that 2007 M&amp;A spree as fueled by debt, and at the time, there were other signs the economic expansion cycle was ending, as opposed to now.</p>
<p>“I just think we are not at that point in the cycle,” Lip said. “I still think we are mid-cycle in terms of this recovery.”</p>
<p>Indeed, investors point to overall strength in the economy, including S&amp;P 500 profits expected to rise about 20 percent this year.</p>
<p>Another factor that separates the current climate is the recently enacted U.S. tax law, which cuts the corporate rate to 21 percent from 35 percent and includes a tax break for multi-national companies to bring back profits stored overseas.</p>
<p>“I just view this increase in M&amp;A more so related to the increased levels of cash that tax reform is producing,” said Lindsey Bell, investment strategist at CFRA Research in New York.</p>
<p>While the spike in deal-making can indicate too much euphoria in the market, the lack of other indicators also pointing toward over-confidence suggests M&amp;A could be an outlier in this respect, says Stephen Massocca, managing director at Wedbush Securities in San Francisco.</p>
<p>M&amp;A is “more positive than negative right now,” Massocca said. “If everything was over-euphoric, and people were more and more positive, then I would think it is a more dangerous indicator than it is today.”</p>
<p>Reporting by Lewis Krauskopf; editing by Diane Craft</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>WASHINGTON/UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - President Donald Trump and his national security aides on Thursday discussed U.S. options on Syria, where he has threatened missile strikes in response to a suspected poison gas attack, as a Russian envoy voiced fears of wider conflict between Washington and Moscow.</p>
<p>Worries about a confrontation between Russia, Syria’s big ally, and the West have been running high since Trump said on Wednesday that missiles “will be coming” in response to the attack in the Syrian town of Douma on April 7, and lambasted Moscow for standing by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.</p>
<p>Trump tempered those remarks on Thursday and even as he consulted allies such and Britain and France, who could join in any U.S.-led strikes on Syria, there were signs of efforts to prevent the crisis from spiraling out of control.</p>
<p>“Never said when an attack on Syria would take place. Could be very soon or not so soon at all!” Trump wrote on Twitter, raising the prospect that an attack might not be as imminent as he seemed to suggest the day before.</p>
<p>Trump met his national security team on the situation in Syria later in the day and “no final decision has been made,” the White House said in a statement.</p>
<p>“We are continuing to assess intelligence and are engaged in conversations with our partners and allies,” it said.</p> Related Coverage
<a href="/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-britain-corbyn/uk-should-press-for-u-n-led-investigation-in-syria-opposition-leader-corbyn-idUSKBN1HK0JN" type="external">UK should press for U.N.-led investigation in Syria: opposition leader Corbyn</a>
<a href="/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-allies-factbox/factbox-assads-foreign-backers-in-syrias-war-idUSKBN1HJ2DE" type="external">Factbox: Assad's foreign backers in Syria's war</a>
<p>That did not necessarily signal, however, that Trump was cooling to the idea of military action, especially given the high stakes in Syria. U.S. officials noted that Washington was still assessing intelligence and coordinating allies.</p>
<p>For graphic on overview of chemical warfare click: <a href="" type="internal">here</a></p>
<p>Trump spoke to British Prime Minister Theresa May on Thursday and the two leaders talked about the “need for a joint response to Syria’s use of chemical weapons,” the White House said.</p>
<p>May’s office said they agreed on the need to deter Assad’s government from further such attacks.</p>
<p>Trump was also due to speak with French President Emmanuel Macron, who said France had proof the Syrian government carried out the attack near Damascus, which aid groups have said killed dozens of people, and will decide whether to strike back when all the necessary information has been gathered.</p>
<p>“We have proof that last week ... chemical weapons were used, at least with chlorine, and that they were used by the regime of Bashar al-Assad,” Macron said, without offering details of any evidence.</p>
<p>Two U.S. officials familiar with an investigation of samples from Douma and the symptoms of victims said initial indications that a mix of weaponized chlorine gas and sarin were used in the attack appeared to be correct. But U.S. intelligence agencies have not completed their assessment or reached a final conclusion, the officials said.</p>
<p>Russia, Syria and its other main backer, Iran, have said reports of the Douma attack were fabricated by rebels and rescue workers and have accused the United States of seeking to use it as a pretext to attack the Syrian government.</p>
<p>Russia said it deployed military police in Douma on Thursday after the town was taken over by government forces.</p>
<p>“They are the guarantors of law and order in the town,” RIA news agency quoted Russia’s defense ministry as saying.</p>
<p>There were signs of a global effort to head off a direct confrontation between Russia and the West. The Kremlin said a crisis communications link with the United States, created to avoid an accidental clash over Syria, was in use.</p> FEARS OF WAR
<p>Vassily Nebenzia, Moscow’s ambassador to the United Nations, said he “cannot exclude” war between the United States and Russia and urged Washington and its allies to refrain from military action against Syria.</p>
<p>“The immediate priority is to avert the danger of war,” he told reporters. “We hope there will be no point of no return,” the envoy said.</p>
<p>A team of experts from the global chemical weapons watchdog, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, was traveling to Syria and will start its investigations on Saturday, the Netherlands-based agency said.</p>
<p>It was not clear whether Trump and U.S. allies would wait for the results of the investigation before deciding on a strike.</p> U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with governors and members of Congress at the White House in Washington, U.S., April 12, 2018. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
<p>U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told Congress he believed there was a chemical attack in Syria, but added a short while later that the United States had not made any decision to launch military action. He also suggested he was examining ways to prevent any strikes from triggering a broader conflict.</p>
<p>“I don’t want to talk about a specific attack that is not yet in the offing ... This would be pre-decisional,” Mattis told the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee.</p>
<p>Moscow is estimated to have dozens of aircraft at its Hmeymim air base in Syria including fighters and bombers, as well as 10 to 15 warships and support vessels in the Mediterranean.</p>
<p>The Syrian government and Russian forces in Syria possess truck-mounted surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft artillery weapons systems.</p>
<p>Nervous world stock markets showed signs of recovery after Trump’s signal that military strikes might not be imminent.</p>
<p>Britain’s May won backing from her senior ministers to take unspecified action with the United States and France to deter further use of chemical weapons by Syria.</p> Slideshow (3 Images)
<p>May had recalled the ministers from their Easter holiday for the meeting to discuss Britain’s response to what she has cast as a barbaric attack that cannot go unchallenged.</p>
<p>Russian ships had left the Tartus naval base in Syria, Interfax news agency quoted a Russian lawmaker as saying. Vladimir Shamanov, who chairs the defense committee of the lower house, said the vessels had departed the base for their own safety, which was “normal practice” when there were threats of attack.</p>
<p>Any U.S. strike would probably involve the Navy, given the risk to aircraft from Russian and Syrian air defenses. A U.S. guided-missile destroyer, the USS Donald Cook, is in the Mediterranean. Last year, the United States carried out strikes from two Navy destroyers against a Syrian air base after another deadly toxic gas attack on a rebel-controlled area.</p>
<p>Reporting by Jeff Mason in Washington and Michelle Nichols at the United Nations; Additional reporting by Angus McDowall in Beirut, William James, Guy Faulconbridge and David Milliken in London, Andrew Osborn, Maria Kiselyova and Jack Stubbs in Moscow, John Irish in Paris, Graham Fahy in Dublin and John Walcott, Phil Stewart, Matt Spetalnick and Idrees Ali in Washington; Writing by Alistair Bell and Matt Spetalnick; Editing by Will Dunham and Peter Cooney</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>LONDON (Reuters) - Britain should press for an independent U.N.-led investigation into the suspected chemical attack in Syria rather than wait for instructions from the U.S. President Donald Trump on how to proceed, opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn said.</p> Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of Britain's Labour Party, speaks at the launch of their local election campaign, in London, April 9, 2018. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
<p>Prime Minister Theresa May on Thursday won backing from her senior ministers to take unspecified action with the United States and France to deter further use of chemical weapons by Syria. Corbyn has said parliament should be consulted before any military action.</p>
<p>“The government appears to be waiting for instructions from President Donald Trump on how to proceed,” the Labour Party leader said in a statement.</p>
<p>“Britain should press for an independent U.N.-led investigation of last weekend’s horrific chemical weapons attack so that those responsible can be held to account.”&#160;</p>
<p>Reporting by Kate Holton; Editing by Alison Williams</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a> | 4,461 |
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<p>The Sandia Mountains will have snow on the ground for Christmas this year, but the only hope for falling snow is near the Colorado border. (Journal File)</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — If your goal is a white Christmas this year, you’re going to have to be flexible. This is, after all, a desert.</p>
<p>“I think your only hope is near the Colorado border,” National Weather Service meteorologist Andy Church said Monday afternoon as he went over the forecast for the next few days.</p>
<p>Church’s suggestion applies to purists, those who demand actual falling snow to meet the expectations created by Irving Berlin’s 1940s “White Christmas” – children listening for sleigh bells in the snow, hammered into the American zeitgeist. For those purists, the only hope is a weak storm grazing the state’s northern mountains this evening and Christmas Day.</p>
<p>If all you need is snow on the ground, treetops are glistening in most of the state’s high country right now, especially the Sangre de Cristos, which had a snowpack Monday slightly above average for this time of year, according to federal snow surveyors. Sandia Peak is reporting more than 2 feet of snow.</p>
<p>But if your Christmas plans involve staying put in the state’s lowlands, you can take heart in the song’s rarely sung opening verse. Legend has it that Berlin wrote it while ensconced in a desert Southwest resort, with the song’s narrator bemoaning a warm and sunny Christmas.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“The sun is shining,” Berlin wrote, “the grass is green.”</p>
<p>On Christmas Day, Church said, it’ll reach only the mid-40s in Albuquerque, but sun? “It looks like there won’t be a cloud in the sky.”</p>
<p />
<p /> | Hoping for a white Christmas? | false | https://abqjournal.com/325798/youll-need-to-climb-the-mountain.html | 2least
| Hoping for a white Christmas?
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>The Sandia Mountains will have snow on the ground for Christmas this year, but the only hope for falling snow is near the Colorado border. (Journal File)</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — If your goal is a white Christmas this year, you’re going to have to be flexible. This is, after all, a desert.</p>
<p>“I think your only hope is near the Colorado border,” National Weather Service meteorologist Andy Church said Monday afternoon as he went over the forecast for the next few days.</p>
<p>Church’s suggestion applies to purists, those who demand actual falling snow to meet the expectations created by Irving Berlin’s 1940s “White Christmas” – children listening for sleigh bells in the snow, hammered into the American zeitgeist. For those purists, the only hope is a weak storm grazing the state’s northern mountains this evening and Christmas Day.</p>
<p>If all you need is snow on the ground, treetops are glistening in most of the state’s high country right now, especially the Sangre de Cristos, which had a snowpack Monday slightly above average for this time of year, according to federal snow surveyors. Sandia Peak is reporting more than 2 feet of snow.</p>
<p>But if your Christmas plans involve staying put in the state’s lowlands, you can take heart in the song’s rarely sung opening verse. Legend has it that Berlin wrote it while ensconced in a desert Southwest resort, with the song’s narrator bemoaning a warm and sunny Christmas.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“The sun is shining,” Berlin wrote, “the grass is green.”</p>
<p>On Christmas Day, Church said, it’ll reach only the mid-40s in Albuquerque, but sun? “It looks like there won’t be a cloud in the sky.”</p>
<p />
<p /> | 4,462 |
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<p>As the sad medical news about Ted Kennedy sinks in, a number of his colleagues and even some of his political enemies have responded. Time's Mark Halperin has collected the statements of the presidential candidates, the president and others.</p>
<p>The Page:</p>
<p>White House: President Bush is "deeply saddened" by the news.</p>
<p>Pelosi: "I know that that fighting spirit will hold him in good stead in the challenges that he's facing now."</p>
<p />
<p>Sen. Robert Byrd breaks down in tears when discussing Kennedy on the Senate floor. Says "Thank God for you, Ted" and "I love you."</p>
<p><a href="http://thepage.time.com/2008/05/20/ap-kennedy-has-a-brain-tumor/" type="external">Read more</a></p> | Friends and Foes Respond to Kennedy News | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/friends-and-foes-respond-to-kennedy-news/ | 2008-05-21 | 4left
| Friends and Foes Respond to Kennedy News
<p>As the sad medical news about Ted Kennedy sinks in, a number of his colleagues and even some of his political enemies have responded. Time's Mark Halperin has collected the statements of the presidential candidates, the president and others.</p>
<p>The Page:</p>
<p>White House: President Bush is "deeply saddened" by the news.</p>
<p>Pelosi: "I know that that fighting spirit will hold him in good stead in the challenges that he's facing now."</p>
<p />
<p>Sen. Robert Byrd breaks down in tears when discussing Kennedy on the Senate floor. Says "Thank God for you, Ted" and "I love you."</p>
<p><a href="http://thepage.time.com/2008/05/20/ap-kennedy-has-a-brain-tumor/" type="external">Read more</a></p> | 4,463 |
<p>CARSON CITY — President Donald Trump’s Wednesday visit to Reno is drawing attention from Nevada’s elected officials following controversy since the <a href="" type="internal">violence in Charlottesville</a>, Virginia, involving white supremacists.</p>
<p>Clark County Commission Chairman Steve Sisolak released a letter to Trump on Monday, calling on the president to forcefully denounce racism. Trump is set to speak Wednesday morning at the American Legion’s national convention in Reno.</p>
<p>Trump last week ignited furor by saying, <a href="" type="internal">“I think there is blame on both sides”</a> when talking about the violence in Charlottesville.</p>
<p>Sisolak, a Democrat who is running for governor in 2018, wrote that he hopes Trump focuses on American heroes, in the spirit of the American Legion, a veterans group.</p>
<p>“However, like many Nevadans, I am deeply concerned by your recent comments defending white supremacists,” Sisolak continued. “Like the rest of our nation, my neighbors and I have witnessed with disgust recent demonstrations by fringe groups proclaiming hateful, racist, divisive rhetoric that goes against the basic decency that we have come to expect in our public debate.”</p>
<p>Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval will greet Trump in Reno.</p>
<p>“If given the opportunity, I plan to talk to him about federal reimbursement for our veterans home, support for Creech Air Force Base, Nellis Air Force Base and Fallon Naval Air Station and support for our veterans hospitals and cemeteries,” Sandoval said in a statement.</p>
<p>Sisolak said it’s the responsibility of Trump and other officials at the event to lead by example.</p>
<p>“We implore you to use the microphone your office affords and forcefully reject those who would deny the rights of their fellow Americans,” Sisolak wrote. “Speak out against those who seek to silence their opposition with intimidation and, when that fails, outright violence. White supremacists, Nazis, the KKK and other fringe elements should be relegated to the dustbin of history, remembered with shame. Failing to denounce them provides the fuel they thrive on to spread their hateful rhetoric.”</p>
<p>Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve issued a statement last week saying that the Reno Police Department is working to ensure the visit is “no different from any other that has occurred in the past.”</p>
<p>“I encourage the president to deliver a strong message rejecting racism, hate and violence during his visit to our area,” Schieve said.</p>
<p>Contact Ben Botkin at [email protected] or 775-461-0661. Follow <a href="http://www.twitter.com/BenBotkin1" type="external">@BenBotkin1</a> on Twitter.</p> | Sisolak writes letter to Trump ahead of Reno visit | false | https://reviewjournal.com/news/politics-and-government/nevada/sisolak-writes-letter-to-trump-ahead-of-reno-visit/ | 2017-08-21 | 1right-center
| Sisolak writes letter to Trump ahead of Reno visit
<p>CARSON CITY — President Donald Trump’s Wednesday visit to Reno is drawing attention from Nevada’s elected officials following controversy since the <a href="" type="internal">violence in Charlottesville</a>, Virginia, involving white supremacists.</p>
<p>Clark County Commission Chairman Steve Sisolak released a letter to Trump on Monday, calling on the president to forcefully denounce racism. Trump is set to speak Wednesday morning at the American Legion’s national convention in Reno.</p>
<p>Trump last week ignited furor by saying, <a href="" type="internal">“I think there is blame on both sides”</a> when talking about the violence in Charlottesville.</p>
<p>Sisolak, a Democrat who is running for governor in 2018, wrote that he hopes Trump focuses on American heroes, in the spirit of the American Legion, a veterans group.</p>
<p>“However, like many Nevadans, I am deeply concerned by your recent comments defending white supremacists,” Sisolak continued. “Like the rest of our nation, my neighbors and I have witnessed with disgust recent demonstrations by fringe groups proclaiming hateful, racist, divisive rhetoric that goes against the basic decency that we have come to expect in our public debate.”</p>
<p>Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval will greet Trump in Reno.</p>
<p>“If given the opportunity, I plan to talk to him about federal reimbursement for our veterans home, support for Creech Air Force Base, Nellis Air Force Base and Fallon Naval Air Station and support for our veterans hospitals and cemeteries,” Sandoval said in a statement.</p>
<p>Sisolak said it’s the responsibility of Trump and other officials at the event to lead by example.</p>
<p>“We implore you to use the microphone your office affords and forcefully reject those who would deny the rights of their fellow Americans,” Sisolak wrote. “Speak out against those who seek to silence their opposition with intimidation and, when that fails, outright violence. White supremacists, Nazis, the KKK and other fringe elements should be relegated to the dustbin of history, remembered with shame. Failing to denounce them provides the fuel they thrive on to spread their hateful rhetoric.”</p>
<p>Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve issued a statement last week saying that the Reno Police Department is working to ensure the visit is “no different from any other that has occurred in the past.”</p>
<p>“I encourage the president to deliver a strong message rejecting racism, hate and violence during his visit to our area,” Schieve said.</p>
<p>Contact Ben Botkin at [email protected] or 775-461-0661. Follow <a href="http://www.twitter.com/BenBotkin1" type="external">@BenBotkin1</a> on Twitter.</p> | 4,464 |
<p>December just might be the most exciting month for makeup. With all of the different parties, you get the opportunity to show off a ton of different looks, from bold red lips that match your Christmas decorations to sparkles and glitter on New Year's Eve. But it can also be a little overwhelming, especially during one of the busiest times of the year. So we're here to help with a list of the 10 makeup must-haves for the holiday season!</p>
<p>Sunglasses are constantly on our mind when it comes to summer fashion, but they totally get overlooked in the winter. In our opinion, they're essential for this season. Snow can be pretty blinding, right? And plus, the right pair of sunglasses can really add to your look and help you stand out in a sea of puffy black coats. So check out this slideshow to find out the five styles that you need for winter!</p>
<p>Food and lipstick both have to do with your mouth, so when you really think about it, this quiz actually makes a lot of sense. Food goes in your mouth. Lipstick goes on your mouth. And that connection makes us pretty certain that we'll be able to guess correctly. So give it a try, and let us know if we got it right!</p> | These are the top 10 makeup must-haves for the holiday season | false | https://circa.com/story/2017/12/11/fashion/makeup-for-the-holidays-from-family-parties-to-new-years-eve | 2017-12-11 | 1right-center
| These are the top 10 makeup must-haves for the holiday season
<p>December just might be the most exciting month for makeup. With all of the different parties, you get the opportunity to show off a ton of different looks, from bold red lips that match your Christmas decorations to sparkles and glitter on New Year's Eve. But it can also be a little overwhelming, especially during one of the busiest times of the year. So we're here to help with a list of the 10 makeup must-haves for the holiday season!</p>
<p>Sunglasses are constantly on our mind when it comes to summer fashion, but they totally get overlooked in the winter. In our opinion, they're essential for this season. Snow can be pretty blinding, right? And plus, the right pair of sunglasses can really add to your look and help you stand out in a sea of puffy black coats. So check out this slideshow to find out the five styles that you need for winter!</p>
<p>Food and lipstick both have to do with your mouth, so when you really think about it, this quiz actually makes a lot of sense. Food goes in your mouth. Lipstick goes on your mouth. And that connection makes us pretty certain that we'll be able to guess correctly. So give it a try, and let us know if we got it right!</p> | 4,465 |
<p />
<p>After opening with a rush of news coverage, the Federal Communications Commission’s investigations into broadcast indecency sank below the news radar in recent weeks. But it’s worth noting that the settlement reached on Wednesday between the FCC and Clear Channel Communications represents a major step in the ongoing battle over what does and doesn’t belong on the airwaves.</p>
<p>Aready faced with $797,000 in fines, and with about 200 additional complaints pending, Clear Channel, America’s largest radio conglomerate, reached a record <a href="http://www.fcc.gov/headlines.html" type="external">settlement</a> with the FCC. In exchange for a payment of $1.75 million and an admission that it violated FCC indecency laws, Clear Channel settles all its outstanding fines and — perhaps more importantly — erases all pending complaints against the company and its stations.</p>
<p>In exchange, Clear Channel — which owns more than 1,200 radio stations nationwide — also agreed to abide more strictly by FCC rules. As FCC Chairman Michael Powell said in a statement:</p>
<p />
<p>“…Clear Channel has now formally admitted that it violated the law and has made binding commitments to clean up its act, including preventive measures such as training for on-air personalities and employees that participate in programming decisions and the use of time delays in its broadcasts. In addition, those accused of violating the Commission’s rules will be suspended and if ultimately found to violate our rules, will be terminated.”</p>
<p>Wednesday’s settlement brings a relatively quiet close to a tumultuous year for San Antonio-based Clear Channel. Once Janet Jackson’s halftime show at the Super Bowl launched increased FCC <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A5746-2004Feb2.html" type="external">scrutiny of broadcasters, Clear Channel found itself a target. On Feb. 25, the company issued a “zero-tolerance”</a> <a href="http://www.clearchannel.com/Radio/PressReleases/2004/2004_02_25_CC_RBI.pdf" type="external">policy</a>:</p>
<p />
<p>“If the FCC accuses us of wrongdoing by issuing a proposed fine, we will take immediate action,” Clear Channel President Mark Mays said. “As broadcast licensees, we are fully responsible for what our stations air, and we intend to make sure all our DJs and programmers understand what is and is not appropriate on Clear Channel radio shows.”</p>
<p>To make sure employees “understood,” Clear Channel took them off the air before the FCC did. In February, it dropped Howard Stern’s syndicated talk show from six stations, <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/news/2004-02-25-stern-usat-copy_x.htm" type="external">citing the content of an interview</a> Stern conducted with Rick Solomon, co-star of the infamous Paris Hilton video. The decision to drop Stern came one day after Clear Channel fired Florida deejay Todd “Bubba the Love Sponge” Clem –- and one day before Clear Channel CEO John Hogan appeared before a House subcommittee on broadcast speech regulations.</p>
<p>But those decisions didn’t stop the fines. Clear Channel paid a reported $755,000 FCC fine earlier this year for a Clem show in which the host explicitly described copulation between cartoon characters, and received a $495,000 fine in April – included as part of Wednesday’s settlement – based on complaints about a Stern show that aired in 2003. Despite the fines, Powell praised the company’s steps toward self-censorship as a way to take the decision out of the FCC’s hands:</p>
<p />
<p>“As the Commission is tasked with walking the delicate balance of protecting the interests of the First Amendment with the need to protect our children, it is incumbent upon us to make best efforts to avoid the realization of our forefathers’ concerns.</p>
<p>“This task is made easier when our licensees wrestle the difficult decisions away from the government and take the responsibility for what they broadcast over our nation’s airwaves. In the case of Clear Channel Communications, they have done just that through the substantial commitments agreed to in this consent decree.”</p>
<p>While Clear Channel chose to go along with the FCC, its main competitor has vowed to fight the fines. According to the <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0406100165jun10,1,3409863.story" type="external">Chicago Tribune</a>, Infinity Broadcasting – which paid a then-record $1.7 million settlement in 1995 – has not yet paid any FCC fines dating back to 2000, prompting a March 12 forfeiture penalty from the FCC. As John Dunbar of the Center for Public Integrity told the Tribune, “You really have two very different corporate cultures at work here. On one hand, you’re seeing Infinity fight, and on the other, you’re seeing Clear Channel settle.”</p>
<p>Smaller radio groups like Entercom Communications and Emmis Communications are also appealing fines, and a pending lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union challenges the FCC on the grounds that the commission has overstepped its bounds. So while the Clear Channel chapter is closed for now, the story of the FCC crackdown is far from over.</p>
<p /> | Expensive Speech | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2004/06/expensive-speech/ | 2004-06-11 | 4left
| Expensive Speech
<p />
<p>After opening with a rush of news coverage, the Federal Communications Commission’s investigations into broadcast indecency sank below the news radar in recent weeks. But it’s worth noting that the settlement reached on Wednesday between the FCC and Clear Channel Communications represents a major step in the ongoing battle over what does and doesn’t belong on the airwaves.</p>
<p>Aready faced with $797,000 in fines, and with about 200 additional complaints pending, Clear Channel, America’s largest radio conglomerate, reached a record <a href="http://www.fcc.gov/headlines.html" type="external">settlement</a> with the FCC. In exchange for a payment of $1.75 million and an admission that it violated FCC indecency laws, Clear Channel settles all its outstanding fines and — perhaps more importantly — erases all pending complaints against the company and its stations.</p>
<p>In exchange, Clear Channel — which owns more than 1,200 radio stations nationwide — also agreed to abide more strictly by FCC rules. As FCC Chairman Michael Powell said in a statement:</p>
<p />
<p>“…Clear Channel has now formally admitted that it violated the law and has made binding commitments to clean up its act, including preventive measures such as training for on-air personalities and employees that participate in programming decisions and the use of time delays in its broadcasts. In addition, those accused of violating the Commission’s rules will be suspended and if ultimately found to violate our rules, will be terminated.”</p>
<p>Wednesday’s settlement brings a relatively quiet close to a tumultuous year for San Antonio-based Clear Channel. Once Janet Jackson’s halftime show at the Super Bowl launched increased FCC <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A5746-2004Feb2.html" type="external">scrutiny of broadcasters, Clear Channel found itself a target. On Feb. 25, the company issued a “zero-tolerance”</a> <a href="http://www.clearchannel.com/Radio/PressReleases/2004/2004_02_25_CC_RBI.pdf" type="external">policy</a>:</p>
<p />
<p>“If the FCC accuses us of wrongdoing by issuing a proposed fine, we will take immediate action,” Clear Channel President Mark Mays said. “As broadcast licensees, we are fully responsible for what our stations air, and we intend to make sure all our DJs and programmers understand what is and is not appropriate on Clear Channel radio shows.”</p>
<p>To make sure employees “understood,” Clear Channel took them off the air before the FCC did. In February, it dropped Howard Stern’s syndicated talk show from six stations, <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/news/2004-02-25-stern-usat-copy_x.htm" type="external">citing the content of an interview</a> Stern conducted with Rick Solomon, co-star of the infamous Paris Hilton video. The decision to drop Stern came one day after Clear Channel fired Florida deejay Todd “Bubba the Love Sponge” Clem –- and one day before Clear Channel CEO John Hogan appeared before a House subcommittee on broadcast speech regulations.</p>
<p>But those decisions didn’t stop the fines. Clear Channel paid a reported $755,000 FCC fine earlier this year for a Clem show in which the host explicitly described copulation between cartoon characters, and received a $495,000 fine in April – included as part of Wednesday’s settlement – based on complaints about a Stern show that aired in 2003. Despite the fines, Powell praised the company’s steps toward self-censorship as a way to take the decision out of the FCC’s hands:</p>
<p />
<p>“As the Commission is tasked with walking the delicate balance of protecting the interests of the First Amendment with the need to protect our children, it is incumbent upon us to make best efforts to avoid the realization of our forefathers’ concerns.</p>
<p>“This task is made easier when our licensees wrestle the difficult decisions away from the government and take the responsibility for what they broadcast over our nation’s airwaves. In the case of Clear Channel Communications, they have done just that through the substantial commitments agreed to in this consent decree.”</p>
<p>While Clear Channel chose to go along with the FCC, its main competitor has vowed to fight the fines. According to the <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0406100165jun10,1,3409863.story" type="external">Chicago Tribune</a>, Infinity Broadcasting – which paid a then-record $1.7 million settlement in 1995 – has not yet paid any FCC fines dating back to 2000, prompting a March 12 forfeiture penalty from the FCC. As John Dunbar of the Center for Public Integrity told the Tribune, “You really have two very different corporate cultures at work here. On one hand, you’re seeing Infinity fight, and on the other, you’re seeing Clear Channel settle.”</p>
<p>Smaller radio groups like Entercom Communications and Emmis Communications are also appealing fines, and a pending lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union challenges the FCC on the grounds that the commission has overstepped its bounds. So while the Clear Channel chapter is closed for now, the story of the FCC crackdown is far from over.</p>
<p /> | 4,466 |
<p />
<p>Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB) revealed on Monday it has entered into exclusive negotiations with private-equity firm CVC Capital Partners over selling some of the soup maker’s European businesses.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Camden, N.J.-based Campbell Soup didn’t provide a price tag on the sale, but said CVC made a “firm offer” and the division generated about $530 million in net sales.</p>
<p>The proposed sale would feature Campbell’s national brands of soups, sauces and simple meals, including Liebig and Royco in France, Erasco in Germany, Bl Band in Sweden and Devos Lemmens and Royco in Belgium.</p>
<p>Additionally, the deal would hand CVC control of four plants in Puurs, Belgium; Le Pontet, France; Lubeck, Germany; and Karpalund, Sweden.</p>
<p>However, the proposed sale doesn’t include the export of Pepperidge Farm products in Europe or Campbell’s products in the U.K., the Middle East or Africa. Likewise, Campbell is not planning to sell its Denmark operations Kelsen Group.</p>
<p>The European business is headquartered in Puurs and employs about 1,300 people.</p>
<p>“Campbell Europe is a strong business with iconic brands, experienced management and dedicated employees. CVC is committed to successfully growing the business further and to supporting its leading brand portfolio,” Steven Buyse, senior managing partner at CVC, said in a separate statement.</p>
<p>Campbell said the transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of fiscal 2014, subject to approval by European competition authorities.</p>
<p>Campbell is being advised by law firm Allen &amp; Overy, while CVC is huddling with bankers from Leopold Capital Partners and Barclays (NYSE:BCS).</p>
<p>Shares of Campbell dropped 1.13% to $47.20 Monday morning, trimming their 2013 rally to 35%.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p> | Campbell Soup Nears Deal to Unload European Businesses to CVC | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2013/08/12/campbell-soup-nears-deal-to-unload-european-businesses-to-cvc.html | 2016-01-29 | 0right
| Campbell Soup Nears Deal to Unload European Businesses to CVC
<p />
<p>Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB) revealed on Monday it has entered into exclusive negotiations with private-equity firm CVC Capital Partners over selling some of the soup maker’s European businesses.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Camden, N.J.-based Campbell Soup didn’t provide a price tag on the sale, but said CVC made a “firm offer” and the division generated about $530 million in net sales.</p>
<p>The proposed sale would feature Campbell’s national brands of soups, sauces and simple meals, including Liebig and Royco in France, Erasco in Germany, Bl Band in Sweden and Devos Lemmens and Royco in Belgium.</p>
<p>Additionally, the deal would hand CVC control of four plants in Puurs, Belgium; Le Pontet, France; Lubeck, Germany; and Karpalund, Sweden.</p>
<p>However, the proposed sale doesn’t include the export of Pepperidge Farm products in Europe or Campbell’s products in the U.K., the Middle East or Africa. Likewise, Campbell is not planning to sell its Denmark operations Kelsen Group.</p>
<p>The European business is headquartered in Puurs and employs about 1,300 people.</p>
<p>“Campbell Europe is a strong business with iconic brands, experienced management and dedicated employees. CVC is committed to successfully growing the business further and to supporting its leading brand portfolio,” Steven Buyse, senior managing partner at CVC, said in a separate statement.</p>
<p>Campbell said the transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of fiscal 2014, subject to approval by European competition authorities.</p>
<p>Campbell is being advised by law firm Allen &amp; Overy, while CVC is huddling with bankers from Leopold Capital Partners and Barclays (NYSE:BCS).</p>
<p>Shares of Campbell dropped 1.13% to $47.20 Monday morning, trimming their 2013 rally to 35%.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p> | 4,467 |
<p>Act-On, a leading <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/roundup/352693/the-best-marketing-automation-software" type="external">marketing automation Opens a New Window.</a> tool, has just released a feature designed to limit the amount of time required for marketers to take data-based action on successful or failing campaigns. The feature, Engagement Insights, connects data from Act-On with prebuilt Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets templates in order to help marketers see and share campaign performance metrics.</p>
