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<p />
<p>Oil prices rose on Monday from multi-week lows after Venezuela said OPEC and non-OPEC producers were close to a deal to stabilize the market and as clashes in Libya disrupted attempts to boost crude exports.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Brent crude futures were at $46.32 per barrel at 1043 GMT, up 55 cents from their previous settlement and off an earlier peak of 46.62. U.S. crude was up 61 cents, or 1.4 percent, at $43.64 a barrel.</p>
<p>Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has said a deal could be announced this month to stabilize oil markets, which have come under pressure due to persistent oversupply.</p>
<p>"We think there is a great window of opportunity for a freeze here," Natixis analyst Deshpande Abhishek said. "It will not just help balance the markets, but it is also a win-win for OPEC and Russia, as Iran is unlikely to add extra production anyway for the next 6-12 months."</p>
<p>Crude exports from OPEC's third biggest producer Iran jumped 15 percent in August from a month ago to more than 2 million barrels per day, according to a source with knowledge of its tanker loading schedule, closing in on shipment levels seen five years ago before Western sanctions.</p>
<p>Last week, Brent hit a two-week low and U.S. crude fell to a five-week low on concerns about oversupply with more deliveries from Libya and Nigeria.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>On Monday, prices were also supported by a weaker dollar and as the expected boost to Libyan exports was delayed.</p>
<p>Clashes in Libya have halted the loading of the first oil cargo from the port of Ras Lanuf in close to two years and raised fears of a new conflict over Libya's oil resources.</p>
<p>However, concerns about rising supplies remain a bugbear. A preliminary Angolan November loading plan showed supplies were set to bounce back from a 10-year low.</p>
<p>In the United States, drillers have added oil rigs for 11 out of the past 12 weeks.</p>
<p>(Additional reporting by Mark Tay in Singapore; editing by Himani Sarkar and David Clarke)</p>
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Oil Leads Rebound in Stocks, Commodity Currencies
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http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/09/19/oil-leads-rebound-in-stocks-commodity-currencies.html
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2016-09-19
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Oil Leads Rebound in Stocks, Commodity Currencies
<p />
<p>Oil prices rose on Monday from multi-week lows after Venezuela said OPEC and non-OPEC producers were close to a deal to stabilize the market and as clashes in Libya disrupted attempts to boost crude exports.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Brent crude futures were at $46.32 per barrel at 1043 GMT, up 55 cents from their previous settlement and off an earlier peak of 46.62. U.S. crude was up 61 cents, or 1.4 percent, at $43.64 a barrel.</p>
<p>Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has said a deal could be announced this month to stabilize oil markets, which have come under pressure due to persistent oversupply.</p>
<p>"We think there is a great window of opportunity for a freeze here," Natixis analyst Deshpande Abhishek said. "It will not just help balance the markets, but it is also a win-win for OPEC and Russia, as Iran is unlikely to add extra production anyway for the next 6-12 months."</p>
<p>Crude exports from OPEC's third biggest producer Iran jumped 15 percent in August from a month ago to more than 2 million barrels per day, according to a source with knowledge of its tanker loading schedule, closing in on shipment levels seen five years ago before Western sanctions.</p>
<p>Last week, Brent hit a two-week low and U.S. crude fell to a five-week low on concerns about oversupply with more deliveries from Libya and Nigeria.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>On Monday, prices were also supported by a weaker dollar and as the expected boost to Libyan exports was delayed.</p>
<p>Clashes in Libya have halted the loading of the first oil cargo from the port of Ras Lanuf in close to two years and raised fears of a new conflict over Libya's oil resources.</p>
<p>However, concerns about rising supplies remain a bugbear. A preliminary Angolan November loading plan showed supplies were set to bounce back from a 10-year low.</p>
<p>In the United States, drillers have added oil rigs for 11 out of the past 12 weeks.</p>
<p>(Additional reporting by Mark Tay in Singapore; editing by Himani Sarkar and David Clarke)</p>
| 7,200 |
<p />
<p>Two-thirds of service sector jobs today are low-paying positions in retail, food service, and customer support. More of these types of manual jobs are being eliminated by robotics and automation all the time, and not just on factory floors.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Forget about smartphone payments that will eventually do away with cashiers: Some restaurants are now testing tablets that allow diners to order directly from the kitchen without any need for waiters. Likewise, the arrival of driverless cars will soon threaten chauffeurs, cabbies, and truck drivers. Or consider Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto, California, where <a href="http://www.mercurynews.com/crime-courts/ci_29951068/robot-patrol-at-stanford-shopping-center" type="external">a cute robotic security guard Opens a New Window.</a> already patrols the mall walkways.</p>
<p>At the same time, CIOs are facing the worst technology skills shortage since the Great Recession in 2008. Nearly two-thirds of CIOs (65 percent) say a chronic lack of IT talent will prevent their organizations from keeping up with the rapid pace of technology change, <a href="http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160523005845/en/Two-Thirds-CIOs-Called-Generate-Revenue-CIOs-Report" type="external">according to the new 2016 Harvey Nash/KPMG CIO Survey Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Fortunately, many new in-demand tech jobs are being created today. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that by 2020, we will have a surplus of one million more IT jobs than our supply of computer science students. Unfortunately, this scarcity of talent poses a serious threat for U.S. businesses and <a href="https://www.recruiter.com/economic-news.html" type="external">the economy Opens a New Window.</a>, especially in the highly competitive STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics).</p>
<p>To backfill the STEM talent pipeline, companies will need to recruit more recent college graduates and foreign engineers. But there is another overlooked group of strong candidates from non-tech backgrounds who are ambitious and willing to transition into high-tech careers – if only they could receive the necessary education in the STEM disciplines.</p>
<p>Rethinking How We Educate Our Workforce</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>One of the more innovative ways to meet the growing demand for STEM grads is to embrace the transferrable skills and critical thinking of our current non-STEM trained workers. First, we need to identify people from diverse backgrounds who want to be re-skilled for high-demand, high-worth tech jobs. Then we can provide them with the necessary coursework to obtain STEM graduate degrees.</p>
<p>One solution involves providing "bridge courses" toward graduate STEM degrees for those with non-STEM bachelor's degree backgrounds. In addition, by partnering with technology corporations, educational institutions can stay relevant with timely curricula that address the fast-changing skills of cutting-edge STEM jobs.</p>
<p>Bridge courses are structured to be interactive, conversational, and participatory. Classes are then supplemented by co-ops and internships that provide alternative means for young people and career-changers to branch into new STEM career paths. Such transition programs are critical to achieving diversity while maintaining the competitiveness of the American workforce in STEM industries.</p>
<p>In this shifting environment, the future of higher education will depend on a hybrid academic approach that incorporates&#160;experiential learning by engaging students through hands-on coursework and interactive class projects, rather than standard classroom lectures. Hardworking people can move into high-value tech careers without&#160;the time and cost required to start college all over again.</p>
<p>–</p>
<p>Technology is remaking the world before our eyes. To keep pace, we will need to rethink our models for higher education and adopt a more competency-based hybrid learning approach. We can succeed by closely connecting our coursework and subject matter with real-world professional experiences. Only in this way can our workforce develop the necessary skills to build great companies that will keep our nation competitive in the cutthroat global economy.</p>
<p>PK Agarwal is&#160;CEO and regional dean of <a href="http://www.northeastern.edu/siliconvalley/" type="external">Northeastern University-Silicon Valley Opens a New Window.</a> and former CTO for California under Governor Schwartzenegger.</p>
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Planting the Roots for Greater STEM Growth
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http://foxbusiness.com/features/2016/06/22/planting-roots-for-greater-stem-growth.html
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2016-06-27
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Planting the Roots for Greater STEM Growth
<p />
<p>Two-thirds of service sector jobs today are low-paying positions in retail, food service, and customer support. More of these types of manual jobs are being eliminated by robotics and automation all the time, and not just on factory floors.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Forget about smartphone payments that will eventually do away with cashiers: Some restaurants are now testing tablets that allow diners to order directly from the kitchen without any need for waiters. Likewise, the arrival of driverless cars will soon threaten chauffeurs, cabbies, and truck drivers. Or consider Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto, California, where <a href="http://www.mercurynews.com/crime-courts/ci_29951068/robot-patrol-at-stanford-shopping-center" type="external">a cute robotic security guard Opens a New Window.</a> already patrols the mall walkways.</p>
<p>At the same time, CIOs are facing the worst technology skills shortage since the Great Recession in 2008. Nearly two-thirds of CIOs (65 percent) say a chronic lack of IT talent will prevent their organizations from keeping up with the rapid pace of technology change, <a href="http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160523005845/en/Two-Thirds-CIOs-Called-Generate-Revenue-CIOs-Report" type="external">according to the new 2016 Harvey Nash/KPMG CIO Survey Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Fortunately, many new in-demand tech jobs are being created today. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that by 2020, we will have a surplus of one million more IT jobs than our supply of computer science students. Unfortunately, this scarcity of talent poses a serious threat for U.S. businesses and <a href="https://www.recruiter.com/economic-news.html" type="external">the economy Opens a New Window.</a>, especially in the highly competitive STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics).</p>
<p>To backfill the STEM talent pipeline, companies will need to recruit more recent college graduates and foreign engineers. But there is another overlooked group of strong candidates from non-tech backgrounds who are ambitious and willing to transition into high-tech careers – if only they could receive the necessary education in the STEM disciplines.</p>
<p>Rethinking How We Educate Our Workforce</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>One of the more innovative ways to meet the growing demand for STEM grads is to embrace the transferrable skills and critical thinking of our current non-STEM trained workers. First, we need to identify people from diverse backgrounds who want to be re-skilled for high-demand, high-worth tech jobs. Then we can provide them with the necessary coursework to obtain STEM graduate degrees.</p>
<p>One solution involves providing "bridge courses" toward graduate STEM degrees for those with non-STEM bachelor's degree backgrounds. In addition, by partnering with technology corporations, educational institutions can stay relevant with timely curricula that address the fast-changing skills of cutting-edge STEM jobs.</p>
<p>Bridge courses are structured to be interactive, conversational, and participatory. Classes are then supplemented by co-ops and internships that provide alternative means for young people and career-changers to branch into new STEM career paths. Such transition programs are critical to achieving diversity while maintaining the competitiveness of the American workforce in STEM industries.</p>
<p>In this shifting environment, the future of higher education will depend on a hybrid academic approach that incorporates&#160;experiential learning by engaging students through hands-on coursework and interactive class projects, rather than standard classroom lectures. Hardworking people can move into high-value tech careers without&#160;the time and cost required to start college all over again.</p>
<p>–</p>
<p>Technology is remaking the world before our eyes. To keep pace, we will need to rethink our models for higher education and adopt a more competency-based hybrid learning approach. We can succeed by closely connecting our coursework and subject matter with real-world professional experiences. Only in this way can our workforce develop the necessary skills to build great companies that will keep our nation competitive in the cutthroat global economy.</p>
<p>PK Agarwal is&#160;CEO and regional dean of <a href="http://www.northeastern.edu/siliconvalley/" type="external">Northeastern University-Silicon Valley Opens a New Window.</a> and former CTO for California under Governor Schwartzenegger.</p>
| 7,201 |
<p>To celebrate the grand re-opening of GirlsJustWannaHaveGuns.com, we’re giving away the perfect concealed carry revolver to one lucky subscriber: the TAURUS 856 .38 +P SPECIAL. With a MSRP of $461, this 6-shot revolver features the Taurus Security System, which provides instant-ready defense with built-in ability to secure your pistol and make it inoperable at the turn of a key.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Sign up now for a chance to WIN this sweet gun. As a bonus, everyone who enters will receive a super-secret webpage link where you can watch Regis drop a monster buck and her father eat a monster cricket.</p>
<p>Entries must be received no later than midnight on December 31, 2012.</p>
<p>After submitting your entry, you will begin receiving complimentary updates from Girls Just Wanna Have Guns!</p>
<p>Contest Rules: 
No purchase necessary. Contest void where prohibited by law. One entry per person. To enter this website’s contest fill out the online entry form before midnight on the date listed above. Chances of winning determined by the number of entrants. Mail-in entries will not be accepted. Duplicate entries will be discarded. Incomplete entries will be disqualified. To be eligible to win, entrants must be U. S. citizens, residents of one of the fifty United States or the District of Columbia, and be at least 18 years of age. The prize, as described above, will be awarded to a single winner as the only prize in this contest. The winner will be selected in a random drawing held on or after the deadline listed above. The winner will be notified by telephone, mail or e-mail and must submit a signed copy of a Federal Firearms License from his or her receiving dealer. The gun will be shipped to the Federal Firearms Licensee designated by the winner. The winner must comply with all federal, state and local laws, and is responsible for all taxes and all amounts charged by the designated Federal Firearms Licensee for receiving the gun and/or processing the transfer thereof to the winner. May the odds be ever in your favor.</p>
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Gun Giveaway!
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http://girlsjustwannahaveguns.com/gun-giveaway/
| 0right
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Gun Giveaway!
<p>To celebrate the grand re-opening of GirlsJustWannaHaveGuns.com, we’re giving away the perfect concealed carry revolver to one lucky subscriber: the TAURUS 856 .38 +P SPECIAL. With a MSRP of $461, this 6-shot revolver features the Taurus Security System, which provides instant-ready defense with built-in ability to secure your pistol and make it inoperable at the turn of a key.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Sign up now for a chance to WIN this sweet gun. As a bonus, everyone who enters will receive a super-secret webpage link where you can watch Regis drop a monster buck and her father eat a monster cricket.</p>
<p>Entries must be received no later than midnight on December 31, 2012.</p>
<p>After submitting your entry, you will begin receiving complimentary updates from Girls Just Wanna Have Guns!</p>
<p>Contest Rules: 
No purchase necessary. Contest void where prohibited by law. One entry per person. To enter this website’s contest fill out the online entry form before midnight on the date listed above. Chances of winning determined by the number of entrants. Mail-in entries will not be accepted. Duplicate entries will be discarded. Incomplete entries will be disqualified. To be eligible to win, entrants must be U. S. citizens, residents of one of the fifty United States or the District of Columbia, and be at least 18 years of age. The prize, as described above, will be awarded to a single winner as the only prize in this contest. The winner will be selected in a random drawing held on or after the deadline listed above. The winner will be notified by telephone, mail or e-mail and must submit a signed copy of a Federal Firearms License from his or her receiving dealer. The gun will be shipped to the Federal Firearms Licensee designated by the winner. The winner must comply with all federal, state and local laws, and is responsible for all taxes and all amounts charged by the designated Federal Firearms Licensee for receiving the gun and/or processing the transfer thereof to the winner. May the odds be ever in your favor.</p>
| 7,202 |
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<p />
<p>Smartphone and tablet factory revenue are expected to exceed the entire consumer electronics market this year for the first time as mobile demand continues to outpace more traditional technology.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Global original equipment manufacturer (OEM) factory revenue for those mobile devices will amount to $354.3 billion in 2013, 3% higher than the much wider consumer electronics market that includes televisions, headphones, cameras, video game consoles and appliances, according to a new report from IHS (NYSE:IHS).</p>
<p>"Consumer demand for smartphones and tablets has been flourishing in the past few years while sales growth for CE products has languished in the doldrums,” said Randy Lawson, senior principal analyst for semiconductors at IHS.</p>
<p>The massive consumer electronics market historically has dwarfed the tablet and smartphone segment. It was 30% larger just last year. However, the all-in-one function of phones and tablets are displacing third-party devices.</p>
<p>Revenues of tablets and phones, on a rip since 2007 when Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) unveiled its first-generation iPhone, are experiencing exponential growth as new market entrants, including Google (NASDAQ:GOOG), Samsung and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), intensify competition and improve product quality.</p>
<p>Consumers are adapting more mobile lifestyles, conducting everything from watching television to banking on the go as advanced app development allows them to move more of their lives online.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>“Consumers simply are finding more value in the versatility and usefulness of smartphones and tablets, which now serve as the go-to devices for everything from phone calls, to photography, to navigation, to media playback, to fitness tracking,” Lawson said.</p>
<p>Growing Gap</p>
<p>Revenue for the smartphone and tablet market is expected to rise by 31% in 2013, with OEM factory revenue expanding nearly nine-fold from just $41.2 billion in 2007.</p>
<p>In contrast, consumer electronics OEM factory revenue has been virtually flat during that same six-year period, and IHS says 14 of the 20 consumer electronics products it tracks are expected to suffer a decline in compound annual growth rates.</p>
<p>Even the success stories, like LCD TVs, which are expected to end the six-year period with a compound annual growth rate of nearly 10%, have slowed drastically from their heyday.</p>
<p>And the gap <a href="" type="internal">is only expected to widen</a> over the next few years.</p>
<p>IHS predicts demand for those TVs to start declining in 2014, further crippling the broader consumer electronics market that is on pace to fall by 5% to $327 billion by the end of 2017.</p>
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Smartphone, Tablet Revenue Overtaking Consumer Electronics
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http://foxbusiness.com/features/2013/10/25/smartphone-tablet-revenue-overtaking-consumer-electronics-market.html
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2016-03-06
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Smartphone, Tablet Revenue Overtaking Consumer Electronics
<p />
<p>Smartphone and tablet factory revenue are expected to exceed the entire consumer electronics market this year for the first time as mobile demand continues to outpace more traditional technology.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Global original equipment manufacturer (OEM) factory revenue for those mobile devices will amount to $354.3 billion in 2013, 3% higher than the much wider consumer electronics market that includes televisions, headphones, cameras, video game consoles and appliances, according to a new report from IHS (NYSE:IHS).</p>
<p>"Consumer demand for smartphones and tablets has been flourishing in the past few years while sales growth for CE products has languished in the doldrums,” said Randy Lawson, senior principal analyst for semiconductors at IHS.</p>
<p>The massive consumer electronics market historically has dwarfed the tablet and smartphone segment. It was 30% larger just last year. However, the all-in-one function of phones and tablets are displacing third-party devices.</p>
<p>Revenues of tablets and phones, on a rip since 2007 when Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) unveiled its first-generation iPhone, are experiencing exponential growth as new market entrants, including Google (NASDAQ:GOOG), Samsung and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), intensify competition and improve product quality.</p>
<p>Consumers are adapting more mobile lifestyles, conducting everything from watching television to banking on the go as advanced app development allows them to move more of their lives online.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>“Consumers simply are finding more value in the versatility and usefulness of smartphones and tablets, which now serve as the go-to devices for everything from phone calls, to photography, to navigation, to media playback, to fitness tracking,” Lawson said.</p>
<p>Growing Gap</p>
<p>Revenue for the smartphone and tablet market is expected to rise by 31% in 2013, with OEM factory revenue expanding nearly nine-fold from just $41.2 billion in 2007.</p>
<p>In contrast, consumer electronics OEM factory revenue has been virtually flat during that same six-year period, and IHS says 14 of the 20 consumer electronics products it tracks are expected to suffer a decline in compound annual growth rates.</p>
<p>Even the success stories, like LCD TVs, which are expected to end the six-year period with a compound annual growth rate of nearly 10%, have slowed drastically from their heyday.</p>
<p>And the gap <a href="" type="internal">is only expected to widen</a> over the next few years.</p>
<p>IHS predicts demand for those TVs to start declining in 2014, further crippling the broader consumer electronics market that is on pace to fall by 5% to $327 billion by the end of 2017.</p>
| 7,203 |
<p />
<p>Have we ever seen a presidential campaign be so open about trying to unveil a candidate makeover the way we've seen Donald Trump's team tip off his new look in recent days?</p>
<p>Huddling with nervous Republican elites, Trump's senior aide Paul Manafort recently&#160; <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/22/us/politics/donald-trump-to-reshape-image-new-campaign-chief-tells-gop.html?_r=0" type="external">assured</a>&#160;them the candidate's "image is going to change," according to a&#160;New York Times&#160;report. "You'll start to see more depth of the person, the real person. You'll see a real different way," Manafort stressed,&#160; <a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/article/97ff2c296579425c9825d6ea79aa2363/trump-cruz-feud-shifts-luxury-seaside-resort-florida" type="external">according</a>&#160;to the Associated Press. Trump to date has been "projecting an image" and "the part that he's been playing is now evolving," the aide guaranteed members of the Republican National Committee.</p>
<p>No equivocation here: Trump's changing&#160;gears, and the person you've seen&#160;up to now has been putting on an elaborate act.&#160;</p>
<p>The&#160;attempted image makeover comes as Trump battles&#160; <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trumps-unpopularity-stays-sky-high-cruz-hits-high/story?id=38370127" type="external">historically awful</a>&#160;favorable ratings heading into the general election season.</p>
<p>But the brazenness -- the openness -- of the move is startling simply because the Trump campaign seems to fear no backlash from the press for orchestrating an image makeover. And so far, Trump aides appear to be right. Because unlike previous instances when pundits and reporters thought they caught prominent candidates trying to change their stripes (especially when Al Gore and Hillary Clinton were the media targets), most of the press hasn't erupted to denounce Trump for being a would-be charlatan. They haven't cried out about his lack of genuineness.</p>
<p>The fact is, much of the political press has spent the last nine months&#160; <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-09-01/what-donald-trump-is-teaching-the-gop-about-authenticity" type="external">touting</a>&#160;Trump's supposed authenticity and praising his allegedly candid campaigning style. But now faced with evidence to&#160;the contrary, and faced with evidence coming&#160;directly from Trump's campaign, the same press corps seems unwilling to puncture the previous Mr. Authentic storyline. The press seems unwilling to admit that perhaps they've been duped by Trump and the "image" he projected.&#160;&#160;</p>
<p>Even after noting the candidate's pending image change, National Public Radio&#160; <a href="http://www.npr.org/2016/04/21/475126907/shows-over-trump-pledges-to-be-so-presidential-you-will-be-so-bored" type="external">stressed</a>, "Still, a subdued, presidential Trump will likely continue to be a unique brand of presidential candidate."</p>
<p>So even if Trump transparently sheds a new political skin, he'll still be a "unique brand."</p>
<p>All of this runs contrary to the Beltway press' well-established rules:&#160;If you attempt an image makeover during the campaign season, you will be ridiculed as a phony and a fraud and as someone who's surrounded by so many overeager handlers that you're incapable of understanding who you really are.</p>
<p>For the campaign press, there really is no greater sin than being a phony; than being out of touch with your core beliefs.&#160;(Even Mitt Romney&#160; <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2012/03/21/149085301/romney-advisers-etch-a-sketch-comment-shakes-up-criticism-from-rivals" type="external">got singed</a>&#160;by the press in 2012 when he was seen as trying to pull off a costume change mid-campaign.)</p>
<p>Those have been the clearly marked ground rules. But for Trump? Apparently those rules don't apply the same way, because his campaign is trying to retool the candidate's image, yet the move hasn't received instant and outraged pushback from the press.</p>
<p>In fact, the media subtext I'm picking up is that Trump is smart to try to alter his image; that it's a savvy move on his part to better position himself for the general election.</p>
<p>"The change in tone is absolutely necessary,"&#160; <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/04/20/the-kinder-more-disciplined-donald-trump-should-scare-the-hell-out-of-the-gop-establishment/?postshare=1171461160071950&amp;tid=ss_tw" type="external">wrote</a>&#160;the&#160;Washington Post's&#160;Chris Cillizza, who noted the new Trump incarnation on display during his New York primary victory speech "was markedly more disciplined, gentler and more appealing than the version of Trump we've seen for much of the last year."</p>
<p>So there's no denial that an attempted makeover is underway. Everyone sees it. What's missing is the outsized mockery.</p>
<p>It's true&#160;that Trump's new image has sparked&#160;some&#160; <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/dont-be-fooled-by-the-new-donald-trump/2016/04/22/aa984b62-082e-11e6-b283-e79d81c63c1b_story.html?hpid=hp_no-name_opinion-card-d_1:homepage/story" type="external">media denunciations</a>, sprinkled around in recent days if you go looking for them. And yes, some members of the media&#160; <a href="" type="internal">have claimed</a>&#160;Trump's makeover is a bogus one and that the loudmouth candidate won't be able to suddenly become presidential. But that's different than calling out Trump for being inauthentic and for being a phony for trying on a new look.</p>
<p>In contrast, when it came to Gore and Clinton image denunciations, you didn't need to search them out. They arrived in buckets, scooped up from tidal waves of media condemnations.</p>
<p>The&#160;dominant&#160; <a href="http://www.angelfire.com/indie/pearly/htmls/gore-nightmare.html" type="external">media theme</a>&#160;from the 2000 campaign was that Gore&#160; <a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2007/10/gore200710" type="external">was a phony</a>, forever in search of a new image.</p>
<p>For instance, during the 2000 campaign the press&#160; <a href="http://dowdreport.blogspot.com/2008/02/earth-tone-al.html" type="external">spun a tall tale</a>&#160;about how Gore had&#160; <a href="http://www.poynter.org/2012/new-york-times-corrects-claims-about-naomi-wolfs-work-on-gores-2000-campaign/177500/" type="external">supposedly</a>&#160;been counseled to start wearing more "earth tone" colored clothing, and then&#160; <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/03/opinion/liberties-the-alpha-beta-macarena.html" type="external">laughed</a>&#160;and belittled the candidate about it for weeks and months. For the press, it was a perfect example confirming their hunch that Gore just didn't know who he was.&#160;(And don't get me started on the&#160; <a href="" type="internal">media's&#160;insane pile-on</a>&#160;when, post-campaign, Gore grew a beard.)</p>
<p>As for Hillary Clinton,&#160;there's an entire press canon on the topic of her supposed lack of authenticity. The Beltway press for years has worked in unison with Republicans on this theme, working to depict Clinton as a calculating fraud.</p>
<p>Remember when she teared up and let some emotion show on the eve of the New Hampshire primary in 2008? The&#160;New York Times?&#160;Maureen Dowd responded with one of the meanest, most spiteful columns of that campaign season. ( <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/09/opinion/08dowd.html" type="external">Headline</a>: "Can Hillary Cry Her Way Back To The White House?")</p>
<p>Late last summer there was another wave of Clinton's-not-authentic coverage. The&#160;Wall Street Journal <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2015/09/11/hillary-clintons-authenticity-problem/" type="external">suggested</a>&#160;so much of what she does sounds "scripted and poll-tested."&#160;Politico&#160; <a href="http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/07/donald-trump-hillary-clinton-and-the-authenticity-trap-120593#ixzz3leVQq2Qm" type="external">declared</a>&#160;she's a White House hopeful "with an authenticity problem." The&#160;Washington Post&#160; <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2015/09/13/hillary-clinton-showed-up-for-church-today-will-faith-help-or-hurt-her-on-the-campaign/" type="external">insisted</a>, "Her campaign has struggled to present her as authentic and relatable." And McClatchy Newspapers&#160; <a href="http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/election/article34013760.html" type="external">asked</a>&#160;"Is Hillary Clinton Authentic Enough for Voters," and likened her to Richard Nixon.</p>
<p>Or you can just Google the evergreen topic:</p>
<p><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2015/09/21/hillary-clintons-inauthentic-self/" type="external">Hillary Clinton's inauthentic self - The Washington Post</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/article/417049/hillarys-authentic-inauthenticity-charles-krauthammer" type="external">Hillary's Authentic Inauthenticity - National Review Online</a></p>
<p><a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/121478/maybe-hillary-clinton-isnt-fake-enough" type="external">Maybe Hillary Clinton Isn't Fake Enough | New Republic</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/2015/06/05/hillary_clinton_the_inauthentic_358556.html" type="external">Hillary Clinton the Inauthentic | RealClearPolitics</a></p>
<p>So where are the judgmental denunciations of Trump's attempted image makeover? Where's the media finger wagging about how Trump doesn't really know who he is?</p>
|
As Trump Tries To Remake His Image, Why Isn't The Press Mocking Him As Inauthentic?
| true |
http://mediamatters.org/blog/2016/04/25/trump-tries-remake-his-image-why-isn-t-press-mocking-him-inauthentic/210067
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2016-04-25
| 4left
|
As Trump Tries To Remake His Image, Why Isn't The Press Mocking Him As Inauthentic?
<p />
<p>Have we ever seen a presidential campaign be so open about trying to unveil a candidate makeover the way we've seen Donald Trump's team tip off his new look in recent days?</p>
<p>Huddling with nervous Republican elites, Trump's senior aide Paul Manafort recently&#160; <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/22/us/politics/donald-trump-to-reshape-image-new-campaign-chief-tells-gop.html?_r=0" type="external">assured</a>&#160;them the candidate's "image is going to change," according to a&#160;New York Times&#160;report. "You'll start to see more depth of the person, the real person. You'll see a real different way," Manafort stressed,&#160; <a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/article/97ff2c296579425c9825d6ea79aa2363/trump-cruz-feud-shifts-luxury-seaside-resort-florida" type="external">according</a>&#160;to the Associated Press. Trump to date has been "projecting an image" and "the part that he's been playing is now evolving," the aide guaranteed members of the Republican National Committee.</p>
<p>No equivocation here: Trump's changing&#160;gears, and the person you've seen&#160;up to now has been putting on an elaborate act.&#160;</p>
<p>The&#160;attempted image makeover comes as Trump battles&#160; <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trumps-unpopularity-stays-sky-high-cruz-hits-high/story?id=38370127" type="external">historically awful</a>&#160;favorable ratings heading into the general election season.</p>
<p>But the brazenness -- the openness -- of the move is startling simply because the Trump campaign seems to fear no backlash from the press for orchestrating an image makeover. And so far, Trump aides appear to be right. Because unlike previous instances when pundits and reporters thought they caught prominent candidates trying to change their stripes (especially when Al Gore and Hillary Clinton were the media targets), most of the press hasn't erupted to denounce Trump for being a would-be charlatan. They haven't cried out about his lack of genuineness.</p>
<p>The fact is, much of the political press has spent the last nine months&#160; <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-09-01/what-donald-trump-is-teaching-the-gop-about-authenticity" type="external">touting</a>&#160;Trump's supposed authenticity and praising his allegedly candid campaigning style. But now faced with evidence to&#160;the contrary, and faced with evidence coming&#160;directly from Trump's campaign, the same press corps seems unwilling to puncture the previous Mr. Authentic storyline. The press seems unwilling to admit that perhaps they've been duped by Trump and the "image" he projected.&#160;&#160;</p>
<p>Even after noting the candidate's pending image change, National Public Radio&#160; <a href="http://www.npr.org/2016/04/21/475126907/shows-over-trump-pledges-to-be-so-presidential-you-will-be-so-bored" type="external">stressed</a>, "Still, a subdued, presidential Trump will likely continue to be a unique brand of presidential candidate."</p>
<p>So even if Trump transparently sheds a new political skin, he'll still be a "unique brand."</p>
<p>All of this runs contrary to the Beltway press' well-established rules:&#160;If you attempt an image makeover during the campaign season, you will be ridiculed as a phony and a fraud and as someone who's surrounded by so many overeager handlers that you're incapable of understanding who you really are.</p>
<p>For the campaign press, there really is no greater sin than being a phony; than being out of touch with your core beliefs.&#160;(Even Mitt Romney&#160; <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2012/03/21/149085301/romney-advisers-etch-a-sketch-comment-shakes-up-criticism-from-rivals" type="external">got singed</a>&#160;by the press in 2012 when he was seen as trying to pull off a costume change mid-campaign.)</p>
<p>Those have been the clearly marked ground rules. But for Trump? Apparently those rules don't apply the same way, because his campaign is trying to retool the candidate's image, yet the move hasn't received instant and outraged pushback from the press.</p>
<p>In fact, the media subtext I'm picking up is that Trump is smart to try to alter his image; that it's a savvy move on his part to better position himself for the general election.</p>
<p>"The change in tone is absolutely necessary,"&#160; <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/04/20/the-kinder-more-disciplined-donald-trump-should-scare-the-hell-out-of-the-gop-establishment/?postshare=1171461160071950&amp;tid=ss_tw" type="external">wrote</a>&#160;the&#160;Washington Post's&#160;Chris Cillizza, who noted the new Trump incarnation on display during his New York primary victory speech "was markedly more disciplined, gentler and more appealing than the version of Trump we've seen for much of the last year."</p>
<p>So there's no denial that an attempted makeover is underway. Everyone sees it. What's missing is the outsized mockery.</p>
<p>It's true&#160;that Trump's new image has sparked&#160;some&#160; <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/dont-be-fooled-by-the-new-donald-trump/2016/04/22/aa984b62-082e-11e6-b283-e79d81c63c1b_story.html?hpid=hp_no-name_opinion-card-d_1:homepage/story" type="external">media denunciations</a>, sprinkled around in recent days if you go looking for them. And yes, some members of the media&#160; <a href="" type="internal">have claimed</a>&#160;Trump's makeover is a bogus one and that the loudmouth candidate won't be able to suddenly become presidential. But that's different than calling out Trump for being inauthentic and for being a phony for trying on a new look.</p>
<p>In contrast, when it came to Gore and Clinton image denunciations, you didn't need to search them out. They arrived in buckets, scooped up from tidal waves of media condemnations.</p>
<p>The&#160;dominant&#160; <a href="http://www.angelfire.com/indie/pearly/htmls/gore-nightmare.html" type="external">media theme</a>&#160;from the 2000 campaign was that Gore&#160; <a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2007/10/gore200710" type="external">was a phony</a>, forever in search of a new image.</p>
<p>For instance, during the 2000 campaign the press&#160; <a href="http://dowdreport.blogspot.com/2008/02/earth-tone-al.html" type="external">spun a tall tale</a>&#160;about how Gore had&#160; <a href="http://www.poynter.org/2012/new-york-times-corrects-claims-about-naomi-wolfs-work-on-gores-2000-campaign/177500/" type="external">supposedly</a>&#160;been counseled to start wearing more "earth tone" colored clothing, and then&#160; <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/03/opinion/liberties-the-alpha-beta-macarena.html" type="external">laughed</a>&#160;and belittled the candidate about it for weeks and months. For the press, it was a perfect example confirming their hunch that Gore just didn't know who he was.&#160;(And don't get me started on the&#160; <a href="" type="internal">media's&#160;insane pile-on</a>&#160;when, post-campaign, Gore grew a beard.)</p>
<p>As for Hillary Clinton,&#160;there's an entire press canon on the topic of her supposed lack of authenticity. The Beltway press for years has worked in unison with Republicans on this theme, working to depict Clinton as a calculating fraud.</p>
<p>Remember when she teared up and let some emotion show on the eve of the New Hampshire primary in 2008? The&#160;New York Times?&#160;Maureen Dowd responded with one of the meanest, most spiteful columns of that campaign season. ( <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/09/opinion/08dowd.html" type="external">Headline</a>: "Can Hillary Cry Her Way Back To The White House?")</p>
<p>Late last summer there was another wave of Clinton's-not-authentic coverage. The&#160;Wall Street Journal <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2015/09/11/hillary-clintons-authenticity-problem/" type="external">suggested</a>&#160;so much of what she does sounds "scripted and poll-tested."&#160;Politico&#160; <a href="http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/07/donald-trump-hillary-clinton-and-the-authenticity-trap-120593#ixzz3leVQq2Qm" type="external">declared</a>&#160;she's a White House hopeful "with an authenticity problem." The&#160;Washington Post&#160; <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2015/09/13/hillary-clinton-showed-up-for-church-today-will-faith-help-or-hurt-her-on-the-campaign/" type="external">insisted</a>, "Her campaign has struggled to present her as authentic and relatable." And McClatchy Newspapers&#160; <a href="http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/election/article34013760.html" type="external">asked</a>&#160;"Is Hillary Clinton Authentic Enough for Voters," and likened her to Richard Nixon.</p>
<p>Or you can just Google the evergreen topic:</p>
<p><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2015/09/21/hillary-clintons-inauthentic-self/" type="external">Hillary Clinton's inauthentic self - The Washington Post</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/article/417049/hillarys-authentic-inauthenticity-charles-krauthammer" type="external">Hillary's Authentic Inauthenticity - National Review Online</a></p>
<p><a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/121478/maybe-hillary-clinton-isnt-fake-enough" type="external">Maybe Hillary Clinton Isn't Fake Enough | New Republic</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/2015/06/05/hillary_clinton_the_inauthentic_358556.html" type="external">Hillary Clinton the Inauthentic | RealClearPolitics</a></p>
<p>So where are the judgmental denunciations of Trump's attempted image makeover? Where's the media finger wagging about how Trump doesn't really know who he is?</p>
| 7,204 |
<p />
<p>The stock market got a nice pop after Congress and President Obama reached a budget deal, and that was on top of the nearly 18 percent the market had gained in the first nine months of the year. While others are eagerly buying stocks, this might be a good time for you to think about selling.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Here are four things to consider as you weigh the decision to sell stocks between now and the end of the year.</p>
<p>1. The macro side</p>
<p>Wise stock decisions require two levels of analysis: the big picture and company specifics. As enthusiastic as you might be about the individual stocks in your portfolio, those companies are going to have a hard time succeeding if the economy runs into a brick wall. Right now the biggest macro concern is what happens when the temporary budget deal reached by Congress and the president runs out early next year. If the stocks got a boost because the last set of deadlines was met, they might also start to falter as the next set of deadlines approaches. Scaling back on your stocks before then might prove timely.</p>
<p>2. Prices vs. earnings</p>
<p>It's easy to fall in love with rising stock prices, but it's equally important to follow how the companies you own are really doing, by keeping an eye on their earnings. This is a particular concern right now because prices have become somewhat unhinged from the underlying earnings.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Since the end of 2011, S&amp;P 500 prices are up by 33.7 percent, while earnings are up just 12.6 percent. If earnings for any of the companies you own are lagging badly behind the stock's price movement, you might want to count yourself lucky and take the gain while you can.</p>
<p>3. The need to rebalance</p>
<p>Portfolios get out of whack when prices move unevenly, and rebalancing can be a way of trimming some of your higher-priced positions. This applies both to asset classes and to sectors within your stock holdings. Otherwise, over-weightings can develop, as when technology ballooned to 34.5 percent of the S&amp;P 500 just prior to the dot-com collapse of 2000.</p>
<p>4. The alternatives</p>
<p>One challenge when selling is deciding where to put the proceeds. With savings and money market rates so low, they may seem an unappealing alternative. One option may be to look for longer-term CDs with low early withdrawal penalties. Normally you might not consider CDs liquid enough to be a holding tank for awaiting investment opportunities, but if you can find a longer-term CD with a relatively small penalty for early withdrawal (some are as low as two months in interest), you can take advantage of higher <a href="http://www.money-rates.com/cdrates.htm?WT.qs_osrc=fxb-177193310" type="external">CD rates Opens a New Window.</a> and after a relatively short period of time, still do better than you would have in a savings or money market account -- even after paying a penalty if you need to cash in to capture your next opportunity.</p>
<p>Of course, for some portfolios there are tax considerations to take into account when selling stocks, but that is an entire subject in itself. The above points are purely based on the investment side of the equation, and cover principles designed to keep you buying low and selling high.</p>
<p>The original article can be found at Money-Rates.com: <a href="http://www.money-rates.com/advancedstrategies/cd/reduction-in-stocks.htm?WT.qs_osrc=fxb-177193310" type="external">Considering a reduction in stocks? Weigh 4 factors Opens a New Window.</a></p>
|
Considering a Reduction in Stocks? Weigh 4 Factors
| true |
http://foxbusiness.com/features/2013/11/11/considering-reduction-in-stocks-weigh-4-factors.html
|
2016-03-06
| 0right
|
Considering a Reduction in Stocks? Weigh 4 Factors
<p />
<p>The stock market got a nice pop after Congress and President Obama reached a budget deal, and that was on top of the nearly 18 percent the market had gained in the first nine months of the year. While others are eagerly buying stocks, this might be a good time for you to think about selling.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Here are four things to consider as you weigh the decision to sell stocks between now and the end of the year.</p>
<p>1. The macro side</p>
<p>Wise stock decisions require two levels of analysis: the big picture and company specifics. As enthusiastic as you might be about the individual stocks in your portfolio, those companies are going to have a hard time succeeding if the economy runs into a brick wall. Right now the biggest macro concern is what happens when the temporary budget deal reached by Congress and the president runs out early next year. If the stocks got a boost because the last set of deadlines was met, they might also start to falter as the next set of deadlines approaches. Scaling back on your stocks before then might prove timely.</p>
<p>2. Prices vs. earnings</p>
<p>It's easy to fall in love with rising stock prices, but it's equally important to follow how the companies you own are really doing, by keeping an eye on their earnings. This is a particular concern right now because prices have become somewhat unhinged from the underlying earnings.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Since the end of 2011, S&amp;P 500 prices are up by 33.7 percent, while earnings are up just 12.6 percent. If earnings for any of the companies you own are lagging badly behind the stock's price movement, you might want to count yourself lucky and take the gain while you can.</p>
<p>3. The need to rebalance</p>
<p>Portfolios get out of whack when prices move unevenly, and rebalancing can be a way of trimming some of your higher-priced positions. This applies both to asset classes and to sectors within your stock holdings. Otherwise, over-weightings can develop, as when technology ballooned to 34.5 percent of the S&amp;P 500 just prior to the dot-com collapse of 2000.</p>
<p>4. The alternatives</p>
<p>One challenge when selling is deciding where to put the proceeds. With savings and money market rates so low, they may seem an unappealing alternative. One option may be to look for longer-term CDs with low early withdrawal penalties. Normally you might not consider CDs liquid enough to be a holding tank for awaiting investment opportunities, but if you can find a longer-term CD with a relatively small penalty for early withdrawal (some are as low as two months in interest), you can take advantage of higher <a href="http://www.money-rates.com/cdrates.htm?WT.qs_osrc=fxb-177193310" type="external">CD rates Opens a New Window.</a> and after a relatively short period of time, still do better than you would have in a savings or money market account -- even after paying a penalty if you need to cash in to capture your next opportunity.</p>
<p>Of course, for some portfolios there are tax considerations to take into account when selling stocks, but that is an entire subject in itself. The above points are purely based on the investment side of the equation, and cover principles designed to keep you buying low and selling high.</p>
<p>The original article can be found at Money-Rates.com: <a href="http://www.money-rates.com/advancedstrategies/cd/reduction-in-stocks.htm?WT.qs_osrc=fxb-177193310" type="external">Considering a reduction in stocks? Weigh 4 factors Opens a New Window.</a></p>
| 7,205 |
<p>Casting the tax debate as an&#160;argument&#160;in which liberals want to use the tax system to reduce income inequality after the fact by taxing the wealthy at higher rates than middle and lower income classes, while conservatives favor flat taxes that tax rich and poor at the same rate, misses the main point.</p>
<p>Deregulation of the financial system over the last 35 years and tax preferences that benefit corporations and wealthy individuals have done much to increase the before-tax incomes of the top 1 percent. An army of tax accountants, many of them recruited from the IRS, has figured out how to push the envelope on tax avoidance for the big businesses and wealthy individuals that can afford their high-priced services. For these folks, tax accounting has been transformed from a service that makes sure that required taxes are paid to a profit center that manipulates the tax code to generate huge returns at the expense of the tax-paying public. Increasingly what we see in the United States is the growing importance of tax-payer financed capitalism.</p>
<p>There is no economic reason that the debt taken on by corporations should be treated differently in the tax code from the equity invested by shareholders, but it is. Corporations get to deduct the interest paid on debt from their earnings, thus reducing the corporate income tax they have to pay.</p>
<p>The tax code also provides an incentive for private equity firms, which plan to hold companies they acquire for their portfolios for just a few years, to load these companies with debt. In good times, this greatly increases the returns to investors. In poor economic conditions, this greatly increases the risk of financial distress and even bankruptcy, and imposes great costs on workers, creditors and communities. For investors with a time horizon measured in years and not decades, this is a risk worth taking for the promise of higher returns.</p>
<p>Tax preferences mean that income from owning stock is taxed at a far lower rate than income from working—a point made by Warren Buffet who famously pointed out that his secretary pays a higher tax rate than he does. The fiction that bonuses earned by partners in private equity and hedge fund firms is ‘carried interest’ that should be taxed at the lower rate on earnings from owning stock, rather than at the higher rate on ordinary income that ordinary workers and managers pay on their bonuses, boosts the income and wealth of these already wealthy economic players.</p>
<p>The use of aggressive tax avoidance schemes is rampant among big businesses and wealthy individuals. Setting up a subsidiary that lives in a file drawer in a tax haven and owns the company’s intellectual property and collects the royalties on it, or that owns the loans the company has made and collects the interest, allows financial institutions, pharmaceutical companies, and IT companies to park their profits outside the United States and defer taxes on this income indefinitely while waiting for a tax holiday to bring their profits home. Setting up so-called blocker corporations in offshore tax havens to launder taxable income for foreigners and pension funds, and turn it into nontaxable income is another favorite scheme.</p>
<p>Tax preferences and tax loop holes enrich the already wealthy and increase their incomes while starving the country of much needed tax revenue. The meaning of this rise in tax-payer financed capitalism is that the rest of us must either pay higher taxes or do without necessary services.</p>
<p>Eileen Appelbaum&#160;is a senior economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research.</p>
<p>This article originally appeared on&#160; <a href="http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/economic-intelligence/" type="external">Economic Intelligence</a>.</p>
<p />
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
|
The Great American Tax Debate Misses the Point
| true |
https://counterpunch.org/2012/09/20/the-great-american-tax-debate-misses-the-point/
|
2012-09-20
| 4left
|
The Great American Tax Debate Misses the Point
<p>Casting the tax debate as an&#160;argument&#160;in which liberals want to use the tax system to reduce income inequality after the fact by taxing the wealthy at higher rates than middle and lower income classes, while conservatives favor flat taxes that tax rich and poor at the same rate, misses the main point.</p>
<p>Deregulation of the financial system over the last 35 years and tax preferences that benefit corporations and wealthy individuals have done much to increase the before-tax incomes of the top 1 percent. An army of tax accountants, many of them recruited from the IRS, has figured out how to push the envelope on tax avoidance for the big businesses and wealthy individuals that can afford their high-priced services. For these folks, tax accounting has been transformed from a service that makes sure that required taxes are paid to a profit center that manipulates the tax code to generate huge returns at the expense of the tax-paying public. Increasingly what we see in the United States is the growing importance of tax-payer financed capitalism.</p>
<p>There is no economic reason that the debt taken on by corporations should be treated differently in the tax code from the equity invested by shareholders, but it is. Corporations get to deduct the interest paid on debt from their earnings, thus reducing the corporate income tax they have to pay.</p>
<p>The tax code also provides an incentive for private equity firms, which plan to hold companies they acquire for their portfolios for just a few years, to load these companies with debt. In good times, this greatly increases the returns to investors. In poor economic conditions, this greatly increases the risk of financial distress and even bankruptcy, and imposes great costs on workers, creditors and communities. For investors with a time horizon measured in years and not decades, this is a risk worth taking for the promise of higher returns.</p>
<p>Tax preferences mean that income from owning stock is taxed at a far lower rate than income from working—a point made by Warren Buffet who famously pointed out that his secretary pays a higher tax rate than he does. The fiction that bonuses earned by partners in private equity and hedge fund firms is ‘carried interest’ that should be taxed at the lower rate on earnings from owning stock, rather than at the higher rate on ordinary income that ordinary workers and managers pay on their bonuses, boosts the income and wealth of these already wealthy economic players.</p>
<p>The use of aggressive tax avoidance schemes is rampant among big businesses and wealthy individuals. Setting up a subsidiary that lives in a file drawer in a tax haven and owns the company’s intellectual property and collects the royalties on it, or that owns the loans the company has made and collects the interest, allows financial institutions, pharmaceutical companies, and IT companies to park their profits outside the United States and defer taxes on this income indefinitely while waiting for a tax holiday to bring their profits home. Setting up so-called blocker corporations in offshore tax havens to launder taxable income for foreigners and pension funds, and turn it into nontaxable income is another favorite scheme.</p>
<p>Tax preferences and tax loop holes enrich the already wealthy and increase their incomes while starving the country of much needed tax revenue. The meaning of this rise in tax-payer financed capitalism is that the rest of us must either pay higher taxes or do without necessary services.</p>
<p>Eileen Appelbaum&#160;is a senior economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research.</p>
<p>This article originally appeared on&#160; <a href="http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/economic-intelligence/" type="external">Economic Intelligence</a>.</p>
<p />
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
| 7,206 |
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<p />
<p>The Library of Congress has shared its National Recording Preservation Plan, outlining its strategy for safeguarding America’s sound recordings for future generations of listeners.</p>
<p>The congressionally mandated plan arrives after more than a decade of cooperation between the library and its National Recording Preservation Board, which includes composers, musicians, archivists, librarians, musicologists and other figures in the recording industry.</p>
<p>“As a nation, we have good reason to be proud of our record of creativity in the sound-recording arts and sciences,” James H. Billington, librarian of Congress, said in a statement. “However, our collective energy in creating and consuming sound recordings has not been matched by an equal level of interest in preserving them for posterity.”</p>
<p>The library’s plan makes 32 recommendations toward preserving the nation’s endangered audio heritage. It calls for a publicly accessible directory of sound collections; a national policy for collecting, cataloging and preserving neglected recordings; the implementation of best practices for preserving digital audio files; and more.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The National Recording Preservation Act of 2000 called on the library to not only protect America’s recordings – from fragile cylinder records to vintage sportscasts to hit pop songs – but to make them accessible to the public.</p>
<p>In 2002, the library launched its National Recording Registry, a collection of recordings deemed “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant” to be preserved for all time.</p>
<p>The plan announced recently continues that conservation effort while fighting the popular misconception that all of America’s recorded culture will someday magically appear on YouTube.</p>
<p>“Everybody sort of assumes that … if it’s not on the Internet now, it soon will be,” says Patrick Loughney, chief of the library-affiliated Packard Campus of the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center. “The facts are exactly the opposite. There are massive amounts of historical recordings out of circulation, and it’s created a sort of growing amnesia from one generation to the next.”</p>
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Preserving history
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/511128/preserving-history-2.html
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Preserving history
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<p />
<p>The Library of Congress has shared its National Recording Preservation Plan, outlining its strategy for safeguarding America’s sound recordings for future generations of listeners.</p>
<p>The congressionally mandated plan arrives after more than a decade of cooperation between the library and its National Recording Preservation Board, which includes composers, musicians, archivists, librarians, musicologists and other figures in the recording industry.</p>
<p>“As a nation, we have good reason to be proud of our record of creativity in the sound-recording arts and sciences,” James H. Billington, librarian of Congress, said in a statement. “However, our collective energy in creating and consuming sound recordings has not been matched by an equal level of interest in preserving them for posterity.”</p>
<p>The library’s plan makes 32 recommendations toward preserving the nation’s endangered audio heritage. It calls for a publicly accessible directory of sound collections; a national policy for collecting, cataloging and preserving neglected recordings; the implementation of best practices for preserving digital audio files; and more.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The National Recording Preservation Act of 2000 called on the library to not only protect America’s recordings – from fragile cylinder records to vintage sportscasts to hit pop songs – but to make them accessible to the public.</p>
<p>In 2002, the library launched its National Recording Registry, a collection of recordings deemed “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant” to be preserved for all time.</p>
<p>The plan announced recently continues that conservation effort while fighting the popular misconception that all of America’s recorded culture will someday magically appear on YouTube.</p>
<p>“Everybody sort of assumes that … if it’s not on the Internet now, it soon will be,” says Patrick Loughney, chief of the library-affiliated Packard Campus of the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center. “The facts are exactly the opposite. There are massive amounts of historical recordings out of circulation, and it’s created a sort of growing amnesia from one generation to the next.”</p>
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<p />
<p>Prince George’s County Fire/EMS spokesman Mark Brady said on his Twitter account that the riders came to a standstill about 5:30 p.m. at Six Flags America in Largo, Maryland.</p>
<p>The Berwyn Heights volunteer fire department said in a tweet that the cars of Joker’s Jinx were 100 feet (30 meters) off the ground. Helicopter video from WJLA-TV showed six cars.</p>
<p>TV video showed firefighters in a rescue bucket talking with the passengers, none of whom appeared to be in distress, Brady said.</p>
<p>Brady said all 24 of the riders were safely brought to the ground by 9:20 p.m.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Six Flags’ website describes the Joker’s Jinx as having a “spaghetti bowl” design, with the roller coaster doing “a cobra roll, a sidewinder loop, a corkscrew, and countless swift reversals.”</p>
<p>Six Flags America said in a statement: “Joker’s Jinx did not complete its regular ride cycle, causing it to stop at a safe location on the track. The Prince George’s County Fire Department is onsite to assist in getting the riders safely off the ride. The safety of our guests is our highest priority and the ride will be closed for a thorough inspection before reopening.”</p>
<p>Two dozen passengers became stuck, some for as long as five hours, on the same ride in August of 2014.</p>
|
Rescuers pluck passengers from stuck roller coaster
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/987775/rescuers-pluck-passengers-from-stuck-roller-coaster.html
|
2017-04-13
| 2least
|
Rescuers pluck passengers from stuck roller coaster
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Prince George’s County Fire/EMS spokesman Mark Brady said on his Twitter account that the riders came to a standstill about 5:30 p.m. at Six Flags America in Largo, Maryland.</p>
<p>The Berwyn Heights volunteer fire department said in a tweet that the cars of Joker’s Jinx were 100 feet (30 meters) off the ground. Helicopter video from WJLA-TV showed six cars.</p>
<p>TV video showed firefighters in a rescue bucket talking with the passengers, none of whom appeared to be in distress, Brady said.</p>
<p>Brady said all 24 of the riders were safely brought to the ground by 9:20 p.m.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Six Flags’ website describes the Joker’s Jinx as having a “spaghetti bowl” design, with the roller coaster doing “a cobra roll, a sidewinder loop, a corkscrew, and countless swift reversals.”</p>
<p>Six Flags America said in a statement: “Joker’s Jinx did not complete its regular ride cycle, causing it to stop at a safe location on the track. The Prince George’s County Fire Department is onsite to assist in getting the riders safely off the ride. The safety of our guests is our highest priority and the ride will be closed for a thorough inspection before reopening.”</p>
<p>Two dozen passengers became stuck, some for as long as five hours, on the same ride in August of 2014.</p>
| 7,208 |
<p>KYIV, Ukraine — Opposition leaders continued trading accusations and demands with the authorities Wednesday as protesters hunkered down for another night amid uncertainty and political turmoil in this post-Soviet capital.</p>
<p>The leaders of the country’s three main opposition parties told reporters in an occupied trade union building off central Independence Square that they believe security forces would provoke violence in order to discredit the protesters.</p>
<p>“This will be a precedent with which they will say that this is not a peaceful protest, but an aggressive one,” said boxing champion Vitali Klitschko, head of the UDAR Party.</p>
<p>A violent police assault against peaceful protesters — most of them students — on the square last weekend stirred fresh anger among demonstrators and opposition leaders, who have intensified their calls to fire the government and hold snap elections.</p>
<p>Rage over police abuses has fueled the massive public protests against the government’s refusal to sign key political and trade agreements with the EU last month.</p>
<p>After parliament — which is controlled by President Viktor Yanukovych’s Party of Regions — failed to approve a no-confidence vote in the government on Tuesday, opposition politicians said they would call for round-the-clock blockades of key government buildings if the president fails to fire the cabinet.</p>
<p>Leading officials remain equally entrenched, casting the protests as acts of civil disobedience on the fringes of legality.</p>
<p>Prime Minister Mykola Azarov warned on Wednesday that “all those who are guilty of illegal acts will answer for them.”</p>
<p>“Everybody must realize that the country's constitution and laws are in force — no one is allowed to violate them,” Reuters reported him as saying.</p>
<p>In a meeting late Wednesday with Thorbjorn Jagland, secretary general of the Council of Europe, Azarov expressed regret over the excessive use of force but suggested the police had been baited.</p>
<p>“There were not students on the square — there were well-prepared provocateurs,” he said, according to the Interfax news agency.</p>
<p>Jagland, who flew to Kyiv on Wednesday to meet with both the authorities and opposition leaders, said he would try to mediate a compromise.</p>
<p>“But I have also seen that too many are focusing on how to aggravate the situation,” the AP reported him as saying.</p>
<p>The crisis has also attracted the attention of Ukraine’s first three presidents, who in a joint statement expressed their support for the anti-government protests, the largest since the Orange Revolution in 2004.</p>
<p>But they also warned of further turmoil.</p>
<p>“The crisis is deepening and we see risks of losing control over the situation,” the statement read.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost:&#160; <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/france/131202/hollande-france-car-military-intervention" type="external">Hollande goes Rambo</a></p>
<p>Meanwhile, protesters prepared for another frigid evening in central Kyiv, where organizers have turned Independence Square into a revolutionary squat.</p>
<p>Bonfires billowed smoke into the night sky as rows of Ukrainian flags fluttered above the crowd. Demonstrators huddled around disused fountains, sipping hot beverages and shuffling clothes, food and wood into the barricaded square.</p>
<p>At the other end, a steady rotation of speakers worked the crowd of thousands from a large stage, occasionally leading them in chants decrying Yanukovych and his government.</p>
<p>The mood is largely festive, seemingly far removed from the political bickering that has marked the ongoing crisis, however, many appear determined to hunker down for the long haul.</p>
<p>Warming his hands over a trashcan fire, 46-year-old Yuriy Olkiv says he’ll stay “for as long as it takes.”</p>
<p>“If you want to change things and achieve your goal,” said the lanky, bespectacled private businessman from western Ukraine, “then it’s worth standing here and not letting go.”&#160;</p>
|
Bickering, but no movement in Ukraine’s crisis
| false |
https://pri.org/stories/2013-12-04/bickering-no-movement-ukraine-s-crisis
|
2013-12-04
| 3left-center
|
Bickering, but no movement in Ukraine’s crisis
<p>KYIV, Ukraine — Opposition leaders continued trading accusations and demands with the authorities Wednesday as protesters hunkered down for another night amid uncertainty and political turmoil in this post-Soviet capital.</p>
<p>The leaders of the country’s three main opposition parties told reporters in an occupied trade union building off central Independence Square that they believe security forces would provoke violence in order to discredit the protesters.</p>
<p>“This will be a precedent with which they will say that this is not a peaceful protest, but an aggressive one,” said boxing champion Vitali Klitschko, head of the UDAR Party.</p>
<p>A violent police assault against peaceful protesters — most of them students — on the square last weekend stirred fresh anger among demonstrators and opposition leaders, who have intensified their calls to fire the government and hold snap elections.</p>
<p>Rage over police abuses has fueled the massive public protests against the government’s refusal to sign key political and trade agreements with the EU last month.</p>
<p>After parliament — which is controlled by President Viktor Yanukovych’s Party of Regions — failed to approve a no-confidence vote in the government on Tuesday, opposition politicians said they would call for round-the-clock blockades of key government buildings if the president fails to fire the cabinet.</p>
<p>Leading officials remain equally entrenched, casting the protests as acts of civil disobedience on the fringes of legality.</p>
<p>Prime Minister Mykola Azarov warned on Wednesday that “all those who are guilty of illegal acts will answer for them.”</p>
<p>“Everybody must realize that the country's constitution and laws are in force — no one is allowed to violate them,” Reuters reported him as saying.</p>
<p>In a meeting late Wednesday with Thorbjorn Jagland, secretary general of the Council of Europe, Azarov expressed regret over the excessive use of force but suggested the police had been baited.</p>
<p>“There were not students on the square — there were well-prepared provocateurs,” he said, according to the Interfax news agency.</p>
<p>Jagland, who flew to Kyiv on Wednesday to meet with both the authorities and opposition leaders, said he would try to mediate a compromise.</p>
<p>“But I have also seen that too many are focusing on how to aggravate the situation,” the AP reported him as saying.</p>
<p>The crisis has also attracted the attention of Ukraine’s first three presidents, who in a joint statement expressed their support for the anti-government protests, the largest since the Orange Revolution in 2004.</p>
<p>But they also warned of further turmoil.</p>
<p>“The crisis is deepening and we see risks of losing control over the situation,” the statement read.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost:&#160; <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/france/131202/hollande-france-car-military-intervention" type="external">Hollande goes Rambo</a></p>
<p>Meanwhile, protesters prepared for another frigid evening in central Kyiv, where organizers have turned Independence Square into a revolutionary squat.</p>
<p>Bonfires billowed smoke into the night sky as rows of Ukrainian flags fluttered above the crowd. Demonstrators huddled around disused fountains, sipping hot beverages and shuffling clothes, food and wood into the barricaded square.</p>
<p>At the other end, a steady rotation of speakers worked the crowd of thousands from a large stage, occasionally leading them in chants decrying Yanukovych and his government.</p>
<p>The mood is largely festive, seemingly far removed from the political bickering that has marked the ongoing crisis, however, many appear determined to hunker down for the long haul.</p>
<p>Warming his hands over a trashcan fire, 46-year-old Yuriy Olkiv says he’ll stay “for as long as it takes.”</p>
<p>“If you want to change things and achieve your goal,” said the lanky, bespectacled private businessman from western Ukraine, “then it’s worth standing here and not letting go.”&#160;</p>
| 7,209 |
<p>A Trump administration official has resigned after claiming earlier this week that his controversial comments apparently made by him online were made by “imposters.”</p>
<p>William C. Bradford, head of the Energy Department’s Office of Indian Energy, resigned on Thursday, <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/31/politics/kfile-bradford-resigns/index.html" type="external">according to CNN</a>.</p>
<p>“William Bradford tendered his resignation this afternoon and is no longer with the Department of Energy,” DOE spokesperson Shaylyn Hynes told the network.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/29/politics/kfile-bradford-online-commenting-account/index.html" type="external">CNN linked</a> Bradford to a Disqus account that called President Barack Obama “the son of a fourth-rate p&amp;*n actress and w@!re” in a comment on a September 2016 article on Daily Wire.</p>
<p>Before he joined the Trump administration, Bradford made several controversial remarks on Twitter, using an account that has since been deleted. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2017/06/22/how-else-can-a-kenyan-creampuff-get-ahead-is-just-one-of-the-disturbing-tweets-sent-by-this-trump-energy-department-agency-head/?utm_term=.5b5a563bba5e&amp;tid=a_inl" type="external">According to The Washington Post</a>, he defended the use of Japanese internment camps during World War II as “necessary” on the anniversary of their opening, said that “women have no business in combat,” referred to Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg as an “arrogant self-hating Jew,” and called President Barack Obama a “Kenyan creampuff” and questioned whether he would leave office once his term ended in 2017.</p>
<p>Earlier this year, he acknowledged the Twitter account as his own and apologized for his comments in an email to the Post.</p>
<p>Bradford told CNN, “I cannot comment on an ongoing federal investigation into multiple cyber attacks and Internet crimes committed against me over the past several years, to include email intrusions, hacking, and impostors in social media.”</p>
|
Trump Energy Appointee Resigns Over Inflammatory Tweets
| false |
https://newsline.com/trump-energy-appointee-resigns-over-inflammatory-tweets/
|
2017-09-01
| 1right-center
|
Trump Energy Appointee Resigns Over Inflammatory Tweets
<p>A Trump administration official has resigned after claiming earlier this week that his controversial comments apparently made by him online were made by “imposters.”</p>
<p>William C. Bradford, head of the Energy Department’s Office of Indian Energy, resigned on Thursday, <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/31/politics/kfile-bradford-resigns/index.html" type="external">according to CNN</a>.</p>
<p>“William Bradford tendered his resignation this afternoon and is no longer with the Department of Energy,” DOE spokesperson Shaylyn Hynes told the network.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/29/politics/kfile-bradford-online-commenting-account/index.html" type="external">CNN linked</a> Bradford to a Disqus account that called President Barack Obama “the son of a fourth-rate p&amp;*n actress and w@!re” in a comment on a September 2016 article on Daily Wire.</p>
<p>Before he joined the Trump administration, Bradford made several controversial remarks on Twitter, using an account that has since been deleted. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2017/06/22/how-else-can-a-kenyan-creampuff-get-ahead-is-just-one-of-the-disturbing-tweets-sent-by-this-trump-energy-department-agency-head/?utm_term=.5b5a563bba5e&amp;tid=a_inl" type="external">According to The Washington Post</a>, he defended the use of Japanese internment camps during World War II as “necessary” on the anniversary of their opening, said that “women have no business in combat,” referred to Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg as an “arrogant self-hating Jew,” and called President Barack Obama a “Kenyan creampuff” and questioned whether he would leave office once his term ended in 2017.</p>
<p>Earlier this year, he acknowledged the Twitter account as his own and apologized for his comments in an email to the Post.</p>
<p>Bradford told CNN, “I cannot comment on an ongoing federal investigation into multiple cyber attacks and Internet crimes committed against me over the past several years, to include email intrusions, hacking, and impostors in social media.”</p>
| 7,210 |
<p>V for Vinegar Movement. Brazilian Spring.&#160;The social unrest and demonstrations that shook Brazil during June and July, and continued into August with smaller but persistent aftershocks, have attracted several monikers that added a touch of humor to them. The unprecedented protest wave caught politicians, right and left, by surprise and left them not quite sure how to respond to this movement without leaders, fueled by social media networks, which prompted millions to take to the streets to protest systemic corruption and ramshackle public services.</p>
<p>Bus fare hikes in Sao Paulo were the catalyst, but a lesser known movement has also emerged from the widespread, deep-seated discontent about Brazil's corruption, rigged political and justice systems, and the failure to punish crimes: the animal advocacy movement.</p>
<p>On August 18, Brazilians across 216 cities took part in a nationally coordinated effort known as Crueldade Nunca Mais (No More Cruelty), which brought together a coalition of organizations from welfarist heavy-weights like the&#160; <a href="http://www.wspa-international.org/" type="external">World Society for the Protection of Animals</a>&#160;to vegan activists like Guia Vegano.</p>
<p>Crueldade Nunca Mais started in 2012 in response to the killing of Lobo in the city of Piracicaba, Sao Paulo State. The case of the dog dragged to death by his owner became national news but, despite the outcry, Cláudio César Messias received only a small fine and a suspended six-month sentence. Even though the penalty was symbolic, some people celebrated that the trial resulted in some kind of punishment.</p>
<p>Like corrupt politicians who hardly ever land in jail even when they're publicly unmasked, animal abusers in Brazil rarely get caught and when they do, they're let off with a slap on the wrist. One of the reasons is the outmoded legislation that does not reflect the country’s shifting moral compass towards non-humans. But perhaps as a sign of economic and cultural development, Brazil has seen a rapid rise in the animal advocacy movement, also largely thanks to social networks.</p>
<p />
<p>Crime and a Lack of Punishment</p>
<p>Animal cruelty is a widespread problem in Latin America's largest nation. Overworked and underfed horses and mules collapse dead around the country on a daily basis. An epidemic of pet abandon has left 30 million dogs homeless and vulnerable to all types of abuse in addition to hunger and disease. Wildlife trafficking forcefully removes 30 million individual animals from their habitats every year, with 90 percent dying from the stress of being captured. More than half of the meat consumed in Brazil comes from illegal slaughterhouses where animals are dispatched gruesomely. Everywhere in the country, animals are suffering.</p>
<p>Crueldade Nunca Mais demands that harsher penalties against animal cruelty be written into Brazil's new criminal code, which is currently undergoing revision to equip police with a better legal apparatus to press for charges. “I believe prison and higher penalties prevent criminal acts. The lack of punishment ends up stimulating crime,” says journalist Silvana Andrade, who is the founder of ANDA, Brazil’s largest animal rights news portal, which attracts over 1 million visitors per month.</p>
<p>“There will always be psychopaths, but there are also plenty of opportunists," she adds. "For the latter, prison and fines for animal abuse can make them think before acting.”</p>
<p>Andrade’s opinion is echoed by George Guimarães, head of the vegan activist group VEDDAS. “Harsher penalties can have a long-term impact on a number of criminals, especially the ones with a sense of consequence,” says Guimarães. He notes, however, that “the most efficient measure is to raise people’s awareness in relation to the issue, so that the general public perceives mistreating animals as something reprehensible.”</p>
<p>The&#160; <a href="http://www.crueldadenuncamais.com.br/peticao.php" type="external">Crueldade Nunca Mais movement's petition</a>&#160;has been signed by more than 200,000 people and attracted support from a string of TV celebrities starring in Brazil’s soap operas, the local version of Hollywood fame. Household names such as Sabrina Kato, Giovanna Ewbank and Guilherme Boury appeared in promo videos in the build-up to last Sunday's street protest.</p>
<p>This summer showed that Brazilians have developed a taste for protest and occupation as well as the awareness that in order to change the country for the better, they need to roll up their sleeves and act. Rio de Janeiro in particular is demonstrating resilience with constant protests directed at Governor Sergio Cabral for alleged corruption and abuse of power. The city’s assembly was occupied for several days in the first half of August.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Coco Park in the northeastern city of Fortaleza has been uninterruptedly occupied for more than 40 days. Spots of protest are to be found somewhere, everyday, across the country. Protest has become a way of life. The placards and chanting make it clear that what drives it is a vision of a fairer, more ethical and compassionate society.</p>
<p>And the demands translate to better, fairer treatment of Brazil's animals, too.</p>
|
Brazilians Occupy for Animal Rights, Protesting Widespread Cruelty
| true |
http://occupy.com/article/brazilians-occupy-animal-rights-protesting-widespread-cruelty
| 4left
|
Brazilians Occupy for Animal Rights, Protesting Widespread Cruelty
<p>V for Vinegar Movement. Brazilian Spring.&#160;The social unrest and demonstrations that shook Brazil during June and July, and continued into August with smaller but persistent aftershocks, have attracted several monikers that added a touch of humor to them. The unprecedented protest wave caught politicians, right and left, by surprise and left them not quite sure how to respond to this movement without leaders, fueled by social media networks, which prompted millions to take to the streets to protest systemic corruption and ramshackle public services.</p>
<p>Bus fare hikes in Sao Paulo were the catalyst, but a lesser known movement has also emerged from the widespread, deep-seated discontent about Brazil's corruption, rigged political and justice systems, and the failure to punish crimes: the animal advocacy movement.</p>
<p>On August 18, Brazilians across 216 cities took part in a nationally coordinated effort known as Crueldade Nunca Mais (No More Cruelty), which brought together a coalition of organizations from welfarist heavy-weights like the&#160; <a href="http://www.wspa-international.org/" type="external">World Society for the Protection of Animals</a>&#160;to vegan activists like Guia Vegano.</p>
<p>Crueldade Nunca Mais started in 2012 in response to the killing of Lobo in the city of Piracicaba, Sao Paulo State. The case of the dog dragged to death by his owner became national news but, despite the outcry, Cláudio César Messias received only a small fine and a suspended six-month sentence. Even though the penalty was symbolic, some people celebrated that the trial resulted in some kind of punishment.</p>
<p>Like corrupt politicians who hardly ever land in jail even when they're publicly unmasked, animal abusers in Brazil rarely get caught and when they do, they're let off with a slap on the wrist. One of the reasons is the outmoded legislation that does not reflect the country’s shifting moral compass towards non-humans. But perhaps as a sign of economic and cultural development, Brazil has seen a rapid rise in the animal advocacy movement, also largely thanks to social networks.</p>
<p />
<p>Crime and a Lack of Punishment</p>
<p>Animal cruelty is a widespread problem in Latin America's largest nation. Overworked and underfed horses and mules collapse dead around the country on a daily basis. An epidemic of pet abandon has left 30 million dogs homeless and vulnerable to all types of abuse in addition to hunger and disease. Wildlife trafficking forcefully removes 30 million individual animals from their habitats every year, with 90 percent dying from the stress of being captured. More than half of the meat consumed in Brazil comes from illegal slaughterhouses where animals are dispatched gruesomely. Everywhere in the country, animals are suffering.</p>
<p>Crueldade Nunca Mais demands that harsher penalties against animal cruelty be written into Brazil's new criminal code, which is currently undergoing revision to equip police with a better legal apparatus to press for charges. “I believe prison and higher penalties prevent criminal acts. The lack of punishment ends up stimulating crime,” says journalist Silvana Andrade, who is the founder of ANDA, Brazil’s largest animal rights news portal, which attracts over 1 million visitors per month.</p>
<p>“There will always be psychopaths, but there are also plenty of opportunists," she adds. "For the latter, prison and fines for animal abuse can make them think before acting.”</p>
<p>Andrade’s opinion is echoed by George Guimarães, head of the vegan activist group VEDDAS. “Harsher penalties can have a long-term impact on a number of criminals, especially the ones with a sense of consequence,” says Guimarães. He notes, however, that “the most efficient measure is to raise people’s awareness in relation to the issue, so that the general public perceives mistreating animals as something reprehensible.”</p>
<p>The&#160; <a href="http://www.crueldadenuncamais.com.br/peticao.php" type="external">Crueldade Nunca Mais movement's petition</a>&#160;has been signed by more than 200,000 people and attracted support from a string of TV celebrities starring in Brazil’s soap operas, the local version of Hollywood fame. Household names such as Sabrina Kato, Giovanna Ewbank and Guilherme Boury appeared in promo videos in the build-up to last Sunday's street protest.</p>
<p>This summer showed that Brazilians have developed a taste for protest and occupation as well as the awareness that in order to change the country for the better, they need to roll up their sleeves and act. Rio de Janeiro in particular is demonstrating resilience with constant protests directed at Governor Sergio Cabral for alleged corruption and abuse of power. The city’s assembly was occupied for several days in the first half of August.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Coco Park in the northeastern city of Fortaleza has been uninterruptedly occupied for more than 40 days. Spots of protest are to be found somewhere, everyday, across the country. Protest has become a way of life. The placards and chanting make it clear that what drives it is a vision of a fairer, more ethical and compassionate society.</p>
<p>And the demands translate to better, fairer treatment of Brazil's animals, too.</p>
| 7,211 |
|
<p>By Gabriela Baczynska</p>
<p>BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European governments are “complicit” in grave human rights violations in Libya through their support for authorities there that often work with people smugglers and torture refugees and migrants, Amnesty International said on Tuesday.</p>
<p>Determined to cut African immigration across the Mediterranean, the governments, via the European Union, have provided support to Libya, trained its coastguard and spent millions of euros through U.N. agencies to improve conditions in detention camps where Libya puts the migrants.</p>
<p>The advocacy group said up to 20,000 people were now held in these centers and subject to “torture, forced labor, extortion, and unlawful killings”, adding to similar allegations made by other rights organizations over the past months.</p>
<p>“European governments have not just been fully aware of these abuses; by actively supporting the Libyan authorities in stopping sea crossings and containing people in Libya, they are complicit in these crimes,” John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International’s head for Europe, said.</p>
<p>The European Union’s executive arm, the European Commission, was not immediately available for comment.</p>
<p>Libya is the main gateway for migrants trying to cross to Europe by sea, though numbers have dropped sharply since July as Libyan factions and authorities have begun to block departures under pressure from Italy, the main landing point. More than 600,000 have made the journey over the past four years.</p>
<p>Amnesty said the Libyan coastguards – which the EU backs to intercept people heading for Europe – work hand-in-hand with people smugglers, including in torturing people to extort money.</p>
<p>“By supporting Libyan authorities in trapping people in Libya … European governments have shown where their true priorities lie: namely the closure of the central Mediterranean route, with scant regard to the suffering caused,” said Dalhuisen.</p>
<p>With Libya being largely a lawless states since the fall of veteran ruler Muammar Gaddafi, some EU officials and diplomats chafe at what they see as being forced to rely on sometimes shady characters in the matrix of alliances between militias.</p>
<p>However, EU leaders meeting for their final gathering this year in Brussels on Dec. 14-15 will recommit themselves to this strategy, which they see as bearing fruit in the form of fewer sea crossings.</p>
<p>The presidency of Libya’s U.N.-backed government said last month it was a victim of illegal migration, not a source of it, and appealed to foreign powers to help stop flows from migrants’ countries of origin.</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>
|
Amnesty accuses EU of abetting migrant rights violations in Libya
| false |
https://newsline.com/amnesty-accuses-eu-of-abetting-migrant-rights-violations-in-libya/
|
2017-12-11
| 1right-center
|
Amnesty accuses EU of abetting migrant rights violations in Libya
<p>By Gabriela Baczynska</p>
<p>BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European governments are “complicit” in grave human rights violations in Libya through their support for authorities there that often work with people smugglers and torture refugees and migrants, Amnesty International said on Tuesday.</p>
<p>Determined to cut African immigration across the Mediterranean, the governments, via the European Union, have provided support to Libya, trained its coastguard and spent millions of euros through U.N. agencies to improve conditions in detention camps where Libya puts the migrants.</p>
<p>The advocacy group said up to 20,000 people were now held in these centers and subject to “torture, forced labor, extortion, and unlawful killings”, adding to similar allegations made by other rights organizations over the past months.</p>
<p>“European governments have not just been fully aware of these abuses; by actively supporting the Libyan authorities in stopping sea crossings and containing people in Libya, they are complicit in these crimes,” John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International’s head for Europe, said.</p>
<p>The European Union’s executive arm, the European Commission, was not immediately available for comment.</p>
<p>Libya is the main gateway for migrants trying to cross to Europe by sea, though numbers have dropped sharply since July as Libyan factions and authorities have begun to block departures under pressure from Italy, the main landing point. More than 600,000 have made the journey over the past four years.</p>
<p>Amnesty said the Libyan coastguards – which the EU backs to intercept people heading for Europe – work hand-in-hand with people smugglers, including in torturing people to extort money.</p>
<p>“By supporting Libyan authorities in trapping people in Libya … European governments have shown where their true priorities lie: namely the closure of the central Mediterranean route, with scant regard to the suffering caused,” said Dalhuisen.</p>
<p>With Libya being largely a lawless states since the fall of veteran ruler Muammar Gaddafi, some EU officials and diplomats chafe at what they see as being forced to rely on sometimes shady characters in the matrix of alliances between militias.</p>
<p>However, EU leaders meeting for their final gathering this year in Brussels on Dec. 14-15 will recommit themselves to this strategy, which they see as bearing fruit in the form of fewer sea crossings.</p>
<p>The presidency of Libya’s U.N.-backed government said last month it was a victim of illegal migration, not a source of it, and appealed to foreign powers to help stop flows from migrants’ countries of origin.</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>
| 7,212 |
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<p>LA JUNTA, Colo. (AP) — Another day of severe weather is expected after a tornado caused minor damage when it touched down briefly in La Junta on Colorado’s southeastern plains.</p>
<p>National Weather Service spokeswoman Nezette Rydell said the tornado knocked down power poles on Monday, but no injuries have been reported.</p>
<p>Farther to the east, heavy rain flooded streets in Lamar.</p>
<p>The area is among those hardest hit by the drought in the West. The conditions in southeast Colorado are rated as exceptional, the most severe in the national rating system.</p>
<p>Rydell says people on the Front Range and the eastern plains can expect another round of severe weather today.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
|
Tornado touches down in La Junta, Colo.
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/211824/tornado-touches-down-in-la-junta-colo.html
|
2013-06-18
| 2least
|
Tornado touches down in La Junta, Colo.
