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<p>HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — The state of Connecticut is offering a $50,000 reward for information that leads to a conviction in a 2015 homicide.</p>
<p>Police are looking for leads in their investigation of the Oct. 21, 2015, death of Ricardo Rivera in Hartford. The 19-year-old was shot in the head. Investigators found limited evidence at the crime scene and no witnesses have come forward.</p>
<p>Rivera’s mother pleaded for tips as investigators announced the award Wednesday. She says she has not lost hope that the case will be solved.</p>
<p>Anyone with information is asked to call Hartford police.</p>
<p>HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — The state of Connecticut is offering a $50,000 reward for information that leads to a conviction in a 2015 homicide.</p>
<p>Police are looking for leads in their investigation of the Oct. 21, 2015, death of Ricardo Rivera in Hartford. The 19-year-old was shot in the head. Investigators found limited evidence at the crime scene and no witnesses have come forward.</p>
<p>Rivera’s mother pleaded for tips as investigators announced the award Wednesday. She says she has not lost hope that the case will be solved.</p>
<p>Anyone with information is asked to call Hartford police.</p>
|
Connecticut offers $50,000 reward for info in 2015 killing
| false |
https://apnews.com/81c6a27fed6a4569b568fb2a50ba4192
|
2018-01-11
| 2least
|
Connecticut offers $50,000 reward for info in 2015 killing
<p>HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — The state of Connecticut is offering a $50,000 reward for information that leads to a conviction in a 2015 homicide.</p>
<p>Police are looking for leads in their investigation of the Oct. 21, 2015, death of Ricardo Rivera in Hartford. The 19-year-old was shot in the head. Investigators found limited evidence at the crime scene and no witnesses have come forward.</p>
<p>Rivera’s mother pleaded for tips as investigators announced the award Wednesday. She says she has not lost hope that the case will be solved.</p>
<p>Anyone with information is asked to call Hartford police.</p>
<p>HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — The state of Connecticut is offering a $50,000 reward for information that leads to a conviction in a 2015 homicide.</p>
<p>Police are looking for leads in their investigation of the Oct. 21, 2015, death of Ricardo Rivera in Hartford. The 19-year-old was shot in the head. Investigators found limited evidence at the crime scene and no witnesses have come forward.</p>
<p>Rivera’s mother pleaded for tips as investigators announced the award Wednesday. She says she has not lost hope that the case will be solved.</p>
<p>Anyone with information is asked to call Hartford police.</p>
| 7,500 |
<p>Published time: 25 Nov, 2017 17:55</p>
<p>Bitcoin could become a lifeline for hedge funds and other investment professionals in case the established financial system fails, says Mikhail Mashchenko, an analyst at the social network for investors eToro in Russia and CIS.</p>
<p>“The demand for bitcoin is growing as the crypto market has become less volatile, and an increasing number of professional investors see it as insurance,” the analyst told RT.</p>
<p>Digital platforms have been trying very hard to attract institutional investors, according to Mashchenko.</p>
<p>Read more</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/business/410620-jp-morgan-bitcoin-futures/" type="external" /></p>
<p>“LedgerX launched its first long-term options for bitcoin, with an expiration date of December 28, 2018. In the coming months, we will continue to see the ‘domestication’ of bitcoin: the Chicago Board Options Exchange and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange are planning to launch tools based on the cryptocurrency in the near future,” he said.</p>
<p>Many funds stayed away from crypto-assets due to lack of proper infrastructure; however, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has decided to start a depository for customers with more than $10 million in assets, the analyst says.</p>
<p>As big money is now flowing into bitcoin, further growth would be harder after the first 11 months of this year, as institutional investors hate volatility.</p>
<p>“We could see a bitcoin at $10,000 in a month or so. However, such a surge will be based on emotions, not on fundamental factors. So, further growth of the cryptocurrency will require something more than euphoria,” Mashchenko said.</p>
<p>Bitcoin has surged 850 percent this year. The cryptocurrency was trading below $1,000 on January 1 and is now trading near the $8,200 mark.</p>
|
Big-time investors see safe haven in bitcoin if traditional financial system collapses
| false |
https://newsline.com/big-time-investors-see-safe-haven-in-bitcoin-if-traditional-financial-system-collapses/
|
2017-11-25
| 1right-center
|
Big-time investors see safe haven in bitcoin if traditional financial system collapses
<p>Published time: 25 Nov, 2017 17:55</p>
<p>Bitcoin could become a lifeline for hedge funds and other investment professionals in case the established financial system fails, says Mikhail Mashchenko, an analyst at the social network for investors eToro in Russia and CIS.</p>
<p>“The demand for bitcoin is growing as the crypto market has become less volatile, and an increasing number of professional investors see it as insurance,” the analyst told RT.</p>
<p>Digital platforms have been trying very hard to attract institutional investors, according to Mashchenko.</p>
<p>Read more</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/business/410620-jp-morgan-bitcoin-futures/" type="external" /></p>
<p>“LedgerX launched its first long-term options for bitcoin, with an expiration date of December 28, 2018. In the coming months, we will continue to see the ‘domestication’ of bitcoin: the Chicago Board Options Exchange and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange are planning to launch tools based on the cryptocurrency in the near future,” he said.</p>
<p>Many funds stayed away from crypto-assets due to lack of proper infrastructure; however, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has decided to start a depository for customers with more than $10 million in assets, the analyst says.</p>
<p>As big money is now flowing into bitcoin, further growth would be harder after the first 11 months of this year, as institutional investors hate volatility.</p>
<p>“We could see a bitcoin at $10,000 in a month or so. However, such a surge will be based on emotions, not on fundamental factors. So, further growth of the cryptocurrency will require something more than euphoria,” Mashchenko said.</p>
<p>Bitcoin has surged 850 percent this year. The cryptocurrency was trading below $1,000 on January 1 and is now trading near the $8,200 mark.</p>
| 7,501 |
<p />
<p>Welcome to Recruiter QA, where we pose employment-related questions to the experts and share their answers! Have a question you'd like to ask? Leave it in the comments, and you might just see it in the next installment of Recruiter QA!</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Today's Question: At Recruiter.com, we're wondering what the future of <a href="https://www.recruiter.com/mobile-recruiting.html" type="external">mobile recruiting Opens a New Window.</a> will look like. What do you think? What tips, tools, technologies, or tactics will dominate the mobile recruiting space in the coming years – and why?</p>
<p>1. Geo-Conquesting Will Help Employers Target Candidates</p>
<p>The key to finding candidates for hard-to-fill jobs such as nursing and truck driving is to concentrate on passive candidates since most people in these professions already have jobs. What makes mobile so valuable is that third-party data provides so much information about the candidates. No other medium has ever had the ability to match job titles and interests with available openings.</p>
<p>One tactic that is working very well for our agency customers is geo-conquesting. With geo-conquesting, we can bid high to programmatically show up in apps and on mobile websites at a specific geographic location. So, for instance, if we are recruiting nurses for a hospital, we may decide to geo-conquest nurses working the night shift at competing hospitals in the area. In the case of recruiting truck drivers, we geo-conquest truck stops in the region since truckers will inevitably be looking at their Facebook pages and checking sports scores during their rest periods.</p>
<p>— Bob Bentz, <a href="http://www.purplegator.com/" type="external">Purplegator Opens a New Window.</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/user?screen_name=@BobBentz" type="external">Twitter Social Network Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>2. Search Engine Results Rankings Will Become Even More Important</p>
<p>The future of mobile recruiting will follow much the same pattern as the rest of mobile search. While I'm no prophet, I think the signs are clear that mobile search is becoming more and more streamlined for user speed and ease. This goes far deeper than just having the fastest Wi-Fi or 3-4-5-6-7-8G network. It also means that search engines themselves are optimizing their formats and algorithms to account for an even shorter user attention spans on the mobile scale.</p>
<p>We can see this in developments like the <a href="https://blog.google/products/search/gboard-search-gifs-emojis-keyboard/" type="external">Gboard Opens a New Window.</a>. The Gboard's single results panel for mobile usage revolutionizes mobile search (if it really catches on) because it limits search results to a single result. It's like the featured snippet, but on steroids. That means that if you are really looking for success in the mobile market, you are going to have to be aiming for the No. 1 search engine results page (SERP) ranking for your given mobile search campaign, as opposed to the top eight to get onto the first page of the SERP previously. It not only makes the market more competitive by nature, but also makes advertising (which will inevitably be introduced, even if it hasn't been yet) a very daunting cloud off on the horizon of single results panels.</p>
<p>— Sean Martin, <a href="https://directiveconsulting.com/" type="external">Directive Consulting Opens a New Window.</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/user?screen_name=@DirectiveAgency" type="external">Twitter Social Network Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>3. Candidates Will Demand Simple Interfaces</p>
<p>Recruiters and developers should recognize that mobile is not an exotic animal to be chained, but a fact of everyday life. Many are overthinking mobile. Developers should simply put themselves in the shoes of users to optimize mobile platforms.</p>
<p>For example, while job seekers will run searches on mobile devices, when it comes time to submit a resume or fill out an application, many choose to use a laptop or desktop. Perhaps they prefer the full-size keyboard or the larger screen.</p>
<p>However, there are job seekers who don't have regular access to a laptop or desktop or don't have a resume. Developers should continue to work toward simple and easy interfaces, but also consider providing a way for a job seeker to express interest without first filling out the full application. A savvy recruiter could then engage the candidate in a timely manner and ask them to follow through on the resume/application piece.</p>
<p>Another way to make it easy for job seekers is to make it possible to apply using a social profile, particularly as we see more and more merging of social profiles. It's fairly simple to incorporate a button for "Apply with LinkedIn," for example.</p>
<p>— Dominick Bernal, <a href="http://www.dtoolbox.com/" type="external">Decision Toolbox</a></p>
<p>4. Recruiters Will Host Web Chats to Catch Candidate Attention</p>
<p>As business owners struggle to reach the most talented millennials and new graduates, mobile recruiting techniques will continue to increase. The newest technique I've heard of in Chicago is to host huge web chat events via WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. Like any recruiting technique, there are mixed reviews on how candidates respond to being contacted on their personal social media profiles.</p>
<p>— Christy Hopkins, <a href="http://fitsmallbusiness.com/" type="external">Fit Small Business Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>5. Recruiters Will Have to Pay Close Attention to Job Seekers' Basic Needs</p>
<p>With so many ways to connect job seekers with employers, the future of mobile recruiting has the potential to look overwhelming. <a href="http://www.getrake.io/job-seeker-behavior-2016/" type="external">Recent research Opens a New Window.</a> from my company, Rake, shows 87 percent of job seekers currently find it difficult to keep track of their job search efforts. This is most likely because 48 percent of job seekers use 4-6 job boards at a time. Now, add mobile recruiting efforts coming at them on top of that.</p>
<p>The spreadsheet is quickly becoming a thing of the past as mobile recruiting apps and tactics require job seekers to keep in stride with mobile-optimized tracking strategies. With technology always evolving, it will become more and more essential for recruiters to keep in mind the way job seekers track and apply to jobs and ensure they are offering easily trackable opportunities that communicate with organizational applications. No matter how advanced mobile recruiting technology gets, it's futile if it leaves basic job seeker needs behind.</p>
<p>— Michael Iacona, <a href="http://getrake.io/" type="external">Rake Opens a New Window.</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/user?screen_name=@getrake" type="external">Twitter Social Network</a></p>
|
5 Predictions for the Future of Mobile Recruiting
| true |
http://foxbusiness.com/features/2016/11/30/5-predictions-for-future-mobile-recruiting.html
|
2016-12-05
| 0right
|
5 Predictions for the Future of Mobile Recruiting
<p />
<p>Welcome to Recruiter QA, where we pose employment-related questions to the experts and share their answers! Have a question you'd like to ask? Leave it in the comments, and you might just see it in the next installment of Recruiter QA!</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Today's Question: At Recruiter.com, we're wondering what the future of <a href="https://www.recruiter.com/mobile-recruiting.html" type="external">mobile recruiting Opens a New Window.</a> will look like. What do you think? What tips, tools, technologies, or tactics will dominate the mobile recruiting space in the coming years – and why?</p>
<p>1. Geo-Conquesting Will Help Employers Target Candidates</p>
<p>The key to finding candidates for hard-to-fill jobs such as nursing and truck driving is to concentrate on passive candidates since most people in these professions already have jobs. What makes mobile so valuable is that third-party data provides so much information about the candidates. No other medium has ever had the ability to match job titles and interests with available openings.</p>
<p>One tactic that is working very well for our agency customers is geo-conquesting. With geo-conquesting, we can bid high to programmatically show up in apps and on mobile websites at a specific geographic location. So, for instance, if we are recruiting nurses for a hospital, we may decide to geo-conquest nurses working the night shift at competing hospitals in the area. In the case of recruiting truck drivers, we geo-conquest truck stops in the region since truckers will inevitably be looking at their Facebook pages and checking sports scores during their rest periods.</p>
<p>— Bob Bentz, <a href="http://www.purplegator.com/" type="external">Purplegator Opens a New Window.</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/user?screen_name=@BobBentz" type="external">Twitter Social Network Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>2. Search Engine Results Rankings Will Become Even More Important</p>
<p>The future of mobile recruiting will follow much the same pattern as the rest of mobile search. While I'm no prophet, I think the signs are clear that mobile search is becoming more and more streamlined for user speed and ease. This goes far deeper than just having the fastest Wi-Fi or 3-4-5-6-7-8G network. It also means that search engines themselves are optimizing their formats and algorithms to account for an even shorter user attention spans on the mobile scale.</p>
<p>We can see this in developments like the <a href="https://blog.google/products/search/gboard-search-gifs-emojis-keyboard/" type="external">Gboard Opens a New Window.</a>. The Gboard's single results panel for mobile usage revolutionizes mobile search (if it really catches on) because it limits search results to a single result. It's like the featured snippet, but on steroids. That means that if you are really looking for success in the mobile market, you are going to have to be aiming for the No. 1 search engine results page (SERP) ranking for your given mobile search campaign, as opposed to the top eight to get onto the first page of the SERP previously. It not only makes the market more competitive by nature, but also makes advertising (which will inevitably be introduced, even if it hasn't been yet) a very daunting cloud off on the horizon of single results panels.</p>
<p>— Sean Martin, <a href="https://directiveconsulting.com/" type="external">Directive Consulting Opens a New Window.</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/user?screen_name=@DirectiveAgency" type="external">Twitter Social Network Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>3. Candidates Will Demand Simple Interfaces</p>
<p>Recruiters and developers should recognize that mobile is not an exotic animal to be chained, but a fact of everyday life. Many are overthinking mobile. Developers should simply put themselves in the shoes of users to optimize mobile platforms.</p>
<p>For example, while job seekers will run searches on mobile devices, when it comes time to submit a resume or fill out an application, many choose to use a laptop or desktop. Perhaps they prefer the full-size keyboard or the larger screen.</p>
<p>However, there are job seekers who don't have regular access to a laptop or desktop or don't have a resume. Developers should continue to work toward simple and easy interfaces, but also consider providing a way for a job seeker to express interest without first filling out the full application. A savvy recruiter could then engage the candidate in a timely manner and ask them to follow through on the resume/application piece.</p>
<p>Another way to make it easy for job seekers is to make it possible to apply using a social profile, particularly as we see more and more merging of social profiles. It's fairly simple to incorporate a button for "Apply with LinkedIn," for example.</p>
<p>— Dominick Bernal, <a href="http://www.dtoolbox.com/" type="external">Decision Toolbox</a></p>
<p>4. Recruiters Will Host Web Chats to Catch Candidate Attention</p>
<p>As business owners struggle to reach the most talented millennials and new graduates, mobile recruiting techniques will continue to increase. The newest technique I've heard of in Chicago is to host huge web chat events via WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. Like any recruiting technique, there are mixed reviews on how candidates respond to being contacted on their personal social media profiles.</p>
<p>— Christy Hopkins, <a href="http://fitsmallbusiness.com/" type="external">Fit Small Business Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>5. Recruiters Will Have to Pay Close Attention to Job Seekers' Basic Needs</p>
<p>With so many ways to connect job seekers with employers, the future of mobile recruiting has the potential to look overwhelming. <a href="http://www.getrake.io/job-seeker-behavior-2016/" type="external">Recent research Opens a New Window.</a> from my company, Rake, shows 87 percent of job seekers currently find it difficult to keep track of their job search efforts. This is most likely because 48 percent of job seekers use 4-6 job boards at a time. Now, add mobile recruiting efforts coming at them on top of that.</p>
<p>The spreadsheet is quickly becoming a thing of the past as mobile recruiting apps and tactics require job seekers to keep in stride with mobile-optimized tracking strategies. With technology always evolving, it will become more and more essential for recruiters to keep in mind the way job seekers track and apply to jobs and ensure they are offering easily trackable opportunities that communicate with organizational applications. No matter how advanced mobile recruiting technology gets, it's futile if it leaves basic job seeker needs behind.</p>
<p>— Michael Iacona, <a href="http://getrake.io/" type="external">Rake Opens a New Window.</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/user?screen_name=@getrake" type="external">Twitter Social Network</a></p>
| 7,502 |
<p>Anthony Pignataro:</p>
<p>The <a href="http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Abel_Maldonado" type="external">Abel Maldonado</a> for Lieutenant Governor camp recently put out a new <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4VNDaJVZc8" type="external">radio ad</a> attacking San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom’s “sanctuary city” policies. “For four years while Newsom was mayor, San Francisco refused to turn dangerous illegal immigrant criminals over to authorities for deportation,” a stern-sounding female narrator says after the ad opens to the sounds of gun shots and sirens.</p>
<p>It’s anything but subtle, but has Maldonado become so desperate that he’s going after Newsom on illegal immigration? Maldonado needs to be very careful here, since his own views on undocumented immigrants differ quite sharply from the Republican Party he still (for some reason) insists he’s part of.</p>
<p>In a <a href="http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2010/09/lt-gov-maldonado-weighs-in-on.html" type="external">recent Sacramento Bee intervie</a>w, Maldonado did a tap dance around the issue, opposing “amnesty” but supporting letting people stay if they “pay a fine or perform community service and pass background checks.” He opposes tasking state inspectors to clear worker’s ID documents, but says the fed should do it. And he also believes that undocumented immigrant students should have access to public colleges.</p>
<p>Of all the issues to attack Newsom — taxes, government regulations, simple ineptitude — why try to shore up a right flank that melted away years ago? Maldonado exemplifies the hypocrisy of using illegal immigration as a political issue. This is a state, after all, that enjoys the low wages undocumented workers are willing to accept, so what’s the harm in one more little piece of illegal immigration propaganda anyway?</p>
<p>OCT. 6, 2010</p>
|
Maldo Goes Immigrant Bashing
| false |
https://calwatchdog.com/2010/10/06/maldonado-bashes-newsom-on-immigration/
|
2018-10-20
| 3left-center
|
Maldo Goes Immigrant Bashing
<p>Anthony Pignataro:</p>
<p>The <a href="http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Abel_Maldonado" type="external">Abel Maldonado</a> for Lieutenant Governor camp recently put out a new <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4VNDaJVZc8" type="external">radio ad</a> attacking San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom’s “sanctuary city” policies. “For four years while Newsom was mayor, San Francisco refused to turn dangerous illegal immigrant criminals over to authorities for deportation,” a stern-sounding female narrator says after the ad opens to the sounds of gun shots and sirens.</p>
<p>It’s anything but subtle, but has Maldonado become so desperate that he’s going after Newsom on illegal immigration? Maldonado needs to be very careful here, since his own views on undocumented immigrants differ quite sharply from the Republican Party he still (for some reason) insists he’s part of.</p>
<p>In a <a href="http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2010/09/lt-gov-maldonado-weighs-in-on.html" type="external">recent Sacramento Bee intervie</a>w, Maldonado did a tap dance around the issue, opposing “amnesty” but supporting letting people stay if they “pay a fine or perform community service and pass background checks.” He opposes tasking state inspectors to clear worker’s ID documents, but says the fed should do it. And he also believes that undocumented immigrant students should have access to public colleges.</p>
<p>Of all the issues to attack Newsom — taxes, government regulations, simple ineptitude — why try to shore up a right flank that melted away years ago? Maldonado exemplifies the hypocrisy of using illegal immigration as a political issue. This is a state, after all, that enjoys the low wages undocumented workers are willing to accept, so what’s the harm in one more little piece of illegal immigration propaganda anyway?</p>
<p>OCT. 6, 2010</p>
| 7,503 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>The U.S. Postal Service earlier this year rolled out a program that gives a digital preview of the mail customers can expect to find in their box that same day.</p>
<p>Called Informed Delivery, the service sends you a morning email with black-and-white images of letter-sized pieces that have been processed by the agency’s sorting equipment. It’s the same mechanism the Postal Service uses to scan mail, so you’re getting pictures of what the carrier will be bringing you. Holidays and Sundays are not included.</p>
<p>The messages can be viewed on a computer or smartphone. Flat-shaped pieces, such as catalogs and magazines, and mass fliers, such as grocery circulars, are not included.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The great thing about this service is that you’ll know quickly if something is missing from your box.</p>
<p>“It allows users access to their household’s mail wherever, whenever – even as they travel – on a computer, tablet, or mobile device,” said Peter Hass, Postal Service spokesman.</p>
<p>Mail theft is one way identity thieves go about their business. Once they have credit card statements, banking information or other identifying data that’s included in your mail, they can fairly easily impersonate you and steal your money.</p>
<p>Consumers nationwide reported about 400,000 identity theft complaints to the Federal Trade Commission last year, making the crime the third-largest category of complaints.</p>
<p>Also, Informed Delivery tells you when something important is coming your way so that you can ask a family member or trusted neighbor to retrieve it for you if you can’t get to your box that day.</p>
<p>“If any mail is missing or there’s a discrepancy between the scanned images and the mail in your box, you’ll know to alert the local postmaster,” said the national Identity Theft Resource Center.</p>
<p>The morning email alert includes up to 10 mail piece images, but you can see any additional mailings on your online dashboard, in the same place you would track packages, the Poster Service says.</p>
<p>For more details and information on signing up, go to <a href="https://informeddelivery.usps.com/box/pages/intro/start.action" type="external">https://informeddelivery.usps.com/box/pages/intro/start.action</a>.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Antenna up, if you get a call from a 323 area code that purports to be from the Social Security Administration.</p>
<p>Although mention of a 1.7 percent cost-of-living increase might be appealing, the person at the other end of the line is a fraud as is the supposed hike in benefits.</p>
<p>The caller poses as a Social Security employee and says to receive the increase, the intended victim must verify personal information, such as name, date of birth and Social Security number. Once the impersonators have this information, they contact the agency and ask that changes be made to the victim’s direct deposit, address, and telephone information.</p>
<p>Here’s the reality: Social Security recipients this year are receiving a 0.3 percent cost-of-living increase, so talk of a 1.7 percent hike would fall into the too-good-to-be-true category.</p>
<p>Social Security employees do sometimes call people for customer-service purposes, the agency said. It is rare that they ask the person to confirm personal information over the phone; in cases where that happens it is a “limited special situation” that you will have been made aware of.</p>
<p>Report a suspicious call like this to the Office of Inspector General at 1-800-269-0271 or online at <a href="http://oig.ssa.gov/report" type="external">oig.ssa.gov/report</a>.</p>
<p>Ellen Marks is assistant business editor at the Albuquerque Journal. Contact her at <a href="" type="internal">[email protected]</a> or 505-823-3842 if you are aware of what sounds like a scam. To report a scam to law enforcement, contact the New Mexico Consumer Protection Division toll-free at 1-844-255-9210​.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p />
|
New post office program fights ID theft
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/1040552/fights-id-theft.html
| 2least
|
New post office program fights ID theft
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>The U.S. Postal Service earlier this year rolled out a program that gives a digital preview of the mail customers can expect to find in their box that same day.</p>
<p>Called Informed Delivery, the service sends you a morning email with black-and-white images of letter-sized pieces that have been processed by the agency’s sorting equipment. It’s the same mechanism the Postal Service uses to scan mail, so you’re getting pictures of what the carrier will be bringing you. Holidays and Sundays are not included.</p>
<p>The messages can be viewed on a computer or smartphone. Flat-shaped pieces, such as catalogs and magazines, and mass fliers, such as grocery circulars, are not included.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The great thing about this service is that you’ll know quickly if something is missing from your box.</p>
<p>“It allows users access to their household’s mail wherever, whenever – even as they travel – on a computer, tablet, or mobile device,” said Peter Hass, Postal Service spokesman.</p>
<p>Mail theft is one way identity thieves go about their business. Once they have credit card statements, banking information or other identifying data that’s included in your mail, they can fairly easily impersonate you and steal your money.</p>
<p>Consumers nationwide reported about 400,000 identity theft complaints to the Federal Trade Commission last year, making the crime the third-largest category of complaints.</p>
<p>Also, Informed Delivery tells you when something important is coming your way so that you can ask a family member or trusted neighbor to retrieve it for you if you can’t get to your box that day.</p>
<p>“If any mail is missing or there’s a discrepancy between the scanned images and the mail in your box, you’ll know to alert the local postmaster,” said the national Identity Theft Resource Center.</p>
<p>The morning email alert includes up to 10 mail piece images, but you can see any additional mailings on your online dashboard, in the same place you would track packages, the Poster Service says.</p>
<p>For more details and information on signing up, go to <a href="https://informeddelivery.usps.com/box/pages/intro/start.action" type="external">https://informeddelivery.usps.com/box/pages/intro/start.action</a>.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Antenna up, if you get a call from a 323 area code that purports to be from the Social Security Administration.</p>
<p>Although mention of a 1.7 percent cost-of-living increase might be appealing, the person at the other end of the line is a fraud as is the supposed hike in benefits.</p>
<p>The caller poses as a Social Security employee and says to receive the increase, the intended victim must verify personal information, such as name, date of birth and Social Security number. Once the impersonators have this information, they contact the agency and ask that changes be made to the victim’s direct deposit, address, and telephone information.</p>
<p>Here’s the reality: Social Security recipients this year are receiving a 0.3 percent cost-of-living increase, so talk of a 1.7 percent hike would fall into the too-good-to-be-true category.</p>
<p>Social Security employees do sometimes call people for customer-service purposes, the agency said. It is rare that they ask the person to confirm personal information over the phone; in cases where that happens it is a “limited special situation” that you will have been made aware of.</p>
<p>Report a suspicious call like this to the Office of Inspector General at 1-800-269-0271 or online at <a href="http://oig.ssa.gov/report" type="external">oig.ssa.gov/report</a>.</p>
<p>Ellen Marks is assistant business editor at the Albuquerque Journal. Contact her at <a href="" type="internal">[email protected]</a> or 505-823-3842 if you are aware of what sounds like a scam. To report a scam to law enforcement, contact the New Mexico Consumer Protection Division toll-free at 1-844-255-9210​.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
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<p>LAS CRUCES - A Denver man has pleaded guilty to committing two bank robberies in Colorado last year and one in New Mexico this year.</p>
<p>Prosecutors say 54-year-old John Allen Pierceall entered his plea Tuesday in federal court in Las Cruces and is facing up to a 20-year prison term when sentenced.</p>
<p>Pierceall was accused of robbing a US Bank branch in Las Cruces on Aug. 24 and robbing the Vectra Bank Colorado in Denver twice in 2014, in August and October.</p>
<p>Pierceall admitted he committed all three robberies by handing the teller a note stating he was armed and would open fire if his demands for cash weren't met.</p>
<p>In his plea agreement, Pierceall had a federal judge in the District of New Mexico accept his guilty plea on all three robberies.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
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Man pleads guilty to robbing banks in Colorado, New Mexico
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Man pleads guilty to robbing banks in Colorado, New Mexico
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<p>LAS CRUCES - A Denver man has pleaded guilty to committing two bank robberies in Colorado last year and one in New Mexico this year.</p>
<p>Prosecutors say 54-year-old John Allen Pierceall entered his plea Tuesday in federal court in Las Cruces and is facing up to a 20-year prison term when sentenced.</p>
<p>Pierceall was accused of robbing a US Bank branch in Las Cruces on Aug. 24 and robbing the Vectra Bank Colorado in Denver twice in 2014, in August and October.</p>
<p>Pierceall admitted he committed all three robberies by handing the teller a note stating he was armed and would open fire if his demands for cash weren't met.</p>
<p>In his plea agreement, Pierceall had a federal judge in the District of New Mexico accept his guilty plea on all three robberies.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
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<p />
<p>We love the headline on the Billboard magazine story we found on the Reuters site: Media-Rule Thrill Ride Still Rolling So, buckle up and start another week of Convergence Chasing. Here's part of the <a href="http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&amp;storyID=2893264" type="external">Billboard story</a>:</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) is scheduling a June 19 committee vote on a bill that would revoke the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) expanded national TV ownership rules.</p>
<p>The agency approved the rules by a 3-2 vote June 2, but radio rules largely remain the same as they were after the 1996 Telecommunications Act deregulated the industry.</p>
<p />
<p><a href="" type="internal">Poynter Launches Convergence Catalog</a>Help us catalog the&#160;news industry's partnerships, collaborations, and convergence efforts by&#160; <a href="" type="internal">filling &#160;out this 5-minute form.</a> <a href="" type="internal">Convergence Chaser</a> is a&#160;Poynter Online journal focusing on multiple media. <a href="" type="internal">Sign up to receive it by&#160;e-mail</a>.</p>
<p>The Commerce Committee held a hearing June 4 to examine whether Congress should revisit the 1996 Telecommunications Act to change media concentration regulations--including radio ownership rules.</p>
<p>"Does the law allow you to re-regulate, or does the law have to be changed?" McCain asked the commissioners.</p>
<p>"We're all in agreement that too much concentration is unhealthy," McCain said. "The 'miner's canary' for this committee was the hearing we had on Clear Channel . As we got into it, we learned that this same entity owned promotions, ticket sales, a form of payola, which they have now abandoned."</p>
<p>Why not start your week off by helping us with the <a href="" type="internal">Convergence Catalog</a>.&#160; Thanks.Speaking of radio, one of our favorite New York Times staffers is Jennifer 8. Lee. She has a story in the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/09/business/media/09AIR.html?tntemail1" type="external">Business section Monday about the rules</a> that did not change.</p>
<p />
<p>Despite the sweeping deregulation the F.C.C. enacted by a 3-to-2 vote along partisan lines, however, one medium was left out of the celebration: radio. Not only were radio ownership caps left in place, some of the restrictions were effectively tightened.</p>
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The Thrill Ride is Still Here
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https://poynter.org/news/thrill-ride-still-here
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2003-06-08
| 2least
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The Thrill Ride is Still Here
<p />
<p>We love the headline on the Billboard magazine story we found on the Reuters site: Media-Rule Thrill Ride Still Rolling So, buckle up and start another week of Convergence Chasing. Here's part of the <a href="http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&amp;storyID=2893264" type="external">Billboard story</a>:</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) is scheduling a June 19 committee vote on a bill that would revoke the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) expanded national TV ownership rules.</p>
<p>The agency approved the rules by a 3-2 vote June 2, but radio rules largely remain the same as they were after the 1996 Telecommunications Act deregulated the industry.</p>
<p />
<p><a href="" type="internal">Poynter Launches Convergence Catalog</a>Help us catalog the&#160;news industry's partnerships, collaborations, and convergence efforts by&#160; <a href="" type="internal">filling &#160;out this 5-minute form.</a> <a href="" type="internal">Convergence Chaser</a> is a&#160;Poynter Online journal focusing on multiple media. <a href="" type="internal">Sign up to receive it by&#160;e-mail</a>.</p>
<p>The Commerce Committee held a hearing June 4 to examine whether Congress should revisit the 1996 Telecommunications Act to change media concentration regulations--including radio ownership rules.</p>
<p>"Does the law allow you to re-regulate, or does the law have to be changed?" McCain asked the commissioners.</p>
<p>"We're all in agreement that too much concentration is unhealthy," McCain said. "The 'miner's canary' for this committee was the hearing we had on Clear Channel . As we got into it, we learned that this same entity owned promotions, ticket sales, a form of payola, which they have now abandoned."</p>
<p>Why not start your week off by helping us with the <a href="" type="internal">Convergence Catalog</a>.&#160; Thanks.Speaking of radio, one of our favorite New York Times staffers is Jennifer 8. Lee. She has a story in the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/09/business/media/09AIR.html?tntemail1" type="external">Business section Monday about the rules</a> that did not change.</p>
<p />
<p>Despite the sweeping deregulation the F.C.C. enacted by a 3-to-2 vote along partisan lines, however, one medium was left out of the celebration: radio. Not only were radio ownership caps left in place, some of the restrictions were effectively tightened.</p>
| 7,506 |
<p>On Thursday, Chris Gard and Connie Yates, the parents of Charlie Gard, the deathly ill child whose case has become an international cause celebre, <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/charlie-gard-parents-storm-out-u-k-court-hears-sick-n782491" type="external">stormed out of a British court</a> after the judge asserted, "It seems extremely unlikely that we'll reach the stage today that will make a final determination either way."</p>
<p>Chris Gard said, "I thought this was supposed to be independent," according to ITV News. On Monday, Justice Nicholas Francis had stated that he would allow new evidence to be presented challenging earlier rulings agreeing that doctors were correct to remove the child’s life support.</p>
<p>The parents returned an hour later when there was a break in the proceedings.</p>
<p>The Gard family spokesman, Alasdair Seton-Marsden, had said before court started:</p>
<p>We are continuing to spend every moment working around the clock to save our dear baby Charlie. We’ve been requesting this specialized treatment since November and never asked the hospital, the courts or anyone for anything except for the permission to go. We have raised over £1.3 million ($1.7 million) and had invitations from specialized doctors in the U.S. and Italy. We hope that the courts and the judge will finally rule in favor of us seeking treatment elsewhere. We love him more than life itself. If he is still fighting then we are still fighting.</p>
<p>On Wednesday, Seton-Marsden told <a href="https://twitter.com/ainsleyearhardt/status/885095250573840384" type="external">FOX News</a> that the child, who suffers from MDDS, or mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome, was essentially <a href="https://twitter.com/ainsleyearhardt/status/885095250573840384" type="external">being held "captive."</a> On Thursday, he noted that seven petitions relating to Charlie Gard had garnered 800,000 signatures.</p>
<p>The hospital where Charlie is being treated, Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), said last week it had applied for a new court hearing "in light of claims of new evidence relating to potential treatment for his condition." The Associated Press reported that the new evidence was offered from researchers at the Vatican's children's hospital and another facility outside of Britain.</p>
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Charlie Gard’s Parents Storm Out Of Court
<p>On Thursday, Chris Gard and Connie Yates, the parents of Charlie Gard, the deathly ill child whose case has become an international cause celebre, <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/charlie-gard-parents-storm-out-u-k-court-hears-sick-n782491" type="external">stormed out of a British court</a> after the judge asserted, "It seems extremely unlikely that we'll reach the stage today that will make a final determination either way."</p>
<p>Chris Gard said, "I thought this was supposed to be independent," according to ITV News. On Monday, Justice Nicholas Francis had stated that he would allow new evidence to be presented challenging earlier rulings agreeing that doctors were correct to remove the child’s life support.</p>
<p>The parents returned an hour later when there was a break in the proceedings.</p>
<p>The Gard family spokesman, Alasdair Seton-Marsden, had said before court started:</p>
<p>We are continuing to spend every moment working around the clock to save our dear baby Charlie. We’ve been requesting this specialized treatment since November and never asked the hospital, the courts or anyone for anything except for the permission to go. We have raised over £1.3 million ($1.7 million) and had invitations from specialized doctors in the U.S. and Italy. We hope that the courts and the judge will finally rule in favor of us seeking treatment elsewhere. We love him more than life itself. If he is still fighting then we are still fighting.</p>
<p>On Wednesday, Seton-Marsden told <a href="https://twitter.com/ainsleyearhardt/status/885095250573840384" type="external">FOX News</a> that the child, who suffers from MDDS, or mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome, was essentially <a href="https://twitter.com/ainsleyearhardt/status/885095250573840384" type="external">being held "captive."</a> On Thursday, he noted that seven petitions relating to Charlie Gard had garnered 800,000 signatures.</p>
<p>The hospital where Charlie is being treated, Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), said last week it had applied for a new court hearing "in light of claims of new evidence relating to potential treatment for his condition." The Associated Press reported that the new evidence was offered from researchers at the Vatican's children's hospital and another facility outside of Britain.</p>
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<p>No, Hillary Clinton is apparently STILL not to blame for losing the presidential election.</p>
<p>As Democrats are still searching for their first win in the Trump era, party leaders have the knives out for Barack Obama.</p>
<p>Democratic National Committee deputy chairman Keith Ellison blamed Obama for the party’s numerous defeats in 2016.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>After complimenting Obama’s legislative achievements, Ellison turned negative.</p>
<p>“Barack Obama could have been a better party leader,” Ellison said.</p>
<p>“And I think the fact that he wasn’t, has put his legacy in jeopardy. I mean, your legacy is not a building he’s going to construct in Chicago housing his presidential papers.</p>
<p>“His legacy is the work that he has done,” he said, “which I believe is tremendous. But, given that we lost a lot of state house seats, governorships, secretaries of states, his true legacy is in danger and I think that he can’t say that he wasn’t part of those losses.</p>
<p>“I mean, who else, right?” Ellison said.</p>
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DNC deputy chairman Keith Ellison blames OBAMA for 2016 loss
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2017-04-19
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DNC deputy chairman Keith Ellison blames OBAMA for 2016 loss
<p>No, Hillary Clinton is apparently STILL not to blame for losing the presidential election.</p>
<p>As Democrats are still searching for their first win in the Trump era, party leaders have the knives out for Barack Obama.</p>
<p>Democratic National Committee deputy chairman Keith Ellison blamed Obama for the party’s numerous defeats in 2016.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>After complimenting Obama’s legislative achievements, Ellison turned negative.</p>
<p>“Barack Obama could have been a better party leader,” Ellison said.</p>
<p>“And I think the fact that he wasn’t, has put his legacy in jeopardy. I mean, your legacy is not a building he’s going to construct in Chicago housing his presidential papers.</p>
<p>“His legacy is the work that he has done,” he said, “which I believe is tremendous. But, given that we lost a lot of state house seats, governorships, secretaries of states, his true legacy is in danger and I think that he can’t say that he wasn’t part of those losses.</p>
<p>“I mean, who else, right?” Ellison said.</p>
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<p>NORTH KOREA MUST TAKE STEPS TOWARDS DENUCLEARISATION, “THAT IS FUNDAMENTAL”, U.S. ENVOY SAYS</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt votes on Monday in a presidential election set to deliver an easy win for incumbent Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, with turnout the main focus after opposition figures complaining of repression called for a boycott.</p> A man walks in front of polling stations covered from outside by Egyptian flags and posters of Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi during the preparations for tomorrow's presidential election in Cairo, Egypt, March 25, 2018. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
<p>While many Egyptians see the U.S.-allied former general, as vital to stability in a country where unrest since 2011 has hurt the economy, critics have dubbed the vote a charade after several credible candidates withdrew apparently under pressure.</p>
<p>Sisi, 63, who led the military’s overthrow of Egypt’s first democratically elected President Mohamed Mursi in 2013, is seeking a second term after a first four-year mandate he says has brought stability and security.</p>
<p>But a lower-than-expected turnout could suggest Sisi lacks a mandate to take more of the tough steps needed to revive the economy, which struggled after the 2011 revolution drove away tourists and foreign investors, both sources of hard currency.</p>
<p>Sisi’s sole challenger in the March 26-28 vote is Moussa Mostafa Moussa, a longtime Sisi supporter widely dismissed as a dummy candidate: Moussa’s Ghad party had actually endorsed Sisi for a second term before he emerged as a last-minute challenger.</p>
<p>Moussa dismisses accusations he is being used to present a false sense of competition, and the electoral commission says it will ensure the vote is fair and transparent.</p>
<p>An editorial in state-owned newspaper al-Ahram acknowledged the narrow choice for voters but suggested the mere holding of the ballot signaled Egypt was regaining its strength in the face of current domestic and foreign threats.</p>
<p>“The importance of presidential elections this time is not fierce competition or a real (electoral) battle, but a message to the world that Egypt is on its way through a recovery phase,” it said.</p> MUZZLING OF OPPONENTS
<p>Critics say Sisi’s popularity since his 2014 election has been hurt by austerity reforms and a muzzling of opponents, activists and independent media. Courts have passed death sentences on hundreds of Muslim Brotherhood supporters since 2013.</p>
<p>Sisi’s backers — which include Western powers and most Gulf Arab dynasties — say the measures are needed to keep the country stable as it recovers from political chaos and tackles an Islamist insurgency focused in the Sinai Peninsula.</p> Women walk along the shoreline in front of banners with Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi during preparations for the presidential election in Alexandria, Egypt March 25, 2018. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
<p>Neither candidate has done much campaigning, appealing instead for a high turnout. Sisi won nearly 97 percent of the vote in 2014, but less than half of eligible Egyptians voted even though the election was extended to three days.</p>
<p>In remarks earlier this month that suggest Sisi may see the vote as a referendum on his performance, he said: “If (all Egyptians) vote and a third say ‘No’, that would be a lot better than if half that number turn out and all of them say ‘Yes’.”</p>
<p>Several opposition figures called for a boycott of the vote after all major opposition campaigns withdrew, saying repression had cleared the field of credible challengers.</p> Slideshow (10 Images) ARRESTS
<p>Sisi’s top opponent, former military chief of staff Sami Anan, was arrested and halted his presidential bid after the army accused him of running for office without permission.</p>
<p>Even before campaigning officially begun, the United Nations, rights groups and opposition figures criticized the run-up as compromised by arrests, intimidation of opponents and a nomination process stacked in favor of the incumbent.</p>
<p>The Civil Democratic Movement, an opposition political coalition, sharply criticized Sisi on Feb. 2 for a speech in which he warned off anyone seeking to challenge his rule and said the events of 2011, which toppled longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak, would never happen again.</p>
<p>The movement called the speech an attempt to spread fear that undermined the integrity of electoral competition.</p>
<p>In a letter to the Donald Trump administration’s foreign policy team, the Working Group on Egypt, a bipartisan group of U.S. foreign policy specialists, said the “sham election” would take place against a backdrop of massive human rights abuses.</p>
<p>“We urge you not to treat this election as a legitimate expression of the Egyptian people’s will and to withhold praise or congratulations,” it said.</p>
<p>It said Sisi was expected to have his supporters in parliament propose amendments to the constitution to remove presidential term limits. Sisi has said he will not seek a third term in office.</p>
<p>Editing by William Maclean, editing by David Evans</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>BARCELONA/BERLIN (Reuters) - Former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont was detained in Germany on Sunday, five months after entering self-imposed exile from Spain, where he faces up to 25 years in prison for organizing an</p>
<p>illegal secession referendum last year.</p>
<p>Puigdemont had entered Germany from Denmark after leaving Finland on Friday when it appeared that police would arrest him there and begin an extradition process requested by Spain.</p>
<p>The detention threatens to worsen the Catalan crisis that flared last year when the region made a symbolic declaration of independence, prompting Madrid to take direct rule.</p>
<p>Tens of thousands of Catalans, many of them wearing yellow in support of jailed separatist leaders, demonstrated in Barcelona on Sunday afternoon, chanting “Puigdemont, our president” and “freedom for political prisoners.”</p>
<p>In a smaller parallel protest outside the central government delegation in the Catalan capital, three people were arrested and 50 suffered minor injuries after protesters clashed with riot police.</p>
<p>Catalan parliament speaker Roger Torrent called for a broad coalition in defense of civil liberties and sovereign rights in a televised address on Sunday evening.</p>
<p>“No judge, no government and no civil servant has right to</p>
<p>charge and pursue the president of all Catalans,” he said. Torrent called for “calm and responsibility” following the scuffles.</p>
<p>Spain’s Supreme Court ruled on Friday that 25 Catalan leaders would be tried for rebellion, embezzlement or disobeying the state and reactivated international arrest warrants for Puigdemont and four other politicians who went into self-imposed exile last year.</p>
<p>Among those subject to the arrest order, Clara Ponsati, a former Catalan minister now living in Scotland, told authorities she would turn herself in, Scottish police said in a statement on Sunday afternoon.</p>
<p>The other three Catalan leaders are in Belgium.</p>
<p>German police arrested Puigdemont on Sunday in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein on a European arrest warrant issued by Spain. In a statement, police said Puigdemont was detained near a section of the A7 highway, which cuts through the state from the city of Flensburg near the Danish border.</p>
<p>Puigdemont was later transferred to Neumuenster prison, German news agency DPA reported.</p> People protest after former president Carles Puigdemont was detained in Germany, during a demonstration held by pro-independence associations in Barcelona, Spain March 25, 2018. REUTERS/Albert Gea
<p>German magazine Focus said that Spanish intelligence informed the BKA federal police that Puigdemont was on his way from Finland to Germany. It gave no source for its report.</p>
<p>He had arrived in Finland on Thursday to meet lawmakers and attend a conference as part of a campaign to raise the profile of the Catalan independence movement in Europe.</p> EXTRADITION ISSUE
<p>The Higher Regional Court in Schleswig-Holstein will be responsible for deciding whether to grant Spain’s extradition request.</p>
<p>The European arrest warrant system in place since 2004 makes it easier for EU countries to demand extradition from other EU states, having removed political decision-making from the process. EU nations issue thousands of such warrants each year.</p> Slideshow (8 Images)
<p>Puigdemont will appear in court tomorrow to have his remand extended, German prosecutors said in a statement.</p>
<p>Paul Bekaert, who represents Puigdemont in Belgium, where he had been subject to an arrest warrant in December, said his client rang him after being detained in Germany and had appeared calm during the conversation.</p>
<p>Bekaert told Reuters TV that his client would have to appear before a German judge within 48 hours to determine whether or not to keep him in custody. Puigdemont will take German legal representation, Bekaert said, with the whole legal process, including possible appeals, likely to take months.</p>
<p>Puigdemont could take his case to Germany’s highest court, which in 2005 blocked the extradition to Spain on an EU arrest warrant of a German-Syrian al-Qaeda suspect.</p>
<p>The case of Mamoun Darkazanli sparked a judicial row between the two countries after Germany’s Federal Constitutional court refused to turn over Darkazanli, saying that EU extradition laws designed to speed up the delivery of suspects between member states violated the rights of German citizens.</p>
<p>Puigdemont has previously made clear his preference to fight the extradition process from Belgium, where the former Catalan leader was heading at the time of his detention, according to Puigdemont’s spokesman, Joan Maria Pique.</p>
<p>“The president was going to Belgium to put himself, as always, at the disposal of Belgian justice,” Pique told Reuters.</p>
<p>The Spanish Supreme Court had issued an international arrest warrant against Puigdemont last year but withdrew it in December to avoid the risk of Belgian authorities granting him asylum.</p>
<p>Leaving Belgium had exposed him again to the risk of arrest.</p>
<p>Supreme Court judge Pablo Llarena also sent five separatist leaders to pre-trial jail, sparking protests across Catalonia.</p>
<p>Additional reporting by Andres Gonzalez in Madrid and Thorsten Severin in Berlin; Writing by Julien Toyer; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>YANGON (Reuters) - Two Reuters reporters appeared in a Myanmar court for the 11th time on Wednesday, which marked 100 days since they were arrested in December and accused of possessing secret government papers.</p>
<p>The court in Yangon is holding preliminary hearings to decide whether reporters Wa Lone, 31, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, will face charges under the colonial-era Officials Secrets Act, which carries a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison.</p>
<p>“We have spent 100 days in prison,” Wa Lone told reporters during a break in proceedings. “Our journalism spirit was never down even after spending many days in there.”</p>
<p>Wa Lone’s younger brother Thura Aung, 26, gave testimony on Wednesday, describing a police search of the family home on the evening of Dec. 13, the day after the journalists were arrested.</p>
<p>Thura Aung said that police who searched the house in north Yangon did not show a warrant, identify themselves or explain the reason for the search, during which a laptop, charger and bag, a hard drive and an old notebook were seized.</p>
<p>His testimony contradicted Police Major Soe Aung, who told the court two weeks ago that police had presented a warrant to Wa Lone’s family when they arrived.</p>
<p>Defence lawyer Than Zaw Aung told reporters after the hearing that under Myanmar’s Criminal Procedure Code police must identify themselves and explain the reasons for their search.</p>
<p>“In the criminal procedure, the search officer must show the search warrant at the search place,” he said.</p>
<p>Lead prosecutor Kyaw Min Aung left the court building before Reuters was able to put questions to him after the hearing. At previous hearings he has declined to speak to reporters.</p>
<p>Government and police spokespeople have declined to comment on the case, citing the ongoing court proceedings. The date of the next hearing was set for March 28.</p> RESTAURANT MEETING
<p>The journalists have told relatives they were arrested almost immediately after being handed some rolled up papers after being invited to a restaurant by two police officers they had not met before.</p>
<p>Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo had been investigating the killing of 10 Rohingya Muslim men in a village in western Myanmar’s Rakhine state during a military crackdown in August.</p> Detained Reuters journalist Wa Lone (C) is escorted by police as he arrives for a court hearing in Yangon, Myanmar March 21, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer
<p>The crackdown, which the United Nations has said was ethnic cleansing, has sent nearly 700,000 people fleeing to Bangladesh.</p>
<p>After the arrests of the reporters, the military admitted its soldiers took part in the killing.</p>
<p>“They have been detained in Myanmar since December 12 simply for doing their jobs as journalists,” Reuters President and Editor-in-Chief Stephen J. Adler said in a statement.</p>
<p>“Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo are exemplary individuals and outstanding reporters who are dedicated to their families and their craft. They should be in the newsroom, not in prison.”</p> Slideshow (6 Images)
<p>Myanmar’s ambassador to the United Nations, Hau Do Suan, said last month that the journalists were not arrested for reporting a story, but were accused of “illegally possessing confidential government documents”.</p>
<p>Judge Ye Lwin declined a defense attempt to submit the Reuters report describing the killings at the village of Inn Din as evidence, citing a decision at an earlier hearing not to admit the story at this stage in the proceedings.</p>
<p>Senior United Nations officials, Western nations and press freedom advocates have called for the release of the journalists.</p>
<p>The U.S. Embassy in Yangon tweeted: “Today is the 100th day in detention from reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo. Freedom of the press remains critical for Myanmar’s democratic transition.”</p>
<p>Diplomats from countries including the United States, Canada, Sweden attended Wednesday’s hearing.</p>
<p>The Danish embassy, which has closely monitored the case, said the pair had spent “100 days behind bars for ensuring the public’s right to information”.</p>
<p>A statement from Sweden’s embassy said: “We believe they have done nothing wrong and that the charges against them should be dropped immediately.”</p>
<p>EU Ambassador to Myanmar Kristian Schmidt, asked about the journalists’ reporting of the Rakhine crisis, said it was imperative to establish what had taken place there.</p>
<p>“We all want to find out the truth of what happened,” he said. “I fear for the moment we have not seen the full truth of what has happened.”</p>
<p>Reporting by Simon Lewis and Sam Aung Moon; Additional reporting by Yimou Lee and Aye Win Myint; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Alex Richardson</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>BEIRUT (Reuters) - Jaish al-Islam, the last rebel faction in control of territory in eastern Ghouta, said on Sunday it would not withdraw to other opposition-held parts of Syria as other rebel groups have done under deals negotiated with Syrian government ally Russia.</p> A bus convoy that will carry rebel fighters and their relatives waits at the city limits of Harasta, in the eastern Damascus suburb of Ghouta, Syria March 22, 2018. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki
<p>After a month-long ground and air offensive and deals under which rebel fighters agreed to be transported to northern Syria, pro-Syrian government forces have taken control of most of what had been the last major rebel stronghold near the capital Damascus.</p>
<p>Only the town of Douma, the most populous part of eastern Ghouta, remains under rebel control.</p>
<p>Jaish al-Islam is currently negotiating with Russia over the future of the area and the people in it.</p> Rebel fighters pray before they are evacuated, outside Harasta in eastern Ghouta, in Damascus, Syria March 23, 2018. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki
<p>“Today the negotiations taking place ... are to stay in Ghouta and not to leave it,” Jaish al-Islam’s military spokesman Hamza Birqdar told Istanbul-based Syrian radio station Radio al-Kul via Skype from eastern Ghouta.</p>
<p>Birqdar accused the Syrian government of trying to change the demographic balance of the eastern Ghouta by forcing out locals and replacing them with its allies.</p>
<p>He said in the negotiations with Russia Jaish al-Islam is asking for guarantees that what remains of the local population will not be forced out.</p>
<p>Both Ahrar al-Sham and Failq al-Rahman, two other rebel groups formerly in charge of pockets of the eastern Ghouta, have accepted deals under which they withdraw to opposition-held Idlib in northwest Syria.</p>
<p>Moscow and Damascus say the Ghouta campaign is necessary to halt deadly rebel shelling of the capital.</p>
<p>Reporting by Lisa Barrington, editing by David Evans</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
|
NORTH KOREA MUST TAKE STEPS TOWARDS DENUCLEARISATION, "THAT IS FUNDAMENTAL", U.S. ENVOY SAYS Facing little contest, Sisi seeks high turnout in Egypt vote Former Catalan leader Puigdemont detained in Germany Reuters reporters in court 100 days after their arrest in Myanmar Syrian rebels Jaish al-Islam refuse to leave Ghouta: spokesman
| false |
https://reuters.com/article/north-korea-says-its-decision-to-strengt/north-korea-says-its-decision-to-strengthen-nuclear-force-was-absolutely-the-right-choice-idUSMT1ALTL8N1PI3Y85
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2018-01-23
| 2least
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NORTH KOREA MUST TAKE STEPS TOWARDS DENUCLEARISATION, "THAT IS FUNDAMENTAL", U.S. ENVOY SAYS Facing little contest, Sisi seeks high turnout in Egypt vote Former Catalan leader Puigdemont detained in Germany Reuters reporters in court 100 days after their arrest in Myanmar Syrian rebels Jaish al-Islam refuse to leave Ghouta: spokesman
<p>NORTH KOREA MUST TAKE STEPS TOWARDS DENUCLEARISATION, “THAT IS FUNDAMENTAL”, U.S. ENVOY SAYS</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt votes on Monday in a presidential election set to deliver an easy win for incumbent Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, with turnout the main focus after opposition figures complaining of repression called for a boycott.</p> A man walks in front of polling stations covered from outside by Egyptian flags and posters of Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi during the preparations for tomorrow's presidential election in Cairo, Egypt, March 25, 2018. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
<p>While many Egyptians see the U.S.-allied former general, as vital to stability in a country where unrest since 2011 has hurt the economy, critics have dubbed the vote a charade after several credible candidates withdrew apparently under pressure.</p>
<p>Sisi, 63, who led the military’s overthrow of Egypt’s first democratically elected President Mohamed Mursi in 2013, is seeking a second term after a first four-year mandate he says has brought stability and security.</p>
<p>But a lower-than-expected turnout could suggest Sisi lacks a mandate to take more of the tough steps needed to revive the economy, which struggled after the 2011 revolution drove away tourists and foreign investors, both sources of hard currency.</p>
<p>Sisi’s sole challenger in the March 26-28 vote is Moussa Mostafa Moussa, a longtime Sisi supporter widely dismissed as a dummy candidate: Moussa’s Ghad party had actually endorsed Sisi for a second term before he emerged as a last-minute challenger.</p>
<p>Moussa dismisses accusations he is being used to present a false sense of competition, and the electoral commission says it will ensure the vote is fair and transparent.</p>
<p>An editorial in state-owned newspaper al-Ahram acknowledged the narrow choice for voters but suggested the mere holding of the ballot signaled Egypt was regaining its strength in the face of current domestic and foreign threats.</p>
<p>“The importance of presidential elections this time is not fierce competition or a real (electoral) battle, but a message to the world that Egypt is on its way through a recovery phase,” it said.</p> MUZZLING OF OPPONENTS
