news_text
stringlengths 0
312k
| title
stringlengths 0
11.1k
| hyperpartisan
bool 2
classes | url
stringlengths 20
344
| published_at
stringlengths 0
10
| bias
class label 5
classes | text
stringlengths 19
312k
| uid
int64 0
600k
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
<p />
<p>The U.N.'s refugee agency said on Monday border closures in Europe to stop migrants were "inhumane", and government efforts to stem the flow had averted the crisis only temporarily.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The border closures across the Balkans and a controversial deal between Turkey and the EU have sharply reduced the number of people crossing into Europe this year, after a million made the often perilous journey in 2015.</p>
<p>"There are a lot of people patting themselves on the shoulder and saying the deal worked, the people have stopped coming: but there's more to it than that," Melissa Fleming, spokeswoman for the UNHCR, said on the sidelines of the world's first humanitarian summit.</p>
<p>"It has pushed the problem backwards and the problem is not yet solved."</p>
<p>On the moves to seal borders, she added: "The sudden closure and the action by unilateral states was inhumane vis-à-vis many vulnerable people."</p>
<p>Under the deal between Europe and Turkey, Ankara has agreed to take back illegal migrants from Europe in return for aid, accelerated EU accession talks and visa-free travel to the bloc.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Host country Turkey has taken in nearly 3 million refugees since the start of the Syrian civil war and spent nearly $10 billion. But aid groups say it is not a safe country for refugees.</p>
<p>Last week a Syrian on the Greek island of Lesbos won an appeal against a decision to forcibly return him to Turkey, successfully arguing that Turkey does not afford refugees the full protection required under the Refugee Convention, rights group Amnesty International said.</p>
<p>Fleming said it was not yet clear whether this would set a legal precedent.</p>
<p>Finalisation of the EU-Turkey deal has been held up by disagreements over Turkey's anti-terrorism law, which Brussels wants brought in line with European standards.</p>
<p>Billed as the first of its kind, the United Nations summit in Istanbul aims to develop a better response to what has been called the worst humanitarian crisis since World War Two. (By Dasha Afanasieva;&#160;Editing by David Dolan and Andrew Roche)</p> | U.N. Refugee Agency Calls European Border Closures 'Inhumane' | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2016/05/23/u-n-refugee-agency-calls-european-border-closures-inhumane.html | 2016-05-23 | 0right
| U.N. Refugee Agency Calls European Border Closures 'Inhumane'
<p />
<p>The U.N.'s refugee agency said on Monday border closures in Europe to stop migrants were "inhumane", and government efforts to stem the flow had averted the crisis only temporarily.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The border closures across the Balkans and a controversial deal between Turkey and the EU have sharply reduced the number of people crossing into Europe this year, after a million made the often perilous journey in 2015.</p>
<p>"There are a lot of people patting themselves on the shoulder and saying the deal worked, the people have stopped coming: but there's more to it than that," Melissa Fleming, spokeswoman for the UNHCR, said on the sidelines of the world's first humanitarian summit.</p>
<p>"It has pushed the problem backwards and the problem is not yet solved."</p>
<p>On the moves to seal borders, she added: "The sudden closure and the action by unilateral states was inhumane vis-à-vis many vulnerable people."</p>
<p>Under the deal between Europe and Turkey, Ankara has agreed to take back illegal migrants from Europe in return for aid, accelerated EU accession talks and visa-free travel to the bloc.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Host country Turkey has taken in nearly 3 million refugees since the start of the Syrian civil war and spent nearly $10 billion. But aid groups say it is not a safe country for refugees.</p>
<p>Last week a Syrian on the Greek island of Lesbos won an appeal against a decision to forcibly return him to Turkey, successfully arguing that Turkey does not afford refugees the full protection required under the Refugee Convention, rights group Amnesty International said.</p>
<p>Fleming said it was not yet clear whether this would set a legal precedent.</p>
<p>Finalisation of the EU-Turkey deal has been held up by disagreements over Turkey's anti-terrorism law, which Brussels wants brought in line with European standards.</p>
<p>Billed as the first of its kind, the United Nations summit in Istanbul aims to develop a better response to what has been called the worst humanitarian crisis since World War Two. (By Dasha Afanasieva;&#160;Editing by David Dolan and Andrew Roche)</p> | 4,500 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>A little too long, as it turned out.</p>
<p>Bryce Owen’s 3-point shot for the win glanced off the rim in the closing seconds and a furious Lobos rally fell short in a 61-59 loss to Texas-Pan American in Game 1 of DePaul’s Maggie Dixon Classic Tournament.</p>
<p>The Broncs led by 19 points in the first half and 38-20 at intermission as UNM could not get out of its own way. Shanté Goff scored 15 of her game-high 21 points in the first half for UTPA.</p>
<p>Antiesha Brown and Khadijah Shumpert led UNM back in the second half, and Owens hit a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to two points with 43 seconds left.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>After a defensive stop, the Lobos worked the ball around until Owens came open at the 3-point arc. Her shot was just off-line, and the Broncs grabbed the rebound as time expired.</p>
<p>“We did a lot of things right in the second half and had a wide-open shot for the win,” Lobos coach Yvonne Sanchez said in postgame phone interview. “It didn’t go in, but I’ll take that second half and the way we fought back. We just can’t dig ourselves such a big hole.”</p>
<p>Brown scored 17 of her team-best 19 points in the second half, and Shumpert finished with 17 points and 14 rebounds.</p>
<p>Presumably, the Lobos hardly could have played worse in the first half as they buried themselves under an avalanche of fouls and turnovers. UNM had nearly as many giveaways (18) as points (20) and contributed to the Broncs’ efforts with 16 fouls.</p>
<p>UTPA cashed in by making 14-of-21 at the foul line in the first half. After an early 10-10 tie, UTPA went on a 20-3 tear to take control.</p>
<p>“It took us way too long to adjust,” Sanchez said. “We kept fouling (the Broncs) on the drive and making bad inbounds passes against the press. Fouls and turnovers were really the story.”</p>
<p>UNM faces No. 5 Texas A&amp;M as the three-day tournament continues today. The Lobos face DePaul on Sunday.</p>
<p />
<p /> | Horrible first-half performance dooms Lobos to season-opening loss | false | https://abqjournal.com/496552/horrible-firsthalf-performance-dooms-lobos-to-seasonopening-loss.html | 2least
| Horrible first-half performance dooms Lobos to season-opening loss
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>A little too long, as it turned out.</p>
<p>Bryce Owen’s 3-point shot for the win glanced off the rim in the closing seconds and a furious Lobos rally fell short in a 61-59 loss to Texas-Pan American in Game 1 of DePaul’s Maggie Dixon Classic Tournament.</p>
<p>The Broncs led by 19 points in the first half and 38-20 at intermission as UNM could not get out of its own way. Shanté Goff scored 15 of her game-high 21 points in the first half for UTPA.</p>
<p>Antiesha Brown and Khadijah Shumpert led UNM back in the second half, and Owens hit a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to two points with 43 seconds left.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>After a defensive stop, the Lobos worked the ball around until Owens came open at the 3-point arc. Her shot was just off-line, and the Broncs grabbed the rebound as time expired.</p>
<p>“We did a lot of things right in the second half and had a wide-open shot for the win,” Lobos coach Yvonne Sanchez said in postgame phone interview. “It didn’t go in, but I’ll take that second half and the way we fought back. We just can’t dig ourselves such a big hole.”</p>
<p>Brown scored 17 of her team-best 19 points in the second half, and Shumpert finished with 17 points and 14 rebounds.</p>
<p>Presumably, the Lobos hardly could have played worse in the first half as they buried themselves under an avalanche of fouls and turnovers. UNM had nearly as many giveaways (18) as points (20) and contributed to the Broncs’ efforts with 16 fouls.</p>
<p>UTPA cashed in by making 14-of-21 at the foul line in the first half. After an early 10-10 tie, UTPA went on a 20-3 tear to take control.</p>
<p>“It took us way too long to adjust,” Sanchez said. “We kept fouling (the Broncs) on the drive and making bad inbounds passes against the press. Fouls and turnovers were really the story.”</p>
<p>UNM faces No. 5 Texas A&amp;M as the three-day tournament continues today. The Lobos face DePaul on Sunday.</p>
<p />
<p /> | 4,501 |
|
<p />
<p>Source: P&amp;G</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Since 2010, Procter &amp; Gamble has returned $60 billion to shareholders through dividends and stock buybacks -- at a pace of about $12 billion annually. On top of the sheer size of that windfall, the number is impressive given that the company hasn't cracked $12 billion of annual profit in any one of those years.</p>
<p>Rather than step back from that aggressive capital allocation pace, P&amp;G aims to kick it into overdrive. Management plans to deliver $70 billion, or almost $18 billion per year, to shareholders through fiscal 2019. This is how executives plan to fund that epic cash return.</p>
<p>Cost cuts While the company is <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/03/02/5-must-see-charts-from-procter-gambles-investor-pr.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">aiming for sales growth Opens a New Window.</a>, it isn't expecting particularly strong results on that metric anytime soon. Organic sales should be flat in fiscal 2016 for a further slowdown from last year's disappointing 1% growth.</p>
<p>That puts most of the earnings growth pressure on the cost cuts that are already adding billions of dollars to the bottom line. Annual cost of goods expenses are down by $6 billion in the last few years and on target to reach $7 billion by the end of this fiscal year.</p>
<p>Data by <a href="http://ycharts.com" type="external">YCharts</a></p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>In addition, Procter &amp; Gamble has squeezed extra efficiency out of other areas of its business -- everything from the supply chain to overhead and advertising spending. For example, despite increased support behind its biggest brands like Pantene and Tide last year, the company sliced $400 million out of marketing costs by reducing the number of agencies it works with by 40%.</p>
<p>While they have been masked by unfavorable currency, these cost cuts are starting to boost the bottom line. Core earnings rose 9% last quarter (compared to a 2% decline in fiscal 2015) as adjusted operating margin jumped by almost four percentage points.</p>
<p>Portfolio reboot The rest of the money will come from Procter &amp; Gamble's portfolio transformation, which involves shedding underperforming product lines to get the company down from 166 brands to just 65. That massive shift promises to raise cash in two major ways.</p>
<p>First, the company will get a one-time boost from the sale of the businesses it chooses to divest. Between just two deals, the collection of beauty brands going to Coty and the Duracell battery business going to Berkshire Hathaway, the company will raise about $16 billion.</p>
<p>On an ongoing basis, management believes the smaller company that remains will generate nearly the same level of profit <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/03/02/5-must-see-charts-from-procter-gambles-investor-pr.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">but at a lower sales level Opens a New Window.</a>. At the same time, the new P&amp;G should grow faster by about one percentage point of organic sales gains. That would mark a major improvement, considering that growth was just 1% in the most recent fiscal year.</p>
<p>Can P&amp;G do it? Looking simply at revenue and profit growth trends, it doesn't seem likely that P&amp;G could manage $70 billion of capital returns over the next four fiscal years. But those headline figures have both been temporarily held back by currency swings and divestments.</p>
<p>Cash generation. Source: P&amp;G investor presentation</p>
<p>Instead, investors should focus on cash flow to get a clearer picture of the company's financial health. That metric is at an all-time high right now, with operating cash running at $16 billion per year. In fact, last quarter's $4 billion result represented well over 100% of net earnings for the period.</p>
<p>At that pace of cash flow growth, and with the help of nearly $20 billion in extra funds from brand divestments, Procter &amp; Gamble should be able to afford sending $70 billion (representing almost one-third of its market capitalization) back to shareholders in the next few years -- while still making hefty investments in its business.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/03/07/how-procter-gamble-co-plans-to-deliver-70-billion.aspx" type="external">How Procter &amp; Gamble Co Plans to Deliver $70 Billion to Shareholders by 2019 Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFSigma/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Demitrios Kalogeropoulos Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Procter &amp; Gamble. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://wiki.fool.com/Motley?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/help/index.htm?display=about02" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | How Procter & Gamble Co Plans to Deliver $70 Billion to Shareholders by 2019 | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/03/07/how-procter-gamble-co-plans-to-deliver-70-billion-to-shareholders-by-201.html | 2016-03-28 | 0right
| How Procter & Gamble Co Plans to Deliver $70 Billion to Shareholders by 2019
<p />
<p>Source: P&amp;G</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Since 2010, Procter &amp; Gamble has returned $60 billion to shareholders through dividends and stock buybacks -- at a pace of about $12 billion annually. On top of the sheer size of that windfall, the number is impressive given that the company hasn't cracked $12 billion of annual profit in any one of those years.</p>
<p>Rather than step back from that aggressive capital allocation pace, P&amp;G aims to kick it into overdrive. Management plans to deliver $70 billion, or almost $18 billion per year, to shareholders through fiscal 2019. This is how executives plan to fund that epic cash return.</p>
<p>Cost cuts While the company is <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/03/02/5-must-see-charts-from-procter-gambles-investor-pr.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">aiming for sales growth Opens a New Window.</a>, it isn't expecting particularly strong results on that metric anytime soon. Organic sales should be flat in fiscal 2016 for a further slowdown from last year's disappointing 1% growth.</p>
<p>That puts most of the earnings growth pressure on the cost cuts that are already adding billions of dollars to the bottom line. Annual cost of goods expenses are down by $6 billion in the last few years and on target to reach $7 billion by the end of this fiscal year.</p>
<p>Data by <a href="http://ycharts.com" type="external">YCharts</a></p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>In addition, Procter &amp; Gamble has squeezed extra efficiency out of other areas of its business -- everything from the supply chain to overhead and advertising spending. For example, despite increased support behind its biggest brands like Pantene and Tide last year, the company sliced $400 million out of marketing costs by reducing the number of agencies it works with by 40%.</p>
<p>While they have been masked by unfavorable currency, these cost cuts are starting to boost the bottom line. Core earnings rose 9% last quarter (compared to a 2% decline in fiscal 2015) as adjusted operating margin jumped by almost four percentage points.</p>
<p>Portfolio reboot The rest of the money will come from Procter &amp; Gamble's portfolio transformation, which involves shedding underperforming product lines to get the company down from 166 brands to just 65. That massive shift promises to raise cash in two major ways.</p>
<p>First, the company will get a one-time boost from the sale of the businesses it chooses to divest. Between just two deals, the collection of beauty brands going to Coty and the Duracell battery business going to Berkshire Hathaway, the company will raise about $16 billion.</p>
<p>On an ongoing basis, management believes the smaller company that remains will generate nearly the same level of profit <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/03/02/5-must-see-charts-from-procter-gambles-investor-pr.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">but at a lower sales level Opens a New Window.</a>. At the same time, the new P&amp;G should grow faster by about one percentage point of organic sales gains. That would mark a major improvement, considering that growth was just 1% in the most recent fiscal year.</p>
<p>Can P&amp;G do it? Looking simply at revenue and profit growth trends, it doesn't seem likely that P&amp;G could manage $70 billion of capital returns over the next four fiscal years. But those headline figures have both been temporarily held back by currency swings and divestments.</p>
<p>Cash generation. Source: P&amp;G investor presentation</p>
<p>Instead, investors should focus on cash flow to get a clearer picture of the company's financial health. That metric is at an all-time high right now, with operating cash running at $16 billion per year. In fact, last quarter's $4 billion result represented well over 100% of net earnings for the period.</p>
<p>At that pace of cash flow growth, and with the help of nearly $20 billion in extra funds from brand divestments, Procter &amp; Gamble should be able to afford sending $70 billion (representing almost one-third of its market capitalization) back to shareholders in the next few years -- while still making hefty investments in its business.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/03/07/how-procter-gamble-co-plans-to-deliver-70-billion.aspx" type="external">How Procter &amp; Gamble Co Plans to Deliver $70 Billion to Shareholders by 2019 Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFSigma/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Demitrios Kalogeropoulos Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Procter &amp; Gamble. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://wiki.fool.com/Motley?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/help/index.htm?display=about02" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | 4,502 |
<p>Breaking news from Fox News.</p>
<p>The US was fully aware that weapons were moving from Libya to Syria.</p>
<p>Watch this clip:</p>
<p>Watch the latest video at &lt;a href="http://video.foxnews.com"&gt;video.foxnews.com&lt;/a&gt;</p>
<p>Catherine Herridge: This September 16, 2012 memo copied to the National Security Council, State Department, CIA and others concluded the Benghazi terrorist attack was planned at least ten or more days in advance. The DIA memo also reports the attack was tied to 9/11 and was retaliation for a June 2012 drone strike that killed an al Qaeda strategist. There is no discussion of a demonstration or an anti-Islam video. Quote: “The intention was to attack the consulate and to kill as many Americans as possible to seek revenge for the killing of Aboyahiye in Pakistan and in memorial of the 11 September 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center buildings.” Judicial Watch obtained these new records by suing in Federal Court.</p>
<p>Herridge also reports that this memo cites the rise of ISIS some 18 months before Obama claimed ISIS was a JV team.</p>
<p>This is a significant report and one I am sure the Obama Administration will dismiss as easily as they dismissed the rise of ISIS.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /></p> | More Benghazi Lies Exposed | true | http://patriotretort.com/more-benghazi-lies-exposed/ | 2015-05-18 | 0right
| More Benghazi Lies Exposed
<p>Breaking news from Fox News.</p>
<p>The US was fully aware that weapons were moving from Libya to Syria.</p>
<p>Watch this clip:</p>
<p>Watch the latest video at &lt;a href="http://video.foxnews.com"&gt;video.foxnews.com&lt;/a&gt;</p>
<p>Catherine Herridge: This September 16, 2012 memo copied to the National Security Council, State Department, CIA and others concluded the Benghazi terrorist attack was planned at least ten or more days in advance. The DIA memo also reports the attack was tied to 9/11 and was retaliation for a June 2012 drone strike that killed an al Qaeda strategist. There is no discussion of a demonstration or an anti-Islam video. Quote: “The intention was to attack the consulate and to kill as many Americans as possible to seek revenge for the killing of Aboyahiye in Pakistan and in memorial of the 11 September 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center buildings.” Judicial Watch obtained these new records by suing in Federal Court.</p>
<p>Herridge also reports that this memo cites the rise of ISIS some 18 months before Obama claimed ISIS was a JV team.</p>
<p>This is a significant report and one I am sure the Obama Administration will dismiss as easily as they dismissed the rise of ISIS.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /></p> | 4,503 |
<p>The man behind an anti-Islam YouTube video that sparked massive protests across the Muslim world earlier this year has been given 1 year in prison, the BBC and Associated Press reported.</p>
<p>The AP said that "U.S. District Court Judge Christina Snyder immediately sentenced Mark Basseley Youssef after he admitted to four of the eight alleged violations, including obtaining a fraudulent California driver's license."</p>
<p>The man has been identified alternatively as Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, and has also been referred to by the alias Sam Bacile.</p>
<p>After his 14-minute video, "Innocence of Muslims," gained notoriety for the outrage it provoked, Nakoula was arrested in September over alleged probation violations. Youssef was <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/united-states/121010/mark-basseley-youssef-innocence-of-muslims-filmmaker-in-court" type="external">convicted of bank fraud in 2010</a>, and as part of the conditions for his release from jail, he is banned from accessing the internet or adopting aliases without his probation officer's consent.</p>
<p>He faced up to three years in jail at the time, <a href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/09/jailed-innocence-of-muslims-filmmaker-faces-3-years-in-prison.html" type="external">the Los Angeles Times reported</a>. None of the violations he was accused of had to do directly with the film.</p>
<p>The BBC said in a tweet:</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Mark Basseley Youssef, aka Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, filmmaker behind anti-Islam 'Innocence of Muslims,' gets 1 year jail time | false | https://pri.org/stories/2012-11-07/mark-basseley-youssef-aka-nakoula-basseley-nakoula-filmmaker-behind-anti-islam | 2012-11-07 | 3left-center
| Mark Basseley Youssef, aka Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, filmmaker behind anti-Islam 'Innocence of Muslims,' gets 1 year jail time
<p>The man behind an anti-Islam YouTube video that sparked massive protests across the Muslim world earlier this year has been given 1 year in prison, the BBC and Associated Press reported.</p>
<p>The AP said that "U.S. District Court Judge Christina Snyder immediately sentenced Mark Basseley Youssef after he admitted to four of the eight alleged violations, including obtaining a fraudulent California driver's license."</p>
<p>The man has been identified alternatively as Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, and has also been referred to by the alias Sam Bacile.</p>
<p>After his 14-minute video, "Innocence of Muslims," gained notoriety for the outrage it provoked, Nakoula was arrested in September over alleged probation violations. Youssef was <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/united-states/121010/mark-basseley-youssef-innocence-of-muslims-filmmaker-in-court" type="external">convicted of bank fraud in 2010</a>, and as part of the conditions for his release from jail, he is banned from accessing the internet or adopting aliases without his probation officer's consent.</p>
<p>He faced up to three years in jail at the time, <a href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/09/jailed-innocence-of-muslims-filmmaker-faces-3-years-in-prison.html" type="external">the Los Angeles Times reported</a>. None of the violations he was accused of had to do directly with the film.</p>
<p>The BBC said in a tweet:</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | 4,504 |
<p />
<p>One of the most important — and generally overlooked — results of last week’s midterm election was Republican success in increasing control of state legislatures, putting the GOP in a strong position to block expansion of Obamacare to millions of poor people and to pass more laws that would limit women’s access to abortion, contraception and birth control counseling.</p>
<p>“A Republican wave swept over the states, leaving Democrats at their lowest point in state legislatures in nearly a century,” reported Tim Storey of the National Conference of State Legislators, a nonpartisan group that works with statehouse lawmakers.</p>
<p>Before the Nov. 4 elections, Republicans controlled 57 legislative chambers in the 50 states. By legislative chambers, I mean the Senate and the House in each statehouse. The election raised the number to 66. Control of one house can be as important as control of both. While running one house, a party also can influence the other. That’s why these Republicans, who tend to be anti-choice and anti-Obamacare, have been able to initiate and pass anti-abortion legislation and prevent access for working class and poor families to the Medicaid program. Making that task even easier, Tuesday’s election greatly increased the number of Republican governors — from 21 to 32, the national legislators conference reported.</p>
<p />
<p>These important lawmakers and governors usually don’t make the national political news unless they’re big shots like New Jersey Republican Gov. Chris Christie, who may run for president. In fact, state politicians don’t get much national attention unless they do something foolish or crooked enough to warrant the kind of ridicule John Oliver recently dished out on his very funny HBO show.</p>
<p>There are too many of these state lawmakers and too few journalists trying to report on their activities. And on Election Day, news flowed from Washington, as it usually does, reported by correspondents who only occasionally venture out into the rest of the country.</p>
<p>Yet state lawmakers have tremendous impact on how America lives.</p>
<p>Take the abortion issue. A map produced by NARAL Pro-Choice America (formerly the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League) shows the states it considers anti-choice. They run from North Dakota through Texas and the South. It resembles a map of red-state Republican America. And it pretty much matches the legislators conference’s map of Republican controlled statehouses.</p>
<p>NARAL said governments of 24 such states enacted 52 anti-choice measures in 2013. The website Vox reported, “After major Republican victories in 2010, legislatures passed 205 abortion restrictions through 2013 — more than the 30 previous years combined.”</p>
<p>What does NARAL mean by anti-choice laws? Among those making the NARAL list are measures banning abortion after 20 weeks; delaying abortions to allow time for an anti-choice lecture and distribution of written material; targeting abortion providers with tough, often punitive, regulation; banning insurance plans from covering abortions; preventing organizations receiving state or federal funds from counseling on abortion; and restricting poor and young women’s access to abortion.</p>
<p>The Republican legislators and governors also have an opportunity to go after Obamacare. In its ruling on the Affordable Care Act, the Supreme Court left it up to the states to decide whether to expand their Medicaid programs, with most of the costs paid by the federal government. Sarah Kliff of Vox noted that 23 states have not done so. Expansion would bring 4.5 million more people into Obamacare. But, as Vox said, “With so many Republican victories, particularly in large states like Florida and Texas, it remains very likely that these Medicaid programs will remain unexpanded — and millions of Americans won’t be able to get health insurance as a result.”</p>
<p>I don’t doubt there will be more harm coming from the Republican legislatures and governors. You can count on more restrictions on voting, aimed at keeping minority voters — likely Democratic supporters –away from the polls.</p>
<p>And then there is the big cache of bills originated by the conservative, business-run American Legislative Exchange Council, known as ALEC.</p>
<p>ALEC members include legislators around the country. Its extensive research operation and the rest of its staff are, for the most part, financed by corporations. Relying on ideas from business and its legislator members, ALEC staffers write “model” legislation to be introduced in statehouses around the country.</p>
<p>Its best-known effort was the “stand your ground” law, passed by 25 state legislators and used in George Zimmerman’s successful defense when he was accused of the murder of Trayvon Martin.</p>
<p>But its most important work for its business partners is to write intricate laws that weaken utility, telecom and other regulation in the states. The legislation helps the utilities, telecoms and other companies involved in the rapidly changing communications business. The model legislation is given to lawmakers in statehouses who have been known to read ALEC handouts verbatim when speaking for their bills. ALEC also produces legislation designed to weaken labor unions.</p>
<p>The harm caused by the powerful Senate and House Republican majorities may be reported, but you can bet the attention of the Washington media will be more on how the debate affects the 2016 presidential election. Policy implications will be discussed in passing, if at all.</p>
<p>Much of the real harm will go unreported except, hopefully, by the local and regional media. Too many news organizations, however, have reduced or eliminated their statehouse bureaus. Only the victims will know, the young and poor in need of abortion help and the sick deprived of Medicare.</p> | No One Is Paying Attention to the Real Battle for Power | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/no-one-is-paying-attention-to-the-real-battle-for-power/ | 2014-11-11 | 4left
| No One Is Paying Attention to the Real Battle for Power
<p />
<p>One of the most important — and generally overlooked — results of last week’s midterm election was Republican success in increasing control of state legislatures, putting the GOP in a strong position to block expansion of Obamacare to millions of poor people and to pass more laws that would limit women’s access to abortion, contraception and birth control counseling.</p>
<p>“A Republican wave swept over the states, leaving Democrats at their lowest point in state legislatures in nearly a century,” reported Tim Storey of the National Conference of State Legislators, a nonpartisan group that works with statehouse lawmakers.</p>
<p>Before the Nov. 4 elections, Republicans controlled 57 legislative chambers in the 50 states. By legislative chambers, I mean the Senate and the House in each statehouse. The election raised the number to 66. Control of one house can be as important as control of both. While running one house, a party also can influence the other. That’s why these Republicans, who tend to be anti-choice and anti-Obamacare, have been able to initiate and pass anti-abortion legislation and prevent access for working class and poor families to the Medicaid program. Making that task even easier, Tuesday’s election greatly increased the number of Republican governors — from 21 to 32, the national legislators conference reported.</p>
<p />
<p>These important lawmakers and governors usually don’t make the national political news unless they’re big shots like New Jersey Republican Gov. Chris Christie, who may run for president. In fact, state politicians don’t get much national attention unless they do something foolish or crooked enough to warrant the kind of ridicule John Oliver recently dished out on his very funny HBO show.</p>
<p>There are too many of these state lawmakers and too few journalists trying to report on their activities. And on Election Day, news flowed from Washington, as it usually does, reported by correspondents who only occasionally venture out into the rest of the country.</p>
<p>Yet state lawmakers have tremendous impact on how America lives.</p>
<p>Take the abortion issue. A map produced by NARAL Pro-Choice America (formerly the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League) shows the states it considers anti-choice. They run from North Dakota through Texas and the South. It resembles a map of red-state Republican America. And it pretty much matches the legislators conference’s map of Republican controlled statehouses.</p>
<p>NARAL said governments of 24 such states enacted 52 anti-choice measures in 2013. The website Vox reported, “After major Republican victories in 2010, legislatures passed 205 abortion restrictions through 2013 — more than the 30 previous years combined.”</p>
<p>What does NARAL mean by anti-choice laws? Among those making the NARAL list are measures banning abortion after 20 weeks; delaying abortions to allow time for an anti-choice lecture and distribution of written material; targeting abortion providers with tough, often punitive, regulation; banning insurance plans from covering abortions; preventing organizations receiving state or federal funds from counseling on abortion; and restricting poor and young women’s access to abortion.</p>
<p>The Republican legislators and governors also have an opportunity to go after Obamacare. In its ruling on the Affordable Care Act, the Supreme Court left it up to the states to decide whether to expand their Medicaid programs, with most of the costs paid by the federal government. Sarah Kliff of Vox noted that 23 states have not done so. Expansion would bring 4.5 million more people into Obamacare. But, as Vox said, “With so many Republican victories, particularly in large states like Florida and Texas, it remains very likely that these Medicaid programs will remain unexpanded — and millions of Americans won’t be able to get health insurance as a result.”</p>
<p>I don’t doubt there will be more harm coming from the Republican legislatures and governors. You can count on more restrictions on voting, aimed at keeping minority voters — likely Democratic supporters –away from the polls.</p>
<p>And then there is the big cache of bills originated by the conservative, business-run American Legislative Exchange Council, known as ALEC.</p>
<p>ALEC members include legislators around the country. Its extensive research operation and the rest of its staff are, for the most part, financed by corporations. Relying on ideas from business and its legislator members, ALEC staffers write “model” legislation to be introduced in statehouses around the country.</p>
<p>Its best-known effort was the “stand your ground” law, passed by 25 state legislators and used in George Zimmerman’s successful defense when he was accused of the murder of Trayvon Martin.</p>
<p>But its most important work for its business partners is to write intricate laws that weaken utility, telecom and other regulation in the states. The legislation helps the utilities, telecoms and other companies involved in the rapidly changing communications business. The model legislation is given to lawmakers in statehouses who have been known to read ALEC handouts verbatim when speaking for their bills. ALEC also produces legislation designed to weaken labor unions.</p>
<p>The harm caused by the powerful Senate and House Republican majorities may be reported, but you can bet the attention of the Washington media will be more on how the debate affects the 2016 presidential election. Policy implications will be discussed in passing, if at all.</p>
<p>Much of the real harm will go unreported except, hopefully, by the local and regional media. Too many news organizations, however, have reduced or eliminated their statehouse bureaus. Only the victims will know, the young and poor in need of abortion help and the sick deprived of Medicare.</p> | 4,505 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Vance Joseph was admittedly enamored of the idea of a towering, chuck-it-or-tuck-it quarterback with first-round pedigree and a lightning bolt for a right arm leading the Denver Broncos in 2017.</p>
<p>Even more captivating for the rookie head coach was the notion of his egghead seventh-rounder with the sneaky fastball and penchant for making the right decisions calling the signals.</p>
<p>So, it’s Trevor Siemian and not Paxton Lynch who will start for the Broncos.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Joseph made the announcement Monday following a five-month audition that represented the biggest position battle in the NFL this offseason.</p>
<p>Joseph suggested Lynch may still represent the future in Denver, but with a team that’s just 18 months removed from a championship parade and so good on defense, he had to think about today, not tomorrow.</p>
<p>So, Siemian is his guy.</p>
<p>Just as he was Gary Kubiak’s choice a year ago.</p>
<p>“It’s all about performance, not potential,” Joseph said. “And Trevor is ready to lead our football team. We’ve got two receivers that are All-Pro caliber, we’ve got a great backfield, we’ve fixed the offensive line. So, we need a guy who can operate at a high level all the time.”</p>
<p>The book on Lynch coming out of Memphis’ spread offense was that he needed multiple years of seasoning at the pro level and Joseph said what’s holding Lynch back is “probably experience.”</p>
<p>“It’s tough to play quarterback in this league. A lot goes into it and it’s not simply about how tall you are or your arm strength, how fast you run,” Joseph said.</p>
<p>Joseph demurred when asked if he felt Lynch was right where he should be on his developmental arc.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“I can’t say that. But he is a guy that again has rare talent and he works at it. He does work at it,” Joseph said. “Some guys need more time. He’s a young player. So in a year or two, he might be ready to take over the reins. But right now he’s not.”</p>
<p>Siemian beat out veteran Mark Sanchez last summer then went 8-6, throwing for 3,400 yards with 18 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 2016 despite playing three-fourths of the year with a sprained left shoulder that required offseason surgery.</p>
<p>Siemian found himself fighting for his job again after Kubiak retired from coaching in January and was replaced by Joseph, who brought in Mike McCoy to author the Broncos’ new playbook.</p>
<p>“Honestly, I think you have to compete for your job every day, every week,” Siemian said.</p>
<p>Although Joseph declared it a “50-50 competition” this spring, Siemian’s edge in experience was a major factor in him pulling away from Lynch, the 26th overall pick in last year’s draft.</p>
<p>That’s not to say it wasn’t a close call, however.</p>
<p>Joseph said there was some debate among the group of decision-makers that included himself, McCoy, QB coach Bill Musgrave, GM John Elway and player personnel director Matt Russell.</p>
<p>“There was discussion because obviously it was a four- to five-month evaluation and when you watch Paxton’s physical traits, I mean, they’re fun to watch,” Joseph said. “So, for a coach, to have a 6-foot-5 guy with a big arm who can run zone-read and scramble, that’s exciting for us. So, it was close.”</p>
<p>Lynch showed more comfort with the new scheme and new coaching staff but still proved inadequate at decoding defenses while Siemian was steady and solid, consistently making the correct calls and right reads.</p>
<p>“Obviously I believe in myself to be the starter,” Lynch said, his voice cracking. “But the coaches made a decision and that’s what we’re going with.”</p>
<p>While Siemian will get all the attention now, Lynch won’t exactly be shunted aside.</p>
<p>“We’re all going to support Paxton moving forward,” Joseph said. “He’s a young player. He’s got a bright future still. In my opinion we have two quarterbacks. Most teams can’t say that.”</p>
<p>Joseph said he wasn’t worried that Lynch would lose focus as the backup.</p>
<p>“Trevor and Paxton are really close. They’re buddies. So, I don’t foresee him checking out,” Joseph said. “We have great coaches on this staff and to keep him involved won’t be hard.”</p>
<p>Like many fans, Lynch figured he’d be starting by now after Elway moved up in the draft last year to select him, but he said he’s pleased with his progress and how he fought for the job this summer and will be ready whenever called upon.</p>
<p>“I really want to get better and not sit around and pout and be upset about this,” Lynch said, “because that’s not going to make anything better.”</p>
<p>Notes: Joseph declared Denver’s 2017 first-round pick, LT Garett Bolles, the starter and said Max Garcia or Allen Barbre will be the LG but that Ron Leary will stay at RG.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>For more NFL coverage: <a href="http://www.pro32.ap.org" type="external">http://www.pro32.ap.org</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/AP_NFL" type="external">http://www.twitter.com/AP_NFL</a></p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Arnie Melendrez Stapleton on Twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/arniestapleton" type="external">http://twitter.com/arniestapleton</a></p> | Trevor Siemian wins Broncos quarterback job again | false | https://abqjournal.com/1051158/ap-source-trevor-siemian-wins-broncos-quarterback-job-again.html | 2017-08-21 | 2least
| Trevor Siemian wins Broncos quarterback job again
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Vance Joseph was admittedly enamored of the idea of a towering, chuck-it-or-tuck-it quarterback with first-round pedigree and a lightning bolt for a right arm leading the Denver Broncos in 2017.</p>
<p>Even more captivating for the rookie head coach was the notion of his egghead seventh-rounder with the sneaky fastball and penchant for making the right decisions calling the signals.</p>
<p>So, it’s Trevor Siemian and not Paxton Lynch who will start for the Broncos.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Joseph made the announcement Monday following a five-month audition that represented the biggest position battle in the NFL this offseason.</p>
<p>Joseph suggested Lynch may still represent the future in Denver, but with a team that’s just 18 months removed from a championship parade and so good on defense, he had to think about today, not tomorrow.</p>
<p>So, Siemian is his guy.</p>
<p>Just as he was Gary Kubiak’s choice a year ago.</p>
<p>“It’s all about performance, not potential,” Joseph said. “And Trevor is ready to lead our football team. We’ve got two receivers that are All-Pro caliber, we’ve got a great backfield, we’ve fixed the offensive line. So, we need a guy who can operate at a high level all the time.”</p>
<p>The book on Lynch coming out of Memphis’ spread offense was that he needed multiple years of seasoning at the pro level and Joseph said what’s holding Lynch back is “probably experience.”</p>
<p>“It’s tough to play quarterback in this league. A lot goes into it and it’s not simply about how tall you are or your arm strength, how fast you run,” Joseph said.</p>
<p>Joseph demurred when asked if he felt Lynch was right where he should be on his developmental arc.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“I can’t say that. But he is a guy that again has rare talent and he works at it. He does work at it,” Joseph said. “Some guys need more time. He’s a young player. So in a year or two, he might be ready to take over the reins. But right now he’s not.”</p>
<p>Siemian beat out veteran Mark Sanchez last summer then went 8-6, throwing for 3,400 yards with 18 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 2016 despite playing three-fourths of the year with a sprained left shoulder that required offseason surgery.</p>
<p>Siemian found himself fighting for his job again after Kubiak retired from coaching in January and was replaced by Joseph, who brought in Mike McCoy to author the Broncos’ new playbook.</p>
<p>“Honestly, I think you have to compete for your job every day, every week,” Siemian said.</p>
<p>Although Joseph declared it a “50-50 competition” this spring, Siemian’s edge in experience was a major factor in him pulling away from Lynch, the 26th overall pick in last year’s draft.</p>
<p>That’s not to say it wasn’t a close call, however.</p>
<p>Joseph said there was some debate among the group of decision-makers that included himself, McCoy, QB coach Bill Musgrave, GM John Elway and player personnel director Matt Russell.</p>
<p>“There was discussion because obviously it was a four- to five-month evaluation and when you watch Paxton’s physical traits, I mean, they’re fun to watch,” Joseph said. “So, for a coach, to have a 6-foot-5 guy with a big arm who can run zone-read and scramble, that’s exciting for us. So, it was close.”</p>
<p>Lynch showed more comfort with the new scheme and new coaching staff but still proved inadequate at decoding defenses while Siemian was steady and solid, consistently making the correct calls and right reads.</p>
<p>“Obviously I believe in myself to be the starter,” Lynch said, his voice cracking. “But the coaches made a decision and that’s what we’re going with.”</p>
<p>While Siemian will get all the attention now, Lynch won’t exactly be shunted aside.</p>
<p>“We’re all going to support Paxton moving forward,” Joseph said. “He’s a young player. He’s got a bright future still. In my opinion we have two quarterbacks. Most teams can’t say that.”</p>
<p>Joseph said he wasn’t worried that Lynch would lose focus as the backup.</p>
<p>“Trevor and Paxton are really close. They’re buddies. So, I don’t foresee him checking out,” Joseph said. “We have great coaches on this staff and to keep him involved won’t be hard.”</p>
<p>Like many fans, Lynch figured he’d be starting by now after Elway moved up in the draft last year to select him, but he said he’s pleased with his progress and how he fought for the job this summer and will be ready whenever called upon.</p>
<p>“I really want to get better and not sit around and pout and be upset about this,” Lynch said, “because that’s not going to make anything better.”</p>
<p>Notes: Joseph declared Denver’s 2017 first-round pick, LT Garett Bolles, the starter and said Max Garcia or Allen Barbre will be the LG but that Ron Leary will stay at RG.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>For more NFL coverage: <a href="http://www.pro32.ap.org" type="external">http://www.pro32.ap.org</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/AP_NFL" type="external">http://www.twitter.com/AP_NFL</a></p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Arnie Melendrez Stapleton on Twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/arniestapleton" type="external">http://twitter.com/arniestapleton</a></p> | 4,506 |
<p>It’s a healthy serving of Chomsky three ways, as the celebrated intellectual stops by “Democracy Now!” to digest three of the biggest issues in the news.</p>
<p>Looking Back on 9/11 a Decade Later</p>
<p>On the U.S. Economic Crisis: Joblessness, Excessive Military Spending and Health Care</p>
<p>U.S. to Veto Palestinian Statehood Bid Despite ‘Overwhelming International Consensus’</p>
<p /> | Noam Chomsky on 9/11, Jobs and Palestinian Statehood | true | http://truthdig.com/avbooth/item/noam_chomsky_on_9_11_jobs_and_palestinian_statehood_20110913/ | 2011-09-13 | 4left
| Noam Chomsky on 9/11, Jobs and Palestinian Statehood
<p>It’s a healthy serving of Chomsky three ways, as the celebrated intellectual stops by “Democracy Now!” to digest three of the biggest issues in the news.</p>
<p>Looking Back on 9/11 a Decade Later</p>
<p>On the U.S. Economic Crisis: Joblessness, Excessive Military Spending and Health Care</p>
<p>U.S. to Veto Palestinian Statehood Bid Despite ‘Overwhelming International Consensus’</p>
<p /> | 4,507 |
<p>LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) — An 80-year-old man who came home to find two burglars said he shot and killed one of them despite her pleas that she was pregnant, but it’s the woman’s alleged accomplice who has been arrested on suspicion of murder, police said.</p>
<p />
<p>Police said they would present their case to prosecutors Friday but were still deciding whether to recommend charges against Tom Greer, who told a television station he shot the woman in the back as she fled from his house.</p>
<p>“She says, ‘Don’t shoot me, I’m pregnant — I’m going to have a baby,’ and I shot her anyway,” Greer told KNBC-TV outside his house.</p>
<p>Long Beach police Chief Jim McDonnell said at a news conference Thursday that the woman, 28-year-old Andrea Miller, did not appear to be pregnant, but a planned autopsy would determine whether she was.</p>
<p>However, the surviving suspect, Gus Adams, 26, has been arrested on suspicion of residential burglary and murder, McDonnell said. The murder charge is possible because he is accused of being involved in a felony that led to a death, the chief said. He was being held on bail just over $1 million, and police did not know if he had hired an attorney.</p>
<p>Both Miller and Adams, who had histories of similar crimes, were unarmed, McDonnell said.</p>
<p>Greer had been burglarized three times before and believed the same suspects were responsible.</p>
<p>He returned home shortly after 9 p.m. Tuesday to find the pair in his home. Both suspects attacked him, hitting him with their fists and ultimately “body slamming” him to the floor, breaking his collar bone, McDonnell said.</p>
<p>Miller continued to hit him, McDonnell said, while Adams moved to a safe and begin trying to pry it open.</p>
<p>The homeowner was able to get to another room where he grabbed a gun and returned to open fire on the suspects. They fled through the garage and into an alley, and Greer gave chase, firing at them again outside, McDonnell said.</p>
<p>Miller was hit, collapsed in the alley and died at the scene, McDonnell said.</p>
<p>“The lady didn’t run as fast as the man, so I shot her in the back twice,” Greer told the TV station. “She’s dead … but he got away.”</p>
<p>McDonnell would not say whether Miller was shot in the back as Greer said. He also declined to say how many shots were fired and whether either of the suspects was hit inside the house before fleeing.</p>
<p>No phone listing was available for Greer and he could not be reached for comment by The Associated Press.</p>
<p>It will be up to the district attorney to decide whether to charge Greer with a crime, the chief said. Under California law, homeowners can defend themselves if they are in “imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death,” he said.</p>
<p>Prosecutors will have to determine whether chasing after the suspects and firing on them outside the home goes beyond self-defense, McDonnell said.</p> | ‘She Says, Don’t Shoot Me, I’m Pregnant… And I Shot Her Anyway’ | true | http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/man-says-shot-burglar-pregnant-plea | 4left
| ‘She Says, Don’t Shoot Me, I’m Pregnant… And I Shot Her Anyway’
<p>LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) — An 80-year-old man who came home to find two burglars said he shot and killed one of them despite her pleas that she was pregnant, but it’s the woman’s alleged accomplice who has been arrested on suspicion of murder, police said.</p>
<p />
<p>Police said they would present their case to prosecutors Friday but were still deciding whether to recommend charges against Tom Greer, who told a television station he shot the woman in the back as she fled from his house.</p>
<p>“She says, ‘Don’t shoot me, I’m pregnant — I’m going to have a baby,’ and I shot her anyway,” Greer told KNBC-TV outside his house.</p>
<p>Long Beach police Chief Jim McDonnell said at a news conference Thursday that the woman, 28-year-old Andrea Miller, did not appear to be pregnant, but a planned autopsy would determine whether she was.</p>
<p>However, the surviving suspect, Gus Adams, 26, has been arrested on suspicion of residential burglary and murder, McDonnell said. The murder charge is possible because he is accused of being involved in a felony that led to a death, the chief said. He was being held on bail just over $1 million, and police did not know if he had hired an attorney.</p>
<p>Both Miller and Adams, who had histories of similar crimes, were unarmed, McDonnell said.</p>
<p>Greer had been burglarized three times before and believed the same suspects were responsible.</p>
<p>He returned home shortly after 9 p.m. Tuesday to find the pair in his home. Both suspects attacked him, hitting him with their fists and ultimately “body slamming” him to the floor, breaking his collar bone, McDonnell said.</p>
<p>Miller continued to hit him, McDonnell said, while Adams moved to a safe and begin trying to pry it open.</p>
<p>The homeowner was able to get to another room where he grabbed a gun and returned to open fire on the suspects. They fled through the garage and into an alley, and Greer gave chase, firing at them again outside, McDonnell said.</p>
<p>Miller was hit, collapsed in the alley and died at the scene, McDonnell said.</p>
<p>“The lady didn’t run as fast as the man, so I shot her in the back twice,” Greer told the TV station. “She’s dead … but he got away.”</p>
<p>McDonnell would not say whether Miller was shot in the back as Greer said. He also declined to say how many shots were fired and whether either of the suspects was hit inside the house before fleeing.</p>
<p>No phone listing was available for Greer and he could not be reached for comment by The Associated Press.</p>
<p>It will be up to the district attorney to decide whether to charge Greer with a crime, the chief said. Under California law, homeowners can defend themselves if they are in “imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death,” he said.</p>
<p>Prosecutors will have to determine whether chasing after the suspects and firing on them outside the home goes beyond self-defense, McDonnell said.</p> | 4,508 |
|
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>To Mexico, no less.</p>
<p>“Sunday NFL Countdown” will move to Mexico City to proceed the Monday night game on Nov. 21 at Azteca Stadium between the Texans and Raiders. It’s the first NFL game in Mexico that counts in 11 years.</p>
<p>“NFL Countdown” on the day before the game will originate from Chapultepec Park, site of the NFL Fan Fest for the match. It will be hosted, as usual, by Chris Berman, who also will co-host with Suzy Kolber on a two-hour “Monday Night Countdown” from Azteca, with two-time Super Bowl winner Jim Plunkett as a guest.</p>
<p>ESPN plans 10 hours of studio coverage from Mexico City, with several other shows originating from there.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“The NFL’s return to Mexico on ‘Monday Night Football’ is a signature event of the season, and the perfect opportunity for us to bring ‘Sunday NFL Countdown’ on the road for the first time,” said Seth Markman, ESPN senior coordinating producer for NFL studio shows.</p>
<p>ESPN’s game announcing crew of Sean McDonough, Jon Gruden and Lisa Salters will be joined by ESPN Deportes’ John Sutcliffe, who lives in Mexico City.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>For more NFL coverage: <a href="http://www.pro32.ap.org" type="external">http://www.pro32.ap.org</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/AP_NFL" type="external">http://www.twitter.com/AP_NFL</a></p> | ESPN to do ‘Countdown’ in Mexico City before Texans-Raiders | false | https://abqjournal.com/887464/espn-to-do-countdown-in-mexico-city-before-texans-raiders.html | 2least
| ESPN to do ‘Countdown’ in Mexico City before Texans-Raiders
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>To Mexico, no less.</p>
<p>“Sunday NFL Countdown” will move to Mexico City to proceed the Monday night game on Nov. 21 at Azteca Stadium between the Texans and Raiders. It’s the first NFL game in Mexico that counts in 11 years.</p>
<p>“NFL Countdown” on the day before the game will originate from Chapultepec Park, site of the NFL Fan Fest for the match. It will be hosted, as usual, by Chris Berman, who also will co-host with Suzy Kolber on a two-hour “Monday Night Countdown” from Azteca, with two-time Super Bowl winner Jim Plunkett as a guest.</p>
<p>ESPN plans 10 hours of studio coverage from Mexico City, with several other shows originating from there.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“The NFL’s return to Mexico on ‘Monday Night Football’ is a signature event of the season, and the perfect opportunity for us to bring ‘Sunday NFL Countdown’ on the road for the first time,” said Seth Markman, ESPN senior coordinating producer for NFL studio shows.</p>
<p>ESPN’s game announcing crew of Sean McDonough, Jon Gruden and Lisa Salters will be joined by ESPN Deportes’ John Sutcliffe, who lives in Mexico City.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>For more NFL coverage: <a href="http://www.pro32.ap.org" type="external">http://www.pro32.ap.org</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/AP_NFL" type="external">http://www.twitter.com/AP_NFL</a></p> | 4,509 |
|
<p>Explorer Scouts: they’re the top-of-the-line Boy (and Girl) Scouts, and they take on environmental programs, create charities and generally do good throughout the land. So what a surprise it was to find that Explorer Scouts are being trained to carry weapons and supplement the U.S. Border Patrol down in Imperial County.</p>
<p>Aren’t these the kids who are supposed to walk grandmothers across busy streets?</p>
<p>As it turns out, Exploring – part of the Boy Scouts of America’s Learning for Life program – introduced a law enforcement “merit badge” a few years ago, and it has since become one of the most popular areas of concentration. Today, six of the eleven college scholarships available to Explorer Scouts are in Law Enforcement (with a seventh focused on fire-fighting).</p>
<p>People have argued for years over the paramilitary qualities in all of scouting, and whether this is a positive or negative for the nation, but there can be no question about the reaction to the New York Times article and its photos of scowling scouts with guns. Reader comments have ranged from “this is nuts” to “I wish we had this in Australia.”</p>
<p>The first of Exploring’s five “focus areas” is Job Opportunities, and in a 2008 article on non-profit activities, Bunker Hill, IL scout leader Carl Benjamin makes it clear why Law Enforcement is a good candidate for any Explorer Post to pursue: “…there continues to be a lack of good qualified law enforcement individuals across our country. Exploring hopes to add to the change in this problem by encouraging young people to look to the future in law enforcement.”</p>
<p>Other Explorer Posts emphasize such vocations as engineering, aeronautics and environmentalism. The hands-on nature of the preparation of these young men and women (ages 15-20) provides unique learning experiences and real-world contacts in their chosen areas.</p>
<p>But should they be carrying weapons and patrolling the U.S.-Mexico border? Are they law enforcement workers-in-training or future vigilantes?</p>
<p>On one hand, this is no different than ROTC training at the high school and college level, where students learn the skills necessary to play a role in national defense and go to summer camps to actually train with members of the Armed Forces. But ROTC students are not scouts, and it’s disconcerting to think of scouts carrying weapons and screaming “United States Border Patrol, put your hands up” as described in the Times article.</p>
<p>Some of the law enforcement training deals with school shootings such as Columbine, which makes it particularly disturbing to read that one young lady likes the program because she’s “attracted by the guns,” according to the article.</p>
<p>Exploring is a 60-year-old program with an impressive record of achievement. And it may be that learning to take down an escaping illegal immigrant by putting your foot on his or her back is a valuable skill to teach. But it has dismayed some of the Times readers that the scouts are into a “fascistic” mode. Says one, “Can’t we teach these kids something that will actually help them and safeguard our country’s future? I suggest history, arithmetic and a course on how to manage their finances.”</p> | Imperial County Scouting: Shoot First | false | https://ivn.us/2009/05/20/imperial-county-scouting-shoot-first/ | 2009-05-20 | 2least
| Imperial County Scouting: Shoot First
<p>Explorer Scouts: they’re the top-of-the-line Boy (and Girl) Scouts, and they take on environmental programs, create charities and generally do good throughout the land. So what a surprise it was to find that Explorer Scouts are being trained to carry weapons and supplement the U.S. Border Patrol down in Imperial County.</p>
<p>Aren’t these the kids who are supposed to walk grandmothers across busy streets?</p>
<p>As it turns out, Exploring – part of the Boy Scouts of America’s Learning for Life program – introduced a law enforcement “merit badge” a few years ago, and it has since become one of the most popular areas of concentration. Today, six of the eleven college scholarships available to Explorer Scouts are in Law Enforcement (with a seventh focused on fire-fighting).</p>
<p>People have argued for years over the paramilitary qualities in all of scouting, and whether this is a positive or negative for the nation, but there can be no question about the reaction to the New York Times article and its photos of scowling scouts with guns. Reader comments have ranged from “this is nuts” to “I wish we had this in Australia.”</p>
<p>The first of Exploring’s five “focus areas” is Job Opportunities, and in a 2008 article on non-profit activities, Bunker Hill, IL scout leader Carl Benjamin makes it clear why Law Enforcement is a good candidate for any Explorer Post to pursue: “…there continues to be a lack of good qualified law enforcement individuals across our country. Exploring hopes to add to the change in this problem by encouraging young people to look to the future in law enforcement.”</p>
<p>Other Explorer Posts emphasize such vocations as engineering, aeronautics and environmentalism. The hands-on nature of the preparation of these young men and women (ages 15-20) provides unique learning experiences and real-world contacts in their chosen areas.</p>
<p>But should they be carrying weapons and patrolling the U.S.-Mexico border? Are they law enforcement workers-in-training or future vigilantes?</p>
<p>On one hand, this is no different than ROTC training at the high school and college level, where students learn the skills necessary to play a role in national defense and go to summer camps to actually train with members of the Armed Forces. But ROTC students are not scouts, and it’s disconcerting to think of scouts carrying weapons and screaming “United States Border Patrol, put your hands up” as described in the Times article.</p>
<p>Some of the law enforcement training deals with school shootings such as Columbine, which makes it particularly disturbing to read that one young lady likes the program because she’s “attracted by the guns,” according to the article.</p>
<p>Exploring is a 60-year-old program with an impressive record of achievement. And it may be that learning to take down an escaping illegal immigrant by putting your foot on his or her back is a valuable skill to teach. But it has dismayed some of the Times readers that the scouts are into a “fascistic” mode. Says one, “Can’t we teach these kids something that will actually help them and safeguard our country’s future? I suggest history, arithmetic and a course on how to manage their finances.”</p> | 4,510 |
<p>Music download sites operating in China have been warned: delete the Backstreet Boys' "I Want It That Way" or face severe penalties.</p>
<p>According to the Associated Press, China's culture ministry has flagged 100 songs available for online download including Lady Gaga's "Judas," Katy Perry's "Last Friday Night" and "I Want It That Way," a song released back when Pluto was still a planet.</p>
<p>The problem?</p>
<p>The 100 songs still haven't been submitted for <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gA81Ku3jipEffwsPe2eO9ZrJg3OA?docId=348a28dfd806445ea67929eedc8fcbcd" type="external">"mandatory government screening,"</a> reports the AP, which quotes the culture ministry as insisting the warning will help preserve China's "national cultural security."</p>
<p>Indeed, the threat posed by American pop's corrosive influence is very real.</p>
<p>Breaches in China's "cultural security," as seen in the footage below, have had disturbing effects on the lives on Chinese citizens young and old alike.</p>
<p />
<p /> | Gaga, Backstreet Boys caught in China's pop crackdown | false | https://pri.org/stories/2011-08-26/gaga-backstreet-boys-caught-chinas-pop-crackdown | 2011-08-26 | 3left-center
| Gaga, Backstreet Boys caught in China's pop crackdown
<p>Music download sites operating in China have been warned: delete the Backstreet Boys' "I Want It That Way" or face severe penalties.</p>
<p>According to the Associated Press, China's culture ministry has flagged 100 songs available for online download including Lady Gaga's "Judas," Katy Perry's "Last Friday Night" and "I Want It That Way," a song released back when Pluto was still a planet.</p>
<p>The problem?</p>
<p>The 100 songs still haven't been submitted for <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gA81Ku3jipEffwsPe2eO9ZrJg3OA?docId=348a28dfd806445ea67929eedc8fcbcd" type="external">"mandatory government screening,"</a> reports the AP, which quotes the culture ministry as insisting the warning will help preserve China's "national cultural security."</p>
<p>Indeed, the threat posed by American pop's corrosive influence is very real.</p>
<p>Breaches in China's "cultural security," as seen in the footage below, have had disturbing effects on the lives on Chinese citizens young and old alike.</p>
<p />
<p /> | 4,511 |
<p>By Tom Wicker Guest Opinion Bush administration spokesmen have made several cases for waging war against Iraq, and the U.S. press has tended to present all those cases to the public as if they were gospel. Does this mean that administration arguments are indisputable? Or does it mean that the right questions have not been asked often or loudly enough?</p> | Press Isn't Asking Right Questions About Iraq | false | https://poynter.org/news/press-isnt-asking-right-questions-about-iraq | 2003-03-11 | 2least
| Press Isn't Asking Right Questions About Iraq
<p>By Tom Wicker Guest Opinion Bush administration spokesmen have made several cases for waging war against Iraq, and the U.S. press has tended to present all those cases to the public as if they were gospel. Does this mean that administration arguments are indisputable? Or does it mean that the right questions have not been asked often or loudly enough?</p> | 4,512 |
<p>Ever since its inception in 1999, the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival has been known for presenting lineups of rising underground and independent artists, as well as former hitmakers gearing up to make a comeback. The lineup for the 2015 Coachella festival was officially announced on Tuesday, and with AC/DC, Jack White and Drake selected&#160;as this year’s headliners, it appears its promoters are beginning to lean towards making the event considerably more mainstream.</p>
<p>The Coachella Festival has been&#160;held at the Empire Polo Grounds in&#160;the desert city of Indio over two consecutive weekends every&#160;April since 1999. Music fans were initially drawn to the event because it put their favorite, lesser-known underground acts under the lights, but now the event’s desert setting is becoming increasingly resort-like and mainstream acts are starting to take over its lineup. Coachella once used to rebel against acts like AC/DC, a veteran rock ban which has&#160;no ties to experimental or independent music, but promoter Goldenvoice is confident that they are deserving of being the festival’s opening headliner. Goldenvoice inked a long-term deal with Indio that will run through 2030 early last year, and immediately proved their trustworthiness&#160;by bringing in a record-breaking $78.3 million in last year’s festival, according to data published by Billboard Boxscore. Coachella 2014&#160;featured mainstream hitmaker Pharrell Williams and pop artist Lorde, but a number of attendees flocked to the event to see indie rockers Arcade Fire and the reunions of&#160;OutKast and Replacements.</p>
<p>While fans of traditional Coachella may be split over the decision to have AC/DC, blues rocker Jack White and rapper Drake as the headliners for this year’s festival, there will still be plenty of underground and independent acts for them to enjoy during the&#160;weekends of April 10-12 and April 17-19.&#160;Chicago rapper Vic Mensa, rock band Parquet Courts and dance star MØ&#160;will all be highlighted, and the lineup also includes popular acts like&#160;Steely Dan, Alabama Shakes, Tame Impala, Ride, Florence &amp; the Machine, David Guetta, Belle &amp; Sebastian, the Weeknd, Squarepusher, Alt-J, FKA Twigs, Flying Lotus, and Porter Robinson.</p>
<p>The majority&#160;of tickets for this year’s Coachella were&#160;sold in a presale last&#160;May, but the remaining tickets will go on sale Wednesday at noon on&#160;the official Coachella website.&#160;A three-day pass starts at $375, but&#160;general admission wristbands are reportedly&#160;sold out.</p>
<p /> | Coachella turns mainstream, selects AC/DC, Jack White and Drake as festival headliners | false | http://natmonitor.com/2015/01/06/coachella-turns-mainstream-selects-acdc-jack-white-and-drake-as-festival-headliners/ | 2015-01-06 | 3left-center
| Coachella turns mainstream, selects AC/DC, Jack White and Drake as festival headliners
<p>Ever since its inception in 1999, the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival has been known for presenting lineups of rising underground and independent artists, as well as former hitmakers gearing up to make a comeback. The lineup for the 2015 Coachella festival was officially announced on Tuesday, and with AC/DC, Jack White and Drake selected&#160;as this year’s headliners, it appears its promoters are beginning to lean towards making the event considerably more mainstream.</p>
<p>The Coachella Festival has been&#160;held at the Empire Polo Grounds in&#160;the desert city of Indio over two consecutive weekends every&#160;April since 1999. Music fans were initially drawn to the event because it put their favorite, lesser-known underground acts under the lights, but now the event’s desert setting is becoming increasingly resort-like and mainstream acts are starting to take over its lineup. Coachella once used to rebel against acts like AC/DC, a veteran rock ban which has&#160;no ties to experimental or independent music, but promoter Goldenvoice is confident that they are deserving of being the festival’s opening headliner. Goldenvoice inked a long-term deal with Indio that will run through 2030 early last year, and immediately proved their trustworthiness&#160;by bringing in a record-breaking $78.3 million in last year’s festival, according to data published by Billboard Boxscore. Coachella 2014&#160;featured mainstream hitmaker Pharrell Williams and pop artist Lorde, but a number of attendees flocked to the event to see indie rockers Arcade Fire and the reunions of&#160;OutKast and Replacements.</p>
<p>While fans of traditional Coachella may be split over the decision to have AC/DC, blues rocker Jack White and rapper Drake as the headliners for this year’s festival, there will still be plenty of underground and independent acts for them to enjoy during the&#160;weekends of April 10-12 and April 17-19.&#160;Chicago rapper Vic Mensa, rock band Parquet Courts and dance star MØ&#160;will all be highlighted, and the lineup also includes popular acts like&#160;Steely Dan, Alabama Shakes, Tame Impala, Ride, Florence &amp; the Machine, David Guetta, Belle &amp; Sebastian, the Weeknd, Squarepusher, Alt-J, FKA Twigs, Flying Lotus, and Porter Robinson.</p>
<p>The majority&#160;of tickets for this year’s Coachella were&#160;sold in a presale last&#160;May, but the remaining tickets will go on sale Wednesday at noon on&#160;the official Coachella website.&#160;A three-day pass starts at $375, but&#160;general admission wristbands are reportedly&#160;sold out.</p>
<p /> | 4,513 |
<p>The United States Army has officially announced tomorrow’s repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, indicating that “gay and lesbian Soldiers may serve in our Army with the dignity and respect they deserve.” The letter concludes, “It is the duty of all personnel to treat each other with dignity and respect, while maintaining good order and discipline throughout our ranks. Doing so, will help the U.S. Army remain the Strength of the Nation.” (HT: <a href="http://joemygod.blogspot.com/2011/09/official-notice-of-dadt-repeal.html" type="external">Joe.My.God.</a>)</p> | The Army Officially Announces The End Of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell | true | http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2011/09/19/323175/the-army-officially-announces-the-end-of-dont-ask-dont-tell/ | 2011-09-19 | 4left
| The Army Officially Announces The End Of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
<p>The United States Army has officially announced tomorrow’s repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, indicating that “gay and lesbian Soldiers may serve in our Army with the dignity and respect they deserve.” The letter concludes, “It is the duty of all personnel to treat each other with dignity and respect, while maintaining good order and discipline throughout our ranks. Doing so, will help the U.S. Army remain the Strength of the Nation.” (HT: <a href="http://joemygod.blogspot.com/2011/09/official-notice-of-dadt-repeal.html" type="external">Joe.My.God.</a>)</p> | 4,514 |
<p>Nazareth.</p>
<p>In all likelihood, I will be one of the very first non-Jews expected to swear loyalty to Israel as an ideology rather than as a state.</p>
<p>Until now, naturalising residents, like the country’s soldiers, pledged an oath to Israel and its laws. That is the situation in most countries. But soon, if the Israeli parliament passes a bill being advanced by the government, aspiring citizens will instead be required to uphold the Zionist majority’s presumption that Israel is a “Jewish and democratic state”.</p>
<p>My application for citizenship is due to be considered in the next few months, seven years after my marriage to a Palestinian citizen of Israel. The country’s 1.3 million Palestinians — usually referred to by officials as “Israeli Arabs” — are a fifth of the population. I, like a few others in my position, am likely to make such a pledge through gritted teeth and with my fingers crossed behind my back. Whatever I declare publicly to interior ministry officials will be a lie. Here are the reasons why.</p>
<p>One is that this law is unapologetically racist. It applies only to applicants for citizenship who are non-Jews. That is not because, as most observers assume, all Jews in Israel would willingly make the pledge but because one significant group would refuse, thereby nullifying their right to become Israelis. That group is the ultra-Orthodox, religious fundamentalists distinctive for their black dress, who are the fastest growing group among Israel’s Jewish population. They despise Israel’s secular state institutions and would make a loyalty oath only to a state guided by divine law.</p>
<p>So Israel is demanding from non-Jews what it does not require of Jews.</p>
<p>Another reason is that I do not believe a Jewish state can be democratic, any more than I believe a democratic state can be Jewish. I think the two principles are as incompatible as a “Christian and democratic state” or a “white and democratic state”. I am not alone in this assessment. Eminent academics at Israel’s universities think the same. They have concluded that the self-declared Jewish state qualifies not as a liberal democracy but as a much rarer politlcal entity: an ethnocracy.</p>
<p>One of the leading exponents of this view, Professor Oren Yiftachel of Ben Gurion University in the Negev, points out that in ethnocracies, the democratic aspects of the regime are only skin deep. Its primary goal is to maintain one ethnic group’s dominance over another. Israel, it should be noted, has many laws but none guarantees equality. The discrimination, Prof Yiftachel notes, is legislated into the structure of citizenship so that one ethnic group is entitled to privileges at the expense of the other group in all basic aspects of life: access to land and water, the economy, education, political control, and so on.</p>
<p>Even the ethnic group’s majority status is maintained through sophisticated gerrymandering: Israel gives citizenship to Jewish settlers living outside its recognised borders, while banning the Palestinians it expelled in 1948 from ever enjoying immigration rights that are shared by Jews worldwide.</p>
<p>The third reason is that the new oath itself strengthens an elaborate structure of institutionalised discrimination based on Israel’s citizenship laws.</p>
<p>Few outsiders understand that Israel provides citizenship under two different laws, depending on whether you are a Jew or a non-Jew. All Jews and Jewish immigrants, as well as their spouses, are entitled to automatic citizenship under the Law of Return. Meanwhile, the citizenship of Israel’s Palestinians — as well as that of naturalising spouses like myself — is governed by the Citizenship Law. It is this bifurcated citizenship that made possible a previous outrage: Israel’s ban on the right of its Palestinian citizens to win citizenship, or often even residency rights, for a Palestinian spouse through naturalisation.</p>
<p>It is again the Citizenship Law for Palestinians, not the Law of Return for Jews, that Israel is preparing to revise to force the spouses of Palestinian citizens, myself included, to pledge an oath to the very state that confers on them and their Palestinian partners second-class citizenship.</p>
<p>The fourth reason is that this oath is a classic example of “slippery slope” legislation. Despite the exultations of Avigdor Lieberman, the far-right minister who campaigned under the election slogan “No loyalty, no citizenship”, this law in its current formulation will probably apply to only a few hundred applicants each year.</p>
<p>Currently exempt are all existing citizens, whether Jews or Palestinians; non-Jewish spouses of Jews naturalising under the Law of Return; and Palestinian partners blocked entirely from the naturalisation process. Only the tiny number of non-Jewish spouses of Israel’s Palestinian citizens will have to take the pledge. But few believe that the oath will remain so marginal for ever. A principle of tying citizenship rights to a declaration of loyalty is being established in Israel for the first time.</p>
<p>The next targets for this kind of legislation are the non-Zionist political parties of Israel’s Palestinian minority. The Jewish parties are already formulating bills to require parliament members to swear an oath to a “Jewish and democratic state”. That is designed to neuter Israel’s Palestinian parties, all of which share as their main platform a demand that Israel reform from a Jewish state into a “state of all its citizens”, or a liberal democracy.</p>
<p>Next in Lieberman’s sights, of course, are all of Israel’s 1.3 million Palestinians, who will be expected to become Zionists or face a loss of citizenship and possibly expulsion. I may be one of the first non-Jews to make this pledge, but many are sure to be forced to follow me.</p>
<p>JONATHAN COOK is a writer and journalist based in Nazareth, Israel. His latest books are “ <a href="" type="internal">Israel and the Clash of Civilisations: Iraq, Iran and the Plan to Remake the Middle East”</a> (Pluto Press) and “ <a href="" type="internal">Disappearing Palestine: Israel’s Experiments in Human Despair</a>” (Zed Books). His website is <a href="http://www.jkcook.net" type="external">www.jkcook.net</a>.</p>
<p>A version of this article originally appeared in The National ( <a href="http://www.thenational.ae" type="external">www.thenational.ae</a>), published in Abu Dhabi.</p> | My Loyalty Oath | true | https://counterpunch.org/2010/10/15/my-loyalty-oath/ | 2010-10-15 | 4left
| My Loyalty Oath
<p>Nazareth.</p>
<p>In all likelihood, I will be one of the very first non-Jews expected to swear loyalty to Israel as an ideology rather than as a state.</p>
<p>Until now, naturalising residents, like the country’s soldiers, pledged an oath to Israel and its laws. That is the situation in most countries. But soon, if the Israeli parliament passes a bill being advanced by the government, aspiring citizens will instead be required to uphold the Zionist majority’s presumption that Israel is a “Jewish and democratic state”.</p>
<p>My application for citizenship is due to be considered in the next few months, seven years after my marriage to a Palestinian citizen of Israel. The country’s 1.3 million Palestinians — usually referred to by officials as “Israeli Arabs” — are a fifth of the population. I, like a few others in my position, am likely to make such a pledge through gritted teeth and with my fingers crossed behind my back. Whatever I declare publicly to interior ministry officials will be a lie. Here are the reasons why.</p>
<p>One is that this law is unapologetically racist. It applies only to applicants for citizenship who are non-Jews. That is not because, as most observers assume, all Jews in Israel would willingly make the pledge but because one significant group would refuse, thereby nullifying their right to become Israelis. That group is the ultra-Orthodox, religious fundamentalists distinctive for their black dress, who are the fastest growing group among Israel’s Jewish population. They despise Israel’s secular state institutions and would make a loyalty oath only to a state guided by divine law.</p>
<p>So Israel is demanding from non-Jews what it does not require of Jews.</p>
<p>Another reason is that I do not believe a Jewish state can be democratic, any more than I believe a democratic state can be Jewish. I think the two principles are as incompatible as a “Christian and democratic state” or a “white and democratic state”. I am not alone in this assessment. Eminent academics at Israel’s universities think the same. They have concluded that the self-declared Jewish state qualifies not as a liberal democracy but as a much rarer politlcal entity: an ethnocracy.</p>
<p>One of the leading exponents of this view, Professor Oren Yiftachel of Ben Gurion University in the Negev, points out that in ethnocracies, the democratic aspects of the regime are only skin deep. Its primary goal is to maintain one ethnic group’s dominance over another. Israel, it should be noted, has many laws but none guarantees equality. The discrimination, Prof Yiftachel notes, is legislated into the structure of citizenship so that one ethnic group is entitled to privileges at the expense of the other group in all basic aspects of life: access to land and water, the economy, education, political control, and so on.</p>
<p>Even the ethnic group’s majority status is maintained through sophisticated gerrymandering: Israel gives citizenship to Jewish settlers living outside its recognised borders, while banning the Palestinians it expelled in 1948 from ever enjoying immigration rights that are shared by Jews worldwide.</p>
<p>The third reason is that the new oath itself strengthens an elaborate structure of institutionalised discrimination based on Israel’s citizenship laws.</p>
<p>Few outsiders understand that Israel provides citizenship under two different laws, depending on whether you are a Jew or a non-Jew. All Jews and Jewish immigrants, as well as their spouses, are entitled to automatic citizenship under the Law of Return. Meanwhile, the citizenship of Israel’s Palestinians — as well as that of naturalising spouses like myself — is governed by the Citizenship Law. It is this bifurcated citizenship that made possible a previous outrage: Israel’s ban on the right of its Palestinian citizens to win citizenship, or often even residency rights, for a Palestinian spouse through naturalisation.</p>
<p>It is again the Citizenship Law for Palestinians, not the Law of Return for Jews, that Israel is preparing to revise to force the spouses of Palestinian citizens, myself included, to pledge an oath to the very state that confers on them and their Palestinian partners second-class citizenship.</p>
<p>The fourth reason is that this oath is a classic example of “slippery slope” legislation. Despite the exultations of Avigdor Lieberman, the far-right minister who campaigned under the election slogan “No loyalty, no citizenship”, this law in its current formulation will probably apply to only a few hundred applicants each year.</p>
<p>Currently exempt are all existing citizens, whether Jews or Palestinians; non-Jewish spouses of Jews naturalising under the Law of Return; and Palestinian partners blocked entirely from the naturalisation process. Only the tiny number of non-Jewish spouses of Israel’s Palestinian citizens will have to take the pledge. But few believe that the oath will remain so marginal for ever. A principle of tying citizenship rights to a declaration of loyalty is being established in Israel for the first time.</p>
<p>The next targets for this kind of legislation are the non-Zionist political parties of Israel’s Palestinian minority. The Jewish parties are already formulating bills to require parliament members to swear an oath to a “Jewish and democratic state”. That is designed to neuter Israel’s Palestinian parties, all of which share as their main platform a demand that Israel reform from a Jewish state into a “state of all its citizens”, or a liberal democracy.</p>
<p>Next in Lieberman’s sights, of course, are all of Israel’s 1.3 million Palestinians, who will be expected to become Zionists or face a loss of citizenship and possibly expulsion. I may be one of the first non-Jews to make this pledge, but many are sure to be forced to follow me.</p>
<p>JONATHAN COOK is a writer and journalist based in Nazareth, Israel. His latest books are “ <a href="" type="internal">Israel and the Clash of Civilisations: Iraq, Iran and the Plan to Remake the Middle East”</a> (Pluto Press) and “ <a href="" type="internal">Disappearing Palestine: Israel’s Experiments in Human Despair</a>” (Zed Books). His website is <a href="http://www.jkcook.net" type="external">www.jkcook.net</a>.</p>
<p>A version of this article originally appeared in The National ( <a href="http://www.thenational.ae" type="external">www.thenational.ae</a>), published in Abu Dhabi.</p> | 4,515 |
<p>Pornography is everywhere, literally at the tips of your fingers at all times. And, in 2017, porn is even viewed as morally acceptable by a record high 36 percent of the population, according to new <a href="" type="internal">Gallup polling</a>.</p>
<p>But how has this influx of porn affected us?</p>
<p>On Friday, researchers at the annual Scientific Meeting of the American Urological Association discussed their growing concern about the negative connection between porn viewing and a man's sex life and, more broadly, his ability to have a healthy, intimate relationship with a woman.</p>
<p>Due to new research, scientists believe viewing pornography "could be affecting men’s libido’s and putting them at risk of sexual dysfunction," notes The Independent.</p>
<p>Researchers at the convention, under the leadership of Naval Medical Center's program director for pediatric urology, Dr. Matthew Christman, explained that the more men viewed pornography via readily available free sites, such as PornHub, "the less likely they are to be able to connect with a real-life partner in the bedroom."</p>
<p>Unable to foster an intimate relationship with their partner in the bedroom, their relationships with women are suffering.</p>
<p>Newsweek <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/free-porn-ruins-men-sex-lives-not-women-608647" type="external">reports</a>:</p>
<p>Through surveys administered to 312 male patients of the same age group (also mostly white, married and heterosexual), the researchers found a close correlation between excessive pornography use and sexual dysfunction. Roughly 20 percent of men reported using porn three to five times weekly. Nearly 4 percent of men reported they preferred masturbating to pornography over having sexual intercourse with a partner. The researchers also recognized a correlation between men who used pornography frequently and those who reported lack of sexual desire and intercourse satisfaction, as well as erectile dysfunction.</p>
<p>Women's sex lives, on the contrary, were only shown to have been "trivially" affected by viewing porn.</p> | SHOCK: Pornography Ruining Men’s Sex Lives | true | https://dailywire.com/news/16444/shock-pornography-ruining-mens-sex-lives-amanda-prestigiacomo | 2017-05-15 | 0right
| SHOCK: Pornography Ruining Men’s Sex Lives
<p>Pornography is everywhere, literally at the tips of your fingers at all times. And, in 2017, porn is even viewed as morally acceptable by a record high 36 percent of the population, according to new <a href="" type="internal">Gallup polling</a>.</p>
<p>But how has this influx of porn affected us?</p>
<p>On Friday, researchers at the annual Scientific Meeting of the American Urological Association discussed their growing concern about the negative connection between porn viewing and a man's sex life and, more broadly, his ability to have a healthy, intimate relationship with a woman.</p>
<p>Due to new research, scientists believe viewing pornography "could be affecting men’s libido’s and putting them at risk of sexual dysfunction," notes The Independent.</p>
<p>Researchers at the convention, under the leadership of Naval Medical Center's program director for pediatric urology, Dr. Matthew Christman, explained that the more men viewed pornography via readily available free sites, such as PornHub, "the less likely they are to be able to connect with a real-life partner in the bedroom."</p>
<p>Unable to foster an intimate relationship with their partner in the bedroom, their relationships with women are suffering.</p>
<p>Newsweek <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/free-porn-ruins-men-sex-lives-not-women-608647" type="external">reports</a>:</p>
<p>Through surveys administered to 312 male patients of the same age group (also mostly white, married and heterosexual), the researchers found a close correlation between excessive pornography use and sexual dysfunction. Roughly 20 percent of men reported using porn three to five times weekly. Nearly 4 percent of men reported they preferred masturbating to pornography over having sexual intercourse with a partner. The researchers also recognized a correlation between men who used pornography frequently and those who reported lack of sexual desire and intercourse satisfaction, as well as erectile dysfunction.</p>
<p>Women's sex lives, on the contrary, were only shown to have been "trivially" affected by viewing porn.</p> | 4,516 |
<p>KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Security forces said Sunday they had killed the last of six Taliban militants to end an overnight siege at Kabul’s Intercontinental Hotel that left at least 18 people dead, including 14 foreigners. Some of the 150 guests fled the gunbattle and fire sparked by the assault by shimmying down bedsheets from the upper floors.</p>
<p>The militants, who wore suicide vests, pinned down security forces for more than 13 hours after the attack began about 9 p.m. Saturday. The gunmen roamed the hallways and targeted foreigners and Afghan officials inside the luxury, hilltop hotel.</p>
<p>The more than 150 people who were rescued or managed to escape included 41 foreigners, said Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish. Of those, 10 people were injured, including six security forces, he said.</p>
<p>Eleven of the 14 foreigners killed were employees of KamAir, a private Afghan airline, Danish said. KamAir put out a statement saying some of its flights were disrupted because of the attack.</p>
<p>Six of those killed were Ukrainians, said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin, who added that his office was working with Afghan law enforcement agencies “to clarify the circumstances of this terrorist act.”</p>
<p>Two Venezuelan pilots for KamAir were among the dead, according to Luis Figuera. He told The Associated Press that his brother-in-law, Adelsis Ramos, was killed along with Pablo Chiossone, and that their bodies were identified by another Venezuelan pilot at a Kabul hospital.</p>
<p>A citizen from Kazakhstan also was among the dead at the hotel, according to Anuar Zhainakov, a spokesman for the Kazakh Foreign Ministry.</p>
<p>Afghan security officials confirmed that 34 provincial officials were at the hotel for a conference organized by the Telecommunication Ministry.</p>
<p>Afghan officials said that also among the dead was a telecommunications official from Farah province in western Afghanistan; Waheed Poyan, the newly appointed consul general to Karachi, Pakistan; and Ahmad Farzan, an employee of the High Peace Council, a commission created to facilitate peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban and other opposition groups.</p>
<p>The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack at the heavily guarded hotel that is popular among foreigners and Afghan officials.</p>
<p>Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the insurgents initially planned to strike the hotel Thursday night but postponed it because a wedding was underway there and they wanted to avoid civilian casualties.</p>
<p>The attack unfolded almost six years after Taliban insurgents launched a similar assault on the property.</p>
<p>Mumtaz Ahmad, a provincial telecommunication employee for Helmand province, said he was walking from his room to the reception for his group on Saturday night.</p>
<p>“When the elevator door opened, I saw two armed suicide bombers. People were escaping and the attackers were firing at them,” he said.</p>
<p>Fire broke out in the six-story hotel as the fighting raged, filling some guest rooms with smoke. Explosions could be heard throughout the standoff. Live TV video showed people trying to escape through windows and from the upper stories as thick, black smoke poured from the building.</p>
<p>The Interior Ministry said it is investigating how the attackers managed to enter the building. It said a private company had taken over security about three weeks ago at the hotel, which is not part of the Intercontinental chain.</p>
<p>During a news conference, Danish said that an initial investigation showed that six insurgents entered the hotel from the northern side and stormed its kitchen. A person or persons inside the hotel might have helped the attackers gain entrance, Danish said, adding that the investigation is continuing.</p>
<p>Two of the attackers were killed by special forces on the 6th floor of the hotel.</p>
<p>Capt. Tom Gresback, spokesman for NATO-led forces, said in a statement that Afghan forces had led the response efforts and that no foreign troops were hurt in the attack, according to initial reports.</p>
<p>U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the United States strongly condemns the attack, adding that Washington “stands with the government and people of Afghanistan. We remain firmly committed to supporting Afghan efforts to achieve peace, security and prosperity for their country.”</p>
<p>Neighboring Pakistan also condemned the “brutal terrorist attack” and called for greater cooperation against militants.</p>
<p>Afghanistan and Pakistan routinely accuse each other of failing to combat extremists on their long and porous border.</p>
<p>Afghan forces have struggled to fight the Taliban since the U.S. and NATO formally concluded their combat mission at the end of 2014.</p>
<p>They have also had to contend with a growing Islamic State affiliate that has carried out a number of big attacks in recent years.</p>
<p>In other violence in Afghanistan this weekend, insurgents burst into a home in Balkh province in the north where several members of a pro-government militia were gathered late Saturday, killing 18 of them, said Gen. Abdul Razeq Qaderi, the deputy provincial police chief. Among those killed was a tribal leader who served as the local police commander, he said.</p>
<p>In the western province of Farah, a roadside bomb early Sunday killed a deputy provincial police chief and wounded four other police, according to Gen. Mahruf Folad, the provincial police chief.</p>
<p>The Taliban claimed both attacks.</p>
<p>In the western province of Herat, a roadside bomb struck a vehicle carrying 13 civilians, killing all but one of them, said Abdul Ahad Walizada, a spokesman for the provincial police chief. No one immediately claimed the attack, but Walizada blamed Taliban insurgents, who often plant bombs to target Afghan security forces.</p>
<p>KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Security forces said Sunday they had killed the last of six Taliban militants to end an overnight siege at Kabul’s Intercontinental Hotel that left at least 18 people dead, including 14 foreigners. Some of the 150 guests fled the gunbattle and fire sparked by the assault by shimmying down bedsheets from the upper floors.</p>
<p>The militants, who wore suicide vests, pinned down security forces for more than 13 hours after the attack began about 9 p.m. Saturday. The gunmen roamed the hallways and targeted foreigners and Afghan officials inside the luxury, hilltop hotel.</p>
<p>The more than 150 people who were rescued or managed to escape included 41 foreigners, said Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish. Of those, 10 people were injured, including six security forces, he said.</p>
<p>Eleven of the 14 foreigners killed were employees of KamAir, a private Afghan airline, Danish said. KamAir put out a statement saying some of its flights were disrupted because of the attack.</p>
<p>Six of those killed were Ukrainians, said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin, who added that his office was working with Afghan law enforcement agencies “to clarify the circumstances of this terrorist act.”</p>
<p>Two Venezuelan pilots for KamAir were among the dead, according to Luis Figuera. He told The Associated Press that his brother-in-law, Adelsis Ramos, was killed along with Pablo Chiossone, and that their bodies were identified by another Venezuelan pilot at a Kabul hospital.</p>
<p>A citizen from Kazakhstan also was among the dead at the hotel, according to Anuar Zhainakov, a spokesman for the Kazakh Foreign Ministry.</p>
<p>Afghan security officials confirmed that 34 provincial officials were at the hotel for a conference organized by the Telecommunication Ministry.</p>
<p>Afghan officials said that also among the dead was a telecommunications official from Farah province in western Afghanistan; Waheed Poyan, the newly appointed consul general to Karachi, Pakistan; and Ahmad Farzan, an employee of the High Peace Council, a commission created to facilitate peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban and other opposition groups.</p>
<p>The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack at the heavily guarded hotel that is popular among foreigners and Afghan officials.</p>
<p>Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the insurgents initially planned to strike the hotel Thursday night but postponed it because a wedding was underway there and they wanted to avoid civilian casualties.</p>
<p>The attack unfolded almost six years after Taliban insurgents launched a similar assault on the property.</p>
<p>Mumtaz Ahmad, a provincial telecommunication employee for Helmand province, said he was walking from his room to the reception for his group on Saturday night.</p>
<p>“When the elevator door opened, I saw two armed suicide bombers. People were escaping and the attackers were firing at them,” he said.</p>
<p>Fire broke out in the six-story hotel as the fighting raged, filling some guest rooms with smoke. Explosions could be heard throughout the standoff. Live TV video showed people trying to escape through windows and from the upper stories as thick, black smoke poured from the building.</p>
<p>The Interior Ministry said it is investigating how the attackers managed to enter the building. It said a private company had taken over security about three weeks ago at the hotel, which is not part of the Intercontinental chain.</p>
<p>During a news conference, Danish said that an initial investigation showed that six insurgents entered the hotel from the northern side and stormed its kitchen. A person or persons inside the hotel might have helped the attackers gain entrance, Danish said, adding that the investigation is continuing.</p>
<p>Two of the attackers were killed by special forces on the 6th floor of the hotel.</p>
<p>Capt. Tom Gresback, spokesman for NATO-led forces, said in a statement that Afghan forces had led the response efforts and that no foreign troops were hurt in the attack, according to initial reports.</p>
<p>U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the United States strongly condemns the attack, adding that Washington “stands with the government and people of Afghanistan. We remain firmly committed to supporting Afghan efforts to achieve peace, security and prosperity for their country.”</p>
<p>Neighboring Pakistan also condemned the “brutal terrorist attack” and called for greater cooperation against militants.</p>
<p>Afghanistan and Pakistan routinely accuse each other of failing to combat extremists on their long and porous border.</p>
<p>Afghan forces have struggled to fight the Taliban since the U.S. and NATO formally concluded their combat mission at the end of 2014.</p>
<p>They have also had to contend with a growing Islamic State affiliate that has carried out a number of big attacks in recent years.</p>
<p>In other violence in Afghanistan this weekend, insurgents burst into a home in Balkh province in the north where several members of a pro-government militia were gathered late Saturday, killing 18 of them, said Gen. Abdul Razeq Qaderi, the deputy provincial police chief. Among those killed was a tribal leader who served as the local police commander, he said.</p>
<p>In the western province of Farah, a roadside bomb early Sunday killed a deputy provincial police chief and wounded four other police, according to Gen. Mahruf Folad, the provincial police chief.</p>
<p>The Taliban claimed both attacks.</p>
<p>In the western province of Herat, a roadside bomb struck a vehicle carrying 13 civilians, killing all but one of them, said Abdul Ahad Walizada, a spokesman for the provincial police chief. No one immediately claimed the attack, but Walizada blamed Taliban insurgents, who often plant bombs to target Afghan security forces.</p> | Afghan forces end Taliban siege at Kabul hotel; 18 dead | false | https://apnews.com/63c73b7507524937921abb6808cc4978 | 2018-01-22 | 2least
| Afghan forces end Taliban siege at Kabul hotel; 18 dead
<p>KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Security forces said Sunday they had killed the last of six Taliban militants to end an overnight siege at Kabul’s Intercontinental Hotel that left at least 18 people dead, including 14 foreigners. Some of the 150 guests fled the gunbattle and fire sparked by the assault by shimmying down bedsheets from the upper floors.</p>
<p>The militants, who wore suicide vests, pinned down security forces for more than 13 hours after the attack began about 9 p.m. Saturday. The gunmen roamed the hallways and targeted foreigners and Afghan officials inside the luxury, hilltop hotel.</p>
<p>The more than 150 people who were rescued or managed to escape included 41 foreigners, said Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish. Of those, 10 people were injured, including six security forces, he said.</p>
<p>Eleven of the 14 foreigners killed were employees of KamAir, a private Afghan airline, Danish said. KamAir put out a statement saying some of its flights were disrupted because of the attack.</p>
<p>Six of those killed were Ukrainians, said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin, who added that his office was working with Afghan law enforcement agencies “to clarify the circumstances of this terrorist act.”</p>
<p>Two Venezuelan pilots for KamAir were among the dead, according to Luis Figuera. He told The Associated Press that his brother-in-law, Adelsis Ramos, was killed along with Pablo Chiossone, and that their bodies were identified by another Venezuelan pilot at a Kabul hospital.</p>
<p>A citizen from Kazakhstan also was among the dead at the hotel, according to Anuar Zhainakov, a spokesman for the Kazakh Foreign Ministry.</p>
<p>Afghan security officials confirmed that 34 provincial officials were at the hotel for a conference organized by the Telecommunication Ministry.</p>
<p>Afghan officials said that also among the dead was a telecommunications official from Farah province in western Afghanistan; Waheed Poyan, the newly appointed consul general to Karachi, Pakistan; and Ahmad Farzan, an employee of the High Peace Council, a commission created to facilitate peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban and other opposition groups.</p>
<p>The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack at the heavily guarded hotel that is popular among foreigners and Afghan officials.</p>
<p>Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the insurgents initially planned to strike the hotel Thursday night but postponed it because a wedding was underway there and they wanted to avoid civilian casualties.</p>
<p>The attack unfolded almost six years after Taliban insurgents launched a similar assault on the property.</p>
<p>Mumtaz Ahmad, a provincial telecommunication employee for Helmand province, said he was walking from his room to the reception for his group on Saturday night.</p>
<p>“When the elevator door opened, I saw two armed suicide bombers. People were escaping and the attackers were firing at them,” he said.</p>
<p>Fire broke out in the six-story hotel as the fighting raged, filling some guest rooms with smoke. Explosions could be heard throughout the standoff. Live TV video showed people trying to escape through windows and from the upper stories as thick, black smoke poured from the building.</p>
<p>The Interior Ministry said it is investigating how the attackers managed to enter the building. It said a private company had taken over security about three weeks ago at the hotel, which is not part of the Intercontinental chain.</p>
<p>During a news conference, Danish said that an initial investigation showed that six insurgents entered the hotel from the northern side and stormed its kitchen. A person or persons inside the hotel might have helped the attackers gain entrance, Danish said, adding that the investigation is continuing.</p>
<p>Two of the attackers were killed by special forces on the 6th floor of the hotel.</p>
<p>Capt. Tom Gresback, spokesman for NATO-led forces, said in a statement that Afghan forces had led the response efforts and that no foreign troops were hurt in the attack, according to initial reports.</p>
<p>U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the United States strongly condemns the attack, adding that Washington “stands with the government and people of Afghanistan. We remain firmly committed to supporting Afghan efforts to achieve peace, security and prosperity for their country.”</p>
<p>Neighboring Pakistan also condemned the “brutal terrorist attack” and called for greater cooperation against militants.</p>
<p>Afghanistan and Pakistan routinely accuse each other of failing to combat extremists on their long and porous border.</p>
<p>Afghan forces have struggled to fight the Taliban since the U.S. and NATO formally concluded their combat mission at the end of 2014.</p>
<p>They have also had to contend with a growing Islamic State affiliate that has carried out a number of big attacks in recent years.</p>
<p>In other violence in Afghanistan this weekend, insurgents burst into a home in Balkh province in the north where several members of a pro-government militia were gathered late Saturday, killing 18 of them, said Gen. Abdul Razeq Qaderi, the deputy provincial police chief. Among those killed was a tribal leader who served as the local police commander, he said.</p>
<p>In the western province of Farah, a roadside bomb early Sunday killed a deputy provincial police chief and wounded four other police, according to Gen. Mahruf Folad, the provincial police chief.</p>
<p>The Taliban claimed both attacks.</p>
<p>In the western province of Herat, a roadside bomb struck a vehicle carrying 13 civilians, killing all but one of them, said Abdul Ahad Walizada, a spokesman for the provincial police chief. No one immediately claimed the attack, but Walizada blamed Taliban insurgents, who often plant bombs to target Afghan security forces.</p>
<p>KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Security forces said Sunday they had killed the last of six Taliban militants to end an overnight siege at Kabul’s Intercontinental Hotel that left at least 18 people dead, including 14 foreigners. Some of the 150 guests fled the gunbattle and fire sparked by the assault by shimmying down bedsheets from the upper floors.</p>
<p>The militants, who wore suicide vests, pinned down security forces for more than 13 hours after the attack began about 9 p.m. Saturday. The gunmen roamed the hallways and targeted foreigners and Afghan officials inside the luxury, hilltop hotel.</p>
<p>The more than 150 people who were rescued or managed to escape included 41 foreigners, said Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish. Of those, 10 people were injured, including six security forces, he said.</p>
<p>Eleven of the 14 foreigners killed were employees of KamAir, a private Afghan airline, Danish said. KamAir put out a statement saying some of its flights were disrupted because of the attack.</p>
<p>Six of those killed were Ukrainians, said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin, who added that his office was working with Afghan law enforcement agencies “to clarify the circumstances of this terrorist act.”</p>
<p>Two Venezuelan pilots for KamAir were among the dead, according to Luis Figuera. He told The Associated Press that his brother-in-law, Adelsis Ramos, was killed along with Pablo Chiossone, and that their bodies were identified by another Venezuelan pilot at a Kabul hospital.</p>
<p>A citizen from Kazakhstan also was among the dead at the hotel, according to Anuar Zhainakov, a spokesman for the Kazakh Foreign Ministry.</p>
<p>Afghan security officials confirmed that 34 provincial officials were at the hotel for a conference organized by the Telecommunication Ministry.</p>
<p>Afghan officials said that also among the dead was a telecommunications official from Farah province in western Afghanistan; Waheed Poyan, the newly appointed consul general to Karachi, Pakistan; and Ahmad Farzan, an employee of the High Peace Council, a commission created to facilitate peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban and other opposition groups.</p>
<p>The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack at the heavily guarded hotel that is popular among foreigners and Afghan officials.</p>
<p>Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the insurgents initially planned to strike the hotel Thursday night but postponed it because a wedding was underway there and they wanted to avoid civilian casualties.</p>
<p>The attack unfolded almost six years after Taliban insurgents launched a similar assault on the property.</p>
<p>Mumtaz Ahmad, a provincial telecommunication employee for Helmand province, said he was walking from his room to the reception for his group on Saturday night.</p>
<p>“When the elevator door opened, I saw two armed suicide bombers. People were escaping and the attackers were firing at them,” he said.</p>
<p>Fire broke out in the six-story hotel as the fighting raged, filling some guest rooms with smoke. Explosions could be heard throughout the standoff. Live TV video showed people trying to escape through windows and from the upper stories as thick, black smoke poured from the building.</p>
<p>The Interior Ministry said it is investigating how the attackers managed to enter the building. It said a private company had taken over security about three weeks ago at the hotel, which is not part of the Intercontinental chain.</p>
<p>During a news conference, Danish said that an initial investigation showed that six insurgents entered the hotel from the northern side and stormed its kitchen. A person or persons inside the hotel might have helped the attackers gain entrance, Danish said, adding that the investigation is continuing.</p>
<p>Two of the attackers were killed by special forces on the 6th floor of the hotel.</p>
<p>Capt. Tom Gresback, spokesman for NATO-led forces, said in a statement that Afghan forces had led the response efforts and that no foreign troops were hurt in the attack, according to initial reports.</p>
<p>U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the United States strongly condemns the attack, adding that Washington “stands with the government and people of Afghanistan. We remain firmly committed to supporting Afghan efforts to achieve peace, security and prosperity for their country.”</p>
<p>Neighboring Pakistan also condemned the “brutal terrorist attack” and called for greater cooperation against militants.</p>
<p>Afghanistan and Pakistan routinely accuse each other of failing to combat extremists on their long and porous border.</p>
<p>Afghan forces have struggled to fight the Taliban since the U.S. and NATO formally concluded their combat mission at the end of 2014.</p>
<p>They have also had to contend with a growing Islamic State affiliate that has carried out a number of big attacks in recent years.</p>
<p>In other violence in Afghanistan this weekend, insurgents burst into a home in Balkh province in the north where several members of a pro-government militia were gathered late Saturday, killing 18 of them, said Gen. Abdul Razeq Qaderi, the deputy provincial police chief. Among those killed was a tribal leader who served as the local police commander, he said.</p>
<p>In the western province of Farah, a roadside bomb early Sunday killed a deputy provincial police chief and wounded four other police, according to Gen. Mahruf Folad, the provincial police chief.</p>
<p>The Taliban claimed both attacks.</p>
<p>In the western province of Herat, a roadside bomb struck a vehicle carrying 13 civilians, killing all but one of them, said Abdul Ahad Walizada, a spokesman for the provincial police chief. No one immediately claimed the attack, but Walizada blamed Taliban insurgents, who often plant bombs to target Afghan security forces.</p> | 4,517 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>One size doesn’t fit all. This is a key principle in public education reform and why charter schools — with their innovative approach to decision-making, scheduling, staffing, curriculum and filling in the gaps in traditional education — have energized students and parents in New Mexico.</p>
<p>Technology is revolutionizing our culture, including our educational system. Nationally, public virtual schools are utilizing technology to transform and personalize learning, improve academic performance and reduce dropout rates.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The New Mexico Public Education Commission recently shut the door on giving parents the option of the state’s first K-12 statewide virtual school, New Mexico Connections Academy, despite support from a bipartisan group of commission members, including all those from Albuquerque, and a recommendation for the Public Education Department to approve the academy.</p>
<p>Our founding board recently voted to appeal the commission ruling to the secretary of Public Education because New Mexico Connections Academy is good for Albuquerque — where there is strong demand for a virtual school — and New Mexico. There are many profound gaps in public education. With state-certified teachers, actively engaged learning coaches, individualized learning programs, standards-aligned curriculum and the leading digital learning resources, New Mexico Connections Academy will fill those gaps and bring educational success to New Mexico students who, for a variety of reasons, have not thrived in a traditional classroom setting.</p>
<p>Here are four reasons why New Mexico Connections Academy should be authorized by the secretary:</p>
<p>♦ New Mexico’s persistently disappointing educational outcomes require a new approach. Our state ranks 49th out of all the states in education, according to the 2012 Kids Count project from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Almost four in 10 students don’t graduate, and that’s unacceptable. By harnessing technology’s ability to personalize education, we have a chance to reach students we’re losing and restart many students’ educational lives.</p>
<p>♦ New Mexico has a large, underserved student population that will benefit from this individualized educational program. Brick-and-mortar traditional and charter schools reach students only within their physical proximity, but a high-quality virtual school can leverage teachers and curriculum to meet the needs of students anywhere in our state. Many students who live in rural communities will gain an attractive new public education alternative. Our school will help meet the diversity of geographical and technological needs, linguistic structures and unique cultures that are valued in New Mexico.</p>
<p>♦ New Mexico families, educators and community leaders want fully online learning options. New Mexico families have shown a strong interest in our full-time virtual charter school. More than 3,200 New Mexico families independently reached out to NMCA to learn more about our proposed school.</p>
<p>♦ New Mexico lags behind the rest of the country. Keeping Pace with K-12 Online Learning/2011, the well-respected annual e-learning report, gave New Mexico low marks for the relative paucity of virtual learning opportunities available to our K-12 students.</p>
<p>There is a large body of education research demonstrating how technology is modernizing education and helping students achieve academic success by delivering engaging, student-centric learning.</p>
<p>The gaps in public education are getting wider and the demands for reform and results are stronger. Let’s stop playing catch up and move quickly into the 21st century.</p>
<p>Sen. Mark Boitano, an Albuquerque Republican, helped craft the 1999 Charter School Act. Patrick Lopez is the director at Explora and is a former public schoolteacher and administrator.</p> | All-Online K-12 Needed in N.M. | false | https://abqjournal.com/147826/allonline-k12-needed-in-nm.html | 2012-11-21 | 2least
| All-Online K-12 Needed in N.M.