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>LA JUNTA, Colo. (AP) — Another day of severe weather is expected after a tornado caused minor damage when it touched down briefly in La Junta on Colorado’s southeastern plains.</p>
<p>National Weather Service spokeswoman Nezette Rydell said the tornado knocked down power poles on Monday, but no injuries have been reported.</p>
<p>Farther to the east, heavy rain flooded streets in Lamar.</p>
<p>The area is among those hardest hit by the drought in the West. The conditions in southeast Colorado are rated as exceptional, the most severe in the national rating system.</p>
<p>Rydell says people on the Front Range and the eastern plains can expect another round of severe weather today.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
| 7,213 |
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<p />
<p>Berland regarded the activism of his adopted city with a mix of empathy and bemusement, checking out Occupy Wall Street demonstrations and protests against the gentrification of his own neighborhood. But now there is less distance between him and activists on the street. On a recent day Berland stood with about 100 others — from software engineers like himself to those who work in tech company cafeterias — outside a downtown museum for a rally against President Trump.</p>
<p>“Everyone come closer! We’re going to practice some chanting, and we’re going to get to know each other,” called a woman wearing a union T-shirt with a bullhorn pressed to her lips. The crowd closed in around a banner reading “Workers in Tech Say No Ban No Wall.” A clipboard-carrying organizer approached Berland to ask if he wanted to join a network of grassroots activists, but Berland waved him away. He had already signed up.</p>
<p>In the place that fought against the Vietnam War and for gay rights and, more recently, has been roiled by dissent over the technology industry’s impact on economic inequality, an unlikely alliance has formed in the left’s resistance against Trump. Old-school, anti-capitalist activists and new-school, free-enterprise techies are pushing aside their differences to take on a common foe.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>For years, these two strands of liberal America have been at each other’s throats. There’ve been protests against evictions of those who can’t afford the Bay Area’s ever-soaring rents. And think back, not so long ago, to the raucous rallies to block those fancy buses shuttling tech workers from city neighborhoods to the Silicon Valley campuses of Yahoo, Facebook, Apple and Google, where Berland once worked.</p>
<p>Cat Brooks, a Black Lives Matter activist in Oakland, has seen the toll the tech industry has taken on some. Her daughter’s elementary school teacher just moved to a distant suburb after her rent skyrocketed, and Brooks thinks more tech money must find its way into local communities. She nevertheless welcomes the infusion of new energy to the protest arena.</p>
<p>“It’s not about the business of we were here first,” she said. “We’re about the business of how can we support? Division at this time is not helpful.”</p>
<p>Such improbable partnerships scramble the historical protest model that used to pit working-class people against everyone else, said Rory McVeigh, director of the Center for the Study of Social Movements at the University of Notre Dame.</p>
<p>“There are new cleavages that can produce alliances that weren’t possible before,” McVeigh said. “When you feel all of you are being threatened but in different ways … trade-offs are minimized. You realize at times such as that that you need allies more than ever before.”</p>
<p>If all politics is personal, as the saying goes, the moment it got personal for the tech industry was when the Trump administration imposed its initial travel ban on immigrants and refugees from seven majority Muslim nations. The industry prides itself on its openness to immigrants, who comprise about one-quarter of the U.S. technology and science workforce and include the founders of iconic institutions.</p>
<p>Nearly 100 tech companies, including Google, Facebook and Uber, filed a court brief urging suspension of the ban, while Google co-founder Sergey Brin, a Russian immigrant, joined protests at San Francisco International Airport. That was followed by an unprecedented companywide walkout at Google and now, on March 14, nationwide rallies are planned for a “Tech Stands Up” day of protest.</p>
<p>“People in Silicon Valley, it’s really hard to get them excited about things that aren’t technical,” said Anita Rosen, a technology project manager who has started an activist group in the Valley suburb of Mountain View. “But everything that Trump says is the opposite of what we believe. He hates technology. He hates foreigners.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The morning after the election, Jesse Pickard convened the daily meeting at the technology firm he runs, Elevate. He could see the fear and heartbreak in the faces of his staff of 21, some of whom are legal immigrants. He tried to inspire them to fight for all the things that made them first fall in love with the United States. Then he set about doing that himself.</p>
<p>Pickard wondered if the door-knocking he’d done for Hillary Clinton had been the right use of his talents. “I didn’t feel I was having the impact I could have if I was meaningfully using my design skills,” he said.</p>
<p>And so Pickard launched DeBug Politics, a series of hackathons where teams of software engineers create apps to fight Trump and get more people involved in politics. Winning products include a Chrome browser extension that points viewers to news that doesn’t match their ideological viewpoint, and a tool that allows people to urge followers on social media to contact elected representatives.</p>
<p>Pickard’s company is based out of a three-story converted brewery in San Francisco’s trendy South of Market district. Sitting at a picnic table on the rooftop deck, where the company chef sometimes serves employees lunch and dinner, Pickard acknowledged that tech workers generally had a protected life.</p>
<p>“Prior to the election … you didn’t have a lot to worry about if you got a six-figure job right out of school and got catered lunches every day,” he said. “They had all these left-leaning and progressive opinions, but they didn’t feel like they had to fight very much.”</p>
<p>He’s been to a couple of demonstrations — his first in years — but Pickard thinks he can make more of an impact through technology.</p>
<p>Kai-Ping Yee feels the same. Yee moved to the Bay Area from Canada in 1998, earned his PhD at the University of California, Berkeley, and landed a job as a software engineer in Google’s philanthropic unit in 2007. Now he works at a startup to help immigrants send cash home.</p>
<p>Though he’s never been to a protest, the 40-year-old Yee sees himself as a kindred spirit with his leftist neighbors. “I do sympathize with a lot of the goals and the values behind these protests,” he said, “but have focused my effort on work.”</p>
<p>Part of that work has been creating an online pledge, signed by thousands of technology workers, against building databases for any potential Muslim registries or to aid deportations of immigrants. Yee is a Canadian citizen, though he is a legal permanent resident of this country, and he’s been shocked at having to think about a contingency plan should life in the U.S. become impossible.</p>
<p>“People whose pedigree is knocking on doors and calling representatives and waving signs are getting together with people who design apps,” Yee said. “People are working with people who do really, really different things because they realize it’s an emergency.”</p>
<p>Veteran activists said they are heartened by the civil awakening among tech workers. Debra Cleaver runs VOTE.org, which tries to make absentee voting easier with online tools. She said the greatest help may be tech companies using their copious coffers to fund legal challenges or otherwise fight back. Google, for example, created a $4 million crisis fund to help those affected by Trump’s travel ban.</p>
<p>However, Cleaver cautioned against efforts to “engineer” a way around the effects of Trump policies. “I’m sure they’re all trying” to design new apps and systems to fight Trump, she said, “and they’re going to find out that tech can’t solve this problem.”</p>
<p>Others aren’t so sure about sharing the streets because they don’t think they share the same ultimate goals.</p>
<p>Franki Velez, an Iraq War veteran on disability, stood outside an Oakland rental office recently with other longtime activists and renters fighting eviction. There was not a technology worker in sight, and she worried that they are missing the point anyway. They want to change, but preserve, a system that’s benefited them, she said, while protesters like her want to tear the system down and start from scratch.</p>
<p>“They don’t understand it’s a colonial system that’s never meant to be reformed,” she said.</p>
<p>Still, while their approaches can be strikingly different, Velez’s causes are increasingly being adopted by people not like her.</p>
<p>Velez’s group marched to a Wells Fargo branch to hand over a demand that the bank stop investing in the Dakota Access Pipeline. Two hours later, in the comfortable Silicon Valley suburb of Campbell, biotech executive Michael Clark drew cheers after telling a gathering of anti-Trump activists that he’d closed his Wells Fargo account to protest the pipeline.</p>
<p>Clark grew up in New Hampshire and then in Silicon Valley, when his mother took a job at Apple in the 1990s. He always considered himself a political independent, a moderate. But Trump’s election horrified him and, with a friend who runs a gourmet chocolate shop, he founded a chapter of the national liberal group “Indivisible” in Campbell.</p>
<p>“The country has moved so much to the right that puts me in the middle with people I wouldn’t have previously been aligned with,” Clark said. “It’s interesting that someone like me is on the same side as a lot of socialists.”</p>
<p>The two worlds don’t always intersect, but when they do it can verge on the surreal.</p>
<p>At the anti-Trump protest Laurence Berland attended outside the Children’s Creativity Museum, union leaders railed against the president, as did immigrant cafeteria workers in Spanish. Dana Sniezko, a veteran of local progressive causes who had worried the city was losing its radical edge amid tech-driven yuppie-ization, passed out homemade stickers reading “Resist” and said: “I think San Francisco is waking up.” Passers-by stopped and stared. A handful wearing tags that showed they were in town for a cryptography conference flashed a thumbs-up.</p>
<p>Praveen Sinha, a cryptographer who works at a Silicon Valley digital security firm, began to address the crowd. Sinha, who was born in the U.S., has long been active in liberal causes but despaired that many of his immigrant colleagues were afraid to protest for fear of encountering problems with the Trump administration in the future.</p>
<p>“We’re all in the same boat here,” he told the crowd, bemoaning how Trump was playing on racism to deny people from around the world the chance to contribute to America.</p>
<p>Afterward, Betsy Stone approached Sinha and identified herself as a member of the Socialist Workers Party who spent the previous year talking to voters. “We didn’t find racism or sexism or xenophobia,” she said. “We found people who say, ‘We need jobs like we used to have.'”</p>
<p>Stone, 77, was a blast from the Bay Area’s radical, working-class past. She toiled as a janitor and told Sinha about once being dismissed by an airline company after it hired a contractor who could use immigrant labor for less money.</p>
<p>“Great energy comes from all walks of life,” Sinha told her.</p>
<p>“The whole world cannot come to the U.S.,” Stone countered.</p>
<p>She and Sinha obviously disagreed about much, but then the conversation turned from their differences to their mutual disgust of Trump.</p>
<p>Finally, Stone handed Sinha a copy of a socialist newspaper and went on her way.</p>
|
Lefties, techies long at odds in SF, team up against Trump
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/966532/lefties-techies-long-at-odds-in-sf-team-up-against-trump-2.html
|
2017-03-10
| 2least
|
Lefties, techies long at odds in SF, team up against Trump
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Berland regarded the activism of his adopted city with a mix of empathy and bemusement, checking out Occupy Wall Street demonstrations and protests against the gentrification of his own neighborhood. But now there is less distance between him and activists on the street. On a recent day Berland stood with about 100 others — from software engineers like himself to those who work in tech company cafeterias — outside a downtown museum for a rally against President Trump.</p>
<p>“Everyone come closer! We’re going to practice some chanting, and we’re going to get to know each other,” called a woman wearing a union T-shirt with a bullhorn pressed to her lips. The crowd closed in around a banner reading “Workers in Tech Say No Ban No Wall.” A clipboard-carrying organizer approached Berland to ask if he wanted to join a network of grassroots activists, but Berland waved him away. He had already signed up.</p>
<p>In the place that fought against the Vietnam War and for gay rights and, more recently, has been roiled by dissent over the technology industry’s impact on economic inequality, an unlikely alliance has formed in the left’s resistance against Trump. Old-school, anti-capitalist activists and new-school, free-enterprise techies are pushing aside their differences to take on a common foe.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>For years, these two strands of liberal America have been at each other’s throats. There’ve been protests against evictions of those who can’t afford the Bay Area’s ever-soaring rents. And think back, not so long ago, to the raucous rallies to block those fancy buses shuttling tech workers from city neighborhoods to the Silicon Valley campuses of Yahoo, Facebook, Apple and Google, where Berland once worked.</p>
<p>Cat Brooks, a Black Lives Matter activist in Oakland, has seen the toll the tech industry has taken on some. Her daughter’s elementary school teacher just moved to a distant suburb after her rent skyrocketed, and Brooks thinks more tech money must find its way into local communities. She nevertheless welcomes the infusion of new energy to the protest arena.</p>
<p>“It’s not about the business of we were here first,” she said. “We’re about the business of how can we support? Division at this time is not helpful.”</p>
<p>Such improbable partnerships scramble the historical protest model that used to pit working-class people against everyone else, said Rory McVeigh, director of the Center for the Study of Social Movements at the University of Notre Dame.</p>
<p>“There are new cleavages that can produce alliances that weren’t possible before,” McVeigh said. “When you feel all of you are being threatened but in different ways … trade-offs are minimized. You realize at times such as that that you need allies more than ever before.”</p>
<p>If all politics is personal, as the saying goes, the moment it got personal for the tech industry was when the Trump administration imposed its initial travel ban on immigrants and refugees from seven majority Muslim nations. The industry prides itself on its openness to immigrants, who comprise about one-quarter of the U.S. technology and science workforce and include the founders of iconic institutions.</p>
<p>Nearly 100 tech companies, including Google, Facebook and Uber, filed a court brief urging suspension of the ban, while Google co-founder Sergey Brin, a Russian immigrant, joined protests at San Francisco International Airport. That was followed by an unprecedented companywide walkout at Google and now, on March 14, nationwide rallies are planned for a “Tech Stands Up” day of protest.</p>
<p>“People in Silicon Valley, it’s really hard to get them excited about things that aren’t technical,” said Anita Rosen, a technology project manager who has started an activist group in the Valley suburb of Mountain View. “But everything that Trump says is the opposite of what we believe. He hates technology. He hates foreigners.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The morning after the election, Jesse Pickard convened the daily meeting at the technology firm he runs, Elevate. He could see the fear and heartbreak in the faces of his staff of 21, some of whom are legal immigrants. He tried to inspire them to fight for all the things that made them first fall in love with the United States. Then he set about doing that himself.</p>
<p>Pickard wondered if the door-knocking he’d done for Hillary Clinton had been the right use of his talents. “I didn’t feel I was having the impact I could have if I was meaningfully using my design skills,” he said.</p>
<p>And so Pickard launched DeBug Politics, a series of hackathons where teams of software engineers create apps to fight Trump and get more people involved in politics. Winning products include a Chrome browser extension that points viewers to news that doesn’t match their ideological viewpoint, and a tool that allows people to urge followers on social media to contact elected representatives.</p>
<p>Pickard’s company is based out of a three-story converted brewery in San Francisco’s trendy South of Market district. Sitting at a picnic table on the rooftop deck, where the company chef sometimes serves employees lunch and dinner, Pickard acknowledged that tech workers generally had a protected life.</p>
<p>“Prior to the election … you didn’t have a lot to worry about if you got a six-figure job right out of school and got catered lunches every day,” he said. “They had all these left-leaning and progressive opinions, but they didn’t feel like they had to fight very much.”</p>
<p>He’s been to a couple of demonstrations — his first in years — but Pickard thinks he can make more of an impact through technology.</p>
<p>Kai-Ping Yee feels the same. Yee moved to the Bay Area from Canada in 1998, earned his PhD at the University of California, Berkeley, and landed a job as a software engineer in Google’s philanthropic unit in 2007. Now he works at a startup to help immigrants send cash home.</p>
<p>Though he’s never been to a protest, the 40-year-old Yee sees himself as a kindred spirit with his leftist neighbors. “I do sympathize with a lot of the goals and the values behind these protests,” he said, “but have focused my effort on work.”</p>
<p>Part of that work has been creating an online pledge, signed by thousands of technology workers, against building databases for any potential Muslim registries or to aid deportations of immigrants. Yee is a Canadian citizen, though he is a legal permanent resident of this country, and he’s been shocked at having to think about a contingency plan should life in the U.S. become impossible.</p>
<p>“People whose pedigree is knocking on doors and calling representatives and waving signs are getting together with people who design apps,” Yee said. “People are working with people who do really, really different things because they realize it’s an emergency.”</p>
<p>Veteran activists said they are heartened by the civil awakening among tech workers. Debra Cleaver runs VOTE.org, which tries to make absentee voting easier with online tools. She said the greatest help may be tech companies using their copious coffers to fund legal challenges or otherwise fight back. Google, for example, created a $4 million crisis fund to help those affected by Trump’s travel ban.</p>
<p>However, Cleaver cautioned against efforts to “engineer” a way around the effects of Trump policies. “I’m sure they’re all trying” to design new apps and systems to fight Trump, she said, “and they’re going to find out that tech can’t solve this problem.”</p>
<p>Others aren’t so sure about sharing the streets because they don’t think they share the same ultimate goals.</p>
<p>Franki Velez, an Iraq War veteran on disability, stood outside an Oakland rental office recently with other longtime activists and renters fighting eviction. There was not a technology worker in sight, and she worried that they are missing the point anyway. They want to change, but preserve, a system that’s benefited them, she said, while protesters like her want to tear the system down and start from scratch.</p>
<p>“They don’t understand it’s a colonial system that’s never meant to be reformed,” she said.</p>
<p>Still, while their approaches can be strikingly different, Velez’s causes are increasingly being adopted by people not like her.</p>
<p>Velez’s group marched to a Wells Fargo branch to hand over a demand that the bank stop investing in the Dakota Access Pipeline. Two hours later, in the comfortable Silicon Valley suburb of Campbell, biotech executive Michael Clark drew cheers after telling a gathering of anti-Trump activists that he’d closed his Wells Fargo account to protest the pipeline.</p>
<p>Clark grew up in New Hampshire and then in Silicon Valley, when his mother took a job at Apple in the 1990s. He always considered himself a political independent, a moderate. But Trump’s election horrified him and, with a friend who runs a gourmet chocolate shop, he founded a chapter of the national liberal group “Indivisible” in Campbell.</p>
<p>“The country has moved so much to the right that puts me in the middle with people I wouldn’t have previously been aligned with,” Clark said. “It’s interesting that someone like me is on the same side as a lot of socialists.”</p>
<p>The two worlds don’t always intersect, but when they do it can verge on the surreal.</p>
<p>At the anti-Trump protest Laurence Berland attended outside the Children’s Creativity Museum, union leaders railed against the president, as did immigrant cafeteria workers in Spanish. Dana Sniezko, a veteran of local progressive causes who had worried the city was losing its radical edge amid tech-driven yuppie-ization, passed out homemade stickers reading “Resist” and said: “I think San Francisco is waking up.” Passers-by stopped and stared. A handful wearing tags that showed they were in town for a cryptography conference flashed a thumbs-up.</p>
<p>Praveen Sinha, a cryptographer who works at a Silicon Valley digital security firm, began to address the crowd. Sinha, who was born in the U.S., has long been active in liberal causes but despaired that many of his immigrant colleagues were afraid to protest for fear of encountering problems with the Trump administration in the future.</p>
<p>“We’re all in the same boat here,” he told the crowd, bemoaning how Trump was playing on racism to deny people from around the world the chance to contribute to America.</p>
<p>Afterward, Betsy Stone approached Sinha and identified herself as a member of the Socialist Workers Party who spent the previous year talking to voters. “We didn’t find racism or sexism or xenophobia,” she said. “We found people who say, ‘We need jobs like we used to have.'”</p>
<p>Stone, 77, was a blast from the Bay Area’s radical, working-class past. She toiled as a janitor and told Sinha about once being dismissed by an airline company after it hired a contractor who could use immigrant labor for less money.</p>
<p>“Great energy comes from all walks of life,” Sinha told her.</p>
<p>“The whole world cannot come to the U.S.,” Stone countered.</p>
<p>She and Sinha obviously disagreed about much, but then the conversation turned from their differences to their mutual disgust of Trump.</p>
<p>Finally, Stone handed Sinha a copy of a socialist newspaper and went on her way.</p>
| 7,214 |
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<p>LONDON — The Latest from Wimbledon (all times local):</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>4:10 p.m.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Venus Williams has reached the Wimbledon final for the ninth time.</p>
<p>The five-time champion at the All England Club beat Johanna Konta 6-4, 6-2 on Centre Court, making her 9-1 in Wimbledon semifinals. The last time she reached the final was in 2009, and her only semifinal loss came last year.</p>
<p>Williams won her Wimbledon titles in 2000, ’01, ’05, ’07 and ’08.</p>
<p>Konta was hoping to become the first British woman to reach the final at Wimbledon since Virginia Wade won it in 1977.</p>
<p>Williams will face Garbine Muguruza in Saturday’s final.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>3:35 p.m.</p>
<p>Venus Williams won the first set 6-4 against Johanna Konta in the women’s semifinals at Wimbledon.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>2:13 p.m.</p>
<p>Garbine Muguruza advanced to the Wimbledon final by beating Magdalena Rybarikova 6-1, 6-1 on Centre Court.</p>
<p>Muguruza reached the Wimbledon final in 2015, but lost to Serena Williams. She will get another chance at the title on Saturday against either Venus Williams or Johanna Konta.</p>
<p>Muguruza won the first five games of the first set, facing only one break point and saving it. She then broke Rybarikova twice to open the second set and take a 4-0 lead.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>1:40 p.m.</p>
<p>Garbine Muguruza won the first set 6-1 against Magdalena Rybarikova in the women’s semifinals at Wimbledon.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>1:08 p.m.</p>
<p>Play on Centre Court at Wimbledon in the women’s semifinals has started.</p>
<p>Garbine Muguruza is facing Magdalena Rybarikova for a spot in Saturday’s final.</p>
<p>Muguruza reached the final at the All England Club in 2015 and won the French Open in 2016. Rybarikova is playing in the semifinals at a major tournament for the first time in her career.</p>
<p>In the second match, five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams will face Johanna Konta.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>12:50 p.m.</p>
<p>Five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams is in the semifinals at the All England Club for the second year in a row and will face Johanna Konta for a spot in Saturday’s final.</p>
<p>Williams, playing in her 20th Wimbledon tournament, is 8-1 in her previous nine semifinal appearances at the grass-court major.</p>
<p>Konta is playing in the Wimbledon semifinals for the first time.</p>
<p>In the opening match on Centre Court, 2015 Wimbledon finalist Garbine Muguruza will play Magdalena Rybarikova.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP tennis coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/apf-Tennis</p>
|
Venus Williams reaches 9th Wimbledon final
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/1032484/the-latest-venus-williams-wins-1st-set-in-wimbledon-semis.html
|
2017-07-13
| 2least
|
Venus Williams reaches 9th Wimbledon final
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>LONDON — The Latest from Wimbledon (all times local):</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>4:10 p.m.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Venus Williams has reached the Wimbledon final for the ninth time.</p>
<p>The five-time champion at the All England Club beat Johanna Konta 6-4, 6-2 on Centre Court, making her 9-1 in Wimbledon semifinals. The last time she reached the final was in 2009, and her only semifinal loss came last year.</p>
<p>Williams won her Wimbledon titles in 2000, ’01, ’05, ’07 and ’08.</p>
<p>Konta was hoping to become the first British woman to reach the final at Wimbledon since Virginia Wade won it in 1977.</p>
<p>Williams will face Garbine Muguruza in Saturday’s final.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>3:35 p.m.</p>
<p>Venus Williams won the first set 6-4 against Johanna Konta in the women’s semifinals at Wimbledon.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>2:13 p.m.</p>
<p>Garbine Muguruza advanced to the Wimbledon final by beating Magdalena Rybarikova 6-1, 6-1 on Centre Court.</p>
<p>Muguruza reached the Wimbledon final in 2015, but lost to Serena Williams. She will get another chance at the title on Saturday against either Venus Williams or Johanna Konta.</p>
<p>Muguruza won the first five games of the first set, facing only one break point and saving it. She then broke Rybarikova twice to open the second set and take a 4-0 lead.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>1:40 p.m.</p>
<p>Garbine Muguruza won the first set 6-1 against Magdalena Rybarikova in the women’s semifinals at Wimbledon.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>1:08 p.m.</p>
<p>Play on Centre Court at Wimbledon in the women’s semifinals has started.</p>
<p>Garbine Muguruza is facing Magdalena Rybarikova for a spot in Saturday’s final.</p>
<p>Muguruza reached the final at the All England Club in 2015 and won the French Open in 2016. Rybarikova is playing in the semifinals at a major tournament for the first time in her career.</p>
<p>In the second match, five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams will face Johanna Konta.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>12:50 p.m.</p>
<p>Five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams is in the semifinals at the All England Club for the second year in a row and will face Johanna Konta for a spot in Saturday’s final.</p>
<p>Williams, playing in her 20th Wimbledon tournament, is 8-1 in her previous nine semifinal appearances at the grass-court major.</p>
<p>Konta is playing in the Wimbledon semifinals for the first time.</p>
<p>In the opening match on Centre Court, 2015 Wimbledon finalist Garbine Muguruza will play Magdalena Rybarikova.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP tennis coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/apf-Tennis</p>
| 7,215 |
<p>McClatchy Washington Bureau:</p>
<p>WASHINGTON - Top Commerce and Treasury Departments officials appeared with Republican candidates and doled out millions in federal money in battleground congressional districts and states after receiving White House political briefings detailing GOP election strategy.</p>
<p>Political appointees in the Treasury Department received at least 10 political briefings from July 2001 to August 2006, officials familiar with the meetings said. Their counterparts at the Commerce Department received at least four briefings - all in the election years of 2002, 2004 and 2006.</p>
<p>The House Oversight Committee is investigating whether the White House's political briefings to at least 15 agencies, including to the Justice Department, the General Services Administration and the State Department, violated a ban on the use of government resources for campaign activities.</p>
<p />
<p><a href="http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/19034.html" type="external">Read more</a></p>
|
Follow the Taxpayer's Money
| true |
https://truthdig.com/articles/follow-the-taxpayers-money/
|
2007-08-18
| 4left
|
Follow the Taxpayer's Money
<p>McClatchy Washington Bureau:</p>
<p>WASHINGTON - Top Commerce and Treasury Departments officials appeared with Republican candidates and doled out millions in federal money in battleground congressional districts and states after receiving White House political briefings detailing GOP election strategy.</p>
<p>Political appointees in the Treasury Department received at least 10 political briefings from July 2001 to August 2006, officials familiar with the meetings said. Their counterparts at the Commerce Department received at least four briefings - all in the election years of 2002, 2004 and 2006.</p>
<p>The House Oversight Committee is investigating whether the White House's political briefings to at least 15 agencies, including to the Justice Department, the General Services Administration and the State Department, violated a ban on the use of government resources for campaign activities.</p>
<p />
<p><a href="http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/19034.html" type="external">Read more</a></p>
| 7,216 |
<p>Journal Article - Quarterly Journal: International Security</p>
<p />
<p>Since the September 11 attacks, analysts and public officials have expressed growing concern about the potential of Muslim citizens and residents of the United States to plot attacks within the country’s borders—a phenomenon sometimes referred to as “homegrown” terrorism. To assess this apparent threat, it is necessary to examine what is known about the willingness and capacity of Muslim Americans to execute deadly attacks in the United States. Three conditions, either alone or together, could contribute to an increasing threat of homegrown terrorism. The first concerns what is known about the radicalization of Muslim Americans and whether a surge in arrests in 2009 indicates a growing trend in Muslim American terrorism. The second relates to the capacity of aspiring militants to avoid detection as they prepare attacks. The third depends on the skills of aspiring terrorists and therefore their capacities to execute increasingly sophisticated attacks. The analysis should be generally reassuring to those concerned about Muslim homegrown terrorism. On both analytical and empirical grounds, there is not a significant basis for anticipating that Muslim Americans are increasingly motivated or capable of successfully engaging in lethal terrorist attacks in the United States.</p>
<p />
|
Muslim 'Homegrown' Terrorism in the United States: How Serious Is the Threat?
| false |
http://belfercenter.org/publication/muslim-homegrown-terrorism-united-states-how-serious-threat
|
2011-09-23
| 2least
|
Muslim 'Homegrown' Terrorism in the United States: How Serious Is the Threat?
<p>Journal Article - Quarterly Journal: International Security</p>
<p />
<p>Since the September 11 attacks, analysts and public officials have expressed growing concern about the potential of Muslim citizens and residents of the United States to plot attacks within the country’s borders—a phenomenon sometimes referred to as “homegrown” terrorism. To assess this apparent threat, it is necessary to examine what is known about the willingness and capacity of Muslim Americans to execute deadly attacks in the United States. Three conditions, either alone or together, could contribute to an increasing threat of homegrown terrorism. The first concerns what is known about the radicalization of Muslim Americans and whether a surge in arrests in 2009 indicates a growing trend in Muslim American terrorism. The second relates to the capacity of aspiring militants to avoid detection as they prepare attacks. The third depends on the skills of aspiring terrorists and therefore their capacities to execute increasingly sophisticated attacks. The analysis should be generally reassuring to those concerned about Muslim homegrown terrorism. On both analytical and empirical grounds, there is not a significant basis for anticipating that Muslim Americans are increasingly motivated or capable of successfully engaging in lethal terrorist attacks in the United States.</p>
<p />
| 7,217 |
<p>Melissa McCarthy is coming back to Saturday Night Live (SNL) this weekend as none other than White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer.</p>
<p>SNL teased this weekend’s new episode with a teaser of McCarthy going through a costume and makeup change while singing “I’m So Pretty,” with&#160;makeup and hair specialists bolting to make way for McCarthy’s reprise as Spicer in a perfectly fitting suit, tie, and latex bald cap with Spicer-esque hair on top.</p>
<p />
<p>The new episode is likely to satirize White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who is standing in for Spicer for the remainder of the week.</p>
|
She’s baaaack: SNL just released this teaser video for return of Melissa McCarthy as Sean Spicer
| true |
http://resistancereport.com/resistance/snl-mccarthy-spicer/
|
2017-05-10
| 4left
|
She’s baaaack: SNL just released this teaser video for return of Melissa McCarthy as Sean Spicer
<p>Melissa McCarthy is coming back to Saturday Night Live (SNL) this weekend as none other than White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer.</p>
<p>SNL teased this weekend’s new episode with a teaser of McCarthy going through a costume and makeup change while singing “I’m So Pretty,” with&#160;makeup and hair specialists bolting to make way for McCarthy’s reprise as Spicer in a perfectly fitting suit, tie, and latex bald cap with Spicer-esque hair on top.</p>
<p />
<p>The new episode is likely to satirize White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who is standing in for Spicer for the remainder of the week.</p>
| 7,218 |
<p>Not one death has been reported after a 7.4-magnitude earthquake that hit Mexico on Tuesday. It was the biggest temblor since the 8.1 magnitude quake in 1985 that killed about 10,000 people and destroyed large parts of Mexico City.</p>
<p>Read more: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/mexico/120320/major-earthquake-shakes-mexico" type="external">Earthquake shook Mexico Tuesday</a></p>
<p>Tuesday's quake, which centered in Guerrero state in the country's west, left hundreds of buildings damaged and caused many to "bounce like trampolines," reports <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/21/us-mexico-quake-idUSBRE82J10720120321" type="external">Reuters</a>.</p>
<p>Analysts at the US Geological Survey <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2012/0320/Mexico-earthquake-How-quake-prone-is-the-region" type="external">said</a> the earthquake had the potential to cause up to $100 million worth of damage and kill as many as 100, given the geography of the surroundings.</p>
<p>But it didn't.</p>
<p>About a dozen people were injured, however.</p>
<p>Construction has improved in Mexico in the wake of the 1985 quake. Tougher regulation has meant that buildings are less prone to collapse. That quake - along with many smaller ones since - also destroyed weaker buildings, leaving stronger ones that were able to survive Tuesday's seismic jolt.</p>
<p>While electricity and cell phone coverage went out in parts of Mexico City, some residents were still able to get online and use Twitter, Facebook and social messaging applications to communicate - which helped quell panic.</p>
<p>Mexico City is vulnerable to earthquakes, given its growth from an island in the dried-up bed of Lake Texcoco. The geology of the lakebed makes structures vulnerable to movement and compression, amplifying seismic activity.</p>
<p>The energy dissipated in Tuesday's tremor was less than half that of the 1985 quake, reports <a href="" type="external">BBC Mundo</a>. The Richter scale is <a href="http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/topics/richter.php" type="external">exponential</a> and so a single digit rise in magnitude represents a 10-fold increase in the amplitude of the shockwaves.</p>
<p>The capital city remains on alert after a number of potentially dangerous aftershocks Tuesday afternoon.</p>
|
Major Mexico earthquake causes no deaths
| false |
https://pri.org/stories/2012-03-21/major-mexico-earthquake-causes-no-deaths
|
2012-03-21
| 3left-center
|
Major Mexico earthquake causes no deaths
<p>Not one death has been reported after a 7.4-magnitude earthquake that hit Mexico on Tuesday. It was the biggest temblor since the 8.1 magnitude quake in 1985 that killed about 10,000 people and destroyed large parts of Mexico City.</p>
<p>Read more: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/mexico/120320/major-earthquake-shakes-mexico" type="external">Earthquake shook Mexico Tuesday</a></p>
<p>Tuesday's quake, which centered in Guerrero state in the country's west, left hundreds of buildings damaged and caused many to "bounce like trampolines," reports <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/21/us-mexico-quake-idUSBRE82J10720120321" type="external">Reuters</a>.</p>
<p>Analysts at the US Geological Survey <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2012/0320/Mexico-earthquake-How-quake-prone-is-the-region" type="external">said</a> the earthquake had the potential to cause up to $100 million worth of damage and kill as many as 100, given the geography of the surroundings.</p>
<p>But it didn't.</p>
<p>About a dozen people were injured, however.</p>
<p>Construction has improved in Mexico in the wake of the 1985 quake. Tougher regulation has meant that buildings are less prone to collapse. That quake - along with many smaller ones since - also destroyed weaker buildings, leaving stronger ones that were able to survive Tuesday's seismic jolt.</p>
<p>While electricity and cell phone coverage went out in parts of Mexico City, some residents were still able to get online and use Twitter, Facebook and social messaging applications to communicate - which helped quell panic.</p>
<p>Mexico City is vulnerable to earthquakes, given its growth from an island in the dried-up bed of Lake Texcoco. The geology of the lakebed makes structures vulnerable to movement and compression, amplifying seismic activity.</p>
<p>The energy dissipated in Tuesday's tremor was less than half that of the 1985 quake, reports <a href="" type="external">BBC Mundo</a>. The Richter scale is <a href="http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/topics/richter.php" type="external">exponential</a> and so a single digit rise in magnitude represents a 10-fold increase in the amplitude of the shockwaves.</p>
<p>The capital city remains on alert after a number of potentially dangerous aftershocks Tuesday afternoon.</p>
| 7,219 |
<p>The number of Australian home-loan approvals rose by a seasonally adjusted 0.5% in June from May, the Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday.</p>
<p>It was the second straight month of increases, following sharp declines earlier in the year. Economists surveyed ahead of the announcement had expected 1.5% growth for the month.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The value of loans for investment housing rose by 1.6% from May, the ABS said.</p>
<p>Finance approvals to build new houses rose by 3.6% in June from May. Approvals to buy newly built dwellings increased by 3.5%, while lending for the purchase of established homes fell by 0.1% in the month.</p>
<p>Regulatory efforts to stymie riskier mortgage lending to investors are starting to have some impact on slowing growth in finance.</p>
<p>The clamps on lenders are expected to remain in place for some time, with the Reserve Bank of Australia signaling it is not yet in a position to raise interest rates from record-low levels, citing low inflation readings and an elevated Australian dollar as risks to the economy.</p>
<p>Still, there has been some success in cooling house price growth.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>-Write to James Glynn at [email protected]</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>August 08, 2017 21:47 ET (01:47 GMT)</p>
|
Australian Housing Finance Rises in June
| true |
http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/08/08/australian-housing-finance-rises-in-june.html
|
2017-08-08
| 0right
|
Australian Housing Finance Rises in June
<p>The number of Australian home-loan approvals rose by a seasonally adjusted 0.5% in June from May, the Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday.</p>
<p>It was the second straight month of increases, following sharp declines earlier in the year. Economists surveyed ahead of the announcement had expected 1.5% growth for the month.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The value of loans for investment housing rose by 1.6% from May, the ABS said.</p>
<p>Finance approvals to build new houses rose by 3.6% in June from May. Approvals to buy newly built dwellings increased by 3.5%, while lending for the purchase of established homes fell by 0.1% in the month.</p>
<p>Regulatory efforts to stymie riskier mortgage lending to investors are starting to have some impact on slowing growth in finance.</p>
<p>The clamps on lenders are expected to remain in place for some time, with the Reserve Bank of Australia signaling it is not yet in a position to raise interest rates from record-low levels, citing low inflation readings and an elevated Australian dollar as risks to the economy.</p>
<p>Still, there has been some success in cooling house price growth.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>-Write to James Glynn at [email protected]</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>August 08, 2017 21:47 ET (01:47 GMT)</p>
| 7,220 |
<p />
<p />
<p>It's worth noting that propaganda, bias, and misleading information are much more widespread and cause more problems. Many people are discussing the impact of fake news in the just concluded elections. The U.S. population has been divided further by the stories that the media is sending out; more often the news has attacked certain populations while affirming others, thus creating a rift among the masses. There has been recent awakening on the impact of fake news and many have realized that it's important to address the issue of fake news. However, if people focus on the fake news they'll miss out on the bigger picture which includes the biased propaganda and misleading information.</p>
<p>The media tends to over-exaggerate and spread biased information for instance; in the recent Hamilton and Pence showdown, the Huffington Post reported that Mike Pence was booed like crazy while a video on ABC reported otherwise; some audiences were cheering. Hence, it's evident that the media was biased.</p>
<p>In the present times, the media is propagating post-truth politics which manipulatively supports someone's agenda and propagates some hidden propaganda; having that in mind, it's important to ask ourselves how we can identify information that is biased and incomplete from the truth.</p>
<p>The media has a wide spread means of spreading biased and misleading information which has a hidden agenda of promoting or publicizing a particular point of view or political cause. This issue exists in all social networks from YouTube, Facebook, and Google.</p>
<p>The main problem with the media is how facts and fiction intermingle; the media picks disturbing images, creates compelling narratives, uses visual storytelling to play on emotions, using video snippets all which play in to the masses with a hidden intent or agenda.</p>
<p>There's a consistent trend in the world that many people have taken, the realization that the media institutions are biased and dishonest has led many to distrust the media institutions.</p>
|
Fake News Is Not the Only Problem: Biased And Propaganda Are More Corrosive
| true |
http://thegoldwater.com/news/570-Fake-News-Is-Not-the-Only-Problem-Biased-And-Propaganda-Are-More-Corrosive
|
2016-11-24
| 0right
|
Fake News Is Not the Only Problem: Biased And Propaganda Are More Corrosive
<p />
<p />
<p>It's worth noting that propaganda, bias, and misleading information are much more widespread and cause more problems. Many people are discussing the impact of fake news in the just concluded elections. The U.S. population has been divided further by the stories that the media is sending out; more often the news has attacked certain populations while affirming others, thus creating a rift among the masses. There has been recent awakening on the impact of fake news and many have realized that it's important to address the issue of fake news. However, if people focus on the fake news they'll miss out on the bigger picture which includes the biased propaganda and misleading information.</p>
<p>The media tends to over-exaggerate and spread biased information for instance; in the recent Hamilton and Pence showdown, the Huffington Post reported that Mike Pence was booed like crazy while a video on ABC reported otherwise; some audiences were cheering. Hence, it's evident that the media was biased.</p>
<p>In the present times, the media is propagating post-truth politics which manipulatively supports someone's agenda and propagates some hidden propaganda; having that in mind, it's important to ask ourselves how we can identify information that is biased and incomplete from the truth.</p>
<p>The media has a wide spread means of spreading biased and misleading information which has a hidden agenda of promoting or publicizing a particular point of view or political cause. This issue exists in all social networks from YouTube, Facebook, and Google.</p>
<p>The main problem with the media is how facts and fiction intermingle; the media picks disturbing images, creates compelling narratives, uses visual storytelling to play on emotions, using video snippets all which play in to the masses with a hidden intent or agenda.</p>
<p>There's a consistent trend in the world that many people have taken, the realization that the media institutions are biased and dishonest has led many to distrust the media institutions.</p>
| 7,221 |
<p>Back in the bad old days of the Cold War — when mutual nuclear annihilation was a policy option — a culture of secrecy arose in Washington. What wise observers understood even then was that while governments tried to keep secrets from each other, their chief concern was to keep secrets from their own people.</p>
<p>Considering what had been done in the name of the United States, from Mafia assassination plots against foreign leaders to murder, corruption and coups d’état, that concern was quite sensible. And there was hell to pay when the hidden history began to emerge.</p>
<p>During the nine years since 9/11 the national security state has doubled or tripled in size, with huge annexes in the private sector — and the culture of secrecy has metastasized simultaneously. As The Washington Post reports in a landmark series titled “Top Secret America,” by Dana Priest and William Arkin, the dimensions of the security colossus are stunning. It is nothing less than a fourth branch of government, so large, so powerful and so wealthy that no other branch can even grasp it, let alone control it.</p>
<p>How big? Nobody knows exactly, not even the Post investigative team, after two years of research that gathered many thousands of public records, including government contracts, intelligence reports and corporate documents, and included interviews with exceptionally knowledgeable sources.</p>
<p />
<p>But Priest and Arkin, whose work ought to be read by everyone, say that there are as many as 1,271 government entities and 1,931 private companies “working on programs related to counterterrorism, homeland security and intelligence in about 10,000 locations across the United States,” with an estimated 854,000 people — far more than live in the city of Washington, D.C. — holding top-secret security clearances.”</p>
<p>More than 30 building complexes for top-secret intelligence outfits are either under construction now or have been built since September 2001; altogether, these buildings occupy 17 million square feet of space.</p>
<p>Nobody in the White House, the Congress or any of the intelligence agencies, including the new Office of the Director of National Intelligence, seems to have the capacity to manage the complex tangle of agencies, companies and off-the-books entities that are supposed to protect us from violent extremism.</p>
<p>After reviewing the way that the Defense Department oversees its most sensitive intelligence and operational programs last year, retired Army Lt. Gen. John R. Vines told the Post reporters that he found the morass almost incomprehensible: “I’m not aware of any agency with the authority, responsibility or a process in place to coordinate all these interagency and commercial activities. The complexity of this system defies description.”</p>
<p>Calling this thing a “system” is a bit misleading. But does the leviathan offspring of government and corporation make us safer? That, too, is difficult to determine — in fact, it is impossible to determine, as the writers explain, because with “so many employees, units and organizations, the lines of responsibility began to blur.”</p>
<p>We have no way of knowing precisely what the national security complex does with the hundreds of billions of dollars in its shrouded budgets. What we do know is that billions of dollars are wasted through redundancy, corruption and sheer overgrowth. Too many agencies are performing the same tasks, such as shutting down terrorist money transfers and generating too many reports for anyone to read.</p>
<p>Most disturbing is that so many critical functions are outsourced to private corporations, primarily loyal to shareholders and management. The role of these corporations and their lobbyists, who controlled the creation of the Department of Homeland Security during the George W. Bush administration, is a challenge to democracy of unprecedented proportions.</p>
<p>But despite presidential promises of transparency, the Barack Obama administration is fostering more secrecy, not less — which is exactly the wrong way to cope with this problem. Our democracy and our security both depend on bringing this monstrous bureaucracy to heel — and that can only be done in the sunlight.</p>
<p>Joe Conason writes for The <a href="http://www.observer.com" type="external">New York Observer</a>.</p>
<p>© 2010 Creators.com</p>
|
Our Secret Leviathan
| true |
https://truthdig.com/articles/our-secret-leviathan/
|
2010-07-22
| 4left
|
Our Secret Leviathan
<p>Back in the bad old days of the Cold War — when mutual nuclear annihilation was a policy option — a culture of secrecy arose in Washington. What wise observers understood even then was that while governments tried to keep secrets from each other, their chief concern was to keep secrets from their own people.</p>
<p>Considering what had been done in the name of the United States, from Mafia assassination plots against foreign leaders to murder, corruption and coups d’état, that concern was quite sensible. And there was hell to pay when the hidden history began to emerge.</p>
<p>During the nine years since 9/11 the national security state has doubled or tripled in size, with huge annexes in the private sector — and the culture of secrecy has metastasized simultaneously. As The Washington Post reports in a landmark series titled “Top Secret America,” by Dana Priest and William Arkin, the dimensions of the security colossus are stunning. It is nothing less than a fourth branch of government, so large, so powerful and so wealthy that no other branch can even grasp it, let alone control it.</p>
<p>How big? Nobody knows exactly, not even the Post investigative team, after two years of research that gathered many thousands of public records, including government contracts, intelligence reports and corporate documents, and included interviews with exceptionally knowledgeable sources.</p>
<p />
<p>But Priest and Arkin, whose work ought to be read by everyone, say that there are as many as 1,271 government entities and 1,931 private companies “working on programs related to counterterrorism, homeland security and intelligence in about 10,000 locations across the United States,” with an estimated 854,000 people — far more than live in the city of Washington, D.C. — holding top-secret security clearances.”</p>
<p>More than 30 building complexes for top-secret intelligence outfits are either under construction now or have been built since September 2001; altogether, these buildings occupy 17 million square feet of space.</p>
<p>Nobody in the White House, the Congress or any of the intelligence agencies, including the new Office of the Director of National Intelligence, seems to have the capacity to manage the complex tangle of agencies, companies and off-the-books entities that are supposed to protect us from violent extremism.</p>
<p>After reviewing the way that the Defense Department oversees its most sensitive intelligence and operational programs last year, retired Army Lt. Gen. John R. Vines told the Post reporters that he found the morass almost incomprehensible: “I’m not aware of any agency with the authority, responsibility or a process in place to coordinate all these interagency and commercial activities. The complexity of this system defies description.”</p>
<p>Calling this thing a “system” is a bit misleading. But does the leviathan offspring of government and corporation make us safer? That, too, is difficult to determine — in fact, it is impossible to determine, as the writers explain, because with “so many employees, units and organizations, the lines of responsibility began to blur.”</p>
<p>We have no way of knowing precisely what the national security complex does with the hundreds of billions of dollars in its shrouded budgets. What we do know is that billions of dollars are wasted through redundancy, corruption and sheer overgrowth. Too many agencies are performing the same tasks, such as shutting down terrorist money transfers and generating too many reports for anyone to read.</p>
<p>Most disturbing is that so many critical functions are outsourced to private corporations, primarily loyal to shareholders and management. The role of these corporations and their lobbyists, who controlled the creation of the Department of Homeland Security during the George W. Bush administration, is a challenge to democracy of unprecedented proportions.</p>
<p>But despite presidential promises of transparency, the Barack Obama administration is fostering more secrecy, not less — which is exactly the wrong way to cope with this problem. Our democracy and our security both depend on bringing this monstrous bureaucracy to heel — and that can only be done in the sunlight.</p>
<p>Joe Conason writes for The <a href="http://www.observer.com" type="external">New York Observer</a>.</p>
<p>© 2010 Creators.com</p>
| 7,222 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>PARIS — Baby milk maker Lactalis and French authorities have ordered a global recall of millions of products over fears of salmonella bacteria contamination.</p>
<p>The French company, one of the world’s largest dairy groups, said it was warned by health authorities in France that 26 infants have become sick since Dec. 1.</p>
<p>According to a list published on the French health ministry’s website, the recall affects customers in countries around the world, including: Britain and Greece in Europe, Morocco and Sudan in Africa, Peru and Colombia in South America and Pakistan, Bangladesh and China in Asia. The United States, a major market for Lactalis, is not affected.</p>
<p>Company spokesman Michel Nalet told The Associated Press on Monday that the “precautionary” recall involves “several million” products made since mid-February.</p>
<p>Lactalis said in a statement that the 26 cases of infection were linked to products branded Picot SL, Pepti Junior 1, Milumel Bio 1 and Picot Riz.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>It said it is “sincerely sorry for the concern generated by the situation and expresses its compassion and support to the families whose children fell ill.”</p>
<p>The symptoms of salmonella infection include abdominal cramps, diarrhea and fever. Most people recover without treatment.</p>
<p>The company said a possible source of the outbreak has been identified in a tower used to dry out the milk at a production site. Disinfection and cleaning measures have been put in place at the suspected site in western France.</p>
<p>The health scare started earlier this month when Lactalis was told that 20 infants under six months of age had been diagnosed with salmonella infection. The company ordered a first recall that has been extended to more products at the request of French authorities following new reports of infections.</p>
<p>Lactalis is a privately held company headquartered in Laval, western France. It has 75,000 employees in 85 countries and annual revenues of about 17 billion euros ($20 billion). Its other notable brands include President and Galbani cheeses and Parmalat milk.</p>
|
Baby formula maker calls global recall over salmonella fears
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/1105085/baby-milk-maker-orders-global-recall-over-salmonella-fears.html
|
2017-12-11
| 2least
|
Baby formula maker calls global recall over salmonella fears
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>PARIS — Baby milk maker Lactalis and French authorities have ordered a global recall of millions of products over fears of salmonella bacteria contamination.</p>
<p>The French company, one of the world’s largest dairy groups, said it was warned by health authorities in France that 26 infants have become sick since Dec. 1.</p>
<p>According to a list published on the French health ministry’s website, the recall affects customers in countries around the world, including: Britain and Greece in Europe, Morocco and Sudan in Africa, Peru and Colombia in South America and Pakistan, Bangladesh and China in Asia. The United States, a major market for Lactalis, is not affected.</p>
<p>Company spokesman Michel Nalet told The Associated Press on Monday that the “precautionary” recall involves “several million” products made since mid-February.</p>
<p>Lactalis said in a statement that the 26 cases of infection were linked to products branded Picot SL, Pepti Junior 1, Milumel Bio 1 and Picot Riz.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>It said it is “sincerely sorry for the concern generated by the situation and expresses its compassion and support to the families whose children fell ill.”</p>
<p>The symptoms of salmonella infection include abdominal cramps, diarrhea and fever. Most people recover without treatment.</p>
<p>The company said a possible source of the outbreak has been identified in a tower used to dry out the milk at a production site. Disinfection and cleaning measures have been put in place at the suspected site in western France.</p>
<p>The health scare started earlier this month when Lactalis was told that 20 infants under six months of age had been diagnosed with salmonella infection. The company ordered a first recall that has been extended to more products at the request of French authorities following new reports of infections.</p>
<p>Lactalis is a privately held company headquartered in Laval, western France. It has 75,000 employees in 85 countries and annual revenues of about 17 billion euros ($20 billion). Its other notable brands include President and Galbani cheeses and Parmalat milk.</p>
| 7,223 |
<p>American-Iranian relations have been fraught with difficulties and mutual animosity since the 1979 Iranian Revolution and subsequent hostage crisis.</p>
<p>Friday's phone conversation between the newly-elected Iranian President Hassan Rouhani&#160;and US President Barack Obama is <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57605065/obama-speaks-to-rouhani-says-iran-nuclear-deal-possible/" type="external">the first high-level</a> contact between the two nations in more than 30 years.</p>
<p>Though it is too early to tell if the conversation marks a breakthrough in both US-Iranian relations and in the talks over Iranian nuclear weapons, it was a historic moment.</p>
<p>Here are seven other events since 1979 that have defined the recent relationship between the two countries:</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>1979: The Iranian Revolution</p>
<p />
<p>Gabriel Duval/AFP/Getty Images</p>
<p>The US-backed Shah is forced to flee the country after massive protests oust him from power. His exit sees the overthrow of the regime and the return of the religious leader&#160;Ayatollah Khomeini from exile in February of that year. Vocally anti-American and anti-Western, Khomeini calls for the expulsion of all foreigners from the country.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>1979: The Hostage Crisis and oil ban</p>
<p />
<p>H. Kotilainen/AFP/Getty Images</p>
<p>In November, young Iranian militants storm the US embassy and take 63 Americans hostage with the support of the Ayatollah. The hostage crisis effectively ends US-Iranian relations and sees a botched rescue attempt by US commandos. President Jimmy Carter's re-election prospects are hurt badly by the failed rescue. During the crisis, President Carter bans the import of Iranian oil - a prohibition which continues to this day. The hostages are finally freed after 444 days.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>1986: The Iran Contra Scandal</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>The United States held secret talks with Iran in order to free their hostages in Lebanon in exchange for weapons' sales during the Iran-Iraq War. The profits of those sales <a href="" type="external">were channeled</a>by the US to&#160;Nicaraguan rebels known as contras. The revelations were exposed and caused a scandal during the presidency of Ronald Reagan. The incident led to a series of resignations and an investigation by Congress.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>1987: US involvement in the Iran-Iraq War</p>
<p />
<p>Eric Feferberg/AFP/Getty Images</p>
<p>The United States entered the brutal conflict in 1987 in an effort to protect shipping lanes, before becoming further embroiled in the fighting. The US did not fully take sides but eventually <a href="http://www.iranchamber.com/history/articles/arming_iraq.php" type="external">extended various forms of aid</a> to Iraq, which led the conflict into a stalemate. It was recently reported that the US was&#160; <a href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/08/25/secret_cia_files_prove_america_helped_saddam_as_he_gassed_iran" type="external">said to have been aware</a> of the chemical weapons used by Iraqi soldiers on Iran before the attack occurred, but did nothing to stop it. The US also attacked Iranian oil platforms in the Gulf after one of its ships were destroyed by a mine, as well as shooting down an Iran Air passenger plane, which it alleges was an accident.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>2003: Iranian nuclear facilities discovered</p>
<p />
<p>Getty Images</p>
<p>Though publicly revealed in 2002, the IAEA did not outline Iran's breaches of nuclear agreements until a 2004 report, which prompted first the European Union, and then the United States, to pursue talks and further sanctions against the Iranian regime. The IAEA has monitored the development of Iran's alleged nuclear weapons program in quarterly reports ever since, tracking their development and condemning their breaches of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>2003-present: Nuclear negotiations</p>
<p />
<p>Majid/AFP/Getty Images</p>
<p>Nuclear negotiations with Iran and the Western powers have been stalled since the P5+1 negotiations in Baghdad last year.&#160;The negotatioins have started and stopped a number of times with Iran continuing its enrichment of uranium and building new uranium enrichment facilities despite calls for it to halt its work. Though recently the United States has called for bilateral talks, it has tended to negotiate under the auspices of the P5+1.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>2013: Obama-Rouhani phone call</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>In a sign of the times Iranian President Rouhani tweeted <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2013/09/27/politics/us-iran/index.html" type="external">that he had</a> spoken to the American president by phone on Friday, September 27. The conversation occurred as Rouhani was leaving New York after the UN General Assembly and last 15 minutes. The two then exchanged messages on Twitter.&#160;The last time a US president spoke with an Iranian leader was in 1979, when Jimmy Carter spoke to Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi by phone just prior to his ouster.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
|
US-Iran relations timeline: 7 major events since the Iranian Revolution
| false |
https://pri.org/stories/2013-09-28/us-iran-relations-timeline-7-major-events-iranian-revolution
|
2013-09-28
| 3left-center
|
US-Iran relations timeline: 7 major events since the Iranian Revolution
<p>American-Iranian relations have been fraught with difficulties and mutual animosity since the 1979 Iranian Revolution and subsequent hostage crisis.</p>
<p>Friday's phone conversation between the newly-elected Iranian President Hassan Rouhani&#160;and US President Barack Obama is <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57605065/obama-speaks-to-rouhani-says-iran-nuclear-deal-possible/" type="external">the first high-level</a> contact between the two nations in more than 30 years.</p>
<p>Though it is too early to tell if the conversation marks a breakthrough in both US-Iranian relations and in the talks over Iranian nuclear weapons, it was a historic moment.</p>
<p>Here are seven other events since 1979 that have defined the recent relationship between the two countries:</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>1979: The Iranian Revolution</p>
<p />
<p>Gabriel Duval/AFP/Getty Images</p>
<p>The US-backed Shah is forced to flee the country after massive protests oust him from power. His exit sees the overthrow of the regime and the return of the religious leader&#160;Ayatollah Khomeini from exile in February of that year. Vocally anti-American and anti-Western, Khomeini calls for the expulsion of all foreigners from the country.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>1979: The Hostage Crisis and oil ban</p>
<p />
<p>H. Kotilainen/AFP/Getty Images</p>
<p>In November, young Iranian militants storm the US embassy and take 63 Americans hostage with the support of the Ayatollah. The hostage crisis effectively ends US-Iranian relations and sees a botched rescue attempt by US commandos. President Jimmy Carter's re-election prospects are hurt badly by the failed rescue. During the crisis, President Carter bans the import of Iranian oil - a prohibition which continues to this day. The hostages are finally freed after 444 days.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>1986: The Iran Contra Scandal</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>The United States held secret talks with Iran in order to free their hostages in Lebanon in exchange for weapons' sales during the Iran-Iraq War. The profits of those sales <a href="" type="external">were channeled</a>by the US to&#160;Nicaraguan rebels known as contras. The revelations were exposed and caused a scandal during the presidency of Ronald Reagan. The incident led to a series of resignations and an investigation by Congress.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>1987: US involvement in the Iran-Iraq War</p>
<p />
<p>Eric Feferberg/AFP/Getty Images</p>
<p>The United States entered the brutal conflict in 1987 in an effort to protect shipping lanes, before becoming further embroiled in the fighting. The US did not fully take sides but eventually <a href="http://www.iranchamber.com/history/articles/arming_iraq.php" type="external">extended various forms of aid</a> to Iraq, which led the conflict into a stalemate. It was recently reported that the US was&#160; <a href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/08/25/secret_cia_files_prove_america_helped_saddam_as_he_gassed_iran" type="external">said to have been aware</a> of the chemical weapons used by Iraqi soldiers on Iran before the attack occurred, but did nothing to stop it. The US also attacked Iranian oil platforms in the Gulf after one of its ships were destroyed by a mine, as well as shooting down an Iran Air passenger plane, which it alleges was an accident.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>2003: Iranian nuclear facilities discovered</p>
<p />
<p>Getty Images</p>
<p>Though publicly revealed in 2002, the IAEA did not outline Iran's breaches of nuclear agreements until a 2004 report, which prompted first the European Union, and then the United States, to pursue talks and further sanctions against the Iranian regime. The IAEA has monitored the development of Iran's alleged nuclear weapons program in quarterly reports ever since, tracking their development and condemning their breaches of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>2003-present: Nuclear negotiations</p>
<p />
<p>Majid/AFP/Getty Images</p>
<p>Nuclear negotiations with Iran and the Western powers have been stalled since the P5+1 negotiations in Baghdad last year.&#160;The negotatioins have started and stopped a number of times with Iran continuing its enrichment of uranium and building new uranium enrichment facilities despite calls for it to halt its work. Though recently the United States has called for bilateral talks, it has tended to negotiate under the auspices of the P5+1.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>2013: Obama-Rouhani phone call</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>In a sign of the times Iranian President Rouhani tweeted <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2013/09/27/politics/us-iran/index.html" type="external">that he had</a> spoken to the American president by phone on Friday, September 27. The conversation occurred as Rouhani was leaving New York after the UN General Assembly and last 15 minutes. The two then exchanged messages on Twitter.&#160;The last time a US president spoke with an Iranian leader was in 1979, when Jimmy Carter spoke to Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi by phone just prior to his ouster.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
| 7,224 |
<p><a href="" type="internal" /></p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Los Angeles topped the Environmental Protection Agency Top 25 Cities with “Energy Star” Certified Buildings for the fourth year in a row in 2011. The City of Angels increased its number of “Energy Star” certified buildings by 149 from 2010, leading the United States with 659 buildings.</p>
<p>In all, six California cities made the list, including San Francisco (#5), Riverside (#9), Sacramento (#12), San Diego (#19) and San Jose (#21).</p>
<p>Washington, DC ranked second on the list with 404 “Energy Star” certified buildings. San Francisco fell from third to fifth between 2010 and 2011. Riverside, California made it’s first appearance in the top 10 with 164 green “Energy Star” certified buildings.</p>
<p>Rounding out the Top 10 for 2011: Atlanta (#3), Chicago (#4), New York (#6), Houston (#7), Dallas-Ft. Worth (#8), and Boston (#10).</p>
<p>“More and more organizations are discovering the value of Energy Star as they work to cut costs and reduce their energy use,” said EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, in a statement. “This year marked the twentieth anniversary of the Energy Star program, and today Energy Star certified buildings in cities across America are helping to strengthen local economies and protect the planet for decades to come.”</p>
<p>“Energy Star” was launched by the Environmental Protection Agency in 1992 as a partnership to decrease greenhouse emissions by promoting energy efficiency.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>2011 Top 25 “Energy Star” Cities</p>
<p>1. Los Angeles</p>
<p>2.Washington, DC</p>
<p>3. Atlanta</p>
<p>4. Chicago</p>
<p>5. San Francisco</p>
<p>6. New York</p>
<p>7. Houston</p>
<p>8. Dallas-Ft. Worth</p>
<p>9. Riverside, CA</p>
<p>10. Boston</p>
<p>11. Denver</p>
<p>12. Sacramento</p>
<p>13. Phoenix</p>
<p>14. Minneapolis-St. Paul</p>
<p>15. Philadelphia</p>
<p>16. Seattle</p>
<p>17. Charlotte</p>
<p>18. Miami</p>
<p>19. San Diego</p>
<p>20. Detroit</p>
<p>21. San Jose</p>
<p>22. Tampa</p>
<p>23. Portland, Ore.</p>
<p>24. Colorado Springs</p>
<p>24. Salt Lake City</p>
<p>25. Cincinnati</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>The full report from the EPA can be viewed <a href="https://www.energystar.gov/ia/business/downloads/2011_Top_Cities_chart.pdf" type="external">here</a>.</p>
|
Los Angeles Leads EPA Top 25 ‘Energy Star’ Cities
| false |
https://ivn.us/2012/04/22/los-angeles-leads-epa-top-25-energy-star-cities/
|
2012-04-22
| 2least
|
Los Angeles Leads EPA Top 25 ‘Energy Star’ Cities
<p><a href="" type="internal" /></p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Los Angeles topped the Environmental Protection Agency Top 25 Cities with “Energy Star” Certified Buildings for the fourth year in a row in 2011. The City of Angels increased its number of “Energy Star” certified buildings by 149 from 2010, leading the United States with 659 buildings.</p>
<p>In all, six California cities made the list, including San Francisco (#5), Riverside (#9), Sacramento (#12), San Diego (#19) and San Jose (#21).</p>
<p>Washington, DC ranked second on the list with 404 “Energy Star” certified buildings. San Francisco fell from third to fifth between 2010 and 2011. Riverside, California made it’s first appearance in the top 10 with 164 green “Energy Star” certified buildings.</p>
<p>Rounding out the Top 10 for 2011: Atlanta (#3), Chicago (#4), New York (#6), Houston (#7), Dallas-Ft. Worth (#8), and Boston (#10).</p>
<p>“More and more organizations are discovering the value of Energy Star as they work to cut costs and reduce their energy use,” said EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, in a statement. “This year marked the twentieth anniversary of the Energy Star program, and today Energy Star certified buildings in cities across America are helping to strengthen local economies and protect the planet for decades to come.”</p>
<p>“Energy Star” was launched by the Environmental Protection Agency in 1992 as a partnership to decrease greenhouse emissions by promoting energy efficiency.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>2011 Top 25 “Energy Star” Cities</p>
<p>1. Los Angeles</p>
<p>2.Washington, DC</p>
<p>3. Atlanta</p>
<p>4. Chicago</p>
<p>5. San Francisco</p>
<p>6. New York</p>
<p>7. Houston</p>
<p>8. Dallas-Ft. Worth</p>
<p>9. Riverside, CA</p>
<p>10. Boston</p>
<p>11. Denver</p>
<p>12. Sacramento</p>
<p>13. Phoenix</p>
<p>14. Minneapolis-St. Paul</p>
<p>15. Philadelphia</p>
<p>16. Seattle</p>
<p>17. Charlotte</p>
<p>18. Miami</p>
<p>19. San Diego</p>
<p>20. Detroit</p>
<p>21. San Jose</p>
<p>22. Tampa</p>
<p>23. Portland, Ore.</p>
<p>24. Colorado Springs</p>
<p>24. Salt Lake City</p>
<p>25. Cincinnati</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>The full report from the EPA can be viewed <a href="https://www.energystar.gov/ia/business/downloads/2011_Top_Cities_chart.pdf" type="external">here</a>.</p>
| 7,225 |
<p><a href="" type="internal" />Chairing a panel on California’s would-be approach to legal marijuana has tamped down&#160;his enthusiasm for pot permissiveness, said Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, as the blue-ribbon panel released a sweeping new report on the question.</p>
<p>The commission included Stanford University professor Keith Humphreys and California ACLU director Abdi Soltani. Together with&#160;Newsom, they produced “58 policy and implementation recommendations drawn from a review of experiences both in California and in other states with marijuana legalization and enforcement,” as CBS San Francisco <a href="http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2015/07/22/gavin-newsom-report-regulation-california-marijuana-legalization/" type="external">reported</a>.</p>
<p>Newsom had distinguished himself as one of the state’s biggest supporters of reforms that would green light the recreational use of the drug. “The report does not explicity endorse or oppose legalization of recreational marijuana, although Newsom, who is running for governor in 2018, has been outspoken in support of legalization and is the highest-ranking California official to take that position,” <a href="http://www.latimes.com/local/political/la-me-pc-newsom-marijuana-report-20150722-story.html" type="external">according</a> to the Los Angeles Times.</p>
<p>But his panel’s report landed on a suite of policy prescriptions likely&#160;to leave many Californians with diminished hopes as well. Rejecting the notion of a free market for pot,&#160;the authors pushed for central regulatory oversight, standards for licensing and training, and rules barring youths from entering shops and purchasing certain types of product such as so-called edibles, the Times added.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the panel tried to strike a balance on taxation, calling for targeted revenue expenditures on health, safety and education programs widely seen as cultural “offsets” for legal marijuana.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" />The report has been hotly anticipated by leading groups working to place a legalization measure on California’s ballot next year. One such group, Reform CA, hoped to square their objectives with the plan in a preview of expected ballot language.&#160;Dale Gieringer, an adviser and&#160;state coordinator of California NORML — the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws — revealed that the group was looking to emulate Colorado’s approach to marijuana legalization.</p>
<p>“It would include a medical marijuana distribution model, unlike Washington state, which terminated its medical model after voters there legalized recreational use in 2012,” the San Francisco Chronicle <a href="http://blog.sfgate.com/stew/2015/07/16/group-pushes-for-ca-weed-law-to-resemble-colorados/" type="external">reported</a>. “Reform CA’s ballot measure would also have a plan for how to include small family farmers who have been growing cannabis for generations, a nod to fears that large tobacco and pharmaceutical companies would run small growers out of business should legalization be approved.”</p>
<p>The criminal justice implications of legalization figured into Reform CA’s agenda as much as Newsom’s panel. Driven by ACLU concerns, the&#160;panel emphasized the importance of diminishing “racial and economic disparities in criminal enforcement,” according to CBS San Francisco. According to Gieringer, Reform CA’s ballot&#160;language would include “a provision allowing people who have previous convictions to be allowed to participate in the new industry,” the Chronicle noted.</p>
<p>On the whole, California’s approach to managing pot legalization sought to use alcohol regulation as a pattern to follow.&#160;As SFist <a href="http://sfist.com/2015/07/22/gavin_newsom_and_marijuana_task_for.php" type="external">observed</a>, “the likely model for regulating the legal industry itself will be via alcohol controls” — an idea floated some two years ago by&#160;Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, who suggested handing regulatory duties over to&#160;the California Alcohol and Beverage Control agency:</p>
<p>“The new report suggests the beer industry, and the way California regulates breweries, is a good licensing model for legal pot, and one that ‘recognizes both function and size, with&#160;production caps for smaller entities, strict rules for retail sales, and a separate and distinct function for distributors.'”</p>
<p>Despite the fanfare surrounding the high-profile report — a national bellwether as states grapple with the complex task of forging a stable structure for looser pot laws — Newsom <a href="http://www.mercurynews.com/california/ci_28523914/california-marijuana-report-goal-should-be-curtailing-illegal" type="external">underscored</a>, in an interview with the Associated Press, that the panel was far from unanimous on a string of significant matters such as where revenues and prices would ideally settle. “[P]resenting the report&#160;as a series of options rather than detailed recommendations reflected both the difficulty of getting the group to agree on some of the thornier issues and the consensus that any law put before voters would ideally allow future fine-tuning,” he explained.</p>
|
Newsom-led report pushes pot regulations
| false |
https://calwatchdog.com/2015/07/29/newsom-led-report-pushes-pot-regulations/
|
2018-07-20
| 3left-center
|
Newsom-led report pushes pot regulations
<p><a href="" type="internal" />Chairing a panel on California’s would-be approach to legal marijuana has tamped down&#160;his enthusiasm for pot permissiveness, said Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, as the blue-ribbon panel released a sweeping new report on the question.</p>
<p>The commission included Stanford University professor Keith Humphreys and California ACLU director Abdi Soltani. Together with&#160;Newsom, they produced “58 policy and implementation recommendations drawn from a review of experiences both in California and in other states with marijuana legalization and enforcement,” as CBS San Francisco <a href="http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2015/07/22/gavin-newsom-report-regulation-california-marijuana-legalization/" type="external">reported</a>.</p>
<p>Newsom had distinguished himself as one of the state’s biggest supporters of reforms that would green light the recreational use of the drug. “The report does not explicity endorse or oppose legalization of recreational marijuana, although Newsom, who is running for governor in 2018, has been outspoken in support of legalization and is the highest-ranking California official to take that position,” <a href="http://www.latimes.com/local/political/la-me-pc-newsom-marijuana-report-20150722-story.html" type="external">according</a> to the Los Angeles Times.</p>
<p>But his panel’s report landed on a suite of policy prescriptions likely&#160;to leave many Californians with diminished hopes as well. Rejecting the notion of a free market for pot,&#160;the authors pushed for central regulatory oversight, standards for licensing and training, and rules barring youths from entering shops and purchasing certain types of product such as so-called edibles, the Times added.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the panel tried to strike a balance on taxation, calling for targeted revenue expenditures on health, safety and education programs widely seen as cultural “offsets” for legal marijuana.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" />The report has been hotly anticipated by leading groups working to place a legalization measure on California’s ballot next year. One such group, Reform CA, hoped to square their objectives with the plan in a preview of expected ballot language.&#160;Dale Gieringer, an adviser and&#160;state coordinator of California NORML — the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws — revealed that the group was looking to emulate Colorado’s approach to marijuana legalization.</p>
<p>“It would include a medical marijuana distribution model, unlike Washington state, which terminated its medical model after voters there legalized recreational use in 2012,” the San Francisco Chronicle <a href="http://blog.sfgate.com/stew/2015/07/16/group-pushes-for-ca-weed-law-to-resemble-colorados/" type="external">reported</a>. “Reform CA’s ballot measure would also have a plan for how to include small family farmers who have been growing cannabis for generations, a nod to fears that large tobacco and pharmaceutical companies would run small growers out of business should legalization be approved.”</p>
<p>The criminal justice implications of legalization figured into Reform CA’s agenda as much as Newsom’s panel. Driven by ACLU concerns, the&#160;panel emphasized the importance of diminishing “racial and economic disparities in criminal enforcement,” according to CBS San Francisco. According to Gieringer, Reform CA’s ballot&#160;language would include “a provision allowing people who have previous convictions to be allowed to participate in the new industry,” the Chronicle noted.</p>
<p>On the whole, California’s approach to managing pot legalization sought to use alcohol regulation as a pattern to follow.&#160;As SFist <a href="http://sfist.com/2015/07/22/gavin_newsom_and_marijuana_task_for.php" type="external">observed</a>, “the likely model for regulating the legal industry itself will be via alcohol controls” — an idea floated some two years ago by&#160;Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, who suggested handing regulatory duties over to&#160;the California Alcohol and Beverage Control agency:</p>
<p>“The new report suggests the beer industry, and the way California regulates breweries, is a good licensing model for legal pot, and one that ‘recognizes both function and size, with&#160;production caps for smaller entities, strict rules for retail sales, and a separate and distinct function for distributors.'”</p>
<p>Despite the fanfare surrounding the high-profile report — a national bellwether as states grapple with the complex task of forging a stable structure for looser pot laws — Newsom <a href="http://www.mercurynews.com/california/ci_28523914/california-marijuana-report-goal-should-be-curtailing-illegal" type="external">underscored</a>, in an interview with the Associated Press, that the panel was far from unanimous on a string of significant matters such as where revenues and prices would ideally settle. “[P]resenting the report&#160;as a series of options rather than detailed recommendations reflected both the difficulty of getting the group to agree on some of the thornier issues and the consensus that any law put before voters would ideally allow future fine-tuning,” he explained.</p>
| 7,226 |
<p>If you're in your 50s, history says that your best investment alternative is the stock market. You're still too young to put most of your money into bonds and Treasury bills that don't typically generate the returns that stocks do. But which stocks should you buy?</p>
<p>Google parent Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL), Interactive Brokers Group (NASDAQ: IBKR), and Align Technology (NASDAQ: ALGN) look like three great choices for investors in their 50s to consider buying. Here's why.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Alphabet stock has more than tripled in value over the last five years. It has also been one of the <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/07/01/best-ipos-of-all-time.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=865f6376-6001-11e7-b83e-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">most successful initial public offerings Opens a New Window.</a> (IPO) of all time, with shares soaring more than 1,700% since the company (known then as Google) first traded publicly in 2004.</p>
<p>Alphabet's Google search engine continues to dominate the market. According to <a href="https://www.netmarketshare.com/search-engine-market-share.aspx?qprid=4&amp;qpcustomd=0" type="external">Net Market Share Opens a New Window.</a>, Google commanded a global market share of nearly 80%. Search engine traffic is growing, thanks primarily to higher volumes of mobile searches. That means more advertising revenue for Alphabet, which made $90.3 billion in total revenue last year -- 88% of which stemmed from advertising.</p>
<p>This impressive financial performance has enabled Alphabet to fund other potentially game-changing efforts that could benefit investors over the long run.&#160;Alphabet is well positioned in several technology trends that could shape the future. It owns Waymo, a leader in self-driving car technology. Alphabet has made the most acquisitions in the key field of artificial intelligence than any other company. It's also a leader in virtual reality (VR) with its inexpensive Google Cardboard product (made out of, you guessed it, cardboard) that turns many smart phones into VR devices.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Interactive Brokers Group&#160;is an automated global electronic broker known for its low trading costs and easy-to-use online trading platform. The company has also been a market maker (which quotes buy and sell prices for stocks and other financial instruments and seeks to make a profit on the bid-offer spreads). However, Interactive Brokers <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/04/19/interactive-brokers-group-inc-putting-extra-focus.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=865f6376-6001-11e7-b83e-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">is exiting this business Opens a New Window.</a> to focus on the less volatile brokerage business.</p>
<p>The share price of Interactive Brokers is up more than 150% over the past five years. However, the stock didn't generate great returns in 2016 and is underperforming the broader market so far this year. So why is Interactive Brokers a smart pick for investors in their 50s?</p>
<p>Over the next 20 years or so, we'll see the greatest generational transfer of wealth in history. Baby boomers are expected to pass down roughly $30 trillion in assets to their children and grandchildren. It's reasonable to conclude that much of that wealth will be invested in stocks. And because these younger generations inheriting all this money are more accustomed to using technology to do things themselves, Interactive Brokers stands poised to be a prime beneficiary of this huge wealth transfer.</p>
<p>Align Technology makes and sells clear dental aligners and intraoral scanners. Its stock has more than quadrupled over the last five years and is up more than 50% so far in 2017 -- fueled largely from <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/04/27/premium-align-technology-inc-q1-results.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=865f6376-6001-11e7-b83e-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">record revenue in the first quarter Opens a New Window.</a> and a surge in sales for its Invisalign clear aligners.</p>
<p>There are several reasons for investors to like Align Technology's future prospects. Invisalign is an option for roughly half of the&#160;worldwide cases of malocclusion (misalignment of teeth when biting or chewing), yet Align has captured less than 10% of that market. International expansion is one way that the company should be able to grow.</p>
<p>Over the longer run, though, the biggest opportunity for Align Technology is expanding the market through innovation. That's something the company thinks it will be able to do. Align believes it can grow the overall market for clear aligners by 50% in the next couple of years or so through introducing new aligners that can treat more severe forms of malocclusion.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than Align TechnologyWhen 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=325bfcdb-bdbd-487d-999a-345166197afd&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=865f6376-6001-11e7-b83e-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">10 best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now... and Align Technology 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=325bfcdb-bdbd-487d-999a-345166197afd&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=865f6376-6001-11e7-b83e-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 June 5, 2017</p>
<p>Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. <a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFFishBiz/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=865f6376-6001-11e7-b83e-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Keith Speights Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of Alphabet (A shares). The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Align Technology, Alphabet (A shares), and Alphabet (C shares). The Motley Fool recommends Interactive Brokers. 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=865f6376-6001-11e7-b83e-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
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In Your 50s? 3 Stocks You Should Consider Buying
| true |
http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/05/09/in-your-50s-3-stocks-should-consider-buying.html
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2017-07-06
| 0right
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In Your 50s? 3 Stocks You Should Consider Buying
<p>If you're in your 50s, history says that your best investment alternative is the stock market. You're still too young to put most of your money into bonds and Treasury bills that don't typically generate the returns that stocks do. But which stocks should you buy?</p>
<p>Google parent Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL), Interactive Brokers Group (NASDAQ: IBKR), and Align Technology (NASDAQ: ALGN) look like three great choices for investors in their 50s to consider buying. Here's why.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Alphabet stock has more than tripled in value over the last five years. It has also been one of the <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/07/01/best-ipos-of-all-time.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=865f6376-6001-11e7-b83e-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">most successful initial public offerings Opens a New Window.</a> (IPO) of all time, with shares soaring more than 1,700% since the company (known then as Google) first traded publicly in 2004.</p>
<p>Alphabet's Google search engine continues to dominate the market. According to <a href="https://www.netmarketshare.com/search-engine-market-share.aspx?qprid=4&amp;qpcustomd=0" type="external">Net Market Share Opens a New Window.</a>, Google commanded a global market share of nearly 80%. Search engine traffic is growing, thanks primarily to higher volumes of mobile searches. That means more advertising revenue for Alphabet, which made $90.3 billion in total revenue last year -- 88% of which stemmed from advertising.</p>
<p>This impressive financial performance has enabled Alphabet to fund other potentially game-changing efforts that could benefit investors over the long run.&#160;Alphabet is well positioned in several technology trends that could shape the future. It owns Waymo, a leader in self-driving car technology. Alphabet has made the most acquisitions in the key field of artificial intelligence than any other company. It's also a leader in virtual reality (VR) with its inexpensive Google Cardboard product (made out of, you guessed it, cardboard) that turns many smart phones into VR devices.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Interactive Brokers Group&#160;is an automated global electronic broker known for its low trading costs and easy-to-use online trading platform. The company has also been a market maker (which quotes buy and sell prices for stocks and other financial instruments and seeks to make a profit on the bid-offer spreads). However, Interactive Brokers <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/04/19/interactive-brokers-group-inc-putting-extra-focus.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=865f6376-6001-11e7-b83e-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">is exiting this business Opens a New Window.</a> to focus on the less volatile brokerage business.</p>
<p>The share price of Interactive Brokers is up more than 150% over the past five years. However, the stock didn't generate great returns in 2016 and is underperforming the broader market so far this year. So why is Interactive Brokers a smart pick for investors in their 50s?</p>
<p>Over the next 20 years or so, we'll see the greatest generational transfer of wealth in history. Baby boomers are expected to pass down roughly $30 trillion in assets to their children and grandchildren. It's reasonable to conclude that much of that wealth will be invested in stocks. And because these younger generations inheriting all this money are more accustomed to using technology to do things themselves, Interactive Brokers stands poised to be a prime beneficiary of this huge wealth transfer.</p>
<p>Align Technology makes and sells clear dental aligners and intraoral scanners. Its stock has more than quadrupled over the last five years and is up more than 50% so far in 2017 -- fueled largely from <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/04/27/premium-align-technology-inc-q1-results.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=865f6376-6001-11e7-b83e-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">record revenue in the first quarter Opens a New Window.</a> and a surge in sales for its Invisalign clear aligners.</p>
<p>There are several reasons for investors to like Align Technology's future prospects. Invisalign is an option for roughly half of the&#160;worldwide cases of malocclusion (misalignment of teeth when biting or chewing), yet Align has captured less than 10% of that market. International expansion is one way that the company should be able to grow.</p>
<p>Over the longer run, though, the biggest opportunity for Align Technology is expanding the market through innovation. That's something the company thinks it will be able to do. Align believes it can grow the overall market for clear aligners by 50% in the next couple of years or so through introducing new aligners that can treat more severe forms of malocclusion.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than Align TechnologyWhen 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=325bfcdb-bdbd-487d-999a-345166197afd&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=865f6376-6001-11e7-b83e-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">10 best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now... and Align Technology 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=325bfcdb-bdbd-487d-999a-345166197afd&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=865f6376-6001-11e7-b83e-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 June 5, 2017</p>
<p>Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. <a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFFishBiz/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=865f6376-6001-11e7-b83e-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Keith Speights Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of Alphabet (A shares). The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Align Technology, Alphabet (A shares), and Alphabet (C shares). The Motley Fool recommends Interactive Brokers. 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=865f6376-6001-11e7-b83e-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
| 7,227 |
<p>AUSTRALIAThe AgeMay 1 2003</p>
<p />
<p>Text of today's statement by Governor-General Peter Hollingworth:</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>"Dr Hollingworth has only just been provided with a copy of the independent Report of the Diocesan Board of Inquiry that was tabled under privilege of the Queensland Parliament today. At the outset, Dr Hollingworth reiterates his abhorrence of all forms of child abuse, most particularly by those occupying positions of trust.</p>
<p>It is clear from the Report Overview that there are two cases in respect of which the Board has made some adverse comment on Dr Hollingworth's handling of matters.</p>
<p>In all other respects the Board has made no criticism of Dr Hollingworth's handling of the various and highly publicised cases of sexual abuse which it examined.</p>
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Text of statement by Governor-General Peter Hollingworth
| false |
https://poynter.org/news/text-statement-governor-general-peter-hollingworth
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2003-05-01
| 2least
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Text of statement by Governor-General Peter Hollingworth
<p>AUSTRALIAThe AgeMay 1 2003</p>
<p />
<p>Text of today's statement by Governor-General Peter Hollingworth:</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>"Dr Hollingworth has only just been provided with a copy of the independent Report of the Diocesan Board of Inquiry that was tabled under privilege of the Queensland Parliament today. At the outset, Dr Hollingworth reiterates his abhorrence of all forms of child abuse, most particularly by those occupying positions of trust.</p>
<p>It is clear from the Report Overview that there are two cases in respect of which the Board has made some adverse comment on Dr Hollingworth's handling of matters.</p>
<p>In all other respects the Board has made no criticism of Dr Hollingworth's handling of the various and highly publicised cases of sexual abuse which it examined.</p>
| 7,228 |
<p>By Nikhil Subba and Diptendu Lahiri</p>
<p>(Reuters) – U.S. banks, already under pressure from slower loan growth and low interest rates, could be facing yet another challenge as a rising number of Americans fall behind on their credit card payments.</p>
<p>Several large U.S. banks and credit card companies, including Capital One Financial Corp (N:) and JPMorgan Chase &amp; Co (N:), reported a rise in credit card delinquency rates for August, the second consecutive rise after falling for four months.</p>
<p>While the rates remain significantly below the levels hit during the 2008-2009 financial crisis, rising delinquencies could result in higher loan losses for lenders.</p>
<p>“A noticeable rise in delinquency rates – even from very low levels – is worth paying attention to,” said Andrew Haughwout, senior vice president at the New York Federal Reserve.</p>
<p>JPMorgan’s credit card delinquencies rose 1.16 percent in August from 1.15 percent in July, while Capital One reported a delinquency rate of 3.97 percent, up from 3.81 percent in July.</p>
<p>Discover Financial Services’ (N:) monthly credit card delinquency rate rose to 2.1 percent in August versus 2 percent in July.</p>
<p>Overall, seasonally-adjusted credit card delinquency rates for U.S. banks rose to 2.47 percent in the second quarter from 2.20 percent a year earlier, according to New York Fed data.</p>
<p>Delinquency rates surged during the financial crisis as the economy crumpled and thousands of people lost their jobs. In the aftermath of the crisis, lenders tightened their standards to curb losses from non-performing loans.</p>
<p>With the United States now approaching full employment, lenders are more willing to take risks and extend loans and cards to people with low credit scores.</p>
<p>“We have seen some loosening of standards on card originations: low-credit-score individuals getting credit cards or extended limits, which allow them to borrow more,” Haughwout said.</p>
<p>U.S. household debt levels are hovering near record highs, after having surpassed their pre-crisis peak earlier this year, as Americans continue to extend their credit card as well as mortgage and auto debt repayments.</p>
<p>There has been a notable increase in the transition to serious delinquency levels primarily among borrowers with credit scores of below 660, the NY Fed said in a blogpost.</p>
<p>“It is not clear yet what effect it will have on the future. But historically it has been the case that once these delinquency rates start to rise, they can continue to rise,” Haughwout said.</p>
<p>Along with lenders willing to take on more risks, stagnant wage growth is also to blame for higher credit card delinquencies.</p>
<p>“Stagnant wage growth is definitely not helping things (delinquencies). When you combine that with rising debt and the slowly rising interest rates, that’s a troubling combination,” said Matt Schulz, a senior analyst at CreditCards.com.</p>
<p>Schulz said the danger is that if the U.S. economy takes a turn for the worse, delinquencies could be an affliction because people are bearing bad credit card debt in good times which will be tough to pay in hard times.</p>
|
Rising credit card delinquencies to add to U.S. banks' worries
| false |
https://newsline.com/rising-credit-card-delinquencies-to-add-to-u-s-banks039-worries/
|
2017-09-15
| 1right-center
|
Rising credit card delinquencies to add to U.S. banks' worries
<p>By Nikhil Subba and Diptendu Lahiri</p>
<p>(Reuters) – U.S. banks, already under pressure from slower loan growth and low interest rates, could be facing yet another challenge as a rising number of Americans fall behind on their credit card payments.</p>
<p>Several large U.S. banks and credit card companies, including Capital One Financial Corp (N:) and JPMorgan Chase &amp; Co (N:), reported a rise in credit card delinquency rates for August, the second consecutive rise after falling for four months.</p>
<p>While the rates remain significantly below the levels hit during the 2008-2009 financial crisis, rising delinquencies could result in higher loan losses for lenders.</p>
<p>“A noticeable rise in delinquency rates – even from very low levels – is worth paying attention to,” said Andrew Haughwout, senior vice president at the New York Federal Reserve.</p>
<p>JPMorgan’s credit card delinquencies rose 1.16 percent in August from 1.15 percent in July, while Capital One reported a delinquency rate of 3.97 percent, up from 3.81 percent in July.</p>
<p>Discover Financial Services’ (N:) monthly credit card delinquency rate rose to 2.1 percent in August versus 2 percent in July.</p>
<p>Overall, seasonally-adjusted credit card delinquency rates for U.S. banks rose to 2.47 percent in the second quarter from 2.20 percent a year earlier, according to New York Fed data.</p>
<p>Delinquency rates surged during the financial crisis as the economy crumpled and thousands of people lost their jobs. In the aftermath of the crisis, lenders tightened their standards to curb losses from non-performing loans.</p>
<p>With the United States now approaching full employment, lenders are more willing to take risks and extend loans and cards to people with low credit scores.</p>
<p>“We have seen some loosening of standards on card originations: low-credit-score individuals getting credit cards or extended limits, which allow them to borrow more,” Haughwout said.</p>
<p>U.S. household debt levels are hovering near record highs, after having surpassed their pre-crisis peak earlier this year, as Americans continue to extend their credit card as well as mortgage and auto debt repayments.</p>
<p>There has been a notable increase in the transition to serious delinquency levels primarily among borrowers with credit scores of below 660, the NY Fed said in a blogpost.</p>
<p>“It is not clear yet what effect it will have on the future. But historically it has been the case that once these delinquency rates start to rise, they can continue to rise,” Haughwout said.</p>
<p>Along with lenders willing to take on more risks, stagnant wage growth is also to blame for higher credit card delinquencies.</p>
<p>“Stagnant wage growth is definitely not helping things (delinquencies). When you combine that with rising debt and the slowly rising interest rates, that’s a troubling combination,” said Matt Schulz, a senior analyst at CreditCards.com.</p>
<p>Schulz said the danger is that if the U.S. economy takes a turn for the worse, delinquencies could be an affliction because people are bearing bad credit card debt in good times which will be tough to pay in hard times.</p>
| 7,229 |
<p>April 9 marked the 70th anniversary of the Deir Yassin massacre, in which Jewish militias murdered over 100 Palestinian men, women and children as part of a self-described “cleansing” campaign to expel indigenous Arabs to make way for the nascent Jewish state of Israel.&#160;</p>
<p>One of the key ideological elements of Zionism — the movement for the re-establishment of a Jewish nation in Palestine —&#160;is the premise of what literary theorist Edward Said called <a href="" type="internal">“the excluded presence”</a> of the indigenous population of Palestine. From its earliest days, Zionism, which is at its core a settler colonial movement of white, mostly European people usurping Arabs they often viewed as inferior or backwards, propagated the myth of “a land without a people for a people without a land.” Theodore Herzl, the father of modern political Zionism, <a href="" type="internal">argued</a> that a Jewish state in Palestine would “form a portion of a rampart of Europe against Asia, an outpost of civilization as opposed to barbarism.”&#160;</p>
<p>Such supremacist notions, brimming with messianic self-righteousness and bolstered by European fealty to the Westphalian state system which presumed non-European territories were ripe for colonization, allowed Zionists to justify horrific crimes against the Palestinian people. This, just a few years after Jews had suffered one of the worst episodes of genocide in human history, and even more recently, after the international community had condemned Nazi war criminals at Nuremberg for many of the same atrocities Jews were now committing in pursuit of their own lebensraum in Palestine.</p>
<p>The trouble with Zionism is that is presumes universal belief in, or at least acceptance of, the deity and prophecy of the Old Testament, which according to the sacred mythology, promised the Jews, “God’s Chosen People,” all of Palestine. The Arabs of Palestine, who comprised 90 percent or more of the population there for centuries preceding Zionist colonization, certainly did not believe nor accept this.&#160;</p>
<p>Nor did the British, who ruled Palestine from 1923 until Jewish terrorism drove them out in 1947 and who had, after originally authorizing in the <a href="" type="internal">Balfour Declaration</a> a homeland for the Jewish people within Palestine, <a href="" type="internal">limited Jewish immigration</a> in 1939 after having found the colonists had violated the declaration’s provision that “nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine.” There is no way to avoid prejudicing civil and religious rights under settler-colonialism, especially the Jewish supremacist settler-colonialism that is Zionism.&#160;</p>
<p>Thus there were two major obstacles to achieving the Zionist endgame of an independent Jewish state of Israel encompassing all of Palestine:&#160;the British and, of course, the Palestinians themselves. The British were dispatched via a prolonged wave of <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/yitzhak-shamir-why-we-killed-lord-moyne/" type="external">assassinations</a>, <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1524552/Israel-celebrates-Irgun-hotel-bombers.html" type="external">terror bombings</a> and <a href="" type="internal">other attacks</a>, often planned and carried out by men who would later <a href="" type="internal">become prime ministers</a> and other leaders of Israel. The Palestinians —&#160;a people who, as Israeli founding father David Ben-Gurion presciently warned would “not tire easily” in the face of “usurpation of its land” —&#160;proved much tougher to erase.&#160;</p>
<p>There was, however, much erasing to do. As Yosef Weitz, director of the Jewish National Land Fund, had <a href="" type="internal">declared</a>:&#160;</p>
<p>“It must be clear that there is no room for both peoples in this country… There is no way besides transferring the Arabs from here to neighboring countries, to transfer them all… we must not leave a single village, a single tribe.”&#160;</p>
<p>To that end, Ben-Gurion and his inner circle devised Plan Dalet, the “principle objective” of which was, <a href="" type="internal">according to a directive</a> to Jewish militia troops, “the destruction of Arab villages… and the eviction of the villagers.”&#160;</p>
<p>On April 8, 1948, the Palestinian village of Deir Yassin was prosperous, expanding and, despite rapidly deteriorating relations between Palestine’s Arabs and Jews as all-out war neared, at peace with its Jewish neighbors. Limestone mining was the main source of employment for Deir Yassin’s 600 or so residents, who traded widely with Jews and supplied markets in Jerusalem, five kilometers (3.1 miles) to the east. The Jewish village of Givat Shaul stood between Deir Yassin and the main road to Jerusalem. As hostilities grew in the wake of the United Nations plan to partition Palestine between Jews and Arabs, Deir Yassin and Givat Shaul signed a peace pact, which was approved by Haganah, the main Jewish paramilitary force that would later form the core of the Israel Defense Forces.&#160;</p>
<p>Peace treaty or not, Haganah, as well as the terrorist groups Irgun and Lehi, which were respectively commanded by future prime ministers Menachem Begin and Yitzhak Shamir, were determined to attack Deir Yassin. The first phase of Israel’s war of independence focused heavily on controlling Palestine’s roads, the lifelines linking Jewish communities through territory that was still populated overwhelmingly by Arabs. Irgun and Lehi viewed Deir Yassin as a threat to controlling the main road to Jerusalem as well to nearby Jewish communities and had few if any qualms about breaking the peace pact.&#160;</p>
<p>A plan was devised to attack Deir Yassin before dawn on April 9, expel all of its residents and kill those who refused to leave in order to seize the village and terrorize Arabs throughout Palestine into flight. In language horrifically reminiscent of the recent Nazi liquidation of the Warsaw Ghetto, Irgun officer Ben-Zion Cohen <a href="" type="internal">recounted</a> how Lehi members proposed “liquidating” the entire village. Fortunately, the proposal was rejected, although Deir Yassin was indeed ultimately “liquidated,” like <a href="http://www.palestineremembered.com/Acre/Maps/Story1261.html" type="external">more than 400</a> other destroyed Arab villages in 1948-49.</p>
<p>Women and children were meant to be spared, and residents were meant to be warned by loudspeaker to encourage their escape. However, the armored vehicle carrying the loudspeaker crashed early during the attack and the 120 attackers encountered fierce resistance, including sniper fire, from the village guards and other residents, many of whom were armed. The inexperienced Jewish fighters resorted to going from house to house, tossing grenades indiscriminately into each one before storming inside and spraying survivors with submachine guns and other weapons. Fahimeh Ali Mustafa Zeidan, who was 11 years old, <a href="" type="internal">later recalled</a> how the attackers…</p>
<p>… blew the door down, entered and started searching the place; they got to the store room, and took us out one by one. They shot the son-in-law, and when one of his daughters screamed, they shot her too. They then called my brother Mahmoud and shot him in our presence, and when my mother screamed and bent over my brother, carrying my little sister Khadra, who was still being breast fed, they shot my mother too. We all started screaming and crying, but were told that if we did not stop, they would shoot us all. They then lined us up, shot at us, and left.</p>