<p>Critics say Sisi’s popularity since his 2014 election has been hurt by austerity reforms and a muzzling of opponents, activists and independent media. Courts have passed death sentences on hundreds of Muslim Brotherhood supporters since 2013.</p>
<p>Sisi’s backers — which include Western powers and most Gulf Arab dynasties — say the measures are needed to keep the country stable as it recovers from political chaos and tackles an Islamist insurgency focused in the Sinai Peninsula.</p> Women walk along the shoreline in front of banners with Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi during preparations for the presidential election in Alexandria, Egypt March 25, 2018. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
<p>Neither candidate has done much campaigning, appealing instead for a high turnout. Sisi won nearly 97 percent of the vote in 2014, but less than half of eligible Egyptians voted even though the election was extended to three days.</p>
<p>In remarks earlier this month that suggest Sisi may see the vote as a referendum on his performance, he said: “If (all Egyptians) vote and a third say ‘No’, that would be a lot better than if half that number turn out and all of them say ‘Yes’.”</p>
<p>Several opposition figures called for a boycott of the vote after all major opposition campaigns withdrew, saying repression had cleared the field of credible challengers.</p> Slideshow (10 Images) ARRESTS
<p>Sisi’s top opponent, former military chief of staff Sami Anan, was arrested and halted his presidential bid after the army accused him of running for office without permission.</p>
<p>Even before campaigning officially begun, the United Nations, rights groups and opposition figures criticized the run-up as compromised by arrests, intimidation of opponents and a nomination process stacked in favor of the incumbent.</p>
<p>The Civil Democratic Movement, an opposition political coalition, sharply criticized Sisi on Feb. 2 for a speech in which he warned off anyone seeking to challenge his rule and said the events of 2011, which toppled longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak, would never happen again.</p>
<p>The movement called the speech an attempt to spread fear that undermined the integrity of electoral competition.</p>
<p>In a letter to the Donald Trump administration’s foreign policy team, the Working Group on Egypt, a bipartisan group of U.S. foreign policy specialists, said the “sham election” would take place against a backdrop of massive human rights abuses.</p>
<p>“We urge you not to treat this election as a legitimate expression of the Egyptian people’s will and to withhold praise or congratulations,” it said.</p>
<p>It said Sisi was expected to have his supporters in parliament propose amendments to the constitution to remove presidential term limits. Sisi has said he will not seek a third term in office.</p>
<p>Editing by William Maclean, editing by David Evans</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>BARCELONA/BERLIN (Reuters) - Former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont was detained in Germany on Sunday, five months after entering self-imposed exile from Spain, where he faces up to 25 years in prison for organizing an</p>
<p>illegal secession referendum last year.</p>
<p>Puigdemont had entered Germany from Denmark after leaving Finland on Friday when it appeared that police would arrest him there and begin an extradition process requested by Spain.</p>
<p>The detention threatens to worsen the Catalan crisis that flared last year when the region made a symbolic declaration of independence, prompting Madrid to take direct rule.</p>
<p>Tens of thousands of Catalans, many of them wearing yellow in support of jailed separatist leaders, demonstrated in Barcelona on Sunday afternoon, chanting “Puigdemont, our president” and “freedom for political prisoners.”</p>
<p>In a smaller parallel protest outside the central government delegation in the Catalan capital, three people were arrested and 50 suffered minor injuries after protesters clashed with riot police.</p>
<p>Catalan parliament speaker Roger Torrent called for a broad coalition in defense of civil liberties and sovereign rights in a televised address on Sunday evening.</p>
<p>“No judge, no government and no civil servant has right to</p>
<p>charge and pursue the president of all Catalans,” he said. Torrent called for “calm and responsibility” following the scuffles.</p>
<p>Spain’s Supreme Court ruled on Friday that 25 Catalan leaders would be tried for rebellion, embezzlement or disobeying the state and reactivated international arrest warrants for Puigdemont and four other politicians who went into self-imposed exile last year.</p>
<p>Among those subject to the arrest order, Clara Ponsati, a former Catalan minister now living in Scotland, told authorities she would turn herself in, Scottish police said in a statement on Sunday afternoon.</p>
<p>The other three Catalan leaders are in Belgium.</p>
<p>German police arrested Puigdemont on Sunday in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein on a European arrest warrant issued by Spain. In a statement, police said Puigdemont was detained near a section of the A7 highway, which cuts through the state from the city of Flensburg near the Danish border.</p>
<p>Puigdemont was later transferred to Neumuenster prison, German news agency DPA reported.</p> People protest after former president Carles Puigdemont was detained in Germany, during a demonstration held by pro-independence associations in Barcelona, Spain March 25, 2018. REUTERS/Albert Gea
<p>German magazine Focus said that Spanish intelligence informed the BKA federal police that Puigdemont was on his way from Finland to Germany. It gave no source for its report.</p>
<p>He had arrived in Finland on Thursday to meet lawmakers and attend a conference as part of a campaign to raise the profile of the Catalan independence movement in Europe.</p> EXTRADITION ISSUE
<p>The Higher Regional Court in Schleswig-Holstein will be responsible for deciding whether to grant Spain’s extradition request.</p>
<p>The European arrest warrant system in place since 2004 makes it easier for EU countries to demand extradition from other EU states, having removed political decision-making from the process. EU nations issue thousands of such warrants each year.</p> Slideshow (8 Images)
<p>Puigdemont will appear in court tomorrow to have his remand extended, German prosecutors said in a statement.</p>
<p>Paul Bekaert, who represents Puigdemont in Belgium, where he had been subject to an arrest warrant in December, said his client rang him after being detained in Germany and had appeared calm during the conversation.</p>
<p>Bekaert told Reuters TV that his client would have to appear before a German judge within 48 hours to determine whether or not to keep him in custody. Puigdemont will take German legal representation, Bekaert said, with the whole legal process, including possible appeals, likely to take months.</p>
<p>Puigdemont could take his case to Germany’s highest court, which in 2005 blocked the extradition to Spain on an EU arrest warrant of a German-Syrian al-Qaeda suspect.</p>
<p>The case of Mamoun Darkazanli sparked a judicial row between the two countries after Germany’s Federal Constitutional court refused to turn over Darkazanli, saying that EU extradition laws designed to speed up the delivery of suspects between member states violated the rights of German citizens.</p>
<p>Puigdemont has previously made clear his preference to fight the extradition process from Belgium, where the former Catalan leader was heading at the time of his detention, according to Puigdemont’s spokesman, Joan Maria Pique.</p>
<p>“The president was going to Belgium to put himself, as always, at the disposal of Belgian justice,” Pique told Reuters.</p>
<p>The Spanish Supreme Court had issued an international arrest warrant against Puigdemont last year but withdrew it in December to avoid the risk of Belgian authorities granting him asylum.</p>
<p>Leaving Belgium had exposed him again to the risk of arrest.</p>
<p>Supreme Court judge Pablo Llarena also sent five separatist leaders to pre-trial jail, sparking protests across Catalonia.</p>
<p>Additional reporting by Andres Gonzalez in Madrid and Thorsten Severin in Berlin; Writing by Julien Toyer; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>YANGON (Reuters) - Two Reuters reporters appeared in a Myanmar court for the 11th time on Wednesday, which marked 100 days since they were arrested in December and accused of possessing secret government papers.</p>
<p>The court in Yangon is holding preliminary hearings to decide whether reporters Wa Lone, 31, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, will face charges under the colonial-era Officials Secrets Act, which carries a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison.</p>
<p>“We have spent 100 days in prison,” Wa Lone told reporters during a break in proceedings. “Our journalism spirit was never down even after spending many days in there.”</p>
<p>Wa Lone’s younger brother Thura Aung, 26, gave testimony on Wednesday, describing a police search of the family home on the evening of Dec. 13, the day after the journalists were arrested.</p>
<p>Thura Aung said that police who searched the house in north Yangon did not show a warrant, identify themselves or explain the reason for the search, during which a laptop, charger and bag, a hard drive and an old notebook were seized.</p>
<p>His testimony contradicted Police Major Soe Aung, who told the court two weeks ago that police had presented a warrant to Wa Lone’s family when they arrived.</p>
<p>Defence lawyer Than Zaw Aung told reporters after the hearing that under Myanmar’s Criminal Procedure Code police must identify themselves and explain the reasons for their search.</p>
<p>“In the criminal procedure, the search officer must show the search warrant at the search place,” he said.</p>
<p>Lead prosecutor Kyaw Min Aung left the court building before Reuters was able to put questions to him after the hearing. At previous hearings he has declined to speak to reporters.</p>
<p>Government and police spokespeople have declined to comment on the case, citing the ongoing court proceedings. The date of the next hearing was set for March 28.</p> RESTAURANT MEETING
<p>The journalists have told relatives they were arrested almost immediately after being handed some rolled up papers after being invited to a restaurant by two police officers they had not met before.</p>
<p>Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo had been investigating the killing of 10 Rohingya Muslim men in a village in western Myanmar’s Rakhine state during a military crackdown in August.</p> Detained Reuters journalist Wa Lone (C) is escorted by police as he arrives for a court hearing in Yangon, Myanmar March 21, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer
<p>The crackdown, which the United Nations has said was ethnic cleansing, has sent nearly 700,000 people fleeing to Bangladesh.</p>
<p>After the arrests of the reporters, the military admitted its soldiers took part in the killing.</p>
<p>“They have been detained in Myanmar since December 12 simply for doing their jobs as journalists,” Reuters President and Editor-in-Chief Stephen J. Adler said in a statement.</p>
<p>“Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo are exemplary individuals and outstanding reporters who are dedicated to their families and their craft. They should be in the newsroom, not in prison.”</p> Slideshow (6 Images)
<p>Myanmar’s ambassador to the United Nations, Hau Do Suan, said last month that the journalists were not arrested for reporting a story, but were accused of “illegally possessing confidential government documents”.</p>
<p>Judge Ye Lwin declined a defense attempt to submit the Reuters report describing the killings at the village of Inn Din as evidence, citing a decision at an earlier hearing not to admit the story at this stage in the proceedings.</p>
<p>Senior United Nations officials, Western nations and press freedom advocates have called for the release of the journalists.</p>
<p>The U.S. Embassy in Yangon tweeted: “Today is the 100th day in detention from reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo. Freedom of the press remains critical for Myanmar’s democratic transition.”</p>
<p>Diplomats from countries including the United States, Canada, Sweden attended Wednesday’s hearing.</p>
<p>The Danish embassy, which has closely monitored the case, said the pair had spent “100 days behind bars for ensuring the public’s right to information”.</p>
<p>A statement from Sweden’s embassy said: “We believe they have done nothing wrong and that the charges against them should be dropped immediately.”</p>
<p>EU Ambassador to Myanmar Kristian Schmidt, asked about the journalists’ reporting of the Rakhine crisis, said it was imperative to establish what had taken place there.</p>
<p>“We all want to find out the truth of what happened,” he said. “I fear for the moment we have not seen the full truth of what has happened.”</p>
<p>Reporting by Simon Lewis and Sam Aung Moon; Additional reporting by Yimou Lee and Aye Win Myint; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Alex Richardson</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>BEIRUT (Reuters) - Jaish al-Islam, the last rebel faction in control of territory in eastern Ghouta, said on Sunday it would not withdraw to other opposition-held parts of Syria as other rebel groups have done under deals negotiated with Syrian government ally Russia.</p> A bus convoy that will carry rebel fighters and their relatives waits at the city limits of Harasta, in the eastern Damascus suburb of Ghouta, Syria March 22, 2018. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki
<p>After a month-long ground and air offensive and deals under which rebel fighters agreed to be transported to northern Syria, pro-Syrian government forces have taken control of most of what had been the last major rebel stronghold near the capital Damascus.</p>
<p>Only the town of Douma, the most populous part of eastern Ghouta, remains under rebel control.</p>
<p>Jaish al-Islam is currently negotiating with Russia over the future of the area and the people in it.</p> Rebel fighters pray before they are evacuated, outside Harasta in eastern Ghouta, in Damascus, Syria March 23, 2018. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki
<p>“Today the negotiations taking place ... are to stay in Ghouta and not to leave it,” Jaish al-Islam’s military spokesman Hamza Birqdar told Istanbul-based Syrian radio station Radio al-Kul via Skype from eastern Ghouta.</p>
<p>Birqdar accused the Syrian government of trying to change the demographic balance of the eastern Ghouta by forcing out locals and replacing them with its allies.</p>
<p>He said in the negotiations with Russia Jaish al-Islam is asking for guarantees that what remains of the local population will not be forced out.</p>
<p>Both Ahrar al-Sham and Failq al-Rahman, two other rebel groups formerly in charge of pockets of the eastern Ghouta, have accepted deals under which they withdraw to opposition-held Idlib in northwest Syria.</p>
<p>Moscow and Damascus say the Ghouta campaign is necessary to halt deadly rebel shelling of the capital.</p>
<p>Reporting by Lisa Barrington, editing by David Evans</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
| 7,509 |
<p>The refugee crisis isn’t over. I’m not talking about the tens of thousands pouring into Europe over the last several months, but about the tens of thousands who are still trying to get to the United States from Central America.</p>
<p>But you’d never know it from listening to our government or our media. After the panic over the “surge” of children at the border last summer, stories about Central American refugees all but disappeared. Now, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is crowing about a nearly 50 percent drop in apprehensions of family units at the Southwest Border over the last 12 months, compared to the previous year.</p>
<p>Yet, according to staff in refugee shelters across Mexico, shelters are full and refugees are still streaming into that country, hoping to make it to the United States. If we’re apprehending fewer people, it is because more are being deported by Mexico or falling prey to gangs, drug cartels or dangerous terrain on a voyage that is becoming as treacherous as the Mediterranean crossing.</p>
<p>And like the Syrians, they meet the UN criteria for a refugee: anyone fleeing their home country because of violence and who fears persecution upon return. I spent seven weeks in Mexico between late January and March of this year, interviewing Central American refugees in shelters stretching from Oaxaca to Mexico City. Although several mentioned economic concerns, almost all said it was violence that drove them from their homes; violence mainly perpetrated by the incredibly brutal gangs Mara 18 and Mara Salvatrucha&#160;(MS-13). Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador have some of the highest murder rates in the world.&#160;People told me of having to pay la renta, extortion money, to operate a business or even to live in a particular neighborhood. If they did not pay, the gang would kill their children. Gangs also forcibly recruit young men; if they refuse, they or their families turn up dead.</p>
<p>I heard so many such stories that it’s difficult to pick a quote that sums up the dangers, but one sticks with me: Evelyn Noeme Durán was a 22-year-old Guatemalan traveling alone through Mexico. She walked, sometimes took a bus and also rode the freight train the migrants call La Bestia, “The Beast.” On the train, a gang—she identified them as one of the “Maras” because they were tattooed—stole all her money and even her shoes. Without money, she would have to cross the rest of the country on foot or by clinging to the top of La Bestia (many migrants fall off and lose limbs). When I told her the trip was dangerous, she looked at me with tired eyes and said patiently, “It is as dangerous on a bus … in Guatemala as being on the train. It is only different in the mountains here [because] there are animals.”</p>
<p>Why are we ignoring this crisis? Maybe it’s easier for Americans to feel compassion for refugees who are across an ocean and stand little chance of making it to the United States. We don’t have to worry about them straining our public assistance programs or fear they’ll take our low-wage jobs. We don’t have to listen to presidential candidates calling immigrants of their ethnicity <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/06/17/1394019/-Trump-calls-Mexican-immigrants-drug-dealers-and-rapists-crickets-from-the-GOP-field" type="external">drug dealers and rapists</a>.</p>
<p>When it comes to the Syrians, we seem to recognize that refugees deserve asylum: We demand that European countries take more refugees, and we’re even pledging to do our part. In September, the White House announced the United States would take in at least 10,000 Syrians over the next year, while U.S. Senator Dick Durbin recently said that number should be 100,000. Durbin visited refugee camps in Europe and called the refugee crisis, “the most significant humanitarian challenge of our time.” He added, “There is great suffering and exploitation of refugees…You have to imagine how desperate people would be to send a 15 year old boy with his 8 year old sister alone.” Then there’s that gut-wrenching photo of the drowned Syrian child, lying face down by the water’s edge.</p>
<p>The fact is, we have a humanitarian crisis right here. CBP may announce that fewer refugees are reaching our border, but it’s not because fewer are trying; it’s because more are being stopped in Mexico. A New York Times article published last June—a rare exception to the near-silence of the U.S. press—reported that Mexico deported almost 93,000 Central Americans in the first seven months of fiscal year 2015; 23,000 more than the United States did. And the Migration Policy Institute reported in September that Mexico is on target to deport 70 percent more Central Americans this year than last, while U.S. deportations are expected to be halved. Not only is Mexico doing our dirty work by deporting Central Americans, we’re paying for it: According to <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/11/opinion/sunday/the-refugees-at-our-door.html" type="external">an October 10 New York Times article</a>, we gave Mexico tens of millions of dollars in fiscal year 2015 to prevent these refugees from reaching our border.</p>
<p>It’s stunning that CBP is ignoring the fact that, by its own admission, the Central Americans it wants to deport are fleeing violence that has not ceased—which would make them legitimate refugees. CBP recently announced that “conditions related to the economy and violence in El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala have not improved.” Yet in the same announcement, the agency calls people “illegally crossing the border” from these countries “a top priority for removal.”</p>
<p>When refugees do make it across the border, they are locked up like criminals. Many of the women and children in “family” detention centers were held for months, even after establishing that they feared returning to their home countries. Recently, under a federal judge’s order, they have been <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/family-immigrant-detention-ruling-already-having-a-groundbreaking-effect-for-women-and-children_55b6a579e4b0224d88337f6f" type="external">released more quickly</a>—within three to five weeks. But almost all of the women released are fitted with an <a href="http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/7/27/lawyers-immigrant-mothers-coerced-to-wear-ankle-monitors.html" type="external">ankle bracelet</a> (which advocates call “shackles”)—the same device used to track prisoners released on parole.</p>
<p>In Mexico, I interviewed and photographed hundreds of refugees on their journey north: José Luís, a frightened 11-year-old Honduran riding alone on La Bestia; men who’d lost limbs to that train; Noel, a 16-year-old Salvadoran walking alone to the United States. In Ixtepec, I visited a small cemetery that held the remains of 15 unknown migrants; in Chahuites, I saw discarded women’s clothing lying in a place near the train tracks where, locals told me, refugee women were dragged to be raped by local thugs. I’ve heard stories like those Durbin heard from refugees in Europe. I know, as much as I know anything, that people who are so desperate that they’ll literally risk their lives to reach the United States won’t be stopped by Mexican immigration agents dragging them off trains and using Tasers on them; by Mexican police forcibly removing them from buses; or by the threat of local gangs robbing, kidnapping, maiming or killing them. And they certainly won’t be stopped at the U.S. border by more walls, fences and agents. As long as conditions in Central America don’t improve, refugees will keep fleeing north. And by law, we should be taking them in. Why are we ignoring the crisis that is happening right on our doorstep?</p>
<p>Like what you’ve read? <a href="https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/itt-subscription-offer?refcode=WS_ITT_Article_Footer&amp;noskip=true" type="external">Subscribe to In These Times magazine</a>, or <a href="https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/support-in-these-times?refcode=WS_ITT_Article_Footer&amp;noskip=true" type="external">make a tax-deductible donation to fund this reporting</a>.</p>
<p>Joseph Sorrentino is a writer and photographer. He has been documenting the lives of agricultural workers on both sides of the U.S./Mexico border for 12 years.</p>
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The Refugee Crisis No One’s Talking About
| true |
http://inthesetimes.com/article/18522/the-refugee-crisis-no-ones-talking-about
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2015-10-19
| 4left
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The Refugee Crisis No One’s Talking About
<p>The refugee crisis isn’t over. I’m not talking about the tens of thousands pouring into Europe over the last several months, but about the tens of thousands who are still trying to get to the United States from Central America.</p>
<p>But you’d never know it from listening to our government or our media. After the panic over the “surge” of children at the border last summer, stories about Central American refugees all but disappeared. Now, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is crowing about a nearly 50 percent drop in apprehensions of family units at the Southwest Border over the last 12 months, compared to the previous year.</p>
<p>Yet, according to staff in refugee shelters across Mexico, shelters are full and refugees are still streaming into that country, hoping to make it to the United States. If we’re apprehending fewer people, it is because more are being deported by Mexico or falling prey to gangs, drug cartels or dangerous terrain on a voyage that is becoming as treacherous as the Mediterranean crossing.</p>
<p>And like the Syrians, they meet the UN criteria for a refugee: anyone fleeing their home country because of violence and who fears persecution upon return. I spent seven weeks in Mexico between late January and March of this year, interviewing Central American refugees in shelters stretching from Oaxaca to Mexico City. Although several mentioned economic concerns, almost all said it was violence that drove them from their homes; violence mainly perpetrated by the incredibly brutal gangs Mara 18 and Mara Salvatrucha&#160;(MS-13). Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador have some of the highest murder rates in the world.&#160;People told me of having to pay la renta, extortion money, to operate a business or even to live in a particular neighborhood. If they did not pay, the gang would kill their children. Gangs also forcibly recruit young men; if they refuse, they or their families turn up dead.</p>
<p>I heard so many such stories that it’s difficult to pick a quote that sums up the dangers, but one sticks with me: Evelyn Noeme Durán was a 22-year-old Guatemalan traveling alone through Mexico. She walked, sometimes took a bus and also rode the freight train the migrants call La Bestia, “The Beast.” On the train, a gang—she identified them as one of the “Maras” because they were tattooed—stole all her money and even her shoes. Without money, she would have to cross the rest of the country on foot or by clinging to the top of La Bestia (many migrants fall off and lose limbs). When I told her the trip was dangerous, she looked at me with tired eyes and said patiently, “It is as dangerous on a bus … in Guatemala as being on the train. It is only different in the mountains here [because] there are animals.”</p>
<p>Why are we ignoring this crisis? Maybe it’s easier for Americans to feel compassion for refugees who are across an ocean and stand little chance of making it to the United States. We don’t have to worry about them straining our public assistance programs or fear they’ll take our low-wage jobs. We don’t have to listen to presidential candidates calling immigrants of their ethnicity <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/06/17/1394019/-Trump-calls-Mexican-immigrants-drug-dealers-and-rapists-crickets-from-the-GOP-field" type="external">drug dealers and rapists</a>.</p>
<p>When it comes to the Syrians, we seem to recognize that refugees deserve asylum: We demand that European countries take more refugees, and we’re even pledging to do our part. In September, the White House announced the United States would take in at least 10,000 Syrians over the next year, while U.S. Senator Dick Durbin recently said that number should be 100,000. Durbin visited refugee camps in Europe and called the refugee crisis, “the most significant humanitarian challenge of our time.” He added, “There is great suffering and exploitation of refugees…You have to imagine how desperate people would be to send a 15 year old boy with his 8 year old sister alone.” Then there’s that gut-wrenching photo of the drowned Syrian child, lying face down by the water’s edge.</p>
<p>The fact is, we have a humanitarian crisis right here. CBP may announce that fewer refugees are reaching our border, but it’s not because fewer are trying; it’s because more are being stopped in Mexico. A New York Times article published last June—a rare exception to the near-silence of the U.S. press—reported that Mexico deported almost 93,000 Central Americans in the first seven months of fiscal year 2015; 23,000 more than the United States did. And the Migration Policy Institute reported in September that Mexico is on target to deport 70 percent more Central Americans this year than last, while U.S. deportations are expected to be halved. Not only is Mexico doing our dirty work by deporting Central Americans, we’re paying for it: According to <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/11/opinion/sunday/the-refugees-at-our-door.html" type="external">an October 10 New York Times article</a>, we gave Mexico tens of millions of dollars in fiscal year 2015 to prevent these refugees from reaching our border.</p>
<p>It’s stunning that CBP is ignoring the fact that, by its own admission, the Central Americans it wants to deport are fleeing violence that has not ceased—which would make them legitimate refugees. CBP recently announced that “conditions related to the economy and violence in El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala have not improved.” Yet in the same announcement, the agency calls people “illegally crossing the border” from these countries “a top priority for removal.”</p>
<p>When refugees do make it across the border, they are locked up like criminals. Many of the women and children in “family” detention centers were held for months, even after establishing that they feared returning to their home countries. Recently, under a federal judge’s order, they have been <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/family-immigrant-detention-ruling-already-having-a-groundbreaking-effect-for-women-and-children_55b6a579e4b0224d88337f6f" type="external">released more quickly</a>—within three to five weeks. But almost all of the women released are fitted with an <a href="http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/7/27/lawyers-immigrant-mothers-coerced-to-wear-ankle-monitors.html" type="external">ankle bracelet</a> (which advocates call “shackles”)—the same device used to track prisoners released on parole.</p>
<p>In Mexico, I interviewed and photographed hundreds of refugees on their journey north: José Luís, a frightened 11-year-old Honduran riding alone on La Bestia; men who’d lost limbs to that train; Noel, a 16-year-old Salvadoran walking alone to the United States. In Ixtepec, I visited a small cemetery that held the remains of 15 unknown migrants; in Chahuites, I saw discarded women’s clothing lying in a place near the train tracks where, locals told me, refugee women were dragged to be raped by local thugs. I’ve heard stories like those Durbin heard from refugees in Europe. I know, as much as I know anything, that people who are so desperate that they’ll literally risk their lives to reach the United States won’t be stopped by Mexican immigration agents dragging them off trains and using Tasers on them; by Mexican police forcibly removing them from buses; or by the threat of local gangs robbing, kidnapping, maiming or killing them. And they certainly won’t be stopped at the U.S. border by more walls, fences and agents. As long as conditions in Central America don’t improve, refugees will keep fleeing north. And by law, we should be taking them in. Why are we ignoring the crisis that is happening right on our doorstep?</p>
<p>Like what you’ve read? <a href="https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/itt-subscription-offer?refcode=WS_ITT_Article_Footer&amp;noskip=true" type="external">Subscribe to In These Times magazine</a>, or <a href="https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/support-in-these-times?refcode=WS_ITT_Article_Footer&amp;noskip=true" type="external">make a tax-deductible donation to fund this reporting</a>.</p>
<p>Joseph Sorrentino is a writer and photographer. He has been documenting the lives of agricultural workers on both sides of the U.S./Mexico border for 12 years.</p>
| 7,510 |
<p>On Friday, Fordham University announced it would <a href="https://fordhamram.com/2017/08/26/fordham-investigates-dean-rodgers-ra-sexual-assault-training/" type="external">investigate Christopher Rodgers</a>, dean of students at Rose Hill, for comments he made during the Campus Assault and Relationship Education (CARE) and Bias segment of Resident Assistant (RA) training on August 18.</p>
<p>That investigation was triggered by a <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1k_4vQ8z-En2E5ZpgJm5ZnFCFk0PLGhh_9U7RLz9PFYg/edit" type="external">statement published on Facebook</a>by Rowan Hornbeck, FCRH ’18, who is a female RA. Hornbeck claimed that Dean Rodgers preceded the showing of two videos by explaining he would give “larger context” for addressing campus assault and relationship violence. Hornbeck wrote, “He said he was going to show examples from the right and from the left that influence students’ perceptions of sexual violence on campus.”</p>
<p>First, Hornbeck wrote, Rodgers showed the trailer for the documentary film The Hunting Ground, commenting it was an example of the agenda of the political Left.</p>
<p>The Hunting Ground, which revolves around claims of a rape epidemic at American universities, was <a href="http://hlrecord.org/2015/11/19-harvard-law-professors-defend-law-student-brandon-winston-denouncing-his-portrayal-in-the-hunting-ground/" type="external">ripped</a> by 19 professors from Harvard University, who called it “propaganda.” As Stuart Taylor Jr. noted in <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/article/427166/smoking-gun-e-mail-exposes-bias-hunting-ground" type="external">National Review</a>, an email from the investigative producer of the film “spectacularly belies its pretensions to be honest, balanced journalism.”</p>
<p>In her Facebook post, Hornbeck claimed, “Within minutes, students began leaving the room upset. The two women sitting next to me got up and left the room before the video even began.”</p>
<p>After the video, Hornbeck wrote, Rodgers reiterated that the video exemplified the “agenda” of the political Left. When he was asked why he had characterized the video as being from a “liberal” viewpoint, Hornbeck wrote, “Rodgers answered by saying he would show a video that exemplified the conservative viewpoint and then answer the question directly. He played a video from Prager U that asserted that there is ‘no evidence that rape is a cultural norm’ and said verbatim that ‘there is no evidence of a national rape epidemic.’”</p>
<p>Hornbeck claimed the showing of the Prager University video caused many more RAs to leave, “many of them women. Some were in tears.”</p>
<p>Hornbeck then wrote dramatically, “After this video, I raised my hand along with many others. I was shaking.”</p>
<p>Even though Hornbeck wrote that Rodgers stated neither video was correct, Hornbeck lambasted Rodgers, saying it “was inappropriate to be putting advocacy for victims in the context of political debate, and that politics has nothing to do with it. “</p>
<p>Rodgers still insisted that political context was important, telling Hornbeck that he disagreed with Hornbeck about the inappropriateness of putting this in a political context. Hornbeck wrote, “I went to the bathroom where I found at least 10 other female RAs, many of whom were in tears.”</p>
<p>Hornbeck concluded,</p>
<p>In closing, a presentation from the Deputy Title IX Coordinator should not leave dozens of female students in tears. Contextualizing advocacy for victims as a political agenda is backwards. By critiquing a documentary that exposed university coverups of improperly handled cases of sexual assault, Dean Rodgers is proving that he cares more about saving the reputation of the university rather than advocating for students.</p>
<p>Last Thursday, Rodgers apologized to RAs for upsetting them, according to Hornbeck. She told The Fordham Ram, “A lot of us raised concerns with the fact that we didn’t feel like he was apologizing for his behavior and was instead apologizing that we were upset.”</p>
<p>Peter Vergara, FCRH ’18, echoed to The Fordham Ram, “I think Dean Rodgers handled the presentation poorly, especially given how contentious and tense this has been in the past. He allowed politics to inhibit adequately preparing RAs, on an essential element of our job.”</p>
<p>Hornbeck insisted, “It’s very indicative of the mindset with which he’s approaching cases of sexual assault. I don’t trust him to be sensitive and to take our criticisms into account. ... It didn’t really seem like we were getting any kind of response from them that would make any of us feel like there was any accountability. There was really no admission of wrongdoing or any kind of sense that he would be held accountable.”</p>
|
Fordham U Announces Investigation Of Dean Who Played Prager U Video Claiming No Rape Epidemic Exists
| true |
https://dailywire.com/news/20393/fordham-u-announces-investigation-dean-who-played-hank-berrien
|
2017-08-29
| 0right
|
Fordham U Announces Investigation Of Dean Who Played Prager U Video Claiming No Rape Epidemic Exists
<p>On Friday, Fordham University announced it would <a href="https://fordhamram.com/2017/08/26/fordham-investigates-dean-rodgers-ra-sexual-assault-training/" type="external">investigate Christopher Rodgers</a>, dean of students at Rose Hill, for comments he made during the Campus Assault and Relationship Education (CARE) and Bias segment of Resident Assistant (RA) training on August 18.</p>
<p>That investigation was triggered by a <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1k_4vQ8z-En2E5ZpgJm5ZnFCFk0PLGhh_9U7RLz9PFYg/edit" type="external">statement published on Facebook</a>by Rowan Hornbeck, FCRH ’18, who is a female RA. Hornbeck claimed that Dean Rodgers preceded the showing of two videos by explaining he would give “larger context” for addressing campus assault and relationship violence. Hornbeck wrote, “He said he was going to show examples from the right and from the left that influence students’ perceptions of sexual violence on campus.”</p>
<p>First, Hornbeck wrote, Rodgers showed the trailer for the documentary film The Hunting Ground, commenting it was an example of the agenda of the political Left.</p>
<p>The Hunting Ground, which revolves around claims of a rape epidemic at American universities, was <a href="http://hlrecord.org/2015/11/19-harvard-law-professors-defend-law-student-brandon-winston-denouncing-his-portrayal-in-the-hunting-ground/" type="external">ripped</a> by 19 professors from Harvard University, who called it “propaganda.” As Stuart Taylor Jr. noted in <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/article/427166/smoking-gun-e-mail-exposes-bias-hunting-ground" type="external">National Review</a>, an email from the investigative producer of the film “spectacularly belies its pretensions to be honest, balanced journalism.”</p>
<p>In her Facebook post, Hornbeck claimed, “Within minutes, students began leaving the room upset. The two women sitting next to me got up and left the room before the video even began.”</p>
<p>After the video, Hornbeck wrote, Rodgers reiterated that the video exemplified the “agenda” of the political Left. When he was asked why he had characterized the video as being from a “liberal” viewpoint, Hornbeck wrote, “Rodgers answered by saying he would show a video that exemplified the conservative viewpoint and then answer the question directly. He played a video from Prager U that asserted that there is ‘no evidence that rape is a cultural norm’ and said verbatim that ‘there is no evidence of a national rape epidemic.’”</p>
<p>Hornbeck claimed the showing of the Prager University video caused many more RAs to leave, “many of them women. Some were in tears.”</p>
<p>Hornbeck then wrote dramatically, “After this video, I raised my hand along with many others. I was shaking.”</p>
<p>Even though Hornbeck wrote that Rodgers stated neither video was correct, Hornbeck lambasted Rodgers, saying it “was inappropriate to be putting advocacy for victims in the context of political debate, and that politics has nothing to do with it. “</p>
<p>Rodgers still insisted that political context was important, telling Hornbeck that he disagreed with Hornbeck about the inappropriateness of putting this in a political context. Hornbeck wrote, “I went to the bathroom where I found at least 10 other female RAs, many of whom were in tears.”</p>
<p>Hornbeck concluded,</p>
<p>In closing, a presentation from the Deputy Title IX Coordinator should not leave dozens of female students in tears. Contextualizing advocacy for victims as a political agenda is backwards. By critiquing a documentary that exposed university coverups of improperly handled cases of sexual assault, Dean Rodgers is proving that he cares more about saving the reputation of the university rather than advocating for students.</p>
<p>Last Thursday, Rodgers apologized to RAs for upsetting them, according to Hornbeck. She told The Fordham Ram, “A lot of us raised concerns with the fact that we didn’t feel like he was apologizing for his behavior and was instead apologizing that we were upset.”</p>
<p>Peter Vergara, FCRH ’18, echoed to The Fordham Ram, “I think Dean Rodgers handled the presentation poorly, especially given how contentious and tense this has been in the past. He allowed politics to inhibit adequately preparing RAs, on an essential element of our job.”</p>
<p>Hornbeck insisted, “It’s very indicative of the mindset with which he’s approaching cases of sexual assault. I don’t trust him to be sensitive and to take our criticisms into account. ... It didn’t really seem like we were getting any kind of response from them that would make any of us feel like there was any accountability. There was really no admission of wrongdoing or any kind of sense that he would be held accountable.”</p>
| 7,511 |
<p>Argentina is launching a new two-year sovereign bond for $1 billion.</p>
<p>The bond issue launched Thursday will be denominated in U.S. dollars but paid in local pesos. The Bonad 2016 has an annual coupon of 1.75 percent.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>It comes a time when Argentina is desperately looking for fresh sources of financing. The economy is in recession, Central Bank reserves are dwindling and the government is grappling with one of the world's highest inflation rates.</p>
<p>A U.S. court ruling recently pushed Argentina into its second technical default in 13 years. The country has been kept from global credit markets since its record $100 billion default in 2001.</p>
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Argentina looks for fresh sources of financing with issuance of 2-year bond for $1 billion
| true |
http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2014/10/23/argentina-looks-for-fresh-sources-financing-with-issuance-2-year-bond-for-1.html
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2016-03-04
| 0right
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Argentina looks for fresh sources of financing with issuance of 2-year bond for $1 billion
<p>Argentina is launching a new two-year sovereign bond for $1 billion.</p>
<p>The bond issue launched Thursday will be denominated in U.S. dollars but paid in local pesos. The Bonad 2016 has an annual coupon of 1.75 percent.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>It comes a time when Argentina is desperately looking for fresh sources of financing. The economy is in recession, Central Bank reserves are dwindling and the government is grappling with one of the world's highest inflation rates.</p>
<p>A U.S. court ruling recently pushed Argentina into its second technical default in 13 years. The country has been kept from global credit markets since its record $100 billion default in 2001.</p>
| 7,512 |
<p>Last December, long before the fallout from her revolting <a href="" type="internal">pose with a decapitated Donald Trump</a> began to swirl, Kathy Griffin spoke with <a href="http://www.vulture.com/2016/12/kathy-griffin-comedy-should-go-hard-on-trump.html" type="external">Vulture.com</a>, saying that comedy in the age of President Trump should target that “piece of sh*t.”</p>
<p>Griffin opined, “Now more than ever we must absolutely go for all the absurdities. For me, that’s Trump and all things Trump. It’s not about trying to be an equal-opportunity offender anymore because Hillary got such a beat down. It’s his turn. So I’m happy to deliver beat down to Donald Trump — and also to Barron. You know a lot of comics are going to go hard for Donald, my edge is that I’ll go direct for Barron. I’m going to get in ahead of the game.”</p>
<p>Asked about her support for Rosie O’Donnell when O’Donnell <a href="http://www.vulture.com/2016/11/rosie-odonnell-wrote-a-poem-about-barron-trump.html" type="external">tweeted a video</a> surmising that Barron Trump, 10-year-old son of Donald and Melania, was on the autism spectrum, Griffin responded, “After the beat down he gave her, she can say whatever she wants to say to that piece of sh*t … Oh, that’s President Piece of Sh*t.”</p>
<p>Griffin may have moderated her position in the end, from calling Trump a “piece of sh*t” last December, crescendoing to holding up his decapitated head on Tuesday, then finally settling on <a href="" type="internal">terming him</a> only a “bully” at her press conference on Friday.</p>
<p>"She can say whatever she wants to say to that piece of sh*t … Oh, that’s President Piece of Sh*t.”</p>
<p>Kathy Griffin</p>
<p>But then again, Griffin was classy enough to perform <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/kathy-griffins-most-outrageous-shockers-video" type="external">mock fellatio</a> on CNN anchor Anderson Cooper when they co-hosted CNN’s New Year’s Eve coverage on New Year’s Eve 2013. Calling the President of the United States a “piece of sh*t” for her was only a warm-up.</p>
|
Kathy Griffin December 2016: 'That's President Piece Of Sh*t'
| true |
https://dailywire.com/news/17113/kathy-griffin-december-2016-thats-president-piece-hank-berrien
|
2017-06-02
| 0right
|
Kathy Griffin December 2016: 'That's President Piece Of Sh*t'
<p>Last December, long before the fallout from her revolting <a href="" type="internal">pose with a decapitated Donald Trump</a> began to swirl, Kathy Griffin spoke with <a href="http://www.vulture.com/2016/12/kathy-griffin-comedy-should-go-hard-on-trump.html" type="external">Vulture.com</a>, saying that comedy in the age of President Trump should target that “piece of sh*t.”</p>
<p>Griffin opined, “Now more than ever we must absolutely go for all the absurdities. For me, that’s Trump and all things Trump. It’s not about trying to be an equal-opportunity offender anymore because Hillary got such a beat down. It’s his turn. So I’m happy to deliver beat down to Donald Trump — and also to Barron. You know a lot of comics are going to go hard for Donald, my edge is that I’ll go direct for Barron. I’m going to get in ahead of the game.”</p>
<p>Asked about her support for Rosie O’Donnell when O’Donnell <a href="http://www.vulture.com/2016/11/rosie-odonnell-wrote-a-poem-about-barron-trump.html" type="external">tweeted a video</a> surmising that Barron Trump, 10-year-old son of Donald and Melania, was on the autism spectrum, Griffin responded, “After the beat down he gave her, she can say whatever she wants to say to that piece of sh*t … Oh, that’s President Piece of Sh*t.”</p>
<p>Griffin may have moderated her position in the end, from calling Trump a “piece of sh*t” last December, crescendoing to holding up his decapitated head on Tuesday, then finally settling on <a href="" type="internal">terming him</a> only a “bully” at her press conference on Friday.</p>
<p>"She can say whatever she wants to say to that piece of sh*t … Oh, that’s President Piece of Sh*t.”</p>
<p>Kathy Griffin</p>
<p>But then again, Griffin was classy enough to perform <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/kathy-griffins-most-outrageous-shockers-video" type="external">mock fellatio</a> on CNN anchor Anderson Cooper when they co-hosted CNN’s New Year’s Eve coverage on New Year’s Eve 2013. Calling the President of the United States a “piece of sh*t” for her was only a warm-up.</p>
| 7,513 |
<p>TROY, N.Y. (AP) — Two men were arrested Saturday on murder charges in the deaths of two women and two children who were found dead in their upstate New York apartment.</p>
<p>Justin Mann and James White were arrested in their hometown, Schenectady, and pleaded not guilty in Troy City Court.</p>
<p>According to the <a href="http://www.timesunion.com/news/article/2-arrested-in-killing-of-Troy-family-12463374.php" type="external">Times Union</a> , Troy Police Chief John Tedesco said one of the defendants knew one of the victims. He declined to elaborate.</p>
<p>Information given in court said the killings took place at about 9 p.m., Dec. 21. It wasn’t until Tuesday, five days later, that a property manager found 36-year-old Shanta Myers; her children, 11-year-old Jeremiah Myers and 5-year-old Shanise Myers; and 22-year-old Brandi Mells in a basement apartment along the Hudson River, just north of Albany. Meyers and Mells became engaged earlier this year, Mells’ cousin, Sharonda Bennett, told the newspaper.</p>
<p>Tedesco and District Attorney Joel Abelove, who appeared at a press conference, declined to answer questions about a possible motive and the method of the killings.</p>
<p>They also would not say how the defendants know each other, but said that both have records and Mann is on parole.</p>
<p>More than two dozen people were in court Saturday, some wearing Troy Boys &amp; Girls club sweatshirts.</p>
<p>Mann appeared to break down as he was led out of court. A man and a woman in the courtroom became visibly distraught.</p>
<p>The suspects were sent to the Rensselaer County Jail to await their next court appearance, on Thursday. Neither man said anything as the charges were read.</p>
<p>Tedesco said no more arrests are expected.</p>
<p>“I don’t have to tell you what a good feeling it is to have these two in custody,” he said. “It’s a great relief.”</p>
<p>“The rapid apprehension and arrest of two suspects in connection with this tragic crime is welcome news for our community and the victims’ families impacted by this senseless tragedy,” Troy Mayor Patrick Madden, a Democrat, said in a statement.</p>
<p>“My heart remains with both the Myers and Mells families,” said Madden, who expressed hope that “with the support of the Troy community, they can begin to heal.”</p>
<p>TROY, N.Y. (AP) — Two men were arrested Saturday on murder charges in the deaths of two women and two children who were found dead in their upstate New York apartment.</p>
<p>Justin Mann and James White were arrested in their hometown, Schenectady, and pleaded not guilty in Troy City Court.</p>
<p>According to the <a href="http://www.timesunion.com/news/article/2-arrested-in-killing-of-Troy-family-12463374.php" type="external">Times Union</a> , Troy Police Chief John Tedesco said one of the defendants knew one of the victims. He declined to elaborate.</p>
<p>Information given in court said the killings took place at about 9 p.m., Dec. 21. It wasn’t until Tuesday, five days later, that a property manager found 36-year-old Shanta Myers; her children, 11-year-old Jeremiah Myers and 5-year-old Shanise Myers; and 22-year-old Brandi Mells in a basement apartment along the Hudson River, just north of Albany. Meyers and Mells became engaged earlier this year, Mells’ cousin, Sharonda Bennett, told the newspaper.</p>
<p>Tedesco and District Attorney Joel Abelove, who appeared at a press conference, declined to answer questions about a possible motive and the method of the killings.</p>
<p>They also would not say how the defendants know each other, but said that both have records and Mann is on parole.</p>
<p>More than two dozen people were in court Saturday, some wearing Troy Boys &amp; Girls club sweatshirts.</p>
<p>Mann appeared to break down as he was led out of court. A man and a woman in the courtroom became visibly distraught.</p>
<p>The suspects were sent to the Rensselaer County Jail to await their next court appearance, on Thursday. Neither man said anything as the charges were read.</p>
<p>Tedesco said no more arrests are expected.</p>
<p>“I don’t have to tell you what a good feeling it is to have these two in custody,” he said. “It’s a great relief.”</p>
<p>“The rapid apprehension and arrest of two suspects in connection with this tragic crime is welcome news for our community and the victims’ families impacted by this senseless tragedy,” Troy Mayor Patrick Madden, a Democrat, said in a statement.</p>
<p>“My heart remains with both the Myers and Mells families,” said Madden, who expressed hope that “with the support of the Troy community, they can begin to heal.”</p>
|
2 men charged in deaths of women, children found in home
| false |
https://apnews.com/43231f8885ac457c977330f5c3f57fa1
|
2017-12-31
| 2least
|
2 men charged in deaths of women, children found in home
<p>TROY, N.Y. (AP) — Two men were arrested Saturday on murder charges in the deaths of two women and two children who were found dead in their upstate New York apartment.</p>
<p>Justin Mann and James White were arrested in their hometown, Schenectady, and pleaded not guilty in Troy City Court.</p>
<p>According to the <a href="http://www.timesunion.com/news/article/2-arrested-in-killing-of-Troy-family-12463374.php" type="external">Times Union</a> , Troy Police Chief John Tedesco said one of the defendants knew one of the victims. He declined to elaborate.</p>
<p>Information given in court said the killings took place at about 9 p.m., Dec. 21. It wasn’t until Tuesday, five days later, that a property manager found 36-year-old Shanta Myers; her children, 11-year-old Jeremiah Myers and 5-year-old Shanise Myers; and 22-year-old Brandi Mells in a basement apartment along the Hudson River, just north of Albany. Meyers and Mells became engaged earlier this year, Mells’ cousin, Sharonda Bennett, told the newspaper.</p>
<p>Tedesco and District Attorney Joel Abelove, who appeared at a press conference, declined to answer questions about a possible motive and the method of the killings.</p>
<p>They also would not say how the defendants know each other, but said that both have records and Mann is on parole.</p>
<p>More than two dozen people were in court Saturday, some wearing Troy Boys &amp; Girls club sweatshirts.</p>
<p>Mann appeared to break down as he was led out of court. A man and a woman in the courtroom became visibly distraught.</p>
<p>The suspects were sent to the Rensselaer County Jail to await their next court appearance, on Thursday. Neither man said anything as the charges were read.</p>
<p>Tedesco said no more arrests are expected.</p>
<p>“I don’t have to tell you what a good feeling it is to have these two in custody,” he said. “It’s a great relief.”</p>
<p>“The rapid apprehension and arrest of two suspects in connection with this tragic crime is welcome news for our community and the victims’ families impacted by this senseless tragedy,” Troy Mayor Patrick Madden, a Democrat, said in a statement.</p>
<p>“My heart remains with both the Myers and Mells families,” said Madden, who expressed hope that “with the support of the Troy community, they can begin to heal.”</p>
<p>TROY, N.Y. (AP) — Two men were arrested Saturday on murder charges in the deaths of two women and two children who were found dead in their upstate New York apartment.</p>
<p>Justin Mann and James White were arrested in their hometown, Schenectady, and pleaded not guilty in Troy City Court.</p>
<p>According to the <a href="http://www.timesunion.com/news/article/2-arrested-in-killing-of-Troy-family-12463374.php" type="external">Times Union</a> , Troy Police Chief John Tedesco said one of the defendants knew one of the victims. He declined to elaborate.</p>
<p>Information given in court said the killings took place at about 9 p.m., Dec. 21. It wasn’t until Tuesday, five days later, that a property manager found 36-year-old Shanta Myers; her children, 11-year-old Jeremiah Myers and 5-year-old Shanise Myers; and 22-year-old Brandi Mells in a basement apartment along the Hudson River, just north of Albany. Meyers and Mells became engaged earlier this year, Mells’ cousin, Sharonda Bennett, told the newspaper.</p>
<p>Tedesco and District Attorney Joel Abelove, who appeared at a press conference, declined to answer questions about a possible motive and the method of the killings.</p>
<p>They also would not say how the defendants know each other, but said that both have records and Mann is on parole.</p>
<p>More than two dozen people were in court Saturday, some wearing Troy Boys &amp; Girls club sweatshirts.</p>
<p>Mann appeared to break down as he was led out of court. A man and a woman in the courtroom became visibly distraught.</p>
<p>The suspects were sent to the Rensselaer County Jail to await their next court appearance, on Thursday. Neither man said anything as the charges were read.</p>
<p>Tedesco said no more arrests are expected.</p>
<p>“I don’t have to tell you what a good feeling it is to have these two in custody,” he said. “It’s a great relief.”</p>
<p>“The rapid apprehension and arrest of two suspects in connection with this tragic crime is welcome news for our community and the victims’ families impacted by this senseless tragedy,” Troy Mayor Patrick Madden, a Democrat, said in a statement.</p>
<p>“My heart remains with both the Myers and Mells families,” said Madden, who expressed hope that “with the support of the Troy community, they can begin to heal.”</p>
| 7,514 |
<p>I</p>
<p>Let me begin this outline of the institutions of international inequity with a few definitions. That is not a matter of formalities, but it touches upon a fundamental, underlying concept: that underdevelopment is not a "thing."</p>
<p>What is critical to underdevelopment is not some physical fact but a world economic structure that perpetuates backwardness. For instance, it is often said that the poor countries suffer because they are agricultural and raw-material, rather than industrial, producers. But, then, wheat is a "primary" commodity and one of the most important American exports. That business is dominated by five firms, which control 85 percent of the grain shipments abroad. Two of them, Cargill and Continental, each have 25 percent of the market, and if Cargill weren't a privately held company, it would be the 27th largest corporation among Fortune's 500 industrials, outranking Bethlehem Steel and Lockheed. Both Continental and Cargill are currently involved in a scandal that charges that they did, among other things, "embezzle, steal, take away and conceal by fraud with intent to convert to their own use" grain bought by India.</p>
<p />
|
Problems & Paradoxes of the Third World
| true |
https://dissentmagazine.org/article/problems-paradoxes-of-the-third-world
|
2018-10-06
| 4left
|
Problems & Paradoxes of the Third World
<p>I</p>
<p>Let me begin this outline of the institutions of international inequity with a few definitions. That is not a matter of formalities, but it touches upon a fundamental, underlying concept: that underdevelopment is not a "thing."</p>
<p>What is critical to underdevelopment is not some physical fact but a world economic structure that perpetuates backwardness. For instance, it is often said that the poor countries suffer because they are agricultural and raw-material, rather than industrial, producers. But, then, wheat is a "primary" commodity and one of the most important American exports. That business is dominated by five firms, which control 85 percent of the grain shipments abroad. Two of them, Cargill and Continental, each have 25 percent of the market, and if Cargill weren't a privately held company, it would be the 27th largest corporation among Fortune's 500 industrials, outranking Bethlehem Steel and Lockheed. Both Continental and Cargill are currently involved in a scandal that charges that they did, among other things, "embezzle, steal, take away and conceal by fraud with intent to convert to their own use" grain bought by India.</p>
<p />
| 7,515 |
<p />
<p>In his tweet, Trump stated “Why is the NFL getting massive tax breaks while at the same time disrespecting our Anthem, Flag and Country? Change tax law!”</p>
<p>His statement may resonate with many people, including Democrats, but the issue isn’t so simple. The NFL gave up its tax exempt status in 2015, so most of the tax breaks they get now come in the form of incentives to build new stadiums. In most cases, those are decided by local government entities, not the federal government.</p>
<p>President Trump, however, likely knows this, so his tweet is probably aimed to jump-start a national discussion on NFL tax breaks for new stadiums. It would have to be taken up by individual states, but it could start a legislative tidal wave that will end sweetheart deals for NFL teams that take advantage of cities eager to keep their NFL team.</p>
<p>Here is the tweet from the President.</p>
<p />
<p>After much initial criticism, it appears President Trump has gained the upper hand in his feud with the NFL. Teams are beginning to clamp down on protests, especially the Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins. The President even thanked Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones for pledging to bench any player who knelt during the National Anthem.</p>
<p />
<p>Public opinion has obviously shifted in the President direction, as ratings for NFL games continue to drop overall, leading the media to report that the owners and the league are looking to end the controversy.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Yesterday’s suspension of ESPN’s Jemele Hill</a>, who called President Trump a “white supremacist,” was seen as a major blow to the pro-protest crowd at ESPN.</p>
<p>The loss of NFL tax breaks for new stadiums could be a major shift for the league, and force them to listen to the citizens and politicians who have been critical of their recent actions.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
|
NO MORE FREE LUNCH: Trump Threatens to End Tax Breaks for NFL Stadiums Over Anthem Protests
| true |
http://silenceisconsent.net/no-free-lunch-trump-threatens-end-tax-breaks-nfl-stadiums-anthem-protests/
|
2018-05-06
| 0right
|
NO MORE FREE LUNCH: Trump Threatens to End Tax Breaks for NFL Stadiums Over Anthem Protests
<p />
<p>In his tweet, Trump stated “Why is the NFL getting massive tax breaks while at the same time disrespecting our Anthem, Flag and Country? Change tax law!”</p>
<p>His statement may resonate with many people, including Democrats, but the issue isn’t so simple. The NFL gave up its tax exempt status in 2015, so most of the tax breaks they get now come in the form of incentives to build new stadiums. In most cases, those are decided by local government entities, not the federal government.</p>
<p>President Trump, however, likely knows this, so his tweet is probably aimed to jump-start a national discussion on NFL tax breaks for new stadiums. It would have to be taken up by individual states, but it could start a legislative tidal wave that will end sweetheart deals for NFL teams that take advantage of cities eager to keep their NFL team.</p>
<p>Here is the tweet from the President.</p>
<p />
<p>After much initial criticism, it appears President Trump has gained the upper hand in his feud with the NFL. Teams are beginning to clamp down on protests, especially the Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins. The President even thanked Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones for pledging to bench any player who knelt during the National Anthem.</p>
<p />
<p>Public opinion has obviously shifted in the President direction, as ratings for NFL games continue to drop overall, leading the media to report that the owners and the league are looking to end the controversy.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Yesterday’s suspension of ESPN’s Jemele Hill</a>, who called President Trump a “white supremacist,” was seen as a major blow to the pro-protest crowd at ESPN.</p>
<p>The loss of NFL tax breaks for new stadiums could be a major shift for the league, and force them to listen to the citizens and politicians who have been critical of their recent actions.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
| 7,516 |
<p>Costco Wholesale Corp. shares rose 1.8% late Thursday after the giant retailer reported earnings above expectations but flat same-store sales. Costco said it earned $779 million, or $1.77 a share, in its 16-week fourth quarter, compared with $767 million, or $1.73 a share, in the year-ago period. Net sales rose 2% to $35.7 billion in the quarter, the company said. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected the company to report earnings of $1.73 a share on revenue of $35.7 billion. Costco said its U.S. same-store sales fell 1% in the quarter, while total same-store sales were flat. Excluding gasoline sales and foreign-exchange adjustments, however, comparable-store sales were up 3% in the quarter. The company plans to open nine new warehouses before the end of the year, it said in a statement. Shares had ended the regular session down 1.3%.</p>
<p>Copyright © 2016 MarketWatch, Inc.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
|
Costco Shares Up 1.8% After Earnings Beat Estimates
| true |
http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/09/29/costco-shares-up-18-after-earnings-beat-estimates.html
|
2016-09-29
| 0right
|
Costco Shares Up 1.8% After Earnings Beat Estimates
<p>Costco Wholesale Corp. shares rose 1.8% late Thursday after the giant retailer reported earnings above expectations but flat same-store sales. Costco said it earned $779 million, or $1.77 a share, in its 16-week fourth quarter, compared with $767 million, or $1.73 a share, in the year-ago period. Net sales rose 2% to $35.7 billion in the quarter, the company said. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected the company to report earnings of $1.73 a share on revenue of $35.7 billion. Costco said its U.S. same-store sales fell 1% in the quarter, while total same-store sales were flat. Excluding gasoline sales and foreign-exchange adjustments, however, comparable-store sales were up 3% in the quarter. The company plans to open nine new warehouses before the end of the year, it said in a statement. Shares had ended the regular session down 1.3%.</p>
<p>Copyright © 2016 MarketWatch, Inc.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
| 7,517 |
<p>ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Sunday afternoon's drawing of the New York Lottery's "Numbers Midday" game were:</p>
<p>5-3-6, Lucky Sum: 14</p>
<p>(five, three, six; Lucky Sum: fourteen)</p>
<p>ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Sunday afternoon's drawing of the New York Lottery's "Numbers Midday" game were:</p>
<p>5-3-6, Lucky Sum: 14</p>
<p>(five, three, six; Lucky Sum: fourteen)</p>
|
Winning numbers drawn in 'Numbers Midday' game
| false |
https://apnews.com/amp/b3307a46ee6d49ab846cb1abc7e31c59
|
2018-01-07
| 2least
|
Winning numbers drawn in 'Numbers Midday' game
<p>ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Sunday afternoon's drawing of the New York Lottery's "Numbers Midday" game were:</p>
<p>5-3-6, Lucky Sum: 14</p>
<p>(five, three, six; Lucky Sum: fourteen)</p>
<p>ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Sunday afternoon's drawing of the New York Lottery's "Numbers Midday" game were:</p>
<p>5-3-6, Lucky Sum: 14</p>
<p>(five, three, six; Lucky Sum: fourteen)</p>
| 7,518 |
<p />
<p>This cartoon requires Macromedia’s Flash Player. If you don’t see the cartoon above, <a href="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash" type="external">download the player here</a>.</p>
<p>Mark Fiore is an editorial cartoonist and animator whose work has appeared in the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Examiner, and dozens of other publications. He is an active member of the American Association of Editorial Cartoonists, and has a <a href="http://www.markfiore.com" type="external">web site</a> featuring his work.</p>
<p />
|
Cut and Run
| true |
https://motherjones.com/politics/2006/06/cut-and-run/
|
2006-06-29
| 4left
|
Cut and Run
<p />
<p>This cartoon requires Macromedia’s Flash Player. If you don’t see the cartoon above, <a href="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash" type="external">download the player here</a>.</p>