<p>As one of the best marketing automation tools, surpassed only by Editors' Choice tools HubSpot and Pardot, <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/review/353288/act-on" type="external">Act-On Opens a New Window.</a> is a dynamite tool for companies seeking to connect email operations to other lines of business, such as social media marketing, <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2367263,00.asp" type="external">customer relationship management Opens a New Window.</a> (CRM), and search engine optimization (SEO). In fact, Act-On provides one of the most comprehensive social media and SEO-based automation tools available (save for HubSpot). Coupled with an open application programming interface (API), Act-On has made it a mission to ensure that data management isn't an obstacle for marketers.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>"Our belief is that, in a general sense, reporting is only as good as the action it's driving and the ease with which the broader marketing team can access it," said Adam Mertz, Senior Director of Product Marketing at Act-On Software. "We help marketers understand forms, <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2453354,00.asp" type="external">email campaigns Opens a New Window.</a>, landing pages, and that's great. Generally, that's accessed by a few marketers on the team. But the size of the teams get bigger; they're more spread out. Not everybody has access to the marketing automation platform. You either export reports as a PDF or take a screenshot. The big difference here is, we wanted to put the data into as many people's hands as easily as possible within the marketing team."</p>
<p>Engagement Insights lets marketers view weekly and monthly email click-to-open rates (CTOR), top converting forms and landing pages, and content downloads—all from within <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2491994,00.asp" type="external">Microsoft Excel Opens a New Window.</a> and Google Sheets. Act-On data is exported directly to your Excel or Sheet template. The data is automatically plugged into pre-supplied templates.</p>
<p>"The number [one most used] <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2491954,00.asp" type="external">business intelligence Opens a New Window.</a> (BI) tools used are Excel and Google Sheets," said Mertz. "We went this route because we wanted to connect our data to those pseudo BI tools. And when we did it, we wanted to make it as easy as possible. [Our customers] click a button, they put in the email addresses for who should receive it, and they have access."</p>
<p>The beauty of this integration is that no manual configuration is required. And because of Excel's and Sheets' collaborative features, you'll be able to share the dashboards without having to establish permissions or adding licenses to your Act-On account.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>"This will drive much better <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2489110,00.asp" type="external">collaboration Opens a New Window.</a> around the campaigns and strategy that needs to be executed," said Mertz. "When you provide those email addresses, they're going to get a link. They're going to get an alert any time that sheet updates. They can bookmark the link and go to it any time. A lot of times, people have the wrong report or they have an old one…it ends up inhibiting collaboration."</p>
<p>This release isn't as groundbreaking as Act-On's artificial intelligence (AI) upgrades (more on this later), but it's a quick hack that will simplify marketers' lives. Unfortunately, only three out-of-the-box template options are available. However, anyone can go into the system and create one additional custom report template that can also be pumped into Excel and Sheets.</p>
<p>"We thought, if we created templates that help every single customer get their teams on the same page, we enable these [specific] templates," said Mertz. "And also give them the ability to create additional reports that are coming out of the system as well. We started out with something we know every customer needs to know and share across every team."</p>
<p>Speaking of AI: The company recently released Adaptive Social Posting, which utilizes AI to help marketers determine the best time to post to <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2491376,00.asp" type="external">social media Opens a New Window.</a> sites Facebook and Twitter based on engagement with previous posts. Adaptive Forms is another recently released, AI-based feature that lets marketers develop a <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2494737,00.asp" type="external">survey form Opens a New Window.</a> that offers different questions for different contacts based on how each person answered the initial and subsequent questions. Act-On is working on new features called "Adaptive Sending" and "Adaptive Lead Scoring," both of which are scheduled for general release before the end of the year.</p>
<p>Engagement Insights, the newly announced feature, is an add-on that requires an additional $2,400 annually. However, the feature will be available for free for current Act-On customers for one year.</p>
<p>This article <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article/356188/act-on-aims-to-simplify-data-management-for-marketers" type="external">originally appeared Opens a New Window.</a> on <a href="http://www.pcmag.com" type="external">PCMag.com Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | Act-On Aims to Simplify Data Management for Marketers | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/09/21/act-on-aims-to-simplify-data-management-for-marketers.html | 2017-09-21 | 0right
| Act-On Aims to Simplify Data Management for Marketers
<p>Act-On, a leading <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/roundup/352693/the-best-marketing-automation-software" type="external">marketing automation Opens a New Window.</a> tool, has just released a feature designed to limit the amount of time required for marketers to take data-based action on successful or failing campaigns. The feature, Engagement Insights, connects data from Act-On with prebuilt Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets templates in order to help marketers see and share campaign performance metrics.</p>
<p>As one of the best marketing automation tools, surpassed only by Editors' Choice tools HubSpot and Pardot, <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/review/353288/act-on" type="external">Act-On Opens a New Window.</a> is a dynamite tool for companies seeking to connect email operations to other lines of business, such as social media marketing, <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2367263,00.asp" type="external">customer relationship management Opens a New Window.</a> (CRM), and search engine optimization (SEO). In fact, Act-On provides one of the most comprehensive social media and SEO-based automation tools available (save for HubSpot). Coupled with an open application programming interface (API), Act-On has made it a mission to ensure that data management isn't an obstacle for marketers.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>"Our belief is that, in a general sense, reporting is only as good as the action it's driving and the ease with which the broader marketing team can access it," said Adam Mertz, Senior Director of Product Marketing at Act-On Software. "We help marketers understand forms, <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2453354,00.asp" type="external">email campaigns Opens a New Window.</a>, landing pages, and that's great. Generally, that's accessed by a few marketers on the team. But the size of the teams get bigger; they're more spread out. Not everybody has access to the marketing automation platform. You either export reports as a PDF or take a screenshot. The big difference here is, we wanted to put the data into as many people's hands as easily as possible within the marketing team."</p>
<p>Engagement Insights lets marketers view weekly and monthly email click-to-open rates (CTOR), top converting forms and landing pages, and content downloads—all from within <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2491994,00.asp" type="external">Microsoft Excel Opens a New Window.</a> and Google Sheets. Act-On data is exported directly to your Excel or Sheet template. The data is automatically plugged into pre-supplied templates.</p>
<p>"The number [one most used] <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2491954,00.asp" type="external">business intelligence Opens a New Window.</a> (BI) tools used are Excel and Google Sheets," said Mertz. "We went this route because we wanted to connect our data to those pseudo BI tools. And when we did it, we wanted to make it as easy as possible. [Our customers] click a button, they put in the email addresses for who should receive it, and they have access."</p>
<p>The beauty of this integration is that no manual configuration is required. And because of Excel's and Sheets' collaborative features, you'll be able to share the dashboards without having to establish permissions or adding licenses to your Act-On account.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>"This will drive much better <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2489110,00.asp" type="external">collaboration Opens a New Window.</a> around the campaigns and strategy that needs to be executed," said Mertz. "When you provide those email addresses, they're going to get a link. They're going to get an alert any time that sheet updates. They can bookmark the link and go to it any time. A lot of times, people have the wrong report or they have an old one…it ends up inhibiting collaboration."</p>
<p>This release isn't as groundbreaking as Act-On's artificial intelligence (AI) upgrades (more on this later), but it's a quick hack that will simplify marketers' lives. Unfortunately, only three out-of-the-box template options are available. However, anyone can go into the system and create one additional custom report template that can also be pumped into Excel and Sheets.</p>
<p>"We thought, if we created templates that help every single customer get their teams on the same page, we enable these [specific] templates," said Mertz. "And also give them the ability to create additional reports that are coming out of the system as well. We started out with something we know every customer needs to know and share across every team."</p>
<p>Speaking of AI: The company recently released Adaptive Social Posting, which utilizes AI to help marketers determine the best time to post to <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2491376,00.asp" type="external">social media Opens a New Window.</a> sites Facebook and Twitter based on engagement with previous posts. Adaptive Forms is another recently released, AI-based feature that lets marketers develop a <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2494737,00.asp" type="external">survey form Opens a New Window.</a> that offers different questions for different contacts based on how each person answered the initial and subsequent questions. Act-On is working on new features called "Adaptive Sending" and "Adaptive Lead Scoring," both of which are scheduled for general release before the end of the year.</p>
<p>Engagement Insights, the newly announced feature, is an add-on that requires an additional $2,400 annually. However, the feature will be available for free for current Act-On customers for one year.</p>
<p>This article <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article/356188/act-on-aims-to-simplify-data-management-for-marketers" type="external">originally appeared Opens a New Window.</a> on <a href="http://www.pcmag.com" type="external">PCMag.com Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | 4,468 |
<p>FOX Business: The Power to Prosper</p>
<p>Tech heavyweights weighed on sentiment, and commodities felt a deeper crunch as oil and gold continued their steep declines Wednesday.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 68 points lower, or 0.38% to 17851. The S&amp;P 500 shed 5 points, or 0.24% to 2114, while the Nasdaq Composite shed 36 points, or 0.70 % to 5171.</p>
<p>Today’s Markets</p>
<p>Tech juggernauts Apple (NASDAQ:APPL) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) were among the main laggards on the Dow Wednesday after the companies revealed quarterly earnings that disappointed investors.</p>
<p>After the bell Tuesday, <a href="" type="internal">Apple unveiled headline results that beat forecasts</a>, but it was the current-quarter outlook and a miss on some iPhone sales targets in the fiscal third quarter that had investors worried, and the stock plunging.</p>
<p>Apple said it sold 47.5 million iPhones during the quarter, but analysts had hoped for sales around 49 million. The iPhone sales figure was a 35% increase from the year-ago period, but a 22% drop from the company’s fiscal second quarter. No details were given on the company’s watch sales. As for its upcoming fiscal fourth quarter, the tech behemoth said it expects revenue to come in below estimates.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Apple shares closed the session 3% lower.</p>
<p>While investors shed their shares in the company, analysts at Cantor said despite the weak numbers they still considers <a href="" type="internal">Apple a buy</a>.</p>
<p>“Apple is still in the midst of a transformational super cycle with the first new product category in five years with the Apple Watch, a multi-year iPhone cycle given the larger form factor, big momentum in China, potential new areas of innovation and a rapidly expanding digital matrix,” analysts wrote in a note.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, like its rival, despite a beat on the headline numbers, <a href="" type="internal">Microsoft booked a $3.2 billion net loss</a>as it was hit with charges related to its Nokia phone business, job cuts and slowing demand for Windows. &#160;The technology company’s shares ended down 3%.</p>
<p>Elsewhere on the corporate earnings front, Boeing (NYSE:BA) and Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) were out with their latest results ahead of the bell Wednesday.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">The aerospace giant handily beat Wall Street expectations</a>with earnings per share of $1.62 on sales of $24.5 billion topping forecasts for $1.37 cents a share on revenue of $24.22 billion.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Coca-Cola also revealed a beat on both lines</a> for the second quarter. Profits of 63 cents topped views by three cents, while revenue of $12.16 billion beat forecasts for $12.06 billion.</p>
<p>Boeing and Coca-Cola shares also climbed higher in recent action.</p>
<p>After the closing bell, investors were set for a peek at results from Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM), Texas Instruments (NASDAQ:TXN), and American Express (NYSE:AXP).</p>
<p>Baker Hughes (NYSE:BHI) and Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) shares came under pressure late in the session Wednesday as concerns mounted over whether the merger between the two oilfield services companies would be approved by regulators. Regulators are reportedly concerned about antitrust issues, and that the industry would become too concentrated after the merger, Bloomberg News reported citing people familiar with the situation.</p>
<p>Both of the company’s shares tumbled during the session, but closed well off session lows.</p>
<p>The economic calendar remained light on Wednesday with existing home sales data that showed robust improvement in the housing market. Sales of existing single-family homes rose to an 8-1/2 year high, up 3.2% in June to an annualized rate of 5.49 million units, according to the National Association of Realtors. The reading was higher than the increase to 5.40 million units for the month Wall Street expected.</p>
<p>IHS U.S. economists Stephanie Karol and Kristin Reynolds called it a “solid report” in a note following the data’s release.</p>
<p>“The share of first-time buyers ticked down, but the level of first-time purchasing advanced 17.4% year-on-year – nothing to sneeze at…we expect headline existing home sales to surpass 5.5 million by the end of the year,” they noted.</p>
<p>In commodities, <a href="" type="internal">gold remained under pressure,</a> extending its longest losing streak in more than 15 years as investors worry about when the Fed will begin to raise short-term interest rates and the impact of a stronger dollar. Investors are also leaving the safe-haven after intense worries surrounding Greece and its debt have subsided as the nation’s future in the eurozone looks to be in tact for now.</p>
<p>The precious metal continued to lose its luster, and settled at a new 52-week low. Gold fell 0.98% to $1,092 a troy ounce in recent action, on track for a tenth-consecutive day of declines.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">U.S. crude oil prices, meanwhile, dropped 1.70%</a>&#160;to $49.15 a barrel. Brent, the international benchmark, also fell by 1.03% to $56.01 a barrel.</p>
<p>Larry Shover, chief investment officer at Solutions Funds Group, said volatility has tended to gravitate toward currencies and commodities as of late.</p>
<p>“The contrast and influence of a stronger U.S. economy and a Fed that is on the cusp of hiking rates while many other central banks are biased to ease further has promoted the ongoing themes of a strong dollar and weak commodities,” he said.</p>
<p>He added that the sharp move lower is also due to the darker side of mediocre economic growth, pointing to 2Q GDP expectations that have been revised lower in recent weeks and a global growth pace stuck near 2%.</p>
<p>“Low growth has been a boost to asset prices for the past five years as it lowered volatility and kept money easy. The benefit is becoming exhausted. Instead, I am becoming worried about low productivity growth and remaining pockets of leverage,” he said.</p>
<p>In currencies, the euro fell 0.27% against the U.S. dollar. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell 0.019 of a percentage point to 2.324%. Bond yields move in the opposite direction of prices.</p>
<p>Elsewhere in the world, Asia markets were mixed. China’s Shanghai Composite index added 0.21%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.99%. Japan’s Nikkei slumped 1.19%.</p>
<p>The Euro Stoxx 50, which tracks large-cap companies in the eurozone fell 0.29%. Meanwhile, the German Dax declined 0.70%, the French CAC 40 was 0.46% lower, while the UK’s FTSE 100 shed 1.49%.</p> | Major Averages Close Lower as Tech Giants Drag | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2015/07/22/futures-lower-as-apple-microsoft-weigh-on-market.html | 2016-03-06 | 0right
| Major Averages Close Lower as Tech Giants Drag
<p>FOX Business: The Power to Prosper</p>
<p>Tech heavyweights weighed on sentiment, and commodities felt a deeper crunch as oil and gold continued their steep declines Wednesday.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 68 points lower, or 0.38% to 17851. The S&amp;P 500 shed 5 points, or 0.24% to 2114, while the Nasdaq Composite shed 36 points, or 0.70 % to 5171.</p>
<p>Today’s Markets</p>
<p>Tech juggernauts Apple (NASDAQ:APPL) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) were among the main laggards on the Dow Wednesday after the companies revealed quarterly earnings that disappointed investors.</p>
<p>After the bell Tuesday, <a href="" type="internal">Apple unveiled headline results that beat forecasts</a>, but it was the current-quarter outlook and a miss on some iPhone sales targets in the fiscal third quarter that had investors worried, and the stock plunging.</p>
<p>Apple said it sold 47.5 million iPhones during the quarter, but analysts had hoped for sales around 49 million. The iPhone sales figure was a 35% increase from the year-ago period, but a 22% drop from the company’s fiscal second quarter. No details were given on the company’s watch sales. As for its upcoming fiscal fourth quarter, the tech behemoth said it expects revenue to come in below estimates.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Apple shares closed the session 3% lower.</p>
<p>While investors shed their shares in the company, analysts at Cantor said despite the weak numbers they still considers <a href="" type="internal">Apple a buy</a>.</p>
<p>“Apple is still in the midst of a transformational super cycle with the first new product category in five years with the Apple Watch, a multi-year iPhone cycle given the larger form factor, big momentum in China, potential new areas of innovation and a rapidly expanding digital matrix,” analysts wrote in a note.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, like its rival, despite a beat on the headline numbers, <a href="" type="internal">Microsoft booked a $3.2 billion net loss</a>as it was hit with charges related to its Nokia phone business, job cuts and slowing demand for Windows. &#160;The technology company’s shares ended down 3%.</p>
<p>Elsewhere on the corporate earnings front, Boeing (NYSE:BA) and Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) were out with their latest results ahead of the bell Wednesday.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">The aerospace giant handily beat Wall Street expectations</a>with earnings per share of $1.62 on sales of $24.5 billion topping forecasts for $1.37 cents a share on revenue of $24.22 billion.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Coca-Cola also revealed a beat on both lines</a> for the second quarter. Profits of 63 cents topped views by three cents, while revenue of $12.16 billion beat forecasts for $12.06 billion.</p>
<p>Boeing and Coca-Cola shares also climbed higher in recent action.</p>
<p>After the closing bell, investors were set for a peek at results from Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM), Texas Instruments (NASDAQ:TXN), and American Express (NYSE:AXP).</p>
<p>Baker Hughes (NYSE:BHI) and Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) shares came under pressure late in the session Wednesday as concerns mounted over whether the merger between the two oilfield services companies would be approved by regulators. Regulators are reportedly concerned about antitrust issues, and that the industry would become too concentrated after the merger, Bloomberg News reported citing people familiar with the situation.</p>
<p>Both of the company’s shares tumbled during the session, but closed well off session lows.</p>
<p>The economic calendar remained light on Wednesday with existing home sales data that showed robust improvement in the housing market. Sales of existing single-family homes rose to an 8-1/2 year high, up 3.2% in June to an annualized rate of 5.49 million units, according to the National Association of Realtors. The reading was higher than the increase to 5.40 million units for the month Wall Street expected.</p>
<p>IHS U.S. economists Stephanie Karol and Kristin Reynolds called it a “solid report” in a note following the data’s release.</p>
<p>“The share of first-time buyers ticked down, but the level of first-time purchasing advanced 17.4% year-on-year – nothing to sneeze at…we expect headline existing home sales to surpass 5.5 million by the end of the year,” they noted.</p>
<p>In commodities, <a href="" type="internal">gold remained under pressure,</a> extending its longest losing streak in more than 15 years as investors worry about when the Fed will begin to raise short-term interest rates and the impact of a stronger dollar. Investors are also leaving the safe-haven after intense worries surrounding Greece and its debt have subsided as the nation’s future in the eurozone looks to be in tact for now.</p>
<p>The precious metal continued to lose its luster, and settled at a new 52-week low. Gold fell 0.98% to $1,092 a troy ounce in recent action, on track for a tenth-consecutive day of declines.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">U.S. crude oil prices, meanwhile, dropped 1.70%</a>&#160;to $49.15 a barrel. Brent, the international benchmark, also fell by 1.03% to $56.01 a barrel.</p>
<p>Larry Shover, chief investment officer at Solutions Funds Group, said volatility has tended to gravitate toward currencies and commodities as of late.</p>
<p>“The contrast and influence of a stronger U.S. economy and a Fed that is on the cusp of hiking rates while many other central banks are biased to ease further has promoted the ongoing themes of a strong dollar and weak commodities,” he said.</p>
<p>He added that the sharp move lower is also due to the darker side of mediocre economic growth, pointing to 2Q GDP expectations that have been revised lower in recent weeks and a global growth pace stuck near 2%.</p>
<p>“Low growth has been a boost to asset prices for the past five years as it lowered volatility and kept money easy. The benefit is becoming exhausted. Instead, I am becoming worried about low productivity growth and remaining pockets of leverage,” he said.</p>
<p>In currencies, the euro fell 0.27% against the U.S. dollar. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell 0.019 of a percentage point to 2.324%. Bond yields move in the opposite direction of prices.</p>
<p>Elsewhere in the world, Asia markets were mixed. China’s Shanghai Composite index added 0.21%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.99%. Japan’s Nikkei slumped 1.19%.</p>
<p>The Euro Stoxx 50, which tracks large-cap companies in the eurozone fell 0.29%. Meanwhile, the German Dax declined 0.70%, the French CAC 40 was 0.46% lower, while the UK’s FTSE 100 shed 1.49%.</p> | 4,469 |
<p>FOX Business: Capitalism Lives Here</p>
<p>The broad S&amp;P 500 slumped mildly this week. But the real action could be found in the tech-heavy Nasdaq, which dropped close to 3%.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Today's Markets</p>
<p>The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 58.8 points, or 0.36%, to 16323, the S&amp;P 500 rose 8.6 points, or 0.46%, to 1858 and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 4.5 points, or 0.11%, to 4156.</p>
<p>For the week,&#160;the Dow rose 0.12%, the S&amp;P 500 shed 0.48%, and the Nasdaq dropped 2.8%.</p>
<p>The markets have spent much of the week zigzagging, although the S&amp;P 500 is set to close the week with mild losses.</p>
<p>On the economic calendar, there are two reports out on the consumer.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The Commerce Department reported consumer spending rose 0.3% in February, matching Wall Street views, while personal income rose by the same margin, slightly higher than the 0.2% increase analysts expected.</p>
<p>Barclays chopped down its first-quarter GDP forecast to 2% from 2.4% on the back of downward revisions in the data. Goldman Sachs made a similar move, reducing its view to 1.5% from 1.6%.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, a reading on consumer sentiment from Thomson Reuters and the University of Michigan shows consumer sentiment rose to 80 from 79.9 earlier in the month. Still, the reading is down from February’s final figure of 81.6.</p>
<p>Earlier in the day, traders got data that showed inflation in Spain stumbled 0.2% on an annual basis. There is speculation among some investors that concerns about inflation will prompt the European Central Bank to cut interest rates. The Federal Reserve already has rates at effectively 0%, but it could potentially slow the pace at which it is cutting its bond purchases.</p>
<p>On the corporate front, BlackBerry (NASDAQ:BBRY) shares shot higher after the struggling smartphone maker posted a significantly narrower quarterly loss than expected. SAC Capital's Steve Cohen upped his stake in Zynga (NASDAQ:ZNGA) to 5.3%.</p>
<p>Elsewhere, U.S. crude oil futures rose 28 cents, or 0.28%, to $101.57 a barrel. Wholesale New York Harbor gasoline dipped 0.05% to $2.941 a gallon. Gold fell $1.30, or 0.1%, to $1,293 a troy ounce.</p> | Wall Street Posts Weekly Dip, Nasdaq Stumbles | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2014/03/28/wall-street-posts-weekly-dip-nasdaq-stumbles.html | 2016-03-06 | 0right
| Wall Street Posts Weekly Dip, Nasdaq Stumbles
<p>FOX Business: Capitalism Lives Here</p>
<p>The broad S&amp;P 500 slumped mildly this week. But the real action could be found in the tech-heavy Nasdaq, which dropped close to 3%.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Today's Markets</p>
<p>The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 58.8 points, or 0.36%, to 16323, the S&amp;P 500 rose 8.6 points, or 0.46%, to 1858 and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 4.5 points, or 0.11%, to 4156.</p>
<p>For the week,&#160;the Dow rose 0.12%, the S&amp;P 500 shed 0.48%, and the Nasdaq dropped 2.8%.</p>
<p>The markets have spent much of the week zigzagging, although the S&amp;P 500 is set to close the week with mild losses.</p>
<p>On the economic calendar, there are two reports out on the consumer.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The Commerce Department reported consumer spending rose 0.3% in February, matching Wall Street views, while personal income rose by the same margin, slightly higher than the 0.2% increase analysts expected.</p>
<p>Barclays chopped down its first-quarter GDP forecast to 2% from 2.4% on the back of downward revisions in the data. Goldman Sachs made a similar move, reducing its view to 1.5% from 1.6%.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, a reading on consumer sentiment from Thomson Reuters and the University of Michigan shows consumer sentiment rose to 80 from 79.9 earlier in the month. Still, the reading is down from February’s final figure of 81.6.</p>
<p>Earlier in the day, traders got data that showed inflation in Spain stumbled 0.2% on an annual basis. There is speculation among some investors that concerns about inflation will prompt the European Central Bank to cut interest rates. The Federal Reserve already has rates at effectively 0%, but it could potentially slow the pace at which it is cutting its bond purchases.</p>
<p>On the corporate front, BlackBerry (NASDAQ:BBRY) shares shot higher after the struggling smartphone maker posted a significantly narrower quarterly loss than expected. SAC Capital's Steve Cohen upped his stake in Zynga (NASDAQ:ZNGA) to 5.3%.</p>
<p>Elsewhere, U.S. crude oil futures rose 28 cents, or 0.28%, to $101.57 a barrel. Wholesale New York Harbor gasoline dipped 0.05% to $2.941 a gallon. Gold fell $1.30, or 0.1%, to $1,293 a troy ounce.</p> | 4,470 |
<p>On December 21, the NLRB (National Labor Relations Board) approved rule changes that will help streamline the union election process.&#160; Historically, one of the biggest hurdles facing membership drives has been management’s use of stalling tactics.&#160; Management knows that the more time it has to intimidate, flatter, threaten, cajole, and otherwise confound the workforce, the better its chances of keeping the union out.</p>
<p>Indeed, stalling has become their weapon of choice.&#160; Through the use of convoluted legalistic maneuvers companies have been known to postpone union elections for months, even years, after employees have signed cards saying they wished to vote.&#160; Stories of management obstructionism are legion.&#160; A good example of an obstructionist campaign is that of California’s central valley growers’ response to the relatively new UFW (United Farm Workers), back in the 1970s.</p>
<p>The first thing the growers did was challenge the eligibility of every voter. Nothing wrong with that; nothing wrong with making sure everything is kosher when you’re conducting an election.&#160; But management was aware that many of these pickers were migrants and transients, that many of them lived in work camps and makeshift compounds, and that verifying every single voter’s legal residence was going to be a tedious and time-consuming process.&#160; But tedious and time-consuming was precisely what the growers hoped for.</p>
<p>After voter eligibility was confirmed, they began their sabotage campaign.&#160; Knowing that Mexicans are Roman Catholics, and that these honest, hard-working rural folk were socially conservative, they inundated them with virulent anti-union propaganda, claiming that organized labor’s connection to the Democratic Party meant that their monthly union dues would be spent on building more abortion clinics, legalizing drugs and prostitution, and promoting homosexual marriages.</p>
<p>Is that where you want your hard-earned union dues to go?! they asked.&#160; To kill babies?!&#160; To encourage two men to become husband and wife?!&#160; The growers terrorized these decent, unsophisticated people with cultural horror stories.&#160; Nasty business.&#160; On the other hand, in the view of the professional union-busters hired by the companies, it was all in a day’s work.</p>
<p>As to the NLRB’s latest decision, there is no way management is going to go quietly into the night—not on rule changes that give labor more flexibility.&#160; This NLRB ruling is far from over.&#160; Union-management disputes at this altitude aren’t like sporting events, where the losing team, disappointed as may be, crosses the field and exchanges gentlemanly handshakes with the winners.</p>
<p>Here’s the response from Katherine Lugar, EVP for public affairs at the Retail Industry Leaders Association:&#160; “This decision erodes employers’ free speech and due process rights and opens the door to rushed elections that will deny employees access to critical information.”&#160; Not only have business groups already portrayed the modest rule changes as a violation of the Bill of Rights and the 14th amendment, but the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (the biggest lobbying group in the world, incidentally) has filed a federal lawsuit to prevent implementation.</p>
<p>In truth, the final draft isn’t that radical.&#160; Basically, it boils down to prohibiting the company from engaging in frivolous stalling tactics—tactics that would be immediately obvious to any pilgrim who took the time to examine them—and giving the employees a fair shot at voting in a timely manner. The new rules are scheduled to take effect April 30, 2012.</p>
<p>A provision in one of the earlier drafts—requiring the company to supply the union with employees’ e-mails and phone numbers—was removed from the final version. Business groups insisted it was purely a question of privacy, that while giving out mailing addresses was acceptable, supplying e-mails and phone numbers (even in this Electronic Age) was a violation of the U.S. constitution.&#160; And they said that with a straight face.</p>
<p>DAVID MACARAY, a Los Angeles playwright and author (“It’s Never Been Easy:&#160; Essays on Modern Labor”), was a former union rep.&#160; He can be reached at <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | The NLRB Scores a Win | true | https://counterpunch.org/2011/12/23/the-nlrb-scores-a-win/ | 2011-12-23 | 4left
| The NLRB Scores a Win
<p>On December 21, the NLRB (National Labor Relations Board) approved rule changes that will help streamline the union election process.&#160; Historically, one of the biggest hurdles facing membership drives has been management’s use of stalling tactics.&#160; Management knows that the more time it has to intimidate, flatter, threaten, cajole, and otherwise confound the workforce, the better its chances of keeping the union out.</p>
<p>Indeed, stalling has become their weapon of choice.&#160; Through the use of convoluted legalistic maneuvers companies have been known to postpone union elections for months, even years, after employees have signed cards saying they wished to vote.&#160; Stories of management obstructionism are legion.&#160; A good example of an obstructionist campaign is that of California’s central valley growers’ response to the relatively new UFW (United Farm Workers), back in the 1970s.</p>
<p>The first thing the growers did was challenge the eligibility of every voter. Nothing wrong with that; nothing wrong with making sure everything is kosher when you’re conducting an election.&#160; But management was aware that many of these pickers were migrants and transients, that many of them lived in work camps and makeshift compounds, and that verifying every single voter’s legal residence was going to be a tedious and time-consuming process.&#160; But tedious and time-consuming was precisely what the growers hoped for.</p>
<p>After voter eligibility was confirmed, they began their sabotage campaign.&#160; Knowing that Mexicans are Roman Catholics, and that these honest, hard-working rural folk were socially conservative, they inundated them with virulent anti-union propaganda, claiming that organized labor’s connection to the Democratic Party meant that their monthly union dues would be spent on building more abortion clinics, legalizing drugs and prostitution, and promoting homosexual marriages.</p>
<p>Is that where you want your hard-earned union dues to go?! they asked.&#160; To kill babies?!&#160; To encourage two men to become husband and wife?!&#160; The growers terrorized these decent, unsophisticated people with cultural horror stories.&#160; Nasty business.&#160; On the other hand, in the view of the professional union-busters hired by the companies, it was all in a day’s work.</p>
<p>As to the NLRB’s latest decision, there is no way management is going to go quietly into the night—not on rule changes that give labor more flexibility.&#160; This NLRB ruling is far from over.&#160; Union-management disputes at this altitude aren’t like sporting events, where the losing team, disappointed as may be, crosses the field and exchanges gentlemanly handshakes with the winners.</p>
<p>Here’s the response from Katherine Lugar, EVP for public affairs at the Retail Industry Leaders Association:&#160; “This decision erodes employers’ free speech and due process rights and opens the door to rushed elections that will deny employees access to critical information.”&#160; Not only have business groups already portrayed the modest rule changes as a violation of the Bill of Rights and the 14th amendment, but the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (the biggest lobbying group in the world, incidentally) has filed a federal lawsuit to prevent implementation.</p>
<p>In truth, the final draft isn’t that radical.&#160; Basically, it boils down to prohibiting the company from engaging in frivolous stalling tactics—tactics that would be immediately obvious to any pilgrim who took the time to examine them—and giving the employees a fair shot at voting in a timely manner. The new rules are scheduled to take effect April 30, 2012.</p>
<p>A provision in one of the earlier drafts—requiring the company to supply the union with employees’ e-mails and phone numbers—was removed from the final version. Business groups insisted it was purely a question of privacy, that while giving out mailing addresses was acceptable, supplying e-mails and phone numbers (even in this Electronic Age) was a violation of the U.S. constitution.&#160; And they said that with a straight face.</p>
<p>DAVID MACARAY, a Los Angeles playwright and author (“It’s Never Been Easy:&#160; Essays on Modern Labor”), was a former union rep.&#160; He can be reached at <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | 4,471 |
<p>Americans are fed up with the mainstream media.</p>
<p>Prior to the start of Donald Trump's rally in Fredericksburg, Virginia on Saturday, the crowd chanted "Do your job!" at a crew from CNN.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>But they weren't done.</p>
<p>Moments later, they chanted, "tell the truth!" as well.</p>
<p />
<p>The cameraman's CNN logo was a dead giveaway.</p>
<p>Maybe they'll start trying to go incognito, as Fox News sometimes does when it ventures into hostile territory.</p>
<p>An <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trust-in-media_us_57148543e4b06f35cb6fec58" type="external">April study</a> found just 6% of Americans have trust in the media.</p> | VIDEO: Trump crowd chants 'do your job!' at CNN crew | true | http://theamericanmirror.com/video-trump-crowd-chants-job-cnn-crew/ | 2016-08-21 | 0right
| VIDEO: Trump crowd chants 'do your job!' at CNN crew
<p>Americans are fed up with the mainstream media.</p>
