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<p>Banks, lenders and other financial companies recouped some of their losses after Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William Dudley left open the possibility of a December rate hike. Mr. Dudley said it was unclear when the next hike would occur but didn't rule out another hike this year. Fears that bond investors are seeing a different economic outlook to stock investors are misplaced, according to one brokerage. "No disconnect between stocks &amp; bonds," said analysts at brokerage Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Research, in a note to clients. "Best explanation for low yields &amp; high stocks [is] $1.96 trillion of central bank purchases of financial assets in 2017 alone (central bank balance sheets up $11.26 trillion since Lehman to $15.6 trillion)." Another explanation is that low inflation has been the main focus of Treasury investors, while high earnings-per-share is the main focus of stock investors. As the Fed's Dudley noted Friday, low inflation isn't necessarily a negative sign for the economy, as long as low demand isn't the underlying cause. Shares of Equifax plunged after the credit-reporting agency reported a massive data breach, affecting more than half the adult population of the U.S.</p>
<p>-Rob Curran, [email protected]</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>September 08, 2017 16:48 ET (20:48 GMT)</p>
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Financial Stocks Recoup Some Losses On NY Fed Speaker - Financials Roundup
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http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/09/08/financial-stocks-recoup-some-losses-on-ny-fed-speaker-financials-roundup.html
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2017-09-08
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Financial Stocks Recoup Some Losses On NY Fed Speaker - Financials Roundup
<p>Banks, lenders and other financial companies recouped some of their losses after Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William Dudley left open the possibility of a December rate hike. Mr. Dudley said it was unclear when the next hike would occur but didn't rule out another hike this year. Fears that bond investors are seeing a different economic outlook to stock investors are misplaced, according to one brokerage. "No disconnect between stocks &amp; bonds," said analysts at brokerage Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Research, in a note to clients. "Best explanation for low yields &amp; high stocks [is] $1.96 trillion of central bank purchases of financial assets in 2017 alone (central bank balance sheets up $11.26 trillion since Lehman to $15.6 trillion)." Another explanation is that low inflation has been the main focus of Treasury investors, while high earnings-per-share is the main focus of stock investors. As the Fed's Dudley noted Friday, low inflation isn't necessarily a negative sign for the economy, as long as low demand isn't the underlying cause. Shares of Equifax plunged after the credit-reporting agency reported a massive data breach, affecting more than half the adult population of the U.S.</p>
<p>-Rob Curran, [email protected]</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>September 08, 2017 16:48 ET (20:48 GMT)</p>
| 6,200 |
<p />
<p>China's central bank surprised financial markets on Friday by raising short-term interest rates on the first day back from a long holiday, in a further sign of a tightening policy bias as the economy shows signs of steadying.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>While the rate increases were modest, they reinforced views that Chinese authorities are intent on both containing capital outflows and reining in risks to the financial system created by years of debt-fueled stimulus.</p>
<p>Higher interest rates could prod debt-laden firms into deleveraging, though at the risk of stunting growth.</p>
<p>"It appears to be an intent to control a real estate bubble. It could also be aimed at arresting the yuan's depreciation, although it is on the reverse repo they touched upon and the impact remains to be seen," said Naoto Saito, chief economic researcher at the Daiwa Institute of Research In Tokyo.</p>
<p>"All in all, it comes across as a move to tweak interest rate levels to accompany a broader monetary policy shift."</p>
<p>The People's Bank of China (PBOC) raised the interest rate on open market operation reverse repurchase agreements (repos) by 10 basis points, effective on Feb. 3.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Two banking sources told Reuters it also raised the lending rates on its standing lending facility (SLF) short-term loans.</p>
<p>Analysts said the tightening of primarily money market rates suggested the PBOC wanted to retain policy flexibility as it balances the need to keep the economy from slowing again.</p>
<p>In late January, the PBOC raised rates on its medium-term loan facility (MLF) for the first time since it debuted the liquidity tool in 2014. It was the first time it has raised one of its policy interest rates since July 2011.</p>
<p>Analysts expect any further steps to be gradual as policymakers weigh their impact on economic growth, and believe the PBOC will be in no hurry to raise the policy lending rate for now. The one-year policy lending rate was last cut in October 2015 to 4.35 percent.</p>
<p>"China's economic recovery is still shaky, while the global economic situation is unstable, so raising open market rates is more appropriate than raising benchmark rates," said Li Huiyong, chief economist at Shenwan Hongyuan Securities.</p>
<p>"It's a flexible tool, which can be easily reversed if China's economy shows signs weakness again."</p>
<p>The world's second-largest economy grew 6.7 percent last year - roughly in the middle of the government's target range.</p>
<p>But heavy policy stimulus - evident in record lending from mostly state-owned banks and increased government spending - has fuelled worries among top leaders about the risks of high debt levels and an overheating housing market that could threaten financial stability if not addressed.</p>
<p>China's debt to GDP ratio rose to 277 percent at the end of 2016 from 254 percent the previous year, with an increasing share of new credit being used to pay debt servicing costs, UBS analysts said in a note.</p>
<p>SUFFICIENT LIQUIDITY</p>
<p>Asian stock markets extended modest early losses after the rate rise, while China bond futures fell as much as 1.5 percent at one point.</p>
<p>The PBOC raised the seven-day open market operations rate to 2.35 percent from 2.25 percent. (For more details on other rates, see )</p>
<p>Banking sources said the overnight rate for the SLF loan was raised to 3.1 percent from 2.75 percent, with rates on other SLF loans increased more modestly. The SLF rate acts as a de facto ceiling for interbank lending, analysts said.</p>
<p>Even as it raised borrowing costs, China's central bank moved to reassure markets about liquidity by injecting funds through the 7-day, 14-day and 28-day repos on Friday.</p>
<p>The PBOC drained a net 250 billion yuan last week, before Chinese markets closed for the long Lunar New Year break.</p>
<p>"It's not a good kick off of the Lunar New Year. It is a clear sign that the central bank has switched to tighten its monetary policy," said a trader at a Chinese bank in Shanghai.</p>
<p>China's economy has seen a broad-based pickup in recent months, with fourth-quarter GDP beating expectations due largely to a strong housing market and higher government spending on infrastructure projects.</p>
<p>At the same time, however, capital flight from the tightly managed economy has been strong, fueled by expectations that the yuan currency will depreciate further after sliding to more than eight-year lows against the dollar.</p>
<p>The yuan fell nearly 7 percent last year, its biggest annual loss against the dollar since 1994, on worries about shaky growth early in the year and amid a surge in the greenback.</p>
<p>Bearish views on the yuan have persisted despite a series of tightening measures in recent months aimed at making it more difficult for Chinese individuals and corporations to send money abroad.</p>
<p>China's currency reserves fell by a tenth last year and, at $3.011 trillion, are close to falling below psychologically significant levels.</p>
<p>"The signal is very clear," said Zhou Hao, senior Asian emerging market economist at Commerzbank in Singapore, referring to the latest rate move.</p>
<p>Hao said this time the tightening was more targeted compared with China's previous tightening cycle that ended in 2013.</p>
<p>"Inflation at that time was rising very rapidly and at this time inflation is not really an issue. Secondly the yuan was under pressure to appreciate at that time."</p>
<p>"Right now it's totally different. If you have capital outflows, that's already tightening. And then you tighten further, which is a double-whammy."</p>
<p>(Reporting by Shanghai and Beijing newsrooms; Writing by Vidya Ranganathan; Editing by Kim Coghill)</p>
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China Raises Short-Term Interest Rates in Fresh Tightening Signal
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http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/02/03/china-raises-short-term-interest-rates-in-fresh-tightening-signal.html
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2017-02-03
| 0right
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China Raises Short-Term Interest Rates in Fresh Tightening Signal
<p />
<p>China's central bank surprised financial markets on Friday by raising short-term interest rates on the first day back from a long holiday, in a further sign of a tightening policy bias as the economy shows signs of steadying.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>While the rate increases were modest, they reinforced views that Chinese authorities are intent on both containing capital outflows and reining in risks to the financial system created by years of debt-fueled stimulus.</p>
<p>Higher interest rates could prod debt-laden firms into deleveraging, though at the risk of stunting growth.</p>
<p>"It appears to be an intent to control a real estate bubble. It could also be aimed at arresting the yuan's depreciation, although it is on the reverse repo they touched upon and the impact remains to be seen," said Naoto Saito, chief economic researcher at the Daiwa Institute of Research In Tokyo.</p>
<p>"All in all, it comes across as a move to tweak interest rate levels to accompany a broader monetary policy shift."</p>
<p>The People's Bank of China (PBOC) raised the interest rate on open market operation reverse repurchase agreements (repos) by 10 basis points, effective on Feb. 3.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Two banking sources told Reuters it also raised the lending rates on its standing lending facility (SLF) short-term loans.</p>
<p>Analysts said the tightening of primarily money market rates suggested the PBOC wanted to retain policy flexibility as it balances the need to keep the economy from slowing again.</p>
<p>In late January, the PBOC raised rates on its medium-term loan facility (MLF) for the first time since it debuted the liquidity tool in 2014. It was the first time it has raised one of its policy interest rates since July 2011.</p>
<p>Analysts expect any further steps to be gradual as policymakers weigh their impact on economic growth, and believe the PBOC will be in no hurry to raise the policy lending rate for now. The one-year policy lending rate was last cut in October 2015 to 4.35 percent.</p>
<p>"China's economic recovery is still shaky, while the global economic situation is unstable, so raising open market rates is more appropriate than raising benchmark rates," said Li Huiyong, chief economist at Shenwan Hongyuan Securities.</p>
<p>"It's a flexible tool, which can be easily reversed if China's economy shows signs weakness again."</p>
<p>The world's second-largest economy grew 6.7 percent last year - roughly in the middle of the government's target range.</p>
<p>But heavy policy stimulus - evident in record lending from mostly state-owned banks and increased government spending - has fuelled worries among top leaders about the risks of high debt levels and an overheating housing market that could threaten financial stability if not addressed.</p>
<p>China's debt to GDP ratio rose to 277 percent at the end of 2016 from 254 percent the previous year, with an increasing share of new credit being used to pay debt servicing costs, UBS analysts said in a note.</p>
<p>SUFFICIENT LIQUIDITY</p>
<p>Asian stock markets extended modest early losses after the rate rise, while China bond futures fell as much as 1.5 percent at one point.</p>
<p>The PBOC raised the seven-day open market operations rate to 2.35 percent from 2.25 percent. (For more details on other rates, see )</p>
<p>Banking sources said the overnight rate for the SLF loan was raised to 3.1 percent from 2.75 percent, with rates on other SLF loans increased more modestly. The SLF rate acts as a de facto ceiling for interbank lending, analysts said.</p>
<p>Even as it raised borrowing costs, China's central bank moved to reassure markets about liquidity by injecting funds through the 7-day, 14-day and 28-day repos on Friday.</p>
<p>The PBOC drained a net 250 billion yuan last week, before Chinese markets closed for the long Lunar New Year break.</p>
<p>"It's not a good kick off of the Lunar New Year. It is a clear sign that the central bank has switched to tighten its monetary policy," said a trader at a Chinese bank in Shanghai.</p>
<p>China's economy has seen a broad-based pickup in recent months, with fourth-quarter GDP beating expectations due largely to a strong housing market and higher government spending on infrastructure projects.</p>
<p>At the same time, however, capital flight from the tightly managed economy has been strong, fueled by expectations that the yuan currency will depreciate further after sliding to more than eight-year lows against the dollar.</p>
<p>The yuan fell nearly 7 percent last year, its biggest annual loss against the dollar since 1994, on worries about shaky growth early in the year and amid a surge in the greenback.</p>
<p>Bearish views on the yuan have persisted despite a series of tightening measures in recent months aimed at making it more difficult for Chinese individuals and corporations to send money abroad.</p>
<p>China's currency reserves fell by a tenth last year and, at $3.011 trillion, are close to falling below psychologically significant levels.</p>
<p>"The signal is very clear," said Zhou Hao, senior Asian emerging market economist at Commerzbank in Singapore, referring to the latest rate move.</p>
<p>Hao said this time the tightening was more targeted compared with China's previous tightening cycle that ended in 2013.</p>
<p>"Inflation at that time was rising very rapidly and at this time inflation is not really an issue. Secondly the yuan was under pressure to appreciate at that time."</p>
<p>"Right now it's totally different. If you have capital outflows, that's already tightening. And then you tighten further, which is a double-whammy."</p>
<p>(Reporting by Shanghai and Beijing newsrooms; Writing by Vidya Ranganathan; Editing by Kim Coghill)</p>
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<p>Prosecuters with the state AG’s Office asked a judge last week to drop 10 charges each against Torrance County Manager Joy Ansley and contractor Chris Valdez. The request was made as a nolle prosequi, meaning that prosecutors do not wish to move forward with the charges.</p>
<p>Ansley’s attorneys Michael Alarid and Camille Cordova, in a statement, said, “Ms. Ansley is not guilty of these malicious charges, which were based on gossip. This was clearly shown at the preliminary hearing, which is why the State of New Mexico dismissed the charges. The Attorney General did the right thing by dismissing this case, and we are relieved that Ms. Ansley’s ordeal is at an end.”</p>
<p>The Attorney General’s Office gave no reason, nor offered any explanation on the case.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“We do not have any comment at this time,” said Phil Sisneros, spokesman for Attorney General Gary King.</p>
<p>Ansley and Valdez had been accused of four counts of fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit fraud, and five counts of making or permitting false public voucher for their involvement in four construction jobs between July 2007 and November 2008.</p>
<p>The question of possible wrongdoing first surfaced in January 2012 when a county resident accused Ansley of being involved in a personal relationship with Valdez, who continued to win county business.</p>
<p>The resident alleged that calls for bids were not advertised as they should have been, and that Valdez’s friends and family were often the competing bidders.</p>
<p>The Torrance County Commission invited the State Auditor and the Attorney General’s Office to investigate. The AG filed charges in early 2013 and a preliminary hearing in the case was held in November 2013.</p>
<p>Prosecutors claimed that Ansley illegally fed highly inflated “change orders” on county contracts to Valdez’s contracting business, CCS Construction. The contracts involved work on the Torreon Fire Station, an adjacent playground, the Duran fire substation, and the county’s voting machine storage building.</p>
<p>The manager – the highest non-elected position in county government – is appointed by the commission to implement its decisions and operates directly under the three members. As such, Ansley is responsible for providing research, information and recommendations and serving as the county’s chief executive officer.</p>
<p>Ansley was hired on July 30, 2007. Her duties include monitoring and administering the county budget. This includes an individual departmental review of proposed and ongoing expenditures.</p>
<p>Throughout the investigation and court case, Ansley has maintained that she did nothing wrong. The Torrance County Commission through that time has supported Ansley, keeping her on the job and issuing several statement in support.</p>
<p>In a statement, Ansley reiterated her innocence and added that she is thankful for the people who stood by her.</p>
<p>“It is a terrible thing to be accused of something you didn’t do,” Ansley worte in her statement. “These past years have been horrible because of these charges, which are based on gossip. I want to thank the Torrance County Commission, past and present, as well as my friends, family and co-workers for standing beside me during this difficult time. Now, I want to put this behind me and keep on doing my best for Torrance County.”</p>
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Charges dropped in Torrance fraud case
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https://abqjournal.com/505490/nm-ag-drops-charges-in-torrance-fraud-case.html
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Charges dropped in Torrance fraud case
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Prosecuters with the state AG’s Office asked a judge last week to drop 10 charges each against Torrance County Manager Joy Ansley and contractor Chris Valdez. The request was made as a nolle prosequi, meaning that prosecutors do not wish to move forward with the charges.</p>
<p>Ansley’s attorneys Michael Alarid and Camille Cordova, in a statement, said, “Ms. Ansley is not guilty of these malicious charges, which were based on gossip. This was clearly shown at the preliminary hearing, which is why the State of New Mexico dismissed the charges. The Attorney General did the right thing by dismissing this case, and we are relieved that Ms. Ansley’s ordeal is at an end.”</p>
<p>The Attorney General’s Office gave no reason, nor offered any explanation on the case.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“We do not have any comment at this time,” said Phil Sisneros, spokesman for Attorney General Gary King.</p>
<p>Ansley and Valdez had been accused of four counts of fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit fraud, and five counts of making or permitting false public voucher for their involvement in four construction jobs between July 2007 and November 2008.</p>
<p>The question of possible wrongdoing first surfaced in January 2012 when a county resident accused Ansley of being involved in a personal relationship with Valdez, who continued to win county business.</p>
<p>The resident alleged that calls for bids were not advertised as they should have been, and that Valdez’s friends and family were often the competing bidders.</p>
<p>The Torrance County Commission invited the State Auditor and the Attorney General’s Office to investigate. The AG filed charges in early 2013 and a preliminary hearing in the case was held in November 2013.</p>
<p>Prosecutors claimed that Ansley illegally fed highly inflated “change orders” on county contracts to Valdez’s contracting business, CCS Construction. The contracts involved work on the Torreon Fire Station, an adjacent playground, the Duran fire substation, and the county’s voting machine storage building.</p>
<p>The manager – the highest non-elected position in county government – is appointed by the commission to implement its decisions and operates directly under the three members. As such, Ansley is responsible for providing research, information and recommendations and serving as the county’s chief executive officer.</p>
<p>Ansley was hired on July 30, 2007. Her duties include monitoring and administering the county budget. This includes an individual departmental review of proposed and ongoing expenditures.</p>
<p>Throughout the investigation and court case, Ansley has maintained that she did nothing wrong. The Torrance County Commission through that time has supported Ansley, keeping her on the job and issuing several statement in support.</p>
<p>In a statement, Ansley reiterated her innocence and added that she is thankful for the people who stood by her.</p>
<p>“It is a terrible thing to be accused of something you didn’t do,” Ansley worte in her statement. “These past years have been horrible because of these charges, which are based on gossip. I want to thank the Torrance County Commission, past and present, as well as my friends, family and co-workers for standing beside me during this difficult time. Now, I want to put this behind me and keep on doing my best for Torrance County.”</p>
| 6,202 |
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<p />
<p>While <a href="https://www.recruiter.com/recruiting.html" type="external">recruiting Opens a New Window.</a> is tough for us all, tech sector employers face an especially difficult battle for talent. The pool of qualified, eligible applicants for tech roles always seems to be too small.&#160;As a result, graduation season is especially important to tech companies, as it gives them access to a fresh pool of talent.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Unfortunately, these graduates don't always make it easy to hire them. Thanks in part to their limited experience, many grads are unsure of how to conduct focused job hunts or market themselves to employers.</p>
<p>"[A] newly graduated developer should focus on how their unique background has informed their experience and can be used to address a company's problems, even if they have less work experience," says Julia Silge, data scientist for Stack Overflow, an online community for developers.</p>
<p>This years' " <a href="https://www.stackoverflowbusiness.com/talent/resources/global-developer-hiring-landscape-2017" type="external">Developer Hiring Landscape Opens a New Window.</a>" report from <a href="https://www.stackoverflowbusiness.com/talent" type="external">Stack Overflow Opens a New Window.</a>, which surveyed more than 64,000 developers from around the world, found that 77.5 percent of professional developers have a bachelor's degree. However, Silge notes that it isn't uncommon for developers to enter the field without college degrees.</p>
<p>"These developers are educated in nontraditional ways, like coding boot camps or being self-taught," Silge says. "Typically, a portfolio or developer story is going to most effectively demonstrate your skills even if a degree is a requirement."</p>
<p>Doing Away With Tradition</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Entry-level corporate jobs have long required applicants to hold college degrees, but in the technology arena, finding applicants with degrees isn't always the same as finding applicants with the necessary skill sets.</p>
<p>"Developers who responded to our survey said communication skills and a track record of getting things done were the most important [in making a hire], instead of things like previous job titles or education credentials," Silge says.</p>
<p>Colleges and universities should take note of the realities of the tech sector and adjust their programs to suit a world where credentials aren't enough. Schools should also focus on providing training that teaches practical skills in the form of both degree-seeking programs and certifications.</p>
<p>"Right now, employment levels for software developers are extremely high; new software developers are entering a market that is hungry for their skills," says Silge. "Colleges and universities should build into their programs opportunities to exercise those skills through solving real-world problems, collaborating with teams, and building compelling portfolios. Colleges and universities need to advocate for their students to build things relevant to the real world."</p>
<p>Remember: New Developers Have Bills to Pay</p>
<p>Businesses seeking top talent should keep in mind that new graduates are likely deep in student debt. Thus, one of the best ways to attract these young candidates is by offering benefits that can help alleviate some of that debt. Companies could make themselves attractive targets for new graduates by offering benefits that help cut expenses, such as <a href="https://www.recruiter.com/i/student-loan-assistance-act-aims-to-help-employers-battle-student-debt/" type="external">student loan pay-down programs Opens a New Window.</a>, relocation benefits, and low-deductible health insurance plans, as well as numerous incentives that help save money on everyday services, such as cellphone plans.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, graduates in search of bigger paychecks should look to areas where change is frequent and growth is steady.</p>
<p>"We see the highest salaries for new developers in fields that have lots of opportunities and are growing quickly, like data science/machine learning, the internet of things (IoT), or DevOps, as more companies move to cloud deployment," Silge says. "These are some of the fields where new developers earn the highest salaries globally, as well as some of the positions that are hardest for recruiters to fill."</p>
<p>Graduates bring the latest knowledge and skills to their new jobs, and companies that work hard to attract these young members of the workforce will reap the benefits. In the fast-changing tech sector, bringing in new talent that understands the most recent technologies and methods can be as important as keeping the current staff up to date.</p>
|
How to Hire the Best Talent From the Newly Graduated Developer Pool
| true |
http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/07/27/how-to-hire-best-talent-from-newly-graduated-developer-pool.html
|
2017-08-04
| 0right
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How to Hire the Best Talent From the Newly Graduated Developer Pool
<p />
<p>While <a href="https://www.recruiter.com/recruiting.html" type="external">recruiting Opens a New Window.</a> is tough for us all, tech sector employers face an especially difficult battle for talent. The pool of qualified, eligible applicants for tech roles always seems to be too small.&#160;As a result, graduation season is especially important to tech companies, as it gives them access to a fresh pool of talent.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Unfortunately, these graduates don't always make it easy to hire them. Thanks in part to their limited experience, many grads are unsure of how to conduct focused job hunts or market themselves to employers.</p>
<p>"[A] newly graduated developer should focus on how their unique background has informed their experience and can be used to address a company's problems, even if they have less work experience," says Julia Silge, data scientist for Stack Overflow, an online community for developers.</p>
<p>This years' " <a href="https://www.stackoverflowbusiness.com/talent/resources/global-developer-hiring-landscape-2017" type="external">Developer Hiring Landscape Opens a New Window.</a>" report from <a href="https://www.stackoverflowbusiness.com/talent" type="external">Stack Overflow Opens a New Window.</a>, which surveyed more than 64,000 developers from around the world, found that 77.5 percent of professional developers have a bachelor's degree. However, Silge notes that it isn't uncommon for developers to enter the field without college degrees.</p>
<p>"These developers are educated in nontraditional ways, like coding boot camps or being self-taught," Silge says. "Typically, a portfolio or developer story is going to most effectively demonstrate your skills even if a degree is a requirement."</p>
<p>Doing Away With Tradition</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Entry-level corporate jobs have long required applicants to hold college degrees, but in the technology arena, finding applicants with degrees isn't always the same as finding applicants with the necessary skill sets.</p>
<p>"Developers who responded to our survey said communication skills and a track record of getting things done were the most important [in making a hire], instead of things like previous job titles or education credentials," Silge says.</p>
<p>Colleges and universities should take note of the realities of the tech sector and adjust their programs to suit a world where credentials aren't enough. Schools should also focus on providing training that teaches practical skills in the form of both degree-seeking programs and certifications.</p>
<p>"Right now, employment levels for software developers are extremely high; new software developers are entering a market that is hungry for their skills," says Silge. "Colleges and universities should build into their programs opportunities to exercise those skills through solving real-world problems, collaborating with teams, and building compelling portfolios. Colleges and universities need to advocate for their students to build things relevant to the real world."</p>
<p>Remember: New Developers Have Bills to Pay</p>
<p>Businesses seeking top talent should keep in mind that new graduates are likely deep in student debt. Thus, one of the best ways to attract these young candidates is by offering benefits that can help alleviate some of that debt. Companies could make themselves attractive targets for new graduates by offering benefits that help cut expenses, such as <a href="https://www.recruiter.com/i/student-loan-assistance-act-aims-to-help-employers-battle-student-debt/" type="external">student loan pay-down programs Opens a New Window.</a>, relocation benefits, and low-deductible health insurance plans, as well as numerous incentives that help save money on everyday services, such as cellphone plans.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, graduates in search of bigger paychecks should look to areas where change is frequent and growth is steady.</p>
<p>"We see the highest salaries for new developers in fields that have lots of opportunities and are growing quickly, like data science/machine learning, the internet of things (IoT), or DevOps, as more companies move to cloud deployment," Silge says. "These are some of the fields where new developers earn the highest salaries globally, as well as some of the positions that are hardest for recruiters to fill."</p>
<p>Graduates bring the latest knowledge and skills to their new jobs, and companies that work hard to attract these young members of the workforce will reap the benefits. In the fast-changing tech sector, bringing in new talent that understands the most recent technologies and methods can be as important as keeping the current staff up to date.</p>
| 6,203 |
<p>your email</p>
<p>your name</p>
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<p />
<p>“Wisconsin on steroids” –a sweeping set of anti-union laws even more severe than those passed in Madison last March over massive public outcry—is now on the legislative agenda in Arizona.&#160;Arizona Republicans seek to ban local unions of teachers, firefighters, police, and other public servants from collective bargaining, and would even prohibit local officials from conferring with unions. These and other proposals set a new low in proposed restrictions on union rights.</p>
<p>The draconian package of bills includes:</p>
<p>“We consider this even worse than the [anti-public union] legislation that Gov. Walker pushed in Wisconsin, “said AFL-CIO Executive Director Rebeka Friend.&#160;She believes the new wave of legislation is aimed at preventing union members from speaking out against the privatization of public services in Arizona.</p>
<p>Privatization has long been a central goal of both the American Legislative Exchange Council (see <a href="http://site.pfaw.org/pdf/ALEC-IN-ARIZONA.pdf" type="external">here</a>&#160;and <a href="http://alecexposed.org/wiki/ALEC_Exposed" type="external">here</a>), a national group funded heavily by the billionaire Koch brothers that drafts and promotes state legislation,&#160;and the Arizona-based Goldwater Institute, an ALEC affiliate.</p>
<p>“This is a Goldwater Institute attack,” Friend explained. “They’re a think-tank very prominent in anti-union activities, and their main goal is privatizing public services. We stand in the way of what they want because union members know what is needed for good public services,” she said. “Our members are a barricade to what ALEC and the Goldwater Institute want in terms of privatization. ...&#160;This legislation is for the corporate donors, not the taxpayers." While victories for Gov.&#160; Walker and others have come at a huge political cost, the Republicans have arch-conservative Jan Brewer as governor and super-majorities in both houses of the legislature. Walker now faces a recall election demanded by 1.1 million citizens, almost as many as voted for him in 2010. In Ohio, Gov. John Kasich was humiliated when the voters in November repealed his law effectively stripping public workers of their rights. But that has not halted their zealous comrades in Indiana and Arizona from escalating the battle against worker rights. Much of the nation is comprised of states lacking the same strong union traditions of Wisconsin and Ohio that have persisted despite a decline in union membership.</p>
<p>Corporations and the Right are currently focusing on states with lower levels of union organization and the absence of other mass-based advocacy groups. Thus, last week anti-union Republican legislators in Indiana rammed through “right-to-work” legislation that will outlaw the union shop and drive more workers into poverty, a condition already shared by one of three Hoosiers. Gov. Mitch Daniels signed the law this week.</p>
<p>Arizona has long been a “right-to-work,” and state employees lack any rights to collectively bargain. Nonetheless, right-wing legislators have began a drive to totally silence the state’s small but vigorous labor movement in their drive for privatization. AFSCME Local 2960 President Frank Piccioli tore into the legislation during a televised debate with a Republican legislator. Piccioli declared, “ The senator is trying to destroy representation for the middle class.”</p>
<p>After quoting Ronald Reagan—who at one time was elected president of the Screen Actors Guild union—asserting that freedom cannot exist where unions are banned, Piccioli laid out a strong appeal to Arizona's broader public:</p>
<p>They’re trying to destroy representation for firefighters, police, for 911 responders and teachers. Instead of going after the CEOs and banks that caused our problems, they’re trying to shift the blame to public employees. The Goldwater Institute’s Nick Granias was remarkably frank in explaining how the legislation would cripple public unions so members would then seem them as useless. As Talking Points memo stated:</p>
<p>Granias said the measures were inspired by Wisconsin but were more modeled after legislation passed in Virginia about 30 years ago. He said the goal of the measures wasn’t to ban public unions from Arizona but to make them seem obsolete.</p>
<p>“Gradually this would cause people to leave the unions as they recognized that unions no longer have an unfair bargaining advantage given to them by collective bargaining laws,” Dranias said. “They’ll realize that unions don’t do much for them.”</p>
<p>But Friend, Piccioli and the labor movement of Arizona believe that the Republican legislators are targeting a highly popular segment of the population: police officers, firefighters, teachers and first responders, among others.</p>
<p>The Republicans are also overtly standing with the richest 1% at a time when unemployment remains relatively high, Arizona is troubled by one of the nation's worst foreclosure rates, and the state is marked by vivid contrasts between the lives of the elite and the vast majority. Within the next two weeks, Friend will be summoning AFL-CIO members and allies to the state capitol to try to stop the current anti-union wave sweeping across the country from dealing another blow.</p>
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Wisconsin on Steroids? Arizona GOP Wants to Make State Most Anti-Union in Nation
| true |
http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/12667/alec_goldwater_think-tank_seek_far-reaching_anti-union_goals_in_arizona/
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2012-02-03
| 4left
|
Wisconsin on Steroids? Arizona GOP Wants to Make State Most Anti-Union in Nation
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<p>“Wisconsin on steroids” –a sweeping set of anti-union laws even more severe than those passed in Madison last March over massive public outcry—is now on the legislative agenda in Arizona.&#160;Arizona Republicans seek to ban local unions of teachers, firefighters, police, and other public servants from collective bargaining, and would even prohibit local officials from conferring with unions. These and other proposals set a new low in proposed restrictions on union rights.</p>
<p>The draconian package of bills includes:</p>
<p>“We consider this even worse than the [anti-public union] legislation that Gov. Walker pushed in Wisconsin, “said AFL-CIO Executive Director Rebeka Friend.&#160;She believes the new wave of legislation is aimed at preventing union members from speaking out against the privatization of public services in Arizona.</p>
<p>Privatization has long been a central goal of both the American Legislative Exchange Council (see <a href="http://site.pfaw.org/pdf/ALEC-IN-ARIZONA.pdf" type="external">here</a>&#160;and <a href="http://alecexposed.org/wiki/ALEC_Exposed" type="external">here</a>), a national group funded heavily by the billionaire Koch brothers that drafts and promotes state legislation,&#160;and the Arizona-based Goldwater Institute, an ALEC affiliate.</p>
<p>“This is a Goldwater Institute attack,” Friend explained. “They’re a think-tank very prominent in anti-union activities, and their main goal is privatizing public services. We stand in the way of what they want because union members know what is needed for good public services,” she said. “Our members are a barricade to what ALEC and the Goldwater Institute want in terms of privatization. ...&#160;This legislation is for the corporate donors, not the taxpayers." While victories for Gov.&#160; Walker and others have come at a huge political cost, the Republicans have arch-conservative Jan Brewer as governor and super-majorities in both houses of the legislature. Walker now faces a recall election demanded by 1.1 million citizens, almost as many as voted for him in 2010. In Ohio, Gov. John Kasich was humiliated when the voters in November repealed his law effectively stripping public workers of their rights. But that has not halted their zealous comrades in Indiana and Arizona from escalating the battle against worker rights. Much of the nation is comprised of states lacking the same strong union traditions of Wisconsin and Ohio that have persisted despite a decline in union membership.</p>
<p>Corporations and the Right are currently focusing on states with lower levels of union organization and the absence of other mass-based advocacy groups. Thus, last week anti-union Republican legislators in Indiana rammed through “right-to-work” legislation that will outlaw the union shop and drive more workers into poverty, a condition already shared by one of three Hoosiers. Gov. Mitch Daniels signed the law this week.</p>
<p>Arizona has long been a “right-to-work,” and state employees lack any rights to collectively bargain. Nonetheless, right-wing legislators have began a drive to totally silence the state’s small but vigorous labor movement in their drive for privatization. AFSCME Local 2960 President Frank Piccioli tore into the legislation during a televised debate with a Republican legislator. Piccioli declared, “ The senator is trying to destroy representation for the middle class.”</p>
<p>After quoting Ronald Reagan—who at one time was elected president of the Screen Actors Guild union—asserting that freedom cannot exist where unions are banned, Piccioli laid out a strong appeal to Arizona's broader public:</p>
<p>They’re trying to destroy representation for firefighters, police, for 911 responders and teachers. Instead of going after the CEOs and banks that caused our problems, they’re trying to shift the blame to public employees. The Goldwater Institute’s Nick Granias was remarkably frank in explaining how the legislation would cripple public unions so members would then seem them as useless. As Talking Points memo stated:</p>
<p>Granias said the measures were inspired by Wisconsin but were more modeled after legislation passed in Virginia about 30 years ago. He said the goal of the measures wasn’t to ban public unions from Arizona but to make them seem obsolete.</p>
<p>“Gradually this would cause people to leave the unions as they recognized that unions no longer have an unfair bargaining advantage given to them by collective bargaining laws,” Dranias said. “They’ll realize that unions don’t do much for them.”</p>
<p>But Friend, Piccioli and the labor movement of Arizona believe that the Republican legislators are targeting a highly popular segment of the population: police officers, firefighters, teachers and first responders, among others.</p>
<p>The Republicans are also overtly standing with the richest 1% at a time when unemployment remains relatively high, Arizona is troubled by one of the nation's worst foreclosure rates, and the state is marked by vivid contrasts between the lives of the elite and the vast majority. Within the next two weeks, Friend will be summoning AFL-CIO members and allies to the state capitol to try to stop the current anti-union wave sweeping across the country from dealing another blow.</p>
| 6,204 |
<p>A data analytics dashboard for a manufacturing operation. Image source: Qlik.</p>
<p>Qlik Technologies reported its first-quarter 2016 earnings after the market closed on Thursday. The data analytics software company reported strong year-over-year revenue growth of 15%, and 18% in constant currency, while adjusted earnings per share were unchanged from the year-ago period. The company edged up its full-year 2016 guidance on Q1 results that exceeded its expectations.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Qlik's stock rose 4.8% in after-hours trading on Thursday. This rise can be attributed to revenue and adjusted earnings exceeding analysts' estimates, as well as the company's guidance.</p>
<p>The stock was down 14.8% for the one-year period through Thursday. It has struggled since hitting an all-time high in August, however, it's made a considerable comeback since mid-February when the company reported fourth-quarter earnings. Part of this rebound can be attributed to activist-investor hedge fund Elliot Management buying an 8.88% stake in the company in early March.</p>
<p>Qlik's key quarterly numbers</p>
<p>Data source: Qlik.</p>
<p>Qlik's revenue and adjusted EPS solidly beat the $134.4 million and negative $0.12, respectively, that analysts were expecting.Long-term investors shouldn't pay too much heed to Wall Street estimates, as analysts are very short-term-focused. However, expectations help explain market reactions, so they can be worth knowing.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>More importantly, the company exceeded its internal revenue and earnings guidance. It had expected an adjusted EPS loss in the range of $0.14 to $0.12 on revenue of $132 million to $136 million.</p>
<p>What happened with Qlik this quarter?</p>
<p>What management had to saySaid Qlik CEO Lars Bjork in the company press release:</p>
<p>Looking forwardQlik established Q2 guidance and increased its 2016 revenue and earnings guidance range set last quarter.</p>
<p>Q2 guidance:</p>
<p>Data source: Qlik.</p>
<p>Full-year 2016 guidance:</p>
<p>Data source: Qlik.</p>
<p>Original guidance was for EPS of $0.41 to $0.44 on revenue of $695 million to $705 million. Going into earnings, analysts were projecting that Qlik would earn $0.42 per share on revenue of $698.8 million in 2016. So, the lower end of the company's revenue range expectation exceeds analysts' estimates, while the low end of its earnings expectation range matches the consensus.</p>
<p>In short, Qlik posted results that suggest it's on target to deliver strong full-year 2016 results.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/04/29/qlik-technologies-raises-2016-guidance-on-q1-resul.aspx" type="external">Qlik Technologies Raises 2016 Guidance on Q1 Results That Exceeded Its Expectations Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFMcKenna/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Beth McKenna Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Qlik Technologies. 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>
|
Qlik Technologies Raises 2016 Guidance on Q1 Results That Exceeded Its Expectations
| true |
http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/04/29/qlik-technologies-raises-2016-guidance-on-q1-results-that-exceeded-its.html
|
2016-04-29
| 0right
|
Qlik Technologies Raises 2016 Guidance on Q1 Results That Exceeded Its Expectations
<p>A data analytics dashboard for a manufacturing operation. Image source: Qlik.</p>
<p>Qlik Technologies reported its first-quarter 2016 earnings after the market closed on Thursday. The data analytics software company reported strong year-over-year revenue growth of 15%, and 18% in constant currency, while adjusted earnings per share were unchanged from the year-ago period. The company edged up its full-year 2016 guidance on Q1 results that exceeded its expectations.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Qlik's stock rose 4.8% in after-hours trading on Thursday. This rise can be attributed to revenue and adjusted earnings exceeding analysts' estimates, as well as the company's guidance.</p>
<p>The stock was down 14.8% for the one-year period through Thursday. It has struggled since hitting an all-time high in August, however, it's made a considerable comeback since mid-February when the company reported fourth-quarter earnings. Part of this rebound can be attributed to activist-investor hedge fund Elliot Management buying an 8.88% stake in the company in early March.</p>
<p>Qlik's key quarterly numbers</p>
<p>Data source: Qlik.</p>
<p>Qlik's revenue and adjusted EPS solidly beat the $134.4 million and negative $0.12, respectively, that analysts were expecting.Long-term investors shouldn't pay too much heed to Wall Street estimates, as analysts are very short-term-focused. However, expectations help explain market reactions, so they can be worth knowing.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>More importantly, the company exceeded its internal revenue and earnings guidance. It had expected an adjusted EPS loss in the range of $0.14 to $0.12 on revenue of $132 million to $136 million.</p>
<p>What happened with Qlik this quarter?</p>
<p>What management had to saySaid Qlik CEO Lars Bjork in the company press release:</p>
<p>Looking forwardQlik established Q2 guidance and increased its 2016 revenue and earnings guidance range set last quarter.</p>
<p>Q2 guidance:</p>
<p>Data source: Qlik.</p>
<p>Full-year 2016 guidance:</p>
<p>Data source: Qlik.</p>
<p>Original guidance was for EPS of $0.41 to $0.44 on revenue of $695 million to $705 million. Going into earnings, analysts were projecting that Qlik would earn $0.42 per share on revenue of $698.8 million in 2016. So, the lower end of the company's revenue range expectation exceeds analysts' estimates, while the low end of its earnings expectation range matches the consensus.</p>
<p>In short, Qlik posted results that suggest it's on target to deliver strong full-year 2016 results.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/04/29/qlik-technologies-raises-2016-guidance-on-q1-resul.aspx" type="external">Qlik Technologies Raises 2016 Guidance on Q1 Results That Exceeded Its Expectations Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFMcKenna/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Beth McKenna Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Qlik Technologies. 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>
| 6,205 |
<p>Planned Parenthood went on the counteroffensive this week against&#160;the&#160;Center for Medical Progress,&#160;by filing a federal lawsuit&#160;against the creators of a smear campaign that depicted&#160;the non-profit&#160;selling fetal parts.</p>
<p>The federal suit&#160; <a href="http://ppfa.pr-optout.com/ViewAttachment.aspx?EID=mr9WXYw4u2IxYnni1dBRVsyFeJIuuWQv%2btbEt05Givo%3d" type="external">charges</a>&#160;that the anti-abortion activists "engaged in elaborate, illegal conspiracy in order to block women's access to safe and legal abortion."</p>
<p>The suit says defendants David Daleiden, Troy Newman,&#160;and&#160;others "obtained fake government&#160;IDs, and formed a fake tissue procurement company, Biomax, in an effort to worm their way into private medical conferences and health care centers." It also contends the taping was illegal and that&#160;"Planned Parenthood has never sold fetal tissue or facilitated fetal tissue donation in order to make a profit."</p>
<p>The selectively-edited videos had devastating consequences, not only for the reputation of Planned Parenthood, but also for the victims who were gunned down in a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado</p>
<p>Despite being roundly debunked, the videos became&#160;a major talking point for the GOP and for their presidential candidates - most notably for Carly Fiorina,&#160;who told a national debate audience about a scene in the videos that never occurred.</p>
<p>The videos also kicked off another round of GOP attempts to defund Planned Parenthood, making it a major priority for the Republican caucus.&#160; Last week, President Obama vetoed legislation that would have&#160;defunded the organization and gutted the Affordable Care Act.</p>
<p>The GOP knows they can prey upon their base's&#160;emotions&#160;to score political capital. But the truth is, Planned Parenthood&#160;is&#160;pro-life. Conducting research to create vaccines is pro-life. Testing for, and treating sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, is pro-life. Providing Pap tests and breast exams is pro-life.</p>
<p>But because the beneficiaries are women, these services don't matter to the increasingly anti-woman GOP platform.</p>
<p>It's important that we protect women's rights to safe, legal abortion, as guaranteed in&#160;Roe v. Wade.&#160;</p>
<p>But we must also stand up for Planned Parenthood.&#160;These are not just attacks on reproductive rights. These are attacks on women.</p>
|
Planned Parenthood Files Federal Lawsuit Against Creators Of Smear Campaign Videos
| true |
http://bluenationreview.com/planned-parenthood-files-federal-lawsuit-against-creators-of-smear-campaign-videos/
|
2016-01-15
| 4left
|
Planned Parenthood Files Federal Lawsuit Against Creators Of Smear Campaign Videos
<p>Planned Parenthood went on the counteroffensive this week against&#160;the&#160;Center for Medical Progress,&#160;by filing a federal lawsuit&#160;against the creators of a smear campaign that depicted&#160;the non-profit&#160;selling fetal parts.</p>
<p>The federal suit&#160; <a href="http://ppfa.pr-optout.com/ViewAttachment.aspx?EID=mr9WXYw4u2IxYnni1dBRVsyFeJIuuWQv%2btbEt05Givo%3d" type="external">charges</a>&#160;that the anti-abortion activists "engaged in elaborate, illegal conspiracy in order to block women's access to safe and legal abortion."</p>
<p>The suit says defendants David Daleiden, Troy Newman,&#160;and&#160;others "obtained fake government&#160;IDs, and formed a fake tissue procurement company, Biomax, in an effort to worm their way into private medical conferences and health care centers." It also contends the taping was illegal and that&#160;"Planned Parenthood has never sold fetal tissue or facilitated fetal tissue donation in order to make a profit."</p>
<p>The selectively-edited videos had devastating consequences, not only for the reputation of Planned Parenthood, but also for the victims who were gunned down in a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado</p>
<p>Despite being roundly debunked, the videos became&#160;a major talking point for the GOP and for their presidential candidates - most notably for Carly Fiorina,&#160;who told a national debate audience about a scene in the videos that never occurred.</p>
<p>The videos also kicked off another round of GOP attempts to defund Planned Parenthood, making it a major priority for the Republican caucus.&#160; Last week, President Obama vetoed legislation that would have&#160;defunded the organization and gutted the Affordable Care Act.</p>
<p>The GOP knows they can prey upon their base's&#160;emotions&#160;to score political capital. But the truth is, Planned Parenthood&#160;is&#160;pro-life. Conducting research to create vaccines is pro-life. Testing for, and treating sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, is pro-life. Providing Pap tests and breast exams is pro-life.</p>
<p>But because the beneficiaries are women, these services don't matter to the increasingly anti-woman GOP platform.</p>
<p>It's important that we protect women's rights to safe, legal abortion, as guaranteed in&#160;Roe v. Wade.&#160;</p>
<p>But we must also stand up for Planned Parenthood.&#160;These are not just attacks on reproductive rights. These are attacks on women.</p>
| 6,206 |
<p />
<p>Though riders won’t see them for a few more months, the first of Amtrak's incoming 70 high-tech trains, built by Siemens, rolled off the assembly line and is ready to begin testing. “Our project goal was to make the supply chain as American as possible,” says Siemens Rail Systems president Michael Cahill of the $466 million initiative. Siemens is building parts in Norwood, Ohio, Alpharetta, Georgia and Richland, Mississippi, and assembling the trains at its Sacramento, California plant. Additionally, the manufacturer says it is using 69 suppliers – a majority of them American companies &#160;-- in more than 60 U.S. cities and 23 states. One of those suppliers is Bentech, a Philadelphia-based manufacturer with approximately 80 employees. Robert Benninghoff, one of Bentech’s owners, says the company is providing Siemens with the grab bars located on the outside of the trains for conductors and journeymen to get in and out of the vehicles. In addition to its headquarters in Philadelphia, Bentech has a foundry in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. “Siemens is one of the biggest customers we have, as well as Bombardier and Kawasaki,” says Benninghoff. He also says that about 80% of the subway cars in New York City have Bentech handrails. Benninghoff hasn’t seen the finished train yet, but says he is looking forward to the sighting when the trains go into service along the Northeast Corridor. “Our people get a kick out of it here!” he says. Small Business Praises Siemens National Fire Systems and its subsidiary Sacramento Fire Extinguisher Co. is another small business supplier to Siemens. The business is family-run and operated, with 12 employees. “For Siemens, we are supplying portable fire extinguishers for the cars – it’s a special type of halon fire extinguisher,” says NFS President Tom Robinson. He says that Siemens has been “fantastic” to work with. “It’s really great – we’ve had engineers come down here from Siemens to make sure everything fits properly. One of the brackets was 3 millimeters off and they said they couldn’t use it – they’re so precise in their stuff!” says Robinson. Siemens Commits to American Companies for Amtrak Trains Cahill says partnering with American suppliers has numerous benefits for the multinational Siemens. “One good reason is the lifespan of the locomotives. There’s a 20-year life at the minimum, and in that time, suppliers need to be active and dedicated, when things need to be replaced or overhauled,” says Cahill. Another motive for employing domestic suppliers, he says, is it helps Siemens avoid exchange rate fluctuations that affect the price of importing goods from foreign countries. Cahill says the government has created made-in-the-USA buying guidelines for companies in order to support the rolling stock industry. For the deal with Amtrak, Siemens was required to use at least 50% American products, but Cahill says the company has gone above and beyond that threshold.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
|
Amtrak’s New Trains Running on U.S. Small Businesses
| true |
http://foxbusiness.com/features/2013/05/16/amtraks-new-trains-running-on-us-small-businesses.html
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2016-04-08
| 0right
|
Amtrak’s New Trains Running on U.S. Small Businesses
<p />
<p>Though riders won’t see them for a few more months, the first of Amtrak's incoming 70 high-tech trains, built by Siemens, rolled off the assembly line and is ready to begin testing. “Our project goal was to make the supply chain as American as possible,” says Siemens Rail Systems president Michael Cahill of the $466 million initiative. Siemens is building parts in Norwood, Ohio, Alpharetta, Georgia and Richland, Mississippi, and assembling the trains at its Sacramento, California plant. Additionally, the manufacturer says it is using 69 suppliers – a majority of them American companies &#160;-- in more than 60 U.S. cities and 23 states. One of those suppliers is Bentech, a Philadelphia-based manufacturer with approximately 80 employees. Robert Benninghoff, one of Bentech’s owners, says the company is providing Siemens with the grab bars located on the outside of the trains for conductors and journeymen to get in and out of the vehicles. In addition to its headquarters in Philadelphia, Bentech has a foundry in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. “Siemens is one of the biggest customers we have, as well as Bombardier and Kawasaki,” says Benninghoff. He also says that about 80% of the subway cars in New York City have Bentech handrails. Benninghoff hasn’t seen the finished train yet, but says he is looking forward to the sighting when the trains go into service along the Northeast Corridor. “Our people get a kick out of it here!” he says. Small Business Praises Siemens National Fire Systems and its subsidiary Sacramento Fire Extinguisher Co. is another small business supplier to Siemens. The business is family-run and operated, with 12 employees. “For Siemens, we are supplying portable fire extinguishers for the cars – it’s a special type of halon fire extinguisher,” says NFS President Tom Robinson. He says that Siemens has been “fantastic” to work with. “It’s really great – we’ve had engineers come down here from Siemens to make sure everything fits properly. One of the brackets was 3 millimeters off and they said they couldn’t use it – they’re so precise in their stuff!” says Robinson. Siemens Commits to American Companies for Amtrak Trains Cahill says partnering with American suppliers has numerous benefits for the multinational Siemens. “One good reason is the lifespan of the locomotives. There’s a 20-year life at the minimum, and in that time, suppliers need to be active and dedicated, when things need to be replaced or overhauled,” says Cahill. Another motive for employing domestic suppliers, he says, is it helps Siemens avoid exchange rate fluctuations that affect the price of importing goods from foreign countries. Cahill says the government has created made-in-the-USA buying guidelines for companies in order to support the rolling stock industry. For the deal with Amtrak, Siemens was required to use at least 50% American products, but Cahill says the company has gone above and beyond that threshold.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
| 6,207 |
<p>LONDON — The key to understanding what’s going on in Ukraine and what’s likely to happen next is to pay more attention to what governments do rather than to what they say.</p>
<p>That’s a rule I learned many years ago as a foreign correspondent reporting events in Israel. An older and more experienced correspondent advised me to watch the Israeli bulldozers, see where they are building roads if you want to measure the government’s real intentions. He was right.</p>
<p>I learned that rule again a few years later when I went to an Israeli bunker on the Suez Canal to see what the Egyptians were doing on the other side of the canal. Egyptian bulldozers were doing earth moving. I duly reported what an Israeli official in Jerusalem had told me, that the Egyptian army was conducting maneuvers. A few days later, the Egyptians crossed the canal and launched the 1973 Arab war against Israel. Both the CIA and Israeli intelligence had seen what the Egyptians were doing but did not believe what they saw.</p>
<p>Apply the rule to the current crisis sparked by Russia’s takeover of the Crimea, and the picture becomes sharper. Russia has massed tens of thousands of well-equipped troops on its border with Ukraine.</p>
<p>The Russian government says its soldiers are conducting maneuvers. Western governments believe they are there either to intimidate the Ukrainian government or, more likely, are waiting for a pretext to invade and seize another chunk of Ukraine.</p>
<p>Meanwhile pro-Russian demonstrators in Ukrainian cities along the Russian border are trying to provide the pretext and demanding to be “protected” by the Russian army.</p>
<p>Since it is difficult to keep large troop formations deployed for a long time in a high state of readiness, the Russians will reveal their intentions in the very near future.</p>
<p>There is a second rule that should be applied to the Ukraine crisis. It is also true that what governments do not do is more important than what they say. President Putin can ignore tough talk by the US and its NATO allies because the West is unwilling to apply tough sanctions, the kinds that have brought Iran to the negotiating table.</p>
<p>Finally, it is always useful to focus on the big picture. President Putin has made no secret of his intention to re-establish Russian influence in the periphery of the former Soviet Union. Russia has lost most of its influence over the East European satellites that joined the Western camp, but hopes to keep other former satellites including Ukraine from joining the EU and NATO.</p>
<p>Add to all this the fact that Putin’s pugnacious foreign policy, re-enforced by his obsessive control of the Russian media, has created a patriotic response from the Russian public that has pushed his sky high ratings even higher. There are few reasons for Putin to hesitate to push further into Ukraine.</p>
<p>Public opinion in Western Europe and the US is firmly against a military response to Putin’s aggressiveness, and even if that were desirable, NATO’s lack of readiness to fight a war in Europe would rule it out.</p>
<p>There has been talk in foreign policy establishments that this crisis could halt the long term decline in the military spending of most NATO members, but there seem to be no Western government heads willing and able to ask voters to spend more for defense.</p>
<p>That’s the picture as I see it from my London listening post — a Russian President on a roll and the West in disarray.</p>
<p>Tom Fenton is a retired correspondent who spent 34 years in the field covering the world for CBS News. He writes an occasional analysis from London for GlobalPost. &#160;</p>
|
Key to understanding Ukraine is what governments do, not what they say
| false |
https://pri.org/stories/2014-04-16/key-understanding-ukraine-what-governments-do-not-what-they-say
|
2014-04-16
| 3left-center
|
Key to understanding Ukraine is what governments do, not what they say
<p>LONDON — The key to understanding what’s going on in Ukraine and what’s likely to happen next is to pay more attention to what governments do rather than to what they say.</p>
<p>That’s a rule I learned many years ago as a foreign correspondent reporting events in Israel. An older and more experienced correspondent advised me to watch the Israeli bulldozers, see where they are building roads if you want to measure the government’s real intentions. He was right.</p>
<p>I learned that rule again a few years later when I went to an Israeli bunker on the Suez Canal to see what the Egyptians were doing on the other side of the canal. Egyptian bulldozers were doing earth moving. I duly reported what an Israeli official in Jerusalem had told me, that the Egyptian army was conducting maneuvers. A few days later, the Egyptians crossed the canal and launched the 1973 Arab war against Israel. Both the CIA and Israeli intelligence had seen what the Egyptians were doing but did not believe what they saw.</p>
<p>Apply the rule to the current crisis sparked by Russia’s takeover of the Crimea, and the picture becomes sharper. Russia has massed tens of thousands of well-equipped troops on its border with Ukraine.</p>
<p>The Russian government says its soldiers are conducting maneuvers. Western governments believe they are there either to intimidate the Ukrainian government or, more likely, are waiting for a pretext to invade and seize another chunk of Ukraine.</p>
<p>Meanwhile pro-Russian demonstrators in Ukrainian cities along the Russian border are trying to provide the pretext and demanding to be “protected” by the Russian army.</p>
<p>Since it is difficult to keep large troop formations deployed for a long time in a high state of readiness, the Russians will reveal their intentions in the very near future.</p>
<p>There is a second rule that should be applied to the Ukraine crisis. It is also true that what governments do not do is more important than what they say. President Putin can ignore tough talk by the US and its NATO allies because the West is unwilling to apply tough sanctions, the kinds that have brought Iran to the negotiating table.</p>
<p>Finally, it is always useful to focus on the big picture. President Putin has made no secret of his intention to re-establish Russian influence in the periphery of the former Soviet Union. Russia has lost most of its influence over the East European satellites that joined the Western camp, but hopes to keep other former satellites including Ukraine from joining the EU and NATO.</p>
<p>Add to all this the fact that Putin’s pugnacious foreign policy, re-enforced by his obsessive control of the Russian media, has created a patriotic response from the Russian public that has pushed his sky high ratings even higher. There are few reasons for Putin to hesitate to push further into Ukraine.</p>
<p>Public opinion in Western Europe and the US is firmly against a military response to Putin’s aggressiveness, and even if that were desirable, NATO’s lack of readiness to fight a war in Europe would rule it out.</p>
<p>There has been talk in foreign policy establishments that this crisis could halt the long term decline in the military spending of most NATO members, but there seem to be no Western government heads willing and able to ask voters to spend more for defense.</p>
<p>That’s the picture as I see it from my London listening post — a Russian President on a roll and the West in disarray.</p>
<p>Tom Fenton is a retired correspondent who spent 34 years in the field covering the world for CBS News. He writes an occasional analysis from London for GlobalPost. &#160;</p>
| 6,208 |
<p>So Bernie’s still at it, telling George Stephanopoulos on Sunday that he thinks it’s <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/week-transcript-sen-bernie-sanders/story?id=39281418" type="external">not impossible</a> for him to get 70 percent of the vote in every remaining state. Impossible. If anyone’s likely to hit 70 anywhere, it’s Hillary Clinton in Puerto Rico. Maybe Sanders can do it in the Dakotas, but even that seems ludicrous, because those states have primaries, not caucuses, and he’s never won a primary by that kind of margin except in his home state.</p>
<p>But he does make one argument that is numerically, for the nonce, irrefutable: that he <a href="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/latest_polls/president/" type="external">polls better against Donald Trump than Hillary Clinton does</a>. That’s the only argument he has at this point that deserves to be taken seriously. So let’s take it seriously.</p>
<p>Earlier this year, I used to think Sanders was <a href="/content/dailybeast/articles/2016/01/27/bernie-sanders-isn-t-electable-and-here-s-why.html" type="external">totally unelectable</a> and it was obvious that Clinton was the more electable of the two. I no longer think it’s quite the slam dunk I used to. All of these bullet points will be worth their own column in the coming months, or more than one, but quickly:</p>
<p>• She does have absurdly high negatives. There exists some number of middle-of-the-road voters who just don’t want her to be the president under any circumstances. We don’t yet know how large this group is or whether any of their minds are changeable as the campaign unfolds, but sure this is a problem that no sentient Clinton supporter denies.</p>
<p>• The media, especially cable news, will help Trump. They’ll help spread Trump’s attacks, and the Clinton team will have to think of ways to make the campaign not just “Trump says crazy stuff-cable news repeats-Clinton responds” over and over again, which could kill her.</p>
<p>• The Republicans, however they feel about Trump, are going to go all-in to stop her. Witness the weekend’s news about this scandalous Benghazi committee’s latest timetable to finally release their report, which has been delayed <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/19/us/politics/benghazi-panel-hillary-clinton-election.html?_r=0" type="external">so often</a> that nothing Trey Gowdy says anymore is remotely believable.</p>
<p>Then there’s the FBI, the Foundation, <a href="/content/dailybeast/cheats/2016/05/23/cnn-mcauliffe-under-doj-investigation.html" type="external">Terry McAuliffe</a>… in sum, among Clinton people I talk to there is no shortage of awareness of her liabilities. And everyone is aware of the current general election polls.</p>
<p>But I don’t know a single person whose opinions I really value, and I include here Sanders supporters I know, who takes these polls seriously. There’s one simple reason Sanders polls better against Trump than Clinton does, which is that no one (yet) knows anything negative about him. He’s gotten the freest ride a top-tier presidential candidate has ever gotten. The freest, bar none.</p>
<p>While he’s all but called Clinton a harlot, she’s barely said a word about him, at least since the very early days of the contest. And while Republicans have occasionally jibed at him, like Lindsey Graham’s <a href="http://crooksandliars.com/2015/10/graham-sanders-went-soviet-union-his" type="external">actually quite funny remark</a> that Sanders “went to the Soviet Union on his honeymoon and I don’t think he ever came back,” in far more serious ways, Republican groups have <a href="/content/dailybeast/articles/2016/02/23/bernie-sanders-s-conservative-fanboys.html" type="external">worked to help Sanders</a> weaken Clinton.</p>
<p>That would change on a dime if he became the nominee. I don’t think they’d even have to go into his radical past, although they surely would. Michelle Goldberg of Slate has <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2016/02/bernie_sanders_radical_past_would_haunt_him_in_a_general_election.html" type="external">written good pieces</a> on this. He took some very hard-left and plainly anti-American positions. True, they might not matter to anyone under 45, but <a href="http://ropercenter.cornell.edu/polls/us-elections/how-groups-voted/how-groups-voted-2012/" type="external">more than half</a> of all voters are over 45. And then, big-P politics aside, there’s <a href="http://www.shakesville.com/2015/07/looking-for-bernie-part-1-sanders-72.html" type="external">all that farkakte nonsense</a> he wrote in The Vermont Freeman in the early ’70s about how we should let children touch each others’ genitals and such. Fine, it was 40-plus years ago but it’s out there, and it’s out there.</p>
<p>But if I were a conservative making anti-Sanders ads, I’d stick to taxes. An <a href="http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/publications/analysis-senator-bernie-sanderss-tax-proposals/full" type="external">analysis earlier this year</a> from the Tax Policy Center found that his proposals would raise taxes in the so-called middle quintile (40-60 percent) by $4,700 a year. A median household is around $53,000. Most such households pay an effective tax rate of <a href="http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/statistics/historical-average-federal-tax-rates-all-households" type="external">around 11 percent</a>, or $5,800. From $5,800 to $10,500 constitutes a 45 percent increase.</p>
<p>Sanders will respond that your average family will save that much in deductibles and co-payments, since there would be no more private health insurance. And in a way, he’d have a point—the average out-of-pocket expenses for a family health insurance plan in 2015 were <a href="http://kff.org/report-section/ehbs-2015-summary-of-findings/" type="external">around $4,900</a>. But that is an average that combines families with one really sick person needing lots of care with families where they all just go see the doctor once a year, who spend far less. They’d lose out under socialized health, which Republicans would be sure to make clear.</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>But all the above suggests a rational discourse, and we know there’ll be no such thing during a campaign. It’ll just be: largest tax increase in American history (which will be true), and take away your doctor (which also might be true in a lot of cases). There’s a first time for everything I guess, but I don’t think anyone has ever won a presidential election proposing a 45 percent tax increase on people of modest incomes. And the increases would be a lot higher on the upper-middle-class households that tend to decide U.S. elections.</p>
<p>Bah, you say. Bernie can handle all these things. Plus, he’s going to get all those white working-class votes that Clinton will never get. It’s true, he will get some of those. But every yin has a yang. How is Sanders going to do with black and Latino voters? They won’t vote for Trump, obviously, but surely some percentage will just stay home. This will matter in Florida, Virginia, North Carolina, maybe Michigan—all states were a depressed turnout from unenthused voters of color might make the difference. The media find discussing this a lot less interesting than they do nattering on about the white working class, but it’s real, and Trump is smart enough to get out there and say, “Remember, black people, Bernie said your votes weren’t legitimate.”</p>
<p>General election polls don’t reflect anything meaningful until nominees are chosen and running mates selected—that is, July. They especially don’t reflect anything meaningful when respondents know very little about one of the candidates they’re being asked about. Superdelegates know this, and it’s one reason why they’re not going to change. I don’t blame Sanders for touting these polls; any politician would. But everyone subjected to hearing him do so is entitled to be in on the joke.</p>
|
Why Bernie’s Crushing Trump
| true |
https://thedailybeast.com/why-bernies-crushing-trump
|
2018-10-02
| 4left
|
Why Bernie’s Crushing Trump
<p>So Bernie’s still at it, telling George Stephanopoulos on Sunday that he thinks it’s <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/week-transcript-sen-bernie-sanders/story?id=39281418" type="external">not impossible</a> for him to get 70 percent of the vote in every remaining state. Impossible. If anyone’s likely to hit 70 anywhere, it’s Hillary Clinton in Puerto Rico. Maybe Sanders can do it in the Dakotas, but even that seems ludicrous, because those states have primaries, not caucuses, and he’s never won a primary by that kind of margin except in his home state.</p>
<p>But he does make one argument that is numerically, for the nonce, irrefutable: that he <a href="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/latest_polls/president/" type="external">polls better against Donald Trump than Hillary Clinton does</a>. That’s the only argument he has at this point that deserves to be taken seriously. So let’s take it seriously.</p>
<p>Earlier this year, I used to think Sanders was <a href="/content/dailybeast/articles/2016/01/27/bernie-sanders-isn-t-electable-and-here-s-why.html" type="external">totally unelectable</a> and it was obvious that Clinton was the more electable of the two. I no longer think it’s quite the slam dunk I used to. All of these bullet points will be worth their own column in the coming months, or more than one, but quickly:</p>
<p>• She does have absurdly high negatives. There exists some number of middle-of-the-road voters who just don’t want her to be the president under any circumstances. We don’t yet know how large this group is or whether any of their minds are changeable as the campaign unfolds, but sure this is a problem that no sentient Clinton supporter denies.</p>
<p>• The media, especially cable news, will help Trump. They’ll help spread Trump’s attacks, and the Clinton team will have to think of ways to make the campaign not just “Trump says crazy stuff-cable news repeats-Clinton responds” over and over again, which could kill her.</p>
<p>• The Republicans, however they feel about Trump, are going to go all-in to stop her. Witness the weekend’s news about this scandalous Benghazi committee’s latest timetable to finally release their report, which has been delayed <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/19/us/politics/benghazi-panel-hillary-clinton-election.html?_r=0" type="external">so often</a> that nothing Trey Gowdy says anymore is remotely believable.</p>
<p>Then there’s the FBI, the Foundation, <a href="/content/dailybeast/cheats/2016/05/23/cnn-mcauliffe-under-doj-investigation.html" type="external">Terry McAuliffe</a>… in sum, among Clinton people I talk to there is no shortage of awareness of her liabilities. And everyone is aware of the current general election polls.</p>
<p>But I don’t know a single person whose opinions I really value, and I include here Sanders supporters I know, who takes these polls seriously. There’s one simple reason Sanders polls better against Trump than Clinton does, which is that no one (yet) knows anything negative about him. He’s gotten the freest ride a top-tier presidential candidate has ever gotten. The freest, bar none.</p>
<p>While he’s all but called Clinton a harlot, she’s barely said a word about him, at least since the very early days of the contest. And while Republicans have occasionally jibed at him, like Lindsey Graham’s <a href="http://crooksandliars.com/2015/10/graham-sanders-went-soviet-union-his" type="external">actually quite funny remark</a> that Sanders “went to the Soviet Union on his honeymoon and I don’t think he ever came back,” in far more serious ways, Republican groups have <a href="/content/dailybeast/articles/2016/02/23/bernie-sanders-s-conservative-fanboys.html" type="external">worked to help Sanders</a> weaken Clinton.</p>
<p>That would change on a dime if he became the nominee. I don’t think they’d even have to go into his radical past, although they surely would. Michelle Goldberg of Slate has <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2016/02/bernie_sanders_radical_past_would_haunt_him_in_a_general_election.html" type="external">written good pieces</a> on this. He took some very hard-left and plainly anti-American positions. True, they might not matter to anyone under 45, but <a href="http://ropercenter.cornell.edu/polls/us-elections/how-groups-voted/how-groups-voted-2012/" type="external">more than half</a> of all voters are over 45. And then, big-P politics aside, there’s <a href="http://www.shakesville.com/2015/07/looking-for-bernie-part-1-sanders-72.html" type="external">all that farkakte nonsense</a> he wrote in The Vermont Freeman in the early ’70s about how we should let children touch each others’ genitals and such. Fine, it was 40-plus years ago but it’s out there, and it’s out there.</p>
<p>But if I were a conservative making anti-Sanders ads, I’d stick to taxes. An <a href="http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/publications/analysis-senator-bernie-sanderss-tax-proposals/full" type="external">analysis earlier this year</a> from the Tax Policy Center found that his proposals would raise taxes in the so-called middle quintile (40-60 percent) by $4,700 a year. A median household is around $53,000. Most such households pay an effective tax rate of <a href="http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/statistics/historical-average-federal-tax-rates-all-households" type="external">around 11 percent</a>, or $5,800. From $5,800 to $10,500 constitutes a 45 percent increase.</p>
<p>Sanders will respond that your average family will save that much in deductibles and co-payments, since there would be no more private health insurance. And in a way, he’d have a point—the average out-of-pocket expenses for a family health insurance plan in 2015 were <a href="http://kff.org/report-section/ehbs-2015-summary-of-findings/" type="external">around $4,900</a>. But that is an average that combines families with one really sick person needing lots of care with families where they all just go see the doctor once a year, who spend far less. They’d lose out under socialized health, which Republicans would be sure to make clear.</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>But all the above suggests a rational discourse, and we know there’ll be no such thing during a campaign. It’ll just be: largest tax increase in American history (which will be true), and take away your doctor (which also might be true in a lot of cases). There’s a first time for everything I guess, but I don’t think anyone has ever won a presidential election proposing a 45 percent tax increase on people of modest incomes. And the increases would be a lot higher on the upper-middle-class households that tend to decide U.S. elections.</p>
<p>Bah, you say. Bernie can handle all these things. Plus, he’s going to get all those white working-class votes that Clinton will never get. It’s true, he will get some of those. But every yin has a yang. How is Sanders going to do with black and Latino voters? They won’t vote for Trump, obviously, but surely some percentage will just stay home. This will matter in Florida, Virginia, North Carolina, maybe Michigan—all states were a depressed turnout from unenthused voters of color might make the difference. The media find discussing this a lot less interesting than they do nattering on about the white working class, but it’s real, and Trump is smart enough to get out there and say, “Remember, black people, Bernie said your votes weren’t legitimate.”</p>
<p>General election polls don’t reflect anything meaningful until nominees are chosen and running mates selected—that is, July. They especially don’t reflect anything meaningful when respondents know very little about one of the candidates they’re being asked about. Superdelegates know this, and it’s one reason why they’re not going to change. I don’t blame Sanders for touting these polls; any politician would. But everyone subjected to hearing him do so is entitled to be in on the joke.</p>
| 6,209 |
<p />
<p>STAG Industrial hasn't had to put many of these up, reporting solid occupancy and renewal rates. Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>STAG Industrial Inc(NYSE: STAG) released its second quarter financial and operating results on August 2, reporting another quarter of steady growth in funds from operations, acquired 1.4 million square feet of new space to lease, and sold off 634,000 square feet of non-core real estate assets.</p>
<p>STAG's business, acquiring industrial properties that it can lease to single tenants for long-term contracts, continues to generate strong returns, and this quarter was no different. Let's take a closer look.</p>
<p>STAG's revenues increased 14% in the quarter to $60.2 million, and funds from operations -- a key measure of cash flows for REITs like STAG -- was $0.38 per share, up 5.6% from the year-ago period. The company reported a net loss of $(13.8) million in the quarter, but as with many other REITs, STAG has huge non-cash depreciation/amortization expenses tied to its capital acquisitions that impact its GAAP results.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>STAG acquired five buildings in the quarter for $58.2 million, consisting of 1.4 million square feet, while selling off seven buildings consisting of 634,404 square feet for $17.8 million.Since the end of the quarter, the company has entered into contract or letter of intent to buy another 23 buildings for $284 million. These buildings would add another 5.7 billion square feet to the company's property base, and management expects all of these properties to close before year-end.</p>
<p>Looking out even further, the company said it has a pipeline of 38 million square feet of property that it is actively pursuing, a total of 164 properties worth almost $1.85 billion.</p>
<p>STAG ended the quarter with a 94.9% occupancy rate, signed leases for 2.3 million square feet of its properties, with 922,000 of that retention of existing tenants. According to the release, it retained over 75% of its square footage up for renewal in the quarter, achieving an average of 5.8% cash rent increase, and a 9.9% rent change on a GAAP basis.</p>
<p>STAG also raised $76.1 million in cash during the quarter via stock sales under its "at the market" -- or ATM -- stock selling program, selling 3.2 million new shares. The company used these proceeds to pay down its revolving credit facility due to the quarter's acquisition activity. The company also announced that it would continue its same dividend, paying 11.5 cents per share monthly for the remainder of 2016. That works out to almost a 5.7% yield at recent share prices.</p>
<p>As a REIT, STAG must pay out a significant portion of its cash flows to shareholders, which means that a lot of its acquisitions will continue to be paid for with debt and stock sales. This past quarter was no exception, as the company issued another 3.2 million in shares that it will now have to add to the dividend mix. The good news is that STAG's management has proven adept at getting strong returns from each property that it buys and leases, and has stayed disciplined on the kinds of industrial properties that fit within its profile. And as the company reported, it already has a substantial number of properties lined up to buy before year-end, and a very deep pipeline of additional properties to target for the long-term.</p>
<p>Management is also convinced that the long-term prospects remain good, particularly with the continued growth of e-commerce driving demand for the kinds of large, geographically diverse, buildings that STAG continues to target. While there are certain to be speed bumps along the way, such as higher interest rates in coming years that could put a pinch on the company's growth rate down the road, the focused REIT continues to execute on its growth strategy. That's paid off for long-term investors in STAG so far.</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/elihpaudio/info.aspx" type="external">Jason Hall Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Stag Industrial. 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://wiki.fool.com/Motley" 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>
|
STAG Industrial Delivers Another Solid Quarter
| true |
http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/08/09/stag-industrial-delivers-another-solid-quarter.html
|
2016-08-09
| 0right
|
STAG Industrial Delivers Another Solid Quarter
<p />
<p>STAG Industrial hasn't had to put many of these up, reporting solid occupancy and renewal rates. Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>STAG Industrial Inc(NYSE: STAG) released its second quarter financial and operating results on August 2, reporting another quarter of steady growth in funds from operations, acquired 1.4 million square feet of new space to lease, and sold off 634,000 square feet of non-core real estate assets.</p>
<p>STAG's business, acquiring industrial properties that it can lease to single tenants for long-term contracts, continues to generate strong returns, and this quarter was no different. Let's take a closer look.</p>
<p>STAG's revenues increased 14% in the quarter to $60.2 million, and funds from operations -- a key measure of cash flows for REITs like STAG -- was $0.38 per share, up 5.6% from the year-ago period. The company reported a net loss of $(13.8) million in the quarter, but as with many other REITs, STAG has huge non-cash depreciation/amortization expenses tied to its capital acquisitions that impact its GAAP results.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>STAG acquired five buildings in the quarter for $58.2 million, consisting of 1.4 million square feet, while selling off seven buildings consisting of 634,404 square feet for $17.8 million.Since the end of the quarter, the company has entered into contract or letter of intent to buy another 23 buildings for $284 million. These buildings would add another 5.7 billion square feet to the company's property base, and management expects all of these properties to close before year-end.</p>
<p>Looking out even further, the company said it has a pipeline of 38 million square feet of property that it is actively pursuing, a total of 164 properties worth almost $1.85 billion.</p>
<p>STAG ended the quarter with a 94.9% occupancy rate, signed leases for 2.3 million square feet of its properties, with 922,000 of that retention of existing tenants. According to the release, it retained over 75% of its square footage up for renewal in the quarter, achieving an average of 5.8% cash rent increase, and a 9.9% rent change on a GAAP basis.</p>
<p>STAG also raised $76.1 million in cash during the quarter via stock sales under its "at the market" -- or ATM -- stock selling program, selling 3.2 million new shares. The company used these proceeds to pay down its revolving credit facility due to the quarter's acquisition activity. The company also announced that it would continue its same dividend, paying 11.5 cents per share monthly for the remainder of 2016. That works out to almost a 5.7% yield at recent share prices.</p>
<p>As a REIT, STAG must pay out a significant portion of its cash flows to shareholders, which means that a lot of its acquisitions will continue to be paid for with debt and stock sales. This past quarter was no exception, as the company issued another 3.2 million in shares that it will now have to add to the dividend mix. The good news is that STAG's management has proven adept at getting strong returns from each property that it buys and leases, and has stayed disciplined on the kinds of industrial properties that fit within its profile. And as the company reported, it already has a substantial number of properties lined up to buy before year-end, and a very deep pipeline of additional properties to target for the long-term.</p>
<p>Management is also convinced that the long-term prospects remain good, particularly with the continued growth of e-commerce driving demand for the kinds of large, geographically diverse, buildings that STAG continues to target. While there are certain to be speed bumps along the way, such as higher interest rates in coming years that could put a pinch on the company's growth rate down the road, the focused REIT continues to execute on its growth strategy. That's paid off for long-term investors in STAG so far.</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/elihpaudio/info.aspx" type="external">Jason Hall Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Stag Industrial. 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://wiki.fool.com/Motley" 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>
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<p>Unemployment is going down but is still at an unacceptable number. People in this country are hurting. They’re still losing their homes and the fact that the rate of foreclosure has slowed gives no comfort to those who are packing up and moving out of the dream they thought was theirs. Our infrastructure is crumbling. Our cities and states are struggling to come up with money for basic services like police and fire protection and teachers for our underfunded schools.</p>
<p>So what are Republicans talking about? Contraception. And women aren’t invited to the conversation. States like Iowa are busily debating Tea Party bills that would send doctors who perform abortions to prison for life, or, if for some unknown reason they were going to perform an abortion but didn’t, up to twenty-five years for even entertaining the notion.</p>
<p />
<p>The country is in trouble and the only thing the Republicans want to talk about is how they can strip away women’s rights. Rick Santorum’s billionaire backer, Foster Friess, had the nerve to wax poetic and longingly about how in his day (that would be back in the Dark Ages) women prevented pregnancy by holding an aspirin between their knees. Trust me, Foster, if men bore children, contraceptives would be free on demand and abortions would be funded by the government.</p>
<p>Republicans have no answers for the problems confronting this country. Indeed, the Republican agenda and the policies implemented under the Bush administration are the reason this country is in the position in which it finds itself. Oh, they’ll holler and yell and say it’s all Bill Clinton’s fault and all Obama’s fault and will never admit that our surplus was squandered on unfunded wars and unnecessary tax giveaways to the wealthy. It’s just more noise from the guilty party. They have no answers and they have no defense, so they attack something completely unrelated in the hope that people won’t notice just how ineffective they’ve been since taking over Congress last year. Not one jobs program. Every program they come up with is the same. Tax cuts for the rich and cuts to programs that benefit everyone else. In the face of having no answers, they decided to pick on women.</p>
<p>Now how stupid is that? Yes, there are the Sarah Palins of the world who think the Republican agenda doesn’t apply to them because they are of the anointed few. But most women get the picture. They see that the Republican agenda is to exert total control over women. Barefoot, broke and pregnant, yessireebob! That’s the way they like their women. And I say YES! Keep it up! Because if they think for a nanosecond they can win the presidency by dumping all over women, they are even more deluded than I thought they were and that’s pretty deluded! I think they’ve forgotten that women vote. In high numbers. Higher numbers than men. Piss them off and they’ll come out in even larger numbers. There’s nothing quite like attempting to roll back the strides women have made to really piss them off. At this rate, Obama won’t even have to campaign. He can sit back and enjoy watching the Republican party tear itself apart. And then, re-elected, he can get down to the business of getting this country back on track.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
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Shhh! Don’t Tell Republicans That Women Vote!
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2012-02-17
| 4left
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Shhh! Don’t Tell Republicans That Women Vote!