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>One size doesn’t fit all. This is a key principle in public education reform and why charter schools — with their innovative approach to decision-making, scheduling, staffing, curriculum and filling in the gaps in traditional education — have energized students and parents in New Mexico.</p>
<p>Technology is revolutionizing our culture, including our educational system. Nationally, public virtual schools are utilizing technology to transform and personalize learning, improve academic performance and reduce dropout rates.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The New Mexico Public Education Commission recently shut the door on giving parents the option of the state’s first K-12 statewide virtual school, New Mexico Connections Academy, despite support from a bipartisan group of commission members, including all those from Albuquerque, and a recommendation for the Public Education Department to approve the academy.</p>
<p>Our founding board recently voted to appeal the commission ruling to the secretary of Public Education because New Mexico Connections Academy is good for Albuquerque — where there is strong demand for a virtual school — and New Mexico. There are many profound gaps in public education. With state-certified teachers, actively engaged learning coaches, individualized learning programs, standards-aligned curriculum and the leading digital learning resources, New Mexico Connections Academy will fill those gaps and bring educational success to New Mexico students who, for a variety of reasons, have not thrived in a traditional classroom setting.</p>
<p>Here are four reasons why New Mexico Connections Academy should be authorized by the secretary:</p>
<p>♦ New Mexico’s persistently disappointing educational outcomes require a new approach. Our state ranks 49th out of all the states in education, according to the 2012 Kids Count project from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Almost four in 10 students don’t graduate, and that’s unacceptable. By harnessing technology’s ability to personalize education, we have a chance to reach students we’re losing and restart many students’ educational lives.</p>
<p>♦ New Mexico has a large, underserved student population that will benefit from this individualized educational program. Brick-and-mortar traditional and charter schools reach students only within their physical proximity, but a high-quality virtual school can leverage teachers and curriculum to meet the needs of students anywhere in our state. Many students who live in rural communities will gain an attractive new public education alternative. Our school will help meet the diversity of geographical and technological needs, linguistic structures and unique cultures that are valued in New Mexico.</p>
<p>♦ New Mexico families, educators and community leaders want fully online learning options. New Mexico families have shown a strong interest in our full-time virtual charter school. More than 3,200 New Mexico families independently reached out to NMCA to learn more about our proposed school.</p>
<p>♦ New Mexico lags behind the rest of the country. Keeping Pace with K-12 Online Learning/2011, the well-respected annual e-learning report, gave New Mexico low marks for the relative paucity of virtual learning opportunities available to our K-12 students.</p>
<p>There is a large body of education research demonstrating how technology is modernizing education and helping students achieve academic success by delivering engaging, student-centric learning.</p>
<p>The gaps in public education are getting wider and the demands for reform and results are stronger. Let’s stop playing catch up and move quickly into the 21st century.</p>
<p>Sen. Mark Boitano, an Albuquerque Republican, helped craft the 1999 Charter School Act. Patrick Lopez is the director at Explora and is a former public schoolteacher and administrator.</p> | 4,518 |
<p>It’s one step back, one step forward for our primate cousins this month.</p>
<p>Iran has announced it will send a monkey into space in early February, <a href="http://www.space.com/19266-iran-space-monkey-launch.html" type="external">Space.com reported</a>.</p>
<p>"Testing phase of these living capsules has ended, and monkeys to be sent to space are now in quarantine," Hamid Fazeli, head of the Iranian Space Agency, told the country's Mehr News Agency on Jan. 15, Space.com reported.</p>
<p>"Monkeys have similarities to humans, so with them in space, we can examine human factors in space," Fazeli told Mehr News, according to Space.com.</p>
<p>Iran successfully launched a rat, two turtles and a worm into orbit in 2010, but in 2011, its first attempt to send a primate into space failed, <a href="http://news.msn.com/world/iran-will-attempt-to-send-another-monkey-into-space-in-february" type="external">MSN reported</a>.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, a US National Institutes of Health working group has recommended that the federal government retire almost all of the 451 chimpanzees currently used at its research labs, the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/23/science/nih-moves-to-retire-most-chimps-used-in-research.html" type="external">New York Times reported</a>.</p>
<p>A Dec. 2010 Institute of Medicine study found that most research performed on chimps – the primate species closest to humans – was not necessary, <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2013-01-23/us-govt-scientists-say-retire-most-research-chimps" type="external">the Associated Press reported</a>.</p>
<p>Currently, chimps are used in immunology research as well as studies on behavior and genetics, the New York Times reported.</p>
<p>The NIH working group said that just 50 chimps should be kept by federal researchers in case they are needed for future experiments which cannot be performed on other animals or humans and are vital for public health, the AP reported.</p>
<p>Living conditions for those chimps should be improved, the group said, according to the AP. The group recommends that they be kept in groups of at least seven, in a space of at least one-sixth of an acre with grass, dirt and mulch and plenty of climbing space.</p>
<p>"At last, our federal government understands: A chimpanzee should no more live in a laboratory than a human should live in a phone booth," the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said in a statement, according to the AP.</p>
<p>NIH Director Francis S. Collins will make a final decision on the matter in March, the New York Times reported.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/globalpost-blogs/weird-wide-web/charla-nash-face-transplant-recipient-lawsuit-chimp" type="external">Charla Nash, face transplant recipient, to get $4M from estate of chimp owner</a> &#160;</p> | Iran to send monkey into space; NIH may stop using chimps (PHOTOS) | false | https://pri.org/stories/2013-01-23/iran-send-monkey-space-nih-may-stop-using-chimps-photos | 2013-01-23 | 3left-center
| Iran to send monkey into space; NIH may stop using chimps (PHOTOS)
<p>It’s one step back, one step forward for our primate cousins this month.</p>
<p>Iran has announced it will send a monkey into space in early February, <a href="http://www.space.com/19266-iran-space-monkey-launch.html" type="external">Space.com reported</a>.</p>
<p>"Testing phase of these living capsules has ended, and monkeys to be sent to space are now in quarantine," Hamid Fazeli, head of the Iranian Space Agency, told the country's Mehr News Agency on Jan. 15, Space.com reported.</p>
<p>"Monkeys have similarities to humans, so with them in space, we can examine human factors in space," Fazeli told Mehr News, according to Space.com.</p>
<p>Iran successfully launched a rat, two turtles and a worm into orbit in 2010, but in 2011, its first attempt to send a primate into space failed, <a href="http://news.msn.com/world/iran-will-attempt-to-send-another-monkey-into-space-in-february" type="external">MSN reported</a>.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, a US National Institutes of Health working group has recommended that the federal government retire almost all of the 451 chimpanzees currently used at its research labs, the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/23/science/nih-moves-to-retire-most-chimps-used-in-research.html" type="external">New York Times reported</a>.</p>
<p>A Dec. 2010 Institute of Medicine study found that most research performed on chimps – the primate species closest to humans – was not necessary, <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2013-01-23/us-govt-scientists-say-retire-most-research-chimps" type="external">the Associated Press reported</a>.</p>
<p>Currently, chimps are used in immunology research as well as studies on behavior and genetics, the New York Times reported.</p>
<p>The NIH working group said that just 50 chimps should be kept by federal researchers in case they are needed for future experiments which cannot be performed on other animals or humans and are vital for public health, the AP reported.</p>
<p>Living conditions for those chimps should be improved, the group said, according to the AP. The group recommends that they be kept in groups of at least seven, in a space of at least one-sixth of an acre with grass, dirt and mulch and plenty of climbing space.</p>
<p>"At last, our federal government understands: A chimpanzee should no more live in a laboratory than a human should live in a phone booth," the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said in a statement, according to the AP.</p>
<p>NIH Director Francis S. Collins will make a final decision on the matter in March, the New York Times reported.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/globalpost-blogs/weird-wide-web/charla-nash-face-transplant-recipient-lawsuit-chimp" type="external">Charla Nash, face transplant recipient, to get $4M from estate of chimp owner</a> &#160;</p> | 4,519 |
<p>On Sunday, Pittsburgh Steelers offensive tackle Alejandro Villanueva, who served three tours in Afghanistan and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for Valor, decided to ignore the rest of the team, which stayed in the locker room to protest President Trump’s comments that players who kneel during the national anthem should be fired, and stand in the tunnel leading out to the stadium with his hand over his heart for the playing of the national anthem.</p>
<p>When queried by a reporter at a post-game press conference, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin expressed mild disappointment with Villanueva for not staying with his teammates, as it precluded “100% participation.” Tomlin seemed to be more concerned about the controversy over the anthem affecting his team’s performance than the controversy surrounding the anthem itself.</p>
<p>A reporter asked, “Was it your decision not to come out for the anthem? And what was your thinking with that?”</p>
<p>Tomlin replied:</p>
<p>No, it wasn’t my decision; like most teams in the National Football League, we didn’t ask for this. This was placed on us by circumstance. I heard rumblings of guys talking in the course of the day yesterday; my conclusion was that we would not allow politics to divide us; we’re football players; we’re a football team. If many of them felt like something needed to be done I asked them to discuss it, and whatever they discussed we’d have 100% participation or they’d do nothing. They just discussed it for an appropriate length of time; they couldn’t come to an understanding, so they chose to remove themselves from it.</p>
<p>They were not going to be disrespectful in the anthem, so they chose not to participate, but at the same time many of them were not going to accept the words of the president. So we decided to sit it out, to not take the field, to remove ourselves from it, to focus on playing football, so that is what are our intentions.</p>
<p>When a reporter noted Villanueva’s actions, Tomlin responded:</p>
<p>Like I said, I was looking for 100% participation, we were gonna be respectful of our football team. Man, these are divisive times in the United States and it’s a shame, but it is. But we’re not politicians; we’re coaches and professional athletes; if those of us who are individuals choose to participate in politics in some way, I’m going to be supportive of that. But when we come out of the locker rooms, we come out of the locker rooms to play football games.</p>
<p>To be quite honest with you, man, I didn’t appreciate our football team being drug into politics this way, and I’m sure that’s a global perspective. But, we’re blessed to do this for a living, and so with that blessings come responsibility; we understand that; we understand we’re given a platform that’s a unique one. Many of us are called to maybe do things that we wouldn’t normally do because of that platform where people apply pressure to us to do things because of that platform. And the bottom line is, we chose not to play ball today, in that regard. Maybe we will, but today we just said no.</p>
<p>After revealing that the team had alerted the league office that they would stay in the locker room for the anthem, Tomlin concluded, “Some of us have opinions; some don’t. We wanted to protect those that don’t, and we wanted to protect those that do. We came here to play a football game today.”</p>
<p>Video below:</p> | Steelers Coach Chides Lone Player Who Stood For National Anthem | true | https://dailywire.com/news/21467/steelers-coach-chides-lone-player-who-stood-hank-berrien | 2017-09-24 | 0right
| Steelers Coach Chides Lone Player Who Stood For National Anthem
<p>On Sunday, Pittsburgh Steelers offensive tackle Alejandro Villanueva, who served three tours in Afghanistan and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for Valor, decided to ignore the rest of the team, which stayed in the locker room to protest President Trump’s comments that players who kneel during the national anthem should be fired, and stand in the tunnel leading out to the stadium with his hand over his heart for the playing of the national anthem.</p>
<p>When queried by a reporter at a post-game press conference, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin expressed mild disappointment with Villanueva for not staying with his teammates, as it precluded “100% participation.” Tomlin seemed to be more concerned about the controversy over the anthem affecting his team’s performance than the controversy surrounding the anthem itself.</p>
<p>A reporter asked, “Was it your decision not to come out for the anthem? And what was your thinking with that?”</p>
<p>Tomlin replied:</p>
<p>No, it wasn’t my decision; like most teams in the National Football League, we didn’t ask for this. This was placed on us by circumstance. I heard rumblings of guys talking in the course of the day yesterday; my conclusion was that we would not allow politics to divide us; we’re football players; we’re a football team. If many of them felt like something needed to be done I asked them to discuss it, and whatever they discussed we’d have 100% participation or they’d do nothing. They just discussed it for an appropriate length of time; they couldn’t come to an understanding, so they chose to remove themselves from it.</p>
<p>They were not going to be disrespectful in the anthem, so they chose not to participate, but at the same time many of them were not going to accept the words of the president. So we decided to sit it out, to not take the field, to remove ourselves from it, to focus on playing football, so that is what are our intentions.</p>
<p>When a reporter noted Villanueva’s actions, Tomlin responded:</p>
<p>Like I said, I was looking for 100% participation, we were gonna be respectful of our football team. Man, these are divisive times in the United States and it’s a shame, but it is. But we’re not politicians; we’re coaches and professional athletes; if those of us who are individuals choose to participate in politics in some way, I’m going to be supportive of that. But when we come out of the locker rooms, we come out of the locker rooms to play football games.</p>
<p>To be quite honest with you, man, I didn’t appreciate our football team being drug into politics this way, and I’m sure that’s a global perspective. But, we’re blessed to do this for a living, and so with that blessings come responsibility; we understand that; we understand we’re given a platform that’s a unique one. Many of us are called to maybe do things that we wouldn’t normally do because of that platform where people apply pressure to us to do things because of that platform. And the bottom line is, we chose not to play ball today, in that regard. Maybe we will, but today we just said no.</p>
<p>After revealing that the team had alerted the league office that they would stay in the locker room for the anthem, Tomlin concluded, “Some of us have opinions; some don’t. We wanted to protect those that don’t, and we wanted to protect those that do. We came here to play a football game today.”</p>
<p>Video below:</p> | 4,520 |
<p>SIERRA MADRE DEL SUR, Mexico — “Any war that requires the suspension of reason as a necessity for support is a bad war,” wrote Norman Mailer in Armies of the Night. That phrase, applied to Vietnam almost 50 years ago, has come back into my head any number of times during the eight months of the last year I’ve spent covering the Mexican drug war.</p>
<p>For most of that time I’ve been on the front lines of the conflict—often in and around the sun-scorched and cartel-dominated valley called <a href="/content/dailybeast/articles/2016/01/31/the-young-drug-lords-fighting-for-el-chapo-s-throne.html" type="external">Tierra Caliente</a>—where the daily suspension of one’s reasoning faculties can be a useful coping mechanism.</p>
<p>Even so, at times I’ve found it very hard to support the Mexican government’s increasingly surreal approach to drug war tactics and strategy.</p>
<p>For example, on a recent trip to the village of Dos Aguas, high in the Sierra Madre mountains of <a href="http://www.marmorinforma.mx/Michoacan/Estado/Michoacan-entre-los-estados-con-mas-ejecutados-durante-el-mes-de-marzo" type="external">Michoacán</a> state, I was told by locals that there were no police or military forces present in the vicinity at all. Not even a sheriff. The town had formerly been protected by a group of vigilantes known as autodefensas, but the state government ordered the group to disband last February under penalty of arrest.</p>
<p>Now that the vigilantes are gone, Dos Aguas is run by a chieftain from the Knights Templar cartel, who calls himself “El Tena.” He travels the mountains in a caravan of more than a dozen trucks, led by a pick-up with a .50 caliber machine gun mounted in the bed. <a href="http://revoluciontrespuntocero.com/el-tena-la-mano-derecha-de-el-mas-loco/" type="external">El Tena</a> goes where he likes and does what he pleases—including running meth labs and illegal logging <a href="https://www.quadratin.com.mx/sucesos/Superficie-arbolada-Michoacan-2-2-millones-hectareas/" type="external">operations</a> in the sierra.</p>
<p>When I visited the nearest army base, in the municipal seat of Coalcomán, I asked the commanding officer about El Tena. Why, given his well-known whereabouts, had no operations been undertaken to apprehend him? The CO told me I’d have to put in a request to the army chief of staff in Mexico City for any such questions. Two weeks and many phone calls and emails later, I’m still waiting for an answer, and El Tena is still on the loose.</p>
<p>In addition to disbanding cartel-fighting vigilantes in Michoacán, the federal government is also in the process of shutting down local police forces, or Fuerzas Rurales, in an effort to replace them with state troopers. In the town of Aquila, just an hour west of Coalcomán, the decree comes despite the overwhelming objection from townsfolk, who claim the Rurales are the only ones capable of protecting them from the predations of regional cartels.</p>
<p>“The state police sent a message saying we had to come to a meeting and give up our guns,” says Rurales commander Hector Zepeda. “But we’re not going to the meeting, because the town council didn’t authorize it. We work for the community, and we don’t take orders from anyone else.”</p>
<p>The disconnect between branches of law enforcement is weirdly normal in Mexico, where state and federal authorities are generally considered corrupt until proven otherwise.</p>
<p>“The state wants to assign their own officers, who don’t know anything about the town,” says Zepeda, who I’ve personally seen risk his life going up <a href="/content/dailybeast/articles/2015/09/15/inside-a-mexican-vigilante-drug-bust.html" type="external">against</a> the cartels in the past. “They had their chance to protect the people, and they never did anything. That’s why the autodefensas formed in the first place!”</p>
<p>The half-tragic, half-farcical nature of the drug war also makes it tough to (reasonably) justify the $2.5 billion in military aid that Washington has <a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/us-connection-mexicos-drug-war-corruption/" type="external">blindly thrown</a> at Mexico since 2008, as part of what’s called the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%A9rida_Initiative" type="external">Merida Initiative</a>.</p>
<p>Those questionably spent billions also mean Uncle Sam is complicit in the bloodshed south of the border. And plenty of blood has already been shed.</p>
<p>Start and finish your day with the top stories from The Daily Beast.</p>
<p>A speedy, smart summary of all the news you need to know (and nothing you don't).</p>
<p>From 2007 to 2014 the crime wars of Mexico claimed <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/the-staggering-death-toll-of-mexicos-drug-war/" type="external">more lives</a> than the combined toll of the wars going on in Iraq and Afghanistan at the same time. More than 164,000 Mexicans have disappeared or been killed in the conflict, and the extreme and chronic violence, coupled with great poverty, also drives much of the illegal immigration that Donald Trump and his supporters are so worried about.</p>
<p>The killing, moreover, shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.</p>
<p>Despite the high-profile re-capture of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán in early January, Mexico’s murder rate has actually <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/murder-rate-climbs-in-mexico_us_569fbe1ae4b0fca5ba762c98" type="external">risen</a> so far in 2016. Meanwhile, other crime groups, headed by ever more brutal and bloodthirsty leaders, have <a href="/content/dailybeast/articles/2016/03/26/fighting-mexico-s-new-super-cartel.html" type="external">stepped up</a> to take El Chapo’s place.</p>
<p>For U.S. citizens the issue is deeper—and thornier—than remote casualties on foreign soil or the migrant dilemma. Americans have a right to know how the billions of tax dollars sent to Mexico are being spent—especially if they’ve been misused or wasted.</p>
<p>Is the fight against the cartels being won? Is it even winnable? Can it be rationally defended by clear-headed citizens as it’s currently being waged?</p>
<p>To help answer those questions, I reached out to an American who’s been living and working in Mexico for the better part of the last three decades. As director of the <a href="http://www.cipamericas.org/about" type="external">Americas Program of the Center for International Policy</a>, and a former Fulbright scholar, Laura Carlsen knows Mexico as well as any gringo alive.</p>
<p>The government “can’t defeat the cartels militarily,” says Carlsen, in an interview with The Daily Beast from her office in Mexico City.</p>
<p>Organized crime in Mexico, she says, is simply “too lucrative.” When a designated “ <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/mexico-is-creating-a-cartel-monster-2015-8" type="external">kingpin</a>” is arrested or killed by authorities, the flow of money from the drug trade ensures a former underling or rival will rise up to take his place.</p>
<p>“Massive military deployment and attacks on cartels cannot defeat or eliminate them and invariably lead to greater levels of violence,” Carlsen says, because newly empowered factions do battle for the old crime lord’s turf.</p>
<p>According to Carlsen, the flaw lies not just in tactical execution, but in the authorities’ very will to fight—despite Washington footing much of the bill.</p>
<p>“In Mexico the problem is in the practice as well as the strategy itself. The military can’t defeat the drug cartels,” says Carlsen, “because it doesn’t want to.</p>
<p>“Police and military are often complicit with drug traffickers,” she adds, in a follow-up email. “Huge quantities of drugs flow out of (and presumably cash flows into) areas where the military controls access.” The problem of corruption is not limited to individuals, she notes, it’s “a systemic re-purposing of state agencies” by the cartels.</p>
<p>Carlsen’s comments on official corruption are also echoed by the narcos themselves. On several occasions I’ve heard cartel <a href="/content/dailybeast/articles/2016/02/27/i-was-detained-by-killers-from-the-cannibal-cartel.html" type="external">members</a> brag about the ease with which military and police officers can be <a href="/content/dailybeast/articles/2016/03/12/meet-the-warlord-of-the-viagras-mexico-s-hardest-cartel-yet.html" type="external">evaded</a> or, indeed, controlled.</p>
<p>“The soldiers and cops are all Chilangos (natives of Mexico), and most of them are really on our side,” as a cartel sicario, or hitman, for the Michoacán-based H3 cartel told me this week when we met for an interview on the outskirts of Aquila.</p>
<p>“It’s no problem to run hielo (crystal meth) or whatever through a checkpoint,” said the sicario, who asked to be identified only as Miguel. “All we have to do is pay them off, and they take it—because they’re Chilangos like us, and they understand that’s what Chilangos do.”</p>
<p>While covering what Mexicans call the narcoguerra, I’ve had a chance to study our allies’ crime fighting efforts at close range. Their tactics are loosely modeled on the U.S. counter-insurgency manual, but with one vital difference: Little, if any, attention is paid to winning hearts and minds.</p>
<p>In rural areas, army units tend to cluster in camps outside of towns, hunkered down behind barbed wire barricades where they have little opportunity to gather useful intelligence, run thorough foot patrols in red zones, or fraternize with civilian residents.</p>
<p>The use of the Mexican army as a tool for law enforcement has also led to a spike in alleged human rights violations. Mexico’s top military commander himself recently <a href="http://www.insightcrime.org/news-briefs/a-mistake-for-mexico-s-military-to-fight-drug-traffickers-secretary-of-defense" type="external">admitted</a> his troops aren’t up to the task.</p>
<p>Carlsen agrees: “Mexico’s number of <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-03/mexico-army-ordered-soldiers-to-kill-criminals-rights-group-says/6592798" type="external">extrajudicial executions</a> is among the highest in the world because the armed forces frequently shoot first and ask questions never,” she says.</p>
<p>Carlsen goes on to list other specific infractions that communities occupied by the Mexican armed forces are complaining of, including “rape, sexual violence against civilians, torture, assassinations and beatings.”</p>
<p>Unlike army units, federal police usually bivouac in well-guarded hotels near municipal centers during their deployments—but, as with their military counterparts, almost all federal patrols are carried out with troops riding in armored trucks or helicopters.</p>
<p>Instead of putting boots on the ground, both soldiers and the SWAT-like federal police race through towns and city streets in armored columns due to <a href="/content/dailybeast/articles/2016/02/13/abandoned-by-the-police-mexicans-fight-to-take-back-their-towns.html" type="external">fear of being ambushed</a>. For the most part, they dismount from their vehicles only at designated refueling stations or to take on food and supplies. That means there’s little chance to conduct detailed recon operations or hold face-to-face meetings with civilians—elements essential to successful police work the world over.</p>
<p>Worst of all, soldiers and federal cops will often remain safely in their bases while cartel forces actively threaten or even <a href="/content/dailybeast/articles/2015/07/17/the-mexican-hitman-and-the-white-boy.html" type="external">invade</a> communities in force to kill or abduct citizens—as was the <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-missing-forty-three-the-governments-case-collapses" type="external">case</a> when 43 students were “disappeared” in the southwestern town of Iguala in the fall of 2014.</p>
<p>“There’s been no success with the militarization strategy,” Carlsen says, “and there won’t be in the future.”</p>
<p>The Mexican drug war will not be won on the battlefield, nor with a single sweeping policy change. Victory will only come by simultaneously hacking away at the cartels from multiple angles. And some of those steps can be taken by the U.S. and in the U.S.</p>
<p>Much has been written about how the legalization of marijuana in certain U.S. states has <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/marijuana-legalisation-in-us-dents-drug-cartel-profits-a6920176.html" type="external">reduced cartel revenues</a>, and there’s no question that decriminalizing cannabis helped weaken one of their core industries.</p>
<p>But there are also limits to legal weed as a panacea for crushing trafficking organizations. For one thing, most of the Mexican cartels also specialize in hard drugs like crystal meth and heroin—which are unlikely to be made legal anytime soon, if ever.</p>
<p>In fact, a recent surge in heroin use in the U.S. has been linked to increased <a href="http://www.latimes.com/world/mexico-americas/la-fg-mexico-poppy-farms-20150610-story.html" type="external">opium production</a> in Mexican states like Guerrero. Which illustrates a vital point: As long as there is a high demand for illicit substances in the U.S., Mexican cartels will continue to supply them.</p>
<p>A gradual end to prohibition, coupled with ramped up drug treatment programs in the States, would certainly help the situation. But a focus on narcotics alone is no longer sufficient, because Mexican crime groups have already <a href="http://www.insightcrime.org/news-analysis/why-kidnapping-extortion-boomed-in-mexico" type="external">diversified</a> into other black market activities. Kidnapping for profit, extortion, illegal mining, petroleum theft, and even organ trafficking all provide income streams for the gangsters now.</p>
<p>Lopping off the cartels’ many tentacles is a security issue that will require police and soldiers to take a more pro-active approach. Defending fixed positions is simply not a viable strategy for winning a guerrilla-style war. As vigilante-turned-policeman Zepeda points out, authorities also need to have more contact with the civilian populations they’re assigned to guard, so they can gather valuable intel, and avoid innocent casualties.</p>
<p>Some changes in education and compensation for law enforcement officers might also help stem corruption, says Adam Isacson, chief security analyst with the Washington Office on Latin America, in an email to The Daily Beast.</p>
<p>Isacson would like to see Mexican authorities “improve police training, salaries, and professionalization” and “make being a police officer a career and not a low-status job,” he says.</p>
<p>“Make the justice system work to reduce the horrific impunity rates for crimes like homicides, punish corrupt government personnel, and take apart organized crime networks, especially those producing and transshipping drugs,” Isacson advises.</p>
<p>Just as drugs flow north across the border—weapons are <a href="http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2016/03/16/fast-furious-guns-tracked-to-police-killings-el-chapo-hideout-atf-confirms/" type="external">flowing south</a>. Improved gun control, especially for assault rifles and handguns, could go a long way toward eroding the cartels’ collective firepower. That’s another short-term fix that ought to be easy to implement, provided politics don’t get in the way.</p>
<p>In the long term, however, the most effective way to rein in the cartels will be to make them economically obsolete. To do that, the state will have to provide viable, mainstream opportunities for the <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mexico-poverty-idUSKCN0PX2B320150723" type="external">46.2 percent</a> of Mexicans who live in dire poverty.</p>
<p>“When young people from impoverished families have no options, the chances that they will in some form become associated with the trafficking and consumption of illicit drugs goes way up,” says Carlsen, who cites economic hardship as a “major factor” behind the cartels’ hydra-like ability to endlessly regenerate themselves.</p>
<p>Independent research <a href="http://cepr.net/publications/reports/nafta-20-years" type="external">shows</a> that U.S.-backed free trade agreements like NAFTA have also hindered legitimate economic growth in Mexico—contrary to what Mr. Trump would have you believe—thus driving many to flee their homes and seek greener pastures in El Norte.</p>
<p>In other words, the U.S. is backing economic policies that inadvertently help bolster organized crime groups, and foster illegal immigration, while spending millions of taxpayer dollars to fight those same problems.</p>
<p>And a large portion of those same tax dollars goes to prop up corrupt, undisciplined, and poorly trained Mexican military and police forces.</p>
<p>If all of that doesn’t make the suspension of reason a prerequisite for blindly supporting Mexico’s drug war, consider this:</p>
<p>Despite the facts outlined above, the Obama administration will send at least $147.5 million in “security aid” to Mexico under the Merida Initiative for fiscal year 2016—while also cutting ( <a href="https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R41349.pdf" type="external">PDF</a>) developmental and humanitarian aid from the initiative budget entirely.</p>
<p>What would Mr. Mailer say about that?</p> | Why the Military Will Never Beat Mexico's Cartels | true | https://thedailybeast.com/why-the-military-will-never-beat-mexicos-cartels | 2018-10-03 | 4left
| Why the Military Will Never Beat Mexico's Cartels
<p>SIERRA MADRE DEL SUR, Mexico — “Any war that requires the suspension of reason as a necessity for support is a bad war,” wrote Norman Mailer in Armies of the Night. That phrase, applied to Vietnam almost 50 years ago, has come back into my head any number of times during the eight months of the last year I’ve spent covering the Mexican drug war.</p>
<p>For most of that time I’ve been on the front lines of the conflict—often in and around the sun-scorched and cartel-dominated valley called <a href="/content/dailybeast/articles/2016/01/31/the-young-drug-lords-fighting-for-el-chapo-s-throne.html" type="external">Tierra Caliente</a>—where the daily suspension of one’s reasoning faculties can be a useful coping mechanism.</p>
<p>Even so, at times I’ve found it very hard to support the Mexican government’s increasingly surreal approach to drug war tactics and strategy.</p>
<p>For example, on a recent trip to the village of Dos Aguas, high in the Sierra Madre mountains of <a href="http://www.marmorinforma.mx/Michoacan/Estado/Michoacan-entre-los-estados-con-mas-ejecutados-durante-el-mes-de-marzo" type="external">Michoacán</a> state, I was told by locals that there were no police or military forces present in the vicinity at all. Not even a sheriff. The town had formerly been protected by a group of vigilantes known as autodefensas, but the state government ordered the group to disband last February under penalty of arrest.</p>
<p>Now that the vigilantes are gone, Dos Aguas is run by a chieftain from the Knights Templar cartel, who calls himself “El Tena.” He travels the mountains in a caravan of more than a dozen trucks, led by a pick-up with a .50 caliber machine gun mounted in the bed. <a href="http://revoluciontrespuntocero.com/el-tena-la-mano-derecha-de-el-mas-loco/" type="external">El Tena</a> goes where he likes and does what he pleases—including running meth labs and illegal logging <a href="https://www.quadratin.com.mx/sucesos/Superficie-arbolada-Michoacan-2-2-millones-hectareas/" type="external">operations</a> in the sierra.</p>
<p>When I visited the nearest army base, in the municipal seat of Coalcomán, I asked the commanding officer about El Tena. Why, given his well-known whereabouts, had no operations been undertaken to apprehend him? The CO told me I’d have to put in a request to the army chief of staff in Mexico City for any such questions. Two weeks and many phone calls and emails later, I’m still waiting for an answer, and El Tena is still on the loose.</p>
<p>In addition to disbanding cartel-fighting vigilantes in Michoacán, the federal government is also in the process of shutting down local police forces, or Fuerzas Rurales, in an effort to replace them with state troopers. In the town of Aquila, just an hour west of Coalcomán, the decree comes despite the overwhelming objection from townsfolk, who claim the Rurales are the only ones capable of protecting them from the predations of regional cartels.</p>
<p>“The state police sent a message saying we had to come to a meeting and give up our guns,” says Rurales commander Hector Zepeda. “But we’re not going to the meeting, because the town council didn’t authorize it. We work for the community, and we don’t take orders from anyone else.”</p>
<p>The disconnect between branches of law enforcement is weirdly normal in Mexico, where state and federal authorities are generally considered corrupt until proven otherwise.</p>
<p>“The state wants to assign their own officers, who don’t know anything about the town,” says Zepeda, who I’ve personally seen risk his life going up <a href="/content/dailybeast/articles/2015/09/15/inside-a-mexican-vigilante-drug-bust.html" type="external">against</a> the cartels in the past. “They had their chance to protect the people, and they never did anything. That’s why the autodefensas formed in the first place!”</p>
<p>The half-tragic, half-farcical nature of the drug war also makes it tough to (reasonably) justify the $2.5 billion in military aid that Washington has <a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/us-connection-mexicos-drug-war-corruption/" type="external">blindly thrown</a> at Mexico since 2008, as part of what’s called the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%A9rida_Initiative" type="external">Merida Initiative</a>.</p>
<p>Those questionably spent billions also mean Uncle Sam is complicit in the bloodshed south of the border. And plenty of blood has already been shed.</p>
<p>Start and finish your day with the top stories from The Daily Beast.</p>
<p>A speedy, smart summary of all the news you need to know (and nothing you don't).</p>
<p>From 2007 to 2014 the crime wars of Mexico claimed <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/the-staggering-death-toll-of-mexicos-drug-war/" type="external">more lives</a> than the combined toll of the wars going on in Iraq and Afghanistan at the same time. More than 164,000 Mexicans have disappeared or been killed in the conflict, and the extreme and chronic violence, coupled with great poverty, also drives much of the illegal immigration that Donald Trump and his supporters are so worried about.</p>
<p>The killing, moreover, shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.</p>
<p>Despite the high-profile re-capture of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán in early January, Mexico’s murder rate has actually <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/murder-rate-climbs-in-mexico_us_569fbe1ae4b0fca5ba762c98" type="external">risen</a> so far in 2016. Meanwhile, other crime groups, headed by ever more brutal and bloodthirsty leaders, have <a href="/content/dailybeast/articles/2016/03/26/fighting-mexico-s-new-super-cartel.html" type="external">stepped up</a> to take El Chapo’s place.</p>
<p>For U.S. citizens the issue is deeper—and thornier—than remote casualties on foreign soil or the migrant dilemma. Americans have a right to know how the billions of tax dollars sent to Mexico are being spent—especially if they’ve been misused or wasted.</p>
<p>Is the fight against the cartels being won? Is it even winnable? Can it be rationally defended by clear-headed citizens as it’s currently being waged?</p>
<p>To help answer those questions, I reached out to an American who’s been living and working in Mexico for the better part of the last three decades. As director of the <a href="http://www.cipamericas.org/about" type="external">Americas Program of the Center for International Policy</a>, and a former Fulbright scholar, Laura Carlsen knows Mexico as well as any gringo alive.</p>
<p>The government “can’t defeat the cartels militarily,” says Carlsen, in an interview with The Daily Beast from her office in Mexico City.</p>
<p>Organized crime in Mexico, she says, is simply “too lucrative.” When a designated “ <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/mexico-is-creating-a-cartel-monster-2015-8" type="external">kingpin</a>” is arrested or killed by authorities, the flow of money from the drug trade ensures a former underling or rival will rise up to take his place.</p>
<p>“Massive military deployment and attacks on cartels cannot defeat or eliminate them and invariably lead to greater levels of violence,” Carlsen says, because newly empowered factions do battle for the old crime lord’s turf.</p>
<p>According to Carlsen, the flaw lies not just in tactical execution, but in the authorities’ very will to fight—despite Washington footing much of the bill.</p>
<p>“In Mexico the problem is in the practice as well as the strategy itself. The military can’t defeat the drug cartels,” says Carlsen, “because it doesn’t want to.</p>
<p>“Police and military are often complicit with drug traffickers,” she adds, in a follow-up email. “Huge quantities of drugs flow out of (and presumably cash flows into) areas where the military controls access.” The problem of corruption is not limited to individuals, she notes, it’s “a systemic re-purposing of state agencies” by the cartels.</p>
<p>Carlsen’s comments on official corruption are also echoed by the narcos themselves. On several occasions I’ve heard cartel <a href="/content/dailybeast/articles/2016/02/27/i-was-detained-by-killers-from-the-cannibal-cartel.html" type="external">members</a> brag about the ease with which military and police officers can be <a href="/content/dailybeast/articles/2016/03/12/meet-the-warlord-of-the-viagras-mexico-s-hardest-cartel-yet.html" type="external">evaded</a> or, indeed, controlled.</p>
<p>“The soldiers and cops are all Chilangos (natives of Mexico), and most of them are really on our side,” as a cartel sicario, or hitman, for the Michoacán-based H3 cartel told me this week when we met for an interview on the outskirts of Aquila.</p>
<p>“It’s no problem to run hielo (crystal meth) or whatever through a checkpoint,” said the sicario, who asked to be identified only as Miguel. “All we have to do is pay them off, and they take it—because they’re Chilangos like us, and they understand that’s what Chilangos do.”</p>
<p>While covering what Mexicans call the narcoguerra, I’ve had a chance to study our allies’ crime fighting efforts at close range. Their tactics are loosely modeled on the U.S. counter-insurgency manual, but with one vital difference: Little, if any, attention is paid to winning hearts and minds.</p>
<p>In rural areas, army units tend to cluster in camps outside of towns, hunkered down behind barbed wire barricades where they have little opportunity to gather useful intelligence, run thorough foot patrols in red zones, or fraternize with civilian residents.</p>
<p>The use of the Mexican army as a tool for law enforcement has also led to a spike in alleged human rights violations. Mexico’s top military commander himself recently <a href="http://www.insightcrime.org/news-briefs/a-mistake-for-mexico-s-military-to-fight-drug-traffickers-secretary-of-defense" type="external">admitted</a> his troops aren’t up to the task.</p>
<p>Carlsen agrees: “Mexico’s number of <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-03/mexico-army-ordered-soldiers-to-kill-criminals-rights-group-says/6592798" type="external">extrajudicial executions</a> is among the highest in the world because the armed forces frequently shoot first and ask questions never,” she says.</p>
<p>Carlsen goes on to list other specific infractions that communities occupied by the Mexican armed forces are complaining of, including “rape, sexual violence against civilians, torture, assassinations and beatings.”</p>
<p>Unlike army units, federal police usually bivouac in well-guarded hotels near municipal centers during their deployments—but, as with their military counterparts, almost all federal patrols are carried out with troops riding in armored trucks or helicopters.</p>
<p>Instead of putting boots on the ground, both soldiers and the SWAT-like federal police race through towns and city streets in armored columns due to <a href="/content/dailybeast/articles/2016/02/13/abandoned-by-the-police-mexicans-fight-to-take-back-their-towns.html" type="external">fear of being ambushed</a>. For the most part, they dismount from their vehicles only at designated refueling stations or to take on food and supplies. That means there’s little chance to conduct detailed recon operations or hold face-to-face meetings with civilians—elements essential to successful police work the world over.</p>
<p>Worst of all, soldiers and federal cops will often remain safely in their bases while cartel forces actively threaten or even <a href="/content/dailybeast/articles/2015/07/17/the-mexican-hitman-and-the-white-boy.html" type="external">invade</a> communities in force to kill or abduct citizens—as was the <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-missing-forty-three-the-governments-case-collapses" type="external">case</a> when 43 students were “disappeared” in the southwestern town of Iguala in the fall of 2014.</p>
<p>“There’s been no success with the militarization strategy,” Carlsen says, “and there won’t be in the future.”</p>
<p>The Mexican drug war will not be won on the battlefield, nor with a single sweeping policy change. Victory will only come by simultaneously hacking away at the cartels from multiple angles. And some of those steps can be taken by the U.S. and in the U.S.</p>
<p>Much has been written about how the legalization of marijuana in certain U.S. states has <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/marijuana-legalisation-in-us-dents-drug-cartel-profits-a6920176.html" type="external">reduced cartel revenues</a>, and there’s no question that decriminalizing cannabis helped weaken one of their core industries.</p>
<p>But there are also limits to legal weed as a panacea for crushing trafficking organizations. For one thing, most of the Mexican cartels also specialize in hard drugs like crystal meth and heroin—which are unlikely to be made legal anytime soon, if ever.</p>
<p>In fact, a recent surge in heroin use in the U.S. has been linked to increased <a href="http://www.latimes.com/world/mexico-americas/la-fg-mexico-poppy-farms-20150610-story.html" type="external">opium production</a> in Mexican states like Guerrero. Which illustrates a vital point: As long as there is a high demand for illicit substances in the U.S., Mexican cartels will continue to supply them.</p>
<p>A gradual end to prohibition, coupled with ramped up drug treatment programs in the States, would certainly help the situation. But a focus on narcotics alone is no longer sufficient, because Mexican crime groups have already <a href="http://www.insightcrime.org/news-analysis/why-kidnapping-extortion-boomed-in-mexico" type="external">diversified</a> into other black market activities. Kidnapping for profit, extortion, illegal mining, petroleum theft, and even organ trafficking all provide income streams for the gangsters now.</p>
<p>Lopping off the cartels’ many tentacles is a security issue that will require police and soldiers to take a more pro-active approach. Defending fixed positions is simply not a viable strategy for winning a guerrilla-style war. As vigilante-turned-policeman Zepeda points out, authorities also need to have more contact with the civilian populations they’re assigned to guard, so they can gather valuable intel, and avoid innocent casualties.</p>
<p>Some changes in education and compensation for law enforcement officers might also help stem corruption, says Adam Isacson, chief security analyst with the Washington Office on Latin America, in an email to The Daily Beast.</p>
<p>Isacson would like to see Mexican authorities “improve police training, salaries, and professionalization” and “make being a police officer a career and not a low-status job,” he says.</p>
<p>“Make the justice system work to reduce the horrific impunity rates for crimes like homicides, punish corrupt government personnel, and take apart organized crime networks, especially those producing and transshipping drugs,” Isacson advises.</p>
<p>Just as drugs flow north across the border—weapons are <a href="http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2016/03/16/fast-furious-guns-tracked-to-police-killings-el-chapo-hideout-atf-confirms/" type="external">flowing south</a>. Improved gun control, especially for assault rifles and handguns, could go a long way toward eroding the cartels’ collective firepower. That’s another short-term fix that ought to be easy to implement, provided politics don’t get in the way.</p>
<p>In the long term, however, the most effective way to rein in the cartels will be to make them economically obsolete. To do that, the state will have to provide viable, mainstream opportunities for the <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mexico-poverty-idUSKCN0PX2B320150723" type="external">46.2 percent</a> of Mexicans who live in dire poverty.</p>
<p>“When young people from impoverished families have no options, the chances that they will in some form become associated with the trafficking and consumption of illicit drugs goes way up,” says Carlsen, who cites economic hardship as a “major factor” behind the cartels’ hydra-like ability to endlessly regenerate themselves.</p>
<p>Independent research <a href="http://cepr.net/publications/reports/nafta-20-years" type="external">shows</a> that U.S.-backed free trade agreements like NAFTA have also hindered legitimate economic growth in Mexico—contrary to what Mr. Trump would have you believe—thus driving many to flee their homes and seek greener pastures in El Norte.</p>
<p>In other words, the U.S. is backing economic policies that inadvertently help bolster organized crime groups, and foster illegal immigration, while spending millions of taxpayer dollars to fight those same problems.</p>
<p>And a large portion of those same tax dollars goes to prop up corrupt, undisciplined, and poorly trained Mexican military and police forces.</p>
<p>If all of that doesn’t make the suspension of reason a prerequisite for blindly supporting Mexico’s drug war, consider this:</p>
<p>Despite the facts outlined above, the Obama administration will send at least $147.5 million in “security aid” to Mexico under the Merida Initiative for fiscal year 2016—while also cutting ( <a href="https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R41349.pdf" type="external">PDF</a>) developmental and humanitarian aid from the initiative budget entirely.</p>
<p>What would Mr. Mailer say about that?</p> | 4,521 |
<p />
<p>On Thursday, the Turkish government <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/27/world/europe/turkey-youtube-blocked/" type="external">blocked</a> the country’s access to YouTube, after <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/03/21/turkey-bans-twitter-and-twitter-explodes/?tid=pm_pop" type="external">banning</a> <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/03/turkey-pm-erdogan-defiant-over-twitter-ban-2014323164138586620.html" type="external" />Twitter earlier this month, in an effort to quell anti-government sentiment prior to local elections on March 30. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/21/turkey-blocks-twitter-prime-minister" type="external">says</a> that social networks are facilitating the spread of wiretapped recordings that have been politically damaging.&#160;The YouTube block <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/27/world/europe/turkey-youtube-blocked/" type="external">reportedly</a> came about after a video surfaced of government officials discussing the possibility of going to war with Syria.&#160;The government officially banned Twitter after the network&#160; <a href="https://blog.twitter.com/2014/challenging-the-access-ban-in-turkey" type="external">refused to take down an account</a>&#160;accusing a former minister of corruption. Twitter is challenging the ban and a Turkish court <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/27/world/middleeast/turkey-twitter.html" type="external">overturned</a> it on Wednesday, but it’s not yet clear <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/27/world/middleeast/turkey-twitter.html?_r=0" type="external">how an appeal might play out.</a></p>
<p>Turkey is hardly the first country to crack down on social unrest by going after social networks. There are at least six other countries currently blocking Facebook, YouTube, or Twitter in some capacity (see map below), and many more have instituted temporary blocks over the last couple of years. Here’s everything you need to know:</p>
<p>China: China <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2009/07/07/china-blocks-access-to-twitter-facebook-after-riots/" type="external">blocked</a> Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube in 2009. The Twitter and Facebook bans took place after a <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=8010018" type="external">peaceful protest</a> by Uighurs, China’s Muslim ethnic minority, broke into&#160; <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/07/AR2009070701162.html" type="external">deadly&#160;riots</a> in&#160;Xinjiang. In September 2013, the government decided to stop censoring foreign websites in the <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2013/09/24/technology/china-facebook/" type="external">Shanghai Free Trade Zone</a>, a 17-square-mile area in mainland China, but these social networks are still largely blocked nationwide.</p>
<p>Iran: Iran has blocked Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube on and off ( <a href="http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/middleeast/article3871317.ece" type="external">usually off</a>) since they were <a href="https://opennet.net/research/profiles/iran" type="external">banned in 2009</a>following Iran’s contentious presidential election.</p>
<p>Vietnam: Over the last couple of years, there have been widespread reports of Facebook being <a href="http://www.techinasia.com/vietnams-facebook-penetration-hits-70-adding-14-million-users-year/" type="external">blocked</a>&#160;in Vietnam. The block is fairly easy to bypass, and many Vietnamese citizens use the social network. However,&#160;in September 2013, Vietnam <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/vietnam-s-social-media-censorship-takes-effect-1.1373035" type="external">passed a law</a> prohibiting citizens from posting anti-government content on the social network. Facebook did not comment on access in Vietnam.</p>
<p>Pakistan: In September 2012, Pakistan <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jpbjduArEJrz6uueNlrXtFkyepPg?docId=CNG.dec322f25a253822b1ca9cb1386f0791.141" type="external">blocked</a> YouTube after the site reportedly refused to take down an anti-Islam video that sparked protests in the country. The block has continued through March 2014, according <a href="http://www.google.com/transparencyreport/traffic/#expand=PK" type="external">to Google</a>.</p>
<p>North Korea: Internet access is highly restricted in North Korea.</p>
<p>Eritrea: According to <a href="http://en.rsf.org/surveillance-eritrea,39762.html" type="external">Reporters Without Border</a>s, in 2011, two of the country’s major internet service providers <a href="http://en.rsf.org/surveillance-eritrea,39762.html" type="external">block</a>ed YouTube. <a href="http://www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/2013/eritrea#.UzMwI-vc2BV" type="external">Freedom House</a>, a US watchdog that conducts research on political freedom, said the site was blocked in its 2013 report and notes, “The government requires all internet service providers to use state-controlled internet infrastructure.” Eritrea is routinely listed as <a href="http://www.ifex.org/eritrea/2014/02/03/un_review/" type="external">one of the most censored countries in the world.</a>&#160;Google does <a href="http://www.google.com/transparencyreport/traffic/#expand=PK" type="external">not include</a> Eritrea on its <a href="http://www.google.com/transparencyreport/traffic/#expand=PK" type="external">list of countries in its transparency report</a> that currently block YouTube, but notes that the list “is not comprehensive” and may not include partial blocks. (Update, 3/31: Since this article came out, some users familiar with Eritrea have said that the site is not blocked, but&#160;instead, often inaccessible due to lack of&#160;bandwidth. A spokesperson for Freedom House, which found that&#160;the site was blocked when investigators put together the 2013 report,&#160;said that, “Since Eritrea has one of the worst infrastructures in Africa, it is possible that some ISPs deliberately block services that require a lot of bandwidth, to allow other traffic to be more stable.” He also noted&#160;that the government’s poor human rights record indicates that the inaccessibility of YouTube could be related to censorship.)&#160;</p>
<p>This data was compiled with help from <a href="http://www.google.com/transparencyreport/traffic/#expand=PK" type="external">Google’s transparency report</a>,&#160;Twitter, and the <a href="https://opennet.net/research/map/socialmedia" type="external">OpenNet Initiative</a>, a partnership between&#160;the&#160;University of Toronto,&#160;Harvard, and the SecDev Group in Ottawa.&#160;It doesn’t take into account countries where only certain pages or videos may be censored. The United Arab Emirates, for example, <a href="http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/01/08/u-a-e-releases-american-who-was-jailed-for-satirical-video/" type="external">jailed an American citizen</a> last year for posting a comedic video to YouTube—but it doesn’t <a href="" type="internal">block the entire network, so it’s not on the map.&#160;</a>Additionally, Google and Twitter don’t list their services as being blocked in Cuba, but social networks there are difficult to access, in part due to <a href="http://www.martinews.com/content/cuban-blogger-explains-why-twitter-is-100-times-cheaper-from-cell-phones/32850.html" type="external">cost barriers.&#160;</a></p>
<p>Outside of these current blocks, many governments have banned social-media networks in the past, during periods of unrest. Here’s a brief history of notable incidents:</p>
<p>Since 2009, Google has counted 16 disruptions to YouTube in 11 regions, often in the wake of protests. In March 2009, Bangladesh <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7932659.stm" type="external">blocked</a> YouTube for four days after someone posted a video of a meeting between army officers and the Prime Minister that revealed unrest in the military. Bangladesh blocked the network again for an extended period between 2012 and 2013 <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/youtube-blocked-in-bangladesh-over-prophet-mohamed-video-8152056.html" type="external">over an anti-Islam video.</a> Libya <a href="http://advocacy.globalvoicesonline.org/2010/02/09/libya-blocks-access-to-youtube-and-independent-websites/" type="external">blocked</a> <a href="http://www.google.com/transparencyreport/traffic/#expand=PK" type="external" />YouTube (and other social networks) for 574 days between 2010 and 2011, after the site hosted videos depicting families of prisoners killed in Abu Salim prison demonstrating in Benghazi, according to <a href="http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2010/02/03/libya-stop-blocking-independent-web-sites" type="external">Human Rights Watch.</a> Syria blocked YouTube <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/10/world/middleeast/10syria.html" type="external">(as well as Facebook)</a>for about three years, lifting the ban in February 2011. Tajikistan has blocked YouTube more than once, most recently in 2013, over a <a href="http://en.ria.ru/world/20130525/181339520.html" type="external">video of the president dancing.</a>&#160;Afghanistan blocked YouTube for 113 days between September 2012 and January 2013, after fears that an anti-Islam film on the site would <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/13/us-protest-afghanistan-youtube-idUSBRE88C0JZ20120913" type="external">spark further riots.</a>Here’s how Google depicts the Afghanistan ban:&#160;</p>
<p>Twitter, which was used as a tool to organize protests during the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/interactive/2011/mar/22/middle-east-protest-interactive-timeline" type="external">Arab Spring</a>, was shut down partially or completely by several governments in the region in 2011, including Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Cameroon, and Malawi, according to the <a href="https://opennet.net/research/map/socialmedia" type="external">OpenNet Initiative.</a> Belarus has also blocked major social networks, including Twitter, in 2011 to <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/03/belarus-blocks-twitter-facebook_n_889453.html" type="external">quell anti-government protests.</a> That same year, when a series of riots swept the United Kingdom, Prime Minister David Cameron <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2011/aug/11/david-cameron-rioters-social-media" type="external">threatened</a> to ban people from using social-networking sites, including Twitter and Facebook, although he didn’t go through with it. Targeting specific users or pages is more common than complete bans on Twitter—South Korea, for example, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/technology/pda/2010/aug/19/north-korea-twitter-banned-south" type="external">blocked</a> access to North Korea’s official Twitter account in 2010 on the basis that it contained “illegal information.” When it’s clear that a certain Tweet or user is only being blocked in a select country, Twitter flags it as “ <a href="https://support.twitter.com/articles/20169222-country-withheld-content" type="external">Country Withheld Content.”</a></p>
<p>Facebook was also temporarily <a href="https://opennet.net/research/map/socialmedia" type="external">blocked</a> by several countries during the Arab Spring. In 2010, Pakistan temporarily <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/may/19/facebook-blocked-pakistan-muhammad-drawings" type="external">blocked</a> Facebook after it hosted a competition called, “Everybody Draw Mohammad Day,” which collected about 200 entries. Myanmar has sporadically blocked Facebook;&#160;China <a href="http://qz.com/68323/china-lists-all-the-countries-in-the-world-that-block-facebook-except-for-china/" type="external">claims</a> the ban was lifted there in 2013.&#160;There have also been instances where governments have blocked fake <a href="http://www.indexoncensorship.org/2014/02/10-countries-facebook-banned/" type="external">individual pages</a> pretending to belong to world leaders. In 2008, Morocco went so far as to <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/02/07/morocco.facebook/index.html?eref=rss_latest" type="external">arrest a man</a> for creating a profile posing as Prince Moulay Rachid. So far, Turkey has not yet chosen to censor Facebook, but that might simply be because it’s not on the prime minister’s radar. “What is this thing called Twitter, anyway?” Erdogan <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/27/world/middleeast/turkey-twitter.html?_r=0" type="external">said</a> Tuesday on NTV, a privately owned Turkish news channel. “It is a company, involved in communication, social media, etc.”&#160;</p>
<p /> | MAP: Here Are the Countries That Block Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2014/03/turkey-facebook-youtube-twitter-blocked/ | 2014-03-28 | 4left
| MAP: Here Are the Countries That Block Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube
<p />
<p>On Thursday, the Turkish government <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/27/world/europe/turkey-youtube-blocked/" type="external">blocked</a> the country’s access to YouTube, after <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/03/21/turkey-bans-twitter-and-twitter-explodes/?tid=pm_pop" type="external">banning</a> <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/03/turkey-pm-erdogan-defiant-over-twitter-ban-2014323164138586620.html" type="external" />Twitter earlier this month, in an effort to quell anti-government sentiment prior to local elections on March 30. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/21/turkey-blocks-twitter-prime-minister" type="external">says</a> that social networks are facilitating the spread of wiretapped recordings that have been politically damaging.&#160;The YouTube block <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/27/world/europe/turkey-youtube-blocked/" type="external">reportedly</a> came about after a video surfaced of government officials discussing the possibility of going to war with Syria.&#160;The government officially banned Twitter after the network&#160; <a href="https://blog.twitter.com/2014/challenging-the-access-ban-in-turkey" type="external">refused to take down an account</a>&#160;accusing a former minister of corruption. Twitter is challenging the ban and a Turkish court <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/27/world/middleeast/turkey-twitter.html" type="external">overturned</a> it on Wednesday, but it’s not yet clear <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/27/world/middleeast/turkey-twitter.html?_r=0" type="external">how an appeal might play out.</a></p>
<p>Turkey is hardly the first country to crack down on social unrest by going after social networks. There are at least six other countries currently blocking Facebook, YouTube, or Twitter in some capacity (see map below), and many more have instituted temporary blocks over the last couple of years. Here’s everything you need to know:</p>
<p>China: China <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2009/07/07/china-blocks-access-to-twitter-facebook-after-riots/" type="external">blocked</a> Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube in 2009. The Twitter and Facebook bans took place after a <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=8010018" type="external">peaceful protest</a> by Uighurs, China’s Muslim ethnic minority, broke into&#160; <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/07/AR2009070701162.html" type="external">deadly&#160;riots</a> in&#160;Xinjiang. In September 2013, the government decided to stop censoring foreign websites in the <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2013/09/24/technology/china-facebook/" type="external">Shanghai Free Trade Zone</a>, a 17-square-mile area in mainland China, but these social networks are still largely blocked nationwide.</p>
<p>Iran: Iran has blocked Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube on and off ( <a href="http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/middleeast/article3871317.ece" type="external">usually off</a>) since they were <a href="https://opennet.net/research/profiles/iran" type="external">banned in 2009</a>following Iran’s contentious presidential election.</p>
<p>Vietnam: Over the last couple of years, there have been widespread reports of Facebook being <a href="http://www.techinasia.com/vietnams-facebook-penetration-hits-70-adding-14-million-users-year/" type="external">blocked</a>&#160;in Vietnam. The block is fairly easy to bypass, and many Vietnamese citizens use the social network. However,&#160;in September 2013, Vietnam <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/vietnam-s-social-media-censorship-takes-effect-1.1373035" type="external">passed a law</a> prohibiting citizens from posting anti-government content on the social network. Facebook did not comment on access in Vietnam.</p>
<p>Pakistan: In September 2012, Pakistan <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jpbjduArEJrz6uueNlrXtFkyepPg?docId=CNG.dec322f25a253822b1ca9cb1386f0791.141" type="external">blocked</a> YouTube after the site reportedly refused to take down an anti-Islam video that sparked protests in the country. The block has continued through March 2014, according <a href="http://www.google.com/transparencyreport/traffic/#expand=PK" type="external">to Google</a>.</p>
<p>North Korea: Internet access is highly restricted in North Korea.</p>
<p>Eritrea: According to <a href="http://en.rsf.org/surveillance-eritrea,39762.html" type="external">Reporters Without Border</a>s, in 2011, two of the country’s major internet service providers <a href="http://en.rsf.org/surveillance-eritrea,39762.html" type="external">block</a>ed YouTube. <a href="http://www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/2013/eritrea#.UzMwI-vc2BV" type="external">Freedom House</a>, a US watchdog that conducts research on political freedom, said the site was blocked in its 2013 report and notes, “The government requires all internet service providers to use state-controlled internet infrastructure.” Eritrea is routinely listed as <a href="http://www.ifex.org/eritrea/2014/02/03/un_review/" type="external">one of the most censored countries in the world.</a>&#160;Google does <a href="http://www.google.com/transparencyreport/traffic/#expand=PK" type="external">not include</a> Eritrea on its <a href="http://www.google.com/transparencyreport/traffic/#expand=PK" type="external">list of countries in its transparency report</a> that currently block YouTube, but notes that the list “is not comprehensive” and may not include partial blocks. (Update, 3/31: Since this article came out, some users familiar with Eritrea have said that the site is not blocked, but&#160;instead, often inaccessible due to lack of&#160;bandwidth. A spokesperson for Freedom House, which found that&#160;the site was blocked when investigators put together the 2013 report,&#160;said that, “Since Eritrea has one of the worst infrastructures in Africa, it is possible that some ISPs deliberately block services that require a lot of bandwidth, to allow other traffic to be more stable.” He also noted&#160;that the government’s poor human rights record indicates that the inaccessibility of YouTube could be related to censorship.)&#160;</p>
<p>This data was compiled with help from <a href="http://www.google.com/transparencyreport/traffic/#expand=PK" type="external">Google’s transparency report</a>,&#160;Twitter, and the <a href="https://opennet.net/research/map/socialmedia" type="external">OpenNet Initiative</a>, a partnership between&#160;the&#160;University of Toronto,&#160;Harvard, and the SecDev Group in Ottawa.&#160;It doesn’t take into account countries where only certain pages or videos may be censored. The United Arab Emirates, for example, <a href="http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/01/08/u-a-e-releases-american-who-was-jailed-for-satirical-video/" type="external">jailed an American citizen</a> last year for posting a comedic video to YouTube—but it doesn’t <a href="" type="internal">block the entire network, so it’s not on the map.&#160;</a>Additionally, Google and Twitter don’t list their services as being blocked in Cuba, but social networks there are difficult to access, in part due to <a href="http://www.martinews.com/content/cuban-blogger-explains-why-twitter-is-100-times-cheaper-from-cell-phones/32850.html" type="external">cost barriers.&#160;</a></p>
<p>Outside of these current blocks, many governments have banned social-media networks in the past, during periods of unrest. Here’s a brief history of notable incidents:</p>
<p>Since 2009, Google has counted 16 disruptions to YouTube in 11 regions, often in the wake of protests. In March 2009, Bangladesh <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7932659.stm" type="external">blocked</a> YouTube for four days after someone posted a video of a meeting between army officers and the Prime Minister that revealed unrest in the military. Bangladesh blocked the network again for an extended period between 2012 and 2013 <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/youtube-blocked-in-bangladesh-over-prophet-mohamed-video-8152056.html" type="external">over an anti-Islam video.</a> Libya <a href="http://advocacy.globalvoicesonline.org/2010/02/09/libya-blocks-access-to-youtube-and-independent-websites/" type="external">blocked</a> <a href="http://www.google.com/transparencyreport/traffic/#expand=PK" type="external" />YouTube (and other social networks) for 574 days between 2010 and 2011, after the site hosted videos depicting families of prisoners killed in Abu Salim prison demonstrating in Benghazi, according to <a href="http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2010/02/03/libya-stop-blocking-independent-web-sites" type="external">Human Rights Watch.</a> Syria blocked YouTube <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/10/world/middleeast/10syria.html" type="external">(as well as Facebook)</a>for about three years, lifting the ban in February 2011. Tajikistan has blocked YouTube more than once, most recently in 2013, over a <a href="http://en.ria.ru/world/20130525/181339520.html" type="external">video of the president dancing.</a>&#160;Afghanistan blocked YouTube for 113 days between September 2012 and January 2013, after fears that an anti-Islam film on the site would <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/13/us-protest-afghanistan-youtube-idUSBRE88C0JZ20120913" type="external">spark further riots.</a>Here’s how Google depicts the Afghanistan ban:&#160;</p>
<p>Twitter, which was used as a tool to organize protests during the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/interactive/2011/mar/22/middle-east-protest-interactive-timeline" type="external">Arab Spring</a>, was shut down partially or completely by several governments in the region in 2011, including Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Cameroon, and Malawi, according to the <a href="https://opennet.net/research/map/socialmedia" type="external">OpenNet Initiative.</a> Belarus has also blocked major social networks, including Twitter, in 2011 to <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/03/belarus-blocks-twitter-facebook_n_889453.html" type="external">quell anti-government protests.</a> That same year, when a series of riots swept the United Kingdom, Prime Minister David Cameron <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2011/aug/11/david-cameron-rioters-social-media" type="external">threatened</a> to ban people from using social-networking sites, including Twitter and Facebook, although he didn’t go through with it. Targeting specific users or pages is more common than complete bans on Twitter—South Korea, for example, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/technology/pda/2010/aug/19/north-korea-twitter-banned-south" type="external">blocked</a> access to North Korea’s official Twitter account in 2010 on the basis that it contained “illegal information.” When it’s clear that a certain Tweet or user is only being blocked in a select country, Twitter flags it as “ <a href="https://support.twitter.com/articles/20169222-country-withheld-content" type="external">Country Withheld Content.”</a></p>
<p>Facebook was also temporarily <a href="https://opennet.net/research/map/socialmedia" type="external">blocked</a> by several countries during the Arab Spring. In 2010, Pakistan temporarily <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/may/19/facebook-blocked-pakistan-muhammad-drawings" type="external">blocked</a> Facebook after it hosted a competition called, “Everybody Draw Mohammad Day,” which collected about 200 entries. Myanmar has sporadically blocked Facebook;&#160;China <a href="http://qz.com/68323/china-lists-all-the-countries-in-the-world-that-block-facebook-except-for-china/" type="external">claims</a> the ban was lifted there in 2013.&#160;There have also been instances where governments have blocked fake <a href="http://www.indexoncensorship.org/2014/02/10-countries-facebook-banned/" type="external">individual pages</a> pretending to belong to world leaders. In 2008, Morocco went so far as to <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/02/07/morocco.facebook/index.html?eref=rss_latest" type="external">arrest a man</a> for creating a profile posing as Prince Moulay Rachid. So far, Turkey has not yet chosen to censor Facebook, but that might simply be because it’s not on the prime minister’s radar. “What is this thing called Twitter, anyway?” Erdogan <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/27/world/middleeast/turkey-twitter.html?_r=0" type="external">said</a> Tuesday on NTV, a privately owned Turkish news channel. “It is a company, involved in communication, social media, etc.”&#160;</p>
<p /> | 4,522 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>Dr. Yongming Tian holds the osmotic pressure module designed and fabricated in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at New Mexico Tech. (John Larson/El Defensor Chieftain)</p>
<p>Using a simple natural process, osmosis, the technology could be an enormous benefit, both environmentally and economically.</p>
<p>The source of the energy? The highly saline and waste water that is produced after being used for oil drilling.</p>
<p>The engineering students recently hosted a three-day workshop on the campus attended by scientists and students from other universities from around New Mexico for discussion sessions and hands-on demonstrations of an apparatus the students are designing and building.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Led by Dr. Frank Huang, professor of environmental engineering, the team’s goal is to identify how osmotic power can be developed to reduce the carbon footprint of the oil and gas industry while offsetting operating costs.</p>
<p>“The objective of the osmotic power team is to investigate issues that prevent produced water-based osmotic pressure systems from becoming commercially viable sources of power,” Huang said.</p>
<p>The petroleum industry in the southeastern part of the state generates about 22 billion gallons of produced water annually, and 28 billion gallons statewide.</p>
<p>” ‘Produced’ water is the waste stream generated by oil and gas production,” student researcher Kelsy Waggaman said.</p>
<p>“On average, three gallons of produced water is created in the recovery of one gallon of oil.”</p>
<p>She said the high level of salt ions present in produced water from oil recovery can create a large chemical potential when paired with fresh water, and this process can be utilized to create osmotic pressure. These components together would act to spin a turbine and generate electricity.</p>
<p>“Osmotic pressure is naturally created when a semipermeable membrane separates two bodies of water with different concentrations of charged ions,” she said. The water on the ion-depleted side, will rush to the ion rich side of the membrane because the water molecules have a high affinity for ions, while the membrane keeps the salt ions on one side.”</p>
<p>Waggaman said this is demonstrated by the cells in our body, which are mostly fresh water.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“The water we drink has a similar ion concentration to that of our cells. If we were to drink seawater, the water in our cells would rush out, collapsing our cells, and severely dehydrating us,” she said. “Similarly, the water molecules will inherently move to the ion rich side of the membrane, creating a flow.”</p>
<p>In simple terms, extremely salty water and less-salty produced water are fed into separate pipes through filters that remove particles and then fed into the membrane system, which consists of hollow fiber membranes. Less-salty produced water is drawn across the membrane to the extremely salty water by osmosis. The increase in water volume creates a pressure which forces the water through the turbine and generates electricity.</p>
<p>The team is designing and fabricating the fiber membranes.</p>
<p>“Rarely will you find a university that is able to make membranes. We can develop a process to make membranes that fit our need,” Huang said. “The students are excited to put it all together.”</p>
<p>With support from New Mexico’s Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research and the National Science Foundation, a collaborative team from Los Alamos National Labs, Eastern New Mexico University, New Mexico Highlands University, New Mexico State University, and New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology will be researching osmotic power for the next four years.</p>
<p />
<p /> | Can oil waste water churn energy? | false | https://abqjournal.com/419273/can-oil-waste-water-churn-energy.html | 2least
| Can oil waste water churn energy?
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>Dr. Yongming Tian holds the osmotic pressure module designed and fabricated in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at New Mexico Tech. (John Larson/El Defensor Chieftain)</p>
<p>Using a simple natural process, osmosis, the technology could be an enormous benefit, both environmentally and economically.</p>
<p>The source of the energy? The highly saline and waste water that is produced after being used for oil drilling.</p>
<p>The engineering students recently hosted a three-day workshop on the campus attended by scientists and students from other universities from around New Mexico for discussion sessions and hands-on demonstrations of an apparatus the students are designing and building.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Led by Dr. Frank Huang, professor of environmental engineering, the team’s goal is to identify how osmotic power can be developed to reduce the carbon footprint of the oil and gas industry while offsetting operating costs.</p>
<p>“The objective of the osmotic power team is to investigate issues that prevent produced water-based osmotic pressure systems from becoming commercially viable sources of power,” Huang said.</p>
<p>The petroleum industry in the southeastern part of the state generates about 22 billion gallons of produced water annually, and 28 billion gallons statewide.</p>
<p>” ‘Produced’ water is the waste stream generated by oil and gas production,” student researcher Kelsy Waggaman said.</p>
<p>“On average, three gallons of produced water is created in the recovery of one gallon of oil.”</p>
<p>She said the high level of salt ions present in produced water from oil recovery can create a large chemical potential when paired with fresh water, and this process can be utilized to create osmotic pressure. These components together would act to spin a turbine and generate electricity.</p>
<p>“Osmotic pressure is naturally created when a semipermeable membrane separates two bodies of water with different concentrations of charged ions,” she said. The water on the ion-depleted side, will rush to the ion rich side of the membrane because the water molecules have a high affinity for ions, while the membrane keeps the salt ions on one side.”</p>
<p>Waggaman said this is demonstrated by the cells in our body, which are mostly fresh water.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“The water we drink has a similar ion concentration to that of our cells. If we were to drink seawater, the water in our cells would rush out, collapsing our cells, and severely dehydrating us,” she said. “Similarly, the water molecules will inherently move to the ion rich side of the membrane, creating a flow.”</p>
<p>In simple terms, extremely salty water and less-salty produced water are fed into separate pipes through filters that remove particles and then fed into the membrane system, which consists of hollow fiber membranes. Less-salty produced water is drawn across the membrane to the extremely salty water by osmosis. The increase in water volume creates a pressure which forces the water through the turbine and generates electricity.</p>
<p>The team is designing and fabricating the fiber membranes.</p>
<p>“Rarely will you find a university that is able to make membranes. We can develop a process to make membranes that fit our need,” Huang said. “The students are excited to put it all together.”</p>
<p>With support from New Mexico’s Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research and the National Science Foundation, a collaborative team from Los Alamos National Labs, Eastern New Mexico University, New Mexico Highlands University, New Mexico State University, and New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology will be researching osmotic power for the next four years.</p>
<p />
<p /> | 4,523 |
|
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>A Martinez spokesman did not immediately say whether the governor would sign or veto the legislation, which would affect more than 86,000 workers and retirees covered by the Public Employees Retirement Association.</p>
<p>“The governor has worked diligently with legislators from both parties and is pleased that they voted down an additional increase in taxpayer contributions to the government-employee pension fund,” spokesman Enrique Knell said.</p>
<p>“She remains concerned about the solvency level the bill achieves and will thoroughly review it,” Knell added.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The House voted 48-17 to approve the proposed solvency fix Wednesday, less than a week after it had been endorsed by the Senate. Most of the votes against the bill came Wednesday from Republican lawmakers.</p>
<p>The final vote came after Democratic Rep. Emily Kane of Albuquerque tried twice to amend the legislation.</p>
<p>One amendment would have restored a steeper increase in taxpayer-funded contributions to the pension fund. That would have changed the bill to its original form, before those increases were trimmed in a Senate committee from 1.5 percentage points to 0.4 percentage point.</p>
<p>Kane, a captain in the Albuquerque Fire Department, described the changes previously made to the measure as unfair for retirees who rely on their pension checks to get by.</p>
<p>“I believe that we are betraying the many members of PERA,” she told colleagues during Wednesday’s debate.</p>
<p>In response, several legislators pointed out that the governor has spoken out against increasing taxpayer-funded contributions to shore up the state’s pension funds.</p>
<p>“Political will is not there to fix it by employer contributions,” said Rep. Tomás Salazar, D-Las Vegas.</p>
<p>The proposed PERA solvency fix approved by the Legislature and sent to Martinez’s desk for final consideration calls for retirement benefits to be trimmed for future workers, active employees and retirees covered by the retirement system, while enacting stricter retirement eligibility guidelines for future hires.</p>
<p>In addition, Senate Bill 27 would require government employees to funnel more of their paychecks – an additional 1.5 percent of their salaries – into the pension fund. Meanwhile, the smaller increases in taxpayer-funded contributions would cost the state about $2.3 million per year in additional dollars, starting in the 2015 budget year.</p>
<p>Just like the state’s teacher retirement fund, PERA has seen its fiscal condition worsen in recent years, due in part to market-driven investment losses. — This article appeared on page A6 of the Albuquerque Journal</p> | PERA bill wins House approval | false | https://abqjournal.com/177997/pera-bill-wins-house-approval.html | 2013-03-14 | 2least
| PERA bill wins House approval
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>A Martinez spokesman did not immediately say whether the governor would sign or veto the legislation, which would affect more than 86,000 workers and retirees covered by the Public Employees Retirement Association.</p>
<p>“The governor has worked diligently with legislators from both parties and is pleased that they voted down an additional increase in taxpayer contributions to the government-employee pension fund,” spokesman Enrique Knell said.</p>
<p>“She remains concerned about the solvency level the bill achieves and will thoroughly review it,” Knell added.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The House voted 48-17 to approve the proposed solvency fix Wednesday, less than a week after it had been endorsed by the Senate. Most of the votes against the bill came Wednesday from Republican lawmakers.</p>
<p>The final vote came after Democratic Rep. Emily Kane of Albuquerque tried twice to amend the legislation.</p>
<p>One amendment would have restored a steeper increase in taxpayer-funded contributions to the pension fund. That would have changed the bill to its original form, before those increases were trimmed in a Senate committee from 1.5 percentage points to 0.4 percentage point.</p>
<p>Kane, a captain in the Albuquerque Fire Department, described the changes previously made to the measure as unfair for retirees who rely on their pension checks to get by.</p>
<p>“I believe that we are betraying the many members of PERA,” she told colleagues during Wednesday’s debate.</p>
<p>In response, several legislators pointed out that the governor has spoken out against increasing taxpayer-funded contributions to shore up the state’s pension funds.</p>
<p>“Political will is not there to fix it by employer contributions,” said Rep. Tomás Salazar, D-Las Vegas.</p>
<p>The proposed PERA solvency fix approved by the Legislature and sent to Martinez’s desk for final consideration calls for retirement benefits to be trimmed for future workers, active employees and retirees covered by the retirement system, while enacting stricter retirement eligibility guidelines for future hires.</p>
<p>In addition, Senate Bill 27 would require government employees to funnel more of their paychecks – an additional 1.5 percent of their salaries – into the pension fund. Meanwhile, the smaller increases in taxpayer-funded contributions would cost the state about $2.3 million per year in additional dollars, starting in the 2015 budget year.</p>
<p>Just like the state’s teacher retirement fund, PERA has seen its fiscal condition worsen in recent years, due in part to market-driven investment losses. — This article appeared on page A6 of the Albuquerque Journal</p> | 4,524 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>“He worked so hard to do the right thing,” Patti Dickens said in a phone interview on Tuesday.</p>
<p>Even after U-Conn. fired its coach to rehire Randy Edsall, everything remained on track. Or so the Dickens family thought.</p>
<p>“Randy Edsall called us directly on New Year’s Eve,” she continued. “He said, ‘You have my word. We 100 percent want to offer you a scholarship.’ He said, ‘You are exactly the guy we want on our team.’ “</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>But then he wasn’t.</p>
<p>“[T]his guy broke him,” she told NJ.com, referring to Edsall, who previously coached U-Conn. from 1999 to 2010. “It just blows my mind that a guy can take the wind out of your sails just with no regret. Nothing.”</p>
<p>Dickens told The Post her son learned the news on Sunday when Edsall called just as the family finished celebrating Ryan’s athletic, academic and community service achievements at an awards banquet at Raritan High School in Hazlet, N.J.</p>
<p>“[Edsall] said, ‘We decided to run a different defense and you’re just not going to fit in that defense.’ ” Patti Dickens said, recalling the phone call the family answered on speaker in the car on the way home from the event.</p>
<p>“Ryan said, ‘What do you mean? Because I’ve run just about every defense in high school,’ and Edsall said, ‘You’re just not going to fit in our plan,’ ” she continued. “He just said they’re going in a different direction.”</p>
<p>The call left the family, as well as Dickens’s high school coach baffled. Adding to their upset, Patti Dickens said Edsall defied a request to wait until the next morning to give her son the bad news.</p>
<p>She said Edsall first informed her son’s high school coach about his change of heart during Sunday night’s awards banquet.</p>
<p>“You could see [the coach’s] face change,” Patti Dickens said, recalling the strange phone call the coach, who was sitting nearby, took during the banquet. “We learned later that our head coach said to Coach Edsall, ‘Please don’t call them tonight because they’re on a high. They’re being celebrated tonight. Please don’t break the family tonight.’ He said, ‘I’ll go there in the morning, call them tomorrow,’ and Edsall said okay.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>U-Conn. officials did not immediately return The Washington Post’s request for comment.</p>
<p>Ryan Dickens, 17, was supposed to visit U-Conn. on Friday, which also happens to be his birthday. The trip was to be his final visit to the school with which he was expected to sign officially on Feb. 1. Neither of those things will happen now.</p>
<p>While similar situations happen from time-to-time at all schools, one man who can particularly relate to Dickens is Demetri McGill. While coaching at University of Maryland in 2013, Edsall rescinded his offer just three weeks before signing day, citing knee pain that McGill experienced in high school.</p>
<p>“It was such a surprise the way everything happened [in 2013],” McGill recalled during a phone interview on Tuesday.</p>
<p>McGill committed to Maryland before his senior year of high school in 2012 and said that until Edsall called to pull his scholarship the following January, either Edsall or his recruiting coach at Maryland called him weekly to make sure he was still committed.</p>
<p>“It was hard feelings,” said McGill, recalling how he felt about Edsall after his offer was rescinded. “Once you’re committed to a school, then they tell you they don’t have room. It’s kind of upsetting. . . . It can break somebody’s spirit.”</p>
<p>McGill, who ended up signing with East Carolina University, said he had “moved on” from the situation in the last four years, but hearing about Dickens’s situation on Tuesday stirred up some of those old feelings.</p>
<p>“Hearing that he’s done it to another player, the anger toward [Edsall] has probably grown even more than when he did it to me,” McGill said, adding that he reached out to Ryan Dickens on Twitter.</p>
<p>“I watched his highlight tapes and wherever he lands, I feel like they’re getting a very good player,” added McGill, who is currently in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., training for the regional combine.</p>
<p>Patti Dickens has no doubt her son will still play college football, just not at U-Conn.</p>
<p>On Tuesday, she said her son had already heard from recruiters at the University of Rhode Island, who plan to visit Ryan at Raritan this week. (URI officials declined to comment.)</p>
<p>Patti Dickens also said the U.S. Naval Academy and the University of New Hampshire have shown interest in the last two days.</p>
<p>The renewed interest has helped restore her son’s confidence.</p>
<p>“[Ryan] is an optimist by nature,” Patti Dickens said. “This took him down . . . but he is an optimist. . . . I know him and I know he’s thinking bigger and better.”</p>
<p>She said her son even has a new dream now.</p>
<p>“[Ryan] said, ‘I would love to get recruited by a school that plays U-Conn.,’ ” Patti Dickens said. “I have no doubt that Edsall will regret this decision.”</p> | Randy Edsall pulls commit’s U-Conn. scholarship two weeks before signing day | false | https://abqjournal.com/929603/randy-edsall-pulls-commits-u-conn-scholarship-two-weeks-before-signing-day.html | 2least
| Randy Edsall pulls commit’s U-Conn. scholarship two weeks before signing day
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>“He worked so hard to do the right thing,” Patti Dickens said in a phone interview on Tuesday.</p>
<p>Even after U-Conn. fired its coach to rehire Randy Edsall, everything remained on track. Or so the Dickens family thought.</p>
<p>“Randy Edsall called us directly on New Year’s Eve,” she continued. “He said, ‘You have my word. We 100 percent want to offer you a scholarship.’ He said, ‘You are exactly the guy we want on our team.’ “</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>But then he wasn’t.</p>
<p>“[T]his guy broke him,” she told NJ.com, referring to Edsall, who previously coached U-Conn. from 1999 to 2010. “It just blows my mind that a guy can take the wind out of your sails just with no regret. Nothing.”</p>
<p>Dickens told The Post her son learned the news on Sunday when Edsall called just as the family finished celebrating Ryan’s athletic, academic and community service achievements at an awards banquet at Raritan High School in Hazlet, N.J.</p>
<p>“[Edsall] said, ‘We decided to run a different defense and you’re just not going to fit in that defense.’ ” Patti Dickens said, recalling the phone call the family answered on speaker in the car on the way home from the event.</p>
<p>“Ryan said, ‘What do you mean? Because I’ve run just about every defense in high school,’ and Edsall said, ‘You’re just not going to fit in our plan,’ ” she continued. “He just said they’re going in a different direction.”</p>
<p>The call left the family, as well as Dickens’s high school coach baffled. Adding to their upset, Patti Dickens said Edsall defied a request to wait until the next morning to give her son the bad news.</p>
<p>She said Edsall first informed her son’s high school coach about his change of heart during Sunday night’s awards banquet.</p>
<p>“You could see [the coach’s] face change,” Patti Dickens said, recalling the strange phone call the coach, who was sitting nearby, took during the banquet. “We learned later that our head coach said to Coach Edsall, ‘Please don’t call them tonight because they’re on a high. They’re being celebrated tonight. Please don’t break the family tonight.’ He said, ‘I’ll go there in the morning, call them tomorrow,’ and Edsall said okay.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>U-Conn. officials did not immediately return The Washington Post’s request for comment.</p>
<p>Ryan Dickens, 17, was supposed to visit U-Conn. on Friday, which also happens to be his birthday. The trip was to be his final visit to the school with which he was expected to sign officially on Feb. 1. Neither of those things will happen now.</p>
<p>While similar situations happen from time-to-time at all schools, one man who can particularly relate to Dickens is Demetri McGill. While coaching at University of Maryland in 2013, Edsall rescinded his offer just three weeks before signing day, citing knee pain that McGill experienced in high school.</p>
<p>“It was such a surprise the way everything happened [in 2013],” McGill recalled during a phone interview on Tuesday.</p>
<p>McGill committed to Maryland before his senior year of high school in 2012 and said that until Edsall called to pull his scholarship the following January, either Edsall or his recruiting coach at Maryland called him weekly to make sure he was still committed.</p>
<p>“It was hard feelings,” said McGill, recalling how he felt about Edsall after his offer was rescinded. “Once you’re committed to a school, then they tell you they don’t have room. It’s kind of upsetting. . . . It can break somebody’s spirit.”</p>
<p>McGill, who ended up signing with East Carolina University, said he had “moved on” from the situation in the last four years, but hearing about Dickens’s situation on Tuesday stirred up some of those old feelings.</p>
<p>“Hearing that he’s done it to another player, the anger toward [Edsall] has probably grown even more than when he did it to me,” McGill said, adding that he reached out to Ryan Dickens on Twitter.</p>
<p>“I watched his highlight tapes and wherever he lands, I feel like they’re getting a very good player,” added McGill, who is currently in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., training for the regional combine.</p>
<p>Patti Dickens has no doubt her son will still play college football, just not at U-Conn.</p>
<p>On Tuesday, she said her son had already heard from recruiters at the University of Rhode Island, who plan to visit Ryan at Raritan this week. (URI officials declined to comment.)</p>
<p>Patti Dickens also said the U.S. Naval Academy and the University of New Hampshire have shown interest in the last two days.</p>
<p>The renewed interest has helped restore her son’s confidence.</p>
<p>“[Ryan] is an optimist by nature,” Patti Dickens said. “This took him down . . . but he is an optimist. . . . I know him and I know he’s thinking bigger and better.”</p>
<p>She said her son even has a new dream now.</p>
<p>“[Ryan] said, ‘I would love to get recruited by a school that plays U-Conn.,’ ” Patti Dickens said. “I have no doubt that Edsall will regret this decision.”</p> | 4,525 |
|
<p />
<p>Buried at the bottom of page A-6 in today’s Times is <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/21/washington/21contract.html?ref=world" type="external">news</a> that Halliburton spin-off KBR and its subcontractor Eagle Global Logistics built bribery charges into the cost of delivering basic supplies to U.S. troops in Baghdad. An Eagle executive pleaded guilty yesterday to bribing KBR employees to continue to hand Eagle the lucrative subcontract. Eagle then took 50 cents in overcharges per pound of food, fuel, and other necessities it delivered to troops. KBR is officially claiming ignorance, but it takes two to commit bribery, and five KBR employees are included in the indictment.</p>
<p>Question is, how is this not also treason? After all, the well-placed companies refused to deliver basic necessities to American troops on the ground in Baghdad without first lining their pockets with taxpayer money, even as the taxpayers and their congressional representatives searched for a way to end the war without stranding the troops in dangerous territory.</p>
<p /> | Bribery Charges for KBR | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2007/07/bribery-charges-kbr/ | 2007-07-21 | 4left
| Bribery Charges for KBR
<p />
<p>Buried at the bottom of page A-6 in today’s Times is <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/21/washington/21contract.html?ref=world" type="external">news</a> that Halliburton spin-off KBR and its subcontractor Eagle Global Logistics built bribery charges into the cost of delivering basic supplies to U.S. troops in Baghdad. An Eagle executive pleaded guilty yesterday to bribing KBR employees to continue to hand Eagle the lucrative subcontract. Eagle then took 50 cents in overcharges per pound of food, fuel, and other necessities it delivered to troops. KBR is officially claiming ignorance, but it takes two to commit bribery, and five KBR employees are included in the indictment.</p>
<p>Question is, how is this not also treason? After all, the well-placed companies refused to deliver basic necessities to American troops on the ground in Baghdad without first lining their pockets with taxpayer money, even as the taxpayers and their congressional representatives searched for a way to end the war without stranding the troops in dangerous territory.</p>
<p /> | 4,526 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>HOUSTON — The number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. rose by 13 this week to 870.</p>
<p>A year ago, 420 rigs were active.</p>
<p>Houston oilfield services company Baker Hughes Inc. said Friday that 697 rigs sought oil and 171 explored for natural gas this week. Two were listed as miscellaneous.</p>
<p>Texas added 11 rigs, Oklahoma gained three and Wyoming gained one.</p>
<p>New Mexico lost three rigs.</p>
<p>Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Utah and West Virginia were unchanged.</p>
<p>The U.S. rig count peaked at 4,530 in 1981. It bottomed out last May at 404.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | US rig count rises 13 this week to 870; Texas up 11 | false | https://abqjournal.com/995155/us-rig-count-rises-13-this-week-to-870-texas-up-11.html | 2least
| US rig count rises 13 this week to 870; Texas up 11
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>HOUSTON — The number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. rose by 13 this week to 870.</p>
<p>A year ago, 420 rigs were active.</p>
<p>Houston oilfield services company Baker Hughes Inc. said Friday that 697 rigs sought oil and 171 explored for natural gas this week. Two were listed as miscellaneous.</p>
<p>Texas added 11 rigs, Oklahoma gained three and Wyoming gained one.</p>
<p>New Mexico lost three rigs.</p>
<p>Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Utah and West Virginia were unchanged.</p>
<p>The U.S. rig count peaked at 4,530 in 1981. It bottomed out last May at 404.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 4,527 |
|
<p>We are all getting whiplash from Donald Trump’s constant flip-flopping on his immigration policy over the last few weeks. Trump had been touting one of the most racist, heartless and problematic solutions to immigration throughout his entire campaign until just a few weeks ago, when he suddenly walked it back and softened his position. That decision confused everyone – and especially angered his equally racist supporters – and Trump has been stuck in a vicious back-and-forth pattern ever since.</p>
<p>Last week, Trump said all undocumented immigrants in the U.S. must leave and then get in line to come back to America.&#160;This week, he made another “pivot” in his immigration policy, stating that he hasn’t ruled out giving some immigrants a path to legalization. When spokesperson Katrina Pierson went on CNN to try to clear things up, it became apparent that everyone in the Trump campaign is confused now.</p>
<p>In trying to defend her boss, a struggling&#160;Pierson said that it would be impossible for Trump to deport all the undocumented immigrants in America because there could be 2-3 times more immigrants than what the estimates say. Using the usual imaginary statistics that the Trump campaign has become infamous for, she said:</p>
<p>“We are continuously hearing that there’s not 11 million [undocumented immigrants], there could be 20 million, there could be 30 million. This is important because Mr. Trump can’t promise to deport every single illegal alien in the country if there’s 30 million.”</p>
<p>While she was speaking, the host noticed that Pierson was absolutely lost and said, “We understand that it’s complicated” – which only infuriated Pierson and made her raise her voice. But as hard as she tried, Pierson couldn’t give any solid reasoning for why Trump’s ever-changing policy could work, because the truth is that it won’t. The only thing that was cleared up&#160;in this interview was the fact that&#160;not even Trump’s own campaign can keep up with his policy changes.</p>
<p>Watch Pierson stumble through this interview below:</p>
<p>. <a href="https://twitter.com/KatrinaPierson" type="external">@KatrinaPierson</a> on Trump’s changing immigration stance: He said from beginning he’d be “a negotiator in Congress” <a href="https://t.co/G4qVqhxleN" type="external">https://t.co/G4qVqhxleN</a></p>
<p>— New Day (@NewDay) <a href="https://twitter.com/NewDay/status/773126097693204480" type="external">September 6, 2016</a></p>
<p>Featured image is a screenshot</p> | Trump Spokeswoman Slips Up, Says Trump’s Immigration Plan Won’t Work (VIDEO) | true | http://addictinginfo.org/2016/09/06/trump-spokeswoman-slips-up-says-trumps-immigration-plan-wont-work-video/ | 2016-09-06 | 4left
| Trump Spokeswoman Slips Up, Says Trump’s Immigration Plan Won’t Work (VIDEO)
<p>We are all getting whiplash from Donald Trump’s constant flip-flopping on his immigration policy over the last few weeks. Trump had been touting one of the most racist, heartless and problematic solutions to immigration throughout his entire campaign until just a few weeks ago, when he suddenly walked it back and softened his position. That decision confused everyone – and especially angered his equally racist supporters – and Trump has been stuck in a vicious back-and-forth pattern ever since.</p>
<p>Last week, Trump said all undocumented immigrants in the U.S. must leave and then get in line to come back to America.&#160;This week, he made another “pivot” in his immigration policy, stating that he hasn’t ruled out giving some immigrants a path to legalization. When spokesperson Katrina Pierson went on CNN to try to clear things up, it became apparent that everyone in the Trump campaign is confused now.</p>
<p>In trying to defend her boss, a struggling&#160;Pierson said that it would be impossible for Trump to deport all the undocumented immigrants in America because there could be 2-3 times more immigrants than what the estimates say. Using the usual imaginary statistics that the Trump campaign has become infamous for, she said:</p>
<p>“We are continuously hearing that there’s not 11 million [undocumented immigrants], there could be 20 million, there could be 30 million. This is important because Mr. Trump can’t promise to deport every single illegal alien in the country if there’s 30 million.”</p>
<p>While she was speaking, the host noticed that Pierson was absolutely lost and said, “We understand that it’s complicated” – which only infuriated Pierson and made her raise her voice. But as hard as she tried, Pierson couldn’t give any solid reasoning for why Trump’s ever-changing policy could work, because the truth is that it won’t. The only thing that was cleared up&#160;in this interview was the fact that&#160;not even Trump’s own campaign can keep up with his policy changes.</p>
<p>Watch Pierson stumble through this interview below:</p>
<p>. <a href="https://twitter.com/KatrinaPierson" type="external">@KatrinaPierson</a> on Trump’s changing immigration stance: He said from beginning he’d be “a negotiator in Congress” <a href="https://t.co/G4qVqhxleN" type="external">https://t.co/G4qVqhxleN</a></p>
<p>— New Day (@NewDay) <a href="https://twitter.com/NewDay/status/773126097693204480" type="external">September 6, 2016</a></p>
<p>Featured image is a screenshot</p> | 4,528 |
<p>The collapse of the Republican plan to replace Obamacare might not hurt the party as much as many seem to think.</p>
<p>“The stunning collapse of Obamacare repeal on Tuesday forced Republicans to confront a sobering reality: Their party and agenda are in a deep hole, and it’s not going to be easy to get out,” Peter Sullivan of <a href="http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/342642-with-healthcare-bill-derailed-gop-wonders-what-now" type="external">The Hill</a> wrote.</p>
<p>Things might not be so bleak for the GOP, according to the <a href="https://www.axios.com/republicans-may-not-be-punished-if-they-cant-pass-repeal-2461547616.html" type="external">Kaiser Family Foundation’s</a> Drew Altman, who wrote in Axios that very few GOP voters and those who voted for President Donald Trump rate healthcare as the top factor in their vote for president.</p>
<p>The most significant factor by far was the direction of the country, followed by jobs and the economy, and the personal traits of Trump’s election opponent, Hillary Clinton.</p>
<p>Although 52 percent of Republicans support repealing Obamacare without replacing it, only 26 percent overall say the same. And in July, 80 percent of Republicans said the GOP shouldn’t give up its attempt to repeal and replace the law.</p>
<p>“Republicans don’t like the ACA, and there is no doubt voting for repeal would be a real plus with the Republican base as well as with big campaign contributors,” Altman wrote. “But the assumption that Republicans will be punished if they fail to repeal the law is a different thing altogether; it has become unexamined conventional wisdom. Republican voters have other things on their minds that matter to them more than healthcare.</p>
<p>“The next election is not until 2018, and the agenda could switch to taxes or a foreign conflict or the Trump administration’s continuing problems. In fact, the one thing most likely to keep the ACA on the agenda now would be an effort by the administration to undermine it, and it’s far from clear who benefits and loses politically from that.”</p> | Kaiser Foundation: GOP Can Survive Failure on Healthcare | false | https://newsline.com/kaiser-foundation-gop-can-survive-failure-on-healthcare/ | 2017-07-19 | 1right-center
| Kaiser Foundation: GOP Can Survive Failure on Healthcare
<p>The collapse of the Republican plan to replace Obamacare might not hurt the party as much as many seem to think.</p>
<p>“The stunning collapse of Obamacare repeal on Tuesday forced Republicans to confront a sobering reality: Their party and agenda are in a deep hole, and it’s not going to be easy to get out,” Peter Sullivan of <a href="http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/342642-with-healthcare-bill-derailed-gop-wonders-what-now" type="external">The Hill</a> wrote.</p>
<p>Things might not be so bleak for the GOP, according to the <a href="https://www.axios.com/republicans-may-not-be-punished-if-they-cant-pass-repeal-2461547616.html" type="external">Kaiser Family Foundation’s</a> Drew Altman, who wrote in Axios that very few GOP voters and those who voted for President Donald Trump rate healthcare as the top factor in their vote for president.</p>
<p>The most significant factor by far was the direction of the country, followed by jobs and the economy, and the personal traits of Trump’s election opponent, Hillary Clinton.</p>
<p>Although 52 percent of Republicans support repealing Obamacare without replacing it, only 26 percent overall say the same. And in July, 80 percent of Republicans said the GOP shouldn’t give up its attempt to repeal and replace the law.</p>
<p>“Republicans don’t like the ACA, and there is no doubt voting for repeal would be a real plus with the Republican base as well as with big campaign contributors,” Altman wrote. “But the assumption that Republicans will be punished if they fail to repeal the law is a different thing altogether; it has become unexamined conventional wisdom. Republican voters have other things on their minds that matter to them more than healthcare.</p>
<p>“The next election is not until 2018, and the agenda could switch to taxes or a foreign conflict or the Trump administration’s continuing problems. In fact, the one thing most likely to keep the ACA on the agenda now would be an effort by the administration to undermine it, and it’s far from clear who benefits and loses politically from that.”</p> | 4,529 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Judge James O. Browning says in an opinion filed last week that First Financial Credit Union President and CEO Ben Heyward’s civil suit can move forward on four of its 12 counts that allege the publication smeared his reputation in an April 6, 2011, article.</p>
<p>Headlined “Commercial Development Stains New Mexico CU’s Balance Sheet,” the article focused on a loan made in February 2008 to Vincent J. Garcia, a former Albuquerque developer who pleaded guilty in August to bank fraud in connection with the misuse of loan funds from First Financial and another bank.</p>
<p>First Financial’s loan was used for the renovation of the former Copper Square, a five-story office building in Downtown. Garcia is awaiting sentencing.</p>
<p>Browning’s opinion says the article’s statement that Heyward’s “lack of attention to detail” in making a number of bad loans such as Copper Square is actionable for defamation because the article didn’t provide any facts about other so-called bad loans.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Also found actionable – or plausible enough to be heard in court – were statements in the article like “critics charge loan as the latest in a pattern of reckless lending” and that the Copper Square loan “was only the largest in a systematic lending pattern without regard to due diligence.”</p>
<p>The opinion was issued on Credit Union Times’ motion to dismiss Heyward’s complaint in its entirety. It dismisses eight of the counts in the complaint, including the article’s description of Heyward’s “cowboy style of leadership” and the allegation that he fired executives who disagreed with him.</p>
<p>At the heart of Heyward’s defamation lawsuit is the legal issue of determining whether an “alleged defamatory statement is constitutionally protected expression, which turns on whether a statement is sufficiently verifiable – whether the statement can be proved or disproved,” the opinion says. — This article appeared on page C1 of the Albuquerque Journal</p> | Judge Clears Way for Defamation Suit | false | https://abqjournal.com/155963/judge-clears-way-for-defamation-suit.html | 2012-12-27 | 2least
| Judge Clears Way for Defamation Suit
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Judge James O. Browning says in an opinion filed last week that First Financial Credit Union President and CEO Ben Heyward’s civil suit can move forward on four of its 12 counts that allege the publication smeared his reputation in an April 6, 2011, article.</p>
<p>Headlined “Commercial Development Stains New Mexico CU’s Balance Sheet,” the article focused on a loan made in February 2008 to Vincent J. Garcia, a former Albuquerque developer who pleaded guilty in August to bank fraud in connection with the misuse of loan funds from First Financial and another bank.</p>
<p>First Financial’s loan was used for the renovation of the former Copper Square, a five-story office building in Downtown. Garcia is awaiting sentencing.</p>
<p>Browning’s opinion says the article’s statement that Heyward’s “lack of attention to detail” in making a number of bad loans such as Copper Square is actionable for defamation because the article didn’t provide any facts about other so-called bad loans.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Also found actionable – or plausible enough to be heard in court – were statements in the article like “critics charge loan as the latest in a pattern of reckless lending” and that the Copper Square loan “was only the largest in a systematic lending pattern without regard to due diligence.”</p>
<p>The opinion was issued on Credit Union Times’ motion to dismiss Heyward’s complaint in its entirety. It dismisses eight of the counts in the complaint, including the article’s description of Heyward’s “cowboy style of leadership” and the allegation that he fired executives who disagreed with him.</p>
<p>At the heart of Heyward’s defamation lawsuit is the legal issue of determining whether an “alleged defamatory statement is constitutionally protected expression, which turns on whether a statement is sufficiently verifiable – whether the statement can be proved or disproved,” the opinion says. — This article appeared on page C1 of the Albuquerque Journal</p> | 4,530 |
<p>Photo by Gage Skidmore, &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gageskidmore/4393327000/sizes/m/in/photostream/"&gt;via Flickr&lt;/a&gt;.</p>
<p />
<p>Newt Gingrich is in Iowa today, visiting the land where politicos go to sow the seeds of presidential ambitions. Speaking at the Renewable Fuels Summit, Gingrich moved from token GOP gripes about regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency to a full-on call for abolishing it entirely.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0111/48143.html" type="external">Via Politico</a>, we learn that Gingrich’s proposal is to replace it with the “Environmental Solutions Agency,” which “would encourage innovation, incentivize success and emphasize sound science and new technology over bureaucracy, regulation, litigation and restrictions on American energy.” The former Speaker of the House also noted that Obama should outline an “all of the above” energy plan in the State of the Union tonight to “truly demonstrate he is serious about governing from the center.” In Republican-speak, “all of the above” leans heavily on more oil and gas drilling, which Gingrich has repeatedly touted via the&#160; <a href="http://www.americansolutions.com/drill/" type="external">“Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less”</a> campaign promoted by his 527 group, <a href="http://www.americansolutions.com/" type="external">American Solutions for Winning the Future</a>.</p>
<p>Remember, this is the guy who two years ago was <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qi6n_-wB154" type="external">sitting on a couch</a> with Nancy Pelosi talking about how we can all join forces to fight climate change. Bemoaning regulations on greenhouse gas emissions is now par for the course for Republicans with political ambitions. But Gingrich’s call to abolish the EPA takes it to a new level. The EPA—created by a Republican president, <a href="http://www.epa.gov/earthday/history.htm" type="external">lest we forget</a>—is also responsible for things like, oh, <a href="http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/rulesregs/sdwa/arsenic/index.cfm" type="external">keeping arsenic out of our drinking water</a>, <a href="http://www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/regulation.htm" type="external">lead out of paints</a>, and <a href="http://www.epa.gov/ttn/atw/allabout.html" type="external">carcinogens out of our air</a>.</p>
<p>This surely won’t be the last attack on the EPA as Republican candidates start gearing up for 2012. I’m guessing, though, that most Americans actually like clean water and air, so this could be a bit of an overreach.</p>
<p /> | Gingrich Calls for Abolishing the EPA | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2011/01/newt-gingrich-abolish-epa-iowa/ | 2011-01-25 | 4left
| Gingrich Calls for Abolishing the EPA
<p>Photo by Gage Skidmore, &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gageskidmore/4393327000/sizes/m/in/photostream/"&gt;via Flickr&lt;/a&gt;.</p>
<p />
<p>Newt Gingrich is in Iowa today, visiting the land where politicos go to sow the seeds of presidential ambitions. Speaking at the Renewable Fuels Summit, Gingrich moved from token GOP gripes about regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency to a full-on call for abolishing it entirely.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0111/48143.html" type="external">Via Politico</a>, we learn that Gingrich’s proposal is to replace it with the “Environmental Solutions Agency,” which “would encourage innovation, incentivize success and emphasize sound science and new technology over bureaucracy, regulation, litigation and restrictions on American energy.” The former Speaker of the House also noted that Obama should outline an “all of the above” energy plan in the State of the Union tonight to “truly demonstrate he is serious about governing from the center.” In Republican-speak, “all of the above” leans heavily on more oil and gas drilling, which Gingrich has repeatedly touted via the&#160; <a href="http://www.americansolutions.com/drill/" type="external">“Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less”</a> campaign promoted by his 527 group, <a href="http://www.americansolutions.com/" type="external">American Solutions for Winning the Future</a>.</p>
<p>Remember, this is the guy who two years ago was <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qi6n_-wB154" type="external">sitting on a couch</a> with Nancy Pelosi talking about how we can all join forces to fight climate change. Bemoaning regulations on greenhouse gas emissions is now par for the course for Republicans with political ambitions. But Gingrich’s call to abolish the EPA takes it to a new level. The EPA—created by a Republican president, <a href="http://www.epa.gov/earthday/history.htm" type="external">lest we forget</a>—is also responsible for things like, oh, <a href="http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/rulesregs/sdwa/arsenic/index.cfm" type="external">keeping arsenic out of our drinking water</a>, <a href="http://www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/regulation.htm" type="external">lead out of paints</a>, and <a href="http://www.epa.gov/ttn/atw/allabout.html" type="external">carcinogens out of our air</a>.</p>
<p>This surely won’t be the last attack on the EPA as Republican candidates start gearing up for 2012. I’m guessing, though, that most Americans actually like clean water and air, so this could be a bit of an overreach.</p>
<p /> | 4,531 |
<p>The Senate has voted to move forward with a five month extension of unemployment benefits, setting up final passage of the bill for later this week.</p>
<p>The chamber voted 61-38 to move forward with the bipartisan agreement to extend the aid for the long-term jobless. There are five Republican cosponsors of the bill, so this vote wasn't in much jeopardy of falling short of the 60 votes needed to advance.</p>
<p>The vote sets the stage for another day or two of debate, and Democratic leaders hope to pass the bill by the end of the week.</p>
<p>But the future of the legislation is uncertain in the House; Speaker <a href="" type="internal">John Boehner</a> has called it "unworkable."</p> | Senate Advances Jobless Aid Measure | false | http://nbcnews.com/storyline/unemployment-benefits-extension/senate-advances-jobless-aid-measure-n69711 | 2014-04-02 | 3left-center
| Senate Advances Jobless Aid Measure
<p>The Senate has voted to move forward with a five month extension of unemployment benefits, setting up final passage of the bill for later this week.</p>
<p>The chamber voted 61-38 to move forward with the bipartisan agreement to extend the aid for the long-term jobless. There are five Republican cosponsors of the bill, so this vote wasn't in much jeopardy of falling short of the 60 votes needed to advance.</p>
<p>The vote sets the stage for another day or two of debate, and Democratic leaders hope to pass the bill by the end of the week.</p>
<p>But the future of the legislation is uncertain in the House; Speaker <a href="" type="internal">John Boehner</a> has called it "unworkable."</p> | 4,532 |
<p>A look at the AP Municipal Bond Index for Monday, Nov. 6:</p>
<p>BIGGEST MOVER: 30-year bonds. Yield fell 6 basis points over the last week to 2.84 percent.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>TWO-YEAR: Yield decreased less than a basis point to 1.20 percent. The two-year/10-year spread is 109 basis points, down from 118 basis points a week ago. The two-year/30-year spread is 163 basis points, down from 174 basis points a week ago.</p>
<p>10-YEAR: Yield fell 2 basis points to 2.29 percent, compared with 2.32 percent for a 10-year Treasury. The gap between 10-year municipal bonds and Treasurys has been narrowing over the last week. It was 3 basis points on Oct. 30. The 10-year/30-year spread for municipal bonds is 55 basis points.</p>
<p>30-YEAR: Yield fell by 2 basis points to 2.84 percent, compared with 2.80 percent for a 30-year Treasury.</p>
<p>_____</p>
<p>AP created this story using data from Municipal Bond Information Services and the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Learn more about the AP Municipal Bond Index at http://mbis.com/</p> | Muni bond Monday update: 10-year yield decreases | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/09/25/muni-bond-monday-update-10-year-yield-decreases.html | 2017-11-07 | 0right
| Muni bond Monday update: 10-year yield decreases
<p>A look at the AP Municipal Bond Index for Monday, Nov. 6:</p>
<p>BIGGEST MOVER: 30-year bonds. Yield fell 6 basis points over the last week to 2.84 percent.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>TWO-YEAR: Yield decreased less than a basis point to 1.20 percent. The two-year/10-year spread is 109 basis points, down from 118 basis points a week ago. The two-year/30-year spread is 163 basis points, down from 174 basis points a week ago.</p>
<p>10-YEAR: Yield fell 2 basis points to 2.29 percent, compared with 2.32 percent for a 10-year Treasury. The gap between 10-year municipal bonds and Treasurys has been narrowing over the last week. It was 3 basis points on Oct. 30. The 10-year/30-year spread for municipal bonds is 55 basis points.</p>
<p>30-YEAR: Yield fell by 2 basis points to 2.84 percent, compared with 2.80 percent for a 30-year Treasury.</p>
<p>_____</p>
<p>AP created this story using data from Municipal Bond Information Services and the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Learn more about the AP Municipal Bond Index at http://mbis.com/</p> | 4,533 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Washington’s response to the menace of school bake sales illustrates progressivism’s ratchet: The federal government subsidizes school lunches, so it must control the lunches’ contents, which validates regulation of what it calls “competitive foods,” such as vending machine snacks.</p>
<p>Hence the need to close the bake sale loophole, through which sugary cupcakes might sneak: Foods sold at fundraising bake sales must, with some exceptions, conform to federal standards.</p>
<p>What has this to do with police, from Ferguson, Mo., to your hometown, toting marksman rifles, fighting knives, grenade launchers and other combat gear?</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Swollen government has a shriveled brain: By printing and borrowing money, government avoids thinking about its proper scope and actual competence. So it smears mine-resistant armored vehicles and other military marvels across 435 congressional districts because it can.</p>
<p>And instead of making immigration policy serve the nation’s values and workforce needs, government, egged on by conservatives, aspires to emulate East Germany along the Rio Grande, spending scores of billions to militarize a border bristling with hardware bought by previous scores of billions.</p>
<p>Much of this is justified by America’s longest losing “war,” the one on drugs. Is it, however, necessary for NASA to have its own SWAT team?</p>
<p>A cupcake-policing government will find unending excuses for flexing its muscles as it minutely monitors our behavior in order to improve it, as Debra Harrell, 46, a South Carolina single mother, knows.</p>
<p>She was jailed for “unlawful neglect” of her 9-year-old daughter when she left her, with a cellphone, to play in a park while she worked at a nearby McDonald’s.</p>
<p>Resistance to taxation, although normal and healthy, is today also related to the belief that government is thoroughly sunk in self-dealing, indiscriminate meddling and the lunatic spending that lards police forces with devices designed for conquering Fallujah. People know that no normal person can know one-tenth of 1 percent of what the government is doing.</p>
<p>In Federalist Paper 84, Alexander Hamilton assured readers that although the proposed Constitution would increase the power of a distant federal government, this government would be inhibited by scrutiny: “The citizens who inhabit the country at and near the seat of government will, in all questions that affect the general liberty and prosperity, have the same interest with those who are at a distance, and … they will stand ready to sound the alarm when necessary.”</p>
<p>Not now, when five of the nation’s richest 10 counties, ranked by median household income, are Washington suburbs, parasitic off the federal government. The people who write the regulations of school lunches must live somewhere.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Darin Simak, a first-grader in New Kensington, Pa., who accidentally brought a toy gun to school in his backpack, turned it in to his teacher. School administrators then suspended him because the school has a “zero-tolerance policy.”</p>
<p>What children frequently learn at schools is that schools often are run by biological adults incapable of common-sensical judgments.</p>
<p>“We simply cannot allow toxic things to be in our schools,” said a spokesman for the Texas school district that confiscated the suntan lotion of a 10-year-old who then became sunburned on a school trip.</p>
<p>Students, the spokesman explained, “could ingest it. It’s really just a dangerous situation.” Not as dangerous as entrusting children to schools run by mindless martinets.</p>
<p>Contempt for government cannot be hermetically sealed; it seeps into everything. Which is why cupcake regulations have foreign policy consequences. Americans, inundated with evidence that government is becoming dumber and more presumptuous, think it cannot be trusted to decipher foreign problems and apply force intelligently.</p>
<p>The collapse of confidence in government is not primarily because many conspicuous leaders are conspicuously dimwitted, although when Joe Biden refers to “the nation of Africa,” or Harry Reid disparages the Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby decision as rendered by “five white men” (who included Clarence Thomas), Americans understand that their increasingly ludicrous government lacks adult supervision.</p>
<p>What they might not understand is that Reids and Bidens come with government so bereft of restraint and so disoriented by delusions of grandeur that it gives fighting knives to police and grief to purveyors of noncompliant cupcakes.</p>
<p>E-mail: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>; copyright, Washington Post Writers Group.</p>
<p />
<p /> | ‘Cupcake’ rules overrunning U.S. | false | https://abqjournal.com/449469/cupcake-rules-overrunning-us.html | 2least
| ‘Cupcake’ rules overrunning U.S.