<p>Prior to the start of Donald Trump's rally in Fredericksburg, Virginia on Saturday, the crowd chanted "Do your job!" at a crew from CNN.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>But they weren't done.</p>
<p>Moments later, they chanted, "tell the truth!" as well.</p>
<p />
<p>The cameraman's CNN logo was a dead giveaway.</p>
<p>Maybe they'll start trying to go incognito, as Fox News sometimes does when it ventures into hostile territory.</p>
<p>An <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trust-in-media_us_57148543e4b06f35cb6fec58" type="external">April study</a> found just 6% of Americans have trust in the media.</p> | 4,472 |
<p>Billboard magazine <a href="http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/madonna-tops-2009-music-money-makers-list-1003940730.story" type="external">has ranked</a> the top 20 biggest money-makers in music this year, and I assume they don’t mean, um, the body part one is supposed to shake. No, no, they mean musicians who’ve made the most dollars, or, more likely, euros, and maybe even rubles, in 2008. Madonna topped the list by a wide margin, earning a total of over $242 million, with rockers Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen just about tied at $157 and $156 million, respectively.</p>
<p>Not surprisingly, says Billboard, touring is your best bet for the big cash these days, and every performer on their top 20 list had major tours this year. But perhaps more surprising is the apparent gap between album sales and tour income: Madonna’s 2008 album, Hard Candy, was only the 50th-best-selling of the year in the US. But that didn’t stop concert-goers, as her continuing “Sticky &amp; Sweet” tour grossed nearly $230 million, not including the $18 million worth of tour merchandise sold. Jeez, and I’m stoked when I get 50 bucks for DJing. Anyway, the full list of the most immune-to-economic-woes musicians after the jump.1. Madonna: $242,176,4662. Bon Jovi: $157,177,7663. Bruce Springsteen: $156,327,9644. The Police: $109,976,8945. Celine Dion: $99,171,2376. Kenny Chesney: $90,823,9907. Neil Diamond: $82,174,0008. Rascall Flatts: $63,522,1609. Jonas Brothers: $62,638,81410. Coldplay: $62,175,55511. The Eagles: $61,132,21312. Lil Wayne: $57,441,33413. AC/DC: $56,505,29614. Michael Buble: $50,257,36415. Miley Cyrus: $48,920,80616. Taylor Swift: $45,588,73017. Journey: $44,787,32818. Billy Joel: $44,581,01019. Mary J. Blige: $43,472,85020. Kanye West: $42,552,402</p> | Madonna, Bon Jovi, Springsteen Made Big Bucks in ’08 | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2009/02/madonna-bon-jovi-springsteen-made-big-bucks-08/ | 2009-02-12 | 4left
| Madonna, Bon Jovi, Springsteen Made Big Bucks in ’08
<p>Billboard magazine <a href="http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/madonna-tops-2009-music-money-makers-list-1003940730.story" type="external">has ranked</a> the top 20 biggest money-makers in music this year, and I assume they don’t mean, um, the body part one is supposed to shake. No, no, they mean musicians who’ve made the most dollars, or, more likely, euros, and maybe even rubles, in 2008. Madonna topped the list by a wide margin, earning a total of over $242 million, with rockers Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen just about tied at $157 and $156 million, respectively.</p>
<p>Not surprisingly, says Billboard, touring is your best bet for the big cash these days, and every performer on their top 20 list had major tours this year. But perhaps more surprising is the apparent gap between album sales and tour income: Madonna’s 2008 album, Hard Candy, was only the 50th-best-selling of the year in the US. But that didn’t stop concert-goers, as her continuing “Sticky &amp; Sweet” tour grossed nearly $230 million, not including the $18 million worth of tour merchandise sold. Jeez, and I’m stoked when I get 50 bucks for DJing. Anyway, the full list of the most immune-to-economic-woes musicians after the jump.1. Madonna: $242,176,4662. Bon Jovi: $157,177,7663. Bruce Springsteen: $156,327,9644. The Police: $109,976,8945. Celine Dion: $99,171,2376. Kenny Chesney: $90,823,9907. Neil Diamond: $82,174,0008. Rascall Flatts: $63,522,1609. Jonas Brothers: $62,638,81410. Coldplay: $62,175,55511. The Eagles: $61,132,21312. Lil Wayne: $57,441,33413. AC/DC: $56,505,29614. Michael Buble: $50,257,36415. Miley Cyrus: $48,920,80616. Taylor Swift: $45,588,73017. Journey: $44,787,32818. Billy Joel: $44,581,01019. Mary J. Blige: $43,472,85020. Kanye West: $42,552,402</p> | 4,473 |
<p />
<p>TRACK 3</p>
<p>“Put Some Red on It”</p>
<p>From <a href="http://www.subpop.com/releases/spoek_mathambo/full_lengths/father_creeper" type="external">Spoek Mathambo’s Father Creeper</a></p>
<p>Liner notes: This raucous track juxtaposes clattering beats, swirling synths, and Spoek Mathambo’s dub-tinged rhymes to conjure scary visions of blood and greed.</p>
<p>Behind the music: The second album from the Johannesburg resident (born Nthato Mokgata) draws on nervous American hip-hop, glossy Europop, and sunny highlife guitar.</p>
<p>Check it out if you like: Artists past and present who cross-pollinate African and Western elements, including Nigeria’s Fela Kuti, Portugal’s Buraka Som Sistema, and fellow South Africans Blk Jks.</p>
<p /> | Review: “Put Some Red on It,” by Spoek Mathambo | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2012/03/review-spoek-mathambo-father-creeper/ | 2012-03-12 | 4left
| Review: “Put Some Red on It,” by Spoek Mathambo
<p />
<p>TRACK 3</p>
<p>“Put Some Red on It”</p>
<p>From <a href="http://www.subpop.com/releases/spoek_mathambo/full_lengths/father_creeper" type="external">Spoek Mathambo’s Father Creeper</a></p>
<p>Liner notes: This raucous track juxtaposes clattering beats, swirling synths, and Spoek Mathambo’s dub-tinged rhymes to conjure scary visions of blood and greed.</p>
<p>Behind the music: The second album from the Johannesburg resident (born Nthato Mokgata) draws on nervous American hip-hop, glossy Europop, and sunny highlife guitar.</p>
<p>Check it out if you like: Artists past and present who cross-pollinate African and Western elements, including Nigeria’s Fela Kuti, Portugal’s Buraka Som Sistema, and fellow South Africans Blk Jks.</p>
<p /> | 4,474 |
<p>Solicitor General Elena Kagan begins her third day of the confirmation hearing process that will determine if she becomes the next Supreme Court Justice. | © Christy Bowe/Globe Photos/ZUMApress.com.</p>
<p />
<p>Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan may become the first modern justice whose vetting was designed to placate people in tricornered hats. Her three-day, nationally televised comfirmation hearings gave Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee lots of air time to pander to their constituents back home. And it was clear from the get-go that their talking points weren’t intended to elicit Kagan’s legal philosophy (they knew she was a liberal, after all) but rather to convince the unruly tea party movement that incumbent GOP senators are the standard-bearers of constitutional conservatism.</p>
<p>No one actually mentioned the tea partiers during the hearings, but they were there with their pitchforks in spirit. In past Supreme Court confirmation hearings, Republicans have traditionally focused on the usual hot-button social issues—abortion, gay rights, maybe even porn for good measure. And Kagan’s hearings certainly had all of those ( <a href="http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/04/23/crush-video-ruling-another-supreme-court-power-grab/" type="external">crush videos</a> instead of porn, though). But many of the main Republican themes about government overreach came straight from the tea party playbook—and for good reason.</p>
<p>Tea partiers revere the Constitution, which is at the heart of the Supreme Court’s work. They <a href="" type="internal">study it</a> like evangelicals study the Bible. While much of their understanding of the document seems derived from Glenn Beck and 5,000 Year Leap author <a href="" type="internal">Cleon Skousen,</a> many tea partiers are remarkably well versed in a wide range of constitutional law debates on everything from 2nd Amendment gun rights to whether the 10th Amendment check on federal power renders health care reform unconstitutional. And while public interest in the Kagan hearings seemed pretty low, if anyone was paying attention, it was tea party activists.</p>
<p />
<p>The Republicans didn’t disappoint. On Tuesday, <a href="http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2010/06/30/kagan-hc-precedent/" type="external">Texas Sen. John Cornyn lamented</a> that the tea partiers’ favorite 10th Amendment “has largely, in my opinion, been rendered a dead letter by Supreme Court decisions.” He bashed the recent “individual mandate” contained in the health care reform bill that has so energized the grassroots activists, saying, “If Congress can force people to—who are sitting on their couch at home—to purchase a product and penalize them if they don’t purchase the government-approved product, it seems to me there is no limit to the federal government’s authority and we’ve come a long, long way from what our founders intended.”</p>
<p>Republicans also devoted many of their Kagan questions to the Commerce Clause, which gives Congress a constitutional right to regulate interstate commerce. Small-government conservatives have long hated the Commerce Clause because Congress has invoked it to do everything from banning guns around schools to creating federal civil rights legislation. Tea partiers are strangely fluent in Commerce Clause rhetoric, so it’s likely they knew exactly what Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) was talking about when he asked Kagan Tuesday night whether Congress could pass a law <a href="http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/06/gop_big_sis_elena_kagan_is_wat.html" type="external">forcing Americans to eat vegetables three times a da</a>y. Both Cornyn and Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) hammered away at the same idea. Cornyn even demanded that Kagan name one activity that Congress couldn’t regulate with the Commerce Clause. (Of course, she didn’t.)</p>
<p>Coburn, an ob/gyn long known as a darling of the evangelical Christian wing of his party, deftly adopted the language of the tea party during the Kagan hearings. Once, he was practically shouting at her as he read from the Federalist Papers, another set of documents beloved by tea partiers. He even extracted a pledge from Kagan that she would go back and re-read them (perhaps right after she gets done <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2010/06/29/on-kagan-miguel-estrada-and-chinese-food-on-christmas/" type="external">writing a letter of recommendation for her friend Miguel Estrada</a>, the right-wing lawyer Democrats filibustered out of a job as a DC circuit court judge in 2003). Coburn invoked the unhappy people of his state who have expressed to him their displeasure with the way the country is headed, and waxed nostalgic for the golden years of the Reagan era. He could have been giving a tea party speech on the need to “take our country back.” Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, the committee’s ranking Republican made a string of similar remarks.</p>
<p>Covering all the tea party bases during the hearing, Republicans were careful to throw in a few jabs at illegal immigrants and foreigners in general, particularly Israeli chief justices and any others who might find <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roper_v._Simmons" type="external">executing juveniles barbaric.</a> In fact, Kyl showed such disgust at the notion that Kagan might look to international law—or that Harvard Law School might inflict it on its students—that you’d have thought she was leading the <a href="http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/bastard/2010/01/joe_arpaio_denies_wacky_reconq.php" type="external">Reconquista</a>. “I don’t understand why international law should have any relevance in US courts,” he fumed before quoting noted legal expert George Will on the subject. Apparently Democrats thought this was such a damning statement that Judiciary Committee staff quickly blasted out an email explaining why Kagan would never, ever ever peek at foreign law (especially not from socialist countries like, say, Sweden).</p>
<p>And while “ <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_law#In_contemporary_jurisprudence" type="external">natural law</a>” is also a favorite of the religious right, both Coburn and Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) ensured that no one flying a Gadsden flag would have any doubt that the Republicans believe the right to bear arms stems directly from God. Asserting <a href="http://politicalcorrection.org/video/201006300011" type="external">a divine right to self-defense</a> no doubt went over well with the tea party movement’s significant <a href="" type="internal">concealed-carry contingent</a>. Kagan didn’t have a lot to say on the subject of natural law (though she did support gun rights). But she was really superfluous to the proceedings. After all, in this particular Supreme Court hearing, where the outcome is already pre-determined, the only votes that really count are the ones back home.</p>
<p />
<p /> | Elena Kagan’s Tea Party Vetting | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2010/07/elena-kagans-tea-party-vetting/ | 2010-07-01 | 4left
| Elena Kagan’s Tea Party Vetting
<p>Solicitor General Elena Kagan begins her third day of the confirmation hearing process that will determine if she becomes the next Supreme Court Justice. | © Christy Bowe/Globe Photos/ZUMApress.com.</p>
<p />
<p>Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan may become the first modern justice whose vetting was designed to placate people in tricornered hats. Her three-day, nationally televised comfirmation hearings gave Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee lots of air time to pander to their constituents back home. And it was clear from the get-go that their talking points weren’t intended to elicit Kagan’s legal philosophy (they knew she was a liberal, after all) but rather to convince the unruly tea party movement that incumbent GOP senators are the standard-bearers of constitutional conservatism.</p>
<p>No one actually mentioned the tea partiers during the hearings, but they were there with their pitchforks in spirit. In past Supreme Court confirmation hearings, Republicans have traditionally focused on the usual hot-button social issues—abortion, gay rights, maybe even porn for good measure. And Kagan’s hearings certainly had all of those ( <a href="http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/04/23/crush-video-ruling-another-supreme-court-power-grab/" type="external">crush videos</a> instead of porn, though). But many of the main Republican themes about government overreach came straight from the tea party playbook—and for good reason.</p>
<p>Tea partiers revere the Constitution, which is at the heart of the Supreme Court’s work. They <a href="" type="internal">study it</a> like evangelicals study the Bible. While much of their understanding of the document seems derived from Glenn Beck and 5,000 Year Leap author <a href="" type="internal">Cleon Skousen,</a> many tea partiers are remarkably well versed in a wide range of constitutional law debates on everything from 2nd Amendment gun rights to whether the 10th Amendment check on federal power renders health care reform unconstitutional. And while public interest in the Kagan hearings seemed pretty low, if anyone was paying attention, it was tea party activists.</p>
<p />
<p>The Republicans didn’t disappoint. On Tuesday, <a href="http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2010/06/30/kagan-hc-precedent/" type="external">Texas Sen. John Cornyn lamented</a> that the tea partiers’ favorite 10th Amendment “has largely, in my opinion, been rendered a dead letter by Supreme Court decisions.” He bashed the recent “individual mandate” contained in the health care reform bill that has so energized the grassroots activists, saying, “If Congress can force people to—who are sitting on their couch at home—to purchase a product and penalize them if they don’t purchase the government-approved product, it seems to me there is no limit to the federal government’s authority and we’ve come a long, long way from what our founders intended.”</p>
<p>Republicans also devoted many of their Kagan questions to the Commerce Clause, which gives Congress a constitutional right to regulate interstate commerce. Small-government conservatives have long hated the Commerce Clause because Congress has invoked it to do everything from banning guns around schools to creating federal civil rights legislation. Tea partiers are strangely fluent in Commerce Clause rhetoric, so it’s likely they knew exactly what Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) was talking about when he asked Kagan Tuesday night whether Congress could pass a law <a href="http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/06/gop_big_sis_elena_kagan_is_wat.html" type="external">forcing Americans to eat vegetables three times a da</a>y. Both Cornyn and Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) hammered away at the same idea. Cornyn even demanded that Kagan name one activity that Congress couldn’t regulate with the Commerce Clause. (Of course, she didn’t.)</p>
<p>Coburn, an ob/gyn long known as a darling of the evangelical Christian wing of his party, deftly adopted the language of the tea party during the Kagan hearings. Once, he was practically shouting at her as he read from the Federalist Papers, another set of documents beloved by tea partiers. He even extracted a pledge from Kagan that she would go back and re-read them (perhaps right after she gets done <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2010/06/29/on-kagan-miguel-estrada-and-chinese-food-on-christmas/" type="external">writing a letter of recommendation for her friend Miguel Estrada</a>, the right-wing lawyer Democrats filibustered out of a job as a DC circuit court judge in 2003). Coburn invoked the unhappy people of his state who have expressed to him their displeasure with the way the country is headed, and waxed nostalgic for the golden years of the Reagan era. He could have been giving a tea party speech on the need to “take our country back.” Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, the committee’s ranking Republican made a string of similar remarks.</p>
<p>Covering all the tea party bases during the hearing, Republicans were careful to throw in a few jabs at illegal immigrants and foreigners in general, particularly Israeli chief justices and any others who might find <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roper_v._Simmons" type="external">executing juveniles barbaric.</a> In fact, Kyl showed such disgust at the notion that Kagan might look to international law—or that Harvard Law School might inflict it on its students—that you’d have thought she was leading the <a href="http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/bastard/2010/01/joe_arpaio_denies_wacky_reconq.php" type="external">Reconquista</a>. “I don’t understand why international law should have any relevance in US courts,” he fumed before quoting noted legal expert George Will on the subject. Apparently Democrats thought this was such a damning statement that Judiciary Committee staff quickly blasted out an email explaining why Kagan would never, ever ever peek at foreign law (especially not from socialist countries like, say, Sweden).</p>
<p>And while “ <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_law#In_contemporary_jurisprudence" type="external">natural law</a>” is also a favorite of the religious right, both Coburn and Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) ensured that no one flying a Gadsden flag would have any doubt that the Republicans believe the right to bear arms stems directly from God. Asserting <a href="http://politicalcorrection.org/video/201006300011" type="external">a divine right to self-defense</a> no doubt went over well with the tea party movement’s significant <a href="" type="internal">concealed-carry contingent</a>. Kagan didn’t have a lot to say on the subject of natural law (though she did support gun rights). But she was really superfluous to the proceedings. After all, in this particular Supreme Court hearing, where the outcome is already pre-determined, the only votes that really count are the ones back home.</p>
<p />
<p /> | 4,475 |
<p>DETROIT, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co on Wednesday reported a quarterly net profit, versus a loss in the same period in 2016 caused by pension liabilities, but said its pre-tax profit was hit by commodity costs and unfavorable currency exchange rates.</p>
<p>The No. 2 U.S. automaker reported quarterly net income of $2.41 billion or 60 cents per share, versus a loss of $781 million or 20 cents per share a year earlier. Adjusted for one-time items, Ford reported earnings per share of 39 cents. On that basis, analysts had on average expected earnings per share of 42 cents. (Reporting By Nick Carey, additional reporting by Paul Lienert; Editing by Tom Brown)</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>NEW YORK (Reuters) - As a senior vice president at Wachovia and then Morgan Stanley during the dark months of the 2008 and 2009 financial crisis, Derek Peterson watched as colleagues lost their jobs and life savings and wondered if he was next.</p>
<p>At the time, he was managing approximately $120 million in client assets, but was growing disenchanted with what he saw as a U.S. stock market driven by high-frequency trading and algorithms rather than fundamentals. He started looking for other opportunities, and soon stumbled on some of the first legal medical marijuana dispensaries that had opened in the San Francisco Bay Area.</p>
<p>“I started looking at this through a finance guy’s eyes and saw that maybe there was something going on here,” he said.</p>
<p>He soon discovered that dispensaries were bringing in sales of more than $4,000 per square foot, a rate higher than any U.S. retailer but Apple Inc , and more than 12 times the average $325 per square foot among all companies in the sector.</p>
<p>“You had places the size of Starbucks bringing in $15 million a year, which is absurd,” Peterson said.</p>
<p>He quit his day job at Morgan Stanley in late 2010, and in 2012 became chief executive officer and president of Terra Tech Corp, which is now a $247 million company that cultivates medical marijuana and whose shares trade on the over-the-counter market, making it one of the few publicly traded pot stocks.</p>
<p>Peterson is not alone in the jump from Wall Street to weed.</p>
<p>Ten years after the start of the financial crisis, what was once the province of shady stoners and drug cartels is now a thriving industry, with recreational marijuana legal in states ranging from California to Massachusetts. (Map: <a href="http://tmsnrt.rs/2AFalvZ" type="external">tmsnrt.rs/2AFalvZ</a>)</p>
<p>Powering the expansion of the industry are former Wall Street executives like Peterson that hail from such staid firms as BlackRock Inc , Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Prudential Financial Inc, all of whom say that they might not have ever left traditional finance if not for the lingering damage of the 2008 crisis.</p>
<p>There are few reliable numbers on how many former Wall Street professionals who now work in the cannabis industry, though those in the sector say that they expect the migration to accelerate as revenue growth continues to attract talent.</p>
<p>Companies in the U.S. marijuana market posted revenues of approximately $6 billion in 2017, a 500 percent increase from the roughly $1 billion in 2011, according to estimates from Marijuana Business Daily, a trade publication.</p> FILE PHOTO: A billboard advertising marijuana in advance of the upcoming legalization of recreational marijuana in San Francisco, California, U.S., December 29, 2017. REUTERS/Jim Christie/File Photo
<p>Approximately 250,000 people work in the sector, and both jobs and revenues are expected to double or triple over the next four years, the publication estimates.</p>
<p>“The financial crisis and the stagnation of many industries in the U.S. in its aftermath have led many people to consider this a viable career,” said Chris Walsh, editorial vice president at Marijuana Business Daily.</p> Slideshow (2 Images) LINGERING FEARS OF WASHINGTON
<p>Despite the growth prospects, many financial professionals are still too leery of federal law, which considers marijuana an illegal drug, to take a job in the industry until there are clear signals from Washington or a change in the makeup of government, said Ruth Epstein, a partner at San Francisco-based BGP Advisors, a business advisory firm that focuses on companies in the cannabis sector.</p>
<p>In January, the Justice Department reversed a policy from the Obama administration which allowed states to legalize marijuana without fears of a federal crackdown. That has had a “chilling effect” on recruiting within the industry, Epstein said.</p>
<p>“People have really been scared away from investing and to a large extent that same mentality is keeping the talent away,” said Epstein, a Harvard Business School graduate who spent nearly 10 years on the corporate finance desk at Goldman Sachs. That, in turn, has “created a massive opportunity for someone who understands finance and is willing to be out on the vanguard,” she added.</p>
<p>Morgan Paxhia, co-founder of San Francisco-based Poseidon Asset Management, a $25 million hedge fund that focuses exclusively on the marijuana sector, was a trader on the municipal debt desk at UBS in New York during the financial crisis. He would pass by the Lehman Brothers building each day on the way to work, and it felt as if “the building were just cratering around you,” he said.</p>
<p>He was laid off on March 9, 2009, the day that the U.S. stock market finally bottomed out. He spent a few years at a registered investment adviser before starting Poseidon with his sister, Emily, in 2013, attracted by the possibility of growth at a time when financial companies seemed to be overly cautious, he said.</p>
<p>“If the financial crisis never happened we would have banks in this industry already, but they won’t push this industry forward because they’re too afraid,” he said. “It’s opened up huge opportunities for those who are willing to come in and capitalize it.”</p>
<p>Peterson, the Terra Tech CEO, said that he now routinely fields calls from employees of large banks and investment firms who are looking to enter the industry. That is a steep change from his first few years in the pot sector, when it was still largely ruled by black-market growers and questionable outfits.</p>
<p>“When I first started out, the fact that I had worked on Wall Street made me seem like a real outsider, to the point where people would ask, “Are you a narc?’” he said, referring to a federal narcotics officer. “It’s in the last two years that we’ve seen a tremendous influx of people from traditional business backgrounds.”</p>
<p>Reporting by David Randall; Editing by Jennifer Ablan and Lisa Shumaker</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>(Reuters) - Toys ‘R’ Us said at a bankruptcy court hearing on Tuesday that it was working hard to maximize payments to suppliers and lenders, as it starts to shutter 735 big-box toy stores across the United States.</p> FILE PHOTO - People pass by Toys R Us store at Times Square in New York, U.S., March 9, 2018. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo
<p>More than 50 suppliers, including Barbie maker Mattel ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=MAT.O" type="external">MAT.O</a>) and Lego, have objected in some form to the proceedings by the storied toy retailer to liquidate its U.S. business, putting 30,000 jobs at risk.</p>
<p>Toys ‘R’ Us had been trying to reorganize under U.S. Chapter 11 but last week said those efforts had failed and it was quickly running out of cash. It is also winding down its U.K business, but is looking for a buyer for operations in Canada, Europe and Asia.</p>
<p>Some trade vendors are demanding the company return any unpaid inventory rather than selling it and using going out of business sales to pay secured lenders and bankruptcy lawyers, at their cost, court papers showed.</p>
<p>“We’re making every effort to make sure (trade vendors) will be paid in full,” Lazard’s David Kurtz, who is advising Toys ‘R’ Us, testified at a hearing at U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Richmond, Virginia.</p>
<p>The company is seeking approval for a March 26 deadline for bids for each of its foreign businesses, minus U.K., followed by an auction on March 29.</p>
<p>It is also seeking approval for a series of U.S. liquidation procedures including a halt to more than $450 million in supplier payments as part of a plan that experts told Reuters could cause many small toy makers to disappear.</p>
<p>Toys ‘R’ Us was the last remaining specialty toy retailer in the United States. Hundreds of companies relied on its big-box stores as a showcase for both innovative toys as well as classics.</p>
<a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=MAT.O" type="external">Mattel Inc</a> 13.0 MAT.O Nasdaq -0.22 (-1.66%) MAT.O
<p>Under trade agreements, vendors were required to ship goods to Toys ‘R’ Us on unsecured trade credit.</p>
<p>In a court filing, Lego said any “wind-down must be implemented in a manner that is fair and equitable to all” of the company’s creditors.</p>
<p>The U.S. Trustee, a bankruptcy watchdog, has also objected, saying that while it is “resigned” to the company’s future, it is concerned about certain of the procedures and relief proposed as part of the liquidation.</p>
<p>Toys ‘R’ Us financial advisor Bill Kosturos of Alvarez &amp; Marsal was also testifying at the hearing before U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Keith Phillips, which could run into Wednesday.</p>
<p>Reporting by Tracy Rucinski; Editing by David Gregorio</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration is expected to unveil up to $60 billion in new tariffs on Chinese imports by Friday, targeting technology, telecommunications and intellectual property, two officials briefed on the matter said Monday.</p>
<p>One business source, who has discussed the issue with the administration, said that the China tariffs may be subject to a public comment period, which would delay their effective date and allow industry groups and companies to lodge objections.</p>
<p>This would be considerably different from the quick implementation of the steel and aluminum tariffs, which are set to go into effect on March 23, just 15 days after President Donald Trump signed the proclamations.</p>
<p>A delayed approach could allow time for negotiations with Beijing to try to resolve trade issues related to the administration’s “Section 301” probe into China’s intellectual property practices before tariffs take effect.</p>
<p>The White House declined to comment Monday. China has vowed to take retaliatory measures in response.</p> Shipping containers are seen at Nansha terminal of Guangzhou port, in Guangdong province, China June 14, 2017. Picture taken June 14, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer
<p>Reuters first reported on the $60 billion in tariffs last week.</p>
<p>A source who had direct knowledge of the administration’s thinking told Reuters last week that the tariffs, authorized under the 1974 U.S. Trade Act, would be chiefly targeted at information technology, consumer electronics and telecoms and other products benefiting from U.S. intellectual property. But they could be much broader and hit consumer products such as clothing and footwear, with a list eventually running to 100 products, this person said.</p> FILE PHOTO - A U.S. flag is tweaked ahead of a news conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing, Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2016. REUTERS/Jacquelyn Martin/Pool
<p>China runs a $375 billion trade surplus with the United States and when President Xi Jinping’s top economic adviser visited Washington recently, the administration pressed him to come up with a way of reducing that number.</p>
<p>In January, Trump told Reuters he was considering a big “fine” as part of a probe into China’s alleged theft of intellectual property. Trump said the Chinese government had forced U.S. companies to transfer their intellectual property to China as a cost of doing business there.</p>
<p>Expectations of the anti-China tariffs have alarmed dozens of U.S. business groups, who warned on Sunday they would raise prices for consumers, kill jobs and drive down financial markets.</p>
<p>Reporting by David Shepardson and Steve Holland in Washington and David Lawder in Buenos Aires; Editing by Lisa Shumaker</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>NEW YORK, 2018 - U.S. stocks joined a broad decline in global equity markets on Monday as traders turned cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting this week and amid continuing concerns about the threat of a global trade war.</p> Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange shortly after the opening bell in New York, U.S., March 19, 2018. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
<p>At the same time, shares of Facebook Inc ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=FB.O" type="external">FB.O</a>) shed nearly 7 percent after reports that a political consultancy that worked on U.S. President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign gained inappropriate access to data on 50 million of the social network’s users. That decline dragged other technology stocks, which have led the market higher over the last two years.</p>
<p>“If they start to decay, then it may leave investors wondering what’s left to become the new leader to resume the bulls’ advance,” said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott in Philadelphia.</p>
<p>The Dow Jones Industrial Average <a href="/finance/markets/index?symbol=.DJI" type="external">.DJI</a> fell as much as 425 during the session and ended won 335.60 points, or 1.35 percent, at 24,610.91. The S&amp;P 500 <a href="/finance/markets/index?symbol=.SPX" type="external">.SPX</a> index lost 39.09 points, or 1.42 percent, to 2,712.92 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite <a href="/finance/markets/index?symbol=.IXIC" type="external">.IXIC</a> index dropped 155.07 points, or 1.8 percent, to 7,334.24.</p>
<p>MSCI’s main 47-country world stock index fell 1.1 percent in afternoon trading after European stocks dipped and benchmark U.S. indexes declined. Global equities are on their worst run since November.</p> EYES ON CENTRAL BANKS
<p>The drop in European and U.S. indexes came as central banks appeared to be preparing for more rate hikes. A Reuters report that the European Central Bank expects a rate hike by mid-2019 started helping the euro recover from a difficult morning against the dollar.</p>
<p>Wall Street is looking toward the Fed’s two-day policy meeting, which concludes on Wednesday, with 104 analysts polled by Reuters expecting the central bank will raise rates 25 basis points to a range of 1.50 percent to 1.75 percent.</p>
<p>Yields in benchmark 10-year Treasuries held steady, reflecting investor rate hike expectations.</p> FILE PHOTO: The seal for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is on display in Washington, DC, U.S., June 14, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo
<p>After the meeting, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will hold a his first press conference as the central bank’s new chief.</p>
<p>Analysts at JPMorgan see a risk the Fed might not only add one more rate rise for this year but for 2019 as well.</p>
<p>“The worst case is the ‘18 and ‘19 dots both move up - the Fed is currently guiding to five hikes in ‘18 and ‘19 combined, but under this scenario that would shift to seven hikes,” they warned in a note to clients.</p>
<a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=FB.O" type="external">Facebook Inc</a> 167.94 FB.O Nasdaq -4.62 (-2.68%) FB.O .DJI .SPX .IXIC
<p>“Stocks would probably tolerate one net dot increase over ‘18 and ‘19, but a bump in both years could create problems.”</p>
<p>The dollar index .DXY fell 0.4 percent, with the euro <a href="/finance/currencies/quote?srcCurr=EUR&amp;destCurr=USD" type="external">EUR=</a> up 0.39 percent to $1.2335</p>
<p>Any nod to four hikes would normally be considered as bullish for the U.S. dollar, yet the currency has shown scant overall correlation to interest rates in recent months.</p>
<p>Dealers cite concerns about the U.S. budget and current account deficits, chaos in the White House, better growth in overseas markets, particularly Europe, and the risk of a U.S.-led trade war.</p>
<p>Fears of a global trade war triggered by Trump’s imposition of tariffs on steel and aluminum imports cast a cloud over a two-day G20 meeting in Buenos Aires this week.</p>
<p>The prospect of higher U.S. interest rates weighed on non-yielding gold XAU=, which touched its lowest in more than two weeks but turned positive in later trade, up 0.3 percent at $1,317.49 per ounce by 1:33 p.m. EST (1733 GMT).</p>
<p>Oil prices eased after ending last week with a solid bounce. U.S. crude CLcv1 fell 0.5 percent to settle at $62.06 per barrel and Brent LCOcv1 settled at $66.05, down 0.24 percent on the day.</p>
<p>Reporting by David Randall; Editing by David Gregorio and Cynthia Osterman</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a> | Ford swings to quarterly profit From Wall Street to weed: How the financial crisis lit up the pot industry Toys 'R' Us says 'making every effort' to pay vendors U.S. expected to impose up to $60 billion in China tariffs by Friday: sources Global stocks sink in worst slide since November; eyes on Fed meeting | false | https://reuters.com/article/ford-results/ford-swings-to-quarterly-profit-idUSL2N1PJ2CR | 2018-01-24 | 2least
| Ford swings to quarterly profit From Wall Street to weed: How the financial crisis lit up the pot industry Toys 'R' Us says 'making every effort' to pay vendors U.S. expected to impose up to $60 billion in China tariffs by Friday: sources Global stocks sink in worst slide since November; eyes on Fed meeting
<p>DETROIT, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co on Wednesday reported a quarterly net profit, versus a loss in the same period in 2016 caused by pension liabilities, but said its pre-tax profit was hit by commodity costs and unfavorable currency exchange rates.</p>
<p>The No. 2 U.S. automaker reported quarterly net income of $2.41 billion or 60 cents per share, versus a loss of $781 million or 20 cents per share a year earlier. Adjusted for one-time items, Ford reported earnings per share of 39 cents. On that basis, analysts had on average expected earnings per share of 42 cents. (Reporting By Nick Carey, additional reporting by Paul Lienert; Editing by Tom Brown)</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>NEW YORK (Reuters) - As a senior vice president at Wachovia and then Morgan Stanley during the dark months of the 2008 and 2009 financial crisis, Derek Peterson watched as colleagues lost their jobs and life savings and wondered if he was next.</p>
<p>At the time, he was managing approximately $120 million in client assets, but was growing disenchanted with what he saw as a U.S. stock market driven by high-frequency trading and algorithms rather than fundamentals. He started looking for other opportunities, and soon stumbled on some of the first legal medical marijuana dispensaries that had opened in the San Francisco Bay Area.</p>