<p>Mark Fiore is an editorial cartoonist and animator whose work has appeared in the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Examiner, and dozens of other publications. He is an active member of the American Association of Editorial Cartoonists, and has a <a href="http://www.markfiore.com" type="external">web site</a> featuring his work.</p>
<p />
| 7,519 |
<p>TRENTON, N.J. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Friday evening’s drawing of the New Jersey Lottery’s “Pick 3” game were:</p>
<p>4-0-3, Fireball:</p>
<p>(four, zero, three; Fireball: zero)</p>
<p>TRENTON, N.J. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Friday evening’s drawing of the New Jersey Lottery’s “Pick 3” game were:</p>
<p>4-0-3, Fireball:</p>
<p>(four, zero, three; Fireball: zero)</p>
|
Winning numbers drawn in ‘Pick 3’ game
| false |
https://apnews.com/b75e11139a2d498d8dc7a10fc0a99cdd
|
2018-01-13
| 2least
|
Winning numbers drawn in ‘Pick 3’ game
<p>TRENTON, N.J. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Friday evening’s drawing of the New Jersey Lottery’s “Pick 3” game were:</p>
<p>4-0-3, Fireball:</p>
<p>(four, zero, three; Fireball: zero)</p>
<p>TRENTON, N.J. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Friday evening’s drawing of the New Jersey Lottery’s “Pick 3” game were:</p>
<p>4-0-3, Fireball:</p>
<p>(four, zero, three; Fireball: zero)</p>
| 7,520 |
<p>CNN International (CNNi) staged a backdrop of persons — presumably Muslims, including women in hijabs — during a Sunday news segment in London regarding the previous evening’s mass murder Islamic terrorist attack in the U.K. capital.</p>
<p>CNNi likely sought to hype a narrative of widespread Muslim opposition to the Islamic State (ISIS) and Islamic terrorism, more broadly.</p>
<p>Video captured by Twitter user <a href="https://twitter.com/markantro/status/871419204846669825" type="external">@markantro</a> shows CNNi's Becky Anderson directing the ostensibly anti-jihad Muslims to appear as backdrops for a live segment. Watch the event below.</p>
<p>Becky Anderson hyped the incident during her live broadcast, describing it as "wonderful" and "poignant." She did not ask any of the Muslims about the ubiquity of opposition toward Western values among their co-religionists.</p>
<p>Watch below to see how the segment was presented to CNNi's audience.</p>
<p>Dissident news media observers noted CNNi's conduct:</p>
<p>WATCH. <a href="https://twitter.com/CNN" type="external">@CNN</a> scripting a narrative. Right before your eyes. <a href="https://t.co/rdRbQzbqgy" type="external">pic.twitter.com/rdRbQzbqgy</a></p>
<p>CNN have just been caught in a leaked video with reporter <a href="https://twitter.com/BeckyCNN" type="external">@BeckyCNN</a> FAKING a muslim protest against <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LondonBridge?src=hash" type="external">#LondonBridge</a>. <a href="https://t.co/XLdtNq6Rmr" type="external">pic.twitter.com/XLdtNq6Rmr</a></p>
<p>CNN's Brian Stelter, its premier "media reporter," derided dissident news media observers as "far-right" and as "bloggers:"</p>
<p>CNN news media figures regularly deny the overlap between Islamic terrorism, Islam, and Muslims. CNN “experts” and “analysts” regularly frame Islamic terrorism as function of economic determinism, pushing neo-Marxist narratives of alleged economic marginalization as a driver of Islamic terrorism.</p>
<p>“Islamophobia” is a term regularly deployed by CNN’s anchors, “experts,” and other contributors.</p>
<p>CNN presents itself as an objective and non-partisan news media outlet, marketing itself as "The Most Trusted Name In News."</p>
<p>Follow Robert Kraychik on <a href="https://twitter.com/kr3ch3k" type="external">Twitter</a>.</p>
|
#FakeNews: CNN Caught Arranging Muslims As Backdrop
| true |
https://dailywire.com/news/17141/fakenews-cnn-caught-arranging-muslims-backdrop-robert-kraychik
|
2017-06-04
| 0right
|
#FakeNews: CNN Caught Arranging Muslims As Backdrop
<p>CNN International (CNNi) staged a backdrop of persons — presumably Muslims, including women in hijabs — during a Sunday news segment in London regarding the previous evening’s mass murder Islamic terrorist attack in the U.K. capital.</p>
<p>CNNi likely sought to hype a narrative of widespread Muslim opposition to the Islamic State (ISIS) and Islamic terrorism, more broadly.</p>
<p>Video captured by Twitter user <a href="https://twitter.com/markantro/status/871419204846669825" type="external">@markantro</a> shows CNNi's Becky Anderson directing the ostensibly anti-jihad Muslims to appear as backdrops for a live segment. Watch the event below.</p>
<p>Becky Anderson hyped the incident during her live broadcast, describing it as "wonderful" and "poignant." She did not ask any of the Muslims about the ubiquity of opposition toward Western values among their co-religionists.</p>
<p>Watch below to see how the segment was presented to CNNi's audience.</p>
<p>Dissident news media observers noted CNNi's conduct:</p>
<p>WATCH. <a href="https://twitter.com/CNN" type="external">@CNN</a> scripting a narrative. Right before your eyes. <a href="https://t.co/rdRbQzbqgy" type="external">pic.twitter.com/rdRbQzbqgy</a></p>
<p>CNN have just been caught in a leaked video with reporter <a href="https://twitter.com/BeckyCNN" type="external">@BeckyCNN</a> FAKING a muslim protest against <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LondonBridge?src=hash" type="external">#LondonBridge</a>. <a href="https://t.co/XLdtNq6Rmr" type="external">pic.twitter.com/XLdtNq6Rmr</a></p>
<p>CNN's Brian Stelter, its premier "media reporter," derided dissident news media observers as "far-right" and as "bloggers:"</p>
<p>CNN news media figures regularly deny the overlap between Islamic terrorism, Islam, and Muslims. CNN “experts” and “analysts” regularly frame Islamic terrorism as function of economic determinism, pushing neo-Marxist narratives of alleged economic marginalization as a driver of Islamic terrorism.</p>
<p>“Islamophobia” is a term regularly deployed by CNN’s anchors, “experts,” and other contributors.</p>
<p>CNN presents itself as an objective and non-partisan news media outlet, marketing itself as "The Most Trusted Name In News."</p>
<p>Follow Robert Kraychik on <a href="https://twitter.com/kr3ch3k" type="external">Twitter</a>.</p>
| 7,521 |
<p>New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo enacted a ban on official state travel to North Carolina after its legislature passed a notorious anti-LGBT law. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael K. Lavers)</p>
<p>In the aftermath of states enacting anti-LGBT laws, other jurisdictions have responded with bans on state-sponsored travel to those places — and the impact is already being felt in the sports world.</p>
<p>A number of states and D.C. enacted travel bans to North Carolina after passage of House Bill 2 — and renewed those bans after North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper replaced it with another law critics say is still discriminatory.</p>
<p>As a result of the travel ban enacted by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the State University of New York at Albany last year had to back out of a non-conference men’s basketball game set to take place at Duke University. Additionally, the NCAA altered the seeding for Stony Brook University’s women’s lacrosse team in the postseason tournament so the team wouldn’t have to travel to University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.</p>
<p>The New York ban is also influencing upcoming games in the Colonial Athletic Association, the only Division 1 conference whose membership includes public schools in New York and at least one in North Carolina. It makes things complicated for Stony Brook University’s football team, which is set to compete against Elon University in the fall.</p>
<p>Because the competition was scheduled before House Bill 2 became law, New York granted Stony Brook an exemption to the travel ban, but that won’t be an option in the future. The conference is now identifying a different scheduling matrix for games between 2018 and 2021.</p>
<p>Hudson Taylor, executive director of Athlete Ally, said the rescheduling of the conference demonstrates the travel bans are having an impact.</p>
<p>“They’re having to completely overhaul their scheduling processes to change how games are scheduled and where there can be held because they’re seeing teams who are saying we’re not going to travel and we’re not going to compete,” Taylor said. “We’re definitely seeing an impact — at least at the conference level about the approach to scheduling games and where these types of competition will be held.”</p>
<p>Even though the bans are only for state-sponsored travel, and thus would affect only public schools, not private schools, Taylor said even private schools are acting with anti-LGBT laws in mind in terms of sporting events.</p>
<p>The Marist Red Foxes, for example, made the decision to travel last year to North Carolina to compete at Duke University, but also met with a local LGBT center and wore special warm up gear to show solidarity with LGBT people. According to ESPN, many teammates sported red, tie-dyed shirts that read “Love is Love” on the front and “I stand on the right side of history.”</p>
<p>“They felt and I think a lot of schools are going to feel that if we can actually travel and make a difference … that is a more meaningful experience, than, just say, boycotting,” Taylor said.</p>
<p>Whether these interferences with sporting events are having an impact on anti-LGBT laws is another question. After all, HB2 may be gone, but North Carolina’s new law bars city pro-LGBT ordinances for three years and state institutions from making bathroom policies for transgender people.</p>
<p>Hudson said the cancellation of sporting events is “another arrow in the quiver for the movement,” but the impact is still playing out and may be more clear at a later time.</p>
<p>If Texas goes through during its special session called by Gov. Greg Abbott with an anti-LGBT law of its own, Hudson said there could be additional fallout with sporting events, citing recent opposition from the Dallas Stars to the pending proposal.</p>
<p>“I think it’s very possible we see the anti-LGBT laws that were introduced be defeated and not pass during the special session,” Taylor said.” And I think you can attribute some of the pressure that these bans and statements from the athletic community that they’re making, I think you can attribute some of that to the failure of the bills, should it happen in Texas.”</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">2017 Sports Issue</a> <a href="" type="internal">Andrew Cuomo</a> <a href="" type="internal">Athlete Ally</a> <a href="" type="internal">Duke University</a> <a href="" type="internal">Hudson Taylor</a> <a href="" type="internal">Marist Red Foxes</a> <a href="" type="internal">Roy Cooper</a> <a href="" type="internal">Stony Brook University</a></p>
|
Travel bans complicate sporting events in states with anti-LGBT laws
| false |
http://washingtonblade.com/2017/08/25/travel-bans-complicate-sporting-events-states-anti-lgbt-laws/
| 3left-center
|
Travel bans complicate sporting events in states with anti-LGBT laws
<p>New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo enacted a ban on official state travel to North Carolina after its legislature passed a notorious anti-LGBT law. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael K. Lavers)</p>
<p>In the aftermath of states enacting anti-LGBT laws, other jurisdictions have responded with bans on state-sponsored travel to those places — and the impact is already being felt in the sports world.</p>
<p>A number of states and D.C. enacted travel bans to North Carolina after passage of House Bill 2 — and renewed those bans after North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper replaced it with another law critics say is still discriminatory.</p>
<p>As a result of the travel ban enacted by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the State University of New York at Albany last year had to back out of a non-conference men’s basketball game set to take place at Duke University. Additionally, the NCAA altered the seeding for Stony Brook University’s women’s lacrosse team in the postseason tournament so the team wouldn’t have to travel to University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.</p>
<p>The New York ban is also influencing upcoming games in the Colonial Athletic Association, the only Division 1 conference whose membership includes public schools in New York and at least one in North Carolina. It makes things complicated for Stony Brook University’s football team, which is set to compete against Elon University in the fall.</p>
<p>Because the competition was scheduled before House Bill 2 became law, New York granted Stony Brook an exemption to the travel ban, but that won’t be an option in the future. The conference is now identifying a different scheduling matrix for games between 2018 and 2021.</p>
<p>Hudson Taylor, executive director of Athlete Ally, said the rescheduling of the conference demonstrates the travel bans are having an impact.</p>
<p>“They’re having to completely overhaul their scheduling processes to change how games are scheduled and where there can be held because they’re seeing teams who are saying we’re not going to travel and we’re not going to compete,” Taylor said. “We’re definitely seeing an impact — at least at the conference level about the approach to scheduling games and where these types of competition will be held.”</p>
<p>Even though the bans are only for state-sponsored travel, and thus would affect only public schools, not private schools, Taylor said even private schools are acting with anti-LGBT laws in mind in terms of sporting events.</p>
<p>The Marist Red Foxes, for example, made the decision to travel last year to North Carolina to compete at Duke University, but also met with a local LGBT center and wore special warm up gear to show solidarity with LGBT people. According to ESPN, many teammates sported red, tie-dyed shirts that read “Love is Love” on the front and “I stand on the right side of history.”</p>
<p>“They felt and I think a lot of schools are going to feel that if we can actually travel and make a difference … that is a more meaningful experience, than, just say, boycotting,” Taylor said.</p>
<p>Whether these interferences with sporting events are having an impact on anti-LGBT laws is another question. After all, HB2 may be gone, but North Carolina’s new law bars city pro-LGBT ordinances for three years and state institutions from making bathroom policies for transgender people.</p>
<p>Hudson said the cancellation of sporting events is “another arrow in the quiver for the movement,” but the impact is still playing out and may be more clear at a later time.</p>
<p>If Texas goes through during its special session called by Gov. Greg Abbott with an anti-LGBT law of its own, Hudson said there could be additional fallout with sporting events, citing recent opposition from the Dallas Stars to the pending proposal.</p>
<p>“I think it’s very possible we see the anti-LGBT laws that were introduced be defeated and not pass during the special session,” Taylor said.” And I think you can attribute some of the pressure that these bans and statements from the athletic community that they’re making, I think you can attribute some of that to the failure of the bills, should it happen in Texas.”</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">2017 Sports Issue</a> <a href="" type="internal">Andrew Cuomo</a> <a href="" type="internal">Athlete Ally</a> <a href="" type="internal">Duke University</a> <a href="" type="internal">Hudson Taylor</a> <a href="" type="internal">Marist Red Foxes</a> <a href="" type="internal">Roy Cooper</a> <a href="" type="internal">Stony Brook University</a></p>
| 7,522 |
|
<p>If one wonders why our patriarchal society is so hard to break, this Southern woman's comment about CEO's abandoning Trump says it all.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>A Southern woman was upset that CEOs dumped Trump over his statements following the Charlottesville massacre. This host did not take kindly to her comments.</p>
<p>MSNBC's Mariana Atencio went around Memphis Tennessee and asked several Southerners for their thoughts on the CEO's leaving Donald Trump's councils because of his Charlottesville comments. The comment from one resident was striking.</p>
<p>"This country has seen a decline in real men," the woman said. "And I think that is what we have. We have a bunch of girly men is what I call them. Let me go with the flow. Let me do whatever is going to get me a little attention right now. That's what I think of them. I don't think a lot about them."</p>
<p>It was refreshing listening to a millennial who got it. The millennial explained what the country needed to do to move forward.</p>
<p>"I think the first step is admitting there is a problem," the millennial said. "And not chalking it up to people being overly sensitive. Our history is still pretty entrenched in all the racism, especially in this area."</p>
<p>There is no doubt that Stephanie Ruhle would respond and she did.</p>
<p>"Mariana, you did that soundbite just for me," Ruhle said with an attitude. "This country's real men are turning into girly men? You know what? This girly girl, she's got time for girly men. Man, that one killed me."</p>
<p>Until every American acknowledge their worth and believe that every single human being is equal, change will be slow. It is essential that every American understand that no one supersedes another. Every American must be bold and <a href="" type="internal">assert their worth</a>.</p>
<p>Also published on <a href="https://medium.com/@egbertowillies/msnbc-host-reacts-to-southern-woman-girly-men-comment-on-ceos-leaving-trump-video-9c2e41119318" type="external">Medium</a>.</p>
|
MSNBC Host reacts to Southern woman “Girly Men” comment on CEOs leaving Trump (VIDEO)
| true |
https://egbertowillies.com/2017/08/17/msnbc-host-reacts-girly-men-trump-ceo/
|
2017-08-17
| 4left
|
MSNBC Host reacts to Southern woman “Girly Men” comment on CEOs leaving Trump (VIDEO)
<p>If one wonders why our patriarchal society is so hard to break, this Southern woman's comment about CEO's abandoning Trump says it all.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>A Southern woman was upset that CEOs dumped Trump over his statements following the Charlottesville massacre. This host did not take kindly to her comments.</p>
<p>MSNBC's Mariana Atencio went around Memphis Tennessee and asked several Southerners for their thoughts on the CEO's leaving Donald Trump's councils because of his Charlottesville comments. The comment from one resident was striking.</p>
<p>"This country has seen a decline in real men," the woman said. "And I think that is what we have. We have a bunch of girly men is what I call them. Let me go with the flow. Let me do whatever is going to get me a little attention right now. That's what I think of them. I don't think a lot about them."</p>
<p>It was refreshing listening to a millennial who got it. The millennial explained what the country needed to do to move forward.</p>
<p>"I think the first step is admitting there is a problem," the millennial said. "And not chalking it up to people being overly sensitive. Our history is still pretty entrenched in all the racism, especially in this area."</p>
<p>There is no doubt that Stephanie Ruhle would respond and she did.</p>
<p>"Mariana, you did that soundbite just for me," Ruhle said with an attitude. "This country's real men are turning into girly men? You know what? This girly girl, she's got time for girly men. Man, that one killed me."</p>
<p>Until every American acknowledge their worth and believe that every single human being is equal, change will be slow. It is essential that every American understand that no one supersedes another. Every American must be bold and <a href="" type="internal">assert their worth</a>.</p>
<p>Also published on <a href="https://medium.com/@egbertowillies/msnbc-host-reacts-to-southern-woman-girly-men-comment-on-ceos-leaving-trump-video-9c2e41119318" type="external">Medium</a>.</p>
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<p />
<p>So much for being pro-life. Nebraska, the state that outlawed nearly all abortions past 20 weeks, eliminated prenatal care for about 1600 Medicaid patients last March. A year later, the results are stark: at least five babies have died and more women are foregoing prenatal care, with sometimes tragic consequences. As the Lincoln Journal Star <a href="http://journalstar.com/news/unicameral/article_3f09d308-64e8-55be-b981-c571c9a95c3f.html" type="external">reports</a>:&#160;</p>
<p>At least five babies have died. Women are traveling&#160;155 miles to get prenatal care. Babies have been delivered at clinics,&#160;in ambulances and hospital emergency rooms… About half of the women dropped from the program are undocumented. Those&#160;babies&#160;are U.S. citizens as soon as they are born and will automatically qualify for Medicaid health services upon delivery.</p>
<p>At the Good Neighbor Community Health Center in Columbus, the number of female patients has doubled, and the income for the prenatal program has dropped drastically, said Rebecca Rayman, executive director. Women are coming to the center from 22 counties. Even&#160;with shifting money from other programs, the clinic finished 2010 losing $167,530. Four infants died in utero at the Columbus health center, she said. In the previous seven years, the clinic had never had an in utero death.</p>
<p>A <a href="http://www.nebraskalegislature.gov/bills/view_bill.php?DocumentID=12159" type="external">bill</a> currently on the Nebraska state floor would reinstate Medicaid prenatal coverage for all Nebraska “pre-citizens”, regardless of the legal status of their mothers. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Kathy Campbell, states that “ensuring prenatal care for more children will significantly help reduce infant mortality… and will spare many infants from the burden of congenital disabilities and reduce the cost of treating those congenital disabilities after birth.” However, <a href="http://www.nebraskalegislature.gov/bills/view_bill.php?DocumentID=10409" type="external">a similar bill</a> sponsored by Campbell failed in 2010 because Campbell <a href="http://www.omaha.com/article/20100315/NEWS01/100319714#prenatal-compromise-seen" type="external">could not get enough votes</a> to pass it in the Senate. Part of the lack of support came from increased pressure by anti-immigration groups, but a <a href="http://www.omaha.com/article/20100305/NEWS01/703059880" type="external">threatened</a> veto by Gov. Dave Heineman was key.</p>
<p>Pro-life groups have been divided on the issue of providing care to undocumented pregnant women in Nebraska. The Archdiocese of Nebraska <a href="http://www.nebcathcon.org/bishops%27_statements.htm" type="external">endorsed Campbell’s bill</a> reinstating prenatal coverage, but Nebraska Right to Life continued to endorse Gov. Heineman even after he decided that not all unborn children are created equal. It’s ironic that although Gov. Heineman has been <a href="" type="internal">rabidly anti-abortion</a>, his anti-immigrant views may be creating more terminations. Some low-income women <a href="http://www.omaha.com/article/20100819/NEWS97/708209977" type="external">reportedly told their doctors</a> they would be getting abortions rather than go through pregnancy and birth without any prenatal care. As Caron Gray, an OB/GYN practicing at the Creighton Medical Center in Omaha, <a href="http://cojmc.unl.edu/immigration/?tag=senator-kathy-campbell" type="external">told a reporter</a>: “It comes down to a pro-life issue. If you are pro-life, then you would be doing all you can to provide care for the unborn US citizens.”</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>h/t <a href="http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2011/03/25/nebraska-immigration-prenatal/" type="external">Wonkette</a></p>
<p />
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Nebraska Denies Prenatal Care to Undocumented Women
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https://motherjones.com/politics/2011/03/babies-die-nebraska-due-lack-prenatal-care/
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2011-03-30
| 4left
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Nebraska Denies Prenatal Care to Undocumented Women
<p />
<p>So much for being pro-life. Nebraska, the state that outlawed nearly all abortions past 20 weeks, eliminated prenatal care for about 1600 Medicaid patients last March. A year later, the results are stark: at least five babies have died and more women are foregoing prenatal care, with sometimes tragic consequences. As the Lincoln Journal Star <a href="http://journalstar.com/news/unicameral/article_3f09d308-64e8-55be-b981-c571c9a95c3f.html" type="external">reports</a>:&#160;</p>
<p>At least five babies have died. Women are traveling&#160;155 miles to get prenatal care. Babies have been delivered at clinics,&#160;in ambulances and hospital emergency rooms… About half of the women dropped from the program are undocumented. Those&#160;babies&#160;are U.S. citizens as soon as they are born and will automatically qualify for Medicaid health services upon delivery.</p>
<p>At the Good Neighbor Community Health Center in Columbus, the number of female patients has doubled, and the income for the prenatal program has dropped drastically, said Rebecca Rayman, executive director. Women are coming to the center from 22 counties. Even&#160;with shifting money from other programs, the clinic finished 2010 losing $167,530. Four infants died in utero at the Columbus health center, she said. In the previous seven years, the clinic had never had an in utero death.</p>
<p>A <a href="http://www.nebraskalegislature.gov/bills/view_bill.php?DocumentID=12159" type="external">bill</a> currently on the Nebraska state floor would reinstate Medicaid prenatal coverage for all Nebraska “pre-citizens”, regardless of the legal status of their mothers. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Kathy Campbell, states that “ensuring prenatal care for more children will significantly help reduce infant mortality… and will spare many infants from the burden of congenital disabilities and reduce the cost of treating those congenital disabilities after birth.” However, <a href="http://www.nebraskalegislature.gov/bills/view_bill.php?DocumentID=10409" type="external">a similar bill</a> sponsored by Campbell failed in 2010 because Campbell <a href="http://www.omaha.com/article/20100315/NEWS01/100319714#prenatal-compromise-seen" type="external">could not get enough votes</a> to pass it in the Senate. Part of the lack of support came from increased pressure by anti-immigration groups, but a <a href="http://www.omaha.com/article/20100305/NEWS01/703059880" type="external">threatened</a> veto by Gov. Dave Heineman was key.</p>
<p>Pro-life groups have been divided on the issue of providing care to undocumented pregnant women in Nebraska. The Archdiocese of Nebraska <a href="http://www.nebcathcon.org/bishops%27_statements.htm" type="external">endorsed Campbell’s bill</a> reinstating prenatal coverage, but Nebraska Right to Life continued to endorse Gov. Heineman even after he decided that not all unborn children are created equal. It’s ironic that although Gov. Heineman has been <a href="" type="internal">rabidly anti-abortion</a>, his anti-immigrant views may be creating more terminations. Some low-income women <a href="http://www.omaha.com/article/20100819/NEWS97/708209977" type="external">reportedly told their doctors</a> they would be getting abortions rather than go through pregnancy and birth without any prenatal care. As Caron Gray, an OB/GYN practicing at the Creighton Medical Center in Omaha, <a href="http://cojmc.unl.edu/immigration/?tag=senator-kathy-campbell" type="external">told a reporter</a>: “It comes down to a pro-life issue. If you are pro-life, then you would be doing all you can to provide care for the unborn US citizens.”</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>h/t <a href="http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2011/03/25/nebraska-immigration-prenatal/" type="external">Wonkette</a></p>
<p />
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<p>Cabela’s (NYSE:CAB) reported strong demand for guns and shooting accessories during the third quarter, reflecting an industry-wide surge during a presidential election year.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The outdoor retailer, <a href="" type="internal">which recently agreed to a takeover by rival Bass Pro Shops</a>, said Wednesday sales at Cabela’s stores open at least a year fell 2.3% in the quarter. But Cabela’s saw positive sales trends for firearms and shooting-related categories, such as ammunition. Optics, like rifle scopes, also flew off the shelves.</p>
<p>Cabela’s added that shooting categories, along with fishing, camping and powersports, lifted Internet and catalog sales by 3.6%. After flattening in 2014, gun sales began to heat back up at the conclusion of 2015 and easily set new records this year, just as the race for the White House kicked into high gear.</p>
<p>Smith &amp; Wesson (NASDAQ:SWHC) said last month its quarterly net sales climbed 40% versus the same period a year ago, citing strong consumer demand. The FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System processed 1.99 million checks in September, a 10.9% year-over-year increase to mark a new record for the month. The FBI has recorded all-time highs in every month of 2016, and background checks are on pace to surpass the annual record of 23.1 million set in 2015.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Read: Ruger CEO Says Clinton a Threat to Gun Rights</a></p>
<p>The FBI’s background checks are not an exact tally of gun sales. Adjusted figures, which exclude non-purchasing activity like permit applications, are used by the firearms industry to measure sales.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>On an adjusted basis, NICS checks edged lower by an estimated 51,000 from August to September, <a href="http://www.guns.com/2016/10/04/biggest-september-on-record-for-federal-background-checks/" type="external">according to data cited by Guns.com Opens a New Window.</a>. However, the National Shooting Sports Foundation hasn’t released its usual monthly report because of irregularities tied to the FBI’s new computer system. Kentucky background checks weren’t included in full for the month of August, leading to a large underreporting of checks.</p>
<p>Even with some data missing, the FBI set a new record for August background checks at 1.85 million, up 6.1% year-over-year.</p>
<p>At Cabela’s, softer demand for apparel hampered overall third-quarter results. The Sidney, Neb.-based retailer booked earnings that fell 35.4% to $28.2 million, or 41 cents a share. Adjusted earnings slipped to 53 cents a share, compared to Wall Street’s estimate of 81 cents.</p>
<p>Revenue grew 7.6% to $996.5 million. Analysts expected a slightly higher number of $1.02 billion.</p>
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Gun Sales Surging in Election Year
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http://foxbusiness.com/features/2016/10/26/gun-sales-surging-in-election-year.html
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2016-10-26
| 0right
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Gun Sales Surging in Election Year
<p />
<p>Cabela’s (NYSE:CAB) reported strong demand for guns and shooting accessories during the third quarter, reflecting an industry-wide surge during a presidential election year.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The outdoor retailer, <a href="" type="internal">which recently agreed to a takeover by rival Bass Pro Shops</a>, said Wednesday sales at Cabela’s stores open at least a year fell 2.3% in the quarter. But Cabela’s saw positive sales trends for firearms and shooting-related categories, such as ammunition. Optics, like rifle scopes, also flew off the shelves.</p>
<p>Cabela’s added that shooting categories, along with fishing, camping and powersports, lifted Internet and catalog sales by 3.6%. After flattening in 2014, gun sales began to heat back up at the conclusion of 2015 and easily set new records this year, just as the race for the White House kicked into high gear.</p>
<p>Smith &amp; Wesson (NASDAQ:SWHC) said last month its quarterly net sales climbed 40% versus the same period a year ago, citing strong consumer demand. The FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System processed 1.99 million checks in September, a 10.9% year-over-year increase to mark a new record for the month. The FBI has recorded all-time highs in every month of 2016, and background checks are on pace to surpass the annual record of 23.1 million set in 2015.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Read: Ruger CEO Says Clinton a Threat to Gun Rights</a></p>
<p>The FBI’s background checks are not an exact tally of gun sales. Adjusted figures, which exclude non-purchasing activity like permit applications, are used by the firearms industry to measure sales.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>On an adjusted basis, NICS checks edged lower by an estimated 51,000 from August to September, <a href="http://www.guns.com/2016/10/04/biggest-september-on-record-for-federal-background-checks/" type="external">according to data cited by Guns.com Opens a New Window.</a>. However, the National Shooting Sports Foundation hasn’t released its usual monthly report because of irregularities tied to the FBI’s new computer system. Kentucky background checks weren’t included in full for the month of August, leading to a large underreporting of checks.</p>
<p>Even with some data missing, the FBI set a new record for August background checks at 1.85 million, up 6.1% year-over-year.</p>
<p>At Cabela’s, softer demand for apparel hampered overall third-quarter results. The Sidney, Neb.-based retailer booked earnings that fell 35.4% to $28.2 million, or 41 cents a share. Adjusted earnings slipped to 53 cents a share, compared to Wall Street’s estimate of 81 cents.</p>
<p>Revenue grew 7.6% to $996.5 million. Analysts expected a slightly higher number of $1.02 billion.</p>
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<p><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/25/politics/donald-trump-megyn-kelly-iowa-rally/index.html" type="external">At a&#160;press event in Iowa Tuesday</a>, Donald Trump had Univision news anchor <a href="http://fusion.net/story/155332/jorge-ramos-trump-youre-fired/" type="external">Jorge Ramos</a>&#160;removed by security after the <a href="http://fusion.net/story/155332/jorge-ramos-trump-youre-fired/" type="external">Trump critic</a> challenged the GOP front-runner&#160;for his positions on immigration.</p>
<p>“Sit down, go back to Univision,” Trump said, before Ramos was removed.</p>
<p>Watch:</p>
<p />
<p>Ramos reportedly returned some time later.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p />
<p>Also, <a href="https://twitter.com/Walldo/status/636315143412969474" type="external">via Brandon Wal</a>l, this is apparently how Trump calls for security:</p>
<p />
<p>&#160;</p>
<p />
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Donald Trump Just Had Univision Anchor Jorge Ramos Thrown Out of a Press Conference
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https://motherjones.com/politics/2015/08/trump-removes-univision-reporter-ramos-presser/
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2015-08-25
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Donald Trump Just Had Univision Anchor Jorge Ramos Thrown Out of a Press Conference
<p />
<p><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/25/politics/donald-trump-megyn-kelly-iowa-rally/index.html" type="external">At a&#160;press event in Iowa Tuesday</a>, Donald Trump had Univision news anchor <a href="http://fusion.net/story/155332/jorge-ramos-trump-youre-fired/" type="external">Jorge Ramos</a>&#160;removed by security after the <a href="http://fusion.net/story/155332/jorge-ramos-trump-youre-fired/" type="external">Trump critic</a> challenged the GOP front-runner&#160;for his positions on immigration.</p>
<p>“Sit down, go back to Univision,” Trump said, before Ramos was removed.</p>
<p>Watch:</p>
<p />
<p>Ramos reportedly returned some time later.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p />
<p>Also, <a href="https://twitter.com/Walldo/status/636315143412969474" type="external">via Brandon Wal</a>l, this is apparently how Trump calls for security:</p>
<p />
<p>&#160;</p>
<p />
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<p>ETF Trends publisher/editor Tom Lydon spoke with Tony Davidow (Alternative Beta and Asset Allocation Strategist, Schwab Center for Financial Research) and Rolf Agather (Managing Director of North America Research, FTSE Russell) at the Morningstar ETF Conference in Chicago that ran Sept. 7-9, 2016.</p>
<p>Davidow and Agather talked about smart beta ETF strategies and the need for education as the ETF space continues to grow.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Charles Schwab has produced the follow papers (click to download):</p>
<p><a href="http://www.etftrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Millennials-and-ETFs-A-Love-Story.pdf" type="external">Millennials and ETFs – A Love Story Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.etftrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/ETFs-Investing-Game-Changers.pdf" type="external">ETFs Investing Game Changers Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.etftrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/2016-ETF-Investor-Study.pdf" type="external">2016 ETF Investor Study Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UOUY1JMwwk" type="external">Click here to watch on YouTube! Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p><a href="http://www.etftrends.com/2016/10/understanding-smart-beta-strategies-as-etf-industry-evolves/" type="external">This article Opens a New Window.</a> was provided by our partners at ETFTrends.</p>
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Understanding Smart Beta Strategies as ETF Industry Evolves
| true |
http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/10/03/understanding-smart-beta-strategies-as-etf-industry-evolves.html
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2016-10-03
| 0right
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Understanding Smart Beta Strategies as ETF Industry Evolves
<p>ETF Trends publisher/editor Tom Lydon spoke with Tony Davidow (Alternative Beta and Asset Allocation Strategist, Schwab Center for Financial Research) and Rolf Agather (Managing Director of North America Research, FTSE Russell) at the Morningstar ETF Conference in Chicago that ran Sept. 7-9, 2016.</p>
<p>Davidow and Agather talked about smart beta ETF strategies and the need for education as the ETF space continues to grow.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Charles Schwab has produced the follow papers (click to download):</p>
<p><a href="http://www.etftrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Millennials-and-ETFs-A-Love-Story.pdf" type="external">Millennials and ETFs – A Love Story Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.etftrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/ETFs-Investing-Game-Changers.pdf" type="external">ETFs Investing Game Changers Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.etftrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/2016-ETF-Investor-Study.pdf" type="external">2016 ETF Investor Study Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UOUY1JMwwk" type="external">Click here to watch on YouTube! Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p><a href="http://www.etftrends.com/2016/10/understanding-smart-beta-strategies-as-etf-industry-evolves/" type="external">This article Opens a New Window.</a> was provided by our partners at ETFTrends.</p>
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<p />
<p>Just four years ago, Kimberly Hill was a poster child for welfare reform.</p>
<p>A tall, strikingly attractive mother of two, she had been on welfare off and on for several years until, in 1995, a caseworker urged her to get computer training. Her first job — for which she rated a mention in a 1998 San Francisco Chronicle story titled “Firms Find Talent Among Disabled, Welfare Recipients” — was no prize. “People knew I was off welfare,” she told us, “and they treated me like I had the plague.” Hired as an administrative assistant, she found herself being asked to clean the rest room. She got luckier with her next job, at a staffing agency, where, after a series of promotions, she was earning $65,000 a year. Then, on December 20, 2001, just as the recession became official, she was laid off.</p>
<p>Hill meets us at Starbucks because she doesn’t think the neighborhood where she lives is a good place for us to be wandering around. She is confident and direct, but admits to feeling the stress of being out of work. She has found one part-time office job and is about to add another, but neither offers health insurance. We ask if she would go back on welfare if things got bad enough. “No,” she says, thrusting her chin out for emphasis. “It’s too horrible, a horrible experience — demeaning.”</p>
<p>Beverly Ransom was another welfare-to-work success story. We met her in Miami’s Liberty City — site of the 1980 riot — at the storefront office of Low Income Families Fighting Together, a community organization that works for welfare rights and affordable housing. A bright-eyed, straight-backed woman of 50, with gray hair pulled back into a small ponytail, she speaks with pride about the catering job she found after years on welfare. But lately the work has fallen off; the catering companies that used to give her more work than she could handle just haven’t been calling anymore. “Catering is based on tourism,” she says. “Last year at this time I had so much work I had to beg for days off. Now I need food stamps.” She gets $118 a week from unemployment insurance, but rent for herself and her children, who are 12 and 14, is $500 a month. Her biggest fear is that she’ll end up in a shelter: “What do I do? My kids are at an age where they would be traumatized.”</p>
<p>In 1996, when welfare reform was enacted, a recession seemed about as likely as the destruction of the World Trade Center by a handful of men armed with box cutters. The assumptions behind welfare reform were, one, that a job could lift a family out of poverty and, two, that there would always be enough jobs for anyone plucky enough to go out and land one. The first assumption was shaky from the start; women leaving welfare ended up earning an average of less than $8 an hour, hardly enough to support a family. Now the second assumption has crumbled as well: More than 2 million people lost their jobs last year, and single mothers have been especially hard hit. According to the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, the employment rate of women who head families fell far more sharply last fall than overall employment, by three percentage points in just three months.</p>
<p>There is, of course, a venerable New Deal program to protect laid-off workers — unemployment insurance — but it is, perversely enough, designed to offer the least help to those who need it the most. People in temporary, part-time, or very low-wage jobs — the kind most often available to someone leaving welfare — often don’t qualify for benefits. According to the Economic Policy Institute, about 70 percent of former welfare recipients who have lost their jobs during the current recession are not eligible for unemployment.</p>
<p>In the past, poor single mothers had their own form of unemployment insurance — welfare. Contrary to the stereotype, most welfare recipients worked, at least intermittently, falling back on public assistance when a child got sick or a car broke down. But in their zeal to save the poor from their supposed sins of laziness, irresponsibility, and promiscuity, the reformers entirely overlooked the role of welfare as a safety net for working mothers. Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF), which is what the new version of welfare is called, has just one aim: to push the poor into the job market to become “self-sufficient.” Whatever sense this made in the boom years when welfare reform was devised, it makes none now. As a poster at an East Harlem community organization put it, the acronym has come to stand for “Torture and Abuse of Needy Families.”</p>
<p>Of course, pre-reform welfare was never adequate: Grants were low (an average of $550 a month nationwide), and recipients were routinely hassled and humiliated by the bureaucracy. Still, under the old system, if you were demonstrably poor and had children to support, you were entitled to cash assistance. The new system, legislated in 1996 with the passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, ended that entitlement. The law set strict time limits on assistance (no more than five years in a lifetime for most people), encouraged private companies to bid on contracts to administer welfare, and gave states wide discretion to cut people from the rolls.</p>
<p>Under the current system, someone who applies for welfare is lucky to get any benefits. More likely, the family will be “diverted” — sent to a food bank, told to apply for child support from an absentee parent, or assigned to a training program designed to keep them searching for a job. Those who make it through this process may see their benefits cut for any of a multitude of infractions (including, in some cases, having a child who regularly skips school).</p>
<p>These practices, often characterized as part of an effort to endow the poor with “self-esteem,” have been extremely effective — at least at cutting the welfare rolls. A report by the National Campaign for Jobs and Income Support shows that welfare caseloads rose as unemployment went up in the recession of 1990-1991, but that this time, caseloads actually fell in 14 of the 47 states where unemployment rose between March and December 2001. In Wisconsin, the state that pioneered a particularly draconian version of welfare reform under the leadership of former governor and current Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson, unemployment rose by 0.6 percentage points during the same period, but the welfare rolls just kept on dropping — by 29 percentage points. And changes now being debated could make the program even less accessible to poor families: With TANF up for reauthorization in Congress by September 30, the Bush administration is pushing measures that would make benefits more difficult to get, and even harder to keep.</p>
<p>So what do you do when there are few jobs available and the safety net lies in tatters? We talked to former welfare recipients who recently lost their jobs in five states — New York, Oregon, California, Florida, and Illinois. Some had already exhausted their five-year lifetime benefit limit; others remained potentially eligible for welfare. None of them were having much luck. While the media tends to focus on displaced dot-commers and laid-off Enron executives, these women represent the hidden underside of the recession. In the scary new world of post-welfare America, their experience has been like that of someone who looks out an airplane window on a bright, clear day and sees nothing at all below.</p>
<p>Janet Cook is one of the many who have gone from welfare to work to nothing in a few short years. We talked to her by phone at a residential motel in Portland, Oregon, where she was paying more than $300 a week for the single room she shared with her husband and their four children. Cook, who is in her late 30s, held a job with a truck manufacturer for six years until she was laid off last April. Her husband is a construction worker, and they used to live in the houses that his company was working on, moving on as each was completed. Then, last fall, the company relocated to another city, and the couple decided to stay rather than yank their kids out of school. With no jobs in sight and their savings soon eaten up by the motel bills, there was nothing to do but apply for welfare.</p>
<p>It’s “murder to get through the process,” Cook says. “You have to be flat broke so you can’t function. They want you to land a job, so they make you wait. They don’t give you cash for the first two weeks. The first week they make you attend a job workshop. The second week is job search. If you miss one hour, you start over for the whole two weeks.” On the day we spoke to her, the family was leaving the motel and moving to a shelter. (Cook ultimately did get benefits, but not until a Legal Aid attorney intervened on her behalf.)</p>
<p>All of the former welfare recipients we interviewed described the maze of obstacles that now lies between a needy family and even a paltry amount of cash assistance — a set of hurdles far more daunting than the pre-reform bureaucracy. There are long lines in welfare centers with waits, one New York woman told us, of up to nine hours. In a Latino neighborhood, there may be no Spanish-speaking caseworker on duty. In the 1960s, a federal regulation required that welfare offices accept oral applications. Now, you may have to fill out the same form three times, just to save the agency photocopying expenses.</p>
<p>“They close your case for any small thing now,” reports Dulce Severino, a mother of two who lives in Brooklyn. “You can’t speak to a social worker — you have to wait a whole day to see them. And they speak badly to people when they finally see them. There are ugly words, almost fights with the social workers.” Another Brooklyn woman reports that “some days there are almost riots” — and there really would be, she believes, if it weren’t for the heavy police presence inside the welfare centers.</p>
<p>Applicants who aren’t turned away at the welfare office often face another obstacle — the private companies that increasingly contract with states and municipalities to administer welfare programs. The 1996 law allows governments to contract with churches and community groups, but most contracts have gone to such distinctly non-faith-based entities as Maximus, Unisys, and Lockheed Martin. Some companies specialize in “job readiness” services; others do everything from conducting interviews to determining recipients’ eligibility, often under contracts that reward them for any funds they do not spend.</p>
<p>Sharon Bush, a mother of four who lives in the East New York section of Brooklyn, applied for welfare in November after medical problems forced her to quit her job. After she filled out the paperwork, two caseworkers paid her a visit to investigate her claim; next, she was sent to Curtis and Associates, a private, for-profit job placement firm. There she was given a lengthy test, shown to a desk with a phone, and told to start cold-calling companies in search of a job. “They don’t help, they don’t provide contacts,” she says. “Meanwhile there are all these people sitting there, waiting, who need back rent.” She would have to report to Curtis, she was told, from 9:30 to 4:30 daily for four weeks. In the meantime she’d receive some emergency assistance — a total of $156.60.</p>
<p>The sheer hassle of “reformed” welfare is enough to discourage many people from even applying. But the best-known and most clear-cut way that TANF keeps the rolls down is through the five-year lifetime limit on benefits. The clock started ticking with the passage of the welfare reform law in 1996, with the consequence that 120,000 families exhausted their benefits just as the recession hit in 2001. Dulce Severino’s family is one of them, although she has worked most of the time since 1992, packing clothes in the sweatshop factories that have sprung up in her Brooklyn neighborhood of Bushwick. Because her earnings were so low — her best wage was $5.15 an hour — Severino received a welfare wage supplement, so the clock on her lifetime limit was running even as she worked. If she had been paid better, she would still be eligible for welfare today.</p>
<p>For women without work or welfare, “luxuries” like nonemergency medical care are the first things to go. Nicey Jenkins of Liberty City took computer training to get off welfare, but ended up working at McDonald’s instead. She has given up on paying her credit card bills: “I can’t give them anything. I can’t make the minimum payment.” Another woman we met in Liberty City has declared bankruptcy. Each woman we talked to mentioned family as a major source of support — the grown son who picks up the phone bill, the sisters who offer to babysit, the boyfriend who pitches in for the rent. Without her family, Jenkins says, “I would have killed myself.”</p>
<p>Mostly, though, people talked about the daily challenge of putting food on the table. Beverly Ransom reports that “sometimes we have breakfast for dinner. A lot of the times I skip the meal because I can go without. My first priority is my kids. I say, ‘I’m not hungry right now.'” Nicey Jenkins buys boiling meats — like neck bones — and serves them over rice. Sometimes, to please her kids, she makes fake fast food: “We have ‘KFC night,’ ‘Taco Bell night.’ It works when they’re young.”</p>
<p>All across the country, the dangerous combination of recession and a damaged safety net is driving families to soup kitchens, food pantries, and shelters. A U.S. Conference of Mayors survey on hunger and homelessness in major cities showed that last year requests for emergency food assistance rose by an average of 23 percent, while requests for shelter increased by 13 percent. Another national survey of food-pantry and soup-kitchen users found that almost 40 percent had been cut off from welfare benefits within the past two years. Data gathered by Food for Survival, one of New York City’s largest food-pantry groups, indicate that 1 in 5 New Yorkers — a total of 1.5 million people — use emergency food assistance at least once a year; a majority of those receiving such help for the first time are single mothers who say that what they most need is a job.</p>
<p>Even before the recession struck, welfare reform was hardly the “resounding success” President Bush called it this spring. To be sure, it was easy, at least in the boom years, to earn more in a job than the meager cash allowances welfare offered. But as critics of reform have repeatedly pointed out, the $7 and $8 an hour averaged by former welfare recipients was about $6 short of what the Economic Policy Institute calculates a family of three needs for a minimally adequate, bare-bones budget. It was in the boom year of 2000 that the nation’s largest network of food banks, America’s Second Harvest, reported “a torrent of need that we cannot meet,” with many local charities blaming the rising demand for their services on welfare reform and insufficient wages. Milwaukee, a city whose widely publicized “W-2” program makes it the veritable capital of welfare reform, saw dramatic increases in the use of food pantries and emergency shelters through the late ’90s.</p>
<p>No small part of the pre-recession misery of the poor was due to the states’ Scrooge-like administration of TANF. In a number of states recipients are not told that they might be eligible for food stamps and Medicaid — a key benefit, since many low-wage jobs don’t offer health insurance — even after they leave welfare. Nor have the states reliably provided the promised support, especially child care subsidies, for women making the transition from welfare to work. You might start leaving your children with a child care provider only to find out that your subsidy had never made its way through the bureaucratic maze. One woman, whose story we learned from Eastern Michigan University researcher Valerie Polakow, took her four-year-old to work with her because the promised child care subsidy had not materialized. Her employer fired her for showing up with the child; then, in a neat Catch-22, TANF threatened her with reduced benefits for losing her job.</p>
<p>And there seems to be little inclination among politicians to fix such problems in this year’s overhaul of TANF. State and local governments, knowing that they’ll be left with providing emergency services as women who can’t find a job are cut from the rolls, want more flexibility in extending benefits. Some Democrats in Congress are arguing for more spending on child care. But no one expects fundamental changes to the 1996 reform and its premise — that the job market holds all the answers, in good times and bad.</p>
<p>With six years’ hindsight, it’s hard to fathom why no one, back in 1996, seems to have thought ahead to a time when jobs would be in short supply and millions of Americans might sorely need cash assistance. We talked to Mary Jo Bane, a Harvard professor who left her post as the Clinton administration’s assistant secretary for children and families in 1996 to protest the direction of reform. “People mumbled about it,” she says, “but the economy was so good then .” David Ellwood, who along with Bane co-chaired Clinton’s welfare reform task force and who also teaches at Harvard, told us, “Many people thought about the possibility of a downturn. The real question is why the people who drafted the bill, and signed it, willfully didn’t.”</p>
<p>Part of the answer may lie in the peculiar economic euphoria of the mid- and late ’90s, when bearishness began to seem unpatriotic and prosperity looked like a permanent entitlement. The emphasis, even among liberals, was on “making work pay” and expanding benefits such as child care and the Earned Income Tax Credit, which provides low-income working families with up to $4,000 a year in cash. Hardly anyone, welfare recipients included, wanted to see welfare-as-we-knew-it restored.</p>
<p>But the main problem, says Ellwood, was sheer irresponsibility — the very flaw the reformers aimed to eliminate among welfare recipients. “There was just enormous pressure to reduce welfare, and the attitude toward a possible economic downturn was basically, ‘We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.'” According to Ellwood, Clinton believed the money that states saved as a result of welfare reform could be used to help people in case of a recession; he did not foresee that a downturn would find states strapped for funds and eagerly slashing programs like Medicaid and child care.</p>
<p>The result has been that America entered its most recent recession as defenseless as if we had to face a terrorist attack without firefighters or emergency rescue workers. The safety net that sustained millions of the poor through previous downturns, however inadequately, has been torn to shreds.</p>
<p>We could see the current crisis, whose effects on unemployment will persist long after the recession technically ends, as an opportunity for genuine reform — including meaningful assistance for those who cannot find work, and reliable help, such as child care, for those who can. But instead, the Bush administration and Congress, like the welfare reformers who preceded them, seem poised to look the other way.</p>
<p />
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Without a Safety Net
| true |
https://motherjones.com/politics/2002/05/without-safety-net/
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2018-05-01
| 4left
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Without a Safety Net
<p />
<p>Just four years ago, Kimberly Hill was a poster child for welfare reform.</p>
<p>A tall, strikingly attractive mother of two, she had been on welfare off and on for several years until, in 1995, a caseworker urged her to get computer training. Her first job — for which she rated a mention in a 1998 San Francisco Chronicle story titled “Firms Find Talent Among Disabled, Welfare Recipients” — was no prize. “People knew I was off welfare,” she told us, “and they treated me like I had the plague.” Hired as an administrative assistant, she found herself being asked to clean the rest room. She got luckier with her next job, at a staffing agency, where, after a series of promotions, she was earning $65,000 a year. Then, on December 20, 2001, just as the recession became official, she was laid off.</p>
<p>Hill meets us at Starbucks because she doesn’t think the neighborhood where she lives is a good place for us to be wandering around. She is confident and direct, but admits to feeling the stress of being out of work. She has found one part-time office job and is about to add another, but neither offers health insurance. We ask if she would go back on welfare if things got bad enough. “No,” she says, thrusting her chin out for emphasis. “It’s too horrible, a horrible experience — demeaning.”</p>
<p>Beverly Ransom was another welfare-to-work success story. We met her in Miami’s Liberty City — site of the 1980 riot — at the storefront office of Low Income Families Fighting Together, a community organization that works for welfare rights and affordable housing. A bright-eyed, straight-backed woman of 50, with gray hair pulled back into a small ponytail, she speaks with pride about the catering job she found after years on welfare. But lately the work has fallen off; the catering companies that used to give her more work than she could handle just haven’t been calling anymore. “Catering is based on tourism,” she says. “Last year at this time I had so much work I had to beg for days off. Now I need food stamps.” She gets $118 a week from unemployment insurance, but rent for herself and her children, who are 12 and 14, is $500 a month. Her biggest fear is that she’ll end up in a shelter: “What do I do? My kids are at an age where they would be traumatized.”</p>
<p>In 1996, when welfare reform was enacted, a recession seemed about as likely as the destruction of the World Trade Center by a handful of men armed with box cutters. The assumptions behind welfare reform were, one, that a job could lift a family out of poverty and, two, that there would always be enough jobs for anyone plucky enough to go out and land one. The first assumption was shaky from the start; women leaving welfare ended up earning an average of less than $8 an hour, hardly enough to support a family. Now the second assumption has crumbled as well: More than 2 million people lost their jobs last year, and single mothers have been especially hard hit. According to the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, the employment rate of women who head families fell far more sharply last fall than overall employment, by three percentage points in just three months.</p>
<p>There is, of course, a venerable New Deal program to protect laid-off workers — unemployment insurance — but it is, perversely enough, designed to offer the least help to those who need it the most. People in temporary, part-time, or very low-wage jobs — the kind most often available to someone leaving welfare — often don’t qualify for benefits. According to the Economic Policy Institute, about 70 percent of former welfare recipients who have lost their jobs during the current recession are not eligible for unemployment.</p>
<p>In the past, poor single mothers had their own form of unemployment insurance — welfare. Contrary to the stereotype, most welfare recipients worked, at least intermittently, falling back on public assistance when a child got sick or a car broke down. But in their zeal to save the poor from their supposed sins of laziness, irresponsibility, and promiscuity, the reformers entirely overlooked the role of welfare as a safety net for working mothers. Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF), which is what the new version of welfare is called, has just one aim: to push the poor into the job market to become “self-sufficient.” Whatever sense this made in the boom years when welfare reform was devised, it makes none now. As a poster at an East Harlem community organization put it, the acronym has come to stand for “Torture and Abuse of Needy Families.”</p>
<p>Of course, pre-reform welfare was never adequate: Grants were low (an average of $550 a month nationwide), and recipients were routinely hassled and humiliated by the bureaucracy. Still, under the old system, if you were demonstrably poor and had children to support, you were entitled to cash assistance. The new system, legislated in 1996 with the passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, ended that entitlement. The law set strict time limits on assistance (no more than five years in a lifetime for most people), encouraged private companies to bid on contracts to administer welfare, and gave states wide discretion to cut people from the rolls.</p>
<p>Under the current system, someone who applies for welfare is lucky to get any benefits. More likely, the family will be “diverted” — sent to a food bank, told to apply for child support from an absentee parent, or assigned to a training program designed to keep them searching for a job. Those who make it through this process may see their benefits cut for any of a multitude of infractions (including, in some cases, having a child who regularly skips school).</p>
<p>These practices, often characterized as part of an effort to endow the poor with “self-esteem,” have been extremely effective — at least at cutting the welfare rolls. A report by the National Campaign for Jobs and Income Support shows that welfare caseloads rose as unemployment went up in the recession of 1990-1991, but that this time, caseloads actually fell in 14 of the 47 states where unemployment rose between March and December 2001. In Wisconsin, the state that pioneered a particularly draconian version of welfare reform under the leadership of former governor and current Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson, unemployment rose by 0.6 percentage points during the same period, but the welfare rolls just kept on dropping — by 29 percentage points. And changes now being debated could make the program even less accessible to poor families: With TANF up for reauthorization in Congress by September 30, the Bush administration is pushing measures that would make benefits more difficult to get, and even harder to keep.</p>
<p>So what do you do when there are few jobs available and the safety net lies in tatters? We talked to former welfare recipients who recently lost their jobs in five states — New York, Oregon, California, Florida, and Illinois. Some had already exhausted their five-year lifetime benefit limit; others remained potentially eligible for welfare. None of them were having much luck. While the media tends to focus on displaced dot-commers and laid-off Enron executives, these women represent the hidden underside of the recession. In the scary new world of post-welfare America, their experience has been like that of someone who looks out an airplane window on a bright, clear day and sees nothing at all below.</p>
<p>Janet Cook is one of the many who have gone from welfare to work to nothing in a few short years. We talked to her by phone at a residential motel in Portland, Oregon, where she was paying more than $300 a week for the single room she shared with her husband and their four children. Cook, who is in her late 30s, held a job with a truck manufacturer for six years until she was laid off last April. Her husband is a construction worker, and they used to live in the houses that his company was working on, moving on as each was completed. Then, last fall, the company relocated to another city, and the couple decided to stay rather than yank their kids out of school. With no jobs in sight and their savings soon eaten up by the motel bills, there was nothing to do but apply for welfare.</p>
<p>It’s “murder to get through the process,” Cook says. “You have to be flat broke so you can’t function. They want you to land a job, so they make you wait. They don’t give you cash for the first two weeks. The first week they make you attend a job workshop. The second week is job search. If you miss one hour, you start over for the whole two weeks.” On the day we spoke to her, the family was leaving the motel and moving to a shelter. (Cook ultimately did get benefits, but not until a Legal Aid attorney intervened on her behalf.)</p>
<p>All of the former welfare recipients we interviewed described the maze of obstacles that now lies between a needy family and even a paltry amount of cash assistance — a set of hurdles far more daunting than the pre-reform bureaucracy. There are long lines in welfare centers with waits, one New York woman told us, of up to nine hours. In a Latino neighborhood, there may be no Spanish-speaking caseworker on duty. In the 1960s, a federal regulation required that welfare offices accept oral applications. Now, you may have to fill out the same form three times, just to save the agency photocopying expenses.</p>