<p><a href="" type="internal" /></p>
<p>Unemployment is going down but is still at an unacceptable number. People in this country are hurting. They’re still losing their homes and the fact that the rate of foreclosure has slowed gives no comfort to those who are packing up and moving out of the dream they thought was theirs. Our infrastructure is crumbling. Our cities and states are struggling to come up with money for basic services like police and fire protection and teachers for our underfunded schools.</p>
<p>So what are Republicans talking about? Contraception. And women aren’t invited to the conversation. States like Iowa are busily debating Tea Party bills that would send doctors who perform abortions to prison for life, or, if for some unknown reason they were going to perform an abortion but didn’t, up to twenty-five years for even entertaining the notion.</p>
<p />
<p>The country is in trouble and the only thing the Republicans want to talk about is how they can strip away women’s rights. Rick Santorum’s billionaire backer, Foster Friess, had the nerve to wax poetic and longingly about how in his day (that would be back in the Dark Ages) women prevented pregnancy by holding an aspirin between their knees. Trust me, Foster, if men bore children, contraceptives would be free on demand and abortions would be funded by the government.</p>
<p>Republicans have no answers for the problems confronting this country. Indeed, the Republican agenda and the policies implemented under the Bush administration are the reason this country is in the position in which it finds itself. Oh, they’ll holler and yell and say it’s all Bill Clinton’s fault and all Obama’s fault and will never admit that our surplus was squandered on unfunded wars and unnecessary tax giveaways to the wealthy. It’s just more noise from the guilty party. They have no answers and they have no defense, so they attack something completely unrelated in the hope that people won’t notice just how ineffective they’ve been since taking over Congress last year. Not one jobs program. Every program they come up with is the same. Tax cuts for the rich and cuts to programs that benefit everyone else. In the face of having no answers, they decided to pick on women.</p>
<p>Now how stupid is that? Yes, there are the Sarah Palins of the world who think the Republican agenda doesn’t apply to them because they are of the anointed few. But most women get the picture. They see that the Republican agenda is to exert total control over women. Barefoot, broke and pregnant, yessireebob! That’s the way they like their women. And I say YES! Keep it up! Because if they think for a nanosecond they can win the presidency by dumping all over women, they are even more deluded than I thought they were and that’s pretty deluded! I think they’ve forgotten that women vote. In high numbers. Higher numbers than men. Piss them off and they’ll come out in even larger numbers. There’s nothing quite like attempting to roll back the strides women have made to really piss them off. At this rate, Obama won’t even have to campaign. He can sit back and enjoy watching the Republican party tear itself apart. And then, re-elected, he can get down to the business of getting this country back on track.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
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<p>Investment banks such as Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, and J.P. Morgan, philanthropies such as the Rockefeller Foundation, politicians such as Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Massachusetts former governor and now Bain Capital Managing Director Deval Patrick, and elite universities such as Harvard have been aggressively promoting Pay for Success (also known as Social Impact Bonds) as a solution to intractable financial and political problems facing public education and other public services. In these schemes investment banks pay for public services to be contracted out to private providers and stand to earn much more money than the cost of the service. For example, Goldman Sachs put up $16.6 million to fund an early childhood education program in Chicago yet it is getting more than $30 million (Sanchez, 2016) from the city. While Pay for Success is only at its early stages in the United States, the Rockefeller Foundation and Merrill Lynch estimate that by 2020, market size for impact investing will reach between $400 billion to $1 trillion (Quinton, 2015). The Every Student Succeeds Act of 2016, the latest iteration of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, directs federal dollars to incentivize these for profit educational endeavors significantly legitimizing and institutionalizing them.</p>
<p>Pay for Success is promoted by proponents as an innovative financing technique that brings together social service providers with private funders and non-profit organizations committed to expanding social service provision. In theory, Pay for Success expands accountability because programs are independently evaluated for their success and the government only pays the funder (the bank) if the program meets the metrics. If the program exceeds the metrics, then the investor can receive bonus money making the program much more expensive for the public and highly lucrative for the banks.</p>
<p>Banks love Pay for Success because they can profit massively from it and invest money with high returns at a time of a glut of capital and historically low interest rates. Politicians (especially rightist democrats) love Pay for Success because they can claim to be expanding public services without raising taxes or issuing bonds and will only have the public pay for “what works.” Elite universities and corporate philanthropies love Pay for Success because they support “innovation” and share an ethos that only the prime beneficiaries of the current economy, the rich, can save the poor.</p>
<p>Pay for Success began as Social Impact Bonds and were imported into the U.S. from the U.K. around 2010. They were promoted by the leading consultancy advocate of neoliberal education McKinsey Consulting, the neoliberal thinktank, Center for American Progress, that was founded by former Clinton Chief of Staff and Democratic Party leader John Podesta (who also led Obama’s transition), and the Rockefeller Foundation. Pay for Success expansion is now the central agenda of the Rockefeller Foundation. Shortly before championing Pay for Success for Chicago, Rahm Emanuel served as Obama’s Chief of Staff, having had a long career as a hard driving Democratic congressman and political money raiser and also an investment banker. Certain other key figures lobbied to expand the use of Pay for Success. Most notably, Jeffrey Liebman went from Obama’s Office of Management and Budget to a large center at Harvard, the Government Performance Lab in the Kennedy School of Government dedicated to expanding Pay for Success. Liebman is both a leader of the Center for American Progress and was a key economic advisor to Obama in his 2008 campaign. Other key influencers of Pay for Success include The Rockefeller Foundation and Third Sector Capital.</p>
<p>Advocates explain that the value of a Pay for Success program is allegedly: 1) it creates a “market incentive” for a bank or investor to fund a social program when allegedly there is not the political will to support the expansion of public services; 2) by injecting “market discipline” into the bureaucratically encumbered public sector, Pay for Success will make the public sector “accountable” through investment in “what works” and it will avoid funding public programs for which the public has “little to show,” as Liebman and Third Sector Capital Partners are fond of suggesting (Wallace, 2014). The value of any public spending in this view must be measurable through quantitative metrics to be of social value; 3) it consequently saves money by not funding programs that cannot be shown to be effective; 4) it shifts risk away from the public and onto the private sector while retaining only the potential social benefit for the public; 5) and lastly, it mobilizes beneficent corporations, banks, powerful non-profit companies, and philanthropic foundations to save the poor, the powerless, and the public from themselves. Here, Goldman Sachs frames its profit seeking activities as corporate social responsibility, charity, and good works that define its image in the public mind. In fact, all five of these positions that advocates claim explicitly or implicitly to support the expansion of Pay for Success are baseless.</p>
<p>The Myths of Pay for Success</p>
<p>Myth 1: Market Discipline</p>
<p>Repeating a longstanding neoliberal mantra of private sector efficiency and public sector bloat, advocates of Pay for Success claim that the programs are necessary because they inject a healthy dose of market discipline into the bureaucratically encumbered and unaccountable public sphere. According to the leading proponent of Pay for Success, Jeffrey Liebman of the Government Performance Lab of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, private sector finance produces this market discipline because governments do not monitor and measure the services provided by contractors. Liebman says, “(Government) Programs that don’t produce results continue to be financed year after year, something that would not happen in the business world” (Overland, 2011). This is an odd claim from one of Obama’s leading economic advisors at the time that Obama was sworn in as President and proceeded to have the public sector bail out the private sector. The 2008 financial bailout of the banks by the U.S. federal government represents a repudiation of the neoliberal logic of the natural discipline of markets and of deregulation. The private sector including banks, insurance companies, and the automotive industry needed the public sector to step in and save unprofitable businesses and businesses that had invested in the deregulated mortgage backed securities markets. More broadly, some of the largest sectors of the economy such as defense, agriculture, and entertainment rely on massive public sector subsidies to function. Specifically, the financial crisis and consequent recession was a result first of neoliberal bank deregulation and a faith in markets to regulate themselves but also it demonstrated the illegal activity, fraud, and lies of the same banks that now seek profit through Pay for Success including Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, and J.P. Morgan.</p>
<p>Pay for Success proponents claim that the financing scheme is necessary because there would otherwise not be the political will to do projects such as early childhood education in Chicago for a couple of thousand children or recidivism reduction programs in Massachusetts. Third Sector Capital Partners, a non-profit that relies on Pay for Success expansion as a cornerstone of its business, claims that Americans do not support state spending and hence Pay for Success is necessary (Von Glhn and Whistler). However, Gallup shows that 75% of Americans favor expanded public spending on infrastructure (Newport, 2016a) and 58% support replacing the Affordable Care Act with a universal federal healthcare system (Newport, 2016b). Indeed, as longstanding studies and more recently the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign of 2016 indicate, a large percentage of Americans support a range of increased spending on progressive social programs.</p>
<p>A mantra found in the literature that advocates Pay for Success is that it “allow[s] the government to avoid paying for programs that don’t make a difference” (Overland). For working class and poor citizens, many of whom are working two and three low paying jobs, the cost of private early childcare and education is a major financial burden. The fact that early childcare and education have become corporatized by national companies who pay super-exploitative wages to workers only worsens the situation. The fact that early childcare and education are vital economic needs raises a question about whose political will is in question when Pay for Success proponents claim that the only way to provide early child educational services is with the involvement of banks, and without banks it should not be provided. The parents and community members are not the ones who lack the political will. Political and financial elites do not want to pay for other people’s children… without a cut.</p>
<p>Myth 2: Transfer of Risk from the Public to the Private</p>
<p>The elaborate involvement of banks, lawyers, profits, and non-profit coordinating companies appears more than superfluous when one takes a closer look at what is actually being done with Pay for Success in Chicago through the expansion of pre-K to 2,600 Chicago Public School children. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s office lists six schools on the west and south sides and reports, “CPS and its teachers will manage the expanded program in these schools for the current academic year and expand to additional schools in future years”(Mayor’s Press Office). If the program simply expands existing CPS programs with already employed teachers and administrators, then the potentially significantly higher cost of using the Pay for Success makes little sense. In other words, why not just expand the existing successful services such as the parent-child centers that had been successful in Chicago since 2002? According to the mayor’s office, the risk is worth it because Pay for Success “is structured to insure that its lenders, the Goldman Sachs Social Impact Bond Fund and Northern Trust as senior lenders, and the J.B. and M.K. Pritzker Family Foundation as a subordinate lender, are only repaid if students realize positive academic results” (Mayor’s Office). However, critics of Pay for Success point out that in reality there is little risk for investors of losing that $17 million because the investors select already proven projects such as those in Chicago (Sanchez, 2016). Indeed, they are more likely to make the millions more in profit as in the $30 million that Goldman was paid back (Sanchez, 2016). As Melissa Sanchez of Catalyst Chicago points out, investors make not only profits but additionally receive positive public relations, good will, and image boosting (Sanchez). This is not a small matter for a bank such as Goldman Sachs that was in the center of the sub-prime mortgage crisis and was found to have committed both illegal and unethical investment practices.</p>
<p>Risk is also mitigated for the banks by philanthropies such as Rockefeller or Bloomberg that guarantee repayment of the money the banks invest (Quinton). Even the proponents admit that Pay for Success is “not a panacea” as banks are not really willing to take risks and consequently they are only willing to consider about 20% of service providers (Overland). The attractive service providers are ones with established track records that all but guarantee success. Pay for Success cannot be justified as an innovative scheme that tranfers the risk taking of the market into the public sector while transferring financial risk out of the public sector and onto markets.</p>
<p>Economist David Macdonald points out the extent to which the promise of risk transfer is in fact a lie. Macdonald explains that Pay for Success is not experimental. He argues that a bank such as Goldman Sachs is never going to put up $5 million with a 50% risk of losing their money, and so it will invest only in proven projects. Moreover, even if Goldman were to take a risk and the metrics did not pan out in its favor,</p>
<p>there’s no way the government will refuse to pay Goldman Sachs back the full $5 million. Why? Because if Goldman Sachs loses $5 million or any part of it, it’s not going to come back next year, and neither are any of the other bankers and private investors. (Macdonald, 37)</p>
<p>Yet, even with the risk to bank profits eliminated by highly selective program selection, underwriting by philanthropies, and the government’s desire to keep the bank coming back, as the Chicago example highlights, even if the leveraged Chicago Public Schools go bankrupt as the Republican Investment Banker Governor of Illinois Bruce Rauner seems intent to cause (Joravsky), banks such as Goldman Sachs are first in line as creditors as the pieces of the system are sold off (Joravsky). So rather than a system that injects the risk taking of markets into the public sector, Pay for Success injects capital drainage into successful programs while assuring minimal risk only for the profiteers. As Macdonald writes, the inversion of risk represents a disturbing change in who government serves,</p>
<p>People pay their taxes (and expect corporations to do so as well) in part because they want the government to deliver good services to the people who need them. But social impact bonds direct tax dollars to bank profits instead of to people in need. This dramatically changes who is being served by the government: from those who need a helping hand to affluent investors who need no government help at all. (Macdonald)</p>
<p>Myth 3: Accountability</p>
<p>Proponents also claim Pay for Success programs are more accountable than the public sector because allegedly programs are measured independently. As the principles of Third Sector Capital write, “Outcomes need to be tangible and measurable, such as reduced recidivism rates and lower utilization of foster care placement. The analyses of fiscal savings need to be demonstrated in quantifiable numbers, such as a reduction in special education dollars, lower Medicare payouts and lower juvenile justice expenditures” (Von Glahn and Whistler, 22).</p>
<p>Yet critics of Pay for Success have raised issues about who is making the decisions about measurement and how benchmarks have been decided (Overland, 5). A basic problem with this argument for accountability through measurable outcomes is that, in practice, as a juvenile justice caseworker involved in a recidivism reduction Massachusetts Pay for Success project explained to me, s/he received constant phone calls from an investment bank encouraging him/her to have the metrics turn out in the favor of the bank so that the bank would earn the maximum amount possible through the bond. Indeed, what I heard directly from a participant in a Pay for Success was a general concern of Jon Pratt, head of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits. Pratt stated, “You’re definitely creating incentives that would be considered corruption pressures.” Pratt’s point is that by having allegedly independent measurement tied to the possibility of profit or loss, a not so independent incentive is created to game the outcomes or cheat.</p>
<p>Such “corruption pressures” in neoliberal education reform have had a high profile as high stakes standardized testing threatened to defund school districts, schools, and classrooms if test scores did not rise. Administrators and teachers, deeply concerned that poor students would lose desperately needed resources, found that the ethical action would be to cheat rather that participate in sanctifying the denial of resources to those most in need. Similarly, when the largest for profit educational management company, Edison Schools (now Edison Learning), was expanding in the 1990’s and 2000’s, their increased growth depended upon continually raising more investor capital. The for-profit education company could only acquire capital by showing prospective investors increasingly rising test scores (Saltman, 2005). As a consequence, numerous test scandals erupted and massive institutional pressure was placed on administrators and teachers to show raised test scores no matter what.</p>
<p>Other critics raise practical concerns with Pay for Success, including concern that organizational capacity of a service provider can be temporarily built up by a contract but “not build the organizations’ capacity to support that growth” (Wallace, 4). As well, critics point to how time-consuming these agreements are to create (Wallace, 4). Contracts are so convoluted and complicated that what normally would take a month to do takes two years and with financial arrangements so complicated that a university professor in financial management “still needed help understanding the financing” (Farmer).</p>
<p>In Chicago’s Pay for Success early childhood project, as the commissioned evaluation report makes clear, not only had this particular project received positive evaluations since 2002, but early childhood education interventions such as this Child Parent Center model have been measured and found to have positive effects on future academic performance since 1967 (Gaylor, 16). Unsurprisingly, that is, early childhood learning initiatives have been known to result in measurable improvements in student performance in subsequent academic years. These facts raise obvious questions as to Pay for Success advocates’ claims that private bank financing is needed to assure measurable accountability.</p>
<p>An additional problem with accountability being understood strictly through numerically quantifiable measurement is that the problems of positivist ideology are brought into areas of educational service that are not necessary ideally measurable in quantitative terms. Positivist ideology treats knowledge and truth as a collection of facts and radically devalues examination of the theoretical assumptions behind claims to truth (Giroux). Knowledge in this view disregards both the relationship between learning and the interpretive practices and perspectives of subjects as well as the relationship between learning and the broader social world. As Pay for Success projects receive that $400 billion to $1 trillion, they will be used for a wider array of educational services including many areas of schooling in which learning is interpretive and involves judgment, criticism, and analysis. Not necessarily always quantifiable, the development of such interpretive capacities do not always appear immediately but progress over time. The message from the leaders of Pay for Success is that the government spends billions of dollars on public services that are not measured and hence has “little to show for it” (Wallace, 2). Implicit here is an assumption that that which cannot be immediately measured quantifiably also cannot be justified as a public expense. This presumes that the kinds of subjects that are less quantifiably measured such as the humanities or abstract sciences are less valuable and that funding in the future ought only to follow that which can be quantified.</p>
<p>The denial of interests and values renders the measurement fetish of accountability pseudo-science or scientism. For example, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, and Bank of America have all been seeking profit in Pay for Success. Each bank has paid the U.S. Department of Justice multi-billion dollar settlements for not prosecuting them for lying about the risks of subprime mortgage investments and defrauding investors in the run up to the 2008 subprime crisis and great recession (Shen, 2016). In 2011 confessed financial fraudster Goldman Sachs sought 22% profit on its investment of $9.6 million in a Riker’s Island Pay for Success project teaching moral reasoning to juvenile inmates (Quinton). The efficacy of the project was to be measured by reducing recidivism. Shortly after lying and breaking the law for profit, Goldman Sachs received a contract from New York City’s billionaire Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Bloomberg’s own philanthropy backed the Goldman Sachs investment so that, should the metrics not pan out, the bank would not lose money. While this particular Pay for Success project did not achieve the metrics, the value of the metrics themselves as an arbiter of the value of the project are profoundly suspect in that they shut down some of the most crucial questions that need to be asked of such a project like: Why would a company responsible for tanking the economy through fraud be hired to teach moral reasoning to youth?; Why are the youth incarcerated in the first place and what class and race position do they come from?; Why did none of the leaders of Goldman Sachs or the other banks who broke the law in the financial crisis spend a day in prison and what class and race positions do they come from?; What are the broader structural and systemic patterns and power relations that produce these different lived realities of legal accountability for some and no accountability for others like the ways that a racialized class hierarchy is reproduced through mass incarceration, the finance industry, and the educational system?; Who is authorized to develop the metrics, what is their expertise, what are their interests, and how do they assess the rules they set in place?; To whom are those legislating the accountability measurements accountable? The scientism of metrics obscures these kinds of questions. Accountability should be a part of educational projects but not through restricted metrics that conceal the broader politics informing the project. Rather, accountability should be in a form in which knowledge is comprehended in relation to how subjectivity is formed through broader social forces and in ways in which learning can form the basis for collective action to expand egalitarian and just social relations.</p>
<p>Myth 4: Cost Savings</p>
<p>A central argument of Pay for Success proponents is that they save money by only funding successful programs. However, as the prior sections suggest, if in fact evaluation is not independent and only already successful programs are being selected, and governments have incentives to continue contracting, and there are “corruption pressures,” then the alleged “market discipline” through competition cannot work. Yet, there is additional evidence that Pay for Success adds costs rather than cutting them.</p>
<p>Pay for Success introduces large expenses to fund extensive legal services to handle those convoluted and complicated contracts that take years instead of months (Sanchez 2014). Additionally, third party project managers and evaluators add costs to the services (Sanchez 2014). If the metrics pan out for the investors, then they can earn more than double the money that they put up for the service (Sanchez, 2014, p. 2). The intensely time-consuming and convoluted deals cost more money for administration, and this cuts into the spending on the service itself (Wallace, 2014). The Department of Legislative Services in Maryland studied Social Impact Bonds for recidivism reduction programs and found no savings (Wallace, 5). For prisons or schools with fixed costs such as physical sites, saving in per inmate or student cost is not significant because it does not reduce the fixed costs (Wallace, 5).</p>
<p>On the west side of Chicago, one of the billionaire heir’s to the Hyatt hotel fortune, J.B. Pritzger, whose investment firm worked with Goldman Sachs on the Chicago early childhood Pay for Success project, cut the ribbon at an early childhood center and stated that such projects must be good investments to be successful (Wallace, 6). Pritzger’s statement aligns with a trend that has intensified since the advent of venture philanthropy reimagined philanthropy as being similar to business (Saltman). Venture philanthropies hijack public governance, install corporate models and managerialism for public services, and promote public sector privatization by steering the use of public money towards the private sector (Saltman). Venture philanthropies generally give money and the giving results in a tax break for the corporation or individual that gives to the non-profit. However, most venture philanthropies do not actually seek to get the money back, let alone with profit. Social Impact Bonds (aka Pay for Success), according to David Macdonald, are not philanthropy; they are, rather, “anti-philanthropy.”(Macdonald, 1) They are profit-seeking activity masquerading as philanthropy. Some venture philanthropy has a similar effect, such as when Gates and Microsoft privatize public education by the initiatives of the Gates Foundation for privatization schemes, technology dependency and so on. However, not even venture philanthropy is explicitly organized as a for profit business. Pay for Success is similar to the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative launched in 2015 in which the “philanthropy” is actually a limited liability corporation that financially invests in other projects. As Macdonald suggests, why not cut out the “middleman”? That is, why not cut out the banks seeking profit and the third parties and lawyers facilitating the deals.</p>
<p>Finally, a cost problem with Pay for Success is that, as critics contend, with private sector lenders involved, interest rates will tend to be higher than with public sector bond issuance. House Appropriations Committee Chair Representative Ross Hunter blocked a federal Social Impact Bond bill. He said, “As a private investor, what kind of interest rate are you going to ask for? Eleven percent? Nine percent? By contrast, interest rates on revenue bonds can be as low as 4%. If early learning is a good idea, I can issue [government-backed revenue] bonds to pay for it” (Hoback). In Chicago, Goldman Sachs’ could more than double their initial investment of $16.6 million (Sanchez 2016) as the metrics determine that Goldman receives the maximum amount from the city under the agreement. This is a much higher total cost to the public to provide the service to 2600 children than what a bond issuance would be.</p>
<p>Myth 5: Corporate Social Responsibility</p>
<p>In order for banks, corporate foundations, and venture philanthropies to claim that Pay for Success represents the good will of these actors, they must represent public sector pillage as public sector support and care. However, they must also position these private accumulation projects as necessary, inevitable, and without alternative. This is why proponents repeat the private sector language about the “hopelessly bureaucratic public sector” needing “market discipline,” private sector “cost savings,” “accountability,” “financial innovation,” and “risk reduction” despite evidence and reason to the contrary. The private sector project of Pay for Success is not merely one that involves the private capture of public wealth but also the public reframing of symbolic meanings that make such wealth capture possible, remaking common sense in ways that suggest that only the rich can promote just social change by pursuing their financial interests. Such ideologies suggest that the very private forces responsible for draining and weakening the public are in fact saviors for the public, that there is no alternative to markets in every social realm, that public citizens are nothing more than economic actors, and that these projects are apolitical rather than representing the interests and perspectives of capitalists over workers and most citizens. Non-profits such as the Center for American Progress, the Rockefeller Foundation, and Harvard are among the loudest boosters of Pay for Success. The ideological work that these organizations do shapes public perceptions about the morality and public impact of private sector organizations like Goldman Sachs. In this sense, Pay for Success is a form of public relations for banks that the banks largely do not have to pay for. In fact, Pay for Success facilitates banks being paid by the public to promote this public relations bonanza. As with venture philanthropies, the public ends up not only financially subsidizing private banks but also subsidizing the loss of public control over public governance for public services. With venture philanthropies, the subsidy takes public revenues in the form of tax breaks for rich donors and corporations. With Pay for Success, the public pays a premium for services that could have been provided directly through the government and loses democratic governance control over the service.</p>
<p>Conclusion</p>
<p>Pay for Success/ Social Impact Bonds appeal to banks for their capacity to generate profits from public tax money for education, juvenile justice, and other services and they represent a form of economic redistribution from desperately needed public money for the most vulnerable citizens such as poor youth to business.&#160;&#160; They also appeal to banks who have gotten caught defrauding investors and that can now promote themselves as doing good works while turning a profit. Pay for Success also appeals to neoliberal politicians such as Mayor Emanuel in Chicago who can claim they are doing “innovative finance” in the interest of taxpayers instead of raising taxes or issuing educational bonds. The reality is that politicians like Emanuel are just kicking the can down the road as Pay for Success does not solve the historical failure to adequately fund public education or other social services (like the mental health services he gutted), just adding to the longstanding debt burden. In fact, because it costs more, Social Impact investing raises this debt burden while delaying it, thereby destabilizing the public system further. In this sense, Pay for Success is an elaborate form of public relations that makes a failure to address a public problem look like innovative action.</p>
<p>Pay for Success/Social Impact Bonds ought to be understood as simply one of the latest efforts of the private sector to exploit and to pillage the public sector for profit at a historical moment of uncertain economic growth and a crisis of capital accumulation. New legislation and policy must be developed to limit the access of investment banks to determining, running, and profiting from social programs.</p>
<p>References</p>
<p>Chandler, D. (2015 October 22) Op-Ed: <a href="http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/33353-social-impact-bonds-selling-off-the-public-good-in-the-era-of-neoliberalism" type="external">Social Impact Bonds: Selling off the Public Good in the Era of Neoliberalism</a> truthout.org.</p>
<p>Donovan, D. (2013 April 25) $500 Million Plan Would Reimburse Donors Who Start or Expand Programs that Work Chronicle of Philanthropy (25)11, 13-13.</p>
<p>Editorial Board (2015 November 8) Editorial: <a href="" type="internal">The Promise and Risk of Social Impact Bonds</a> Chicago Tribune.</p>
<p>Farmer, L. (2015 November 12) <a href="http://www.governing.com/topics/finance/gov-cost-pay-for-success-social-impact-bonds.html" type="external">The Hidden Cost to ‘Pay for Success</a> Governing.</p>
<p>Gaylor, E., Kutaka, T., Ferguson, K, Williamson, C., Wei, X., &amp; Spiker, D. (2016). Evaluation of Kindergarten Readiness in Five Child-Parent Centers: Report for 2014-15. Prepared for IFF Pay for Success I, LLC. Menlo Park, CA. SRI International.</p>
<p>Giroux, H. (1983) Theory and Resistance in Education: A Pedagogy for the Opposition Westport: Bergin &amp; Garvey.</p>
<p>Golden, M. (2014 October 10) How Pay-for-Success Funding Might Help Low-Income Students Chronicle of Higher Education (61) 6, A22-A23.</p>
<p>Hoback, J. (2015 May) Private Money, Public Impact State Legislatures, 26-29.</p>
<p>How Social-Impact Bonds Work(2011 February 24) Chronicle of Philanthropy (23)7, 7.</p>
<p>Jonas, C. and Grossman, J. (2014 February) Pay for Success Leading Change in Results-Based Contracting Policy &amp; Practice 13-34 [Third Sector Capital Partners]</p>
<p>Joravsky, B. (2016 February 11) R <a href="" type="internal">ahm’s Latest Wall Street Bond Deal is a Bad Deal for the City</a> The Chicago Reader.</p>
<p>Lipman, P. (2014) The Political Economy of Urban Education New York: Routledge.</p>
<p>Lipman, P. (2004) High Stakes Education New York: Routledge.</p>
<p>Macdonald, D. (2013 February) Anti-Philanthropy: Social Impact Bond the Worst Way to Fund Social Programs CCPA Monitor, 37.</p>
<p>Mayor’s Press Office (2014 October 7) <a href="" type="internal">Mayor Emanuel Announces Expansion of Pre-K to More than 2,600 Chicago Public School Children</a> cityofchicago.org.</p>
<p>Newport, F. (2016 March 21) <a href="" type="internal">Americans Say Yes to Spending More on VA</a>, Infrastructure Gallup.</p>
<p>Newport, F. (2016 May 16) <a href="" type="internal">Majority in U.S. Support Fed-Funded Healthcare System</a> Gallup.</p>
<p>Overland, M. (2011 February 24) Paying for Results: A New Approach to Government Aid Chronicle of Philanthropy (23)7, 9.</p>
<p>Quinton, S. (2013 May 10) How Goldman Sachs Can Help Save the Safety Net National Journal , 1.</p>
<p>Saltman, K. (2007) Capitalizing on Disaster: Taking and Breaking Public Schools New York: Routledge.</p>
<p>Saltman, K. (2012) The Failure of Corporate School Reform New York: Routledge 2012.</p>
<p>Saltman, K. (2010) The Gift of Education: Public Education and Venture Philanthropy New York: Palgrave Macmillan.</p>
<p>Sanchez, M. (2016 May 16) Investors Earn Max Initial Payment from Chicago’s ‘Social Impact Bond’ Catalyst Chicago retrieved from catalystchicago.org</p>
<p>Sanchez, M. (2016 May 16) Child-Parent Centers Boast Strong Results for Kids, Investors Catalyst Chicago May 16, 2016</p>
<p>Sanchez, M. (2014, November 3) For the Record: Paying for Preschool with Social Impact Bonds Catalyst Chicago retrieved from catalystchicago.org</p>
<p>Shen, L. (2016 April 11) Goldman Sachs Finally Admits It Defrauded Investors During the Financial Crisis Fortune.</p>
<p>Shipps, D. (2006) School Reform Corporate Style, Chicago 1880-2000 University Press of Kansas.</p>
<p>Von Glahn, D. and Whistler, C. (2011 June) Pay for Success Programs: An Introduction Policy &amp; Practice (Third Sector Capital Partners Newsletter)</p>
<p>Wallace, N. (2014 July 17) With a Few Pay-for-Success Plans Under Way, the idea is Gaining Currency and Criticism Chronicle of Philanthropy (26)15, 1-23.</p>
<p>York, P. (2011 May 19) ‘Pay for Success’ Idea Could Fail Nonprofits Chronicle of Philanthropy (23)13, 10.</p>
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Wall Street’s Latest Public Sector Rip-Off: Five Myths About Pay for Success
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https://counterpunch.org/2016/08/23/wall-streets-latest-public-sector-rip-off-five-myths-about-pay-for-success/
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2016-08-23
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Wall Street’s Latest Public Sector Rip-Off: Five Myths About Pay for Success
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<p>Investment banks such as Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, and J.P. Morgan, philanthropies such as the Rockefeller Foundation, politicians such as Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Massachusetts former governor and now Bain Capital Managing Director Deval Patrick, and elite universities such as Harvard have been aggressively promoting Pay for Success (also known as Social Impact Bonds) as a solution to intractable financial and political problems facing public education and other public services. In these schemes investment banks pay for public services to be contracted out to private providers and stand to earn much more money than the cost of the service. For example, Goldman Sachs put up $16.6 million to fund an early childhood education program in Chicago yet it is getting more than $30 million (Sanchez, 2016) from the city. While Pay for Success is only at its early stages in the United States, the Rockefeller Foundation and Merrill Lynch estimate that by 2020, market size for impact investing will reach between $400 billion to $1 trillion (Quinton, 2015). The Every Student Succeeds Act of 2016, the latest iteration of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, directs federal dollars to incentivize these for profit educational endeavors significantly legitimizing and institutionalizing them.</p>
<p>Pay for Success is promoted by proponents as an innovative financing technique that brings together social service providers with private funders and non-profit organizations committed to expanding social service provision. In theory, Pay for Success expands accountability because programs are independently evaluated for their success and the government only pays the funder (the bank) if the program meets the metrics. If the program exceeds the metrics, then the investor can receive bonus money making the program much more expensive for the public and highly lucrative for the banks.</p>
<p>Banks love Pay for Success because they can profit massively from it and invest money with high returns at a time of a glut of capital and historically low interest rates. Politicians (especially rightist democrats) love Pay for Success because they can claim to be expanding public services without raising taxes or issuing bonds and will only have the public pay for “what works.” Elite universities and corporate philanthropies love Pay for Success because they support “innovation” and share an ethos that only the prime beneficiaries of the current economy, the rich, can save the poor.</p>
<p>Pay for Success began as Social Impact Bonds and were imported into the U.S. from the U.K. around 2010. They were promoted by the leading consultancy advocate of neoliberal education McKinsey Consulting, the neoliberal thinktank, Center for American Progress, that was founded by former Clinton Chief of Staff and Democratic Party leader John Podesta (who also led Obama’s transition), and the Rockefeller Foundation. Pay for Success expansion is now the central agenda of the Rockefeller Foundation. Shortly before championing Pay for Success for Chicago, Rahm Emanuel served as Obama’s Chief of Staff, having had a long career as a hard driving Democratic congressman and political money raiser and also an investment banker. Certain other key figures lobbied to expand the use of Pay for Success. Most notably, Jeffrey Liebman went from Obama’s Office of Management and Budget to a large center at Harvard, the Government Performance Lab in the Kennedy School of Government dedicated to expanding Pay for Success. Liebman is both a leader of the Center for American Progress and was a key economic advisor to Obama in his 2008 campaign. Other key influencers of Pay for Success include The Rockefeller Foundation and Third Sector Capital.</p>
<p>Advocates explain that the value of a Pay for Success program is allegedly: 1) it creates a “market incentive” for a bank or investor to fund a social program when allegedly there is not the political will to support the expansion of public services; 2) by injecting “market discipline” into the bureaucratically encumbered public sector, Pay for Success will make the public sector “accountable” through investment in “what works” and it will avoid funding public programs for which the public has “little to show,” as Liebman and Third Sector Capital Partners are fond of suggesting (Wallace, 2014). The value of any public spending in this view must be measurable through quantitative metrics to be of social value; 3) it consequently saves money by not funding programs that cannot be shown to be effective; 4) it shifts risk away from the public and onto the private sector while retaining only the potential social benefit for the public; 5) and lastly, it mobilizes beneficent corporations, banks, powerful non-profit companies, and philanthropic foundations to save the poor, the powerless, and the public from themselves. Here, Goldman Sachs frames its profit seeking activities as corporate social responsibility, charity, and good works that define its image in the public mind. In fact, all five of these positions that advocates claim explicitly or implicitly to support the expansion of Pay for Success are baseless.</p>
<p>The Myths of Pay for Success</p>
<p>Myth 1: Market Discipline</p>
<p>Repeating a longstanding neoliberal mantra of private sector efficiency and public sector bloat, advocates of Pay for Success claim that the programs are necessary because they inject a healthy dose of market discipline into the bureaucratically encumbered and unaccountable public sphere. According to the leading proponent of Pay for Success, Jeffrey Liebman of the Government Performance Lab of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, private sector finance produces this market discipline because governments do not monitor and measure the services provided by contractors. Liebman says, “(Government) Programs that don’t produce results continue to be financed year after year, something that would not happen in the business world” (Overland, 2011). This is an odd claim from one of Obama’s leading economic advisors at the time that Obama was sworn in as President and proceeded to have the public sector bail out the private sector. The 2008 financial bailout of the banks by the U.S. federal government represents a repudiation of the neoliberal logic of the natural discipline of markets and of deregulation. The private sector including banks, insurance companies, and the automotive industry needed the public sector to step in and save unprofitable businesses and businesses that had invested in the deregulated mortgage backed securities markets. More broadly, some of the largest sectors of the economy such as defense, agriculture, and entertainment rely on massive public sector subsidies to function. Specifically, the financial crisis and consequent recession was a result first of neoliberal bank deregulation and a faith in markets to regulate themselves but also it demonstrated the illegal activity, fraud, and lies of the same banks that now seek profit through Pay for Success including Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, and J.P. Morgan.</p>
<p>Pay for Success proponents claim that the financing scheme is necessary because there would otherwise not be the political will to do projects such as early childhood education in Chicago for a couple of thousand children or recidivism reduction programs in Massachusetts. Third Sector Capital Partners, a non-profit that relies on Pay for Success expansion as a cornerstone of its business, claims that Americans do not support state spending and hence Pay for Success is necessary (Von Glhn and Whistler). However, Gallup shows that 75% of Americans favor expanded public spending on infrastructure (Newport, 2016a) and 58% support replacing the Affordable Care Act with a universal federal healthcare system (Newport, 2016b). Indeed, as longstanding studies and more recently the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign of 2016 indicate, a large percentage of Americans support a range of increased spending on progressive social programs.</p>
<p>A mantra found in the literature that advocates Pay for Success is that it “allow[s] the government to avoid paying for programs that don’t make a difference” (Overland). For working class and poor citizens, many of whom are working two and three low paying jobs, the cost of private early childcare and education is a major financial burden. The fact that early childcare and education have become corporatized by national companies who pay super-exploitative wages to workers only worsens the situation. The fact that early childcare and education are vital economic needs raises a question about whose political will is in question when Pay for Success proponents claim that the only way to provide early child educational services is with the involvement of banks, and without banks it should not be provided. The parents and community members are not the ones who lack the political will. Political and financial elites do not want to pay for other people’s children… without a cut.</p>
<p>Myth 2: Transfer of Risk from the Public to the Private</p>
<p>The elaborate involvement of banks, lawyers, profits, and non-profit coordinating companies appears more than superfluous when one takes a closer look at what is actually being done with Pay for Success in Chicago through the expansion of pre-K to 2,600 Chicago Public School children. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s office lists six schools on the west and south sides and reports, “CPS and its teachers will manage the expanded program in these schools for the current academic year and expand to additional schools in future years”(Mayor’s Press Office). If the program simply expands existing CPS programs with already employed teachers and administrators, then the potentially significantly higher cost of using the Pay for Success makes little sense. In other words, why not just expand the existing successful services such as the parent-child centers that had been successful in Chicago since 2002? According to the mayor’s office, the risk is worth it because Pay for Success “is structured to insure that its lenders, the Goldman Sachs Social Impact Bond Fund and Northern Trust as senior lenders, and the J.B. and M.K. Pritzker Family Foundation as a subordinate lender, are only repaid if students realize positive academic results” (Mayor’s Office). However, critics of Pay for Success point out that in reality there is little risk for investors of losing that $17 million because the investors select already proven projects such as those in Chicago (Sanchez, 2016). Indeed, they are more likely to make the millions more in profit as in the $30 million that Goldman was paid back (Sanchez, 2016). As Melissa Sanchez of Catalyst Chicago points out, investors make not only profits but additionally receive positive public relations, good will, and image boosting (Sanchez). This is not a small matter for a bank such as Goldman Sachs that was in the center of the sub-prime mortgage crisis and was found to have committed both illegal and unethical investment practices.</p>
<p>Risk is also mitigated for the banks by philanthropies such as Rockefeller or Bloomberg that guarantee repayment of the money the banks invest (Quinton). Even the proponents admit that Pay for Success is “not a panacea” as banks are not really willing to take risks and consequently they are only willing to consider about 20% of service providers (Overland). The attractive service providers are ones with established track records that all but guarantee success. Pay for Success cannot be justified as an innovative scheme that tranfers the risk taking of the market into the public sector while transferring financial risk out of the public sector and onto markets.</p>
<p>Economist David Macdonald points out the extent to which the promise of risk transfer is in fact a lie. Macdonald explains that Pay for Success is not experimental. He argues that a bank such as Goldman Sachs is never going to put up $5 million with a 50% risk of losing their money, and so it will invest only in proven projects. Moreover, even if Goldman were to take a risk and the metrics did not pan out in its favor,</p>
<p>there’s no way the government will refuse to pay Goldman Sachs back the full $5 million. Why? Because if Goldman Sachs loses $5 million or any part of it, it’s not going to come back next year, and neither are any of the other bankers and private investors. (Macdonald, 37)</p>
<p>Yet, even with the risk to bank profits eliminated by highly selective program selection, underwriting by philanthropies, and the government’s desire to keep the bank coming back, as the Chicago example highlights, even if the leveraged Chicago Public Schools go bankrupt as the Republican Investment Banker Governor of Illinois Bruce Rauner seems intent to cause (Joravsky), banks such as Goldman Sachs are first in line as creditors as the pieces of the system are sold off (Joravsky). So rather than a system that injects the risk taking of markets into the public sector, Pay for Success injects capital drainage into successful programs while assuring minimal risk only for the profiteers. As Macdonald writes, the inversion of risk represents a disturbing change in who government serves,</p>
<p>People pay their taxes (and expect corporations to do so as well) in part because they want the government to deliver good services to the people who need them. But social impact bonds direct tax dollars to bank profits instead of to people in need. This dramatically changes who is being served by the government: from those who need a helping hand to affluent investors who need no government help at all. (Macdonald)</p>
<p>Myth 3: Accountability</p>
<p>Proponents also claim Pay for Success programs are more accountable than the public sector because allegedly programs are measured independently. As the principles of Third Sector Capital write, “Outcomes need to be tangible and measurable, such as reduced recidivism rates and lower utilization of foster care placement. The analyses of fiscal savings need to be demonstrated in quantifiable numbers, such as a reduction in special education dollars, lower Medicare payouts and lower juvenile justice expenditures” (Von Glahn and Whistler, 22).</p>
<p>Yet critics of Pay for Success have raised issues about who is making the decisions about measurement and how benchmarks have been decided (Overland, 5). A basic problem with this argument for accountability through measurable outcomes is that, in practice, as a juvenile justice caseworker involved in a recidivism reduction Massachusetts Pay for Success project explained to me, s/he received constant phone calls from an investment bank encouraging him/her to have the metrics turn out in the favor of the bank so that the bank would earn the maximum amount possible through the bond. Indeed, what I heard directly from a participant in a Pay for Success was a general concern of Jon Pratt, head of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits. Pratt stated, “You’re definitely creating incentives that would be considered corruption pressures.” Pratt’s point is that by having allegedly independent measurement tied to the possibility of profit or loss, a not so independent incentive is created to game the outcomes or cheat.</p>
<p>Such “corruption pressures” in neoliberal education reform have had a high profile as high stakes standardized testing threatened to defund school districts, schools, and classrooms if test scores did not rise. Administrators and teachers, deeply concerned that poor students would lose desperately needed resources, found that the ethical action would be to cheat rather that participate in sanctifying the denial of resources to those most in need. Similarly, when the largest for profit educational management company, Edison Schools (now Edison Learning), was expanding in the 1990’s and 2000’s, their increased growth depended upon continually raising more investor capital. The for-profit education company could only acquire capital by showing prospective investors increasingly rising test scores (Saltman, 2005). As a consequence, numerous test scandals erupted and massive institutional pressure was placed on administrators and teachers to show raised test scores no matter what.</p>
<p>Other critics raise practical concerns with Pay for Success, including concern that organizational capacity of a service provider can be temporarily built up by a contract but “not build the organizations’ capacity to support that growth” (Wallace, 4). As well, critics point to how time-consuming these agreements are to create (Wallace, 4). Contracts are so convoluted and complicated that what normally would take a month to do takes two years and with financial arrangements so complicated that a university professor in financial management “still needed help understanding the financing” (Farmer).</p>
<p>In Chicago’s Pay for Success early childhood project, as the commissioned evaluation report makes clear, not only had this particular project received positive evaluations since 2002, but early childhood education interventions such as this Child Parent Center model have been measured and found to have positive effects on future academic performance since 1967 (Gaylor, 16). Unsurprisingly, that is, early childhood learning initiatives have been known to result in measurable improvements in student performance in subsequent academic years. These facts raise obvious questions as to Pay for Success advocates’ claims that private bank financing is needed to assure measurable accountability.</p>
<p>An additional problem with accountability being understood strictly through numerically quantifiable measurement is that the problems of positivist ideology are brought into areas of educational service that are not necessary ideally measurable in quantitative terms. Positivist ideology treats knowledge and truth as a collection of facts and radically devalues examination of the theoretical assumptions behind claims to truth (Giroux). Knowledge in this view disregards both the relationship between learning and the interpretive practices and perspectives of subjects as well as the relationship between learning and the broader social world. As Pay for Success projects receive that $400 billion to $1 trillion, they will be used for a wider array of educational services including many areas of schooling in which learning is interpretive and involves judgment, criticism, and analysis. Not necessarily always quantifiable, the development of such interpretive capacities do not always appear immediately but progress over time. The message from the leaders of Pay for Success is that the government spends billions of dollars on public services that are not measured and hence has “little to show for it” (Wallace, 2). Implicit here is an assumption that that which cannot be immediately measured quantifiably also cannot be justified as a public expense. This presumes that the kinds of subjects that are less quantifiably measured such as the humanities or abstract sciences are less valuable and that funding in the future ought only to follow that which can be quantified.</p>
<p>The denial of interests and values renders the measurement fetish of accountability pseudo-science or scientism. For example, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, and Bank of America have all been seeking profit in Pay for Success. Each bank has paid the U.S. Department of Justice multi-billion dollar settlements for not prosecuting them for lying about the risks of subprime mortgage investments and defrauding investors in the run up to the 2008 subprime crisis and great recession (Shen, 2016). In 2011 confessed financial fraudster Goldman Sachs sought 22% profit on its investment of $9.6 million in a Riker’s Island Pay for Success project teaching moral reasoning to juvenile inmates (Quinton). The efficacy of the project was to be measured by reducing recidivism. Shortly after lying and breaking the law for profit, Goldman Sachs received a contract from New York City’s billionaire Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Bloomberg’s own philanthropy backed the Goldman Sachs investment so that, should the metrics not pan out, the bank would not lose money. While this particular Pay for Success project did not achieve the metrics, the value of the metrics themselves as an arbiter of the value of the project are profoundly suspect in that they shut down some of the most crucial questions that need to be asked of such a project like: Why would a company responsible for tanking the economy through fraud be hired to teach moral reasoning to youth?; Why are the youth incarcerated in the first place and what class and race position do they come from?; Why did none of the leaders of Goldman Sachs or the other banks who broke the law in the financial crisis spend a day in prison and what class and race positions do they come from?; What are the broader structural and systemic patterns and power relations that produce these different lived realities of legal accountability for some and no accountability for others like the ways that a racialized class hierarchy is reproduced through mass incarceration, the finance industry, and the educational system?; Who is authorized to develop the metrics, what is their expertise, what are their interests, and how do they assess the rules they set in place?; To whom are those legislating the accountability measurements accountable? The scientism of metrics obscures these kinds of questions. Accountability should be a part of educational projects but not through restricted metrics that conceal the broader politics informing the project. Rather, accountability should be in a form in which knowledge is comprehended in relation to how subjectivity is formed through broader social forces and in ways in which learning can form the basis for collective action to expand egalitarian and just social relations.</p>
<p>Myth 4: Cost Savings</p>
<p>A central argument of Pay for Success proponents is that they save money by only funding successful programs. However, as the prior sections suggest, if in fact evaluation is not independent and only already successful programs are being selected, and governments have incentives to continue contracting, and there are “corruption pressures,” then the alleged “market discipline” through competition cannot work. Yet, there is additional evidence that Pay for Success adds costs rather than cutting them.</p>
<p>Pay for Success introduces large expenses to fund extensive legal services to handle those convoluted and complicated contracts that take years instead of months (Sanchez 2014). Additionally, third party project managers and evaluators add costs to the services (Sanchez 2014). If the metrics pan out for the investors, then they can earn more than double the money that they put up for the service (Sanchez, 2014, p. 2). The intensely time-consuming and convoluted deals cost more money for administration, and this cuts into the spending on the service itself (Wallace, 2014). The Department of Legislative Services in Maryland studied Social Impact Bonds for recidivism reduction programs and found no savings (Wallace, 5). For prisons or schools with fixed costs such as physical sites, saving in per inmate or student cost is not significant because it does not reduce the fixed costs (Wallace, 5).</p>
<p>On the west side of Chicago, one of the billionaire heir’s to the Hyatt hotel fortune, J.B. Pritzger, whose investment firm worked with Goldman Sachs on the Chicago early childhood Pay for Success project, cut the ribbon at an early childhood center and stated that such projects must be good investments to be successful (Wallace, 6). Pritzger’s statement aligns with a trend that has intensified since the advent of venture philanthropy reimagined philanthropy as being similar to business (Saltman). Venture philanthropies hijack public governance, install corporate models and managerialism for public services, and promote public sector privatization by steering the use of public money towards the private sector (Saltman). Venture philanthropies generally give money and the giving results in a tax break for the corporation or individual that gives to the non-profit. However, most venture philanthropies do not actually seek to get the money back, let alone with profit. Social Impact Bonds (aka Pay for Success), according to David Macdonald, are not philanthropy; they are, rather, “anti-philanthropy.”(Macdonald, 1) They are profit-seeking activity masquerading as philanthropy. Some venture philanthropy has a similar effect, such as when Gates and Microsoft privatize public education by the initiatives of the Gates Foundation for privatization schemes, technology dependency and so on. However, not even venture philanthropy is explicitly organized as a for profit business. Pay for Success is similar to the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative launched in 2015 in which the “philanthropy” is actually a limited liability corporation that financially invests in other projects. As Macdonald suggests, why not cut out the “middleman”? That is, why not cut out the banks seeking profit and the third parties and lawyers facilitating the deals.</p>
<p>Finally, a cost problem with Pay for Success is that, as critics contend, with private sector lenders involved, interest rates will tend to be higher than with public sector bond issuance. House Appropriations Committee Chair Representative Ross Hunter blocked a federal Social Impact Bond bill. He said, “As a private investor, what kind of interest rate are you going to ask for? Eleven percent? Nine percent? By contrast, interest rates on revenue bonds can be as low as 4%. If early learning is a good idea, I can issue [government-backed revenue] bonds to pay for it” (Hoback). In Chicago, Goldman Sachs’ could more than double their initial investment of $16.6 million (Sanchez 2016) as the metrics determine that Goldman receives the maximum amount from the city under the agreement. This is a much higher total cost to the public to provide the service to 2600 children than what a bond issuance would be.</p>
<p>Myth 5: Corporate Social Responsibility</p>
<p>In order for banks, corporate foundations, and venture philanthropies to claim that Pay for Success represents the good will of these actors, they must represent public sector pillage as public sector support and care. However, they must also position these private accumulation projects as necessary, inevitable, and without alternative. This is why proponents repeat the private sector language about the “hopelessly bureaucratic public sector” needing “market discipline,” private sector “cost savings,” “accountability,” “financial innovation,” and “risk reduction” despite evidence and reason to the contrary. The private sector project of Pay for Success is not merely one that involves the private capture of public wealth but also the public reframing of symbolic meanings that make such wealth capture possible, remaking common sense in ways that suggest that only the rich can promote just social change by pursuing their financial interests. Such ideologies suggest that the very private forces responsible for draining and weakening the public are in fact saviors for the public, that there is no alternative to markets in every social realm, that public citizens are nothing more than economic actors, and that these projects are apolitical rather than representing the interests and perspectives of capitalists over workers and most citizens. Non-profits such as the Center for American Progress, the Rockefeller Foundation, and Harvard are among the loudest boosters of Pay for Success. The ideological work that these organizations do shapes public perceptions about the morality and public impact of private sector organizations like Goldman Sachs. In this sense, Pay for Success is a form of public relations for banks that the banks largely do not have to pay for. In fact, Pay for Success facilitates banks being paid by the public to promote this public relations bonanza. As with venture philanthropies, the public ends up not only financially subsidizing private banks but also subsidizing the loss of public control over public governance for public services. With venture philanthropies, the subsidy takes public revenues in the form of tax breaks for rich donors and corporations. With Pay for Success, the public pays a premium for services that could have been provided directly through the government and loses democratic governance control over the service.</p>
<p>Conclusion</p>
<p>Pay for Success/ Social Impact Bonds appeal to banks for their capacity to generate profits from public tax money for education, juvenile justice, and other services and they represent a form of economic redistribution from desperately needed public money for the most vulnerable citizens such as poor youth to business.&#160;&#160; They also appeal to banks who have gotten caught defrauding investors and that can now promote themselves as doing good works while turning a profit. Pay for Success also appeals to neoliberal politicians such as Mayor Emanuel in Chicago who can claim they are doing “innovative finance” in the interest of taxpayers instead of raising taxes or issuing educational bonds. The reality is that politicians like Emanuel are just kicking the can down the road as Pay for Success does not solve the historical failure to adequately fund public education or other social services (like the mental health services he gutted), just adding to the longstanding debt burden. In fact, because it costs more, Social Impact investing raises this debt burden while delaying it, thereby destabilizing the public system further. In this sense, Pay for Success is an elaborate form of public relations that makes a failure to address a public problem look like innovative action.</p>
<p>Pay for Success/Social Impact Bonds ought to be understood as simply one of the latest efforts of the private sector to exploit and to pillage the public sector for profit at a historical moment of uncertain economic growth and a crisis of capital accumulation. New legislation and policy must be developed to limit the access of investment banks to determining, running, and profiting from social programs.</p>
<p>References</p>
<p>Chandler, D. (2015 October 22) Op-Ed: <a href="http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/33353-social-impact-bonds-selling-off-the-public-good-in-the-era-of-neoliberalism" type="external">Social Impact Bonds: Selling off the Public Good in the Era of Neoliberalism</a> truthout.org.</p>
<p>Donovan, D. (2013 April 25) $500 Million Plan Would Reimburse Donors Who Start or Expand Programs that Work Chronicle of Philanthropy (25)11, 13-13.</p>
<p>Editorial Board (2015 November 8) Editorial: <a href="" type="internal">The Promise and Risk of Social Impact Bonds</a> Chicago Tribune.</p>
<p>Farmer, L. (2015 November 12) <a href="http://www.governing.com/topics/finance/gov-cost-pay-for-success-social-impact-bonds.html" type="external">The Hidden Cost to ‘Pay for Success</a> Governing.</p>
<p>Gaylor, E., Kutaka, T., Ferguson, K, Williamson, C., Wei, X., &amp; Spiker, D. (2016). Evaluation of Kindergarten Readiness in Five Child-Parent Centers: Report for 2014-15. Prepared for IFF Pay for Success I, LLC. Menlo Park, CA. SRI International.</p>
<p>Giroux, H. (1983) Theory and Resistance in Education: A Pedagogy for the Opposition Westport: Bergin &amp; Garvey.</p>
<p>Golden, M. (2014 October 10) How Pay-for-Success Funding Might Help Low-Income Students Chronicle of Higher Education (61) 6, A22-A23.</p>
<p>Hoback, J. (2015 May) Private Money, Public Impact State Legislatures, 26-29.</p>
<p>How Social-Impact Bonds Work(2011 February 24) Chronicle of Philanthropy (23)7, 7.</p>
<p>Jonas, C. and Grossman, J. (2014 February) Pay for Success Leading Change in Results-Based Contracting Policy &amp; Practice 13-34 [Third Sector Capital Partners]</p>
<p>Joravsky, B. (2016 February 11) R <a href="" type="internal">ahm’s Latest Wall Street Bond Deal is a Bad Deal for the City</a> The Chicago Reader.</p>
<p>Lipman, P. (2014) The Political Economy of Urban Education New York: Routledge.</p>
<p>Lipman, P. (2004) High Stakes Education New York: Routledge.</p>
<p>Macdonald, D. (2013 February) Anti-Philanthropy: Social Impact Bond the Worst Way to Fund Social Programs CCPA Monitor, 37.</p>
<p>Mayor’s Press Office (2014 October 7) <a href="" type="internal">Mayor Emanuel Announces Expansion of Pre-K to More than 2,600 Chicago Public School Children</a> cityofchicago.org.</p>
<p>Newport, F. (2016 March 21) <a href="" type="internal">Americans Say Yes to Spending More on VA</a>, Infrastructure Gallup.</p>
<p>Newport, F. (2016 May 16) <a href="" type="internal">Majority in U.S. Support Fed-Funded Healthcare System</a> Gallup.</p>
<p>Overland, M. (2011 February 24) Paying for Results: A New Approach to Government Aid Chronicle of Philanthropy (23)7, 9.</p>
<p>Quinton, S. (2013 May 10) How Goldman Sachs Can Help Save the Safety Net National Journal , 1.</p>
<p>Saltman, K. (2007) Capitalizing on Disaster: Taking and Breaking Public Schools New York: Routledge.</p>
<p>Saltman, K. (2012) The Failure of Corporate School Reform New York: Routledge 2012.</p>
<p>Saltman, K. (2010) The Gift of Education: Public Education and Venture Philanthropy New York: Palgrave Macmillan.</p>
<p>Sanchez, M. (2016 May 16) Investors Earn Max Initial Payment from Chicago’s ‘Social Impact Bond’ Catalyst Chicago retrieved from catalystchicago.org</p>
<p>Sanchez, M. (2016 May 16) Child-Parent Centers Boast Strong Results for Kids, Investors Catalyst Chicago May 16, 2016</p>
<p>Sanchez, M. (2014, November 3) For the Record: Paying for Preschool with Social Impact Bonds Catalyst Chicago retrieved from catalystchicago.org</p>
<p>Shen, L. (2016 April 11) Goldman Sachs Finally Admits It Defrauded Investors During the Financial Crisis Fortune.</p>
<p>Shipps, D. (2006) School Reform Corporate Style, Chicago 1880-2000 University Press of Kansas.</p>
<p>Von Glahn, D. and Whistler, C. (2011 June) Pay for Success Programs: An Introduction Policy &amp; Practice (Third Sector Capital Partners Newsletter)</p>
<p>Wallace, N. (2014 July 17) With a Few Pay-for-Success Plans Under Way, the idea is Gaining Currency and Criticism Chronicle of Philanthropy (26)15, 1-23.</p>
<p>York, P. (2011 May 19) ‘Pay for Success’ Idea Could Fail Nonprofits Chronicle of Philanthropy (23)13, 10.</p>
| 6,212 |
<p>eBay Inc.&#160;(NASDAQ: EBAY)&#160;announced better-than-expected third-quarter 2017 results on Wednesday after the market closed, highlighting the continued revenue acceleration for its core marketplace platforms and its fastest gross merchandise volume growth since 2014.</p>
<p>But thanks to mixed forward guidance -- at least relative to Wall Street's expectations -- shares are down around 6% in after-hours trading as of this writing. Let's take a closer look, then, at how eBay kicked off the second half of the year, and what investors can expect from the e-commerce giant.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>"In Q3, we drove acceleration across all three of our platforms, delivering strong top- and bottom-line financial results and our fastest volume growth in over three years," stated eBay CEO Devin Wenig. "Our customers are responding to the significant product enhancements we have been making, and this is reflected in our results."</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>For the fourth quarter, eBay expects revenue between $2.58 billion and $2.62 billion, for currency-neutral growth of 6% to 8%. Based on generally accepted accounting principles ( <a href="https://www.fool.com/knowledge-center/importance-of-accounting-principles.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=bc90928a-b443-11e7-97e4-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">GAAP Opens a New Window.</a>), that should result in earnings per diluted share from continuing operations of $0.40 to $0.45, and adjusted (non-GAAP) earnings per share of $0.57 to $0.59. By comparison, Wall Street was modeling fourth-quarter adjusted earnings near the high end of eBay's outlook, but on revenue at the low end of its guidance range.</p>
<p>For context, during the subsequent conference call eBay management elaborated that expected accelerations in both overall marketplace GMV and revenue will be offset, however slightly, by a combination of headwinds at StubHub and the timing and length of the South Korean Thanksgiving holiday.</p>
<p>eBay now expects full-year revenue of between $9.53 billion and $9.57 billion, up from its previous range of $9.3 billion to $9.5 billion, with adjusted earnings per share of $1.99 to $2.01, narrowed from its previous range of $1.98 to $2.03.</p>
<p>All things considered, these ranges don't represent truly significant changes from investors' prior expectations for eBay. If anything, it's encouraging to see consumers still flocking to eBay's platforms and continuing to drive healthy GMV acceleration -- a sentiment echoed by the positive tone of Wenig's comments on the quarter. But it wasn't technically perfect. So with shares already up nearly 28% year to date as of Wednesday's close, it's apparent that the market wanted more.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than eBayWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*</p>
<p>David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the <a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-static%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=532497d8-acf3-4382-956b-cdb34f139219&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=bc90928a-b443-11e7-97e4-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">10 best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now... and eBay wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.</p>
<p><a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-static%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=532497d8-acf3-4382-956b-cdb34f139219&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=bc90928a-b443-11e7-97e4-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</a> to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of October 9, 2017</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFSymington/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=bc90928a-b443-11e7-97e4-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Steve Symington Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends eBay. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=bc90928a-b443-11e7-97e4-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
|
eBay, Inc.'s Light Earnings Guidance Overshadows a Strong Quarter
| true |
http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/10/18/ebay-inc-s-light-earnings-guidance-overshadows-strong-quarter.html
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2017-10-18
| 0right
|
eBay, Inc.'s Light Earnings Guidance Overshadows a Strong Quarter
<p>eBay Inc.&#160;(NASDAQ: EBAY)&#160;announced better-than-expected third-quarter 2017 results on Wednesday after the market closed, highlighting the continued revenue acceleration for its core marketplace platforms and its fastest gross merchandise volume growth since 2014.</p>
<p>But thanks to mixed forward guidance -- at least relative to Wall Street's expectations -- shares are down around 6% in after-hours trading as of this writing. Let's take a closer look, then, at how eBay kicked off the second half of the year, and what investors can expect from the e-commerce giant.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>"In Q3, we drove acceleration across all three of our platforms, delivering strong top- and bottom-line financial results and our fastest volume growth in over three years," stated eBay CEO Devin Wenig. "Our customers are responding to the significant product enhancements we have been making, and this is reflected in our results."</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>For the fourth quarter, eBay expects revenue between $2.58 billion and $2.62 billion, for currency-neutral growth of 6% to 8%. Based on generally accepted accounting principles ( <a href="https://www.fool.com/knowledge-center/importance-of-accounting-principles.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=bc90928a-b443-11e7-97e4-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">GAAP Opens a New Window.</a>), that should result in earnings per diluted share from continuing operations of $0.40 to $0.45, and adjusted (non-GAAP) earnings per share of $0.57 to $0.59. By comparison, Wall Street was modeling fourth-quarter adjusted earnings near the high end of eBay's outlook, but on revenue at the low end of its guidance range.</p>
<p>For context, during the subsequent conference call eBay management elaborated that expected accelerations in both overall marketplace GMV and revenue will be offset, however slightly, by a combination of headwinds at StubHub and the timing and length of the South Korean Thanksgiving holiday.</p>
<p>eBay now expects full-year revenue of between $9.53 billion and $9.57 billion, up from its previous range of $9.3 billion to $9.5 billion, with adjusted earnings per share of $1.99 to $2.01, narrowed from its previous range of $1.98 to $2.03.</p>
<p>All things considered, these ranges don't represent truly significant changes from investors' prior expectations for eBay. If anything, it's encouraging to see consumers still flocking to eBay's platforms and continuing to drive healthy GMV acceleration -- a sentiment echoed by the positive tone of Wenig's comments on the quarter. But it wasn't technically perfect. So with shares already up nearly 28% year to date as of Wednesday's close, it's apparent that the market wanted more.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than eBayWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*</p>
<p>David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the <a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-static%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=532497d8-acf3-4382-956b-cdb34f139219&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=bc90928a-b443-11e7-97e4-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">10 best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now... and eBay wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.</p>
<p><a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-static%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=532497d8-acf3-4382-956b-cdb34f139219&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=bc90928a-b443-11e7-97e4-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</a> to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of October 9, 2017</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFSymington/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=bc90928a-b443-11e7-97e4-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Steve Symington Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends eBay. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=bc90928a-b443-11e7-97e4-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
| 6,213 |
<p>MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Paul Soglin had already completed three terms as mayor of Madison before Kelda Roys was born in 1979.</p>
<p>Now they're both running for governor, illustrating a generational divide among Democratic candidates.</p>
<p>Soglin, at 72, and Roys, 38, are the oldest and youngest of the nine best-known candidates. Seven of the Democrats are Baby Boomers, while Roys and union firefighter head Mahlon Mitchell, 40, come from the tail end of Generation X.</p>
<p>Democrats have long bemoaned not having enough young candidates, while the face of the Republican Party in recent years has been dominated by politicians in their 40s.</p>
<p>Gov. Scott Walker, House Speaker Paul Ryan and former White House chief of staff Reince Priebus, also the former state and national GOP party chairman, range between ages 45 and 50. Walker, the oldest, was first elected governor on his 43rd birthday but has been in office continually since he was 25.</p>
<p>Wisconsin Democrats haven't had the same youth movement, as evidenced by the decidedly gray field of governor candidates. The average age of the nine top tier contenders is 58 and two are in their 70s.</p>
<p>"The pipeline for leadership hasn't always been there," said Mandela Barnes, a 31-year-old candidate for lieutenant governor. "We are realizing that and taking steps to address it."</p>
<p>Part of the answer is finding more young people to run for office, but it's also important that candidates address issues that matter to voters in their 20s and 30s, Barnes said.</p>
<p>Democrat Sarah Smith, 25, said inequalities — around income, race and gender — are among the issues that matter most to younger voters like her. The burden of student loan debt, something Smith said she and her friends "talk about constantly," is also a major topic of concern.</p>
<p>Smith, the state chair of Young Democrats of Wisconsin, said she's glad to see a couple of younger candidates for governor, but isn't concerned that most are older.</p>
<p>"If we elect somebody who is 72 but willing to sit down with younger voters and listen to what's important to them, why they would stay in Wisconsin or leave, that's what matters most," Smith said.</p>
<p>Roys, the 38-year-old candidate, agreed.</p>
<p>"I do think it's important for voters to see themselves reflected in the candidate who is running for office," said Roys, who was elected to the Assembly in 2008 when she was 29. "For voters, they need to believe a candidate understands and cares about them."</p>
<p>It's been tough for younger Democrats to break through because of the sheer number of older Baby Boomer office holders who have been there for years, and in some cases decades, said Scot Ross, director of the liberal group One Wisconsin Now.</p>
<p>For example, the three state senators representing liberal Madison and surrounding areas are 56, 74 and 90. Sen. Fred Risser, the 90-year-old, is the longest-serving office holder in the country. He was first elected in 1956.</p>
<p>Republicans also have a better structure in place to support and nurture younger candidates, Ross said.</p>
<p>"They're smart," he said. "The greatest thing that the GOP has done since the 1970s is invest in young talent."</p>
<p>Younger Democrats running for office in 2018 say they see reason for optimism.</p>
<p>Sheboygan businessman Kurt Kober, 39, initially planned to run for governor but is now running for lieutenant governor. Kober is a retail strategy director for The Clorox Co., who returned to his hometown this year after living outside of Wisconsin for about a decade.</p>
<p>Kober said he wants his campaign to focus on how to make the new economy work in Wisconsin, addressing such things as expanding broadband internet access, improving road conditions and ensuring workers are prepared for the next generation of available jobs.</p>
<p>Older candidates say age alone doesn't determine whether they can speak to younger voters. They point to 76-year-old Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential run both for inspiration and proof that a septuagenarian politician can attract younger voters.</p>
<p>Matt Flynn, 70, is the second-oldest Democratic gubernatorial candidate. Flynn served as Democratic Party chairman in the 1980s, ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate in 1986 and Congress in 1978, 1988 and 2004 and was deeply involved in state and national politics for decades.</p>
<p>Now he's downplaying his age and, like Soglin, invoking the success of Sanders — who won the Wisconsin presidential primary and remains popular among liberals.</p>
<p>"What matters are ideas, not chronology," Flynn said. "The next generation has very talented people, but there's a certain amount of experience you need to be governor. Age alone is not determinate."</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Scott Bauer on Twitter at <a href="https://twitter.com/sbauerAP" type="external">https://twitter.com/sbauerAP</a></p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Sign up for the AP's weekly newsletter showcasing our best reporting from the Midwest and Texas at <a href="http://apne.ws/2u1RMfv" type="external">http://apne.ws/2u1RMfv</a></p>
<p>MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Paul Soglin had already completed three terms as mayor of Madison before Kelda Roys was born in 1979.</p>
<p>Now they're both running for governor, illustrating a generational divide among Democratic candidates.</p>
<p>Soglin, at 72, and Roys, 38, are the oldest and youngest of the nine best-known candidates. Seven of the Democrats are Baby Boomers, while Roys and union firefighter head Mahlon Mitchell, 40, come from the tail end of Generation X.</p>
<p>Democrats have long bemoaned not having enough young candidates, while the face of the Republican Party in recent years has been dominated by politicians in their 40s.</p>
<p>Gov. Scott Walker, House Speaker Paul Ryan and former White House chief of staff Reince Priebus, also the former state and national GOP party chairman, range between ages 45 and 50. Walker, the oldest, was first elected governor on his 43rd birthday but has been in office continually since he was 25.</p>
<p>Wisconsin Democrats haven't had the same youth movement, as evidenced by the decidedly gray field of governor candidates. The average age of the nine top tier contenders is 58 and two are in their 70s.</p>
<p>"The pipeline for leadership hasn't always been there," said Mandela Barnes, a 31-year-old candidate for lieutenant governor. "We are realizing that and taking steps to address it."</p>
<p>Part of the answer is finding more young people to run for office, but it's also important that candidates address issues that matter to voters in their 20s and 30s, Barnes said.</p>
<p>Democrat Sarah Smith, 25, said inequalities — around income, race and gender — are among the issues that matter most to younger voters like her. The burden of student loan debt, something Smith said she and her friends "talk about constantly," is also a major topic of concern.</p>
<p>Smith, the state chair of Young Democrats of Wisconsin, said she's glad to see a couple of younger candidates for governor, but isn't concerned that most are older.</p>
<p>"If we elect somebody who is 72 but willing to sit down with younger voters and listen to what's important to them, why they would stay in Wisconsin or leave, that's what matters most," Smith said.</p>
<p>Roys, the 38-year-old candidate, agreed.</p>
<p>"I do think it's important for voters to see themselves reflected in the candidate who is running for office," said Roys, who was elected to the Assembly in 2008 when she was 29. "For voters, they need to believe a candidate understands and cares about them."</p>
<p>It's been tough for younger Democrats to break through because of the sheer number of older Baby Boomer office holders who have been there for years, and in some cases decades, said Scot Ross, director of the liberal group One Wisconsin Now.</p>
<p>For example, the three state senators representing liberal Madison and surrounding areas are 56, 74 and 90. Sen. Fred Risser, the 90-year-old, is the longest-serving office holder in the country. He was first elected in 1956.</p>
<p>Republicans also have a better structure in place to support and nurture younger candidates, Ross said.</p>
<p>"They're smart," he said. "The greatest thing that the GOP has done since the 1970s is invest in young talent."</p>
<p>Younger Democrats running for office in 2018 say they see reason for optimism.</p>
<p>Sheboygan businessman Kurt Kober, 39, initially planned to run for governor but is now running for lieutenant governor. Kober is a retail strategy director for The Clorox Co., who returned to his hometown this year after living outside of Wisconsin for about a decade.</p>
<p>Kober said he wants his campaign to focus on how to make the new economy work in Wisconsin, addressing such things as expanding broadband internet access, improving road conditions and ensuring workers are prepared for the next generation of available jobs.</p>
<p>Older candidates say age alone doesn't determine whether they can speak to younger voters. They point to 76-year-old Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential run both for inspiration and proof that a septuagenarian politician can attract younger voters.</p>
<p>Matt Flynn, 70, is the second-oldest Democratic gubernatorial candidate. Flynn served as Democratic Party chairman in the 1980s, ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate in 1986 and Congress in 1978, 1988 and 2004 and was deeply involved in state and national politics for decades.</p>
<p>Now he's downplaying his age and, like Soglin, invoking the success of Sanders — who won the Wisconsin presidential primary and remains popular among liberals.</p>
<p>"What matters are ideas, not chronology," Flynn said. "The next generation has very talented people, but there's a certain amount of experience you need to be governor. Age alone is not determinate."</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Scott Bauer on Twitter at <a href="https://twitter.com/sbauerAP" type="external">https://twitter.com/sbauerAP</a></p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Sign up for the AP's weekly newsletter showcasing our best reporting from the Midwest and Texas at <a href="http://apne.ws/2u1RMfv" type="external">http://apne.ws/2u1RMfv</a></p>
|
Democrats seek younger voters with mostly gray candidates
| false |
https://apnews.com/amp/e9ed7509c5aa415aafcb10b3900bbbb6
|
2018-01-01
| 2least
|
Democrats seek younger voters with mostly gray candidates
<p>MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Paul Soglin had already completed three terms as mayor of Madison before Kelda Roys was born in 1979.</p>
<p>Now they're both running for governor, illustrating a generational divide among Democratic candidates.</p>
<p>Soglin, at 72, and Roys, 38, are the oldest and youngest of the nine best-known candidates. Seven of the Democrats are Baby Boomers, while Roys and union firefighter head Mahlon Mitchell, 40, come from the tail end of Generation X.</p>
<p>Democrats have long bemoaned not having enough young candidates, while the face of the Republican Party in recent years has been dominated by politicians in their 40s.</p>
<p>Gov. Scott Walker, House Speaker Paul Ryan and former White House chief of staff Reince Priebus, also the former state and national GOP party chairman, range between ages 45 and 50. Walker, the oldest, was first elected governor on his 43rd birthday but has been in office continually since he was 25.</p>
<p>Wisconsin Democrats haven't had the same youth movement, as evidenced by the decidedly gray field of governor candidates. The average age of the nine top tier contenders is 58 and two are in their 70s.</p>
<p>"The pipeline for leadership hasn't always been there," said Mandela Barnes, a 31-year-old candidate for lieutenant governor. "We are realizing that and taking steps to address it."</p>
<p>Part of the answer is finding more young people to run for office, but it's also important that candidates address issues that matter to voters in their 20s and 30s, Barnes said.</p>
<p>Democrat Sarah Smith, 25, said inequalities — around income, race and gender — are among the issues that matter most to younger voters like her. The burden of student loan debt, something Smith said she and her friends "talk about constantly," is also a major topic of concern.</p>
<p>Smith, the state chair of Young Democrats of Wisconsin, said she's glad to see a couple of younger candidates for governor, but isn't concerned that most are older.</p>
<p>"If we elect somebody who is 72 but willing to sit down with younger voters and listen to what's important to them, why they would stay in Wisconsin or leave, that's what matters most," Smith said.</p>
<p>Roys, the 38-year-old candidate, agreed.</p>
<p>"I do think it's important for voters to see themselves reflected in the candidate who is running for office," said Roys, who was elected to the Assembly in 2008 when she was 29. "For voters, they need to believe a candidate understands and cares about them."</p>
<p>It's been tough for younger Democrats to break through because of the sheer number of older Baby Boomer office holders who have been there for years, and in some cases decades, said Scot Ross, director of the liberal group One Wisconsin Now.</p>
<p>For example, the three state senators representing liberal Madison and surrounding areas are 56, 74 and 90. Sen. Fred Risser, the 90-year-old, is the longest-serving office holder in the country. He was first elected in 1956.</p>
<p>Republicans also have a better structure in place to support and nurture younger candidates, Ross said.</p>
<p>"They're smart," he said. "The greatest thing that the GOP has done since the 1970s is invest in young talent."</p>
<p>Younger Democrats running for office in 2018 say they see reason for optimism.</p>
<p>Sheboygan businessman Kurt Kober, 39, initially planned to run for governor but is now running for lieutenant governor. Kober is a retail strategy director for The Clorox Co., who returned to his hometown this year after living outside of Wisconsin for about a decade.</p>
<p>Kober said he wants his campaign to focus on how to make the new economy work in Wisconsin, addressing such things as expanding broadband internet access, improving road conditions and ensuring workers are prepared for the next generation of available jobs.</p>
<p>Older candidates say age alone doesn't determine whether they can speak to younger voters. They point to 76-year-old Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential run both for inspiration and proof that a septuagenarian politician can attract younger voters.</p>
<p>Matt Flynn, 70, is the second-oldest Democratic gubernatorial candidate. Flynn served as Democratic Party chairman in the 1980s, ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate in 1986 and Congress in 1978, 1988 and 2004 and was deeply involved in state and national politics for decades.</p>
<p>Now he's downplaying his age and, like Soglin, invoking the success of Sanders — who won the Wisconsin presidential primary and remains popular among liberals.</p>
<p>"What matters are ideas, not chronology," Flynn said. "The next generation has very talented people, but there's a certain amount of experience you need to be governor. Age alone is not determinate."</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Scott Bauer on Twitter at <a href="https://twitter.com/sbauerAP" type="external">https://twitter.com/sbauerAP</a></p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Sign up for the AP's weekly newsletter showcasing our best reporting from the Midwest and Texas at <a href="http://apne.ws/2u1RMfv" type="external">http://apne.ws/2u1RMfv</a></p>
<p>MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Paul Soglin had already completed three terms as mayor of Madison before Kelda Roys was born in 1979.</p>
<p>Now they're both running for governor, illustrating a generational divide among Democratic candidates.</p>
<p>Soglin, at 72, and Roys, 38, are the oldest and youngest of the nine best-known candidates. Seven of the Democrats are Baby Boomers, while Roys and union firefighter head Mahlon Mitchell, 40, come from the tail end of Generation X.</p>
<p>Democrats have long bemoaned not having enough young candidates, while the face of the Republican Party in recent years has been dominated by politicians in their 40s.</p>
<p>Gov. Scott Walker, House Speaker Paul Ryan and former White House chief of staff Reince Priebus, also the former state and national GOP party chairman, range between ages 45 and 50. Walker, the oldest, was first elected governor on his 43rd birthday but has been in office continually since he was 25.</p>
<p>Wisconsin Democrats haven't had the same youth movement, as evidenced by the decidedly gray field of governor candidates. The average age of the nine top tier contenders is 58 and two are in their 70s.</p>
<p>"The pipeline for leadership hasn't always been there," said Mandela Barnes, a 31-year-old candidate for lieutenant governor. "We are realizing that and taking steps to address it."</p>
<p>Part of the answer is finding more young people to run for office, but it's also important that candidates address issues that matter to voters in their 20s and 30s, Barnes said.</p>
<p>Democrat Sarah Smith, 25, said inequalities — around income, race and gender — are among the issues that matter most to younger voters like her. The burden of student loan debt, something Smith said she and her friends "talk about constantly," is also a major topic of concern.</p>
<p>Smith, the state chair of Young Democrats of Wisconsin, said she's glad to see a couple of younger candidates for governor, but isn't concerned that most are older.</p>
<p>"If we elect somebody who is 72 but willing to sit down with younger voters and listen to what's important to them, why they would stay in Wisconsin or leave, that's what matters most," Smith said.</p>
<p>Roys, the 38-year-old candidate, agreed.</p>
<p>"I do think it's important for voters to see themselves reflected in the candidate who is running for office," said Roys, who was elected to the Assembly in 2008 when she was 29. "For voters, they need to believe a candidate understands and cares about them."</p>
<p>It's been tough for younger Democrats to break through because of the sheer number of older Baby Boomer office holders who have been there for years, and in some cases decades, said Scot Ross, director of the liberal group One Wisconsin Now.</p>
<p>For example, the three state senators representing liberal Madison and surrounding areas are 56, 74 and 90. Sen. Fred Risser, the 90-year-old, is the longest-serving office holder in the country. He was first elected in 1956.</p>
<p>Republicans also have a better structure in place to support and nurture younger candidates, Ross said.</p>
<p>"They're smart," he said. "The greatest thing that the GOP has done since the 1970s is invest in young talent."</p>
<p>Younger Democrats running for office in 2018 say they see reason for optimism.</p>
<p>Sheboygan businessman Kurt Kober, 39, initially planned to run for governor but is now running for lieutenant governor. Kober is a retail strategy director for The Clorox Co., who returned to his hometown this year after living outside of Wisconsin for about a decade.</p>
<p>Kober said he wants his campaign to focus on how to make the new economy work in Wisconsin, addressing such things as expanding broadband internet access, improving road conditions and ensuring workers are prepared for the next generation of available jobs.</p>
<p>Older candidates say age alone doesn't determine whether they can speak to younger voters. They point to 76-year-old Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential run both for inspiration and proof that a septuagenarian politician can attract younger voters.</p>
<p>Matt Flynn, 70, is the second-oldest Democratic gubernatorial candidate. Flynn served as Democratic Party chairman in the 1980s, ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate in 1986 and Congress in 1978, 1988 and 2004 and was deeply involved in state and national politics for decades.</p>
<p>Now he's downplaying his age and, like Soglin, invoking the success of Sanders — who won the Wisconsin presidential primary and remains popular among liberals.</p>
<p>"What matters are ideas, not chronology," Flynn said. "The next generation has very talented people, but there's a certain amount of experience you need to be governor. Age alone is not determinate."</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Scott Bauer on Twitter at <a href="https://twitter.com/sbauerAP" type="external">https://twitter.com/sbauerAP</a></p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Sign up for the AP's weekly newsletter showcasing our best reporting from the Midwest and Texas at <a href="http://apne.ws/2u1RMfv" type="external">http://apne.ws/2u1RMfv</a></p>
| 6,214 |
<p />
<p />
<p>Many Americans discovered over the past 8 years or more that the mainstream media is decidedly left-wing and clearly doesn’t provide all opinions on topics, nor do they even provide the truth or facts in many stories.</p>
<p>Advertisement - story continues below</p>
<p>It’s because of this, especially during Barack Obama’s failed reign in the White House, that so many not only became skeptical of the mainstream media, but became vocal opponents against them. This opposition to the one-sided media is one of the reasons Donald Trump won the election. Too many Americans had had it with their dishonesty, outright lies, extreme bias, and ignorance of the truth.</p>
<p>Breaking news updates and daily headlines from a news source you can trust.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>[otw_shortcode_sidebars sidebar_id=”otw-sidebar-1″][/otw_shortcode_sidebars]</p>
<p />
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<p>During a recent conference, an editor of the New York Times admitted that there is a problem on the left, and it does indeed affect news and opinion within news. From <a href="http://dailycaller.com/2017/06/01/new-york-times-executive-editor-accidentally-admits-hes-a-liberal-video/" type="external">The Daily Caller</a>:</p>
<p>Advertisement - story continues below</p>
<p>New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet accidentally admitted on Wednesday that he is a liberal.</p>
<p>“I don’t understand how one can actually have an intellectual discourse in this country if you cannot have the opportunity to read thoughtful people with whom you disagree. We’re at a moment in the country right now which I think, you know, the Left should do some soul searching too, right?” Baquet said.</p>
<p>He then began referring to “the Left” as “we” before catching his slip-up.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>[otw_shortcode_sidebars sidebar_id=”otw-sidebar-3″][/otw_shortcode_sidebars]</p>
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<p>“We don’t want to hear anything — we’ve long said this about this about the Right — but I think the Left, we don’t — I’m not ‘we,’ I’m a journalist — but the Left as a rule does not want to hear thoughtful disagreement,” he said, to slight laughter from his liberal audience.</p>
<p>It shouldn’t be a surprise that an editor at the New York Times is a left-winger. What is more interesting is that he admits the left doesn’t want to hear differing opinions. He’s a liberal who actually wants to have differing opinions in his newspaper, but understands the left does not want to see or hear them.</p>
<p>This is the “new” left. Although they are the same as the old left, they are now more obvious to regular Americans rather than only those who were political. Regular Americans see the bias in the news and see the hatred and vitriol from the left towards anyone who dares to not have their same opinion.</p>
<p>Advertisement - story continues below</p>
<p>The left still don’t seem to get that this is why they’ll keep losing.</p>
<p>[otw_shortcode_sidebars sidebar_id=”otw-sidebar-5″][/otw_shortcode_sidebars][otw_shortcode_sidebars sidebar_id=”otw-sidebar-2″][/otw_shortcode_sidebars][easy-share buttons=”facebook,twitter,google,pinterest,mail” counters=0 native=”no”]</p>
<p>What do you think? Scroll down to comment below.</p>
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NYT Executive Editor Accidentally Admits Truth About Media [Watch]
| true |
http://thefederalistpapers.org/first-amendment-2/nyt-executive-editor-accidentally-admits-truth-about-media-watch
| 0right
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NYT Executive Editor Accidentally Admits Truth About Media [Watch]
<p />
<p />
<p>Many Americans discovered over the past 8 years or more that the mainstream media is decidedly left-wing and clearly doesn’t provide all opinions on topics, nor do they even provide the truth or facts in many stories.</p>
<p>Advertisement - story continues below</p>
<p>It’s because of this, especially during Barack Obama’s failed reign in the White House, that so many not only became skeptical of the mainstream media, but became vocal opponents against them. This opposition to the one-sided media is one of the reasons Donald Trump won the election. Too many Americans had had it with their dishonesty, outright lies, extreme bias, and ignorance of the truth.</p>
<p>Breaking news updates and daily headlines from a news source you can trust.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>[otw_shortcode_sidebars sidebar_id=”otw-sidebar-1″][/otw_shortcode_sidebars]</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>During a recent conference, an editor of the New York Times admitted that there is a problem on the left, and it does indeed affect news and opinion within news. From <a href="http://dailycaller.com/2017/06/01/new-york-times-executive-editor-accidentally-admits-hes-a-liberal-video/" type="external">The Daily Caller</a>:</p>
<p>Advertisement - story continues below</p>
<p>New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet accidentally admitted on Wednesday that he is a liberal.</p>
<p>“I don’t understand how one can actually have an intellectual discourse in this country if you cannot have the opportunity to read thoughtful people with whom you disagree. We’re at a moment in the country right now which I think, you know, the Left should do some soul searching too, right?” Baquet said.</p>
<p>He then began referring to “the Left” as “we” before catching his slip-up.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>[otw_shortcode_sidebars sidebar_id=”otw-sidebar-3″][/otw_shortcode_sidebars]</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>“We don’t want to hear anything — we’ve long said this about this about the Right — but I think the Left, we don’t — I’m not ‘we,’ I’m a journalist — but the Left as a rule does not want to hear thoughtful disagreement,” he said, to slight laughter from his liberal audience.</p>
<p>It shouldn’t be a surprise that an editor at the New York Times is a left-winger. What is more interesting is that he admits the left doesn’t want to hear differing opinions. He’s a liberal who actually wants to have differing opinions in his newspaper, but understands the left does not want to see or hear them.</p>
<p>This is the “new” left. Although they are the same as the old left, they are now more obvious to regular Americans rather than only those who were political. Regular Americans see the bias in the news and see the hatred and vitriol from the left towards anyone who dares to not have their same opinion.</p>
<p>Advertisement - story continues below</p>
<p>The left still don’t seem to get that this is why they’ll keep losing.</p>
<p>[otw_shortcode_sidebars sidebar_id=”otw-sidebar-5″][/otw_shortcode_sidebars][otw_shortcode_sidebars sidebar_id=”otw-sidebar-2″][/otw_shortcode_sidebars][easy-share buttons=”facebook,twitter,google,pinterest,mail” counters=0 native=”no”]</p>
<p>What do you think? Scroll down to comment below.</p>
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<p>ANIMAS, N.M. - A lightning-started wildfire that has burned more than nine square miles of the Coronado National Forest in extreme southwestern New Mexico is about a third contained.</p>
<p>Officials say approximately 300 personnel were assigned to fight the fire as of Sunday but that some will be released Monday because rain is forecast for the area.</p>
<p>As of Monday, containment is reported around 30 percent of the fire's perimeter.</p>
<p>The fire is burning mostly grass and brush just across the state line from southeastern Arizona.</p>
<p>Crews on Sunday worked to hold and secure existing fire lines around the perimeter and officials say the fire is growing very slowly.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
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Southwestern New Mexico wildfire at 30 percent containment
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https://abqjournal.com/595808/southwestern-new-mexico-wildfire-at-30-percent-containment.html
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Southwestern New Mexico wildfire at 30 percent containment
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<p>ANIMAS, N.M. - A lightning-started wildfire that has burned more than nine square miles of the Coronado National Forest in extreme southwestern New Mexico is about a third contained.</p>
<p>Officials say approximately 300 personnel were assigned to fight the fire as of Sunday but that some will be released Monday because rain is forecast for the area.</p>
<p>As of Monday, containment is reported around 30 percent of the fire's perimeter.</p>
<p>The fire is burning mostly grass and brush just across the state line from southeastern Arizona.</p>
<p>Crews on Sunday worked to hold and secure existing fire lines around the perimeter and officials say the fire is growing very slowly.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
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<p>As the ten-year anniversary of Azem Hajdari’s assassination approaches, the killing of the philosophy student who led the democratic movement in Albania is being fanned into memory by US efforts to deport the brother of an eyewitness to the crime.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>It was the evening of Sept. 12, 1998 when the legendary moral leader of the Albanian democratic movement was at the headquarters of the Democratic Party of Albania, in the capital city of Tirana.&#160; Azem Hajdari had been leader of the student movement widely credited for toppling the Communist regime in Albania.&#160; He had been the Democratic Party’s first chairman.&#160; And he was serving his fourth term as a member of the Albanian parliament.&#160; At party headquaters, Hajdari and his personal bodyguard, Besim Cerja were chatting with a volunteer doorkeeper, Xhemal Neza; and with Xhemal’s cousin Zenel.</p>
<p>“Hajdari was a man of great integrity and we respected him very much,” recalls Xhemal Neza in an affidavit of April 2007.&#160; “Shortly before 9:30 p.m. the telephone rang and Hajdari spoke to the caller. When he hung up the telephone, he told us, ‘We have to leave immediately,’ because Izet Haxhia had told us to come at once. Haxhia was the personal body guard of Sali Berisha, who had become president of Albania in 1992. Berisha was the main leader of the Party on 12 September 1998. I personally heard Hajdari say the call was from Haxhia.”</p>
<p>“I opened the door,” continues the affidavit of the volunteer doorkeeper, “and Hajdari, Cerja, and my cousin Zenel Neza went out and got into Hajdari’s car, which was inside the walled compound. Cerja was driving; Hajdari was in the front passenger seat, and Zenel Neza was in the back seat. While I was closing the gate the car traveled out and turned right onto the street; after it moved about four meters, a black Mercedes 500 with Vlora license plates moved up and blocked its path. There was a light gray Jeep SUV just behind the Mercedes.”</p>
<p>“At about 9:30 p.m. Hajdari was shot. News reports saying he was killed at 10:00 p.m. are mistaken. I was about four meters from Hajdari when they killed him. I saw the persons who fired the shots and saw them pull the triggers. There were four assassins in the two cars.”&#160; Three of the assassins got out of their cars carrying automatic rifles.&#160; They were all wearing police uniforms.&#160; Xhemal recognized them as people he had grown up with.</p>
<p>Hajdari and his personal body guard were killed on the spot.&#160; In the back seat, Zenel Neza was critically wounded.&#160; Xhemal called his brother Rrustem, and together with cousins Skender and Gani they managed to drive Zenel to a doctor and then to safety in a nearby town.</p>
<p>The next day there was a demonstration.&#160; Police fired on the crowd, killing several people, and knocking Xhemal unconscious.&#160; The day after that, there was yet another demonstration.&#160; And this time, Rrustem Neza told the crowd of “about a thousand people” what Xhemal had seen on the night of the assassination and who the killers were.&#160; Xhemal went into hiding, moving every week.&#160; During one of the moves, his driver, cousin Skender, was killed.</p>
<p>“The police blasted Skender’s car with gunfire and began searching for me, but fortunately I had run in the opposite direction.”&#160; Meanwhile, cousin Gani was also killed.&#160; Of the four men who were part of the fateful rescue mission for Zenel Neza, two were dead.&#160; Zenel managed to escape the country.&#160; The other two, brothers Rrustem and Xhemal, eventually fled to Texas.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>When the Neza brothers arrived in the USA, Xhemal was granted asylum and legal residency, but his brother Rrustem’s application for asylum was denied.&#160; According to court documents filed in Rrustem’s behalf, the immigration judge for Rrustem’s case simply did not believe Rrustem’s story.&#160; Xhemal testified at Rrustem’s hearing, but the judge wanted some corroborating evidence.&#160; Said the judge: “one would assume that his [the cousin’s] killing would have been reported in some newspaper in Albania which the respondent could have brought to court.”</p>
<p>As Rrustem’s present attorney John Wheat Gibson points out in this week’s brief to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, the newspaper story about Gani Neza’s killing is available to anyone who can Google “Gani Neza.”&#160; Who knows why Rrustem’s former attorney did not present that newspaper article, or why the judge did not believe the brothers.&#160; Rrustem has been appealing for asylum ever since.</p>
<p>When they lived in Albania, the Neza brothers shared family land where there was gold and chrome.&#160; In Texas they opened up a pizza shop in the small college town of Nacogdoches.&#160; Things were quiet and apparently prosperous enough for them until they put in for a license to sell beer.&#160; An affidavit from the preparer of that license states that, “I never asked Xhemal or Rrustem about citizenship.&#160; I just assumed.”</p>
<p>On Jan. 18, 2007 Rrustem Neza was arrested for claiming to be a citizen on a beer license application, but he was never charged.&#160; In February, he was transferred to the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), who locked him up at the Rolling Plains Prison of Haskell, Texas.&#160; In order to get out of prison he would only need to agree to go back to Albania.&#160; But he decided being alive in Haskell was better than being dead in Albania, so he waited in prison, separated from his wife and two children.</p>
<p>In June 2007, President Bush visited Albania, where the triumph of the Albanian Democratic Party was imaged via color photographs of Bush and Berisha smiling, waving, joined at the hip.</p>
<p>In late August 2007, ICE officials retrieved Rrustem from Haskell and forced him to board an Albania-bound airplane in Dallas.&#160; He screamed for his life.&#160; ICE was forced to abort the deportation, so they threw him back in prison.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>On Sept. 4, 2007 attorney Gibson shared an email about Rrustem’s case, which was posted under his byline at the Texas Civil Rights Review.&#160; From there, the story went around the world to an Albanian tabloid, Korrieri.&#160; “WITNESS COMES FROM AMERICA,” shouted the headline of Sept. 5.&#160; “Rrustem Neza is considered by Texas Civil Rights Review one of those who made public the names of the people who killed Mr. Hajdari on 12 September 1998 in Tirana. While in Albania, there are calls for truth in the investigation process, witnesses and all the people connected to the case are still battling in the courts.”</p>
<p>On Sept. 11, 2007 Rrustem Neza made headlines in the Dallas Morning News as the “Albanian who screamed himself off plane.”&#160; Completely unembarrassed by all of this, the heart of ICE was hardened, and on Oct. 1, US officials asked for a federal court order to “dope and deport” Mr. Neza, so that he could be rendered pharmaceutically incapable of screaming the next time they put him on a plane.</p>
<p>Yet by this time, finally, the patent absurdity of America’s treatment of Rrustem Neza attracted the public attention of conservative East Texas Congressman Louie Gohmert, who on Oct. 23 penned an editorial for the Lufkin paper, calling Mr. Neza’s treatment “intolerable.”&#160; On Nov. 1, Gohmert introduced two personal bills in Congress in Mr. Neza’s behalf.</p>
<p>During the holiday season of 2007, ICE continued to keep Mr. Neza in Haskell prison, separated from his wife and two children.</p>
<p>Finally, on leap day 2008, three days after a Congressional committee took up Rep. Gohmert’s personal bills, Rrustem Neza was allowed to go back to his wife and two children after 13 months of imprisonment.</p>
<p>In March 2008, Rep. Gohmert announced that Mr. Neza’s deportation would be “stayed” until March 2009, the Lufkin paper editorialized in Mr. Gohmert’s behalf, and federal authorities announced that the “dope and deport” efforts had been officially “closed.”</p>
<p>All of which brings us well into the summer of 2008.&#160; To date, the federal government of the USA is still refusing to grant Rrustem Neza an asylum hearing where attorney Gibson can submit corroborating evidence that Gani and Skender Neza are, in sad fact, as dead as the respected leader of the Albanian democratic uprising,&#160; Azem Hajdari.&#160; And if they were all gunned down in cold blood, doesn’t Rrustem Neza deserve to be believed when he says that deporting him to Albania would place him in reasonable fear for his life?</p>
<p>GREG MOSES is editor of the Texas Civil Rights Review and author of <a href="" type="internal">Revolution of Conscience: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Philosophy of Nonviolence</a>. He is a contributor to <a href="" type="internal">Red State Rebels: Tales of Grassroots Resistance in the Heartland</a>, to be published by AK Press in June 2008. He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
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Who Killed Azem Hajdari?
| true |
https://counterpunch.org/2008/07/24/who-killed-azem-hajdari/
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2008-07-24
| 4left
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Who Killed Azem Hajdari?
<p>As the ten-year anniversary of Azem Hajdari’s assassination approaches, the killing of the philosophy student who led the democratic movement in Albania is being fanned into memory by US efforts to deport the brother of an eyewitness to the crime.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>It was the evening of Sept. 12, 1998 when the legendary moral leader of the Albanian democratic movement was at the headquarters of the Democratic Party of Albania, in the capital city of Tirana.&#160; Azem Hajdari had been leader of the student movement widely credited for toppling the Communist regime in Albania.&#160; He had been the Democratic Party’s first chairman.&#160; And he was serving his fourth term as a member of the Albanian parliament.&#160; At party headquaters, Hajdari and his personal bodyguard, Besim Cerja were chatting with a volunteer doorkeeper, Xhemal Neza; and with Xhemal’s cousin Zenel.</p>
<p>“Hajdari was a man of great integrity and we respected him very much,” recalls Xhemal Neza in an affidavit of April 2007.&#160; “Shortly before 9:30 p.m. the telephone rang and Hajdari spoke to the caller. When he hung up the telephone, he told us, ‘We have to leave immediately,’ because Izet Haxhia had told us to come at once. Haxhia was the personal body guard of Sali Berisha, who had become president of Albania in 1992. Berisha was the main leader of the Party on 12 September 1998. I personally heard Hajdari say the call was from Haxhia.”</p>
<p>“I opened the door,” continues the affidavit of the volunteer doorkeeper, “and Hajdari, Cerja, and my cousin Zenel Neza went out and got into Hajdari’s car, which was inside the walled compound. Cerja was driving; Hajdari was in the front passenger seat, and Zenel Neza was in the back seat. While I was closing the gate the car traveled out and turned right onto the street; after it moved about four meters, a black Mercedes 500 with Vlora license plates moved up and blocked its path. There was a light gray Jeep SUV just behind the Mercedes.”</p>
<p>“At about 9:30 p.m. Hajdari was shot. News reports saying he was killed at 10:00 p.m. are mistaken. I was about four meters from Hajdari when they killed him. I saw the persons who fired the shots and saw them pull the triggers. There were four assassins in the two cars.”&#160; Three of the assassins got out of their cars carrying automatic rifles.&#160; They were all wearing police uniforms.&#160; Xhemal recognized them as people he had grown up with.</p>
<p>Hajdari and his personal body guard were killed on the spot.&#160; In the back seat, Zenel Neza was critically wounded.&#160; Xhemal called his brother Rrustem, and together with cousins Skender and Gani they managed to drive Zenel to a doctor and then to safety in a nearby town.</p>
<p>The next day there was a demonstration.&#160; Police fired on the crowd, killing several people, and knocking Xhemal unconscious.&#160; The day after that, there was yet another demonstration.&#160; And this time, Rrustem Neza told the crowd of “about a thousand people” what Xhemal had seen on the night of the assassination and who the killers were.&#160; Xhemal went into hiding, moving every week.&#160; During one of the moves, his driver, cousin Skender, was killed.</p>
<p>“The police blasted Skender’s car with gunfire and began searching for me, but fortunately I had run in the opposite direction.”&#160; Meanwhile, cousin Gani was also killed.&#160; Of the four men who were part of the fateful rescue mission for Zenel Neza, two were dead.&#160; Zenel managed to escape the country.&#160; The other two, brothers Rrustem and Xhemal, eventually fled to Texas.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>When the Neza brothers arrived in the USA, Xhemal was granted asylum and legal residency, but his brother Rrustem’s application for asylum was denied.&#160; According to court documents filed in Rrustem’s behalf, the immigration judge for Rrustem’s case simply did not believe Rrustem’s story.&#160; Xhemal testified at Rrustem’s hearing, but the judge wanted some corroborating evidence.&#160; Said the judge: “one would assume that his [the cousin’s] killing would have been reported in some newspaper in Albania which the respondent could have brought to court.”</p>
<p>As Rrustem’s present attorney John Wheat Gibson points out in this week’s brief to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, the newspaper story about Gani Neza’s killing is available to anyone who can Google “Gani Neza.”&#160; Who knows why Rrustem’s former attorney did not present that newspaper article, or why the judge did not believe the brothers.&#160; Rrustem has been appealing for asylum ever since.</p>
<p>When they lived in Albania, the Neza brothers shared family land where there was gold and chrome.&#160; In Texas they opened up a pizza shop in the small college town of Nacogdoches.&#160; Things were quiet and apparently prosperous enough for them until they put in for a license to sell beer.&#160; An affidavit from the preparer of that license states that, “I never asked Xhemal or Rrustem about citizenship.&#160; I just assumed.”</p>
<p>On Jan. 18, 2007 Rrustem Neza was arrested for claiming to be a citizen on a beer license application, but he was never charged.&#160; In February, he was transferred to the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), who locked him up at the Rolling Plains Prison of Haskell, Texas.&#160; In order to get out of prison he would only need to agree to go back to Albania.&#160; But he decided being alive in Haskell was better than being dead in Albania, so he waited in prison, separated from his wife and two children.</p>
<p>In June 2007, President Bush visited Albania, where the triumph of the Albanian Democratic Party was imaged via color photographs of Bush and Berisha smiling, waving, joined at the hip.</p>
<p>In late August 2007, ICE officials retrieved Rrustem from Haskell and forced him to board an Albania-bound airplane in Dallas.&#160; He screamed for his life.&#160; ICE was forced to abort the deportation, so they threw him back in prison.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>On Sept. 4, 2007 attorney Gibson shared an email about Rrustem’s case, which was posted under his byline at the Texas Civil Rights Review.&#160; From there, the story went around the world to an Albanian tabloid, Korrieri.&#160; “WITNESS COMES FROM AMERICA,” shouted the headline of Sept. 5.&#160; “Rrustem Neza is considered by Texas Civil Rights Review one of those who made public the names of the people who killed Mr. Hajdari on 12 September 1998 in Tirana. While in Albania, there are calls for truth in the investigation process, witnesses and all the people connected to the case are still battling in the courts.”</p>
<p>On Sept. 11, 2007 Rrustem Neza made headlines in the Dallas Morning News as the “Albanian who screamed himself off plane.”&#160; Completely unembarrassed by all of this, the heart of ICE was hardened, and on Oct. 1, US officials asked for a federal court order to “dope and deport” Mr. Neza, so that he could be rendered pharmaceutically incapable of screaming the next time they put him on a plane.</p>
<p>Yet by this time, finally, the patent absurdity of America’s treatment of Rrustem Neza attracted the public attention of conservative East Texas Congressman Louie Gohmert, who on Oct. 23 penned an editorial for the Lufkin paper, calling Mr. Neza’s treatment “intolerable.”&#160; On Nov. 1, Gohmert introduced two personal bills in Congress in Mr. Neza’s behalf.</p>
<p>During the holiday season of 2007, ICE continued to keep Mr. Neza in Haskell prison, separated from his wife and two children.</p>
<p>Finally, on leap day 2008, three days after a Congressional committee took up Rep. Gohmert’s personal bills, Rrustem Neza was allowed to go back to his wife and two children after 13 months of imprisonment.</p>
<p>In March 2008, Rep. Gohmert announced that Mr. Neza’s deportation would be “stayed” until March 2009, the Lufkin paper editorialized in Mr. Gohmert’s behalf, and federal authorities announced that the “dope and deport” efforts had been officially “closed.”</p>
<p>All of which brings us well into the summer of 2008.&#160; To date, the federal government of the USA is still refusing to grant Rrustem Neza an asylum hearing where attorney Gibson can submit corroborating evidence that Gani and Skender Neza are, in sad fact, as dead as the respected leader of the Albanian democratic uprising,&#160; Azem Hajdari.&#160; And if they were all gunned down in cold blood, doesn’t Rrustem Neza deserve to be believed when he says that deporting him to Albania would place him in reasonable fear for his life?</p>
<p>GREG MOSES is editor of the Texas Civil Rights Review and author of <a href="" type="internal">Revolution of Conscience: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Philosophy of Nonviolence</a>. He is a contributor to <a href="" type="internal">Red State Rebels: Tales of Grassroots Resistance in the Heartland</a>, to be published by AK Press in June 2008. He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
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<p>You've Missed The Rapture Of The Church, Now What? Millions Missing, Here's What You Need To Do Next</p>
<p>"And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe." <a href="javascript;;" type="external">John 14: 29</a> Well, we told you it was coming. Perhaps you were a casual reader of this site, but never got really involved, "too many religious nuts" you said. Maybe you had a family member who would plead with you night after night to "get right" with Jesus before His return. "Nah, never happen", you said, "people been saying that for ever. Nonsense!". But, it wasn't nonsense, was it? Turns out the religious nuts were right after all. The Rapture of the Church actually happened. Now we are gone, and you remain. Left behind. I can only imagine the shock - terror - panic - and questions that must be running through your head right now. My heart breaks for you, and that's why I made this page, to get you through what the Bible calls the time of Jacob's Trouble, the Great Tribulation, and it's moments away from starting. Are YOU ready? Let's begin at the beginning... <a href="" type="internal" /></p>
<p>Here's what just happened. It was the hope of every Jesus-follower, prior to the Rapture, that one day He would return and "catch away" those who loved and believed in Him. Why did we think this was going to occur? Because the Bible said so, listen - "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive [and] remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words" <a href="javascript:;" type="external">1 Thessalonians 4: 16-18</a> And that's exactly what just happened, and where we have now gone. Oh, knowing the media as I do, I am sure that there are many attempts to explain it - UFO's, alien abductions, a harmonic convergence, a government program, FEMA camps, cosmic shift, worm holes, and the list goes on and on. But none of those explainations really satisfy you, do they? I mean, it's hundreds upon hundreds of millions of people, right? Could any one government, no matter how corrupt, really process that many people in the "blink of an eye". No, they could not. You know better than that.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /> In the Book of the Revelation, what happened to John in chapter 4, verses 1 &amp; 2, is what has now happened to all of us who are gone. "After this I looked, and, behold, a door [was] opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard [was] as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter. Rev 4:2 And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and [one] sat on the throne." <a href="javascript:;" type="external">Revelation 4</a> Wild, isn't it? We all heard the "sound of a trumpet", and were pulled up in to the clouds to be with the Lord Jesus, Yeshua Ha'Maschiac Himself. Look at the photo above, and reread 1 Thessalonians 4 again to yourself. That is what has happen, and that is where we are. With Jesus. Take a little moment and let that really, truly, actually, wonderfully sink into your mind. What God has declared will be so, will be so.</p>
<p>Why you and not me?? Now I know your next question, and you are wondering why, why...why that you got left behind and others did not. "It's not fair!", you exclaim. Maybe you were a church goer, maybe you are a "good, moral person" who likes to do good deeds. Maybe you were a Deacon in your church. All these things are good, but unfortunately, not nearly good enough. This is how God sees you, me, all of us humans here on this earth - "All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all." <a href="javascript:;" type="external">Isaiah 53: 6</a> The Bible says that man, of and by himself, can never be and will never be "good enough" to get into the Father's presence in Heaven. We have all sinned against a just and holy, sinless God. So why, you ask again, if it's true that all of us are in this condition, did we go up and you stay behind? We are gone now because we put our trust and faith in the the One, the only One who has the true power to forgive sin, and that is Yeshua Ha'Maschiach - Jesus the Messiah - who shed His blood once and for all for the forgiveness of sins. What can wash away your sin? Nothing, nothing , nothing but the blood of Jesus. <a href="" type="internal" /> The road to Heaven starts at the old, rugged, bloody cross..."And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: Jhn 3:15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life." "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life." <a href="javascript:;" type="external">Romans 5: 8-10</a> And that's why we are gone and you remain. We were not better than you in any way. You and I had equal sin that needed cleansing and forgiving. But the difference is that we repented, turned from our sins, and turned to the living Lord whose death and resurrection from the dead paid the sin debt we owed. You were left behind because your debt is still unpaid, but there is good news yet for you. Right now, right in front of the computer screen you are reading this on, you can have the debt for all your sins paid in full. Ready?</p>
<p>You Can Be Saved--Right Now. "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation" <a href="javascript:;" type="external">Romans 10: 9-10</a> Pray and ask the Lord, "Lord Jesus, be merciful to me a sinner, and save me. I now, with a repentant heart, receive you as my personal Saviour". "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" <a href="javascript:;" type="external">Romans 10:13</a> If you meant it, if you were sincere, if you now know your desperate need for a Saviour and have called upon Him to pay your sin debt, according to the Scripture, then the Bible declares that your sin debt is now paid in full. Just remember that repentence is always the starting poiint. If you were doing things and living in a way that the Bible forbids, turn from those sins and be cleansed in His shed blood.</p>
<p>Word Of Warning: There is a verse that says because people rejected the truth of the gospel when it was offered them, that God would "send them a strong delusion" that they might "believe a lie."</p>
<p>"And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.&#160;And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." <a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=2Th&amp;c=2&amp;t=KJV" type="external">2 Thessalonians 2:10-12</a></p>
<p>Since we are no longer here, we have no idea how to adivse you other than to say this. God is very merciful to all those who call upon Him. David in <a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Psa&amp;c=51&amp;t=KJV" type="external">Psalm 51 recieved forgiveness</a> when he did not deserve it because he threw himself on God's mercy.</p>
<p>We would advise you to do the same thing. <a href="../freeGIFT.htm" type="external">Click here to read more</a> on having your sins paid for in full by the shed blood of Jesus the Messiah Now you know what has happend to us, here is what you can expect to happen on earth during the next 7 years...and it's not going to be pretty, so be prepared. But if you just received payment for your sins, you can take comfort that no matter how bad things get, your eternal destiny is now secure.</p>
<p>The Judgements of God are about to be poured out on all the earth Now read this exerpt by Dr. David Reagan on what you can expect to happen during your time left on earth for the rest of the 7 year Tribulation. "Amid all the chaos from the Rapture, the Bible teaches that the world will turn to a dynamic leader to bring order and peace ( <a href="http://bible.logos.com/passage/kjv/Revelation%206.1-2" type="external">Revelation 6:1-2</a>). He will succeed where no other person has been able in establishing a peace treaty for Israel ( <a href="http://bible.logos.com/passage/kjv/Daniel%209.27" type="external">Daniel 9:27</a>). That treaty marks the official beginning of the 7 years that the Tribulation will last.</p>
<p>But, the world leader, known to believers in Jesus as the Antichrist, is anything but peaceful. He will plunge the planet into nuclear world war, resulting in terrible famines, pestilence and mass death. Violence, disease and starvation will be a way of life. A quarter of the world population - almost 2 billion people - will die from this war (Revelation 6).</p>
<p>In Jerusalem, two men will appear and preach there for 3 1/2 years that Jesus is the Messiah the Jews have been looking for ( <a href="http://bible.logos.com/passage/kjv/Revelation%2011.3" type="external">Revelation 11:3</a>). 144,000 Jews will call Jesus their Messiah and also preach about Him throughout the whole world. Millions will accept Jesus as their Savior - hopefully you will be one of them. But, many of those millions of believers will be killed by the Antichrist for not pledging their loyalty to him by receiving his mark on either their right hand or forehead. The persecution of believers in Jesus will be awful in the Tribulation ( <a href="http://bible.logos.com/passage/kjv/Daniel%207.22" type="external">Daniel 7:22</a>; Revelation 7). <a href="" type="internal" /></p>
<p>Next, the greatest earthquake the world has yet experienced will devastate the planet ( <a href="http://bible.logos.com/passage/kjv/Revelation%206.12-14" type="external">Revelation 6:12-14</a>). Something falling from space will then burn up a third of all the world's vegetation. A second item from space, probably a meteor, will crash into the ocean and annihilate a third of the world's marine life and ships. A third object from space will taint the world's water supply, poisoning millions ( <a href="http://bible.logos.com/passage/kjv/Revelation%208.7-11" type="external">Revelation 8:7-11</a>).</p>
<p>The devastation to the atmosphere will block out most of the sun and moonlight so that the days appear shorter ( <a href="http://bible.logos.com/passage/kjv/Revelation%208.12" type="external">Revelation 8:12</a>).</p>
<p>Next, some supernatural "woes" will befall mankind. First, the holding place for a demonic hoard is opened and millions of locust-looking demons pour out and sting people like scorpions. The pain will last 5 whole months. Second, 200 million riders on horse-creatures will burn and impale, wiping out a remaining third of the people ( <a href="http://bible.logos.com/passage/kjv/Revelation%209.1-19" type="external">Revelation 9:1-19</a>).</p>
<p>Three and a half years into the Tribulation will see the 2 men witnessing in Jerusalem killed, but 3 1/2 days later come back to life ( <a href="http://bible.logos.com/passage/kjv/Revelation%2011.7-12" type="external">Revelation 11:7-12</a>). It will also see the Antichrist supposedly killed and appear to come back to life as well ( <a href="http://bible.logos.com/passage/kjv/Revelation%2013.3" type="external">Revelation 13:3</a>).</p>
<p>And that's just the first half of the Tribulation. As bad as the first half of the seven years is, the next half is even worse (Revelation 16).</p>
<p>Those who take the Antichrist's loyalty mark on their hand or forehead will suffer from painful boils. Those who don't take the mark will be cut off from commerce and hunted down, but the Bible assures ( <a href="http://bible.logos.com/passage/kjv/Revelation%2020.4-6" type="external">Revelation 20:4-6</a>) that those who take the mark have made a decision that will last forever - eternal damnation - so don't take it!</p>
<p>The oceans and everything in them are totally destroyed, as well as all the fresh water. The heat from the sun will become scorching. The Antichrist's kingdom will fall into pitch darkness." <a href="javascript:;" type="external">source - Dr. David Reagan</a></p>
<p>What now? Study the Bible every day, many times per day. PRAY to God, who gives wisdom liberally. Share the Gospel with as many as you can. Make sure no one you know, saved or unsaved, takes the Mark of the Beast. They will be doomed forever to Hell if they do. We are watching you from the balcony now, and just know that we are praying for you always during the time of the Great Tribulation. This verse speaks of us, the redeemed in Heaven, cheering you on during this time. May the Holy Spirit lead you and guide you all the Home. We will be waiting for you to arrive. In Jesus precious Name, amen...and amen.</p>
<p>"Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset [us], and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Hbr 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of [our] faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." <a href="javascript:;" type="external">Hebrews 12: 1,2</a></p>
<p>Eternity</p>
<p>"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16 It's a gift...it's free...take it and live! Come Home soon...we're waiting for you upstairs.</p> Well, we told you it was coming Here's what just happened. You Can Be Saved--Right Now. Pray and ask the Lord Living for the Lord, Dying for the Truth Do NOT take the Mark of the Beast The Judgements of God are about to be poured out on all the earth What now?
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You've Missed The Rapture Of The Church, Now What? Millions Missing, Here's What You Need To Do Next
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You've Missed The Rapture Of The Church, Now What? Millions Missing, Here's What You Need To Do Next
<p>You've Missed The Rapture Of The Church, Now What? Millions Missing, Here's What You Need To Do Next</p>
<p>"And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe." <a href="javascript;;" type="external">John 14: 29</a> Well, we told you it was coming. Perhaps you were a casual reader of this site, but never got really involved, "too many religious nuts" you said. Maybe you had a family member who would plead with you night after night to "get right" with Jesus before His return. "Nah, never happen", you said, "people been saying that for ever. Nonsense!". But, it wasn't nonsense, was it? Turns out the religious nuts were right after all. The Rapture of the Church actually happened. Now we are gone, and you remain. Left behind. I can only imagine the shock - terror - panic - and questions that must be running through your head right now. My heart breaks for you, and that's why I made this page, to get you through what the Bible calls the time of Jacob's Trouble, the Great Tribulation, and it's moments away from starting. Are YOU ready? Let's begin at the beginning... <a href="" type="internal" /></p>
<p>Here's what just happened. It was the hope of every Jesus-follower, prior to the Rapture, that one day He would return and "catch away" those who loved and believed in Him. Why did we think this was going to occur? Because the Bible said so, listen - "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive [and] remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words" <a href="javascript:;" type="external">1 Thessalonians 4: 16-18</a> And that's exactly what just happened, and where we have now gone. Oh, knowing the media as I do, I am sure that there are many attempts to explain it - UFO's, alien abductions, a harmonic convergence, a government program, FEMA camps, cosmic shift, worm holes, and the list goes on and on. But none of those explainations really satisfy you, do they? I mean, it's hundreds upon hundreds of millions of people, right? Could any one government, no matter how corrupt, really process that many people in the "blink of an eye". No, they could not. You know better than that.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /> In the Book of the Revelation, what happened to John in chapter 4, verses 1 &amp; 2, is what has now happened to all of us who are gone. "After this I looked, and, behold, a door [was] opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard [was] as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter. Rev 4:2 And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and [one] sat on the throne." <a href="javascript:;" type="external">Revelation 4</a> Wild, isn't it? We all heard the "sound of a trumpet", and were pulled up in to the clouds to be with the Lord Jesus, Yeshua Ha'Maschiac Himself. Look at the photo above, and reread 1 Thessalonians 4 again to yourself. That is what has happen, and that is where we are. With Jesus. Take a little moment and let that really, truly, actually, wonderfully sink into your mind. What God has declared will be so, will be so.</p>
<p>Why you and not me?? Now I know your next question, and you are wondering why, why...why that you got left behind and others did not. "It's not fair!", you exclaim. Maybe you were a church goer, maybe you are a "good, moral person" who likes to do good deeds. Maybe you were a Deacon in your church. All these things are good, but unfortunately, not nearly good enough. This is how God sees you, me, all of us humans here on this earth - "All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all." <a href="javascript:;" type="external">Isaiah 53: 6</a> The Bible says that man, of and by himself, can never be and will never be "good enough" to get into the Father's presence in Heaven. We have all sinned against a just and holy, sinless God. So why, you ask again, if it's true that all of us are in this condition, did we go up and you stay behind? We are gone now because we put our trust and faith in the the One, the only One who has the true power to forgive sin, and that is Yeshua Ha'Maschiach - Jesus the Messiah - who shed His blood once and for all for the forgiveness of sins. What can wash away your sin? Nothing, nothing , nothing but the blood of Jesus. <a href="" type="internal" /> The road to Heaven starts at the old, rugged, bloody cross..."And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: Jhn 3:15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life." "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life." <a href="javascript:;" type="external">Romans 5: 8-10</a> And that's why we are gone and you remain. We were not better than you in any way. You and I had equal sin that needed cleansing and forgiving. But the difference is that we repented, turned from our sins, and turned to the living Lord whose death and resurrection from the dead paid the sin debt we owed. You were left behind because your debt is still unpaid, but there is good news yet for you. Right now, right in front of the computer screen you are reading this on, you can have the debt for all your sins paid in full. Ready?</p>
<p>You Can Be Saved--Right Now. "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation" <a href="javascript:;" type="external">Romans 10: 9-10</a> Pray and ask the Lord, "Lord Jesus, be merciful to me a sinner, and save me. I now, with a repentant heart, receive you as my personal Saviour". "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" <a href="javascript:;" type="external">Romans 10:13</a> If you meant it, if you were sincere, if you now know your desperate need for a Saviour and have called upon Him to pay your sin debt, according to the Scripture, then the Bible declares that your sin debt is now paid in full. Just remember that repentence is always the starting poiint. If you were doing things and living in a way that the Bible forbids, turn from those sins and be cleansed in His shed blood.</p>
<p>Word Of Warning: There is a verse that says because people rejected the truth of the gospel when it was offered them, that God would "send them a strong delusion" that they might "believe a lie."</p>
<p>"And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.&#160;And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." <a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=2Th&amp;c=2&amp;t=KJV" type="external">2 Thessalonians 2:10-12</a></p>
<p>Since we are no longer here, we have no idea how to adivse you other than to say this. God is very merciful to all those who call upon Him. David in <a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Psa&amp;c=51&amp;t=KJV" type="external">Psalm 51 recieved forgiveness</a> when he did not deserve it because he threw himself on God's mercy.</p>
<p>We would advise you to do the same thing. <a href="../freeGIFT.htm" type="external">Click here to read more</a> on having your sins paid for in full by the shed blood of Jesus the Messiah Now you know what has happend to us, here is what you can expect to happen on earth during the next 7 years...and it's not going to be pretty, so be prepared. But if you just received payment for your sins, you can take comfort that no matter how bad things get, your eternal destiny is now secure.</p>
<p>The Judgements of God are about to be poured out on all the earth Now read this exerpt by Dr. David Reagan on what you can expect to happen during your time left on earth for the rest of the 7 year Tribulation. "Amid all the chaos from the Rapture, the Bible teaches that the world will turn to a dynamic leader to bring order and peace ( <a href="http://bible.logos.com/passage/kjv/Revelation%206.1-2" type="external">Revelation 6:1-2</a>). He will succeed where no other person has been able in establishing a peace treaty for Israel ( <a href="http://bible.logos.com/passage/kjv/Daniel%209.27" type="external">Daniel 9:27</a>). That treaty marks the official beginning of the 7 years that the Tribulation will last.</p>
<p>But, the world leader, known to believers in Jesus as the Antichrist, is anything but peaceful. He will plunge the planet into nuclear world war, resulting in terrible famines, pestilence and mass death. Violence, disease and starvation will be a way of life. A quarter of the world population - almost 2 billion people - will die from this war (Revelation 6).</p>
<p>In Jerusalem, two men will appear and preach there for 3 1/2 years that Jesus is the Messiah the Jews have been looking for ( <a href="http://bible.logos.com/passage/kjv/Revelation%2011.3" type="external">Revelation 11:3</a>). 144,000 Jews will call Jesus their Messiah and also preach about Him throughout the whole world. Millions will accept Jesus as their Savior - hopefully you will be one of them. But, many of those millions of believers will be killed by the Antichrist for not pledging their loyalty to him by receiving his mark on either their right hand or forehead. The persecution of believers in Jesus will be awful in the Tribulation ( <a href="http://bible.logos.com/passage/kjv/Daniel%207.22" type="external">Daniel 7:22</a>; Revelation 7). <a href="" type="internal" /></p>
<p>Next, the greatest earthquake the world has yet experienced will devastate the planet ( <a href="http://bible.logos.com/passage/kjv/Revelation%206.12-14" type="external">Revelation 6:12-14</a>). Something falling from space will then burn up a third of all the world's vegetation. A second item from space, probably a meteor, will crash into the ocean and annihilate a third of the world's marine life and ships. A third object from space will taint the world's water supply, poisoning millions ( <a href="http://bible.logos.com/passage/kjv/Revelation%208.7-11" type="external">Revelation 8:7-11</a>).</p>
<p>The devastation to the atmosphere will block out most of the sun and moonlight so that the days appear shorter ( <a href="http://bible.logos.com/passage/kjv/Revelation%208.12" type="external">Revelation 8:12</a>).</p>
<p>Next, some supernatural "woes" will befall mankind. First, the holding place for a demonic hoard is opened and millions of locust-looking demons pour out and sting people like scorpions. The pain will last 5 whole months. Second, 200 million riders on horse-creatures will burn and impale, wiping out a remaining third of the people ( <a href="http://bible.logos.com/passage/kjv/Revelation%209.1-19" type="external">Revelation 9:1-19</a>).</p>
<p>Three and a half years into the Tribulation will see the 2 men witnessing in Jerusalem killed, but 3 1/2 days later come back to life ( <a href="http://bible.logos.com/passage/kjv/Revelation%2011.7-12" type="external">Revelation 11:7-12</a>). It will also see the Antichrist supposedly killed and appear to come back to life as well ( <a href="http://bible.logos.com/passage/kjv/Revelation%2013.3" type="external">Revelation 13:3</a>).</p>
<p>And that's just the first half of the Tribulation. As bad as the first half of the seven years is, the next half is even worse (Revelation 16).</p>
<p>Those who take the Antichrist's loyalty mark on their hand or forehead will suffer from painful boils. Those who don't take the mark will be cut off from commerce and hunted down, but the Bible assures ( <a href="http://bible.logos.com/passage/kjv/Revelation%2020.4-6" type="external">Revelation 20:4-6</a>) that those who take the mark have made a decision that will last forever - eternal damnation - so don't take it!</p>
<p>The oceans and everything in them are totally destroyed, as well as all the fresh water. The heat from the sun will become scorching. The Antichrist's kingdom will fall into pitch darkness." <a href="javascript:;" type="external">source - Dr. David Reagan</a></p>
<p>What now? Study the Bible every day, many times per day. PRAY to God, who gives wisdom liberally. Share the Gospel with as many as you can. Make sure no one you know, saved or unsaved, takes the Mark of the Beast. They will be doomed forever to Hell if they do. We are watching you from the balcony now, and just know that we are praying for you always during the time of the Great Tribulation. This verse speaks of us, the redeemed in Heaven, cheering you on during this time. May the Holy Spirit lead you and guide you all the Home. We will be waiting for you to arrive. In Jesus precious Name, amen...and amen.</p>
<p>"Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset [us], and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Hbr 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of [our] faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." <a href="javascript:;" type="external">Hebrews 12: 1,2</a></p>
<p>Eternity</p>
<p>"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16 It's a gift...it's free...take it and live! Come Home soon...we're waiting for you upstairs.</p> Well, we told you it was coming Here's what just happened. You Can Be Saved--Right Now. Pray and ask the Lord Living for the Lord, Dying for the Truth Do NOT take the Mark of the Beast The Judgements of God are about to be poured out on all the earth What now?