<p>“I started looking at this through a finance guy’s eyes and saw that maybe there was something going on here,” he said.</p>
<p>He soon discovered that dispensaries were bringing in sales of more than $4,000 per square foot, a rate higher than any U.S. retailer but Apple Inc , and more than 12 times the average $325 per square foot among all companies in the sector.</p>
<p>“You had places the size of Starbucks bringing in $15 million a year, which is absurd,” Peterson said.</p>
<p>He quit his day job at Morgan Stanley in late 2010, and in 2012 became chief executive officer and president of Terra Tech Corp, which is now a $247 million company that cultivates medical marijuana and whose shares trade on the over-the-counter market, making it one of the few publicly traded pot stocks.</p>
<p>Peterson is not alone in the jump from Wall Street to weed.</p>
<p>Ten years after the start of the financial crisis, what was once the province of shady stoners and drug cartels is now a thriving industry, with recreational marijuana legal in states ranging from California to Massachusetts. (Map: <a href="http://tmsnrt.rs/2AFalvZ" type="external">tmsnrt.rs/2AFalvZ</a>)</p>
<p>Powering the expansion of the industry are former Wall Street executives like Peterson that hail from such staid firms as BlackRock Inc , Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Prudential Financial Inc, all of whom say that they might not have ever left traditional finance if not for the lingering damage of the 2008 crisis.</p>
<p>There are few reliable numbers on how many former Wall Street professionals who now work in the cannabis industry, though those in the sector say that they expect the migration to accelerate as revenue growth continues to attract talent.</p>
<p>Companies in the U.S. marijuana market posted revenues of approximately $6 billion in 2017, a 500 percent increase from the roughly $1 billion in 2011, according to estimates from Marijuana Business Daily, a trade publication.</p> FILE PHOTO: A billboard advertising marijuana in advance of the upcoming legalization of recreational marijuana in San Francisco, California, U.S., December 29, 2017. REUTERS/Jim Christie/File Photo
<p>Approximately 250,000 people work in the sector, and both jobs and revenues are expected to double or triple over the next four years, the publication estimates.</p>
<p>“The financial crisis and the stagnation of many industries in the U.S. in its aftermath have led many people to consider this a viable career,” said Chris Walsh, editorial vice president at Marijuana Business Daily.</p> Slideshow (2 Images) LINGERING FEARS OF WASHINGTON
<p>Despite the growth prospects, many financial professionals are still too leery of federal law, which considers marijuana an illegal drug, to take a job in the industry until there are clear signals from Washington or a change in the makeup of government, said Ruth Epstein, a partner at San Francisco-based BGP Advisors, a business advisory firm that focuses on companies in the cannabis sector.</p>
<p>In January, the Justice Department reversed a policy from the Obama administration which allowed states to legalize marijuana without fears of a federal crackdown. That has had a “chilling effect” on recruiting within the industry, Epstein said.</p>
<p>“People have really been scared away from investing and to a large extent that same mentality is keeping the talent away,” said Epstein, a Harvard Business School graduate who spent nearly 10 years on the corporate finance desk at Goldman Sachs. That, in turn, has “created a massive opportunity for someone who understands finance and is willing to be out on the vanguard,” she added.</p>
<p>Morgan Paxhia, co-founder of San Francisco-based Poseidon Asset Management, a $25 million hedge fund that focuses exclusively on the marijuana sector, was a trader on the municipal debt desk at UBS in New York during the financial crisis. He would pass by the Lehman Brothers building each day on the way to work, and it felt as if “the building were just cratering around you,” he said.</p>
<p>He was laid off on March 9, 2009, the day that the U.S. stock market finally bottomed out. He spent a few years at a registered investment adviser before starting Poseidon with his sister, Emily, in 2013, attracted by the possibility of growth at a time when financial companies seemed to be overly cautious, he said.</p>
<p>“If the financial crisis never happened we would have banks in this industry already, but they won’t push this industry forward because they’re too afraid,” he said. “It’s opened up huge opportunities for those who are willing to come in and capitalize it.”</p>
<p>Peterson, the Terra Tech CEO, said that he now routinely fields calls from employees of large banks and investment firms who are looking to enter the industry. That is a steep change from his first few years in the pot sector, when it was still largely ruled by black-market growers and questionable outfits.</p>
<p>“When I first started out, the fact that I had worked on Wall Street made me seem like a real outsider, to the point where people would ask, “Are you a narc?’” he said, referring to a federal narcotics officer. “It’s in the last two years that we’ve seen a tremendous influx of people from traditional business backgrounds.”</p>
<p>Reporting by David Randall; Editing by Jennifer Ablan and Lisa Shumaker</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>(Reuters) - Toys ‘R’ Us said at a bankruptcy court hearing on Tuesday that it was working hard to maximize payments to suppliers and lenders, as it starts to shutter 735 big-box toy stores across the United States.</p> FILE PHOTO - People pass by Toys R Us store at Times Square in New York, U.S., March 9, 2018. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo
<p>More than 50 suppliers, including Barbie maker Mattel ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=MAT.O" type="external">MAT.O</a>) and Lego, have objected in some form to the proceedings by the storied toy retailer to liquidate its U.S. business, putting 30,000 jobs at risk.</p>
<p>Toys ‘R’ Us had been trying to reorganize under U.S. Chapter 11 but last week said those efforts had failed and it was quickly running out of cash. It is also winding down its U.K business, but is looking for a buyer for operations in Canada, Europe and Asia.</p>
<p>Some trade vendors are demanding the company return any unpaid inventory rather than selling it and using going out of business sales to pay secured lenders and bankruptcy lawyers, at their cost, court papers showed.</p>
<p>“We’re making every effort to make sure (trade vendors) will be paid in full,” Lazard’s David Kurtz, who is advising Toys ‘R’ Us, testified at a hearing at U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Richmond, Virginia.</p>
<p>The company is seeking approval for a March 26 deadline for bids for each of its foreign businesses, minus U.K., followed by an auction on March 29.</p>
<p>It is also seeking approval for a series of U.S. liquidation procedures including a halt to more than $450 million in supplier payments as part of a plan that experts told Reuters could cause many small toy makers to disappear.</p>
<p>Toys ‘R’ Us was the last remaining specialty toy retailer in the United States. Hundreds of companies relied on its big-box stores as a showcase for both innovative toys as well as classics.</p>
<a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=MAT.O" type="external">Mattel Inc</a> 13.0 MAT.O Nasdaq -0.22 (-1.66%) MAT.O
<p>Under trade agreements, vendors were required to ship goods to Toys ‘R’ Us on unsecured trade credit.</p>
<p>In a court filing, Lego said any “wind-down must be implemented in a manner that is fair and equitable to all” of the company’s creditors.</p>
<p>The U.S. Trustee, a bankruptcy watchdog, has also objected, saying that while it is “resigned” to the company’s future, it is concerned about certain of the procedures and relief proposed as part of the liquidation.</p>
<p>Toys ‘R’ Us financial advisor Bill Kosturos of Alvarez &amp; Marsal was also testifying at the hearing before U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Keith Phillips, which could run into Wednesday.</p>
<p>Reporting by Tracy Rucinski; Editing by David Gregorio</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration is expected to unveil up to $60 billion in new tariffs on Chinese imports by Friday, targeting technology, telecommunications and intellectual property, two officials briefed on the matter said Monday.</p>
<p>One business source, who has discussed the issue with the administration, said that the China tariffs may be subject to a public comment period, which would delay their effective date and allow industry groups and companies to lodge objections.</p>
<p>This would be considerably different from the quick implementation of the steel and aluminum tariffs, which are set to go into effect on March 23, just 15 days after President Donald Trump signed the proclamations.</p>
<p>A delayed approach could allow time for negotiations with Beijing to try to resolve trade issues related to the administration’s “Section 301” probe into China’s intellectual property practices before tariffs take effect.</p>
<p>The White House declined to comment Monday. China has vowed to take retaliatory measures in response.</p> Shipping containers are seen at Nansha terminal of Guangzhou port, in Guangdong province, China June 14, 2017. Picture taken June 14, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer
<p>Reuters first reported on the $60 billion in tariffs last week.</p>
<p>A source who had direct knowledge of the administration’s thinking told Reuters last week that the tariffs, authorized under the 1974 U.S. Trade Act, would be chiefly targeted at information technology, consumer electronics and telecoms and other products benefiting from U.S. intellectual property. But they could be much broader and hit consumer products such as clothing and footwear, with a list eventually running to 100 products, this person said.</p> FILE PHOTO - A U.S. flag is tweaked ahead of a news conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing, Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2016. REUTERS/Jacquelyn Martin/Pool
<p>China runs a $375 billion trade surplus with the United States and when President Xi Jinping’s top economic adviser visited Washington recently, the administration pressed him to come up with a way of reducing that number.</p>
<p>In January, Trump told Reuters he was considering a big “fine” as part of a probe into China’s alleged theft of intellectual property. Trump said the Chinese government had forced U.S. companies to transfer their intellectual property to China as a cost of doing business there.</p>
<p>Expectations of the anti-China tariffs have alarmed dozens of U.S. business groups, who warned on Sunday they would raise prices for consumers, kill jobs and drive down financial markets.</p>
<p>Reporting by David Shepardson and Steve Holland in Washington and David Lawder in Buenos Aires; Editing by Lisa Shumaker</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>NEW YORK, 2018 - U.S. stocks joined a broad decline in global equity markets on Monday as traders turned cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting this week and amid continuing concerns about the threat of a global trade war.</p> Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange shortly after the opening bell in New York, U.S., March 19, 2018. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
<p>At the same time, shares of Facebook Inc ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=FB.O" type="external">FB.O</a>) shed nearly 7 percent after reports that a political consultancy that worked on U.S. President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign gained inappropriate access to data on 50 million of the social network’s users. That decline dragged other technology stocks, which have led the market higher over the last two years.</p>
<p>“If they start to decay, then it may leave investors wondering what’s left to become the new leader to resume the bulls’ advance,” said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott in Philadelphia.</p>
<p>The Dow Jones Industrial Average <a href="/finance/markets/index?symbol=.DJI" type="external">.DJI</a> fell as much as 425 during the session and ended won 335.60 points, or 1.35 percent, at 24,610.91. The S&amp;P 500 <a href="/finance/markets/index?symbol=.SPX" type="external">.SPX</a> index lost 39.09 points, or 1.42 percent, to 2,712.92 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite <a href="/finance/markets/index?symbol=.IXIC" type="external">.IXIC</a> index dropped 155.07 points, or 1.8 percent, to 7,334.24.</p>
<p>MSCI’s main 47-country world stock index fell 1.1 percent in afternoon trading after European stocks dipped and benchmark U.S. indexes declined. Global equities are on their worst run since November.</p> EYES ON CENTRAL BANKS
<p>The drop in European and U.S. indexes came as central banks appeared to be preparing for more rate hikes. A Reuters report that the European Central Bank expects a rate hike by mid-2019 started helping the euro recover from a difficult morning against the dollar.</p>
<p>Wall Street is looking toward the Fed’s two-day policy meeting, which concludes on Wednesday, with 104 analysts polled by Reuters expecting the central bank will raise rates 25 basis points to a range of 1.50 percent to 1.75 percent.</p>
<p>Yields in benchmark 10-year Treasuries held steady, reflecting investor rate hike expectations.</p> FILE PHOTO: The seal for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is on display in Washington, DC, U.S., June 14, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo
<p>After the meeting, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will hold a his first press conference as the central bank’s new chief.</p>
<p>Analysts at JPMorgan see a risk the Fed might not only add one more rate rise for this year but for 2019 as well.</p>
<p>“The worst case is the ‘18 and ‘19 dots both move up - the Fed is currently guiding to five hikes in ‘18 and ‘19 combined, but under this scenario that would shift to seven hikes,” they warned in a note to clients.</p>
<a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=FB.O" type="external">Facebook Inc</a> 167.94 FB.O Nasdaq -4.62 (-2.68%) FB.O .DJI .SPX .IXIC
<p>“Stocks would probably tolerate one net dot increase over ‘18 and ‘19, but a bump in both years could create problems.”</p>
<p>The dollar index .DXY fell 0.4 percent, with the euro <a href="/finance/currencies/quote?srcCurr=EUR&amp;destCurr=USD" type="external">EUR=</a> up 0.39 percent to $1.2335</p>
<p>Any nod to four hikes would normally be considered as bullish for the U.S. dollar, yet the currency has shown scant overall correlation to interest rates in recent months.</p>
<p>Dealers cite concerns about the U.S. budget and current account deficits, chaos in the White House, better growth in overseas markets, particularly Europe, and the risk of a U.S.-led trade war.</p>
<p>Fears of a global trade war triggered by Trump’s imposition of tariffs on steel and aluminum imports cast a cloud over a two-day G20 meeting in Buenos Aires this week.</p>
<p>The prospect of higher U.S. interest rates weighed on non-yielding gold XAU=, which touched its lowest in more than two weeks but turned positive in later trade, up 0.3 percent at $1,317.49 per ounce by 1:33 p.m. EST (1733 GMT).</p>
<p>Oil prices eased after ending last week with a solid bounce. U.S. crude CLcv1 fell 0.5 percent to settle at $62.06 per barrel and Brent LCOcv1 settled at $66.05, down 0.24 percent on the day.</p>
<p>Reporting by David Randall; Editing by David Gregorio and Cynthia Osterman</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a> | 4,476 |
<p>Within just one day of Romney’s Vice President announcement, he has managed to raise over $3.5 million with Rep. Ryan Paul on his presidential ticket in just 24 hours.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Add that to the $101 million he raised in the month of July (passing Obama by a good <a href="http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/08/06/obama-raises-75-million-in-july-outpaced-by-romney/" type="external">$25 million</a>), and you’ve got what looks to be the most expensive election in history.</p>
<p>Democrats have been doing their own fundraising, using Romney’s pick of Rep. Paul Ryan to rake in the campaign cash. The Hill <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/fundraising/243203-house-dems-fundraise-off-of-ryan-choice" type="external">reports</a>:</p>
<p>House Democrats waited about an hour after the presumptive GOP nominee officially chose Ryan to fire off a fundraising email, and quickly followed that up by sending releases to dozens of House Republican districts.</p>
<p>In one such email, the executive director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Robby Mook, called Paul Ryan “the architect of the Republican plan to kill Medicare.”</p>
<p>And where is all this money going? TV ad buys have been the largest expenditure of this presidential campaign, with a total of $269.9 million spent on TV ads thus far, according to the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/politics/track-presidential-campaign-ads-2012/" type="external">Washington Post</a>. And if you’re just tuning in now, almost three-quarters of those ads have been blatantly negative.</p> | Romney/Ryan Ticket Raises An Additional $3.5 Million Online | false | https://ivn.us/2012/08/12/romneyryan-ticket-raises-an-additional-3-5-million-online/ | 2012-08-12 | 2least
| Romney/Ryan Ticket Raises An Additional $3.5 Million Online
<p>Within just one day of Romney’s Vice President announcement, he has managed to raise over $3.5 million with Rep. Ryan Paul on his presidential ticket in just 24 hours.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Add that to the $101 million he raised in the month of July (passing Obama by a good <a href="http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/08/06/obama-raises-75-million-in-july-outpaced-by-romney/" type="external">$25 million</a>), and you’ve got what looks to be the most expensive election in history.</p>
<p>Democrats have been doing their own fundraising, using Romney’s pick of Rep. Paul Ryan to rake in the campaign cash. The Hill <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/fundraising/243203-house-dems-fundraise-off-of-ryan-choice" type="external">reports</a>:</p>
<p>House Democrats waited about an hour after the presumptive GOP nominee officially chose Ryan to fire off a fundraising email, and quickly followed that up by sending releases to dozens of House Republican districts.</p>
<p>In one such email, the executive director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Robby Mook, called Paul Ryan “the architect of the Republican plan to kill Medicare.”</p>
<p>And where is all this money going? TV ad buys have been the largest expenditure of this presidential campaign, with a total of $269.9 million spent on TV ads thus far, according to the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/politics/track-presidential-campaign-ads-2012/" type="external">Washington Post</a>. And if you’re just tuning in now, almost three-quarters of those ads have been blatantly negative.</p> | 4,477 |
<p>For the past few weeks, conservatives have opened a new front on the Obama healthcare law by arguing that it forces religious organizations to violate their consciences. Whatever the validity of their argument, it is important to note that these sorts of fights are not new. In other similar fights, the courts have been known to rule in favor of those who chose not to provide a medical service on religious grounds.</p>
<p>In Washington State, a federal judge recently ruled that a Christian pharmacist <a href="http://www.crisismagazine.com/2012/in-washington-state-a-victory-for-conscience" type="external">can choose not to sell Plan B pills</a> in their store if they feel that it violates their religious views. This is not an isolated incident. There have been other examples in the past of Christian-run pharmacies that have <a href="http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/michigan-pharmacy-owner-explains-refusal-to-sell-birth-control-condoms-desp" type="external">rejected selling birth control and condoms.</a></p>
<p>In the example of Washington State, the court ruled in favor of the religious pharmacists on very clear constitutional grounds:</p>
<p>The state [has] dismissed plaintiffs’ religious beliefs about the implications of dispensing emergency contraceptives as unworthy of the same sorts of protections they would, presumably, freely recognize in another context. Indeed, they view the decision that confronts people of faith as minor, even quaint, burdens on religious practices … [and] argue that plaintiffs’ sincere belief about an issue at the core of their religion is not entitled to constitutional protection, but is instead granted (or not) as a matter of legislative grace.</p>
<p>This raises a question for conservatives who have tried to fight the healthcare law with legislative tactics like the failed Blunt Amendment, do they really think that the constitution does not provide the protections necessary for the constituents they claim to represent? Is there any reason to think that a Catholic hospital which provides a healthcare plan without contraception for its employes would not be able to win a case defending their right to do so on first amendment grounds?</p>
<p>Why are conservatives even engaging on this issue in the Congress at all when the Supreme Court is probably on their side already?</p>
<p>(Hat tip to <a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/unequallyyoked/2012/02/the-other-contraception-mandate-fight.html" type="external">Leah Libresco</a> for the links.)</p> | Why is the GOP Screwing Around With Contraception?—David Frum | true | https://thedailybeast.com/why-is-the-gop-screwing-around-with-contraceptiondavid-frum | 2018-10-03 | 4left
| Why is the GOP Screwing Around With Contraception?—David Frum
<p>For the past few weeks, conservatives have opened a new front on the Obama healthcare law by arguing that it forces religious organizations to violate their consciences. Whatever the validity of their argument, it is important to note that these sorts of fights are not new. In other similar fights, the courts have been known to rule in favor of those who chose not to provide a medical service on religious grounds.</p>
<p>In Washington State, a federal judge recently ruled that a Christian pharmacist <a href="http://www.crisismagazine.com/2012/in-washington-state-a-victory-for-conscience" type="external">can choose not to sell Plan B pills</a> in their store if they feel that it violates their religious views. This is not an isolated incident. There have been other examples in the past of Christian-run pharmacies that have <a href="http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/michigan-pharmacy-owner-explains-refusal-to-sell-birth-control-condoms-desp" type="external">rejected selling birth control and condoms.</a></p>
<p>In the example of Washington State, the court ruled in favor of the religious pharmacists on very clear constitutional grounds:</p>
<p>The state [has] dismissed plaintiffs’ religious beliefs about the implications of dispensing emergency contraceptives as unworthy of the same sorts of protections they would, presumably, freely recognize in another context. Indeed, they view the decision that confronts people of faith as minor, even quaint, burdens on religious practices … [and] argue that plaintiffs’ sincere belief about an issue at the core of their religion is not entitled to constitutional protection, but is instead granted (or not) as a matter of legislative grace.</p>
<p>This raises a question for conservatives who have tried to fight the healthcare law with legislative tactics like the failed Blunt Amendment, do they really think that the constitution does not provide the protections necessary for the constituents they claim to represent? Is there any reason to think that a Catholic hospital which provides a healthcare plan without contraception for its employes would not be able to win a case defending their right to do so on first amendment grounds?</p>
<p>Why are conservatives even engaging on this issue in the Congress at all when the Supreme Court is probably on their side already?</p>
<p>(Hat tip to <a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/unequallyyoked/2012/02/the-other-contraception-mandate-fight.html" type="external">Leah Libresco</a> for the links.)</p> | 4,478 |
<p>Merck KGaA (MRK.XE) said Friday the European Commission has approved its drug Mavenclad for the treatment of multiple sclerosis.</p>
<p>The German pharmaceuticals company said it expects the drug to become available in Germany and the U.K. as early as September, and that it plans to file for additional regulatory approval in other countries, including the U.S.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Mavenclad 10mg is used to treat highly active relapsing multiple sclerosis. Europe's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use had recommended the approval of the treatment in June, the company said.</p>
<p>More than 700,000 people are affected by the neurological desease in Europe and there is no cure available, the company said.</p>
<p>The stock was trading at EUR92.61, up 2.2%.</p>
<p>Write to Max Bernhard at [email protected]</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
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<p>August 25, 2017 04:51 ET (08:51 GMT)</p> | Merck Gets EU Approval for Multiple Sclerosis Drug Mavenclad | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/08/25/merck-gets-eu-approval-for-multiple-sclerosis-drug-mavenclad.html | 2017-08-25 | 0right
| Merck Gets EU Approval for Multiple Sclerosis Drug Mavenclad
<p>Merck KGaA (MRK.XE) said Friday the European Commission has approved its drug Mavenclad for the treatment of multiple sclerosis.</p>
<p>The German pharmaceuticals company said it expects the drug to become available in Germany and the U.K. as early as September, and that it plans to file for additional regulatory approval in other countries, including the U.S.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Mavenclad 10mg is used to treat highly active relapsing multiple sclerosis. Europe's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use had recommended the approval of the treatment in June, the company said.</p>
<p>More than 700,000 people are affected by the neurological desease in Europe and there is no cure available, the company said.</p>
<p>The stock was trading at EUR92.61, up 2.2%.</p>
<p>Write to Max Bernhard at [email protected]</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
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<p>August 25, 2017 04:51 ET (08:51 GMT)</p> | 4,479 |
<p>KYIV, Ukraine — Revolutions are always messy business, but the situation in Ukraine — now entering its fourth week of political crisis amid massive street demonstrations — may best be described as a quagmire.</p>
<p>As President Viktor Yanukovych’s administration continues to fend off demands by opposition leaders that he fire his government and hold fresh parliamentary and presidential elections, the dynamics of the protracted stalemate have steadily come into focus.</p>
<p>They include a lack of clear opposition leadership, growing anger among ordinary protesters, a stubborn regime and a deep cultural divide. As pressure mounts on both sides of the political elite, the prospects for a solution remain dimmer than ever.</p>
<p>“This isn’t like the Orange Revolution, which was ultimately all about an election,” says Andrew Wilson, a Ukraine expert at the European Council on Foreign Relations, of the last mass protests in 2004. “The endgame here is less clear.”</p>
<p>It didn’t take long for the protests that erupted last month over European integration to expand into other issues.</p>
<p>While a severe police crackdown on protesters helped consolidate public rage against Yanukovych and his government, activists say demands for a sweeping change of power have existed since the demonstrations first broke out.</p>
<p>They’ve been fueled by the creeping authoritarianism and rampant corruption critics say have flourished since Yanukovych’s election in 2010.</p>
<p>“This was the breaking point because people had tolerated him for so long — the lawlessness, the corruption, and everything else,” said Oleksandr Danylyuk, a civic activist and an early organizer of the demonstrations.</p>
<p>Unlike the Orange Revolution, which was led by a consolidated opposition force, he adds, this uprising isn’t about leaders.</p>
<p>“Most people here didn’t come out for one leader or another,” he said in an interview. “This isn’t 2004, and the authorities should realize that.”</p>
<p>That’s presenting a problem for the country’s three main opposition parties, whose leaders have been thrust to the forefront of the largely unexpected protests.</p>
<p>While they’ve attempted to maintain a united front, some experts suggest the coalition — which includes a boxing champion, a fiery nationalist and a bookish economist, none of whom enjoy overwhelming popularity — is shakier than it seems.</p>
<p>“There are some definite political and psychological contradictions, especially in the process of making decisions,” said Volodymyr Fesenko, a political analyst in Kyiv.</p>
<p>But decision-making may be a moot point in an uprising where popular demands to oust the entire ruling elite have so far proven too great for opposition leaders to meet.</p>
<p>Their failure to force a no-confidence vote in the government earlier this month has left few other political avenues open. Now they face a long winter without any major elections through which to challenge the regime.</p>
<p>Yanukovych, still the democratically elected president, is set to remain in office until early 2015.</p>
<p>That’s emboldening some government allies, such as Vadym Kolesnichenko, a lawmaker from the ruling Party of Regions, who blames opposition leaders of preparing a “coup.”</p>
<p>“You wanted to oust the government? You had a parliamentary minority and the vote didn’t pass,” he said.</p>
<p>“Why else do we have laws, the parliament and deputies?”</p>
<p>More challenging perhaps is the bitter geopolitical divide that has plagued Ukraine for years, in which the Ukrainian-speaking central and western regions generally look toward Europe, while the largely Russian-speaking eastern and southern regions prefer closer links with Moscow.</p>
<p>That distinction became clearer last weekend, when protesters from both sides of the divide held dueling rallies only several hundred feet apart.</p>
<p>While the pro-government rally was dwarfed by the demonstrations on Independence Square — and marred by reports that most protesters were paid and bused in from the regions — it nevertheless served as a reminder that far from all Ukrainians agree with the pro-Europe movement.</p>
<p>That’s especially the case among the factories of eastern Ukraine and seaports along the Black Sea coast, where many workers say they help keep the country’s economy humming.</p>
<p>Kolesnichenko, who is based in Crimea, sums up the perception by his constituency of the anti-government protesters: “They’re having fun while we’re working.”</p>
<p>“It’s very unsettling for them,” he told GlobalPost by phone. “It’s like spitting at everyone who lives in southern and eastern Ukraine.”</p>
<p>Yanukovych has offered some concessions to the demonstrators who have flooded into his capital’s center for weeks.</p>
<p>He’s proposed amnesty for jailed protesters and even launched investigations into top officials who allegedly ordered the violent November 30 assault on mostly sleeping students on Independence Square, the heart of the protests.</p>
<p>On Monday, local media reports quoting unnamed sources suggested he would fire several more ministers over their failure to predict the financial devastation he claims the EU agreements he refused to sign last month would have wrought.</p>
<p>Many say that’s beside the point.</p>
<p>Yanukovych’s scheduled trip to Moscow on Tuesday to hammer out agreements may be aimed at helping patch up Ukraine’s creaky economy appears to have negated any concessions the embattled president has made.</p>
<p>Despite reassurances from Ukrainian officials to the contrary, opposition leaders fear Yanukovych may take his first steps toward signing up the post-Soviet republic to a Moscow-led customs union, an alternative the Kremlin has aggressively pursued in recent months.</p>
<p>Those fears were probably inflamed by an announcement on Sunday from EU enlargement chief Stefan Fule that talks between Brussels and Kyiv on the agreements are “on hold” until Ukrainian authorities show a clearer commitment.</p>
<p>Other EU officials appeared to suggest Fule may have spoken too soon. Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt told reporters in Brussels on Monday that the "door is certainly open for Ukraine" to sign the agreements. But he also expressed frustration at what he said was Yanukovuch's "double-speak."</p>
<p>In recent days, Yanukovych has both signaled his intent to sign the agreements and lambasted their original terms as harmful to Ukraine's national interest.</p>
<p>"If you can make sense out of that — his policy — you're welcome," Bildt said. "I fail."</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost:&#160; <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/germany/131213/germany-berlin-tourists-airbnb-economy" type="external">Germans worry Berlin is becoming too wealthy for its own good</a></p>
<p>Any deal struck with Russia would run the serious risk of inflaming tensions on the streets. But the rumors are also a sign that Yanukovych has fumbled his geopolitical balancing act, some analysts say.</p>
<p>“The whole point of the crisis was that Yanukovych was playing not a zero-sum but a positive-sum game, trying to squeeze more out of both sides,” Wilson said. “And that has collapsed.”</p>
<p>Protesters on the streets, meanwhile, are in no mood to give in. They say the Yanukovych regime — with its crackdowns, cronyism and auctioning of Ukraine’s future — represents the opposite of everything they stand for.</p>
<p>“Here’s what I think,” said Sasha Sazonchik, a 40-year-old from central Ukraine, during a recent rally near Independence Square. “Europeans will act like Europeans, and boors will be boorish.”&#160;</p> | News analysis: For Ukraine’s ‘revolution,’ no end in sight | false | https://pri.org/stories/2013-12-16/news-analysis-ukraine-s-revolution-no-end-sight | 2013-12-16 | 3left-center
| News analysis: For Ukraine’s ‘revolution,’ no end in sight
<p>KYIV, Ukraine — Revolutions are always messy business, but the situation in Ukraine — now entering its fourth week of political crisis amid massive street demonstrations — may best be described as a quagmire.</p>
<p>As President Viktor Yanukovych’s administration continues to fend off demands by opposition leaders that he fire his government and hold fresh parliamentary and presidential elections, the dynamics of the protracted stalemate have steadily come into focus.</p>
<p>They include a lack of clear opposition leadership, growing anger among ordinary protesters, a stubborn regime and a deep cultural divide. As pressure mounts on both sides of the political elite, the prospects for a solution remain dimmer than ever.</p>
<p>“This isn’t like the Orange Revolution, which was ultimately all about an election,” says Andrew Wilson, a Ukraine expert at the European Council on Foreign Relations, of the last mass protests in 2004. “The endgame here is less clear.”</p>
<p>It didn’t take long for the protests that erupted last month over European integration to expand into other issues.</p>
<p>While a severe police crackdown on protesters helped consolidate public rage against Yanukovych and his government, activists say demands for a sweeping change of power have existed since the demonstrations first broke out.</p>
<p>They’ve been fueled by the creeping authoritarianism and rampant corruption critics say have flourished since Yanukovych’s election in 2010.</p>
<p>“This was the breaking point because people had tolerated him for so long — the lawlessness, the corruption, and everything else,” said Oleksandr Danylyuk, a civic activist and an early organizer of the demonstrations.</p>
<p>Unlike the Orange Revolution, which was led by a consolidated opposition force, he adds, this uprising isn’t about leaders.</p>
<p>“Most people here didn’t come out for one leader or another,” he said in an interview. “This isn’t 2004, and the authorities should realize that.”</p>
<p>That’s presenting a problem for the country’s three main opposition parties, whose leaders have been thrust to the forefront of the largely unexpected protests.</p>
<p>While they’ve attempted to maintain a united front, some experts suggest the coalition — which includes a boxing champion, a fiery nationalist and a bookish economist, none of whom enjoy overwhelming popularity — is shakier than it seems.</p>
<p>“There are some definite political and psychological contradictions, especially in the process of making decisions,” said Volodymyr Fesenko, a political analyst in Kyiv.</p>
<p>But decision-making may be a moot point in an uprising where popular demands to oust the entire ruling elite have so far proven too great for opposition leaders to meet.</p>
<p>Their failure to force a no-confidence vote in the government earlier this month has left few other political avenues open. Now they face a long winter without any major elections through which to challenge the regime.</p>
<p>Yanukovych, still the democratically elected president, is set to remain in office until early 2015.</p>
<p>That’s emboldening some government allies, such as Vadym Kolesnichenko, a lawmaker from the ruling Party of Regions, who blames opposition leaders of preparing a “coup.”</p>
<p>“You wanted to oust the government? You had a parliamentary minority and the vote didn’t pass,” he said.</p>
<p>“Why else do we have laws, the parliament and deputies?”</p>
<p>More challenging perhaps is the bitter geopolitical divide that has plagued Ukraine for years, in which the Ukrainian-speaking central and western regions generally look toward Europe, while the largely Russian-speaking eastern and southern regions prefer closer links with Moscow.</p>
<p>That distinction became clearer last weekend, when protesters from both sides of the divide held dueling rallies only several hundred feet apart.</p>
<p>While the pro-government rally was dwarfed by the demonstrations on Independence Square — and marred by reports that most protesters were paid and bused in from the regions — it nevertheless served as a reminder that far from all Ukrainians agree with the pro-Europe movement.</p>
<p>That’s especially the case among the factories of eastern Ukraine and seaports along the Black Sea coast, where many workers say they help keep the country’s economy humming.</p>
<p>Kolesnichenko, who is based in Crimea, sums up the perception by his constituency of the anti-government protesters: “They’re having fun while we’re working.”</p>
<p>“It’s very unsettling for them,” he told GlobalPost by phone. “It’s like spitting at everyone who lives in southern and eastern Ukraine.”</p>
<p>Yanukovych has offered some concessions to the demonstrators who have flooded into his capital’s center for weeks.</p>