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Washington’s response to the menace of school bake sales illustrates progressivism’s ratchet: The federal government subsidizes school lunches, so it must control the lunches’ contents, which validates regulation of what it calls “competitive foods,” such as vending machine snacks.</p>
<p>Hence the need to close the bake sale loophole, through which sugary cupcakes might sneak: Foods sold at fundraising bake sales must, with some exceptions, conform to federal standards.</p>
<p>What has this to do with police, from Ferguson, Mo., to your hometown, toting marksman rifles, fighting knives, grenade launchers and other combat gear?</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Swollen government has a shriveled brain: By printing and borrowing money, government avoids thinking about its proper scope and actual competence. So it smears mine-resistant armored vehicles and other military marvels across 435 congressional districts because it can.</p>
<p>And instead of making immigration policy serve the nation’s values and workforce needs, government, egged on by conservatives, aspires to emulate East Germany along the Rio Grande, spending scores of billions to militarize a border bristling with hardware bought by previous scores of billions.</p>
<p>Much of this is justified by America’s longest losing “war,” the one on drugs. Is it, however, necessary for NASA to have its own SWAT team?</p>
<p>A cupcake-policing government will find unending excuses for flexing its muscles as it minutely monitors our behavior in order to improve it, as Debra Harrell, 46, a South Carolina single mother, knows.</p>
<p>She was jailed for “unlawful neglect” of her 9-year-old daughter when she left her, with a cellphone, to play in a park while she worked at a nearby McDonald’s.</p>
<p>Resistance to taxation, although normal and healthy, is today also related to the belief that government is thoroughly sunk in self-dealing, indiscriminate meddling and the lunatic spending that lards police forces with devices designed for conquering Fallujah. People know that no normal person can know one-tenth of 1 percent of what the government is doing.</p>
<p>In Federalist Paper 84, Alexander Hamilton assured readers that although the proposed Constitution would increase the power of a distant federal government, this government would be inhibited by scrutiny: “The citizens who inhabit the country at and near the seat of government will, in all questions that affect the general liberty and prosperity, have the same interest with those who are at a distance, and … they will stand ready to sound the alarm when necessary.”</p>
<p>Not now, when five of the nation’s richest 10 counties, ranked by median household income, are Washington suburbs, parasitic off the federal government. The people who write the regulations of school lunches must live somewhere.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Darin Simak, a first-grader in New Kensington, Pa., who accidentally brought a toy gun to school in his backpack, turned it in to his teacher. School administrators then suspended him because the school has a “zero-tolerance policy.”</p>
<p>What children frequently learn at schools is that schools often are run by biological adults incapable of common-sensical judgments.</p>
<p>“We simply cannot allow toxic things to be in our schools,” said a spokesman for the Texas school district that confiscated the suntan lotion of a 10-year-old who then became sunburned on a school trip.</p>
<p>Students, the spokesman explained, “could ingest it. It’s really just a dangerous situation.” Not as dangerous as entrusting children to schools run by mindless martinets.</p>
<p>Contempt for government cannot be hermetically sealed; it seeps into everything. Which is why cupcake regulations have foreign policy consequences. Americans, inundated with evidence that government is becoming dumber and more presumptuous, think it cannot be trusted to decipher foreign problems and apply force intelligently.</p>
<p>The collapse of confidence in government is not primarily because many conspicuous leaders are conspicuously dimwitted, although when Joe Biden refers to “the nation of Africa,” or Harry Reid disparages the Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby decision as rendered by “five white men” (who included Clarence Thomas), Americans understand that their increasingly ludicrous government lacks adult supervision.</p>
<p>What they might not understand is that Reids and Bidens come with government so bereft of restraint and so disoriented by delusions of grandeur that it gives fighting knives to police and grief to purveyors of noncompliant cupcakes.</p>
<p>E-mail: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>; copyright, Washington Post Writers Group.</p>
<p />
<p /> | 4,534 |
|
<p />
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Evan McMullin’s star is rising. The insurgent candidate has only been on the campaign trail for two and a half months, an unbelievably short time for a presidential campaign, but he is already poised to win a state, a feat not accomplished by the Libertarian Party in its 44-year history (although the party has received <a href="http://www.cato.org/blog/first-woman" type="external">one electoral vote</a> from a faithless elector). Evan McMullin’s odds of winning have improved according to FiveThirtyEight.</p>
<p>McMullin received some welcome publicity earlier in October when the <a href="http://www.cato.org/blog/first-woman" type="external">FiveThirtyEight</a> political blog rated his chances of winning the White House as high as three percent. Since then, McMullin surged to the lead in one <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=1&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=0ahUKEwjrlriU8vnPAhWDiCwKHTkXDcEQFggcMAA&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Ftheresurgent.com%2Fbreaking-evan-mcmullin-takes-the-lead-in-utah%2F&amp;usg=AFQjCNF0F3gY4tQOzcR0Vem9clMpmBi91g&amp;sig2=7fLJKhx7Txchpu-OhqyL2w&amp;bvm=bv.136811127,d.bGg" type="external">Utah poll</a> and a <a href="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/president/ut/utah_trump_vs_clinton_vs_johnson_vs_stein_vs_mcmullin-6154.html" type="external">statistical tie</a> in two others.</p>
<p>Due to extreme interest in McMullin’s campaign, <a href="http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/polls-may-be-underestimating-evan-mcmullins-chances-in-utah/" type="external">FiveThirtyEight</a> recently revisited the few Utah polls available. The analysis found that McMullin actually has a better chance of winning Utah than the average of polls indicates.</p>
<p>The problem with the polls is that several pollsters treat third party candidates differently than the main party candidates. Two polls that heavily favor Trump had issues that might have hurt the outcome for McMullin. A <a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/327758570/CBS-News-Battleground-Tracker-Utah-Oct-16#download&amp;from_embed" type="external">YouGov</a> poll that gave Trump a 17-point lead only allowed respondents to select McMullin if they first selected “someone else.” Another poll by <a href="http://www.monmouth.edu/polling-institute/reports/MonmouthPoll_UT_101316/" type="external">Monmouth</a> gave Trump a 14-point lead over McMullin and six over Clinton. This poll listed third party candidates as an initial choice, but not as a secondary choice for undecided voters.</p>
<p>Another poll may have given McMullin an unfair boost. A poll by <a href="http://heatst.com/world/exclusive-evan-mcmullin-utah-poll-independent-conservative-ties-trump/" type="external">Rasmussen</a> that showed McMullin one point behind Trump listed McMullin’s political affiliation as “independent conservative” when he will actually be listed on the Utah ballot as “unaffiliated.” FiveThirtyEight noted that the description as a conservative may have helped McMullin in the deeply conservative state.</p>
<p>The analysts at FiveThirtyEight make predictions on two models, one using polls and the “nowcast,” an estimate of what would happen if the election were held today. Using all available polls, McMullin has an estimated 14 percent chance from the polls-only forecast and 22 percent from the nowcast. When polls that didn’t treat McMullin the same as the major party candidates were excluded, his chances rose to 23 and 38 percent respectively.</p>
<p>The bettors on the political betting site, <a href="https://www.predictit.org/Contract/4104/Will-Evan-McMullin-win-Utah-in-the-2016-presidential-election" type="external">Predict It</a>, seem to agree with the FiveThirtyEight assessment. Bets that McMullin will win Utah are currently trading at 36 cents. Bets that he loses are 67 cents. This is very close to the FiveThirtyEight estimate of McMullin’s chances of success.</p>
<p>Winning Utah is only part of <a href="http://theresurgent.com/evan-mcmullins-strategy-has-worked-before/" type="external">McMullin’s overall strategy</a> to deny the presidency to Trump and Hillary though. To win the election, McMullin must throw the Electoral College into a tie by denying both Trump and Hillary 270 electoral votes. FiveThirtyEight rates that possibility at less than one percent.</p>
<p>The blog doesn’t provide an estimate of McMullin’s chances of going all the way to the White House. They say that what would happen if the election were forced into the House of Representatives by an Electoral College deadlock “is entirely speculative.” Nevertheless, they do say that pollsters should “treat him like a candidate who has a chance to win. Because he does.”</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>McMullin has even earned a spot on <a href="https://www.predictit.org/Market/1234/Who-will-win-the-2016-US-presidential-election" type="external">Predict It’s</a> market for who will win the presidential election. A bet on McMullin can currently be placed for one cent compared to 81 cents for Hillary Clinton and 21 cents for Donald Trump. In a year in which rules seem made to be broken, a one cent bet that pays a dollar if McMullin becomes president might be a good investment.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Originally published on <a href="http://theresurgent.com/evan-mcmullins-odds-are-improving/" type="external">The Resurgent</a></p>
<p>&#160;</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> | Evan McMullin’s odds improve | true | http://conservativefiringline.com/evan-mcmullins-odds-improve/ | 2016-10-28 | 0right
| Evan McMullin’s odds improve
<p />
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Evan McMullin’s star is rising. The insurgent candidate has only been on the campaign trail for two and a half months, an unbelievably short time for a presidential campaign, but he is already poised to win a state, a feat not accomplished by the Libertarian Party in its 44-year history (although the party has received <a href="http://www.cato.org/blog/first-woman" type="external">one electoral vote</a> from a faithless elector). Evan McMullin’s odds of winning have improved according to FiveThirtyEight.</p>
<p>McMullin received some welcome publicity earlier in October when the <a href="http://www.cato.org/blog/first-woman" type="external">FiveThirtyEight</a> political blog rated his chances of winning the White House as high as three percent. Since then, McMullin surged to the lead in one <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=1&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=0ahUKEwjrlriU8vnPAhWDiCwKHTkXDcEQFggcMAA&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Ftheresurgent.com%2Fbreaking-evan-mcmullin-takes-the-lead-in-utah%2F&amp;usg=AFQjCNF0F3gY4tQOzcR0Vem9clMpmBi91g&amp;sig2=7fLJKhx7Txchpu-OhqyL2w&amp;bvm=bv.136811127,d.bGg" type="external">Utah poll</a> and a <a href="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/president/ut/utah_trump_vs_clinton_vs_johnson_vs_stein_vs_mcmullin-6154.html" type="external">statistical tie</a> in two others.</p>
<p>Due to extreme interest in McMullin’s campaign, <a href="http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/polls-may-be-underestimating-evan-mcmullins-chances-in-utah/" type="external">FiveThirtyEight</a> recently revisited the few Utah polls available. The analysis found that McMullin actually has a better chance of winning Utah than the average of polls indicates.</p>
<p>The problem with the polls is that several pollsters treat third party candidates differently than the main party candidates. Two polls that heavily favor Trump had issues that might have hurt the outcome for McMullin. A <a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/327758570/CBS-News-Battleground-Tracker-Utah-Oct-16#download&amp;from_embed" type="external">YouGov</a> poll that gave Trump a 17-point lead only allowed respondents to select McMullin if they first selected “someone else.” Another poll by <a href="http://www.monmouth.edu/polling-institute/reports/MonmouthPoll_UT_101316/" type="external">Monmouth</a> gave Trump a 14-point lead over McMullin and six over Clinton. This poll listed third party candidates as an initial choice, but not as a secondary choice for undecided voters.</p>
<p>Another poll may have given McMullin an unfair boost. A poll by <a href="http://heatst.com/world/exclusive-evan-mcmullin-utah-poll-independent-conservative-ties-trump/" type="external">Rasmussen</a> that showed McMullin one point behind Trump listed McMullin’s political affiliation as “independent conservative” when he will actually be listed on the Utah ballot as “unaffiliated.” FiveThirtyEight noted that the description as a conservative may have helped McMullin in the deeply conservative state.</p>
<p>The analysts at FiveThirtyEight make predictions on two models, one using polls and the “nowcast,” an estimate of what would happen if the election were held today. Using all available polls, McMullin has an estimated 14 percent chance from the polls-only forecast and 22 percent from the nowcast. When polls that didn’t treat McMullin the same as the major party candidates were excluded, his chances rose to 23 and 38 percent respectively.</p>
<p>The bettors on the political betting site, <a href="https://www.predictit.org/Contract/4104/Will-Evan-McMullin-win-Utah-in-the-2016-presidential-election" type="external">Predict It</a>, seem to agree with the FiveThirtyEight assessment. Bets that McMullin will win Utah are currently trading at 36 cents. Bets that he loses are 67 cents. This is very close to the FiveThirtyEight estimate of McMullin’s chances of success.</p>
<p>Winning Utah is only part of <a href="http://theresurgent.com/evan-mcmullins-strategy-has-worked-before/" type="external">McMullin’s overall strategy</a> to deny the presidency to Trump and Hillary though. To win the election, McMullin must throw the Electoral College into a tie by denying both Trump and Hillary 270 electoral votes. FiveThirtyEight rates that possibility at less than one percent.</p>
<p>The blog doesn’t provide an estimate of McMullin’s chances of going all the way to the White House. They say that what would happen if the election were forced into the House of Representatives by an Electoral College deadlock “is entirely speculative.” Nevertheless, they do say that pollsters should “treat him like a candidate who has a chance to win. Because he does.”</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>McMullin has even earned a spot on <a href="https://www.predictit.org/Market/1234/Who-will-win-the-2016-US-presidential-election" type="external">Predict It’s</a> market for who will win the presidential election. A bet on McMullin can currently be placed for one cent compared to 81 cents for Hillary Clinton and 21 cents for Donald Trump. In a year in which rules seem made to be broken, a one cent bet that pays a dollar if McMullin becomes president might be a good investment.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Originally published on <a href="http://theresurgent.com/evan-mcmullins-odds-are-improving/" type="external">The Resurgent</a></p>
<p>&#160;</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> | 4,535 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>MELBOURNE, Australia — The Latest on Wednesday from the Australian Open (all times local):</p>
<p>10:50 p.m.</p>
<p>Top-seeded Andy Murray tumbled to the ground and hurt his right ankle early in the third set of his second-round win over Andrey Rublev at the Australian Open on Wednesday night.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>He spoke to the trainer after that game, but didn’t need medical attention and went on to win 6-3, 6-0, 6-2.</p>
<p>A five-time runner-up at the season’s first major, Murray caught the sole of his right shoe on the court and tripped to the ground during the third game. He clutched his right ankle as he rolled on to the court and later was checked out by an ATP trainer during a medical time out.</p>
<p>After taking a 4-1 lead in the final set, Murray went to his courtside chair and said: “I’m all right.”</p>
<p>“It’s a little bit sore, not too serious,” he said in his post-match interview. “I definitely rolled it (but) I was moving OK toward the end, so that’s positive.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>9:35 p.m.</p>
<p>Andreas Seppi rallied from two sets down and saved a match point to beat an unpredictable Nick Kyrgios 1-6, 6-7 (1), 6-4, 6-2, 10-8 in a second-round match Wednesday at the Australian Open.</p>
<p>No. 14-seeded Kyrgios was broken in the 11th game of the final set. Serving for the match at 6-5, Seppi was broken in a game that started with a high-risk, between-the-legs shot by Kyrgios. The Australian won the point.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Two games later, Seppi saved a match point with a stunning forehand down the line and then held. The pressure was back on Kyrgios, who double-faulted on break point to hand Seppi a 9-8 lead.</p>
<p>The 89th-ranked Seppi clinched 3 hour, 9 minute match with an ace in the next game.</p>
<p>Kyrgios, tipped to have all the talent to win a Grand Slam title but not the temperament, was suspended by the ATP Tour following the Shanghai Masters in October when he sped through a match against Mischa Zverev with little effort or apparent care whether he won or lost.</p>
<p>Krygios was fined more than US$40,000 and suspended for eight weeks, a period that was later reduced to three when he agreed to consult with a sports psychologist.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>8:55 p.m.</p>
<p>French Open champion Garbine Muguruza has advanced to the third round at the Australian Open with a 7-5, 6-4 win over American Samantha Crawford. Muguruza clinched the match on her first match point when Crawford netted a forehand.</p>
<p>The Spaniard will play Anastasija Sevastova in the third round.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>6:35 p.m.</p>
<p>It’s been a disappointing day for the American men at Melbourne Park.</p>
<p>John Isner, the highest-seeded U.S. player in the men’s draw, wasted a two-set-to-none lead and lost in the second round to Mischa Zverev of Germany, 6-7 (4), 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (7), 9-7.</p>
<p>Isner had 98 winners in the 4-hour, 10-minute match, but only converted one of 17 breakpoint chances against Zverev.</p>
<p>Isner was joined on the sidelines by Steve Johnson, Noah Rubin and Ryan Harrison — all second-round losers on Wednesday afternoon.</p>
<p>The one bright spot for the U.S. was 31st-seeded Sam Querrey, who advanced with a 7-6 (5), 6-0, 6-1 win over Australian wild card Alex De Minaur.</p>
<p>Jack Sock, the 23rd seed, was playing later against Karen Khachanov of Russia.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>5:35 p.m.</p>
<p>After winning the first two sets of his second-round match, Roger Federer had to really go to work in the third, recovering from 5-2 down and fending off two set points to defeat American qualifier Noah Rubin 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (3).</p>
<p>He held serve at love to force the tiebreaker and, after it got to 3-3, reeled off the last four points to clinch the match in 2 hours, 4 minutes.</p>
<p>Federer is a four-time Australian Open champion but hasn’t lifted the trophy since 2010. In 18 trips to Melbourne Park, he’s never failed to reach the third round.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>5:15 p.m.</p>
<p>Eugenie Bouchard is back in the third round at Melbourne Park for the first time in two years, defeating China’s Peng Shuai 7-6 (5), 6-2.</p>
<p>Bouchard, who reached the semifinals of the Australian Open in 2014, finally closed it out after Peng saved three match points on the Canadian’s serve at 5-1 in the second set.</p>
<p>Following her break-out year in 2014, which also saw her reach the Wimbledon final, Bouchard struggled to make it past the fourth round at the slams. Her best result last year was the third round at Wimbledon.</p>
<p>Her next opponent will be either CoCo Vandeweghe or Pauline Parmentier, who played later Wednesday.</p>
<p>“Overall, I’m feeling better with each passing day,” Bouchard said.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>4:35 p.m.</p>
<p>Fourth-seeded Stan Wawrinka is into the third round of the Australian Open for the ninth consecutive year after a 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 win over American Steve Johnson on Wednesday.</p>
<p>Wawrinka won his first Grand Slam title at Melbourne Park in 2014 and has followed that up with two more majors — the French Open in 2015 and the U.S. Open last year.</p>
<p>The 31-year-old Wawrinka labored through five sets to win his first-round match against Martin Klizan in 3 hours, 24 minutes. He had a much easier time in the second round, beating Johnson in 1 hour, 52 minutes.</p>
<p>Wawrinka will next play either Viktor Troicki or Paolo Lorenzi.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>3:15 p.m.</p>
<p>Defending champion Angelique Kerber marked her 29th birthday — angrily at times — with a 6-2, 6-7 (3), 6-2 win Wednesday over fellow German Carina Witthoeft.</p>
<p>Kerber, who beat Serena Williams in the Australian Open final last year, then won the U.S. Open in September, was her own worst enemy in the tiebreaker, double-faulting twice to turn a 3-2 lead into a 4-3 deficit.</p>
<p>Witthoeft, who had won a long rally which caused Kerber to swipe her racket toward the court just ahead of the double faults, won the next three points to level the match.</p>
<p>Kerber also started poorly in the third set, dropping her service, but rebounded to take a 4-1 lead, saving two break points in the fifth game, before closing out the match in 2 hours, 8 minutes.</p>
<p>She will next play the winner of Wednesday’s second-round match between Kristyna Pliskova and Irina-Camelia Begu.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>1:55 p.m.</p>
<p>Serena and Venus Williams have pulled out of their scheduled first-round doubles match because of a right elbow injury to Venus, who won her singles match earlier Wednesday in straight sets over Stefanie Voegele.</p>
<p>The Williams sisters were set to play Timea Babos and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in a Show Court 2 match on Wednesday afternoon. The Australian Open confirmed the withdrawal on social media.</p>
<p>The American pair also withdrew from their first-round doubles match in 2015 at Melbourne Park.</p>
<p>The Williams sisters have won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles together, including four at the Australian Open.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>1:20 p.m.</p>
<p>Kei Nishikori advanced to the third round in a far more straightforward manner than his five-set opener earlier this week.</p>
<p>The fifth-seeded Nishikori defeated Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 in just over two hours to reach the third round for the seventh consecutive year.</p>
<p>On Monday, he needed 3 1-2 hours before beating Andrey Kuznetsov in the first round.</p>
<p>“(I) was definitely playing much better than first round today,” he said Wednesday. “There were many ups and downs, still too many break points for me. Great to finish in three sets.”</p>
<p>Nishikori has reached the quarterfinals three times at Melbourne Park, but has never advanced beyond that stage. He could play top-seeded Andy Murray in the quarterfinals this year.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>12:40 p.m.</p>
<p>Venus Williams, a first-round loser in 2016 at Melbourne Park, is one of the first players into the third round this year after beating Stefanie Voegele 6-3, 6-2 to begin play at Rod Laver Arena on Wednesday.</p>
<p>Williams maintained a perfect 3-0 record against the Swiss player, having beaten her on clay at Madrid, grass at Wimbledon and now hard courts in the year’s first Grand Slam tournament.</p>
<p>Voegele wasn’t helped by four double-faults in the opening set. In the second, Williams broke Voegele’s service with a blistering forehand to the open court to take a 3-1 lead, then broke her serve again in the final game.</p>
<p>Williams lost to eventual semifinalist Johanna Konta in the opening round last year.</p>
<p>The older sister of Serena Williams, Venus Williams has never won the Australian Open. She lost the 2003 final to Serena. Venus’ best recent finish here was a quarterfinal appearance in 2015.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>11:15 a.m.</p>
<p>Defending champion Angelique Kerber and top-seeded Andy Murray play their second-round matches on Wednesday in much more pleasant temperatures at Melbourne Park.</p>
<p>A cool change hit the city overnight, dropping temperatures from 38 Celsius (100 Fahrenheit) on Tuesday afternoon to about 20 Celsius (68 Fahrenheit) when play began Wednesday.</p>
<p>Venus Williams was first up on Rod Laver Arena, playing Stefanie Voegele of Switzerland. Kerber was to follow against fellow German Carina Witthoeft, followed by Roger Federer against American qualifier Noah Rubin.</p>
<p>Murray was scheduled to play the last match on Wednesday night at Rod Laver.</p>
<p>Venus and Serena Williams were scheduled to play their opening doubles match on Wednesday afternoon.</p> | Murray turns ankle during win, appears to be OK | false | https://abqjournal.com/929808/the-latest-venus-williams-into-3rd-round-at-australian-open.html | 2017-01-17 | 2least
| Murray turns ankle during win, appears to be OK
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>MELBOURNE, Australia — The Latest on Wednesday from the Australian Open (all times local):</p>
<p>10:50 p.m.</p>
<p>Top-seeded Andy Murray tumbled to the ground and hurt his right ankle early in the third set of his second-round win over Andrey Rublev at the Australian Open on Wednesday night.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>He spoke to the trainer after that game, but didn’t need medical attention and went on to win 6-3, 6-0, 6-2.</p>
<p>A five-time runner-up at the season’s first major, Murray caught the sole of his right shoe on the court and tripped to the ground during the third game. He clutched his right ankle as he rolled on to the court and later was checked out by an ATP trainer during a medical time out.</p>
<p>After taking a 4-1 lead in the final set, Murray went to his courtside chair and said: “I’m all right.”</p>
<p>“It’s a little bit sore, not too serious,” he said in his post-match interview. “I definitely rolled it (but) I was moving OK toward the end, so that’s positive.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>9:35 p.m.</p>
<p>Andreas Seppi rallied from two sets down and saved a match point to beat an unpredictable Nick Kyrgios 1-6, 6-7 (1), 6-4, 6-2, 10-8 in a second-round match Wednesday at the Australian Open.</p>
<p>No. 14-seeded Kyrgios was broken in the 11th game of the final set. Serving for the match at 6-5, Seppi was broken in a game that started with a high-risk, between-the-legs shot by Kyrgios. The Australian won the point.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Two games later, Seppi saved a match point with a stunning forehand down the line and then held. The pressure was back on Kyrgios, who double-faulted on break point to hand Seppi a 9-8 lead.</p>
<p>The 89th-ranked Seppi clinched 3 hour, 9 minute match with an ace in the next game.</p>
<p>Kyrgios, tipped to have all the talent to win a Grand Slam title but not the temperament, was suspended by the ATP Tour following the Shanghai Masters in October when he sped through a match against Mischa Zverev with little effort or apparent care whether he won or lost.</p>
<p>Krygios was fined more than US$40,000 and suspended for eight weeks, a period that was later reduced to three when he agreed to consult with a sports psychologist.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>8:55 p.m.</p>
<p>French Open champion Garbine Muguruza has advanced to the third round at the Australian Open with a 7-5, 6-4 win over American Samantha Crawford. Muguruza clinched the match on her first match point when Crawford netted a forehand.</p>
<p>The Spaniard will play Anastasija Sevastova in the third round.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>6:35 p.m.</p>
<p>It’s been a disappointing day for the American men at Melbourne Park.</p>
<p>John Isner, the highest-seeded U.S. player in the men’s draw, wasted a two-set-to-none lead and lost in the second round to Mischa Zverev of Germany, 6-7 (4), 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (7), 9-7.</p>
<p>Isner had 98 winners in the 4-hour, 10-minute match, but only converted one of 17 breakpoint chances against Zverev.</p>
<p>Isner was joined on the sidelines by Steve Johnson, Noah Rubin and Ryan Harrison — all second-round losers on Wednesday afternoon.</p>
<p>The one bright spot for the U.S. was 31st-seeded Sam Querrey, who advanced with a 7-6 (5), 6-0, 6-1 win over Australian wild card Alex De Minaur.</p>
<p>Jack Sock, the 23rd seed, was playing later against Karen Khachanov of Russia.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>5:35 p.m.</p>
<p>After winning the first two sets of his second-round match, Roger Federer had to really go to work in the third, recovering from 5-2 down and fending off two set points to defeat American qualifier Noah Rubin 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (3).</p>
<p>He held serve at love to force the tiebreaker and, after it got to 3-3, reeled off the last four points to clinch the match in 2 hours, 4 minutes.</p>
<p>Federer is a four-time Australian Open champion but hasn’t lifted the trophy since 2010. In 18 trips to Melbourne Park, he’s never failed to reach the third round.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>5:15 p.m.</p>
<p>Eugenie Bouchard is back in the third round at Melbourne Park for the first time in two years, defeating China’s Peng Shuai 7-6 (5), 6-2.</p>
<p>Bouchard, who reached the semifinals of the Australian Open in 2014, finally closed it out after Peng saved three match points on the Canadian’s serve at 5-1 in the second set.</p>
<p>Following her break-out year in 2014, which also saw her reach the Wimbledon final, Bouchard struggled to make it past the fourth round at the slams. Her best result last year was the third round at Wimbledon.</p>
<p>Her next opponent will be either CoCo Vandeweghe or Pauline Parmentier, who played later Wednesday.</p>
<p>“Overall, I’m feeling better with each passing day,” Bouchard said.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>4:35 p.m.</p>
<p>Fourth-seeded Stan Wawrinka is into the third round of the Australian Open for the ninth consecutive year after a 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 win over American Steve Johnson on Wednesday.</p>
<p>Wawrinka won his first Grand Slam title at Melbourne Park in 2014 and has followed that up with two more majors — the French Open in 2015 and the U.S. Open last year.</p>
<p>The 31-year-old Wawrinka labored through five sets to win his first-round match against Martin Klizan in 3 hours, 24 minutes. He had a much easier time in the second round, beating Johnson in 1 hour, 52 minutes.</p>
<p>Wawrinka will next play either Viktor Troicki or Paolo Lorenzi.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>3:15 p.m.</p>
<p>Defending champion Angelique Kerber marked her 29th birthday — angrily at times — with a 6-2, 6-7 (3), 6-2 win Wednesday over fellow German Carina Witthoeft.</p>
<p>Kerber, who beat Serena Williams in the Australian Open final last year, then won the U.S. Open in September, was her own worst enemy in the tiebreaker, double-faulting twice to turn a 3-2 lead into a 4-3 deficit.</p>
<p>Witthoeft, who had won a long rally which caused Kerber to swipe her racket toward the court just ahead of the double faults, won the next three points to level the match.</p>
<p>Kerber also started poorly in the third set, dropping her service, but rebounded to take a 4-1 lead, saving two break points in the fifth game, before closing out the match in 2 hours, 8 minutes.</p>
<p>She will next play the winner of Wednesday’s second-round match between Kristyna Pliskova and Irina-Camelia Begu.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>1:55 p.m.</p>
<p>Serena and Venus Williams have pulled out of their scheduled first-round doubles match because of a right elbow injury to Venus, who won her singles match earlier Wednesday in straight sets over Stefanie Voegele.</p>
<p>The Williams sisters were set to play Timea Babos and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in a Show Court 2 match on Wednesday afternoon. The Australian Open confirmed the withdrawal on social media.</p>
<p>The American pair also withdrew from their first-round doubles match in 2015 at Melbourne Park.</p>
<p>The Williams sisters have won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles together, including four at the Australian Open.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>1:20 p.m.</p>
<p>Kei Nishikori advanced to the third round in a far more straightforward manner than his five-set opener earlier this week.</p>
<p>The fifth-seeded Nishikori defeated Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 in just over two hours to reach the third round for the seventh consecutive year.</p>
<p>On Monday, he needed 3 1-2 hours before beating Andrey Kuznetsov in the first round.</p>
<p>“(I) was definitely playing much better than first round today,” he said Wednesday. “There were many ups and downs, still too many break points for me. Great to finish in three sets.”</p>
<p>Nishikori has reached the quarterfinals three times at Melbourne Park, but has never advanced beyond that stage. He could play top-seeded Andy Murray in the quarterfinals this year.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>12:40 p.m.</p>
<p>Venus Williams, a first-round loser in 2016 at Melbourne Park, is one of the first players into the third round this year after beating Stefanie Voegele 6-3, 6-2 to begin play at Rod Laver Arena on Wednesday.</p>
<p>Williams maintained a perfect 3-0 record against the Swiss player, having beaten her on clay at Madrid, grass at Wimbledon and now hard courts in the year’s first Grand Slam tournament.</p>
<p>Voegele wasn’t helped by four double-faults in the opening set. In the second, Williams broke Voegele’s service with a blistering forehand to the open court to take a 3-1 lead, then broke her serve again in the final game.</p>
<p>Williams lost to eventual semifinalist Johanna Konta in the opening round last year.</p>
<p>The older sister of Serena Williams, Venus Williams has never won the Australian Open. She lost the 2003 final to Serena. Venus’ best recent finish here was a quarterfinal appearance in 2015.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>11:15 a.m.</p>
<p>Defending champion Angelique Kerber and top-seeded Andy Murray play their second-round matches on Wednesday in much more pleasant temperatures at Melbourne Park.</p>
<p>A cool change hit the city overnight, dropping temperatures from 38 Celsius (100 Fahrenheit) on Tuesday afternoon to about 20 Celsius (68 Fahrenheit) when play began Wednesday.</p>
<p>Venus Williams was first up on Rod Laver Arena, playing Stefanie Voegele of Switzerland. Kerber was to follow against fellow German Carina Witthoeft, followed by Roger Federer against American qualifier Noah Rubin.</p>
<p>Murray was scheduled to play the last match on Wednesday night at Rod Laver.</p>
<p>Venus and Serena Williams were scheduled to play their opening doubles match on Wednesday afternoon.</p> | 4,536 |
<p>The Baltimore County Police are searching for a robber who broke into Slice Pizza in Towsen, stripped naked, beat up some registers, stole a bottle of water, and <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/naked-man-robs-pizza-restaurant_us_582cac87e4b030997bbd0b2e?utm_hp_ref=things-you-cant-do-naked" type="external">left</a>.</p>
<p>The owner and employees were rattled when they arrived to find the restaurant in dissaray and immediately started watching the footage. They got a little more than what they bargained for.</p>
<p />
<p>The man apparently crawled through the duct work of the pizza joint and became visible on the store security camera. Once in the store the man can be seen taking his pants completely off, showing off his own topping for everyone to see. The owner told the local news <a href="http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2016/11/15/surveillance-tape-shows-man-entering-towson-pizza-place-through-vent-stripping-nude/" type="external">station</a>:</p>
<p>“Seeing it was weird, knowing that somebody was naked running around the store.&#160;Everybody’s mouths just dropped and we couldn’t help but laugh because that’s something that doesn’t happen every day. It’s funny to see that.”</p>
<p>Slice Pizza is offering a lifetime supply of pizza for anyone who can help catch their naked thief.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Featured image via&#160; <a href="http://www.wrestlingforum.com/total-nonstop-action-wrestling/725266-3-14-impact-wrestling-discussion-thread-live-chicago-lockdown-aftermath-58.html" type="external">Wrestling Forum</a>.</p> | Man Breaks Into Pizza Joint And Whips Out His Pepperoni – All For Some Water? (VIDEO) | true | http://offthemainpage.com/2016/12/23/man-breaks-pizza-joint-whips-pepperoni/ | 2016-12-23 | 4left
| Man Breaks Into Pizza Joint And Whips Out His Pepperoni – All For Some Water? (VIDEO)
<p>The Baltimore County Police are searching for a robber who broke into Slice Pizza in Towsen, stripped naked, beat up some registers, stole a bottle of water, and <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/naked-man-robs-pizza-restaurant_us_582cac87e4b030997bbd0b2e?utm_hp_ref=things-you-cant-do-naked" type="external">left</a>.</p>
<p>The owner and employees were rattled when they arrived to find the restaurant in dissaray and immediately started watching the footage. They got a little more than what they bargained for.</p>
<p />
<p>The man apparently crawled through the duct work of the pizza joint and became visible on the store security camera. Once in the store the man can be seen taking his pants completely off, showing off his own topping for everyone to see. The owner told the local news <a href="http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2016/11/15/surveillance-tape-shows-man-entering-towson-pizza-place-through-vent-stripping-nude/" type="external">station</a>:</p>
<p>“Seeing it was weird, knowing that somebody was naked running around the store.&#160;Everybody’s mouths just dropped and we couldn’t help but laugh because that’s something that doesn’t happen every day. It’s funny to see that.”</p>
<p>Slice Pizza is offering a lifetime supply of pizza for anyone who can help catch their naked thief.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Featured image via&#160; <a href="http://www.wrestlingforum.com/total-nonstop-action-wrestling/725266-3-14-impact-wrestling-discussion-thread-live-chicago-lockdown-aftermath-58.html" type="external">Wrestling Forum</a>.</p> | 4,537 |
<p>Scott Rosenberg has a <a href="http://www.salon.com/tech/col/rose/2003/12/04/rss/index.html" type="external">great piece</a> in Salon on <a href="http://www.mnot.net/rss/tutorial/" type="external">RSS</a>, explaining the hot e-publishing technology in simple terms. He makes the comparison between RSS and HTML, the language of the web. RSS is poised, he rightly says, to be a profound online publishing technology. It should be as big as HTML soon. Of course, in the early days, proponents of HTML publishing didn't go around touting "HTML" or "hypertext mark-up language" -- they called it by a sexier name, the "World Wide Web." RSS has an image problem right now. It's seen as geeky, still. And the name RSS (which stands for Rich Site Summary, but is often referred to as Really Simple Syndication) doesn't help. RSS needs a new colloquial name to help capture the online-using public's interest and get people to try it out as an alternative to e-mail and web browsing.</p> | RSS Needs a Catchy Name to Succeed | false | https://poynter.org/news/rss-needs-catchy-name-succeed | 2003-12-04 | 2least
| RSS Needs a Catchy Name to Succeed
<p>Scott Rosenberg has a <a href="http://www.salon.com/tech/col/rose/2003/12/04/rss/index.html" type="external">great piece</a> in Salon on <a href="http://www.mnot.net/rss/tutorial/" type="external">RSS</a>, explaining the hot e-publishing technology in simple terms. He makes the comparison between RSS and HTML, the language of the web. RSS is poised, he rightly says, to be a profound online publishing technology. It should be as big as HTML soon. Of course, in the early days, proponents of HTML publishing didn't go around touting "HTML" or "hypertext mark-up language" -- they called it by a sexier name, the "World Wide Web." RSS has an image problem right now. It's seen as geeky, still. And the name RSS (which stands for Rich Site Summary, but is often referred to as Really Simple Syndication) doesn't help. RSS needs a new colloquial name to help capture the online-using public's interest and get people to try it out as an alternative to e-mail and web browsing.</p> | 4,538 |
<p>Gov. Jerry Brown (D-CA) endorsed the possibility of a state lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s efforts to force local law enforcement agencies to cooperate with federal immigration authorities, on Sunday.</p>
<p>Brown’s comments, on NBC’s&#160; <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/video/exclusive-gov-brown-supports-california-sanctuary-cities-lawsuit-1018171971994" type="external">Meet the Press</a>,&#160;came in the wake of Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/25/politics/trump-admin-sanctuary-cities/index.html" type="external">announcement in late July</a> that some federal justice funding will require local law enforcement agencies to certify that they’ll cooperate more extensively with federal immigration authorities.</p>
<p>California’s attorney general will decide whether to move forward in filing a lawsuit, Brown told host Chuck Todd, adding that the courts could help resolve the broader debate over the role of state and local law enforcement on federal immigration enforcement.</p>
<p>“A few judicious forums to resolve this dispute between the federal government and California – &#160;I think – can be very helpful for the whole country, and in a dispassionate way,” said Brown. “Because this back and forth by politicians, it doesn’t really clarify some of the difficulties of the paramount law of the federal government colliding with the sovereign law of the 50 states.”</p>
<p>Last spring, the California Senate <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/04/politics/california-sanctuary-state-bill-sb-54/index.html" type="external">passed</a> a bill that would limit law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration authorities. The so-called “sanctuary state” bill, SB 54 prohibits state and local law enforcement agencies from using their resources, such as equipment or personnel, to aid federal officials to enforce immigration laws. For example, police officers would be barred from asking about immigration status or giving federal immigration authorities access to interview a detainee in custody.</p>
<p>State Senate President&#160;pro Tempore&#160;Kevin de León (D), who authored the legislation, said the law would expand sanctuary city policies enacted to protect immigrants from the Trump administration’s crackdown on undocumented immigration.</p>
<p>De León <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/03/us/california-sanctuary-state-law-debate/index.html" type="external">told CNN</a>&#160;last month that he believes that undocumented immigrants will stop reporting crimes or cooperating with local police, as a result of Trump’s policies, undermining public safety.</p>
<p>The bill, which is being debated in the California Assembly, would establish uniform guidelines on state-federal cooperation, particularly with regard to policing, he told CNN.</p>
<p>“What I don’t want to do is increase crime,” de León added. “You will increase crime if local police are acting as cogs of the Trump deportation machine.”</p>
<p>Brown said that he would like to see some tweaks to SB 54, but defended it in concept, saying it would lay out a set of specific legislative requirements regarding cooperation with federal immigration authorities. “The goal here is to block and not to collaborate with abuse of federal power,” he explained.</p>
<p>The bill is part of an effort to acknowledge the role that immigrants have played in California’s economy, Brown added, saying, “We want to make sure we help them to the extent that the law of California can coexist with the law of the United States.”</p>
<p>He urged a balanced approach, noting that those undocumented immigrants who commit serious crimes “have no business in the United States.”</p>
<p>A potential sanctuary state lawsuit sets the stage for a showdown on an issue that has been strongly debated at the local law enforcement level in California in recent years. For decades, some California probation departments turned over minors in juvenile detention to immigration authorities. Probation officials contended that federal law obliged them to refer potentially undocumented juveniles to immigration authorities and that federal regulations protect a local law enforcement agency’s right to communicate with ICE. But some <a href="http://voiceofoc.org/2015/08/lost-boys-counties-less-likely-to-refer-juveniles-to-immigration-authorities/" type="external">legal experts</a> believe this is a misreading of federal authority.</p>
<p>Brown said he thinks a judicial test could settle the longstanding issue: “It might just be very helpful to get into court and resolve this in a judicial forum rather than in the rhetoric of politicians talking past one another.”</p>
<p>California is not the only possible challenger to the administration’s policy. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D) has also <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-rahm-emanuel-sue-trump-justice-department-sanctuary-city-met-20170804-story.html" type="external">announced plans</a> to file a lawsuit.</p> | California governor endorses legal challenge to Trump immigration policy | true | https://thinkprogress.org/california-governor-endorses-legal-challenge-to-trump-immigration-policy/ | 2017-08-06 | 4left
| California governor endorses legal challenge to Trump immigration policy
<p>Gov. Jerry Brown (D-CA) endorsed the possibility of a state lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s efforts to force local law enforcement agencies to cooperate with federal immigration authorities, on Sunday.</p>
<p>Brown’s comments, on NBC’s&#160; <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/video/exclusive-gov-brown-supports-california-sanctuary-cities-lawsuit-1018171971994" type="external">Meet the Press</a>,&#160;came in the wake of Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/25/politics/trump-admin-sanctuary-cities/index.html" type="external">announcement in late July</a> that some federal justice funding will require local law enforcement agencies to certify that they’ll cooperate more extensively with federal immigration authorities.</p>
<p>California’s attorney general will decide whether to move forward in filing a lawsuit, Brown told host Chuck Todd, adding that the courts could help resolve the broader debate over the role of state and local law enforcement on federal immigration enforcement.</p>
<p>“A few judicious forums to resolve this dispute between the federal government and California – &#160;I think – can be very helpful for the whole country, and in a dispassionate way,” said Brown. “Because this back and forth by politicians, it doesn’t really clarify some of the difficulties of the paramount law of the federal government colliding with the sovereign law of the 50 states.”</p>
<p>Last spring, the California Senate <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/04/politics/california-sanctuary-state-bill-sb-54/index.html" type="external">passed</a> a bill that would limit law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration authorities. The so-called “sanctuary state” bill, SB 54 prohibits state and local law enforcement agencies from using their resources, such as equipment or personnel, to aid federal officials to enforce immigration laws. For example, police officers would be barred from asking about immigration status or giving federal immigration authorities access to interview a detainee in custody.</p>
<p>State Senate President&#160;pro Tempore&#160;Kevin de León (D), who authored the legislation, said the law would expand sanctuary city policies enacted to protect immigrants from the Trump administration’s crackdown on undocumented immigration.</p>
<p>De León <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/03/us/california-sanctuary-state-law-debate/index.html" type="external">told CNN</a>&#160;last month that he believes that undocumented immigrants will stop reporting crimes or cooperating with local police, as a result of Trump’s policies, undermining public safety.</p>
<p>The bill, which is being debated in the California Assembly, would establish uniform guidelines on state-federal cooperation, particularly with regard to policing, he told CNN.</p>
<p>“What I don’t want to do is increase crime,” de León added. “You will increase crime if local police are acting as cogs of the Trump deportation machine.”</p>
<p>Brown said that he would like to see some tweaks to SB 54, but defended it in concept, saying it would lay out a set of specific legislative requirements regarding cooperation with federal immigration authorities. “The goal here is to block and not to collaborate with abuse of federal power,” he explained.</p>
<p>The bill is part of an effort to acknowledge the role that immigrants have played in California’s economy, Brown added, saying, “We want to make sure we help them to the extent that the law of California can coexist with the law of the United States.”</p>
<p>He urged a balanced approach, noting that those undocumented immigrants who commit serious crimes “have no business in the United States.”</p>
<p>A potential sanctuary state lawsuit sets the stage for a showdown on an issue that has been strongly debated at the local law enforcement level in California in recent years. For decades, some California probation departments turned over minors in juvenile detention to immigration authorities. Probation officials contended that federal law obliged them to refer potentially undocumented juveniles to immigration authorities and that federal regulations protect a local law enforcement agency’s right to communicate with ICE. But some <a href="http://voiceofoc.org/2015/08/lost-boys-counties-less-likely-to-refer-juveniles-to-immigration-authorities/" type="external">legal experts</a> believe this is a misreading of federal authority.</p>
<p>Brown said he thinks a judicial test could settle the longstanding issue: “It might just be very helpful to get into court and resolve this in a judicial forum rather than in the rhetoric of politicians talking past one another.”</p>
<p>California is not the only possible challenger to the administration’s policy. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D) has also <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-rahm-emanuel-sue-trump-justice-department-sanctuary-city-met-20170804-story.html" type="external">announced plans</a> to file a lawsuit.</p> | 4,539 |
<p>My favorite part of working for Feministing–outside of hanging with some of the raddest ladies I know–is editing the <a href="" type="internal">Feministing Reads</a> column. Our reviews are amazing&#160;(shout out to Sam, Sheila, and Ava–and Abigail and Chanelle, who you’ll be hearing from soon). Through them, I’ve learned about so many books from independent presses that I would have missed otherwise. And, after publishing a <a href="http://www.feministpress.org/books/feminist-utopia-project" type="external">book</a> this last year with a small political press, I know that reviews can make a meaningful&#160;difference for authors who don’t have PR budgets to fill the&#160;New York Times&#160;with ads. That’s a particularly big deal for women, queers, people of color doing radical work&#160;that doesn’t land a big advance.</p>
<p>Anyway, all of that is to say: I want to make sure we’re&#160;finding and reviewing a wide range of powerful new work from a diverse group of powerful writers. For that, I need your help. Book worms, authors, small publishers, self-publishers: what should we read this year? Let us&#160;know in the comments.</p> | Feministing Reads: What should we read this year? | true | http://feministing.com/2016/01/04/feministing-reads-what-should-we-read-this-year/ | 4left
| Feministing Reads: What should we read this year?
<p>My favorite part of working for Feministing–outside of hanging with some of the raddest ladies I know–is editing the <a href="" type="internal">Feministing Reads</a> column. Our reviews are amazing&#160;(shout out to Sam, Sheila, and Ava–and Abigail and Chanelle, who you’ll be hearing from soon). Through them, I’ve learned about so many books from independent presses that I would have missed otherwise. And, after publishing a <a href="http://www.feministpress.org/books/feminist-utopia-project" type="external">book</a> this last year with a small political press, I know that reviews can make a meaningful&#160;difference for authors who don’t have PR budgets to fill the&#160;New York Times&#160;with ads. That’s a particularly big deal for women, queers, people of color doing radical work&#160;that doesn’t land a big advance.</p>
<p>Anyway, all of that is to say: I want to make sure we’re&#160;finding and reviewing a wide range of powerful new work from a diverse group of powerful writers. For that, I need your help. Book worms, authors, small publishers, self-publishers: what should we read this year? Let us&#160;know in the comments.</p> | 4,540 |
|
<p>This <a href="http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175239/tomgram%3A_noam_chomsky%2C_eyeless_in_gaza___/" type="external">story</a> first appeared on the <a href="http://www.tomdispatch.com/" type="external">TomDispatch</a> website.</p>
<p>The fact that the Israel-Palestine conflict grinds on without resolution might appear to be rather strange. For many of the world’s conflicts, it is difficult even to conjure up a feasible settlement. In this case, it is not only possible, but there is near universal agreement on its basic contours: a two-state settlement along the internationally recognized (pre-June 1967) borders—with “minor and mutual modifications,” to adopt official US terminology before Washington departed from the international community in the mid-1970s.</p>
<p>The basic principles have been accepted by virtually the entire world, including the Arab states (who go on to call for full normalization of relations), the Organization of Islamic States (including Iran), and relevant non-state actors (including Hamas). A settlement along these lines was first proposed at the U.N. Security Council in January 1976 by the major Arab states. Israel refused to attend the session. The US vetoed the resolution, and did so again in 1980. The record at the General Assembly since is similar.</p>
<p>There was one important and revealing break in US-Israeli rejectionism. After the failed Camp David agreements in 2000, President Clinton recognized that the terms he and Israel had proposed were unacceptable to any Palestinians. That December, he proposed his “parameters”: imprecise, but more forthcoming. He then stated that both sides had accepted the parameters, while expressing reservations.</p>
<p>Israeli and Palestinian negotiators met in Taba, Egypt, in January 2001 to resolve the differences and were making considerable progress. In their final press conference, they reported that, with a little more time, they could probably have reached full agreement. Israel called off the negotiations prematurely, however, and official progress then terminated, though informal discussions at a high level continued leading to the Geneva Accord, rejected by Israel and ignored by the US</p>
<p>A good deal has happened since, but a settlement along those lines is still not out of reach—if, of course, Washington is once again willing to accept it. Unfortunately, there is little sign of that.</p>
<p>Substantial mythology has been created about the entire record, but the basic facts are clear enough and quite well documented.</p>
<p>The US and Israel have been acting in tandem to extend and deepen the occupation. In 2005, recognizing that it was pointless to subsidize a few thousand Israeli settlers in Gaza, who were appropriating substantial resources and protected by a large part of the Israeli army, the government of Ariel Sharon decided to move them to the much more valuable West Bank and Golan Heights.</p>
<p>Instead of carrying out the operation straightforwardly, as would have been easy enough, the government decided to stage a “national trauma,” which virtually duplicated the farce accompanying the withdrawal from the Sinai desert after the Camp David agreements of 1978-79. In each case, the withdrawal permitted the cry of “Never Again,” which meant in practice: we cannot abandon an inch of the Palestinian territories that we want to take in violation of international law. This farce played very well in the West, though it was ridiculed by more astute Israeli commentators, among them that country’s prominent sociologist the late Baruch Kimmerling.</p>
<p>After its formal withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, Israel never actually relinquished its total control over the territory, often described realistically as “the world’s largest prison.” In January 2006, a few months after the withdrawal, Palestine had an election that was recognized as free and fair by international observers. Palestinians, however, voted “the wrong way,” electing Hamas. Instantly, the US and Israel intensified their assault against Gazans as punishment for this misdeed. The facts and the reasoning were not concealed; rather, they were openly published alongside reverential commentary on Washington’s sincere dedication to democracy. The US-backed Israeli assault against the Gazans has only been intensified since, thanks to violence and economic strangulation, increasingly savage.</p>
<p>Meanwhile in the West Bank, always with firm US backing, Israel has been carrying forward longstanding programs to take the valuable land and resources of the Palestinians and leave them in unviable cantons, mostly out of sight. Israeli commentators frankly refer to these goals as “neocolonial.” Ariel Sharon, the main architect of the settlement programs, called these cantons “Bantustans,” though the term is misleading: South Africa needed the majority black work force, while Israel would be happy if the Palestinians disappeared, and its policies are directed to that end.</p>
<p>Blockading Gaza by Land and Sea</p>
<p>One step towards cantonization and the undermining of hopes for Palestinian national survival is the separation of Gaza from the West Bank. These hopes have been almost entirely consigned to oblivion, an atrocity to which we should not contribute by tacit consent. Israeli journalist Amira Hass, one of the leading specialists on Gaza, writes:</p>
<p>The restrictions on Palestinian movement that Israel introduced in January 1991 reversed a process that had been initiated in June 1967. Back then, and for the first time since 1948, a large portion of the Palestinian people again lived in the open territory of a single country—to be sure, one that was occupied, but was nevertheless whole.… The total separation of the Gaza Strip from the West Bank is one of the greatest achievements of Israeli politics, whose overarching objective is to prevent a solution based on international decisions and understandings and instead dictate an arrangement based on Israel’s military superiority.…</p>
<p>Since January 1991, Israel has bureaucratically and logistically merely perfected the split and the separation: not only between Palestinians in the occupied territories and their brothers in Israel, but also between the Palestinian residents of Jerusalem and those in the rest of the territories and between Gazans and West Bankers/Jerusalemites. Jews live in this same piece of land within a superior and separate system of privileges, laws, services, physical infrastructure and freedom of movement.</p>
<p>The leading academic specialist on Gaza, Harvard scholar Sara Roy, adds:</p>
<p>Gaza is an example of a society that has been deliberately reduced to a state of abject destitution, its once productive population transformed into one of aid-dependent paupers.… Gaza’s subjection began long before Israel’s recent war against it [December 2008]. The Israeli occupation — now largely forgotten or denied by the international community — has devastated Gaza’s economy and people, especially since 2006…. After Israel’s December [2008] assault, Gaza’s already compromised conditions have become virtually unlivable. Livelihoods, homes, and public infrastructure have been damaged or destroyed on a scale that even the Israel Defense Forces admitted was indefensible.</p>
<p>In Gaza today, there is no private sector to speak of and no industry. 80 percent of Gaza’s agricultural crops were destroyed and Israel continues to snipe at farmers attempting to plant and tend fields near the well-fenced and patrolled border. Most productive activity has been extinguished.… Today, 96 percent of Gaza’s population of 1.4 million is dependent on humanitarian aid for basic needs. According to the World Food Programme, the Gaza Strip requires a minimum of 400 trucks of food every day just to meet the basic nutritional needs of the population. Yet, despite a March [22, 2009] decision by the Israeli cabinet to lift all restrictions on foodstuffs entering Gaza, only 653 trucks of food and other supplies were allowed entry during the week of May 10, at best meeting 23 percent of required need. Israel now allows only 30 to 40 commercial items to enter Gaza compared to 4,000 approved products prior to June 2006.</p>
<p>It cannot be too often stressed that Israel had no credible pretext for its 2008–9 attack on Gaza, with full US support and illegally using US weapons. Near-universal opinion asserts the contrary, claiming that Israel was acting in self-defense. That is utterly unsustainable, in light of Israel’s flat rejection of peaceful means that were readily available, as Israel and its US partner in crime knew very well. That aside, Israel’s siege of Gaza is itself an act of war, as Israel of all countries certainly recognizes, having repeatedly justified launching major wars on grounds of partial restrictions on its access to the outside world, though nothing remotely like what it has long imposed on Gaza.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/1931859965/ref=nosim/?tag=tomdispatch-20" type="external" />One crucial element of Israel’s criminal siege, little reported, is the naval blockade. Peter Beaumont reports from Gaza that, “on its coastal littoral, Gaza’s limitations are marked by a different fence where the bars are Israeli gunboats with their huge wakes, scurrying beyond the Palestinian fishing boats and preventing them from going outside a zone imposed by the warships.” According to reports from the scene, the naval siege has been tightened steadily since 2000. Fishing boats have been driven steadily out of Gaza’s territorial waters and toward the shore by Israeli gunboats, often violently without warning and with many casualties. As a result of these naval actions, Gaza’s fishing industry has virtually collapsed; fishing is impossible near shore because of the contamination caused by Israel’s regular attacks, including the destruction of power plants and sewage facilities.</p>
<p>These Israeli naval attacks began shortly after the discovery by the BG (British Gas) Group of what appear to be quite sizeable natural gas fields in Gaza’s territorial waters. Industry journals report that Israel is already appropriating these Gazan resources for its own use, part of its commitment to shift its economy to natural gas. The standard industry source reports:</p>
<p>Israel’s finance ministry has given the Israel Electric Corp. (IEC) approval to purchase larger quantities of natural gas from BG than originally agreed upon, according to Israeli government sources [which] said the state-owned utility would be able to negotiate for as much as 1.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas from the Marine field located off the Mediterranean coast of the Palestinian controlled Gaza Strip.</p>
<p>Last year the Israeli government approved the purchase of 800 million cubic meters of gas from the field by the IEC…. Recently the Israeli government changed its policy and decided the state-owned utility could buy the entire quantity of gas from the Gaza Marine field. Previously the government had said the IEC could buy half the total amount and the remainder would be bought by private power producers.</p>
<p>The pillage of what could become a major source of income for Gaza is surely known to US authorities. It is only reasonable to suppose that the intention to appropriate these limited resources, either by Israel alone or together with the collaborationist Palestinian Authority, is the motive for preventing Gazan fishing boats from entering Gaza’s territorial waters.</p>
<p>There are some instructive precedents. In 1989, Australian foreign minister Gareth Evans signed a treaty with his Indonesian counterpart Ali Alatas granting Australia rights to the substantial oil reserves in “the Indonesian Province of East Timor.” The Indonesia-Australia Timor Gap Treaty, which offered not a crumb to the people whose oil was being stolen, “is the only legal agreement anywhere in the world that effectively recognises Indonesia’s right to rule East Timor,” the Australian press reported.</p>
<p>Asked about his willingness to recognize the Indonesian conquest and to rob the sole resource of the conquered territory, which had been subjected to near-genocidal slaughter by the Indonesian invader with the strong support of Australia (along with the US, the U.K., and some others), Evans explained that “there is no binding legal obligation not to recognise the acquisition of territory that was acquired by force,” adding that “the world is a pretty unfair place, littered with examples of acquisition by force.”</p>
<p>It should, then, be unproblematic for Israel to follow suit in Gaza.</p>
<p>A few years later, Evans became the leading figure in the campaign to introduce the concept “responsibility to protect”—known as R2P—into international law. R2P is intended to establish an international obligation to protect populations from grave crimes. Evans is the author of a major book on the subject and was co-chair of the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty, which issued what is considered the basic document on R2P.</p>
<p>In an article devoted to this “idealistic effort to establish a new humanitarian principle,” the London Economist featured Evans and his “bold but passionate claim on behalf of a three-word expression which (in quite large part thanks to his efforts) now belongs to the language of diplomacy: the ‘responsibility to protect.'” The article is accompanied by a picture of Evans with the caption “Evans: a lifelong passion to protect.” His hand is pressed to his forehead in despair over the difficulties faced by his idealistic effort. The journal chose not to run a different photo that circulates in Australia, depicting Evans and Alatas exuberantly clasping their hands together as they toast the Timor Gap Treaty that they had just signed.</p>
<p>Though a “protected population” under international law, Gazans do not fall under the jurisdiction of the “responsibility to protect,” joining other unfortunates, in accord with the maxim of Thucydides—that the strong do as they wish, and the weak suffer as they must—which holds with its customary precision.</p>
<p>Obama and the Settlements</p>
<p>The kinds of restrictions on movement used to destroy Gaza have long been in force in the West Bank as well, less cruelly but with grim effects on life and the economy. The World Bank reports that Israel has established “a complex closure regime that restricts Palestinian access to large areas of the West Bank… The Palestinian economy has remained stagnant, largely because of the sharp downturn in Gaza and Israel’s continued restrictions on Palestinian trade and movement in the West Bank.”</p>
<p>The World Bank “cited Israeli roadblocks and checkpoints hindering trade and travel, as well as restrictions on Palestinian building in the West Bank, where the Western-backed government of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas holds sway.” Israel does permit—indeed encourage—a privileged existence for elites in Ramallah and sometimes elsewhere, largely relying on European funding, a traditional feature of colonial and neocolonial practice.</p>
<p>All of this constitutes what Israeli activist Jeff Halper calls a “matrix of control” to subdue the colonized population. These systematic programs over more than 40 years aim to establish Defense Minister Moshe Dayan’s recommendation to his colleagues shortly after Israel’s 1967 conquests that we must tell the Palestinians in the territories: “We have no solution, you shall continue to live like dogs, and whoever wishes may leave, and we will see where this process leads.”</p>
<p>Turning to the second bone of contention, settlements, there is indeed a confrontation, but it is rather less dramatic than portrayed. Washington’s position was presented most strongly in Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s much-quoted statement rejecting “natural growth exceptions” to the policy opposing new settlements. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, along with President Shimon Peres and, in fact, virtually the whole Israeli political spectrum, insists on permitting “natural growth” within the areas that Israel intends to annex, complaining that the United States is backing down on George W. Bush’s authorization of such expansion within his “vision” of a Palestinian state.</p>
<p>Senior Netanyahu cabinet members have gone further. Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz announced that “the current Israeli government will not accept in any way the freezing of legal settlement activity in Judea and Samaria.” The term “legal” in US-Israeli parlance means “illegal, but authorized by the government of Israel with a wink from Washington.” In this usage, unauthorized outposts are termed “illegal,” though apart from the dictates of the powerful, they are no more illegal than the settlements granted to Israel under Bush’s “vision” and Obama’s scrupulous omission.</p>
<p>The Obama-Clinton “hardball” formulation is not new. It repeats the wording of the Bush administration draft of the 2003 Road Map, which stipulates that in Phase I, “Israel freezes all settlement activity (including natural growth of settlements).” All sides formally accept the Road Map (modified to drop the phrase “natural growth”)—consistently overlooking the fact that Israel, with US support, at once added 14 “reservations” that render it inoperable.</p>
<p>If Obama were at all serious about opposing settlement expansion, he could easily proceed with concrete measures by, for example, reducing US aid by the amount devoted to this purpose. That would hardly be a radical or courageous move. The Bush I administration did so (reducing loan guarantees), but after the Oslo accord in 1993, President Clinton left calculations to the government of Israel. Unsurprisingly, there was “no change in the expenditures flowing to the settlements,” the Israeli press reported. “[Prime Minister] Rabin will continue not to dry out the settlements,” the report concludes. “And the Americans? They will understand.”</p>
<p>Obama administration officials informed the press that the Bush I measures are “not under discussion,” and that pressures will be “largely symbolic.” In short, Obama understands, just as Clinton and Bush II did.</p>
<p>American Visionaries</p>
<p>At best, settlement expansion is a side issue, rather like the issue of “illegal outposts”—namely those that the government of Israel has not authorized. Concentration on these issues diverts attention from the fact that there are no “legal outposts” and that it is the existing settlements that are the primary problem to be faced.</p>
<p>The US press reports that “a partial freeze has been in place for several years, but settlers have found ways around the strictures… [C]onstruction in the settlements has slowed but never stopped, continuing at an annual rate of about 1,500 to 2,000 units over the past three years. If building continues at the 2008 rate, the 46,500 units already approved will be completed in about 20 years.… If Israel built all the housing units already approved in the nation’s overall master plan for settlements, it would almost double the number of settler homes in the West Bank.” Peace Now, which monitors settlement activities, estimates further that the two largest settlements would double in size: Ariel and Ma’aleh Adumim, built mainly during the Oslo years in the salients that subdivide the West Bank into cantons.</p>
<p>“Natural population growth” is largely a myth, Israel’s leading diplomatic correspondent, Akiva Eldar, points out, citing demographic studies by Colonel (res.) Shaul Arieli, deputy military secretary to former prime minister and incumbent defense minister Ehud Barak. Settlement growth consists largely of Israeli immigrants in violation of the Geneva Conventions, assisted with generous subsidies. Much of it is in direct violation of formal government decisions, but carried out with the authorization of the government, specifically Barak, considered a dove in the Israeli spectrum.</p>
<p>Correspondent Jackson Diehl derides the “long-dormant Palestinian fantasy,” revived by President Abbas, “that the United States will simply force Israel to make critical concessions, whether or not its democratic government agrees.” He does not explain why refusal to participate in Israel’s illegal expansion—which, if serious, would “force Israel to make critical concessions”—would be improper interference in Israel’s democracy.</p>
<p>Returning to reality, all of these discussions about settlement expansion evade the most crucial issue about settlements: what the United States and Israel have already established in the West Bank. The evasion tacitly concedes that the illegal settlement programs already in place are somehow acceptable (putting aside the Golan Heights, annexed in violation of Security Council orders)—though the Bush “vision,” apparently accepted by Obama, moves from tacit to explicit support for these violations of law. What is in place already suffices to ensure that there can be no viable Palestinian self-determination. Hence, there is every indication that even on the unlikely assumption that “natural growth” will be ended, US-Israeli rejectionism will persist, blocking the international consensus as before.</p>
<p>Subsequently, Prime Minister Netanyahu declared a 10-month suspension of new construction, with many exemptions, and entirely excluding Greater Jerusalem, where expropriation in Arab areas and construction for Jewish settlers continues at a rapid pace. Hillary Clinton praised these “unprecedented” concessions on (illegal) construction, eliciting anger and ridicule in much of the world.</p>
<p>It might be different if a legitimate “land swap” were under consideration, a solution approached at Taba and spelled out more fully in the Geneva Accord reached in informal high-level Israel-Palestine negotiations. The accord was presented in Geneva in October 2003, welcomed by much of the world, rejected by Israel, and ignored by the United States.</p>
<p>Washington’s “Evenhandedness”</p>
<p>Barack Obama’s June 4, 2009, Cairo address to the Muslim world kept pretty much to his well-honed “blank slate” style—with little of substance, but presented in a personable manner that allows listeners to write on the slate what they want to hear. CNN captured its spirit in headlining a report “Obama Looks to Reach the Soul of the Muslim World.” Obama had announced the goals of his address in an interview with New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman. “‘We have a joke around the White House,’ the president said. ‘We’re just going to keep on telling the truth until it stops working and nowhere is truth-telling more important than the Middle East.'” The White House commitment is most welcome, but it is useful to see how it translates into practice.</p>
<p>Obama admonished his audience that it is easy to “point fingers… but if we see this conflict only from one side or the other, then we will be blind to the truth: the only resolution is for the aspirations of both sides to be met through two states, where Israelis and Palestinians each live in peace and security.”</p>
<p>Turning from Obama-Friedman Truth to truth, there is a third side, with a decisive role throughout: the United States. But that participant in the conflict Obama omitted. The omission is understood to be normal and appropriate, hence unmentioned: Friedman’s column is headlined “Obama Speech Aimed at Both Arabs and Israelis.” The front-page Wall Street Journal report on Obama’s speech appears under the heading “Obama Chides Israel, Arabs in His Overture to Muslims.” Other reports are the same.</p>
<p>The convention is understandable on the doctrinal principle that though the US government sometimes makes mistakes, its intentions are by definition benign, even noble. In the world of attractive imagery, Washington has always sought desperately to be an honest broker, yearning to advance peace and justice. The doctrine trumps truth, of which there is little hint in the speech or the mainstream coverage of it.</p>
<p>Obama once again echoed Bush’s “vision” of two states, without saying what he meant by the phrase “Palestinian state.” His intentions were clarified not only by the crucial omissions already discussed, but also by his one explicit criticism of Israel: “The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements. This construction violates previous agreements and undermines efforts to achieve peace. It is time for these settlements to stop.” That is, Israel should live up to Phase I of the 2003 Road Map, rejected at once by Israel with tacit US support, as noted—though the truth is that Obama has ruled out even steps of the Bush I variety to withdraw from participation in these crimes.</p>
<p>The operative words are “legitimacy” and “continued.” By omission, Obama indicates that he accepts Bush’s vision: the vast existing settlement and infrastructure projects are “legitimate,” thus ensuring that the phrase “Palestinian state” means “fried chicken.”</p>
<p>Always even-handed, Obama also had an admonition for the Arab states: they “must recognize that the Arab Peace Initiative was an important beginning, but not the end of their responsibilities.” Plainly, however, it cannot be a meaningful “beginning” if Obama continues to reject its core principles: implementation of the international consensus. To do so, however, is evidently not Washington’s “responsibility” in Obama’s vision; no explanation given, no notice taken.</p>
<p>On democracy, Obama said that “we would not presume to pick the outcome of a peaceful election”—as in January 2006, when Washington picked the outcome with a vengeance, turning at once to severe punishment of the Palestinians because it did not like the outcome of a peaceful election, all with Obama’s apparent approval judging by his words before, and actions since, taking office.</p>
<p>Obama politely refrained from comment about his host, President Mubarak, one of the most brutal dictators in the region, though he has had some illuminating words about him. As he was about to board a plane to Saudi Arabia and Egypt, the two “moderate” Arab states, “Mr. Obama signaled that while he would mention American concerns about human rights in Egypt, he would not challenge Mr. Mubarak too sharply, because he is a ‘force for stability and good’ in the Middle East… Mr. Obama said he did not regard Mr. Mubarak as an authoritarian leader. ‘No, I tend not to use labels for folks,’ Mr. Obama said. The president noted that there had been criticism ‘of the manner in which politics operates in Egypt,’ but he also said that Mr. Mubarak had been ‘a stalwart ally, in many respects, to the United States.'”</p>
<p>When a politician uses the word “folks,” we should brace ourselves for the deceit, or worse, that is coming. Outside of this context, there are “people,” or often “villains,” and using labels for them is highly meritorious. Obama is right, however, not to have used the word “authoritarian,” which is far too mild a label for his friend.</p>
<p>Just as in the past, support for democracy, and for human rights as well, keeps to the pattern that scholarship has repeatedly discovered, correlating closely with strategic and economic objectives. There should be little difficulty in understanding why those whose eyes are not closed tight shut by rigid doctrine dismiss Obama’s yearning for human rights and democracy as a joke in bad taste.</p>
<p>Noam Chomsky is Institute Professor emeritus in the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is the author of numerous books, including the New York Times bestsellers Hegemony or Survival and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0805082840/ref=nosim/?tag=tomdispatch-20" type="external">Failed States</a>. His newest book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/1931859965/ref=nosim/?tag=tomdispatch-20" type="external">Hopes and Prospects</a>, is out this week from Haymarket Books.</p>
<p>[Note: All material in this piece is sourced and footnoted in Noam Chomsky’s new book Hopes and Prospects.]</p> | A Middle East Peace That Could Happen (But Won’t) | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2010/04/middle-east-peace-could-happen-wont/ | 2010-04-28 | 4left
| A Middle East Peace That Could Happen (But Won’t)
<p>This <a href="http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175239/tomgram%3A_noam_chomsky%2C_eyeless_in_gaza___/" type="external">story</a> first appeared on the <a href="http://www.tomdispatch.com/" type="external">TomDispatch</a> website.</p>
<p>The fact that the Israel-Palestine conflict grinds on without resolution might appear to be rather strange. For many of the world’s conflicts, it is difficult even to conjure up a feasible settlement. In this case, it is not only possible, but there is near universal agreement on its basic contours: a two-state settlement along the internationally recognized (pre-June 1967) borders—with “minor and mutual modifications,” to adopt official US terminology before Washington departed from the international community in the mid-1970s.</p>
<p>The basic principles have been accepted by virtually the entire world, including the Arab states (who go on to call for full normalization of relations), the Organization of Islamic States (including Iran), and relevant non-state actors (including Hamas). A settlement along these lines was first proposed at the U.N. Security Council in January 1976 by the major Arab states. Israel refused to attend the session. The US vetoed the resolution, and did so again in 1980. The record at the General Assembly since is similar.</p>
<p>There was one important and revealing break in US-Israeli rejectionism. After the failed Camp David agreements in 2000, President Clinton recognized that the terms he and Israel had proposed were unacceptable to any Palestinians. That December, he proposed his “parameters”: imprecise, but more forthcoming. He then stated that both sides had accepted the parameters, while expressing reservations.</p>
<p>Israeli and Palestinian negotiators met in Taba, Egypt, in January 2001 to resolve the differences and were making considerable progress. In their final press conference, they reported that, with a little more time, they could probably have reached full agreement. Israel called off the negotiations prematurely, however, and official progress then terminated, though informal discussions at a high level continued leading to the Geneva Accord, rejected by Israel and ignored by the US</p>
<p>A good deal has happened since, but a settlement along those lines is still not out of reach—if, of course, Washington is once again willing to accept it. Unfortunately, there is little sign of that.</p>
<p>Substantial mythology has been created about the entire record, but the basic facts are clear enough and quite well documented.</p>
<p>The US and Israel have been acting in tandem to extend and deepen the occupation. In 2005, recognizing that it was pointless to subsidize a few thousand Israeli settlers in Gaza, who were appropriating substantial resources and protected by a large part of the Israeli army, the government of Ariel Sharon decided to move them to the much more valuable West Bank and Golan Heights.</p>
<p>Instead of carrying out the operation straightforwardly, as would have been easy enough, the government decided to stage a “national trauma,” which virtually duplicated the farce accompanying the withdrawal from the Sinai desert after the Camp David agreements of 1978-79. In each case, the withdrawal permitted the cry of “Never Again,” which meant in practice: we cannot abandon an inch of the Palestinian territories that we want to take in violation of international law. This farce played very well in the West, though it was ridiculed by more astute Israeli commentators, among them that country’s prominent sociologist the late Baruch Kimmerling.</p>
<p>After its formal withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, Israel never actually relinquished its total control over the territory, often described realistically as “the world’s largest prison.” In January 2006, a few months after the withdrawal, Palestine had an election that was recognized as free and fair by international observers. Palestinians, however, voted “the wrong way,” electing Hamas. Instantly, the US and Israel intensified their assault against Gazans as punishment for this misdeed. The facts and the reasoning were not concealed; rather, they were openly published alongside reverential commentary on Washington’s sincere dedication to democracy. The US-backed Israeli assault against the Gazans has only been intensified since, thanks to violence and economic strangulation, increasingly savage.</p>
<p>Meanwhile in the West Bank, always with firm US backing, Israel has been carrying forward longstanding programs to take the valuable land and resources of the Palestinians and leave them in unviable cantons, mostly out of sight. Israeli commentators frankly refer to these goals as “neocolonial.” Ariel Sharon, the main architect of the settlement programs, called these cantons “Bantustans,” though the term is misleading: South Africa needed the majority black work force, while Israel would be happy if the Palestinians disappeared, and its policies are directed to that end.</p>
<p>Blockading Gaza by Land and Sea</p>
<p>One step towards cantonization and the undermining of hopes for Palestinian national survival is the separation of Gaza from the West Bank. These hopes have been almost entirely consigned to oblivion, an atrocity to which we should not contribute by tacit consent. Israeli journalist Amira Hass, one of the leading specialists on Gaza, writes:</p>
<p>The restrictions on Palestinian movement that Israel introduced in January 1991 reversed a process that had been initiated in June 1967. Back then, and for the first time since 1948, a large portion of the Palestinian people again lived in the open territory of a single country—to be sure, one that was occupied, but was nevertheless whole.… The total separation of the Gaza Strip from the West Bank is one of the greatest achievements of Israeli politics, whose overarching objective is to prevent a solution based on international decisions and understandings and instead dictate an arrangement based on Israel’s military superiority.…</p>
<p>Since January 1991, Israel has bureaucratically and logistically merely perfected the split and the separation: not only between Palestinians in the occupied territories and their brothers in Israel, but also between the Palestinian residents of Jerusalem and those in the rest of the territories and between Gazans and West Bankers/Jerusalemites. Jews live in this same piece of land within a superior and separate system of privileges, laws, services, physical infrastructure and freedom of movement.</p>
<p>The leading academic specialist on Gaza, Harvard scholar Sara Roy, adds:</p>
<p>Gaza is an example of a society that has been deliberately reduced to a state of abject destitution, its once productive population transformed into one of aid-dependent paupers.… Gaza’s subjection began long before Israel’s recent war against it [December 2008]. The Israeli occupation — now largely forgotten or denied by the international community — has devastated Gaza’s economy and people, especially since 2006…. After Israel’s December [2008] assault, Gaza’s already compromised conditions have become virtually unlivable. Livelihoods, homes, and public infrastructure have been damaged or destroyed on a scale that even the Israel Defense Forces admitted was indefensible.</p>
<p>In Gaza today, there is no private sector to speak of and no industry. 80 percent of Gaza’s agricultural crops were destroyed and Israel continues to snipe at farmers attempting to plant and tend fields near the well-fenced and patrolled border. Most productive activity has been extinguished.… Today, 96 percent of Gaza’s population of 1.4 million is dependent on humanitarian aid for basic needs. According to the World Food Programme, the Gaza Strip requires a minimum of 400 trucks of food every day just to meet the basic nutritional needs of the population. Yet, despite a March [22, 2009] decision by the Israeli cabinet to lift all restrictions on foodstuffs entering Gaza, only 653 trucks of food and other supplies were allowed entry during the week of May 10, at best meeting 23 percent of required need. Israel now allows only 30 to 40 commercial items to enter Gaza compared to 4,000 approved products prior to June 2006.</p>
<p>It cannot be too often stressed that Israel had no credible pretext for its 2008–9 attack on Gaza, with full US support and illegally using US weapons. Near-universal opinion asserts the contrary, claiming that Israel was acting in self-defense. That is utterly unsustainable, in light of Israel’s flat rejection of peaceful means that were readily available, as Israel and its US partner in crime knew very well. That aside, Israel’s siege of Gaza is itself an act of war, as Israel of all countries certainly recognizes, having repeatedly justified launching major wars on grounds of partial restrictions on its access to the outside world, though nothing remotely like what it has long imposed on Gaza.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/1931859965/ref=nosim/?tag=tomdispatch-20" type="external" />One crucial element of Israel’s criminal siege, little reported, is the naval blockade. Peter Beaumont reports from Gaza that, “on its coastal littoral, Gaza’s limitations are marked by a different fence where the bars are Israeli gunboats with their huge wakes, scurrying beyond the Palestinian fishing boats and preventing them from going outside a zone imposed by the warships.” According to reports from the scene, the naval siege has been tightened steadily since 2000. Fishing boats have been driven steadily out of Gaza’s territorial waters and toward the shore by Israeli gunboats, often violently without warning and with many casualties. As a result of these naval actions, Gaza’s fishing industry has virtually collapsed; fishing is impossible near shore because of the contamination caused by Israel’s regular attacks, including the destruction of power plants and sewage facilities.</p>
<p>These Israeli naval attacks began shortly after the discovery by the BG (British Gas) Group of what appear to be quite sizeable natural gas fields in Gaza’s territorial waters. Industry journals report that Israel is already appropriating these Gazan resources for its own use, part of its commitment to shift its economy to natural gas. The standard industry source reports:</p>
<p>Israel’s finance ministry has given the Israel Electric Corp. (IEC) approval to purchase larger quantities of natural gas from BG than originally agreed upon, according to Israeli government sources [which] said the state-owned utility would be able to negotiate for as much as 1.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas from the Marine field located off the Mediterranean coast of the Palestinian controlled Gaza Strip.</p>
<p>Last year the Israeli government approved the purchase of 800 million cubic meters of gas from the field by the IEC…. Recently the Israeli government changed its policy and decided the state-owned utility could buy the entire quantity of gas from the Gaza Marine field. Previously the government had said the IEC could buy half the total amount and the remainder would be bought by private power producers.</p>
<p>The pillage of what could become a major source of income for Gaza is surely known to US authorities. It is only reasonable to suppose that the intention to appropriate these limited resources, either by Israel alone or together with the collaborationist Palestinian Authority, is the motive for preventing Gazan fishing boats from entering Gaza’s territorial waters.</p>
<p>There are some instructive precedents. In 1989, Australian foreign minister Gareth Evans signed a treaty with his Indonesian counterpart Ali Alatas granting Australia rights to the substantial oil reserves in “the Indonesian Province of East Timor.” The Indonesia-Australia Timor Gap Treaty, which offered not a crumb to the people whose oil was being stolen, “is the only legal agreement anywhere in the world that effectively recognises Indonesia’s right to rule East Timor,” the Australian press reported.</p>
<p>Asked about his willingness to recognize the Indonesian conquest and to rob the sole resource of the conquered territory, which had been subjected to near-genocidal slaughter by the Indonesian invader with the strong support of Australia (along with the US, the U.K., and some others), Evans explained that “there is no binding legal obligation not to recognise the acquisition of territory that was acquired by force,” adding that “the world is a pretty unfair place, littered with examples of acquisition by force.”</p>
<p>It should, then, be unproblematic for Israel to follow suit in Gaza.</p>
<p>A few years later, Evans became the leading figure in the campaign to introduce the concept “responsibility to protect”—known as R2P—into international law. R2P is intended to establish an international obligation to protect populations from grave crimes. Evans is the author of a major book on the subject and was co-chair of the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty, which issued what is considered the basic document on R2P.</p>
<p>In an article devoted to this “idealistic effort to establish a new humanitarian principle,” the London Economist featured Evans and his “bold but passionate claim on behalf of a three-word expression which (in quite large part thanks to his efforts) now belongs to the language of diplomacy: the ‘responsibility to protect.'” The article is accompanied by a picture of Evans with the caption “Evans: a lifelong passion to protect.” His hand is pressed to his forehead in despair over the difficulties faced by his idealistic effort. The journal chose not to run a different photo that circulates in Australia, depicting Evans and Alatas exuberantly clasping their hands together as they toast the Timor Gap Treaty that they had just signed.</p>
<p>Though a “protected population” under international law, Gazans do not fall under the jurisdiction of the “responsibility to protect,” joining other unfortunates, in accord with the maxim of Thucydides—that the strong do as they wish, and the weak suffer as they must—which holds with its customary precision.</p>
<p>Obama and the Settlements</p>
<p>The kinds of restrictions on movement used to destroy Gaza have long been in force in the West Bank as well, less cruelly but with grim effects on life and the economy. The World Bank reports that Israel has established “a complex closure regime that restricts Palestinian access to large areas of the West Bank… The Palestinian economy has remained stagnant, largely because of the sharp downturn in Gaza and Israel’s continued restrictions on Palestinian trade and movement in the West Bank.”</p>
<p>The World Bank “cited Israeli roadblocks and checkpoints hindering trade and travel, as well as restrictions on Palestinian building in the West Bank, where the Western-backed government of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas holds sway.” Israel does permit—indeed encourage—a privileged existence for elites in Ramallah and sometimes elsewhere, largely relying on European funding, a traditional feature of colonial and neocolonial practice.</p>
<p>All of this constitutes what Israeli activist Jeff Halper calls a “matrix of control” to subdue the colonized population. These systematic programs over more than 40 years aim to establish Defense Minister Moshe Dayan’s recommendation to his colleagues shortly after Israel’s 1967 conquests that we must tell the Palestinians in the territories: “We have no solution, you shall continue to live like dogs, and whoever wishes may leave, and we will see where this process leads.”</p>
<p>Turning to the second bone of contention, settlements, there is indeed a confrontation, but it is rather less dramatic than portrayed. Washington’s position was presented most strongly in Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s much-quoted statement rejecting “natural growth exceptions” to the policy opposing new settlements. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, along with President Shimon Peres and, in fact, virtually the whole Israeli political spectrum, insists on permitting “natural growth” within the areas that Israel intends to annex, complaining that the United States is backing down on George W. Bush’s authorization of such expansion within his “vision” of a Palestinian state.</p>
<p>Senior Netanyahu cabinet members have gone further. Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz announced that “the current Israeli government will not accept in any way the freezing of legal settlement activity in Judea and Samaria.” The term “legal” in US-Israeli parlance means “illegal, but authorized by the government of Israel with a wink from Washington.” In this usage, unauthorized outposts are termed “illegal,” though apart from the dictates of the powerful, they are no more illegal than the settlements granted to Israel under Bush’s “vision” and Obama’s scrupulous omission.</p>
<p>The Obama-Clinton “hardball” formulation is not new. It repeats the wording of the Bush administration draft of the 2003 Road Map, which stipulates that in Phase I, “Israel freezes all settlement activity (including natural growth of settlements).” All sides formally accept the Road Map (modified to drop the phrase “natural growth”)—consistently overlooking the fact that Israel, with US support, at once added 14 “reservations” that render it inoperable.</p>
<p>If Obama were at all serious about opposing settlement expansion, he could easily proceed with concrete measures by, for example, reducing US aid by the amount devoted to this purpose. That would hardly be a radical or courageous move. The Bush I administration did so (reducing loan guarantees), but after the Oslo accord in 1993, President Clinton left calculations to the government of Israel. Unsurprisingly, there was “no change in the expenditures flowing to the settlements,” the Israeli press reported. “[Prime Minister] Rabin will continue not to dry out the settlements,” the report concludes. “And the Americans? They will understand.”</p>
<p>Obama administration officials informed the press that the Bush I measures are “not under discussion,” and that pressures will be “largely symbolic.” In short, Obama understands, just as Clinton and Bush II did.</p>
<p>American Visionaries</p>
<p>At best, settlement expansion is a side issue, rather like the issue of “illegal outposts”—namely those that the government of Israel has not authorized. Concentration on these issues diverts attention from the fact that there are no “legal outposts” and that it is the existing settlements that are the primary problem to be faced.</p>
<p>The US press reports that “a partial freeze has been in place for several years, but settlers have found ways around the strictures… [C]onstruction in the settlements has slowed but never stopped, continuing at an annual rate of about 1,500 to 2,000 units over the past three years. If building continues at the 2008 rate, the 46,500 units already approved will be completed in about 20 years.… If Israel built all the housing units already approved in the nation’s overall master plan for settlements, it would almost double the number of settler homes in the West Bank.” Peace Now, which monitors settlement activities, estimates further that the two largest settlements would double in size: Ariel and Ma’aleh Adumim, built mainly during the Oslo years in the salients that subdivide the West Bank into cantons.</p>
<p>“Natural population growth” is largely a myth, Israel’s leading diplomatic correspondent, Akiva Eldar, points out, citing demographic studies by Colonel (res.) Shaul Arieli, deputy military secretary to former prime minister and incumbent defense minister Ehud Barak. Settlement growth consists largely of Israeli immigrants in violation of the Geneva Conventions, assisted with generous subsidies. Much of it is in direct violation of formal government decisions, but carried out with the authorization of the government, specifically Barak, considered a dove in the Israeli spectrum.</p>
<p>Correspondent Jackson Diehl derides the “long-dormant Palestinian fantasy,” revived by President Abbas, “that the United States will simply force Israel to make critical concessions, whether or not its democratic government agrees.” He does not explain why refusal to participate in Israel’s illegal expansion—which, if serious, would “force Israel to make critical concessions”—would be improper interference in Israel’s democracy.</p>
<p>Returning to reality, all of these discussions about settlement expansion evade the most crucial issue about settlements: what the United States and Israel have already established in the West Bank. The evasion tacitly concedes that the illegal settlement programs already in place are somehow acceptable (putting aside the Golan Heights, annexed in violation of Security Council orders)—though the Bush “vision,” apparently accepted by Obama, moves from tacit to explicit support for these violations of law. What is in place already suffices to ensure that there can be no viable Palestinian self-determination. Hence, there is every indication that even on the unlikely assumption that “natural growth” will be ended, US-Israeli rejectionism will persist, blocking the international consensus as before.</p>
<p>Subsequently, Prime Minister Netanyahu declared a 10-month suspension of new construction, with many exemptions, and entirely excluding Greater Jerusalem, where expropriation in Arab areas and construction for Jewish settlers continues at a rapid pace. Hillary Clinton praised these “unprecedented” concessions on (illegal) construction, eliciting anger and ridicule in much of the world.</p>
<p>It might be different if a legitimate “land swap” were under consideration, a solution approached at Taba and spelled out more fully in the Geneva Accord reached in informal high-level Israel-Palestine negotiations. The accord was presented in Geneva in October 2003, welcomed by much of the world, rejected by Israel, and ignored by the United States.</p>
<p>Washington’s “Evenhandedness”</p>
<p>Barack Obama’s June 4, 2009, Cairo address to the Muslim world kept pretty much to his well-honed “blank slate” style—with little of substance, but presented in a personable manner that allows listeners to write on the slate what they want to hear. CNN captured its spirit in headlining a report “Obama Looks to Reach the Soul of the Muslim World.” Obama had announced the goals of his address in an interview with New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman. “‘We have a joke around the White House,’ the president said. ‘We’re just going to keep on telling the truth until it stops working and nowhere is truth-telling more important than the Middle East.'” The White House commitment is most welcome, but it is useful to see how it translates into practice.</p>
<p>Obama admonished his audience that it is easy to “point fingers… but if we see this conflict only from one side or the other, then we will be blind to the truth: the only resolution is for the aspirations of both sides to be met through two states, where Israelis and Palestinians each live in peace and security.”</p>
<p>Turning from Obama-Friedman Truth to truth, there is a third side, with a decisive role throughout: the United States. But that participant in the conflict Obama omitted. The omission is understood to be normal and appropriate, hence unmentioned: Friedman’s column is headlined “Obama Speech Aimed at Both Arabs and Israelis.” The front-page Wall Street Journal report on Obama’s speech appears under the heading “Obama Chides Israel, Arabs in His Overture to Muslims.” Other reports are the same.</p>
<p>The convention is understandable on the doctrinal principle that though the US government sometimes makes mistakes, its intentions are by definition benign, even noble. In the world of attractive imagery, Washington has always sought desperately to be an honest broker, yearning to advance peace and justice. The doctrine trumps truth, of which there is little hint in the speech or the mainstream coverage of it.</p>
<p>Obama once again echoed Bush’s “vision” of two states, without saying what he meant by the phrase “Palestinian state.” His intentions were clarified not only by the crucial omissions already discussed, but also by his one explicit criticism of Israel: “The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements. This construction violates previous agreements and undermines efforts to achieve peace. It is time for these settlements to stop.” That is, Israel should live up to Phase I of the 2003 Road Map, rejected at once by Israel with tacit US support, as noted—though the truth is that Obama has ruled out even steps of the Bush I variety to withdraw from participation in these crimes.</p>
<p>The operative words are “legitimacy” and “continued.” By omission, Obama indicates that he accepts Bush’s vision: the vast existing settlement and infrastructure projects are “legitimate,” thus ensuring that the phrase “Palestinian state” means “fried chicken.”</p>
<p>Always even-handed, Obama also had an admonition for the Arab states: they “must recognize that the Arab Peace Initiative was an important beginning, but not the end of their responsibilities.” Plainly, however, it cannot be a meaningful “beginning” if Obama continues to reject its core principles: implementation of the international consensus. To do so, however, is evidently not Washington’s “responsibility” in Obama’s vision; no explanation given, no notice taken.</p>
<p>On democracy, Obama said that “we would not presume to pick the outcome of a peaceful election”—as in January 2006, when Washington picked the outcome with a vengeance, turning at once to severe punishment of the Palestinians because it did not like the outcome of a peaceful election, all with Obama’s apparent approval judging by his words before, and actions since, taking office.</p>
<p>Obama politely refrained from comment about his host, President Mubarak, one of the most brutal dictators in the region, though he has had some illuminating words about him. As he was about to board a plane to Saudi Arabia and Egypt, the two “moderate” Arab states, “Mr. Obama signaled that while he would mention American concerns about human rights in Egypt, he would not challenge Mr. Mubarak too sharply, because he is a ‘force for stability and good’ in the Middle East… Mr. Obama said he did not regard Mr. Mubarak as an authoritarian leader. ‘No, I tend not to use labels for folks,’ Mr. Obama said. The president noted that there had been criticism ‘of the manner in which politics operates in Egypt,’ but he also said that Mr. Mubarak had been ‘a stalwart ally, in many respects, to the United States.'”</p>
<p>When a politician uses the word “folks,” we should brace ourselves for the deceit, or worse, that is coming. Outside of this context, there are “people,” or often “villains,” and using labels for them is highly meritorious. Obama is right, however, not to have used the word “authoritarian,” which is far too mild a label for his friend.</p>
<p>Just as in the past, support for democracy, and for human rights as well, keeps to the pattern that scholarship has repeatedly discovered, correlating closely with strategic and economic objectives. There should be little difficulty in understanding why those whose eyes are not closed tight shut by rigid doctrine dismiss Obama’s yearning for human rights and democracy as a joke in bad taste.</p>
<p>Noam Chomsky is Institute Professor emeritus in the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is the author of numerous books, including the New York Times bestsellers Hegemony or Survival and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0805082840/ref=nosim/?tag=tomdispatch-20" type="external">Failed States</a>. His newest book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/1931859965/ref=nosim/?tag=tomdispatch-20" type="external">Hopes and Prospects</a>, is out this week from Haymarket Books.</p>
<p>[Note: All material in this piece is sourced and footnoted in Noam Chomsky’s new book Hopes and Prospects.]</p> | 4,541 |
<p />
<p>If an identity thief beat you to filing your own taxes this year, it’s likely not going to make you feel better knowing you aren’t alone, but it’s true.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The IRS announced earlier this year that it’s anticipating $21 billion in&#160;tax refund&#160;fraud in 2016.</p>
<p>What might make you feel a bit better is knowing the IRS will still pay your refund to you, even if it has already paid a fraudster, but there are going to be some delays. And some paperwork. And some hassles.</p>
<p>If you’ve received a notice from the IRS stating that more than one return has been filed in your name, or if you believe your identity has been used fraudulently, here’s how to make the process of getting your refund and protecting yourself from further fraud as smooth as possible.</p>
<p>1. Report the Fraud</p>
<p>If your Social Security number was compromised and you think you may be the victim of tax-related identity theft, file a report with your local police and file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission at&#160;www.identitytheft.gov&#160;or by calling the FTC Identity Theft Hotline at 1-877-438-4338.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>2. Contact the IRS</p>
<p>Once you’ve filed a police report, file an IRS Form 14039 Identity Theft Affidavit. &#160;Print the form and mail or fax it according to the instructions.</p>
<p>3. Pay Your Taxes</p>
<p>Be sure to continue to pay your taxes and file your tax return on time, even if you must do so by mailing in paper forms.</p>
<p>4. Alert the Credit Bureaus</p>
<p>If a thief had enough of your personal information to file a false tax return, chances are he or she could also have opened new credit card accounts or taken out a loan in your name.</p>
<p>Contact the&#160; <a href="http://www.credit.com/credit-reports/credit-reporting-agencies/?utm_source=Fox&amp;utm_medium=content&amp;utm_content=IB_1&amp;utm_campaign=tax_refund_get_back" type="external">three major credit reporting agencies Opens a New Window.</a>—&#160;Equifax, Experian and TransUnion&#160;—&#160;and ask that a fraud alert be placed on your credit records. These alerts, which last 90 days, can be renewed if necessary, and warn potential creditors that you are an identity theft victim and they must verify your identity before issuing credit. You may also want to <a href="https://www.credit.com/credit-reports/credit-freeze-legislation/?utm_source=Fox&amp;utm_medium=content&amp;utm_content=IB_2&amp;utm_campaign=tax_refund_get_back" type="external">consider a credit freeze. Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>5. Check Your Credit Reports &amp;&#160;Credit Scores</p>
<p>You are entitled to a free copy of your credit report from each of the three agencies. Check them carefully for unauthorized activity. Look at your history as well as recent activity. Just because you were first alerted to the problem through a false tax return does not mean that’s where the ID theft started.</p>
<p>A sudden drop in credit scores can be a&#160; <a href="https://www.credit.com/identity-theft-protection/?utm_source=Fox&amp;utm_medium=content&amp;utm_content=IB_3&amp;utm_campaign=tax_refund_get_back#signs-its-been-stolen" type="external">sign your identity has been stolen Opens a New Window.</a>. You can monitor your standing by&#160; <a href="https://www.credit.com/free-credit-score/?utm_source=Fox&amp;utm_medium=content&amp;utm_content=IB_4&amp;utm_campaign=tax_refund_get_back" type="external">viewing your two free credit scores each month Opens a New Window.</a>&#160;on Credit.com.</p>
<p>6. Close Fraudulent Accounts</p>
<p>Close any credit or financial account that has been tampered with by a thief or opened without your permission. Here is a guide on how to <a href="https://www.credit.com/credit-reports/how-do-i-get-rid-of-fraudulent-accounts-opened-in-my-name/?utm_source=Fox&amp;utm_medium=content&amp;utm_content=IB_5&amp;utm_campaign=tax_refund_get_back" type="external">close bogus accounts Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>7. Change Your Passwords</p>
<p>The IRS renewed a consumer alert earlier this year for email schemes after seeing an approximate 400% surge in phishing and malware incidents so far this tax season.</p>
<p>Thieves know people use the same password for multiple websites and accounts. That means it’s a good idea to change your passwords regularly even if you aren’t a victim of identity theft. If you are, you should absolutely change them.</p>
<p>8. Stay Diligent</p>
<p>If you contacted the IRS about taxpayer ID theft and did not receive a resolution, contact the Identity Protection Specialized Unit at 1-800-908-4490 about your case.</p>
<p>Remember, filing your taxes as early as possible is the best way to minimize the odds of falling victim to <a href="https://www.credit.com/taxes/protect-yourself-from-taxpayer-identity-theft/?utm_source=Fox&amp;utm_medium=content&amp;utm_content=IB_6&amp;utm_campaign=tax_refund_get_back" type="external">taxpayer identity theft Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>9. Stay Calm &amp; Be Patient</p>
<p>A typical case of ID theft can take more than 180 days&#160;to resolve, according to the IRS. In fact, an audit released last year by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration found that delay lasted an average of 278 days — more than nine months.</p>
<p>Just remember, the IRS will eventually pay you your refund, but if you’re experiencing financial difficulties because of the delay, you can contact the taxpayer advocate service, an independent organization within the IRS, at 877-777-4778.</p>
<p>More From Credit.com <a href="https://www.credit.com/credit-monitoring/?utm_source=Fox&amp;utm_medium=content&amp;utm_content=BO_1&amp;utm_campaign=tax_refund_get_back#how-to-use-free-credit-monitoring-tools" type="external">How to Use Free Credit Monitoring</a> <a href="https://www.credit.com/credit-scores/what-is-a-good-credit-score/?utm_source=Fox&amp;utm_medium=content&amp;utm_content=BO_2&amp;utm_campaign=tax_refund_get_back" type="external">What's a Good Credit Score?</a> <a href="https://www.credit.com/debt/5-tips-for-consolidating-credit-card-debt/?utm_source=Fox&amp;utm_medium=content&amp;utm_content=BO_3&amp;utm_campaign=tax_refund_get_back" type="external">5 Tips for Consolidating Credit Card Debt Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>This article originally appeared on <a href="http://blog.credit.com/2016/03/someone-stole-my-tax-refund-will-i-ever-get-it-back-138267/" type="external">Credit.com Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p /> | Someone Stole My Tax Refund. Will I Ever Get It Back? | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2016/03/04/someone-stole-my-tax-refund-will-ever-get-it-back.html | 2016-03-06 | 0right
| Someone Stole My Tax Refund. Will I Ever Get It Back?