<p>“They close your case for any small thing now,” reports Dulce Severino, a mother of two who lives in Brooklyn. “You can’t speak to a social worker — you have to wait a whole day to see them. And they speak badly to people when they finally see them. There are ugly words, almost fights with the social workers.” Another Brooklyn woman reports that “some days there are almost riots” — and there really would be, she believes, if it weren’t for the heavy police presence inside the welfare centers.</p>
<p>Applicants who aren’t turned away at the welfare office often face another obstacle — the private companies that increasingly contract with states and municipalities to administer welfare programs. The 1996 law allows governments to contract with churches and community groups, but most contracts have gone to such distinctly non-faith-based entities as Maximus, Unisys, and Lockheed Martin. Some companies specialize in “job readiness” services; others do everything from conducting interviews to determining recipients’ eligibility, often under contracts that reward them for any funds they do not spend.</p>
<p>Sharon Bush, a mother of four who lives in the East New York section of Brooklyn, applied for welfare in November after medical problems forced her to quit her job. After she filled out the paperwork, two caseworkers paid her a visit to investigate her claim; next, she was sent to Curtis and Associates, a private, for-profit job placement firm. There she was given a lengthy test, shown to a desk with a phone, and told to start cold-calling companies in search of a job. “They don’t help, they don’t provide contacts,” she says. “Meanwhile there are all these people sitting there, waiting, who need back rent.” She would have to report to Curtis, she was told, from 9:30 to 4:30 daily for four weeks. In the meantime she’d receive some emergency assistance — a total of $156.60.</p>
<p>The sheer hassle of “reformed” welfare is enough to discourage many people from even applying. But the best-known and most clear-cut way that TANF keeps the rolls down is through the five-year lifetime limit on benefits. The clock started ticking with the passage of the welfare reform law in 1996, with the consequence that 120,000 families exhausted their benefits just as the recession hit in 2001. Dulce Severino’s family is one of them, although she has worked most of the time since 1992, packing clothes in the sweatshop factories that have sprung up in her Brooklyn neighborhood of Bushwick. Because her earnings were so low — her best wage was $5.15 an hour — Severino received a welfare wage supplement, so the clock on her lifetime limit was running even as she worked. If she had been paid better, she would still be eligible for welfare today.</p>
<p>For women without work or welfare, “luxuries” like nonemergency medical care are the first things to go. Nicey Jenkins of Liberty City took computer training to get off welfare, but ended up working at McDonald’s instead. She has given up on paying her credit card bills: “I can’t give them anything. I can’t make the minimum payment.” Another woman we met in Liberty City has declared bankruptcy. Each woman we talked to mentioned family as a major source of support — the grown son who picks up the phone bill, the sisters who offer to babysit, the boyfriend who pitches in for the rent. Without her family, Jenkins says, “I would have killed myself.”</p>
<p>Mostly, though, people talked about the daily challenge of putting food on the table. Beverly Ransom reports that “sometimes we have breakfast for dinner. A lot of the times I skip the meal because I can go without. My first priority is my kids. I say, ‘I’m not hungry right now.'” Nicey Jenkins buys boiling meats — like neck bones — and serves them over rice. Sometimes, to please her kids, she makes fake fast food: “We have ‘KFC night,’ ‘Taco Bell night.’ It works when they’re young.”</p>
<p>All across the country, the dangerous combination of recession and a damaged safety net is driving families to soup kitchens, food pantries, and shelters. A U.S. Conference of Mayors survey on hunger and homelessness in major cities showed that last year requests for emergency food assistance rose by an average of 23 percent, while requests for shelter increased by 13 percent. Another national survey of food-pantry and soup-kitchen users found that almost 40 percent had been cut off from welfare benefits within the past two years. Data gathered by Food for Survival, one of New York City’s largest food-pantry groups, indicate that 1 in 5 New Yorkers — a total of 1.5 million people — use emergency food assistance at least once a year; a majority of those receiving such help for the first time are single mothers who say that what they most need is a job.</p>
<p>Even before the recession struck, welfare reform was hardly the “resounding success” President Bush called it this spring. To be sure, it was easy, at least in the boom years, to earn more in a job than the meager cash allowances welfare offered. But as critics of reform have repeatedly pointed out, the $7 and $8 an hour averaged by former welfare recipients was about $6 short of what the Economic Policy Institute calculates a family of three needs for a minimally adequate, bare-bones budget. It was in the boom year of 2000 that the nation’s largest network of food banks, America’s Second Harvest, reported “a torrent of need that we cannot meet,” with many local charities blaming the rising demand for their services on welfare reform and insufficient wages. Milwaukee, a city whose widely publicized “W-2” program makes it the veritable capital of welfare reform, saw dramatic increases in the use of food pantries and emergency shelters through the late ’90s.</p>
<p>No small part of the pre-recession misery of the poor was due to the states’ Scrooge-like administration of TANF. In a number of states recipients are not told that they might be eligible for food stamps and Medicaid — a key benefit, since many low-wage jobs don’t offer health insurance — even after they leave welfare. Nor have the states reliably provided the promised support, especially child care subsidies, for women making the transition from welfare to work. You might start leaving your children with a child care provider only to find out that your subsidy had never made its way through the bureaucratic maze. One woman, whose story we learned from Eastern Michigan University researcher Valerie Polakow, took her four-year-old to work with her because the promised child care subsidy had not materialized. Her employer fired her for showing up with the child; then, in a neat Catch-22, TANF threatened her with reduced benefits for losing her job.</p>
<p>And there seems to be little inclination among politicians to fix such problems in this year’s overhaul of TANF. State and local governments, knowing that they’ll be left with providing emergency services as women who can’t find a job are cut from the rolls, want more flexibility in extending benefits. Some Democrats in Congress are arguing for more spending on child care. But no one expects fundamental changes to the 1996 reform and its premise — that the job market holds all the answers, in good times and bad.</p>
<p>With six years’ hindsight, it’s hard to fathom why no one, back in 1996, seems to have thought ahead to a time when jobs would be in short supply and millions of Americans might sorely need cash assistance. We talked to Mary Jo Bane, a Harvard professor who left her post as the Clinton administration’s assistant secretary for children and families in 1996 to protest the direction of reform. “People mumbled about it,” she says, “but the economy was so good then .” David Ellwood, who along with Bane co-chaired Clinton’s welfare reform task force and who also teaches at Harvard, told us, “Many people thought about the possibility of a downturn. The real question is why the people who drafted the bill, and signed it, willfully didn’t.”</p>
<p>Part of the answer may lie in the peculiar economic euphoria of the mid- and late ’90s, when bearishness began to seem unpatriotic and prosperity looked like a permanent entitlement. The emphasis, even among liberals, was on “making work pay” and expanding benefits such as child care and the Earned Income Tax Credit, which provides low-income working families with up to $4,000 a year in cash. Hardly anyone, welfare recipients included, wanted to see welfare-as-we-knew-it restored.</p>
<p>But the main problem, says Ellwood, was sheer irresponsibility — the very flaw the reformers aimed to eliminate among welfare recipients. “There was just enormous pressure to reduce welfare, and the attitude toward a possible economic downturn was basically, ‘We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.'” According to Ellwood, Clinton believed the money that states saved as a result of welfare reform could be used to help people in case of a recession; he did not foresee that a downturn would find states strapped for funds and eagerly slashing programs like Medicaid and child care.</p>
<p>The result has been that America entered its most recent recession as defenseless as if we had to face a terrorist attack without firefighters or emergency rescue workers. The safety net that sustained millions of the poor through previous downturns, however inadequately, has been torn to shreds.</p>
<p>We could see the current crisis, whose effects on unemployment will persist long after the recession technically ends, as an opportunity for genuine reform — including meaningful assistance for those who cannot find work, and reliable help, such as child care, for those who can. But instead, the Bush administration and Congress, like the welfare reformers who preceded them, seem poised to look the other way.</p>
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<p>“You see one go in and that’s all you really need confidence-wise,” he said. That first shot? It was a 3-pointer.</p>
<p>Curry finished with 28 points, 23 in the third quarter alone, and the Golden State Warriors beat the Trail Blazers 127-104 on Tuesday night to extend their early season winning streak to three games.</p>
<p>Ian Clark came off the bench with a career-high 22 points for the Warriors, who have rebounded after a season-opening loss to San Antonio. Kevin Durant added 20 points and Golden State rested its starters down the stretch after leading by as many as 35 points.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Damian Lillard had 31 points for the Blazers, who fell in five games to the Warriors in the Western Conference semifinals last season. Playing the first of a back-to-back, Portland coach Terry Stotts also went to his reserves with eight minutes left.</p>
<p>The Blazers beat the Warriors 137-105 in Portland last February, with Oakland native Lillard scoring a career-high 51 points against his hometown team. It was one of just nine losses for the Warriors. Lillard averaged 36.5 points against the Warriors last season.</p>
<p>“They played their game. In the first half, we were right there. In the second half, they stuck with it,” Lillard said. “Their defense was more consistent than ours, and their offense was more free than ours was. We needed to have more of a presence.”</p>
<p>Lillard scored with 0.3 seconds left to give the Blazers a 115-113 win at Denver on Saturday. He finished with 37 points.</p>
<p>Clark, who averaged fewer than 3.0 points in Golden State’s first three games, scored 16 in the first half. Clark’s 3-pointer midway through the second quarter extended Golden State’s lead to 47-38. Clark hit his first 3-point attempt after going 1 for 7 from the perimeter in the Warriors’ first three games.</p>
<p>Lillard’s 3-pointer pulled the Blazers within 55-51 but Golden State led 59-53 at the break. Lillard finished the first half with 22 points in just under 18 minutes.</p>
<p>CJ McCollum, who finished with 16 points, made consecutive 3s to pull Portland within 76-69.</p>
<p>Curry made a layup and a free throw to put the Warriors up 94-71 late in the third quarter as the game slipped out of reach for Portland.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“I’ve never seen anybody quite like him who can turn it on that quickly and turn a horrible game into a brilliant game,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “That’s what makes Steph who he is.”</p>
<p>Golden State was coming off a 106-100 victory over Phoenix on Sunday.</p>
<p>TIP-INS</p>
<p>Warriors: Kerr was asked pregame if the team was in danger of looking past Portland to the Thunder and Durant’s first game against his former team on Thursday. “I don’t know how you’d look past the Blazers,” Kerr said. … Durant scored 94 points in his first three games as a Warrior. Only Wilt Chamberlain had more, with 120 points in his first three games with the Philadelphia Warriors.</p>
<p>Trail Blazers: The sellout crowd was enthusiastic, even giving Lillard a standing ovation for an early 3-pointer that put Portland up 14-7. … Lillard has scored at least 25 points against the Warriors in seven straight games.</p>
<p>QUOTABLE:</p>
<p>“I told him he looked like Riley Curry in the first half and Steph Curry in the second half,” Kerr said about his postgame chat with Curry. For the record, Riley Curry is 4 years old.</p>
<p>WHO IS THAT GUY?:</p>
<p>Jake Layman came off the bench in the fourth quarter for the Blazers, essentially in garbage time, and scored 17 points in eight minutes, including five 3-pointers.</p>
<p>He’s the first Blazer ever to make five 3s in a debut, and finished one shy of the franchise record in a quarter. He had the most points for a first game with the Blazers since Lillard had 23 as a rookie in 2012.</p>
<p>Layman was a second-round pick in last June’s NBA draft out of Maryland.</p>
<p>“In the position I’m in, no matter when you go in you’ve got to play hard. That’s what was going through my mind,” Layman said.</p>
<p>AND HOW ABOUT CLARK?</p>
<p>In his third fourth year out of Belmont, Clark averaged 3.0 points and 7.9 minutes in 119 games with one start going into this season. He was 8 of 8 from the field against the Blazers, becoming the first Golden State reserve to hit at least eight field goals in a game without a miss since Chris Mullin in a game against Milwaukee in 1996.</p>
<p>BEEN A LONG TIME:</p>
<p>Durant extended his streak of games with at least 20 points to 68, which is the longest since Michael Jordan’s 69-game streak in 1990-91, according to the Warriors.</p>
<p>UP NEXT</p>
<p>Warriors: Host the Thunder on Thursday, reuniting Durant with his former team.</p>
<p>Trail Blazers: Open a three-game trip against the Suns on Wednesday night.</p>
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Curry has 28 points and Warriors beat the Blazers 127-104
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https://abqjournal.com/880202/curry-has-28-points-and-warriors-beat-the-blazers-127-104.html
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2016-11-02
| 2least
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Curry has 28 points and Warriors beat the Blazers 127-104
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<p>“You see one go in and that’s all you really need confidence-wise,” he said. That first shot? It was a 3-pointer.</p>
<p>Curry finished with 28 points, 23 in the third quarter alone, and the Golden State Warriors beat the Trail Blazers 127-104 on Tuesday night to extend their early season winning streak to three games.</p>
<p>Ian Clark came off the bench with a career-high 22 points for the Warriors, who have rebounded after a season-opening loss to San Antonio. Kevin Durant added 20 points and Golden State rested its starters down the stretch after leading by as many as 35 points.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Damian Lillard had 31 points for the Blazers, who fell in five games to the Warriors in the Western Conference semifinals last season. Playing the first of a back-to-back, Portland coach Terry Stotts also went to his reserves with eight minutes left.</p>
<p>The Blazers beat the Warriors 137-105 in Portland last February, with Oakland native Lillard scoring a career-high 51 points against his hometown team. It was one of just nine losses for the Warriors. Lillard averaged 36.5 points against the Warriors last season.</p>
<p>“They played their game. In the first half, we were right there. In the second half, they stuck with it,” Lillard said. “Their defense was more consistent than ours, and their offense was more free than ours was. We needed to have more of a presence.”</p>
<p>Lillard scored with 0.3 seconds left to give the Blazers a 115-113 win at Denver on Saturday. He finished with 37 points.</p>
<p>Clark, who averaged fewer than 3.0 points in Golden State’s first three games, scored 16 in the first half. Clark’s 3-pointer midway through the second quarter extended Golden State’s lead to 47-38. Clark hit his first 3-point attempt after going 1 for 7 from the perimeter in the Warriors’ first three games.</p>
<p>Lillard’s 3-pointer pulled the Blazers within 55-51 but Golden State led 59-53 at the break. Lillard finished the first half with 22 points in just under 18 minutes.</p>
<p>CJ McCollum, who finished with 16 points, made consecutive 3s to pull Portland within 76-69.</p>
<p>Curry made a layup and a free throw to put the Warriors up 94-71 late in the third quarter as the game slipped out of reach for Portland.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“I’ve never seen anybody quite like him who can turn it on that quickly and turn a horrible game into a brilliant game,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “That’s what makes Steph who he is.”</p>
<p>Golden State was coming off a 106-100 victory over Phoenix on Sunday.</p>
<p>TIP-INS</p>
<p>Warriors: Kerr was asked pregame if the team was in danger of looking past Portland to the Thunder and Durant’s first game against his former team on Thursday. “I don’t know how you’d look past the Blazers,” Kerr said. … Durant scored 94 points in his first three games as a Warrior. Only Wilt Chamberlain had more, with 120 points in his first three games with the Philadelphia Warriors.</p>
<p>Trail Blazers: The sellout crowd was enthusiastic, even giving Lillard a standing ovation for an early 3-pointer that put Portland up 14-7. … Lillard has scored at least 25 points against the Warriors in seven straight games.</p>
<p>QUOTABLE:</p>
<p>“I told him he looked like Riley Curry in the first half and Steph Curry in the second half,” Kerr said about his postgame chat with Curry. For the record, Riley Curry is 4 years old.</p>
<p>WHO IS THAT GUY?:</p>
<p>Jake Layman came off the bench in the fourth quarter for the Blazers, essentially in garbage time, and scored 17 points in eight minutes, including five 3-pointers.</p>
<p>He’s the first Blazer ever to make five 3s in a debut, and finished one shy of the franchise record in a quarter. He had the most points for a first game with the Blazers since Lillard had 23 as a rookie in 2012.</p>
<p>Layman was a second-round pick in last June’s NBA draft out of Maryland.</p>
<p>“In the position I’m in, no matter when you go in you’ve got to play hard. That’s what was going through my mind,” Layman said.</p>
<p>AND HOW ABOUT CLARK?</p>
<p>In his third fourth year out of Belmont, Clark averaged 3.0 points and 7.9 minutes in 119 games with one start going into this season. He was 8 of 8 from the field against the Blazers, becoming the first Golden State reserve to hit at least eight field goals in a game without a miss since Chris Mullin in a game against Milwaukee in 1996.</p>
<p>BEEN A LONG TIME:</p>
<p>Durant extended his streak of games with at least 20 points to 68, which is the longest since Michael Jordan’s 69-game streak in 1990-91, according to the Warriors.</p>
<p>UP NEXT</p>
<p>Warriors: Host the Thunder on Thursday, reuniting Durant with his former team.</p>
<p>Trail Blazers: Open a three-game trip against the Suns on Wednesday night.</p>
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<p>It’s a fair question. President Trump has made very serious charges, tweeting in December that the FBI’s “reputation is in Tatters – worst in History!” And Republicans in Congress have claimed that the bureau was manipulated by a former British intelligence officer named Christopher Steele, who supposedly pumped up allegations about Trump-Russia collusion with a “dossier” that was financed by Hillary Clinton.</p>
<p>What’s true here and what’s false? A careful look at the evidence rebuts the claim that the FBI was misused by Steele, and that the bureau’s operations are in disarray. The FBI isn’t perfect, and text messages show that some officials favored Clinton, just as others supported Trump. But Republicans delude themselves in claiming that the Russia probe is a partisan concoction. Trump operatives have admitted in plea agreements that they lied to the FBI about their contacts with Russia.</p>
<p>In a rational world, Trump would apologize for smearing America’s top investigative agency, but that’s not where we live right now. So let’s instead listen to FBI Director Christopher Wray, who was appointed by Trump after James Comey was fired. Wray told a House committee last month:</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“What I can tell you is (I see) tens of thousands of agents and analysts and staff working their tails off to keep Americans safe from the next terrorist attack, gang violence, child predators, spies from Russia, China and North Korea, and Iran.”</p>
<p>A senior official of one of the nation’s largest police departments agrees: “I work with the FBI every day, and I don’t see tatters.” Several bureau veterans offered similar assessments; Trump’s comments offended even Comey’s detractors in the FBI.</p>
<p>What about Republican claims that Steele spawned what Trump calls a “witch hunt”? It’s true that Steele was hired by Fusion GPS, an investigative firm paid to dig up dirt on Trump, first by Republican opponents, then by Clinton supporters. But Steele went through well-established contacts, and the FBI got serious only after it obtained its own independent information.</p>
<p>Steele’s main FBI connection was a senior agent he had met in 2010, when he shared information about corruption in the international soccer federation known as FIFA. Steele, who had retired from MI6 the year before, had been retained as a private investigator by the Football Association in England. His FBI contact was involved in international organized-crime investigations. The FIFA investigation helped bring Justice Department indictments in 2015 that toppled the organization’s leadership.</p>
<p>So when Steele contacted the FBI in mid-2016 with information about Trump and the Russians, he was already a valued source. On about July 4, 2016, he met with his FBI friend in London to share what he had gathered for a June 20 Fusion GPS report, the first chapter of his eventual dossier. In that first report, Steele’s sources claimed that Russia had been “cultivating” Trump for at least five years.</p>
<p>Steele’s information didn’t get much high-level attention at first. But bells began ringing in July, after Australian intelligence told the FBI about an unusual conversation two months earlier between Australia’s London ambassador and George Papadopoulos, a Trump foreign-policy adviser. As The New York Times reported last month, Papadopoulos had told the Australian official that Russia had damaging political information about Hillary Clinton. The Australians decided to share this intelligence with the FBI after hacked Democratic emails were published in July.</p>
<p>The FBI was now very interested. Based on the Australian account, knowledgeable sources say, the bureau requested another meeting with Steele to dig deeper. That encounter took place around Oct. 1 in Rome with Steele’s old FBI contact. At this meeting, the FBI official asked Steele if he had ever heard of Papadopoulos, according to an official familiar with the meeting. Steele hadn’t.</p>
<p>What does this narrative tell us? Far from a yarn concocted by Steele, the FBI probe was driven by its own independent reporting about Papadopoulos, who pleaded guilty last October to lying about his Russia contacts. The bottom line: There may be something in tatters at the center of this investigation, but it isn’t the FBI.</p>
<p>A question for Republicans in Congress who have been so quick to trash FBI officials and defend Trump: Does this concern you at all?</p>
<p>Email: [email protected]. Copyright, Washington Post Writers Group.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p />
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FBI isn’t in tatters, despite assertions to the contrary
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https://abqjournal.com/1121283/fbi-isnt-in-tatters-despite-assertions-to-the-contrary.html
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FBI isn’t in tatters, despite assertions to the contrary
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<p />
<p>It’s a fair question. President Trump has made very serious charges, tweeting in December that the FBI’s “reputation is in Tatters – worst in History!” And Republicans in Congress have claimed that the bureau was manipulated by a former British intelligence officer named Christopher Steele, who supposedly pumped up allegations about Trump-Russia collusion with a “dossier” that was financed by Hillary Clinton.</p>
<p>What’s true here and what’s false? A careful look at the evidence rebuts the claim that the FBI was misused by Steele, and that the bureau’s operations are in disarray. The FBI isn’t perfect, and text messages show that some officials favored Clinton, just as others supported Trump. But Republicans delude themselves in claiming that the Russia probe is a partisan concoction. Trump operatives have admitted in plea agreements that they lied to the FBI about their contacts with Russia.</p>
<p>In a rational world, Trump would apologize for smearing America’s top investigative agency, but that’s not where we live right now. So let’s instead listen to FBI Director Christopher Wray, who was appointed by Trump after James Comey was fired. Wray told a House committee last month:</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“What I can tell you is (I see) tens of thousands of agents and analysts and staff working their tails off to keep Americans safe from the next terrorist attack, gang violence, child predators, spies from Russia, China and North Korea, and Iran.”</p>
<p>A senior official of one of the nation’s largest police departments agrees: “I work with the FBI every day, and I don’t see tatters.” Several bureau veterans offered similar assessments; Trump’s comments offended even Comey’s detractors in the FBI.</p>
<p>What about Republican claims that Steele spawned what Trump calls a “witch hunt”? It’s true that Steele was hired by Fusion GPS, an investigative firm paid to dig up dirt on Trump, first by Republican opponents, then by Clinton supporters. But Steele went through well-established contacts, and the FBI got serious only after it obtained its own independent information.</p>
<p>Steele’s main FBI connection was a senior agent he had met in 2010, when he shared information about corruption in the international soccer federation known as FIFA. Steele, who had retired from MI6 the year before, had been retained as a private investigator by the Football Association in England. His FBI contact was involved in international organized-crime investigations. The FIFA investigation helped bring Justice Department indictments in 2015 that toppled the organization’s leadership.</p>
<p>So when Steele contacted the FBI in mid-2016 with information about Trump and the Russians, he was already a valued source. On about July 4, 2016, he met with his FBI friend in London to share what he had gathered for a June 20 Fusion GPS report, the first chapter of his eventual dossier. In that first report, Steele’s sources claimed that Russia had been “cultivating” Trump for at least five years.</p>
<p>Steele’s information didn’t get much high-level attention at first. But bells began ringing in July, after Australian intelligence told the FBI about an unusual conversation two months earlier between Australia’s London ambassador and George Papadopoulos, a Trump foreign-policy adviser. As The New York Times reported last month, Papadopoulos had told the Australian official that Russia had damaging political information about Hillary Clinton. The Australians decided to share this intelligence with the FBI after hacked Democratic emails were published in July.</p>
<p>The FBI was now very interested. Based on the Australian account, knowledgeable sources say, the bureau requested another meeting with Steele to dig deeper. That encounter took place around Oct. 1 in Rome with Steele’s old FBI contact. At this meeting, the FBI official asked Steele if he had ever heard of Papadopoulos, according to an official familiar with the meeting. Steele hadn’t.</p>
<p>What does this narrative tell us? Far from a yarn concocted by Steele, the FBI probe was driven by its own independent reporting about Papadopoulos, who pleaded guilty last October to lying about his Russia contacts. The bottom line: There may be something in tatters at the center of this investigation, but it isn’t the FBI.</p>
<p>A question for Republicans in Congress who have been so quick to trash FBI officials and defend Trump: Does this concern you at all?</p>
<p>Email: [email protected]. Copyright, Washington Post Writers Group.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p />
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<p>Everybody’s talking about the <a href="http://deadspin.com/exclusive-the-extended-donald-sterling-tape-1568291249" type="external">Donald Sterling tapes</a>. And no wonder. As <a href="https://twitter.com/jsmooth995" type="external">Jay Smooth</a> explains in this must-watch response, there’s just so much to study about the psychology of racism and sexism in the recording of the LA Clippers’ racist-as-fuck owner berating his girlfriend for associating with Black people.&#160;“Being in denial about racism and being a horrible, manipulative boyfriend turn out to go really well with each other,” Jay says. “They go together like ‘man’ and ‘splaining.'” Zing!</p>
<p />
<p>But though these tapes are getting probably getting all the attention they deserve, Jay raises the most important question: “Why do racist words bring more accountability than racist practices?”</p>
<p>Transcript:</p>
<p>So the Donald Sterling tapes. Yeah… The first thing I want to say about these tapes is these tapes should be the last nail in the coffin of the idea that there is any meritocracy in American capitalism. Any misconception that anyone ever had about rich people getting where they are because they’re smarter than us had to die with this tape. Because wow. There are so many levels of terribleness to these tapes, it’s just like breathtaking. There’s so much to study about the psychology of racism and sexism and just relationships. The very notion that what we hear on those tapes could be what some people think of as a relationship is horrifying to me. And then when I hear him laying into her with all this stuff like: Why are you trying to hurt me? Don’t you think I’m a good person? Why can’t you be flexible about my racism? How do you know that you don’t like racism if you haven’t even tried it? When I hear Donald Sterling running all that low-level game, it dawns on me how being in denial about racism and being a horrible, manipulative boyfriend turn out to go really well with each other. They both basically work the same way. They’re based on the same kind of mind games and evasive tactics and emotional abuse. They’re a perfect match for each other. They go together like ‘man’ and ‘splaining.’ And there are so many other elements of this tape that I could go on about. The way that he’s so invested in this inexplicable belief that she could be white or pass for white. The way he goes on about her being delicate, both as if being delicate is the measure of a woman’s value and being delicate is the antithesis of being Black. But the one part that stands out the most for me, that I want to be sure to acknowledge, is that this whole situation once again raises the question of why do racist words bring more accountability than racist practices? Because the thing about Donald Sterling is he’s been known for years for being racist behind the scenes with his business practices. He already got taken to court years ago by the Department of Justice for trying to keep Blacks and Latinos from living on his properties. So the question for me is why did those decades of racist practices not bring the same kind of heat as these racist words. And I’m not saying Donald Sterling got too much attention for these words. He deserves all the heat he’s getting right now. I’m glad those tapes came out. I hope more tapes come out. I hope he’s like the Tupac of unreleased racism tapes and we can put them all together in a box set named ‘Here’s What They Think About You.’ But I just wish, when I watch a story like this, that we could figure out how to take that same energy and fury we bring to racist words and bring it just as hard to all the racist practices that generate injustice without generating TMZ clips. And that’s not the snappiest ending but I haven’t made a video in a long time so I’m just gonna stop here.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /> <a href="https://twitter.com/mayadusenbery" type="external">Maya Dusenbery</a> is an Executive Director of Feministing.</p>
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Watch: Jay Smooth on the Donald Sterling tapes and the psychology of racism and sexism
| true |
http://feministing.com/2014/04/28/watch-jay-smooth-on-the-donald-sterling-tapes-and-the-psychology-of-racism-and-sexism/
| 4left
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Watch: Jay Smooth on the Donald Sterling tapes and the psychology of racism and sexism
<p>Everybody’s talking about the <a href="http://deadspin.com/exclusive-the-extended-donald-sterling-tape-1568291249" type="external">Donald Sterling tapes</a>. And no wonder. As <a href="https://twitter.com/jsmooth995" type="external">Jay Smooth</a> explains in this must-watch response, there’s just so much to study about the psychology of racism and sexism in the recording of the LA Clippers’ racist-as-fuck owner berating his girlfriend for associating with Black people.&#160;“Being in denial about racism and being a horrible, manipulative boyfriend turn out to go really well with each other,” Jay says. “They go together like ‘man’ and ‘splaining.'” Zing!</p>
<p />
<p>But though these tapes are getting probably getting all the attention they deserve, Jay raises the most important question: “Why do racist words bring more accountability than racist practices?”</p>
<p>Transcript:</p>
<p>So the Donald Sterling tapes. Yeah… The first thing I want to say about these tapes is these tapes should be the last nail in the coffin of the idea that there is any meritocracy in American capitalism. Any misconception that anyone ever had about rich people getting where they are because they’re smarter than us had to die with this tape. Because wow. There are so many levels of terribleness to these tapes, it’s just like breathtaking. There’s so much to study about the psychology of racism and sexism and just relationships. The very notion that what we hear on those tapes could be what some people think of as a relationship is horrifying to me. And then when I hear him laying into her with all this stuff like: Why are you trying to hurt me? Don’t you think I’m a good person? Why can’t you be flexible about my racism? How do you know that you don’t like racism if you haven’t even tried it? When I hear Donald Sterling running all that low-level game, it dawns on me how being in denial about racism and being a horrible, manipulative boyfriend turn out to go really well with each other. They both basically work the same way. They’re based on the same kind of mind games and evasive tactics and emotional abuse. They’re a perfect match for each other. They go together like ‘man’ and ‘splaining.’ And there are so many other elements of this tape that I could go on about. The way that he’s so invested in this inexplicable belief that she could be white or pass for white. The way he goes on about her being delicate, both as if being delicate is the measure of a woman’s value and being delicate is the antithesis of being Black. But the one part that stands out the most for me, that I want to be sure to acknowledge, is that this whole situation once again raises the question of why do racist words bring more accountability than racist practices? Because the thing about Donald Sterling is he’s been known for years for being racist behind the scenes with his business practices. He already got taken to court years ago by the Department of Justice for trying to keep Blacks and Latinos from living on his properties. So the question for me is why did those decades of racist practices not bring the same kind of heat as these racist words. And I’m not saying Donald Sterling got too much attention for these words. He deserves all the heat he’s getting right now. I’m glad those tapes came out. I hope more tapes come out. I hope he’s like the Tupac of unreleased racism tapes and we can put them all together in a box set named ‘Here’s What They Think About You.’ But I just wish, when I watch a story like this, that we could figure out how to take that same energy and fury we bring to racist words and bring it just as hard to all the racist practices that generate injustice without generating TMZ clips. And that’s not the snappiest ending but I haven’t made a video in a long time so I’m just gonna stop here.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /> <a href="https://twitter.com/mayadusenbery" type="external">Maya Dusenbery</a> is an Executive Director of Feministing.</p>
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<p>Last week on the&#160; <a href="https://www.fool.com/podcasts/rule-breaker-investing/?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=83399116-c9f2-11e7-8707-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Rule Breaker Investing Opens a New Window.</a>&#160;podcast, Motley Fool co-founder David Gardner reviewed the performance of two sets of his buy-and-hold stock picks: one set with a five-year horizon, and one that he recommended we hold for a year. This week, he offers up a new handful of recommendations, and the theme that came to his mind was Motley Fool Explorer, which is one of the premium services that competitively cherry-picks stocks from the Supernova universe.</p>
<p>So David is offering five hidden gems from the 210 Foolish holdings -- long-term market beaters that have never been part of a Real Money mission that have market caps below $10 billion and brand names most people won't recognize. And he thinks you should hold them for the next three years or more.&#160;His final pick is Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB), which provides software and services especially designed for nonprofits.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>A full transcript follows the video.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than BlackbaudWhen 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=18f5de28-910f-4307-ad23-b4f88095c5bc&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=83399116-c9f2-11e7-8707-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">10 best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now… and Blackbaud 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=18f5de28-910f-4307-ad23-b4f88095c5bc&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=83399116-c9f2-11e7-8707-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</a> to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of November 6, 2017</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>This video was recorded on Sept. 13, 2017.</p>
<p>David Gardner: "Hidden Gem" No. 5: And stock No. 5. Again, I like these stocks for the next three-plus years going forward. We'll be checking with them year by year as we go by. Stock No. 5 is Blackbaud. The ticker symbol is BLKB. Blackbaud has a market cap of $4 billion today, so right around the same size as Littelfuse. The risk rating on Blackbaud is 11.</p>
<p>Blackbaud I first picked in November 2006, so we're talking about 11 years ago almost. The stock, over that time, has gone from $23.38 to $85.11. It's up 264%. The market over the same time up 125%. So of all the five stocks I presented this week, this has been the biggest winner. It's ahead of the market averages by about 140% over the now almost 11 years that we've bought and held Blackbaud.</p>
<p>I first heard about Blackbaud because my brother Tom and I spoke at a conference. We keynoted a conference for them. I was like, "Who are these guys?" I think we were in Charleston, South Carolina which, by the way, is where I'm going to be. I will be in Charleston, South Carolina right at the start of October. If you're a Motley Fool ONE member, perhaps you'll be joining in at that event.</p>
<p>Well, I was in Charleston, South Carolina about 12 years ago, or so, speaking with Tom at a Blackbaud conference and I learned a lot about the company at that time that I appreciated. If you work in the not-for-profit area, and many of you no doubt do, it's a huge area of the world today.</p>
<p>Blackbaud is, among many, the preferred platform for managing the database of the business, because after all there is a business aspect of the business that you're running as a not-for-profit. So they started with a product called The Raiser's Edge, which is a big platform for Blackbaud helping people raise money, track it, and keep up with all the database stats you want on your donors. That kind of thing. And once you get a product like that into a not-for-profit and they like it, they're probably just going to renew it year after year, and Blackbaud has been a beneficiary of it.</p>
<p>So I led off this week's show with Ultimate Software, which is also one of those subscription-based [we hope you'll renew us from one year to the next] businesses, in that case helping out human capital management. Here we have basically helping out not-for-profits. So if you like not-for-profits -- a lot of us do -- then this company is supporting them, and this company has built a pretty good business by serving them. And so that's what Blackbaud does.</p>
<p>And in addition to some of the traits I just mentioned that I appreciate about Blackbaud, I'll just point out one more, and that is that this company is the leader at what it does. Well, I can't say that they're kind of the Windows 95 of the world, going back to a time when Microsoft utterly dominated everyone's operating system. They're not really the Windows 95, necessarily, of the not-for-profit world, but they are a clear-branded leader within that space with a lot of customers who appreciate what they do.</p>
<p>So I like leaders. If you're not the lead husky, as I said to Patrick O'Shaughnessy on his podcast this week ... once again one of my favorite lines ... if you're not the lead husky, the view never changes. I love the lead huskies. This is a company that is a leader. Everybody else is trying to play catch-up, and they're taking the world and their industry, often, to new, interesting places as they continue to innovate.</p>
<p>Teresa Kersten is an employee of LinkedIn and is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. LinkedIn is owned by Microsoft. <a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFSpiffyPop/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=83399116-c9f2-11e7-8707-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">David Gardner Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Blackbaud, Littelfuse, and Ultimate Software Group. 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=83399116-c9f2-11e7-8707-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
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5 Supernova Stocks That Have Flown Under the Radar: Blackbaud
| true |
http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/11/15/5-supernova-stocks-that-have-flown-under-radar-blackbaud.html
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2017-11-15
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5 Supernova Stocks That Have Flown Under the Radar: Blackbaud
<p>Last week on the&#160; <a href="https://www.fool.com/podcasts/rule-breaker-investing/?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=83399116-c9f2-11e7-8707-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Rule Breaker Investing Opens a New Window.</a>&#160;podcast, Motley Fool co-founder David Gardner reviewed the performance of two sets of his buy-and-hold stock picks: one set with a five-year horizon, and one that he recommended we hold for a year. This week, he offers up a new handful of recommendations, and the theme that came to his mind was Motley Fool Explorer, which is one of the premium services that competitively cherry-picks stocks from the Supernova universe.</p>
<p>So David is offering five hidden gems from the 210 Foolish holdings -- long-term market beaters that have never been part of a Real Money mission that have market caps below $10 billion and brand names most people won't recognize. And he thinks you should hold them for the next three years or more.&#160;His final pick is Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB), which provides software and services especially designed for nonprofits.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>A full transcript follows the video.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than BlackbaudWhen 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=18f5de28-910f-4307-ad23-b4f88095c5bc&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=83399116-c9f2-11e7-8707-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">10 best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now… and Blackbaud 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=18f5de28-910f-4307-ad23-b4f88095c5bc&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=83399116-c9f2-11e7-8707-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</a> to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of November 6, 2017</p>
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<p>This video was recorded on Sept. 13, 2017.</p>
<p>David Gardner: "Hidden Gem" No. 5: And stock No. 5. Again, I like these stocks for the next three-plus years going forward. We'll be checking with them year by year as we go by. Stock No. 5 is Blackbaud. The ticker symbol is BLKB. Blackbaud has a market cap of $4 billion today, so right around the same size as Littelfuse. The risk rating on Blackbaud is 11.</p>
<p>Blackbaud I first picked in November 2006, so we're talking about 11 years ago almost. The stock, over that time, has gone from $23.38 to $85.11. It's up 264%. The market over the same time up 125%. So of all the five stocks I presented this week, this has been the biggest winner. It's ahead of the market averages by about 140% over the now almost 11 years that we've bought and held Blackbaud.</p>
<p>I first heard about Blackbaud because my brother Tom and I spoke at a conference. We keynoted a conference for them. I was like, "Who are these guys?" I think we were in Charleston, South Carolina which, by the way, is where I'm going to be. I will be in Charleston, South Carolina right at the start of October. If you're a Motley Fool ONE member, perhaps you'll be joining in at that event.</p>
<p>Well, I was in Charleston, South Carolina about 12 years ago, or so, speaking with Tom at a Blackbaud conference and I learned a lot about the company at that time that I appreciated. If you work in the not-for-profit area, and many of you no doubt do, it's a huge area of the world today.</p>
<p>Blackbaud is, among many, the preferred platform for managing the database of the business, because after all there is a business aspect of the business that you're running as a not-for-profit. So they started with a product called The Raiser's Edge, which is a big platform for Blackbaud helping people raise money, track it, and keep up with all the database stats you want on your donors. That kind of thing. And once you get a product like that into a not-for-profit and they like it, they're probably just going to renew it year after year, and Blackbaud has been a beneficiary of it.</p>
<p>So I led off this week's show with Ultimate Software, which is also one of those subscription-based [we hope you'll renew us from one year to the next] businesses, in that case helping out human capital management. Here we have basically helping out not-for-profits. So if you like not-for-profits -- a lot of us do -- then this company is supporting them, and this company has built a pretty good business by serving them. And so that's what Blackbaud does.</p>
<p>And in addition to some of the traits I just mentioned that I appreciate about Blackbaud, I'll just point out one more, and that is that this company is the leader at what it does. Well, I can't say that they're kind of the Windows 95 of the world, going back to a time when Microsoft utterly dominated everyone's operating system. They're not really the Windows 95, necessarily, of the not-for-profit world, but they are a clear-branded leader within that space with a lot of customers who appreciate what they do.</p>
<p>So I like leaders. If you're not the lead husky, as I said to Patrick O'Shaughnessy on his podcast this week ... once again one of my favorite lines ... if you're not the lead husky, the view never changes. I love the lead huskies. This is a company that is a leader. Everybody else is trying to play catch-up, and they're taking the world and their industry, often, to new, interesting places as they continue to innovate.</p>
<p>Teresa Kersten is an employee of LinkedIn and is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. LinkedIn is owned by Microsoft. <a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFSpiffyPop/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=83399116-c9f2-11e7-8707-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">David Gardner Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Blackbaud, Littelfuse, and Ultimate Software Group. 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=83399116-c9f2-11e7-8707-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
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<p><a href="" type="internal">Tenet Healthcare</a> Corp's (NYSE:THC) board rejected the latest $3.3 billion offer from <a href="" type="internal">Community Health Systems</a> (NYSE:CYH), saying the price "grossly undervalues the company."</p>
<p>Community Health sweetened its hostile bid earlier this month, changing its $6 per share offer to all cash from $1 in Community Health stock and $5 in cash. The move was meant to protect Tenet shareholders from any risk associated with the stock of Community Health, which is currently the subject of a U.S. government probe into billing practices.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The board of Tenet said in a statement that after consultations with advisors it had determined that the revised bid is "not in the best interest of Tenet or its shareholders," saying the $6 per share price was the same as its initial offer made back in November.</p>
<p>Tenet CEO <a href="" type="internal">Trevor Fetter</a> said that since the November offer the company "has demonstrated improving business trends, including the best fourth quarter results in seven years. In addition, industry fundamentals are improving, and Tenet's Outlook for 2011 and longer-term financial performance reflects strong growth."</p>
<p>Community Health, the second-largest U.S. hospital chain, has disclosed that the U.S. government had subpoenaed the company in connection with an investigation of possible improper claims submitted to Medicare and <a href="" type="internal">Medicaid</a>, hitting its stock further.</p>
<p>Tenet, meanwhile, has filed a lawsuit again Community Health accusing it of admitting patients for needless stays and bilking the U.S. government and private insurers.</p>
<p>Shares of Community Health fell 20 cents to $30.69 on Thursday, while Tenet shares rose 6 cents to $6.77. U.S. stock markets were closed Friday.</p>
<p>(Reporting by <a href="http://blogs.reuters.com/search/journalist.php?edition=us&amp;n=paul.thomasch&amp;" type="external">Paul Thomasch Opens a New Window.</a>; Editing by Marguerita Choy)</p>
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Tenet Rejects Sweetened Community Health Bid
<p><a href="" type="internal">Tenet Healthcare</a> Corp's (NYSE:THC) board rejected the latest $3.3 billion offer from <a href="" type="internal">Community Health Systems</a> (NYSE:CYH), saying the price "grossly undervalues the company."</p>
<p>Community Health sweetened its hostile bid earlier this month, changing its $6 per share offer to all cash from $1 in Community Health stock and $5 in cash. The move was meant to protect Tenet shareholders from any risk associated with the stock of Community Health, which is currently the subject of a U.S. government probe into billing practices.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The board of Tenet said in a statement that after consultations with advisors it had determined that the revised bid is "not in the best interest of Tenet or its shareholders," saying the $6 per share price was the same as its initial offer made back in November.</p>
<p>Tenet CEO <a href="" type="internal">Trevor Fetter</a> said that since the November offer the company "has demonstrated improving business trends, including the best fourth quarter results in seven years. In addition, industry fundamentals are improving, and Tenet's Outlook for 2011 and longer-term financial performance reflects strong growth."</p>
<p>Community Health, the second-largest U.S. hospital chain, has disclosed that the U.S. government had subpoenaed the company in connection with an investigation of possible improper claims submitted to Medicare and <a href="" type="internal">Medicaid</a>, hitting its stock further.</p>
<p>Tenet, meanwhile, has filed a lawsuit again Community Health accusing it of admitting patients for needless stays and bilking the U.S. government and private insurers.</p>
<p>Shares of Community Health fell 20 cents to $30.69 on Thursday, while Tenet shares rose 6 cents to $6.77. U.S. stock markets were closed Friday.</p>
<p>(Reporting by <a href="http://blogs.reuters.com/search/journalist.php?edition=us&amp;n=paul.thomasch&amp;" type="external">Paul Thomasch Opens a New Window.</a>; Editing by Marguerita Choy)</p>
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<p>Thursday, while speaking to Black Women’s Agenda, Hillary quipped that being sick (her campaign claims pneumonia-related dehydration was responsible for her epileptic collapse at Sunday’s 9/11 memorial), garnered the interest of Republicans who were finally paying attention to women’s health.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /></p>
<p>Tacky. Plain tacky.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>“Women’s health” of course being the Democratic go-to term for abortion.</p>
<p>Wanting to preserve the sanctity of life and protect unborn? Then you my friend are, by default, anti-women’s health.</p>
<p>Forget about all the women whose lives were prematurely ended by an abortion. But it’s not like I expect ideological consistency from politicians or campaigns.</p>
<p>All the lying and the obfuscating and opaqueness aside, the single most aggravating aspect of Hillary’s campaign is the overuse of the gender card, while simultaneously pretending this is a campaign of merits. Not one Republican or onlooker seriously suggested Hillary’s sex was in any way related to whatever health issues plague the former Secretary of State. In fact, the only individual suggesting sex is even part of Hillary’s health discussion is Hillary herself.</p>
<p>Seems obvious enough, but the number of people who latch on to non sequiturs like this one, believing them to be one “sick burn” is alarming, but probably also explains the popularity of the Kardashian family.</p>
<p>Follow Kemberlee on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/KemberleeKaye" type="external">@kemberleekaye</a></p>
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Hillary Jokes Pneumonia ‘Got Republicans Interested Women’s Health’
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Hillary Jokes Pneumonia ‘Got Republicans Interested Women’s Health’
<p>Thursday, while speaking to Black Women’s Agenda, Hillary quipped that being sick (her campaign claims pneumonia-related dehydration was responsible for her epileptic collapse at Sunday’s 9/11 memorial), garnered the interest of Republicans who were finally paying attention to women’s health.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /></p>
<p>Tacky. Plain tacky.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>“Women’s health” of course being the Democratic go-to term for abortion.</p>
<p>Wanting to preserve the sanctity of life and protect unborn? Then you my friend are, by default, anti-women’s health.</p>
<p>Forget about all the women whose lives were prematurely ended by an abortion. But it’s not like I expect ideological consistency from politicians or campaigns.</p>
<p>All the lying and the obfuscating and opaqueness aside, the single most aggravating aspect of Hillary’s campaign is the overuse of the gender card, while simultaneously pretending this is a campaign of merits. Not one Republican or onlooker seriously suggested Hillary’s sex was in any way related to whatever health issues plague the former Secretary of State. In fact, the only individual suggesting sex is even part of Hillary’s health discussion is Hillary herself.</p>
<p>Seems obvious enough, but the number of people who latch on to non sequiturs like this one, believing them to be one “sick burn” is alarming, but probably also explains the popularity of the Kardashian family.</p>
<p>Follow Kemberlee on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/KemberleeKaye" type="external">@kemberleekaye</a></p>
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<p>THE TECH REVOLUTION: Today, a child's PlayStation has more computing power than a military supercomputer from the 1990s. Moore's Law says computing power will continue to double every 18-24 months. MIT professor <a href="http://ebusiness.mit.edu/erik/" type="external">Eric Brynjolfsson Opens a New Window.</a> explains why this is all good for human progress.</p>
<p>ROBOT REVOLUTION: Will robots become a threat to us? The Futurist editor-at-large <a href="http://about.me/PatrickTucker" type="external">Patrick Tucker Opens a New Window.</a> says they are definitely capable of "anti-social behavior." They become "more dangerous as we ask them to do more and more things, and we're not exactly sure what those things are."</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>STEALING OUR JOBS: Computers now teach themselves. <a href="http://www.ibm.com/smarterplanet/us/en/ibmwatson/" type="external">Watson Opens a New Window.</a>, a robot made by IBM, taught itself how to play Jeopardy. He beat the world champion. Since robots now can learn, will they soon be a threat to our jobs? Economics professor <a href="http://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/business/faculty_pages/fulltime/Noah-Smith.html" type="external">Noah Smith Opens a New Window.</a> says they will, and that's why we need more social programs for the poor. But libertarian economist <a href="http://www.smith.edu/economics/faculty_miller.php" type="external">James Miller Opens a New Window.</a> says people who want government to fix inequality should chill out, because less drudgery for humans is good news.</p>
<p>IMMORTALITY: "Transhumanists" want to use technology to try to live forever. Baseball star Ted Williams tried "cryonics." He had his body frozen soon after he died in the hopes that when science is more advanced, he will be brought back to life. So far, no luck. But journalist <a href="http://www.transhumanistwager.com/ZoltanIstvan.html" type="external">Zoltan Istvan Opens a New Window.</a> says it will happen.</p>
<p>DESIGNER BABIES: Wouldn't you like your baby to be healthy? Smart? A good athlete? A talented musician? Five years ago, clinics started helping parents choose gender, hair color and eye color. Dr. <a href="http://www.fertility-docs.com/about-us/clinics-and-staff.php" type="external">Jeffrey Steinberg Opens a New Window.</a> of the Fertility Institute says he could do more if the USA would legalize genetic engineering.</p>
<p>ROAD WARRIORS: Is this <a href="http://digg.com/video/drivers-in-ethiopia-dont-need-traffic-lights" type="external">intersection Opens a New Window.</a>in Ethiopia a better way to improve traffic flow? I doubt it- Ethiopia is one of the deadliest places to drive. Nevertheless, people are eager to find better ways to speed traffic. And soon, traffic lights may be less necessary because we won't drive our own cars. Computers will. The technology for driverless cars is already here. <a href="http://online.wsj.com/news/author/7559" type="external">Evelyn Rusli Opens a New Window.</a> of the Wall Street Journal says more is coming.</p>
<p>MY TAKE: The tech revolution is very cool. We are much better off because of it. This is why it's important that America not let the pompous old geezers in Congress and at regulatory agencies decide which innovation is permissible. Most established authorities are clueless about advantages of innovation until the gains are so obvious, they slap us in the face. Let's embrace the future. If government doesn't strangle change, life will keep getting better.</p>
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New World (Sunday at 10PM ET on FBN)
<p>THE TECH REVOLUTION: Today, a child's PlayStation has more computing power than a military supercomputer from the 1990s. Moore's Law says computing power will continue to double every 18-24 months. MIT professor <a href="http://ebusiness.mit.edu/erik/" type="external">Eric Brynjolfsson Opens a New Window.</a> explains why this is all good for human progress.</p>
<p>ROBOT REVOLUTION: Will robots become a threat to us? The Futurist editor-at-large <a href="http://about.me/PatrickTucker" type="external">Patrick Tucker Opens a New Window.</a> says they are definitely capable of "anti-social behavior." They become "more dangerous as we ask them to do more and more things, and we're not exactly sure what those things are."</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>STEALING OUR JOBS: Computers now teach themselves. <a href="http://www.ibm.com/smarterplanet/us/en/ibmwatson/" type="external">Watson Opens a New Window.</a>, a robot made by IBM, taught itself how to play Jeopardy. He beat the world champion. Since robots now can learn, will they soon be a threat to our jobs? Economics professor <a href="http://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/business/faculty_pages/fulltime/Noah-Smith.html" type="external">Noah Smith Opens a New Window.</a> says they will, and that's why we need more social programs for the poor. But libertarian economist <a href="http://www.smith.edu/economics/faculty_miller.php" type="external">James Miller Opens a New Window.</a> says people who want government to fix inequality should chill out, because less drudgery for humans is good news.</p>
<p>IMMORTALITY: "Transhumanists" want to use technology to try to live forever. Baseball star Ted Williams tried "cryonics." He had his body frozen soon after he died in the hopes that when science is more advanced, he will be brought back to life. So far, no luck. But journalist <a href="http://www.transhumanistwager.com/ZoltanIstvan.html" type="external">Zoltan Istvan Opens a New Window.</a> says it will happen.</p>
<p>DESIGNER BABIES: Wouldn't you like your baby to be healthy? Smart? A good athlete? A talented musician? Five years ago, clinics started helping parents choose gender, hair color and eye color. Dr. <a href="http://www.fertility-docs.com/about-us/clinics-and-staff.php" type="external">Jeffrey Steinberg Opens a New Window.</a> of the Fertility Institute says he could do more if the USA would legalize genetic engineering.</p>
<p>ROAD WARRIORS: Is this <a href="http://digg.com/video/drivers-in-ethiopia-dont-need-traffic-lights" type="external">intersection Opens a New Window.</a>in Ethiopia a better way to improve traffic flow? I doubt it- Ethiopia is one of the deadliest places to drive. Nevertheless, people are eager to find better ways to speed traffic. And soon, traffic lights may be less necessary because we won't drive our own cars. Computers will. The technology for driverless cars is already here. <a href="http://online.wsj.com/news/author/7559" type="external">Evelyn Rusli Opens a New Window.</a> of the Wall Street Journal says more is coming.</p>
<p>MY TAKE: The tech revolution is very cool. We are much better off because of it. This is why it's important that America not let the pompous old geezers in Congress and at regulatory agencies decide which innovation is permissible. Most established authorities are clueless about advantages of innovation until the gains are so obvious, they slap us in the face. Let's embrace the future. If government doesn't strangle change, life will keep getting better.</p>
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<p>Concussions are a serious issue for soccer. This is widely recognized.</p>
<p>But, for something to actually be done about at the highest professional and international levels, there will need to be a change in the sport's rigid substitions rule.</p>
<p>A class action lawsuit filed this week by some soccer parents and players in California demands (among other things) that the sport’s global governing body, FIFA, change its rules to allow temporary substitutions in suspected concussion cases. That may not seem like a big request. But in the tradition-bound world of professional soccer, it's a huge deal.</p>
<p>Currently, FIFA rules do not allow temporary substitutions. If a player is taken out of the game and replaced by another, the first player can not return to the match. Period.</p>
<p>That has a huge impact on the way pro soccer deals with concussions. Experts say that, at minimum, several minutes are required to assess if a player who suffered a knock to the head has indeed suffered a concussion. Under the current FIFA rules, that means that player’s team must play “a man down” while that happens. In other words, the player’s team suffers a disadvantage, not unlike a hockey team that has to defend a ”power play” because one of its players is banished to the penalty box.</p>
<p>Naturally, no competitive coach wants to do that if he or she doesn’t have to.</p>
<p>But if the substitution rule were changed, things would be different. A player who is suspected to be concussed could sit out and be assessed while a teammate took his place on the field. If a medical professional cleared the injured player, he could then re-enter the game.</p>
<p>Several other major sports, including basketball, American football and hockey, allow for rolling substitutions. And it doesn’t diminish the game in any way, or mean that star players don’t play most of the minutes anyway.</p>
<p>The argument against allowing that in soccer goes something like this: soccer is a fluid game, you can’t stop it too much or you risk altering the flow and possibly the outcome.</p>
<p>Besides, soccer is already afflicted with the problem of fake injuries. You know the drill right? Players not only fake injuries, but also roll around in the grass as if mortally wounded. All in the name of tricking the referee into calling a foul on the other team, and winning an advantage for yours.&#160;</p>
<p>I would argue that neither of those problems is more serious than protecting a player’s health. Medical experts tell us that a player who is concussed risks serious further brain damage or even death if he or she suffers a second concussion during that same game.</p>
<p>So it should be a simple matter. If you’re worried about players faking a concussion, put a neutral medical professional in charge of making the call.</p>
<p>And don’t tell me soccer can’t change its rules while still protecting the game’s integrity. For decades, soccer’s governing officials refused to entertain the use of technology to determine if a ball had crossed the line for a goal. It would interrupt the flow of the game, they said.</p>
<p>But now, goal line technology is in, and nobody’s complaining.</p>
<p>So my bet is that it might take years for FIFA to change its substitution rules. But it will happen. There’s simply no room in the game for a policy that is proven to put players’ health at risk.</p>
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Concussions in soccer are a real thing. So why not change the substitution rule?