<p>He’s proposed amnesty for jailed protesters and even launched investigations into top officials who allegedly ordered the violent November 30 assault on mostly sleeping students on Independence Square, the heart of the protests.</p>
<p>On Monday, local media reports quoting unnamed sources suggested he would fire several more ministers over their failure to predict the financial devastation he claims the EU agreements he refused to sign last month would have wrought.</p>
<p>Many say that’s beside the point.</p>
<p>Yanukovych’s scheduled trip to Moscow on Tuesday to hammer out agreements may be aimed at helping patch up Ukraine’s creaky economy appears to have negated any concessions the embattled president has made.</p>
<p>Despite reassurances from Ukrainian officials to the contrary, opposition leaders fear Yanukovych may take his first steps toward signing up the post-Soviet republic to a Moscow-led customs union, an alternative the Kremlin has aggressively pursued in recent months.</p>
<p>Those fears were probably inflamed by an announcement on Sunday from EU enlargement chief Stefan Fule that talks between Brussels and Kyiv on the agreements are “on hold” until Ukrainian authorities show a clearer commitment.</p>
<p>Other EU officials appeared to suggest Fule may have spoken too soon. Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt told reporters in Brussels on Monday that the "door is certainly open for Ukraine" to sign the agreements. But he also expressed frustration at what he said was Yanukovuch's "double-speak."</p>
<p>In recent days, Yanukovych has both signaled his intent to sign the agreements and lambasted their original terms as harmful to Ukraine's national interest.</p>
<p>"If you can make sense out of that — his policy — you're welcome," Bildt said. "I fail."</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost:&#160; <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/germany/131213/germany-berlin-tourists-airbnb-economy" type="external">Germans worry Berlin is becoming too wealthy for its own good</a></p>
<p>Any deal struck with Russia would run the serious risk of inflaming tensions on the streets. But the rumors are also a sign that Yanukovych has fumbled his geopolitical balancing act, some analysts say.</p>
<p>“The whole point of the crisis was that Yanukovych was playing not a zero-sum but a positive-sum game, trying to squeeze more out of both sides,” Wilson said. “And that has collapsed.”</p>
<p>Protesters on the streets, meanwhile, are in no mood to give in. They say the Yanukovych regime — with its crackdowns, cronyism and auctioning of Ukraine’s future — represents the opposite of everything they stand for.</p>
<p>“Here’s what I think,” said Sasha Sazonchik, a 40-year-old from central Ukraine, during a recent rally near Independence Square. “Europeans will act like Europeans, and boors will be boorish.”&#160;</p> | 4,480 |
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Saturday evening’s drawing of the New Mexico Lottery’s “Roadrunner Cash” game were:</p>
<p>11-14-21-24-33</p>
<p>(eleven, fourteen, twenty-one, twenty-four, thirty-three)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $43,000</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Saturday evening’s drawing of the New Mexico Lottery’s “Roadrunner Cash” game were:</p>
<p>11-14-21-24-33</p>
<p>(eleven, fourteen, twenty-one, twenty-four, thirty-three)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $43,000</p> | Winning numbers drawn in ‘Roadrunner Cash’ game | false | https://apnews.com/03e5eacfd7674099b8919d8b618df7cb | 2018-01-21 | 2least
| Winning numbers drawn in ‘Roadrunner Cash’ game
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Saturday evening’s drawing of the New Mexico Lottery’s “Roadrunner Cash” game were:</p>
<p>11-14-21-24-33</p>
<p>(eleven, fourteen, twenty-one, twenty-four, thirty-three)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $43,000</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Saturday evening’s drawing of the New Mexico Lottery’s “Roadrunner Cash” game were:</p>
<p>11-14-21-24-33</p>
<p>(eleven, fourteen, twenty-one, twenty-four, thirty-three)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $43,000</p> | 4,481 |
<p />
<p>China and the U.S. have been quite the bosom buddies lately, both on economic and environmental issues. But is it any wonder? As we discussed in our current feature article, “ <a href="/news/feature/2008/01/the-last-empire.html" type="external">The Last Empire</a>,” China’s booming economy is based on a high-consumption, capitalist, American model.</p>
<p>The two countries recently <a href="http://www.hindu.com/2007/12/14/stories/2007121456151700.htm" type="external">pledged</a> to “conduct extensive cooperation over a 10-year period to focus on technological innovation, adoption of clean technology and sustainable natural resources.” The promise to adopt clean technology seems like nothing more than a false gesture, considering both China and the U.S. refused mandatory emissions cuts of 20 to 40 percent by 2020 at the U.N. climate change conference in Bali this week.</p>
<p>For more on this subject, continue reading <a href="/blue_marble_blog/archives/2007/12/6564_china_and_the_u.html" type="external">this post</a> on Mother Jones‘ environment and health blog, <a href="/blue_marble_blog/" type="external">The Blue Marble</a>.</p>
<p /> | Double Trouble: China and the U.S. Gang Up on the Environment | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2007/12/double-trouble-china-and-us-gang-environment-2/ | 2007-12-14 | 4left
| Double Trouble: China and the U.S. Gang Up on the Environment
<p />
<p>China and the U.S. have been quite the bosom buddies lately, both on economic and environmental issues. But is it any wonder? As we discussed in our current feature article, “ <a href="/news/feature/2008/01/the-last-empire.html" type="external">The Last Empire</a>,” China’s booming economy is based on a high-consumption, capitalist, American model.</p>
<p>The two countries recently <a href="http://www.hindu.com/2007/12/14/stories/2007121456151700.htm" type="external">pledged</a> to “conduct extensive cooperation over a 10-year period to focus on technological innovation, adoption of clean technology and sustainable natural resources.” The promise to adopt clean technology seems like nothing more than a false gesture, considering both China and the U.S. refused mandatory emissions cuts of 20 to 40 percent by 2020 at the U.N. climate change conference in Bali this week.</p>
<p>For more on this subject, continue reading <a href="/blue_marble_blog/archives/2007/12/6564_china_and_the_u.html" type="external">this post</a> on Mother Jones‘ environment and health blog, <a href="/blue_marble_blog/" type="external">The Blue Marble</a>.</p>
<p /> | 4,482 |
<p>Let's be clear — we don't know what Moscow is thinking for Ukraine.</p>
<p>On the one hand, Russia's leaders might see the Ukrainian Revolution as an existential threat. It's a revolution against tyranny and corruption, and the Kremlin does not want to see that spreading.&#160;And if that's the case, the worst nightmare scenarios of Russian intervention become plausible.</p>
<p>But Russia's likely thinking on the Crimean peninsula is a lot more transparent, and it's an old-school lesson in geography and history.</p>
<p>Let's start with geography. Crimea offers Russia something it sorely lacks — access to the sea. For much of its history, Russia was a landlocked state.</p>
<p>Being landlocked limited its access to world markets and left its rulers feeling isolated and marginalized — a second-rate power on the periphery of the civilized world. Crimea offered Russia an ice-free port, not so much for shipping, but as a base for its naval power.</p>
<p>Sevastopol makes a great naval base. It has a large, deep, defensible harbor and it's located almost in the middle of the Black Sea, offering an easy jumping-off point to project power in all directions in all seasons.</p>
<p>Sevastopol was founded as a naval base in 1783 — the same year as the American Revolution came to an end. For Europe, that's pretty late in history. That's because, for the preceding centuries, Crimea was home to a powerful Islamic state which dominated what is now southern Ukraine and southern Russia.</p>
<p>Russia's conquest of the Crimean Tatars was, and still is, hugely symbolic for Russians. It symbolized Russia's coming out as a great power and the beginning of its emergence as a naval power, a player on the world stage. The region was colonized by Russians and Ukrainians. Most of the Tatars were driven out — although some remain and are today protesting against the Russian takeover.</p>
<p>Russia's emergence as a power in southeast Europe 200 years ago threatened to destabilize the balance of power. Other great powers, like France and Britain, worried that if Russia took over Turkey, there would be no stopping Russia from projecting power into their backyards.</p>
<p>In the 1850s, it seemed the Russians might finally defeat the Ottoman Turks and obtain an outlet to the Mediterranean. So Britain and France intervened directly, leading to the so-called Crimean War.</p>
<p>The allies besieged the great Russian naval base at Sevastopol in Crimea. The Russians mounted a prolonged and heroic defense, but were finally beaten. This defeat was a national humiliation for Russia. The message was that Russia was poor and backward compared to the rising technological powers of the West. So Moscow launched a campaign of reform and transformation.</p>
<p>Leap forward to World War II and Crimea appears again as a vital national symbol to Russia.</p>
<p>In 1941, the Nazis invaded the Soviet Union. The Soviets suffered defeat after defeat.</p>
<p>In the fall, the Germans assault Crimea. But then they get stuck. Sevastopol holds out, in part because it can be resupplied by sea. The city holds out for nine months. And through all that time, the eyes of all Russia are on this rare example of relative success — a symbol of Russian stubbornness against the fascist invaders. Sevastopol was awarded the status of "Hero City" at the end of the war.</p>
<p>Then, with a stroke of a pen, Crimea was transferred from Russia to its satellite Ukraine in 1954. A decree stated the move was motivated by "the commonality of the economy, the proximity, and close economic and cultural relations between the Crimean region and the Ukrainian SSR [Soviet Socialist Republic]."</p>
<p>Some said Khruschev also wanted to reward Ukraine for its heroism during World War II. Under the Soviet Union, the transfer was a pretty meaningless technicality. But when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Ukraine and Russia almost came to blows over Crimea.</p>
<p>There was a compromise: Crimea remained part of Ukraine, but with an autonomous government. And most important for Moscow, Russia kept the Black Sea Fleet pretty much intact and was allowed to lease the base at Sevastopol.&#160;</p>
<p>Given the historic symbolism of Crimea, it's unlikely Russia will tamely leave now. The defensive lines being dug by Russian troops along the Perekop Isthmus between Crimea and the Ukrainian mainland are in the same locations as the trenches dug in 1941 against the Nazis. And the Russian media today is filled with references to the "fascist coup" that has seized control in Kiev.</p>
<p>On top of that, geography remains the same: Sevastopol remains the key naval base needed for Russia to maintain its vision of itself as a great power. Some of us in the 21st century don't like to think that "hard power," such as a huge navy, still matters that much. But if you ask me, it always has and always will.</p>
<p>Russian leaders appear to have convinced themselves that they cannot give up Crimea without forfeiting Russia's status as a great power.&#160;</p>
<p>So what likely happens next? Well, Crimea is physically detached from modern Russia. It's separated by those parts of eastern and southern Ukraine that contain large Russian populations to this day.&#160;If you were the Kremlin, what would you do?</p> | Here’s why Russia won’t let go of Crimea | false | https://pri.org/stories/2014-03-03/here-s-why-russia-won-t-let-go-crimea | 2014-03-03 | 3left-center
| Here’s why Russia won’t let go of Crimea
<p>Let's be clear — we don't know what Moscow is thinking for Ukraine.</p>
<p>On the one hand, Russia's leaders might see the Ukrainian Revolution as an existential threat. It's a revolution against tyranny and corruption, and the Kremlin does not want to see that spreading.&#160;And if that's the case, the worst nightmare scenarios of Russian intervention become plausible.</p>
<p>But Russia's likely thinking on the Crimean peninsula is a lot more transparent, and it's an old-school lesson in geography and history.</p>
<p>Let's start with geography. Crimea offers Russia something it sorely lacks — access to the sea. For much of its history, Russia was a landlocked state.</p>
<p>Being landlocked limited its access to world markets and left its rulers feeling isolated and marginalized — a second-rate power on the periphery of the civilized world. Crimea offered Russia an ice-free port, not so much for shipping, but as a base for its naval power.</p>
<p>Sevastopol makes a great naval base. It has a large, deep, defensible harbor and it's located almost in the middle of the Black Sea, offering an easy jumping-off point to project power in all directions in all seasons.</p>
<p>Sevastopol was founded as a naval base in 1783 — the same year as the American Revolution came to an end. For Europe, that's pretty late in history. That's because, for the preceding centuries, Crimea was home to a powerful Islamic state which dominated what is now southern Ukraine and southern Russia.</p>
<p>Russia's conquest of the Crimean Tatars was, and still is, hugely symbolic for Russians. It symbolized Russia's coming out as a great power and the beginning of its emergence as a naval power, a player on the world stage. The region was colonized by Russians and Ukrainians. Most of the Tatars were driven out — although some remain and are today protesting against the Russian takeover.</p>
<p>Russia's emergence as a power in southeast Europe 200 years ago threatened to destabilize the balance of power. Other great powers, like France and Britain, worried that if Russia took over Turkey, there would be no stopping Russia from projecting power into their backyards.</p>
<p>In the 1850s, it seemed the Russians might finally defeat the Ottoman Turks and obtain an outlet to the Mediterranean. So Britain and France intervened directly, leading to the so-called Crimean War.</p>
<p>The allies besieged the great Russian naval base at Sevastopol in Crimea. The Russians mounted a prolonged and heroic defense, but were finally beaten. This defeat was a national humiliation for Russia. The message was that Russia was poor and backward compared to the rising technological powers of the West. So Moscow launched a campaign of reform and transformation.</p>
<p>Leap forward to World War II and Crimea appears again as a vital national symbol to Russia.</p>
<p>In 1941, the Nazis invaded the Soviet Union. The Soviets suffered defeat after defeat.</p>
<p>In the fall, the Germans assault Crimea. But then they get stuck. Sevastopol holds out, in part because it can be resupplied by sea. The city holds out for nine months. And through all that time, the eyes of all Russia are on this rare example of relative success — a symbol of Russian stubbornness against the fascist invaders. Sevastopol was awarded the status of "Hero City" at the end of the war.</p>
<p>Then, with a stroke of a pen, Crimea was transferred from Russia to its satellite Ukraine in 1954. A decree stated the move was motivated by "the commonality of the economy, the proximity, and close economic and cultural relations between the Crimean region and the Ukrainian SSR [Soviet Socialist Republic]."</p>
<p>Some said Khruschev also wanted to reward Ukraine for its heroism during World War II. Under the Soviet Union, the transfer was a pretty meaningless technicality. But when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Ukraine and Russia almost came to blows over Crimea.</p>
<p>There was a compromise: Crimea remained part of Ukraine, but with an autonomous government. And most important for Moscow, Russia kept the Black Sea Fleet pretty much intact and was allowed to lease the base at Sevastopol.&#160;</p>
<p>Given the historic symbolism of Crimea, it's unlikely Russia will tamely leave now. The defensive lines being dug by Russian troops along the Perekop Isthmus between Crimea and the Ukrainian mainland are in the same locations as the trenches dug in 1941 against the Nazis. And the Russian media today is filled with references to the "fascist coup" that has seized control in Kiev.</p>
<p>On top of that, geography remains the same: Sevastopol remains the key naval base needed for Russia to maintain its vision of itself as a great power. Some of us in the 21st century don't like to think that "hard power," such as a huge navy, still matters that much. But if you ask me, it always has and always will.</p>
<p>Russian leaders appear to have convinced themselves that they cannot give up Crimea without forfeiting Russia's status as a great power.&#160;</p>
<p>So what likely happens next? Well, Crimea is physically detached from modern Russia. It's separated by those parts of eastern and southern Ukraine that contain large Russian populations to this day.&#160;If you were the Kremlin, what would you do?</p> | 4,483 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>The bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance report found that Warrior Project spending has been “consistent with its programs and missions.”</p>
<p>Last March, the Wounded Warrior Project fired its top administrators amid news reports that the charity was spending millions in donations intended for veterans on a swanky convention in a five-star hotel along with other parties and employee perks and high salaries.</p>
<p>At the time, two of the organization’s leaders, who were let go, were making $473,015 and $369,030, respectively, in 2013, the last year for which tax documents are readily available. The Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance suspended the charity’s seal designation, and donations fell off with donors uncertain about how their money would be spent. About 85 employees were laid off in September from the organization, which now has 500 employees.</p>
<p>One source of contention was over media reports that said the organization had spent $3 million on that “all-hands” Colorado conference, but Wounded Warrior said last March that the expense was less than $1 million.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Likewise, the Better Business Bureau said its review found that the cost was less than $1 million. The investigations found that based on the 415 staff members, the cost was about $440 per day per employee for the five-day conference, including hotel rooms, food, travel and conference space, according to Stars and Stripes, which first reported the news.</p>
<p>Retired Army Lt. Gen. Michael S. Linnington, who took over the Wounded Warrior Project in July, said in an emailed statement that he is “pleased to see the Better Business Bureau’s report validating our impact and commitment.”</p>
<p>In a previous interview, he said he understood how the Colorado conference appeared from the outside. The Wounded Warrior Project no longer holds such events and already has increased the scrutiny on spending for travel and all expenses, he said, adding that he would be paid less than those before him, with his salary at $280,000.</p>
<p>“This year the non-profit WWP will hit a milestone by providing meaningful resources to our 100,000th wounded warrior,” he wrote. “And we are humbled and honored to provide continued support to these warriors and their families for many years to come.”</p> | Wounded Warrior Project cleared of ‘spending lavishly,’ report finds | false | https://abqjournal.com/945443/wounded-warrior-project-cleared-of-spending-lavishly-report-finds.html | 2017-02-08 | 2least
| Wounded Warrior Project cleared of ‘spending lavishly,’ report finds
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>The bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance report found that Warrior Project spending has been “consistent with its programs and missions.”</p>
<p>Last March, the Wounded Warrior Project fired its top administrators amid news reports that the charity was spending millions in donations intended for veterans on a swanky convention in a five-star hotel along with other parties and employee perks and high salaries.</p>
<p>At the time, two of the organization’s leaders, who were let go, were making $473,015 and $369,030, respectively, in 2013, the last year for which tax documents are readily available. The Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance suspended the charity’s seal designation, and donations fell off with donors uncertain about how their money would be spent. About 85 employees were laid off in September from the organization, which now has 500 employees.</p>
<p>One source of contention was over media reports that said the organization had spent $3 million on that “all-hands” Colorado conference, but Wounded Warrior said last March that the expense was less than $1 million.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Likewise, the Better Business Bureau said its review found that the cost was less than $1 million. The investigations found that based on the 415 staff members, the cost was about $440 per day per employee for the five-day conference, including hotel rooms, food, travel and conference space, according to Stars and Stripes, which first reported the news.</p>
<p>Retired Army Lt. Gen. Michael S. Linnington, who took over the Wounded Warrior Project in July, said in an emailed statement that he is “pleased to see the Better Business Bureau’s report validating our impact and commitment.”</p>
<p>In a previous interview, he said he understood how the Colorado conference appeared from the outside. The Wounded Warrior Project no longer holds such events and already has increased the scrutiny on spending for travel and all expenses, he said, adding that he would be paid less than those before him, with his salary at $280,000.</p>
<p>“This year the non-profit WWP will hit a milestone by providing meaningful resources to our 100,000th wounded warrior,” he wrote. “And we are humbled and honored to provide continued support to these warriors and their families for many years to come.”</p> | 4,484 |
<p>“There’s a lot of people in the world who don’t believe that people whose skin color may not be the same as ours can be free and self-govern. I reject that. I reject that strongly. I believe that people who practice the Muslim faith can self-govern. I believe that people whose skins aren’t necessarily — are a different color than white can self-govern.”</p>
<p>George Bush, April 30, 2004 [1]</p>
<p>This happens rarely–very rarely. An apology from the President of the United States, not for personal lapses, but for the rare slippage in the workings of America’s virtuous, divinely blessed, civilizing mission to the benighted world.</p>
<p>Most Americans truly believe–take this to be self-evident–that the United States is not only the world’s greatest country, but it has always been the last great hope of earth, that Americans have always been willing, more than any other Western power, to take on the White Man’s burden, to bring life, liberty and happiness to the rest of mankind. This is a testament to the power of American media: that it can claim to be the world’s freest media and yet control–like no other ‘free’ media–what an overwhelming majority of Americans know and believe about their country. And what they know and believe is America the free, pure and virtuous.</p>
<p>Day after day, the mandarins and media in this country work tirelessly, cleverly, to project an image of an America that protects freedoms at home and abroad; an America that has time and again shed its blood to rid foreign lands of murderous tyrannies; an America that cares, that responds with alacrity to famines and calamities abroad; an American that contributes men, money and ideas to bring prosperity to the backward races; an America that has patiently served as an honest broker in the dispute between Israelis and Palestinians.</p>
<p>As a result, year after year, most Americans are kept in the dark, unaware of the actual, the real America–the only kind seen by much of the rest of the world. This is the America that daily employs its might to mangle the lives of hundreds of millions, that pushes a globalization that devastates the economies of the Third World, that instructs and arms foreign tyrannies to terrorize their own people, that aids and abets an Israeli machine that is determined to extirpate the Palestinians. This America acts in the name of freedom, in any way that it sees fit and necessary, to keep the world safe for American capital. However, this dark side of America is nearly completely, nearly always, whitewashed by the myth-making powers of America’s elites. Occasionally, this myth-making machine will let slip a few snapshots of the real, the actual America. In fact, such slippages are functional; they serve to validate the trust of the duped and faithful in our ‘free’ media. Generally, these revelations appear long after the fact. They are also quickly explained away. Americans are told that this is for their own good: they serve higher American values. When they cannot be explained away, they are described as unavoidable lapses, human failings of a few. These lapses remind the faithful to be thankful that the system works well nearly all the time. No apology is tendered. None is demanded.</p>
<p>Yet the matter of the torture of Iraqi prisoners has quickly produced a storm of indignation from the mandarins and the media. It has led to calls for investigations, demands for the resignation of the Secretary of Defense, two television appearances by the President before Arab audiences, and, incredibly, even a feeble Presidential apology. In the words of Scott McClellan, the White House Press Secretary, “The President is sorry for what occurred and the pain it has caused.”</p>
<p>I am assuming that the “pain” in question is the one inflicted by Americans on the Iraqis, as well as anyone who can feel the pain of the Iraqi victims. Or is the President talking of America’s pain over the actual, the real America, now irrevocably, unforgettably, caught on camera? For the history books. For posterity.</p>
<p>In any case, that’s quite decent for starters. Incredibly, the name of a sitting American President has been linked to the subject of Arab pain, a pain that has an acknowledged American provenance. It must be a first, for any American President–perhaps, any Western leader. We are speaking of the pain of the “natives”–inferior sand niggers, in this case–the pain of whose miserable lives could never earn our sympathy. We do not share in the pain of the natives.</p>
<p>Has the President undergone another conversion? If he has, and now, he, truly and sincerely, feels the pain inflicted by a few Americans on their Iraqi victims, will he follow up by acknowledging the Iraqis who were killed and maimed to advance the interests of Zionists and Oil Corporations? Will he also set up museums to commemorate the deaths of a million and a half Iraqi civilians killed in a previous American war that targeted their civilian infrastructure and followed it up with death-dealing sanctions? Is it just possible that at last the President will begin to recognize the Palestinians as humans, and atone for the pain that he and his predecessors have inflicted upon them for more than fifty years?</p>
<p>Apart from the faithful, no one believes that the President’s apology is sincere. In fact, it looks comical–comical because it is based on false premises. We are behaving as if the sexual humiliation of Iraqi prisoners is the first outrage inflicted by the United States on the Muslims. It is unlikely that the Muslims have forgotten, or will soon forget, the hundred lacerations inflicted upon them by America’s conjugal embrace of the Israeli Occupation, by its support for corrupt monarchies and dictatorships in the Islamicate world, by the genocidal first Gulf War, by the strangulating sanctions against Iraq that took the lives of three-quarters of a million Iraqi children, and by the routine demonization of Islam by preachers close to this White House. It is comical when a tormentor inflicts a hundred wounds on his victim and then starts apologizing for stepping on his toes.</p>
<p>The apology is comical because the United States has hitherto acted on the premise that the Arabs only respect a stout stick. This is the advice that the Zionists have regularly dished out to their American pupils. In part, this was the advice on which President Bush launched his invasion of Iraq. Topple Saddam, the Arab strongman, and all the Arabs will instantly acknowledge US-Israeli hegemony as the greatest gift to them since the descent of the Qur’an. So, isn’t it a bit comical so soon after the invasion to come apologizing to the Arabs? Actually, it is worse than comical. It has to be stupid. It will surely be read by many Muslims–not least, those who are in the Islamist resistance–as a sign of weakness, an admission that America’s belligerent approach isn’t paying off, that the world’s only super power is afraid of Arab outrage.</p>
<p>The President’s apology is also targeted at domestic audiences. The pictures of American liberators sexually torturing Iraqis do not make the best commercials for America’s high civilizing mission. They might just undermine America’s faith in its civilizing mission, the principal ideological prop for its formidable military machine. Some quick action was necessary. Americans were assured that the cases of torture were local, not systemic, and their perpetrators are being punished. There was nothing to worry. America’s civilizing mission could not be derailed by the actions of a few rogue elements. It must continue to march forward through the jungles, swamps and deserts of the Third World, bringing freedom, hope and prosperity to the inferior breeds who cannot yet manage their own affairs. The civilizing mission is the sacred trust of the White Man.</p>
<p>Still, we must ask, if there isn’t an element of panic in the White House response to the scandal of Iraqi prison torture. The whole administration is apologizing, and doing so repeatedly, promptly and with little urging from anyone. The sight of the United States–swaggering, contemptuous of others, unilateralist–apologizing, somehow, makes an eerie sight. Does this suggest that after all the damned lies to cover for the war, after all the blustering as these lies were exposed, this Administration is finally losing its nerve, losing its cool? Could it be that they too know better than what they put out? Could it be that they too fear that the game they started in Iraq–at the cost of American and Iraqi lives–is over?</p>
<p>References:</p>
<p>[1] George Will, “Time for Bush to See The Realities of Iraq,” Washington Post, May 4, 2004).</p>
<p>M. SHAHID ALAM is professor of economics at Northeastern University. His last book, Poverty from the Wealth of Nations, was published by Palgrave in 2000. Visit his webpage at <a href="http://msalam.net/" type="external">http://msalam.net</a>. © M. SHAHID ALAM</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | A Comic Apology | true | https://counterpunch.org/2004/05/07/a-comic-apology/ | 2004-05-07 | 4left
| A Comic Apology
<p>“There’s a lot of people in the world who don’t believe that people whose skin color may not be the same as ours can be free and self-govern. I reject that. I reject that strongly. I believe that people who practice the Muslim faith can self-govern. I believe that people whose skins aren’t necessarily — are a different color than white can self-govern.”</p>
<p>George Bush, April 30, 2004 [1]</p>
<p>This happens rarely–very rarely. An apology from the President of the United States, not for personal lapses, but for the rare slippage in the workings of America’s virtuous, divinely blessed, civilizing mission to the benighted world.</p>
<p>Most Americans truly believe–take this to be self-evident–that the United States is not only the world’s greatest country, but it has always been the last great hope of earth, that Americans have always been willing, more than any other Western power, to take on the White Man’s burden, to bring life, liberty and happiness to the rest of mankind. This is a testament to the power of American media: that it can claim to be the world’s freest media and yet control–like no other ‘free’ media–what an overwhelming majority of Americans know and believe about their country. And what they know and believe is America the free, pure and virtuous.</p>
<p>Day after day, the mandarins and media in this country work tirelessly, cleverly, to project an image of an America that protects freedoms at home and abroad; an America that has time and again shed its blood to rid foreign lands of murderous tyrannies; an America that cares, that responds with alacrity to famines and calamities abroad; an American that contributes men, money and ideas to bring prosperity to the backward races; an America that has patiently served as an honest broker in the dispute between Israelis and Palestinians.</p>
<p>As a result, year after year, most Americans are kept in the dark, unaware of the actual, the real America–the only kind seen by much of the rest of the world. This is the America that daily employs its might to mangle the lives of hundreds of millions, that pushes a globalization that devastates the economies of the Third World, that instructs and arms foreign tyrannies to terrorize their own people, that aids and abets an Israeli machine that is determined to extirpate the Palestinians. This America acts in the name of freedom, in any way that it sees fit and necessary, to keep the world safe for American capital. However, this dark side of America is nearly completely, nearly always, whitewashed by the myth-making powers of America’s elites. Occasionally, this myth-making machine will let slip a few snapshots of the real, the actual America. In fact, such slippages are functional; they serve to validate the trust of the duped and faithful in our ‘free’ media. Generally, these revelations appear long after the fact. They are also quickly explained away. Americans are told that this is for their own good: they serve higher American values. When they cannot be explained away, they are described as unavoidable lapses, human failings of a few. These lapses remind the faithful to be thankful that the system works well nearly all the time. No apology is tendered. None is demanded.</p>
<p>Yet the matter of the torture of Iraqi prisoners has quickly produced a storm of indignation from the mandarins and the media. It has led to calls for investigations, demands for the resignation of the Secretary of Defense, two television appearances by the President before Arab audiences, and, incredibly, even a feeble Presidential apology. In the words of Scott McClellan, the White House Press Secretary, “The President is sorry for what occurred and the pain it has caused.”</p>
<p>I am assuming that the “pain” in question is the one inflicted by Americans on the Iraqis, as well as anyone who can feel the pain of the Iraqi victims. Or is the President talking of America’s pain over the actual, the real America, now irrevocably, unforgettably, caught on camera? For the history books. For posterity.</p>
<p>In any case, that’s quite decent for starters. Incredibly, the name of a sitting American President has been linked to the subject of Arab pain, a pain that has an acknowledged American provenance. It must be a first, for any American President–perhaps, any Western leader. We are speaking of the pain of the “natives”–inferior sand niggers, in this case–the pain of whose miserable lives could never earn our sympathy. We do not share in the pain of the natives.</p>
<p>Has the President undergone another conversion? If he has, and now, he, truly and sincerely, feels the pain inflicted by a few Americans on their Iraqi victims, will he follow up by acknowledging the Iraqis who were killed and maimed to advance the interests of Zionists and Oil Corporations? Will he also set up museums to commemorate the deaths of a million and a half Iraqi civilians killed in a previous American war that targeted their civilian infrastructure and followed it up with death-dealing sanctions? Is it just possible that at last the President will begin to recognize the Palestinians as humans, and atone for the pain that he and his predecessors have inflicted upon them for more than fifty years?</p>
<p>Apart from the faithful, no one believes that the President’s apology is sincere. In fact, it looks comical–comical because it is based on false premises. We are behaving as if the sexual humiliation of Iraqi prisoners is the first outrage inflicted by the United States on the Muslims. It is unlikely that the Muslims have forgotten, or will soon forget, the hundred lacerations inflicted upon them by America’s conjugal embrace of the Israeli Occupation, by its support for corrupt monarchies and dictatorships in the Islamicate world, by the genocidal first Gulf War, by the strangulating sanctions against Iraq that took the lives of three-quarters of a million Iraqi children, and by the routine demonization of Islam by preachers close to this White House. It is comical when a tormentor inflicts a hundred wounds on his victim and then starts apologizing for stepping on his toes.</p>
<p>The apology is comical because the United States has hitherto acted on the premise that the Arabs only respect a stout stick. This is the advice that the Zionists have regularly dished out to their American pupils. In part, this was the advice on which President Bush launched his invasion of Iraq. Topple Saddam, the Arab strongman, and all the Arabs will instantly acknowledge US-Israeli hegemony as the greatest gift to them since the descent of the Qur’an. So, isn’t it a bit comical so soon after the invasion to come apologizing to the Arabs? Actually, it is worse than comical. It has to be stupid. It will surely be read by many Muslims–not least, those who are in the Islamist resistance–as a sign of weakness, an admission that America’s belligerent approach isn’t paying off, that the world’s only super power is afraid of Arab outrage.</p>
<p>The President’s apology is also targeted at domestic audiences. The pictures of American liberators sexually torturing Iraqis do not make the best commercials for America’s high civilizing mission. They might just undermine America’s faith in its civilizing mission, the principal ideological prop for its formidable military machine. Some quick action was necessary. Americans were assured that the cases of torture were local, not systemic, and their perpetrators are being punished. There was nothing to worry. America’s civilizing mission could not be derailed by the actions of a few rogue elements. It must continue to march forward through the jungles, swamps and deserts of the Third World, bringing freedom, hope and prosperity to the inferior breeds who cannot yet manage their own affairs. The civilizing mission is the sacred trust of the White Man.</p>