<p />
<p>If an identity thief beat you to filing your own taxes this year, it’s likely not going to make you feel better knowing you aren’t alone, but it’s true.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The IRS announced earlier this year that it’s anticipating $21 billion in&#160;tax refund&#160;fraud in 2016.</p>
<p>What might make you feel a bit better is knowing the IRS will still pay your refund to you, even if it has already paid a fraudster, but there are going to be some delays. And some paperwork. And some hassles.</p>
<p>If you’ve received a notice from the IRS stating that more than one return has been filed in your name, or if you believe your identity has been used fraudulently, here’s how to make the process of getting your refund and protecting yourself from further fraud as smooth as possible.</p>
<p>1. Report the Fraud</p>
<p>If your Social Security number was compromised and you think you may be the victim of tax-related identity theft, file a report with your local police and file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission at&#160;www.identitytheft.gov&#160;or by calling the FTC Identity Theft Hotline at 1-877-438-4338.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>2. Contact the IRS</p>
<p>Once you’ve filed a police report, file an IRS Form 14039 Identity Theft Affidavit. &#160;Print the form and mail or fax it according to the instructions.</p>
<p>3. Pay Your Taxes</p>
<p>Be sure to continue to pay your taxes and file your tax return on time, even if you must do so by mailing in paper forms.</p>
<p>4. Alert the Credit Bureaus</p>
<p>If a thief had enough of your personal information to file a false tax return, chances are he or she could also have opened new credit card accounts or taken out a loan in your name.</p>
<p>Contact the&#160; <a href="http://www.credit.com/credit-reports/credit-reporting-agencies/?utm_source=Fox&amp;utm_medium=content&amp;utm_content=IB_1&amp;utm_campaign=tax_refund_get_back" type="external">three major credit reporting agencies Opens a New Window.</a>—&#160;Equifax, Experian and TransUnion&#160;—&#160;and ask that a fraud alert be placed on your credit records. These alerts, which last 90 days, can be renewed if necessary, and warn potential creditors that you are an identity theft victim and they must verify your identity before issuing credit. You may also want to <a href="https://www.credit.com/credit-reports/credit-freeze-legislation/?utm_source=Fox&amp;utm_medium=content&amp;utm_content=IB_2&amp;utm_campaign=tax_refund_get_back" type="external">consider a credit freeze. Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>5. Check Your Credit Reports &amp;&#160;Credit Scores</p>
<p>You are entitled to a free copy of your credit report from each of the three agencies. Check them carefully for unauthorized activity. Look at your history as well as recent activity. Just because you were first alerted to the problem through a false tax return does not mean that’s where the ID theft started.</p>
<p>A sudden drop in credit scores can be a&#160; <a href="https://www.credit.com/identity-theft-protection/?utm_source=Fox&amp;utm_medium=content&amp;utm_content=IB_3&amp;utm_campaign=tax_refund_get_back#signs-its-been-stolen" type="external">sign your identity has been stolen Opens a New Window.</a>. You can monitor your standing by&#160; <a href="https://www.credit.com/free-credit-score/?utm_source=Fox&amp;utm_medium=content&amp;utm_content=IB_4&amp;utm_campaign=tax_refund_get_back" type="external">viewing your two free credit scores each month Opens a New Window.</a>&#160;on Credit.com.</p>
<p>6. Close Fraudulent Accounts</p>
<p>Close any credit or financial account that has been tampered with by a thief or opened without your permission. Here is a guide on how to <a href="https://www.credit.com/credit-reports/how-do-i-get-rid-of-fraudulent-accounts-opened-in-my-name/?utm_source=Fox&amp;utm_medium=content&amp;utm_content=IB_5&amp;utm_campaign=tax_refund_get_back" type="external">close bogus accounts Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>7. Change Your Passwords</p>
<p>The IRS renewed a consumer alert earlier this year for email schemes after seeing an approximate 400% surge in phishing and malware incidents so far this tax season.</p>
<p>Thieves know people use the same password for multiple websites and accounts. That means it’s a good idea to change your passwords regularly even if you aren’t a victim of identity theft. If you are, you should absolutely change them.</p>
<p>8. Stay Diligent</p>
<p>If you contacted the IRS about taxpayer ID theft and did not receive a resolution, contact the Identity Protection Specialized Unit at 1-800-908-4490 about your case.</p>
<p>Remember, filing your taxes as early as possible is the best way to minimize the odds of falling victim to <a href="https://www.credit.com/taxes/protect-yourself-from-taxpayer-identity-theft/?utm_source=Fox&amp;utm_medium=content&amp;utm_content=IB_6&amp;utm_campaign=tax_refund_get_back" type="external">taxpayer identity theft Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>9. Stay Calm &amp; Be Patient</p>
<p>A typical case of ID theft can take more than 180 days&#160;to resolve, according to the IRS. In fact, an audit released last year by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration found that delay lasted an average of 278 days — more than nine months.</p>
<p>Just remember, the IRS will eventually pay you your refund, but if you’re experiencing financial difficulties because of the delay, you can contact the taxpayer advocate service, an independent organization within the IRS, at 877-777-4778.</p>
<p>More From Credit.com <a href="https://www.credit.com/credit-monitoring/?utm_source=Fox&amp;utm_medium=content&amp;utm_content=BO_1&amp;utm_campaign=tax_refund_get_back#how-to-use-free-credit-monitoring-tools" type="external">How to Use Free Credit Monitoring</a> <a href="https://www.credit.com/credit-scores/what-is-a-good-credit-score/?utm_source=Fox&amp;utm_medium=content&amp;utm_content=BO_2&amp;utm_campaign=tax_refund_get_back" type="external">What's a Good Credit Score?</a> <a href="https://www.credit.com/debt/5-tips-for-consolidating-credit-card-debt/?utm_source=Fox&amp;utm_medium=content&amp;utm_content=BO_3&amp;utm_campaign=tax_refund_get_back" type="external">5 Tips for Consolidating Credit Card Debt Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>This article originally appeared on <a href="http://blog.credit.com/2016/03/someone-stole-my-tax-refund-will-i-ever-get-it-back-138267/" type="external">Credit.com Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p /> | 4,542 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Because really, who poses the greater risk to public safety? In BCSO's world it's the mom who can see her kid through the glass storefront from the treadmill, not the mixed martial arts fighter driving 40 mph over the speed limit on a major arterial in a borrowed Corvette.</p>
<p>And so a deputy booked Lucila Gonzalez, 33, into jail April 4 for letting her able-bodied preteen relax in her vehicle while she worked out. A day later she was released on a $15,000 cash or surety bond.</p>
<p>And a deputy gave Jon "Bones" Jones his free pass on Jan. 31 - even though he was on probation for leaving the scene of an April 2015 accident in which he ran a red light in a rented SUV. The driver he hit, a pregnant woman, suffered a broken arm.</p>
<p>Barely one day after the license, registration and proof of insurance charges were dropped, he was cited for drag racing, exhibition driving (revving his engine), driving out of his lane, loud exhaust and a license plate violation.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The two cases should reinforce the importance of law enforcement's focusing on whether someone's actions truly pose a risk to public safety. But it appears fame plays a part, and it's clear moms who let their big kids stay in the car don't stand a fighting chance.</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 /> | Editorial: Starstruck BCSO doesn't give mom a fighting chance | false | https://abqjournal.com/760661/starstruck-bcso-doesnt-give-mom-a-fighting-chance.html | 2least
| Editorial: Starstruck BCSO doesn't give mom a fighting chance
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Because really, who poses the greater risk to public safety? In BCSO's world it's the mom who can see her kid through the glass storefront from the treadmill, not the mixed martial arts fighter driving 40 mph over the speed limit on a major arterial in a borrowed Corvette.</p>
<p>And so a deputy booked Lucila Gonzalez, 33, into jail April 4 for letting her able-bodied preteen relax in her vehicle while she worked out. A day later she was released on a $15,000 cash or surety bond.</p>
<p>And a deputy gave Jon "Bones" Jones his free pass on Jan. 31 - even though he was on probation for leaving the scene of an April 2015 accident in which he ran a red light in a rented SUV. The driver he hit, a pregnant woman, suffered a broken arm.</p>
<p>Barely one day after the license, registration and proof of insurance charges were dropped, he was cited for drag racing, exhibition driving (revving his engine), driving out of his lane, loud exhaust and a license plate violation.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The two cases should reinforce the importance of law enforcement's focusing on whether someone's actions truly pose a risk to public safety. But it appears fame plays a part, and it's clear moms who let their big kids stay in the car don't stand a fighting chance.</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 /> | 4,543 |
|
<p />
<p>Republicans have placed their assault on health care reform at the top of their agenda for the new Congress, planning to put a repeal of the federal law up for a vote <a href="http://on.wsj.com/fEjDsg%20" type="external">as soon as possible</a>. Full-out repeal is unlikely to go anywhere: even if the bill passed the House, it would have trouble clearing the Senate, and President Obama could always veto it in the end. But the GOP hopes the vote will give Republicans the momentum to undermine support for the law on the state level, gut smaller provisions, and pave the way for killing reform under a Republican administration.</p>
<p>That being said, the GOP attack also gives Democrats a second chance to sell health reform to the public, as I’ve previously <a href="" type="internal">explained</a> earlier. The New York Times <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/03/us/politics/03repubs.html?_r=1" type="external">lays out</a> the Democrats’ vow to launch an “all-out effort” to defend the law, aided by outside groups who fought for the bill’s passage. But Democrats have been promising to make a full-court press on health reform for months, and the party still has yet to follow through. This week, for example, would have been a prime opportunity for health reform’s defenders to step up. Some of the most popular early provisions of the law <a href="http://www.politico.com/politicopulse/0111/politicopulse404.html" type="external">went into effect</a> on January 1: any co-pays on preventative care are prohibited; health insurers must spend a higher percentage of the cost of premiums on actual medical care; and some Medicare beneficiaries will receive a 50 percent discount on prescription drugs.</p>
<p>But you aren’t hearing many Democrats explaining how Republicans are determined to take such benefits away from the American public. Rather, as Jonathan Chait <a href="http://www.tnr.com/blog/jonathan-chait/80720/democrats-whine-health-care-vote" type="external">points out</a>, leading Democratic voices like Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY) are only complaining that Republicans are wasting time with their repeal effort. There’s no way of avoiding the health care debate at this point, and simply dismissing the Republicans’ sturm und drang just allows the GOP to continue dominating the conversation.</p>
<p /> | The Dems’ Wasted Opportunity on Health Reform | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2011/01/democrats-wasted-opportunity-health-reform/ | 2011-01-03 | 4left
| The Dems’ Wasted Opportunity on Health Reform
<p />
<p>Republicans have placed their assault on health care reform at the top of their agenda for the new Congress, planning to put a repeal of the federal law up for a vote <a href="http://on.wsj.com/fEjDsg%20" type="external">as soon as possible</a>. Full-out repeal is unlikely to go anywhere: even if the bill passed the House, it would have trouble clearing the Senate, and President Obama could always veto it in the end. But the GOP hopes the vote will give Republicans the momentum to undermine support for the law on the state level, gut smaller provisions, and pave the way for killing reform under a Republican administration.</p>
<p>That being said, the GOP attack also gives Democrats a second chance to sell health reform to the public, as I’ve previously <a href="" type="internal">explained</a> earlier. The New York Times <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/03/us/politics/03repubs.html?_r=1" type="external">lays out</a> the Democrats’ vow to launch an “all-out effort” to defend the law, aided by outside groups who fought for the bill’s passage. But Democrats have been promising to make a full-court press on health reform for months, and the party still has yet to follow through. This week, for example, would have been a prime opportunity for health reform’s defenders to step up. Some of the most popular early provisions of the law <a href="http://www.politico.com/politicopulse/0111/politicopulse404.html" type="external">went into effect</a> on January 1: any co-pays on preventative care are prohibited; health insurers must spend a higher percentage of the cost of premiums on actual medical care; and some Medicare beneficiaries will receive a 50 percent discount on prescription drugs.</p>
<p>But you aren’t hearing many Democrats explaining how Republicans are determined to take such benefits away from the American public. Rather, as Jonathan Chait <a href="http://www.tnr.com/blog/jonathan-chait/80720/democrats-whine-health-care-vote" type="external">points out</a>, leading Democratic voices like Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY) are only complaining that Republicans are wasting time with their repeal effort. There’s no way of avoiding the health care debate at this point, and simply dismissing the Republicans’ sturm und drang just allows the GOP to continue dominating the conversation.</p>
<p /> | 4,544 |
<p />
<p><a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-940660p1.html?cr=00&amp;pl=edit-00" type="external">a katz</a> / <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/editorial?cr=00&amp;pl=edit-00" type="external">Shutterstock.com</a></p>
<p>The events in Ferguson, Mo., have actually led to that national conversation on race we regularly recommend to ourselves. But it is the same conversation we always have: not a dialogue but entirely separate discussions in which participants reinforce each other in the views they had going in.</p>
<p>In responding to the killing of Michael Brown and a grand jury’s decision not to bring charges against Darren Wilson, the police officer who shot him, there are some obvious differences between the views of African-Americans and white Americans. But to say this is to miss the many other ways in which Americans are divided — by party and ideology, but also by region and age.</p>
<p />
<p>At first glance, the Washington Post/ABC News poll taken Nov. 25-30 tells us what we thought we knew. The nation is starkly split, with 48 percent of Americans approving the grand jury’s decision not to bring charges against Wilson, and 45 percent disapproving. Only 9 percent of African-Americans approved while 85 percent disapproved. Among whites, 58 percent approved and 35 percent disapproved.</p>
<p>The breakdown was almost exactly the same when respondents were asked if they would approve or disapprove if the federal government brought civil rights charges against Wilson: Overall, the country split 48 percent to 47 percent in favor; 85 percent of African-Americans but only 38 percent of whites supported this step.</p>
<p>But to examine white opinion more closely is to see another level of discord. (And my thanks to Peyton Craighill, The Washington Post’s polling manager, for running these numbers for me.) Among white Democrats, only 37 percent approved of the grand jury’s decision not to indict Wilson but 80 percent of white Republicans did. When it came to bringing federal civil rights charges, 60 percent of white Democrats approved the move, compared with just 19 percent of white Republicans. (White independents were roughly equidistant from the partisans.) There was a similar divide between white liberals and white conservatives.</p>
<p>Regional differences were just as striking, and followed patterns that have been with us since the Civil War. Fully 70 percent of white Southerners supported the decision not to indict Wilson, but that was true of only 46 percent of whites in the Northeast, 50 percent in the West and 57 percent in the Midwest. The results were similar on the question of whether federal charges should be brought against Wilson.</p>
<p>And a sizable generation gap affects white views on Ferguson: Younger whites are much more likely to identify with the views of African-Americans than older whites are. Among whites under the age of 40, only 45 percent approved the grand jury’s decision; 46 percent disapproved. Whites between the ages of 40 and 64 approved the decision, 63 percent to 33 percent, and those 65 and older approved it by a margin of 68 percent to 24 percent.</p>
<p>Gradual change does not deal with the urgency of now, but change is coming.</p>
<p>And a majority of Americans declined to give a blank check to the police. Overall, only 39 percent of Americans approved of how the police and other local authorities handled the protests in Ferguson, while 52 percent disapproved. African-Americans overwhelmingly disapproved, but on this issue, a plurality of whites shared their view: Slightly more whites disapproved of police behavior (48 percent) than approved (41 percent).</p>
<p>This may give the country something to build on. Beneath the ideological side-taking, there is a broad sense that something is badly broken in relations between the police and African-American communities. If the NRA didn’t enforce an effective gag rule on discussions of firearms, we would explore the relationship between the wide availability of dangerous weapons and the militarization of our police forces. President Obama could usefully deploy our heightened national concern to expand his “My Brother’s Keeper” initiative aimed at improving the lives of young minority men and boys. Many of its self-help and community-building principles ought to appeal to conservatives.</p>
<p>In my own views of Ferguson, I am a fairly representative Northeastern white liberal. In particular, I think it should disturb us that the grand jury process was entirely atypical and seemed tilted from the outset against even the possibility of an indictment.</p>
<p>But most of all, I wish we could focus on breaking the cycle of violence that leaves so many young black men dead and on bending the arc of a national conversation in which everyone repeats the same things each time we have a tragedy — and nothing changes.</p>
<p>E.J. Dionne’s email address is [email protected]. Twitter: @EJDionne.</p>
<p>© 2014, Washington Post Writers Group</p> | White Views on Ferguson Are Complicated By Age, Region and Politics | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/white-views-on-ferguson-are-complicated-by-age-region-and-politics/ | 2014-12-06 | 4left
| White Views on Ferguson Are Complicated By Age, Region and Politics
<p />
<p><a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-940660p1.html?cr=00&amp;pl=edit-00" type="external">a katz</a> / <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/editorial?cr=00&amp;pl=edit-00" type="external">Shutterstock.com</a></p>
<p>The events in Ferguson, Mo., have actually led to that national conversation on race we regularly recommend to ourselves. But it is the same conversation we always have: not a dialogue but entirely separate discussions in which participants reinforce each other in the views they had going in.</p>
<p>In responding to the killing of Michael Brown and a grand jury’s decision not to bring charges against Darren Wilson, the police officer who shot him, there are some obvious differences between the views of African-Americans and white Americans. But to say this is to miss the many other ways in which Americans are divided — by party and ideology, but also by region and age.</p>
<p />
<p>At first glance, the Washington Post/ABC News poll taken Nov. 25-30 tells us what we thought we knew. The nation is starkly split, with 48 percent of Americans approving the grand jury’s decision not to bring charges against Wilson, and 45 percent disapproving. Only 9 percent of African-Americans approved while 85 percent disapproved. Among whites, 58 percent approved and 35 percent disapproved.</p>
<p>The breakdown was almost exactly the same when respondents were asked if they would approve or disapprove if the federal government brought civil rights charges against Wilson: Overall, the country split 48 percent to 47 percent in favor; 85 percent of African-Americans but only 38 percent of whites supported this step.</p>
<p>But to examine white opinion more closely is to see another level of discord. (And my thanks to Peyton Craighill, The Washington Post’s polling manager, for running these numbers for me.) Among white Democrats, only 37 percent approved of the grand jury’s decision not to indict Wilson but 80 percent of white Republicans did. When it came to bringing federal civil rights charges, 60 percent of white Democrats approved the move, compared with just 19 percent of white Republicans. (White independents were roughly equidistant from the partisans.) There was a similar divide between white liberals and white conservatives.</p>
<p>Regional differences were just as striking, and followed patterns that have been with us since the Civil War. Fully 70 percent of white Southerners supported the decision not to indict Wilson, but that was true of only 46 percent of whites in the Northeast, 50 percent in the West and 57 percent in the Midwest. The results were similar on the question of whether federal charges should be brought against Wilson.</p>
<p>And a sizable generation gap affects white views on Ferguson: Younger whites are much more likely to identify with the views of African-Americans than older whites are. Among whites under the age of 40, only 45 percent approved the grand jury’s decision; 46 percent disapproved. Whites between the ages of 40 and 64 approved the decision, 63 percent to 33 percent, and those 65 and older approved it by a margin of 68 percent to 24 percent.</p>
<p>Gradual change does not deal with the urgency of now, but change is coming.</p>
<p>And a majority of Americans declined to give a blank check to the police. Overall, only 39 percent of Americans approved of how the police and other local authorities handled the protests in Ferguson, while 52 percent disapproved. African-Americans overwhelmingly disapproved, but on this issue, a plurality of whites shared their view: Slightly more whites disapproved of police behavior (48 percent) than approved (41 percent).</p>
<p>This may give the country something to build on. Beneath the ideological side-taking, there is a broad sense that something is badly broken in relations between the police and African-American communities. If the NRA didn’t enforce an effective gag rule on discussions of firearms, we would explore the relationship between the wide availability of dangerous weapons and the militarization of our police forces. President Obama could usefully deploy our heightened national concern to expand his “My Brother’s Keeper” initiative aimed at improving the lives of young minority men and boys. Many of its self-help and community-building principles ought to appeal to conservatives.</p>
<p>In my own views of Ferguson, I am a fairly representative Northeastern white liberal. In particular, I think it should disturb us that the grand jury process was entirely atypical and seemed tilted from the outset against even the possibility of an indictment.</p>
<p>But most of all, I wish we could focus on breaking the cycle of violence that leaves so many young black men dead and on bending the arc of a national conversation in which everyone repeats the same things each time we have a tragedy — and nothing changes.</p>
<p>E.J. Dionne’s email address is [email protected]. Twitter: @EJDionne.</p>
<p>© 2014, Washington Post Writers Group</p> | 4,545 |
<p>Natural-gas futures jumped 8% Thursday, their largest one-day percentage gain of this year, after U.S. government data showed a smaller-than-expected weekly climb in inventories of the fuel. Oil futures, meanwhile, fell for a sixth session in a row on the back of growing U.S. crude supplies and a potential slowdown in oil demand. September natural gas rose 21.3 cents, or 8%, to settle at $2.873 per million British thermal units. September crude lost 78 cents, 1.9%, to settle at $41.14 a barrel.</p>
<p>Copyright © 2016 MarketWatch, Inc.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p> | Natural-gas Futures Settle With 8% Gain; Oil Sinks a Sixth-straight Session | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/07/28/natural-gas-futures-settle-with-8-gain-oil-sinks-sixth-straight-session.html | 2016-07-28 | 0right
| Natural-gas Futures Settle With 8% Gain; Oil Sinks a Sixth-straight Session
<p>Natural-gas futures jumped 8% Thursday, their largest one-day percentage gain of this year, after U.S. government data showed a smaller-than-expected weekly climb in inventories of the fuel. Oil futures, meanwhile, fell for a sixth session in a row on the back of growing U.S. crude supplies and a potential slowdown in oil demand. September natural gas rose 21.3 cents, or 8%, to settle at $2.873 per million British thermal units. September crude lost 78 cents, 1.9%, to settle at $41.14 a barrel.</p>
<p>Copyright © 2016 MarketWatch, Inc.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p> | 4,546 |
<p>There's nothing worse than the feeling of banking on a holiday or annual bonus from your company only to be told that you won't, in fact, be getting one this year. Countless workers depend on their bonuses to cover bills or help build savings. And nearly 20% of consumers are planning to pay for their holiday purchases with money received from a bonus this year. To have that money not come through could therefore constitute a serious blow to your finances.</p>
<p>That said, there are several alternatives for generating cash that can help make up for an absent <a href="https://www.fool.com/careers/2017/07/23/is-your-annual-bonus-a-blessing-or-a-curse.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=35664b9c-ce5b-11e7-a344-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">bonus Opens a New Window.</a>. Here are a few options to think about.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>When you spend your days plugging away at work, the last thing you want to do after-hours or on weekends is more work. But if you're willing to take on a <a href="https://www.fool.com/careers/2017/09/18/what-is-a-side-hustle.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=35664b9c-ce5b-11e7-a344-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">side hustle Opens a New Window.</a>, you could quickly make up for the bonus that won't be coming your way. A good 36% of workers with a secondary gig bring home over $500 extra a month as a result, so if you're looking to compensate for, say, a $1,000 bonus, it's conceivable that working a side job for just two months would get you there.</p>
<p>Best of all, you can choose a side hustle you like, whether it's monetizing an existing hobby or starting a business that interests you. This way, that second gig will feel less like work.</p>
<p>Whether it's clothing, electronics, or furniture, we all have things stowed away in the corners of our homes that we no longer want or need. Rather than let those items take up space, you can sell them to drum up extra cash -- cash that normally would've come through in your bonus.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>You can go about unloading your inventory for cash in a number of ways. First, there's the classic tactic of listing things online. You can also try advertising your wares on social media; if you find a buyer through your network of contacts, you'll get to collect some cash without having to wonder who's coming to your home to pick up that old couch.</p>
<p>We all get things for the holidays that aren't our taste, whether it's an itchy sweater, a gaudy piece of jewelry, or a kitchen gadget that's more likely than not to go unused. If you're the recipient of unwanted gifts, there's no need to stick them in the back of your closet and bemoan your bad luck. Rather, use the above tactics to sell those gifts and collect a little cash for them.</p>
<p>The same holds true for gift cards. If you'd rather have the money, there are several sites that allow you to exchange gift cards for cash. Just be aware that you'll usually lose a portion of each card's value upon trade-in.</p>
<p>You shouldn't rush to unload an investment the second its value drops. But if you have an investment in your portfolio that's been a particularly bad performer for some time, it might pay to sell it at a loss and get some cash in your pocket. Not only can this help make up for an absent bonus, but it can also serve as a key tax break.</p>
<p>Investments sold at a loss can be used to offset <a href="https://www.fool.com/retirement/2017/02/07/4-tips-for-avoiding-capital-gains-tax.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=35664b9c-ce5b-11e7-a344-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">capital gains Opens a New Window.</a>, so if you're on the hook for taxes on a realized profit this year, you can minimize or cancel it out. Don't have gains to show for? No problem. You can still use that loss to offset regular income -- up to $3,000 worth.</p>
<p>Missing out on a bonus is not just a bummer, but a potentially devastating financial blow. If you're told you won't be getting a bonus this season, but you've historically collected something at or around year-end, be sure to determine the reason behind that change. Is it something you did -- or didn't do, like show up on time to work or meet expectations? Or did your company just have a bad year? It pays to get to the bottom of things not just for your own peace of mind, but to gauge the likelihood of it happening to you again next year.</p>
<p>The $16,122 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook If you're like most Americans, you're a few years (or more) behind on your retirement savings. But a handful of little-known "Social Security secrets" could help ensure a boost in your retirement income. For example: one easy trick could pay you as much as $16,122 more... each year! Once you learn how to maximize your Social Security benefits, we think you could retire confidently with the peace of mind we're all after.&#160; <a href="http://www.fool.com/mms/mark/ecap-foolcom-social-security?aid=8727&amp;source=irreditxt0000002&amp;ftm_cam=ryr-ss-intro-report&amp;ftm_pit=3186&amp;ftm_veh=article_pitch&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=35664b9c-ce5b-11e7-a344-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Simply click here to discover how to learn more about these strategies Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=35664b9c-ce5b-11e7-a344-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | No Bonus in 2017? 4 Ways to Scrounge Up Extra Cash | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/12/05/no-bonus-in-2017-4-ways-to-scrounge-up-extra-cash.html | 2017-12-05 | 0right
| No Bonus in 2017? 4 Ways to Scrounge Up Extra Cash
<p>There's nothing worse than the feeling of banking on a holiday or annual bonus from your company only to be told that you won't, in fact, be getting one this year. Countless workers depend on their bonuses to cover bills or help build savings. And nearly 20% of consumers are planning to pay for their holiday purchases with money received from a bonus this year. To have that money not come through could therefore constitute a serious blow to your finances.</p>
<p>That said, there are several alternatives for generating cash that can help make up for an absent <a href="https://www.fool.com/careers/2017/07/23/is-your-annual-bonus-a-blessing-or-a-curse.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=35664b9c-ce5b-11e7-a344-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">bonus Opens a New Window.</a>. Here are a few options to think about.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>When you spend your days plugging away at work, the last thing you want to do after-hours or on weekends is more work. But if you're willing to take on a <a href="https://www.fool.com/careers/2017/09/18/what-is-a-side-hustle.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=35664b9c-ce5b-11e7-a344-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">side hustle Opens a New Window.</a>, you could quickly make up for the bonus that won't be coming your way. A good 36% of workers with a secondary gig bring home over $500 extra a month as a result, so if you're looking to compensate for, say, a $1,000 bonus, it's conceivable that working a side job for just two months would get you there.</p>
<p>Best of all, you can choose a side hustle you like, whether it's monetizing an existing hobby or starting a business that interests you. This way, that second gig will feel less like work.</p>
<p>Whether it's clothing, electronics, or furniture, we all have things stowed away in the corners of our homes that we no longer want or need. Rather than let those items take up space, you can sell them to drum up extra cash -- cash that normally would've come through in your bonus.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>You can go about unloading your inventory for cash in a number of ways. First, there's the classic tactic of listing things online. You can also try advertising your wares on social media; if you find a buyer through your network of contacts, you'll get to collect some cash without having to wonder who's coming to your home to pick up that old couch.</p>
<p>We all get things for the holidays that aren't our taste, whether it's an itchy sweater, a gaudy piece of jewelry, or a kitchen gadget that's more likely than not to go unused. If you're the recipient of unwanted gifts, there's no need to stick them in the back of your closet and bemoan your bad luck. Rather, use the above tactics to sell those gifts and collect a little cash for them.</p>
<p>The same holds true for gift cards. If you'd rather have the money, there are several sites that allow you to exchange gift cards for cash. Just be aware that you'll usually lose a portion of each card's value upon trade-in.</p>
<p>You shouldn't rush to unload an investment the second its value drops. But if you have an investment in your portfolio that's been a particularly bad performer for some time, it might pay to sell it at a loss and get some cash in your pocket. Not only can this help make up for an absent bonus, but it can also serve as a key tax break.</p>
<p>Investments sold at a loss can be used to offset <a href="https://www.fool.com/retirement/2017/02/07/4-tips-for-avoiding-capital-gains-tax.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=35664b9c-ce5b-11e7-a344-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">capital gains Opens a New Window.</a>, so if you're on the hook for taxes on a realized profit this year, you can minimize or cancel it out. Don't have gains to show for? No problem. You can still use that loss to offset regular income -- up to $3,000 worth.</p>
<p>Missing out on a bonus is not just a bummer, but a potentially devastating financial blow. If you're told you won't be getting a bonus this season, but you've historically collected something at or around year-end, be sure to determine the reason behind that change. Is it something you did -- or didn't do, like show up on time to work or meet expectations? Or did your company just have a bad year? It pays to get to the bottom of things not just for your own peace of mind, but to gauge the likelihood of it happening to you again next year.</p>
<p>The $16,122 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook If you're like most Americans, you're a few years (or more) behind on your retirement savings. But a handful of little-known "Social Security secrets" could help ensure a boost in your retirement income. For example: one easy trick could pay you as much as $16,122 more... each year! Once you learn how to maximize your Social Security benefits, we think you could retire confidently with the peace of mind we're all after.&#160; <a href="http://www.fool.com/mms/mark/ecap-foolcom-social-security?aid=8727&amp;source=irreditxt0000002&amp;ftm_cam=ryr-ss-intro-report&amp;ftm_pit=3186&amp;ftm_veh=article_pitch&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=35664b9c-ce5b-11e7-a344-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Simply click here to discover how to learn more about these strategies Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=35664b9c-ce5b-11e7-a344-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | 4,547 |
<p />
<p />
<p>If you are wondering if the piano might be damaged by rain, no worries: it never rains in Israel in the summer.</p>
<p>And looks like the social experiment was a success, but I wonder what would happen if they tried to replicate this experiment in Times Square.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/social-piano-experiment-has-jerusalem-passersby-keyed-up/" type="external">Via Times of Israel.</a></p>
<p />
<p>It was a Tuesday morning in September, and a small crowd had gathered around the grand piano on Jaffa Road, listening to a medley of jazz improvisations performed by a guy who had plunked his battered fedora hat on top of the piano.</p>
<p>His audience included an Arab street cleaner standing under a nearby tree, an older gentleman swinging his leg in tune, an ultra-Orthodox teenager twirling his sidecurls and an Arab woman in traditional dress leaning over the piano, requesting the theme song from “Love Story,” which was later granted.</p>
<p>Unlikely as it may seem, it was a fairly typical scene for the second month of Cadenza Piano’s Jerusalem piano experiment, a company created by two Israeli entrepreneurs, who wanted to see the effect of the musical instrument in a public space….</p>
<p>“People get off the train, stop, play on their way to work, and then move on,” said Evelyn Rubin, a former venture capitalist who runs Cadenza with founder Dan Kaufman, professor of entrepreneurship at Sapir College….</p>
<p>There are daytime and nighttime patterns to the impromptu performances, said Rubin, but while she frequently checks in, she rarely interferes in the scenes taking place around the instrument, preferring instead to let things happen as they will.</p>
<p>“There are incredible things that have happened here,” she said, recalling when two Palestinians played “Hatikvah,” Israel’s national anthem, or when Adam Ippolito, a former pianist for John Lennon, happened by during a visit to Israel and stopped to play….</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p /> | true | http://tammybruce.com/2017/09/video-social-piano-experiment-in-jerusalem.html | 0right
|
<p />
<p />
<p>If you are wondering if the piano might be damaged by rain, no worries: it never rains in Israel in the summer.</p>
<p>And looks like the social experiment was a success, but I wonder what would happen if they tried to replicate this experiment in Times Square.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/social-piano-experiment-has-jerusalem-passersby-keyed-up/" type="external">Via Times of Israel.</a></p>
<p />
<p>It was a Tuesday morning in September, and a small crowd had gathered around the grand piano on Jaffa Road, listening to a medley of jazz improvisations performed by a guy who had plunked his battered fedora hat on top of the piano.</p>
<p>His audience included an Arab street cleaner standing under a nearby tree, an older gentleman swinging his leg in tune, an ultra-Orthodox teenager twirling his sidecurls and an Arab woman in traditional dress leaning over the piano, requesting the theme song from “Love Story,” which was later granted.</p>
<p>Unlikely as it may seem, it was a fairly typical scene for the second month of Cadenza Piano’s Jerusalem piano experiment, a company created by two Israeli entrepreneurs, who wanted to see the effect of the musical instrument in a public space….</p>
<p>“People get off the train, stop, play on their way to work, and then move on,” said Evelyn Rubin, a former venture capitalist who runs Cadenza with founder Dan Kaufman, professor of entrepreneurship at Sapir College….</p>
<p>There are daytime and nighttime patterns to the impromptu performances, said Rubin, but while she frequently checks in, she rarely interferes in the scenes taking place around the instrument, preferring instead to let things happen as they will.</p>
<p>“There are incredible things that have happened here,” she said, recalling when two Palestinians played “Hatikvah,” Israel’s national anthem, or when Adam Ippolito, a former pianist for John Lennon, happened by during a visit to Israel and stopped to play….</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p /> | 4,548 |
||
<p>The world’s press is choc-a-bloc with “if” questions about Iran and war. Will Israel attack? Is Obama, coerced by domestic politics&#160; in an election year, being dragged into war by the Israel lobby? Will he lunch the bombers?&#160; Is the strategy to force Iran into a corner, methodically demolishing its economy by embargoes and sanctions so that in the end a desperate Iran strikes back.</p>
<p>As with sanctions and covert military onslaughts on Iraq in the run up to 2003, the first point to underline is that the US is waging war on Iran. But well aware of the US public’s aversion to yet another war in the Middle East, the onslaught is an undeclared one.</p>
<p>The analogy here is the run up to Pearl Harbor. Let me quote from a useful <a href="http://whatreallyhappened.com/WRHARTICLES/pearl/www.geocities.com/Pentagon/6315/pearl.html" type="external">timeline</a>. On October 7, 1940, &#160;&#160;a US Navy IQ analyst Arthur McCollum wrote <a href="http://whatreallyhappened.com/WRHARTICLES/pearl/www.geocities.com/Pentagon/6315/pearl.html" type="external">an 8 point memo</a> on how to force Japan into war with US. Beginning the next day FDR began to put them into effect and all 8 were eventually accomplished.</p>
<p>On February 11, 1941 FDR proposed sacrificing 6 cruisers and 2 carriers at Manila to get into war. Navy Chief Stark objected: “I have previously opposed this and you have concurred as to its unwisdom.</p>
<p>In&#160; March 1941 FDR sold arms&#160; and convoyed them to belligerents in Europe — both acts of war and both violations of international law — the Lend-Lease Act.&#160; On June 23, 1941 Advisor Harold Ickes wrote FDR a memo the day after Germany invaded the Soviet Union, “There might develop from the embargoing of oil to Japan such a situation as would make it not only possible but easy to get into this war in an effective way. FDR was pleased with Admiral Richmond Turner’s report read July 22: “It is generally believed that shutting off the American supply of petroleum will lead promptly to the invasion of Netherland East Indies…it seems certain she would also include military action against the Philippine Islands, which would immediately involve us in a Pacific war.”</p>
<p>The next day FDR froze all Japanese assets in US cutting off their main supply of oil. US. Intelligence information was withheld from Hawaii from this point forward. Against protests from US naval commanders the West Coast fleet was moved to Hawai’i.</p>
<p>John Maynard Keynes once said, “The best way to destroy the capitalist system is to debauch the currency. By a continuing process of inflation, governments can confiscate, secretly and unobserved, an important part of the wealth of their citizens.” Ronald Reagan used to attribute this insight to the man he loved to call “Nikolai Lenin”, thundering from podium after podium across America, that Lenin had said “The best way to destroy the capitalist system is to debauch the currency.”</p>
<p>You want a graphic illustration of what US embargoes are doing in the way of debauching Iran’s currency? Here’s a graph of US dollar exchange rates with the Iran rial, from last week:</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /></p>
<p>Imagine if the Iranians had done this to the US dollar? Can you imagine any American politician who would have refrained from calling this an act of war?</p>
<p>To further inflame the leadership in Iran we had last week the murder of Iran nuclear scientist Ahmadi Roshan&#160; which came on the one-year anniversary of the murder of two other Iranian nuclear scientists by similar methods. As CounterPuncher Peter Lee writes, “It&#160; came at a time of heightened tensions (anyway, tensions higher than the usual heightened tensions), inviting the inference that somebody, probably somebody in the region, wants to goad the Iranian government into a response that could start the military action ball rolling.”</p>
<p>As for the embargoes of Iranian oil, Obama is most certainly doing the oil industry a big favor. There have been&#160; industry-wide fears of recession-fueled falling demand and collapse of oil prices. That has led to industry-wide enthusiasm (aided by heavy pressure from the majors) for &#160;strongly cutting total world oil production (and enjoying the bonuses flowing from the subsequent world price rise), with all the cuts to be taken out of the hide of the Iranians. The Financial Times made&#160; clear the need to shrink world production in the following key paragraph in a report last week: “Oil prices have risen above $110 a barrel since Iran threatened to shut down the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most important oil chokepoint, accounting for about a third of all seaborne traded oil. Oil fell to a low of $99 in October amid global economic growth worries.”</p>
<p>As Pierre Sprey remarked to me, “Note also that this is one of those rare but dangerous moments in history when Big Oil and the Israelis are pushing the White House in the same direction. The last such moment was quickly followed by Dubya’s invasion of Iraq.”</p>
<p>It’s somewhat immaterial to ask whether Obama really wants war with Iran, thus interfering with the “strategic pivot” to Asia. Presidents are creatures of circumstances and lobbies, and Obama is certainly no exception. We have to hope that the traditional prudence of&#160; Iran’s leadership prompts them not to make some desperate retaliatory lunge, such as mining the Straits of&#160; Hormuz, or offering some kindred excuse to the US to up the tempo of the undeclared war it is already waging.</p>
<p>To the Tumbrils!&#160;</p>
<p>Some readers of my consignment last week of certain words to the tumbrils expressed curiosity about the word. A&#160; tumbril&#160; was&#160; a farm cart . They were used to carry prisoners to the guillotine during the French Revolution.</p>
<p>Some more candidates. Fred Gardner writes: “Add ‘Gamechanger’ to the mis- and over-used words of 2011. &#160;For years I’ve winced as lawyers and businessmen and &#160;reporters casually used ‘game’ in reference to the legal system, finance, war itself… &#160;You sometimes see a bumper sticker on a sports car that says ‘the one with the most toys wins.’It makes me want to give them a little nudge with the old Volvo…”</p>
<p>Jon Swift: “Also the drug-treatment shibboleth: ‘The user’s always chasing that first high.’ As though they couldn’t POSSIBLY enjoy it the 875th time. You never hear ‘Religious worshippers are always chasing that first feeling of being at one with God’ or ‘Voters are always chasing that first&#160; thrill they got on entering the booth at 18….’”</p>
<p>Wat Stearns: “I nominate ‘expensed’&#160; and ‘leveraged’ for the tumbrils as well.”</p>
<p>Let me toss in the odious “project,”&#160; initially&#160; favored by the left but now in general currency, attached to almost every human endeavor. Also “conversation” – a way of taming all debate and doctrinal struggle into demure prattle.&#160; And let us note the meteoric rise&#160; of “existential.”</p>
<p>Tumbril time! And if you want a vivid sense of what it was like for&#160; French aristos condemned to death to hear the rattle of the tumbril as it arrived to take him to the guillotines, I advise a trip to the Conciergerie in Paris. Very creepy.</p>
<p>Our Latest Newsletter</p>
<p>This year it’s London’s turn., facing the social disaster of the Olympic Games. Every four years a city gets trashed, and the poor evicted; read&#160; Michael Volpe’s report on what’s already happening in Rio. PLUS The Arab Spring started there, but why’s a huge US embassy going up in Tunis? Rob Prince, gives us the answer, from Tunisia. PLUS &#160;Terror, domination and meat – factory farms and the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act.&#160; Read Rob Urie: “Those familiar with the practices of meat production in America could be forgiven for assuming that any law relating animal enterprises to terrorism was intended to keep factory farmers from terrorizing animals. But, in fact, the law takes the side of the factory farmers’ right to terrorize animals as they see fit and redefines terrorism as nonviolent protest against this system of terrorizing animals. And for readers who are thinking&#160;that they are on the safe side in this legal reasoning because they are human, the line is more ethereal than you imagine.” PLUS&#160; The rise and fall of Cesar Chavez and the UFW. &#160;Bill Hatch reviews Frank Bardacke’s Trampling Out the Vintage.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.easycartsecure.com/CounterPunch/Annual_Subscriptions.html" type="external">SUBSCRIBE NOW!</a></p>
<p>Alexander Cockburn can be reached at <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | War on Iran: It’s Not A Matter of “If” | true | https://counterpunch.org/2012/01/13/war-on-iran-its-not-a-matter-of-if/ | 2012-01-13 | 4left
| War on Iran: It’s Not A Matter of “If”
<p>The world’s press is choc-a-bloc with “if” questions about Iran and war. Will Israel attack? Is Obama, coerced by domestic politics&#160; in an election year, being dragged into war by the Israel lobby? Will he lunch the bombers?&#160; Is the strategy to force Iran into a corner, methodically demolishing its economy by embargoes and sanctions so that in the end a desperate Iran strikes back.</p>
<p>As with sanctions and covert military onslaughts on Iraq in the run up to 2003, the first point to underline is that the US is waging war on Iran. But well aware of the US public’s aversion to yet another war in the Middle East, the onslaught is an undeclared one.</p>
<p>The analogy here is the run up to Pearl Harbor. Let me quote from a useful <a href="http://whatreallyhappened.com/WRHARTICLES/pearl/www.geocities.com/Pentagon/6315/pearl.html" type="external">timeline</a>. On October 7, 1940, &#160;&#160;a US Navy IQ analyst Arthur McCollum wrote <a href="http://whatreallyhappened.com/WRHARTICLES/pearl/www.geocities.com/Pentagon/6315/pearl.html" type="external">an 8 point memo</a> on how to force Japan into war with US. Beginning the next day FDR began to put them into effect and all 8 were eventually accomplished.</p>
<p>On February 11, 1941 FDR proposed sacrificing 6 cruisers and 2 carriers at Manila to get into war. Navy Chief Stark objected: “I have previously opposed this and you have concurred as to its unwisdom.</p>
<p>In&#160; March 1941 FDR sold arms&#160; and convoyed them to belligerents in Europe — both acts of war and both violations of international law — the Lend-Lease Act.&#160; On June 23, 1941 Advisor Harold Ickes wrote FDR a memo the day after Germany invaded the Soviet Union, “There might develop from the embargoing of oil to Japan such a situation as would make it not only possible but easy to get into this war in an effective way. FDR was pleased with Admiral Richmond Turner’s report read July 22: “It is generally believed that shutting off the American supply of petroleum will lead promptly to the invasion of Netherland East Indies…it seems certain she would also include military action against the Philippine Islands, which would immediately involve us in a Pacific war.”</p>
<p>The next day FDR froze all Japanese assets in US cutting off their main supply of oil. US. Intelligence information was withheld from Hawaii from this point forward. Against protests from US naval commanders the West Coast fleet was moved to Hawai’i.</p>
<p>John Maynard Keynes once said, “The best way to destroy the capitalist system is to debauch the currency. By a continuing process of inflation, governments can confiscate, secretly and unobserved, an important part of the wealth of their citizens.” Ronald Reagan used to attribute this insight to the man he loved to call “Nikolai Lenin”, thundering from podium after podium across America, that Lenin had said “The best way to destroy the capitalist system is to debauch the currency.”</p>
<p>You want a graphic illustration of what US embargoes are doing in the way of debauching Iran’s currency? Here’s a graph of US dollar exchange rates with the Iran rial, from last week:</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /></p>
<p>Imagine if the Iranians had done this to the US dollar? Can you imagine any American politician who would have refrained from calling this an act of war?</p>
<p>To further inflame the leadership in Iran we had last week the murder of Iran nuclear scientist Ahmadi Roshan&#160; which came on the one-year anniversary of the murder of two other Iranian nuclear scientists by similar methods. As CounterPuncher Peter Lee writes, “It&#160; came at a time of heightened tensions (anyway, tensions higher than the usual heightened tensions), inviting the inference that somebody, probably somebody in the region, wants to goad the Iranian government into a response that could start the military action ball rolling.”</p>
<p>As for the embargoes of Iranian oil, Obama is most certainly doing the oil industry a big favor. There have been&#160; industry-wide fears of recession-fueled falling demand and collapse of oil prices. That has led to industry-wide enthusiasm (aided by heavy pressure from the majors) for &#160;strongly cutting total world oil production (and enjoying the bonuses flowing from the subsequent world price rise), with all the cuts to be taken out of the hide of the Iranians. The Financial Times made&#160; clear the need to shrink world production in the following key paragraph in a report last week: “Oil prices have risen above $110 a barrel since Iran threatened to shut down the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most important oil chokepoint, accounting for about a third of all seaborne traded oil. Oil fell to a low of $99 in October amid global economic growth worries.”</p>
<p>As Pierre Sprey remarked to me, “Note also that this is one of those rare but dangerous moments in history when Big Oil and the Israelis are pushing the White House in the same direction. The last such moment was quickly followed by Dubya’s invasion of Iraq.”</p>
<p>It’s somewhat immaterial to ask whether Obama really wants war with Iran, thus interfering with the “strategic pivot” to Asia. Presidents are creatures of circumstances and lobbies, and Obama is certainly no exception. We have to hope that the traditional prudence of&#160; Iran’s leadership prompts them not to make some desperate retaliatory lunge, such as mining the Straits of&#160; Hormuz, or offering some kindred excuse to the US to up the tempo of the undeclared war it is already waging.</p>
<p>To the Tumbrils!&#160;</p>
<p>Some readers of my consignment last week of certain words to the tumbrils expressed curiosity about the word. A&#160; tumbril&#160; was&#160; a farm cart . They were used to carry prisoners to the guillotine during the French Revolution.</p>
<p>Some more candidates. Fred Gardner writes: “Add ‘Gamechanger’ to the mis- and over-used words of 2011. &#160;For years I’ve winced as lawyers and businessmen and &#160;reporters casually used ‘game’ in reference to the legal system, finance, war itself… &#160;You sometimes see a bumper sticker on a sports car that says ‘the one with the most toys wins.’It makes me want to give them a little nudge with the old Volvo…”</p>
<p>Jon Swift: “Also the drug-treatment shibboleth: ‘The user’s always chasing that first high.’ As though they couldn’t POSSIBLY enjoy it the 875th time. You never hear ‘Religious worshippers are always chasing that first feeling of being at one with God’ or ‘Voters are always chasing that first&#160; thrill they got on entering the booth at 18….’”</p>
<p>Wat Stearns: “I nominate ‘expensed’&#160; and ‘leveraged’ for the tumbrils as well.”</p>
<p>Let me toss in the odious “project,”&#160; initially&#160; favored by the left but now in general currency, attached to almost every human endeavor. Also “conversation” – a way of taming all debate and doctrinal struggle into demure prattle.&#160; And let us note the meteoric rise&#160; of “existential.”</p>
<p>Tumbril time! And if you want a vivid sense of what it was like for&#160; French aristos condemned to death to hear the rattle of the tumbril as it arrived to take him to the guillotines, I advise a trip to the Conciergerie in Paris. Very creepy.</p>
<p>Our Latest Newsletter</p>
<p>This year it’s London’s turn., facing the social disaster of the Olympic Games. Every four years a city gets trashed, and the poor evicted; read&#160; Michael Volpe’s report on what’s already happening in Rio. PLUS The Arab Spring started there, but why’s a huge US embassy going up in Tunis? Rob Prince, gives us the answer, from Tunisia. PLUS &#160;Terror, domination and meat – factory farms and the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act.&#160; Read Rob Urie: “Those familiar with the practices of meat production in America could be forgiven for assuming that any law relating animal enterprises to terrorism was intended to keep factory farmers from terrorizing animals. But, in fact, the law takes the side of the factory farmers’ right to terrorize animals as they see fit and redefines terrorism as nonviolent protest against this system of terrorizing animals. And for readers who are thinking&#160;that they are on the safe side in this legal reasoning because they are human, the line is more ethereal than you imagine.” PLUS&#160; The rise and fall of Cesar Chavez and the UFW. &#160;Bill Hatch reviews Frank Bardacke’s Trampling Out the Vintage.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.easycartsecure.com/CounterPunch/Annual_Subscriptions.html" type="external">SUBSCRIBE NOW!</a></p>
<p>Alexander Cockburn can be reached at <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | 4,549 |
<p>By Bill Moyers and Michael WinshipThis <a href="http://billmoyers.com/2012/09/21/mitt-tells-the-truth/" type="external">post</a> originally ran on the “Moyers &amp; Company” website, <a href="http://billmoyers.com/" type="external">BillMoyers.com</a>.</p>
<p>Like everyone else, we watched the movie of the week — that clandestine video from Mitt Romney’s fundraiser in Florida. Thanks to that anonymous cameraperson, we now have a record of what our modern day, wealthy gentry really thinks about the rest of us — and it’s not pretty.</p>
<p>On the other hand, it’s also not news. If you had reported as long as some of us have on winner-take-all politics and the unenlightened assumptions of the moneyed class, you wouldn’t find the remarks of Romney and his pals all that exceptional. The resentment, disdain and contempt with which they privately view those beneath them are an old story.</p>
<p>In fact, the video’s reminiscent of our first Gilded Age, back in the late 19th century. The celebrated New York dandy Frederick Townsend Martin summed it up when he declared, “We are the rich. We own America. We got it, God knows how, but we intend to keep it.”</p>
<p />
<p>And so they do, as that glitzy gathering in Florida reminds us. You could see and hear one of the guests ask Mitt Romney what they could do to help. The governor answers, “Frankly, what I need you to do is to raise millions of dollars, because the president’s going to have about $800 to $900 million. And that’s — that’s by far the most important thing you could do.”</p>
<p>He’s being truthful there, because money rules these campaigns. And if there were more secret videos from other candidates, we would see them in equally compromised positions, bowing and scraping in their infernal pursuit of campaign cash, bending over backwards to suffer the advice that the privileged think their money entitles them to give.</p>
<p>And we mean both parties. Not far from us the other night, at a Manhattan fundraiser hosted by Jay-Z and Beyoncé, President Obama joked, “If somebody here has a $10 million check — I can’t solicit it from you, but feel free to use it wisely.” At least we think he was joking — Obama and Romney alike now shape their schedules as much around moneymaking events as rallies and town halls. Even though a state may be a lost cause when it comes to votes, if there’s money to be made they’ll change the campaign jet’s flight plan and make a special landing, just for the cold hard cash.</p>
<p>By the time the primaries were over this year, the top 150 political and media consultants already had raked in an estimated $465 million – or more. When Election Day finally rolls around, chances are that number will have at least doubled.</p>
<p>This is a racket, plain and simple. A new report from Moody’s Investor Service says that all that spending by the parties, corporations, super PACs and other outside groups will push political ad spending up this year by half a billion dollars — 25 percent higher than 2010 – the biggest increase in history. That prompted the CEO of CBS, Leslie Moonves, to lick his chops and tell an investors conference last December, “There’s going to be a lot of money spent. I’m not saying that’s the best thing for America, but it’s not a bad thing for the CBS Corporation.” Yes, the media giants and the TV stations they own are in on the racket.</p>
<p>So are all those highly paid political consultants who as part of their fees skim a percentage of the cost of local TV airtime, usually around ten percent. The pickings are better than ever, thanks to all the dark money being thrown around since the Citizens United decision. One Democratic consultant has called it “the greatest windfall that ever happened for political operatives in American history.” You bet it is: By the time the primaries were over this year, the top 150 political and media consultants already had raked in an estimated $465 million — or more. When Election Day finally rolls around, chances are that number will have at least doubled.</p>
<p>So we can’t stop reporting on this, even though we’re often told: “Please change the subject. Everyone’s tired of this one.” Don’t be so sure. There’s a groundswell for rooting the money out of politics, as Americans come to see that this is the one reform that enables all other reforms. Two polls released in the last few days report large majorities — as many as eight in ten — are in favor of clamping down on the amount of money that corporations, the super-rich, and those shadowy outside groups are pouring into the campaigns. It’s up to all of us to put a sign on every lawn and stoop in the land: “Democracy is not for sale.”</p>
<p /> | Mitt Tells the Truth | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/mitt-tells-the-truth/ | 2012-09-22 | 4left
| Mitt Tells the Truth
<p>By Bill Moyers and Michael WinshipThis <a href="http://billmoyers.com/2012/09/21/mitt-tells-the-truth/" type="external">post</a> originally ran on the “Moyers &amp; Company” website, <a href="http://billmoyers.com/" type="external">BillMoyers.com</a>.</p>
<p>Like everyone else, we watched the movie of the week — that clandestine video from Mitt Romney’s fundraiser in Florida. Thanks to that anonymous cameraperson, we now have a record of what our modern day, wealthy gentry really thinks about the rest of us — and it’s not pretty.</p>
<p>On the other hand, it’s also not news. If you had reported as long as some of us have on winner-take-all politics and the unenlightened assumptions of the moneyed class, you wouldn’t find the remarks of Romney and his pals all that exceptional. The resentment, disdain and contempt with which they privately view those beneath them are an old story.</p>
<p>In fact, the video’s reminiscent of our first Gilded Age, back in the late 19th century. The celebrated New York dandy Frederick Townsend Martin summed it up when he declared, “We are the rich. We own America. We got it, God knows how, but we intend to keep it.”</p>
<p />
<p>And so they do, as that glitzy gathering in Florida reminds us. You could see and hear one of the guests ask Mitt Romney what they could do to help. The governor answers, “Frankly, what I need you to do is to raise millions of dollars, because the president’s going to have about $800 to $900 million. And that’s — that’s by far the most important thing you could do.”</p>
<p>He’s being truthful there, because money rules these campaigns. And if there were more secret videos from other candidates, we would see them in equally compromised positions, bowing and scraping in their infernal pursuit of campaign cash, bending over backwards to suffer the advice that the privileged think their money entitles them to give.</p>
<p>And we mean both parties. Not far from us the other night, at a Manhattan fundraiser hosted by Jay-Z and Beyoncé, President Obama joked, “If somebody here has a $10 million check — I can’t solicit it from you, but feel free to use it wisely.” At least we think he was joking — Obama and Romney alike now shape their schedules as much around moneymaking events as rallies and town halls. Even though a state may be a lost cause when it comes to votes, if there’s money to be made they’ll change the campaign jet’s flight plan and make a special landing, just for the cold hard cash.</p>
<p>By the time the primaries were over this year, the top 150 political and media consultants already had raked in an estimated $465 million – or more. When Election Day finally rolls around, chances are that number will have at least doubled.</p>
<p>This is a racket, plain and simple. A new report from Moody’s Investor Service says that all that spending by the parties, corporations, super PACs and other outside groups will push political ad spending up this year by half a billion dollars — 25 percent higher than 2010 – the biggest increase in history. That prompted the CEO of CBS, Leslie Moonves, to lick his chops and tell an investors conference last December, “There’s going to be a lot of money spent. I’m not saying that’s the best thing for America, but it’s not a bad thing for the CBS Corporation.” Yes, the media giants and the TV stations they own are in on the racket.</p>
<p>So are all those highly paid political consultants who as part of their fees skim a percentage of the cost of local TV airtime, usually around ten percent. The pickings are better than ever, thanks to all the dark money being thrown around since the Citizens United decision. One Democratic consultant has called it “the greatest windfall that ever happened for political operatives in American history.” You bet it is: By the time the primaries were over this year, the top 150 political and media consultants already had raked in an estimated $465 million — or more. When Election Day finally rolls around, chances are that number will have at least doubled.</p>
<p>So we can’t stop reporting on this, even though we’re often told: “Please change the subject. Everyone’s tired of this one.” Don’t be so sure. There’s a groundswell for rooting the money out of politics, as Americans come to see that this is the one reform that enables all other reforms. Two polls released in the last few days report large majorities — as many as eight in ten — are in favor of clamping down on the amount of money that corporations, the super-rich, and those shadowy outside groups are pouring into the campaigns. It’s up to all of us to put a sign on every lawn and stoop in the land: “Democracy is not for sale.”</p>
<p /> | 4,550 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>HAMILTON, Bermuda — Hurricane Nicole may have brought more than wind and rain to Bermuda. Two fishermen are crediting the storm with bringing in an enormous 14-pound spiny lobster.</p>
<p>Charter boat captain Matthew Jones tells The Associated Press he and one of his workers, Tristan Loescher, were fishing off the shoreline on Friday, the day after the storm blew through the island. Jones says Loescher thought he had a snapper on the line after it somehow got wrapped around a mooring. When Loescher went in closer to investigate, he instead spotted the huge crustacean.</p>
<p>Jones says it’s one of the biggest lobsters he’s ever seen. Loescher held up the lobster for pictures before releasing it back into the water.</p>
<p>Jones says spiny lobsters are known to head to shore before storms.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Fisherman reels in whopper of a lobster in Bermuda | false | https://abqjournal.com/870649/fisherman-reels-in-whopper-of-a-lobster-in-bermuda-2.html | 2016-10-19 | 2least
| Fisherman reels in whopper of a lobster in Bermuda
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>HAMILTON, Bermuda — Hurricane Nicole may have brought more than wind and rain to Bermuda. Two fishermen are crediting the storm with bringing in an enormous 14-pound spiny lobster.</p>
<p>Charter boat captain Matthew Jones tells The Associated Press he and one of his workers, Tristan Loescher, were fishing off the shoreline on Friday, the day after the storm blew through the island. Jones says Loescher thought he had a snapper on the line after it somehow got wrapped around a mooring. When Loescher went in closer to investigate, he instead spotted the huge crustacean.</p>
<p>Jones says it’s one of the biggest lobsters he’s ever seen. Loescher held up the lobster for pictures before releasing it back into the water.</p>
<p>Jones says spiny lobsters are known to head to shore before storms.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 4,551 |
<p>An anti-gay marriage ad runs in Australia (Screen capture via YouTube)</p>
<p>NEW SOUTH WALES, Australia — Australia’s lead mental health agency says the debate about same-sex marriage rights here have a damaging effect on LGBT residents, the&#160;Australian <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/health/mental-health-concerns-over-samesex-marriage-debate/news-story/c6c48048fda8c6050d55d88d72a51ef9" type="external">reports</a>.</p>
<p>The National Mental Health Commission on Monday issued a statement to warn that the debate had heightened discrimination against LGBT people.</p>
<p>“(LGBT) people have experienced damaging behavior in their workplaces, communities and in social and traditional media,” commission co-chair, Professor Allan Fels, said, according to the Australian. “The commission is alarmed about potential negative health impacts these debates are having on individuals, couples and families who face scrutiny and judgment.”</p>
<p>The Australia marriage vote started this week. Residents have until Nov. 7 to vote by mail.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Allan Fels</a> <a href="" type="internal">anti-gay</a> <a href="" type="internal">Australia</a> <a href="" type="internal">discrimination</a> <a href="" type="internal">gay marriage</a> <a href="" type="internal">marriage equality</a> <a href="" type="internal">same-sex marriage</a></p> | Aussie officials warn of marriage debate dangers | false | http://washingtonblade.com/2017/09/15/aussie-officials-warn-marriage-debate-dangers/ | 3left-center
| Aussie officials warn of marriage debate dangers
<p>An anti-gay marriage ad runs in Australia (Screen capture via YouTube)</p>
<p>NEW SOUTH WALES, Australia — Australia’s lead mental health agency says the debate about same-sex marriage rights here have a damaging effect on LGBT residents, the&#160;Australian <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/health/mental-health-concerns-over-samesex-marriage-debate/news-story/c6c48048fda8c6050d55d88d72a51ef9" type="external">reports</a>.</p>
<p>The National Mental Health Commission on Monday issued a statement to warn that the debate had heightened discrimination against LGBT people.</p>
<p>“(LGBT) people have experienced damaging behavior in their workplaces, communities and in social and traditional media,” commission co-chair, Professor Allan Fels, said, according to the Australian. “The commission is alarmed about potential negative health impacts these debates are having on individuals, couples and families who face scrutiny and judgment.”</p>
<p>The Australia marriage vote started this week. Residents have until Nov. 7 to vote by mail.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Allan Fels</a> <a href="" type="internal">anti-gay</a> <a href="" type="internal">Australia</a> <a href="" type="internal">discrimination</a> <a href="" type="internal">gay marriage</a> <a href="" type="internal">marriage equality</a> <a href="" type="internal">same-sex marriage</a></p> | 4,552 |
|
<p>MOSCOW (Reuters) - Twice world champion Evgenia Medvedeva was upstaged by Russian compatriot Alina Zagitova in the short program at the European championships on Thursday as Russians pairs swept the podium on home ice.</p> Figure Skating - ISU European Championships 2018 - Ladies Short Program - Moscow, Russia - January 18, 2018 - Alina Zagitova of Russia competes. REUTERS/Grigory Dukor
<p>The 15-year-old Zagitova, who won the Grand Prix Final last month while her training partner Medvedeva was sidelined with a fractured foot, was rewarded with a score of 80.27 points for her short program which featured a cleanly-executed triple Lutz-triple loop combination.</p>
<p>Medvedeva, who has not lost a competition for more than two years, finished second with 78.57 points after stepping out of her double Axel.</p>
<p>“I’m not pleased with my performance today but I still have time to make adjustments,” said Medvedeva, who grimaced at the end of her skate.</p> Figure Skating - ISU European Championships 2018 - Ladies Short Program - Moscow, Russia - January 18, 2018 - Evgenia Medvedeva of Russia competes. REUTERS/Grigory Dukor
<p>“My foot recovered very quickly. I never thought I would say this but I am glad that I have felt that this is my sport. I missed the competitions and training. It was a difficult period.”</p>
<p>Trailing Zagitova by only 1.7 points, the 18-year-old Medvedeva is still in the running to secure a third consecutive European title following Saturday’s free skate.</p>
<p>Medvedeva topped the podium at last year’s Grand Prix events in Moscow and Osaka but missed the Grand Prix Final because of a cracked bone in her right foot, raising questions about her readiness to compete at next month’s Pyeongchang Olympics.</p>
<p>The injury also prevented her from competing at last month’s Russian national championships.</p>
<p>Italy’s Carolina Kostner, a five-times European champion, finished third with 78.30 points despite a slight error on her triple toeloop.</p>
<p>“I am very happy with my performance,” Kostner told a news conference. “I felt grounded and serene.”</p> Figure Ice Skating - ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Internationaux de France - Pole Sud Ice Rink, Grenoble, France - November 18, 2017 Alina Zagitova of Russia performs during the Ladies Free Skating REUTERS/Robert Pratta RUSSIAN PAIRS SWEEP
<p>Russian pairs swept the podium after a free skate in which the French duo who had finished first in the short program on Wednesday missed the top three by a hundredth of a point.</p>
<p>After sliding into fifth after an error-filled short program, defending European champions Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov bounced back with a cleaner but still imperfect free skate to win gold with 221.60 points overall.</p>
<p>“We were really upset after the short program,” Morozov told reporters. “We were angry at ourselves, at our opponents, at the situation, at everything. But today we skated our best. We skated boldly.”</p>
<p>Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov finished more than 10 points behind Tarasova and Morozov to take silver despite struggling on their jumps. Natalia Zabiiako and Alexander Enbert took bronze with 210.18 points.</p>
<p>“We had trouble on five jumps in a row and had issues that maybe were not visible to the eye but that I didn’t like,” Klimov told reporters.</p>
<p>France’s Vanessa James and Morgan Cipres, bronze medalists at last year’s European championships, finished fourth with 210.17 points.</p>
<p>“We’re disappointed,” James said. “We knew we had a shot at the podium, but we weren’t there today. We made too many mistakes.”</p>
<p>Reporting by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber, editing by Pritha Sarkar and Ed Osmond</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Walt Disney Co ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=DIS.N" type="external">DIS.N</a>) on Thursday debuted its new ESPN+ digital subscription service, the first consumer offering in the traditional media company’s push to become a leader in streaming entertainment.</p>
<p>The service will carry more than 10,000 live sporting events that are not shown on television, as well as exclusive on-demand programing such as a new documentary about controversial college basketball coach Bobby Knight.</p>
<p>ESPN and other cable networks have been losing pay TV subscribers as audiences rapidly migrate to online services such as Netflix Inc ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=NFLX.O" type="external">NFLX.O</a>). Disney is trying to adapt to the switch by developing its own streaming offerings.</p>
<p>ESPN+ may lose money for “some number of years, not huge” as the company works to lure enough subscribers to cover programing investments, said Kevin Mayer, chairman of Disney’s direct-to-consumer and international unit.</p>
<p>During a briefing at ESPN’s studio in downtown Los Angeles, Mayer told reporters he expects the service will become profitable and will provide valuable insight for other Disney streaming services.</p>
<p>“This is strategic for us,” Mayer said. “This is a multi-year effort. It’s going to take some time to assess how it has performed.”</p>
<p>ESPN+ is designed for fanatics who want more sports programing, and for people who cannot find their favorite teams or sports on TV, Disney executives said. The latter includes fans of cricket, rugby, Canadian football or Ivy League sports.</p> FILE PHOTO: A screen shows the logo and a ticker symbol for The Walt Disney Company on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., December 14, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
<p>The service is offered as an add-on inside a newly designed ESPN mobile app or through ESPN.com. It costs $4.99 a month, or $49.99 per year.</p>
<p>“It is an opportunity for us to serve sports fans in new ways, and in ways no one else can,” ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro said.</p>
<p>Programing includes one live Major League Baseball game each day during the regular season, starting with the San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants on Thursday. Customers also will see Major League Soccer games, college sports from 20 U.S. conferences, and boxing and Grand Slam tennis matches that do not air on TV. A daily National Hockey League matchup will be added starting with the 2018-2019 season.</p>
<a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=DIS.N" type="external">Walt Disney Co</a> 100.73 DIS.N New York Stock Exchange +0.34 (+0.34%) DIS.N NFLX.O
<p>ESPN+ does not include Monday Night Football or National Basketball Association games that are shown on ESPN’s TV channels. Those are reserved for subscribers of pay TV packages, who can stream the live TV lineup through the ESPN app. The redesigned app allows customers to watch up to four streams simultaneously on one screen.</p>
<p>Reporting by Lisa Richwine</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>TOKYO, Japan (Reuters) - The International Weightlifting Federation hopes that “innovative and creative” rules targeting nations who have violated anti-doping regulations will secure the long term future of the sport in the Olympic program.</p>
<p>Five nations, including Russia, with high doping records have risked weightlifting’s place on the Olympic schedule.</p>
<p>The IWF is effectively allowing Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Belarus only two places each at the Tokyo 2020 Games. This is due to the new rules stating that any nation with 20 or more doping violations from 2008 to 2020 will be allowed only one man and one woman at the Games.</p>
<p>Speaking in the Japanese capital after meeting the Tokyo Olympics’ organizing committee, IWF Director General Attila Adamfi says the new regulations should send a clear message that doping will not be tolerated.</p>
<p>“We took the innovative and creative approach to be able and to provide the possibility for all National Olympic Committees to participate at the Olympic Games but also to reward the clean National Olympic Committees with more possibilities and more quotas,” the Hungarian told Reuters.</p>
<p>“So we are not sanctioning anybody, we are providing additional benefits and additional quota slots for clean countries.”</p>
<p>The new policy has been approved by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), who have threatened the sport with removal from the Olympic schedule for the Paris 2024 Games if it failed to improve its doping record.</p>
<p>The doping problem led to weightlifting being put on probation by the IOC, which wants constant updates – with the next one due in June.</p>
<p>“It is not a secret, we are under pressure, obviously,” said Adamfi.</p>
<p>“Obviously not everyone is happy but everybody understands that the sport needs to be creative and needs to be tough on this issue to demonstrate to the International Olympic Committee and to the broader public that the International Weightlifting Federation is absolutely determined to clear the sport.”</p> HISTORIC VIOLATIONS
<p>Collectively Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Belarus and Armenia have had more than 130 doping violations since 2008 with several cases still outstanding, according to the IWF’s website.</p>
<p>All five are among the nine nations serving a one-year suspension until October for multiple retests.</p>
<p>“The most important message for the clean member federations is that we are doing our best to protect them and we will do our best to ensure a level playing field,” Adamfi insisted.</p>
<p>“We will also provide a message, not exactly with the qualification system, but in general with our very tough anti-doping activity that ‘don’t even try, because we will catch you.’”</p>
<p>Among other changes, the IWF has made Olympic qualifying an individual rather than a team-based system, which will lead to more testing of prospective Olympic lifters.</p>
<p>All those who want to be in Tokyo will have to compete six times during the 18-month qualifying period, making it impossible for athletes to stay away for long periods, which has happened in the past.</p>
<p>Reporting by Jack Tarrant; Editing by Christian Radnedge</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>(Reuters) - The 2017-18 NHL regular season has come to a close and now fans brace for two months of grueling hockey — the Stanley Cup playoffs. Over the years, the NHL playoffs have seen dramatic upheavals and witnessed new legends being born.</p> Mar 26, 2018; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov (86) skates with the puck against the Arizona Coyotes during the first period at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
<p>Every year poses new questions and unforeseen answers. Here’s a look at some of the questions facing the teams going into the playoffs.</p>
<p>Western Conference:</p>
<p>Nashville Predators vs. Colorado Avalanche</p>
<p>With their forwards and defense contributing to the offensive production, and goalie Pekka Rinne with 42 wins and a save percentage of .927, the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Predators have been a juggernaut this season. Last year, Predators were the wild card team in the West and steamrolled their way to the finals against the Pittsburgh Penguins. This time, they bear the burden of being the top team in the league. In the past 10 years only two teams have won the Presidents’ Trophy and the Stanley Cup — the 2007–08 Detroit Red Wings and 2012–13 Chicago Blackhawks. Will the Predators join this exclusive club?</p>
<p>Players to watch: Filip Forsberg, P.K. Subban, Roman Josi, Pekka Rinne</p>
<p>The Colorado Avalanche were the worst team in the league a season ago. This year, they are in the playoffs riding on Nathan MacKinnon’s Hart Trophy-worthy 97-point season, and his dominant first line alongside Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog. Coming up against the Predators, with probably the best defense in the league, will the Avalanche be up to the challenge?</p>
<p>Players to watch: Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen</p>
<p>Winnipeg Jets vs. Minnesota Wild</p>
<p>The Jets have the second-highest regular season goal scorer in Patrik Laine, tied highest assist in Blake Wheeler and the goalie tied for the most number of wins in Connor Hellebuyck, another point-per-game player in Mark Scheifele, and Dustin Byfuglien on defense. Will the Jets be able to translate their season performance into playoff success in only their second playoff appearance?</p>
<p>Players to watch: Patrick Laine, Blake Wheeler, Connor Hellebuyck, Mark Scheifele</p>
<p>Eric Staal had a magnificent 42-goal season and now Zach Parise is healthy and scoring. This will be the sixth consecutive playoff appearance for the Wild, but none that went beyond the second round. How far will this team go after having lost Ryan Suter to injury?</p>
<p>Players to watch: Eric Staal, Mikael Granlund, Zach Parise</p>
<p>Las Vegas Golden Knights vs. Los Angeles Kings</p>
<p>The Golden Knights have set the gold standard for all future expansion teams. This was led by players who had dominant seasons. Players such as William Karlsson had 15 goals in the past two full seasons and this year he had 43, Jonathan Marchessault went from 51 points in 75 games to 75 points in 77 games. Plus, the Golden Knights have Marc-Andre Fleury between the pipes. Fleury has a save percentage of .927 and with three Stanley Cups he is the goalie with the most cup rings in the playoffs. Will Vegas’s fairytale run carry them deep into the playoffs?</p>
<p>Players to watch: William Karlsson, Jonathan Marchessault, Marc-Andre Fleury, James Neal</p> Apr 6, 2018; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Patric Hornqvist (72) Sidney Crosby (87) and Evgeni Malkin (71) celebrate after Crosby scores a goal against the Ottawa Senators in the second period of an NHL game at PPG PAINTS Arena. Mandatory Credit: Don Wright-USA TODAY Sports
<p>The Kings have gone from being the eighth-seeded team to winning the Stanley Cup in 2012. They are in a similar position once again, being a wildcard team. Will they be able to repeat that feat? This time they have Anze Kopitar having a career year. They are also the team with the lowest goals against average this season, Jonathan Quick having won the William M. Jennings Trophy, awarded to the goaltender whose team allows the fewest goals against.</p>
<p>Players to watch: Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty, Jeff Carter, Jonathan Quick</p>
<p>Anaheim Ducks vs. San Jose Sharks</p>
<p>The Ducks are tenacious. With the number of man-games lost due to injury early on, it’s commendable that the Ducks were able to make it to the playoffs. But with the lowest goals for average amongst all the playoff-bound teams, will they be able to find their scoring when required? John Gibson had a successful season, but has battled injuries. Their defense has been their strength, but will they be able to withstand the early rounds without Cam Fowler?</p>
<p>Players to watch: John Gibson, Ryan Getzlaf, Rickard Rakell</p>
<p>The Sharks were in the Stanley Cup finals two years ago. Last year, they were eliminated in the first round. This season, even though goalie Martin Jones hasn’t been that impressive, Evander Kane joining Brent Burns, Joe Pavelski and Logan Couture makes them a legitimate threat. How much will the Sharks miss Joe Thornton’s playmaking early on?</p>
<p>Players to watch: Brent Burns, Joe Pavelski, Logan Couture</p>
<p>Eastern Conference:</p>
<p>Tampa Bay Lightning vs. New Jersey Devils</p>
<p>The Lightning were the force to reckon with for most of the season, with Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov and Andrei Vasilevskiy seemingly headed for a superlative season. Since then, the team has cooled down, although the regular season ended with Kucherov third in the league in points and Vasilevskiy tied for most wins and shutouts. They hope to have Stamkos back from injury by the start of the post-season. Is it possible that the Lighting will return to that early form?</p>
<p>Players to watch: Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Victor Hedman</p>
<p>The Devils, like the Avalanche, are driven by the outstanding performance of one player. Taylor Hall leads the next player in his team by 41 points. Hall led his team into the playoffs – can he take them further?</p>
<p>Players to watch: Taylor Hall</p>
<p>Boston Bruins vs. Toronto Maple Leafs</p>
<p>The Bruins have most of their pieces in place and healthy. They are almost the perfect mix of young talent and veterans. Does this translate into a deep playoff run? Will the other teams find the means to contain the line of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak? Then there are Charlie McAvoy and Zdeno Chara on the blueline. Trade-deadline signing Rick Nash should be back from. This is the team that Leafs coach Mike Babcock thought was really, really good last month.</p>
<p>Players to watch: Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, David Pastrnak</p>
<p>The young Leafs made it to the playoffs in Auston Matthews’ first NHL season last year. Has the addition of veterans such as Patrick Marleau made the team mature enough for their second consecutive playoff? That their forwards can score goes without saying. It’s a group that comprises James van Riemsdyk, Matthews, Nazem Kadri, Patrick Marleau, Mitchell Marner and William Nylander. Frederik Andersen had the most shots against in the regular season even though he ended third in wins. The Leafs need a similar post season from their goalie.</p>
<p>Players to watch: Auston Matthews, James van Riemsdyk, Nazem Kadri, Mitchell Marner</p> Slideshow (3 Images)
<p>Washington Capitals vs. Columbus Blue Jackets</p>
<p>The Capitals were the Presidents’ Trophy winners in 2016 and 2017, only to bow out of the playoffs in the second rounds both times. Is this the year Alex Ovechkin leads his team beyond? They may have lost important players who made the team dominant in the past years, yet managed to win the Metro Division. Their goalie situation remains precarious. Braden Holtby hasn’t been as excellent as in the past and Philipp Grubauer will be staring between the pipes against the Blue Jackets.</p>
<p>Players to watch: Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov</p>
<p>Last season, Sergei Bobrovsky had a regular season save percentage of .931 and playoff .882. Which Bobrovsky will show up for the playoffs this time after a regular season save percentage of .921? Artemi Panarin led the team in goals and assists in the regular season, will the playoffs see the others step up?</p>
<p>Players to watch: Sergei Bobrovsky, Artemi Panarin</p>
<p>Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Philadelphia Flyers</p>
<p>Can Sidney Crosby, Phil Kessel, Matt Murray and Evgeni Malkin make it three cups in a row for the Penguins? Will it matter during the playoffs that the Penguins have the highest regular season goals-against average amongst all the teams in the playoffs? They are third in goals for, and have the highest powerplay percentage.</p>
<p>Players to watch: Sidney Crosby, Phil Kessel, Matt Murray, Evgeni Malkin</p>
<p>The Flyers have been inconsistent during the regular season, but made it to the playoffs in the end. They face one of the deepest teams in the league and the winners of the last two cups. The last time these two teams met in the playoffs in 2012, it was a high-octane series, with the Flyers coming out on top. Will the 2018 Flyers be able to repeat that? Will Claude Giroux again prove to be the Penguins nemesis? A lot of their success might also depend on Flyers goaltender Brian Elliott.</p>
<p>Players to watch: Claude Giroux, Jakub Voracek, Sean Couturier</p>
<p>Reporting by Shakeel Sobhan; Editing by Robert Macmillan</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>GOLD COAST, Australia (Reuters) - Indian team officials will appeal a decision to throw athletes Rakesh Babu and Irfan Kolothum Thodi out of the Commonwealth Games after they were found to have breached the Games’ anti-doping ‘no-needles’ policy.</p> Athletics - Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games - Men's Triple Jump - Qualifying - Carrara Stadium - Gold Coast, Australia - April 12, 2018. A. V. Rakesh Babu of India. REUTERS/David Gray
<p>Triple jumper Babu and race walker Thodi had their accreditation revoked and were asked to return home as soon as possible after a hearing on Thursday, Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) President Louise Martin told reporters.</p>
<p>The CGF said a cleaner had alerted them to a needle in a cup in the athletes’ bedroom and a second needle was later discovered in Babu’s bag.</p>
<p>“The testimony of the athletes ... are both unreliable and evasive,” Martin said. “Rakesh Babu and Irfan Kolothum Thodi are in breach of the ‘no-needles’ policy.</p>
<p>“Babu and Thodi are with immediate effect not permitted to participate in the Games. Their accreditation was suspended and both athletes have been removed from the village.”</p>
<p>Three team officials — chef de mission Vikram Singh Sisodia, team manager Namdev Shirgaonker and athletics team manager Ravinder Chaudhry — were all reprimanded, Martin added.</p>
<p>“The CGF shall advise Vikram Singh Sisodia, Namdev Shirgaonker and Ravinder Chaudhry that any further infractions by any member of the Indian team of the ‘no-needle’ policy could result in the withdrawal of accreditation of the offending person,” she said.</p>
<p>Babu was the 12th and final qualifier for the men’s triple jump final on Saturday. Thodi finished 13th in the men’s 20km race walk last Sunday.</p>
<p>Indian officials told reporters they would be appealing the decision.</p>
<p>“They have taken action against two athletes, which we do not agree with at all ... and we will appeal against the decision,” they said.</p>
<p>“The needle found was reported by the cleaning person. Our athletes totally denied they knew about the needle.</p>
<p>“They (investigators) talked to the cleaning person, they talked to the athlete. They believed the cleaner.</p>
<p>“Basically there is a lot of confusion around the whole episode.”</p>
<p>The officials said Babu had admitted the second needle had been found in his bag but that he had no idea how it got there.</p>
<p>Athletes must have a specific medical exemption to have needles at the Games as part of the fight against doping.</p>
<p>It is the second time the Indian team have been in breach of the policy on the Gold Coast after boxing team doctor Amol Patil was issued a strong written reprimand last week after needles were discovered in a plastic bottle.</p>
<p>Patil had administered a Vitamin B complex injection to a sick boxer and left needles in the room, breaking CGF rules regarding their proper storage.</p>
<p>The matter was not defined as an anti-doping rule violation, but the entire India delegation was warned by the CGF there would be repercussions if they breached the rules again.</p>
<p>Editing by Peter Rutherford</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a> | Zagitova leads, Russian pairs sweep podium at Europeans ESPN+ streaming service launches Disney's digital drive Olympics: Weightlifting chief hopes new anti-doping strategy secures sport's future Stanley Cup playoffs: the questions that face each team Games: Athletes expelled, India to appeal after needles found | false | https://reuters.com/article/figureskating-europe-medvedeva/update-1-figure-skating-zagitova-leads-russian-pairs-sweep-podium-at-europeans-idUSL8N1PD6B2 | 2018-01-18 | 2least
| Zagitova leads, Russian pairs sweep podium at Europeans ESPN+ streaming service launches Disney's digital drive Olympics: Weightlifting chief hopes new anti-doping strategy secures sport's future Stanley Cup playoffs: the questions that face each team Games: Athletes expelled, India to appeal after needles found
<p>MOSCOW (Reuters) - Twice world champion Evgenia Medvedeva was upstaged by Russian compatriot Alina Zagitova in the short program at the European championships on Thursday as Russians pairs swept the podium on home ice.</p> Figure Skating - ISU European Championships 2018 - Ladies Short Program - Moscow, Russia - January 18, 2018 - Alina Zagitova of Russia competes. REUTERS/Grigory Dukor
<p>The 15-year-old Zagitova, who won the Grand Prix Final last month while her training partner Medvedeva was sidelined with a fractured foot, was rewarded with a score of 80.27 points for her short program which featured a cleanly-executed triple Lutz-triple loop combination.</p>
<p>Medvedeva, who has not lost a competition for more than two years, finished second with 78.57 points after stepping out of her double Axel.</p>
<p>“I’m not pleased with my performance today but I still have time to make adjustments,” said Medvedeva, who grimaced at the end of her skate.</p> Figure Skating - ISU European Championships 2018 - Ladies Short Program - Moscow, Russia - January 18, 2018 - Evgenia Medvedeva of Russia competes. REUTERS/Grigory Dukor
<p>“My foot recovered very quickly. I never thought I would say this but I am glad that I have felt that this is my sport. I missed the competitions and training. It was a difficult period.”</p>
<p>Trailing Zagitova by only 1.7 points, the 18-year-old Medvedeva is still in the running to secure a third consecutive European title following Saturday’s free skate.</p>
<p>Medvedeva topped the podium at last year’s Grand Prix events in Moscow and Osaka but missed the Grand Prix Final because of a cracked bone in her right foot, raising questions about her readiness to compete at next month’s Pyeongchang Olympics.</p>
<p>The injury also prevented her from competing at last month’s Russian national championships.</p>
<p>Italy’s Carolina Kostner, a five-times European champion, finished third with 78.30 points despite a slight error on her triple toeloop.</p>
<p>“I am very happy with my performance,” Kostner told a news conference. “I felt grounded and serene.”</p> Figure Ice Skating - ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Internationaux de France - Pole Sud Ice Rink, Grenoble, France - November 18, 2017 Alina Zagitova of Russia performs during the Ladies Free Skating REUTERS/Robert Pratta RUSSIAN PAIRS SWEEP
<p>Russian pairs swept the podium after a free skate in which the French duo who had finished first in the short program on Wednesday missed the top three by a hundredth of a point.</p>
<p>After sliding into fifth after an error-filled short program, defending European champions Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov bounced back with a cleaner but still imperfect free skate to win gold with 221.60 points overall.</p>
<p>“We were really upset after the short program,” Morozov told reporters. “We were angry at ourselves, at our opponents, at the situation, at everything. But today we skated our best. We skated boldly.”</p>
<p>Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov finished more than 10 points behind Tarasova and Morozov to take silver despite struggling on their jumps. Natalia Zabiiako and Alexander Enbert took bronze with 210.18 points.</p>
<p>“We had trouble on five jumps in a row and had issues that maybe were not visible to the eye but that I didn’t like,” Klimov told reporters.</p>
<p>France’s Vanessa James and Morgan Cipres, bronze medalists at last year’s European championships, finished fourth with 210.17 points.</p>
<p>“We’re disappointed,” James said. “We knew we had a shot at the podium, but we weren’t there today. We made too many mistakes.”</p>
<p>Reporting by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber, editing by Pritha Sarkar and Ed Osmond</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Walt Disney Co ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=DIS.N" type="external">DIS.N</a>) on Thursday debuted its new ESPN+ digital subscription service, the first consumer offering in the traditional media company’s push to become a leader in streaming entertainment.</p>
<p>The service will carry more than 10,000 live sporting events that are not shown on television, as well as exclusive on-demand programing such as a new documentary about controversial college basketball coach Bobby Knight.</p>
<p>ESPN and other cable networks have been losing pay TV subscribers as audiences rapidly migrate to online services such as Netflix Inc ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=NFLX.O" type="external">NFLX.O</a>). Disney is trying to adapt to the switch by developing its own streaming offerings.</p>
<p>ESPN+ may lose money for “some number of years, not huge” as the company works to lure enough subscribers to cover programing investments, said Kevin Mayer, chairman of Disney’s direct-to-consumer and international unit.</p>
<p>During a briefing at ESPN’s studio in downtown Los Angeles, Mayer told reporters he expects the service will become profitable and will provide valuable insight for other Disney streaming services.</p>
<p>“This is strategic for us,” Mayer said. “This is a multi-year effort. It’s going to take some time to assess how it has performed.”</p>
<p>ESPN+ is designed for fanatics who want more sports programing, and for people who cannot find their favorite teams or sports on TV, Disney executives said. The latter includes fans of cricket, rugby, Canadian football or Ivy League sports.</p> FILE PHOTO: A screen shows the logo and a ticker symbol for The Walt Disney Company on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., December 14, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
<p>The service is offered as an add-on inside a newly designed ESPN mobile app or through ESPN.com. It costs $4.99 a month, or $49.99 per year.</p>
<p>“It is an opportunity for us to serve sports fans in new ways, and in ways no one else can,” ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro said.</p>
<p>Programing includes one live Major League Baseball game each day during the regular season, starting with the San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants on Thursday. Customers also will see Major League Soccer games, college sports from 20 U.S. conferences, and boxing and Grand Slam tennis matches that do not air on TV. A daily National Hockey League matchup will be added starting with the 2018-2019 season.</p>
<a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=DIS.N" type="external">Walt Disney Co</a> 100.73 DIS.N New York Stock Exchange +0.34 (+0.34%) DIS.N NFLX.O
<p>ESPN+ does not include Monday Night Football or National Basketball Association games that are shown on ESPN’s TV channels. Those are reserved for subscribers of pay TV packages, who can stream the live TV lineup through the ESPN app. The redesigned app allows customers to watch up to four streams simultaneously on one screen.</p>
<p>Reporting by Lisa Richwine</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>TOKYO, Japan (Reuters) - The International Weightlifting Federation hopes that “innovative and creative” rules targeting nations who have violated anti-doping regulations will secure the long term future of the sport in the Olympic program.</p>
<p>Five nations, including Russia, with high doping records have risked weightlifting’s place on the Olympic schedule.</p>