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Concussions in soccer are a real thing. So why not change the substitution rule?
<p>Concussions are a serious issue for soccer. This is widely recognized.</p>
<p>But, for something to actually be done about at the highest professional and international levels, there will need to be a change in the sport's rigid substitions rule.</p>
<p>A class action lawsuit filed this week by some soccer parents and players in California demands (among other things) that the sport’s global governing body, FIFA, change its rules to allow temporary substitutions in suspected concussion cases. That may not seem like a big request. But in the tradition-bound world of professional soccer, it's a huge deal.</p>
<p>Currently, FIFA rules do not allow temporary substitutions. If a player is taken out of the game and replaced by another, the first player can not return to the match. Period.</p>
<p>That has a huge impact on the way pro soccer deals with concussions. Experts say that, at minimum, several minutes are required to assess if a player who suffered a knock to the head has indeed suffered a concussion. Under the current FIFA rules, that means that player’s team must play “a man down” while that happens. In other words, the player’s team suffers a disadvantage, not unlike a hockey team that has to defend a ”power play” because one of its players is banished to the penalty box.</p>
<p>Naturally, no competitive coach wants to do that if he or she doesn’t have to.</p>
<p>But if the substitution rule were changed, things would be different. A player who is suspected to be concussed could sit out and be assessed while a teammate took his place on the field. If a medical professional cleared the injured player, he could then re-enter the game.</p>
<p>Several other major sports, including basketball, American football and hockey, allow for rolling substitutions. And it doesn’t diminish the game in any way, or mean that star players don’t play most of the minutes anyway.</p>
<p>The argument against allowing that in soccer goes something like this: soccer is a fluid game, you can’t stop it too much or you risk altering the flow and possibly the outcome.</p>
<p>Besides, soccer is already afflicted with the problem of fake injuries. You know the drill right? Players not only fake injuries, but also roll around in the grass as if mortally wounded. All in the name of tricking the referee into calling a foul on the other team, and winning an advantage for yours.&#160;</p>
<p>I would argue that neither of those problems is more serious than protecting a player’s health. Medical experts tell us that a player who is concussed risks serious further brain damage or even death if he or she suffers a second concussion during that same game.</p>
<p>So it should be a simple matter. If you’re worried about players faking a concussion, put a neutral medical professional in charge of making the call.</p>
<p>And don’t tell me soccer can’t change its rules while still protecting the game’s integrity. For decades, soccer’s governing officials refused to entertain the use of technology to determine if a ball had crossed the line for a goal. It would interrupt the flow of the game, they said.</p>
<p>But now, goal line technology is in, and nobody’s complaining.</p>
<p>So my bet is that it might take years for FIFA to change its substitution rules. But it will happen. There’s simply no room in the game for a policy that is proven to put players’ health at risk.</p>
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<p />
<p>We set out two main principles upon which to build this organization: artistically, to present great music from all eras in ways that make them more accessible to the public and to combine other arts with music in new and fresh combinations, in order to create a spectacle that would engage our audience in all of their senses: and structurally, the all-important goal is to be sustainable and fiscally responsible.</p>
<p>Because we operate on a very different model than a traditional symphony orchestra, we have the artistic flexibility to dream up new ways of presenting both the great classics and exciting new works. Since we don’t have lengthy contractual agreements, we are able to close the books on each concert – avoiding the accumulation of debt and ensuring our long-term financial health.</p>
<p>We started modestly, governed by the policy that we would not stage a concert unless it was funded before the first note is played. Financial responsibility is our keyword, and what enables us to keep faith with the talented musicians that are the true genius of our organization and with you, our audience.</p>
<p>We will build upon our inaugural season, growing in size as our successes carry us. We have assembled a small but efficient staff, and an energetic and committed board of directors. One of our more important goals is to create a season of full symphony concerts with the same innovative and creative enhancements as our smaller productions. These will include commentary from me with interaction from the audience, video presentations, dance and drama.</p>
<p>As I put aside the black-tie formality of conventional classical music and experiment with innovation in presentation and context, I follow a dream. That dream, combined with the involuntary end of my previous musical position, led me to a new context that could fulfill my insatiable urge to make music – while also addressing my family’s economic needs. I knew I must succeed at both if I am to continue as part of the cultural and artistic community of my adopted home state of New Mexico.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The Figueroa Project will enable me to meet those objectives – and to continue my collaboration with the fabulous virtuoso musicians, both local and international, with whom I have worked for the past decade. I take great pleasure in presenting music I love to audiences that include those not particularly familiar with the classics. I try to approach it in ways that help them become comfortable with the music and feel its timeless power. We have accomplished things I always hoped for but could not do in the structured organization of a formal symphony orchestra. And thanks to the patrons and music lovers, the enthusiastic reception at each of our concerts continues to validate our approach.</p>
<p>There is a deep connection between a healthy and exuberant musical culture in a city, and its economic success and quality of life. The Figueroa Project’s new and 21st century-relevant approach to presenting music will help, I believe, sustain the link between the community at large, its artists and its economic health. This is essential as we strive to bring in new and young audiences and add to the cultural variety that makes New Mexico a great place to do business, make music and raise families.</p>
<p>The Figueroa Project is a new and exciting game in town – and we’re here to stay!</p>
<p>Figueroa is a symphony conductor and violinist who was the music director of the former New Mexico Symphony Orchestra. He has made his home in Albuquerque since first joining the NMSO.</p>
|
The Soundtrack for a Sustainable Musical Future
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/100917/the-soundtrack-for-a-sustainable-musical-future.html
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2012-04-19
| 2least
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The Soundtrack for a Sustainable Musical Future
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>We set out two main principles upon which to build this organization: artistically, to present great music from all eras in ways that make them more accessible to the public and to combine other arts with music in new and fresh combinations, in order to create a spectacle that would engage our audience in all of their senses: and structurally, the all-important goal is to be sustainable and fiscally responsible.</p>
<p>Because we operate on a very different model than a traditional symphony orchestra, we have the artistic flexibility to dream up new ways of presenting both the great classics and exciting new works. Since we don’t have lengthy contractual agreements, we are able to close the books on each concert – avoiding the accumulation of debt and ensuring our long-term financial health.</p>
<p>We started modestly, governed by the policy that we would not stage a concert unless it was funded before the first note is played. Financial responsibility is our keyword, and what enables us to keep faith with the talented musicians that are the true genius of our organization and with you, our audience.</p>
<p>We will build upon our inaugural season, growing in size as our successes carry us. We have assembled a small but efficient staff, and an energetic and committed board of directors. One of our more important goals is to create a season of full symphony concerts with the same innovative and creative enhancements as our smaller productions. These will include commentary from me with interaction from the audience, video presentations, dance and drama.</p>
<p>As I put aside the black-tie formality of conventional classical music and experiment with innovation in presentation and context, I follow a dream. That dream, combined with the involuntary end of my previous musical position, led me to a new context that could fulfill my insatiable urge to make music – while also addressing my family’s economic needs. I knew I must succeed at both if I am to continue as part of the cultural and artistic community of my adopted home state of New Mexico.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The Figueroa Project will enable me to meet those objectives – and to continue my collaboration with the fabulous virtuoso musicians, both local and international, with whom I have worked for the past decade. I take great pleasure in presenting music I love to audiences that include those not particularly familiar with the classics. I try to approach it in ways that help them become comfortable with the music and feel its timeless power. We have accomplished things I always hoped for but could not do in the structured organization of a formal symphony orchestra. And thanks to the patrons and music lovers, the enthusiastic reception at each of our concerts continues to validate our approach.</p>
<p>There is a deep connection between a healthy and exuberant musical culture in a city, and its economic success and quality of life. The Figueroa Project’s new and 21st century-relevant approach to presenting music will help, I believe, sustain the link between the community at large, its artists and its economic health. This is essential as we strive to bring in new and young audiences and add to the cultural variety that makes New Mexico a great place to do business, make music and raise families.</p>
<p>The Figueroa Project is a new and exciting game in town – and we’re here to stay!</p>
<p>Figueroa is a symphony conductor and violinist who was the music director of the former New Mexico Symphony Orchestra. He has made his home in Albuquerque since first joining the NMSO.</p>
| 7,537 |
<p>FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Luxury group Kering says it intends to spin off a majority stake in sports apparel maker Puma by distributing the stake to its own shareholders.</p>
<p>The Paris-based company said Thursday it would ask shareholders to approve distributing 70 percent of Puma's outstanding shares, which would reduce Kering's stake to 16 percent from 86 percent. That would permit Kering to focus on its luxury business through brands including Gucci, Balenciaga and Stella McCartney.</p>
<p>Kering shareholder Artemis would wind up holding a 29-percent stake in Puma.</p>
<p>Kering Chairman and CEO Francois-Henry Pinault said the distribution would "enable our shareholders to directly benefit from Puma's future value creation."</p>
<p>The distribution would increase Herzogenaurach, Germany-based Puma's free float, or shares that are available to be traded, to 55 percent of the company.</p>
<p>FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Luxury group Kering says it intends to spin off a majority stake in sports apparel maker Puma by distributing the stake to its own shareholders.</p>
<p>The Paris-based company said Thursday it would ask shareholders to approve distributing 70 percent of Puma's outstanding shares, which would reduce Kering's stake to 16 percent from 86 percent. That would permit Kering to focus on its luxury business through brands including Gucci, Balenciaga and Stella McCartney.</p>
<p>Kering shareholder Artemis would wind up holding a 29-percent stake in Puma.</p>
<p>Kering Chairman and CEO Francois-Henry Pinault said the distribution would "enable our shareholders to directly benefit from Puma's future value creation."</p>
<p>The distribution would increase Herzogenaurach, Germany-based Puma's free float, or shares that are available to be traded, to 55 percent of the company.</p>
|
Gucci owner Kering to spin off majority stake in Puma
| false |
https://apnews.com/amp/8c5112559a5540228379f1d45df5af0a
|
2018-01-11
| 2least
|
Gucci owner Kering to spin off majority stake in Puma
<p>FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Luxury group Kering says it intends to spin off a majority stake in sports apparel maker Puma by distributing the stake to its own shareholders.</p>
<p>The Paris-based company said Thursday it would ask shareholders to approve distributing 70 percent of Puma's outstanding shares, which would reduce Kering's stake to 16 percent from 86 percent. That would permit Kering to focus on its luxury business through brands including Gucci, Balenciaga and Stella McCartney.</p>
<p>Kering shareholder Artemis would wind up holding a 29-percent stake in Puma.</p>
<p>Kering Chairman and CEO Francois-Henry Pinault said the distribution would "enable our shareholders to directly benefit from Puma's future value creation."</p>
<p>The distribution would increase Herzogenaurach, Germany-based Puma's free float, or shares that are available to be traded, to 55 percent of the company.</p>
<p>FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Luxury group Kering says it intends to spin off a majority stake in sports apparel maker Puma by distributing the stake to its own shareholders.</p>
<p>The Paris-based company said Thursday it would ask shareholders to approve distributing 70 percent of Puma's outstanding shares, which would reduce Kering's stake to 16 percent from 86 percent. That would permit Kering to focus on its luxury business through brands including Gucci, Balenciaga and Stella McCartney.</p>
<p>Kering shareholder Artemis would wind up holding a 29-percent stake in Puma.</p>
<p>Kering Chairman and CEO Francois-Henry Pinault said the distribution would "enable our shareholders to directly benefit from Puma's future value creation."</p>
<p>The distribution would increase Herzogenaurach, Germany-based Puma's free float, or shares that are available to be traded, to 55 percent of the company.</p>
| 7,538 |
<p>It is surely one of the great strategic screw-ups in the history of war and intelligence analysis. In March, after the second UN Security Council resolution used by NATO to launch its bombing campaign, the predictions were that Tripoli and thus Ghadafi would fall within two or three weeks.&#160; Right and left alike, though not yrs truly, said it was a sure thing.</p>
<p>Yet, here the Guide still is, addressing rallies in Tripoli surrounded by a sixth of Libya’s entire population, while in the other end of the country, it seems that one faction in Benghazi, that of Mustapha Abdul Jalil, head of the rebel Transitional National Council, has just murdered &#160;Abdel Fatah Younis, commander of the Libyan rebel forces. There are various accounts, none of them attaching the slightest credence to Jalil’s faltering initial suggestions that it was Ghadafi’s guys who did it. One has Younis being taken prisoner on grounds of opening secret negotiations with Tripoli (very conceivably true), then taken to the desert and shot, along with his bodyguard of two colonels; another that he was tortured to death in Benghazi. Either way this renders moot Sen. John McCain’s letter last week to Jalil warning that credible accounts of serious human violations by the rebels were undercutting whatever support the NATO onslaught retained in Congress.</p>
<p>We are beginning to see some very graphic accounts and videos of the actual conduct of the rebels in torturing and executing prisoners and suspected Ghadafi loyalists in Benghazi, not to mention compulsory reimposition of the burka for women and kindred evidence of rabid fundamentalism among NATO’s clients.</p>
<p>The same day this news of Younis’s killing came, Britain recognized the rebels at the legitimate government of Libya and gave them the okay to take over Libyan government facilities in London.&#160; There seems to be civil war&#160; in&#160; London, since foreign secretary William Hague had come off his hardline stance against negotiations with Tripoli. By way of thank you, as his men pumped&#160; bullets into Younis, Jalil swiftly requested the $25 billion in Libyan government funds, held by NATO powers, which if turned over, — which I strongly doubt — will no doubt enter many a private rebel account,&#160; not to mention private NATO accounts – which aim was evident from the start, when Benghazi opened a “central Libyan bank.”</p>
<p>This is one of the greatest humiliations of NATO in its history (also, to be petty, a terrific smack in the eye for the analytic and political acumen of a prime propagandist in progressive circles&#160; for the rebels, Prof.&#160; Juan Cole, whose blogs on Libya have been getting steadily more demented.)&#160; Incidentally, they keep calling for Ghadafi to “step down.” In constitutional terms, which is what NATO must keep in mind, I believe he did some time ago.</p>
<p>Does DA Vance have the steel to go after Strauss-Kahn?</p>
<p>Did&#160; a man ever look jauntier than Dominique Strauss-Kahn a month ago, any woman more effervescent than the loyal wife at his side, Anne Sinclair? The sex assault charges that had doomed the IMF chieftain’s prospective run for the French presidency were in tatters, shot down by a brutal story in the New York Times (by Jim Dwyer, William Rashbaum and John Eligon) in which two anonymous law enforcement officials, presumably speaking separately, given the three bylines said the alleged victim, housekeeper Nafissato Diallo, was a demonstrable liar and that phone taps to a drug dealer friend of hers in prison showed she was chasing a big money settlement.&#160; The leakers carefully went to the Times on June 30, with the story published on July 1, although already circulating on Thursday evening. This meant that Operation Destroy Diallo dominated the headlines with only a very weak comment by Diallo’s lawyer, Ken Thompson, the following Tuesday, July 5.</p>
<p>Hot on the heels of this came a story in the New York Post claming, on the basis of another anonymous source, that Diallo was a seasoned hooker.</p>
<p>From the office of District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr trickled predictions that soon the charges against DSK would melt away, reduced at most to a misdemeanor. From France came tidings that a renewed DSK presidential challenge might not be far off, once the New York case had been tidied away.</p>
<p>But here we are a month later and, if such a thing were possible, DSK looks even worse than at the moment he was dragged off by the New York cops to Riker’s Island, charged with rape.</p>
<p>First, the French writer Tristane Banon reaffirmed her accusations that eight years ago in Paris DSK had&#160; locked the door and jumped her in the course of an interview, that she’d barely fought off a frightening physical assault and that he was like “a rutting chimp”.</p>
<p>A brisk war of similes soon followed, when Tristane’s mother, Anne Mansouret, was quoted as saying to French police that in 2000, in a voluntary but “clearly brutal” physical engagement with DSK in an OECD office, he’d comported himself like a filthy drunk, heedless of all needs but his own, among which the need to “dominate” was paramount.</p>
<p>This was a Wendi Deng-style right hook to DSK’s defenders who had claimed the former IMF director couldn’t keep his pants zipped but that he wasn’t the violent type.</p>
<p>The overall impression that DSK might merit an entry in any update of Krafft-Ebing’s Psychopathia Sexualis was heightened by news stories saying that Diallo was his third sexual engagement – his lawyers claim the sex with Diallo was “consensual” – in the hours before he quit the New York Sofitel.</p>
<p>Now Diallo has given interviews to Newsweek and ABC, giving what Newsweek’s experienced Paris bureau chief Chris Dickey has described on ABC as a “convincing” account of going into DSK’s suite, being attacked by a naked man with white hair coming out of the shower, forced to her knees with his penis shoved into her mouth, then spitting out the ejaculate on her uniform, on the carpet where it was later collected along with her saliva by the cops establishing the DNA traces.</p>
<p>I’ve always thought Diallo’s lawyers had done her no favors by keeping her under wraps. Diallo is a homely looking, vigorous 32-year old West African woman with an ample bust, which is probably what caught DSK’s eye. If they’d introduced her to the public back at the start of the case, it would have been harder to trash her in the New York Times interview.</p>
<p>By July 7 the NYT conceded that the timeline on Diallo’s use of her computer key destroyed to line that alleged violent sexual assault was followed by an odd return to cleaning work next door. Not so. Between 10:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. the maid used her card on room 2820 (the adjacent suite) three times.</p>
<p>At 12:06 p.m. she used her card on Strauss-Kahn’s room, 2806.</p>
<p>At 12:26 p.m. she used her card on room 2820 again, and then in the same minute used it again on room 2806 [the adjacent suite].</p>
<p>By 12:28 p.m. Strauss-Kahn had gone to the front desk and checked out.</p>
<p>But Kenneth Thompson, the maid’s attorney, offers this&#160; scenario below to the Law Blog cited with comment in the Wall Street Journal:</p>
<p>The maid cleaned room 2820 for an hour and a half. She was going back and forth to the linen closet during that time, which explains the three key card uses to that room.</p>
<p>The VIP rooms are large, and take a while to clean. “Those rooms have to sparkle,” Thompson told the Law Blog.</p>
<p>She finished and was waiting for her supervisor to come inspect the room when she saw the room service attendant coming out of 2806.</p>
<p>She asked if that room was empty and was told it was. She entered the room, which explains the key card entry at 12:06 p.m. The attack allegedly occurred.</p>
<p>She came out of the room and went down the hallway because she didn’t know what to do, according to Thompson.</p>
<p>While she was waiting for her supervisor (who still had yet to arrive), Strauss-Kahn allegedly dressed quickly and she saw him leave the room and get on the elevator, Thompson said.</p>
<p>Apparently unsure what to do, she went back into room 2820 for one minute, came out, went back to room 2806 and put her card in the door and opened it.</p>
<p>Her supervisor arrived soon after to find her in the hallway, near the elevator, according to Thompson. They went back into room 2806 together and the accuser allegedly asked the supervisor, “Can a guest do anything they want to in this hotel?”’</p>
<p>The charges by Murdoch’s New York Post about Diallo being a hooker seem ttendentious, doled out by DSK’s defense team, with zero substantiating evidence.</p>
<p>DA Vance is now in a tricky position. Propelled into his post by big liberal money, he raced to throw the book at the alleged rapist DSK, imposing savage demands for bail conditions. Then, when Diallo was caught telling a few fibs to US asylum officials, to boost her chances of legal status in the US, one of two things happened.</p>
<p>Either Vance panicked and gave the green light for the leaks to the New York Times or&#160; enemies in his office or in the New York police (“law enforsement officials” is a pretty catchall) – perhaps found by DSK’s US defense team including ex CIA officers in the pr firm TD International used by DSK,&#160; decided to cut the ground from under him and leaked a highly prejudicial story against Diallo to the Times.&#160; So far as the DA green-lighting the story, If the phone call between Diallo and her Ivoirian friend in prison did have damaging information in it, why is there no peep about that in the&#160;DA’s letter to the prosecutors citing flaws in Diallo’s record of truthfulness.&#160; If the DA knew this information about the prison call was being splashed all over the press across the holiday weekend was wrong and harmful to his case, why didn’t he call an emergency&#160; press conference and refute it.&#160; Same thing for the prostitution story: why didn’t the DA call a press conference and refute it.&#160;&#160;By saying nothing, it looks like the DA was willfully participating in smearing its own witness.</p>
<p>Thompson may have been the person who turned over Diallo’s tax and bank records to the defense and then they turned them over to the DA without saying they got them from Thompson.&#160; Typically, the IRS and bank would require the individual to sign a release.&#160; Since the victim wasn’t arrested by the DA, how could he have got those records under subpoena?</p>
<p>There are&#160; some signs that the Times feels burned a bit by its relaying of the&#160; June 30 hit job&#160; since its story last week goes into detail about the entirely misleading account of Diallo’s phone conversations in the Fulani language with her friend in prison which was aimed at consigning Diallo to sink into discredited obscurity as a liar and potential blackmailer. Incidentally it’s now confirmed what Pam Martens wrote here on our CounterPunch site on June 17 . Per the NYT, Diallo’s lawyer Thomson, as Alan Dershowitz was suggesting, had met with DSK’s lawyer(s) while the prosecution was building its case.&#160;&#160; The Times said Thompson and defense for DSK had agreed to share information or words to that effect.&#160; That doesn’t look good at all for the civil suit.&#160; Why should Thompson be sharing anything when he hasn’t even filed a civil suit and has no discovery orders from a judge?</p>
<p>After a hammering in the press for three weeks in July her only hand left to play was to go public, and thus far the strategy has been devastating to DSK. Now it’s all up to Vance. If he allows DSK to escape with a misdemeanor charge or no charge at all he’ll be discredited among not only the big liberal backers who paid for his run to be DA, but also popular constituencies in New York who will be important for his future political career, whether as DA or beyond.</p>
<p>On the other hand, if he presses a full-down attempted rape case against DSK he’ll go into the courtroom with a witness whose record of truth-telling is – however understandable – less than 100 per cent.</p>
<p>DSK’s wife, the enormously rich Anne Sinclair, drew a parallel between her husband’s travails and the Dreyfus affair – DSK is Jewish – which is silly. Is a case that convulsed France for years to be compared to DSK’s? Are there intimations of anti-semitism? The answer is no.</p>
<p>The Diallo-DSK case is still alive. The next hearing is three weeks away, on August 23. Then we’ll see what sort of steel is in Vance’s spine.</p>
<p>The Norsemen, Breivik and William Lind</p>
<p>Everyone talks about Norway’s peaceful traditions, now destroyed by Anders Breivik’s day of mass murder. Tell that to the Irish Christians on Lambay Island, or the&#160; monks of Iona, victims of the first Viking raids in 795 AD, not so long ago when you take the long view.&#160; Breivik worried about Muslim immigration, with an alien faith. The Vikings had their furious Gods, certainly not Christian. Truth be told, the monasteries in Ireland had been attacking each other before the Norsemen ever set foot in the Emerald Isle. In 807 the monasteries of Cork and Clonfert went at each other with, as the choricle put it, “an innumerable slaughter of the ecclesiastical men and superiors of Cork.”</p>
<p>Norway has also sent its modest contingents to assist in recent US Coalition onslaughts in&#160; Iraq and Afghanistan.</p>
<p>Incidentally, on the topic of Breivik, we have had an enquiry from a reader noting that Breivik’s “Manifesto” has plagiarized material from William Lind, erstwhile Director for the Center for Cultural Conservatism for the Free Congress Foundation, and asking that since CounterPunch published material by Lind, what is our precise relationship to this contributor. The inference seems to be that we published racist neo-Nazi propaganda which helped inflame Breivik. God knows what he would say about our contributor William Blum, considering the late Osama bin Laden famously cited Bill as one of his favorite writers.</p>
<p>As any CounterPuncher can quickly establish by reviewing Lind’s contributions&#160; through our “Search” function at the top of this home page, we published columns on the conduct of America’s wars by&#160; Lind between 2003 and 2007, in the Bush years because, from a conservative position,&#160; he was a trenchant and knowledgeable military analyst and critic of the US onslaughts on Iraq and Afghanistan and elsewhere. Lind had been a participant of the military reform group, trenchant critics of the Pentagon.</p>
<p>His column was distributed by the Center and we would pick it up if it was on themes we cared for, which did not include Lind’s commentaries on many other matters, the cultural downslide of America and so forth.</p>
<p>CounterPunchers should know that its editors stand responsible for pieces CounterPunch publishes – though we obviously don’t agree with every word in the roughly 3,000 pieces we put up on this site every year. We publish and where necessary edit articles for&#160; the edification of a large and intelligent regular readership. We don’t publish anti-Semitic or Nazi propaganda, as assessed by any rational person. I add this because many people eager to throw these terms around are irrational and usually malevolent. If you read our website with any frequency you will know where we’re at, as a left, radical enterprise.&#160;&#160; We’ve always held it as part of our brief – stemming from political appreciation of the actual prospects here in the USA – that we should acknowledge positive political work and insights on the libertarian front and the right and from original viewpoints. Every once in a while some Trotskyite purist like Louis Proyect will hoist his skirts&#160; and jump up on the kitchen table, aghast at the sight of an “incorrect” thought or assault by CounterPunch, often specifically me, on the canons of political and cultural PC as sedulously observed by this politically and intellectually demure old Trot. Then, when I say something he likes he’ll dispense a grateful bouquet.</p>
<p>We &#160;don’t hold ourselves responsible for articles our contributors publish elsewhere. We have neither the time nor inclination to dredge through their lifetime archive on the internet to scrutinize articles they may have written one, five, ten or twenty years ago.&#160; These days we get regular requests from contributors to purge our archives of their seditious thoughts because they are up for a job, or are in a tenure battle. A new search site has just been launched to enable the internet bloodhounds to person their blacklisting tasks more efficiently. That’s not our world.</p>
<p>Who First Looked at Chapman’s Odyssey?</p>
<p>In her stimulating piece on this site today Caroline Rooney quotes Shakespeare lines in Hamlet, suggesting that Ophelia’s name derived from a conflation of two characters in Homer’s Odyssey.</p>
<p>My co-editor Jeffrey St. Clair points out that “Chapman’s translation of the Odyssey didn’t appear until 1616 (ie, 16 years after Hamlet). Was there an earlier English version of Homer? Maybe my boy Marlowe wrote Hamlet after all … There was an earlier translation (1581) of the Iliad by Arthur Hall, a member of parliament, but it was dreadful doggerel &amp; Hall was prosecuted (I seem to remember) for the equivalent of publishing porn–the Gershon Legman of his time. In any event, most of the story of Troy that the English read had been passed down through Virgil’s pro-Hittite version or through the French lays &amp; romances. But the Odyssey was almost unknown among the non-Greek-readers until Chapman.”</p>
<p>Rooney writes, “I have tried to find out from Shakespeare scholars on my campus. I don’t think there was an earlier English version, and it has generally been assumed that Shakespeare would not have read Homer. But drafts of Chapman or other language versions may have been in circulation. A mystery for the experts to unravel.”</p>
<p>Our Latest Newsletter</p>
<p>“Imagine a world in which any child who displays any of the brooding existential dilemmas commonly associated with adolescence are almost automatically given heavy doses of antipsychotic medication that can stunt their brain development and destroy their bodies. Very soon, this could be our world.”</p>
<p>Thus Jed Bickman in the opening to his chilling report on the way the drug industry and the American Psychological Association, with its upcoming new edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, are colluding in the compulsory dosing of the nation’s children with “atypical antipsychotic” meds that destroy creativity and brain development.</p>
<p>Currently, hundreds of thousands of children in America are given damaging psychiatric medication – drugs that were very recently thought to be grave treatments of the last resort for treating grave diseases in adults – to control a broad range of behavioral and emotional problems.</p>
<p>Also in this new edition of our subscriber-only newsletter, anthropologist and CounterPuncher David Price opens a two-part exploration of newly released government files on the devious, sinister life of Mark Zborowski – NKVD agent, complicit in Trotsky’s murder, friend of Margaret Mead, pain “researcher” in CIA-linked work for torture manuals.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.easycartsecure.com/CounterPunch/Annual_Subscriptions.html" type="external">Subscribe now!</a></p>
<p>A Great New Book from CounterPunch</p>
<p>Here’s an exciting bit of news from CounterPunch. We’re very proud to announce David Price’s new book, <a href="http://www.easycartsecure.com/CounterPunch/CounterPunch_Books.html" type="external">Weaponizing Anthropology</a>, just published by CounterPunch Books and AK Press and now available from our CounterPunch <a href="http://www.easycartsecure.com/CounterPunch/CounterPunch_Books.html" type="external">bookstore</a>.</p>
<p>Weaponizing Anthropology&#160;documents how anthropological knowledge and ethnographic methods are harnessed by military and intelligence agencies in post-9/11 America to placate hostile foreign populations. Price’s inquiry into past relationships between anthropologists and the CIA, FBI, and Pentagon provides the historical base for this expose of the current abuses of anthropology by military and intelligence agencies.&#160;Weaponizing Anthropology explores the ways that recent shifts in funding sources for university students threaten academic freedom, as new secretive CIA-linked fellowship programs rapidly infiltrate American university campuses. He examines the specific uses of anthropological knowledge in military doctrine that have appeared in a new generation of counterinsurgency manuals and paramilitary social science units like the Human Terrain Teams.</p>
<p>It’s a very important book, and here’s what Marshall Sahlins, one of anthropology’s current titans, says about it:</p>
<p>“Even before he published this masterly and comprehensive account, David Price has long been in the forefront of those warning of the adverse effects of militarizing the human sciences. Now, by matching an extraordinary command of the sources to a telling sensitivity to the political and intellectual consequences, he demonstrates in this definitive work that weaponizing anthropology is as damaging to the soul of the nation as it is to the integrity of the science.”</p>
<p>–Marshall Sahlins, University of Chicago</p>
<p>And here’s Henry Giroux:</p>
<p>“This may be one of the most important books written in the last few decades on the merging of the military and intelligence agencies with the academy. Beautifully written and rigorously argued, Weaponizing Anthropology is a must read for students, educators, and anyone else concerned about the fate of the academy, the corruption of anthropology, the militarization of politics, and the future of democracy.”</p>
<p>–Henry Giroux, McMaster University, Author of&#160;University in Chains: Confronting the Military-Industrial-Academic Complex.</p>
<p>One more testimonial from David Graeber:</p>
<p>“Anthropology was always a field of political struggle between servants and opponents of imperialism and it still is – with much of our funding, employment, and research direction still coming directly from the CIA and US military. No one genuinely concerned with the integrity of the discipline can afford to ignore this important book.”</p>
<p>–David Graeber, &#160;University of London. Author of&#160;Fragments of an Anarchist Anthropology.</p>
<p>Order <a href="http://www.easycartsecure.com/CounterPunch/CounterPunch_Books.html" type="external">Weaponizing Anthropology</a> now!</p>
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At Last! The Head of Ghad … General Younis
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https://counterpunch.org/2011/07/30/at-last-the-head-of-ghad-general-younis/
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2011-07-30
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At Last! The Head of Ghad … General Younis
<p>It is surely one of the great strategic screw-ups in the history of war and intelligence analysis. In March, after the second UN Security Council resolution used by NATO to launch its bombing campaign, the predictions were that Tripoli and thus Ghadafi would fall within two or three weeks.&#160; Right and left alike, though not yrs truly, said it was a sure thing.</p>
<p>Yet, here the Guide still is, addressing rallies in Tripoli surrounded by a sixth of Libya’s entire population, while in the other end of the country, it seems that one faction in Benghazi, that of Mustapha Abdul Jalil, head of the rebel Transitional National Council, has just murdered &#160;Abdel Fatah Younis, commander of the Libyan rebel forces. There are various accounts, none of them attaching the slightest credence to Jalil’s faltering initial suggestions that it was Ghadafi’s guys who did it. One has Younis being taken prisoner on grounds of opening secret negotiations with Tripoli (very conceivably true), then taken to the desert and shot, along with his bodyguard of two colonels; another that he was tortured to death in Benghazi. Either way this renders moot Sen. John McCain’s letter last week to Jalil warning that credible accounts of serious human violations by the rebels were undercutting whatever support the NATO onslaught retained in Congress.</p>
<p>We are beginning to see some very graphic accounts and videos of the actual conduct of the rebels in torturing and executing prisoners and suspected Ghadafi loyalists in Benghazi, not to mention compulsory reimposition of the burka for women and kindred evidence of rabid fundamentalism among NATO’s clients.</p>
<p>The same day this news of Younis’s killing came, Britain recognized the rebels at the legitimate government of Libya and gave them the okay to take over Libyan government facilities in London.&#160; There seems to be civil war&#160; in&#160; London, since foreign secretary William Hague had come off his hardline stance against negotiations with Tripoli. By way of thank you, as his men pumped&#160; bullets into Younis, Jalil swiftly requested the $25 billion in Libyan government funds, held by NATO powers, which if turned over, — which I strongly doubt — will no doubt enter many a private rebel account,&#160; not to mention private NATO accounts – which aim was evident from the start, when Benghazi opened a “central Libyan bank.”</p>
<p>This is one of the greatest humiliations of NATO in its history (also, to be petty, a terrific smack in the eye for the analytic and political acumen of a prime propagandist in progressive circles&#160; for the rebels, Prof.&#160; Juan Cole, whose blogs on Libya have been getting steadily more demented.)&#160; Incidentally, they keep calling for Ghadafi to “step down.” In constitutional terms, which is what NATO must keep in mind, I believe he did some time ago.</p>
<p>Does DA Vance have the steel to go after Strauss-Kahn?</p>
<p>Did&#160; a man ever look jauntier than Dominique Strauss-Kahn a month ago, any woman more effervescent than the loyal wife at his side, Anne Sinclair? The sex assault charges that had doomed the IMF chieftain’s prospective run for the French presidency were in tatters, shot down by a brutal story in the New York Times (by Jim Dwyer, William Rashbaum and John Eligon) in which two anonymous law enforcement officials, presumably speaking separately, given the three bylines said the alleged victim, housekeeper Nafissato Diallo, was a demonstrable liar and that phone taps to a drug dealer friend of hers in prison showed she was chasing a big money settlement.&#160; The leakers carefully went to the Times on June 30, with the story published on July 1, although already circulating on Thursday evening. This meant that Operation Destroy Diallo dominated the headlines with only a very weak comment by Diallo’s lawyer, Ken Thompson, the following Tuesday, July 5.</p>
<p>Hot on the heels of this came a story in the New York Post claming, on the basis of another anonymous source, that Diallo was a seasoned hooker.</p>
<p>From the office of District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr trickled predictions that soon the charges against DSK would melt away, reduced at most to a misdemeanor. From France came tidings that a renewed DSK presidential challenge might not be far off, once the New York case had been tidied away.</p>
<p>But here we are a month later and, if such a thing were possible, DSK looks even worse than at the moment he was dragged off by the New York cops to Riker’s Island, charged with rape.</p>
<p>First, the French writer Tristane Banon reaffirmed her accusations that eight years ago in Paris DSK had&#160; locked the door and jumped her in the course of an interview, that she’d barely fought off a frightening physical assault and that he was like “a rutting chimp”.</p>
<p>A brisk war of similes soon followed, when Tristane’s mother, Anne Mansouret, was quoted as saying to French police that in 2000, in a voluntary but “clearly brutal” physical engagement with DSK in an OECD office, he’d comported himself like a filthy drunk, heedless of all needs but his own, among which the need to “dominate” was paramount.</p>
<p>This was a Wendi Deng-style right hook to DSK’s defenders who had claimed the former IMF director couldn’t keep his pants zipped but that he wasn’t the violent type.</p>
<p>The overall impression that DSK might merit an entry in any update of Krafft-Ebing’s Psychopathia Sexualis was heightened by news stories saying that Diallo was his third sexual engagement – his lawyers claim the sex with Diallo was “consensual” – in the hours before he quit the New York Sofitel.</p>
<p>Now Diallo has given interviews to Newsweek and ABC, giving what Newsweek’s experienced Paris bureau chief Chris Dickey has described on ABC as a “convincing” account of going into DSK’s suite, being attacked by a naked man with white hair coming out of the shower, forced to her knees with his penis shoved into her mouth, then spitting out the ejaculate on her uniform, on the carpet where it was later collected along with her saliva by the cops establishing the DNA traces.</p>
<p>I’ve always thought Diallo’s lawyers had done her no favors by keeping her under wraps. Diallo is a homely looking, vigorous 32-year old West African woman with an ample bust, which is probably what caught DSK’s eye. If they’d introduced her to the public back at the start of the case, it would have been harder to trash her in the New York Times interview.</p>
<p>By July 7 the NYT conceded that the timeline on Diallo’s use of her computer key destroyed to line that alleged violent sexual assault was followed by an odd return to cleaning work next door. Not so. Between 10:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. the maid used her card on room 2820 (the adjacent suite) three times.</p>
<p>At 12:06 p.m. she used her card on Strauss-Kahn’s room, 2806.</p>
<p>At 12:26 p.m. she used her card on room 2820 again, and then in the same minute used it again on room 2806 [the adjacent suite].</p>
<p>By 12:28 p.m. Strauss-Kahn had gone to the front desk and checked out.</p>
<p>But Kenneth Thompson, the maid’s attorney, offers this&#160; scenario below to the Law Blog cited with comment in the Wall Street Journal:</p>
<p>The maid cleaned room 2820 for an hour and a half. She was going back and forth to the linen closet during that time, which explains the three key card uses to that room.</p>
<p>The VIP rooms are large, and take a while to clean. “Those rooms have to sparkle,” Thompson told the Law Blog.</p>
<p>She finished and was waiting for her supervisor to come inspect the room when she saw the room service attendant coming out of 2806.</p>
<p>She asked if that room was empty and was told it was. She entered the room, which explains the key card entry at 12:06 p.m. The attack allegedly occurred.</p>
<p>She came out of the room and went down the hallway because she didn’t know what to do, according to Thompson.</p>
<p>While she was waiting for her supervisor (who still had yet to arrive), Strauss-Kahn allegedly dressed quickly and she saw him leave the room and get on the elevator, Thompson said.</p>
<p>Apparently unsure what to do, she went back into room 2820 for one minute, came out, went back to room 2806 and put her card in the door and opened it.</p>
<p>Her supervisor arrived soon after to find her in the hallway, near the elevator, according to Thompson. They went back into room 2806 together and the accuser allegedly asked the supervisor, “Can a guest do anything they want to in this hotel?”’</p>
<p>The charges by Murdoch’s New York Post about Diallo being a hooker seem ttendentious, doled out by DSK’s defense team, with zero substantiating evidence.</p>
<p>DA Vance is now in a tricky position. Propelled into his post by big liberal money, he raced to throw the book at the alleged rapist DSK, imposing savage demands for bail conditions. Then, when Diallo was caught telling a few fibs to US asylum officials, to boost her chances of legal status in the US, one of two things happened.</p>
<p>Either Vance panicked and gave the green light for the leaks to the New York Times or&#160; enemies in his office or in the New York police (“law enforsement officials” is a pretty catchall) – perhaps found by DSK’s US defense team including ex CIA officers in the pr firm TD International used by DSK,&#160; decided to cut the ground from under him and leaked a highly prejudicial story against Diallo to the Times.&#160; So far as the DA green-lighting the story, If the phone call between Diallo and her Ivoirian friend in prison did have damaging information in it, why is there no peep about that in the&#160;DA’s letter to the prosecutors citing flaws in Diallo’s record of truthfulness.&#160; If the DA knew this information about the prison call was being splashed all over the press across the holiday weekend was wrong and harmful to his case, why didn’t he call an emergency&#160; press conference and refute it.&#160; Same thing for the prostitution story: why didn’t the DA call a press conference and refute it.&#160;&#160;By saying nothing, it looks like the DA was willfully participating in smearing its own witness.</p>
<p>Thompson may have been the person who turned over Diallo’s tax and bank records to the defense and then they turned them over to the DA without saying they got them from Thompson.&#160; Typically, the IRS and bank would require the individual to sign a release.&#160; Since the victim wasn’t arrested by the DA, how could he have got those records under subpoena?</p>
<p>There are&#160; some signs that the Times feels burned a bit by its relaying of the&#160; June 30 hit job&#160; since its story last week goes into detail about the entirely misleading account of Diallo’s phone conversations in the Fulani language with her friend in prison which was aimed at consigning Diallo to sink into discredited obscurity as a liar and potential blackmailer. Incidentally it’s now confirmed what Pam Martens wrote here on our CounterPunch site on June 17 . Per the NYT, Diallo’s lawyer Thomson, as Alan Dershowitz was suggesting, had met with DSK’s lawyer(s) while the prosecution was building its case.&#160;&#160; The Times said Thompson and defense for DSK had agreed to share information or words to that effect.&#160; That doesn’t look good at all for the civil suit.&#160; Why should Thompson be sharing anything when he hasn’t even filed a civil suit and has no discovery orders from a judge?</p>
<p>After a hammering in the press for three weeks in July her only hand left to play was to go public, and thus far the strategy has been devastating to DSK. Now it’s all up to Vance. If he allows DSK to escape with a misdemeanor charge or no charge at all he’ll be discredited among not only the big liberal backers who paid for his run to be DA, but also popular constituencies in New York who will be important for his future political career, whether as DA or beyond.</p>
<p>On the other hand, if he presses a full-down attempted rape case against DSK he’ll go into the courtroom with a witness whose record of truth-telling is – however understandable – less than 100 per cent.</p>
<p>DSK’s wife, the enormously rich Anne Sinclair, drew a parallel between her husband’s travails and the Dreyfus affair – DSK is Jewish – which is silly. Is a case that convulsed France for years to be compared to DSK’s? Are there intimations of anti-semitism? The answer is no.</p>
<p>The Diallo-DSK case is still alive. The next hearing is three weeks away, on August 23. Then we’ll see what sort of steel is in Vance’s spine.</p>
<p>The Norsemen, Breivik and William Lind</p>
<p>Everyone talks about Norway’s peaceful traditions, now destroyed by Anders Breivik’s day of mass murder. Tell that to the Irish Christians on Lambay Island, or the&#160; monks of Iona, victims of the first Viking raids in 795 AD, not so long ago when you take the long view.&#160; Breivik worried about Muslim immigration, with an alien faith. The Vikings had their furious Gods, certainly not Christian. Truth be told, the monasteries in Ireland had been attacking each other before the Norsemen ever set foot in the Emerald Isle. In 807 the monasteries of Cork and Clonfert went at each other with, as the choricle put it, “an innumerable slaughter of the ecclesiastical men and superiors of Cork.”</p>
<p>Norway has also sent its modest contingents to assist in recent US Coalition onslaughts in&#160; Iraq and Afghanistan.</p>
<p>Incidentally, on the topic of Breivik, we have had an enquiry from a reader noting that Breivik’s “Manifesto” has plagiarized material from William Lind, erstwhile Director for the Center for Cultural Conservatism for the Free Congress Foundation, and asking that since CounterPunch published material by Lind, what is our precise relationship to this contributor. The inference seems to be that we published racist neo-Nazi propaganda which helped inflame Breivik. God knows what he would say about our contributor William Blum, considering the late Osama bin Laden famously cited Bill as one of his favorite writers.</p>
<p>As any CounterPuncher can quickly establish by reviewing Lind’s contributions&#160; through our “Search” function at the top of this home page, we published columns on the conduct of America’s wars by&#160; Lind between 2003 and 2007, in the Bush years because, from a conservative position,&#160; he was a trenchant and knowledgeable military analyst and critic of the US onslaughts on Iraq and Afghanistan and elsewhere. Lind had been a participant of the military reform group, trenchant critics of the Pentagon.</p>
<p>His column was distributed by the Center and we would pick it up if it was on themes we cared for, which did not include Lind’s commentaries on many other matters, the cultural downslide of America and so forth.</p>
<p>CounterPunchers should know that its editors stand responsible for pieces CounterPunch publishes – though we obviously don’t agree with every word in the roughly 3,000 pieces we put up on this site every year. We publish and where necessary edit articles for&#160; the edification of a large and intelligent regular readership. We don’t publish anti-Semitic or Nazi propaganda, as assessed by any rational person. I add this because many people eager to throw these terms around are irrational and usually malevolent. If you read our website with any frequency you will know where we’re at, as a left, radical enterprise.&#160;&#160; We’ve always held it as part of our brief – stemming from political appreciation of the actual prospects here in the USA – that we should acknowledge positive political work and insights on the libertarian front and the right and from original viewpoints. Every once in a while some Trotskyite purist like Louis Proyect will hoist his skirts&#160; and jump up on the kitchen table, aghast at the sight of an “incorrect” thought or assault by CounterPunch, often specifically me, on the canons of political and cultural PC as sedulously observed by this politically and intellectually demure old Trot. Then, when I say something he likes he’ll dispense a grateful bouquet.</p>
<p>We &#160;don’t hold ourselves responsible for articles our contributors publish elsewhere. We have neither the time nor inclination to dredge through their lifetime archive on the internet to scrutinize articles they may have written one, five, ten or twenty years ago.&#160; These days we get regular requests from contributors to purge our archives of their seditious thoughts because they are up for a job, or are in a tenure battle. A new search site has just been launched to enable the internet bloodhounds to person their blacklisting tasks more efficiently. That’s not our world.</p>
<p>Who First Looked at Chapman’s Odyssey?</p>
<p>In her stimulating piece on this site today Caroline Rooney quotes Shakespeare lines in Hamlet, suggesting that Ophelia’s name derived from a conflation of two characters in Homer’s Odyssey.</p>
<p>My co-editor Jeffrey St. Clair points out that “Chapman’s translation of the Odyssey didn’t appear until 1616 (ie, 16 years after Hamlet). Was there an earlier English version of Homer? Maybe my boy Marlowe wrote Hamlet after all … There was an earlier translation (1581) of the Iliad by Arthur Hall, a member of parliament, but it was dreadful doggerel &amp; Hall was prosecuted (I seem to remember) for the equivalent of publishing porn–the Gershon Legman of his time. In any event, most of the story of Troy that the English read had been passed down through Virgil’s pro-Hittite version or through the French lays &amp; romances. But the Odyssey was almost unknown among the non-Greek-readers until Chapman.”</p>
<p>Rooney writes, “I have tried to find out from Shakespeare scholars on my campus. I don’t think there was an earlier English version, and it has generally been assumed that Shakespeare would not have read Homer. But drafts of Chapman or other language versions may have been in circulation. A mystery for the experts to unravel.”</p>
<p>Our Latest Newsletter</p>
<p>“Imagine a world in which any child who displays any of the brooding existential dilemmas commonly associated with adolescence are almost automatically given heavy doses of antipsychotic medication that can stunt their brain development and destroy their bodies. Very soon, this could be our world.”</p>
<p>Thus Jed Bickman in the opening to his chilling report on the way the drug industry and the American Psychological Association, with its upcoming new edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, are colluding in the compulsory dosing of the nation’s children with “atypical antipsychotic” meds that destroy creativity and brain development.</p>
<p>Currently, hundreds of thousands of children in America are given damaging psychiatric medication – drugs that were very recently thought to be grave treatments of the last resort for treating grave diseases in adults – to control a broad range of behavioral and emotional problems.</p>
<p>Also in this new edition of our subscriber-only newsletter, anthropologist and CounterPuncher David Price opens a two-part exploration of newly released government files on the devious, sinister life of Mark Zborowski – NKVD agent, complicit in Trotsky’s murder, friend of Margaret Mead, pain “researcher” in CIA-linked work for torture manuals.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.easycartsecure.com/CounterPunch/Annual_Subscriptions.html" type="external">Subscribe now!</a></p>
<p>A Great New Book from CounterPunch</p>
<p>Here’s an exciting bit of news from CounterPunch. We’re very proud to announce David Price’s new book, <a href="http://www.easycartsecure.com/CounterPunch/CounterPunch_Books.html" type="external">Weaponizing Anthropology</a>, just published by CounterPunch Books and AK Press and now available from our CounterPunch <a href="http://www.easycartsecure.com/CounterPunch/CounterPunch_Books.html" type="external">bookstore</a>.</p>
<p>Weaponizing Anthropology&#160;documents how anthropological knowledge and ethnographic methods are harnessed by military and intelligence agencies in post-9/11 America to placate hostile foreign populations. Price’s inquiry into past relationships between anthropologists and the CIA, FBI, and Pentagon provides the historical base for this expose of the current abuses of anthropology by military and intelligence agencies.&#160;Weaponizing Anthropology explores the ways that recent shifts in funding sources for university students threaten academic freedom, as new secretive CIA-linked fellowship programs rapidly infiltrate American university campuses. He examines the specific uses of anthropological knowledge in military doctrine that have appeared in a new generation of counterinsurgency manuals and paramilitary social science units like the Human Terrain Teams.</p>
<p>It’s a very important book, and here’s what Marshall Sahlins, one of anthropology’s current titans, says about it:</p>
<p>“Even before he published this masterly and comprehensive account, David Price has long been in the forefront of those warning of the adverse effects of militarizing the human sciences. Now, by matching an extraordinary command of the sources to a telling sensitivity to the political and intellectual consequences, he demonstrates in this definitive work that weaponizing anthropology is as damaging to the soul of the nation as it is to the integrity of the science.”</p>
<p>–Marshall Sahlins, University of Chicago</p>
<p>And here’s Henry Giroux:</p>
<p>“This may be one of the most important books written in the last few decades on the merging of the military and intelligence agencies with the academy. Beautifully written and rigorously argued, Weaponizing Anthropology is a must read for students, educators, and anyone else concerned about the fate of the academy, the corruption of anthropology, the militarization of politics, and the future of democracy.”</p>
<p>–Henry Giroux, McMaster University, Author of&#160;University in Chains: Confronting the Military-Industrial-Academic Complex.</p>
<p>One more testimonial from David Graeber:</p>
<p>“Anthropology was always a field of political struggle between servants and opponents of imperialism and it still is – with much of our funding, employment, and research direction still coming directly from the CIA and US military. No one genuinely concerned with the integrity of the discipline can afford to ignore this important book.”</p>
<p>–David Graeber, &#160;University of London. Author of&#160;Fragments of an Anarchist Anthropology.</p>
<p>Order <a href="http://www.easycartsecure.com/CounterPunch/CounterPunch_Books.html" type="external">Weaponizing Anthropology</a> now!</p>
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<p>When Claire L. found out she was pregnant, she was ecstatic but a little nervous. Every one of her female relatives on her mother’s side—her grandma, her mom, her aunts, her sister—had needed a cesarean section. Slender hips and big babies were a family trademark.</p>
<p>At about 20 weeks, Claire, then 30 and living in Santa Cruz, California, told her obstetrician about her family history. Much to her surprise, the doctor waved away her concerns. The takeaway was that practically anyone can deliver vaginally. Her relatives’ experiences were probably the result of knife-happy, old-fashioned doctors. So Claire went home and did her best not to worry too much about it.</p>
<p>Like many first-time moms, Claire went overdue. A week past her date, an ultrasound indicated that the baby was getting big. She grew nervous again and wondered whether she should be induced. But the doctor had said it would be much better to let the baby come when ready. At about 42 weeks, Claire’s obstetrician finally said it was time and gave her Pitocin—a drug that jump-starts contractions—assuring her once again that everything would be fine. It wasn’t.</p>
<p>As Claire had expected, it was a tight fit, and the baby’s heart rate kept decelerating during contractions. The hospital doctors considered a C-section but pressed ahead with vaginal delivery. When she finally gave birth to a 9.6-pound daughter after 30 hours of labor and an hour of pushing, the doctors congratulated her: The baby had made it through a rough delivery in perfect health.</p>
<p />
<p>Claire, not so much. She had three deep vaginal tears, and her labia, her obstetrician told her, were swollen to 50 times the normal size. Shortly after the birth, she began to bleed profusely—a postpartum hemorrhage caused by the intense stress on her pelvis. She couldn’t pee normally for months afterward, and just sitting caused excruciating pain. Forget sex—it wasn’t until her daughter was three months old that she even started to feel better, and she still wasn’t back to normal after nine months. “I was told that I’d rest at home for a little bit and then I’d be fine,” Claire told me. “I feel kind of lied to.”</p>
<p>Childbirth is, to be sure, far safer now than it has been for most of human history. In the 18th century, roughly 1 in 100 women died in the process— <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/22/health/maternal-mortality.html" type="external">today in the United States</a>, it’s about 1 in 4,000. But nonfatal injuries that wreak havoc on a woman’s quality of life remain surprisingly prevalent. Depending on the study, 50 to 80 percent of women who give birth experience tearing of the pelvic skin and muscles. For more than 1 in 10, the tearing is severe enough to damage the anal sphincter muscle, which often leads to the loss of bowel and bladder control. In a 2015 <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0129615" type="external">Canadian study</a>, a whopping half of all new mothers were still reporting urinary incontinence a year after the birth, and more than three-quarters had residual back pain.</p>