<p>Still, we must ask, if there isn’t an element of panic in the White House response to the scandal of Iraqi prison torture. The whole administration is apologizing, and doing so repeatedly, promptly and with little urging from anyone. The sight of the United States–swaggering, contemptuous of others, unilateralist–apologizing, somehow, makes an eerie sight. Does this suggest that after all the damned lies to cover for the war, after all the blustering as these lies were exposed, this Administration is finally losing its nerve, losing its cool? Could it be that they too know better than what they put out? Could it be that they too fear that the game they started in Iraq–at the cost of American and Iraqi lives–is over?</p>
<p>References:</p>
<p>[1] George Will, “Time for Bush to See The Realities of Iraq,” Washington Post, May 4, 2004).</p>
<p>M. SHAHID ALAM is professor of economics at Northeastern University. His last book, Poverty from the Wealth of Nations, was published by Palgrave in 2000. Visit his webpage at <a href="http://msalam.net/" type="external">http://msalam.net</a>. © M. SHAHID ALAM</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | 4,485 |
<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court appeared likely Tuesday to make it easier for participants in employee retirement plans to challenge companies’ investment decisions that eat into retirement savings.</p>
<p>The justices heard arguments in an appeal filed by current and former employees of energy company Edison International. They object to the way the company manages employees’ 401(k) retirement accounts, including choosing mutual funds with excessive fees.</p>
<p>The high court hearing comes amid heightened scrutiny of the management of Americans’ retirement investments, including President Barack Obama’s call on Monday for tougher standards for brokers who direct individual accounts.</p>
<p>Industry and consumer groups are closely watching the Supreme Court case because 401(k) accounts have grown in popularity and dollar amount, supplanting traditional pension plans. Fifty-three million people hold about $4.5 trillion in 401(k) accounts as of Sept. 30, according to the Investment Company Institute, an industry group.</p>
<p>Edison offers employees roughly 40 mutual funds to choose from in deciding how to invest. The case involves a few funds in which the company chose higher-cost funds open to the general public instead of identical investments with lower costs that are open only to institutional investors. The Edison employees contend that the company did not act in their best interests by choosing the higher-cost funds.</p>
<p>Higher fees of just 1 percent a year would erase $70,000 from an average worker’s account over a four-decade career compared with lower-cost options, according to a study last year by the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank.</p>
<p>The Edison lawsuit is one of several claims being advanced by St. Louis-based lawyer Jerome Schlicter. Last week, Lockheed Martin said it has agreed to pay $62 million to settle another Schlicter-led lawsuit that accused the defense contractor of mismanaging employee retirement accounts and using funds with excessive fees.</p>
<p>The justices themselves recognized the value of the lower-cost investments. “The day when you get from your mutual funds a notice that says, by the way, you’re a preferred investor, we’re switching you, it’s the exact same fund under a different name, now you don’t pay fees, that’s a red-letter day for an investor,” Justice Elena Kagan said.</p>
<p>There was little support evident among the justices for a decision by the federal appeals court in San Francisco that dismissed the Edison employees’ claims under the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act, known as ERISA. The appeals court said the lawsuit was filed too late to contest the original choice of funds and said the executives who make those decisions only have to reconsider them if circumstances change dramatically.</p>
<p>Jonathan Hacker, representing Edison, said it would be too much to ask the executives periodically to “scour the market for...cheaper investment options.”</p>
<p>But Justice Anthony Kennedy was unmoved. “Well, you certainly do, if that’s what a prudent trustee would do.”</p>
<p>A decision in Tibble v. Edison International, 13-550, is expected by late June.</p>
<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court appeared likely Tuesday to make it easier for participants in employee retirement plans to challenge companies’ investment decisions that eat into retirement savings.</p>
<p>The justices heard arguments in an appeal filed by current and former employees of energy company Edison International. They object to the way the company manages employees’ 401(k) retirement accounts, including choosing mutual funds with excessive fees.</p>
<p>The high court hearing comes amid heightened scrutiny of the management of Americans’ retirement investments, including President Barack Obama’s call on Monday for tougher standards for brokers who direct individual accounts.</p>
<p>Industry and consumer groups are closely watching the Supreme Court case because 401(k) accounts have grown in popularity and dollar amount, supplanting traditional pension plans. Fifty-three million people hold about $4.5 trillion in 401(k) accounts as of Sept. 30, according to the Investment Company Institute, an industry group.</p>
<p>Edison offers employees roughly 40 mutual funds to choose from in deciding how to invest. The case involves a few funds in which the company chose higher-cost funds open to the general public instead of identical investments with lower costs that are open only to institutional investors. The Edison employees contend that the company did not act in their best interests by choosing the higher-cost funds.</p>
<p>Higher fees of just 1 percent a year would erase $70,000 from an average worker’s account over a four-decade career compared with lower-cost options, according to a study last year by the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank.</p>
<p>The Edison lawsuit is one of several claims being advanced by St. Louis-based lawyer Jerome Schlicter. Last week, Lockheed Martin said it has agreed to pay $62 million to settle another Schlicter-led lawsuit that accused the defense contractor of mismanaging employee retirement accounts and using funds with excessive fees.</p>
<p>The justices themselves recognized the value of the lower-cost investments. “The day when you get from your mutual funds a notice that says, by the way, you’re a preferred investor, we’re switching you, it’s the exact same fund under a different name, now you don’t pay fees, that’s a red-letter day for an investor,” Justice Elena Kagan said.</p>
<p>There was little support evident among the justices for a decision by the federal appeals court in San Francisco that dismissed the Edison employees’ claims under the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act, known as ERISA. The appeals court said the lawsuit was filed too late to contest the original choice of funds and said the executives who make those decisions only have to reconsider them if circumstances change dramatically.</p>
<p>Jonathan Hacker, representing Edison, said it would be too much to ask the executives periodically to “scour the market for...cheaper investment options.”</p>
<p>But Justice Anthony Kennedy was unmoved. “Well, you certainly do, if that’s what a prudent trustee would do.”</p>
<p>A decision in Tibble v. Edison International, 13-550, is expected by late June.</p> | Justices signal support for investors in 401(k) lawsuits | false | https://apnews.com/d34700983085475c8dace2d74565513d | 2015-02-24 | 2least
| Justices signal support for investors in 401(k) lawsuits
<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court appeared likely Tuesday to make it easier for participants in employee retirement plans to challenge companies’ investment decisions that eat into retirement savings.</p>
<p>The justices heard arguments in an appeal filed by current and former employees of energy company Edison International. They object to the way the company manages employees’ 401(k) retirement accounts, including choosing mutual funds with excessive fees.</p>
<p>The high court hearing comes amid heightened scrutiny of the management of Americans’ retirement investments, including President Barack Obama’s call on Monday for tougher standards for brokers who direct individual accounts.</p>
<p>Industry and consumer groups are closely watching the Supreme Court case because 401(k) accounts have grown in popularity and dollar amount, supplanting traditional pension plans. Fifty-three million people hold about $4.5 trillion in 401(k) accounts as of Sept. 30, according to the Investment Company Institute, an industry group.</p>
<p>Edison offers employees roughly 40 mutual funds to choose from in deciding how to invest. The case involves a few funds in which the company chose higher-cost funds open to the general public instead of identical investments with lower costs that are open only to institutional investors. The Edison employees contend that the company did not act in their best interests by choosing the higher-cost funds.</p>
<p>Higher fees of just 1 percent a year would erase $70,000 from an average worker’s account over a four-decade career compared with lower-cost options, according to a study last year by the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank.</p>
<p>The Edison lawsuit is one of several claims being advanced by St. Louis-based lawyer Jerome Schlicter. Last week, Lockheed Martin said it has agreed to pay $62 million to settle another Schlicter-led lawsuit that accused the defense contractor of mismanaging employee retirement accounts and using funds with excessive fees.</p>
<p>The justices themselves recognized the value of the lower-cost investments. “The day when you get from your mutual funds a notice that says, by the way, you’re a preferred investor, we’re switching you, it’s the exact same fund under a different name, now you don’t pay fees, that’s a red-letter day for an investor,” Justice Elena Kagan said.</p>
<p>There was little support evident among the justices for a decision by the federal appeals court in San Francisco that dismissed the Edison employees’ claims under the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act, known as ERISA. The appeals court said the lawsuit was filed too late to contest the original choice of funds and said the executives who make those decisions only have to reconsider them if circumstances change dramatically.</p>
<p>Jonathan Hacker, representing Edison, said it would be too much to ask the executives periodically to “scour the market for...cheaper investment options.”</p>
<p>But Justice Anthony Kennedy was unmoved. “Well, you certainly do, if that’s what a prudent trustee would do.”</p>
<p>A decision in Tibble v. Edison International, 13-550, is expected by late June.</p>
<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court appeared likely Tuesday to make it easier for participants in employee retirement plans to challenge companies’ investment decisions that eat into retirement savings.</p>
<p>The justices heard arguments in an appeal filed by current and former employees of energy company Edison International. They object to the way the company manages employees’ 401(k) retirement accounts, including choosing mutual funds with excessive fees.</p>
<p>The high court hearing comes amid heightened scrutiny of the management of Americans’ retirement investments, including President Barack Obama’s call on Monday for tougher standards for brokers who direct individual accounts.</p>
<p>Industry and consumer groups are closely watching the Supreme Court case because 401(k) accounts have grown in popularity and dollar amount, supplanting traditional pension plans. Fifty-three million people hold about $4.5 trillion in 401(k) accounts as of Sept. 30, according to the Investment Company Institute, an industry group.</p>
<p>Edison offers employees roughly 40 mutual funds to choose from in deciding how to invest. The case involves a few funds in which the company chose higher-cost funds open to the general public instead of identical investments with lower costs that are open only to institutional investors. The Edison employees contend that the company did not act in their best interests by choosing the higher-cost funds.</p>
<p>Higher fees of just 1 percent a year would erase $70,000 from an average worker’s account over a four-decade career compared with lower-cost options, according to a study last year by the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank.</p>
<p>The Edison lawsuit is one of several claims being advanced by St. Louis-based lawyer Jerome Schlicter. Last week, Lockheed Martin said it has agreed to pay $62 million to settle another Schlicter-led lawsuit that accused the defense contractor of mismanaging employee retirement accounts and using funds with excessive fees.</p>
<p>The justices themselves recognized the value of the lower-cost investments. “The day when you get from your mutual funds a notice that says, by the way, you’re a preferred investor, we’re switching you, it’s the exact same fund under a different name, now you don’t pay fees, that’s a red-letter day for an investor,” Justice Elena Kagan said.</p>
<p>There was little support evident among the justices for a decision by the federal appeals court in San Francisco that dismissed the Edison employees’ claims under the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act, known as ERISA. The appeals court said the lawsuit was filed too late to contest the original choice of funds and said the executives who make those decisions only have to reconsider them if circumstances change dramatically.</p>
<p>Jonathan Hacker, representing Edison, said it would be too much to ask the executives periodically to “scour the market for...cheaper investment options.”</p>
<p>But Justice Anthony Kennedy was unmoved. “Well, you certainly do, if that’s what a prudent trustee would do.”</p>
<p>A decision in Tibble v. Edison International, 13-550, is expected by late June.</p> | 4,486 |
<p>Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) has generated jaw-dropping returns for early investors, with shares of the video-streaming giant climbing more than 15,000% from its initial public offering just 15 years ago. Of course, few people had the resolve to buy early and hold for the entirety of that incredible run. But it's worth noting those who purchased a mere five years ago have watched the value of their investment increase more than 2,100%, including a nearly 90% rise in the past year alone.</p>
<p>That raises the question: Are there any stocks on the market today that could do even better?</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>We asked three top Motley Fool investors for their thoughts to that end. Read on to learn what they had to say about Disney (NYSE: DIS), Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), and Cirrus Logic (NASDAQ: CRUS).</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFSymington/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=1236baa4-9f0c-11e7-93c1-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Steve Symington Opens a New Window.</a> (Disney): Disney has already delivered incredible returns for investors and is arguably the most successful entertainment conglomerate in history; even excluding dividends, shares have climbed nearly 90% over the past five years alone.</p>
<p>But Disney stock also trades around 15% below its 52-week high set in April, thanks largely to concerns over the sluggish performance of its core media networks segment. Perhaps most notably, Disney has suffered from cord cutters and the <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/09/22/dont-buy-the-death-of-espn-hype.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=1236baa4-9f0c-11e7-93c1-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">declining subscriber base of ESPN Opens a New Window.</a>, of which the company owns an 80% stake.</p>
<p>Along with its <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/08/08/disney-stock-defies-ho-hum-earnings.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=1236baa4-9f0c-11e7-93c1-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">second-quarter report Opens a New Window.</a> last month, however, Disney unveiled an ambitious plan to not only launch an ESPN-branded streaming service early next year, but also introduce a Disney-branded direct-to-consumer streaming service in 2019. Both are clear signals that Disney is willing to evolve to better capitalize on consumers' changing media habits.</p>
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<p>If that wasn't enough, the relative out-performance of Disney's parks &amp; resorts and studio segments should continue to prop up the company in the meantime -- though investors should know that this year's terrible hurricane season will almost certainly have <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/09/12/disney-world-and-universal-orlando-try-to-get-past.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=1236baa4-9f0c-11e7-93c1-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">short-term repercussions Opens a New Window.</a> for the former. But the latter is also poised to benefit from multiple blockbuster theatrical releases over the next year, including Marvel's Thor: Ragnarok and Pixar's Coco in November, LucasFilm's Star Wars: The Last Jedi in December, Marvel's Black Panther next February, Avengers: Infinity War and a Han Solo Star Wars film&#160;next May, Pixar's The Incredibles 2 next June, and Ant-Man and the Wasp in July 2018.</p>
<p>Finally, keep in mind Disney aims to return around 20% of all cash it generates to shareholders in the form of stock repurchases and dividends. So for investors willing to buy now, let those capital returns compound and enjoy the show as Disney navigates today's evolving media landscape in the coming years, I think the Disney stock could easily soar more than Netflix going forward.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFSigma/activity.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=1236baa4-9f0c-11e7-93c1-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Demitri Kalogeropoulos Opens a New Window.</a> (Activision Blizzard): Activision Blizzard is up almost 80% this year to make it one of the top gainers in the entire market. That rally could just be the start for this video game publisher, in my view.</p>
<p>The company is driving -- and benefiting from -- two favorable industry trends that promise to keep pushing profitability to new records. High-margin digital sales jumped to 80% of its business last quarter, for one. And secondly, video games titles are seeing their useful life extended, as expansion packs and content upgrades become more accepted. Activision recently released a major upgrade to its two-year old Call of Duty: Black Ops III title, even as it put the finishing touches on this year's franchise launch.</p>
<p>Like Netflix, the video game giant is enjoying <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/09/18/the-worst-mistake-activision-blizzard-investors-ca.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=1236baa4-9f0c-11e7-93c1-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">record engagement levels Opens a New Window.</a> and boasts an audience that's consuming billions of hours of content across its portfolio. But whereas the streaming video giant's sales are basically limited by subscriber growth, Activision has a wider range of potential growth avenues it can pursue. These include consumer product sales, e-Sports, advertising, and whatever other strategies that CEO Bobby Kotick and his team can put together to monetize their base of over 400 million highly engaged gaming fans.</p>
<p><a href="https://my.fool.com/profile/TMFZahrim/activity.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=1236baa4-9f0c-11e7-93c1-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Anders Bylund Opens a New Window.</a> (Cirrus Logic): The secret to life-changing investment returns lies in finding companies that want to do more than just turn a profit. Netflix saw a rusty entertainment industry that was overdue for a couple of shakeups. Fantastic stock returns simply followed when the company followed through on that game-changing business opportunity.</p>
<p>Likewise, the first item on Cirrus Logic's agenda is to create high-quality audio and signal processors that are literally "engineered to rock." Build great products and the business results will follow. That's how Cirrus serves its customers, shareholders, and employees on equal footing.</p>
<p>In recent years, the company's largest customer has been Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL). Cirrus chips have been found driving the audio systems of every iPhone, iPad, and iPod <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/general/2012/02/11/a-chat-with-cirrus-logic-ceo-jason-rhode.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=1236baa4-9f0c-11e7-93c1-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">since the early days of the smartphone era Opens a New Window.</a>. Other chipmakers have tried and failed to replace Cirrus in this coveted market spot, but Apple has only <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/01/07/heres-how-cirrus-logic-doubled-in-2016.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=1236baa4-9f0c-11e7-93c1-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">expanded its reliance on this company Opens a New Window.</a> instead.</p>
<p>Beyond the Apple opportunity, Cirrus also counts Samsung Electronics (NASDAQOTH: SSNLF) as a major client. This way, the audio chip designer serves the two largest players in the mobile industry. Next up, Cirrus is exploring design wins among the largest phone designers in China. As it turns out, high-quality audio can serve as a selling point for phone makers across the industry and Cirrus Logic stands ready to benefit from that emerging trend.</p>
<p>All told, Cirrus has grown its sales by an annual average of 29% in the last five years while earnings expanded by 25% per year. Share prices have been lagging behind these great fundamental growth rates. The stock is trading at an affordable 13 times trailing earnings today, leaving lots of room for future shareholder gains.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than Cirrus LogicWhen 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=4c2468a1-565f-4c5a-a1d7-b1df8405977d&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=1236baa4-9f0c-11e7-93c1-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">10 best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now... and Cirrus Logic 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=4c2468a1-565f-4c5a-a1d7-b1df8405977d&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=1236baa4-9f0c-11e7-93c1-0050569d32b9&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 September 5, 2017</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFZahrim/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=1236baa4-9f0c-11e7-93c1-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Anders Bylund Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of Netflix and Walt Disney. <a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFSigma/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=1236baa4-9f0c-11e7-93c1-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Demitrios Kalogeropoulos Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of Activision Blizzard, Apple, Netflix, and Walt Disney. <a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFSymington/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=1236baa4-9f0c-11e7-93c1-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Steve Symington Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Activision Blizzard, Apple, Netflix, and Walt Disney. The Motley Fool recommends Cirrus Logic. 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=1236baa4-9f0c-11e7-93c1-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | 3 Stocks That Could Soar More Than Netflix | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/08/26/3-stocks-that-could-soar-more-than-netflix.html | 2017-09-22 | 0right
| 3 Stocks That Could Soar More Than Netflix
<p>Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) has generated jaw-dropping returns for early investors, with shares of the video-streaming giant climbing more than 15,000% from its initial public offering just 15 years ago. Of course, few people had the resolve to buy early and hold for the entirety of that incredible run. But it's worth noting those who purchased a mere five years ago have watched the value of their investment increase more than 2,100%, including a nearly 90% rise in the past year alone.</p>
<p>That raises the question: Are there any stocks on the market today that could do even better?</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>We asked three top Motley Fool investors for their thoughts to that end. Read on to learn what they had to say about Disney (NYSE: DIS), Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), and Cirrus Logic (NASDAQ: CRUS).</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFSymington/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=1236baa4-9f0c-11e7-93c1-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Steve Symington Opens a New Window.</a> (Disney): Disney has already delivered incredible returns for investors and is arguably the most successful entertainment conglomerate in history; even excluding dividends, shares have climbed nearly 90% over the past five years alone.</p>
<p>But Disney stock also trades around 15% below its 52-week high set in April, thanks largely to concerns over the sluggish performance of its core media networks segment. Perhaps most notably, Disney has suffered from cord cutters and the <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/09/22/dont-buy-the-death-of-espn-hype.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=1236baa4-9f0c-11e7-93c1-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">declining subscriber base of ESPN Opens a New Window.</a>, of which the company owns an 80% stake.</p>
<p>Along with its <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/08/08/disney-stock-defies-ho-hum-earnings.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=1236baa4-9f0c-11e7-93c1-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">second-quarter report Opens a New Window.</a> last month, however, Disney unveiled an ambitious plan to not only launch an ESPN-branded streaming service early next year, but also introduce a Disney-branded direct-to-consumer streaming service in 2019. Both are clear signals that Disney is willing to evolve to better capitalize on consumers' changing media habits.</p>
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<p>If that wasn't enough, the relative out-performance of Disney's parks &amp; resorts and studio segments should continue to prop up the company in the meantime -- though investors should know that this year's terrible hurricane season will almost certainly have <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/09/12/disney-world-and-universal-orlando-try-to-get-past.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=1236baa4-9f0c-11e7-93c1-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">short-term repercussions Opens a New Window.</a> for the former. But the latter is also poised to benefit from multiple blockbuster theatrical releases over the next year, including Marvel's Thor: Ragnarok and Pixar's Coco in November, LucasFilm's Star Wars: The Last Jedi in December, Marvel's Black Panther next February, Avengers: Infinity War and a Han Solo Star Wars film&#160;next May, Pixar's The Incredibles 2 next June, and Ant-Man and the Wasp in July 2018.</p>
<p>Finally, keep in mind Disney aims to return around 20% of all cash it generates to shareholders in the form of stock repurchases and dividends. So for investors willing to buy now, let those capital returns compound and enjoy the show as Disney navigates today's evolving media landscape in the coming years, I think the Disney stock could easily soar more than Netflix going forward.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFSigma/activity.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=1236baa4-9f0c-11e7-93c1-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Demitri Kalogeropoulos Opens a New Window.</a> (Activision Blizzard): Activision Blizzard is up almost 80% this year to make it one of the top gainers in the entire market. That rally could just be the start for this video game publisher, in my view.</p>
<p>The company is driving -- and benefiting from -- two favorable industry trends that promise to keep pushing profitability to new records. High-margin digital sales jumped to 80% of its business last quarter, for one. And secondly, video games titles are seeing their useful life extended, as expansion packs and content upgrades become more accepted. Activision recently released a major upgrade to its two-year old Call of Duty: Black Ops III title, even as it put the finishing touches on this year's franchise launch.</p>
<p>Like Netflix, the video game giant is enjoying <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/09/18/the-worst-mistake-activision-blizzard-investors-ca.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=1236baa4-9f0c-11e7-93c1-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">record engagement levels Opens a New Window.</a> and boasts an audience that's consuming billions of hours of content across its portfolio. But whereas the streaming video giant's sales are basically limited by subscriber growth, Activision has a wider range of potential growth avenues it can pursue. These include consumer product sales, e-Sports, advertising, and whatever other strategies that CEO Bobby Kotick and his team can put together to monetize their base of over 400 million highly engaged gaming fans.</p>
<p><a href="https://my.fool.com/profile/TMFZahrim/activity.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=1236baa4-9f0c-11e7-93c1-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Anders Bylund Opens a New Window.</a> (Cirrus Logic): The secret to life-changing investment returns lies in finding companies that want to do more than just turn a profit. Netflix saw a rusty entertainment industry that was overdue for a couple of shakeups. Fantastic stock returns simply followed when the company followed through on that game-changing business opportunity.</p>
<p>Likewise, the first item on Cirrus Logic's agenda is to create high-quality audio and signal processors that are literally "engineered to rock." Build great products and the business results will follow. That's how Cirrus serves its customers, shareholders, and employees on equal footing.</p>
<p>In recent years, the company's largest customer has been Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL). Cirrus chips have been found driving the audio systems of every iPhone, iPad, and iPod <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/general/2012/02/11/a-chat-with-cirrus-logic-ceo-jason-rhode.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=1236baa4-9f0c-11e7-93c1-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">since the early days of the smartphone era Opens a New Window.</a>. Other chipmakers have tried and failed to replace Cirrus in this coveted market spot, but Apple has only <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/01/07/heres-how-cirrus-logic-doubled-in-2016.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=1236baa4-9f0c-11e7-93c1-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">expanded its reliance on this company Opens a New Window.</a> instead.</p>
<p>Beyond the Apple opportunity, Cirrus also counts Samsung Electronics (NASDAQOTH: SSNLF) as a major client. This way, the audio chip designer serves the two largest players in the mobile industry. Next up, Cirrus is exploring design wins among the largest phone designers in China. As it turns out, high-quality audio can serve as a selling point for phone makers across the industry and Cirrus Logic stands ready to benefit from that emerging trend.</p>
<p>All told, Cirrus has grown its sales by an annual average of 29% in the last five years while earnings expanded by 25% per year. Share prices have been lagging behind these great fundamental growth rates. The stock is trading at an affordable 13 times trailing earnings today, leaving lots of room for future shareholder gains.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than Cirrus LogicWhen 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=4c2468a1-565f-4c5a-a1d7-b1df8405977d&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=1236baa4-9f0c-11e7-93c1-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">10 best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now... and Cirrus Logic 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=4c2468a1-565f-4c5a-a1d7-b1df8405977d&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=1236baa4-9f0c-11e7-93c1-0050569d32b9&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 September 5, 2017</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFZahrim/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=1236baa4-9f0c-11e7-93c1-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Anders Bylund Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of Netflix and Walt Disney. <a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFSigma/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=1236baa4-9f0c-11e7-93c1-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Demitrios Kalogeropoulos Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of Activision Blizzard, Apple, Netflix, and Walt Disney. <a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFSymington/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=1236baa4-9f0c-11e7-93c1-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Steve Symington Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Activision Blizzard, Apple, Netflix, and Walt Disney. The Motley Fool recommends Cirrus Logic. 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=1236baa4-9f0c-11e7-93c1-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | 4,487 |
<p />
<p>Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) is a fantastic water cooler stock these days. The ticker sports enormous trading volumes and equally impressive amounts of investor chatter, and all for good reason: AMD shares have gained an outrageous 440% over the last 52 weeks, producing huge returns for investors.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>But maybe it's time to redirect some of those AMD profits into a different stock. If you love AMD's stock and business plan, you should probably take a closer look at Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO) right now.</p>
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>Broadcom is one of the largest semiconductor businesses in the world. Since <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/general/2015/05/31/why-is-avago-technologies-ltd-paying-37-billion-fo.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">the $37 billion merger with Avago Opens a New Window.</a> in 2016, the company has been an undisputed leader in important sectors such as wired and wireless network tools, data storage controllers, and <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/05/12/the-biggest-reason-to-own-nxp-semiconductors-nv-to.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">automotive computing Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
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<p>The company is both diverse and strictly focused, picking its target markets with meticulous precision and selling off unwanted operations. For example, Broadcom sold its wireless Internet of Things (IoT) product portfolio last summer to smaller rival Cypress Semiconductor (NASDAQ: CY), collecting a $550 million check while sharpening its business focus. IoT networking is a promising growth market, but could also serve as a distraction from Broadcom's core business operations -- so off to Cypress went the division.</p>
<p>It's a growth story in progress, with strong narratives for the top and bottom lines -- as well as shareholder returns. Broadcom was actually smaller than AMD in many ways just a few years ago, but has worked its way up:</p>
<p><a href="http://ycharts.com/companies/AVGO/revenues_ttm" type="external">AVGO Revenue (TTM) Opens a New Window.</a> data by <a href="http://ycharts.com" type="external">YCharts Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Past performance is not the same as future returns, of course. No one can guarantee that Broadcom's positive long-term trends will continue forever. On the other hand, the same dictum also applies to AMD's recent surge.</p>
<p>Let's be clear about this: AMD is a turnaround story, searching for traction in highly competitive markets. Recent technology updates led to strong sales in both the graphics processor and desktop/notebook markets, giving the company and its investors a welcome break from a long string of failures and disappointments.</p>
<p>That huge one-year price surge started from the bottom of a deep trough. Share prices had been sliced in half over the previous two years, diving 30% lower in 52 weeks. Even now, after that huge bounce, AMD's five-year returns and results pale in comparison to Broadcom's steady improvements:</p>
<p><a href="http://ycharts.com/companies/AVGO" type="external">AVGO Opens a New Window.</a> data by <a href="http://ycharts.com" type="external">YCharts Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Buying AMD now is a gamble. You're betting that the company's turnaround efforts will continue to pay off in the face of high-quality competition and <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/05/07/amd-is-telling-a-really-good-story-but-can-it-deli.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">a poor track record Opens a New Window.</a>. Current share prices are built on hopes and dreams and flimsy financials.</p>
<p>Broadcom offers a large and stable financial platform, from which the company launches forays into highly targeted markets. This company is an established leader with a top-notch management team, producing annual cash flows roughly the size of AMD's total revenue.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than Advanced Micro DevicesWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*</p>
<p>David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the <a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=6478917e-22c5-41b3-9c19-cebae44e6cc9&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">10 best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now... and Advanced Micro Devices wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.</p>
<p><a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=6478917e-22c5-41b3-9c19-cebae44e6cc9&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</a> to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of February 6, 2017</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFZahrim/info.aspx" type="external">Anders Bylund Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Broadcom and Cypress Semiconductor. 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> | If You Love Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., You Should Check Out Broadcom Ltd. | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/03/19/if-love-advanced-micro-devices-inc-should-check-out-broadcom-ltd.html | 2017-03-19 | 0right
| If You Love Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., You Should Check Out Broadcom Ltd.