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<p>Last month, Shelly vetoed the legislation, arguing that the Navajo people should be consulted about the fluency issue and that it appeared the bill was only intended to help disqualified presidential candidate Chris Deschene.</p>
<p>Deschene was disqualified last month by a default judgment after he declined to answer questions asked of him in Navajo to determine his fluency during a hearing by the Navajo Office of Hearings and Appeals.</p>
<p>Delegate Leonard Tsosie is sponsoring the override legislation, and it received a “do pass” recommendation by a vote of 12-5 by the Naa’bik’íyáti’ Committee on Wednesday.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The special session, which starts today and concludes Friday in Window Rock, Ariz., was called to address legislation that was not considered during the fall session.</p>
<p>Delegate Russell Begaye is sponsoring two bills that would set lifetime term limits for the presidency at two terms, or eight years, and for delegates at four terms, or 16 years.</p>
<p>Navajo lawmakers also could authorize the purchase of approximately 67 acres of land in San Juan County.</p>
<p>The land is located at the junction of N.M. Highway 371 and Navajo Route 36, and is less than a mile east of the Northern Edge Navajo Casino.</p>
<p>If the bill is approved by the council and signed by Shelly, the property could be used for commercial development by the Navajo Nation Gaming Enterprise, Upper Fruitland Chapter and the tribe’s Division of Economic Development.</p>
<p>The council also is being asked to approve the purchase of 160 acres of land in the Ramah Chapter in New Mexico.</p>
<p>Earlier in the year, the council approved amending the Veterans Trust Fund to pay for new housing construction for veterans living on tribal lands.</p>
<p>Delegate Edmund Yazzie is sponsoring a bill that proposes that the new housing construction include veterans living off the reservation.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Delegate Danny Simpson is sponsoring legislation to have the council support a U.S. House of Representatives bill that would determine how the land housing the Fort Wingate Deport, near Gallup, would be divided between the Navajo tribe and Zuni Pueblo.</p>
<p>Simpson is also sponsoring legislation to provide $541,946 to the council’s legislative district assistants program.</p>
<p>In September, Shelly used his line-item veto to eliminate the program’s funding, which was used to employ one assistant for each delegate.</p>
<p>Delegates could approve amendments to the sentencing provisions for the tribe’s criminal code, as well as enact the Healthy Diné Nation Act of 2014 and approve a requirement that 16 or more votes from the council be required in order to enact any new tribal tax.</p>
<p>Delegate Charles Damon II is sponsoring legislation to request $1 million in supplemental funding from the Unreserved Undesignated Fund Balance for the Office of the Speaker to purchase eyeglasses for Navajo young people enrolled in Head Start to 12th grade and Navajos who are 55 and older.</p>
<p>Another bill requests $286,247 in supplemental funding from the UUFB for the Navajo Election Administration to fund this year’s general election and associated costs.</p>
<p>A third bill requests $148,325 in supplemental funding from the UUFB for the Phoenix Indian Center for Navajo language and cultural classes for Navajo who live in Maricopa County in Arizona.</p>
<p>The council also could approve legislation to appoint 10 delegates as shareholder representatives to the Navajo Nation Oil and Gas Company.</p>
<p>The shareholder representatives would be two members from each of the council’s five standing committees.</p>
<p>The council also could confirm Tommy Lewis Jr. as the superintendent of the Department of Diné Education and could reappoint attorney Martin Avery as the Judicial Branch representative on the Commission on Navajo Government Development.</p>
<p>Changing the name of the Navajo Mountain Chapter to the Naatsisaan Chapter is also on the agenda.</p>
<p>Noel Lyn Smith covers the Navajo Nation for The Daily Times. She can be reached at 505-564-4636 and [email protected]. Follow her @nsmithdt on Twitter.</p>
<p>——</p>
<p>©2014 The Daily Times (Farmington, N.M.)</p>
<p>Visit The Daily Times (Farmington, N.M.) at <a href="http://www.daily-times.com" type="external">www.daily-times.com</a></p>
<p>Distributed by MCT Information Services</p>
<p>———-</p>
<p>Topics: g000065566,g000362661,g000066164</p>
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Navajo Nation Council to convene in special session
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https://abqjournal.com/495620/navajo-nation-council-to-convene-in-special-session.html
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Navajo Nation Council to convene in special session
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<p />
<p>Last month, Shelly vetoed the legislation, arguing that the Navajo people should be consulted about the fluency issue and that it appeared the bill was only intended to help disqualified presidential candidate Chris Deschene.</p>
<p>Deschene was disqualified last month by a default judgment after he declined to answer questions asked of him in Navajo to determine his fluency during a hearing by the Navajo Office of Hearings and Appeals.</p>
<p>Delegate Leonard Tsosie is sponsoring the override legislation, and it received a “do pass” recommendation by a vote of 12-5 by the Naa’bik’íyáti’ Committee on Wednesday.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The special session, which starts today and concludes Friday in Window Rock, Ariz., was called to address legislation that was not considered during the fall session.</p>
<p>Delegate Russell Begaye is sponsoring two bills that would set lifetime term limits for the presidency at two terms, or eight years, and for delegates at four terms, or 16 years.</p>
<p>Navajo lawmakers also could authorize the purchase of approximately 67 acres of land in San Juan County.</p>
<p>The land is located at the junction of N.M. Highway 371 and Navajo Route 36, and is less than a mile east of the Northern Edge Navajo Casino.</p>
<p>If the bill is approved by the council and signed by Shelly, the property could be used for commercial development by the Navajo Nation Gaming Enterprise, Upper Fruitland Chapter and the tribe’s Division of Economic Development.</p>
<p>The council also is being asked to approve the purchase of 160 acres of land in the Ramah Chapter in New Mexico.</p>
<p>Earlier in the year, the council approved amending the Veterans Trust Fund to pay for new housing construction for veterans living on tribal lands.</p>
<p>Delegate Edmund Yazzie is sponsoring a bill that proposes that the new housing construction include veterans living off the reservation.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Delegate Danny Simpson is sponsoring legislation to have the council support a U.S. House of Representatives bill that would determine how the land housing the Fort Wingate Deport, near Gallup, would be divided between the Navajo tribe and Zuni Pueblo.</p>
<p>Simpson is also sponsoring legislation to provide $541,946 to the council’s legislative district assistants program.</p>
<p>In September, Shelly used his line-item veto to eliminate the program’s funding, which was used to employ one assistant for each delegate.</p>
<p>Delegates could approve amendments to the sentencing provisions for the tribe’s criminal code, as well as enact the Healthy Diné Nation Act of 2014 and approve a requirement that 16 or more votes from the council be required in order to enact any new tribal tax.</p>
<p>Delegate Charles Damon II is sponsoring legislation to request $1 million in supplemental funding from the Unreserved Undesignated Fund Balance for the Office of the Speaker to purchase eyeglasses for Navajo young people enrolled in Head Start to 12th grade and Navajos who are 55 and older.</p>
<p>Another bill requests $286,247 in supplemental funding from the UUFB for the Navajo Election Administration to fund this year’s general election and associated costs.</p>
<p>A third bill requests $148,325 in supplemental funding from the UUFB for the Phoenix Indian Center for Navajo language and cultural classes for Navajo who live in Maricopa County in Arizona.</p>
<p>The council also could approve legislation to appoint 10 delegates as shareholder representatives to the Navajo Nation Oil and Gas Company.</p>
<p>The shareholder representatives would be two members from each of the council’s five standing committees.</p>
<p>The council also could confirm Tommy Lewis Jr. as the superintendent of the Department of Diné Education and could reappoint attorney Martin Avery as the Judicial Branch representative on the Commission on Navajo Government Development.</p>
<p>Changing the name of the Navajo Mountain Chapter to the Naatsisaan Chapter is also on the agenda.</p>
<p>Noel Lyn Smith covers the Navajo Nation for The Daily Times. She can be reached at 505-564-4636 and [email protected]. Follow her @nsmithdt on Twitter.</p>
<p>——</p>
<p>©2014 The Daily Times (Farmington, N.M.)</p>
<p>Visit The Daily Times (Farmington, N.M.) at <a href="http://www.daily-times.com" type="external">www.daily-times.com</a></p>
<p>Distributed by MCT Information Services</p>
<p>———-</p>
<p>Topics: g000065566,g000362661,g000066164</p>
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<p>The situation is all too familitar.&#160;Anger over printed pictures and words that leads to violence. No, we're not talking about Paris.</p>
<p>In 2012&#160;Islamist rebels in Mali threatened to destroy ancient manuscripts when they occupied the town.&#160;Most of manuscripts were rescued, thankfully. And the real hero of that rescue is&#160;Malian librarian&#160;Abdel Kader Haidara, says&#160;Kathleen Louw,&#160;Africa project manager at the Centre for Fine Arts in Brussels.</p>
<p>Louw&#160;helped put together the <a href="http://www.bozar.be/activity.php?id=15570&amp;lng=en" type="external">Timbuktu Rennaisance</a>&#160;exhibit. She says&#160;Haidara organized the clandestine plan to evacuate thousands of Timbuktu’s historic manuscripts, by sneaking them out at night in jeeps&#160;and canoes.</p>
<p>“When Tuareg rebels joined with Islamist militants to take over Timbuktu in April 2012, UNESCO [the&#160;United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization] immediately started to worry and wanted to do something, and Mr. Haidara told them not to because that might raise suspicion on the part of the Islamists that there were valuable treasures to be found in Timbuktu,"&#160;Louw says.</p>
<p>So they waited. And soon after Haidara saw a Libya library with ancient books being burned on TV, he decided he had to do something.</p>
<p>"They started at night to pack the manuscripts of various libraries and store them in safe houses in Timbuktu," Louw says. "When the roads appeared to be clear, they started smuggling the books out of Timbuktu.”</p>
<p>Louw says&#160;they managed over the course of five&#160;months, to ship&#160;the majority of the collections of the private libraries in Timbuktu,&#160;377,000 manuscripts, to Bamako.</p>
<p>The manuscripts that are now on display at the Centre for Fine Arts in the Timbuktu Renaissance exhibit represent the cultural heritage of Timbuktu.</p>
<p>“They usually have a leather cover, the leafs are not bound.&#160;They show beautiful Arabic calligraphy from past centuries, and also the Arabic alphabet — but actually transliterations of African languages," Louw explains. "The subjects include science, philosophy, astronomy, poetry, and literature. So they have scientific, historic, religious, and aesthetic value.“ &#160;In many cases the books and manuscripts show wear or include handwritten notations in the margins suggesting that they’re not artifacts that sat on shelves out of the way, instead “they have been used for study, and for discussions.” &#160;</p>
<p>It's not entirely clear why Islamist rebels were bent on destroying these manuscripts that depict the Islamic culture and religion that was present in Timbuktu centuries ago. Louw speculates the manuscripts were symbols of open-mindedness that doesn't comport with their vision of Islam.&#160;“They show that at that time, Islam was a religion of tolerance, that it co–existed with science, and that probably is very threatening to the radical Islamists that we see today.”</p>
<p>Louw is well aware the Timbuktu Renaissance exhibit itself may offend Islamist radicals. She says the brutal terrorist attacks in Paris “are exactly why we decided to do this kind of exhibition. We thought that in the context of violence and wars perpetuated in the name of Islam and the radical Islamist message that is saturating the media, we really need to show another image of Islam.”</p>
<p>She cites a comment by a cartoonist for the French newspaper Le Monde suggesting that the murdered cartoonists of Charlie Hebdo were ultimately artists who just wanted to express opinions.</p>
<p>“I think that’s the essence of art — to raise issues in our society and to question, and it’s actually the essence of these manuscripts too. When you think about it, they reveal an extremely sophisticated level of thinking," Louw says. "I think it’s extremely important that we do these kinds of exhibitions right now.”</p>
<p>Louw says she hopes the exhibition&#160;will be able to travel. It comprises 16 representative manuscripts from the 11th to 18th centuries, general background texts, captions, a slideshow of contemporary Timbuktu, and seven film excerpts from Timbuktu (Abderrahmane Sissako, 2014) and The Last Song before the War (Kiley Kraskouskas, 2011).&#160;</p>
<p />
|
Timbuktu nearly lost its heritage. Now it's on exhibit in a Brussels museum
| false |
https://pri.org/stories/2015-01-08/timbuktus-cultural-heritage-nearly-lost-now-exhibit-brussels-art-museum
|
2015-01-08
| 3left-center
|
Timbuktu nearly lost its heritage. Now it's on exhibit in a Brussels museum
<p>The situation is all too familitar.&#160;Anger over printed pictures and words that leads to violence. No, we're not talking about Paris.</p>
<p>In 2012&#160;Islamist rebels in Mali threatened to destroy ancient manuscripts when they occupied the town.&#160;Most of manuscripts were rescued, thankfully. And the real hero of that rescue is&#160;Malian librarian&#160;Abdel Kader Haidara, says&#160;Kathleen Louw,&#160;Africa project manager at the Centre for Fine Arts in Brussels.</p>
<p>Louw&#160;helped put together the <a href="http://www.bozar.be/activity.php?id=15570&amp;lng=en" type="external">Timbuktu Rennaisance</a>&#160;exhibit. She says&#160;Haidara organized the clandestine plan to evacuate thousands of Timbuktu’s historic manuscripts, by sneaking them out at night in jeeps&#160;and canoes.</p>
<p>“When Tuareg rebels joined with Islamist militants to take over Timbuktu in April 2012, UNESCO [the&#160;United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization] immediately started to worry and wanted to do something, and Mr. Haidara told them not to because that might raise suspicion on the part of the Islamists that there were valuable treasures to be found in Timbuktu,"&#160;Louw says.</p>
<p>So they waited. And soon after Haidara saw a Libya library with ancient books being burned on TV, he decided he had to do something.</p>
<p>"They started at night to pack the manuscripts of various libraries and store them in safe houses in Timbuktu," Louw says. "When the roads appeared to be clear, they started smuggling the books out of Timbuktu.”</p>
<p>Louw says&#160;they managed over the course of five&#160;months, to ship&#160;the majority of the collections of the private libraries in Timbuktu,&#160;377,000 manuscripts, to Bamako.</p>
<p>The manuscripts that are now on display at the Centre for Fine Arts in the Timbuktu Renaissance exhibit represent the cultural heritage of Timbuktu.</p>
<p>“They usually have a leather cover, the leafs are not bound.&#160;They show beautiful Arabic calligraphy from past centuries, and also the Arabic alphabet — but actually transliterations of African languages," Louw explains. "The subjects include science, philosophy, astronomy, poetry, and literature. So they have scientific, historic, religious, and aesthetic value.“ &#160;In many cases the books and manuscripts show wear or include handwritten notations in the margins suggesting that they’re not artifacts that sat on shelves out of the way, instead “they have been used for study, and for discussions.” &#160;</p>
<p>It's not entirely clear why Islamist rebels were bent on destroying these manuscripts that depict the Islamic culture and religion that was present in Timbuktu centuries ago. Louw speculates the manuscripts were symbols of open-mindedness that doesn't comport with their vision of Islam.&#160;“They show that at that time, Islam was a religion of tolerance, that it co–existed with science, and that probably is very threatening to the radical Islamists that we see today.”</p>
<p>Louw is well aware the Timbuktu Renaissance exhibit itself may offend Islamist radicals. She says the brutal terrorist attacks in Paris “are exactly why we decided to do this kind of exhibition. We thought that in the context of violence and wars perpetuated in the name of Islam and the radical Islamist message that is saturating the media, we really need to show another image of Islam.”</p>
<p>She cites a comment by a cartoonist for the French newspaper Le Monde suggesting that the murdered cartoonists of Charlie Hebdo were ultimately artists who just wanted to express opinions.</p>
<p>“I think that’s the essence of art — to raise issues in our society and to question, and it’s actually the essence of these manuscripts too. When you think about it, they reveal an extremely sophisticated level of thinking," Louw says. "I think it’s extremely important that we do these kinds of exhibitions right now.”</p>
<p>Louw says she hopes the exhibition&#160;will be able to travel. It comprises 16 representative manuscripts from the 11th to 18th centuries, general background texts, captions, a slideshow of contemporary Timbuktu, and seven film excerpts from Timbuktu (Abderrahmane Sissako, 2014) and The Last Song before the War (Kiley Kraskouskas, 2011).&#160;</p>
<p />
| 6,220 |
<p>Hillary Clinton made a bold declaration during a TV interview on Sunday: Never again will she be a candidate for public office.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>“Is your political career over?” Jane Pauley asked Clinton on “Sunday Morning.”</p>
<p>“Yes, as an active politician, it’s over,” Hillary declared.</p>
<p>“You will never be a candidate for office…” Pauley probed.</p>
<p>“No, I am done with being a candidate,” Clinton said, “but I am not done with politics because I literally believe that our country’s future is at stake.”</p>
<p>Another portion of the interview shows Hillary in despair.</p>
<p />
<p>“It was a very hard transition and I make no bones about it,” Clinton said about losing the election.</p>
<p>“I really struggled and for the longest time, I was just totally drained. I couldn’t feel. I couldn’t think. I was just gobsmacked, wiped out,” she said.</p>
<p>“We had Thanksgiving,” she continued, looking at the ceiling and appearing to hold back tears, saying she was grateful for “the experience of having run.”</p>
<p>She also was grateful for her supporters, her family and her grandchildren, in that order.</p>
<p>She didn’t say her husband by name.</p>
|
CLINTON CASHES OUT: Hillary says ‘will never be candidate for office’ again
| true |
http://theamericanmirror.com/hillary-never-again/
|
2017-09-10
| 0right
|
CLINTON CASHES OUT: Hillary says ‘will never be candidate for office’ again
<p>Hillary Clinton made a bold declaration during a TV interview on Sunday: Never again will she be a candidate for public office.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>“Is your political career over?” Jane Pauley asked Clinton on “Sunday Morning.”</p>
<p>“Yes, as an active politician, it’s over,” Hillary declared.</p>
<p>“You will never be a candidate for office…” Pauley probed.</p>
<p>“No, I am done with being a candidate,” Clinton said, “but I am not done with politics because I literally believe that our country’s future is at stake.”</p>
<p>Another portion of the interview shows Hillary in despair.</p>
<p />
<p>“It was a very hard transition and I make no bones about it,” Clinton said about losing the election.</p>
<p>“I really struggled and for the longest time, I was just totally drained. I couldn’t feel. I couldn’t think. I was just gobsmacked, wiped out,” she said.</p>
<p>“We had Thanksgiving,” she continued, looking at the ceiling and appearing to hold back tears, saying she was grateful for “the experience of having run.”</p>
<p>She also was grateful for her supporters, her family and her grandchildren, in that order.</p>
<p>She didn’t say her husband by name.</p>
| 6,221 |
<p><a href="//videos/37/61621" type="external" /></p>
<p>RUSH: Lebanon, Indiana. We start on the phones with Tony. Welcome, sir, great to have you with us. Hello.</p>
<p>CALLER: Thank you, Rush. Longtime listener, first-time caller.</p>
<p>RUSH: Great to have you here, Tony.</p>
<p>CALLER: Thank you. Rush, as this Ferguson, Missouri, thing has unfolded, I run through the logic like you’re going through now with why things are happening from a political standpoint. I guess it is a template. You know, I followed you a long time; I understand it’s a template. What I do become is a little bit frustrated, because I think that <a href="" type="internal">the Sharptons and the Jesse Jacksons of the world</a> are using this event to gain political bank, points, if you will, at the exploitation of this young man’s death and the exploitation of his family. Your comment on that?</p>
<p>RUSH: You’re tired of Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton making hay out of this? Is that what you said?</p>
<p>CALLER: Yeah, a lot, and getting full media support by it, too. You know? And as somebody that says, hey, look the facts first —</p>
<p>RUSH: That’s the point. You gotta understand something. This is far bigger than the Reverend Jackson and Al Sharpton. In fact, Sharpton’s getting booed by some of these protesters. These people, they’ve been at it so long, people in the community are finally starting to ask, “What the hell are you doing here? What are you gonna do?”</p>
<p>Sharpton, let me tell you, there’s a report about Sharpton that I saw, that he actually told the family — I didn’t print this out. I read so darn many blogs and I can’t print everything, and I probably ought to couch this with I can’t confirm it, no insult to the blogs. It sounds believable, though. I can’t remember where I read it, but apparently Al Sharpton charged the family money for his help, and they told him to go pound sand. Apparently he needed money, he wanted payment for leading the effort with their son. And I’m sorry, I can’t remember where I saw it. Let’s say that that’s not true, because I can’t confirm it, I can’t back it up. But I’m telling you, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s true.</p>
<p>But this is the Democrat Party, folks. The president of the United States is in charge of what’s happened here. I think it is time for everybody to come to grips with a simple reality. I don’t care what scandal you name — Benghazi, Fast and Furious, take your pick, IRS — has anybody involved in any of these scandals been fired? Not a single person.</p>
<p>Now, if you are president of the United States and you’ve got these rogue employees, and they’re out doing this outrageous stuff that you would never sanction, I’m telling you heads would roll. But nobody’s been fired. Which means that everybody involved in all of these scandals, I don’t care if it’s Lois Lerner, I don’t care who it is, they are doing what the White House wants done, as I have stated — sorry to say this over and over — from the beginning. When this first came up, do you remember when Van Jones was outed as a communist, somebody high up in the Regime, and people said, “Gosh, how did this get past Obama?” We had a couple people call here, “How did this happen?”</p>
<p>What do you mean, how did it get past Obama? Don’t you understand, Obama hired the guy. Van Jones was there because Obama wanted him there. And just because they’ve gotten rid of Van Jones doesn’t mean they didn’t replace him with the same kind of person. The reason why there’s no smoking gun memo from Obama to the IRS is because there doesn’t need to be. The people at the IRS know what Obama wants done.</p>
<p>This is about wiping out the Republican Party. This is about doing away with the two-party system, folks. This is about full-fledged, unbridled power and the grab for it. There’s not even a pretense here. What do you mean all of these executive orders or threatened executive orders without Congress. This is all about wiping out any and all opposition. And that has been Obama’s modus operandi since he got into politics. The old honor code and the rule of law and all of these guidelines that everybody’s abided by in the political sense, where you abide by the vote, campaign fairly, all out the window.</p>
<p>This is about wiping out the Republican Party. This is about wiping out the Libertarians. This is about wiping out anybody who opposes Obama. Every bit of this. This isn’t Al Sharpton. This isn’t Jesse Jackson. They’re just tag-alongs now. This is Obama and Holder. But all of this is Barack Obama. Every event, every detail, every occurrence is Obama. And the end result is the end and absence of any opposition. So that’s what Ferguson’s all about, like all the rest of this has been about.</p>
<p>BREAK TRANSCRIPT</p>
<p>RUSH: I just cleared a story. It’s from the <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/101930339" type="external">CNBC website</a>, and it’s by somebody named Ben White. Doesn’t matter who it’s by. “Why is Obama Disconnected, Directionless?” He’s not! This is exactly — let me tell you. I’ve got a theory. Everybody talks about why is Obama going on so many vacations? To get headlines like this. To make it look like he’s detached.</p>
<p>How many stories have you seen, “You know what, Obama’s checked out. He doesn’t like the job anymore. He knows he’s gone. He doesn’t care. He’s on vacation all the time. He just doesn’t care.” How many stories like that are you seeing? A lot. Its exactly what they want you to see. Why does he go on so many vacations? To make it look like he is, what, disconnected, directionless, detached. It makes it look like he’s irritated to have to deal with this stuff. That’s why they say, “Ah, you know, he’s so far ahead of all of us. This stuff is just so beneath him.”</p>
<p>That’s why he takes so many vacations. I’m convinced he takes so many vacations to further this notion that he doesn’t know what’s going on, he doesn’t care. He’s not responsible. And he is responsible for all of this, folks, and all of this is about the elimination of any opposition, and I mean the wiping out of the Republican Party as a functioning, threatening opposition. That is the objective.</p>
<p>By the way, that’s not just Obama. That’s been the left. They are power mad. They are statists. You think there was opposition to the Soviet Union? You think Mao Tse-tung had opposition, the Gang of Eight, what happened to them, including Madam Mao? Slit throat, adios, see you, sayonara. I mean, they don’t put up with it. I’m convinced that all of these vacations and all of these stories about being bored and detached and disconnected and, “Gosh, why doesn’t Obama care?” The black community’s asking this all day long, every day. Something pops up that affects them, “Why doesn’t Obama care?”</p>
<p>He’s in charge of all this. I think that it is a structured strategy, well conceived, brilliantly executed strategy for all of this crap to be happening in this country for six years. And here’s the Limbaugh Theorem: he doesn’t appear to have anything to do with it. He’s always out campaigning against it, in fact. He’s against what’s happening in the job market. He’s opposed to what’s happening here and there. He’s mad about what happened in Benghazi, and what image is created? He’s got nothing to do with it. Poor guy. And I’m telling you, that’s not who he is. This guy is a hands-on, steer-the-ship, send-the-orders — he doesn’t have to send orders. He’s got people that know what they’re supposed to do. All these vacations, same thing. Make it look like he’s not even there. Plausible deniability.</p>
<p>It’s like the way the Clintons did it back in the nineties. Bill was made to look like the good old boy, moderate, middle-of-the-roader, while Hillary was just baking cookies and maybe diddling and dabbling with health care here and there. But she was the one that was the real strident liberal. She was the one finding all the cabinet people, while Bill got away appearing like this good old boy, yuk yuk (imitating Bill), “Hey, where’s the next broad ball game, guys, where do we sign up?” When in fact he’s every bit what Obama was. All of this is for public consumption. All of this is PR, buzz, show, whatever you want to say, image.</p>
<p>Do you think if Barack Obama came out and said that his objective is to eliminate the Republican Party, if he came out and honestly said, “I don’t want any opposition. I want total control of this country. I don’t want anybody being able to stop me. I don’t want anybody being able to tell me what I can’t do. I’m gonna do whatever I want to do whenever and to hell with the Constitution.” You think he would be elected? No way. So how do you do that? How do you get away with doing that while everybody’s looking? You go on vacation all the time. You act like you’re opposed to what’s going on. You act like you don’t even care. But then when all of this stuff happens, nobody gets fired?</p>
<p>Rogue agents in Cincinnati denying the Tea Party constitutional rights, nobody got fired. Nobody got fired at all in the Trayvon Martin circumstance. Well, the NBC guy that edited the 911 call got reassigned. Nobody gets fired. They just get hidden somewhere else once their cover has been blown. That’s the way to look at the modern left, the modern Democrat Party and all of their agencies, including the big one, the mainstream media.</p>
<p>During the break, okay, it’s time I made this point, building off the last call. I show up here, I checked the e-mail, and, lo and behold, there’s this CNBC story. “Why is Obama Disconnected, Directionless?” It’s made to order. Makes my point. After Obama’s press conference yesterday — well, whatever it was. I didn’t watch it. I had a couple people send me notes about it. I said, “I don’t need to see it, I don’t care.” So whatever it was, I’ve got sound bites, they’re coming up. But there’s a whole Twitter feed from black Americans angry at Obama for not doing anything for them vis-a-vis Ferguson. Made to order. Black Americans all upset ’cause Obama doesn’t care.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, look at everything that is happening in this country. Look at the economy. Look at the efforts to silence the Tea Party fundraising operation. Look at the character assassination of all four Republican presidential nominees, or four of them, all have on their resumes, either criminal charges, criminal investigations, and after today, a criminal indictment for Rick Perry. And I could go on. Health care. Look at, “You can keep your doctor.” No, you can’t. “You can keep your plan.” No, you can’t. “Sign up at HealthCare.gov.” It’s an absolute disaster. Somehow Barack Obama is not linked to it.</p>
<p>What do you think of all these stories (imitating Obama), “Hey, you know what? I found about that just like you did, when I read the paper.” Oh, really? You really want us to believe you don’t know anything going on until you read the paper? To me, it is prima facie evidence of my point, that the structured strategy here is to portray Obama as aloof, disinterested, not engaged, not caring, having to be dragged kicking and screaming to every press conference, dragged kicking and screaming to make a statement on this or that. Yeah, because, you know, Obama’s so much smarter than all the rest of us. This just bores him. It’s so beneath. He’s tired of the job.</p>
<p>I saw a story Sunday or Monday, headline: “Obama Has Checked Out.” It was a leftist. And they’re just assuming, ah, Obama’s tired, he’s bored, two years to go, finished, doesn’t care anymore, it’s over with. ‘Cause everybody’s looking now at 2016, so he’s no longer in the spotlight. He just wants to go on vacation. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And nothing could be further from the truth. This guy has two years, and his Regime has just now begun. You can argue that Ferguson is act one of what is being called this lame duck business.</p>
<p>So stop and think about it. You know how the Drive-Bys create misdirection? You know how they do things to try to distract you? Some big scandal happening over there. Something else happens over here to take your attention away from it, your mind off of it, while that over there continues to happen while nobody’s looking anymore. ‘Cause everybody gets so emotionally revved up over what they’re telling us about day to day, the daily soap opera. It’s designed to have one crisis after another, every one of them Obama knows nothing about; every one of them he’s terribly worried about; every one of them he’s desperate to fix. He’ll have a White House summit, maybe two if he really cares, but that’s it.</p>
<p>Now, this is all… I’m still answering the question our first caller had. He asked me, you know, “How long are Sharpton and Jackson gonna get away with this kind of stuff they’re doing in Ferguson?” It’s not Sharpton and Jackson. Sharpton and Jackson are has-beens. I mean, next to Obama, these people are not even AAA. Sharpton and Jackson are just caricatures now. They’re filling a role that…</p>
<p>You know, they’re providing a link to the glory days of the sixties civil rights movement, but this is all Barack Obama. And it’s all about securing his number one objective. It was Scarborough. That’s right, it was Scarborough. I guess he was on some show, some Sunday show, and Scarborough said, “Yeah, Obama’s checked out.” Washington Post’s the Insiders: “Is Obama Acting Like a Former President?”</p>
<p><a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/campaign-spot/385760/except-fundraising-potus-has-completely-checked-out-jim-geraghty" type="external">National Review Online</a>: “The President of the United States is Completely Checked Out.” <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/barackobama/10992654/Barack-Obama-has-already-checked-out-of-his-job.html" type="external">UK Telegraph</a>: “Barack Obama Has Already Checked Out of His Job.” <a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/right-and-left-finally-agree-obama-has-checked-out-2014-07-16" type="external">MarketWatch.com</a>: “Right and Left Finally Agree: Obama Has Checked Out.” No, he hasn’t. Obama is front and center pulling every string, directing every movement of his administration. He is calling every shot. And, remember, a lot of them he doesn’t have to verbalize.</p>
<p>He’s got people in position who will do what he wants done because they are him. Leftists are singularly alike, and they have singular objectives. The problem is trying to convince people of them. They sound so outrageous, most people will never believe any of it. They furthermore wouldn’t believe they elected somebody like this; so whoever says things like this, like me, has gotta be a nut. “ <a href="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2014/07/14/pat_caddell_obama_has_checked_out_as_being_president.html" type="external">Pat Caddell</a>: Obama ‘Has Checked Out as Being President.'”</p>
<p>Nope. What’s happening here is Obama is leading from behind. Obama is calling all the shots while everybody thinks he’s on vacation, while everybody thinks he doesn’t care. That’s how he gets away with it, folks. The simple, easiest, best way to get away with all this is to convince people he doesn’t even care.</p>
<p>I gotta take a brief time-out. We’ll do that, get back to your phone calls and a lot of really, really instructive audio sound bites today, if I can find the discipline to start squeezing some of them in.</p>
<p>BREAK TRANSCRIPT</p>
<p>RUSH: Here’s Gus, Gaithersburg, Maryland. Hi, Gus. Glad you waited. Great to have you on the EIB Network.</p>
<p>CALLER: Good afternoon. How are you?</p>
<p>RUSH: Fine and dandy. Thank you, sir.</p>
<p>CALLER: My theory is that I think Obama is very depressed. I think he is just checked out, really. I don’t agree with you. I don’t think he’s in control anymore. I think he goes out on these trips, has all these people with him to build his ego up, and I think he’s totally beaten down by the inside Beltway. He can’t deal with Congress, and I just think he is just depressed and can’t wait to get out of office. That’s in my opinion.</p>
<p>RUSH: What makes you think that?</p>
<p>CALLER: Just looking at the man. I’m not a psychiatrist. I’m not a whatever. I live in Maryland, you know, and here you see him on television all the time and you look at his picture. You look at his face, and it’s just… You look at what he looked like when he first came into office, and just compare. He looks drawn. He looks beaten. His hair is turning gray.</p>
<p>RUSH: But that happens to every president.</p>
<p>CALLER: I think he’s checked out.</p>
<p>RUSH: Happens to every president. Happened to Clinton, too. In fact, it started happening so soon with Clinton he just went ahead and colored his hair grayer.</p>
<p>CALLER: Well, that’s what I’m saying. I think he is depressed. I think he’s probably bipolar and he has highs and lows, and he’s having more lows than highs and he has to go out and —</p>
<p>RUSH: Tell me what’s not going his way.</p>
<p>CALLER: A lot.</p>
<p>RUSH: What?</p>
<p>CALLER: The Supreme Court overturned stuff on Obamacare. Everything he puts in place, executive orders that turn to crap. HHS issued all these rules that are going down the tubes. I’m a small business owner. I got impacted with all this insurance crap and everything that’s happened, and I just think that he just can’t take being overturned, being overruled. And I just think he’s very, very depressed. That’s my own opinion.</p>
<p>RUSH: Well, you could be right. I don’t happen to think so. You’re right that he has been unanimously rejected, 13 or 14 times at the Supreme Court. But I think it just makes him mad. I don’t think it defeats him. I don’t think his reaction is, “Ah, to hell with it. You know what? I don’t like this job. I want to go somewhere else.” I just don’t take it that way. But even if let’s say, Gus, that you are right.</p>
<p>Let’s say that every bit of your interpretation’s right, Obama’s just fed up, can’t get it done as fast as he wants, is depressed. So he goes on vacation to get away from it and so forth. The people working for him are not depressed, and the people working for him have not phoned it in and are not phoning it in, and the people working for him have not given up, and the people working for him are not going on vacation.</p>
<p>The people working for him are doing every bit what he wants ’em to do. Now, he may have had grandiose designs that he would get all that he wanted done in the first term. He may have envisioned a full-fledged wipeout of the Republican Party. He may have envisioned massive success with Obamacare, and it may well be that he could not have anticipated any of these problems. It could well be that he’s so stupid that he doesn’t know that his ideas will never work.</p>
<p>It could well be that he’s just now realizing how stupid he is and how wrong he is, that socialism doesn’t work. It could well be that he’s just checked out. But the people working for him haven’t. The media hasn’t checked out. Eric Holder hasn’t checked out. What’s her name, Valerie Jarrett, hasn’t checked out the. And I actually don’t think he has, either. To stick with my original interpretation of this, I think the Limbaugh Theorem is a good explanation for how he gets away with this kind of stuff.</p>
<p>Anyway, I’m glad you called, Gus. I really appreciate it.</p>
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Obama Is in Charge of Everything
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Obama Is in Charge of Everything
<p><a href="//videos/37/61621" type="external" /></p>
<p>RUSH: Lebanon, Indiana. We start on the phones with Tony. Welcome, sir, great to have you with us. Hello.</p>
<p>CALLER: Thank you, Rush. Longtime listener, first-time caller.</p>
<p>RUSH: Great to have you here, Tony.</p>
<p>CALLER: Thank you. Rush, as this Ferguson, Missouri, thing has unfolded, I run through the logic like you’re going through now with why things are happening from a political standpoint. I guess it is a template. You know, I followed you a long time; I understand it’s a template. What I do become is a little bit frustrated, because I think that <a href="" type="internal">the Sharptons and the Jesse Jacksons of the world</a> are using this event to gain political bank, points, if you will, at the exploitation of this young man’s death and the exploitation of his family. Your comment on that?</p>
<p>RUSH: You’re tired of Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton making hay out of this? Is that what you said?</p>
<p>CALLER: Yeah, a lot, and getting full media support by it, too. You know? And as somebody that says, hey, look the facts first —</p>
<p>RUSH: That’s the point. You gotta understand something. This is far bigger than the Reverend Jackson and Al Sharpton. In fact, Sharpton’s getting booed by some of these protesters. These people, they’ve been at it so long, people in the community are finally starting to ask, “What the hell are you doing here? What are you gonna do?”</p>
<p>Sharpton, let me tell you, there’s a report about Sharpton that I saw, that he actually told the family — I didn’t print this out. I read so darn many blogs and I can’t print everything, and I probably ought to couch this with I can’t confirm it, no insult to the blogs. It sounds believable, though. I can’t remember where I read it, but apparently Al Sharpton charged the family money for his help, and they told him to go pound sand. Apparently he needed money, he wanted payment for leading the effort with their son. And I’m sorry, I can’t remember where I saw it. Let’s say that that’s not true, because I can’t confirm it, I can’t back it up. But I’m telling you, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s true.</p>
<p>But this is the Democrat Party, folks. The president of the United States is in charge of what’s happened here. I think it is time for everybody to come to grips with a simple reality. I don’t care what scandal you name — Benghazi, Fast and Furious, take your pick, IRS — has anybody involved in any of these scandals been fired? Not a single person.</p>
<p>Now, if you are president of the United States and you’ve got these rogue employees, and they’re out doing this outrageous stuff that you would never sanction, I’m telling you heads would roll. But nobody’s been fired. Which means that everybody involved in all of these scandals, I don’t care if it’s Lois Lerner, I don’t care who it is, they are doing what the White House wants done, as I have stated — sorry to say this over and over — from the beginning. When this first came up, do you remember when Van Jones was outed as a communist, somebody high up in the Regime, and people said, “Gosh, how did this get past Obama?” We had a couple people call here, “How did this happen?”</p>
<p>What do you mean, how did it get past Obama? Don’t you understand, Obama hired the guy. Van Jones was there because Obama wanted him there. And just because they’ve gotten rid of Van Jones doesn’t mean they didn’t replace him with the same kind of person. The reason why there’s no smoking gun memo from Obama to the IRS is because there doesn’t need to be. The people at the IRS know what Obama wants done.</p>
<p>This is about wiping out the Republican Party. This is about doing away with the two-party system, folks. This is about full-fledged, unbridled power and the grab for it. There’s not even a pretense here. What do you mean all of these executive orders or threatened executive orders without Congress. This is all about wiping out any and all opposition. And that has been Obama’s modus operandi since he got into politics. The old honor code and the rule of law and all of these guidelines that everybody’s abided by in the political sense, where you abide by the vote, campaign fairly, all out the window.</p>
<p>This is about wiping out the Republican Party. This is about wiping out the Libertarians. This is about wiping out anybody who opposes Obama. Every bit of this. This isn’t Al Sharpton. This isn’t Jesse Jackson. They’re just tag-alongs now. This is Obama and Holder. But all of this is Barack Obama. Every event, every detail, every occurrence is Obama. And the end result is the end and absence of any opposition. So that’s what Ferguson’s all about, like all the rest of this has been about.</p>
<p>BREAK TRANSCRIPT</p>
<p>RUSH: I just cleared a story. It’s from the <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/101930339" type="external">CNBC website</a>, and it’s by somebody named Ben White. Doesn’t matter who it’s by. “Why is Obama Disconnected, Directionless?” He’s not! This is exactly — let me tell you. I’ve got a theory. Everybody talks about why is Obama going on so many vacations? To get headlines like this. To make it look like he’s detached.</p>
<p>How many stories have you seen, “You know what, Obama’s checked out. He doesn’t like the job anymore. He knows he’s gone. He doesn’t care. He’s on vacation all the time. He just doesn’t care.” How many stories like that are you seeing? A lot. Its exactly what they want you to see. Why does he go on so many vacations? To make it look like he is, what, disconnected, directionless, detached. It makes it look like he’s irritated to have to deal with this stuff. That’s why they say, “Ah, you know, he’s so far ahead of all of us. This stuff is just so beneath him.”</p>
<p>That’s why he takes so many vacations. I’m convinced he takes so many vacations to further this notion that he doesn’t know what’s going on, he doesn’t care. He’s not responsible. And he is responsible for all of this, folks, and all of this is about the elimination of any opposition, and I mean the wiping out of the Republican Party as a functioning, threatening opposition. That is the objective.</p>
<p>By the way, that’s not just Obama. That’s been the left. They are power mad. They are statists. You think there was opposition to the Soviet Union? You think Mao Tse-tung had opposition, the Gang of Eight, what happened to them, including Madam Mao? Slit throat, adios, see you, sayonara. I mean, they don’t put up with it. I’m convinced that all of these vacations and all of these stories about being bored and detached and disconnected and, “Gosh, why doesn’t Obama care?” The black community’s asking this all day long, every day. Something pops up that affects them, “Why doesn’t Obama care?”</p>
<p>He’s in charge of all this. I think that it is a structured strategy, well conceived, brilliantly executed strategy for all of this crap to be happening in this country for six years. And here’s the Limbaugh Theorem: he doesn’t appear to have anything to do with it. He’s always out campaigning against it, in fact. He’s against what’s happening in the job market. He’s opposed to what’s happening here and there. He’s mad about what happened in Benghazi, and what image is created? He’s got nothing to do with it. Poor guy. And I’m telling you, that’s not who he is. This guy is a hands-on, steer-the-ship, send-the-orders — he doesn’t have to send orders. He’s got people that know what they’re supposed to do. All these vacations, same thing. Make it look like he’s not even there. Plausible deniability.</p>
<p>It’s like the way the Clintons did it back in the nineties. Bill was made to look like the good old boy, moderate, middle-of-the-roader, while Hillary was just baking cookies and maybe diddling and dabbling with health care here and there. But she was the one that was the real strident liberal. She was the one finding all the cabinet people, while Bill got away appearing like this good old boy, yuk yuk (imitating Bill), “Hey, where’s the next broad ball game, guys, where do we sign up?” When in fact he’s every bit what Obama was. All of this is for public consumption. All of this is PR, buzz, show, whatever you want to say, image.</p>
<p>Do you think if Barack Obama came out and said that his objective is to eliminate the Republican Party, if he came out and honestly said, “I don’t want any opposition. I want total control of this country. I don’t want anybody being able to stop me. I don’t want anybody being able to tell me what I can’t do. I’m gonna do whatever I want to do whenever and to hell with the Constitution.” You think he would be elected? No way. So how do you do that? How do you get away with doing that while everybody’s looking? You go on vacation all the time. You act like you’re opposed to what’s going on. You act like you don’t even care. But then when all of this stuff happens, nobody gets fired?</p>
<p>Rogue agents in Cincinnati denying the Tea Party constitutional rights, nobody got fired. Nobody got fired at all in the Trayvon Martin circumstance. Well, the NBC guy that edited the 911 call got reassigned. Nobody gets fired. They just get hidden somewhere else once their cover has been blown. That’s the way to look at the modern left, the modern Democrat Party and all of their agencies, including the big one, the mainstream media.</p>
<p>During the break, okay, it’s time I made this point, building off the last call. I show up here, I checked the e-mail, and, lo and behold, there’s this CNBC story. “Why is Obama Disconnected, Directionless?” It’s made to order. Makes my point. After Obama’s press conference yesterday — well, whatever it was. I didn’t watch it. I had a couple people send me notes about it. I said, “I don’t need to see it, I don’t care.” So whatever it was, I’ve got sound bites, they’re coming up. But there’s a whole Twitter feed from black Americans angry at Obama for not doing anything for them vis-a-vis Ferguson. Made to order. Black Americans all upset ’cause Obama doesn’t care.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, look at everything that is happening in this country. Look at the economy. Look at the efforts to silence the Tea Party fundraising operation. Look at the character assassination of all four Republican presidential nominees, or four of them, all have on their resumes, either criminal charges, criminal investigations, and after today, a criminal indictment for Rick Perry. And I could go on. Health care. Look at, “You can keep your doctor.” No, you can’t. “You can keep your plan.” No, you can’t. “Sign up at HealthCare.gov.” It’s an absolute disaster. Somehow Barack Obama is not linked to it.</p>
<p>What do you think of all these stories (imitating Obama), “Hey, you know what? I found about that just like you did, when I read the paper.” Oh, really? You really want us to believe you don’t know anything going on until you read the paper? To me, it is prima facie evidence of my point, that the structured strategy here is to portray Obama as aloof, disinterested, not engaged, not caring, having to be dragged kicking and screaming to every press conference, dragged kicking and screaming to make a statement on this or that. Yeah, because, you know, Obama’s so much smarter than all the rest of us. This just bores him. It’s so beneath. He’s tired of the job.</p>
<p>I saw a story Sunday or Monday, headline: “Obama Has Checked Out.” It was a leftist. And they’re just assuming, ah, Obama’s tired, he’s bored, two years to go, finished, doesn’t care anymore, it’s over with. ‘Cause everybody’s looking now at 2016, so he’s no longer in the spotlight. He just wants to go on vacation. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And nothing could be further from the truth. This guy has two years, and his Regime has just now begun. You can argue that Ferguson is act one of what is being called this lame duck business.</p>
<p>So stop and think about it. You know how the Drive-Bys create misdirection? You know how they do things to try to distract you? Some big scandal happening over there. Something else happens over here to take your attention away from it, your mind off of it, while that over there continues to happen while nobody’s looking anymore. ‘Cause everybody gets so emotionally revved up over what they’re telling us about day to day, the daily soap opera. It’s designed to have one crisis after another, every one of them Obama knows nothing about; every one of them he’s terribly worried about; every one of them he’s desperate to fix. He’ll have a White House summit, maybe two if he really cares, but that’s it.</p>
<p>Now, this is all… I’m still answering the question our first caller had. He asked me, you know, “How long are Sharpton and Jackson gonna get away with this kind of stuff they’re doing in Ferguson?” It’s not Sharpton and Jackson. Sharpton and Jackson are has-beens. I mean, next to Obama, these people are not even AAA. Sharpton and Jackson are just caricatures now. They’re filling a role that…</p>
<p>You know, they’re providing a link to the glory days of the sixties civil rights movement, but this is all Barack Obama. And it’s all about securing his number one objective. It was Scarborough. That’s right, it was Scarborough. I guess he was on some show, some Sunday show, and Scarborough said, “Yeah, Obama’s checked out.” Washington Post’s the Insiders: “Is Obama Acting Like a Former President?”</p>
<p><a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/campaign-spot/385760/except-fundraising-potus-has-completely-checked-out-jim-geraghty" type="external">National Review Online</a>: “The President of the United States is Completely Checked Out.” <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/barackobama/10992654/Barack-Obama-has-already-checked-out-of-his-job.html" type="external">UK Telegraph</a>: “Barack Obama Has Already Checked Out of His Job.” <a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/right-and-left-finally-agree-obama-has-checked-out-2014-07-16" type="external">MarketWatch.com</a>: “Right and Left Finally Agree: Obama Has Checked Out.” No, he hasn’t. Obama is front and center pulling every string, directing every movement of his administration. He is calling every shot. And, remember, a lot of them he doesn’t have to verbalize.</p>
<p>He’s got people in position who will do what he wants done because they are him. Leftists are singularly alike, and they have singular objectives. The problem is trying to convince people of them. They sound so outrageous, most people will never believe any of it. They furthermore wouldn’t believe they elected somebody like this; so whoever says things like this, like me, has gotta be a nut. “ <a href="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2014/07/14/pat_caddell_obama_has_checked_out_as_being_president.html" type="external">Pat Caddell</a>: Obama ‘Has Checked Out as Being President.'”</p>
<p>Nope. What’s happening here is Obama is leading from behind. Obama is calling all the shots while everybody thinks he’s on vacation, while everybody thinks he doesn’t care. That’s how he gets away with it, folks. The simple, easiest, best way to get away with all this is to convince people he doesn’t even care.</p>
<p>I gotta take a brief time-out. We’ll do that, get back to your phone calls and a lot of really, really instructive audio sound bites today, if I can find the discipline to start squeezing some of them in.</p>
<p>BREAK TRANSCRIPT</p>
<p>RUSH: Here’s Gus, Gaithersburg, Maryland. Hi, Gus. Glad you waited. Great to have you on the EIB Network.</p>
<p>CALLER: Good afternoon. How are you?</p>
<p>RUSH: Fine and dandy. Thank you, sir.</p>
<p>CALLER: My theory is that I think Obama is very depressed. I think he is just checked out, really. I don’t agree with you. I don’t think he’s in control anymore. I think he goes out on these trips, has all these people with him to build his ego up, and I think he’s totally beaten down by the inside Beltway. He can’t deal with Congress, and I just think he is just depressed and can’t wait to get out of office. That’s in my opinion.</p>
<p>RUSH: What makes you think that?</p>
<p>CALLER: Just looking at the man. I’m not a psychiatrist. I’m not a whatever. I live in Maryland, you know, and here you see him on television all the time and you look at his picture. You look at his face, and it’s just… You look at what he looked like when he first came into office, and just compare. He looks drawn. He looks beaten. His hair is turning gray.</p>
<p>RUSH: But that happens to every president.</p>
<p>CALLER: I think he’s checked out.</p>
<p>RUSH: Happens to every president. Happened to Clinton, too. In fact, it started happening so soon with Clinton he just went ahead and colored his hair grayer.</p>
<p>CALLER: Well, that’s what I’m saying. I think he is depressed. I think he’s probably bipolar and he has highs and lows, and he’s having more lows than highs and he has to go out and —</p>
<p>RUSH: Tell me what’s not going his way.</p>
<p>CALLER: A lot.</p>
<p>RUSH: What?</p>
<p>CALLER: The Supreme Court overturned stuff on Obamacare. Everything he puts in place, executive orders that turn to crap. HHS issued all these rules that are going down the tubes. I’m a small business owner. I got impacted with all this insurance crap and everything that’s happened, and I just think that he just can’t take being overturned, being overruled. And I just think he’s very, very depressed. That’s my own opinion.</p>
<p>RUSH: Well, you could be right. I don’t happen to think so. You’re right that he has been unanimously rejected, 13 or 14 times at the Supreme Court. But I think it just makes him mad. I don’t think it defeats him. I don’t think his reaction is, “Ah, to hell with it. You know what? I don’t like this job. I want to go somewhere else.” I just don’t take it that way. But even if let’s say, Gus, that you are right.</p>
<p>Let’s say that every bit of your interpretation’s right, Obama’s just fed up, can’t get it done as fast as he wants, is depressed. So he goes on vacation to get away from it and so forth. The people working for him are not depressed, and the people working for him have not phoned it in and are not phoning it in, and the people working for him have not given up, and the people working for him are not going on vacation.</p>
<p>The people working for him are doing every bit what he wants ’em to do. Now, he may have had grandiose designs that he would get all that he wanted done in the first term. He may have envisioned a full-fledged wipeout of the Republican Party. He may have envisioned massive success with Obamacare, and it may well be that he could not have anticipated any of these problems. It could well be that he’s so stupid that he doesn’t know that his ideas will never work.</p>
<p>It could well be that he’s just now realizing how stupid he is and how wrong he is, that socialism doesn’t work. It could well be that he’s just checked out. But the people working for him haven’t. The media hasn’t checked out. Eric Holder hasn’t checked out. What’s her name, Valerie Jarrett, hasn’t checked out the. And I actually don’t think he has, either. To stick with my original interpretation of this, I think the Limbaugh Theorem is a good explanation for how he gets away with this kind of stuff.</p>
<p>Anyway, I’m glad you called, Gus. I really appreciate it.</p>
| 6,222 |
<p>Pyongyang has described the US-South Korea annual military drills, set to kick off on Monday, as the “most explicit expression of hostility,” voicing fears that the war games, known as the Ulchi Freedom Guardian, may “evolve into actual fighting.”</p>
<p>Some 40,000 American and South Korean troops as well as civilians, training civil defense response, will participate in the exercises.&#160;</p>
<p>Read more</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/news/399336-us-korea-drills-trump/" type="external" /></p>
<p>The ‘Ulchi-Freedom Guardian’ drills are designed to “enhance readiness, protect the region and maintain stability on the Korean Peninsula,” the US State Department <a href="https://www.defense.gov/News/Article/Article/1282738/dod-announces-start-of-exercise-ulchi-freedom-guardian/" type="external">said</a> on Friday.&#160;</p>
<p>“The joint exercise is the most explicit expression of hostility against us, and no one can guarantee that the exercise won’t evolve into actual fighting,” an editorial in the Rodong Sinmun, the North’s official newspaper, said on Sunday, South Korea’s <a href="http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/northkorea/2017/08/20/25/0401000000AEN20170820002500315F.html" type="external">Yonhap News Agency reported</a>.</p>
<p>“If the United States is lost in a fantasy that war on the peninsula is at somebody else’s door far away from them across the Pacific, it is far more mistaken than ever,” it noted, adding that Washington will be “adding fuel to the fire” by moving ahead with the exercises.</p>
<p>“The Trump group’s declaration of the reckless nuclear war exercises against the DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea] … is a reckless behavior driving the situation into the uncontrollable phase of a nuclear war,” the editorial went on to say, as <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2017/08/20/asia/north-korea-south-korea-us-military-drills/index.html" type="external">cited by CNN</a>.</p>
<p>“The US should pay heed to the statement of the DPRK government that we would not rule out the use of any final means,” Rodong Sinmun warned in another article, <a href="http://www.rodong.rep.kp/en/index.php?strPageID=SF01_02_01&amp;newsID=2017-08-16-0003" type="external">published</a> on Wednesday.&#160;</p>
<p>“Reckless and wild acts of the US can accelerate its final ruin,” it concluded.</p>
<p>Read more</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/usa/399298-trump-north-korea-military-threat/" type="external" /></p>
<p>The Ulchi-Freedom Guardian exercises are held annually, with North Korea saying the drills are nothing but preparation for war. The 2017 wargames, scheduled to take place between August 21 and 31, were planned before the outbreak of the current crisis and won’t be rescheduled, military officials in the South Korean capital, Seoul, told AP last week.&#160;</p>
<p>US President Donald Trump added that he hopes that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un “will find another path.”&#160;</p>
<p>Trump’s comments came a day after US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis <a href="https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/1273247/statement-by-secretary-of-defense-jim-mattis/" type="external">said</a> that Washington and its allies “now possess the most precise, rehearsed and robust defensive and offensive capabilities on Earth.”&#160;</p>
<p>“The DPRK regime’s actions will continue to be grossly overmatched by ours and would lose any arms race or conflict it initiates,” he noted.</p>
<p>Tensions in the region show no sign of abating, escalating following a new round of UN sanctions against North Korea earlier in August, in response to fresh missile tests by Pyongyang.</p>
<p>In July, North Korea claimed to have test-fired two intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM). Russia, however, said that the missiles were intermediate range. In response to the tests, the US and South Korea repeatedly fired surface-to-surface missiles into neutral waters close to Pyongyang.</p>
|
US-South Korea drills could lead to ‘uncontrollable phase of nuclear war,’ North warns
| false |
https://newsline.com/us-south-korea-drills-could-lead-to-uncontrollable-phase-of-nuclear-war-north-warns/
|
2017-08-20
| 1right-center
|
US-South Korea drills could lead to ‘uncontrollable phase of nuclear war,’ North warns
<p>Pyongyang has described the US-South Korea annual military drills, set to kick off on Monday, as the “most explicit expression of hostility,” voicing fears that the war games, known as the Ulchi Freedom Guardian, may “evolve into actual fighting.”</p>
<p>Some 40,000 American and South Korean troops as well as civilians, training civil defense response, will participate in the exercises.&#160;</p>
<p>Read more</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/news/399336-us-korea-drills-trump/" type="external" /></p>
<p>The ‘Ulchi-Freedom Guardian’ drills are designed to “enhance readiness, protect the region and maintain stability on the Korean Peninsula,” the US State Department <a href="https://www.defense.gov/News/Article/Article/1282738/dod-announces-start-of-exercise-ulchi-freedom-guardian/" type="external">said</a> on Friday.&#160;</p>
<p>“The joint exercise is the most explicit expression of hostility against us, and no one can guarantee that the exercise won’t evolve into actual fighting,” an editorial in the Rodong Sinmun, the North’s official newspaper, said on Sunday, South Korea’s <a href="http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/northkorea/2017/08/20/25/0401000000AEN20170820002500315F.html" type="external">Yonhap News Agency reported</a>.</p>
<p>“If the United States is lost in a fantasy that war on the peninsula is at somebody else’s door far away from them across the Pacific, it is far more mistaken than ever,” it noted, adding that Washington will be “adding fuel to the fire” by moving ahead with the exercises.</p>
<p>“The Trump group’s declaration of the reckless nuclear war exercises against the DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea] … is a reckless behavior driving the situation into the uncontrollable phase of a nuclear war,” the editorial went on to say, as <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2017/08/20/asia/north-korea-south-korea-us-military-drills/index.html" type="external">cited by CNN</a>.</p>
<p>“The US should pay heed to the statement of the DPRK government that we would not rule out the use of any final means,” Rodong Sinmun warned in another article, <a href="http://www.rodong.rep.kp/en/index.php?strPageID=SF01_02_01&amp;newsID=2017-08-16-0003" type="external">published</a> on Wednesday.&#160;</p>
<p>“Reckless and wild acts of the US can accelerate its final ruin,” it concluded.</p>
<p>Read more</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/usa/399298-trump-north-korea-military-threat/" type="external" /></p>
<p>The Ulchi-Freedom Guardian exercises are held annually, with North Korea saying the drills are nothing but preparation for war. The 2017 wargames, scheduled to take place between August 21 and 31, were planned before the outbreak of the current crisis and won’t be rescheduled, military officials in the South Korean capital, Seoul, told AP last week.&#160;</p>
<p>US President Donald Trump added that he hopes that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un “will find another path.”&#160;</p>
<p>Trump’s comments came a day after US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis <a href="https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/1273247/statement-by-secretary-of-defense-jim-mattis/" type="external">said</a> that Washington and its allies “now possess the most precise, rehearsed and robust defensive and offensive capabilities on Earth.”&#160;</p>
<p>“The DPRK regime’s actions will continue to be grossly overmatched by ours and would lose any arms race or conflict it initiates,” he noted.</p>
<p>Tensions in the region show no sign of abating, escalating following a new round of UN sanctions against North Korea earlier in August, in response to fresh missile tests by Pyongyang.</p>
<p>In July, North Korea claimed to have test-fired two intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM). Russia, however, said that the missiles were intermediate range. In response to the tests, the US and South Korea repeatedly fired surface-to-surface missiles into neutral waters close to Pyongyang.</p>
| 6,223 |
<p>The Russian ambassador to the United Nations on Monday said an unnamed country (“I’m sure you can guess which”) was engaged in a “filibuster attempt” to block a statement condemning the violence in Gaza.</p>
<p>“Several Western diplomats” told <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hVVCS9hjkwQ21vAVWGweMC8yb1nA?docId=5d946d384e8a4063ac9e1be2b7babefc" type="external">The Associated Press</a> on condition of anonymity that the statement, written by the Moroccan delegation, did not lay enough blame for the violence on Gazan rockets.</p>
<p>The Security Council has been a paragon of inaction in the Middle East. Russia may want to halt Israeli bombs in Gaza, but Moscow has steadfastly opposed international engagement in nearby Syria.</p>
<p>U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice is reported to have sided with Israel in a closed-door meeting, although she “deplored the violence.” Rice is rumored to be President Obama’s top choice to succeed Hillary Clinton as secretary of state. Clinton is expected to step down in the second term.</p>
<p />
<p>The <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20391558" type="external">BBC reports</a> that as of Monday, more than 105 people in Gaza have been killed by Israeli airstrikes.</p>
<p>— Posted by <a href="" type="internal">Peter Z. Scheer.</a></p>
|
U.S. May Be 'Filibustering' Security Council Over Gaza
| true |
https://truthdig.com/articles/u-s-may-be-filibustering-security-council-over-gaza/
|
2012-11-20
| 4left
|
U.S. May Be 'Filibustering' Security Council Over Gaza
<p>The Russian ambassador to the United Nations on Monday said an unnamed country (“I’m sure you can guess which”) was engaged in a “filibuster attempt” to block a statement condemning the violence in Gaza.</p>
<p>“Several Western diplomats” told <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hVVCS9hjkwQ21vAVWGweMC8yb1nA?docId=5d946d384e8a4063ac9e1be2b7babefc" type="external">The Associated Press</a> on condition of anonymity that the statement, written by the Moroccan delegation, did not lay enough blame for the violence on Gazan rockets.</p>
<p>The Security Council has been a paragon of inaction in the Middle East. Russia may want to halt Israeli bombs in Gaza, but Moscow has steadfastly opposed international engagement in nearby Syria.</p>
<p>U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice is reported to have sided with Israel in a closed-door meeting, although she “deplored the violence.” Rice is rumored to be President Obama’s top choice to succeed Hillary Clinton as secretary of state. Clinton is expected to step down in the second term.</p>
<p />
<p>The <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20391558" type="external">BBC reports</a> that as of Monday, more than 105 people in Gaza have been killed by Israeli airstrikes.</p>
<p>— Posted by <a href="" type="internal">Peter Z. Scheer.</a></p>
| 6,224 |
<p>In a year of cinematic riches, Variety chief film critics Owen Gleiberman and Peter Debruge may not agree on precisely what films rank as the year’s best (although “ <a href="http://variety.com/t/get-out/" type="external">Get Out</a>” scores pretty high for both), but it’s thrilling to see movies directed by women at the top of each of their lists. Click through to see the critics’ individual justifications for their choices.</p>
<p>Owen Gleiberman’s Top 10 Films of 2017 | <a href="http://variety.com/2017/film/news/owen-gleiberman-top-10-films-2017-lady-bird-get-out-1202634223/" type="external">Read More</a>1. <a href="http://variety.com/t/lady-bird/" type="external">Lady Bird</a>2. <a href="http://variety.com/2017/film/news/sag-awards-nominations-diversity-get-out-1202639143/" type="external">Get Out</a>3. Oklahoma City4. The Florida Project5. The Disaster Artist6. Faces Places7. Logan Lucky8. Call Me by Your Name9. Loveless10. I, Tonya</p>
<p>Peter Debruge’s Top 10 Films of 2017 | <a href="http://variety.com/2017/film/news/peter-debruge-2017-top-10-list-get-out-1202634237/" type="external">Read More</a>1. The Rider2. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri3. Get Out4. Call Me by Your Name5. The Distinguished Citizen6. Blade Runner 20497. The Shape of Water8. The Square9. I, Tonya10. Lost in Paris</p>
<p />
|
The Best Films of 2017
| false |
https://newsline.com/the-best-films-of-2017/
|
2017-12-14
| 1right-center
|
The Best Films of 2017
<p>In a year of cinematic riches, Variety chief film critics Owen Gleiberman and Peter Debruge may not agree on precisely what films rank as the year’s best (although “ <a href="http://variety.com/t/get-out/" type="external">Get Out</a>” scores pretty high for both), but it’s thrilling to see movies directed by women at the top of each of their lists. Click through to see the critics’ individual justifications for their choices.</p>
<p>Owen Gleiberman’s Top 10 Films of 2017 | <a href="http://variety.com/2017/film/news/owen-gleiberman-top-10-films-2017-lady-bird-get-out-1202634223/" type="external">Read More</a>1. <a href="http://variety.com/t/lady-bird/" type="external">Lady Bird</a>2. <a href="http://variety.com/2017/film/news/sag-awards-nominations-diversity-get-out-1202639143/" type="external">Get Out</a>3. Oklahoma City4. The Florida Project5. The Disaster Artist6. Faces Places7. Logan Lucky8. Call Me by Your Name9. Loveless10. I, Tonya</p>
<p>Peter Debruge’s Top 10 Films of 2017 | <a href="http://variety.com/2017/film/news/peter-debruge-2017-top-10-list-get-out-1202634237/" type="external">Read More</a>1. The Rider2. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri3. Get Out4. Call Me by Your Name5. The Distinguished Citizen6. Blade Runner 20497. The Shape of Water8. The Square9. I, Tonya10. Lost in Paris</p>
<p />
| 6,225 |
<p>SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - Two New Mexico lawmakers are proposing a special tax on pet food to raise money for spaying and neutering, but critics are concerned the additional fee could be passed on to consumers and deter pet food companies from doing business with New Mexico.</p>
<p>Democratic State Reps. Carl Trujillo and Debbie Rodella sponsored a bill that would impose an increase on commercial pet food registration fees from $2 per label to $100 per label of food each year, The Santa Fe New Mexican <a href="http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/lawmakers-eye-pet-food-fee-to-fund-spay-neuter-efforts/article_dc4bfef3-6375-51e5-a26f-802bc904038f.html" type="external">reported</a> .</p>
<p>The increase would raise over $800,000 to help impoverished citizens pay to have their dogs and cats spayed and neutered, Trujillo said. He estimates the fund could pay for services for some 8,000 to 10,000 pets annually.</p>
<p>"This is a needed tool to combat an overpopulation of dogs and cats in the state," he said. It also will cut down on the number of pet euthanizations, he added.</p>
<p>But Laura Moore, owner of The Critters and Me pet store in Santa Fe, has concerns.</p>
<p>"This is either going to increase the price of dog and cat food or manufacturers are going to want to stop supplying these foods to New Mexico," she said. "There has to be a better way to facilitate spay and neuter services than having bureaucrats get involved in it."</p>
<p>Robert Likins, vice-president of government affairs for the Virginia-based nonprofit Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council, an animal welfare advocacy group, agrees. Likins said in an email that the bill "is a tax that may be in search of a justification" and will "disproportionately punish smaller businesses and less wealthy pet owners that are less able to absorb the cost."</p>
<p>This year's bill has a five-year sunset clause designed to give state leaders time to see if the bill is successful, Trujillo said. He does not think the bill needs the approval of Gov. Susana Martinez to be considered since it is raising revenues for the state in what is planned as a 30-day session centered around the state's budget.</p>
<p>Several other states, including Maine and Maryland, have passed similar legislation to raise funds for spaying and neutering services.</p>
<p>Efforts to reach Rodella by phone were unsuccessful. She did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment for this story.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: The Santa Fe New Mexican, <a href="http://www.sfnewmexican.com" type="external">http://www.sfnewmexican.com</a></p>
<p>SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - Two New Mexico lawmakers are proposing a special tax on pet food to raise money for spaying and neutering, but critics are concerned the additional fee could be passed on to consumers and deter pet food companies from doing business with New Mexico.</p>
<p>Democratic State Reps. Carl Trujillo and Debbie Rodella sponsored a bill that would impose an increase on commercial pet food registration fees from $2 per label to $100 per label of food each year, The Santa Fe New Mexican <a href="http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/lawmakers-eye-pet-food-fee-to-fund-spay-neuter-efforts/article_dc4bfef3-6375-51e5-a26f-802bc904038f.html" type="external">reported</a> .</p>
<p>The increase would raise over $800,000 to help impoverished citizens pay to have their dogs and cats spayed and neutered, Trujillo said. He estimates the fund could pay for services for some 8,000 to 10,000 pets annually.</p>
<p>"This is a needed tool to combat an overpopulation of dogs and cats in the state," he said. It also will cut down on the number of pet euthanizations, he added.</p>
<p>But Laura Moore, owner of The Critters and Me pet store in Santa Fe, has concerns.</p>
<p>"This is either going to increase the price of dog and cat food or manufacturers are going to want to stop supplying these foods to New Mexico," she said. "There has to be a better way to facilitate spay and neuter services than having bureaucrats get involved in it."</p>
<p>Robert Likins, vice-president of government affairs for the Virginia-based nonprofit Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council, an animal welfare advocacy group, agrees. Likins said in an email that the bill "is a tax that may be in search of a justification" and will "disproportionately punish smaller businesses and less wealthy pet owners that are less able to absorb the cost."</p>
<p>This year's bill has a five-year sunset clause designed to give state leaders time to see if the bill is successful, Trujillo said. He does not think the bill needs the approval of Gov. Susana Martinez to be considered since it is raising revenues for the state in what is planned as a 30-day session centered around the state's budget.</p>
<p>Several other states, including Maine and Maryland, have passed similar legislation to raise funds for spaying and neutering services.</p>
<p>Efforts to reach Rodella by phone were unsuccessful. She did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment for this story.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: The Santa Fe New Mexican, <a href="http://www.sfnewmexican.com" type="external">http://www.sfnewmexican.com</a></p>
|
Lawmakers propose pet food tax to help spay, neuter pets
| false |
https://apnews.com/amp/f7fcf57182d04ecebe4f1962f6285829
|
2018-01-07
| 2least
|
Lawmakers propose pet food tax to help spay, neuter pets
<p>SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - Two New Mexico lawmakers are proposing a special tax on pet food to raise money for spaying and neutering, but critics are concerned the additional fee could be passed on to consumers and deter pet food companies from doing business with New Mexico.</p>
<p>Democratic State Reps. Carl Trujillo and Debbie Rodella sponsored a bill that would impose an increase on commercial pet food registration fees from $2 per label to $100 per label of food each year, The Santa Fe New Mexican <a href="http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/lawmakers-eye-pet-food-fee-to-fund-spay-neuter-efforts/article_dc4bfef3-6375-51e5-a26f-802bc904038f.html" type="external">reported</a> .</p>
<p>The increase would raise over $800,000 to help impoverished citizens pay to have their dogs and cats spayed and neutered, Trujillo said. He estimates the fund could pay for services for some 8,000 to 10,000 pets annually.</p>
<p>"This is a needed tool to combat an overpopulation of dogs and cats in the state," he said. It also will cut down on the number of pet euthanizations, he added.</p>
<p>But Laura Moore, owner of The Critters and Me pet store in Santa Fe, has concerns.</p>
<p>"This is either going to increase the price of dog and cat food or manufacturers are going to want to stop supplying these foods to New Mexico," she said. "There has to be a better way to facilitate spay and neuter services than having bureaucrats get involved in it."</p>
<p>Robert Likins, vice-president of government affairs for the Virginia-based nonprofit Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council, an animal welfare advocacy group, agrees. Likins said in an email that the bill "is a tax that may be in search of a justification" and will "disproportionately punish smaller businesses and less wealthy pet owners that are less able to absorb the cost."</p>
<p>This year's bill has a five-year sunset clause designed to give state leaders time to see if the bill is successful, Trujillo said. He does not think the bill needs the approval of Gov. Susana Martinez to be considered since it is raising revenues for the state in what is planned as a 30-day session centered around the state's budget.</p>
<p>Several other states, including Maine and Maryland, have passed similar legislation to raise funds for spaying and neutering services.</p>
<p>Efforts to reach Rodella by phone were unsuccessful. She did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment for this story.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: The Santa Fe New Mexican, <a href="http://www.sfnewmexican.com" type="external">http://www.sfnewmexican.com</a></p>
<p>SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - Two New Mexico lawmakers are proposing a special tax on pet food to raise money for spaying and neutering, but critics are concerned the additional fee could be passed on to consumers and deter pet food companies from doing business with New Mexico.</p>
<p>Democratic State Reps. Carl Trujillo and Debbie Rodella sponsored a bill that would impose an increase on commercial pet food registration fees from $2 per label to $100 per label of food each year, The Santa Fe New Mexican <a href="http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/lawmakers-eye-pet-food-fee-to-fund-spay-neuter-efforts/article_dc4bfef3-6375-51e5-a26f-802bc904038f.html" type="external">reported</a> .</p>
<p>The increase would raise over $800,000 to help impoverished citizens pay to have their dogs and cats spayed and neutered, Trujillo said. He estimates the fund could pay for services for some 8,000 to 10,000 pets annually.</p>
<p>"This is a needed tool to combat an overpopulation of dogs and cats in the state," he said. It also will cut down on the number of pet euthanizations, he added.</p>
<p>But Laura Moore, owner of The Critters and Me pet store in Santa Fe, has concerns.</p>
<p>"This is either going to increase the price of dog and cat food or manufacturers are going to want to stop supplying these foods to New Mexico," she said. "There has to be a better way to facilitate spay and neuter services than having bureaucrats get involved in it."</p>
<p>Robert Likins, vice-president of government affairs for the Virginia-based nonprofit Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council, an animal welfare advocacy group, agrees. Likins said in an email that the bill "is a tax that may be in search of a justification" and will "disproportionately punish smaller businesses and less wealthy pet owners that are less able to absorb the cost."</p>
<p>This year's bill has a five-year sunset clause designed to give state leaders time to see if the bill is successful, Trujillo said. He does not think the bill needs the approval of Gov. Susana Martinez to be considered since it is raising revenues for the state in what is planned as a 30-day session centered around the state's budget.</p>
<p>Several other states, including Maine and Maryland, have passed similar legislation to raise funds for spaying and neutering services.</p>
<p>Efforts to reach Rodella by phone were unsuccessful. She did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment for this story.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: The Santa Fe New Mexican, <a href="http://www.sfnewmexican.com" type="external">http://www.sfnewmexican.com</a></p>
| 6,226 |
<p>Nov. 27 (UPI) — The Disaster Artist actor-director <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/James_Franco/" type="external">James Franco</a> is to guest host Saturday Night Live Dec. 9, NBC announced Monday.</p>
<p>SZA will provide the musical entertainment for the episode, as well.</p>
<p>On Dec. 16, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle star <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Kevin_Hart/" type="external">Kevin Hart</a> will guest host SNL, while Foo Fighters will take the stage and sing.</p>
<p>Lady Bird lead <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Saoirse_Ronan/" type="external">Saoirse Ronan</a> and U2 were previously announced as this weekend’s guest host and performer.</p>
|
James Franco, Kevin Hart to host 'Saturday Night Live' in December
| false |
https://newsline.com/james-franco-kevin-hart-to-host-saturday-night-live-in-december/
|
2017-11-27
| 1right-center
|
James Franco, Kevin Hart to host 'Saturday Night Live' in December
<p>Nov. 27 (UPI) — The Disaster Artist actor-director <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/James_Franco/" type="external">James Franco</a> is to guest host Saturday Night Live Dec. 9, NBC announced Monday.</p>
<p>SZA will provide the musical entertainment for the episode, as well.</p>
<p>On Dec. 16, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle star <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Kevin_Hart/" type="external">Kevin Hart</a> will guest host SNL, while Foo Fighters will take the stage and sing.</p>
<p>Lady Bird lead <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Saoirse_Ronan/" type="external">Saoirse Ronan</a> and U2 were previously announced as this weekend’s guest host and performer.</p>
| 6,227 |
<p>The Gates Foundation has donated nearly $6M to a promising HIV vaccine study underway at Florida Atlantic University. Via <a href="http://www.upressonline.com/2015/09/scripps-gets-6-million-for-hivaids-vaccine/" type="external">University Press</a>:</p>
<p>The vaccine, created by Scripps Research Institute professor Michael Farzan, has showed consistently effective results after being tested on lab animals. The grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will help fund his research for the next four years. “I’m grateful to the Gates Foundation for its strong support of our research and for its continued commitment to eradicating HIV/AIDS throughout the world,” Farzan said in the news release. The vaccine causes muscle tissue to release proteins that attach to the virus and trick it into thinking it bonded to a human cell. It then floats through the bloodstream, harmless and unable to reproduce. After receiving the vaccine, lab animals were protected from the HIV infection for up to a year.</p>
<p>More from the <a href="https://www.scripps.edu/news/press/2015/20150923farzan.html" type="external">Scripps Institute</a>:</p>
<p>Farzan and colleagues’ breakthrough research received worldwide attention when announced earlier this year in the journal Nature. When the drug candidate, called eCD4-lg, was tested in the laboratory and in animal models, the results were so powerful and universally effective that they suggested the compound’s potential to serve the role of an alternative HIV/AIDS vaccine. The drug candidate offered complete protection of animal models against the virus for up to one year. “Our compound eCD4-Ig is the broadest and most potent entry inhibitor described so far, effective against all strains tested,” Farzan said. “At the end of our research, we expect to have enough evidence to develop a firm foundation to fully evaluate its potential as an alternative vaccine.”</p>
|
Gates Foundation Gives $6M To HIV Vaccine Study
| true |
http://joemygod.com/2015/09/29/gates-foundation-gives-6m-to-hiv-vaccine-study/
|
2015-09-29
| 4left
|
Gates Foundation Gives $6M To HIV Vaccine Study
<p>The Gates Foundation has donated nearly $6M to a promising HIV vaccine study underway at Florida Atlantic University. Via <a href="http://www.upressonline.com/2015/09/scripps-gets-6-million-for-hivaids-vaccine/" type="external">University Press</a>:</p>
<p>The vaccine, created by Scripps Research Institute professor Michael Farzan, has showed consistently effective results after being tested on lab animals. The grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will help fund his research for the next four years. “I’m grateful to the Gates Foundation for its strong support of our research and for its continued commitment to eradicating HIV/AIDS throughout the world,” Farzan said in the news release. The vaccine causes muscle tissue to release proteins that attach to the virus and trick it into thinking it bonded to a human cell. It then floats through the bloodstream, harmless and unable to reproduce. After receiving the vaccine, lab animals were protected from the HIV infection for up to a year.</p>
<p>More from the <a href="https://www.scripps.edu/news/press/2015/20150923farzan.html" type="external">Scripps Institute</a>:</p>
<p>Farzan and colleagues’ breakthrough research received worldwide attention when announced earlier this year in the journal Nature. When the drug candidate, called eCD4-lg, was tested in the laboratory and in animal models, the results were so powerful and universally effective that they suggested the compound’s potential to serve the role of an alternative HIV/AIDS vaccine. The drug candidate offered complete protection of animal models against the virus for up to one year. “Our compound eCD4-Ig is the broadest and most potent entry inhibitor described so far, effective against all strains tested,” Farzan said. “At the end of our research, we expect to have enough evidence to develop a firm foundation to fully evaluate its potential as an alternative vaccine.”</p>
| 6,228 |
<p>Actor <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/14/us-toronto-trespass-idUSTRE78D7RY20110914" type="external">Nicolas Cage</a> told reporters Wednesday that making the movie "Trespass" brought back memories from his own life.</p>
<p>"It was two in the morning. I was living in Orange County at the time and was asleep with my wife. My two-year old at the time was in another room. I opened my eyes and there was a naked man wearing my leather jacket eating a <a href="http://www.hollywood.com/news/The_Daily_Shuffle_Nicholas_Cage_Describes_The_Time_His_Home_Was_Invaded/7839437" type="external">Fudgesicle</a> in front of my bed," he said at the Toronto film festival as he promoted his new thriller.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/canada/110906/toronto-international-film-festival" type="external">Hollyworld: Toronto film festival opens</a></p>
<p>A Fudgesicle is a frozen snack on a stick.</p>
<p>"I know it sounds funny," he told the press, as reported by Reuters, "but it was horrifying."</p>
<p>Cage told reporters he talked the man with the Fudgesicle out of the house, and the police then arrived. The man with the Fudgesicle turned out to have mental problems, and Cage did not press charges. But he also didn't stay living in that house. Cage has since moved to Nassau, Bahamas.</p>
<p>In the thriller movie, thieves con their way into a mansion where Cage's character lives with his family. His wife is played by Nicole Kidman, Reuters reports. The thieves hold the family for ransom, and the plot follows their negotiations.</p>
<p>"Trespass," directed by <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-31749_162-20106807-10391698.html" type="external">Joel Schumacher</a>, is scheduled for release in October.</p>
|
Nicolas Cage: I was awoken by naked man with Fudgesicle
| false |
https://pri.org/stories/2011-09-15/nicolas-cage-i-was-awoken-naked-man-fudgesicle
|
2011-09-15
| 3left-center
|
Nicolas Cage: I was awoken by naked man with Fudgesicle
<p>Actor <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/14/us-toronto-trespass-idUSTRE78D7RY20110914" type="external">Nicolas Cage</a> told reporters Wednesday that making the movie "Trespass" brought back memories from his own life.</p>
<p>"It was two in the morning. I was living in Orange County at the time and was asleep with my wife. My two-year old at the time was in another room. I opened my eyes and there was a naked man wearing my leather jacket eating a <a href="http://www.hollywood.com/news/The_Daily_Shuffle_Nicholas_Cage_Describes_The_Time_His_Home_Was_Invaded/7839437" type="external">Fudgesicle</a> in front of my bed," he said at the Toronto film festival as he promoted his new thriller.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/canada/110906/toronto-international-film-festival" type="external">Hollyworld: Toronto film festival opens</a></p>
<p>A Fudgesicle is a frozen snack on a stick.</p>
<p>"I know it sounds funny," he told the press, as reported by Reuters, "but it was horrifying."</p>
<p>Cage told reporters he talked the man with the Fudgesicle out of the house, and the police then arrived. The man with the Fudgesicle turned out to have mental problems, and Cage did not press charges. But he also didn't stay living in that house. Cage has since moved to Nassau, Bahamas.</p>
<p>In the thriller movie, thieves con their way into a mansion where Cage's character lives with his family. His wife is played by Nicole Kidman, Reuters reports. The thieves hold the family for ransom, and the plot follows their negotiations.</p>
<p>"Trespass," directed by <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-31749_162-20106807-10391698.html" type="external">Joel Schumacher</a>, is scheduled for release in October.</p>
| 6,229 |
<p>Fox and Friends co-host Steve Doocy wondered this morning if Rachel Maddow stole Trump's tax returns and if that made her criminally liable to be sued.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/2017/03/16/trump-weighs-legal-action-against-msnbc-reporter-over-tax-return-release.html" type="external">Fox Business is reporting</a> that Trump is weighing his legal options over his disclosed tax documents on Maddow's program.</p>
<p>Brian Kilmeade opened up the segment by bashing Maddow for promoting a "cliffhanger" of a show and these few pages of Trump's tax returns were suddenly dropped in a professor's box who's spent the last twenty years to get Donald Trump."</p>
<p>Did you know <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Cay_Johnston" type="external">David Clay Johnson's</a> sole mission in life has been to destroy Trump? Neither did we.</p>
<p>Ainsley Earhardt said Trump could have a case because "you're not allowed to print someone's or release someone's tax information without getting their permission. So, is it illegal for her to do this?"</p>
<p>Steve Doocy relayed that Trump's personal attorney believes they violated privacy laws while Trump is angry because "he feels it's stolen and they should not have aired it."</p>
<p>Doocy said a lot of people feel the 1st amendment is on Maddow's side and he took a moment to discuss the Pentagon Papers.</p>
<p>Doocy continued, "You would think the journalists would be shielded, but then again, where did this thing come from?" he said.</p>
<p>Some people say, it was leaked by Trump himself!</p>
<p>"Was it leaked from somebody inside - the suggestion is if Rachel Maddow herself stole it or if that investigative reporter stole it, they would be liable."</p>
<p>Yes, indeed.</p>
<p>That makes sense, doesn't it?</p>
<p>Rachel Maddow put on her cat burglar outfit and scaled Trump Tower (while Obama was listening in on Donald's phone calls) and heisted two whole pages of tax documents from 2005, pages that happened to put Trump in a good light, while leaving the rest of his tax returns behind. Then she scaled back down the building and into her office on 30 Rockefeller Plaza, with no one being the wiser.</p>
<p>Yea, that's the ticket!</p>
<p />
<p />
|
Fox And Friends Wonders If Maddow 'Stole' Trump's Tax Returns
| true |
http://crooksandliars.com/2017/03/fox-and-friends-rachel-stole-taxes
|
2017-03-17
| 4left
|
Fox And Friends Wonders If Maddow 'Stole' Trump's Tax Returns
<p>Fox and Friends co-host Steve Doocy wondered this morning if Rachel Maddow stole Trump's tax returns and if that made her criminally liable to be sued.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/2017/03/16/trump-weighs-legal-action-against-msnbc-reporter-over-tax-return-release.html" type="external">Fox Business is reporting</a> that Trump is weighing his legal options over his disclosed tax documents on Maddow's program.</p>
<p>Brian Kilmeade opened up the segment by bashing Maddow for promoting a "cliffhanger" of a show and these few pages of Trump's tax returns were suddenly dropped in a professor's box who's spent the last twenty years to get Donald Trump."</p>
<p>Did you know <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Cay_Johnston" type="external">David Clay Johnson's</a> sole mission in life has been to destroy Trump? Neither did we.</p>
<p>Ainsley Earhardt said Trump could have a case because "you're not allowed to print someone's or release someone's tax information without getting their permission. So, is it illegal for her to do this?"</p>
<p>Steve Doocy relayed that Trump's personal attorney believes they violated privacy laws while Trump is angry because "he feels it's stolen and they should not have aired it."</p>
<p>Doocy said a lot of people feel the 1st amendment is on Maddow's side and he took a moment to discuss the Pentagon Papers.</p>
<p>Doocy continued, "You would think the journalists would be shielded, but then again, where did this thing come from?" he said.</p>
<p>Some people say, it was leaked by Trump himself!</p>
<p>"Was it leaked from somebody inside - the suggestion is if Rachel Maddow herself stole it or if that investigative reporter stole it, they would be liable."</p>
<p>Yes, indeed.</p>
<p>That makes sense, doesn't it?</p>
<p>Rachel Maddow put on her cat burglar outfit and scaled Trump Tower (while Obama was listening in on Donald's phone calls) and heisted two whole pages of tax documents from 2005, pages that happened to put Trump in a good light, while leaving the rest of his tax returns behind. Then she scaled back down the building and into her office on 30 Rockefeller Plaza, with no one being the wiser.</p>
<p>Yea, that's the ticket!</p>
<p />
<p />
| 6,230 |
<p>The marriage of capitalism and democracy has never been easy. Serious tensions exist between the economic inequalities toward which capitalism tends and the political equality that democracy requires. These tensions are greatest when disparities of income and wealth are most extreme, as they are in the United States compared with other basically democratic countries, but they can be reduced by the vigilant maintenance of legal barriers prohibiting the translation of wealth into political power. Restricting campaign expenditures is one crucial means of doing this. However, for more than two decades now, in the United States, the most important such barriers have been ruled out as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. In 1974, in the aftermath of the Watergate scandal, Congress radically amended the Federal Election Act so as to restrict both campaign contributions and expenditures, but the amendments were eviscerated two years later by the Court's decision in Buckley v. Valeo.</p>
<p />
|
Democracy and the Supreme Coalition
| true |
https://dissentmagazine.org/article/democracy-and-the-supreme-coalition
|
2018-10-05
| 4left
|
Democracy and the Supreme Coalition
<p>The marriage of capitalism and democracy has never been easy. Serious tensions exist between the economic inequalities toward which capitalism tends and the political equality that democracy requires. These tensions are greatest when disparities of income and wealth are most extreme, as they are in the United States compared with other basically democratic countries, but they can be reduced by the vigilant maintenance of legal barriers prohibiting the translation of wealth into political power. Restricting campaign expenditures is one crucial means of doing this. However, for more than two decades now, in the United States, the most important such barriers have been ruled out as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. In 1974, in the aftermath of the Watergate scandal, Congress radically amended the Federal Election Act so as to restrict both campaign contributions and expenditures, but the amendments were eviscerated two years later by the Court's decision in Buckley v. Valeo.</p>
<p />
| 6,231 |
<p>The arguments for attacking Iran are crazy, like those for attacking Iraq in response to 9-11.&#160; But that does not mean such an attack by the American and/or the Israelis will not occur.</p>
<p>Indeed, I think the political pressure for such an attack is increasing.&#160; My reasons for saying this are as follows:</p>
<p>On 11 October, Patrick Seale wrote a very important essay,&#160; <a href="http://www.agenceglobal.com/Article.asp?Id=2659" type="external">Will Israel Bomb Iran</a>.&#160; Seale described secret internal deliberations in the Israeli government over the twin questions of (1) how short a time window existed for Israel to launch a sneak attack on Iran and (2) how to suck in the United States into supporting such an attack, even if an Israeli attack was launched without US approval or if the US was kept in ignorance beforehand? &#160;Seale, who is extremely well connected and very knowledgeable on the Middle Eastern affairs, also reported the Americans knew of the Israeli discussions, and the idea of Israeli decision makers thinking their window of opportunity was closing was causing alarm in Washington.</p>
<p>Seale did not address the speculative question of whether or not Israel, motivated by the opportunities implicit in the US election cycle, was running a ‘perception <a href="" type="internal" /> shaping’ operation on the Obama Administration and/or Obama’s opponents in the Republican party.</p>
<p>Also on 11 October, the US Attorney General Eric Holder held a spectacular press conference announcing the FBI had uncovered an Iranian plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the United States on US soil and to attack embassies of unnamed third countries.&#160; But the story was full of holes, and as I argued <a href="" type="internal">here</a>, it smacked of a botched sting operation or, even worse, a false flag operation, perhaps by the Israelis or the Saudis.&#160; The story quickly lost its traction and vanished, but the impression was planted in a sound-byte-addicted popular psyche.</p>
<p>In November, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) released what Paul Pillar, a retired high-ranking CIA officer, characterized as a <a href="http://nationalinterest.org/print/node/6144" type="external">yawner</a> of a report. &#160;The report vaguely described Iran’s efforts to build a nuclear bomb, and it included an&#160;explosive claim that a former Soviet nuclear weapons scientist helped Iran construct a detonation trigger that could be used for a nuclear weapon. But, as the independent and enterprising investigative journalist Gareth Porter <a href="" type="internal">reported</a>&#160;in CounterPunch, it turned out that this so-called foreign expert, who was not named in the&#160; <a href="" type="internal">IAEA report,</a>&#160;had never worked on nuclear weapons. &#160;He was identified&#160; as Vyacheslav Danilenko, a Ukrainian, who is one of the top specialists in the world in the production of nanodiamonds by explosives. &#160;This finding lead Porter to question whether the Israelis had provided the IAEA with false information.&#160;Nevertheless, despite Porter’s industriousness, the IAEA’s yawner had planted another subtle impression in the popular psyche, which like the aforementioned plot to kill the Saudi ambassador can be regurgitated repeatedly, when needed for stoking passion with the faux news cycle.</p>
<p>Now, in another important essay, <a href="http://nationalinterest.org/blog/paul-pillar/feeble-pushback-the-pro-war-crowd-6234" type="external">Feeble Pushback From the Prowar Crowd</a>, Paul Pillar describes how, in early December, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta tried to inject a dose of reality into the irrational ‘let’s bomb Iran’ debate at the pro-Israel Saban Center for Middle Eastern Policy&#160;[1].&#160; Piller describes in detail how Panetta thoroughly demolished the arguments for launching a preemptive attack on Iran with the aim of destroying Iran’s nuclear weapons program, whatever that is. Of course, Panetta’s dissection of this foolishness does not make for snappy soundbytes and is likely to disappear in the electronic ether.</p>
<p>Not surprisingly, Pillar ended his argument on a pessimistic note by saying the power of Panetta’s analysis may not make a difference.</p>
<p>While Pillar did not say so explicitly, he implied the reason why Panetta’s logic may not prevail is one Joseph Goebbels would have recognized instantly:&#160; The name of the game is to condition the public mind: &#160;By repeating an outrageous narrative loud enough and often enough, the pro-war faction may succeed in getting their war. &#160;That is because people will begin to absorb the false and misleading narrative into their subconscious Orientation (i.e., the filter through which they interpret their Observations of unfolding and often ambiguous and sometimes threatening circumstances), and when this subliminal shaping operation is successful, the desired Decisions and Actions will follow naturally and spontaneously, without coercion.</p>
<p>That is how you use what Hitler called ‘good wholesome fear’ to hijack&#160;popular OODA loops in the irrational electronic echo chamber of Amerika’s irrational post-information culture [2].</p>
<p>Franklin “Chuck” Spinney&#160;is a former military analyst for the Pentagon and&#160;a contributor to&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Hopeless: Barack Obama and the Politics of Illusion</a>, forthcoming from AK Press. He&#160;be reached at&#160; <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>Notes.&#160;</p>
<p>[1]&#160; The Saban Center was founded by the Haim Saban who has retained very close ties to Israel even though he has lived in the United States for the past thirty years.&#160; According to a 10 May 2010 <a href="" type="internal">profile</a> in the New Yorker, Saban says his greatest concern is protect Israel by strengthening the US-Israeli relationship, and his strategy for achieving this is threefold: making large donations to political parties, establishing thinktanks, and controlling media outlets.</p>
<p>[2]&#160; The process, power, and effectiveness of ‘hijacking’ OODA loops is explained <a href="" type="internal">here</a>.</p>
|
Why the US & Israel May Agree to Bombing Iran
| true |
https://counterpunch.org/2011/12/12/why-the-us-israel-may-agree-to-bombing-iran/
|
2011-12-12
| 4left
|
Why the US & Israel May Agree to Bombing Iran
<p>The arguments for attacking Iran are crazy, like those for attacking Iraq in response to 9-11.&#160; But that does not mean such an attack by the American and/or the Israelis will not occur.</p>
<p>Indeed, I think the political pressure for such an attack is increasing.&#160; My reasons for saying this are as follows:</p>
<p>On 11 October, Patrick Seale wrote a very important essay,&#160; <a href="http://www.agenceglobal.com/Article.asp?Id=2659" type="external">Will Israel Bomb Iran</a>.&#160; Seale described secret internal deliberations in the Israeli government over the twin questions of (1) how short a time window existed for Israel to launch a sneak attack on Iran and (2) how to suck in the United States into supporting such an attack, even if an Israeli attack was launched without US approval or if the US was kept in ignorance beforehand? &#160;Seale, who is extremely well connected and very knowledgeable on the Middle Eastern affairs, also reported the Americans knew of the Israeli discussions, and the idea of Israeli decision makers thinking their window of opportunity was closing was causing alarm in Washington.</p>
<p>Seale did not address the speculative question of whether or not Israel, motivated by the opportunities implicit in the US election cycle, was running a ‘perception <a href="" type="internal" /> shaping’ operation on the Obama Administration and/or Obama’s opponents in the Republican party.</p>
<p>Also on 11 October, the US Attorney General Eric Holder held a spectacular press conference announcing the FBI had uncovered an Iranian plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the United States on US soil and to attack embassies of unnamed third countries.&#160; But the story was full of holes, and as I argued <a href="" type="internal">here</a>, it smacked of a botched sting operation or, even worse, a false flag operation, perhaps by the Israelis or the Saudis.&#160; The story quickly lost its traction and vanished, but the impression was planted in a sound-byte-addicted popular psyche.</p>
<p>In November, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) released what Paul Pillar, a retired high-ranking CIA officer, characterized as a <a href="http://nationalinterest.org/print/node/6144" type="external">yawner</a> of a report. &#160;The report vaguely described Iran’s efforts to build a nuclear bomb, and it included an&#160;explosive claim that a former Soviet nuclear weapons scientist helped Iran construct a detonation trigger that could be used for a nuclear weapon. But, as the independent and enterprising investigative journalist Gareth Porter <a href="" type="internal">reported</a>&#160;in CounterPunch, it turned out that this so-called foreign expert, who was not named in the&#160; <a href="" type="internal">IAEA report,</a>&#160;had never worked on nuclear weapons. &#160;He was identified&#160; as Vyacheslav Danilenko, a Ukrainian, who is one of the top specialists in the world in the production of nanodiamonds by explosives. &#160;This finding lead Porter to question whether the Israelis had provided the IAEA with false information.&#160;Nevertheless, despite Porter’s industriousness, the IAEA’s yawner had planted another subtle impression in the popular psyche, which like the aforementioned plot to kill the Saudi ambassador can be regurgitated repeatedly, when needed for stoking passion with the faux news cycle.</p>
<p>Now, in another important essay, <a href="http://nationalinterest.org/blog/paul-pillar/feeble-pushback-the-pro-war-crowd-6234" type="external">Feeble Pushback From the Prowar Crowd</a>, Paul Pillar describes how, in early December, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta tried to inject a dose of reality into the irrational ‘let’s bomb Iran’ debate at the pro-Israel Saban Center for Middle Eastern Policy&#160;[1].&#160; Piller describes in detail how Panetta thoroughly demolished the arguments for launching a preemptive attack on Iran with the aim of destroying Iran’s nuclear weapons program, whatever that is. Of course, Panetta’s dissection of this foolishness does not make for snappy soundbytes and is likely to disappear in the electronic ether.</p>
<p>Not surprisingly, Pillar ended his argument on a pessimistic note by saying the power of Panetta’s analysis may not make a difference.</p>
<p>While Pillar did not say so explicitly, he implied the reason why Panetta’s logic may not prevail is one Joseph Goebbels would have recognized instantly:&#160; The name of the game is to condition the public mind: &#160;By repeating an outrageous narrative loud enough and often enough, the pro-war faction may succeed in getting their war. &#160;That is because people will begin to absorb the false and misleading narrative into their subconscious Orientation (i.e., the filter through which they interpret their Observations of unfolding and often ambiguous and sometimes threatening circumstances), and when this subliminal shaping operation is successful, the desired Decisions and Actions will follow naturally and spontaneously, without coercion.</p>
<p>That is how you use what Hitler called ‘good wholesome fear’ to hijack&#160;popular OODA loops in the irrational electronic echo chamber of Amerika’s irrational post-information culture [2].</p>
<p>Franklin “Chuck” Spinney&#160;is a former military analyst for the Pentagon and&#160;a contributor to&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Hopeless: Barack Obama and the Politics of Illusion</a>, forthcoming from AK Press. He&#160;be reached at&#160; <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>Notes.&#160;</p>
<p>[1]&#160; The Saban Center was founded by the Haim Saban who has retained very close ties to Israel even though he has lived in the United States for the past thirty years.&#160; According to a 10 May 2010 <a href="" type="internal">profile</a> in the New Yorker, Saban says his greatest concern is protect Israel by strengthening the US-Israeli relationship, and his strategy for achieving this is threefold: making large donations to political parties, establishing thinktanks, and controlling media outlets.</p>
<p>[2]&#160; The process, power, and effectiveness of ‘hijacking’ OODA loops is explained <a href="" type="internal">here</a>.</p>
| 6,232 |
<p>Ivanka Trump enjoys what someone from that family would consider the “finer” things in life: <a href="" type="internal">vacationing with a Russian dictator’s rumored girlfriend</a>, taking <a href="http://hollywoodlife.com/2016/02/02/ivanka-donald-trump-throwback-photo-daughter/" type="external">creepy and inappropriate photos</a>with daddy, <a href="http://winningdemocrats.com/watch-what-trump-says-he-has-most-in-common-with-daughter-ivanka-is-just-nasty-video/" type="external">probably f*cking the 2016 GOP nominee</a> ( <a href="http://www.mediaite.com/online/donald-trump-wont-stop-joking-about-banging-his-daughter/" type="external">seriously</a>), and Lady Grey brand ear cuffs, apparently. Unfortunately for her, <a href="http://theslot.jezebel.com/ivanka-trump-tries-to-order-an-ear-cuff-gets-owned-pre-1785408860" type="external">Lady Grey doesn’t much like her</a>.</p>
<p>Trump ordered a&#160;gold-plated ear cuff, <a href="http://www.ladygreyjewelry.com/collections/shop/products/helix-ear-cuff-in-gold" type="external">a piece of jewelry</a> that makes it appear that&#160;the wearer gets fashion tips directly from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xena" type="external">Xena the warrior princess</a>, from the popular indie brand. Upon receipt of Ivanka’s order for the $84 ear shield, the company worked diligently to fulfill the order, even including a special little gift for The Donald’s daughter: a classy&#160; <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BJLlOqahXtc/" type="external">handwritten note</a> from the company’s founders.</p>
<p />
<p>“Dear Ivanka, Thank you so much for your web order!” the note begins. Then it quickly turns biting:</p>
<p>“We’re happy to let you know that the proceeds of your sale have been generously donated to the American Immigration Council, the Everytown for Gun Safety organization, and the Hillary Clinton campaign. We hope you enjoy your new Lady Grey #helixearcuff. Best, Jill + Sabine.”</p>
<p>“The note was included in her package and shipped last week directly from our studio in Brooklyn.,” Martinelli told <a href="http://nymag.com/thecut/2016/08/ivanka-trump-lady-grey-jewelry-open-letter.html" type="external">The Cut</a>. “While we were flattered to receive an order from Ivanka Trump, our social and political views couldn’t be further from those of the Trump campaign. When we received her order, we instantly felt compelled to take the money and donate it to a few organizations that were more aligned with our ideals.”</p>
<p>Hopefully, Ivanka enjoys her piece of ear jewelry. We’re sure Everytown and the American Immigration Council are happy with the money.</p>
<p>Featured image via Instagram/Getty Images(Jeff J. Mitchell)</p>
|
Ivanka Trump Ordered Some Jewelry And Got OWNED By The Company’s Founders
| true |
http://addictinginfo.org/2016/08/17/ivanka-trump-ordered-some-jewelry-and-got-owned-by-the-companys-founders/
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2016-08-17
| 4left
|
Ivanka Trump Ordered Some Jewelry And Got OWNED By The Company’s Founders
<p>Ivanka Trump enjoys what someone from that family would consider the “finer” things in life: <a href="" type="internal">vacationing with a Russian dictator’s rumored girlfriend</a>, taking <a href="http://hollywoodlife.com/2016/02/02/ivanka-donald-trump-throwback-photo-daughter/" type="external">creepy and inappropriate photos</a>with daddy, <a href="http://winningdemocrats.com/watch-what-trump-says-he-has-most-in-common-with-daughter-ivanka-is-just-nasty-video/" type="external">probably f*cking the 2016 GOP nominee</a> ( <a href="http://www.mediaite.com/online/donald-trump-wont-stop-joking-about-banging-his-daughter/" type="external">seriously</a>), and Lady Grey brand ear cuffs, apparently. Unfortunately for her, <a href="http://theslot.jezebel.com/ivanka-trump-tries-to-order-an-ear-cuff-gets-owned-pre-1785408860" type="external">Lady Grey doesn’t much like her</a>.</p>
<p>Trump ordered a&#160;gold-plated ear cuff, <a href="http://www.ladygreyjewelry.com/collections/shop/products/helix-ear-cuff-in-gold" type="external">a piece of jewelry</a> that makes it appear that&#160;the wearer gets fashion tips directly from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xena" type="external">Xena the warrior princess</a>, from the popular indie brand. Upon receipt of Ivanka’s order for the $84 ear shield, the company worked diligently to fulfill the order, even including a special little gift for The Donald’s daughter: a classy&#160; <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BJLlOqahXtc/" type="external">handwritten note</a> from the company’s founders.</p>
<p />
<p>“Dear Ivanka, Thank you so much for your web order!” the note begins. Then it quickly turns biting:</p>
<p>“We’re happy to let you know that the proceeds of your sale have been generously donated to the American Immigration Council, the Everytown for Gun Safety organization, and the Hillary Clinton campaign. We hope you enjoy your new Lady Grey #helixearcuff. Best, Jill + Sabine.”</p>
<p>“The note was included in her package and shipped last week directly from our studio in Brooklyn.,” Martinelli told <a href="http://nymag.com/thecut/2016/08/ivanka-trump-lady-grey-jewelry-open-letter.html" type="external">The Cut</a>. “While we were flattered to receive an order from Ivanka Trump, our social and political views couldn’t be further from those of the Trump campaign. When we received her order, we instantly felt compelled to take the money and donate it to a few organizations that were more aligned with our ideals.”</p>
<p>Hopefully, Ivanka enjoys her piece of ear jewelry. We’re sure Everytown and the American Immigration Council are happy with the money.</p>
<p>Featured image via Instagram/Getty Images(Jeff J. Mitchell)</p>
| 6,233 |
<p />
<p>Image source: Amicus Therapeutics.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>What: Shares of Amicus Therapeutics , a biotechnology company at the forefront of rare and orphan diseases, slumped 14% last monthaccording to data from <a href="http://www.spcapitaliq.com/" type="external">S&amp;P Global Market Intelligence Opens a New Window.</a>. Despite beginning the month with with a positive opinion from European regulators, the stock gave back much of the previous month's gains.</p>
<p>So what:In March, Amicus stock <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/04/12/what-caused-amicus-therapeutics-shares-to-skyrocke.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">skyrocketed Opens a New Window.</a>23% after the company reported some positive late-stage data for its lead candidate,migalastat, for the treatment ofsome patients with Fabry disease. This disease is caused by a number of possible genetic mutations in the gene that produces alpha-galactosidase A, an enzyme vital to transport and storage of certain glycolipidswithin cells. A lack of the enzyme leads to widespread tissue damage, and left untreated it typically leads to an early and painful death at around 40 to 50 years of age.</p>
<p>In the U.S., the current standard of treatment is Sanofi's Fabrazyme, which is basically an enzyme replacement therapy that requires intravenous infusions every other week.As you can imagine, the infusions are horribly inconvenient.</p>
<p>Amicus' migalastatis apill, designed to basically restore function to certain Fabry patients' existing enzyme, alpha-gal A,and get it to work, rather than replacing it. Last month, the shares climbed when the company reported a significant reduction of one of the glycolipids alpha-gal A is supposed to remove from certain cells in an 11-patient trial, among other studies.</p>
<p>Without any other news to drag the stock down, I imagine investors spent April digesting the data and realized it's difficult to draw conclusions from such small studies.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Now what: Another reason this stock bounces around so much is that the addressable global patient population is poorly understood.In the U.S., there are an estimated 3,000 men with the disease,but the company has been somewhat cagey about when it intends to file an application with the FDA.</p>
<p>While the European Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use gave it a positive opinion, the European Commission doesn't necessarily need to follow it -- although it usually does.</p>
<p>News of the positive opinion probably failed to lift the stock because in addition to Sanofi's Fabrazyme, if approved it will also contend with Shire's Replagal -- another enzyme-replacement therapy the FDA refused to approve without additional data, but available in the EU.</p>
<p>Amicus estimates the market potential of each of its three clinical-stage candidates at between $500 million to over $1 billion.Even at the low end that's awfully generous, given that nobody's sure what percentage of Fabry patients are amenable to migalastat therapy in the first place. Amicus' own estimates range between 30% and 50%of the overall Fabry population.</p>
<p>Although there's no particular reason for Amicus stock's slump in April, you can certainly expect more volatility ahead.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/05/10/why-amicus-therapeutics-inc-stock-slumped-140-in-a.aspx" type="external">Why Amicus Therapeutics, Inc. Stock Slumped 14.0% in April Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/crenauer/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Cory Renauer Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. You can follow Cory on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/follow?screen_name=coryrenauer" type="external">@coryrenauer Opens a New Window.</a> or connect with him on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/coryrenauer" type="external">LinkedIn Opens a New Window.</a> for more healthcare industry insight. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://wiki.fool.com/Motley?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/help/index.htm?display=about02" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
|
Why Amicus Therapeutics, Inc. Stock Slumped 14.0% in April
| true |
http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/05/10/why-amicus-therapeutics-inc-stock-slumped-140-in-april.html
|
2016-05-10
| 0right
|
Why Amicus Therapeutics, Inc. Stock Slumped 14.0% in April
<p />
<p>Image source: Amicus Therapeutics.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>What: Shares of Amicus Therapeutics , a biotechnology company at the forefront of rare and orphan diseases, slumped 14% last monthaccording to data from <a href="http://www.spcapitaliq.com/" type="external">S&amp;P Global Market Intelligence Opens a New Window.</a>. Despite beginning the month with with a positive opinion from European regulators, the stock gave back much of the previous month's gains.</p>
<p>So what:In March, Amicus stock <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/04/12/what-caused-amicus-therapeutics-shares-to-skyrocke.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">skyrocketed Opens a New Window.</a>23% after the company reported some positive late-stage data for its lead candidate,migalastat, for the treatment ofsome patients with Fabry disease. This disease is caused by a number of possible genetic mutations in the gene that produces alpha-galactosidase A, an enzyme vital to transport and storage of certain glycolipidswithin cells. A lack of the enzyme leads to widespread tissue damage, and left untreated it typically leads to an early and painful death at around 40 to 50 years of age.</p>
<p>In the U.S., the current standard of treatment is Sanofi's Fabrazyme, which is basically an enzyme replacement therapy that requires intravenous infusions every other week.As you can imagine, the infusions are horribly inconvenient.</p>
<p>Amicus' migalastatis apill, designed to basically restore function to certain Fabry patients' existing enzyme, alpha-gal A,and get it to work, rather than replacing it. Last month, the shares climbed when the company reported a significant reduction of one of the glycolipids alpha-gal A is supposed to remove from certain cells in an 11-patient trial, among other studies.</p>
<p>Without any other news to drag the stock down, I imagine investors spent April digesting the data and realized it's difficult to draw conclusions from such small studies.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Now what: Another reason this stock bounces around so much is that the addressable global patient population is poorly understood.In the U.S., there are an estimated 3,000 men with the disease,but the company has been somewhat cagey about when it intends to file an application with the FDA.</p>
<p>While the European Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use gave it a positive opinion, the European Commission doesn't necessarily need to follow it -- although it usually does.</p>
<p>News of the positive opinion probably failed to lift the stock because in addition to Sanofi's Fabrazyme, if approved it will also contend with Shire's Replagal -- another enzyme-replacement therapy the FDA refused to approve without additional data, but available in the EU.</p>
<p>Amicus estimates the market potential of each of its three clinical-stage candidates at between $500 million to over $1 billion.Even at the low end that's awfully generous, given that nobody's sure what percentage of Fabry patients are amenable to migalastat therapy in the first place. Amicus' own estimates range between 30% and 50%of the overall Fabry population.</p>