<p>The silence of Claire’s obstetrician on such matters is a problem that infects the entire birth community. Doctors are required by law to warn women about what could happen to their bodies during a cesarean section, from infection to the uterus splitting apart, and pregnant women are routinely informed about genetic conditions like Down’s syndrome and birth defects like spina bifida that could affect the baby. Yet according to more than a dozen physicians and public health experts I interviewed for this story, rare is the obstetrician who has a frank conversation with a pregnant woman about the long-term problems she might face. Even women with the time and money to rigorously prepare for birth seldom hear much about how labor and delivery can damage the pelvic bones and muscles. Childbirth classes gloss over it, as do most popular pregnancy books.</p>
<p>First-time mothers are not told that roughly one-third of all women, at some point in their lives, will develop stress urinary incontinence—a condition wherein a cough, a sneeze, or a laugh is likely to cause an “accident.” Or that surgery for this condition is three times more common in women who give birth vaginally compared with women who deliver by cesarean section. We hear little, if anything, about the likelihood of <a href="http://www.ucurology.org/areas-of-specialization/female-pelvic-organ-prolapse" type="external">pelvic organ prolapse</a>, a horrifying condition in which the uterus or bladder sags, causing chronic discomfort and often intense pain during physical activities. Prolapse, which usually shows up in middle age or later, happens to 4 percent of women who give birth vaginally versus 2 percent who have a cesarean.</p>
<p>All told, according to a 2008 study by researchers at the California HMO Kaiser Permanente, about <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080302150723.htm" type="external">1 in 3 women</a> suffer from a pelvic floor disorder (a category that includes urinary incontinence, fecal incontinence, and prolapse), and roughly 80 percent of those women are mothers. Women who deliver vaginally are twice as likely to experience these injuries as women who have a cesarean or who have not given birth. For 1 in 10 women, the problem is severe enough to warrant surgery—that’s about double the rate of men who undergo prostate surgery. The costs add up: The website Healthcare Bluebook estimates that the typical price for a vaginal hysterectomy, one of the most common fixes for uterine prolapse, is about $14,400, including hospital costs, while a bladder repair surgery for incontinence runs about $28,000. Nearly one-third of women who have pelvic-floor surgery will go on to have at least one more. According to one study, nursing home admissions resulting from urinary incontinence were costing Americans about $6 billion a year—and that was a decade ago.</p>
<p>Senior homes aren’t the only industry cashing in. The US <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-11/the-adult-diaper-market-is-about-to-take-off" type="external">market for adult incontinence</a> products (Depends, etc.) is projected to grow from $1.8 billion in 2015 to $2.7 billion by 2020, and it is expected to catch up to the baby diaper market within a decade. Sleek undergarments advertised by models in their 40s are designed for middle-aged consumers. “We’re trying to make the product more normal, and even fun,” an executive from industry leader Kimberly-Clark told Bloomberg Businessweek, “with real people in our ads saying, ‘Hey, I have bladder leakage, and it’s no big deal.'” (Kimberly-Clark also recently introduced a tamponlike product for women with urinary stress incontinence to “let you laugh without leaks,” one ad promises.)</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Yet it is a big deal. Not only are these conditions widespread, debilitating, and expensive—they are also deeply humiliating. Women with prolapse are often unable to exercise and “are too embarrassed about the bulge in their vagina to have sex,” says Dr. Victoria Handa, a urogynecologist and the director of the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics at the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. In a 2009 study, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2746737/" type="external">Handa found that</a> women with prolapse reported great difficulty reaching orgasm and even getting aroused in the first place. Many incontinent women are afraid to run, jump, or even leave home, lest they have an accident in public. And social isolation begets depression. It doesn’t help, Handa says, that there is still a culture of silence around pelvic problems, especially prolapse: “No one says, ‘I can’t go horseback riding with you, Ginny. My uterus is out too far.'”</p>
<p>It’s hard to pinpoint the contribution of childbirth to pelvic floor disorders in part because most hospitals don’t track what happens to a new mother after she leaves. Newborns typically get excellent follow-up care—they see a pediatrician days after birth, again several weeks later, and then every few months for their first year. For most new mothers, though, insurance covers only one visit with a gynecologist, six weeks after birth—before some pelvic injuries even become apparent. If a woman complains of pelvic symptoms to her regular doctor, good luck: A 2016 survey found that most primary care <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27796426" type="external">physicians didn’t screen</a> for prolapse, and those who did believed it was “rare.”</p>
<p>Mothers are more involved in labor and delivery decisions nowadays than they’ve ever been, and yet in some ways they are still treated as something of an afterthought. Hans Peter Dietz, an Australian urogynecologist who studies maternal childbirth injuries, put it like this: “Once the baby is born healthy, the obstetrician calls it a day. And if the mother is damaged, she’s told, ‘Well, what did you expect? That’s what happens when you have a baby.'”</p>
<p>Most childbirth classes teach the same version of labor: hugely pregnant lady has a twinge or two, the twinges gradually progress into full-blown, involuntary contractions, and then, following some amount of groaning and yelling at others, she feels an overwhelming urge to expel her baby. After 20 minutes to two hours of intense pushing, a squalling infant emerges. There is, of course, enormous variation to this narrative: Poke around and you’ll find tales of labors lasting anywhere from <a href="http://www.fitpregnancy.com/pregnancy/labor-delivery/did-woman-have-shortest-labor-ever" type="external">a few minutes</a> to <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2112656/Woman-lie-upside-75-DAYS-save-lives-premature-children.html" type="external">75 days</a>. There are many factors that determine the course of labor, from the delivery technique used to the baby’s readiness to be born. But a key factor is the mother’s body.</p>
<p>The female pelvis is a bucket-shaped cage of bone and muscle that sits at the bottom of the abdominal cavity. Attached to the top of the bucket are two wide, winglike bones called ilia, jutting out from either side of the tailbone. The body of the bucket has two pubic bones in front and hip bones on the sides, with the back of the bucket formed by the tailbone. The bucket’s base consists of a group of muscles called the pelvic floor.</p>
<p>For most of pregnancy, the uterus sits above the brim while the bucket body holds the bladder and intestines—those organs will get squished out of the way when the baby passes through. In the third trimester, a woman’s body begins producing hormones that loosen the ligaments between the pelvic bones, widening the top of the bucket so the baby’s head can fit inside. As she goes into labor, the opening to her uterus (the cervix) thins, lengthens, and dilates, allowing the infant to pass into the birth canal, the vagina.</p>
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<p>The list of ways in which the pelvis and reproductive organs can be damaged during this process is practically endless. Most women, as mentioned, experience at least some vaginal tearing. But in severe cases, the perineum—the area between the vagina and the anus— <a href="http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/labor-and-delivery/multimedia/vaginal-tears/sls-20077129?s=5" type="external">rips completely open</a>, exposing the vagina to dangerous bacteria and leaving the mother unable to control her bowels. Sometimes, as in Claire’s case, the baby is too big to fit easily through the pelvis, and the infant’s head or shoulders can break the mother’s bones on the way out. In yet another harrowing scenario, a piece of the placenta remains stuck to the uterine wall after the baby is born, causing the woman to hemorrhage. If the pelvic floor muscles stretch too far during delivery, the uterus may sag into the vagina: prolapse. And even after a woman heals from her immediate injuries, she can experience chronic nerve pain, muscle spasms, or numbness for months or years. Plenty of women make it through a birth okay, only to suffer from incontinence or prolapse years or decades later, for reasons doctors still don’t understand.</p>
<p>It’s tempting to dismiss these less-than-deadly problems as inevitable side effects of the miracle of life. Haven’t women been pushing giant babies out through their tiny vaginas since time immemorial? Isn’t this what we’re designed for? Yet many of the obstetricians I spoke to say there’s been an uptick in traumatic births. That’s mainly because the mothers are older. From 2000 to 2014, the <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db232.pdf" type="external">average age at first birth</a> rose from just under 25 to 26.3, and the number of first-time moms over 35 leaped 23 percent.</p>
<p>This is significant because the risk of complications increases dramatically with age. In 2014, Norwegian researchers studied roughly 170,000 first-time mothers and found that their rate of emergency cesareans—the kind doctors perform when something goes wrong during labor or delivery—was about 7 percent for mothers in their early 20s but 22 percent for those older than 40. Even women in their mid-30s have an elevated risk. In the United States, the overall rate of cesareans (emergency or planned) is 27 percent for mothers aged 20 to 24, but 41 percent for those 35 to 39 years old.</p>
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<p>Why is this? For one thing, explains Dietz, the Australian urogynecologist, the mechanisms that kick off labor don’t seem to work as well in older first-time moms, which can make them more likely to go past due—another risk factor. Older moms also tend to have less effective contractions, which can lead to longer labors and extended pushing—which is strongly linked to pelvic injuries. In 2013, for instance, British researchers found that a woman’s odds of severe trauma to the sphincter start out quite small but grow 40 percent with each minute she pushes. And because the pelvic muscles and ligaments are less elastic with age, the babies of older moms are more likely to get stuck coming out.</p>
<p>That’s not all. Obesity and chronic conditions that grow more prevalent with age, such as diabetes and hyper­tension, are also risk factors for a difficult delivery. In a 2013 study of 2,235 births, researchers found that 41 percent of obese mothers and 57 percent of morbidly obese mothers—more than one-third of American women now fall into one category or the other—had cesareans, compared with 31 percent of women of normal weight. From 1998 to 2009, according to a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23090519" type="external">2012 study</a> published in the journal Obstetrics &amp; Gynecology, the rate of severe labor complications including heart attacks, kidney failure, and aneurysm increased by 75 percent during delivery and 114 percent during postpartum hospital stays. For women pushing 40, all of this comes in addition to the heightened difficulty of getting pregnant and carrying a baby to term in the first place. After beating those odds, older first-time moms often assume the hardest is behind them—until they run into trouble in the delivery room.</p>
<p>So the number of women at high risk for serious labor complications is increasing—and at the same time, so is the pressure to have a baby with minimal medical intervention. Public health experts agree that America’s current cesarean rate (about 32 percent) is excessive, and that vaginal births are usually preferable for both mothers and babies. Assuming all goes smoothly, mothers who deliver vaginally have fewer infections and blood clots than women who have cesarean sections, and their postpartum recovery time is typically shorter and less painful. Babies delivered vaginally tend to have stronger lungs than their surgically delivered counterparts. Scientists posit that beneficial bacteria babies pick up in the birth canal protect them against asthma and allergies later on.</p>
<p>But it’s not just cesarean sections that have fallen out of fashion. Among highly educated women—who are also more likely to have babies later in life—forgoing all labor-easing medication has become a badge of honor. For this we can thank the natural childbirth movement, which began more than 50 years ago as a reaction to the overly rigid approach of midcentury obstetricians. Up until the late 1940s, some women laboring in hospitals were even given an amnesiac drug called scopolamine that erased their memories of childbirth. This was convenient for the (overwhelmingly male) doctors who presided over these so-called twilight deliveries, but many women found it traumatic. They woke up sore and disoriented, only to be sent home to care for the helpless new human who had appeared in the bassinet beside them.</p>
<p>During the ’70s, feminists decided they no longer wanted to give birth in a stupor, so they began relearning the ancient art of midwifery and experimenting with having babies at home. In 1971, a midwife named Ina May Gaskin founded a nonhospital birthing center at a rural Tennessee <a href="http://inamay.com/biography/" type="external">commune called The Farm</a>. Gaskin and her fellow midwives considered their work an act of protest. “It is our basic belief that the sacrament of birth belongs to the people and that it should not be usurped by a profit-oriented hospital system,” she wrote in her 1975 classic, <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=Rj7F5XRmAI4C&amp;printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&amp;q&amp;f=false" type="external">Spiritual Midwifery</a>.</p>
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<p>The sentiment spread and a movement was born. It would be hard to overstate Gaskin’s influence on today’s birth culture, at least in the privileged enclaves where doulas and mindfulness are in and epidurals and cesar­eans are decidedly out. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=q1GNRjS8bdkC&amp;printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&amp;q&amp;f=false" type="external">Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth</a> is now the fifth most popular pregnancy book on Amazon, and it’s not hard to see why: It makes childbearing sound blissful. In first-person birth stories from The Farm, women refer to contractions as “rushes” and expound upon the “ecstatic” experience of labor. “I could feel my baby move me open, and when the intensity of the rushes increased, I just leaned on a tree,” one woman writes. “I became more aroused than I ever had been in my life!” writes another. “There was no pain, only the most extreme sexual pleasure and complete openness. It was orgasmic.”</p>
<p>Now 76, Gaskin lectures all over the world. She has starred in documentaries and given a widely watched TEDx talk called “Reducing fear of birth in U.S. culture.” What to Expect When You’re Expecting, America’s top-selling book on pregnancy and childbirth, adopts Gaskin’s ideas, encouraging women to write a detailed birth plan to present to the delivery team at the hospital, with instructions on everything from mood lighting in the birthing suite to specific medications and procedures to avoid.</p>
<p>Woe to the modern mother who seeks to escape the painful pushing. A few years back, tabloids began reporting that some celebrities—Spice Girl Victoria Beckham, supermodel Claudia Schiffer, actress Elizabeth Hurley—were choosing to deliver their babies surgically rather than going through the ordeal of labor. This led to a rash of finger-wagging articles, including a 2004 Time piece ( <a href="http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,610086,00.html" type="external">“Too Posh to Push?”</a>) that warned of an alarming trend of elective cesareans. These were “not the emergency cesareans that have been performed for hundreds of years to rescue babies from women in medical crisis,” it read. “Rather, they had an increasingly popular modern-day variation: planned, scheduled operations for all sorts of less-than-critical reasons.” Some women even had the audacity to be “terrified of labor pains and complicated deliveries or want to avoid the wear and tear on their bodies.”</p>
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<p>Dr. Amy Tuteur, a former obstetrician and vocal critic of the natural childbirth movement, told me Gaskin’s philosophy “really accomplished a lot when it came about, because childbirth was very patriarchal.” But now it’s gone too far the other way, Tuteur says: We hear all the great parts about natural childbirth, but “there is very little about women who end up incontinent or with sexual dysfunction or broken bones, because no one really considers that a big deal.”</p>
<p>Part of the problem, says Lisa Korst, a former obstetrician and public health researcher in Los Angeles who studies trends in hospital births, is the disconnect between what happens in the delivery room and what happens after a new mother leaves the hospital. Medical codes that specify the severity of complications after birth simply don’t exist. “We code postpartum hemorrhage so badly,” Korst says by way of example. “It’s not written down how much you bled. There’s no code for going to the ICU.” And if a woman picks up an infection during delivery that doesn’t show up until a few days after she’s released, “that wouldn’t be marked in the hospital record.”</p>
<p>At the six-week postpartum appointment, doctors seldom look for pelvic injuries. Gynecologists are trained to make sure that the uterus is returning to its normal size and that any tears are healing well and free of infection—not to evaluate the muscles and tissue, says Stephanie Prendergast, a physical therapist and founder of the Los Angeles-based Pelvic Health and Rehabilitation Center. This irks Prendergast because many injuries can be diagnosed with a simple internal exam. “It takes less than 30 seconds,” she says. “You can palpate for tenderness. Can a woman squeeze or push? If not, she is probably having problems with bowel movements.”</p>
<p>All of which is a little ironic, because one thing the natural childbirth movement got right was taking care of postpartum mothers. After a baby is born, traditional midwives stick around. They check to make sure a mother isn’t bleeding too much, isn’t struggling to use the bathroom—and they keep checking. But after the six-week appointment, women who give birth at hospitals are pretty much on their own.</p>
<p>Consider the case of Lauren Henderberg, a 36-year-old mom who lives in upstate New York. In March 2008, after two days of labor—and a delivery in which a forceps was used—Henderberg, then 27, had a baby girl. And though she suffered a deep tear and bled profusely, her doctor cleared her to leave the hospital after just two days. “I wasn’t really offered help or counseled even on how to keep the area clean,” she told me. Henderberg spent the next six weeks in acute pain, unable to control her bowels. At her six-week checkup, she was still deeply bruised and swollen, but she was told her symptoms were normal and was sent on her way.</p>
<p>By July, she was still in pain, bleeding, and having fecal incontinence. Her doctor continued to insist nothing was wrong, but Henderberg’s symptoms were profoundly disabling. She declined invitations from friends and family, giving vague excuses. “When you are sitting there and you have an accident or you smell bad, you don’t want to go out,” she says. “I didn’t want to go somewhere where I didn’t know where the nearest bathroom was.” She went back to her job as a teacher but eventually quit. What if she had an accident in the classroom? To make matters worse, she began having panic attacks, usually triggered by the sound of clinking metal, which brought back memories of the forceps.</p>
<p>Henderberg began to feel more and more isolated, but the thought of discussing her symptoms with friends and family was mortifying. “I really just thought, ‘People don’t talk about this,'” she says. Finally, after months of silence, she broke down and confided in her mother, who persuaded her to see a different doctor. The new doc said her symptoms were most certainly not normal. In the months that followed, Henderberg started physical therapy and was outfitted with an internal medical device that stimulated her pelvic nerves with electricity and helped her control her bowels. She also received counseling to deal with psychological trauma from the birth. Her insurance covered some of the costs, but not all; she spent thousands of dollars on various therapies and adult diapers—an extra burden on top of her lost teaching wages.</p>
<p>In 2011, Henderberg began <a href="https://peaceoutofpieces.com/aboutlauren/" type="external">writing about her experience</a>, and what started as a cathartic exercise evolved into a blog. “A lot of my friends hadn’t had kids yet,” she explains. “I felt like I had to tell them my story. I have my master’s degree. I read. I consider myself pretty educated. But there wasn’t even any material out there that I could have read.”</p>
<p>So what’s to be done? Certainly I’m not arguing that hospitals should start slicing open every pregnant lady who darkens their doorstep. They already tried that, basically, and it didn’t work. As cesarean rates soared in the ’90s and 2000s, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/maternal-deaths-in-childbirth-rise-in-the-us/2014/05/02/abf7df96-d229-11e3-9e25-188ebe1fa93b_story.html" type="external">so did maternal deaths</a>. The challenge, instead, is to figure out which women have the highest chance of a vaginal childbirth going south, and—this is important—to tell them about it. Doctors can start by warning older women, overweight women, and those with chronic metabolic conditions. These are difficult conversations. “It’s politically incorrect to say something about how waiting till later in life to have your first baby will increase your risk of problems during delivery,” urogynecologist Dietz told me. “That’s a piece of news that no one wants to hear.”</p>
<p>Invariably, the doctors I talked to mentioned that there are probably many other risk factors we don’t know about yet, but they noted that funding to research pelvic injuries is hard to come by—proposals to help old ladies not leak pee don’t exactly rake in the grant money. That seems shortsighted, given all the cash to be saved on unnecessary surgeries and premature nursing home admissions.</p>
<p>A few doctors—such as Dietz and University of Michigan urogynecologist John DeLancey—are nevertheless studying the toll of pelvic injuries on women. “If I were in their place,” DeLancey told me, “I would expect the same kind of treatment as a guy who tears his ACL or has prostate cancer.”</p>
<p>Ten years ago, DeLancey’s team began trying to figure out how to prevent some of these harms in the first place. Using state-of-the-art MRI techniques, the researchers identified one injury in particular that dramatically increases a woman’s odds of problems later on. At the base of the pelvis, there’s a small muscle called the levator ani that gets completely torn off the bone in about 15 percent of vaginal births. It takes training to detect the injury immediately after birth—few doctors know how to do so—and after six months or so, it becomes nearly impossible to spot. So the vast majority of women to whom this happens won’t know until years later, when they become incontinent or have a prolapse.</p>
<p>DeLancey and Dietz, working separately, found that certain women are much more likely than others to experience a levator ani tear. Pushing for two and a half hours or more is one risk factor, as are certain body types. Delivery with forceps is the biggest risk factor of all. DeLancey also co-authored a small 2015 study in which 29 percent of postpartum women at risk for levator ani tears were found to have fractures from childbirth.</p>
<p>DeLancey introduced me to one of his patients, a 59-year-old mother of two I’ll call Carol. In 1992, after a difficult labor—in which the blood vessels in her eyes burst and the baby got stuck in the birth canal—Carol gave birth to a daughter at the University of Michigan Medical Center, home to one of the nation’s top hospitals. Her uterus and bladder prolapsed and stayed that way for about a decade, through the birth of her second child—two surgeries were required to fix the situation. “It affected everything,” Carol told me. “I couldn’t do any kind of exercise. It’s like having a tampon sticking halfway out all the time. You get really sore.”</p>
<p>With further research, DeLancey says, doctors may be able to better predict a woman’s risk for levator ani tears and other pelvic injuries, and perhaps help women like Carol avoid them. In some cases, that might mean a planned cesarean section, but there may be less drastic solutions. Prendergast, the pelvic physical therapist, points to studies showing that some women with mild injuries can heal completely if they begin a program of simple exercises right after giving birth. In France, it’s common for new mothers to have “perineal reeducation” therapy, similar to what Henderberg went through, in which a physical therapist leads the woman through exercises with the help of an intravaginal electrical device. That may sound torturous, but the technique has been shown to dramatically curb incontinence. (Kegel exercises, recommended by childbirth books and classes to strengthen a woman’s pelvic muscles, do not appear to help. “It’s what everyone would like to believe,” DeLancey told me, “but I don’t think there’s any evidence to support it.”)</p>
<p>Simple measures taken during birth can also help women avoid injury. Proponents of natural childbirth frown on the use of epidurals—which deadens sensation in a woman’s lower body by means of medication injected into the spinal cord. But a 2010 study in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology found that women who had an epidural were <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1471-0528.2010.02704.x/abstract#publication-history" type="external">less likely to damage</a> their pelvic muscles than those who delivered without. (Medical evidence does not support the claim by some natural childbirth advocates that epidurals interfere with breastfeeding.)</p>
<p>Using labor-inducing drugs such as Pito­cin can sometimes lead to a more traumatic delivery, but induction under limited circumstances may help reduce pelvic injuries. If a baby is unusually large at full term, for example, it is often better to induce than wait for labor to commence naturally a week or two later, when a still-larger baby might break his mother’s bones on the exit.</p>
<p>These things are worth considering, even for women put off by the idea of modern medicine crashing their birth-day party, because forging ahead with a difficult labor may actually mean more medical intervention in the long run. DeLancey has performed thousands of surgeries to fix childbirth injuries. The health care system could prevent a great deal of suffering, he says, simply by educating the women at high risk for pelvic complications.</p>
<p>And then there’s this: Telling pregnant women the truth about their bodies just seems like the right thing to do. At the very least, it behooves us to ditch the magical thinking and stop pretending that natural childbirth is an amulet that protects women from harm. That goes for the entire birth community: the books, the midwives and doulas, the Lamaze classes, and most of all, the doctors. Because, quite simply, it’s an issue of control. If you don’t truly know what to expect when you’re having a baby, then you’re more likely to shut up and let the physician make the decisions. And then all of a sudden we’re back to the 1940s, putting women through hell and giving them a pill to make them forget it ever happened.</p>
<p>Carol told me her mind often returns to those agonizing hours on the delivery table. “No one ever said, ‘You’re pushing for too long,'” she says. “They tell you all about how a C-section is serious, it’s a surgery. Well, guess what? I ended up with two surgeries! I’m always thinking, ‘This would have been different if I had just known.'”</p>
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<p>Mother Jones was founded as a nonprofit in 1976 because we knew corporations and the wealthy wouldn’t fund the type of hard-hitting journalism we set out to do.</p>
<p>Today, reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, allows us to dig deep on stories that matter, and lets us keep our reporting free for everyone. If you value what you get from Mother Jones, please join us with a tax-deductible donation so we can keep on doing the type of journalism that 2018 demands.</p>
<p>Kiera Butler is a senior editor at Mother Jones. For more of her stories, <a href="" type="internal">click here</a>.</p>
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The Scary Truth About Childbirth
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The Scary Truth About Childbirth
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<p>When Claire L. found out she was pregnant, she was ecstatic but a little nervous. Every one of her female relatives on her mother’s side—her grandma, her mom, her aunts, her sister—had needed a cesarean section. Slender hips and big babies were a family trademark.</p>
<p>At about 20 weeks, Claire, then 30 and living in Santa Cruz, California, told her obstetrician about her family history. Much to her surprise, the doctor waved away her concerns. The takeaway was that practically anyone can deliver vaginally. Her relatives’ experiences were probably the result of knife-happy, old-fashioned doctors. So Claire went home and did her best not to worry too much about it.</p>
<p>Like many first-time moms, Claire went overdue. A week past her date, an ultrasound indicated that the baby was getting big. She grew nervous again and wondered whether she should be induced. But the doctor had said it would be much better to let the baby come when ready. At about 42 weeks, Claire’s obstetrician finally said it was time and gave her Pitocin—a drug that jump-starts contractions—assuring her once again that everything would be fine. It wasn’t.</p>
<p>As Claire had expected, it was a tight fit, and the baby’s heart rate kept decelerating during contractions. The hospital doctors considered a C-section but pressed ahead with vaginal delivery. When she finally gave birth to a 9.6-pound daughter after 30 hours of labor and an hour of pushing, the doctors congratulated her: The baby had made it through a rough delivery in perfect health.</p>
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<p>Claire, not so much. She had three deep vaginal tears, and her labia, her obstetrician told her, were swollen to 50 times the normal size. Shortly after the birth, she began to bleed profusely—a postpartum hemorrhage caused by the intense stress on her pelvis. She couldn’t pee normally for months afterward, and just sitting caused excruciating pain. Forget sex—it wasn’t until her daughter was three months old that she even started to feel better, and she still wasn’t back to normal after nine months. “I was told that I’d rest at home for a little bit and then I’d be fine,” Claire told me. “I feel kind of lied to.”</p>
<p>Childbirth is, to be sure, far safer now than it has been for most of human history. In the 18th century, roughly 1 in 100 women died in the process— <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/22/health/maternal-mortality.html" type="external">today in the United States</a>, it’s about 1 in 4,000. But nonfatal injuries that wreak havoc on a woman’s quality of life remain surprisingly prevalent. Depending on the study, 50 to 80 percent of women who give birth experience tearing of the pelvic skin and muscles. For more than 1 in 10, the tearing is severe enough to damage the anal sphincter muscle, which often leads to the loss of bowel and bladder control. In a 2015 <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0129615" type="external">Canadian study</a>, a whopping half of all new mothers were still reporting urinary incontinence a year after the birth, and more than three-quarters had residual back pain.</p>
<p>The silence of Claire’s obstetrician on such matters is a problem that infects the entire birth community. Doctors are required by law to warn women about what could happen to their bodies during a cesarean section, from infection to the uterus splitting apart, and pregnant women are routinely informed about genetic conditions like Down’s syndrome and birth defects like spina bifida that could affect the baby. Yet according to more than a dozen physicians and public health experts I interviewed for this story, rare is the obstetrician who has a frank conversation with a pregnant woman about the long-term problems she might face. Even women with the time and money to rigorously prepare for birth seldom hear much about how labor and delivery can damage the pelvic bones and muscles. Childbirth classes gloss over it, as do most popular pregnancy books.</p>
<p>First-time mothers are not told that roughly one-third of all women, at some point in their lives, will develop stress urinary incontinence—a condition wherein a cough, a sneeze, or a laugh is likely to cause an “accident.” Or that surgery for this condition is three times more common in women who give birth vaginally compared with women who deliver by cesarean section. We hear little, if anything, about the likelihood of <a href="http://www.ucurology.org/areas-of-specialization/female-pelvic-organ-prolapse" type="external">pelvic organ prolapse</a>, a horrifying condition in which the uterus or bladder sags, causing chronic discomfort and often intense pain during physical activities. Prolapse, which usually shows up in middle age or later, happens to 4 percent of women who give birth vaginally versus 2 percent who have a cesarean.</p>
<p>All told, according to a 2008 study by researchers at the California HMO Kaiser Permanente, about <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080302150723.htm" type="external">1 in 3 women</a> suffer from a pelvic floor disorder (a category that includes urinary incontinence, fecal incontinence, and prolapse), and roughly 80 percent of those women are mothers. Women who deliver vaginally are twice as likely to experience these injuries as women who have a cesarean or who have not given birth. For 1 in 10 women, the problem is severe enough to warrant surgery—that’s about double the rate of men who undergo prostate surgery. The costs add up: The website Healthcare Bluebook estimates that the typical price for a vaginal hysterectomy, one of the most common fixes for uterine prolapse, is about $14,400, including hospital costs, while a bladder repair surgery for incontinence runs about $28,000. Nearly one-third of women who have pelvic-floor surgery will go on to have at least one more. According to one study, nursing home admissions resulting from urinary incontinence were costing Americans about $6 billion a year—and that was a decade ago.</p>
<p>Senior homes aren’t the only industry cashing in. The US <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-11/the-adult-diaper-market-is-about-to-take-off" type="external">market for adult incontinence</a> products (Depends, etc.) is projected to grow from $1.8 billion in 2015 to $2.7 billion by 2020, and it is expected to catch up to the baby diaper market within a decade. Sleek undergarments advertised by models in their 40s are designed for middle-aged consumers. “We’re trying to make the product more normal, and even fun,” an executive from industry leader Kimberly-Clark told Bloomberg Businessweek, “with real people in our ads saying, ‘Hey, I have bladder leakage, and it’s no big deal.'” (Kimberly-Clark also recently introduced a tamponlike product for women with urinary stress incontinence to “let you laugh without leaks,” one ad promises.)</p>
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<p>Yet it is a big deal. Not only are these conditions widespread, debilitating, and expensive—they are also deeply humiliating. Women with prolapse are often unable to exercise and “are too embarrassed about the bulge in their vagina to have sex,” says Dr. Victoria Handa, a urogynecologist and the director of the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics at the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. In a 2009 study, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2746737/" type="external">Handa found that</a> women with prolapse reported great difficulty reaching orgasm and even getting aroused in the first place. Many incontinent women are afraid to run, jump, or even leave home, lest they have an accident in public. And social isolation begets depression. It doesn’t help, Handa says, that there is still a culture of silence around pelvic problems, especially prolapse: “No one says, ‘I can’t go horseback riding with you, Ginny. My uterus is out too far.'”</p>
<p>It’s hard to pinpoint the contribution of childbirth to pelvic floor disorders in part because most hospitals don’t track what happens to a new mother after she leaves. Newborns typically get excellent follow-up care—they see a pediatrician days after birth, again several weeks later, and then every few months for their first year. For most new mothers, though, insurance covers only one visit with a gynecologist, six weeks after birth—before some pelvic injuries even become apparent. If a woman complains of pelvic symptoms to her regular doctor, good luck: A 2016 survey found that most primary care <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27796426" type="external">physicians didn’t screen</a> for prolapse, and those who did believed it was “rare.”</p>
<p>Mothers are more involved in labor and delivery decisions nowadays than they’ve ever been, and yet in some ways they are still treated as something of an afterthought. Hans Peter Dietz, an Australian urogynecologist who studies maternal childbirth injuries, put it like this: “Once the baby is born healthy, the obstetrician calls it a day. And if the mother is damaged, she’s told, ‘Well, what did you expect? That’s what happens when you have a baby.'”</p>
<p>Most childbirth classes teach the same version of labor: hugely pregnant lady has a twinge or two, the twinges gradually progress into full-blown, involuntary contractions, and then, following some amount of groaning and yelling at others, she feels an overwhelming urge to expel her baby. After 20 minutes to two hours of intense pushing, a squalling infant emerges. There is, of course, enormous variation to this narrative: Poke around and you’ll find tales of labors lasting anywhere from <a href="http://www.fitpregnancy.com/pregnancy/labor-delivery/did-woman-have-shortest-labor-ever" type="external">a few minutes</a> to <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2112656/Woman-lie-upside-75-DAYS-save-lives-premature-children.html" type="external">75 days</a>. There are many factors that determine the course of labor, from the delivery technique used to the baby’s readiness to be born. But a key factor is the mother’s body.</p>
<p>The female pelvis is a bucket-shaped cage of bone and muscle that sits at the bottom of the abdominal cavity. Attached to the top of the bucket are two wide, winglike bones called ilia, jutting out from either side of the tailbone. The body of the bucket has two pubic bones in front and hip bones on the sides, with the back of the bucket formed by the tailbone. The bucket’s base consists of a group of muscles called the pelvic floor.</p>
<p>For most of pregnancy, the uterus sits above the brim while the bucket body holds the bladder and intestines—those organs will get squished out of the way when the baby passes through. In the third trimester, a woman’s body begins producing hormones that loosen the ligaments between the pelvic bones, widening the top of the bucket so the baby’s head can fit inside. As she goes into labor, the opening to her uterus (the cervix) thins, lengthens, and dilates, allowing the infant to pass into the birth canal, the vagina.</p>
<p />
<p>The list of ways in which the pelvis and reproductive organs can be damaged during this process is practically endless. Most women, as mentioned, experience at least some vaginal tearing. But in severe cases, the perineum—the area between the vagina and the anus— <a href="http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/labor-and-delivery/multimedia/vaginal-tears/sls-20077129?s=5" type="external">rips completely open</a>, exposing the vagina to dangerous bacteria and leaving the mother unable to control her bowels. Sometimes, as in Claire’s case, the baby is too big to fit easily through the pelvis, and the infant’s head or shoulders can break the mother’s bones on the way out. In yet another harrowing scenario, a piece of the placenta remains stuck to the uterine wall after the baby is born, causing the woman to hemorrhage. If the pelvic floor muscles stretch too far during delivery, the uterus may sag into the vagina: prolapse. And even after a woman heals from her immediate injuries, she can experience chronic nerve pain, muscle spasms, or numbness for months or years. Plenty of women make it through a birth okay, only to suffer from incontinence or prolapse years or decades later, for reasons doctors still don’t understand.</p>
<p>It’s tempting to dismiss these less-than-deadly problems as inevitable side effects of the miracle of life. Haven’t women been pushing giant babies out through their tiny vaginas since time immemorial? Isn’t this what we’re designed for? Yet many of the obstetricians I spoke to say there’s been an uptick in traumatic births. That’s mainly because the mothers are older. From 2000 to 2014, the <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db232.pdf" type="external">average age at first birth</a> rose from just under 25 to 26.3, and the number of first-time moms over 35 leaped 23 percent.</p>
<p>This is significant because the risk of complications increases dramatically with age. In 2014, Norwegian researchers studied roughly 170,000 first-time mothers and found that their rate of emergency cesareans—the kind doctors perform when something goes wrong during labor or delivery—was about 7 percent for mothers in their early 20s but 22 percent for those older than 40. Even women in their mid-30s have an elevated risk. In the United States, the overall rate of cesareans (emergency or planned) is 27 percent for mothers aged 20 to 24, but 41 percent for those 35 to 39 years old.</p>
<p />
<p>Why is this? For one thing, explains Dietz, the Australian urogynecologist, the mechanisms that kick off labor don’t seem to work as well in older first-time moms, which can make them more likely to go past due—another risk factor. Older moms also tend to have less effective contractions, which can lead to longer labors and extended pushing—which is strongly linked to pelvic injuries. In 2013, for instance, British researchers found that a woman’s odds of severe trauma to the sphincter start out quite small but grow 40 percent with each minute she pushes. And because the pelvic muscles and ligaments are less elastic with age, the babies of older moms are more likely to get stuck coming out.</p>
<p>That’s not all. Obesity and chronic conditions that grow more prevalent with age, such as diabetes and hyper­tension, are also risk factors for a difficult delivery. In a 2013 study of 2,235 births, researchers found that 41 percent of obese mothers and 57 percent of morbidly obese mothers—more than one-third of American women now fall into one category or the other—had cesareans, compared with 31 percent of women of normal weight. From 1998 to 2009, according to a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23090519" type="external">2012 study</a> published in the journal Obstetrics &amp; Gynecology, the rate of severe labor complications including heart attacks, kidney failure, and aneurysm increased by 75 percent during delivery and 114 percent during postpartum hospital stays. For women pushing 40, all of this comes in addition to the heightened difficulty of getting pregnant and carrying a baby to term in the first place. After beating those odds, older first-time moms often assume the hardest is behind them—until they run into trouble in the delivery room.</p>
<p>So the number of women at high risk for serious labor complications is increasing—and at the same time, so is the pressure to have a baby with minimal medical intervention. Public health experts agree that America’s current cesarean rate (about 32 percent) is excessive, and that vaginal births are usually preferable for both mothers and babies. Assuming all goes smoothly, mothers who deliver vaginally have fewer infections and blood clots than women who have cesarean sections, and their postpartum recovery time is typically shorter and less painful. Babies delivered vaginally tend to have stronger lungs than their surgically delivered counterparts. Scientists posit that beneficial bacteria babies pick up in the birth canal protect them against asthma and allergies later on.</p>
<p>But it’s not just cesarean sections that have fallen out of fashion. Among highly educated women—who are also more likely to have babies later in life—forgoing all labor-easing medication has become a badge of honor. For this we can thank the natural childbirth movement, which began more than 50 years ago as a reaction to the overly rigid approach of midcentury obstetricians. Up until the late 1940s, some women laboring in hospitals were even given an amnesiac drug called scopolamine that erased their memories of childbirth. This was convenient for the (overwhelmingly male) doctors who presided over these so-called twilight deliveries, but many women found it traumatic. They woke up sore and disoriented, only to be sent home to care for the helpless new human who had appeared in the bassinet beside them.</p>
<p>During the ’70s, feminists decided they no longer wanted to give birth in a stupor, so they began relearning the ancient art of midwifery and experimenting with having babies at home. In 1971, a midwife named Ina May Gaskin founded a nonhospital birthing center at a rural Tennessee <a href="http://inamay.com/biography/" type="external">commune called The Farm</a>. Gaskin and her fellow midwives considered their work an act of protest. “It is our basic belief that the sacrament of birth belongs to the people and that it should not be usurped by a profit-oriented hospital system,” she wrote in her 1975 classic, <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=Rj7F5XRmAI4C&amp;printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&amp;q&amp;f=false" type="external">Spiritual Midwifery</a>.</p>
<p />
<p>The sentiment spread and a movement was born. It would be hard to overstate Gaskin’s influence on today’s birth culture, at least in the privileged enclaves where doulas and mindfulness are in and epidurals and cesar­eans are decidedly out. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=q1GNRjS8bdkC&amp;printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&amp;q&amp;f=false" type="external">Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth</a> is now the fifth most popular pregnancy book on Amazon, and it’s not hard to see why: It makes childbearing sound blissful. In first-person birth stories from The Farm, women refer to contractions as “rushes” and expound upon the “ecstatic” experience of labor. “I could feel my baby move me open, and when the intensity of the rushes increased, I just leaned on a tree,” one woman writes. “I became more aroused than I ever had been in my life!” writes another. “There was no pain, only the most extreme sexual pleasure and complete openness. It was orgasmic.”</p>
<p>Now 76, Gaskin lectures all over the world. She has starred in documentaries and given a widely watched TEDx talk called “Reducing fear of birth in U.S. culture.” What to Expect When You’re Expecting, America’s top-selling book on pregnancy and childbirth, adopts Gaskin’s ideas, encouraging women to write a detailed birth plan to present to the delivery team at the hospital, with instructions on everything from mood lighting in the birthing suite to specific medications and procedures to avoid.</p>
<p>Woe to the modern mother who seeks to escape the painful pushing. A few years back, tabloids began reporting that some celebrities—Spice Girl Victoria Beckham, supermodel Claudia Schiffer, actress Elizabeth Hurley—were choosing to deliver their babies surgically rather than going through the ordeal of labor. This led to a rash of finger-wagging articles, including a 2004 Time piece ( <a href="http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,610086,00.html" type="external">“Too Posh to Push?”</a>) that warned of an alarming trend of elective cesareans. These were “not the emergency cesareans that have been performed for hundreds of years to rescue babies from women in medical crisis,” it read. “Rather, they had an increasingly popular modern-day variation: planned, scheduled operations for all sorts of less-than-critical reasons.” Some women even had the audacity to be “terrified of labor pains and complicated deliveries or want to avoid the wear and tear on their bodies.”</p>
<p />
<p>Dr. Amy Tuteur, a former obstetrician and vocal critic of the natural childbirth movement, told me Gaskin’s philosophy “really accomplished a lot when it came about, because childbirth was very patriarchal.” But now it’s gone too far the other way, Tuteur says: We hear all the great parts about natural childbirth, but “there is very little about women who end up incontinent or with sexual dysfunction or broken bones, because no one really considers that a big deal.”</p>
<p>Part of the problem, says Lisa Korst, a former obstetrician and public health researcher in Los Angeles who studies trends in hospital births, is the disconnect between what happens in the delivery room and what happens after a new mother leaves the hospital. Medical codes that specify the severity of complications after birth simply don’t exist. “We code postpartum hemorrhage so badly,” Korst says by way of example. “It’s not written down how much you bled. There’s no code for going to the ICU.” And if a woman picks up an infection during delivery that doesn’t show up until a few days after she’s released, “that wouldn’t be marked in the hospital record.”</p>
<p>At the six-week postpartum appointment, doctors seldom look for pelvic injuries. Gynecologists are trained to make sure that the uterus is returning to its normal size and that any tears are healing well and free of infection—not to evaluate the muscles and tissue, says Stephanie Prendergast, a physical therapist and founder of the Los Angeles-based Pelvic Health and Rehabilitation Center. This irks Prendergast because many injuries can be diagnosed with a simple internal exam. “It takes less than 30 seconds,” she says. “You can palpate for tenderness. Can a woman squeeze or push? If not, she is probably having problems with bowel movements.”</p>
<p>All of which is a little ironic, because one thing the natural childbirth movement got right was taking care of postpartum mothers. After a baby is born, traditional midwives stick around. They check to make sure a mother isn’t bleeding too much, isn’t struggling to use the bathroom—and they keep checking. But after the six-week appointment, women who give birth at hospitals are pretty much on their own.</p>
<p>Consider the case of Lauren Henderberg, a 36-year-old mom who lives in upstate New York. In March 2008, after two days of labor—and a delivery in which a forceps was used—Henderberg, then 27, had a baby girl. And though she suffered a deep tear and bled profusely, her doctor cleared her to leave the hospital after just two days. “I wasn’t really offered help or counseled even on how to keep the area clean,” she told me. Henderberg spent the next six weeks in acute pain, unable to control her bowels. At her six-week checkup, she was still deeply bruised and swollen, but she was told her symptoms were normal and was sent on her way.</p>
<p>By July, she was still in pain, bleeding, and having fecal incontinence. Her doctor continued to insist nothing was wrong, but Henderberg’s symptoms were profoundly disabling. She declined invitations from friends and family, giving vague excuses. “When you are sitting there and you have an accident or you smell bad, you don’t want to go out,” she says. “I didn’t want to go somewhere where I didn’t know where the nearest bathroom was.” She went back to her job as a teacher but eventually quit. What if she had an accident in the classroom? To make matters worse, she began having panic attacks, usually triggered by the sound of clinking metal, which brought back memories of the forceps.</p>
<p>Henderberg began to feel more and more isolated, but the thought of discussing her symptoms with friends and family was mortifying. “I really just thought, ‘People don’t talk about this,'” she says. Finally, after months of silence, she broke down and confided in her mother, who persuaded her to see a different doctor. The new doc said her symptoms were most certainly not normal. In the months that followed, Henderberg started physical therapy and was outfitted with an internal medical device that stimulated her pelvic nerves with electricity and helped her control her bowels. She also received counseling to deal with psychological trauma from the birth. Her insurance covered some of the costs, but not all; she spent thousands of dollars on various therapies and adult diapers—an extra burden on top of her lost teaching wages.</p>
<p>In 2011, Henderberg began <a href="https://peaceoutofpieces.com/aboutlauren/" type="external">writing about her experience</a>, and what started as a cathartic exercise evolved into a blog. “A lot of my friends hadn’t had kids yet,” she explains. “I felt like I had to tell them my story. I have my master’s degree. I read. I consider myself pretty educated. But there wasn’t even any material out there that I could have read.”</p>
<p>So what’s to be done? Certainly I’m not arguing that hospitals should start slicing open every pregnant lady who darkens their doorstep. They already tried that, basically, and it didn’t work. As cesarean rates soared in the ’90s and 2000s, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/maternal-deaths-in-childbirth-rise-in-the-us/2014/05/02/abf7df96-d229-11e3-9e25-188ebe1fa93b_story.html" type="external">so did maternal deaths</a>. The challenge, instead, is to figure out which women have the highest chance of a vaginal childbirth going south, and—this is important—to tell them about it. Doctors can start by warning older women, overweight women, and those with chronic metabolic conditions. These are difficult conversations. “It’s politically incorrect to say something about how waiting till later in life to have your first baby will increase your risk of problems during delivery,” urogynecologist Dietz told me. “That’s a piece of news that no one wants to hear.”</p>
<p>Invariably, the doctors I talked to mentioned that there are probably many other risk factors we don’t know about yet, but they noted that funding to research pelvic injuries is hard to come by—proposals to help old ladies not leak pee don’t exactly rake in the grant money. That seems shortsighted, given all the cash to be saved on unnecessary surgeries and premature nursing home admissions.</p>
<p>A few doctors—such as Dietz and University of Michigan urogynecologist John DeLancey—are nevertheless studying the toll of pelvic injuries on women. “If I were in their place,” DeLancey told me, “I would expect the same kind of treatment as a guy who tears his ACL or has prostate cancer.”</p>
<p>Ten years ago, DeLancey’s team began trying to figure out how to prevent some of these harms in the first place. Using state-of-the-art MRI techniques, the researchers identified one injury in particular that dramatically increases a woman’s odds of problems later on. At the base of the pelvis, there’s a small muscle called the levator ani that gets completely torn off the bone in about 15 percent of vaginal births. It takes training to detect the injury immediately after birth—few doctors know how to do so—and after six months or so, it becomes nearly impossible to spot. So the vast majority of women to whom this happens won’t know until years later, when they become incontinent or have a prolapse.</p>
<p>DeLancey and Dietz, working separately, found that certain women are much more likely than others to experience a levator ani tear. Pushing for two and a half hours or more is one risk factor, as are certain body types. Delivery with forceps is the biggest risk factor of all. DeLancey also co-authored a small 2015 study in which 29 percent of postpartum women at risk for levator ani tears were found to have fractures from childbirth.</p>
<p>DeLancey introduced me to one of his patients, a 59-year-old mother of two I’ll call Carol. In 1992, after a difficult labor—in which the blood vessels in her eyes burst and the baby got stuck in the birth canal—Carol gave birth to a daughter at the University of Michigan Medical Center, home to one of the nation’s top hospitals. Her uterus and bladder prolapsed and stayed that way for about a decade, through the birth of her second child—two surgeries were required to fix the situation. “It affected everything,” Carol told me. “I couldn’t do any kind of exercise. It’s like having a tampon sticking halfway out all the time. You get really sore.”</p>
<p>With further research, DeLancey says, doctors may be able to better predict a woman’s risk for levator ani tears and other pelvic injuries, and perhaps help women like Carol avoid them. In some cases, that might mean a planned cesarean section, but there may be less drastic solutions. Prendergast, the pelvic physical therapist, points to studies showing that some women with mild injuries can heal completely if they begin a program of simple exercises right after giving birth. In France, it’s common for new mothers to have “perineal reeducation” therapy, similar to what Henderberg went through, in which a physical therapist leads the woman through exercises with the help of an intravaginal electrical device. That may sound torturous, but the technique has been shown to dramatically curb incontinence. (Kegel exercises, recommended by childbirth books and classes to strengthen a woman’s pelvic muscles, do not appear to help. “It’s what everyone would like to believe,” DeLancey told me, “but I don’t think there’s any evidence to support it.”)</p>
<p>Simple measures taken during birth can also help women avoid injury. Proponents of natural childbirth frown on the use of epidurals—which deadens sensation in a woman’s lower body by means of medication injected into the spinal cord. But a 2010 study in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology found that women who had an epidural were <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1471-0528.2010.02704.x/abstract#publication-history" type="external">less likely to damage</a> their pelvic muscles than those who delivered without. (Medical evidence does not support the claim by some natural childbirth advocates that epidurals interfere with breastfeeding.)</p>
<p>Using labor-inducing drugs such as Pito­cin can sometimes lead to a more traumatic delivery, but induction under limited circumstances may help reduce pelvic injuries. If a baby is unusually large at full term, for example, it is often better to induce than wait for labor to commence naturally a week or two later, when a still-larger baby might break his mother’s bones on the exit.</p>
<p>These things are worth considering, even for women put off by the idea of modern medicine crashing their birth-day party, because forging ahead with a difficult labor may actually mean more medical intervention in the long run. DeLancey has performed thousands of surgeries to fix childbirth injuries. The health care system could prevent a great deal of suffering, he says, simply by educating the women at high risk for pelvic complications.</p>
<p>And then there’s this: Telling pregnant women the truth about their bodies just seems like the right thing to do. At the very least, it behooves us to ditch the magical thinking and stop pretending that natural childbirth is an amulet that protects women from harm. That goes for the entire birth community: the books, the midwives and doulas, the Lamaze classes, and most of all, the doctors. Because, quite simply, it’s an issue of control. If you don’t truly know what to expect when you’re having a baby, then you’re more likely to shut up and let the physician make the decisions. And then all of a sudden we’re back to the 1940s, putting women through hell and giving them a pill to make them forget it ever happened.</p>
<p>Carol told me her mind often returns to those agonizing hours on the delivery table. “No one ever said, ‘You’re pushing for too long,'” she says. “They tell you all about how a C-section is serious, it’s a surgery. Well, guess what? I ended up with two surgeries! I’m always thinking, ‘This would have been different if I had just known.'”</p>
<p />
<p>Mother Jones was founded as a nonprofit in 1976 because we knew corporations and the wealthy wouldn’t fund the type of hard-hitting journalism we set out to do.</p>
<p>Today, reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, allows us to dig deep on stories that matter, and lets us keep our reporting free for everyone. If you value what you get from Mother Jones, please join us with a tax-deductible donation so we can keep on doing the type of journalism that 2018 demands.</p>
<p>Kiera Butler is a senior editor at Mother Jones. For more of her stories, <a href="" type="internal">click here</a>.</p>
| 7,540 |
<p>By Bozorgmehr Sharafedin</p>
<p>LONDON (Reuters) – Iranian state television broadcast on Sunday what it described as the confessions of an Iranian academic with Swedish residency who it said had provided information to Israel to help it assassinate several senior nuclear scientists.</p>
<p>His wife, speaking by telephone from Stockholm, said he had been forced by his interrogators to read the confession.</p>
<p>Iran’s Supreme Court upheld last week a death sentence against Ahmadreza Djalali, a doctor and lecturer at the Karolinska Institute, a Stockholm medical university.</p>
<p>Djalali was arrested in Iran in April 2016 and later convicted of espionage. He denied the charges.</p>
<p>In the television report, Djalali was linked to the assassination of four Iranian scientists between 2010 and 2012 that Tehran said was an Israeli attempt to sabotage its nuclear energy program.</p>
<p>Djalali said in the report that he had given the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad information about key nuclear scientists.</p>