<p>The IWF is effectively allowing Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Belarus only two places each at the Tokyo 2020 Games. This is due to the new rules stating that any nation with 20 or more doping violations from 2008 to 2020 will be allowed only one man and one woman at the Games.</p>
<p>Speaking in the Japanese capital after meeting the Tokyo Olympics’ organizing committee, IWF Director General Attila Adamfi says the new regulations should send a clear message that doping will not be tolerated.</p>
<p>“We took the innovative and creative approach to be able and to provide the possibility for all National Olympic Committees to participate at the Olympic Games but also to reward the clean National Olympic Committees with more possibilities and more quotas,” the Hungarian told Reuters.</p>
<p>“So we are not sanctioning anybody, we are providing additional benefits and additional quota slots for clean countries.”</p>
<p>The new policy has been approved by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), who have threatened the sport with removal from the Olympic schedule for the Paris 2024 Games if it failed to improve its doping record.</p>
<p>The doping problem led to weightlifting being put on probation by the IOC, which wants constant updates – with the next one due in June.</p>
<p>“It is not a secret, we are under pressure, obviously,” said Adamfi.</p>
<p>“Obviously not everyone is happy but everybody understands that the sport needs to be creative and needs to be tough on this issue to demonstrate to the International Olympic Committee and to the broader public that the International Weightlifting Federation is absolutely determined to clear the sport.”</p> HISTORIC VIOLATIONS
<p>Collectively Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Belarus and Armenia have had more than 130 doping violations since 2008 with several cases still outstanding, according to the IWF’s website.</p>
<p>All five are among the nine nations serving a one-year suspension until October for multiple retests.</p>
<p>“The most important message for the clean member federations is that we are doing our best to protect them and we will do our best to ensure a level playing field,” Adamfi insisted.</p>
<p>“We will also provide a message, not exactly with the qualification system, but in general with our very tough anti-doping activity that ‘don’t even try, because we will catch you.’”</p>
<p>Among other changes, the IWF has made Olympic qualifying an individual rather than a team-based system, which will lead to more testing of prospective Olympic lifters.</p>
<p>All those who want to be in Tokyo will have to compete six times during the 18-month qualifying period, making it impossible for athletes to stay away for long periods, which has happened in the past.</p>
<p>Reporting by Jack Tarrant; Editing by Christian Radnedge</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>(Reuters) - The 2017-18 NHL regular season has come to a close and now fans brace for two months of grueling hockey — the Stanley Cup playoffs. Over the years, the NHL playoffs have seen dramatic upheavals and witnessed new legends being born.</p> Mar 26, 2018; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov (86) skates with the puck against the Arizona Coyotes during the first period at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
<p>Every year poses new questions and unforeseen answers. Here’s a look at some of the questions facing the teams going into the playoffs.</p>
<p>Western Conference:</p>
<p>Nashville Predators vs. Colorado Avalanche</p>
<p>With their forwards and defense contributing to the offensive production, and goalie Pekka Rinne with 42 wins and a save percentage of .927, the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Predators have been a juggernaut this season. Last year, Predators were the wild card team in the West and steamrolled their way to the finals against the Pittsburgh Penguins. This time, they bear the burden of being the top team in the league. In the past 10 years only two teams have won the Presidents’ Trophy and the Stanley Cup — the 2007–08 Detroit Red Wings and 2012–13 Chicago Blackhawks. Will the Predators join this exclusive club?</p>
<p>Players to watch: Filip Forsberg, P.K. Subban, Roman Josi, Pekka Rinne</p>
<p>The Colorado Avalanche were the worst team in the league a season ago. This year, they are in the playoffs riding on Nathan MacKinnon’s Hart Trophy-worthy 97-point season, and his dominant first line alongside Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog. Coming up against the Predators, with probably the best defense in the league, will the Avalanche be up to the challenge?</p>
<p>Players to watch: Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen</p>
<p>Winnipeg Jets vs. Minnesota Wild</p>
<p>The Jets have the second-highest regular season goal scorer in Patrik Laine, tied highest assist in Blake Wheeler and the goalie tied for the most number of wins in Connor Hellebuyck, another point-per-game player in Mark Scheifele, and Dustin Byfuglien on defense. Will the Jets be able to translate their season performance into playoff success in only their second playoff appearance?</p>
<p>Players to watch: Patrick Laine, Blake Wheeler, Connor Hellebuyck, Mark Scheifele</p>
<p>Eric Staal had a magnificent 42-goal season and now Zach Parise is healthy and scoring. This will be the sixth consecutive playoff appearance for the Wild, but none that went beyond the second round. How far will this team go after having lost Ryan Suter to injury?</p>
<p>Players to watch: Eric Staal, Mikael Granlund, Zach Parise</p>
<p>Las Vegas Golden Knights vs. Los Angeles Kings</p>
<p>The Golden Knights have set the gold standard for all future expansion teams. This was led by players who had dominant seasons. Players such as William Karlsson had 15 goals in the past two full seasons and this year he had 43, Jonathan Marchessault went from 51 points in 75 games to 75 points in 77 games. Plus, the Golden Knights have Marc-Andre Fleury between the pipes. Fleury has a save percentage of .927 and with three Stanley Cups he is the goalie with the most cup rings in the playoffs. Will Vegas’s fairytale run carry them deep into the playoffs?</p>
<p>Players to watch: William Karlsson, Jonathan Marchessault, Marc-Andre Fleury, James Neal</p> Apr 6, 2018; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Patric Hornqvist (72) Sidney Crosby (87) and Evgeni Malkin (71) celebrate after Crosby scores a goal against the Ottawa Senators in the second period of an NHL game at PPG PAINTS Arena. Mandatory Credit: Don Wright-USA TODAY Sports
<p>The Kings have gone from being the eighth-seeded team to winning the Stanley Cup in 2012. They are in a similar position once again, being a wildcard team. Will they be able to repeat that feat? This time they have Anze Kopitar having a career year. They are also the team with the lowest goals against average this season, Jonathan Quick having won the William M. Jennings Trophy, awarded to the goaltender whose team allows the fewest goals against.</p>
<p>Players to watch: Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty, Jeff Carter, Jonathan Quick</p>
<p>Anaheim Ducks vs. San Jose Sharks</p>
<p>The Ducks are tenacious. With the number of man-games lost due to injury early on, it’s commendable that the Ducks were able to make it to the playoffs. But with the lowest goals for average amongst all the playoff-bound teams, will they be able to find their scoring when required? John Gibson had a successful season, but has battled injuries. Their defense has been their strength, but will they be able to withstand the early rounds without Cam Fowler?</p>
<p>Players to watch: John Gibson, Ryan Getzlaf, Rickard Rakell</p>
<p>The Sharks were in the Stanley Cup finals two years ago. Last year, they were eliminated in the first round. This season, even though goalie Martin Jones hasn’t been that impressive, Evander Kane joining Brent Burns, Joe Pavelski and Logan Couture makes them a legitimate threat. How much will the Sharks miss Joe Thornton’s playmaking early on?</p>
<p>Players to watch: Brent Burns, Joe Pavelski, Logan Couture</p>
<p>Eastern Conference:</p>
<p>Tampa Bay Lightning vs. New Jersey Devils</p>
<p>The Lightning were the force to reckon with for most of the season, with Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov and Andrei Vasilevskiy seemingly headed for a superlative season. Since then, the team has cooled down, although the regular season ended with Kucherov third in the league in points and Vasilevskiy tied for most wins and shutouts. They hope to have Stamkos back from injury by the start of the post-season. Is it possible that the Lighting will return to that early form?</p>
<p>Players to watch: Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Victor Hedman</p>
<p>The Devils, like the Avalanche, are driven by the outstanding performance of one player. Taylor Hall leads the next player in his team by 41 points. Hall led his team into the playoffs – can he take them further?</p>
<p>Players to watch: Taylor Hall</p>
<p>Boston Bruins vs. Toronto Maple Leafs</p>
<p>The Bruins have most of their pieces in place and healthy. They are almost the perfect mix of young talent and veterans. Does this translate into a deep playoff run? Will the other teams find the means to contain the line of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak? Then there are Charlie McAvoy and Zdeno Chara on the blueline. Trade-deadline signing Rick Nash should be back from. This is the team that Leafs coach Mike Babcock thought was really, really good last month.</p>
<p>Players to watch: Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, David Pastrnak</p>
<p>The young Leafs made it to the playoffs in Auston Matthews’ first NHL season last year. Has the addition of veterans such as Patrick Marleau made the team mature enough for their second consecutive playoff? That their forwards can score goes without saying. It’s a group that comprises James van Riemsdyk, Matthews, Nazem Kadri, Patrick Marleau, Mitchell Marner and William Nylander. Frederik Andersen had the most shots against in the regular season even though he ended third in wins. The Leafs need a similar post season from their goalie.</p>
<p>Players to watch: Auston Matthews, James van Riemsdyk, Nazem Kadri, Mitchell Marner</p> Slideshow (3 Images)
<p>Washington Capitals vs. Columbus Blue Jackets</p>
<p>The Capitals were the Presidents’ Trophy winners in 2016 and 2017, only to bow out of the playoffs in the second rounds both times. Is this the year Alex Ovechkin leads his team beyond? They may have lost important players who made the team dominant in the past years, yet managed to win the Metro Division. Their goalie situation remains precarious. Braden Holtby hasn’t been as excellent as in the past and Philipp Grubauer will be staring between the pipes against the Blue Jackets.</p>
<p>Players to watch: Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov</p>
<p>Last season, Sergei Bobrovsky had a regular season save percentage of .931 and playoff .882. Which Bobrovsky will show up for the playoffs this time after a regular season save percentage of .921? Artemi Panarin led the team in goals and assists in the regular season, will the playoffs see the others step up?</p>
<p>Players to watch: Sergei Bobrovsky, Artemi Panarin</p>
<p>Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Philadelphia Flyers</p>
<p>Can Sidney Crosby, Phil Kessel, Matt Murray and Evgeni Malkin make it three cups in a row for the Penguins? Will it matter during the playoffs that the Penguins have the highest regular season goals-against average amongst all the teams in the playoffs? They are third in goals for, and have the highest powerplay percentage.</p>
<p>Players to watch: Sidney Crosby, Phil Kessel, Matt Murray, Evgeni Malkin</p>
<p>The Flyers have been inconsistent during the regular season, but made it to the playoffs in the end. They face one of the deepest teams in the league and the winners of the last two cups. The last time these two teams met in the playoffs in 2012, it was a high-octane series, with the Flyers coming out on top. Will the 2018 Flyers be able to repeat that? Will Claude Giroux again prove to be the Penguins nemesis? A lot of their success might also depend on Flyers goaltender Brian Elliott.</p>
<p>Players to watch: Claude Giroux, Jakub Voracek, Sean Couturier</p>
<p>Reporting by Shakeel Sobhan; Editing by Robert Macmillan</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>GOLD COAST, Australia (Reuters) - Indian team officials will appeal a decision to throw athletes Rakesh Babu and Irfan Kolothum Thodi out of the Commonwealth Games after they were found to have breached the Games’ anti-doping ‘no-needles’ policy.</p> Athletics - Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games - Men's Triple Jump - Qualifying - Carrara Stadium - Gold Coast, Australia - April 12, 2018. A. V. Rakesh Babu of India. REUTERS/David Gray
<p>Triple jumper Babu and race walker Thodi had their accreditation revoked and were asked to return home as soon as possible after a hearing on Thursday, Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) President Louise Martin told reporters.</p>
<p>The CGF said a cleaner had alerted them to a needle in a cup in the athletes’ bedroom and a second needle was later discovered in Babu’s bag.</p>
<p>“The testimony of the athletes ... are both unreliable and evasive,” Martin said. “Rakesh Babu and Irfan Kolothum Thodi are in breach of the ‘no-needles’ policy.</p>
<p>“Babu and Thodi are with immediate effect not permitted to participate in the Games. Their accreditation was suspended and both athletes have been removed from the village.”</p>
<p>Three team officials — chef de mission Vikram Singh Sisodia, team manager Namdev Shirgaonker and athletics team manager Ravinder Chaudhry — were all reprimanded, Martin added.</p>
<p>“The CGF shall advise Vikram Singh Sisodia, Namdev Shirgaonker and Ravinder Chaudhry that any further infractions by any member of the Indian team of the ‘no-needle’ policy could result in the withdrawal of accreditation of the offending person,” she said.</p>
<p>Babu was the 12th and final qualifier for the men’s triple jump final on Saturday. Thodi finished 13th in the men’s 20km race walk last Sunday.</p>
<p>Indian officials told reporters they would be appealing the decision.</p>
<p>“They have taken action against two athletes, which we do not agree with at all ... and we will appeal against the decision,” they said.</p>
<p>“The needle found was reported by the cleaning person. Our athletes totally denied they knew about the needle.</p>
<p>“They (investigators) talked to the cleaning person, they talked to the athlete. They believed the cleaner.</p>
<p>“Basically there is a lot of confusion around the whole episode.”</p>
<p>The officials said Babu had admitted the second needle had been found in his bag but that he had no idea how it got there.</p>
<p>Athletes must have a specific medical exemption to have needles at the Games as part of the fight against doping.</p>
<p>It is the second time the Indian team have been in breach of the policy on the Gold Coast after boxing team doctor Amol Patil was issued a strong written reprimand last week after needles were discovered in a plastic bottle.</p>
<p>Patil had administered a Vitamin B complex injection to a sick boxer and left needles in the room, breaking CGF rules regarding their proper storage.</p>
<p>The matter was not defined as an anti-doping rule violation, but the entire India delegation was warned by the CGF there would be repercussions if they breached the rules again.</p>
<p>Editing by Peter Rutherford</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a> | 4,553 |
<p />
<p>Baseball has a long history in Hollywood. Fans are likely familiar with movies like “Bull Durham,” “A League of Their Own” and, more recently, “Moneyball.” Next week, Major League Baseball will begin the most prominent role it has ever had on the small screen.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>MLB was closely involved in the making of FOX’s “Pitch,” a fictional series about the first woman to play in the majors. Through an unprecedented partnership with the league, FOX received the green light to use official MLB marks, and the broadcast network was given access to big-league venues for filming. “Pitch” is the first regular TV series to feature real team names, logos and uniforms.</p>
<p>The existing relationship between MLB and FOX, which has held MLB broadcast rights for the last two decades, facilitated their work on “Pitch.” Co-creator Dan Fogelman “felt strongly about making the show as authentic as possible,” so FOX Sports executives set up a meeting with MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, according to Chris Tully, executive vice president of media at MLB.</p>
<p>“Authenticity was important to everyone at MLB and our friends at FOX. Certainly making the appearance of the on-field scenes as authentic as possible makes the show better,” Tully told FOXBusiness.com.</p>
<p>FOX is owned by 21st Century Fox (NASDAQ:FOXA), the parent company of FOXBusiness.com.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The new fall show, which premieres Sept. 22, stars Kylie Bunbury as Ginny Baker, a pitcher on the San Diego Padres. League officials coordinated with FOX and the Padres to allow filming in San Diego’s Petco Park, and the show is set in other ballparks like Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles. MLB also helped connect the “Pitch” crew with the league’s uniform and equipment providers. For an authentic look to the show’s baseball scenes, FOX obtained official Majestic Athletic uniforms, Rawlings baseballs and other equipment used by the pros.</p>
<p>MLB personnel have offered their expertise to keep game situations and dialogue accurate, and FOX enlisted the help of former players like Gregg Olson. The former Baltimore Orioles pitcher and 1989 AL Rookie of the Year helped train Bunbury on the mound, according to the <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/pitch-inside-fox-major-league-928390" type="external">Hollywood Reporter Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>With that attention to detail, “Pitch” has been billed as the kind of show that can both appeal to existing fans and sell the sport to TV viewers, particularly women, who aren’t fans. MLB welcomed the chance to showcase the game for fans and primetime TV viewers, Tully said.</p>
<p>“Our fan base is very broad and far-reaching, as evidenced by attendance ratings and TV ratings,” he added. “As far as the authenticity, that will resonate better with [viewers] as well.”</p> | MLB Lends Hand in Making FOX's 'Pitch' | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2016/09/16/mlb-lends-hand-in-making-foxs-pitch.html | 2016-09-16 | 0right
| MLB Lends Hand in Making FOX's 'Pitch'
<p />
<p>Baseball has a long history in Hollywood. Fans are likely familiar with movies like “Bull Durham,” “A League of Their Own” and, more recently, “Moneyball.” Next week, Major League Baseball will begin the most prominent role it has ever had on the small screen.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>MLB was closely involved in the making of FOX’s “Pitch,” a fictional series about the first woman to play in the majors. Through an unprecedented partnership with the league, FOX received the green light to use official MLB marks, and the broadcast network was given access to big-league venues for filming. “Pitch” is the first regular TV series to feature real team names, logos and uniforms.</p>
<p>The existing relationship between MLB and FOX, which has held MLB broadcast rights for the last two decades, facilitated their work on “Pitch.” Co-creator Dan Fogelman “felt strongly about making the show as authentic as possible,” so FOX Sports executives set up a meeting with MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, according to Chris Tully, executive vice president of media at MLB.</p>
<p>“Authenticity was important to everyone at MLB and our friends at FOX. Certainly making the appearance of the on-field scenes as authentic as possible makes the show better,” Tully told FOXBusiness.com.</p>
<p>FOX is owned by 21st Century Fox (NASDAQ:FOXA), the parent company of FOXBusiness.com.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The new fall show, which premieres Sept. 22, stars Kylie Bunbury as Ginny Baker, a pitcher on the San Diego Padres. League officials coordinated with FOX and the Padres to allow filming in San Diego’s Petco Park, and the show is set in other ballparks like Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles. MLB also helped connect the “Pitch” crew with the league’s uniform and equipment providers. For an authentic look to the show’s baseball scenes, FOX obtained official Majestic Athletic uniforms, Rawlings baseballs and other equipment used by the pros.</p>
<p>MLB personnel have offered their expertise to keep game situations and dialogue accurate, and FOX enlisted the help of former players like Gregg Olson. The former Baltimore Orioles pitcher and 1989 AL Rookie of the Year helped train Bunbury on the mound, according to the <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/pitch-inside-fox-major-league-928390" type="external">Hollywood Reporter Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>With that attention to detail, “Pitch” has been billed as the kind of show that can both appeal to existing fans and sell the sport to TV viewers, particularly women, who aren’t fans. MLB welcomed the chance to showcase the game for fans and primetime TV viewers, Tully said.</p>
<p>“Our fan base is very broad and far-reaching, as evidenced by attendance ratings and TV ratings,” he added. “As far as the authenticity, that will resonate better with [viewers] as well.”</p> | 4,554 |
<p>UPDATE FROM SARAH KARP: On Friday afternoon, horse-mounted police officers monitored the dismissal of students from Hyde Park High School in Woodlawn. I am not sure whether or not this is a common occurrence, if trouble was brewing or if they were just out in force because of the recent teen violence.&#160; (I just happened to pick my own children up from school and was driving by, and thought it would be of interest to our readers.)</p>
<p />
<p>&#160;</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>UPDATE: On Friday afternoon, horse-mounted police officers monitored the dismissal of students from Hyde Park High School in Woodlawn. I am not sure whether or not this is a common occurrence or if trouble was brewing or if they were just out in force because of the recent teen violence.&#160; (I just happened to pick my own children up from school and was driving by. I thought it was interesting.)</p>
<p />
<p>Most of Mayor Richard M. Daley’s teen violence press conference Wednesday afternoon was spent announcing a laundry list of initiatives from more police at schools and bus stops to providing jobs for 600 at-risk teens. He also rehashed at least one initiative already announced: Schools CEO Ron Huberman’s plan to give jobs and mentors to over 1,000 at-risk students.</p>
<p>But a new theme also emerged: Schools should get better information from courts and police about which of their students are in trouble.</p>
<p>“Everybody else in the community knows about it except the professionals, and that requires a change in state law,” Daley said. “If every (other) child knows about that child in the classroom and the teacher doesn’t, by law, then there’s something wrong with the law.”</p>
<p>Critics of the school turnaround strategy, however, have noted that the turnover caused by these shakeups sends veteran teachers packing—and with them, the long-standing knowledge these teachers have about students and the community. Most veteran teachers at Fenger, Catalyst hears, left when that school became a turnaround.</p>
<p>After the press conference, the mayor’s point-man on community initiatives, Christopher Mallette, noted that it’s frustrating for school staff not to have access to information, especially from the juvenile courts or the child welfare system. Without the information that the child needs help, staff members are unable to reach out to community organizations that could help young people and their families, he says.</p>
<p>Mallette, who formerly ran the Juvenile Support Intervention Center, a partnership between the police department, the courts and the city, says he remembers one instance in which the mother of a boy arrested outside his school for being involved in an alleged gang fight complained that the school wasn’t safe: School administrators, the mother said, didn’t know that conflict had been brewing.</p>
<p>The mayor’s point about information-sharing was less of a plan than a suggestion, Mallette said. Laws protecting the privacy of juveniles would have to change to allow officials to share information with teachers and counselors, he explained.</p>
<p>Catalyst has asked how much information teachers and counselors should have about students. Whether a parent is sent to prison, or a child is placed in foster care, often teachers are the last to find out. Yet in classrooms, teachers must deal with the rattled, stressed-out child.</p>
<p>Some suggest that the ideally, schools should increase the number of counselors (the current ratio is 350 to 1) so they could form closer relationships with students and families. Counselors would find out information organically.</p>
<p>Daley and Huberman have not suggested providing more counselors to schools.</p>
<p>But Huberman has refused to name which of the 45 high schools will get money under his plan to target the most at-risk kids. He says he didn’t want to “label” these schools as the worst.</p>
<p>But if we don’t know which high schools are getting funds, how will we know whether the plan is working?</p>
<p>Daley called upon police to strategically deploy more resources to troubled schools and bust routes. As part of the “Safe Student Program,” the police department will send an additional 44 officers to patrol during school dismissal times.</p>
<p>Other initiatives include $1 million from Chicago’s parking meter lease agreement to fund at least 500 jobs and after-school programs for youth who agree to return to school or seek a GED. This program is set to launch in January 2010.</p>
<p>Daley, however, insists that inter-agency cooperation and information-sharing will put a dent in youth violence. “The answer is not more money,” the mayor said. “Let’s find out what’s wrong with the family and how to get them help.”</p> | Sharing information will curb teen violence, Daley says | false | http://chicagoreporter.com/sharing-information-will-curb-teen-violence-daley-says/ | 2009-10-08 | 3left-center
| Sharing information will curb teen violence, Daley says
<p>UPDATE FROM SARAH KARP: On Friday afternoon, horse-mounted police officers monitored the dismissal of students from Hyde Park High School in Woodlawn. I am not sure whether or not this is a common occurrence, if trouble was brewing or if they were just out in force because of the recent teen violence.&#160; (I just happened to pick my own children up from school and was driving by, and thought it would be of interest to our readers.)</p>
<p />
<p>&#160;</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>UPDATE: On Friday afternoon, horse-mounted police officers monitored the dismissal of students from Hyde Park High School in Woodlawn. I am not sure whether or not this is a common occurrence or if trouble was brewing or if they were just out in force because of the recent teen violence.&#160; (I just happened to pick my own children up from school and was driving by. I thought it was interesting.)</p>
<p />
<p>Most of Mayor Richard M. Daley’s teen violence press conference Wednesday afternoon was spent announcing a laundry list of initiatives from more police at schools and bus stops to providing jobs for 600 at-risk teens. He also rehashed at least one initiative already announced: Schools CEO Ron Huberman’s plan to give jobs and mentors to over 1,000 at-risk students.</p>
<p>But a new theme also emerged: Schools should get better information from courts and police about which of their students are in trouble.</p>
<p>“Everybody else in the community knows about it except the professionals, and that requires a change in state law,” Daley said. “If every (other) child knows about that child in the classroom and the teacher doesn’t, by law, then there’s something wrong with the law.”</p>
<p>Critics of the school turnaround strategy, however, have noted that the turnover caused by these shakeups sends veteran teachers packing—and with them, the long-standing knowledge these teachers have about students and the community. Most veteran teachers at Fenger, Catalyst hears, left when that school became a turnaround.</p>
<p>After the press conference, the mayor’s point-man on community initiatives, Christopher Mallette, noted that it’s frustrating for school staff not to have access to information, especially from the juvenile courts or the child welfare system. Without the information that the child needs help, staff members are unable to reach out to community organizations that could help young people and their families, he says.</p>
<p>Mallette, who formerly ran the Juvenile Support Intervention Center, a partnership between the police department, the courts and the city, says he remembers one instance in which the mother of a boy arrested outside his school for being involved in an alleged gang fight complained that the school wasn’t safe: School administrators, the mother said, didn’t know that conflict had been brewing.</p>
<p>The mayor’s point about information-sharing was less of a plan than a suggestion, Mallette said. Laws protecting the privacy of juveniles would have to change to allow officials to share information with teachers and counselors, he explained.</p>
<p>Catalyst has asked how much information teachers and counselors should have about students. Whether a parent is sent to prison, or a child is placed in foster care, often teachers are the last to find out. Yet in classrooms, teachers must deal with the rattled, stressed-out child.</p>
<p>Some suggest that the ideally, schools should increase the number of counselors (the current ratio is 350 to 1) so they could form closer relationships with students and families. Counselors would find out information organically.</p>
<p>Daley and Huberman have not suggested providing more counselors to schools.</p>
<p>But Huberman has refused to name which of the 45 high schools will get money under his plan to target the most at-risk kids. He says he didn’t want to “label” these schools as the worst.</p>
<p>But if we don’t know which high schools are getting funds, how will we know whether the plan is working?</p>
<p>Daley called upon police to strategically deploy more resources to troubled schools and bust routes. As part of the “Safe Student Program,” the police department will send an additional 44 officers to patrol during school dismissal times.</p>
<p>Other initiatives include $1 million from Chicago’s parking meter lease agreement to fund at least 500 jobs and after-school programs for youth who agree to return to school or seek a GED. This program is set to launch in January 2010.</p>
<p>Daley, however, insists that inter-agency cooperation and information-sharing will put a dent in youth violence. “The answer is not more money,” the mayor said. “Let’s find out what’s wrong with the family and how to get them help.”</p> | 4,555 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>&#160; Coach: Charlie Dotson (11th year; 79-40)</p>
<p>&#160; Last season: 5-6; lost at Clovis in Class 6A first round</p>
<p>&#160; Returning starters: 3 offense, 3 defense</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>&#160; Key players: Colin Barz, sr. (6-0, 150, WR); Javien Chavez, sr. (5-10, 170, WR); Gabe Smith, jr. (5-9, 150, QB); Keegan McKeown, sr. (6-1, 245, C); Nathan Tran, sr.</p>
<p>(5-8, 180, MLB); Keith Alvarado, soph. (6-2, 230, DT); Myles Bravo, jr. (6-3, 294, DT); Grayson Hertrich, sr. (6-0., 187, DE); Isaiah Mambo, jr. (5-10, 168, CB); Remsa Troy, jr. (5-7, 155, RB).</p>
<p>&#160; Outlook: The loneliest football&#160;&#160; player in all of Class 6A this season might be whoever Dotson designates as his punter. “We’re selling to the kids that we have four downs to get 10 yards,” said Dotson, already known as one of 6A’s most adventurous head coaches. “We’re gonna have to take chances in order to win games.” Smith was the varsity backup QB and JV starter last year; Chavez is also one of the new primary offensive weapons, as is Troy in the backfield. As Eldorado will have more players going both ways than normal, Dotson said look for Eldorado to actually do some huddling this year to slow games down and preserve energy. This is vital for the Eagles, who lost five of their six games last season after leading in the fourth quarter. Eldorado — which has an inordinately demanding opening three-game stretch — will only be starting three or four seniors on both sides of the ball. That youth will face a daunting proposition in their district, which this season is likely the strongest, top-to-bottom league in all of New Mexico now that Santa Fe has gone independent. Bravo gives Eldorado a much-needed space filler on the interior of the D-line, where Alvarado started as a freshman last fall. The Eagles open the year slotted behind Manzano and La Cueva, and maybe Clovis, in the 2-6A pecking order.</p>
<p>2017 SCHEDULE</p>
<p>(x-District 2-6A games)</p>
<p>Aug. 25&#160;&#160; &#160;at Las Cruces7 p.m.</p>
<p>Sept. 1&#160;&#160; &#160;at Volcano Vista (C)7 p.m.</p>
<p>Sept. 8&#160;&#160; &#160;Mayfield (W)7 p.m.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Sept. 15&#160;&#160; &#160;Albuquerque High (W)7 p.m.</p>
<p>Sept. 22&#160;&#160; &#160;Valley (W)7 p.m.</p>
<p>Sept. 29&#160;&#160; &#160;at Cibola (C)7 p.m.</p>
<p>x-Oct. 7&#160;&#160; &#160;Clovis (W)2 p.m.</p>
<p>x-Oct. 13&#160;&#160; &#160;at Sandia (W)7 p.m.</p>
<p>x-Oct. 19&#160;&#160; &#160;Manzano (W)7 p.m.</p>
<p>x-Oct. 27&#160;&#160; &#160;at La Cueva (W)7 p.m.</p>
<p>Nov. 3&#160;&#160; &#160;OPEN</p>
<p>(C: Community Stadium; W: Wilson Stadium)</p>
<p>&#160; Circle the date: The district opener against Clovis should hold great interest for the burnt orange, especially since the Wildcats beat Eldorado twice last season.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Prep football: Eldorado at a glance | false | https://abqjournal.com/1040485/prep-football-eldorado-at-a-glance-2.html | 2least
| Prep football: Eldorado at a glance
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>&#160; Coach: Charlie Dotson (11th year; 79-40)</p>
<p>&#160; Last season: 5-6; lost at Clovis in Class 6A first round</p>
<p>&#160; Returning starters: 3 offense, 3 defense</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>&#160; Key players: Colin Barz, sr. (6-0, 150, WR); Javien Chavez, sr. (5-10, 170, WR); Gabe Smith, jr. (5-9, 150, QB); Keegan McKeown, sr. (6-1, 245, C); Nathan Tran, sr.</p>
<p>(5-8, 180, MLB); Keith Alvarado, soph. (6-2, 230, DT); Myles Bravo, jr. (6-3, 294, DT); Grayson Hertrich, sr. (6-0., 187, DE); Isaiah Mambo, jr. (5-10, 168, CB); Remsa Troy, jr. (5-7, 155, RB).</p>
<p>&#160; Outlook: The loneliest football&#160;&#160; player in all of Class 6A this season might be whoever Dotson designates as his punter. “We’re selling to the kids that we have four downs to get 10 yards,” said Dotson, already known as one of 6A’s most adventurous head coaches. “We’re gonna have to take chances in order to win games.” Smith was the varsity backup QB and JV starter last year; Chavez is also one of the new primary offensive weapons, as is Troy in the backfield. As Eldorado will have more players going both ways than normal, Dotson said look for Eldorado to actually do some huddling this year to slow games down and preserve energy. This is vital for the Eagles, who lost five of their six games last season after leading in the fourth quarter. Eldorado — which has an inordinately demanding opening three-game stretch — will only be starting three or four seniors on both sides of the ball. That youth will face a daunting proposition in their district, which this season is likely the strongest, top-to-bottom league in all of New Mexico now that Santa Fe has gone independent. Bravo gives Eldorado a much-needed space filler on the interior of the D-line, where Alvarado started as a freshman last fall. The Eagles open the year slotted behind Manzano and La Cueva, and maybe Clovis, in the 2-6A pecking order.</p>
<p>2017 SCHEDULE</p>
<p>(x-District 2-6A games)</p>
<p>Aug. 25&#160;&#160; &#160;at Las Cruces7 p.m.</p>
<p>Sept. 1&#160;&#160; &#160;at Volcano Vista (C)7 p.m.</p>
<p>Sept. 8&#160;&#160; &#160;Mayfield (W)7 p.m.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Sept. 15&#160;&#160; &#160;Albuquerque High (W)7 p.m.</p>
<p>Sept. 22&#160;&#160; &#160;Valley (W)7 p.m.</p>
<p>Sept. 29&#160;&#160; &#160;at Cibola (C)7 p.m.</p>
<p>x-Oct. 7&#160;&#160; &#160;Clovis (W)2 p.m.</p>
<p>x-Oct. 13&#160;&#160; &#160;at Sandia (W)7 p.m.</p>
<p>x-Oct. 19&#160;&#160; &#160;Manzano (W)7 p.m.</p>
<p>x-Oct. 27&#160;&#160; &#160;at La Cueva (W)7 p.m.</p>
<p>Nov. 3&#160;&#160; &#160;OPEN</p>
<p>(C: Community Stadium; W: Wilson Stadium)</p>
<p>&#160; Circle the date: The district opener against Clovis should hold great interest for the burnt orange, especially since the Wildcats beat Eldorado twice last season.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | 4,556 |
|
<p><a href="https://i1.wp.com/powerline.wpengine.com/ed-assets/2012/10/NHS0812.jpeg" type="external" />Recent investigations have revealed hospitals administered by Britain’s National Health Service to be veritable houses of horrors. Here is the latest shock headline: <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9591814/Patients-starve-and-die-of-thirst-on-hospital-wards.html" type="external">Patients starve and die of thirst on hospital wards</a>. Hospital conditions under socialized medicine appear to be trending toward the medieval:</p>
<p>Forty-three hospital patients starved to death last year and 111 died of thirst while being treated on wards, new figures disclose today.</p>
<p>The death toll was disclosed by the Government amid mounting concern over the dignity of patients on NHS wards.</p>
<p>The Office for National Statistics figures also showed that:</p>
<p>* as well as 43 people who starved to death, 287 people were recorded by doctors as being malnourished when they died in hospitals; * there were 558 cases where doctors recorded that a patient had died in a state of severe dehydration in hospitals….</p>
<p>The records, from the Office for National Statistics, follow a series of scandals of care of the elderly, with doctors forced to prescribe patients with drinking water or put them on drips to make sure they do not become severely dehydrated.</p>
<p>Katherine Murphy, chief executive of the Patients Association, said the statistics were a grim and shaming reflection of 21st century Britain. …</p>
<p>In many wards nurses were dumping meal trays in front of patients too weak to feed themselves and then taking them away again untouched.</p>
<p>Many of those who starve or die of thirst are elderly, but by no means all:</p>
<p>In July, an inquest heard that a young man who died of dehydration at a leading hospital rang 999 for police because he was so thirsty. Officers arrived at Kane Gorny’s bedside, but were told by nurses that he was in a confused state and were sent away.</p>
<p>The footballer and runner, 22, died of dehydration a few hours later, an inquest heard in July.</p>
<p>…[H]e was in hospital for a routine hip replacement. Doctors had warned that, without regular medication to control his fluid levels, he would die. But when he was admitted to St George’s Hospital in Tooting, South London, staff ignored repeated reminders from Mr Gorny and his family to give him the tablets, and he became severely dehydrated after being refused water.</p>
<p>His mother told the inquest that in May 2009 she received a distressed phone call from her son, in which he said he had called the police because he was so desperate for a drink.</p>
<p>Shortly before he died, his mother found him delirious and saw that his medication was untouched. … He died of water deficit and hypernatraemia, a medical term for dehydration, three days after he was admitted to hospital.</p>
<p>It has often been said that the paradigm of socialism is the public rest room. The British used to expect something better from their hospitals.</p> | Annals of Government Medicine | true | http://powerlineblog.com/archives/2012/10/annals-of-government-medicine-15.php | 2012-10-07 | 0right
| Annals of Government Medicine
<p><a href="https://i1.wp.com/powerline.wpengine.com/ed-assets/2012/10/NHS0812.jpeg" type="external" />Recent investigations have revealed hospitals administered by Britain’s National Health Service to be veritable houses of horrors. Here is the latest shock headline: <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9591814/Patients-starve-and-die-of-thirst-on-hospital-wards.html" type="external">Patients starve and die of thirst on hospital wards</a>. Hospital conditions under socialized medicine appear to be trending toward the medieval:</p>
<p>Forty-three hospital patients starved to death last year and 111 died of thirst while being treated on wards, new figures disclose today.</p>
<p>The death toll was disclosed by the Government amid mounting concern over the dignity of patients on NHS wards.</p>
<p>The Office for National Statistics figures also showed that:</p>
<p>* as well as 43 people who starved to death, 287 people were recorded by doctors as being malnourished when they died in hospitals; * there were 558 cases where doctors recorded that a patient had died in a state of severe dehydration in hospitals….</p>
<p>The records, from the Office for National Statistics, follow a series of scandals of care of the elderly, with doctors forced to prescribe patients with drinking water or put them on drips to make sure they do not become severely dehydrated.</p>
<p>Katherine Murphy, chief executive of the Patients Association, said the statistics were a grim and shaming reflection of 21st century Britain. …</p>
<p>In many wards nurses were dumping meal trays in front of patients too weak to feed themselves and then taking them away again untouched.</p>
<p>Many of those who starve or die of thirst are elderly, but by no means all:</p>
<p>In July, an inquest heard that a young man who died of dehydration at a leading hospital rang 999 for police because he was so thirsty. Officers arrived at Kane Gorny’s bedside, but were told by nurses that he was in a confused state and were sent away.</p>
<p>The footballer and runner, 22, died of dehydration a few hours later, an inquest heard in July.</p>
<p>…[H]e was in hospital for a routine hip replacement. Doctors had warned that, without regular medication to control his fluid levels, he would die. But when he was admitted to St George’s Hospital in Tooting, South London, staff ignored repeated reminders from Mr Gorny and his family to give him the tablets, and he became severely dehydrated after being refused water.</p>
<p>His mother told the inquest that in May 2009 she received a distressed phone call from her son, in which he said he had called the police because he was so desperate for a drink.</p>
<p>Shortly before he died, his mother found him delirious and saw that his medication was untouched. … He died of water deficit and hypernatraemia, a medical term for dehydration, three days after he was admitted to hospital.</p>
<p>It has often been said that the paradigm of socialism is the public rest room. The British used to expect something better from their hospitals.</p> | 4,557 |
<p>In the Jewish settlement of Migron, Israeli settlers are living out the very drama that derailed the most recent round of peace negotiations between Palestinians and Israreli.</p>
<p>While both sides blame each other for the talks' collapse, there's no question what was a major stumbling block: Jewish settlements in the West Bank.&#160;One settlement, Migron, is very much in the political spotlight right now — though not exactly for the reasons that the talks collapsed.</p>
<p>About 50 Jewish Israeli families – 300 or so people in all – live in Migron, a cluster of mobile homes on a treeless hilltop outside the Palestinian city of Ramallah.&#160;Migron is the largest of the so-called illegal outposts scattered throughout the West Bank.</p>
<p>But a Supreme Court decision from August has put the future of Migron in question. The judges ruled Migron was built illegally on private Palestinian land, and they ordered the government to evict the residents and demolish their homes by the end of March.</p>
<p>Migron spokesman Itai&#160;Chemo called the demolition order, “the most horrific thing that a country can do to its people.”</p>
<p>In the case of Israeli settlements, illegal doesn’t necessarily mean unsanctioned. Chemo said that is the bitter irony to the situation.</p>
<p>“There’s an electricity poll (in town),” Chemo said. “I cannot bring it on my own. It’s the country that put it over here, the state.”</p>
<p>People have lived at Migron for 10 years, Chemo explained.</p>
<p>“The houses that you see here were brought in by the ministry of housing. The ministry of defense built the roads and all the infrastructure," Chemo said.</p>
<p>Same goes for the water.</p>
<p />
<p>But there is another group of people just down the hill from Migron unhappy with the situation as well. They are the residents of the Palestinian village of Burka.</p>
<p>Standing next to an old cemetery filled with stones bearing inscriptions in Arabic, a village native who did not want to give his name asked if the Israelis have a cemetery of their own in the settlement.</p>
<p>"We belong. This is our proof that this land is ours," he said.</p>
<p>He insists Migron should never have been built. The settlers living there should be evicted according to Israel’s rule of law, he added.</p>
<p>“What gives them the right to take the land? ‘God gave us this, God said in the Bible that this is our land.’ What about us?," he said.&#160;“It’s apartheid. That’s all it is. We’re looked upon as nothing, we don’t belong here, we’re a nuisance.”</p>
<p>Palestinians seriously doubt Migron will ever be dismantled, despite Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak saying it is out of the question for settlers to remain on private Palestinian land.</p>
<p>There is precedent for demolishing illegal buildings at Migron. It happened last September. Settlers tussled with Israeli police while bulldozers knocked down two houses. It's the kind of scene pro-settler politicians say cannot be repeated, regardless of the Supreme Court decision.</p>
<p>Vice premier Silvan Shalom recently paid a visit to Migron and weighed in on the issue.</p>
<p>“We need to find a noble compromise,” Shalom said.</p>
<p>It appears the Israeli government is going to build the residents of Migron new homes. The new houses will be put up on another West Bank hilltop, about a mile from where they live right now. It is not clear how long this will take, or what will happen to the existing buildings at Migron itself.</p>
<p>Peace Now, an Israeli organization that opposes the settlements, said the deal rewards settlers for breaking the law.</p>
<p>“The deals that they are trying to make are absurd,” said Etai Mizrav of Peace Now. “We already passed the debating part and we’re now in the part when, after so many years that this injustice is taking place, the Supreme Court said that Migron should not be where it is right now.”</p>
<p>The prime minister’s spokesman, Mark Regev said he agrees with that. The law is clear and the Supreme Court has spoken, he said. Migron has to be evacuated by the end of March.&#160;But Regev also said finding a compromise with the settlers is about avoiding violence.</p>
<p>“We are seeking a negotiated solution involving a voluntary relocation,” Regev said. “But if that’s not possible. I have to be clear: the Supreme Court’s decision will be implemented.”</p>
<p>That would still leave about 100 illegal West Bank outposts in legal limbo. But the Israeli government is moving to resolve the legal question of the outposts. It has put together a committee of legal experts to look at ways of legalizing the illegal outposts once and for all.</p> | Illegal Israeli settlement faces looming deadline to be vacated | false | https://pri.org/stories/2012-02-01/illegal-israeli-settlement-faces-looming-deadline-be-vacated | 2012-02-01 | 3left-center
| Illegal Israeli settlement faces looming deadline to be vacated
<p>In the Jewish settlement of Migron, Israeli settlers are living out the very drama that derailed the most recent round of peace negotiations between Palestinians and Israreli.</p>
<p>While both sides blame each other for the talks' collapse, there's no question what was a major stumbling block: Jewish settlements in the West Bank.&#160;One settlement, Migron, is very much in the political spotlight right now — though not exactly for the reasons that the talks collapsed.</p>
<p>About 50 Jewish Israeli families – 300 or so people in all – live in Migron, a cluster of mobile homes on a treeless hilltop outside the Palestinian city of Ramallah.&#160;Migron is the largest of the so-called illegal outposts scattered throughout the West Bank.</p>
<p>But a Supreme Court decision from August has put the future of Migron in question. The judges ruled Migron was built illegally on private Palestinian land, and they ordered the government to evict the residents and demolish their homes by the end of March.</p>
<p>Migron spokesman Itai&#160;Chemo called the demolition order, “the most horrific thing that a country can do to its people.”</p>
<p>In the case of Israeli settlements, illegal doesn’t necessarily mean unsanctioned. Chemo said that is the bitter irony to the situation.</p>
<p>“There’s an electricity poll (in town),” Chemo said. “I cannot bring it on my own. It’s the country that put it over here, the state.”</p>
<p>People have lived at Migron for 10 years, Chemo explained.</p>
<p>“The houses that you see here were brought in by the ministry of housing. The ministry of defense built the roads and all the infrastructure," Chemo said.</p>
<p>Same goes for the water.</p>
<p />
<p>But there is another group of people just down the hill from Migron unhappy with the situation as well. They are the residents of the Palestinian village of Burka.</p>
<p>Standing next to an old cemetery filled with stones bearing inscriptions in Arabic, a village native who did not want to give his name asked if the Israelis have a cemetery of their own in the settlement.</p>
<p>"We belong. This is our proof that this land is ours," he said.</p>
<p>He insists Migron should never have been built. The settlers living there should be evicted according to Israel’s rule of law, he added.</p>
<p>“What gives them the right to take the land? ‘God gave us this, God said in the Bible that this is our land.’ What about us?," he said.&#160;“It’s apartheid. That’s all it is. We’re looked upon as nothing, we don’t belong here, we’re a nuisance.”</p>
<p>Palestinians seriously doubt Migron will ever be dismantled, despite Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak saying it is out of the question for settlers to remain on private Palestinian land.</p>
<p>There is precedent for demolishing illegal buildings at Migron. It happened last September. Settlers tussled with Israeli police while bulldozers knocked down two houses. It's the kind of scene pro-settler politicians say cannot be repeated, regardless of the Supreme Court decision.</p>
<p>Vice premier Silvan Shalom recently paid a visit to Migron and weighed in on the issue.</p>
<p>“We need to find a noble compromise,” Shalom said.</p>
<p>It appears the Israeli government is going to build the residents of Migron new homes. The new houses will be put up on another West Bank hilltop, about a mile from where they live right now. It is not clear how long this will take, or what will happen to the existing buildings at Migron itself.</p>
<p>Peace Now, an Israeli organization that opposes the settlements, said the deal rewards settlers for breaking the law.</p>
<p>“The deals that they are trying to make are absurd,” said Etai Mizrav of Peace Now. “We already passed the debating part and we’re now in the part when, after so many years that this injustice is taking place, the Supreme Court said that Migron should not be where it is right now.”</p>
<p>The prime minister’s spokesman, Mark Regev said he agrees with that. The law is clear and the Supreme Court has spoken, he said. Migron has to be evacuated by the end of March.&#160;But Regev also said finding a compromise with the settlers is about avoiding violence.</p>
<p>“We are seeking a negotiated solution involving a voluntary relocation,” Regev said. “But if that’s not possible. I have to be clear: the Supreme Court’s decision will be implemented.”</p>
<p>That would still leave about 100 illegal West Bank outposts in legal limbo. But the Israeli government is moving to resolve the legal question of the outposts. It has put together a committee of legal experts to look at ways of legalizing the illegal outposts once and for all.</p> | 4,558 |
<p>Nov. 17 (UPI) — Renewed speculation over the next move from OPEC helped pull crude oil prices out of a slump on Friday, though many voices said U.S. shale may be the spoiler.</p>
<p>“Khalid al-Falih, the minister of energy, industry and mineral resources of Saudi Arabia and chairman of Saudi Aramco, all but guaranteed an extension of oil production cuts to be officially announced at the end of the month despite the protestations by some Russian oil companies,” <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Phil_Flynn/" type="external">Phil Flynn</a>, a senior market analyst for the PRICE Futures Group in Chicago, said in an emailed market report.</p>
<p>Members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries meet later this month to consider <a href="https://www.upi.com/United-Arab-Emirates-next-to-support-OPEC-cut-extension/8451509368376/" type="external">the fate</a> of a multilateral production cut agreement that’s credited with a major rally in crude oil prices during the third quarter. Strong commitment to the deal so far, plus lingering global tensions, pushed oil prices up about 25 percent since the start of the quarter.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.upi.com/Energy-News/2017/11/17/Texas-jobs-shale-production-increasing/3901510914821/?utm_source=sec&amp;utm_campaign=sl&amp;utm_medium=6" type="external">A report</a> from the <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Federal_Reserve/" type="external">Federal Reserve</a> Bank of Dallas said U.S. commercial crude oil inventories, which are an indication of market balance, were 188 million barrels above the five-year average. In the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, inventories are 119 million barrels above 2010-14 average levels.</p>
<p>“While over half of the inventory overhang in OECD markets is concentrated in the United States, the 88-million-barrel decline in U.S. inventories since May is a promising sign that domestic inventories are rebalancing,” the bank’s latest report read.</p>
<p>Crude oil prices were soaring in overnight trading, but settling somewhat in the minutes before the opening bell in New York. The price for Brent crude oil, the global benchmark, was <a href="http://www.cmegroup.com/trading/energy/crude-oil/brent-crude-oil-last-day.html" type="external">up 0.73 percent</a> moments before the open to $61.81 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, was <a href="http://www.cmegroup.com/trading/energy/crude-oil/light-sweet-crude.html" type="external">up 1.3 percent</a> to $55.91 per barrel.</p>
<p>Oil prices will react later in the day when drilling services company Baker Hughes releases its weekly rig count, which offers a loose gauge of exploration and production activity. Gains from the United States may pull down oil prices as that could suggest future production growth from U.S. shale basins.</p>
<p>This week, the International Energy Agency said U.S. shale oil production could double by 2025, adding more weight to the supply-side strains that last year pulled oil prices below $30 per barrel.</p>
<p>“Far from taking a breather, the U.S. shale revolution is just getting started and will dominate the supply-side of the oil equation for years to come,” Stephen Brennock, an analyst with London oil broker PVM, said in an emailed market report.</p> | Oil prices snap out of slump on OPEC rhetoric | false | https://newsline.com/oil-prices-snap-out-of-slump-on-opec-rhetoric/ | 2017-11-17 | 1right-center
| Oil prices snap out of slump on OPEC rhetoric
<p>Nov. 17 (UPI) — Renewed speculation over the next move from OPEC helped pull crude oil prices out of a slump on Friday, though many voices said U.S. shale may be the spoiler.</p>
<p>“Khalid al-Falih, the minister of energy, industry and mineral resources of Saudi Arabia and chairman of Saudi Aramco, all but guaranteed an extension of oil production cuts to be officially announced at the end of the month despite the protestations by some Russian oil companies,” <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Phil_Flynn/" type="external">Phil Flynn</a>, a senior market analyst for the PRICE Futures Group in Chicago, said in an emailed market report.</p>
<p>Members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries meet later this month to consider <a href="https://www.upi.com/United-Arab-Emirates-next-to-support-OPEC-cut-extension/8451509368376/" type="external">the fate</a> of a multilateral production cut agreement that’s credited with a major rally in crude oil prices during the third quarter. Strong commitment to the deal so far, plus lingering global tensions, pushed oil prices up about 25 percent since the start of the quarter.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.upi.com/Energy-News/2017/11/17/Texas-jobs-shale-production-increasing/3901510914821/?utm_source=sec&amp;utm_campaign=sl&amp;utm_medium=6" type="external">A report</a> from the <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Federal_Reserve/" type="external">Federal Reserve</a> Bank of Dallas said U.S. commercial crude oil inventories, which are an indication of market balance, were 188 million barrels above the five-year average. In the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, inventories are 119 million barrels above 2010-14 average levels.</p>
<p>“While over half of the inventory overhang in OECD markets is concentrated in the United States, the 88-million-barrel decline in U.S. inventories since May is a promising sign that domestic inventories are rebalancing,” the bank’s latest report read.</p>
<p>Crude oil prices were soaring in overnight trading, but settling somewhat in the minutes before the opening bell in New York. The price for Brent crude oil, the global benchmark, was <a href="http://www.cmegroup.com/trading/energy/crude-oil/brent-crude-oil-last-day.html" type="external">up 0.73 percent</a> moments before the open to $61.81 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, was <a href="http://www.cmegroup.com/trading/energy/crude-oil/light-sweet-crude.html" type="external">up 1.3 percent</a> to $55.91 per barrel.</p>
<p>Oil prices will react later in the day when drilling services company Baker Hughes releases its weekly rig count, which offers a loose gauge of exploration and production activity. Gains from the United States may pull down oil prices as that could suggest future production growth from U.S. shale basins.</p>
<p>This week, the International Energy Agency said U.S. shale oil production could double by 2025, adding more weight to the supply-side strains that last year pulled oil prices below $30 per barrel.</p>
<p>“Far from taking a breather, the U.S. shale revolution is just getting started and will dominate the supply-side of the oil equation for years to come,” Stephen Brennock, an analyst with London oil broker PVM, said in an emailed market report.</p> | 4,559 |
<p>“The rich are different from us,” F. Scott Fitzgerald is said to have remarked to Ernest Hemingway, to which Hemingway allegedly replied, “Yes, they have more money.”</p>
<p>The exchange, although it never actually took place, sums up a wisdom Fitzgerald had that eluded Hemingway. The rich are different. The cocoon of wealth and privilege permits the rich to turn those around them into compliant workers, hangers-on, servants, flatterers and sycophants. Wealth breeds, as Fitzgerald illustrated in “The Great Gatsby” and his short story “The Rich Boy,” a class of people for whom human beings are disposable commodities. Colleagues, associates, employees, kitchen staff, servants, gardeners, tutors, personal trainers, even friends and family, bend to the whims of the wealthy or disappear. Once oligarchs achieve unchecked economic and political power, as they have in the United States, the citizens too become disposable.</p>
<p>The public face of the oligarchic class bears little resemblance to the private face. I, like Fitzgerald, was thrown into the embrace of the upper crust when young. I was shipped off as a scholarship student at the age of 10 to an exclusive New England boarding school. I had classmates whose fathers — fathers they rarely saw — arrived at the school in their limousines accompanied by personal photographers (and at times their mistresses), so the press could be fed images of rich and famous men playing the role of good fathers. I spent time in the homes of the ultra-rich and powerful, watching my classmates, who were children, callously order around men and women who worked as their chauffeurs, cooks, nannies and servants. When the sons and daughters of the rich get into serious trouble there are always lawyers, publicists and political personages to protect them — George W. Bush’s life is a case study in the insidious affirmative action for the rich. The rich have a snobbish disdain for the poor — despite well-publicized acts of philanthropy — and the middle class. These lower classes are viewed as uncouth parasites, annoyances that have to be endured, at times placated and always controlled in the quest to amass more power and money. My hatred of authority, along with my loathing for the pretensions, heartlessness and sense of entitlement of the rich, comes from living among the privileged. It was a deeply unpleasant experience. But it exposed me to their insatiable selfishness and hedonism. I learned, as a boy, who were my enemies.</p>
<p>The inability to grasp the pathology of our oligarchic rulers is one of our gravest faults. We have been blinded to the depravity of our ruling elite by the relentless propaganda of public relations firms that work on behalf of corporations and the rich. Compliant politicians, clueless entertainers and our vapid, corporate-funded popular culture, which holds up the rich as leaders to emulate and assures us that through diligence and hard work we can join them, keep us from seeing the truth.</p>
<p />
<p>“They were careless people, Tom and Daisy,” Fitzgerald wrote of the wealthy couple at the center of Gatsby’s life. “They smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made.”</p>
<p>Aristotle, Niccolò Machiavelli, Alexis de Tocqueville, Adam Smith and Karl Marx all began from the premise there is a natural antagonism between the rich and the masses. “Those who have too much of the goods of fortune, strength, wealth, friends, and the like, are neither willing nor able to submit to authority,” Aristotle wrote in “Politics.” “The evil begins at home; for when they are boys, by reason of the luxury in which they are brought up, they never learn, even at school, the habit of obedience.” Oligarchs, these philosophers knew, are schooled in the mechanisms of manipulation, subtle and overt repression and exploitation to protect their wealth and power at our expense. Foremost among their mechanisms of control is the control of ideas. Ruling elites ensure that the established intellectual class is subservient to an ideology — in this case free market capitalism and globalization — that justifies their greed. “The ruling ideas are nothing more than the ideal expression of the dominant material relationships,” Marx wrote, “the dominant material relationships grasped as ideas.”</p>
<p>The blanket dissemination of the ideology of free market capitalism through the media and the purging, especially in academia, of critical voices have permitted our oligarchs to orchestrate the largest income inequality gap in the industrialized world. The top 1 percent in the United States own 40 percent of the nation’s wealth while the bottom 80 percent own only 7 percent, as Joseph E. Stiglitz wrote in “The Price of Inequality.” For every dollar that the wealthiest 0.1 percent amassed in 1980 they had an additional $3 in yearly income in 2008, David Cay Johnston explained in <a href="http://wweek.com/portland/article-17350-9_things_the_rich_dont_want_you_to_know_about_taxes.html%20" type="external">the article</a> “9 Things the Rich Don’t Want You to Know About Taxes.” The bottom 90 percent, Johnson said, in the same period added only one cent. Half of the country is now classified as poor or low-income. The real value of the minimum wage has fallen by $2.77 since 1968. Oligarchs do not believe in self-sacrifice for the common good. They never have. They never will. They are the cancer of democracy.”We Americans are not usually thought to be a submissive people, but of course we are,” <a href="http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/24/wendell-berry-american-hero/?_r=0%20" type="external">Wendell Berry</a> writes. “Why else would we allow our country to be destroyed? Why else would we be rewarding its destroyers? Why else would we all — by proxies we have given to greedy corporations and corrupt politicians — be participating in its destruction? Most of us are still too sane to piss in our own cistern, but we allow others to do so and we reward them for it. We reward them so well, in fact, that those who piss in our cistern are wealthier than the rest of us. How do we submit? By not being radical enough. Or by not being thorough enough, which is the same thing.”</p>
<p>The rise of an oligarchic state offers a nation two routes, according to Aristotle. The impoverished masses either revolt to rectify the imbalance of wealth and power or the oligarchs establish a brutal tyranny to keep the masses forcibly enslaved. We have chosen the second of Aristotle’s options. The slow advances we made in the early 20th century through unions, government regulation, the New Deal, the courts, an alternative press and mass movements have been reversed. The oligarchs are turning us — as they did in the 19th century steel and textile factories — into disposable human beings. They are building the most pervasive security and surveillance apparatus in human history to keep us submissive.</p>
<p>This imbalance would not have disturbed most of our Founding Fathers. The Founding Fathers, largely wealthy slaveholders, feared direct democracy. They rigged our political process to thwart popular rule and protect the property rights of the native aristocracy. The masses were to be kept at bay. The Electoral College, the original power of the states to appoint senators, the disenfranchisement of women, Native Americans, African-Americans and men without property locked most people out of the democratic process at the beginning of the republic. We had to fight for our voice. Hundreds of workers were killed and thousands were wounded in our labor wars. The violence dwarfed the labor battles in any other industrialized nation. The democratic openings we achieved were fought for and paid for with the blood of abolitionists, African-Americans, suffragists, workers and those in the anti-war and civil rights movements. Our radical movements, repressed and ruthlessly dismantled in the name of anti-communism, were the real engines of equality and social justice. The squalor and suffering inflicted on workers by the oligarchic class in the 19th century is mirrored in the present, now that we have been stripped of protection. Dissent is once again a criminal act. The Mellons, Rockefellers and Carnegies at the turn of the last century sought to create a nation of masters and serfs. The modern corporate incarnation of this 19th century oligarchic elite has created a worldwide neofeudalism, where workers across the planet toil in misery while corporate oligarchs amass hundreds of millions in personal wealth.</p>
<p>Class struggle defines most of human history. Marx got this right. The sooner we realize that we are locked in deadly warfare with our ruling, corporate elite, the sooner we will realize that these elites must be overthrown. The corporate oligarchs have now seized all institutional systems of power in the United States. Electoral politics, internal security, the judiciary, our universities, the arts and finance, along with nearly all forms of communication, are in corporate hands. Our democracy, with faux debates between two corporate parties, is meaningless political theater. There is no way within the system to defy the demands of Wall Street, the fossil fuel industry or war profiteers. The only route left to us, as Aristotle knew, is revolt.</p>
<p>It is not a new story. The rich, throughout history, have found ways to subjugate and re-subjugate the masses. And the masses, throughout history, have cyclically awoken to throw off their chains. The ceaseless fight in human societies between the despotic power of the rich and the struggle for justice and equality lies at the heart of Fitzgerald’s novel, which uses the story of Gatsby to carry out a fierce indictment of capitalism. Fitzgerald was reading Oswald Spengler’s “The Decline of the West” as he was writing “The Great Gatsby.” Spengler predicted that, as Western democracies calcified and died, a class of “monied thugs” would replace the traditional political elites. Spengler was right about that.</p>
<p>“There are only two or three human stories,” <a href="http://www.willacather.org/about-willa-cather/willa-cather" type="external">Willa Cather</a> wrote, “and they go on repeating themselves as fiercely as if they had never happened before.”</p>
<p>The seesaw of history has thrust the oligarchs once again into the sky. We sit humiliated and broken on the ground. It is an old battle. It has been fought over and over in human history. We never seem to learn. It is time to grab our pitchforks.</p> | Let's Get This Class War Started | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/lets-get-this-class-war-started/ | 2013-10-21 | 4left
| Let's Get This Class War Started
<p>“The rich are different from us,” F. Scott Fitzgerald is said to have remarked to Ernest Hemingway, to which Hemingway allegedly replied, “Yes, they have more money.”</p>
<p>The exchange, although it never actually took place, sums up a wisdom Fitzgerald had that eluded Hemingway. The rich are different. The cocoon of wealth and privilege permits the rich to turn those around them into compliant workers, hangers-on, servants, flatterers and sycophants. Wealth breeds, as Fitzgerald illustrated in “The Great Gatsby” and his short story “The Rich Boy,” a class of people for whom human beings are disposable commodities. Colleagues, associates, employees, kitchen staff, servants, gardeners, tutors, personal trainers, even friends and family, bend to the whims of the wealthy or disappear. Once oligarchs achieve unchecked economic and political power, as they have in the United States, the citizens too become disposable.</p>
<p>The public face of the oligarchic class bears little resemblance to the private face. I, like Fitzgerald, was thrown into the embrace of the upper crust when young. I was shipped off as a scholarship student at the age of 10 to an exclusive New England boarding school. I had classmates whose fathers — fathers they rarely saw — arrived at the school in their limousines accompanied by personal photographers (and at times their mistresses), so the press could be fed images of rich and famous men playing the role of good fathers. I spent time in the homes of the ultra-rich and powerful, watching my classmates, who were children, callously order around men and women who worked as their chauffeurs, cooks, nannies and servants. When the sons and daughters of the rich get into serious trouble there are always lawyers, publicists and political personages to protect them — George W. Bush’s life is a case study in the insidious affirmative action for the rich. The rich have a snobbish disdain for the poor — despite well-publicized acts of philanthropy — and the middle class. These lower classes are viewed as uncouth parasites, annoyances that have to be endured, at times placated and always controlled in the quest to amass more power and money. My hatred of authority, along with my loathing for the pretensions, heartlessness and sense of entitlement of the rich, comes from living among the privileged. It was a deeply unpleasant experience. But it exposed me to their insatiable selfishness and hedonism. I learned, as a boy, who were my enemies.</p>
<p>The inability to grasp the pathology of our oligarchic rulers is one of our gravest faults. We have been blinded to the depravity of our ruling elite by the relentless propaganda of public relations firms that work on behalf of corporations and the rich. Compliant politicians, clueless entertainers and our vapid, corporate-funded popular culture, which holds up the rich as leaders to emulate and assures us that through diligence and hard work we can join them, keep us from seeing the truth.</p>
<p />
<p>“They were careless people, Tom and Daisy,” Fitzgerald wrote of the wealthy couple at the center of Gatsby’s life. “They smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made.”</p>
<p>Aristotle, Niccolò Machiavelli, Alexis de Tocqueville, Adam Smith and Karl Marx all began from the premise there is a natural antagonism between the rich and the masses. “Those who have too much of the goods of fortune, strength, wealth, friends, and the like, are neither willing nor able to submit to authority,” Aristotle wrote in “Politics.” “The evil begins at home; for when they are boys, by reason of the luxury in which they are brought up, they never learn, even at school, the habit of obedience.” Oligarchs, these philosophers knew, are schooled in the mechanisms of manipulation, subtle and overt repression and exploitation to protect their wealth and power at our expense. Foremost among their mechanisms of control is the control of ideas. Ruling elites ensure that the established intellectual class is subservient to an ideology — in this case free market capitalism and globalization — that justifies their greed. “The ruling ideas are nothing more than the ideal expression of the dominant material relationships,” Marx wrote, “the dominant material relationships grasped as ideas.”</p>
<p>The blanket dissemination of the ideology of free market capitalism through the media and the purging, especially in academia, of critical voices have permitted our oligarchs to orchestrate the largest income inequality gap in the industrialized world. The top 1 percent in the United States own 40 percent of the nation’s wealth while the bottom 80 percent own only 7 percent, as Joseph E. Stiglitz wrote in “The Price of Inequality.” For every dollar that the wealthiest 0.1 percent amassed in 1980 they had an additional $3 in yearly income in 2008, David Cay Johnston explained in <a href="http://wweek.com/portland/article-17350-9_things_the_rich_dont_want_you_to_know_about_taxes.html%20" type="external">the article</a> “9 Things the Rich Don’t Want You to Know About Taxes.” The bottom 90 percent, Johnson said, in the same period added only one cent. Half of the country is now classified as poor or low-income. The real value of the minimum wage has fallen by $2.77 since 1968. Oligarchs do not believe in self-sacrifice for the common good. They never have. They never will. They are the cancer of democracy.”We Americans are not usually thought to be a submissive people, but of course we are,” <a href="http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/24/wendell-berry-american-hero/?_r=0%20" type="external">Wendell Berry</a> writes. “Why else would we allow our country to be destroyed? Why else would we be rewarding its destroyers? Why else would we all — by proxies we have given to greedy corporations and corrupt politicians — be participating in its destruction? Most of us are still too sane to piss in our own cistern, but we allow others to do so and we reward them for it. We reward them so well, in fact, that those who piss in our cistern are wealthier than the rest of us. How do we submit? By not being radical enough. Or by not being thorough enough, which is the same thing.”</p>
<p>The rise of an oligarchic state offers a nation two routes, according to Aristotle. The impoverished masses either revolt to rectify the imbalance of wealth and power or the oligarchs establish a brutal tyranny to keep the masses forcibly enslaved. We have chosen the second of Aristotle’s options. The slow advances we made in the early 20th century through unions, government regulation, the New Deal, the courts, an alternative press and mass movements have been reversed. The oligarchs are turning us — as they did in the 19th century steel and textile factories — into disposable human beings. They are building the most pervasive security and surveillance apparatus in human history to keep us submissive.</p>
<p>This imbalance would not have disturbed most of our Founding Fathers. The Founding Fathers, largely wealthy slaveholders, feared direct democracy. They rigged our political process to thwart popular rule and protect the property rights of the native aristocracy. The masses were to be kept at bay. The Electoral College, the original power of the states to appoint senators, the disenfranchisement of women, Native Americans, African-Americans and men without property locked most people out of the democratic process at the beginning of the republic. We had to fight for our voice. Hundreds of workers were killed and thousands were wounded in our labor wars. The violence dwarfed the labor battles in any other industrialized nation. The democratic openings we achieved were fought for and paid for with the blood of abolitionists, African-Americans, suffragists, workers and those in the anti-war and civil rights movements. Our radical movements, repressed and ruthlessly dismantled in the name of anti-communism, were the real engines of equality and social justice. The squalor and suffering inflicted on workers by the oligarchic class in the 19th century is mirrored in the present, now that we have been stripped of protection. Dissent is once again a criminal act. The Mellons, Rockefellers and Carnegies at the turn of the last century sought to create a nation of masters and serfs. The modern corporate incarnation of this 19th century oligarchic elite has created a worldwide neofeudalism, where workers across the planet toil in misery while corporate oligarchs amass hundreds of millions in personal wealth.</p>
<p>Class struggle defines most of human history. Marx got this right. The sooner we realize that we are locked in deadly warfare with our ruling, corporate elite, the sooner we will realize that these elites must be overthrown. The corporate oligarchs have now seized all institutional systems of power in the United States. Electoral politics, internal security, the judiciary, our universities, the arts and finance, along with nearly all forms of communication, are in corporate hands. Our democracy, with faux debates between two corporate parties, is meaningless political theater. There is no way within the system to defy the demands of Wall Street, the fossil fuel industry or war profiteers. The only route left to us, as Aristotle knew, is revolt.</p>
<p>It is not a new story. The rich, throughout history, have found ways to subjugate and re-subjugate the masses. And the masses, throughout history, have cyclically awoken to throw off their chains. The ceaseless fight in human societies between the despotic power of the rich and the struggle for justice and equality lies at the heart of Fitzgerald’s novel, which uses the story of Gatsby to carry out a fierce indictment of capitalism. Fitzgerald was reading Oswald Spengler’s “The Decline of the West” as he was writing “The Great Gatsby.” Spengler predicted that, as Western democracies calcified and died, a class of “monied thugs” would replace the traditional political elites. Spengler was right about that.</p>
<p>“There are only two or three human stories,” <a href="http://www.willacather.org/about-willa-cather/willa-cather" type="external">Willa Cather</a> wrote, “and they go on repeating themselves as fiercely as if they had never happened before.”</p>
<p>The seesaw of history has thrust the oligarchs once again into the sky. We sit humiliated and broken on the ground. It is an old battle. It has been fought over and over in human history. We never seem to learn. It is time to grab our pitchforks.</p> | 4,560 |
<p />
<p>Two-thirds of American households have pets: “ <a href="http://www.appma.org/press_releasedetail.asp?id=109" type="external">New National Pet Owners Survey</a>,” American Pet Products Manufacturers Association, Inc.</p>
<p>One-third of American households has children: “ <a href="http://www.census.gov/acs/www/Area%20Sheets/Area%20Sheet%20CT.doc" type="external">2005 American Community Survey</a>,” US Census Bureau.</p>
<p>The American pet economy in 2006: MarketResearch.com, Packaged Facts report on Pet Travel &amp; Convenience, May 2007.</p>
<p>The pet economy is resistant to recession: “Crazy for Their Pets, Americans Are on a Spending Spree,” News Journal, Wilmington, Delaware, August 20, 2007.</p>
<p>One-third of women agree: <a href="http://www.akc.org/pdfs/press_center/press_releases/2006/ValentineSurvey.pdf" type="external">Valentine’s Day Survey, January 2006</a>, American Kennel Club.</p>
<p>Sharing beds with pets and buying gifts: “ <a href="http://www.harrisinteractive.com/harris_poll/index.asp?PID=840" type="external">Pets Are ‘Members of the Family,'”</a> Harris Interactive, The Harris Poll, December 2007.</p>
<p>Snoring pets: “ <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/02/020215070932.htm" type="external">Dog Tired? It Could Be Your Pooch</a>,” ScienceDaily, Mayo Clinic research, 2002.</p>
<p>PetSmart CEO: “ <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_32/b4045001.htm?chan=search#top" type="external">The Pet Economy</a>,” BusinessWeek, August 2007.</p>
<p>Purebred dogs can be matched to their masters: “Do Dogs Resemble Their Owners?” Michael Roy and Nicholas Christenfeld, Department of Psychology, University of California-San Diego.</p>
<p>$24.5 billion on pet health care: “ <a href="http://www.avma.org/press/releases/071211_sourcebook.asp" type="external">U.S. Pet Ownership and Demographic Sourcebook</a>,” American Veterinary Medical Association, December 2007.</p>
<p>Doggie anti-depressant: <a href="http://reconcile.com/reconcile-product/default.aspx" type="external">Reconcile</a>, Eli Lilly &amp; Co.</p>
<p>Doggie diet drug: <a href="http://www.pfizerah.com/product_overview.asp?drug=SL&amp;country=US&amp;lang=EN&amp;species=CN" type="external">Slentrol</a>, Pfizer.</p>
<p>The obesity epidemic: <a href="http://www.stopcanineobesity.com" type="external">Stop Canine Obesity</a> campaign.</p>
<p>Urns for pet ashes: “ <a href="http://www.appma.org/press_releasedetail.asp?id=109" type="external">New National Pet Owners Survey</a>,” American Pet Products Manufacturers Association, Inc.</p>
<p>Oprah’s dogs: “ <a href="http://womansday.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=294670" type="external">Oprah’s Dogs Will Inherit Millions</a>.” Denied by Angela DePaul, publicist, Harpo Industries.</p>
<p>Tori Spelling’s pug’s blog: “ <a href="http://www.dogster.com/dogs/601765/diary/Confessions_from_a_canine_drama_queen/377128" type="external">Confessions from a Canine Drama Queen</a>,” Dogster.com.</p>
<p>Leona Helmsley’s will: “ <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/nyregion/city_room/20070829_helmsleywill.pdf" type="external">Last Will and Testament of Leona M. Helmsley</a>.”</p>
<p>Mr. Winkle: <a href="http://www.mrwinkle.com/news" type="external">MrWinkle.com</a>.</p>
<p>Social networking for pets: <a href="http://www.dogster.com" type="external">Dogster.com</a>, <a href="http://www.catster.com" type="external">Catster.com</a>.</p>
<p>Pam Anderson’s chihuahua: “ <a href="http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/newsfeed/2005/08/19/the-bride-wore-fur-86908-15872885/" type="external">The Bride Wore Fur</a>,” Daily Record, August 2005.</p>
<p>Michael Jackson’s pet chimp Bubbles: “ <a href="http://www.prime-apes.org/html/bubbles.html" type="external">Biography of Bubbles</a>,” Center for Great Apes.</p>
<p>Juicy Crittoure: <a href="http://www.juicycouture.com/store/catalog/prod.jhtml?itemId=prod3300001" type="external">Dog Pawfum</a>, Juicy Couture.</p>
<p>Pet hotels: <a href="http://www.waghotels.com" type="external">Waghotels.com</a>.</p>
<p>Walt Disney World’s planned pet resort: “ <a href="http://www.wdwnews.com/viewpressrelease.aspx?pressreleaseid=109151&amp;siteid=1" type="external">Best Friends to Build Luxury Pet Resort at Walt Disney World Resort</a>,” Walt Disney World news.</p>
<p>Number of animal trainers rises sharply: “ <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/27/fashion/27DOGS.html" type="external">A Chorus of Dog Whisperers</a>,” New York Times, December 2007.</p>
<p>The parrot that helps with anxiety attacks: “ <a href="http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=SL&amp;p_theme=sl&amp;p_action=search&amp;p_maxdocs=200&amp;s_dispstring=sadie%20parrot%20bipolar&amp;p_field_date-0=YMD_date&amp;p_params_date-0=date:B,E&amp;p_text_date-0=2006&amp;p_field_advanced-0=&amp;p_text_advanced-0=(sadie%20parrot%20bipolar)&amp;xcal_numdocs=20&amp;p_perpage=10&amp;p_sort=_rank_:D&amp;xcal_ranksort=4&amp;xcal_useweights=yes" type="external">Sadie the Parrot, at Your Service</a>,” Sarah Casey, Saint Louis Post-Dispatch, October 7, 2006.</p>
<p>The iPond: “ <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/ipond-gone-gilly-heads-for-brighter-days/2007/12/22/1198175413380.html" type="external">iPond Gone, Gilly Heads for Brighter Days</a>,” The Age, December 2007.</p>
<p>British prime minister’s office rejects backyard elephants: “ <a href="http://www.pm.gov.uk/output/Page14196.asp" type="external">EPetition Reply: Elephants for Pets</a>,” Office of the Prime Minister.</p>
<p>Exotic pets imported: “ <a href="http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2006/11/27/exoticpet_ani.html?category=animals&amp;guid=20061127150030" type="external">Exotic Pet Trade Booming in U.S.</a>,” Margaret Ebrahim, Associated Press, November 2006.</p>
<p>Getting high off the dried venom of toads: “ <a href="http://www.boston.com/news/odd/articles/2007/12/03/cops_more_smoke_toad_venom_to_get_high/" type="external">Cops: More Smoke Toad Venom to Get High</a>,” Associated Press, December 2007.</p>
<p>Tiger in NY apartment: “ <a href="http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C05E6DB1E3CF93BA35753C1A9659C8B63" type="external">A Tiger’s Keeper Says He Misses His ‘Friend</a>,'” New York Times, October 2003.</p>
<p>Presidents and their executive pets: <a href="http://www.presidentialpetmuseum.com" type="external">Presidential Pet Museum</a>.</p>
<p>Fashionable choices in dog collars: “About Dog Collars,” New York Times, April 27, 1884.</p>
<p>Pet pigeon fad: “Pet Pigeons, Latest Fad,” New York Times, 1907.</p>
<p>The birth of an urban alligator legend: “Alligator Found in Uptown Sewer,” New York Times, February 10, 1935.</p>
<p>Cocker spaniels, poodles as top dogs: “ <a href="http://www.akc.org/press_center/facts_stats.cfm?page=popular_pooches" type="external">AKC Registration Statistics, Fact Sheet</a>,” American Kennel Club.</p>
<p>Sea-monkeys: “ <a href="http://www.sea-monkeys.com" type="external">What are Sea-Monkeys Anyway?</a>“</p>
<p>Potbellied pigs: “ <a href="http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/potpigs.htm" type="external">Survey of Humane Organizations and Slaughter Plans Regarding Experiences with Vietnamese Potbellied Pigs</a>,” Linda K. Lord, Thomas E. Wittum, Ohio State University.</p>
<p>Cocker spaniels once again top dog in 1983: “ <a href="http://www.akc.org/press_center/facts_stats.cfm?page=popular_pooches" type="external">AKC Registration Statistics, Fact Sheet</a>,” American Kennel Club.</p>
<p>Rottweilers in Russia: “ <a href="http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9401E2DB143EF93BA3575BC0A960958260&amp;sec=&amp;spon=&amp;pagewanted=1" type="external">Moscow’s Rich Flaunt Rottweilers</a>,” Sara Koenig, New York Times, August 8, 1996.</p>
<p>Pet hedgehogs: “Hedgehogs Latest ‘Designer Pet,'” Shawne K. Wickham, Union Leader, April 1995.</p>
<p>Tamagotchi: <a href="http://www.bandai.com/news/news.cfm?wn_id=71" type="external">Bandai.com</a>.</p>
<p>Rudy Giuliani vs. ferret lovers: <a href="http://www.oliverwillis.com/wp-content/uploads/rudy_ferret.mp3" type="external">Giuliani responds to a caller on his radio show asking about the ferret ban</a>.</p>
<p>Sugar gliders: <a href="http://www.sugarglider.com" type="external">SugarGlider.com</a>.</p>
<p>Freeing Nemo: “ <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2003/TECH/science/06/30/coolsc.nemo.fish/index.html" type="external">‘Nemo’ fans net fish warning</a>,” CNN.com, June 2003.</p>
<p>Monkeypox outbreak: “ <a href="http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2003/03-27557.htm" type="external">Control of communicable diseases; restriction on African rodents, prairie dogs, and certain other animals</a>.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 42 CFR Part 71.</p>
<p>Stag beetles: “ <a href="http://sciencelinks.jp/j-east/article/200418/000020041804A0625069.php" type="external">Biological Invasion Caused by Commercialization of Stag Beetles in Japan</a>,” Science Links Japan.</p>
<p>Toyger: <a href="http://www.toygers.org/shows.html" type="external">Toygers.com</a>.</p>
<p>Ratatouille: “ <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7027671.stm" type="external">Film Triggers Rat Craze in France</a>,” BBC News, 2007.</p>
<p /> | Petophilia: Sources | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2008/03/petophilia-sources/ | 2018-03-01 | 4left
| Petophilia: Sources
<p />
<p>Two-thirds of American households have pets: “ <a href="http://www.appma.org/press_releasedetail.asp?id=109" type="external">New National Pet Owners Survey</a>,” American Pet Products Manufacturers Association, Inc.</p>
<p>One-third of American households has children: “ <a href="http://www.census.gov/acs/www/Area%20Sheets/Area%20Sheet%20CT.doc" type="external">2005 American Community Survey</a>,” US Census Bureau.</p>
<p>The American pet economy in 2006: MarketResearch.com, Packaged Facts report on Pet Travel &amp; Convenience, May 2007.</p>
<p>The pet economy is resistant to recession: “Crazy for Their Pets, Americans Are on a Spending Spree,” News Journal, Wilmington, Delaware, August 20, 2007.</p>
<p>One-third of women agree: <a href="http://www.akc.org/pdfs/press_center/press_releases/2006/ValentineSurvey.pdf" type="external">Valentine’s Day Survey, January 2006</a>, American Kennel Club.</p>
<p>Sharing beds with pets and buying gifts: “ <a href="http://www.harrisinteractive.com/harris_poll/index.asp?PID=840" type="external">Pets Are ‘Members of the Family,'”</a> Harris Interactive, The Harris Poll, December 2007.</p>
<p>Snoring pets: “ <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/02/020215070932.htm" type="external">Dog Tired? It Could Be Your Pooch</a>,” ScienceDaily, Mayo Clinic research, 2002.</p>
<p>PetSmart CEO: “ <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_32/b4045001.htm?chan=search#top" type="external">The Pet Economy</a>,” BusinessWeek, August 2007.</p>
<p>Purebred dogs can be matched to their masters: “Do Dogs Resemble Their Owners?” Michael Roy and Nicholas Christenfeld, Department of Psychology, University of California-San Diego.</p>
<p>$24.5 billion on pet health care: “ <a href="http://www.avma.org/press/releases/071211_sourcebook.asp" type="external">U.S. Pet Ownership and Demographic Sourcebook</a>,” American Veterinary Medical Association, December 2007.</p>
<p>Doggie anti-depressant: <a href="http://reconcile.com/reconcile-product/default.aspx" type="external">Reconcile</a>, Eli Lilly &amp; Co.</p>
<p>Doggie diet drug: <a href="http://www.pfizerah.com/product_overview.asp?drug=SL&amp;country=US&amp;lang=EN&amp;species=CN" type="external">Slentrol</a>, Pfizer.</p>
<p>The obesity epidemic: <a href="http://www.stopcanineobesity.com" type="external">Stop Canine Obesity</a> campaign.</p>
<p>Urns for pet ashes: “ <a href="http://www.appma.org/press_releasedetail.asp?id=109" type="external">New National Pet Owners Survey</a>,” American Pet Products Manufacturers Association, Inc.</p>
<p>Oprah’s dogs: “ <a href="http://womansday.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=294670" type="external">Oprah’s Dogs Will Inherit Millions</a>.” Denied by Angela DePaul, publicist, Harpo Industries.</p>
<p>Tori Spelling’s pug’s blog: “ <a href="http://www.dogster.com/dogs/601765/diary/Confessions_from_a_canine_drama_queen/377128" type="external">Confessions from a Canine Drama Queen</a>,” Dogster.com.</p>
<p>Leona Helmsley’s will: “ <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/nyregion/city_room/20070829_helmsleywill.pdf" type="external">Last Will and Testament of Leona M. Helmsley</a>.”</p>
<p>Mr. Winkle: <a href="http://www.mrwinkle.com/news" type="external">MrWinkle.com</a>.</p>
<p>Social networking for pets: <a href="http://www.dogster.com" type="external">Dogster.com</a>, <a href="http://www.catster.com" type="external">Catster.com</a>.</p>
<p>Pam Anderson’s chihuahua: “ <a href="http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/newsfeed/2005/08/19/the-bride-wore-fur-86908-15872885/" type="external">The Bride Wore Fur</a>,” Daily Record, August 2005.</p>
<p>Michael Jackson’s pet chimp Bubbles: “ <a href="http://www.prime-apes.org/html/bubbles.html" type="external">Biography of Bubbles</a>,” Center for Great Apes.</p>
<p>Juicy Crittoure: <a href="http://www.juicycouture.com/store/catalog/prod.jhtml?itemId=prod3300001" type="external">Dog Pawfum</a>, Juicy Couture.</p>
<p>Pet hotels: <a href="http://www.waghotels.com" type="external">Waghotels.com</a>.</p>
<p>Walt Disney World’s planned pet resort: “ <a href="http://www.wdwnews.com/viewpressrelease.aspx?pressreleaseid=109151&amp;siteid=1" type="external">Best Friends to Build Luxury Pet Resort at Walt Disney World Resort</a>,” Walt Disney World news.</p>
<p>Number of animal trainers rises sharply: “ <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/27/fashion/27DOGS.html" type="external">A Chorus of Dog Whisperers</a>,” New York Times, December 2007.</p>
<p>The parrot that helps with anxiety attacks: “ <a href="http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=SL&amp;p_theme=sl&amp;p_action=search&amp;p_maxdocs=200&amp;s_dispstring=sadie%20parrot%20bipolar&amp;p_field_date-0=YMD_date&amp;p_params_date-0=date:B,E&amp;p_text_date-0=2006&amp;p_field_advanced-0=&amp;p_text_advanced-0=(sadie%20parrot%20bipolar)&amp;xcal_numdocs=20&amp;p_perpage=10&amp;p_sort=_rank_:D&amp;xcal_ranksort=4&amp;xcal_useweights=yes" type="external">Sadie the Parrot, at Your Service</a>,” Sarah Casey, Saint Louis Post-Dispatch, October 7, 2006.</p>
<p>The iPond: “ <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/ipond-gone-gilly-heads-for-brighter-days/2007/12/22/1198175413380.html" type="external">iPond Gone, Gilly Heads for Brighter Days</a>,” The Age, December 2007.</p>
<p>British prime minister’s office rejects backyard elephants: “ <a href="http://www.pm.gov.uk/output/Page14196.asp" type="external">EPetition Reply: Elephants for Pets</a>,” Office of the Prime Minister.</p>
<p>Exotic pets imported: “ <a href="http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2006/11/27/exoticpet_ani.html?category=animals&amp;guid=20061127150030" type="external">Exotic Pet Trade Booming in U.S.</a>,” Margaret Ebrahim, Associated Press, November 2006.</p>
<p>Getting high off the dried venom of toads: “ <a href="http://www.boston.com/news/odd/articles/2007/12/03/cops_more_smoke_toad_venom_to_get_high/" type="external">Cops: More Smoke Toad Venom to Get High</a>,” Associated Press, December 2007.</p>
<p>Tiger in NY apartment: “ <a href="http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C05E6DB1E3CF93BA35753C1A9659C8B63" type="external">A Tiger’s Keeper Says He Misses His ‘Friend</a>,'” New York Times, October 2003.</p>
<p>Presidents and their executive pets: <a href="http://www.presidentialpetmuseum.com" type="external">Presidential Pet Museum</a>.</p>
<p>Fashionable choices in dog collars: “About Dog Collars,” New York Times, April 27, 1884.</p>
<p>Pet pigeon fad: “Pet Pigeons, Latest Fad,” New York Times, 1907.</p>
<p>The birth of an urban alligator legend: “Alligator Found in Uptown Sewer,” New York Times, February 10, 1935.</p>
<p>Cocker spaniels, poodles as top dogs: “ <a href="http://www.akc.org/press_center/facts_stats.cfm?page=popular_pooches" type="external">AKC Registration Statistics, Fact Sheet</a>,” American Kennel Club.</p>
<p>Sea-monkeys: “ <a href="http://www.sea-monkeys.com" type="external">What are Sea-Monkeys Anyway?</a>“</p>
<p>Potbellied pigs: “ <a href="http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/potpigs.htm" type="external">Survey of Humane Organizations and Slaughter Plans Regarding Experiences with Vietnamese Potbellied Pigs</a>,” Linda K. Lord, Thomas E. Wittum, Ohio State University.</p>
<p>Cocker spaniels once again top dog in 1983: “ <a href="http://www.akc.org/press_center/facts_stats.cfm?page=popular_pooches" type="external">AKC Registration Statistics, Fact Sheet</a>,” American Kennel Club.</p>
<p>Rottweilers in Russia: “ <a href="http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9401E2DB143EF93BA3575BC0A960958260&amp;sec=&amp;spon=&amp;pagewanted=1" type="external">Moscow’s Rich Flaunt Rottweilers</a>,” Sara Koenig, New York Times, August 8, 1996.</p>
<p>Pet hedgehogs: “Hedgehogs Latest ‘Designer Pet,'” Shawne K. Wickham, Union Leader, April 1995.</p>
<p>Tamagotchi: <a href="http://www.bandai.com/news/news.cfm?wn_id=71" type="external">Bandai.com</a>.</p>
<p>Rudy Giuliani vs. ferret lovers: <a href="http://www.oliverwillis.com/wp-content/uploads/rudy_ferret.mp3" type="external">Giuliani responds to a caller on his radio show asking about the ferret ban</a>.</p>
<p>Sugar gliders: <a href="http://www.sugarglider.com" type="external">SugarGlider.com</a>.</p>
<p>Freeing Nemo: “ <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2003/TECH/science/06/30/coolsc.nemo.fish/index.html" type="external">‘Nemo’ fans net fish warning</a>,” CNN.com, June 2003.</p>
<p>Monkeypox outbreak: “ <a href="http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2003/03-27557.htm" type="external">Control of communicable diseases; restriction on African rodents, prairie dogs, and certain other animals</a>.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 42 CFR Part 71.</p>
<p>Stag beetles: “ <a href="http://sciencelinks.jp/j-east/article/200418/000020041804A0625069.php" type="external">Biological Invasion Caused by Commercialization of Stag Beetles in Japan</a>,” Science Links Japan.</p>
<p>Toyger: <a href="http://www.toygers.org/shows.html" type="external">Toygers.com</a>.</p>
<p>Ratatouille: “ <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7027671.stm" type="external">Film Triggers Rat Craze in France</a>,” BBC News, 2007.</p>
<p /> | 4,561 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>To even the most unsophisticated viewer, her name conjures images of mountains and mesas, bones and botanicals – as intrinsic a part of New Mexico as the state’s famed chile crop.</p>
<p>As she carefully constructed her own mythology, O’Keeffe discounted her time spent in that upstate New York enclave, surrounded by the family of her husband, the photographer and impresario Alfred Stieglitz.</p>
<p>“Leaves” is a 1923 oil on canvas mounted on board by Georgia O’Keeffe.</p>
<p>Scholars have often separated O’Keeffe’s Lake George work from her more famous New Mexico years.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The exhibition “Modern Nature: Georgia O’Keeffe and Lake George” aims to challenge the divide. The exhibition at the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum reveals the lines separating the two periods blur with aesthetic overlap. Her magnified poppies and petunias gestated at Lake George.</p>
<p>Composed of 55 works, the exhibit was co-organized by the O’Keeffe and the Hyde Collection of Glen Falls, N.Y. Incredibly, the show is the first to concentrate solely on the artist’s Lake George output. It will travel to the de Young, one of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, after leaving Santa Fe.</p>
<p>O’Keeffe lived for part of each year at Stieglitz’s family estate between 1918 and 1934. Located southeast of the Adirondack Mountains, Lake George was a popular resort destination. Its leafy abundance served as a retreat and provided the basic materials and imagery essential to the artist’s contemporary approach to the natural world.</p>
<p>“It’s not often highlighted as the most important part of her life, partly due to her own words,” said Cody Hartley, the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum’s director of curatorial affairs.</p>
<p>O’Keeffe very deliberately marketed herself as the artist of the West. Carefully posed photographs showed her with her desert skulls, backgrounded by “her” Pedernal, Jimson weed vining her courtyard.</p>
<p>Then there was John Loengard’s 1967 Life magazine cover spread, trumpeting her “stark visions,” complete with photographs of the artist against the New Mexico landscape.</p>
<p>“Autumn Leaves — The Maples” is a 1924 oil on canvas by Georgia O’Keeffe.</p>
<p>Her desire to nearly erase her Lake George years may reflect the arc of her relationship with Stieglitz, Hartley said.</p>
<p>“It chronicles the bloom of their relationship” as well as its downfall, he explained.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>O’Keeffe wrote of her feuds with the constant parade of Stieglitz’s extended family members. At first she found their rambunctious parties, complete with friends and neighbors, exciting. But regular exposure to their intrusiveness stirred her need for solitude.</p>
<p>“She wanted her space,” Hartley said. “She wanted to work and be left alone.</p>
<p>“Stieglitz was a complicated, difficult man,” he continued. “Fidelity was not his strong point. It pained O’Keeffe to watch this happen. At the same time, she was very loyal to him.”</p>
<p>At first, O’Keeffe sounded ecstatic in her letters describing the colors, the trees and the views of her new summer home. She wrote to Sherwood Anderson: “I wish you could see the place here —— there is something so perfect about the mountains and the lake and the trees.”</p>
<p>In many ways, O’Keeffe’s Lake George work presaged her New Mexico paintings.</p>
<p>She painted a series of trees that grew increasingly abstract. Likewise, a jack-in-the-pulpit series dwindles and compresses into a single line.</p>
<p>“Autumn Leaves — The Maples” is a 1924 oil on canvas by Georgia O’Keeffe.</p>
<p>Inspired by Stieglitz’s photography, she began focusing more closely on her imagery, enlarging a single petunia bloom to petal an entire canvas. Telescopic views of a single leaf or pairs of overlapping leaves became a recurring motif.</p>
<p>“She’s taking on form —— the language of the artist: color, form and line —— and finding it in nature, but making it her own,” Hartley said.</p>
<p>Her panoramic landscapes and bold, color-splashed abstractions sprang from the lush imagery surrounding her.</p>
<p>It was also at Lake George that O’Keeffe organized her daily routine. She balanced her painting with nature walks, a custom she would transplant to New Mexico, Hartley said.</p>
<p>“She reaffirmed for herself the natural world as a resource and subject matter,” he added, as the artist shifted from representationalism to abstraction.</p>
<p>O’Keeffe watched Stieglitz photograph the clouds and the moonlight until they washed into abstraction. His photographs of trees zero in on the texture, shadows and crevasses of bark.</p>
<p>“They’re not what we consider traditional photography,” Hartley said. “They’re not documentary pictures of people and landscapes. She’s watching Stieglitz operate. So much of her practice dates to photography.”</p>
<p>Visitors can see that connection through Stieglitz’s photographs hanging in the museum’s Gallery 3.</p>