<p>Although there's no particular reason for Amicus stock's slump in April, you can certainly expect more volatility ahead.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/05/10/why-amicus-therapeutics-inc-stock-slumped-140-in-a.aspx" type="external">Why Amicus Therapeutics, Inc. Stock Slumped 14.0% in April Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/crenauer/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Cory Renauer Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. You can follow Cory on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/follow?screen_name=coryrenauer" type="external">@coryrenauer Opens a New Window.</a> or connect with him on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/coryrenauer" type="external">LinkedIn Opens a New Window.</a> for more healthcare industry insight. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://wiki.fool.com/Motley?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/help/index.htm?display=about02" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
| 6,234 |
<p>Imran Khan was one of the greatest cricketers of the 20th century.</p>
<p>Then in 1996 he went into politics in his native Pakistan.</p>
<p>Since then Khan struggled to build up a base.</p>
<p>Finally last year he started to gain some real traction, with his outspoken condemnation of the United States' war in neighboring Afghanistan, and U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan's tribal areas.</p>
<p>Khan hopes to win power in elections due in the next 6 months, and most observers had expected him to at least gain a substantial block of seats in parliament.</p>
<p>Then came the Taliban's shooting of 14 year old activist, Malala Yousufzai, last Tuesday.</p>
<p>That crime has sparked a wave of criticism across Pakistan, and disgust with the Taliban.</p>
<p>Imran Khan went to her bedside in a Peshawar hospital the next day.</p>
<p>But at a press conference afterward, the former cricket superstar said something extraordinary.</p>
<p>Khan condemned her attempted murder, but he refused to pin the blame on the Taliban, even though the Pakistani Taliban have claimed responsibility.</p>
<p>And he said the people who are fighting in Afghanistan against foreign occupation are fighting a jihad.</p>
<p>In other words, the Taliban are fighting a holy war justified by Islamic law.</p>
<p>The Afghan Taliban is separate from the Pakistani Taliban, but they are allied.</p>
<p>"One of his nicknames is 'Taliban Khan'," says Jon Boone, Pakistan correspondent for the British paper, The Guardian.</p>
<p>"People say he's too soft on the Taliban," Boone says, "too willing to make excuses for them."</p>
<p>"We're waiting to see whether this public reaction to the attempted killing of Malala Yousufzai is a flash in the pan," says Boone. "If it sticks," he adds, then this openness to the Taliban "just won't wash."</p>
|
"Taliban" Khan in Trouble over Girl Shooting
| false |
https://pri.org/stories/2012-10-15/taliban-khan-trouble-over-girl-shooting
|
2012-10-15
| 3left-center
|
"Taliban" Khan in Trouble over Girl Shooting
<p>Imran Khan was one of the greatest cricketers of the 20th century.</p>
<p>Then in 1996 he went into politics in his native Pakistan.</p>
<p>Since then Khan struggled to build up a base.</p>
<p>Finally last year he started to gain some real traction, with his outspoken condemnation of the United States' war in neighboring Afghanistan, and U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan's tribal areas.</p>
<p>Khan hopes to win power in elections due in the next 6 months, and most observers had expected him to at least gain a substantial block of seats in parliament.</p>
<p>Then came the Taliban's shooting of 14 year old activist, Malala Yousufzai, last Tuesday.</p>
<p>That crime has sparked a wave of criticism across Pakistan, and disgust with the Taliban.</p>
<p>Imran Khan went to her bedside in a Peshawar hospital the next day.</p>
<p>But at a press conference afterward, the former cricket superstar said something extraordinary.</p>
<p>Khan condemned her attempted murder, but he refused to pin the blame on the Taliban, even though the Pakistani Taliban have claimed responsibility.</p>
<p>And he said the people who are fighting in Afghanistan against foreign occupation are fighting a jihad.</p>
<p>In other words, the Taliban are fighting a holy war justified by Islamic law.</p>
<p>The Afghan Taliban is separate from the Pakistani Taliban, but they are allied.</p>
<p>"One of his nicknames is 'Taliban Khan'," says Jon Boone, Pakistan correspondent for the British paper, The Guardian.</p>
<p>"People say he's too soft on the Taliban," Boone says, "too willing to make excuses for them."</p>
<p>"We're waiting to see whether this public reaction to the attempted killing of Malala Yousufzai is a flash in the pan," says Boone. "If it sticks," he adds, then this openness to the Taliban "just won't wash."</p>
| 6,235 |
<p>NEW YORK (Reuters) – M&amp;T Bank’s chairman and chief executive officer, Robert Wilmers, died on Saturday night at home after nearly 35 years leading the Buffalo, New York-based company, the bank said on Sunday.</p>
<p>Wilmers, 83, was succeeded by Robert Brady, the bank’s lead outside director who assumed the position of non-executive chairman, according to a statement from the bank.</p>
<p>The bank’s three vice chairmen, Richard Gold, Rene Jones and Kevin Pearson (LON:), will oversee M&amp;T Bank’s daily operations.</p>
<p>Wilmer oversaw massive growth in the bank’s assets, which rose to $120 billion in 2017 from $2 billion when he took over in 1983. He also spearheaded a regional expansion that took the bank to nearly 800 branches across the eastern United States from about 50 in one state.</p>
<p>In a statement from the bank, Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:) CEO and M&amp;T shareholder Warren Buffett described Wilmer as “a remarkable banker … and a wonderful friend.”</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>
|
M&T Bank's CEO Robert Wilmers dies: bank
| false |
https://newsline.com/mampt-bank039s-ceo-robert-wilmers-dies-bank/
|
2017-12-17
| 1right-center
|
M&T Bank's CEO Robert Wilmers dies: bank
<p>NEW YORK (Reuters) – M&amp;T Bank’s chairman and chief executive officer, Robert Wilmers, died on Saturday night at home after nearly 35 years leading the Buffalo, New York-based company, the bank said on Sunday.</p>
<p>Wilmers, 83, was succeeded by Robert Brady, the bank’s lead outside director who assumed the position of non-executive chairman, according to a statement from the bank.</p>
<p>The bank’s three vice chairmen, Richard Gold, Rene Jones and Kevin Pearson (LON:), will oversee M&amp;T Bank’s daily operations.</p>
<p>Wilmer oversaw massive growth in the bank’s assets, which rose to $120 billion in 2017 from $2 billion when he took over in 1983. He also spearheaded a regional expansion that took the bank to nearly 800 branches across the eastern United States from about 50 in one state.</p>
<p>In a statement from the bank, Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:) CEO and M&amp;T shareholder Warren Buffett described Wilmer as “a remarkable banker … and a wonderful friend.”</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>
| 6,236 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>SANTA FE, N.M. — The classical composer who was commissioned to turn one of Taos author’s Frank Waters books into an opera, has died, The New York Times reported.</p>
<p>Stephen Paulus, 65, died Sunday in Minnesota of complications from a stroke, the newspaper reported. Paulus was commissioned in 1991 to turn Waters’ 1966 book “The Woman at Otowi Crossing” into an opera for the Opera Theatre of St. Louis. The book dealt with the development of the atomic bomb at Los Alamos during the Manhattan Project and a woman who ran a tea room frequented by Manhattan Project scientists and the visions she had of a mushroom cloud.</p>
<p>The opera premiered in St. Louis in June 15, 1995 just 12 days after Waters died and his widow Barbara was in attendance. Waters had looked forward to being there. The premier coincided with 50th anniversary of the dropping of the A-bomb on Hiroshima . The Albuquerque Journal covered opening night.</p>
<p>Paulus was commissioned by Opera Theatre of St. Louis to write four other operas including an adaptation of James M. Cain’s 1934 novel “The Postman Always Rings Twice,” which premiered in 1982.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
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Composer who adapted Taos author’s book into an opera, dies
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/485681/composer-who-adapted-taos-authors-book-into-an-opera-dies.html
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Composer who adapted Taos author’s book into an opera, dies
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>SANTA FE, N.M. — The classical composer who was commissioned to turn one of Taos author’s Frank Waters books into an opera, has died, The New York Times reported.</p>
<p>Stephen Paulus, 65, died Sunday in Minnesota of complications from a stroke, the newspaper reported. Paulus was commissioned in 1991 to turn Waters’ 1966 book “The Woman at Otowi Crossing” into an opera for the Opera Theatre of St. Louis. The book dealt with the development of the atomic bomb at Los Alamos during the Manhattan Project and a woman who ran a tea room frequented by Manhattan Project scientists and the visions she had of a mushroom cloud.</p>
<p>The opera premiered in St. Louis in June 15, 1995 just 12 days after Waters died and his widow Barbara was in attendance. Waters had looked forward to being there. The premier coincided with 50th anniversary of the dropping of the A-bomb on Hiroshima . The Albuquerque Journal covered opening night.</p>
<p>Paulus was commissioned by Opera Theatre of St. Louis to write four other operas including an adaptation of James M. Cain’s 1934 novel “The Postman Always Rings Twice,” which premiered in 1982.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
| 6,237 |
|
<p>People in Hawaii and their friends and relatives across the US endured 38 minutes of horror after an “accidental” warning of an incoming missile sent them running for shelter, with many sending their goodbyes to loved ones.</p>
<p>The emergency alert issued by Hawaii Civil Defense on Saturday sparked panic and confusion, both on the ground and on social media. It took the agency more than half an hour to send out a correction, while officials scrambled to apologize for the “human error” and assure people there was in fact no threat.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/usa/415838-hawaii-false-missile-alert/" type="external">READ MORE: ‘Whole state was terrified’: Hawaii urges ‘tough &amp; quick’ reprisal for bogus missile alert</a></p>
<p>But for many those reassurances came much too late, as locals were already clamoring for shelter anywhere they could find it, including storm drains, bathtubs and basements.</p>
<p>Students running for shelter at University of Hawaii at Manoa were <a href="https://twitter.com/_JoeWalker" type="external">filmed</a> by Joe Walker, who posted the footage on Twitter.</p>
<p>Meanwhile others rushed to contact their relatives to bid farewell in case the worst should happen. A resident of San Diego posted audio of a voicemail and pictures of text messages left by her mother and brothers at the height of the incident. Remaining calm throughout the voice message, the poster’s mother says: “We just got a notice saying that a missile, a threat was coming this way – “it’s not a drill. Take cover.” There’s really not a lot we can do. But if it’s real and we’re gone, I just want to say I love you.”</p>
<p>Here’s the (remarkably calm in hindsight) voicemail I woke up to from my mom in Hawaii and the texts my brother received. When the message started I braced for bad news about a family member but then went numb with shock and started frantically googling as I called her back <a href="https://t.co/uv2tAOld5B" type="external">pic.twitter.com/uv2tAOld5B</a></p>
<p>— ᴥ (@emspeak) <a href="https://twitter.com/emspeak/status/952302222649442304?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" type="external">January 13, 2018</a></p>
<p>Others however seemed to resign themselves to their fate, like a father who left a goodbye message for his family while out on the golf course. His daughter, Alohi Gardner, posted the video, in which her father claims to have earned a par on his last hole in the aftermath of Saturday’s false alarm.&#160;</p>
|
Hawaiians run for shelter, leave messages for loved ones after ‘accidental’ missile alert (VIDEOS)
| false |
https://newsline.com/hawaiians-run-for-shelter-leave-messages-for-loved-ones-after-accidental-missile-alert-videos/
|
2018-01-14
| 1right-center
|
Hawaiians run for shelter, leave messages for loved ones after ‘accidental’ missile alert (VIDEOS)
<p>People in Hawaii and their friends and relatives across the US endured 38 minutes of horror after an “accidental” warning of an incoming missile sent them running for shelter, with many sending their goodbyes to loved ones.</p>
<p>The emergency alert issued by Hawaii Civil Defense on Saturday sparked panic and confusion, both on the ground and on social media. It took the agency more than half an hour to send out a correction, while officials scrambled to apologize for the “human error” and assure people there was in fact no threat.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/usa/415838-hawaii-false-missile-alert/" type="external">READ MORE: ‘Whole state was terrified’: Hawaii urges ‘tough &amp; quick’ reprisal for bogus missile alert</a></p>
<p>But for many those reassurances came much too late, as locals were already clamoring for shelter anywhere they could find it, including storm drains, bathtubs and basements.</p>
<p>Students running for shelter at University of Hawaii at Manoa were <a href="https://twitter.com/_JoeWalker" type="external">filmed</a> by Joe Walker, who posted the footage on Twitter.</p>
<p>Meanwhile others rushed to contact their relatives to bid farewell in case the worst should happen. A resident of San Diego posted audio of a voicemail and pictures of text messages left by her mother and brothers at the height of the incident. Remaining calm throughout the voice message, the poster’s mother says: “We just got a notice saying that a missile, a threat was coming this way – “it’s not a drill. Take cover.” There’s really not a lot we can do. But if it’s real and we’re gone, I just want to say I love you.”</p>
<p>Here’s the (remarkably calm in hindsight) voicemail I woke up to from my mom in Hawaii and the texts my brother received. When the message started I braced for bad news about a family member but then went numb with shock and started frantically googling as I called her back <a href="https://t.co/uv2tAOld5B" type="external">pic.twitter.com/uv2tAOld5B</a></p>
<p>— ᴥ (@emspeak) <a href="https://twitter.com/emspeak/status/952302222649442304?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" type="external">January 13, 2018</a></p>
<p>Others however seemed to resign themselves to their fate, like a father who left a goodbye message for his family while out on the golf course. His daughter, Alohi Gardner, posted the video, in which her father claims to have earned a par on his last hole in the aftermath of Saturday’s false alarm.&#160;</p>
| 6,238 |
<p>Former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon criticized the members of the Trump campaign who took meetings with Russians in a recent interview with Charlie Rose.</p>
<p>Twice in the interview, which aired in two parts on 60 Minutes and The Charlie Rose Show, Bannon references meetings members of the campaign took in an effort to get information on former Secretary of State and Democratic nominee for president Hillary Clinton. In both instances, Bannon brings up the “meetings” without being asked, according to a transcript of the full interview obtained by ThinkProgress.</p>
<p>“You know, I don’t know why people had to have meetings with other countries. I thought there was more than enough there,” Bannon says when he is asked by Rose about the “lock her up” chants that became popular at Trump rallies during the campaign.</p>
<p>Later in the interview, Rose asks Bannon what kind of impact he thinks James Comey had on Trump’s win.</p>
<p>“Totally, totally irrelevant,” Bannon says. “[Comey] maybe reinforced a little bit her corruption, but it was irrelevant, the emails.”</p>
<p>All the campaign needed was “Clinton Cash,” Bannon says several times in the interview, referencing a mostly debunked book Bannon helped produce that alleges corruption in the Clinton family and foundation.</p>
<p>“It was Clinton Cash and I think the greed and the banality of the Clintons that were much bigger,” Bannon says. “So you don’t need these meetings, these meetings these guys took. You don’t need meetings. You had all the information you needed.”</p>
<p>The most infamous of the meetings is the meeting Donald Trump Jr. took with a Kremlin-connected lawyer during the summer of 2016.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>The meeting with the “Russian government attorney” was first reported by The New York Times in June and was attended by Trump Jr. as well as the president’s son-in-law and now senior adviser to the president Jared Kushner and then campaign chairman Paul Manafort.</p>
<p>Attorney General Jeff Sessions also&#160; <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/24/politics/jeff-sessions-russian-officials-meetings/index.html" type="external">twice met with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak</a>, but Sessions failed to list those meetings on his original security clearance form.</p>
<p>Bannon’s interview with Rose was wide-ranging, but throughout the interview, Bannon paints Trump as a victim of those who have given the president poor advice or been disloyal to him, speaking at length about what Bannon refers to as “Billy Bush weekend.”</p>
<p>Bannon says the weekend following the tape released by The Washington Post, in which Trump talks about grabbing women “by the pussy,” shaped his view of who is loyal to Trump.</p>
<p>“Christie, because of Billy Bush weekend, was not looked at for a cabinet position,” Bannon says, adding that although he respects Christie and the work the New Jersey governor did for the campaign, it was always “Billy Bush weekend” that stuck out in his mind.</p>
<p>One person whose reaction during Billy Bush weekend Bannon says he was impressed by is former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.</p>
<p>“Rudy was there,” Bannon says, and although Bannon said Trump “loved” Giuliani, Bannon essentially says Trump didn’t choose Giuliani as Secretary of State because Giuliani didn’t look the part.</p>
<p>“He didn’t look a Secretary of State, and that mattered to Donald Trump,” Rose says. “You know it did.”</p>
<p>“President Trump, it’s just not the intelligence,” Bannon says. It’s definitely how you comport yourself physically, right?”</p>
<p>Bannon faulted Republican leadership in Congress, telling Rose Republicans, led by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI), are trying to “nullify” the 2016 election&#160;and allowing investigations into Russian interference in the election to be run by Democrats.</p>
<p>Bannon also echoed Trump rhetoric on Russia, saying that whether Russia interfered in the 2016 election is “far from conclusive,” despite widespread agreement&#160;in the intelligence and national security communities that the Russian government interfered in the 2016 election.</p>
<p>There are two notable moments in the interview when Bannon criticizes Trump.</p>
<p>In a striking moment that was left out of the 60 Minutes cut of the interview and released online, Bannon criticizes Trump for firing Comey, calling the move the biggest mistake in “modern political history.”</p>
<p>Firing Comey, Bannon says, ultimately led to the appointment of Special Counsel Robert Mueller.</p>
<p>Additionally, the Trump administration is calling on Congress to make the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program law, a move that would allow nearly 800,000 undocumented immigrants who arrived in the United States as children to work and go to school in the U.S. Bannon has other ideas.</p>
<p>“As the work permits run out they [should] self deport,” Bannon says when pressed on what he thinks DACA recipients should do. “I think that people that go to Breitbart and others are absolutely [clear] that there’s no path to citizenship, no path to a green card and no amnesty.”</p>
|
Bannon criticizes Trump campaign meetings with Russia
| true |
https://thinkprogress.org/bannon-trump-russia-meetings-e1d3f5db04d4/
|
2017-09-11
| 4left
|
Bannon criticizes Trump campaign meetings with Russia
<p>Former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon criticized the members of the Trump campaign who took meetings with Russians in a recent interview with Charlie Rose.</p>
<p>Twice in the interview, which aired in two parts on 60 Minutes and The Charlie Rose Show, Bannon references meetings members of the campaign took in an effort to get information on former Secretary of State and Democratic nominee for president Hillary Clinton. In both instances, Bannon brings up the “meetings” without being asked, according to a transcript of the full interview obtained by ThinkProgress.</p>
<p>“You know, I don’t know why people had to have meetings with other countries. I thought there was more than enough there,” Bannon says when he is asked by Rose about the “lock her up” chants that became popular at Trump rallies during the campaign.</p>
<p>Later in the interview, Rose asks Bannon what kind of impact he thinks James Comey had on Trump’s win.</p>
<p>“Totally, totally irrelevant,” Bannon says. “[Comey] maybe reinforced a little bit her corruption, but it was irrelevant, the emails.”</p>
<p>All the campaign needed was “Clinton Cash,” Bannon says several times in the interview, referencing a mostly debunked book Bannon helped produce that alleges corruption in the Clinton family and foundation.</p>
<p>“It was Clinton Cash and I think the greed and the banality of the Clintons that were much bigger,” Bannon says. “So you don’t need these meetings, these meetings these guys took. You don’t need meetings. You had all the information you needed.”</p>
<p>The most infamous of the meetings is the meeting Donald Trump Jr. took with a Kremlin-connected lawyer during the summer of 2016.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>The meeting with the “Russian government attorney” was first reported by The New York Times in June and was attended by Trump Jr. as well as the president’s son-in-law and now senior adviser to the president Jared Kushner and then campaign chairman Paul Manafort.</p>
<p>Attorney General Jeff Sessions also&#160; <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/24/politics/jeff-sessions-russian-officials-meetings/index.html" type="external">twice met with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak</a>, but Sessions failed to list those meetings on his original security clearance form.</p>
<p>Bannon’s interview with Rose was wide-ranging, but throughout the interview, Bannon paints Trump as a victim of those who have given the president poor advice or been disloyal to him, speaking at length about what Bannon refers to as “Billy Bush weekend.”</p>
<p>Bannon says the weekend following the tape released by The Washington Post, in which Trump talks about grabbing women “by the pussy,” shaped his view of who is loyal to Trump.</p>
<p>“Christie, because of Billy Bush weekend, was not looked at for a cabinet position,” Bannon says, adding that although he respects Christie and the work the New Jersey governor did for the campaign, it was always “Billy Bush weekend” that stuck out in his mind.</p>
<p>One person whose reaction during Billy Bush weekend Bannon says he was impressed by is former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.</p>
<p>“Rudy was there,” Bannon says, and although Bannon said Trump “loved” Giuliani, Bannon essentially says Trump didn’t choose Giuliani as Secretary of State because Giuliani didn’t look the part.</p>
<p>“He didn’t look a Secretary of State, and that mattered to Donald Trump,” Rose says. “You know it did.”</p>
<p>“President Trump, it’s just not the intelligence,” Bannon says. It’s definitely how you comport yourself physically, right?”</p>
<p>Bannon faulted Republican leadership in Congress, telling Rose Republicans, led by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI), are trying to “nullify” the 2016 election&#160;and allowing investigations into Russian interference in the election to be run by Democrats.</p>
<p>Bannon also echoed Trump rhetoric on Russia, saying that whether Russia interfered in the 2016 election is “far from conclusive,” despite widespread agreement&#160;in the intelligence and national security communities that the Russian government interfered in the 2016 election.</p>
<p>There are two notable moments in the interview when Bannon criticizes Trump.</p>
<p>In a striking moment that was left out of the 60 Minutes cut of the interview and released online, Bannon criticizes Trump for firing Comey, calling the move the biggest mistake in “modern political history.”</p>
<p>Firing Comey, Bannon says, ultimately led to the appointment of Special Counsel Robert Mueller.</p>
<p>Additionally, the Trump administration is calling on Congress to make the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program law, a move that would allow nearly 800,000 undocumented immigrants who arrived in the United States as children to work and go to school in the U.S. Bannon has other ideas.</p>
<p>“As the work permits run out they [should] self deport,” Bannon says when pressed on what he thinks DACA recipients should do. “I think that people that go to Breitbart and others are absolutely [clear] that there’s no path to citizenship, no path to a green card and no amnesty.”</p>
| 6,239 |
<p />
<p>Image: Bloomin' Brands.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The stock market didn't move much Tuesday morning, as investors seemed content to wait to see whether the Federal Reserve would make any interest rate changes when it completes its two-day meeting Wednesday afternoon. After the big drop to start 2016 and the subsequent recovery to approach all-time highs, stocks are pausing to deal with company-specific aspects of earnings season. Even though major market benchmarks moved modestly on both sides of the unchanged line during the first 90 minutes of the trading day, several stocks managed to post substantial gains. Among them were Bloomin' Brands , Knowles , and Sanmina .</p>
<p>Bloomin' Brands climbed 8% after announcing its first-quarter earnings results. The restaurant company behind the Outback Steakhouse chain said that its earnings came to $0.29 per share for the quarter, down almost 40% from year-ago figures. Combined comparable-restaurant sales were weak, falling 1.5% as the Outback, Carrabba's Italian Grill, and Bonefish Grill concepts all posted declines in comps. Wage inflation and unfavorable product mix weighed on operating margins, and restructuring costs also held back Bloomin' Brands from growing. Yet the company highlighted some success stories internationally, including an 8.8% rise in comps in its Brazilian Outback Steakhouse locations. Moreover, investors appeared to respond favorably to repurchases of $75 million during the quarter, along with the fact that the company reiterated its full-year 2016 guidance even in light of its results.</p>
<p>Knowles jumped 17% in the wake of its first-quarter earnings success. The provider of audio processing, micro-acoustic, and specialty components and solutions said that revenue came in at $185.3 million, falling just 1% from year-ago levels. Knowles said it lost $29.4 million during the quarter, nearly doubling its loss from the previous year's first quarter. However, after adjusting for discontinued operations and one-time charges, adjusted earnings of $0.08 per share were stronger than expected. CEO Jeffrey Niew pointed to microphone shipments on mobile consumer electronics that helped offset seasonal weakness in health-related hearing products. In addition, Knowles pointed to accelerating sales and earnings in the second half of the year as it looks to launch new products and boost awareness of some of its intelligent audio solutions. Second-quarter guidance for $180 million to $200 million in sales and adjusted earnings of $0.08 to $0.14 per share were also received favorably.</p>
<p>Finally, Sanmina gained 11%. The contractor for electronics manufacturing services reported fiscal second-quarter results that included a 5% rise in revenue and earnings per share that topped expectations by nearly 10%. Guidance for the current quarter was also favorable, with Sanmina now expecting earnings of $0.61 to $0.65 per share on revenue of $1.625 billion to $1.675 billion. CEO Jure Sola celebrated the company's best earnings per share in more than a decade, and he cited "solid execution coupled with growth in the majority of our market segments [that] drove improvements in our results." With demand for manufacturing services following the health of the markets for electronic devices, Sanmina looks primed to do well as long as the mobile revolution keeps pushing forward.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/04/26/why-bloomin-brands-knowles-and-sanmina-jumped-this.aspx" type="external">Why Bloomin' Brands, Knowles, and Sanmina Jumped This Morning Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFGalagan/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Dan Caplinger Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://wiki.fool.com/Motley?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/help/index.htm?display=about02" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
|
Why Bloomin' Brands, Knowles, and Sanmina Jumped This Morning
| true |
http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/04/26/why-bloomin-brands-knowles-and-sanmina-jumped-this-morning.html
|
2016-04-26
| 0right
|
Why Bloomin' Brands, Knowles, and Sanmina Jumped This Morning
<p />
<p>Image: Bloomin' Brands.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The stock market didn't move much Tuesday morning, as investors seemed content to wait to see whether the Federal Reserve would make any interest rate changes when it completes its two-day meeting Wednesday afternoon. After the big drop to start 2016 and the subsequent recovery to approach all-time highs, stocks are pausing to deal with company-specific aspects of earnings season. Even though major market benchmarks moved modestly on both sides of the unchanged line during the first 90 minutes of the trading day, several stocks managed to post substantial gains. Among them were Bloomin' Brands , Knowles , and Sanmina .</p>
<p>Bloomin' Brands climbed 8% after announcing its first-quarter earnings results. The restaurant company behind the Outback Steakhouse chain said that its earnings came to $0.29 per share for the quarter, down almost 40% from year-ago figures. Combined comparable-restaurant sales were weak, falling 1.5% as the Outback, Carrabba's Italian Grill, and Bonefish Grill concepts all posted declines in comps. Wage inflation and unfavorable product mix weighed on operating margins, and restructuring costs also held back Bloomin' Brands from growing. Yet the company highlighted some success stories internationally, including an 8.8% rise in comps in its Brazilian Outback Steakhouse locations. Moreover, investors appeared to respond favorably to repurchases of $75 million during the quarter, along with the fact that the company reiterated its full-year 2016 guidance even in light of its results.</p>
<p>Knowles jumped 17% in the wake of its first-quarter earnings success. The provider of audio processing, micro-acoustic, and specialty components and solutions said that revenue came in at $185.3 million, falling just 1% from year-ago levels. Knowles said it lost $29.4 million during the quarter, nearly doubling its loss from the previous year's first quarter. However, after adjusting for discontinued operations and one-time charges, adjusted earnings of $0.08 per share were stronger than expected. CEO Jeffrey Niew pointed to microphone shipments on mobile consumer electronics that helped offset seasonal weakness in health-related hearing products. In addition, Knowles pointed to accelerating sales and earnings in the second half of the year as it looks to launch new products and boost awareness of some of its intelligent audio solutions. Second-quarter guidance for $180 million to $200 million in sales and adjusted earnings of $0.08 to $0.14 per share were also received favorably.</p>
<p>Finally, Sanmina gained 11%. The contractor for electronics manufacturing services reported fiscal second-quarter results that included a 5% rise in revenue and earnings per share that topped expectations by nearly 10%. Guidance for the current quarter was also favorable, with Sanmina now expecting earnings of $0.61 to $0.65 per share on revenue of $1.625 billion to $1.675 billion. CEO Jure Sola celebrated the company's best earnings per share in more than a decade, and he cited "solid execution coupled with growth in the majority of our market segments [that] drove improvements in our results." With demand for manufacturing services following the health of the markets for electronic devices, Sanmina looks primed to do well as long as the mobile revolution keeps pushing forward.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/04/26/why-bloomin-brands-knowles-and-sanmina-jumped-this.aspx" type="external">Why Bloomin' Brands, Knowles, and Sanmina Jumped This Morning Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFGalagan/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Dan Caplinger Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://wiki.fool.com/Motley?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/help/index.htm?display=about02" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
| 6,240 |
<p>Ajit Pai called the NFL's television blackout rules "outdated," and urged his fellow Federal Communications Commission representatives to vote in favor of having them repealed to address fan concerns.</p>
<p>"Right now, the FCC is officially on the side of blackouts. We should be on the side of sports fans," Pai said during a news conference in Buffalo on Tuesday. "The FCC shouldn't get involved in handing out special favors or picking winners and losers. And in my view, there is no reason for the FCC to be involved in the sports blackout business."</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Pai, one of five FCC commissioners, became the first to speak out in favor of eliminating the NFL policy the FCC instituted in 1975. The regulation prevents games that are not sold out 72 hours in advance of kickoff from being broadcast in the home team's market by cable and satellite providers.</p>
<p>The FCC first weighed in on sports blackout policies in December, when commissioners voted unanimously to seek public input on the issue.</p>
<p>Pai is now calling for FCC chairman Tom Wheeler to put the issue to a vote. A simple majority from the five commissioners, which include Wheeler, is required.</p>
<p>Wheeler has not indicated whether he intends to bring the issue to a vote.</p>
<p>Pai was joined by U.S. Rep. Brian Higgins, who has argued against the NFL's blackout policy and how it has specifically affected Buffalo Bills fans over the past few years.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The Bills had one home game blacked out last season, two in 2012 and three more in 2011.</p>
<p>The NFL is against having the policy repealed by arguing it would undercut blackout agreements the league has with its network broadcasters.</p>
<p>Two weeks ago, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell questioned whether a lifting of the policy on cable and satellite providers would potentially lead to fewer games broadcast for free on over-the-air networks.</p>
<p>"We are 99 percent sold out, so it has very little impact on our business," Goodell said. "But it could have an impact on the overall business model for free television. We think that's devastating to our consumers and consumers in general."</p>
<p>The NFL and its network broadcasters have established a "Protect Football on Free TV" campaign, and appointed Hall of Fame receiver Lynn Swann as its spokesman.</p>
<p>"Repealing the rule may lead to unintended consequences and deny viewers of valuable sports programming on broadcast television," Swann said. He then noted more than 10,000 community leaders across the country have sent letters urging the FCC to keep the blackout policy in place.</p>
<p>Pai has met with NFL officials and said he's not swayed by their arguments.</p>
<p>"They've obviously urged us to retain the rule. But in my own view, their arguments don't persuade me," he said. "I certainly hope the business model doesn't change. And I'm confident it would actually thrive and bring more fans and broaden the base in terms of television viewing audience."</p>
<p>Pai noted that repealing the FCC's blackout policy wouldn't prevent the NFL or its teams from privately negotiating its own rules with cable and satellite companies.</p>
<p>Higgins has gone further by introducing a bill that would eliminate the antitrust exemption that allows the NFL to black out sporting events.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL</p>
|
FCC commissioner Pai, on the 'side of sports fans,' supports repeal of NFL's TV blackout rules
| true |
http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2014/08/13/fcc-commissioner-pai-on-side-sports-fans-supports-repeal-nfl-tv-blackout-rules.html
|
2016-03-09
| 0right
|
FCC commissioner Pai, on the 'side of sports fans,' supports repeal of NFL's TV blackout rules
<p>Ajit Pai called the NFL's television blackout rules "outdated," and urged his fellow Federal Communications Commission representatives to vote in favor of having them repealed to address fan concerns.</p>
<p>"Right now, the FCC is officially on the side of blackouts. We should be on the side of sports fans," Pai said during a news conference in Buffalo on Tuesday. "The FCC shouldn't get involved in handing out special favors or picking winners and losers. And in my view, there is no reason for the FCC to be involved in the sports blackout business."</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Pai, one of five FCC commissioners, became the first to speak out in favor of eliminating the NFL policy the FCC instituted in 1975. The regulation prevents games that are not sold out 72 hours in advance of kickoff from being broadcast in the home team's market by cable and satellite providers.</p>
<p>The FCC first weighed in on sports blackout policies in December, when commissioners voted unanimously to seek public input on the issue.</p>
<p>Pai is now calling for FCC chairman Tom Wheeler to put the issue to a vote. A simple majority from the five commissioners, which include Wheeler, is required.</p>
<p>Wheeler has not indicated whether he intends to bring the issue to a vote.</p>
<p>Pai was joined by U.S. Rep. Brian Higgins, who has argued against the NFL's blackout policy and how it has specifically affected Buffalo Bills fans over the past few years.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The Bills had one home game blacked out last season, two in 2012 and three more in 2011.</p>
<p>The NFL is against having the policy repealed by arguing it would undercut blackout agreements the league has with its network broadcasters.</p>
<p>Two weeks ago, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell questioned whether a lifting of the policy on cable and satellite providers would potentially lead to fewer games broadcast for free on over-the-air networks.</p>
<p>"We are 99 percent sold out, so it has very little impact on our business," Goodell said. "But it could have an impact on the overall business model for free television. We think that's devastating to our consumers and consumers in general."</p>
<p>The NFL and its network broadcasters have established a "Protect Football on Free TV" campaign, and appointed Hall of Fame receiver Lynn Swann as its spokesman.</p>
<p>"Repealing the rule may lead to unintended consequences and deny viewers of valuable sports programming on broadcast television," Swann said. He then noted more than 10,000 community leaders across the country have sent letters urging the FCC to keep the blackout policy in place.</p>
<p>Pai has met with NFL officials and said he's not swayed by their arguments.</p>
<p>"They've obviously urged us to retain the rule. But in my own view, their arguments don't persuade me," he said. "I certainly hope the business model doesn't change. And I'm confident it would actually thrive and bring more fans and broaden the base in terms of television viewing audience."</p>
<p>Pai noted that repealing the FCC's blackout policy wouldn't prevent the NFL or its teams from privately negotiating its own rules with cable and satellite companies.</p>
<p>Higgins has gone further by introducing a bill that would eliminate the antitrust exemption that allows the NFL to black out sporting events.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL</p>
| 6,241 |
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<p>BOSTON — Organizers of the Boston Marathon are stripping Kenyan runner Rita Jeptoo of her 2014 victory as part of the athlete’s newly extended doping ban.</p>
<p>The Boston Athletic Association announced Wednesday that it will seek to reclaim the 35-year-old Jeptoo’s winnings and is starting the process to adjust race results.</p>
<p>The group is taking action after the international Court of Arbitration for Sports disqualified all of Jeptoo’s race results since April 2014, including her Boston Marathon victory. The court also extended a two-year doping ban imposed by Kenyan officials to four years.</p>
<p>Jeptoo tested positive for a banned hormone in 2014. Her ban now extends to October 2018.</p>
<p>The Boston Athletic Association said it supports the court’s decision.</p>
<p>Ethiopian runner Buzunesh Deba (BOO-zoo-nesh DEE-bah) placed second in the 2014 Boston Marathon.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
|
Kenya’s Jeptoo to be stripped of 2014 Boston Marathon win
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/875608/kenyas-jeptoo-to-be-stripped-of-2014-boston-marathon-win.html
| 2least
|
Kenya’s Jeptoo to be stripped of 2014 Boston Marathon win
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>BOSTON — Organizers of the Boston Marathon are stripping Kenyan runner Rita Jeptoo of her 2014 victory as part of the athlete’s newly extended doping ban.</p>
<p>The Boston Athletic Association announced Wednesday that it will seek to reclaim the 35-year-old Jeptoo’s winnings and is starting the process to adjust race results.</p>
<p>The group is taking action after the international Court of Arbitration for Sports disqualified all of Jeptoo’s race results since April 2014, including her Boston Marathon victory. The court also extended a two-year doping ban imposed by Kenyan officials to four years.</p>
<p>Jeptoo tested positive for a banned hormone in 2014. Her ban now extends to October 2018.</p>
<p>The Boston Athletic Association said it supports the court’s decision.</p>
<p>Ethiopian runner Buzunesh Deba (BOO-zoo-nesh DEE-bah) placed second in the 2014 Boston Marathon.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
| 6,242 |
|
<p>SEPANG, Malaysia (Reuters) – Formula One world champions Mercedes have some “real big problems” to fix with their car, title favorite Lewis Hamilton said on Sunday after finishing second in the Malaysian Grand Prix.</p>
<p>The Briton, now 34 points clear of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and well on his way to a fourth title, started in pole position but lost out to Red Bull’s 20-year-old Dutch driver Max Verstappen.</p>
<p>Hamilton was helped by an engine problem sidelining Vettel in qualifying and another issue preventing the German’s team mate Kimi Raikkonen from taking his place on the front row of the starting grid.</p>
<p>But Verstappen was significantly faster once the race started while Vettel showed the Ferrari’s potential by going from last to fourth and beating Hamilton’s team mate Valtteri Bottas.</p>
<p>“There is (a fair amount of work still to do) but there’s nothing we can do,” Hamilton, who was also gifted a win in Singapore two weeks ago when both Ferraris collided at the start, told Sky Sports television.</p>
<p>“It’s the way the car is.</p>
<p>“I think globally we have not got the best car and we’ve done an exceptional job with what we have. There are some real big problems that I can’t really explain to you…</p>
<p>“But we really need make sure we rectify them for next year’s car if we’re going to have any chance of fighting both these teams next year when they step up their game,” added the Briton.</p>
<p>Hamilton said the car was good at some races, and not at others, but Mercedes would do everything they could to stay ahead.</p>
<p>Team boss Toto Wolff also sounded far from celebratory, despite Hamilton stretching his lead by six points with a hefty dose of luck.</p>
<p>“I am just very down, I must say,” declared the Austrian.</p>
<p>“We have lost so much pace this weekend…how can a car that is so fast on many circuits lose so much with a tire that is overheating?</p>
<p>“Probably if you look at the real pace today it would have been P5 (fifth). And that is worrisome. Now let’s see what happens in Suzuka. We have a couple of days to try and understand.”</p>
<p>The Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka follows on immediately from Malaysia, with four races remaining after that.</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>
|
Hamilton says Mercedes have 'real big problems' to resolve
| false |
https://newsline.com/hamilton-says-mercedes-have-039real-big-problems039-to-resolve/
|
2017-10-01
| 1right-center
|
Hamilton says Mercedes have 'real big problems' to resolve
<p>SEPANG, Malaysia (Reuters) – Formula One world champions Mercedes have some “real big problems” to fix with their car, title favorite Lewis Hamilton said on Sunday after finishing second in the Malaysian Grand Prix.</p>
<p>The Briton, now 34 points clear of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and well on his way to a fourth title, started in pole position but lost out to Red Bull’s 20-year-old Dutch driver Max Verstappen.</p>
<p>Hamilton was helped by an engine problem sidelining Vettel in qualifying and another issue preventing the German’s team mate Kimi Raikkonen from taking his place on the front row of the starting grid.</p>
<p>But Verstappen was significantly faster once the race started while Vettel showed the Ferrari’s potential by going from last to fourth and beating Hamilton’s team mate Valtteri Bottas.</p>
<p>“There is (a fair amount of work still to do) but there’s nothing we can do,” Hamilton, who was also gifted a win in Singapore two weeks ago when both Ferraris collided at the start, told Sky Sports television.</p>
<p>“It’s the way the car is.</p>
<p>“I think globally we have not got the best car and we’ve done an exceptional job with what we have. There are some real big problems that I can’t really explain to you…</p>
<p>“But we really need make sure we rectify them for next year’s car if we’re going to have any chance of fighting both these teams next year when they step up their game,” added the Briton.</p>
<p>Hamilton said the car was good at some races, and not at others, but Mercedes would do everything they could to stay ahead.</p>
<p>Team boss Toto Wolff also sounded far from celebratory, despite Hamilton stretching his lead by six points with a hefty dose of luck.</p>
<p>“I am just very down, I must say,” declared the Austrian.</p>
<p>“We have lost so much pace this weekend…how can a car that is so fast on many circuits lose so much with a tire that is overheating?</p>
<p>“Probably if you look at the real pace today it would have been P5 (fifth). And that is worrisome. Now let’s see what happens in Suzuka. We have a couple of days to try and understand.”</p>
<p>The Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka follows on immediately from Malaysia, with four races remaining after that.</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>
| 6,243 |
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<p>THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — How does a primate find a date when they're confined to an urban jungle?</p>
<p>Orangutans in a Dutch zoo may get a high-tech helping hand thanks to a research project that is being likened to a Tinder dating app for apes.</p>
<p>The research at the Apenheul primate park, on the outskirts of the Dutch city of Apeldoorn, is investigating the emotional responses of orangutans and bonobos to images of the same species they are shown on a touch screen.</p>
<p>Biologist Thomas Bionda said Wednesday the screen could help determine an ape's preference between prospective mates as part of a breeding program.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“We want to help our animals and maybe other zoos' animals to make a choice,” Bionda said in a telephone interview. “Animals have to like each other.”</p>
<p>Bionda hopes that having apes check out images on a computer screen could help determine the compatibility of a prospective pair.</p>
<p>In the meantime, the primate park has another problem – building an orangutan-proof touch screen. The screen in the primates' sleeping area was recently destroyed by a young female called Samboja.</p>
<p><a href="#350dc0fa-3c0e-4c9e-a5e8-cfeab56eb746" type="external">© 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</a> Learn more about our <a href="http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/privacy" type="external">Privacy Policy</a> and <a href="http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/terms" type="external">Terms of Use</a>.</p>
|
Tinder for apes? Dutch orangutans test out computer dating
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/940179/tinder-for-apes-dutch-orangutans-test-out-computer-dating.html
|
2017-02-01
| 2least
|
Tinder for apes? Dutch orangutans test out computer dating
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — How does a primate find a date when they're confined to an urban jungle?</p>
<p>Orangutans in a Dutch zoo may get a high-tech helping hand thanks to a research project that is being likened to a Tinder dating app for apes.</p>
<p>The research at the Apenheul primate park, on the outskirts of the Dutch city of Apeldoorn, is investigating the emotional responses of orangutans and bonobos to images of the same species they are shown on a touch screen.</p>
<p>Biologist Thomas Bionda said Wednesday the screen could help determine an ape's preference between prospective mates as part of a breeding program.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“We want to help our animals and maybe other zoos' animals to make a choice,” Bionda said in a telephone interview. “Animals have to like each other.”</p>
<p>Bionda hopes that having apes check out images on a computer screen could help determine the compatibility of a prospective pair.</p>
<p>In the meantime, the primate park has another problem – building an orangutan-proof touch screen. The screen in the primates' sleeping area was recently destroyed by a young female called Samboja.</p>
<p><a href="#350dc0fa-3c0e-4c9e-a5e8-cfeab56eb746" type="external">© 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</a> Learn more about our <a href="http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/privacy" type="external">Privacy Policy</a> and <a href="http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/terms" type="external">Terms of Use</a>.</p>
| 6,244 |
<p>Rep. Steve Stockman (R-TX), who launched a strange, unsuccessful primary bid to unseat Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) this year, warned this week that the Hobby Lobby ruling shows that “liberals seek to drag us back to Stone Age tribalism.”</p>
<p>“Today is a great victory for religious freedom in America, which has been severely under attack by the anti-freedom Left and its special interest groups,” Stockman said in a Monday statement. “It is ironic for the Left to scream no interference in a woman’s decision to obtain contraceptives, but then to argue the government should interfere in that decision to fulfill a supposed ‘inherent’ right to contraceptives.”</p>
<p />
<p>Stockman then argued that the health care law’s contraception mandate goes against what it means to live in a civilization.</p>
<p>“Civilization is a society in which the rights of the individual trump the whims of the majority. This ruling is a reminder liberals seek to drag us back to Stone Age tribalism in which one can be subjugated to the tribe as a whole,” he said. “The belief people can be forced to buy you something that violates their beliefs is the height of arrogance, greed, selfishness and brute force. The Court rejected that tribal belief and upheld the ideas upon which this nation was founded. You are an individual and no one owns your mind or conscience.”</p>
<p>[H/t <a href="http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/07/05/gop-congressman-hobby-lobby-case-is-proof-liberals-want-stone-age-tribalism/" type="external">Raw Story</a>]</p>
|
GOP Rep.: Hobby Lobby Ruling Keeps Liberals From Reinstating ‘Stone Age Tribalism’
| true |
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/stockman-hobby-lobby-stone-age-tribalism
| 4left
|
GOP Rep.: Hobby Lobby Ruling Keeps Liberals From Reinstating ‘Stone Age Tribalism’
<p>Rep. Steve Stockman (R-TX), who launched a strange, unsuccessful primary bid to unseat Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) this year, warned this week that the Hobby Lobby ruling shows that “liberals seek to drag us back to Stone Age tribalism.”</p>
<p>“Today is a great victory for religious freedom in America, which has been severely under attack by the anti-freedom Left and its special interest groups,” Stockman said in a Monday statement. “It is ironic for the Left to scream no interference in a woman’s decision to obtain contraceptives, but then to argue the government should interfere in that decision to fulfill a supposed ‘inherent’ right to contraceptives.”</p>
<p />
<p>Stockman then argued that the health care law’s contraception mandate goes against what it means to live in a civilization.</p>
<p>“Civilization is a society in which the rights of the individual trump the whims of the majority. This ruling is a reminder liberals seek to drag us back to Stone Age tribalism in which one can be subjugated to the tribe as a whole,” he said. “The belief people can be forced to buy you something that violates their beliefs is the height of arrogance, greed, selfishness and brute force. The Court rejected that tribal belief and upheld the ideas upon which this nation was founded. You are an individual and no one owns your mind or conscience.”</p>
<p>[H/t <a href="http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/07/05/gop-congressman-hobby-lobby-case-is-proof-liberals-want-stone-age-tribalism/" type="external">Raw Story</a>]</p>
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<p />
<p>Noel Pugach, professor emeritus of history at the University of New Mexico, contends that the United States is – and will remain – the world’s lone superpower for the foreseeable future, but challenges are on the horizon.</p>
<p>Pugach will discuss the nature and future of American power during a lecture on Friday, Jan. 20, at the UNM Continuing Education Auditorium. The professor’s talk is part of the Albuquerque International Association’s 2017 foreign policy series. Pugach will review how and why the U.S. achieved global predominance and examine whether that predominance it is sustainable.</p>
<p>“It’s true no nation stays No. 1 forever,” Pugach said in a&#160;Journal interview. “You study history, and it is clear. But it doesn’t mean our fall is inevitable in the near future. In the 1990s, we became the unquestioned superpower in the world, and that remains true to this day.</p>
<p>“We are still the greatest military power in the world – the most advanced technologically, and economically, we’re still the world’s leader,” he added. “But we do have problems.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Pugach said America rose to superpower status after World War I on the strength of a growing domestic economy, a unified public, a strong central government and the military resources needed to exercise influence.</p>
<p>“Those are basic to all the great powers of history,” he said. “But we had one other thing – and it’s the clincher – you have to have the will to lead, because it’s costly and it’s dangerous.”</p>
<p>Pugach pointed out than its early days as superpower in the 20th century, the U.S. was also protected geographically from outside invaders by “two great oceans surrounding us and the fact that we had weak neighbors.” Today, U.S. economic development has slowed and debt has risen, but the American economy remains one of the most advanced in the world.</p>
<p>While globalization has altered the geopolitical landscape and compromised American dominance somewhat, Pugach suggested neither China nor Russia – the only other countries approaching superpower status – pose immediate threats to American primacy.</p>
<p>“China, in the long run, poses the greater threat, because Russia still has enormous weaknesses,” he said. “Russia’s economy is still dependent on oil, and it has this kleptocracy (culture of corruption) that I think is going to collapse in the coming years. Russia does not have China’s technical advances, nor is there any sign that it will, and China’s military might is growing. It also has a very strong and nationalist identification.”</p>
<p>So where does that leave the U.S. in this still-young millennium? Pugach suggested that the U.S. can retain its pre-eminent role in world affairs while making room for others, such as China.</p>
<p>“We need to forge a new national consensus, and maybe it’s a consensus that will say, ‘OK, we’ll accept a reduced role in world affairs,” he said. “We’re going to have to give China a stronger voice in world affairs – it’s insisting on it. They’ve taken advantage of the WTO (World Trade Organization) and this open economic system to gain a strong footing. We have to recognize that, and we have to pay some attention to them.”</p>
<p />
<p>&#160;</p>
<p />
|
Despite challenges, U.S. clout is likely to last
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/928185/despite-challenges-us-clout-is-likely-to-last.html
|
2017-01-15
| 2least
|
Despite challenges, U.S. clout is likely to last
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Noel Pugach, professor emeritus of history at the University of New Mexico, contends that the United States is – and will remain – the world’s lone superpower for the foreseeable future, but challenges are on the horizon.</p>
<p>Pugach will discuss the nature and future of American power during a lecture on Friday, Jan. 20, at the UNM Continuing Education Auditorium. The professor’s talk is part of the Albuquerque International Association’s 2017 foreign policy series. Pugach will review how and why the U.S. achieved global predominance and examine whether that predominance it is sustainable.</p>
<p>“It’s true no nation stays No. 1 forever,” Pugach said in a&#160;Journal interview. “You study history, and it is clear. But it doesn’t mean our fall is inevitable in the near future. In the 1990s, we became the unquestioned superpower in the world, and that remains true to this day.</p>
<p>“We are still the greatest military power in the world – the most advanced technologically, and economically, we’re still the world’s leader,” he added. “But we do have problems.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Pugach said America rose to superpower status after World War I on the strength of a growing domestic economy, a unified public, a strong central government and the military resources needed to exercise influence.</p>
<p>“Those are basic to all the great powers of history,” he said. “But we had one other thing – and it’s the clincher – you have to have the will to lead, because it’s costly and it’s dangerous.”</p>
<p>Pugach pointed out than its early days as superpower in the 20th century, the U.S. was also protected geographically from outside invaders by “two great oceans surrounding us and the fact that we had weak neighbors.” Today, U.S. economic development has slowed and debt has risen, but the American economy remains one of the most advanced in the world.</p>
<p>While globalization has altered the geopolitical landscape and compromised American dominance somewhat, Pugach suggested neither China nor Russia – the only other countries approaching superpower status – pose immediate threats to American primacy.</p>
<p>“China, in the long run, poses the greater threat, because Russia still has enormous weaknesses,” he said. “Russia’s economy is still dependent on oil, and it has this kleptocracy (culture of corruption) that I think is going to collapse in the coming years. Russia does not have China’s technical advances, nor is there any sign that it will, and China’s military might is growing. It also has a very strong and nationalist identification.”</p>
<p>So where does that leave the U.S. in this still-young millennium? Pugach suggested that the U.S. can retain its pre-eminent role in world affairs while making room for others, such as China.</p>
<p>“We need to forge a new national consensus, and maybe it’s a consensus that will say, ‘OK, we’ll accept a reduced role in world affairs,” he said. “We’re going to have to give China a stronger voice in world affairs – it’s insisting on it. They’ve taken advantage of the WTO (World Trade Organization) and this open economic system to gain a strong footing. We have to recognize that, and we have to pay some attention to them.”</p>
<p />
<p>&#160;</p>
<p />
| 6,246 |
<p>A failed relationship could be a gift in disguise.</p>
<p>Michael, &#160; My girlfriend of 18 months dumped me last month and I feel like I’m losing my mind.&#160;I can’t get any food down. I wake up in the middle of the night and can’t fall back asleep. I can’t stop thinking of her and wondering how I screwed this up.&#160;I’ve heard breakups can be bad and now I am finding out just how awful they can be. &#160; To make matters worse, it’s because of her that I came out to myself, friends and family.&#160; Now I’m feeling like I turned my whole life upside down for nothing. &#160; She broke up with me after I brought up the idea that we should get married.&#160;She responded that she actually felt like we had been “growing apart.”&#160;Then she added that she feels like we’re “best friends” but she doesn’t “feel it” for me anymore. &#160; I’m driving myself crazy thinking over and over about what I might have done wrong. I thought we had a terrific relationship and our sex life seemed absolutely fine. I was dreaming of spending the rest of my life with her. &#160; My parents treated my coming out as if I had lost my mind because I had only dated guys.&#160; They aren’t the most gay-friendly people.&#160;Now my mom is encouraging me to consider dating men again, basically saying that obviously same-sex relationships don’t go too well. That is not too comforting but there’s a part of me that thinks she’s right. &#160; As for my friends, I can tell they’re getting tired of listening to me go on about what I might have done to ruin things.&#160;I know I sound and think like a broken record but I can’t stop the thoughts. I feel like there’s no one who really cares. &#160; Basically I don’t know how to pull myself out of this.&#160;Is there some way to stop mourning?</p>
<p>Yes, I think you can get past this.&#160;The first thing you can do is tell yourself that many people go through this sort of self-lacerating heartbreak and come out the other side.&#160;It’s true and it might help you to calm down, even a bit.&#160;That would be a good start.</p>
<p>It sounds to me like you’re seeing the relationship and its aftermath through a distorted lens: your girlfriend and your relationship were great, while you, now single and on your own, are awful.</p>
<p>I’m basing this on your description of the relationship as flat-out terrific, on your questioning only your own contribution to the breakup, on your dramatic sense of loss and on the way you’re tearing into yourself.</p>
<p>When we see our lives through this lens, we need to work at grinding a new lens.&#160;That new lens is equanimity, the ability to stay calm and believe you’ll be OK even as life rolls over you and knocks you around.&#160;Just as it does to everyone.</p>
<p>Your job now is to move forward even if you don’t feel like it.&#160;This will help you start to build up your own belief that you will ultimately be fine.&#160;Accept that the relationship is over and find things to take even a little pleasure in. Enroll in a class at a local restaurant, museum or meditation center; adopt an animal; go see hilarious movies with friends; take up a new sport.&#160; Anything to pull your mind out of the tragic, self-criticizing groove in which you’re currently stuck, and move forward step by step. And don’t despair if you occasionally take a step back.</p>
<p>What you may have done “wrong” is to try and keep all the less-than-perfect stuff out of your relationship.&#160;You believed you were living a romantic idyll with no problems.&#160;Maybe your girlfriend was joining you in this view or maybe she wasn’t.&#160;But evidently there were some problems and neither of you was equipped to deal with them. You wanted to shove them under the proverbial rug, while she felt that the solution was to terminate the relationship without any discussion.</p>
<p>Not incidentally, when you can view life with equanimity, you’re better able to accept the difficulties that come with being in a relationship as something to deal with rather than something you must ignore or flee from.</p>
<p>One more thing: What about your sexual orientation?&#160;Did this relationship wake you up to the fact that you are lesbian or was your attraction to your former girlfriend more about her than about gender?</p>
<p>Whether or not you decide to date men again in the future, you did not waste your time in the relationship.&#160;Going through this painful aftermath is handing you the opportunity to learn the invaluable skill of self-soothing.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p><a href="http://www.michaelradkowsky.com/lgbt-counseling-washington-dc/" type="external">Michael Radkowsky</a>, Psy.D. is a licensed psychologist who works with LGBT couples and individuals in D.C. He can be found online at&#160; <a href="http://www.personalgrowthzone.com/" type="external">michaelradkowsky.com</a>. All identifying information has been changed for reasons of confidentiality. Have a question? Send it to&#160; <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">relationship advice</a></p>
|
Lesbian nonplussed
| false |
http://washingtonblade.com/2017/10/06/lesbian-nonplussed/
| 3left-center
|
Lesbian nonplussed
<p>A failed relationship could be a gift in disguise.</p>
<p>Michael, &#160; My girlfriend of 18 months dumped me last month and I feel like I’m losing my mind.&#160;I can’t get any food down. I wake up in the middle of the night and can’t fall back asleep. I can’t stop thinking of her and wondering how I screwed this up.&#160;I’ve heard breakups can be bad and now I am finding out just how awful they can be. &#160; To make matters worse, it’s because of her that I came out to myself, friends and family.&#160; Now I’m feeling like I turned my whole life upside down for nothing. &#160; She broke up with me after I brought up the idea that we should get married.&#160;She responded that she actually felt like we had been “growing apart.”&#160;Then she added that she feels like we’re “best friends” but she doesn’t “feel it” for me anymore. &#160; I’m driving myself crazy thinking over and over about what I might have done wrong. I thought we had a terrific relationship and our sex life seemed absolutely fine. I was dreaming of spending the rest of my life with her. &#160; My parents treated my coming out as if I had lost my mind because I had only dated guys.&#160; They aren’t the most gay-friendly people.&#160;Now my mom is encouraging me to consider dating men again, basically saying that obviously same-sex relationships don’t go too well. That is not too comforting but there’s a part of me that thinks she’s right. &#160; As for my friends, I can tell they’re getting tired of listening to me go on about what I might have done to ruin things.&#160;I know I sound and think like a broken record but I can’t stop the thoughts. I feel like there’s no one who really cares. &#160; Basically I don’t know how to pull myself out of this.&#160;Is there some way to stop mourning?</p>
<p>Yes, I think you can get past this.&#160;The first thing you can do is tell yourself that many people go through this sort of self-lacerating heartbreak and come out the other side.&#160;It’s true and it might help you to calm down, even a bit.&#160;That would be a good start.</p>
<p>It sounds to me like you’re seeing the relationship and its aftermath through a distorted lens: your girlfriend and your relationship were great, while you, now single and on your own, are awful.</p>
<p>I’m basing this on your description of the relationship as flat-out terrific, on your questioning only your own contribution to the breakup, on your dramatic sense of loss and on the way you’re tearing into yourself.</p>
<p>When we see our lives through this lens, we need to work at grinding a new lens.&#160;That new lens is equanimity, the ability to stay calm and believe you’ll be OK even as life rolls over you and knocks you around.&#160;Just as it does to everyone.</p>
<p>Your job now is to move forward even if you don’t feel like it.&#160;This will help you start to build up your own belief that you will ultimately be fine.&#160;Accept that the relationship is over and find things to take even a little pleasure in. Enroll in a class at a local restaurant, museum or meditation center; adopt an animal; go see hilarious movies with friends; take up a new sport.&#160; Anything to pull your mind out of the tragic, self-criticizing groove in which you’re currently stuck, and move forward step by step. And don’t despair if you occasionally take a step back.</p>
<p>What you may have done “wrong” is to try and keep all the less-than-perfect stuff out of your relationship.&#160;You believed you were living a romantic idyll with no problems.&#160;Maybe your girlfriend was joining you in this view or maybe she wasn’t.&#160;But evidently there were some problems and neither of you was equipped to deal with them. You wanted to shove them under the proverbial rug, while she felt that the solution was to terminate the relationship without any discussion.</p>
<p>Not incidentally, when you can view life with equanimity, you’re better able to accept the difficulties that come with being in a relationship as something to deal with rather than something you must ignore or flee from.</p>
<p>One more thing: What about your sexual orientation?&#160;Did this relationship wake you up to the fact that you are lesbian or was your attraction to your former girlfriend more about her than about gender?</p>
<p>Whether or not you decide to date men again in the future, you did not waste your time in the relationship.&#160;Going through this painful aftermath is handing you the opportunity to learn the invaluable skill of self-soothing.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p><a href="http://www.michaelradkowsky.com/lgbt-counseling-washington-dc/" type="external">Michael Radkowsky</a>, Psy.D. is a licensed psychologist who works with LGBT couples and individuals in D.C. He can be found online at&#160; <a href="http://www.personalgrowthzone.com/" type="external">michaelradkowsky.com</a>. All identifying information has been changed for reasons of confidentiality. Have a question? Send it to&#160; <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">relationship advice</a></p>
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<p />
<p>Probable starters: Isotopes RHP Drew Carpenter (2-0, 7.56) vs. Aces RHP Charles Brewer (4-9, 6.54).</p>
<p>Radio: 610 AM</p>
<p>Sunday: Joc Pederson had a two-run homer in the seventh inning and Walter Ibarra drove in two runs with a double in the second as the visiting Isotopes defeated Reno 7-2.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Jeff Bennett (5-5) limited the Aces to four hits and two unearned runs in seven innings.</p>
<p>The Isotopes are 8-3 in the second half of the season.</p>
<p>Transaction: SS Erisbel Arruebarrena’s rehab assignment was transferred to the Single-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. He was one of four Isotopes ejected from Saturday night’s game after a fight broke out.</p>
<p>Arruebarrena is rehabbing his right hip flexor, which he injured in a game at Colorado on July 5. He played two games with the Isotopes during his rehab, going 1-for-4 with a three-run home run. In eight games with the Dodgers this season, he is hitting .313 (5-for-16) with one run scored, one double and two RBI.</p>
<p>Quote: Of the Isotopes” benches-clearing brawl with Reno on Saturday, Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said the No. 1 thing is “nobody’s hurt.”</p>
<p>Next home game: Saturday vs. Tacoma, 7:05 <a href="http://p.m.ISO" type="external">p.m.ISO</a>TOPES 5, ACES 2</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE RENO</p>
<p>ab r h bi ab r h bi</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Triunfel SS 5 0 1 0 Weber 2B 4 0 1 1</p>
<p>Pederson CF 4 1 1 2 Kieschnick LF 4 0 0 0</p>
<p>Federowicz C 5 0 0 0 Marte 3B 4 0 2 0</p>
<p>Peterson 1B 4 0 2 0 Jacobs 1B 3 0 1 0</p>
<p>Romak 3B 4 0 1 0 Martin RF 3 0 0 0</p>
<p>Guerrero LF 3 1 1 0 Todd P 0 0 0 0</p>
<p>Baxter RF 4 2 2 1 Barrett P 0 0 0 0</p>
<p>Ibarra 2B 2 1 2 2 Diaz PH 1 0 0 0</p>
<p>Bennett P 1 0 0 0 Lalli C 2 1 0 0</p>
<p>Elbert P 0 0 0 0 Cedeno SS 4 1 0 0</p>
<p>CRobinson PH 1 0 0 0 Freeman CF 3 0 2 0</p>
<p>Ravin P 0 0 0 0 Chafin P 1 0 0 0</p>
<p>Cnninghm RF 1 0 0 0Totals 33 5 10 5 Totals 30 2 6 1</p>
<p>Albuquerque 020 000 300 – 5</p>
<p>Reno 000 020 000 – 2E – Romak (8). DP – Reno 1, Albuquerque 3. LOB – Albuquerque 7, Reno 5. 2B – Ibarra, W (8), Peterson (10), Marte, An (24). HR – Baxter (5), Pederson (22). S – Bennett 2, Chafin. IP H R ER BB SO</p>
<p>Albuquerque</p>
<p>Bennett (W, 5-5) 7 4 2 0 3 2</p>
<p>Elbert 1 0 0 0 0 2</p>
<p>Ravin (S, 1) 1 2 0 0 0 1</p>
<p>Reno</p>
<p>Chafin (L, 4-5) 6 2/3 9 5 5 2 6</p>
<p>Todd 1 1/3 1 0 0 0 2</p>
<p>Barrett 1 0 0 0 2 1T – 3:03. A – 5,165.</p>
|
‘Topes today July 28
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/436478/topes-today-july-28.html
| 2least
|
‘Topes today July 28
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Probable starters: Isotopes RHP Drew Carpenter (2-0, 7.56) vs. Aces RHP Charles Brewer (4-9, 6.54).</p>
<p>Radio: 610 AM</p>
<p>Sunday: Joc Pederson had a two-run homer in the seventh inning and Walter Ibarra drove in two runs with a double in the second as the visiting Isotopes defeated Reno 7-2.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Jeff Bennett (5-5) limited the Aces to four hits and two unearned runs in seven innings.</p>
<p>The Isotopes are 8-3 in the second half of the season.</p>
<p>Transaction: SS Erisbel Arruebarrena’s rehab assignment was transferred to the Single-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. He was one of four Isotopes ejected from Saturday night’s game after a fight broke out.</p>
<p>Arruebarrena is rehabbing his right hip flexor, which he injured in a game at Colorado on July 5. He played two games with the Isotopes during his rehab, going 1-for-4 with a three-run home run. In eight games with the Dodgers this season, he is hitting .313 (5-for-16) with one run scored, one double and two RBI.</p>
<p>Quote: Of the Isotopes” benches-clearing brawl with Reno on Saturday, Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said the No. 1 thing is “nobody’s hurt.”</p>
<p>Next home game: Saturday vs. Tacoma, 7:05 <a href="http://p.m.ISO" type="external">p.m.ISO</a>TOPES 5, ACES 2</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE RENO</p>
<p>ab r h bi ab r h bi</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Triunfel SS 5 0 1 0 Weber 2B 4 0 1 1</p>
<p>Pederson CF 4 1 1 2 Kieschnick LF 4 0 0 0</p>
<p>Federowicz C 5 0 0 0 Marte 3B 4 0 2 0</p>
<p>Peterson 1B 4 0 2 0 Jacobs 1B 3 0 1 0</p>
<p>Romak 3B 4 0 1 0 Martin RF 3 0 0 0</p>
<p>Guerrero LF 3 1 1 0 Todd P 0 0 0 0</p>
<p>Baxter RF 4 2 2 1 Barrett P 0 0 0 0</p>
<p>Ibarra 2B 2 1 2 2 Diaz PH 1 0 0 0</p>
<p>Bennett P 1 0 0 0 Lalli C 2 1 0 0</p>
<p>Elbert P 0 0 0 0 Cedeno SS 4 1 0 0</p>
<p>CRobinson PH 1 0 0 0 Freeman CF 3 0 2 0</p>
<p>Ravin P 0 0 0 0 Chafin P 1 0 0 0</p>
<p>Cnninghm RF 1 0 0 0Totals 33 5 10 5 Totals 30 2 6 1</p>
<p>Albuquerque 020 000 300 – 5</p>
<p>Reno 000 020 000 – 2E – Romak (8). DP – Reno 1, Albuquerque 3. LOB – Albuquerque 7, Reno 5. 2B – Ibarra, W (8), Peterson (10), Marte, An (24). HR – Baxter (5), Pederson (22). S – Bennett 2, Chafin. IP H R ER BB SO</p>
<p>Albuquerque</p>
<p>Bennett (W, 5-5) 7 4 2 0 3 2</p>
<p>Elbert 1 0 0 0 0 2</p>
<p>Ravin (S, 1) 1 2 0 0 0 1</p>
<p>Reno</p>
<p>Chafin (L, 4-5) 6 2/3 9 5 5 2 6</p>
<p>Todd 1 1/3 1 0 0 0 2</p>
<p>Barrett 1 0 0 0 2 1T – 3:03. A – 5,165.</p>
| 6,248 |
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<p>The unemployment rate for young educated Polish people will hit 30% this year. But Poland remains one of the quietest countries in the region. Nobody protests, because people are leaving.</p>
<p>Anita Budner comes from a small town in western Poland, but has restarted her life in Hamburg, Germany. Budner didn't picture herself leaving her homeland. Yet despite having a good education and a university degree, the lack of opportunities in Poland pushed her to go abroad. And she is not alone.</p>
<p>"Here in Germany right now there is a huge debate to increase the minimum wage from 5 euros to 8.50 euros per hour. I would be incredibly happy if I could find any job in Poland for Germany's current minimum wage,” Budner said. The minimum wage in Poland is 2.50 euros per hour, and there isn't a politician who would consider increasing it.</p>
<p>The generation of Anita's parents taught their children that if they got a higher education they'd have a bright future. Unfortunately, the labor market didn't shift with the huge influx of educated Polish graduates flooding the market. True, their children received an education, but there were no places for them to use it. The promise of social mobility through education was a lie.</p>
<p>Yet, the parents of Poland's young people shouldn't be the ones to blame. Poland's economy enjoyed a huge market advantage for many years due to the country's low labor costs. This didn't change even as the number of young people with higher educations increased to an unprecedented level: from 10% of the population holding university degrees in 1997, to 21% in 2011. Despite the tremendous education shift in just over 10 years, though, the Polish economy itself did not change. Instead of innovations, it stayed focused on manual labor.</p>
<p>So what are these tens of thousands of educated young people to do? In 2004, they gained a new opportunity. Poland joined the European Union and the common European market suddenly began to open up. Thousands of jobs across Europe became available for Polish people, particularly for the young and well-educated who sought to benefit from their knowledge, training and skills, which they could not do in their own country.</p>
<p>And the results of this wave of emigration is reflected in the numbers. In the four years after Poland joined the EU, the unemployment rate decreased from more then 20% to less then 10% - partly because of economic growth, but mostly because of emigration.</p>
<p>The Polish media claims that between the years 2004 and 2008, an estimated 2.2 million Polish citizens left the country. In a country of 38 million, that means that 6% of the entire population left in the span of four years.</p>
<p>There's no single or easy reason to explain why people are leaving en masse from a country that has seen considerable economic growth in recent times. And it isn't as though they don't face great challenges in the countries where they settle. The language barrier is significant, and there is no guarantee that their Polish degrees will help them land good jobs. The British press is full of anecdotes about Polish waitresses with MBA diplomas.</p>
<p>But the reality for many bright young Poles is that their country simply can't provide the opportunities that they can find elsewhere. “I really miss Poland, but there are no prospects. How long would I have to struggle there to be independent?” says Budner.</p>
<p>Her words are confirmed by the numbers; self-sufficiency remains out of reach for the majority of young people, as 56% of young Poles between the ages of 20 and 34 are living with their parents. Even in America, which is experiencing the highest numbers of young people living at home in its history, things are not so bad; the percentage is only 24%, less than half that of Poland.</p>
<p>In Poland's case, the reason for so many stay-at-home youths is as sad as is it simple: Polish salaries aren't high enough to get credit to rent an apartment. Even if young people are employed, they still can't afford their own flat.</p>
<p>But Poland's emigration trend is also the effect of a larger sociological phenomenon, namely, the Polish transformation from socialism to neoliberal capitalism, which involved the privatization of public companies, lowering taxes, cutting social spending and so on. These outward policy changes were also reflected in the classroom. Suddenly schools started teaching students how to achieve their own individual success, instead of focusing on group welfare.</p>
<p>As a result, the current generation of 20-somethings has only two narratives: If I succeed, it is because of my talent and work. But if I can't find a job, it is because of my weakness and because I am not good enough.</p>
<p>In other European countries today, people in similar situations are organizing themselves to create change. In Poland, where people were raised to assume that they are on their own, they simply leave. In 2013, demographers estimate that the unemployment ratio of young educated Poles will reach 30%. A significant number of them are likely to flee the country.</p>
<p>Earning money abroad often means giving up a career dream to work in blue-color jobs. The list of emigrants' struggles is long: from regional intolerance to housing issues, from suffering homesickness to conflicts integrating with a new society. But despite it all, thousands of people are still on their way. (Last year there were 614,000 Polish citizens with residential status in the U.K., making them the second largest minority group after Indians; in Ireland, Poles are now the largest minority and Polish the second most-used language in the country.)</p>
<p>Demographers are describing this as the fourth great exodus in Polish history. The first two happened after failed attempts to improve people's lives: following Poland's attempted independence from Russia in the 19th century, and after communism was instituted after the Second World War. The next wave of emigration happened when the communists pushed out dissidents. Now, people are being pushed out because they have no other economic options - and because they were taught to pursue their own individual success instead of worrying about societal good.</p>
<p>If someone is looking for the next Polish revolution, s/he may be disappointed.</p>
|
Letter from Poland: Smart, Young, Unemployed - and Leaving
| true |
http://occupy.com/article/letter-poland-smart-young-unemployed-and-leaving
| 4left
|
Letter from Poland: Smart, Young, Unemployed - and Leaving
<p>The unemployment rate for young educated Polish people will hit 30% this year. But Poland remains one of the quietest countries in the region. Nobody protests, because people are leaving.</p>
<p>Anita Budner comes from a small town in western Poland, but has restarted her life in Hamburg, Germany. Budner didn't picture herself leaving her homeland. Yet despite having a good education and a university degree, the lack of opportunities in Poland pushed her to go abroad. And she is not alone.</p>
<p>"Here in Germany right now there is a huge debate to increase the minimum wage from 5 euros to 8.50 euros per hour. I would be incredibly happy if I could find any job in Poland for Germany's current minimum wage,” Budner said. The minimum wage in Poland is 2.50 euros per hour, and there isn't a politician who would consider increasing it.</p>
<p>The generation of Anita's parents taught their children that if they got a higher education they'd have a bright future. Unfortunately, the labor market didn't shift with the huge influx of educated Polish graduates flooding the market. True, their children received an education, but there were no places for them to use it. The promise of social mobility through education was a lie.</p>
<p>Yet, the parents of Poland's young people shouldn't be the ones to blame. Poland's economy enjoyed a huge market advantage for many years due to the country's low labor costs. This didn't change even as the number of young people with higher educations increased to an unprecedented level: from 10% of the population holding university degrees in 1997, to 21% in 2011. Despite the tremendous education shift in just over 10 years, though, the Polish economy itself did not change. Instead of innovations, it stayed focused on manual labor.</p>
<p>So what are these tens of thousands of educated young people to do? In 2004, they gained a new opportunity. Poland joined the European Union and the common European market suddenly began to open up. Thousands of jobs across Europe became available for Polish people, particularly for the young and well-educated who sought to benefit from their knowledge, training and skills, which they could not do in their own country.</p>
<p>And the results of this wave of emigration is reflected in the numbers. In the four years after Poland joined the EU, the unemployment rate decreased from more then 20% to less then 10% - partly because of economic growth, but mostly because of emigration.</p>
<p>The Polish media claims that between the years 2004 and 2008, an estimated 2.2 million Polish citizens left the country. In a country of 38 million, that means that 6% of the entire population left in the span of four years.</p>
<p>There's no single or easy reason to explain why people are leaving en masse from a country that has seen considerable economic growth in recent times. And it isn't as though they don't face great challenges in the countries where they settle. The language barrier is significant, and there is no guarantee that their Polish degrees will help them land good jobs. The British press is full of anecdotes about Polish waitresses with MBA diplomas.</p>
<p>But the reality for many bright young Poles is that their country simply can't provide the opportunities that they can find elsewhere. “I really miss Poland, but there are no prospects. How long would I have to struggle there to be independent?” says Budner.</p>
<p>Her words are confirmed by the numbers; self-sufficiency remains out of reach for the majority of young people, as 56% of young Poles between the ages of 20 and 34 are living with their parents. Even in America, which is experiencing the highest numbers of young people living at home in its history, things are not so bad; the percentage is only 24%, less than half that of Poland.</p>
<p>In Poland's case, the reason for so many stay-at-home youths is as sad as is it simple: Polish salaries aren't high enough to get credit to rent an apartment. Even if young people are employed, they still can't afford their own flat.</p>
<p>But Poland's emigration trend is also the effect of a larger sociological phenomenon, namely, the Polish transformation from socialism to neoliberal capitalism, which involved the privatization of public companies, lowering taxes, cutting social spending and so on. These outward policy changes were also reflected in the classroom. Suddenly schools started teaching students how to achieve their own individual success, instead of focusing on group welfare.</p>
<p>As a result, the current generation of 20-somethings has only two narratives: If I succeed, it is because of my talent and work. But if I can't find a job, it is because of my weakness and because I am not good enough.</p>
<p>In other European countries today, people in similar situations are organizing themselves to create change. In Poland, where people were raised to assume that they are on their own, they simply leave. In 2013, demographers estimate that the unemployment ratio of young educated Poles will reach 30%. A significant number of them are likely to flee the country.</p>
<p>Earning money abroad often means giving up a career dream to work in blue-color jobs. The list of emigrants' struggles is long: from regional intolerance to housing issues, from suffering homesickness to conflicts integrating with a new society. But despite it all, thousands of people are still on their way. (Last year there were 614,000 Polish citizens with residential status in the U.K., making them the second largest minority group after Indians; in Ireland, Poles are now the largest minority and Polish the second most-used language in the country.)</p>
<p>Demographers are describing this as the fourth great exodus in Polish history. The first two happened after failed attempts to improve people's lives: following Poland's attempted independence from Russia in the 19th century, and after communism was instituted after the Second World War. The next wave of emigration happened when the communists pushed out dissidents. Now, people are being pushed out because they have no other economic options - and because they were taught to pursue their own individual success instead of worrying about societal good.</p>
<p>If someone is looking for the next Polish revolution, s/he may be disappointed.</p>
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<p>A top-secret report compiled at the behest of the Finance Ministry in Athens has come to the conclusion that Germany owes Greece billions in World War II reparations. The total could be enough to solve the country's debt problems, but the Greek government is wary of picking a fight with its paymaster.</p>
<p>The headline on Sunday's issue of the Greek newspaper To Vima made it clear what is at stake: "What Germany Owes Us," it read. The article below outlined possible reparations payments Athens might demand from Germany resulting from World War II. A panel of experts, commissioned by the Greek Finance Ministry, spent months working on the report — an 80-page file classified as "top secret."</p>
<p>Now, though, the first details of the report have been leaked to the public. According to To Vima, the commission arrived at a clear conclusion: "Greece never received any compensation, either for the loans it was forced to provide to Germany or for the damages it suffered during the war."</p>
<p>The research is based on 761 volumes of archival material, including documents, agreements, court decisions and legal texts. Panagiotis Karakousis, who heads the group of experts, told To Vima that the researchers examined 190,000 pages of documents, which had been scattered across public archives, often stored in sacks thrown in the basements of public buildings.</p>
<p>The newspaper offered no concrete figure regarding the possible extent of reparation demands outlined in the report. But earlier calculations from Greek organizations have set the total owed by Germany at €108 billion for reconstruction of the country's destroyed infrastructure and a further €54 billion resulting from forced loans paid by Greece to Nazi Germany between 1942 and 1944. The loans were issued by the Bank of Greece and were used to pay for supplies and wages for the German occupation force.</p>
<p>Bad Time to "Pick a Fight"</p>
<p>The total sum of €162 billion is the equivalent of almost 80 percent of Greece's current annual gross domestic product. Were Germany to pay the full amount, it would go a long way toward solving the debt problems faced by Athens. Berlin, however, has shown no willingness to revisit the question of reparations to Greece.</p>
<p>Athens too is wary of moving ahead with the demands. The government sees the report as being particularly sensitive due to the fear that it could damage their relations with Europe's most important supplier of euro-crisis aid.</p>
<p>The Greek public, however, has a different view. To Vima reflected the feelings of many by arguing that "the historical responsibility now falls on the three-party coalition government. It should publish all the findings and determine its position on this sensitive issue, which has detonated like a bomb at a time we are under extreme pressure from our lenders."</p>
<p>But political analysts believe that the Greek government is disinclined to raise the issue with Germany. The official government position, most recently expressed by deputy finance minister Christos Staikouras, is that Greece considers the issue open and "reserves the right…to bring it to a satisfactory conclusion."</p>
<p>The report is no longer in the hands of Finance Ministry officials. It was delivered in early March to Foreign Minister Dimitris Avramopoulous and Prime Minister Antonis Samaras. "It will be a top level, political decision regarding how to use it, and Mr. Samaras will be the one to decide," a senior government official told SPIEGEL ONLINE. "This is no time to pick a fight with Berlin."</p>
<p><a href="http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/greek-commission-concludes-germany-owes-billions-in-war-reparations-a-893084.html" type="external">Originally published by Spiegel Online</a>.</p>
|
Secret Athens Report: Berlin Owes Greece Billions in WWII Reparations
| true |
http://occupy.com/article/secret-athens-report-berlin-owes-greece-billions-wwii-reparations
| 4left
|
Secret Athens Report: Berlin Owes Greece Billions in WWII Reparations
<p>A top-secret report compiled at the behest of the Finance Ministry in Athens has come to the conclusion that Germany owes Greece billions in World War II reparations. The total could be enough to solve the country's debt problems, but the Greek government is wary of picking a fight with its paymaster.</p>
<p>The headline on Sunday's issue of the Greek newspaper To Vima made it clear what is at stake: "What Germany Owes Us," it read. The article below outlined possible reparations payments Athens might demand from Germany resulting from World War II. A panel of experts, commissioned by the Greek Finance Ministry, spent months working on the report — an 80-page file classified as "top secret."</p>
<p>Now, though, the first details of the report have been leaked to the public. According to To Vima, the commission arrived at a clear conclusion: "Greece never received any compensation, either for the loans it was forced to provide to Germany or for the damages it suffered during the war."</p>
<p>The research is based on 761 volumes of archival material, including documents, agreements, court decisions and legal texts. Panagiotis Karakousis, who heads the group of experts, told To Vima that the researchers examined 190,000 pages of documents, which had been scattered across public archives, often stored in sacks thrown in the basements of public buildings.</p>
<p>The newspaper offered no concrete figure regarding the possible extent of reparation demands outlined in the report. But earlier calculations from Greek organizations have set the total owed by Germany at €108 billion for reconstruction of the country's destroyed infrastructure and a further €54 billion resulting from forced loans paid by Greece to Nazi Germany between 1942 and 1944. The loans were issued by the Bank of Greece and were used to pay for supplies and wages for the German occupation force.</p>
<p>Bad Time to "Pick a Fight"</p>
<p>The total sum of €162 billion is the equivalent of almost 80 percent of Greece's current annual gross domestic product. Were Germany to pay the full amount, it would go a long way toward solving the debt problems faced by Athens. Berlin, however, has shown no willingness to revisit the question of reparations to Greece.</p>
<p>Athens too is wary of moving ahead with the demands. The government sees the report as being particularly sensitive due to the fear that it could damage their relations with Europe's most important supplier of euro-crisis aid.</p>
<p>The Greek public, however, has a different view. To Vima reflected the feelings of many by arguing that "the historical responsibility now falls on the three-party coalition government. It should publish all the findings and determine its position on this sensitive issue, which has detonated like a bomb at a time we are under extreme pressure from our lenders."</p>
<p>But political analysts believe that the Greek government is disinclined to raise the issue with Germany. The official government position, most recently expressed by deputy finance minister Christos Staikouras, is that Greece considers the issue open and "reserves the right…to bring it to a satisfactory conclusion."</p>
<p>The report is no longer in the hands of Finance Ministry officials. It was delivered in early March to Foreign Minister Dimitris Avramopoulous and Prime Minister Antonis Samaras. "It will be a top level, political decision regarding how to use it, and Mr. Samaras will be the one to decide," a senior government official told SPIEGEL ONLINE. "This is no time to pick a fight with Berlin."</p>
<p><a href="http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/greek-commission-concludes-germany-owes-billions-in-war-reparations-a-893084.html" type="external">Originally published by Spiegel Online</a>.</p>
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<p>In this Sept. 18, 2014 photo, World War II veteran Tom Pelle shows off the patch that represented his squadron with the 307th Bombardment Group during a reunion in Santa Fe, N.M. Surviving members of the 307th and their family members are working with Ancestry.com’s military site Fold3 to digitize a massive collection of memorabilia related to the group and its four squadrons, which completed more than 600 missions throughout the Pacific. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan)</p>
<p>SANTA FE — Thousands of feet above the Pacific Ocean, the bullets were coming fast and the flak was flying. Japanese fighter planes whizzed around like bees as the American forces in their lumbering B-24 bombers tried everything to reach their targets, save fuel and stay airborne for the long trip home.</p>
<p>Tom Pelle, a 20-year-old tech sergeant, was pulling double duty as a machine gunner that October day. That was 70 years ago, but he remembers the battle like it was yesterday.</p>
<p>“They hit every one of us. They shot down seven, and we were almost number eight,” said Pelle, who lost his right leg in the battle.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Now Pelle and the few other remaining members of the 13th Air Force’s famous 307th Bombardment Group, their family members and Ancestry.com’s military records site Fold3 are working to keep alive the group’s memory by collecting and digitizing thousands of photographs, military orders and other memorabilia. The records are being posted online as part of a searchable database.</p>
<p>The effort is taking on particular urgency because only a handful of the veterans — known as the “Long Rangers” — are still alive today. Most of them, like Pelle, are around 90 years old.</p>
<p>Historians say the experiences of the 307th Bombardment Group are priceless. Thousands of men were part of the group, including Louis Zamperini, whose story of survival after being shot down over the Pacific is the subject of a best-selling book and Angelina Jolie’s new movie “Unbroken,” coming out in December.</p>
<p>Pelle barely survived the battle on Oct. 3, 1944. By the time it was over, his plane had 420 holes in it. He nearly bled to death after having his leg shot off. With each beat of his heart, blood from what was left of his limb squirted onto the side of the plane. Between throwing up and passing out, he could see his crewmates working to save his life, using their belts as tourniquets.</p>
<p>Unlike Pelle and Zamperini, hundreds never made it home.</p>
<p>The 307th completed more than 600 missions, many of them as long as 17 hours over the open ocean with no landmarks. They were usually unescorted, with several gunners aboard each bomber. They had to get past the more agile Japanese fighter planes and anti-aircraft guns stationed around their targets or on the decks of battleships.</p>
<p>Several 307th veterans gathered about two weeks ago in Santa Fe, New Mexico, for an annual reunion. They talked about the upcoming movie and reminisced.</p>
<p>The veterans say the story of the 307th is one of survival. They braved the challenges of navigating the Pacific along with the relentless attacks of the Japanese Zeros. Their focus: Destroying supplies and equipment being used by the Japanese, including refineries and the ships that would transport oil and fuel to enemy installments.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Over the decades, veteran Jim Kendall and his wife, Dottie, amassed a collection of 307th memorabilia — from personal letters and photographs to military orders, maps, aerial reconnaissance images, flags and patches. Dottie Kendall said the couple’s mailbox became “an adventure,” with new items from around the country showing up every day. Jim Kendall spent hours trying to catalog what had filled dozens of boxes and a series of tall file cabinets.</p>
<p>Jim McCabe, the bomb group’s historian, said that with the passing years, the veterans’ stories were being lost and there were gaps in the records. That’s changing, he said.</p>
<p>The 307th Bomb Group Association used scanners and the help of high school students to continue what Kendall started, but the effort has now gone warp speed thanks to Fold3.</p>
<p>Many people don’t know about the 307th given that the group operated in such a remote corner of the world. It didn’t help that many veterans refrained from sharing their experiences with family members.</p>
<p>“They’re very storied, and people have no idea they were on two missions where they received distinguished unit citations, silver stars and earned incredible medals and citations for their bravery,” McCabe said. “I think it’s important that the families know.”</p>
<p>——</p>
<p>Online:</p>
<p>307th Bomb Group Association: <a href="http://307bg.net" type="external">http://307bg.net</a></p>
<p>Fold3 307th Bomb Group Records: <a href="http://bit.ly/1xjzyDD" type="external">http://bit.ly/1xjzyDD</a></p>
<p>——</p>
<p>Follow Susan Montoya Bryan on Twitter: <a href="http://www.twitter.com/susanmbryanNM" type="external">http://www.twitter.com/susanmbryanNM</a></p>
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Records, photos of famed US WWII bombers go online
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Records, photos of famed US WWII bombers go online
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<p>In this Sept. 18, 2014 photo, World War II veteran Tom Pelle shows off the patch that represented his squadron with the 307th Bombardment Group during a reunion in Santa Fe, N.M. Surviving members of the 307th and their family members are working with Ancestry.com’s military site Fold3 to digitize a massive collection of memorabilia related to the group and its four squadrons, which completed more than 600 missions throughout the Pacific. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan)</p>
<p>SANTA FE — Thousands of feet above the Pacific Ocean, the bullets were coming fast and the flak was flying. Japanese fighter planes whizzed around like bees as the American forces in their lumbering B-24 bombers tried everything to reach their targets, save fuel and stay airborne for the long trip home.</p>
<p>Tom Pelle, a 20-year-old tech sergeant, was pulling double duty as a machine gunner that October day. That was 70 years ago, but he remembers the battle like it was yesterday.</p>
<p>“They hit every one of us. They shot down seven, and we were almost number eight,” said Pelle, who lost his right leg in the battle.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Now Pelle and the few other remaining members of the 13th Air Force’s famous 307th Bombardment Group, their family members and Ancestry.com’s military records site Fold3 are working to keep alive the group’s memory by collecting and digitizing thousands of photographs, military orders and other memorabilia. The records are being posted online as part of a searchable database.</p>
<p>The effort is taking on particular urgency because only a handful of the veterans — known as the “Long Rangers” — are still alive today. Most of them, like Pelle, are around 90 years old.</p>
<p>Historians say the experiences of the 307th Bombardment Group are priceless. Thousands of men were part of the group, including Louis Zamperini, whose story of survival after being shot down over the Pacific is the subject of a best-selling book and Angelina Jolie’s new movie “Unbroken,” coming out in December.</p>
<p>Pelle barely survived the battle on Oct. 3, 1944. By the time it was over, his plane had 420 holes in it. He nearly bled to death after having his leg shot off. With each beat of his heart, blood from what was left of his limb squirted onto the side of the plane. Between throwing up and passing out, he could see his crewmates working to save his life, using their belts as tourniquets.</p>
<p>Unlike Pelle and Zamperini, hundreds never made it home.</p>
<p>The 307th completed more than 600 missions, many of them as long as 17 hours over the open ocean with no landmarks. They were usually unescorted, with several gunners aboard each bomber. They had to get past the more agile Japanese fighter planes and anti-aircraft guns stationed around their targets or on the decks of battleships.</p>
<p>Several 307th veterans gathered about two weeks ago in Santa Fe, New Mexico, for an annual reunion. They talked about the upcoming movie and reminisced.</p>
<p>The veterans say the story of the 307th is one of survival. They braved the challenges of navigating the Pacific along with the relentless attacks of the Japanese Zeros. Their focus: Destroying supplies and equipment being used by the Japanese, including refineries and the ships that would transport oil and fuel to enemy installments.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Over the decades, veteran Jim Kendall and his wife, Dottie, amassed a collection of 307th memorabilia — from personal letters and photographs to military orders, maps, aerial reconnaissance images, flags and patches. Dottie Kendall said the couple’s mailbox became “an adventure,” with new items from around the country showing up every day. Jim Kendall spent hours trying to catalog what had filled dozens of boxes and a series of tall file cabinets.</p>
<p>Jim McCabe, the bomb group’s historian, said that with the passing years, the veterans’ stories were being lost and there were gaps in the records. That’s changing, he said.</p>
<p>The 307th Bomb Group Association used scanners and the help of high school students to continue what Kendall started, but the effort has now gone warp speed thanks to Fold3.</p>
<p>Many people don’t know about the 307th given that the group operated in such a remote corner of the world. It didn’t help that many veterans refrained from sharing their experiences with family members.</p>
<p>“They’re very storied, and people have no idea they were on two missions where they received distinguished unit citations, silver stars and earned incredible medals and citations for their bravery,” McCabe said. “I think it’s important that the families know.”</p>
<p>——</p>
<p>Online:</p>
<p>307th Bomb Group Association: <a href="http://307bg.net" type="external">http://307bg.net</a></p>
<p>Fold3 307th Bomb Group Records: <a href="http://bit.ly/1xjzyDD" type="external">http://bit.ly/1xjzyDD</a></p>
<p>——</p>
<p>Follow Susan Montoya Bryan on Twitter: <a href="http://www.twitter.com/susanmbryanNM" type="external">http://www.twitter.com/susanmbryanNM</a></p>
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<p>ROME (Reuters) - Italy used helicopters on Tuesday to airlift almost 100 tourists and staff from an Alpine hotel near the border with Austria because of a high risk of avalanche, an army spokesman said.</p>
<p>Record amounts of snow in recent days had made it impossible to leave the area by road, and the hotel had lost power. Army and finance police helicopters were among those used in the evacuation.</p>
<p>A year ago a massive avalanche razed a hotel in central Italy, killing 29.</p>
<p>In Switzerland, hosting the World Economic Forum in Davos this week, authorities went on avalanche alert on Monday after fresh snow smothered much of the Alps. The accumulation of snow was the highest since 1999.</p>
<p>Reporting by Steve Scherer; Editing by Alison Williams/William Maclean</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump signed a memorandum on Friday that limits transgender individuals from serving in the U.S. military, but gives the armed forces some latitude in implementing policies.</p> U.S. President Donald Trump boards Air Force One as he departs for Palm Beach, Florida, from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, U.S., March 23, 2018. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts
<p>The memorandum said that transgender individuals with a history of “gender dysphoria” are disqualified from military service “except under certain limited circumstances.”</p>
<p>It added that the secretaries of defense and homeland security “may exercise their authority to implement any appropriate policies concerning military service by transgender individuals.”</p>
<p>Reporting by Idrees Ali and Eric Beech; Editing by Sandra Maler</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>TREBES, France (Reuters) - A gunman killed three people in southwestern France on Friday as he held up a car, fired on police and seized hostages in a supermarket, screaming “Allahu Akbar” before security forces stormed the building and killed him, authorities said.</p>
<p>Sixteen other people were wounded, including two who were seriously hurt, in what President Emmanuel Macron called an act of “Islamist terrorism”.</p>
<p>The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack. Macron said security services were checking that claim.</p>
<p>“I want to tell the nation tonight of my absolute determination in leading this fight,” said Macron, who returned to Paris from Brussels to chair a crisis meeting with ministers and security officials.</p>
<p>More than 240 people have been killed in France in attacks since 2015 by assailants who pledged allegiance to Islamic State or were inspired by the group.</p>
<p>Friday’s attacker was identified by authorities as Redouane Lakdim, 25, from the city of Carcassonne.</p>
<p>Two people were killed when he attacked the supermarket in the nearby small town of Trebes.</p>
<p>Witnesses said about 20 people in the supermarket found refuge in its cold storage room.</p>
<p>A lieutenant-colonel of the gendarmes who swapped himself in exchange for one of the hostages was fighting for his life in hospital, Macron said.</p>
<p>Moroccan-born Lakdim was known to authorities for petty crimes, but had been under surveillance by security services in 2016-2017 for links to the radical Salafist movement, said Paris prosecutor Francois Molins, who is leading the investigation.</p>
<p>“The monitoring ... did not reveal any apparent signs that could lead (us) to foresee he would act,” Molins said.</p>
<p>He said one woman connected to Lakdim had been arrested.</p>
<p>Interior Minister Gerard Collomb told reporters at the scene that he believed Lakdim had acted alone.</p>
<p>“Every day we detect facts and foil new attacks. Alas, this one struck without us being able to counter it,” Collomb said.</p>
<p>Lakdim first killed one person with a bullet in the head while stealing a car in Carcassonne, a walled city with a medieval citadel that is one of France’s top tourist attractions.</p>
<p>He pulled up in the car to four police officers who were jogging in the city and opened fire, hitting one in the shoulder, then sped off to Trebes, about 8 km (5 miles) to the east, where he took the hostages in the supermarket.</p>
<p>“The perpetrator entered the store shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ and indicated that he was an Islamic State soldier who was ready to die for Syria, seeking the release of brothers, before shooting at a client and a store employee who died on the spot,” Molins said.</p>
<p>Police were carrying out searches at Lakdim’s family home.</p> A general view shows police officers and investigators at a supermarket after a hostage situation in Trebes, France, March 23, 2018. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau ESCAPE
<p>One supermarket worker said some shoppers had escaped from the building after the gunman burst in.</p>
<p>“I was in my department when I heard gunshots. I went to the area of the gunshots and came face to face with the person,” said the employee, who gave his name only as Francois.</p>
<p>“He raised his gun and fired, I ran away, he shouted ‘Allahu Akbar’ and spoke about the Islamic State. I then evacuated the clients, about 20, who were in my area and we went quietly out of the back,” said Francois, who has been employed at the supermarket since November.</p>
<p>Collomb said the gunman had demanded the release of Salah Abdeslam - the prime surviving suspect in Islamic State suicide bombing and mass shooting attacks on a sports stadium, concert hall and restaurants that killed 130 people in Paris in 2015.</p>
<p>Abdeslam, a French citizen born and raised in Brussels, went on trial in Belgium last month. He is accused of “attempted murder in a terrorist context” over a Brussels shootout in March 2016, four months after he fled Paris on the night of the carnage during which his brother was among the suicide bombers.</p> Slideshow (14 Images) “THE THREAT IS EVERYWHERE”
<p>France is part of a U.S.-led coalition fighting against Islamic State in Syria and Iraq and also has thousands of soldiers in West Africa fighting al Qaeda-linked militants.</p>
<p>In February, Collomb said French security forces had foiled two planned attacks so far this year as Islamic State militants set their sights on domestic targets in response to the group’s military setbacks in Iraq and Syria.</p>
<p>“This is a small, quiet town. Unfortunately the threat is everywhere,” Collomb told reporters in Trebes.</p>
<p>Carcassonne, a UNESCO heritage site, lies in the Languedoc region, known for its wine and picturesque countryside but also one of the poorest areas in France, with unemployment about 3 percentage points above the national average.</p>
<p>Nearby Beziers is one of the biggest cities controlled by the far-right, while the smaller town of Lunel further east became a breeding ground for many French jihadists who travelled to Syria to fight.</p> Related Coverage
<a href="/article/us-france-security-molins/prosecutor-says-one-person-arrested-after-southern-france-attack-idUSKBN1GZ2XN" type="external">Prosecutor says one person arrested after southern France attack</a>
<a href="/article/us-france-security-gendarme/french-gendarme-fighting-for-his-life-after-trading-places-with-hostage-idUSKBN1GZ2ZF" type="external">French gendarme fighting for his life after trading places with hostage</a>
<a href="/article/us-france-security-witness/french-supermarket-hostages-dodge-attacker-hide-in-cold-store-idUSKBN1GZ2T4" type="external">French supermarket hostages dodge attacker, hide in cold store</a>
<p>Almost six years ago to the day, Islamist gunman Mohammed Merah killed seven people in the Toulouse region, about 90 km from Carcassonne. He was killed by security forces after a more than 30-hour stand-off.</p>
<p>The last lethal Islamist attack in France was in October 2017 when a Tunisian-born man stabbed two young women to death in Marseille before he was shot dead by soldiers. Islamic State also claimed responsibility for that attack.</p>
<p>For other stories on the attack, click on:</p>
<p>French gendarme fighting for his life after trading places with hostage</p>
<p>France supermarket attacker pledged to “die for Syria”</p>
<p>French supermarket hostages dodge attacker, hide in cold store</p>
<p>Reporting by Emmanuel Jarry, Sophie Louet, John Irish, Michel Rose, Leigh Thomas, Brian Love and Bate Felix in Paris; Writing by Ingrid Melander and David Stamp; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg and Catherine Evans</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union leaders called on U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday to make permanent an EU exemption from U.S. metal import duties, saying they reserved the right to respond “in a proportionate manner” to protect the bloc’s interests.</p>
<p>The 40-day reprieve granted by Washington was like U.S. President Donald Trump pointing a gun at Europe, French President Emmanuel Macron said at a summit in Brussels.</p>
<p>“We will talk about anything in principle with a country that respects WTO rules. We will not talk about anything when it is with a gun to our head,” he told a news conference.</p>
<p>The EU’s trade chief demanded that the United States drop “artificial deadlines” and her boss, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, said it was impossible to reach agreement by May 1.</p>
<p>Trump said on Thursday he would suspend tariffs for the EU, the United States’ biggest trading partner, as well as Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico and South Korea. The tariffs are suspended until May 1 as discussions continue.</p>
<p>EU heads of state and government said in a joint statement that the measures were regrettable, could not be justified on national security grounds which was the basis cited by Washington and the exemption should be permanent.</p>
<p>“Sector-wide protection in the U.S. is an inappropriate remedy for the real problems of overcapacity,” they said.</p>
<p>The leaders also said they supported steps taken by the European Commission to respond to the U.S. measures “as appropriate and in a proportionate manner”.</p>
<p>Cecilia Malmstrom, the trade commissioner who negotiates on behalf of the 28 nations, said Europeans did not want to be penalised by actions prompted largely by accusations of Chinese dumping and said Washington and Brussels should be cooperating.</p>
<p>She told Reuters it was still unclear what Trump wanted in return for granting a permanent waiver and said the EU could bring up a list of its own “trade irritants” if he insisted that EU car import duties be cut. [L8N1R55IY]</p>
<p>Allies should not be subject to “artificial deadlines”, she said.</p> Belgium's Prime Minister Charles Michel and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker attend the European Union leaders summit in Brussels, Belgium, March 23, 2018. Olivier Hoslet/Pool via Reuters TEMPORARY EXEMPTION
<p>German industry, aware that Trump has warned he could raise duties on EU cars, welcomed the reprieve but said the threat of a trade war had not disappeared.</p>
<p>“We still have the threat of escalating global trade conflict. And U.S. President Donald Trump will demand a price for the tariff exclusion,” Thilo Brodtman, head of Germany’s VDMA engineering federation said in a statement.</p> Slideshow (4 Images)
<p>German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Europe was trying to avoid a trade war in which everyone would lose.</p>
<p>European steelmakers group Eurofer said the danger to the EU market had not disappeared, with the exemption only temporary, and the EU needed its own quotas or tariffs to stop steel otherwise bound for the United States from flooding into Europe.</p>
<p>Europe says it wants to avert a trade war but the European Commission has proposed a series of measures if the White House hits EU producers.</p>
<p>It would launch a challenge at the World Trade Organization, consider measures to prevent a surge of metal imports into Europe and impose import duties on U.S. products to “rebalance” EU-U.S. trade. Malmstrom said the EU was keeping its options open.</p> Related Coverage
<a href="/article/us-usa-trade-eu-malmstrom/still-unclear-what-trump-wants-from-europe-eu-trade-chief-says-idUSKBN1GZ2GZ" type="external">Still unclear what Trump wants from Europe, EU trade chief says</a>
<p>The counter-measures would include EU tariffs on U.S. orange juice, tobacco, bourbon and Harley-Davidson Inc motorbikes.</p>
<p>Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel underlined the irritation among some EU leaders at Trump’s negotiating tactics.</p>
<p>“I have the impression that the U.S. leader wants to negotiate with the European Union by putting a gun to our head,” Michel said, in an expression that was later echoed by Macron.</p>
<p>“That’s a strange way to negotiate with an ally.”</p>
<p>Additional reporting by Georgina Prodhan in Frankfurt and Paul Carrel in Berlin; Writing by Richard Lough; Editing by Noah Barkin and Edmund Blair</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>BEIJING (Reuters) - The launch of China’s yuan-denominated oil futures will mark the culmination of a decade-long push by the Shanghai Futures Exchange (ShFE) aimed at giving the world’s largest energy consumer more power in pricing crude sold to Asia.</p> Pumpjacks are seen at an oil field in Huaian, Jiangsu province, China November 11, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer
<p>The exchange said on Friday it had set the opening price for the front month of its crude futures contract launching on Monday at 416 yuan ($65.80) per barrel.</p> WHAT ARE THE CONCERNS AMONG FOREIGN INVESTORS?
<p>* Worries include how to freely exchange the yuan because of a Chinese clampdown on capital outflows, while some concerns remain about Beijing’s heavy handed intervention in its commodity markets in recent years, traders and analysts said.</p>
<p>The obligation to trade Shanghai crudes in yuan will also add a currency risk to the market, which some traders are reluctant to take.</p>
<p>* The Shanghai International Energy Exchange (INE), the unit of ShFE running the contract, has strict daily limits on the number of canceled orders allowed per account, aimed at curbing spoofing. This involves placing bids to buy or offers to sell futures contracts with the intent to cancel them before execution. By creating an illusion of demand, spoofers can influence prices to benefit their market positions.</p>
<p>For a larger client placing orders of more than 300 lots, equivalent to 30,000 barrels of oil, the limit is 50 a day. Users with smaller orders are allowed 500 cancellations.</p>
<p>That’s different to international exchanges, like the CME, which uses a ratio based on an investor’s traded volume.</p>
<p>On days when price volatility and volumes are high, overseas investors new to Chinese markets could get penalised if they exceed those restrictions as they try to adjust their positions, traders say.</p>
<p>* Chinese commodity futures investors do not typically trade steadily over the months, but instead pick specific months in which they deal. That could complicate efforts to trade spreads between Brent, WTI and Shanghai.</p>
<p>Take iron ore &lt;0#DCIO:&gt;, one of China’s most-active futures markets: most of the more than 2.3 million lots of open interest are in May and September contracts, with delivery months in between ranging from tens of thousands of lots to in some cases fewer than 10.</p>
<p>In contrast, liquidity across the first five months of the Brent and WTI contracts &lt;0#LCO:&gt; &lt;0#CL:&gt; is relatively evenly spread out, reflecting their popularity among hedge funds and other financial players, who like to trade month by month.</p>
<p>* There will be a 1.5-hour gap between the settlement and a price published by price reporting agency S&amp;P Global Platts, which provides a price assessment for the region at 4:30 p.m. Singapore time in what it calls the Market On Close (MOC) process, which is closely watched by the industry.</p> FILE PHOTO: A crude oil terminal under construction is pictured off Ningbo Zhoushan port in Zhejiang province, China January 6, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo WHAT WILL HAPPEN DURING CHINA’S NATIONAL HOLIDAYS?
<p>Trading will stop for China’s week-long national holidays - Spring Festival and Golden Week - leaving the Shanghai market out of synch with the Western exchanges.</p>
<p>Shorter trading hours - with three slots each day - compared with almost 24 hours on Western exchanges mean the market may sometimes play catch-up with the rest of the world.</p> WHO WILL USE IT IN THE DOMESTIC INDUSTRY?
<p>China has opened more than 6,000 trading accounts, including the country’s oil majors and about 150 brokerages. Ten foreign intermediaries have registered, including JPMorgan, Bands Financial, Straits Financial Services and other Hong Kong-based affiliates of domestic brokerages.</p>
<p>It will likely attract mainly ‘mon-and-pop’ speculative investors, who dominate the country’s other often volatile commodity futures markets from dates to iron ore, although transaction fees for crude are relatively high.</p>
<p>China’s independent refineries are more likely to process heavy crude instead of the medium-sour crude traded in futures, a Shandong-based crude trader said.</p>
<p>At least three independent refineries that are looking to use the contract for hedging also said they were unsure about delivery. Under the rules, buyers cannot choose a specific grade that will be delivered or the location of the warehouse for delivery.</p> HOW DO FOREIGN USERS OPEN A TRADING ACCOUNT?
<p>Foreign investors will need to open a non-residential bank account with one of the eight banks that handle margin deposits for yuan crude futures, according to INE.</p>
<p>The banks are Agricultural Bank of China, CITIC Bank, China Construction Bank and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Bank of China, Bank of Communications, China Merchant Bank and the Development Bank of Singapore.</p>
<p>Investors will need to transfer money from that bank account to an account opened with either a domestic broker or foreign broker or agencies registered with the INE. The broker will open two accounts with INE: one for margin deposit and one for settlement for foreign currencies.</p> WHAT ARE DOMESTIC BROKERS DOING TO ATTRACT CLIENTS?