<p>“They were showing me pictures of some people or satellite photos of nuclear facilities and were asking me to give them information about that,” Djalali said in the television report.</p>
<p>Vida Mehrannia, Djalali’s wife, said her husband had been forced to read a pre-agreed confession in front of the camera.</p>
<p>“After three months in solitary confinement, his interrogators told him that he would be released only if he reads from a text in front of the camera,” she told Reuters by telephone from Stockholm.</p>
<p>“My husband told me that they shouted at him each time he was saying something different from the text and stopped the filming,” Mehrannia added.</p>
<p>DEATH SENTENCE CRITICIZED</p>
<p>The film said Djalali had agreed to cooperate with Israel in return for money and residency of a European country.</p>
<p>“We have not received money from anyone and our lifestyle shows that. We don’t have a house or a car. We got our Swedish residency after finishing our studies here,” Mehrannia said.</p>
<p>The film also contained interviews with Majid Jamali Fashi, an Iranian athlete who was hanged in 2012 over the killings of the nuclear scientists.</p>
<p>Djalali is the second person found guilty in the same case.</p>
<p>“Djalali did not have any sensitive information about Iran’s nuclear program. If he had, he would have been barred from leaving the country,” Mehrannia said.</p>
<p>Sweden has condemned the death verdict against Djalali and said it had raised the matter with Iranian envoys in Stockholm and Tehran.</p>
<p>Seventy-five Nobel prize laureates petitioned Iranian authorities last month to release Djalali so he could “continue his scholarly work for the benefit of mankind”.</p>
<p>They said Djalali has suggested it was his refusal to work for Iranian intelligence services that led to this “unfair, flawed trial”.</p>
<p>The United Nations and international human rights organizations regularly list Iran as a country with one of the world’s highest execution rates.</p>
<p>Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have arrested at least 30 dual nationals during the past two years, mostly on spying charges.</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>
|
Iran airs 'confessions' of researcher facing death for spying
| false |
https://newsline.com/iran-airs-039confessions039-of-researcher-facing-death-for-spying/
|
2017-12-17
| 1right-center
|
Iran airs 'confessions' of researcher facing death for spying
<p>By Bozorgmehr Sharafedin</p>
<p>LONDON (Reuters) – Iranian state television broadcast on Sunday what it described as the confessions of an Iranian academic with Swedish residency who it said had provided information to Israel to help it assassinate several senior nuclear scientists.</p>
<p>His wife, speaking by telephone from Stockholm, said he had been forced by his interrogators to read the confession.</p>
<p>Iran’s Supreme Court upheld last week a death sentence against Ahmadreza Djalali, a doctor and lecturer at the Karolinska Institute, a Stockholm medical university.</p>
<p>Djalali was arrested in Iran in April 2016 and later convicted of espionage. He denied the charges.</p>
<p>In the television report, Djalali was linked to the assassination of four Iranian scientists between 2010 and 2012 that Tehran said was an Israeli attempt to sabotage its nuclear energy program.</p>
<p>Djalali said in the report that he had given the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad information about key nuclear scientists.</p>
<p>“They were showing me pictures of some people or satellite photos of nuclear facilities and were asking me to give them information about that,” Djalali said in the television report.</p>
<p>Vida Mehrannia, Djalali’s wife, said her husband had been forced to read a pre-agreed confession in front of the camera.</p>
<p>“After three months in solitary confinement, his interrogators told him that he would be released only if he reads from a text in front of the camera,” she told Reuters by telephone from Stockholm.</p>
<p>“My husband told me that they shouted at him each time he was saying something different from the text and stopped the filming,” Mehrannia added.</p>
<p>DEATH SENTENCE CRITICIZED</p>
<p>The film said Djalali had agreed to cooperate with Israel in return for money and residency of a European country.</p>
<p>“We have not received money from anyone and our lifestyle shows that. We don’t have a house or a car. We got our Swedish residency after finishing our studies here,” Mehrannia said.</p>
<p>The film also contained interviews with Majid Jamali Fashi, an Iranian athlete who was hanged in 2012 over the killings of the nuclear scientists.</p>
<p>Djalali is the second person found guilty in the same case.</p>
<p>“Djalali did not have any sensitive information about Iran’s nuclear program. If he had, he would have been barred from leaving the country,” Mehrannia said.</p>
<p>Sweden has condemned the death verdict against Djalali and said it had raised the matter with Iranian envoys in Stockholm and Tehran.</p>
<p>Seventy-five Nobel prize laureates petitioned Iranian authorities last month to release Djalali so he could “continue his scholarly work for the benefit of mankind”.</p>
<p>They said Djalali has suggested it was his refusal to work for Iranian intelligence services that led to this “unfair, flawed trial”.</p>
<p>The United Nations and international human rights organizations regularly list Iran as a country with one of the world’s highest execution rates.</p>
<p>Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have arrested at least 30 dual nationals during the past two years, mostly on spying charges.</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>
| 7,541 |
<p />
<p>Image Source: Hovnanian Enterprises</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>What: Shares of home builder Hovnanian Enterprises slumped on Wednesday after the company reported its fiscal first-quarter results, missing analyst estimates for both revenue and earnings. At 3 p.m. Wednesday, the stock was down about 15%.</p>
<p>So what: Hovnanian reported quarterly revenue of $575.6 million, up 29.1% year over year, but about $5 million short of the average analyst estimate. Consolidated deliveries grew 23.8% year over year to 1,422 homes, and Hovnanian's contract backlog grew 49.1% to $1.44 billion.</p>
<p>Hovnanian reported a per-share loss of $0.11, slightly worse than the $0.10 per-share loss reported during the prior-year period, and $0.08 lower than analysts expected. Homebuilding gross margin, which excludes interest expense and land charges, was 16.6% during the first quarter, down from 18.2% during the prior-year period.</p>
<p>Along with its earnings report, Hovnanian announced a change of strategy. The company plans to eschew additional revenue growth in 2016, and instead focus on deleveraging the balance sheet and maximizing profitability. Hovnanian plans to exit the Minneapolis and Raleigh markets, as well as wind down operations in Tampa and San Francisco. For 2016, the company expects revenue between $2.7 billion and $3.1 billion, with pre-tax adjusted profit expected between $40 million and $100 million.</p>
<p>Now what: Hovnanian's stock price has tumbled over the past year, down nearly 60% including Wednesday's losses.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p><a href="http://ycharts.com/companies/HOV" type="external">HOV</a> data by <a href="http://ycharts.com" type="external">YCharts Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Given the company's guidance, Hovnanian will likely report a second net loss in a row in fiscal 2016, which ends in October, thanks to interest payments. In fiscal 2015, the company paid $92 million in interest, wiping out a positive operating profit. With Hovnanian's recent profitability struggles, focusing on strengthening the balance sheet and boosting margins seems like a smart move.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/03/09/why-hovnanian-enterprises-inc-slumped-15-today.aspx" type="external">Why Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. Slumped 15% Today Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFBargainBin/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Timothy Green Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://wiki.fool.com/Motley?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/help/index.htm?display=about02" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
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Why Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. Slumped 15% Today
| true |
http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/03/09/why-hovnanian-enterprises-inc-slumped-15-today.html
|
2016-03-09
| 0right
|
Why Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. Slumped 15% Today
<p />
<p>Image Source: Hovnanian Enterprises</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>What: Shares of home builder Hovnanian Enterprises slumped on Wednesday after the company reported its fiscal first-quarter results, missing analyst estimates for both revenue and earnings. At 3 p.m. Wednesday, the stock was down about 15%.</p>
<p>So what: Hovnanian reported quarterly revenue of $575.6 million, up 29.1% year over year, but about $5 million short of the average analyst estimate. Consolidated deliveries grew 23.8% year over year to 1,422 homes, and Hovnanian's contract backlog grew 49.1% to $1.44 billion.</p>
<p>Hovnanian reported a per-share loss of $0.11, slightly worse than the $0.10 per-share loss reported during the prior-year period, and $0.08 lower than analysts expected. Homebuilding gross margin, which excludes interest expense and land charges, was 16.6% during the first quarter, down from 18.2% during the prior-year period.</p>
<p>Along with its earnings report, Hovnanian announced a change of strategy. The company plans to eschew additional revenue growth in 2016, and instead focus on deleveraging the balance sheet and maximizing profitability. Hovnanian plans to exit the Minneapolis and Raleigh markets, as well as wind down operations in Tampa and San Francisco. For 2016, the company expects revenue between $2.7 billion and $3.1 billion, with pre-tax adjusted profit expected between $40 million and $100 million.</p>
<p>Now what: Hovnanian's stock price has tumbled over the past year, down nearly 60% including Wednesday's losses.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p><a href="http://ycharts.com/companies/HOV" type="external">HOV</a> data by <a href="http://ycharts.com" type="external">YCharts Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Given the company's guidance, Hovnanian will likely report a second net loss in a row in fiscal 2016, which ends in October, thanks to interest payments. In fiscal 2015, the company paid $92 million in interest, wiping out a positive operating profit. With Hovnanian's recent profitability struggles, focusing on strengthening the balance sheet and boosting margins seems like a smart move.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/03/09/why-hovnanian-enterprises-inc-slumped-15-today.aspx" type="external">Why Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. Slumped 15% Today Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFBargainBin/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Timothy Green Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://wiki.fool.com/Motley?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/help/index.htm?display=about02" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
| 7,542 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Saralynn Jaramillo</p>
<p>, 7, of Albuquerque caught a 20-inch rainbow trout at Monastery Lake on Friday. She was fishing with a barbless hook and using worms.</p>
<p>Gabriel Wyntjes, 10, of Las Cruces outfished his mom and grandfather when he caught an 18-inch rainbow trout at Grindstone Reservoir on Saturday. He was using orange PowerBait.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>AROUND THE STATE</p>
<p>TINGLEY BEACH: The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish stocked rainbow trout into the Children’s Pond and Central Pond last week. These fish are biting on PowerBait, homemade dough bait, and salmon eggs. The larger trout will be stocked into the Catch and Release Pond later this month thanks to funding from the New Mexico BioPark Society. Kathy Lang, curator</p>
<p>NOTES from GAME &amp; FISH: Trout fishing at FENTON LAKE was good using Pistol Petes, woolly buggers, garlic scented PowerBait and worms. Anglers fishing from boats did very well using olive Pistol Petes and woolly buggers along the edge of weed lines.</p>
<p>Stream flow on the JEMEZ RIVER as of Monday was 25 cfs. Fishing on the RIO CEBOLLA was good using worms. Fishing on the Jemez was fair to good for anglers using salmon eggs, worms and copper John Barrs.</p>
<p>Kokanee snagging at NAVAJO LAKE was very good with several limits reported. Fishing for bass was slow to fair using crank baits, tubes, worms and senkos. Fishing for northern pike was good using crank baits and spinner baits in less than 10 feet of water. Fishing for perch was slow to fair using worms.</p>
<p>Water flow on the SAN JUAN RIVER below Navajo Dam on Monday was 361 cfs. Trout fishing through the quality waters was very good using red annelids, San Juan worms, zebra midges, crystal midges and Johnny flash midges. Fishing through the bait waters was good using night crawlers, salmon eggs, San Juan worms, copper John Barrs and spinners.</p>
<p>Fishing at JACKSON LAKE was good using PowerBait, worms and salmon eggs for trout.</p>
<p>At ELEPHANT BUTTE, fishing was fair using crank baits and slab spoons for white bass. Fishing was slow to fair using crank baits, jigs and tubes for largemouth bass and smallmouth bass. Fishing was fair using chicken liver, beef liver and shrimp for catfish.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Water flow on the RIO GRANDE below Elephant Butte on Monday was 28 cfs. Fishing was fair using night crawlers and liver for catfish.</p>
<p>Water flow on the RIO GRANDE near the Taos Junction Bridge on Monday was 515 cfs. Trout fishing was fair using woolly worms, woolly buggers, San Juan worms, spinners and worms.</p>
<p>At EAGLE NEST LAKE, kokanee snagging was very good with the best area reported being just south of the main boat ramp and the best time was in the early morning hours. Bank fishing was good using roe sacs and PowerBait for rainbow trout and worms for perch.</p>
<p>Stream flow on the CIMARRON RIVER below Eagle Nest on Monday was 23 cfs. Trout fishing was good using bead-head pheasant tails, copper John Barrs, small Mepps spinners, worms and salmon eggs.</p>
<p>At EL VADO LAKE, fishing near the boat ramp and in the dam area was fair using PowerBait and roe sacs for trout. Salmon snagging was fair for anglers working near the dam.</p>
<p>Monday morning water flows on the CHAMA RIVER below El Vado and Abiquiu were 110 cfs and 128 cfs, respectively. Fishing below El Vado was good using salmon eggs, night crawlers, spinners, woolly buggers, bead head pheasant tails and copper John Barrs for a mixed bag of rainbow and brown trout. Fishing below Abiquiu was fair to good using worms and salmon eggs for rainbow trout.</p>
<p>At ABIQUIU LAKE, fishing was slow to fair using tubes and crank baits for smallmouth bass.</p>
<p>Fishing at MANZANO LAKE was fair to good using PowerBait, worms and salmon eggs for trout.</p>
<p>At LAKE MALOYA, fishing was slow to fair using PowerBait and Pistol Petes along the dam for trout.</p>
<p>Trout fishing at MONASTERY LAKE was fair using PowerBait and salmon eggs.</p>
<p>Water flow on the PECOS RIVER near the town of Pecos on Monday was 43 cfs. Trout fishing was fair using worms, bead-head nymphs and small hopper patterns.</p>
<p>Water flow on the RED RIVER near the hatchery on Monday was 62 cfs. Fishing was fair to good using grey and green caddis, baetis emergers, poundmeisters and worms for trout.</p>
<p>At UTE LAKE, fishing was good using blade baits and slab spoons for white bass in 24 to 30 feet of water. Fishing was fair using tubes, chigger craws, salt craws and senkos for smallmouth bass. Most of the bass were found on main lake points in 12 to 15 feet of water. Anglers fishing deep with jigs and minnows picked up a few walleye. Fishing for catfish was fair using stink baits in the shallows. The surface water temp was in the mid-60s.</p>
<p>At BLUEWATER LAKE, fishing was fair using crank baits, jerk baits and swim baits for tiger muskie. Fishing for all other species was slow. The surface water temp was in the low 60s.</p>
<p>Fishing at GRINDSTONE RESERVOIR was fair to good using PowerBait, worms and salmon eggs for trout.</p>
<p />
|
Fishing Line
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/480679/fishing-line-156.html
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2014-10-16
| 2least
|
Fishing Line
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Saralynn Jaramillo</p>
<p>, 7, of Albuquerque caught a 20-inch rainbow trout at Monastery Lake on Friday. She was fishing with a barbless hook and using worms.</p>
<p>Gabriel Wyntjes, 10, of Las Cruces outfished his mom and grandfather when he caught an 18-inch rainbow trout at Grindstone Reservoir on Saturday. He was using orange PowerBait.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>AROUND THE STATE</p>
<p>TINGLEY BEACH: The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish stocked rainbow trout into the Children’s Pond and Central Pond last week. These fish are biting on PowerBait, homemade dough bait, and salmon eggs. The larger trout will be stocked into the Catch and Release Pond later this month thanks to funding from the New Mexico BioPark Society. Kathy Lang, curator</p>
<p>NOTES from GAME &amp; FISH: Trout fishing at FENTON LAKE was good using Pistol Petes, woolly buggers, garlic scented PowerBait and worms. Anglers fishing from boats did very well using olive Pistol Petes and woolly buggers along the edge of weed lines.</p>
<p>Stream flow on the JEMEZ RIVER as of Monday was 25 cfs. Fishing on the RIO CEBOLLA was good using worms. Fishing on the Jemez was fair to good for anglers using salmon eggs, worms and copper John Barrs.</p>
<p>Kokanee snagging at NAVAJO LAKE was very good with several limits reported. Fishing for bass was slow to fair using crank baits, tubes, worms and senkos. Fishing for northern pike was good using crank baits and spinner baits in less than 10 feet of water. Fishing for perch was slow to fair using worms.</p>
<p>Water flow on the SAN JUAN RIVER below Navajo Dam on Monday was 361 cfs. Trout fishing through the quality waters was very good using red annelids, San Juan worms, zebra midges, crystal midges and Johnny flash midges. Fishing through the bait waters was good using night crawlers, salmon eggs, San Juan worms, copper John Barrs and spinners.</p>
<p>Fishing at JACKSON LAKE was good using PowerBait, worms and salmon eggs for trout.</p>
<p>At ELEPHANT BUTTE, fishing was fair using crank baits and slab spoons for white bass. Fishing was slow to fair using crank baits, jigs and tubes for largemouth bass and smallmouth bass. Fishing was fair using chicken liver, beef liver and shrimp for catfish.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Water flow on the RIO GRANDE below Elephant Butte on Monday was 28 cfs. Fishing was fair using night crawlers and liver for catfish.</p>
<p>Water flow on the RIO GRANDE near the Taos Junction Bridge on Monday was 515 cfs. Trout fishing was fair using woolly worms, woolly buggers, San Juan worms, spinners and worms.</p>
<p>At EAGLE NEST LAKE, kokanee snagging was very good with the best area reported being just south of the main boat ramp and the best time was in the early morning hours. Bank fishing was good using roe sacs and PowerBait for rainbow trout and worms for perch.</p>
<p>Stream flow on the CIMARRON RIVER below Eagle Nest on Monday was 23 cfs. Trout fishing was good using bead-head pheasant tails, copper John Barrs, small Mepps spinners, worms and salmon eggs.</p>
<p>At EL VADO LAKE, fishing near the boat ramp and in the dam area was fair using PowerBait and roe sacs for trout. Salmon snagging was fair for anglers working near the dam.</p>
<p>Monday morning water flows on the CHAMA RIVER below El Vado and Abiquiu were 110 cfs and 128 cfs, respectively. Fishing below El Vado was good using salmon eggs, night crawlers, spinners, woolly buggers, bead head pheasant tails and copper John Barrs for a mixed bag of rainbow and brown trout. Fishing below Abiquiu was fair to good using worms and salmon eggs for rainbow trout.</p>
<p>At ABIQUIU LAKE, fishing was slow to fair using tubes and crank baits for smallmouth bass.</p>
<p>Fishing at MANZANO LAKE was fair to good using PowerBait, worms and salmon eggs for trout.</p>
<p>At LAKE MALOYA, fishing was slow to fair using PowerBait and Pistol Petes along the dam for trout.</p>
<p>Trout fishing at MONASTERY LAKE was fair using PowerBait and salmon eggs.</p>
<p>Water flow on the PECOS RIVER near the town of Pecos on Monday was 43 cfs. Trout fishing was fair using worms, bead-head nymphs and small hopper patterns.</p>
<p>Water flow on the RED RIVER near the hatchery on Monday was 62 cfs. Fishing was fair to good using grey and green caddis, baetis emergers, poundmeisters and worms for trout.</p>
<p>At UTE LAKE, fishing was good using blade baits and slab spoons for white bass in 24 to 30 feet of water. Fishing was fair using tubes, chigger craws, salt craws and senkos for smallmouth bass. Most of the bass were found on main lake points in 12 to 15 feet of water. Anglers fishing deep with jigs and minnows picked up a few walleye. Fishing for catfish was fair using stink baits in the shallows. The surface water temp was in the mid-60s.</p>
<p>At BLUEWATER LAKE, fishing was fair using crank baits, jerk baits and swim baits for tiger muskie. Fishing for all other species was slow. The surface water temp was in the low 60s.</p>
<p>Fishing at GRINDSTONE RESERVOIR was fair to good using PowerBait, worms and salmon eggs for trout.</p>
<p />
| 7,543 |
<p>“It might be called the age of the genius machines, and it will be the people who work with them that will rise. One day soon we will look back and see that we have produced two nations — a fantastically successful nation, working in the technologically dynamic sectors, and everyone else. Average is over.”</p>
<p>That is the last paragraph of a new book by Tyler Cowen, a well-regarded economist at George Mason University in Virginia. The title is, in fact, “Average Is Over,” describing what he believes is the inevitable gap between the wealthy and everybody else in the United States and the world.</p>
<p>It might be called “Brave New World 3.0.” — a new projection of a world of machine-driven alphas and lesser beings, from betas to epsilons. The book is a smart and cruel projection of the world Cowen sees coming. In fact, he thinks it is already here.</p>
<p>Scary stuff, I think. But it is consistent with my own thinking about the American way of work and where it might lead us all. I think “work” will become the next great American political issue: Who gets to work and who doesn’t? We talk and debate “unemployment” now, but the issue will go far beyond that, pushing down the life and comforts, even the reason for being of people without the skills or ambition to find a useful job capable of supporting a family.</p>
<p />
<p>What will that work be like? What obligations and rights will employers and have employees have? Or what do the wealthy and accomplished alphas owe to everybody else and vice versa?</p>
<p>“Workers,” he writes, “more and more will come to be classified in two categories. The key questions will be, Are you good at working with intelligent machines or not? Are your skills a complement to the skills of the computer, or is the computer doing better without you? Worst of all, are you competing against the computer? Are the computers helping people in China and India compete against you?”</p>
<p>Cowen dutifully recounts the statistics that describe work and compensation in our society: high school and college graduates, including those with master’s degrees, are earning from 5 to 20 percent less in constant dollars than they did only 10 years ago. That is, if they can find work. Then he goes on to guess how much worse it will get.</p>
<p>He writes of a “hyper-meritocracy,” in which those who can interface with the magical machines of our time — today’s iPhone is more powerful than the world’s largest computers were in 1985 — will be quickly and fabulously rich and useful. That would be, he estimates, 10 to 15 percent of the population. The other 85 percent will find some servant-like work making the high-earners feel better about themselves — masseurs, chefs, drivers, gardeners, whatever.</p>
<p>Some will opt out of the system, living in Bohemian clusters — using cheap apartments in Berlin, as an example. Some will try to live the way their parents and grandparents did, by working menially and living in warm places, particularly Texas and Mexico, in small, cheap houses not unlike shanty towns in Brazil or South Africa.</p>
<p>What will the digitally downtrodden get for their work? Some good things will be there: cheap online education, giving them a Horatio Alger’s chance to rocket into the wealthy class, and cheap entertainment. But they will also get third-rate health care. Cowen’s new world is something like the rubble Earth and its rich, ruling satellite in the new science fiction potboiler “Elysium.”</p>
<p>As for politics, Cowen quotes Richard Florida of the University of Toronto: “Conservatism, more and more, is the ideology of the economically left behind.”</p>
<p>Then Cowen adds: “The values of the wealthy class will become more influential. It is their values that will shape public discourse. We’ll pay for as much of a welfare state as we can afford to, and then no more.”</p>
<p>Chilling stuff and not fiction. What should we do about this? I heard Cowen on NPR the other day. Asked that question, he answered, “Get used to it!”</p>
<p>© 2013 UNIVERSAL UCLICK</p>
|
One Man's Brave New World
| true |
https://truthdig.com/articles/one-mans-brave-new-world/
|
2013-09-13
| 4left
|
One Man's Brave New World
<p>“It might be called the age of the genius machines, and it will be the people who work with them that will rise. One day soon we will look back and see that we have produced two nations — a fantastically successful nation, working in the technologically dynamic sectors, and everyone else. Average is over.”</p>
<p>That is the last paragraph of a new book by Tyler Cowen, a well-regarded economist at George Mason University in Virginia. The title is, in fact, “Average Is Over,” describing what he believes is the inevitable gap between the wealthy and everybody else in the United States and the world.</p>
<p>It might be called “Brave New World 3.0.” — a new projection of a world of machine-driven alphas and lesser beings, from betas to epsilons. The book is a smart and cruel projection of the world Cowen sees coming. In fact, he thinks it is already here.</p>
<p>Scary stuff, I think. But it is consistent with my own thinking about the American way of work and where it might lead us all. I think “work” will become the next great American political issue: Who gets to work and who doesn’t? We talk and debate “unemployment” now, but the issue will go far beyond that, pushing down the life and comforts, even the reason for being of people without the skills or ambition to find a useful job capable of supporting a family.</p>
<p />
<p>What will that work be like? What obligations and rights will employers and have employees have? Or what do the wealthy and accomplished alphas owe to everybody else and vice versa?</p>
<p>“Workers,” he writes, “more and more will come to be classified in two categories. The key questions will be, Are you good at working with intelligent machines or not? Are your skills a complement to the skills of the computer, or is the computer doing better without you? Worst of all, are you competing against the computer? Are the computers helping people in China and India compete against you?”</p>
<p>Cowen dutifully recounts the statistics that describe work and compensation in our society: high school and college graduates, including those with master’s degrees, are earning from 5 to 20 percent less in constant dollars than they did only 10 years ago. That is, if they can find work. Then he goes on to guess how much worse it will get.</p>
<p>He writes of a “hyper-meritocracy,” in which those who can interface with the magical machines of our time — today’s iPhone is more powerful than the world’s largest computers were in 1985 — will be quickly and fabulously rich and useful. That would be, he estimates, 10 to 15 percent of the population. The other 85 percent will find some servant-like work making the high-earners feel better about themselves — masseurs, chefs, drivers, gardeners, whatever.</p>
<p>Some will opt out of the system, living in Bohemian clusters — using cheap apartments in Berlin, as an example. Some will try to live the way their parents and grandparents did, by working menially and living in warm places, particularly Texas and Mexico, in small, cheap houses not unlike shanty towns in Brazil or South Africa.</p>
<p>What will the digitally downtrodden get for their work? Some good things will be there: cheap online education, giving them a Horatio Alger’s chance to rocket into the wealthy class, and cheap entertainment. But they will also get third-rate health care. Cowen’s new world is something like the rubble Earth and its rich, ruling satellite in the new science fiction potboiler “Elysium.”</p>
<p>As for politics, Cowen quotes Richard Florida of the University of Toronto: “Conservatism, more and more, is the ideology of the economically left behind.”</p>
<p>Then Cowen adds: “The values of the wealthy class will become more influential. It is their values that will shape public discourse. We’ll pay for as much of a welfare state as we can afford to, and then no more.”</p>
<p>Chilling stuff and not fiction. What should we do about this? I heard Cowen on NPR the other day. Asked that question, he answered, “Get used to it!”</p>
<p>© 2013 UNIVERSAL UCLICK</p>
| 7,544 |
<p>For those who are into outrageously inappropriate and even evil comparisons, we have a new champion.</p>
<p>A writer named Joe Mathews, who writes the Connecting California Column for Zocalo Public Square, wrote a <a href="http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/california-forum/article187366528.html" type="external">piece</a> for The Sacramento Bee in which he compared billionaire Silicon Valley investor Peter Thiel to the recently-deceased monster Charles Manson, theorizing that as California united to fear and hate Manson, now Thiel’s complete evil can generate the same unity of hostility.</p>
<p>Mathews writes, “When I asked Bay Area people to nominate a true villain from among their number, one name kept coming up: Peter Thiel.”</p>
<p>What were the sins Thiel has committed that would warrant such an odious comparison, according to this modern-day Diogenes? Come, let’s think hard about what a leftist would decide is the equivalent of being the catalyst for gruesome mass murders.</p>
<p>Here’s the list, according to The Gospel of Mathews:</p>
<p>Attacking our institutions. Mathews writes, “Thiel is a graduate of San Mateo High and Stanford who rails against government-backed schools and encouraged people not to go to college.”</p>
<p>You mean Thiel, a genius who scored first in a California-wide mathematics competition in middle school, is a U.S.-rated Chess Master and was one of the highest ranked under-21 players in the country, founded The Stanford Review, which championed conservative and libertarian viewpoints, got his law degree from Stanford, launched PayPal, which gave citizens worldwide more direct control over their currencies, and put his money where his mouth was in 2010 about students skipping college by annually awarding $100,000 to 20 people under the age of 20 in order to spur them to drop out of college and create their own ventures, is some sort of hypocrite? How much money has Mathews given to help students start their own businesses?</p>
<p>Thiel supported Trump. Yup, that’s the equivalent of urging your followers to murder slews of innocents.</p>
<p>Bought himself citizenship in New Zealand. Now there’s a crime against humanity.</p>
<p>Mathews rises to his premature peroration: “Worse still, he has railed against democracy and called women’s suffrage a mistake, writing that people can’t govern themselves: “The broader education of the body politic has become a fool’s errand.”</p>
<p>Those words, taken from an <a href="https://www.cato-unbound.org/2009/04/13/peter-thiel/education-libertarian" type="external">essay</a> Thiel wrote in 2009, were in reference to the difficulty of keeping libertarianism alive when its opposition was “facilitated by a government that insured against all sorts of moral hazards — and we know that the response to this crisis involves way more debt and leverage, and way more government.” Thiel was lamenting a bygone era, the 1920’s, when, for the last time, the economy was allowed to recover from a depression without massive government intervention and a consequent growth of government.</p>
<p>Mathews writes, “This is monumentally villainous. A man who helps create technology to reach deeply into our personal lives betrays utter contempt for us. Like so many villains, he’s a false prophet, claiming to liberate people with technology while promoting authoritarianism that would enslave us.”</p>
<p>That’s a total misread of Thiel’s governing libertarian philosophy, but hey, Mathews is on a roll, noting that Thiel is vitally interested in efforts to prolong life, concluding:</p>
<p>Thiel also writes that he “stands against … the ideology of the inevitability of the death of every individual.” The notion of eternal life for a favored few is tyrannical, but also useful. When it’s so hard to find a durable villain, aren’t we lucky to have one who intends to live forever?</p>
<p>And aren’t we lucky to have The Gospel Of Mathews to compare a libertarian investor to one of the great monsters of the 20th century?</p>
|
NASTY AS HELL: Leftist Writer Compares Peter Thiel To Charles Manson
| true |
https://dailywire.com/news/24216/nasty-hell-leftist-writer-compares-peter-thiel-hank-berrien
|
2017-12-01
| 0right
|
NASTY AS HELL: Leftist Writer Compares Peter Thiel To Charles Manson
<p>For those who are into outrageously inappropriate and even evil comparisons, we have a new champion.</p>
<p>A writer named Joe Mathews, who writes the Connecting California Column for Zocalo Public Square, wrote a <a href="http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/california-forum/article187366528.html" type="external">piece</a> for The Sacramento Bee in which he compared billionaire Silicon Valley investor Peter Thiel to the recently-deceased monster Charles Manson, theorizing that as California united to fear and hate Manson, now Thiel’s complete evil can generate the same unity of hostility.</p>
<p>Mathews writes, “When I asked Bay Area people to nominate a true villain from among their number, one name kept coming up: Peter Thiel.”</p>
<p>What were the sins Thiel has committed that would warrant such an odious comparison, according to this modern-day Diogenes? Come, let’s think hard about what a leftist would decide is the equivalent of being the catalyst for gruesome mass murders.</p>
<p>Here’s the list, according to The Gospel of Mathews:</p>
<p>Attacking our institutions. Mathews writes, “Thiel is a graduate of San Mateo High and Stanford who rails against government-backed schools and encouraged people not to go to college.”</p>
<p>You mean Thiel, a genius who scored first in a California-wide mathematics competition in middle school, is a U.S.-rated Chess Master and was one of the highest ranked under-21 players in the country, founded The Stanford Review, which championed conservative and libertarian viewpoints, got his law degree from Stanford, launched PayPal, which gave citizens worldwide more direct control over their currencies, and put his money where his mouth was in 2010 about students skipping college by annually awarding $100,000 to 20 people under the age of 20 in order to spur them to drop out of college and create their own ventures, is some sort of hypocrite? How much money has Mathews given to help students start their own businesses?</p>
<p>Thiel supported Trump. Yup, that’s the equivalent of urging your followers to murder slews of innocents.</p>
<p>Bought himself citizenship in New Zealand. Now there’s a crime against humanity.</p>
<p>Mathews rises to his premature peroration: “Worse still, he has railed against democracy and called women’s suffrage a mistake, writing that people can’t govern themselves: “The broader education of the body politic has become a fool’s errand.”</p>
<p>Those words, taken from an <a href="https://www.cato-unbound.org/2009/04/13/peter-thiel/education-libertarian" type="external">essay</a> Thiel wrote in 2009, were in reference to the difficulty of keeping libertarianism alive when its opposition was “facilitated by a government that insured against all sorts of moral hazards — and we know that the response to this crisis involves way more debt and leverage, and way more government.” Thiel was lamenting a bygone era, the 1920’s, when, for the last time, the economy was allowed to recover from a depression without massive government intervention and a consequent growth of government.</p>
<p>Mathews writes, “This is monumentally villainous. A man who helps create technology to reach deeply into our personal lives betrays utter contempt for us. Like so many villains, he’s a false prophet, claiming to liberate people with technology while promoting authoritarianism that would enslave us.”</p>
<p>That’s a total misread of Thiel’s governing libertarian philosophy, but hey, Mathews is on a roll, noting that Thiel is vitally interested in efforts to prolong life, concluding:</p>
<p>Thiel also writes that he “stands against … the ideology of the inevitability of the death of every individual.” The notion of eternal life for a favored few is tyrannical, but also useful. When it’s so hard to find a durable villain, aren’t we lucky to have one who intends to live forever?</p>
<p>And aren’t we lucky to have The Gospel Of Mathews to compare a libertarian investor to one of the great monsters of the 20th century?</p>
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<p />
<p>Prime Minister Theresa May said “a significant amount of police activity” and several arrests had led to the level being lowered. But she urged Britons to remain vigilant and said soldiers would remain at high-profile sites throughout the current holiday weekend. The troops will gradually be withdrawn from Monday, May said.</p>
<p>A severe threat means an attack is “highly likely,” according to the scale set by Britain’s Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre. Until it was raised Tuesday, it had stayed at severe since mid-2014.</p>
<p>Police made two more attests Saturday, bringing the number of suspects in custody to 11. All are men, aged between 18 and 44.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley, Britain’s top counterterrorism police officer, said authorities have dismantled a “large part” of the network around bomber Salman Abedi. But he said there were still “gaps in our understanding” of the plot, as investigators probed Abedi’s potential links to jihadis in Britain, Europe, Libya and the Middle East.</p>
<p>Rowley said the investigation had made “rapid progress,” and police “are getting a greater understanding of the preparation of the bomb.”</p>
<p>“There is still much more to do. There will be more arrests and there will be more searches,” he said.</p>
<p>Greater Manchester Police said two men, aged 20 and 22, were detained early Saturday in the northwest England city on suspicion of terrorism offenses. Police used an explosive device to get into a property to make the arrests.</p>
<p>Investigators have searched 17 properties, including bomber Salman Abedi’s home in south Manchester and other houses in nearby districts.</p>
<p>Residents were evacuated from streets in the south Manchester neighborhood of Moss Side in what police called a precaution as one search was carried out Saturday. Photos showed an army bomb-disposal unit at the property.</p>
<p>One of the searches was at an apartment in a Manchester high-rise that British media say was rented by Abedi in the months before the attack. Mohammed El-Hudarey, a friend of the landlord, said after Abedi moved out about six weeks ago there was a strong smell of chemicals and debris including metal rods and cut-up fabric.</p>
<p>“We thought he must have been a drug dealer or doing witchcraft,” El-Hudarey told the BBC.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Abedi, a 22-year-old Briton of Libyan descent died in Monday’s explosion, which killed 22 people and wounded dozens as crowds were leaving an Ariana Grande concert.</p>
<p>Britain’s health service said Saturday that 63 people injured in the bombing remain hospitalized, 20 of them in critical condition. A total of 116 people were treated in hospitals after the attack.</p>
<p>Hundreds of soldiers have been sent to replace police at high-profile sites including Buckingham Palace and Parliament, and police armed with submachine guns are being deployed in city centers, transit hubs, tourist areas and major events.</p>
<p>Despite the alert, police have urged people to go out and enjoy themselves over the three-day holiday weekend.</p>
<p>More than 1,000 armed police are on standby as major events including the Football Association Cup Final and the Premiership Rugby Final are expected to draw tens of thousands of people.</p>
<p>Manchester is slowly returning to normal, though the damaged arena and adjacent Victoria train station remain closed.</p>
<p>Grande has promised to return to Manchester for a benefit concert. In a statement Friday, she said “I’ll be returning to the incredibly brave city of Manchester to spend time with my fans and to have a benefit concert in honor of and to raise money for the victims and their families.”</p>
<p>“Our response to this violence must be to come closer together, to help each other, to love more, to sing louder and to live more kindly and generously than we did before,” she said. “We will not quit or operate in fear. We won’t let this divide us. We won’t let hate win.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Lawless reported from London.</p>
|
UK lowers terror threat level to ‘severe’ as more arrested
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/1009662/uk-lowers-terror-threat-level-to-severe-as-more-arrested.html
|
2017-05-27
| 2least
|
UK lowers terror threat level to ‘severe’ as more arrested
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Prime Minister Theresa May said “a significant amount of police activity” and several arrests had led to the level being lowered. But she urged Britons to remain vigilant and said soldiers would remain at high-profile sites throughout the current holiday weekend. The troops will gradually be withdrawn from Monday, May said.</p>
<p>A severe threat means an attack is “highly likely,” according to the scale set by Britain’s Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre. Until it was raised Tuesday, it had stayed at severe since mid-2014.</p>
<p>Police made two more attests Saturday, bringing the number of suspects in custody to 11. All are men, aged between 18 and 44.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley, Britain’s top counterterrorism police officer, said authorities have dismantled a “large part” of the network around bomber Salman Abedi. But he said there were still “gaps in our understanding” of the plot, as investigators probed Abedi’s potential links to jihadis in Britain, Europe, Libya and the Middle East.</p>
<p>Rowley said the investigation had made “rapid progress,” and police “are getting a greater understanding of the preparation of the bomb.”</p>
<p>“There is still much more to do. There will be more arrests and there will be more searches,” he said.</p>
<p>Greater Manchester Police said two men, aged 20 and 22, were detained early Saturday in the northwest England city on suspicion of terrorism offenses. Police used an explosive device to get into a property to make the arrests.</p>
<p>Investigators have searched 17 properties, including bomber Salman Abedi’s home in south Manchester and other houses in nearby districts.</p>
<p>Residents were evacuated from streets in the south Manchester neighborhood of Moss Side in what police called a precaution as one search was carried out Saturday. Photos showed an army bomb-disposal unit at the property.</p>
<p>One of the searches was at an apartment in a Manchester high-rise that British media say was rented by Abedi in the months before the attack. Mohammed El-Hudarey, a friend of the landlord, said after Abedi moved out about six weeks ago there was a strong smell of chemicals and debris including metal rods and cut-up fabric.</p>
<p>“We thought he must have been a drug dealer or doing witchcraft,” El-Hudarey told the BBC.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Abedi, a 22-year-old Briton of Libyan descent died in Monday’s explosion, which killed 22 people and wounded dozens as crowds were leaving an Ariana Grande concert.</p>
<p>Britain’s health service said Saturday that 63 people injured in the bombing remain hospitalized, 20 of them in critical condition. A total of 116 people were treated in hospitals after the attack.</p>
<p>Hundreds of soldiers have been sent to replace police at high-profile sites including Buckingham Palace and Parliament, and police armed with submachine guns are being deployed in city centers, transit hubs, tourist areas and major events.</p>
<p>Despite the alert, police have urged people to go out and enjoy themselves over the three-day holiday weekend.</p>
<p>More than 1,000 armed police are on standby as major events including the Football Association Cup Final and the Premiership Rugby Final are expected to draw tens of thousands of people.</p>
<p>Manchester is slowly returning to normal, though the damaged arena and adjacent Victoria train station remain closed.</p>
<p>Grande has promised to return to Manchester for a benefit concert. In a statement Friday, she said “I’ll be returning to the incredibly brave city of Manchester to spend time with my fans and to have a benefit concert in honor of and to raise money for the victims and their families.”</p>
<p>“Our response to this violence must be to come closer together, to help each other, to love more, to sing louder and to live more kindly and generously than we did before,” she said. “We will not quit or operate in fear. We won’t let this divide us. We won’t let hate win.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Lawless reported from London.</p>
| 7,546 |
<p />
<p>Formed in 2003, IRS Free File is the product of a partnership between the Internal Revenue Service and a group of fourteen online tax software suppliers that form the Free File Alliance – including such familiar names as TurboTax, TaxSlayer, H&amp;R Block, and Jackson Hewitt. Free File was intended to increase electronic filing by making the process easier for a greater number of Americans. Both the tax preparation and the e-filing process are free.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Over 43 million tax returns have been submitted through the Free File system to date. You can use Free File if your AGI (Adjusted Gross Income) was less than $60,000 for the tax year. An estimated 70% of American taxpayers fall within this criteria.</p>
<p>You will need to gather up a few things before starting the Free File process, just as you would with any filing format.</p>
<p>Personal Information – You will need a copy of your tax return for the previous year, valid Social Security numbers for you, your spouse, and your children, and proof of identity (through the AGI number on your 2013 tax return, your 2013 personal ID number, or by establishing a new five-digit PIN number).</p>
<p>Income and Records – Gather all receipts and summary forms pertaining to your income. These include W-2’s, all varieties of Form 1099, and the newer forms brought in by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Depending on your status, you may need Form 1095A (Health Insurance Marketplace Statement), Form 8962 (Premium Tax Credit) or Form 8965 (Health Coverage Exemption).</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Don’t forget to include any other income such as unemployment compensation, rental incomes, partnerships, trusts, S corporations, or Social Security benefits. You will also need the corresponding records for these income sources.</p>
<p>You can estimate your AGI from last year’s form to see if you qualify, or there are several AGI calculators available online to help you with the process. Assuming you qualify and wish to use Free File, follow these simple steps:</p>
<p>Go to the IRS Website – Start by going to www.IRS.gov/freefile to begin the process. You can either click the designated button to start the Free File process, which will give you a summary and a series of links to the software options. If you prefer, you can choose a link that helps you find the best Free File software for you by asking you a series of questions.</p>
<p>If you bypass the IRS website and go directly to the software vendor sites, the process may not be free. The software vendor may apply fees in that case.</p>
<p>Choose Your Vendor – If you did not select the link to help you find the best software, you will be given a menu of links to all the vendors with a summary of their benefits and limitations. Some (but not all) vendors offer state tax filing services as well, in case you happen to live in a state that collects state income tax. Note: Twenty states have their own version of Free File, as well as the District of Columbia.</p>
<p>Complete Forms and E-File – Once you have completed your forms, simply submit your form electronically and supply a valid e-mail address to receive the confirmation of your submission. You can track the submission using the “Where’s My Refund” function on the IRS website.</p>
<p>If you owe money, you have several options – but fees may be incurred depending on the company that you choose. You can set up an electronic funds withdrawal from your bank account, register for the EFTPS (Electronic Federal Tax Payment System) operated by the Treasury Department, or use a credit card. If you need further help, check to see if Free File is available at your nearest VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) or TCE (Tax Counseling for the Elderly) locations.</p>
<p>For those who qualify, Free File offers a simple, secure, and rapid means of filing your tax forms and receiving your refund as soon as possible. It is available to use now for filing your 2014 taxes. Check the vendor options to see if any of them work for you. Why pay to file your taxes if you don’t have to?</p>
<p>More From <a href="http://www.moneytips.com/" type="external">MoneyTips.com Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.moneytips.com/pay-the-government-less" type="external">How to Pay the Government Less Money Legally Opens a New Window.</a> <a href="http://www.moneytips.com/what-to-do-if-you-are-audited" type="external">What to Do If You Are Audited Opens a New Window.</a> <a href="http://www.moneytips.com/tax-preparation-software" type="external">Tax Preparation Software Opens a New Window.</a></p>
|
IRS Free File 101 - How to File your Taxes for Free
| true |
http://foxbusiness.com/features/2015/02/13/irs-free-file-101-how-to-file-your-taxes-for-free.html
|
2016-03-06
| 0right
|
IRS Free File 101 - How to File your Taxes for Free
<p />
<p>Formed in 2003, IRS Free File is the product of a partnership between the Internal Revenue Service and a group of fourteen online tax software suppliers that form the Free File Alliance – including such familiar names as TurboTax, TaxSlayer, H&amp;R Block, and Jackson Hewitt. Free File was intended to increase electronic filing by making the process easier for a greater number of Americans. Both the tax preparation and the e-filing process are free.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Over 43 million tax returns have been submitted through the Free File system to date. You can use Free File if your AGI (Adjusted Gross Income) was less than $60,000 for the tax year. An estimated 70% of American taxpayers fall within this criteria.</p>
<p>You will need to gather up a few things before starting the Free File process, just as you would with any filing format.</p>
<p>Personal Information – You will need a copy of your tax return for the previous year, valid Social Security numbers for you, your spouse, and your children, and proof of identity (through the AGI number on your 2013 tax return, your 2013 personal ID number, or by establishing a new five-digit PIN number).</p>
<p>Income and Records – Gather all receipts and summary forms pertaining to your income. These include W-2’s, all varieties of Form 1099, and the newer forms brought in by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Depending on your status, you may need Form 1095A (Health Insurance Marketplace Statement), Form 8962 (Premium Tax Credit) or Form 8965 (Health Coverage Exemption).</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Don’t forget to include any other income such as unemployment compensation, rental incomes, partnerships, trusts, S corporations, or Social Security benefits. You will also need the corresponding records for these income sources.</p>
<p>You can estimate your AGI from last year’s form to see if you qualify, or there are several AGI calculators available online to help you with the process. Assuming you qualify and wish to use Free File, follow these simple steps:</p>
<p>Go to the IRS Website – Start by going to www.IRS.gov/freefile to begin the process. You can either click the designated button to start the Free File process, which will give you a summary and a series of links to the software options. If you prefer, you can choose a link that helps you find the best Free File software for you by asking you a series of questions.</p>
<p>If you bypass the IRS website and go directly to the software vendor sites, the process may not be free. The software vendor may apply fees in that case.</p>
<p>Choose Your Vendor – If you did not select the link to help you find the best software, you will be given a menu of links to all the vendors with a summary of their benefits and limitations. Some (but not all) vendors offer state tax filing services as well, in case you happen to live in a state that collects state income tax. Note: Twenty states have their own version of Free File, as well as the District of Columbia.</p>
<p>Complete Forms and E-File – Once you have completed your forms, simply submit your form electronically and supply a valid e-mail address to receive the confirmation of your submission. You can track the submission using the “Where’s My Refund” function on the IRS website.</p>
<p>If you owe money, you have several options – but fees may be incurred depending on the company that you choose. You can set up an electronic funds withdrawal from your bank account, register for the EFTPS (Electronic Federal Tax Payment System) operated by the Treasury Department, or use a credit card. If you need further help, check to see if Free File is available at your nearest VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) or TCE (Tax Counseling for the Elderly) locations.</p>
<p>For those who qualify, Free File offers a simple, secure, and rapid means of filing your tax forms and receiving your refund as soon as possible. It is available to use now for filing your 2014 taxes. Check the vendor options to see if any of them work for you. Why pay to file your taxes if you don’t have to?</p>
<p>More From <a href="http://www.moneytips.com/" type="external">MoneyTips.com Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.moneytips.com/pay-the-government-less" type="external">How to Pay the Government Less Money Legally Opens a New Window.</a> <a href="http://www.moneytips.com/what-to-do-if-you-are-audited" type="external">What to Do If You Are Audited Opens a New Window.</a> <a href="http://www.moneytips.com/tax-preparation-software" type="external">Tax Preparation Software Opens a New Window.</a></p>
| 7,547 |
<p>Interpol issued a security alert Wednesday after dangerous prisoners, many of them reportedly members of Al Qaeda, escaped two Iraqi prisons earlier this week.</p>
<p>The alert came at the request of officials in Iraq after gunmen attacked the Taji and Abu Ghraib prisons simultaneously near Baghdad on July 21.</p>
<p>Using mortars to gain access and free the prisoners, militants killed at least 20 members of the Iraqi security forces in the process.</p>
<p>The jailbreaks constitute a “major threat to global security,” <a href="http://www.interpol.int/en" type="external">Interpol said</a>&#160;Wednesday.</p>
<p>Many of the escaped prisoners were senior-level Al Qaeda members, some of whom had been sentenced to death.</p>
<p>Al Qaeda in Iraq made it clear in 2012 that the&#160; <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/interpol-issues-alert-for-al-qaida-members-who-escaped-in-iraq-prison-breaks/2013/07/24/f1f2c3de-f481-11e2-81fa-8e83b3864c36_story.html" type="external">“breaking the walls” campaign</a> to free its members in jails was a top priority for the organization.</p>
<p>Monday’s attack came&#160; <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/23/us-iraq-violence-alqaeda-idUSBRE96M0C720130723" type="external">exactly a year after the campaign</a> was announced.</p>
<p>Some of those freed are likely headed to Syria, according to Reuters.</p>
<p>Interpol said it was working closely with security forces in Baghdad to collect information on the escaped prisoners, including photographs and fingerprints.</p>
<p>That information will be used to assist law enforcement officers in their regional and global search and eventual identification of the fugitives.</p>
<p>Interpol adopted a resolution in 2006&#160;that called on member countries to alert the General Secretariat to prison escapes of suspected terrorists and other dangerous criminals.</p>
|
Interpol issues global alert following Al Qaeda prison breaks in Iraq
| false |
https://pri.org/stories/2013-07-24/interpol-issues-global-alert-following-al-qaeda-prison-breaks-iraq
|
2013-07-24
| 3left-center
|
Interpol issues global alert following Al Qaeda prison breaks in Iraq
<p>Interpol issued a security alert Wednesday after dangerous prisoners, many of them reportedly members of Al Qaeda, escaped two Iraqi prisons earlier this week.</p>
<p>The alert came at the request of officials in Iraq after gunmen attacked the Taji and Abu Ghraib prisons simultaneously near Baghdad on July 21.</p>
<p>Using mortars to gain access and free the prisoners, militants killed at least 20 members of the Iraqi security forces in the process.</p>
<p>The jailbreaks constitute a “major threat to global security,” <a href="http://www.interpol.int/en" type="external">Interpol said</a>&#160;Wednesday.</p>
<p>Many of the escaped prisoners were senior-level Al Qaeda members, some of whom had been sentenced to death.</p>
<p>Al Qaeda in Iraq made it clear in 2012 that the&#160; <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/interpol-issues-alert-for-al-qaida-members-who-escaped-in-iraq-prison-breaks/2013/07/24/f1f2c3de-f481-11e2-81fa-8e83b3864c36_story.html" type="external">“breaking the walls” campaign</a> to free its members in jails was a top priority for the organization.</p>
<p>Monday’s attack came&#160; <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/23/us-iraq-violence-alqaeda-idUSBRE96M0C720130723" type="external">exactly a year after the campaign</a> was announced.</p>
<p>Some of those freed are likely headed to Syria, according to Reuters.</p>
<p>Interpol said it was working closely with security forces in Baghdad to collect information on the escaped prisoners, including photographs and fingerprints.</p>
<p>That information will be used to assist law enforcement officers in their regional and global search and eventual identification of the fugitives.</p>
<p>Interpol adopted a resolution in 2006&#160;that called on member countries to alert the General Secretariat to prison escapes of suspected terrorists and other dangerous criminals.</p>
| 7,548 |
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<p />
<p>The American Bankers Association estimates that 61 percent of Americans pay nothing for bank services. But that still leaves a sizeable number of folks who regularly shell out cash just to access their own money.</p>
<p>ATM fees, overdraft fees and monthly account maintenance fees are the ones most commonly faced by consumers, according to Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate.com. McBride and other experts say there are ways, however, to minimize or eliminate these annoying and sometimes costly fees.</p>
<p>OVERDRAFT: Keep close tabs on transactions and account balances to avoid overdrawing your account. If you share the account with a spouse or someone else, make sure you have a system in place for sharing and tracking this information. And if you do overdraw, rectify the situation as soon as possible to keep additional fees from piling up.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>One easy way to avoid overdrafts is to sign up for email or text alerts letting you know when you balance gets below a certain level.</p>
<p>Set up safeguards in case you do slip up, such as establishing a link between your checking and savings account. That way if you do overdraw, your own money is used to cover the shortfall, not the bank’s, McBride says.</p>
<p>The Consumer Protection Financial Bureau also points out that you do not have to be enrolled in a bank’s overdraft protection program. If you decide not to enroll, your purchase will be denied when there are insufficient funds, instead of covered for a fee.</p>
<p>ATM: Limit your withdrawals to your own bank’s network of ATMs.</p>
<p>Typically you can search a bank’s website or use their app to find ATMs that you can use free of charge. If you must use an ATM not affiliated with your bank, take out a larger amount to avoid having to go back multiple times, suggested the ABA.</p>
<p>You can also bypass ATMs altogether and get cash back with a purchase at most retailers.</p>
<p>In general though, the easiest way to avoid these fees is to plan ahead when you need cash.</p>
<p>“Saturday night comes at the same time each week,” McBride said.</p>
<p>MAINTENANCE: Account maintenance fees likely affect the most consumers but there are many ways to avoid them.</p>
<p>Many institutions offer free checking accounts, particularly at credit unions. Other banks will waive their fee if you maintain a minimum balance, sign up for direct deposit or have some other type of account with them.</p>
<p>“The bottom line is, if you don’t like paying that fee, good news: you don’t have to,” McBride said.</p>
<p>You can find out what fees your bank or financial institution is charging you by looking at their fee disclosure statement, which is usually in the monthly statement or on their website. This can alert you to any other unusual add-on expenses you might run into.</p>
|
Keeping bank fees at bay
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/873838/keeping-bank-fees-at-bay.html
|
2016-10-24
| 2least
|
Keeping bank fees at bay