<p>“It’s very easy to dislike Stieglitz,” Hartley continued. “She saw something in him —— that lifelong devotion means something. I don’t think either of them could have been easy to live with. He made her career. There’s this real sense that their love was sustained and built upon their creative and artistic sympathies.”</p>
<p>O’Keeffe’s Lake George paintings established her national reputation long before she headed for the desert.</p>
<p>“Without Lake George, O’Keeffe as we know her would have been very different,” Hartley said. “Lake George is where she fell in love with nature.”</p>
<p /> | O’Keeffe before NM | false | https://abqjournal.com/280900/before-nm.html | 2013-10-13 | 2least
| O’Keeffe before NM
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>To even the most unsophisticated viewer, her name conjures images of mountains and mesas, bones and botanicals – as intrinsic a part of New Mexico as the state’s famed chile crop.</p>
<p>As she carefully constructed her own mythology, O’Keeffe discounted her time spent in that upstate New York enclave, surrounded by the family of her husband, the photographer and impresario Alfred Stieglitz.</p>
<p>“Leaves” is a 1923 oil on canvas mounted on board by Georgia O’Keeffe.</p>
<p>Scholars have often separated O’Keeffe’s Lake George work from her more famous New Mexico years.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The exhibition “Modern Nature: Georgia O’Keeffe and Lake George” aims to challenge the divide. The exhibition at the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum reveals the lines separating the two periods blur with aesthetic overlap. Her magnified poppies and petunias gestated at Lake George.</p>
<p>Composed of 55 works, the exhibit was co-organized by the O’Keeffe and the Hyde Collection of Glen Falls, N.Y. Incredibly, the show is the first to concentrate solely on the artist’s Lake George output. It will travel to the de Young, one of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, after leaving Santa Fe.</p>
<p>O’Keeffe lived for part of each year at Stieglitz’s family estate between 1918 and 1934. Located southeast of the Adirondack Mountains, Lake George was a popular resort destination. Its leafy abundance served as a retreat and provided the basic materials and imagery essential to the artist’s contemporary approach to the natural world.</p>
<p>“It’s not often highlighted as the most important part of her life, partly due to her own words,” said Cody Hartley, the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum’s director of curatorial affairs.</p>
<p>O’Keeffe very deliberately marketed herself as the artist of the West. Carefully posed photographs showed her with her desert skulls, backgrounded by “her” Pedernal, Jimson weed vining her courtyard.</p>
<p>Then there was John Loengard’s 1967 Life magazine cover spread, trumpeting her “stark visions,” complete with photographs of the artist against the New Mexico landscape.</p>
<p>“Autumn Leaves — The Maples” is a 1924 oil on canvas by Georgia O’Keeffe.</p>
<p>Her desire to nearly erase her Lake George years may reflect the arc of her relationship with Stieglitz, Hartley said.</p>
<p>“It chronicles the bloom of their relationship” as well as its downfall, he explained.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>O’Keeffe wrote of her feuds with the constant parade of Stieglitz’s extended family members. At first she found their rambunctious parties, complete with friends and neighbors, exciting. But regular exposure to their intrusiveness stirred her need for solitude.</p>
<p>“She wanted her space,” Hartley said. “She wanted to work and be left alone.</p>
<p>“Stieglitz was a complicated, difficult man,” he continued. “Fidelity was not his strong point. It pained O’Keeffe to watch this happen. At the same time, she was very loyal to him.”</p>
<p>At first, O’Keeffe sounded ecstatic in her letters describing the colors, the trees and the views of her new summer home. She wrote to Sherwood Anderson: “I wish you could see the place here —— there is something so perfect about the mountains and the lake and the trees.”</p>
<p>In many ways, O’Keeffe’s Lake George work presaged her New Mexico paintings.</p>
<p>She painted a series of trees that grew increasingly abstract. Likewise, a jack-in-the-pulpit series dwindles and compresses into a single line.</p>
<p>“Autumn Leaves — The Maples” is a 1924 oil on canvas by Georgia O’Keeffe.</p>
<p>Inspired by Stieglitz’s photography, she began focusing more closely on her imagery, enlarging a single petunia bloom to petal an entire canvas. Telescopic views of a single leaf or pairs of overlapping leaves became a recurring motif.</p>
<p>“She’s taking on form —— the language of the artist: color, form and line —— and finding it in nature, but making it her own,” Hartley said.</p>
<p>Her panoramic landscapes and bold, color-splashed abstractions sprang from the lush imagery surrounding her.</p>
<p>It was also at Lake George that O’Keeffe organized her daily routine. She balanced her painting with nature walks, a custom she would transplant to New Mexico, Hartley said.</p>
<p>“She reaffirmed for herself the natural world as a resource and subject matter,” he added, as the artist shifted from representationalism to abstraction.</p>
<p>O’Keeffe watched Stieglitz photograph the clouds and the moonlight until they washed into abstraction. His photographs of trees zero in on the texture, shadows and crevasses of bark.</p>
<p>“They’re not what we consider traditional photography,” Hartley said. “They’re not documentary pictures of people and landscapes. She’s watching Stieglitz operate. So much of her practice dates to photography.”</p>
<p>Visitors can see that connection through Stieglitz’s photographs hanging in the museum’s Gallery 3.</p>
<p>“It’s very easy to dislike Stieglitz,” Hartley continued. “She saw something in him —— that lifelong devotion means something. I don’t think either of them could have been easy to live with. He made her career. There’s this real sense that their love was sustained and built upon their creative and artistic sympathies.”</p>
<p>O’Keeffe’s Lake George paintings established her national reputation long before she headed for the desert.</p>
<p>“Without Lake George, O’Keeffe as we know her would have been very different,” Hartley said. “Lake George is where she fell in love with nature.”</p>
<p /> | 4,562 |
<p>Well, here’s something you don’t see everyday (unless you’re watching Fox News). Donald Trump’s former communications director, Anthony Scaramucci, was a guest on Friday’s episode of Fox and Friends. This is the guy who lost his White House job a mere ten days after he was hired because of a <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/ryan-lizza/anthony-scaramucci-called-me-to-unload-about-white-house-leakers-reince-priebus-and-steve-bannon" type="external">profanity-laden meltdown</a> attacking fellow Trump staffers. He’s a hot-head in the mold of Trump who continues to serve as a loyal surrogate.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/NewsCorpse/posts/2067411009940350" type="external" /></p>
<p>During his interview by the “Curvy Couch” potatoes (video below), the Mooch leveled another of his patented gross-outs, this time aimed at MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow (who is <a href="" type="internal">slaughtering Fox News and Sean Hannity</a>). It was wholly inappropriate personal insult that was devoid of substance. In other words, it was pretty much the same bullshit non-reasoning that all of the cretins on Fox News resort to. About Maddow he said that…</p>
<p>“You can tell she’s got a little bit of that Trump Derangement Syndrome, which I like. I’m hoping that one of these comedians will come up with anti-anxiety medication for liberals. Just take one tablet a day, maybe a suppository, and take it easy. […] The President is doing the right thing for the American people, but he’s also doing the right thing for the world.”</p>
<p>To be clear, Scaramucci is criticizing Maddow as being “deranged” and having an anxiety problem. The same guy who told the New Yorker that Reince Priebus is a “fucking paranoid schizophrenic,” and that Steve Bannon engages in self-fellatio, and that he wants to “fucking kill all the leakers” in the White House. That’s the guy who thinks that Maddow and other liberals should “take it easy?” Yeah, whatever. [Note: Scaramucci later <a href="https://twitter.com/Scaramucci/status/972149706171256832" type="external">tweeted</a> an apology].</p>
<p>The topic of the segment was Trump’s announcement that he accepted Kim Jong Un’s invitation to meet and discuss a resolution to their juvenile slap-fight on Twitter. The Fox News crew was aghast that Maddow would have anything critical to say about that. They played a clip from her show wherein she wondered…</p>
<p>“Why has no sitting American president ever met with a leader of North Korea? Why has that never happened in all the decades North Korea existed as a nation? Shouldn’t I take this to mean that this might be a particularly risky, or even an unwise move?”</p>
<p>Those are perfectly reasonable questions. What’s more, Trump’s impulsive agreement to meet with Kim demonstrates a dangerous incompetence with regard to what Trump considers his greatest asset: dealmaking. A meeting with the President of the United States is an asset that a smart negotiator would reserve until other concessions were made by the opposing party. Trump gave it up at the very beginning. He got nothing for it, or for the legitimacy it grants to Kim. He could have at least asked that the Americans currently being held in North Korea be released as a prerequisite to a meeting.</p>
<p>Fox News is predictably hailing Trump’s concession to meet Kim as a historic achievement. Never mind that the meeting hasn’t taken place and there are no guarantees that anything productive will result from them. In fact, there’s a fair chance that a summit between The Dotard and Little Rocket Man might make everything worse. They are two unstable, narcissistic individuals with little respect for one another. If their common stubbornness results in a fruitless affair, it might even make military conflict more likely as the prospects for diplomacy fade.</p>
<p>Time will tell if Trump can attend this meeting (if it even comes to pass) without screwing up. In his meetings with Congress he has proved that his word is virtually worthless and neither Democrats nor Republicans can rely on him to follow through. In the meantime, we fan expect philistines like Scaramucci to keep showing up on Fox News slinging insults and ignorance at their dimwitted audience. And maybe the world will survive a little bit longer.</p>
<p>How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00QSSMOES/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=B00QSSMOES&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=newscorpsecom-20&amp;linkId=TLI6JC2OYE22MUTS" type="external">Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.</a> Available now at Amazon.</p>
<p /> | Scaramucci Tells Fox News that Rachel Maddow Needs an Anti-Anxiety Suppository | true | http://newscorpse.com/ncWP/?p%3D30244 | 4left
| Scaramucci Tells Fox News that Rachel Maddow Needs an Anti-Anxiety Suppository
<p>Well, here’s something you don’t see everyday (unless you’re watching Fox News). Donald Trump’s former communications director, Anthony Scaramucci, was a guest on Friday’s episode of Fox and Friends. This is the guy who lost his White House job a mere ten days after he was hired because of a <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/ryan-lizza/anthony-scaramucci-called-me-to-unload-about-white-house-leakers-reince-priebus-and-steve-bannon" type="external">profanity-laden meltdown</a> attacking fellow Trump staffers. He’s a hot-head in the mold of Trump who continues to serve as a loyal surrogate.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/NewsCorpse/posts/2067411009940350" type="external" /></p>
<p>During his interview by the “Curvy Couch” potatoes (video below), the Mooch leveled another of his patented gross-outs, this time aimed at MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow (who is <a href="" type="internal">slaughtering Fox News and Sean Hannity</a>). It was wholly inappropriate personal insult that was devoid of substance. In other words, it was pretty much the same bullshit non-reasoning that all of the cretins on Fox News resort to. About Maddow he said that…</p>
<p>“You can tell she’s got a little bit of that Trump Derangement Syndrome, which I like. I’m hoping that one of these comedians will come up with anti-anxiety medication for liberals. Just take one tablet a day, maybe a suppository, and take it easy. […] The President is doing the right thing for the American people, but he’s also doing the right thing for the world.”</p>
<p>To be clear, Scaramucci is criticizing Maddow as being “deranged” and having an anxiety problem. The same guy who told the New Yorker that Reince Priebus is a “fucking paranoid schizophrenic,” and that Steve Bannon engages in self-fellatio, and that he wants to “fucking kill all the leakers” in the White House. That’s the guy who thinks that Maddow and other liberals should “take it easy?” Yeah, whatever. [Note: Scaramucci later <a href="https://twitter.com/Scaramucci/status/972149706171256832" type="external">tweeted</a> an apology].</p>
<p>The topic of the segment was Trump’s announcement that he accepted Kim Jong Un’s invitation to meet and discuss a resolution to their juvenile slap-fight on Twitter. The Fox News crew was aghast that Maddow would have anything critical to say about that. They played a clip from her show wherein she wondered…</p>
<p>“Why has no sitting American president ever met with a leader of North Korea? Why has that never happened in all the decades North Korea existed as a nation? Shouldn’t I take this to mean that this might be a particularly risky, or even an unwise move?”</p>
<p>Those are perfectly reasonable questions. What’s more, Trump’s impulsive agreement to meet with Kim demonstrates a dangerous incompetence with regard to what Trump considers his greatest asset: dealmaking. A meeting with the President of the United States is an asset that a smart negotiator would reserve until other concessions were made by the opposing party. Trump gave it up at the very beginning. He got nothing for it, or for the legitimacy it grants to Kim. He could have at least asked that the Americans currently being held in North Korea be released as a prerequisite to a meeting.</p>
<p>Fox News is predictably hailing Trump’s concession to meet Kim as a historic achievement. Never mind that the meeting hasn’t taken place and there are no guarantees that anything productive will result from them. In fact, there’s a fair chance that a summit between The Dotard and Little Rocket Man might make everything worse. They are two unstable, narcissistic individuals with little respect for one another. If their common stubbornness results in a fruitless affair, it might even make military conflict more likely as the prospects for diplomacy fade.</p>
<p>Time will tell if Trump can attend this meeting (if it even comes to pass) without screwing up. In his meetings with Congress he has proved that his word is virtually worthless and neither Democrats nor Republicans can rely on him to follow through. In the meantime, we fan expect philistines like Scaramucci to keep showing up on Fox News slinging insults and ignorance at their dimwitted audience. And maybe the world will survive a little bit longer.</p>
<p>How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00QSSMOES/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=B00QSSMOES&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=newscorpsecom-20&amp;linkId=TLI6JC2OYE22MUTS" type="external">Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.</a> Available now at Amazon.</p>
<p /> | 4,563 |
|
<p>The one year delay in The New York Times’ revelation of the warrantless electronic eavesdropping remains inexplicable. The Times’ ombudsman, Byron Calame, wrote last Sunday that the high Times officials involved — Bill Keller and Arthur Sulzberger — refused to give any adequate explanation or to answer his questions. It did seem to Calame, however, that in effect they were claiming that to explain would be to give the government leads it could use to track down (and punish) the whistleblowers, the people whom one other writer, Jonathan Alter, believes are the true patriots here because they exposed serious governmental wrongdoing.</p>
<p>Such a claim by Keller and Sulzberger, which is no doubt being made in fact, strikes me as unpersuasive. For as has been discussed here before in regard to Times revelations about planes used for CIA renditions, it is always possible to sufficiently describe events in ways that make it impossible to know the whos and wheres of a situation, yet to know in some depth what occurred. One retreats where necessary to higher levels of abstraction that do not reveal specific actors or places. Not to mention that it is difficult to know how one can reasonably expect the details of the revelations to remain secret for long anyway, when, according to The Times itself, about a dozen government officials were part of the process.</p>
<p>Keller did say, however, that the forthcoming publication of a book by one of the reporters who broke the story, James Risen, a book that apparently would have disclosed the secret surveillance, was not the reason the disclosure article was finally printed. (Calame appeared to display a certain incipient dubiousness about this statement.)</p>
<p>And though, in prepared statements, Keller did not mention the November 2004 presidential election or say whether The Times learned of the eavesdropping before or after that election, he implicitly appeared to deny that the election had anything to do with The Times’ failure to print the story in 2004. He said that:</p>
<p>The publication was not timed to the Iraqi election, the Patriot Act debate, Jim’s forthcoming book or any other event. We published the story when we did because after much hard work it was fully reported, checked and ready, and because, after listening respectfully to the Administration’s objections, we were convinced there was no good reason not to publish it.</p>
<p>One might add, indeed, that if the election were the cause of The Times’ delay, why didn’t it publish the article after the election but without waiting a full year?</p>
<p>Nonetheless, the suspicion that the election may have had something to do with the story initially being withheld will not down. Perhaps the election’s “only” impact was that, due to desperation arising from the possibility that disclosure prior to the election would increase the possibility of defeat at the polls, Bush really laid his claims of national security on The Times thickly, stridently, before the election, at a time when the paper may not have been as sure as it was later that his claims were bovine defecation. Here is what Keller said in his prepared statements in regard to this point and in regard to why The Times later changed its mind and published the story:</p>
<p>A year ago, when this information first became known to Times reporters, the Administration argued strongly that writing about this eavesdropping program would give terrorists clues about the vulnerability of their communications and would deprive the government of an effective tool for the protection of the country’s security. Officials also assured senior editors of The Times that a variety of legal checks had been imposed that satisfied everyone involved that the program raised no legal questions. As we have done before in rare instances when faced with a convincing national security argument, we agreed not to publish at that time.</p>
<p>We also continued reporting, and in the ensuing months two things happened that changed our thinking.</p>
<p>First, we developed a fuller picture of the concerns and misgivings that had been expressed during the life of the program. It is not our place to pass judgement on the legal or civil liberties questions involved in such a program, but it became clear those questions loomed larger within the government than we had previously understood. (Emphasis added.)</p>
<p>Second, in the course of subsequent reporting we satisfied ourselves that we could write about this program — withholding a number of technical details — in a way that would not expose any intelligence-gathering methods or capabilities that are not already on the public record. The fact that the government eavesdrops on those suspected of terrorist connections is well-known. The fact that the N.S.A. can legally monitor communications within the United States with a warrant from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court is also public information. What is new is that the N.S.A. has for the past three years had the authority to eavesdrop on Americans and others inside the United States without a warrant. It is that expansion of authority — not the need for a robust anti-terror intelligence operation — that prompted debate within the government, and that is the subject of the article.</p>
<p>Suspicion that Bush may have laid it on really thick the first time is only increased because of an online article by Newsweek’s Jonathan Alter about what subsequently happened in December of 2005, a year later.</p>
<p>No wonder Bush was so desperate that The New York Times not publish its story on the National Security Agency eavesdropping on American citizens without a warrant, in what lawyers outside the administration say is a clear violation of the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. I learned this week that on Dec. 6, Bush summoned Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger and executive editor Bill Keller to the Oval Office in a futile attempt to talk them out of running the story. The Times will not comment on the meeting, but one can only imagine the president’s desperation.</p>
<p>The problem was not that the disclosures would compromise national security, as Bush claimed at his press conference. His comparison to the damaging pre-9/11 revelation of Osama bin Laden’s use of a satellite phone, which caused bin Laden to change tactics, is fallacious; any Americans with ties to Muslim extremists — in fact, all American Muslims, period — have long since suspected that the U.S. government might be listening in to their conversations. Bush claimed that “the fact that we are discussing this program is helping the enemy.” But there is simply no evidence, or even reasonable presumption, that this is so. And rather than the leaking being a “shameful act,” it was the work of a patriot inside the government who was trying to stop a presidential power grab.</p>
<p>No, Bush was desperate to keep the Times from running this important story — which the paper had already inexplicably held for a year — because he knew that it would reveal him as a law-breaker. He insists he had “legal authority derived from the Constitution and congressional resolution authorizing force.” But the Constitution explicitly requires the president to obey the law. And the post 9/11 congressional resolution authorizing “all necessary force” in fighting terrorism was made in clear reference to military intervention. It did not scrap the Constitution and allow the president to do whatever he pleased in any area in the name of fighting terrorism.</p>
<p>Curiously, Alter does not make clear whether his statements about Bush’s desperation are his own view, or are the view transmitted to him by the unidentified sources from whom he learned of the December 6, 2005 meeting and who may be privy to the reaction of the Timesmen to that meeting. One assumes the view is that of Alter himself, but you never know.</p>
<p>There are, one thinks, two points emanating from all this. One is a question. Keller says it is (and in 2004 I think was) well known that the government engages in surveillance. Nonetheless, Keller’s statement also says The Times initially eschewed publication in part because “Officials also assured senior editors of The Times that a variety of legal checks had been imposed that satisfied everyone involved that the program raised no legal questions.” (Emphasis added.) Then his statement says publication ultimately occurred in part because “we developed a further picture of the concerns and misgivings that had been expressed during the life of the program. It is not our place to pass judgement on the legal or civil liberties questions involved in such a program, but it became clear those questions loomed larger within the government than we had previously understood.” (Emphasis added.) The question which obviously arises is this: Especially since Keller says it is (and I believe was) well known that the government is engaging in surveillance, why did publication depend upon what people within the government said was the legality or illegality of the program? Why the hell didn’t The Times (confidentially) consult its own lawyers, who could have told it in a New York minute, in 2004, that what was being done by the government was flatly in violation of the law?</p>
<p>Is it possible that The Times did consult its own lawyers, who told it not to publish for one reason or another? That is what happened in the Pentagon Papers case, you know, so The Times had to get itself a new lawyer there. If it did consult its lawyers about the electronic surveillance and they told it, for any reason, not to publish, then it needs new lawyers now, as in the Pentagon Papers matter. Somehow or other, however, I am dubious that The Times consulted its lawyers in 2004. Somehow or other I would bet that The Times, as Keller said, (inexplicably) relied solely on the soothing statements of government officials, notorious liars all, it would seem, right up to Bush himself. In any event, the question of whether The Times (very negligently) relied solely on the statements of government officials in 2004, without even bothering to consult its own counsel, cries out for answer.</p>
<p>The other point of enormous relevance is the issue of whether The Times did in fact learn of the warrantless surveillance before the 2004 election, and was persuaded (strong- armed?) before the election not to print the story. This too cries out for an answer. George Bush was not elected by the American people in 2000. He was elected by denying the vote to blacks in Florida, by the ballot skullduggery that caused votes to be cast for Buchanan rather than Gore by members of that famous political organization called “Elderly Florida Jews for Pat Buchanan,” and by the Supreme Court, whose latest nominee is the subject of hearings that begin in a few days. Is it possible that, after being elected by denying votes to blacks, by misleading members of “Elderly Florida Jews for Buchanan,” and by the Supreme Court, Bush got himself reelected by persuading The Times not to publish the news of his lawbreaking prior to the 2004 reelection and by The Times acceding to this? The Times plainly should let us know the answer to this horrid possibility.</p>
<p>LAWRENCE R. VELVEL is the Dean of Massachusetts School of Law. He can be reached at <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>.</p>
<p>*This essay represents the personal views of LAWRENCE R. VELVEL.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | The NYT’s Unconscionable Decision to Sit on the NSA Story for a Year | true | https://counterpunch.org/2006/01/07/the-nyt-s-unconscionable-decision-to-sit-on-the-nsa-story-for-a-year/ | 2006-01-07 | 4left
| The NYT’s Unconscionable Decision to Sit on the NSA Story for a Year
<p>The one year delay in The New York Times’ revelation of the warrantless electronic eavesdropping remains inexplicable. The Times’ ombudsman, Byron Calame, wrote last Sunday that the high Times officials involved — Bill Keller and Arthur Sulzberger — refused to give any adequate explanation or to answer his questions. It did seem to Calame, however, that in effect they were claiming that to explain would be to give the government leads it could use to track down (and punish) the whistleblowers, the people whom one other writer, Jonathan Alter, believes are the true patriots here because they exposed serious governmental wrongdoing.</p>
<p>Such a claim by Keller and Sulzberger, which is no doubt being made in fact, strikes me as unpersuasive. For as has been discussed here before in regard to Times revelations about planes used for CIA renditions, it is always possible to sufficiently describe events in ways that make it impossible to know the whos and wheres of a situation, yet to know in some depth what occurred. One retreats where necessary to higher levels of abstraction that do not reveal specific actors or places. Not to mention that it is difficult to know how one can reasonably expect the details of the revelations to remain secret for long anyway, when, according to The Times itself, about a dozen government officials were part of the process.</p>
<p>Keller did say, however, that the forthcoming publication of a book by one of the reporters who broke the story, James Risen, a book that apparently would have disclosed the secret surveillance, was not the reason the disclosure article was finally printed. (Calame appeared to display a certain incipient dubiousness about this statement.)</p>
<p>And though, in prepared statements, Keller did not mention the November 2004 presidential election or say whether The Times learned of the eavesdropping before or after that election, he implicitly appeared to deny that the election had anything to do with The Times’ failure to print the story in 2004. He said that:</p>
<p>The publication was not timed to the Iraqi election, the Patriot Act debate, Jim’s forthcoming book or any other event. We published the story when we did because after much hard work it was fully reported, checked and ready, and because, after listening respectfully to the Administration’s objections, we were convinced there was no good reason not to publish it.</p>
<p>One might add, indeed, that if the election were the cause of The Times’ delay, why didn’t it publish the article after the election but without waiting a full year?</p>
<p>Nonetheless, the suspicion that the election may have had something to do with the story initially being withheld will not down. Perhaps the election’s “only” impact was that, due to desperation arising from the possibility that disclosure prior to the election would increase the possibility of defeat at the polls, Bush really laid his claims of national security on The Times thickly, stridently, before the election, at a time when the paper may not have been as sure as it was later that his claims were bovine defecation. Here is what Keller said in his prepared statements in regard to this point and in regard to why The Times later changed its mind and published the story:</p>
<p>A year ago, when this information first became known to Times reporters, the Administration argued strongly that writing about this eavesdropping program would give terrorists clues about the vulnerability of their communications and would deprive the government of an effective tool for the protection of the country’s security. Officials also assured senior editors of The Times that a variety of legal checks had been imposed that satisfied everyone involved that the program raised no legal questions. As we have done before in rare instances when faced with a convincing national security argument, we agreed not to publish at that time.</p>
<p>We also continued reporting, and in the ensuing months two things happened that changed our thinking.</p>
<p>First, we developed a fuller picture of the concerns and misgivings that had been expressed during the life of the program. It is not our place to pass judgement on the legal or civil liberties questions involved in such a program, but it became clear those questions loomed larger within the government than we had previously understood. (Emphasis added.)</p>
<p>Second, in the course of subsequent reporting we satisfied ourselves that we could write about this program — withholding a number of technical details — in a way that would not expose any intelligence-gathering methods or capabilities that are not already on the public record. The fact that the government eavesdrops on those suspected of terrorist connections is well-known. The fact that the N.S.A. can legally monitor communications within the United States with a warrant from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court is also public information. What is new is that the N.S.A. has for the past three years had the authority to eavesdrop on Americans and others inside the United States without a warrant. It is that expansion of authority — not the need for a robust anti-terror intelligence operation — that prompted debate within the government, and that is the subject of the article.</p>
<p>Suspicion that Bush may have laid it on really thick the first time is only increased because of an online article by Newsweek’s Jonathan Alter about what subsequently happened in December of 2005, a year later.</p>
<p>No wonder Bush was so desperate that The New York Times not publish its story on the National Security Agency eavesdropping on American citizens without a warrant, in what lawyers outside the administration say is a clear violation of the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. I learned this week that on Dec. 6, Bush summoned Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger and executive editor Bill Keller to the Oval Office in a futile attempt to talk them out of running the story. The Times will not comment on the meeting, but one can only imagine the president’s desperation.</p>
<p>The problem was not that the disclosures would compromise national security, as Bush claimed at his press conference. His comparison to the damaging pre-9/11 revelation of Osama bin Laden’s use of a satellite phone, which caused bin Laden to change tactics, is fallacious; any Americans with ties to Muslim extremists — in fact, all American Muslims, period — have long since suspected that the U.S. government might be listening in to their conversations. Bush claimed that “the fact that we are discussing this program is helping the enemy.” But there is simply no evidence, or even reasonable presumption, that this is so. And rather than the leaking being a “shameful act,” it was the work of a patriot inside the government who was trying to stop a presidential power grab.</p>
<p>No, Bush was desperate to keep the Times from running this important story — which the paper had already inexplicably held for a year — because he knew that it would reveal him as a law-breaker. He insists he had “legal authority derived from the Constitution and congressional resolution authorizing force.” But the Constitution explicitly requires the president to obey the law. And the post 9/11 congressional resolution authorizing “all necessary force” in fighting terrorism was made in clear reference to military intervention. It did not scrap the Constitution and allow the president to do whatever he pleased in any area in the name of fighting terrorism.</p>
<p>Curiously, Alter does not make clear whether his statements about Bush’s desperation are his own view, or are the view transmitted to him by the unidentified sources from whom he learned of the December 6, 2005 meeting and who may be privy to the reaction of the Timesmen to that meeting. One assumes the view is that of Alter himself, but you never know.</p>
<p>There are, one thinks, two points emanating from all this. One is a question. Keller says it is (and in 2004 I think was) well known that the government engages in surveillance. Nonetheless, Keller’s statement also says The Times initially eschewed publication in part because “Officials also assured senior editors of The Times that a variety of legal checks had been imposed that satisfied everyone involved that the program raised no legal questions.” (Emphasis added.) Then his statement says publication ultimately occurred in part because “we developed a further picture of the concerns and misgivings that had been expressed during the life of the program. It is not our place to pass judgement on the legal or civil liberties questions involved in such a program, but it became clear those questions loomed larger within the government than we had previously understood.” (Emphasis added.) The question which obviously arises is this: Especially since Keller says it is (and I believe was) well known that the government is engaging in surveillance, why did publication depend upon what people within the government said was the legality or illegality of the program? Why the hell didn’t The Times (confidentially) consult its own lawyers, who could have told it in a New York minute, in 2004, that what was being done by the government was flatly in violation of the law?</p>
<p>Is it possible that The Times did consult its own lawyers, who told it not to publish for one reason or another? That is what happened in the Pentagon Papers case, you know, so The Times had to get itself a new lawyer there. If it did consult its lawyers about the electronic surveillance and they told it, for any reason, not to publish, then it needs new lawyers now, as in the Pentagon Papers matter. Somehow or other, however, I am dubious that The Times consulted its lawyers in 2004. Somehow or other I would bet that The Times, as Keller said, (inexplicably) relied solely on the soothing statements of government officials, notorious liars all, it would seem, right up to Bush himself. In any event, the question of whether The Times (very negligently) relied solely on the statements of government officials in 2004, without even bothering to consult its own counsel, cries out for answer.</p>
<p>The other point of enormous relevance is the issue of whether The Times did in fact learn of the warrantless surveillance before the 2004 election, and was persuaded (strong- armed?) before the election not to print the story. This too cries out for an answer. George Bush was not elected by the American people in 2000. He was elected by denying the vote to blacks in Florida, by the ballot skullduggery that caused votes to be cast for Buchanan rather than Gore by members of that famous political organization called “Elderly Florida Jews for Pat Buchanan,” and by the Supreme Court, whose latest nominee is the subject of hearings that begin in a few days. Is it possible that, after being elected by denying votes to blacks, by misleading members of “Elderly Florida Jews for Buchanan,” and by the Supreme Court, Bush got himself reelected by persuading The Times not to publish the news of his lawbreaking prior to the 2004 reelection and by The Times acceding to this? The Times plainly should let us know the answer to this horrid possibility.</p>
<p>LAWRENCE R. VELVEL is the Dean of Massachusetts School of Law. He can be reached at <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>.</p>
<p>*This essay represents the personal views of LAWRENCE R. VELVEL.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | 4,564 |
<p>So, for the umpteenth time in the last several weeks, Hillary Clinton’s campaign is attempting to explain to Americans how she will take on wild card Donald Trump in the general election. And for the umpteenth time, she’s failing. A woman with all the charm of a 1980s-era withered plastic sofa cover will try to outplay a man who got famous being likeable on television. And she’ll do it with policy! POLICY, I TELL YOU!</p>
<p>According to The New York Times today, Hillary’s speech today in San Diego will target Trump over his foreign policy incoherence:</p>
<p>The argument will include specific criticism of comments Mr. Trump has made about rethinking the United States’s support of NATO; his proposal to allow Japan, South Korea and Saudi Arabia to acquire nuclear weapons; his vow to temporarily bar Muslims from entering the United States; and his pledge to advance the use of torture and kill the families of suspected terrorists. But Mrs. Clinton will also invoke her experiences as secretary of state, including in 2011 when she supported President Obama’s decision to send Navy SEALs on a raid in Pakistan that killed Osama bin Laden, to make the case that Mr. Trump does not have the temperament to make such decisions.</p>
<p>Epic, epic fail.</p>
<p>Now, Hillary’s right about Trump’s foreign policy. It’s disastrous – at last what he’s expressed of a foreign policy. But Hillary’s own record is even more disastrous. And trying to stand on the body of Osama Bin Laden to push her election bid reeks of inauthenticity – and, what’s more, trying to make the case that Trump doesn’t have the temperament to kill Bin Laden is absolutely asinine. If there’s one thing Trump does have the temperament to do, it’s tell the military to kill people. Hell, the man even says he’ll have the military violate all basic standards of morality and law and purposefully murder family members of terrorists.</p>
<p>Beyond that, Hillary outhawking Trump doesn’t help her – it hurts her with Bernie supporters. And hawkish Republicans don’t trust Hillary, not after her disastrous dealings with Syrian dictator Bashar Assad and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.</p>
<p>That’s the problem for Hillary: her record is so terrible that Trump always has an easy comeback.</p>
<p>Take, for example, Hillary’s twitter feed. Here are some of her tweets, along with quick one line responses Trump could dump on her:</p>
<p>Trump University was a vehicle for <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump" type="external">@realDonaldTrump</a> to exploit vulnerable Americans for his own gain. <a href="https://t.co/9P4GR2Gfog" type="external">https://t.co/9P4GR2Gfog</a></p>
<p>Clinton Foundation.</p>
<p>Trump University students entrusted Trump with their futures, and he scammed them. He'd do the same to our country. <a href="https://t.co/fYjE6dkoVg" type="external">https://t.co/fYjE6dkoVg</a></p>
<p>Your entire political career.</p>
<p>The Trump University con says a lot about Trump. If you can't trust him with your personal finances—how can we trust him with our country?</p>
<p>You were “dead broke” when you exited the White House, then bartered influence for donations to the scam Clinton Foundation.</p>
<p>Trump's candidacy is built on his business "credibility." But his business record matches his character: His only concern is his own profit.</p>
<p>You made your money giving $200,000 speeches to Goldman Sachs.</p>
<p>It's one thing to sell steaks using a name as a marketing ploy. Trump's company intentionally put people at risk. <a href="https://t.co/5F4siYeO8p" type="external">pic.twitter.com/5F4siYeO8p</a></p>
<p>You went to sleep while four Americans were murdered in Benghazi in a war you started. You intentionally exposed classified information to hackers by setting up a private server.</p>
<p>Another Trump University practice, according to its own employees: target struggling families to fleece them. <a href="https://t.co/VUH18SpBlD" type="external">pic.twitter.com/VUH18SpBlD</a></p>
<p>This is true of all of your Democratic voters.</p>
<p>Hillary is endlessly vulnerable. Furthermore, she has no angle of attack on Trump: all of his foibles are doubly true of her. Which is why she’s in trouble.</p>
<p>Now, he still has a massive statistical hill to climb in this election cycle. She’s leading him in all the swing states, she hasn’t consolidated her Bernie base yet, and she’s about to unleash President Obama to prod minority voters to get behind her. But she’s incompetent. Deeply incompetent. And Trump is an attack dog par excellence. At the very least, this is going to be a combustible election.</p> | Every Hillary Clinton Attack On Trump Backfires On Her. Every Single One. | true | https://dailywire.com/news/6235/every-hillary-clinton-attack-trump-backfires-her-ben-shapiro | 2016-06-02 | 0right
| Every Hillary Clinton Attack On Trump Backfires On Her. Every Single One.
<p>So, for the umpteenth time in the last several weeks, Hillary Clinton’s campaign is attempting to explain to Americans how she will take on wild card Donald Trump in the general election. And for the umpteenth time, she’s failing. A woman with all the charm of a 1980s-era withered plastic sofa cover will try to outplay a man who got famous being likeable on television. And she’ll do it with policy! POLICY, I TELL YOU!</p>
<p>According to The New York Times today, Hillary’s speech today in San Diego will target Trump over his foreign policy incoherence:</p>
<p>The argument will include specific criticism of comments Mr. Trump has made about rethinking the United States’s support of NATO; his proposal to allow Japan, South Korea and Saudi Arabia to acquire nuclear weapons; his vow to temporarily bar Muslims from entering the United States; and his pledge to advance the use of torture and kill the families of suspected terrorists. But Mrs. Clinton will also invoke her experiences as secretary of state, including in 2011 when she supported President Obama’s decision to send Navy SEALs on a raid in Pakistan that killed Osama bin Laden, to make the case that Mr. Trump does not have the temperament to make such decisions.</p>
<p>Epic, epic fail.</p>
<p>Now, Hillary’s right about Trump’s foreign policy. It’s disastrous – at last what he’s expressed of a foreign policy. But Hillary’s own record is even more disastrous. And trying to stand on the body of Osama Bin Laden to push her election bid reeks of inauthenticity – and, what’s more, trying to make the case that Trump doesn’t have the temperament to kill Bin Laden is absolutely asinine. If there’s one thing Trump does have the temperament to do, it’s tell the military to kill people. Hell, the man even says he’ll have the military violate all basic standards of morality and law and purposefully murder family members of terrorists.</p>
<p>Beyond that, Hillary outhawking Trump doesn’t help her – it hurts her with Bernie supporters. And hawkish Republicans don’t trust Hillary, not after her disastrous dealings with Syrian dictator Bashar Assad and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.</p>
<p>That’s the problem for Hillary: her record is so terrible that Trump always has an easy comeback.</p>
<p>Take, for example, Hillary’s twitter feed. Here are some of her tweets, along with quick one line responses Trump could dump on her:</p>
<p>Trump University was a vehicle for <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump" type="external">@realDonaldTrump</a> to exploit vulnerable Americans for his own gain. <a href="https://t.co/9P4GR2Gfog" type="external">https://t.co/9P4GR2Gfog</a></p>
<p>Clinton Foundation.</p>
<p>Trump University students entrusted Trump with their futures, and he scammed them. He'd do the same to our country. <a href="https://t.co/fYjE6dkoVg" type="external">https://t.co/fYjE6dkoVg</a></p>
<p>Your entire political career.</p>
<p>The Trump University con says a lot about Trump. If you can't trust him with your personal finances—how can we trust him with our country?</p>
<p>You were “dead broke” when you exited the White House, then bartered influence for donations to the scam Clinton Foundation.</p>
<p>Trump's candidacy is built on his business "credibility." But his business record matches his character: His only concern is his own profit.</p>
<p>You made your money giving $200,000 speeches to Goldman Sachs.</p>
<p>It's one thing to sell steaks using a name as a marketing ploy. Trump's company intentionally put people at risk. <a href="https://t.co/5F4siYeO8p" type="external">pic.twitter.com/5F4siYeO8p</a></p>
<p>You went to sleep while four Americans were murdered in Benghazi in a war you started. You intentionally exposed classified information to hackers by setting up a private server.</p>
<p>Another Trump University practice, according to its own employees: target struggling families to fleece them. <a href="https://t.co/VUH18SpBlD" type="external">pic.twitter.com/VUH18SpBlD</a></p>
<p>This is true of all of your Democratic voters.</p>
<p>Hillary is endlessly vulnerable. Furthermore, she has no angle of attack on Trump: all of his foibles are doubly true of her. Which is why she’s in trouble.</p>
<p>Now, he still has a massive statistical hill to climb in this election cycle. She’s leading him in all the swing states, she hasn’t consolidated her Bernie base yet, and she’s about to unleash President Obama to prod minority voters to get behind her. But she’s incompetent. Deeply incompetent. And Trump is an attack dog par excellence. At the very least, this is going to be a combustible election.</p> | 4,565 |
<p>The rule of law and the independence of the judiciary are fragile achievements in many countries — and susceptible to sharp reversals.</p>
<p>Brazil, the last country in the Wessstern world to abolish slavery, is a fairly young democracy, having emerged from dictatorship just three decades ago. In the past two years, what could have been a historic advancement ― the Workers’ Party government granted autonomy to the judiciary to investigate and prosecute official corruption ― has turned into its opposite. As a result, Brazil’s democracy is now weaker than it has been since military rule ended.</p>
<p>This week, that democracy may be further eroded as a three-judge appellate court decides whether the most popular political figure in the country, former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of the Workers’ Party, will be barred from competing in the 2018 presidential election, or even jailed.</p>
<p>There is not much pretense that the court will be impartial. The presiding judge of the appellate panel has already praised the trial judge’s decision to convict Mr. da Silva for corruption as “ <a href="https://latinamericannewsdigest.com/brazilian-federal-regional-court-president-praises-moros-decision/" type="external">technically irreproachable</a>,” and the judge’s chief of staff posted on her Facebook page a petition&#160; <a href="https://oglobo.globo.com/brasil/assessora-do-trf-4-causa-polemica-ao-pedir-prisao-de-lula-no-facebook-22265899" type="external">calling</a>&#160;for Mr. da Silva’s imprisonment.</p>
<p>The trial judge, Sérgio Moro, has demonstrated his own partisanship on numerous occasions. He had to apologize to the Supreme Court in 2016 for&#160; <a href="" type="internal">releasing</a>&#160;wiretapped conversations between Mr. da Silva and President Dilma Rousseff, his lawyer, and his wife and children. Judge Moro arranged a&#160; <a href="" type="internal">spectacle</a>&#160;for the press in which the police&#160; <a href="" type="internal">showed up</a>&#160;at Mr. da Silva’s home and took him away for questioning — even though Mr. da Silva had said&#160; <a href="" type="internal">he would report voluntarily</a>&#160;for questioning.</p>
<p>The evidence against Mr. da Silva is far below the standards that would be taken seriously in, for example, the United States’ judicial system.</p>
<p>He is accused of having accepted a bribe from a big construction company, called OAS, which was prosecuted in Brazil’s “Carwash” corruption scheme. That multibillion-dollar scandal involved companies paying large bribes to officials of the state-owned oil company, Petrobras, to obtain contracts at grossly inflated prices.</p>
<p>The bribe alleged to have been received by Mr. da Silva is an apartment owned by OAS. But there is no documentary evidence that either Mr. da Silva or his wife ever received title to, rented or even stayed in the apartment, nor that they tried to accept this gift.</p>
<p>The evidence against Mr. da Silva is based on the testimony of one convicted OAS executive, José Aldemário Pinheiro Filho, who had his prison sentence reduced in exchange for turning state’s evidence. According to reporting by the prominent Brazilian newspaper Folha de São Paulo, Mr. Pinheiro was blocked from plea bargaining when he originally told the same story as Mr. da Silva about the apartment. He also spent about six months in pretrial detention. (This evidence is discussed in the&#160; <a href="" type="internal">238-page sentencing document</a>.)</p>
<p>But this scanty evidence was enough for Judge Moro. In something that Americans might consider to be a kangaroo court proceeding, he sentenced Mr. da Silva to nine and a half years in prison.</p>
<p>The rule of law in Brazil had already been dealt a devastating blow in 2016 when Mr. da Silva’s successor, Ms. Rousseff, who was elected in 2010 and re-elected in 2014, was impeached and removed from office. Most of the world (and possibly most of Brazil) may believe that she was impeached for corruption. In fact, she was accused of an accounting maneuver that temporarily made the federal budget deficit look smaller than it otherwise would appear. It was something that other presidents and governors had done without consequences. And the government’s own federal prosecutor&#160; <a href="" type="internal">concluded</a>&#160;that it was not a crime.</p>
<p>While there were officials involved in corruption from parties across the political spectrum, including the Workers’ Party, there were no charges of corruption against Ms. Rousseff in the impeachment proceedings.</p>
<p>Mr. da Silva remains the front-runner in the October election because of his and the party’s success in reversing a long economic decline. From 1980 to 2003, the Brazilian economy barely grew at all,&#160; <a href="" type="internal">about 0.2 percent annually per capita</a>. Mr. da Silva took office in 2003, and Ms. Rousseff in 2011. By 2014, poverty had been&#160; <a href="http://cepr.net/publications/reports/the-brazilian-economy-in-transition-macroeconomic-policy-labor-and-inequality" type="external">reduced</a>&#160;by 55 percent and extreme poverty by 65 percent. The real minimum wage increased by 76 percent, real wages overall had risen 35 percent, unemployment hit record lows, and Brazil’s infamous inequality had finally fallen.</p>
<p>But in 2014, a deep recession began, and the Brazilian right was able to take advantage of the downturn to stage what many Brazilians consider a parliamentary coup.</p>
<p>If Mr. da Silva is barred from the presidential election, the result could have very little legitimacy, as in the Honduran election in November that was widely seen as stolen. A poll last year found that 42.7 percent of Brazilians believed that Mr. da Silva was being persecuted by the news media and the judiciary. A noncredible election could be politically destabilizing.</p>
<p>Perhaps most important, Brazil will have reconstituted itself as a much more limited form of electoral democracy, in which a politicized judiciary can exclude a popular political leader from running for office. That would be a calamity for Brazilians, the region and the world.</p>
<p>This column originally appeared in the <a href="http://www.nyt.com" type="external">New York Times</a>.</p> | Brazil’s Democracy Pushed Toward the Abyss | true | https://counterpunch.org/2018/01/25/brazils-democracy-pushed-toward-the-abyss/ | 2018-01-25 | 4left
| Brazil’s Democracy Pushed Toward the Abyss
<p>The rule of law and the independence of the judiciary are fragile achievements in many countries — and susceptible to sharp reversals.</p>
<p>Brazil, the last country in the Wessstern world to abolish slavery, is a fairly young democracy, having emerged from dictatorship just three decades ago. In the past two years, what could have been a historic advancement ― the Workers’ Party government granted autonomy to the judiciary to investigate and prosecute official corruption ― has turned into its opposite. As a result, Brazil’s democracy is now weaker than it has been since military rule ended.</p>
<p>This week, that democracy may be further eroded as a three-judge appellate court decides whether the most popular political figure in the country, former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of the Workers’ Party, will be barred from competing in the 2018 presidential election, or even jailed.</p>
<p>There is not much pretense that the court will be impartial. The presiding judge of the appellate panel has already praised the trial judge’s decision to convict Mr. da Silva for corruption as “ <a href="https://latinamericannewsdigest.com/brazilian-federal-regional-court-president-praises-moros-decision/" type="external">technically irreproachable</a>,” and the judge’s chief of staff posted on her Facebook page a petition&#160; <a href="https://oglobo.globo.com/brasil/assessora-do-trf-4-causa-polemica-ao-pedir-prisao-de-lula-no-facebook-22265899" type="external">calling</a>&#160;for Mr. da Silva’s imprisonment.</p>
<p>The trial judge, Sérgio Moro, has demonstrated his own partisanship on numerous occasions. He had to apologize to the Supreme Court in 2016 for&#160; <a href="" type="internal">releasing</a>&#160;wiretapped conversations between Mr. da Silva and President Dilma Rousseff, his lawyer, and his wife and children. Judge Moro arranged a&#160; <a href="" type="internal">spectacle</a>&#160;for the press in which the police&#160; <a href="" type="internal">showed up</a>&#160;at Mr. da Silva’s home and took him away for questioning — even though Mr. da Silva had said&#160; <a href="" type="internal">he would report voluntarily</a>&#160;for questioning.</p>
<p>The evidence against Mr. da Silva is far below the standards that would be taken seriously in, for example, the United States’ judicial system.</p>
<p>He is accused of having accepted a bribe from a big construction company, called OAS, which was prosecuted in Brazil’s “Carwash” corruption scheme. That multibillion-dollar scandal involved companies paying large bribes to officials of the state-owned oil company, Petrobras, to obtain contracts at grossly inflated prices.</p>
<p>The bribe alleged to have been received by Mr. da Silva is an apartment owned by OAS. But there is no documentary evidence that either Mr. da Silva or his wife ever received title to, rented or even stayed in the apartment, nor that they tried to accept this gift.</p>
<p>The evidence against Mr. da Silva is based on the testimony of one convicted OAS executive, José Aldemário Pinheiro Filho, who had his prison sentence reduced in exchange for turning state’s evidence. According to reporting by the prominent Brazilian newspaper Folha de São Paulo, Mr. Pinheiro was blocked from plea bargaining when he originally told the same story as Mr. da Silva about the apartment. He also spent about six months in pretrial detention. (This evidence is discussed in the&#160; <a href="" type="internal">238-page sentencing document</a>.)</p>
<p>But this scanty evidence was enough for Judge Moro. In something that Americans might consider to be a kangaroo court proceeding, he sentenced Mr. da Silva to nine and a half years in prison.</p>
<p>The rule of law in Brazil had already been dealt a devastating blow in 2016 when Mr. da Silva’s successor, Ms. Rousseff, who was elected in 2010 and re-elected in 2014, was impeached and removed from office. Most of the world (and possibly most of Brazil) may believe that she was impeached for corruption. In fact, she was accused of an accounting maneuver that temporarily made the federal budget deficit look smaller than it otherwise would appear. It was something that other presidents and governors had done without consequences. And the government’s own federal prosecutor&#160; <a href="" type="internal">concluded</a>&#160;that it was not a crime.</p>
<p>While there were officials involved in corruption from parties across the political spectrum, including the Workers’ Party, there were no charges of corruption against Ms. Rousseff in the impeachment proceedings.</p>
<p>Mr. da Silva remains the front-runner in the October election because of his and the party’s success in reversing a long economic decline. From 1980 to 2003, the Brazilian economy barely grew at all,&#160; <a href="" type="internal">about 0.2 percent annually per capita</a>. Mr. da Silva took office in 2003, and Ms. Rousseff in 2011. By 2014, poverty had been&#160; <a href="http://cepr.net/publications/reports/the-brazilian-economy-in-transition-macroeconomic-policy-labor-and-inequality" type="external">reduced</a>&#160;by 55 percent and extreme poverty by 65 percent. The real minimum wage increased by 76 percent, real wages overall had risen 35 percent, unemployment hit record lows, and Brazil’s infamous inequality had finally fallen.</p>
<p>But in 2014, a deep recession began, and the Brazilian right was able to take advantage of the downturn to stage what many Brazilians consider a parliamentary coup.</p>
<p>If Mr. da Silva is barred from the presidential election, the result could have very little legitimacy, as in the Honduran election in November that was widely seen as stolen. A poll last year found that 42.7 percent of Brazilians believed that Mr. da Silva was being persecuted by the news media and the judiciary. A noncredible election could be politically destabilizing.</p>
<p>Perhaps most important, Brazil will have reconstituted itself as a much more limited form of electoral democracy, in which a politicized judiciary can exclude a popular political leader from running for office. That would be a calamity for Brazilians, the region and the world.</p>
<p>This column originally appeared in the <a href="http://www.nyt.com" type="external">New York Times</a>.</p> | 4,566 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Federal investigators have now connected the Sony Pictures hack to the isolated communist nation, according to an official. Earlier in the day, the besieged company cancelled the Christmas Day release of “The Interview,” citing the threats of violence against movie theaters and decisions by the largest multiplex chains in North America to pull the film from its screens. It later said there are no further plans to release the film.</p>
<p>The attack is possibly the costliest for a U.S. company ever, said Avivah Litan, a cybersecurity analyst at research firm Gartner. “This attack went to the heart and core of Sony’s business – and succeeded,” she said. “We haven’t seen any attack like this in the annals of U.S. breach history.”</p>
<p>The movie cancellation was a startling blow to the Hollywood studio. The hackers, who call themselves Guardians of Peace, on Monday had threatened attacks reminiscent of September 11th, 2001 against movie theaters showing the film. Sony then offered theaters the option of bowing out, and one after the other, all the top U.S. movie chains announced they were postponing any showings of the comedy about a pair of journalists played by James Franco and Seth Rogen tasked by the CIA to assassinate North Korea leader Kim Jung-un. Sony said it then had little choice but to cancel the release.</p>
<p>“We are deeply saddened at this brazen effort to suppress the distribution of a movie, and in the process do damage to our company, our employees, and the American public,” Sony Pictures said in a statement Tuesday. “We stand by our filmmakers and their right to free expression and are extremely disappointed by this outcome.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Just how much the hack and the decision to pull the movie will cost Sony is unclear. And beyond the financial blow, some say the attack and Sony’s response has raised troubling questions about self-censorship and whether others studios and U.S. companies are now open season for cyberterrorists.</p>
<p>“Artistic freedom is at risk,” said Efraim Levy, a financial analyst who covers parent company Sony Corp. for research firm S&amp;P Capital IQ. “Are we not going to put out movies that offend some constituencies?”</p>
<p />
<p /> | Hack attack on Sony linked to North Korea | false | https://abqjournal.com/514053/hack-attack-on-sony-linked-to-north-korea.html | 2least
| Hack attack on Sony linked to North Korea
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Federal investigators have now connected the Sony Pictures hack to the isolated communist nation, according to an official. Earlier in the day, the besieged company cancelled the Christmas Day release of “The Interview,” citing the threats of violence against movie theaters and decisions by the largest multiplex chains in North America to pull the film from its screens. It later said there are no further plans to release the film.</p>
<p>The attack is possibly the costliest for a U.S. company ever, said Avivah Litan, a cybersecurity analyst at research firm Gartner. “This attack went to the heart and core of Sony’s business – and succeeded,” she said. “We haven’t seen any attack like this in the annals of U.S. breach history.”</p>
<p>The movie cancellation was a startling blow to the Hollywood studio. The hackers, who call themselves Guardians of Peace, on Monday had threatened attacks reminiscent of September 11th, 2001 against movie theaters showing the film. Sony then offered theaters the option of bowing out, and one after the other, all the top U.S. movie chains announced they were postponing any showings of the comedy about a pair of journalists played by James Franco and Seth Rogen tasked by the CIA to assassinate North Korea leader Kim Jung-un. Sony said it then had little choice but to cancel the release.</p>
<p>“We are deeply saddened at this brazen effort to suppress the distribution of a movie, and in the process do damage to our company, our employees, and the American public,” Sony Pictures said in a statement Tuesday. “We stand by our filmmakers and their right to free expression and are extremely disappointed by this outcome.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Just how much the hack and the decision to pull the movie will cost Sony is unclear. And beyond the financial blow, some say the attack and Sony’s response has raised troubling questions about self-censorship and whether others studios and U.S. companies are now open season for cyberterrorists.</p>
<p>“Artistic freedom is at risk,” said Efraim Levy, a financial analyst who covers parent company Sony Corp. for research firm S&amp;P Capital IQ. “Are we not going to put out movies that offend some constituencies?”</p>
<p />
<p /> | 4,567 |
|
<p>(Rosie O’Donnell on ‘Watch What Happens Live.’ Screenshot via YouTube.)</p>
<p>Rosie O’Donnell got candid about Whitney Houston’s sexuality on “Watch What Happens Live” on Thursday claiming that “everyone” knew about the late singer’s sexuality and her romantic relationship with assistant&#160;Robyn Crawford.</p>
<p>When Andy Cohen asks O’Donnell what Houston and Crawford were like as a couple, she admits that she didn’t know them on a personal level but it was common knowledge they were a couple.</p>
<p>“I didn’t know them as a couple per se, but I knew that they were together,” O’Donnell says.&#160;“I’m friends with a lot of very athletic, older lesbian women who are in the WNBA. And that’s sort of the group, all of these basketball-playing women. So I knew that, and I knew it for a very long time.”</p>
<p>“Everyone sort of knew it,” O’Donnell adds. “So I thought it was very surprising when Clive Davis came out and said that he never discussed her being gay. I don’t believe that for a minute.”</p>
<p>In the documentary “Whitney: Can I Be Me?” friends and family insinuate Houston’s close relationship with Crawford was romantic.</p>
<p>Bobby Brown also revealed Houston was bisexual in his 2016 memoir “Every Little Step.”</p>
<p>“I really feel that if Robyn was accepted into Whitney’s life, Whitney would still be alive today,” Brown told <a href="http://www.etonline.com/news/190604_bobby_brown_says_whitney_houston_was_bisexual" type="external">Us Weekly</a>. “She didn’t have close friends with her anymore.”</p>
<p>Watch below.</p>
<p />
<p><a href="" type="internal">Andy Cohen</a> <a href="" type="internal">Bobby Brown</a> <a href="" type="internal">Robyn Crawford</a> <a href="" type="internal">Rosie O'Donnell</a> <a href="" type="internal">Watch What Happens Live</a> <a href="" type="internal">Whitney Houston</a></p> | Rosie O’Donnell says ‘everyone’ knew Whitney Houston’s sexuality | false | http://washingtonblade.com/2017/11/14/rosie-odonnell-says-everyone-knew-whitney-houston-lesbian/ | 3left-center
| Rosie O’Donnell says ‘everyone’ knew Whitney Houston’s sexuality
<p>(Rosie O’Donnell on ‘Watch What Happens Live.’ Screenshot via YouTube.)</p>
<p>Rosie O’Donnell got candid about Whitney Houston’s sexuality on “Watch What Happens Live” on Thursday claiming that “everyone” knew about the late singer’s sexuality and her romantic relationship with assistant&#160;Robyn Crawford.</p>
<p>When Andy Cohen asks O’Donnell what Houston and Crawford were like as a couple, she admits that she didn’t know them on a personal level but it was common knowledge they were a couple.</p>
<p>“I didn’t know them as a couple per se, but I knew that they were together,” O’Donnell says.&#160;“I’m friends with a lot of very athletic, older lesbian women who are in the WNBA. And that’s sort of the group, all of these basketball-playing women. So I knew that, and I knew it for a very long time.”</p>
<p>“Everyone sort of knew it,” O’Donnell adds. “So I thought it was very surprising when Clive Davis came out and said that he never discussed her being gay. I don’t believe that for a minute.”</p>
<p>In the documentary “Whitney: Can I Be Me?” friends and family insinuate Houston’s close relationship with Crawford was romantic.</p>
<p>Bobby Brown also revealed Houston was bisexual in his 2016 memoir “Every Little Step.”</p>
<p>“I really feel that if Robyn was accepted into Whitney’s life, Whitney would still be alive today,” Brown told <a href="http://www.etonline.com/news/190604_bobby_brown_says_whitney_houston_was_bisexual" type="external">Us Weekly</a>. “She didn’t have close friends with her anymore.”</p>
<p>Watch below.</p>
<p />
<p><a href="" type="internal">Andy Cohen</a> <a href="" type="internal">Bobby Brown</a> <a href="" type="internal">Robyn Crawford</a> <a href="" type="internal">Rosie O'Donnell</a> <a href="" type="internal">Watch What Happens Live</a> <a href="" type="internal">Whitney Houston</a></p> | 4,568 |
|
<p>HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Friday afternoon’s drawing of the Pennsylvania Lottery’s “Pick 3 Day” game were:</p>
<p>8-5-9, Wild: 6</p>
<p>(eight, five, nine; Wild: six)</p>
<p>HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Friday afternoon’s drawing of the Pennsylvania Lottery’s “Pick 3 Day” game were:</p>
<p>8-5-9, Wild: 6</p>
<p>(eight, five, nine; Wild: six)</p> | Winning numbers drawn in ‘Pick 3 Day’ game | false | https://apnews.com/ae1f91dd33b1433fbfa6eb830b5d226b | 2018-01-12 | 2least
| Winning numbers drawn in ‘Pick 3 Day’ game
<p>HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Friday afternoon’s drawing of the Pennsylvania Lottery’s “Pick 3 Day” game were:</p>
<p>8-5-9, Wild: 6</p>
<p>(eight, five, nine; Wild: six)</p>
<p>HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Friday afternoon’s drawing of the Pennsylvania Lottery’s “Pick 3 Day” game were:</p>
<p>8-5-9, Wild: 6</p>
<p>(eight, five, nine; Wild: six)</p> | 4,569 |
<p />
<p>Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa. (Flickr / Cancillería del Ecuador)</p>
<p>The Ecuadorean government is proposing a law to give all migrants in the country legal status.</p>
<p>Ecuador is an important migrant destination and has Latin America’s largest refugee population, largely fueled by the conflict in neighboring Colombia.</p>
<p />
<p>In his weekly address, President Rafael Correa said, “The right to migrate is guaranteed in the rules. No human being will be considered illegal.”</p>
<p>As TeleSUR <a href="http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/No-Human-Considered-Illegal-Under-New-Ecuadorean-Migrant-Law-20150607-0020.html" type="external">reports</a>:</p>
<p>The new legislation will cover all areas of migration, as well as visas, passports, and identity documents for foreigners.</p>
<p>According to Correa, the current law has been in place since 1979 and constitutes 18 different categories of visa, but with the new rules this will be reduced to four.</p>
<p>“They guarantee rights to foreigners in Ecuador: asylum seekers, the stateless, among others,” he added.</p>
<p>The government will also introduce programs to integrate foreigners into day-to-day Ecuadorean life.</p>
<p>Human rights groups that have criticized Correa for offering inadequate protection to vulnerable migrants will surely welcome the policy. In its country <a href="https://www.hrw.org/americas/ecuador" type="external">profile</a>, Human Rights Watch has condemned Ecuador’s government for “asylum application procedures that do not provide rigorous safeguards that international standards require.”</p>
<p>–Posted by <a href="" type="internal">Roisin Davis</a></p>
<p /> | 'No Human Considered Illegal' Under Ecuador’s New Migration Law | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/no-human-considered-illegal-under-ecuadors-new-migration-law/ | 2015-06-10 | 4left
| 'No Human Considered Illegal' Under Ecuador’s New Migration Law
<p />
<p>Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa. (Flickr / Cancillería del Ecuador)</p>
<p>The Ecuadorean government is proposing a law to give all migrants in the country legal status.</p>
<p>Ecuador is an important migrant destination and has Latin America’s largest refugee population, largely fueled by the conflict in neighboring Colombia.</p>
<p />
<p>In his weekly address, President Rafael Correa said, “The right to migrate is guaranteed in the rules. No human being will be considered illegal.”</p>
<p>As TeleSUR <a href="http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/No-Human-Considered-Illegal-Under-New-Ecuadorean-Migrant-Law-20150607-0020.html" type="external">reports</a>:</p>
<p>The new legislation will cover all areas of migration, as well as visas, passports, and identity documents for foreigners.</p>
<p>According to Correa, the current law has been in place since 1979 and constitutes 18 different categories of visa, but with the new rules this will be reduced to four.</p>
<p>“They guarantee rights to foreigners in Ecuador: asylum seekers, the stateless, among others,” he added.</p>
<p>The government will also introduce programs to integrate foreigners into day-to-day Ecuadorean life.</p>
<p>Human rights groups that have criticized Correa for offering inadequate protection to vulnerable migrants will surely welcome the policy. In its country <a href="https://www.hrw.org/americas/ecuador" type="external">profile</a>, Human Rights Watch has condemned Ecuador’s government for “asylum application procedures that do not provide rigorous safeguards that international standards require.”</p>
<p>–Posted by <a href="" type="internal">Roisin Davis</a></p>
<p /> | 4,570 |
<p>STOCKHOLM (AP) — Swedish poet and Nobel Literature Prize winner Tomas Transtromer has died at age 83, Swedish publisher Bonniers said Friday.</p>
<p>The reclusive, mild-mannered wordsmith — considered a master of metaphor and one of the most important Scandinavian poets of the post-World War II era — died Thursday after a short illness said Bonniers spokeswoman Anna Tillgren.</p>
<p>In famous collections such as the 1966 “Windows and Stones,” Transtromer used imaginative metaphors to describe the mysteries of the human mind. His work has been translated into more than 60 languages and influenced poets across Europe, the Middle East and the Americas. In 2011 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.</p>
<p>Transtromer’s works were characterized by powerful imagery that explored the mysterious sides of everyday life with little embellishment, and the focus on simplicity was also mirrored in the way he led his life.</p>
<p>Working as a psychologist in Swedish state institutions, Transtromer (TRAWN-stroh-mur) wrote his poetry during evenings and weekends and stood out for his unpretentious demeanor. He preferred to stay away from the public eye and largely avoided the political debates that engaged many of his contemporaries.</p>
<p>The poet stopped writing after suffering a stroke in 1990 that left him half-paralyzed and largely unable to speak. When he received the Nobel, aged 80, he had been a favorite for the prize for so many years that even his countrymen had started to doubt whether he would ever win.</p>
<p>His most famous works include the 1966 “Windows and Stones,” in which he depicts themes from his many travels, and “Baltics” from 1974 about the democracies and dictatorships surrounding the Baltic Sea during the Cold War.</p>
<p>He published “The Sorrow Gondola” in 1996 with work that had been written before the stroke and the “The Great Enigma.”</p>
<p>Born April 15, 1931, Transtromer grew up alone with his teacher mother in Stockholm’s working-class district after she divorced his father, a journalist. He started writing poetry while studying at the Sodra Latin school in Stockholm and his work appeared in several journals before he published his first book of poetry, “17 poems,” in 1954 to much acclaim in Sweden.</p>
<p>He studied literature, history, poetics, the history of religion and psychology at Stockholm University and worked briefly as an assistant at the university’s psychometric institution.</p>
<p>But he would spend the majority of his professional life in the much less glamorous settings of state institutions in the small Swedish towns of Linkoping and Vasteras, where he lived in a terraced house with his wife Monika, a nurse, and their two daughters. He first worked at an institution for juvenile offenders and later at a state-funded labor organization, where he helped disabled people choose careers and counseled parole offenders and those in drug rehabilitation.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, he developed his succinct writing style together with his longtime friend, author Lars Gustafsson, as a response to the intense language of Swedish modernist poets.</p>
<p>“We compared our manuscripts and warned each other not to become too like the big names, (Gunnar) Ekelof and (Erik) Lindgren,” Gustafsson recalled in a 2011 interview with the AP.</p>
<p>“We were striving, nearly instinctively you could say, in another direction. Not quite toward more simplicity, but maybe toward simpler diction.”</p>
<p>For decades, Transtromer also had a close friendship with American poet Robert Bly, who translated many of his works into English. In 2001, Bonniers published the correspondence between the two writers in the book “Air Mail.”</p>
<p>Transtromer’s poems became infused with his love of nature and were often built around his own experiences: commuting to work, watching the sun rise or waiting for nightfall. But underneath the ordinary there was also something secretive, where he explored existential questions, death and disease.</p>
<p>He wove in imagery of Sweden’s barren landscape, or returned to a childhood home on an island in the archipelago off the east coast where his grandfather worked as a ship pilot.</p>
<p>Transtromer traveled to faraway places such as Sierra Leone and the Central African Republic, and his interest in classical music to shone through in his poetry through references to composers and the use of musical rhythms. He was an avid amateur pianist and continued to play with his left hand after the stroke.</p>
<p>In the 1960s and 70s he was often criticized for the religious dimensions of his work and the lack of social commentary that were favored among the leftist Swedish intellectuals dominating the public debate at the time. But he didn’t waver.</p>
<p>“So much has happened. Reality has eaten away so much of us. But summer, at last,” Transtromer wrote in the poem “Summer Grass.”</p>
<p>“A great airport — the control tower leads down load after load with chilled people from space. Grass and flowers — we are landing. The grass has a green foreman. I go and check in.”</p>
<p>Transtromer is survived by his wife Monika and their daughters, Emma and Paula. Funeral arrangements weren’t immediately announced.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Rising, based in London, contributed to this report.</p>
<p>STOCKHOLM (AP) — Swedish poet and Nobel Literature Prize winner Tomas Transtromer has died at age 83, Swedish publisher Bonniers said Friday.</p>
<p>The reclusive, mild-mannered wordsmith — considered a master of metaphor and one of the most important Scandinavian poets of the post-World War II era — died Thursday after a short illness said Bonniers spokeswoman Anna Tillgren.</p>
<p>In famous collections such as the 1966 “Windows and Stones,” Transtromer used imaginative metaphors to describe the mysteries of the human mind. His work has been translated into more than 60 languages and influenced poets across Europe, the Middle East and the Americas. In 2011 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.</p>
<p>Transtromer’s works were characterized by powerful imagery that explored the mysterious sides of everyday life with little embellishment, and the focus on simplicity was also mirrored in the way he led his life.</p>
<p>Working as a psychologist in Swedish state institutions, Transtromer (TRAWN-stroh-mur) wrote his poetry during evenings and weekends and stood out for his unpretentious demeanor. He preferred to stay away from the public eye and largely avoided the political debates that engaged many of his contemporaries.</p>
<p>The poet stopped writing after suffering a stroke in 1990 that left him half-paralyzed and largely unable to speak. When he received the Nobel, aged 80, he had been a favorite for the prize for so many years that even his countrymen had started to doubt whether he would ever win.</p>
<p>His most famous works include the 1966 “Windows and Stones,” in which he depicts themes from his many travels, and “Baltics” from 1974 about the democracies and dictatorships surrounding the Baltic Sea during the Cold War.</p>
<p>He published “The Sorrow Gondola” in 1996 with work that had been written before the stroke and the “The Great Enigma.”</p>
<p>Born April 15, 1931, Transtromer grew up alone with his teacher mother in Stockholm’s working-class district after she divorced his father, a journalist. He started writing poetry while studying at the Sodra Latin school in Stockholm and his work appeared in several journals before he published his first book of poetry, “17 poems,” in 1954 to much acclaim in Sweden.</p>
<p>He studied literature, history, poetics, the history of religion and psychology at Stockholm University and worked briefly as an assistant at the university’s psychometric institution.</p>
<p>But he would spend the majority of his professional life in the much less glamorous settings of state institutions in the small Swedish towns of Linkoping and Vasteras, where he lived in a terraced house with his wife Monika, a nurse, and their two daughters. He first worked at an institution for juvenile offenders and later at a state-funded labor organization, where he helped disabled people choose careers and counseled parole offenders and those in drug rehabilitation.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, he developed his succinct writing style together with his longtime friend, author Lars Gustafsson, as a response to the intense language of Swedish modernist poets.</p>
<p>“We compared our manuscripts and warned each other not to become too like the big names, (Gunnar) Ekelof and (Erik) Lindgren,” Gustafsson recalled in a 2011 interview with the AP.</p>
<p>“We were striving, nearly instinctively you could say, in another direction. Not quite toward more simplicity, but maybe toward simpler diction.”</p>
<p>For decades, Transtromer also had a close friendship with American poet Robert Bly, who translated many of his works into English. In 2001, Bonniers published the correspondence between the two writers in the book “Air Mail.”</p>
<p>Transtromer’s poems became infused with his love of nature and were often built around his own experiences: commuting to work, watching the sun rise or waiting for nightfall. But underneath the ordinary there was also something secretive, where he explored existential questions, death and disease.</p>
<p>He wove in imagery of Sweden’s barren landscape, or returned to a childhood home on an island in the archipelago off the east coast where his grandfather worked as a ship pilot.</p>
<p>Transtromer traveled to faraway places such as Sierra Leone and the Central African Republic, and his interest in classical music to shone through in his poetry through references to composers and the use of musical rhythms. He was an avid amateur pianist and continued to play with his left hand after the stroke.</p>
<p>In the 1960s and 70s he was often criticized for the religious dimensions of his work and the lack of social commentary that were favored among the leftist Swedish intellectuals dominating the public debate at the time. But he didn’t waver.</p>
<p>“So much has happened. Reality has eaten away so much of us. But summer, at last,” Transtromer wrote in the poem “Summer Grass.”</p>
<p>“A great airport — the control tower leads down load after load with chilled people from space. Grass and flowers — we are landing. The grass has a green foreman. I go and check in.”</p>
<p>Transtromer is survived by his wife Monika and their daughters, Emma and Paula. Funeral arrangements weren’t immediately announced.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Rising, based in London, contributed to this report.</p> | Swedish poet Tomas Transtromer dies at 83 | false | https://apnews.com/20b62b2542f448da9e0540c255fe0fb6 | 2015-03-27 | 2least
| Swedish poet Tomas Transtromer dies at 83
<p>STOCKHOLM (AP) — Swedish poet and Nobel Literature Prize winner Tomas Transtromer has died at age 83, Swedish publisher Bonniers said Friday.</p>
<p>The reclusive, mild-mannered wordsmith — considered a master of metaphor and one of the most important Scandinavian poets of the post-World War II era — died Thursday after a short illness said Bonniers spokeswoman Anna Tillgren.</p>
<p>In famous collections such as the 1966 “Windows and Stones,” Transtromer used imaginative metaphors to describe the mysteries of the human mind. His work has been translated into more than 60 languages and influenced poets across Europe, the Middle East and the Americas. In 2011 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.</p>
<p>Transtromer’s works were characterized by powerful imagery that explored the mysterious sides of everyday life with little embellishment, and the focus on simplicity was also mirrored in the way he led his life.</p>
<p>Working as a psychologist in Swedish state institutions, Transtromer (TRAWN-stroh-mur) wrote his poetry during evenings and weekends and stood out for his unpretentious demeanor. He preferred to stay away from the public eye and largely avoided the political debates that engaged many of his contemporaries.</p>
<p>The poet stopped writing after suffering a stroke in 1990 that left him half-paralyzed and largely unable to speak. When he received the Nobel, aged 80, he had been a favorite for the prize for so many years that even his countrymen had started to doubt whether he would ever win.</p>
<p>His most famous works include the 1966 “Windows and Stones,” in which he depicts themes from his many travels, and “Baltics” from 1974 about the democracies and dictatorships surrounding the Baltic Sea during the Cold War.</p>
<p>He published “The Sorrow Gondola” in 1996 with work that had been written before the stroke and the “The Great Enigma.”</p>
<p>Born April 15, 1931, Transtromer grew up alone with his teacher mother in Stockholm’s working-class district after she divorced his father, a journalist. He started writing poetry while studying at the Sodra Latin school in Stockholm and his work appeared in several journals before he published his first book of poetry, “17 poems,” in 1954 to much acclaim in Sweden.</p>
<p>He studied literature, history, poetics, the history of religion and psychology at Stockholm University and worked briefly as an assistant at the university’s psychometric institution.</p>
<p>But he would spend the majority of his professional life in the much less glamorous settings of state institutions in the small Swedish towns of Linkoping and Vasteras, where he lived in a terraced house with his wife Monika, a nurse, and their two daughters. He first worked at an institution for juvenile offenders and later at a state-funded labor organization, where he helped disabled people choose careers and counseled parole offenders and those in drug rehabilitation.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, he developed his succinct writing style together with his longtime friend, author Lars Gustafsson, as a response to the intense language of Swedish modernist poets.</p>
<p>“We compared our manuscripts and warned each other not to become too like the big names, (Gunnar) Ekelof and (Erik) Lindgren,” Gustafsson recalled in a 2011 interview with the AP.</p>
<p>“We were striving, nearly instinctively you could say, in another direction. Not quite toward more simplicity, but maybe toward simpler diction.”</p>
<p>For decades, Transtromer also had a close friendship with American poet Robert Bly, who translated many of his works into English. In 2001, Bonniers published the correspondence between the two writers in the book “Air Mail.”</p>
<p>Transtromer’s poems became infused with his love of nature and were often built around his own experiences: commuting to work, watching the sun rise or waiting for nightfall. But underneath the ordinary there was also something secretive, where he explored existential questions, death and disease.</p>
<p>He wove in imagery of Sweden’s barren landscape, or returned to a childhood home on an island in the archipelago off the east coast where his grandfather worked as a ship pilot.</p>
<p>Transtromer traveled to faraway places such as Sierra Leone and the Central African Republic, and his interest in classical music to shone through in his poetry through references to composers and the use of musical rhythms. He was an avid amateur pianist and continued to play with his left hand after the stroke.</p>
<p>In the 1960s and 70s he was often criticized for the religious dimensions of his work and the lack of social commentary that were favored among the leftist Swedish intellectuals dominating the public debate at the time. But he didn’t waver.</p>
<p>“So much has happened. Reality has eaten away so much of us. But summer, at last,” Transtromer wrote in the poem “Summer Grass.”</p>
<p>“A great airport — the control tower leads down load after load with chilled people from space. Grass and flowers — we are landing. The grass has a green foreman. I go and check in.”</p>
<p>Transtromer is survived by his wife Monika and their daughters, Emma and Paula. Funeral arrangements weren’t immediately announced.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Rising, based in London, contributed to this report.</p>
<p>STOCKHOLM (AP) — Swedish poet and Nobel Literature Prize winner Tomas Transtromer has died at age 83, Swedish publisher Bonniers said Friday.</p>
<p>The reclusive, mild-mannered wordsmith — considered a master of metaphor and one of the most important Scandinavian poets of the post-World War II era — died Thursday after a short illness said Bonniers spokeswoman Anna Tillgren.</p>
<p>In famous collections such as the 1966 “Windows and Stones,” Transtromer used imaginative metaphors to describe the mysteries of the human mind. His work has been translated into more than 60 languages and influenced poets across Europe, the Middle East and the Americas. In 2011 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.</p>
<p>Transtromer’s works were characterized by powerful imagery that explored the mysterious sides of everyday life with little embellishment, and the focus on simplicity was also mirrored in the way he led his life.</p>
<p>Working as a psychologist in Swedish state institutions, Transtromer (TRAWN-stroh-mur) wrote his poetry during evenings and weekends and stood out for his unpretentious demeanor. He preferred to stay away from the public eye and largely avoided the political debates that engaged many of his contemporaries.</p>
<p>The poet stopped writing after suffering a stroke in 1990 that left him half-paralyzed and largely unable to speak. When he received the Nobel, aged 80, he had been a favorite for the prize for so many years that even his countrymen had started to doubt whether he would ever win.</p>
<p>His most famous works include the 1966 “Windows and Stones,” in which he depicts themes from his many travels, and “Baltics” from 1974 about the democracies and dictatorships surrounding the Baltic Sea during the Cold War.</p>
<p>He published “The Sorrow Gondola” in 1996 with work that had been written before the stroke and the “The Great Enigma.”</p>
<p>Born April 15, 1931, Transtromer grew up alone with his teacher mother in Stockholm’s working-class district after she divorced his father, a journalist. He started writing poetry while studying at the Sodra Latin school in Stockholm and his work appeared in several journals before he published his first book of poetry, “17 poems,” in 1954 to much acclaim in Sweden.</p>
<p>He studied literature, history, poetics, the history of religion and psychology at Stockholm University and worked briefly as an assistant at the university’s psychometric institution.</p>
<p>But he would spend the majority of his professional life in the much less glamorous settings of state institutions in the small Swedish towns of Linkoping and Vasteras, where he lived in a terraced house with his wife Monika, a nurse, and their two daughters. He first worked at an institution for juvenile offenders and later at a state-funded labor organization, where he helped disabled people choose careers and counseled parole offenders and those in drug rehabilitation.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, he developed his succinct writing style together with his longtime friend, author Lars Gustafsson, as a response to the intense language of Swedish modernist poets.</p>
<p>“We compared our manuscripts and warned each other not to become too like the big names, (Gunnar) Ekelof and (Erik) Lindgren,” Gustafsson recalled in a 2011 interview with the AP.</p>
<p>“We were striving, nearly instinctively you could say, in another direction. Not quite toward more simplicity, but maybe toward simpler diction.”</p>
<p>For decades, Transtromer also had a close friendship with American poet Robert Bly, who translated many of his works into English. In 2001, Bonniers published the correspondence between the two writers in the book “Air Mail.”</p>
<p>Transtromer’s poems became infused with his love of nature and were often built around his own experiences: commuting to work, watching the sun rise or waiting for nightfall. But underneath the ordinary there was also something secretive, where he explored existential questions, death and disease.</p>
<p>He wove in imagery of Sweden’s barren landscape, or returned to a childhood home on an island in the archipelago off the east coast where his grandfather worked as a ship pilot.</p>
<p>Transtromer traveled to faraway places such as Sierra Leone and the Central African Republic, and his interest in classical music to shone through in his poetry through references to composers and the use of musical rhythms. He was an avid amateur pianist and continued to play with his left hand after the stroke.</p>
<p>In the 1960s and 70s he was often criticized for the religious dimensions of his work and the lack of social commentary that were favored among the leftist Swedish intellectuals dominating the public debate at the time. But he didn’t waver.</p>
<p>“So much has happened. Reality has eaten away so much of us. But summer, at last,” Transtromer wrote in the poem “Summer Grass.”</p>
<p>“A great airport — the control tower leads down load after load with chilled people from space. Grass and flowers — we are landing. The grass has a green foreman. I go and check in.”</p>
<p>Transtromer is survived by his wife Monika and their daughters, Emma and Paula. Funeral arrangements weren’t immediately announced.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Rising, based in London, contributed to this report.</p> | 4,571 |
<p>With the legal sale of recreational marijuana a week away, local governments across California have adopted policies on where and when permitted legal sellers can operate, following the ground rules set up by <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/California_Proposition_64,_Marijuana_Legalization_(2016)" type="external">Proposition 64</a>&#160;– the November 2016 state ballot measure legalizing pot for recreational use beginning Jan. 1, 2018.</p>
<p>But despite more than 13 months of lead time, state officials still haven’t figured out how to deal with a crucial problem: the fact that federally regulated banks can’t accept deposits or have any financial relationship with marijuana vendors or growers, given that pot sales and consumption remain illegal under federal law.</p>
<p>Cash-only medical marijuana dispensaries authorized by a 1996 ballot measure have long been <a href="https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1CHFX_enUS666US667&amp;ei=VGJAWsLKNMPRmAHHp4LABQ&amp;q=marijuana+dispensary+robbery+california&amp;oq=marijuana+dispensary+robbery+california&amp;gs_l=psy-ab.3...1212398.1222682.0.1222880.53.43.0.0.0.0.485.4675.0j16j6j1j1.24.0....0...1.1.64.psy-ab..30.23.4177.0..0j0i131i67k1j0i131i46k1j46i131k1j0i67k1j0i131k1j0i22i30k1j33i22i29i30k1.0.aUyqWyYAlDw" type="external">plagued by armed robberies</a>. With recreational pot sales expected to be a multibillion-dollar industry, pot-related crime could skyrocket.</p>
<p>Two separate proposals have emerged after what state officials say are months of discussions.</p>
<p>One under consideration by Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration seems a long shot given that it relies on the cooperation of the Trump administration&#160;– specifically Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who has opposed individual states’ efforts to legalize marijuana for recreational use.</p>
<p>The Los Angeles Times <a href="http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-jerry-brown-marijuana-banking-plan-20171217-story.html" type="external">recently reported</a> that the state had met with 65 banks and credit unions, as well as with federal regulators, about having one bank in California established as a clearinghouse for all marijuana-related accounts of various banks throughout the state. The “central correspondent” bank would process all transactions involving pot dollars.</p>
<p>Brown administration officials appeared hopeful that this concept would go over well with federal regulators because, at least in theory, it would make it easier to keep close track of marijuana industry finances, and to spot suspicious payments or transfers of funds.</p>
<p>The problem for California is that this proposal is built on the presumption that the federal government wants to help the state&#160;– which has already sued the Trump administration <a href="http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article188901094.html" type="external">24 times</a>. While federal regulators have met with state officials on the pot-banking issue, the final decision on whether to cooperate is up to Sessions. At a Nov. 29 press conference, he said his office was taking a hard look at rolling back Obama administration rules that let states allow recreational marijuana after basic public safety and health standards were met.</p>
<p>“It’s my view that the use of marijuana is detrimental, and we should not give encouragement in any way to it, and it represents a federal violation, which is in the law and is subject to being enforced,” Sessions said, <a href="http://www.sacbee.com/news/nation-world/national/article187194818.html" type="external">according to the McClatchy News Service.</a>“We are working our way through to a rational policy, but I don’t want to suggest in any way that this department believes that marijuana is harmless and people should not avoid it.”</p>
<p>The second proposal&#160;– touted by state Treasurer John Chiang at a Nov. 7 news conference&#160;– is to have the state study the feasibility of opening its own bank to deal with marijuana financial transactions. That was based on the recommendations of Chiang’s cannabis bank working group.</p>
<p>The group’s <a href="http://www.treasurer.ca.gov/cbwg/resources/reports/110717-cannabis-report.pdf" type="external">32-page report</a> also suggested California work with other states in setting up a network of such institutions. But the report noted the many obstacles to establishing such a bank, including the likelihood that it ultimately would still be subject to federal regulation and thus to Sessions’ objections.</p>
<p>Chiang <a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-cannabis-banking-report-20171107-story.html" type="external">told reporters</a> at his November news conference that&#160;“a definitive, bulletproof solution will remain elusive” without changes in federal banking laws.</p>
<p>But the 2018 gubernatorial candidate said that “is not an excuse for inaction.”</p> | With legal pot near, state looks to Trump administration for help on access to banks | false | https://calwatchdog.com/2017/12/26/legal-pot-near-state-looks-trump-administration-help-access-banks/ | 2018-12-20 | 3left-center
| With legal pot near, state looks to Trump administration for help on access to banks
<p>With the legal sale of recreational marijuana a week away, local governments across California have adopted policies on where and when permitted legal sellers can operate, following the ground rules set up by <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/California_Proposition_64,_Marijuana_Legalization_(2016)" type="external">Proposition 64</a>&#160;– the November 2016 state ballot measure legalizing pot for recreational use beginning Jan. 1, 2018.</p>
<p>But despite more than 13 months of lead time, state officials still haven’t figured out how to deal with a crucial problem: the fact that federally regulated banks can’t accept deposits or have any financial relationship with marijuana vendors or growers, given that pot sales and consumption remain illegal under federal law.</p>
<p>Cash-only medical marijuana dispensaries authorized by a 1996 ballot measure have long been <a href="https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1CHFX_enUS666US667&amp;ei=VGJAWsLKNMPRmAHHp4LABQ&amp;q=marijuana+dispensary+robbery+california&amp;oq=marijuana+dispensary+robbery+california&amp;gs_l=psy-ab.3...1212398.1222682.0.1222880.53.43.0.0.0.0.485.4675.0j16j6j1j1.24.0....0...1.1.64.psy-ab..30.23.4177.0..0j0i131i67k1j0i131i46k1j46i131k1j0i67k1j0i131k1j0i22i30k1j33i22i29i30k1.0.aUyqWyYAlDw" type="external">plagued by armed robberies</a>. With recreational pot sales expected to be a multibillion-dollar industry, pot-related crime could skyrocket.</p>
<p>Two separate proposals have emerged after what state officials say are months of discussions.</p>
<p>One under consideration by Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration seems a long shot given that it relies on the cooperation of the Trump administration&#160;– specifically Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who has opposed individual states’ efforts to legalize marijuana for recreational use.</p>
<p>The Los Angeles Times <a href="http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-jerry-brown-marijuana-banking-plan-20171217-story.html" type="external">recently reported</a> that the state had met with 65 banks and credit unions, as well as with federal regulators, about having one bank in California established as a clearinghouse for all marijuana-related accounts of various banks throughout the state. The “central correspondent” bank would process all transactions involving pot dollars.</p>
<p>Brown administration officials appeared hopeful that this concept would go over well with federal regulators because, at least in theory, it would make it easier to keep close track of marijuana industry finances, and to spot suspicious payments or transfers of funds.</p>
<p>The problem for California is that this proposal is built on the presumption that the federal government wants to help the state&#160;– which has already sued the Trump administration <a href="http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article188901094.html" type="external">24 times</a>. While federal regulators have met with state officials on the pot-banking issue, the final decision on whether to cooperate is up to Sessions. At a Nov. 29 press conference, he said his office was taking a hard look at rolling back Obama administration rules that let states allow recreational marijuana after basic public safety and health standards were met.</p>
<p>“It’s my view that the use of marijuana is detrimental, and we should not give encouragement in any way to it, and it represents a federal violation, which is in the law and is subject to being enforced,” Sessions said, <a href="http://www.sacbee.com/news/nation-world/national/article187194818.html" type="external">according to the McClatchy News Service.</a>“We are working our way through to a rational policy, but I don’t want to suggest in any way that this department believes that marijuana is harmless and people should not avoid it.”</p>