<p>Many big and small brokers such as COFCO and Zhaojin Futures have waived their transaction fees to crude oil clients and will provide free consulting services as well as free training in a bid to win more customers, sources at brokers told Reuters.</p>
<p>COFCO and Zhaojin declined to comment.</p>
<p>Huatai Futures is offering over-the-counter crude oil options, Zhang Huiyao, deputy manager of the firm’s crude department, told Reuters. In January, the broker added six staff to its China-based crude oil team, which was set up last October, so it can reach more potential clients, she said.</p>
<p>Reporting by Meng Meng, Josephine Mason and Tom Daly; editing by Richard Pullin and Dale Hudson</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
|
Italy evacuates dozens from Alpine hotel threatened by avalanche Trump moves to limit transgender individuals from military service Islamist gunman attacks French supermarket, kills three EU complains of Trump's 'gun to our head' over tariffs Explainer: China aims to challenge Brent, WTI oil with crude futures launch
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https://reuters.com/article/italy-weather/italy-evacuates-dozens-from-alpine-hotel-threatened-by-avalanche-idUSL8N1PI6XF
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2018-01-23
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Italy evacuates dozens from Alpine hotel threatened by avalanche Trump moves to limit transgender individuals from military service Islamist gunman attacks French supermarket, kills three EU complains of Trump's 'gun to our head' over tariffs Explainer: China aims to challenge Brent, WTI oil with crude futures launch
<p>ROME (Reuters) - Italy used helicopters on Tuesday to airlift almost 100 tourists and staff from an Alpine hotel near the border with Austria because of a high risk of avalanche, an army spokesman said.</p>
<p>Record amounts of snow in recent days had made it impossible to leave the area by road, and the hotel had lost power. Army and finance police helicopters were among those used in the evacuation.</p>
<p>A year ago a massive avalanche razed a hotel in central Italy, killing 29.</p>
<p>In Switzerland, hosting the World Economic Forum in Davos this week, authorities went on avalanche alert on Monday after fresh snow smothered much of the Alps. The accumulation of snow was the highest since 1999.</p>
<p>Reporting by Steve Scherer; Editing by Alison Williams/William Maclean</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump signed a memorandum on Friday that limits transgender individuals from serving in the U.S. military, but gives the armed forces some latitude in implementing policies.</p> U.S. President Donald Trump boards Air Force One as he departs for Palm Beach, Florida, from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, U.S., March 23, 2018. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts
<p>The memorandum said that transgender individuals with a history of “gender dysphoria” are disqualified from military service “except under certain limited circumstances.”</p>
<p>It added that the secretaries of defense and homeland security “may exercise their authority to implement any appropriate policies concerning military service by transgender individuals.”</p>
<p>Reporting by Idrees Ali and Eric Beech; Editing by Sandra Maler</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>TREBES, France (Reuters) - A gunman killed three people in southwestern France on Friday as he held up a car, fired on police and seized hostages in a supermarket, screaming “Allahu Akbar” before security forces stormed the building and killed him, authorities said.</p>
<p>Sixteen other people were wounded, including two who were seriously hurt, in what President Emmanuel Macron called an act of “Islamist terrorism”.</p>
<p>The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack. Macron said security services were checking that claim.</p>
<p>“I want to tell the nation tonight of my absolute determination in leading this fight,” said Macron, who returned to Paris from Brussels to chair a crisis meeting with ministers and security officials.</p>
<p>More than 240 people have been killed in France in attacks since 2015 by assailants who pledged allegiance to Islamic State or were inspired by the group.</p>
<p>Friday’s attacker was identified by authorities as Redouane Lakdim, 25, from the city of Carcassonne.</p>
<p>Two people were killed when he attacked the supermarket in the nearby small town of Trebes.</p>
<p>Witnesses said about 20 people in the supermarket found refuge in its cold storage room.</p>
<p>A lieutenant-colonel of the gendarmes who swapped himself in exchange for one of the hostages was fighting for his life in hospital, Macron said.</p>
<p>Moroccan-born Lakdim was known to authorities for petty crimes, but had been under surveillance by security services in 2016-2017 for links to the radical Salafist movement, said Paris prosecutor Francois Molins, who is leading the investigation.</p>
<p>“The monitoring ... did not reveal any apparent signs that could lead (us) to foresee he would act,” Molins said.</p>
<p>He said one woman connected to Lakdim had been arrested.</p>
<p>Interior Minister Gerard Collomb told reporters at the scene that he believed Lakdim had acted alone.</p>
<p>“Every day we detect facts and foil new attacks. Alas, this one struck without us being able to counter it,” Collomb said.</p>
<p>Lakdim first killed one person with a bullet in the head while stealing a car in Carcassonne, a walled city with a medieval citadel that is one of France’s top tourist attractions.</p>
<p>He pulled up in the car to four police officers who were jogging in the city and opened fire, hitting one in the shoulder, then sped off to Trebes, about 8 km (5 miles) to the east, where he took the hostages in the supermarket.</p>
<p>“The perpetrator entered the store shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ and indicated that he was an Islamic State soldier who was ready to die for Syria, seeking the release of brothers, before shooting at a client and a store employee who died on the spot,” Molins said.</p>
<p>Police were carrying out searches at Lakdim’s family home.</p> A general view shows police officers and investigators at a supermarket after a hostage situation in Trebes, France, March 23, 2018. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau ESCAPE
<p>One supermarket worker said some shoppers had escaped from the building after the gunman burst in.</p>
<p>“I was in my department when I heard gunshots. I went to the area of the gunshots and came face to face with the person,” said the employee, who gave his name only as Francois.</p>
<p>“He raised his gun and fired, I ran away, he shouted ‘Allahu Akbar’ and spoke about the Islamic State. I then evacuated the clients, about 20, who were in my area and we went quietly out of the back,” said Francois, who has been employed at the supermarket since November.</p>
<p>Collomb said the gunman had demanded the release of Salah Abdeslam - the prime surviving suspect in Islamic State suicide bombing and mass shooting attacks on a sports stadium, concert hall and restaurants that killed 130 people in Paris in 2015.</p>
<p>Abdeslam, a French citizen born and raised in Brussels, went on trial in Belgium last month. He is accused of “attempted murder in a terrorist context” over a Brussels shootout in March 2016, four months after he fled Paris on the night of the carnage during which his brother was among the suicide bombers.</p> Slideshow (14 Images) “THE THREAT IS EVERYWHERE”
<p>France is part of a U.S.-led coalition fighting against Islamic State in Syria and Iraq and also has thousands of soldiers in West Africa fighting al Qaeda-linked militants.</p>
<p>In February, Collomb said French security forces had foiled two planned attacks so far this year as Islamic State militants set their sights on domestic targets in response to the group’s military setbacks in Iraq and Syria.</p>
<p>“This is a small, quiet town. Unfortunately the threat is everywhere,” Collomb told reporters in Trebes.</p>
<p>Carcassonne, a UNESCO heritage site, lies in the Languedoc region, known for its wine and picturesque countryside but also one of the poorest areas in France, with unemployment about 3 percentage points above the national average.</p>
<p>Nearby Beziers is one of the biggest cities controlled by the far-right, while the smaller town of Lunel further east became a breeding ground for many French jihadists who travelled to Syria to fight.</p> Related Coverage
<a href="/article/us-france-security-molins/prosecutor-says-one-person-arrested-after-southern-france-attack-idUSKBN1GZ2XN" type="external">Prosecutor says one person arrested after southern France attack</a>
<a href="/article/us-france-security-gendarme/french-gendarme-fighting-for-his-life-after-trading-places-with-hostage-idUSKBN1GZ2ZF" type="external">French gendarme fighting for his life after trading places with hostage</a>
<a href="/article/us-france-security-witness/french-supermarket-hostages-dodge-attacker-hide-in-cold-store-idUSKBN1GZ2T4" type="external">French supermarket hostages dodge attacker, hide in cold store</a>
<p>Almost six years ago to the day, Islamist gunman Mohammed Merah killed seven people in the Toulouse region, about 90 km from Carcassonne. He was killed by security forces after a more than 30-hour stand-off.</p>
<p>The last lethal Islamist attack in France was in October 2017 when a Tunisian-born man stabbed two young women to death in Marseille before he was shot dead by soldiers. Islamic State also claimed responsibility for that attack.</p>
<p>For other stories on the attack, click on:</p>
<p>French gendarme fighting for his life after trading places with hostage</p>
<p>France supermarket attacker pledged to “die for Syria”</p>
<p>French supermarket hostages dodge attacker, hide in cold store</p>
<p>Reporting by Emmanuel Jarry, Sophie Louet, John Irish, Michel Rose, Leigh Thomas, Brian Love and Bate Felix in Paris; Writing by Ingrid Melander and David Stamp; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg and Catherine Evans</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union leaders called on U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday to make permanent an EU exemption from U.S. metal import duties, saying they reserved the right to respond “in a proportionate manner” to protect the bloc’s interests.</p>
<p>The 40-day reprieve granted by Washington was like U.S. President Donald Trump pointing a gun at Europe, French President Emmanuel Macron said at a summit in Brussels.</p>
<p>“We will talk about anything in principle with a country that respects WTO rules. We will not talk about anything when it is with a gun to our head,” he told a news conference.</p>
<p>The EU’s trade chief demanded that the United States drop “artificial deadlines” and her boss, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, said it was impossible to reach agreement by May 1.</p>
<p>Trump said on Thursday he would suspend tariffs for the EU, the United States’ biggest trading partner, as well as Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico and South Korea. The tariffs are suspended until May 1 as discussions continue.</p>
<p>EU heads of state and government said in a joint statement that the measures were regrettable, could not be justified on national security grounds which was the basis cited by Washington and the exemption should be permanent.</p>
<p>“Sector-wide protection in the U.S. is an inappropriate remedy for the real problems of overcapacity,” they said.</p>
<p>The leaders also said they supported steps taken by the European Commission to respond to the U.S. measures “as appropriate and in a proportionate manner”.</p>
<p>Cecilia Malmstrom, the trade commissioner who negotiates on behalf of the 28 nations, said Europeans did not want to be penalised by actions prompted largely by accusations of Chinese dumping and said Washington and Brussels should be cooperating.</p>
<p>She told Reuters it was still unclear what Trump wanted in return for granting a permanent waiver and said the EU could bring up a list of its own “trade irritants” if he insisted that EU car import duties be cut. [L8N1R55IY]</p>
<p>Allies should not be subject to “artificial deadlines”, she said.</p> Belgium's Prime Minister Charles Michel and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker attend the European Union leaders summit in Brussels, Belgium, March 23, 2018. Olivier Hoslet/Pool via Reuters TEMPORARY EXEMPTION
<p>German industry, aware that Trump has warned he could raise duties on EU cars, welcomed the reprieve but said the threat of a trade war had not disappeared.</p>
<p>“We still have the threat of escalating global trade conflict. And U.S. President Donald Trump will demand a price for the tariff exclusion,” Thilo Brodtman, head of Germany’s VDMA engineering federation said in a statement.</p> Slideshow (4 Images)
<p>German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Europe was trying to avoid a trade war in which everyone would lose.</p>
<p>European steelmakers group Eurofer said the danger to the EU market had not disappeared, with the exemption only temporary, and the EU needed its own quotas or tariffs to stop steel otherwise bound for the United States from flooding into Europe.</p>
<p>Europe says it wants to avert a trade war but the European Commission has proposed a series of measures if the White House hits EU producers.</p>
<p>It would launch a challenge at the World Trade Organization, consider measures to prevent a surge of metal imports into Europe and impose import duties on U.S. products to “rebalance” EU-U.S. trade. Malmstrom said the EU was keeping its options open.</p> Related Coverage
<a href="/article/us-usa-trade-eu-malmstrom/still-unclear-what-trump-wants-from-europe-eu-trade-chief-says-idUSKBN1GZ2GZ" type="external">Still unclear what Trump wants from Europe, EU trade chief says</a>
<p>The counter-measures would include EU tariffs on U.S. orange juice, tobacco, bourbon and Harley-Davidson Inc motorbikes.</p>
<p>Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel underlined the irritation among some EU leaders at Trump’s negotiating tactics.</p>
<p>“I have the impression that the U.S. leader wants to negotiate with the European Union by putting a gun to our head,” Michel said, in an expression that was later echoed by Macron.</p>
<p>“That’s a strange way to negotiate with an ally.”</p>
<p>Additional reporting by Georgina Prodhan in Frankfurt and Paul Carrel in Berlin; Writing by Richard Lough; Editing by Noah Barkin and Edmund Blair</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>BEIJING (Reuters) - The launch of China’s yuan-denominated oil futures will mark the culmination of a decade-long push by the Shanghai Futures Exchange (ShFE) aimed at giving the world’s largest energy consumer more power in pricing crude sold to Asia.</p> Pumpjacks are seen at an oil field in Huaian, Jiangsu province, China November 11, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer
<p>The exchange said on Friday it had set the opening price for the front month of its crude futures contract launching on Monday at 416 yuan ($65.80) per barrel.</p> WHAT ARE THE CONCERNS AMONG FOREIGN INVESTORS?
<p>* Worries include how to freely exchange the yuan because of a Chinese clampdown on capital outflows, while some concerns remain about Beijing’s heavy handed intervention in its commodity markets in recent years, traders and analysts said.</p>
<p>The obligation to trade Shanghai crudes in yuan will also add a currency risk to the market, which some traders are reluctant to take.</p>
<p>* The Shanghai International Energy Exchange (INE), the unit of ShFE running the contract, has strict daily limits on the number of canceled orders allowed per account, aimed at curbing spoofing. This involves placing bids to buy or offers to sell futures contracts with the intent to cancel them before execution. By creating an illusion of demand, spoofers can influence prices to benefit their market positions.</p>
<p>For a larger client placing orders of more than 300 lots, equivalent to 30,000 barrels of oil, the limit is 50 a day. Users with smaller orders are allowed 500 cancellations.</p>
<p>That’s different to international exchanges, like the CME, which uses a ratio based on an investor’s traded volume.</p>
<p>On days when price volatility and volumes are high, overseas investors new to Chinese markets could get penalised if they exceed those restrictions as they try to adjust their positions, traders say.</p>
<p>* Chinese commodity futures investors do not typically trade steadily over the months, but instead pick specific months in which they deal. That could complicate efforts to trade spreads between Brent, WTI and Shanghai.</p>
<p>Take iron ore &lt;0#DCIO:&gt;, one of China’s most-active futures markets: most of the more than 2.3 million lots of open interest are in May and September contracts, with delivery months in between ranging from tens of thousands of lots to in some cases fewer than 10.</p>
<p>In contrast, liquidity across the first five months of the Brent and WTI contracts &lt;0#LCO:&gt; &lt;0#CL:&gt; is relatively evenly spread out, reflecting their popularity among hedge funds and other financial players, who like to trade month by month.</p>
<p>* There will be a 1.5-hour gap between the settlement and a price published by price reporting agency S&amp;P Global Platts, which provides a price assessment for the region at 4:30 p.m. Singapore time in what it calls the Market On Close (MOC) process, which is closely watched by the industry.</p> FILE PHOTO: A crude oil terminal under construction is pictured off Ningbo Zhoushan port in Zhejiang province, China January 6, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo WHAT WILL HAPPEN DURING CHINA’S NATIONAL HOLIDAYS?
<p>Trading will stop for China’s week-long national holidays - Spring Festival and Golden Week - leaving the Shanghai market out of synch with the Western exchanges.</p>
<p>Shorter trading hours - with three slots each day - compared with almost 24 hours on Western exchanges mean the market may sometimes play catch-up with the rest of the world.</p> WHO WILL USE IT IN THE DOMESTIC INDUSTRY?
<p>China has opened more than 6,000 trading accounts, including the country’s oil majors and about 150 brokerages. Ten foreign intermediaries have registered, including JPMorgan, Bands Financial, Straits Financial Services and other Hong Kong-based affiliates of domestic brokerages.</p>
<p>It will likely attract mainly ‘mon-and-pop’ speculative investors, who dominate the country’s other often volatile commodity futures markets from dates to iron ore, although transaction fees for crude are relatively high.</p>
<p>China’s independent refineries are more likely to process heavy crude instead of the medium-sour crude traded in futures, a Shandong-based crude trader said.</p>
<p>At least three independent refineries that are looking to use the contract for hedging also said they were unsure about delivery. Under the rules, buyers cannot choose a specific grade that will be delivered or the location of the warehouse for delivery.</p> HOW DO FOREIGN USERS OPEN A TRADING ACCOUNT?
<p>Foreign investors will need to open a non-residential bank account with one of the eight banks that handle margin deposits for yuan crude futures, according to INE.</p>
<p>The banks are Agricultural Bank of China, CITIC Bank, China Construction Bank and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Bank of China, Bank of Communications, China Merchant Bank and the Development Bank of Singapore.</p>
<p>Investors will need to transfer money from that bank account to an account opened with either a domestic broker or foreign broker or agencies registered with the INE. The broker will open two accounts with INE: one for margin deposit and one for settlement for foreign currencies.</p> WHAT ARE DOMESTIC BROKERS DOING TO ATTRACT CLIENTS?
<p>Many big and small brokers such as COFCO and Zhaojin Futures have waived their transaction fees to crude oil clients and will provide free consulting services as well as free training in a bid to win more customers, sources at brokers told Reuters.</p>
<p>COFCO and Zhaojin declined to comment.</p>
<p>Huatai Futures is offering over-the-counter crude oil options, Zhang Huiyao, deputy manager of the firm’s crude department, told Reuters. In January, the broker added six staff to its China-based crude oil team, which was set up last October, so it can reach more potential clients, she said.</p>
<p>Reporting by Meng Meng, Josephine Mason and Tom Daly; editing by Richard Pullin and Dale Hudson</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
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<p>We urge our elected officials – especially Sens. Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich – to carefully consider all of the facts as they determine whether or not to support DeVos for confirmation.</p>
<p>DeVos has a long and well-documented history of opposing a robust system of public education in her home state of Michigan in favor of increased charter, private and religious schools. In fact, DeVos’ advocacy extends beyond just support for private schools; she actively opposes reasonable transparency for private schools, while championing decreased governmental oversight for private schools.</p>
<p>To be clear, we do not oppose the existence of private schools; their success must not come at the expense of America’s strong tradition of public education.</p>
<p>We are greatly concerned that under DeVos, we will continue to see the effects of a philosophy which believes that privatization of our schools will lead to improvement. We know the opposite to be true, and studies show that increased school choice is not implemented uniformly, or equitably across all segments of our society. We only need to look at the proliferation of private schools in Detroit – which was spearheaded by DeVos – to see the results of this type of philosophy: poorer performance in reading and math, drastic reduction of funds for public school students, and a system of education which is prone to underserving our students.</p>
<p>Charter, private and religious schools are not required to accept all students who apply, which in reality, often means that students of color, those with different learning abilities, or those from lower economic means are not accepted. Furthermore, private schools often are not subject to the same transparency requirements that are applied to our public schools, which further exacerbates the imbalance between public and private schools.</p>
<p>Furthermore, there is not conclusive proof that private schools outperform America’s public schools as a rule, and often the coupling of reduced oversight, poor financial accountability and little transparency damages student learning in favor of higher profits.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Coupled with her support of voucher programs and charter schools is her open hostility toward unionized public educators. As recently as 2015, DeVos cited unions as an impediment to improving our country’s system of public education.</p>
<p>Obviously, we oppose this assessment of our efforts in support of quality public education nationally and in New Mexico. Instead, we would assert that the collective voices of our members have been the only consistent firewall against the dismantling of America’s public schools.</p>
<p>On a more local note, DeVos is not an educator. She has held no position in a public school, nor classroom, and we have seen first-hand the disastrous effects in New Mexico of a non-educator at the helm of our education. No one would accept a nominee for U.S. Surgeon General who is not a licensed medical professional, and we believe the same criteria ought to be applied to this office as well.</p>
<p>We will continue to use our voices whether or not DeVos is confirmed by the Senate to advocate for sound policies that advance America’s and New Mexico’s public education system by continuing to fight for fully funded schools, equitable funding for students, and access to high-quality education opportunities for all students, regardless of means or zip code.</p>
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<p>We urge our elected officials – especially Sens. Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich – to carefully consider all of the facts as they determine whether or not to support DeVos for confirmation.</p>
<p>DeVos has a long and well-documented history of opposing a robust system of public education in her home state of Michigan in favor of increased charter, private and religious schools. In fact, DeVos’ advocacy extends beyond just support for private schools; she actively opposes reasonable transparency for private schools, while championing decreased governmental oversight for private schools.</p>
<p>To be clear, we do not oppose the existence of private schools; their success must not come at the expense of America’s strong tradition of public education.</p>
<p>We are greatly concerned that under DeVos, we will continue to see the effects of a philosophy which believes that privatization of our schools will lead to improvement. We know the opposite to be true, and studies show that increased school choice is not implemented uniformly, or equitably across all segments of our society. We only need to look at the proliferation of private schools in Detroit – which was spearheaded by DeVos – to see the results of this type of philosophy: poorer performance in reading and math, drastic reduction of funds for public school students, and a system of education which is prone to underserving our students.</p>
<p>Charter, private and religious schools are not required to accept all students who apply, which in reality, often means that students of color, those with different learning abilities, or those from lower economic means are not accepted. Furthermore, private schools often are not subject to the same transparency requirements that are applied to our public schools, which further exacerbates the imbalance between public and private schools.</p>
<p>Furthermore, there is not conclusive proof that private schools outperform America’s public schools as a rule, and often the coupling of reduced oversight, poor financial accountability and little transparency damages student learning in favor of higher profits.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Coupled with her support of voucher programs and charter schools is her open hostility toward unionized public educators. As recently as 2015, DeVos cited unions as an impediment to improving our country’s system of public education.</p>
<p>Obviously, we oppose this assessment of our efforts in support of quality public education nationally and in New Mexico. Instead, we would assert that the collective voices of our members have been the only consistent firewall against the dismantling of America’s public schools.</p>
<p>On a more local note, DeVos is not an educator. She has held no position in a public school, nor classroom, and we have seen first-hand the disastrous effects in New Mexico of a non-educator at the helm of our education. No one would accept a nominee for U.S. Surgeon General who is not a licensed medical professional, and we believe the same criteria ought to be applied to this office as well.</p>
<p>We will continue to use our voices whether or not DeVos is confirmed by the Senate to advocate for sound policies that advance America’s and New Mexico’s public education system by continuing to fight for fully funded schools, equitable funding for students, and access to high-quality education opportunities for all students, regardless of means or zip code.</p>
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<p><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/paul-ryan-donald-trump-blank-check-endorsement_us_5762fc28e4b0df4d586f9973?z4esf3l2p67n1att9" type="external">Speaking</a> in an interview with The Huffington Post on Thursday, House Speaker Paul Ryan asserted that if Donald Trump, as president, made good on his threat to ban Muslims from entering the U.S. by bypassing Congress, he would sue him. Ryan posited, “I would sue any president that exceeds his or her powers.”</p>
<p>Ryan said he was uncertain if Trump’s ban would exceed presidential powers, saying, “That’s a legal question that there’s a good debate about,” citing the 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act.</p>
<p>On Monday, Trump <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/house-republicans-donald-trump-muslim-ban_us_575ffdd3e4b071ec19ef1b94?bzdztpdx93w8w7b9=" type="external">blustered</a>, “The immigration laws of the United States give the president powers to suspend entry into the country of any class of persons. I will suspend immigration from areas of the world where there is a proven history of terrorism against the United States, Europe or our allies, until we fully understand how to end these threats.”</p>
<p>Roughly two weeks ago, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-muslim-ban-congress_us_575f244fe4b053d43305fefb?3ex9a4i=" type="external">told</a> CBS News, “No matter how unusual a personality may be who gets elected to office, there are constraints in this country. You don’t get to do anything you want to.” After Trump’s boast on Monday, McConnell spokesman Don Stewart would only say, “I don’t have a new response today.”</p>
<p>Ryan said that despite his endorsement of Trump, he wasn’t giving Trump “a blank check,” adding, “I don’t know what that line is, but right now, I want to make sure that we win the White House.” Ryan opined that his relationship with Trump is still uncertain, allowing, “It’s something that has to be worked at,” Ryan said, “and we still got work to do.” He buttressed that statement by pointing out that when he felt his principles were “being violated,” cohesion with Trump was a difficult task.</p>
<p>Although Ryan has endorsed Trump, he is indicating in his own subtle way that the party can still reject him as its nominee if they feel he will endanger the GOP’s chances in November. In an <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/first-read-ryan-instructs-republicans-follow-their-conscience-trump-n594291" type="external">interview</a> with Meet the Press that will air on Sunday, Ryan implied as much with host Chuck Todd:</p>
<p>Todd asked, “Do you think it is that members in the House Republican conference follow your conscience? If you don't want to support him, don't. do it --</p>
<p>“I would sue any president that exceeds his or her powers.”</p>
<p>House Speaker Paul Ryan</p>
<p>Ryan replied:</p>
<p>Oh, absolutely. The last thing I would do is tell anybody to do something that's contrary to their conscience. Of course I wouldn't do that. Look, believe me, Chuck. I get that this a very strange situation. [Trump is] a very unique nominee. But I feel as a responsibility institutionally as the speaker of the House that I should not be leading some chasm in the middle of our party. Because you know what I know that'll do? That'll definitely knock us out of the White House.</p>
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Ryan: Yeah, I Might Have To Sue Trump
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https://dailywire.com/news/6688/ryan-yeah-i-might-have-sue-trump-hank-berrien
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2016-06-17
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Ryan: Yeah, I Might Have To Sue Trump
<p><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/paul-ryan-donald-trump-blank-check-endorsement_us_5762fc28e4b0df4d586f9973?z4esf3l2p67n1att9" type="external">Speaking</a> in an interview with The Huffington Post on Thursday, House Speaker Paul Ryan asserted that if Donald Trump, as president, made good on his threat to ban Muslims from entering the U.S. by bypassing Congress, he would sue him. Ryan posited, “I would sue any president that exceeds his or her powers.”</p>
<p>Ryan said he was uncertain if Trump’s ban would exceed presidential powers, saying, “That’s a legal question that there’s a good debate about,” citing the 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act.</p>
<p>On Monday, Trump <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/house-republicans-donald-trump-muslim-ban_us_575ffdd3e4b071ec19ef1b94?bzdztpdx93w8w7b9=" type="external">blustered</a>, “The immigration laws of the United States give the president powers to suspend entry into the country of any class of persons. I will suspend immigration from areas of the world where there is a proven history of terrorism against the United States, Europe or our allies, until we fully understand how to end these threats.”</p>
<p>Roughly two weeks ago, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-muslim-ban-congress_us_575f244fe4b053d43305fefb?3ex9a4i=" type="external">told</a> CBS News, “No matter how unusual a personality may be who gets elected to office, there are constraints in this country. You don’t get to do anything you want to.” After Trump’s boast on Monday, McConnell spokesman Don Stewart would only say, “I don’t have a new response today.”</p>
<p>Ryan said that despite his endorsement of Trump, he wasn’t giving Trump “a blank check,” adding, “I don’t know what that line is, but right now, I want to make sure that we win the White House.” Ryan opined that his relationship with Trump is still uncertain, allowing, “It’s something that has to be worked at,” Ryan said, “and we still got work to do.” He buttressed that statement by pointing out that when he felt his principles were “being violated,” cohesion with Trump was a difficult task.</p>
<p>Although Ryan has endorsed Trump, he is indicating in his own subtle way that the party can still reject him as its nominee if they feel he will endanger the GOP’s chances in November. In an <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/first-read-ryan-instructs-republicans-follow-their-conscience-trump-n594291" type="external">interview</a> with Meet the Press that will air on Sunday, Ryan implied as much with host Chuck Todd:</p>
<p>Todd asked, “Do you think it is that members in the House Republican conference follow your conscience? If you don't want to support him, don't. do it --</p>
<p>“I would sue any president that exceeds his or her powers.”</p>
<p>House Speaker Paul Ryan</p>
<p>Ryan replied:</p>
<p>Oh, absolutely. The last thing I would do is tell anybody to do something that's contrary to their conscience. Of course I wouldn't do that. Look, believe me, Chuck. I get that this a very strange situation. [Trump is] a very unique nominee. But I feel as a responsibility institutionally as the speaker of the House that I should not be leading some chasm in the middle of our party. Because you know what I know that'll do? That'll definitely knock us out of the White House.</p>
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<p>By <a href="http://investing.covestor.com/author/john-linnemeier" type="external">John Linnemeier Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>Our three holdings--Geospace Holdings, Geely Automobile, and 3D Systems --began to to perform better in April. I don't think there's much particular justification for most of this, other than the market's manic-depressive attitude toward these companies.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>I've decided to buy iShares NASDAQ Biotechnology Index, an ETF composed of a large number of biotech companies. Trying to buy individual stocks in this sector is pretty much a crapshoot, and, frankly, there's a good deal of insider information that we'll never have.</p>
<p>On the other hand, the sector, as a whole, appears to be on the upswing for various reasons. In my opinion, Big Pharma simply doesn't have enough new drugs in the pipeline, so the only way to fill it is by buying up smaller companies that have jumped through the respective regulatory hoops for their specific drugs.</p>
<p>The field of genetic engineering, in general, i <a href="http://www.benzinga.com/pressreleases/13/05/b3554177/research-and-markets-cell-therapy-technologies-markets-and-companies-up" type="external">s finally beginning to bear fruit Opens a New Window.</a>, and I believe may be a revolutionary economic force. I could buy individual stocks, like Seattle Genetics, but in this area, at least, I prefer a more diversified approach.</p>
<p>The investments discussed are held in client accounts as of May 1, 2013. These investments may or may not be currently held in client accounts. The reader should not assume that any investments identified were or will be profitable or that any investment recommendations or investment decisions we make in the future will be profitable.</p>
<p>The post <a href="http://investing.covestor.com/2013/05/why-biotech-trumps-big-pharma-in-our-portfolio" type="external">Why biotech trumps big pharma in our portfolio Opens a New Window.</a> appeared first on <a href="http://investing.covestor.com" type="external">Smarter Investing Opens a New Window.</a>Covestor Ltd. is a registered investment advisor. Covestor licenses investment strategies from its Model Managers to establish investment models. The commentary here is provided as general and impersonal information and should not be construed as recommendations or advice. Information from Model Managers and third-party sources deemed to be reliable but not guaranteed. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Transaction histories for Covestor models available upon request. Additional important disclosures available at http://site.covestor.com/help/disclosures.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
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Why biotech trumps big pharma in our portfolio
| true |
http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2013/05/23/why-biotech-trumps-big-pharma-in-our-portfolio.html
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2016-03-02
| 0right
|
Why biotech trumps big pharma in our portfolio
<p>By <a href="http://investing.covestor.com/author/john-linnemeier" type="external">John Linnemeier Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>Our three holdings--Geospace Holdings, Geely Automobile, and 3D Systems --began to to perform better in April. I don't think there's much particular justification for most of this, other than the market's manic-depressive attitude toward these companies.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>I've decided to buy iShares NASDAQ Biotechnology Index, an ETF composed of a large number of biotech companies. Trying to buy individual stocks in this sector is pretty much a crapshoot, and, frankly, there's a good deal of insider information that we'll never have.</p>
<p>On the other hand, the sector, as a whole, appears to be on the upswing for various reasons. In my opinion, Big Pharma simply doesn't have enough new drugs in the pipeline, so the only way to fill it is by buying up smaller companies that have jumped through the respective regulatory hoops for their specific drugs.</p>
<p>The field of genetic engineering, in general, i <a href="http://www.benzinga.com/pressreleases/13/05/b3554177/research-and-markets-cell-therapy-technologies-markets-and-companies-up" type="external">s finally beginning to bear fruit Opens a New Window.</a>, and I believe may be a revolutionary economic force. I could buy individual stocks, like Seattle Genetics, but in this area, at least, I prefer a more diversified approach.</p>
<p>The investments discussed are held in client accounts as of May 1, 2013. These investments may or may not be currently held in client accounts. The reader should not assume that any investments identified were or will be profitable or that any investment recommendations or investment decisions we make in the future will be profitable.</p>
<p>The post <a href="http://investing.covestor.com/2013/05/why-biotech-trumps-big-pharma-in-our-portfolio" type="external">Why biotech trumps big pharma in our portfolio Opens a New Window.</a> appeared first on <a href="http://investing.covestor.com" type="external">Smarter Investing Opens a New Window.</a>Covestor Ltd. is a registered investment advisor. Covestor licenses investment strategies from its Model Managers to establish investment models. The commentary here is provided as general and impersonal information and should not be construed as recommendations or advice. Information from Model Managers and third-party sources deemed to be reliable but not guaranteed. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Transaction histories for Covestor models available upon request. Additional important disclosures available at http://site.covestor.com/help/disclosures.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
| 6,255 |
<p />
<p>Some doctors really mean it when they say they do not take health insurance. For others, it is more of a nuanced statement.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Consumers trying to decipher the difference have to ask a lot of questions to figure out how to manage their bills.</p>
<p>Here are the three key scenarios facing consumers:</p>
<p>A growing number of doctors simply are not taking contracts with insurance companies, although the concentration varies by region and by specialty. That leaves patients to pay the market rate the doctor charges, and then submit a receipt to get reimbursement for out-of-network coverage, if they have it.</p>
<p>In some cases, the pickings can be slim for in-network docs. For example, 45% of psychiatrists do not participate in insurance networks, according to JAMA Psychiatry.</p>
<p>"The burden of getting the forms right and getting all the paperwork is placed on the physician," says Dinah Miller, a psychiatrist who practices in Baltimore and co-authors a blog called Shrink Rap (http://psychiatrist-blog.blogspot.com/). "If you're seeing eight or nine patients a day, and several bounce, it's a lot of uncompensated time."</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Primary care physicians are opting out, too. Some are moving to a concierge model, in which patients pay a subscription fee like $150 a month to see their doctor.</p>
<p>Membership in the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, a conservative-libertarian group of private-pay doctors, increases by about 10% a year, says Jane Orient, executive director of the organization, which has 5,000 members.</p>
<p>Many doctors who say they don't take insurance will make deals with patients on an individual basis. One key negotiating tip is to know what your in-network rate would be, typically a discount of about 40%, suggests Joe Mondy, a spokesman for insurer Cigna.</p>
<p>You can get this information through your provider's online tools or by calling the customer service line. But Mondy says to be aware that the private provider is not bound to accept that price.</p>
<p>This process is typically referred to as balance billing. It is largely frowned upon for in-network charges, and even restricted in some states. But it still goes on in the private-pay world, and often results in a confusing morass of paperwork.</p>
<p>Even insurance executives find themselves negotiating the fray. Chris Reidl, director of product for national accounts at insurer Aetna, paid an up-front fee to one doctor and then submitted the bill to the insurance company. When the insurance company reimbursed the doctor for the visit, the office refunded the fee she had paid.</p>
<p>Consumers need to be on top of this process and pour over their benefits statements to track the various payments. They also need to keep after their doctors' offices to get their money back.</p>
<p>Some providers have back-channel communications with insurance companies, trying to get a better reimbursement so their patients end up paying less out of pocket.</p>
<p>Amy Gordon, a lawyer focusing on benefits issues at McDermott, Will &amp; Emery in Chicago, facilitates some of these discussions, trying to get everyone on the same page.</p>
<p>Gordon gives the example of a chiropractor who has a number of patients on one employer's plan. The going rate for a visit is $200, and the out-of-network reimbursement offered is $50. The provider has to choose whether to charge the patients the remainder or discount it.</p>
<p>"Being out $150 for one person is bad, but being out that much for 10 people is worse," she says. So the provider tries to get more from the insurance company, and the insurance company tries to get the provider to join its network. The insurer and the doctor may end up settling on an $80 reimbursement, and the patients only have to pay the equivalent of a $20 co-pay.</p>
<p>"A lot of this can be avoided with planning, and finding if there is an acceptable in-network provider," Gordon says. "If you still want to go out of network, you can ask the insurance company to give you an estimate of what they would pay, and then you can at least make a more informed decision."</p>
<p>(Follow us @ReutersMoney or at http://www.reuters.com/finance/personal-finance. Editing by Lauren Young and Dan Grebler. Follow the author at http://twitter.com/bethpinsker)</p>
|
'I Don't Take Insurance' Not Always a Doctor Deal Breaker
| true |
http://foxbusiness.com/features/2014/08/20/your-money-dont-take-insurance-not-always-doctor-deal-breaker.html
|
2016-03-05
| 0right
|
'I Don't Take Insurance' Not Always a Doctor Deal Breaker
<p />
<p>Some doctors really mean it when they say they do not take health insurance. For others, it is more of a nuanced statement.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Consumers trying to decipher the difference have to ask a lot of questions to figure out how to manage their bills.</p>
<p>Here are the three key scenarios facing consumers:</p>
<p>A growing number of doctors simply are not taking contracts with insurance companies, although the concentration varies by region and by specialty. That leaves patients to pay the market rate the doctor charges, and then submit a receipt to get reimbursement for out-of-network coverage, if they have it.</p>
<p>In some cases, the pickings can be slim for in-network docs. For example, 45% of psychiatrists do not participate in insurance networks, according to JAMA Psychiatry.</p>
<p>"The burden of getting the forms right and getting all the paperwork is placed on the physician," says Dinah Miller, a psychiatrist who practices in Baltimore and co-authors a blog called Shrink Rap (http://psychiatrist-blog.blogspot.com/). "If you're seeing eight or nine patients a day, and several bounce, it's a lot of uncompensated time."</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Primary care physicians are opting out, too. Some are moving to a concierge model, in which patients pay a subscription fee like $150 a month to see their doctor.</p>
<p>Membership in the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, a conservative-libertarian group of private-pay doctors, increases by about 10% a year, says Jane Orient, executive director of the organization, which has 5,000 members.</p>
<p>Many doctors who say they don't take insurance will make deals with patients on an individual basis. One key negotiating tip is to know what your in-network rate would be, typically a discount of about 40%, suggests Joe Mondy, a spokesman for insurer Cigna.</p>
<p>You can get this information through your provider's online tools or by calling the customer service line. But Mondy says to be aware that the private provider is not bound to accept that price.</p>
<p>This process is typically referred to as balance billing. It is largely frowned upon for in-network charges, and even restricted in some states. But it still goes on in the private-pay world, and often results in a confusing morass of paperwork.</p>
<p>Even insurance executives find themselves negotiating the fray. Chris Reidl, director of product for national accounts at insurer Aetna, paid an up-front fee to one doctor and then submitted the bill to the insurance company. When the insurance company reimbursed the doctor for the visit, the office refunded the fee she had paid.</p>
<p>Consumers need to be on top of this process and pour over their benefits statements to track the various payments. They also need to keep after their doctors' offices to get their money back.</p>
<p>Some providers have back-channel communications with insurance companies, trying to get a better reimbursement so their patients end up paying less out of pocket.</p>
<p>Amy Gordon, a lawyer focusing on benefits issues at McDermott, Will &amp; Emery in Chicago, facilitates some of these discussions, trying to get everyone on the same page.</p>
<p>Gordon gives the example of a chiropractor who has a number of patients on one employer's plan. The going rate for a visit is $200, and the out-of-network reimbursement offered is $50. The provider has to choose whether to charge the patients the remainder or discount it.</p>
<p>"Being out $150 for one person is bad, but being out that much for 10 people is worse," she says. So the provider tries to get more from the insurance company, and the insurance company tries to get the provider to join its network. The insurer and the doctor may end up settling on an $80 reimbursement, and the patients only have to pay the equivalent of a $20 co-pay.</p>
<p>"A lot of this can be avoided with planning, and finding if there is an acceptable in-network provider," Gordon says. "If you still want to go out of network, you can ask the insurance company to give you an estimate of what they would pay, and then you can at least make a more informed decision."</p>
<p>(Follow us @ReutersMoney or at http://www.reuters.com/finance/personal-finance. Editing by Lauren Young and Dan Grebler. Follow the author at http://twitter.com/bethpinsker)</p>
| 6,256 |
<p>A few days ago, I was watching a popular Egyptian talk show; <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qa9muR0Ssrs" type="external">Fil Midan, or In the Square 10/20/2011 show</a>. It had a very interesting guest, a leader of a salafi Islamic political faction. He maintained a pleasantly tranquil smile and a relaxed appearance throughout the program, wearing his typically Pakistani outerwear and hat. The host Amr Al-Leithy was pretending to be eager to corner him, asking tough questions, but it was obvious to me as time went on, that he was not serious about laying a glove on him. It was pretentious. The host constantly maintained a neutral grin to all kinds of extreme responses from his revered guest. Even though I had not seen this “leader” before, I found out as the interview continued that he was a prominent Islamic figure, with his own show on a satellite TV channel; <a href="http://ar-ar.facebook.com/abouammar" type="external">Sheikh Mahmoud Al-Masry, a.k.a. Abou 'Ammar</a>, who formerly served as an imam in Saudia Arabia and other Gulf states mosques, and participated in an official series of sermons at the Islamic Center in Brooklyn, NY during the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.</p>
<p>Sheikh Mahmoud Al-Masry was saying truly horrific things. For instance, he said that the 9/11 attacks turned out to be a blessing in disguise because they drew the attention of hundreds of thousands of Americans toward Islam. When some actually approached him for answers regarding this Muslim aggression, he introduced them to Islam's holy commands, which led to scores of conversions. Of course, he never mentioned the countless funds that were spent to convert those mostly inner city folk, and those in confinement, nor did he disclose <a href="http://www.meforum.org/916/cair-islamists-fooling-the-establishment" type="external">their source</a>. When it came time to discuss non-Muslims, he used the usual line that real Muslims carry no animosities towards non-Muslims, in Egypt or abroad. After being confronted by the show’s host about the repeated <a href="http://www.compassdirect.org/english/country/egypt/69546" type="external">attacks</a>, <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2011-05-08-egypt-church-arrests_n.htm" type="external">burnings</a> and <a href="http://www.compassdirect.org/english/country/egypt/article_121244.html" type="external">destruction</a> of Coptic Churches, he reluctantly admitted that there are – of course – exceptions in every group but that actions of a few should not blemish the majority.</p>
<p>The Sheikh then proceeded to discuss tourism. He softly said that Egypt should enforce a strict dress code for everyone, Egyptians and foreign tourists alike, and prohibit all religiously forbidden actions, like drinking alcohol. There were two reasons why he believes these measures must be taken. First, based on his interpretation of Shari 'a, a Muslim is forbidden from attending to someone inappropriately attired, or from serving the banned alcoholic drinks. Second, he believed that foreigners would be enticed by this modest behavior, to ask questions about the cause behind those restrictions, and thus be introduced to Islam. He jovially affirmed that stricter laws will lead to more converts to the rightful religion. The host was left speechless, obviously in admiration and not discontent. Coincidentally, the day after this program, a large statue of Pharaoh Sesostris I (Senusret III), standing in the middle of a square in the Delta city of al-Mansoura, was <a href="http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/node/507300" type="external">toppled overnight</a>. The Supreme Council of Antiquities accused salafis of knocking down the statue, but the Daqahlia governor said erosion and wind were responsible. He added that the statue was a replica anyway so it was not really significant.</p>
<p>Alarmingly though, this rapid trend towards Islamization of the society is sweeping Egypt without any hint of a substantial opposition. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), who have been ruling the country ever since the fall of President Mubarak on February 11, 2011, has <a href="http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/7445/Egypt/Politics-Aboudand-Tarek-ElZomor-amongst-released-prisoners.aspx" type="external">freed prominent Islamist figures</a> from jail and even allowed <a href="http://globalmbreport.org/?p=4164" type="external">exiled extremists to return</a> to the country. SCAF appointed a committee to change the Egyptian Constitution headed by an overtly Islamist thinker <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarek_El-Bishry" type="external">Judge Tariq el-Bishri</a>, and a leading Muslim Brotherhood (MB) figure (Sobhi Saleh, Lawyer and MB leader). SCAF authorized a <a href="http://carnegieendowment.org/2011/03/16/overview-of-egypt-sconstitutional-referendum/1t6" type="external">popular referendum</a> on the new temporary constitution opposed by revolutionary and secular forces. SCAF never blinked at the MB’s or salafis' <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/20/us-egypt-referendum-constitution-factbox-idUSTRE72J2TT20110320" type="external">overt propaganda</a> that voting “Yes” on the referendum was the Islamic way and voting “No” was thus non-Islamic .</p>
<p>When the government appointed a Christian governor in Qena, located in Upper Egypt, <a href="http://www.thedailynewsegypt.com/egypt/tribalism-comparisons-to-former-governors-fueling-qena-protests-says-former-mp.html" type="external">the Islamists refused</a>. They sabotaged the railroad tracks and blocked the highways to the province for two weeks. SCAF did nothing and the governor never took office. Even while the current constitution forbids the formation of political parties based on religious indoctrination ( <a href="http://www.cabinet.gov.eg/AboutEgypt/ConstitutionalDeclaration_e.pdf" type="external">see article 4</a>), there exists today more than a dozen Islamic parties, and thousands of candidates ready to take on parliamentary elections due to start this month. Muslim leaders <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2011/0501/Will-the-Muslim-Brotherhood-soon-control-Egypt-s-parliament" type="external">announced</a> that they expect the Muslim Brotherhood to win 50% of the seats with an additional 30% of the parliamentary seats going to a coalition of other Islamic parties. They added that an <a href="http://www.thedailynewsegypt.com/egypt/political-forces-slam-new-amendments-to-parliament-law.html" type="external">Islamic constitution</a> would eventually follow.</p>
<p>With the multiple incidents of assaults on churches openly carried out by Islamists, SCAF timidly pleaded with the Islamists to end their aggression, even brought their own religious leaders to appease them, and on only one occasion had to rebuild a church de nouveau. Yet, no one was ever tried or punished for this reprehensible conduct. Christians are being killed all over Egypt at an alarming frequency since the revolution. There has not been one investigation carried out that led to the incrimination of any of the salafis who have openly bragged about their <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12683568" type="external">aggression</a> in footage available online. After the latest massacre of Christians in front of the Maspero building, where more that 27 were killed and 250 injured, SCAF is investigating the military’s involvement while <a href="http://pjmedia.com/blog/author/sherifmeleka/" type="external">vehemently denying any wrongdoing</a>. Video shows the military taking part in this massacre, using armored vehicles to crush Christians.</p>
<p>In today’s Egypt, liberal, secular and Christian political forces are being treated with fists – recall the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/02/egypt-military-promises-pardon-civilians" type="external">imprisonment of some twelve thousand protesters</a> after very short trials. Islamist leaders are being caressed with a soft hand despite their <a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865585362/When-Muslims-attack-Christians-in-Egypt-Terrorism-or-political-fallout.html" type="external">documented violence</a> evidenced by the destruction of church buildings and killing of Christians.</p>
<p>The temporary government either fears igniting the extremists’ animosity, or simply endorses their behavior but is too cautious to openly support it. SCAF makes sure to announce after each violent incident that they support democratic change and favor the transition of Egypt into a secular state. However, their actions do not support their declared intentions, which may imply that they are wary of the reaction of the less senior ranks within the armed forces themselves, or the openly declared Islamic political and popular forces in Egyptian society.</p>
<p>In any case, it's only a matter of time until we find out whether the January 25th, 2011 Revolution will bring about a new Egypt that looks more like Pakistan, with an unbreakable alliance between the army and the Islamists in defiance of democratic and progressive values. Or will Egypt be like Turkey, where the Islamists are watched over by the army (or were at least until recently), and there is a fairly democratic political system. We hope that Egypt will be like Spain, where the removal of an army dictator engendered a truly secular and progressive democracy, even for a people with a strong religious background.</p>
|
Will Egypt Become the Next Pakistan?
| true |
http://aclj.org/middle-east-turmoil/will-egypt-become-next-pakistan
|
2011-11-23
| 0right
|
Will Egypt Become the Next Pakistan?
<p>A few days ago, I was watching a popular Egyptian talk show; <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qa9muR0Ssrs" type="external">Fil Midan, or In the Square 10/20/2011 show</a>. It had a very interesting guest, a leader of a salafi Islamic political faction. He maintained a pleasantly tranquil smile and a relaxed appearance throughout the program, wearing his typically Pakistani outerwear and hat. The host Amr Al-Leithy was pretending to be eager to corner him, asking tough questions, but it was obvious to me as time went on, that he was not serious about laying a glove on him. It was pretentious. The host constantly maintained a neutral grin to all kinds of extreme responses from his revered guest. Even though I had not seen this “leader” before, I found out as the interview continued that he was a prominent Islamic figure, with his own show on a satellite TV channel; <a href="http://ar-ar.facebook.com/abouammar" type="external">Sheikh Mahmoud Al-Masry, a.k.a. Abou 'Ammar</a>, who formerly served as an imam in Saudia Arabia and other Gulf states mosques, and participated in an official series of sermons at the Islamic Center in Brooklyn, NY during the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.</p>
<p>Sheikh Mahmoud Al-Masry was saying truly horrific things. For instance, he said that the 9/11 attacks turned out to be a blessing in disguise because they drew the attention of hundreds of thousands of Americans toward Islam. When some actually approached him for answers regarding this Muslim aggression, he introduced them to Islam's holy commands, which led to scores of conversions. Of course, he never mentioned the countless funds that were spent to convert those mostly inner city folk, and those in confinement, nor did he disclose <a href="http://www.meforum.org/916/cair-islamists-fooling-the-establishment" type="external">their source</a>. When it came time to discuss non-Muslims, he used the usual line that real Muslims carry no animosities towards non-Muslims, in Egypt or abroad. After being confronted by the show’s host about the repeated <a href="http://www.compassdirect.org/english/country/egypt/69546" type="external">attacks</a>, <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2011-05-08-egypt-church-arrests_n.htm" type="external">burnings</a> and <a href="http://www.compassdirect.org/english/country/egypt/article_121244.html" type="external">destruction</a> of Coptic Churches, he reluctantly admitted that there are – of course – exceptions in every group but that actions of a few should not blemish the majority.</p>
<p>The Sheikh then proceeded to discuss tourism. He softly said that Egypt should enforce a strict dress code for everyone, Egyptians and foreign tourists alike, and prohibit all religiously forbidden actions, like drinking alcohol. There were two reasons why he believes these measures must be taken. First, based on his interpretation of Shari 'a, a Muslim is forbidden from attending to someone inappropriately attired, or from serving the banned alcoholic drinks. Second, he believed that foreigners would be enticed by this modest behavior, to ask questions about the cause behind those restrictions, and thus be introduced to Islam. He jovially affirmed that stricter laws will lead to more converts to the rightful religion. The host was left speechless, obviously in admiration and not discontent. Coincidentally, the day after this program, a large statue of Pharaoh Sesostris I (Senusret III), standing in the middle of a square in the Delta city of al-Mansoura, was <a href="http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/node/507300" type="external">toppled overnight</a>. The Supreme Council of Antiquities accused salafis of knocking down the statue, but the Daqahlia governor said erosion and wind were responsible. He added that the statue was a replica anyway so it was not really significant.</p>
<p>Alarmingly though, this rapid trend towards Islamization of the society is sweeping Egypt without any hint of a substantial opposition. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), who have been ruling the country ever since the fall of President Mubarak on February 11, 2011, has <a href="http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/7445/Egypt/Politics-Aboudand-Tarek-ElZomor-amongst-released-prisoners.aspx" type="external">freed prominent Islamist figures</a> from jail and even allowed <a href="http://globalmbreport.org/?p=4164" type="external">exiled extremists to return</a> to the country. SCAF appointed a committee to change the Egyptian Constitution headed by an overtly Islamist thinker <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarek_El-Bishry" type="external">Judge Tariq el-Bishri</a>, and a leading Muslim Brotherhood (MB) figure (Sobhi Saleh, Lawyer and MB leader). SCAF authorized a <a href="http://carnegieendowment.org/2011/03/16/overview-of-egypt-sconstitutional-referendum/1t6" type="external">popular referendum</a> on the new temporary constitution opposed by revolutionary and secular forces. SCAF never blinked at the MB’s or salafis' <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/20/us-egypt-referendum-constitution-factbox-idUSTRE72J2TT20110320" type="external">overt propaganda</a> that voting “Yes” on the referendum was the Islamic way and voting “No” was thus non-Islamic .</p>
<p>When the government appointed a Christian governor in Qena, located in Upper Egypt, <a href="http://www.thedailynewsegypt.com/egypt/tribalism-comparisons-to-former-governors-fueling-qena-protests-says-former-mp.html" type="external">the Islamists refused</a>. They sabotaged the railroad tracks and blocked the highways to the province for two weeks. SCAF did nothing and the governor never took office. Even while the current constitution forbids the formation of political parties based on religious indoctrination ( <a href="http://www.cabinet.gov.eg/AboutEgypt/ConstitutionalDeclaration_e.pdf" type="external">see article 4</a>), there exists today more than a dozen Islamic parties, and thousands of candidates ready to take on parliamentary elections due to start this month. Muslim leaders <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2011/0501/Will-the-Muslim-Brotherhood-soon-control-Egypt-s-parliament" type="external">announced</a> that they expect the Muslim Brotherhood to win 50% of the seats with an additional 30% of the parliamentary seats going to a coalition of other Islamic parties. They added that an <a href="http://www.thedailynewsegypt.com/egypt/political-forces-slam-new-amendments-to-parliament-law.html" type="external">Islamic constitution</a> would eventually follow.</p>
<p>With the multiple incidents of assaults on churches openly carried out by Islamists, SCAF timidly pleaded with the Islamists to end their aggression, even brought their own religious leaders to appease them, and on only one occasion had to rebuild a church de nouveau. Yet, no one was ever tried or punished for this reprehensible conduct. Christians are being killed all over Egypt at an alarming frequency since the revolution. There has not been one investigation carried out that led to the incrimination of any of the salafis who have openly bragged about their <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12683568" type="external">aggression</a> in footage available online. After the latest massacre of Christians in front of the Maspero building, where more that 27 were killed and 250 injured, SCAF is investigating the military’s involvement while <a href="http://pjmedia.com/blog/author/sherifmeleka/" type="external">vehemently denying any wrongdoing</a>. Video shows the military taking part in this massacre, using armored vehicles to crush Christians.</p>
<p>In today’s Egypt, liberal, secular and Christian political forces are being treated with fists – recall the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/02/egypt-military-promises-pardon-civilians" type="external">imprisonment of some twelve thousand protesters</a> after very short trials. Islamist leaders are being caressed with a soft hand despite their <a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865585362/When-Muslims-attack-Christians-in-Egypt-Terrorism-or-political-fallout.html" type="external">documented violence</a> evidenced by the destruction of church buildings and killing of Christians.</p>
<p>The temporary government either fears igniting the extremists’ animosity, or simply endorses their behavior but is too cautious to openly support it. SCAF makes sure to announce after each violent incident that they support democratic change and favor the transition of Egypt into a secular state. However, their actions do not support their declared intentions, which may imply that they are wary of the reaction of the less senior ranks within the armed forces themselves, or the openly declared Islamic political and popular forces in Egyptian society.</p>
<p>In any case, it's only a matter of time until we find out whether the January 25th, 2011 Revolution will bring about a new Egypt that looks more like Pakistan, with an unbreakable alliance between the army and the Islamists in defiance of democratic and progressive values. Or will Egypt be like Turkey, where the Islamists are watched over by the army (or were at least until recently), and there is a fairly democratic political system. We hope that Egypt will be like Spain, where the removal of an army dictator engendered a truly secular and progressive democracy, even for a people with a strong religious background.</p>
| 6,257 |
<p>China invested nearly <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/mar/25/pew-report-china-us-clean-tech" type="external">twice</a> as much money - $34.6 billion - in clean energy projects in 2009 as the United States. The ecological impact of China's economic boom could be a factor, but so could the profits and jobs expected to flourish in this nascent industry.</p>
<p>In relative terms, smaller countries also outperformed the U.S.</p>
<p>The Guardian:</p>
<p>The Pew report said those countries with strong, national policies aimed at reducing global warming and encouraging the use of renewable energy - including the UK, Germany and Spain - had succeeded in establishing stronger competitive positions in the clean energy economy.</p>
<p />
<p>"Nations seeking to compete effectively for clean energy jobs and manufacturing would do well to evaluate the array of policy mechanisms that can be employed to stimulate clean energy investment," the report stated. "This is especially true for policymakers in the United States, which is at risk of falling further behind its G20 competitors in the coming years absent adoption of a strong national policy framework to spur more robust clean energy investment."</p>
<p><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/mar/25/pew-report-china-us-clean-tech" type="external">Read more</a></p>
|
China Is Beating the Pants Off the U.S. in Clean Energy
| true |
http://truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/china_is_beating_the_pants_off_of_us_in_clean_energy_20100325/
|
2010-03-26
| 4left
|
China Is Beating the Pants Off the U.S. in Clean Energy
<p>China invested nearly <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/mar/25/pew-report-china-us-clean-tech" type="external">twice</a> as much money - $34.6 billion - in clean energy projects in 2009 as the United States. The ecological impact of China's economic boom could be a factor, but so could the profits and jobs expected to flourish in this nascent industry.</p>
<p>In relative terms, smaller countries also outperformed the U.S.</p>
<p>The Guardian:</p>
<p>The Pew report said those countries with strong, national policies aimed at reducing global warming and encouraging the use of renewable energy - including the UK, Germany and Spain - had succeeded in establishing stronger competitive positions in the clean energy economy.</p>
<p />
<p>"Nations seeking to compete effectively for clean energy jobs and manufacturing would do well to evaluate the array of policy mechanisms that can be employed to stimulate clean energy investment," the report stated. "This is especially true for policymakers in the United States, which is at risk of falling further behind its G20 competitors in the coming years absent adoption of a strong national policy framework to spur more robust clean energy investment."</p>
<p><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/mar/25/pew-report-china-us-clean-tech" type="external">Read more</a></p>
| 6,258 |
<p>We hear a lot about Hillary’s personality. We hear about her clothes, her hair, her marriage, her family, her laugh, her voice. We hear about her history. We hear about her policies. What we don’t hear much about is her purpose. As in, what purpose does she play in our lives? What mission&#160;do we need her to&#160;fulfill?&#160;&#160;</p>
<p>With the barbaric Orlando attacks&#160;and Donald Trump’s execrable attempts&#160;to <a href="" type="internal">exploit the carnage</a>, Hillary’s purpose has become much clearer:&#160;She is the final&#160;line&#160;of defense against the kind of intolerance and hate that can&#160;destroy America. She is the super-heroine who will stop the super-villain.</p>
<p>It’s easy to veer into hyperbole in&#160;this crazy election cycle, but it’s not an exaggeration to say that Hillary’s purpose is now to save America from its own worst impulses, embodied in one man, Donald J. Trump.</p>
<p>Just because Donald is a coward, just because he is ignorant, just because he panders to people’s&#160;basest instincts, doesn’t make him less dangerous. It makes him more dangerous. Hillary knows that very well. And she has spent a lifetime preparing for this moment.&#160;Her fortitude and resilience, her wisdom, her toughness, these are the qualities&#160;she will draw on to fulfill her&#160;purpose.</p>
<p>This is so much bigger than&#160;we realize; it’s a battle for the conscience of America, for the meaning&#160;of our principles, the durability of our values. And for our safety.</p>
<p>Big ideological&#160;battles have been fought in American politics, but Donald Trump is something new and different. His proximity to the presidency is chilling. His utter disdain for convention isn’t laudable or bold, it’s terrifying.</p>
<p>In a single day, he showed the willingness to accuse our president of treason, to attack press freedom, to lie about his opponent, and to disparage an entire religion.</p>
<p>Hillary’s purpose is to stop him. And more than that, in the words of President Obama’s former campaign manager, to make sure his kind doesn’t rise again.</p>
<p />
|
Hillary’s Purpose Just Became Much Clearer
| true |
http://bluenationreview.com/hillarys-purpose-just-became-much-clearer/
|
2016-06-13
| 4left
|
Hillary’s Purpose Just Became Much Clearer
<p>We hear a lot about Hillary’s personality. We hear about her clothes, her hair, her marriage, her family, her laugh, her voice. We hear about her history. We hear about her policies. What we don’t hear much about is her purpose. As in, what purpose does she play in our lives? What mission&#160;do we need her to&#160;fulfill?&#160;&#160;</p>
<p>With the barbaric Orlando attacks&#160;and Donald Trump’s execrable attempts&#160;to <a href="" type="internal">exploit the carnage</a>, Hillary’s purpose has become much clearer:&#160;She is the final&#160;line&#160;of defense against the kind of intolerance and hate that can&#160;destroy America. She is the super-heroine who will stop the super-villain.</p>
<p>It’s easy to veer into hyperbole in&#160;this crazy election cycle, but it’s not an exaggeration to say that Hillary’s purpose is now to save America from its own worst impulses, embodied in one man, Donald J. Trump.</p>
<p>Just because Donald is a coward, just because he is ignorant, just because he panders to people’s&#160;basest instincts, doesn’t make him less dangerous. It makes him more dangerous. Hillary knows that very well. And she has spent a lifetime preparing for this moment.&#160;Her fortitude and resilience, her wisdom, her toughness, these are the qualities&#160;she will draw on to fulfill her&#160;purpose.</p>
<p>This is so much bigger than&#160;we realize; it’s a battle for the conscience of America, for the meaning&#160;of our principles, the durability of our values. And for our safety.</p>
<p>Big ideological&#160;battles have been fought in American politics, but Donald Trump is something new and different. His proximity to the presidency is chilling. His utter disdain for convention isn’t laudable or bold, it’s terrifying.</p>
<p>In a single day, he showed the willingness to accuse our president of treason, to attack press freedom, to lie about his opponent, and to disparage an entire religion.</p>
<p>Hillary’s purpose is to stop him. And more than that, in the words of President Obama’s former campaign manager, to make sure his kind doesn’t rise again.</p>
<p />
| 6,259 |
<p>&lt;a href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/SIPA-Pacific-Press-Sipa-USA-I-New-York-United-S-/b24b2753d81141d884dd6e01ce999656/68/0"&gt;Luke William Pasley&lt;/a&gt;/AP</p>
<p />
<p>Voters headed to the polls in five states today as Donald Trump looked to continue his march to the GOP nominating convention and Republican party leaders <a href="" type="internal">scrambled</a> for ways to stop him. On the Republican side, 155 delegates were at stake in Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Maine; candidates need 1,237 delegates to wrap up the nomination. Donald Trump, who began the day with 329 delegates according to the <a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/article/f4b02560c4904afaac44c4af11cca0e2/5-more-states-ready-chip-delegates-campaign-2016" type="external">Associated Press</a>, was looking to extend his lead over Sens. Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, who have 231 and 110 delegates respectively. Ohio Gov. John Kasich—who has won only 25 delegates so far—has begun <a href="" type="internal">angling</a> for a contested convention in Cleveland while Ben Carson all but <a href="" type="internal">dropped out</a> on Wednesday.</p>
<p>For the Democrats, 109 delegates were up for grabs in Louisiana, Kansas, and Nebraska. Clinton headed into these states with 1,066 delegates, the <a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/article/f4b02560c4904afaac44c4af11cca0e2/5-more-states-ready-chip-delegates-campaign-2016" type="external">Associated Press</a> reported, nearly half of the 2,383 needed to wrap up the Democratic nomination. (Clinton’s count includes 458 superdelegates, who may vote for any candidate, as the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/us/elections/primary-calendar-and-results.html?ref=politics&amp;_r=1" type="external">New York Times</a> reports.) Sen. Bernie Sanders started the day with 432 delegates and was hoping to make a strong showing in Nebraska and Kansas: The <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/hillary-clinton-democratic-caucuses_us_56d9a5e1e4b0000de4043b82" type="external">Huffington Post</a> reported that Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook sent a memo to staffers saying Clinton could lose in those states.</p>
<p>We’ll be here with updates as the results come in.</p>
<p>UPDATE 9, March 5, 8:50 p.m. PT: Speaking to supporters in West Palm Beach, Florida, Trump called for Rubio to drop out of the race after losing all but one of the 19 Republican contests so far. “I think it’s time for Marco to clean the deck,” he said. “I would love to take on Ted one on one. That would be so much fun…That would be easy.”</p>
<p>After commenting that he would order military personnel to torture terror suspects and then <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2016/0305/Donald-Trump-backpedals-on-torture-Sign-of-a-tactical-shift" type="external">backpedaling on Friday</a>, telling the <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-reverses-his-stance-on-torture-1457116559" type="external">Wall Street Journal</a> that he would be “bound by laws,” Trump returned Saturday to the subject of torture. “I am totally in favor of waterboarding, and if we can, I’d like to do much more than that,” he said. “I will try to get the laws extended, broadened…so we can better compete with a vicious group of animals.”</p>
<p>One journalist brought up Thursday’s <a href="" type="internal">Fox News debate</a>, in which Rubio made a jab at Trump’s “small hands”—and Trump reassured voters that “there’s no problem.”</p>
<p>“Marco just made it up, because he’s a politician, and politicians lie,” Trump said Saturday night. For those worried about the tone of a presidential campaign in which the front-runner reassured voters about <a href="" type="internal">the size of his manhood</a>, Trump also had an answer: “I will be the most presidential candidate in history.”</p>
<p>UPDATE 8, March 5, 7:55 p.m. PT: The final race of the night has wrapped up. Trump won Kentucky with 35.1 percent of the vote, followed closely by Cruz with 31.4 percent, networks are reporting. Eighty-four percent of results have been counted.</p>
<p>UPDATE 7, March 5, 7:07 p.m. PT:&#160; Sanders, who tonight adds victories in Kansas and Nebraska to his wins in Colorado, Minnesota, New Hampshire, and Oklahoma, told the <a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/article/53d20aed0572432a81426d59c2435c52/latest-hit-back-or-walk-away-choice-trump-rivals" type="external">Associated Press</a> that his campaign is bearing out its promise of a “political revolution.” In the coming months, Democratic candidates will turn their sights on New York, California, Oregon and Washington state. “I think in all of those states, we’ve got a shot to win it,” Sanders said, adding that wins in those states could convince some of Clinton’s superdelegates to switch their allegiance to his campaign.</p>
<p>UPDATE 6, March 5: 6:53 p.m. PT: Trump has won the Louisiana primary with 45.7 percent of the vote, networks are reporting, with 16 percent of results in. Forty-six delegates are up for grabs in the state. Cruz is in second with 29 percent of the vote, with Rubio trailing at 15.8 percent.</p>
<p>UPDATE 5, March 5: 6:23 p.m. PT: Networks quickly projected a Clinton win after polls closed in Louisiana, which, with its prize of 51 delegates, is the most important Democratic contest of the night. With just 8 percent of results in, Clinton had won 71.1 percent of the vote. Sanders trailed at 21.4 percent.</p>
<p>UPDATE 4, March 5: 6:10 p.m. PT: Sanders appears to be edging out Clinton in Nebraska, earning 54.8 percent of the Democratic vote to Clinton’s 45.2 percent, announced Vince Powers, the state Democratic Party chair. Seventy-five percent of polling locations are reporting, and the results are not final yet, Powers said.</p>
<p>UPDATE 3, March 5, 5:55 p.m. PT: Cruz picked up his second win of the night, earning 45.8 percent of the vote and 12 delegates in Maine, state GOP party chairman Rick Bennett announced in a speech in Lewiston, Maine. In second, Trump gained nine delegates and 32.5 percent of the vote, while Kasich picked up two delegates and 12.2 percent. Rubio failed to gain any delegates in the state, trailing at just 8 percent in the polls.</p>
<p>UPDATE 2, March 5, 5:30 p.m. PT: The Kansas Democratic Party has called Kansas for Sanders, with 90 percent of the vote in, CNN is reporting.</p>
<p>UPDATE 1, March 5, 2:45 p.m. PT: With just more than half the vote in, the Associated Press has called Kansas for Cruz, with 51 percent of the vote. Forty delegates are up for grabs in the state.</p>
<p />
|
Here’s Who’s Looking Strong in Today’s “Super Saturday” Contests
| true |
https://motherjones.com/politics/2016/03/live-primary-results-0/
|
2016-03-05
| 4left
|
Here’s Who’s Looking Strong in Today’s “Super Saturday” Contests
<p>&lt;a href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/SIPA-Pacific-Press-Sipa-USA-I-New-York-United-S-/b24b2753d81141d884dd6e01ce999656/68/0"&gt;Luke William Pasley&lt;/a&gt;/AP</p>
<p />
<p>Voters headed to the polls in five states today as Donald Trump looked to continue his march to the GOP nominating convention and Republican party leaders <a href="" type="internal">scrambled</a> for ways to stop him. On the Republican side, 155 delegates were at stake in Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Maine; candidates need 1,237 delegates to wrap up the nomination. Donald Trump, who began the day with 329 delegates according to the <a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/article/f4b02560c4904afaac44c4af11cca0e2/5-more-states-ready-chip-delegates-campaign-2016" type="external">Associated Press</a>, was looking to extend his lead over Sens. Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, who have 231 and 110 delegates respectively. Ohio Gov. John Kasich—who has won only 25 delegates so far—has begun <a href="" type="internal">angling</a> for a contested convention in Cleveland while Ben Carson all but <a href="" type="internal">dropped out</a> on Wednesday.</p>
<p>For the Democrats, 109 delegates were up for grabs in Louisiana, Kansas, and Nebraska. Clinton headed into these states with 1,066 delegates, the <a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/article/f4b02560c4904afaac44c4af11cca0e2/5-more-states-ready-chip-delegates-campaign-2016" type="external">Associated Press</a> reported, nearly half of the 2,383 needed to wrap up the Democratic nomination. (Clinton’s count includes 458 superdelegates, who may vote for any candidate, as the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/us/elections/primary-calendar-and-results.html?ref=politics&amp;_r=1" type="external">New York Times</a> reports.) Sen. Bernie Sanders started the day with 432 delegates and was hoping to make a strong showing in Nebraska and Kansas: The <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/hillary-clinton-democratic-caucuses_us_56d9a5e1e4b0000de4043b82" type="external">Huffington Post</a> reported that Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook sent a memo to staffers saying Clinton could lose in those states.</p>
<p>We’ll be here with updates as the results come in.</p>
<p>UPDATE 9, March 5, 8:50 p.m. PT: Speaking to supporters in West Palm Beach, Florida, Trump called for Rubio to drop out of the race after losing all but one of the 19 Republican contests so far. “I think it’s time for Marco to clean the deck,” he said. “I would love to take on Ted one on one. That would be so much fun…That would be easy.”</p>
<p>After commenting that he would order military personnel to torture terror suspects and then <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2016/0305/Donald-Trump-backpedals-on-torture-Sign-of-a-tactical-shift" type="external">backpedaling on Friday</a>, telling the <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-reverses-his-stance-on-torture-1457116559" type="external">Wall Street Journal</a> that he would be “bound by laws,” Trump returned Saturday to the subject of torture. “I am totally in favor of waterboarding, and if we can, I’d like to do much more than that,” he said. “I will try to get the laws extended, broadened…so we can better compete with a vicious group of animals.”</p>
<p>One journalist brought up Thursday’s <a href="" type="internal">Fox News debate</a>, in which Rubio made a jab at Trump’s “small hands”—and Trump reassured voters that “there’s no problem.”</p>
<p>“Marco just made it up, because he’s a politician, and politicians lie,” Trump said Saturday night. For those worried about the tone of a presidential campaign in which the front-runner reassured voters about <a href="" type="internal">the size of his manhood</a>, Trump also had an answer: “I will be the most presidential candidate in history.”</p>
<p>UPDATE 8, March 5, 7:55 p.m. PT: The final race of the night has wrapped up. Trump won Kentucky with 35.1 percent of the vote, followed closely by Cruz with 31.4 percent, networks are reporting. Eighty-four percent of results have been counted.</p>
<p>UPDATE 7, March 5, 7:07 p.m. PT:&#160; Sanders, who tonight adds victories in Kansas and Nebraska to his wins in Colorado, Minnesota, New Hampshire, and Oklahoma, told the <a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/article/53d20aed0572432a81426d59c2435c52/latest-hit-back-or-walk-away-choice-trump-rivals" type="external">Associated Press</a> that his campaign is bearing out its promise of a “political revolution.” In the coming months, Democratic candidates will turn their sights on New York, California, Oregon and Washington state. “I think in all of those states, we’ve got a shot to win it,” Sanders said, adding that wins in those states could convince some of Clinton’s superdelegates to switch their allegiance to his campaign.</p>
<p>UPDATE 6, March 5: 6:53 p.m. PT: Trump has won the Louisiana primary with 45.7 percent of the vote, networks are reporting, with 16 percent of results in. Forty-six delegates are up for grabs in the state. Cruz is in second with 29 percent of the vote, with Rubio trailing at 15.8 percent.</p>
<p>UPDATE 5, March 5: 6:23 p.m. PT: Networks quickly projected a Clinton win after polls closed in Louisiana, which, with its prize of 51 delegates, is the most important Democratic contest of the night. With just 8 percent of results in, Clinton had won 71.1 percent of the vote. Sanders trailed at 21.4 percent.</p>
<p>UPDATE 4, March 5: 6:10 p.m. PT: Sanders appears to be edging out Clinton in Nebraska, earning 54.8 percent of the Democratic vote to Clinton’s 45.2 percent, announced Vince Powers, the state Democratic Party chair. Seventy-five percent of polling locations are reporting, and the results are not final yet, Powers said.</p>
<p>UPDATE 3, March 5, 5:55 p.m. PT: Cruz picked up his second win of the night, earning 45.8 percent of the vote and 12 delegates in Maine, state GOP party chairman Rick Bennett announced in a speech in Lewiston, Maine. In second, Trump gained nine delegates and 32.5 percent of the vote, while Kasich picked up two delegates and 12.2 percent. Rubio failed to gain any delegates in the state, trailing at just 8 percent in the polls.</p>
<p>UPDATE 2, March 5, 5:30 p.m. PT: The Kansas Democratic Party has called Kansas for Sanders, with 90 percent of the vote in, CNN is reporting.</p>
<p>UPDATE 1, March 5, 2:45 p.m. PT: With just more than half the vote in, the Associated Press has called Kansas for Cruz, with 51 percent of the vote. Forty delegates are up for grabs in the state.</p>
<p />
| 6,260 |
<p>Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.&lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/31473156@N02/5117276255/"&gt;marsmet47&lt;/a&gt;/Flickr</p>
<p />
<p>This October marks the 20th anniversary of the infamous confirmation hearings of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, in which he almost didn’t make it to the high court due to allegations that he’d sexually harassed Anita Hill at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. House Democrats would apparently like to commemorate this event by subjecting Thomas to a new round of hearings on the Hill. On the steps of the Supreme Court this morning, Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) and others held a press conference calling on the House Judiciary Committee to hold hearings investigating some of Thomas’s alleged ethical lapses. These include allegations that he failed to disclose at least $1.6 million in income earned by his wife Virginia, who worked for the conservative Heritage Foundation and has been an active opponent of the Obama health care law. Thomas has also been accused of taking unreported free trips on a corporate jet and a yacht from real estate magnate Harlan Crow.</p>
<p>Blumenauer <a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2011/10/rep_earl_blumenauer_democrats.html" type="external">wrote to the House Judiciary committee members</a>:</p>
<p>“Reports of potential ethical lapses by Justice Thomas’s actions give rise to concerns about conflicts of interest undermining appellants’ rights of due process and also raise substantive questions about Justice Thomas’s ability to retain his seat. We urge that your committee hold hearings regarding the nature of these questions, their factual basis, and their potential to undermine the public’s trust in the Supreme Court.”</p>
<p>The request comes on the heels of demands by 19 House members that the US Judicial Conference, which oversees the federal courts, ask the Justice Department to investigate Thomas’s alleged violations of the Ethics in Government Act for all of the omissions on his financial disclosure forms. Thomas has said it was simply an oversight and that he misunderstood how to fill out the forms. He has since amended the forms to include the missing income.&#160; ( <a href="http://www.louise.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&amp;view=article&amp;id=2559:slaughter-19-colleagues-call-for-investigation-into-justice-thomass-non-disclosure&amp;catid=95:2011-press-releases&amp;Itemid=55" type="external">In a statemen</a>t, Slaughter has dismissed his explanation saying, “To believe that Justice Thomas didn’t know how to fill out a basic disclosure form is absurd.”)</p>
<p>None of the congressional grandstanding is likely to amount to much, given how difficult it is to remove a sitting Supreme Court justice from the bench. Besides, House Republicans would have to agree to any hearing on Thomas’s conduct, and that’s never going to happen. But liberal activists and their partners in Congress aren’t necessarily looking for Thomas to step down. They want him to <a href="" type="internal">recuse himself</a>from voting on the Obama health care reform law that the court is likely to hear before the next presidential election. Of course, conservatives are doing the same thing. They’re waging a <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/10/02/kagan-thomas-targeted-in-hopes-swaying-supreme-courts-health-care-ruling/" type="external">concerted campaign to pressure new Justice Elena Kagan to also recuse</a> herself from the health care case based on her service in the Obama administration as solicitor general. In the end, both justices will probably ignore all the background noise. But the fight will certainly make for interesting political theater along the way.</p>
<p />
|
House Dems Call For Hearings on Clarence Thomas
| true |
https://motherjones.com/politics/2011/10/house-dems-call-hearings-clarence-thomas/
|
2011-10-05
| 4left
|
House Dems Call For Hearings on Clarence Thomas
<p>Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.&lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/31473156@N02/5117276255/"&gt;marsmet47&lt;/a&gt;/Flickr</p>
<p />
<p>This October marks the 20th anniversary of the infamous confirmation hearings of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, in which he almost didn’t make it to the high court due to allegations that he’d sexually harassed Anita Hill at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. House Democrats would apparently like to commemorate this event by subjecting Thomas to a new round of hearings on the Hill. On the steps of the Supreme Court this morning, Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) and others held a press conference calling on the House Judiciary Committee to hold hearings investigating some of Thomas’s alleged ethical lapses. These include allegations that he failed to disclose at least $1.6 million in income earned by his wife Virginia, who worked for the conservative Heritage Foundation and has been an active opponent of the Obama health care law. Thomas has also been accused of taking unreported free trips on a corporate jet and a yacht from real estate magnate Harlan Crow.</p>
<p>Blumenauer <a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2011/10/rep_earl_blumenauer_democrats.html" type="external">wrote to the House Judiciary committee members</a>:</p>
<p>“Reports of potential ethical lapses by Justice Thomas’s actions give rise to concerns about conflicts of interest undermining appellants’ rights of due process and also raise substantive questions about Justice Thomas’s ability to retain his seat. We urge that your committee hold hearings regarding the nature of these questions, their factual basis, and their potential to undermine the public’s trust in the Supreme Court.”</p>
<p>The request comes on the heels of demands by 19 House members that the US Judicial Conference, which oversees the federal courts, ask the Justice Department to investigate Thomas’s alleged violations of the Ethics in Government Act for all of the omissions on his financial disclosure forms. Thomas has said it was simply an oversight and that he misunderstood how to fill out the forms. He has since amended the forms to include the missing income.&#160; ( <a href="http://www.louise.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&amp;view=article&amp;id=2559:slaughter-19-colleagues-call-for-investigation-into-justice-thomass-non-disclosure&amp;catid=95:2011-press-releases&amp;Itemid=55" type="external">In a statemen</a>t, Slaughter has dismissed his explanation saying, “To believe that Justice Thomas didn’t know how to fill out a basic disclosure form is absurd.”)</p>
<p>None of the congressional grandstanding is likely to amount to much, given how difficult it is to remove a sitting Supreme Court justice from the bench. Besides, House Republicans would have to agree to any hearing on Thomas’s conduct, and that’s never going to happen. But liberal activists and their partners in Congress aren’t necessarily looking for Thomas to step down. They want him to <a href="" type="internal">recuse himself</a>from voting on the Obama health care reform law that the court is likely to hear before the next presidential election. Of course, conservatives are doing the same thing. They’re waging a <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/10/02/kagan-thomas-targeted-in-hopes-swaying-supreme-courts-health-care-ruling/" type="external">concerted campaign to pressure new Justice Elena Kagan to also recuse</a> herself from the health care case based on her service in the Obama administration as solicitor general. In the end, both justices will probably ignore all the background noise. But the fight will certainly make for interesting political theater along the way.</p>
<p />
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<p>Trump Tower has seen some familiar political figures, media members and pundits moving in and out at a dizzying pace, but who will be offered an official role in the new Trump administration? Despite early reports of "turmoil" within Team Trump, the president-elect is actually <a href="https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/trump-is-naming-his-cabinet-ahead-of-schedule/" type="external">ahead of schedule</a> in making appointments. Below is a list of the key positions in the administration—White House staff, Cabinet and Sub-Cabinet positions—including those for which Trump has officially named someone for the role and those for which names have been floated as strong possibilities.</p>
<p>Here are the names we know so far, followed by their profiles below:</p>
<p>WHITE HOUSE STAFF</p>
<p>CABINET (listed in order of succession to the presidency)</p>
<p>CABINET-RANK POSITIONS</p>
<p>SUB-CABINET</p>
<p>WHITE HOUSE STAFF</p>
<p>Chief Strategist and Senior Counselor — STEVE BANNON</p>
<p>Chief strategist, a relatively new White House position, plays a key role in the administration, advising the president on messaging and implementing the administration's agenda. The role has been filled in past administrations by the likes of Karl Rove, David Plouffe and Dan Pfeiffer. No Senate confirmation is required for the position.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Bannon</a> is by far the most controversial figure in the new Trump administration. A self-styled " <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/steve-bannon-trump-tower-interview-trumps-strategist-plots-new-political-movement-948747" type="external">economic nationalist</a>," Bannon, the former head of Breitbart News, has pitted himself not only against the Left on many issues but has also announced that his protectionist and big-spending policies will <a href="" type="internal">enrage Conservatives</a>. Bannon has become the focus of some anti-Trump activists who accuse him of being a " <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/steve-bannon-chief-strategist_us_5828e1d4e4b0c4b63b0d33d7" type="external">white nationalist</a>" and demand he be replaced.</p>
<p>National Security Advisor — LT. GEN. MICHAEL FLYNN</p>
<p>The national security advisor leads the White House national security staff and advises the president on national security affairs. No Senate confirmation is required for the position.</p>
<p>Retired Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn has been a steadfast supporter of Trump from early in his campaign. As the Daily Wire reported, Flynn has an extensive military intelligence background, is strong on combating radical Islam (in fact, Flynn says it is because of his hard-line stance on the issue that he was forced to resign from the Obama administration), has sent mixed signals on his stance on Russia, and was once rumored to have been Trump's Vice President pick. Read the Daily Wire's <a href="" type="internal">profile of Flynn</a>.</p>
<p>Deputy National Security Advisor — K.T. McFARLAND</p>
<p>A deputy national security advisor is a key advisor to the president on national security issues. The position does not require Senate confirmation.</p>
<p>Kathleen Troia McFarland, better known as K.T. McFarland, has an impressive national security background, having held several national security positions in the federal government. <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/person/m/kt-mcfarland.html" type="external">Fox News</a> provides some career highlights:</p>
<p>Ms. McFarland held national security posts in the Nixon, Ford and Reagan administrations: as an aide to Dr. Henry Kissinger, senior speechwriter to Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger and later a principal deputy assistant secretary of defense Pentagon spokesman. She wrote the Weinberger Principles of War which laid out the Reagan administration's policy regarding use of force: in essence, only go to war if it is in America's vital national interest, and then only to win. Ms. McFarland received the Defense Department's highest civilian award for her work in the Reagan Administration.</p>
<p>She has been heavily critical of President Obama's handling of ISIS and the Iran deal, perspectives she has made clear on Fox News, where she has served as a national security analyst. Read the Daily Wire's <a href="" type="internal">profile of McFarland</a>.</p>
<p>Press Secretary — (LAURA INGRAHAM?)</p>
<p>Press secretary speaks on a regular basis with the White House press corps, explaining the key actions of the president and the administration and fielding questions. No Senate confirmation is required for the position.</p>
<p>One high profile name <a href="" type="internal">floated</a> as a possible press secretary is conservative pundit Laura Ingraham, who has been vocal in her defense of Trump, particular against the #NeverTrump movement. "I am honored to be considered for that job and other jobs. So we'll see what happens," Ingraham said on Fox News, adding, "I think people are getting a little far ahead of the narrative."</p>
<p>Communications Director —</p>
<p>The communications director promotes the administration's agenda through messaging strategy, overseeing the president's public appearance schedule and often serving as a key spokesperson for the administration. No Senate confirmation is required for the position.</p>
<p>White House Counsel —</p>
<p>White House counsel advises the president and the administration on legal matters. No Senate confirmation is required for the position.</p>
<p>CABINET</p>
<p>Secretary of State — REX TILLERSON</p>
<p>The secretary of state heads up the administration's foreign policy and serves as the key diplomat to foreign countries. The position requires Senate confirmation.</p>
<p>After a series of interviews with high-profile candidates, including Rudy Giuliani and <a href="" type="internal">Mitt Romney</a>, Trump selected Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson. The choice has resulted in some strong pushback from both sides of the aisle in large part because of <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/donald-trump-candidate-for-state-has-close-ties-to-vladimir-putin-1481033938" type="external">Tillerson's cozy relationship with Putin</a>. As John Hamre, former deputy defense secretary under Bill Clinton, said, "[Tillerson] has more interactive time with Vladimir Putin than probably any other American with the exception of Henry Kissinger." Tillerson helped establish a lucrative oil deal with Russia which was ultimately blocked by sanctions but it nonetheless won Tillerson the Order of Friendship from Putin. Many conservatives are also deeply concerned about Tillerson's <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/442995/rex-tillerson-carbon-tax-backing-climate-change-believer" type="external">support of global warming legislation</a> and his left-leaning stance on social issues. To counter the pushback, former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates have come forward to defend Tillerson; however, as Ben Shapiro points out, one of the clients of the consulting firm Rice and Gates run is Exxon Mobil. Read Daily Wire's <a href="" type="internal">profile of Tillerson</a>.</p>
<p>Secretary of Treasury — STEVEN MNUCHIN</p>
<p>The secretary serves as the head of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, which handles all financial and monetary matters related to the federal government. The position requires Senate confirmation.</p>
<p>Steve Mnuchin, who served as Trump's campaign finance chair, is a Wall Street banker, having worked with Goldman Sachs for 17 years. He is the CEO of the privately owned hedge fund Dune Capital Management. "Mnuchin, 53, joined the Trump campaign in April when the organization's fundraising campaign barely existed," reports <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/11/30/503791602/reports-trump-picks-steve-mnuchin-to-lead-treasury-department" type="external">NPR</a>. "He also was involved deeply in developing the president-elect's tax proposals, which could deliver as much as $6 trillion in tax reductions over 10 years, but might also contribute to much larger budget deficits." Mnuchin has been a key financier in some Hollywood projects, including Mad Max: Fury Road, Suicide Squad, and American Sniper. NPR notes that he has contributed to both Republicans and Democrats, including Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. A potential stumbling block for his appointment was his involvement with OneWest Bank in the 2008 crash. Read the Daily Wire's <a href="" type="internal">profile of Mnuchin</a>.</p>
<p>Secretary of Defense — GEN. JAMES "MAD DOG" MATTIS</p>
<p>The secretary is the chief officer of the Department of Defense, with authority over the military only second to the president. The position requires Senate confirmation.</p>
<p>Retired Marine Gen. James N. Mattis, 66, is a <a href="" type="internal">widely respected and popular figure</a> among the armed forces with extensive credentials, including serving as the supreme allied commander of transformation for NATO (2007 - 2010) and chief of the U.S. Central Command until 2013. To be confirmed, however, he will first have to be granted an exemption by Congress. The law requires that anyone who served in the armed forces must have been retired for at least seven years before serving as Secretary of Defense; Mattis retired less than four years ago. Such an exemption has only been granted once, to Gen. George C. Marshall in 1959. Mattis' position on Iran is complicated: he has openly condemned Iran as the "single most enduring threat to stability and peace in the Middle East," but he has also expressed reluctant support of President Obama's Iran deal. Though Mattis has described the deal as "an imperfect arms control agreement" that is only a "pause" in Iran's nuclear goals, he maintains that walking away from the deal now would not benefit the U.S. Mattis has also been vocal in his warnings about the threat posed by Russia. Read the Daily Wire's <a href="" type="internal">profile of Mattis</a>.</p>
<p>Attorney General — SEN. JEFF SESSIONS (R-AL)</p>
<p>The attorney general of the U.S. is head of the Department of Justice and the primary law enforcement officer of the country. This position requires Senate confirmation.</p>
<p>Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) has a proven track record as a strong advocate for conservative priorities, including blocking amnesty efforts and promoting the proper enforcement of immigration law. He has also been a strong advocate for cracking down on budgetary issues. The Left has attempted to smear Sessions as racist, but, as the Daily Wire has highlighted, such charges are unfounded. Read the Daily Wire's <a href="" type="internal">profile of Sessions</a>.</p>
<p>Secretary of Commerce — WILBUR ROSS JR.</p>
<p>Secretary of Commerce is charge with promoting economic growth. This position requires Senate confirmation.</p>
<p>Wilbur Ross is a billionaire investor who has worked with Trump in the past and, like the Republican president-elect, spent most of his life as a registered Democrat and donating to many Democrat politicians. Despite his Democrat-leanings, he has recently been critical of some Democratic proposals, including Hillary Clinton's plan to raise taxes, increase regulations and diminish American energy resources. Ross has also been highly critical of the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement. Read the Daily Wire's <a href="" type="internal">profile of Ross</a>.</p>
<p>Secretary of Labor — ANDREW PUZDER</p>
<p>The secretary heads the U.S. Department of Labor, which sets standards for wages and hours worked, occupational safety, unemployment benefits and reemployment programs, among other important labor-related regulations and services.</p>
<p>Andrew Puzder is the CEO of CKE Restaurants Holdings Inc. He has an impressive background in business and law, really making a name for himself when he effectively saved the Carl's Jr. franchise by helping organize a financial deal between owner Carl Karcher and William Foley, CEO of Fidelity National Financial, Inc. Since, Puzder has served as executive vice president and general counsel for GKE and Fidelity as well as CEO of Hardee's Food Systems. He opposes many progressive initiatives, including the Obama administration's overtime regulations, Obamacare, and raising the minimum wage. He has also taken pro-life stances, most notably as an attorney in St Louis. One major criticism of Puzder from the Right is <a href="" type="internal">his soft stance on immigration</a>, having supported the Gang of Eight bill in 2013, arguing that amnesty would benefit the U.S. economically. ​​Read the Daily Wire's <a href="" type="internal">profile of Puzder</a>.</p>
<p>Secretary of Health and Human Services — REP. TOM PRICE (R-GA)</p>
<p>The secretary heads the Department of Health and Human Services, which controls federal programs dealing with public health, welfare and income security. The position requires Senate confirmation.</p>
<p>Tom Price (R-GA), a physician who has served as representative for Georgia since 2005, has been an ardent supporter of repealing and replacing Obamacare, and has presented some replacement options, including the "Empowered Patients First Act, which, as NPR outlined, is based on the following <a href="" type="internal">five pillars</a>: 1) Tax credits for people to purchase private insurance; 2) Increasing the availability of health savings accounts; 3) Pre-existing conditions can't be denied coverage if "they had continuous insurance for 18 months prior to selecting a new policy"; 4) States can establish high-risk pools with federal money for those who can't afford to buy private insurance; 5) Reducing the tax deduction on employer health insurance.</p>
<p>Price also strongly supports defunding Planned Parenthood, his voting record on abortion earning him a 100 percent rating from the National Right to Life. While many conservatives view his appointment as a positive sign about the administration's commitment to dismantling Obamacare and potentially defunding the abortion provider, Price has garnered mixed reviews on other issues. <a href="https://www.conservativereview.com/members/tom-price/biography/" type="external">Conservative Review</a>'s liberty score rates him at a 62, with Price's increasingly "establishment" voting record earning him some push back from the Right. Democrats appear to be preparing to block his appointment, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) responding to the announcement that Price was chosen by <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-11-29/democrats-target-price-nomination-in-proxy-fight-on-health-care" type="external">saying</a>, "There ought to be bipartisan support against a secretary who’s going to privatize Medicare and not fund Planned Parenthood." Read the Daily Wire's <a href="" type="internal">profile of Price</a>.</p>
<p>Secretary of Housing and Urban Development — BEN CARSON</p>
<p>The secretary directs the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The position requires Senate confirmation.</p>
<p>Dr. Ben Carson, renowned brain surgeon and former primary opponent of Trump, is the president-elect's choice to head up HUD. Carson has often discussed the challenges for inner city communities, highlighting his own experiences being raised by a single mother in Detroit. He has been highly critical of many progressive government programs focused on inner cities and minorities, arguing they often build dependency on the government and damage families. "[W]e cannot have a strong nation if we have weak inner cities, and we have to get beyond the promises and start really doing something," Carson said in a recent interview on Fox News. Read the Daily Wire's <a href="" type="internal">profile of Carson</a>.</p>
<p>Secretary of Transportation — ELAINE CHAO</p>
<p>The secretary heads the U.S. Department of Transportation, which oversees national transportation, including national highways, railroad and airline travel safety issues. The position requires Senate confirmation.</p>
<p>Elaine Chao, the wife of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, has a lengthy career in the federal government, having served in the Reagan administration and both Bush administrations. Under Reagan, Chao served as the deputy administrator and chair of the Federal Maritime Commission. She served as the Transportation Department's deputy secretary from 1989 to 1991 under George H.W. Bush, and as the Labor Secretary under President George W. Bush throughout his two terms. She also directed the Peace Corps for a year under the elder Bush. From 1992 to 1996, she was a highly effective president and chief executive officer of <a href="http://www.biography.com/people/elaine-l-chao-214142#profile" type="external">United Way of America</a>. Chao has also recently produced <a href="http://www.heritage.org/about/staff/c/elaine-chao" type="external">several conservative publications</a> for the Heritage Foundation. Despite her impressive resume, many conservatives see the selection of Chao as a betrayal of Trump's "drain the swamp" promise and likely guaranteeing Trump's $1 trillion infrastructure plan. Read the Daily Wire's <a href="" type="internal">profile of Chao</a>.​</p>
<p>Secretary of Education — BETSY DEVOS</p>
<p>The secretary heads the Department of Education, which is in charge of all federal education programs, including federal education grants and financial aid provided to students. The position requires Senate confirmation.</p>
<p>DeVos is a <a href="http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2016/11/23/trump-devos-education/94344918/" type="external">leader</a> in the charter school and school voucher movement, and thus an enemy of all of the most powerful educators' unions. She has made clear that her goal is to make sweeping changes to education, declaring, "The status quo in education is not acceptable." While she formerly supported Common Core, she has apparently changed her position on that hot-button issue. All of this is welcome news for conservatives, as the Daily Wire's Ben Shapiro <a href="" type="internal">explains</a>:</p>
<p>"One of Trump’s better proposals during the campaign was redirecting federal public school money directly to low-income parents, who could use their market power to choose a better education for their children. DeVos will likely oversee that program. Breaking the stranglehold of the public sector teacher’s unions over education won’t only raise standards among kids, it will help destroy the left’s dominance of the educational system as a whole, meaning a broader variety of views among those teaching children. That’s a great thing."</p>
<p>Secretary of Homeland Security — GEN. JOHN F. KELLY</p>
<p>The secretary heads the Department of Homeland Security, which coordinates efforts to prevent terrorist attacks within the United States, responds to attacks and other disasters, and enforces and administers immigration laws. The position requires Senate confirmation.</p>
<p>Retired Marine <a href="" type="internal">Gen. John F. Kelly</a> served in the Marines for 40 years, has an exemplary service record, including earning four stars during his service and heading the U.S. Southern Command. He is a Gold Star father, his son Robert being killed by a mine in 2010 in Afghanistan. He is also considered " <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/nov/27/john-kelly-trump-cabinet-mention-a-border-security/" type="external">a border security hawk</a>." In 2015, Kelly testified that immigration is "a national security" issue, citing the threat of terrorists using the southern border to gain access to the country. "The terrorist group Lebanese Hezbollah, which has long viewed the region as a potential attack venue against Israeli or other Western targets, has supporters and sympathizers in Lebanese diaspora communities in Latin America, some of whom are involved in lucrative illicit activities like money laundering and trafficking in counterfeit goods and drugs," said Kelly. He has also <a href="http://dailycaller.com/2016/12/07/trumps-pick-for-homeland-security-secretary-has-zero-intention-of-closing-guantanamo-bay/" type="external">defended</a> the use of Guantanamo Bay to hold foreign terror suspects. Another Obama administration agenda item Kelly has criticized is the push to give women military combat jobs. Read the Daily Wire's <a href="" type="internal">profile of Kelly</a>.</p>
<p>CABINET-RANK POSITIONS</p>
<p>Chief of Staff — REINCE PRIEBUS</p>
<p>Chief of Staff is the highest ranking employee in the White House, managing day-to-day operations of key personnel and often controlling access to the president. No Senate confirmation is required for the position.</p>
<p>One of Trump's first announcements was that Reince Preibus, chairman of the Republican National Committee, would be his Chief of Staff, a move many interpreted as intended in part to balance the "outsider" influence of Chief Strategist Steve Bannon. Priebus' ability to maintain healthy relationships between both Trump and the Republican establishment, particularly House Speaker Paul Ryan, will likely prove essential in Trump's negotiations with Congress.</p>
<p>Environmental Protection Agency Chief — SCOTT PRUITT</p>
<p>The chief administrator of the EPA is tasked with creating policies, enforcing regulations, and coordinating programs designed to protect the environment and human health. The position requires Senate confirmation.</p>
<p>Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt has a strong background in environmental law and a long record of fighting against government overreach, particularly by the very department Trump has chosen him to head up. As AG, Pruitt has filed several lawsuits against the EPA for what he deemed government overreach and overregulation, including attempts to effectively federalize most bodies of water, the so-called "Clean Power Plan," overly burdensome regional haze, ozone, greenhouse gases and carbon dioxide regulations, and the ethanol mandate. He has also defended free speech, pushing back against a coalition attempting "to criminally investigate oil and gas companies that have disputed the science behind man-made global warming." Pruitt was the first state AG to challenge the Obama administration's efforts to bend the law to provide federal Obamacare subsidies to states without exchanges. He was also pivotal in forcing the halt of Obama's executive amnesty and backed the Hobby Lobby religious freedom case. Read the Daily Wire's <a href="" type="internal">profile of Scott Pruitt</a>.</p>
<p>Ambassador to the United Nations — GOV. NIKKI HALEY (R-SC)</p>
<p>The ambassador leads the U.S. delegation to the United Nations. The position requires Senate confirmation.</p>
<p>Haley has been a widely popular and nationally influential governor, who has managed complex situations, including <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/nikki-haleys-star-rises-as-confederate-flag-comes-down-119940" type="external">racial unrest</a> in her state, in a manner that has generally earned her praise. As the Daily Wire's Ben Shapiro <a href="" type="internal">notes</a>, while Haley does not have a strong foreign policy background, she has consistently displayed a hawkish worldview. Appointing Haley, a woman of Indian descent, also helps Trump in a number of ways, including giving him a high-profile female and minority appointment, removing her as a potential political challenger, and promoting the strongly pro-Trump South Carolina Lt. Gov. Henry McMaster. Read the Daily Wire's <a href="" type="internal">profile of Haley</a>.</p>
<p>OTHER KEY CABINET POSITIONS YET TO BE FILLED:</p>
<p>SUB-CABINET</p>
<p>Deputy Secretary of State — JOHN BOLTON</p>
<p>The deputy secretary is the chief assistant to the secretary of state. ​This position requires Senate confirmation.</p>
<p>In what some are interpreting as Trump's attempts to allay concerns about his secretary of state pick Tillerson, Trump has selected former ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton, a <a href="" type="internal">hardliner on protecting American sovereignty</a>, as the Tillerson's chief assistant. Some of the Republicans defending Tillerson's appointment are <a href="" type="internal">resisting Bolton</a> as his deputy, apparently including Tillerson. Bolton is an Ivy League-educated lawyer with a lengthy foreign policy record that demonstrates his commitment to opposing the erosion of American sovereignty through international institutions, like the U.N., and any deals with foreign governments that potentially undermine America's leverage, like the Iran Deal. His hard line, protectionist stance carries over to immigration as well, which falls in line with Trump's campaign rhetoric. The editors of the <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/article/442150/john-bolton-secretary-state" type="external">National Review</a> aptly describe Bolton as "an experienced, straight-talking yet nuanced foreign-policy hand, who also fits the Trump sensibility on national security. Bolton is an American internationalist who believes in the importance of American power. He is a hard-headed realist whose focus is always the national interest." Read the Daily Wire's <a href="" type="internal">profile of Bolton</a>.</p>
<p>Central Intelligence Agency Director — REP. MIKE POMPEO (R-KS)</p>
<p>The CIA director oversees the agency, which is tasked with protecting American national security through the collection and analysis of foreign intelligence.​This position requires Senate confirmation.</p>
<p>Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-KS) has been a vocal critic of the Iran deal, a hard-liner on national security issues, particularly regarding radical Islam, and was a member of the Benghazi committee. Read Daily Wire's <a href="" type="internal">profile of Pompeo</a>.</p>
<p>OTHER SUB-CABINET POSITIONS YET TO BE FILLED:</p>
<p>This article will be updated as positions are filled.</p>
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Meet The New Trump Administration: All The Names We Know So Far
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Meet The New Trump Administration: All The Names We Know So Far
<p>Trump Tower has seen some familiar political figures, media members and pundits moving in and out at a dizzying pace, but who will be offered an official role in the new Trump administration? Despite early reports of "turmoil" within Team Trump, the president-elect is actually <a href="https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/trump-is-naming-his-cabinet-ahead-of-schedule/" type="external">ahead of schedule</a> in making appointments. Below is a list of the key positions in the administration—White House staff, Cabinet and Sub-Cabinet positions—including those for which Trump has officially named someone for the role and those for which names have been floated as strong possibilities.</p>
<p>Here are the names we know so far, followed by their profiles below:</p>
<p>WHITE HOUSE STAFF</p>
<p>CABINET (listed in order of succession to the presidency)</p>
<p>CABINET-RANK POSITIONS</p>
<p>SUB-CABINET</p>
<p>WHITE HOUSE STAFF</p>
<p>Chief Strategist and Senior Counselor — STEVE BANNON</p>
<p>Chief strategist, a relatively new White House position, plays a key role in the administration, advising the president on messaging and implementing the administration's agenda. The role has been filled in past administrations by the likes of Karl Rove, David Plouffe and Dan Pfeiffer. No Senate confirmation is required for the position.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Bannon</a> is by far the most controversial figure in the new Trump administration. A self-styled " <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/steve-bannon-trump-tower-interview-trumps-strategist-plots-new-political-movement-948747" type="external">economic nationalist</a>," Bannon, the former head of Breitbart News, has pitted himself not only against the Left on many issues but has also announced that his protectionist and big-spending policies will <a href="" type="internal">enrage Conservatives</a>. Bannon has become the focus of some anti-Trump activists who accuse him of being a " <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/steve-bannon-chief-strategist_us_5828e1d4e4b0c4b63b0d33d7" type="external">white nationalist</a>" and demand he be replaced.</p>
<p>National Security Advisor — LT. GEN. MICHAEL FLYNN</p>
<p>The national security advisor leads the White House national security staff and advises the president on national security affairs. No Senate confirmation is required for the position.</p>
<p>Retired Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn has been a steadfast supporter of Trump from early in his campaign. As the Daily Wire reported, Flynn has an extensive military intelligence background, is strong on combating radical Islam (in fact, Flynn says it is because of his hard-line stance on the issue that he was forced to resign from the Obama administration), has sent mixed signals on his stance on Russia, and was once rumored to have been Trump's Vice President pick. Read the Daily Wire's <a href="" type="internal">profile of Flynn</a>.</p>
<p>Deputy National Security Advisor — K.T. McFARLAND</p>
<p>A deputy national security advisor is a key advisor to the president on national security issues. The position does not require Senate confirmation.</p>
<p>Kathleen Troia McFarland, better known as K.T. McFarland, has an impressive national security background, having held several national security positions in the federal government. <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/person/m/kt-mcfarland.html" type="external">Fox News</a> provides some career highlights:</p>
<p>Ms. McFarland held national security posts in the Nixon, Ford and Reagan administrations: as an aide to Dr. Henry Kissinger, senior speechwriter to Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger and later a principal deputy assistant secretary of defense Pentagon spokesman. She wrote the Weinberger Principles of War which laid out the Reagan administration's policy regarding use of force: in essence, only go to war if it is in America's vital national interest, and then only to win. Ms. McFarland received the Defense Department's highest civilian award for her work in the Reagan Administration.</p>
<p>She has been heavily critical of President Obama's handling of ISIS and the Iran deal, perspectives she has made clear on Fox News, where she has served as a national security analyst. Read the Daily Wire's <a href="" type="internal">profile of McFarland</a>.</p>
<p>Press Secretary — (LAURA INGRAHAM?)</p>
<p>Press secretary speaks on a regular basis with the White House press corps, explaining the key actions of the president and the administration and fielding questions. No Senate confirmation is required for the position.</p>
<p>One high profile name <a href="" type="internal">floated</a> as a possible press secretary is conservative pundit Laura Ingraham, who has been vocal in her defense of Trump, particular against the #NeverTrump movement. "I am honored to be considered for that job and other jobs. So we'll see what happens," Ingraham said on Fox News, adding, "I think people are getting a little far ahead of the narrative."</p>
<p>Communications Director —</p>
<p>The communications director promotes the administration's agenda through messaging strategy, overseeing the president's public appearance schedule and often serving as a key spokesperson for the administration. No Senate confirmation is required for the position.</p>
<p>White House Counsel —</p>
<p>White House counsel advises the president and the administration on legal matters. No Senate confirmation is required for the position.</p>
<p>CABINET</p>
<p>Secretary of State — REX TILLERSON</p>
<p>The secretary of state heads up the administration's foreign policy and serves as the key diplomat to foreign countries. The position requires Senate confirmation.</p>
<p>After a series of interviews with high-profile candidates, including Rudy Giuliani and <a href="" type="internal">Mitt Romney</a>, Trump selected Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson. The choice has resulted in some strong pushback from both sides of the aisle in large part because of <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/donald-trump-candidate-for-state-has-close-ties-to-vladimir-putin-1481033938" type="external">Tillerson's cozy relationship with Putin</a>. As John Hamre, former deputy defense secretary under Bill Clinton, said, "[Tillerson] has more interactive time with Vladimir Putin than probably any other American with the exception of Henry Kissinger." Tillerson helped establish a lucrative oil deal with Russia which was ultimately blocked by sanctions but it nonetheless won Tillerson the Order of Friendship from Putin. Many conservatives are also deeply concerned about Tillerson's <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/442995/rex-tillerson-carbon-tax-backing-climate-change-believer" type="external">support of global warming legislation</a> and his left-leaning stance on social issues. To counter the pushback, former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates have come forward to defend Tillerson; however, as Ben Shapiro points out, one of the clients of the consulting firm Rice and Gates run is Exxon Mobil. Read Daily Wire's <a href="" type="internal">profile of Tillerson</a>.</p>
<p>Secretary of Treasury — STEVEN MNUCHIN</p>
<p>The secretary serves as the head of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, which handles all financial and monetary matters related to the federal government. The position requires Senate confirmation.</p>
<p>Steve Mnuchin, who served as Trump's campaign finance chair, is a Wall Street banker, having worked with Goldman Sachs for 17 years. He is the CEO of the privately owned hedge fund Dune Capital Management. "Mnuchin, 53, joined the Trump campaign in April when the organization's fundraising campaign barely existed," reports <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/11/30/503791602/reports-trump-picks-steve-mnuchin-to-lead-treasury-department" type="external">NPR</a>. "He also was involved deeply in developing the president-elect's tax proposals, which could deliver as much as $6 trillion in tax reductions over 10 years, but might also contribute to much larger budget deficits." Mnuchin has been a key financier in some Hollywood projects, including Mad Max: Fury Road, Suicide Squad, and American Sniper. NPR notes that he has contributed to both Republicans and Democrats, including Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. A potential stumbling block for his appointment was his involvement with OneWest Bank in the 2008 crash. Read the Daily Wire's <a href="" type="internal">profile of Mnuchin</a>.</p>
<p>Secretary of Defense — GEN. JAMES "MAD DOG" MATTIS</p>
<p>The secretary is the chief officer of the Department of Defense, with authority over the military only second to the president. The position requires Senate confirmation.</p>