<p>Meir Pa’il, an intelligence officer in Palmach, the Haganah strike force, <a href="http://www.israel-palestina.info/deir-yassin-meir-pails-eyewitness-account/" type="external">later described</a> his fellow Jewish fighters as “full of lust for murder” during and after the attack. Israeli historian Benny Morris claims there were cases of mutilation and rape. One resident described how the attackers shot a pregnant woman before bashing in her belly; such atrocities were <a href="http://www.israel-palestina.info/deir-yassin-uri-milsteins-account/" type="external">confirmed</a> by Jewish participants. Pa’il wrote that Irgun and Lehi fighters…&#160;</p>
<p>…were going about the village robbing and stealing everything: chickens, radio sets, sugar, money, gold and more… Each [one] walked about the village dirty with blood and proud of the number of persons he had killed.&#160;</p>
<p>“I have seen a great deal of war, but I never saw a sight like Deir Yassin,” confessed Haganah officer Eliahu Arbel, who “saw bodies of women and children who were murdered in their houses in cold blood.”&#160;</p>
<p>“To me, it looked a bit like a pogrom,” <a href="" type="internal">said</a> Haganah intelligence officer Mordechai Gichon, referring to the organized slaughter of Jews in Russia and Eastern Europe that drove so many of them to flee to Palestine. “When the Cossacks burst into Jewish neighborhoods, then that should have looked something like this.”&#160;</p>
<p>Pa’il wrote of finding a house in the center of the village where 200 terrified women and children had been rounded up, and of a “commander [who] explained that they intended to kill all of them.” Fortunately, help arrived shortly thereafter in the form of ultra-Orthodox Jews from Givat Shaul, who rushed to Deir Yassin in time to shame the attackers into sparing the prisoners.&#160;</p>
<p>Some survivors, including women and children, were forced onto trucks and paraded through the streets of West Jerusalem, where residents spit, stoned and taunted them. Some of the prisoners were then executed. Haganah intelligence officer Yitzhak Levy wrote of a mother and her child, as well as seven old men and women, who were executed in a quarry.&#160;</p>
<p>When it was all over, over 100 men, women and children of Deir Yassin lay dead, while the village’s defenders managed to kill four of the attacking Jews. Word of the massacre spread like wildfire and succeeded in the stated Zionist goal of terrorizing Arabs in other towns and villages throughout Palestine into permanently fleeing their homes and their homeland. Haganah psychological warfare operators approaching Arab villages often broadcast over loudspeakers recordings of shrieking Arab women accompanied by exhortations to leave immediately or face a similar fate as Deir Yassin. The massacre was a major motivator of Arab flight from Palestine, the beginning of what Palestinians call the <a href="https://imeu.org/article/quick-facts-the-palestinian-nakba" type="external">Nakba</a>, or “catastrophe;” the ethnic cleansing of some 750,000 Arabs from Palestine during Israel’s war for independence.</p>
<p>The international community was horrified and outraged when news of Deir Yassin got out. In the United States, a group of prominent Jews including Albert Einstein wrote a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deir_Yassin_massacre%2523/media/File:Albert_Einstein_and_others_letter.jpg" type="external">letter to the editors</a> of the New York Times blasting the “terrorist bands [who] attacked a peaceful village.” Others compared the Deir Yassin attackers to Nazis. However, then, as now, the Zionists committing horrific crimes cared little for what the world thought. For all its horror, leading Zionists touted Deir Yassin as a smashing success. “We created terror among the Arabs,” Menachem Begin <a href="" type="internal">boasted</a> at the time. “In one blow, we changed the strategic situation.”&#160;</p>
<p>In the heroic myth-making endemic to all settler-colonial states, atrocities are unceremoniously buried like so many victims’ bloating corpses. Many Israelis today, including some leading historians, <a href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/232625" type="external">deny any massacre occurred</a> at Deir Yassin, despite the overwhelming evidence presented by village residents, Jewish perpetrators and international observers. To these revisionists, any negative portrayal of Israel or even Zionism is rooted in antisemitism, or if the accuser is Jewish, in self-loathing, a <a href="" type="internal">“trick we always use”</a> to deflect legitimate criticism, according to the late Israeli government minister Shulamit Aloni.&#160;</p>
<p>And so although the Jewish Agency for Israel —&#160;the head of Jewish affairs in Palestine —&#160;and the Haganah condemned and <a href="http://www.daat.ac.il/daat/english/history/lapidot/24.htm" type="external">apologized</a> for Deir Yassin, and although an IDF intelligence officer’s report <a href="http://www.israel-palestina.info/deir-yassin-the-evidence/" type="external">states</a> “there can be no doubt at all that large numbers of civilians were killed unjustifiably” there, there is a strain of denialism among Israelis akin to those other supremacists who deny the undeniable events of the Holocaust. Seventy years after the horrors of Deir Yassin, it is more necessary than ever to ensure that, like the Nazi genocide of Jews, we “never forget” the brutal massacre of that peaceful village or the wider catastrophe it sparked.&#160;</p>
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Deir Yassin: The Massacre that Sparked the Nakba
| true |
https://counterpunch.org/2018/04/12/deir-yassin-the-massacre-that-sparked-the-nakba/
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2018-04-12
| 4left
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Deir Yassin: The Massacre that Sparked the Nakba
<p>April 9 marked the 70th anniversary of the Deir Yassin massacre, in which Jewish militias murdered over 100 Palestinian men, women and children as part of a self-described “cleansing” campaign to expel indigenous Arabs to make way for the nascent Jewish state of Israel.&#160;</p>
<p>One of the key ideological elements of Zionism — the movement for the re-establishment of a Jewish nation in Palestine —&#160;is the premise of what literary theorist Edward Said called <a href="" type="internal">“the excluded presence”</a> of the indigenous population of Palestine. From its earliest days, Zionism, which is at its core a settler colonial movement of white, mostly European people usurping Arabs they often viewed as inferior or backwards, propagated the myth of “a land without a people for a people without a land.” Theodore Herzl, the father of modern political Zionism, <a href="" type="internal">argued</a> that a Jewish state in Palestine would “form a portion of a rampart of Europe against Asia, an outpost of civilization as opposed to barbarism.”&#160;</p>
<p>Such supremacist notions, brimming with messianic self-righteousness and bolstered by European fealty to the Westphalian state system which presumed non-European territories were ripe for colonization, allowed Zionists to justify horrific crimes against the Palestinian people. This, just a few years after Jews had suffered one of the worst episodes of genocide in human history, and even more recently, after the international community had condemned Nazi war criminals at Nuremberg for many of the same atrocities Jews were now committing in pursuit of their own lebensraum in Palestine.</p>
<p>The trouble with Zionism is that is presumes universal belief in, or at least acceptance of, the deity and prophecy of the Old Testament, which according to the sacred mythology, promised the Jews, “God’s Chosen People,” all of Palestine. The Arabs of Palestine, who comprised 90 percent or more of the population there for centuries preceding Zionist colonization, certainly did not believe nor accept this.&#160;</p>
<p>Nor did the British, who ruled Palestine from 1923 until Jewish terrorism drove them out in 1947 and who had, after originally authorizing in the <a href="" type="internal">Balfour Declaration</a> a homeland for the Jewish people within Palestine, <a href="" type="internal">limited Jewish immigration</a> in 1939 after having found the colonists had violated the declaration’s provision that “nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine.” There is no way to avoid prejudicing civil and religious rights under settler-colonialism, especially the Jewish supremacist settler-colonialism that is Zionism.&#160;</p>
<p>Thus there were two major obstacles to achieving the Zionist endgame of an independent Jewish state of Israel encompassing all of Palestine:&#160;the British and, of course, the Palestinians themselves. The British were dispatched via a prolonged wave of <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/yitzhak-shamir-why-we-killed-lord-moyne/" type="external">assassinations</a>, <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1524552/Israel-celebrates-Irgun-hotel-bombers.html" type="external">terror bombings</a> and <a href="" type="internal">other attacks</a>, often planned and carried out by men who would later <a href="" type="internal">become prime ministers</a> and other leaders of Israel. The Palestinians —&#160;a people who, as Israeli founding father David Ben-Gurion presciently warned would “not tire easily” in the face of “usurpation of its land” —&#160;proved much tougher to erase.&#160;</p>
<p>There was, however, much erasing to do. As Yosef Weitz, director of the Jewish National Land Fund, had <a href="" type="internal">declared</a>:&#160;</p>
<p>“It must be clear that there is no room for both peoples in this country… There is no way besides transferring the Arabs from here to neighboring countries, to transfer them all… we must not leave a single village, a single tribe.”&#160;</p>
<p>To that end, Ben-Gurion and his inner circle devised Plan Dalet, the “principle objective” of which was, <a href="" type="internal">according to a directive</a> to Jewish militia troops, “the destruction of Arab villages… and the eviction of the villagers.”&#160;</p>
<p>On April 8, 1948, the Palestinian village of Deir Yassin was prosperous, expanding and, despite rapidly deteriorating relations between Palestine’s Arabs and Jews as all-out war neared, at peace with its Jewish neighbors. Limestone mining was the main source of employment for Deir Yassin’s 600 or so residents, who traded widely with Jews and supplied markets in Jerusalem, five kilometers (3.1 miles) to the east. The Jewish village of Givat Shaul stood between Deir Yassin and the main road to Jerusalem. As hostilities grew in the wake of the United Nations plan to partition Palestine between Jews and Arabs, Deir Yassin and Givat Shaul signed a peace pact, which was approved by Haganah, the main Jewish paramilitary force that would later form the core of the Israel Defense Forces.&#160;</p>
<p>Peace treaty or not, Haganah, as well as the terrorist groups Irgun and Lehi, which were respectively commanded by future prime ministers Menachem Begin and Yitzhak Shamir, were determined to attack Deir Yassin. The first phase of Israel’s war of independence focused heavily on controlling Palestine’s roads, the lifelines linking Jewish communities through territory that was still populated overwhelmingly by Arabs. Irgun and Lehi viewed Deir Yassin as a threat to controlling the main road to Jerusalem as well to nearby Jewish communities and had few if any qualms about breaking the peace pact.&#160;</p>
<p>A plan was devised to attack Deir Yassin before dawn on April 9, expel all of its residents and kill those who refused to leave in order to seize the village and terrorize Arabs throughout Palestine into flight. In language horrifically reminiscent of the recent Nazi liquidation of the Warsaw Ghetto, Irgun officer Ben-Zion Cohen <a href="" type="internal">recounted</a> how Lehi members proposed “liquidating” the entire village. Fortunately, the proposal was rejected, although Deir Yassin was indeed ultimately “liquidated,” like <a href="http://www.palestineremembered.com/Acre/Maps/Story1261.html" type="external">more than 400</a> other destroyed Arab villages in 1948-49.</p>
<p>Women and children were meant to be spared, and residents were meant to be warned by loudspeaker to encourage their escape. However, the armored vehicle carrying the loudspeaker crashed early during the attack and the 120 attackers encountered fierce resistance, including sniper fire, from the village guards and other residents, many of whom were armed. The inexperienced Jewish fighters resorted to going from house to house, tossing grenades indiscriminately into each one before storming inside and spraying survivors with submachine guns and other weapons. Fahimeh Ali Mustafa Zeidan, who was 11 years old, <a href="" type="internal">later recalled</a> how the attackers…</p>
<p>… blew the door down, entered and started searching the place; they got to the store room, and took us out one by one. They shot the son-in-law, and when one of his daughters screamed, they shot her too. They then called my brother Mahmoud and shot him in our presence, and when my mother screamed and bent over my brother, carrying my little sister Khadra, who was still being breast fed, they shot my mother too. We all started screaming and crying, but were told that if we did not stop, they would shoot us all. They then lined us up, shot at us, and left.</p>
<p>Meir Pa’il, an intelligence officer in Palmach, the Haganah strike force, <a href="http://www.israel-palestina.info/deir-yassin-meir-pails-eyewitness-account/" type="external">later described</a> his fellow Jewish fighters as “full of lust for murder” during and after the attack. Israeli historian Benny Morris claims there were cases of mutilation and rape. One resident described how the attackers shot a pregnant woman before bashing in her belly; such atrocities were <a href="http://www.israel-palestina.info/deir-yassin-uri-milsteins-account/" type="external">confirmed</a> by Jewish participants. Pa’il wrote that Irgun and Lehi fighters…&#160;</p>
<p>…were going about the village robbing and stealing everything: chickens, radio sets, sugar, money, gold and more… Each [one] walked about the village dirty with blood and proud of the number of persons he had killed.&#160;</p>
<p>“I have seen a great deal of war, but I never saw a sight like Deir Yassin,” confessed Haganah officer Eliahu Arbel, who “saw bodies of women and children who were murdered in their houses in cold blood.”&#160;</p>
<p>“To me, it looked a bit like a pogrom,” <a href="" type="internal">said</a> Haganah intelligence officer Mordechai Gichon, referring to the organized slaughter of Jews in Russia and Eastern Europe that drove so many of them to flee to Palestine. “When the Cossacks burst into Jewish neighborhoods, then that should have looked something like this.”&#160;</p>
<p>Pa’il wrote of finding a house in the center of the village where 200 terrified women and children had been rounded up, and of a “commander [who] explained that they intended to kill all of them.” Fortunately, help arrived shortly thereafter in the form of ultra-Orthodox Jews from Givat Shaul, who rushed to Deir Yassin in time to shame the attackers into sparing the prisoners.&#160;</p>
<p>Some survivors, including women and children, were forced onto trucks and paraded through the streets of West Jerusalem, where residents spit, stoned and taunted them. Some of the prisoners were then executed. Haganah intelligence officer Yitzhak Levy wrote of a mother and her child, as well as seven old men and women, who were executed in a quarry.&#160;</p>
<p>When it was all over, over 100 men, women and children of Deir Yassin lay dead, while the village’s defenders managed to kill four of the attacking Jews. Word of the massacre spread like wildfire and succeeded in the stated Zionist goal of terrorizing Arabs in other towns and villages throughout Palestine into permanently fleeing their homes and their homeland. Haganah psychological warfare operators approaching Arab villages often broadcast over loudspeakers recordings of shrieking Arab women accompanied by exhortations to leave immediately or face a similar fate as Deir Yassin. The massacre was a major motivator of Arab flight from Palestine, the beginning of what Palestinians call the <a href="https://imeu.org/article/quick-facts-the-palestinian-nakba" type="external">Nakba</a>, or “catastrophe;” the ethnic cleansing of some 750,000 Arabs from Palestine during Israel’s war for independence.</p>
<p>The international community was horrified and outraged when news of Deir Yassin got out. In the United States, a group of prominent Jews including Albert Einstein wrote a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deir_Yassin_massacre%2523/media/File:Albert_Einstein_and_others_letter.jpg" type="external">letter to the editors</a> of the New York Times blasting the “terrorist bands [who] attacked a peaceful village.” Others compared the Deir Yassin attackers to Nazis. However, then, as now, the Zionists committing horrific crimes cared little for what the world thought. For all its horror, leading Zionists touted Deir Yassin as a smashing success. “We created terror among the Arabs,” Menachem Begin <a href="" type="internal">boasted</a> at the time. “In one blow, we changed the strategic situation.”&#160;</p>
<p>In the heroic myth-making endemic to all settler-colonial states, atrocities are unceremoniously buried like so many victims’ bloating corpses. Many Israelis today, including some leading historians, <a href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/232625" type="external">deny any massacre occurred</a> at Deir Yassin, despite the overwhelming evidence presented by village residents, Jewish perpetrators and international observers. To these revisionists, any negative portrayal of Israel or even Zionism is rooted in antisemitism, or if the accuser is Jewish, in self-loathing, a <a href="" type="internal">“trick we always use”</a> to deflect legitimate criticism, according to the late Israeli government minister Shulamit Aloni.&#160;</p>
<p>And so although the Jewish Agency for Israel —&#160;the head of Jewish affairs in Palestine —&#160;and the Haganah condemned and <a href="http://www.daat.ac.il/daat/english/history/lapidot/24.htm" type="external">apologized</a> for Deir Yassin, and although an IDF intelligence officer’s report <a href="http://www.israel-palestina.info/deir-yassin-the-evidence/" type="external">states</a> “there can be no doubt at all that large numbers of civilians were killed unjustifiably” there, there is a strain of denialism among Israelis akin to those other supremacists who deny the undeniable events of the Holocaust. Seventy years after the horrors of Deir Yassin, it is more necessary than ever to ensure that, like the Nazi genocide of Jews, we “never forget” the brutal massacre of that peaceful village or the wider catastrophe it sparked.&#160;</p>
| 7,230 |
<p>In this episode of <a href="http://www.fool.com/podcasts/industry-focus?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Industry Focus: Tech Opens a New Window.</a>, Motley Fool analyst Dylan Lewis and contributor Evan Niu talk about recently public Nutanix(NASDAQ: NTNX) and explainexactly what the self-described "hyperconvergence" company does, why it has investors so excited, and how its books look so far. Also, the two talk about some of the biggest risks that potential investors should be aware of before diving in, from intense and potentially crippling competition to an incredibly technical market.</p>
<p>A full transcript follows the video.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>A secret billion-dollar stock opportunity The world's biggest tech company forgot to show you something, but a few Wall Street analysts and the Fool didn't miss a beat: There's a small company that's powering their brand-new gadgets and the coming revolution in technology. And we think its stock price has nearly unlimited room to run for early in-the-know investors! To be one of them, <a href="http://www.fool.com/mms/mark/ecap-foolcom-apple-wearable?aid=6965&amp;source=irbeditxt0000017&amp;ftm_cam=rb-wearable-d&amp;ftm_pit=2668&amp;ftm_veh=article_pitch&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">just click here Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>This podcast was recorded on Oct. 7, 2016.</p>
<p>Dylan Lewis: This episode of Industry Focus is brought to you by Rocket Mortgage byQuicken Loans.Rocket Mortgagebrings the mortgage process into the 21st century with a fast,easy, and completely online process. Check out Rocket Mortgage today at <a href="http://www.quickenloans.com/fool" type="external">QuickenLoans.com/fool Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Welcome to Industry Focus, the podcast the dives into a different sector of the stock market every day. It's Friday, Oct. 7th, and we're talking about another hot tech IPO. I'm your host, Dylan Lewis, and I'm joined on Skype by Fool.com senior technology specialist, Evan Niu. Evan, how's it going?</p>
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<p>Evan Niu: Pretty good, happy Friday.</p>
<p>Lewis: Happy Friday. Things are looking pretty rosy over at Nutanix, huh?</p>
<p>Niu: Yeah, today has been a week.</p>
<p>Lewis: Last week, I talked to David Kretzmann about recently publicTwilio. Today's show, Evan and I are going to break down another tech company that recently went public, Nutanix -- give you guys a little rundown on what they do, how their books look, a couple things to keep in mind with their business. How's that sound, Evan?</p>
<p>Niu: Sounds good.</p>
<p>Lewis: Shares originally priced at $16. They are currently trading in the mid-30s. So, the stock is up over 100% since they hit the markets. I think the biggest thing most people are wondering is, what the heck does Nutanix do?</p>
<p>Niu: Yeah, no one has heard of this company before. They're like $38 now, so they're up. It's been a pretty wild week, they've been up and down quite a bit each day, because IPOs are always volatile.</p>
<p>Nutanix takes servers and storage and virtualization and integrates these all into one platform. It'sbasically and IT infrastructure play. These things arenormally separate, socompanies usually have to get this stufffrom different companiesthat all use different operating systems,it's inefficient, it's more expensive. So their whole thing is basically to integrate all these things into one platform.</p>
<p>Lewis: And you'll often hear themdescribed as a "hyperconvergence" company. That term, hyperconvergence, gets at that. You'retaking all of these disparatethings that are delivered and managed separatelyin the past and bringing them togetherin a more efficient way.</p>
<p>Niu: Right,exactly. It helps to really improve data center performance. They've been one of the pioneers in this hyperconverged data center area. People areexcited about that.</p>
<p>Lewis: Theircurrent customer list rangesthe whole spectrum. We haveNintendo,Nordstrom,I think the Department of Defense is also a customer.</p>
<p>Niu: Total, Toyota, Activision, Best Buy. They have about 3,000customers. About two years agothey only had about 700 or 800 customers. So just the number of customers they have hasdefinitely grown a lot.</p>
<p>Lewis: I think you see that reflected inwhat's going on with the top line. Looking atgrowth over the past few years,it's been fairly impressive. Sales have jumped90% from 2014 to 2015, and now 85% from 2015 to 2016. Their2016 fiscal year ended in July,so we're looking at a full year there. That puts them at $445 million in revenue for 2016. Not bad.</p>
<p>Niu: Yeah. It'sreally hard to argue with those growth figures. They're putting up the numbers, especially up top.</p>
<p>Lewis: One of the things that youwant to keep in mind, you see a coupledifferent numbers cited with them. They had a non-GAAP number called "billings." Wetalk about their top line of their revenue. Revenue is what they'reable to recognize as sales. Billings is money they've collected. Some of that will berecognized as revenue,some of that is going to be categorized as deferred revenue. That is something that will eventually be recognized later on.</p>
<p>Niu: Right. Most of thesesubscription software service companies,and a lot of companies in general, use billingswhich is basically revenue plus or minus the changeindeferred revenue. In this case,Nutanix, theirrevenue is broken down intoproducts and service and support. The product is the physical boxes they sellthat have the hardware plus the software. Alternatively, they also sell just the software, if the customer already has a qualified server and already has a hardware so they can just buy the software. So,product revenue is basically just those products, which is the two product families,Acropolis and Prism. The service revenue is,afterpurchase support, that's wherethe majority of their deferred revenueis coming from. Ishould not have characterized it as software as a service. The majority of their revenue is not subscription-type stuff. But, they have about $300 million of deferred revenue on the balance sheet right now, which is a pretty healthy backlog. That will get recognized over time. And most of that is related to service and support.</p>
<p>Lewis: You talk about the two different types of revenue they have. It makes sense that a support and maintenance type revenue stream is going to be the thing that would be recognized over a period of time, rather than up front all at once, because typically those are contracts that are ranging from one to five years for their business. To give you an idea of the mix there, it used to be about a 90-10 split with the product and support, and other services revenue. Now, it's a little closer to 80-20. So, you are seeing that rise over time. I think you'll probably see the gap between billings and revenue continue to spread out a little bit as that becomes a larger part of their business.</p>
<p>Niu: Yeah. I think it makes sense, too. As the customer base grows, those customers, there's a large number of people that need support. That service segment is probably going to be growing as a percentage of sales going forward, I would expect.</p>
<p>Lewis: One of the things that really popped out to me, looking at their numbers, is that profit margins climbed pretty steadily over the last three years. We've seen 52% in 2014, now they're up to 61.6%. That's pretty impressive.</p>
<p>Niu: I think what we're seeing is just operating leverage. I don't think this is a company that hasa lot of high capital costs. If you don't have a lot of fixed costs,then operating leverage really kicks inas your revenue base grows larger. Youhave to spread out those costsover larger base,and then you see margin expansion. So, yeah, I think that's what we're seeing there,which explains why their margins just keep expandingas they grow.</p>
<p>Lewis: Yeah. Theyear-over-year gains might not be as dramatic as we get into 2017 and 2018. But there might be some upside there.</p>
<p>Niu: Yeah.I definitely think if they keep growing their top line, the margins will keep expanding. At least the growth margin front. I mean,obviously, they operate on a loss because they're investing so heavily in the business. But as far as the gross margin goes, I would definitely expect that to keep going up, if they can keep ramping the top line.</p>
<p>Lewis: Yeah,looking at their bottom line right now, they registered a net loss of $166 million thismost recently closed fiscal year. A big reason for that is,the company's sales and marketing costs were up79% year over year, hitting $288 million. That itemsingle-handedly erased the company's gross profit. That's pretty incredible, not terribly surprising,because that's kind of how it works in the tech space.</p>
<p>Niu: Yeah,that's par for course with any of these high-growthsmall tech companiesin Silicon Valley.(laughs) All that stock-based comp.</p>
<p>Lewis: Yeah,that plays in there too. We're going to take a little bit of a look at some of the competitors in the space, and some other things to keep in mind with Nutanix, but before we do, this episode of Industry Focus is broughtto you by Rocket Mortgage by Quicken Loans. If you've ever bought a home, you know howfrustrating and time-consuming getting a mortgage can be.Rocket Mortgage brings the mortgage approval process into the 21st century by takingall the complicated, time-consuming parts of applying for a mortgage out of the equation. With Rocket Mortgage you can easily share your bank statements and pay stubs at the touch of a button, helping you get approved in minutes for a custom mortgage solution that's been tailored to your unique financial situation.Even better, with Rocket Mortgage you can do it all online with your phone or tablet. If you're looking to refinance your mortgage or buy a home, check out Rocket Mortgage today at <a href="http://www.fool.com/podcasts/industry-focus?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">quickenloans.com/fool Opens a New Window.</a>, Equal Housing lender licensed in all 50 states, NMLS, consumeraccess.org number 3030.</p>
<p>Evan, to helpcontextualize this business a little bit,it might make sense to look at some of the other players in the space and how they stack up.</p>
<p>Niu: And the risks.</p>
<p>Lewis: And some of the risks, yeah. Looking through theirprospectus, they break out theircompetitors in three different categories. You have yoursoftware providers, people likeVMwareandRed Hat. Those arepeople that are typically offering a range of things in thevirtualization, infrastructure and management product space. That'slooking at enterprise cloud-type work. Then you have traditional IT vendors.Hewlett-Packard, Cisco, IBM. That's more in the integrated systems. You're looking at bundles of servers, storage, network solutions, that type of stuff. Then,the traditional storage array vendors likeDell,Hitachi, they name a couple others. They'retypically selling centralized storage products. Then they also have people that work in hyperconverged infrastructure, which is a more nascent field. There are a lot ofdifferentpeopletrying to grab a share of this market,it sounds like.</p>
<p>Niu: Yeah,that's probably the biggest risk here. There's so much competition. They have pioneered this idea, but at the same time, the ITinfrastructure market is huge.As you mentioned, some of these companies that we're talking about are gigantic. Going up against these really large and established companies that have a ton of money, that can really out-spend you in every way, in terms of R&amp;D, marketing, they haveexisting customers, etc. It's tough. That's an uphill battle. They've done pretty well,you can't argue with the growth they're putting up. But that's just a couple of years. Once these big companies get their act together coming in on this space, they could really take a bite out of Nutanix. Just because Nutanix helped carve out this hyperconverged niche of the data center market, doesn't mean they can keep it all. It's very possible these larger companies will want to replicate what they're doing,particularly since some of their rivals arealso their partners.</p>
<p>Lewis: Yeah,that's kind of an interesting dynamic. Do you want to explain that a little bit?</p>
<p>Niu: They sell their products through resellers,distributors, and OEMs.</p>
<p>Lewis: Can you define OEM for our listeners?</p>
<p>Niu: Original equipment manufacturer. So,people who make things and sell them to their own customers. Dell andLenovo are two of their biggest OEM partners, and they're also two of their biggest competitors. This isn't new for this kind of space, there's lots of times you see this kind of thing. There's all these other companies in the past that had this same kind of competitive dynamic, where they were competing with the people that are their partners. That's pretty normal, it's coopetition, whatever you want to call it. But it's a big risk. If one of those people decide to really come in and replicate it, and can get it out pretty easily ... So, it's a tough space. Generally speaking, I think at the Fool, we're fans of the idea that you should have a good understanding of the business you're investing in. Nutanix is an extremely technical company to understand. I'd even consider that a risk for individual investors.</p>
<p>Lewis: Just because you won't be able to see some of the signals that things are going very well or very poorly.</p>
<p>Niu: Exactly. You need to really understand the company or business, what they do, and also the market dynamics. The IT infrastructure market changes so quickly, and you need to be able to keep up. If you can't keep up with what's happening on a technical side, it's hard to invest in something. I've made IT infrastructure plays that didn't work out before because these companies are hard to follow, and things change so fast. You can get caught off guard really quickly if you're not paying a lot of attention.</p>
<p>Lewis: Yeah. We both cover the tech space pretty regularly, and I think it took us both a decent amount of homework to really get down to the nuts and bolts of this company. It took some time and some serious reading. For the average investor, that might not be something they're interested in doing. Any other risks you notice, besides things in the competitive space?</p>
<p>Niu: There's another one that's not uncommon, but it's an insider control piece. They're another one of these companies in Silicon Valley that's doing this dual-class thing. Class A shares, which people and the public can buy, get one vote. Class B shares, which are only held by insiders, get 10 votes per share. So, they have a supervoting class. Class B shares control 99% of the voting power. Insiders keep all control to themselves. The economic rights are the same. But, public investors should have no illusions of being able to influence the company in any way. Again, this isn't uncommon. Tons of companies do this,Google [Alphabet]is the big example. Pretty much every new tech company does this, which is really annoying.</p>
<p>Lewis: AlsoFacebook. Facebook went to a stock split in order to enable this to continue to happen. This is industry standard in tech.I will say, to play devil's advocate,that can be seen as a positive thing,as long as you like the management team that's in place, andyou think they have the right vision for the company. Because then, they are basically given full control and the clout to make the decisions,maybe a little bit more long-term oriented, and taking some short-term hits to position the company for success.</p>
<p>Niu: Yeah. Youhave to have faith in leadership and management. It's frustrating because,I don't like how it's become such an accepted thing that everyone does. On principle, that just bothers me,in terms of corporate governance. It's fine in a lot of cases,because you do believe in the company's leadership. But on principle, it bothers me, it's like, come on, guys ...it's a really shareholder unfriendly thing to do,and everyone does it.</p>
<p>Lewis: Yeah. But,it's become commonplace.</p>
<p>Niu: Yeah,because they can get away with it.</p>
<p>Lewis: So, right now, with a market cap of roughly $5.3 billion --I checked before we started recording --the company is currently trading at about 12 times fiscal 2016 sales. Not cheap by any means. It seems like,in a lot of ways, this is the kind of company where,if you aren't really gung-ho on it and you don't understand the space very well, you'reprobably better served sitting on the sidelines.</p>
<p>Niu: Yeah. It's that wholetechnical thing. It's so hard, because you should be digging inand really understanding the inner workings of howthe products work. If you can't do that, it's hard to want to invest,or at least feel responsibleabout buying. I wouldn't buy a company that I didn't understand.</p>
<p>Lewis: Yeah, and you're doing it at avery expensive valuation. Yousubject yourself to a lot of swings.</p>
<p>Niu: Yeah, they're super expensive. And, again,the first six months of any IPO is basically the Wild West. I basically never buy any IPO in the first six months,because things are so volatile. Up and down. Think about all the recent tech IPOs, they're wild. That's why IPOs aretechnically classified as speculative investments. If you've ever tried to buy an IPOfrom your broker,you have to fill out a survey. That survey has the expected questions, like, "What'syour investment objective?" andthose kind of standard questions. If you do not click "speculative" as one of your goals, they won't invest it. Andthis applies to all IPOs.</p>
<p>Thestrong performance so far is definitely good news for the broader tech IPO market.</p>
<p>Lewis: That was one thingI wanted to touch on before we wrap up. You look at the successful IPOs of Twilio and Nutanix over the past few months, I think it might beinteresting to see if some of theunicorns sitting on the sidelines right nowmight decide to test the waters.</p>
<p>Niu: Line, too.</p>
<p>Lewis: Right, that's another one. I just saw in the news yesterday thatSnapchat is reportedly interested in a filing. Given that there's a solid track record of tech IPOs in 2016, you might start to see some of these other unicorns come out of the woodwork.</p>
<p>Niu: If you remember, last year, it was just not a good environment. Last year, there were several big tech IPOs that just sputtered off, and it scared everyone off. I think one of the big ones wasSquare. Square came out last November, I think. They priced below the expected range, at $9. And the shares did jump on the first day, 45%. But the IPO pricing didn't inspire a lot ofconfidence in the stock,even now it hasn't really done much. It's basically just traded flat within a certain range in the past year.Fitbitalso fizzled down in their first few months, same thing, it had a decent showing initially but now is trading below the IPO price of $20.</p>
<p>Lewis: Toyour point about wanting to stay on the sidelines for the first six months or so, right. Geta better sense of the business, see a couple quarters worth of reports.</p>
<p>Niu: Yeah. Andlet's not even talk aboutGoPro, I mean, God, GoPro is ...(laughs)I was never a fan of GoPro. Anyway, in contrast, Nutanix increased their price range, then they priced above that range, then they jumped 130% on the first day. So, I think it really shows that the market is warming up to these new issues in tech. Even Nutanix was a victim of this staying away, because they initially filed their S-1registration statement with the SEC back in December.</p>
<p>Lewis: They basically waited 10 months, right?</p>
<p>Niu: Yeah. In the meantime, they took out a loan just to wait longer. They took out a $75 million loan just so they could wait longer. They took it out fromGoldman Sachs, who was an underwriter for the IPO. Then, through the IPO, they raised up $220 million. But, the point is, they wanted to wait so bad -- of course, they still need cash, which is the whole point of the IPO. But, they took out some money just to not go public, because the market was so bad. Now it seems like that patience has paid off, because the stock has done very well, and they raised a ton of money because the price of the IPO came back higher than expected, because, presumably, there was stronginstitutional demand. But yeah, I think it's definitely warming up. You mentioned Snapchat, I thinkDropboxhas also beenlooking to go public for several years. Maybe evenUber, God forbid.</p>
<p>Lewis: That would be a show, for sure. Maybe four.</p>
<p>Niu: You have all these VCs that are anxious to get paid. They want these companies to go public, because they want to cash out, too. I think there's a pipeline of people that are sitting and waiting.I think this IPO shows thatmaybe the water is warm,maybe they can jump in.</p>
<p>Lewis: Yeah. We will happily cover them as they do. These are always fun shows to do. Anything else before I let you go, Evan?</p>
<p>Niu: No, I think we hit all the big pieces.</p>
<p>Lewis: Awesome.Well,listeners, that does it for this episode of Industry Focus. If you have any questions, or just want to reach out and say, "Hey," you can shoot us an email at <a href="http://www.fool.com/podcasts/industry-focus?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">[email protected] Opens a New Window.</a>. You can always tweet us @MFIndustryFocus. If you'relooking for more of our stuff, subscribe on iTunes or check out The Fool's family of shows at <a href="http://www.fool.com/podcasts/?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">fool.com/podcasts Opens a New Window.</a>. As always, people on the program may own companies discussed on the show, and The Motley Fool may have formal recommendations for or against stocks mentioned, so don't buy or sell anything based solely on what you hear. For Evan Niu, I'm Dylan Lewis, thanks for listening and Fool on!</p>
<p>Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. <a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFlewis/info.aspx" type="external">Dylan Lewis Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of Alphabet (A shares). <a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFNewCow/info.aspx" type="external">Evan Niu, CFA Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of Facebook. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Activision Blizzard, Alphabet (A and C shares), Facebook, Fitbit, and GoPro. The Motley Fool recommends Cisco Systems, Nordstrom, Total, and VMware. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=isiedilnk018048&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://www.fool.com/knowledge-center/motley.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
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Nutanix Stock: What Investors Need to Know
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2016-10-24
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Nutanix Stock: What Investors Need to Know
<p>In this episode of <a href="http://www.fool.com/podcasts/industry-focus?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Industry Focus: Tech Opens a New Window.</a>, Motley Fool analyst Dylan Lewis and contributor Evan Niu talk about recently public Nutanix(NASDAQ: NTNX) and explainexactly what the self-described "hyperconvergence" company does, why it has investors so excited, and how its books look so far. Also, the two talk about some of the biggest risks that potential investors should be aware of before diving in, from intense and potentially crippling competition to an incredibly technical market.</p>
<p>A full transcript follows the video.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>A secret billion-dollar stock opportunity The world's biggest tech company forgot to show you something, but a few Wall Street analysts and the Fool didn't miss a beat: There's a small company that's powering their brand-new gadgets and the coming revolution in technology. And we think its stock price has nearly unlimited room to run for early in-the-know investors! To be one of them, <a href="http://www.fool.com/mms/mark/ecap-foolcom-apple-wearable?aid=6965&amp;source=irbeditxt0000017&amp;ftm_cam=rb-wearable-d&amp;ftm_pit=2668&amp;ftm_veh=article_pitch&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">just click here Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>This podcast was recorded on Oct. 7, 2016.</p>
<p>Dylan Lewis: This episode of Industry Focus is brought to you by Rocket Mortgage byQuicken Loans.Rocket Mortgagebrings the mortgage process into the 21st century with a fast,easy, and completely online process. Check out Rocket Mortgage today at <a href="http://www.quickenloans.com/fool" type="external">QuickenLoans.com/fool Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Welcome to Industry Focus, the podcast the dives into a different sector of the stock market every day. It's Friday, Oct. 7th, and we're talking about another hot tech IPO. I'm your host, Dylan Lewis, and I'm joined on Skype by Fool.com senior technology specialist, Evan Niu. Evan, how's it going?</p>
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<p>Evan Niu: Pretty good, happy Friday.</p>
<p>Lewis: Happy Friday. Things are looking pretty rosy over at Nutanix, huh?</p>
<p>Niu: Yeah, today has been a week.</p>
<p>Lewis: Last week, I talked to David Kretzmann about recently publicTwilio. Today's show, Evan and I are going to break down another tech company that recently went public, Nutanix -- give you guys a little rundown on what they do, how their books look, a couple things to keep in mind with their business. How's that sound, Evan?</p>
<p>Niu: Sounds good.</p>
<p>Lewis: Shares originally priced at $16. They are currently trading in the mid-30s. So, the stock is up over 100% since they hit the markets. I think the biggest thing most people are wondering is, what the heck does Nutanix do?</p>
<p>Niu: Yeah, no one has heard of this company before. They're like $38 now, so they're up. It's been a pretty wild week, they've been up and down quite a bit each day, because IPOs are always volatile.</p>
<p>Nutanix takes servers and storage and virtualization and integrates these all into one platform. It'sbasically and IT infrastructure play. These things arenormally separate, socompanies usually have to get this stufffrom different companiesthat all use different operating systems,it's inefficient, it's more expensive. So their whole thing is basically to integrate all these things into one platform.</p>
<p>Lewis: And you'll often hear themdescribed as a "hyperconvergence" company. That term, hyperconvergence, gets at that. You'retaking all of these disparatethings that are delivered and managed separatelyin the past and bringing them togetherin a more efficient way.</p>
<p>Niu: Right,exactly. It helps to really improve data center performance. They've been one of the pioneers in this hyperconverged data center area. People areexcited about that.</p>
<p>Lewis: Theircurrent customer list rangesthe whole spectrum. We haveNintendo,Nordstrom,I think the Department of Defense is also a customer.</p>
<p>Niu: Total, Toyota, Activision, Best Buy. They have about 3,000customers. About two years agothey only had about 700 or 800 customers. So just the number of customers they have hasdefinitely grown a lot.</p>
<p>Lewis: I think you see that reflected inwhat's going on with the top line. Looking atgrowth over the past few years,it's been fairly impressive. Sales have jumped90% from 2014 to 2015, and now 85% from 2015 to 2016. Their2016 fiscal year ended in July,so we're looking at a full year there. That puts them at $445 million in revenue for 2016. Not bad.</p>
<p>Niu: Yeah. It'sreally hard to argue with those growth figures. They're putting up the numbers, especially up top.</p>
<p>Lewis: One of the things that youwant to keep in mind, you see a coupledifferent numbers cited with them. They had a non-GAAP number called "billings." Wetalk about their top line of their revenue. Revenue is what they'reable to recognize as sales. Billings is money they've collected. Some of that will berecognized as revenue,some of that is going to be categorized as deferred revenue. That is something that will eventually be recognized later on.</p>
<p>Niu: Right. Most of thesesubscription software service companies,and a lot of companies in general, use billingswhich is basically revenue plus or minus the changeindeferred revenue. In this case,Nutanix, theirrevenue is broken down intoproducts and service and support. The product is the physical boxes they sellthat have the hardware plus the software. Alternatively, they also sell just the software, if the customer already has a qualified server and already has a hardware so they can just buy the software. So,product revenue is basically just those products, which is the two product families,Acropolis and Prism. The service revenue is,afterpurchase support, that's wherethe majority of their deferred revenueis coming from. Ishould not have characterized it as software as a service. The majority of their revenue is not subscription-type stuff. But, they have about $300 million of deferred revenue on the balance sheet right now, which is a pretty healthy backlog. That will get recognized over time. And most of that is related to service and support.</p>
<p>Lewis: You talk about the two different types of revenue they have. It makes sense that a support and maintenance type revenue stream is going to be the thing that would be recognized over a period of time, rather than up front all at once, because typically those are contracts that are ranging from one to five years for their business. To give you an idea of the mix there, it used to be about a 90-10 split with the product and support, and other services revenue. Now, it's a little closer to 80-20. So, you are seeing that rise over time. I think you'll probably see the gap between billings and revenue continue to spread out a little bit as that becomes a larger part of their business.</p>
<p>Niu: Yeah. I think it makes sense, too. As the customer base grows, those customers, there's a large number of people that need support. That service segment is probably going to be growing as a percentage of sales going forward, I would expect.</p>
<p>Lewis: One of the things that really popped out to me, looking at their numbers, is that profit margins climbed pretty steadily over the last three years. We've seen 52% in 2014, now they're up to 61.6%. That's pretty impressive.</p>
<p>Niu: I think what we're seeing is just operating leverage. I don't think this is a company that hasa lot of high capital costs. If you don't have a lot of fixed costs,then operating leverage really kicks inas your revenue base grows larger. Youhave to spread out those costsover larger base,and then you see margin expansion. So, yeah, I think that's what we're seeing there,which explains why their margins just keep expandingas they grow.</p>
<p>Lewis: Yeah. Theyear-over-year gains might not be as dramatic as we get into 2017 and 2018. But there might be some upside there.</p>
<p>Niu: Yeah.I definitely think if they keep growing their top line, the margins will keep expanding. At least the growth margin front. I mean,obviously, they operate on a loss because they're investing so heavily in the business. But as far as the gross margin goes, I would definitely expect that to keep going up, if they can keep ramping the top line.</p>
<p>Lewis: Yeah,looking at their bottom line right now, they registered a net loss of $166 million thismost recently closed fiscal year. A big reason for that is,the company's sales and marketing costs were up79% year over year, hitting $288 million. That itemsingle-handedly erased the company's gross profit. That's pretty incredible, not terribly surprising,because that's kind of how it works in the tech space.</p>
<p>Niu: Yeah,that's par for course with any of these high-growthsmall tech companiesin Silicon Valley.(laughs) All that stock-based comp.</p>
<p>Lewis: Yeah,that plays in there too. We're going to take a little bit of a look at some of the competitors in the space, and some other things to keep in mind with Nutanix, but before we do, this episode of Industry Focus is broughtto you by Rocket Mortgage by Quicken Loans. If you've ever bought a home, you know howfrustrating and time-consuming getting a mortgage can be.Rocket Mortgage brings the mortgage approval process into the 21st century by takingall the complicated, time-consuming parts of applying for a mortgage out of the equation. With Rocket Mortgage you can easily share your bank statements and pay stubs at the touch of a button, helping you get approved in minutes for a custom mortgage solution that's been tailored to your unique financial situation.Even better, with Rocket Mortgage you can do it all online with your phone or tablet. If you're looking to refinance your mortgage or buy a home, check out Rocket Mortgage today at <a href="http://www.fool.com/podcasts/industry-focus?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">quickenloans.com/fool Opens a New Window.</a>, Equal Housing lender licensed in all 50 states, NMLS, consumeraccess.org number 3030.</p>
<p>Evan, to helpcontextualize this business a little bit,it might make sense to look at some of the other players in the space and how they stack up.</p>
<p>Niu: And the risks.</p>
<p>Lewis: And some of the risks, yeah. Looking through theirprospectus, they break out theircompetitors in three different categories. You have yoursoftware providers, people likeVMwareandRed Hat. Those arepeople that are typically offering a range of things in thevirtualization, infrastructure and management product space. That'slooking at enterprise cloud-type work. Then you have traditional IT vendors.Hewlett-Packard, Cisco, IBM. That's more in the integrated systems. You're looking at bundles of servers, storage, network solutions, that type of stuff. Then,the traditional storage array vendors likeDell,Hitachi, they name a couple others. They'retypically selling centralized storage products. Then they also have people that work in hyperconverged infrastructure, which is a more nascent field. There are a lot ofdifferentpeopletrying to grab a share of this market,it sounds like.</p>
<p>Niu: Yeah,that's probably the biggest risk here. There's so much competition. They have pioneered this idea, but at the same time, the ITinfrastructure market is huge.As you mentioned, some of these companies that we're talking about are gigantic. Going up against these really large and established companies that have a ton of money, that can really out-spend you in every way, in terms of R&amp;D, marketing, they haveexisting customers, etc. It's tough. That's an uphill battle. They've done pretty well,you can't argue with the growth they're putting up. But that's just a couple of years. Once these big companies get their act together coming in on this space, they could really take a bite out of Nutanix. Just because Nutanix helped carve out this hyperconverged niche of the data center market, doesn't mean they can keep it all. It's very possible these larger companies will want to replicate what they're doing,particularly since some of their rivals arealso their partners.</p>
<p>Lewis: Yeah,that's kind of an interesting dynamic. Do you want to explain that a little bit?</p>
<p>Niu: They sell their products through resellers,distributors, and OEMs.</p>
<p>Lewis: Can you define OEM for our listeners?</p>
<p>Niu: Original equipment manufacturer. So,people who make things and sell them to their own customers. Dell andLenovo are two of their biggest OEM partners, and they're also two of their biggest competitors. This isn't new for this kind of space, there's lots of times you see this kind of thing. There's all these other companies in the past that had this same kind of competitive dynamic, where they were competing with the people that are their partners. That's pretty normal, it's coopetition, whatever you want to call it. But it's a big risk. If one of those people decide to really come in and replicate it, and can get it out pretty easily ... So, it's a tough space. Generally speaking, I think at the Fool, we're fans of the idea that you should have a good understanding of the business you're investing in. Nutanix is an extremely technical company to understand. I'd even consider that a risk for individual investors.</p>
<p>Lewis: Just because you won't be able to see some of the signals that things are going very well or very poorly.</p>
<p>Niu: Exactly. You need to really understand the company or business, what they do, and also the market dynamics. The IT infrastructure market changes so quickly, and you need to be able to keep up. If you can't keep up with what's happening on a technical side, it's hard to invest in something. I've made IT infrastructure plays that didn't work out before because these companies are hard to follow, and things change so fast. You can get caught off guard really quickly if you're not paying a lot of attention.</p>
<p>Lewis: Yeah. We both cover the tech space pretty regularly, and I think it took us both a decent amount of homework to really get down to the nuts and bolts of this company. It took some time and some serious reading. For the average investor, that might not be something they're interested in doing. Any other risks you notice, besides things in the competitive space?</p>
<p>Niu: There's another one that's not uncommon, but it's an insider control piece. They're another one of these companies in Silicon Valley that's doing this dual-class thing. Class A shares, which people and the public can buy, get one vote. Class B shares, which are only held by insiders, get 10 votes per share. So, they have a supervoting class. Class B shares control 99% of the voting power. Insiders keep all control to themselves. The economic rights are the same. But, public investors should have no illusions of being able to influence the company in any way. Again, this isn't uncommon. Tons of companies do this,Google [Alphabet]is the big example. Pretty much every new tech company does this, which is really annoying.</p>
<p>Lewis: AlsoFacebook. Facebook went to a stock split in order to enable this to continue to happen. This is industry standard in tech.I will say, to play devil's advocate,that can be seen as a positive thing,as long as you like the management team that's in place, andyou think they have the right vision for the company. Because then, they are basically given full control and the clout to make the decisions,maybe a little bit more long-term oriented, and taking some short-term hits to position the company for success.</p>
<p>Niu: Yeah. Youhave to have faith in leadership and management. It's frustrating because,I don't like how it's become such an accepted thing that everyone does. On principle, that just bothers me,in terms of corporate governance. It's fine in a lot of cases,because you do believe in the company's leadership. But on principle, it bothers me, it's like, come on, guys ...it's a really shareholder unfriendly thing to do,and everyone does it.</p>
<p>Lewis: Yeah. But,it's become commonplace.</p>
<p>Niu: Yeah,because they can get away with it.</p>
<p>Lewis: So, right now, with a market cap of roughly $5.3 billion --I checked before we started recording --the company is currently trading at about 12 times fiscal 2016 sales. Not cheap by any means. It seems like,in a lot of ways, this is the kind of company where,if you aren't really gung-ho on it and you don't understand the space very well, you'reprobably better served sitting on the sidelines.</p>
<p>Niu: Yeah. It's that wholetechnical thing. It's so hard, because you should be digging inand really understanding the inner workings of howthe products work. If you can't do that, it's hard to want to invest,or at least feel responsibleabout buying. I wouldn't buy a company that I didn't understand.</p>
<p>Lewis: Yeah, and you're doing it at avery expensive valuation. Yousubject yourself to a lot of swings.</p>
<p>Niu: Yeah, they're super expensive. And, again,the first six months of any IPO is basically the Wild West. I basically never buy any IPO in the first six months,because things are so volatile. Up and down. Think about all the recent tech IPOs, they're wild. That's why IPOs aretechnically classified as speculative investments. If you've ever tried to buy an IPOfrom your broker,you have to fill out a survey. That survey has the expected questions, like, "What'syour investment objective?" andthose kind of standard questions. If you do not click "speculative" as one of your goals, they won't invest it. Andthis applies to all IPOs.</p>
<p>Thestrong performance so far is definitely good news for the broader tech IPO market.</p>
<p>Lewis: That was one thingI wanted to touch on before we wrap up. You look at the successful IPOs of Twilio and Nutanix over the past few months, I think it might beinteresting to see if some of theunicorns sitting on the sidelines right nowmight decide to test the waters.</p>
<p>Niu: Line, too.</p>
<p>Lewis: Right, that's another one. I just saw in the news yesterday thatSnapchat is reportedly interested in a filing. Given that there's a solid track record of tech IPOs in 2016, you might start to see some of these other unicorns come out of the woodwork.</p>
<p>Niu: If you remember, last year, it was just not a good environment. Last year, there were several big tech IPOs that just sputtered off, and it scared everyone off. I think one of the big ones wasSquare. Square came out last November, I think. They priced below the expected range, at $9. And the shares did jump on the first day, 45%. But the IPO pricing didn't inspire a lot ofconfidence in the stock,even now it hasn't really done much. It's basically just traded flat within a certain range in the past year.Fitbitalso fizzled down in their first few months, same thing, it had a decent showing initially but now is trading below the IPO price of $20.</p>
<p>Lewis: Toyour point about wanting to stay on the sidelines for the first six months or so, right. Geta better sense of the business, see a couple quarters worth of reports.</p>
<p>Niu: Yeah. Andlet's not even talk aboutGoPro, I mean, God, GoPro is ...(laughs)I was never a fan of GoPro. Anyway, in contrast, Nutanix increased their price range, then they priced above that range, then they jumped 130% on the first day. So, I think it really shows that the market is warming up to these new issues in tech. Even Nutanix was a victim of this staying away, because they initially filed their S-1registration statement with the SEC back in December.</p>
<p>Lewis: They basically waited 10 months, right?</p>
<p>Niu: Yeah. In the meantime, they took out a loan just to wait longer. They took out a $75 million loan just so they could wait longer. They took it out fromGoldman Sachs, who was an underwriter for the IPO. Then, through the IPO, they raised up $220 million. But, the point is, they wanted to wait so bad -- of course, they still need cash, which is the whole point of the IPO. But, they took out some money just to not go public, because the market was so bad. Now it seems like that patience has paid off, because the stock has done very well, and they raised a ton of money because the price of the IPO came back higher than expected, because, presumably, there was stronginstitutional demand. But yeah, I think it's definitely warming up. You mentioned Snapchat, I thinkDropboxhas also beenlooking to go public for several years. Maybe evenUber, God forbid.</p>
<p>Lewis: That would be a show, for sure. Maybe four.</p>
<p>Niu: You have all these VCs that are anxious to get paid. They want these companies to go public, because they want to cash out, too. I think there's a pipeline of people that are sitting and waiting.I think this IPO shows thatmaybe the water is warm,maybe they can jump in.</p>
<p>Lewis: Yeah. We will happily cover them as they do. These are always fun shows to do. Anything else before I let you go, Evan?</p>
<p>Niu: No, I think we hit all the big pieces.</p>
<p>Lewis: Awesome.Well,listeners, that does it for this episode of Industry Focus. If you have any questions, or just want to reach out and say, "Hey," you can shoot us an email at <a href="http://www.fool.com/podcasts/industry-focus?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">[email protected] Opens a New Window.</a>. You can always tweet us @MFIndustryFocus. If you'relooking for more of our stuff, subscribe on iTunes or check out The Fool's family of shows at <a href="http://www.fool.com/podcasts/?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">fool.com/podcasts Opens a New Window.</a>. As always, people on the program may own companies discussed on the show, and The Motley Fool may have formal recommendations for or against stocks mentioned, so don't buy or sell anything based solely on what you hear. For Evan Niu, I'm Dylan Lewis, thanks for listening and Fool on!</p>
<p>Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. <a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFlewis/info.aspx" type="external">Dylan Lewis Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of Alphabet (A shares). <a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFNewCow/info.aspx" type="external">Evan Niu, CFA Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of Facebook. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Activision Blizzard, Alphabet (A and C shares), Facebook, Fitbit, and GoPro. The Motley Fool recommends Cisco Systems, Nordstrom, Total, and VMware. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=isiedilnk018048&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://www.fool.com/knowledge-center/motley.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
| 7,231 |
<p />
<p>A Tennessee woman who is really bad at math spent her entire life savings on Powerball tickets.</p>
<p>"Cinnamon Nicole" (we're not sure if it's her real name), bought up a bunch of Powerball tickets pending last week's billion dollar drawing. After predictably NOT winning, Cinnamon then created a GoFundMe account trying to solicit more money to spend on more tickets.</p>
<p>Here is what was on the page before GoFundMe shut it down:</p>
<p>Please help me and my family as we have exausted all of our funds. We spent all of our money on lottery tickets (expecting to win the 1.5 billion) and are now in dire need of cash. With your small donation of at least $1.00, a like and one share, I'm certain that we will be able to pick ourselves up from the trenches of this lost and spend another fortune trying to hit it big again! PLEASE, won't you help a family in need. DONATE NOW.</p>
<p>What in the AF? Crazily, apparently people actually donated because the fund raised $1,000 before it was shut down.</p>
<p>Only in America.</p>
<p>h/t <a href="http://thesource.com/2016/01/15/gofundme-shuts-down-campaign-of-woman-who-blew-life-savings-on-powerball-tickets/" type="external">The Source</a></p>
|
Woman Blows Life Savings On Powerball Tickets, Start GoFundMe Account To Buy More
| true |
http://offthemainpage.com/2016/01/17/woman-blows-life-savings-on-powerball-tickets-start-gofundme-account-to-buy-more/
|
2016-01-17
| 4left
|
Woman Blows Life Savings On Powerball Tickets, Start GoFundMe Account To Buy More
<p />
<p>A Tennessee woman who is really bad at math spent her entire life savings on Powerball tickets.</p>
<p>"Cinnamon Nicole" (we're not sure if it's her real name), bought up a bunch of Powerball tickets pending last week's billion dollar drawing. After predictably NOT winning, Cinnamon then created a GoFundMe account trying to solicit more money to spend on more tickets.</p>
<p>Here is what was on the page before GoFundMe shut it down:</p>
<p>Please help me and my family as we have exausted all of our funds. We spent all of our money on lottery tickets (expecting to win the 1.5 billion) and are now in dire need of cash. With your small donation of at least $1.00, a like and one share, I'm certain that we will be able to pick ourselves up from the trenches of this lost and spend another fortune trying to hit it big again! PLEASE, won't you help a family in need. DONATE NOW.</p>
<p>What in the AF? Crazily, apparently people actually donated because the fund raised $1,000 before it was shut down.</p>
<p>Only in America.</p>
<p>h/t <a href="http://thesource.com/2016/01/15/gofundme-shuts-down-campaign-of-woman-who-blew-life-savings-on-powerball-tickets/" type="external">The Source</a></p>
| 7,232 |
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<p />
<p>Judge contests in the 2nd Judicial District, which covers all of Bernalillo County, are a bit daunting in 2012 if only because of the odd aspects of some races.</p>
<p>Seven sitting judges are vying for four seats on the court, one that often has a significant impact on people’s lives. Three of the seats are in the criminal division, handling felony cases including violent crimes, white-collar fraud, child abuse, murder and more.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>One seat is in Division 21, the domestic violence division of family court, where the parties often act as their own attorneys and where rancor can be commonplace. Incumbent Judge Alisa Hadfield , a Democrat and former domestic violence commissioner for the court, is being challenged by family law attorney David Standridge, a Republican and longtime family law practitioner.</p>
<p>Four Metropolitan Court judges are vying for the three criminal seats.</p>
<p>Republican incumbent District Judges Brett Loveless and Sam Winder, both former prosecutors who were appointed by Gov. Susana Martinez, occupy two of the slots. In the third position, Jonathan Ibarra, a Republican and another former prosecutor, is the sitting judge since his appointment in September, but he is not on the Nov. 6 election ballot.</p>
<p>Metropolitan Court Judges Sharon Walton, a Republican, and Christina Argyres, a Democrat, face off for Ibarra’s seat in district court, Division 10, so no matter who wins, there will soon be a vacancy in Metro Court.</p>
<p>And it’s possible there could be more.</p>
<p>For the Division 6 seat, Loveless, who spent 10 years prosecuting child sex abuse cases, is opposed by Democrat Briana H. Zamora, a judge in the criminal division of Metro Court.</p>
<p>Metropolitan Court Judge Ben Chavez, who has spent eight years in the court’s criminal division, is taking on Winder, a former federal prosecutor, in Division 19. — This article appeared on page C1 of the Albuquerque Journal</p>
|
7 Judges Competing for District Covering Bernalillo County
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/140683/7-judges-competing-for-district-covering-bernalillo-county.html
|
2012-10-23
| 2least
|
7 Judges Competing for District Covering Bernalillo County
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Judge contests in the 2nd Judicial District, which covers all of Bernalillo County, are a bit daunting in 2012 if only because of the odd aspects of some races.</p>
<p>Seven sitting judges are vying for four seats on the court, one that often has a significant impact on people’s lives. Three of the seats are in the criminal division, handling felony cases including violent crimes, white-collar fraud, child abuse, murder and more.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>One seat is in Division 21, the domestic violence division of family court, where the parties often act as their own attorneys and where rancor can be commonplace. Incumbent Judge Alisa Hadfield , a Democrat and former domestic violence commissioner for the court, is being challenged by family law attorney David Standridge, a Republican and longtime family law practitioner.</p>
<p>Four Metropolitan Court judges are vying for the three criminal seats.</p>
<p>Republican incumbent District Judges Brett Loveless and Sam Winder, both former prosecutors who were appointed by Gov. Susana Martinez, occupy two of the slots. In the third position, Jonathan Ibarra, a Republican and another former prosecutor, is the sitting judge since his appointment in September, but he is not on the Nov. 6 election ballot.</p>
<p>Metropolitan Court Judges Sharon Walton, a Republican, and Christina Argyres, a Democrat, face off for Ibarra’s seat in district court, Division 10, so no matter who wins, there will soon be a vacancy in Metro Court.</p>
<p>And it’s possible there could be more.</p>
<p>For the Division 6 seat, Loveless, who spent 10 years prosecuting child sex abuse cases, is opposed by Democrat Briana H. Zamora, a judge in the criminal division of Metro Court.</p>
<p>Metropolitan Court Judge Ben Chavez, who has spent eight years in the court’s criminal division, is taking on Winder, a former federal prosecutor, in Division 19. — This article appeared on page C1 of the Albuquerque Journal</p>
| 7,233 |
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<p />
<p>A local judge has ordered the owner of the St. Catherine’s Indian School campus to better secure the historic property and start fixing up some of its structures.</p>
<p>Santa Fe Municipal Court Judge Ann Yalman said the city of Santa Fe, which filed a “demolition by neglect” complaint against New Mexico Consolidated Construction, has proved beyond a reasonable doubt that St. Kate’s landmark buildings are suffering under the company’s ownership.</p>
<p>“The evidence produced at trial and confirmed by the site visit is that the property has been used by trespassers for unauthorized habitation, has been vandalized, and has not been secured or maintained, thereby allowing the landmark properties to deteriorate or otherwise fall into a state of disrepair,” Yalman wrote in a decision issued Thursday.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Yalman ordered that New Mexico Consolidated Construction and the city split the cost of a structural needs assessment for the school’s landmark properties. When the report is complete, New Mexico Consolidated Construction must apply to the city to repair and restore the exterior of the properties.</p>
<p>Yalman also said the windows and entryways of the site’s landmark buildings should be boarded up and the doors locked within 30 days. She also ordered that the landmark buildings’ roofs be fixed within 90 days.</p>
<p>In addition, Yalman ordered New Mexico Consolidated Construction to keep trespassers out with either a fence, security guards or both, and said the city can inspect the property monthly to ensure the efforts are effective.</p>
<p>“If the property cannot be secured, any steps to restore the property will be undone,” Yalman wrote.</p>
<p>The city sought a court order from Yalman to secure the St. Catherine’s campus from vandalism and trespass and bring the landmark buildings into compliance with maintenance standards.</p>
<p>City charges included that the campus, which closed in 1998, is subject to vandalism and presents a fire risk to the neighborhood.</p>
<p>Attorneys for New Mexico Consolidated Construction disputed that the conditions at the campus are as bad as the city portrays them. They also say that city officials and preservation advocates have made it impossible for the campus to have a future other than what the deteriorating buildings offer. John Polk, an attorney for New Mexico Consolidated Construction, said by email that he was out of state on Friday and would not comment until he saw the order.</p>
<p>The case was heard in Municipal Court in April and May.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“This was an unusually complicated case for Municipal Court and there was a lot of evidence the judge had to go through,” Santa Fe assistant city attorney Alfred Walker said Friday. “We believe the judge understood exactly what was going on and came to a very well-reasoned decision and really a creative and useful resolution on what needed to be done.”</p>
<p>Thirteen structures on the campus, located just north of the city’s downtown historic district, are designated as city landmarks and are listed on the state register of cultural properties.</p>
<p>The school was run for more than 100 years by the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament. Albuquerque businessman Max Tafoya of New Mexico Consolidated Construction purchased the property in 2005, although Polk said during the trial that Tafoya is no longer a managing partner of the company.</p>
<p>In the past, Tafoya indicated he wanted to sell all or part of the campus to the federal government for expansion of the adjacent Santa Fe National Cemetery, which is nearing capacity.</p>
<p>But city government, under its ordinances controlling historic properties, has rejected his plans to move or tear down some structures on the campus so land can be transferred to the cemetery.</p>
<p>In a separate lawsuit still working its way through District Court, the company is challenging the city’s refusal to allow the company to demolish or move the old buildings. New Mexico Consolidated Construction alleges that the council’s rejection of the plans was “a sham” intended to force sale of the property to the city and drive down the price.</p>
<p>Also, Tafoya has been indicted by federal authorities on charges that he lied to get almost $11 million in federal contracts through a program targeted at disabled veterans for another construction company he owns.</p>
|
St. Kate’s owner must maintain campus
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/245021/st-kates-owner-must-maintain-campus.html
|
2013-08-10
| 2least
|
St. Kate’s owner must maintain campus
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>A local judge has ordered the owner of the St. Catherine’s Indian School campus to better secure the historic property and start fixing up some of its structures.</p>
<p>Santa Fe Municipal Court Judge Ann Yalman said the city of Santa Fe, which filed a “demolition by neglect” complaint against New Mexico Consolidated Construction, has proved beyond a reasonable doubt that St. Kate’s landmark buildings are suffering under the company’s ownership.</p>
<p>“The evidence produced at trial and confirmed by the site visit is that the property has been used by trespassers for unauthorized habitation, has been vandalized, and has not been secured or maintained, thereby allowing the landmark properties to deteriorate or otherwise fall into a state of disrepair,” Yalman wrote in a decision issued Thursday.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Yalman ordered that New Mexico Consolidated Construction and the city split the cost of a structural needs assessment for the school’s landmark properties. When the report is complete, New Mexico Consolidated Construction must apply to the city to repair and restore the exterior of the properties.</p>
<p>Yalman also said the windows and entryways of the site’s landmark buildings should be boarded up and the doors locked within 30 days. She also ordered that the landmark buildings’ roofs be fixed within 90 days.</p>
<p>In addition, Yalman ordered New Mexico Consolidated Construction to keep trespassers out with either a fence, security guards or both, and said the city can inspect the property monthly to ensure the efforts are effective.</p>
<p>“If the property cannot be secured, any steps to restore the property will be undone,” Yalman wrote.</p>
<p>The city sought a court order from Yalman to secure the St. Catherine’s campus from vandalism and trespass and bring the landmark buildings into compliance with maintenance standards.</p>
<p>City charges included that the campus, which closed in 1998, is subject to vandalism and presents a fire risk to the neighborhood.</p>
<p>Attorneys for New Mexico Consolidated Construction disputed that the conditions at the campus are as bad as the city portrays them. They also say that city officials and preservation advocates have made it impossible for the campus to have a future other than what the deteriorating buildings offer. John Polk, an attorney for New Mexico Consolidated Construction, said by email that he was out of state on Friday and would not comment until he saw the order.</p>
<p>The case was heard in Municipal Court in April and May.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“This was an unusually complicated case for Municipal Court and there was a lot of evidence the judge had to go through,” Santa Fe assistant city attorney Alfred Walker said Friday. “We believe the judge understood exactly what was going on and came to a very well-reasoned decision and really a creative and useful resolution on what needed to be done.”</p>
<p>Thirteen structures on the campus, located just north of the city’s downtown historic district, are designated as city landmarks and are listed on the state register of cultural properties.</p>
<p>The school was run for more than 100 years by the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament. Albuquerque businessman Max Tafoya of New Mexico Consolidated Construction purchased the property in 2005, although Polk said during the trial that Tafoya is no longer a managing partner of the company.</p>
<p>In the past, Tafoya indicated he wanted to sell all or part of the campus to the federal government for expansion of the adjacent Santa Fe National Cemetery, which is nearing capacity.</p>
<p>But city government, under its ordinances controlling historic properties, has rejected his plans to move or tear down some structures on the campus so land can be transferred to the cemetery.</p>
<p>In a separate lawsuit still working its way through District Court, the company is challenging the city’s refusal to allow the company to demolish or move the old buildings. New Mexico Consolidated Construction alleges that the council’s rejection of the plans was “a sham” intended to force sale of the property to the city and drive down the price.</p>
<p>Also, Tafoya has been indicted by federal authorities on charges that he lied to get almost $11 million in federal contracts through a program targeted at disabled veterans for another construction company he owns.</p>
| 7,234 |
<p>Navigating a mind-numbing office park near the interstate the other day, I was stalled at a traffic light, and a curious billboard caught my attention: “Prime rib dinner potato and salad for under $10 call 410-252-xxxx”. The billboard stood on the concrete island in the middle of the road, seemingly unaffiliated with any surrounding businesses. Finally, I surmised that it belonged to the shiny Holiday Inn hunkered several hundred yards away, amidst a sea of pavement.</p>
<p>What an odd sign, I thought. Why did they include the phone number?</p>
<p>Who would call?</p>
<p>Then I wondered, what’s the news here? Is $10 prime rib so remarkable? For who? Why? When? Or rather, since when? Clearly, the Holiday Inn hoped to attract customers to this unlikely locale for Friday night out, and cheap prime rib was its gambit.</p>
<p>But why? Aren’t we meated out yet? I’m meated out every night by 11:30- even if I’ve gone vegan for the day. I’m talking about the late night ads: Checkers, Wendy’s, Burger King, McDonalds. I know what these companies are up to. They’re taking advantage of the late night munchies in cruel fashion. But these ads display an impressive battle royale between the fast food chains- a battle to the bottom, a battle to the cheapest meat on earth.</p>
<p>I believe McDonalds won the latest round- this week, at least. In recent ads, McDonalds announced that it was practically giving away triple cheeseburgers: two for $3. Wow. That’s a lot of meat, cheap. Six beef patties for $3. Fifty cents a patty. Three hundred calories per dollar.</p>
<p>McDonalds touts this deal proudly- daringly, even. But their pride is mystifying, if not misplaced, if you think about it for only a minute. How can they sell triple cheesburgers for a buck fifty? It almost reminds me of prices I’ve seen on quaint menus from decades past- and that’s precisely the point. All the fast food chains are bucking inflation, driving down the price of meat –beef, no less, a former delicacy- to never before seen lows.</p>
<p>Why is their meat so cheap? Are they serving beef of shockingly low quality?</p>
<p>Surely, McDonalds would never risk undoing itself with an E. Coli scare. Alternately, are we facing a ‘meat glut’ like the corn and soybean glut that the journalist Michael Pollan has highlighted of late?</p>
<p>A meat glut is nothing to take lightly. Pollan has bemoaned the health crisis spawned by excess soy and corn, the building blocks of our processed foods.</p>
<p>Their excess, thanks to farm subsidies, has made soy and corn so cheap, and in turn, the junk food they comprise. That’s how we arrived at this peculiar state where highly processed Doritos are cheaper per calorie than broccoli.</p>
<p>And that’s how we arrived at our current health crisis, where rates of hypertension, diabetes, obesity and heart disease skyrocket, especially among the poor.</p>
<p>What happens when you throw $10 prime rib and triple cheesburgers into the mix? This can’t be good. In a way, this trend is surprising because I thought we were as a nation in the midst of an organic, locavore, health food revolution. Farmers markets are popping up everywhere (even in the parking lot of my local mall); people talk obsessively about fiber in their diets, and antioxidants, free radicals and fatty acids- little of which comes from triple cheeseburgers. Obviously, I’ve been trapped in my locavore bubble, because carnivorism still reigns. We’re being stuffed with ever cheaper meat, and our public health crisis risks exploding.</p>
<p>Nothing announces this countertrend- or our astounding, stubborn ignorance- more than the much ballyhooed ‘Double Down’ sandwich at KFC: a ‘sandwich’ of bacon and melted cheese, held together not by bread, but two pieces of fried chicken. KFC advertises this monstrosity with great enthusiasm. The company is effectively thumbing its nose at all public health indicators- and common sense, and sensible taste- but we go along with it, happily ‘doubling down’ our chances of early morbidity.</p>
<p>American carnivorism involves one very important, worrisome ingredient: oil.</p>
<p>Cheap oil supports the fertilizer in the corn and soy that becomes animal feed; it’s in the tractors and transport to market. We could not have cheap meat without cheap oil. So: why the deflation in meat, but not in oil? In this recession, oil single handedly drives inflation; the price of gas alone rises while everything falls or stagnates, waiting patiently for the American consumer to return. With talk of drilling moratoria, continued imports from dangerous places, and impending peak oil, it’s surprising that oil apparently continues to be showered on our meat production, which could be run for much cheaper- indeed, for free, if you consider that cows’ native diet consists of grass. Free grass.</p>
<p>What’s going on? We fret about our national energy independence and sustainability, but the fast food joints are practically falling over themselves to give away their oil-drenched meat. Clearly, oil is not such a precious commodity after all- or we are engaged in some stunning wastefulness. The latter option is more compelling, especially in light of our plodding, nonchalant response to the oil spill in the Gulf, which recently caused the closure of forty eight thousand square miles to fishing.</p>
<p>Forty eight thousand square miles of oil, and we hardly blink- it’s business as usual.</p>
<p>I realize that an economist might say that McDonalds and its competitors are simply engaged in a price war- that’s how they can offer triple cheeseburgers for a buck fifty. And yet, I would counter, this is a mighty long price war; I’ve observed this steady decline in the price of meat for years. It was about five years ago that I was shocked by a Popeye’s billboard hawking fried chicken for 39 cents apiece. I have yet to see that beat, but fear the day is surely coming…</p>
<p>Meat was a delicacy to our parents and grandparents. Just ask them. My mother tells of her whole family (in Irish Catholic quarters, that would be 8 people, give or take) sharing a roast chicken for Sunday dinner. Nowadays, that’s dinner for two. On a Wednesday. With beef for breakfast, lunch- and late night snack. Meat is fast becoming just another throw-away product. In light of our national health and energy crises, this should be very alarming.</p>
<p>FIRMIN DeBRABANDER is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore.</p>
<p />
<p><a href="http://greentags.bigcartel.com/" type="external">WORDS THAT STICK</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p />
<p />
|
Containing the Meat Spill
| true |
https://counterpunch.org/2010/05/26/containing-the-meat-spill/
|
2010-05-26
| 4left
|
Containing the Meat Spill
<p>Navigating a mind-numbing office park near the interstate the other day, I was stalled at a traffic light, and a curious billboard caught my attention: “Prime rib dinner potato and salad for under $10 call 410-252-xxxx”. The billboard stood on the concrete island in the middle of the road, seemingly unaffiliated with any surrounding businesses. Finally, I surmised that it belonged to the shiny Holiday Inn hunkered several hundred yards away, amidst a sea of pavement.</p>
<p>What an odd sign, I thought. Why did they include the phone number?</p>
<p>Who would call?</p>
<p>Then I wondered, what’s the news here? Is $10 prime rib so remarkable? For who? Why? When? Or rather, since when? Clearly, the Holiday Inn hoped to attract customers to this unlikely locale for Friday night out, and cheap prime rib was its gambit.</p>
<p>But why? Aren’t we meated out yet? I’m meated out every night by 11:30- even if I’ve gone vegan for the day. I’m talking about the late night ads: Checkers, Wendy’s, Burger King, McDonalds. I know what these companies are up to. They’re taking advantage of the late night munchies in cruel fashion. But these ads display an impressive battle royale between the fast food chains- a battle to the bottom, a battle to the cheapest meat on earth.</p>
<p>I believe McDonalds won the latest round- this week, at least. In recent ads, McDonalds announced that it was practically giving away triple cheeseburgers: two for $3. Wow. That’s a lot of meat, cheap. Six beef patties for $3. Fifty cents a patty. Three hundred calories per dollar.</p>
<p>McDonalds touts this deal proudly- daringly, even. But their pride is mystifying, if not misplaced, if you think about it for only a minute. How can they sell triple cheesburgers for a buck fifty? It almost reminds me of prices I’ve seen on quaint menus from decades past- and that’s precisely the point. All the fast food chains are bucking inflation, driving down the price of meat –beef, no less, a former delicacy- to never before seen lows.</p>
<p>Why is their meat so cheap? Are they serving beef of shockingly low quality?</p>
<p>Surely, McDonalds would never risk undoing itself with an E. Coli scare. Alternately, are we facing a ‘meat glut’ like the corn and soybean glut that the journalist Michael Pollan has highlighted of late?</p>
<p>A meat glut is nothing to take lightly. Pollan has bemoaned the health crisis spawned by excess soy and corn, the building blocks of our processed foods.</p>
<p>Their excess, thanks to farm subsidies, has made soy and corn so cheap, and in turn, the junk food they comprise. That’s how we arrived at this peculiar state where highly processed Doritos are cheaper per calorie than broccoli.</p>
<p>And that’s how we arrived at our current health crisis, where rates of hypertension, diabetes, obesity and heart disease skyrocket, especially among the poor.</p>
<p>What happens when you throw $10 prime rib and triple cheesburgers into the mix? This can’t be good. In a way, this trend is surprising because I thought we were as a nation in the midst of an organic, locavore, health food revolution. Farmers markets are popping up everywhere (even in the parking lot of my local mall); people talk obsessively about fiber in their diets, and antioxidants, free radicals and fatty acids- little of which comes from triple cheeseburgers. Obviously, I’ve been trapped in my locavore bubble, because carnivorism still reigns. We’re being stuffed with ever cheaper meat, and our public health crisis risks exploding.</p>
<p>Nothing announces this countertrend- or our astounding, stubborn ignorance- more than the much ballyhooed ‘Double Down’ sandwich at KFC: a ‘sandwich’ of bacon and melted cheese, held together not by bread, but two pieces of fried chicken. KFC advertises this monstrosity with great enthusiasm. The company is effectively thumbing its nose at all public health indicators- and common sense, and sensible taste- but we go along with it, happily ‘doubling down’ our chances of early morbidity.</p>
<p>American carnivorism involves one very important, worrisome ingredient: oil.</p>
<p>Cheap oil supports the fertilizer in the corn and soy that becomes animal feed; it’s in the tractors and transport to market. We could not have cheap meat without cheap oil. So: why the deflation in meat, but not in oil? In this recession, oil single handedly drives inflation; the price of gas alone rises while everything falls or stagnates, waiting patiently for the American consumer to return. With talk of drilling moratoria, continued imports from dangerous places, and impending peak oil, it’s surprising that oil apparently continues to be showered on our meat production, which could be run for much cheaper- indeed, for free, if you consider that cows’ native diet consists of grass. Free grass.</p>
<p>What’s going on? We fret about our national energy independence and sustainability, but the fast food joints are practically falling over themselves to give away their oil-drenched meat. Clearly, oil is not such a precious commodity after all- or we are engaged in some stunning wastefulness. The latter option is more compelling, especially in light of our plodding, nonchalant response to the oil spill in the Gulf, which recently caused the closure of forty eight thousand square miles to fishing.</p>
<p>Forty eight thousand square miles of oil, and we hardly blink- it’s business as usual.</p>
<p>I realize that an economist might say that McDonalds and its competitors are simply engaged in a price war- that’s how they can offer triple cheeseburgers for a buck fifty. And yet, I would counter, this is a mighty long price war; I’ve observed this steady decline in the price of meat for years. It was about five years ago that I was shocked by a Popeye’s billboard hawking fried chicken for 39 cents apiece. I have yet to see that beat, but fear the day is surely coming…</p>
<p>Meat was a delicacy to our parents and grandparents. Just ask them. My mother tells of her whole family (in Irish Catholic quarters, that would be 8 people, give or take) sharing a roast chicken for Sunday dinner. Nowadays, that’s dinner for two. On a Wednesday. With beef for breakfast, lunch- and late night snack. Meat is fast becoming just another throw-away product. In light of our national health and energy crises, this should be very alarming.</p>
<p>FIRMIN DeBRABANDER is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore.</p>
<p />
<p><a href="http://greentags.bigcartel.com/" type="external">WORDS THAT STICK</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p />
<p />
| 7,235 |
<p>Not all NFL players are anti-American, race-baiting, lying twits. But <a href="" type="internal">Michael Bennett of the Seattle Seahawks</a> might be. He claimed the police threatened his life and put a gun to his head. <a href="" type="internal">Because all cops are racist assholes</a>. Okay that’s the implication, he didn’t actually say that.&#160;Newly released footage is even more damning. It shows Michael Bennett running out of the casino in a crouched position as officers scream “get down on the ground now.”</p>
<p>Watch:</p>
<p />
<p />
<p><a href="http://m.tmz.com/#!article/2017/09/29/michael-bennett-cops-to-show-body-cam-footage/" type="external">From TMZ:</a></p>
<p>The Las Vegas Metro Police Dept. says the body cam footage absolutely justifies why police took down&#160; <a type="external" href="">Michael Bennett</a>&#160;at gunpoint during a search for an active shooter … saying it was NOT about race. Bennett had claimed he was racially profiled in the early hours of August 27 — when cops detained him outside the Cromwell hotel following the Mayweather vs. McGregor fight.</p>
<p>The footage shows a 3-man police team — made up of 2 hispanic officers and 1 black officer — identify Bennett as a suspicious person who did not get down on the ground as ordered during the hotel sweep. Video shows Bennett crouching and running in the casino before bolting out of a hotel door, jumping over a gate and running to the street.</p>
<p>One of the officers quickly asks if the man running had a gun and then gives chase.</p>
<p>In case anyone needed reminding, when officers are actively searching for a shooter, do what they say. This includes dropping to the floor as if trying to snag a fumble. Of which Bennett should be familiar. But Bennett assumed a crouched position and high tailed it. Instead of dropping like your small quarterback&#160;gets dropped because your crappy offensive line&#160;can’t do sh!t.</p>
<p>Now I’ve never been in an active shooter situation, but if I wanted to help the active shooter I would CROUCH and RUN out of the casino just as officers were screaming “GET DOWN ON THE GROUND.” It’s the perfect distraction!</p>
<p>&lt;img class="aligncenter wp-image-22286" src="http://www.louderwithcrowder.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/reaction-nervous.gif" alt="reaction nervous al pacino" width="364" height="245" /&gt;</p>
<p>The officers also clearly, and politely, explained to Bennett why he was detained. So this idea that Bennett had “no idea why they detained me” is like Seahawks fans claiming not to know what went catastrophically wrong in Super&#160;Bowl XLIX. What the actual hell?</p>
<p>After seeing this new footage, it’s lucky Bennett didn’t get a cap popped right in his million dollar ass. Sorry, there’s as much racism here as audience sympathy for NFL players flipping&#160;the bird to the national anthem.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>JOIN THE MUG CLUB AND GET ACCESS TO NEW CONSERVATIVE MEDIA VIA CRTV! <a href="" type="internal">ORDER YOUR MUG CLUB MEMBERSHIP NOW</a>!</p>
<p />
|
BUSTED: Newly Released Video Shows Lied About Las Vegas Arrest
| true |
https://louderwithcrowder.com/new-footage-shows-michael-bennet-crouched-fleeing-casino-officers-scream-everyone/
|
2017-09-29
| 0right
|
BUSTED: Newly Released Video Shows Lied About Las Vegas Arrest
<p>Not all NFL players are anti-American, race-baiting, lying twits. But <a href="" type="internal">Michael Bennett of the Seattle Seahawks</a> might be. He claimed the police threatened his life and put a gun to his head. <a href="" type="internal">Because all cops are racist assholes</a>. Okay that’s the implication, he didn’t actually say that.&#160;Newly released footage is even more damning. It shows Michael Bennett running out of the casino in a crouched position as officers scream “get down on the ground now.”</p>
<p>Watch:</p>
<p />
<p />
<p><a href="http://m.tmz.com/#!article/2017/09/29/michael-bennett-cops-to-show-body-cam-footage/" type="external">From TMZ:</a></p>
<p>The Las Vegas Metro Police Dept. says the body cam footage absolutely justifies why police took down&#160; <a type="external" href="">Michael Bennett</a>&#160;at gunpoint during a search for an active shooter … saying it was NOT about race. Bennett had claimed he was racially profiled in the early hours of August 27 — when cops detained him outside the Cromwell hotel following the Mayweather vs. McGregor fight.</p>
<p>The footage shows a 3-man police team — made up of 2 hispanic officers and 1 black officer — identify Bennett as a suspicious person who did not get down on the ground as ordered during the hotel sweep. Video shows Bennett crouching and running in the casino before bolting out of a hotel door, jumping over a gate and running to the street.</p>
<p>One of the officers quickly asks if the man running had a gun and then gives chase.</p>
<p>In case anyone needed reminding, when officers are actively searching for a shooter, do what they say. This includes dropping to the floor as if trying to snag a fumble. Of which Bennett should be familiar. But Bennett assumed a crouched position and high tailed it. Instead of dropping like your small quarterback&#160;gets dropped because your crappy offensive line&#160;can’t do sh!t.</p>
<p>Now I’ve never been in an active shooter situation, but if I wanted to help the active shooter I would CROUCH and RUN out of the casino just as officers were screaming “GET DOWN ON THE GROUND.” It’s the perfect distraction!</p>
<p>&lt;img class="aligncenter wp-image-22286" src="http://www.louderwithcrowder.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/reaction-nervous.gif" alt="reaction nervous al pacino" width="364" height="245" /&gt;</p>
<p>The officers also clearly, and politely, explained to Bennett why he was detained. So this idea that Bennett had “no idea why they detained me” is like Seahawks fans claiming not to know what went catastrophically wrong in Super&#160;Bowl XLIX. What the actual hell?</p>
<p>After seeing this new footage, it’s lucky Bennett didn’t get a cap popped right in his million dollar ass. Sorry, there’s as much racism here as audience sympathy for NFL players flipping&#160;the bird to the national anthem.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>JOIN THE MUG CLUB AND GET ACCESS TO NEW CONSERVATIVE MEDIA VIA CRTV! <a href="" type="internal">ORDER YOUR MUG CLUB MEMBERSHIP NOW</a>!</p>
<p />
| 7,236 |
<a href="" type="internal">killed in a shootout with Italian police near</a>Milan on Friday. Share on
<a href="" type="internal">Facebook</a>
<a href="" type="internal">Twitter</a>
<a href="" type="internal">Email</a>
|
Video: Berlin Market Suspect Pledged Allegiance to ISIS
| false |
http://thewhim.com/video-berlin-market-suspect-pledged-allegiance-isis/
|
2016-12-26
| 2least
|
Video: Berlin Market Suspect Pledged Allegiance to ISIS
<a href="" type="internal">killed in a shootout with Italian police near</a>Milan on Friday. Share on
<a href="" type="internal">Facebook</a>
<a href="" type="internal">Twitter</a>
<a href="" type="internal">Email</a>
| 7,237 |
<p>New York ObserverSridhar Pappu got an earful from actor <a href="http://www.nbc.com/Law_&amp;_Order:_Special_Victims_Unit/bios/Richard_Belzer.html" type="external">Richard Belzer</a> at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner: "The whole mind-set of the mainstream press seems to be strangely muted and cowardly. I was watching the BBC yesterday, and someone asked the question, 'What will the Iraqis say when people in America can't speak out without being criticized?' ...These guys in the administration are sore winners. They’re vindictive and thin-skinned and humorless." PLUS: Maureen Dowd turns down a tequila shot from Dick Cheney's chief of staff. More from the New York Observer: &gt; "I LOVE GERALDO!" Dallas resident Trent Armstrong <a href="http://www.observer.com/pages/nytv.asp" type="external">tells</a> Jason Gay. "I didn't particularly like him at first -- Rivera and his 'Tour of Terror' -- but he got himself in and was really positive with the troops."</p>
|
Belzer's beef: "The press has become an arm of the state"
| false |
https://poynter.org/news/belzers-beef-press-has-become-arm-state
|
2003-04-30
| 2least
|
Belzer's beef: "The press has become an arm of the state"
<p>New York ObserverSridhar Pappu got an earful from actor <a href="http://www.nbc.com/Law_&amp;_Order:_Special_Victims_Unit/bios/Richard_Belzer.html" type="external">Richard Belzer</a> at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner: "The whole mind-set of the mainstream press seems to be strangely muted and cowardly. I was watching the BBC yesterday, and someone asked the question, 'What will the Iraqis say when people in America can't speak out without being criticized?' ...These guys in the administration are sore winners. They’re vindictive and thin-skinned and humorless." PLUS: Maureen Dowd turns down a tequila shot from Dick Cheney's chief of staff. More from the New York Observer: &gt; "I LOVE GERALDO!" Dallas resident Trent Armstrong <a href="http://www.observer.com/pages/nytv.asp" type="external">tells</a> Jason Gay. "I didn't particularly like him at first -- Rivera and his 'Tour of Terror' -- but he got himself in and was really positive with the troops."</p>
| 7,238 |
<p>The world needs to act to end Israel's impunity for its violent crimes against the Palestinians.</p>
<p>“Whether he made a mistake or not, is a trivial question,” said an Israeli Jewish man who joined large protests throughout Israel in support of a soldier who calmly, and with precision, <a href="http://www.juancole.com/2016/04/autopsy-confirms-bullet-fired-by-israeli-soldier-at-point-blank-range-killed-al-sharif.html" type="external">killed a wounded Palestinian man</a> in al-Khalil (Hebron). The protesting Jewish man <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rF48wdxBvbQ" type="external">described Palestinians as ‘barbaric’</a>, ‘bestial’, who should not be perceived as people.</p>
<p>This is hardly a fringe view in Israel. The vast majority of Israelis, <a href="http://972mag.com/israeli-public-opinion-solidly-backs-hebron-soldier/118179/" type="external">68%, support the killing of Abdel Fatah Yusri al-Sharif</a>, 21, by the solider who had reportedly announced before firing at the wounded Palestinian that the “terrorist had to die.”</p>
<p><a href="http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770833" type="external">The killing scene</a> would have been relegated to the annals of the many ‘contested’ killings by Israeli soldiers, were it not for a Palestinian field worker with Israel’s human rights group, <a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/03/24/israeli-rights-group-releases-video-soldier-executing-wounded-palestinian-suspect/" type="external">B’Tselem</a>, who filmed the bloody event.</p>
<p>The incident, once more, highlights <a href="http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=742475" type="external">a culture of impunity that exists in the Israeli army</a>, which is not a new phenomenon.</p>
<p>Not only is <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/04/04/israel-rallies-around-killer-soldier.html" type="external">Israeli society supportive of the soldier</a>behind this particular bloody incident, almost a vast majority is in support of field executions as well.</p>
<p>In fact, <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.628698" type="external">the culture of impunity in Israel</a> is linked both to political leanings and religious beliefs. According to the latest Peace Index released by Tel Aviv University’s Israel Democracy Institute, <a href="http://www.palestinechronicle.com/over-66-of-jewish-israelis-agree-with-rabbis-controversial-statement/" type="external">nearly 67% of the country’s Jewish population</a> believes that “it is a commandment to kill a terrorist who comes at you with a knife”.</p>
<p>Killing Palestinians as a form of religious duty goes back to the early days of the Jewish state, and such beliefs are constantly corroborated by the country’s high spiritual institutions, similar to the recent decree issued by the country’s Chief Sephardic Rabbi, Yitzhak Yosef. While 94% of ultra-Orthodox agree with the murder edict of Yosef, 52% of the country’s secularists do, too.</p>
<p>In fact, dehumanizing Palestinians—describing them as ‘beasts’, ‘cockroaches’, or treating them as dispensable inferiors—has historically been a common denominator in Israeli society, uniting Jews from various political, ideological and religious backgrounds.</p>
<p>Rabbi Yosef’s decree, for example, is not much different from statements made by Israeli Defense Minister, Moshe Ya’alon, and other army and government official, <a href="http://www.ch10.co.il/news/103587/#.VwgyRaQrKM9" type="external">who made similar calls,</a> albeit without utilizing a strongly worded religious discourse.</p>
<p>Using the same logic, the quote above describing Palestinians as beasts is not divergent from a recent statement made by Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. “At the end, in the State of Israel, as I see it, there will be a fence that spans it all,” <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.702318" type="external">Netanyahu said in February</a>. “In the area that we live, we must defend ourselves against the wild beasts,” he added.</p>
<p>While pro-Israeli pundits labor to explain the widespread Israeli perception of Palestinians—and Arabs, in general—on rational grounds, logic and commonsense continues to evade them. For instance, Netanyahu’s last war on Gaza in the summer of 2014 killed a total of 2,251 Palestinians—including 1,462 civilians, among them 551 children, according to a <a href="https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/balance-un-gaza-report-cant-hide-massive-israeli-war-crimes" type="external">report prepared by the UN Human Rights Council</a>. During that war, only six Israeli civilians were killed, and 60 soldiers.</p>
<p>Who, then, is truly the ‘wild beast’?</p>
<p>However, Palestinians are not made into beasts because of their supposedly murderous intent for, not once, statistically, in the history of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict did Palestinians ever kill more Israelis, as opposed to the other way round.&#160; The ailment is not the number, but a common Israeli cultural perception that is utterly racist and dehumanizing.</p>
<p>Nor is the Israeli perception of Palestinians ever linked to a specific period of time, for example, a popular uprising or a war. Consider this <a href="http://muftah.org/a-culture-of-impunity/#.Vwg07aQrKM9" type="external">eyewitness account</a> from August 2012, <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/in-suspected-jerusalem-lynch-dozens-of-jewish-youths-attack-3-palestinians-1.459002" type="external">cited in the Israeli newspaper, Haaretz</a>, years before the current uprising in the West Bank and Jerusalem:</p>
<p>“Today I saw a lynch with my own eyes, in Zion Square, the center of the city of Jerusalem … and shouts of ‘A Jew is a soul and Arab is a son of a –,’ were shouted loudly and dozens of youths ran and gathered and started to really beat to death three Arab youths who were walking quietly in the Ben Yehuda street,” the witness wrote.</p>
<p>“When one of the Palestinian youths fell to the ground, the youths continued to hit him in the head; he lost consciousness, his eyes rolled, his angled head twitched, and then those who were kicking him fled while the rest gathered around in a circle, with some still shouting with hate in their eyes.”</p>
<p>Imagine this graphic account repeated, in different manifestations, every day in Occupied Palestine, and consider this: rarely does anyone pay a price for it. Indeed, this is how Israel’s culture of impunity has evolved over the years.</p>
<p>According to <a href="http://www.yesh-din.org/cat.asp?catid=2" type="external">Israeli human rights group, Yesh Din</a>, “approximately 94% of criminal investigations launched by the IDF against soldiers suspected of criminal violent activity against Palestinians and their property are closed without any indictments. In the rare cases that indictments are served, conviction leads to very light sentencing.”</p>
<p>And no one is immune. Israel’s <a href="http://972mag.com/challenging-israeli-impunity-in-the-icc/114659/" type="external">972Mag wrote in December 2015</a> about the hundreds of violent incidents of Israeli forces targeting Palestinian medical staff. Palestinian rights group, Al-Haq, documented 56 cases in which “ambulances were attacked”, and 116 assaults against medical staff while on duty.</p>
<p>How about violence meted out by illegal settlers whose population in the Occupied Territories is constantly on the increase?</p>
<p>Armed settlers rampage daily through villages of the Occupied West Bank and the neighborhoods of East Jerusalem. The number of their violent crimes has grown tremendously in recent years, and even doubled since 2009.</p>
<p>In August 2015, months before the current uprising, Human Rights Watch senior researcher, <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/08/26/how-israeli-impunity-threatens-palestinian-children" type="external">Bill Van Esveld, wrote</a>:</p>
<p>“Settlers attack Palestinians and their property on a near-daily basis—there were more than 300 such attacks last year, but few attackers faced justice. In the past decade, less than two percent of investigations into settler attacks ended with convictions.”</p>
<p>In case one is still fooled by the ‘rational’ argument used to justify the murder of militarily occupied, oppressed and besieged Palestinians, Batzalel Smotrich, from the Jewish Home Party, which is part of Netanyhu’s ruling coalition, protested via Twitter that his wife was expected to give birth in the same hospital room where Arab babies are born.</p>
<p>His written ‘rationale’, after declaring that his wife “is not a racist’, “It’s natural that my wife wouldn’t want to lie next to someone whose baby son might want to murder my son.”</p>
<p>The likes of Smotrich, and the majority of Israelis are morally blind to their own wrongdoing. They have long been sold on the idea that Israel, despite its brutality is a ‘villa in the jungle’. According to a recent Pew survey, <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/plurality-of-jewish-israelis-want-to-expel-arabs-study-shows/" type="external">nearly half of Israelis want to expel Palestinians Arabs</a>—Muslims and Christians, from their ancestral homeland.</p>
<p>The danger of impunity is not merely the lack of legal accountability, but the fact that it is the very foundation of most violent crimes against humanity, including genocide.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.palestinechronicle.com/execution-of-palestinian-exposes-israels-military-culture/" type="external">This impunity</a> began seven decades ago and it will not end without <a href="https://www.alternet.org/grayzone-project/heres-what-happens-when-us-senator-calls-israel-be-held-accountable-atrocities" type="external">international intervention</a>, with concerted efforts to hold Israel accountable in order to bring the agony of Palestinians to a halt.</p>
|
The Logic of Murder in Israel: A Culture of Impunity in Full View of the Entire World
| false |
http://foreignpolicyjournal.com/2016/04/15/the-logic-of-murder-in-israel-a-culture-of-impunity-in-full-view-of-the-entire-world/
|
2016-04-15
| 1right-center
|
The Logic of Murder in Israel: A Culture of Impunity in Full View of the Entire World
<p>The world needs to act to end Israel's impunity for its violent crimes against the Palestinians.</p>
<p>“Whether he made a mistake or not, is a trivial question,” said an Israeli Jewish man who joined large protests throughout Israel in support of a soldier who calmly, and with precision, <a href="http://www.juancole.com/2016/04/autopsy-confirms-bullet-fired-by-israeli-soldier-at-point-blank-range-killed-al-sharif.html" type="external">killed a wounded Palestinian man</a> in al-Khalil (Hebron). The protesting Jewish man <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rF48wdxBvbQ" type="external">described Palestinians as ‘barbaric’</a>, ‘bestial’, who should not be perceived as people.</p>
<p>This is hardly a fringe view in Israel. The vast majority of Israelis, <a href="http://972mag.com/israeli-public-opinion-solidly-backs-hebron-soldier/118179/" type="external">68%, support the killing of Abdel Fatah Yusri al-Sharif</a>, 21, by the solider who had reportedly announced before firing at the wounded Palestinian that the “terrorist had to die.”</p>
<p><a href="http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770833" type="external">The killing scene</a> would have been relegated to the annals of the many ‘contested’ killings by Israeli soldiers, were it not for a Palestinian field worker with Israel’s human rights group, <a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/03/24/israeli-rights-group-releases-video-soldier-executing-wounded-palestinian-suspect/" type="external">B’Tselem</a>, who filmed the bloody event.</p>
<p>The incident, once more, highlights <a href="http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=742475" type="external">a culture of impunity that exists in the Israeli army</a>, which is not a new phenomenon.</p>
<p>Not only is <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/04/04/israel-rallies-around-killer-soldier.html" type="external">Israeli society supportive of the soldier</a>behind this particular bloody incident, almost a vast majority is in support of field executions as well.</p>
<p>In fact, <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.628698" type="external">the culture of impunity in Israel</a> is linked both to political leanings and religious beliefs. According to the latest Peace Index released by Tel Aviv University’s Israel Democracy Institute, <a href="http://www.palestinechronicle.com/over-66-of-jewish-israelis-agree-with-rabbis-controversial-statement/" type="external">nearly 67% of the country’s Jewish population</a> believes that “it is a commandment to kill a terrorist who comes at you with a knife”.</p>
<p>Killing Palestinians as a form of religious duty goes back to the early days of the Jewish state, and such beliefs are constantly corroborated by the country’s high spiritual institutions, similar to the recent decree issued by the country’s Chief Sephardic Rabbi, Yitzhak Yosef. While 94% of ultra-Orthodox agree with the murder edict of Yosef, 52% of the country’s secularists do, too.</p>
<p>In fact, dehumanizing Palestinians—describing them as ‘beasts’, ‘cockroaches’, or treating them as dispensable inferiors—has historically been a common denominator in Israeli society, uniting Jews from various political, ideological and religious backgrounds.</p>
<p>Rabbi Yosef’s decree, for example, is not much different from statements made by Israeli Defense Minister, Moshe Ya’alon, and other army and government official, <a href="http://www.ch10.co.il/news/103587/#.VwgyRaQrKM9" type="external">who made similar calls,</a> albeit without utilizing a strongly worded religious discourse.</p>
<p>Using the same logic, the quote above describing Palestinians as beasts is not divergent from a recent statement made by Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. “At the end, in the State of Israel, as I see it, there will be a fence that spans it all,” <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.702318" type="external">Netanyahu said in February</a>. “In the area that we live, we must defend ourselves against the wild beasts,” he added.</p>
<p>While pro-Israeli pundits labor to explain the widespread Israeli perception of Palestinians—and Arabs, in general—on rational grounds, logic and commonsense continues to evade them. For instance, Netanyahu’s last war on Gaza in the summer of 2014 killed a total of 2,251 Palestinians—including 1,462 civilians, among them 551 children, according to a <a href="https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/balance-un-gaza-report-cant-hide-massive-israeli-war-crimes" type="external">report prepared by the UN Human Rights Council</a>. During that war, only six Israeli civilians were killed, and 60 soldiers.</p>
<p>Who, then, is truly the ‘wild beast’?</p>