<p />
<p>Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) is a fantastic water cooler stock these days. The ticker sports enormous trading volumes and equally impressive amounts of investor chatter, and all for good reason: AMD shares have gained an outrageous 440% over the last 52 weeks, producing huge returns for investors.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>But maybe it's time to redirect some of those AMD profits into a different stock. If you love AMD's stock and business plan, you should probably take a closer look at Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO) right now.</p>
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>Broadcom is one of the largest semiconductor businesses in the world. Since <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/general/2015/05/31/why-is-avago-technologies-ltd-paying-37-billion-fo.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">the $37 billion merger with Avago Opens a New Window.</a> in 2016, the company has been an undisputed leader in important sectors such as wired and wireless network tools, data storage controllers, and <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/05/12/the-biggest-reason-to-own-nxp-semiconductors-nv-to.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">automotive computing Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
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<p>The company is both diverse and strictly focused, picking its target markets with meticulous precision and selling off unwanted operations. For example, Broadcom sold its wireless Internet of Things (IoT) product portfolio last summer to smaller rival Cypress Semiconductor (NASDAQ: CY), collecting a $550 million check while sharpening its business focus. IoT networking is a promising growth market, but could also serve as a distraction from Broadcom's core business operations -- so off to Cypress went the division.</p>
<p>It's a growth story in progress, with strong narratives for the top and bottom lines -- as well as shareholder returns. Broadcom was actually smaller than AMD in many ways just a few years ago, but has worked its way up:</p>
<p><a href="http://ycharts.com/companies/AVGO/revenues_ttm" type="external">AVGO Revenue (TTM) Opens a New Window.</a> data by <a href="http://ycharts.com" type="external">YCharts Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Past performance is not the same as future returns, of course. No one can guarantee that Broadcom's positive long-term trends will continue forever. On the other hand, the same dictum also applies to AMD's recent surge.</p>
<p>Let's be clear about this: AMD is a turnaround story, searching for traction in highly competitive markets. Recent technology updates led to strong sales in both the graphics processor and desktop/notebook markets, giving the company and its investors a welcome break from a long string of failures and disappointments.</p>
<p>That huge one-year price surge started from the bottom of a deep trough. Share prices had been sliced in half over the previous two years, diving 30% lower in 52 weeks. Even now, after that huge bounce, AMD's five-year returns and results pale in comparison to Broadcom's steady improvements:</p>
<p><a href="http://ycharts.com/companies/AVGO" type="external">AVGO Opens a New Window.</a> data by <a href="http://ycharts.com" type="external">YCharts Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Buying AMD now is a gamble. You're betting that the company's turnaround efforts will continue to pay off in the face of high-quality competition and <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/05/07/amd-is-telling-a-really-good-story-but-can-it-deli.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">a poor track record Opens a New Window.</a>. Current share prices are built on hopes and dreams and flimsy financials.</p>
<p>Broadcom offers a large and stable financial platform, from which the company launches forays into highly targeted markets. This company is an established leader with a top-notch management team, producing annual cash flows roughly the size of AMD's total revenue.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than Advanced Micro DevicesWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*</p>
<p>David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the <a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=6478917e-22c5-41b3-9c19-cebae44e6cc9&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">10 best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now... and Advanced Micro Devices wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.</p>
<p><a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=6478917e-22c5-41b3-9c19-cebae44e6cc9&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</a> to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of February 6, 2017</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFZahrim/info.aspx" type="external">Anders Bylund Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Broadcom and Cypress Semiconductor. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | 4,488 |
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<p>TOPEKA, Kan. — Kansas legislators pushing to roll back Republican Gov. Sam Brownback’s signature income tax cuts scrambled Wednesday to find a new plan to fix the state’s dire budget problems after he vetoed their bill.</p>
<p>The bill vetoed Wednesday morning would have raised more than $1 billion over two years by raising income tax rates and ending an exemption for more than 330,000 farmers and business owners. Brownback called the measure “punitive,” but bipartisan majorities saw it as crucial to closing projected budget shortfalls totaling nearly $1.1 billion through June 2019 without deep spending cuts.</p>
<p>The House voted 85-40 to override the veto within two hours of the governor’s action. But the Senate’s vote Wednesday afternoon was 24-16, leaving supporters of the bill three votes shy of the necessary two-thirds majority to overturn the veto.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>A majority of Republicans in both GOP-controlled chambers voted to override the veto, reflecting a view that tax cuts Brownback championed in 2012 and 2013 went too far and are a key factor in Kansas’ persistent budget problems since. But the votes Wednesday also showed that GOP legislators are split on a budget fix.</p>
<p>Some supporters of the bill said Brownback’s conservative allies need to come up with a new plan — even though it would include cuts in aid to public schools. But other lawmakers predicted they will pass another, similar bill increasing income taxes.</p>
<p>“I think we could see several vetoes,” Senate President Susan Wagle, a Wichita Republican who voted against an override, told GOP senators during a pre-vote caucus.</p>
<p>Brownback successfully pushed GOP legislators to slash personal income taxes in 2012 and 2013 as an economic stimulus and touts his experiment as a model for other states and the federal government. He argues that the state’s budget problems result from slumps in agriculture and energy production.</p>
<p>Even some Republicans came to a different conclusion last year as voters ousted two dozen Brownback allies from the Legislature to give both Democrats and GOP moderates more power.</p>
<p>Ending the income tax exemption for farmers and business owners has broad, bipartisan support from lawmakers.</p>
<p>But some Republicans had misgivings about a provision in the vetoed bill that would have restored a third income tax bracket Brownback fought to eliminate and another to set the top tax rate at 5.45 percent instead of the current 4.6 percent.</p>
<p>They also were upset that the changes would have been retroactive to the beginning of this year to collect new revenue more quickly. Brownback seized on that point — though he’s signed tax bills with retroactive provisions in the past.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Wagle and other GOP leaders in the Senate also proposed cutting aid to public schools immediately to allow the state to pay other bills on time through June. They dropped such a plan earlier this month when support for education funding cuts collapsed.</p>
<p>During the Senate’s debate, conservatives said lawmakers should cut spending first. And after the Senate vote, Brownback said in a statement, “I encourage them to find savings in the state’s budget before asking Kansans to find savings in theirs.”</p>
<p>Yet Brownback’s own budget-balancing package is designed to avoid cuts in education funding and other programs. It relies heavily on internal government borrowing and other accounting moves, and he seeks to increase cigarette and liquor taxes and annual filing fees paid by for-profit businesses.</p>
<p>Key Republicans said they will look again the governor’s ideas, and his proposal for $317 million in internal borrowing already has won House approval.</p>
<p>But some supporters of the bill vetoed by Brownback remained defiant, suggesting that if lawmakers keep tweaking provisions, they eventually will find a bill garnering two-thirds majorities in both chambers.</p>
<p>“We should keep trying something similar until we get one that sticks,” said Democratic state Rep. Tom Sawyer of Wichita.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press writer Allison Kite also contributed to this report.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow John Hanna on Twitter at https://twitter.com/apjdhanna</p> | Kansas lawmakers scramble for budget fix after tax hike veto | false | https://abqjournal.com/955044/kansas-house-votes-to-override-governors-veto-of-tax-hike.html | 2017-02-22 | 2least
| Kansas lawmakers scramble for budget fix after tax hike veto
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>TOPEKA, Kan. — Kansas legislators pushing to roll back Republican Gov. Sam Brownback’s signature income tax cuts scrambled Wednesday to find a new plan to fix the state’s dire budget problems after he vetoed their bill.</p>
<p>The bill vetoed Wednesday morning would have raised more than $1 billion over two years by raising income tax rates and ending an exemption for more than 330,000 farmers and business owners. Brownback called the measure “punitive,” but bipartisan majorities saw it as crucial to closing projected budget shortfalls totaling nearly $1.1 billion through June 2019 without deep spending cuts.</p>
<p>The House voted 85-40 to override the veto within two hours of the governor’s action. But the Senate’s vote Wednesday afternoon was 24-16, leaving supporters of the bill three votes shy of the necessary two-thirds majority to overturn the veto.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>A majority of Republicans in both GOP-controlled chambers voted to override the veto, reflecting a view that tax cuts Brownback championed in 2012 and 2013 went too far and are a key factor in Kansas’ persistent budget problems since. But the votes Wednesday also showed that GOP legislators are split on a budget fix.</p>
<p>Some supporters of the bill said Brownback’s conservative allies need to come up with a new plan — even though it would include cuts in aid to public schools. But other lawmakers predicted they will pass another, similar bill increasing income taxes.</p>
<p>“I think we could see several vetoes,” Senate President Susan Wagle, a Wichita Republican who voted against an override, told GOP senators during a pre-vote caucus.</p>
<p>Brownback successfully pushed GOP legislators to slash personal income taxes in 2012 and 2013 as an economic stimulus and touts his experiment as a model for other states and the federal government. He argues that the state’s budget problems result from slumps in agriculture and energy production.</p>
<p>Even some Republicans came to a different conclusion last year as voters ousted two dozen Brownback allies from the Legislature to give both Democrats and GOP moderates more power.</p>
<p>Ending the income tax exemption for farmers and business owners has broad, bipartisan support from lawmakers.</p>
<p>But some Republicans had misgivings about a provision in the vetoed bill that would have restored a third income tax bracket Brownback fought to eliminate and another to set the top tax rate at 5.45 percent instead of the current 4.6 percent.</p>
<p>They also were upset that the changes would have been retroactive to the beginning of this year to collect new revenue more quickly. Brownback seized on that point — though he’s signed tax bills with retroactive provisions in the past.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Wagle and other GOP leaders in the Senate also proposed cutting aid to public schools immediately to allow the state to pay other bills on time through June. They dropped such a plan earlier this month when support for education funding cuts collapsed.</p>
<p>During the Senate’s debate, conservatives said lawmakers should cut spending first. And after the Senate vote, Brownback said in a statement, “I encourage them to find savings in the state’s budget before asking Kansans to find savings in theirs.”</p>
<p>Yet Brownback’s own budget-balancing package is designed to avoid cuts in education funding and other programs. It relies heavily on internal government borrowing and other accounting moves, and he seeks to increase cigarette and liquor taxes and annual filing fees paid by for-profit businesses.</p>
<p>Key Republicans said they will look again the governor’s ideas, and his proposal for $317 million in internal borrowing already has won House approval.</p>
<p>But some supporters of the bill vetoed by Brownback remained defiant, suggesting that if lawmakers keep tweaking provisions, they eventually will find a bill garnering two-thirds majorities in both chambers.</p>
<p>“We should keep trying something similar until we get one that sticks,” said Democratic state Rep. Tom Sawyer of Wichita.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press writer Allison Kite also contributed to this report.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow John Hanna on Twitter at https://twitter.com/apjdhanna</p> | 4,489 |
<p />
<p>The U.N. General Assembly on Nov. 13, 2017, unanimously adopted an Olympics resolution that includes a gay-inclusive reference to discrimination. (Photo by Leonard Zhukovsky; courtesy Bigstock)</p>
<p />
<p>The “Olympic Truce Resolution” that calls for peace around the world around the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, specifically refers to the Olympic Charter’s nondiscrimination clause, which is known as Principle 6.</p>
<p>Egypt and Russia in recent weeks sought to remove the Principle 6 reference from the resolution because it specifically includes sexual orientation, religion, gender and other factors. The U.S., France and Brazil blocked these efforts.</p>
<p>“The Olympics is an event that should focus on what brings us together – friendly competition by the world’s best athletes – not what makes us different,” U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley <a href="" type="internal">told the Washington Blade earlier this month in a statement.</a> “No athlete should face discrimination of any kind when representing their country in the games.”</p>
<p>The International Olympic Committee in late 2014 added sexual orientation to Principle 6 after Russia’s LGBT rights record — including a law banning the promotion of so-called gay propaganda to minors — overshadowed that year’s Winter Olympics that took place in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi.</p>
<p>Brazil in 2015 spearheaded efforts to include a gay-inclusive Principle 6 reference in a resolution that was similar to the one the U.N. General Assembly adopted on Monday. It was approved ahead of the 2016 Summer Olympics that took place in Rio de Janeiro.</p>
<p>“While Egypt and Russia tried to export and sanction discrimination against lesbian, gay and bisexual Olympians, they failed,” said Jessica Stern, executive director of OutRight Action International, on Monday in a statement her organization released after the resolution was adopted. “States decided to send a clear message that there is no place for discrimination at the Olympics. We’re thankful for civil society and for the mobilization that took place to ensure that reference to Principle 6 stayed in the truce. Today, we were victorious.”</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Egypt</a> <a href="" type="internal">gay</a> <a href="" type="internal">Jessica Stern</a> <a href="" type="internal">Nikki Haley</a> <a href="" type="internal">OutRight Action International</a> <a href="" type="internal">Russia</a> <a href="" type="internal">United Nations</a> <a href="" type="internal">United Nations General Assembly</a></p> | UN adopts gay-inclusive Olympics resolution | false | http://washingtonblade.com/2017/11/14/un-adopts-gay-inclusive-olympics-resolution/ | 3left-center
| UN adopts gay-inclusive Olympics resolution
<p />
<p>The U.N. General Assembly on Nov. 13, 2017, unanimously adopted an Olympics resolution that includes a gay-inclusive reference to discrimination. (Photo by Leonard Zhukovsky; courtesy Bigstock)</p>
<p />
<p>The “Olympic Truce Resolution” that calls for peace around the world around the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, specifically refers to the Olympic Charter’s nondiscrimination clause, which is known as Principle 6.</p>
<p>Egypt and Russia in recent weeks sought to remove the Principle 6 reference from the resolution because it specifically includes sexual orientation, religion, gender and other factors. The U.S., France and Brazil blocked these efforts.</p>
<p>“The Olympics is an event that should focus on what brings us together – friendly competition by the world’s best athletes – not what makes us different,” U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley <a href="" type="internal">told the Washington Blade earlier this month in a statement.</a> “No athlete should face discrimination of any kind when representing their country in the games.”</p>
<p>The International Olympic Committee in late 2014 added sexual orientation to Principle 6 after Russia’s LGBT rights record — including a law banning the promotion of so-called gay propaganda to minors — overshadowed that year’s Winter Olympics that took place in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi.</p>
<p>Brazil in 2015 spearheaded efforts to include a gay-inclusive Principle 6 reference in a resolution that was similar to the one the U.N. General Assembly adopted on Monday. It was approved ahead of the 2016 Summer Olympics that took place in Rio de Janeiro.</p>
<p>“While Egypt and Russia tried to export and sanction discrimination against lesbian, gay and bisexual Olympians, they failed,” said Jessica Stern, executive director of OutRight Action International, on Monday in a statement her organization released after the resolution was adopted. “States decided to send a clear message that there is no place for discrimination at the Olympics. We’re thankful for civil society and for the mobilization that took place to ensure that reference to Principle 6 stayed in the truce. Today, we were victorious.”</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Egypt</a> <a href="" type="internal">gay</a> <a href="" type="internal">Jessica Stern</a> <a href="" type="internal">Nikki Haley</a> <a href="" type="internal">OutRight Action International</a> <a href="" type="internal">Russia</a> <a href="" type="internal">United Nations</a> <a href="" type="internal">United Nations General Assembly</a></p> | 4,490 |
|
<p>Only Mister Rogers would make the acceptance of his lifetime achievement award all about us — and consequently prove why he deserves every lifetime achievement award ever. If you only have a minute, skip the celeb cameos and go directly to 1:25 to hear from the man himself. It is TOTALLY worth your minute.</p> | Mister Rogers Ditches The Cardigan, Puts On A Tux, Makes People Cry | true | http://upworthy.com/mister-rogers-ditches-the-cardigan-puts-on-a-tux-makes-people-cry | 2018-11-06 | 4left
| Mister Rogers Ditches The Cardigan, Puts On A Tux, Makes People Cry
<p>Only Mister Rogers would make the acceptance of his lifetime achievement award all about us — and consequently prove why he deserves every lifetime achievement award ever. If you only have a minute, skip the celeb cameos and go directly to 1:25 to hear from the man himself. It is TOTALLY worth your minute.</p> | 4,491 |
<p>PARIS — In the “magic laboratory” where Patrick Roger fashions his life-size cocoa creations, everything is handmade, right down to the fork-sculpted decorations. And for the artisan chocolatier, it’s a source of pride — not shame — that it takes him about a year to produce what large companies like Mars or Hershey's might produce in one day.</p>
<p>What he lacks in quantity, he said, he makes up for in uncompromising quality.</p>
<p>“My business is taste,” Roger said. “Without taste, it doesn’t work.”</p>
<p>In 2000, Roger was named "Best French Chocolatier"&#160;for creating "Harold," a life-sized cocoa farmer wearing a wide-brimmed hat and seen squatting on tiptoe while handling a cocoa bean between his fingers. The chocolate statue, later sculpted into bronze, is based on a real farmer he met in Colombia in 1999. “Without cocoa producers, we don’t exist,” said Roger, explaining why he paid them homage.</p>
<p>Each occasion is an opportunity for Roger to lean on his artist's imagination, scientist's penchant for alchemy and, sometimes, activist's inclination. His creations can also offer a glimpse of wackiness.</p>
<p>He offered beer chocolate for St. Patrick’s Day and chocolate sardine cans for April Fool’s Day (The holiday is known in France as poisson d’avril — April’s fish — and calls for attaching a paper fish to the back of an unwitting victim). Inspired by a recent trip to the Galapagos Islands where he dove with seals, Roger created proportional representations of the mammals in chocolate to display with the sardines. Seals eat fish.</p>
<p>But the form is only one appeal of Roger's chocolates. He offers truffles or chocolate bars made with cocoa from prime locations such as Sao Tome or Papua New Guinea, and he mixes them with such eclectic flavors as citrus fruit, ginger root, jasmine and beer.</p>
<p>For Christmas, Roger's shop windows displayed giant chocolate polar bears to call attention to the threatened species. For Valentine’s Day, the windows contained large upside down hearts. An upside down heart, he said, resemble buttocks, and on Valentine's Day people are thinking about sex.</p>
<p>“We all think about it, so why not talk about it,” the 40-year-old said. “Why be shy about it?”</p>
<p>Still, the interpretation was best left to his customers, the cornerstone of a humble business that has grown to five elegant shops and 25 employees in less than five years. A steady stream of clients entered and exited the flagship store in Paris on a recent Tuesday afternoon. Most passersby first stopped at the window, then oohed and aahed and sniffed their way inside before shelling out 5 euros for a chocolate bar or 40 euros for a Tiffany-like aquamarine sample box. Roger, who happened to be in the shop that day, mostly went unnoticed.</p>
<p>“Chocolate is something that is very reassuring,” he said. “And people like to treat themselves.”</p>
<p>Roger created about 20,000 pieces of chocolate over the eight weeks leading up to Easter, including haute couture-like, old-fashioned bells and pesky hedgehogs getting their revenge by eating farm eggs instead of being chased away by the farmer. His centerpiece display pays tribute to the barnyard with a church-like structure and belfry made with 50 kilos of chocolate. A lone rooster is perched atop the steeple. Chocolate gravel surrounds the structure and a chocolate church mouse stands guard at a window.</p>
<p>The outdoor garden of chocolate carrots, potatoes, mushrooms and asparagus is a replica of some of what can be found in his mother’s garden, said Corinne Roger, a younger sister who works in the flagship store. “He is so demanding, sometimes even annoying,” she said. “But those are his values.”</p>
<p>Both Roger and his sister said that when growing up in the countryside between Normandy and the Loire Valley, everything they ate was grown locally or came from the home garden. Roger said he had never eaten anything out of a can until he was well into his teenage years. Bananas were an exotic fruit that he discovered quite late since they don’t grow in France.</p>
<p>“I don’t know what it is to eat badly,” he said. “Eating well should not be a luxury, it should be normal.”</p>
<p>He can’t claim credit for discovering chocolate as a profession and a passion. His parents, who owned a bakery before retiring, encouraged him to pursue a pastry apprenticeship, since he was a bad student. During his apprenticeship a chef discovered Roger’s meticulous attention to detail, his artistic eye and his technical skill.</p>
<p>“It’s the chocolate that discovered me; it allowed what was hiding inside to come out,” he said. “It saved my life.”</p>
<p>More GlobalPost dispatches on chocolate:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/benelux/090213/chocolate-recession-proof" type="external">Is chocolate recession-proof?</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/ghana/090212/west-african-cocoa-crops-threatened-disease" type="external">Cocoa crops threatened by disease</a> &#160;</p> | Making a statement with chocolate | false | https://pri.org/stories/2009-04-11/making-statement-chocolate | 2009-04-11 | 3left-center
| Making a statement with chocolate
<p>PARIS — In the “magic laboratory” where Patrick Roger fashions his life-size cocoa creations, everything is handmade, right down to the fork-sculpted decorations. And for the artisan chocolatier, it’s a source of pride — not shame — that it takes him about a year to produce what large companies like Mars or Hershey's might produce in one day.</p>
<p>What he lacks in quantity, he said, he makes up for in uncompromising quality.</p>
<p>“My business is taste,” Roger said. “Without taste, it doesn’t work.”</p>
<p>In 2000, Roger was named "Best French Chocolatier"&#160;for creating "Harold," a life-sized cocoa farmer wearing a wide-brimmed hat and seen squatting on tiptoe while handling a cocoa bean between his fingers. The chocolate statue, later sculpted into bronze, is based on a real farmer he met in Colombia in 1999. “Without cocoa producers, we don’t exist,” said Roger, explaining why he paid them homage.</p>
<p>Each occasion is an opportunity for Roger to lean on his artist's imagination, scientist's penchant for alchemy and, sometimes, activist's inclination. His creations can also offer a glimpse of wackiness.</p>
<p>He offered beer chocolate for St. Patrick’s Day and chocolate sardine cans for April Fool’s Day (The holiday is known in France as poisson d’avril — April’s fish — and calls for attaching a paper fish to the back of an unwitting victim). Inspired by a recent trip to the Galapagos Islands where he dove with seals, Roger created proportional representations of the mammals in chocolate to display with the sardines. Seals eat fish.</p>
<p>But the form is only one appeal of Roger's chocolates. He offers truffles or chocolate bars made with cocoa from prime locations such as Sao Tome or Papua New Guinea, and he mixes them with such eclectic flavors as citrus fruit, ginger root, jasmine and beer.</p>
<p>For Christmas, Roger's shop windows displayed giant chocolate polar bears to call attention to the threatened species. For Valentine’s Day, the windows contained large upside down hearts. An upside down heart, he said, resemble buttocks, and on Valentine's Day people are thinking about sex.</p>
<p>“We all think about it, so why not talk about it,” the 40-year-old said. “Why be shy about it?”</p>
<p>Still, the interpretation was best left to his customers, the cornerstone of a humble business that has grown to five elegant shops and 25 employees in less than five years. A steady stream of clients entered and exited the flagship store in Paris on a recent Tuesday afternoon. Most passersby first stopped at the window, then oohed and aahed and sniffed their way inside before shelling out 5 euros for a chocolate bar or 40 euros for a Tiffany-like aquamarine sample box. Roger, who happened to be in the shop that day, mostly went unnoticed.</p>
<p>“Chocolate is something that is very reassuring,” he said. “And people like to treat themselves.”</p>
<p>Roger created about 20,000 pieces of chocolate over the eight weeks leading up to Easter, including haute couture-like, old-fashioned bells and pesky hedgehogs getting their revenge by eating farm eggs instead of being chased away by the farmer. His centerpiece display pays tribute to the barnyard with a church-like structure and belfry made with 50 kilos of chocolate. A lone rooster is perched atop the steeple. Chocolate gravel surrounds the structure and a chocolate church mouse stands guard at a window.</p>
<p>The outdoor garden of chocolate carrots, potatoes, mushrooms and asparagus is a replica of some of what can be found in his mother’s garden, said Corinne Roger, a younger sister who works in the flagship store. “He is so demanding, sometimes even annoying,” she said. “But those are his values.”</p>
<p>Both Roger and his sister said that when growing up in the countryside between Normandy and the Loire Valley, everything they ate was grown locally or came from the home garden. Roger said he had never eaten anything out of a can until he was well into his teenage years. Bananas were an exotic fruit that he discovered quite late since they don’t grow in France.</p>
<p>“I don’t know what it is to eat badly,” he said. “Eating well should not be a luxury, it should be normal.”</p>
<p>He can’t claim credit for discovering chocolate as a profession and a passion. His parents, who owned a bakery before retiring, encouraged him to pursue a pastry apprenticeship, since he was a bad student. During his apprenticeship a chef discovered Roger’s meticulous attention to detail, his artistic eye and his technical skill.</p>
<p>“It’s the chocolate that discovered me; it allowed what was hiding inside to come out,” he said. “It saved my life.”</p>
<p>More GlobalPost dispatches on chocolate:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/benelux/090213/chocolate-recession-proof" type="external">Is chocolate recession-proof?</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/ghana/090212/west-african-cocoa-crops-threatened-disease" type="external">Cocoa crops threatened by disease</a> &#160;</p> | 4,492 |
<p>On Monday, Professor Marc Lamont Hill of Morehouse College and HuffPost Live host, <a href="http://www.mediaite.com/tv/cnns-marc-lamont-hill-black-people-are-incapable-of-racism/#ooid=10aGFvNDE6o9XhejTjfXdV9uT749JW7D" type="external">told CNN</a> that black people are incapable of racism. Yes, just four days after a black racist shot 11 white police officers for the crime of being white police officers, Lamont Hill explained that “black people don’t have the institutional power to be racist or to deploy racism.”</p>
<p>This is actually a commonly-utilized trope in racist minority circles: racism can’t apply to those without power. Which is ridiculous, since racism both an ideology and a practice, and neither requires power to wield. But here, for example, is Zeba Blay of The Huffington Post: “racism is a system in which a dominant race benefits off the oppression of others – whether they want to or not.” So, by redefining racism, you can apply it only to white people. Voila! Black people can never be racist.</p>
<p>Of course, this is nonsense. And it's racist nonsense. Saying that people are incapable of committing a sin thanks to their skin color is definitionally racist.</p>
<p>Black people can be racist. Just ask black people: according to a July 2013 Rasmussen poll, a wide plurality of blacks, 31 percent, believe most blacks are racist, compared to 24 percent of blacks who think most whites are racist and 17 percent who say most Hispanics are racist. Defining away racism based on power imbalances is a solid way of ensuring a moral double standard that ends with more racism, not less. After all, by Lamont Hill’s argument, President Obama and Loretta Lynch wield significantly more power than any white people in America -- but that doesn’t mean that white people are incapable of racism, obviously.</p>
<p>This is the problem with the left’s view of race: they believe that group identity trumps individual responsibility. Poor people can be racist. Rich people can be racist. People of all colors can be racist. It’s incumbent upon all of us to fight racism, instead of turtling into a victim group identity and then claiming moral sanctuary while pressing forward vile bigotry.</p> | Racist CNN Host: Impossible For Black People To Be Racist | true | https://dailywire.com/news/7367/racist-cnn-host-impossible-black-people-be-racist-ben-shapiro | 2016-07-11 | 0right
| Racist CNN Host: Impossible For Black People To Be Racist
<p>On Monday, Professor Marc Lamont Hill of Morehouse College and HuffPost Live host, <a href="http://www.mediaite.com/tv/cnns-marc-lamont-hill-black-people-are-incapable-of-racism/#ooid=10aGFvNDE6o9XhejTjfXdV9uT749JW7D" type="external">told CNN</a> that black people are incapable of racism. Yes, just four days after a black racist shot 11 white police officers for the crime of being white police officers, Lamont Hill explained that “black people don’t have the institutional power to be racist or to deploy racism.”</p>