<p>Retired Marine Gen. James N. Mattis, 66, is a <a href="" type="internal">widely respected and popular figure</a> among the armed forces with extensive credentials, including serving as the supreme allied commander of transformation for NATO (2007 - 2010) and chief of the U.S. Central Command until 2013. To be confirmed, however, he will first have to be granted an exemption by Congress. The law requires that anyone who served in the armed forces must have been retired for at least seven years before serving as Secretary of Defense; Mattis retired less than four years ago. Such an exemption has only been granted once, to Gen. George C. Marshall in 1959. Mattis' position on Iran is complicated: he has openly condemned Iran as the "single most enduring threat to stability and peace in the Middle East," but he has also expressed reluctant support of President Obama's Iran deal. Though Mattis has described the deal as "an imperfect arms control agreement" that is only a "pause" in Iran's nuclear goals, he maintains that walking away from the deal now would not benefit the U.S. Mattis has also been vocal in his warnings about the threat posed by Russia. Read the Daily Wire's <a href="" type="internal">profile of Mattis</a>.</p>
<p>Attorney General — SEN. JEFF SESSIONS (R-AL)</p>
<p>The attorney general of the U.S. is head of the Department of Justice and the primary law enforcement officer of the country. This position requires Senate confirmation.</p>
<p>Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) has a proven track record as a strong advocate for conservative priorities, including blocking amnesty efforts and promoting the proper enforcement of immigration law. He has also been a strong advocate for cracking down on budgetary issues. The Left has attempted to smear Sessions as racist, but, as the Daily Wire has highlighted, such charges are unfounded. Read the Daily Wire's <a href="" type="internal">profile of Sessions</a>.</p>
<p>Secretary of Commerce — WILBUR ROSS JR.</p>
<p>Secretary of Commerce is charge with promoting economic growth. This position requires Senate confirmation.</p>
<p>Wilbur Ross is a billionaire investor who has worked with Trump in the past and, like the Republican president-elect, spent most of his life as a registered Democrat and donating to many Democrat politicians. Despite his Democrat-leanings, he has recently been critical of some Democratic proposals, including Hillary Clinton's plan to raise taxes, increase regulations and diminish American energy resources. Ross has also been highly critical of the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement. Read the Daily Wire's <a href="" type="internal">profile of Ross</a>.</p>
<p>Secretary of Labor — ANDREW PUZDER</p>
<p>The secretary heads the U.S. Department of Labor, which sets standards for wages and hours worked, occupational safety, unemployment benefits and reemployment programs, among other important labor-related regulations and services.</p>
<p>Andrew Puzder is the CEO of CKE Restaurants Holdings Inc. He has an impressive background in business and law, really making a name for himself when he effectively saved the Carl's Jr. franchise by helping organize a financial deal between owner Carl Karcher and William Foley, CEO of Fidelity National Financial, Inc. Since, Puzder has served as executive vice president and general counsel for GKE and Fidelity as well as CEO of Hardee's Food Systems. He opposes many progressive initiatives, including the Obama administration's overtime regulations, Obamacare, and raising the minimum wage. He has also taken pro-life stances, most notably as an attorney in St Louis. One major criticism of Puzder from the Right is <a href="" type="internal">his soft stance on immigration</a>, having supported the Gang of Eight bill in 2013, arguing that amnesty would benefit the U.S. economically. ​​Read the Daily Wire's <a href="" type="internal">profile of Puzder</a>.</p>
<p>Secretary of Health and Human Services — REP. TOM PRICE (R-GA)</p>
<p>The secretary heads the Department of Health and Human Services, which controls federal programs dealing with public health, welfare and income security. The position requires Senate confirmation.</p>
<p>Tom Price (R-GA), a physician who has served as representative for Georgia since 2005, has been an ardent supporter of repealing and replacing Obamacare, and has presented some replacement options, including the "Empowered Patients First Act, which, as NPR outlined, is based on the following <a href="" type="internal">five pillars</a>: 1) Tax credits for people to purchase private insurance; 2) Increasing the availability of health savings accounts; 3) Pre-existing conditions can't be denied coverage if "they had continuous insurance for 18 months prior to selecting a new policy"; 4) States can establish high-risk pools with federal money for those who can't afford to buy private insurance; 5) Reducing the tax deduction on employer health insurance.</p>
<p>Price also strongly supports defunding Planned Parenthood, his voting record on abortion earning him a 100 percent rating from the National Right to Life. While many conservatives view his appointment as a positive sign about the administration's commitment to dismantling Obamacare and potentially defunding the abortion provider, Price has garnered mixed reviews on other issues. <a href="https://www.conservativereview.com/members/tom-price/biography/" type="external">Conservative Review</a>'s liberty score rates him at a 62, with Price's increasingly "establishment" voting record earning him some push back from the Right. Democrats appear to be preparing to block his appointment, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) responding to the announcement that Price was chosen by <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-11-29/democrats-target-price-nomination-in-proxy-fight-on-health-care" type="external">saying</a>, "There ought to be bipartisan support against a secretary who’s going to privatize Medicare and not fund Planned Parenthood." Read the Daily Wire's <a href="" type="internal">profile of Price</a>.</p>
<p>Secretary of Housing and Urban Development — BEN CARSON</p>
<p>The secretary directs the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The position requires Senate confirmation.</p>
<p>Dr. Ben Carson, renowned brain surgeon and former primary opponent of Trump, is the president-elect's choice to head up HUD. Carson has often discussed the challenges for inner city communities, highlighting his own experiences being raised by a single mother in Detroit. He has been highly critical of many progressive government programs focused on inner cities and minorities, arguing they often build dependency on the government and damage families. "[W]e cannot have a strong nation if we have weak inner cities, and we have to get beyond the promises and start really doing something," Carson said in a recent interview on Fox News. Read the Daily Wire's <a href="" type="internal">profile of Carson</a>.</p>
<p>Secretary of Transportation — ELAINE CHAO</p>
<p>The secretary heads the U.S. Department of Transportation, which oversees national transportation, including national highways, railroad and airline travel safety issues. The position requires Senate confirmation.</p>
<p>Elaine Chao, the wife of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, has a lengthy career in the federal government, having served in the Reagan administration and both Bush administrations. Under Reagan, Chao served as the deputy administrator and chair of the Federal Maritime Commission. She served as the Transportation Department's deputy secretary from 1989 to 1991 under George H.W. Bush, and as the Labor Secretary under President George W. Bush throughout his two terms. She also directed the Peace Corps for a year under the elder Bush. From 1992 to 1996, she was a highly effective president and chief executive officer of <a href="http://www.biography.com/people/elaine-l-chao-214142#profile" type="external">United Way of America</a>. Chao has also recently produced <a href="http://www.heritage.org/about/staff/c/elaine-chao" type="external">several conservative publications</a> for the Heritage Foundation. Despite her impressive resume, many conservatives see the selection of Chao as a betrayal of Trump's "drain the swamp" promise and likely guaranteeing Trump's $1 trillion infrastructure plan. Read the Daily Wire's <a href="" type="internal">profile of Chao</a>.​</p>
<p>Secretary of Education — BETSY DEVOS</p>
<p>The secretary heads the Department of Education, which is in charge of all federal education programs, including federal education grants and financial aid provided to students. The position requires Senate confirmation.</p>
<p>DeVos is a <a href="http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2016/11/23/trump-devos-education/94344918/" type="external">leader</a> in the charter school and school voucher movement, and thus an enemy of all of the most powerful educators' unions. She has made clear that her goal is to make sweeping changes to education, declaring, "The status quo in education is not acceptable." While she formerly supported Common Core, she has apparently changed her position on that hot-button issue. All of this is welcome news for conservatives, as the Daily Wire's Ben Shapiro <a href="" type="internal">explains</a>:</p>
<p>"One of Trump’s better proposals during the campaign was redirecting federal public school money directly to low-income parents, who could use their market power to choose a better education for their children. DeVos will likely oversee that program. Breaking the stranglehold of the public sector teacher’s unions over education won’t only raise standards among kids, it will help destroy the left’s dominance of the educational system as a whole, meaning a broader variety of views among those teaching children. That’s a great thing."</p>
<p>Secretary of Homeland Security — GEN. JOHN F. KELLY</p>
<p>The secretary heads the Department of Homeland Security, which coordinates efforts to prevent terrorist attacks within the United States, responds to attacks and other disasters, and enforces and administers immigration laws. The position requires Senate confirmation.</p>
<p>Retired Marine <a href="" type="internal">Gen. John F. Kelly</a> served in the Marines for 40 years, has an exemplary service record, including earning four stars during his service and heading the U.S. Southern Command. He is a Gold Star father, his son Robert being killed by a mine in 2010 in Afghanistan. He is also considered " <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/nov/27/john-kelly-trump-cabinet-mention-a-border-security/" type="external">a border security hawk</a>." In 2015, Kelly testified that immigration is "a national security" issue, citing the threat of terrorists using the southern border to gain access to the country. "The terrorist group Lebanese Hezbollah, which has long viewed the region as a potential attack venue against Israeli or other Western targets, has supporters and sympathizers in Lebanese diaspora communities in Latin America, some of whom are involved in lucrative illicit activities like money laundering and trafficking in counterfeit goods and drugs," said Kelly. He has also <a href="http://dailycaller.com/2016/12/07/trumps-pick-for-homeland-security-secretary-has-zero-intention-of-closing-guantanamo-bay/" type="external">defended</a> the use of Guantanamo Bay to hold foreign terror suspects. Another Obama administration agenda item Kelly has criticized is the push to give women military combat jobs. Read the Daily Wire's <a href="" type="internal">profile of Kelly</a>.</p>
<p>CABINET-RANK POSITIONS</p>
<p>Chief of Staff — REINCE PRIEBUS</p>
<p>Chief of Staff is the highest ranking employee in the White House, managing day-to-day operations of key personnel and often controlling access to the president. No Senate confirmation is required for the position.</p>
<p>One of Trump's first announcements was that Reince Preibus, chairman of the Republican National Committee, would be his Chief of Staff, a move many interpreted as intended in part to balance the "outsider" influence of Chief Strategist Steve Bannon. Priebus' ability to maintain healthy relationships between both Trump and the Republican establishment, particularly House Speaker Paul Ryan, will likely prove essential in Trump's negotiations with Congress.</p>
<p>Environmental Protection Agency Chief — SCOTT PRUITT</p>
<p>The chief administrator of the EPA is tasked with creating policies, enforcing regulations, and coordinating programs designed to protect the environment and human health. The position requires Senate confirmation.</p>
<p>Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt has a strong background in environmental law and a long record of fighting against government overreach, particularly by the very department Trump has chosen him to head up. As AG, Pruitt has filed several lawsuits against the EPA for what he deemed government overreach and overregulation, including attempts to effectively federalize most bodies of water, the so-called "Clean Power Plan," overly burdensome regional haze, ozone, greenhouse gases and carbon dioxide regulations, and the ethanol mandate. He has also defended free speech, pushing back against a coalition attempting "to criminally investigate oil and gas companies that have disputed the science behind man-made global warming." Pruitt was the first state AG to challenge the Obama administration's efforts to bend the law to provide federal Obamacare subsidies to states without exchanges. He was also pivotal in forcing the halt of Obama's executive amnesty and backed the Hobby Lobby religious freedom case. Read the Daily Wire's <a href="" type="internal">profile of Scott Pruitt</a>.</p>
<p>Ambassador to the United Nations — GOV. NIKKI HALEY (R-SC)</p>
<p>The ambassador leads the U.S. delegation to the United Nations. The position requires Senate confirmation.</p>
<p>Haley has been a widely popular and nationally influential governor, who has managed complex situations, including <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/nikki-haleys-star-rises-as-confederate-flag-comes-down-119940" type="external">racial unrest</a> in her state, in a manner that has generally earned her praise. As the Daily Wire's Ben Shapiro <a href="" type="internal">notes</a>, while Haley does not have a strong foreign policy background, she has consistently displayed a hawkish worldview. Appointing Haley, a woman of Indian descent, also helps Trump in a number of ways, including giving him a high-profile female and minority appointment, removing her as a potential political challenger, and promoting the strongly pro-Trump South Carolina Lt. Gov. Henry McMaster. Read the Daily Wire's <a href="" type="internal">profile of Haley</a>.</p>
<p>OTHER KEY CABINET POSITIONS YET TO BE FILLED:</p>
<p>SUB-CABINET</p>
<p>Deputy Secretary of State — JOHN BOLTON</p>
<p>The deputy secretary is the chief assistant to the secretary of state. ​This position requires Senate confirmation.</p>
<p>In what some are interpreting as Trump's attempts to allay concerns about his secretary of state pick Tillerson, Trump has selected former ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton, a <a href="" type="internal">hardliner on protecting American sovereignty</a>, as the Tillerson's chief assistant. Some of the Republicans defending Tillerson's appointment are <a href="" type="internal">resisting Bolton</a> as his deputy, apparently including Tillerson. Bolton is an Ivy League-educated lawyer with a lengthy foreign policy record that demonstrates his commitment to opposing the erosion of American sovereignty through international institutions, like the U.N., and any deals with foreign governments that potentially undermine America's leverage, like the Iran Deal. His hard line, protectionist stance carries over to immigration as well, which falls in line with Trump's campaign rhetoric. The editors of the <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/article/442150/john-bolton-secretary-state" type="external">National Review</a> aptly describe Bolton as "an experienced, straight-talking yet nuanced foreign-policy hand, who also fits the Trump sensibility on national security. Bolton is an American internationalist who believes in the importance of American power. He is a hard-headed realist whose focus is always the national interest." Read the Daily Wire's <a href="" type="internal">profile of Bolton</a>.</p>
<p>Central Intelligence Agency Director — REP. MIKE POMPEO (R-KS)</p>
<p>The CIA director oversees the agency, which is tasked with protecting American national security through the collection and analysis of foreign intelligence.​This position requires Senate confirmation.</p>
<p>Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-KS) has been a vocal critic of the Iran deal, a hard-liner on national security issues, particularly regarding radical Islam, and was a member of the Benghazi committee. Read Daily Wire's <a href="" type="internal">profile of Pompeo</a>.</p>
<p>OTHER SUB-CABINET POSITIONS YET TO BE FILLED:</p>
<p>This article will be updated as positions are filled.</p>
| 6,262 |
<p>MSNBC host and avowed Trump hater Joe Scarborough has announced that he's leaving the Republican Party because he's disgusted that "time and time again it has turned a blind eye to racist Trump."</p>
<p>"I am a Republican but I'm not gonna' be a Republican anymore. I'm gonna' become an independent," said the former Republican congressman.</p>
<p>Scarborough has become a star with his non-stop tirades against President Trump, often accompanied by his "Morning Joe" co-host and love-muffin Mika Brzezinski (the pair, both married with children, divorced their spouses and are now engaged, so, you know, integrity isn't their strong suit).</p>
<p>So, of course, the ratings-hungry Scarborough made his Tuesday night grandiose announcement on "The Late Show" with Stephen Colbert Show, thrilling the always far-left audience that pack those kinds of TV shows.</p>
<p>The news was so ground-shaking, so incredibly important, that "The Late Show" tweeted it out well before the show aired at 11:30 p.m.</p>
<p>During the show, Colbert asked Scarborough why Republicans are still supporting Trump, and the sweater-loving talk show host teed off.</p>
<p>"It's inexplicable," he said. "This is well before Donald Trump was elected president that my party betrayed their core values," he said, leading into this oft-repeated by erroneous claim.</p>
<p>"In 2015, Donald Trump supported a Muslim ban, and I said I could never vote for somebody who was going to ban people based on the God they worshiped." No, Scarborough isn't bothered in the least by misportraying the travel ban that bars — only temporarily — entrants from seven terrorist hotbeds.</p>
<p>But Scarborough went on.</p>
<p>"Last February when he talked about David Duke and pretended that he didn't know who he was or what the Ku Klux Klan did, you didn't have Republicans coming out saying 'I can never support Donald Trump because he's racist!' They'd have a thousand other reasons why, but they always overlooked that."</p>
<p>Scarborough rambled on against his former party, his voice rising as he bashed Republicans as stupid and leaving the political world stunned.</p>
<p>"Time and time and time again, they turned the other way and they're doing the same thing now. and it's actually disgusting," he said of his former colleagues in the GOP.</p>
<p>Scarborough and Brzezinski were pals with Trump during some of the campaign, with Trump appearing on the show or calling in. But when he was elected, the show went into to Trump-hater mode, and ratings have soared to new highs.</p>
<p>The talk show host also bashed any Republican who voted for Trump — and for continuing to support him. "You have to ask yourself how far are the Republican Party willing to go. How much of this country and our values are they willing to sell out?"</p>
<p>Of course, in the six months Trump has been in office, Democrats and the mainstream media (especially MSNBC) have sought to prove his collusion with Russia. They've failed, miserably, and a special counsel investigating the allegations is far from finished with his probe.</p>
<p>But Scarborough and Brzezinski are on a mission to take down Trump, who made their ongoing tiff personal with several tweets about the pair, including one that said Brzezinski was "bleeding badly" from plastic surgery.</p>
<p>So expect Scarborough to stick to his guns — unless his ratings start to fall, or he no longer gets invited onto late-night talk shows.</p>
<p>He's a man of integrity and honor.</p>
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CLOWN SHOW: Joe Scarborough Quits The Republican Party
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CLOWN SHOW: Joe Scarborough Quits The Republican Party
<p>MSNBC host and avowed Trump hater Joe Scarborough has announced that he's leaving the Republican Party because he's disgusted that "time and time again it has turned a blind eye to racist Trump."</p>
<p>"I am a Republican but I'm not gonna' be a Republican anymore. I'm gonna' become an independent," said the former Republican congressman.</p>
<p>Scarborough has become a star with his non-stop tirades against President Trump, often accompanied by his "Morning Joe" co-host and love-muffin Mika Brzezinski (the pair, both married with children, divorced their spouses and are now engaged, so, you know, integrity isn't their strong suit).</p>
<p>So, of course, the ratings-hungry Scarborough made his Tuesday night grandiose announcement on "The Late Show" with Stephen Colbert Show, thrilling the always far-left audience that pack those kinds of TV shows.</p>
<p>The news was so ground-shaking, so incredibly important, that "The Late Show" tweeted it out well before the show aired at 11:30 p.m.</p>
<p>During the show, Colbert asked Scarborough why Republicans are still supporting Trump, and the sweater-loving talk show host teed off.</p>
<p>"It's inexplicable," he said. "This is well before Donald Trump was elected president that my party betrayed their core values," he said, leading into this oft-repeated by erroneous claim.</p>
<p>"In 2015, Donald Trump supported a Muslim ban, and I said I could never vote for somebody who was going to ban people based on the God they worshiped." No, Scarborough isn't bothered in the least by misportraying the travel ban that bars — only temporarily — entrants from seven terrorist hotbeds.</p>
<p>But Scarborough went on.</p>
<p>"Last February when he talked about David Duke and pretended that he didn't know who he was or what the Ku Klux Klan did, you didn't have Republicans coming out saying 'I can never support Donald Trump because he's racist!' They'd have a thousand other reasons why, but they always overlooked that."</p>
<p>Scarborough rambled on against his former party, his voice rising as he bashed Republicans as stupid and leaving the political world stunned.</p>
<p>"Time and time and time again, they turned the other way and they're doing the same thing now. and it's actually disgusting," he said of his former colleagues in the GOP.</p>
<p>Scarborough and Brzezinski were pals with Trump during some of the campaign, with Trump appearing on the show or calling in. But when he was elected, the show went into to Trump-hater mode, and ratings have soared to new highs.</p>
<p>The talk show host also bashed any Republican who voted for Trump — and for continuing to support him. "You have to ask yourself how far are the Republican Party willing to go. How much of this country and our values are they willing to sell out?"</p>
<p>Of course, in the six months Trump has been in office, Democrats and the mainstream media (especially MSNBC) have sought to prove his collusion with Russia. They've failed, miserably, and a special counsel investigating the allegations is far from finished with his probe.</p>
<p>But Scarborough and Brzezinski are on a mission to take down Trump, who made their ongoing tiff personal with several tweets about the pair, including one that said Brzezinski was "bleeding badly" from plastic surgery.</p>
<p>So expect Scarborough to stick to his guns — unless his ratings start to fall, or he no longer gets invited onto late-night talk shows.</p>
<p>He's a man of integrity and honor.</p>
| 6,263 |
<p>JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi parents who support using public money to send more children to private schools are pushing for action in the 2018 legislature.</p>
<p>Leah Ferretti of Cleveland testified Tuesday that her son is benefiting from the state’s voucher system, and other children deserve to as well. She said her son’s dyslexia went undiagnosed by school officials and they weren’t receptive to providing his prescribed therapy, but she was able to send him to private school using state money.</p>
<p>“I refuse to be told that we don’t have a choice, that someone else knows what’s best for my children,” she told senators and representatives.</p>
<p>Senate Education Committee Chairman Gray Tollison confirmed that he plans to introduce a bill that would gradually expand the current program, having the state pay for private schooling not only for students who need special education services, but also for children of low- and middle-income families.</p>
<p>The Oxford Republican has said the bill would initially limit the vouchers to one-half of 1 percent of Mississippi’s nearly half a million public school students, or 2,400 children, rising the next year to 1 percent, or 4,800, and then increasing from there. Special education spending would stay at $6,500 a year per student. Supporters of the expansion want about $5,250 for each regular-student voucher.</p>
<p>“There are a lot of kids in public schools across the state that public schools are not a good fit for,” Tollison said.</p>
<p>Some advocates of public education say the bill would only hurt underfunded public schools by sending state money to for-profit companies that aren’t held to the same standards.</p>
<p>“Taxpayer money should be spent for the public good and there is no public good done by funding schools that reject students they don’t want to teach and are not accountable in any way,” said Nancy Loome, executive director of the Parents Campaign.</p>
<p>How to measure achievement for the students involved remains a key question. Tollison said he wants to require that private schools give a national standardized test of their choice to confirm that students are learning on grade level, but private schools would not be required to give Mississippi’s state tests. Supporters of the plan oppose requiring the state test because it might restrict the private schools’ freedom to teach as they please.</p>
<p>“It’s very important that we not require the state test,” said Grant Callen, executive director of Empower Mississippi, a conservative policy group allied with U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos that favors expansion.</p>
<p>Tollison said he envisions publishing the results, but Callen said he wants them only to be available to the parents and the school.</p>
<p>Before the session began, the conservative Americans for Prosperity group sent mailers encouraging people to call certain Republicans and urge them to favor expanding the vouchers, but it’s not clear whether the mailers had any impact.</p>
<p>“I didn’t have one single call asking me to support it,” said state Sen. Chad McMahan, a Guntown Republican. “I had multiple calls asking me to oppose it.”</p>
<p>McMahan said he would only favor a system that would also allow free transfers among public schools, even across district lines.</p>
<p>“I’m not going to support a flight of public dollars to private schools,” he said.</p>
<p>Proponents dispute that diverting state money would hurt local schools, arguing that districts will be able to keep local tax money.</p>
<p>Callen said his group envisions allowing families with incomes up to two and a half times the poverty level to qualify. That’s about $60,000 for a family of four.</p>
<p>Supporters were counting votes in the House for expansion last week, but it’s unclear if they found a majority to support it.</p>
<p>“Like anything else it boils down to the votes,” House Speaker Philip Gunn, a Clinton Republican, said last week. “I am supportive of the concept.”</p>
<p>New House Education Committee Chairman Richard Bennett, a Long Beach Republican, says he’s unfamiliar with the measure and doesn’t know if he’ll support it.</p>
<p>Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves and Gov. Phil Bryant both support the plan, with Bryant saying he’d be willing to help lobby for votes.</p>
<p>“If we can expand school choice, particularly for special-needs children, I would do everything I can to help that effort,” Bryant said last week.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Jeff Amy at: <a href="http://twitter.com/jeffamy" type="external">http://twitter.com/jeffamy</a> . Read his work at <a href="" type="internal">https://www.apnews.com/search/Jeff_Amy</a> .</p>
<p>JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi parents who support using public money to send more children to private schools are pushing for action in the 2018 legislature.</p>
<p>Leah Ferretti of Cleveland testified Tuesday that her son is benefiting from the state’s voucher system, and other children deserve to as well. She said her son’s dyslexia went undiagnosed by school officials and they weren’t receptive to providing his prescribed therapy, but she was able to send him to private school using state money.</p>
<p>“I refuse to be told that we don’t have a choice, that someone else knows what’s best for my children,” she told senators and representatives.</p>
<p>Senate Education Committee Chairman Gray Tollison confirmed that he plans to introduce a bill that would gradually expand the current program, having the state pay for private schooling not only for students who need special education services, but also for children of low- and middle-income families.</p>
<p>The Oxford Republican has said the bill would initially limit the vouchers to one-half of 1 percent of Mississippi’s nearly half a million public school students, or 2,400 children, rising the next year to 1 percent, or 4,800, and then increasing from there. Special education spending would stay at $6,500 a year per student. Supporters of the expansion want about $5,250 for each regular-student voucher.</p>
<p>“There are a lot of kids in public schools across the state that public schools are not a good fit for,” Tollison said.</p>
<p>Some advocates of public education say the bill would only hurt underfunded public schools by sending state money to for-profit companies that aren’t held to the same standards.</p>
<p>“Taxpayer money should be spent for the public good and there is no public good done by funding schools that reject students they don’t want to teach and are not accountable in any way,” said Nancy Loome, executive director of the Parents Campaign.</p>
<p>How to measure achievement for the students involved remains a key question. Tollison said he wants to require that private schools give a national standardized test of their choice to confirm that students are learning on grade level, but private schools would not be required to give Mississippi’s state tests. Supporters of the plan oppose requiring the state test because it might restrict the private schools’ freedom to teach as they please.</p>
<p>“It’s very important that we not require the state test,” said Grant Callen, executive director of Empower Mississippi, a conservative policy group allied with U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos that favors expansion.</p>
<p>Tollison said he envisions publishing the results, but Callen said he wants them only to be available to the parents and the school.</p>
<p>Before the session began, the conservative Americans for Prosperity group sent mailers encouraging people to call certain Republicans and urge them to favor expanding the vouchers, but it’s not clear whether the mailers had any impact.</p>
<p>“I didn’t have one single call asking me to support it,” said state Sen. Chad McMahan, a Guntown Republican. “I had multiple calls asking me to oppose it.”</p>
<p>McMahan said he would only favor a system that would also allow free transfers among public schools, even across district lines.</p>
<p>“I’m not going to support a flight of public dollars to private schools,” he said.</p>
<p>Proponents dispute that diverting state money would hurt local schools, arguing that districts will be able to keep local tax money.</p>
<p>Callen said his group envisions allowing families with incomes up to two and a half times the poverty level to qualify. That’s about $60,000 for a family of four.</p>
<p>Supporters were counting votes in the House for expansion last week, but it’s unclear if they found a majority to support it.</p>
<p>“Like anything else it boils down to the votes,” House Speaker Philip Gunn, a Clinton Republican, said last week. “I am supportive of the concept.”</p>
<p>New House Education Committee Chairman Richard Bennett, a Long Beach Republican, says he’s unfamiliar with the measure and doesn’t know if he’ll support it.</p>
<p>Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves and Gov. Phil Bryant both support the plan, with Bryant saying he’d be willing to help lobby for votes.</p>
<p>“If we can expand school choice, particularly for special-needs children, I would do everything I can to help that effort,” Bryant said last week.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Jeff Amy at: <a href="http://twitter.com/jeffamy" type="external">http://twitter.com/jeffamy</a> . Read his work at <a href="" type="internal">https://www.apnews.com/search/Jeff_Amy</a> .</p>
|
School choice push continues in Senate, House chance unclear
| false |
https://apnews.com/b308a9a40af6437f8b5f4994724ca745
|
2018-01-10
| 2least
|
School choice push continues in Senate, House chance unclear
<p>JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi parents who support using public money to send more children to private schools are pushing for action in the 2018 legislature.</p>
<p>Leah Ferretti of Cleveland testified Tuesday that her son is benefiting from the state’s voucher system, and other children deserve to as well. She said her son’s dyslexia went undiagnosed by school officials and they weren’t receptive to providing his prescribed therapy, but she was able to send him to private school using state money.</p>
<p>“I refuse to be told that we don’t have a choice, that someone else knows what’s best for my children,” she told senators and representatives.</p>
<p>Senate Education Committee Chairman Gray Tollison confirmed that he plans to introduce a bill that would gradually expand the current program, having the state pay for private schooling not only for students who need special education services, but also for children of low- and middle-income families.</p>
<p>The Oxford Republican has said the bill would initially limit the vouchers to one-half of 1 percent of Mississippi’s nearly half a million public school students, or 2,400 children, rising the next year to 1 percent, or 4,800, and then increasing from there. Special education spending would stay at $6,500 a year per student. Supporters of the expansion want about $5,250 for each regular-student voucher.</p>
<p>“There are a lot of kids in public schools across the state that public schools are not a good fit for,” Tollison said.</p>
<p>Some advocates of public education say the bill would only hurt underfunded public schools by sending state money to for-profit companies that aren’t held to the same standards.</p>
<p>“Taxpayer money should be spent for the public good and there is no public good done by funding schools that reject students they don’t want to teach and are not accountable in any way,” said Nancy Loome, executive director of the Parents Campaign.</p>
<p>How to measure achievement for the students involved remains a key question. Tollison said he wants to require that private schools give a national standardized test of their choice to confirm that students are learning on grade level, but private schools would not be required to give Mississippi’s state tests. Supporters of the plan oppose requiring the state test because it might restrict the private schools’ freedom to teach as they please.</p>
<p>“It’s very important that we not require the state test,” said Grant Callen, executive director of Empower Mississippi, a conservative policy group allied with U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos that favors expansion.</p>
<p>Tollison said he envisions publishing the results, but Callen said he wants them only to be available to the parents and the school.</p>
<p>Before the session began, the conservative Americans for Prosperity group sent mailers encouraging people to call certain Republicans and urge them to favor expanding the vouchers, but it’s not clear whether the mailers had any impact.</p>
<p>“I didn’t have one single call asking me to support it,” said state Sen. Chad McMahan, a Guntown Republican. “I had multiple calls asking me to oppose it.”</p>
<p>McMahan said he would only favor a system that would also allow free transfers among public schools, even across district lines.</p>
<p>“I’m not going to support a flight of public dollars to private schools,” he said.</p>
<p>Proponents dispute that diverting state money would hurt local schools, arguing that districts will be able to keep local tax money.</p>
<p>Callen said his group envisions allowing families with incomes up to two and a half times the poverty level to qualify. That’s about $60,000 for a family of four.</p>
<p>Supporters were counting votes in the House for expansion last week, but it’s unclear if they found a majority to support it.</p>
<p>“Like anything else it boils down to the votes,” House Speaker Philip Gunn, a Clinton Republican, said last week. “I am supportive of the concept.”</p>
<p>New House Education Committee Chairman Richard Bennett, a Long Beach Republican, says he’s unfamiliar with the measure and doesn’t know if he’ll support it.</p>
<p>Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves and Gov. Phil Bryant both support the plan, with Bryant saying he’d be willing to help lobby for votes.</p>
<p>“If we can expand school choice, particularly for special-needs children, I would do everything I can to help that effort,” Bryant said last week.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Jeff Amy at: <a href="http://twitter.com/jeffamy" type="external">http://twitter.com/jeffamy</a> . Read his work at <a href="" type="internal">https://www.apnews.com/search/Jeff_Amy</a> .</p>
<p>JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi parents who support using public money to send more children to private schools are pushing for action in the 2018 legislature.</p>
<p>Leah Ferretti of Cleveland testified Tuesday that her son is benefiting from the state’s voucher system, and other children deserve to as well. She said her son’s dyslexia went undiagnosed by school officials and they weren’t receptive to providing his prescribed therapy, but she was able to send him to private school using state money.</p>
<p>“I refuse to be told that we don’t have a choice, that someone else knows what’s best for my children,” she told senators and representatives.</p>
<p>Senate Education Committee Chairman Gray Tollison confirmed that he plans to introduce a bill that would gradually expand the current program, having the state pay for private schooling not only for students who need special education services, but also for children of low- and middle-income families.</p>
<p>The Oxford Republican has said the bill would initially limit the vouchers to one-half of 1 percent of Mississippi’s nearly half a million public school students, or 2,400 children, rising the next year to 1 percent, or 4,800, and then increasing from there. Special education spending would stay at $6,500 a year per student. Supporters of the expansion want about $5,250 for each regular-student voucher.</p>
<p>“There are a lot of kids in public schools across the state that public schools are not a good fit for,” Tollison said.</p>
<p>Some advocates of public education say the bill would only hurt underfunded public schools by sending state money to for-profit companies that aren’t held to the same standards.</p>
<p>“Taxpayer money should be spent for the public good and there is no public good done by funding schools that reject students they don’t want to teach and are not accountable in any way,” said Nancy Loome, executive director of the Parents Campaign.</p>
<p>How to measure achievement for the students involved remains a key question. Tollison said he wants to require that private schools give a national standardized test of their choice to confirm that students are learning on grade level, but private schools would not be required to give Mississippi’s state tests. Supporters of the plan oppose requiring the state test because it might restrict the private schools’ freedom to teach as they please.</p>
<p>“It’s very important that we not require the state test,” said Grant Callen, executive director of Empower Mississippi, a conservative policy group allied with U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos that favors expansion.</p>
<p>Tollison said he envisions publishing the results, but Callen said he wants them only to be available to the parents and the school.</p>
<p>Before the session began, the conservative Americans for Prosperity group sent mailers encouraging people to call certain Republicans and urge them to favor expanding the vouchers, but it’s not clear whether the mailers had any impact.</p>
<p>“I didn’t have one single call asking me to support it,” said state Sen. Chad McMahan, a Guntown Republican. “I had multiple calls asking me to oppose it.”</p>
<p>McMahan said he would only favor a system that would also allow free transfers among public schools, even across district lines.</p>
<p>“I’m not going to support a flight of public dollars to private schools,” he said.</p>
<p>Proponents dispute that diverting state money would hurt local schools, arguing that districts will be able to keep local tax money.</p>
<p>Callen said his group envisions allowing families with incomes up to two and a half times the poverty level to qualify. That’s about $60,000 for a family of four.</p>
<p>Supporters were counting votes in the House for expansion last week, but it’s unclear if they found a majority to support it.</p>
<p>“Like anything else it boils down to the votes,” House Speaker Philip Gunn, a Clinton Republican, said last week. “I am supportive of the concept.”</p>
<p>New House Education Committee Chairman Richard Bennett, a Long Beach Republican, says he’s unfamiliar with the measure and doesn’t know if he’ll support it.</p>
<p>Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves and Gov. Phil Bryant both support the plan, with Bryant saying he’d be willing to help lobby for votes.</p>
<p>“If we can expand school choice, particularly for special-needs children, I would do everything I can to help that effort,” Bryant said last week.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Jeff Amy at: <a href="http://twitter.com/jeffamy" type="external">http://twitter.com/jeffamy</a> . Read his work at <a href="" type="internal">https://www.apnews.com/search/Jeff_Amy</a> .</p>
| 6,264 |
<p>Dec. 4 (UPI) — Former <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/San-Francisco-49ers/" type="external">San Francisco 49ers</a> quarterback <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Colin_Kaepernick/" type="external">Colin Kaepernick</a> was in Southern California this weekend, receiving an award from the ACLU.</p>
<p>Kaepernick took to the stage for the Eason Monroe Courageous Advocate Award at the ACLU Southern California’s annual Bill of Rights Dinner. On Monday, Kaepernick was named as one of the 10 candidates for Time’s Person of the Year.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Judd_Apatow/" type="external">Judd Apatow</a>, <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Jane_Fonda/" type="external">Jane Fonda</a> and <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Viola_Davis/" type="external">Viola Davis</a> also attended the dinner, <a href="http://www.tmz.com/2017/12/04/colin-kaepernick-aclu-honors-socal/" type="external">according to TMZ Sports</a>.</p>
<p>He made his rare public appearance Sunday in Beverly Hills. The 30-year-old spoke about social justice.</p>
<p>“Let me start by saying thank all of you,” Kaepernick said, <a href="http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-colin-kaepernick-20171203-story.html" type="external">according to the Los Angeles Times</a>. “That’s amazing. That’s trulls amazing. Thank you, Hector Villagra and the ACLU for this honor, for the unrelenting and unwavering work by the ACLU, to fight for social justice.”</p>
<p>Kaepernick, 30, has not played in the NFL since last season. He became a free agent after opting out of the final year of his contract with the 49ers.</p>
<p>The quarterback began protesting last season by kneeling during the national anthem before games in opposition to police brutality and racial inequality. His stance has since been adopted by numerous athletes around the league. On Sunday, several players continued to kneel, despite the NFL proposing <a href="https://www.upi.com/Sports_News/NFL/2017/11/29/Players-debate-NFLs-proposed-100-million-donation/1061511987061/" type="external">a $100 million donation</a> to social justice causes.</p>
<p>Kaepernick filed a grievance against the league in October, <a href="https://www.upi.com/Colin-Kaepernick-files-collusion-grievance-against-the-NFL/5451508115136/" type="external">accusing NFL owners of collusion</a>.</p>
<p>“We must confront systemic oppression as a doctor would a disease. You identify it, you call it out, you treat it and you defeat it,” Kaepernick said.</p>
<p>“We all have an obligation no matter the risk, and regardless of reward, to stand up for our fellow men and women who are being oppressed with the understanding that human rights cannot be compromised.”</p>
<p>“In the words of <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Frederick_Douglass/" type="external">Frederick Douglass</a>: ‘If there is no struggle, there is no progress.’ Thank you.”</p>
<p><a href="http://kaepernick7.com/million-dollar-pledge/" type="external">Kaepernick pledged to donate $1 million</a> and the proceeds from his jersey sales from the 2016 season to organizations working in oppressed communities. He planned to donate $100,000 monthly, for 10 months.</p>
<p>In September, Kaepernick was <a href="https://www.upi.com/Colin-Kaepernick-Free-agent-QB-named-Week-1-NFLPA-Community-MVP/3361505496820/" type="external">named Week 1 NFLPA Community MVP</a> by the NFL’s Player’s Association.</p>
<p><a href="http://time.com/5045719/time-person-of-the-year-2017-shortlist/" type="external">Time’s award will be presented</a> at 7 a.m. Wednesday on Today and on Time.com.</p>
|
Colin Kaepernick wins 'courageous' award from ACLU
| false |
https://newsline.com/colin-kaepernick-wins-039courageous039-award-from-aclu/
|
2017-12-04
| 1right-center
|
Colin Kaepernick wins 'courageous' award from ACLU
<p>Dec. 4 (UPI) — Former <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/San-Francisco-49ers/" type="external">San Francisco 49ers</a> quarterback <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Colin_Kaepernick/" type="external">Colin Kaepernick</a> was in Southern California this weekend, receiving an award from the ACLU.</p>
<p>Kaepernick took to the stage for the Eason Monroe Courageous Advocate Award at the ACLU Southern California’s annual Bill of Rights Dinner. On Monday, Kaepernick was named as one of the 10 candidates for Time’s Person of the Year.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Judd_Apatow/" type="external">Judd Apatow</a>, <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Jane_Fonda/" type="external">Jane Fonda</a> and <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Viola_Davis/" type="external">Viola Davis</a> also attended the dinner, <a href="http://www.tmz.com/2017/12/04/colin-kaepernick-aclu-honors-socal/" type="external">according to TMZ Sports</a>.</p>
<p>He made his rare public appearance Sunday in Beverly Hills. The 30-year-old spoke about social justice.</p>
<p>“Let me start by saying thank all of you,” Kaepernick said, <a href="http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-colin-kaepernick-20171203-story.html" type="external">according to the Los Angeles Times</a>. “That’s amazing. That’s trulls amazing. Thank you, Hector Villagra and the ACLU for this honor, for the unrelenting and unwavering work by the ACLU, to fight for social justice.”</p>
<p>Kaepernick, 30, has not played in the NFL since last season. He became a free agent after opting out of the final year of his contract with the 49ers.</p>
<p>The quarterback began protesting last season by kneeling during the national anthem before games in opposition to police brutality and racial inequality. His stance has since been adopted by numerous athletes around the league. On Sunday, several players continued to kneel, despite the NFL proposing <a href="https://www.upi.com/Sports_News/NFL/2017/11/29/Players-debate-NFLs-proposed-100-million-donation/1061511987061/" type="external">a $100 million donation</a> to social justice causes.</p>
<p>Kaepernick filed a grievance against the league in October, <a href="https://www.upi.com/Colin-Kaepernick-files-collusion-grievance-against-the-NFL/5451508115136/" type="external">accusing NFL owners of collusion</a>.</p>
<p>“We must confront systemic oppression as a doctor would a disease. You identify it, you call it out, you treat it and you defeat it,” Kaepernick said.</p>
<p>“We all have an obligation no matter the risk, and regardless of reward, to stand up for our fellow men and women who are being oppressed with the understanding that human rights cannot be compromised.”</p>
<p>“In the words of <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Frederick_Douglass/" type="external">Frederick Douglass</a>: ‘If there is no struggle, there is no progress.’ Thank you.”</p>
<p><a href="http://kaepernick7.com/million-dollar-pledge/" type="external">Kaepernick pledged to donate $1 million</a> and the proceeds from his jersey sales from the 2016 season to organizations working in oppressed communities. He planned to donate $100,000 monthly, for 10 months.</p>
<p>In September, Kaepernick was <a href="https://www.upi.com/Colin-Kaepernick-Free-agent-QB-named-Week-1-NFLPA-Community-MVP/3361505496820/" type="external">named Week 1 NFLPA Community MVP</a> by the NFL’s Player’s Association.</p>
<p><a href="http://time.com/5045719/time-person-of-the-year-2017-shortlist/" type="external">Time’s award will be presented</a> at 7 a.m. Wednesday on Today and on Time.com.</p>
| 6,265 |
<p>Conservatives may denounce class warfare, yet by shrewdly combining the politics of class with the politics of culture, Newt Gingrich won his first election in 14 years, humbled Mitt Romney and upended the Republican Party.</p>
<p>He also exposed profound frailties in Romney as a candidate, throwing him badly off-balance on questions related to his personal wealth, business career and income taxes. Unless Romney finds a comfortable and genuine way of talking about his money, he will present President Obama’s team a weakness that they’ll exploit mercilessly. The country is thinking more skeptically about wealth and privilege in the wake of the Occupy Wall Street protests. Romney has not adjusted.</p>
<p>Gingrich skillfully set up his opponent to step on the landmine of class by transforming Romney from his self-cast role as a successful businessman into a heartless financier more interested in profits than in job creation.</p>
<p>The conventional view is that Gingrich’s critique of Bain Capital, Romney’s old company, didn’t work because Republicans dislike assaults on “free enterprise,” a phrase Romney still hopes to use as a self-protective mantra. But while Gingrich softened his attacks on Bain, he did so only after creating the context in which Romney was forced to answer query after query about his financial status, and he repeatedly fumbled questions about releasing his tax returns. Romney finally announced Sunday he’d make public his 2010 return and a 2011 estimate this week.</p>
<p />
<p>All this allowed Gingrich to draw a class line across South Carolina. Exit polls showed Romney carrying only one income group, voters earning more than $200,000 a year. Voters earning less than $100,000 a year went strongly for Gingrich.</p>
<p>Yet conservative class politics is always inflected by culture and ideology, the potent mix that Pat Buchanan brought to Richard Nixon’s attention four decades ago. South Carolina’s two debates offered Gingrich a showcase for his war on those elites whom the conservative rank-and-file despise.</p>
<p>There was also the matter of race. Gingrich is no racist, but neither is he naive about the meaning of words. When Fox News’ Juan Williams, an African-American journalist, directly challenged Gingrich about the racial overtones of Gingrich’s staple reference to Obama as “the food-stamp president,” the former House speaker verbally pummeled him, to raucous cheers. As if to remind everyone of the power of coded language, a supporter later praised Gingrich for putting Williams “in his place.”</p>
<p>Then came the rebuke to CNN’s John King, who asked about the claim from Gingrich’s second wife that her former husband had requested an “open marriage.” By exploding at King and the contemporary journalism, Gingrich turned a dangerous allegation into a rallying point. Past sexual conduct mattered far less to conservatives than a chance to admonish the supposedly liberal media. Gingrich won evangelicals by 2-1, suggesting, perhaps, a rather elastic definition of “family values” — or a touching faith in Gingrich’s repentance.</p>
<p>With unremitting attacks on Romney as a “Massachusetts moderate,” Gingrich created yet another link between his opponent and elite Yankees loathed by the Southern right. He reaped landslide margins among conservative groups, marginalizing the buttoned-down, less electric Rick Santorum.</p>
<p>There were also hints in exit polling that hostility to Romney’s Mormon’s faith may have added to his troubles, without help from Gingrich. About a quarter of South Carolina’s voters said a candidate’s religious beliefs mattered a “great deal” to them, and Romney secured a scant 10 percent of their ballots.</p>
<p>If there is solace for Romney, it is in the experience of an earlier front-runner. In late March 1992, the day before the Connecticut primary, I found myself standing with a colleague next to Bill Clinton in a coffee shop in Groton. Clinton surprised us by suggesting he would lose the next day to Jerry Brown, now California’s governor. Voters were in an ornery mood, he said, and many of them wanted to declare: “I don’t want this to be over.”</p>
<p>Clinton was right. He lost Connecticut. Yet two weeks later, he swept a series of primaries, including a decisive contest in New York.</p>
<p>Florida, which votes next on Jan. 31, is Romney’s New York. But there is a difference. Clinton was a master campaigner with what has quaintly been called the common touch. Romney has so far proved himself to be more a master of discomfort and unease, especially with his own wealth. Unless he learns how to navigate the country’s new etiquette about financial privilege, Romney will continue to be plagued by the now twice-resurrected Gingrich — and, if he survives Gingrich’s challenge, by a freshly minted populist named Barack Obama.</p>
<p>E.J. Dionne’s e-mail address is ejdionne(at)washpost.com.</p>
<p>© 2011, Washington Post Writers Group</p>
|
What Newt Learned From Nixon
| true |
https://truthdig.com/articles/what-newt-learned-from-nixon/
|
2012-01-23
| 4left
|
What Newt Learned From Nixon
<p>Conservatives may denounce class warfare, yet by shrewdly combining the politics of class with the politics of culture, Newt Gingrich won his first election in 14 years, humbled Mitt Romney and upended the Republican Party.</p>
<p>He also exposed profound frailties in Romney as a candidate, throwing him badly off-balance on questions related to his personal wealth, business career and income taxes. Unless Romney finds a comfortable and genuine way of talking about his money, he will present President Obama’s team a weakness that they’ll exploit mercilessly. The country is thinking more skeptically about wealth and privilege in the wake of the Occupy Wall Street protests. Romney has not adjusted.</p>
<p>Gingrich skillfully set up his opponent to step on the landmine of class by transforming Romney from his self-cast role as a successful businessman into a heartless financier more interested in profits than in job creation.</p>
<p>The conventional view is that Gingrich’s critique of Bain Capital, Romney’s old company, didn’t work because Republicans dislike assaults on “free enterprise,” a phrase Romney still hopes to use as a self-protective mantra. But while Gingrich softened his attacks on Bain, he did so only after creating the context in which Romney was forced to answer query after query about his financial status, and he repeatedly fumbled questions about releasing his tax returns. Romney finally announced Sunday he’d make public his 2010 return and a 2011 estimate this week.</p>
<p />
<p>All this allowed Gingrich to draw a class line across South Carolina. Exit polls showed Romney carrying only one income group, voters earning more than $200,000 a year. Voters earning less than $100,000 a year went strongly for Gingrich.</p>
<p>Yet conservative class politics is always inflected by culture and ideology, the potent mix that Pat Buchanan brought to Richard Nixon’s attention four decades ago. South Carolina’s two debates offered Gingrich a showcase for his war on those elites whom the conservative rank-and-file despise.</p>
<p>There was also the matter of race. Gingrich is no racist, but neither is he naive about the meaning of words. When Fox News’ Juan Williams, an African-American journalist, directly challenged Gingrich about the racial overtones of Gingrich’s staple reference to Obama as “the food-stamp president,” the former House speaker verbally pummeled him, to raucous cheers. As if to remind everyone of the power of coded language, a supporter later praised Gingrich for putting Williams “in his place.”</p>
<p>Then came the rebuke to CNN’s John King, who asked about the claim from Gingrich’s second wife that her former husband had requested an “open marriage.” By exploding at King and the contemporary journalism, Gingrich turned a dangerous allegation into a rallying point. Past sexual conduct mattered far less to conservatives than a chance to admonish the supposedly liberal media. Gingrich won evangelicals by 2-1, suggesting, perhaps, a rather elastic definition of “family values” — or a touching faith in Gingrich’s repentance.</p>
<p>With unremitting attacks on Romney as a “Massachusetts moderate,” Gingrich created yet another link between his opponent and elite Yankees loathed by the Southern right. He reaped landslide margins among conservative groups, marginalizing the buttoned-down, less electric Rick Santorum.</p>
<p>There were also hints in exit polling that hostility to Romney’s Mormon’s faith may have added to his troubles, without help from Gingrich. About a quarter of South Carolina’s voters said a candidate’s religious beliefs mattered a “great deal” to them, and Romney secured a scant 10 percent of their ballots.</p>
<p>If there is solace for Romney, it is in the experience of an earlier front-runner. In late March 1992, the day before the Connecticut primary, I found myself standing with a colleague next to Bill Clinton in a coffee shop in Groton. Clinton surprised us by suggesting he would lose the next day to Jerry Brown, now California’s governor. Voters were in an ornery mood, he said, and many of them wanted to declare: “I don’t want this to be over.”</p>
<p>Clinton was right. He lost Connecticut. Yet two weeks later, he swept a series of primaries, including a decisive contest in New York.</p>
<p>Florida, which votes next on Jan. 31, is Romney’s New York. But there is a difference. Clinton was a master campaigner with what has quaintly been called the common touch. Romney has so far proved himself to be more a master of discomfort and unease, especially with his own wealth. Unless he learns how to navigate the country’s new etiquette about financial privilege, Romney will continue to be plagued by the now twice-resurrected Gingrich — and, if he survives Gingrich’s challenge, by a freshly minted populist named Barack Obama.</p>
<p>E.J. Dionne’s e-mail address is ejdionne(at)washpost.com.</p>
<p>© 2011, Washington Post Writers Group</p>
| 6,266 |
<p>Two distinct topics have been involved in the recent debate about the future of the humanities, and the worst failure of the debate is that it hardly seems to notice the distinction. The topics in question are the traditional study of the humanities and the study of tradition in the humanities. Attacks on the first tend to shade into attacks on the second, without understanding the very different challenge this entails. At the same time, defenses of the second often try to cover the first as well. Because I want to sketch a position here that I have not seen argued elsewhere, it will be best to start with a disclaimer. I have nothing to say for or against what is now called the traditional study of the humanities; though, in America, few scholarly practices are of more than three generations' standing: a fact that ought to make us suspicious of theories which hold such practices to be either altogether oppressive or altogether sacred. At any rate I offer no argument here about the older patterns of teaching and research. Rather, I aim to defend the study of tradition as such. If I am right, the humanities are the proper place for that study to go on.</p>
<p />
|
The Future of Tradition
| true |
https://dissentmagazine.org/article/the-future-of-tradition
|
2018-10-05
| 4left
|
The Future of Tradition
<p>Two distinct topics have been involved in the recent debate about the future of the humanities, and the worst failure of the debate is that it hardly seems to notice the distinction. The topics in question are the traditional study of the humanities and the study of tradition in the humanities. Attacks on the first tend to shade into attacks on the second, without understanding the very different challenge this entails. At the same time, defenses of the second often try to cover the first as well. Because I want to sketch a position here that I have not seen argued elsewhere, it will be best to start with a disclaimer. I have nothing to say for or against what is now called the traditional study of the humanities; though, in America, few scholarly practices are of more than three generations' standing: a fact that ought to make us suspicious of theories which hold such practices to be either altogether oppressive or altogether sacred. At any rate I offer no argument here about the older patterns of teaching and research. Rather, I aim to defend the study of tradition as such. If I am right, the humanities are the proper place for that study to go on.</p>
<p />
| 6,267 |
<p>By Bob Allen</p>
<p>Leaders of two Baptist groups were among 34 interfaith leaders across the United States sending a letter to Congress in light of the pope’s visit and his call for action to fight climate change.</p>
<p>Paula Clayton Dempsey, director of partnership relations for the Alliance of Baptists, and Roy Medley, general secretary of American Baptist Churches USA, joined leaders of other faith traditions urging support for a resolution introduced by Rep. Chris Gibson (R-NY) calling for measures “to create and support economically viable, and broadly supported private and public solutions to study and address the causes and effects” of measured climate change.</p>
<p>Gibson organized a coalition of 11 Republican members of Congress in response to Pope Francis’s appeal for a new dialogue about how humans are shaping the future of the planet.</p>
<p>The resolution notes “a marked increase in extreme weather events across the United States,” which have had “noticeable, negative impacts that are expected to worsen in every region of the United States and its territories.”</p>
<p>If left unaddressed, it states, “the consequences of a changing climate have the potential to adversely impact all Americans, hitting vulnerable populations hardest, harming productivity in key economic sectors such as construction, agriculture, and tourism, saddling future generations with costly economic and environmental burdens, and imposing additional costs on state and federal budgets that will further add to the long-term fiscal challenges that we face as a nation.”</p>
<p>A “ <a href="http://www.moralactiononclimate.org/index.php/2-uncategorised/1-join-us-for-climate" type="external">Moral Action on Climate Justice</a>” rally is scheduled for Sept. 24&#160;on the National Mall to welcome and connect the Washington faith communities’ efforts for dialogue and action on climate change with the pope’s climate message.&#160;</p>
<p>The Alliance of Baptists adopted a statement on climate change in 2009 urging government leaders to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, support communities affected by climate change and humanitarian aid for migrants fleeing the effects of weather.</p>
<p>“As people of faith, we are called to protect the vulnerable and to care for God’s earth,” the Alliance statement said.&#160; “We are gravely concerned that the impacts of climate change are dramatically and negatively altering God’s gracious gift of creation. Because the effects of global climate change impact those least able to cope with them, addressing global climate change is also a justice issue. “</p>
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Baptist leaders mark pope’s visit with call to action on climate change
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Baptist leaders mark pope’s visit with call to action on climate change
<p>By Bob Allen</p>
<p>Leaders of two Baptist groups were among 34 interfaith leaders across the United States sending a letter to Congress in light of the pope’s visit and his call for action to fight climate change.</p>
<p>Paula Clayton Dempsey, director of partnership relations for the Alliance of Baptists, and Roy Medley, general secretary of American Baptist Churches USA, joined leaders of other faith traditions urging support for a resolution introduced by Rep. Chris Gibson (R-NY) calling for measures “to create and support economically viable, and broadly supported private and public solutions to study and address the causes and effects” of measured climate change.</p>
<p>Gibson organized a coalition of 11 Republican members of Congress in response to Pope Francis’s appeal for a new dialogue about how humans are shaping the future of the planet.</p>
<p>The resolution notes “a marked increase in extreme weather events across the United States,” which have had “noticeable, negative impacts that are expected to worsen in every region of the United States and its territories.”</p>
<p>If left unaddressed, it states, “the consequences of a changing climate have the potential to adversely impact all Americans, hitting vulnerable populations hardest, harming productivity in key economic sectors such as construction, agriculture, and tourism, saddling future generations with costly economic and environmental burdens, and imposing additional costs on state and federal budgets that will further add to the long-term fiscal challenges that we face as a nation.”</p>
<p>A “ <a href="http://www.moralactiononclimate.org/index.php/2-uncategorised/1-join-us-for-climate" type="external">Moral Action on Climate Justice</a>” rally is scheduled for Sept. 24&#160;on the National Mall to welcome and connect the Washington faith communities’ efforts for dialogue and action on climate change with the pope’s climate message.&#160;</p>
<p>The Alliance of Baptists adopted a statement on climate change in 2009 urging government leaders to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, support communities affected by climate change and humanitarian aid for migrants fleeing the effects of weather.</p>
<p>“As people of faith, we are called to protect the vulnerable and to care for God’s earth,” the Alliance statement said.&#160; “We are gravely concerned that the impacts of climate change are dramatically and negatively altering God’s gracious gift of creation. Because the effects of global climate change impact those least able to cope with them, addressing global climate change is also a justice issue. “</p>
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<p>BOSTON — No surprise:&#160;The topic of sex continued to attract attention in 2009, and as usual it was for all the wrong reasons.</p>
<p>Here are 10 public figures from around the globe caught in the glare of media and public scrutiny for their alleged — and in some cases admitted — antics.</p>
<p>1. Tiger Woods</p>
<p>So among the questions left unanswered in the whole sorry Tiger Woods saga is, how many? Was there one mistress, two, four, six or more? Among those who've come forward with a claim to having had sexual liaisons with the golf superstar are a cocktail waitress, two porn stars, a few party girls and a Floridian in her 40s. Go figure which among them are telling the truth and&#160;it's unlikely we'll ever find out. As the holidays approached, many were also waiting breathlessly to see if Woods' wife, <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/sports/091213/elin-nordegren-tiger-woods-wife-sweden" type="external">Elin Nordegren</a>, would up and leave him, and of course how much of the golfer's sizable fortune she'd take with her. And this week, the entire golfing community seemed about to tip into the mire, with news that a number of fellow golfers <a href="" type="external">knew Tiger was catting around</a> — but kept their mouths shut.</p>
<p>2. Silvio Berlusconi</p>
<p>One from the Tiger Woods book: Berlusconi keeps everyone guessing&#160;about the number and, ahem, occupation of women either rumored, photographed — or even videotaped — in his company. The Italian Prime Minister was at the center of a swirl of scandal earlier in the year after claims emerged about the systematic recruitment of young women paid to attend private parties at his homes in Rome and Sardinia. And the Spanish newspaper El Pais published what it said were photos of racy parties at Berlusconi's villa on the island of Sardinia, including one picture that showed scantily clad women. In a more targeted <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/italy/090526/silvio-berlusconi-corruption" type="external">attack on Berlusconi's character</a>, the international media went into a frenzy this past spring over reports that Berlusconi went to the birthday party in Naples of an 18-year-old girl, with whom he has denied having an inappropriate relationship. Shortly thereafter, his wife of 19 years, Veronica Lario, filed for divorce.</p>
<p>3. Piero Marrazzo</p>
<p>Berlusconi's alleged dalliances with prostitutes and underage girls might have dominated Italian scandal sheets for more than six months, but they did have some competition. In Rome, a TV-host-turned-governor was forced to admit to a long history of frequenting transsexual prostitutes. Then talk of a murder was added to the mix. Piero Marrazzo was forced to step down as governor of Rome's region, Lazio, on Oct. 27 after an alleged blackmail scheme that set off the spiral of revelations about his private life. Prosecutors have now opened homicide investigations into the deaths of two people linked to Marrazzo, who was first elected in 2005 after years as host of a popular consumer watchdog talk show on the RAI national television network. Investigators say Marrazzo is not a suspect in the Nov. 20 arson that killed a Brazilian transgender prostitute known as Brenda, nor the September death of a Rome-based drug dealer named Gianguerino Cafasso that has now been ruled a homicide. But he has connections to both people. Marrazzo, who is married with three children, admitted to paying thousands of euros to be with several South American transgender prostitutes and to using cocaine.</p>
<p>4. Roman Polanski</p>
<p>Not so much a new sex scandal as the revival of an oldie but goodie — Polanski, who fled the U.S. in 1978, just before he was about to be sentenced for having illegal intercourse with a 13-year-old girl in 1977 — was arrested on an international warrant in Zurich, Switzerland, on Sept. 26. The filmmaker then spent two months in a Swiss prison and posted bail of $4.5 million, allowing him to move into his luxurious Swiss Alps chalet, albeit tethered to an electronic tagging system to ensure he stays put. So <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/people/polanski-finishing-film-under-house-arrest-friend-says-20091221-l8c4.html" type="external">what's an indicted sex offender to do</a> while cooling his heels in a Swiss chalet, with children Elvis, 9, Morgane, 16, and wife Emmanuelle Seigner, a French actress? Finish editing his latest movie, of course. It's called "Ghost," and is reportedly already an official selection at the next Berlin film festival.</p>
<p>5. Frederic Mitterrand</p>
<p>Frederic Mitterrand, France's culture minister and a nephew of the late president, Francois Mitterrand, in October denied paying underage boys for sex in Thailand. Mitterrand, a gay activist, writer and former TV presenter whose appointment was seen as a coup for President Nicolas Sarkozy, revealed in his 2005 autobiography, "The Bad Life," that he had paid for encounters with "young boys" in Bangkok. As if that admission weren't enough — and, for the record, he condemned sex tourism as a "disgrace" and said he'd never participated in pedophilia "in any way" — Mitterrand was among the first to leap to the defense of film director Roman Polanski, calling his arrest "terrible." In fact, this spirited defense prompted Jean-Marie Le Pen's Front National to look into&#160;Mitterrand's past, et voila!&#160;</p>
<p>6. John Edwards</p>
<p>He admitted the extramarital affair with a 42-year-old campaign employee, and admitted to repeatedly lying about it, but John Edwards has strenuously denied being involved in paying the woman hush money or fathering her newborn child. The former Democratic U.S. senator from North Carolina is locked in an ongoing money battle with Rielle Hunter, 45, whom Edwards has admitted bedding even as his wife, Elizabeth, discovered she had a recurrence of cancer. But he never admitted to fathering little Frances Quinn Hunter, now almost 2 years old. However, recent reports suggest <a href="" type="external">the failed presidential hopeful is the baby's daddy</a>— and he may soon have to pay up big-time. According to friends of Hunter, Edwards met her at a New York city bar in 2006. His political action committee later paid her $114,000 to produce campaign website documentaries despite her lack of experience. Edwards said the affair began during the campaign after she was hired. For the record, Edwards made a point of <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=5441195&amp;page=3" type="external">telling Bob Woodruff</a>, in an interview aired on ABC in August, that his wife's cancer was in remission when he began the affair with Hunter.</p>
<p>7. The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy</p>
<p>In early March, the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy in South Africa suspended seven girls — that's right — for sexual misconduct and the harassment of other pupils. But wait: The suspensions were the second sex controversy to plague the school, which opened in early 2007. The Afrikaans on Sunday newspaper wrote that one 15-year-old girl "preyed" on a schoolmate and coerced others into lying to officials investigating the alleged incidents, while six other pupils were excluded from the $46 million girls-only boarding school after being alleged to have touched each other intimately, or "intimidating others"&#160;into doing so. The prior scandal came just 10 months after the academy opened, when dorm matron Virginia Tiny Makgobo was arrested for "indecent assault and soliciting under-age girls to perform indecent acts." Here's Oprah's take:</p>
<p />
<p>8. Mark Sanford</p>
<p>At least Gov. Mark Sanford of South Carolina got a little creative, sending the media (and possibly his own aides) on a wild goose chase after going AWOL&#160;for seven days in June. For two days after reporters started asking questions, Sanford's office said he had gone hiking on the Appalachian Trial. First lady Jenny Sanford told The Associated Press at the time that she did not know where her husband had gone for the Father's Day weekend. When he finally re-emerged, Sanford tearfully admitted that he had secretly flown to Argentina to visit a woman with whom he'd been having an affair — a "dear, dear friend" for about eight years with whom he'd only recently become "romantic." After apologizing to his wife and four sons, he issued a statement promising to reimburse the state for an economic-development trip he took to Argentina last year that included time spent with his mistress (the trip cost $8,000). The State Commerce Department might have forgiven him, but evidently his wife never did — in early December, Jenny Sanford filed for divorce.&#160;</p>
<p>9.&#160;Governor N.D. Tiwar</p>
<p>A senior Congress leader and governor of a southern Indian state resigned in late December after&#160;a local television channel aired a video of the 86-year-old allegedly in bed with three young women.&#160;Governor N.D. Tiwari, a top representative of India's president in Andhra Pradesh state, said the footage was doctored, but an embarrassed Congress party —&#160;facing protests over statehood demands —&#160;asked the governor to resign. The three-and-half minute footage was the most watched video on YouTube over Christmas weekend in India and newspapers splashed front page stories on the sex scandal, which has sparked online debates about the conduct of politicians in India.</p>
<p>10. Eliot Spitzer (a.k.a. Client 9)</p>
<p>OK, it's so 2008, but proving that even sex scandals can have happy endings, consider developments in the case of former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, who resigned March 17, 2008, in the wake of the exposure of his involvement in a high-priced prostitution ring. Ashley Dupree, the $5,500-a-night hooker with whom Spitzer — sock and all — rendezvous'd in D.C. now has her <a href="http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/spitzer_babe_answers_4duaVqTCJHA38suGawuaiM" type="external">own advice column</a> and is making something of a name for herself commenting on other sex scandals. Spitzer's recovery, meantime, has been nothing short of miraculous. The former state attorney general, who won kudos as the "Sheriff of Wall Street," is reportedly considering a run for state comptroller in 2010. The speculation has ramped up after a string of public appearances by Spitzer focusing on the collapse of the economy and President Barack Obama's stimulus plans. Otherwise, Spitzer has been biding his time writing op-eds for such venerable mastheads as the <a href="" type="external">New York Times</a> and <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/13/AR2008021302783.html" type="external">Washington Post</a>.</p>
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Top 10 sex scandals of 2009
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2009-12-29
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Top 10 sex scandals of 2009
<p>BOSTON — No surprise:&#160;The topic of sex continued to attract attention in 2009, and as usual it was for all the wrong reasons.</p>
<p>Here are 10 public figures from around the globe caught in the glare of media and public scrutiny for their alleged — and in some cases admitted — antics.</p>
<p>1. Tiger Woods</p>
<p>So among the questions left unanswered in the whole sorry Tiger Woods saga is, how many? Was there one mistress, two, four, six or more? Among those who've come forward with a claim to having had sexual liaisons with the golf superstar are a cocktail waitress, two porn stars, a few party girls and a Floridian in her 40s. Go figure which among them are telling the truth and&#160;it's unlikely we'll ever find out. As the holidays approached, many were also waiting breathlessly to see if Woods' wife, <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/sports/091213/elin-nordegren-tiger-woods-wife-sweden" type="external">Elin Nordegren</a>, would up and leave him, and of course how much of the golfer's sizable fortune she'd take with her. And this week, the entire golfing community seemed about to tip into the mire, with news that a number of fellow golfers <a href="" type="external">knew Tiger was catting around</a> — but kept their mouths shut.</p>
<p>2. Silvio Berlusconi</p>
<p>One from the Tiger Woods book: Berlusconi keeps everyone guessing&#160;about the number and, ahem, occupation of women either rumored, photographed — or even videotaped — in his company. The Italian Prime Minister was at the center of a swirl of scandal earlier in the year after claims emerged about the systematic recruitment of young women paid to attend private parties at his homes in Rome and Sardinia. And the Spanish newspaper El Pais published what it said were photos of racy parties at Berlusconi's villa on the island of Sardinia, including one picture that showed scantily clad women. In a more targeted <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/italy/090526/silvio-berlusconi-corruption" type="external">attack on Berlusconi's character</a>, the international media went into a frenzy this past spring over reports that Berlusconi went to the birthday party in Naples of an 18-year-old girl, with whom he has denied having an inappropriate relationship. Shortly thereafter, his wife of 19 years, Veronica Lario, filed for divorce.</p>
<p>3. Piero Marrazzo</p>
<p>Berlusconi's alleged dalliances with prostitutes and underage girls might have dominated Italian scandal sheets for more than six months, but they did have some competition. In Rome, a TV-host-turned-governor was forced to admit to a long history of frequenting transsexual prostitutes. Then talk of a murder was added to the mix. Piero Marrazzo was forced to step down as governor of Rome's region, Lazio, on Oct. 27 after an alleged blackmail scheme that set off the spiral of revelations about his private life. Prosecutors have now opened homicide investigations into the deaths of two people linked to Marrazzo, who was first elected in 2005 after years as host of a popular consumer watchdog talk show on the RAI national television network. Investigators say Marrazzo is not a suspect in the Nov. 20 arson that killed a Brazilian transgender prostitute known as Brenda, nor the September death of a Rome-based drug dealer named Gianguerino Cafasso that has now been ruled a homicide. But he has connections to both people. Marrazzo, who is married with three children, admitted to paying thousands of euros to be with several South American transgender prostitutes and to using cocaine.</p>
<p>4. Roman Polanski</p>
<p>Not so much a new sex scandal as the revival of an oldie but goodie — Polanski, who fled the U.S. in 1978, just before he was about to be sentenced for having illegal intercourse with a 13-year-old girl in 1977 — was arrested on an international warrant in Zurich, Switzerland, on Sept. 26. The filmmaker then spent two months in a Swiss prison and posted bail of $4.5 million, allowing him to move into his luxurious Swiss Alps chalet, albeit tethered to an electronic tagging system to ensure he stays put. So <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/people/polanski-finishing-film-under-house-arrest-friend-says-20091221-l8c4.html" type="external">what's an indicted sex offender to do</a> while cooling his heels in a Swiss chalet, with children Elvis, 9, Morgane, 16, and wife Emmanuelle Seigner, a French actress? Finish editing his latest movie, of course. It's called "Ghost," and is reportedly already an official selection at the next Berlin film festival.</p>
<p>5. Frederic Mitterrand</p>
<p>Frederic Mitterrand, France's culture minister and a nephew of the late president, Francois Mitterrand, in October denied paying underage boys for sex in Thailand. Mitterrand, a gay activist, writer and former TV presenter whose appointment was seen as a coup for President Nicolas Sarkozy, revealed in his 2005 autobiography, "The Bad Life," that he had paid for encounters with "young boys" in Bangkok. As if that admission weren't enough — and, for the record, he condemned sex tourism as a "disgrace" and said he'd never participated in pedophilia "in any way" — Mitterrand was among the first to leap to the defense of film director Roman Polanski, calling his arrest "terrible." In fact, this spirited defense prompted Jean-Marie Le Pen's Front National to look into&#160;Mitterrand's past, et voila!&#160;</p>
<p>6. John Edwards</p>
<p>He admitted the extramarital affair with a 42-year-old campaign employee, and admitted to repeatedly lying about it, but John Edwards has strenuously denied being involved in paying the woman hush money or fathering her newborn child. The former Democratic U.S. senator from North Carolina is locked in an ongoing money battle with Rielle Hunter, 45, whom Edwards has admitted bedding even as his wife, Elizabeth, discovered she had a recurrence of cancer. But he never admitted to fathering little Frances Quinn Hunter, now almost 2 years old. However, recent reports suggest <a href="" type="external">the failed presidential hopeful is the baby's daddy</a>— and he may soon have to pay up big-time. According to friends of Hunter, Edwards met her at a New York city bar in 2006. His political action committee later paid her $114,000 to produce campaign website documentaries despite her lack of experience. Edwards said the affair began during the campaign after she was hired. For the record, Edwards made a point of <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=5441195&amp;page=3" type="external">telling Bob Woodruff</a>, in an interview aired on ABC in August, that his wife's cancer was in remission when he began the affair with Hunter.</p>
<p>7. The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy</p>
<p>In early March, the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy in South Africa suspended seven girls — that's right — for sexual misconduct and the harassment of other pupils. But wait: The suspensions were the second sex controversy to plague the school, which opened in early 2007. The Afrikaans on Sunday newspaper wrote that one 15-year-old girl "preyed" on a schoolmate and coerced others into lying to officials investigating the alleged incidents, while six other pupils were excluded from the $46 million girls-only boarding school after being alleged to have touched each other intimately, or "intimidating others"&#160;into doing so. The prior scandal came just 10 months after the academy opened, when dorm matron Virginia Tiny Makgobo was arrested for "indecent assault and soliciting under-age girls to perform indecent acts." Here's Oprah's take:</p>
<p />
<p>8. Mark Sanford</p>
<p>At least Gov. Mark Sanford of South Carolina got a little creative, sending the media (and possibly his own aides) on a wild goose chase after going AWOL&#160;for seven days in June. For two days after reporters started asking questions, Sanford's office said he had gone hiking on the Appalachian Trial. First lady Jenny Sanford told The Associated Press at the time that she did not know where her husband had gone for the Father's Day weekend. When he finally re-emerged, Sanford tearfully admitted that he had secretly flown to Argentina to visit a woman with whom he'd been having an affair — a "dear, dear friend" for about eight years with whom he'd only recently become "romantic." After apologizing to his wife and four sons, he issued a statement promising to reimburse the state for an economic-development trip he took to Argentina last year that included time spent with his mistress (the trip cost $8,000). The State Commerce Department might have forgiven him, but evidently his wife never did — in early December, Jenny Sanford filed for divorce.&#160;</p>
<p>9.&#160;Governor N.D. Tiwar</p>
<p>A senior Congress leader and governor of a southern Indian state resigned in late December after&#160;a local television channel aired a video of the 86-year-old allegedly in bed with three young women.&#160;Governor N.D. Tiwari, a top representative of India's president in Andhra Pradesh state, said the footage was doctored, but an embarrassed Congress party —&#160;facing protests over statehood demands —&#160;asked the governor to resign. The three-and-half minute footage was the most watched video on YouTube over Christmas weekend in India and newspapers splashed front page stories on the sex scandal, which has sparked online debates about the conduct of politicians in India.</p>
<p>10. Eliot Spitzer (a.k.a. Client 9)</p>
<p>OK, it's so 2008, but proving that even sex scandals can have happy endings, consider developments in the case of former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, who resigned March 17, 2008, in the wake of the exposure of his involvement in a high-priced prostitution ring. Ashley Dupree, the $5,500-a-night hooker with whom Spitzer — sock and all — rendezvous'd in D.C. now has her <a href="http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/spitzer_babe_answers_4duaVqTCJHA38suGawuaiM" type="external">own advice column</a> and is making something of a name for herself commenting on other sex scandals. Spitzer's recovery, meantime, has been nothing short of miraculous. The former state attorney general, who won kudos as the "Sheriff of Wall Street," is reportedly considering a run for state comptroller in 2010. The speculation has ramped up after a string of public appearances by Spitzer focusing on the collapse of the economy and President Barack Obama's stimulus plans. Otherwise, Spitzer has been biding his time writing op-eds for such venerable mastheads as the <a href="" type="external">New York Times</a> and <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/13/AR2008021302783.html" type="external">Washington Post</a>.</p>
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<p>Welcome Valerie Ingram has joined Los Alamos National Bank’s Wealth Strategies Group as trust development officer. Ingram will focus on introducing wealth strategy clients to the full scope of products, services and tools available when planning their trusts, investments and estates. She has a master’s degree in philanthropy and development from St. Mary’s University in Minnesota.</p>
<p>Chris R. Marquez has joined Keleher &amp; McLeod PA as an associate attorney. Marquez’ practice areas will include civil rights and constitutional law, construction law, employment law, business and commercial litigation, civil litigation, construction litigation and employment litigation. He has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Phoenix and a law degree, magna cum laude, Order of the Coif, from the University of New Mexico.</p>
<p>Greg Morris has joined St. Martin’s Hospitality Center as executive director. Morris has 20 years’ experience in the field and previously worked as the executive director of ACLU of Idaho. He also previously was the founder and first executive director of CATCH Inc., a nationally recognized re-housing program serving homeless families in three southern Idaho counties.</p>
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<p>Kevin L. Craven, R.N. has joined Presbyterian Healthcare Services as administrator for urgent, emergent and ambulance services. Craven has 32 years’ experience in the health care field and most recently worked as the central group director for emergency, observation, special event medical operations and research services at the University Medical Center Brackenridge. He has a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Arizona and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Phoenix.</p>
<p>Tiffany A. Owens, Esq., has joined Allen, Shepherd, Lewis &amp; Syra PA.</p>
<p>Start Ups The 12th Street Emporium, owned and operated by cousins David Edwards and Thomas Edenfield III, has opened at 1131 Mountain Rd. NW, Suite 3, in Albuquerque. The new gift shop offers an eclectic assortment of cards, handmade soaps, bee and honey cosmetics, posters, cheeky coffee mugs, unique key chains, martini glasses, Tibetan and Japanese meditation incense, cookware, tools of all kinds, chess and backgammon boards, and niche products for every fan of Star Wars, Star Trek, Firefly and Doctor Who.</p>
<p>Store hours are from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays. For additional information, call 505-633-7662, email [email protected] or visit www.12thstreetemporium.com.</p>
<p>Briefcase The New Mexico Recycling Coalition (NMRC) and the New Mexico Roadrunner chapter of the Solid Waste Association of North America have announced the winners of the 2016 N.M. Recycling and Solid Waste Awards. They are:</p>
<p>• Galloping Grace Youth Ranch — Diversion Project of the Year</p>
<p>• Eldorado/285 Recycles — Nonprofit Recycler of the Year</p>
<p>• Placitas Recycling Association — Recycling Facility of the Year</p>
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<p>• Carmen Lopez, N.M. Highlands University — Recycler Facility Employee of the Year (Non-management)</p>
<p>• Elena Kayak, Rio Rancho Public Schools — Recycler of the Year</p>
<p>• Joseph Ellis — E. Gifford Stack Lifetime Achievement Award</p>
<p>• Joseph Ellis — Terence L. Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award for the N.M. Roadrunner chapter of SWANA</p>
<p>• DeBaca County Solid Waste Facility — Solid Waste Facility of the Year</p>
<p>• Truth or Consequences Waste Collection and Recycling Center — Most Innovative Solid Waste Project of the Year</p>
<p>• Kevin Apodaca, Doña Ana County Codes Division — Solid Waste Employee of the Year</p>
<p>Hotel Andaluz in Albuquerque has been recognized by Condé Nast Traveler as one of the top hotels in the Southwest in its October Readers’ Choice Awards issue. Hotel Andaluz was ranked 5th in the national survey. Condé Nast Traveler’s Readers’ Choice Awards are considered one of the highest honors in the travel industry and were derived from over 300,000 online consumer poll responses, including over 75,000 ratings and comments.</p>
<p>The New Mexico Lottery has received the North American State and Provincial Lotteries (NASPL) 2016 Best New Instant Game of the Year for its Dia de Los Muertos scratcher game. The New Mexico Lottery also won a Batchy Award in the TV $10,000 and under category for the Dia de Los Muertos scratcher television advertisement created by in-house animator Andrew Dormody.</p>
<p>The New Mexico chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (NMPRSA) has announced the winners of the 2016 Cumbre Awards. They are:</p>
<p>Best of Show — Campaign</p>
<p>PK Public Relations — Reversing the Deadly Affects of Painkiller Abuse</p>
<p>Best of Show — Tactic</p>
<p>The Garrity Group — The Garrity Perception Survey</p>
<p>Campaign Award Winners</p>
<p>Gold Awards</p>
<p>• Lou Hammond Group — TOURISM Santa Fe launches margarita trail.</p>
<p>• PK Public Relations — Reversing the deadly affects of painkiller overdoses.</p>
<p>• James Korenchen Public Relations — New Mexico Credit Union becomes Nusenda.</p>
<p>• James Korenchen Public Relations&#160; — Hyatt Regency Tysons Corner Center opens to the public.</p>
<p>Silver Awards</p>
<p>• Impronta Public Relations — Air Force Research Lab New Mexico branding.</p>
<p>• Carroll Strategies — Walmart statewide media.</p>
<p>• James Korenchen Public Relations — Hoops 4 Hope.</p>
<p>• AARP — The Care Act.</p>
<p>• The Garrity Group — Office of the Superintendent of Insurance/beWellnm Roadshow.</p>
<p>• The Garrity Group — beWellnm 2015 open enrollment campaign.</p>
<p>• Carroll Strategies — Walmart liquor license application.</p>
<p>• The Waite Company — We Are Albuquerque, Let’s Take Our City Back.</p>
<p>Bronze Awards</p>
<p>• James Korenchen Public Relations — Nusenda Credit Union community relations.</p>
<p>• Carroll Strategies — Walmart Alamogordo neighborhood market.</p>
<p>• CWA Strategic Communications — water utility rate increase.</p>
<p>• Carroll Strategies — Charles Koch Institute: what’s next for justice?</p>
<p>• Griffin &amp; Associates — Keleher and McLeod: 100 year anniversary.</p>
<p>• The Waite Company — women in power UNM.</p>
<p>• The Waite Company — beWellnm open enrollment 2015-16 outreach.</p>
<p>• The Waite Company — beWellnm open enrollment 2015-16 Spanish outreach.</p>
<p>• Griffin &amp; Associates — Southwest Capital Bank: relationship bank campaign.</p>
<p>Tactic Award Winners</p>
<p>Gold Awards</p>
<p>• The Majors Company — N.M. Coalition for Healthcare Value brochure/folder.</p>
<p>• James Korenchen Public Relations — TomTom Traffic Index media relations.</p>
<p>• James Korenchen Public Relations — Varekai by Circue du Soleil comes to Rio Rancho media relations.</p>
<p>• The Garrity Group — Garrity Perception Survey.</p>
<p>Silver Awards</p>
<p>• The Garrity Group — Comcast Bilingual Support Center press conference.</p>
<p>• Albuquerque Economic Development Inc. — business recruitment announcement – Rural Sourcing Inc.</p>
<p>• The Waite Company — a proposal for rainwater harvesting gains momentum in New Mexico.</p>
<p>• Visit Albuquerque — Fly to Sunshine video.</p>
<p>• Carroll Strategies — Miracle Fulfillment and uBreakiFix.</p>
<p>• James Korenchen Public Relations — TripAdvisor media relations.</p>
<p>• James Korenchen Public Relations — UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center media relations.</p>
<p>Bronze Awards</p>
<p>• Carroll Strategies — Associate Pathways</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Items for consideration for Briefcase should be typed and sent to Business Outlook, P.O. Drawer J, Albuquerque, N.M. 87103.</p>
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Briefcase
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https://abqjournal.com/896397/briefcase-73.html
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2016-11-26
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Briefcase
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Welcome Valerie Ingram has joined Los Alamos National Bank’s Wealth Strategies Group as trust development officer. Ingram will focus on introducing wealth strategy clients to the full scope of products, services and tools available when planning their trusts, investments and estates. She has a master’s degree in philanthropy and development from St. Mary’s University in Minnesota.</p>
<p>Chris R. Marquez has joined Keleher &amp; McLeod PA as an associate attorney. Marquez’ practice areas will include civil rights and constitutional law, construction law, employment law, business and commercial litigation, civil litigation, construction litigation and employment litigation. He has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Phoenix and a law degree, magna cum laude, Order of the Coif, from the University of New Mexico.</p>
<p>Greg Morris has joined St. Martin’s Hospitality Center as executive director. Morris has 20 years’ experience in the field and previously worked as the executive director of ACLU of Idaho. He also previously was the founder and first executive director of CATCH Inc., a nationally recognized re-housing program serving homeless families in three southern Idaho counties.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Kevin L. Craven, R.N. has joined Presbyterian Healthcare Services as administrator for urgent, emergent and ambulance services. Craven has 32 years’ experience in the health care field and most recently worked as the central group director for emergency, observation, special event medical operations and research services at the University Medical Center Brackenridge. He has a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Arizona and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Phoenix.</p>
<p>Tiffany A. Owens, Esq., has joined Allen, Shepherd, Lewis &amp; Syra PA.</p>
<p>Start Ups The 12th Street Emporium, owned and operated by cousins David Edwards and Thomas Edenfield III, has opened at 1131 Mountain Rd. NW, Suite 3, in Albuquerque. The new gift shop offers an eclectic assortment of cards, handmade soaps, bee and honey cosmetics, posters, cheeky coffee mugs, unique key chains, martini glasses, Tibetan and Japanese meditation incense, cookware, tools of all kinds, chess and backgammon boards, and niche products for every fan of Star Wars, Star Trek, Firefly and Doctor Who.</p>
<p>Store hours are from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays. For additional information, call 505-633-7662, email [email protected] or visit www.12thstreetemporium.com.</p>
<p>Briefcase The New Mexico Recycling Coalition (NMRC) and the New Mexico Roadrunner chapter of the Solid Waste Association of North America have announced the winners of the 2016 N.M. Recycling and Solid Waste Awards. They are:</p>
<p>• Galloping Grace Youth Ranch — Diversion Project of the Year</p>
<p>• Eldorado/285 Recycles — Nonprofit Recycler of the Year</p>
<p>• Placitas Recycling Association — Recycling Facility of the Year</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>• Carmen Lopez, N.M. Highlands University — Recycler Facility Employee of the Year (Non-management)</p>
<p>• Elena Kayak, Rio Rancho Public Schools — Recycler of the Year</p>
<p>• Joseph Ellis — E. Gifford Stack Lifetime Achievement Award</p>
<p>• Joseph Ellis — Terence L. Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award for the N.M. Roadrunner chapter of SWANA</p>
<p>• DeBaca County Solid Waste Facility — Solid Waste Facility of the Year</p>
<p>• Truth or Consequences Waste Collection and Recycling Center — Most Innovative Solid Waste Project of the Year</p>
<p>• Kevin Apodaca, Doña Ana County Codes Division — Solid Waste Employee of the Year</p>
<p>Hotel Andaluz in Albuquerque has been recognized by Condé Nast Traveler as one of the top hotels in the Southwest in its October Readers’ Choice Awards issue. Hotel Andaluz was ranked 5th in the national survey. Condé Nast Traveler’s Readers’ Choice Awards are considered one of the highest honors in the travel industry and were derived from over 300,000 online consumer poll responses, including over 75,000 ratings and comments.</p>
<p>The New Mexico Lottery has received the North American State and Provincial Lotteries (NASPL) 2016 Best New Instant Game of the Year for its Dia de Los Muertos scratcher game. The New Mexico Lottery also won a Batchy Award in the TV $10,000 and under category for the Dia de Los Muertos scratcher television advertisement created by in-house animator Andrew Dormody.</p>
<p>The New Mexico chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (NMPRSA) has announced the winners of the 2016 Cumbre Awards. They are:</p>
<p>Best of Show — Campaign</p>
<p>PK Public Relations — Reversing the Deadly Affects of Painkiller Abuse</p>
<p>Best of Show — Tactic</p>
<p>The Garrity Group — The Garrity Perception Survey</p>
<p>Campaign Award Winners</p>
<p>Gold Awards</p>
<p>• Lou Hammond Group — TOURISM Santa Fe launches margarita trail.</p>
<p>• PK Public Relations — Reversing the deadly affects of painkiller overdoses.</p>
<p>• James Korenchen Public Relations — New Mexico Credit Union becomes Nusenda.</p>
<p>• James Korenchen Public Relations&#160; — Hyatt Regency Tysons Corner Center opens to the public.</p>
<p>Silver Awards</p>
<p>• Impronta Public Relations — Air Force Research Lab New Mexico branding.</p>
<p>• Carroll Strategies — Walmart statewide media.</p>
<p>• James Korenchen Public Relations — Hoops 4 Hope.</p>
<p>• AARP — The Care Act.</p>
<p>• The Garrity Group — Office of the Superintendent of Insurance/beWellnm Roadshow.</p>
<p>• The Garrity Group — beWellnm 2015 open enrollment campaign.</p>
<p>• Carroll Strategies — Walmart liquor license application.</p>
<p>• The Waite Company — We Are Albuquerque, Let’s Take Our City Back.</p>
<p>Bronze Awards</p>
<p>• James Korenchen Public Relations — Nusenda Credit Union community relations.</p>
<p>• Carroll Strategies — Walmart Alamogordo neighborhood market.</p>
<p>• CWA Strategic Communications — water utility rate increase.</p>
<p>• Carroll Strategies — Charles Koch Institute: what’s next for justice?</p>
<p>• Griffin &amp; Associates — Keleher and McLeod: 100 year anniversary.</p>
<p>• The Waite Company — women in power UNM.</p>
<p>• The Waite Company — beWellnm open enrollment 2015-16 outreach.</p>
<p>• The Waite Company — beWellnm open enrollment 2015-16 Spanish outreach.</p>
<p>• Griffin &amp; Associates — Southwest Capital Bank: relationship bank campaign.</p>
<p>Tactic Award Winners</p>
<p>Gold Awards</p>
<p>• The Majors Company — N.M. Coalition for Healthcare Value brochure/folder.</p>
<p>• James Korenchen Public Relations — TomTom Traffic Index media relations.</p>
<p>• James Korenchen Public Relations — Varekai by Circue du Soleil comes to Rio Rancho media relations.</p>
<p>• The Garrity Group — Garrity Perception Survey.</p>
<p>Silver Awards</p>
<p>• The Garrity Group — Comcast Bilingual Support Center press conference.</p>
<p>• Albuquerque Economic Development Inc. — business recruitment announcement – Rural Sourcing Inc.</p>
<p>• The Waite Company — a proposal for rainwater harvesting gains momentum in New Mexico.</p>
<p>• Visit Albuquerque — Fly to Sunshine video.</p>
<p>• Carroll Strategies — Miracle Fulfillment and uBreakiFix.</p>
<p>• James Korenchen Public Relations — TripAdvisor media relations.</p>
<p>• James Korenchen Public Relations — UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center media relations.</p>
<p>Bronze Awards</p>
<p>• Carroll Strategies — Associate Pathways</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Items for consideration for Briefcase should be typed and sent to Business Outlook, P.O. Drawer J, Albuquerque, N.M. 87103.</p>
| 6,270 |
<p />
<p>Image Source: Apache Corporation.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Apache is off to a solid start in 2016, with the company blowing past analyst estimates, thanks to strong production. Those expectation-beating results were largely due to some surprisingly strong numbers that the company delivered during the quarter. Here's a closer look at the three numbers that really stood out.</p>
<p>1. Production was strongProduction from Apache's North American onshore segment was 298,0000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, or BOE/d, which was well above its guidance of 290,000 to 295,000 BOE/d. Driving this strong production was the company's Permian Basin operations, which not only had solid performance from its base production, but delivered very good results from maintenance projects and new drilling. In fact, the company drilled its best well in the basin to date during the quarter, with its Seagull 103-HR well delivering an impressive 30-day production rate of 2,800 BOE/d.</p>
<p>Apache wasn't the only company to see stronger-than-expected production from the Permian during the quarter. That basin also boosted the performance of Pioneer Natural Resources , which produced 222,000 BOE/d during the quarter, significantly above its 211,000 to 216,000 BOE/d guidance range. Like Apache, Pioneer Natural Resources is delivering better well results, and seeing productivity improvements of 10% to 35% on its wells compared to expectations.</p>
<p>2. Spending was lowWhat's even more surprising about Apache's production was the fact it achieved its guidance-beating production while spending less money. In fact, the company only invested $466 million of capital during the quarter, which was well below its capex guidance of $500 million to $550 million. It was able to do more with less as a result of the substantial cost savings it has captured, with the company's well costs now 45% below its 2014 average. That's enabling the company to deliver a lot more production for a lot less money.</p>
<p>3. Guidance was raisedBecause of the combination of strong first-quarter production and its capital efficiency, Apache is raising its full-year guidance for production. The company now expects its production in North America to be 5,000 BOE/d higher than guidance, and average 268,000 to 278,000 BOE/d for the full year. That's without adding any additional capital to its 2016 capex plan. However, CEO John Christmann noted that:</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>In other words, the company could boost its capex spending level, and therefore further increase its productionguidance once it feels more confident in oil prices.</p>
<p>Pioneer Natural Resources has similar expectations for 2016. Due to its own expectation-beating production, it, too, boosted its full-year production outlook, and it now expects production to grow by 12% instead of 10%. However, while it, too, is maintaining its current capex budget, its CEO recently said that the company could add another five-to-10 drilling rigs if crude rebounds above $50 a barrel.</p>
<p>Investor takeawayApache delivered a surprisingly strong first quarter thanks to improving well results and lower costs. That's giving the company the confidence to boost its production outlook, though it's not yet ready to add more capital to its capex budget. However, if conditions continue to stabilize, the company has the capacity to act to take advantage of higher oil prices.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/05/05/3-surprising-numbers-from-apache-corporations-q1-r.aspx" type="external">3 Surprising Numbers from Apache Corporations Q1 Results</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFmd19/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Matt DiLallo</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">free for 30 days</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</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</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</a>.</p>
|
3 Surprising Numbers from Apache Corporations Q1 Results
| true |
http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/05/05/3-surprising-numbers-from-apache-corporations-q1-results.html
|
2016-05-05
| 0right
|
3 Surprising Numbers from Apache Corporations Q1 Results
<p />
<p>Image Source: Apache Corporation.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Apache is off to a solid start in 2016, with the company blowing past analyst estimates, thanks to strong production. Those expectation-beating results were largely due to some surprisingly strong numbers that the company delivered during the quarter. Here's a closer look at the three numbers that really stood out.</p>
<p>1. Production was strongProduction from Apache's North American onshore segment was 298,0000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, or BOE/d, which was well above its guidance of 290,000 to 295,000 BOE/d. Driving this strong production was the company's Permian Basin operations, which not only had solid performance from its base production, but delivered very good results from maintenance projects and new drilling. In fact, the company drilled its best well in the basin to date during the quarter, with its Seagull 103-HR well delivering an impressive 30-day production rate of 2,800 BOE/d.</p>
<p>Apache wasn't the only company to see stronger-than-expected production from the Permian during the quarter. That basin also boosted the performance of Pioneer Natural Resources , which produced 222,000 BOE/d during the quarter, significantly above its 211,000 to 216,000 BOE/d guidance range. Like Apache, Pioneer Natural Resources is delivering better well results, and seeing productivity improvements of 10% to 35% on its wells compared to expectations.</p>
<p>2. Spending was lowWhat's even more surprising about Apache's production was the fact it achieved its guidance-beating production while spending less money. In fact, the company only invested $466 million of capital during the quarter, which was well below its capex guidance of $500 million to $550 million. It was able to do more with less as a result of the substantial cost savings it has captured, with the company's well costs now 45% below its 2014 average. That's enabling the company to deliver a lot more production for a lot less money.</p>
<p>3. Guidance was raisedBecause of the combination of strong first-quarter production and its capital efficiency, Apache is raising its full-year guidance for production. The company now expects its production in North America to be 5,000 BOE/d higher than guidance, and average 268,000 to 278,000 BOE/d for the full year. That's without adding any additional capital to its 2016 capex plan. However, CEO John Christmann noted that:</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>In other words, the company could boost its capex spending level, and therefore further increase its productionguidance once it feels more confident in oil prices.</p>
<p>Pioneer Natural Resources has similar expectations for 2016. Due to its own expectation-beating production, it, too, boosted its full-year production outlook, and it now expects production to grow by 12% instead of 10%. However, while it, too, is maintaining its current capex budget, its CEO recently said that the company could add another five-to-10 drilling rigs if crude rebounds above $50 a barrel.</p>
<p>Investor takeawayApache delivered a surprisingly strong first quarter thanks to improving well results and lower costs. That's giving the company the confidence to boost its production outlook, though it's not yet ready to add more capital to its capex budget. However, if conditions continue to stabilize, the company has the capacity to act to take advantage of higher oil prices.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/05/05/3-surprising-numbers-from-apache-corporations-q1-r.aspx" type="external">3 Surprising Numbers from Apache Corporations Q1 Results</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFmd19/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Matt DiLallo</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">free for 30 days</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</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</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</a>.</p>
| 6,271 |
<p />
<p>Don't look now, but Amazon.com just suffered two price target cuts in two days.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The newsYesterday, as you may have heard, analysts at <a href="http://caps.fool.com/player/trackoppenheimer.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Oppenheimer Opens a New Window.</a> slashed $160 off their price target for Amazon stock, warning that Alphabet's Google is cutting prices for cloud hosting and predicting Amazon will be forced to cut prices at its own <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/02/01/how-amazoncom-incs-cloud-business-is-doing-in-5-nu.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Amazon Web Services Opens a New Window.</a>(AWS) by 10% in response. Oppenheimer still likes Amazon stock, and rates it outperform -- but warns the company will possibly miss earnings this year as AWS profit margins take a hit.</p>
<p>Now, according to our research here at <a href="http://caps.fool.com/?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Motley Fool CAPS Opens a New Window.</a>, Oppenheimer is only a middling stock analyst, ranking in the bottom half of investors we track globally, and getting many of its stock picks wrong. But just this morning, a new worrisome note was sounded by investment banker <a href="http://caps.fool.com/player/trackraymondjame.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Raymond James Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Raymond James removed its strong buy endorsement from Amazon, and cut its price target to $655. That's below Oppenheimer's $660 estimate -- and Raymond James has a much better record of picking winners than does Oppenheimer. (In fact, over the past four years, the majority of its recommendations have beat the market).</p>
<p>Here, then, are three things you need to know about why Raymond James is worried.</p>
<p>Thing No. 1: AWS? Yeah, Oppenheimer was right about thatOne so-so analyst warning about Amazon's AWS business is one thing. Two analysts, including a good one, issuing the same warning almost simultaneously, is another. This morning, in a report repeated on <a href="http://thefly.com/news.php?symbol=AMZN" type="external">TheFly.com Opens a New Window.</a>, Raymond James warned that Google has been winning business from such cloud-heavy businesses as Spotify and Apple, and that as news of such wins roll in, it will "at least create headline risk for Amazon" -- and at worse, hurt profit margins.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Already, AWS accounts for 7% of the money Amazon makes in a year, and the business has been growing fabulously -- revenues up 69% year over year in the fourth quarter, and operating profits up 161%. Any risk of a slowdown in this profits driver is a factor to be feared.</p>
<p>Thing No. 2: Amazon also sells stuffRemember books? In addition to cloud storage, Amazon still sells those, too -- and a whole lot of other physical goods. But Raymond James points to rising shipping costs on physical goods as weighing on Amazon's profit margins last quarter, and says these depressed gross margins below what Raymond James had predicted.</p>
<p>Unless shipping costs can be contained, the analyst says margins will show only "gradual" growth going forward.</p>
<p>Thing No. 3: Regardless, Raymond James still likes the stockAnd yet, despite all the above, Raymond James still isn't saying to sell Amazon. Rather, it rates the stock an outperform -- just one notch below its earlier strong buy rating. Why?</p>
<p>Well, if you look closely at the numbers, I think you can see why an investor might still be attracted to Amazon.</p>
<p>Consider: While only barely profitable in GAAP terms (its net profit margin is less than 1%), Amazon.com actually does make a lot of money -- free cash flow. It's just that the company tends to invest a lot of that cash in growing its business.</p>
<p>According to data from <a href="https://www.capitaliq.com/" type="external">S&amp;P Global Market Intelligence Opens a New Window.</a>, last year, Amazon generated positive free cash flow of $7.3 billion. That was 12 times more than its reported net income of $596 million, and it was enough cash profit to give this stock an enterprise value-to-free-cash-flow ratio of just 35.4. Given that most analysts who follow Amazon are still expecting profits growth in excess of 45% annually over the next five years, this suggests that Amazon shares truly are underpriced.</p>
<p>And one more thing...Did you happen to notice the other Amazon.com news yesterday? According to The Wall Street Journal, Comcast has just hired Amazon to help sell its cable, Internet, and phone services online, on the Amazon website.</p>
<p>That's a huge revenue driver, and news of it broke too recently for either of these analysts to have had much chance to weigh the Comcast deal's effect on Amazon's future revenue and margin growth. But considering how much more a cable package costs than a Kindle book -- I rather expect that the revenue boost will be large.</p>
<p>Bonus points: No shipping costs for Amazon -- becauseComcast ships through <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cZC67wXUTs" type="external">the Internet's "series of tubes." Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>One thing none of the analysts are talking about -- but maybe they should. Image source: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/13295274011?ref=spkl_1_0_2429757902&amp;qid=1458659217&amp;pf_rd_p=2429757902&amp;pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&amp;pf_rd_t=301&amp;pf_rd_s=desktop-signpost&amp;pf_rd_r=1R3KA178P5HJECYYZJJC&amp;pf_rd_i=comcast" type="external">Amazon.com Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/03/22/amazoncom-just-got-downgraded-3-things-you-need-to.aspx" type="external">Amazon.com Just Got Downgraded: 3 Things You Need to Know Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p>Fool contributor <a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFDitty/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Rich Smith Opens a New Window.</a>does not own shares of, nor is he short, any company named above. You can find him on <a href="http://caps.fool.com/?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Motley Fool CAPS</a>, publicly pontificating under the handle <a href="http://caps.fool.com/ViewPlayer.aspx?t=01002844399633209838&amp;source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">TMFDitty Opens a New Window.</a>, where he's currently ranked No. 288 out of more than 75,000 rated members.Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Amazon.com, and Apple. 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>
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Amazon.com Just Got Downgraded: 3 Things You Need to Know
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http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/03/22/amazoncom-just-got-downgraded-3-things-need-to-know.html
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2016-03-22
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Amazon.com Just Got Downgraded: 3 Things You Need to Know
<p />
<p>Don't look now, but Amazon.com just suffered two price target cuts in two days.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The newsYesterday, as you may have heard, analysts at <a href="http://caps.fool.com/player/trackoppenheimer.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Oppenheimer Opens a New Window.</a> slashed $160 off their price target for Amazon stock, warning that Alphabet's Google is cutting prices for cloud hosting and predicting Amazon will be forced to cut prices at its own <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/02/01/how-amazoncom-incs-cloud-business-is-doing-in-5-nu.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Amazon Web Services Opens a New Window.</a>(AWS) by 10% in response. Oppenheimer still likes Amazon stock, and rates it outperform -- but warns the company will possibly miss earnings this year as AWS profit margins take a hit.</p>
<p>Now, according to our research here at <a href="http://caps.fool.com/?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Motley Fool CAPS Opens a New Window.</a>, Oppenheimer is only a middling stock analyst, ranking in the bottom half of investors we track globally, and getting many of its stock picks wrong. But just this morning, a new worrisome note was sounded by investment banker <a href="http://caps.fool.com/player/trackraymondjame.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Raymond James Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Raymond James removed its strong buy endorsement from Amazon, and cut its price target to $655. That's below Oppenheimer's $660 estimate -- and Raymond James has a much better record of picking winners than does Oppenheimer. (In fact, over the past four years, the majority of its recommendations have beat the market).</p>
<p>Here, then, are three things you need to know about why Raymond James is worried.</p>
<p>Thing No. 1: AWS? Yeah, Oppenheimer was right about thatOne so-so analyst warning about Amazon's AWS business is one thing. Two analysts, including a good one, issuing the same warning almost simultaneously, is another. This morning, in a report repeated on <a href="http://thefly.com/news.php?symbol=AMZN" type="external">TheFly.com Opens a New Window.</a>, Raymond James warned that Google has been winning business from such cloud-heavy businesses as Spotify and Apple, and that as news of such wins roll in, it will "at least create headline risk for Amazon" -- and at worse, hurt profit margins.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Already, AWS accounts for 7% of the money Amazon makes in a year, and the business has been growing fabulously -- revenues up 69% year over year in the fourth quarter, and operating profits up 161%. Any risk of a slowdown in this profits driver is a factor to be feared.</p>
<p>Thing No. 2: Amazon also sells stuffRemember books? In addition to cloud storage, Amazon still sells those, too -- and a whole lot of other physical goods. But Raymond James points to rising shipping costs on physical goods as weighing on Amazon's profit margins last quarter, and says these depressed gross margins below what Raymond James had predicted.</p>
<p>Unless shipping costs can be contained, the analyst says margins will show only "gradual" growth going forward.</p>
<p>Thing No. 3: Regardless, Raymond James still likes the stockAnd yet, despite all the above, Raymond James still isn't saying to sell Amazon. Rather, it rates the stock an outperform -- just one notch below its earlier strong buy rating. Why?</p>
<p>Well, if you look closely at the numbers, I think you can see why an investor might still be attracted to Amazon.</p>
<p>Consider: While only barely profitable in GAAP terms (its net profit margin is less than 1%), Amazon.com actually does make a lot of money -- free cash flow. It's just that the company tends to invest a lot of that cash in growing its business.</p>
<p>According to data from <a href="https://www.capitaliq.com/" type="external">S&amp;P Global Market Intelligence Opens a New Window.</a>, last year, Amazon generated positive free cash flow of $7.3 billion. That was 12 times more than its reported net income of $596 million, and it was enough cash profit to give this stock an enterprise value-to-free-cash-flow ratio of just 35.4. Given that most analysts who follow Amazon are still expecting profits growth in excess of 45% annually over the next five years, this suggests that Amazon shares truly are underpriced.</p>
<p>And one more thing...Did you happen to notice the other Amazon.com news yesterday? According to The Wall Street Journal, Comcast has just hired Amazon to help sell its cable, Internet, and phone services online, on the Amazon website.</p>
<p>That's a huge revenue driver, and news of it broke too recently for either of these analysts to have had much chance to weigh the Comcast deal's effect on Amazon's future revenue and margin growth. But considering how much more a cable package costs than a Kindle book -- I rather expect that the revenue boost will be large.</p>
<p>Bonus points: No shipping costs for Amazon -- becauseComcast ships through <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cZC67wXUTs" type="external">the Internet's "series of tubes." Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>One thing none of the analysts are talking about -- but maybe they should. Image source: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/13295274011?ref=spkl_1_0_2429757902&amp;qid=1458659217&amp;pf_rd_p=2429757902&amp;pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&amp;pf_rd_t=301&amp;pf_rd_s=desktop-signpost&amp;pf_rd_r=1R3KA178P5HJECYYZJJC&amp;pf_rd_i=comcast" type="external">Amazon.com Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/03/22/amazoncom-just-got-downgraded-3-things-you-need-to.aspx" type="external">Amazon.com Just Got Downgraded: 3 Things You Need to Know Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p>Fool contributor <a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFDitty/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Rich Smith Opens a New Window.</a>does not own shares of, nor is he short, any company named above. You can find him on <a href="http://caps.fool.com/?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Motley Fool CAPS</a>, publicly pontificating under the handle <a href="http://caps.fool.com/ViewPlayer.aspx?t=01002844399633209838&amp;source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">TMFDitty Opens a New Window.</a>, where he's currently ranked No. 288 out of more than 75,000 rated members.Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Amazon.com, and Apple. 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>
| 6,272 |
<p><a href="http://variety.com/t/comcast/" type="external">Comcast</a> chairman <a href="http://variety.com/t/brian-roberts/" type="external">Brian Roberts</a> turned heads in 2004, when his cable company launched an unsolicited $54 billion bid for the Walt Disney Co. Today,&#160; Roberts no doubt had mixed feelings watching Disney, once <a href="http://variety.com/2017/biz/news/disney-21st-century-fox-comcast-sale-out-1202636618/" type="external">Comcast</a>’s prey, scoop up key assets of 21st Century Fox that Comcast itself had pursued.</p>
<p>“When a set of assets like Fox’s becomes available, it is our responsibility to evaluate if there is a strategic fit that could benefit our company and our shareholders,” Comcast said in a statement earlier this week. “That is what we tried to do and we are no longer engaged in the review of those assets. We never got the level of engagement needed to make a definitive offer.” A Comcast spokesman did not respond to a query seeking further comment.</p>
<p>While Comcast’s ultimate interest in Fox is a matter for debate, there is little question that the company has found it difficult since acquiring a controlling stake in <a href="http://variety.com/t/nbcuniversal/" type="external">NBCUniversal</a> in 2011 to do another transformative deal. In 2014, for example, Comcast made a bid valued at the time to be around $45.2 billion for Time Warner Cable — like Comcast, one of the nation’s biggest cable providers. But the company had to abandon it after the Justice Department said little more than a year later that it would file an antitrust lawsuit to block the transaction because Comcast would have too strong of a grip on the nation’s broadband market.</p>
<p>To be sure, Comcast is fine on its own. The company pulled in more than $80 billion in revenue last year, a 7.9% jump over what it collected in 2016. Since acquiring a hobbled NBC broadcast network and a clutch of cable channels, Comcast has elevated NBCU’s investment in content and gained ground on both advertising prices and the fees it collects from distributors. On the cable side, Comcast has focused in recent months on new home services it can deliver, like smart-home technology, its X1 user interface, or on-demand content viewing. All the while, however, it has been forced to deal with subscribers who are leaving its service in favor of cheaper, standalone program-delivery options.</p>
<p>Even though Comcast didn’t take home the Fox assets, it will still compete with them. Brian Wieser, a media-industry analyst with Pivotal Research, suggested Comcast was likely to be one of the main competitors to the larger Disney for sports rights. Indeed, Comcast has its own NBCSN sports cable outlet and controls the rights to broadcast the Olympics in the U.S. through 2032.</p>
<p>Time and technology may open new opportunities. Apple, Amazon and Netflix all operate rival streaming services at a scale many traditional media companies do not. And social-media outlets like Facebook and Twitter are looking more intently at delivering original video content on their platforms.</p>
<p>Comcast is certainly large and carries significant heft in the industry. If AT&amp;T is successful in fighting the Justice Department’s opposition to its Time Warner merger, and if Disney acquires the bulk of 21st Century Fox, will the nation’s cable giant need to get bigger?</p>
<p>Already there is chatter about the possibility of Comcast splitting the company into separate entities, one for the cable and broadband business, the other for <a href="http://variety.com/2017/digital/asia/alibaba-youku-deals-nbcuniversal-sony-television-1202640498/" type="external">NBCUniversal</a> and other content assets. That could theoretically make it easier for a more nimble NBCU to pursue content acquisitions such as Fox. Because the one thing that is clear in the wake of the <a href="http://variety.com/t/disney-fox/" type="external">Disney-Fox</a> tie-up — there is more wheeling and dealing to come for even the biggest players in this fast-changing market.</p>
<p>(Pictured: <a href="http://variety.com/2017/tv/news/comcast-brian-roberts-investors-1202555618/" type="external">Brian Roberts</a>)</p>
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As Disney Catches Fox, What’s Next for Comcast?