<p>However, Palestinians are not made into beasts because of their supposedly murderous intent for, not once, statistically, in the history of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict did Palestinians ever kill more Israelis, as opposed to the other way round.&#160; The ailment is not the number, but a common Israeli cultural perception that is utterly racist and dehumanizing.</p>
<p>Nor is the Israeli perception of Palestinians ever linked to a specific period of time, for example, a popular uprising or a war. Consider this <a href="http://muftah.org/a-culture-of-impunity/#.Vwg07aQrKM9" type="external">eyewitness account</a> from August 2012, <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/in-suspected-jerusalem-lynch-dozens-of-jewish-youths-attack-3-palestinians-1.459002" type="external">cited in the Israeli newspaper, Haaretz</a>, years before the current uprising in the West Bank and Jerusalem:</p>
<p>“Today I saw a lynch with my own eyes, in Zion Square, the center of the city of Jerusalem … and shouts of ‘A Jew is a soul and Arab is a son of a –,’ were shouted loudly and dozens of youths ran and gathered and started to really beat to death three Arab youths who were walking quietly in the Ben Yehuda street,” the witness wrote.</p>
<p>“When one of the Palestinian youths fell to the ground, the youths continued to hit him in the head; he lost consciousness, his eyes rolled, his angled head twitched, and then those who were kicking him fled while the rest gathered around in a circle, with some still shouting with hate in their eyes.”</p>
<p>Imagine this graphic account repeated, in different manifestations, every day in Occupied Palestine, and consider this: rarely does anyone pay a price for it. Indeed, this is how Israel’s culture of impunity has evolved over the years.</p>
<p>According to <a href="http://www.yesh-din.org/cat.asp?catid=2" type="external">Israeli human rights group, Yesh Din</a>, “approximately 94% of criminal investigations launched by the IDF against soldiers suspected of criminal violent activity against Palestinians and their property are closed without any indictments. In the rare cases that indictments are served, conviction leads to very light sentencing.”</p>
<p>And no one is immune. Israel’s <a href="http://972mag.com/challenging-israeli-impunity-in-the-icc/114659/" type="external">972Mag wrote in December 2015</a> about the hundreds of violent incidents of Israeli forces targeting Palestinian medical staff. Palestinian rights group, Al-Haq, documented 56 cases in which “ambulances were attacked”, and 116 assaults against medical staff while on duty.</p>
<p>How about violence meted out by illegal settlers whose population in the Occupied Territories is constantly on the increase?</p>
<p>Armed settlers rampage daily through villages of the Occupied West Bank and the neighborhoods of East Jerusalem. The number of their violent crimes has grown tremendously in recent years, and even doubled since 2009.</p>
<p>In August 2015, months before the current uprising, Human Rights Watch senior researcher, <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/08/26/how-israeli-impunity-threatens-palestinian-children" type="external">Bill Van Esveld, wrote</a>:</p>
<p>“Settlers attack Palestinians and their property on a near-daily basis—there were more than 300 such attacks last year, but few attackers faced justice. In the past decade, less than two percent of investigations into settler attacks ended with convictions.”</p>
<p>In case one is still fooled by the ‘rational’ argument used to justify the murder of militarily occupied, oppressed and besieged Palestinians, Batzalel Smotrich, from the Jewish Home Party, which is part of Netanyhu’s ruling coalition, protested via Twitter that his wife was expected to give birth in the same hospital room where Arab babies are born.</p>
<p>His written ‘rationale’, after declaring that his wife “is not a racist’, “It’s natural that my wife wouldn’t want to lie next to someone whose baby son might want to murder my son.”</p>
<p>The likes of Smotrich, and the majority of Israelis are morally blind to their own wrongdoing. They have long been sold on the idea that Israel, despite its brutality is a ‘villa in the jungle’. According to a recent Pew survey, <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/plurality-of-jewish-israelis-want-to-expel-arabs-study-shows/" type="external">nearly half of Israelis want to expel Palestinians Arabs</a>—Muslims and Christians, from their ancestral homeland.</p>
<p>The danger of impunity is not merely the lack of legal accountability, but the fact that it is the very foundation of most violent crimes against humanity, including genocide.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.palestinechronicle.com/execution-of-palestinian-exposes-israels-military-culture/" type="external">This impunity</a> began seven decades ago and it will not end without <a href="https://www.alternet.org/grayzone-project/heres-what-happens-when-us-senator-calls-israel-be-held-accountable-atrocities" type="external">international intervention</a>, with concerted efforts to hold Israel accountable in order to bring the agony of Palestinians to a halt.</p>
| 7,239 |
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<p />
<p>With temperatures below 20 degrees, roads in the mountains east of Albuquerque are still snow-packed and icy in some areas after a pair of storms moved through the area on Thursday.</p>
<p><a href="/weather/" type="external">Full weather forecast</a></p>
<p>Storm blankets southern New Mexico <a href="" type="internal">Coverage of yesterday’s storm.</a></p>
<p>APS East Mountain Schools include:</p>
<p>A. Montoya Elementary School San Antonito Elementary School Roosevelt Middle School Manzano High School Note: When APS East Mountain Schools are delayed, Manzano High School will have a delayed start time for all students.</p>
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<p><a href="http://www.koat.com/weather/closings" type="external">Full list of closings from KOAT-TV</a></p>
<p>Check the latest road conditions on <a href="http://nmroads.com" type="external">NM Roads</a>.</p>
<p><a type="external" href="">&#160;</a></p>
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|
Two hour delay for APS East Mountain Schools
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/530681/two-hour-delay-for-aps-east-mountain-schools.html
| 2least
|
Two hour delay for APS East Mountain Schools
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>With temperatures below 20 degrees, roads in the mountains east of Albuquerque are still snow-packed and icy in some areas after a pair of storms moved through the area on Thursday.</p>
<p><a href="/weather/" type="external">Full weather forecast</a></p>
<p>Storm blankets southern New Mexico <a href="" type="internal">Coverage of yesterday’s storm.</a></p>
<p>APS East Mountain Schools include:</p>
<p>A. Montoya Elementary School San Antonito Elementary School Roosevelt Middle School Manzano High School Note: When APS East Mountain Schools are delayed, Manzano High School will have a delayed start time for all students.</p>
<p>Submit your picture to our <a href="#mypix" type="external">gallery below.</a></p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p><a href="http://www.koat.com/weather/closings" type="external">Full list of closings from KOAT-TV</a></p>
<p>Check the latest road conditions on <a href="http://nmroads.com" type="external">NM Roads</a>.</p>
<p><a type="external" href="">&#160;</a></p>
<p>MyPix weather gallery</p>
<p>[jpcnggalleria showcaptions=”true” id=”12″]</p>
<p>Uploading Photo</p>
<p>* Required</p>
<p>Photo*</p>
<p>&#160; Files must be 5MB or less</p>
<p>Caption</p>
<p>Your Name*</p>
<p>Email Address*</p>
<p>Agree to <a href="#" type="external">Terms</a>*</p>
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<p>Terms of Service: By submitting an image photographer retains the copyright to the photograph but gives the Journal unlimited rights to publish it in any electronic or print form.</p>
<p>In addition:</p>
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<p><a href="#" type="external">Close</a></p>
| 7,240 |
|
<p />
<p><a href="" type="internal">A month or so ago, I suggested</a> that you journos start taking a look at swimming pool inspection records. <a href="http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/state/orl-asecpool17071705jul17,0,7775956.story?coll=orl-home-headlines" type="external">The Orlando Sentinel</a> did just that, as they have done in previous years, and found a dandy, if disturbing, story. The paper said:</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>An Orlando Sentinel check of 4,465 inspections of Central Florida pools this year found that at least one in eight failed tests for chlorine, meaning they could pose a health risk for swimmers who use them.That's similar to the findings of a federal study of 22,131 pool inspections, most of them in Florida, three years ago. Both reviews, as well as a check of more than 4,000 pools by the Sentinel in 2001, found that pools failing tests for chlorine were most commonly found at hotels and apartment complexes.Despite stepped-up efforts by health authorities this decade to call attention to the risks of pool-borne illnesses, pool inspectors continue to see lax attitudes and poor training among the people responsible for maintaining water quality in pools used by thousands of local residents and tourists every day."It's really frustrating," said Tim Carroll, a three-year inspector in Orange County who said he tries to educate and encourage pool owners. "They don't want to take five minutes [a day] to do it. There's really no excuse."</p>
<p>The health risks involved in contaminated pools, the Sentinel reported,&#160;can be wide-ranging -- and hard to pin down. The story continued:&#160;</p>
<p>Though proof linking an illness to a dirty pool or spa is notoriously elusive -- the biggest might be the 358 people at an Illinois water park who were sickened in 2001 by a diarrhea-causing parasite -- local physicians have little doubt it happens fairly frequently. Common waterborne illnesses include everything from diarrhea and upset stomach to eye infections and rashes.... Health authorities stress that swimmers are partly responsible for contaminating pools."The public has to understand what swimming is: It's a communal bathing," said Centers for Disease Control epidemiologist Michael Beach in Atlanta. "You wouldn't go into a communal bath when you have diarrhea; you don't go swimming when you have diarrhea, either."Public pools that may be used by dozens -- or hundreds -- of children and adults in a day require chlorinating to kill common germs such as giardia, shigella and E. coli, just as home swimming pools do.State health inspectors conduct routine checks twice a year of all public pools and spas -- hot whirlpool-type baths -- and reinspect those cited for violations of water-quality, mechanical and other safety requirements.</p>
<p />
<p>I am convinced this is a&#160;widespread&#160;problem. <a href="http://www.newsday.com/news/health/ny-nypool264358758jul26,0,3463024.story?coll=ny-health-headlines" type="external">Newsday</a> reported:</p>
<p>Most of [New York City's] public swimming pools were found to have health or safety violations during recent inspections by staff members for the public advocate's office, the agency revealed yesterday."I'm calling on the Parks Department to fix" the situation, Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum said. "We believe it [dealing with the reported problems] makes the public feel better, it increases safety, it increases the lack of disease possibility."</p>
<p>During random visits earlier this month, staff members visited the city's 33 Olympic- and intermediate-sized pools, and its 19 wading pools, and found problems at 50 of them. They tested the water and compared the results to a checklist of sanitary and health criteria from the state and the city.Problems found included unclear water, inappropriate chlorine and pH levels, loose ladders, and cracked or uneven pavement. Also, five pools had no lifesaving or first aid equipment on site, while others had equipment stored in offices or closets that weren't readily accessible.Five pools had lifeguards who weren't "paying attention or in control," and one pool had no lifeguard on duty. That pool, however, was closed, the Parks Department insists.</p>
<p />
<p><a href="http://www.sltrib.com/ci_2886589" type="external">The Salt Lake Tribune</a> found a trail of lax, unrecorded or unperformed fire safety inspections in public schools.&#160;Some Utah schools have not had a fire inspection recorded&#160;since the 1980s.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Even though the Army is spending $2 million this year to help families cope with the separation and pressures of having a family member serve in Iraq, divorces are spiking.</p>
<p><a href="http://msnbc.msn.com/id/8715876/" type="external">NBC News reported this week:</a></p>
<p>Last year alone, there were more than 10,000 divorces in the U.S. Army. Since the start of the Iraq war two years ago, the divorce rate among enlisted personnel is up 28 percent -- and for officers it's up 78 percent. That's about the same rate of divorce as in the Gulf War.</p>
<p>Lt. Col. Peter Frederich is the new family ministries officer at Fort Benning. He says the Army needs to address the stigma many soldiers -- especially officers -- feel toward seeking help.&#160;</p>
<p>"The tendency could be that officers are slower to get help, and in fact maybe they don't reach out for help until it's too late," says Frederich.</p>
<p />
<p><a href="http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,FL_divorce_063005,00.html" type="external">An AP story added:</a></p>
<p>"We've seen nothing like this before," said Col. Glen Bloomstrom, a chaplain who oversees family-support programs. "It indicates the amount of stress on couples, on families, as the Army conducts the global war on terrorism."</p>
<p>Between 2001 and 2004, divorces among active-duty Army officers and enlisted personnel nearly doubled, from 5,658 to 10,477, even though total troop strength remained stable. In 2002, the divorce rate among married officers was 1.9 percent -- 1,060 divorces out of 54,542 marriages; by 2004, the rate had tripled to 6 percent, with 3,325 divorces out of 55,550 marriages.</p>
<p>There's no comparable system for tracking the national divorce rate, though according to the Centers for Disease Control, 43 percent of all first marriages end in divorce within 10 years.</p>
<p>With divorce rates that have risen more sharply than other service branches, the Army has broadened its efforts to help -- offering confidential counseling hot lines, support groups for spouses, weekend couples' retreats, even advice to single soldiers on how to pick partners wisely. Bloomstrom says he wants all 2,400 of the Army's chaplains to be available for marriage-support work.</p>
<p />
<p><a href="http://marriage.about.com/od/militarymarriages/" type="external">Here is a collection of military marriage- and family-support Web sites.</a></p>
<p>There are many <a href="http://soloops.com/forum/index.php" type="external">online forums for military wives</a> who are keeping homes and families running while soldiers are serving.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p><a href="http://www.doubletrust.net/" type="external">This is a unique search site</a> that takes the best of Yahoo and the best of Google. Enter a search word and it will show you what the two agree on and what each comes up with separately.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>Several Al's Morning Meeting readers have asked me to help them think of stories to do during this national heat wave.</p>
<p>Ceiling fans don't actually reduce the temperature, but during warm weather, they have a wind-chill effect. So if it's 85 degrees in your family room and you have a ceiling fan purring above, it will feel like 78 degrees. And in the winter, fans recirculate the heat to the living areas.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>We are always looking for your great ideas.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
|
Thursday Edition: Pool Inspections
| false |
https://poynter.org/news/thursday-edition-pool-inspections
|
2005-07-27
| 2least
|
Thursday Edition: Pool Inspections
<p />
<p><a href="" type="internal">A month or so ago, I suggested</a> that you journos start taking a look at swimming pool inspection records. <a href="http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/state/orl-asecpool17071705jul17,0,7775956.story?coll=orl-home-headlines" type="external">The Orlando Sentinel</a> did just that, as they have done in previous years, and found a dandy, if disturbing, story. The paper said:</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>An Orlando Sentinel check of 4,465 inspections of Central Florida pools this year found that at least one in eight failed tests for chlorine, meaning they could pose a health risk for swimmers who use them.That's similar to the findings of a federal study of 22,131 pool inspections, most of them in Florida, three years ago. Both reviews, as well as a check of more than 4,000 pools by the Sentinel in 2001, found that pools failing tests for chlorine were most commonly found at hotels and apartment complexes.Despite stepped-up efforts by health authorities this decade to call attention to the risks of pool-borne illnesses, pool inspectors continue to see lax attitudes and poor training among the people responsible for maintaining water quality in pools used by thousands of local residents and tourists every day."It's really frustrating," said Tim Carroll, a three-year inspector in Orange County who said he tries to educate and encourage pool owners. "They don't want to take five minutes [a day] to do it. There's really no excuse."</p>
<p>The health risks involved in contaminated pools, the Sentinel reported,&#160;can be wide-ranging -- and hard to pin down. The story continued:&#160;</p>
<p>Though proof linking an illness to a dirty pool or spa is notoriously elusive -- the biggest might be the 358 people at an Illinois water park who were sickened in 2001 by a diarrhea-causing parasite -- local physicians have little doubt it happens fairly frequently. Common waterborne illnesses include everything from diarrhea and upset stomach to eye infections and rashes.... Health authorities stress that swimmers are partly responsible for contaminating pools."The public has to understand what swimming is: It's a communal bathing," said Centers for Disease Control epidemiologist Michael Beach in Atlanta. "You wouldn't go into a communal bath when you have diarrhea; you don't go swimming when you have diarrhea, either."Public pools that may be used by dozens -- or hundreds -- of children and adults in a day require chlorinating to kill common germs such as giardia, shigella and E. coli, just as home swimming pools do.State health inspectors conduct routine checks twice a year of all public pools and spas -- hot whirlpool-type baths -- and reinspect those cited for violations of water-quality, mechanical and other safety requirements.</p>
<p />
<p>I am convinced this is a&#160;widespread&#160;problem. <a href="http://www.newsday.com/news/health/ny-nypool264358758jul26,0,3463024.story?coll=ny-health-headlines" type="external">Newsday</a> reported:</p>
<p>Most of [New York City's] public swimming pools were found to have health or safety violations during recent inspections by staff members for the public advocate's office, the agency revealed yesterday."I'm calling on the Parks Department to fix" the situation, Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum said. "We believe it [dealing with the reported problems] makes the public feel better, it increases safety, it increases the lack of disease possibility."</p>
<p>During random visits earlier this month, staff members visited the city's 33 Olympic- and intermediate-sized pools, and its 19 wading pools, and found problems at 50 of them. They tested the water and compared the results to a checklist of sanitary and health criteria from the state and the city.Problems found included unclear water, inappropriate chlorine and pH levels, loose ladders, and cracked or uneven pavement. Also, five pools had no lifesaving or first aid equipment on site, while others had equipment stored in offices or closets that weren't readily accessible.Five pools had lifeguards who weren't "paying attention or in control," and one pool had no lifeguard on duty. That pool, however, was closed, the Parks Department insists.</p>
<p />
<p><a href="http://www.sltrib.com/ci_2886589" type="external">The Salt Lake Tribune</a> found a trail of lax, unrecorded or unperformed fire safety inspections in public schools.&#160;Some Utah schools have not had a fire inspection recorded&#160;since the 1980s.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Even though the Army is spending $2 million this year to help families cope with the separation and pressures of having a family member serve in Iraq, divorces are spiking.</p>
<p><a href="http://msnbc.msn.com/id/8715876/" type="external">NBC News reported this week:</a></p>
<p>Last year alone, there were more than 10,000 divorces in the U.S. Army. Since the start of the Iraq war two years ago, the divorce rate among enlisted personnel is up 28 percent -- and for officers it's up 78 percent. That's about the same rate of divorce as in the Gulf War.</p>
<p>Lt. Col. Peter Frederich is the new family ministries officer at Fort Benning. He says the Army needs to address the stigma many soldiers -- especially officers -- feel toward seeking help.&#160;</p>
<p>"The tendency could be that officers are slower to get help, and in fact maybe they don't reach out for help until it's too late," says Frederich.</p>
<p />
<p><a href="http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,FL_divorce_063005,00.html" type="external">An AP story added:</a></p>
<p>"We've seen nothing like this before," said Col. Glen Bloomstrom, a chaplain who oversees family-support programs. "It indicates the amount of stress on couples, on families, as the Army conducts the global war on terrorism."</p>
<p>Between 2001 and 2004, divorces among active-duty Army officers and enlisted personnel nearly doubled, from 5,658 to 10,477, even though total troop strength remained stable. In 2002, the divorce rate among married officers was 1.9 percent -- 1,060 divorces out of 54,542 marriages; by 2004, the rate had tripled to 6 percent, with 3,325 divorces out of 55,550 marriages.</p>
<p>There's no comparable system for tracking the national divorce rate, though according to the Centers for Disease Control, 43 percent of all first marriages end in divorce within 10 years.</p>
<p>With divorce rates that have risen more sharply than other service branches, the Army has broadened its efforts to help -- offering confidential counseling hot lines, support groups for spouses, weekend couples' retreats, even advice to single soldiers on how to pick partners wisely. Bloomstrom says he wants all 2,400 of the Army's chaplains to be available for marriage-support work.</p>
<p />
<p><a href="http://marriage.about.com/od/militarymarriages/" type="external">Here is a collection of military marriage- and family-support Web sites.</a></p>
<p>There are many <a href="http://soloops.com/forum/index.php" type="external">online forums for military wives</a> who are keeping homes and families running while soldiers are serving.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p><a href="http://www.doubletrust.net/" type="external">This is a unique search site</a> that takes the best of Yahoo and the best of Google. Enter a search word and it will show you what the two agree on and what each comes up with separately.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>Several Al's Morning Meeting readers have asked me to help them think of stories to do during this national heat wave.</p>
<p>Ceiling fans don't actually reduce the temperature, but during warm weather, they have a wind-chill effect. So if it's 85 degrees in your family room and you have a ceiling fan purring above, it will feel like 78 degrees. And in the winter, fans recirculate the heat to the living areas.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>We are always looking for your great ideas.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
| 7,241 |
<p>GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Jalen Hudson had one thing left to do after Florida’s sixth consecutive victory.</p>
<p>“We got to wipe down everything with some Clorox and bleach,” Hudson said.</p>
<p>It might have helped more a few weeks ago.</p>
<p>Egor Koulechov scored 23 points, including Florida’s first 13 of the game, and the sick and short-handed Gators beat Mississippi State 71-54 on Wednesday night for their longest winning streak of the season.</p>
<p>Hudson added 12 points despite missing 10 of 13 shots, and Florida won its eighth straight against the Bulldogs (13-3, 1-2 Southeastern Conference).</p>
<p>Chris Chiozza, who missed practice this week because of strep throat, finished with 10 points and seven assists off the bench. Keith Stone chipped in 10 points and eight rebounds.</p>
<p>“Boy, it’s been a crazy year,” Florida coach Mike White said. “We’ve got to wash our hands more.”</p>
<p>The Gators (12-4, 4-0) opened up a 10-point lead early in the second half when Chiozza hit a 3-pointer and converted a four-point play on consecutive possessions. Koulechov piled on a few minutes later, hitting a 3-pointer in transition and adding a dunk off Chiozza’s steal.</p>
<p>In all, it was a 27-7 run that turned a close game into a lopsided affair.</p>
<p>Mississippi State coach Ben Howland called timeouts and made substitutions, but nothing stopped Florida’s spurt.</p>
<p>Maybe the most impressive aspect of Florida’s latest victory was that it came despite injury and illness. Koulechov continued to play through plantar fasciitis, and Chiozza and Hudson have been among those sick in recent weeks. Guard Deaundrae Ballard is the latest to miss a game because of illness.</p>
<p>“We’ve got to get healthy,” White said.</p>
<p>Quinndary Weatherspoon led the Bulldogs with 16 points. Abdul Ado added 12 points and 10 rebounds.</p>
<p>Mississippi State’s Aric Holman, the team’s second-leading scorer, fouled out in 16 minutes of action. He left the floor with 13:19 remaining. It was the first time he’s been disqualified this season. He finished with seven points and four boards.</p>
<p>“He got three fouls in three minutes in the second half,” Howland said. “I put him back him when we were down nine trying to keep it reasonable and not let it slip away, and right away he picked up his fifth. We’ve got to learn from that.”</p>
<p>BIG PICTURE</p>
<p>Mississippi State: The Bulldogs continued their errant ways from behind the arc. After making 9 of 44 (20 percent) 3-pointers in their first two conference games, they hit 5 of 16 in Gainesville. They made 10 or more 3s in three non-conference games, so they can do it. They just haven’t in SEC play.</p>
<p>“We’ve got to be able to knock down the open shots we get,” Howland said.</p>
<p>Florida: The Gators continued to play solid defense even with shots not falling. It’s been the key to the team’s turnaround after losing four of five games earlier in the season.</p>
<p>“We played our butts on defense,” Koulechov said.</p>
<p>MOVING UP</p>
<p>Chiozza has 457 assists, moving him past Nick Calathes and into fifth on the program’s all-time list. Calathes notched 452 assists in two seasons before turning pro. The only guys ahead of Chiozza now: Erving Walker (547), Kasey Hill (530), Ronnie Montgomery (503) and Eddie Shannon (493).</p>
<p>STAYING HOME</p>
<p>Mississippi State guard Xavian Stapleton did not make the trip after turning himself into police Monday to satisfy an arrest warrant for allegedly disturbing the peace. The junior was released on a $500 bond. Stapleton is averaging 6.5 points and 2.7 rebounds.</p>
<p>UP NEXT</p>
<p>Mississippi State: Hosts Auburn on Saturday.</p>
<p>Florida: Plays at Mississippi on Saturday, looking for the team’s eighth 5-0 start in SEC play. That’s White’s alma mater.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP college basketball: <a href="http://collegebasketball.ap.org" type="external">http://collegebasketball.ap.org</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/AP_Top25" type="external">http://www.twitter.com/AP_Top25</a></p>
<p>GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Jalen Hudson had one thing left to do after Florida’s sixth consecutive victory.</p>
<p>“We got to wipe down everything with some Clorox and bleach,” Hudson said.</p>
<p>It might have helped more a few weeks ago.</p>
<p>Egor Koulechov scored 23 points, including Florida’s first 13 of the game, and the sick and short-handed Gators beat Mississippi State 71-54 on Wednesday night for their longest winning streak of the season.</p>
<p>Hudson added 12 points despite missing 10 of 13 shots, and Florida won its eighth straight against the Bulldogs (13-3, 1-2 Southeastern Conference).</p>
<p>Chris Chiozza, who missed practice this week because of strep throat, finished with 10 points and seven assists off the bench. Keith Stone chipped in 10 points and eight rebounds.</p>
<p>“Boy, it’s been a crazy year,” Florida coach Mike White said. “We’ve got to wash our hands more.”</p>
<p>The Gators (12-4, 4-0) opened up a 10-point lead early in the second half when Chiozza hit a 3-pointer and converted a four-point play on consecutive possessions. Koulechov piled on a few minutes later, hitting a 3-pointer in transition and adding a dunk off Chiozza’s steal.</p>
<p>In all, it was a 27-7 run that turned a close game into a lopsided affair.</p>
<p>Mississippi State coach Ben Howland called timeouts and made substitutions, but nothing stopped Florida’s spurt.</p>
<p>Maybe the most impressive aspect of Florida’s latest victory was that it came despite injury and illness. Koulechov continued to play through plantar fasciitis, and Chiozza and Hudson have been among those sick in recent weeks. Guard Deaundrae Ballard is the latest to miss a game because of illness.</p>
<p>“We’ve got to get healthy,” White said.</p>
<p>Quinndary Weatherspoon led the Bulldogs with 16 points. Abdul Ado added 12 points and 10 rebounds.</p>
<p>Mississippi State’s Aric Holman, the team’s second-leading scorer, fouled out in 16 minutes of action. He left the floor with 13:19 remaining. It was the first time he’s been disqualified this season. He finished with seven points and four boards.</p>
<p>“He got three fouls in three minutes in the second half,” Howland said. “I put him back him when we were down nine trying to keep it reasonable and not let it slip away, and right away he picked up his fifth. We’ve got to learn from that.”</p>
<p>BIG PICTURE</p>
<p>Mississippi State: The Bulldogs continued their errant ways from behind the arc. After making 9 of 44 (20 percent) 3-pointers in their first two conference games, they hit 5 of 16 in Gainesville. They made 10 or more 3s in three non-conference games, so they can do it. They just haven’t in SEC play.</p>
<p>“We’ve got to be able to knock down the open shots we get,” Howland said.</p>
<p>Florida: The Gators continued to play solid defense even with shots not falling. It’s been the key to the team’s turnaround after losing four of five games earlier in the season.</p>
<p>“We played our butts on defense,” Koulechov said.</p>
<p>MOVING UP</p>
<p>Chiozza has 457 assists, moving him past Nick Calathes and into fifth on the program’s all-time list. Calathes notched 452 assists in two seasons before turning pro. The only guys ahead of Chiozza now: Erving Walker (547), Kasey Hill (530), Ronnie Montgomery (503) and Eddie Shannon (493).</p>
<p>STAYING HOME</p>
<p>Mississippi State guard Xavian Stapleton did not make the trip after turning himself into police Monday to satisfy an arrest warrant for allegedly disturbing the peace. The junior was released on a $500 bond. Stapleton is averaging 6.5 points and 2.7 rebounds.</p>
<p>UP NEXT</p>
<p>Mississippi State: Hosts Auburn on Saturday.</p>
<p>Florida: Plays at Mississippi on Saturday, looking for the team’s eighth 5-0 start in SEC play. That’s White’s alma mater.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP college basketball: <a href="http://collegebasketball.ap.org" type="external">http://collegebasketball.ap.org</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/AP_Top25" type="external">http://www.twitter.com/AP_Top25</a></p>
|
Koulechov scores 23, Florida beats Mississippi State 71-54
| false |
https://apnews.com/4bcbc548b97945b4827a8dea4a543fe5
|
2018-01-11
| 2least
|
Koulechov scores 23, Florida beats Mississippi State 71-54
<p>GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Jalen Hudson had one thing left to do after Florida’s sixth consecutive victory.</p>
<p>“We got to wipe down everything with some Clorox and bleach,” Hudson said.</p>
<p>It might have helped more a few weeks ago.</p>
<p>Egor Koulechov scored 23 points, including Florida’s first 13 of the game, and the sick and short-handed Gators beat Mississippi State 71-54 on Wednesday night for their longest winning streak of the season.</p>
<p>Hudson added 12 points despite missing 10 of 13 shots, and Florida won its eighth straight against the Bulldogs (13-3, 1-2 Southeastern Conference).</p>
<p>Chris Chiozza, who missed practice this week because of strep throat, finished with 10 points and seven assists off the bench. Keith Stone chipped in 10 points and eight rebounds.</p>
<p>“Boy, it’s been a crazy year,” Florida coach Mike White said. “We’ve got to wash our hands more.”</p>
<p>The Gators (12-4, 4-0) opened up a 10-point lead early in the second half when Chiozza hit a 3-pointer and converted a four-point play on consecutive possessions. Koulechov piled on a few minutes later, hitting a 3-pointer in transition and adding a dunk off Chiozza’s steal.</p>
<p>In all, it was a 27-7 run that turned a close game into a lopsided affair.</p>
<p>Mississippi State coach Ben Howland called timeouts and made substitutions, but nothing stopped Florida’s spurt.</p>
<p>Maybe the most impressive aspect of Florida’s latest victory was that it came despite injury and illness. Koulechov continued to play through plantar fasciitis, and Chiozza and Hudson have been among those sick in recent weeks. Guard Deaundrae Ballard is the latest to miss a game because of illness.</p>
<p>“We’ve got to get healthy,” White said.</p>
<p>Quinndary Weatherspoon led the Bulldogs with 16 points. Abdul Ado added 12 points and 10 rebounds.</p>
<p>Mississippi State’s Aric Holman, the team’s second-leading scorer, fouled out in 16 minutes of action. He left the floor with 13:19 remaining. It was the first time he’s been disqualified this season. He finished with seven points and four boards.</p>
<p>“He got three fouls in three minutes in the second half,” Howland said. “I put him back him when we were down nine trying to keep it reasonable and not let it slip away, and right away he picked up his fifth. We’ve got to learn from that.”</p>
<p>BIG PICTURE</p>
<p>Mississippi State: The Bulldogs continued their errant ways from behind the arc. After making 9 of 44 (20 percent) 3-pointers in their first two conference games, they hit 5 of 16 in Gainesville. They made 10 or more 3s in three non-conference games, so they can do it. They just haven’t in SEC play.</p>
<p>“We’ve got to be able to knock down the open shots we get,” Howland said.</p>
<p>Florida: The Gators continued to play solid defense even with shots not falling. It’s been the key to the team’s turnaround after losing four of five games earlier in the season.</p>
<p>“We played our butts on defense,” Koulechov said.</p>
<p>MOVING UP</p>
<p>Chiozza has 457 assists, moving him past Nick Calathes and into fifth on the program’s all-time list. Calathes notched 452 assists in two seasons before turning pro. The only guys ahead of Chiozza now: Erving Walker (547), Kasey Hill (530), Ronnie Montgomery (503) and Eddie Shannon (493).</p>
<p>STAYING HOME</p>
<p>Mississippi State guard Xavian Stapleton did not make the trip after turning himself into police Monday to satisfy an arrest warrant for allegedly disturbing the peace. The junior was released on a $500 bond. Stapleton is averaging 6.5 points and 2.7 rebounds.</p>
<p>UP NEXT</p>
<p>Mississippi State: Hosts Auburn on Saturday.</p>
<p>Florida: Plays at Mississippi on Saturday, looking for the team’s eighth 5-0 start in SEC play. That’s White’s alma mater.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP college basketball: <a href="http://collegebasketball.ap.org" type="external">http://collegebasketball.ap.org</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/AP_Top25" type="external">http://www.twitter.com/AP_Top25</a></p>
<p>GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Jalen Hudson had one thing left to do after Florida’s sixth consecutive victory.</p>
<p>“We got to wipe down everything with some Clorox and bleach,” Hudson said.</p>
<p>It might have helped more a few weeks ago.</p>
<p>Egor Koulechov scored 23 points, including Florida’s first 13 of the game, and the sick and short-handed Gators beat Mississippi State 71-54 on Wednesday night for their longest winning streak of the season.</p>
<p>Hudson added 12 points despite missing 10 of 13 shots, and Florida won its eighth straight against the Bulldogs (13-3, 1-2 Southeastern Conference).</p>
<p>Chris Chiozza, who missed practice this week because of strep throat, finished with 10 points and seven assists off the bench. Keith Stone chipped in 10 points and eight rebounds.</p>
<p>“Boy, it’s been a crazy year,” Florida coach Mike White said. “We’ve got to wash our hands more.”</p>
<p>The Gators (12-4, 4-0) opened up a 10-point lead early in the second half when Chiozza hit a 3-pointer and converted a four-point play on consecutive possessions. Koulechov piled on a few minutes later, hitting a 3-pointer in transition and adding a dunk off Chiozza’s steal.</p>
<p>In all, it was a 27-7 run that turned a close game into a lopsided affair.</p>
<p>Mississippi State coach Ben Howland called timeouts and made substitutions, but nothing stopped Florida’s spurt.</p>
<p>Maybe the most impressive aspect of Florida’s latest victory was that it came despite injury and illness. Koulechov continued to play through plantar fasciitis, and Chiozza and Hudson have been among those sick in recent weeks. Guard Deaundrae Ballard is the latest to miss a game because of illness.</p>
<p>“We’ve got to get healthy,” White said.</p>
<p>Quinndary Weatherspoon led the Bulldogs with 16 points. Abdul Ado added 12 points and 10 rebounds.</p>
<p>Mississippi State’s Aric Holman, the team’s second-leading scorer, fouled out in 16 minutes of action. He left the floor with 13:19 remaining. It was the first time he’s been disqualified this season. He finished with seven points and four boards.</p>
<p>“He got three fouls in three minutes in the second half,” Howland said. “I put him back him when we were down nine trying to keep it reasonable and not let it slip away, and right away he picked up his fifth. We’ve got to learn from that.”</p>
<p>BIG PICTURE</p>
<p>Mississippi State: The Bulldogs continued their errant ways from behind the arc. After making 9 of 44 (20 percent) 3-pointers in their first two conference games, they hit 5 of 16 in Gainesville. They made 10 or more 3s in three non-conference games, so they can do it. They just haven’t in SEC play.</p>
<p>“We’ve got to be able to knock down the open shots we get,” Howland said.</p>
<p>Florida: The Gators continued to play solid defense even with shots not falling. It’s been the key to the team’s turnaround after losing four of five games earlier in the season.</p>
<p>“We played our butts on defense,” Koulechov said.</p>
<p>MOVING UP</p>
<p>Chiozza has 457 assists, moving him past Nick Calathes and into fifth on the program’s all-time list. Calathes notched 452 assists in two seasons before turning pro. The only guys ahead of Chiozza now: Erving Walker (547), Kasey Hill (530), Ronnie Montgomery (503) and Eddie Shannon (493).</p>
<p>STAYING HOME</p>
<p>Mississippi State guard Xavian Stapleton did not make the trip after turning himself into police Monday to satisfy an arrest warrant for allegedly disturbing the peace. The junior was released on a $500 bond. Stapleton is averaging 6.5 points and 2.7 rebounds.</p>
<p>UP NEXT</p>
<p>Mississippi State: Hosts Auburn on Saturday.</p>
<p>Florida: Plays at Mississippi on Saturday, looking for the team’s eighth 5-0 start in SEC play. That’s White’s alma mater.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP college basketball: <a href="http://collegebasketball.ap.org" type="external">http://collegebasketball.ap.org</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/AP_Top25" type="external">http://www.twitter.com/AP_Top25</a></p>
| 7,242 |
<p>PARIS, France - French police have arrested 19 suspected so-called Islamist radicals and seized weapons in dawn raids in several cities across the country, including Toulouse, the home of gunman Mohammed Merah, <a href="http://www.liberation.fr/depeches/01012399328-affaire-merah-une-vingtaine-d-interpellations-dans-les-milieux-islamistes" type="external">Agence France Presse</a> reported.</p>
<p>Among those arrested was <a href="http://www.globaljihad.net/view_page.asp?id=2196" type="external">Mohammed Achamlane</a>, the leader of the Forsane Alizza (Knights of Pride) radical <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salafist_jihadism" type="external">Salafist</a> group disbanded by the French Interior Ministry in February. Three Kalashnikov assault rifles, a Glock pistol and a grenade were seized from his home.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/france/120329/toulouse-mohammed-merah-buried-france-algeria" type="external">Gunman Mohammed Merah buried in Toulouse after Algeria rejected body</a></p>
<p>Other raids led to discoveries of rifles, handguns and a bulletproof vest, <a href="http://www.franceinfo.fr/justice/une-vingtaine-d%E2%80%99interpellations-ce-matin-dans-les-milieux-islamistes-radicaux-571571-2012-03-30" type="external">France Info</a> reported, adding that the operation targeted young suspects who had spent time in Afghanistan.</p>
<p>Citing police sources, AFP reported that agents from France's DCRI domestic intelligence agency carried out the arrests, along with members of the elite Raid police commando group.</p>
<p>Most of the arrests took place in the Mirail neighborhood of Toulouse, a day after the burial of Merah - who died in a police assault in the southern city on March 22. Other arrests were made in Marseille, Lyon, Nice, Nantes, in the north, and in the Paris area.</p>
<p>Although police are seeking accomplices who may have helped Merah murder seven people in attacks this month, today's raids are "not directly related" to the Merah investigation, a police source told AFP. It is understood they are part of a plan to "dismantle terrorist networks."</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/france/120329/france-bars-four-islamic-preachers-entry" type="external">France bars four Islamic preachers from entry</a></p>
<p>French President Nicolas Sarkozy told <a href="http://www.europe1.fr/Politique/Extremistes-Sarkozy-affiche-sa-fermete-1013727/" type="external">Europe 1 radio</a> the arrests were "in connection with a form of Islamist radicalism," but did not elaborate on what charges the suspects may face.</p>
<p>"It's our duty to guarantee the security of the French people. We have no choice. It's absolutely indispensable," Sarkozy said.</p>
<p>"There will be other operations that will continue and that will allow us to expel from our national territory a certain number of people who have no reason to be here."</p>
<p>This morning's arrests come a day after France barred four Islamic preachers - a Palestinian, an Egyptian and two Saudis - from entering the country to attend a religious conference in Paris.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/120312/burma-economy-myanmar-sanctions" type="external">Promises, pitfalls await investors in Myanmar's frontier economy</a></p>
|
France arrests 19 suspected Islamists in dawn raids
| false |
https://pri.org/stories/2012-03-30/france-arrests-19-suspected-islamists-dawn-raids
|
2012-03-30
| 3left-center
|
France arrests 19 suspected Islamists in dawn raids
<p>PARIS, France - French police have arrested 19 suspected so-called Islamist radicals and seized weapons in dawn raids in several cities across the country, including Toulouse, the home of gunman Mohammed Merah, <a href="http://www.liberation.fr/depeches/01012399328-affaire-merah-une-vingtaine-d-interpellations-dans-les-milieux-islamistes" type="external">Agence France Presse</a> reported.</p>
<p>Among those arrested was <a href="http://www.globaljihad.net/view_page.asp?id=2196" type="external">Mohammed Achamlane</a>, the leader of the Forsane Alizza (Knights of Pride) radical <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salafist_jihadism" type="external">Salafist</a> group disbanded by the French Interior Ministry in February. Three Kalashnikov assault rifles, a Glock pistol and a grenade were seized from his home.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/france/120329/toulouse-mohammed-merah-buried-france-algeria" type="external">Gunman Mohammed Merah buried in Toulouse after Algeria rejected body</a></p>
<p>Other raids led to discoveries of rifles, handguns and a bulletproof vest, <a href="http://www.franceinfo.fr/justice/une-vingtaine-d%E2%80%99interpellations-ce-matin-dans-les-milieux-islamistes-radicaux-571571-2012-03-30" type="external">France Info</a> reported, adding that the operation targeted young suspects who had spent time in Afghanistan.</p>
<p>Citing police sources, AFP reported that agents from France's DCRI domestic intelligence agency carried out the arrests, along with members of the elite Raid police commando group.</p>
<p>Most of the arrests took place in the Mirail neighborhood of Toulouse, a day after the burial of Merah - who died in a police assault in the southern city on March 22. Other arrests were made in Marseille, Lyon, Nice, Nantes, in the north, and in the Paris area.</p>
<p>Although police are seeking accomplices who may have helped Merah murder seven people in attacks this month, today's raids are "not directly related" to the Merah investigation, a police source told AFP. It is understood they are part of a plan to "dismantle terrorist networks."</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/france/120329/france-bars-four-islamic-preachers-entry" type="external">France bars four Islamic preachers from entry</a></p>
<p>French President Nicolas Sarkozy told <a href="http://www.europe1.fr/Politique/Extremistes-Sarkozy-affiche-sa-fermete-1013727/" type="external">Europe 1 radio</a> the arrests were "in connection with a form of Islamist radicalism," but did not elaborate on what charges the suspects may face.</p>
<p>"It's our duty to guarantee the security of the French people. We have no choice. It's absolutely indispensable," Sarkozy said.</p>
<p>"There will be other operations that will continue and that will allow us to expel from our national territory a certain number of people who have no reason to be here."</p>
<p>This morning's arrests come a day after France barred four Islamic preachers - a Palestinian, an Egyptian and two Saudis - from entering the country to attend a religious conference in Paris.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/120312/burma-economy-myanmar-sanctions" type="external">Promises, pitfalls await investors in Myanmar's frontier economy</a></p>
| 7,243 |
<p>Tattooed, gang-like cliques inside the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department have become an issue in the upcoming election for sheriff in the wake of an NBC report about an alleged group called the Banditos that is accused of pressuring female trainees for sex.</p>
<p>At a debate Sunday night, sheriff’s candidate Paul Tanaka was pressed on whether he had been tattooed while a member of a now-defunct clique called the Vikings. Tanaka, a retired undersheriff, admitted getting the ink <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/1999/mar/24/news/mn-20461/2" type="external">more than 20 years ago</a> but said his affiliation with the group went no further.</p>
<p>“Yes, I do have a tattoo. No, I never was part of a gang," said Tanaka, <a href="http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-sheriff-debate-20140406,0,3526356.story#axzz2yEwwNVrk" type="external">according to the L.A. Times</a>. "It did not become sinister until years later. If I knew then what I know now, I would have gotten a different tattoo."</p>
<p>The Sheriff’s Department has been accused for decades of not acting aggressively enough to address secret groups inside the department, including the so-called “300 Club” and the “Jump Out Boys.”</p>
<p>A March 28 report by NBC News detailed a lawsuit by Deputy Guadalupe Lopez charging that one such alleged group, the Banditos, demanded sexual favors from female trainees at the East L.A. Sheriff’s Station in Boyle Heights. Lopez claimed in her complaint that the Banditos sported numbered tattoos of a skeleton with a sombrero, and that male deputies at the station retaliated against her for reporting objectionable behavior by slamming her into a wall, trying to run her off the road and placing a dead rat under her car.</p>
<p>On Saturday, the day before the debate, a group of female deputies at the East L.A. station released a statement disputing the allegations in the Lopez suit, including the claim that women were expected to provide sex in order to become full-fledged deputies.</p>
<p>“The claims have affected us on a professional and personal level,” the statement said. “Our reputation as female professionals, wives, mothers, etc. is unjustly questioned as a result of her claims.”</p>
<p>In response, Lopez’s attorney stood by the allegations in the suit and said his client never alleged that “the majority of female deputies assigned to East Los Angeles station were involved in any sexual activities with their male counterparts.” Gregory Smith also noted that a female sergeant at the station filed a separate gender harassment suit prior to Lopez’s suit, and that discipline was handed down after an investigation of Lopez’s charges.</p>
<p>“As a result of the complaint, a number of the Banditos were subjected to discipline by the department,” Smith said.</p>
<p>A source familiar with the Banditos investigation told NBC News that the department disciplined more than 10 employees at the East L.A. station, most of them deputies, for alleged mistreatment of Lopez and inappropriate workplace conduct. The source added that the department did not substantiate the core allegations, including the charge that a clique of deputies at the station coerced female probationers into having sex.</p>
<p>When informed of the Lopez suit, interim Los Angeles County Sheriff John L. Scott expressed concern “about the negative perception of monikers, tattoos, or any form of hazing,“ and said he would “not tolerate conduct contrary to our department policies and the law.”</p>
|
LA Sheriff Candidate Asked About ‘Gang’ Tattoo at Debate
| false |
http://nbcnews.com/news/investigations/la-sheriff-candidate-asked-about-gang-tattoo-debate-n74096
|
2014-04-08
| 3left-center
|
LA Sheriff Candidate Asked About ‘Gang’ Tattoo at Debate
<p>Tattooed, gang-like cliques inside the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department have become an issue in the upcoming election for sheriff in the wake of an NBC report about an alleged group called the Banditos that is accused of pressuring female trainees for sex.</p>
<p>At a debate Sunday night, sheriff’s candidate Paul Tanaka was pressed on whether he had been tattooed while a member of a now-defunct clique called the Vikings. Tanaka, a retired undersheriff, admitted getting the ink <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/1999/mar/24/news/mn-20461/2" type="external">more than 20 years ago</a> but said his affiliation with the group went no further.</p>
<p>“Yes, I do have a tattoo. No, I never was part of a gang," said Tanaka, <a href="http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-sheriff-debate-20140406,0,3526356.story#axzz2yEwwNVrk" type="external">according to the L.A. Times</a>. "It did not become sinister until years later. If I knew then what I know now, I would have gotten a different tattoo."</p>
<p>The Sheriff’s Department has been accused for decades of not acting aggressively enough to address secret groups inside the department, including the so-called “300 Club” and the “Jump Out Boys.”</p>
<p>A March 28 report by NBC News detailed a lawsuit by Deputy Guadalupe Lopez charging that one such alleged group, the Banditos, demanded sexual favors from female trainees at the East L.A. Sheriff’s Station in Boyle Heights. Lopez claimed in her complaint that the Banditos sported numbered tattoos of a skeleton with a sombrero, and that male deputies at the station retaliated against her for reporting objectionable behavior by slamming her into a wall, trying to run her off the road and placing a dead rat under her car.</p>
<p>On Saturday, the day before the debate, a group of female deputies at the East L.A. station released a statement disputing the allegations in the Lopez suit, including the claim that women were expected to provide sex in order to become full-fledged deputies.</p>
<p>“The claims have affected us on a professional and personal level,” the statement said. “Our reputation as female professionals, wives, mothers, etc. is unjustly questioned as a result of her claims.”</p>
<p>In response, Lopez’s attorney stood by the allegations in the suit and said his client never alleged that “the majority of female deputies assigned to East Los Angeles station were involved in any sexual activities with their male counterparts.” Gregory Smith also noted that a female sergeant at the station filed a separate gender harassment suit prior to Lopez’s suit, and that discipline was handed down after an investigation of Lopez’s charges.</p>
<p>“As a result of the complaint, a number of the Banditos were subjected to discipline by the department,” Smith said.</p>
<p>A source familiar with the Banditos investigation told NBC News that the department disciplined more than 10 employees at the East L.A. station, most of them deputies, for alleged mistreatment of Lopez and inappropriate workplace conduct. The source added that the department did not substantiate the core allegations, including the charge that a clique of deputies at the station coerced female probationers into having sex.</p>
<p>When informed of the Lopez suit, interim Los Angeles County Sheriff John L. Scott expressed concern “about the negative perception of monikers, tattoos, or any form of hazing,“ and said he would “not tolerate conduct contrary to our department policies and the law.”</p>
| 7,244 |
<p>KUWAIT CITY (AP) - A Kuwaiti human rights activist sentenced to seven years in prison for taking part in a protest in 2011 has announced a hunger strike to protest his imprisonment.</p>
<p>A statement issued to The Associated Press on Saturday by Sulaiman Binjassem's family says he is on hunger strike to protest the court's "unjust ruling."</p>
<p>He is among nearly 70 defendants sentenced to prison for briefly entering the parliament building during a protest seven years ago against corruption and allegations of bribery among officials. A lower court acquitted the defendants in 2013, but an appeals court in November found them guilty on a range of other charges, including protesting illegally.</p>
<p>Binjassem and three others announced earlier this week from prison the creation of a new political bloc.</p>
<p>KUWAIT CITY (AP) - A Kuwaiti human rights activist sentenced to seven years in prison for taking part in a protest in 2011 has announced a hunger strike to protest his imprisonment.</p>
<p>A statement issued to The Associated Press on Saturday by Sulaiman Binjassem's family says he is on hunger strike to protest the court's "unjust ruling."</p>
<p>He is among nearly 70 defendants sentenced to prison for briefly entering the parliament building during a protest seven years ago against corruption and allegations of bribery among officials. A lower court acquitted the defendants in 2013, but an appeals court in November found them guilty on a range of other charges, including protesting illegally.</p>
<p>Binjassem and three others announced earlier this week from prison the creation of a new political bloc.</p>
|
Imprisoned Kuwaiti activist announces hunger strike
| false |
https://apnews.com/0daeb150518c40a1a09596eae99999b7
|
2018-01-06
| 2least
|
Imprisoned Kuwaiti activist announces hunger strike
<p>KUWAIT CITY (AP) - A Kuwaiti human rights activist sentenced to seven years in prison for taking part in a protest in 2011 has announced a hunger strike to protest his imprisonment.</p>
<p>A statement issued to The Associated Press on Saturday by Sulaiman Binjassem's family says he is on hunger strike to protest the court's "unjust ruling."</p>
<p>He is among nearly 70 defendants sentenced to prison for briefly entering the parliament building during a protest seven years ago against corruption and allegations of bribery among officials. A lower court acquitted the defendants in 2013, but an appeals court in November found them guilty on a range of other charges, including protesting illegally.</p>
<p>Binjassem and three others announced earlier this week from prison the creation of a new political bloc.</p>
<p>KUWAIT CITY (AP) - A Kuwaiti human rights activist sentenced to seven years in prison for taking part in a protest in 2011 has announced a hunger strike to protest his imprisonment.</p>
<p>A statement issued to The Associated Press on Saturday by Sulaiman Binjassem's family says he is on hunger strike to protest the court's "unjust ruling."</p>
<p>He is among nearly 70 defendants sentenced to prison for briefly entering the parliament building during a protest seven years ago against corruption and allegations of bribery among officials. A lower court acquitted the defendants in 2013, but an appeals court in November found them guilty on a range of other charges, including protesting illegally.</p>
<p>Binjassem and three others announced earlier this week from prison the creation of a new political bloc.</p>
| 7,245 |
<p>JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The state of Missouri offered Amazon nearly $2.5 billion in incentives spread over 10 years in its failed bid to lure the company’s second headquarters to the state, according to figures released Friday by the state Department of Economic Development.</p>
<p>The state proposed building an “innovation corridor” between Kansas City and St. Louis to provide employees and sites for Amazon. The state’s two big cities also submitted their own bids for the headquarters.</p>
<p>The proposal to the online retailer was one of about 240 bids from across the country trying to land Amazon’s second headquarters, which the Seattle-based company promised would bring up to 50,000 jobs and an investment of more than $5 billion.</p>
<p>On Thursday, Amazon whittled the list down to 20 potential sites and the three bids from Missouri didn’t make the cut.</p>
<p>In the state’s proposal, the $2.42 billion in incentives would have funded seven different programs, including $1.36 billion in refundable tax credits.</p>
<p>When announcing the bid last October, Missouri Chief Operating Officer Drew Erdmann said the innovation corridor would include Columbia, the home of the University of Missouri. It also would have provided a labor force of close to 3 million people, and give the employees the option of living in rural, urban or college-town cities.</p>
<p>Other parts of the proposal included incentives to locate the headquarters in a distressed area of the city, tax credits to invest in rural broadband, individual income tax deductions for Amazon employees who relocated to Missouri and refundable contribution tax credits in return for Amazon’s investments in science and technology-focused educational programs for Missouri’s youth. The state also offered to create a fund operated by a public board that would invest in Amazon securities and fund local infrastructure projects as determined by the board and another program to provide refundable tax credits to offset the tax costs of bringing offshore funds back to the U.S. and invest them in Missouri.</p>
<p>JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The state of Missouri offered Amazon nearly $2.5 billion in incentives spread over 10 years in its failed bid to lure the company’s second headquarters to the state, according to figures released Friday by the state Department of Economic Development.</p>
<p>The state proposed building an “innovation corridor” between Kansas City and St. Louis to provide employees and sites for Amazon. The state’s two big cities also submitted their own bids for the headquarters.</p>
<p>The proposal to the online retailer was one of about 240 bids from across the country trying to land Amazon’s second headquarters, which the Seattle-based company promised would bring up to 50,000 jobs and an investment of more than $5 billion.</p>
<p>On Thursday, Amazon whittled the list down to 20 potential sites and the three bids from Missouri didn’t make the cut.</p>
<p>In the state’s proposal, the $2.42 billion in incentives would have funded seven different programs, including $1.36 billion in refundable tax credits.</p>
<p>When announcing the bid last October, Missouri Chief Operating Officer Drew Erdmann said the innovation corridor would include Columbia, the home of the University of Missouri. It also would have provided a labor force of close to 3 million people, and give the employees the option of living in rural, urban or college-town cities.</p>
<p>Other parts of the proposal included incentives to locate the headquarters in a distressed area of the city, tax credits to invest in rural broadband, individual income tax deductions for Amazon employees who relocated to Missouri and refundable contribution tax credits in return for Amazon’s investments in science and technology-focused educational programs for Missouri’s youth. The state also offered to create a fund operated by a public board that would invest in Amazon securities and fund local infrastructure projects as determined by the board and another program to provide refundable tax credits to offset the tax costs of bringing offshore funds back to the U.S. and invest them in Missouri.</p>
|
Missouri offered about $2.5 billion in incentives to Amazon
| false |
https://apnews.com/c0e473ac7a374bf18cc2243f65e0f456
|
2018-01-19
| 2least
|
Missouri offered about $2.5 billion in incentives to Amazon
<p>JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The state of Missouri offered Amazon nearly $2.5 billion in incentives spread over 10 years in its failed bid to lure the company’s second headquarters to the state, according to figures released Friday by the state Department of Economic Development.</p>
<p>The state proposed building an “innovation corridor” between Kansas City and St. Louis to provide employees and sites for Amazon. The state’s two big cities also submitted their own bids for the headquarters.</p>
<p>The proposal to the online retailer was one of about 240 bids from across the country trying to land Amazon’s second headquarters, which the Seattle-based company promised would bring up to 50,000 jobs and an investment of more than $5 billion.</p>
<p>On Thursday, Amazon whittled the list down to 20 potential sites and the three bids from Missouri didn’t make the cut.</p>
<p>In the state’s proposal, the $2.42 billion in incentives would have funded seven different programs, including $1.36 billion in refundable tax credits.</p>
<p>When announcing the bid last October, Missouri Chief Operating Officer Drew Erdmann said the innovation corridor would include Columbia, the home of the University of Missouri. It also would have provided a labor force of close to 3 million people, and give the employees the option of living in rural, urban or college-town cities.</p>
<p>Other parts of the proposal included incentives to locate the headquarters in a distressed area of the city, tax credits to invest in rural broadband, individual income tax deductions for Amazon employees who relocated to Missouri and refundable contribution tax credits in return for Amazon’s investments in science and technology-focused educational programs for Missouri’s youth. The state also offered to create a fund operated by a public board that would invest in Amazon securities and fund local infrastructure projects as determined by the board and another program to provide refundable tax credits to offset the tax costs of bringing offshore funds back to the U.S. and invest them in Missouri.</p>
<p>JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The state of Missouri offered Amazon nearly $2.5 billion in incentives spread over 10 years in its failed bid to lure the company’s second headquarters to the state, according to figures released Friday by the state Department of Economic Development.</p>
<p>The state proposed building an “innovation corridor” between Kansas City and St. Louis to provide employees and sites for Amazon. The state’s two big cities also submitted their own bids for the headquarters.</p>
<p>The proposal to the online retailer was one of about 240 bids from across the country trying to land Amazon’s second headquarters, which the Seattle-based company promised would bring up to 50,000 jobs and an investment of more than $5 billion.</p>
<p>On Thursday, Amazon whittled the list down to 20 potential sites and the three bids from Missouri didn’t make the cut.</p>
<p>In the state’s proposal, the $2.42 billion in incentives would have funded seven different programs, including $1.36 billion in refundable tax credits.</p>
<p>When announcing the bid last October, Missouri Chief Operating Officer Drew Erdmann said the innovation corridor would include Columbia, the home of the University of Missouri. It also would have provided a labor force of close to 3 million people, and give the employees the option of living in rural, urban or college-town cities.</p>
<p>Other parts of the proposal included incentives to locate the headquarters in a distressed area of the city, tax credits to invest in rural broadband, individual income tax deductions for Amazon employees who relocated to Missouri and refundable contribution tax credits in return for Amazon’s investments in science and technology-focused educational programs for Missouri’s youth. The state also offered to create a fund operated by a public board that would invest in Amazon securities and fund local infrastructure projects as determined by the board and another program to provide refundable tax credits to offset the tax costs of bringing offshore funds back to the U.S. and invest them in Missouri.</p>
| 7,246 |
<p>The April summit appeared to be a grand success. No, not the one in Trinidad and Tobago; the one in Cumana, Venezuela, where Bolivian President Evo Morales said, “If we do not change capitalism, humanity will be at risk, including the same people who concentrate wealth in a few hands.”[1]</p>
<p>A lot of media energy was burned up to tell us that nothing of importance happened at the Fifth Summit of the Americas (April 17-19) in Port of Spain. We know this because none of the leaders there agreed to sign the summit’s final declaration – except the prime minister of the host country — and he more or less had to. When you have a summit and no one agrees with what was done there, did you really have a summit? Journalists and pundits were reduced to discussing whether the president of the United States should have shaken hands with the president of Venezuela.</p>
<p>Recalling the relentless US campaign to get rid of, and failing that, to demonize Hugo Chavez, should the question not have been whether Chavez should have shaken Barrack Obama’s hand? No one asked if it was correct protocol for Obama to carelessly claim a while back that Chavez was an exporter of terrorism.[2]</p>
<p>Obama was given universal credit at the summit for not being George W. Bush. He talked about not imposing US will on other states in the hemisphere; about being a partner. He even alluded antiseptically and briefly to some US mistakes of the past.</p>
<p>Two weeks earlier, a hopelessly miscast Vice President Joe Biden attended the Progressive Governance Conference in Chile. “The time of the United States dictating unilaterally, the time where we only talk and don’t listen is over,” he said progressively.[3]</p>
<p>Negating all that, Obama told the 33 other leaders in Port of Spain that he would not lift the blockade (embargo) against Cuba until President Raul Castro did what he asked: release political prisoners, and so on. The ball, it was said, was now in Cuba’s court because Obama had done his part by rolling back the harsh rules on family visits to Cuba set by Bush in 2004 and by allowing US telecommunications companies access to the Cuban market.</p>
<p>The summit’s final declaration dutifully went along with the pretence that the summit was about “Securing Our Citizens’ Future by Promoting Human Prosperity, Energy Security and Environmental Sustainability,” when it was really about Cuba and US interventionism, particularly the economic blockade of Cuba and the refusal to seat Raul Castro at the summit table. Chavez remarked that the final declaration was “totally lost in time and space as if time had not passed.”[4]</p>
<p>Reading the declaration and comparing it with those of previous summits is a depressing exercise. They are eye-glazing lists of problems that were not resolved at the last summit. They have all the conviction of those heartfelt wishes for world peace one expects from contestants in beauty pageants.</p>
<p>One of the few times when real world issues intruded on these proceedings was during the 2004 Mar del Plata summit when an open rebellion erupted against Bush’s ambitions for the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). That declaration took passing notice of objections to the document but pledged to carry the cadaver of free trade on into the future anyway. There is no mention of free trade in the Port of Spain Declaration except for the promise to “continue to insist on an open, transparent and rules-based multilateral trading system,” the very terms that had already killed US hopes for the FTAA.[5]</p>
<p>For an idea of the real agenda in Port of Spain, we have Fidel Castro’s reflection of April 19. In it, he quotes at length from an address by Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega reviewing a century of US crimes and interventions including Reagan’s war against the Sandinista revolutionary government, the Bay of Pigs invasion, the ravages of neoliberalism, and the exclusion of Cuba from summit like this one. “I am embarrassed to be attending this summit in the absence of Cuba.” Ortega said.[6]</p>
<p>Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa said that the draft declaration “does not reflect the economic crisis we are experiencing, which is not a temporary crisis but a crisis of the capitalist system, and . the document suggests solutions by legitimizing those responsible for the crisis, for instance, the International Monetary Fund.”[7]</p>
<p>What got in the way of signing the declaration was reality. With nearly unanimous support for the uninvited Cuba and expressions of dissent by the six members of the Alternativa Bolivariana para los Pueblos de Nuestra America (ALBA), there was no decorous way to end the affair but to have the host, Prime Minister Patrick Manning, sign it for them. The official statement afterwards was that the declaration had been adopted “by consensus.” Its weak promises to do something about the unchanging list of problems have now been forwarded to the OAS secretariat with no mention that the document was adopted by a phantom consensus among leaders who did not buy it.</p>
<p>Why are summits like this one held? Perhaps to give counter-summits an agenda.</p>
<p>Summit trashes summit</p>
<p>A draft of the Port of Spain document — two years in the making — was leaked weeks beforehand. This allowed Chavez to call an Extraordinary ALBA Summit in Cumana one day before the Port of Spain Summit to denounce it.[8] ALBA members promptly said they would not sign the Americas declaration. That, at least, was some kind of consensus.</p>
<p>The ALBA declaration rejects the Port of Spain draft declaration as “insufficient,” because of its failure to adequately address the economic crisis, the exclusion of Cuba and its silence on the regional opposition to the blockade. It called for a debate on the theme of “capitalism putting an end to humanity and the planet.” Referring to climate change, the ALBA delegates called for a new model, “a system in harmony with our mother earth and not with the plunder of our natural resources.” It called for an end to US sanctions against Cuba and to all forms of intervention, including media wars and the financing of destabilizing groups. It also asserted that free migration, healthcare and education, energy, water and telecommunications should be considered human rights. [9]</p>
<p>By comparison, the Port of Spain declaration follows the usual formula. First, state a problem: “We recognize that.,” We promise to “consult,” to “exchange information,” or to “continue our efforts to..” This is followed by expressions of desire to meet again in some other resort hotel. The following language is typical: “To strengthen our efforts to reduce social disparities and inequality and to halve extreme poverty by the year 2015, we commit to exchange information on policies, experiences, programs and best practices.” Addressing the economic crisis, it declares that its (non-signing) members are “committed to addressing” them and are “determined to enhance our cooperation and work together.”</p>
<p>Where the Port of Spain summiteers tinker with things as they are, the ALBA declaration offers a structural appraisal of the global economic crisis. Its language echoes statements made by Fidel Castro and recently by Morales about the unsustainablity of the current corporate, consumerist economic model. It asserts,</p>
<p>“Capitalism is putting an end to humanity and the planet. What we are experiencing is a systematic and structural crisis, not just another cyclical crisis. Those who think the crisis will be resolved with an injection of tax money and some regulatory measures are very mistaken.. This is not a ‘failure to regulate the system’ but rather a constituent part of the capitalist system that speculates with all goods and stocks in hopes of obtaining the highest possible profit.”</p>
<p>It is safe to say that no such language has ever been used in a Summit of the Americas document. There is a growing world consensus that the effort by the United States to isolate Cuba has backfired. It is Obama and the United States who are isolated, left with pockets of support in Poland, Palau, Israel, the Marshall Island, parts of New Jersey and the Republic of Miami. It is always possible that Obama may be driven by events into calling off the war with Cuba. There have recently been talks with Cuban diplomats from the Cuban Interests Section in Washington, DC. But shortly after these talks were held, the State Department issued its annual list of state sponsors of terrorism. Cuba is still on it.</p>
<p>A travel rule is not a foreign policy</p>
<p>Actions like that are extensions of Bush’s Cuba policy and beg the question, just how meaningful is Obama’s relaxation of the Bush travel restrictions, which got so much attention in Port of Prince? Answer: not very much. The new travel rules Obama announced, which had already been legislated by Congress the previous month, are tactical details and should not be confused with policy.</p>
<p>The policy underlying the regulatory minutia of travel licenses, per diem travel expenditures, cash remittances or the definition of a “relative” remains, as it was in 2004, the destruction of the Cuban revolution. Determined to find a hint of policy change in Obama’s announcement, the media generally forgot that Bush’s hardening of the rules on family travel and remittances took up only a few paragraphs in the first Report of the Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba (2004).</p>
<p>The rest of the 450-page report is an overthrow manual. The grand objectives of the report are: “Bring an end to the ruthless and brutal dictatorship; assist the Cuban people in a transition to representative democracy; and assist the Cuban people in establishing a free market economy.” The role of the travel restrictions in that scheme is to help “reduce the regime’s manipulation of family visits to generate hard currency.” Little was said about the damage to families aside from quite illogically claiming that reducing family travel and remittances would somehow preserve and promote “legitimate family ties and humanitarian relief for the Cuban people.”[10]</p>
<p>In 2006, the commission found more ways to get rid of the Cuban revolution and issued a second report.[11] Obama’s “reform” should be read in the context of these reports. With the Castro government gone, the commission expects the United States to engage in neighborly acts of kindness reminiscent of the previous interventions of 1898-1902 and 1906-1909. It would busy itself fixing roads and ports, sewers and water purification plants, installing US models for education and healthcare, US-style multi-party elections and, of course, “business.”</p>
<p>The commission insists that the Castro government has impoverished the Cuban people. To remedy that, it recommends further tightening the economic blockade by such measures as setting up a Cuban Nickel Targeting Task Force to strangle Cuban cobalt and nickel exports. Nothing coming out of the Obama administration so far appears to deviate from the fundamental policy. The Washington Post reported that, according to White House officials, lifting the travel and remittances restrictions would support Cuban dissidents with money.</p>
<p>As for allowing US telecommunications firms to do business in Cuba, the officials said that move would “flood Cuba with information while providing new opportunities for businesses.”[12] We may be forgiven for thinking Obama wanted people in the United States to visit their relatives in Cuba, take them some cash, maybe some underwear – that sort of thing. What they would really be doing, says a White House Fact Sheet, is supporting “the Cuban people’s desire for freedom and self-determination.”[13]</p>
<p>The next time you see Obama, ask him which of the other Bush “recommendations to hasten the end of the Castro dictatorship” he would like to abolish next.</p>
<p>Sanctions still preferred</p>
<p>When you look for signs that Obama is about to distance himself from the sanctions policy and enter the unexplored land of diplomacy with Cuba, you find that sanctions are still the weapon of choice. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton apparently thinks the proper role of diplomacy is to get other countries to help apply crushing sanctions.</p>
<p>In an Asia Times piece, Shahir Shahidsaless notes that Clinton recently told Congress, “We actually believe that by following the diplomatic path we are on, we gain credibility and influence with a number of nations who would have to participate in order to make the sanctions regime [on Iran] as tight and as crippling as we would want it to be.”[14]</p>
<p>Assuming that Cuba remains bound by the unshakable insistence of Fidel and Raul Castro that it will not surrender the revolution to win approval from the United States, it is unlikely that Obama will in the near future lift the blockade. To do without the concessions Obama demands would, after 47 years of low-intensity warfare against the island, hand the United States a historic defeat and force upon it a humiliating admission that a socialist alternative to capitalism is viable and acceptable.</p>
<p>ROBERT SANDELS is an analyst and writer for Cuba-L Direct. This article was written for CounterPunch and Cuba-L Direct.</p>
<p>Notes</p>
<p>1 Mercosur Noticias, 04/19/09, .</p>
<p>[2] In a January 2008 interview with Univision, Obama repeated the Bush-era rhetoric that Chavez was “a force that has interrupted progress in the region.” This, despite the fact that Chavez’s closest friends in the region are among the most progressive. Obama accepted as fact the discredited claims by Colombian President Alvaro Uribe that Chavez was in league with the FARC guerrillas, saying that, “We need to be firm when we see this news, that Venezuela is exporting terrorist activities or supporting malicious entities like the FARC.” (Washington Post, 01/19/09. Univision has not released a transcript of the interview.) Chavez justifiably replied that Obama was an “ignoramus.”</p>
<p>[3] Merco Press, Montevideo, 03/30/09, &lt; <a href="http://en.mercopress.com" type="external">http://en.mercopress.com</a>/.</p>
<p>[4] Agence France Presse, 04/16/09.</p>
<p>[5] “Creating Jobs to Fight Poverty and Strengthen Democratic Governance,” Declaration of Mar del Plata, 11/05/05, .</p>
<p>[6] Reflexiones del compañero Fidel: La Cumbre Secreta, 04/19/09, <a href="http://www.trabajadores.cu/reflexiones-de-fidel-castro/reflexiones-del-companero-fidel-la-cumbre-secreta" type="external">http://www.trabajadores.cu/reflexiones-de-fidel-castro/reflexiones-del-companero-fidel-la-cumbre-secreta</a>.</p>
<p>[7] ACN (Havana), 04/19/09, .</p>
<p>[8] Attending were: Hugo Chavez (Venezuela), Raul Castro (Cuba), Manuel Zelaya (Honduras), Daniel Ortega (Nicaragua), Roosevelt Skerrit (Dominica) and Ralph Gonsalves (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines). Observers were Fernando Lugo (Paraguay) and a representative of Rafael Correa (Ecuador).</p>
<p>[9] Documento de los paises de la Alternativa Bolivariana para los Pueblos de Nuestra América (ALBA) para la V Cumbre de las Américas, Cumana, 04/17 /09, .</p>
<p>[10] Report of the Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba, 2004, .</p>
<p>[11] Report of the Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba, 2006, .</p>
<p>[12] Washington Post, 04/17/09.</p>
<p>[13] White House, Fact Sheet, Reaching Out to the Cuban People, 04/13/09, .</p>
<p>[14] Shahir Shahidsaless, White House miscalculations linger, Asia Times, 04/28/09, <a href="" type="internal">http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/KD28Ak02.html</a>.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
|
Obama and Latin America: No Light, All Tunnel
| true |
https://counterpunch.org/2009/05/13/obama-and-latin-america-no-light-all-tunnel/
|
2009-05-13
| 4left
|
Obama and Latin America: No Light, All Tunnel
<p>The April summit appeared to be a grand success. No, not the one in Trinidad and Tobago; the one in Cumana, Venezuela, where Bolivian President Evo Morales said, “If we do not change capitalism, humanity will be at risk, including the same people who concentrate wealth in a few hands.”[1]</p>
<p>A lot of media energy was burned up to tell us that nothing of importance happened at the Fifth Summit of the Americas (April 17-19) in Port of Spain. We know this because none of the leaders there agreed to sign the summit’s final declaration – except the prime minister of the host country — and he more or less had to. When you have a summit and no one agrees with what was done there, did you really have a summit? Journalists and pundits were reduced to discussing whether the president of the United States should have shaken hands with the president of Venezuela.</p>
<p>Recalling the relentless US campaign to get rid of, and failing that, to demonize Hugo Chavez, should the question not have been whether Chavez should have shaken Barrack Obama’s hand? No one asked if it was correct protocol for Obama to carelessly claim a while back that Chavez was an exporter of terrorism.[2]</p>
<p>Obama was given universal credit at the summit for not being George W. Bush. He talked about not imposing US will on other states in the hemisphere; about being a partner. He even alluded antiseptically and briefly to some US mistakes of the past.</p>
<p>Two weeks earlier, a hopelessly miscast Vice President Joe Biden attended the Progressive Governance Conference in Chile. “The time of the United States dictating unilaterally, the time where we only talk and don’t listen is over,” he said progressively.[3]</p>
<p>Negating all that, Obama told the 33 other leaders in Port of Spain that he would not lift the blockade (embargo) against Cuba until President Raul Castro did what he asked: release political prisoners, and so on. The ball, it was said, was now in Cuba’s court because Obama had done his part by rolling back the harsh rules on family visits to Cuba set by Bush in 2004 and by allowing US telecommunications companies access to the Cuban market.</p>
<p>The summit’s final declaration dutifully went along with the pretence that the summit was about “Securing Our Citizens’ Future by Promoting Human Prosperity, Energy Security and Environmental Sustainability,” when it was really about Cuba and US interventionism, particularly the economic blockade of Cuba and the refusal to seat Raul Castro at the summit table. Chavez remarked that the final declaration was “totally lost in time and space as if time had not passed.”[4]</p>
<p>Reading the declaration and comparing it with those of previous summits is a depressing exercise. They are eye-glazing lists of problems that were not resolved at the last summit. They have all the conviction of those heartfelt wishes for world peace one expects from contestants in beauty pageants.</p>
<p>One of the few times when real world issues intruded on these proceedings was during the 2004 Mar del Plata summit when an open rebellion erupted against Bush’s ambitions for the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). That declaration took passing notice of objections to the document but pledged to carry the cadaver of free trade on into the future anyway. There is no mention of free trade in the Port of Spain Declaration except for the promise to “continue to insist on an open, transparent and rules-based multilateral trading system,” the very terms that had already killed US hopes for the FTAA.[5]</p>
<p>For an idea of the real agenda in Port of Spain, we have Fidel Castro’s reflection of April 19. In it, he quotes at length from an address by Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega reviewing a century of US crimes and interventions including Reagan’s war against the Sandinista revolutionary government, the Bay of Pigs invasion, the ravages of neoliberalism, and the exclusion of Cuba from summit like this one. “I am embarrassed to be attending this summit in the absence of Cuba.” Ortega said.[6]</p>
<p>Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa said that the draft declaration “does not reflect the economic crisis we are experiencing, which is not a temporary crisis but a crisis of the capitalist system, and . the document suggests solutions by legitimizing those responsible for the crisis, for instance, the International Monetary Fund.”[7]</p>
<p>What got in the way of signing the declaration was reality. With nearly unanimous support for the uninvited Cuba and expressions of dissent by the six members of the Alternativa Bolivariana para los Pueblos de Nuestra America (ALBA), there was no decorous way to end the affair but to have the host, Prime Minister Patrick Manning, sign it for them. The official statement afterwards was that the declaration had been adopted “by consensus.” Its weak promises to do something about the unchanging list of problems have now been forwarded to the OAS secretariat with no mention that the document was adopted by a phantom consensus among leaders who did not buy it.</p>
<p>Why are summits like this one held? Perhaps to give counter-summits an agenda.</p>
<p>Summit trashes summit</p>
<p>A draft of the Port of Spain document — two years in the making — was leaked weeks beforehand. This allowed Chavez to call an Extraordinary ALBA Summit in Cumana one day before the Port of Spain Summit to denounce it.[8] ALBA members promptly said they would not sign the Americas declaration. That, at least, was some kind of consensus.</p>
<p>The ALBA declaration rejects the Port of Spain draft declaration as “insufficient,” because of its failure to adequately address the economic crisis, the exclusion of Cuba and its silence on the regional opposition to the blockade. It called for a debate on the theme of “capitalism putting an end to humanity and the planet.” Referring to climate change, the ALBA delegates called for a new model, “a system in harmony with our mother earth and not with the plunder of our natural resources.” It called for an end to US sanctions against Cuba and to all forms of intervention, including media wars and the financing of destabilizing groups. It also asserted that free migration, healthcare and education, energy, water and telecommunications should be considered human rights. [9]</p>
<p>By comparison, the Port of Spain declaration follows the usual formula. First, state a problem: “We recognize that.,” We promise to “consult,” to “exchange information,” or to “continue our efforts to..” This is followed by expressions of desire to meet again in some other resort hotel. The following language is typical: “To strengthen our efforts to reduce social disparities and inequality and to halve extreme poverty by the year 2015, we commit to exchange information on policies, experiences, programs and best practices.” Addressing the economic crisis, it declares that its (non-signing) members are “committed to addressing” them and are “determined to enhance our cooperation and work together.”</p>
<p>Where the Port of Spain summiteers tinker with things as they are, the ALBA declaration offers a structural appraisal of the global economic crisis. Its language echoes statements made by Fidel Castro and recently by Morales about the unsustainablity of the current corporate, consumerist economic model. It asserts,</p>
<p>“Capitalism is putting an end to humanity and the planet. What we are experiencing is a systematic and structural crisis, not just another cyclical crisis. Those who think the crisis will be resolved with an injection of tax money and some regulatory measures are very mistaken.. This is not a ‘failure to regulate the system’ but rather a constituent part of the capitalist system that speculates with all goods and stocks in hopes of obtaining the highest possible profit.”</p>
<p>It is safe to say that no such language has ever been used in a Summit of the Americas document. There is a growing world consensus that the effort by the United States to isolate Cuba has backfired. It is Obama and the United States who are isolated, left with pockets of support in Poland, Palau, Israel, the Marshall Island, parts of New Jersey and the Republic of Miami. It is always possible that Obama may be driven by events into calling off the war with Cuba. There have recently been talks with Cuban diplomats from the Cuban Interests Section in Washington, DC. But shortly after these talks were held, the State Department issued its annual list of state sponsors of terrorism. Cuba is still on it.</p>
<p>A travel rule is not a foreign policy</p>
<p>Actions like that are extensions of Bush’s Cuba policy and beg the question, just how meaningful is Obama’s relaxation of the Bush travel restrictions, which got so much attention in Port of Prince? Answer: not very much. The new travel rules Obama announced, which had already been legislated by Congress the previous month, are tactical details and should not be confused with policy.</p>
<p>The policy underlying the regulatory minutia of travel licenses, per diem travel expenditures, cash remittances or the definition of a “relative” remains, as it was in 2004, the destruction of the Cuban revolution. Determined to find a hint of policy change in Obama’s announcement, the media generally forgot that Bush’s hardening of the rules on family travel and remittances took up only a few paragraphs in the first Report of the Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba (2004).</p>
<p>The rest of the 450-page report is an overthrow manual. The grand objectives of the report are: “Bring an end to the ruthless and brutal dictatorship; assist the Cuban people in a transition to representative democracy; and assist the Cuban people in establishing a free market economy.” The role of the travel restrictions in that scheme is to help “reduce the regime’s manipulation of family visits to generate hard currency.” Little was said about the damage to families aside from quite illogically claiming that reducing family travel and remittances would somehow preserve and promote “legitimate family ties and humanitarian relief for the Cuban people.”[10]</p>
<p>In 2006, the commission found more ways to get rid of the Cuban revolution and issued a second report.[11] Obama’s “reform” should be read in the context of these reports. With the Castro government gone, the commission expects the United States to engage in neighborly acts of kindness reminiscent of the previous interventions of 1898-1902 and 1906-1909. It would busy itself fixing roads and ports, sewers and water purification plants, installing US models for education and healthcare, US-style multi-party elections and, of course, “business.”</p>
<p>The commission insists that the Castro government has impoverished the Cuban people. To remedy that, it recommends further tightening the economic blockade by such measures as setting up a Cuban Nickel Targeting Task Force to strangle Cuban cobalt and nickel exports. Nothing coming out of the Obama administration so far appears to deviate from the fundamental policy. The Washington Post reported that, according to White House officials, lifting the travel and remittances restrictions would support Cuban dissidents with money.</p>
<p>As for allowing US telecommunications firms to do business in Cuba, the officials said that move would “flood Cuba with information while providing new opportunities for businesses.”[12] We may be forgiven for thinking Obama wanted people in the United States to visit their relatives in Cuba, take them some cash, maybe some underwear – that sort of thing. What they would really be doing, says a White House Fact Sheet, is supporting “the Cuban people’s desire for freedom and self-determination.”[13]</p>
<p>The next time you see Obama, ask him which of the other Bush “recommendations to hasten the end of the Castro dictatorship” he would like to abolish next.</p>
<p>Sanctions still preferred</p>
<p>When you look for signs that Obama is about to distance himself from the sanctions policy and enter the unexplored land of diplomacy with Cuba, you find that sanctions are still the weapon of choice. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton apparently thinks the proper role of diplomacy is to get other countries to help apply crushing sanctions.</p>
<p>In an Asia Times piece, Shahir Shahidsaless notes that Clinton recently told Congress, “We actually believe that by following the diplomatic path we are on, we gain credibility and influence with a number of nations who would have to participate in order to make the sanctions regime [on Iran] as tight and as crippling as we would want it to be.”[14]</p>
<p>Assuming that Cuba remains bound by the unshakable insistence of Fidel and Raul Castro that it will not surrender the revolution to win approval from the United States, it is unlikely that Obama will in the near future lift the blockade. To do without the concessions Obama demands would, after 47 years of low-intensity warfare against the island, hand the United States a historic defeat and force upon it a humiliating admission that a socialist alternative to capitalism is viable and acceptable.</p>
<p>ROBERT SANDELS is an analyst and writer for Cuba-L Direct. This article was written for CounterPunch and Cuba-L Direct.</p>
<p>Notes</p>
<p>1 Mercosur Noticias, 04/19/09, .</p>
<p>[2] In a January 2008 interview with Univision, Obama repeated the Bush-era rhetoric that Chavez was “a force that has interrupted progress in the region.” This, despite the fact that Chavez’s closest friends in the region are among the most progressive. Obama accepted as fact the discredited claims by Colombian President Alvaro Uribe that Chavez was in league with the FARC guerrillas, saying that, “We need to be firm when we see this news, that Venezuela is exporting terrorist activities or supporting malicious entities like the FARC.” (Washington Post, 01/19/09. Univision has not released a transcript of the interview.) Chavez justifiably replied that Obama was an “ignoramus.”</p>
<p>[3] Merco Press, Montevideo, 03/30/09, &lt; <a href="http://en.mercopress.com" type="external">http://en.mercopress.com</a>/.</p>
<p>[4] Agence France Presse, 04/16/09.</p>
<p>[5] “Creating Jobs to Fight Poverty and Strengthen Democratic Governance,” Declaration of Mar del Plata, 11/05/05, .</p>
<p>[6] Reflexiones del compañero Fidel: La Cumbre Secreta, 04/19/09, <a href="http://www.trabajadores.cu/reflexiones-de-fidel-castro/reflexiones-del-companero-fidel-la-cumbre-secreta" type="external">http://www.trabajadores.cu/reflexiones-de-fidel-castro/reflexiones-del-companero-fidel-la-cumbre-secreta</a>.</p>
<p>[7] ACN (Havana), 04/19/09, .</p>
<p>[8] Attending were: Hugo Chavez (Venezuela), Raul Castro (Cuba), Manuel Zelaya (Honduras), Daniel Ortega (Nicaragua), Roosevelt Skerrit (Dominica) and Ralph Gonsalves (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines). Observers were Fernando Lugo (Paraguay) and a representative of Rafael Correa (Ecuador).</p>
<p>[9] Documento de los paises de la Alternativa Bolivariana para los Pueblos de Nuestra América (ALBA) para la V Cumbre de las Américas, Cumana, 04/17 /09, .</p>
<p>[10] Report of the Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba, 2004, .</p>
<p>[11] Report of the Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba, 2006, .</p>
<p>[12] Washington Post, 04/17/09.</p>
<p>[13] White House, Fact Sheet, Reaching Out to the Cuban People, 04/13/09, .</p>
<p>[14] Shahir Shahidsaless, White House miscalculations linger, Asia Times, 04/28/09, <a href="" type="internal">http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/KD28Ak02.html</a>.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
| 7,247 |
<p>Published time: 1 Dec, 2017 11:04Edited time: 1 Dec, 2017 11:10</p>
<p>The world will soon be left without paper money, says tech entrepreneur Evan Sohn, as more and more people move to non-cash transactions.</p>
<p>“How far are we from a restaurant that says we only take online payment? If you eat here, you have to download this application, and we only take electronic payment, no cash here, no check. I don’t think we are that far away from it,” Sohn <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/01/the-age-of-cash-is-almost-over-says-tech-entrepreneur.html" type="external">told</a> CNBC on Friday.</p>
<p>Read more</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/business/404771-japan-digital-currency-cash/" type="external" /></p>
<p>According to the World Payments Report 2017, the volume of non-cash transactions surged 11.2 percent between 2014 and 2015, reaching $433.1 billion — the highest growth in the past decade. The driver is emerging Asia, where non-cash transactions surged 43.4 percent. Emerging markets contributed to 32.1 percent of the global growth.</p>
<p>Sohn said the killer of cash could be bitcoin, American Express, MasterCard or something else, but “the next step is moving away from paper-based currencies.”</p>
<p>In 2015, debit cards accounted for the highest share (46.7 percent) of global non-cash transactions, followed by credit cards (19.5 percent). Checks, which are still popular in the United States, are being ousted by more modern payment systems and were the only non-cash payment that lost share.</p>
<p>However, cash continues to play the leading role in payments, especially for low-value transactions such as “payment for food and personal care supplies, general merchandise, and gifts.”</p>
<p>The authors of the report predicted cash would continue to stay in the system “for a longer term than estimated.”</p>
|
The death of cash is coming warns tech entrepreneur
| false |
https://newsline.com/the-death-of-cash-is-coming-warns-tech-entrepreneur/
|
2017-12-01
| 1right-center
|
The death of cash is coming warns tech entrepreneur
<p>Published time: 1 Dec, 2017 11:04Edited time: 1 Dec, 2017 11:10</p>
<p>The world will soon be left without paper money, says tech entrepreneur Evan Sohn, as more and more people move to non-cash transactions.</p>
<p>“How far are we from a restaurant that says we only take online payment? If you eat here, you have to download this application, and we only take electronic payment, no cash here, no check. I don’t think we are that far away from it,” Sohn <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/01/the-age-of-cash-is-almost-over-says-tech-entrepreneur.html" type="external">told</a> CNBC on Friday.</p>
<p>Read more</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/business/404771-japan-digital-currency-cash/" type="external" /></p>
<p>According to the World Payments Report 2017, the volume of non-cash transactions surged 11.2 percent between 2014 and 2015, reaching $433.1 billion — the highest growth in the past decade. The driver is emerging Asia, where non-cash transactions surged 43.4 percent. Emerging markets contributed to 32.1 percent of the global growth.</p>
<p>Sohn said the killer of cash could be bitcoin, American Express, MasterCard or something else, but “the next step is moving away from paper-based currencies.”</p>
<p>In 2015, debit cards accounted for the highest share (46.7 percent) of global non-cash transactions, followed by credit cards (19.5 percent). Checks, which are still popular in the United States, are being ousted by more modern payment systems and were the only non-cash payment that lost share.</p>
<p>However, cash continues to play the leading role in payments, especially for low-value transactions such as “payment for food and personal care supplies, general merchandise, and gifts.”</p>
<p>The authors of the report predicted cash would continue to stay in the system “for a longer term than estimated.”</p>
| 7,248 |
<p>Photo by Анастасия Зотова | <a href="" type="internal">CC BY 2.0</a></p>
<p>Ildar Ildusovich Dadin&#160;is a hero.</p>
<p>He risked his life exercising his rights to free speech and peaceful demonstration in modern day Russia and paid for it with nearly three years in prison during which time he was tortured both mentally and physically.</p>
<p>Ildar Ildusovich Dadin is still alive. Yet many like him, journalists, activists, people of conscience, have wound up dead at the hands of the Russian state. Here are just some of the names of recent victims: Sergei Yushenkov, Anna Politkovskaya, Galina Starovoitova, Stanislav Markelov, Anastasia Baburova, and, perhaps most famously, Boris Nemtsov. There are many more names that could be added.</p>
<p>Yes, the human rights situation in Russia is deplorable. Frequently, the Western media is wont to point out that business, criminal, political, and intelligence communities are one and the same. I think that this equation is warranted. However, let’s point the mirror towards ourselves and ask: “Is it not the same with us?”</p>
<p>As frequent readers of CounterPunch are aware, the nexus in America and Europe between organized crime, political enablers, interested business parties, corrupt media outlets, and the secret services is an old one. The West, too, then is not clean. Perhaps, though, they are just better at hiding it; more adept at using coercion/persuasion rather than resorting to the last instance: murder. Although such highly interconnected, well organized, and well funded elites would long since have been able to have their way without leaving a discernible print.</p>
<p>Is this to say that present day Russia and the West are the same? No. But it would be naive of us to think that there are no structural parallels in their day to day functioning. Political manipulation, media disinformation, criminal infiltration is at much at home in the West as it is in the East even though it may be, ironically, harder to prove.</p>
<p>This brings me back to a reassessment of today’s Russia and the case of Ildar Dadin.</p>
<p>Obviously we are not arguing that the situation in Russia is better than the West; in many aspects it is decidedly worse. However, I think it would be more appropriate to compare the current Russian situation not with that of an idealized West, as is promulgated by Western media, but rather to compare present day Russia to its past forms.</p>
<p>Compared to its totalitarian past, one could argue that Russia has made some progress, even on the human rights front. In the not too distant past, a person like Ildar Dadin would either be shot on the spot, or sentenced to death in a mock trial. In the Brezhnev era, conceivably, he would be under house arrest and would certainly be given little or no access to Western media. This, however small, is a glimmer of progress.</p>
<p>Yes, so that there be no mistake in interpretation, Vladimir Putin is an authoritarian dictator but he is an authoritarian dictator with relatively wide spread support among the population. This, in itself, is somewhat of a novelty in Russian history (As far as we can be certain, only Stalin enjoyed a similar level of widespread popularity and that during the war years).</p>
<p>Russia was a society in chaos in the 1990s. It can and has been argued that Putin prevented a much worse scenario of destabilization both domestically and internationally. In this sense, he is a transition figure from a strongly totalitarian past to what might in a generation or two be a much more open society. There have been changes in Russian society. Outside influences, diverging opinions, and access to alternative ways of thinking exist that would have been unthinkable 30 years ago. Authoritarian ways of existing cannot be overturned overnight; especially in a country like Russia with a long and specific history of despotic rule.</p>
<p>So, yes, Ildar Dadin is a hero in a changing Russia and he should be supported as much as possible by those in the West willing and able to do so. But for the moment, at least, Ildar Dadin is also alive which gives a gleam of hope that however dim, the light of peaceful dissent will continue to burn inside a tumultuous, transformative Russia.</p>
|
The Man Who Should Be Dead
| true |
https://counterpunch.org/2018/03/23/the-man-who-should-be-dead/
|
2018-03-23
| 4left
|
The Man Who Should Be Dead
<p>Photo by Анастасия Зотова | <a href="" type="internal">CC BY 2.0</a></p>
<p>Ildar Ildusovich Dadin&#160;is a hero.</p>
<p>He risked his life exercising his rights to free speech and peaceful demonstration in modern day Russia and paid for it with nearly three years in prison during which time he was tortured both mentally and physically.</p>
<p>Ildar Ildusovich Dadin is still alive. Yet many like him, journalists, activists, people of conscience, have wound up dead at the hands of the Russian state. Here are just some of the names of recent victims: Sergei Yushenkov, Anna Politkovskaya, Galina Starovoitova, Stanislav Markelov, Anastasia Baburova, and, perhaps most famously, Boris Nemtsov. There are many more names that could be added.</p>
<p>Yes, the human rights situation in Russia is deplorable. Frequently, the Western media is wont to point out that business, criminal, political, and intelligence communities are one and the same. I think that this equation is warranted. However, let’s point the mirror towards ourselves and ask: “Is it not the same with us?”</p>
<p>As frequent readers of CounterPunch are aware, the nexus in America and Europe between organized crime, political enablers, interested business parties, corrupt media outlets, and the secret services is an old one. The West, too, then is not clean. Perhaps, though, they are just better at hiding it; more adept at using coercion/persuasion rather than resorting to the last instance: murder. Although such highly interconnected, well organized, and well funded elites would long since have been able to have their way without leaving a discernible print.</p>
<p>Is this to say that present day Russia and the West are the same? No. But it would be naive of us to think that there are no structural parallels in their day to day functioning. Political manipulation, media disinformation, criminal infiltration is at much at home in the West as it is in the East even though it may be, ironically, harder to prove.</p>
<p>This brings me back to a reassessment of today’s Russia and the case of Ildar Dadin.</p>
<p>Obviously we are not arguing that the situation in Russia is better than the West; in many aspects it is decidedly worse. However, I think it would be more appropriate to compare the current Russian situation not with that of an idealized West, as is promulgated by Western media, but rather to compare present day Russia to its past forms.</p>
<p>Compared to its totalitarian past, one could argue that Russia has made some progress, even on the human rights front. In the not too distant past, a person like Ildar Dadin would either be shot on the spot, or sentenced to death in a mock trial. In the Brezhnev era, conceivably, he would be under house arrest and would certainly be given little or no access to Western media. This, however small, is a glimmer of progress.</p>
<p>Yes, so that there be no mistake in interpretation, Vladimir Putin is an authoritarian dictator but he is an authoritarian dictator with relatively wide spread support among the population. This, in itself, is somewhat of a novelty in Russian history (As far as we can be certain, only Stalin enjoyed a similar level of widespread popularity and that during the war years).</p>
<p>Russia was a society in chaos in the 1990s. It can and has been argued that Putin prevented a much worse scenario of destabilization both domestically and internationally. In this sense, he is a transition figure from a strongly totalitarian past to what might in a generation or two be a much more open society. There have been changes in Russian society. Outside influences, diverging opinions, and access to alternative ways of thinking exist that would have been unthinkable 30 years ago. Authoritarian ways of existing cannot be overturned overnight; especially in a country like Russia with a long and specific history of despotic rule.</p>
<p>So, yes, Ildar Dadin is a hero in a changing Russia and he should be supported as much as possible by those in the West willing and able to do so. But for the moment, at least, Ildar Dadin is also alive which gives a gleam of hope that however dim, the light of peaceful dissent will continue to burn inside a tumultuous, transformative Russia.</p>
| 7,249 |
<p>Two weeks ago, the international community made a shocking declaration.</p>
<p>Giving in to a demand by George Bush, the “Quartet” accepted the “Revised Disengagement Plan” of Ariel Sharon. This means that the United Nations, the European Union, the Russian Federation and the United States confirmed this document. I wonder if any one of the honorable diplomats has read the document with their own eyes.</p>
<p>In the first paragraph of the “plan”, the following words appear: “Israel has come to the conclusion that at present, there is no Palestinian partner with whom it is possible to make progress on a bilateral peace process.”</p>
<p>That is to say, the international community has confirmed that the Palestinian people has no right to take part in the determination of its own fate. Everything will be decided by the Government of Israel alone, with the backing of the United States, whose position will be automatically accepted by the other partners of the “Quartet”.</p>
<p>The European Union with its 25 member-states, the government of the Russian Federation and the organization that represents the entire world have humbly accepted the edict of Bush, the dictator of the world, who is himself a captive of Sharon. Sharon decided long ago that the elected president of the Palestinian people is “irrelevant”, together with the whole Palestinian leadership.</p>
<p>The Palestinian people have been eliminated from the list of decision-makers, thereby also abolishing in practice all the agreements signed with them, from Oslo to the Road Map.</p>
<p>This is a scandalous step, unprecedented in its dimensions, and it passed without comment. Apart from Sharon and his minions, nobody noticed the implications. The big boot of the international community trod on the Palestinian people without even noticing it, as if on an ant.</p>
<p>That is the culmination of a process that began with the return of the then Prime minister, Ehud Barak, from the 2000 Camp David summit. After the failure of that meeting, he coined the mantra that has since become the cornerstone of the policy of successive Israeli governments: “I have turned every stone on the way to peace / I have offered the Palestinians more generous proposals than any of my predecessors / The Palestinians have rejected all my offers / Arafat wants to throw us into the sea / We have no partner for peace.”</p>
<p>This mantra is based on a series of lies that have been exploded long ago. American eye-witnesses like Rober Malley, President Clinton’s advisor at Camp David, as well as some of the Israeli participants and international researchers have published detailed reports that prove that Barak himself was responsible for the failure at least as much as Arafat – in fact, far more.</p>
<p>And as if by coincidence, just when the international community absent-mindedly accepted that the Palestinian people is not a partner for peace, in Israel itself things are happening that turn everything upside down.</p>
<p>The High Priest of the “We Have No Partner” creed is General (res.) Amos Gilad, who at the crucial time was chief of the research section (and as such the No. 2) of the Army Intelligence Department. Since army intelligence is the department solely responsible for the “national security assessment”, it has a decisive influence on the formation of national policy.</p>
<p>The army intelligence man reports directly to the Prime Minister and takes part in cabinet meetings. No minister would dare to question his assessments, which are the guiding star of the entire state. The research chief of the intelligence department is supposed to submit a professional summary of the huge amount of data amassed by the intelligence community. Most ministers are forbidden to read the written report, and even the few others are allowed only to glance at it. Therefore, the oral summary presented by the chief of research to the Prime Minister and the cabinet is of paramount importance.</p>
<p>Amos Gilad went even further: he appeared almost daily in the media, commenting on almost every political and security event. He was not only the “national assessor”, but also the “national explainer”, as he was commonly called in the media.</p>
<p>Who is this man, who has had a greater influence than any other person on the policies of Israel over the last few crucial years, and whose kontsepsia (Hebrew for “conception”) is still directing the path of the state? This is the very same Amos Gilad who some days ago claimed for himself the benefits due to disabled army veterans. He was not wounded in battle, God forbid, but claimed that the stress caused by his difficult job has inflicted on him irreversible mental damage.</p>
<p>This claim involves a considerable amount of Chutzpah, if not worse. But it also raises the question: This mental damage, when did it start? When were the first symptoms observed? Was it when he started endlessly repeating that Arafat wants to throw us into the sea? Or was this declaration, perhaps, itself a symptom of his mental problem? And how can he continue to fulfil his present duties?</p>
<p>The last two weeks, Israel witnessed a stormy debate that should have shaken the very foundations of the state.</p>
<p>The former chief of Army Intelligence, General (res.) Amos Malka, who was the direct superior of Gilad, broke his silence of many years and published a thunderous accusation: that Amos Gilad arrived at his “kontseptsia” without any intelligence basis whatsoever. On the contrary, the huge amount of information collected by the intelligence department indicated the very opposite. That is to say, Gilad freely invented his intelligence reports, based on his political views and/or on the desire to please his political bosses, Barak and Sharon.</p>
<p>This grave accusation raised a storm in professional circles. Intelligence operatives of undoubted integrity emerged from their anonymity in order to support Malka publicly. They were headed by the man who, at the relevant time, was in charge of the Army Intelligence section for Palestinian affairs, Colonel Ephraim Lavie, who was then responsible for the collection of all intelligence material about the Palestinian leadership. There is no doubt that in the professional confrontation between Amos and Amos, Amos Malka emerged as the victor.</p>
<p>This means, in simple words: there was no intelligence material at all backing the assertion that Arafat is working for the destruction of the State of Israel, that Arafat had broken off the peace process in order to start a terror campaign, that Arafat is not ready for a reasonable compromise. All these assertions, uttered by diverse Israeli politicians and generals, were based on the “assessment” of one man who, while appearing to represent the intelligence department, was actually suppressing the considered professional reports of his own department, as well as of the General Security Service (Shabak).</p>
<p>When the debate heated up, the orientalist Matti Steinberg, a former advisor on Palestinian affairs to the chief of the Shabak, joined the fray. Steinberg not only confirmed that Gilad’s “kontseptsia” was completely false and contradicted the intelligence material assembled by his own people, but he also asserted that Gilad’s conception “fulfilled its own prophecy”.</p>