<p>This is actually a commonly-utilized trope in racist minority circles: racism can’t apply to those without power. Which is ridiculous, since racism both an ideology and a practice, and neither requires power to wield. But here, for example, is Zeba Blay of The Huffington Post: “racism is a system in which a dominant race benefits off the oppression of others – whether they want to or not.” So, by redefining racism, you can apply it only to white people. Voila! Black people can never be racist.</p>
<p>Of course, this is nonsense. And it's racist nonsense. Saying that people are incapable of committing a sin thanks to their skin color is definitionally racist.</p>
<p>Black people can be racist. Just ask black people: according to a July 2013 Rasmussen poll, a wide plurality of blacks, 31 percent, believe most blacks are racist, compared to 24 percent of blacks who think most whites are racist and 17 percent who say most Hispanics are racist. Defining away racism based on power imbalances is a solid way of ensuring a moral double standard that ends with more racism, not less. After all, by Lamont Hill’s argument, President Obama and Loretta Lynch wield significantly more power than any white people in America -- but that doesn’t mean that white people are incapable of racism, obviously.</p>
<p>This is the problem with the left’s view of race: they believe that group identity trumps individual responsibility. Poor people can be racist. Rich people can be racist. People of all colors can be racist. It’s incumbent upon all of us to fight racism, instead of turtling into a victim group identity and then claiming moral sanctuary while pressing forward vile bigotry.</p> | 4,493 |
<p>ConocoPhillips (COP) on Thursday reported third-quarter net income of $420 million, after reporting a loss in the same period a year earlier.</p>
<p>The Houston-based company said it had profit of 34 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring gains, were 16 cents per share.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The results surpassed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 10 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 9 cents per share.</p>
<p>The energy company posted revenue of $7.2 billion in the period, also beating Street forecasts. Four analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $6.55 billion.</p>
<p>ConocoPhillips shares have dropped slightly since the beginning of the year, while the Standard &amp; Poor's 500 index has increased 14 percent. The stock has climbed 19 percent in the last 12 months.</p>
<p>_____</p>
<p>This story was generated by Automated Insights using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on COP at https://www.zacks.com/ap/COP</p> | ConocoPhillips beats Street 3Q forecasts | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/10/26/conocophillips-beats-street-3q-forecasts.html | 2017-10-26 | 0right
| ConocoPhillips beats Street 3Q forecasts
<p>ConocoPhillips (COP) on Thursday reported third-quarter net income of $420 million, after reporting a loss in the same period a year earlier.</p>
<p>The Houston-based company said it had profit of 34 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring gains, were 16 cents per share.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The results surpassed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 10 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 9 cents per share.</p>
<p>The energy company posted revenue of $7.2 billion in the period, also beating Street forecasts. Four analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $6.55 billion.</p>
<p>ConocoPhillips shares have dropped slightly since the beginning of the year, while the Standard &amp; Poor's 500 index has increased 14 percent. The stock has climbed 19 percent in the last 12 months.</p>
<p>_____</p>
<p>This story was generated by Automated Insights using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on COP at https://www.zacks.com/ap/COP</p> | 4,494 |
<p>The Hill <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/354236-trump-jr-rails-against-liberal-universities-in-speech" type="external">reports</a>:</p>
<p>Donald Trump Jr. ripped America’s universities and colleges during a speech Thursday in Alabama, blaming college professors for teaching students “how to become an actual fascist.”</p>
<p>Speaking at a benefit dinner for Faulkner University, President Trump’s eldest son said that statements such as “we need borders” or “our founders were great people” had become hate speech on some college campuses.</p>
<p>“We’ll teach you how to pretend to be an anti-fascist and how to become an actual fascist,” Trump Jr. said Thursday. Trump Jr. also attacked “spineless” college administrators and faculty for what he described as a refusal to stand up to demands from student groups.</p>
<p />
<p /> | Junior Rants In Speech That Universities Are Teaching Students How To Become “Actual Fascists” [VIDEO] | true | http://joemygod.com/2017/10/06/trump-junior-rants-speech-universities-teaching-students-become-actual-fascists-video/ | 2017-10-06 | 4left
| Junior Rants In Speech That Universities Are Teaching Students How To Become “Actual Fascists” [VIDEO]
<p>The Hill <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/354236-trump-jr-rails-against-liberal-universities-in-speech" type="external">reports</a>:</p>
<p>Donald Trump Jr. ripped America’s universities and colleges during a speech Thursday in Alabama, blaming college professors for teaching students “how to become an actual fascist.”</p>
<p>Speaking at a benefit dinner for Faulkner University, President Trump’s eldest son said that statements such as “we need borders” or “our founders were great people” had become hate speech on some college campuses.</p>
<p>“We’ll teach you how to pretend to be an anti-fascist and how to become an actual fascist,” Trump Jr. said Thursday. Trump Jr. also attacked “spineless” college administrators and faculty for what he described as a refusal to stand up to demands from student groups.</p>
<p />
<p /> | 4,495 |
<p>This breakthrough in technology is simply amazing! However, it makes me want to buy an old muscle car. Imagine the type of control the government could have on you with cars like these.</p>
<p>An Acura RLX sedan demonstrated an unusual way to tow another car this week: the vehicles were not physically attached. The second car drove itself, following instructions beamed over by the first in a feat of technology that indicates a new stage in automation is happening faster than many expected.</p>
<p>Systems that enable vehicles to communicate with each other have been developed in recent years in parallel with features that enable cars to drive themselves. Manufacturers and suppliers now are putting the two together in novel ways, with broad implications for vehicle safety and convenience.</p>
<p>General Motors Co, Honda Motor Co, which owns Acura, and other automakers are working with traditional suppliers and startup firms. Tech giants Google, with its pioneering work on driverless cars, and Apple, which is working with automakers to embed greater connectivity in their cars, are accelerating the change.</p>
<p>“It is the mix of big companies — Apple, Google, the automakers and the data aggregators — that starts to create momentum. Two years ago, it was different. It was a promise. Today, it’s reality,” said Laurens Eckelboom, executive vice president of business development at Parkmobile, a smart-parking startup whose investors include BMW AG and Ford Motor Chairman Bill Ford’s venture capital firm Fontinalis Partners.</p>
<p>A “truck platooning” application by Peloton Technology, a startup based in California’s Silicon Valley, is intended to save fuel and reduce collisions.</p>
<p>As with virtual towing, a “platoon” of two heavy trucks use wireless communication and computer-controlled braking and acceleration to keep in close formation on the highway, according to a description by the company, which expects to start selling the technology late next year at $2,000 per truck plus a share of the projected operating savings.</p>
<p>The total price tag for widespread adaption of such features could be steep. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates automakers will need to spend billions of dollars to install safety systems that automatically assist drivers and could be mandated by 2020, when the industry expects the first self-driving cars to start easing onto roads.</p>
<p><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/cars-drive-themselves-starting-chat-other-122342952--finance.html" type="external">This article continues on yahoo.com</a></p> | Age Of The Jetsons: Self-Driving Cars now Talk to Each Other | true | http://girlsjustwannahaveguns.com/age-jetsons-self-driving-cars-now-talk/ | 0right
| Age Of The Jetsons: Self-Driving Cars now Talk to Each Other
<p>This breakthrough in technology is simply amazing! However, it makes me want to buy an old muscle car. Imagine the type of control the government could have on you with cars like these.</p>
<p>An Acura RLX sedan demonstrated an unusual way to tow another car this week: the vehicles were not physically attached. The second car drove itself, following instructions beamed over by the first in a feat of technology that indicates a new stage in automation is happening faster than many expected.</p>
<p>Systems that enable vehicles to communicate with each other have been developed in recent years in parallel with features that enable cars to drive themselves. Manufacturers and suppliers now are putting the two together in novel ways, with broad implications for vehicle safety and convenience.</p>
<p>General Motors Co, Honda Motor Co, which owns Acura, and other automakers are working with traditional suppliers and startup firms. Tech giants Google, with its pioneering work on driverless cars, and Apple, which is working with automakers to embed greater connectivity in their cars, are accelerating the change.</p>
<p>“It is the mix of big companies — Apple, Google, the automakers and the data aggregators — that starts to create momentum. Two years ago, it was different. It was a promise. Today, it’s reality,” said Laurens Eckelboom, executive vice president of business development at Parkmobile, a smart-parking startup whose investors include BMW AG and Ford Motor Chairman Bill Ford’s venture capital firm Fontinalis Partners.</p>
<p>A “truck platooning” application by Peloton Technology, a startup based in California’s Silicon Valley, is intended to save fuel and reduce collisions.</p>
<p>As with virtual towing, a “platoon” of two heavy trucks use wireless communication and computer-controlled braking and acceleration to keep in close formation on the highway, according to a description by the company, which expects to start selling the technology late next year at $2,000 per truck plus a share of the projected operating savings.</p>
<p>The total price tag for widespread adaption of such features could be steep. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates automakers will need to spend billions of dollars to install safety systems that automatically assist drivers and could be mandated by 2020, when the industry expects the first self-driving cars to start easing onto roads.</p>
<p><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/cars-drive-themselves-starting-chat-other-122342952--finance.html" type="external">This article continues on yahoo.com</a></p> | 4,496 |
|
<p>By Pedro Fonseca</p>
<p>SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazilian police arrested on Thursday the head of the national Olympics committee, who is accused of conspiring to bribe members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to pick Rio de Janeiro as host of the 2016 games.</p>
<p>Brazilian investigators say Carlos Arthur Nuzman helped arrange a $2 million bribe to get the games for Rio de Janeiro, where he was arrested early on Thursday. Police said he was being held in connection with crimes including corruption and money laundering.</p>
<p>Marcelo Bretas, the federal judge who authorized his arrest, said new evidence indicated that Nuzman’s role in the alleged vote-buying scheme was “more relevant” than initially thought.</p>
<p>“The accusation of vote-buying for the 2016 Olympics is unfounded,” Nelio Machado, a lawyer for Nuzman, told reporters. “Today’s measures are harsh and unusual.”</p>
<p>Bretas said in an arrest order that Nuzman’s wealth grew by 416 percent between 2006 and 2016 and that he had assets overseas that were only declared after the vote-buying investigation began.</p>
<p>The assets include 16 kg in gold bars deposited in Switzerland, Bretas said.</p>
<p>The IOC said on Thursday it would cooperate in the investigation. Its chief ethics and compliance officer has asked Brazil for information to proceed with its own internal investigation, which is ongoing, the body said.</p>
<p>“Given the new facts, the IOC Ethics Commission may consider provisional measures while respecting Mr. Nuzman’s right to be heard,” the IOC said, without detailing the measures.</p>
<p>Leonardo Gryner, a former director of the national Olympics committee, was also arrested in a new phase of the so-called Unfair Play investigation.</p>
<p>Police raided Nuzman’s home in September, accusing him of conspiring with politicians to buy the right to host the 2016 games. Sergio Mazzillo, a lawyer for Nuzman, said then his client was innocent.</p>
<p />
<p>Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.</p> | Brazil police arrest Olympic committee chief in vote-buying scandal | false | https://newsline.com/brazil-police-arrest-olympic-committee-chief-in-vote-buying-scandal/ | 2017-10-05 | 1right-center
| Brazil police arrest Olympic committee chief in vote-buying scandal
<p>By Pedro Fonseca</p>
<p>SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazilian police arrested on Thursday the head of the national Olympics committee, who is accused of conspiring to bribe members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to pick Rio de Janeiro as host of the 2016 games.</p>
<p>Brazilian investigators say Carlos Arthur Nuzman helped arrange a $2 million bribe to get the games for Rio de Janeiro, where he was arrested early on Thursday. Police said he was being held in connection with crimes including corruption and money laundering.</p>
<p>Marcelo Bretas, the federal judge who authorized his arrest, said new evidence indicated that Nuzman’s role in the alleged vote-buying scheme was “more relevant” than initially thought.</p>
<p>“The accusation of vote-buying for the 2016 Olympics is unfounded,” Nelio Machado, a lawyer for Nuzman, told reporters. “Today’s measures are harsh and unusual.”</p>
<p>Bretas said in an arrest order that Nuzman’s wealth grew by 416 percent between 2006 and 2016 and that he had assets overseas that were only declared after the vote-buying investigation began.</p>
<p>The assets include 16 kg in gold bars deposited in Switzerland, Bretas said.</p>
<p>The IOC said on Thursday it would cooperate in the investigation. Its chief ethics and compliance officer has asked Brazil for information to proceed with its own internal investigation, which is ongoing, the body said.</p>
<p>“Given the new facts, the IOC Ethics Commission may consider provisional measures while respecting Mr. Nuzman’s right to be heard,” the IOC said, without detailing the measures.</p>
<p>Leonardo Gryner, a former director of the national Olympics committee, was also arrested in a new phase of the so-called Unfair Play investigation.</p>
<p>Police raided Nuzman’s home in September, accusing him of conspiring with politicians to buy the right to host the 2016 games. Sergio Mazzillo, a lawyer for Nuzman, said then his client was innocent.</p>
<p />
<p>Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.</p> | 4,497 |
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<p />
<p>According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, one in six Americans will have a food-borne illness every year. Of those, nearly 130,000 are hospitalized and 3,000 die. Since last summer there have been outbreaks of salmonella in peanut butter produced in New Mexico, as well as salmonella in mangoes and cantaloupes and listeria in cheese. These contaminations have been linked to more than 400 illnesses and as many as seven deaths.</p>
<p>Last week, the FDA released draft rules to implement the Food Safety Modernization Act signed into law in January 2011. The new rules, which are up for public comment, would require farmers to take new precautions against contamination, including making sure workers’ hands are washed, irrigation water is clean, and animals stay out of fields. Manufacturers will have to submit food safety plans to show they are keeping their operations clean.</p>
<p>The second rule proposes enforceable science- and risk-based standards for the safe production and harvesting of fruits and vegetables.</p>
<p>The focus of these two rules — and others coming soon — is on preventing deaths and disruption to the food system from food-borne illnesses and improving public health and reducing medical costs.</p>
<p>Americans should expect their food to be as safe as possible. At the same time, regulators should work with businesses to help them comply and get them back into production quickly when they have corrected problems.</p>
<p>This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Editorial: Prevention Focus Of New Fed Food Rules | false | https://abqjournal.com/158387/prevention-focus-of-new-fed-food-rules.html | 2013-01-08 | 2least
| Editorial: Prevention Focus Of New Fed Food Rules
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, one in six Americans will have a food-borne illness every year. Of those, nearly 130,000 are hospitalized and 3,000 die. Since last summer there have been outbreaks of salmonella in peanut butter produced in New Mexico, as well as salmonella in mangoes and cantaloupes and listeria in cheese. These contaminations have been linked to more than 400 illnesses and as many as seven deaths.</p>
<p>Last week, the FDA released draft rules to implement the Food Safety Modernization Act signed into law in January 2011. The new rules, which are up for public comment, would require farmers to take new precautions against contamination, including making sure workers’ hands are washed, irrigation water is clean, and animals stay out of fields. Manufacturers will have to submit food safety plans to show they are keeping their operations clean.</p>
<p>The second rule proposes enforceable science- and risk-based standards for the safe production and harvesting of fruits and vegetables.</p>
<p>The focus of these two rules — and others coming soon — is on preventing deaths and disruption to the food system from food-borne illnesses and improving public health and reducing medical costs.</p>
<p>Americans should expect their food to be as safe as possible. At the same time, regulators should work with businesses to help them comply and get them back into production quickly when they have corrected problems.</p>
<p>This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 4,498 |
<p />
<p>With 2016 coming to a close, the time has come for investors to look ahead to 2017 for potential opportunities.One smart investing strategy is to buy stocks that pay out a modest dividend and offer up strong growth prospects in the years ahead. If that sounds like an appealing tactic to you, then I'd recommend giving FactSet Research Systems(NYSE: FDS), Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX), and MarketAxess (NASDAQ: MKTX) a hard look.Here's why.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Image Source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>Information travels around the world in milliseconds these days. That makes it imperative for investors on Wall Street to have access to up-to-date information in order to remain competitive. And that high demand for greatly benefits companies like FactSet Research Systems.</p>
<p>FactSet currently counts thousands of banks, hedge funds, mutual funds, and other financial institutions among its customers, and dozens more are <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/09/27/factset-falls-as-investors-fear-slowing-growth.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">signing on Opens a New Window.</a> each year. That's wonderful news for investors as access to the company's data quickly becomes a mission-critical part of its customers' businesses. That provides FactSet with a lucrative business model that enjoys pricing power and recurring revenue.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Image Source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>Between annual price increases, share buybacks, and international expansion, FactSet offers investors a shot at EPS growth of nearly 10% annually over the next five years.Better still, FactSet pays out a 1.2% dividend yield that only consumes about 23% of earnings, giving the company ample room to raise its payouts in the years ahead.</p>
<p>With more than 25,000 Starbucks stores currently operating around the world, you'd be forgiven for assuming that this company's days of significant growth are over. However, Starbuck's management team recently forecast that its annual EPS growth would land between <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/12/11/starbucks-expects-double-digit-growth-to-continue.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">15% to 20% Opens a New Window.</a>over the next few years. Those figures suggest that this company is still firmly in expansion mode.</p>
<p>So how is this massive company going to put up those huge numbers? Starbucks' growth plan hinges growth in a handful of key areas.</p>
<p>For one, the company's expansion into the consumer packaged goods space provides ample opportunities. This segment only represents a small amount of its overall revenue, but Starbucks sees huge upsides in the packaged coffee and ready-to-drink coffee markets.</p>
<p>Image Source: Getty Images</p>
<p>In addition, Starbucks still sees plenty of room left for store expansion both domestically and abroad. Stateside, Starbucks has plans toopen another 3,400 stores, while emerging markets likeChina still have vast untapped opportunities.</p>
<p>Finally, Starbucks is also moving upscale. The company is making a big push into the super-premium coffee market through its upscale Reserve stores, which will serve coffee costing as much as $10 a cup, providing room for revenue and margin expansion.</p>
<p>Starbucks' EPS growth targets are achievable, and with a dividend yield of 1.7%, this is a company that growth and income investors alike can learn to love.</p>
<p>Billions of dollars' worth of fixed-income securities are bought and sold each day, but most of these transactions take place through one-on-one exchanges over the phone or email. It's an archaic system that hasn't changed much over the last few decades, and that's whereMarketAxess comes in.</p>
<p>MarketAxess was createdby a handful of broker-dealers more than a decade ago as a way to bring the bond market into the 21st century. The company created an electronic trading platform that provides its clients far more transparency, liquidity, and data on the fixed-income markets than they ever had before.</p>
<p>As a first mover in the space,MarketAxess now boasts a leading share of the market, making its platform the go-to place for financial institutions. As the company's client base grows, so does its attractiveness to new customers, providing the company with a nearly unbeatable competitive advantage.</p>
<p>Image Source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>While MarketAxess has been steadily winning market share in bond trading for years,it is still <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/10/28/marketaxess-holdings-inc-earnings-surge-36.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">a long way Opens a New Window.</a> from saturating the market. That's why analysts are projecting that the company's EPS will grow by more than 17% annually for the next five years.</p>
<p>MarketAxess only recently decided to turn on its dividend spigot, so the company's yield is a fairly low 0.6% right now. However, its payout ratio is less than a third of earnings, and those earnings are set to grow quickly. That makes MarketAxess a great stock for growth-focused investors who like a side of income to consider buying today.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than Starbucks When investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*</p>
<p>David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the <a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=cf77082c-a719-4ad6-87df-c2f002e8626a&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">10 best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now... and Starbucks wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.</p>
<p><a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=cf77082c-a719-4ad6-87df-c2f002e8626a&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</a> to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of Nov. 7, 2016</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFTypeoh/info.aspx" type="external">Brian Feroldi Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of FactSet Research Systems, MarketAxess Holdings, and Starbucks.Like this article? Follow him onTwitter where he goes by the handle <a href="https://twitter.com/LongTermMindset" type="external">@Longtermmindset Opens a New Window.</a>or connect with him on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-feroldi-mba-46370a5" type="external">LinkedIn Opens a New Window.</a> to see more articles like this.</p>
<p>The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends FactSet Research Systems, MarketAxess Holdings, and Starbucks. 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> | Top Growth Dividend Stocks to Buy in 2017 | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/12/23/top-growth-dividend-stocks-to-buy-in-2017.html | 2016-12-23 | 0right
| Top Growth Dividend Stocks to Buy in 2017
<p />
<p>With 2016 coming to a close, the time has come for investors to look ahead to 2017 for potential opportunities.One smart investing strategy is to buy stocks that pay out a modest dividend and offer up strong growth prospects in the years ahead. If that sounds like an appealing tactic to you, then I'd recommend giving FactSet Research Systems(NYSE: FDS), Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX), and MarketAxess (NASDAQ: MKTX) a hard look.Here's why.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Image Source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>Information travels around the world in milliseconds these days. That makes it imperative for investors on Wall Street to have access to up-to-date information in order to remain competitive. And that high demand for greatly benefits companies like FactSet Research Systems.</p>
<p>FactSet currently counts thousands of banks, hedge funds, mutual funds, and other financial institutions among its customers, and dozens more are <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/09/27/factset-falls-as-investors-fear-slowing-growth.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">signing on Opens a New Window.</a> each year. That's wonderful news for investors as access to the company's data quickly becomes a mission-critical part of its customers' businesses. That provides FactSet with a lucrative business model that enjoys pricing power and recurring revenue.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Image Source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>Between annual price increases, share buybacks, and international expansion, FactSet offers investors a shot at EPS growth of nearly 10% annually over the next five years.Better still, FactSet pays out a 1.2% dividend yield that only consumes about 23% of earnings, giving the company ample room to raise its payouts in the years ahead.</p>
<p>With more than 25,000 Starbucks stores currently operating around the world, you'd be forgiven for assuming that this company's days of significant growth are over. However, Starbuck's management team recently forecast that its annual EPS growth would land between <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/12/11/starbucks-expects-double-digit-growth-to-continue.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">15% to 20% Opens a New Window.</a>over the next few years. Those figures suggest that this company is still firmly in expansion mode.</p>
<p>So how is this massive company going to put up those huge numbers? Starbucks' growth plan hinges growth in a handful of key areas.</p>
<p>For one, the company's expansion into the consumer packaged goods space provides ample opportunities. This segment only represents a small amount of its overall revenue, but Starbucks sees huge upsides in the packaged coffee and ready-to-drink coffee markets.</p>
<p>Image Source: Getty Images</p>
<p>In addition, Starbucks still sees plenty of room left for store expansion both domestically and abroad. Stateside, Starbucks has plans toopen another 3,400 stores, while emerging markets likeChina still have vast untapped opportunities.</p>
<p>Finally, Starbucks is also moving upscale. The company is making a big push into the super-premium coffee market through its upscale Reserve stores, which will serve coffee costing as much as $10 a cup, providing room for revenue and margin expansion.</p>
<p>Starbucks' EPS growth targets are achievable, and with a dividend yield of 1.7%, this is a company that growth and income investors alike can learn to love.</p>
<p>Billions of dollars' worth of fixed-income securities are bought and sold each day, but most of these transactions take place through one-on-one exchanges over the phone or email. It's an archaic system that hasn't changed much over the last few decades, and that's whereMarketAxess comes in.</p>
<p>MarketAxess was createdby a handful of broker-dealers more than a decade ago as a way to bring the bond market into the 21st century. The company created an electronic trading platform that provides its clients far more transparency, liquidity, and data on the fixed-income markets than they ever had before.</p>
<p>As a first mover in the space,MarketAxess now boasts a leading share of the market, making its platform the go-to place for financial institutions. As the company's client base grows, so does its attractiveness to new customers, providing the company with a nearly unbeatable competitive advantage.</p>
<p>Image Source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>While MarketAxess has been steadily winning market share in bond trading for years,it is still <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/10/28/marketaxess-holdings-inc-earnings-surge-36.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">a long way Opens a New Window.</a> from saturating the market. That's why analysts are projecting that the company's EPS will grow by more than 17% annually for the next five years.</p>
<p>MarketAxess only recently decided to turn on its dividend spigot, so the company's yield is a fairly low 0.6% right now. However, its payout ratio is less than a third of earnings, and those earnings are set to grow quickly. That makes MarketAxess a great stock for growth-focused investors who like a side of income to consider buying today.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than Starbucks When investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*</p>
<p>David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the <a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=cf77082c-a719-4ad6-87df-c2f002e8626a&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">10 best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now... and Starbucks wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.</p>
<p><a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=cf77082c-a719-4ad6-87df-c2f002e8626a&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</a> to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of Nov. 7, 2016</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFTypeoh/info.aspx" type="external">Brian Feroldi Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of FactSet Research Systems, MarketAxess Holdings, and Starbucks.Like this article? Follow him onTwitter where he goes by the handle <a href="https://twitter.com/LongTermMindset" type="external">@Longtermmindset Opens a New Window.</a>or connect with him on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-feroldi-mba-46370a5" type="external">LinkedIn Opens a New Window.</a> to see more articles like this.</p>
<p>The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends FactSet Research Systems, MarketAxess Holdings, and Starbucks. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=isiedilnk018048&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://www.fool.com/knowledge-center/motley.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | 4,499 |
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