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https://newsline.com/as-disney-catches-fox-whats-next-for-comcast/
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2017-12-14
| 1right-center
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As Disney Catches Fox, What’s Next for Comcast?
<p><a href="http://variety.com/t/comcast/" type="external">Comcast</a> chairman <a href="http://variety.com/t/brian-roberts/" type="external">Brian Roberts</a> turned heads in 2004, when his cable company launched an unsolicited $54 billion bid for the Walt Disney Co. Today,&#160; Roberts no doubt had mixed feelings watching Disney, once <a href="http://variety.com/2017/biz/news/disney-21st-century-fox-comcast-sale-out-1202636618/" type="external">Comcast</a>’s prey, scoop up key assets of 21st Century Fox that Comcast itself had pursued.</p>
<p>“When a set of assets like Fox’s becomes available, it is our responsibility to evaluate if there is a strategic fit that could benefit our company and our shareholders,” Comcast said in a statement earlier this week. “That is what we tried to do and we are no longer engaged in the review of those assets. We never got the level of engagement needed to make a definitive offer.” A Comcast spokesman did not respond to a query seeking further comment.</p>
<p>While Comcast’s ultimate interest in Fox is a matter for debate, there is little question that the company has found it difficult since acquiring a controlling stake in <a href="http://variety.com/t/nbcuniversal/" type="external">NBCUniversal</a> in 2011 to do another transformative deal. In 2014, for example, Comcast made a bid valued at the time to be around $45.2 billion for Time Warner Cable — like Comcast, one of the nation’s biggest cable providers. But the company had to abandon it after the Justice Department said little more than a year later that it would file an antitrust lawsuit to block the transaction because Comcast would have too strong of a grip on the nation’s broadband market.</p>
<p>To be sure, Comcast is fine on its own. The company pulled in more than $80 billion in revenue last year, a 7.9% jump over what it collected in 2016. Since acquiring a hobbled NBC broadcast network and a clutch of cable channels, Comcast has elevated NBCU’s investment in content and gained ground on both advertising prices and the fees it collects from distributors. On the cable side, Comcast has focused in recent months on new home services it can deliver, like smart-home technology, its X1 user interface, or on-demand content viewing. All the while, however, it has been forced to deal with subscribers who are leaving its service in favor of cheaper, standalone program-delivery options.</p>
<p>Even though Comcast didn’t take home the Fox assets, it will still compete with them. Brian Wieser, a media-industry analyst with Pivotal Research, suggested Comcast was likely to be one of the main competitors to the larger Disney for sports rights. Indeed, Comcast has its own NBCSN sports cable outlet and controls the rights to broadcast the Olympics in the U.S. through 2032.</p>
<p>Time and technology may open new opportunities. Apple, Amazon and Netflix all operate rival streaming services at a scale many traditional media companies do not. And social-media outlets like Facebook and Twitter are looking more intently at delivering original video content on their platforms.</p>
<p>Comcast is certainly large and carries significant heft in the industry. If AT&amp;T is successful in fighting the Justice Department’s opposition to its Time Warner merger, and if Disney acquires the bulk of 21st Century Fox, will the nation’s cable giant need to get bigger?</p>
<p>Already there is chatter about the possibility of Comcast splitting the company into separate entities, one for the cable and broadband business, the other for <a href="http://variety.com/2017/digital/asia/alibaba-youku-deals-nbcuniversal-sony-television-1202640498/" type="external">NBCUniversal</a> and other content assets. That could theoretically make it easier for a more nimble NBCU to pursue content acquisitions such as Fox. Because the one thing that is clear in the wake of the <a href="http://variety.com/t/disney-fox/" type="external">Disney-Fox</a> tie-up — there is more wheeling and dealing to come for even the biggest players in this fast-changing market.</p>
<p>(Pictured: <a href="http://variety.com/2017/tv/news/comcast-brian-roberts-investors-1202555618/" type="external">Brian Roberts</a>)</p>
| 6,273 |
<p>They aren’t as big, and their iconography is nowhere near Soviet-grade, but according to columnist Anne Penketh of London’s The Independent, the Russians’ Georgia invasion can only be seen as a rank humiliation of the West by a triumphant Vladimir Putin.</p>
<p>Ann Penketh in The Independent:</p>
<p>Russia is back. That is the indisputable result of the six-day war in the heart of Europe which may have changed the borders of a state for ever.</p>
<p>The conflict, conducted with brio by Vladimir Putin, who clearly remains the man in charge of the Kremlin, has ended on Russia’s terms, and there is nothing the West can do about it. Moscow has demonstrated that it is prepared to use military might to further its strategic goals, while the democracies of the West are not.</p>
<p />
<p>In the world of international power games, Mr Putin’s newly assertive Russia has chalked up a victory whose ripples will be felt for years to come. The US and Europe, dependent on Russian goodwill and gas, have been humbled. But the most chilling defeat is for Georgia, the former Soviet republic which dared to switch strategic allegiances and stand up to the Kremlin.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/anne-penketh-moscow-flexed-military-muscle-and-left-west-humiliated-892857.html" type="external">Read more</a></p>
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Russia: They're Baaaaaaaaack
| true |
https://truthdig.com/articles/russia-theyre-baaaaaaaaack/
|
2008-08-14
| 4left
|
Russia: They're Baaaaaaaaack
<p>They aren’t as big, and their iconography is nowhere near Soviet-grade, but according to columnist Anne Penketh of London’s The Independent, the Russians’ Georgia invasion can only be seen as a rank humiliation of the West by a triumphant Vladimir Putin.</p>
<p>Ann Penketh in The Independent:</p>
<p>Russia is back. That is the indisputable result of the six-day war in the heart of Europe which may have changed the borders of a state for ever.</p>
<p>The conflict, conducted with brio by Vladimir Putin, who clearly remains the man in charge of the Kremlin, has ended on Russia’s terms, and there is nothing the West can do about it. Moscow has demonstrated that it is prepared to use military might to further its strategic goals, while the democracies of the West are not.</p>
<p />
<p>In the world of international power games, Mr Putin’s newly assertive Russia has chalked up a victory whose ripples will be felt for years to come. The US and Europe, dependent on Russian goodwill and gas, have been humbled. But the most chilling defeat is for Georgia, the former Soviet republic which dared to switch strategic allegiances and stand up to the Kremlin.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/anne-penketh-moscow-flexed-military-muscle-and-left-west-humiliated-892857.html" type="external">Read more</a></p>
| 6,274 |
<p>Sunset over Phoenix, Arizona.&lt;a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-72235192/stock-photo-the-city-of-phoenix-az-at-sunset.html?src=385a5f28a336f38517f051df5db65582-1-59"&gt;Action Sports Photography&lt;/a&gt;/Shutterstock</p>
<p />
<p>This <a href="http://www.theatlanticcities.com/design/2012/09/reducing-urban-heat-island-could-reduce-rainfall/3248/" type="external">story</a> first appeared on the <a href="http://www.theatlanticcities.com/" type="external">Atlantic Cities</a> website and is reproduced here as part of the <a href="http://climatedesk.org/" type="external">Climate Desk</a> collaboration.</p>
<p>You don’t really need to know much about the <a href="http://www.theatlanticcities.com/topics/urban-heat-island/" type="external">urban heat island effect</a> to understand that Arizona is feeling it.</p>
<p>With both a rapidly expanding urban footprint and some of the highest temperatures in the country, the increasingly studied feedback loop of city surfaces absorbing heat and raising temperatures is in hyperdrive in Arizona. Mitigating the heat-holding effects of urban growth has become a high priority in the state’s metropolitan areas, and various efforts are underway to prevent some of that heat from soaking into the sponge that is the paved and built urban environment. But these efforts could also be making the region’s overall environmental future worse.</p>
<p>According to new research out of Arizona State University, efforts to improve the reflectance of Arizona’s cities by painting roofs white may be reducing rainfall across the state.</p>
<p>Published recently in the journal Environmental Review Letters, <a href="http://iopscience.iop.org/1748-9326/7/3/034026" type="external">the study</a> finds that average rainfall statewide could drop by as much as 4 percent if roof painting efforts continue. The increased reflectivity of these roofs has been found to modify hydroclimatic processes in the region by reducing what’s called evapotranspiration, or how much water evaporates back into the air from the land and its plants.</p>
<p>The researchers looked specifically at the “Sun Corridor”—the metropolitan areas of Phoenix, Tucson, Prescott and Nogales. By projecting growth and urban expansion models out to 2050, the researchers warn that overall precipitation could go down as the use of this white roof mitigation measure spreads across the growing urban footprint.</p>
<p>The researchers also note that the urban heat island itself is a major cause of reduced rainfall in the region. If urban expansion reaches the projected growth the region’s association of governments is expecting, the researchers say that urban heat island effects could result in a 12 percent reduction in rainfall averaged across the state.</p>
<p>Combating the urban heat island effect will be incredibly important for growing places like Arizona. Though this research shows that white roofs are effective at reducing urban heat island effects, there may also be side effects of this mitigation approach that shouldn’t be ignored.</p>
<p />
|
White Roofs in Cities Could Reduce Rainfall
| true |
https://motherjones.com/politics/2012/09/white-roofs-reduce-rainfall/
|
2012-09-13
| 4left
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White Roofs in Cities Could Reduce Rainfall
<p>Sunset over Phoenix, Arizona.&lt;a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-72235192/stock-photo-the-city-of-phoenix-az-at-sunset.html?src=385a5f28a336f38517f051df5db65582-1-59"&gt;Action Sports Photography&lt;/a&gt;/Shutterstock</p>
<p />
<p>This <a href="http://www.theatlanticcities.com/design/2012/09/reducing-urban-heat-island-could-reduce-rainfall/3248/" type="external">story</a> first appeared on the <a href="http://www.theatlanticcities.com/" type="external">Atlantic Cities</a> website and is reproduced here as part of the <a href="http://climatedesk.org/" type="external">Climate Desk</a> collaboration.</p>
<p>You don’t really need to know much about the <a href="http://www.theatlanticcities.com/topics/urban-heat-island/" type="external">urban heat island effect</a> to understand that Arizona is feeling it.</p>
<p>With both a rapidly expanding urban footprint and some of the highest temperatures in the country, the increasingly studied feedback loop of city surfaces absorbing heat and raising temperatures is in hyperdrive in Arizona. Mitigating the heat-holding effects of urban growth has become a high priority in the state’s metropolitan areas, and various efforts are underway to prevent some of that heat from soaking into the sponge that is the paved and built urban environment. But these efforts could also be making the region’s overall environmental future worse.</p>
<p>According to new research out of Arizona State University, efforts to improve the reflectance of Arizona’s cities by painting roofs white may be reducing rainfall across the state.</p>
<p>Published recently in the journal Environmental Review Letters, <a href="http://iopscience.iop.org/1748-9326/7/3/034026" type="external">the study</a> finds that average rainfall statewide could drop by as much as 4 percent if roof painting efforts continue. The increased reflectivity of these roofs has been found to modify hydroclimatic processes in the region by reducing what’s called evapotranspiration, or how much water evaporates back into the air from the land and its plants.</p>
<p>The researchers looked specifically at the “Sun Corridor”—the metropolitan areas of Phoenix, Tucson, Prescott and Nogales. By projecting growth and urban expansion models out to 2050, the researchers warn that overall precipitation could go down as the use of this white roof mitigation measure spreads across the growing urban footprint.</p>
<p>The researchers also note that the urban heat island itself is a major cause of reduced rainfall in the region. If urban expansion reaches the projected growth the region’s association of governments is expecting, the researchers say that urban heat island effects could result in a 12 percent reduction in rainfall averaged across the state.</p>
<p>Combating the urban heat island effect will be incredibly important for growing places like Arizona. Though this research shows that white roofs are effective at reducing urban heat island effects, there may also be side effects of this mitigation approach that shouldn’t be ignored.</p>
<p />
| 6,275 |
<p>ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Garrett Temple took over in the fourth quarter and led the struggling Sacramento Kings to a big win.</p>
<p>Temple scored 19 of his career-high 34 points in the final quarter to lift the Kings to a 105-99 win over the Orlando Magic on Tuesday night.</p>
<p>Willie Cauley-Stein had 21 points and nine rebounds and Buddy Hield added 13 points for the Kings, who stopped an eight-game losing streak. Temple accounted for all of Sacramento's points during a 17-6 run that put the Kings ahead 103-97 with 23.5 seconds to go.</p>
<p>"Garrett was in a rhythm," teammate Vince Carter said. "He was out there with veteran guys who just know how to make the right play. It was us being cognizant of 'Hey, the hot guy's open, get it to him immediately.' And it worked out that way."</p>
<p>Temple, whose previous career best was 23 points in the fourth game of this season, started 33 games before being demoted. Against Orlando, he hit all seven field goal attempts in the fourth quarter, including three 3-pointers. The rest of the Kings were 2 for 12 in the period.</p>
<p>"Garrett has been a fantastic leader for us and I couldn't be happier," Sacramento coach Dave Joerger said. "He's the ultimate professional. For him to have this kind of night, I'm just tickled. He deserves it."</p>
<p>Temple's big game came with Kings regulars Zach Randolph and George Hill out of the lineup.</p>
<p>Evan Fournier led the Magic with 22 points and Elfrid Payton had 21 points, seven assists and seven rebounds. Aaron Gordon added 16 and Jonathon Simmons had 14 for Orlando, which struggled mightily to score in the final quarter.</p>
<p>Magic coach Frank Vogel didn't know whether to direct his postgame ire at his team's unwillingness to guard Temple or its sloppy play offensively. The Magic were 6 of 20 from the field in the final period and committed four turnovers.</p>
<p>"You gotta cool a guy like (Temple) down and nobody could get it done," Vogel said. "Offensively, we didn't make great decisions in the fourth quarter. Their switching turned us into one-on-one players and we're not a one-on-one team. We chose to play in traffic all night, put our he</p>
<p>Payton's pull-up jumper with 7:13 remaining had given the Magic 91-86 lead. Orlando made just one more field goal — a dunk by Bismack Biyombo with 5:33 left — before Payton made a meaningless layup with under one second to play.</p>
<p>Sacramento rallied from an 11-point third-quarter deficit to take a 94-93 lead on Temple's 3-pointer with 5:11 left in the game. Temple followed that with two perimeter jumpers and another 3-pointer to help the Kings to a 101-97 lead with 1:31 to go.</p>
<p>The two teams played dead even for the first 30 minutes of the game before Simmons hit a hot streak that gave the Magic their biggest lead of the game, 79-68. The Magic forward scored 14 points in the third period, including three 3-pointers and a three-point play.</p>
<p>However, as was the case all game, the Magic defense gave up the lead almost as fast as they got it.</p>
<p>Hield started the comeback with a 3-pointer and Cauley-Stein continued to be unguardable in the paint. His dunk cut the deficit to 82-77 by the end of the third quarter. A three-point play by Skal Labissiere made it a one-point game with over minutes to play.</p>
<p>TIP INS</p>
<p>Kings: PG De'Aaron Fox left the game with 5:03 left in the second quarter with abdominal strain. ... PF Zach Randolph, who has started 39 games this season, was inactive. He has no injury, but didn't play for the second straight game. His replacement, Labissiere, had 10 points and nine rebounds. . C Cauley-Stein got off 10 shots the first quarter.</p>
<p>Magic: Haven't won consecutive games since beating the Knicks and Suns 10 weeks ago. ... SG Aaron Afflalo was in uniform after serving a two-game suspension for fighting. He did not play. ... PF Gordon had five of the team's nine turnovers in the first half. ... SF Mario Hezonja has hit just four of 20 3-point attempts over the last five games. ... The Magic presented $1 million worth of checks to 27 local charities during a halftime ceremony.</p>
<p>A MAGIC SOLUTION</p>
<p>Tuesday's win over Orlando was the second time in less than a year that Sacramento ended an eight-game losing streak by beating the Magic. The Kings were on an eight-game slide last March when they beat Orlando 120-115. "It's a happy locker room," Kings coach Dave Joerger said. "We break a losing streak, but we've been getting better. We fought like crazy."</p>
<p>STILL MISSING VUCEVIC</p>
<p>Orlando lost center Nikola Vucevic with a broken hand on Dec. 23 and a month later, Vogel says his team only now has adjusted to playing without a guy who has been the focal point of the team's offense for all six of his seasons in Orlando "Basically, we lost our most complete offensive player and our identity had to change dramatically," Vogel said. "We're starting to put guys in different positions where they can get comfortable with a new identity and be successful."</p>
<p>UP NEXT</p>
<p>Kings: At Miami, where the Kings haven't won in 16 years, on Thursday night.</p>
<p>Magic: At Indiana on Saturday night. Orlando is 0-2 vs. Pacers this season.</p>
<p>ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Garrett Temple took over in the fourth quarter and led the struggling Sacramento Kings to a big win.</p>
<p>Temple scored 19 of his career-high 34 points in the final quarter to lift the Kings to a 105-99 win over the Orlando Magic on Tuesday night.</p>
<p>Willie Cauley-Stein had 21 points and nine rebounds and Buddy Hield added 13 points for the Kings, who stopped an eight-game losing streak. Temple accounted for all of Sacramento's points during a 17-6 run that put the Kings ahead 103-97 with 23.5 seconds to go.</p>
<p>"Garrett was in a rhythm," teammate Vince Carter said. "He was out there with veteran guys who just know how to make the right play. It was us being cognizant of 'Hey, the hot guy's open, get it to him immediately.' And it worked out that way."</p>
<p>Temple, whose previous career best was 23 points in the fourth game of this season, started 33 games before being demoted. Against Orlando, he hit all seven field goal attempts in the fourth quarter, including three 3-pointers. The rest of the Kings were 2 for 12 in the period.</p>
<p>"Garrett has been a fantastic leader for us and I couldn't be happier," Sacramento coach Dave Joerger said. "He's the ultimate professional. For him to have this kind of night, I'm just tickled. He deserves it."</p>
<p>Temple's big game came with Kings regulars Zach Randolph and George Hill out of the lineup.</p>
<p>Evan Fournier led the Magic with 22 points and Elfrid Payton had 21 points, seven assists and seven rebounds. Aaron Gordon added 16 and Jonathon Simmons had 14 for Orlando, which struggled mightily to score in the final quarter.</p>
<p>Magic coach Frank Vogel didn't know whether to direct his postgame ire at his team's unwillingness to guard Temple or its sloppy play offensively. The Magic were 6 of 20 from the field in the final period and committed four turnovers.</p>
<p>"You gotta cool a guy like (Temple) down and nobody could get it done," Vogel said. "Offensively, we didn't make great decisions in the fourth quarter. Their switching turned us into one-on-one players and we're not a one-on-one team. We chose to play in traffic all night, put our he</p>
<p>Payton's pull-up jumper with 7:13 remaining had given the Magic 91-86 lead. Orlando made just one more field goal — a dunk by Bismack Biyombo with 5:33 left — before Payton made a meaningless layup with under one second to play.</p>
<p>Sacramento rallied from an 11-point third-quarter deficit to take a 94-93 lead on Temple's 3-pointer with 5:11 left in the game. Temple followed that with two perimeter jumpers and another 3-pointer to help the Kings to a 101-97 lead with 1:31 to go.</p>
<p>The two teams played dead even for the first 30 minutes of the game before Simmons hit a hot streak that gave the Magic their biggest lead of the game, 79-68. The Magic forward scored 14 points in the third period, including three 3-pointers and a three-point play.</p>
<p>However, as was the case all game, the Magic defense gave up the lead almost as fast as they got it.</p>
<p>Hield started the comeback with a 3-pointer and Cauley-Stein continued to be unguardable in the paint. His dunk cut the deficit to 82-77 by the end of the third quarter. A three-point play by Skal Labissiere made it a one-point game with over minutes to play.</p>
<p>TIP INS</p>
<p>Kings: PG De'Aaron Fox left the game with 5:03 left in the second quarter with abdominal strain. ... PF Zach Randolph, who has started 39 games this season, was inactive. He has no injury, but didn't play for the second straight game. His replacement, Labissiere, had 10 points and nine rebounds. . C Cauley-Stein got off 10 shots the first quarter.</p>
<p>Magic: Haven't won consecutive games since beating the Knicks and Suns 10 weeks ago. ... SG Aaron Afflalo was in uniform after serving a two-game suspension for fighting. He did not play. ... PF Gordon had five of the team's nine turnovers in the first half. ... SF Mario Hezonja has hit just four of 20 3-point attempts over the last five games. ... The Magic presented $1 million worth of checks to 27 local charities during a halftime ceremony.</p>
<p>A MAGIC SOLUTION</p>
<p>Tuesday's win over Orlando was the second time in less than a year that Sacramento ended an eight-game losing streak by beating the Magic. The Kings were on an eight-game slide last March when they beat Orlando 120-115. "It's a happy locker room," Kings coach Dave Joerger said. "We break a losing streak, but we've been getting better. We fought like crazy."</p>
<p>STILL MISSING VUCEVIC</p>
<p>Orlando lost center Nikola Vucevic with a broken hand on Dec. 23 and a month later, Vogel says his team only now has adjusted to playing without a guy who has been the focal point of the team's offense for all six of his seasons in Orlando "Basically, we lost our most complete offensive player and our identity had to change dramatically," Vogel said. "We're starting to put guys in different positions where they can get comfortable with a new identity and be successful."</p>
<p>UP NEXT</p>
<p>Kings: At Miami, where the Kings haven't won in 16 years, on Thursday night.</p>
<p>Magic: At Indiana on Saturday night. Orlando is 0-2 vs. Pacers this season.</p>
|
Temple scores 34 to lead Kings past Magic, 105-99
| false |
https://apnews.com/amp/85e1d034751143bf854b940cd553cfa1
|
2018-01-24
| 2least
|
Temple scores 34 to lead Kings past Magic, 105-99
<p>ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Garrett Temple took over in the fourth quarter and led the struggling Sacramento Kings to a big win.</p>
<p>Temple scored 19 of his career-high 34 points in the final quarter to lift the Kings to a 105-99 win over the Orlando Magic on Tuesday night.</p>
<p>Willie Cauley-Stein had 21 points and nine rebounds and Buddy Hield added 13 points for the Kings, who stopped an eight-game losing streak. Temple accounted for all of Sacramento's points during a 17-6 run that put the Kings ahead 103-97 with 23.5 seconds to go.</p>
<p>"Garrett was in a rhythm," teammate Vince Carter said. "He was out there with veteran guys who just know how to make the right play. It was us being cognizant of 'Hey, the hot guy's open, get it to him immediately.' And it worked out that way."</p>
<p>Temple, whose previous career best was 23 points in the fourth game of this season, started 33 games before being demoted. Against Orlando, he hit all seven field goal attempts in the fourth quarter, including three 3-pointers. The rest of the Kings were 2 for 12 in the period.</p>
<p>"Garrett has been a fantastic leader for us and I couldn't be happier," Sacramento coach Dave Joerger said. "He's the ultimate professional. For him to have this kind of night, I'm just tickled. He deserves it."</p>
<p>Temple's big game came with Kings regulars Zach Randolph and George Hill out of the lineup.</p>
<p>Evan Fournier led the Magic with 22 points and Elfrid Payton had 21 points, seven assists and seven rebounds. Aaron Gordon added 16 and Jonathon Simmons had 14 for Orlando, which struggled mightily to score in the final quarter.</p>
<p>Magic coach Frank Vogel didn't know whether to direct his postgame ire at his team's unwillingness to guard Temple or its sloppy play offensively. The Magic were 6 of 20 from the field in the final period and committed four turnovers.</p>
<p>"You gotta cool a guy like (Temple) down and nobody could get it done," Vogel said. "Offensively, we didn't make great decisions in the fourth quarter. Their switching turned us into one-on-one players and we're not a one-on-one team. We chose to play in traffic all night, put our he</p>
<p>Payton's pull-up jumper with 7:13 remaining had given the Magic 91-86 lead. Orlando made just one more field goal — a dunk by Bismack Biyombo with 5:33 left — before Payton made a meaningless layup with under one second to play.</p>
<p>Sacramento rallied from an 11-point third-quarter deficit to take a 94-93 lead on Temple's 3-pointer with 5:11 left in the game. Temple followed that with two perimeter jumpers and another 3-pointer to help the Kings to a 101-97 lead with 1:31 to go.</p>
<p>The two teams played dead even for the first 30 minutes of the game before Simmons hit a hot streak that gave the Magic their biggest lead of the game, 79-68. The Magic forward scored 14 points in the third period, including three 3-pointers and a three-point play.</p>
<p>However, as was the case all game, the Magic defense gave up the lead almost as fast as they got it.</p>
<p>Hield started the comeback with a 3-pointer and Cauley-Stein continued to be unguardable in the paint. His dunk cut the deficit to 82-77 by the end of the third quarter. A three-point play by Skal Labissiere made it a one-point game with over minutes to play.</p>
<p>TIP INS</p>
<p>Kings: PG De'Aaron Fox left the game with 5:03 left in the second quarter with abdominal strain. ... PF Zach Randolph, who has started 39 games this season, was inactive. He has no injury, but didn't play for the second straight game. His replacement, Labissiere, had 10 points and nine rebounds. . C Cauley-Stein got off 10 shots the first quarter.</p>
<p>Magic: Haven't won consecutive games since beating the Knicks and Suns 10 weeks ago. ... SG Aaron Afflalo was in uniform after serving a two-game suspension for fighting. He did not play. ... PF Gordon had five of the team's nine turnovers in the first half. ... SF Mario Hezonja has hit just four of 20 3-point attempts over the last five games. ... The Magic presented $1 million worth of checks to 27 local charities during a halftime ceremony.</p>
<p>A MAGIC SOLUTION</p>
<p>Tuesday's win over Orlando was the second time in less than a year that Sacramento ended an eight-game losing streak by beating the Magic. The Kings were on an eight-game slide last March when they beat Orlando 120-115. "It's a happy locker room," Kings coach Dave Joerger said. "We break a losing streak, but we've been getting better. We fought like crazy."</p>
<p>STILL MISSING VUCEVIC</p>
<p>Orlando lost center Nikola Vucevic with a broken hand on Dec. 23 and a month later, Vogel says his team only now has adjusted to playing without a guy who has been the focal point of the team's offense for all six of his seasons in Orlando "Basically, we lost our most complete offensive player and our identity had to change dramatically," Vogel said. "We're starting to put guys in different positions where they can get comfortable with a new identity and be successful."</p>
<p>UP NEXT</p>
<p>Kings: At Miami, where the Kings haven't won in 16 years, on Thursday night.</p>
<p>Magic: At Indiana on Saturday night. Orlando is 0-2 vs. Pacers this season.</p>
<p>ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Garrett Temple took over in the fourth quarter and led the struggling Sacramento Kings to a big win.</p>
<p>Temple scored 19 of his career-high 34 points in the final quarter to lift the Kings to a 105-99 win over the Orlando Magic on Tuesday night.</p>
<p>Willie Cauley-Stein had 21 points and nine rebounds and Buddy Hield added 13 points for the Kings, who stopped an eight-game losing streak. Temple accounted for all of Sacramento's points during a 17-6 run that put the Kings ahead 103-97 with 23.5 seconds to go.</p>
<p>"Garrett was in a rhythm," teammate Vince Carter said. "He was out there with veteran guys who just know how to make the right play. It was us being cognizant of 'Hey, the hot guy's open, get it to him immediately.' And it worked out that way."</p>
<p>Temple, whose previous career best was 23 points in the fourth game of this season, started 33 games before being demoted. Against Orlando, he hit all seven field goal attempts in the fourth quarter, including three 3-pointers. The rest of the Kings were 2 for 12 in the period.</p>
<p>"Garrett has been a fantastic leader for us and I couldn't be happier," Sacramento coach Dave Joerger said. "He's the ultimate professional. For him to have this kind of night, I'm just tickled. He deserves it."</p>
<p>Temple's big game came with Kings regulars Zach Randolph and George Hill out of the lineup.</p>
<p>Evan Fournier led the Magic with 22 points and Elfrid Payton had 21 points, seven assists and seven rebounds. Aaron Gordon added 16 and Jonathon Simmons had 14 for Orlando, which struggled mightily to score in the final quarter.</p>
<p>Magic coach Frank Vogel didn't know whether to direct his postgame ire at his team's unwillingness to guard Temple or its sloppy play offensively. The Magic were 6 of 20 from the field in the final period and committed four turnovers.</p>
<p>"You gotta cool a guy like (Temple) down and nobody could get it done," Vogel said. "Offensively, we didn't make great decisions in the fourth quarter. Their switching turned us into one-on-one players and we're not a one-on-one team. We chose to play in traffic all night, put our he</p>
<p>Payton's pull-up jumper with 7:13 remaining had given the Magic 91-86 lead. Orlando made just one more field goal — a dunk by Bismack Biyombo with 5:33 left — before Payton made a meaningless layup with under one second to play.</p>
<p>Sacramento rallied from an 11-point third-quarter deficit to take a 94-93 lead on Temple's 3-pointer with 5:11 left in the game. Temple followed that with two perimeter jumpers and another 3-pointer to help the Kings to a 101-97 lead with 1:31 to go.</p>
<p>The two teams played dead even for the first 30 minutes of the game before Simmons hit a hot streak that gave the Magic their biggest lead of the game, 79-68. The Magic forward scored 14 points in the third period, including three 3-pointers and a three-point play.</p>
<p>However, as was the case all game, the Magic defense gave up the lead almost as fast as they got it.</p>
<p>Hield started the comeback with a 3-pointer and Cauley-Stein continued to be unguardable in the paint. His dunk cut the deficit to 82-77 by the end of the third quarter. A three-point play by Skal Labissiere made it a one-point game with over minutes to play.</p>
<p>TIP INS</p>
<p>Kings: PG De'Aaron Fox left the game with 5:03 left in the second quarter with abdominal strain. ... PF Zach Randolph, who has started 39 games this season, was inactive. He has no injury, but didn't play for the second straight game. His replacement, Labissiere, had 10 points and nine rebounds. . C Cauley-Stein got off 10 shots the first quarter.</p>
<p>Magic: Haven't won consecutive games since beating the Knicks and Suns 10 weeks ago. ... SG Aaron Afflalo was in uniform after serving a two-game suspension for fighting. He did not play. ... PF Gordon had five of the team's nine turnovers in the first half. ... SF Mario Hezonja has hit just four of 20 3-point attempts over the last five games. ... The Magic presented $1 million worth of checks to 27 local charities during a halftime ceremony.</p>
<p>A MAGIC SOLUTION</p>
<p>Tuesday's win over Orlando was the second time in less than a year that Sacramento ended an eight-game losing streak by beating the Magic. The Kings were on an eight-game slide last March when they beat Orlando 120-115. "It's a happy locker room," Kings coach Dave Joerger said. "We break a losing streak, but we've been getting better. We fought like crazy."</p>
<p>STILL MISSING VUCEVIC</p>
<p>Orlando lost center Nikola Vucevic with a broken hand on Dec. 23 and a month later, Vogel says his team only now has adjusted to playing without a guy who has been the focal point of the team's offense for all six of his seasons in Orlando "Basically, we lost our most complete offensive player and our identity had to change dramatically," Vogel said. "We're starting to put guys in different positions where they can get comfortable with a new identity and be successful."</p>
<p>UP NEXT</p>
<p>Kings: At Miami, where the Kings haven't won in 16 years, on Thursday night.</p>
<p>Magic: At Indiana on Saturday night. Orlando is 0-2 vs. Pacers this season.</p>
| 6,276 |
<p>The Illinois State Board of Education is heading into a busy summer on behalf of children with disabilities in the Chicago Public Schools (CPS).</p>
<p>By July 1, the ISBE must develop new procedures to improve and intensify monitoring and enforcement of the federal requirement that children with disabilities be educated in the least restrictive environment possible.</p>
<p>By the middle of July, the ISBE, in cooperation with CPS and attorneys representing some 53,000 CPS students with disabilities, is required to have specific numerical targets and benchmarks. Those will include the percentage of special education students in CPS who spend most of their day in a regular classroom and the percentage of students served districtwide in self-contained classrooms and separate public or private schools. Targets will be based on national averages, according to Designs for Change, a school reform organization that first documented illegal segregation of Chicago’s special education students in a 1991 report.</p>
<p>The ISBE also is required to have a cadre of freshly trained monitors ready by the end of August to work with at least 25 CPS schools during the 1999-2000 school year.</p>
<p>“We’ll look at data from each school and see which schools probably need help as far as dealing with LRE,” says Gordon Riffle, special assistant to State Supt. Max McGee for special education coordination. “If schools are placing a lot of kids in self-contained programs or out of the school, then we’ll probably look at those schools first.”</p>
<p>Any school cited by the state board will be required to develop a “corrective action plan” and a budget for it within 45 days.</p>
<p>These and other steps are spelled out in a settlement the state board reached in a 7-year-old suit filed by Designs for Change and the Northwestern University Law Center.</p>
<p>The state school board has committed $21 million over the next seven years to pay for staff planning and development and other measures needed to bring cited Chicago schools into compliance with the least restrictive environment requirement. These include helping special education and regular classroom teachers learn how to work collaboratively in the regular classroom. Part of that money will go for creation of a resource center, or clearinghouse, for teachers and principals.</p>
<p>“There are no trick ponies here,” Riffle says. “They will know exactly what we’ll be looking for and how well [schools] should be doing it. The entire philosophy is to work together [with CPS] and not separately.”</p>
<p>A final implementation plan, due by September, will spell out how many schools will be monitored for compliance over the course of the next six years. It also will provide details on how the state will restructure teacher certification in Illinois in phases. Phase 1 will include the redesign of special education certification policies and is expected to be done by next Jan. 1. Phase 2 will include a redesign of the regular education certification procedures, which might include required courses on inclusion. The state is expected to propose the new regular certification procedures by Jan. 1, 2002 and complete the process by Jan. 1, 2003.</p>
<p>“For kids now, the impact of the settlement is that resources will be coming to their schools to assist teachers,” says CPS attorney Kathleen Gibbons. “But for little kids and future generations, new certification procedures will be the No. 1, best result of this case. That is what will give this case long-lasting impact.”</p>
<p>In 1992, Designs and Northwestern filed suit against both CPS and the state board, charging the latter with failure to monitor and enforce the federal law on educating children with disabilities. The CPS reached a settlement in late 1997, but the state school board went to trial. In February 1998, U.S. District Court Judge Robert Gettleman ruled against the state and ordered it to develop remedial plans to monitor and enforce compliance with the least restrictive environment requirement.</p>
<p>‘This thing has teeth’</p>
<p>The state plan came last December as Gettleman prepared to issue a court-ordered remediation plan. It coincided with McGee’s first month on the job.</p>
<p>The ISBE agreement “means that from now on, there are limits,” says Joy Rogers, a Loyola University professor and leading Chicago advocate of least restrictive environment. “This says there are fixed targets and there are legitimate [national] comparisons that can be made. This is the first time there has been some commitment to complying with federal law, something we can believe. It’s exciting. It’s very clear. This thing has teeth.”</p>
<p>If all goes as planned, she says, “The settlement with the CPS will work from the top down with the most compliant schools. This settlement [with ISBE] will work from the bottom up and catch the most non-compliant schools.”</p>
<p>The state plan will be carried out concurrently with a CPS initiative called Education Connection, a voluntary program begun last year in 28 schools and funded with $24 million in CPS money over seven years. Sue Gamm, CPS director of specialized services, says the Education Connection will be expanded to another 30 schools next year and another 30 the year after that. (For more on special education in Chicago, see Catalyst, June 1998.)</p>
<p>Designs for Change attorney Sharon Weitzman Soltman concurs with Rogers that “the ISBE now has to do things properly. If they don’t do it right, we’ll be there and so will the court. They have to comply with the [federal] mandate and if they don’t, it’s now enforceable in court.”</p>
<p>In 1994, about half of the system’s special education students were spending most of their school day in regular classes, according to Weitzman Soltman. Nationally, the average percentage was in the high 70s, she says. In a comparison with other states, Illinois has ranked at or near the bottom for many years; the federal mandate for least restrictive environment was adopted in 1975.</p>
<p>In his ruling against the state board, Gettleman noted that up to 90 percent of mildly retarded students in CPS were capable of spending most of their school day in a regular classroom, yet only about 20 percent spent more than half their time in a regular classroom.</p>
<p>Gamm says the state plan is “a complement to what [CPS] is doing. It means we can work with twice as many schools at once.”</p>
<p>Riffle says dialogue with CPS administrators and lawyers for the plaintiffs has been constructive, and he does not foresee any major obstacles to implementation of the ISBE plan.</p>
<p>“Anytime you try to implement something and have plaintiffs involved from an urban district the size of Chicago, there will be growing pains,” Riffle says. “But I have found the people in CPS I’ve worked with to be very compatible, and I’ve found the plaintiffs to be extremely interested in working with us to make sure we provide services that are best for kids. It’s been kind of nice. At least we have some kind of openness up front. We’ll stumble around a bit, but probably within a year you’ll see this process looking pretty well greased.</p>
<p>A former school psychologist and school district special education director, Riffle believes “the critical component of any effective teacher is credibility. If you have credibility, then you aren’t going to be threatening and you’ll be able to work with people and go in and help kids learn. If we approach this from that frame of reference, then I think special education and regular education will get rid of that dividing line and we’ll all become educators. It’s just letting those barriers down. There is no reason to have special and regular education teachers. In my opinion, we have educators, and some just have different kinds of skills and expertise.”</p>
|
State steps up monitoring of special ed inclusion
| false |
http://chicagoreporter.com/state-steps-monitoring-special-ed-inclusion/
|
2005-07-26
| 3left-center
|
State steps up monitoring of special ed inclusion
<p>The Illinois State Board of Education is heading into a busy summer on behalf of children with disabilities in the Chicago Public Schools (CPS).</p>
<p>By July 1, the ISBE must develop new procedures to improve and intensify monitoring and enforcement of the federal requirement that children with disabilities be educated in the least restrictive environment possible.</p>
<p>By the middle of July, the ISBE, in cooperation with CPS and attorneys representing some 53,000 CPS students with disabilities, is required to have specific numerical targets and benchmarks. Those will include the percentage of special education students in CPS who spend most of their day in a regular classroom and the percentage of students served districtwide in self-contained classrooms and separate public or private schools. Targets will be based on national averages, according to Designs for Change, a school reform organization that first documented illegal segregation of Chicago’s special education students in a 1991 report.</p>
<p>The ISBE also is required to have a cadre of freshly trained monitors ready by the end of August to work with at least 25 CPS schools during the 1999-2000 school year.</p>
<p>“We’ll look at data from each school and see which schools probably need help as far as dealing with LRE,” says Gordon Riffle, special assistant to State Supt. Max McGee for special education coordination. “If schools are placing a lot of kids in self-contained programs or out of the school, then we’ll probably look at those schools first.”</p>
<p>Any school cited by the state board will be required to develop a “corrective action plan” and a budget for it within 45 days.</p>
<p>These and other steps are spelled out in a settlement the state board reached in a 7-year-old suit filed by Designs for Change and the Northwestern University Law Center.</p>
<p>The state school board has committed $21 million over the next seven years to pay for staff planning and development and other measures needed to bring cited Chicago schools into compliance with the least restrictive environment requirement. These include helping special education and regular classroom teachers learn how to work collaboratively in the regular classroom. Part of that money will go for creation of a resource center, or clearinghouse, for teachers and principals.</p>
<p>“There are no trick ponies here,” Riffle says. “They will know exactly what we’ll be looking for and how well [schools] should be doing it. The entire philosophy is to work together [with CPS] and not separately.”</p>
<p>A final implementation plan, due by September, will spell out how many schools will be monitored for compliance over the course of the next six years. It also will provide details on how the state will restructure teacher certification in Illinois in phases. Phase 1 will include the redesign of special education certification policies and is expected to be done by next Jan. 1. Phase 2 will include a redesign of the regular education certification procedures, which might include required courses on inclusion. The state is expected to propose the new regular certification procedures by Jan. 1, 2002 and complete the process by Jan. 1, 2003.</p>
<p>“For kids now, the impact of the settlement is that resources will be coming to their schools to assist teachers,” says CPS attorney Kathleen Gibbons. “But for little kids and future generations, new certification procedures will be the No. 1, best result of this case. That is what will give this case long-lasting impact.”</p>
<p>In 1992, Designs and Northwestern filed suit against both CPS and the state board, charging the latter with failure to monitor and enforce the federal law on educating children with disabilities. The CPS reached a settlement in late 1997, but the state school board went to trial. In February 1998, U.S. District Court Judge Robert Gettleman ruled against the state and ordered it to develop remedial plans to monitor and enforce compliance with the least restrictive environment requirement.</p>
<p>‘This thing has teeth’</p>
<p>The state plan came last December as Gettleman prepared to issue a court-ordered remediation plan. It coincided with McGee’s first month on the job.</p>
<p>The ISBE agreement “means that from now on, there are limits,” says Joy Rogers, a Loyola University professor and leading Chicago advocate of least restrictive environment. “This says there are fixed targets and there are legitimate [national] comparisons that can be made. This is the first time there has been some commitment to complying with federal law, something we can believe. It’s exciting. It’s very clear. This thing has teeth.”</p>
<p>If all goes as planned, she says, “The settlement with the CPS will work from the top down with the most compliant schools. This settlement [with ISBE] will work from the bottom up and catch the most non-compliant schools.”</p>
<p>The state plan will be carried out concurrently with a CPS initiative called Education Connection, a voluntary program begun last year in 28 schools and funded with $24 million in CPS money over seven years. Sue Gamm, CPS director of specialized services, says the Education Connection will be expanded to another 30 schools next year and another 30 the year after that. (For more on special education in Chicago, see Catalyst, June 1998.)</p>
<p>Designs for Change attorney Sharon Weitzman Soltman concurs with Rogers that “the ISBE now has to do things properly. If they don’t do it right, we’ll be there and so will the court. They have to comply with the [federal] mandate and if they don’t, it’s now enforceable in court.”</p>
<p>In 1994, about half of the system’s special education students were spending most of their school day in regular classes, according to Weitzman Soltman. Nationally, the average percentage was in the high 70s, she says. In a comparison with other states, Illinois has ranked at or near the bottom for many years; the federal mandate for least restrictive environment was adopted in 1975.</p>
<p>In his ruling against the state board, Gettleman noted that up to 90 percent of mildly retarded students in CPS were capable of spending most of their school day in a regular classroom, yet only about 20 percent spent more than half their time in a regular classroom.</p>
<p>Gamm says the state plan is “a complement to what [CPS] is doing. It means we can work with twice as many schools at once.”</p>
<p>Riffle says dialogue with CPS administrators and lawyers for the plaintiffs has been constructive, and he does not foresee any major obstacles to implementation of the ISBE plan.</p>
<p>“Anytime you try to implement something and have plaintiffs involved from an urban district the size of Chicago, there will be growing pains,” Riffle says. “But I have found the people in CPS I’ve worked with to be very compatible, and I’ve found the plaintiffs to be extremely interested in working with us to make sure we provide services that are best for kids. It’s been kind of nice. At least we have some kind of openness up front. We’ll stumble around a bit, but probably within a year you’ll see this process looking pretty well greased.</p>
<p>A former school psychologist and school district special education director, Riffle believes “the critical component of any effective teacher is credibility. If you have credibility, then you aren’t going to be threatening and you’ll be able to work with people and go in and help kids learn. If we approach this from that frame of reference, then I think special education and regular education will get rid of that dividing line and we’ll all become educators. It’s just letting those barriers down. There is no reason to have special and regular education teachers. In my opinion, we have educators, and some just have different kinds of skills and expertise.”</p>
| 6,277 |
<p>Americans experienced&#160;lower costs last month for some services as well as cheaper merchandise that limited receipts at retailers and showed a weaker trajectory for consumer spending entering the third quarter.</p>
<p>While economists projected a slight increase, consumer prices were little changed in June and held back by cheaper home furnishings, cars and clothing. Households also enjoyed modestly priced airfare and hotel stays at the start of the summer, Labor Department data showed Friday.</p>
<p>The discounts on merchandise may partly explain why the Commerce Department’s data on retail sales, which aren’t adjusted for prices, unexpectedly decreased for a second month.</p>
<p>The back-to-back decline in retail sales, the first since July-August of last year,&#160;also show consumers remain hesitant to ramp up their spending as the economy enters its ninth year of expansion.</p>
<p>“Consumers are cautious to spend despite the positive backdrop of upbeat job gains, rising — albeit sluggish — wage growth and low interest rates,” Gregory Daco, chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, wrote in a research note. “Weak consumer spending in June means that momentum heading into the third quarter is fairly soft.”</p>
<p>Evaporating consumer optimism suggests moderation at the cash register as well. Sentiment weakened in early July to a nine-month low, according to figures released Friday from the University of Michigan. The latest decline shows post-election buoyancy has been erased amid Washington gridlock around health care and tax legislation.</p>
<p>Today’s reports leave Federal Reserve policy makers in a tricky spot. While the central bankers have signaled a willingness to continue a gradual upward adjustment in the Fed’s benchmark interest rate, the consumer-price index data called into question what some central bankers have described as a ‘transitory’ slowdown in inflation.&#160;</p>
<p>The costs of merchandise excluding food and fuel dropped 0.1 percent in June. So-called core goods inflation has declined in 14 of the last 16 months.</p>
<p>While not alarming, the slowdown that’s kept inflation below their 2 percent goal threatens to put a pause on their monetary-policy tightening, even as the labor market chugs along solidly.</p>
<p>Several consumer-price categories experienced a third straight decline in June.</p>
<p>What’s more, retail demand isn’t exactly gangbusters, especially in light of robust job growth. Seven retail categories showed a gain in sales last month compared with 11 at the start of this year.</p>
<p>Brighter prospects might depend on whether wage growth exceeds Americans’ paltry expectations. While consumers registered high marks for their current financial conditions, according to the University of Michigan’s sentiment report, survey respondents see a rocky road ahead for their pocketbooks. An index of the outlook also slumped, leading to the widest gap between current conditions and expectations since August 2006.</p>
|
Retailer Discounts Not Helping to Lift Americans' Spirits, Spending
| false |
https://newsline.com/retailer-discounts-not-helping-to-lift-americans-spirits-spending/
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2017-07-14
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Retailer Discounts Not Helping to Lift Americans' Spirits, Spending
<p>Americans experienced&#160;lower costs last month for some services as well as cheaper merchandise that limited receipts at retailers and showed a weaker trajectory for consumer spending entering the third quarter.</p>
<p>While economists projected a slight increase, consumer prices were little changed in June and held back by cheaper home furnishings, cars and clothing. Households also enjoyed modestly priced airfare and hotel stays at the start of the summer, Labor Department data showed Friday.</p>
<p>The discounts on merchandise may partly explain why the Commerce Department’s data on retail sales, which aren’t adjusted for prices, unexpectedly decreased for a second month.</p>
<p>The back-to-back decline in retail sales, the first since July-August of last year,&#160;also show consumers remain hesitant to ramp up their spending as the economy enters its ninth year of expansion.</p>
<p>“Consumers are cautious to spend despite the positive backdrop of upbeat job gains, rising — albeit sluggish — wage growth and low interest rates,” Gregory Daco, chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, wrote in a research note. “Weak consumer spending in June means that momentum heading into the third quarter is fairly soft.”</p>
<p>Evaporating consumer optimism suggests moderation at the cash register as well. Sentiment weakened in early July to a nine-month low, according to figures released Friday from the University of Michigan. The latest decline shows post-election buoyancy has been erased amid Washington gridlock around health care and tax legislation.</p>
<p>Today’s reports leave Federal Reserve policy makers in a tricky spot. While the central bankers have signaled a willingness to continue a gradual upward adjustment in the Fed’s benchmark interest rate, the consumer-price index data called into question what some central bankers have described as a ‘transitory’ slowdown in inflation.&#160;</p>
<p>The costs of merchandise excluding food and fuel dropped 0.1 percent in June. So-called core goods inflation has declined in 14 of the last 16 months.</p>
<p>While not alarming, the slowdown that’s kept inflation below their 2 percent goal threatens to put a pause on their monetary-policy tightening, even as the labor market chugs along solidly.</p>
<p>Several consumer-price categories experienced a third straight decline in June.</p>
<p>What’s more, retail demand isn’t exactly gangbusters, especially in light of robust job growth. Seven retail categories showed a gain in sales last month compared with 11 at the start of this year.</p>
<p>Brighter prospects might depend on whether wage growth exceeds Americans’ paltry expectations. While consumers registered high marks for their current financial conditions, according to the University of Michigan’s sentiment report, survey respondents see a rocky road ahead for their pocketbooks. An index of the outlook also slumped, leading to the widest gap between current conditions and expectations since August 2006.</p>
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<p />
<p>The television campaign , which launched Monday, is being rolled out nationally on major network evening newscasts as well as the Sunday talk shows. Wells is also buying ads on the major Spanish language networks Telemundo and Univision, said Wells Fargo spokesman Mark Folk.</p>
<p>The TV ads supplement print and digital ads Wells Fargo rolled out earlier this month. The campaign is expected to run for at least the next couple of months, Folk said. Radio ads are expected started next week.</p>
<p>“The commercial reiterates Wells Fargo’s commitment to customers and the steps we are taking to move forward and make things right,” Folk said.</p>
<p>Wells Fargo is embroiled in the biggest scandal in its 164-year history after the bank admitted that it opened up to 2 million bank and credit card accounts without customers’ authorization. The scandal led to the abrupt retirement this month of its CEO, John Stumpf.</p>
<p>The bank faces several class action lawsuits, as well as criminal investigations by the Department of Justice and the California Attorney General’s Office.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>There are also concerns that customers are leaving the bank, or at least paring back their business with Wells. In its quarterly earnings report released earlier this month, Wells reported double-digit drops in bank account openings as well as drops in bank branch traffic.</p>
<p>A study by consulting firm cg42 of 1,000 Wells Fargo customers released this week showed that while only 3 percent of Wells Fargo customers said they were impacted by the practices, roughly 14 percent of customers surveyed said they planned to switch banks in the next 12 to 18 months.</p>
<p>____</p>
<p>Ken Sweet covers banks and consumer financial issues for The Associated Press. Follow him on twitter at @kensweet.</p>
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Wells Fargo rolls out ad campaign addressing sales scandal
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/874517/wells-fargo-rolls-out-ad-campaign-addressing-sales-scandal.html
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2016-10-25
| 2least
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Wells Fargo rolls out ad campaign addressing sales scandal
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<p />
<p>The television campaign , which launched Monday, is being rolled out nationally on major network evening newscasts as well as the Sunday talk shows. Wells is also buying ads on the major Spanish language networks Telemundo and Univision, said Wells Fargo spokesman Mark Folk.</p>
<p>The TV ads supplement print and digital ads Wells Fargo rolled out earlier this month. The campaign is expected to run for at least the next couple of months, Folk said. Radio ads are expected started next week.</p>
<p>“The commercial reiterates Wells Fargo’s commitment to customers and the steps we are taking to move forward and make things right,” Folk said.</p>
<p>Wells Fargo is embroiled in the biggest scandal in its 164-year history after the bank admitted that it opened up to 2 million bank and credit card accounts without customers’ authorization. The scandal led to the abrupt retirement this month of its CEO, John Stumpf.</p>
<p>The bank faces several class action lawsuits, as well as criminal investigations by the Department of Justice and the California Attorney General’s Office.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>There are also concerns that customers are leaving the bank, or at least paring back their business with Wells. In its quarterly earnings report released earlier this month, Wells reported double-digit drops in bank account openings as well as drops in bank branch traffic.</p>
<p>A study by consulting firm cg42 of 1,000 Wells Fargo customers released this week showed that while only 3 percent of Wells Fargo customers said they were impacted by the practices, roughly 14 percent of customers surveyed said they planned to switch banks in the next 12 to 18 months.</p>
<p>____</p>
<p>Ken Sweet covers banks and consumer financial issues for The Associated Press. Follow him on twitter at @kensweet.</p>
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<p>CHESHIRE, Conn. (AP) — Police and community members in Connecticut have banded together to replace a family's gifts stolen by a Grinch on Christmas Day.</p>
<p>Cheshire officers collected donated presents for the Maher family and delivered more than 100 gifts to them Saturday aboard emergency vehicles with lights and sirens blaring.</p>
<p>The Republican-American <a href="http://www.rep-am.com/news/news-local/2017/12/30/cheshire-family-made-whole-after-thieves-stole-car-full-of-christmas-gifts/" type="external">reports</a> the family spent Christmas Day with relatives in Waterbury and had loaded their car with presents when someone stole their vehicle. The car had most of the presents for Tracey and David Maher's three sons, ages 8, 6 and 4. No arrests have been announced.</p>
<p>The Cheshire Police Benevolent Association led the gift donation effort. So many presents came in that officers ended the collection early and will donate extra gifts to local organizations.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: Republican-American, <a href="http://www.rep-am.com" type="external">http://www.rep-am.com</a></p>
<p>CHESHIRE, Conn. (AP) — Police and community members in Connecticut have banded together to replace a family's gifts stolen by a Grinch on Christmas Day.</p>
<p>Cheshire officers collected donated presents for the Maher family and delivered more than 100 gifts to them Saturday aboard emergency vehicles with lights and sirens blaring.</p>
<p>The Republican-American <a href="http://www.rep-am.com/news/news-local/2017/12/30/cheshire-family-made-whole-after-thieves-stole-car-full-of-christmas-gifts/" type="external">reports</a> the family spent Christmas Day with relatives in Waterbury and had loaded their car with presents when someone stole their vehicle. The car had most of the presents for Tracey and David Maher's three sons, ages 8, 6 and 4. No arrests have been announced.</p>
<p>The Cheshire Police Benevolent Association led the gift donation effort. So many presents came in that officers ended the collection early and will donate extra gifts to local organizations.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: Republican-American, <a href="http://www.rep-am.com" type="external">http://www.rep-am.com</a></p>
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Police replace Christmas gifts for family robbed by a Grinch
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https://apnews.com/amp/18acb137328e44cdba7188236c5d6b57
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2017-12-31
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Police replace Christmas gifts for family robbed by a Grinch
<p>CHESHIRE, Conn. (AP) — Police and community members in Connecticut have banded together to replace a family's gifts stolen by a Grinch on Christmas Day.</p>
<p>Cheshire officers collected donated presents for the Maher family and delivered more than 100 gifts to them Saturday aboard emergency vehicles with lights and sirens blaring.</p>
<p>The Republican-American <a href="http://www.rep-am.com/news/news-local/2017/12/30/cheshire-family-made-whole-after-thieves-stole-car-full-of-christmas-gifts/" type="external">reports</a> the family spent Christmas Day with relatives in Waterbury and had loaded their car with presents when someone stole their vehicle. The car had most of the presents for Tracey and David Maher's three sons, ages 8, 6 and 4. No arrests have been announced.</p>
<p>The Cheshire Police Benevolent Association led the gift donation effort. So many presents came in that officers ended the collection early and will donate extra gifts to local organizations.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: Republican-American, <a href="http://www.rep-am.com" type="external">http://www.rep-am.com</a></p>
<p>CHESHIRE, Conn. (AP) — Police and community members in Connecticut have banded together to replace a family's gifts stolen by a Grinch on Christmas Day.</p>
<p>Cheshire officers collected donated presents for the Maher family and delivered more than 100 gifts to them Saturday aboard emergency vehicles with lights and sirens blaring.</p>
<p>The Republican-American <a href="http://www.rep-am.com/news/news-local/2017/12/30/cheshire-family-made-whole-after-thieves-stole-car-full-of-christmas-gifts/" type="external">reports</a> the family spent Christmas Day with relatives in Waterbury and had loaded their car with presents when someone stole their vehicle. The car had most of the presents for Tracey and David Maher's three sons, ages 8, 6 and 4. No arrests have been announced.</p>
<p>The Cheshire Police Benevolent Association led the gift donation effort. So many presents came in that officers ended the collection early and will donate extra gifts to local organizations.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: Republican-American, <a href="http://www.rep-am.com" type="external">http://www.rep-am.com</a></p>
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<p>Your story that Clark's plea was "a way around new state Supreme Court deadlines designed to speed criminal cases through the judicial system" could not be further from the truth. Let me attempt to get it straight here so that Clark can have an attempt at restoring his good name in refuting the photograph inscription of "sex offender tag."</p>
<p>Clark was indicted on March 20, 2015. He was appointed a contract public defender. His trial was set for Dec. 8, 2015, but the public defender moved for a continuance by virtue of another trial commitment. Clark was unsatisfied with the efforts his state contract public defender was putting in the case, and ultimately, his family retained me on Dec. 7, 2015.</p>
<p>Clark's trial on charges that carried a potential penalty of 87 years, was set to commence on Jan. 11. Notwithstanding the short deadline, I was confident I could prepare and be ready for trial.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Prior to interviewing the alleged victim, I had subpoenas issued for her school and alleged counseling records. When I was informed that those records could not be produced until after the trial, I moved for an additional one-month continuance.</p>
<p>The District Court denied the motion and our state Supreme Court denied my writ seeking that minimal extension in order to prepare for trial. Without all of the information which I would have ordinarily thought necessary, I interviewed the alleged victim on two occasions.</p>
<p>Suffice it to say that her "story" was not merely extremely implausible, but ventured into fanciful impossibility.</p>
<p>After a jury was selected, the prosecutor contacted me and offered a no contest plea with three years probation to an offense that did not require sex offender registration.</p>
<p>I ethically communicated the plea to my client and told that while I could not guarantee an acquittal, this case was as close to that outcome as anything I had ever handled in my 33 years of practicing law. I recommended to Clark that he reject the deal and that we try the case so that he would be absolutely vindicated. Clark, after weighing all, decided that the risk of 87 years of incarceration was not worth going to trial.</p>
<p>The deal was then struck and Clark, who had been out on conditions of release, continued his long-standing employment.</p>
<p>Clark's plea had nothing to do with circumventing the new time deadlines imposed by the Supreme Court. The plea had everything to do with a case that should not have been brought against Clark because he was factually innocent.</p>
<p>Because of your story, Clark was promptly fired and he has not been able to find work. Clark was falsely accused and accepted an extraordinarily sweet deal because miscarriages of justice still occur with juries across America. I hope Clark's employer at Albertson's reconsiders his employment status after reading this letter.</p>
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Lawyer: There is more to plea deal than in story
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/729104/lawyer-more-to-plea-deal-than-in-story.html
| 2least
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Lawyer: There is more to plea deal than in story
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<p />
<p>Your story that Clark's plea was "a way around new state Supreme Court deadlines designed to speed criminal cases through the judicial system" could not be further from the truth. Let me attempt to get it straight here so that Clark can have an attempt at restoring his good name in refuting the photograph inscription of "sex offender tag."</p>
<p>Clark was indicted on March 20, 2015. He was appointed a contract public defender. His trial was set for Dec. 8, 2015, but the public defender moved for a continuance by virtue of another trial commitment. Clark was unsatisfied with the efforts his state contract public defender was putting in the case, and ultimately, his family retained me on Dec. 7, 2015.</p>
<p>Clark's trial on charges that carried a potential penalty of 87 years, was set to commence on Jan. 11. Notwithstanding the short deadline, I was confident I could prepare and be ready for trial.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Prior to interviewing the alleged victim, I had subpoenas issued for her school and alleged counseling records. When I was informed that those records could not be produced until after the trial, I moved for an additional one-month continuance.</p>
<p>The District Court denied the motion and our state Supreme Court denied my writ seeking that minimal extension in order to prepare for trial. Without all of the information which I would have ordinarily thought necessary, I interviewed the alleged victim on two occasions.</p>
<p>Suffice it to say that her "story" was not merely extremely implausible, but ventured into fanciful impossibility.</p>
<p>After a jury was selected, the prosecutor contacted me and offered a no contest plea with three years probation to an offense that did not require sex offender registration.</p>
<p>I ethically communicated the plea to my client and told that while I could not guarantee an acquittal, this case was as close to that outcome as anything I had ever handled in my 33 years of practicing law. I recommended to Clark that he reject the deal and that we try the case so that he would be absolutely vindicated. Clark, after weighing all, decided that the risk of 87 years of incarceration was not worth going to trial.</p>
<p>The deal was then struck and Clark, who had been out on conditions of release, continued his long-standing employment.</p>
<p>Clark's plea had nothing to do with circumventing the new time deadlines imposed by the Supreme Court. The plea had everything to do with a case that should not have been brought against Clark because he was factually innocent.</p>
<p>Because of your story, Clark was promptly fired and he has not been able to find work. Clark was falsely accused and accepted an extraordinarily sweet deal because miscarriages of justice still occur with juries across America. I hope Clark's employer at Albertson's reconsiders his employment status after reading this letter.</p>
<p />
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<p>Now 25, she finally made that goal a reality, handily winning her professional debut Saturday during a boxing card at the Buffalo Thunder Resort &amp; Casino.</p>
<p>Martinez, a Pojoaque Valley High School graduate who ran cross-country and track while an Elkette, polished off Brittney Horton with a first-round TKO.</p>
<p>“It was short, it ended fast,” Martinez said of her fight. “It was a huge accomplishment.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>She began her boxing career as a 13-year-old.</p>
<p>“I grew up as an only girl and I have two brothers,” Martinez said with a chuckle. “I just grew up fighting with the boys. I grew up a little aggressive. I had always wanted to try it, but I was never totally serious doing it.”</p>
<p>A woman her mother worked with turned out to be the difference, as the woman’s brother is a boxing trainer.</p>
<p>“When I first started, I had only wanted to learn just for self defense,” Martinez said. “I had never planned on competing. But my trainer told me I had an innate talent and I should compete. He got me my first fight.”</p>
<p>Although that first fight didn’t go so well, it was still an eye-opening experience.</p>
<p>“I fell in love it with it,” she said. “Ever since then, I’ve just loved it. I was fighting a lot. I was good at it. I was just a natural at it just from the beginning and he really took a lot of time with me.”</p>
<p>When she got into high school, Martinez suffered a shoulder injury that actually might have worked out for the best.</p>
<p>“I just knew I wanted to turn pro and I was going to make boxing my career,” she said. “I wasn’t really thinking too much about the future.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The injury made her reassess her life’s path and she decided to go to college, spending a year at the University of New Mexico before returning to her home and earning first an associate degree, then a bachelor’s in nursing from Northern New Mexico College in Española.</p>
<p>“I still want to go on and get my doctorate in nursing,” Martinez said. “But I still had this goal of turning professional as a boxer. I decided I would start boxing again. I had to choose between getting a higher degree or boxing, so I had to really choose between continuing school or stopping and taking a break to pursue boxing. By the time I get my doctorate, I would be too old to continue boxing. I decided I wanted to do boxing again.”</p>
<p>During her layoff from competition, she continued to train and after graduating in 2016, she began competing again, picking up her first fight in January before entering the ring as pro for the first time Saturday.</p>
<p>“It was a long time coming,” Martinez said. “It was nice to accomplish the goal I set at such a young age,” said Martinez. And she did it in with flair and style in front of a sold-out crowd.</p>
<p>“She was a lot taller than me, everybody is. I’m really short,” she said. “It was hard to get inside of her reach. It took me a while to work inside and she caught me on the outside. I think she got a little overconfident and I started catching her with overhand rights. I walked her into the corner with the overhand rights, then I dropped her with a right hook to the body.”</p>
<p>Martinez already has her next pro bout lined up for January and until then she will continue working out, as well working as a nurse caring primarily for cancer patients in their homes.</p>
<p>“I’m a nurse contractor,” she said. “I contract with a company that finds me patients. Cancer patients from Sandia labs and Los Alamos labs. They’re very well educated. It’s very interesting to take care of these patients … . I learn a lot from my patients. It is a hard time because I’m their nurse from the day they take me on to until the day they die. It’s hard, but very rewarding.”</p>
<p />
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‘A huge accomplishment’
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/1074048/a-huge-accomplishment-ex-exelkette-wins-her-first-professional-boxing-bout-with-a-tko-in-the-first-round.html
| 2least
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‘A huge accomplishment’
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<p />
<p>Now 25, she finally made that goal a reality, handily winning her professional debut Saturday during a boxing card at the Buffalo Thunder Resort &amp; Casino.</p>
<p>Martinez, a Pojoaque Valley High School graduate who ran cross-country and track while an Elkette, polished off Brittney Horton with a first-round TKO.</p>
<p>“It was short, it ended fast,” Martinez said of her fight. “It was a huge accomplishment.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>She began her boxing career as a 13-year-old.</p>
<p>“I grew up as an only girl and I have two brothers,” Martinez said with a chuckle. “I just grew up fighting with the boys. I grew up a little aggressive. I had always wanted to try it, but I was never totally serious doing it.”</p>
<p>A woman her mother worked with turned out to be the difference, as the woman’s brother is a boxing trainer.</p>
<p>“When I first started, I had only wanted to learn just for self defense,” Martinez said. “I had never planned on competing. But my trainer told me I had an innate talent and I should compete. He got me my first fight.”</p>
<p>Although that first fight didn’t go so well, it was still an eye-opening experience.</p>
<p>“I fell in love it with it,” she said. “Ever since then, I’ve just loved it. I was fighting a lot. I was good at it. I was just a natural at it just from the beginning and he really took a lot of time with me.”</p>
<p>When she got into high school, Martinez suffered a shoulder injury that actually might have worked out for the best.</p>
<p>“I just knew I wanted to turn pro and I was going to make boxing my career,” she said. “I wasn’t really thinking too much about the future.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The injury made her reassess her life’s path and she decided to go to college, spending a year at the University of New Mexico before returning to her home and earning first an associate degree, then a bachelor’s in nursing from Northern New Mexico College in Española.</p>
<p>“I still want to go on and get my doctorate in nursing,” Martinez said. “But I still had this goal of turning professional as a boxer. I decided I would start boxing again. I had to choose between getting a higher degree or boxing, so I had to really choose between continuing school or stopping and taking a break to pursue boxing. By the time I get my doctorate, I would be too old to continue boxing. I decided I wanted to do boxing again.”</p>
<p>During her layoff from competition, she continued to train and after graduating in 2016, she began competing again, picking up her first fight in January before entering the ring as pro for the first time Saturday.</p>
<p>“It was a long time coming,” Martinez said. “It was nice to accomplish the goal I set at such a young age,” said Martinez. And she did it in with flair and style in front of a sold-out crowd.</p>
<p>“She was a lot taller than me, everybody is. I’m really short,” she said. “It was hard to get inside of her reach. It took me a while to work inside and she caught me on the outside. I think she got a little overconfident and I started catching her with overhand rights. I walked her into the corner with the overhand rights, then I dropped her with a right hook to the body.”</p>
<p>Martinez already has her next pro bout lined up for January and until then she will continue working out, as well working as a nurse caring primarily for cancer patients in their homes.</p>
<p>“I’m a nurse contractor,” she said. “I contract with a company that finds me patients. Cancer patients from Sandia labs and Los Alamos labs. They’re very well educated. It’s very interesting to take care of these patients … . I learn a lot from my patients. It is a hard time because I’m their nurse from the day they take me on to until the day they die. It’s hard, but very rewarding.”</p>
<p />
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<p />
<p>Just in time for Valentine’s Day, the Center for Biological Diversity on Thursday launched a new <a href="http://www.endangeredspeciescondoms.com/" type="external">Endangered Species Condom</a> campaign, to encourage safe sex while raising awareness about overpopulation and the toll humans take on other species. “Extinction is Forever: Wear a Condom,” read the boxes, which contain otherwise unexciting Lifestyles condoms.</p>
<p>I’m not sure if the imminent destruction of a species is what one wants to be thinking of while getting in the mood for love, but hey, they’re educational. In addition to highlighting how funny the term “jimmy hat” is, they also provide a reminder of some oft-overlooked endangered critters, like the snail darter and the coquí guajón rock frog. Some instantly classic slogans:</p>
<p>“Wear a jimmy hat, save the big cat.” “Cover your tweedle, save the burying beetle.” “Wear a condom now, save the spotted owl.” “Hump smarter, save the snail darter.” “Use a stopper, save the hopper.” “Wrap with care, save the polar bear.”</p>
<p>Even with funny slogans, the campaign has a serious goal. CBD explains:</p>
<p>At 6.8 billion people, the human race is not only the most populous large mammal on Earth but the most populous large mammal that has ever existed. Providing for the needs and wants of this many people — especially those in high-consumption, first-world nations — has pushed homo sapiens to absorb 50 percent of the planet’s freshwater and develop 50 percent of its landmass. As a result, other species are running out of places to live.</p>
<p>CBD says they will have 3,000 volunteers handing out 100,000 condoms in all 50 states for the holiday. I hope they send some to Washington, DC, where apparently our snowpacalypse has <a href="http://www.welovedc.com/2010/02/09/condoms-in-short-supply/" type="external">caused a shortage</a>.</p>
<p />
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Hump Smarter: Endangered Species are Watching
| true |
https://motherjones.com/politics/2010/02/hump-smarter-endangered-species-are-watching/
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2010-02-12
| 4left
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Hump Smarter: Endangered Species are Watching
<p />
<p>Just in time for Valentine’s Day, the Center for Biological Diversity on Thursday launched a new <a href="http://www.endangeredspeciescondoms.com/" type="external">Endangered Species Condom</a> campaign, to encourage safe sex while raising awareness about overpopulation and the toll humans take on other species. “Extinction is Forever: Wear a Condom,” read the boxes, which contain otherwise unexciting Lifestyles condoms.</p>
<p>I’m not sure if the imminent destruction of a species is what one wants to be thinking of while getting in the mood for love, but hey, they’re educational. In addition to highlighting how funny the term “jimmy hat” is, they also provide a reminder of some oft-overlooked endangered critters, like the snail darter and the coquí guajón rock frog. Some instantly classic slogans:</p>
<p>“Wear a jimmy hat, save the big cat.” “Cover your tweedle, save the burying beetle.” “Wear a condom now, save the spotted owl.” “Hump smarter, save the snail darter.” “Use a stopper, save the hopper.” “Wrap with care, save the polar bear.”</p>
<p>Even with funny slogans, the campaign has a serious goal. CBD explains:</p>
<p>At 6.8 billion people, the human race is not only the most populous large mammal on Earth but the most populous large mammal that has ever existed. Providing for the needs and wants of this many people — especially those in high-consumption, first-world nations — has pushed homo sapiens to absorb 50 percent of the planet’s freshwater and develop 50 percent of its landmass. As a result, other species are running out of places to live.</p>
<p>CBD says they will have 3,000 volunteers handing out 100,000 condoms in all 50 states for the holiday. I hope they send some to Washington, DC, where apparently our snowpacalypse has <a href="http://www.welovedc.com/2010/02/09/condoms-in-short-supply/" type="external">caused a shortage</a>.</p>
<p />
| 6,283 |
<p><a href="" type="internal">Bryan Fischer</a> in his <a href="" type="internal">Values Voters Summit</a> address on Saturday said that gays are a threat to America’s national security, are a public health threat, and that traditional marriage is necessary for the survival of the country. Fischer, the public face of the SPLC-certified anti-gay hate group, <a href="" type="internal">American Family Association</a>, claimed America needs a president to support a federal ban on same-sex marriage, and saying it was not inconsistent with a states’ rights perspective as 38 states would have to approve it. (There are 50 states in the U.S., apparently 76% is good enough to achieve a “states’ rights” advocate’s seal of approval?)</p>
<p>Fischer, whose daily American Family Radio show is heard in millions of homes through its network of 180 stations across 40 states, also said “I believe we need a president who on his first day in office as Commander in Chief will revoke permission for military chaplains to perform same-sex marriages on military installations.” Evidently, religious freedom is a one-way street, as there are denominations that support the right of clergy to perform same-sex marriages.</p>
<p>Fischer also said Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell should return. As it stands now, any president could implement it, as the repeal did not create a law that demanded gay, lesbian, and bisexual service members be allowed to serve; it merely repealed the current ban. Fischer claimed that national security is dependent upon a ban on open service, ignoring the fact that currently there are an estimated 66,000 LGBT service members in the U.S armed forces on active duty all around the world, presumably, and ironically, protecting his way of life.</p>
<p>“We need a president who will treat homosexual behavior not as a political cause but as a threat to public health,” said Fischer. Citing the FDA ban on blood donation, Fischer added, “Homosexual behavior represents the same threat to human health that injection drug use does.&#160;I believe we need a president who understands that neither homosexual behavior nor injection drug use represent lifestyles that any responsible government ought to normalize, legitimize, legalize, protect, sanction, or subsidize.”</p>
<p>Tagged as: <a href="" type="internal">bryan fischer</a>, <a href="" type="internal">Don't Ask</a>, <a href="" type="internal">Don't Tell</a>, <a href="" type="internal">fischer</a>, <a href="" type="internal">Gay</a>, <a href="" type="internal">gays</a>, <a href="" type="internal">gays hate</a>, <a href="" type="internal">homophobia</a>, <a href="" type="internal">lgbt rights</a>, <a href="" type="internal">national security</a>, <a href="" type="internal">Politics</a>, <a href="" type="internal">public health</a>, <a href="" type="internal">publics</a>, <a href="" type="internal">Same-Sex Marriage</a>, <a href="" type="internal">social issues</a>, <a href="" type="internal">threat</a>, <a href="" type="internal">traditional marriage</a>, <a href="" type="internal">united states</a>, <a href="" type="internal">voter</a></p>
<p>Friends:</p>
<p>We invite you to <a href="http://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/manage/optin?v=001whLQo73KzGhEjdskYG07rHNy_XoDDkSBBO4INZHx6oD9kfp2yeeQAJeMQUu9oTviZa0VEl5k0rNiLifxlZsOFScMz8rVGmIaN-FFOO3GTKc%3D" type="external">sign up for our new mailing list</a>, and&#160; <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=TheNewCivilRightsMovement&amp;amp;loc=en_US" type="external">subscribe to The New Civil Rights Movement via email</a> or <a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/thenewcivilrightsmovement" type="external">RSS</a>.</p>
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Fischer: Gays Are Threat To National Security And Public Health
| true |
http://thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/fischer-gays-are-threat-to-national-security-and-public-health/politics/2011/10/09/28220
|
2011-10-09
| 4left
|
Fischer: Gays Are Threat To National Security And Public Health
<p><a href="" type="internal">Bryan Fischer</a> in his <a href="" type="internal">Values Voters Summit</a> address on Saturday said that gays are a threat to America’s national security, are a public health threat, and that traditional marriage is necessary for the survival of the country. Fischer, the public face of the SPLC-certified anti-gay hate group, <a href="" type="internal">American Family Association</a>, claimed America needs a president to support a federal ban on same-sex marriage, and saying it was not inconsistent with a states’ rights perspective as 38 states would have to approve it. (There are 50 states in the U.S., apparently 76% is good enough to achieve a “states’ rights” advocate’s seal of approval?)</p>
<p>Fischer, whose daily American Family Radio show is heard in millions of homes through its network of 180 stations across 40 states, also said “I believe we need a president who on his first day in office as Commander in Chief will revoke permission for military chaplains to perform same-sex marriages on military installations.” Evidently, religious freedom is a one-way street, as there are denominations that support the right of clergy to perform same-sex marriages.</p>
<p>Fischer also said Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell should return. As it stands now, any president could implement it, as the repeal did not create a law that demanded gay, lesbian, and bisexual service members be allowed to serve; it merely repealed the current ban. Fischer claimed that national security is dependent upon a ban on open service, ignoring the fact that currently there are an estimated 66,000 LGBT service members in the U.S armed forces on active duty all around the world, presumably, and ironically, protecting his way of life.</p>
<p>“We need a president who will treat homosexual behavior not as a political cause but as a threat to public health,” said Fischer. Citing the FDA ban on blood donation, Fischer added, “Homosexual behavior represents the same threat to human health that injection drug use does.&#160;I believe we need a president who understands that neither homosexual behavior nor injection drug use represent lifestyles that any responsible government ought to normalize, legitimize, legalize, protect, sanction, or subsidize.”</p>
<p>Tagged as: <a href="" type="internal">bryan fischer</a>, <a href="" type="internal">Don't Ask</a>, <a href="" type="internal">Don't Tell</a>, <a href="" type="internal">fischer</a>, <a href="" type="internal">Gay</a>, <a href="" type="internal">gays</a>, <a href="" type="internal">gays hate</a>, <a href="" type="internal">homophobia</a>, <a href="" type="internal">lgbt rights</a>, <a href="" type="internal">national security</a>, <a href="" type="internal">Politics</a>, <a href="" type="internal">public health</a>, <a href="" type="internal">publics</a>, <a href="" type="internal">Same-Sex Marriage</a>, <a href="" type="internal">social issues</a>, <a href="" type="internal">threat</a>, <a href="" type="internal">traditional marriage</a>, <a href="" type="internal">united states</a>, <a href="" type="internal">voter</a></p>
<p>Friends:</p>
<p>We invite you to <a href="http://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/manage/optin?v=001whLQo73KzGhEjdskYG07rHNy_XoDDkSBBO4INZHx6oD9kfp2yeeQAJeMQUu9oTviZa0VEl5k0rNiLifxlZsOFScMz8rVGmIaN-FFOO3GTKc%3D" type="external">sign up for our new mailing list</a>, and&#160; <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=TheNewCivilRightsMovement&amp;amp;loc=en_US" type="external">subscribe to The New Civil Rights Movement via email</a> or <a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/thenewcivilrightsmovement" type="external">RSS</a>.</p>
<p>Also, please&#160; <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-New-Civil-Rights-Movement/358168880614" type="external">like us on Facebook</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/gaycivilrights" type="external">follow us on Twitter</a>!</p>
| 6,284 |
<p />
<p>If the <a href="" type="internal">Baltimore riots</a> seem like a tired replay of Ferguson, there might be a good reason as to why.</p>
<p>A <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2015/04/28/social-media-analysis-suggests-links-between-baltimore-and-ferguson-violence/" type="external">data mining firm with government ties</a> that tracks social media reported that they uncovered a core group of accounts who appear to have driven much of the buzz and even more of the calls to actions by crowds on the ground.</p>
<p>The online activity of a few dozen of the same individuals were linked and timed with key moments in Baltimore and Ferguson, leading up to the most intense cases of both sustained demonstrations and episodes of violent riots in both of these cities.</p>
<p>An analysis of social media traffic in downtown Baltimore Monday has unearthed striking connections to the protests in Ferguson, Mo. last year, according to a leading data mining firm that shared its findings exclusively with Fox News.</p>
<p>The firm, which asked to remain anonymous because of its government work, found between 20 and 50 social media accounts in Baltimore that were also tied to the peak period of violence in Ferguson. While further analysis is being conducted on the data, it suggests the presence of “professional protesters” or anarchists taking advantage of Freddie Gray’s death to incite more violence.</p>
<p>[…]</p>
<p>One account, which also tracked the recent union protests in New York City as well as other disturbances, tweeted photos of Gray’s funeral and used language that seemed to anticipate violence in Baltimore.</p>
<p>So the spread of violence has been linked to a few paid <a href="" type="internal">provocateurs</a> and organized by a small handful of “professional protesters.” Now it is confirmed.</p>
<p>Despite the distance between demonstration locations in Maryland and Missouri, the data mining study identified a core node of perhaps 20-50 social media accounts involved in stirring mass reaction, with shocking examples of cries for violence and destruction not just from the voice of people like Michael Brown’s step father ( <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/25/us/michael-brown-stepfather-video/" type="external">who shouted ‘Burn this b*tch down’</a> after the Ferguson grand jury decision) or from random, anonymous riots, but from the accounts of some dedicated organizers on places like Twitter:</p>
<p>The discovery that some social media accounts were tied to cities 825 miles apart was described to Fox News as “surprising.” While it is possible to spoof accounts and make it appear as if someone is in one location when they are really in another, the data mining firm told Fox News that it can’t fully explain the numbers.</p>
<p>The implications adds weight to those who have been arguing that the events – though triggered by controversial and arguably shameful events – appear highly scripted and tightly coordinated… with the integrity of news coverage and the <a href="http://stateofthenation2012.com/" type="external">role of provocateurs</a>, “professional protesters” and funding from agenda-driven figures like George Soros ( <a href="http://www.thedailysheeple.com/called-it-billionaire-george-soros-funded-the-highly-organized-ferguson-protests-to-the-tune-of-33-million_012015" type="external">who spent some $33 million funding protest groups</a>) coming into question as they paint a larger picture.</p>
<p>In each case of outrage, mourning, peaceful demonstration, spill overs into violence and riots, martial law and crowd control push back or of false indignation by self-gratifying media figures, the tension between inner-city minorities and police, with examples of each overreaching, is striking and central to the debate.</p>
<p>The use of social media to fuel violence in Baltimore has already been highlighted by law enforcement. On Monday, police said an online call was issued for a “purge” at 3 p.m. ET, starting at Mondawmin Mall and ending in the downtown area. That type of threat is based on a movie called “The Purge,” the plot of which involves rampant lawlessness.</p>
<p>The Washington Times also reported Monday that law enforcement intelligence officials issued a warning after someone sent a text urging people to “kill all white police officers” in reaction to Gray’s death. The text has fueled fears that the violence in Baltimore could spread nationally, according to safety memos obtained by The Washington Times.</p>
<p>There is little doubt that a media campaign has been coordinated to use the civil unrest to attract viewership with a spectacle, while the political establishment has latched onto the events to advance an agenda. The extent to which the whole affair was planned remains unclear, but these social media findings point to a clear team of players central to it all.</p>
<p />
<p>While questions mount concerning <a href="" type="internal">who is steering the protests</a> and deliberately giving stage to riots and violence, <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/baltimore-unrest/mayor-stephanie-rawlings-blake-under-fire-giving-space-destroy-baltimore-n349656" type="external">Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has come under</a>fire for what seemed a Freudian slip in calling for police to give ‘space’ to ‘those who wished to destroy.’ Though she has claimed she was taken out of context, she was <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/baltimore-unrest/mayor-stephanie-rawlings-blake-under-fire-giving-space-destroy-baltimore-n349656" type="external">caught on camera stating</a>:</p>
<p>“It’s a very delicate balancing act because while we try to make sure that they were protected from the cars and the other things that were going on, we also gave those who wished to destroy space to do that as well, and we work very hard to keep that balance and to put ourselves in the best position to de-escalate.”</p>
<p>President Obama has condemned the violence and demanded police officers involved in abuse be held accountable; <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/28/politics/al-sharpton-baltimore-march-freddie-gray/" type="external">Rev. Al Sharpton has planned a march from Baltimore to Washington, D.C.</a>; meanwhile newly-sworn in Loretta Lynch, Eric Holder’s replacement as Attorney General, is just in time to carry the issue further with civil rights litigation.</p>
<p>Sharpton, a civil rights activist who sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004, hopes to organize a two-day march from Baltimore to Washington in May.</p>
<p>“The march will bring the case of Freddie Gray, Eric Garner, Walter Scott, Eric Harris to the new Attorney General, Loretta Lynch. Ms. Lynch, in her new role that we all supported, must look and intervene in these cases,” Sharpton said in a press release. “Justice delayed is justice denied.” ( <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/28/politics/al-sharpton-baltimore-march-freddie-gray/" type="external">source</a>)</p>
<p>Martial law has been <a href="http://www.globalresearch.ca/war-martial-law-and-the-economic-crisis/23354" type="external">prescribed as a remedy to civil unrest and riots</a>, along with other scenarios including economic collapse and pandemic, and gives the system more power while exacerbating cries over the examples of abuse by the system, putting further pressure on society’s fragile order.</p>
<p>At this time, the National Guard has been deployed to Baltimore, but authorities insist that ‘martial law has not been declared,’ though one could be forgiven holding a different interpretation.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, with precedents established in emergency training drills, the events in Ferguson and the stunning reaches of both riots and martial law in dozens of cities back in the 1960s, escalation can only be expected, if not in Baltimore, then in the next city that is sure to follow.</p>
<p>Take a look at the destruction, mayhem and authoritarian control that took place during the massive riots during the 1960s… things could get pretty nasty:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.shtfplan.com/emergency-preparedness/these-historic-videos-show-what-ferguson-could-look-like-during-martial-law-and-unrest_11202014" type="external">THESE HISTORIC VIDEOS Show What Things Could Look Like During Martial Law and Unrest</a></p>
<p>Courtesy of <a href="http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/study-finds-presence-of-professional-protesters-to-incite-more-violence-in-baltimore-and-ferguson-riots_04292015" type="external">SHTFplan.com</a></p>
<p />
<p />
|
Study Finds “Presence of Professional Protesters to Incite More Violence” in Baltimore and Ferguson
| true |
http://dcclothesline.com/2015/04/30/study-finds-presence-of-professional-protesters-to-incite-more-violence-in-baltimore-and-ferguson-2/
|
2015-04-30
| 0right
|
Study Finds “Presence of Professional Protesters to Incite More Violence” in Baltimore and Ferguson
<p />
<p>If the <a href="" type="internal">Baltimore riots</a> seem like a tired replay of Ferguson, there might be a good reason as to why.</p>
<p>A <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2015/04/28/social-media-analysis-suggests-links-between-baltimore-and-ferguson-violence/" type="external">data mining firm with government ties</a> that tracks social media reported that they uncovered a core group of accounts who appear to have driven much of the buzz and even more of the calls to actions by crowds on the ground.</p>
<p>The online activity of a few dozen of the same individuals were linked and timed with key moments in Baltimore and Ferguson, leading up to the most intense cases of both sustained demonstrations and episodes of violent riots in both of these cities.</p>
<p>An analysis of social media traffic in downtown Baltimore Monday has unearthed striking connections to the protests in Ferguson, Mo. last year, according to a leading data mining firm that shared its findings exclusively with Fox News.</p>
<p>The firm, which asked to remain anonymous because of its government work, found between 20 and 50 social media accounts in Baltimore that were also tied to the peak period of violence in Ferguson. While further analysis is being conducted on the data, it suggests the presence of “professional protesters” or anarchists taking advantage of Freddie Gray’s death to incite more violence.</p>
<p>[…]</p>
<p>One account, which also tracked the recent union protests in New York City as well as other disturbances, tweeted photos of Gray’s funeral and used language that seemed to anticipate violence in Baltimore.</p>
<p>So the spread of violence has been linked to a few paid <a href="" type="internal">provocateurs</a> and organized by a small handful of “professional protesters.” Now it is confirmed.</p>
<p>Despite the distance between demonstration locations in Maryland and Missouri, the data mining study identified a core node of perhaps 20-50 social media accounts involved in stirring mass reaction, with shocking examples of cries for violence and destruction not just from the voice of people like Michael Brown’s step father ( <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/25/us/michael-brown-stepfather-video/" type="external">who shouted ‘Burn this b*tch down’</a> after the Ferguson grand jury decision) or from random, anonymous riots, but from the accounts of some dedicated organizers on places like Twitter:</p>
<p>The discovery that some social media accounts were tied to cities 825 miles apart was described to Fox News as “surprising.” While it is possible to spoof accounts and make it appear as if someone is in one location when they are really in another, the data mining firm told Fox News that it can’t fully explain the numbers.</p>
<p>The implications adds weight to those who have been arguing that the events – though triggered by controversial and arguably shameful events – appear highly scripted and tightly coordinated… with the integrity of news coverage and the <a href="http://stateofthenation2012.com/" type="external">role of provocateurs</a>, “professional protesters” and funding from agenda-driven figures like George Soros ( <a href="http://www.thedailysheeple.com/called-it-billionaire-george-soros-funded-the-highly-organized-ferguson-protests-to-the-tune-of-33-million_012015" type="external">who spent some $33 million funding protest groups</a>) coming into question as they paint a larger picture.</p>
<p>In each case of outrage, mourning, peaceful demonstration, spill overs into violence and riots, martial law and crowd control push back or of false indignation by self-gratifying media figures, the tension between inner-city minorities and police, with examples of each overreaching, is striking and central to the debate.</p>
<p>The use of social media to fuel violence in Baltimore has already been highlighted by law enforcement. On Monday, police said an online call was issued for a “purge” at 3 p.m. ET, starting at Mondawmin Mall and ending in the downtown area. That type of threat is based on a movie called “The Purge,” the plot of which involves rampant lawlessness.</p>
<p>The Washington Times also reported Monday that law enforcement intelligence officials issued a warning after someone sent a text urging people to “kill all white police officers” in reaction to Gray’s death. The text has fueled fears that the violence in Baltimore could spread nationally, according to safety memos obtained by The Washington Times.</p>
<p>There is little doubt that a media campaign has been coordinated to use the civil unrest to attract viewership with a spectacle, while the political establishment has latched onto the events to advance an agenda. The extent to which the whole affair was planned remains unclear, but these social media findings point to a clear team of players central to it all.</p>
<p />
<p>While questions mount concerning <a href="" type="internal">who is steering the protests</a> and deliberately giving stage to riots and violence, <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/baltimore-unrest/mayor-stephanie-rawlings-blake-under-fire-giving-space-destroy-baltimore-n349656" type="external">Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has come under</a>fire for what seemed a Freudian slip in calling for police to give ‘space’ to ‘those who wished to destroy.’ Though she has claimed she was taken out of context, she was <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/baltimore-unrest/mayor-stephanie-rawlings-blake-under-fire-giving-space-destroy-baltimore-n349656" type="external">caught on camera stating</a>:</p>
<p>“It’s a very delicate balancing act because while we try to make sure that they were protected from the cars and the other things that were going on, we also gave those who wished to destroy space to do that as well, and we work very hard to keep that balance and to put ourselves in the best position to de-escalate.”</p>
<p>President Obama has condemned the violence and demanded police officers involved in abuse be held accountable; <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/28/politics/al-sharpton-baltimore-march-freddie-gray/" type="external">Rev. Al Sharpton has planned a march from Baltimore to Washington, D.C.</a>; meanwhile newly-sworn in Loretta Lynch, Eric Holder’s replacement as Attorney General, is just in time to carry the issue further with civil rights litigation.</p>
<p>Sharpton, a civil rights activist who sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004, hopes to organize a two-day march from Baltimore to Washington in May.</p>
<p>“The march will bring the case of Freddie Gray, Eric Garner, Walter Scott, Eric Harris to the new Attorney General, Loretta Lynch. Ms. Lynch, in her new role that we all supported, must look and intervene in these cases,” Sharpton said in a press release. “Justice delayed is justice denied.” ( <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/28/politics/al-sharpton-baltimore-march-freddie-gray/" type="external">source</a>)</p>
<p>Martial law has been <a href="http://www.globalresearch.ca/war-martial-law-and-the-economic-crisis/23354" type="external">prescribed as a remedy to civil unrest and riots</a>, along with other scenarios including economic collapse and pandemic, and gives the system more power while exacerbating cries over the examples of abuse by the system, putting further pressure on society’s fragile order.</p>
<p>At this time, the National Guard has been deployed to Baltimore, but authorities insist that ‘martial law has not been declared,’ though one could be forgiven holding a different interpretation.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, with precedents established in emergency training drills, the events in Ferguson and the stunning reaches of both riots and martial law in dozens of cities back in the 1960s, escalation can only be expected, if not in Baltimore, then in the next city that is sure to follow.</p>
<p>Take a look at the destruction, mayhem and authoritarian control that took place during the massive riots during the 1960s… things could get pretty nasty:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.shtfplan.com/emergency-preparedness/these-historic-videos-show-what-ferguson-could-look-like-during-martial-law-and-unrest_11202014" type="external">THESE HISTORIC VIDEOS Show What Things Could Look Like During Martial Law and Unrest</a></p>
<p>Courtesy of <a href="http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/study-finds-presence-of-professional-protesters-to-incite-more-violence-in-baltimore-and-ferguson-riots_04292015" type="external">SHTFplan.com</a></p>
<p />
<p />
| 6,285 |
<p>Yesterday, the University of California, Los Angeles's student newspaper The Daily Bruin published an anti-Semitic cartoon drawn by Felipe Bris Abejón, a second-year political science student.</p>
<p>The cartoon depicts Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying that he would break the "thou shalt not kill" commandment after "stealing" <a href="" type="internal">supposed Palestinian lands</a>. Ignoring the fact that Abejón <a href="http://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/9881/jewish/Chapter-20.htm" type="external">did not know</a> that "thou shalt not kill" is the Sixth Commandment and "thou shalt not steal" is the Eighth Commandment, his cartoon utilizes blood libel, an old anti-Semitic polemic that claims that Jews kill non-Jewish babies to bake matzoh, as well as using the Jewish faith to slam the Israeli Prime Minister.</p>
<p>This is the cartoon in question.</p>
<p>Hi <a href="https://twitter.com/dailybruin" type="external">@dailybruin</a>, could you take some time to explain this? I'm perplexed by your use of blood libel in a publicly-funded student newspaper. <a href="https://t.co/ApuytgslL4" type="external">pic.twitter.com/ApuytgslL4</a></p>
<p>Following backlash on social media and elsewhere, UCLA's Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter <a href="http://dailybruin.com/2017/02/13/submission-sjp-condemns-db-editorial-cartoon/" type="external">published</a> an article condemning the cartoon. The authors claimed that not only was Abejón not a member of SJP, but also that SJP has never intended to demonize the Jewish community.</p>
<p>Here's an excerpt of what they wrote:</p>
<p>It has come to the attention of Students for Justice in Palestine that the Daily Bruin published a political cartoon that conveyed anti-Semitic tropes in a portrayal of the current Israeli prime minister.</p>
<p>We first and foremost ask the Daily Bruin to clarify that the illustrator of the cartoon has no affiliation with SJP.</p>
<p>Although SJP has repeatedly condemned the policy of the Israeli government with regards to its oppression of Palestinians, it is not and has never been our intention to demonize the Jewish community.</p>
<p>The authors lied on both of those claims. In an article published in The Daily Bruin on November 25, 2015, Abejón <a href="http://dailybruin.com/2015/11/25/submission-offensive-posters-resort-to-fear-mongering-do-not-reflect-sjps-mission/" type="external">responded</a> to a flyer campaign by David Horowitz that <a href="http://www.thecollegefix.com/post/25251/" type="external">connected SJP to radical Islamic terrorism</a>, claiming that the organization "strives to create a conversation around and raise awareness about the occupation of Palestine." The by-line of the article states that Abejón was the chapter's education and resources director.</p>
<p>Furthermore, SJP at UCLA has a long history of anti-Semitic activity on their campus. Nearly two years ago, <a href="https://canarymission.org/individuals/manjot-singh/" type="external">four</a> <a href="https://canarymission.org/individuals/fabienne-roth/" type="external">SJP</a>- <a href="https://canarymission.org/individuals/negeen-sadeghi-movahed/" type="external">affiliated</a> <a href="https://canarymission.org/individuals/sofia-moreno-haq/" type="external">students</a> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/06/us/debate-on-a-jewish-student-at-ucla.html" type="external">questioned</a> a Jewish student's potential to have an "unbiased view" to serve on the undergraduate's judicial board due to her involvement with Hillel and a mostly Jewish sorority. A UCLA law student and the Graduate Student Association president <a href="" type="internal">left the university</a> following months of harassment from anti-Israel activists for choosing to remain neutral on a BDS question.</p>
<p>When UCLA first introduced a BDS resolution three years ago, Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief Ben Shapiro went back to his alma mater to condemn the resolution as a despicable act of Jew-hatred.</p>
<p />
<p>Student for Justice in Palestine's UCLA chapter is not the only one that crosses the line from "anti-Zionism" and acts completely anti-Semitic. As Daniel Mael <a href="http://www.thetower.org/article/on-many-campuses-hate-is-spelled-sjp/" type="external">wrote</a> in The Tower:</p>
<p>Instead of promoting justice, SJP and/or its members spend almost all of their energy demonizing Israel, advocating for its eventual destruction, showing an unfortunate affinity for pro-terrorist figures, bullying and intimidating pro-Israel and Jewish students with vicious and sometimes anti-Semitic rhetoric, and even at times engaging in physical violence. While SJP may pay lip-service to peaceful aims, their rhetoric and actions make it hard to avoid the conclusion that a culture of hatred permeates nearly everything the group does—making the college experience increasingly uncomfortable, at times even dangerous, for Jewish or pro-Israel students. Perhaps equally disturbing is the limited response from university authorities that have an obligation to prevent such attacks and protect Jewish students.</p>
<p>And the risk to Jewish and pro-Israel students appears to be growing. Indeed, unless college administrators take a more active role in preventing it, SJP has a good chance of achieving its goal of turning venomous hatred of Israel and bullying of Jews and non-Jewish supporters—with all the violence and fear that inevitably accompany it—into a legitimate and accepted tactic on North American campuses.</p>
<p>Abejón's cartoon is indicative of SJP's continuous failure to separate the Jewish faith from the State of Israel and Zionism. Even though it tries to use anti-Semitic groups like <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/elliott-hamilton/when-antisemites-use-jews_b_8951792.html" type="external">Jewish Voice for Peace</a> to take Jewish traditions out of Eretz Israel, it always resorts to the lowest forms of bigotry that deliberately attack Jewish students on campus. While these hypocrites claim to care about "safe spaces" and creating more inclusive communities, SJP does not believe that pro-Israel Jewish students or anyone who has the audacity to oppose their apologetics regarding Hamas and other Jew-hating terrorist groups should be incorporated in that vision.</p>
<p>Follow Elliott on <a href="https://twitter.com/ElliottRHams" type="external">Twitter</a>.</p>
|
SJP At UCLA Condemns Anti-Semitic Cartoon Drawn By One Of Their Members
| true |
https://dailywire.com/news/13455/sjp-ucla-condemns-anti-semitic-cartoon-drawn-one-elliott-hamilton
|
2017-02-14
| 0right
|
SJP At UCLA Condemns Anti-Semitic Cartoon Drawn By One Of Their Members
<p>Yesterday, the University of California, Los Angeles's student newspaper The Daily Bruin published an anti-Semitic cartoon drawn by Felipe Bris Abejón, a second-year political science student.</p>
<p>The cartoon depicts Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying that he would break the "thou shalt not kill" commandment after "stealing" <a href="" type="internal">supposed Palestinian lands</a>. Ignoring the fact that Abejón <a href="http://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/9881/jewish/Chapter-20.htm" type="external">did not know</a> that "thou shalt not kill" is the Sixth Commandment and "thou shalt not steal" is the Eighth Commandment, his cartoon utilizes blood libel, an old anti-Semitic polemic that claims that Jews kill non-Jewish babies to bake matzoh, as well as using the Jewish faith to slam the Israeli Prime Minister.</p>
<p>This is the cartoon in question.</p>
<p>Hi <a href="https://twitter.com/dailybruin" type="external">@dailybruin</a>, could you take some time to explain this? I'm perplexed by your use of blood libel in a publicly-funded student newspaper. <a href="https://t.co/ApuytgslL4" type="external">pic.twitter.com/ApuytgslL4</a></p>
<p>Following backlash on social media and elsewhere, UCLA's Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter <a href="http://dailybruin.com/2017/02/13/submission-sjp-condemns-db-editorial-cartoon/" type="external">published</a> an article condemning the cartoon. The authors claimed that not only was Abejón not a member of SJP, but also that SJP has never intended to demonize the Jewish community.</p>
<p>Here's an excerpt of what they wrote:</p>
<p>It has come to the attention of Students for Justice in Palestine that the Daily Bruin published a political cartoon that conveyed anti-Semitic tropes in a portrayal of the current Israeli prime minister.</p>
<p>We first and foremost ask the Daily Bruin to clarify that the illustrator of the cartoon has no affiliation with SJP.</p>
<p>Although SJP has repeatedly condemned the policy of the Israeli government with regards to its oppression of Palestinians, it is not and has never been our intention to demonize the Jewish community.</p>
<p>The authors lied on both of those claims. In an article published in The Daily Bruin on November 25, 2015, Abejón <a href="http://dailybruin.com/2015/11/25/submission-offensive-posters-resort-to-fear-mongering-do-not-reflect-sjps-mission/" type="external">responded</a> to a flyer campaign by David Horowitz that <a href="http://www.thecollegefix.com/post/25251/" type="external">connected SJP to radical Islamic terrorism</a>, claiming that the organization "strives to create a conversation around and raise awareness about the occupation of Palestine." The by-line of the article states that Abejón was the chapter's education and resources director.</p>
<p>Furthermore, SJP at UCLA has a long history of anti-Semitic activity on their campus. Nearly two years ago, <a href="https://canarymission.org/individuals/manjot-singh/" type="external">four</a> <a href="https://canarymission.org/individuals/fabienne-roth/" type="external">SJP</a>- <a href="https://canarymission.org/individuals/negeen-sadeghi-movahed/" type="external">affiliated</a> <a href="https://canarymission.org/individuals/sofia-moreno-haq/" type="external">students</a> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/06/us/debate-on-a-jewish-student-at-ucla.html" type="external">questioned</a> a Jewish student's potential to have an "unbiased view" to serve on the undergraduate's judicial board due to her involvement with Hillel and a mostly Jewish sorority. A UCLA law student and the Graduate Student Association president <a href="" type="internal">left the university</a> following months of harassment from anti-Israel activists for choosing to remain neutral on a BDS question.</p>
<p>When UCLA first introduced a BDS resolution three years ago, Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief Ben Shapiro went back to his alma mater to condemn the resolution as a despicable act of Jew-hatred.</p>
<p />
<p>Student for Justice in Palestine's UCLA chapter is not the only one that crosses the line from "anti-Zionism" and acts completely anti-Semitic. As Daniel Mael <a href="http://www.thetower.org/article/on-many-campuses-hate-is-spelled-sjp/" type="external">wrote</a> in The Tower:</p>
<p>Instead of promoting justice, SJP and/or its members spend almost all of their energy demonizing Israel, advocating for its eventual destruction, showing an unfortunate affinity for pro-terrorist figures, bullying and intimidating pro-Israel and Jewish students with vicious and sometimes anti-Semitic rhetoric, and even at times engaging in physical violence. While SJP may pay lip-service to peaceful aims, their rhetoric and actions make it hard to avoid the conclusion that a culture of hatred permeates nearly everything the group does—making the college experience increasingly uncomfortable, at times even dangerous, for Jewish or pro-Israel students. Perhaps equally disturbing is the limited response from university authorities that have an obligation to prevent such attacks and protect Jewish students.</p>
<p>And the risk to Jewish and pro-Israel students appears to be growing. Indeed, unless college administrators take a more active role in preventing it, SJP has a good chance of achieving its goal of turning venomous hatred of Israel and bullying of Jews and non-Jewish supporters—with all the violence and fear that inevitably accompany it—into a legitimate and accepted tactic on North American campuses.</p>
<p>Abejón's cartoon is indicative of SJP's continuous failure to separate the Jewish faith from the State of Israel and Zionism. Even though it tries to use anti-Semitic groups like <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/elliott-hamilton/when-antisemites-use-jews_b_8951792.html" type="external">Jewish Voice for Peace</a> to take Jewish traditions out of Eretz Israel, it always resorts to the lowest forms of bigotry that deliberately attack Jewish students on campus. While these hypocrites claim to care about "safe spaces" and creating more inclusive communities, SJP does not believe that pro-Israel Jewish students or anyone who has the audacity to oppose their apologetics regarding Hamas and other Jew-hating terrorist groups should be incorporated in that vision.</p>
<p>Follow Elliott on <a href="https://twitter.com/ElliottRHams" type="external">Twitter</a>.</p>
| 6,286 |
<p>Earlier this week I received an urgent call from my young friend, Feras al Bakri (the courageous UPMRC Ambulance Driver)–“An’ne, where are you now? Come on, quickly, quickly to my home! Today I am nearly killed”. A 10-minute sprint through the Old City, flights of stairs taken two at a time, and there he is, pale and exhausted, lying on a sofa in front of a gas heater, wrapped in blankets and quilts, and very, very cold. Stressed and shocked, he wants to tell me of his day (though he interrupts his story frequently with–“really, I don’t want to remember”), skipping briefly over the morning which, anywhere else, would be a story in itself.</p>
<p>The Beit Iba roadblock was ‘closed’ when the Ambulance stopped there with three patients bound for Raffidia Hospital from Sebastiya, a city so ancient that my guide book almost apologises that it ‘did not become an important Administrative Centre until 837 BCE’! “Checkpoint closed while soldiers take rest. Come back in three hours” smirked the fat, red-faced young thug who went away, giggling hysterically, to join his juvenile mates in an appropriate, if demeaning game of ‘donkeys’–leading each other around the checkpoint with the strapping on the helmets acting as halters–whilst they exchanged lewd sexual banter about whores and brothels.</p>
<p>Naturally, Feras could not keep three sick people in that hell-hole for hours, so up the mountain he went, to the Sar’ra T-Junction and over the hilly, but very smooth ‘settler’ roads and down to Huwarra checkpoint to the west of Nablus.</p>
<p>‘Checkpoint?’ It all sounds straightforward. No. These very illegal roadblocks which stretch for miles and destroy hectares of Palestinian farmers’ land with no redress, are not in any sense of the word, checkpoints. These desolate places are for terrorizing, humiliating, inflicting pain by beating or shooting, degradation and death; they have only one purpose–to make any kind of normal life or commerce impossible for the civilian population whose lives the Israelis daily destroy.</p>
<p>The morning’s detour was fraught with danger of sudden death at every turn, for these are not ordinary roads and the people they serve are not ‘settlers’ in any ordinary sense of the word. They are illegal immigrants who have killed and beaten, and stolen the land as they pushed its rightful owners out of their homes. These heavily-armed gunmen and women are served by miles and miles of constructed highway, cosily termed ‘settler roads’. They are the only roads in the world built on someone else’s land for the exclusive use of one religious group–Jews–who are empowered to kill anyone they ‘suspect’ of, well, anything really–since they kill with impunity it isn’t important what they invent. On this occasion the Ambulance and its vulnerable cargo made it to Raffidia Hospital without any bullet holes to add to the many already there.</p>
<p>So much stress and danger would, anywhere else, warrant the afternoon off. Not here. At Raffidia Feras picked up a very precious load: baby, father and Caesarian-section mother, Naseem Ishtey’ya, to be taken home to the village of Salem, some 3 km–normally 10 minutes drive–from Nablus. But Salem is a ‘closed’ village. All villages around Nablus are closed and have been for a year. Indeed Nablus itself, a beautiful, ancient city of 200,000 is more often closed than open these days.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>The process of closure is one that only the Israeli Ministry of Gratuitous Cruelties could have thought up. Bulldozers the size of houses, like the one which crushed Rachel Corrie, are brought from Israel and spend weeks digging huge trenches and building mountains with the displaced earth in concentric circles around the villages (see photograph 1). The sewerage pipes are then fractured and the sewage diverted into the trenches. At this moonscape everything and everyone is prevented from entering or leaving.</p>
<p>Palestinians have lived here for thousands of years, empathetically with the landscape and weather they understand. Any disturbance of the natural drainage which has evolved from pre-history causes storm water to build up into huge and terrifying floods at alarming speed, creating maelstroms of madness and what we call ‘Seas of Insanity’ over all the land as far as the eye can see. The Israelis (or what my 4-year old granddaughter calls, presciently, the Isra-Aliens) have no understanding of, nor empathy with, this ancient landscape, so they demolish, ravage and vandalise the countryside in an orgy of destruction and hatred.</p>