<p>Since Israel is immeasurably stronger than the Palestinians, its actions create reality. The acts guided by Gilad’s “kopntseptsia” created results that suited it. Much as the “kontseptsia” of Eli Za’ira, the intelligence chief at the time of the Yom Kippur war, resulted in catastrophe, thus the “kontseptsia” of Amos Gilad caused – and is still causing – the disasters of the present intifada.</p>
<p>(The 1973 intelligence conception was that Egypt would not dare to attack Israel, causing all the glaringly obvious signs to the contrary to be ignored, thus preventing adequate preparations and resulting in the death of 3000 Israeli soldiers. Since than the Hebrew word “kontseptsia” has assumed an almost obscene connotation in Israel.)</p>
<p>As of now, Gilad’s immediate superior (Malka) and his immediate subordinate (Lavie) both accuse him of presenting his personal opinions, which were unsupported by any intelligence backing, as if they were the official assessment of the intelligence services.</p>
<p>Gilad has caused irreversible damage. His mantra was accepted by the vast majority of Israelis, as well as a large part of international public opinion. Its exposure in professional circles will not alter this fact. Indeed, the recent decision of the “Quartet” shows how deeply entrenched this lie has become throughout the world.</p>
<p>By the way, these revelations show that the secret assessment of the highest professional echelons of the Army Intelligence Department and Shabak were practically identical with the assessments published at the time by Gush Shalom, which were met with total disbelief by the media and the public, including a large part of the “peace camp”. To wit, that the Palestinian leadership, headed by Arafat, has never wavered from its readiness to make peace with Israel based on the creation of a Palestinian state on 97% of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip (which together make 22% of historic Palestine), with territorial compensation for the remaining 3% and sovereignty over East Jerusalem and the Haram-al-Sharif (“Temple Mount”). The refugee problem would be solved by agreement with Israel (meaning: Israel will have a veto on any solution).</p>
<p>The experts of army intelligence and the security service, too, agree that Arafat has not wavered from this position. On this basis, peace can be achieved even now, as Arafat himself confirmed this week in a fascinating interview with the new editor of Haaretz, David Landau.</p>
<p>Ariel Sharon denies this, of course, because he is not ready for peace on these terms. He wants to annex at least 55% of the West Bank, hoping that the life of the Palestinians in the remaining 45% will become so impossible that they will leave the country of their own accord. Shimon Peres is eager to help him in the realization of this design.</p>
<p>For that, Sharon needs the “We Have No Partner” mantra. Amos Gilad delivered the goods. Now the “Quartet” has accepted it, bringing shame on itself and obstructing the search for peace.</p>
<p>URI AVNERY is an Israeli journalist, member of Gush Shalom and contributor to The Politics of Anti-Semitism.</p>
<p />
|
Irreversible Mental Damage
| true |
https://counterpunch.org/2004/06/21/irreversible-mental-damage/
|
2004-06-21
| 4left
|
Irreversible Mental Damage
<p>Two weeks ago, the international community made a shocking declaration.</p>
<p>Giving in to a demand by George Bush, the “Quartet” accepted the “Revised Disengagement Plan” of Ariel Sharon. This means that the United Nations, the European Union, the Russian Federation and the United States confirmed this document. I wonder if any one of the honorable diplomats has read the document with their own eyes.</p>
<p>In the first paragraph of the “plan”, the following words appear: “Israel has come to the conclusion that at present, there is no Palestinian partner with whom it is possible to make progress on a bilateral peace process.”</p>
<p>That is to say, the international community has confirmed that the Palestinian people has no right to take part in the determination of its own fate. Everything will be decided by the Government of Israel alone, with the backing of the United States, whose position will be automatically accepted by the other partners of the “Quartet”.</p>
<p>The European Union with its 25 member-states, the government of the Russian Federation and the organization that represents the entire world have humbly accepted the edict of Bush, the dictator of the world, who is himself a captive of Sharon. Sharon decided long ago that the elected president of the Palestinian people is “irrelevant”, together with the whole Palestinian leadership.</p>
<p>The Palestinian people have been eliminated from the list of decision-makers, thereby also abolishing in practice all the agreements signed with them, from Oslo to the Road Map.</p>
<p>This is a scandalous step, unprecedented in its dimensions, and it passed without comment. Apart from Sharon and his minions, nobody noticed the implications. The big boot of the international community trod on the Palestinian people without even noticing it, as if on an ant.</p>
<p>That is the culmination of a process that began with the return of the then Prime minister, Ehud Barak, from the 2000 Camp David summit. After the failure of that meeting, he coined the mantra that has since become the cornerstone of the policy of successive Israeli governments: “I have turned every stone on the way to peace / I have offered the Palestinians more generous proposals than any of my predecessors / The Palestinians have rejected all my offers / Arafat wants to throw us into the sea / We have no partner for peace.”</p>
<p>This mantra is based on a series of lies that have been exploded long ago. American eye-witnesses like Rober Malley, President Clinton’s advisor at Camp David, as well as some of the Israeli participants and international researchers have published detailed reports that prove that Barak himself was responsible for the failure at least as much as Arafat – in fact, far more.</p>
<p>And as if by coincidence, just when the international community absent-mindedly accepted that the Palestinian people is not a partner for peace, in Israel itself things are happening that turn everything upside down.</p>
<p>The High Priest of the “We Have No Partner” creed is General (res.) Amos Gilad, who at the crucial time was chief of the research section (and as such the No. 2) of the Army Intelligence Department. Since army intelligence is the department solely responsible for the “national security assessment”, it has a decisive influence on the formation of national policy.</p>
<p>The army intelligence man reports directly to the Prime Minister and takes part in cabinet meetings. No minister would dare to question his assessments, which are the guiding star of the entire state. The research chief of the intelligence department is supposed to submit a professional summary of the huge amount of data amassed by the intelligence community. Most ministers are forbidden to read the written report, and even the few others are allowed only to glance at it. Therefore, the oral summary presented by the chief of research to the Prime Minister and the cabinet is of paramount importance.</p>
<p>Amos Gilad went even further: he appeared almost daily in the media, commenting on almost every political and security event. He was not only the “national assessor”, but also the “national explainer”, as he was commonly called in the media.</p>
<p>Who is this man, who has had a greater influence than any other person on the policies of Israel over the last few crucial years, and whose kontsepsia (Hebrew for “conception”) is still directing the path of the state? This is the very same Amos Gilad who some days ago claimed for himself the benefits due to disabled army veterans. He was not wounded in battle, God forbid, but claimed that the stress caused by his difficult job has inflicted on him irreversible mental damage.</p>
<p>This claim involves a considerable amount of Chutzpah, if not worse. But it also raises the question: This mental damage, when did it start? When were the first symptoms observed? Was it when he started endlessly repeating that Arafat wants to throw us into the sea? Or was this declaration, perhaps, itself a symptom of his mental problem? And how can he continue to fulfil his present duties?</p>
<p>The last two weeks, Israel witnessed a stormy debate that should have shaken the very foundations of the state.</p>
<p>The former chief of Army Intelligence, General (res.) Amos Malka, who was the direct superior of Gilad, broke his silence of many years and published a thunderous accusation: that Amos Gilad arrived at his “kontseptsia” without any intelligence basis whatsoever. On the contrary, the huge amount of information collected by the intelligence department indicated the very opposite. That is to say, Gilad freely invented his intelligence reports, based on his political views and/or on the desire to please his political bosses, Barak and Sharon.</p>
<p>This grave accusation raised a storm in professional circles. Intelligence operatives of undoubted integrity emerged from their anonymity in order to support Malka publicly. They were headed by the man who, at the relevant time, was in charge of the Army Intelligence section for Palestinian affairs, Colonel Ephraim Lavie, who was then responsible for the collection of all intelligence material about the Palestinian leadership. There is no doubt that in the professional confrontation between Amos and Amos, Amos Malka emerged as the victor.</p>
<p>This means, in simple words: there was no intelligence material at all backing the assertion that Arafat is working for the destruction of the State of Israel, that Arafat had broken off the peace process in order to start a terror campaign, that Arafat is not ready for a reasonable compromise. All these assertions, uttered by diverse Israeli politicians and generals, were based on the “assessment” of one man who, while appearing to represent the intelligence department, was actually suppressing the considered professional reports of his own department, as well as of the General Security Service (Shabak).</p>
<p>When the debate heated up, the orientalist Matti Steinberg, a former advisor on Palestinian affairs to the chief of the Shabak, joined the fray. Steinberg not only confirmed that Gilad’s “kontseptsia” was completely false and contradicted the intelligence material assembled by his own people, but he also asserted that Gilad’s conception “fulfilled its own prophecy”.</p>
<p>Since Israel is immeasurably stronger than the Palestinians, its actions create reality. The acts guided by Gilad’s “kopntseptsia” created results that suited it. Much as the “kontseptsia” of Eli Za’ira, the intelligence chief at the time of the Yom Kippur war, resulted in catastrophe, thus the “kontseptsia” of Amos Gilad caused – and is still causing – the disasters of the present intifada.</p>
<p>(The 1973 intelligence conception was that Egypt would not dare to attack Israel, causing all the glaringly obvious signs to the contrary to be ignored, thus preventing adequate preparations and resulting in the death of 3000 Israeli soldiers. Since than the Hebrew word “kontseptsia” has assumed an almost obscene connotation in Israel.)</p>
<p>As of now, Gilad’s immediate superior (Malka) and his immediate subordinate (Lavie) both accuse him of presenting his personal opinions, which were unsupported by any intelligence backing, as if they were the official assessment of the intelligence services.</p>
<p>Gilad has caused irreversible damage. His mantra was accepted by the vast majority of Israelis, as well as a large part of international public opinion. Its exposure in professional circles will not alter this fact. Indeed, the recent decision of the “Quartet” shows how deeply entrenched this lie has become throughout the world.</p>
<p>By the way, these revelations show that the secret assessment of the highest professional echelons of the Army Intelligence Department and Shabak were practically identical with the assessments published at the time by Gush Shalom, which were met with total disbelief by the media and the public, including a large part of the “peace camp”. To wit, that the Palestinian leadership, headed by Arafat, has never wavered from its readiness to make peace with Israel based on the creation of a Palestinian state on 97% of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip (which together make 22% of historic Palestine), with territorial compensation for the remaining 3% and sovereignty over East Jerusalem and the Haram-al-Sharif (“Temple Mount”). The refugee problem would be solved by agreement with Israel (meaning: Israel will have a veto on any solution).</p>
<p>The experts of army intelligence and the security service, too, agree that Arafat has not wavered from this position. On this basis, peace can be achieved even now, as Arafat himself confirmed this week in a fascinating interview with the new editor of Haaretz, David Landau.</p>
<p>Ariel Sharon denies this, of course, because he is not ready for peace on these terms. He wants to annex at least 55% of the West Bank, hoping that the life of the Palestinians in the remaining 45% will become so impossible that they will leave the country of their own accord. Shimon Peres is eager to help him in the realization of this design.</p>
<p>For that, Sharon needs the “We Have No Partner” mantra. Amos Gilad delivered the goods. Now the “Quartet” has accepted it, bringing shame on itself and obstructing the search for peace.</p>
<p>URI AVNERY is an Israeli journalist, member of Gush Shalom and contributor to The Politics of Anti-Semitism.</p>
<p />
| 7,250 |
<p>In an effort to expand world news coverage while reigning in costs CBS News is partnering with news site GlobalPost.</p>
<p>From the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/28/business/media/28cbs.html?_r=2&amp;ref=media" type="external">New York Times</a></p>
<p>CBS News plans to announce Monday that it has formed a partnership with <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/" type="external">GlobalPost</a>, a foreign news Web site, that will provide <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/cbs_corporation/index.html?inline=nyt-org" type="external">CBS</a> with reporting from its approximately 70 affiliated correspondents in 50 countries.</p>
<p>As many print and broadcast news outlets are struggling to find ways to cover foreign news, the alliance may suggest a blueprint.</p>
<p>Philip S. Balboni, a founder of GlobalPost, said the organization had been interested in a network news partner since the Web site began publishing in January. Talks turned serious after a successful CBS collaboration involving reporting by a GlobalPost correspondent, Jean MacKenzie, on efforts by the <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/t/taliban/index.html?inline=nyt-org" type="external">Taliban</a> to skim American aid in Afghanistan.</p>
<p>"Having a broadcast network partner was a high priority for us, and to be associated with CBS News is a great validation of what we are trying to build," Mr. Balboni said in a phone call. "We hope to become an important source of international news for Americans, and this partnership is a big step in that direction."</p>
<p>In the early going, at least, GlobalPost reporters will provide information, not work on the air, with CBS using its reporters and anchors to flesh out coverage for broadcast.</p>
<p>CBS News suggested that the alliance with GlobalPost, in which the network will pay a monthly undisclosed fee to the site, represents an expansion of the news divisions' efforts to cover the rest of the world.</p>
<p>Paul Friedman, the executive vice president of CBS News who helped negotiate the arrangement, was traveling, but said in a statement that the collaboration would increase the footprint of the network's journalism.</p>
<p>"We are excited about increasing CBS News's resources, and very pleased to work with GlobalPost's impressive global network of talented and experienced freelance journalists," the statement read. "With this exclusive arrangement in place, CBS News will have unmatched access to first-rate journalists with expert knowledge of the countries they live in and cover."</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>I can't help but wonder though if this isn't an experiment by CBS to lower their overhead and that if it works well the partnership will be expanded at the cost of jobs at CBS News.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Post #2360</p>
|
CBS Outsources World News
| true |
http://aim.org/don-irvine-blog/cbs-outsources-wolrd-news/
|
2009-09-28
| 0right
|
CBS Outsources World News
<p>In an effort to expand world news coverage while reigning in costs CBS News is partnering with news site GlobalPost.</p>
<p>From the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/28/business/media/28cbs.html?_r=2&amp;ref=media" type="external">New York Times</a></p>
<p>CBS News plans to announce Monday that it has formed a partnership with <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/" type="external">GlobalPost</a>, a foreign news Web site, that will provide <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/cbs_corporation/index.html?inline=nyt-org" type="external">CBS</a> with reporting from its approximately 70 affiliated correspondents in 50 countries.</p>
<p>As many print and broadcast news outlets are struggling to find ways to cover foreign news, the alliance may suggest a blueprint.</p>
<p>Philip S. Balboni, a founder of GlobalPost, said the organization had been interested in a network news partner since the Web site began publishing in January. Talks turned serious after a successful CBS collaboration involving reporting by a GlobalPost correspondent, Jean MacKenzie, on efforts by the <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/t/taliban/index.html?inline=nyt-org" type="external">Taliban</a> to skim American aid in Afghanistan.</p>
<p>"Having a broadcast network partner was a high priority for us, and to be associated with CBS News is a great validation of what we are trying to build," Mr. Balboni said in a phone call. "We hope to become an important source of international news for Americans, and this partnership is a big step in that direction."</p>
<p>In the early going, at least, GlobalPost reporters will provide information, not work on the air, with CBS using its reporters and anchors to flesh out coverage for broadcast.</p>
<p>CBS News suggested that the alliance with GlobalPost, in which the network will pay a monthly undisclosed fee to the site, represents an expansion of the news divisions' efforts to cover the rest of the world.</p>
<p>Paul Friedman, the executive vice president of CBS News who helped negotiate the arrangement, was traveling, but said in a statement that the collaboration would increase the footprint of the network's journalism.</p>
<p>"We are excited about increasing CBS News's resources, and very pleased to work with GlobalPost's impressive global network of talented and experienced freelance journalists," the statement read. "With this exclusive arrangement in place, CBS News will have unmatched access to first-rate journalists with expert knowledge of the countries they live in and cover."</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>I can't help but wonder though if this isn't an experiment by CBS to lower their overhead and that if it works well the partnership will be expanded at the cost of jobs at CBS News.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Post #2360</p>
| 7,251 |
<p>By Ted Howard and John Duda / Democracy Collaborative</p>
<p />
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/billstrain/" type="external">Bill Strain</a> / <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/" type="external">CC-BY-2.0</a></p>
<p>This piece originated with the <a href="http://democracycollaborative.org/content/state-legislatures-attacking-community-wealth-building" type="external">Democracy Collaborative</a>, a U.S.-based group of researchers and theorists advocating inclusive economic development.</p>
<p />
<p>The eyes of the country turned this spring to North Carolina, where the state legislature passed the infamous HB2 “bathroom bill” in order to overturn the efforts of the Charlotte city council to make public bathrooms inclusive and safe for transgender individuals. HB2—with its extraordinarily broad attacks on LGBT individuals’ rights to equal protection under the law—has been roundly condemned by everyone from grassroots activists to some of our country’s largest corporations, not to mention federal leaders from the DOJ and the White House.</p>
<p>But this isn’t the only assault on the power of cities to create inclusive policies to help their most vulnerable residents—across the country, state legislatures are working to make municipal efforts to leverage public spending for local job creation illegal.</p>
<p>Here in Ohio, for example, the state legislature passed <a href="http://www.ideastream.org/news/ohio-legislature-approves-ban-on-local-hiring-requirements" type="external">a remarkably partisan bill</a> this past Friday, May 13th; it is now sitting on Governor John Kasich’s desk awaiting his signature. HB 180 eliminates the ability of cities like Cleveland to create regulations like the 2004 Fannie Lewis law, which stipulates that public contracts greater than $100,000 need to hire 20% locally. Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, urging Governor Kasich to veto the bill, <a href="https://clecityhall.com/tag/hb-180/" type="external">underscores how it will set back important efforts to build a more racially and economically inclusive economy in Ohio</a> :</p>
<p>Prohibiting local hiring will hamper Ohio’s economic recovery and contribute to segregation of cities by race and income. Our young people have increasing difficulty getting a start in Ohio’s workforce. These workers and the overall economy of Ohio will benefit from the local jobs created through the use of geographical-based hiring preferences on construction projects: jobs with apprenticeships, clear career paths, and quality on-the-job training.</p>
<p>HB 180 also threatens efforts like the 30% local hiring target attached to a large water/sewer improvement project in Akron, Ohio. State Representative Greta Johnson, who voted against the bill, <a href="http://wksu.org/post/state-rep-greta-johnson-reacts-passing-local-hiring-ban-bill#stream/0" type="external">is clear about how regressive the bill would be if enacted into law:</a></p>
<p>For Akron to have no control over who gets those jobs–it’s absurd […] this is a project that city taxpayers are funding. So it should be Akron residents that they see on the streets working on this project. We should be able to have a seat at the table when we are in fact the ones who are paying the bill.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, <a href="https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/new-orleans-local-hiring-plan-in-limbo" type="external">a similar fight is unfolding in Louisiana.</a> With over half of African-American men unemployed in New Orleans, local job creation has been a key priority for Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s administration. Already unable by state law to set local hiring quotas, the city instead opted in its Hire NOLA program to establish ambitious local hiring targets for projects receiving public subsidies, building an inclusive job training and hiring pipeline infrastructure that could help the construction industry meet these targets. But all of this is threatened by a proposed state law that would nullify the city’s policy. For Ashleigh Gardere, senior adviser to Mayor Landrieu and director of the Network for Economic Opportunity:</p>
<p>…this is not only the fight for the values of local hiring and the ability to have a local hiring policy, but equally as important is that it is a law that was created by local leaders in response to real community challenges. The idea that the state could preempt that local law is really frightening.</p>
<p>Community wealth building is under assault in Nashville as well. Last year, a municipal ordinance—Amendment 3—was approved by voters. The law required at least 10 percent of jobs on city-funded constructions projects must go to low-income residents. Amendment 3 won more votes than any other initiative on the ballot. Yet within weeks, Republican state legislators introduced a bill to overturn the ordinance and to prevent other Tennessee cities from enacting similar laws. <a href="http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/19009/republican_prohibition_on_nashville_municipal_local_hires" type="external">Reporting for In These Times</a>, Spencer Woodman notes that in recent years, Tennessee’s state legislature has passed a number of “local preemption laws” barring localities from enforcing prevailing wages and requiring employers to provide paid sick leave. Jason Freeman, co-chair of the Economic Equity and Jobs Taskforce at Nashville Organized for Action and Hope, observes:</p>
<p>We’re trying to get a handle on how to address systemic poverty. But the best tools that are available are, one by one, being take away from us.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, it’s not just Republican-dominated statehouses working to eliminate key tools like local hiring in the local community wealth building toolbox. <a href="http://www.iatp.org/blog/201604/leaked-ttip-memo-shows-eu-targeting-us-government-contracts" type="external">Leaked documents</a> from the negotiations around the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), which the Obama administration is pursuing with his counterparts in the EU, indicate a desire to eliminate the power of cities and states—as well as public anchor institutions like universities and hospitals—to establish procurement preferences for locally-owned firms.</p>
<p>As advocates for inclusive economies where local resources are used wisely and strategically to create and expand opportunities for local communities, we should oppose such counterproductive restrictions on local autonomy, whether at the state or international level.</p>
<p>Ted Howard is Co-founder and President of The Democracy Collaborative. John Duda is Director of Communications.</p>
|
State Lawmakers Attack Efforts to Make Local Economies More Inclusive
| true |
https://truthdig.com/articles/state-lawmakers-attack-efforts-to-make-local-economies-more-inclusive/
|
2016-05-19
| 4left
|
State Lawmakers Attack Efforts to Make Local Economies More Inclusive
<p>By Ted Howard and John Duda / Democracy Collaborative</p>
<p />
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/billstrain/" type="external">Bill Strain</a> / <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/" type="external">CC-BY-2.0</a></p>
<p>This piece originated with the <a href="http://democracycollaborative.org/content/state-legislatures-attacking-community-wealth-building" type="external">Democracy Collaborative</a>, a U.S.-based group of researchers and theorists advocating inclusive economic development.</p>
<p />
<p>The eyes of the country turned this spring to North Carolina, where the state legislature passed the infamous HB2 “bathroom bill” in order to overturn the efforts of the Charlotte city council to make public bathrooms inclusive and safe for transgender individuals. HB2—with its extraordinarily broad attacks on LGBT individuals’ rights to equal protection under the law—has been roundly condemned by everyone from grassroots activists to some of our country’s largest corporations, not to mention federal leaders from the DOJ and the White House.</p>
<p>But this isn’t the only assault on the power of cities to create inclusive policies to help their most vulnerable residents—across the country, state legislatures are working to make municipal efforts to leverage public spending for local job creation illegal.</p>
<p>Here in Ohio, for example, the state legislature passed <a href="http://www.ideastream.org/news/ohio-legislature-approves-ban-on-local-hiring-requirements" type="external">a remarkably partisan bill</a> this past Friday, May 13th; it is now sitting on Governor John Kasich’s desk awaiting his signature. HB 180 eliminates the ability of cities like Cleveland to create regulations like the 2004 Fannie Lewis law, which stipulates that public contracts greater than $100,000 need to hire 20% locally. Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, urging Governor Kasich to veto the bill, <a href="https://clecityhall.com/tag/hb-180/" type="external">underscores how it will set back important efforts to build a more racially and economically inclusive economy in Ohio</a> :</p>
<p>Prohibiting local hiring will hamper Ohio’s economic recovery and contribute to segregation of cities by race and income. Our young people have increasing difficulty getting a start in Ohio’s workforce. These workers and the overall economy of Ohio will benefit from the local jobs created through the use of geographical-based hiring preferences on construction projects: jobs with apprenticeships, clear career paths, and quality on-the-job training.</p>
<p>HB 180 also threatens efforts like the 30% local hiring target attached to a large water/sewer improvement project in Akron, Ohio. State Representative Greta Johnson, who voted against the bill, <a href="http://wksu.org/post/state-rep-greta-johnson-reacts-passing-local-hiring-ban-bill#stream/0" type="external">is clear about how regressive the bill would be if enacted into law:</a></p>
<p>For Akron to have no control over who gets those jobs–it’s absurd […] this is a project that city taxpayers are funding. So it should be Akron residents that they see on the streets working on this project. We should be able to have a seat at the table when we are in fact the ones who are paying the bill.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, <a href="https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/new-orleans-local-hiring-plan-in-limbo" type="external">a similar fight is unfolding in Louisiana.</a> With over half of African-American men unemployed in New Orleans, local job creation has been a key priority for Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s administration. Already unable by state law to set local hiring quotas, the city instead opted in its Hire NOLA program to establish ambitious local hiring targets for projects receiving public subsidies, building an inclusive job training and hiring pipeline infrastructure that could help the construction industry meet these targets. But all of this is threatened by a proposed state law that would nullify the city’s policy. For Ashleigh Gardere, senior adviser to Mayor Landrieu and director of the Network for Economic Opportunity:</p>
<p>…this is not only the fight for the values of local hiring and the ability to have a local hiring policy, but equally as important is that it is a law that was created by local leaders in response to real community challenges. The idea that the state could preempt that local law is really frightening.</p>
<p>Community wealth building is under assault in Nashville as well. Last year, a municipal ordinance—Amendment 3—was approved by voters. The law required at least 10 percent of jobs on city-funded constructions projects must go to low-income residents. Amendment 3 won more votes than any other initiative on the ballot. Yet within weeks, Republican state legislators introduced a bill to overturn the ordinance and to prevent other Tennessee cities from enacting similar laws. <a href="http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/19009/republican_prohibition_on_nashville_municipal_local_hires" type="external">Reporting for In These Times</a>, Spencer Woodman notes that in recent years, Tennessee’s state legislature has passed a number of “local preemption laws” barring localities from enforcing prevailing wages and requiring employers to provide paid sick leave. Jason Freeman, co-chair of the Economic Equity and Jobs Taskforce at Nashville Organized for Action and Hope, observes:</p>
<p>We’re trying to get a handle on how to address systemic poverty. But the best tools that are available are, one by one, being take away from us.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, it’s not just Republican-dominated statehouses working to eliminate key tools like local hiring in the local community wealth building toolbox. <a href="http://www.iatp.org/blog/201604/leaked-ttip-memo-shows-eu-targeting-us-government-contracts" type="external">Leaked documents</a> from the negotiations around the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), which the Obama administration is pursuing with his counterparts in the EU, indicate a desire to eliminate the power of cities and states—as well as public anchor institutions like universities and hospitals—to establish procurement preferences for locally-owned firms.</p>
<p>As advocates for inclusive economies where local resources are used wisely and strategically to create and expand opportunities for local communities, we should oppose such counterproductive restrictions on local autonomy, whether at the state or international level.</p>
<p>Ted Howard is Co-founder and President of The Democracy Collaborative. John Duda is Director of Communications.</p>
| 7,252 |
<p>Roberto Rossellini, late in his career, made four astonishing color movies for French and Italian public television. They’re costume dramas not unlike those on our own PBS with one important difference: they were made by a genius. Criterion has recently released them in its bargain-priced Eclipse Series.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">The Taking of Power by Louis XIV</a> stands apart from the others in the series. While telling its story of 17th century France with the brio of a Dumas novel, it’s a beautiful movie to watch. Rossellini pays equal attention to aristocrat and servant and observes their daily lives with the impartial eye of a painter like Chardin. As in his famous neo-realist films (Open City, Paisan), Rossellini uses both professional and non-professional actors and a mark of his genius is that you can’t tell which is which. Jean-Marie Patte, for instance, in the title role looks nothing like a king. He’s features are lumpish and ugly; he’s short and when he moves, it’s in a clumsy, brutish fashion. Neither is he witty. His favorite mode of speech is the bark. He leaves clever observations to others, indifferent to the jokes they make at his expense. So what if the world believes that, like most men of 22, he cares only for sex and sport and is indifferent to affairs of state. His trappings and surroundings tell him he is King.</p>
<p>And yet he sends almost hourly for reports on his dying chief minister, Cardinal Mazarin (Silvagni), the richest, greediest and most powerful man in France. (Cunningly, he orders a maidservant, not a courtier, to keep him informed of the Cardinal’s health.) Once the Cardinal dies – his deathbed scene is hilarious – King Louis is at last a sovereign.</p>
<p>One of his first acts is to order the arrest of Mazarin’s protégé, Fouquet (Pierre Barrat), by none other than D’Artagnan (Maurice Barrier) and his musketeers. Another such act is to cause every courtier in France to live at Versailles, thereby putting them into a painfully competitive situation, particularly in regard to dress. In one scene, Rossellini shows Louis dictating to the court tailor exactly how long a sleeve must be, calling for more lace here, more ribbons there, an inch or two taller heels. With each tightening of the sartorial screw, Louis becomes more powerful. He compensates his courtiers for the expense of their elaborate dress, thereby making sure they know that all good comes from the monarch just as all life comes from the sun, a point he makes explicitly.</p>
<p>At the acme of his power, Louis is shown at court festivities expensively bewigged and wearing a costume so elaborate it must be seen to be believed. At his first court banquet, Louis eats before any of the others are served. As if to show how absolute his power is, the meal consists of many courses – very many courses – and Louis takes his time. This complicated sequence is shot in an upstairs-downstairs fashion (the dual cinematographers are the virtuosic Georges Leclerc and the accomplished Jean-Louis Picavet). Next, King and court are seen assembled in the garden at Versailles from which they proceed up the stairs to the palace, a spectacle as remarkable for the tick-tack of their heels as for their sumptuous costumes.</p>
<p>The last scene belongs to Louis alone. Its poignance and humanity hint at how complex a character he was. It will also go far to explain why, at its first showing in New York, many (myself included), exclaimed “I love this movie!”</p>
<p>Note: Those wishing know more about Louis XIV and his place in history could do no better than to read Alexandre Dumas’ The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After and The Vicomte of Bragelonne. Also recommended: Nancy Mitford’s The Sun King.</p>
<p>Details: New, restored digital transfer Released on&#160;January 13,&#160;2009 <a href="" type="internal">1 Disc SRP: $29.95; Criterion Store price $23.96&#160;</a> Italy; 1965; in French with English subtitles; 100 minutes; Color; 1.33:1</p>
<p>Taking Power, a multimedia essay by Tag Gallagher, author of The Adventures of Roberto Rossellini</p>
<p>Video interview with artistic advisor Jean Dominique de la Rochefoucauld and script supervisor Michelle Podroznik Video interview with Renzo Rossellini,</p>
<p>PLUS: A new essay by critic Colin MacCabe</p>
<p>BEN SONNENBERG is the author of <a href="" type="internal">Lost Property: Memoirs&#160;&amp; Confessions of a Bad Boy</a>, and the founder/editor of the original Grand Street. He can be reached at <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>.</p>
|
Rossellini’s Louis XIV: “Neither the Sun nor Death can be Gazed Upon Fixedly”
| true |
https://counterpunch.org/2009/04/10/rossellini-s-louis-xiv-ldquo-neither-the-sun-nor-death-can-be-gazed-upon-fixedly-rdquo/
|
2009-04-10
| 4left
|
Rossellini’s Louis XIV: “Neither the Sun nor Death can be Gazed Upon Fixedly”
<p>Roberto Rossellini, late in his career, made four astonishing color movies for French and Italian public television. They’re costume dramas not unlike those on our own PBS with one important difference: they were made by a genius. Criterion has recently released them in its bargain-priced Eclipse Series.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">The Taking of Power by Louis XIV</a> stands apart from the others in the series. While telling its story of 17th century France with the brio of a Dumas novel, it’s a beautiful movie to watch. Rossellini pays equal attention to aristocrat and servant and observes their daily lives with the impartial eye of a painter like Chardin. As in his famous neo-realist films (Open City, Paisan), Rossellini uses both professional and non-professional actors and a mark of his genius is that you can’t tell which is which. Jean-Marie Patte, for instance, in the title role looks nothing like a king. He’s features are lumpish and ugly; he’s short and when he moves, it’s in a clumsy, brutish fashion. Neither is he witty. His favorite mode of speech is the bark. He leaves clever observations to others, indifferent to the jokes they make at his expense. So what if the world believes that, like most men of 22, he cares only for sex and sport and is indifferent to affairs of state. His trappings and surroundings tell him he is King.</p>
<p>And yet he sends almost hourly for reports on his dying chief minister, Cardinal Mazarin (Silvagni), the richest, greediest and most powerful man in France. (Cunningly, he orders a maidservant, not a courtier, to keep him informed of the Cardinal’s health.) Once the Cardinal dies – his deathbed scene is hilarious – King Louis is at last a sovereign.</p>
<p>One of his first acts is to order the arrest of Mazarin’s protégé, Fouquet (Pierre Barrat), by none other than D’Artagnan (Maurice Barrier) and his musketeers. Another such act is to cause every courtier in France to live at Versailles, thereby putting them into a painfully competitive situation, particularly in regard to dress. In one scene, Rossellini shows Louis dictating to the court tailor exactly how long a sleeve must be, calling for more lace here, more ribbons there, an inch or two taller heels. With each tightening of the sartorial screw, Louis becomes more powerful. He compensates his courtiers for the expense of their elaborate dress, thereby making sure they know that all good comes from the monarch just as all life comes from the sun, a point he makes explicitly.</p>
<p>At the acme of his power, Louis is shown at court festivities expensively bewigged and wearing a costume so elaborate it must be seen to be believed. At his first court banquet, Louis eats before any of the others are served. As if to show how absolute his power is, the meal consists of many courses – very many courses – and Louis takes his time. This complicated sequence is shot in an upstairs-downstairs fashion (the dual cinematographers are the virtuosic Georges Leclerc and the accomplished Jean-Louis Picavet). Next, King and court are seen assembled in the garden at Versailles from which they proceed up the stairs to the palace, a spectacle as remarkable for the tick-tack of their heels as for their sumptuous costumes.</p>
<p>The last scene belongs to Louis alone. Its poignance and humanity hint at how complex a character he was. It will also go far to explain why, at its first showing in New York, many (myself included), exclaimed “I love this movie!”</p>
<p>Note: Those wishing know more about Louis XIV and his place in history could do no better than to read Alexandre Dumas’ The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After and The Vicomte of Bragelonne. Also recommended: Nancy Mitford’s The Sun King.</p>
<p>Details: New, restored digital transfer Released on&#160;January 13,&#160;2009 <a href="" type="internal">1 Disc SRP: $29.95; Criterion Store price $23.96&#160;</a> Italy; 1965; in French with English subtitles; 100 minutes; Color; 1.33:1</p>
<p>Taking Power, a multimedia essay by Tag Gallagher, author of The Adventures of Roberto Rossellini</p>
<p>Video interview with artistic advisor Jean Dominique de la Rochefoucauld and script supervisor Michelle Podroznik Video interview with Renzo Rossellini,</p>
<p>PLUS: A new essay by critic Colin MacCabe</p>
<p>BEN SONNENBERG is the author of <a href="" type="internal">Lost Property: Memoirs&#160;&amp; Confessions of a Bad Boy</a>, and the founder/editor of the original Grand Street. He can be reached at <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>.</p>
| 7,253 |
<p>With warfare escalating in Iraq, syndicated columnist George Will has just explained the logic of the occupation. “In the war against the militias,” he wrote, “every door American troops crash through, every civilian bystander shot — there will be many — will make matters worse, for a while. Nevertheless, the first task of the occupation remains the first task of government: to establish a monopoly on violence.”</p>
<p>A year ago, when a Saddam statue famously collapsed in Baghdad, top officials in Washington preened themselves as liberators. Now, some of the tyrant’s bitterest enemies are firing rocket-propelled grenades at American troops.</p>
<p>Hypocrisy about press freedom has a lot to do with the current Shiite insurrection. Donald Rumsfeld had an easy retort seven months ago when antiwar protesters interrupted his speech at the National Press Club in Washington. “You know, I just came in from Baghdad,” he said, “and there are now over 100 newspapers in the free press in Iraq, in a free Iraq, where people are able to say whatever they wish.” But actually, Iraq’s newspapers “are able to say whatever they wish” only if they wish to say what the occupiers accept.</p>
<p>A week before a militia loyal to Moktada al-Sadr began to assault U.S. soldiers, the American occupation authorities ordered a 60-day shutdown of Sadr’s newspaper Al Hawza. The New York Times reported near the end of an April 5 article: “Although the paper did not print any calls for attacks, the American authorities said false reporting, including articles that ascribed suicide bombings to Americans, could touch off violence.”</p>
<p>There’s an idea — closing a newspaper for “false reporting” that could “touch off violence.” By that standard, most of the daily papers in the United States (beginning with the New York Times) could have been shut down in late 2002 and early 2003 as they engaged in “false reporting” about purported weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.</p>
<p>That false reporting certainly touched off violence. Thanks to the invasion and occupation of Iraq, the number of dead is in the tens of thousands, and rising by the hour. True to form — as was the case during the Vietnam War — the president certainly knows how to keep ordering the use of violence on a massive scale.</p>
<p>“We took space back quickly, expensively, with total panic and close to maximum brutality,” war correspondent Michael Herr recalled about the U.S. military in Vietnam. “Our machine was devastating. And versatile. It could do everything but stop.”</p>
<p>Despite all the belated media exposure of the Bush administration’s prewar lies, we are now seeing a familiar spectrum of response in mainstream U.S. media — many liberals wringing their hands, many conservatives rubbing their hands — at the sight of military escalation.</p>
<p>In recent days, numerous commentators have criticized President Bush for policy flaws. The tactical critiques are profuse, as when an April 6 editorial by the New York Times lamented that Washington “and its occupation partners” are now “in real danger of handing over a meaningless badge of sovereignty to a government that is divided internally, is regarded as illegitimate by the people and has no means other than foreign armies in Iraq to enforce its authority.”</p>
<p>Such carefully chosen language is notable for what it does not say: Get U.S. troops out of Iraq.</p>
<p>Year after year, of course, the White House and the editorialists insisted that complete withdrawal of GIs from Vietnam was an irresponsible notion, a bumper-sticker idea lacking in realism. But withdrawal had to happen. Sooner, with fewer deaths and less suffering? Or later?</p>
<p>In contrast to the wavering bugles of Bush’s circumspect critics, we hear the certain trumpets from the likes of George Will. “Regime change, occupation, nation-building — in a word, empire — are a bloody business,” he wrote at the end of April’s first week. “Now Americans must steel themselves for administering the violence necessary to disarm or defeat Iraq’s urban militias, which replicate the problem of modern terrorism — violence that has slipped the leash of states.”</p>
<p>As for the carnage that results from unleashing the Pentagon’s violence, the rationales are inexhaustible. “There are thugs and terrorists in Iraq who are trying to shake our will,” White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters on April 6. “And the president is firmly committed to showing resolve and strength.”</p>
<p>Martin Luther King Jr. said: “I never intend to adjust myself to the madness of militarism.”</p>
<p>That madness is here.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
|
The Quest for a Monopoly on Violence
| true |
https://counterpunch.org/2004/04/08/the-quest-for-a-monopoly-on-violence/
|
2004-04-08
| 4left
|
The Quest for a Monopoly on Violence
<p>With warfare escalating in Iraq, syndicated columnist George Will has just explained the logic of the occupation. “In the war against the militias,” he wrote, “every door American troops crash through, every civilian bystander shot — there will be many — will make matters worse, for a while. Nevertheless, the first task of the occupation remains the first task of government: to establish a monopoly on violence.”</p>
<p>A year ago, when a Saddam statue famously collapsed in Baghdad, top officials in Washington preened themselves as liberators. Now, some of the tyrant’s bitterest enemies are firing rocket-propelled grenades at American troops.</p>
<p>Hypocrisy about press freedom has a lot to do with the current Shiite insurrection. Donald Rumsfeld had an easy retort seven months ago when antiwar protesters interrupted his speech at the National Press Club in Washington. “You know, I just came in from Baghdad,” he said, “and there are now over 100 newspapers in the free press in Iraq, in a free Iraq, where people are able to say whatever they wish.” But actually, Iraq’s newspapers “are able to say whatever they wish” only if they wish to say what the occupiers accept.</p>
<p>A week before a militia loyal to Moktada al-Sadr began to assault U.S. soldiers, the American occupation authorities ordered a 60-day shutdown of Sadr’s newspaper Al Hawza. The New York Times reported near the end of an April 5 article: “Although the paper did not print any calls for attacks, the American authorities said false reporting, including articles that ascribed suicide bombings to Americans, could touch off violence.”</p>
<p>There’s an idea — closing a newspaper for “false reporting” that could “touch off violence.” By that standard, most of the daily papers in the United States (beginning with the New York Times) could have been shut down in late 2002 and early 2003 as they engaged in “false reporting” about purported weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.</p>
<p>That false reporting certainly touched off violence. Thanks to the invasion and occupation of Iraq, the number of dead is in the tens of thousands, and rising by the hour. True to form — as was the case during the Vietnam War — the president certainly knows how to keep ordering the use of violence on a massive scale.</p>
<p>“We took space back quickly, expensively, with total panic and close to maximum brutality,” war correspondent Michael Herr recalled about the U.S. military in Vietnam. “Our machine was devastating. And versatile. It could do everything but stop.”</p>
<p>Despite all the belated media exposure of the Bush administration’s prewar lies, we are now seeing a familiar spectrum of response in mainstream U.S. media — many liberals wringing their hands, many conservatives rubbing their hands — at the sight of military escalation.</p>
<p>In recent days, numerous commentators have criticized President Bush for policy flaws. The tactical critiques are profuse, as when an April 6 editorial by the New York Times lamented that Washington “and its occupation partners” are now “in real danger of handing over a meaningless badge of sovereignty to a government that is divided internally, is regarded as illegitimate by the people and has no means other than foreign armies in Iraq to enforce its authority.”</p>
<p>Such carefully chosen language is notable for what it does not say: Get U.S. troops out of Iraq.</p>
<p>Year after year, of course, the White House and the editorialists insisted that complete withdrawal of GIs from Vietnam was an irresponsible notion, a bumper-sticker idea lacking in realism. But withdrawal had to happen. Sooner, with fewer deaths and less suffering? Or later?</p>
<p>In contrast to the wavering bugles of Bush’s circumspect critics, we hear the certain trumpets from the likes of George Will. “Regime change, occupation, nation-building — in a word, empire — are a bloody business,” he wrote at the end of April’s first week. “Now Americans must steel themselves for administering the violence necessary to disarm or defeat Iraq’s urban militias, which replicate the problem of modern terrorism — violence that has slipped the leash of states.”</p>
<p>As for the carnage that results from unleashing the Pentagon’s violence, the rationales are inexhaustible. “There are thugs and terrorists in Iraq who are trying to shake our will,” White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters on April 6. “And the president is firmly committed to showing resolve and strength.”</p>
<p>Martin Luther King Jr. said: “I never intend to adjust myself to the madness of militarism.”</p>
<p>That madness is here.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
| 7,254 |
<p>SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea on Sunday called the latest U.N. sanctions to target the country “an act of war” that violates its sovereignty, and said it is a “pipe dream” for the United States to think it will give up its nuclear weapons.</p>
<p>The U.N. Security Council unanimously approved tough new sanctions against North Korea on Friday in response to its latest launch of a ballistic missile that Pyongyang says can reach anywhere on the U.S. mainland. The resolution was drafted by the United States and negotiated with the North’s closest ally, China.</p>
<p>“We define this ‘sanctions resolution’ rigged up by the U.S. and its followers as a grave infringement upon the sovereignty of our Republic, as an act of war violating peace and stability in the Korean peninsula and the region and categorically reject the ’resolution,’” North Korea’s foreign ministry said in a statement.</p>
<p>The ministry said the sanctions are tantamount to a “complete economic blockade” of North Korea.</p>
<p />
<p>“If the U.S. wishes to live safely, it must abandon its hostile policy towards the DPRK and learn to co-exist with the country that has nuclear weapons and should wake up from its pipe dream of our country giving up nuclear weapons which we have developed and completed through all kinds of hardships,” said the statement, carried by the North’s official Korean Central News Agency.</p>
<p>DPRK is short for North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.</p>
<p>The resolution adopted by the Security Council includes sharply lower limits on North Korea’s refined oil imports, the return home of all North Koreans working overseas within 24 months, and a crackdown on ships smuggling banned items including coal and oil to and from the country.</p>
<p>The Trump administration’s success in achieving the resolution won praise from the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Ben Cardin of Maryland. “That was a good move,” the senator said, “a major accomplishment.” Cardin said the stepped-up sanctions should be followed by diplomacy aimed at bringing the U.S. and China together on a sustained effort to ease tensions in that region. Cardin spoke on “Fox News Sunday.”</p>
<p>But the resolution doesn’t include even harsher measures sought by the Trump administration that would ban all oil imports and freeze international assets of the government and its leader, Kim Jong Un.</p>
<p>The resolution drew criticism from Russia for the short time the Security Council nations had to consider the draft, and last-minute changes to the text. Two of those changes were extending the deadline for North Korean workers to return home from 12 months to 24 months — which Russia said was the minimum needed — and reducing the number of North Koreans being put on the U.N. sanctions blacklist from 19 to 15.</p>
|
North Korea Calls Latest U.N. Sanctions an 'Act of War’
| true |
https://truthdig.com/articles/north-korea-calls-latest-u-n-sanctions-act-war/
|
2017-12-24
| 4left
|
North Korea Calls Latest U.N. Sanctions an 'Act of War’
<p>SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea on Sunday called the latest U.N. sanctions to target the country “an act of war” that violates its sovereignty, and said it is a “pipe dream” for the United States to think it will give up its nuclear weapons.</p>
<p>The U.N. Security Council unanimously approved tough new sanctions against North Korea on Friday in response to its latest launch of a ballistic missile that Pyongyang says can reach anywhere on the U.S. mainland. The resolution was drafted by the United States and negotiated with the North’s closest ally, China.</p>
<p>“We define this ‘sanctions resolution’ rigged up by the U.S. and its followers as a grave infringement upon the sovereignty of our Republic, as an act of war violating peace and stability in the Korean peninsula and the region and categorically reject the ’resolution,’” North Korea’s foreign ministry said in a statement.</p>
<p>The ministry said the sanctions are tantamount to a “complete economic blockade” of North Korea.</p>
<p />
<p>“If the U.S. wishes to live safely, it must abandon its hostile policy towards the DPRK and learn to co-exist with the country that has nuclear weapons and should wake up from its pipe dream of our country giving up nuclear weapons which we have developed and completed through all kinds of hardships,” said the statement, carried by the North’s official Korean Central News Agency.</p>
<p>DPRK is short for North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.</p>
<p>The resolution adopted by the Security Council includes sharply lower limits on North Korea’s refined oil imports, the return home of all North Koreans working overseas within 24 months, and a crackdown on ships smuggling banned items including coal and oil to and from the country.</p>
<p>The Trump administration’s success in achieving the resolution won praise from the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Ben Cardin of Maryland. “That was a good move,” the senator said, “a major accomplishment.” Cardin said the stepped-up sanctions should be followed by diplomacy aimed at bringing the U.S. and China together on a sustained effort to ease tensions in that region. Cardin spoke on “Fox News Sunday.”</p>
<p>But the resolution doesn’t include even harsher measures sought by the Trump administration that would ban all oil imports and freeze international assets of the government and its leader, Kim Jong Un.</p>
<p>The resolution drew criticism from Russia for the short time the Security Council nations had to consider the draft, and last-minute changes to the text. Two of those changes were extending the deadline for North Korean workers to return home from 12 months to 24 months — which Russia said was the minimum needed — and reducing the number of North Koreans being put on the U.N. sanctions blacklist from 19 to 15.</p>
| 7,255 |
<p>Former <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/thomson-reuters/130924/ex-pope-benedict-denies-covering-sexual-abuse" type="external">Pope Benedict XVI has denied playing a role in covering up the sexual abuse of children</a> by Roman Catholic priests. It is his first public comment on the scandal since resigning in February.</p>
<p>The comments were made in a letter to math professor Piergiorgio Odifreddi, author of a book about the Pope, and were <a href="http://www.repubblica.it/cultura/2013/09/24/news/ratzinger_caro_odifreddi_le_racconto_chi_era_ges-67150442/?ref=HRER3-1" type="external">published</a>in La Repubblica newspaper.</p>
<p>Victims groups have accused Benedict of not taking personal responsibility for the cover-up and have <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24222951" type="external">argued he knew about the abuse.</a></p>
<p>"In the Church's entire history, no one knew more but did less to protect kids than Benedict," the group <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/thomson-reuters/130924/ex-pope-benedict-denies-covering-sexual-abuse" type="external">Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests said</a> in statement.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/culture-lifestyle/world-religion/130821/ex-pope-benedict-god-told-me-resign" type="external">Ex-Pope Benedict: God told me to resign</a></p>
<p>"I never tried to cover up these things," Benedict wrote. "That the power of evil penetrates to such a point in the interior world of the faith is, for us, a source of suffering... We must do everything possible so that such cases aren't repeated."</p>
<p>He added, "in any event, one must not stubbornly present this deviance as if it were a nastiness specific to Catholicism."</p>
<p><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24222951" type="external">Odifreddi responded</a> he appreciated the letter's tone and while they often disagree, both continue to "search for the truth, with a capital 'T'."</p>
|
Former Pope Benedict XVI denies role in child sex abuse cover-up
| false |
https://pri.org/stories/2013-09-24/former-pope-benedict-xvi-denies-role-child-sex-abuse-cover
|
2013-09-24
| 3left-center
|
Former Pope Benedict XVI denies role in child sex abuse cover-up
<p>Former <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/thomson-reuters/130924/ex-pope-benedict-denies-covering-sexual-abuse" type="external">Pope Benedict XVI has denied playing a role in covering up the sexual abuse of children</a> by Roman Catholic priests. It is his first public comment on the scandal since resigning in February.</p>
<p>The comments were made in a letter to math professor Piergiorgio Odifreddi, author of a book about the Pope, and were <a href="http://www.repubblica.it/cultura/2013/09/24/news/ratzinger_caro_odifreddi_le_racconto_chi_era_ges-67150442/?ref=HRER3-1" type="external">published</a>in La Repubblica newspaper.</p>
<p>Victims groups have accused Benedict of not taking personal responsibility for the cover-up and have <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24222951" type="external">argued he knew about the abuse.</a></p>
<p>"In the Church's entire history, no one knew more but did less to protect kids than Benedict," the group <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/thomson-reuters/130924/ex-pope-benedict-denies-covering-sexual-abuse" type="external">Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests said</a> in statement.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/culture-lifestyle/world-religion/130821/ex-pope-benedict-god-told-me-resign" type="external">Ex-Pope Benedict: God told me to resign</a></p>
<p>"I never tried to cover up these things," Benedict wrote. "That the power of evil penetrates to such a point in the interior world of the faith is, for us, a source of suffering... We must do everything possible so that such cases aren't repeated."</p>
<p>He added, "in any event, one must not stubbornly present this deviance as if it were a nastiness specific to Catholicism."</p>
<p><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24222951" type="external">Odifreddi responded</a> he appreciated the letter's tone and while they often disagree, both continue to "search for the truth, with a capital 'T'."</p>
| 7,256 |
<p />
<p>After Muhammad Ali refused induction--we had the champ in our corner.</p>
<p>When in June of 1963 I graduated from Mar Vista High School in Imperial Beach, just south of San Diego, California, I went to my local Selective Service Board—the draft board—and registered as a conscientious objector. My paternal grandfather, a Dutch immigrant and baker, was a socialist pacifist and his four sons had registered as conscientious objectors (C.O.s) in World War II and two of them—my father Herb and my uncle Bert—had been drafted and had done what was called alternative service (the alternative to serving in the military) at a former Civilian Conservation Corps camp in Big Flats, near Elmira, New York.</p>
<p>At the camp, my uncle Bert had become involved with a group associated with leftist Dwight McDonald and pacifist Dave Dellinger, and so when at the end of the war in August 1945t the C.O.s weren't released from the camps, he joined the protests, strikes, and walk-outs among the 12,000 men around the country still being held. It was called the “End Slave Labor in America” movement. The federal government put Bert in prison for short while, but then all of the C.O.s were finally let go.</p>
<p>So, as you can see, it was fundamentally my upbringing that led me to register as a conscientious objector. I had been inculcated since I was a young child in pacifism and taught to oppose militarism and war. But as the Vietnam War began to enter the public consciousness and an anti-war movement began to grow, opposition and resistance to war became not simply my family inheritance, but also my personal cause. I didn’t want to go to Vietnam to kill or to die for a cause that I couldn’t support, that is preventing the Vietnamese people from determining their own destiny and achieving their independence.</p>
<p>Yet the struggle of Black Americans for their civil rights and of the Vietnamese for their independence was also convincing me that I was not an absolute pacifist. I was really wrestling with things, with fundamental principles. At the same time, I felt guilty with the knowledge that while I might escape the war both because of having such a family history and because I had registered as a C.O. so early, many working class men, among them many African Americans, and Latinos were being drafted. Many of the kids in my high school and in college either joined the Navy to avoid the being drafted into the Marines or Army or were in fact drafted.</p>
<p>At that time, I was already something of an admirer of Cassius Clay—what young man wasn’t? Clay was an astonishing athlete, a charismatic personality, and in a way the personification of the new Black movement all around us: assertive and outspoken. Then Clay defeated Sonny Liston—twice—changed his name to Muhammad Ali, and in April of 1967 refused induction into the U.S. military—and two months later was found guilty of draft evasion. Muhammad Ali became one of my heroes, as he was a hero to all of us in the anti-war movement. We admired the courage it took to risk prison, his boxing titles, and possibly some patriotic or racist attack because of his stance.</p>
<p>Muhammad Ali made it clear that conscientious objection to war was a noble stand and a possibility for anyone who had the courage to make that stand. I hadn’t had to have much courage to register as a C.O. at 18. It was what I had been raised to do. But I knew that for others it was much more difficult. They risked being ostracized by their family and friends and attacked as traitors, as well as possibly facing prison terms. It was very hard for most to make such a decision. Now Ali had made it easier for us all. We had the champ in our corner.&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p><a href="/filter/tips" type="external">More information about formatting options</a></p>
|
The Champ in Our Corner
| true |
http://newpol.org/content/champ-our-corner
| 4left
|
The Champ in Our Corner
<p />
<p>After Muhammad Ali refused induction--we had the champ in our corner.</p>
<p>When in June of 1963 I graduated from Mar Vista High School in Imperial Beach, just south of San Diego, California, I went to my local Selective Service Board—the draft board—and registered as a conscientious objector. My paternal grandfather, a Dutch immigrant and baker, was a socialist pacifist and his four sons had registered as conscientious objectors (C.O.s) in World War II and two of them—my father Herb and my uncle Bert—had been drafted and had done what was called alternative service (the alternative to serving in the military) at a former Civilian Conservation Corps camp in Big Flats, near Elmira, New York.</p>
<p>At the camp, my uncle Bert had become involved with a group associated with leftist Dwight McDonald and pacifist Dave Dellinger, and so when at the end of the war in August 1945t the C.O.s weren't released from the camps, he joined the protests, strikes, and walk-outs among the 12,000 men around the country still being held. It was called the “End Slave Labor in America” movement. The federal government put Bert in prison for short while, but then all of the C.O.s were finally let go.</p>
<p>So, as you can see, it was fundamentally my upbringing that led me to register as a conscientious objector. I had been inculcated since I was a young child in pacifism and taught to oppose militarism and war. But as the Vietnam War began to enter the public consciousness and an anti-war movement began to grow, opposition and resistance to war became not simply my family inheritance, but also my personal cause. I didn’t want to go to Vietnam to kill or to die for a cause that I couldn’t support, that is preventing the Vietnamese people from determining their own destiny and achieving their independence.</p>
<p>Yet the struggle of Black Americans for their civil rights and of the Vietnamese for their independence was also convincing me that I was not an absolute pacifist. I was really wrestling with things, with fundamental principles. At the same time, I felt guilty with the knowledge that while I might escape the war both because of having such a family history and because I had registered as a C.O. so early, many working class men, among them many African Americans, and Latinos were being drafted. Many of the kids in my high school and in college either joined the Navy to avoid the being drafted into the Marines or Army or were in fact drafted.</p>
<p>At that time, I was already something of an admirer of Cassius Clay—what young man wasn’t? Clay was an astonishing athlete, a charismatic personality, and in a way the personification of the new Black movement all around us: assertive and outspoken. Then Clay defeated Sonny Liston—twice—changed his name to Muhammad Ali, and in April of 1967 refused induction into the U.S. military—and two months later was found guilty of draft evasion. Muhammad Ali became one of my heroes, as he was a hero to all of us in the anti-war movement. We admired the courage it took to risk prison, his boxing titles, and possibly some patriotic or racist attack because of his stance.</p>
<p>Muhammad Ali made it clear that conscientious objection to war was a noble stand and a possibility for anyone who had the courage to make that stand. I hadn’t had to have much courage to register as a C.O. at 18. It was what I had been raised to do. But I knew that for others it was much more difficult. They risked being ostracized by their family and friends and attacked as traitors, as well as possibly facing prison terms. It was very hard for most to make such a decision. Now Ali had made it easier for us all. We had the champ in our corner.&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p><a href="/filter/tips" type="external">More information about formatting options</a></p>
| 7,257 |
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<p>Washington Post Financial commentator James Glassman has a problem with journalists' warnings about the overheated real estate market. "They're scaring people," he tells Howard Kurtz. CNBC's Ron Insana is being criticized for "spoiling the party" as he did before the Nasdaq sank. He says: "You get hate mail: 'When are you getting off this topic? You want prices to go down?' There are going to be some huge blowups. Someone's going to get killed somewhere. It's totally irresponsible to ignore the speculative behavior that's going on."</p>
|
Claim: "Press has gone way overboard" with bubble stories
| false |
https://poynter.org/news/claim-press-has-gone-way-overboard-bubble-stories
|
2005-07-05
| 2least
|
Claim: "Press has gone way overboard" with bubble stories
<p>Washington Post Financial commentator James Glassman has a problem with journalists' warnings about the overheated real estate market. "They're scaring people," he tells Howard Kurtz. CNBC's Ron Insana is being criticized for "spoiling the party" as he did before the Nasdaq sank. He says: "You get hate mail: 'When are you getting off this topic? You want prices to go down?' There are going to be some huge blowups. Someone's going to get killed somewhere. It's totally irresponsible to ignore the speculative behavior that's going on."</p>
| 7,258 |
<p>The Virginia Baptist Children's Home and Family Services is sponsoring a golf tournament on Friday, May 6, at the Brookwoods Golf Club near Quinton.</p>
<p />
<p>The cost is $60 per individual or $240 per team. Sign-in begins at 11:30 a.m., followed by lunch at noon and a shotgun start at 1 p.m. Registration deadline is April 26.</p>
<p>Awards will be presented for “Longest Drive” and “Closest to the Pin.”</p>
<p>For information or to register, contact: Virginia Baptist Children's Home and Family Services Golf Tournament, P.O. Box 849, Salem, VA 24153 or call Jodie Terri at 540-389-2112 or [email protected].</p>
<p>Special to the Herald</p>
|
Children’s Home sponsors golf tournament
| false |
https://baptistnews.com/article/childrenshomesponsorsgolftournament/
| 3left-center
|
Children’s Home sponsors golf tournament
<p>The Virginia Baptist Children's Home and Family Services is sponsoring a golf tournament on Friday, May 6, at the Brookwoods Golf Club near Quinton.</p>
<p />
<p>The cost is $60 per individual or $240 per team. Sign-in begins at 11:30 a.m., followed by lunch at noon and a shotgun start at 1 p.m. Registration deadline is April 26.</p>
<p>Awards will be presented for “Longest Drive” and “Closest to the Pin.”</p>
<p>For information or to register, contact: Virginia Baptist Children's Home and Family Services Golf Tournament, P.O. Box 849, Salem, VA 24153 or call Jodie Terri at 540-389-2112 or [email protected].</p>
<p>Special to the Herald</p>
| 7,259 |
|
<p>President Bush’s stern warning urging Syria to withdraw its troops from Lebanon once again highlights the moral duplicity practiced by the US administration in its dealings with the Middle East affairs.</p>
<p>It must be made clear that Syria has no business in maintaining its military control and political dominion over Lebanon, if such presence and influence runs counter to the aspirations of the Lebanese people.</p>
<p>The ongoing mass protests in Lebanon galvanized by the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri attest to growing national rejection of Syria’s occupation.</p>
<p>Bush is, strangely, right this time: Syria must leave Lebanon to the Lebanese. But is this what Bush and his band of neo-conservatives are hoping for; a free, democratic and independent Lebanon? Hardly.</p>
<p>Without fail, since his first day in office, but most notably following the attacks of September 11, the Bush administration’s foreign policy in the Middle East has been consistent with Israel’s regional objectives, politically and militarily.</p>
<p>This is anything but a secret. The neocons’s sole loyalty to Israel (and to Zionism) was most blatant in the 1996 policy report drafted for then Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.</p>
<p>A Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the Realm was composed by the US former Defense Policy Board Chair Richard Perle and current Under-Secretary of Defence for Policy Douglas Feith.</p>
<p>It was Israel’s “realm” that American’s fifth column wished to secure at the expense of its Arab neighbors, a stratagem which thwarts any sensible foreign policy the United States government would wish to conduct.</p>
<p>The report’s recommendations were to be shelved until September 11, 2001. The horror of that day left no room for sensibility and only mad policy makers with fantastic experiments were placed to the right of the president.</p>
<p>Since then, Bush took on the responsibility of outlining the most incoherent foreign policy agendas ever devised by an American president, while neo-conservative “intellectuals” toyed with concepts, ideas, geography, history and war.</p>
<p>They crafted a ruse for every military adventure and a lie to justify every blunder.</p>
<p>The removal of Saddam Hussain, as far as the pro-Israeli neo-cons were concerned, was “an important Israeli [not American] strategic objective as a means of foiling Syria’s regional ambitions”.</p>
<p>The above assertion by Perle and Feith has been a reoccurring and a unifying thesis propagated by the Likudists in the White House.</p>
<p>From a purely strategic point of a view, the benefit of the Iraq invasion and the subsequent removal of the Iraqi president has proven nil as far as US economic and strategic ambitions are concerned.</p>
<p>Devastating Blow</p>
<p>If anything, the Iraq war has been a devastating blow to the US budget at nearly $300 million (Dh1.1 trillion) per day, let alone the demoralization of an entire nation and its army and the tainted reputation garnered by the murder of tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians.</p>
<p>Israel and its armed forces are neither capable of defeating its regional foes nor of administering more occupied territories, considering that those antagonists out-measure Israel many times over in size and population. (Israel couldn’t maintain its occupation of the tiny stretch of formerly occupied South Lebanon and is facing an utterly arduous task controlling the occupied Palestinian territory.)</p>
<p>But thanks to the impressive military power of the United States and the persuasiveness of the pro-Israeli crowd on Capitol Hill who used the media and soft-money to convince both the public and politicians that what is good for Israel is good for America the United States have been actively in pursuit of Israel’s enemies.</p>
<p>Now that Iraq is no longer a concern for Israel, the next challenge on the list is you guess it Syria.</p>
<p>Syria is an enemy of Israel because it is a regional power. Israel understands well that to denominate the region, politically and militarily, it must have “unique advantages” over its neighbors.</p>
<p>And because Syria is no match for Israel’s (American-supplied) military capabilities, it has managed to create leverage for itself elsewhere in Lebanon, and by hosting Palestinian opposition groups, who, unlike the Palestinian National Authority, have not been tamed by Israel and have maintained a freer platform to object Israel’s coercive policies.</p>
<p>Syria’s ultimate objective is, of course, to free its own Golan Heights from Israeli control. The Golan was occupied during the Israeli-Arab war of 1967 and was illegally annexed by Israel in 1981 in violation of UN Security Council resolution 497.</p>
<p>Syria has shrewdly managed to balance the equation in its favor through its influence on the Lebanese government and relationship with Palestinian factions.</p>
<p>Israel wants to negotiate with Syria according to Israeli terms that would allow the latter to maintain its strategic control over parts of the Golan that supply Israel with almost one-third of its water supply.</p>
<p>It also wants to keep control over the Golan’s highpoints for military purposes.</p>
<p>From the moment that the Saddam statue was toppled, pro-Israeli henchmen in Washington looked to Damascus, accusing it of harboring former Iraqi regime members, hosting Iraq’s alleged stocks of weapons of mass destruction, allowing anti-American militants to pass freely through its borders to Iraq and so forth.</p>
<p>The reality on the ground was the stark opposite. US officials have acknowledged on more than one occasion that Syria has been at the forefront of assisting United States efforts of fighting terrorism.</p>
<p>The State Department acknowledged its cooperation in April 2003. If various British media reports were correct, then Syria, along with other Arab countries, has tortured terrorism suspects on behalf of US authorities.</p>
<p>One must second Bush’s stern call most austere were his comments in a recent New York Post interview of “getting Syria out of Lebanon”, in accordance with UN resolution 1559.</p>
<p>But if it is respect for international law that the president is concerned with, then there is a belated call on Israel to end its very bloody and illegal occupation of Palestinian land in accordance to UN resolutions 242, 338 and numerous others.</p>
<p>And if it is human dignity and the basic principals of freedom and liberty that Bush holds dear, then he should withdraw his 150,000 troops (15 times more troops than Syria has in Lebanon) out of Iraq.</p>
<p>They’ve done more damage than the most wide-ranging Human Rights Watch report can narrate, since the country was overrun by the US military in March 2003.</p>
<p>And now that the Lebanese people have had the courage to demand that Syria stop meddling with their affairs, will Americans prove equally courageous to demand and expect an end to Israel’s role in shaping American foreign policy? Time will tell.</p>
<p>RAMZY BAROUD is a veteran Arab-American journalist. A regular columnist in many English and Arabic publications, he is editor-in-chief of <a href="http://www.PalestineChronicle.com/" type="external">PalestineChronicle.com</a> and is a program producer at Aljazeera Satellite Television. He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
|
Reining in Syria on Behalf of Israel
| true |
https://counterpunch.org/2005/03/12/reining-in-syria-on-behalf-of-israel/
|
2005-03-12
| 4left
|
Reining in Syria on Behalf of Israel
<p>President Bush’s stern warning urging Syria to withdraw its troops from Lebanon once again highlights the moral duplicity practiced by the US administration in its dealings with the Middle East affairs.</p>
<p>It must be made clear that Syria has no business in maintaining its military control and political dominion over Lebanon, if such presence and influence runs counter to the aspirations of the Lebanese people.</p>
<p>The ongoing mass protests in Lebanon galvanized by the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri attest to growing national rejection of Syria’s occupation.</p>
<p>Bush is, strangely, right this time: Syria must leave Lebanon to the Lebanese. But is this what Bush and his band of neo-conservatives are hoping for; a free, democratic and independent Lebanon? Hardly.</p>
<p>Without fail, since his first day in office, but most notably following the attacks of September 11, the Bush administration’s foreign policy in the Middle East has been consistent with Israel’s regional objectives, politically and militarily.</p>
<p>This is anything but a secret. The neocons’s sole loyalty to Israel (and to Zionism) was most blatant in the 1996 policy report drafted for then Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.</p>
<p>A Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the Realm was composed by the US former Defense Policy Board Chair Richard Perle and current Under-Secretary of Defence for Policy Douglas Feith.</p>
<p>It was Israel’s “realm” that American’s fifth column wished to secure at the expense of its Arab neighbors, a stratagem which thwarts any sensible foreign policy the United States government would wish to conduct.</p>
<p>The report’s recommendations were to be shelved until September 11, 2001. The horror of that day left no room for sensibility and only mad policy makers with fantastic experiments were placed to the right of the president.</p>
<p>Since then, Bush took on the responsibility of outlining the most incoherent foreign policy agendas ever devised by an American president, while neo-conservative “intellectuals” toyed with concepts, ideas, geography, history and war.</p>
<p>They crafted a ruse for every military adventure and a lie to justify every blunder.</p>
<p>The removal of Saddam Hussain, as far as the pro-Israeli neo-cons were concerned, was “an important Israeli [not American] strategic objective as a means of foiling Syria’s regional ambitions”.</p>
<p>The above assertion by Perle and Feith has been a reoccurring and a unifying thesis propagated by the Likudists in the White House.</p>
<p>From a purely strategic point of a view, the benefit of the Iraq invasion and the subsequent removal of the Iraqi president has proven nil as far as US economic and strategic ambitions are concerned.</p>
<p>Devastating Blow</p>
<p>If anything, the Iraq war has been a devastating blow to the US budget at nearly $300 million (Dh1.1 trillion) per day, let alone the demoralization of an entire nation and its army and the tainted reputation garnered by the murder of tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians.</p>
<p>Israel and its armed forces are neither capable of defeating its regional foes nor of administering more occupied territories, considering that those antagonists out-measure Israel many times over in size and population. (Israel couldn’t maintain its occupation of the tiny stretch of formerly occupied South Lebanon and is facing an utterly arduous task controlling the occupied Palestinian territory.)</p>
<p>But thanks to the impressive military power of the United States and the persuasiveness of the pro-Israeli crowd on Capitol Hill who used the media and soft-money to convince both the public and politicians that what is good for Israel is good for America the United States have been actively in pursuit of Israel’s enemies.</p>
<p>Now that Iraq is no longer a concern for Israel, the next challenge on the list is you guess it Syria.</p>
<p>Syria is an enemy of Israel because it is a regional power. Israel understands well that to denominate the region, politically and militarily, it must have “unique advantages” over its neighbors.</p>
<p>And because Syria is no match for Israel’s (American-supplied) military capabilities, it has managed to create leverage for itself elsewhere in Lebanon, and by hosting Palestinian opposition groups, who, unlike the Palestinian National Authority, have not been tamed by Israel and have maintained a freer platform to object Israel’s coercive policies.</p>
<p>Syria’s ultimate objective is, of course, to free its own Golan Heights from Israeli control. The Golan was occupied during the Israeli-Arab war of 1967 and was illegally annexed by Israel in 1981 in violation of UN Security Council resolution 497.</p>
<p>Syria has shrewdly managed to balance the equation in its favor through its influence on the Lebanese government and relationship with Palestinian factions.</p>
<p>Israel wants to negotiate with Syria according to Israeli terms that would allow the latter to maintain its strategic control over parts of the Golan that supply Israel with almost one-third of its water supply.</p>
<p>It also wants to keep control over the Golan’s highpoints for military purposes.</p>
<p>From the moment that the Saddam statue was toppled, pro-Israeli henchmen in Washington looked to Damascus, accusing it of harboring former Iraqi regime members, hosting Iraq’s alleged stocks of weapons of mass destruction, allowing anti-American militants to pass freely through its borders to Iraq and so forth.</p>
<p>The reality on the ground was the stark opposite. US officials have acknowledged on more than one occasion that Syria has been at the forefront of assisting United States efforts of fighting terrorism.</p>
<p>The State Department acknowledged its cooperation in April 2003. If various British media reports were correct, then Syria, along with other Arab countries, has tortured terrorism suspects on behalf of US authorities.</p>
<p>One must second Bush’s stern call most austere were his comments in a recent New York Post interview of “getting Syria out of Lebanon”, in accordance with UN resolution 1559.</p>
<p>But if it is respect for international law that the president is concerned with, then there is a belated call on Israel to end its very bloody and illegal occupation of Palestinian land in accordance to UN resolutions 242, 338 and numerous others.</p>
<p>And if it is human dignity and the basic principals of freedom and liberty that Bush holds dear, then he should withdraw his 150,000 troops (15 times more troops than Syria has in Lebanon) out of Iraq.</p>
<p>They’ve done more damage than the most wide-ranging Human Rights Watch report can narrate, since the country was overrun by the US military in March 2003.</p>
<p>And now that the Lebanese people have had the courage to demand that Syria stop meddling with their affairs, will Americans prove equally courageous to demand and expect an end to Israel’s role in shaping American foreign policy? Time will tell.</p>
<p>RAMZY BAROUD is a veteran Arab-American journalist. A regular columnist in many English and Arabic publications, he is editor-in-chief of <a href="http://www.PalestineChronicle.com/" type="external">PalestineChronicle.com</a> and is a program producer at Aljazeera Satellite Television. He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
| 7,260 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Elias Montoya, who wanted to return to his former position, won't be returning to the job, General Services Department spokesman Tim Korte said.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>"There are no plans for him to do so," Korte said.</p>
<p>The news came a day after state officials said Montoya and the New Mexico Department of Public Safety recently came to an undisclosed agreement.</p>
<p>It was unclear whether the agreement had financial terms, and the department said it couldn't say if Montoya got his job back.</p>
<p>Montoya's Albuquerque-based lawyer, Antonia Roybal-Mack, confirmed that her client and the Department of Public Safety, which oversees the New Mexico State Police, had come to an agreement. However, as part of the settlement, she said, she couldn't comment further.</p>
<p>The 12-year veteran was fired in December after an internal investigation into his use of force during the Oct. 28 shooting. Video footage showed Montoya firing at a van with five children inside during a chaotic traffic stop.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The driver of the minivan, Oriana Farrell, of Memphis, Tenn., is facing charges of aggravated fleeing, child abuse and possession of narcotic paraphernalia stemming from the traffic stop and chase. She is free on a $50,000 cash bond.</p>
<p>Greg Williams, president-elect for the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government, criticized the Department of Public Safety for withholding the settlement conditions from the public.</p>
<p>Korte said state law prohibits the Risk Management Division from disclosing any information related to claims for damages or other relief against the State of New Mexico for 180 days once certain conditions are met.</p>
<p>"The case was resolved to the mutual satisfaction of the parties," the State Police said in an emailed statement.</p>
<p />
<p />
|
Fired officer won't return to State Police
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/369070/fired-officer-wont-return-to-state-police.html
| 2least
|
Fired officer won't return to State Police
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Elias Montoya, who wanted to return to his former position, won't be returning to the job, General Services Department spokesman Tim Korte said.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>"There are no plans for him to do so," Korte said.</p>
<p>The news came a day after state officials said Montoya and the New Mexico Department of Public Safety recently came to an undisclosed agreement.</p>
<p>It was unclear whether the agreement had financial terms, and the department said it couldn't say if Montoya got his job back.</p>
<p>Montoya's Albuquerque-based lawyer, Antonia Roybal-Mack, confirmed that her client and the Department of Public Safety, which oversees the New Mexico State Police, had come to an agreement. However, as part of the settlement, she said, she couldn't comment further.</p>
<p>The 12-year veteran was fired in December after an internal investigation into his use of force during the Oct. 28 shooting. Video footage showed Montoya firing at a van with five children inside during a chaotic traffic stop.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The driver of the minivan, Oriana Farrell, of Memphis, Tenn., is facing charges of aggravated fleeing, child abuse and possession of narcotic paraphernalia stemming from the traffic stop and chase. She is free on a $50,000 cash bond.</p>
<p>Greg Williams, president-elect for the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government, criticized the Department of Public Safety for withholding the settlement conditions from the public.</p>
<p>Korte said state law prohibits the Risk Management Division from disclosing any information related to claims for damages or other relief against the State of New Mexico for 180 days once certain conditions are met.</p>
<p>"The case was resolved to the mutual satisfaction of the parties," the State Police said in an emailed statement.</p>
<p />
<p />
| 7,261 |
|
<p>MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama officials are praising a result of the federal budget deal: Continued funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program.</p>
<p>The compromise approved Monday renews federal funding for six years for the subsidized insurance program for children in low-income families. The program provides health care for 150,000 Alabama children. The uncertainty about its future had created anxiety for families and cast a potential shadow over the state general fund budget.</p>
<p>U.S. Sen. Doug Jones, who had broken ranks with many Democrats in voting for an earlier proposal to end a government shutdown, called the budget vote an example of bipartisan cooperation.</p>
<p>“Those kids that were getting pink-slips on their health care are not going to get those. I wish we could have permanent funding for CHIP. I think it deserves permanent funding. But right now as someone who has only been here for two weeks, I take the small victories with the large ones,” Jones said.</p>
<p>Jones said a bipartisan group of senators who had worked on the deal, grew in numbers until its passage on Monday on an overwhelming vote.</p>
<p>“I always look for the silver lining. The silver lining is that you saw a bipartisan group of senators come together and not point fingers... whose only goal was to find a path forward and reopen the government and let everyone have their say,” Jones said.</p>
<p>The program provides insurance for 85,000 children on the state plan known as ALL Kids. It also provides funding for another 70,000 children on Medicaid. Those children would have kept coverage, but the state would have had to pick up the cost.</p>
<p>Jim Carnes, policy director for the Arise Citizens’ Policy Project, said, “The parents of more than 85,000 children with ALL Kids coverage finally received some overdue good news today: Their kids aren’t about to lose health insurance.” However, he added that it “never should have come to this.”</p>
<p>“CHIP funding deserved a quick, straightforward renewal before it expired nearly four months ago,” he said.</p>
<p>Under the six year-renewal, federal funding would continue at current levels for two fiscal years. Beginning in fiscal year 2020, the state will have to pick up some of the costs as an enhanced matching rate expires.</p>
<p>Legislators had called CHIP funding the major uncertainty for the legislative session.</p>
<p>State Rep. Steve Clouse, who chairs the budget committee, said the state can “breathe a collective sigh of relief here.”</p>
<p>“It was very good news,” Clouse said.</p>
<p>MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama officials are praising a result of the federal budget deal: Continued funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program.</p>
<p>The compromise approved Monday renews federal funding for six years for the subsidized insurance program for children in low-income families. The program provides health care for 150,000 Alabama children. The uncertainty about its future had created anxiety for families and cast a potential shadow over the state general fund budget.</p>
<p>U.S. Sen. Doug Jones, who had broken ranks with many Democrats in voting for an earlier proposal to end a government shutdown, called the budget vote an example of bipartisan cooperation.</p>
<p>“Those kids that were getting pink-slips on their health care are not going to get those. I wish we could have permanent funding for CHIP. I think it deserves permanent funding. But right now as someone who has only been here for two weeks, I take the small victories with the large ones,” Jones said.</p>
<p>Jones said a bipartisan group of senators who had worked on the deal, grew in numbers until its passage on Monday on an overwhelming vote.</p>
<p>“I always look for the silver lining. The silver lining is that you saw a bipartisan group of senators come together and not point fingers... whose only goal was to find a path forward and reopen the government and let everyone have their say,” Jones said.</p>
<p>The program provides insurance for 85,000 children on the state plan known as ALL Kids. It also provides funding for another 70,000 children on Medicaid. Those children would have kept coverage, but the state would have had to pick up the cost.</p>
<p>Jim Carnes, policy director for the Arise Citizens’ Policy Project, said, “The parents of more than 85,000 children with ALL Kids coverage finally received some overdue good news today: Their kids aren’t about to lose health insurance.” However, he added that it “never should have come to this.”</p>
<p>“CHIP funding deserved a quick, straightforward renewal before it expired nearly four months ago,” he said.</p>
<p>Under the six year-renewal, federal funding would continue at current levels for two fiscal years. Beginning in fiscal year 2020, the state will have to pick up some of the costs as an enhanced matching rate expires.</p>
<p>Legislators had called CHIP funding the major uncertainty for the legislative session.</p>
<p>State Rep. Steve Clouse, who chairs the budget committee, said the state can “breathe a collective sigh of relief here.”</p>
<p>“It was very good news,” Clouse said.</p>
|
State officials praise CHIP renewal
| false |
https://apnews.com/e0e4805189c241b484e3949de85f65c7
|
2018-01-24
| 2least
|
State officials praise CHIP renewal
<p>MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama officials are praising a result of the federal budget deal: Continued funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program.</p>
<p>The compromise approved Monday renews federal funding for six years for the subsidized insurance program for children in low-income families. The program provides health care for 150,000 Alabama children. The uncertainty about its future had created anxiety for families and cast a potential shadow over the state general fund budget.</p>
<p>U.S. Sen. Doug Jones, who had broken ranks with many Democrats in voting for an earlier proposal to end a government shutdown, called the budget vote an example of bipartisan cooperation.</p>
<p>“Those kids that were getting pink-slips on their health care are not going to get those. I wish we could have permanent funding for CHIP. I think it deserves permanent funding. But right now as someone who has only been here for two weeks, I take the small victories with the large ones,” Jones said.</p>
<p>Jones said a bipartisan group of senators who had worked on the deal, grew in numbers until its passage on Monday on an overwhelming vote.</p>
<p>“I always look for the silver lining. The silver lining is that you saw a bipartisan group of senators come together and not point fingers... whose only goal was to find a path forward and reopen the government and let everyone have their say,” Jones said.</p>
<p>The program provides insurance for 85,000 children on the state plan known as ALL Kids. It also provides funding for another 70,000 children on Medicaid. Those children would have kept coverage, but the state would have had to pick up the cost.</p>
<p>Jim Carnes, policy director for the Arise Citizens’ Policy Project, said, “The parents of more than 85,000 children with ALL Kids coverage finally received some overdue good news today: Their kids aren’t about to lose health insurance.” However, he added that it “never should have come to this.”</p>
<p>“CHIP funding deserved a quick, straightforward renewal before it expired nearly four months ago,” he said.</p>
<p>Under the six year-renewal, federal funding would continue at current levels for two fiscal years. Beginning in fiscal year 2020, the state will have to pick up some of the costs as an enhanced matching rate expires.</p>
<p>Legislators had called CHIP funding the major uncertainty for the legislative session.</p>
<p>State Rep. Steve Clouse, who chairs the budget committee, said the state can “breathe a collective sigh of relief here.”</p>
<p>“It was very good news,” Clouse said.</p>
<p>MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama officials are praising a result of the federal budget deal: Continued funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program.</p>
<p>The compromise approved Monday renews federal funding for six years for the subsidized insurance program for children in low-income families. The program provides health care for 150,000 Alabama children. The uncertainty about its future had created anxiety for families and cast a potential shadow over the state general fund budget.</p>
<p>U.S. Sen. Doug Jones, who had broken ranks with many Democrats in voting for an earlier proposal to end a government shutdown, called the budget vote an example of bipartisan cooperation.</p>
<p>“Those kids that were getting pink-slips on their health care are not going to get those. I wish we could have permanent funding for CHIP. I think it deserves permanent funding. But right now as someone who has only been here for two weeks, I take the small victories with the large ones,” Jones said.</p>
<p>Jones said a bipartisan group of senators who had worked on the deal, grew in numbers until its passage on Monday on an overwhelming vote.</p>
<p>“I always look for the silver lining. The silver lining is that you saw a bipartisan group of senators come together and not point fingers... whose only goal was to find a path forward and reopen the government and let everyone have their say,” Jones said.</p>
<p>The program provides insurance for 85,000 children on the state plan known as ALL Kids. It also provides funding for another 70,000 children on Medicaid. Those children would have kept coverage, but the state would have had to pick up the cost.</p>
<p>Jim Carnes, policy director for the Arise Citizens’ Policy Project, said, “The parents of more than 85,000 children with ALL Kids coverage finally received some overdue good news today: Their kids aren’t about to lose health insurance.” However, he added that it “never should have come to this.”</p>
<p>“CHIP funding deserved a quick, straightforward renewal before it expired nearly four months ago,” he said.</p>
<p>Under the six year-renewal, federal funding would continue at current levels for two fiscal years. Beginning in fiscal year 2020, the state will have to pick up some of the costs as an enhanced matching rate expires.</p>
<p>Legislators had called CHIP funding the major uncertainty for the legislative session.</p>
<p>State Rep. Steve Clouse, who chairs the budget committee, said the state can “breathe a collective sigh of relief here.”</p>
<p>“It was very good news,” Clouse said.</p>
| 7,262 |
<p>A little over a year after the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage, Baptists remain among the most resistant to LGBT inclusion among&#160;U.S. Protestant groups, according to new data from LifeWay Research.</p>
<p>The research division of the Southern Baptist Convention’s publishing house LifeWay Christian Resources released a <a href="http://lifewayresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/LGBT-serving-in-church.jpg" type="external">study</a> Aug. 18 showing that just 8 percent of Baptist pastors say LGBT individuals can serve their church in any role open to other members. That compares to 30 percent of all Protestants and 51 percent in the mainline traditions. At 66 percent, Presbyterian/Reformed pastors are most likely to say their doors of service are open to all.</p>
<p>The report comes at a time when leaders of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship are embarking on an “illumination project” to foster healthy discussion about differences of opinion on topics including the organization’s ban on hiring non-celibate gays and lesbians as staff or missionaries.</p>
<p><a href="http://1648o73kablq2rveyn64glm1-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/same_sex_b.png" type="external" />More than half of Baptist pastors (54 percent) said there is no place in their church where LGBT people can serve. That ranks second to Pentecostals (58 percent) and compares to 34 percent of all Protestants saying there isn’t at least one avenue of service for gays. One in five (21 percent) say they have not discussed it or are not sure.</p>
<p>Nearly half of Protestant pastors (44 percent) said LGBT persons can serve their church in helping and service roles. Fewer allow gays to serve in public leadership (33 percent), teaching (32 percent) and worship (32 percent) roles.</p>
<p>Just 10 percent of Baptist pastors say their church allows LGBT persons to serve in public leadership, teaching or worship, while 21 percent said they can fit in for helping or serving roles in a Baptist church.</p>
<p>Despite some predictions that&#160;Baptist churches would be&#160;inundated with demands to allow their facilities to be used for gay weddings, just 1 percent of Baptist pastors said they have asked to perform a same-sex marriage ceremony.</p>
<p>The June 26, 2015, decision in <a href="http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/obergefell-v-hodges/" type="external">Obergefell v. Hodges</a> prompted a spate of state laws designed to protect churches and clergy from liability for refusing to recognize gay marriage. Groups such as Alliance Defending Freedom <a href="http://www.bpnews.net/39695/attorney-church-bylaws-should-define-marriage" type="external">urged</a> congregations to update their bylaws to include a statement of doctrinal beliefs on marriage and sexuality in anticipation of possible litigation. Others warned that religious organizations could risk losing their tax-exempt status.</p>
<p><a href="http://1648o73kablq2rveyn64glm1-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/same_sex_a.png" type="external" />Former SBC President Jack Graham advised Christians to prepare for civil disobedience. “We want to work in the system. We want to support our government. We want to obey its laws,” the pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas, <a href="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?tab=wm#inbox" type="external">told</a> Fox News commentator Todd Starnes. “But there’s a coming a day, I believe, that many Christians personally and churches corporately will need to practice civil disobedience on this issue.”</p>
<p>Then-SBC president Ronnie Floyd termed the Supreme Court ruling a “Bonhoeffer moment” for the denomination. “As for me —&#160;and I also believe for thousands of pastors in this nation, but you are going to have to speak for yourself —&#160;but as for me, I declare to everyone today, as a minister of the gospel, I will not officiate over any same-sex unions or same-sex marriage ceremonies. I completely refuse,” the pastor of Cross Church in Northwest Arkansas <a href="" type="internal">declared</a>.</p>
<p>A 2015 SBC resolution declared “that Southern Baptists recognize that no governing institution has the authority to negate or usurp God’s definition of marriage” and “no matter how the Supreme Court rules, the Southern Baptist Convention reaffirms its unwavering commitment to its doctrinal and public beliefs concerning marriage.”</p>
<p>Overall just 11 percent of Protestant senior pastors in the LifeWay study said they had been asked to perform a same-sex marriage. Pastors who identify as mainline were three times more likely to have been asked than evangelical pastors (18 percent vs. 6 percent). Pastors 55 and older (14 percent) were twice as likely as those 54 and younger (7 percent) to have been asked to officiate a same-sex ceremony.</p>
<p>“Most couples, if they want a church wedding, will ask a pastor they know or who they think will support them,” <a href="http://lifewayresearch.com/2016/08/18/same-sex-church-weddings-lgbt-serving-in-church/" type="external">said</a> Scott McConnell, executive director of LifeWay Research. “For same-sex couples, this appears to be an older Presbyterian pastor.”</p>
<p>The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship adopted a “statement of organizational value”— later re-labeled a “personnel and administrative funding policy”— in 2000 to stake out a centrist position on homosexuality at a time when leaders felt the movement was being defined by accusers from the right and CBF partners pushing boundaries on the left.</p>
<p>After a workshop at the 2010 General Assembly in Winston-Salem, N.C., called “A Family Conversation about Same-Sex Orientation” drew a standing-room-only crowd, the CBF joined Mercer University to co-sponsor “a [Baptist] Conference on Sexuality and Covenant” in April 2012.</p>
<p>Since the June 15 shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., 477 people have signed a <a href="" type="internal">Statement of Solidarity</a> pledging to work for full inclusion of LGBT persons in CBF life.</p>
<p>Previous stories:</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">‘Illumination Project’ seeks unity amid diversity in CBF</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">CBF General Assembly spawns two statements condemning Orlando massacre</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Analysis: A timeline of CBF’s LGBTQ debate</a></p>
|
Survey suggests continuing resistance among Baptists to LGBT inclusion
| false |
https://baptistnews.com/article/survey-suggests-continuing-resistance-among-baptists-to-lgbt-inclusion/
| 3left-center
|
Survey suggests continuing resistance among Baptists to LGBT inclusion
<p>A little over a year after the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage, Baptists remain among the most resistant to LGBT inclusion among&#160;U.S. Protestant groups, according to new data from LifeWay Research.</p>
<p>The research division of the Southern Baptist Convention’s publishing house LifeWay Christian Resources released a <a href="http://lifewayresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/LGBT-serving-in-church.jpg" type="external">study</a> Aug. 18 showing that just 8 percent of Baptist pastors say LGBT individuals can serve their church in any role open to other members. That compares to 30 percent of all Protestants and 51 percent in the mainline traditions. At 66 percent, Presbyterian/Reformed pastors are most likely to say their doors of service are open to all.</p>
<p>The report comes at a time when leaders of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship are embarking on an “illumination project” to foster healthy discussion about differences of opinion on topics including the organization’s ban on hiring non-celibate gays and lesbians as staff or missionaries.</p>
<p><a href="http://1648o73kablq2rveyn64glm1-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/same_sex_b.png" type="external" />More than half of Baptist pastors (54 percent) said there is no place in their church where LGBT people can serve. That ranks second to Pentecostals (58 percent) and compares to 34 percent of all Protestants saying there isn’t at least one avenue of service for gays. One in five (21 percent) say they have not discussed it or are not sure.</p>
<p>Nearly half of Protestant pastors (44 percent) said LGBT persons can serve their church in helping and service roles. Fewer allow gays to serve in public leadership (33 percent), teaching (32 percent) and worship (32 percent) roles.</p>
<p>Just 10 percent of Baptist pastors say their church allows LGBT persons to serve in public leadership, teaching or worship, while 21 percent said they can fit in for helping or serving roles in a Baptist church.</p>
<p>Despite some predictions that&#160;Baptist churches would be&#160;inundated with demands to allow their facilities to be used for gay weddings, just 1 percent of Baptist pastors said they have asked to perform a same-sex marriage ceremony.</p>
<p>The June 26, 2015, decision in <a href="http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/obergefell-v-hodges/" type="external">Obergefell v. Hodges</a> prompted a spate of state laws designed to protect churches and clergy from liability for refusing to recognize gay marriage. Groups such as Alliance Defending Freedom <a href="http://www.bpnews.net/39695/attorney-church-bylaws-should-define-marriage" type="external">urged</a> congregations to update their bylaws to include a statement of doctrinal beliefs on marriage and sexuality in anticipation of possible litigation. Others warned that religious organizations could risk losing their tax-exempt status.</p>
<p><a href="http://1648o73kablq2rveyn64glm1-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/same_sex_a.png" type="external" />Former SBC President Jack Graham advised Christians to prepare for civil disobedience. “We want to work in the system. We want to support our government. We want to obey its laws,” the pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas, <a href="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?tab=wm#inbox" type="external">told</a> Fox News commentator Todd Starnes. “But there’s a coming a day, I believe, that many Christians personally and churches corporately will need to practice civil disobedience on this issue.”</p>
<p>Then-SBC president Ronnie Floyd termed the Supreme Court ruling a “Bonhoeffer moment” for the denomination. “As for me —&#160;and I also believe for thousands of pastors in this nation, but you are going to have to speak for yourself —&#160;but as for me, I declare to everyone today, as a minister of the gospel, I will not officiate over any same-sex unions or same-sex marriage ceremonies. I completely refuse,” the pastor of Cross Church in Northwest Arkansas <a href="" type="internal">declared</a>.</p>
<p>A 2015 SBC resolution declared “that Southern Baptists recognize that no governing institution has the authority to negate or usurp God’s definition of marriage” and “no matter how the Supreme Court rules, the Southern Baptist Convention reaffirms its unwavering commitment to its doctrinal and public beliefs concerning marriage.”</p>
<p>Overall just 11 percent of Protestant senior pastors in the LifeWay study said they had been asked to perform a same-sex marriage. Pastors who identify as mainline were three times more likely to have been asked than evangelical pastors (18 percent vs. 6 percent). Pastors 55 and older (14 percent) were twice as likely as those 54 and younger (7 percent) to have been asked to officiate a same-sex ceremony.</p>
<p>“Most couples, if they want a church wedding, will ask a pastor they know or who they think will support them,” <a href="http://lifewayresearch.com/2016/08/18/same-sex-church-weddings-lgbt-serving-in-church/" type="external">said</a> Scott McConnell, executive director of LifeWay Research. “For same-sex couples, this appears to be an older Presbyterian pastor.”</p>
<p>The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship adopted a “statement of organizational value”— later re-labeled a “personnel and administrative funding policy”— in 2000 to stake out a centrist position on homosexuality at a time when leaders felt the movement was being defined by accusers from the right and CBF partners pushing boundaries on the left.</p>
<p>After a workshop at the 2010 General Assembly in Winston-Salem, N.C., called “A Family Conversation about Same-Sex Orientation” drew a standing-room-only crowd, the CBF joined Mercer University to co-sponsor “a [Baptist] Conference on Sexuality and Covenant” in April 2012.</p>
<p>Since the June 15 shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., 477 people have signed a <a href="" type="internal">Statement of Solidarity</a> pledging to work for full inclusion of LGBT persons in CBF life.</p>
<p>Previous stories:</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">‘Illumination Project’ seeks unity amid diversity in CBF</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">CBF General Assembly spawns two statements condemning Orlando massacre</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Analysis: A timeline of CBF’s LGBTQ debate</a></p>
| 7,263 |
|
<p>The Islamic State extremist group on Friday claimed responsibility for the murder of British aid worker Alan Henning.</p>
<p>In the one minute video, titled "Another Message to <a type="external" href="">America</a> and its Allies," Henning introduces himself and says that "because of our parliament's decision to attack the Islamic state, I, as a member of the British public, will now pay the price for that decision."</p>
<p>The British parliament voted to launch airstrikes against the Islamic State in Iraq, but not in Syria, last week.</p>
<p>The video is almost identical to the three released previously, including that of James Foley, who worked for GlobalPost. In this latest video, the masked Islamic State militant also revealed another hostage, identified as American Peter Kassig. Kassig, a former US Army Ranger, had been working as in aid worker helping Syrian refugees when he was abducted.</p>
<p>Thomson Reuters and AFP contributed to this report.</p>
|
Islamic State says it has executed British hostage Alan Henning
| false |
https://pri.org/stories/2014-10-03/islamic-state-says-it-has-executed-british-hostage-alan-henning
|
2014-10-03
| 3left-center
|
Islamic State says it has executed British hostage Alan Henning
<p>The Islamic State extremist group on Friday claimed responsibility for the murder of British aid worker Alan Henning.</p>
<p>In the one minute video, titled "Another Message to <a type="external" href="">America</a> and its Allies," Henning introduces himself and says that "because of our parliament's decision to attack the Islamic state, I, as a member of the British public, will now pay the price for that decision."</p>
<p>The British parliament voted to launch airstrikes against the Islamic State in Iraq, but not in Syria, last week.</p>
<p>The video is almost identical to the three released previously, including that of James Foley, who worked for GlobalPost. In this latest video, the masked Islamic State militant also revealed another hostage, identified as American Peter Kassig. Kassig, a former US Army Ranger, had been working as in aid worker helping Syrian refugees when he was abducted.</p>
<p>Thomson Reuters and AFP contributed to this report.</p>
| 7,264 |
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p /> PAUL JAY, SENIOR EDITOR, TRNN: Welcome back to The Real News Network. I'm Paul Jay in Baltimore, and this is Reality Asserts Itself.