<p>The second proposal&#160;– touted by state Treasurer John Chiang at a Nov. 7 news conference&#160;– is to have the state study the feasibility of opening its own bank to deal with marijuana financial transactions. That was based on the recommendations of Chiang’s cannabis bank working group.</p>
<p>The group’s <a href="http://www.treasurer.ca.gov/cbwg/resources/reports/110717-cannabis-report.pdf" type="external">32-page report</a> also suggested California work with other states in setting up a network of such institutions. But the report noted the many obstacles to establishing such a bank, including the likelihood that it ultimately would still be subject to federal regulation and thus to Sessions’ objections.</p>
<p>Chiang <a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-cannabis-banking-report-20171107-story.html" type="external">told reporters</a> at his November news conference that&#160;“a definitive, bulletproof solution will remain elusive” without changes in federal banking laws.</p>
<p>But the 2018 gubernatorial candidate said that “is not an excuse for inaction.”</p> | 4,572 |
<p>Comcast Corp. on Wednesday said it had net income of $2.06 billion, or 79 cents a share in its fiscal fourth quarter, up from $2 billion, or 74 cents per share a year ago. Adjusted earnings for the quarter were 81 cents per share, just below the FactSet consensus of 82 cents. Revenue grew to $19.25 billion in the quarter, compared with $17.73 in the year earlier period and it was above the FactSet consensus of $18.77 billion. Comcast Chairman and Chief Executive Brian Roberts hung the results on the record-breaking year for NBCUniversal's theme park and film categories. Comcast's cable lost 36,000 video subscribers over the course of 2015, compared with the 194,000 it lost the year before--Comcast now services 22.35 million subscribers. Internet customers grew 1.37 million in 2015 to 23.33 million. The company said it spent $6.75 billion on share buy backs in 2015 and plans to spend $5 billion to buy back shares this year. Shares of Comcast were up 0.5% in pre-market trade.</p>
<p>Copyright © 2016 MarketWatch, Inc.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p> | Comcast Q4 Revenue Grows As 2015 Films Flourish, Cable Sub Losses Slow | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/02/03/comcast-q4-revenue-grows-as-2015-films-flourish-cable-sub-losses-slow.html | 2016-02-03 | 0right
| Comcast Q4 Revenue Grows As 2015 Films Flourish, Cable Sub Losses Slow
<p>Comcast Corp. on Wednesday said it had net income of $2.06 billion, or 79 cents a share in its fiscal fourth quarter, up from $2 billion, or 74 cents per share a year ago. Adjusted earnings for the quarter were 81 cents per share, just below the FactSet consensus of 82 cents. Revenue grew to $19.25 billion in the quarter, compared with $17.73 in the year earlier period and it was above the FactSet consensus of $18.77 billion. Comcast Chairman and Chief Executive Brian Roberts hung the results on the record-breaking year for NBCUniversal's theme park and film categories. Comcast's cable lost 36,000 video subscribers over the course of 2015, compared with the 194,000 it lost the year before--Comcast now services 22.35 million subscribers. Internet customers grew 1.37 million in 2015 to 23.33 million. The company said it spent $6.75 billion on share buy backs in 2015 and plans to spend $5 billion to buy back shares this year. Shares of Comcast were up 0.5% in pre-market trade.</p>
<p>Copyright © 2016 MarketWatch, Inc.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p> | 4,573 |
<p>In his Christmas message to British occupation troops in Iraq, Tony Blair, Britain’s leader of the governing Labour Party assured them that there was “massive evidence of a huge system of clandestine laboratories” in Iraq.</p>
<p>Blair again made a fool of himself, and it is interesting to examine the vulgar, shoddy affair of the phantom laboratories in the context of what politicians and officials imagine they can get away with in misleading their unfortunate public.</p>
<p>We should never forget that Bush and Blair (with Howard of Australia ; the US-designated white sheriff of the Pacific region), made war on Iraq because, they assured us all, the Baghdad government possessed enormous numbers of weapons of mass destruction. We were told it had rockets to deliver biological and chemical agents, and the president of the US gave details about the exact amounts of these. (“Saddam Hussein had the materials to produce as much as 500 tons of sarin, mustard and VX nerve agent”, quoth Bush in his State of the Union address.) I don’t know why Dean isn’t making more of this in his run for nomination, but doubtless he has his reasons, probably associated with the quaint notion that criticism of the commander-in-chief is in some way disloyal to the country. This is a factor in American public life that is being fostered, manipulated and milked by the zealots of the right and their aggressively biased media supporters.</p>
<p>According to the vice-president and others in Washington, Iraq had a functioning nuclear weapons’ programme that necessitated its invasion by the US and Britain. But the Bush administration hirelings now want us to forget that in September 2002 Cheney announced to the world that Saddam Hussein “[has] been free — and we know he has — to continue to improve his chemical weapons capability. We know he has worked to and has succeeded in improving his biological weapons capability. And we’re confident he has also begun, once again, to try to acquire a nuclear weapon.” He went even further on 16 March 2003 by declaring “Let’s talk about the nuclear proposition for a minute. We know that based on intelligence, that [Saddam Hussein] has been very, very good at hiding these kinds of efforts. He’s had years to get good at it and we know he has been absolutely devoted to trying to acquire nuclear weapons. And we believe he has, in fact, reconstituted nuclear weapons. I think Mr El Baradei frankly is wrong.” (Mr El Baradei, the highly respected UN nuclear weapons expert, had said that Iraq had no nuclear weapons program. He was, of course, frankly, right.)</p>
<p>A year ago Bush proclaimed that “Iraq has a growing fleet of manned and unmanned aerial vehicles that could be used to disperse chemical or biological weapons across broad areas.” At a press briefing on 14 July 2003 Bush stated with cynical disregard for facts and integrity that “We gave him [Saddam Hussein] a chance to allow the inspectors in, and he wouldn’t let them in.” (In many countries the perpetrator of such a brazen lie would have been mercilessly lambasted by the mainstream media ; but not in the US.) All these claims have been shown to be absurd, as has Cheney’s declaration that there was “evidence” of a relationship between Iraq and al-Qaeda which “involved training on [biological and chemical weapons]. Al-Qaeda sent personnel to Baghdad to get trained on the systems.” All lies. Ridiculous lies. Blatant, flagrant, in-your-face, deliberate falsity. But the Bush campaign is working very hard indeed to encourage American voters to forget or at least ignore the deceit and deception. The official line about the reasons for war on Iraq is now being amended dramatically.</p>
<p>So, when faced with the uncomfortable facts that there were no nuclear programs ; that there were no chemical or biological agents (never mind Bush’s 500 tons) ; that there was no “growing fleet” of unmanned aircraft for spraying them (a particularly stupid allegation); and that Al Qaeda was never in Iraq (although it now operates there, according to Washington, thanks to the chaos created by Bush’s crusade), the excuse for war has been altered, and not even subtly. Hence the Blair contention about laboratories, which he had selected from the interim report of Rumsfeld’s team of searchers for WMD in Iraq.</p>
<p>Unfortunately for the credibility of Bush, Blair, Cheney, Rumsfeld and the rest (not that they give a damn), the searchers failed to find weapons of mass destruction. All they managed to conjure up was “evidence” about laboratories, not one of which has been found, either. It seems the word ‘evidence’ has been given a very different meaning to that in the dictionary, which is “the available facts, circumstances, etc, supporting or otherwise a belief, proposition, etc, or indicating whether or not a thing is true or valid.” If one has evidence of the existence of something, then the thing must exist. Therefore if there is, in Blair’s words, “massive evidence of a huge system of clandestine laboratories” it follows that the laboratories must exist. So where are they? Be assured that if they existed there would have been photographs in all US newspapers, and Fox News would be broadcasting exultant video of the scenes non-stop. But all that the investigators found were some trailers for preparing meteorological balloons.</p>
<p>On June 25, 2003 the New York Times reported that “. . . Mr. Bush cited [the trailers] as proof that Iraq indeed had a biological weapons program, as the United States has repeatedly alleged, although it has yet to produce any other conclusive evidence.” (Note the use of the word ‘other’ in this supposedly factual report. It is intended to create the impression that there was at least some conclusive evidence, which there certainly was not. This is compliant journalism at its worst.) Yet in an August interview with the BBC, the US chief weapons inspector, David Kay, said “I think [talk of the mobile laboratories] was premature and embarrassing . . . I don’t want the mobile biological production facilities fiasco of May to be the model of the future.” It was all baloney. But Blair is a specialist in baloney, so he picked up the non-evidence and broadcast it, six months’ later, to British soldiers. And then the American ruler of Iraq, Paul Bremer, let him down with a wallop.</p>
<p>Bremer flatly contradicted Blair’s assertion about laboratories. Last week he was asked by Jonathan Dimbleby of Britain’s Independent Television channel to comment on Blair’s second-hand assertion. According to the Daily Telegraph (a muscular supporter of the war on Iraq), “Mr Bremer . . . ridiculed the comment. “I don’t know where those words come from, but that is not what David Kay has said . . . I have read his reports so I don’t know who said that. It sounds like a bit of a red herring to me. It sounds like someone who doesn’t agree with the policy sets up a red herring then knocks it down.” When Dimbleby finally managed to tell him it was Mr Blair who made the comment, Mr Bremer beat a partial retreat, saying: “There is actually a lot of evidence that had been made public.” He claimed there was “clear evidence of biological and chemical programmes, ongoing”. These “show clear evidence of violation of UN Security Council resolutions relating to rockets”. War was justified “historically” regardless of the issue of WMD, Mr Bremer said. “I invite anybody, British or American, who thinks it was wrong to go to war, to come and see the mass graves in Halabja. Come there and then tell me that we were not right to liberate this country from Saddam Hussein. We, the coalition, the British and American people have done a noble thing by relieving 25 million Iraqis of one of the most vicious tyrannies in the 20th century”.” He went on to say “Weapons of mass destruction or no weapons of mass destruction, it’s important to step back a little bit here, to see what we have done historically.”</p>
<p>Indeed it is important to step back and look at the Iraq shambles, because what Bush administration officials have done historically is to have lied to the entire world. And now that their lies have been identified for what they are, they seek to justify their war by pious, outraged complaints about what Saddam did historically. Their line would be rather more convincing had they protested against the gassing of civilians at Halabja when it happened in March 1988. The fanatics seek to justify their war by repeated reference to an atrocity 15 years after it was perpetrated, and at the time of which they piped not one word, not a syllable, in condemnation.</p>
<p>An administration figure has again come close to admitting that there were “no weapons of mass destruction”. Bremer and his masters are desperately trying to convince us that the issue of WMD is unimportant. It is only too reminiscent of the end of the Nixon era. Do you remember Ron Ziegler, the Nixon spokesman who died a year ago? He uttered the everlasting words : “The president refers to the fact that there is new material ; therefore, this is the operative statement. The others are inoperative.”</p>
<p>The Bush administration’s hysterical warnings about the Iraqi nuclear program ; the 500 tons of chemicals and biological agents ; the fleet of deadly unmanned aerial vehicles ; and the other gross figments of overheated imagination are now, presumably, ‘inoperative’, and it won’t be long before the propaganda mind-benders go into overdrive to rewrite history. The process began on the White House website (where else?), with insertion of the word ‘major’ in the report of Bush’s speech on May 1. Remember the headline “President Bush Announces Combat Operations in Iraq Have Ended”? No you don’t, because the White House says it never existed. What Bush MEANT to say, which is what we are now told he actually said, was that MAJOR combat operations had ended. That is what is now in the historical record, White House version. (See Dana Milbank’s ‘White House Web Scrubbing’ in the Washington Post, December 18.)</p>
<p>Orwell described this sort of thing in ‘1984’, which was always a chilling book to read, but is especially so nowadays. “The reporting of Big Brother’s Order for the Day in The Times . . . is extremely unsatisfactory and makes reference to non-existent persons. Rewrite in full and submit your draft to higher authority before filing”. You doubt that the rewriting of truth is almost upon us in the style of Big Brother? Then reflect on Rumsfeld’s shameless lie on Sinclair Broadcasting on September 25. Anchor Morris Jones led in to a question by saying “Before the war in Iraq, you stated the case very eloquently and you said . . . [the Iraqis] would welcome us with open arms.” This is well-documented, but Rumsfeld leapt to deny it. “Never said that,” he said. “Never did. You may remember it well, but you’re thinking of somebody else. You can’t find, anywhere, me saying anything like either of those two things you just said I said.” Think about ‘1984’ again, when Orwell wrote “Very likely as many as a dozen people were now working on rival versions of what Big Brother had actually said. And presently some master brain in the Inner Party would select this version or that, would re-edit it . . . then the chosen lie would pass into the permanent records and become truth.” We are, alas, accustomed to being lied to, and we can handle that. But it is a different matter when history is rewritten, for the only defence we have is memory, which is exactly what the mind-benders in the White House and Downing Street are trying to defeat.</p>
<p>What a bunch of dilapidated, sleazebag humbugs. They set up red herrings (what Bremer meant, presumably, was Straw Men) and then knock them down. Just as they knock down truth and demolish their own principles — if they ever had any.</p>
<p>BRIAN CLOUGHLEY writes about defense issues for CounterPunch, the Nation (Pakistan), the Daily Times of Pakistan and other international publications. His writings are collected on his website: <a href="http://www.briancloughley.com/" type="external">www.briancloughley.com</a>.</p>
<p>He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Never Mind the WMDs, Just Look at History | true | https://counterpunch.org/2004/01/03/never-mind-the-wmds-just-look-at-history/ | 2004-01-03 | 4left
| Never Mind the WMDs, Just Look at History
<p>In his Christmas message to British occupation troops in Iraq, Tony Blair, Britain’s leader of the governing Labour Party assured them that there was “massive evidence of a huge system of clandestine laboratories” in Iraq.</p>
<p>Blair again made a fool of himself, and it is interesting to examine the vulgar, shoddy affair of the phantom laboratories in the context of what politicians and officials imagine they can get away with in misleading their unfortunate public.</p>
<p>We should never forget that Bush and Blair (with Howard of Australia ; the US-designated white sheriff of the Pacific region), made war on Iraq because, they assured us all, the Baghdad government possessed enormous numbers of weapons of mass destruction. We were told it had rockets to deliver biological and chemical agents, and the president of the US gave details about the exact amounts of these. (“Saddam Hussein had the materials to produce as much as 500 tons of sarin, mustard and VX nerve agent”, quoth Bush in his State of the Union address.) I don’t know why Dean isn’t making more of this in his run for nomination, but doubtless he has his reasons, probably associated with the quaint notion that criticism of the commander-in-chief is in some way disloyal to the country. This is a factor in American public life that is being fostered, manipulated and milked by the zealots of the right and their aggressively biased media supporters.</p>
<p>According to the vice-president and others in Washington, Iraq had a functioning nuclear weapons’ programme that necessitated its invasion by the US and Britain. But the Bush administration hirelings now want us to forget that in September 2002 Cheney announced to the world that Saddam Hussein “[has] been free — and we know he has — to continue to improve his chemical weapons capability. We know he has worked to and has succeeded in improving his biological weapons capability. And we’re confident he has also begun, once again, to try to acquire a nuclear weapon.” He went even further on 16 March 2003 by declaring “Let’s talk about the nuclear proposition for a minute. We know that based on intelligence, that [Saddam Hussein] has been very, very good at hiding these kinds of efforts. He’s had years to get good at it and we know he has been absolutely devoted to trying to acquire nuclear weapons. And we believe he has, in fact, reconstituted nuclear weapons. I think Mr El Baradei frankly is wrong.” (Mr El Baradei, the highly respected UN nuclear weapons expert, had said that Iraq had no nuclear weapons program. He was, of course, frankly, right.)</p>
<p>A year ago Bush proclaimed that “Iraq has a growing fleet of manned and unmanned aerial vehicles that could be used to disperse chemical or biological weapons across broad areas.” At a press briefing on 14 July 2003 Bush stated with cynical disregard for facts and integrity that “We gave him [Saddam Hussein] a chance to allow the inspectors in, and he wouldn’t let them in.” (In many countries the perpetrator of such a brazen lie would have been mercilessly lambasted by the mainstream media ; but not in the US.) All these claims have been shown to be absurd, as has Cheney’s declaration that there was “evidence” of a relationship between Iraq and al-Qaeda which “involved training on [biological and chemical weapons]. Al-Qaeda sent personnel to Baghdad to get trained on the systems.” All lies. Ridiculous lies. Blatant, flagrant, in-your-face, deliberate falsity. But the Bush campaign is working very hard indeed to encourage American voters to forget or at least ignore the deceit and deception. The official line about the reasons for war on Iraq is now being amended dramatically.</p>
<p>So, when faced with the uncomfortable facts that there were no nuclear programs ; that there were no chemical or biological agents (never mind Bush’s 500 tons) ; that there was no “growing fleet” of unmanned aircraft for spraying them (a particularly stupid allegation); and that Al Qaeda was never in Iraq (although it now operates there, according to Washington, thanks to the chaos created by Bush’s crusade), the excuse for war has been altered, and not even subtly. Hence the Blair contention about laboratories, which he had selected from the interim report of Rumsfeld’s team of searchers for WMD in Iraq.</p>
<p>Unfortunately for the credibility of Bush, Blair, Cheney, Rumsfeld and the rest (not that they give a damn), the searchers failed to find weapons of mass destruction. All they managed to conjure up was “evidence” about laboratories, not one of which has been found, either. It seems the word ‘evidence’ has been given a very different meaning to that in the dictionary, which is “the available facts, circumstances, etc, supporting or otherwise a belief, proposition, etc, or indicating whether or not a thing is true or valid.” If one has evidence of the existence of something, then the thing must exist. Therefore if there is, in Blair’s words, “massive evidence of a huge system of clandestine laboratories” it follows that the laboratories must exist. So where are they? Be assured that if they existed there would have been photographs in all US newspapers, and Fox News would be broadcasting exultant video of the scenes non-stop. But all that the investigators found were some trailers for preparing meteorological balloons.</p>
<p>On June 25, 2003 the New York Times reported that “. . . Mr. Bush cited [the trailers] as proof that Iraq indeed had a biological weapons program, as the United States has repeatedly alleged, although it has yet to produce any other conclusive evidence.” (Note the use of the word ‘other’ in this supposedly factual report. It is intended to create the impression that there was at least some conclusive evidence, which there certainly was not. This is compliant journalism at its worst.) Yet in an August interview with the BBC, the US chief weapons inspector, David Kay, said “I think [talk of the mobile laboratories] was premature and embarrassing . . . I don’t want the mobile biological production facilities fiasco of May to be the model of the future.” It was all baloney. But Blair is a specialist in baloney, so he picked up the non-evidence and broadcast it, six months’ later, to British soldiers. And then the American ruler of Iraq, Paul Bremer, let him down with a wallop.</p>
<p>Bremer flatly contradicted Blair’s assertion about laboratories. Last week he was asked by Jonathan Dimbleby of Britain’s Independent Television channel to comment on Blair’s second-hand assertion. According to the Daily Telegraph (a muscular supporter of the war on Iraq), “Mr Bremer . . . ridiculed the comment. “I don’t know where those words come from, but that is not what David Kay has said . . . I have read his reports so I don’t know who said that. It sounds like a bit of a red herring to me. It sounds like someone who doesn’t agree with the policy sets up a red herring then knocks it down.” When Dimbleby finally managed to tell him it was Mr Blair who made the comment, Mr Bremer beat a partial retreat, saying: “There is actually a lot of evidence that had been made public.” He claimed there was “clear evidence of biological and chemical programmes, ongoing”. These “show clear evidence of violation of UN Security Council resolutions relating to rockets”. War was justified “historically” regardless of the issue of WMD, Mr Bremer said. “I invite anybody, British or American, who thinks it was wrong to go to war, to come and see the mass graves in Halabja. Come there and then tell me that we were not right to liberate this country from Saddam Hussein. We, the coalition, the British and American people have done a noble thing by relieving 25 million Iraqis of one of the most vicious tyrannies in the 20th century”.” He went on to say “Weapons of mass destruction or no weapons of mass destruction, it’s important to step back a little bit here, to see what we have done historically.”</p>
<p>Indeed it is important to step back and look at the Iraq shambles, because what Bush administration officials have done historically is to have lied to the entire world. And now that their lies have been identified for what they are, they seek to justify their war by pious, outraged complaints about what Saddam did historically. Their line would be rather more convincing had they protested against the gassing of civilians at Halabja when it happened in March 1988. The fanatics seek to justify their war by repeated reference to an atrocity 15 years after it was perpetrated, and at the time of which they piped not one word, not a syllable, in condemnation.</p>
<p>An administration figure has again come close to admitting that there were “no weapons of mass destruction”. Bremer and his masters are desperately trying to convince us that the issue of WMD is unimportant. It is only too reminiscent of the end of the Nixon era. Do you remember Ron Ziegler, the Nixon spokesman who died a year ago? He uttered the everlasting words : “The president refers to the fact that there is new material ; therefore, this is the operative statement. The others are inoperative.”</p>
<p>The Bush administration’s hysterical warnings about the Iraqi nuclear program ; the 500 tons of chemicals and biological agents ; the fleet of deadly unmanned aerial vehicles ; and the other gross figments of overheated imagination are now, presumably, ‘inoperative’, and it won’t be long before the propaganda mind-benders go into overdrive to rewrite history. The process began on the White House website (where else?), with insertion of the word ‘major’ in the report of Bush’s speech on May 1. Remember the headline “President Bush Announces Combat Operations in Iraq Have Ended”? No you don’t, because the White House says it never existed. What Bush MEANT to say, which is what we are now told he actually said, was that MAJOR combat operations had ended. That is what is now in the historical record, White House version. (See Dana Milbank’s ‘White House Web Scrubbing’ in the Washington Post, December 18.)</p>
<p>Orwell described this sort of thing in ‘1984’, which was always a chilling book to read, but is especially so nowadays. “The reporting of Big Brother’s Order for the Day in The Times . . . is extremely unsatisfactory and makes reference to non-existent persons. Rewrite in full and submit your draft to higher authority before filing”. You doubt that the rewriting of truth is almost upon us in the style of Big Brother? Then reflect on Rumsfeld’s shameless lie on Sinclair Broadcasting on September 25. Anchor Morris Jones led in to a question by saying “Before the war in Iraq, you stated the case very eloquently and you said . . . [the Iraqis] would welcome us with open arms.” This is well-documented, but Rumsfeld leapt to deny it. “Never said that,” he said. “Never did. You may remember it well, but you’re thinking of somebody else. You can’t find, anywhere, me saying anything like either of those two things you just said I said.” Think about ‘1984’ again, when Orwell wrote “Very likely as many as a dozen people were now working on rival versions of what Big Brother had actually said. And presently some master brain in the Inner Party would select this version or that, would re-edit it . . . then the chosen lie would pass into the permanent records and become truth.” We are, alas, accustomed to being lied to, and we can handle that. But it is a different matter when history is rewritten, for the only defence we have is memory, which is exactly what the mind-benders in the White House and Downing Street are trying to defeat.</p>
<p>What a bunch of dilapidated, sleazebag humbugs. They set up red herrings (what Bremer meant, presumably, was Straw Men) and then knock them down. Just as they knock down truth and demolish their own principles — if they ever had any.</p>
<p>BRIAN CLOUGHLEY writes about defense issues for CounterPunch, the Nation (Pakistan), the Daily Times of Pakistan and other international publications. His writings are collected on his website: <a href="http://www.briancloughley.com/" type="external">www.briancloughley.com</a>.</p>
<p>He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p> | 4,574 |
<p />
<p>The dollar started the week on the back foot on Monday, after U.S. data showed a smaller-than-expected rise in wages in January that reinforced expectations the Federal Reserve will refrain from raising interest rates next month.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, drooped 0.1 percent to 99.725 .</p>
<p>The dollar was flat against the yen from Friday's late North American levels, at 112.56 yen , holding above last week's low of 112.05, which was its lowest since late November. =&gt;</p>
<p>While the headline figure of Friday's nonfarm payrolls report for January showed a greater-than-expected rise in job growth, the unemployment rate edged up and wage growth was disappointing. That implied inflation would not attain a pace that would prompt the U.S. central bank to raise interest rates.</p>
<p>Fed fund futures priced in a less than 10 percent chance of a rate hike in March after the jobs data on Friday, according to the CME Group's FedWatch. The chance of a June increase was seen at more than 60 percent.</p>
<p>The Fed, which raised rates in December, has forecast three rate increases this year. Whether it sticks to that pace depends on labor market strength as well as if President Donald Trump's stimulus steps succeed in boosting growth and inflation.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Still, San Francisco Fed President John Williams said on Friday that the Fed can prepare to raise interest rates this year without knowing details of any new U.S. fiscal policies because inflation is firming and the labor market looks good.</p>
<p>While Trump's immigration curbs and renewed sanctions on Iran grabbed most attention, he also on Friday ordered reviews of major banking rules that were put in place after the 2008 financial crisis. Financial markets took this as a signal that looser banking regulation is ahead.</p>
<p>"Trump's comments sometimes make us puzzled, and we always have to wait for the details to see what he means," said Kaneo Ogino, director at foreign exchange research firm Global-info Co in Tokyo</p>
<p>"The dollar's upside is a bit heavy, but there are still people buying on dips, so range trading is likely to continue this week," he said.</p>
<p>Speculators trimmed their bullish dollar bets for a fourth straight week through Jan. 31, with net long positions falling to their lowest since late October, according to data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission released on Friday and calculations by Reuters. [IMM/FX]</p>
<p>The smaller-than-expected rise in U.S. wage growth further dampened the dollar's outlook, as well as concerns that Trump's protectionist trade policies and statements about other countries' currency manipulation would offset any lift from his stimulus policies and deregulation.</p>
<p>"The verbal intervention by the new U.S. administration and the unexpected weakness in wage growth may be factors extending the correction," Marc Chandler, global head of currency strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman in New York, said in a note.����</p>
<p>"Nevertheless, we continue to view the dollar's pullback as corrective in nature and not the end of the bull run, and still see the macroeconomic considerations falling into place for a resumption of the underlying bull market," Chandler said.</p>
<p>The euro was steady on the day at $1.0781 , holding well above Friday's session low of $1.0711. =&gt;</p>
<p>(Reporting by Tokyo markets team; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)</p> | Dollar subdued after U.S. wage growth disappoints | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/02/05/dollar-subdued-after-us-wage-growth-disappoints.html | 2017-02-06 | 0right
| Dollar subdued after U.S. wage growth disappoints
<p />
<p>The dollar started the week on the back foot on Monday, after U.S. data showed a smaller-than-expected rise in wages in January that reinforced expectations the Federal Reserve will refrain from raising interest rates next month.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, drooped 0.1 percent to 99.725 .</p>
<p>The dollar was flat against the yen from Friday's late North American levels, at 112.56 yen , holding above last week's low of 112.05, which was its lowest since late November. =&gt;</p>
<p>While the headline figure of Friday's nonfarm payrolls report for January showed a greater-than-expected rise in job growth, the unemployment rate edged up and wage growth was disappointing. That implied inflation would not attain a pace that would prompt the U.S. central bank to raise interest rates.</p>
<p>Fed fund futures priced in a less than 10 percent chance of a rate hike in March after the jobs data on Friday, according to the CME Group's FedWatch. The chance of a June increase was seen at more than 60 percent.</p>
<p>The Fed, which raised rates in December, has forecast three rate increases this year. Whether it sticks to that pace depends on labor market strength as well as if President Donald Trump's stimulus steps succeed in boosting growth and inflation.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Still, San Francisco Fed President John Williams said on Friday that the Fed can prepare to raise interest rates this year without knowing details of any new U.S. fiscal policies because inflation is firming and the labor market looks good.</p>
<p>While Trump's immigration curbs and renewed sanctions on Iran grabbed most attention, he also on Friday ordered reviews of major banking rules that were put in place after the 2008 financial crisis. Financial markets took this as a signal that looser banking regulation is ahead.</p>
<p>"Trump's comments sometimes make us puzzled, and we always have to wait for the details to see what he means," said Kaneo Ogino, director at foreign exchange research firm Global-info Co in Tokyo</p>
<p>"The dollar's upside is a bit heavy, but there are still people buying on dips, so range trading is likely to continue this week," he said.</p>
<p>Speculators trimmed their bullish dollar bets for a fourth straight week through Jan. 31, with net long positions falling to their lowest since late October, according to data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission released on Friday and calculations by Reuters. [IMM/FX]</p>
<p>The smaller-than-expected rise in U.S. wage growth further dampened the dollar's outlook, as well as concerns that Trump's protectionist trade policies and statements about other countries' currency manipulation would offset any lift from his stimulus policies and deregulation.</p>
<p>"The verbal intervention by the new U.S. administration and the unexpected weakness in wage growth may be factors extending the correction," Marc Chandler, global head of currency strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman in New York, said in a note.����</p>
<p>"Nevertheless, we continue to view the dollar's pullback as corrective in nature and not the end of the bull run, and still see the macroeconomic considerations falling into place for a resumption of the underlying bull market," Chandler said.</p>
<p>The euro was steady on the day at $1.0781 , holding well above Friday's session low of $1.0711. =&gt;</p>
<p>(Reporting by Tokyo markets team; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)</p> | 4,575 |
<p />
<p>Ivanka Trump at Brian Reyes Fall 2009 fashion show.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Heidi Klum at Michael Kors Fall 2009 fashion show.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Mickey Rourke, Forest Whitaker and Keisha Whitaker at the Domenico Vacca Fall 2009 fashion show.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Kanye West and friends backstage in the W Lounge</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Claire Danes and guest at Narcisco Rodriguez</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Nicole Richie backstage in the W Lounge</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Alison Brie, Alicia Keys, Joy Bryant and Rachel Bilson pictured in the front row of the Max Azria show</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Musician Santogold, actress Eva Longoria and stylist/TV personality Robert Verdi attend the Matthew Williamson show.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Actress Kirsten Dunst attends the Rodarte show at the Gagosian Gallery.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Actress Kate Bosworth, rapper Common, singer Roisin Murphy and Nicole Richie attend the Diesel Black Gold show.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Rachel Zoe, Mary Alice Stephenson, Molly Sims and Milla Jovovich at Donna Karan</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Justin Timberlake and Editor-in-Chief of French Vogue Carine Roitfeld backstage at William Rast</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Actress Jessica Biel, actor Emile Hirsch and Brianna Domont at William Rast</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Nicky Hilton, Paris Hilton, and Kellie Pickler at Tracy Reese</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Sarah Jessica Parker Anna Wintour at Alexander Wang.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Designer Matthew Williamson, Lindsay Lohan and Rachel Zoe at the opening of Williamson's New York store.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Model Coco Rocha, Mischa Barton, Minka Kelly and Kristen Bell attend the Miss Sixty show.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Heidi Klum backstage in the W Lounge in Bryant Park.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Molly Sims at the Thuy show.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Kanye West at the Preen By Tornton Bregazzi show.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Hilary Duff and Donna Karan at the DKNY Fall 2009 show.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Stylist Philip Bloch and Jennifer Love Hewitt at Edition By Georges Chakra.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Kanye West, Jared Leto, Chace Crawford and Patrick Wilson attend the Calvin Klein Menswear show.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Zoe Kravitz at Erin Fetherston Fall 2009.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Diana Ross at the Diane von Furstenberg show.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Diane Sawyer at Diane von Furstenberg.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Rachel Zoe, Lake Bell, Jimmy Fallon and Rose Byrne at Rag &amp; Bone.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Ashley Dupre at Yigal Azrouel</p>
<p /> | Fashion Week Front Row | true | https://thedailybeast.com/fashion-week-front-row | 2018-10-03 | 4left
| Fashion Week Front Row
<p />
<p>Ivanka Trump at Brian Reyes Fall 2009 fashion show.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Heidi Klum at Michael Kors Fall 2009 fashion show.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Mickey Rourke, Forest Whitaker and Keisha Whitaker at the Domenico Vacca Fall 2009 fashion show.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Kanye West and friends backstage in the W Lounge</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Claire Danes and guest at Narcisco Rodriguez</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Nicole Richie backstage in the W Lounge</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Alison Brie, Alicia Keys, Joy Bryant and Rachel Bilson pictured in the front row of the Max Azria show</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Musician Santogold, actress Eva Longoria and stylist/TV personality Robert Verdi attend the Matthew Williamson show.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Actress Kirsten Dunst attends the Rodarte show at the Gagosian Gallery.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Actress Kate Bosworth, rapper Common, singer Roisin Murphy and Nicole Richie attend the Diesel Black Gold show.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Rachel Zoe, Mary Alice Stephenson, Molly Sims and Milla Jovovich at Donna Karan</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Justin Timberlake and Editor-in-Chief of French Vogue Carine Roitfeld backstage at William Rast</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Actress Jessica Biel, actor Emile Hirsch and Brianna Domont at William Rast</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Nicky Hilton, Paris Hilton, and Kellie Pickler at Tracy Reese</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Sarah Jessica Parker Anna Wintour at Alexander Wang.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Designer Matthew Williamson, Lindsay Lohan and Rachel Zoe at the opening of Williamson's New York store.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Model Coco Rocha, Mischa Barton, Minka Kelly and Kristen Bell attend the Miss Sixty show.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Heidi Klum backstage in the W Lounge in Bryant Park.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Molly Sims at the Thuy show.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Kanye West at the Preen By Tornton Bregazzi show.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Hilary Duff and Donna Karan at the DKNY Fall 2009 show.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Stylist Philip Bloch and Jennifer Love Hewitt at Edition By Georges Chakra.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Kanye West, Jared Leto, Chace Crawford and Patrick Wilson attend the Calvin Klein Menswear show.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Zoe Kravitz at Erin Fetherston Fall 2009.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Diana Ross at the Diane von Furstenberg show.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Diane Sawyer at Diane von Furstenberg.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Rachel Zoe, Lake Bell, Jimmy Fallon and Rose Byrne at Rag &amp; Bone.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Ashley Dupre at Yigal Azrouel</p>
<p /> | 4,576 |
<p />
<p>While the world slowly claws its way out of an economic slump, one market has seemingly remained untouched by financial hardship: digital advertising. This sector has shown remarkable stamina throughout the recession and is expected to continue its strong upward trajectory this year and beyond.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p><a href="http://www.kikabink.com/news/u-s-online-advertising-up-13-9-percent-reaches-25-8-billion-in-2010." type="external">The Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers Opens a New Window.</a> revealed recently that U.S. <a href="" type="internal">online advertising</a> grew by 13.9% in 2010, reaching a record $25.8 billion. The firms predict that this year, spending for <a href="" type="internal">online advertising</a> will grow to $28.5 billion, will surpass $30 billion in 2012 and will exceed $40 billion in 2014. For its part, e-mail marketing is no slouch either: A report from Forrester indicates that <a href="http://www.marketingcharts.com/interactive/forrester-email-marketing-to-hit-2b-by-2014-947" type="external">e-mail marketing spending Opens a New Window.</a> will increase to $2 billion by 2014.</p>
<p>While display advertising and e-mail marketing are fertile grounds for advertisers, reaching ideal target audiences, especially for small and midsize businesses (SMBs), remains a challenge. The SMB market is expansive — estimated at 27 million in the U.S. alone — bringing traditional mass-marketing costs into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. These costs are prohibitive for large companies that market to SMBs, let alone for SMBs that market to other SMBs.</p>
<p>Harnessing Social Media for Successful Digital Advertising Campaigns</p>
<p>With this in mind, it's no surprise that the advent of social media has presented advertisers with a new tool to mine their target audiences. Advertisers are increasingly recognizing the key role social media sites like <a href="" type="internal">Facebook</a> play in a successful digital media campaign--specifically, how they provide a sea of information on potential advertising targets, including SMBs, whose own marketers often turn to social media outlets to create brand awareness. This potential is driving a shift in advertising spending from TV, print and even online search to social media, contributing, for example, to the estimated 35% growth in <a href="http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/145284/20110513/facebook-social-networking-wedbush-securities-digital-hollywood-conference-los-angeles-survey-tv-cbs.htm." type="external">Facebook ads in a single year. Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The challenge for advertisers is that digital advertising used to be all about “direct response” while Facebooks social media advertising seems to be all about branding or generating buzz without necessarily a measurable boost to revenues.</p>
<p>The fact is there is a convergence of digital advertising and social media. Digital media convergence is all about leveraging social media for direct response or lead generation while holding onto the branding buzz you get by gaining the eyeballs which are clearly living in the social network world.</p>
<p>Putting it Together</p>
<p>The next challenge for advertisers is how to harness digital advertising and use resources effectively.</p>
<p>Advertisers are now taking a three-pronged approach: e-mail marketing, display advertising and social media. This combination allows for running integrated campaigns – mixing direct response and branding with a religious dedication to reaching the target audience.</p>
<p>Technology has opened new doors for advertisers, shining a bright light on the potential for limitless opportunity. But finding this opportunity could be a challenge unless advertisers are savvy about how to use popular digital advertising tools. By integrating digital advertising and social media, and leveraging companies that help them do so effectively, advertisers can easily meet their revenue objectives, build brand value and connect clients to their ideal target audiences, executing successful campaigns time and again.</p>
<p>Russell Rothstein is the Founder and CEO of Sales Spider , a business social network specifically geared for small to medium-sized businesses. Sales Spider features $25 Billion worth of qualified sales leads, networking with thousands of business professionals, classified ads and online tradeshows to users – for free. Sales Spider was launched in March 2006 and has since attracted over 750,000+ members and is growing by 20,000 per month. Prior to the development of Sales Spider, Rothstein was the President and Founder of NorthPath, a Sales Outsourcing company offering lead generation and field sales outsourcing to leading technology companies. Before joining NorthPath, Rothstein served in numerous sales and application capacities for <a href="" type="internal">Oracle</a>, and was awarded Highest Performing Application Sales Manager. He was also the Managing Partner and Founder of Bizware, a software supply chain for retail petroleum and major convenience stores, where he successfully built Bizware into the industry market leader before selling to a <a href="" type="internal">NASDAQ</a> listed public company in 1995.</p> | Why Small Businesses Need to Harness Digital Advertising | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2011/05/31/e-mail-marketing-display-advertising-social-media-ingredients-success.html | 2016-03-23 | 0right
| Why Small Businesses Need to Harness Digital Advertising
<p />
<p>While the world slowly claws its way out of an economic slump, one market has seemingly remained untouched by financial hardship: digital advertising. This sector has shown remarkable stamina throughout the recession and is expected to continue its strong upward trajectory this year and beyond.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p><a href="http://www.kikabink.com/news/u-s-online-advertising-up-13-9-percent-reaches-25-8-billion-in-2010." type="external">The Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers Opens a New Window.</a> revealed recently that U.S. <a href="" type="internal">online advertising</a> grew by 13.9% in 2010, reaching a record $25.8 billion. The firms predict that this year, spending for <a href="" type="internal">online advertising</a> will grow to $28.5 billion, will surpass $30 billion in 2012 and will exceed $40 billion in 2014. For its part, e-mail marketing is no slouch either: A report from Forrester indicates that <a href="http://www.marketingcharts.com/interactive/forrester-email-marketing-to-hit-2b-by-2014-947" type="external">e-mail marketing spending Opens a New Window.</a> will increase to $2 billion by 2014.</p>
<p>While display advertising and e-mail marketing are fertile grounds for advertisers, reaching ideal target audiences, especially for small and midsize businesses (SMBs), remains a challenge. The SMB market is expansive — estimated at 27 million in the U.S. alone — bringing traditional mass-marketing costs into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. These costs are prohibitive for large companies that market to SMBs, let alone for SMBs that market to other SMBs.</p>
<p>Harnessing Social Media for Successful Digital Advertising Campaigns</p>
<p>With this in mind, it's no surprise that the advent of social media has presented advertisers with a new tool to mine their target audiences. Advertisers are increasingly recognizing the key role social media sites like <a href="" type="internal">Facebook</a> play in a successful digital media campaign--specifically, how they provide a sea of information on potential advertising targets, including SMBs, whose own marketers often turn to social media outlets to create brand awareness. This potential is driving a shift in advertising spending from TV, print and even online search to social media, contributing, for example, to the estimated 35% growth in <a href="http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/145284/20110513/facebook-social-networking-wedbush-securities-digital-hollywood-conference-los-angeles-survey-tv-cbs.htm." type="external">Facebook ads in a single year. Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The challenge for advertisers is that digital advertising used to be all about “direct response” while Facebooks social media advertising seems to be all about branding or generating buzz without necessarily a measurable boost to revenues.</p>
<p>The fact is there is a convergence of digital advertising and social media. Digital media convergence is all about leveraging social media for direct response or lead generation while holding onto the branding buzz you get by gaining the eyeballs which are clearly living in the social network world.</p>
<p>Putting it Together</p>
<p>The next challenge for advertisers is how to harness digital advertising and use resources effectively.</p>
<p>Advertisers are now taking a three-pronged approach: e-mail marketing, display advertising and social media. This combination allows for running integrated campaigns – mixing direct response and branding with a religious dedication to reaching the target audience.</p>
<p>Technology has opened new doors for advertisers, shining a bright light on the potential for limitless opportunity. But finding this opportunity could be a challenge unless advertisers are savvy about how to use popular digital advertising tools. By integrating digital advertising and social media, and leveraging companies that help them do so effectively, advertisers can easily meet their revenue objectives, build brand value and connect clients to their ideal target audiences, executing successful campaigns time and again.</p>
<p>Russell Rothstein is the Founder and CEO of Sales Spider , a business social network specifically geared for small to medium-sized businesses. Sales Spider features $25 Billion worth of qualified sales leads, networking with thousands of business professionals, classified ads and online tradeshows to users – for free. Sales Spider was launched in March 2006 and has since attracted over 750,000+ members and is growing by 20,000 per month. Prior to the development of Sales Spider, Rothstein was the President and Founder of NorthPath, a Sales Outsourcing company offering lead generation and field sales outsourcing to leading technology companies. Before joining NorthPath, Rothstein served in numerous sales and application capacities for <a href="" type="internal">Oracle</a>, and was awarded Highest Performing Application Sales Manager. He was also the Managing Partner and Founder of Bizware, a software supply chain for retail petroleum and major convenience stores, where he successfully built Bizware into the industry market leader before selling to a <a href="" type="internal">NASDAQ</a> listed public company in 1995.</p> | 4,577 |
<p />
<p>Sometimes it feels like both campaigns have an endless supply of spin. On a conference call today with reporters, Obama campaign aides pushed a new Gallup polls that shows just 53 percent of Americans think Hillary Clinton is trustworthy. “To head into the general election with over half the electorate not thinking you’re trustworthy is a problem,” said Obama’s surrogates. The campaign insisted that Clinton’s campaign tactics only bolster her perceived distrustfulness. They cited her newly released First Lady schedules as evidence: The schedules show Clinton in meetings intended to sell NAFTA, seemingly contradicting current claims that she is a long-time opponent of the trade agreement.</p>
<p>The Clinton campaign had its own conference call a few minutes later and had responses ready. “The Obama campaign is in political hot water,” said spokesman Phil Singer, referencing the ongoing controversy over Rev. Wright’s sermons, “and is desperate to change the subject.” The discussion about trustworthiness and the First Lady schedules is a “full assault on Senator Clinton’s character,” the Clinton campaign insisted. It pointed to the fact that David Gergen, who moderated one of the NAFTA meetings then-First Lady Clinton attended, has said recently “Hillary Clinton was extremely unenthusiastic about NAFTA. And I think that’s putting it mildly.” In response to the Gallup poll, chief strategist Mark Penn took care to point out that in poll after poll, Hillary Clinton is identified as the best potential commander-in-chief in the Democratic field. Clearly voters have some kind of trust in her, Penn argued.</p>
<p>And then there is the issue of Michigan and Florida.</p>
<p>Little progress has been made in Florida to sort out the status of that state’s delegation, but just last week it looked like Michigan was heading to a June 3 do-over. But the Obama campaign, citing a variety of questions about the state’s preparedness and the integrity of a revote, declined to support the idea. It is most likely a political move: Florida and Michigan do-overs would extend the primary season into summer, valuable time that Obama wants, as the frontrunner, to do battle with John McCain. From Obama’s perspective, the faster the nomination is sewn up, the better.</p>
<p>Additionally, Obama could lose both states, giving Clinton momentum, more delegates, and a shot at capturing the popular vote lead.</p>
<p>The Clinton campaign made the point that if Michigan and Florida don’t have their current vote totals counted (per the DNC’s current stand), and they aren’t given a chance to revote (as the Obama campaign appears to prefer), there is going to be an awful lot of angry Democrats in two key battleground states. “The Obama campaign is pursuing a strategy that is good for Senator Obama’s nomination chances, but bad for the Democrats in November,” said the surrogates on Clinton’s conference call. They pointed out that the Obama campaign has made much of its amazing ability to turn out new voters, but seems to have no problem “disenfranchising” two whole states. More evidence, they said, that “for all the rhetoric, all the speeches, the Obama campaign is just words.”</p>
<p>But the Clinton campaign isn’t an innocent party. While it slams Obama for disenfranchising Michigan and Florida, it is hoping the superdelegates will help them surmount Obama’s pledged delegate lead. A reporter on the conference call asked if this wouldn’t be another form of disenfranchisement: party insiders overriding the will of the people.</p>
<p>The Clinton campaign had an endless supply of spin to answer the question, none of which made much sense. Mark Penn said the superdelegates will look at who won the pledged delegate count, who won the popular vote, who won the most primary states versus caucus states, who is the most electable, who is the most ready to be president, and a number of other factors and then make their decisions. And maybe they’ll look at something the Clinton campaign seems to have invented, “primary delegates,” which are pledged delegates won in primaries but not caucuses, to see which candidate won the most support in the more democratic of the two types of contests. (Clinton currently trails by a small amount in the “primary delegate” tally, but could make up the difference with a strong showing in Pennsylvania.)</p>
<p>Nothing the campaign could say convinced anybody that their strategy doesn’t rest on overruling the votes of the people, a scenario that can be reasonably described as the disenfranchisement of tens of millions of primary voters. The fact that disenfranchisement is an accusation Clinton is throwing at Obama even while she plans a superdelegate strategy, and the fact that Obama seems ready to kill a do-over in Michigan in order to better his political fortunes, illustrates one thing: disenfranchisement is in the eye of the beholder.</p>
<p /> | Obama and Clinton Camps Spar Over Trust, MI/FL Situation | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2008/03/obama-and-clinton-camps-spar-over-trust-mifl-situation/ | 2008-03-21 | 4left
| Obama and Clinton Camps Spar Over Trust, MI/FL Situation
<p />
<p>Sometimes it feels like both campaigns have an endless supply of spin. On a conference call today with reporters, Obama campaign aides pushed a new Gallup polls that shows just 53 percent of Americans think Hillary Clinton is trustworthy. “To head into the general election with over half the electorate not thinking you’re trustworthy is a problem,” said Obama’s surrogates. The campaign insisted that Clinton’s campaign tactics only bolster her perceived distrustfulness. They cited her newly released First Lady schedules as evidence: The schedules show Clinton in meetings intended to sell NAFTA, seemingly contradicting current claims that she is a long-time opponent of the trade agreement.</p>
<p>The Clinton campaign had its own conference call a few minutes later and had responses ready. “The Obama campaign is in political hot water,” said spokesman Phil Singer, referencing the ongoing controversy over Rev. Wright’s sermons, “and is desperate to change the subject.” The discussion about trustworthiness and the First Lady schedules is a “full assault on Senator Clinton’s character,” the Clinton campaign insisted. It pointed to the fact that David Gergen, who moderated one of the NAFTA meetings then-First Lady Clinton attended, has said recently “Hillary Clinton was extremely unenthusiastic about NAFTA. And I think that’s putting it mildly.” In response to the Gallup poll, chief strategist Mark Penn took care to point out that in poll after poll, Hillary Clinton is identified as the best potential commander-in-chief in the Democratic field. Clearly voters have some kind of trust in her, Penn argued.</p>
<p>And then there is the issue of Michigan and Florida.</p>
<p>Little progress has been made in Florida to sort out the status of that state’s delegation, but just last week it looked like Michigan was heading to a June 3 do-over. But the Obama campaign, citing a variety of questions about the state’s preparedness and the integrity of a revote, declined to support the idea. It is most likely a political move: Florida and Michigan do-overs would extend the primary season into summer, valuable time that Obama wants, as the frontrunner, to do battle with John McCain. From Obama’s perspective, the faster the nomination is sewn up, the better.</p>
<p>Additionally, Obama could lose both states, giving Clinton momentum, more delegates, and a shot at capturing the popular vote lead.</p>
<p>The Clinton campaign made the point that if Michigan and Florida don’t have their current vote totals counted (per the DNC’s current stand), and they aren’t given a chance to revote (as the Obama campaign appears to prefer), there is going to be an awful lot of angry Democrats in two key battleground states. “The Obama campaign is pursuing a strategy that is good for Senator Obama’s nomination chances, but bad for the Democrats in November,” said the surrogates on Clinton’s conference call. They pointed out that the Obama campaign has made much of its amazing ability to turn out new voters, but seems to have no problem “disenfranchising” two whole states. More evidence, they said, that “for all the rhetoric, all the speeches, the Obama campaign is just words.”</p>
<p>But the Clinton campaign isn’t an innocent party. While it slams Obama for disenfranchising Michigan and Florida, it is hoping the superdelegates will help them surmount Obama’s pledged delegate lead. A reporter on the conference call asked if this wouldn’t be another form of disenfranchisement: party insiders overriding the will of the people.</p>
<p>The Clinton campaign had an endless supply of spin to answer the question, none of which made much sense. Mark Penn said the superdelegates will look at who won the pledged delegate count, who won the popular vote, who won the most primary states versus caucus states, who is the most electable, who is the most ready to be president, and a number of other factors and then make their decisions. And maybe they’ll look at something the Clinton campaign seems to have invented, “primary delegates,” which are pledged delegates won in primaries but not caucuses, to see which candidate won the most support in the more democratic of the two types of contests. (Clinton currently trails by a small amount in the “primary delegate” tally, but could make up the difference with a strong showing in Pennsylvania.)</p>
<p>Nothing the campaign could say convinced anybody that their strategy doesn’t rest on overruling the votes of the people, a scenario that can be reasonably described as the disenfranchisement of tens of millions of primary voters. The fact that disenfranchisement is an accusation Clinton is throwing at Obama even while she plans a superdelegate strategy, and the fact that Obama seems ready to kill a do-over in Michigan in order to better his political fortunes, illustrates one thing: disenfranchisement is in the eye of the beholder.</p>
<p /> | 4,578 |
<p>A <a href="http://www.pewforum.org/Unaffiliated/nones-on-the-rise.aspx" type="external">survey released by the Pew Institute</a> on Tuesday shows that the number of nonreligious people in the US is on the rise, reaching a record high of 20 percent. However, this trend has yet to be reflected in the political arena.</p>
<p>Today, 1 out of 5 Americans (1 out of 3 for those under 30), consider themselves to be non-religiously affiliated. The number of people not affiliated to any religion is growing more rapidly than any other religious group. The US has long been more religious than the rest of the developed world, but is now joining a global trend in which&#160; <a href="http://redcresearch.ie/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/RED-C-press-release-Religion-and-Atheism-25-7-12.pdf" type="external">23% of the world population</a> is considered non&#160;religious. This growth remains slow, however, for&#160;atheists and agnostics, which is a nonreligious&#160;affiliation&#160;many Americans still find difficult to wear. Only 6% of people in the US claim to be atheist or agnostic, which is far from the <a href="http://redcresearch.ie/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/RED-C-press-release-Religion-and-Atheism-25-7-12.pdf" type="external">13% world average.</a></p>
<p>If the absence of&#160;religiosity is more and more accepted in everyday life, this evolution has not yet been translated in the American political arena. Indeed, in the last session, no member of the Congress declared themselves as atheist, or even non affiliated. Only &#160; <a href="http://www.michaelnugent.com/best/americas-top-two-elected-atheists/" type="external">two high level elected officials</a> have ever openly spoken about being non-theists: Congressman Peter Stark from California and State Senator Ernie Chambers from Nebraska, famous for his legal case against God. In contrast, many&#160;developed countries have had non believers as head of&#160;government&#160;such as current Australian Prime Minister Julia Guillard, Great Britain Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, or Norway’s Prime Minister&#160;Jens Stoltenberg.</p>
<p>A few facts can help illustrate why being a non-theist remains a taboo if you are running for office in the US. In 2007, a <a href="http://www.gallup.com/poll/26611/some-americans-reluctant-vote-mormon-72yearold-presidential-candidates.aspx#1" type="external">Gallup poll</a> showed that voting for an atheist would be the last option chosen by American voters, after voting for a homosexual, a 72 year-old, or someone married three times. Being atheist is the only category that received more vote-against than for.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/life/ft/2012/02/atheism_in_america_why_won_t_the_u_s_accept_its_atheists_.3.html" type="external">Another survey in 2011</a> showed that 53% of Americans think that a belief in God is directly linked to morality. Finally, the two most famous political “atheist” figures in a lot of American minds are Hitler and Stalin, not the best example of someone you would vote for. With this in mind, it is understandable that nobody in the current election is running under the banner of godlessness.</p>
<p>It will certainly take time for the religious environment in the US to change enough to have an openly atheist elected official, but with non-religiously affiliated people making up 20% of the electorate we can hope that more representation for that group will be seen in the near future.</p> | The Number of Non Religious People in the US is on the Rise | false | https://ivn.us/2012/10/10/the-number-of-non-religious-people-in-the-us-is-on-the-rise/ | 2012-10-10 | 2least
| The Number of Non Religious People in the US is on the Rise
<p>A <a href="http://www.pewforum.org/Unaffiliated/nones-on-the-rise.aspx" type="external">survey released by the Pew Institute</a> on Tuesday shows that the number of nonreligious people in the US is on the rise, reaching a record high of 20 percent. However, this trend has yet to be reflected in the political arena.</p>
<p>Today, 1 out of 5 Americans (1 out of 3 for those under 30), consider themselves to be non-religiously affiliated. The number of people not affiliated to any religion is growing more rapidly than any other religious group. The US has long been more religious than the rest of the developed world, but is now joining a global trend in which&#160; <a href="http://redcresearch.ie/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/RED-C-press-release-Religion-and-Atheism-25-7-12.pdf" type="external">23% of the world population</a> is considered non&#160;religious. This growth remains slow, however, for&#160;atheists and agnostics, which is a nonreligious&#160;affiliation&#160;many Americans still find difficult to wear. Only 6% of people in the US claim to be atheist or agnostic, which is far from the <a href="http://redcresearch.ie/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/RED-C-press-release-Religion-and-Atheism-25-7-12.pdf" type="external">13% world average.</a></p>
<p>If the absence of&#160;religiosity is more and more accepted in everyday life, this evolution has not yet been translated in the American political arena. Indeed, in the last session, no member of the Congress declared themselves as atheist, or even non affiliated. Only &#160; <a href="http://www.michaelnugent.com/best/americas-top-two-elected-atheists/" type="external">two high level elected officials</a> have ever openly spoken about being non-theists: Congressman Peter Stark from California and State Senator Ernie Chambers from Nebraska, famous for his legal case against God. In contrast, many&#160;developed countries have had non believers as head of&#160;government&#160;such as current Australian Prime Minister Julia Guillard, Great Britain Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, or Norway’s Prime Minister&#160;Jens Stoltenberg.</p>
<p>A few facts can help illustrate why being a non-theist remains a taboo if you are running for office in the US. In 2007, a <a href="http://www.gallup.com/poll/26611/some-americans-reluctant-vote-mormon-72yearold-presidential-candidates.aspx#1" type="external">Gallup poll</a> showed that voting for an atheist would be the last option chosen by American voters, after voting for a homosexual, a 72 year-old, or someone married three times. Being atheist is the only category that received more vote-against than for.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/life/ft/2012/02/atheism_in_america_why_won_t_the_u_s_accept_its_atheists_.3.html" type="external">Another survey in 2011</a> showed that 53% of Americans think that a belief in God is directly linked to morality. Finally, the two most famous political “atheist” figures in a lot of American minds are Hitler and Stalin, not the best example of someone you would vote for. With this in mind, it is understandable that nobody in the current election is running under the banner of godlessness.</p>
<p>It will certainly take time for the religious environment in the US to change enough to have an openly atheist elected official, but with non-religiously affiliated people making up 20% of the electorate we can hope that more representation for that group will be seen in the near future.</p> | 4,579 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>AUSTIN, Texas - A Louisiana jury has convicted of Mexican businessman of trying to bribe a judge in Texas to get a lesser sentence in a drug case.</p>
<p>Francisco Colorado Cessa was convicted Thursday of bribery and conspiracy to bribe a public official in a federal retrial in Shreveport, Louisiana.</p>
<p>Colorado faces up to 40 years in prison for helping drug lords launder money through horse racing in Texas and Oklahoma.</p>
<p>Colorado in 2013 was convicted in Texas of conspiracy to commit money laundering. He later pleaded guilty to trying to bribe a judge in Austin, who was unaware of the attempt and sentenced Colorado to 20 years.</p>
<p>Both convictions were overturned.</p>
<p>Colorado last month was convicted again in Texas for conspiracy to commit money laundering and his bribery retrial moved to Louisiana.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Jury in Louisiana convicts Mexican of trying to bribe judge | false | https://abqjournal.com/714507/jury-in-louisiana-convicts-mexican-of-trying-to-bribe-judge.html | 2least
| Jury in Louisiana convicts Mexican of trying to bribe judge
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>AUSTIN, Texas - A Louisiana jury has convicted of Mexican businessman of trying to bribe a judge in Texas to get a lesser sentence in a drug case.</p>
<p>Francisco Colorado Cessa was convicted Thursday of bribery and conspiracy to bribe a public official in a federal retrial in Shreveport, Louisiana.</p>
<p>Colorado faces up to 40 years in prison for helping drug lords launder money through horse racing in Texas and Oklahoma.</p>
<p>Colorado in 2013 was convicted in Texas of conspiracy to commit money laundering. He later pleaded guilty to trying to bribe a judge in Austin, who was unaware of the attempt and sentenced Colorado to 20 years.</p>
<p>Both convictions were overturned.</p>
<p>Colorado last month was convicted again in Texas for conspiracy to commit money laundering and his bribery retrial moved to Louisiana.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 4,580 |
|
<p />
<p>If you were alive and consuming in 1989, you probably are paying much more for everything today than you were then. The average new car -- only the fancy ones had airbags and CD players -- cost $14,371; last month, the average was $30,804, says <a href="http://blog.truecar.com/2013/05/02/new-car-transaction-prices-in-april-2013-up-almost-two-percent-incentives-up-0-9-percent-from-last-year-according-to-truecar/?WT.qs_osrc=fxb-171993410" type="external">TrueCar.com Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>But some things have gotten cheaper. Air fares, for example. Computers. And here's a surprising one: car insurance.</p>
<p>An analysis released Friday from the nonprofit <a href="http://www.consumerfed.org/pdfs/prop103-pressrelease.pdf?WT.qs_osrc=fxb-171993410" type="external">Consumer Federation of America Opens a New Window.</a> (CFA) finds the typical household spent 43 percent more on car insurance in 2010 than it did in 1989. That's well below the 88 percent increase in the Consumer Price Index, the government's gauge of inflation, over the same period.</p>
<p>But the watchdog didn't crunch the numbers to point out what a great deal everyone's getting on car insurance these days.</p>
<p>Instead, CFA is highlighting the changes made in one state where insurance expenditures fell in absolute terms, not even accounting for inflation. <a href="http://www.carinsurance.com/state/California-car-insurance.aspx?WT.qs_osrc=fxb-171993410" type="external">Drivers in California Opens a New Window.</a> paid an average of $746 for car insurance in 2010 -- $2 less than they paid in 1989.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>California's car insurance time warp</p>
<p>“No other state has put in place the kind of strong oversight that California voters created in 1988, and no other state has seen auto insurance prices decline,” says J. Robert Hunter, spokesperson for the CFA.</p>
<p>California voters that year approved a sweeping proposal that gave state regulators the power to approve rate changes before they are implemented -- in many states that order is reversed --and gave consumers a window into each company's rate-setting decisions, limiting the factors that could be considered and providing a specific discount for good drivers.</p>
<p>Over the same period, insurance costs in seven states more than kept up with inflation. Kentucky, Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota, West Virginia and Wyoming saw increases of 90 percent or more since 1989. Only California, Hawaii, New Hampshire and New Jersey saw insurance spending rise less than 25 percent. (The figures include spending on all types and amounts of auto insurance, from minimal liability policies on old cars all the way up to Ferraris with millions in protection.)</p>
<p>Insurance industry groups strongly disagree with the CFA's contention that the 1988 law is still working wonders.</p>
<p>The Association of California Insurance Companies points out to <a href="http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/west/2013/06/14/295658.htm?WT.qs_osrc=fxb-171993410" type="external">Insurance Journal Opens a New Window.</a> a host of other factors, such as safer cars, fewer drunken drivers, limits on lawsuits and better controls on fraud. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety President Robert Hartwig told <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-14/california-is-only-state-where-car-insurance-cost-fell-cfa-says.html?WT.qs_osrc=fxb-171993410" type="external">Bloomberg News Opens a New Window.</a> that higher gas taxes in California have led drivers there to choose smaller cars.</p>
<p>What California drivers see</p>
<p>A consumer shopping for car insurance in California today might not be aware of the behind-the-scenes politics that affect &#160;rates, but they certainly encounter practices that make California unique:</p>
<p>Here is the change, by state, in insurance expenditures from 1989 to 2010. The data come from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.</p>
<p>Alabama&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 52.8%</p>
<p>Alaska&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 58.9%</p>
<p>Arizona&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 38.3%</p>
<p>Arkansas&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 81.6%</p>
<p>California&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; -0.3%</p>
<p>Colorado&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 41.7%</p>
<p>Connecticut&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 30.4%</p>
<p>Delaware&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 79.6%</p>
<p>District of Columbia 42.3%</p>
<p>Florida&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 69.9%</p>
<p>Georgia&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 41.1%</p>
<p>Hawaii&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 13.7%</p>
<p>Idaho&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 57.3%</p>
<p>Illinois&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 45.0%</p>
<p>Indiana&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 46.6%</p>
<p>Iowa&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 73.5%</p>
<p>Kansas&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 83.5%</p>
<p>Kentucky&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 92.3%</p>
<p>Louisiana&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 96.1%</p>
<p>Maine&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 33.9%</p>
<p>Maryland&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 46.7%</p>
<p>Massachusetts&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 22.3%</p>
<p>Michigan&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 69.7%</p>
<p>Minnesota&#160; 50.5%</p>
<p>Mississippi&#160; 69.0%</p>
<p>Missouri&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 57.7%</p>
<p>Montana&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 95.4%</p>
<p>Nebraska&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 108.1%</p>
<p>Nevada&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 58.7%</p>
<p>New Hampshire&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 15.9%</p>
<p>New Jersey&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 17.7%</p>
<p>New Mexico&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 58.6%</p>
<p>New York&#160;&#160;&#160; 62.2%</p>
<p>North Carolina&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 54.6%</p>
<p>North Dakota&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 86.8%</p>
<p>Ohio&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 38.4%</p>
<p>Oklahoma&#160;&#160; 75.4%</p>
<p>Oregon&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 55.4%</p>
<p>Pennsylvania&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 25.7%</p>
<p>Rhode Island&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 35.7%</p>
<p>South Carolina&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 49.3%</p>
<p>South Dakota&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 92.0%</p>
<p>Tennessee&#160; 51.5%</p>
<p>Texas&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 70.5%</p>
<p>Utah&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 86.1%</p>
<p>Vermont&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 48.8%</p>
<p>Virginia&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 53.8%</p>
<p>Washington&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 66.2%</p>
<p>West Virginia&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 89.9%</p>
<p>Wisconsin&#160;&#160;&#160; 56.3%</p>
<p>Wyoming&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 95.1%</p>
<p>National&#160; Average&#160;&#160;&#160; 43.3%</p>
<p>The original article can be found at CarInsurance.com: <a href="http://www.carinsurance.com/Articles/cfa-insurance-costs-inflation.aspx?WT.qs_osrc=fxb-171993410" type="external">Did your car insurance get cheaper? Opens a New Window.</a></p> | The One State Where Car Insurance Got Cheaper | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2013/06/17/one-state-where-car-insurance-got-cheaper.html | 2016-03-05 | 0right
| The One State Where Car Insurance Got Cheaper
<p />
<p>If you were alive and consuming in 1989, you probably are paying much more for everything today than you were then. The average new car -- only the fancy ones had airbags and CD players -- cost $14,371; last month, the average was $30,804, says <a href="http://blog.truecar.com/2013/05/02/new-car-transaction-prices-in-april-2013-up-almost-two-percent-incentives-up-0-9-percent-from-last-year-according-to-truecar/?WT.qs_osrc=fxb-171993410" type="external">TrueCar.com Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>But some things have gotten cheaper. Air fares, for example. Computers. And here's a surprising one: car insurance.</p>
<p>An analysis released Friday from the nonprofit <a href="http://www.consumerfed.org/pdfs/prop103-pressrelease.pdf?WT.qs_osrc=fxb-171993410" type="external">Consumer Federation of America Opens a New Window.</a> (CFA) finds the typical household spent 43 percent more on car insurance in 2010 than it did in 1989. That's well below the 88 percent increase in the Consumer Price Index, the government's gauge of inflation, over the same period.</p>
<p>But the watchdog didn't crunch the numbers to point out what a great deal everyone's getting on car insurance these days.</p>
<p>Instead, CFA is highlighting the changes made in one state where insurance expenditures fell in absolute terms, not even accounting for inflation. <a href="http://www.carinsurance.com/state/California-car-insurance.aspx?WT.qs_osrc=fxb-171993410" type="external">Drivers in California Opens a New Window.</a> paid an average of $746 for car insurance in 2010 -- $2 less than they paid in 1989.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>California's car insurance time warp</p>
<p>“No other state has put in place the kind of strong oversight that California voters created in 1988, and no other state has seen auto insurance prices decline,” says J. Robert Hunter, spokesperson for the CFA.</p>
<p>California voters that year approved a sweeping proposal that gave state regulators the power to approve rate changes before they are implemented -- in many states that order is reversed --and gave consumers a window into each company's rate-setting decisions, limiting the factors that could be considered and providing a specific discount for good drivers.</p>
<p>Over the same period, insurance costs in seven states more than kept up with inflation. Kentucky, Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota, West Virginia and Wyoming saw increases of 90 percent or more since 1989. Only California, Hawaii, New Hampshire and New Jersey saw insurance spending rise less than 25 percent. (The figures include spending on all types and amounts of auto insurance, from minimal liability policies on old cars all the way up to Ferraris with millions in protection.)</p>
<p>Insurance industry groups strongly disagree with the CFA's contention that the 1988 law is still working wonders.</p>
<p>The Association of California Insurance Companies points out to <a href="http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/west/2013/06/14/295658.htm?WT.qs_osrc=fxb-171993410" type="external">Insurance Journal Opens a New Window.</a> a host of other factors, such as safer cars, fewer drunken drivers, limits on lawsuits and better controls on fraud. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety President Robert Hartwig told <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-14/california-is-only-state-where-car-insurance-cost-fell-cfa-says.html?WT.qs_osrc=fxb-171993410" type="external">Bloomberg News Opens a New Window.</a> that higher gas taxes in California have led drivers there to choose smaller cars.</p>
<p>What California drivers see</p>
<p>A consumer shopping for car insurance in California today might not be aware of the behind-the-scenes politics that affect &#160;rates, but they certainly encounter practices that make California unique:</p>
<p>Here is the change, by state, in insurance expenditures from 1989 to 2010. The data come from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.</p>
<p>Alabama&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 52.8%</p>
<p>Alaska&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 58.9%</p>
<p>Arizona&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 38.3%</p>
<p>Arkansas&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 81.6%</p>
<p>California&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; -0.3%</p>
<p>Colorado&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 41.7%</p>
<p>Connecticut&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 30.4%</p>
<p>Delaware&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 79.6%</p>
<p>District of Columbia 42.3%</p>
<p>Florida&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 69.9%</p>
<p>Georgia&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 41.1%</p>
<p>Hawaii&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 13.7%</p>
<p>Idaho&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 57.3%</p>
<p>Illinois&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 45.0%</p>
<p>Indiana&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 46.6%</p>
<p>Iowa&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 73.5%</p>
<p>Kansas&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 83.5%</p>
<p>Kentucky&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 92.3%</p>
<p>Louisiana&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 96.1%</p>
<p>Maine&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 33.9%</p>
<p>Maryland&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 46.7%</p>
<p>Massachusetts&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 22.3%</p>
<p>Michigan&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 69.7%</p>
<p>Minnesota&#160; 50.5%</p>
<p>Mississippi&#160; 69.0%</p>
<p>Missouri&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 57.7%</p>
<p>Montana&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 95.4%</p>
<p>Nebraska&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 108.1%</p>
<p>Nevada&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 58.7%</p>
<p>New Hampshire&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 15.9%</p>
<p>New Jersey&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 17.7%</p>
<p>New Mexico&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 58.6%</p>
<p>New York&#160;&#160;&#160; 62.2%</p>
<p>North Carolina&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 54.6%</p>
<p>North Dakota&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 86.8%</p>
<p>Ohio&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 38.4%</p>
<p>Oklahoma&#160;&#160; 75.4%</p>
<p>Oregon&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 55.4%</p>
<p>Pennsylvania&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 25.7%</p>
<p>Rhode Island&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 35.7%</p>
<p>South Carolina&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 49.3%</p>
<p>South Dakota&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 92.0%</p>
<p>Tennessee&#160; 51.5%</p>
<p>Texas&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 70.5%</p>
<p>Utah&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 86.1%</p>
<p>Vermont&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 48.8%</p>
<p>Virginia&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 53.8%</p>
<p>Washington&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 66.2%</p>
<p>West Virginia&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 89.9%</p>
<p>Wisconsin&#160;&#160;&#160; 56.3%</p>
<p>Wyoming&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 95.1%</p>
<p>National&#160; Average&#160;&#160;&#160; 43.3%</p>
<p>The original article can be found at CarInsurance.com: <a href="http://www.carinsurance.com/Articles/cfa-insurance-costs-inflation.aspx?WT.qs_osrc=fxb-171993410" type="external">Did your car insurance get cheaper? Opens a New Window.</a></p> | 4,581 |
<p>Aug. 19 (UPI) — A civilian research vessel owned by Microsoft cofounder <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Paul_Allen/" type="external">Paul Allen</a> located the wreckage of the USS Indianapolis, a cruiser sunk by the Japanese in the waning days of World War II, the Navy said Saturday.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.history.navy.mil/news-and-events/news/2017/august/USSIndianapolisLocated.html" type="external">The discovery came</a> after decades of mystery surrounding the ship’s final minutes on July 30, 1945, after it suffered two direct torpedo strikes from a Japanese submarine that caused it to sink in less than 15 minutes.</p>
<p>The Indianapolis had a crew of more than 1,100 sailors, of whom just 316 survived. Only 22 members of its crew are still alive.</p>
<p>The ship was located on the floor of the northern Pacific Ocean at a depth of more than 18,000 feet. It was located by scientists aboard the Research Vessel Petrel, which Allen owns. The Petrel has tracked down other warships lost at sea during the conflict using its state-of-the-art subsea monitoring equipment.</p>
<p>“To be able to honor the brave men of the USS Indianapolis and their families through the discovery of a ship that played such a significant role in ending World War II is truly humbling,” Allen said. “As Americans, we all owe a debt of gratitude to the crew for their courage, persistence and sacrifice in the face of horrendous circumstances.&#160; While our search for the rest of the wreckage will continue, I hope everyone connected to this historic ship will feel some measure of closure at this discovery so long in coming.”</p>
<p>The Naval History and Heritage Command said there were several complicating factors that, until recently, had prevented scientists from locating the final resting place of the Indianapolis. Because the ship sank so quickly, the crew did not have time to send a distress signal indicating their final coordinates. The Navy did not realize the ship was even missing for four days, until it failed to arrive at its scheduled port.</p>
<p>The delayed rescue response complicated what was an already difficult evacuation for the ship’s crew and was partly to blame for the high number of sailors lost at sea. Crew members didn’t have time to deploy most the ship’s lifeboats or other survival gear before it went down. Hundreds of sailors died of exposure and shark attacks while floating in the ocean for nearly a week before help arrived.</p>
<p>Further complicating matters, the ship’s captain, who survived the attack, said the Indianapolis was exactly on its prescribed course headed to port when it was hit. The ship had just completed a covert mission delivering components of the atomic bomb that would be dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima.</p>
<p>The captain’s recollection was incorrect, leading researchers to search an area of the sea floor farther west than where it was eventually located. NHHC historians discovered the mistake after records showed a U.S. naval landing craft in the area had spotted the Indianapolis hours before it was attacked and logged its location, giving Allen’s vessel a new 600-square-mile area of ocean floor to search.</p>
<p>Under U.S. law, the wreckage of the Indianapolis is considered a war grave and cannot be disturbed. The Petrel’s research crew is continuing to survey the sea floor and said a video tour of the site using an unmanned submarine will be conducted in the coming weeks, with the footage made available to the public.</p>
<p>The Navy said as part of the occasion it plans to honor the 22 surviving crew members and family of those sailors killed.</p> | Researchers locate wreckage of WWII cruiser USS Indianapolis | false | https://newsline.com/researchers-locate-wreckage-of-wwii-cruiser-uss-indianapolis/ | 2017-08-19 | 1right-center
| Researchers locate wreckage of WWII cruiser USS Indianapolis
<p>Aug. 19 (UPI) — A civilian research vessel owned by Microsoft cofounder <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Paul_Allen/" type="external">Paul Allen</a> located the wreckage of the USS Indianapolis, a cruiser sunk by the Japanese in the waning days of World War II, the Navy said Saturday.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.history.navy.mil/news-and-events/news/2017/august/USSIndianapolisLocated.html" type="external">The discovery came</a> after decades of mystery surrounding the ship’s final minutes on July 30, 1945, after it suffered two direct torpedo strikes from a Japanese submarine that caused it to sink in less than 15 minutes.</p>
<p>The Indianapolis had a crew of more than 1,100 sailors, of whom just 316 survived. Only 22 members of its crew are still alive.</p>
<p>The ship was located on the floor of the northern Pacific Ocean at a depth of more than 18,000 feet. It was located by scientists aboard the Research Vessel Petrel, which Allen owns. The Petrel has tracked down other warships lost at sea during the conflict using its state-of-the-art subsea monitoring equipment.</p>
<p>“To be able to honor the brave men of the USS Indianapolis and their families through the discovery of a ship that played such a significant role in ending World War II is truly humbling,” Allen said. “As Americans, we all owe a debt of gratitude to the crew for their courage, persistence and sacrifice in the face of horrendous circumstances.&#160; While our search for the rest of the wreckage will continue, I hope everyone connected to this historic ship will feel some measure of closure at this discovery so long in coming.”</p>
<p>The Naval History and Heritage Command said there were several complicating factors that, until recently, had prevented scientists from locating the final resting place of the Indianapolis. Because the ship sank so quickly, the crew did not have time to send a distress signal indicating their final coordinates. The Navy did not realize the ship was even missing for four days, until it failed to arrive at its scheduled port.</p>
<p>The delayed rescue response complicated what was an already difficult evacuation for the ship’s crew and was partly to blame for the high number of sailors lost at sea. Crew members didn’t have time to deploy most the ship’s lifeboats or other survival gear before it went down. Hundreds of sailors died of exposure and shark attacks while floating in the ocean for nearly a week before help arrived.</p>
<p>Further complicating matters, the ship’s captain, who survived the attack, said the Indianapolis was exactly on its prescribed course headed to port when it was hit. The ship had just completed a covert mission delivering components of the atomic bomb that would be dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima.</p>
<p>The captain’s recollection was incorrect, leading researchers to search an area of the sea floor farther west than where it was eventually located. NHHC historians discovered the mistake after records showed a U.S. naval landing craft in the area had spotted the Indianapolis hours before it was attacked and logged its location, giving Allen’s vessel a new 600-square-mile area of ocean floor to search.</p>
<p>Under U.S. law, the wreckage of the Indianapolis is considered a war grave and cannot be disturbed. The Petrel’s research crew is continuing to survey the sea floor and said a video tour of the site using an unmanned submarine will be conducted in the coming weeks, with the footage made available to the public.</p>
<p>The Navy said as part of the occasion it plans to honor the 22 surviving crew members and family of those sailors killed.</p> | 4,582 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>This spells big opportunities for REALTORS® looking to serve the burgeoning baby boomer market over the next 10 to 15 years. It is also one of the reasons why the National Associal of REALTORS® updated its “Field guide to working with baby boomers” resource earlier this year. Marketing to baby boomers is an important area of emphasis in this field guide, which features an article from Forbes Magazine entitled “7 reasons why marketing to baby boomers is unique” which includes the following insights:</p>
<p>They have money to spend</p>
<p>Unlike those who grew up in the Great Depression, baby boomers are quite affluent. According to a Nielsen report, they account for $230 billion in sales of consumer packaged goods like coffee, diet soda and magazines. The segment makes up 70 percent of the nation’s disposable income. Baby boomers will also inherit $13 trillion in the next 20 years.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>They invented the&#160;suburbs</p>
<p>Suburban home development occurred simultaneously with baby boomers’ ability to make down payments on a mortgage and their desire to leave urban marketplaces. They still live in the suburbs, where many now own their homes 100 percent.</p>
<p>They plan to live in a better house</p>
<p>The article explains that 70 percent of baby boomers think their current house is not the best they can get and they are looking to upgrade. Baby boomers are setting new trends that defy traditional definitions of a “relaxed” retirement. Instead, they are diligently looking for newly constructed homes where they can continue to pursue an active lifestyle surrounded by the latest amenities.</p>
<p>They are loyal to their brands</p>
<p>Their brand loyalty is tenacious. Once they find a brand they like, or the one they grew up with, they stick with it; Volkswagen cars, Levi jeans, Harley Davidson motorcycles, Club Med, Noxzema, L’eggs. This means that finding out what your baby boomer client’s interests are will help guide you toward homes that best meet these trends and, ultimately, increase the chances of closing a deal.</p>
<p>They are not defined by their parents</p>
<p>Woodstock, the famous music festival, was a counter cultural event which symbolized that the baby boomers were not going to be defined by their parent’s morals or lifestyle. They were going to think and act for they themselves – and they still want to be thought of that way. The least hint of patronizing the baby boomers will flatten any marketing campaign.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>They do use social media,but in a different way</p>
<p>As you develop your social media strategy for baby boomers, be aware that while a 20-year old is posting photos of their night out on Instagram or Snapchat, while a baby boomer is more likely to post a photograph of a new grandbaby or the new RV they just purchased on Facebook. It’s the more ‘traditional’ venues such as Facebook and Twitter that are used by baby boomers; so keep your focus there.</p>
<p>Baby boomers are not ‘old’</p>
<p>Baby boomers do not want to be reminded of their age or be considered as old; rather, they want to be encouraged about their accomplishments and their future. They want to hear about the opportunities that reside before them to experience new chapters in their life.</p>
<p>In addition to marketing resources for the baby boomer market, this field guide also provides tips on reverse mortgage basics, housing trends for the over-50 demographic, related websites relevant to this audience and links to eBooks &amp; other resources. Visit realtor.org to find the field guide’s resource page or check out this story on abqjournal.com/homestyle for a direct link.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Source: Bschwartz, <a href="http://themembersedge.blogs.realtor.org" type="external">themembersedge.blogs.realtor.org</a></p> | Baby Boomers: one of america’s most lucrative demographics | false | https://abqjournal.com/895103/baby-boomers-one-of-americas-most-lucrative-demographics.html | 2least
| Baby Boomers: one of america’s most lucrative demographics
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>This spells big opportunities for REALTORS® looking to serve the burgeoning baby boomer market over the next 10 to 15 years. It is also one of the reasons why the National Associal of REALTORS® updated its “Field guide to working with baby boomers” resource earlier this year. Marketing to baby boomers is an important area of emphasis in this field guide, which features an article from Forbes Magazine entitled “7 reasons why marketing to baby boomers is unique” which includes the following insights:</p>
<p>They have money to spend</p>
<p>Unlike those who grew up in the Great Depression, baby boomers are quite affluent. According to a Nielsen report, they account for $230 billion in sales of consumer packaged goods like coffee, diet soda and magazines. The segment makes up 70 percent of the nation’s disposable income. Baby boomers will also inherit $13 trillion in the next 20 years.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>They invented the&#160;suburbs</p>
<p>Suburban home development occurred simultaneously with baby boomers’ ability to make down payments on a mortgage and their desire to leave urban marketplaces. They still live in the suburbs, where many now own their homes 100 percent.</p>
<p>They plan to live in a better house</p>
<p>The article explains that 70 percent of baby boomers think their current house is not the best they can get and they are looking to upgrade. Baby boomers are setting new trends that defy traditional definitions of a “relaxed” retirement. Instead, they are diligently looking for newly constructed homes where they can continue to pursue an active lifestyle surrounded by the latest amenities.</p>
<p>They are loyal to their brands</p>
<p>Their brand loyalty is tenacious. Once they find a brand they like, or the one they grew up with, they stick with it; Volkswagen cars, Levi jeans, Harley Davidson motorcycles, Club Med, Noxzema, L’eggs. This means that finding out what your baby boomer client’s interests are will help guide you toward homes that best meet these trends and, ultimately, increase the chances of closing a deal.</p>
<p>They are not defined by their parents</p>
<p>Woodstock, the famous music festival, was a counter cultural event which symbolized that the baby boomers were not going to be defined by their parent’s morals or lifestyle. They were going to think and act for they themselves – and they still want to be thought of that way. The least hint of patronizing the baby boomers will flatten any marketing campaign.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>They do use social media,but in a different way</p>
<p>As you develop your social media strategy for baby boomers, be aware that while a 20-year old is posting photos of their night out on Instagram or Snapchat, while a baby boomer is more likely to post a photograph of a new grandbaby or the new RV they just purchased on Facebook. It’s the more ‘traditional’ venues such as Facebook and Twitter that are used by baby boomers; so keep your focus there.</p>
<p>Baby boomers are not ‘old’</p>
<p>Baby boomers do not want to be reminded of their age or be considered as old; rather, they want to be encouraged about their accomplishments and their future. They want to hear about the opportunities that reside before them to experience new chapters in their life.</p>
<p>In addition to marketing resources for the baby boomer market, this field guide also provides tips on reverse mortgage basics, housing trends for the over-50 demographic, related websites relevant to this audience and links to eBooks &amp; other resources. Visit realtor.org to find the field guide’s resource page or check out this story on abqjournal.com/homestyle for a direct link.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Source: Bschwartz, <a href="http://themembersedge.blogs.realtor.org" type="external">themembersedge.blogs.realtor.org</a></p> | 4,583 |
|
<p>HONG KONG (Reuters) – Chinese artificial intelligence start-up SenseTime Group is planning an initial public offering (IPO) and aims to open a research and development (R&amp;D) center in the United States as early as next year, its founder told Reuters in an interview.</p>
<p>The Hong Kong and Beijing-based deep learning company founded by Tang Xiaoou, a professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, is a leader among Chinese AI start-ups that are enjoying fast growth thanks to demand from the government and private sector for their facial recognition technology.[nL4N1N72PS]</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> | Exclusive: China's SenseTime plans IPO, aims to open R&D center in U.S. | false | https://newsline.com/exclusive-china039s-sensetime-plans-ipo-aims-to-open-rampd-center-in-u-s/ | 2017-11-23 | 1right-center
| Exclusive: China's SenseTime plans IPO, aims to open R&D center in U.S.