<p>With the natural drainage destroyed, the waters around Salem take the line of least resistance, down the hillside to the village and along the ‘closed’ road, gathering depth and force as it flows (see photograph 2, taken during lesser flooding in February). By the time the Ambulance left Raffidia, the weather, which had been deteriorating all day, had developed into one of the worst storms in living memory. The iciest snow I have ever felt was borne in sheets on a gale-force wind, covering the streets with a thick layer of the most slippery slush, like thick engine oil in viscosity, on which it is virtually impossible to stay upright. This was accompanied by a spectacular ‘son et lumiere’ display which lasted for more than 10 hours, with forked and sheet lightning crackling through the valley, followed by thunder crashing deafeningly; the ice-snow later turning to torrential rain.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Once the Ambulance reached the dreaded Salem checkpoint, Feras stopped because “everything is very, very closed” and no driver can move inside the village. The cut road (shown in photograph 1) is, of course, closed and the only way is on the left of the road–up a raging flash-flood of thick, muddy water. Feras went in up to his knees to see if his patients could reach their homes inside the village: “Very, very difficult, too deep water and very slippery under the feet” he told me, “for my patient from Raffidia, it is not possible with her caesarian-wound, long clothes, the baby and so on”. So he came back to the Ambulance and asked a Red Cross Driver who was watching the incident to call the IOF to see if the road could be opened because they have to carry the woman in a wheelchair. He told her to explain additionally, that “if there is a heart-patient or pregnant woman they will die inside the village. Ask C.O. to open please the street or maybe people die here”. Feras has seen this firsthand: a month ago (at the time the pictures were taken) a pharmacist, of the Alawn family, collapsed and drowned there in the Israeli-made foul sewage pit trying to reach Feras’ Ambulance (see photograph 3). Unbelievably, the Red Cross closed their windows and drove off without doing anything.</p>
<p>With no alternative, Feras took the baby, wrapped up like an Inuit, over an insubstantial make-shift bridge and returned for the mum, but realised that the ‘bridge’ was too small and narrow for the wheelchair. As he looked at the racing, swirling, muddy maelstrom in which trees, metal bars and gates, bushes, rocks and other debris sped by, he was afraid of drowning, but he knew he somehow just had to get this vulnerable new mother to the other side. With Naseem in the wheelchair, a blanket over her face so she could not see the danger, three men carried her through the four-foot deep icy water, Feras guiding from behind. Carefully, with one foot placed gingerly in front of the other they reached the middle of the chest-high rapids, where one of the men slipped into the water, crying “Allah Akbar, I die, I die”. But, caught by Feras he was able to grip a handle on the chair and regain his footing.</p>
<p>All this time the guns of the murderous soldiers were aimed, and ready to shoot them on a whim. Suddenly, Naseem’s husband and two of the other men lost their footing, and for about 3–5 minutes they were floundering in the icy water–the panic was overwhelming. Just as they were being pulled up the bank to what would, anywhere else, be safety, the soldiers chose this terrible time to prepare their machine guns for firing, pulling the bolt back and forth (a horrible sound when you are facing the barrel–I will not forget it easily), poking the half-drowned men with their guns and shouting hysterically “we are going to shoot you dead now”. Feras, still in the water and very cold, shouted as well as he could in the wind to “please be quiet–can you see everyone is in panic here”. Did they think these rescued people could possibly kill them? Feras said, “you want to shoot, but it would be better if you help, not shoot, because maybe the ones still in water will die of cold”. The soldiers laughed and said, as usual “it’s not my problem” and continued to search and threaten the men lying on the bank.</p>
<p>In spite of everything, Naseem, baby and father were safely taken across the raging river, but Feras now had to cross back to the Ambulance with the wheelchair. By this time, the ‘bridge’ had been swept away and it was impossible to speak properly in the wind and rain. Feras asked the soldiers for a piece of rope (which they did have) to tie to the chair to help him back over. “Not my problem”, they retorted. Someone suggested that the only way back across the ever-deepening water was to walk to the nearby Azmout roadblock (where earlier the soldiers had shot a boy and wounded another). Although very short, it was a difficult walk because Feras could barely move for the cold in his bones. At Azmout, the rushing water was no shallower; he slid down the Israeli-made mud-rampart for three meters only to find two more people in the water trying to reach their homes in Salem. A girl was looking down at the flow and crying desperately. She was terrified. Feras told her not to look at the water but to look at the other side as he led them through the chest-high floodwater to safety.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>A desperately-ill man begged Feras to take him to Nablus in the Ambulance, but as they tried to cross the torrent they were knocked over by large debris in the ever faster, ever deeper water. Holding onto each other, hand by hand and foot by foot they reached three large rocks which looked like stepping stones. Struggling against the ferocious current they managed to crawl onto the rock and made their way to the Ambulance. Feras remembers Naseem’s husband waving and shouting his gratitude from the other side. Somehow, despite being in icy water for two hours, Feras drove the Ambulance back to the UPMRC centre, collapsed and was taken home, where it took several hours of intensive heat to bring his temperature up to normal.</p>
<p>He was just doing his humanitarian work, carrying out missions of mercy, in his own city in his own land where his ancestors have lived for millennia. A land occupied by a brutal army which, every day, breaks every applicable International Law and Convention in its attempt to make life so intolerable that the people it has not murdered will flee, leaving the beautiful land of Palestine in their acquisitive, long and grasping fingers.</p>
<p>Later, Feras said to me: “What I learn in my life, after First Aid and to drive Ambulance, I learn very good thinking. Really. It is very important: if I see someone in a dangerous situation like a car accident, a house fire, in the water, a factory accident or shot by tank–I don’t think who they are, I forget if it is Muslim, Christian, Jew, really, because that way is peace”.</p>
<p>This young man, who often comes close to death, demonstrates the difference between the total absence of understanding or humanity of the Israelis and the complete comprehension of the reality of the situation, when he says to me later that evening–“You see, An’ne, at that moment when they refuse to help someone in a dangerous situation they lose all humanity and become less. Really, I am sad for them”. No hatred, no resentment, just understanding. Two peoples a world apart–on the one hand, only the wish to kill and destroy, on the other, only the wish to help and heal. Hatred versus love. Violence versus kindness. Delusion versus comprehension. Ignorance versus knowledge. Self-preservation versus self-sacrifice. I pity Israel.</p>
<p>ANNE GWYNNE is working with the Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees in Nablus. She can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a> Today’s Features</p>
<p>Uri Avnery <a href="" type="internal">A Crooked Mirror: Presstitution and the Theater of Operations</a></p>
<p>David Vest <a href="" type="internal">Can You Hear the Silence?</a></p>
<p>Anthony Gancarski <a href="" type="internal">Colin Powell Telemarketer</a></p>
<p>David Lindorff <a href="" type="internal">Takoma: the Dolphin Who Refused to Fight</a></p>
<p>Michael Roberts <a href="" type="internal">War, Debts and Deficits</a></p>
<p>Ramzy Baroud <a href="" type="internal">Now That Iraqis Are Being Killed Is Israel Any More Secure?</a></p>
<p>Jo Wilding <a href="" type="internal">From Baghdad with Tears</a></p>
<p>Anton Antonowicz <a href="" type="internal">Cluster Bombs on Babylon</a></p>
<p>Alison Weir <a href="" type="internal">Israel, We Won’t Forget Rachel Corrie</a></p>
<p>Bruce Jackson <a href="" type="internal">Hating Wolf Blitzer’s Voice</a></p>
<p>Eliot Katz <a href="" type="internal">War’s First Week</a></p>
<p>Steve Perry <a href="" type="internal">War Web Log 04/03</a></p>
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|
In Order for Life to Continue
| true |
https://counterpunch.org/2003/04/05/in-order-for-life-to-continue/
|
2003-04-05
| 4left
|
In Order for Life to Continue
<p>Earlier this week I received an urgent call from my young friend, Feras al Bakri (the courageous UPMRC Ambulance Driver)–“An’ne, where are you now? Come on, quickly, quickly to my home! Today I am nearly killed”. A 10-minute sprint through the Old City, flights of stairs taken two at a time, and there he is, pale and exhausted, lying on a sofa in front of a gas heater, wrapped in blankets and quilts, and very, very cold. Stressed and shocked, he wants to tell me of his day (though he interrupts his story frequently with–“really, I don’t want to remember”), skipping briefly over the morning which, anywhere else, would be a story in itself.</p>
<p>The Beit Iba roadblock was ‘closed’ when the Ambulance stopped there with three patients bound for Raffidia Hospital from Sebastiya, a city so ancient that my guide book almost apologises that it ‘did not become an important Administrative Centre until 837 BCE’! “Checkpoint closed while soldiers take rest. Come back in three hours” smirked the fat, red-faced young thug who went away, giggling hysterically, to join his juvenile mates in an appropriate, if demeaning game of ‘donkeys’–leading each other around the checkpoint with the strapping on the helmets acting as halters–whilst they exchanged lewd sexual banter about whores and brothels.</p>
<p>Naturally, Feras could not keep three sick people in that hell-hole for hours, so up the mountain he went, to the Sar’ra T-Junction and over the hilly, but very smooth ‘settler’ roads and down to Huwarra checkpoint to the west of Nablus.</p>
<p>‘Checkpoint?’ It all sounds straightforward. No. These very illegal roadblocks which stretch for miles and destroy hectares of Palestinian farmers’ land with no redress, are not in any sense of the word, checkpoints. These desolate places are for terrorizing, humiliating, inflicting pain by beating or shooting, degradation and death; they have only one purpose–to make any kind of normal life or commerce impossible for the civilian population whose lives the Israelis daily destroy.</p>
<p>The morning’s detour was fraught with danger of sudden death at every turn, for these are not ordinary roads and the people they serve are not ‘settlers’ in any ordinary sense of the word. They are illegal immigrants who have killed and beaten, and stolen the land as they pushed its rightful owners out of their homes. These heavily-armed gunmen and women are served by miles and miles of constructed highway, cosily termed ‘settler roads’. They are the only roads in the world built on someone else’s land for the exclusive use of one religious group–Jews–who are empowered to kill anyone they ‘suspect’ of, well, anything really–since they kill with impunity it isn’t important what they invent. On this occasion the Ambulance and its vulnerable cargo made it to Raffidia Hospital without any bullet holes to add to the many already there.</p>
<p>So much stress and danger would, anywhere else, warrant the afternoon off. Not here. At Raffidia Feras picked up a very precious load: baby, father and Caesarian-section mother, Naseem Ishtey’ya, to be taken home to the village of Salem, some 3 km–normally 10 minutes drive–from Nablus. But Salem is a ‘closed’ village. All villages around Nablus are closed and have been for a year. Indeed Nablus itself, a beautiful, ancient city of 200,000 is more often closed than open these days.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>The process of closure is one that only the Israeli Ministry of Gratuitous Cruelties could have thought up. Bulldozers the size of houses, like the one which crushed Rachel Corrie, are brought from Israel and spend weeks digging huge trenches and building mountains with the displaced earth in concentric circles around the villages (see photograph 1). The sewerage pipes are then fractured and the sewage diverted into the trenches. At this moonscape everything and everyone is prevented from entering or leaving.</p>
<p>Palestinians have lived here for thousands of years, empathetically with the landscape and weather they understand. Any disturbance of the natural drainage which has evolved from pre-history causes storm water to build up into huge and terrifying floods at alarming speed, creating maelstroms of madness and what we call ‘Seas of Insanity’ over all the land as far as the eye can see. The Israelis (or what my 4-year old granddaughter calls, presciently, the Isra-Aliens) have no understanding of, nor empathy with, this ancient landscape, so they demolish, ravage and vandalise the countryside in an orgy of destruction and hatred.</p>
<p>With the natural drainage destroyed, the waters around Salem take the line of least resistance, down the hillside to the village and along the ‘closed’ road, gathering depth and force as it flows (see photograph 2, taken during lesser flooding in February). By the time the Ambulance left Raffidia, the weather, which had been deteriorating all day, had developed into one of the worst storms in living memory. The iciest snow I have ever felt was borne in sheets on a gale-force wind, covering the streets with a thick layer of the most slippery slush, like thick engine oil in viscosity, on which it is virtually impossible to stay upright. This was accompanied by a spectacular ‘son et lumiere’ display which lasted for more than 10 hours, with forked and sheet lightning crackling through the valley, followed by thunder crashing deafeningly; the ice-snow later turning to torrential rain.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Once the Ambulance reached the dreaded Salem checkpoint, Feras stopped because “everything is very, very closed” and no driver can move inside the village. The cut road (shown in photograph 1) is, of course, closed and the only way is on the left of the road–up a raging flash-flood of thick, muddy water. Feras went in up to his knees to see if his patients could reach their homes inside the village: “Very, very difficult, too deep water and very slippery under the feet” he told me, “for my patient from Raffidia, it is not possible with her caesarian-wound, long clothes, the baby and so on”. So he came back to the Ambulance and asked a Red Cross Driver who was watching the incident to call the IOF to see if the road could be opened because they have to carry the woman in a wheelchair. He told her to explain additionally, that “if there is a heart-patient or pregnant woman they will die inside the village. Ask C.O. to open please the street or maybe people die here”. Feras has seen this firsthand: a month ago (at the time the pictures were taken) a pharmacist, of the Alawn family, collapsed and drowned there in the Israeli-made foul sewage pit trying to reach Feras’ Ambulance (see photograph 3). Unbelievably, the Red Cross closed their windows and drove off without doing anything.</p>
<p>With no alternative, Feras took the baby, wrapped up like an Inuit, over an insubstantial make-shift bridge and returned for the mum, but realised that the ‘bridge’ was too small and narrow for the wheelchair. As he looked at the racing, swirling, muddy maelstrom in which trees, metal bars and gates, bushes, rocks and other debris sped by, he was afraid of drowning, but he knew he somehow just had to get this vulnerable new mother to the other side. With Naseem in the wheelchair, a blanket over her face so she could not see the danger, three men carried her through the four-foot deep icy water, Feras guiding from behind. Carefully, with one foot placed gingerly in front of the other they reached the middle of the chest-high rapids, where one of the men slipped into the water, crying “Allah Akbar, I die, I die”. But, caught by Feras he was able to grip a handle on the chair and regain his footing.</p>
<p>All this time the guns of the murderous soldiers were aimed, and ready to shoot them on a whim. Suddenly, Naseem’s husband and two of the other men lost their footing, and for about 3–5 minutes they were floundering in the icy water–the panic was overwhelming. Just as they were being pulled up the bank to what would, anywhere else, be safety, the soldiers chose this terrible time to prepare their machine guns for firing, pulling the bolt back and forth (a horrible sound when you are facing the barrel–I will not forget it easily), poking the half-drowned men with their guns and shouting hysterically “we are going to shoot you dead now”. Feras, still in the water and very cold, shouted as well as he could in the wind to “please be quiet–can you see everyone is in panic here”. Did they think these rescued people could possibly kill them? Feras said, “you want to shoot, but it would be better if you help, not shoot, because maybe the ones still in water will die of cold”. The soldiers laughed and said, as usual “it’s not my problem” and continued to search and threaten the men lying on the bank.</p>
<p>In spite of everything, Naseem, baby and father were safely taken across the raging river, but Feras now had to cross back to the Ambulance with the wheelchair. By this time, the ‘bridge’ had been swept away and it was impossible to speak properly in the wind and rain. Feras asked the soldiers for a piece of rope (which they did have) to tie to the chair to help him back over. “Not my problem”, they retorted. Someone suggested that the only way back across the ever-deepening water was to walk to the nearby Azmout roadblock (where earlier the soldiers had shot a boy and wounded another). Although very short, it was a difficult walk because Feras could barely move for the cold in his bones. At Azmout, the rushing water was no shallower; he slid down the Israeli-made mud-rampart for three meters only to find two more people in the water trying to reach their homes in Salem. A girl was looking down at the flow and crying desperately. She was terrified. Feras told her not to look at the water but to look at the other side as he led them through the chest-high floodwater to safety.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>A desperately-ill man begged Feras to take him to Nablus in the Ambulance, but as they tried to cross the torrent they were knocked over by large debris in the ever faster, ever deeper water. Holding onto each other, hand by hand and foot by foot they reached three large rocks which looked like stepping stones. Struggling against the ferocious current they managed to crawl onto the rock and made their way to the Ambulance. Feras remembers Naseem’s husband waving and shouting his gratitude from the other side. Somehow, despite being in icy water for two hours, Feras drove the Ambulance back to the UPMRC centre, collapsed and was taken home, where it took several hours of intensive heat to bring his temperature up to normal.</p>
<p>He was just doing his humanitarian work, carrying out missions of mercy, in his own city in his own land where his ancestors have lived for millennia. A land occupied by a brutal army which, every day, breaks every applicable International Law and Convention in its attempt to make life so intolerable that the people it has not murdered will flee, leaving the beautiful land of Palestine in their acquisitive, long and grasping fingers.</p>
<p>Later, Feras said to me: “What I learn in my life, after First Aid and to drive Ambulance, I learn very good thinking. Really. It is very important: if I see someone in a dangerous situation like a car accident, a house fire, in the water, a factory accident or shot by tank–I don’t think who they are, I forget if it is Muslim, Christian, Jew, really, because that way is peace”.</p>
<p>This young man, who often comes close to death, demonstrates the difference between the total absence of understanding or humanity of the Israelis and the complete comprehension of the reality of the situation, when he says to me later that evening–“You see, An’ne, at that moment when they refuse to help someone in a dangerous situation they lose all humanity and become less. Really, I am sad for them”. No hatred, no resentment, just understanding. Two peoples a world apart–on the one hand, only the wish to kill and destroy, on the other, only the wish to help and heal. Hatred versus love. Violence versus kindness. Delusion versus comprehension. Ignorance versus knowledge. Self-preservation versus self-sacrifice. I pity Israel.</p>
<p>ANNE GWYNNE is working with the Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees in Nablus. She can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a> Today’s Features</p>
<p>Uri Avnery <a href="" type="internal">A Crooked Mirror: Presstitution and the Theater of Operations</a></p>
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<p>Anthony Gancarski <a href="" type="internal">Colin Powell Telemarketer</a></p>
<p>David Lindorff <a href="" type="internal">Takoma: the Dolphin Who Refused to Fight</a></p>
<p>Michael Roberts <a href="" type="internal">War, Debts and Deficits</a></p>
<p>Ramzy Baroud <a href="" type="internal">Now That Iraqis Are Being Killed Is Israel Any More Secure?</a></p>
<p>Jo Wilding <a href="" type="internal">From Baghdad with Tears</a></p>
<p>Anton Antonowicz <a href="" type="internal">Cluster Bombs on Babylon</a></p>
<p>Alison Weir <a href="" type="internal">Israel, We Won’t Forget Rachel Corrie</a></p>
<p>Bruce Jackson <a href="" type="internal">Hating Wolf Blitzer’s Voice</a></p>
<p>Eliot Katz <a href="" type="internal">War’s First Week</a></p>
<p>Steve Perry <a href="" type="internal">War Web Log 04/03</a></p>
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| 6,287 |
<p>Pakistani officials demanded on Saturday that the US vacate an air base suspected of using unmanned droned within 15 days in response to an alleged NATO attack.</p>
<p>Military authorities in <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/news/regions/asia-pacific/pakistan" type="external">Pakistan</a>&#160;accused <a href="http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/index.htm" type="external">NATO</a> helicopters and jet fighters fired on two Pakistani military posts near the border of Afghanistan, killing at least 24 Pakistani soldiers.&#160;Islamabad made the demand in a statementsent to reporters following an emergency defense committee meeting chaired by Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, <a href="http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-11-26-AS-Pakistan/id-8d7cf47b7e3849ff926844de4fcd555e" type="external">the Associated Press reported</a>.</p>
<p>The "unprovoked and indiscriminate" attack has drawn condemnation from Prime Minister <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yousaf_Raza_Gillani" type="external">Yousef Raza Gilani</a>, and prompted Pakistan to close the border crossing for NATO supplies vehicles heading into Afghanistan, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-15901363" type="external">said the BBC</a>.</p>
<p>The alleged attack took place in the early hours of Saturday morning at the north-west Salala checkpoint, 1.5 miles from the Afghan border, <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/26/us-pakistan-nato-idUSTRE7AP03S20111126?feedType=RSS&amp;feedName=topNews&amp;rpc=71" type="external">Reuters reported</a>.</p>
<p>At least 24 soldiers, including two officers, were killed, according to local media reports. Another 14 soldiers were reported wounded. No official casualty count has yet been released.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/opinion/columnists/111123/mystery-surrounds-resignation-pakistans-us-ambassador" type="external">Mystery surrounds resignation of Pakistan's US ambassador</a></p>
<p>Some 40 soldiers were deployed at the checkpoint, which was set up to prevent rebels in Afghanistan crossing the border into Pakistan, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/27/world/asia/pakistan-says-nato-helicopters-kill-dozens-of-soldiers.html?_r=1" type="external">reported the New York Times</a>.</p>
<p>The head of Pakistan's army, General <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashfaq_Parvez_Kayani" type="external">Ashfaq Parvez Kayani</a>, said in a statement that NATO forces had opened fire in an unprovoked act of "aggression" that prompted Pakistani troops to fire in self-defense, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/pakistani-officials-say-alleged-nato-attack-kills-at-least-12/2011/11/26/gIQA2mqtxN_story.html" type="external">said the Washington Post</a>. Pakistan does not allow coalition forces to enter or fire inside its territory without Islamabad's persmission, the Post said.</p>
<p>A NATO spokesperson <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-15904197" type="external">told the BBC</a>it was "highly likely" that coalition forces was responsible for casualties. Afghan and NATO troops were in the area when "a tactical situation developed," Brigadier-General Carsten Jacobsen said, which led to close air support being called in.</p>
<p>The incident underscores the shaky alliance between the US and Pakistan. Islamabad said the attacks were a "grave infringement" on the country's sovereignty and warned might affect future cooperation with Washington.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.mofa.gov.pk/mfa/pages/article.aspx?id=1001&amp;type=1" type="external">Prime Minister Gilani</a> "strongly condemned" the attack, and has ordered the matter to be taken up "in the strongest terms" with NATO and the US, according to a statement from Pakistan's Foreign Ministry. Gilani has called an emergency cabinet meeting for Saturday evening to discuss a possible reponse, Pakistan's <a href="http://www.dawn.com/2011/11/26/pm-cancels-engagements-in-multan-returning-to-islamabad.html" type="external">Dawn newsite said</a>.</p>
<p>Pakistan's acting ambassador to the US, <a href="http://www.embassyofpakistanusa.org/keyofficers.php" type="external">Iffat Gardezi</a>, "woke up the high-ups in Washington administration to convey the protest to the US government," national newspaper <a href="http://nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/Regional/Islamabad/26-Nov-2011/Pakistan-condemns-unprovoked-NATO-attack" type="external">The Nation said</a>.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/pakistan/111122/ap-pakistani-taliban-has-ordered-nationwide-cease" type="external">Pakistani Taliban orders a nationwide ceasefire - report</a></p>
<p>In a statement, the commander of NATO's International Security Assistance Force, <a href="http://www.isaf.nato.int/article/isaf-releases/isaf-investigating-incident-along-afghan-pakistan-border.html" type="external">General John R. Allen</a>, offered his condolences to the families of the soldiers affected and pledged there would be an investigation.</p>
<p>The US ambassador to Pakistan, <a href="http://islamabad.usembassy.gov/ambassador.html" type="external">Cameron Munter</a>, said in a statement that the US would "work closely with Pakistan to investigate this incident."</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gbbkDcc1WgqXp3aC79yvYTbZaCIA?docId=531f6d7566d045379df1037f079964d1" type="external">AP described</a> the incident as a "major blow to already strained relations" between Islamabad and US-led forces:</p>
<p>It will add to perceptions in Pakistan that the American presence in the region is malevolent, and to resentment toward the weak government in Islamabad for its cooperation with Washington.</p>
<p>Local reports said supply vehicles heading for NATO forces in Afghanistan were being stopped at a checkpoint near <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peshawar" type="external">Peshawar</a> on Saturday afternoon, apparently in response to the incident.</p>
<p>Trucks were quickly backed up near the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torkham" type="external">Torkham</a> border crossing, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/pakistani-officials-say-alleged-nato-attack-kills-at-least-12/2011/11/26/gIQA2mqtxN_story.html" type="external">the Washington Post said</a>, with drivers saying they feared attacks by armed rebels.</p>
<p>Pakistan temporarily closed the supply route last year after US helicopters mistakenly killed two Pakistani soldiers near the border.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/pakistan/110520/cia-drone-attacks-pakistan-barack-obama" type="external">Obama's hidden war: Anger over US drone attacks rises in Pakistan</a></p>
|
Pakistan demands US to vacate suspected drone base in response to alleged NATO attack
| false |
https://pri.org/stories/2011-11-26/pakistan-demands-us-vacate-suspected-drone-base-response-alleged-nato-attack
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2011-11-26
| 3left-center
|
Pakistan demands US to vacate suspected drone base in response to alleged NATO attack
<p>Pakistani officials demanded on Saturday that the US vacate an air base suspected of using unmanned droned within 15 days in response to an alleged NATO attack.</p>
<p>Military authorities in <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/news/regions/asia-pacific/pakistan" type="external">Pakistan</a>&#160;accused <a href="http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/index.htm" type="external">NATO</a> helicopters and jet fighters fired on two Pakistani military posts near the border of Afghanistan, killing at least 24 Pakistani soldiers.&#160;Islamabad made the demand in a statementsent to reporters following an emergency defense committee meeting chaired by Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, <a href="http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-11-26-AS-Pakistan/id-8d7cf47b7e3849ff926844de4fcd555e" type="external">the Associated Press reported</a>.</p>
<p>The "unprovoked and indiscriminate" attack has drawn condemnation from Prime Minister <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yousaf_Raza_Gillani" type="external">Yousef Raza Gilani</a>, and prompted Pakistan to close the border crossing for NATO supplies vehicles heading into Afghanistan, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-15901363" type="external">said the BBC</a>.</p>
<p>The alleged attack took place in the early hours of Saturday morning at the north-west Salala checkpoint, 1.5 miles from the Afghan border, <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/26/us-pakistan-nato-idUSTRE7AP03S20111126?feedType=RSS&amp;feedName=topNews&amp;rpc=71" type="external">Reuters reported</a>.</p>
<p>At least 24 soldiers, including two officers, were killed, according to local media reports. Another 14 soldiers were reported wounded. No official casualty count has yet been released.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/opinion/columnists/111123/mystery-surrounds-resignation-pakistans-us-ambassador" type="external">Mystery surrounds resignation of Pakistan's US ambassador</a></p>
<p>Some 40 soldiers were deployed at the checkpoint, which was set up to prevent rebels in Afghanistan crossing the border into Pakistan, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/27/world/asia/pakistan-says-nato-helicopters-kill-dozens-of-soldiers.html?_r=1" type="external">reported the New York Times</a>.</p>
<p>The head of Pakistan's army, General <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashfaq_Parvez_Kayani" type="external">Ashfaq Parvez Kayani</a>, said in a statement that NATO forces had opened fire in an unprovoked act of "aggression" that prompted Pakistani troops to fire in self-defense, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/pakistani-officials-say-alleged-nato-attack-kills-at-least-12/2011/11/26/gIQA2mqtxN_story.html" type="external">said the Washington Post</a>. Pakistan does not allow coalition forces to enter or fire inside its territory without Islamabad's persmission, the Post said.</p>
<p>A NATO spokesperson <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-15904197" type="external">told the BBC</a>it was "highly likely" that coalition forces was responsible for casualties. Afghan and NATO troops were in the area when "a tactical situation developed," Brigadier-General Carsten Jacobsen said, which led to close air support being called in.</p>
<p>The incident underscores the shaky alliance between the US and Pakistan. Islamabad said the attacks were a "grave infringement" on the country's sovereignty and warned might affect future cooperation with Washington.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.mofa.gov.pk/mfa/pages/article.aspx?id=1001&amp;type=1" type="external">Prime Minister Gilani</a> "strongly condemned" the attack, and has ordered the matter to be taken up "in the strongest terms" with NATO and the US, according to a statement from Pakistan's Foreign Ministry. Gilani has called an emergency cabinet meeting for Saturday evening to discuss a possible reponse, Pakistan's <a href="http://www.dawn.com/2011/11/26/pm-cancels-engagements-in-multan-returning-to-islamabad.html" type="external">Dawn newsite said</a>.</p>
<p>Pakistan's acting ambassador to the US, <a href="http://www.embassyofpakistanusa.org/keyofficers.php" type="external">Iffat Gardezi</a>, "woke up the high-ups in Washington administration to convey the protest to the US government," national newspaper <a href="http://nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/Regional/Islamabad/26-Nov-2011/Pakistan-condemns-unprovoked-NATO-attack" type="external">The Nation said</a>.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/pakistan/111122/ap-pakistani-taliban-has-ordered-nationwide-cease" type="external">Pakistani Taliban orders a nationwide ceasefire - report</a></p>
<p>In a statement, the commander of NATO's International Security Assistance Force, <a href="http://www.isaf.nato.int/article/isaf-releases/isaf-investigating-incident-along-afghan-pakistan-border.html" type="external">General John R. Allen</a>, offered his condolences to the families of the soldiers affected and pledged there would be an investigation.</p>
<p>The US ambassador to Pakistan, <a href="http://islamabad.usembassy.gov/ambassador.html" type="external">Cameron Munter</a>, said in a statement that the US would "work closely with Pakistan to investigate this incident."</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gbbkDcc1WgqXp3aC79yvYTbZaCIA?docId=531f6d7566d045379df1037f079964d1" type="external">AP described</a> the incident as a "major blow to already strained relations" between Islamabad and US-led forces:</p>
<p>It will add to perceptions in Pakistan that the American presence in the region is malevolent, and to resentment toward the weak government in Islamabad for its cooperation with Washington.</p>
<p>Local reports said supply vehicles heading for NATO forces in Afghanistan were being stopped at a checkpoint near <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peshawar" type="external">Peshawar</a> on Saturday afternoon, apparently in response to the incident.</p>
<p>Trucks were quickly backed up near the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torkham" type="external">Torkham</a> border crossing, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/pakistani-officials-say-alleged-nato-attack-kills-at-least-12/2011/11/26/gIQA2mqtxN_story.html" type="external">the Washington Post said</a>, with drivers saying they feared attacks by armed rebels.</p>
<p>Pakistan temporarily closed the supply route last year after US helicopters mistakenly killed two Pakistani soldiers near the border.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/pakistan/110520/cia-drone-attacks-pakistan-barack-obama" type="external">Obama's hidden war: Anger over US drone attacks rises in Pakistan</a></p>
| 6,288 |
<p>Minnesota House candidate Jim Graves (D)Glen Stubbe/Minneapolis Star Tribune/ZumaPress.com</p>
<p />
<p>Rep. Michele Bachmann’s bid to return to Congress again next January seemed to be going along just fine. She has been blessed with the state’s most conservative congressional district (even redder than usual after recent redistricting) and the ability to raise huge sums of money from her national network of devotees. And the former GOP presidential candidate’s first two Democratic challengers were earnest but unintimidating—Anne Nolan, an unsuccessful candidate for state representative who cites the Occupy movement as an inspiration, and Brian McGoldrick, a local <a href="http://www.admiralds.com/photos.php" type="external">restaurant</a> owner with no political history.</p>
<p>But the latest entry into the race for the Democratic nomination could shake things up. On Tuesday, Jim&#160;Graves, a Minneapolis hotel magnate,&#160; announced his intent to take on the tea party ringleader this fall, and he’s planning on using his own considerable wealth to become the Democratic nominee and then, if he wins that contest, to pursue Bachmann. And he believes his business experience makes him the Democrats’ best shot. But when it comes to policy matters, this political novice is a bit fuzzy.</p>
<p>Bachmann, running for her fourth term, has faced serious challengers in each of her three races in the Republican-leaning sixth district. Her closest brush with defeat came in 2008—due in part to her accusation that House Democrats were anti-American and ought to be investigated. Still, she won that contest by 3 percent with help from a third-party challenger. Graves, though, doesn’t think Democrats’ past failures have any bearing on his own odds. “We’re just, quite frankly, we’re not those people.” He continued in the royal we: “We’re Jim Graves and we’re a businessman and we’re tenacious and we’re tough and ready to go toe to toe, face to face with Michele Bachmann and we’ll see how that plays out.”</p>
<p>Graves, who Twin&#160;Cities&#160;Business Magazine <a href="http://www.tcbmag.com/print.aspx?print_page=%2Fpeoplecompanies%2Fcompanies%2F112991printp1.aspx&amp;string_referer=/peoplecompanies/companies/112991p1.aspx" type="external">noted</a> bears “a small resemblance to the actor <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Gallagher" type="external">Peter Gallagher</a>,” now resides in&#160;Minneapolis but grew up in&#160;St.&#160;Cloud, a Mississippi River city and the district’s largest population center, where Democrats will have to do very well to have any chance of knocking off Bachmann. He stayed in town for college at St. Cloud State and made his first fortune in hospitality, founding, in the 1970s, the motel chain AmericInn, which boasts locations throughout the upper Midwest. In 1993 he cashed out for seven figures and changed course with his eponymous company, Graves Hospitality, dedicated to building and maintaining luxury hotels.&#160;His piece de resistance was the <a href="http://www.graves601hotel.com/" type="external">Graves 601 Hotel</a> in&#160;Minneapolis, ranked as one of Travel + Leisure magazine’s 500 best hotels in the world. Or as one Yelp commenter <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/graves-601-hotel-minneapolis#hrid:AK9bv9NdjIfyTHo5r8PV_w" type="external">puts it</a>, “24 floors of WOW!!!”&#160;</p>
<p>It has a pillow menu.</p>
<p>“There’s a lot of parallels and a lot of crossover,” he says of his new gig as a candidate. “It feels similar: You’re trying to sell a product—the product in this case happens to be a candidate against Michele Bachmann.”</p>
<p>“I’m kind of a hybrid,” he says, when asked what kind of politics he’s selling. “I’m a very free-market kind of guy. I’m a business guy. I think the markets make better decisions than the politicians in the marketplace. But we need a level playing field and I believe very strongly, I mean really strongly, that the middle class, and affordable health care, and livable wages, and good education, that is the core ingredient to the future of this country. So that’s another thing, that’s probably the fundamental thing I really believe in. You need people to have dignity, you need people to have cash flow and their families, to be able to be part of the society and contribute.”</p>
<p>Although nominally the same sixth district she’s represented since 2007 (it wraps around the Twin Cities like a yoke before branching out along the Mississippi River to the northwest), there were a few alterations during the redistricting process that made the district—which gave 55 percent of the vote to&#160;John McCain—slightly more red. The most notable change was the excision of Bachmann’s hometown of Stillwater, making their potential matchup the odd instance in which both candidates would actually reside outside the district.</p>
<p>Bachmann, despite her (occasionally embarrassing) failure as a presidential wannabe, remains a formidable candidate, for her rhetorical bomb-throwing has won her a national audience. (“I think she should fact-check some of the things she says before she says them,” Graves offers.) Her high-profile and far-to-the-right attacks on Obamacare (and other Obama-related assaults) allow her to raise huge piles of money, despite the fact she is a back-bencher with a light legislative footprint. Yet David Nir, Daily Kos‘ election guru, has touted Graves as “a good fit for this district.” Graves’ capacity to self-finance what would be an expensive challenge doesn’t hurt. “We’re gonna seed the campaign as needed,” Graves says, though promising to solicit funds the old-fashioned way first.</p>
<p>Bachmann wasted no time attempting to cash in Graves’ entry into the race. On&#160;Wednesday, she blasted out an email to her supporters warning that lefty groups were coalescing around him: “My opponent already has the support and endorsements of labor unions such as UNITE HERE, and will not only continue to receive union endorsements but also be a recipient of their funds.”</p>
<p>The switch from the private sector to the rigors of politics has forced Graves to make some adjustments. “I do mumble a little bit,” he concedes. But on the policy front he’s playing it safe for the time being. Regarding the Affordable Care Act, Bachmann’s signature concern—she’s warned that the president will soon become a “health care dictator” and that the government will deprive conservative critics of medical services—Graves is defensive. “I like preexisting conditions being able to be covered,” he says. “I like the idea of college-aged students and students and kids that are up in age being able to stay on their family’s program. I’d like to see us try to bend the cost-curve and make health care more affordable for everyone, and accessible to everyone.”</p>
<p>But he hasn’t made up his mind on the individual mandate, the glue that holds large parts of the bill together and the reason why its fate will be determined by the Supreme Court. “Let’s see what the courts say in June on that one,” he said. “I want to see what the courts have to say about it and then I’ll comment on that.”</p>
<p>Unlike Anne Nolan, one of the two other Democratic aspirants in the race, Grave is not sold on the Occupy Wall Street movement—perhaps a smart move, given his district’s demographic makeup. “Occupy Wall Street, I really don’t know what they stand for to tell you the truth, and I’m being very candid about that,” he says. “I think everybody has a right to assemble under the law, and that’s fine.” He adds:&#160;“I’ve been following [the Occupy movement], I’ve been there. I’ve been in Philadelphia. I’ve been in New York. I’ve been in Washington. I’ve been following it, I just don’t know what they stand for.”</p>
<p>He says he supports gay marriage and abortion rights, and he thinks it was a mistake to repeal the Glass-Steagall Act that separated investment banking from retail banking. But on the subject of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law, he demurs:&#160;“I’d rather not get into that,” he says. There are no issues listed on his campaign’s threadbare website, and none will be appearing until after the party’s district nominating convention on&#160;Saturday.</p>
<p>“It’s coming,” says&#160;Donald McFarland, a former Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor party spokesman who’s serving as Graves’ campaign manager. “All that’s coming. We’re really focused on the convention and talking with delegates right now; once that’s finished then we’ll be moving forward with a whole lot more.”</p>
<p />
|
Meet Jim Graves, Michele Bachmann’s Latest Would-Be Challenger
| true |
https://motherjones.com/politics/2012/04/meet-jim-graves-michele-bachmanns-newest-challenger-2/
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2012-04-12
| 4left
|
Meet Jim Graves, Michele Bachmann’s Latest Would-Be Challenger
<p>Minnesota House candidate Jim Graves (D)Glen Stubbe/Minneapolis Star Tribune/ZumaPress.com</p>
<p />
<p>Rep. Michele Bachmann’s bid to return to Congress again next January seemed to be going along just fine. She has been blessed with the state’s most conservative congressional district (even redder than usual after recent redistricting) and the ability to raise huge sums of money from her national network of devotees. And the former GOP presidential candidate’s first two Democratic challengers were earnest but unintimidating—Anne Nolan, an unsuccessful candidate for state representative who cites the Occupy movement as an inspiration, and Brian McGoldrick, a local <a href="http://www.admiralds.com/photos.php" type="external">restaurant</a> owner with no political history.</p>
<p>But the latest entry into the race for the Democratic nomination could shake things up. On Tuesday, Jim&#160;Graves, a Minneapolis hotel magnate,&#160; announced his intent to take on the tea party ringleader this fall, and he’s planning on using his own considerable wealth to become the Democratic nominee and then, if he wins that contest, to pursue Bachmann. And he believes his business experience makes him the Democrats’ best shot. But when it comes to policy matters, this political novice is a bit fuzzy.</p>
<p>Bachmann, running for her fourth term, has faced serious challengers in each of her three races in the Republican-leaning sixth district. Her closest brush with defeat came in 2008—due in part to her accusation that House Democrats were anti-American and ought to be investigated. Still, she won that contest by 3 percent with help from a third-party challenger. Graves, though, doesn’t think Democrats’ past failures have any bearing on his own odds. “We’re just, quite frankly, we’re not those people.” He continued in the royal we: “We’re Jim Graves and we’re a businessman and we’re tenacious and we’re tough and ready to go toe to toe, face to face with Michele Bachmann and we’ll see how that plays out.”</p>
<p>Graves, who Twin&#160;Cities&#160;Business Magazine <a href="http://www.tcbmag.com/print.aspx?print_page=%2Fpeoplecompanies%2Fcompanies%2F112991printp1.aspx&amp;string_referer=/peoplecompanies/companies/112991p1.aspx" type="external">noted</a> bears “a small resemblance to the actor <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Gallagher" type="external">Peter Gallagher</a>,” now resides in&#160;Minneapolis but grew up in&#160;St.&#160;Cloud, a Mississippi River city and the district’s largest population center, where Democrats will have to do very well to have any chance of knocking off Bachmann. He stayed in town for college at St. Cloud State and made his first fortune in hospitality, founding, in the 1970s, the motel chain AmericInn, which boasts locations throughout the upper Midwest. In 1993 he cashed out for seven figures and changed course with his eponymous company, Graves Hospitality, dedicated to building and maintaining luxury hotels.&#160;His piece de resistance was the <a href="http://www.graves601hotel.com/" type="external">Graves 601 Hotel</a> in&#160;Minneapolis, ranked as one of Travel + Leisure magazine’s 500 best hotels in the world. Or as one Yelp commenter <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/graves-601-hotel-minneapolis#hrid:AK9bv9NdjIfyTHo5r8PV_w" type="external">puts it</a>, “24 floors of WOW!!!”&#160;</p>
<p>It has a pillow menu.</p>
<p>“There’s a lot of parallels and a lot of crossover,” he says of his new gig as a candidate. “It feels similar: You’re trying to sell a product—the product in this case happens to be a candidate against Michele Bachmann.”</p>
<p>“I’m kind of a hybrid,” he says, when asked what kind of politics he’s selling. “I’m a very free-market kind of guy. I’m a business guy. I think the markets make better decisions than the politicians in the marketplace. But we need a level playing field and I believe very strongly, I mean really strongly, that the middle class, and affordable health care, and livable wages, and good education, that is the core ingredient to the future of this country. So that’s another thing, that’s probably the fundamental thing I really believe in. You need people to have dignity, you need people to have cash flow and their families, to be able to be part of the society and contribute.”</p>
<p>Although nominally the same sixth district she’s represented since 2007 (it wraps around the Twin Cities like a yoke before branching out along the Mississippi River to the northwest), there were a few alterations during the redistricting process that made the district—which gave 55 percent of the vote to&#160;John McCain—slightly more red. The most notable change was the excision of Bachmann’s hometown of Stillwater, making their potential matchup the odd instance in which both candidates would actually reside outside the district.</p>
<p>Bachmann, despite her (occasionally embarrassing) failure as a presidential wannabe, remains a formidable candidate, for her rhetorical bomb-throwing has won her a national audience. (“I think she should fact-check some of the things she says before she says them,” Graves offers.) Her high-profile and far-to-the-right attacks on Obamacare (and other Obama-related assaults) allow her to raise huge piles of money, despite the fact she is a back-bencher with a light legislative footprint. Yet David Nir, Daily Kos‘ election guru, has touted Graves as “a good fit for this district.” Graves’ capacity to self-finance what would be an expensive challenge doesn’t hurt. “We’re gonna seed the campaign as needed,” Graves says, though promising to solicit funds the old-fashioned way first.</p>
<p>Bachmann wasted no time attempting to cash in Graves’ entry into the race. On&#160;Wednesday, she blasted out an email to her supporters warning that lefty groups were coalescing around him: “My opponent already has the support and endorsements of labor unions such as UNITE HERE, and will not only continue to receive union endorsements but also be a recipient of their funds.”</p>
<p>The switch from the private sector to the rigors of politics has forced Graves to make some adjustments. “I do mumble a little bit,” he concedes. But on the policy front he’s playing it safe for the time being. Regarding the Affordable Care Act, Bachmann’s signature concern—she’s warned that the president will soon become a “health care dictator” and that the government will deprive conservative critics of medical services—Graves is defensive. “I like preexisting conditions being able to be covered,” he says. “I like the idea of college-aged students and students and kids that are up in age being able to stay on their family’s program. I’d like to see us try to bend the cost-curve and make health care more affordable for everyone, and accessible to everyone.”</p>
<p>But he hasn’t made up his mind on the individual mandate, the glue that holds large parts of the bill together and the reason why its fate will be determined by the Supreme Court. “Let’s see what the courts say in June on that one,” he said. “I want to see what the courts have to say about it and then I’ll comment on that.”</p>
<p>Unlike Anne Nolan, one of the two other Democratic aspirants in the race, Grave is not sold on the Occupy Wall Street movement—perhaps a smart move, given his district’s demographic makeup. “Occupy Wall Street, I really don’t know what they stand for to tell you the truth, and I’m being very candid about that,” he says. “I think everybody has a right to assemble under the law, and that’s fine.” He adds:&#160;“I’ve been following [the Occupy movement], I’ve been there. I’ve been in Philadelphia. I’ve been in New York. I’ve been in Washington. I’ve been following it, I just don’t know what they stand for.”</p>
<p>He says he supports gay marriage and abortion rights, and he thinks it was a mistake to repeal the Glass-Steagall Act that separated investment banking from retail banking. But on the subject of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law, he demurs:&#160;“I’d rather not get into that,” he says. There are no issues listed on his campaign’s threadbare website, and none will be appearing until after the party’s district nominating convention on&#160;Saturday.</p>
<p>“It’s coming,” says&#160;Donald McFarland, a former Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor party spokesman who’s serving as Graves’ campaign manager. “All that’s coming. We’re really focused on the convention and talking with delegates right now; once that’s finished then we’ll be moving forward with a whole lot more.”</p>
<p />
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<p>MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama lawmakers on Tuesday began the 2018 legislative session. Here are some highlights of opening day and the issues before lawmakers this year:</p>
<p>PAY RAISES</p>
<p>Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey is proposing pay raises for both teachers and state employees. While Ivey did not give a number in her State of the State speech, the numbers in a budget presentation to lawmakers indicates she is seeking a 2.5 percent raise for teachers and 3 percent for state employees who have gone years without a raise because of the traditional low growth in the state General Fund.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>PRISON SPENDING</p>
<p>Alabama lawmakers must begin grappling with the price tag of complying with a federal judge’s order to overhaul mental health care in state prisons. U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson last year ruled the state’s care was “horrendously inadequate.” The prison system is seeking an additional $80 million over the next two years to increase the number of corrections officers and pay for an expanded health care contract. Corrections Commissioner Jeff Dunn said the system may need to add as many as 1,000 corrections officers.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>GOOD BUDGET NEWS</p>
<p>While past sessions have seen lawmakers grappling with where to make budget cuts, rosier budget projections given Tuesday will likely allow them to dole out some additional dollars this year. Finance Director Clinton Carter said the state’s two budgets have rebounded and surpassed pre-recession levels. The state general fund, which pays for prisons, Medicaid and other non-education government spending, will also begin the budget process with a boost since lawmakers purposely decided last year to leave $93 million in reserve.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>CHIP UNCERTAINTY</p>
<p>However, one major budgetary question mark for lawmakers — and one with ramifications for tens of thousands of Alabama children — is the Children’s Health Insurance Program, which provides subsidized health insurance for children in lower-income working families. Congress so far has only funded the program through March. House Ways and Means Chairman Steve Clouse, R-Ozark, called it the “big unknown” for the session. If the state has to pick up even part of the cost of program, Clouse said that will cast a “shadow” over the entire budget and impact spending in other areas.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>EYE ON ELECTIONS</p>
<p>Gov. Ivey in her first State of the State speech said “wounds have started healing” after a cloud of scandal enveloped the state. Ivey catapulted to the governor’s office last year by the sudden resignation of then-Gov. Robert Bentley during an impeachment push. Senate President Pro Tempore Del Marsh said lawmakers are looking forward to a session in which they can focus on issues and not controversies. Ivey and lawmakers are up for election in 2018.</p>
<p>MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama lawmakers on Tuesday began the 2018 legislative session. Here are some highlights of opening day and the issues before lawmakers this year:</p>
<p>PAY RAISES</p>
<p>Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey is proposing pay raises for both teachers and state employees. While Ivey did not give a number in her State of the State speech, the numbers in a budget presentation to lawmakers indicates she is seeking a 2.5 percent raise for teachers and 3 percent for state employees who have gone years without a raise because of the traditional low growth in the state General Fund.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>PRISON SPENDING</p>
<p>Alabama lawmakers must begin grappling with the price tag of complying with a federal judge’s order to overhaul mental health care in state prisons. U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson last year ruled the state’s care was “horrendously inadequate.” The prison system is seeking an additional $80 million over the next two years to increase the number of corrections officers and pay for an expanded health care contract. Corrections Commissioner Jeff Dunn said the system may need to add as many as 1,000 corrections officers.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>GOOD BUDGET NEWS</p>
<p>While past sessions have seen lawmakers grappling with where to make budget cuts, rosier budget projections given Tuesday will likely allow them to dole out some additional dollars this year. Finance Director Clinton Carter said the state’s two budgets have rebounded and surpassed pre-recession levels. The state general fund, which pays for prisons, Medicaid and other non-education government spending, will also begin the budget process with a boost since lawmakers purposely decided last year to leave $93 million in reserve.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>CHIP UNCERTAINTY</p>
<p>However, one major budgetary question mark for lawmakers — and one with ramifications for tens of thousands of Alabama children — is the Children’s Health Insurance Program, which provides subsidized health insurance for children in lower-income working families. Congress so far has only funded the program through March. House Ways and Means Chairman Steve Clouse, R-Ozark, called it the “big unknown” for the session. If the state has to pick up even part of the cost of program, Clouse said that will cast a “shadow” over the entire budget and impact spending in other areas.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>EYE ON ELECTIONS</p>
<p>Gov. Ivey in her first State of the State speech said “wounds have started healing” after a cloud of scandal enveloped the state. Ivey catapulted to the governor’s office last year by the sudden resignation of then-Gov. Robert Bentley during an impeachment push. Senate President Pro Tempore Del Marsh said lawmakers are looking forward to a session in which they can focus on issues and not controversies. Ivey and lawmakers are up for election in 2018.</p>
|
A look at the issues before lawmakers in 2018
| false |
https://apnews.com/9b8b4b83b888452994c525a41376c5dd
|
2018-01-10
| 2least
|
A look at the issues before lawmakers in 2018
<p>MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama lawmakers on Tuesday began the 2018 legislative session. Here are some highlights of opening day and the issues before lawmakers this year:</p>
<p>PAY RAISES</p>
<p>Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey is proposing pay raises for both teachers and state employees. While Ivey did not give a number in her State of the State speech, the numbers in a budget presentation to lawmakers indicates she is seeking a 2.5 percent raise for teachers and 3 percent for state employees who have gone years without a raise because of the traditional low growth in the state General Fund.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>PRISON SPENDING</p>
<p>Alabama lawmakers must begin grappling with the price tag of complying with a federal judge’s order to overhaul mental health care in state prisons. U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson last year ruled the state’s care was “horrendously inadequate.” The prison system is seeking an additional $80 million over the next two years to increase the number of corrections officers and pay for an expanded health care contract. Corrections Commissioner Jeff Dunn said the system may need to add as many as 1,000 corrections officers.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>GOOD BUDGET NEWS</p>
<p>While past sessions have seen lawmakers grappling with where to make budget cuts, rosier budget projections given Tuesday will likely allow them to dole out some additional dollars this year. Finance Director Clinton Carter said the state’s two budgets have rebounded and surpassed pre-recession levels. The state general fund, which pays for prisons, Medicaid and other non-education government spending, will also begin the budget process with a boost since lawmakers purposely decided last year to leave $93 million in reserve.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>CHIP UNCERTAINTY</p>
<p>However, one major budgetary question mark for lawmakers — and one with ramifications for tens of thousands of Alabama children — is the Children’s Health Insurance Program, which provides subsidized health insurance for children in lower-income working families. Congress so far has only funded the program through March. House Ways and Means Chairman Steve Clouse, R-Ozark, called it the “big unknown” for the session. If the state has to pick up even part of the cost of program, Clouse said that will cast a “shadow” over the entire budget and impact spending in other areas.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>EYE ON ELECTIONS</p>
<p>Gov. Ivey in her first State of the State speech said “wounds have started healing” after a cloud of scandal enveloped the state. Ivey catapulted to the governor’s office last year by the sudden resignation of then-Gov. Robert Bentley during an impeachment push. Senate President Pro Tempore Del Marsh said lawmakers are looking forward to a session in which they can focus on issues and not controversies. Ivey and lawmakers are up for election in 2018.</p>
<p>MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama lawmakers on Tuesday began the 2018 legislative session. Here are some highlights of opening day and the issues before lawmakers this year:</p>
<p>PAY RAISES</p>
<p>Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey is proposing pay raises for both teachers and state employees. While Ivey did not give a number in her State of the State speech, the numbers in a budget presentation to lawmakers indicates she is seeking a 2.5 percent raise for teachers and 3 percent for state employees who have gone years without a raise because of the traditional low growth in the state General Fund.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>PRISON SPENDING</p>
<p>Alabama lawmakers must begin grappling with the price tag of complying with a federal judge’s order to overhaul mental health care in state prisons. U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson last year ruled the state’s care was “horrendously inadequate.” The prison system is seeking an additional $80 million over the next two years to increase the number of corrections officers and pay for an expanded health care contract. Corrections Commissioner Jeff Dunn said the system may need to add as many as 1,000 corrections officers.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>GOOD BUDGET NEWS</p>
<p>While past sessions have seen lawmakers grappling with where to make budget cuts, rosier budget projections given Tuesday will likely allow them to dole out some additional dollars this year. Finance Director Clinton Carter said the state’s two budgets have rebounded and surpassed pre-recession levels. The state general fund, which pays for prisons, Medicaid and other non-education government spending, will also begin the budget process with a boost since lawmakers purposely decided last year to leave $93 million in reserve.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>CHIP UNCERTAINTY</p>
<p>However, one major budgetary question mark for lawmakers — and one with ramifications for tens of thousands of Alabama children — is the Children’s Health Insurance Program, which provides subsidized health insurance for children in lower-income working families. Congress so far has only funded the program through March. House Ways and Means Chairman Steve Clouse, R-Ozark, called it the “big unknown” for the session. If the state has to pick up even part of the cost of program, Clouse said that will cast a “shadow” over the entire budget and impact spending in other areas.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>EYE ON ELECTIONS</p>
<p>Gov. Ivey in her first State of the State speech said “wounds have started healing” after a cloud of scandal enveloped the state. Ivey catapulted to the governor’s office last year by the sudden resignation of then-Gov. Robert Bentley during an impeachment push. Senate President Pro Tempore Del Marsh said lawmakers are looking forward to a session in which they can focus on issues and not controversies. Ivey and lawmakers are up for election in 2018.</p>
| 6,290 |
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<p>Albuquerque-based guitarist Ryan McGarvey will head into the studio in January to record his next album.</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — New Year’s Eve shows have become a tradition for guitarist Ryan McGarvey.</p>
<p>For the past couple years, he has performed shows on that night – and this year is no different.</p>
<p>“It’ll be nice to get back to performing in town,” he says. “I don’t think I’ve played in Albuquerque since the beginning of August.”</p>
<p>McGarvey has spent the majority of the year touring overseas. In fact, of his 128 official shows in 2013, 87 of them were in Europe.</p>
<p>“Every time we go back, it seems to get bigger,” he says. “We’ve been there five times and it’s really amazing to see the growth of (my) popularity.”</p>
<p>Getting back a few weeks ago, McGarvey says he’s been resting up for his final show of the year. He’s also gearing up to get started on recording a new CD in January.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“We’re going to do 10 songs for the album,” he says. “We’ve already been testing out eight of those songs in some form while on tour. It’s been cool because the fans who have repeatedly seen the show overseas have started to request the songs. The process has been our own version of live market research.”</p>
<p>McGarvey says one of the songs that is being requested at shows is called “Memphis.” It was written while McGarvey and crew were performing in Memphis, Tenn.</p>
<p>“We didn’t have the best time and wanted to get out of town as soon as the show was over,” he says. “The song reflects how we were feeling. I usually provide a warning before we perform the song because it was just one bad situation. I like the town.”</p>
<p>McGarvey also is coming off a year with a high accolades. In 2013, he was named as “best new talent” by Guitar Player magazine.</p>
<p>“It’s pretty amazing,” he says of the honor. “I have received that issue every single year since I was about 8 years old. This time, my name and picture was mentioned with some of my heroes. It’s special.”</p>
<p />
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Back for New Year’s: Local guitarist stops in his hometown
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https://abqjournal.com/326699/albuquerque-guitarist-3.html
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Back for New Year’s: Local guitarist stops in his hometown
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>Albuquerque-based guitarist Ryan McGarvey will head into the studio in January to record his next album.</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — New Year’s Eve shows have become a tradition for guitarist Ryan McGarvey.</p>
<p>For the past couple years, he has performed shows on that night – and this year is no different.</p>
<p>“It’ll be nice to get back to performing in town,” he says. “I don’t think I’ve played in Albuquerque since the beginning of August.”</p>
<p>McGarvey has spent the majority of the year touring overseas. In fact, of his 128 official shows in 2013, 87 of them were in Europe.</p>
<p>“Every time we go back, it seems to get bigger,” he says. “We’ve been there five times and it’s really amazing to see the growth of (my) popularity.”</p>
<p>Getting back a few weeks ago, McGarvey says he’s been resting up for his final show of the year. He’s also gearing up to get started on recording a new CD in January.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“We’re going to do 10 songs for the album,” he says. “We’ve already been testing out eight of those songs in some form while on tour. It’s been cool because the fans who have repeatedly seen the show overseas have started to request the songs. The process has been our own version of live market research.”</p>
<p>McGarvey says one of the songs that is being requested at shows is called “Memphis.” It was written while McGarvey and crew were performing in Memphis, Tenn.</p>
<p>“We didn’t have the best time and wanted to get out of town as soon as the show was over,” he says. “The song reflects how we were feeling. I usually provide a warning before we perform the song because it was just one bad situation. I like the town.”</p>
<p>McGarvey also is coming off a year with a high accolades. In 2013, he was named as “best new talent” by Guitar Player magazine.</p>
<p>“It’s pretty amazing,” he says of the honor. “I have received that issue every single year since I was about 8 years old. This time, my name and picture was mentioned with some of my heroes. It’s special.”</p>
<p />
| 6,291 |
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<p>The U.S. border is actually 400 miles away from this Mexican town. As the sun sets, Mexicans and tourists run and hide along this 6 mile stretch. They're guided by villagers playing the role of smugglers. This smuggler tells a group of 18 to get down to avoid other locals playing the border agents. The participants play $25 dollars to get a grueling experience which provides some insight into what it's like to cross the border. Another guide says we're doing this to encourage you to go but only to understand that this is happening. As the ersatz agents close in, the participants reflect on what they're feeling and doing. This woman is a dual citizen who spends a lot of time in the U.S. He says this kind of exercise makes the impact of the statistics be felt. This university student says the experience has made her frustrated with her government. Just as the group is about to cross a river, a symbolic Rio Grande, a man posing as a border agent finds them and arrests them. The group is taken away for questioning. Mexican media reports have criticized the business, calling it a practice which makes money off an illegal act. Villagers point out that one night here can give a taste of what can be a week long act of trying to illegally cross the border. They also say they want their government to stay true to their pledge of being committed to helping Mexicans find jobs and stay in Mexico.</p>
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Tourists experience illegal crossing
| false |
https://pri.org/stories/2008-11-18/tourists-experience-illegal-crossing
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2008-11-18
| 3left-center
|
Tourists experience illegal crossing
<p>The U.S. border is actually 400 miles away from this Mexican town. As the sun sets, Mexicans and tourists run and hide along this 6 mile stretch. They're guided by villagers playing the role of smugglers. This smuggler tells a group of 18 to get down to avoid other locals playing the border agents. The participants play $25 dollars to get a grueling experience which provides some insight into what it's like to cross the border. Another guide says we're doing this to encourage you to go but only to understand that this is happening. As the ersatz agents close in, the participants reflect on what they're feeling and doing. This woman is a dual citizen who spends a lot of time in the U.S. He says this kind of exercise makes the impact of the statistics be felt. This university student says the experience has made her frustrated with her government. Just as the group is about to cross a river, a symbolic Rio Grande, a man posing as a border agent finds them and arrests them. The group is taken away for questioning. Mexican media reports have criticized the business, calling it a practice which makes money off an illegal act. Villagers point out that one night here can give a taste of what can be a week long act of trying to illegally cross the border. They also say they want their government to stay true to their pledge of being committed to helping Mexicans find jobs and stay in Mexico.</p>
| 6,292 |
<p>Now here’s one way to win elections: Government officials in Mexico City are offering free medication to hombres of a certain age who suffer from erectile dysfunction.</p>
<p>CNN:</p>
<p>“Everyone has the right to be happy,” said Marcelo Ebrard Casaubon, governor of the federal district that encompasses the Mexican capital.</p>
<p>“We have to protect people — senior citizens above all,” he said in a statement Thursday. “Many of them are abandoned and lack money. They don’t have medical services, and a society that doesn’t care for its senior citizens has no dignity.”</p>
<p />
<p><a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/11/14/mexico.city.viagra/" type="external">Read more</a></p>
|
Mexico City Unveils Bold 'Free Viagra for Seniors' Plan
| true |
https://truthdig.com/articles/mexico-city-unveils-bold-free-viagra-for-seniors-plan/
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2008-11-15
| 4left
|
Mexico City Unveils Bold 'Free Viagra for Seniors' Plan
<p>Now here’s one way to win elections: Government officials in Mexico City are offering free medication to hombres of a certain age who suffer from erectile dysfunction.</p>
<p>CNN:</p>
<p>“Everyone has the right to be happy,” said Marcelo Ebrard Casaubon, governor of the federal district that encompasses the Mexican capital.</p>
<p>“We have to protect people — senior citizens above all,” he said in a statement Thursday. “Many of them are abandoned and lack money. They don’t have medical services, and a society that doesn’t care for its senior citizens has no dignity.”</p>
<p />
<p><a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/11/14/mexico.city.viagra/" type="external">Read more</a></p>
| 6,293 |
<p />
<p>CONVENTIONS OVER: Party rhetoric has been rampant at the conventions over the past couple weeks. Now the time has come for serious candidates to start talking solutions. One key question going into this election season is are candidates willing to reach across the aisle to solve problems: <a href="" type="internal">Editorial for the Los Angeles Times: What the conventions told us</a></p>
<p>CAMPAIGN MESSAGES: There are four different possible kinds of messaging during election season: positive messaging about each candidate or negative messaging about each candidate. See how each presidential campaign is messaging inside each quadrant: <a href="" type="internal">Drew Westen for The New York Times: The candidates' message: I might be so-so, but the other guy is terrible</a></p>
<p>THE DAILY BREAK: The NFL is back. <a href="" type="internal">Click here to see the top 10 trends heading into the football season.</a></p>
<p>FROM THE FIELD: Student leaders at American University and George Washington University are teaming up this semester to warn D.C. students about the effects of gridlock on their generation.&#160; Want to spread the No Labels message on your campus? Email <a href="" type="internal">[email protected]</a> to get started.</p>
<p>ACTION OF THE DAY: <a href="" type="internal">Click here to sign up to be a No Labels digital leader and receive weekly action alerts to promote problem-solving.</a></p>
<p>STAT OF THE DAY: On September 30, the current farm bill expires, and without a replacement, our agricultural policy is about to go through a time warp – to the year 1949. That was the last time a farm bill was passed without an expiration date, and without a current farm bill, our agricultural policy will default back to the standards set 63 years ago… just a few years after World War II. <a href="" type="internal">Eric Schuck for The Oregonian: Congress needs to pass a farm bill — or learn to farm like it's 1949</a></p>
<p />
<p>Tips, questions or ideas? Email the Problem-Solver's Daily team at <a href="" type="internal">[email protected]</a> or tweet at us ( <a href="" type="internal">@nolabelsorg</a>).</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Subscribe to Problem-Solver's Daily now</a></p>
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Solving problems one at a time
| false |
https://nolabels.org/blog/solving-problems-one-at-a-time/
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2012-09-09
| 2least
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Solving problems one at a time
<p />
<p>CONVENTIONS OVER: Party rhetoric has been rampant at the conventions over the past couple weeks. Now the time has come for serious candidates to start talking solutions. One key question going into this election season is are candidates willing to reach across the aisle to solve problems: <a href="" type="internal">Editorial for the Los Angeles Times: What the conventions told us</a></p>
<p>CAMPAIGN MESSAGES: There are four different possible kinds of messaging during election season: positive messaging about each candidate or negative messaging about each candidate. See how each presidential campaign is messaging inside each quadrant: <a href="" type="internal">Drew Westen for The New York Times: The candidates' message: I might be so-so, but the other guy is terrible</a></p>
<p>THE DAILY BREAK: The NFL is back. <a href="" type="internal">Click here to see the top 10 trends heading into the football season.</a></p>
<p>FROM THE FIELD: Student leaders at American University and George Washington University are teaming up this semester to warn D.C. students about the effects of gridlock on their generation.&#160; Want to spread the No Labels message on your campus? Email <a href="" type="internal">[email protected]</a> to get started.</p>
<p>ACTION OF THE DAY: <a href="" type="internal">Click here to sign up to be a No Labels digital leader and receive weekly action alerts to promote problem-solving.</a></p>
<p>STAT OF THE DAY: On September 30, the current farm bill expires, and without a replacement, our agricultural policy is about to go through a time warp – to the year 1949. That was the last time a farm bill was passed without an expiration date, and without a current farm bill, our agricultural policy will default back to the standards set 63 years ago… just a few years after World War II. <a href="" type="internal">Eric Schuck for The Oregonian: Congress needs to pass a farm bill — or learn to farm like it's 1949</a></p>
<p />
<p>Tips, questions or ideas? Email the Problem-Solver's Daily team at <a href="" type="internal">[email protected]</a> or tweet at us ( <a href="" type="internal">@nolabelsorg</a>).</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Subscribe to Problem-Solver's Daily now</a></p>
| 6,294 |
<p>CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Police have shot and injured a fugitive during a traffic stop in North Carolina.</p>
<p>Charlotte-Mecklenburg police tell local media they found an out-of-state stolen vehicle near Interstate 77 at around 10:15 p.m. Wednesday.</p>
<p>After figuring out the driver had warrants for drug and probation violation crimes, police say they followed the vehicle and tried to arrest the driver. But officers say the man rammed the car into several police cars.</p>
<p>Perceiving an "imminent deadly threat," police say an officer fired his gun, shooting the man in the hand. The driver was taken to a hospital for minor injuries.</p>
<p>No officers were hurt, and those involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative leave, as is standard practice. The investigation is ongoing.</p>
<p>CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Police have shot and injured a fugitive during a traffic stop in North Carolina.</p>
<p>Charlotte-Mecklenburg police tell local media they found an out-of-state stolen vehicle near Interstate 77 at around 10:15 p.m. Wednesday.</p>
<p>After figuring out the driver had warrants for drug and probation violation crimes, police say they followed the vehicle and tried to arrest the driver. But officers say the man rammed the car into several police cars.</p>
<p>Perceiving an "imminent deadly threat," police say an officer fired his gun, shooting the man in the hand. The driver was taken to a hospital for minor injuries.</p>
<p>No officers were hurt, and those involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative leave, as is standard practice. The investigation is ongoing.</p>
|
Police shoot, injure fugitive in North Carolina traffic stop
| false |
https://apnews.com/amp/4b7760c8d1314010aaaa8e4be9bd74b0
|
2017-12-28
| 2least
|
Police shoot, injure fugitive in North Carolina traffic stop
<p>CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Police have shot and injured a fugitive during a traffic stop in North Carolina.</p>
<p>Charlotte-Mecklenburg police tell local media they found an out-of-state stolen vehicle near Interstate 77 at around 10:15 p.m. Wednesday.</p>
<p>After figuring out the driver had warrants for drug and probation violation crimes, police say they followed the vehicle and tried to arrest the driver. But officers say the man rammed the car into several police cars.</p>
<p>Perceiving an "imminent deadly threat," police say an officer fired his gun, shooting the man in the hand. The driver was taken to a hospital for minor injuries.</p>
<p>No officers were hurt, and those involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative leave, as is standard practice. The investigation is ongoing.</p>
<p>CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Police have shot and injured a fugitive during a traffic stop in North Carolina.</p>
<p>Charlotte-Mecklenburg police tell local media they found an out-of-state stolen vehicle near Interstate 77 at around 10:15 p.m. Wednesday.</p>
<p>After figuring out the driver had warrants for drug and probation violation crimes, police say they followed the vehicle and tried to arrest the driver. But officers say the man rammed the car into several police cars.</p>
<p>Perceiving an "imminent deadly threat," police say an officer fired his gun, shooting the man in the hand. The driver was taken to a hospital for minor injuries.</p>
<p>No officers were hurt, and those involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative leave, as is standard practice. The investigation is ongoing.</p>
| 6,295 |
<p>LITTLE CANADA, N.C. (AP) — The chill made it harder for William Broom to get around his yard, but he stood outside anyway, hoping a Christmas tree buyer might drive up.</p>
<p>Some years, Broom makes $400 on the trees to supplement the $1,400 per month he and his wife receive in disability and Social Security. But this season, he didn’t sell many.</p>
<p>Broom and others with limited incomes could face higher bills when counties surrounding two of North Carolina’s wealthiest mountain communities increase property tax rates to offset a sputtering vacation-home market. Modest homes with steady values are more likely to face higher bills after revaluations take effect this year in Macon County and next year in Jackson County, where Broom lives.</p>
<p>“We got enough taxes in my book,” Broom, 80, said. “It’s hard to live on the income I got.”</p>
<p>Before the recession began in 2007, taxes on surging housing values and new vacation homes fed county coffers and kept rates low. But construction slowed, empty lots lost value and some vacation homes entered foreclosure or sold at a loss.</p>
<p>Now, county leaders are factoring in declines that are expected to result in tax rate increases. Increased, flat or slightly lower values will mean higher overall bills for homeowners.</p>
<p>Both counties rank among the state’s wealthiest in property value per capita, but about one in five locals lives in poverty. Poverty rates put both in the state’s worst economic development category.</p>
<p>L.J. McVay, a father of two, said he struggles, earning $7.50 hourly at a pizza chain. After a sewage leak at his last apartment, McVay said charities helped him rent a trailer with government aid.</p>
<p>“We looked everywhere,” McVay said.</p>
<p>Nationwide, many counties adjusted property tax rates after the recession to make up for lost revenue. But while it’s common, it’s a tough call for local leaders. Rate increases in resort areas could discourage second-home buyers, who provide revenue that helps lower the cost of county services for taxpayers, said Erik Johnson, an assistant professor of economics at Quinnipiac University in Connecticut.</p>
<p>Joan Youngman, a senior fellow at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, said state law allowing counties as much as eight years between assessments “can cause sticker shock” for homeowners. In North Carolina, the two counties did their last assessments near the market’s height.</p>
<p>Even a small tax increase could be tough for Loretta Lynn Zachary, who lives with her mother, Bessie, in a Macon County house built by Habitat for Humanity and valued around $100,000. Social Security and disability pay them $1,300 total monthly.</p>
<p>Loretta Zachary, 46, worked in restaurants including one her family owned in the resort town of Highlands until diabetes put her on disability.</p>
<p>Despite family roots in Highlands, about 20 miles south of her home, she said: “If I was to get dressed in my best attire that I would have, and go to Highlands and eat in one of their restaurants, I’d probably be stared down.”</p>
<p>Rick Westerman of Habitat said some vacation-home owners complained a few years ago when he built near them in Macon County.</p>
<p>“They gave us a fit,” he said. “Habitat’s got that stigma: Not in my backyard.”</p>
<p>This month, Macon County will mail homeowners valuations reflecting a nearly 15 percent countywide property value decline, county tax administrator Richard Lightner said. To bring in similar revenue, county commissioners would need to raise taxes from about 28 cents per $100 of property to 33 cents.</p>
<p>Lightner saw the most volatility in homes previously valued between $500,000 and $600,000 — common prices for overextended vacation homeowners.</p>
<p>He said homes in the $100,000 to $200,000 range were more stable. For example, officials cited a home that held its value around $128,000. Under the expected increase, annual county property taxes would rise by $64 to $421.</p>
<p>Jackson County Manager Chuck Wooten said that if his county’s revaluations took effect last year, commissioners would have needed an increase from 28 cents per $100 to between 35 and 37 cents.</p>
<p>Wooten said more taxes could shift to year-round residents in the northern end of the county: “And that’s going to be a real difficult problem to explain and make our people feel good about.”</p>
<p>The state allows tax relief for elderly and disabled homeowners with limited incomes, but their bill would still reflect rate changes.</p>
<p>During a spring meeting with the Cashiers Chamber of Commerce, homeowners in the wealthy community told Wooten they were shouldering Jackson County’s tax burden without enough in return.</p>
<p>“It’s been a point of contention,” said real estate agent Ken Fernandez, a chamber board member.</p>
<p>About 20 miles north lies Little Canada, where Broom grows a couple dozen firs in uneven patches on the acre around his house. He sells mostly to neighbors but thinks the trees have gotten too big for homes near him.</p>
<p>Once a worker on highways and dams, Broom said he lost a hand in a rock loader in 1962, then worked another decade before a heart attack put him on disability.</p>
<p>Despite getting by on limited income, he said: “I’ve survived a pretty good while!”</p>
<p>LITTLE CANADA, N.C. (AP) — The chill made it harder for William Broom to get around his yard, but he stood outside anyway, hoping a Christmas tree buyer might drive up.</p>
<p>Some years, Broom makes $400 on the trees to supplement the $1,400 per month he and his wife receive in disability and Social Security. But this season, he didn’t sell many.</p>
<p>Broom and others with limited incomes could face higher bills when counties surrounding two of North Carolina’s wealthiest mountain communities increase property tax rates to offset a sputtering vacation-home market. Modest homes with steady values are more likely to face higher bills after revaluations take effect this year in Macon County and next year in Jackson County, where Broom lives.</p>
<p>“We got enough taxes in my book,” Broom, 80, said. “It’s hard to live on the income I got.”</p>
<p>Before the recession began in 2007, taxes on surging housing values and new vacation homes fed county coffers and kept rates low. But construction slowed, empty lots lost value and some vacation homes entered foreclosure or sold at a loss.</p>
<p>Now, county leaders are factoring in declines that are expected to result in tax rate increases. Increased, flat or slightly lower values will mean higher overall bills for homeowners.</p>
<p>Both counties rank among the state’s wealthiest in property value per capita, but about one in five locals lives in poverty. Poverty rates put both in the state’s worst economic development category.</p>
<p>L.J. McVay, a father of two, said he struggles, earning $7.50 hourly at a pizza chain. After a sewage leak at his last apartment, McVay said charities helped him rent a trailer with government aid.</p>
<p>“We looked everywhere,” McVay said.</p>
<p>Nationwide, many counties adjusted property tax rates after the recession to make up for lost revenue. But while it’s common, it’s a tough call for local leaders. Rate increases in resort areas could discourage second-home buyers, who provide revenue that helps lower the cost of county services for taxpayers, said Erik Johnson, an assistant professor of economics at Quinnipiac University in Connecticut.</p>
<p>Joan Youngman, a senior fellow at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, said state law allowing counties as much as eight years between assessments “can cause sticker shock” for homeowners. In North Carolina, the two counties did their last assessments near the market’s height.</p>
<p>Even a small tax increase could be tough for Loretta Lynn Zachary, who lives with her mother, Bessie, in a Macon County house built by Habitat for Humanity and valued around $100,000. Social Security and disability pay them $1,300 total monthly.</p>
<p>Loretta Zachary, 46, worked in restaurants including one her family owned in the resort town of Highlands until diabetes put her on disability.</p>
<p>Despite family roots in Highlands, about 20 miles south of her home, she said: “If I was to get dressed in my best attire that I would have, and go to Highlands and eat in one of their restaurants, I’d probably be stared down.”</p>
<p>Rick Westerman of Habitat said some vacation-home owners complained a few years ago when he built near them in Macon County.</p>
<p>“They gave us a fit,” he said. “Habitat’s got that stigma: Not in my backyard.”</p>
<p>This month, Macon County will mail homeowners valuations reflecting a nearly 15 percent countywide property value decline, county tax administrator Richard Lightner said. To bring in similar revenue, county commissioners would need to raise taxes from about 28 cents per $100 of property to 33 cents.</p>
<p>Lightner saw the most volatility in homes previously valued between $500,000 and $600,000 — common prices for overextended vacation homeowners.</p>
<p>He said homes in the $100,000 to $200,000 range were more stable. For example, officials cited a home that held its value around $128,000. Under the expected increase, annual county property taxes would rise by $64 to $421.</p>
<p>Jackson County Manager Chuck Wooten said that if his county’s revaluations took effect last year, commissioners would have needed an increase from 28 cents per $100 to between 35 and 37 cents.</p>
<p>Wooten said more taxes could shift to year-round residents in the northern end of the county: “And that’s going to be a real difficult problem to explain and make our people feel good about.”</p>
<p>The state allows tax relief for elderly and disabled homeowners with limited incomes, but their bill would still reflect rate changes.</p>
<p>During a spring meeting with the Cashiers Chamber of Commerce, homeowners in the wealthy community told Wooten they were shouldering Jackson County’s tax burden without enough in return.</p>
<p>“It’s been a point of contention,” said real estate agent Ken Fernandez, a chamber board member.</p>
<p>About 20 miles north lies Little Canada, where Broom grows a couple dozen firs in uneven patches on the acre around his house. He sells mostly to neighbors but thinks the trees have gotten too big for homes near him.</p>
<p>Once a worker on highways and dams, Broom said he lost a hand in a rock loader in 1962, then worked another decade before a heart attack put him on disability.</p>
<p>Despite getting by on limited income, he said: “I’ve survived a pretty good while!”</p>
|
For poor in wealthy mountain areas, new taxes a likely hit
| false |
https://apnews.com/bb56a88e98844ddfbb2f4e0c97c2d232
|
2015-01-10
| 2least
|
For poor in wealthy mountain areas, new taxes a likely hit
<p>LITTLE CANADA, N.C. (AP) — The chill made it harder for William Broom to get around his yard, but he stood outside anyway, hoping a Christmas tree buyer might drive up.</p>
<p>Some years, Broom makes $400 on the trees to supplement the $1,400 per month he and his wife receive in disability and Social Security. But this season, he didn’t sell many.</p>
<p>Broom and others with limited incomes could face higher bills when counties surrounding two of North Carolina’s wealthiest mountain communities increase property tax rates to offset a sputtering vacation-home market. Modest homes with steady values are more likely to face higher bills after revaluations take effect this year in Macon County and next year in Jackson County, where Broom lives.</p>
<p>“We got enough taxes in my book,” Broom, 80, said. “It’s hard to live on the income I got.”</p>
<p>Before the recession began in 2007, taxes on surging housing values and new vacation homes fed county coffers and kept rates low. But construction slowed, empty lots lost value and some vacation homes entered foreclosure or sold at a loss.</p>
<p>Now, county leaders are factoring in declines that are expected to result in tax rate increases. Increased, flat or slightly lower values will mean higher overall bills for homeowners.</p>
<p>Both counties rank among the state’s wealthiest in property value per capita, but about one in five locals lives in poverty. Poverty rates put both in the state’s worst economic development category.</p>
<p>L.J. McVay, a father of two, said he struggles, earning $7.50 hourly at a pizza chain. After a sewage leak at his last apartment, McVay said charities helped him rent a trailer with government aid.</p>
<p>“We looked everywhere,” McVay said.</p>
<p>Nationwide, many counties adjusted property tax rates after the recession to make up for lost revenue. But while it’s common, it’s a tough call for local leaders. Rate increases in resort areas could discourage second-home buyers, who provide revenue that helps lower the cost of county services for taxpayers, said Erik Johnson, an assistant professor of economics at Quinnipiac University in Connecticut.</p>
<p>Joan Youngman, a senior fellow at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, said state law allowing counties as much as eight years between assessments “can cause sticker shock” for homeowners. In North Carolina, the two counties did their last assessments near the market’s height.</p>
<p>Even a small tax increase could be tough for Loretta Lynn Zachary, who lives with her mother, Bessie, in a Macon County house built by Habitat for Humanity and valued around $100,000. Social Security and disability pay them $1,300 total monthly.</p>
<p>Loretta Zachary, 46, worked in restaurants including one her family owned in the resort town of Highlands until diabetes put her on disability.</p>
<p>Despite family roots in Highlands, about 20 miles south of her home, she said: “If I was to get dressed in my best attire that I would have, and go to Highlands and eat in one of their restaurants, I’d probably be stared down.”</p>
<p>Rick Westerman of Habitat said some vacation-home owners complained a few years ago when he built near them in Macon County.</p>
<p>“They gave us a fit,” he said. “Habitat’s got that stigma: Not in my backyard.”</p>
<p>This month, Macon County will mail homeowners valuations reflecting a nearly 15 percent countywide property value decline, county tax administrator Richard Lightner said. To bring in similar revenue, county commissioners would need to raise taxes from about 28 cents per $100 of property to 33 cents.</p>
<p>Lightner saw the most volatility in homes previously valued between $500,000 and $600,000 — common prices for overextended vacation homeowners.</p>
<p>He said homes in the $100,000 to $200,000 range were more stable. For example, officials cited a home that held its value around $128,000. Under the expected increase, annual county property taxes would rise by $64 to $421.</p>
<p>Jackson County Manager Chuck Wooten said that if his county’s revaluations took effect last year, commissioners would have needed an increase from 28 cents per $100 to between 35 and 37 cents.</p>
<p>Wooten said more taxes could shift to year-round residents in the northern end of the county: “And that’s going to be a real difficult problem to explain and make our people feel good about.”</p>
<p>The state allows tax relief for elderly and disabled homeowners with limited incomes, but their bill would still reflect rate changes.</p>
<p>During a spring meeting with the Cashiers Chamber of Commerce, homeowners in the wealthy community told Wooten they were shouldering Jackson County’s tax burden without enough in return.</p>
<p>“It’s been a point of contention,” said real estate agent Ken Fernandez, a chamber board member.</p>
<p>About 20 miles north lies Little Canada, where Broom grows a couple dozen firs in uneven patches on the acre around his house. He sells mostly to neighbors but thinks the trees have gotten too big for homes near him.</p>
<p>Once a worker on highways and dams, Broom said he lost a hand in a rock loader in 1962, then worked another decade before a heart attack put him on disability.</p>
<p>Despite getting by on limited income, he said: “I’ve survived a pretty good while!”</p>
<p>LITTLE CANADA, N.C. (AP) — The chill made it harder for William Broom to get around his yard, but he stood outside anyway, hoping a Christmas tree buyer might drive up.</p>
<p>Some years, Broom makes $400 on the trees to supplement the $1,400 per month he and his wife receive in disability and Social Security. But this season, he didn’t sell many.</p>
<p>Broom and others with limited incomes could face higher bills when counties surrounding two of North Carolina’s wealthiest mountain communities increase property tax rates to offset a sputtering vacation-home market. Modest homes with steady values are more likely to face higher bills after revaluations take effect this year in Macon County and next year in Jackson County, where Broom lives.</p>
<p>“We got enough taxes in my book,” Broom, 80, said. “It’s hard to live on the income I got.”</p>
<p>Before the recession began in 2007, taxes on surging housing values and new vacation homes fed county coffers and kept rates low. But construction slowed, empty lots lost value and some vacation homes entered foreclosure or sold at a loss.</p>
<p>Now, county leaders are factoring in declines that are expected to result in tax rate increases. Increased, flat or slightly lower values will mean higher overall bills for homeowners.</p>
<p>Both counties rank among the state’s wealthiest in property value per capita, but about one in five locals lives in poverty. Poverty rates put both in the state’s worst economic development category.</p>
<p>L.J. McVay, a father of two, said he struggles, earning $7.50 hourly at a pizza chain. After a sewage leak at his last apartment, McVay said charities helped him rent a trailer with government aid.</p>
<p>“We looked everywhere,” McVay said.</p>
<p>Nationwide, many counties adjusted property tax rates after the recession to make up for lost revenue. But while it’s common, it’s a tough call for local leaders. Rate increases in resort areas could discourage second-home buyers, who provide revenue that helps lower the cost of county services for taxpayers, said Erik Johnson, an assistant professor of economics at Quinnipiac University in Connecticut.</p>
<p>Joan Youngman, a senior fellow at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, said state law allowing counties as much as eight years between assessments “can cause sticker shock” for homeowners. In North Carolina, the two counties did their last assessments near the market’s height.</p>
<p>Even a small tax increase could be tough for Loretta Lynn Zachary, who lives with her mother, Bessie, in a Macon County house built by Habitat for Humanity and valued around $100,000. Social Security and disability pay them $1,300 total monthly.</p>
<p>Loretta Zachary, 46, worked in restaurants including one her family owned in the resort town of Highlands until diabetes put her on disability.</p>
<p>Despite family roots in Highlands, about 20 miles south of her home, she said: “If I was to get dressed in my best attire that I would have, and go to Highlands and eat in one of their restaurants, I’d probably be stared down.”</p>
<p>Rick Westerman of Habitat said some vacation-home owners complained a few years ago when he built near them in Macon County.</p>
<p>“They gave us a fit,” he said. “Habitat’s got that stigma: Not in my backyard.”</p>
<p>This month, Macon County will mail homeowners valuations reflecting a nearly 15 percent countywide property value decline, county tax administrator Richard Lightner said. To bring in similar revenue, county commissioners would need to raise taxes from about 28 cents per $100 of property to 33 cents.</p>
<p>Lightner saw the most volatility in homes previously valued between $500,000 and $600,000 — common prices for overextended vacation homeowners.</p>
<p>He said homes in the $100,000 to $200,000 range were more stable. For example, officials cited a home that held its value around $128,000. Under the expected increase, annual county property taxes would rise by $64 to $421.</p>
<p>Jackson County Manager Chuck Wooten said that if his county’s revaluations took effect last year, commissioners would have needed an increase from 28 cents per $100 to between 35 and 37 cents.</p>
<p>Wooten said more taxes could shift to year-round residents in the northern end of the county: “And that’s going to be a real difficult problem to explain and make our people feel good about.”</p>
<p>The state allows tax relief for elderly and disabled homeowners with limited incomes, but their bill would still reflect rate changes.</p>
<p>During a spring meeting with the Cashiers Chamber of Commerce, homeowners in the wealthy community told Wooten they were shouldering Jackson County’s tax burden without enough in return.</p>
<p>“It’s been a point of contention,” said real estate agent Ken Fernandez, a chamber board member.</p>
<p>About 20 miles north lies Little Canada, where Broom grows a couple dozen firs in uneven patches on the acre around his house. He sells mostly to neighbors but thinks the trees have gotten too big for homes near him.</p>
<p>Once a worker on highways and dams, Broom said he lost a hand in a rock loader in 1962, then worked another decade before a heart attack put him on disability.</p>
<p>Despite getting by on limited income, he said: “I’ve survived a pretty good while!”</p>
| 6,296 |
<p />
<p>Even though much of Wall Street seems to be hoping for a Romney upset this November, there will be clear winners in the stock market no matter who controls the White House for the next four years.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Likely beneficiaries if President Obama is reelected include home builders, renewable energy companies and gold stocks, according to a report released by S&amp;P Capital IQ this week. On the other hand, a win by Mitt Romney could translate to higher stock prices for auto makers, luxury retailers and oil companies.</p>
<p>Health Care</p>
<p>Despite the unpopularity of Obama’s health-care overhaul, this area of the economy may actually be cheering for the status quo in this election.</p>
<p>“If Obama wins, we see a net positive for the sector, as health-care reform as passed and upheld will proceed,” S&amp;P analysts said. “We think a Romney victory would introduce new uncertainty over the sector.”</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The thinking goes as follows: Now that the Supreme Court has upheld the Affordable Care Act, companies have been able to move forward with preparing for the looming regulations.</p>
<p>For health providers like UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) and hospital operators such as HCA (NYSE:HCA), that means an influx of new customers. For Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) and other biotech drug makers it means the 12-year exclusivity period will stay in place.</p>
<p>Even if Romney knocks off Obama this fall and Republicans take control of both houses of Congress, it still seems like a long shot that they would have enough votes to repeal the health-care law.</p>
<p>S&amp;P notes one exception to the “positive Obama bias” in this sector is medical device makers, which are shuddering at a looming 2.3% excise tax on U.S. sales starting next year.&#160; Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) alone sees up to a $150 million annual impact from this tax.</p>
<p>Financial Services</p>
<p>Obama has had a rocky relationship with the financial-services sector, which, led by Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), heavily backed him in 2008 but has since largely soured on the president.</p>
<p>“Mid-size and smaller banks would likely cheer a Romney victory,” S&amp;P said, pointing to the new administration’s ability to tap more pro-business people to lead regulatory agencies and the Treasury Department.</p>
<p>In addition to pushing forward with reforming Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the new appointees would have “a lot of leeway” in the interpretation of the Dodd Frank regulatory overhaul and ease pressure on the industry in general, the analysts said.</p>
<p>However, S&amp;P predicted the largest U.S. banks -- the likes of Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) and J.P. Morgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) -- “would likely do just fine under either administration” as they have “no fear of failing or being broken up.”</p>
<p>On the other hand, real-estate investment trusts, or REITs, could benefit from an Obama reelection because it could lead to an expiration of the Bush tax cuts. S&amp;P said this could provoke holders of commercial real estate to accelerate their decision to sell assets while capital gains taxes are low, paving the way for attractive acquisitions by REITs.</p>
<p>Energy</p>
<p>The energy sector is likely to be divided by the outcome of the 2012 election.</p>
<p>If Romney wins, oil drillers could cheer because “Republicans embrace the idea of increased domestic drilling” and are calling for limits on the EPA and an end to the clean energy loan program, S&amp;P said.</p>
<p>Energy MLPs, which are master limited partnerships like Atlas Energy (NASDAQ:ATLS), could also stand to gain from an acceleration of TransCanada’s (NYSE:TRP) Keystone XL pipeline, which has stalled under the Obama administration.</p>
<p>At the same time, it’s easy to see why renewable energy and natural gas stockholders may be wishing for Obama’s reelection in hopes Democrats enact and preserve legislation favoring cleaner sources of energy.</p>
<p>“We see greater potential for falling solar-related federal subsidies and credits if Republicans gained more power,” S&amp;P said.</p>
<p>That could spell bad news for solar stocks like First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) and SunPower (NASDAQ:SPWR).</p>
<p>Basic Materials, Industrials</p>
<p>In the basic materials realm, a Romney upset might be a boost for steel makers like U.S. Steel (NYSE:X) because S&amp;P assumes fewer EPA rules will hamper the group.</p>
<p>If Obama is reelected, the winners in this sector could include aluminum, a metal that requires less carbon intensive manufacturing than steel, and gold, which has enjoyed torrent growth over the past four years due to fears about the economy that could ease with a Romney victory.</p>
<p>S&amp;P sees no real winners in the industrial sector in the event Obama secures another four years.</p>
<p>For example, defense contractors like Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) and Raytheon (NYSE:RTN) should generate higher profits if Republicans succeed in their push to avoid deep defense spending cuts.</p>
<p>Likewise, S&amp;P says engineering and construction firms should benefit from a Romney administration’s “more receptive” approach to oil, gas and nuclear projects.</p>
<p>Consumer Discretionary</p>
<p>Broadband service providers may be hoping the Democrats retain the White House because Julius Genachowski, the Obama-appointed chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, has been a “dogged champion” of Net Neutrality, S&amp;P said.</p>
<p>Likewise, home builders such as Pulte (NYSE:PHM) and Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL) could see increased demand for new homes due to a continuation of the Obama Administration’s efforts to limit foreclosures, keeping homeowners in their existing properties.</p>
<p>However, S&amp;P said other consumer discretionary stocks could flourish under a Romney White House: auto makers like Ford (NYSE:F) may see a relaxation of costly fuel-economy rules, luxury retailers such as Saks (NYSE:SKS) would benefit from a full extension of the Bush tax cuts and media companies like Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) could enjoy a relaxation of media ownership rules.</p>
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Which Sectors on Wall Street Are Rooting for Obama?
| true |
http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2012/09/07/which-sectors-on-wall-street-are-rooting-for-obama.html
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2016-03-03
| 0right
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Which Sectors on Wall Street Are Rooting for Obama?
<p />
<p>Even though much of Wall Street seems to be hoping for a Romney upset this November, there will be clear winners in the stock market no matter who controls the White House for the next four years.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Likely beneficiaries if President Obama is reelected include home builders, renewable energy companies and gold stocks, according to a report released by S&amp;P Capital IQ this week. On the other hand, a win by Mitt Romney could translate to higher stock prices for auto makers, luxury retailers and oil companies.</p>
<p>Health Care</p>
<p>Despite the unpopularity of Obama’s health-care overhaul, this area of the economy may actually be cheering for the status quo in this election.</p>
<p>“If Obama wins, we see a net positive for the sector, as health-care reform as passed and upheld will proceed,” S&amp;P analysts said. “We think a Romney victory would introduce new uncertainty over the sector.”</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The thinking goes as follows: Now that the Supreme Court has upheld the Affordable Care Act, companies have been able to move forward with preparing for the looming regulations.</p>
<p>For health providers like UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) and hospital operators such as HCA (NYSE:HCA), that means an influx of new customers. For Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) and other biotech drug makers it means the 12-year exclusivity period will stay in place.</p>
<p>Even if Romney knocks off Obama this fall and Republicans take control of both houses of Congress, it still seems like a long shot that they would have enough votes to repeal the health-care law.</p>
<p>S&amp;P notes one exception to the “positive Obama bias” in this sector is medical device makers, which are shuddering at a looming 2.3% excise tax on U.S. sales starting next year.&#160; Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) alone sees up to a $150 million annual impact from this tax.</p>
<p>Financial Services</p>
<p>Obama has had a rocky relationship with the financial-services sector, which, led by Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), heavily backed him in 2008 but has since largely soured on the president.</p>
<p>“Mid-size and smaller banks would likely cheer a Romney victory,” S&amp;P said, pointing to the new administration’s ability to tap more pro-business people to lead regulatory agencies and the Treasury Department.</p>
<p>In addition to pushing forward with reforming Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the new appointees would have “a lot of leeway” in the interpretation of the Dodd Frank regulatory overhaul and ease pressure on the industry in general, the analysts said.</p>
<p>However, S&amp;P predicted the largest U.S. banks -- the likes of Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) and J.P. Morgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) -- “would likely do just fine under either administration” as they have “no fear of failing or being broken up.”</p>
<p>On the other hand, real-estate investment trusts, or REITs, could benefit from an Obama reelection because it could lead to an expiration of the Bush tax cuts. S&amp;P said this could provoke holders of commercial real estate to accelerate their decision to sell assets while capital gains taxes are low, paving the way for attractive acquisitions by REITs.</p>
<p>Energy</p>
<p>The energy sector is likely to be divided by the outcome of the 2012 election.</p>
<p>If Romney wins, oil drillers could cheer because “Republicans embrace the idea of increased domestic drilling” and are calling for limits on the EPA and an end to the clean energy loan program, S&amp;P said.</p>
<p>Energy MLPs, which are master limited partnerships like Atlas Energy (NASDAQ:ATLS), could also stand to gain from an acceleration of TransCanada’s (NYSE:TRP) Keystone XL pipeline, which has stalled under the Obama administration.</p>
<p>At the same time, it’s easy to see why renewable energy and natural gas stockholders may be wishing for Obama’s reelection in hopes Democrats enact and preserve legislation favoring cleaner sources of energy.</p>
<p>“We see greater potential for falling solar-related federal subsidies and credits if Republicans gained more power,” S&amp;P said.</p>
<p>That could spell bad news for solar stocks like First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) and SunPower (NASDAQ:SPWR).</p>
<p>Basic Materials, Industrials</p>
<p>In the basic materials realm, a Romney upset might be a boost for steel makers like U.S. Steel (NYSE:X) because S&amp;P assumes fewer EPA rules will hamper the group.</p>
<p>If Obama is reelected, the winners in this sector could include aluminum, a metal that requires less carbon intensive manufacturing than steel, and gold, which has enjoyed torrent growth over the past four years due to fears about the economy that could ease with a Romney victory.</p>
<p>S&amp;P sees no real winners in the industrial sector in the event Obama secures another four years.</p>
<p>For example, defense contractors like Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) and Raytheon (NYSE:RTN) should generate higher profits if Republicans succeed in their push to avoid deep defense spending cuts.</p>
<p>Likewise, S&amp;P says engineering and construction firms should benefit from a Romney administration’s “more receptive” approach to oil, gas and nuclear projects.</p>
<p>Consumer Discretionary</p>
<p>Broadband service providers may be hoping the Democrats retain the White House because Julius Genachowski, the Obama-appointed chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, has been a “dogged champion” of Net Neutrality, S&amp;P said.</p>
<p>Likewise, home builders such as Pulte (NYSE:PHM) and Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL) could see increased demand for new homes due to a continuation of the Obama Administration’s efforts to limit foreclosures, keeping homeowners in their existing properties.</p>
<p>However, S&amp;P said other consumer discretionary stocks could flourish under a Romney White House: auto makers like Ford (NYSE:F) may see a relaxation of costly fuel-economy rules, luxury retailers such as Saks (NYSE:SKS) would benefit from a full extension of the Bush tax cuts and media companies like Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) could enjoy a relaxation of media ownership rules.</p>
| 6,297 |
<p />
<p>Patrick JB Flynn, this year’s winner of the Richard Gangel Award at the Society of Illustrators (to be given March 28 at the SI). This award, for distinguished achievement in design, with special appreciation for illustration and illustrators, has previously been won by Fred Woodward, Steve Heller, and Rita Marshall. Nice company. This award has extra meaning, as I see it. Patrick devoted his career at the Progressive to the idea of advancing illustration as important political commentary. He worked tirelessly to protect artists, giving them more freedom and getting greater results. He was continually helping young artists along and giving established ones the chance to experiment. In fact, his defense of illustration ultimately cost him his job at the magazine. To us he is one of our own. So here’s to you, Patrick. In a time of potential political reawakening, your work reminds us of a standard that you set that we can all still reach for.</p>
<p />
|
Brodner’s Person of the Day: Patrick JB Flynn
| true |
https://motherjones.com/politics/2008/03/brodners-person-day-patrick-jb-flynn/
|
2008-03-07
| 4left
|
Brodner’s Person of the Day: Patrick JB Flynn
<p />
<p>Patrick JB Flynn, this year’s winner of the Richard Gangel Award at the Society of Illustrators (to be given March 28 at the SI). This award, for distinguished achievement in design, with special appreciation for illustration and illustrators, has previously been won by Fred Woodward, Steve Heller, and Rita Marshall. Nice company. This award has extra meaning, as I see it. Patrick devoted his career at the Progressive to the idea of advancing illustration as important political commentary. He worked tirelessly to protect artists, giving them more freedom and getting greater results. He was continually helping young artists along and giving established ones the chance to experiment. In fact, his defense of illustration ultimately cost him his job at the magazine. To us he is one of our own. So here’s to you, Patrick. In a time of potential political reawakening, your work reminds us of a standard that you set that we can all still reach for.</p>
<p />
| 6,298 |
<p>About a year ago, Volkswagen agreed to spend up to $15.3 billion to settle consumer lawsuits and government allegations that its diesel vehicles cheated on U.S. emissions tests. Included was up to $10 billion for owners of about 450,000 VWs and Audis to either buy back or repair vehicles with 2-liter engines.</p>
<p>Owners would get $5,100 to $10,000 in addition to buybacks or fixes. As of late June, VW had paid $6.3 billion to 2-liter owners. About 62 percent of the cars, or 300,000, have been purchased by VW, modified or scrapped. Owners have until September of 2018 to apply.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Elizabeth Cabraser, a San Francisco attorney who led negotiations for people suing the company, says the payments are substantial because VW admitted guilt. Her interview has been edited for length and clarity.</p>
<p>Q: Consumers appeared to be better compensated here than in most class-action suits. How did you manage that?</p>
<p>A: Consumer class actions sometimes get a bum rap, I think. This case was different. It's about cars. That's a major investment for people, particularly because they bought these cars for very specific reasons. Having a situation where VW was caught red-handed and forced to ultimately concede liability helped. But we had to make the case that there would be no environmental solution without active participation of the owners and leasees. The government couldn't and wouldn't go out and take people's cars, and if there was a fix, couldn't make people fix them. We had to incentivize people to come in and have their cars repaired or have their cars bought back. We couldn't make it work by paying people small dollars.</p>
<p>Q: Earlier this year VW had problems taking back cars and making payments. Have those been cleared up?</p>
<p>A: For the most part. No one has ever been through a buyback of this magnitude. VW spent a lot of time and money ramping up the program to have it ready. There's a limited infrastructure there, limited by the number of dealers. We did such a good job in the financial features of the settlement that everybody showed up early to get their buybacks. That put a tremendous stress on the system. In order to make this work for people, more resources had to be put into the system.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Q: You're now lead counsel for people suing Fiat Chrysler over allegations of diesel truck emissions cheating. Will the settlements be smaller than with VW?</p>
<p>A: The government has strong allegations, as do we. It's too early to project. The fact remains that emissions controls were evaded. (The company says it did not install software with the intent to cheat on tests and says it will defend itself in court) The number of vehicles is smaller. (104,000) That means this is a less-expensive problem to solve. If repairing the cars is less complicated, either from a software reflashing or a mechanical standpoint, that saves money. But also we still have the challenge of sufficiently incentivizing owners to have modifications made. Owners are not going to do that if they are concerned that the modifications are going to significantly affect the mileage or performance of these vehicles.</p>
<p>____</p>
<p>Follow Tom Krisher on Twitter: @tkrisher</p>
|
Insider Q&A: Getting VW owners their share
| true |
http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/07/09/insider-q-getting-vw-owners-their-share.html
|
2017-07-09
| 0right
|
Insider Q&A: Getting VW owners their share
<p>About a year ago, Volkswagen agreed to spend up to $15.3 billion to settle consumer lawsuits and government allegations that its diesel vehicles cheated on U.S. emissions tests. Included was up to $10 billion for owners of about 450,000 VWs and Audis to either buy back or repair vehicles with 2-liter engines.</p>
<p>Owners would get $5,100 to $10,000 in addition to buybacks or fixes. As of late June, VW had paid $6.3 billion to 2-liter owners. About 62 percent of the cars, or 300,000, have been purchased by VW, modified or scrapped. Owners have until September of 2018 to apply.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Elizabeth Cabraser, a San Francisco attorney who led negotiations for people suing the company, says the payments are substantial because VW admitted guilt. Her interview has been edited for length and clarity.</p>
<p>Q: Consumers appeared to be better compensated here than in most class-action suits. How did you manage that?</p>
<p>A: Consumer class actions sometimes get a bum rap, I think. This case was different. It's about cars. That's a major investment for people, particularly because they bought these cars for very specific reasons. Having a situation where VW was caught red-handed and forced to ultimately concede liability helped. But we had to make the case that there would be no environmental solution without active participation of the owners and leasees. The government couldn't and wouldn't go out and take people's cars, and if there was a fix, couldn't make people fix them. We had to incentivize people to come in and have their cars repaired or have their cars bought back. We couldn't make it work by paying people small dollars.</p>
<p>Q: Earlier this year VW had problems taking back cars and making payments. Have those been cleared up?</p>
<p>A: For the most part. No one has ever been through a buyback of this magnitude. VW spent a lot of time and money ramping up the program to have it ready. There's a limited infrastructure there, limited by the number of dealers. We did such a good job in the financial features of the settlement that everybody showed up early to get their buybacks. That put a tremendous stress on the system. In order to make this work for people, more resources had to be put into the system.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Q: You're now lead counsel for people suing Fiat Chrysler over allegations of diesel truck emissions cheating. Will the settlements be smaller than with VW?</p>
<p>A: The government has strong allegations, as do we. It's too early to project. The fact remains that emissions controls were evaded. (The company says it did not install software with the intent to cheat on tests and says it will defend itself in court) The number of vehicles is smaller. (104,000) That means this is a less-expensive problem to solve. If repairing the cars is less complicated, either from a software reflashing or a mechanical standpoint, that saves money. But also we still have the challenge of sufficiently incentivizing owners to have modifications made. Owners are not going to do that if they are concerned that the modifications are going to significantly affect the mileage or performance of these vehicles.</p>
<p>____</p>
<p>Follow Tom Krisher on Twitter: @tkrisher</p>
| 6,299 |
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