<p />
<p />We're continuing our series of interviews with Bob Moses, who was one of the most influential leaders of the civil rights movement. He's the founder of the Algebra Project. He was also one of the leaders of the Mississippi Summer project. And Bob joins us again in the studio. Thanks for joining us.
<p />
<p />BOB MOSES, EDUCATOR AND CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST: Yeah.
<p />
<p />JAY: So, one more time, Bob is an educator, a civil rights activist. During the '60s he was a field secretary for SNCC. He also was an outspoken critic of the Vietnam War. And he's the founder of the Algebra Project, as I mentioned. He's also the author of Radical Equations: Civil Rights from Mississippi to the Algebra Project, and coeditor of Quality Education as a Constitutional Right: Creating a Grassroots Movement to Transform Public Schools.
<p />
<p />Thanks for joining us.
<p />
<p />MOSES: Yeah.
<p />
<p />JAY: So we're going to pick up where we were. I asked you at the end of the last segment what you learned from the sit-ins, and what effect that had on you.
<p />
<p />MOSES: I knew that something big was going on, right, 'cause I knew about my uncle, I knew about, you know, the lynchings and stuff like that. So I went down to visit Uncle Bill on my spring break. And so at this point in my life I've been at Harvard, I've gotten an MA. So I graduate from Hamilton in '56. I spent a year at Harvard, I pick up my MA. I'm back there trying to get a doctorate when my mother passes, right? She's really still young. She's in her early 40s. My father just goes--he deteriorates, right, and he ends up in the hospital. So I leave, go back to New York, and get a job, eventually, teaching at Horace Mann School teaching math. And I'm there when the sit-ins break out. And so I go down on my spring break to see my uncle Bill.
<p />
<p />JAY: Go down where?
<p />
<p />MOSES: To Hampton, Virginia. Right?
<p />
<p />So the students at Hampton are marching, demonstrating in Newport News, right? So I march with them over and walk the picket line while they sit in. And Wyatt Tee Walker comes down to do the mass meeting. Now, Wyatt eventually becomes the head of King's organization, right, but right then he's a minister in Petersburg. He announces that they're going to set up an office in Harlem to raise money for King. So I get all the information and go back and go to the organizing meeting. Bayard Rustin is running that organizing meeting and ran the office, right? And so I go down every afternoon after school and volunteer at the office, right? I meet Jack O'Dell, who later becomes King's--over his citizenship program, helping to run the program that Septima Clark developed in South Carolina. So they actually--Harry Belafonte and Sidney Poitier headlined the fund-raising event. They do it at the armory where my father's working, right, the 369th Armory, right? And after the event, I asked Bayard if I can go down and work with King. I'm thinking he's still in Alabama. So he tells me, well, I'll send you to Ella Baker in Atlanta. Right? So Ella was actually at that time King's executive director, right, of SCLC.
<p />
<p />And so I get down that summer to Atlanta. And there in the office, Ella has a little room in the office. King uses his father's office at the church. Dora is his secretary. And Jane, Jane Stembridge, is a young, white volunteer who had been at the Union Theological Seminary and came down to the meeting that Ella called that formed SNCC, and volunteered to be the first executive secretary for SNCC. So she's in the office there. We hit it off 'cause philosophy and theology. Right? We're talking all the time. And so that is where I learned about SNCC, and that's where I begin the journey that eventually takes me to Mississippi.
<p />
<p />JAY: So what year are we in?
<p />
<p />MOSES: So this is 1960. The sit-ins hit in February 1, 1960. Ella had organized, on Easter weekend in 1960, the conference to bring the sit-in leaders together. And she did that 'cause Ella had been working across the South throughout the '30s, '40s, '50s, so she knew everybody who had actually worked in the South against this racial apartheid, right? So she, through her contacts, got the sit-in leaders to come to her university as she graduated, Shaw in North Carolina. Right? So at that meeting she actually did something that impacted later all the work that I did, which was she created a space that protected the organizers, the leaders of the sit-in, from the older civil rights organizations that wanted them as a youth wing of their operation. So she kind of insisted and created a space so that they could come together and form their own organization. And that's how SNCC came into being. And that happened on that Easter weekend.
<p />
<p />JAY: And somewhere here you decide, or it kind of happens, that this becomes your life.
<p />
<p />MOSES: Well, what happens is what they do at the--they set up a coordinating committee. Marion Barry is the first chairperson. And while I'm working, I'm doing this volunteer work, I'm staying at the YMCA in Atlanta. The coordinating committee comes and has its first meeting that summer in Atlanta, and they decide that they're going to have a conference in the fall for sit-in leaders from across the South. And Jane has to be the organizer for the conference, right? She's their secretary. And she comes to me and says, "I have problem: I don't have any names from Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana of any people who sat in or any kind of sit-in activity in those states," and asks me if I will go scout, right? So I agree. She and Ella get together, and Ella knows all of the really NACP or SCLC leadership in those states, gives the contact information to Jane; Jane writes letters to them saying that SNCC is sending its field representative, right, to come. And so I take off. They put me on a Greyhound bus. I take off. Talladega, Birmingham, Clarksdale, Cleveland, Jackson, Shreveport, New Orleans, and Biloxi, Gulfport, Biloxi, Mobile, back to Atlanta.
<p />
<p />JAY: And, now, you'd been in New York. Clearly there was a black world and a white world. But you'd been in this, you know, elite education. But is this your first real drenching in the deep South?
<p />
<p />MOSES: Yeah, this was the first time. I mean, our family once--I know at least once, maybe twice, our whole family when we were young went down to visit Uncle Bill. Right?
<p />
<p />JAY: So how did that feel? What was the impression?
<p />
<p />MOSES: Well, I was young, right [crosstalk]
<p />
<p />JAY: No, I mean this trip now.
<p />
<p />MOSES: This trip now? Yeah, so I'm a scout, right? I'm also somehow representing this very militant sit-in organization. There's an expectation. So at the bus stop in Atlanta, they're watching to see where I sit when I get on, right? So I sit up front until we get to the Georgia line and I go back. So when the bus hit Anniston, which is where later the Freedom Rider bus was bombed, the Highway Patrol guy comes on, but I'm in the back. He can't tell me from anybody else, right? When I go to Clarksdale, right, Aaron Henry sees me off, and they're watching where I sit. I sit up front, but nobody else is on the bus then.
<p />
<p />But when I get to Cleveland, Amzie, he's working at the post office. They've actually cut his hours down so he only works Saturdays, right? But he's not home. I go over to the post office. But he tells me the rumor is that the Freedom Riders, that these sit-in riders have come to town, right?
<p />
<p />But really I'm really working as a scout undercover, so to speak. I'm trying to be as inconspicuous as I can.
<p />
<p />JAY: But your now direct experience with the apartheid, I mean, it's not that it doesn't exist in New York, but it doesn't exist to the extent it did in the South. Does any--did that impress you in a specific way? Or is it kind of just what you expected?
<p />
<p />MOSES: So, well, what I'm being exposed to is, and really through--Amzie was the first one who really begins to take me in. I spend several days there, and Amzie is the one who tells us what we should do, right? I mean, he really is the one that says--. He's sitting on--he's compiling the information about voter registration in the Delta. And it blows my mind, because I've been to all the schools, and we're talking about, you know, the Iron Curtain; people are giving lectures at Horace Mann, and everybody oh, these people have to vote over there in Eastern Europe and everything, and no one, nobody ever said anything about this congressional district in Mississippi which is 80 percent black in terms of eligible voters that has never sent a black person to Congress, right? So it just blows my mind. And Amzie is plotting how he's--how we're going to--. And he sees the sit-in movement and the youth energy. He's the only one on that whole trip who really sees that the energy is there now to take on Mississippi, right, in the Deep South.
<p />
<p />JAY: And this becomes an issue of voter registration. There's many more potential black voters, but they're not being allowed to vote, essentially.
<p />
<p />MOSES: Right. Yes. So it's not sit-ins, right? So there's no need to have direct action for (you know, sit-in activity here) what we really need. And Amzie has--he has a mind that has grown up and actually penetrated the mind of the white Southern male, men, right? So he has a real sense of what it needs and what it takes, how to turn the key that's going to unlock this thing, except--.
<p />
<p />JAY: And what was it?
<p />
<p />MOSES: Well, it's--what it turned out to be--and this piece of it Amzie didn't have--it turned out to be the national Democratic Party structure.
<p />
<p />JAY: Well, we going to pick up this whole issue of voter registration and the Democratic Party and the fight within the Democratic Party as we continue Reality Asserts Itself with Bob Moses. Please join us for the next segment on The Real News Network.
<p />
<p />End
<p />
<p />DISCLAIMER: Please note that transcripts for The Real News Network are typed from a recording of the program. TRNN cannot guarantee their complete accuracy.
|
Founding SNCC and Taking on Mississippi - Bob Moses on Reality Asserts Itself (4/9)
| true |
http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option%3Dcom_content%26task%3Dview%26id%3D31%26Itemid%3D74%26jumival%3D12026
|
2014-06-23
| 4left
|
Founding SNCC and Taking on Mississippi - Bob Moses on Reality Asserts Itself (4/9)
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p /> PAUL JAY, SENIOR EDITOR, TRNN: Welcome back to The Real News Network. I'm Paul Jay in Baltimore, and this is Reality Asserts Itself.
<p />
<p />We're continuing our series of interviews with Bob Moses, who was one of the most influential leaders of the civil rights movement. He's the founder of the Algebra Project. He was also one of the leaders of the Mississippi Summer project. And Bob joins us again in the studio. Thanks for joining us.
<p />
<p />BOB MOSES, EDUCATOR AND CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST: Yeah.
<p />
<p />JAY: So, one more time, Bob is an educator, a civil rights activist. During the '60s he was a field secretary for SNCC. He also was an outspoken critic of the Vietnam War. And he's the founder of the Algebra Project, as I mentioned. He's also the author of Radical Equations: Civil Rights from Mississippi to the Algebra Project, and coeditor of Quality Education as a Constitutional Right: Creating a Grassroots Movement to Transform Public Schools.
<p />
<p />Thanks for joining us.
<p />
<p />MOSES: Yeah.
<p />
<p />JAY: So we're going to pick up where we were. I asked you at the end of the last segment what you learned from the sit-ins, and what effect that had on you.
<p />
<p />MOSES: I knew that something big was going on, right, 'cause I knew about my uncle, I knew about, you know, the lynchings and stuff like that. So I went down to visit Uncle Bill on my spring break. And so at this point in my life I've been at Harvard, I've gotten an MA. So I graduate from Hamilton in '56. I spent a year at Harvard, I pick up my MA. I'm back there trying to get a doctorate when my mother passes, right? She's really still young. She's in her early 40s. My father just goes--he deteriorates, right, and he ends up in the hospital. So I leave, go back to New York, and get a job, eventually, teaching at Horace Mann School teaching math. And I'm there when the sit-ins break out. And so I go down on my spring break to see my uncle Bill.
<p />
<p />JAY: Go down where?
<p />
<p />MOSES: To Hampton, Virginia. Right?
<p />
<p />So the students at Hampton are marching, demonstrating in Newport News, right? So I march with them over and walk the picket line while they sit in. And Wyatt Tee Walker comes down to do the mass meeting. Now, Wyatt eventually becomes the head of King's organization, right, but right then he's a minister in Petersburg. He announces that they're going to set up an office in Harlem to raise money for King. So I get all the information and go back and go to the organizing meeting. Bayard Rustin is running that organizing meeting and ran the office, right? And so I go down every afternoon after school and volunteer at the office, right? I meet Jack O'Dell, who later becomes King's--over his citizenship program, helping to run the program that Septima Clark developed in South Carolina. So they actually--Harry Belafonte and Sidney Poitier headlined the fund-raising event. They do it at the armory where my father's working, right, the 369th Armory, right? And after the event, I asked Bayard if I can go down and work with King. I'm thinking he's still in Alabama. So he tells me, well, I'll send you to Ella Baker in Atlanta. Right? So Ella was actually at that time King's executive director, right, of SCLC.
<p />
<p />And so I get down that summer to Atlanta. And there in the office, Ella has a little room in the office. King uses his father's office at the church. Dora is his secretary. And Jane, Jane Stembridge, is a young, white volunteer who had been at the Union Theological Seminary and came down to the meeting that Ella called that formed SNCC, and volunteered to be the first executive secretary for SNCC. So she's in the office there. We hit it off 'cause philosophy and theology. Right? We're talking all the time. And so that is where I learned about SNCC, and that's where I begin the journey that eventually takes me to Mississippi.
<p />
<p />JAY: So what year are we in?
<p />
<p />MOSES: So this is 1960. The sit-ins hit in February 1, 1960. Ella had organized, on Easter weekend in 1960, the conference to bring the sit-in leaders together. And she did that 'cause Ella had been working across the South throughout the '30s, '40s, '50s, so she knew everybody who had actually worked in the South against this racial apartheid, right? So she, through her contacts, got the sit-in leaders to come to her university as she graduated, Shaw in North Carolina. Right? So at that meeting she actually did something that impacted later all the work that I did, which was she created a space that protected the organizers, the leaders of the sit-in, from the older civil rights organizations that wanted them as a youth wing of their operation. So she kind of insisted and created a space so that they could come together and form their own organization. And that's how SNCC came into being. And that happened on that Easter weekend.
<p />
<p />JAY: And somewhere here you decide, or it kind of happens, that this becomes your life.
<p />
<p />MOSES: Well, what happens is what they do at the--they set up a coordinating committee. Marion Barry is the first chairperson. And while I'm working, I'm doing this volunteer work, I'm staying at the YMCA in Atlanta. The coordinating committee comes and has its first meeting that summer in Atlanta, and they decide that they're going to have a conference in the fall for sit-in leaders from across the South. And Jane has to be the organizer for the conference, right? She's their secretary. And she comes to me and says, "I have problem: I don't have any names from Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana of any people who sat in or any kind of sit-in activity in those states," and asks me if I will go scout, right? So I agree. She and Ella get together, and Ella knows all of the really NACP or SCLC leadership in those states, gives the contact information to Jane; Jane writes letters to them saying that SNCC is sending its field representative, right, to come. And so I take off. They put me on a Greyhound bus. I take off. Talladega, Birmingham, Clarksdale, Cleveland, Jackson, Shreveport, New Orleans, and Biloxi, Gulfport, Biloxi, Mobile, back to Atlanta.
<p />
<p />JAY: And, now, you'd been in New York. Clearly there was a black world and a white world. But you'd been in this, you know, elite education. But is this your first real drenching in the deep South?
<p />
<p />MOSES: Yeah, this was the first time. I mean, our family once--I know at least once, maybe twice, our whole family when we were young went down to visit Uncle Bill. Right?
<p />
<p />JAY: So how did that feel? What was the impression?
<p />
<p />MOSES: Well, I was young, right [crosstalk]
<p />
<p />JAY: No, I mean this trip now.
<p />
<p />MOSES: This trip now? Yeah, so I'm a scout, right? I'm also somehow representing this very militant sit-in organization. There's an expectation. So at the bus stop in Atlanta, they're watching to see where I sit when I get on, right? So I sit up front until we get to the Georgia line and I go back. So when the bus hit Anniston, which is where later the Freedom Rider bus was bombed, the Highway Patrol guy comes on, but I'm in the back. He can't tell me from anybody else, right? When I go to Clarksdale, right, Aaron Henry sees me off, and they're watching where I sit. I sit up front, but nobody else is on the bus then.
<p />
<p />But when I get to Cleveland, Amzie, he's working at the post office. They've actually cut his hours down so he only works Saturdays, right? But he's not home. I go over to the post office. But he tells me the rumor is that the Freedom Riders, that these sit-in riders have come to town, right?
<p />
<p />But really I'm really working as a scout undercover, so to speak. I'm trying to be as inconspicuous as I can.
<p />
<p />JAY: But your now direct experience with the apartheid, I mean, it's not that it doesn't exist in New York, but it doesn't exist to the extent it did in the South. Does any--did that impress you in a specific way? Or is it kind of just what you expected?
<p />
<p />MOSES: So, well, what I'm being exposed to is, and really through--Amzie was the first one who really begins to take me in. I spend several days there, and Amzie is the one who tells us what we should do, right? I mean, he really is the one that says--. He's sitting on--he's compiling the information about voter registration in the Delta. And it blows my mind, because I've been to all the schools, and we're talking about, you know, the Iron Curtain; people are giving lectures at Horace Mann, and everybody oh, these people have to vote over there in Eastern Europe and everything, and no one, nobody ever said anything about this congressional district in Mississippi which is 80 percent black in terms of eligible voters that has never sent a black person to Congress, right? So it just blows my mind. And Amzie is plotting how he's--how we're going to--. And he sees the sit-in movement and the youth energy. He's the only one on that whole trip who really sees that the energy is there now to take on Mississippi, right, in the Deep South.
<p />
<p />JAY: And this becomes an issue of voter registration. There's many more potential black voters, but they're not being allowed to vote, essentially.
<p />
<p />MOSES: Right. Yes. So it's not sit-ins, right? So there's no need to have direct action for (you know, sit-in activity here) what we really need. And Amzie has--he has a mind that has grown up and actually penetrated the mind of the white Southern male, men, right? So he has a real sense of what it needs and what it takes, how to turn the key that's going to unlock this thing, except--.
<p />
<p />JAY: And what was it?
<p />
<p />MOSES: Well, it's--what it turned out to be--and this piece of it Amzie didn't have--it turned out to be the national Democratic Party structure.
<p />
<p />JAY: Well, we going to pick up this whole issue of voter registration and the Democratic Party and the fight within the Democratic Party as we continue Reality Asserts Itself with Bob Moses. Please join us for the next segment on The Real News Network.
<p />
<p />End
<p />
<p />DISCLAIMER: Please note that transcripts for The Real News Network are typed from a recording of the program. TRNN cannot guarantee their complete accuracy.
| 7,265 |
<p>Satire by <a href="" type="internal">Andy Borowitz</a>Texas Explains Decision on History Textbooks</p>
<p>AUSTIN, Texas — Attempting to explain its controversial decision to revamp its history textbooks, the Texas State Board of Education issued an official statement today. The one-sentence statement reads as follows: “If you were the state responsible for George W. Bush being elected president, you’d throw out your history books, too.”</p>
<p>In other news, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said it had been difficult to get Republicans to vote for health care because of a “tactical error” by President Barack Obama: “He should have called it ‘gun care.’&#160;“</p>
<p>Elsewhere, employment numbers were up, largely due to the government’s decision to start counting people working on Farmville.</p>
<p />
<p>GQ Recalls New Issue After Rielle Hunter Photo Spread Causes Nausea</p>
<p>NEW YORK — In a move that many in the magazine world called unprecedented, GQ today recalled the entire print run of its new issue after a photo spread featuring John Edwards’ mistress, Rielle Hunter, was found to cause nausea and in some cases projectile vomiting.</p>
<p>“We at GQ want our readers to know that we are doing everything in our power to avert a public health catastrophe,” said magazine spokesperson Carol Foyler. “And if that means tracking down every last copy of those Rielle Hunter pictures and destroying them, that’s what we’re going to do.”</p>
<p>As emergency rooms across the country overflowed with people who had unwittingly opened the latest GQ and seen the Hunter photos, fresh concerns were raised over the existence of a John Edwards-Rielle Hunter sex tape.</p>
<p>Rand Deckle, press spokesman for the National Institutes of Health, issued this statement on the matter: “Given the health crisis that the Rielle Hunter photos have created, it is imperative that every copy of that sex tape be secured and buried in the center of the Earth.”</p>
<p>Elsewhere, former Rep. Eric Massa today said he was unworried about a possible ethics investigation, telling reporters, “I welcome a probe, because it always feels good in the end.”</p>
<p>Award-winning humorist, television personality and film actor Andy Borowitz is author of the book “The Republican Playbook.”</p>
<p>© 2010 Creators Syndicate</p>
<p />
|
In Texas, History Isn't What It Used to Be
| true |
https://truthdig.com/articles/in-texas-history-isnt-what-it-used-to-be/
|
2010-03-22
| 4left
|
In Texas, History Isn't What It Used to Be
<p>Satire by <a href="" type="internal">Andy Borowitz</a>Texas Explains Decision on History Textbooks</p>
<p>AUSTIN, Texas — Attempting to explain its controversial decision to revamp its history textbooks, the Texas State Board of Education issued an official statement today. The one-sentence statement reads as follows: “If you were the state responsible for George W. Bush being elected president, you’d throw out your history books, too.”</p>
<p>In other news, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said it had been difficult to get Republicans to vote for health care because of a “tactical error” by President Barack Obama: “He should have called it ‘gun care.’&#160;“</p>
<p>Elsewhere, employment numbers were up, largely due to the government’s decision to start counting people working on Farmville.</p>
<p />
<p>GQ Recalls New Issue After Rielle Hunter Photo Spread Causes Nausea</p>
<p>NEW YORK — In a move that many in the magazine world called unprecedented, GQ today recalled the entire print run of its new issue after a photo spread featuring John Edwards’ mistress, Rielle Hunter, was found to cause nausea and in some cases projectile vomiting.</p>
<p>“We at GQ want our readers to know that we are doing everything in our power to avert a public health catastrophe,” said magazine spokesperson Carol Foyler. “And if that means tracking down every last copy of those Rielle Hunter pictures and destroying them, that’s what we’re going to do.”</p>
<p>As emergency rooms across the country overflowed with people who had unwittingly opened the latest GQ and seen the Hunter photos, fresh concerns were raised over the existence of a John Edwards-Rielle Hunter sex tape.</p>
<p>Rand Deckle, press spokesman for the National Institutes of Health, issued this statement on the matter: “Given the health crisis that the Rielle Hunter photos have created, it is imperative that every copy of that sex tape be secured and buried in the center of the Earth.”</p>
<p>Elsewhere, former Rep. Eric Massa today said he was unworried about a possible ethics investigation, telling reporters, “I welcome a probe, because it always feels good in the end.”</p>
<p>Award-winning humorist, television personality and film actor Andy Borowitz is author of the book “The Republican Playbook.”</p>
<p>© 2010 Creators Syndicate</p>
<p />
| 7,266 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Originally promised for 2007, the plane was most recently expected late this year, but Comac Chairman Jin Zhuanglong said it will now be ready in mid-2014.</p>
<p>“The development will not always go smoothly, and the program cannot be accomplished at one stroke,” Jin was quoted as saying in comments released by the company.</p>
<p>Jin blamed delays in the ARJ21 program on China’s inexperience in designing, building and certifying commercial jetliners. But he said the program is still on track for delivery next year to launch customer Chengdu Airlines, a small Chinese regional carrier that has ordered 30 of the planes.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Delays in the 90-seat ARJ21 could have knock-on effects for the development of the bigger and more ambitious C919, intended to compete with Boeing’s 737 and the Airbus A320. The U.S. Federal Aviation Agency will not issue crucial U.S. certification for the larger plane until the ARJ21 is certified.</p>
<p>Beijing has built up state-owned “national champions” not only in aviation but in industries from oil and telecoms to steel and banking with monopolies, low-cost bank loans and other favors. The government defends the privileges as necessary for creating companies that can compete globally but they are no guarantee of success, with Chinese state firms still lagging far behind Western competitors.</p>
<p>China launched the ARJ21 project in 2002 as rising household incomes sparked a massive expansion of the domestic airline industry that continues to this day. State-owned Comac was formed to build the aircraft in Shanghai and a host of foreign contractors signed on to provide avionics and other crucial systems.</p>
<p>Jin said four prototypes have made 2,000 flights. Two customer aircraft are in final assembly and another is under construction, he said.</p>
<p>Despite its problems, Comac already has about 240 firm orders and options for the ARJ21, mostly from domestic carriers, but also from GE Capital Aviation Services and Lao Airlines. It has even more, about 380, for the 174-seat C919.</p>
<p>Beijing prioritizes homegrown industries, which likely has given a boost to the sales. Beijing must approve all major airplane purchases and has considerable power over financing and other inducements that could sway domestic airlines into ordering the jets.</p>
<p>Equipment maker Honeywell has contracts with both planes, and its Asia-Pacific president for aerospace, Briand Greer, said delays are to be expected given the complexity of bringing together global suppliers and given China’s newness to the Western certification process.</p>
<p>“It’s a very, very complex thing to do. From my perspective, working with Comac isn’t any more difficult than working with the other guys,” Greer said in a recent interview.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>In some ways, working with Comac is better than with established companies such as Airbus and Boeing because the Chinese company has greater appreciation for suggested improvements, Greer said. “They’re much more open to what the suppliers are saying.”</p>
<p>Greer said he has no doubt of the Chinese aircraft’s eventual viability, given the government’s massive backing.</p>
<p>“They made it a national agenda. They’re putting hundreds of millions of dollars into it. It will be successful,” he said.</p>
<p>Most of the customers for the ARJ21 will be Chinese carriers and a few small airlines in developing countries tempted by generous prices and financing terms, said Greg Waldron, Asia Managing Editor at Flightglobal magazine in Singapore.</p>
<p>However, both it and the C919 are “as much about gaining experience and know-how as they are about building competitive airliners,” Waldron said.</p>
<p>“China is very serious about being a global aerospace player, and its current programs should be viewed as long term investments that will only start bearing fruit decades from now,” Waldron said.</p>
|
Delivery of first China jetliner delayed again
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/268876/delivery-of-first-china-jetliner-delayed-again.html
|
2013-09-25
| 2least
|
Delivery of first China jetliner delayed again
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Originally promised for 2007, the plane was most recently expected late this year, but Comac Chairman Jin Zhuanglong said it will now be ready in mid-2014.</p>
<p>“The development will not always go smoothly, and the program cannot be accomplished at one stroke,” Jin was quoted as saying in comments released by the company.</p>
<p>Jin blamed delays in the ARJ21 program on China’s inexperience in designing, building and certifying commercial jetliners. But he said the program is still on track for delivery next year to launch customer Chengdu Airlines, a small Chinese regional carrier that has ordered 30 of the planes.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Delays in the 90-seat ARJ21 could have knock-on effects for the development of the bigger and more ambitious C919, intended to compete with Boeing’s 737 and the Airbus A320. The U.S. Federal Aviation Agency will not issue crucial U.S. certification for the larger plane until the ARJ21 is certified.</p>
<p>Beijing has built up state-owned “national champions” not only in aviation but in industries from oil and telecoms to steel and banking with monopolies, low-cost bank loans and other favors. The government defends the privileges as necessary for creating companies that can compete globally but they are no guarantee of success, with Chinese state firms still lagging far behind Western competitors.</p>
<p>China launched the ARJ21 project in 2002 as rising household incomes sparked a massive expansion of the domestic airline industry that continues to this day. State-owned Comac was formed to build the aircraft in Shanghai and a host of foreign contractors signed on to provide avionics and other crucial systems.</p>
<p>Jin said four prototypes have made 2,000 flights. Two customer aircraft are in final assembly and another is under construction, he said.</p>
<p>Despite its problems, Comac already has about 240 firm orders and options for the ARJ21, mostly from domestic carriers, but also from GE Capital Aviation Services and Lao Airlines. It has even more, about 380, for the 174-seat C919.</p>
<p>Beijing prioritizes homegrown industries, which likely has given a boost to the sales. Beijing must approve all major airplane purchases and has considerable power over financing and other inducements that could sway domestic airlines into ordering the jets.</p>
<p>Equipment maker Honeywell has contracts with both planes, and its Asia-Pacific president for aerospace, Briand Greer, said delays are to be expected given the complexity of bringing together global suppliers and given China’s newness to the Western certification process.</p>
<p>“It’s a very, very complex thing to do. From my perspective, working with Comac isn’t any more difficult than working with the other guys,” Greer said in a recent interview.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>In some ways, working with Comac is better than with established companies such as Airbus and Boeing because the Chinese company has greater appreciation for suggested improvements, Greer said. “They’re much more open to what the suppliers are saying.”</p>
<p>Greer said he has no doubt of the Chinese aircraft’s eventual viability, given the government’s massive backing.</p>
<p>“They made it a national agenda. They’re putting hundreds of millions of dollars into it. It will be successful,” he said.</p>
<p>Most of the customers for the ARJ21 will be Chinese carriers and a few small airlines in developing countries tempted by generous prices and financing terms, said Greg Waldron, Asia Managing Editor at Flightglobal magazine in Singapore.</p>
<p>However, both it and the C919 are “as much about gaining experience and know-how as they are about building competitive airliners,” Waldron said.</p>
<p>“China is very serious about being a global aerospace player, and its current programs should be viewed as long term investments that will only start bearing fruit decades from now,” Waldron said.</p>
| 7,267 |
<p>IRVINE, Calif. (AP) - Tommy Rutherford scored 20 points, leading four into double figures, as UC Irvine held off a second-half rally to defeat Cal Poly 80-73 Thursday night.</p>
<p>The Anteaters (8-13, 3-2 Big West) led by as many as 20 in the second half only to see Cal Poly whittle that down to seven points. But by that time, only 36 seconds remained and Evan Leonard sank a pair of free throws.</p>
<p>Eyassu Worku scored 14 points, Max Hazzard and Leonard added 12 each for Cal Irvine, which shot 51 percent on the night (33 of 64) and held a 42-29 rebounding advantage. The Anteaters also had 17 assists, Worku leading with six and Leonard adding four.</p>
<p>Josh Martin poured in 24 points with 12 rebounds for Cal Poly (6-12, 1-3). Donovan Fields added 18 and Victor Joseph 16. The Mustangs losing streak is three games, and eight of their last 10. Cal Poly had just six assists on 26 made baskets.</p>
<p>IRVINE, Calif. (AP) - Tommy Rutherford scored 20 points, leading four into double figures, as UC Irvine held off a second-half rally to defeat Cal Poly 80-73 Thursday night.</p>
<p>The Anteaters (8-13, 3-2 Big West) led by as many as 20 in the second half only to see Cal Poly whittle that down to seven points. But by that time, only 36 seconds remained and Evan Leonard sank a pair of free throws.</p>
<p>Eyassu Worku scored 14 points, Max Hazzard and Leonard added 12 each for Cal Irvine, which shot 51 percent on the night (33 of 64) and held a 42-29 rebounding advantage. The Anteaters also had 17 assists, Worku leading with six and Leonard adding four.</p>
<p>Josh Martin poured in 24 points with 12 rebounds for Cal Poly (6-12, 1-3). Donovan Fields added 18 and Victor Joseph 16. The Mustangs losing streak is three games, and eight of their last 10. Cal Poly had just six assists on 26 made baskets.</p>
|
UC Irvine fends off late Cal Poly rally in 80-73 win
| false |
https://apnews.com/amp/8805a075dfd74a3a930d0dd074bb746e
|
2018-01-19
| 2least
|
UC Irvine fends off late Cal Poly rally in 80-73 win
<p>IRVINE, Calif. (AP) - Tommy Rutherford scored 20 points, leading four into double figures, as UC Irvine held off a second-half rally to defeat Cal Poly 80-73 Thursday night.</p>
<p>The Anteaters (8-13, 3-2 Big West) led by as many as 20 in the second half only to see Cal Poly whittle that down to seven points. But by that time, only 36 seconds remained and Evan Leonard sank a pair of free throws.</p>
<p>Eyassu Worku scored 14 points, Max Hazzard and Leonard added 12 each for Cal Irvine, which shot 51 percent on the night (33 of 64) and held a 42-29 rebounding advantage. The Anteaters also had 17 assists, Worku leading with six and Leonard adding four.</p>
<p>Josh Martin poured in 24 points with 12 rebounds for Cal Poly (6-12, 1-3). Donovan Fields added 18 and Victor Joseph 16. The Mustangs losing streak is three games, and eight of their last 10. Cal Poly had just six assists on 26 made baskets.</p>
<p>IRVINE, Calif. (AP) - Tommy Rutherford scored 20 points, leading four into double figures, as UC Irvine held off a second-half rally to defeat Cal Poly 80-73 Thursday night.</p>
<p>The Anteaters (8-13, 3-2 Big West) led by as many as 20 in the second half only to see Cal Poly whittle that down to seven points. But by that time, only 36 seconds remained and Evan Leonard sank a pair of free throws.</p>
<p>Eyassu Worku scored 14 points, Max Hazzard and Leonard added 12 each for Cal Irvine, which shot 51 percent on the night (33 of 64) and held a 42-29 rebounding advantage. The Anteaters also had 17 assists, Worku leading with six and Leonard adding four.</p>
<p>Josh Martin poured in 24 points with 12 rebounds for Cal Poly (6-12, 1-3). Donovan Fields added 18 and Victor Joseph 16. The Mustangs losing streak is three games, and eight of their last 10. Cal Poly had just six assists on 26 made baskets.</p>
| 7,268 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>For the 12th year in a row, Morgan Quitno Press, a Lawrence, Kan.-based publishing and research firm, is releasing its lists of safest/most dangerous cities and states.</p>
<p>Nevada repeated last year’s dubious honor of being the nation’s most dangerous state, followed by Louisiana, Arizona, Maryland, South Carolina, Florida, Tennessee, Alaska — and in ninth place, the Land of Enchantment. But, wait. That’s actually GOOD news, because last year we placed sixth.</p>
<p>You’d think, from recent headlines, that the Albuquerque area would be way up there in the rankings, but it’s not in the top 10 of Morgan-Quitno’s most dangerous cities — No. 1 for the second year in a row is Camden, N.J. (Newton, Mass., also repeated as the nation’s safest city).</p>
<p>But the Albuquerque Metro Area did manage to finish as the nation’s 17th most dangerous metropolitan areas (out of 330). That’s even higher that Los Angeles County, which was No. 25. No. 1 among metro areas was Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, Mich.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>But we’re really talking about last year’s news; Morgan-Quitno’s numbers come from the final 2004 statistics, released by the FBI last month, according to today’s Morgan-Quitno news release.</p>
<p>The surveys are based on raw crime rates in six categories — murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and auto theft, then each crime is weighted and compared to the national rates, and the results are totaled into a score for each state, according to the release.</p>
<p>Morgan-Quitno acknowledges that their annual rankings are considered controversial by some in law enforcement, but its news release states that the surveys are done carefully and tell "not only an interesting but a very important story regarding the incidence of crime in the United States."</p>
<p>The complete picture will be released Nov. 22 in Morgan-Quitno Press’s "City Crime Rankings, 12th edition" for $49.95.</p>
|
8:40am — Is It Safe?
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/21910/840am-is-it-safe.html
| 2least
|
8:40am — Is It Safe?
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>For the 12th year in a row, Morgan Quitno Press, a Lawrence, Kan.-based publishing and research firm, is releasing its lists of safest/most dangerous cities and states.</p>
<p>Nevada repeated last year’s dubious honor of being the nation’s most dangerous state, followed by Louisiana, Arizona, Maryland, South Carolina, Florida, Tennessee, Alaska — and in ninth place, the Land of Enchantment. But, wait. That’s actually GOOD news, because last year we placed sixth.</p>
<p>You’d think, from recent headlines, that the Albuquerque area would be way up there in the rankings, but it’s not in the top 10 of Morgan-Quitno’s most dangerous cities — No. 1 for the second year in a row is Camden, N.J. (Newton, Mass., also repeated as the nation’s safest city).</p>
<p>But the Albuquerque Metro Area did manage to finish as the nation’s 17th most dangerous metropolitan areas (out of 330). That’s even higher that Los Angeles County, which was No. 25. No. 1 among metro areas was Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, Mich.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>But we’re really talking about last year’s news; Morgan-Quitno’s numbers come from the final 2004 statistics, released by the FBI last month, according to today’s Morgan-Quitno news release.</p>
<p>The surveys are based on raw crime rates in six categories — murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and auto theft, then each crime is weighted and compared to the national rates, and the results are totaled into a score for each state, according to the release.</p>
<p>Morgan-Quitno acknowledges that their annual rankings are considered controversial by some in law enforcement, but its news release states that the surveys are done carefully and tell "not only an interesting but a very important story regarding the incidence of crime in the United States."</p>
<p>The complete picture will be released Nov. 22 in Morgan-Quitno Press’s "City Crime Rankings, 12th edition" for $49.95.</p>
| 7,269 |
|
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<p />
<p>A much-sought economic recovery can never happen with a disappearing middle class, millions unemployed and the highest rate of immigration in our history as we accept more immigrants annually than all the other nations combined.</p>
<p>Obama ignores an economy staggered by outsourcing, jobs increasingly given to machines and that we must create over 50,000 jobs a month (subtracting some for children) just to keep up with workers added from legal immigration at a whopping 700,000 a year. In contrast, during the Great Depression immigration was effectively stopped. Nor does it address upwards of a half-million illegal border crossers.</p>
<p>How will the president’s and business’s version of “comprehensive immigration reform” — to mean even higher immigration and yet another amnesty — help resident poor and minorities who bear an unfair share of the burden for unfettered immigration? How will it help — based on recent data — blacks with 14 percent unemployment, Hispanics with nearly 10 percent unemployment, minority youths at between 40 and 57 percent unemployment or teens with 23.5 percent unemployment — many of them trying to pay for college?</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Leaders can’t dodge such common-sense underlying issues, simultaneously pander to fringe political groups and fix a broken economy.</p>
<p>KATHLEENE PARKER</p>
<p>Rio Rancho</p>
|
Immigration Is Stagnating Our Economy
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/163728/immigration-is-stagnating-our-economy.html
|
2013-01-27
| 2least
|
Immigration Is Stagnating Our Economy
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>A much-sought economic recovery can never happen with a disappearing middle class, millions unemployed and the highest rate of immigration in our history as we accept more immigrants annually than all the other nations combined.</p>
<p>Obama ignores an economy staggered by outsourcing, jobs increasingly given to machines and that we must create over 50,000 jobs a month (subtracting some for children) just to keep up with workers added from legal immigration at a whopping 700,000 a year. In contrast, during the Great Depression immigration was effectively stopped. Nor does it address upwards of a half-million illegal border crossers.</p>
<p>How will the president’s and business’s version of “comprehensive immigration reform” — to mean even higher immigration and yet another amnesty — help resident poor and minorities who bear an unfair share of the burden for unfettered immigration? How will it help — based on recent data — blacks with 14 percent unemployment, Hispanics with nearly 10 percent unemployment, minority youths at between 40 and 57 percent unemployment or teens with 23.5 percent unemployment — many of them trying to pay for college?</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Leaders can’t dodge such common-sense underlying issues, simultaneously pander to fringe political groups and fix a broken economy.</p>
<p>KATHLEENE PARKER</p>
<p>Rio Rancho</p>
| 7,270 |
<p>patrisyu/Shutterstock</p>
<p />
<p>“An exotic fusion of pineapple and coconut with champagne infused blueberries.”</p>
<p>“Creamy milk chocolate and rich peanut butter flavors.”</p>
<p>No, these are not excerpts from the dessert menu at a fancy hotel. They’re some of the latest offerings from the makers of vape pens and e-cigarettes—which are the same thing, more or less. As e-cigs gain traction (sales are expected to soar seventeenfold over the next 15 years), manufacturers are having a heyday concocting flavors that can be inhaled—an estimated 7,000 to date. Public health experts warn of the addictive nicotine in e-cigs and vaping fluids, and their potential <a href="http://archpedi.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?doi=10.1001/jamapediatrics.2015.1742" type="external">to serve as a</a> “gateway” to tobacco, especially for teens. But a new <a href="http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/wp-content/uploads/advpub/2015/12/ehp.1510185.acco.pdf" type="external">Harvard study</a> instead took a hard look at those tantalizing flavors—and found that a majority, at least of the samples tested, contained chemicals linked to a dangerous lung disease.</p>
<p>Researchers at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health analyzed various e-cig and vape pen liquids for the presence of three related chemicals—diacetyl, 2,3-pentanedione, and acetoin—that are also used in artificial butter flavorings. By the turn of the 21st century, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had deemed diacetyl safe to eat, but little was known about what happened when a person inhales it. Then, in the early 2000s, workers at several plants that manufacture microwave popcorn <a href="https://www.osha.gov/dts/shib/shib10142010.html" type="external">came down with a nasty lung disease</a> after prolonged exposure to the fake-butter fumes. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) investigated cases of this so-called popcorn lung and later released <a href="https://www.osha.gov/dsg/guidance/diacetyl-guidance.html" type="external">guidelines</a> for dealing with diacetyl in the workplace, along with <a href="https://www.osha.gov/dts/shib/shib10142010.html" type="external">a list of foods</a> that contain the chemical. “Current evidence points to diacetyl as one agent that can cause flavorings-related lung disease,” <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/flavorings/exposure.html" type="external">notes</a> the CDC’s National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health. NIOSH says it is uncertain whether the other two compounds pose health risks, but it points out their chemical similarities to diacetyl.</p>
<p>Now the popcorn-lung chemicals are turning up in vape pens. The Harvard researchers tested 51 e-cigarette flavorings they deemed appealing to youths—think “Cupcake” and “Alien Blood”—and found diacetyl in 37 of them. At least one of the three suspect chemicals was present in 47 of the 51 samples. The researchers could not determine conclusively that using an e-cig flavored with these chemicals is harmful. But they pointed out that “the heating, vaporization, and subsequent inhalation” creates “an exposure pathway” similar to that of the microwave popcorn workers. Two of the flavors tested—” <a href="" type="internal">menthol</a>” and “tobacco”—do not appear on the OSHA’s list of flavors likely to contain diacetyl.</p>
<p>Since they landed on the market in 2004, e-cigarettes and vape pens have been dogged by controversy. Fans claim they are far less toxic than <a href="" type="internal">regular cigarettes</a> and might even help tobacco smokers quit. Public health officials counter that it’s too early to know very much about e-cigs’ health effects, especially on young people. (Their use among teens <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2015/p0416-e-cigarette-use.html" type="external">tripled</a> from 2013 to 2014.) At least 43 states <a href="http://publichealthlawcenter.org/resources/us-e-cigarette-regulations-50-state-review" type="external">have placed age restrictions</a> on the sale or possession of the products.</p>
<p>The FDA <a href="" type="internal">does not currently</a> regulate e-cigarettes—it has stalled for years in proceeding with <a href="http://www.fda.gov/TobaccoProducts/Labeling/RulesRegulationsGuidance/ucm388395.htm" type="external">proposed rules</a>that would allow it to regulate the devices as tobacco products. But given the new findings, the agency may want to take a closer look at the sweet flavors that make the nicotine go down.</p>
<p />
|
Flavored E-Cigarettes May Be Worse for You Than Nicotine
| true |
https://motherjones.com/politics/2015/12/flavors-e-cigarettes-popcorn-lung-vape-pens-nicotine/
|
2015-12-09
| 4left
|
Flavored E-Cigarettes May Be Worse for You Than Nicotine
<p>patrisyu/Shutterstock</p>
<p />
<p>“An exotic fusion of pineapple and coconut with champagne infused blueberries.”</p>
<p>“Creamy milk chocolate and rich peanut butter flavors.”</p>
<p>No, these are not excerpts from the dessert menu at a fancy hotel. They’re some of the latest offerings from the makers of vape pens and e-cigarettes—which are the same thing, more or less. As e-cigs gain traction (sales are expected to soar seventeenfold over the next 15 years), manufacturers are having a heyday concocting flavors that can be inhaled—an estimated 7,000 to date. Public health experts warn of the addictive nicotine in e-cigs and vaping fluids, and their potential <a href="http://archpedi.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?doi=10.1001/jamapediatrics.2015.1742" type="external">to serve as a</a> “gateway” to tobacco, especially for teens. But a new <a href="http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/wp-content/uploads/advpub/2015/12/ehp.1510185.acco.pdf" type="external">Harvard study</a> instead took a hard look at those tantalizing flavors—and found that a majority, at least of the samples tested, contained chemicals linked to a dangerous lung disease.</p>
<p>Researchers at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health analyzed various e-cig and vape pen liquids for the presence of three related chemicals—diacetyl, 2,3-pentanedione, and acetoin—that are also used in artificial butter flavorings. By the turn of the 21st century, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had deemed diacetyl safe to eat, but little was known about what happened when a person inhales it. Then, in the early 2000s, workers at several plants that manufacture microwave popcorn <a href="https://www.osha.gov/dts/shib/shib10142010.html" type="external">came down with a nasty lung disease</a> after prolonged exposure to the fake-butter fumes. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) investigated cases of this so-called popcorn lung and later released <a href="https://www.osha.gov/dsg/guidance/diacetyl-guidance.html" type="external">guidelines</a> for dealing with diacetyl in the workplace, along with <a href="https://www.osha.gov/dts/shib/shib10142010.html" type="external">a list of foods</a> that contain the chemical. “Current evidence points to diacetyl as one agent that can cause flavorings-related lung disease,” <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/flavorings/exposure.html" type="external">notes</a> the CDC’s National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health. NIOSH says it is uncertain whether the other two compounds pose health risks, but it points out their chemical similarities to diacetyl.</p>
<p>Now the popcorn-lung chemicals are turning up in vape pens. The Harvard researchers tested 51 e-cigarette flavorings they deemed appealing to youths—think “Cupcake” and “Alien Blood”—and found diacetyl in 37 of them. At least one of the three suspect chemicals was present in 47 of the 51 samples. The researchers could not determine conclusively that using an e-cig flavored with these chemicals is harmful. But they pointed out that “the heating, vaporization, and subsequent inhalation” creates “an exposure pathway” similar to that of the microwave popcorn workers. Two of the flavors tested—” <a href="" type="internal">menthol</a>” and “tobacco”—do not appear on the OSHA’s list of flavors likely to contain diacetyl.</p>
<p>Since they landed on the market in 2004, e-cigarettes and vape pens have been dogged by controversy. Fans claim they are far less toxic than <a href="" type="internal">regular cigarettes</a> and might even help tobacco smokers quit. Public health officials counter that it’s too early to know very much about e-cigs’ health effects, especially on young people. (Their use among teens <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2015/p0416-e-cigarette-use.html" type="external">tripled</a> from 2013 to 2014.) At least 43 states <a href="http://publichealthlawcenter.org/resources/us-e-cigarette-regulations-50-state-review" type="external">have placed age restrictions</a> on the sale or possession of the products.</p>
<p>The FDA <a href="" type="internal">does not currently</a> regulate e-cigarettes—it has stalled for years in proceeding with <a href="http://www.fda.gov/TobaccoProducts/Labeling/RulesRegulationsGuidance/ucm388395.htm" type="external">proposed rules</a>that would allow it to regulate the devices as tobacco products. But given the new findings, the agency may want to take a closer look at the sweet flavors that make the nicotine go down.</p>
<p />
| 7,271 |
<p>Donald Trump doesn’t appear to even be trying to act like he cares about being President, as his responses to both the Las Vegas shooting and Puerto Rico’s devastation following 2 massive hurricanes have shown us. So why won’t he resign? Ring of Fire’s <a href="https://twitter.com/farronbalanced?lang=en" type="external">Farron Cousins</a> explains Trump’s decision to remain in a position that he clearly hates.</p>
<p />
<p>Transcript:</p>
<p>Donald Trump has been under the media spotlight since obviously he won the Presidential election in 2016. And in that time, we’ve noticed a very interesting shift in the way that he operates. At first, he attempted to be a little bit more reserved. He tried to act like he was actually going to do this job. Before inauguration but after the election, he was meeting with people. He was coming up with ideas. He was talking about prescription drug prices and how he had to get those down. We had Ivanka Trump coming in acting like she was going to be some kind of liberal savior in the White House.</p>
<p>But here we are in October, and I think one thing is absolutely clear about Donald Trump today. And that is he really does not want to President of the United States. He just doesn’t know how to get out of the job without looking like a failure. Here’s the evidence. Donald Trump admitted a few months ago that this job was a lot harder than he thought it would be. He is constantly going on vacation. He cannot handle the media scrutiny. He’s constantly having to lash out at the media because that’s all he can focus on. He basically … He thought this job was going to be sunshine and rainbows and parades in his honor every single day. He didn’t realize he was actually going to have to work.</p>
<p>He didn’t realize he was going to have to respond to crises like the two category five hurricanes that hit Puerto Rico, or the hurricanes that hit Florida, and Galveston, and Houston, and the wildfires in the West, and the shooting in Las Vegas. He didn’t think he was going to have to deal with crap. He thought he was just going to be able to sit back, put his feet up on the Oval Office desk, and just say, “Wow, everybody loves me. What a great guy I am.” And I think it’s gotten to him. I really do. I think the nonstop investigations, the constant allegations of wrongdoing, the constant resignations and firings of his own staff proves that he does not want to be in the position that he is in.</p>
<p>Unfortunately again, he is a massive narcissist. And he doesn’t know how to get out of this without looking bad. So today, I’m going to offer Donald Trump a piece of advice. Feel free to use this talking point when you resign. Here it is. Ladies and gentlemen of the United States of America, listen. I’ve loved this job. It’s a great job. It’s probably the best job in the world. However, my businesses are suffering because I’m not able to focus all of my attention on them. I have thousands of employees working for me all over the world, and I made a commitment to them when I hired them that I was going to take care of them, and I’ve not been doing that.</p>
<p>So I resign as president because I’ve got to take care of these working people. They depend on me and I’m letting them down. There you go. That’s your resignation speech. We’ll get the transcript over to you if you want to use it, if you want to read it at any point. Because again, it’s very obvious you don’t want to be doing this job. You’re just looking for a way to get out. Well, I just gave it to you. You’re welcome. Please, feel free to use that at the first opportunity you get.</p>
|
Does Donald Trump Even Want To Be President Anymore?
| true |
https://trofire.com/2017/10/06/donald-trump-even-want-president-anymore/
| 4left
|
Does Donald Trump Even Want To Be President Anymore?
<p>Donald Trump doesn’t appear to even be trying to act like he cares about being President, as his responses to both the Las Vegas shooting and Puerto Rico’s devastation following 2 massive hurricanes have shown us. So why won’t he resign? Ring of Fire’s <a href="https://twitter.com/farronbalanced?lang=en" type="external">Farron Cousins</a> explains Trump’s decision to remain in a position that he clearly hates.</p>
<p />
<p>Transcript:</p>
<p>Donald Trump has been under the media spotlight since obviously he won the Presidential election in 2016. And in that time, we’ve noticed a very interesting shift in the way that he operates. At first, he attempted to be a little bit more reserved. He tried to act like he was actually going to do this job. Before inauguration but after the election, he was meeting with people. He was coming up with ideas. He was talking about prescription drug prices and how he had to get those down. We had Ivanka Trump coming in acting like she was going to be some kind of liberal savior in the White House.</p>
<p>But here we are in October, and I think one thing is absolutely clear about Donald Trump today. And that is he really does not want to President of the United States. He just doesn’t know how to get out of the job without looking like a failure. Here’s the evidence. Donald Trump admitted a few months ago that this job was a lot harder than he thought it would be. He is constantly going on vacation. He cannot handle the media scrutiny. He’s constantly having to lash out at the media because that’s all he can focus on. He basically … He thought this job was going to be sunshine and rainbows and parades in his honor every single day. He didn’t realize he was actually going to have to work.</p>
<p>He didn’t realize he was going to have to respond to crises like the two category five hurricanes that hit Puerto Rico, or the hurricanes that hit Florida, and Galveston, and Houston, and the wildfires in the West, and the shooting in Las Vegas. He didn’t think he was going to have to deal with crap. He thought he was just going to be able to sit back, put his feet up on the Oval Office desk, and just say, “Wow, everybody loves me. What a great guy I am.” And I think it’s gotten to him. I really do. I think the nonstop investigations, the constant allegations of wrongdoing, the constant resignations and firings of his own staff proves that he does not want to be in the position that he is in.</p>
<p>Unfortunately again, he is a massive narcissist. And he doesn’t know how to get out of this without looking bad. So today, I’m going to offer Donald Trump a piece of advice. Feel free to use this talking point when you resign. Here it is. Ladies and gentlemen of the United States of America, listen. I’ve loved this job. It’s a great job. It’s probably the best job in the world. However, my businesses are suffering because I’m not able to focus all of my attention on them. I have thousands of employees working for me all over the world, and I made a commitment to them when I hired them that I was going to take care of them, and I’ve not been doing that.</p>
<p>So I resign as president because I’ve got to take care of these working people. They depend on me and I’m letting them down. There you go. That’s your resignation speech. We’ll get the transcript over to you if you want to use it, if you want to read it at any point. Because again, it’s very obvious you don’t want to be doing this job. You’re just looking for a way to get out. Well, I just gave it to you. You’re welcome. Please, feel free to use that at the first opportunity you get.</p>
| 7,272 |
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<p>The British tabloid The Sun may have called it a "sex tape" but the giant pandas at the Edinburgh Zoo did not get it on despite what the zoo's director called a "huge amount of eagerness and attraction," <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-17614038" type="external">according to the BBC</a>.</p>
<p>Tian Tian and Yang Guang, also known as Sweetie and Sunshine respectively, had a "series of encounters" said zoo officials, but things went no further.</p>
<p>After being kept in separate enclosures since their arrival in December, the two pandas were allowed to meet each other for the first time during Sweetie's ovulation cycle. The pandas were taken off display, the "pandacam" was turned off, and Sunshine was allowed into Sweetie's enclosure in five-minute intervals, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-17596483" type="external">said the BBC</a>.</p>
<p>Though their body language was encouraging, zoo staff said Sweetie's tail kept getting in the way.</p>
<p>The 36-hour window during which female pandas ovulate was fast closing on the pair and Thursday morning may be their last chance for romance, if Tian Tian's hormone levels are still elevated, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-17614038" type="external">said the BBC</a>.</p>
<p>More on GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/news/regions/europe/united-kingdom/uks-only-panda-pair-ushered-zoo-love-channel-36-hour-m" type="external">UK's only panda pair ushered into zoo 'love channel' for 36-hour mating attempt</a></p>
<p>Zoo officials had been carefully optimistic because both the pandas had reproduced before.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4237501/Giant-pandas-Sunshine-and-Sweetie-are-caught-on-sex-tape.html" type="external">The Sun reported</a> that the zoo said, "[Sweetie] was extremely interested and showing all the right signs. She was calling out to him in a high pitched sound." Reportedly, "Sweetie was rubbing against the sides of the love tunnel before it opened. As soon as they were introduced, they had a bit of 'wrestling.'"</p>
<p>Sadly, "despite their increasingly amorous calls to each other, their paw - and muzzle-touching through the love tunnel grille, and yearning glances, their relative inexperience had shown through," <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/apr/04/giant-pandas-fail-to-mate" type="external">said The Guardian</a>.</p>
<p>Edinburgh Zoo's director of conservation, Iain Valentine, said, "We are hugely encouraged by how much the natural sparks flew between the two animals, as like humans, not all male and female pandas are attracted to each other. Both were keen to mate, but their inexperience showed. Baby cubs would have been a bonus this year, but we have to appreciate that the pandas have only just arrived and have had limited time to settle," <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-17614038" type="external">according to the BBC</a>.</p>
|
Pandas made moves but failed to mate
| false |
https://pri.org/stories/2012-04-04/pandas-made-moves-failed-mate
|
2012-04-04
| 3left-center
|
Pandas made moves but failed to mate
<p>The British tabloid The Sun may have called it a "sex tape" but the giant pandas at the Edinburgh Zoo did not get it on despite what the zoo's director called a "huge amount of eagerness and attraction," <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-17614038" type="external">according to the BBC</a>.</p>
<p>Tian Tian and Yang Guang, also known as Sweetie and Sunshine respectively, had a "series of encounters" said zoo officials, but things went no further.</p>
<p>After being kept in separate enclosures since their arrival in December, the two pandas were allowed to meet each other for the first time during Sweetie's ovulation cycle. The pandas were taken off display, the "pandacam" was turned off, and Sunshine was allowed into Sweetie's enclosure in five-minute intervals, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-17596483" type="external">said the BBC</a>.</p>
<p>Though their body language was encouraging, zoo staff said Sweetie's tail kept getting in the way.</p>
<p>The 36-hour window during which female pandas ovulate was fast closing on the pair and Thursday morning may be their last chance for romance, if Tian Tian's hormone levels are still elevated, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-17614038" type="external">said the BBC</a>.</p>
<p>More on GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/news/regions/europe/united-kingdom/uks-only-panda-pair-ushered-zoo-love-channel-36-hour-m" type="external">UK's only panda pair ushered into zoo 'love channel' for 36-hour mating attempt</a></p>
<p>Zoo officials had been carefully optimistic because both the pandas had reproduced before.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4237501/Giant-pandas-Sunshine-and-Sweetie-are-caught-on-sex-tape.html" type="external">The Sun reported</a> that the zoo said, "[Sweetie] was extremely interested and showing all the right signs. She was calling out to him in a high pitched sound." Reportedly, "Sweetie was rubbing against the sides of the love tunnel before it opened. As soon as they were introduced, they had a bit of 'wrestling.'"</p>
<p>Sadly, "despite their increasingly amorous calls to each other, their paw - and muzzle-touching through the love tunnel grille, and yearning glances, their relative inexperience had shown through," <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/apr/04/giant-pandas-fail-to-mate" type="external">said The Guardian</a>.</p>
<p>Edinburgh Zoo's director of conservation, Iain Valentine, said, "We are hugely encouraged by how much the natural sparks flew between the two animals, as like humans, not all male and female pandas are attracted to each other. Both were keen to mate, but their inexperience showed. Baby cubs would have been a bonus this year, but we have to appreciate that the pandas have only just arrived and have had limited time to settle," <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-17614038" type="external">according to the BBC</a>.</p>
| 7,273 |
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<p />
<p>6:35 p.m.</p>
<p>&#160; Probable starters: Isotopes RHP German Marquez (0.0, 1.69) vs. Aces RHP Zack Godley (0-1, 4.22)</p>
<p>&#160; Radio: 610 AM</p>
<p>Promotion: Team poster giveaway</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Tuesday: Visiting Reno blasted four homers, two of them by Oswaldo Arcia, and rolled to a 7-4 win over the Isotopes in the opener of a four-game series.</p>
<p>Transactions: IF Pat Valaika was recalled by the parent Colorado Rockies on Tuesday. The Rockies optioned OF Raimel Tapia and RHP Shane Carle to Albuquerque and reinstated OF Gerardo Parra from the paternity list.</p>
<p><a href="https://d3el53au0d7w62.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/18/Box-Score-4.18.pdf" type="external">box-score-4-18</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p>
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Topes Today, Wednesday, April 19
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/989961/topes-today-wednesday-april-19.html
| 2least
|
Topes Today, Wednesday, April 19
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<p />
<p>6:35 p.m.</p>
<p>&#160; Probable starters: Isotopes RHP German Marquez (0.0, 1.69) vs. Aces RHP Zack Godley (0-1, 4.22)</p>
<p>&#160; Radio: 610 AM</p>
<p>Promotion: Team poster giveaway</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Tuesday: Visiting Reno blasted four homers, two of them by Oswaldo Arcia, and rolled to a 7-4 win over the Isotopes in the opener of a four-game series.</p>
<p>Transactions: IF Pat Valaika was recalled by the parent Colorado Rockies on Tuesday. The Rockies optioned OF Raimel Tapia and RHP Shane Carle to Albuquerque and reinstated OF Gerardo Parra from the paternity list.</p>
<p><a href="https://d3el53au0d7w62.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/18/Box-Score-4.18.pdf" type="external">box-score-4-18</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p>
| 7,274 |
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<p>WASHINGTON — Republicans tried to make Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer the face of the government shutdown. Now, he’s becoming the face of the Democratic retreat.</p>
<p>For two days, Schumer, perhaps the most powerful Democrat in Washington, succeeded in keeping his party unified in a bid to use the government funding fight to push for protections for some 700,000 young immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children. But as the shutdown moved into its third day, the New York Democrat and his party buckled as several Democrats backed a deal to end the shutdown in exchange for a Republican pledge to address the immigration debate in the near future.</p>
<p>Schumer quickly became a punching bag for the right and left.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“It’s official: Chuck Schumer is the worst negotiator in Washington — even worse than Trump,” said Murshed Zaheed, political director for the liberal group CREDO.</p>
<p>“Schumer caved,” tweeted former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, an ally to President Donald Trump. He added, “Lessons learned — Schumer burned.”</p>
<p>Schumer had little margin for error in this first major test of his muscle and maneuvering as leader.</p>
<p>The pragmatist was balancing the demands of a liberal base eager for a fight with the president and the political realities of red-state senators anxious about their re-election prospects this fall.</p>
<p>As liberals embraced the fight, some vulnerable senators met with Schumer on Sunday morning and urged a compromise to end the shutdown.</p>
<p>“The question is, how do we get out of here in a way that reflects what the majority of the body wants to do,” said Sen. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, who is among the Democrats on the ballot in November. She added: “It is critically important that we get this done today.”</p>
<p>The Senate voted Monday to pass a bill that would extend government funding through Feb. 8. In a bid to win over a few Democratic holdouts, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell also pledged to take up legislation on immigration and other top Democratic priorities if they weren’t already addressed by the time that spending bill would expire.</p>
<p>McConnell’s pledge was enough to sway the handful of Democrats he needed to pass the spending bill.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Democratic aides said that while Schumer, who spent the weekend calling members on his flip phone, initially appeared to be holding the party together, the desire to end the shutdown won out.</p>
<p>Liberal leaders across the country hosted a conference call before Monday’s vote to encourage Schumer and other Democrats to oppose any deal that excludes protections for the young immigrants.</p>
<p>“To anyone considering such a move, let me be clear: Promises won’t protect anyone from deportation,” said Greisa Martinez Rosas, a so-called “Dreamer” and the advocacy director for the liberal group United We Dream. “Delay means deportation for us.”</p>
<p>Despite controlling the White House and both chambers of Congress, Republicans pinned the blame for the shutdown squarely on Schumer, accusing him of being captive to liberals and advocacy groups which opposed any spending package that didn’t result in a solution for the young immigrants. The White House and GOP officials branded the funding gap the “Schumer Shutdown,” spreading the phrase as a hashtag on social media.</p>
<p>Immigration advocates hoped Schumer would see that as badge of honor, but there was anxiety about his resolve.</p>
<p>“He went to the mats,” said Frank Sharry, the executive director of the immigration advocacy group America’s Voice. “He had the backbone to lead his caucus into a high-stakes, high risk battle. It thrilled progressives.”</p>
<p>Should Democrats blink first, he predicted, “The era of good feeling quickly will be replaced by anger and disappointment.”</p>
<p>Schumer isn’t the most natural fit for the role of champion of the left.</p>
<p>The energetic, four-term senator is viewed as more of a pragmatist than an ideologue. He has long faced skepticism from some liberals, thanks, in part, to his Wall Street ties. He frustrated many Democrats with his opposition to the Iran nuclear deal championed by President Barack Obama.</p>
<p>In 2013, Schumer was part of a bipartisan group of senators who worked on a sweeping overhaul of the nation’s fractured immigration laws. The package, which would have created a pathway to citizenship for millions of people in the U.S. illegally, was narrowly approved in the Senate but never taken up by the House</p>
<p>Just last month, immigration advocates, including members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, were furious with Schumer and Democratic leaders for not forcing a fight over the young immigrants. Democratic aides said despite the pressure from some of his party’s most energized forces, Schumer knew his caucus would not hold together at that point. Indeed, 18 Democratic senators ultimately voted for the short-term spending bill that kicked both the budget battle and the immigration fight into the new year.</p>
<p>The dynamic shifted in January. Democrats began the year hopeful that Trump, who has expressed sympathy for the young immigrants, would be willing to make a big deal. When those plans collapsed, Schumer found more enthusiasm even among moderate Democrat senators to withhold support for a spending bill that didn’t address immigration, even if it meant forcing a shutdown.</p>
<p>He was helped along, according to multiple Democratic aides, by revelations that Trump had told lawmakers during a private meeting that he wanted less immigration from “shithole” countries in Africa and more from places like Norway.</p>
<p>Schumer experienced a sea change after the remarks, according to one aide, who like other Democrats and Trump advisers, insisted on anonymity in order to describe private deliberations.</p>
<p>Some liberals fear the sea change is over.</p>
<p>“Today’s cave by Senate Democrats — led by weak-kneed, right-of-center Democrats — is why people don’t believe the Democratic Party stands for anything,” said Stephanie Taylor, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee. “These weak Democrats hurt the party’s brand for everyone and make it harder to elect Democrats everywhere in 2018.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Peoples reported from New York. Associated Press writers Andrew Taylor, Catherine Lucey, Alan Fram and Zeke Miller contributed to this report.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Julie Pace at <a href="http://twitter.com/jpaceDC" type="external">http://twitter.com/jpaceDC</a></p>
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Schumer’s ‘cave’? Shutdown deal puts spotlight on Dem leader
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/1122678/schumers-moment-shutdown-puts-spotlight-on-dem-leader.html
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2018-01-22
| 2least
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Schumer’s ‘cave’? Shutdown deal puts spotlight on Dem leader
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<p>WASHINGTON — Republicans tried to make Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer the face of the government shutdown. Now, he’s becoming the face of the Democratic retreat.</p>
<p>For two days, Schumer, perhaps the most powerful Democrat in Washington, succeeded in keeping his party unified in a bid to use the government funding fight to push for protections for some 700,000 young immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children. But as the shutdown moved into its third day, the New York Democrat and his party buckled as several Democrats backed a deal to end the shutdown in exchange for a Republican pledge to address the immigration debate in the near future.</p>
<p>Schumer quickly became a punching bag for the right and left.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“It’s official: Chuck Schumer is the worst negotiator in Washington — even worse than Trump,” said Murshed Zaheed, political director for the liberal group CREDO.</p>
<p>“Schumer caved,” tweeted former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, an ally to President Donald Trump. He added, “Lessons learned — Schumer burned.”</p>
<p>Schumer had little margin for error in this first major test of his muscle and maneuvering as leader.</p>
<p>The pragmatist was balancing the demands of a liberal base eager for a fight with the president and the political realities of red-state senators anxious about their re-election prospects this fall.</p>
<p>As liberals embraced the fight, some vulnerable senators met with Schumer on Sunday morning and urged a compromise to end the shutdown.</p>
<p>“The question is, how do we get out of here in a way that reflects what the majority of the body wants to do,” said Sen. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, who is among the Democrats on the ballot in November. She added: “It is critically important that we get this done today.”</p>
<p>The Senate voted Monday to pass a bill that would extend government funding through Feb. 8. In a bid to win over a few Democratic holdouts, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell also pledged to take up legislation on immigration and other top Democratic priorities if they weren’t already addressed by the time that spending bill would expire.</p>
<p>McConnell’s pledge was enough to sway the handful of Democrats he needed to pass the spending bill.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Democratic aides said that while Schumer, who spent the weekend calling members on his flip phone, initially appeared to be holding the party together, the desire to end the shutdown won out.</p>
<p>Liberal leaders across the country hosted a conference call before Monday’s vote to encourage Schumer and other Democrats to oppose any deal that excludes protections for the young immigrants.</p>
<p>“To anyone considering such a move, let me be clear: Promises won’t protect anyone from deportation,” said Greisa Martinez Rosas, a so-called “Dreamer” and the advocacy director for the liberal group United We Dream. “Delay means deportation for us.”</p>
<p>Despite controlling the White House and both chambers of Congress, Republicans pinned the blame for the shutdown squarely on Schumer, accusing him of being captive to liberals and advocacy groups which opposed any spending package that didn’t result in a solution for the young immigrants. The White House and GOP officials branded the funding gap the “Schumer Shutdown,” spreading the phrase as a hashtag on social media.</p>
<p>Immigration advocates hoped Schumer would see that as badge of honor, but there was anxiety about his resolve.</p>
<p>“He went to the mats,” said Frank Sharry, the executive director of the immigration advocacy group America’s Voice. “He had the backbone to lead his caucus into a high-stakes, high risk battle. It thrilled progressives.”</p>
<p>Should Democrats blink first, he predicted, “The era of good feeling quickly will be replaced by anger and disappointment.”</p>
<p>Schumer isn’t the most natural fit for the role of champion of the left.</p>
<p>The energetic, four-term senator is viewed as more of a pragmatist than an ideologue. He has long faced skepticism from some liberals, thanks, in part, to his Wall Street ties. He frustrated many Democrats with his opposition to the Iran nuclear deal championed by President Barack Obama.</p>
<p>In 2013, Schumer was part of a bipartisan group of senators who worked on a sweeping overhaul of the nation’s fractured immigration laws. The package, which would have created a pathway to citizenship for millions of people in the U.S. illegally, was narrowly approved in the Senate but never taken up by the House</p>
<p>Just last month, immigration advocates, including members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, were furious with Schumer and Democratic leaders for not forcing a fight over the young immigrants. Democratic aides said despite the pressure from some of his party’s most energized forces, Schumer knew his caucus would not hold together at that point. Indeed, 18 Democratic senators ultimately voted for the short-term spending bill that kicked both the budget battle and the immigration fight into the new year.</p>
<p>The dynamic shifted in January. Democrats began the year hopeful that Trump, who has expressed sympathy for the young immigrants, would be willing to make a big deal. When those plans collapsed, Schumer found more enthusiasm even among moderate Democrat senators to withhold support for a spending bill that didn’t address immigration, even if it meant forcing a shutdown.</p>
<p>He was helped along, according to multiple Democratic aides, by revelations that Trump had told lawmakers during a private meeting that he wanted less immigration from “shithole” countries in Africa and more from places like Norway.</p>
<p>Schumer experienced a sea change after the remarks, according to one aide, who like other Democrats and Trump advisers, insisted on anonymity in order to describe private deliberations.</p>
<p>Some liberals fear the sea change is over.</p>
<p>“Today’s cave by Senate Democrats — led by weak-kneed, right-of-center Democrats — is why people don’t believe the Democratic Party stands for anything,” said Stephanie Taylor, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee. “These weak Democrats hurt the party’s brand for everyone and make it harder to elect Democrats everywhere in 2018.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Peoples reported from New York. Associated Press writers Andrew Taylor, Catherine Lucey, Alan Fram and Zeke Miller contributed to this report.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Julie Pace at <a href="http://twitter.com/jpaceDC" type="external">http://twitter.com/jpaceDC</a></p>
| 7,275 |
<p />
<p>On Monday the House and Senate began considering the $700 billion gift to Wall Street otherwise known as the bailout package, presented to them in recent days by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. How will it fare on the floor of Congress? A clue to what we can expect can be found in the congressional response to the 1999 Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, which helped pave the way for the current economic crisis.</p>
<p>This now infamous piece of legislation repealed part of the Glass-Steagall Act, passed in 1933 in response to the banking collapse of the Great Depression. Glass-Steagall enforced a firewall between investment banks, commercial banks, and insurance companies, in order separate high-flying Wall Street risk-takers from the banks where Americans keep their money in checking and savings accounts.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Phil Gramm</a>, then a Republican senator from Texas, and recently an economic advisor to the McCain campaign, took the lead in undoing Glass-Steagall, a move the financial services industry had been lobbying for since at least the 1980s. (James Leach, a former Republican congressman from Iowa, introduced the House version of the bill. He is now a leader of Republicans for Obama.) <a href="" type="internal">Bill Clinton</a> was also an enthusiastic supporter of banking deregulation. And it was Clinton Treasury Secretary <a href="http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9805E7D61238F934A15753C1A96F958260&amp;sec=&amp;spon=&amp;pagewanted=1" type="external">Robert Rubin</a> who brokered the compromise that allowed the legislation to move forward in Congress—shortly before he left the administration to join Citigroup. (In November 1999, Mother Jones published a piece on the dangerous implications of Gramm-Leach-Bliley, under the headline “ <a href="" type="internal">Robert Rubin Rewrites the Rules</a>.”)</p>
<p>How Democrats in Congress dealt with Gramm-Leach-Bliley has now become a subject of debate. The final version of the legislation won nearly universal bipartisan support and passed by a wide margin in both houses of Congress in November 1998. The Senate’s 90 yea votes included those of such prominent Democrats as Ted Kennedy, Chris Dodd, Chuck Schumer, and Harry Reid, along with VP nominee Joe Biden.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/9/16/203823/008/1013/601053" type="external">Some</a>, by way of trying to absolve Democrats of responsibility for passing this measure, have argued that the vote on the earlier Senate version of the bill (before the final conference version) was 54 to 44, divided along partisan lines, with all of the above Dems voting against it. This is true—though at the time most Democrats’ objections had nothing to do with preserving the Glass-Steagall firewall. In the end, only nine senators, including Russ Feingold, Tom Harkin, Barbara Mikulski, and Paul Wellstone, along with Independent Bernie Sanders, refused to lend their names to the final bill, regardless of how inevitable its passage was.</p>
<p>But that was then. Now one question is whether Democrats will be as friendly to Wall Street as many were during the 1998 debate. As the current debate gets under way, prominent progressive populists are trying to shape the policy discussion.</p>
<p>On Sunday Clinton-era Labor Secretary Robert Reich, <a href="http://robertreich.blogspot.com/2008/09/what-wall-street-should-be-required-to.html" type="external">outlined</a> the demands Congress should make of Wall Street in return for the massive bailout that’s currently under consideration. He suggests Congress mandate that “Wall Street executives and directors of Wall Street firms relinquish their current stock options and this year’s other forms of compensation, and agree to future compensation linked to a rolling five-year average of firm profitability. Why should taxpayers feather their already amply-feathered nests?” And, as part of any bailout legislation, he writes, Congress should require that “the government (i.e. taxpayers) gets an equity stake in every Wall Street financial company proportional to the amount of bad debt that company shoves onto the public. So when and if Wall Street shares rise, taxpayers are rewarded for accepting so much risk.”</p>
<p>In a recent <a href="http://www.sanders.senate.gov/news/record.cfm?id=303313" type="external">op-ed</a> Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) made a similar point, suggesting that “that taxpayers receive equity stakes in the bailed-out companies so that the assumption of risk is rewarded when companies’ stock goes up.”</p>
<p />
<p>…If the government is going to save companies from bankruptcy, the taxpayers of this country should be rewarded for assuming the risk by sharing in the gains that result from this government bailout.</p>
<p>Detailing a four-point plan to address the financial crisis, Sanders notes that “legislation must be passed which undoes the damage caused by excessive deregulation. That means reinstalling the regulatory firewalls that were ripped down in 1999.” Among other things, he advocates levying a “five-year, 10 percent surtax on income over $1 million a year for couples and over $500,000 for single taxpayers.” According to Sanders, this would raise $300 billion in revenue.</p>
<p>As Congress hammers out the terms of the Wall Street bailout, one that puts US taxpayers at significant financial <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,425712,00.html" type="external">risk</a> it’s worth looking to the past when considering the future. In the current financial crisis, congressional Democrats—not to mention a prospective Democratic president—will need to have steel in their spines to support the interests of Main Street when they clash with the interests of Wall Street. And if they maintain the Clinton triangulation approach of the 1990s, average Americans will once again have no one in their corner.</p>
<p>UPDATE: Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) just issued a <a href="http://oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=2190" type="external">statement</a> expressing “serious reservations about the Administration’s bailout proposal.”</p>
<p />
<p>The structure of the plan appears designed to maximize returns for Wall Street and minimize protections for the taxpayer.</p>
<p>The Administration’s plan completely eviscerates the concept of moral hazard. It would enrich the Wall Street executives whose reckless investments caused the financial crisis. The taxpayer is being asked to risk billions to protect the bonuses of investment bankers.</p>
<p>There was public outrage when the CEOs of Countrywide, Merrill Lynch, and Citigroup walked away with hundreds of millions of dollars after causing billions of dollars of losses. But what President Bush and Secretary Paulson are proposing is worse: the taxpayer will be funding million-dollar payouts on Wall Street.</p>
<p>Congress needs to insist on firm limits on executive compensation. No financial institution that gets federal relief should pay its CEO more than $2 million annually. That’s over ten times what the Secretary of Treasury makes.</p>
<p>Congress should also insist on greater financial transparency. We should not give bailouts to firms that continue to conceal their balance sheets from investors and the government.</p>
<p>I support intervention to protect the functioning of our capital markets. But we need to consider alternatives to the President’s plan. There are other approaches that could provide more relief more quickly at less cost to the taxpayer. While we need to move quickly, we should not be stampeded into enacting a flawed proposal at huge costs to the taxpayer. We need to expeditiously evaluate a range of options and enact the one with the greatest likelihood of success and the least exposure to the taxpayer.</p>
<p>Photo by flickr user <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/epicharmus/2046126318/" type="external">epicharmus</a> used under a <a href="http://www.creativecommons.org" type="external">Creative Commons</a> license.</p>
<p />
|
Wall Street vs. The Democrats: Don’t Hold Your Breath
| true |
https://motherjones.com/politics/2008/09/wall-street-vs-democrats-dont-hold-your-breath/
|
2008-09-22
| 4left
|
Wall Street vs. The Democrats: Don’t Hold Your Breath
<p />
<p>On Monday the House and Senate began considering the $700 billion gift to Wall Street otherwise known as the bailout package, presented to them in recent days by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. How will it fare on the floor of Congress? A clue to what we can expect can be found in the congressional response to the 1999 Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, which helped pave the way for the current economic crisis.</p>
<p>This now infamous piece of legislation repealed part of the Glass-Steagall Act, passed in 1933 in response to the banking collapse of the Great Depression. Glass-Steagall enforced a firewall between investment banks, commercial banks, and insurance companies, in order separate high-flying Wall Street risk-takers from the banks where Americans keep their money in checking and savings accounts.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Phil Gramm</a>, then a Republican senator from Texas, and recently an economic advisor to the McCain campaign, took the lead in undoing Glass-Steagall, a move the financial services industry had been lobbying for since at least the 1980s. (James Leach, a former Republican congressman from Iowa, introduced the House version of the bill. He is now a leader of Republicans for Obama.) <a href="" type="internal">Bill Clinton</a> was also an enthusiastic supporter of banking deregulation. And it was Clinton Treasury Secretary <a href="http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9805E7D61238F934A15753C1A96F958260&amp;sec=&amp;spon=&amp;pagewanted=1" type="external">Robert Rubin</a> who brokered the compromise that allowed the legislation to move forward in Congress—shortly before he left the administration to join Citigroup. (In November 1999, Mother Jones published a piece on the dangerous implications of Gramm-Leach-Bliley, under the headline “ <a href="" type="internal">Robert Rubin Rewrites the Rules</a>.”)</p>
<p>How Democrats in Congress dealt with Gramm-Leach-Bliley has now become a subject of debate. The final version of the legislation won nearly universal bipartisan support and passed by a wide margin in both houses of Congress in November 1998. The Senate’s 90 yea votes included those of such prominent Democrats as Ted Kennedy, Chris Dodd, Chuck Schumer, and Harry Reid, along with VP nominee Joe Biden.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/9/16/203823/008/1013/601053" type="external">Some</a>, by way of trying to absolve Democrats of responsibility for passing this measure, have argued that the vote on the earlier Senate version of the bill (before the final conference version) was 54 to 44, divided along partisan lines, with all of the above Dems voting against it. This is true—though at the time most Democrats’ objections had nothing to do with preserving the Glass-Steagall firewall. In the end, only nine senators, including Russ Feingold, Tom Harkin, Barbara Mikulski, and Paul Wellstone, along with Independent Bernie Sanders, refused to lend their names to the final bill, regardless of how inevitable its passage was.</p>
<p>But that was then. Now one question is whether Democrats will be as friendly to Wall Street as many were during the 1998 debate. As the current debate gets under way, prominent progressive populists are trying to shape the policy discussion.</p>
<p>On Sunday Clinton-era Labor Secretary Robert Reich, <a href="http://robertreich.blogspot.com/2008/09/what-wall-street-should-be-required-to.html" type="external">outlined</a> the demands Congress should make of Wall Street in return for the massive bailout that’s currently under consideration. He suggests Congress mandate that “Wall Street executives and directors of Wall Street firms relinquish their current stock options and this year’s other forms of compensation, and agree to future compensation linked to a rolling five-year average of firm profitability. Why should taxpayers feather their already amply-feathered nests?” And, as part of any bailout legislation, he writes, Congress should require that “the government (i.e. taxpayers) gets an equity stake in every Wall Street financial company proportional to the amount of bad debt that company shoves onto the public. So when and if Wall Street shares rise, taxpayers are rewarded for accepting so much risk.”</p>
<p>In a recent <a href="http://www.sanders.senate.gov/news/record.cfm?id=303313" type="external">op-ed</a> Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) made a similar point, suggesting that “that taxpayers receive equity stakes in the bailed-out companies so that the assumption of risk is rewarded when companies’ stock goes up.”</p>
<p />
<p>…If the government is going to save companies from bankruptcy, the taxpayers of this country should be rewarded for assuming the risk by sharing in the gains that result from this government bailout.</p>
<p>Detailing a four-point plan to address the financial crisis, Sanders notes that “legislation must be passed which undoes the damage caused by excessive deregulation. That means reinstalling the regulatory firewalls that were ripped down in 1999.” Among other things, he advocates levying a “five-year, 10 percent surtax on income over $1 million a year for couples and over $500,000 for single taxpayers.” According to Sanders, this would raise $300 billion in revenue.</p>
<p>As Congress hammers out the terms of the Wall Street bailout, one that puts US taxpayers at significant financial <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,425712,00.html" type="external">risk</a> it’s worth looking to the past when considering the future. In the current financial crisis, congressional Democrats—not to mention a prospective Democratic president—will need to have steel in their spines to support the interests of Main Street when they clash with the interests of Wall Street. And if they maintain the Clinton triangulation approach of the 1990s, average Americans will once again have no one in their corner.</p>
<p>UPDATE: Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) just issued a <a href="http://oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=2190" type="external">statement</a> expressing “serious reservations about the Administration’s bailout proposal.”</p>
<p />
<p>The structure of the plan appears designed to maximize returns for Wall Street and minimize protections for the taxpayer.</p>
<p>The Administration’s plan completely eviscerates the concept of moral hazard. It would enrich the Wall Street executives whose reckless investments caused the financial crisis. The taxpayer is being asked to risk billions to protect the bonuses of investment bankers.</p>
<p>There was public outrage when the CEOs of Countrywide, Merrill Lynch, and Citigroup walked away with hundreds of millions of dollars after causing billions of dollars of losses. But what President Bush and Secretary Paulson are proposing is worse: the taxpayer will be funding million-dollar payouts on Wall Street.</p>
<p>Congress needs to insist on firm limits on executive compensation. No financial institution that gets federal relief should pay its CEO more than $2 million annually. That’s over ten times what the Secretary of Treasury makes.</p>
<p>Congress should also insist on greater financial transparency. We should not give bailouts to firms that continue to conceal their balance sheets from investors and the government.</p>
<p>I support intervention to protect the functioning of our capital markets. But we need to consider alternatives to the President’s plan. There are other approaches that could provide more relief more quickly at less cost to the taxpayer. While we need to move quickly, we should not be stampeded into enacting a flawed proposal at huge costs to the taxpayer. We need to expeditiously evaluate a range of options and enact the one with the greatest likelihood of success and the least exposure to the taxpayer.</p>
<p>Photo by flickr user <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/epicharmus/2046126318/" type="external">epicharmus</a> used under a <a href="http://www.creativecommons.org" type="external">Creative Commons</a> license.</p>
<p />
| 7,276 |
<p>For decades, Procter &amp; Gamble (NYSE: PG) has created enormous wealth for its investors. But in recent years, the consumer goods titan has failed to keep pace with the overall market as its growth has decelerated.&#160;Is P&amp;G doomed to underperform going forward? Or could it be poised for a rebound to its market-beating ways?</p>
<p>Let's take a look at the key aspects of P&amp;G's business that are most likely to determine the answers to these questions.&#160;</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Since embarking on a major brand overhaul in 2014,&#160;Procter &amp; Gamble has shed more than 100 underperforming brands to better focus on the 65 with the best growth and profitability prospects. P&amp;G believes its new streamlined portfolio will make it a "faster-growing, more profitable, and far simpler company."</p>
<p>As dramatic as its brand transformation has been, Procter &amp; Gamble's organizational changes have entailed far more than just shedding brand assets. P&amp;G completely redesigned its manufacturing and supply chain systems, slashed its overhead costs, simplified its organizational structure, and instituted a more focused advertising campaign for its best brands. Taken together, these moves have helped to drastically improve P&amp;G's profitability.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>As part of its restructuring program, P&amp;G cut more than $10 billion&#160;from its cost structure over the past five years, and it plans to achieve an additional $10 billion in cost savings over the next half-decade.&#160;These cost cuts have helped P&amp;G's "core" (a non- <a href="https://www.fool.com/knowledge-center/your-guide-to-gaap.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=f3b4d052-717f-11e7-a80b-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">GAAP Opens a New Window.</a> measure that adjusts for restructuring and other non-recurring charges) gross and operating margins improve by several percentage points since 2012. In turn, P&amp;G has delivered significant increases in core earnings per share even as its sales growth has <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/04/28/procter-gamble-co-earnings-drop-on-industry-slowdo.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=f3b4d052-717f-11e7-a80b-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">remained sluggish Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Another area where Procter &amp; Gamble continues to excel is in its ability to generate sweet beautiful cash. The company's long-term target is to deliver annual adjusted free cash flow productivity (cash flow as a percentage of earnings) of at least 90%.&#160;P&amp;G has crushed this goal over the last two years, and its adjusted free cash flow exceeded $12 billion in fiscal 2016, up about 20% from 2014. P&amp;G's rising cash production has gone hand in hand with its cost-cutting initiatives, and investors should expect more of the same in the coming years.</p>
<p>As Procter &amp; Gamble continues to gush cash, management remains committed to passing a large portion of these profits on to investors. In fact, the company plans to return a <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/02/08/procter-gamble-co-is-on-track-to-give-shareholders.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=f3b4d052-717f-11e7-a80b-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">whopping $22 billion Opens a New Window.</a> to shareholders in fiscal 2017 and up to $70 billion total from fiscal 2016 to 2019.</p>
<p>Perhaps the most important aspect of Procter &amp; Gamble's capital return program is its steadily growing dividend. Impressively, P&amp;G has paid a dividend for 127 consecutive years, including 61 straight years&#160;of annual increases.</p>
<p>Over the last decade, dividends have accounted for more than half of P&amp;G's total returns to shareholders. Yet with its dividend growth now slowing -- P&amp;G's annual increases averaged only 2.3% over the last&#160;three&#160;years&#160;-- investors may need to adjust their expectations, as lower dividend growth could lead to lower overall returns going forward.</p>
<p>One area where Procter &amp; Gamble does still have significant room for growth is in developing economies. Nearly half of its sales are generated in North America -- a well-developed market in which growth is likely to be modest from this point forward. Therefore, much of P&amp;G's future sales growth will need to come from emerging markets in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. So, investors should monitor P&amp;G's sales and market share figures in these regions closely, as these metrics will likely have a major impact on Procter &amp; Gamble's stock price performance in the years ahead.</p>
<p>All told, Procter &amp; Gamble remains a highly profitable business and a reliable cash generator. Yet achieving the type of sales growth needed to produce market-beating returns <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/05/30/are-procter-gamble-cos-growth-days-over.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=f3b4d052-717f-11e7-a80b-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">may prove challenging Opens a New Window.</a>, and P&amp;G will likely need to find a way to win in high-potential international markets if it's to do so. Still, investors seeking a steady, high-yield, and relatively <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/06/07/how-risky-is-procter-gamble-co-stock.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=f3b4d052-717f-11e7-a80b-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">low-risk Opens a New Window.</a> stock could do far worse than Procter &amp; Gamble.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than Procter &amp; GambleWhen 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>
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<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=97dec94a-c08e-4fda-b686-1c90af6f6232&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=f3b4d052-717f-11e7-a80b-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</a> to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of July 6, 2017</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFGuardian/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=f3b4d052-717f-11e7-a80b-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Joe Tenebruso Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=f3b4d052-717f-11e7-a80b-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
|
The Procter & Gamble Company in 7 Charts
| true |
http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/07/25/procter-gamble-company-in-7-charts.html
|
2017-07-25
| 0right
|
The Procter & Gamble Company in 7 Charts
<p>For decades, Procter &amp; Gamble (NYSE: PG) has created enormous wealth for its investors. But in recent years, the consumer goods titan has failed to keep pace with the overall market as its growth has decelerated.&#160;Is P&amp;G doomed to underperform going forward? Or could it be poised for a rebound to its market-beating ways?</p>
<p>Let's take a look at the key aspects of P&amp;G's business that are most likely to determine the answers to these questions.&#160;</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Since embarking on a major brand overhaul in 2014,&#160;Procter &amp; Gamble has shed more than 100 underperforming brands to better focus on the 65 with the best growth and profitability prospects. P&amp;G believes its new streamlined portfolio will make it a "faster-growing, more profitable, and far simpler company."</p>
<p>As dramatic as its brand transformation has been, Procter &amp; Gamble's organizational changes have entailed far more than just shedding brand assets. P&amp;G completely redesigned its manufacturing and supply chain systems, slashed its overhead costs, simplified its organizational structure, and instituted a more focused advertising campaign for its best brands. Taken together, these moves have helped to drastically improve P&amp;G's profitability.</p>
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<p>As part of its restructuring program, P&amp;G cut more than $10 billion&#160;from its cost structure over the past five years, and it plans to achieve an additional $10 billion in cost savings over the next half-decade.&#160;These cost cuts have helped P&amp;G's "core" (a non- <a href="https://www.fool.com/knowledge-center/your-guide-to-gaap.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=f3b4d052-717f-11e7-a80b-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">GAAP Opens a New Window.</a> measure that adjusts for restructuring and other non-recurring charges) gross and operating margins improve by several percentage points since 2012. In turn, P&amp;G has delivered significant increases in core earnings per share even as its sales growth has <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/04/28/procter-gamble-co-earnings-drop-on-industry-slowdo.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=f3b4d052-717f-11e7-a80b-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">remained sluggish Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Another area where Procter &amp; Gamble continues to excel is in its ability to generate sweet beautiful cash. The company's long-term target is to deliver annual adjusted free cash flow productivity (cash flow as a percentage of earnings) of at least 90%.&#160;P&amp;G has crushed this goal over the last two years, and its adjusted free cash flow exceeded $12 billion in fiscal 2016, up about 20% from 2014. P&amp;G's rising cash production has gone hand in hand with its cost-cutting initiatives, and investors should expect more of the same in the coming years.</p>
<p>As Procter &amp; Gamble continues to gush cash, management remains committed to passing a large portion of these profits on to investors. In fact, the company plans to return a <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/02/08/procter-gamble-co-is-on-track-to-give-shareholders.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=f3b4d052-717f-11e7-a80b-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">whopping $22 billion Opens a New Window.</a> to shareholders in fiscal 2017 and up to $70 billion total from fiscal 2016 to 2019.</p>
<p>Perhaps the most important aspect of Procter &amp; Gamble's capital return program is its steadily growing dividend. Impressively, P&amp;G has paid a dividend for 127 consecutive years, including 61 straight years&#160;of annual increases.</p>
<p>Over the last decade, dividends have accounted for more than half of P&amp;G's total returns to shareholders. Yet with its dividend growth now slowing -- P&amp;G's annual increases averaged only 2.3% over the last&#160;three&#160;years&#160;-- investors may need to adjust their expectations, as lower dividend growth could lead to lower overall returns going forward.</p>
<p>One area where Procter &amp; Gamble does still have significant room for growth is in developing economies. Nearly half of its sales are generated in North America -- a well-developed market in which growth is likely to be modest from this point forward. Therefore, much of P&amp;G's future sales growth will need to come from emerging markets in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. So, investors should monitor P&amp;G's sales and market share figures in these regions closely, as these metrics will likely have a major impact on Procter &amp; Gamble's stock price performance in the years ahead.</p>
<p>All told, Procter &amp; Gamble remains a highly profitable business and a reliable cash generator. Yet achieving the type of sales growth needed to produce market-beating returns <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/05/30/are-procter-gamble-cos-growth-days-over.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=f3b4d052-717f-11e7-a80b-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">may prove challenging Opens a New Window.</a>, and P&amp;G will likely need to find a way to win in high-potential international markets if it's to do so. Still, investors seeking a steady, high-yield, and relatively <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/06/07/how-risky-is-procter-gamble-co-stock.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=f3b4d052-717f-11e7-a80b-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">low-risk Opens a New Window.</a> stock could do far worse than Procter &amp; Gamble.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than Procter &amp; GambleWhen 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>