<p>HONG KONG (Reuters) – Chinese artificial intelligence start-up SenseTime Group is planning an initial public offering (IPO) and aims to open a research and development (R&amp;D) center in the United States as early as next year, its founder told Reuters in an interview.</p>
<p>The Hong Kong and Beijing-based deep learning company founded by Tang Xiaoou, a professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, is a leader among Chinese AI start-ups that are enjoying fast growth thanks to demand from the government and private sector for their facial recognition technology.[nL4N1N72PS]</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> | 4,584 |
<p />
<p>Palo Alto, Calif.; Sept. 28, 1993: The telephone rang in his quiet Stanford University home just as Bill Gould stepped out of the shower. The professor of labor law felt the alarm that early-morning calls bring, the stab of fear that something may be wrong with someone you love.</p>
<p>His alarm was replaced by mild annoyance, though, when the caller turned out to be Mark Childress, who was not Gould’s favorite person. Childress was counsel for the U.S. Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee. Gould was to appear before the committee in three days to begin hearings as President Clinton’s nominee to head the National Labor Relations Board.</p>
<p>Childress worked for Sen. Edward Kennedy, who as Labor Committee chairman was to guide Gould through the confirmation process. Gould found Childress, like most of the people working for Kennedy, to be “very cocky and a pain in the ass.” Just like him to act oblivious to the time difference between D.C. and California.</p>
<p>“Are you sitting down?” Childress began.</p>
<p>So Gould’s alarm had not been misplaced. The sweet summer that might have been had soured into an unexpected education in attack politics. “What is it?” he asked.</p>
<p>“I have to ask you,” said Childress. “Do you gamble?”</p>
<p />
<p>In August 1993 President Clinton had nominated William Benjamin Gould IV, the great-grandson of a slave, to become chairman of the National Labor Relations Board, the body that enforces the nation’s labor law.</p>
<p>Gould’s nomination was quickly targeted by conservative Republican senators, business lobbies, and right-wing journalists, a coalition that had effectively blocked other controversial Clinton nominees. They had, for instance, knocked off Lani Guinier and obstructed the president’s ability to implement policy changes at agencies such as the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission by prolonging the hold of lame-duck Bush and Reagan appointees.</p>
<p>For 12 years the NLRB, which is supposed to enforce the laws governing what unions and management may and may not do, had been, in Gould’s view, paralyzed by political design. The Republicans had so slowed down grievance procedures that by the time wronged workers received legal relief, or fired union organizers were reinstated, their causes had been lost.</p>
<p>In his recent book, “Agenda for Reform,” Gould had argued that “the law is not working” and laid out what needed to be done to fix it. He wanted to speed up certification and grievance procedures. He supported legislation banning the permanent replacement of striking workers, provided the union had tried to resolve the dispute through third-party intervention.</p>
<p>When Clinton tapped him, Gould felt that his moment had arrived, that his entire professional life had been preparation to chair the NLRB. As a labor lawyer, management lawyer, scholar, and arbitrator of more than 200 labor disputes, Gould believed his strengths had been his simple adherence to principle, the law, and straight dealing.</p>
<p>The law had always been Gould’s chosen machinery of change. Although his father had lost jobs as an engineer because he was black, Gould had not participated in the civil rights movement. “Oh, God,” he said, when asked about that time in his life, “I never really had an activist ’60s. I kind of missed out. I already had my profession, little kids, a lot of stability built-in. I feel I’m more of a ’50s product, so staid, buttoned-down, and conservative.”</p>
<p>In the early 1960s, however, he’d represented some black workers in an employment discrimination suit against Detroit Edison and won a $5.35 million judgment, the biggest of its kind on record at the time. He made no secret of his race, but his toffee skin resulted in some white people knowing him for a long time before they realized he was of African descent.</p>
<p>Though he did not subscribe to the view held by some experts that the NLRB had played a decisive role in the decline of unionism in America, Gould’s fundamental belief was that the National Labor Relations Act correctly identified collective bargaining as necessary and desirable. Whatever other reasons existed for the dizzying decline in union membership and power, “workers, union officials, and business people [ought to] know that they will be treated with respect, civility, and fairness.”</p>
<p>The Labor Policy Association, an organization of human resources vice presidents that does research for major corporations, said his views were “nowhere close . . . to the mainstream.” The AFL/CIO called him “a great choice.”</p>
<p>The Republican Party decided that Gould would be too large a risk. “You write a book taking a high-profile position on changing labor law, there’s going to be a response,” said Jeffrey McGuiness, president of the Labor Policy Association. “There’s tremendous real-world consequences to these ideas. Millions of dollars rest on whether the board goes this way or that.”</p>
<p>Or, as Senate Minority Leader Robert Dole of Kansas put it, “This is where the important policy battles are fought.”</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>The nominee, clad only in a bath towel, now listened to Mark Childress tell him that “the Republican side” had passed on a disturbing report.</p>
<p>Childress said that word was circulating that Gould had run up disastrous gambling debts and was being bribed to throw arbitration cases in order to pay off what he owed.</p>
<p>Gould was alarmed. He had always had a sense that the world was full of desperate and jealous people who did not wish him well. Gould did not lack for ego, and like many proud and accomplished men he was also demanding, at times prickly and thin-skinned.</p>
<p>Now, after a lifetime of probity and moderation–he once described baseball, the Democratic Party, the Episcopal church, the Modern Jazz Quartet, and the NAACP as “life’s eternal verities”–Gould was being smeared, because someone regarded his honest views as too radical.</p>
<p>Gould had never gambled, didn’t even play in the faculty poker game. But he could see clearly enough the basis for the smear: He was a very public Boston Red Sox fan and had recently gotten the kick of a lifetime arbitrating some baseball salary disputes. While he had never bet on games, if you didn’t know him–as whoever was spreading this rumor clearly did not–you wouldn’t know that.</p>
<p>What was most disturbing, really, was that even though the accusation was a complete fabrication, it could still wound him politically. Washington is a city where perception can become tantamount to reality.</p>
<p>Gould’s instinct was to fight back. So he asked Childress who was saying these things about him.</p>
<p>But Childress wouldn’t tell him. And although Gould had already received a standard FBI clearance, Childress explained that an agent would be coming to California to reinterview him.</p>
<p>The Republicans in the Senate have made no secret of their strategy and tactics. Under the leadership of Sen. Dole, they target those presidential appointees whom they find most ideologically indigestible, threaten to filibuster, and force the White House to expend energy and political capital getting confirmations.</p>
<p>The Republicans’ aims are twofold. First, they hope to make the president back off candidates he knows they will target. Second, they tie up the regulatory agencies, especially in the areas of civil rights and labor law enforcement.</p>
<p>“It’s a strategy of gridlock,” Gould said. “Dole has attempted to dictate to the president the composition of the regulatory agencies. They don’t have the votes to reject somebody like myself, but they do have the votes to keep us in limbo.”</p>
<p>The network that went to work on Gould was the same one that had defined Lani Guinier as the “quota queen” and derailed her nomination. It begins with Republican Senate staffers deeply opposed to a nominee’s ideas. Conservative columnists with ties to their ideological brethren in the Senate run smear stories. Sometimes right-wing radio broadcasters pick up the seed of the story and plant it deep in the grass roots. And the stories, originating in the capital, begin to slither back into town as outraged public opinion.</p>
<p>Similar tactics were used against Attorney General Janet Reno during her confirmation, when an aide to a Republican senator and a former lobbyist for the National Rifle Association helped spread rumors that Reno had a drinking problem, something she flatly denied.</p>
<p>And they were also tried against Dr. Joycelyn Elders, Clinton’s controversial surgeon general. “We had problems raised about Dr. Elders,” said Republican Sen. Nancy Kassebaum of Kansas, who enjoys a reputation for decency among Democrats. “Kennedy and I tried to handle it before it gained a head of steam.”</p>
<p>“There’s a bunch of very conservative Senate staffers working conspiracies against liberals,” says an administration insider. “We had this on lots of nominees.” He mentioned Reed Hunt, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, as a target of “unfounded attacks.” “Like it or not, it’s what our system is all about. This city has its way of doing business.”</p>
<p />
<p>Washington, D.C./Palo Alto; Summer 1993: The signs had been there from the beginning that the White House was going to botch Gould’s nomination. It had been so offhand when he’d been invited to Washington in May. A woman named Cynthia Metzler in the White House personnel office chatted with him and then said that everything seemed fine and they’d like him to do the job.</p>
<p>Then she whisked him to the granite-slab Labor Department building named for FDR’s Labor Secretary, Frances Perkins. Perkins was one of Gould’s heroes: In his cluttered faculty office at Stanford, Gould had mementos of the 1986 Red Sox, Nelson Mandela, Larry Bird, and Frances Perkins. The first female cabinet member, Perkins once said: “I came to Washington to work for God, FDR, and the millions of forgotten, plain common workingmen.”</p>
<p>Many years earlier, Gould had worked at the NLRB as a lowly staff attorney. At 57, he was returning to take over.</p>
<p>Gould had a brief meeting with Labor Secretary Robert Reich, which seemed to go well. The clear assumption was that the job was his. Gould went home to Palo Alto bursting with plans and ideas. And everybody in Washington promptly forgot all about him.</p>
<p />
<p>At that moment the North American Free Trade Agreement had the full attention of all the labor politics players, from Gould’s friends in the AFL to his opponents in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers. “They were totally preoccupied with NAFTA,” Gould said. “I was not on their radar screen.”</p>
<p>The NLRB was limping along with only three of its five seats filled, two by Republicans. James M. Stephens, appointed by that well-known friend of labor Ronald Reagan, was staying on as chairman pending Gould’s confirmation by the Labor Committee and then the full Senate. The Clinton administration had not yet come up with nominations for the vacant seats.</p>
<p>Clinton’s neglect opened the barn door, and the Senate Republicans were only too glad to let the horse out. “They were very late getting [Gould’s] papers up here,” said Sen. Nancy Kassebaum, the ranking minority member on the Labor Committee. “We can’t do anything until the papers get here.”</p>
<p>Gould had dutifully submitted all the required professional, personal, and financial documentation in June. When White House Counsel Vincent Foster committed suicide on July 20, writing in the note he left behind that, “Here, ruining people is considered sport,” Gould’s papers were being vetted in his office.</p>
<p>“In late July and early August,” Gould said, “there was tremendous confusion about where those papers were. Cynthia Metzler told me there was difficulty finding them because everybody was focused on Foster’s suicide.”</p>
<p>Usually a ceaseless, driven worker, Gould spent much of the summer too distracted to concentrate on the books he was writing about baseball and about his great-grandfather. He wandered between his office, where he called Washington in search of news, and his home, where his nervousness distracted his British wife, Hilda, a science editor.</p>
<p>In May the White House had told him he would be confirmed by the end of July, so he wasn’t slated to teach in September. And he had purchased a condo in Washington that was costing plenty.</p>
<p>His enemies, both visible and hidden, had all the time they needed. “We were surprised they’d hang out an extremely controversial candidate for so long,” said Jeffrey McGuiness of the Labor Policy Association. “We spent a leisurely summer reading all his articles and books and preparing ourselves.” In the end they distributed a thick memorandum citing chapter and verse Gould’s sinful views.</p>
<p>The far-right National Right to Work Committee began to crank out direct mailings to its 1.8 million members, describing Gould’s scholarly book, “Agenda for Reform,” as “a battle cry–institutional unionism’s ‘Mein Kampf.'” They also sent out Actiongrams warning, “Clinton has gone beyond pandering to Big Labor, he’s now groveling for union boss approval.” The mailings included pre-written postcards to be sent to Congress.</p>
<p>Finally, on Aug. 5, with the capital emptying and the heat oppressive, Gould’s formal nomination was sent up to the Hill.</p>
<p />
<p>Not long after, Gould got the first hint of what was to come. Kennedy’s man, Childress, called to tell him that certain Republicans were saying Gould was working closely with the Communist Party during his numerous trips to South Africa, and that he was slipping unnoticed into Cuba, too.</p>
<p>Gould had never been to Cuba. As for his trips to South Africa, Gould had a long-standing scholarly interest in labor movements as agents of change. (He had also written about Solidarity in Poland.) On one trip to South Africa he had met Joe Slovo, the head of its Communist Party. So what?</p>
<p>Childress seemed to laugh the whole thing off, too. This was the message that Gould consistently received from allies in the Senate and elsewhere: Don’t take this stuff too seriously; it’s just the way business is done here.</p>
<p>It only got worse. A month later, the accusation of gambling and taking bribes was floated three days prior to his Oct. 1 hearing before the Senate Labor Committee, the first hurdle in the confirmation process.</p>
<p>Gould wanted it known how the Republicans and their allies in business were playing fast and reckless not just with the truth and his good name but with the democratic process itself. He was thwarted, though, by Childress, who refused to tell Gould which Republicans had spawned the rumors that he was a communist or a gambler on the take.</p>
<p>“He wouldn’t even tell me why he wouldn’t tell me,” Gould said. “Some sort of confidentiality, professional courtesy.”</p>
<p>What Childress did say was: “Don’t tell anybody, don’t mention it. We don’t want this to get out.”</p>
<p>Flying to Washington, Gould reflected on how no disgrace had ever soiled the name of William Benjamin Gould through four generations: how his great-grandfather had escaped slavery to fight with the Union Navy; how his late father, whom he regarded as wise and saintly, had lost jobs because he was black. Gould felt strong enough to deal with those who opposed him because of his views. But these invisible enemies, telling lies about him, scared him and made him fighting mad.</p>
<p>Bill Gould decided that whether or not he defeated the smear campaign, he wanted the whole story of his confirmation told. People deserved to know what a nominee has to endure to serve his country.</p>
<p>Room 430, Dirksen Senate Office Building; Oct. 1, 1993: Kennedy called the hearing to order moments after 10 a.m. Gould had not slept all night, prepping for his confirmation. Though at some level he was exhausted, he was also hyperalert as he took his place. He was confident that nobody knew the material better than he.</p>
<p>As the stirring subsided, Gould’s attention settled on one after another of the bright young aides situated around their senators like constellations. He felt certain that his hidden enemies were here in this room. No matter, the committee would learn who he was.</p>
<p>By the time the hearing ended Gould would learn something, too. Among all his enemies Orrin Hatch of Utah was “the most dangerous.”</p>
<p>In his opening remarks, Gould described how his grandfather and his five great-uncles had, like their father, all served in the U.S. military; how his family had founded the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Dedham, Mass. “These men were the backbone of our country,” he said with feeling. “Their commitment to our nation, their views about religion and life shaped my philosophy.” Let his enemies do their best to make a radical out of that!</p>
<p>Kennedy then spoke glowingly of Gould’s experience and fairness, noting that Gould had in fact decided a slight majority of his 200 arbitration cases in favor of management.</p>
<p>Soon, as Gould listened, Kennedy and Orrin Hatch began to banter. The overweight, florid liberal and the sleek, chisel-featured Utah conservative were displaying their chumminess for the benefit of the crowded committee room. “By the way, I saw your sister this morning, Sen. Kennedy,” said Hatch, “and Eunice told me to blister both of us because we didn’t ask anything about persons with disabilities when Mrs. Clinton was up here the other day.”</p>
<p>When Hatch’s questions came they were smart, knowledgeable, lawyerly. In subtle ways they cut into knotty and contentious issues, forcing Gould onto the record in ways that might later prove useful to his opponents. Gould felt that Hatch was trying to impress him, to show the Stanford professor he wasn’t the only brain in the room.</p>
<p>Hatch clearly understood that the successful application of Gould’s power on the NLRB would lie in the subtleties Gould had mastered. Was access granted to a union on company property adequate? Were a union’s actions reasonable? Was a management tactic intimidating? On such fine points would enormous money and power depend.</p>
<p>Hatch demanded Gould assure him he would not try to remake the law but rather enforce it as written. Of course, Gould answered that he would stick to the letter of the law. But both men understood that the NLRB was a policy-making body that shifted with each change of administration.</p>
<p>One of union labor’s most effective enemies during the Reagan-Bush years, Hatch viewed the NLRB as his fiefdom. Indeed, James Stephens, the man Gould was nominated to succeed as chairman, was a former Hatch aide.</p>
<p>“I don’t want you to run wild over there,” Hatch barked.</p>
<p>But when Hatch wasn’t bullying, or showing off how much he knew, he struck Gould as unctuous and ingratiating. “I have no doubt you are a wonderful law school professor and a wonderful human being,” he told Gould. “And I think we are going to be friends regardless of what happens here. I’m certainly going to be your friend.”</p>
<p>The hearing ended before lunch, and Kennedy was the first senator to shake Gould’s hand. Inclining his leonine head toward Hatch, Kennedy told Gould: “He never laid a glove on you.”</p>
<p>Hatch’s hand was also outstretched. “Welcome to the board,” he said, although Gould’s confirmation was by no means certain. He then totally bemused the nominee by asking for an autograph. Gould allowed himself the thought that the worst was over.</p>
<p>It was not.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Orlando, Fla./Palo Alto/Washington; October-November 1993: On Oct. 20, the Labor Committee voted along party lines to confirm Gould 10 votes to 5, with two Republicans who had indicated support for Gould abstaining. But as both sides prepared for Gould’s confirmation vote before the full Senate, the disinformation campaign picked up steam.</p>
<p>On Oct. 31, Charley Reese, a columnist for the Orlando Sentinel, wrote about Mark R. Disler, the Republican staff director for the Senate Judiciary Committee. An aide to Orrin Hatch, Disler had sent conservative columnists (including Reese) a thick packet of negative material about a Florida judge named Rosemary Barkett whom President Clinton had nominated to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. Disler urged the journalists to use the material without saying where they’d gotten it.</p>
<p>“I don’t grant anonymity to cheap-shot artists,” Reese wrote, describing the material as “poisonous,” “lies,” and “a disinformation campaign.”</p>
<p>Gould was riveted when he read of the Disler/Barkett/Reese incident. But what knocked his socks off was that in the same week columnist Paul Craig Roberts had written a piece in the ultraconservative Washington Times, linking Gould’s nomination to that of a judge he’d never heard of before, a judge named Rosemary Barkett. It was impossible to believe that this was merely a coincidence–what Roberts wrote about Judge Barkett seemed to have come directly from Mark Disler’s packet.</p>
<p>“[Judge Barkett] believes that blacks who receive the death penalty do so because of their race and not their crimes,” Roberts wrote. “In Gould’s view, employers are aversive union busters and simply cannot bargain fairly.”</p>
<p>For the first time, Gould knew the name of one of his invisible enemies: Mark Disler. As Charley Reese had written, “If you see some other pundit pontificating about Justice Barkett . . . you’ll know the source–Little Mr. Leaker on the minority staff of the Judiciary Committee.”</p>
<p>Although Hatch told the New York Times that he believed the material Disler had sent out about Judge Barkett was true, he said he had been completely unaware his senior aide was doing such a thing. Hatch also said he had disciplined Disler, but would not say how.</p>
<p>Disler describes himself as a lifelong conservative with an ambition to shape public policy, especially in the area of civil rights. While Disler spearheaded opposition to Barkett, another Hatch aide, Sharon Prost, was working against Gould from an office a few feet away. Neither would talk on the record. After a number of inquiries, Hatch’s press secretary Paul Smith said, “Mark Disler had no involvement in the Gould matter, and he made no representation to anyone about Mr. Gould. Any allegation to the contrary is a complete and malicious fabrication.”</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Paul Craig Roberts’ linkage of a California labor lawyer and a Florida judge who were strangers to each other was finding its way into the mainstream press. The Los Angeles Times reprinted it, and within a few days the idea appeared in the Evening Standard, a British tabloid.</p>
<p>When asked, Roberts said he could not remember the source of his inspiration to link Barkett and Gould, did not have the time to check back, and was not willing to meet to discuss it. “I’m not personally concerned with their fate,” he said. “Did they both make it?”</p>
<p>Paul Craig Roberts had been an assistant secretary of the Treasury under Ronald Reagan. Before that, however, he’d been an economic aide to Sen. Orrin Hatch.</p>
<p />
<p>It was becoming clearer to Gould exactly who was behind the effort to sabotage his nomination. James Stephens, the ex-Hatch aide chairing the NLRB pending Gould’s confirmation, called Gould frequently, and Gould was becoming suspicious about what he was up to also.</p>
<p>“All these people have had their way, and they want to continue,” Gould said. “Also, the idea of having somebody who is black and who knows his subject is very disturbing. The thing with Judge Barkett was an obvious attempt to pull me as a black nominee into the area of racially inflammatory controversy. I imagine their attack on her was packed with lies also.”</p>
<p>Of course, lies were a subject Gould was learning all about. An FBI agent interviewed him for 30 minutes soon after his return to Palo Alto, questioning him aggressively about his alleged bribe taking.</p>
<p>Afterward what stuck in his mind was her asking: “Why would somebody say something like this about you?” He felt the implication was there must be something to it.</p>
<p>“I must have enemies,” he said drily.</p>
<p />
<p>The Republicans on the Labor Committee, led by ranking minority member Nancy Kassebaum, now took Gould political hostage. “Several Republican members of the committee indicated they would withhold their support for Professor Gould’s nomination,” Kassebaum wrote in a private letter to President Clinton in late October, “at least until you send Congress a complete package of nominees for the remaining open positions on the board.”</p>
<p>If the 42 Senate Republicans were willing to filibuster until the White House gave them what they wanted, the 58 Democratic votes were two fewer than were needed to invoke cloture. The Republicans had the upper hand because they were unified and organized–and not for the first time.</p>
<p>“It’s the same old strategy of gridlock,” said Sen. Paul Wellstone, a Labor Committee Democrat who had befriended Gould. “It happens all the time. The last two years there’ve been 60 or 70 filibusters.”</p>
<p>The NLRB retains two of its five seats for members of the party not in the White House. In exchange for confirming Gould, the Senate Republicans wanted to force Clinton to name a Republican of their choice to one of the board’s vacant seats. NLRB decisions are sometimes appealed to the federal appeals court, and the Republicans wanted to choose a minority party board member who would build an appeals record. If Clinton did not go along, Gould could dangle forever. The Kassebaum letter was a line in the sand.</p>
<p>Two weeks went by before the president kicked the sand in her face. “It is critical at this juncture that the board remains functioning,” Clinton wrote back, adding that he would be able to turn his attention to the remaining positions only after Gould was confirmed.</p>
<p>At first Gould was thrilled. The president stood by me, he thought. But he watched with dismay as the White House failed to back up the strong words by rounding up the votes it needed in the Senate. Meanwhile, the Republicans were closing ranks.</p>
<p>“Sen. Kassebaum plays her role,” said a Republican aide. “She theoretically is representing all Republicans. We consulted with other members, including Sen. Dole in his leadership role.”</p>
<p>Kassebaum insists that it was not her intention to defeat Gould, only to hold him up until the White House was willing to deal. As Jeffrey McGuiness at the Labor Policy Association put it, “All during the Reagan-Bush years labor was blocking our candidates, and we figured, well, turnabout is fair play.”</p>
<p>Gould didn’t buy that, but he was almost as angry at the ineptitude and lack of courage in the White House as he was at the Republican opposition. “The White House didn’t believe they had the votes,” he said. “Of course, they never tried to get the votes.”</p>
<p>But for the White House the issue was bigger than Bill Gould, said an administration insider. The Democratic Party, out of power for 12 years, was trying to decide how it should pick the required Republicans for the statutory commissions. “The issue was–don’t give this away! It was the prerogative of office . . . the president owns the nominations.”</p>
<p>The Republicans were putting forward two choices acceptable to them: Chuck Cohen was a Washington management attorney who very much wanted the job; Mary Harrington, a lawyer with Eastman Kodak Co., was strongly supported by Sen. Dole.</p>
<p>On Nov. 26, Congress adjourned until 1994.</p>
<p />
<p>Hilton Head, S.C.; New Year’s: During Renaissance Weekend, the annual retreat where last year select invitees rubbed elbows with the First Couple, Jack Sheinkman, president of the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union and a supporter of Gould’s, appealed to the president to try harder to confirm Gould.</p>
<p>Sheinkman later told Gould that he suggested to Clinton that Gould’s nomination could mend fences after much of labor had been alienated by the president’s backing NAFTA. “We need somebody with an impartial view,” Sheinkman said. “Bill Gould is not an in-the-trenches labor guy. But he is a person of integrity who thinks the board should fulfill the requirements of the act.”</p>
<p>The president had been attentive; he had even taken notes.</p>
<p>“Here’s a place you can have an effect right away,” Sheinkman told him. For years the unions had been trying unsuccessfully to get Congress to reform the labor laws. A Gould-run Democratic board was a way around a bruising and probably unwinnable fight in Congress.</p>
<p>Clinton assigned his staff secretary, John Podesta, who was also the White House point man on the Whitewater mess, to ferry Gould safely through the Senate. It promised a high level of attention. At last.</p>
<p />
<p>Palo Alto; March 2, 1994: Depending on whose version you accept, either continued dithering by the White House, or infighting among employer groups, or vetoes by the AFL of Republican possibilities, or more Republican obstructionism held up Gould’s Senate confirmation vote until the first Wednesday in March.</p>
<p>Gould had essentially lived on the phone for three months. He dialed Washington so often, trying to squeeze information out of a stony capital, that his monthly bill had topped $1,200.</p>
<p>With a deal concerning the open seats on the NLRB in the works at last, there had been a dying twitch from the disinformation campaign. In January Gould had heard on the grapevine that some Republicans were saying he’d threatened to withdraw unless he was confirmed by the end of the month.</p>
<p>Here it was March, and the chairman-designate was pinballing from place to place in his old red Honda. “You might say he’s frantic,” said his secretary at Stanford, Kathleen Schneider. “He’s got me calling all these people in the White House to see if I can get more precise information about what time the Senate will be voting.”</p>
<p>Kennedy, who would be floor-managing, had assured Gould the votes were there. As the debate in the Senate began, Gould sat watching C-SPAN in his study with his wife Hilda. His expression was part awe and part anxiety as senators rose one after another to praise or fault him.</p>
<p>The praise was fulsome. Sen. Howard Metzenbaum, D-Ohio, for instance, said, “Professor Gould stands out as the most qualified nominee in the long history of the NLRB.”</p>
<p>Hilda Gould turned to her husband, the father of their three grown sons. “You’re not enjoying this, Bill, are you?” she asked.</p>
<p>Kassebaum’s pointed remarks were not nearly so enjoyable. “The NLRB is not and should not become a forum for radical labor law reform,” she said. “I do not believe any of us want to return to a period of . . . disruption and uncertainty.”</p>
<p>Gould was uncharacteristically quiet. But the law professor in him surfaced when Kassebaum said, “An arbitrator takes a very narrow issue and usually, in many ways, splits it in half.”</p>
<p>“Somebody should call her on that,” Gould said, and dialed Washington. “Listen, an arbitrator generally does not split the difference,” he told a liaison man. “In most cases he decides for one side or the other.”</p>
<p>Five minutes later, Gould watched as Kennedy was slipped a note. Gaining the floor, Kennedy began a long-winded correction that never did make Gould’s point. The transcontinental message had come out garbled at the other end, just as it does in the children’s game of pass-it-on.</p>
<p>“He screwed that up,” Gould sighed. (Luckily for senators, they can unscrew-up; a proper explanation of an arbitrator’s role has been inserted in the Congressional Record, just as if Kennedy had said it.)</p>
<p>About 1 p.m. the voting began, continuing for 50 excruciating minutes as classical music played on C-SPAN. Fina</p>
<p /> | The Prey | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/1994/07/prey/ | 2018-07-01 | 4left
| The Prey
<p />
<p>Palo Alto, Calif.; Sept. 28, 1993: The telephone rang in his quiet Stanford University home just as Bill Gould stepped out of the shower. The professor of labor law felt the alarm that early-morning calls bring, the stab of fear that something may be wrong with someone you love.</p>
<p>His alarm was replaced by mild annoyance, though, when the caller turned out to be Mark Childress, who was not Gould’s favorite person. Childress was counsel for the U.S. Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee. Gould was to appear before the committee in three days to begin hearings as President Clinton’s nominee to head the National Labor Relations Board.</p>
<p>Childress worked for Sen. Edward Kennedy, who as Labor Committee chairman was to guide Gould through the confirmation process. Gould found Childress, like most of the people working for Kennedy, to be “very cocky and a pain in the ass.” Just like him to act oblivious to the time difference between D.C. and California.</p>
<p>“Are you sitting down?” Childress began.</p>
<p>So Gould’s alarm had not been misplaced. The sweet summer that might have been had soured into an unexpected education in attack politics. “What is it?” he asked.</p>
<p>“I have to ask you,” said Childress. “Do you gamble?”</p>
<p />
<p>In August 1993 President Clinton had nominated William Benjamin Gould IV, the great-grandson of a slave, to become chairman of the National Labor Relations Board, the body that enforces the nation’s labor law.</p>
<p>Gould’s nomination was quickly targeted by conservative Republican senators, business lobbies, and right-wing journalists, a coalition that had effectively blocked other controversial Clinton nominees. They had, for instance, knocked off Lani Guinier and obstructed the president’s ability to implement policy changes at agencies such as the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission by prolonging the hold of lame-duck Bush and Reagan appointees.</p>
<p>For 12 years the NLRB, which is supposed to enforce the laws governing what unions and management may and may not do, had been, in Gould’s view, paralyzed by political design. The Republicans had so slowed down grievance procedures that by the time wronged workers received legal relief, or fired union organizers were reinstated, their causes had been lost.</p>
<p>In his recent book, “Agenda for Reform,” Gould had argued that “the law is not working” and laid out what needed to be done to fix it. He wanted to speed up certification and grievance procedures. He supported legislation banning the permanent replacement of striking workers, provided the union had tried to resolve the dispute through third-party intervention.</p>
<p>When Clinton tapped him, Gould felt that his moment had arrived, that his entire professional life had been preparation to chair the NLRB. As a labor lawyer, management lawyer, scholar, and arbitrator of more than 200 labor disputes, Gould believed his strengths had been his simple adherence to principle, the law, and straight dealing.</p>
<p>The law had always been Gould’s chosen machinery of change. Although his father had lost jobs as an engineer because he was black, Gould had not participated in the civil rights movement. “Oh, God,” he said, when asked about that time in his life, “I never really had an activist ’60s. I kind of missed out. I already had my profession, little kids, a lot of stability built-in. I feel I’m more of a ’50s product, so staid, buttoned-down, and conservative.”</p>
<p>In the early 1960s, however, he’d represented some black workers in an employment discrimination suit against Detroit Edison and won a $5.35 million judgment, the biggest of its kind on record at the time. He made no secret of his race, but his toffee skin resulted in some white people knowing him for a long time before they realized he was of African descent.</p>
<p>Though he did not subscribe to the view held by some experts that the NLRB had played a decisive role in the decline of unionism in America, Gould’s fundamental belief was that the National Labor Relations Act correctly identified collective bargaining as necessary and desirable. Whatever other reasons existed for the dizzying decline in union membership and power, “workers, union officials, and business people [ought to] know that they will be treated with respect, civility, and fairness.”</p>
<p>The Labor Policy Association, an organization of human resources vice presidents that does research for major corporations, said his views were “nowhere close . . . to the mainstream.” The AFL/CIO called him “a great choice.”</p>
<p>The Republican Party decided that Gould would be too large a risk. “You write a book taking a high-profile position on changing labor law, there’s going to be a response,” said Jeffrey McGuiness, president of the Labor Policy Association. “There’s tremendous real-world consequences to these ideas. Millions of dollars rest on whether the board goes this way or that.”</p>
<p>Or, as Senate Minority Leader Robert Dole of Kansas put it, “This is where the important policy battles are fought.”</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>The nominee, clad only in a bath towel, now listened to Mark Childress tell him that “the Republican side” had passed on a disturbing report.</p>
<p>Childress said that word was circulating that Gould had run up disastrous gambling debts and was being bribed to throw arbitration cases in order to pay off what he owed.</p>
<p>Gould was alarmed. He had always had a sense that the world was full of desperate and jealous people who did not wish him well. Gould did not lack for ego, and like many proud and accomplished men he was also demanding, at times prickly and thin-skinned.</p>
<p>Now, after a lifetime of probity and moderation–he once described baseball, the Democratic Party, the Episcopal church, the Modern Jazz Quartet, and the NAACP as “life’s eternal verities”–Gould was being smeared, because someone regarded his honest views as too radical.</p>
<p>Gould had never gambled, didn’t even play in the faculty poker game. But he could see clearly enough the basis for the smear: He was a very public Boston Red Sox fan and had recently gotten the kick of a lifetime arbitrating some baseball salary disputes. While he had never bet on games, if you didn’t know him–as whoever was spreading this rumor clearly did not–you wouldn’t know that.</p>
<p>What was most disturbing, really, was that even though the accusation was a complete fabrication, it could still wound him politically. Washington is a city where perception can become tantamount to reality.</p>
<p>Gould’s instinct was to fight back. So he asked Childress who was saying these things about him.</p>
<p>But Childress wouldn’t tell him. And although Gould had already received a standard FBI clearance, Childress explained that an agent would be coming to California to reinterview him.</p>
<p>The Republicans in the Senate have made no secret of their strategy and tactics. Under the leadership of Sen. Dole, they target those presidential appointees whom they find most ideologically indigestible, threaten to filibuster, and force the White House to expend energy and political capital getting confirmations.</p>
<p>The Republicans’ aims are twofold. First, they hope to make the president back off candidates he knows they will target. Second, they tie up the regulatory agencies, especially in the areas of civil rights and labor law enforcement.</p>
<p>“It’s a strategy of gridlock,” Gould said. “Dole has attempted to dictate to the president the composition of the regulatory agencies. They don’t have the votes to reject somebody like myself, but they do have the votes to keep us in limbo.”</p>
<p>The network that went to work on Gould was the same one that had defined Lani Guinier as the “quota queen” and derailed her nomination. It begins with Republican Senate staffers deeply opposed to a nominee’s ideas. Conservative columnists with ties to their ideological brethren in the Senate run smear stories. Sometimes right-wing radio broadcasters pick up the seed of the story and plant it deep in the grass roots. And the stories, originating in the capital, begin to slither back into town as outraged public opinion.</p>
<p>Similar tactics were used against Attorney General Janet Reno during her confirmation, when an aide to a Republican senator and a former lobbyist for the National Rifle Association helped spread rumors that Reno had a drinking problem, something she flatly denied.</p>
<p>And they were also tried against Dr. Joycelyn Elders, Clinton’s controversial surgeon general. “We had problems raised about Dr. Elders,” said Republican Sen. Nancy Kassebaum of Kansas, who enjoys a reputation for decency among Democrats. “Kennedy and I tried to handle it before it gained a head of steam.”</p>
<p>“There’s a bunch of very conservative Senate staffers working conspiracies against liberals,” says an administration insider. “We had this on lots of nominees.” He mentioned Reed Hunt, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, as a target of “unfounded attacks.” “Like it or not, it’s what our system is all about. This city has its way of doing business.”</p>
<p />
<p>Washington, D.C./Palo Alto; Summer 1993: The signs had been there from the beginning that the White House was going to botch Gould’s nomination. It had been so offhand when he’d been invited to Washington in May. A woman named Cynthia Metzler in the White House personnel office chatted with him and then said that everything seemed fine and they’d like him to do the job.</p>
<p>Then she whisked him to the granite-slab Labor Department building named for FDR’s Labor Secretary, Frances Perkins. Perkins was one of Gould’s heroes: In his cluttered faculty office at Stanford, Gould had mementos of the 1986 Red Sox, Nelson Mandela, Larry Bird, and Frances Perkins. The first female cabinet member, Perkins once said: “I came to Washington to work for God, FDR, and the millions of forgotten, plain common workingmen.”</p>
<p>Many years earlier, Gould had worked at the NLRB as a lowly staff attorney. At 57, he was returning to take over.</p>
<p>Gould had a brief meeting with Labor Secretary Robert Reich, which seemed to go well. The clear assumption was that the job was his. Gould went home to Palo Alto bursting with plans and ideas. And everybody in Washington promptly forgot all about him.</p>
<p />
<p>At that moment the North American Free Trade Agreement had the full attention of all the labor politics players, from Gould’s friends in the AFL to his opponents in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers. “They were totally preoccupied with NAFTA,” Gould said. “I was not on their radar screen.”</p>
<p>The NLRB was limping along with only three of its five seats filled, two by Republicans. James M. Stephens, appointed by that well-known friend of labor Ronald Reagan, was staying on as chairman pending Gould’s confirmation by the Labor Committee and then the full Senate. The Clinton administration had not yet come up with nominations for the vacant seats.</p>
<p>Clinton’s neglect opened the barn door, and the Senate Republicans were only too glad to let the horse out. “They were very late getting [Gould’s] papers up here,” said Sen. Nancy Kassebaum, the ranking minority member on the Labor Committee. “We can’t do anything until the papers get here.”</p>
<p>Gould had dutifully submitted all the required professional, personal, and financial documentation in June. When White House Counsel Vincent Foster committed suicide on July 20, writing in the note he left behind that, “Here, ruining people is considered sport,” Gould’s papers were being vetted in his office.</p>
<p>“In late July and early August,” Gould said, “there was tremendous confusion about where those papers were. Cynthia Metzler told me there was difficulty finding them because everybody was focused on Foster’s suicide.”</p>
<p>Usually a ceaseless, driven worker, Gould spent much of the summer too distracted to concentrate on the books he was writing about baseball and about his great-grandfather. He wandered between his office, where he called Washington in search of news, and his home, where his nervousness distracted his British wife, Hilda, a science editor.</p>
<p>In May the White House had told him he would be confirmed by the end of July, so he wasn’t slated to teach in September. And he had purchased a condo in Washington that was costing plenty.</p>
<p>His enemies, both visible and hidden, had all the time they needed. “We were surprised they’d hang out an extremely controversial candidate for so long,” said Jeffrey McGuiness of the Labor Policy Association. “We spent a leisurely summer reading all his articles and books and preparing ourselves.” In the end they distributed a thick memorandum citing chapter and verse Gould’s sinful views.</p>
<p>The far-right National Right to Work Committee began to crank out direct mailings to its 1.8 million members, describing Gould’s scholarly book, “Agenda for Reform,” as “a battle cry–institutional unionism’s ‘Mein Kampf.'” They also sent out Actiongrams warning, “Clinton has gone beyond pandering to Big Labor, he’s now groveling for union boss approval.” The mailings included pre-written postcards to be sent to Congress.</p>
<p>Finally, on Aug. 5, with the capital emptying and the heat oppressive, Gould’s formal nomination was sent up to the Hill.</p>
<p />
<p>Not long after, Gould got the first hint of what was to come. Kennedy’s man, Childress, called to tell him that certain Republicans were saying Gould was working closely with the Communist Party during his numerous trips to South Africa, and that he was slipping unnoticed into Cuba, too.</p>
<p>Gould had never been to Cuba. As for his trips to South Africa, Gould had a long-standing scholarly interest in labor movements as agents of change. (He had also written about Solidarity in Poland.) On one trip to South Africa he had met Joe Slovo, the head of its Communist Party. So what?</p>
<p>Childress seemed to laugh the whole thing off, too. This was the message that Gould consistently received from allies in the Senate and elsewhere: Don’t take this stuff too seriously; it’s just the way business is done here.</p>
<p>It only got worse. A month later, the accusation of gambling and taking bribes was floated three days prior to his Oct. 1 hearing before the Senate Labor Committee, the first hurdle in the confirmation process.</p>
<p>Gould wanted it known how the Republicans and their allies in business were playing fast and reckless not just with the truth and his good name but with the democratic process itself. He was thwarted, though, by Childress, who refused to tell Gould which Republicans had spawned the rumors that he was a communist or a gambler on the take.</p>
<p>“He wouldn’t even tell me why he wouldn’t tell me,” Gould said. “Some sort of confidentiality, professional courtesy.”</p>
<p>What Childress did say was: “Don’t tell anybody, don’t mention it. We don’t want this to get out.”</p>
<p>Flying to Washington, Gould reflected on how no disgrace had ever soiled the name of William Benjamin Gould through four generations: how his great-grandfather had escaped slavery to fight with the Union Navy; how his late father, whom he regarded as wise and saintly, had lost jobs because he was black. Gould felt strong enough to deal with those who opposed him because of his views. But these invisible enemies, telling lies about him, scared him and made him fighting mad.</p>
<p>Bill Gould decided that whether or not he defeated the smear campaign, he wanted the whole story of his confirmation told. People deserved to know what a nominee has to endure to serve his country.</p>
<p>Room 430, Dirksen Senate Office Building; Oct. 1, 1993: Kennedy called the hearing to order moments after 10 a.m. Gould had not slept all night, prepping for his confirmation. Though at some level he was exhausted, he was also hyperalert as he took his place. He was confident that nobody knew the material better than he.</p>
<p>As the stirring subsided, Gould’s attention settled on one after another of the bright young aides situated around their senators like constellations. He felt certain that his hidden enemies were here in this room. No matter, the committee would learn who he was.</p>
<p>By the time the hearing ended Gould would learn something, too. Among all his enemies Orrin Hatch of Utah was “the most dangerous.”</p>
<p>In his opening remarks, Gould described how his grandfather and his five great-uncles had, like their father, all served in the U.S. military; how his family had founded the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Dedham, Mass. “These men were the backbone of our country,” he said with feeling. “Their commitment to our nation, their views about religion and life shaped my philosophy.” Let his enemies do their best to make a radical out of that!</p>
<p>Kennedy then spoke glowingly of Gould’s experience and fairness, noting that Gould had in fact decided a slight majority of his 200 arbitration cases in favor of management.</p>
<p>Soon, as Gould listened, Kennedy and Orrin Hatch began to banter. The overweight, florid liberal and the sleek, chisel-featured Utah conservative were displaying their chumminess for the benefit of the crowded committee room. “By the way, I saw your sister this morning, Sen. Kennedy,” said Hatch, “and Eunice told me to blister both of us because we didn’t ask anything about persons with disabilities when Mrs. Clinton was up here the other day.”</p>
<p>When Hatch’s questions came they were smart, knowledgeable, lawyerly. In subtle ways they cut into knotty and contentious issues, forcing Gould onto the record in ways that might later prove useful to his opponents. Gould felt that Hatch was trying to impress him, to show the Stanford professor he wasn’t the only brain in the room.</p>
<p>Hatch clearly understood that the successful application of Gould’s power on the NLRB would lie in the subtleties Gould had mastered. Was access granted to a union on company property adequate? Were a union’s actions reasonable? Was a management tactic intimidating? On such fine points would enormous money and power depend.</p>
<p>Hatch demanded Gould assure him he would not try to remake the law but rather enforce it as written. Of course, Gould answered that he would stick to the letter of the law. But both men understood that the NLRB was a policy-making body that shifted with each change of administration.</p>
<p>One of union labor’s most effective enemies during the Reagan-Bush years, Hatch viewed the NLRB as his fiefdom. Indeed, James Stephens, the man Gould was nominated to succeed as chairman, was a former Hatch aide.</p>
<p>“I don’t want you to run wild over there,” Hatch barked.</p>
<p>But when Hatch wasn’t bullying, or showing off how much he knew, he struck Gould as unctuous and ingratiating. “I have no doubt you are a wonderful law school professor and a wonderful human being,” he told Gould. “And I think we are going to be friends regardless of what happens here. I’m certainly going to be your friend.”</p>
<p>The hearing ended before lunch, and Kennedy was the first senator to shake Gould’s hand. Inclining his leonine head toward Hatch, Kennedy told Gould: “He never laid a glove on you.”</p>
<p>Hatch’s hand was also outstretched. “Welcome to the board,” he said, although Gould’s confirmation was by no means certain. He then totally bemused the nominee by asking for an autograph. Gould allowed himself the thought that the worst was over.</p>
<p>It was not.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Orlando, Fla./Palo Alto/Washington; October-November 1993: On Oct. 20, the Labor Committee voted along party lines to confirm Gould 10 votes to 5, with two Republicans who had indicated support for Gould abstaining. But as both sides prepared for Gould’s confirmation vote before the full Senate, the disinformation campaign picked up steam.</p>
<p>On Oct. 31, Charley Reese, a columnist for the Orlando Sentinel, wrote about Mark R. Disler, the Republican staff director for the Senate Judiciary Committee. An aide to Orrin Hatch, Disler had sent conservative columnists (including Reese) a thick packet of negative material about a Florida judge named Rosemary Barkett whom President Clinton had nominated to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. Disler urged the journalists to use the material without saying where they’d gotten it.</p>
<p>“I don’t grant anonymity to cheap-shot artists,” Reese wrote, describing the material as “poisonous,” “lies,” and “a disinformation campaign.”</p>
<p>Gould was riveted when he read of the Disler/Barkett/Reese incident. But what knocked his socks off was that in the same week columnist Paul Craig Roberts had written a piece in the ultraconservative Washington Times, linking Gould’s nomination to that of a judge he’d never heard of before, a judge named Rosemary Barkett. It was impossible to believe that this was merely a coincidence–what Roberts wrote about Judge Barkett seemed to have come directly from Mark Disler’s packet.</p>
<p>“[Judge Barkett] believes that blacks who receive the death penalty do so because of their race and not their crimes,” Roberts wrote. “In Gould’s view, employers are aversive union busters and simply cannot bargain fairly.”</p>
<p>For the first time, Gould knew the name of one of his invisible enemies: Mark Disler. As Charley Reese had written, “If you see some other pundit pontificating about Justice Barkett . . . you’ll know the source–Little Mr. Leaker on the minority staff of the Judiciary Committee.”</p>
<p>Although Hatch told the New York Times that he believed the material Disler had sent out about Judge Barkett was true, he said he had been completely unaware his senior aide was doing such a thing. Hatch also said he had disciplined Disler, but would not say how.</p>
<p>Disler describes himself as a lifelong conservative with an ambition to shape public policy, especially in the area of civil rights. While Disler spearheaded opposition to Barkett, another Hatch aide, Sharon Prost, was working against Gould from an office a few feet away. Neither would talk on the record. After a number of inquiries, Hatch’s press secretary Paul Smith said, “Mark Disler had no involvement in the Gould matter, and he made no representation to anyone about Mr. Gould. Any allegation to the contrary is a complete and malicious fabrication.”</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Paul Craig Roberts’ linkage of a California labor lawyer and a Florida judge who were strangers to each other was finding its way into the mainstream press. The Los Angeles Times reprinted it, and within a few days the idea appeared in the Evening Standard, a British tabloid.</p>
<p>When asked, Roberts said he could not remember the source of his inspiration to link Barkett and Gould, did not have the time to check back, and was not willing to meet to discuss it. “I’m not personally concerned with their fate,” he said. “Did they both make it?”</p>
<p>Paul Craig Roberts had been an assistant secretary of the Treasury under Ronald Reagan. Before that, however, he’d been an economic aide to Sen. Orrin Hatch.</p>
<p />
<p>It was becoming clearer to Gould exactly who was behind the effort to sabotage his nomination. James Stephens, the ex-Hatch aide chairing the NLRB pending Gould’s confirmation, called Gould frequently, and Gould was becoming suspicious about what he was up to also.</p>
<p>“All these people have had their way, and they want to continue,” Gould said. “Also, the idea of having somebody who is black and who knows his subject is very disturbing. The thing with Judge Barkett was an obvious attempt to pull me as a black nominee into the area of racially inflammatory controversy. I imagine their attack on her was packed with lies also.”</p>
<p>Of course, lies were a subject Gould was learning all about. An FBI agent interviewed him for 30 minutes soon after his return to Palo Alto, questioning him aggressively about his alleged bribe taking.</p>
<p>Afterward what stuck in his mind was her asking: “Why would somebody say something like this about you?” He felt the implication was there must be something to it.</p>
<p>“I must have enemies,” he said drily.</p>
<p />
<p>The Republicans on the Labor Committee, led by ranking minority member Nancy Kassebaum, now took Gould political hostage. “Several Republican members of the committee indicated they would withhold their support for Professor Gould’s nomination,” Kassebaum wrote in a private letter to President Clinton in late October, “at least until you send Congress a complete package of nominees for the remaining open positions on the board.”</p>
<p>If the 42 Senate Republicans were willing to filibuster until the White House gave them what they wanted, the 58 Democratic votes were two fewer than were needed to invoke cloture. The Republicans had the upper hand because they were unified and organized–and not for the first time.</p>
<p>“It’s the same old strategy of gridlock,” said Sen. Paul Wellstone, a Labor Committee Democrat who had befriended Gould. “It happens all the time. The last two years there’ve been 60 or 70 filibusters.”</p>
<p>The NLRB retains two of its five seats for members of the party not in the White House. In exchange for confirming Gould, the Senate Republicans wanted to force Clinton to name a Republican of their choice to one of the board’s vacant seats. NLRB decisions are sometimes appealed to the federal appeals court, and the Republicans wanted to choose a minority party board member who would build an appeals record. If Clinton did not go along, Gould could dangle forever. The Kassebaum letter was a line in the sand.</p>
<p>Two weeks went by before the president kicked the sand in her face. “It is critical at this juncture that the board remains functioning,” Clinton wrote back, adding that he would be able to turn his attention to the remaining positions only after Gould was confirmed.</p>
<p>At first Gould was thrilled. The president stood by me, he thought. But he watched with dismay as the White House failed to back up the strong words by rounding up the votes it needed in the Senate. Meanwhile, the Republicans were closing ranks.</p>
<p>“Sen. Kassebaum plays her role,” said a Republican aide. “She theoretically is representing all Republicans. We consulted with other members, including Sen. Dole in his leadership role.”</p>
<p>Kassebaum insists that it was not her intention to defeat Gould, only to hold him up until the White House was willing to deal. As Jeffrey McGuiness at the Labor Policy Association put it, “All during the Reagan-Bush years labor was blocking our candidates, and we figured, well, turnabout is fair play.”</p>
<p>Gould didn’t buy that, but he was almost as angry at the ineptitude and lack of courage in the White House as he was at the Republican opposition. “The White House didn’t believe they had the votes,” he said. “Of course, they never tried to get the votes.”</p>
<p>But for the White House the issue was bigger than Bill Gould, said an administration insider. The Democratic Party, out of power for 12 years, was trying to decide how it should pick the required Republicans for the statutory commissions. “The issue was–don’t give this away! It was the prerogative of office . . . the president owns the nominations.”</p>
<p>The Republicans were putting forward two choices acceptable to them: Chuck Cohen was a Washington management attorney who very much wanted the job; Mary Harrington, a lawyer with Eastman Kodak Co., was strongly supported by Sen. Dole.</p>
<p>On Nov. 26, Congress adjourned until 1994.</p>
<p />
<p>Hilton Head, S.C.; New Year’s: During Renaissance Weekend, the annual retreat where last year select invitees rubbed elbows with the First Couple, Jack Sheinkman, president of the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union and a supporter of Gould’s, appealed to the president to try harder to confirm Gould.</p>
<p>Sheinkman later told Gould that he suggested to Clinton that Gould’s nomination could mend fences after much of labor had been alienated by the president’s backing NAFTA. “We need somebody with an impartial view,” Sheinkman said. “Bill Gould is not an in-the-trenches labor guy. But he is a person of integrity who thinks the board should fulfill the requirements of the act.”</p>
<p>The president had been attentive; he had even taken notes.</p>
<p>“Here’s a place you can have an effect right away,” Sheinkman told him. For years the unions had been trying unsuccessfully to get Congress to reform the labor laws. A Gould-run Democratic board was a way around a bruising and probably unwinnable fight in Congress.</p>
<p>Clinton assigned his staff secretary, John Podesta, who was also the White House point man on the Whitewater mess, to ferry Gould safely through the Senate. It promised a high level of attention. At last.</p>
<p />
<p>Palo Alto; March 2, 1994: Depending on whose version you accept, either continued dithering by the White House, or infighting among employer groups, or vetoes by the AFL of Republican possibilities, or more Republican obstructionism held up Gould’s Senate confirmation vote until the first Wednesday in March.</p>
<p>Gould had essentially lived on the phone for three months. He dialed Washington so often, trying to squeeze information out of a stony capital, that his monthly bill had topped $1,200.</p>
<p>With a deal concerning the open seats on the NLRB in the works at last, there had been a dying twitch from the disinformation campaign. In January Gould had heard on the grapevine that some Republicans were saying he’d threatened to withdraw unless he was confirmed by the end of the month.</p>
<p>Here it was March, and the chairman-designate was pinballing from place to place in his old red Honda. “You might say he’s frantic,” said his secretary at Stanford, Kathleen Schneider. “He’s got me calling all these people in the White House to see if I can get more precise information about what time the Senate will be voting.”</p>
<p>Kennedy, who would be floor-managing, had assured Gould the votes were there. As the debate in the Senate began, Gould sat watching C-SPAN in his study with his wife Hilda. His expression was part awe and part anxiety as senators rose one after another to praise or fault him.</p>
<p>The praise was fulsome. Sen. Howard Metzenbaum, D-Ohio, for instance, said, “Professor Gould stands out as the most qualified nominee in the long history of the NLRB.”</p>
<p>Hilda Gould turned to her husband, the father of their three grown sons. “You’re not enjoying this, Bill, are you?” she asked.</p>
<p>Kassebaum’s pointed remarks were not nearly so enjoyable. “The NLRB is not and should not become a forum for radical labor law reform,” she said. “I do not believe any of us want to return to a period of . . . disruption and uncertainty.”</p>
<p>Gould was uncharacteristically quiet. But the law professor in him surfaced when Kassebaum said, “An arbitrator takes a very narrow issue and usually, in many ways, splits it in half.”</p>
<p>“Somebody should call her on that,” Gould said, and dialed Washington. “Listen, an arbitrator generally does not split the difference,” he told a liaison man. “In most cases he decides for one side or the other.”</p>
<p>Five minutes later, Gould watched as Kennedy was slipped a note. Gaining the floor, Kennedy began a long-winded correction that never did make Gould’s point. The transcontinental message had come out garbled at the other end, just as it does in the children’s game of pass-it-on.</p>
<p>“He screwed that up,” Gould sighed. (Luckily for senators, they can unscrew-up; a proper explanation of an arbitrator’s role has been inserted in the Congressional Record, just as if Kennedy had said it.)</p>
<p>About 1 p.m. the voting began, continuing for 50 excruciating minutes as classical music played on C-SPAN. Fina</p>
<p /> | 4,585 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>The company, however, did not confirm or deny a report by South Korea’s Yonhap news agency earlier Monday that it has suspended production of the phones.</p>
<p>In a statement and in a regulatory filing, Samsung Electronics said it is “temporarily” adjusting the Galaxy Note 7 production schedule and production volume to “ensure quality and safety matters.” The company added that it will issue an update when more details are available.</p>
<p>Before the reports of a production suspension emerged, U.S. phone retailers AT&amp;T and T-Mobile had already opted to stop giving new Note 7 replacement smartphones to consumers.</p>
<p>Samsung and U.S. authorities are investigating multiple reports of new Note 7 replacement smartphones catching fire, including a Samsung phone that emitted smoke and forced a Southwest Airlines flight in Kentucky to evacuate passengers. The Consumer Product Safety Commission is investigating the incident.</p>
<p>The production change suggests fresh trouble for Samsung as it awaits the U.S. authorities’ investigation into the replacement phones. It had promised that its new Note 7 devices with a green battery icon were safe.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The reports of replacement phones catching fire raise doubts over whether the battery is the only problem in the fire-prone smartphone as Samsung has said. When it issued a global recall on Sept. 2, Samsung blamed batteries provided by one of its two battery suppliers and assured consumers that other parts of the smartphones were fine.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Youkyung Lee on Twitter at twitter.com/YKLeeAP</p>
<p>Her work can be found at <a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/content/youkyung-lee" type="external">http://bigstory.ap.org/content/youkyung-lee</a></p> | Samsung changes Note 7 output schedule after fire reports | false | https://abqjournal.com/863941/samsung-changes-note-7-output-schedule-after-fire-reports.html | 2016-10-10 | 2least
| Samsung changes Note 7 output schedule after fire reports
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>The company, however, did not confirm or deny a report by South Korea’s Yonhap news agency earlier Monday that it has suspended production of the phones.</p>
<p>In a statement and in a regulatory filing, Samsung Electronics said it is “temporarily” adjusting the Galaxy Note 7 production schedule and production volume to “ensure quality and safety matters.” The company added that it will issue an update when more details are available.</p>
<p>Before the reports of a production suspension emerged, U.S. phone retailers AT&amp;T and T-Mobile had already opted to stop giving new Note 7 replacement smartphones to consumers.</p>
<p>Samsung and U.S. authorities are investigating multiple reports of new Note 7 replacement smartphones catching fire, including a Samsung phone that emitted smoke and forced a Southwest Airlines flight in Kentucky to evacuate passengers. The Consumer Product Safety Commission is investigating the incident.</p>
<p>The production change suggests fresh trouble for Samsung as it awaits the U.S. authorities’ investigation into the replacement phones. It had promised that its new Note 7 devices with a green battery icon were safe.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The reports of replacement phones catching fire raise doubts over whether the battery is the only problem in the fire-prone smartphone as Samsung has said. When it issued a global recall on Sept. 2, Samsung blamed batteries provided by one of its two battery suppliers and assured consumers that other parts of the smartphones were fine.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Youkyung Lee on Twitter at twitter.com/YKLeeAP</p>
<p>Her work can be found at <a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/content/youkyung-lee" type="external">http://bigstory.ap.org/content/youkyung-lee</a></p> | 4,586 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>The Denver Post reports ( <a href="http://goo.gl/xcQIRQ" type="external">http://goo.gl/xcQIRQ</a> ) the warrant for Douglas Bruce was issued Sunday for an April 10 incident outside a courthouse near the Capitol. Bruce is accused of grabbing a cellphone from the hands of Dede Laugesen, executive director of Colorado Springs Government Watch. Bruce was leaving the courthouse following a hearing in which prosecutors said he violated his probation in his 2012 tax evasion conviction.</p>
<p>Laugesen says the former lawmaker grabbed the phone while she was questioning Colorado Springs City Councilwoman Helen Collins, who was in Denver supporting Bruce.</p>
<p>But Bruce says he was just trying to push the phone away as Laugesen was harassing him and Collins.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: The Denver Post, <a href="http://www.denverpost.com" type="external">http://www.denverpost.com</a></p> | Warrant issued for tax activist after courthouse incident | false | https://abqjournal.com/573311/warrant-issued-for-tax-activist-after-courthouse-incident.html | 2least
| Warrant issued for tax activist after courthouse incident
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>The Denver Post reports ( <a href="http://goo.gl/xcQIRQ" type="external">http://goo.gl/xcQIRQ</a> ) the warrant for Douglas Bruce was issued Sunday for an April 10 incident outside a courthouse near the Capitol. Bruce is accused of grabbing a cellphone from the hands of Dede Laugesen, executive director of Colorado Springs Government Watch. Bruce was leaving the courthouse following a hearing in which prosecutors said he violated his probation in his 2012 tax evasion conviction.</p>
<p>Laugesen says the former lawmaker grabbed the phone while she was questioning Colorado Springs City Councilwoman Helen Collins, who was in Denver supporting Bruce.</p>
<p>But Bruce says he was just trying to push the phone away as Laugesen was harassing him and Collins.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: The Denver Post, <a href="http://www.denverpost.com" type="external">http://www.denverpost.com</a></p> | 4,587 |
|
<p>By Bob Allen</p>
<p>Two Australian drug traffickers shot by a firing squad in Indonesia refused blindfolds and <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-04-30/bodies-of-andrew-chan-and-myuran-sukumaran-to-be-returned-in-ne/6432448" type="external">sang</a> “Amazing Grace” as they were taken to a jungle clearing to be executed, according to their spiritual adviser.</p>
<p>Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, members of a drug cartel known as the Bali Nine, died early April 29 along with six other death row prisoners on the Nusakambangan prison island in Central Java.</p>
<p>Indonesia carried out the executions despite intense international pressure and threatened the country’s diplomatic relations with Australia.</p>
<p><a href="http://baysidechurch.com.au/church/senior-ministers/rob-buckingham/" type="external">Rob Buckingham</a>, senior minister of Bayside Church, a non-denominational Pentecostal congregation in the Melbourne suburb of Carrum Downs, told Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Religion and Ethics Report that Sukumaran was particularly adamant about not wanting to be blindfolded.</p>
<p>“He said, ‘I want to look my executioners in the eye,’” the pastor said.</p>
<p>Buckingham described it as a declaration of their faith.</p>
<p>“Andrew’s faith is very well known,” he said. “He’s an ordained pastor. He’s been studying toward that over many years. He’s effectively been leading the church inside Kerobokan Prison now for a number of years.”</p>
<p>“Myu by his nature has been a quieter person, but in more recent times has become very deep in his faith as a Christian,” he continued. “I think for both of them the strength of their faith came shining through. They realized that they have done the wrong thing in the past. They accepted the fact that they were caught and incarcerated. They’ve both completely reformed their own lives and were working very strongly at reforming others.”</p>
<p>Cooperative Baptist Fellowship field personnel Tina and Jonathan Bailey had firsthand knowledge of Sukumaran’s faith through a prison arts program in Indonesia, where they have served since 1996. Baptist News Global’s Jeff Brumley <a href="" type="internal">profiled</a> Tina Bailey’s work with the Bali Nine in February.</p>
<p>Buckingham said all the two men or anyone else was asking was that they be left in prison for the rest of their lives so they could continue their work of helping to reform and rehabilitate other prisoners.</p>
<p>“With that taken away from them,” he said, “it’s like, ‘You guys, you are doing the wrong thing by taking our lives. And we will not give you any satisfaction by showing any level of weakness even in our last moments.’”</p>
<p>Previous story:</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">CBF field personnel laments death sentence for two ‘Bali Nine’ members</a></p> | Indonesia executes Australian members of Bali 9 | false | https://baptistnews.com/article/indonesia-executes-australian-members-of-bali-9/ | 3left-center
| Indonesia executes Australian members of Bali 9
<p>By Bob Allen</p>
<p>Two Australian drug traffickers shot by a firing squad in Indonesia refused blindfolds and <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-04-30/bodies-of-andrew-chan-and-myuran-sukumaran-to-be-returned-in-ne/6432448" type="external">sang</a> “Amazing Grace” as they were taken to a jungle clearing to be executed, according to their spiritual adviser.</p>
<p>Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, members of a drug cartel known as the Bali Nine, died early April 29 along with six other death row prisoners on the Nusakambangan prison island in Central Java.</p>
<p>Indonesia carried out the executions despite intense international pressure and threatened the country’s diplomatic relations with Australia.</p>
<p><a href="http://baysidechurch.com.au/church/senior-ministers/rob-buckingham/" type="external">Rob Buckingham</a>, senior minister of Bayside Church, a non-denominational Pentecostal congregation in the Melbourne suburb of Carrum Downs, told Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Religion and Ethics Report that Sukumaran was particularly adamant about not wanting to be blindfolded.</p>
<p>“He said, ‘I want to look my executioners in the eye,’” the pastor said.</p>
<p>Buckingham described it as a declaration of their faith.</p>
<p>“Andrew’s faith is very well known,” he said. “He’s an ordained pastor. He’s been studying toward that over many years. He’s effectively been leading the church inside Kerobokan Prison now for a number of years.”</p>
<p>“Myu by his nature has been a quieter person, but in more recent times has become very deep in his faith as a Christian,” he continued. “I think for both of them the strength of their faith came shining through. They realized that they have done the wrong thing in the past. They accepted the fact that they were caught and incarcerated. They’ve both completely reformed their own lives and were working very strongly at reforming others.”</p>
<p>Cooperative Baptist Fellowship field personnel Tina and Jonathan Bailey had firsthand knowledge of Sukumaran’s faith through a prison arts program in Indonesia, where they have served since 1996. Baptist News Global’s Jeff Brumley <a href="" type="internal">profiled</a> Tina Bailey’s work with the Bali Nine in February.</p>
<p>Buckingham said all the two men or anyone else was asking was that they be left in prison for the rest of their lives so they could continue their work of helping to reform and rehabilitate other prisoners.</p>
<p>“With that taken away from them,” he said, “it’s like, ‘You guys, you are doing the wrong thing by taking our lives. And we will not give you any satisfaction by showing any level of weakness even in our last moments.’”</p>
<p>Previous story:</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">CBF field personnel laments death sentence for two ‘Bali Nine’ members</a></p> | 4,588 |
|
<p>Swedish carmaker <a href="" type="internal">Saab</a>, struggling to fend off a final collapse after a months-long cash shortage, is to appeal against a court decision which has opened the way for its labour unions and suppliers to seek its bankruptcy, it said on Friday.</p>
<p>A western Swedish district court on Thursday denied the carmaker its request for protection from creditors while it secures Chinese invesment and bridge funding. But it gave Saab, owned by Dutch group Swedish Automobile (Swan) , until Sept. 29 to appeal against the decision.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>"We anticipate filing (an appeal) by Monday," Swedish Automobile's chief executive Victor Muller said.</p>
<p>"We are now talking with our Chinese partners and our Chinese advisors to put together a more convincing and compelling information package to submit to the court," he said in an interview on public radio.</p>
<p>Swedish Automobile's shares were down 34 percent at 0.4750 euro at 0840 GMT, after a two-day suspension.</p>
<p>Saab's production line has been halted for months as bills to suppliers remain unpaid. Meanwhile workers are still waiting to get their pay for August and unions have the right to seek bankruptcy if they want to activate a state scheme to pay the salaries instead.</p>
<p>In Sweden scepticism is now high about the chances of survival for Saab, a small niche maker of premium cars in a highly competitive market.</p>
<p>"End the misery now," was the headline on Friday in daily newspaper Dagens Nyheter, which went on to say that bankruptcy was unavoidable.</p>
<p>"Someone not blinded by all the beautiful phrases about a premium brand with iconic status and a world-class car factory cannot avoid seeing that Saab as a business stands naked," said business daily Dagens Industri.</p>
<p>But Muller said the appeal would answer the first court's questions about the process by which Chinese car companies Pangda Automobile Trade Co Ltd and Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile are seeking approval from China's authorities to invest 245 million euros ($343 million) in Saab.</p>
<p>Saab will also supply to the appeal court more detail on when that money can be expected and whether it is sufficient to get the company up and running again.</p>
<p>UNIONS MEET</p>
<p>The first court had said it was not sufficiently clear if or when the Chinese money would be forthcoming.</p>
<p>In a statement, Saab also said it was still talking to several parties about additional short-term funding.</p>
<p>But unions representing Saab's workers were meeting on Friday to discuss a bankruptcy application.</p>
<p>"Clearly, if the unions would push forward ... Saab would be in a very precarious position indeed," Muller said.</p>
<p>Paul Akerlund, mayor of the town of Trollhattan, where Saab is based, said the unions were likely to be patient.</p>
<p>"My understanding is that if there is the least sign of hope then they (unions and workers) are prepared to wait," he told reporters outside the gates of the factory.</p>
<p>"I don't think there will be one (a bankruptcy application) today anyway."</p>
<p>Suppliers, owed 150 million euros by Saab, have already called in bailiffs, who have begun seizing the company's cash.</p>
<p>Muller said that Saab had the money to pay salaries, but was legally unable to do so.</p>
<p>"We would favour one group of creditors and not another - the suppliers. That's why under (a creditor protection) reorganisation we would be in a much more favourable position," he said.</p>
<p>Muller said the only alternative way to stave off a bankruptcy application would probably be "to find someone who would be willing to pay the salaries to the employees from outside Saab." ($1=0.714 euros) (With additional reporting by Simon Johnson, Johan Ahlander and Roberta Cowan; Editing by Greg Mahlich)</p>
<p>Advertisement</p> | Saab Says to Fight on for Bankruptcy Protection | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2011/09/09/saab-says-to-fight-on-for-bankruptcy-protection.html | 2016-01-29 | 0right
| Saab Says to Fight on for Bankruptcy Protection
<p>Swedish carmaker <a href="" type="internal">Saab</a>, struggling to fend off a final collapse after a months-long cash shortage, is to appeal against a court decision which has opened the way for its labour unions and suppliers to seek its bankruptcy, it said on Friday.</p>
<p>A western Swedish district court on Thursday denied the carmaker its request for protection from creditors while it secures Chinese invesment and bridge funding. But it gave Saab, owned by Dutch group Swedish Automobile (Swan) , until Sept. 29 to appeal against the decision.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>"We anticipate filing (an appeal) by Monday," Swedish Automobile's chief executive Victor Muller said.</p>
<p>"We are now talking with our Chinese partners and our Chinese advisors to put together a more convincing and compelling information package to submit to the court," he said in an interview on public radio.</p>
<p>Swedish Automobile's shares were down 34 percent at 0.4750 euro at 0840 GMT, after a two-day suspension.</p>
<p>Saab's production line has been halted for months as bills to suppliers remain unpaid. Meanwhile workers are still waiting to get their pay for August and unions have the right to seek bankruptcy if they want to activate a state scheme to pay the salaries instead.</p>
<p>In Sweden scepticism is now high about the chances of survival for Saab, a small niche maker of premium cars in a highly competitive market.</p>
<p>"End the misery now," was the headline on Friday in daily newspaper Dagens Nyheter, which went on to say that bankruptcy was unavoidable.</p>
<p>"Someone not blinded by all the beautiful phrases about a premium brand with iconic status and a world-class car factory cannot avoid seeing that Saab as a business stands naked," said business daily Dagens Industri.</p>
<p>But Muller said the appeal would answer the first court's questions about the process by which Chinese car companies Pangda Automobile Trade Co Ltd and Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile are seeking approval from China's authorities to invest 245 million euros ($343 million) in Saab.</p>
<p>Saab will also supply to the appeal court more detail on when that money can be expected and whether it is sufficient to get the company up and running again.</p>
<p>UNIONS MEET</p>
<p>The first court had said it was not sufficiently clear if or when the Chinese money would be forthcoming.</p>
<p>In a statement, Saab also said it was still talking to several parties about additional short-term funding.</p>
<p>But unions representing Saab's workers were meeting on Friday to discuss a bankruptcy application.</p>
<p>"Clearly, if the unions would push forward ... Saab would be in a very precarious position indeed," Muller said.</p>
<p>Paul Akerlund, mayor of the town of Trollhattan, where Saab is based, said the unions were likely to be patient.</p>
<p>"My understanding is that if there is the least sign of hope then they (unions and workers) are prepared to wait," he told reporters outside the gates of the factory.</p>
<p>"I don't think there will be one (a bankruptcy application) today anyway."</p>
<p>Suppliers, owed 150 million euros by Saab, have already called in bailiffs, who have begun seizing the company's cash.</p>
<p>Muller said that Saab had the money to pay salaries, but was legally unable to do so.</p>
<p>"We would favour one group of creditors and not another - the suppliers. That's why under (a creditor protection) reorganisation we would be in a much more favourable position," he said.</p>
<p>Muller said the only alternative way to stave off a bankruptcy application would probably be "to find someone who would be willing to pay the salaries to the employees from outside Saab." ($1=0.714 euros) (With additional reporting by Simon Johnson, Johan Ahlander and Roberta Cowan; Editing by Greg Mahlich)</p>
<p>Advertisement</p> | 4,589 |
<p />
<p>It’s never too early to start planning for retirement. Knowing what strategies to employ at each phase of your retirement planning will help you develop an overall strategy that will work no matter what your age. With that in mind, BusinessNewsDaily asked three financial experts what workers need to do before turning 30 to retire with enough savings.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Budget and create a plan</p>
<p>First and foremost, workers must put a retirement plan in place. Not only should this plan include how you will save, but it should also focus on when you want to retire.&#160; This has the benefit of focusing workers on what they must do in order to clearly establish their retirement goals.</p>
<p>"To stick your money haphazardly into retirement funds and just say I want to retire by a certain age, is not as effective as really thinking about what kind of money you need to retire off of," said Leslie Tayne, a lawyer with more than 10 years of experience in consumer and business financial debt-related services. "You may have the goal to retire by a certain age, but if you don’t have the correct vehicle to do so you may get caught short. People really need to research and see which stocks or bonds will be performing to see how much money will grow and that is true for any investment."</p>
<p>However, before savers can ever start that plan, they must set a budget, Tayne said.&#160;</p>
<p>"People need to figure out their budget first, because perhaps you find out that there is no money to even place into retirement," said Tayne, the founder of the law offices of <a href="http://attorney-newyork.com/index.php" type="external">Leslie Tayne Opens a New Window.</a>. "You need to know how much money you are talking about because you will determine which vehicles will be accessible immediately, or what you need to do to get to them."</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Pay down debts &#160;</p>
<p>Young workers would also be well served by paying down any debts they have as a way to help accomplish future <a href="http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/2282-early-retirement-death.html" type="external">retirement goals Opens a New Window.</a>. This is particularly important not only to make their debt obligations manageable, but also to help them maximize their savings later in life.</p>
<p>"Young people coming out of college tend to have a lot of debt, be it credit card or college loans, so we focus on creating a plan to get them out of debt so they can really focus on their savings," said Paula Hendrickson, director of retirement plan consulting at <a href="http://myfw.com/" type="external">First Western Opens a New Window.</a>. "The high interest debt is what they need to get rid of. Any high interest debt is what you want to pay off."</p>
<p>The fruits of paying off that high-interest debt will be realized later on in life, Hendrickson says.</p>
<p>"(You can) maximize future savings by paying down loans earlier," said Hendrickson, who has more than 25 years of experience in retirement planning. "When you hit 30, you will begin to have a house and college savings and other things you will start looking at, so you want to try to keep that from adding onto other existing debt."</p>
<p>Start contributing to a 401(k)</p>
<p>Contributing to a 401(k) is another important step in <a href="http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/3093-retirement-saving-tips.html" type="external">retirement preparation Opens a New Window.</a>. Although many people may not think about saving in a 401(k) before turning 30, Rich Rausser, senior vice president of client services at <a href="http://www.pentegra.com/" type="external">Pentegra Retirement Services Opens a New Window.</a>, says that starting early can be a huge benefit to savers.</p>
<p>"The number one thing is to start saving as soon as you can, the first dollar you contribute to retirement savings is the most valuable dollar you will ever spend," Rausser said.</p>
<p>While that first dollar may be critical to retirement savings, workers must also continue to contribute over time.</p>
<p>"The earlier you start (contributing), the better off you will be in the long run," Rausser said. "To illustrate that, if you take someone who is 25 years old and say they start contributing to a savings vehicle, a 401(k) or an IRA, and they do that for 10 years. If they are saving 6 percent of salary for 10 years and they stop after 10 years and let the money continue to grow on a tax- deferred compounded basis.</p>
<p>"Compare that to a second individual who doesn’t do anything at age 25, but 10 years later at age 35 contributes the same 6 percent of salary and they go it until age 65. When you do the math on that, the first person who saved for 10 years actually ends up with a little more money than the person who contributes for 30 years at the end."</p>
<p>Rausser, however, does not recommend workers set their sights on a single number; instead they should aim to contribute 10 percent of their salary to their 401(k) before turning 30.&#160;</p>
<p>"Keep goals reasonable to avoid frustration," Rausser said.</p>
<p>Follow <a href="http://mailto:[email protected]" type="external">David Mielach Opens a New Window.</a> on Twitter @ <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/D_M89" type="external">D_M89 Opens a New Window.</a> or BusinessNewsDaily @ <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/BNDarticles" type="external">bndarticles Opens a New Window.</a>. We're also on <a href="http://Facebook.com/businessnewsdaily" type="external">Facebook Opens a New Window.</a> &amp;&#160; <a href="https://plus.google.com/113390396142026041164" type="external">Google+ Opens a New Window.</a>.&#160;</p> | 3 Retirement Strategies to Deploy Before You’re 30 | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2012/12/12/3-retirement-strategies-to-deploy-before-youre-30.html | 2016-03-23 | 0right
| 3 Retirement Strategies to Deploy Before You’re 30
<p />
<p>It’s never too early to start planning for retirement. Knowing what strategies to employ at each phase of your retirement planning will help you develop an overall strategy that will work no matter what your age. With that in mind, BusinessNewsDaily asked three financial experts what workers need to do before turning 30 to retire with enough savings.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Budget and create a plan</p>
<p>First and foremost, workers must put a retirement plan in place. Not only should this plan include how you will save, but it should also focus on when you want to retire.&#160; This has the benefit of focusing workers on what they must do in order to clearly establish their retirement goals.</p>
<p>"To stick your money haphazardly into retirement funds and just say I want to retire by a certain age, is not as effective as really thinking about what kind of money you need to retire off of," said Leslie Tayne, a lawyer with more than 10 years of experience in consumer and business financial debt-related services. "You may have the goal to retire by a certain age, but if you don’t have the correct vehicle to do so you may get caught short. People really need to research and see which stocks or bonds will be performing to see how much money will grow and that is true for any investment."</p>
<p>However, before savers can ever start that plan, they must set a budget, Tayne said.&#160;</p>
<p>"People need to figure out their budget first, because perhaps you find out that there is no money to even place into retirement," said Tayne, the founder of the law offices of <a href="http://attorney-newyork.com/index.php" type="external">Leslie Tayne Opens a New Window.</a>. "You need to know how much money you are talking about because you will determine which vehicles will be accessible immediately, or what you need to do to get to them."</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Pay down debts &#160;</p>
<p>Young workers would also be well served by paying down any debts they have as a way to help accomplish future <a href="http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/2282-early-retirement-death.html" type="external">retirement goals Opens a New Window.</a>. This is particularly important not only to make their debt obligations manageable, but also to help them maximize their savings later in life.</p>
<p>"Young people coming out of college tend to have a lot of debt, be it credit card or college loans, so we focus on creating a plan to get them out of debt so they can really focus on their savings," said Paula Hendrickson, director of retirement plan consulting at <a href="http://myfw.com/" type="external">First Western Opens a New Window.</a>. "The high interest debt is what they need to get rid of. Any high interest debt is what you want to pay off."</p>
<p>The fruits of paying off that high-interest debt will be realized later on in life, Hendrickson says.</p>
<p>"(You can) maximize future savings by paying down loans earlier," said Hendrickson, who has more than 25 years of experience in retirement planning. "When you hit 30, you will begin to have a house and college savings and other things you will start looking at, so you want to try to keep that from adding onto other existing debt."</p>
<p>Start contributing to a 401(k)</p>
<p>Contributing to a 401(k) is another important step in <a href="http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/3093-retirement-saving-tips.html" type="external">retirement preparation Opens a New Window.</a>. Although many people may not think about saving in a 401(k) before turning 30, Rich Rausser, senior vice president of client services at <a href="http://www.pentegra.com/" type="external">Pentegra Retirement Services Opens a New Window.</a>, says that starting early can be a huge benefit to savers.</p>
<p>"The number one thing is to start saving as soon as you can, the first dollar you contribute to retirement savings is the most valuable dollar you will ever spend," Rausser said.</p>
<p>While that first dollar may be critical to retirement savings, workers must also continue to contribute over time.</p>
<p>"The earlier you start (contributing), the better off you will be in the long run," Rausser said. "To illustrate that, if you take someone who is 25 years old and say they start contributing to a savings vehicle, a 401(k) or an IRA, and they do that for 10 years. If they are saving 6 percent of salary for 10 years and they stop after 10 years and let the money continue to grow on a tax- deferred compounded basis.</p>
<p>"Compare that to a second individual who doesn’t do anything at age 25, but 10 years later at age 35 contributes the same 6 percent of salary and they go it until age 65. When you do the math on that, the first person who saved for 10 years actually ends up with a little more money than the person who contributes for 30 years at the end."</p>
<p>Rausser, however, does not recommend workers set their sights on a single number; instead they should aim to contribute 10 percent of their salary to their 401(k) before turning 30.&#160;</p>
<p>"Keep goals reasonable to avoid frustration," Rausser said.</p>
<p>Follow <a href="http://mailto:[email protected]" type="external">David Mielach Opens a New Window.</a> on Twitter @ <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/D_M89" type="external">D_M89 Opens a New Window.</a> or BusinessNewsDaily @ <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/BNDarticles" type="external">bndarticles Opens a New Window.</a>. We're also on <a href="http://Facebook.com/businessnewsdaily" type="external">Facebook Opens a New Window.</a> &amp;&#160; <a href="https://plus.google.com/113390396142026041164" type="external">Google+ Opens a New Window.</a>.&#160;</p> | 4,590 |
<p />
<p>Facebook is hoping that the old adage about a picture being worth a thousand words rings true with the new redesign of its news feed. In fact, the popular social network made a big bet that larger images in the site's new news feed will help to attract online advertisers to the platform.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Those changes, announced at a press event on Thursday (March 7), will allow Facebook users to view specialized feeds that include news from close friends, brands, public figures, music, games and a photo-only feed. The changes have been likened to the sections of a traditional newspaper, <a href="http://www.technewsdaily.com/17212-facebook-redesign-makes-photos-bigger.html" type="external">TechNewsDaily</a>&#160;reported.</p>
<p>While those changes will have a big effect across the 1 billion mobile and desktop Facebook users, the changes will have a similarly big effect on advertisers. Experts say the changes will combine the targeting power of <a href="http://social-networking-websites-review.toptenreviews.com/?cmpid=ttr-bnd" type="external">Facebook</a>&#160;with an ability to create richer and more attractive ads, something that the old design lacked. &#160;</p>
<p>"It gives advertisers a stronger ability to connect visually with users," said Eric Covino, president and founder of digital marketing agency <a href="http://www.creativesignals.com/" type="external">Creative Signals</a>. "Now ads are mostly in the right column and are easy to ignore. This is definitely a move that should benefit the reach and number of eyeballs that see ads on Facebook."</p>
<p>One particular group of advertisers that stands to benefit from the redesigned news feed is small businesses.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>"Small businesses can now create more engaging advertisements and it is easier for them to promote specific products and different lines of businesses that they might sell," Covino said. "Rather than them having a real small thumbnail off to the side, randomly having posts inserted into the news feed offers the opportunity to be more creative and improve branding opportunities."</p>
<p>Marc Poirier, co-founder and chief marketing officer at <a href="http://www.acquisio.com/" type="external">Acquisio</a>, a media platform for marketing and advertising agencies, agreed, saying that bigger more creative ads are sure to get noticed more by users.</p>
<p>"Click-through rates on Facebook are notoriously low because it is hard to get clicks on the platform," Poirier said. "However, if you are able to create larger ads and put them in the news feed, then clearly you are going to draw a lot more attention and more clicks."</p>
<p>In addition to being able to produce richer advertisements, the new news feed still offers users the ability to specifically target users based on demographics.</p>
<p>"The <a href="http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/3135-small-business-ads.html" type="external">opportunity for small businesses</a>&#160;is that you can target at the city level and even ZIP codes so you can limit the geographic reach of your ad to a really well-defined area," Poirier said. "You can then layer gender, age and interest, so if you are a local merchant, you can target those specific people."</p>
<p>In addition to more specific targeting, Facebook also allows advertisers the ability to better track who sees, responds to and is driven to a sale from their advertisements. Additionally, costs are low to break in with <a href="http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/2772-facebook-ads-tips.html" type="external">Facebook ads</a>&#160;and advertisers can easily control their budgets. Small businesses, however, are far from the only businesses set to benefit from Facebook's image-heavy news feed.</p>
<p>"This is the vehicle to allow brands to come on Facebook with the kind of advertising they want to do," Poirier said. "Brands have always wanted to have the ability to create experiences on Facebook and they don’t like the current ad format of a tiny image with some text around it. That is not pretty and it is not what brands were looking to do, since they want to create an experience. This may be the vessel that allows Facebook to attract brand advertisers."</p>
<p>Email&#160; <a href="http://mailto:[email protected]" type="external">David Mielach</a>&#160;or follow him @ <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/D_M89" type="external">D_M89</a>. Follow us&#160;@ <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/BNDarticles" type="external">bndarticles</a>,&#160; <a href="http://www.facebook.com/LifesLittleMysteries" type="external">Facebook</a> or&#160; <a href="https://plus.google.com/113390396142026041164" type="external">Google+</a>.</p> | How Facebook's News Feed Changes Affect Businesses | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2013/03/11/how-facebook-news-feed-changes-affect-businesses.html | 2016-03-23 | 0right
| How Facebook's News Feed Changes Affect Businesses
<p />
<p>Facebook is hoping that the old adage about a picture being worth a thousand words rings true with the new redesign of its news feed. In fact, the popular social network made a big bet that larger images in the site's new news feed will help to attract online advertisers to the platform.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Those changes, announced at a press event on Thursday (March 7), will allow Facebook users to view specialized feeds that include news from close friends, brands, public figures, music, games and a photo-only feed. The changes have been likened to the sections of a traditional newspaper, <a href="http://www.technewsdaily.com/17212-facebook-redesign-makes-photos-bigger.html" type="external">TechNewsDaily</a>&#160;reported.</p>
<p>While those changes will have a big effect across the 1 billion mobile and desktop Facebook users, the changes will have a similarly big effect on advertisers. Experts say the changes will combine the targeting power of <a href="http://social-networking-websites-review.toptenreviews.com/?cmpid=ttr-bnd" type="external">Facebook</a>&#160;with an ability to create richer and more attractive ads, something that the old design lacked. &#160;</p>
<p>"It gives advertisers a stronger ability to connect visually with users," said Eric Covino, president and founder of digital marketing agency <a href="http://www.creativesignals.com/" type="external">Creative Signals</a>. "Now ads are mostly in the right column and are easy to ignore. This is definitely a move that should benefit the reach and number of eyeballs that see ads on Facebook."</p>
<p>One particular group of advertisers that stands to benefit from the redesigned news feed is small businesses.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>"Small businesses can now create more engaging advertisements and it is easier for them to promote specific products and different lines of businesses that they might sell," Covino said. "Rather than them having a real small thumbnail off to the side, randomly having posts inserted into the news feed offers the opportunity to be more creative and improve branding opportunities."</p>
<p>Marc Poirier, co-founder and chief marketing officer at <a href="http://www.acquisio.com/" type="external">Acquisio</a>, a media platform for marketing and advertising agencies, agreed, saying that bigger more creative ads are sure to get noticed more by users.</p>
<p>"Click-through rates on Facebook are notoriously low because it is hard to get clicks on the platform," Poirier said. "However, if you are able to create larger ads and put them in the news feed, then clearly you are going to draw a lot more attention and more clicks."</p>
<p>In addition to being able to produce richer advertisements, the new news feed still offers users the ability to specifically target users based on demographics.</p>
<p>"The <a href="http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/3135-small-business-ads.html" type="external">opportunity for small businesses</a>&#160;is that you can target at the city level and even ZIP codes so you can limit the geographic reach of your ad to a really well-defined area," Poirier said. "You can then layer gender, age and interest, so if you are a local merchant, you can target those specific people."</p>
<p>In addition to more specific targeting, Facebook also allows advertisers the ability to better track who sees, responds to and is driven to a sale from their advertisements. Additionally, costs are low to break in with <a href="http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/2772-facebook-ads-tips.html" type="external">Facebook ads</a>&#160;and advertisers can easily control their budgets. Small businesses, however, are far from the only businesses set to benefit from Facebook's image-heavy news feed.</p>
<p>"This is the vehicle to allow brands to come on Facebook with the kind of advertising they want to do," Poirier said. "Brands have always wanted to have the ability to create experiences on Facebook and they don’t like the current ad format of a tiny image with some text around it. That is not pretty and it is not what brands were looking to do, since they want to create an experience. This may be the vessel that allows Facebook to attract brand advertisers."</p>
<p>Email&#160; <a href="http://mailto:[email protected]" type="external">David Mielach</a>&#160;or follow him @ <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/D_M89" type="external">D_M89</a>. Follow us&#160;@ <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/BNDarticles" type="external">bndarticles</a>,&#160; <a href="http://www.facebook.com/LifesLittleMysteries" type="external">Facebook</a> or&#160; <a href="https://plus.google.com/113390396142026041164" type="external">Google+</a>.</p> | 4,591 |
<p>BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A Montana man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for his role in dismembering and burning the body of his sister’s boyfriend.</p>
<p>The Billings Gazette <a href="http://billingsgazette.com/news/crime/man-who-helped-move-and-mutilate-sister-s-boyfriend-s/article_1c678622-3c24-54f3-94d7-acd4aaf6dda1.html" type="external">reports</a> Patrick Saint Standsoverbull III was sentenced Friday for tampering with evidence and misdemeanor assault in the 2015 death of 38-year-old Jeffrey Hewitt.</p>
<p>Hewitt was beaten by several men and left to die in the back room of Carri Standsoverbull’s apartment in early 2015. Court records said she refused to let anyone intervene to help Hewitt.</p>
<p>Parts of his burned body were found in April 2015 in a coulee near Pryor.</p>
<p>Defense attorney Fred Snodgrass argued for a lesser sentence, saying tampering with evidence is basically a nonviolent crime. District Judge Don Harris noted Patrick Standsoverbull did nothing to help Hewitt before he died.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: The Billings Gazette, <a href="http://www.billingsgazette.com" type="external" /> <a href="http://www.billingsgazette.com" type="external">http://www.billingsgazette.com</a></p>
<p>BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A Montana man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for his role in dismembering and burning the body of his sister’s boyfriend.</p>
<p>The Billings Gazette <a href="http://billingsgazette.com/news/crime/man-who-helped-move-and-mutilate-sister-s-boyfriend-s/article_1c678622-3c24-54f3-94d7-acd4aaf6dda1.html" type="external">reports</a> Patrick Saint Standsoverbull III was sentenced Friday for tampering with evidence and misdemeanor assault in the 2015 death of 38-year-old Jeffrey Hewitt.</p>
<p>Hewitt was beaten by several men and left to die in the back room of Carri Standsoverbull’s apartment in early 2015. Court records said she refused to let anyone intervene to help Hewitt.</p>
<p>Parts of his burned body were found in April 2015 in a coulee near Pryor.</p>
<p>Defense attorney Fred Snodgrass argued for a lesser sentence, saying tampering with evidence is basically a nonviolent crime. District Judge Don Harris noted Patrick Standsoverbull did nothing to help Hewitt before he died.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: The Billings Gazette, <a href="http://www.billingsgazette.com" type="external" /> <a href="http://www.billingsgazette.com" type="external">http://www.billingsgazette.com</a></p> | Man gets 20 years for role in dismembering, burning body | false | https://apnews.com/5fa1657b55924cc8b28a9fbeba95e027 | 2018-01-19 | 2least
| Man gets 20 years for role in dismembering, burning body
<p>BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A Montana man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for his role in dismembering and burning the body of his sister’s boyfriend.</p>
<p>The Billings Gazette <a href="http://billingsgazette.com/news/crime/man-who-helped-move-and-mutilate-sister-s-boyfriend-s/article_1c678622-3c24-54f3-94d7-acd4aaf6dda1.html" type="external">reports</a> Patrick Saint Standsoverbull III was sentenced Friday for tampering with evidence and misdemeanor assault in the 2015 death of 38-year-old Jeffrey Hewitt.</p>
<p>Hewitt was beaten by several men and left to die in the back room of Carri Standsoverbull’s apartment in early 2015. Court records said she refused to let anyone intervene to help Hewitt.</p>
<p>Parts of his burned body were found in April 2015 in a coulee near Pryor.</p>
<p>Defense attorney Fred Snodgrass argued for a lesser sentence, saying tampering with evidence is basically a nonviolent crime. District Judge Don Harris noted Patrick Standsoverbull did nothing to help Hewitt before he died.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: The Billings Gazette, <a href="http://www.billingsgazette.com" type="external" /> <a href="http://www.billingsgazette.com" type="external">http://www.billingsgazette.com</a></p>
<p>BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A Montana man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for his role in dismembering and burning the body of his sister’s boyfriend.</p>
<p>The Billings Gazette <a href="http://billingsgazette.com/news/crime/man-who-helped-move-and-mutilate-sister-s-boyfriend-s/article_1c678622-3c24-54f3-94d7-acd4aaf6dda1.html" type="external">reports</a> Patrick Saint Standsoverbull III was sentenced Friday for tampering with evidence and misdemeanor assault in the 2015 death of 38-year-old Jeffrey Hewitt.</p>
<p>Hewitt was beaten by several men and left to die in the back room of Carri Standsoverbull’s apartment in early 2015. Court records said she refused to let anyone intervene to help Hewitt.</p>
<p>Parts of his burned body were found in April 2015 in a coulee near Pryor.</p>
<p>Defense attorney Fred Snodgrass argued for a lesser sentence, saying tampering with evidence is basically a nonviolent crime. District Judge Don Harris noted Patrick Standsoverbull did nothing to help Hewitt before he died.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: The Billings Gazette, <a href="http://www.billingsgazette.com" type="external" /> <a href="http://www.billingsgazette.com" type="external">http://www.billingsgazette.com</a></p> | 4,592 |
<p>MEXICO CITY — The administration of President Barack Obama announced earlier this year&#160;that after half a century of restrictions, Americans are finally free to go to the Caribbean island of Cuba without having to ask for permission.</p>
<p>Or did it?</p>
<p>You might think the new rules, which will took effect as part of a historic shift in Cuba policy under Obama, are a little confusing. They could be deliberately so. The government appears to be easing the restrictions as much as possible within the bounds of the restrictive trade embargo still in place. This naturally creates a certain ambiguity.</p>
<p>To help steer through this fog, GlobalPost provides some pointers to help travelers going to Cuba.</p>
<p>Not quite. The United States <a href="http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Programs/Documents/cuba_faqs_new.pdf" type="external">Treasury has a list</a> of reasons for which American citizens can go to Cuba. It does not include general tourism. However, the list is broad and open to interpretation. It includes religious activities, humanitarian projects, artistic performances, journalism, academic work, and family visits. You will no longer need to obtain permission from the Treasury for this trip, so it is up to you to decide if you qualify.</p>
<p>No. A major change is that US credit and debit cards will work in Cuba. The practice of taking bundles of bills in your socks should be over. But Elmer Castillo, who organizes trips through <a href="http://www.intouchwithcuba.com/" type="external">In Touch With Cuba</a>, warns it could take some time for the ATM machines to actually begin working. “The bank in Cuba needs to sign agreements with the bank in America and agree on the terms, which could take a while,” Castillo says.</p>
<p>The Cuban government provides US citizens with a permit for their visit at a cost of $75 from an office in Washington. Travel agencies are allowed to help visitors obtain these agreements, and they can also do so without the Treasury’s special permission.</p>
<p>Flights to Havana currently leave from Miami and Tampa — and now New York.&#160;JetBlue <a href="http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/JetBlue-Flights-New-York-City-Havana-Cuba-Kennedy-Airport-JFK-302614151.html" type="external">this week announced</a> that starting July 3, they will offer flights from New York to Cuba.&#160;However, they are charter flights, which are normally booked through the special agencies organizing Cuba travel.</p>
<p>A little. The new rules allow US visitors to Cuba to bring back $400 in souvenirs, but that includes just $100 worth of tobacco and alcohol at Cuban prices.</p>
<p>It is difficult to gauge, but anticipate more changes. The Treasury is expected to issue more thorough guidelines on how these new rules will work. The real shift would be for the US government to actually end the trade embargo law. This would need a vote in Congress. While some prominent Republicans have said they are against ending it, others could support the president. Watch for that battle soon.</p> | Want to go to Cuba from the US? Here are 6 tips to decipher the new rules | false | https://pri.org/stories/2015-01-15/want-go-cuba-us-here-are-6-tips-decipher-new-rules | 2015-01-15 | 3left-center
| Want to go to Cuba from the US? Here are 6 tips to decipher the new rules
<p>MEXICO CITY — The administration of President Barack Obama announced earlier this year&#160;that after half a century of restrictions, Americans are finally free to go to the Caribbean island of Cuba without having to ask for permission.</p>
<p>Or did it?</p>
<p>You might think the new rules, which will took effect as part of a historic shift in Cuba policy under Obama, are a little confusing. They could be deliberately so. The government appears to be easing the restrictions as much as possible within the bounds of the restrictive trade embargo still in place. This naturally creates a certain ambiguity.</p>
<p>To help steer through this fog, GlobalPost provides some pointers to help travelers going to Cuba.</p>
<p>Not quite. The United States <a href="http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Programs/Documents/cuba_faqs_new.pdf" type="external">Treasury has a list</a> of reasons for which American citizens can go to Cuba. It does not include general tourism. However, the list is broad and open to interpretation. It includes religious activities, humanitarian projects, artistic performances, journalism, academic work, and family visits. You will no longer need to obtain permission from the Treasury for this trip, so it is up to you to decide if you qualify.</p>
<p>No. A major change is that US credit and debit cards will work in Cuba. The practice of taking bundles of bills in your socks should be over. But Elmer Castillo, who organizes trips through <a href="http://www.intouchwithcuba.com/" type="external">In Touch With Cuba</a>, warns it could take some time for the ATM machines to actually begin working. “The bank in Cuba needs to sign agreements with the bank in America and agree on the terms, which could take a while,” Castillo says.</p>
<p>The Cuban government provides US citizens with a permit for their visit at a cost of $75 from an office in Washington. Travel agencies are allowed to help visitors obtain these agreements, and they can also do so without the Treasury’s special permission.</p>
<p>Flights to Havana currently leave from Miami and Tampa — and now New York.&#160;JetBlue <a href="http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/JetBlue-Flights-New-York-City-Havana-Cuba-Kennedy-Airport-JFK-302614151.html" type="external">this week announced</a> that starting July 3, they will offer flights from New York to Cuba.&#160;However, they are charter flights, which are normally booked through the special agencies organizing Cuba travel.</p>
<p>A little. The new rules allow US visitors to Cuba to bring back $400 in souvenirs, but that includes just $100 worth of tobacco and alcohol at Cuban prices.</p>
<p>It is difficult to gauge, but anticipate more changes. The Treasury is expected to issue more thorough guidelines on how these new rules will work. The real shift would be for the US government to actually end the trade embargo law. This would need a vote in Congress. While some prominent Republicans have said they are against ending it, others could support the president. Watch for that battle soon.</p> | 4,593 |
<p>A poll by The Washington Post-ABC News reports that nine in 10 Americans rate the economy negatively, with a majority of those polled believing it to be in “poor” shape. Support of the U.S. war in Iraq is also down, with six in 10 Americans rejecting the administration’s argument that the conflict is an effective defense against terrorism.</p>
<p>The Washington Post:</p>
<p>The public’s ratings of the national economy continue to sour, with assessments deteriorating faster than at any point in Washington Post-ABC News polling. Views on the Iraq war have also turned more negative, with six in 10 now rejecting the notion that the United States needs to win there to effectively battle terrorism.</p>
<p>The economy and the Iraq war are the top two issues on voters’ minds, according to the new Post-ABC poll, and worsening opinions of both may dampen GOP hopes for the November elections.</p>
<p />
<p>Nine in 10 Americans now give the economy a negative rating, with a majority saying it is in “poor” shape, the most to say so in more than 15 years. And the sense that things are bad has spread swiftly. The percentage who hold a negative view of the economy is up 33 points over the past year, and the percentage who rate the economy “poor” has increased 13 points in the past two months. That is the quickest 60-day decline since The Post and ABC started asking the question, in 1985.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/17/AR2008041703769.html" type="external">Read more</a></p> | Poll: Economy Gets Nine Thumbs Down | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/poll-economy-gets-nine-thumbs-down/ | 2008-04-18 | 4left
| Poll: Economy Gets Nine Thumbs Down
<p>A poll by The Washington Post-ABC News reports that nine in 10 Americans rate the economy negatively, with a majority of those polled believing it to be in “poor” shape. Support of the U.S. war in Iraq is also down, with six in 10 Americans rejecting the administration’s argument that the conflict is an effective defense against terrorism.</p>
<p>The Washington Post:</p>
<p>The public’s ratings of the national economy continue to sour, with assessments deteriorating faster than at any point in Washington Post-ABC News polling. Views on the Iraq war have also turned more negative, with six in 10 now rejecting the notion that the United States needs to win there to effectively battle terrorism.</p>
<p>The economy and the Iraq war are the top two issues on voters’ minds, according to the new Post-ABC poll, and worsening opinions of both may dampen GOP hopes for the November elections.</p>
<p />
<p>Nine in 10 Americans now give the economy a negative rating, with a majority saying it is in “poor” shape, the most to say so in more than 15 years. And the sense that things are bad has spread swiftly. The percentage who hold a negative view of the economy is up 33 points over the past year, and the percentage who rate the economy “poor” has increased 13 points in the past two months. That is the quickest 60-day decline since The Post and ABC started asking the question, in 1985.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/17/AR2008041703769.html" type="external">Read more</a></p> | 4,594 |
<p />
<p>White farmers in Zimbabwe faced with the possible loss of their farms aren’t the only ones who’ll be sorry if President Mugabe’s land redistribution plan goes ahead, reports the ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE. Wildlife found on some of that privately held land, including the black rhino, African wild dog, and cheetah, may also suffer; that’s because the first moves by settlers taking over those lands are likely to be turning wilderness into croplands, cutting down trees, and hunting.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p><a href="/mustreads/082500.html" type="external">8/25 – 1-900-MIGRATE</a></p>
<p><a href="/mustreads/082400.html" type="external">8/24 – Dancehall deviants</a></p>
<p><a href="/mustreads/082300.html" type="external">8/23 – Stoners are better drivers</a></p>
<p><a href="/mustreads/082200.html" type="external">8/22 – Depleted uranium dumped in UK</a></p>
<p>A South African conservationist who’s drawing attention to the problem is quick to point out that the deeply impoverished blacks likely to move onto the land can hardly be blamed for taking steps to improve their lives — but their gain may be the wild animals’ loss.</p> | Black rhinos buy the farm | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2000/08/black-rhinos-buy-farm/ | 2000-08-26 | 4left
| Black rhinos buy the farm
<p />
<p>White farmers in Zimbabwe faced with the possible loss of their farms aren’t the only ones who’ll be sorry if President Mugabe’s land redistribution plan goes ahead, reports the ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE. Wildlife found on some of that privately held land, including the black rhino, African wild dog, and cheetah, may also suffer; that’s because the first moves by settlers taking over those lands are likely to be turning wilderness into croplands, cutting down trees, and hunting.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p><a href="/mustreads/082500.html" type="external">8/25 – 1-900-MIGRATE</a></p>
<p><a href="/mustreads/082400.html" type="external">8/24 – Dancehall deviants</a></p>
<p><a href="/mustreads/082300.html" type="external">8/23 – Stoners are better drivers</a></p>
<p><a href="/mustreads/082200.html" type="external">8/22 – Depleted uranium dumped in UK</a></p>
<p>A South African conservationist who’s drawing attention to the problem is quick to point out that the deeply impoverished blacks likely to move onto the land can hardly be blamed for taking steps to improve their lives — but their gain may be the wild animals’ loss.</p> | 4,595 |
<p />
<p>Image source: iStock/Thinkstock.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The past decade has been a blessing and a curse for banks.</p>
<p>Those that succumbed to the siren song of subprime mortgages in the years before 2008 paid a heavy price afterwards, recording heavy losses, if not outright failure. But those that maintained their discipline through the housing bubble were perfectly positioned to later profit from their peers' mistakes.</p>
<p>You can see this distinction clearly by looking at the growth trajectories of banks since 2006.</p>
<p>Not unlike a cycling race, where a small group of riders separates from the main palindrome, three banks have surged ahead of the pack over the past decade while the rest have plodded along more modestly.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Those three banks, as you can see in the chart below, are PNC Financial (NYSE: PNC), Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC), and Capital One Financial (NYSE: COF):</p>
<p><a href="http://ycharts.com/companies/PNC/assets_annual" type="external">PNC Total Assets (Annual) Opens a New Window.</a> data by <a href="http://ycharts.com" type="external">YCharts Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>The key to running a successful bank is the ability to operate countercyclically.It's much like investing in this way.If you're buying stocks at the same time that everyone else is, then you're probably paying too much. The trick instead is to wait until everyone else is selling. That's when you'll get a good deal.</p>
<p>In the context of banking, this means that a bank shouldn't lower its credit standards in order to attract borrowers when the economy is humming along and competition to make loans is stiff. That was the essence of the subprime mortgage crisis.It also means that banks should wait for downturns in the economy to make major acquisitions of their own. Just like stocks, that's when entire banks can be picked up at steep discounts to their former prices.It may go without saying, but these two things are related: Banks that can't resist the first don't have the luxury of benefiting from the second.</p>
<p>It's the ability to operate countercyclically, in turn, that sums up the success over the last 10 years of PNC Financial, Wells Fargo, and Capital One. Because all three of these banks largely maintained their credit discipline in the years before the crisis, they were positioned to acquire peers that didn't.</p>
<p>And that's just what these banks did, making transformative acquisitions near the low point in the crisis:</p>
<p>Each of these banks has since gone on to complete smaller deals and grow organically. The net result is that they've nearly quadrupled in size while the typical bank has grown over the last decade by a comparatively measly 50%.</p>
<p>The point is that banking is about more than interest rates and efficiency. Those are important, but the most fundamental quality is a culture that reflects the resolve to go against the grain.</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=2759&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/JohnMaxfield37/info.aspx" type="external">John Maxfield Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of Wells Fargo. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Wells Fargo. 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> | Can You Guess the Fastest-Growing Big Bank Over the Past Decade? | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/09/07/can-guess-fastest-growing-big-bank-over-past-decade.html | 2016-09-07 | 0right
| Can You Guess the Fastest-Growing Big Bank Over the Past Decade?
<p />
<p>Image source: iStock/Thinkstock.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The past decade has been a blessing and a curse for banks.</p>
<p>Those that succumbed to the siren song of subprime mortgages in the years before 2008 paid a heavy price afterwards, recording heavy losses, if not outright failure. But those that maintained their discipline through the housing bubble were perfectly positioned to later profit from their peers' mistakes.</p>
<p>You can see this distinction clearly by looking at the growth trajectories of banks since 2006.</p>
<p>Not unlike a cycling race, where a small group of riders separates from the main palindrome, three banks have surged ahead of the pack over the past decade while the rest have plodded along more modestly.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Those three banks, as you can see in the chart below, are PNC Financial (NYSE: PNC), Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC), and Capital One Financial (NYSE: COF):</p>
<p><a href="http://ycharts.com/companies/PNC/assets_annual" type="external">PNC Total Assets (Annual) Opens a New Window.</a> data by <a href="http://ycharts.com" type="external">YCharts Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>The key to running a successful bank is the ability to operate countercyclically.It's much like investing in this way.If you're buying stocks at the same time that everyone else is, then you're probably paying too much. The trick instead is to wait until everyone else is selling. That's when you'll get a good deal.</p>
<p>In the context of banking, this means that a bank shouldn't lower its credit standards in order to attract borrowers when the economy is humming along and competition to make loans is stiff. That was the essence of the subprime mortgage crisis.It also means that banks should wait for downturns in the economy to make major acquisitions of their own. Just like stocks, that's when entire banks can be picked up at steep discounts to their former prices.It may go without saying, but these two things are related: Banks that can't resist the first don't have the luxury of benefiting from the second.</p>
<p>It's the ability to operate countercyclically, in turn, that sums up the success over the last 10 years of PNC Financial, Wells Fargo, and Capital One. Because all three of these banks largely maintained their credit discipline in the years before the crisis, they were positioned to acquire peers that didn't.</p>
<p>And that's just what these banks did, making transformative acquisitions near the low point in the crisis:</p>
<p>Each of these banks has since gone on to complete smaller deals and grow organically. The net result is that they've nearly quadrupled in size while the typical bank has grown over the last decade by a comparatively measly 50%.</p>
<p>The point is that banking is about more than interest rates and efficiency. Those are important, but the most fundamental quality is a culture that reflects the resolve to go against the grain.</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=2759&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/JohnMaxfield37/info.aspx" type="external">John Maxfield Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of Wells Fargo. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Wells Fargo. 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> | 4,596 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>In an interview with The Associated Press, the former sheriff of metro Phoenix said he was astonished he was found guilty of a crime last week after more than 50 years in law enforcement.</p>
<p>“S-U-R-P-R-I-S-E-D,” Arpaio said of the misdemeanor for defying a court order to stop traffic patrols that targeted immigrants.</p>
<p>He said he won’t rule out running for office again and remains steadfast in his support of Trump.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“I was with him since day one, and I am with him until the end. I don’t ask him for anything. He can throw me into the swamp and cover me up in garbage, and I’d still support him,” Arpaio said.</p>
<p>The former lawman known for launching immigration crackdowns was set to be sentenced on Oct. 5. The 85-year-old faces up to six months in jail, though attorneys who have followed the case doubt someone his age would be incarcerated.</p>
<p>Trump’s victory fueled speculation that Arpaio would seek a pardon to have his legal troubles erased. His criminal attorneys have declined to say whether they were seeking relief from the president on Arpaio’s behalf.</p>
<p>While the former sheriff told the AP that he’s fighting his legal battles without Trump’s help, Phoenix news station KTVK-TV reported that Arpaio said during an interview he wanted to know why the president wasn’t rescuing him.</p>
<p>“Somebody ought to ask the president, where is he,” Arpaio told the station.</p>
<p>Arpaio showered Trump with support during the presidential campaign. Trump has invoked Arpaio’s name in his calls for tougher immigration enforcement and used some of the same immigration rhetoric and advocated for tactics that made the former Arizona lawman a national name a decade earlier.</p>
<p>He appeared for Trump at rallies in Iowa, Nevada and Arizona, including a huge gathering in the affluent Phoenix suburb where the sheriff lives. Arpaio also gave a speech at the Republican National Convention in which he said Trump would prevent immigrants from sneaking into the country.</p>
<p>Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton in Arizona by 3 percentage points.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>In Arpaio’s case, his attorneys have vowed to appeal the verdict and the former sheriff said he isn’t surrendering. He said the worst legal trouble he had faced were two parking tickets.</p>
<p>“Here I am at the end of my career sitting at a defense table in a contempt-of-court case,” Arpaio said.</p>
<p>He took solace in the fact his conviction isn’t a felony.</p>
<p>“It’s only a misdemeanor. You can run for anything you want with a misdemeanor. It’s a petty crime,” Arpaio said.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Jacques Billeaud at twitter.com/jacquesbilleaud. His work can be found at https://www.apnews.com/search/jacques%20billeaud .</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>This story has been corrected to show in first reference that Arpaio is the former sheriff.</p> | Ex-Sheriff Joe Arpaio says he isn’t seeking Trump’s pardon | false | https://abqjournal.com/1045647/ex-sheriff-joe-arpaio-says-he-isnt-seeking-trumps-pardon.html | 2017-08-09 | 2least
| Ex-Sheriff Joe Arpaio says he isn’t seeking Trump’s pardon
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>In an interview with The Associated Press, the former sheriff of metro Phoenix said he was astonished he was found guilty of a crime last week after more than 50 years in law enforcement.</p>
<p>“S-U-R-P-R-I-S-E-D,” Arpaio said of the misdemeanor for defying a court order to stop traffic patrols that targeted immigrants.</p>
<p>He said he won’t rule out running for office again and remains steadfast in his support of Trump.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“I was with him since day one, and I am with him until the end. I don’t ask him for anything. He can throw me into the swamp and cover me up in garbage, and I’d still support him,” Arpaio said.</p>
<p>The former lawman known for launching immigration crackdowns was set to be sentenced on Oct. 5. The 85-year-old faces up to six months in jail, though attorneys who have followed the case doubt someone his age would be incarcerated.</p>
<p>Trump’s victory fueled speculation that Arpaio would seek a pardon to have his legal troubles erased. His criminal attorneys have declined to say whether they were seeking relief from the president on Arpaio’s behalf.</p>
<p>While the former sheriff told the AP that he’s fighting his legal battles without Trump’s help, Phoenix news station KTVK-TV reported that Arpaio said during an interview he wanted to know why the president wasn’t rescuing him.</p>
<p>“Somebody ought to ask the president, where is he,” Arpaio told the station.</p>
<p>Arpaio showered Trump with support during the presidential campaign. Trump has invoked Arpaio’s name in his calls for tougher immigration enforcement and used some of the same immigration rhetoric and advocated for tactics that made the former Arizona lawman a national name a decade earlier.</p>
<p>He appeared for Trump at rallies in Iowa, Nevada and Arizona, including a huge gathering in the affluent Phoenix suburb where the sheriff lives. Arpaio also gave a speech at the Republican National Convention in which he said Trump would prevent immigrants from sneaking into the country.</p>
<p>Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton in Arizona by 3 percentage points.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>In Arpaio’s case, his attorneys have vowed to appeal the verdict and the former sheriff said he isn’t surrendering. He said the worst legal trouble he had faced were two parking tickets.</p>
<p>“Here I am at the end of my career sitting at a defense table in a contempt-of-court case,” Arpaio said.</p>
<p>He took solace in the fact his conviction isn’t a felony.</p>
<p>“It’s only a misdemeanor. You can run for anything you want with a misdemeanor. It’s a petty crime,” Arpaio said.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Jacques Billeaud at twitter.com/jacquesbilleaud. His work can be found at https://www.apnews.com/search/jacques%20billeaud .</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>This story has been corrected to show in first reference that Arpaio is the former sheriff.</p> | 4,597 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>ARCHIBEQUE</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - A man's blood found at a home where burglars stole $17,000 worth of items earlier this year has led police to their suspect.</p>
<p>Albuquerque police detectives found Dennis Archibeque, 29, was linked to the burglary and he was picked up Tuesday on multiple felony charges, according to court records.</p>
<p>On Jan. 15, police were called to a residential burglary at a home near Adams and Candelaria and found someone had shattered a kitchen window and broke into the house. The suspected burglars went to the master bedroom and found a full-size gun safe, which they dragged through the house and out the front door, according to court records.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>They also stole a computer from the kitchen table. All told, the burglars made off with $17,000 in guns and other items, according to the records.</p>
<p>Officers found blood on the shattered window and on a screwdriver below the window. They also found blood on a piece of mail inside, according to the records.</p>
<p>An observant resident who lived about a half-mile away noticed three people loading a large gun safe into the back of a truck outside her home. She snapped a few photos and turned them over to police.</p>
<p>A detective investigating the case found that the truck used in the burglary was linked to the family of 19-year-old Airiana Rael-Schleisman. And Rael-Schleisman appeared to be one of the people seen loading the safe in the photos, according to the criminal complaint filed against her.</p>
<p>She was arrested Jan. 24, charged with residential burglary, larceny over $2,500, possession of burglary tools and conspiracy.</p>
<p>The detective then discovered that police had found Archibeque with one of the victim's stolen guns during a traffic stop, according to the criminal complaint filed against him.</p>
<p>Archibeque appeared to be the man shown in the photos, and DNA testing later showed his blood was at the scene of the crime, according to the complaint.</p>
<p>He faces the same charges as Rael-Schleisman.</p>
<p>It's unclear if the third woman seen in the photos, Ashly Mascarenas, will face charges in the incident. She has an active felony warrant out for her arrest. Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office deputies say she fled from them and left methamphetamine in the stolen car she was allegedly driving.</p>
<p />
<p /> | Man arrested in $17k burglary and gun safe theft | false | https://abqjournal.com/760567/man-arrested-in-17k-burglary-and-gun-safe-theft.html | 2016-04-20 | 2least
| Man arrested in $17k burglary and gun safe theft
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>ARCHIBEQUE</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - A man's blood found at a home where burglars stole $17,000 worth of items earlier this year has led police to their suspect.</p>
<p>Albuquerque police detectives found Dennis Archibeque, 29, was linked to the burglary and he was picked up Tuesday on multiple felony charges, according to court records.</p>
<p>On Jan. 15, police were called to a residential burglary at a home near Adams and Candelaria and found someone had shattered a kitchen window and broke into the house. The suspected burglars went to the master bedroom and found a full-size gun safe, which they dragged through the house and out the front door, according to court records.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>They also stole a computer from the kitchen table. All told, the burglars made off with $17,000 in guns and other items, according to the records.</p>
<p>Officers found blood on the shattered window and on a screwdriver below the window. They also found blood on a piece of mail inside, according to the records.</p>
<p>An observant resident who lived about a half-mile away noticed three people loading a large gun safe into the back of a truck outside her home. She snapped a few photos and turned them over to police.</p>
<p>A detective investigating the case found that the truck used in the burglary was linked to the family of 19-year-old Airiana Rael-Schleisman. And Rael-Schleisman appeared to be one of the people seen loading the safe in the photos, according to the criminal complaint filed against her.</p>
<p>She was arrested Jan. 24, charged with residential burglary, larceny over $2,500, possession of burglary tools and conspiracy.</p>
<p>The detective then discovered that police had found Archibeque with one of the victim's stolen guns during a traffic stop, according to the criminal complaint filed against him.</p>
<p>Archibeque appeared to be the man shown in the photos, and DNA testing later showed his blood was at the scene of the crime, according to the complaint.</p>
<p>He faces the same charges as Rael-Schleisman.</p>
<p>It's unclear if the third woman seen in the photos, Ashly Mascarenas, will face charges in the incident. She has an active felony warrant out for her arrest. Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office deputies say she fled from them and left methamphetamine in the stolen car she was allegedly driving.</p>
<p />
<p /> | 4,598 |
<p>Screen shot of Tameka Harris from <a href="https://gma.yahoo.com/tameka-tiny-harris-gets-surgical-eye-color-change-143039147--abc-news-celebrities.html" type="external">“Good Morning America.”</a></p>
<p>Last week actress Renée Zellweger caused a stir when she posed for cameras with her <a href="http://www.people.com/article/renee-zellweger-speaks-out-different-look" type="external">new, different look</a>. This week, singer and reality-TV star Tameka “Tiny” Harris <a href="http://madamenoire.com/482431/tameka-tiny-harris-permanently-changes-eye-color-ice-gray/" type="external">appeared on Instagram</a> with a new, permanent ice-gray eye color. To some, these events might seem like they are pulled from the technologically dystopian TV series <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Mirror_%28TV_series%29" type="external">“Black Mirror,”</a>in which people get permanent memory and IQ implants and bring dead loved ones back to life through social media. To others, these events may seem like all-too-real attempts at <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Clearly-Invisible-Marcia-Alesan-Dawkins-ebook/dp/B00IGDXOHY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1414446013&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=clearly+invisible" type="external">“passing”</a> — being accepted, or representing oneself successfully as a member of a different group than the one(s) to which society says a person belongs.</p>
<p>To me, Zellweger’s and Harris’ updated images are invitations to a future that may await us all. I call it Passing 2.0, an era of “identity reassignment” bound only by the limits of imagination, money and technology. An era in which questions of well-being as they relate to age, gender, race, occupation and class can be treated with ambivalence — if they are treated at all.</p>
<p>In this future some of us will grow accustomed to the sights and sounds of diversity and the ideal that law and culture treat every person equally. Meanwhile, others will grow increasingly uncomfortable and experience discontent with the identities we’ve been assigned at birth and/or the stereotypical roles associated with those identities.</p>
<p />
<p>Zellweger and Harris may be among the latter group. As such, they are teaching us a couple of lessons about how identity looks and feels in our techno-driven world.</p>
<p>Lesson 1: Privacy. Basically, these women’s new appearances reveal that identity is on its way to becoming an editable “profile” that can be considered private property worth protecting when you pay for it. Yet, because Zellweger and Harris have both found difficulty in settling on “appropriate” angles for justifying their changes, we learn that women find it hard to protect themselves with a veneer of privacy, especially when they choose to occupy spaces in which they “naturally belong.”</p>
<p>Lesson 2: Assimilation. While many critics might argue that these two women are only attempting to assimilate identity categories based in white supremacy and patriarchy, they actually represent the profound failures of an assimilationist project. What’s more, Zellweger and Harris teach us that when assimilation fails, appropriation — through the dramatic step of cosmetic procedures, in their cases — takes its place. The fact that these elective procedures are available to the likes of celebrities also raises the question of whether age, race and gender — equal parts biology, sociology and, now, consumer choice — can ever be transcended.</p>
<p>In the end, Zellweger’s and Harris’ updated looks present us with an opportunity to think more about some dilemmas of identification and representation in our present moment from a future-oriented perspective. What makes the matter all the more interesting is the outrage the women face as they re-enter the public sphere. No matter what anyone thinks about their new looks, Zellweger and Harris are early adopters, modeling for all of us how identities and experiences are filtered through and determined by technologies of race, class, gender and health. And for that reason they invite a closer look.</p> | Wearable Technology or Identity Reassignment?: Renee Zellweger's and Tameka Harris' Transformations | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/wearable-technology-or-identity-reassignment-renee-zellwegers-and-tameka-harris-transformations/ | 2014-11-01 | 4left
| Wearable Technology or Identity Reassignment?: Renee Zellweger's and Tameka Harris' Transformations
<p>Screen shot of Tameka Harris from <a href="https://gma.yahoo.com/tameka-tiny-harris-gets-surgical-eye-color-change-143039147--abc-news-celebrities.html" type="external">“Good Morning America.”</a></p>
<p>Last week actress Renée Zellweger caused a stir when she posed for cameras with her <a href="http://www.people.com/article/renee-zellweger-speaks-out-different-look" type="external">new, different look</a>. This week, singer and reality-TV star Tameka “Tiny” Harris <a href="http://madamenoire.com/482431/tameka-tiny-harris-permanently-changes-eye-color-ice-gray/" type="external">appeared on Instagram</a> with a new, permanent ice-gray eye color. To some, these events might seem like they are pulled from the technologically dystopian TV series <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Mirror_%28TV_series%29" type="external">“Black Mirror,”</a>in which people get permanent memory and IQ implants and bring dead loved ones back to life through social media. To others, these events may seem like all-too-real attempts at <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Clearly-Invisible-Marcia-Alesan-Dawkins-ebook/dp/B00IGDXOHY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1414446013&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=clearly+invisible" type="external">“passing”</a> — being accepted, or representing oneself successfully as a member of a different group than the one(s) to which society says a person belongs.</p>
<p>To me, Zellweger’s and Harris’ updated images are invitations to a future that may await us all. I call it Passing 2.0, an era of “identity reassignment” bound only by the limits of imagination, money and technology. An era in which questions of well-being as they relate to age, gender, race, occupation and class can be treated with ambivalence — if they are treated at all.</p>
<p>In this future some of us will grow accustomed to the sights and sounds of diversity and the ideal that law and culture treat every person equally. Meanwhile, others will grow increasingly uncomfortable and experience discontent with the identities we’ve been assigned at birth and/or the stereotypical roles associated with those identities.</p>
<p />
<p>Zellweger and Harris may be among the latter group. As such, they are teaching us a couple of lessons about how identity looks and feels in our techno-driven world.</p>
<p>Lesson 1: Privacy. Basically, these women’s new appearances reveal that identity is on its way to becoming an editable “profile” that can be considered private property worth protecting when you pay for it. Yet, because Zellweger and Harris have both found difficulty in settling on “appropriate” angles for justifying their changes, we learn that women find it hard to protect themselves with a veneer of privacy, especially when they choose to occupy spaces in which they “naturally belong.”</p>
<p>Lesson 2: Assimilation. While many critics might argue that these two women are only attempting to assimilate identity categories based in white supremacy and patriarchy, they actually represent the profound failures of an assimilationist project. What’s more, Zellweger and Harris teach us that when assimilation fails, appropriation — through the dramatic step of cosmetic procedures, in their cases — takes its place. The fact that these elective procedures are available to the likes of celebrities also raises the question of whether age, race and gender — equal parts biology, sociology and, now, consumer choice — can ever be transcended.</p>
<p>In the end, Zellweger’s and Harris’ updated looks present us with an opportunity to think more about some dilemmas of identification and representation in our present moment from a future-oriented perspective. What makes the matter all the more interesting is the outrage the women face as they re-enter the public sphere. No matter what anyone thinks about their new looks, Zellweger and Harris are early adopters, modeling for all of us how identities and experiences are filtered through and determined by technologies of race, class, gender and health. And for that reason they invite a closer look.</p> | 4,599 |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.