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<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of July 6, 2017</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFGuardian/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=f3b4d052-717f-11e7-a80b-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Joe Tenebruso Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=f3b4d052-717f-11e7-a80b-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
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<p>WASHINGTON—Senate leaders brokered a long-elusive budget agreement Wednesday that would shower the Pentagon and domestic programs with an extra $300 billion over the next two years. But both Democratic liberals and GOP tea party forces swung against the plan, raising questions about its chances just a day before the latest government shutdown deadline.</p>
<p>The measure was a win for Republican allies of the Pentagon and for Democrats seeking more for infrastructure projects and combatting opioid abuse. But it represented a bitter defeat for many liberal Democrats who sought to use the party’s leverage on the budget to resolve the plight of immigrant “Dreamers” who face deportation after being brought to the U.S. illegally as children. The deal does not address immigration.</p>
<p>Senate leaders hope to approve the measure Thursday and send it to the House for a confirming vote before the government begins to shut down Thursday at midnight. But hurdles remain to avert the second shutdown in a month.</p>
<p>While Senate Democrats celebrated the moment of rare bipartisanship — Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called it a “genuine breakthrough” — progressives and activists blasted them for leaving immigrants in legislative limbo. Top House Democrat Nancy Pelosi of California, herself a key architect of the budget plan, announced her opposition Wednesday morning and mounted a remarkable daylong filibuster on the House floor, trying to force GOP leaders in the House to promise a later vote on legislation to protect the younger immigrants.</p>
<p />
<p>“Let Congress work its will,” Pelosi said, before holding the floor for more than eight hours without a break. “What are you afraid of?”</p>
<p>The White House backed the deal — despite President Donald Trump’s outburst a day earlier that he’d welcome a government shutdown if Democrats didn’t accept his immigration-limiting proposals.</p>
<p>Trump himself tweeted that the agreement “is so important for our great Military,” and he urged both Republicans and Democrats to support it.</p>
<p>But the plan faced criticism from deficit hawks in his own party.</p>
<p>Some tea party Republicans shredded the measure as a budget-buster. Combined with the party’s December tax cut bill, the burst in military and other spending would put the GOP-controlled government on track for the first $1 trillion-plus deficits since President Barack Obama’s first term. That’s when Congress passed massive stimulus legislation to try to stabilize a down-spiraling economy.</p>
<p>“It’s too much,” said Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., a fiscal hawk.</p>
<p>House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., however, backed the agreement and was hoping to cobble together a coalition of moderate Democrats and Republicans to push it through.</p>
<p>Despite the 77-year-old Pelosi’s public talkathon, she was not pressuring the party’s rank-and-file to oppose the measure, Democrats said. The deal contains far more money demanded by Democrats than had seemed possible only weeks ago, including $90 billion in disaster aid for Florida and Texas. Some other veteran Democrats — some of whom said holding the budget deal hostage to action on Dreamer immigrants had already proven to be a failed strategy — appeared more likely to support the agreement than junior progressives elected in recent years.</p>
<p>The budget agreement would give both the Pentagon and domestic agencies relief from a budget freeze that lawmakers say threatens military readiness and training as well as domestic priorities such as combating opioid abuse and repairing the troubled health care system for veterans.</p>
<p>Graphic shows number and duration of continuing resolutions passed by Congress since the 2000 fiscal year.</p>
<p>The core of the agreement would shatter tight “caps” on defense and domestic programs funded by Congress each year. They are a hangover from a failed 2011 budget agreement and have led to military readiness problems and caused hardship at domestic agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency and the IRS.</p>
<p>The agreement would give the Pentagon an $80 billion increase for the current budget year for core defense programs, a 14 percent increase over current limits and $26 billion more than Trump’s budget request. Nondefense programs would receive about $60 billion over current levels. Those figures would be slightly increased for the 2019 budget year beginning Oct. 1.</p>
<p>“For the first time in years, our armed forces will have more of the resources they need to keep America safe,” said Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. “It will help us serve the veterans who have bravely served us. And it will ensure funding for important efforts such as disaster relief, infrastructure and building on our work to fight opioid abuse and drug addiction.”</p>
<p>The Senate agreement contains almost $90 billion in overdue disaster aid for hurricane-slammed Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico. That would bring the total appropriated for disaster aid in the wake of last year’s disastrous hurricane season to almost $140 billion.</p>
<p>The agreement would increase the government’s borrowing cap to prevent a first-ever default on U.S. obligations that looms in just a few weeks. The debt limit would be suspended through March of 2019, Sanders said, putting the next vote on it safely past this year’s midterm elections.</p>
<p>The House Tuesday passed legislation to keep the government running through March 23, marrying the stopgap spending measure with a $659 billion Pentagon spending plan, but the Senate plan would rewrite that measure.</p>
<p>Pelosi said the House should push into immigration legislation and noted that Senate Republicans have slated a debate on the politically freighted subject starting next week. At issue is legislation to address the dilemma of immigrants left vulnerable by Trump’s move to end Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA.</p>
<p>Rep. Nanette Barragan, D-Calif., a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, said the Latino community thinks Senate Democratic leaders have “turned their back.”</p>
<p>And a frustrated Angel Padilla, policy director for the liberal group Indivisible, said of the Democratic leaders: “What are they thinking? They’re giving up their leverage. … All of these votes will matter come November.”</p>
<p>Dreamers and supporters mounted a peaceful protest in a Senate office building.</p>
<p>Schumer said the plan would contain $20 billion dedicated to infrastructure such as highways and bridge construction and repair, water and wastewater projects, and rural broadband.</p>
<p>There’s also $4 billion for construction for veterans hospitals and clinics, $6 billion to fight the opioid crisis and fund mental health programs and $4 billion for college aid.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press reporters Alan Fram, Kevin Freking, Luis Alonso Lugo and Jill Colvin in Washington and Steve Peoples in New York contributed to this report.</p>
|
Senate Celebrates Budget Deal, but Shutdown Still Possible
| true |
https://truthdig.com/articles/senate-celebrates-budget-deal-shutdown-still-possible/
|
2018-02-07
| 4left
|
Senate Celebrates Budget Deal, but Shutdown Still Possible
<p>WASHINGTON—Senate leaders brokered a long-elusive budget agreement Wednesday that would shower the Pentagon and domestic programs with an extra $300 billion over the next two years. But both Democratic liberals and GOP tea party forces swung against the plan, raising questions about its chances just a day before the latest government shutdown deadline.</p>
<p>The measure was a win for Republican allies of the Pentagon and for Democrats seeking more for infrastructure projects and combatting opioid abuse. But it represented a bitter defeat for many liberal Democrats who sought to use the party’s leverage on the budget to resolve the plight of immigrant “Dreamers” who face deportation after being brought to the U.S. illegally as children. The deal does not address immigration.</p>
<p>Senate leaders hope to approve the measure Thursday and send it to the House for a confirming vote before the government begins to shut down Thursday at midnight. But hurdles remain to avert the second shutdown in a month.</p>
<p>While Senate Democrats celebrated the moment of rare bipartisanship — Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called it a “genuine breakthrough” — progressives and activists blasted them for leaving immigrants in legislative limbo. Top House Democrat Nancy Pelosi of California, herself a key architect of the budget plan, announced her opposition Wednesday morning and mounted a remarkable daylong filibuster on the House floor, trying to force GOP leaders in the House to promise a later vote on legislation to protect the younger immigrants.</p>
<p />
<p>“Let Congress work its will,” Pelosi said, before holding the floor for more than eight hours without a break. “What are you afraid of?”</p>
<p>The White House backed the deal — despite President Donald Trump’s outburst a day earlier that he’d welcome a government shutdown if Democrats didn’t accept his immigration-limiting proposals.</p>
<p>Trump himself tweeted that the agreement “is so important for our great Military,” and he urged both Republicans and Democrats to support it.</p>
<p>But the plan faced criticism from deficit hawks in his own party.</p>
<p>Some tea party Republicans shredded the measure as a budget-buster. Combined with the party’s December tax cut bill, the burst in military and other spending would put the GOP-controlled government on track for the first $1 trillion-plus deficits since President Barack Obama’s first term. That’s when Congress passed massive stimulus legislation to try to stabilize a down-spiraling economy.</p>
<p>“It’s too much,” said Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., a fiscal hawk.</p>
<p>House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., however, backed the agreement and was hoping to cobble together a coalition of moderate Democrats and Republicans to push it through.</p>
<p>Despite the 77-year-old Pelosi’s public talkathon, she was not pressuring the party’s rank-and-file to oppose the measure, Democrats said. The deal contains far more money demanded by Democrats than had seemed possible only weeks ago, including $90 billion in disaster aid for Florida and Texas. Some other veteran Democrats — some of whom said holding the budget deal hostage to action on Dreamer immigrants had already proven to be a failed strategy — appeared more likely to support the agreement than junior progressives elected in recent years.</p>
<p>The budget agreement would give both the Pentagon and domestic agencies relief from a budget freeze that lawmakers say threatens military readiness and training as well as domestic priorities such as combating opioid abuse and repairing the troubled health care system for veterans.</p>
<p>Graphic shows number and duration of continuing resolutions passed by Congress since the 2000 fiscal year.</p>
<p>The core of the agreement would shatter tight “caps” on defense and domestic programs funded by Congress each year. They are a hangover from a failed 2011 budget agreement and have led to military readiness problems and caused hardship at domestic agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency and the IRS.</p>
<p>The agreement would give the Pentagon an $80 billion increase for the current budget year for core defense programs, a 14 percent increase over current limits and $26 billion more than Trump’s budget request. Nondefense programs would receive about $60 billion over current levels. Those figures would be slightly increased for the 2019 budget year beginning Oct. 1.</p>
<p>“For the first time in years, our armed forces will have more of the resources they need to keep America safe,” said Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. “It will help us serve the veterans who have bravely served us. And it will ensure funding for important efforts such as disaster relief, infrastructure and building on our work to fight opioid abuse and drug addiction.”</p>
<p>The Senate agreement contains almost $90 billion in overdue disaster aid for hurricane-slammed Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico. That would bring the total appropriated for disaster aid in the wake of last year’s disastrous hurricane season to almost $140 billion.</p>
<p>The agreement would increase the government’s borrowing cap to prevent a first-ever default on U.S. obligations that looms in just a few weeks. The debt limit would be suspended through March of 2019, Sanders said, putting the next vote on it safely past this year’s midterm elections.</p>
<p>The House Tuesday passed legislation to keep the government running through March 23, marrying the stopgap spending measure with a $659 billion Pentagon spending plan, but the Senate plan would rewrite that measure.</p>
<p>Pelosi said the House should push into immigration legislation and noted that Senate Republicans have slated a debate on the politically freighted subject starting next week. At issue is legislation to address the dilemma of immigrants left vulnerable by Trump’s move to end Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA.</p>
<p>Rep. Nanette Barragan, D-Calif., a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, said the Latino community thinks Senate Democratic leaders have “turned their back.”</p>
<p>And a frustrated Angel Padilla, policy director for the liberal group Indivisible, said of the Democratic leaders: “What are they thinking? They’re giving up their leverage. … All of these votes will matter come November.”</p>
<p>Dreamers and supporters mounted a peaceful protest in a Senate office building.</p>
<p>Schumer said the plan would contain $20 billion dedicated to infrastructure such as highways and bridge construction and repair, water and wastewater projects, and rural broadband.</p>
<p>There’s also $4 billion for construction for veterans hospitals and clinics, $6 billion to fight the opioid crisis and fund mental health programs and $4 billion for college aid.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press reporters Alan Fram, Kevin Freking, Luis Alonso Lugo and Jill Colvin in Washington and Steve Peoples in New York contributed to this report.</p>
| 7,278 |
<p>Igniting criticism by privacy advocates around the world, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is in the process of installing 450 full-body X-ray scanning machines in the country’s airports. The machines show images of hidden objects, as well as passengers’ bodies through their clothes. –JCL</p>
<p>Reuters:</p>
<p>Airport officials on Friday showed off new X-ray scanning machines they will use to screen more passengers with full-body imaging as called for by security advocates, a step that has alarmed civil libertarians.</p>
<p>The $170,000 machines made by a unit of OSI Systems Inc show guards images of passengers’ bodies through their clothes to reveal hidden objects.</p>
<p />
<p>Three to be activated on Monday at Boston’s Logan International Airport will be the first of 150 the U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials hope to deploy in the next few months using funds from last year’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, also known as the stimulus.</p>
<p>The agency aims to have 450 advanced scanners at airports by the end of the year.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6244C620100305" type="external">Read more</a></p>
|
U.S. Airports Expand Full-Body Screening
| true |
https://truthdig.com/articles/u-s-airports-expand-full-body-screening/
|
2010-03-07
| 4left
|
U.S. Airports Expand Full-Body Screening
<p>Igniting criticism by privacy advocates around the world, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is in the process of installing 450 full-body X-ray scanning machines in the country’s airports. The machines show images of hidden objects, as well as passengers’ bodies through their clothes. –JCL</p>
<p>Reuters:</p>
<p>Airport officials on Friday showed off new X-ray scanning machines they will use to screen more passengers with full-body imaging as called for by security advocates, a step that has alarmed civil libertarians.</p>
<p>The $170,000 machines made by a unit of OSI Systems Inc show guards images of passengers’ bodies through their clothes to reveal hidden objects.</p>
<p />
<p>Three to be activated on Monday at Boston’s Logan International Airport will be the first of 150 the U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials hope to deploy in the next few months using funds from last year’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, also known as the stimulus.</p>
<p>The agency aims to have 450 advanced scanners at airports by the end of the year.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6244C620100305" type="external">Read more</a></p>
| 7,279 |
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<p>A huge banner promotes the going-out-of-business sale at the Baillio’s store on Cerrillos Road in Santa Fe. (Whitman Johnson/Albuquerque Journal)</p>
<p>SANTA FE, N.M. — One of the state’s most enduring independent retail companies is closing another store.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.baillios.com/" type="external">Baillio’s</a> will shutter its Santa Fe location at the end of the month, leaving the Albuquerque-based appliance and electronics chain with only one site — its flagship store/headquarters on Menaul NE.</p>
<p>This is the second closure in less than a year for the 47-year-old company. Last April, Baillio’s <a href="" type="internal">was forced out of its leased space</a> on Albuquerque’s West Side due to issues involving the property owner and lender.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>In Santa Fe, though, the problems are financial.</p>
<p>Owner Jack Baillio said the Santa Fe store — open since 1985 — had been in a long-term slump.</p>
<p>BAILLIO: Focusing on Menaul NE store</p>
<p>“I held out as long as I could, but we can’t keep feeding it forever,” he said Monday.</p>
<p>The store staffs 14 people, some of whom will transfer to the Albuquerque store, he said.</p>
<p>Whatever inventory remains at month’s end will be moved to the Albuquerque store, a location Baillio said is in good financial shape. It continues to make gains, he said, following a rocky patch about five years ago.</p>
<p>Baillio in 2008 sold the chain to a Denver-based company. But the new ownership filed for bankruptcy the next year, prompting Baillio to buy the company back in late 2009.</p>
<p>While business in Albuquerque has steadily improved since, the owner said the Santa Fe store never recovered.</p>
<p>“Instead of going forward, (it) actually regressed a little bit,” he said.</p>
<p>Baillio’s owns its Santa Fe site and is trying to sell the 43,000-square-foot building at 3294 Cerrillos.</p>
<p>Baillio talked last spring about finding a new site for a West Side store but said Monday that the company will focus entirely on the Menaul location for now.</p>
<p>Still, he expressed confidence that the company would grow again.</p>
<p>“We’ll get back to where we were,” he said. “It’s just going take a while.”</p>
|
Baillio’s calling it quits in Santa Fe
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/335850/baillios-calling-it-quits-in-santa-fe.html
| 2least
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Baillio’s calling it quits in Santa Fe
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>A huge banner promotes the going-out-of-business sale at the Baillio’s store on Cerrillos Road in Santa Fe. (Whitman Johnson/Albuquerque Journal)</p>
<p>SANTA FE, N.M. — One of the state’s most enduring independent retail companies is closing another store.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.baillios.com/" type="external">Baillio’s</a> will shutter its Santa Fe location at the end of the month, leaving the Albuquerque-based appliance and electronics chain with only one site — its flagship store/headquarters on Menaul NE.</p>
<p>This is the second closure in less than a year for the 47-year-old company. Last April, Baillio’s <a href="" type="internal">was forced out of its leased space</a> on Albuquerque’s West Side due to issues involving the property owner and lender.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>In Santa Fe, though, the problems are financial.</p>
<p>Owner Jack Baillio said the Santa Fe store — open since 1985 — had been in a long-term slump.</p>
<p>BAILLIO: Focusing on Menaul NE store</p>
<p>“I held out as long as I could, but we can’t keep feeding it forever,” he said Monday.</p>
<p>The store staffs 14 people, some of whom will transfer to the Albuquerque store, he said.</p>
<p>Whatever inventory remains at month’s end will be moved to the Albuquerque store, a location Baillio said is in good financial shape. It continues to make gains, he said, following a rocky patch about five years ago.</p>
<p>Baillio in 2008 sold the chain to a Denver-based company. But the new ownership filed for bankruptcy the next year, prompting Baillio to buy the company back in late 2009.</p>
<p>While business in Albuquerque has steadily improved since, the owner said the Santa Fe store never recovered.</p>
<p>“Instead of going forward, (it) actually regressed a little bit,” he said.</p>
<p>Baillio’s owns its Santa Fe site and is trying to sell the 43,000-square-foot building at 3294 Cerrillos.</p>
<p>Baillio talked last spring about finding a new site for a West Side store but said Monday that the company will focus entirely on the Menaul location for now.</p>
<p>Still, he expressed confidence that the company would grow again.</p>
<p>“We’ll get back to where we were,” he said. “It’s just going take a while.”</p>
| 7,280 |
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<p />
<p>Let’s face it: Anyone who really believed that passing a limited, smallish measure on immigration was going to be as simple as the verbal agreement that President Trump, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer made over dinner last month was kidding themselves.</p>
<p>The fact of the matter is that Trump is focused solely on reaping adoration for his actions in the moment – for the audience who happens to be in front of him at the time – regardless of what the consequences might be. His initial promise to extend protections for those covered by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program without requiring a border security package that included his wall demonstrates this perfectly.</p>
<p>Trump may have momentarily been enchanted by the opportunity to appear to reach across the aisle and make a deal. But when conservatives revolted, he backpedaled the next day, saying there was no finalized agreement to celebrate.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Now the president’s list of demands includes creating a merit-based immigration system that disfavors chain family migration, making the E-Verify system mandatory, and withholding federal grant money from so-called “sanctuary cities.” These requirements – in exchange for a deal to protect the 690,000 or so DACA beneficiaries – have made his base happy while almost certainly making any deal a nonstarter for Democrats.</p>
<p>A barrage of attacks against Trump’s wish list quickly hit reporters’ inboxes, describing the move as a cruel bait-and-switch.</p>
<p>Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, said in her statement: “These proposals are simply a reprise of the worst aspects of the Trump campaign’s anti-immigrant and anti-refugee scapegoating – reasserted, one assumes, to make Dreamers pawns in a power game. It is exactly why people hate Washington, D.C., politics: Instead of solving problems like what will happen to the … young Americans covered by DACA – who are learning in, working in and completely woven into the country that is their home – they are held hostage as a way to make our broken immigration system even worse.”</p>
<p>It’s difficult to disagree with the substance of Weingarten’s critique, but it also gives Trump too much credit. Chess is a game of vision, strategy, planning and precise execution. Nothing that has come out of the White House in the past eight months smacks of the cunning necessary to actually play a chess game, let alone win it.</p>
<p>What Weingarten hit on the nose is that people despise D.C. politicians and have largely lost faith in our institutions’ ability to get anything done.</p>
<p>For years, Americans have increasingly viewed government as untrustworthy. Public confidence in government is now at a historic low, with only 4 percent of us believing Washington will do what is right “just about always” and 16 percent believing it would do so “most of the time,” according to the Pew Research Center.</p>
<p>And the current immigration drama is sure to disappoint great swaths of the electorate no matter what.</p>
<p>If Trump doesn’t make good on his promises to take the hardest possible line on immigration and ends up reaching a compromise to shield DACA-eligible people from deportation, his base will feel betrayed and rebel.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>If Democrats make the difficult choice to accept some or many of the items on the Trump wish list in exchange for protections for this small slice of the 11 million immigrants residing in the U.S. illegally, there will inevitably be enmity within the party and claims that it sold its soul.</p>
<p>Worse still, if the Democrats’ threat of a government shutdown backfires or they simply walk away from any potential compromise, it will reaffirm that elected leaders are impotent in moving forward on big issues.</p>
<p>In any scenario, the idea that government is broken and that the other side is to blame will only add to political polarization and what is quickly becoming learned helplessness on both sides.</p>
<p>The consequence of this high-visibility fight over DACA recipients will be that – whether our youngest, most idealistic and most Americanized immigrants are cast off or allowed to remain in some sort of imperfect status – we’ll all lose.</p>
<p>E-mail: [email protected]. Copyright, Washington Post Writers Group.</p>
<p />
|
There are no winners in the Dreamers debate
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/1079302/there-are-no-winners-in-the-dreamers-debate.html
| 2least
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There are no winners in the Dreamers debate
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Let’s face it: Anyone who really believed that passing a limited, smallish measure on immigration was going to be as simple as the verbal agreement that President Trump, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer made over dinner last month was kidding themselves.</p>
<p>The fact of the matter is that Trump is focused solely on reaping adoration for his actions in the moment – for the audience who happens to be in front of him at the time – regardless of what the consequences might be. His initial promise to extend protections for those covered by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program without requiring a border security package that included his wall demonstrates this perfectly.</p>
<p>Trump may have momentarily been enchanted by the opportunity to appear to reach across the aisle and make a deal. But when conservatives revolted, he backpedaled the next day, saying there was no finalized agreement to celebrate.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Now the president’s list of demands includes creating a merit-based immigration system that disfavors chain family migration, making the E-Verify system mandatory, and withholding federal grant money from so-called “sanctuary cities.” These requirements – in exchange for a deal to protect the 690,000 or so DACA beneficiaries – have made his base happy while almost certainly making any deal a nonstarter for Democrats.</p>
<p>A barrage of attacks against Trump’s wish list quickly hit reporters’ inboxes, describing the move as a cruel bait-and-switch.</p>
<p>Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, said in her statement: “These proposals are simply a reprise of the worst aspects of the Trump campaign’s anti-immigrant and anti-refugee scapegoating – reasserted, one assumes, to make Dreamers pawns in a power game. It is exactly why people hate Washington, D.C., politics: Instead of solving problems like what will happen to the … young Americans covered by DACA – who are learning in, working in and completely woven into the country that is their home – they are held hostage as a way to make our broken immigration system even worse.”</p>
<p>It’s difficult to disagree with the substance of Weingarten’s critique, but it also gives Trump too much credit. Chess is a game of vision, strategy, planning and precise execution. Nothing that has come out of the White House in the past eight months smacks of the cunning necessary to actually play a chess game, let alone win it.</p>
<p>What Weingarten hit on the nose is that people despise D.C. politicians and have largely lost faith in our institutions’ ability to get anything done.</p>
<p>For years, Americans have increasingly viewed government as untrustworthy. Public confidence in government is now at a historic low, with only 4 percent of us believing Washington will do what is right “just about always” and 16 percent believing it would do so “most of the time,” according to the Pew Research Center.</p>
<p>And the current immigration drama is sure to disappoint great swaths of the electorate no matter what.</p>
<p>If Trump doesn’t make good on his promises to take the hardest possible line on immigration and ends up reaching a compromise to shield DACA-eligible people from deportation, his base will feel betrayed and rebel.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>If Democrats make the difficult choice to accept some or many of the items on the Trump wish list in exchange for protections for this small slice of the 11 million immigrants residing in the U.S. illegally, there will inevitably be enmity within the party and claims that it sold its soul.</p>
<p>Worse still, if the Democrats’ threat of a government shutdown backfires or they simply walk away from any potential compromise, it will reaffirm that elected leaders are impotent in moving forward on big issues.</p>
<p>In any scenario, the idea that government is broken and that the other side is to blame will only add to political polarization and what is quickly becoming learned helplessness on both sides.</p>
<p>The consequence of this high-visibility fight over DACA recipients will be that – whether our youngest, most idealistic and most Americanized immigrants are cast off or allowed to remain in some sort of imperfect status – we’ll all lose.</p>
<p>E-mail: [email protected]. Copyright, Washington Post Writers Group.</p>
<p />
| 7,281 |
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<p>SANTA FE (AP) — The Game and Fish Department is offering late season licenses to sportsmen to hunt trophy bull elk in New Mexico.</p>
<p>The agency said 275 archery hunting licenses for elk will be sold online on Oct. 31 on a first-come, first-served basis.</p>
<p>The licenses will be available only to New Mexico residents for the first 24 hours and then will be opened to nonresidents if any licenses remain.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Only sportsmen who didn’t receive a 2012-2013 elk license can purchase the late season hunting permits, which are made available after biologists review elk populations in the fall after hunting season gets under way.</p>
<p>Hunters need an online account with the department to make a license purchase at the agency’s website, <a href="http://www.wildlife.state.nm.us" type="external">www.wildlife.state.nm.us</a> .</p>
|
Late-Season Elk Hunting Licenses Online
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/141257/late-season-elk-hunting-licenses-offered.html
|
2012-10-25
| 2least
|
Late-Season Elk Hunting Licenses Online
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>SANTA FE (AP) — The Game and Fish Department is offering late season licenses to sportsmen to hunt trophy bull elk in New Mexico.</p>
<p>The agency said 275 archery hunting licenses for elk will be sold online on Oct. 31 on a first-come, first-served basis.</p>
<p>The licenses will be available only to New Mexico residents for the first 24 hours and then will be opened to nonresidents if any licenses remain.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Only sportsmen who didn’t receive a 2012-2013 elk license can purchase the late season hunting permits, which are made available after biologists review elk populations in the fall after hunting season gets under way.</p>
<p>Hunters need an online account with the department to make a license purchase at the agency’s website, <a href="http://www.wildlife.state.nm.us" type="external">www.wildlife.state.nm.us</a> .</p>
| 7,282 |
<p />
<p>Image Source: CBS.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>It's been over two years since CBS (NYSE: CBS) launched its over-the-top, OTT, streaming service, CBS All Access. In that time, it's added 1.2 million subscribers, according to a recent report from The Wall Street Journal. That number is up from the 1 million subscribers CBS reported for both All Access and its Showtime OTT service in July.</p>
<p>But CBS has a lofty goal of reaching 8 million subscribers across the two services by 2020, expecting them to be about evenly split. If CBS is going to reach that goal, it needs to accelerate its growth. The slow pace over the last six months -- about 0.4 million net additions per year for All Access -- is concerning, but CBS may just be getting started.</p>
<p>Earlier this month, CBS inked a deal to bring the NFL to All Access. CBS's regular Sunday games and its five Thursday Night Football games throughout the season were a huge hole in All Access's programming. CBS is now able to stream everything its regular broadcast channels offer.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Additionally, CBS is launching several new original series for All Access. It premiered a Big Brother spinoff at the end of September, and plans to launch a new Star Trek series in January. A Good Wife spinoff is also in the works, slated for the spring. CBS is planning the new series launches such that there's always a new episode of something every week. It hopes that will reduce <a href="http://www.fool.com/knowledge-center/what-is-churn-rate.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">subscriber churn Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>CBS also includes the archives of many of its shows from this century and last. In fact, it seems many All Access subscribers are signing up for access to the archives as seventy-five percent of subscribers still pay for traditional cable.</p>
<p>The addition of the NFL and exclusive original programming could broaden All Access's subscriber base to more cord-cutters or cord-shavers. Most households are still able to pick up a strong CBS broadcast signal via a set of rabbit ears, but they won't be able to watch the new Star Trek series without an All Access subscription.</p>
<p>CBS developed All Access as a tool to leverage against big distributors like Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) and Charter Communications (NASDAQ: CHTR). With another way to distribute its content -- i.e., directly to consumers -- CBS can stay strong at the negotiating table knowing it has All Access to fall back on. That's extremely important, as CBS has a goal of reaching $2 billion in retransmission fees -- the fees cable distributors pay to carry the network -- by 2020.</p>
<p>But Comcast and Charter may see it the other way around. With the availability of All Access, traditional distributors may not need to carry CBS at all. They can offer customers a free year of the service for roughly $70, and it becomes a customer-acquisition cost. That would certainly boost All Access subscribers, but it would come at the cost of its main business. And All Access doesn't have the benefit of long-term contracts with large distributors.</p>
<p>There are roughly 39 million video subscribers between Comcast and Charter. If either dropped the network, it would be a major blow to its plans to increase its retransmission rates. CBS would have to bring in at least one-fourth of those lost subscribers to All Access to recoup the revenue loss, since management says <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/08/23/3-things-cbs-wants-you-to-know-about-its-streaming.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">it nets about $8.25 per month Opens a New Window.</a> per subscriber.</p>
<p>But All Access comes with additional costs over traditional distribution, such as customer management and content delivery. If All Access's path to about 4 million subscribers over the next four years comes with the loss of a big pay-TV customer, it's not great for CBS's bottom line.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than CBS When investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*</p>
<p>David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the <a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=1b7b03f3-6cf9-4ae4-9428-e597e1926c13&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">10 best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now... and CBS wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.</p>
<p><a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=1b7b03f3-6cf9-4ae4-9428-e597e1926c13&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</a> to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of Nov. 7, 2016</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/adamlevy/info.aspx" type="external">Adam Levy Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=isiedilnk018048&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://www.fool.com/knowledge-center/motley.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
|
CBS Expects to Add 3 Million More Streaming Subscribers by 2020
| true |
http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/12/28/cbs-expects-to-add-3-million-more-streaming-subscribers-by-2020.html
|
2016-12-28
| 0right
|
CBS Expects to Add 3 Million More Streaming Subscribers by 2020
<p />
<p>Image Source: CBS.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>It's been over two years since CBS (NYSE: CBS) launched its over-the-top, OTT, streaming service, CBS All Access. In that time, it's added 1.2 million subscribers, according to a recent report from The Wall Street Journal. That number is up from the 1 million subscribers CBS reported for both All Access and its Showtime OTT service in July.</p>
<p>But CBS has a lofty goal of reaching 8 million subscribers across the two services by 2020, expecting them to be about evenly split. If CBS is going to reach that goal, it needs to accelerate its growth. The slow pace over the last six months -- about 0.4 million net additions per year for All Access -- is concerning, but CBS may just be getting started.</p>
<p>Earlier this month, CBS inked a deal to bring the NFL to All Access. CBS's regular Sunday games and its five Thursday Night Football games throughout the season were a huge hole in All Access's programming. CBS is now able to stream everything its regular broadcast channels offer.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Additionally, CBS is launching several new original series for All Access. It premiered a Big Brother spinoff at the end of September, and plans to launch a new Star Trek series in January. A Good Wife spinoff is also in the works, slated for the spring. CBS is planning the new series launches such that there's always a new episode of something every week. It hopes that will reduce <a href="http://www.fool.com/knowledge-center/what-is-churn-rate.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">subscriber churn Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>CBS also includes the archives of many of its shows from this century and last. In fact, it seems many All Access subscribers are signing up for access to the archives as seventy-five percent of subscribers still pay for traditional cable.</p>
<p>The addition of the NFL and exclusive original programming could broaden All Access's subscriber base to more cord-cutters or cord-shavers. Most households are still able to pick up a strong CBS broadcast signal via a set of rabbit ears, but they won't be able to watch the new Star Trek series without an All Access subscription.</p>
<p>CBS developed All Access as a tool to leverage against big distributors like Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) and Charter Communications (NASDAQ: CHTR). With another way to distribute its content -- i.e., directly to consumers -- CBS can stay strong at the negotiating table knowing it has All Access to fall back on. That's extremely important, as CBS has a goal of reaching $2 billion in retransmission fees -- the fees cable distributors pay to carry the network -- by 2020.</p>
<p>But Comcast and Charter may see it the other way around. With the availability of All Access, traditional distributors may not need to carry CBS at all. They can offer customers a free year of the service for roughly $70, and it becomes a customer-acquisition cost. That would certainly boost All Access subscribers, but it would come at the cost of its main business. And All Access doesn't have the benefit of long-term contracts with large distributors.</p>
<p>There are roughly 39 million video subscribers between Comcast and Charter. If either dropped the network, it would be a major blow to its plans to increase its retransmission rates. CBS would have to bring in at least one-fourth of those lost subscribers to All Access to recoup the revenue loss, since management says <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/08/23/3-things-cbs-wants-you-to-know-about-its-streaming.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">it nets about $8.25 per month Opens a New Window.</a> per subscriber.</p>
<p>But All Access comes with additional costs over traditional distribution, such as customer management and content delivery. If All Access's path to about 4 million subscribers over the next four years comes with the loss of a big pay-TV customer, it's not great for CBS's bottom line.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than CBS When investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*</p>
<p>David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the <a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=1b7b03f3-6cf9-4ae4-9428-e597e1926c13&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">10 best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now... and CBS wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.</p>
<p><a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=1b7b03f3-6cf9-4ae4-9428-e597e1926c13&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</a> to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of Nov. 7, 2016</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/adamlevy/info.aspx" type="external">Adam Levy Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=isiedilnk018048&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://www.fool.com/knowledge-center/motley.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
| 7,283 |
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<p>NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Anti-abortion rights activists are planning a high-dollar fundraiser next week to kick off their campaign for a constitutional amendment next fall that would give lawmakers more power to restrict access to abortions.</p>
<p>Republican state Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey is hosting a reception and dinner at a Nashville hotel Monday to support the proposed amendment, which seeks to void a 2000 state Supreme Court ruling. The court threw out mandatory 48-hour waiting periods for abortions, along with requirements that clinics provide detailed information about the procedure and that all but first-term abortions be performed in hospitals.</p>
<p>The ruling prevented lawmakers from re-enacting those laws and from passing other restrictions. For example, Republican lawmakers this year considered a bill to require ultrasounds before abortions, but the proposal was delayed pending the outcome of next year’s referendum. One of that measure’s main sponsors, Republican state Sen. Jim Tracy of Shelbyville, is running for Congress this year.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>In an invitation to the fundraiser, Ramsey urges supporters to pay between $1,000 for two tickets and up to $50,000 to be named chairman of the effort to stop Tennessee from being what he called an “abortion destination” for people from neighboring states. Organizers said they have already raised more than $250,000.</p>
<p>“The passage of this amendment will restore the constitutional silence on abortion that was usurped by liberal judges and allow Tennessee to place reasonable, common sense restrictions on the abhorrent practice of abortion,” Ramsey said in an email to The Associated Press.</p>
<p>Jeff Teague, president of Planned Parenthood of Middle and East Tennessee, said abortion rights advocates will also mount a vigorous campaign against the amendment.</p>
<p>“It’s absolutely going to be a fight,” he said in a phone interview. “It’s been our experience that when people find out about it they get very concerned. They get concerned about privacy rights and an attack on women’s rights”</p>
<p>The full language of the proposed constitutional amendment reads: “Nothing in this Constitution secures or protects a right to abortion or requires the funding of an abortion.</p>
<p>“The people retain the right through their elected state representatives and state senators to enact, amend, or repeal statutes regarding abortion, including, but not limited to, circumstances of pregnancy resulting from rape or incest or when necessary to save the life of the mother.”</p>
<p>Teague called the language of the proposed amendment “deliberately confusing people to think there are exceptions.”</p>
<p>Brian Harris, president of Tennessee Right to Life, said his group will work to counter any opposition to the amendment.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“We’re going to work very hard that every pro-life Tennessean is turned out on election day and that we give everyone who’s undecided on the issue every reason to vote in support of amendment,” he said.</p>
<p>The campaigns surrounding the abortion referendum come at the same time as a legal fight over restrictions enacted by Texas lawmakers this year.</p>
<p>A federal judge ruled Monday that key elements of the Texas law place an unconstitutional burden on women seeking to end a pregnancy. They include a provision requiring abortion doctors to have admitting privileges at a hospital less than 30 miles away. It would have led to about one-third of the state’s 38 clinics that perform abortions to close.</p>
<p>Federal judges in Wisconsin, Kansas, Mississippi and Alabama also have found problems with state laws prohibiting doctors from conducting abortions if they lack hospital admitting privileges.</p>
<p>Tennessee lawmakers last year enacted a requirement for physicians performing abortions to hold hospital privileges in either the home county of the woman seeking an abortion or an adjacent county.</p>
<p>“It’s obvious it has the same intended purpose, which is to put some unnecessary restrictions on abortion providers,” Teague said.</p>
<p>The law has caused clinics providing abortion services to close in Knoxville and Memphis, though no legal challenge has been filed in the state, Teague said.</p>
<p>Ramsey, the Senate speaker, disagreed, calling the law a “common sense regulation most rational people on both sides of the abortion issue accept as necessary and proper.”</p>
|
Campaigns begin in next year’s Tenn. abortion referendum
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/291153/campaigns-begin-in-next-years-tenn-abortion-referendum.html
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2013-10-30
| 2least
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Campaigns begin in next year’s Tenn. abortion referendum
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Anti-abortion rights activists are planning a high-dollar fundraiser next week to kick off their campaign for a constitutional amendment next fall that would give lawmakers more power to restrict access to abortions.</p>
<p>Republican state Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey is hosting a reception and dinner at a Nashville hotel Monday to support the proposed amendment, which seeks to void a 2000 state Supreme Court ruling. The court threw out mandatory 48-hour waiting periods for abortions, along with requirements that clinics provide detailed information about the procedure and that all but first-term abortions be performed in hospitals.</p>
<p>The ruling prevented lawmakers from re-enacting those laws and from passing other restrictions. For example, Republican lawmakers this year considered a bill to require ultrasounds before abortions, but the proposal was delayed pending the outcome of next year’s referendum. One of that measure’s main sponsors, Republican state Sen. Jim Tracy of Shelbyville, is running for Congress this year.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>In an invitation to the fundraiser, Ramsey urges supporters to pay between $1,000 for two tickets and up to $50,000 to be named chairman of the effort to stop Tennessee from being what he called an “abortion destination” for people from neighboring states. Organizers said they have already raised more than $250,000.</p>
<p>“The passage of this amendment will restore the constitutional silence on abortion that was usurped by liberal judges and allow Tennessee to place reasonable, common sense restrictions on the abhorrent practice of abortion,” Ramsey said in an email to The Associated Press.</p>
<p>Jeff Teague, president of Planned Parenthood of Middle and East Tennessee, said abortion rights advocates will also mount a vigorous campaign against the amendment.</p>
<p>“It’s absolutely going to be a fight,” he said in a phone interview. “It’s been our experience that when people find out about it they get very concerned. They get concerned about privacy rights and an attack on women’s rights”</p>
<p>The full language of the proposed constitutional amendment reads: “Nothing in this Constitution secures or protects a right to abortion or requires the funding of an abortion.</p>
<p>“The people retain the right through their elected state representatives and state senators to enact, amend, or repeal statutes regarding abortion, including, but not limited to, circumstances of pregnancy resulting from rape or incest or when necessary to save the life of the mother.”</p>
<p>Teague called the language of the proposed amendment “deliberately confusing people to think there are exceptions.”</p>
<p>Brian Harris, president of Tennessee Right to Life, said his group will work to counter any opposition to the amendment.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“We’re going to work very hard that every pro-life Tennessean is turned out on election day and that we give everyone who’s undecided on the issue every reason to vote in support of amendment,” he said.</p>
<p>The campaigns surrounding the abortion referendum come at the same time as a legal fight over restrictions enacted by Texas lawmakers this year.</p>
<p>A federal judge ruled Monday that key elements of the Texas law place an unconstitutional burden on women seeking to end a pregnancy. They include a provision requiring abortion doctors to have admitting privileges at a hospital less than 30 miles away. It would have led to about one-third of the state’s 38 clinics that perform abortions to close.</p>
<p>Federal judges in Wisconsin, Kansas, Mississippi and Alabama also have found problems with state laws prohibiting doctors from conducting abortions if they lack hospital admitting privileges.</p>
<p>Tennessee lawmakers last year enacted a requirement for physicians performing abortions to hold hospital privileges in either the home county of the woman seeking an abortion or an adjacent county.</p>
<p>“It’s obvious it has the same intended purpose, which is to put some unnecessary restrictions on abortion providers,” Teague said.</p>
<p>The law has caused clinics providing abortion services to close in Knoxville and Memphis, though no legal challenge has been filed in the state, Teague said.</p>
<p>Ramsey, the Senate speaker, disagreed, calling the law a “common sense regulation most rational people on both sides of the abortion issue accept as necessary and proper.”</p>
| 7,284 |
<p>“I’m back to being an active citizen and part of the resistance.”</p>
<p>— Hillary Clinton, May 2, 2017</p>
<p>Predictability in these tumultuous times will get you removed from office, or render you unelectable. Such a tendency has more than just a faint stain of the establishment, however accurate this might be in fact.</p>
<p>This is not a point the defeated presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, can accept.&#160; Still smarting from a well-deserved rout last November, one that turned over not just the applecart but an entire country, she persists in her laments about the puncturing role of Russian interference (such powers!), WikiLeaks, and the hand played by FBI director James B. Comey on October 28.&#160; Green with Oval Office envy, she has obscenely suggested that he is now “part of the resistance”.</p>
<p>On Tuesday, Clinton fantasised more than she reflected before the soft queries of Christiane Amanpour in Midtown Manhattan.&#160; “If the election had been on Oct. 27, I’d be your president.”&#160; Her loss was the consequence of “the intervening events in the last 10 days” of the campaign. <a href="#_ftn1" type="external">[1]</a></p>
<p>Comey’s October letter to Congress outlined how the FBI had “learned of the existence of emails that appear to be pertinent to the investigation” connected with the private email server Clinton had used when secretary of state.</p>
<p>Before the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Comey had to revisit the October 28 letter, and the events leading up to its drafting. “It makes me mildly nauseous to think that we might have had some impact on the election.&#160; But honestly, it wouldn’t change the decision.”</p>
<p>On whether he should have kept mum on the issue, Comey was adamant.&#160; “Concealment, in my view, would have been catastrophic.”&#160; In carrying out the decision, he conceded that it would be “disastrous for me personally.”</p>
<p>The Democrats, instead of running a fresh broom with firm bristles through their entire organisation, have gone against the man, thereby mimicking the President: attacking the chief of a security organisation.&#160; A bruising defeat can be so disorienting.</p>
<p>For Rep. Adam Schiff of California, “Nothing excuses the disparate way he handled [Trump and Clinton’s cases respectively].&#160; I don’t think in any way he justified both and what he did and why he treated those investigations so differently.” <a href="#_ftn2" type="external">[2]</a></p>
<p>Senator Dianne Feinstein of California also wanted “to hear how the FBI will regain that faith and trust.&#160; We need straightforward answers to our questions, and we want to hear how you’re going to lead the FBI going forward.&#160; We never, ever, want anything like this to happen again.”</p>
<p>Another angle on this is the less than subtle suggestion that Comey cannot be trusted when it comes to dealing with matters touching upon Trump (of course, that man is merely the President).&#160; Ears pricked up when Senator Amy Klobuchar asked if the director would brief the Senate and House Intelligence Committees on the results of the FBI’s investigation into Trump’s Russia connection.&#160; Comey suggested that he would only do so on receiving permission from the Department of Justice.</p>
<p>What further troubled such Democrats as Senator Richard Blumenthal was Comey’s refusal to commit to revealing whether the White House had been intransigent with the FBI.&#160; Blumenthal’s doubts had been cleared: it would require a special prosecutor to oversee this task.</p>
<p>Comey’s current visage for the Democrats is that of demon and compromiser, cowed before power, but it was the same man who, as acting attorney general during the Bush administration, refused the request by the White House to reauthorise a warrantless eavesdropping regime.</p>
<p>Comey’s fabled electoral influence has been given added ballast by such pollsters (dare we ever believe them again?) as Nate Silver, who, with the perfect vision of hindsight, insists that the Comey letter “probably cost Clinton the election”.</p>
<p>Silver suggests that the news cycle had been “upended”, halving “Clinton’s lead in the polls, imperilling her position in the Electoral College.” <a href="#_ftn3" type="external">[3]</a>&#160; Even with a halving of the lead, the assumption then was that she would canter in, albeit with an affected limp.</p>
<p>To be fair to the retrospective Silver, there is a qualification that follows, even if it seems a touch disingenuous. “Other factors may have played a larger role in her defeat, and it’s up to the Democrats to examine those as they choose their strategy for 2018 and 2020.”</p>
<p>As things stand, the Democrats, including their fallen Presidential candidate, refuse any serious self-analysis.&#160; Clinton’s concessions to errors of judgment are generally minor: there is always some greater, sabotaging cause she feels far more blameworthy.</p>
<p>The point pivots on assumptions that the election was done and dusted before the first ballot was cast.&#160; Having deemed herself the most appropriate candidate, and Trump the demonic front for the deplorables, a loss revealed that snow balls do have a chance of surviving a fire-and-brimstone hell.</p>
<p>That snow ball, of course, is proving more erratic than ever.&#160; Persistently entertaining in his viciousness, Trump’s own dim view of the matter is that the two rotters were paired in a historically convenient match, a dance of fakers.&#160; “FBI director Comey was the best thing that ever happened to Hillary Clinton in that he gave her a free pass for many bad deeds!&#160; The phony…” <a href="#_ftn4" type="external">[4]</a></p>
<p>Notes.&#160;</p>
<p><a href="#_ftnref1" type="external">[1]</a> <a href="" type="internal">https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/02/us/clinton-trump-interview.html</a></p>
<p><a href="#_ftnref2" type="external">[2]</a> <a href="http://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/331816-schiff-rips-comeys-disparate-handling-of-clinton-trump" type="external">http://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/331816-schiff-rips-comeys-disparate-handling-of-clinton-trump</a></p>
<p><a href="#_ftnref3" type="external">[3]</a> <a href="https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-comey-letter-probably-cost-clinton-the-election/" type="external">https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-comey-letter-probably-cost-clinton-the-election/</a></p>
<p><a href="#_ftnref4" type="external">[4]</a> <a href="" type="internal">https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/859601184285491201</a></p>
|
Hillary Clinton’s Lament
| true |
https://counterpunch.org/2017/05/05/hillary-clintons-lament/
|
2017-05-05
| 4left
|
Hillary Clinton’s Lament
<p>“I’m back to being an active citizen and part of the resistance.”</p>
<p>— Hillary Clinton, May 2, 2017</p>
<p>Predictability in these tumultuous times will get you removed from office, or render you unelectable. Such a tendency has more than just a faint stain of the establishment, however accurate this might be in fact.</p>
<p>This is not a point the defeated presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, can accept.&#160; Still smarting from a well-deserved rout last November, one that turned over not just the applecart but an entire country, she persists in her laments about the puncturing role of Russian interference (such powers!), WikiLeaks, and the hand played by FBI director James B. Comey on October 28.&#160; Green with Oval Office envy, she has obscenely suggested that he is now “part of the resistance”.</p>
<p>On Tuesday, Clinton fantasised more than she reflected before the soft queries of Christiane Amanpour in Midtown Manhattan.&#160; “If the election had been on Oct. 27, I’d be your president.”&#160; Her loss was the consequence of “the intervening events in the last 10 days” of the campaign. <a href="#_ftn1" type="external">[1]</a></p>
<p>Comey’s October letter to Congress outlined how the FBI had “learned of the existence of emails that appear to be pertinent to the investigation” connected with the private email server Clinton had used when secretary of state.</p>
<p>Before the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Comey had to revisit the October 28 letter, and the events leading up to its drafting. “It makes me mildly nauseous to think that we might have had some impact on the election.&#160; But honestly, it wouldn’t change the decision.”</p>
<p>On whether he should have kept mum on the issue, Comey was adamant.&#160; “Concealment, in my view, would have been catastrophic.”&#160; In carrying out the decision, he conceded that it would be “disastrous for me personally.”</p>
<p>The Democrats, instead of running a fresh broom with firm bristles through their entire organisation, have gone against the man, thereby mimicking the President: attacking the chief of a security organisation.&#160; A bruising defeat can be so disorienting.</p>
<p>For Rep. Adam Schiff of California, “Nothing excuses the disparate way he handled [Trump and Clinton’s cases respectively].&#160; I don’t think in any way he justified both and what he did and why he treated those investigations so differently.” <a href="#_ftn2" type="external">[2]</a></p>
<p>Senator Dianne Feinstein of California also wanted “to hear how the FBI will regain that faith and trust.&#160; We need straightforward answers to our questions, and we want to hear how you’re going to lead the FBI going forward.&#160; We never, ever, want anything like this to happen again.”</p>
<p>Another angle on this is the less than subtle suggestion that Comey cannot be trusted when it comes to dealing with matters touching upon Trump (of course, that man is merely the President).&#160; Ears pricked up when Senator Amy Klobuchar asked if the director would brief the Senate and House Intelligence Committees on the results of the FBI’s investigation into Trump’s Russia connection.&#160; Comey suggested that he would only do so on receiving permission from the Department of Justice.</p>
<p>What further troubled such Democrats as Senator Richard Blumenthal was Comey’s refusal to commit to revealing whether the White House had been intransigent with the FBI.&#160; Blumenthal’s doubts had been cleared: it would require a special prosecutor to oversee this task.</p>
<p>Comey’s current visage for the Democrats is that of demon and compromiser, cowed before power, but it was the same man who, as acting attorney general during the Bush administration, refused the request by the White House to reauthorise a warrantless eavesdropping regime.</p>
<p>Comey’s fabled electoral influence has been given added ballast by such pollsters (dare we ever believe them again?) as Nate Silver, who, with the perfect vision of hindsight, insists that the Comey letter “probably cost Clinton the election”.</p>
<p>Silver suggests that the news cycle had been “upended”, halving “Clinton’s lead in the polls, imperilling her position in the Electoral College.” <a href="#_ftn3" type="external">[3]</a>&#160; Even with a halving of the lead, the assumption then was that she would canter in, albeit with an affected limp.</p>
<p>To be fair to the retrospective Silver, there is a qualification that follows, even if it seems a touch disingenuous. “Other factors may have played a larger role in her defeat, and it’s up to the Democrats to examine those as they choose their strategy for 2018 and 2020.”</p>
<p>As things stand, the Democrats, including their fallen Presidential candidate, refuse any serious self-analysis.&#160; Clinton’s concessions to errors of judgment are generally minor: there is always some greater, sabotaging cause she feels far more blameworthy.</p>
<p>The point pivots on assumptions that the election was done and dusted before the first ballot was cast.&#160; Having deemed herself the most appropriate candidate, and Trump the demonic front for the deplorables, a loss revealed that snow balls do have a chance of surviving a fire-and-brimstone hell.</p>
<p>That snow ball, of course, is proving more erratic than ever.&#160; Persistently entertaining in his viciousness, Trump’s own dim view of the matter is that the two rotters were paired in a historically convenient match, a dance of fakers.&#160; “FBI director Comey was the best thing that ever happened to Hillary Clinton in that he gave her a free pass for many bad deeds!&#160; The phony…” <a href="#_ftn4" type="external">[4]</a></p>
<p>Notes.&#160;</p>
<p><a href="#_ftnref1" type="external">[1]</a> <a href="" type="internal">https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/02/us/clinton-trump-interview.html</a></p>
<p><a href="#_ftnref2" type="external">[2]</a> <a href="http://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/331816-schiff-rips-comeys-disparate-handling-of-clinton-trump" type="external">http://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/331816-schiff-rips-comeys-disparate-handling-of-clinton-trump</a></p>
<p><a href="#_ftnref3" type="external">[3]</a> <a href="https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-comey-letter-probably-cost-clinton-the-election/" type="external">https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-comey-letter-probably-cost-clinton-the-election/</a></p>
<p><a href="#_ftnref4" type="external">[4]</a> <a href="" type="internal">https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/859601184285491201</a></p>
| 7,285 |
<p>CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) — The fraud trial for four former executives and sales staff at the truck stop chain Pilot Flying J took a detour Wednesday when prosecutors played a portion of secret recordings that included one of the defendants saying the n-word and disparaging his boss' NFL team.</p>
<p>A federal judge allowed jurors to hear part of the recordings after prosecutors and the defense negotiated a limited release of them, the <a href="https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/crime/2018/01/10/pilot-flying-j-ex-president-heard-secret-recordings-using-racial-epithets/1022474001/" type="external">Knoxville News Sentinel reported</a> .</p>
<p>The judge has described the recordings as "vile" and "despicable." The recording played in court showed the ex-workers in a rowdy meeting disparaging the Oakland Raiders and the Cleveland Browns, the newspaper reported.</p>
<p>Pilot Flying J is controlled by the family of Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam and Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam. The Haslams were not at the meeting and have not been charged with any wrongdoing.</p>
<p>The four ex-workers on trial are accused in a scheme to shortchange trucking customers on diesel rebates. Fourteen former members of the Pilot sales team have pleaded guilty to participating in the scheme. The company paid a $92 million penalty to the federal government and settled a class-action lawsuit for $85 million. Prosecutors say the scheme ran from at least 2008 until agents raided the company's headquarters in 2013.</p>
<p>The audio played in court included former Pilot Flying J President Mark Hazelwood using the racial epithet and saying derogatory things about the Browns.</p>
<p>Hazelwood's attorney, Rusty Hardin, brought Hazelwood's character and business sense into the trial, painting him as too smart of a businessman to do anything to endanger the company. That gave the prosecution an opening to use the recordings to dispute the defense position.</p>
<p>The other defendants in the case — former Vice President Scott "Scooter" Wombold and former sales representatives Heather Jones and Karen Mann — have said they aren't on the recordings and are being prejudiced by them. The judge has declined to declare a mistrial for them or allow separate trials.</p>
<p>The recordings were made by a former Pilot Flying J worker. The newspaper has asked that transcriptions of the recordings be unsealed.</p>
<p>The company has said Jimmy Haslam was not aware of any wrongdoing within the company, and the governor has not been involved with the company's business activities in recent years.</p>
<p>"We are very disturbed and appalled by the extremely offensive and deplorable comments recorded over five years ago involving a small group of former sales employees," a Pilot Flying J spokesman said in a statement Wednesday. "This kind of behavior is reprehensible, not tolerated, nor reflective of the guiding principles of Pilot Flying J and does not represent the values of the dedicated 28,000 team members that we have today."</p>
<p>The statement said the company took action as soon as officials became aware of the recordings and that the employees who participated are no longer with the company. No one currently working for Pilot Flying J was present or participated, the statement said.</p>
<p>CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) — The fraud trial for four former executives and sales staff at the truck stop chain Pilot Flying J took a detour Wednesday when prosecutors played a portion of secret recordings that included one of the defendants saying the n-word and disparaging his boss' NFL team.</p>
<p>A federal judge allowed jurors to hear part of the recordings after prosecutors and the defense negotiated a limited release of them, the <a href="https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/crime/2018/01/10/pilot-flying-j-ex-president-heard-secret-recordings-using-racial-epithets/1022474001/" type="external">Knoxville News Sentinel reported</a> .</p>
<p>The judge has described the recordings as "vile" and "despicable." The recording played in court showed the ex-workers in a rowdy meeting disparaging the Oakland Raiders and the Cleveland Browns, the newspaper reported.</p>
<p>Pilot Flying J is controlled by the family of Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam and Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam. The Haslams were not at the meeting and have not been charged with any wrongdoing.</p>
<p>The four ex-workers on trial are accused in a scheme to shortchange trucking customers on diesel rebates. Fourteen former members of the Pilot sales team have pleaded guilty to participating in the scheme. The company paid a $92 million penalty to the federal government and settled a class-action lawsuit for $85 million. Prosecutors say the scheme ran from at least 2008 until agents raided the company's headquarters in 2013.</p>
<p>The audio played in court included former Pilot Flying J President Mark Hazelwood using the racial epithet and saying derogatory things about the Browns.</p>
<p>Hazelwood's attorney, Rusty Hardin, brought Hazelwood's character and business sense into the trial, painting him as too smart of a businessman to do anything to endanger the company. That gave the prosecution an opening to use the recordings to dispute the defense position.</p>
<p>The other defendants in the case — former Vice President Scott "Scooter" Wombold and former sales representatives Heather Jones and Karen Mann — have said they aren't on the recordings and are being prejudiced by them. The judge has declined to declare a mistrial for them or allow separate trials.</p>
<p>The recordings were made by a former Pilot Flying J worker. The newspaper has asked that transcriptions of the recordings be unsealed.</p>
<p>The company has said Jimmy Haslam was not aware of any wrongdoing within the company, and the governor has not been involved with the company's business activities in recent years.</p>
<p>"We are very disturbed and appalled by the extremely offensive and deplorable comments recorded over five years ago involving a small group of former sales employees," a Pilot Flying J spokesman said in a statement Wednesday. "This kind of behavior is reprehensible, not tolerated, nor reflective of the guiding principles of Pilot Flying J and does not represent the values of the dedicated 28,000 team members that we have today."</p>
<p>The statement said the company took action as soon as officials became aware of the recordings and that the employees who participated are no longer with the company. No one currently working for Pilot Flying J was present or participated, the statement said.</p>
|
Recording of racial epithet played at Pilot Flying J trial
| false |
https://apnews.com/amp/1f29bbae2d094be5b68e280dab91e7df
|
2018-01-11
| 2least
|
Recording of racial epithet played at Pilot Flying J trial
<p>CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) — The fraud trial for four former executives and sales staff at the truck stop chain Pilot Flying J took a detour Wednesday when prosecutors played a portion of secret recordings that included one of the defendants saying the n-word and disparaging his boss' NFL team.</p>
<p>A federal judge allowed jurors to hear part of the recordings after prosecutors and the defense negotiated a limited release of them, the <a href="https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/crime/2018/01/10/pilot-flying-j-ex-president-heard-secret-recordings-using-racial-epithets/1022474001/" type="external">Knoxville News Sentinel reported</a> .</p>
<p>The judge has described the recordings as "vile" and "despicable." The recording played in court showed the ex-workers in a rowdy meeting disparaging the Oakland Raiders and the Cleveland Browns, the newspaper reported.</p>
<p>Pilot Flying J is controlled by the family of Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam and Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam. The Haslams were not at the meeting and have not been charged with any wrongdoing.</p>
<p>The four ex-workers on trial are accused in a scheme to shortchange trucking customers on diesel rebates. Fourteen former members of the Pilot sales team have pleaded guilty to participating in the scheme. The company paid a $92 million penalty to the federal government and settled a class-action lawsuit for $85 million. Prosecutors say the scheme ran from at least 2008 until agents raided the company's headquarters in 2013.</p>
<p>The audio played in court included former Pilot Flying J President Mark Hazelwood using the racial epithet and saying derogatory things about the Browns.</p>
<p>Hazelwood's attorney, Rusty Hardin, brought Hazelwood's character and business sense into the trial, painting him as too smart of a businessman to do anything to endanger the company. That gave the prosecution an opening to use the recordings to dispute the defense position.</p>
<p>The other defendants in the case — former Vice President Scott "Scooter" Wombold and former sales representatives Heather Jones and Karen Mann — have said they aren't on the recordings and are being prejudiced by them. The judge has declined to declare a mistrial for them or allow separate trials.</p>
<p>The recordings were made by a former Pilot Flying J worker. The newspaper has asked that transcriptions of the recordings be unsealed.</p>
<p>The company has said Jimmy Haslam was not aware of any wrongdoing within the company, and the governor has not been involved with the company's business activities in recent years.</p>
<p>"We are very disturbed and appalled by the extremely offensive and deplorable comments recorded over five years ago involving a small group of former sales employees," a Pilot Flying J spokesman said in a statement Wednesday. "This kind of behavior is reprehensible, not tolerated, nor reflective of the guiding principles of Pilot Flying J and does not represent the values of the dedicated 28,000 team members that we have today."</p>
<p>The statement said the company took action as soon as officials became aware of the recordings and that the employees who participated are no longer with the company. No one currently working for Pilot Flying J was present or participated, the statement said.</p>
<p>CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) — The fraud trial for four former executives and sales staff at the truck stop chain Pilot Flying J took a detour Wednesday when prosecutors played a portion of secret recordings that included one of the defendants saying the n-word and disparaging his boss' NFL team.</p>
<p>A federal judge allowed jurors to hear part of the recordings after prosecutors and the defense negotiated a limited release of them, the <a href="https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/crime/2018/01/10/pilot-flying-j-ex-president-heard-secret-recordings-using-racial-epithets/1022474001/" type="external">Knoxville News Sentinel reported</a> .</p>
<p>The judge has described the recordings as "vile" and "despicable." The recording played in court showed the ex-workers in a rowdy meeting disparaging the Oakland Raiders and the Cleveland Browns, the newspaper reported.</p>
<p>Pilot Flying J is controlled by the family of Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam and Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam. The Haslams were not at the meeting and have not been charged with any wrongdoing.</p>
<p>The four ex-workers on trial are accused in a scheme to shortchange trucking customers on diesel rebates. Fourteen former members of the Pilot sales team have pleaded guilty to participating in the scheme. The company paid a $92 million penalty to the federal government and settled a class-action lawsuit for $85 million. Prosecutors say the scheme ran from at least 2008 until agents raided the company's headquarters in 2013.</p>
<p>The audio played in court included former Pilot Flying J President Mark Hazelwood using the racial epithet and saying derogatory things about the Browns.</p>
<p>Hazelwood's attorney, Rusty Hardin, brought Hazelwood's character and business sense into the trial, painting him as too smart of a businessman to do anything to endanger the company. That gave the prosecution an opening to use the recordings to dispute the defense position.</p>
<p>The other defendants in the case — former Vice President Scott "Scooter" Wombold and former sales representatives Heather Jones and Karen Mann — have said they aren't on the recordings and are being prejudiced by them. The judge has declined to declare a mistrial for them or allow separate trials.</p>
<p>The recordings were made by a former Pilot Flying J worker. The newspaper has asked that transcriptions of the recordings be unsealed.</p>
<p>The company has said Jimmy Haslam was not aware of any wrongdoing within the company, and the governor has not been involved with the company's business activities in recent years.</p>
<p>"We are very disturbed and appalled by the extremely offensive and deplorable comments recorded over five years ago involving a small group of former sales employees," a Pilot Flying J spokesman said in a statement Wednesday. "This kind of behavior is reprehensible, not tolerated, nor reflective of the guiding principles of Pilot Flying J and does not represent the values of the dedicated 28,000 team members that we have today."</p>
<p>The statement said the company took action as soon as officials became aware of the recordings and that the employees who participated are no longer with the company. No one currently working for Pilot Flying J was present or participated, the statement said.</p>
| 7,286 |
<p>NASA</p>
<p />
<p>Want a quick recipe for reducing <a href="" type="internal">Arctic ice melt</a> fast? Stop burning northern hemisphere farmlands and pasturelands.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.unh.edu/news/cj_nr/2009/may/ds26fire.cfm" type="external">New research</a> finds that large-scale agricultural burning in Russia, <a href="" type="internal">Kazakhstan</a>, <a href="" type="internal">China</a>, the US, Canada, and the Ukraine is melting Arctic ice.</p>
<p>The big contributor: Spring burning, when farmers torch crop residues and brush to clear new land for crops and livestock. The <a href="" type="internal">black carbon</a> soot produced by these fires flows north, warms the surrounding air, and absorbs solar energy when it falls on ice and snow.</p>
<p>How bad is the problem? Springtime burning may account for 30 percent of Arctic warming to date.</p>
<p>The good news is there’s an easy fix. Targeting these burns gets us a genuinely fast reduction in temperature over the Arctic. Plus we know how to control these pollutants right now. Just stop burning. Right now. Before the melting ice <a href="" type="internal">rewires the oceanic currents</a>delivering us the climate we’re used to.</p>
<p>The research is part of <a href="http://www.polarcat.no/" type="external">POLARCAT</a>, an international effort to track the transport of pollutants into the Arctic from lower latitudes. Researchers were surprised to find 50 smoke plumes that analysis of satellite images revealed came from agricultural fires in Northern Kazakhstan and Southern Russia and from <a href="" type="internal">forest fires</a> in Southern Siberia. The emissions from these fires far outweighed those from fossil fuels.</p>
<p>“These fires weren’t part of our standard predictions, they weren’t in our models,” says Daniel Jacob, a professor of atmospheric chemistry and environmental engineering at Harvard.</p>
<p>Although global warming is largely the result of excess accumulation of carbon dioxide, the Arctic is highly sensitive to short-lived pollutants like black carbon. Forest fires, agricultural burning, primitive cookstoves, and diesel fuel are the primary sources of black carbon.</p>
<p />
|
Don’t Burn the Crops
| true |
https://motherjones.com/politics/2009/05/dont-burn-crops/
|
2009-05-27
| 4left
|
Don’t Burn the Crops
<p>NASA</p>
<p />
<p>Want a quick recipe for reducing <a href="" type="internal">Arctic ice melt</a> fast? Stop burning northern hemisphere farmlands and pasturelands.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.unh.edu/news/cj_nr/2009/may/ds26fire.cfm" type="external">New research</a> finds that large-scale agricultural burning in Russia, <a href="" type="internal">Kazakhstan</a>, <a href="" type="internal">China</a>, the US, Canada, and the Ukraine is melting Arctic ice.</p>
<p>The big contributor: Spring burning, when farmers torch crop residues and brush to clear new land for crops and livestock. The <a href="" type="internal">black carbon</a> soot produced by these fires flows north, warms the surrounding air, and absorbs solar energy when it falls on ice and snow.</p>
<p>How bad is the problem? Springtime burning may account for 30 percent of Arctic warming to date.</p>
<p>The good news is there’s an easy fix. Targeting these burns gets us a genuinely fast reduction in temperature over the Arctic. Plus we know how to control these pollutants right now. Just stop burning. Right now. Before the melting ice <a href="" type="internal">rewires the oceanic currents</a>delivering us the climate we’re used to.</p>
<p>The research is part of <a href="http://www.polarcat.no/" type="external">POLARCAT</a>, an international effort to track the transport of pollutants into the Arctic from lower latitudes. Researchers were surprised to find 50 smoke plumes that analysis of satellite images revealed came from agricultural fires in Northern Kazakhstan and Southern Russia and from <a href="" type="internal">forest fires</a> in Southern Siberia. The emissions from these fires far outweighed those from fossil fuels.</p>
<p>“These fires weren’t part of our standard predictions, they weren’t in our models,” says Daniel Jacob, a professor of atmospheric chemistry and environmental engineering at Harvard.</p>
<p>Although global warming is largely the result of excess accumulation of carbon dioxide, the Arctic is highly sensitive to short-lived pollutants like black carbon. Forest fires, agricultural burning, primitive cookstoves, and diesel fuel are the primary sources of black carbon.</p>
<p />
| 7,287 |
<p />
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Shares of business intelligence company Workiva (NYSE: WK) fell as much as 14.8% on Thursday after the company reported third-quarter financial results with revenue and guidance below expectations. The stock is down about 9.5% at the time of this writing.</p>
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>Workiva reported third-quarter revenue of $44.7 million, up 23.3% from the year-ago quarter. The company's adjusted net loss per share was $0.23, improved from a $0.29 adjusted loss in the year-ago quarter.</p>
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<p>On average, analysts were expecting revenue and an adjusted loss per share of $44.9 million and $0.34., respectively.</p>
<p>Going forward, Workiva expects fourth-quarter revenue and an adjusted loss per share in the ranges of $45.2 million to $45.7 million and $0.20 to $0.21., respectively. So while the company's expectations for its loss per share in the fourth quarter were about in line with an average consensus estimate for $0.22, revenue was lower than a consensus estimate for $48.9 million.</p>
<p>With both revenue for the current quarter and expected revenue for the fourth quarter lower than analyst expectations, this could be the reason for bearish sentiment toward the stock after earnings.</p>
<p>Workiva CEO Matt Rizai was optimistic in the company's third-quarter press release, saying he expected to report positive operating cash flow in the fourth quarter, continuing the company's trend of positive operating cash flow in Q3, "as we make progress toward sustained positive operating cash flow."</p>
<p>Despite weaker-than-expected revenue, Rizai is optimistic about the demand for the company's solutions:</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than Workiva When investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*</p>
<p>David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the <a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=e3d4150a-c100-4d61-98c2-0bb42f26f51b&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">ten best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now... and Workiva wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.</p>
<p><a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=e3d4150a-c100-4d61-98c2-0bb42f26f51b&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</a> to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of November 7, 2016</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFDanielSparks/info.aspx" type="external">Daniel Sparks Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=isiedilnk018048&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://www.fool.com/knowledge-center/motley.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
|
Why Workiva Inc. Stock Fell Sharply
| true |
http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/11/10/why-workiva-inc-stock-fell-sharply.html
|
2016-11-10
| 0right
|
Why Workiva Inc. Stock Fell Sharply
<p />
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Shares of business intelligence company Workiva (NYSE: WK) fell as much as 14.8% on Thursday after the company reported third-quarter financial results with revenue and guidance below expectations. The stock is down about 9.5% at the time of this writing.</p>
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>Workiva reported third-quarter revenue of $44.7 million, up 23.3% from the year-ago quarter. The company's adjusted net loss per share was $0.23, improved from a $0.29 adjusted loss in the year-ago quarter.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>On average, analysts were expecting revenue and an adjusted loss per share of $44.9 million and $0.34., respectively.</p>
<p>Going forward, Workiva expects fourth-quarter revenue and an adjusted loss per share in the ranges of $45.2 million to $45.7 million and $0.20 to $0.21., respectively. So while the company's expectations for its loss per share in the fourth quarter were about in line with an average consensus estimate for $0.22, revenue was lower than a consensus estimate for $48.9 million.</p>
<p>With both revenue for the current quarter and expected revenue for the fourth quarter lower than analyst expectations, this could be the reason for bearish sentiment toward the stock after earnings.</p>
<p>Workiva CEO Matt Rizai was optimistic in the company's third-quarter press release, saying he expected to report positive operating cash flow in the fourth quarter, continuing the company's trend of positive operating cash flow in Q3, "as we make progress toward sustained positive operating cash flow."</p>
<p>Despite weaker-than-expected revenue, Rizai is optimistic about the demand for the company's solutions:</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than Workiva When investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*</p>
<p>David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the <a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=e3d4150a-c100-4d61-98c2-0bb42f26f51b&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">ten best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now... and Workiva wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.</p>
<p><a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=e3d4150a-c100-4d61-98c2-0bb42f26f51b&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</a> to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of November 7, 2016</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFDanielSparks/info.aspx" type="external">Daniel Sparks Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=isiedilnk018048&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://www.fool.com/knowledge-center/motley.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
| 7,288 |
<p>SEATTLE (AP) — Washington has shown plenty of flaws in the first season under Mike Hopkins. The Huskies have also shown a knack for figuring out how to win even when it's not the prettiest of performances.</p>
<p>Jaylen Nowell scored 20 points, Noah Dickerson added 12 points, and Washington continued its promising early start to conference play with a 66-56 win over California on Thursday night.</p>
<p>"I didn't think we played well tonight," Hopkins said. "Cal missed fouls shots. Our offense in stretches wasn't good. It reminded me of an early-season game. It didn't feel like there was a flow. It was ugly. We allowed pressure, we had bad turnovers, but we found a way to win, which I'm happy for."</p>
<p>The Huskies (13-4, 3-1 Pac-12) overcame a sloppy and unattractive first-half filled with fouls and turnovers to pull away from the Golden Bears over the final 15 minutes. Nowell carried Washington in the first half with 11 points and he got help from his supporting cast in the final 20 minutes.</p>
<p>Nahziah Carter was a big contributor with 10 points off the bench. David Crisp also finished with 10 points, all in the second half as the Huskies built a double-digit lead in the final 10 minutes and didn't have to rally or hold on in the closing moments.</p>
<p>"It was definitely a great breather for us because most of our games we definitely had to come back from being down," Nowell said.</p>
<p>Justice Sueing led California (7-10, 1-3) with a career-high 27 points, but the Golden Bears faltered in the latter stages of the second half after leading scorer Don Coleman fouled out with nearly 13 minutes remaining.</p>
<p>"He is a talented young man," Cal coach Wyking Jones said of Sueing. "He has been playing well for us the last couple of games. He was really good today but we have to get more from our bigs."</p>
<p>Coleman, who was averaging 18.9, was already having a bad night and was constantly berated by the Washington student section. His night got worse when he fouled out with 12:47 remaining picking up his fourth foul on a defensive rebound attempt and being assessed a technical foul complaining about the call. The technical was his fifth and sent Coleman to the bench after going 0 of 4 shooting and just four points.</p>
<p>It was the third time this season Coleman failed to score in double figures but two of those have come in the past three games. Coleman was held to four points on 1 of 8 shooting in Cal's loss to USC last week.</p>
<p>The technical became a turning point. Washington went on an 18-5 run after Coleman fouled out, including 14 straight during one stretch. Crisp, who was scoreless for the first 25 minutes of the game, hit a pair of key 3s during the run. The first time, Crisp flipped a 25-footer off an inbound play to beat the shot clock and push Washington's lead to 54-43 with 8:30 remaining. He added a corner 3 on the Huskies next possession and the lead was 14 with 7:34 remaining.</p>
<p>"It wasn't pretty and we found a way again," Hopkins said. "I give the guys credit, but I want more."</p>
<p>BIG PICTURE</p>
<p>California: Coleman is one of the few experienced players on the Bears young roster and they showed their inexperience after their leading scorer fouled out. California had a number of poor offensive possessions after Coleman went to the bench and watched the Huskies finally build a double-digit lead. ... Cal lost its first true road game after starting 3-0 away from home.</p>
<p>Washington: Carter provided a needed spark off the bench. Matisse Thybulle picked up his fourth foul early in the second half and Carter was asked to play key minutes. It was the third time this season Carter has scored in double figures but he was efficient with his 10 points coming in just 14 minutes. ... Washington's 20 turnovers was a season-high.</p>
<p>UGLY START</p>
<p>The first half was ugly as the teams combined for 19 turnovers and 16 fouls in the first 20 minutes. Only the scoring of Nowell and Sueing saved the half from being a real slog. Sueing had 14 points on 6 of 9 shooting, while Nowell had 11 points, making 4 of 6 shots. Nowell's 3-pointer with 29 seconds left in the half was followed by Michael Carter III's 3 in the final seconds to give Washington a 28-24 lead at the break.</p>
<p>UP NEXT</p>
<p>California: The Bears face Washington State on Saturday.</p>
<p>Washington: The Huskies host Stanford on Saturday.</p>
<p>SEATTLE (AP) — Washington has shown plenty of flaws in the first season under Mike Hopkins. The Huskies have also shown a knack for figuring out how to win even when it's not the prettiest of performances.</p>
<p>Jaylen Nowell scored 20 points, Noah Dickerson added 12 points, and Washington continued its promising early start to conference play with a 66-56 win over California on Thursday night.</p>
<p>"I didn't think we played well tonight," Hopkins said. "Cal missed fouls shots. Our offense in stretches wasn't good. It reminded me of an early-season game. It didn't feel like there was a flow. It was ugly. We allowed pressure, we had bad turnovers, but we found a way to win, which I'm happy for."</p>
<p>The Huskies (13-4, 3-1 Pac-12) overcame a sloppy and unattractive first-half filled with fouls and turnovers to pull away from the Golden Bears over the final 15 minutes. Nowell carried Washington in the first half with 11 points and he got help from his supporting cast in the final 20 minutes.</p>
<p>Nahziah Carter was a big contributor with 10 points off the bench. David Crisp also finished with 10 points, all in the second half as the Huskies built a double-digit lead in the final 10 minutes and didn't have to rally or hold on in the closing moments.</p>
<p>"It was definitely a great breather for us because most of our games we definitely had to come back from being down," Nowell said.</p>
<p>Justice Sueing led California (7-10, 1-3) with a career-high 27 points, but the Golden Bears faltered in the latter stages of the second half after leading scorer Don Coleman fouled out with nearly 13 minutes remaining.</p>
<p>"He is a talented young man," Cal coach Wyking Jones said of Sueing. "He has been playing well for us the last couple of games. He was really good today but we have to get more from our bigs."</p>
<p>Coleman, who was averaging 18.9, was already having a bad night and was constantly berated by the Washington student section. His night got worse when he fouled out with 12:47 remaining picking up his fourth foul on a defensive rebound attempt and being assessed a technical foul complaining about the call. The technical was his fifth and sent Coleman to the bench after going 0 of 4 shooting and just four points.</p>
<p>It was the third time this season Coleman failed to score in double figures but two of those have come in the past three games. Coleman was held to four points on 1 of 8 shooting in Cal's loss to USC last week.</p>
<p>The technical became a turning point. Washington went on an 18-5 run after Coleman fouled out, including 14 straight during one stretch. Crisp, who was scoreless for the first 25 minutes of the game, hit a pair of key 3s during the run. The first time, Crisp flipped a 25-footer off an inbound play to beat the shot clock and push Washington's lead to 54-43 with 8:30 remaining. He added a corner 3 on the Huskies next possession and the lead was 14 with 7:34 remaining.</p>
<p>"It wasn't pretty and we found a way again," Hopkins said. "I give the guys credit, but I want more."</p>
<p>BIG PICTURE</p>
<p>California: Coleman is one of the few experienced players on the Bears young roster and they showed their inexperience after their leading scorer fouled out. California had a number of poor offensive possessions after Coleman went to the bench and watched the Huskies finally build a double-digit lead. ... Cal lost its first true road game after starting 3-0 away from home.</p>
<p>Washington: Carter provided a needed spark off the bench. Matisse Thybulle picked up his fourth foul early in the second half and Carter was asked to play key minutes. It was the third time this season Carter has scored in double figures but he was efficient with his 10 points coming in just 14 minutes. ... Washington's 20 turnovers was a season-high.</p>
<p>UGLY START</p>
<p>The first half was ugly as the teams combined for 19 turnovers and 16 fouls in the first 20 minutes. Only the scoring of Nowell and Sueing saved the half from being a real slog. Sueing had 14 points on 6 of 9 shooting, while Nowell had 11 points, making 4 of 6 shots. Nowell's 3-pointer with 29 seconds left in the half was followed by Michael Carter III's 3 in the final seconds to give Washington a 28-24 lead at the break.</p>
<p>UP NEXT</p>
<p>California: The Bears face Washington State on Saturday.</p>
<p>Washington: The Huskies host Stanford on Saturday.</p>
|
Washington pulls away in 2nd half to top California 66-56
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https://apnews.com/amp/e45d7c8c5e9a4343a038faf87d300cc0
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2018-01-12
| 2least
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Washington pulls away in 2nd half to top California 66-56
<p>SEATTLE (AP) — Washington has shown plenty of flaws in the first season under Mike Hopkins. The Huskies have also shown a knack for figuring out how to win even when it's not the prettiest of performances.</p>
<p>Jaylen Nowell scored 20 points, Noah Dickerson added 12 points, and Washington continued its promising early start to conference play with a 66-56 win over California on Thursday night.</p>
<p>"I didn't think we played well tonight," Hopkins said. "Cal missed fouls shots. Our offense in stretches wasn't good. It reminded me of an early-season game. It didn't feel like there was a flow. It was ugly. We allowed pressure, we had bad turnovers, but we found a way to win, which I'm happy for."</p>
<p>The Huskies (13-4, 3-1 Pac-12) overcame a sloppy and unattractive first-half filled with fouls and turnovers to pull away from the Golden Bears over the final 15 minutes. Nowell carried Washington in the first half with 11 points and he got help from his supporting cast in the final 20 minutes.</p>
<p>Nahziah Carter was a big contributor with 10 points off the bench. David Crisp also finished with 10 points, all in the second half as the Huskies built a double-digit lead in the final 10 minutes and didn't have to rally or hold on in the closing moments.</p>
<p>"It was definitely a great breather for us because most of our games we definitely had to come back from being down," Nowell said.</p>
<p>Justice Sueing led California (7-10, 1-3) with a career-high 27 points, but the Golden Bears faltered in the latter stages of the second half after leading scorer Don Coleman fouled out with nearly 13 minutes remaining.</p>
<p>"He is a talented young man," Cal coach Wyking Jones said of Sueing. "He has been playing well for us the last couple of games. He was really good today but we have to get more from our bigs."</p>
<p>Coleman, who was averaging 18.9, was already having a bad night and was constantly berated by the Washington student section. His night got worse when he fouled out with 12:47 remaining picking up his fourth foul on a defensive rebound attempt and being assessed a technical foul complaining about the call. The technical was his fifth and sent Coleman to the bench after going 0 of 4 shooting and just four points.</p>
<p>It was the third time this season Coleman failed to score in double figures but two of those have come in the past three games. Coleman was held to four points on 1 of 8 shooting in Cal's loss to USC last week.</p>
<p>The technical became a turning point. Washington went on an 18-5 run after Coleman fouled out, including 14 straight during one stretch. Crisp, who was scoreless for the first 25 minutes of the game, hit a pair of key 3s during the run. The first time, Crisp flipped a 25-footer off an inbound play to beat the shot clock and push Washington's lead to 54-43 with 8:30 remaining. He added a corner 3 on the Huskies next possession and the lead was 14 with 7:34 remaining.</p>
<p>"It wasn't pretty and we found a way again," Hopkins said. "I give the guys credit, but I want more."</p>
<p>BIG PICTURE</p>
<p>California: Coleman is one of the few experienced players on the Bears young roster and they showed their inexperience after their leading scorer fouled out. California had a number of poor offensive possessions after Coleman went to the bench and watched the Huskies finally build a double-digit lead. ... Cal lost its first true road game after starting 3-0 away from home.</p>
<p>Washington: Carter provided a needed spark off the bench. Matisse Thybulle picked up his fourth foul early in the second half and Carter was asked to play key minutes. It was the third time this season Carter has scored in double figures but he was efficient with his 10 points coming in just 14 minutes. ... Washington's 20 turnovers was a season-high.</p>
<p>UGLY START</p>
<p>The first half was ugly as the teams combined for 19 turnovers and 16 fouls in the first 20 minutes. Only the scoring of Nowell and Sueing saved the half from being a real slog. Sueing had 14 points on 6 of 9 shooting, while Nowell had 11 points, making 4 of 6 shots. Nowell's 3-pointer with 29 seconds left in the half was followed by Michael Carter III's 3 in the final seconds to give Washington a 28-24 lead at the break.</p>
<p>UP NEXT</p>
<p>California: The Bears face Washington State on Saturday.</p>
<p>Washington: The Huskies host Stanford on Saturday.</p>
<p>SEATTLE (AP) — Washington has shown plenty of flaws in the first season under Mike Hopkins. The Huskies have also shown a knack for figuring out how to win even when it's not the prettiest of performances.</p>
<p>Jaylen Nowell scored 20 points, Noah Dickerson added 12 points, and Washington continued its promising early start to conference play with a 66-56 win over California on Thursday night.</p>
<p>"I didn't think we played well tonight," Hopkins said. "Cal missed fouls shots. Our offense in stretches wasn't good. It reminded me of an early-season game. It didn't feel like there was a flow. It was ugly. We allowed pressure, we had bad turnovers, but we found a way to win, which I'm happy for."</p>
<p>The Huskies (13-4, 3-1 Pac-12) overcame a sloppy and unattractive first-half filled with fouls and turnovers to pull away from the Golden Bears over the final 15 minutes. Nowell carried Washington in the first half with 11 points and he got help from his supporting cast in the final 20 minutes.</p>
<p>Nahziah Carter was a big contributor with 10 points off the bench. David Crisp also finished with 10 points, all in the second half as the Huskies built a double-digit lead in the final 10 minutes and didn't have to rally or hold on in the closing moments.</p>
<p>"It was definitely a great breather for us because most of our games we definitely had to come back from being down," Nowell said.</p>
<p>Justice Sueing led California (7-10, 1-3) with a career-high 27 points, but the Golden Bears faltered in the latter stages of the second half after leading scorer Don Coleman fouled out with nearly 13 minutes remaining.</p>
<p>"He is a talented young man," Cal coach Wyking Jones said of Sueing. "He has been playing well for us the last couple of games. He was really good today but we have to get more from our bigs."</p>
<p>Coleman, who was averaging 18.9, was already having a bad night and was constantly berated by the Washington student section. His night got worse when he fouled out with 12:47 remaining picking up his fourth foul on a defensive rebound attempt and being assessed a technical foul complaining about the call. The technical was his fifth and sent Coleman to the bench after going 0 of 4 shooting and just four points.</p>
<p>It was the third time this season Coleman failed to score in double figures but two of those have come in the past three games. Coleman was held to four points on 1 of 8 shooting in Cal's loss to USC last week.</p>
<p>The technical became a turning point. Washington went on an 18-5 run after Coleman fouled out, including 14 straight during one stretch. Crisp, who was scoreless for the first 25 minutes of the game, hit a pair of key 3s during the run. The first time, Crisp flipped a 25-footer off an inbound play to beat the shot clock and push Washington's lead to 54-43 with 8:30 remaining. He added a corner 3 on the Huskies next possession and the lead was 14 with 7:34 remaining.</p>
<p>"It wasn't pretty and we found a way again," Hopkins said. "I give the guys credit, but I want more."</p>
<p>BIG PICTURE</p>
<p>California: Coleman is one of the few experienced players on the Bears young roster and they showed their inexperience after their leading scorer fouled out. California had a number of poor offensive possessions after Coleman went to the bench and watched the Huskies finally build a double-digit lead. ... Cal lost its first true road game after starting 3-0 away from home.</p>
<p>Washington: Carter provided a needed spark off the bench. Matisse Thybulle picked up his fourth foul early in the second half and Carter was asked to play key minutes. It was the third time this season Carter has scored in double figures but he was efficient with his 10 points coming in just 14 minutes. ... Washington's 20 turnovers was a season-high.</p>
<p>UGLY START</p>
<p>The first half was ugly as the teams combined for 19 turnovers and 16 fouls in the first 20 minutes. Only the scoring of Nowell and Sueing saved the half from being a real slog. Sueing had 14 points on 6 of 9 shooting, while Nowell had 11 points, making 4 of 6 shots. Nowell's 3-pointer with 29 seconds left in the half was followed by Michael Carter III's 3 in the final seconds to give Washington a 28-24 lead at the break.</p>
<p>UP NEXT</p>
<p>California: The Bears face Washington State on Saturday.</p>
<p>Washington: The Huskies host Stanford on Saturday.</p>
| 7,289 |
<p>On Monday, British Home Secretary Amber Rudd confirmed a disturbing lack of spine from the British government: temporary exclusion orders (TEOs), which were limned as a vital tool for the safety of Britons when they were passed into law in 2015, have only been used once, despite 350 fighters from Islamic State having returned to Great Britain.</p>
<p>Rudd had eschewed reporting that fact until the information was divulged to The Times, <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/power-to-ban-uk-jihadis-has-been-used-just-once-kkzsz2lzz" type="external">The Times</a> claimed.</p>
<p>TEOs can be used to bar British citizens suspected of fighting abroad from returning to the United Kingdom for two years; those citizens’ travel documents can be canceled. In addition, no re-entry can be made to the U.K. unless they enroll in a de-radicalization program or regularly report to police.</p>
<p>Only one man has been targeted by a TEO; he is believed to have fought for ISIS.</p>
<p>Rudd tried to deflect criticism of the paucity of TEO use, telling the Today program on BBC Radio 4, “They’re a tool which the law enforcement wanted. We gave them that tool; they’ve just started to use them. They found a case where it was necessary. The important thing is that government gives the security services the tools that are necessary to keep us safe. The numbers may be small but it only takes one [jihadist] to do the sort of damage we saw last week.”</p>
<p>Sources informed The Times that “no more than four or five” TEOs are under consideration. The Times reported:</p>
<p>The most recent official report on TEOs, dated February, said that no TEOs had been enforced at that point. … One of the difficulties in using TEOs is understood to be the complexity of detecting a returning jihadist before arrival at a British port. Sources said that there were now so many tools available for terror suspects that others might be considered more appropriate for returning fighters.</p>
<p>Yvette Cooper, the former Labour MP and chairwoman of the home affairs select committee, said both Prime Minister Theresa May and former prime minister David Cameron had championed TEOs, then slammed, “The home secretary identified them as a crucial tool in keeping Britain safe,” but if only one has been utilized, there were questions about “whether the legislation is fit for purpose or the Home Office has misjudged the current threat or misjudged the suitability of the orders themselves.”</p>
<p><a href="https://inews.co.uk/essentials/news/temporary-exclusion-orders-teos/" type="external">Other techniques</a> which are available in Britain to prevent the entrance of terrorists include:</p>
<p>Passport and border controls: police can stop, search and hold individuals at ports, airports and international railway stations for up to six hours.</p>
<p>The ‘no fly list’: In the year ending March 2016, 1,132 people were barred from traveling.</p>
<p>Seizing or confiscating travel documents. Police can hold travel documents for 14 days, or 30 days with court permission.</p>
<p>Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures (TPims): people thought to be a terrorist threat must live at home, stay there overnight, and report to police regularly.</p>
|
Guess How Many Temporary Exclusion Orders Great Britain Has Used To Keep Out Terrorists. One.
| true |
https://dailywire.com/news/16953/guess-how-many-temporary-exclusion-orders-great-hank-berrien
|
2017-05-29
| 0right
|
Guess How Many Temporary Exclusion Orders Great Britain Has Used To Keep Out Terrorists. One.
<p>On Monday, British Home Secretary Amber Rudd confirmed a disturbing lack of spine from the British government: temporary exclusion orders (TEOs), which were limned as a vital tool for the safety of Britons when they were passed into law in 2015, have only been used once, despite 350 fighters from Islamic State having returned to Great Britain.</p>
<p>Rudd had eschewed reporting that fact until the information was divulged to The Times, <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/power-to-ban-uk-jihadis-has-been-used-just-once-kkzsz2lzz" type="external">The Times</a> claimed.</p>
<p>TEOs can be used to bar British citizens suspected of fighting abroad from returning to the United Kingdom for two years; those citizens’ travel documents can be canceled. In addition, no re-entry can be made to the U.K. unless they enroll in a de-radicalization program or regularly report to police.</p>
<p>Only one man has been targeted by a TEO; he is believed to have fought for ISIS.</p>
<p>Rudd tried to deflect criticism of the paucity of TEO use, telling the Today program on BBC Radio 4, “They’re a tool which the law enforcement wanted. We gave them that tool; they’ve just started to use them. They found a case where it was necessary. The important thing is that government gives the security services the tools that are necessary to keep us safe. The numbers may be small but it only takes one [jihadist] to do the sort of damage we saw last week.”</p>
<p>Sources informed The Times that “no more than four or five” TEOs are under consideration. The Times reported:</p>
<p>The most recent official report on TEOs, dated February, said that no TEOs had been enforced at that point. … One of the difficulties in using TEOs is understood to be the complexity of detecting a returning jihadist before arrival at a British port. Sources said that there were now so many tools available for terror suspects that others might be considered more appropriate for returning fighters.</p>
<p>Yvette Cooper, the former Labour MP and chairwoman of the home affairs select committee, said both Prime Minister Theresa May and former prime minister David Cameron had championed TEOs, then slammed, “The home secretary identified them as a crucial tool in keeping Britain safe,” but if only one has been utilized, there were questions about “whether the legislation is fit for purpose or the Home Office has misjudged the current threat or misjudged the suitability of the orders themselves.”</p>
<p><a href="https://inews.co.uk/essentials/news/temporary-exclusion-orders-teos/" type="external">Other techniques</a> which are available in Britain to prevent the entrance of terrorists include:</p>
<p>Passport and border controls: police can stop, search and hold individuals at ports, airports and international railway stations for up to six hours.</p>
<p>The ‘no fly list’: In the year ending March 2016, 1,132 people were barred from traveling.</p>
<p>Seizing or confiscating travel documents. Police can hold travel documents for 14 days, or 30 days with court permission.</p>
<p>Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures (TPims): people thought to be a terrorist threat must live at home, stay there overnight, and report to police regularly.</p>
| 7,290 |
<p />
<p>Let’s see what we were missing by being too cheap to pay for (the now extinct) TimesSelect…</p>
<p>Oh, here’s a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/19/opinion/19brooks.html?n=Top/Opinion/Editorials%20and%20Op-Ed/Op-Ed/Columnists/David%20Brooks&amp;_r=1&amp;adxnnl=1&amp;oref=slogin&amp;adxnnlx=1190306145-cSOEbX5nNpyvxJLVEVfP/Q" type="external">David Brooks column</a> revealing that the Secretary of Defense rejects several of the main tenets of George W. Bush’s foreign policy. Nice. From a recent Robert Gates speech:</p>
<p>Throughout the messy years that followed, Gates explained, we have made deals with tyrants to defeat other tyrants. We’ve championed human rights while doing business with some of the worst violators of human rights….</p>
<p>Two themes ran through his speech. First, the tragic ironies of history — the need to compromise with evil in order to do good. And second, patience — the need to wait as democratic reforms slowly develop.</p>
<p>Using this logic, Gates would likely argue that we should be actively engaging Iran and Syria, regime’s we don’t approve of, in order to bring order to Iraq. And he would argue that, since “democratic reforms slowly develop,” invading countries unaccustomed to democracy and foisting it upon their people isn’t too bright. What else?</p>
<p>“I don’t think you invade Iraq to bring liberty. You do it to eliminate an unstable regime and because sanctions are breaking down and you get liberty as a byproduct,” he continued. I asked him whether invading Iraq was a good idea, knowing what we know now. He looked at me for a bit and said, “I don’t know.”</p>
<p>Well, that’s just about the most honest thing a high-level Bush Administration official has ever said in public. You might claim that Bush’s best decision in the Iraq War was appointing this guy to be SecDef. You might also claim that Bush’s worst decision was waiting so freaking long.</p>
<p>And wait, Gates isn’t done.</p>
<p>I asked him if it was a good idea to encourage elections in the Palestinian territories. He didn’t directly address the question, but he noted: “Too often elections are equated with democracy and freedom.”</p>
<p>I asked about how we can promote freedom in Iran while taking care of security threats. He emphasized soft power.</p>
<p>It’s official! He’s the anti-Cheney!</p>
<p />
|
How Refreshing: A Secretary of Defense with Common Sense and a Grasp on Reality
| true |
https://motherjones.com/politics/2007/09/how-refreshing-secretary-defense-common-sense-and-grasp-reality/
|
2007-09-20
| 4left
|
How Refreshing: A Secretary of Defense with Common Sense and a Grasp on Reality
<p />
<p>Let’s see what we were missing by being too cheap to pay for (the now extinct) TimesSelect…</p>
<p>Oh, here’s a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/19/opinion/19brooks.html?n=Top/Opinion/Editorials%20and%20Op-Ed/Op-Ed/Columnists/David%20Brooks&amp;_r=1&amp;adxnnl=1&amp;oref=slogin&amp;adxnnlx=1190306145-cSOEbX5nNpyvxJLVEVfP/Q" type="external">David Brooks column</a> revealing that the Secretary of Defense rejects several of the main tenets of George W. Bush’s foreign policy. Nice. From a recent Robert Gates speech:</p>
<p>Throughout the messy years that followed, Gates explained, we have made deals with tyrants to defeat other tyrants. We’ve championed human rights while doing business with some of the worst violators of human rights….</p>
<p>Two themes ran through his speech. First, the tragic ironies of history — the need to compromise with evil in order to do good. And second, patience — the need to wait as democratic reforms slowly develop.</p>
<p>Using this logic, Gates would likely argue that we should be actively engaging Iran and Syria, regime’s we don’t approve of, in order to bring order to Iraq. And he would argue that, since “democratic reforms slowly develop,” invading countries unaccustomed to democracy and foisting it upon their people isn’t too bright. What else?</p>
<p>“I don’t think you invade Iraq to bring liberty. You do it to eliminate an unstable regime and because sanctions are breaking down and you get liberty as a byproduct,” he continued. I asked him whether invading Iraq was a good idea, knowing what we know now. He looked at me for a bit and said, “I don’t know.”</p>
<p>Well, that’s just about the most honest thing a high-level Bush Administration official has ever said in public. You might claim that Bush’s best decision in the Iraq War was appointing this guy to be SecDef. You might also claim that Bush’s worst decision was waiting so freaking long.</p>
<p>And wait, Gates isn’t done.</p>
<p>I asked him if it was a good idea to encourage elections in the Palestinian territories. He didn’t directly address the question, but he noted: “Too often elections are equated with democracy and freedom.”</p>
<p>I asked about how we can promote freedom in Iran while taking care of security threats. He emphasized soft power.</p>
<p>It’s official! He’s the anti-Cheney!</p>
<p />
| 7,291 |
<p />
<p>The Des Moines Register is releasing its super-important endorsement in the Democratic primary tonight. In Iowa, where the Drudge Report, the New York Times op-ed page, and the liberal blogosphere all influence opinions far less than they do on the coasts, a nod from the state’s largest paper can provide a campaign with a huge boost. It certainly did that for John Edwards in 2004.</p>
<p>So we’ll be on that here at MoJoBlog. The NYT has an excellent article on the length campaigns will go to <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/15/us/politics/15register.html?_r=2&amp;ref=washington&amp;oref=slogin&amp;oref=slogin" type="external">get the Register‘s endorsement</a>. Right now, the sexy pick is <a href="http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/the_stump/archive/2007/12/14/what-if-the-des-moines-register-endorses-biden.aspx" type="external">Joe Biden</a>, though that may just be political reporters hoping for a bit of intrigue to cut the monotony of the campaign. A Biden endorsement would probably hurt Clinton, because they share voters who place a higher premium on national security experience and/or hawkishness than anything else. And if you subscribe to the theory that Edwards and Obama have <a href="/washington_dispatch/2007/11/obama-edwards-reform.html" type="external">like-minded supporters</a>, a nod for either one will hurt the other. A Clinton choice would likely reenergize her <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22217110" type="external">drifting campaign</a>.</p>
<p />
|
The Des Moines Register’s Big Move
| true |
https://motherjones.com/politics/2007/12/des-moines-registers-big-move/
|
2007-12-15
| 4left
|
The Des Moines Register’s Big Move
<p />
<p>The Des Moines Register is releasing its super-important endorsement in the Democratic primary tonight. In Iowa, where the Drudge Report, the New York Times op-ed page, and the liberal blogosphere all influence opinions far less than they do on the coasts, a nod from the state’s largest paper can provide a campaign with a huge boost. It certainly did that for John Edwards in 2004.</p>
<p>So we’ll be on that here at MoJoBlog. The NYT has an excellent article on the length campaigns will go to <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/15/us/politics/15register.html?_r=2&amp;ref=washington&amp;oref=slogin&amp;oref=slogin" type="external">get the Register‘s endorsement</a>. Right now, the sexy pick is <a href="http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/the_stump/archive/2007/12/14/what-if-the-des-moines-register-endorses-biden.aspx" type="external">Joe Biden</a>, though that may just be political reporters hoping for a bit of intrigue to cut the monotony of the campaign. A Biden endorsement would probably hurt Clinton, because they share voters who place a higher premium on national security experience and/or hawkishness than anything else. And if you subscribe to the theory that Edwards and Obama have <a href="/washington_dispatch/2007/11/obama-edwards-reform.html" type="external">like-minded supporters</a>, a nod for either one will hurt the other. A Clinton choice would likely reenergize her <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22217110" type="external">drifting campaign</a>.</p>
<p />
| 7,292 |
<p>It would be laughable if it weren’t tragic. This week Surgeon General Regina Benjamin introduced a plan to stem the nation’s growing suicide rate without addressing the nation’s growing use of suicide-linked drugs.</p>
<p>Antidepressants like Prozac and Paxil, antipsychotics like Seroquel and Zyprexa and anti-seizure drugs like Lyrica and Neurontin are all linked to suicide in published reports and in FDA warnings. (Almost 5,000 newspaper <a href="http://ssristories.com/" type="external">reports</a> link antidepressants to suicide, homicide and bizarre behavior.) Asthma drugs like Singulair, antismoking drugs like Chantix, acne drugs like Accutane and the still-in-use malaria drug Lariam, are also linked to suicide.</p>
<p>The US’s suicide rate has risen to 38,000 a year, says <a href="" type="internal">USA Today</a>, after falling in the 1990s. The rise correlates with the debut of direct-to-consumer drug advertising in the late 1990s, the approval of many drugs with suicide links and more people taking psychoactive drugs for lifestyle problems.</p>
<p>Dr. Benjamin announced that federal grants totaling $55 million will save 20,000 lives in the next five years through suicide hotlines, more mental health workers in the VA, better depression screening and Facebook tracking of suicidal messages. Nowhere, including in the suicide-racked military, does she suggest looking at the overmedication which has gone hand-in-hand with the deaths. And on which the government is spending a lot more than $55 million.</p>
<p>Suicide increased more than 150 percent in the Army and more than 50 percent in the Marine Corps between 2001 to 2009, reported Military Times displaying graphs of the suicide and prescription drug increases, in a print edition, that are similar enough to be laid over one another. One in six service members was on a psychoactive drug in 2010 and “many troops are taking more than one kind, mixing <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1616145935/counterpunchmaga" type="external" />several pills in daily ‘cocktails’ for example, an antidepressant with an antipsychotic to prevent nightmares, plus an anti-epileptic to reduce headaches–despite minimal clinical research testing such combinations,” said <a href="" type="internal">Military Times.</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18588361" type="external">Eighty-nine percent</a> of troops with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are now given psychoactive drugs and between 2005 and 2009, half of all <a href="" type="internal">TRICARE</a> (the military health plan) prescriptions for people between 18 and 34 were for antidepressants. During the same time period, epilepsy drugs like Topamax and Neurontin, increasingly given off-label for mental conditions, increased 56 percent, reports Military Times. In 2008, 578,000 epilepsy pills and 89,000 antipsychotics were prescribed to deploying troops. What?</p>
<p>Nor is the suicide rate going down as troops withdraw from Iraq and Afghanistan. In&#160;&#160; July, 2012, there were 38 Army suicides says USA Today and in <a href="" type="internal">July of 2011</a>, there were 32. According to the Army’s in-depth Health Promotion, Risk Reduction and Suicide Prevention Report in 2010, 36 percent of the troops who killed themselves had never even deployed.</p>
<p>Why are such drugs, which affect reaction time, motor skills, coordination, attention and memory even allowed during active duty? And why are they prescribed to soldiers who are at the exact age–young adults–that is most at risk for suicide according to warning labels?</p>
<p>Nor are troops the only cash cows for Big Pharma. One in four women are on psychoactive drugs according to <a href="" type="internal">published reports</a> and millions of children are on psychoactive drugs, especially poor children and those with disability status.</p>
<p>When the FDA first put suicide warnings on antidepressants for young people in the mid 2000s, Big Pharma linked psychiatrists like <a href="" type="internal">Charles Nemeroff</a> argued that suicides would go up if doctors and patients were scared off by the black box warnings. Though the argument was absurd–is the nation fat because fen-phen was withdrawn?–the theory got play in the mainstream and medical press until it was proven wrong.</p>
<p>Yet as the Surgeon General and HHS proved this week, the government is still in denial about suicide and the elephant in the room called Big Pharma. Instead of spending millions on counselors, crisis lines, and “awareness campaigns” why doesn’t it look at the millions it’s spending on suicide-linked drugs?</p>
<p>More information about overmedication of troops and suicide-linked drugs is found in Martha Rosenberg’s recently published <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1616145935/counterpunchmaga" type="external">Born With A Junk Food Deficiency: How Flaks, Quacks and Hacks Pimp The Public Health</a>.</p>
<p>Martha Rosenberg’s&#160;is an investigative health reporter. Her first book,&#160;&#160; <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1616145935/counterpunchmaga" type="external">Born With A Junk Food Deficiency: How Flaks, Quacks and Hacks Pimp The Public Health</a>,&#160;has just been released by Prometheus books.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
|
The Boom in Suicides
| true |
https://counterpunch.org/2012/09/12/the-boom-in-suicides/
|
2012-09-12
| 4left
|
The Boom in Suicides
<p>It would be laughable if it weren’t tragic. This week Surgeon General Regina Benjamin introduced a plan to stem the nation’s growing suicide rate without addressing the nation’s growing use of suicide-linked drugs.</p>
<p>Antidepressants like Prozac and Paxil, antipsychotics like Seroquel and Zyprexa and anti-seizure drugs like Lyrica and Neurontin are all linked to suicide in published reports and in FDA warnings. (Almost 5,000 newspaper <a href="http://ssristories.com/" type="external">reports</a> link antidepressants to suicide, homicide and bizarre behavior.) Asthma drugs like Singulair, antismoking drugs like Chantix, acne drugs like Accutane and the still-in-use malaria drug Lariam, are also linked to suicide.</p>
<p>The US’s suicide rate has risen to 38,000 a year, says <a href="" type="internal">USA Today</a>, after falling in the 1990s. The rise correlates with the debut of direct-to-consumer drug advertising in the late 1990s, the approval of many drugs with suicide links and more people taking psychoactive drugs for lifestyle problems.</p>
<p>Dr. Benjamin announced that federal grants totaling $55 million will save 20,000 lives in the next five years through suicide hotlines, more mental health workers in the VA, better depression screening and Facebook tracking of suicidal messages. Nowhere, including in the suicide-racked military, does she suggest looking at the overmedication which has gone hand-in-hand with the deaths. And on which the government is spending a lot more than $55 million.</p>
<p>Suicide increased more than 150 percent in the Army and more than 50 percent in the Marine Corps between 2001 to 2009, reported Military Times displaying graphs of the suicide and prescription drug increases, in a print edition, that are similar enough to be laid over one another. One in six service members was on a psychoactive drug in 2010 and “many troops are taking more than one kind, mixing <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1616145935/counterpunchmaga" type="external" />several pills in daily ‘cocktails’ for example, an antidepressant with an antipsychotic to prevent nightmares, plus an anti-epileptic to reduce headaches–despite minimal clinical research testing such combinations,” said <a href="" type="internal">Military Times.</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18588361" type="external">Eighty-nine percent</a> of troops with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are now given psychoactive drugs and between 2005 and 2009, half of all <a href="" type="internal">TRICARE</a> (the military health plan) prescriptions for people between 18 and 34 were for antidepressants. During the same time period, epilepsy drugs like Topamax and Neurontin, increasingly given off-label for mental conditions, increased 56 percent, reports Military Times. In 2008, 578,000 epilepsy pills and 89,000 antipsychotics were prescribed to deploying troops. What?</p>
<p>Nor is the suicide rate going down as troops withdraw from Iraq and Afghanistan. In&#160;&#160; July, 2012, there were 38 Army suicides says USA Today and in <a href="" type="internal">July of 2011</a>, there were 32. According to the Army’s in-depth Health Promotion, Risk Reduction and Suicide Prevention Report in 2010, 36 percent of the troops who killed themselves had never even deployed.</p>
<p>Why are such drugs, which affect reaction time, motor skills, coordination, attention and memory even allowed during active duty? And why are they prescribed to soldiers who are at the exact age–young adults–that is most at risk for suicide according to warning labels?</p>
<p>Nor are troops the only cash cows for Big Pharma. One in four women are on psychoactive drugs according to <a href="" type="internal">published reports</a> and millions of children are on psychoactive drugs, especially poor children and those with disability status.</p>
<p>When the FDA first put suicide warnings on antidepressants for young people in the mid 2000s, Big Pharma linked psychiatrists like <a href="" type="internal">Charles Nemeroff</a> argued that suicides would go up if doctors and patients were scared off by the black box warnings. Though the argument was absurd–is the nation fat because fen-phen was withdrawn?–the theory got play in the mainstream and medical press until it was proven wrong.</p>
<p>Yet as the Surgeon General and HHS proved this week, the government is still in denial about suicide and the elephant in the room called Big Pharma. Instead of spending millions on counselors, crisis lines, and “awareness campaigns” why doesn’t it look at the millions it’s spending on suicide-linked drugs?</p>
<p>More information about overmedication of troops and suicide-linked drugs is found in Martha Rosenberg’s recently published <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1616145935/counterpunchmaga" type="external">Born With A Junk Food Deficiency: How Flaks, Quacks and Hacks Pimp The Public Health</a>.</p>
<p>Martha Rosenberg’s&#160;is an investigative health reporter. Her first book,&#160;&#160; <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1616145935/counterpunchmaga" type="external">Born With A Junk Food Deficiency: How Flaks, Quacks and Hacks Pimp The Public Health</a>,&#160;has just been released by Prometheus books.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
| 7,293 |
<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — With frustration mounting, President Barack Obama sought Thursday to quell doubts he’ll use his presidential powers to act on immigration, telling Hispanics and immigration activists it’s “not a question of if but when.”</p>
<p>At the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute’s annual gala, Obama warned activists that his eventual actions will spark intense political opposition that could threaten the durability of what he does. In a partisan pitch a month before Election Day, he urged Hispanics across the U.S. to use their votes to improve prospects in the future for a legislative fix.</p>
<p>“The moment I act — and it will be taking place between the November election and the end of the year — opponents of reform will roll out the same old scare tactics,” Obama said. “When opponents are out there saying who knows what, I’m going to need you to have my back.”</p>
<p>Once hailed as a champion for Hispanic rights, Obama’s relationship with the Hispanic community has become strained since he decided last month to abandon his earlier pledge to act quickly after summer’s end to help some immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally. Instead, he said he’d wait until after the Nov. 4 elections, exasperating immigration activists who accused the president of putting politics ahead of their families and said they had waited far too long already.</p>
<p>With the elections nearing, Obama sought to parlay impatience into motivation for Hispanic voters to elect politicians who will enact more sweeping reforms to fix the U.S. immigration system. Arguing that no executive action on immigration could be as comprehensive as what Congress could do, he urged Hispanics at the black-tie dinner to go into their communities to ensure voters don’t stay home.</p>
<p>“Yes we can — if we vote,” he said, first in Spanish and then in English, in a twist on his 2008 campaign slogan.</p>
<p>The White House has been coy about what unilateral actions Obama and his administration are considering, and legal experts differ about just how far Obama can go without Congress. Immigration activists are calling for Obama to act aggressively to free a sizeable portion of the 11.5 million immigrants here illegally from fear of deportation.</p>
<p>Such a possibility has incensed Republicans who say Obama’s willingness to ignore existing laws is the key reason they’re reluctant to work with him to pass new ones.</p>
<p>“The president’s promise isn’t about making the best policy or enforcing the law — it’s an admission that his pledge to not uphold the law in the future would be bad for his party now,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said.</p>
<p>A supportive crowd offered the president a mostly warm reception, although he was briefly interrupted by a heckler who objected to deportations on Obama’s watch and was escorted out of the hall. Outside the convention center, a group of demonstrators gathered in protest of Obama’s delay.</p>
<p>And at the podium, Obama was gently nudged by Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., who said Hispanics were looking to Obama “for big, bold, unapologetic” relief without delay.</p>
<p>“We need major reforms, we need them now,” he said, “and Mr. President, we need your help.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press writer Luis Alonso Lugo contributed to this report.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Reach Josh Lederman at <a href="http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP" type="external" /> <a href="http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP" type="external">http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP</a></p>
<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — With frustration mounting, President Barack Obama sought Thursday to quell doubts he’ll use his presidential powers to act on immigration, telling Hispanics and immigration activists it’s “not a question of if but when.”</p>
<p>At the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute’s annual gala, Obama warned activists that his eventual actions will spark intense political opposition that could threaten the durability of what he does. In a partisan pitch a month before Election Day, he urged Hispanics across the U.S. to use their votes to improve prospects in the future for a legislative fix.</p>
<p>“The moment I act — and it will be taking place between the November election and the end of the year — opponents of reform will roll out the same old scare tactics,” Obama said. “When opponents are out there saying who knows what, I’m going to need you to have my back.”</p>
<p>Once hailed as a champion for Hispanic rights, Obama’s relationship with the Hispanic community has become strained since he decided last month to abandon his earlier pledge to act quickly after summer’s end to help some immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally. Instead, he said he’d wait until after the Nov. 4 elections, exasperating immigration activists who accused the president of putting politics ahead of their families and said they had waited far too long already.</p>
<p>With the elections nearing, Obama sought to parlay impatience into motivation for Hispanic voters to elect politicians who will enact more sweeping reforms to fix the U.S. immigration system. Arguing that no executive action on immigration could be as comprehensive as what Congress could do, he urged Hispanics at the black-tie dinner to go into their communities to ensure voters don’t stay home.</p>
<p>“Yes we can — if we vote,” he said, first in Spanish and then in English, in a twist on his 2008 campaign slogan.</p>
<p>The White House has been coy about what unilateral actions Obama and his administration are considering, and legal experts differ about just how far Obama can go without Congress. Immigration activists are calling for Obama to act aggressively to free a sizeable portion of the 11.5 million immigrants here illegally from fear of deportation.</p>
<p>Such a possibility has incensed Republicans who say Obama’s willingness to ignore existing laws is the key reason they’re reluctant to work with him to pass new ones.</p>
<p>“The president’s promise isn’t about making the best policy or enforcing the law — it’s an admission that his pledge to not uphold the law in the future would be bad for his party now,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said.</p>
<p>A supportive crowd offered the president a mostly warm reception, although he was briefly interrupted by a heckler who objected to deportations on Obama’s watch and was escorted out of the hall. Outside the convention center, a group of demonstrators gathered in protest of Obama’s delay.</p>
<p>And at the podium, Obama was gently nudged by Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., who said Hispanics were looking to Obama “for big, bold, unapologetic” relief without delay.</p>
<p>“We need major reforms, we need them now,” he said, “and Mr. President, we need your help.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press writer Luis Alonso Lugo contributed to this report.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Reach Josh Lederman at <a href="http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP" type="external" /> <a href="http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP" type="external">http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP</a></p>
|
Obama: Action on immigration not if, but when
| false |
https://apnews.com/2009fa27006b44f9a166864cac2f5fe7
|
2014-10-03
| 2least
|
Obama: Action on immigration not if, but when
<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — With frustration mounting, President Barack Obama sought Thursday to quell doubts he’ll use his presidential powers to act on immigration, telling Hispanics and immigration activists it’s “not a question of if but when.”</p>
<p>At the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute’s annual gala, Obama warned activists that his eventual actions will spark intense political opposition that could threaten the durability of what he does. In a partisan pitch a month before Election Day, he urged Hispanics across the U.S. to use their votes to improve prospects in the future for a legislative fix.</p>
<p>“The moment I act — and it will be taking place between the November election and the end of the year — opponents of reform will roll out the same old scare tactics,” Obama said. “When opponents are out there saying who knows what, I’m going to need you to have my back.”</p>
<p>Once hailed as a champion for Hispanic rights, Obama’s relationship with the Hispanic community has become strained since he decided last month to abandon his earlier pledge to act quickly after summer’s end to help some immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally. Instead, he said he’d wait until after the Nov. 4 elections, exasperating immigration activists who accused the president of putting politics ahead of their families and said they had waited far too long already.</p>
<p>With the elections nearing, Obama sought to parlay impatience into motivation for Hispanic voters to elect politicians who will enact more sweeping reforms to fix the U.S. immigration system. Arguing that no executive action on immigration could be as comprehensive as what Congress could do, he urged Hispanics at the black-tie dinner to go into their communities to ensure voters don’t stay home.</p>
<p>“Yes we can — if we vote,” he said, first in Spanish and then in English, in a twist on his 2008 campaign slogan.</p>
<p>The White House has been coy about what unilateral actions Obama and his administration are considering, and legal experts differ about just how far Obama can go without Congress. Immigration activists are calling for Obama to act aggressively to free a sizeable portion of the 11.5 million immigrants here illegally from fear of deportation.</p>
<p>Such a possibility has incensed Republicans who say Obama’s willingness to ignore existing laws is the key reason they’re reluctant to work with him to pass new ones.</p>
<p>“The president’s promise isn’t about making the best policy or enforcing the law — it’s an admission that his pledge to not uphold the law in the future would be bad for his party now,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said.</p>
<p>A supportive crowd offered the president a mostly warm reception, although he was briefly interrupted by a heckler who objected to deportations on Obama’s watch and was escorted out of the hall. Outside the convention center, a group of demonstrators gathered in protest of Obama’s delay.</p>
<p>And at the podium, Obama was gently nudged by Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., who said Hispanics were looking to Obama “for big, bold, unapologetic” relief without delay.</p>
<p>“We need major reforms, we need them now,” he said, “and Mr. President, we need your help.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press writer Luis Alonso Lugo contributed to this report.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Reach Josh Lederman at <a href="http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP" type="external" /> <a href="http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP" type="external">http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP</a></p>
<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — With frustration mounting, President Barack Obama sought Thursday to quell doubts he’ll use his presidential powers to act on immigration, telling Hispanics and immigration activists it’s “not a question of if but when.”</p>
<p>At the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute’s annual gala, Obama warned activists that his eventual actions will spark intense political opposition that could threaten the durability of what he does. In a partisan pitch a month before Election Day, he urged Hispanics across the U.S. to use their votes to improve prospects in the future for a legislative fix.</p>
<p>“The moment I act — and it will be taking place between the November election and the end of the year — opponents of reform will roll out the same old scare tactics,” Obama said. “When opponents are out there saying who knows what, I’m going to need you to have my back.”</p>
<p>Once hailed as a champion for Hispanic rights, Obama’s relationship with the Hispanic community has become strained since he decided last month to abandon his earlier pledge to act quickly after summer’s end to help some immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally. Instead, he said he’d wait until after the Nov. 4 elections, exasperating immigration activists who accused the president of putting politics ahead of their families and said they had waited far too long already.</p>
<p>With the elections nearing, Obama sought to parlay impatience into motivation for Hispanic voters to elect politicians who will enact more sweeping reforms to fix the U.S. immigration system. Arguing that no executive action on immigration could be as comprehensive as what Congress could do, he urged Hispanics at the black-tie dinner to go into their communities to ensure voters don’t stay home.</p>
<p>“Yes we can — if we vote,” he said, first in Spanish and then in English, in a twist on his 2008 campaign slogan.</p>
<p>The White House has been coy about what unilateral actions Obama and his administration are considering, and legal experts differ about just how far Obama can go without Congress. Immigration activists are calling for Obama to act aggressively to free a sizeable portion of the 11.5 million immigrants here illegally from fear of deportation.</p>
<p>Such a possibility has incensed Republicans who say Obama’s willingness to ignore existing laws is the key reason they’re reluctant to work with him to pass new ones.</p>
<p>“The president’s promise isn’t about making the best policy or enforcing the law — it’s an admission that his pledge to not uphold the law in the future would be bad for his party now,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said.</p>
<p>A supportive crowd offered the president a mostly warm reception, although he was briefly interrupted by a heckler who objected to deportations on Obama’s watch and was escorted out of the hall. Outside the convention center, a group of demonstrators gathered in protest of Obama’s delay.</p>
<p>And at the podium, Obama was gently nudged by Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., who said Hispanics were looking to Obama “for big, bold, unapologetic” relief without delay.</p>
<p>“We need major reforms, we need them now,” he said, “and Mr. President, we need your help.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press writer Luis Alonso Lugo contributed to this report.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Reach Josh Lederman at <a href="http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP" type="external" /> <a href="http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP" type="external">http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP</a></p>
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<p>Though debatable, Social Security is widely believed to be America's most important social program. More than 42 million retired workers receive a stipend from the program each and every month, and this figure is only expected to climb considering that more baby boomers than ever are reaching the eligible retirement age, and retirees are living much longer than they did decades ago. In fact, 62% of all retired workers receiving a monthly benefit count on that check for at least half of their income.</p>
<p>But if there's one consistency about Social Security throughout the years, it's that most consumers don't understand the basics. A February 2015 survey conducted by MassMutual Financial Group on Social Security found that just 28% of the 1,513 people who took its 10-question, true-false online quiz were able to muster a passing grade of seven out of 10 correct (or better). Just one individual managed a perfect score on what was deemed a quiz on basic Social Security concepts.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>While we've recently covered some of the <a href="https://www.fool.com/retirement/2017/10/29/15-top-questions-about-social-security-answered.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=510f8f8c-c0e8-11e7-a727-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">top questions Opens a New Window.</a> pre-retires and retirees are likely to have about Social Security, there are a sea of weird quirks about the program that are almost certain to fly under the radar of the average American. Here are seven of what might be described as the weirdest Social Security facts you'll ever see.</p>
<p>Traditionally, we're told that the way to qualify for Social Security retirement benefits is by earning 40 lifetime work credits. A maximum of four of these coverage credits can be earned annually, with $1,320 in earned income in 2018 equating to one lifetime work credit.&#160;While most people will earn their way into receiving Social Security benefits after 10 years in the labor force, some folks are actually able to receive Social Security benefits without having worked a day in their lives.</p>
<p>For example, if one spouse worked throughout their lifetime and the other did not, and the working spouse passes away before the spouse who didn't work, the surviving spouse can receive a monthly survivor benefit from Social Security based on their deceased spouse's earnings history.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>You may also be well aware that the earliest you can claim Social Security retirement benefits based on your own earnings history is age 62. However, there are a few quirks in the system that allow folks to lay claim to survivor benefits at a much earlier age.</p>
<p>For example, widows and widowers have the option of claiming survivor benefits as early as age 60. But if the surviving widow or widower is disabled, he or she has the option of claiming benefits as early as age 50.</p>
<p>It's also worth pointing out that disability benefits (there are more than 10 million people receiving Social Security disability payments each month) can be paid out at any age, and dependent children may qualify, too. Social Security isn't just for those aged 62 and up.</p>
<p>The consensus among most pundits is that the Social Security program is in deep trouble. The latest Social Security Board of Trustees report estimates that the program will begin paying out more in benefits than it's generating in revenue by 2022. Just 12 years later, in 2034, Social Security's $3 trillion in asset reserves are expected to be completely exhausted.</p>
<p>Yet, here's the thing: Even if the Trustees are right and the asset reserves are totally depleted, the program can't go bankrupt -- and payroll taxes are to thank. As long as Americans keep working, the 12.4% payroll tax on earned income between $0.01 and $128,700 (in 2018) will continue to be collected.&#160;The payroll tax assures that there will always be revenue that can be disbursed to eligible beneficiaries. It doesn't mean a cut to benefits may not be necessary at some point in the future, but it ensures that the program can't go bankrupt as long as the payroll tax remains in place.</p>
<p>Most Americans are probably under the (correct) assumption that the Social Security number you're assigned is yours and yours alone. It stays with you from the moment you're born till the day you die, never to be seen again. However, what you might not realize is that the Social Security Administration (SSA) will, under certain circumstances, <a href="https://www.fool.com/retirement/general/2015/04/25/social-security-9-seriously-fun-facts-really.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=510f8f8c-c0e8-11e7-a727-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">let you change your Social Security number Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>If, for example, you've been the victim of identity theft, and you can prove this to the SSA, you'll have a strong case to be made for your Social Security number to be changed. Similarly, if your life is in danger as a result of someone being able to track you using your Social Security number, the SSA is liable to change your number.</p>
<p>America is a nation that runs on credit. Earlier this year, the Federal Reserve released data showing that aggregate credit card debt hit $1.027 trillion, which is an all-time record. And if you don't pay your debts, private creditors are bound to hound you for payment. But that's not the case when it comes to Social Security income, which is completely protected from private creditors. They can't touch it.</p>
<p>However, the same isn't true for Uncle Sam. Should you owe back taxes, federal student loans, back alimony, or child support, Uncle Sam has the right to garnish a percentage of your monthly benefits. In 2015, according to the Government Accountability Office, <a href="https://www.fool.com/retirement/2017/01/08/the-shocking-reason-why-173000-people-had-their-so.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=510f8f8c-c0e8-11e7-a727-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">173,000 Social Security recipients Opens a New Window.</a> had their monthly checks garnished to some degree because of defaulted student loans. This number is only expected to grow as time passes.</p>
<p>In a given year, about 1.2 million people will get divorced in the United States. Though the divorce rate has been falling since the 1980s, it nonetheless creates a messy set of tax situations, to the delight of lawyers everywhere.</p>
<p>Another thing divorces do is create a lot of confusion regarding Social Security claims. If a couple was married for at least 10 years, an ex-spouse may be able to lay claim to spousal benefits based on the earnings history of their former spouse. As long as your ex-spouse is entitled to Social Security retirement or disability benefits, and you're at least age 62, unmarried, and the benefit you'd receive from your ex-spouse is higher than what you'd get based on your own work history, you can qualify for divorced spousal benefits. Best of all, the claim of an ex-spouse won't reduce the take-home benefit of the primary worker. It's a win-win for everyone.</p>
<p>Finally, did you know that Social Security offers its own version of a mulligan? If for some reason you regret filing for benefits at an early age (say, age 62, 63, or 64), you can undo your claim using Form SSA-521 (officially the "Request for Withdrawal of Application"). Undoing your claim would allow your benefits to continue growing at 8% per year until age 70 or when you decide to again file for benefits.</p>
<p>What's the catch, you ask? In order to qualify, you'll have to file Form SSA-521 within 12 months of first receiving benefits. Additionally, you'll need to repay every red cent you've received from the SSA in order to restore your benefits to unclaimed status. If, for example, you were forced to take benefits early because you couldn't find work, but wound up landing a well-paying job just months after your claim, this could be a really smart option to consider.</p>
<p>The $16,122 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook If you're like most Americans, you're a few years (or more) behind on your retirement savings. But a handful of little-known "Social Security secrets" could help ensure a boost in your retirement income. For example: one easy trick could pay you as much as $16,122 more... each year! Once you learn how to maximize your Social Security benefits, we think you could retire confidently with the peace of mind we're all after.&#160; <a href="http://www.fool.com/mms/mark/ecap-foolcom-social-security?aid=8727&amp;source=irreditxt0000002&amp;ftm_cam=ryr-ss-intro-report&amp;ftm_pit=3186&amp;ftm_veh=article_pitch&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=510f8f8c-c0e8-11e7-a727-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Simply click here to discover how to learn more about these strategies Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=510f8f8c-c0e8-11e7-a727-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
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7 Weird Social Security Facts You Never Knew About
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http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/11/12/7-weird-social-security-facts-never-knew-about.html
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2017-11-12
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7 Weird Social Security Facts You Never Knew About
<p>Though debatable, Social Security is widely believed to be America's most important social program. More than 42 million retired workers receive a stipend from the program each and every month, and this figure is only expected to climb considering that more baby boomers than ever are reaching the eligible retirement age, and retirees are living much longer than they did decades ago. In fact, 62% of all retired workers receiving a monthly benefit count on that check for at least half of their income.</p>
<p>But if there's one consistency about Social Security throughout the years, it's that most consumers don't understand the basics. A February 2015 survey conducted by MassMutual Financial Group on Social Security found that just 28% of the 1,513 people who took its 10-question, true-false online quiz were able to muster a passing grade of seven out of 10 correct (or better). Just one individual managed a perfect score on what was deemed a quiz on basic Social Security concepts.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>While we've recently covered some of the <a href="https://www.fool.com/retirement/2017/10/29/15-top-questions-about-social-security-answered.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=510f8f8c-c0e8-11e7-a727-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">top questions Opens a New Window.</a> pre-retires and retirees are likely to have about Social Security, there are a sea of weird quirks about the program that are almost certain to fly under the radar of the average American. Here are seven of what might be described as the weirdest Social Security facts you'll ever see.</p>
<p>Traditionally, we're told that the way to qualify for Social Security retirement benefits is by earning 40 lifetime work credits. A maximum of four of these coverage credits can be earned annually, with $1,320 in earned income in 2018 equating to one lifetime work credit.&#160;While most people will earn their way into receiving Social Security benefits after 10 years in the labor force, some folks are actually able to receive Social Security benefits without having worked a day in their lives.</p>
<p>For example, if one spouse worked throughout their lifetime and the other did not, and the working spouse passes away before the spouse who didn't work, the surviving spouse can receive a monthly survivor benefit from Social Security based on their deceased spouse's earnings history.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>You may also be well aware that the earliest you can claim Social Security retirement benefits based on your own earnings history is age 62. However, there are a few quirks in the system that allow folks to lay claim to survivor benefits at a much earlier age.</p>
<p>For example, widows and widowers have the option of claiming survivor benefits as early as age 60. But if the surviving widow or widower is disabled, he or she has the option of claiming benefits as early as age 50.</p>
<p>It's also worth pointing out that disability benefits (there are more than 10 million people receiving Social Security disability payments each month) can be paid out at any age, and dependent children may qualify, too. Social Security isn't just for those aged 62 and up.</p>
<p>The consensus among most pundits is that the Social Security program is in deep trouble. The latest Social Security Board of Trustees report estimates that the program will begin paying out more in benefits than it's generating in revenue by 2022. Just 12 years later, in 2034, Social Security's $3 trillion in asset reserves are expected to be completely exhausted.</p>
<p>Yet, here's the thing: Even if the Trustees are right and the asset reserves are totally depleted, the program can't go bankrupt -- and payroll taxes are to thank. As long as Americans keep working, the 12.4% payroll tax on earned income between $0.01 and $128,700 (in 2018) will continue to be collected.&#160;The payroll tax assures that there will always be revenue that can be disbursed to eligible beneficiaries. It doesn't mean a cut to benefits may not be necessary at some point in the future, but it ensures that the program can't go bankrupt as long as the payroll tax remains in place.</p>
<p>Most Americans are probably under the (correct) assumption that the Social Security number you're assigned is yours and yours alone. It stays with you from the moment you're born till the day you die, never to be seen again. However, what you might not realize is that the Social Security Administration (SSA) will, under certain circumstances, <a href="https://www.fool.com/retirement/general/2015/04/25/social-security-9-seriously-fun-facts-really.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=510f8f8c-c0e8-11e7-a727-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">let you change your Social Security number Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>If, for example, you've been the victim of identity theft, and you can prove this to the SSA, you'll have a strong case to be made for your Social Security number to be changed. Similarly, if your life is in danger as a result of someone being able to track you using your Social Security number, the SSA is liable to change your number.</p>
<p>America is a nation that runs on credit. Earlier this year, the Federal Reserve released data showing that aggregate credit card debt hit $1.027 trillion, which is an all-time record. And if you don't pay your debts, private creditors are bound to hound you for payment. But that's not the case when it comes to Social Security income, which is completely protected from private creditors. They can't touch it.</p>
<p>However, the same isn't true for Uncle Sam. Should you owe back taxes, federal student loans, back alimony, or child support, Uncle Sam has the right to garnish a percentage of your monthly benefits. In 2015, according to the Government Accountability Office, <a href="https://www.fool.com/retirement/2017/01/08/the-shocking-reason-why-173000-people-had-their-so.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=510f8f8c-c0e8-11e7-a727-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">173,000 Social Security recipients Opens a New Window.</a> had their monthly checks garnished to some degree because of defaulted student loans. This number is only expected to grow as time passes.</p>
<p>In a given year, about 1.2 million people will get divorced in the United States. Though the divorce rate has been falling since the 1980s, it nonetheless creates a messy set of tax situations, to the delight of lawyers everywhere.</p>
<p>Another thing divorces do is create a lot of confusion regarding Social Security claims. If a couple was married for at least 10 years, an ex-spouse may be able to lay claim to spousal benefits based on the earnings history of their former spouse. As long as your ex-spouse is entitled to Social Security retirement or disability benefits, and you're at least age 62, unmarried, and the benefit you'd receive from your ex-spouse is higher than what you'd get based on your own work history, you can qualify for divorced spousal benefits. Best of all, the claim of an ex-spouse won't reduce the take-home benefit of the primary worker. It's a win-win for everyone.</p>
<p>Finally, did you know that Social Security offers its own version of a mulligan? If for some reason you regret filing for benefits at an early age (say, age 62, 63, or 64), you can undo your claim using Form SSA-521 (officially the "Request for Withdrawal of Application"). Undoing your claim would allow your benefits to continue growing at 8% per year until age 70 or when you decide to again file for benefits.</p>
<p>What's the catch, you ask? In order to qualify, you'll have to file Form SSA-521 within 12 months of first receiving benefits. Additionally, you'll need to repay every red cent you've received from the SSA in order to restore your benefits to unclaimed status. If, for example, you were forced to take benefits early because you couldn't find work, but wound up landing a well-paying job just months after your claim, this could be a really smart option to consider.</p>
<p>The $16,122 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook If you're like most Americans, you're a few years (or more) behind on your retirement savings. But a handful of little-known "Social Security secrets" could help ensure a boost in your retirement income. For example: one easy trick could pay you as much as $16,122 more... each year! Once you learn how to maximize your Social Security benefits, we think you could retire confidently with the peace of mind we're all after.&#160; <a href="http://www.fool.com/mms/mark/ecap-foolcom-social-security?aid=8727&amp;source=irreditxt0000002&amp;ftm_cam=ryr-ss-intro-report&amp;ftm_pit=3186&amp;ftm_veh=article_pitch&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=510f8f8c-c0e8-11e7-a727-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Simply click here to discover how to learn more about these strategies Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=510f8f8c-c0e8-11e7-a727-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
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<p>The 2014 Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta has floated into history. Our team of writers, photographers,techno-journalists and editors filled the field and the skies from 5 a.m. until 10 p.m. throughout the 10-day spectacle from Oct. 4 to Oct. 12, 2014, to bring you coverage via:</p>
<p>Mark your calendar, next year’s Balloon Fiesta starts the first Saturday in October, running from Oct. 3 to Oct. 11, 2015. <a href="http://www.balloonfiesta.com/" type="external">Balloon Fiesta’s official site</a>.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Full coverage at our balloon page: <a href="http://www.abqfiesta.com" type="external">ABQfiesta.com</a></p>
<p>Snap a balloon pic? Submit it to our contest! Winning pictures will be published in the newspaper, and winning photographers…&#160; <a href="" type="internal">more »</a></p>
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<p>Snap a balloon pic? Submit it to our contest! Winning pictures will be published in the newspaper, and winning photographers…&#160; <a href="" type="internal">more »</a></p>
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<p>The Green Flag is up. Temperature is at 54 degrees. Both surface winds and upper winds are light.</p>
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<p>Snap a balloon pic? Submit it to our contest! Winning pictures will be published in the newspaper, and winning photographers…&#160; <a href="" type="internal">more »</a></p>
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<p>Snap a balloon pic? Submit it to our contest! Winning pictures will be published in the newspaper, and winning photographers…&#160; <a href="" type="internal">more »</a></p>
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<p>A team from Spain took first place in the America’s Challenge gas balloon race by traveling 1,188 mi …</p>
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<p>Snap a balloon pic? Submit it to our contest! Winning pictures will be published in the newspaper, and winning photographers…&#160; <a href="" type="internal">more »</a></p>
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<p>9:18 a.m. A Spanish team took first place in the gas balloon race traveling 1,188 miles and remaining airborne for…&#160; <a href="" type="internal">more »</a></p>
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<p>The National Weather Service is predicting a 40 percent chance of rain in the metro area throughout today as the…&#160; <a href="" type="internal">more »</a></p>
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<p>A third team competing in the America’s Challenge gas balloon race landed safely around 6 p.m. this evening west of…&#160; <a href="" type="internal">more »</a></p>
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<p>10:33 a.m. The balloon Mystique hit a power line at 2nd and Shirk SW, knocking out power to surrounding homes….&#160; <a href="" type="internal">more »</a></p>
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<p>Snap a balloon pic? Submit it to our contest! Winning pictures will be published in the newspaper, and winning photographers…&#160; <a href="" type="internal">more »</a></p>
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<p>The last gas balloon competing in the balloon fiesta’s distance race took off just before sunrise Tuesday morning, according to…&#160; <a href="" type="internal">more »</a></p>
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<p>It’s expected the balloons will generally head east out of Albuquerque across Texas and into the southeastern U.S.</p>
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<p>Snap a balloon pic? Submit it to our contest! Winning pictures will be published in the newspaper, and winning photographers…&#160; <a href="" type="internal">more »</a></p>
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<p>Realizing he was in distress, Doug Lenberg contacted his wife and other members of the chase crew, who contacted 911</p>
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<p>Snap a balloon pic? Submit it to our contest! Winning pictures will be published in the newspaper, and winning photographers…&#160; <a href="" type="internal">more »</a></p>
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<p>Snap a balloon pic? Submit it to our contest! And don’t forget to vote for your favorite. Winning pictures will…&#160; <a href="" type="internal">more »</a></p>
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<p>&#160; 7:52 p.m. All the balloons taking part in the Twilight Twinkle Glow have deflated and the fireworks show has…&#160; <a href="" type="internal">more »</a></p>
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<p>&#160; 10:20 a.m. All balloons have landed safely. No hard landings, crashes, or injuries were reported. 8:32 a.m. Some balloons…&#160; <a href="" type="internal">more »</a></p>
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<p>Park buzzing with activity as balloon crews, vendors, media prepare for big launch</p>
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<p>Female pilots are still a minority in sport, making up about 11 percent of balloonists</p>
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<p>Fiesta wraps up good run despite a few weather issues</p>
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<p>Sold-out flash mob dinner party adds a bit of French elegance at balloon park</p>
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<p>School holiday allows youngsters to attend</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>A team from Spain took first place in the America’s Challenge gas balloon race by traveling 1,188 mi …</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>The National Weather Service is predicting a 40 percent chance of rain in the metro area throughout today as the…&#160; <a href="" type="internal">more »</a></p>
<p />
<p />
<p>2015 flight would travel over the Pacific</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>First balloonists would be impressed with spread of ballooning, visitors say</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Visiting solo balloon pilot Christine Serra of New Jersey trusted her instincts when she spotted a t …</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>They have provided the “play-by-play” and friendly banter that booms over the loudspeakers throughou …</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Industry officials point to increasing supply as one potential factor: The city is now home to about 17,000 hotel rooms</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>A hot air balloon pilot who had a cardiac episode during Saturday’s mass ascension remained calm and …</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Wind halts flights, but show on the ground still thrills visitors</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Balmy weather, help from the Force boost spirits on the field</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Thousands of visiting RVers set up their home-away-from-home near fiesta</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Marilyn Wallace planned to pilot the Rainbow Thru Heaven balloon every morning of this year’s Balloo …</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Four-year-old James Valenzuela craned his neck to look skyward at the red and pink hot-air balloon a …</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>As hundreds of balloons roar to life and launch over the next nine days, attracting and distracting …</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Hundreds of hot-air balloons fill the sky just as the sun rises over the mountains bordering the city’s eastern edge.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>The deep, rich voice of country hit-maker Josh Turner is heard on his new single “Lay Low.”</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Peering around the grounds of the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, it’s hard not to notice the graying of most of the pilots.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>You’ve arrived in Albuquerque, and you only have a couple of days to explore.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Sitting high above the action and telling the fans what’s happening on the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta field suits Glen Moyer just fine.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>It’s hard to keep a secret, especially about something so large.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Volunteering for the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is not just a way to pass time.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Tickets provide round-trip bus ride from remotely located parking lots to Balloon Fiesta Park. Ticket price includes gate admission into the park.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>For Dave Davies of Lone Pine, Calif., the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta represents something of a bucket list item.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Spectators who leave Balloon Fiesta Park right after the mass ascension are missing a dramatic encore.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Semiramis.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>The differences between gas and hot-air balloons go much deeper than looks.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>There is more to explore beyond the Balloon Fiesta while you visit Albuquerque.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta has been called “the most photographed event in the world” and every year thousands of photographers come to Albuquerque to capture one-of-a-kind images.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>The fun for kids doesn’t have to end when the hot-air balloons leave the field.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Park buzzing with activity as balloon crews, vendors, media prepare for big launch</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>It’s hard to keep a secret, especially about something so large.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Visitors will be on that road, so stick to Paseo, transportation officials say</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>The grass field is part of the city’s new 22-acre Vista del Norte sports park on the northeast corner of Vista del Norte and Osuna</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Construction on Paseo del Norte shouldn’t slow traffic</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>[photoshelter-gallery g_id=”G0000JNabU4_fZx4″ g_name=”Albuquerque-International-Balloon-Fiesta-2014″ width=”600″ f_fullscreen=”t” bgtrans=”t” pho_credit=”iptc” twoup=”f” f_bbar=”t” f_bbarbig=”f” fsvis=”f” f_show_caption=”t” crop=”f” f_enable_embed_btn=”t” f_htmllinks=”t” f_l=”t” f_send_to_friend_btn=”f” f_show_slidenum=”t” f_topbar=”f” f_show_watermark=”t” img_title=”casc” linkdest=”c” trans=”xfade” target=”_self” tbs=”5000″ f_link=”t” f_smooth=”f” f_mtrx=”t” f_ap=”t” f_up=”f” height=”400″ btype=”old” bcolor=”#CCCCCC” ]</p>
<p />
<p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheAlbuquerqueJournal/posts/10152477784033237" type="external" /></p>
<p />
|
Balloon Fiesta highlights 2014; Look forward to 2015
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/479128/balloon-fiesta-highlights-2014-look-forward-to-2015.html
| 2least
|
Balloon Fiesta highlights 2014; Look forward to 2015
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>The 2014 Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta has floated into history. Our team of writers, photographers,techno-journalists and editors filled the field and the skies from 5 a.m. until 10 p.m. throughout the 10-day spectacle from Oct. 4 to Oct. 12, 2014, to bring you coverage via:</p>
<p>Mark your calendar, next year’s Balloon Fiesta starts the first Saturday in October, running from Oct. 3 to Oct. 11, 2015. <a href="http://www.balloonfiesta.com/" type="external">Balloon Fiesta’s official site</a>.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Full coverage at our balloon page: <a href="http://www.abqfiesta.com" type="external">ABQfiesta.com</a></p>
<p>Snap a balloon pic? Submit it to our contest! Winning pictures will be published in the newspaper, and winning photographers…&#160; <a href="" type="internal">more »</a></p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Snap a balloon pic? Submit it to our contest! Winning pictures will be published in the newspaper, and winning photographers…&#160; <a href="" type="internal">more »</a></p>
<p />
<p />
<p>The Green Flag is up. Temperature is at 54 degrees. Both surface winds and upper winds are light.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Snap a balloon pic? Submit it to our contest! Winning pictures will be published in the newspaper, and winning photographers…&#160; <a href="" type="internal">more »</a></p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Snap a balloon pic? Submit it to our contest! Winning pictures will be published in the newspaper, and winning photographers…&#160; <a href="" type="internal">more »</a></p>
<p />
<p />
<p>A team from Spain took first place in the America’s Challenge gas balloon race by traveling 1,188 mi …</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Snap a balloon pic? Submit it to our contest! Winning pictures will be published in the newspaper, and winning photographers…&#160; <a href="" type="internal">more »</a></p>
<p />
<p />
<p>9:18 a.m. A Spanish team took first place in the gas balloon race traveling 1,188 miles and remaining airborne for…&#160; <a href="" type="internal">more »</a></p>
<p />
<p />
<p>The National Weather Service is predicting a 40 percent chance of rain in the metro area throughout today as the…&#160; <a href="" type="internal">more »</a></p>
<p />
<p />
<p>A third team competing in the America’s Challenge gas balloon race landed safely around 6 p.m. this evening west of…&#160; <a href="" type="internal">more »</a></p>
<p />
<p />
<p>10:33 a.m. The balloon Mystique hit a power line at 2nd and Shirk SW, knocking out power to surrounding homes….&#160; <a href="" type="internal">more »</a></p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Snap a balloon pic? Submit it to our contest! Winning pictures will be published in the newspaper, and winning photographers…&#160; <a href="" type="internal">more »</a></p>
<p />
<p />
<p>The last gas balloon competing in the balloon fiesta’s distance race took off just before sunrise Tuesday morning, according to…&#160; <a href="" type="internal">more »</a></p>
<p />
<p />
<p>It’s expected the balloons will generally head east out of Albuquerque across Texas and into the southeastern U.S.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Snap a balloon pic? Submit it to our contest! Winning pictures will be published in the newspaper, and winning photographers…&#160; <a href="" type="internal">more »</a></p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Realizing he was in distress, Doug Lenberg contacted his wife and other members of the chase crew, who contacted 911</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Snap a balloon pic? Submit it to our contest! Winning pictures will be published in the newspaper, and winning photographers…&#160; <a href="" type="internal">more »</a></p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Snap a balloon pic? Submit it to our contest! And don’t forget to vote for your favorite. Winning pictures will…&#160; <a href="" type="internal">more »</a></p>
<p />
<p />
<p>&#160; 7:52 p.m. All the balloons taking part in the Twilight Twinkle Glow have deflated and the fireworks show has…&#160; <a href="" type="internal">more »</a></p>
<p />
<p />
<p>&#160; 10:20 a.m. All balloons have landed safely. No hard landings, crashes, or injuries were reported. 8:32 a.m. Some balloons…&#160; <a href="" type="internal">more »</a></p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Park buzzing with activity as balloon crews, vendors, media prepare for big launch</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Female pilots are still a minority in sport, making up about 11 percent of balloonists</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Fiesta wraps up good run despite a few weather issues</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Sold-out flash mob dinner party adds a bit of French elegance at balloon park</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>School holiday allows youngsters to attend</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>A team from Spain took first place in the America’s Challenge gas balloon race by traveling 1,188 mi …</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>The National Weather Service is predicting a 40 percent chance of rain in the metro area throughout today as the…&#160; <a href="" type="internal">more »</a></p>
<p />
<p />
<p>2015 flight would travel over the Pacific</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>First balloonists would be impressed with spread of ballooning, visitors say</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Visiting solo balloon pilot Christine Serra of New Jersey trusted her instincts when she spotted a t …</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>They have provided the “play-by-play” and friendly banter that booms over the loudspeakers throughou …</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Industry officials point to increasing supply as one potential factor: The city is now home to about 17,000 hotel rooms</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>A hot air balloon pilot who had a cardiac episode during Saturday’s mass ascension remained calm and …</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Wind halts flights, but show on the ground still thrills visitors</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Balmy weather, help from the Force boost spirits on the field</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Thousands of visiting RVers set up their home-away-from-home near fiesta</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Marilyn Wallace planned to pilot the Rainbow Thru Heaven balloon every morning of this year’s Balloo …</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Four-year-old James Valenzuela craned his neck to look skyward at the red and pink hot-air balloon a …</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>As hundreds of balloons roar to life and launch over the next nine days, attracting and distracting …</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Hundreds of hot-air balloons fill the sky just as the sun rises over the mountains bordering the city’s eastern edge.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>The deep, rich voice of country hit-maker Josh Turner is heard on his new single “Lay Low.”</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Peering around the grounds of the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, it’s hard not to notice the graying of most of the pilots.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>You’ve arrived in Albuquerque, and you only have a couple of days to explore.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Sitting high above the action and telling the fans what’s happening on the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta field suits Glen Moyer just fine.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>It’s hard to keep a secret, especially about something so large.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Volunteering for the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is not just a way to pass time.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Tickets provide round-trip bus ride from remotely located parking lots to Balloon Fiesta Park. Ticket price includes gate admission into the park.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>For Dave Davies of Lone Pine, Calif., the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta represents something of a bucket list item.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Spectators who leave Balloon Fiesta Park right after the mass ascension are missing a dramatic encore.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Semiramis.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>The differences between gas and hot-air balloons go much deeper than looks.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>There is more to explore beyond the Balloon Fiesta while you visit Albuquerque.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta has been called “the most photographed event in the world” and every year thousands of photographers come to Albuquerque to capture one-of-a-kind images.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>The fun for kids doesn’t have to end when the hot-air balloons leave the field.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Park buzzing with activity as balloon crews, vendors, media prepare for big launch</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>It’s hard to keep a secret, especially about something so large.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Visitors will be on that road, so stick to Paseo, transportation officials say</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>The grass field is part of the city’s new 22-acre Vista del Norte sports park on the northeast corner of Vista del Norte and Osuna</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Construction on Paseo del Norte shouldn’t slow traffic</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>[photoshelter-gallery g_id=”G0000JNabU4_fZx4″ g_name=”Albuquerque-International-Balloon-Fiesta-2014″ width=”600″ f_fullscreen=”t” bgtrans=”t” pho_credit=”iptc” twoup=”f” f_bbar=”t” f_bbarbig=”f” fsvis=”f” f_show_caption=”t” crop=”f” f_enable_embed_btn=”t” f_htmllinks=”t” f_l=”t” f_send_to_friend_btn=”f” f_show_slidenum=”t” f_topbar=”f” f_show_watermark=”t” img_title=”casc” linkdest=”c” trans=”xfade” target=”_self” tbs=”5000″ f_link=”t” f_smooth=”f” f_mtrx=”t” f_ap=”t” f_up=”f” height=”400″ btype=”old” bcolor=”#CCCCCC” ]</p>
<p />
<p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheAlbuquerqueJournal/posts/10152477784033237" type="external" /></p>
<p />
| 7,296 |
|
<p>BANGKOK — The Trans-Pacific Partnership sounds deadly boring.</p>
<p>It’s not.</p>
<p>The potential impact on humanity from this proposed mega-deal is impossible to measure. TPP could bankrupt families in Kansas and enrich them in Kuala Lumpur. Or make patented medicine wildly unaffordable for sick people in poor places. Or even imprison citizens of 12 countries for pirating Game of Thrones episodes.</p>
<p>Or maybe, as its proponents claim, TPP could plug the US into Asia’s rising markets and give the global economy a needed jolt. Either way, if secured, it will be a corporation-friendly game changer for 800 million people.</p>
<p>The thing is, average people are banned from seeing its inner workings.</p>
<p>TPP, as it stands, is classified. The White House can see it. Leaders in negotiating nations can see it. About 600 reps from America’s most powerful corporations can see it.</p>
<p>But the American public is forbidden from perusing the deal, and the people they elect are barred from negotiations. Though Congress will eventually decide its fate, US lawmakers are increasingly frustrated at TPP’s intense secrecy. Given the way trade deals work on Capital Hill, they may get precious little time to review the colossal pact before deciding whether to make it law.</p>
<p>The secrecy has even riled up Obama’s own political camp.</p>
<p>“When I say we’ve been shut out, <a href="http://www.citizen.org/documents/obama-asia-trip-4-16-14-press-call.pdf" type="external">we have been shut out</a>,” said Louise Slaughter, a Democrat Party congresswoman from New York. Her remarks came in advance of President Barack Obama’s late April tour of Asia, where he negotiated for TPP’s approval in Malaysia, the Philippines and Japan.</p>
<p>“Rumors that I have been hearing,” Slaughter said in a press call, “is that the financial services and pharmaceuticals sectors in the United States are really running this whole operation and they will be making out like bandits. Well, we don’t know.”</p>
<p>Another lawmaker, Congressman Alan Grayson, contends that the agreement “ <a href="http://alangraysonemails.tumblr.com/post/53325968066/i-saw-the-secret-trade-deal" type="external">hands the sovereignty of our country</a> over to corporate interests.” Even prominent economist Paul Krugman, a free trade proponent, calls it “ <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/28/opinion/krugman-no-big-deal.html?_r=0" type="external">almost weirdly out of touch</a> with both economic and political reality.”</p>
<p>What little we know about TPP comes from a few leaked documents. ( <a href="http://wikileaks.org/tpp/" type="external">Thanks, Wikileaks.</a>) As a free-trade deal, its core mission is killing fees for imports and exports between every country involved.</p>
<p>But TPP also appears to push major restrictions on the free flow of internet content, life-saving medicine and much more.</p>
<p>Now is the time to pay attention to TPP. The White House hopes to finalize the deal by the end of 2014. There’s no set date for a vote in the US Congress, which will determine the trade deal’s fate. But once they are slated to vote — and the full deal is made public — the White House wants a “fast track” process that will give lawmakers 90 days to vote up or down with no opportunity for amendments.</p>
<p>Here are six ways the pact could potentially change the world.</p>
<p>1. TPP would create an international free trade zone of unprecedented proportions</p>
<p>If the White House gets its way, TPP will give rise to a massive America-led free-trade zone, stretching from tropical Malaysia to the mountains of Peru. It would bring NAFTA-style rules to as many as 14 nations and 40 percent of the world’s economy. The White House has <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/04/18/press-briefing-press-secretary-jay-carney-deputy-national-security-advis" type="external">cited estimates</a> that the deal could kick-start “as much as $123.5 billion in additional exports from the United States.”</p>
<p>Nations at the negotiating table, or officially interested in joining, include Western powers (USA, New Zealand, Canada, Australia), a few affluent Asian nations (Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore) and some lesser-developed Asian nations (Brunei, Vietnam and Malaysia). It also includes several Latin American nations (Mexico, Peru, and Chile).</p>
<p>China, for one, isn’t playing ball. Yet. A key White House trade rep says he’d <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/08/usa-trade-kirk-idusl1e8g8c3m20120508" type="external">“love nothing more”</a> than to get China on board.</p>
<p>Free trade deals are often pitched as a way to <a href="https://www.uschamber.com/issue-brief/level-playing-field-trade" type="external">“level the playing field”</a> because they wipe out domestic rules that protect key industries from outside domination. But that’s where things get squishy. Protections for patents, copyrights and the environment, for example, are in the eye of the beholder. They can be regarded as essential regulations or trade barriers, and are subject to intense lobbying— which is why the secrecy is doubly troubling. And the nations involved in TPP are vastly different in size and influence.</p>
<p>2. TPP would clear the way for more internet policing</p>
<p>Remember the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), the anti-piracy bill scrapped after public backlash? Leaked documents suggest TPP, if passed, would police the internet in a similar way.</p>
<p>TPP is great for America’s embattled film and music industries. They’d gain unprecedented power to punish anyone with digital content violating copyright rules. That would include straight-up rips of a Tupac song. It could also include creative spin offs — say, a parody video of cats dancing to Tupac.</p>
<p>It may even designate these violations as “criminal” offenses. That would mean prison time. The leaked draft makes it very clear that TPP doesn’t care if you had “no direct or indirect motivation of financial gain” from illegally downloading a song, or if you’re running a secret factory printing thousands of pirated DVDs.</p>
<p>3. The pact would mean pricier medicine for many</p>
<p>Pharmaceutical conglomerates are another big force behind TPP. The pact would give them longer-lasting monopolies on the drugs they create.</p>
<p>If a US corporation invents a new medicine — anything from pain killers to meds for HIV patients — they can typically get at least 12 years of exclusive production rights. After that, competitors can release cheaper generic versions. This brings life-saving medicine within reach for the world’s poor and middle classes.</p>
<p>But leaked TPP documents suggest drug makers would gain increased rights to “evergreen” their creations and keep prices high. There’s even a proposal allowing firms to patent a specific surgical procedure. In effect, a doctor in Tokyo could get sued for using a breakthrough tumor removal technique patented in California. Or vice versa.</p>
<p>4. It would ban job-promoting&#160;“Buy American” rules</p>
<p>A range of laws force government agencies to purchase American products. Many police departments, for example, are forbidden from replacing their Ford cruiser fleet with Hondas — even if they’re cheaper. The goal is to keep the tax dollars at home, where they boost employment (and increase the tax base).&#160;</p>
<p>That’s textbook protectionism, which TPP seeks to tear down. The potential effect: firms from Ho Chi Minh City and Houston would get the same shot at supplying products to the US and other governments.</p>
<p>5. TPP would allow patents on life forms</p>
<p>Under TPP, corporations that bred a new zucchini seed into existence or created a genetically altered cow would effectively own their new biological creations. The deal could extend patent law to “plants and animals.” This would require every country under TPP to take in corporate-owned genetically modified crops, which many nations have tried to strictly regulate.</p>
<p>6. TPP could mean the end of grisly cigarette packaging:</p>
<p>If you buy a pack of smokes in Canada or Australia, you might encounter a photo of a tongue riddled with cancer lesions. Under existing laws, cigarette packs must be branded with gross-out images or dire warnings about the dangers of tobacco.</p>
<p>But under leaked TPP proposals, these practices could bring on lawsuits from American tobacco firms. This has become a key sticking point with negotiators in Malaysia, where <a href="http://www.wpro.who.int/mediacentre/releases/2012/20120613/en/" type="external">40 percent of adult men smoke</a> and the hospitals are overwhelmed by tobacco-related illness.</p>
|
Curious about the biggest trade deal in history? Sorry, it’s classified
| false |
https://pri.org/stories/2014-05-06/curious-about-biggest-trade-deal-history-sorry-it-s-classified
|
2014-05-06
| 3left-center
|
Curious about the biggest trade deal in history? Sorry, it’s classified
<p>BANGKOK — The Trans-Pacific Partnership sounds deadly boring.</p>
<p>It’s not.</p>
<p>The potential impact on humanity from this proposed mega-deal is impossible to measure. TPP could bankrupt families in Kansas and enrich them in Kuala Lumpur. Or make patented medicine wildly unaffordable for sick people in poor places. Or even imprison citizens of 12 countries for pirating Game of Thrones episodes.</p>
<p>Or maybe, as its proponents claim, TPP could plug the US into Asia’s rising markets and give the global economy a needed jolt. Either way, if secured, it will be a corporation-friendly game changer for 800 million people.</p>
<p>The thing is, average people are banned from seeing its inner workings.</p>
<p>TPP, as it stands, is classified. The White House can see it. Leaders in negotiating nations can see it. About 600 reps from America’s most powerful corporations can see it.</p>
<p>But the American public is forbidden from perusing the deal, and the people they elect are barred from negotiations. Though Congress will eventually decide its fate, US lawmakers are increasingly frustrated at TPP’s intense secrecy. Given the way trade deals work on Capital Hill, they may get precious little time to review the colossal pact before deciding whether to make it law.</p>
<p>The secrecy has even riled up Obama’s own political camp.</p>
<p>“When I say we’ve been shut out, <a href="http://www.citizen.org/documents/obama-asia-trip-4-16-14-press-call.pdf" type="external">we have been shut out</a>,” said Louise Slaughter, a Democrat Party congresswoman from New York. Her remarks came in advance of President Barack Obama’s late April tour of Asia, where he negotiated for TPP’s approval in Malaysia, the Philippines and Japan.</p>
<p>“Rumors that I have been hearing,” Slaughter said in a press call, “is that the financial services and pharmaceuticals sectors in the United States are really running this whole operation and they will be making out like bandits. Well, we don’t know.”</p>
<p>Another lawmaker, Congressman Alan Grayson, contends that the agreement “ <a href="http://alangraysonemails.tumblr.com/post/53325968066/i-saw-the-secret-trade-deal" type="external">hands the sovereignty of our country</a> over to corporate interests.” Even prominent economist Paul Krugman, a free trade proponent, calls it “ <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/28/opinion/krugman-no-big-deal.html?_r=0" type="external">almost weirdly out of touch</a> with both economic and political reality.”</p>
<p>What little we know about TPP comes from a few leaked documents. ( <a href="http://wikileaks.org/tpp/" type="external">Thanks, Wikileaks.</a>) As a free-trade deal, its core mission is killing fees for imports and exports between every country involved.</p>
<p>But TPP also appears to push major restrictions on the free flow of internet content, life-saving medicine and much more.</p>
<p>Now is the time to pay attention to TPP. The White House hopes to finalize the deal by the end of 2014. There’s no set date for a vote in the US Congress, which will determine the trade deal’s fate. But once they are slated to vote — and the full deal is made public — the White House wants a “fast track” process that will give lawmakers 90 days to vote up or down with no opportunity for amendments.</p>
<p>Here are six ways the pact could potentially change the world.</p>
<p>1. TPP would create an international free trade zone of unprecedented proportions</p>
<p>If the White House gets its way, TPP will give rise to a massive America-led free-trade zone, stretching from tropical Malaysia to the mountains of Peru. It would bring NAFTA-style rules to as many as 14 nations and 40 percent of the world’s economy. The White House has <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/04/18/press-briefing-press-secretary-jay-carney-deputy-national-security-advis" type="external">cited estimates</a> that the deal could kick-start “as much as $123.5 billion in additional exports from the United States.”</p>
<p>Nations at the negotiating table, or officially interested in joining, include Western powers (USA, New Zealand, Canada, Australia), a few affluent Asian nations (Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore) and some lesser-developed Asian nations (Brunei, Vietnam and Malaysia). It also includes several Latin American nations (Mexico, Peru, and Chile).</p>
<p>China, for one, isn’t playing ball. Yet. A key White House trade rep says he’d <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/08/usa-trade-kirk-idusl1e8g8c3m20120508" type="external">“love nothing more”</a> than to get China on board.</p>
<p>Free trade deals are often pitched as a way to <a href="https://www.uschamber.com/issue-brief/level-playing-field-trade" type="external">“level the playing field”</a> because they wipe out domestic rules that protect key industries from outside domination. But that’s where things get squishy. Protections for patents, copyrights and the environment, for example, are in the eye of the beholder. They can be regarded as essential regulations or trade barriers, and are subject to intense lobbying— which is why the secrecy is doubly troubling. And the nations involved in TPP are vastly different in size and influence.</p>
<p>2. TPP would clear the way for more internet policing</p>
<p>Remember the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), the anti-piracy bill scrapped after public backlash? Leaked documents suggest TPP, if passed, would police the internet in a similar way.</p>
<p>TPP is great for America’s embattled film and music industries. They’d gain unprecedented power to punish anyone with digital content violating copyright rules. That would include straight-up rips of a Tupac song. It could also include creative spin offs — say, a parody video of cats dancing to Tupac.</p>
<p>It may even designate these violations as “criminal” offenses. That would mean prison time. The leaked draft makes it very clear that TPP doesn’t care if you had “no direct or indirect motivation of financial gain” from illegally downloading a song, or if you’re running a secret factory printing thousands of pirated DVDs.</p>
<p>3. The pact would mean pricier medicine for many</p>
<p>Pharmaceutical conglomerates are another big force behind TPP. The pact would give them longer-lasting monopolies on the drugs they create.</p>
<p>If a US corporation invents a new medicine — anything from pain killers to meds for HIV patients — they can typically get at least 12 years of exclusive production rights. After that, competitors can release cheaper generic versions. This brings life-saving medicine within reach for the world’s poor and middle classes.</p>
<p>But leaked TPP documents suggest drug makers would gain increased rights to “evergreen” their creations and keep prices high. There’s even a proposal allowing firms to patent a specific surgical procedure. In effect, a doctor in Tokyo could get sued for using a breakthrough tumor removal technique patented in California. Or vice versa.</p>
<p>4. It would ban job-promoting&#160;“Buy American” rules</p>
<p>A range of laws force government agencies to purchase American products. Many police departments, for example, are forbidden from replacing their Ford cruiser fleet with Hondas — even if they’re cheaper. The goal is to keep the tax dollars at home, where they boost employment (and increase the tax base).&#160;</p>
<p>That’s textbook protectionism, which TPP seeks to tear down. The potential effect: firms from Ho Chi Minh City and Houston would get the same shot at supplying products to the US and other governments.</p>
<p>5. TPP would allow patents on life forms</p>
<p>Under TPP, corporations that bred a new zucchini seed into existence or created a genetically altered cow would effectively own their new biological creations. The deal could extend patent law to “plants and animals.” This would require every country under TPP to take in corporate-owned genetically modified crops, which many nations have tried to strictly regulate.</p>
<p>6. TPP could mean the end of grisly cigarette packaging:</p>
<p>If you buy a pack of smokes in Canada or Australia, you might encounter a photo of a tongue riddled with cancer lesions. Under existing laws, cigarette packs must be branded with gross-out images or dire warnings about the dangers of tobacco.</p>
<p>But under leaked TPP proposals, these practices could bring on lawsuits from American tobacco firms. This has become a key sticking point with negotiators in Malaysia, where <a href="http://www.wpro.who.int/mediacentre/releases/2012/20120613/en/" type="external">40 percent of adult men smoke</a> and the hospitals are overwhelmed by tobacco-related illness.</p>
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<p>TALLAHASSEE (FL)The Miami HeraldBY LESLEY CLARK <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
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<p>TALLAHASSEE - Prompted by scandals involving long-repressed tales of molestation of youngsters by Catholic priests, lawmakers are pushing legislation to give child victims unlimited time to report serious sex crimes.</p>
<p>The measure, approved Thursday by the House Public Safety &amp; Crime Prevention Committee, allows prosecutors to file charges for first-degree felony sex crimes even if victims wait decades to report the crime. Currently, serious sexual crimes against children under 12 carry no statute of limitations. But minors who are over 12 when they are molested have until age 22 to report it.</p>
<p>Orange-Osceola State Attorney Lawson Lamar suggested the measure after police reported having trouble prosecuting people who had preyed on children and coerced them into silence.</p>
<p>''There's been a lot of stuff in the news over the summer and last spring regarding Catholic priests and this is pretty much to address that,'' said Rep. Jim Kallinger, a Winter Park Republican who is working with Lamar. Kallinger noted that child victims are often too intimidated to report sexual abuse.</p>
<p>''We're finding that it takes time to come to terms with it,'' he said.</p>
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Sex-crime victims may get assist
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https://poynter.org/news/sex-crime-victims-may-get-assist
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2003-03-28
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Sex-crime victims may get assist
<p />
<p>TALLAHASSEE (FL)The Miami HeraldBY LESLEY CLARK <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>TALLAHASSEE - Prompted by scandals involving long-repressed tales of molestation of youngsters by Catholic priests, lawmakers are pushing legislation to give child victims unlimited time to report serious sex crimes.</p>
<p>The measure, approved Thursday by the House Public Safety &amp; Crime Prevention Committee, allows prosecutors to file charges for first-degree felony sex crimes even if victims wait decades to report the crime. Currently, serious sexual crimes against children under 12 carry no statute of limitations. But minors who are over 12 when they are molested have until age 22 to report it.</p>
<p>Orange-Osceola State Attorney Lawson Lamar suggested the measure after police reported having trouble prosecuting people who had preyed on children and coerced them into silence.</p>
<p>''There's been a lot of stuff in the news over the summer and last spring regarding Catholic priests and this is pretty much to address that,'' said Rep. Jim Kallinger, a Winter Park Republican who is working with Lamar. Kallinger noted that child victims are often too intimidated to report sexual abuse.</p>
<p>''We're finding that it takes time to come to terms with it,'' he said.</p>
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<p>Dick's Sporting Goods Inc. shares rose 5.7% in Tuesday premarket trading after the retailer beat second-quarter earnings estimates and raised its full-year outlook. Dick's reported net income of $91.4 million, or 82 cents per share, up from $90.8 million, or 77 cents per share, for the same period last year. The FactSet consensus was 69 cents per share. Revenue totaled $1.97 billion, up from $1.82 billion last year and beating the FactSet consensus of $1.88 billion. Same-store sales increased 2.8%, exceeding the FactSet estimate of a 2.2% decline. Dick's expects third-quarter EPS in the range of 39 cents and 42 cents, excluding costs to convert former The Sports Authority stores into Dick's stores. The FactSet consensus is 38 cents. The company raised its full-year EPS guidance to a range of $2.90 to $3.05 from $2.60 to $2.90. The FactSet consensus is $2.84. Dick's Sporting Goods shares are up 55.3% for the year so far while the S&amp;P 500 Index is up 7.2% for the same period.</p>
<p>Copyright © 2016 MarketWatch, Inc.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
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Dick's Sporting Goods Shares Rise After Earnings Beat, Guidance Raised
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2016-08-16
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Dick's Sporting Goods Shares Rise After Earnings Beat, Guidance Raised
<p>Dick's Sporting Goods Inc. shares rose 5.7% in Tuesday premarket trading after the retailer beat second-quarter earnings estimates and raised its full-year outlook. Dick's reported net income of $91.4 million, or 82 cents per share, up from $90.8 million, or 77 cents per share, for the same period last year. The FactSet consensus was 69 cents per share. Revenue totaled $1.97 billion, up from $1.82 billion last year and beating the FactSet consensus of $1.88 billion. Same-store sales increased 2.8%, exceeding the FactSet estimate of a 2.2% decline. Dick's expects third-quarter EPS in the range of 39 cents and 42 cents, excluding costs to convert former The Sports Authority stores into Dick's stores. The FactSet consensus is 38 cents. The company raised its full-year EPS guidance to a range of $2.90 to $3.05 from $2.60 to $2.90. The FactSet consensus is $2.84. Dick's Sporting Goods shares are up 55.3% for the year so far while the S&amp;P 500 Index is up 7.2% for the same period.</p>
<p>Copyright © 2016 MarketWatch, Inc.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
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