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>The American Bankers Association estimates that 61 percent of Americans pay nothing for bank services. But that still leaves a sizeable number of folks who regularly shell out cash just to access their own money.</p>
<p>ATM fees, overdraft fees and monthly account maintenance fees are the ones most commonly faced by consumers, according to Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate.com. McBride and other experts say there are ways, however, to minimize or eliminate these annoying and sometimes costly fees.</p>
<p>OVERDRAFT: Keep close tabs on transactions and account balances to avoid overdrawing your account. If you share the account with a spouse or someone else, make sure you have a system in place for sharing and tracking this information. And if you do overdraw, rectify the situation as soon as possible to keep additional fees from piling up.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>One easy way to avoid overdrafts is to sign up for email or text alerts letting you know when you balance gets below a certain level.</p>
<p>Set up safeguards in case you do slip up, such as establishing a link between your checking and savings account. That way if you do overdraw, your own money is used to cover the shortfall, not the bank’s, McBride says.</p>
<p>The Consumer Protection Financial Bureau also points out that you do not have to be enrolled in a bank’s overdraft protection program. If you decide not to enroll, your purchase will be denied when there are insufficient funds, instead of covered for a fee.</p>
<p>ATM: Limit your withdrawals to your own bank’s network of ATMs.</p>
<p>Typically you can search a bank’s website or use their app to find ATMs that you can use free of charge. If you must use an ATM not affiliated with your bank, take out a larger amount to avoid having to go back multiple times, suggested the ABA.</p>
<p>You can also bypass ATMs altogether and get cash back with a purchase at most retailers.</p>
<p>In general though, the easiest way to avoid these fees is to plan ahead when you need cash.</p>
<p>“Saturday night comes at the same time each week,” McBride said.</p>
<p>MAINTENANCE: Account maintenance fees likely affect the most consumers but there are many ways to avoid them.</p>
<p>Many institutions offer free checking accounts, particularly at credit unions. Other banks will waive their fee if you maintain a minimum balance, sign up for direct deposit or have some other type of account with them.</p>
<p>“The bottom line is, if you don’t like paying that fee, good news: you don’t have to,” McBride said.</p>
<p>You can find out what fees your bank or financial institution is charging you by looking at their fee disclosure statement, which is usually in the monthly statement or on their website. This can alert you to any other unusual add-on expenses you might run into.</p>
| 7,549 |
<p>PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Latest on Bill Cosby’s first public performance since 2015 while he awaits the start of his sexual assault case retrial (all times local):</p>
<p>10:45 p.m.</p>
<p>Bill Cosby says he made his first public performance since a sex abuse scandal embroiled him in 2015 because he wanted to enjoy being with his friends and the people who turned out to see him.</p>
<p>The 80-year-old entertainer took the stage Monday at a hometown Philadelphia jazz club in his first show since May 2015. He asked if the bass player’s son knew who he was and deadpanned, “I used to be a comedian.”</p>
<p>After the show he declined to talk about his upcoming retrial in a sexual assault case.</p>
<p>Cosby’s last comedy tour ended amid protests as women were coming forward to accuse him of molesting them, which he denies.</p>
<p>Cosby is scheduled for an April retrial on charges he drugged and molested a woman at his home in 2004. His first trial ended with a hung jury.</p>
<p>Bill Cosby got applause and laughs from a friendly hometown crowd in Philadelphia as he performed in public for the first time since a sex scandal embroiled him in 2015. (Jan. 23)</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>8:25 p.m.</p>
<p>A friendly hometown crowd witnessing Bill Cosby’s first public performance since a sex abuse scandal embroiled him in 2015 has applauded and laughed at his jokes.</p>
<p>The 80-year-old entertainer took the stage on Monday at a Philadelphia jazz club in his first show since May 2015. He asked if the bass player’s 11-year-old son knew who he was and deadpanned, “I used to be a comedian.”</p>
<p>Cosby posed for photos with friends, including a couple he honored at the start of his set. They all grew up in the same public housing complex.</p>
<p>Cosby’s last comedy tour ended amid protests as women were coming forward to accuse him of molesting them, which he denies.</p>
<p>Cosby is scheduled for an April 2 retrial on charges he drugged and molested a woman at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>7:45 p.m.</p>
<p>Bill Cosby has performed in public for the first time since a sex abuse scandal embroiled him in 2015, telling stories, playing with a band and joking that he used to be a comedian.</p>
<p>The 80-year-old entertainer took the stage for an hour Monday at a Philadelphia jazz club in his first show since May 2015. He asked if the bass player’s 11-year-old son knew who he was and deadpanned, “I used to be a comedian.”</p>
<p>Cosby’s last comedy tour ended amid protests as about 60 women were coming forward to accuse him of drugging and molesting them, something he has denied.</p>
<p>Cosby is scheduled for an April 2 retrial on charges he drugged and molested a woman at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. Jury selection will start March 29.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>7 p.m.</p>
<p>Bill Cosby is performing in his hometown as a spring retrial looms in his criminal sexual assault case.</p>
<p>The 80-year-old entertainer took the stage Monday night at a Philadelphia jazz club in his first public performance since May 2015. He’s telling stories and honoring old friends.</p>
<p>Cosby’s last comedy tour ended amid protests as about 60 women were coming forward to accuse him of drugging and molesting them over five decades, something he has denied.</p>
<p>Cosby is scheduled for an April 2 retrial on charges he drugged and molested a woman at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. He has pleaded not guilty and remains free on bail. His first trial ended with a hung jury last year. Jury selection for his retrial will start March 29.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>6:45 p.m.</p>
<p>Bill Cosby has arrived at a Philadelphia club where he’s scheduled to perform comedy as a spring retrial looms in his criminal sexual assault case.</p>
<p>The 80-year-old entertainer arrived at the jazz club Monday for his first public performance since 2015. He wore a gray hoodie with the “Hello Friend” phrase his late son often would say.</p>
<p>Cosby’s last comedy tour ended amid protests as about 60 women were coming forward to accuse him of drugging and molesting them, something he has denied.</p>
<p>Cosby is scheduled for an April 2 retrial on charges he drugged and molested a woman at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. He has pleaded not guilty and remains free on bail. His first trial ended with a hung jury last year. Jury selection for his retrial will start March 29.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>4:30 p.m.</p>
<p>Jury selection for Bill Cosby’s criminal sex assault retrial will start March 29 in the suburban Philadelphia county where he’s accused of drugging and molesting a woman in 2004.</p>
<p>The 80-year-old entertainer’s first trial had jurors from the Pittsburgh area, about 300 miles away. It ended in a mistrial when they couldn’t reach a verdict after five days of deliberations.</p>
<p>This time, Montgomery County prosecutors and Cosby’s new defense team have agreed to seek a local jury for the retrial, scheduled for April 2.</p>
<p>Cosby’s former lawyers insisted on a jury from a different county because the case was an issue in the local district attorney’s race.</p>
<p>Last time, it took three days to select 12 jurors and six alternates.</p>
<p>Cosby has pleaded not guilty and remains free on bail.</p>
<p>PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Latest on Bill Cosby’s first public performance since 2015 while he awaits the start of his sexual assault case retrial (all times local):</p>
<p>10:45 p.m.</p>
<p>Bill Cosby says he made his first public performance since a sex abuse scandal embroiled him in 2015 because he wanted to enjoy being with his friends and the people who turned out to see him.</p>
<p>The 80-year-old entertainer took the stage Monday at a hometown Philadelphia jazz club in his first show since May 2015. He asked if the bass player’s son knew who he was and deadpanned, “I used to be a comedian.”</p>
<p>After the show he declined to talk about his upcoming retrial in a sexual assault case.</p>
<p>Cosby’s last comedy tour ended amid protests as women were coming forward to accuse him of molesting them, which he denies.</p>
<p>Cosby is scheduled for an April retrial on charges he drugged and molested a woman at his home in 2004. His first trial ended with a hung jury.</p>
<p>Bill Cosby got applause and laughs from a friendly hometown crowd in Philadelphia as he performed in public for the first time since a sex scandal embroiled him in 2015. (Jan. 23)</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>8:25 p.m.</p>
<p>A friendly hometown crowd witnessing Bill Cosby’s first public performance since a sex abuse scandal embroiled him in 2015 has applauded and laughed at his jokes.</p>
<p>The 80-year-old entertainer took the stage on Monday at a Philadelphia jazz club in his first show since May 2015. He asked if the bass player’s 11-year-old son knew who he was and deadpanned, “I used to be a comedian.”</p>
<p>Cosby posed for photos with friends, including a couple he honored at the start of his set. They all grew up in the same public housing complex.</p>
<p>Cosby’s last comedy tour ended amid protests as women were coming forward to accuse him of molesting them, which he denies.</p>
<p>Cosby is scheduled for an April 2 retrial on charges he drugged and molested a woman at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>7:45 p.m.</p>
<p>Bill Cosby has performed in public for the first time since a sex abuse scandal embroiled him in 2015, telling stories, playing with a band and joking that he used to be a comedian.</p>
<p>The 80-year-old entertainer took the stage for an hour Monday at a Philadelphia jazz club in his first show since May 2015. He asked if the bass player’s 11-year-old son knew who he was and deadpanned, “I used to be a comedian.”</p>
<p>Cosby’s last comedy tour ended amid protests as about 60 women were coming forward to accuse him of drugging and molesting them, something he has denied.</p>
<p>Cosby is scheduled for an April 2 retrial on charges he drugged and molested a woman at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. Jury selection will start March 29.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>7 p.m.</p>
<p>Bill Cosby is performing in his hometown as a spring retrial looms in his criminal sexual assault case.</p>
<p>The 80-year-old entertainer took the stage Monday night at a Philadelphia jazz club in his first public performance since May 2015. He’s telling stories and honoring old friends.</p>
<p>Cosby’s last comedy tour ended amid protests as about 60 women were coming forward to accuse him of drugging and molesting them over five decades, something he has denied.</p>
<p>Cosby is scheduled for an April 2 retrial on charges he drugged and molested a woman at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. He has pleaded not guilty and remains free on bail. His first trial ended with a hung jury last year. Jury selection for his retrial will start March 29.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>6:45 p.m.</p>
<p>Bill Cosby has arrived at a Philadelphia club where he’s scheduled to perform comedy as a spring retrial looms in his criminal sexual assault case.</p>
<p>The 80-year-old entertainer arrived at the jazz club Monday for his first public performance since 2015. He wore a gray hoodie with the “Hello Friend” phrase his late son often would say.</p>
<p>Cosby’s last comedy tour ended amid protests as about 60 women were coming forward to accuse him of drugging and molesting them, something he has denied.</p>
<p>Cosby is scheduled for an April 2 retrial on charges he drugged and molested a woman at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. He has pleaded not guilty and remains free on bail. His first trial ended with a hung jury last year. Jury selection for his retrial will start March 29.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>4:30 p.m.</p>
<p>Jury selection for Bill Cosby’s criminal sex assault retrial will start March 29 in the suburban Philadelphia county where he’s accused of drugging and molesting a woman in 2004.</p>
<p>The 80-year-old entertainer’s first trial had jurors from the Pittsburgh area, about 300 miles away. It ended in a mistrial when they couldn’t reach a verdict after five days of deliberations.</p>
<p>This time, Montgomery County prosecutors and Cosby’s new defense team have agreed to seek a local jury for the retrial, scheduled for April 2.</p>
<p>Cosby’s former lawyers insisted on a jury from a different county because the case was an issue in the local district attorney’s race.</p>
<p>Last time, it took three days to select 12 jurors and six alternates.</p>
<p>Cosby has pleaded not guilty and remains free on bail.</p>
|
The Latest: Cosby says friends prompted his return to stage
| false |
https://apnews.com/e31ae554241140548232a9a406ac5ee5
|
2018-01-23
| 2least
|
The Latest: Cosby says friends prompted his return to stage
<p>PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Latest on Bill Cosby’s first public performance since 2015 while he awaits the start of his sexual assault case retrial (all times local):</p>
<p>10:45 p.m.</p>
<p>Bill Cosby says he made his first public performance since a sex abuse scandal embroiled him in 2015 because he wanted to enjoy being with his friends and the people who turned out to see him.</p>
<p>The 80-year-old entertainer took the stage Monday at a hometown Philadelphia jazz club in his first show since May 2015. He asked if the bass player’s son knew who he was and deadpanned, “I used to be a comedian.”</p>
<p>After the show he declined to talk about his upcoming retrial in a sexual assault case.</p>
<p>Cosby’s last comedy tour ended amid protests as women were coming forward to accuse him of molesting them, which he denies.</p>
<p>Cosby is scheduled for an April retrial on charges he drugged and molested a woman at his home in 2004. His first trial ended with a hung jury.</p>
<p>Bill Cosby got applause and laughs from a friendly hometown crowd in Philadelphia as he performed in public for the first time since a sex scandal embroiled him in 2015. (Jan. 23)</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>8:25 p.m.</p>
<p>A friendly hometown crowd witnessing Bill Cosby’s first public performance since a sex abuse scandal embroiled him in 2015 has applauded and laughed at his jokes.</p>
<p>The 80-year-old entertainer took the stage on Monday at a Philadelphia jazz club in his first show since May 2015. He asked if the bass player’s 11-year-old son knew who he was and deadpanned, “I used to be a comedian.”</p>
<p>Cosby posed for photos with friends, including a couple he honored at the start of his set. They all grew up in the same public housing complex.</p>
<p>Cosby’s last comedy tour ended amid protests as women were coming forward to accuse him of molesting them, which he denies.</p>
<p>Cosby is scheduled for an April 2 retrial on charges he drugged and molested a woman at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>7:45 p.m.</p>
<p>Bill Cosby has performed in public for the first time since a sex abuse scandal embroiled him in 2015, telling stories, playing with a band and joking that he used to be a comedian.</p>
<p>The 80-year-old entertainer took the stage for an hour Monday at a Philadelphia jazz club in his first show since May 2015. He asked if the bass player’s 11-year-old son knew who he was and deadpanned, “I used to be a comedian.”</p>
<p>Cosby’s last comedy tour ended amid protests as about 60 women were coming forward to accuse him of drugging and molesting them, something he has denied.</p>
<p>Cosby is scheduled for an April 2 retrial on charges he drugged and molested a woman at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. Jury selection will start March 29.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>7 p.m.</p>
<p>Bill Cosby is performing in his hometown as a spring retrial looms in his criminal sexual assault case.</p>
<p>The 80-year-old entertainer took the stage Monday night at a Philadelphia jazz club in his first public performance since May 2015. He’s telling stories and honoring old friends.</p>
<p>Cosby’s last comedy tour ended amid protests as about 60 women were coming forward to accuse him of drugging and molesting them over five decades, something he has denied.</p>
<p>Cosby is scheduled for an April 2 retrial on charges he drugged and molested a woman at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. He has pleaded not guilty and remains free on bail. His first trial ended with a hung jury last year. Jury selection for his retrial will start March 29.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>6:45 p.m.</p>
<p>Bill Cosby has arrived at a Philadelphia club where he’s scheduled to perform comedy as a spring retrial looms in his criminal sexual assault case.</p>
<p>The 80-year-old entertainer arrived at the jazz club Monday for his first public performance since 2015. He wore a gray hoodie with the “Hello Friend” phrase his late son often would say.</p>
<p>Cosby’s last comedy tour ended amid protests as about 60 women were coming forward to accuse him of drugging and molesting them, something he has denied.</p>
<p>Cosby is scheduled for an April 2 retrial on charges he drugged and molested a woman at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. He has pleaded not guilty and remains free on bail. His first trial ended with a hung jury last year. Jury selection for his retrial will start March 29.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>4:30 p.m.</p>
<p>Jury selection for Bill Cosby’s criminal sex assault retrial will start March 29 in the suburban Philadelphia county where he’s accused of drugging and molesting a woman in 2004.</p>
<p>The 80-year-old entertainer’s first trial had jurors from the Pittsburgh area, about 300 miles away. It ended in a mistrial when they couldn’t reach a verdict after five days of deliberations.</p>
<p>This time, Montgomery County prosecutors and Cosby’s new defense team have agreed to seek a local jury for the retrial, scheduled for April 2.</p>
<p>Cosby’s former lawyers insisted on a jury from a different county because the case was an issue in the local district attorney’s race.</p>
<p>Last time, it took three days to select 12 jurors and six alternates.</p>
<p>Cosby has pleaded not guilty and remains free on bail.</p>
<p>PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Latest on Bill Cosby’s first public performance since 2015 while he awaits the start of his sexual assault case retrial (all times local):</p>
<p>10:45 p.m.</p>
<p>Bill Cosby says he made his first public performance since a sex abuse scandal embroiled him in 2015 because he wanted to enjoy being with his friends and the people who turned out to see him.</p>
<p>The 80-year-old entertainer took the stage Monday at a hometown Philadelphia jazz club in his first show since May 2015. He asked if the bass player’s son knew who he was and deadpanned, “I used to be a comedian.”</p>
<p>After the show he declined to talk about his upcoming retrial in a sexual assault case.</p>
<p>Cosby’s last comedy tour ended amid protests as women were coming forward to accuse him of molesting them, which he denies.</p>
<p>Cosby is scheduled for an April retrial on charges he drugged and molested a woman at his home in 2004. His first trial ended with a hung jury.</p>
<p>Bill Cosby got applause and laughs from a friendly hometown crowd in Philadelphia as he performed in public for the first time since a sex scandal embroiled him in 2015. (Jan. 23)</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>8:25 p.m.</p>
<p>A friendly hometown crowd witnessing Bill Cosby’s first public performance since a sex abuse scandal embroiled him in 2015 has applauded and laughed at his jokes.</p>
<p>The 80-year-old entertainer took the stage on Monday at a Philadelphia jazz club in his first show since May 2015. He asked if the bass player’s 11-year-old son knew who he was and deadpanned, “I used to be a comedian.”</p>
<p>Cosby posed for photos with friends, including a couple he honored at the start of his set. They all grew up in the same public housing complex.</p>
<p>Cosby’s last comedy tour ended amid protests as women were coming forward to accuse him of molesting them, which he denies.</p>
<p>Cosby is scheduled for an April 2 retrial on charges he drugged and molested a woman at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>7:45 p.m.</p>
<p>Bill Cosby has performed in public for the first time since a sex abuse scandal embroiled him in 2015, telling stories, playing with a band and joking that he used to be a comedian.</p>
<p>The 80-year-old entertainer took the stage for an hour Monday at a Philadelphia jazz club in his first show since May 2015. He asked if the bass player’s 11-year-old son knew who he was and deadpanned, “I used to be a comedian.”</p>
<p>Cosby’s last comedy tour ended amid protests as about 60 women were coming forward to accuse him of drugging and molesting them, something he has denied.</p>
<p>Cosby is scheduled for an April 2 retrial on charges he drugged and molested a woman at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. Jury selection will start March 29.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>7 p.m.</p>
<p>Bill Cosby is performing in his hometown as a spring retrial looms in his criminal sexual assault case.</p>
<p>The 80-year-old entertainer took the stage Monday night at a Philadelphia jazz club in his first public performance since May 2015. He’s telling stories and honoring old friends.</p>
<p>Cosby’s last comedy tour ended amid protests as about 60 women were coming forward to accuse him of drugging and molesting them over five decades, something he has denied.</p>
<p>Cosby is scheduled for an April 2 retrial on charges he drugged and molested a woman at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. He has pleaded not guilty and remains free on bail. His first trial ended with a hung jury last year. Jury selection for his retrial will start March 29.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>6:45 p.m.</p>
<p>Bill Cosby has arrived at a Philadelphia club where he’s scheduled to perform comedy as a spring retrial looms in his criminal sexual assault case.</p>
<p>The 80-year-old entertainer arrived at the jazz club Monday for his first public performance since 2015. He wore a gray hoodie with the “Hello Friend” phrase his late son often would say.</p>
<p>Cosby’s last comedy tour ended amid protests as about 60 women were coming forward to accuse him of drugging and molesting them, something he has denied.</p>
<p>Cosby is scheduled for an April 2 retrial on charges he drugged and molested a woman at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. He has pleaded not guilty and remains free on bail. His first trial ended with a hung jury last year. Jury selection for his retrial will start March 29.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>4:30 p.m.</p>
<p>Jury selection for Bill Cosby’s criminal sex assault retrial will start March 29 in the suburban Philadelphia county where he’s accused of drugging and molesting a woman in 2004.</p>
<p>The 80-year-old entertainer’s first trial had jurors from the Pittsburgh area, about 300 miles away. It ended in a mistrial when they couldn’t reach a verdict after five days of deliberations.</p>
<p>This time, Montgomery County prosecutors and Cosby’s new defense team have agreed to seek a local jury for the retrial, scheduled for April 2.</p>
<p>Cosby’s former lawyers insisted on a jury from a different county because the case was an issue in the local district attorney’s race.</p>
<p>Last time, it took three days to select 12 jurors and six alternates.</p>
<p>Cosby has pleaded not guilty and remains free on bail.</p>
| 7,550 |
<p>TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas lottery officials say the state has had three $1 million lottery winners in January.</p>
<p>Lottery spokeswoman Sally Lundsford said someone in northeast bought a $1 million winning ticket in Wednesday night's Powerball.</p>
<p>On Jan. 3, a Wichita couple won $1 million in the Holiday Millionaire Raffle grand prize. And a Pottawatomie County resident claimed a $1 million prize in the Mega Millions drawing in Randolph Jan. 12.</p>
<p>No one has come forward yet to claim Wednesday's winning ticket. The numbers were 5-9-11-33-64 Powerball 21.</p>
<p>TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas lottery officials say the state has had three $1 million lottery winners in January.</p>
<p>Lottery spokeswoman Sally Lundsford said someone in northeast bought a $1 million winning ticket in Wednesday night's Powerball.</p>
<p>On Jan. 3, a Wichita couple won $1 million in the Holiday Millionaire Raffle grand prize. And a Pottawatomie County resident claimed a $1 million prize in the Mega Millions drawing in Randolph Jan. 12.</p>
<p>No one has come forward yet to claim Wednesday's winning ticket. The numbers were 5-9-11-33-64 Powerball 21.</p>
|
Third $1,000,000 lottery prize in Kansas this month
| false |
https://apnews.com/amp/8fb0a1749e6b4e1699caedd94ebdf6d9
|
2018-01-25
| 2least
|
Third $1,000,000 lottery prize in Kansas this month
<p>TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas lottery officials say the state has had three $1 million lottery winners in January.</p>
<p>Lottery spokeswoman Sally Lundsford said someone in northeast bought a $1 million winning ticket in Wednesday night's Powerball.</p>
<p>On Jan. 3, a Wichita couple won $1 million in the Holiday Millionaire Raffle grand prize. And a Pottawatomie County resident claimed a $1 million prize in the Mega Millions drawing in Randolph Jan. 12.</p>
<p>No one has come forward yet to claim Wednesday's winning ticket. The numbers were 5-9-11-33-64 Powerball 21.</p>
<p>TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas lottery officials say the state has had three $1 million lottery winners in January.</p>
<p>Lottery spokeswoman Sally Lundsford said someone in northeast bought a $1 million winning ticket in Wednesday night's Powerball.</p>
<p>On Jan. 3, a Wichita couple won $1 million in the Holiday Millionaire Raffle grand prize. And a Pottawatomie County resident claimed a $1 million prize in the Mega Millions drawing in Randolph Jan. 12.</p>
<p>No one has come forward yet to claim Wednesday's winning ticket. The numbers were 5-9-11-33-64 Powerball 21.</p>
| 7,551 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>It was the second time in three months the 81-year-old Arizona Republican had emerged as the destroyer of his party's signature promise to voters.</p>
<p>“John McCain never had any intention of voting for this Bill, which his Governor loves. He campaigned on Repeal &amp; Replace. Let Arizona down!” President Donald Trump said in a series of tweets Saturday that attacked GOP senators who hadn't gotten behind the bill. The measure was co-written by South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, McCain's closest Senate ally, and Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La.</p>
<p>“McCain let his best friend L.G. down!” Trump said, adding that the health bill was “great for Arizona.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>McCain, who is battling brain cancer in the twilight of a remarkable career, announced Friday that he could not “in good conscience” vote for the legislation.</p>
<p>“I believe we could do better working together, Republicans and Democrats, and have not yet really tried,” McCain said. “Nor could I support it without knowing how much it will cost, how it will affect insurance premiums, and how many people will be helped or hurt by it.”</p>
<p>His opposition all but ensured a major setback for Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. It also appeared likely to deepen rifts between congressional Republicans and a president who has begun making deals with Democrats out of frustration with his own party's failure to turn proposals into laws.</p>
<p>During the election campaign Trump had pledged to quickly kill the Affordable Care Act – “It will be easy,” he contended – and he has publicly chided McConnell for not winning passage before now.</p>
<p>McCain joined Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., as two declared GOP “no” votes on the repeal legislation, though Trump held out hope on Paul.</p>
<p>“I know Rand Paul and I think he may find a way to get there for the good of the Party!” Trump tweeted.</p>
<p>With Democrats unanimously opposed, two is the exact number of GOP votes McConnell can afford to lose.</p>
<p>But Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said Friday she, too, is leaning against the bill, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, was also a possible “no,” making it highly unlikely that McConnell can prevail.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Trump tweeted that health premiums have risen dramatically for Alaskans under the health law, “deductibles high, people angry!”</p>
<p>While Trump tries to keep up the pressure, the GOP seems destined to fail again on a campaign promise that every Republican agreed on – right up until the party obtained full control of Congress and the White House this year and was actually in position to follow through.</p>
<p>Trump, at a political rally Friday night in Alabama, he said he would continue the fight to repeal the law. “You can't quit when you have one or two votes short.”</p>
<p>Graham, in a statement, said he would “press on,” and he reaffirmed his friendship with McCain.</p>
<p>Up until McCain's announcement, McConnell allies were optimistic McCain's relationship with Graham might make the difference.</p>
<p>GOP leaders hoped to bring the legislation to the full Senate this coming week. They face a Sept. 30 deadline, at which point special rules that prevent a Democratic filibuster will expire.</p>
<p>Democrats hailed McCain's announcement and pledged to commit to the bipartisan process he sought. GOP Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington have been working on a package of limited legislative fixes to the health law's marketplaces.</p>
<p>“John McCain shows the same courage in Congress that he showed when he was a naval aviator,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. “I have assured Sen. McCain that as soon as repeal is off the table, we Democrats are intent on resuming the bipartisan process.”</p>
<p>Trump charged that Schumer “sold John McCain a bill of goods. Sad.”</p>
<p>The Graham-Cassidy bill would repeal major pillars of the health law and replace them with block grants to states to design their own programs.</p>
<p>“Large Block Grants to States is a good thing to do. Better control &amp; management,” Trump wrote.</p>
<p>But major medical groups said millions of people would lose insurance coverage and protections. A bipartisan group of governors announced their opposition.</p>
<p>Yet Republican congressional leaders, goaded by GOP voters and the president himself, were determined to give it one last try.</p>
<p>Trump spent much of August needling McConnell for his failure to pass a repeal bill, and Republican lawmakers back home during Congress' summer recess heard repeatedly from voters angered that after seven years of promises to get rid of the health law, the party had not delivered.</p>
<p>The House passed its own repeal bill back in May, prompting Trump to convene a Rose Garden celebration, which soon began to look premature.</p>
<p>After the Senate failed in several attempts in July, the legislation looked dead. But Cassidy kept at it with his state-focused approach, and the effort caught new life in recent weeks as the deadline neared. Trump pushed hard, hungry for a win.</p>
<p>The bill would get rid of unpopular mandates for people to carry insurance or face penalties. It would repeal the financing for Obama's health insurance expansion and create a big pot of money states could tap to set up their own programs, with less federal oversight. It would limit spending for Medicaid, the federal-state program that now covers more than 70 million low-income people. Insurance rules that protect people with pre-existing conditions could be loosened through state waivers.</p>
<p>Over time, the legislation would significantly reduce federal health care dollars now flowing to the states. But McConnell had little margin for error in a Senate split 52-48 between Republicans and Democrats, and could lose only two votes, counting on Pence to break the tie.</p>
<p>Associated Press writer Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar contributed to this report.</p>
<p><a href="#cbcaae53-cac1-40e7-b50a-889af25788e3" type="external">© 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</a> Learn more about our <a href="http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/privacy" type="external">Privacy Policy</a> and <a href="http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/terms" type="external">Terms of Use</a>.</p>
|
Trump tweets take on GOP holdouts on health legislation
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/1067649/the-latest-mccain-says-no-to-gop-health-care-bill.html
|
2017-09-22
| 2least
|
Trump tweets take on GOP holdouts on health legislation
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<p />
<p>It was the second time in three months the 81-year-old Arizona Republican had emerged as the destroyer of his party's signature promise to voters.</p>
<p>“John McCain never had any intention of voting for this Bill, which his Governor loves. He campaigned on Repeal &amp; Replace. Let Arizona down!” President Donald Trump said in a series of tweets Saturday that attacked GOP senators who hadn't gotten behind the bill. The measure was co-written by South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, McCain's closest Senate ally, and Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La.</p>
<p>“McCain let his best friend L.G. down!” Trump said, adding that the health bill was “great for Arizona.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>McCain, who is battling brain cancer in the twilight of a remarkable career, announced Friday that he could not “in good conscience” vote for the legislation.</p>
<p>“I believe we could do better working together, Republicans and Democrats, and have not yet really tried,” McCain said. “Nor could I support it without knowing how much it will cost, how it will affect insurance premiums, and how many people will be helped or hurt by it.”</p>
<p>His opposition all but ensured a major setback for Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. It also appeared likely to deepen rifts between congressional Republicans and a president who has begun making deals with Democrats out of frustration with his own party's failure to turn proposals into laws.</p>
<p>During the election campaign Trump had pledged to quickly kill the Affordable Care Act – “It will be easy,” he contended – and he has publicly chided McConnell for not winning passage before now.</p>
<p>McCain joined Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., as two declared GOP “no” votes on the repeal legislation, though Trump held out hope on Paul.</p>
<p>“I know Rand Paul and I think he may find a way to get there for the good of the Party!” Trump tweeted.</p>
<p>With Democrats unanimously opposed, two is the exact number of GOP votes McConnell can afford to lose.</p>
<p>But Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said Friday she, too, is leaning against the bill, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, was also a possible “no,” making it highly unlikely that McConnell can prevail.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Trump tweeted that health premiums have risen dramatically for Alaskans under the health law, “deductibles high, people angry!”</p>
<p>While Trump tries to keep up the pressure, the GOP seems destined to fail again on a campaign promise that every Republican agreed on – right up until the party obtained full control of Congress and the White House this year and was actually in position to follow through.</p>
<p>Trump, at a political rally Friday night in Alabama, he said he would continue the fight to repeal the law. “You can't quit when you have one or two votes short.”</p>
<p>Graham, in a statement, said he would “press on,” and he reaffirmed his friendship with McCain.</p>
<p>Up until McCain's announcement, McConnell allies were optimistic McCain's relationship with Graham might make the difference.</p>
<p>GOP leaders hoped to bring the legislation to the full Senate this coming week. They face a Sept. 30 deadline, at which point special rules that prevent a Democratic filibuster will expire.</p>
<p>Democrats hailed McCain's announcement and pledged to commit to the bipartisan process he sought. GOP Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington have been working on a package of limited legislative fixes to the health law's marketplaces.</p>
<p>“John McCain shows the same courage in Congress that he showed when he was a naval aviator,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. “I have assured Sen. McCain that as soon as repeal is off the table, we Democrats are intent on resuming the bipartisan process.”</p>
<p>Trump charged that Schumer “sold John McCain a bill of goods. Sad.”</p>
<p>The Graham-Cassidy bill would repeal major pillars of the health law and replace them with block grants to states to design their own programs.</p>
<p>“Large Block Grants to States is a good thing to do. Better control &amp; management,” Trump wrote.</p>
<p>But major medical groups said millions of people would lose insurance coverage and protections. A bipartisan group of governors announced their opposition.</p>
<p>Yet Republican congressional leaders, goaded by GOP voters and the president himself, were determined to give it one last try.</p>
<p>Trump spent much of August needling McConnell for his failure to pass a repeal bill, and Republican lawmakers back home during Congress' summer recess heard repeatedly from voters angered that after seven years of promises to get rid of the health law, the party had not delivered.</p>
<p>The House passed its own repeal bill back in May, prompting Trump to convene a Rose Garden celebration, which soon began to look premature.</p>
<p>After the Senate failed in several attempts in July, the legislation looked dead. But Cassidy kept at it with his state-focused approach, and the effort caught new life in recent weeks as the deadline neared. Trump pushed hard, hungry for a win.</p>
<p>The bill would get rid of unpopular mandates for people to carry insurance or face penalties. It would repeal the financing for Obama's health insurance expansion and create a big pot of money states could tap to set up their own programs, with less federal oversight. It would limit spending for Medicaid, the federal-state program that now covers more than 70 million low-income people. Insurance rules that protect people with pre-existing conditions could be loosened through state waivers.</p>
<p>Over time, the legislation would significantly reduce federal health care dollars now flowing to the states. But McConnell had little margin for error in a Senate split 52-48 between Republicans and Democrats, and could lose only two votes, counting on Pence to break the tie.</p>
<p>Associated Press writer Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar contributed to this report.</p>
<p><a href="#cbcaae53-cac1-40e7-b50a-889af25788e3" type="external">© 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</a> Learn more about our <a href="http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/privacy" type="external">Privacy Policy</a> and <a href="http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/terms" type="external">Terms of Use</a>.</p>
| 7,552 |
<p>MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. (AP) — Nike Sibande scored a career-high 22 points and made all four of his 3-point shots as Miami (Ohio) defeated Central Michigan 70-61 Tuesday night.</p>
<p>Logan McLane added 13 points and eight rebounds for Miami (11-9, 4-3 Mid-American Conference), Isaiah Lands-Coleman added 12 points on four 3-pointers. Darrian Ringo, ranked seventh nationally in total assists, dished 10, the sixth time this season he's reached double-digit assists.</p>
<p>The RedHawks made 11 of 23 3-pointers and had 17 assists on 25 made field goals in the road win, their fifth this season. Miami was 1-13 on the road last season.</p>
<p>Kevin McKay led Central Michigan (13-7, 2-5) with 17 points — all in the second half — and eight rebounds, Shawn Roundtree added 15 points and Cecil Williams 14. The Chippewas were 9 of 28 from behind the 3-point arc and shot 38 percent from the floor in all (23 of 61).</p>
<p>Luke Meyer, MAC West Player of the Week, was held to three points (1-of-3 shooting) in 20 minutes.</p>
<p>MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. (AP) — Nike Sibande scored a career-high 22 points and made all four of his 3-point shots as Miami (Ohio) defeated Central Michigan 70-61 Tuesday night.</p>
<p>Logan McLane added 13 points and eight rebounds for Miami (11-9, 4-3 Mid-American Conference), Isaiah Lands-Coleman added 12 points on four 3-pointers. Darrian Ringo, ranked seventh nationally in total assists, dished 10, the sixth time this season he's reached double-digit assists.</p>
<p>The RedHawks made 11 of 23 3-pointers and had 17 assists on 25 made field goals in the road win, their fifth this season. Miami was 1-13 on the road last season.</p>
<p>Kevin McKay led Central Michigan (13-7, 2-5) with 17 points — all in the second half — and eight rebounds, Shawn Roundtree added 15 points and Cecil Williams 14. The Chippewas were 9 of 28 from behind the 3-point arc and shot 38 percent from the floor in all (23 of 61).</p>
<p>Luke Meyer, MAC West Player of the Week, was held to three points (1-of-3 shooting) in 20 minutes.</p>
|
Sibande's 22 helps Miami (Ohio) top Central Michigan 70-61
| false |
https://apnews.com/amp/4f8d2c96f7ad48e58ac78d76e7f2e94c
|
2018-01-24
| 2least
|
Sibande's 22 helps Miami (Ohio) top Central Michigan 70-61
<p>MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. (AP) — Nike Sibande scored a career-high 22 points and made all four of his 3-point shots as Miami (Ohio) defeated Central Michigan 70-61 Tuesday night.</p>
<p>Logan McLane added 13 points and eight rebounds for Miami (11-9, 4-3 Mid-American Conference), Isaiah Lands-Coleman added 12 points on four 3-pointers. Darrian Ringo, ranked seventh nationally in total assists, dished 10, the sixth time this season he's reached double-digit assists.</p>
<p>The RedHawks made 11 of 23 3-pointers and had 17 assists on 25 made field goals in the road win, their fifth this season. Miami was 1-13 on the road last season.</p>
<p>Kevin McKay led Central Michigan (13-7, 2-5) with 17 points — all in the second half — and eight rebounds, Shawn Roundtree added 15 points and Cecil Williams 14. The Chippewas were 9 of 28 from behind the 3-point arc and shot 38 percent from the floor in all (23 of 61).</p>
<p>Luke Meyer, MAC West Player of the Week, was held to three points (1-of-3 shooting) in 20 minutes.</p>
<p>MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. (AP) — Nike Sibande scored a career-high 22 points and made all four of his 3-point shots as Miami (Ohio) defeated Central Michigan 70-61 Tuesday night.</p>
<p>Logan McLane added 13 points and eight rebounds for Miami (11-9, 4-3 Mid-American Conference), Isaiah Lands-Coleman added 12 points on four 3-pointers. Darrian Ringo, ranked seventh nationally in total assists, dished 10, the sixth time this season he's reached double-digit assists.</p>
<p>The RedHawks made 11 of 23 3-pointers and had 17 assists on 25 made field goals in the road win, their fifth this season. Miami was 1-13 on the road last season.</p>
<p>Kevin McKay led Central Michigan (13-7, 2-5) with 17 points — all in the second half — and eight rebounds, Shawn Roundtree added 15 points and Cecil Williams 14. The Chippewas were 9 of 28 from behind the 3-point arc and shot 38 percent from the floor in all (23 of 61).</p>
<p>Luke Meyer, MAC West Player of the Week, was held to three points (1-of-3 shooting) in 20 minutes.</p>
| 7,553 |
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<p />
<p>A day after his selection set the battle lines in a major fight over the court, President Barack Obama's choice to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia met only with Democratic leaders on Thursday - steering clear of the Republican leader who has vowed the Senate will ignore Garland's nomination and wait for the next president to fill the seat.</p>
<p>For Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, the Capitol visit was a stunt "orchestrated" by the White House, his spokesman said. But for Democrats, it was just the opening salvo in a public campaign to make Garland the best-known victim of Republican obstruction and a household name in every election battleground state.</p>
<p>Garland met separately with Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada. After the meeting with Leahy, the mild mannered jurist faced a throng of reporters and clicking cameras, but said nothing.</p>
<p>Judge Merrick Garland</p>
<p>Said Leahy: "I talked to him about where the hurdles are, and I talked to him about what I thought would happen if we actually follow the oath that we've all taken to uphold the Constitution."</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Reid also said he braced the judge for the bombardment ahead.</p>
<p>"I just told him to be himself," Reid said. "I think he's willing to take whatever they can throw at him."</p>
<p>More than a dozen Senate Democrats stood in front of the Supreme Court, using the telegenic backdrop to underscore their calls for Republicans to give Garland a hearing. Democrats cited polling showing public support for Senate consideration of the nomination, and eagerly linked the court fight to Donald Trump - the volatile front-runner for the GOP nomination and a source of embarrassment for the Republican establishment.</p>
<p>"If Republicans stand in the way and refuse to do their job, it will only be because they want Donald Trump to pick the next nominee," said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.</p>
<p>The success of the Democrats' plans hinge in part on rallying their grass roots to the cause - a task complicated by Obama's nomination of a moderate with little public record on many issues valued by the progressive wing of the party.</p>
<p>In an interview with NPR, the president said he found the Republicans' argument that the electorate should weigh in "puzzling."</p>
<p>"Well, in fact the American people did decide - back in 2012 when they elected me president of the United States with sufficient electoral votes," Obama said.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Liberal and labor groups planned events next week, when the Senate is out of session and senators are back home, pressuring Republicans on their home turf. The events include teachers holding rallies in Cleveland, Cincinnati and Lima, Ohio, aimed at Sen. Rob Portman; union members mobilizing in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia and targeting Sen. Patrick Toomey, and activists attending town hall and other Iowa re-election events staged by Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley.</p>
<p>Republicans prepared their defense.</p>
<p>One Nation - run by Steven Law, a former McConnell chief of staff and the head the GOP-aligned American Crossroads super PAC - was beginning 10 days of television advertising on Friday in Des Moines, Iowa, aimed at supporting Grassley, a key opponent of confirming an Obama nominee.</p>
<p>The ad says an Obama appointment to the court could "radically transform" laws governing land ownership, gun rights and religious freedom and says, "Tell Senator Grassley, keep fighting for the right of Iowans to decide the Supreme Court's future."</p>
<p>The conservative Judicial Crisis Network said it will begin a two-week, $2 million TV ad campaign on Monday supporting GOP senators in Iowa, New Hampshire and Ohio and pressuring Democrats from Colorado, North Dakota and West Virginia.</p>
<p>Also, groups including the Tea Party Patriots and the anti-abortion Susan B. Anthony List were planning to send members to town hall meetings in states like Iowa and New Hampshire to show their backing for blocking consideration of Garland and were organizing phone calls to lawmakers' offices to register support.</p>
<p>Still, Republicans were mindful of the risks of closing their doors to this nominee, while past Supreme Court candidates had paid visits shortly after their nomination with little controversy.</p>
<p>McConnell tried to pre-empt the spectacle by talking with Garland by phone Wednesday. He wished him well, his office said. Grassley, who also talked to Garland, agreed to meet with him - just not immediately.</p>
<p>A growing group of senators took that approach, including Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona.</p>
<p>"I meet with anybody, and that would include him," Flake said.</p>
<p>Flake said if a Democrat such as Hillary Clinton were elected president in November, he would want the Senate to consider Garland's nomination during a postelection, lame duck session because "between him and somebody that a President Clinton might nominate, I think the choice is clear."</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press writer Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.</p>
|
Courtesy for court nominee - from Dems - as battle lines set
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/742291/courtesy-for-court-nominee-_-from-dems-_-as-battle-lines-set.html
| 2least
|
Courtesy for court nominee - from Dems - as battle lines set
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>A day after his selection set the battle lines in a major fight over the court, President Barack Obama's choice to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia met only with Democratic leaders on Thursday - steering clear of the Republican leader who has vowed the Senate will ignore Garland's nomination and wait for the next president to fill the seat.</p>
<p>For Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, the Capitol visit was a stunt "orchestrated" by the White House, his spokesman said. But for Democrats, it was just the opening salvo in a public campaign to make Garland the best-known victim of Republican obstruction and a household name in every election battleground state.</p>
<p>Garland met separately with Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada. After the meeting with Leahy, the mild mannered jurist faced a throng of reporters and clicking cameras, but said nothing.</p>
<p>Judge Merrick Garland</p>
<p>Said Leahy: "I talked to him about where the hurdles are, and I talked to him about what I thought would happen if we actually follow the oath that we've all taken to uphold the Constitution."</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Reid also said he braced the judge for the bombardment ahead.</p>
<p>"I just told him to be himself," Reid said. "I think he's willing to take whatever they can throw at him."</p>
<p>More than a dozen Senate Democrats stood in front of the Supreme Court, using the telegenic backdrop to underscore their calls for Republicans to give Garland a hearing. Democrats cited polling showing public support for Senate consideration of the nomination, and eagerly linked the court fight to Donald Trump - the volatile front-runner for the GOP nomination and a source of embarrassment for the Republican establishment.</p>
<p>"If Republicans stand in the way and refuse to do their job, it will only be because they want Donald Trump to pick the next nominee," said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.</p>
<p>The success of the Democrats' plans hinge in part on rallying their grass roots to the cause - a task complicated by Obama's nomination of a moderate with little public record on many issues valued by the progressive wing of the party.</p>
<p>In an interview with NPR, the president said he found the Republicans' argument that the electorate should weigh in "puzzling."</p>
<p>"Well, in fact the American people did decide - back in 2012 when they elected me president of the United States with sufficient electoral votes," Obama said.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Liberal and labor groups planned events next week, when the Senate is out of session and senators are back home, pressuring Republicans on their home turf. The events include teachers holding rallies in Cleveland, Cincinnati and Lima, Ohio, aimed at Sen. Rob Portman; union members mobilizing in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia and targeting Sen. Patrick Toomey, and activists attending town hall and other Iowa re-election events staged by Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley.</p>
<p>Republicans prepared their defense.</p>
<p>One Nation - run by Steven Law, a former McConnell chief of staff and the head the GOP-aligned American Crossroads super PAC - was beginning 10 days of television advertising on Friday in Des Moines, Iowa, aimed at supporting Grassley, a key opponent of confirming an Obama nominee.</p>
<p>The ad says an Obama appointment to the court could "radically transform" laws governing land ownership, gun rights and religious freedom and says, "Tell Senator Grassley, keep fighting for the right of Iowans to decide the Supreme Court's future."</p>
<p>The conservative Judicial Crisis Network said it will begin a two-week, $2 million TV ad campaign on Monday supporting GOP senators in Iowa, New Hampshire and Ohio and pressuring Democrats from Colorado, North Dakota and West Virginia.</p>
<p>Also, groups including the Tea Party Patriots and the anti-abortion Susan B. Anthony List were planning to send members to town hall meetings in states like Iowa and New Hampshire to show their backing for blocking consideration of Garland and were organizing phone calls to lawmakers' offices to register support.</p>
<p>Still, Republicans were mindful of the risks of closing their doors to this nominee, while past Supreme Court candidates had paid visits shortly after their nomination with little controversy.</p>
<p>McConnell tried to pre-empt the spectacle by talking with Garland by phone Wednesday. He wished him well, his office said. Grassley, who also talked to Garland, agreed to meet with him - just not immediately.</p>
<p>A growing group of senators took that approach, including Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona.</p>
<p>"I meet with anybody, and that would include him," Flake said.</p>
<p>Flake said if a Democrat such as Hillary Clinton were elected president in November, he would want the Senate to consider Garland's nomination during a postelection, lame duck session because "between him and somebody that a President Clinton might nominate, I think the choice is clear."</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press writer Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.</p>
| 7,554 |
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<p>Mr. Claus was not about to peaceably accept the onslaught of terrible seasonal pop songs played in his honor. The cops drew the line at public urination, though.&lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/12836528@N00/3124443099/"&gt;Kevin Dooley&lt;/a&gt;/Flickr</p>
<p>By now, it’s almost impossible to remember a time when local radio stations weren’t blasting Christmas/winter/secular-Santa music 24/7. You’ve probably heard the holiday stylings of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXQViqx6GMY" type="external">Mariah Carey</a>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8gmARGvPlI" type="external">Wham!</a>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikZUbZnftLs" type="external">Miley Cyrus</a>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hAUWyp0qzs" type="external">Alvin and the Chipmunks</a>, and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5-OC_5rksk" type="external">Gene Autry</a> enough times in the past few weeks to recall the lyrics as well as you would your mother’s maiden name.</p>
<p>And to get you through the remainder of the holiday blitz, here are seven Christmas songs that don’t in fact suck. We’ve got Ike &amp; Tina Turner, John Lennon, and oddball community college students from <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/alyssa/2011/12/09/385817/community-open-thread-annie-angst/" type="external">that NBC sitcom nobody watches</a>. In the event that you are seeking more diversity in terms of musical epochs, many apologies in advance for most of these songs being of a “classic” variety. ( <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/the-new-issue-of-rolling-stone-kings-of-leons-god-fearing-booze-swilling-rise-20090415" type="external">Kings of Leon</a> probably could’ve come up with a pretty sweet contemporary Xmas jingle, but it just so happens that they find the holiday hugely “ <a href="http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2008/12/29/kings_of_leon_find_christmas_depressing_" type="external">depressing</a>.”)</p>
<p>1. James Brown, “Please Come Home for Christmas”: This 1960 blues song by <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCxvCAxHRUw" type="external">Charles Brown</a> has been covered to death: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5qVt91Z1R0" type="external">Aaron Neville</a>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hERLpX9nlM8" type="external">Willie Nelson</a>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slTYj2h6OfY" type="external">Bon Jovi</a>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeShHAZk3to" type="external">the Eagles</a>. But the Hardest Working Man in Show Business recorded the most tastefully ragged version. (As his final act of impeccable style, the Godfather of Soul died <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6673665" type="external">on Christmas Day 2006</a>.)</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>2. The cast of NBC’s Community, “Baby Boomer Santa”: Glee aired <a href="http://poptimal.com/2011/12/glee-review-have-yourself-an-extraordinary-merry-christmas/" type="external">this Christmas episode</a> in 2011. And <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/celebritology/post/community-celebrates-christmas-by-ripping-into-glee-video/2011/12/09/gIQAj7T3hO_blog.html" type="external">this</a> Christmas episode of Community that spends 21 minutes tearing into Glee is way, way better. “ <a href="http://www.avclub.com/articles/regional-holiday-music,66270/" type="external">Regional Holiday Music</a>” features six original songs (see <a href="http://vimeo.com/33451025" type="external">here</a>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3Tiapqz-Zc" type="external">here</a>, and <a href="http://community-sitcom.wikia.com/wiki/Happy_Birthday_Jesus!" type="external">here</a>), but the genre-shifting “ <a href="http://w316.wrzuta.pl/film/a1aRy5fzj2g/community_-_baby_boomer_santa" type="external">Baby Boomer Santa</a>” holds up best after repeat listens.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lN4pFNCYYJw" type="external">song</a> posits that Jolly Ol’ St. Nick was responsible for everything in the second half of the 20th century, from fake butter to the Iron Curtain. Here’s a taste of the beautifully nonsensical lyrics: “Santa fought at Woodstock and Vietnam/And smoked a ton of acid and burnt his bra!”</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>3. John Lennon, “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)”: Lennon recorded this anti-Vietnam War song with the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gedqNpd_90g" type="external">Plastic Ono Band</a> and the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/yokoonoofficial/2892805629/" type="external">Harlem Community Choir</a> in 1971. With the <a href="" type="internal">official end</a> to the American war effort in Iraq, and with the holiday <a href="http://www.edmontonsun.com/2011/12/16/soldiers-home-in-time-for-christmas" type="external">homecoming</a> of servicemembers, the song takes on a whole new meaning.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>4. Ike &amp; Tina Turner, “Merry Christmas Baby”: Here’s another blues and R&amp;B Christmastime staple, which has been performed by every artist from <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDV0Y6UK0zs" type="external">B.B. King</a> to (ugh) <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBuY2A97ESY" type="external">Hanson</a>. With the possible exception of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEyV8gnC4aQ" type="external">Otis Redding</a>, Ike &amp; Tina Turner cranked out the best rendition. The duo’s patented gospel-stomp and funk edge are on full display here:</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>5. Keith Richards, “Run Rudolph Run”: For his inaugural single as a solo artist, the Rolling Stones guitar player swaggered-out his take on the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wfZUSw2g-4" type="external">Chuck Berry</a> Christmas classic. This is from way back in 1978, when Richards’ youthful howl was firmly intact.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>6. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town”: You’ve heard the song at least 8 trillion times since you were born. The Boss somehow managed to make it cool. When Springsteen <a href="http://www.spin.com/articles/bruce-springsteen-triumphs-bonnaroo" type="external">headlined Bonnaroo</a> in June 2009, attendees pleaded with him to perform it, to which he replied, “It’s too fucking hot for Santa.” And then the band <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeJ1ldwXQdk" type="external">played it anyway</a>, never minding the season or temperature.</p>
<p>Here’s concert footage from 2007:</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>7. <a href="http://www.georgethorogood.com/" type="external">George Thorogood and the Destroyers</a>, “Rock and Roll Christmas”: This video is really cheesy…and also perversely captivating. Don’t ask questions; just go with it.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Please recommend your favorite Christmas (or Hanukkah, Boxing Day, and Kwanzaa) songs in the comments section.</p>
<p>Have awesome holidays, MoJo readers, and remember to check out <a href="" type="internal">more music features</a>—interviews, playlists, concert reviews, and much more—from Mother Jones.</p>
|
7 Christmas Songs That Don’t Suck
| true |
https://motherjones.com/politics/2011/12/christmas-songs-that-dont-suck/
|
2011-12-19
| 4left
|
7 Christmas Songs That Don’t Suck
<p>Mr. Claus was not about to peaceably accept the onslaught of terrible seasonal pop songs played in his honor. The cops drew the line at public urination, though.&lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/12836528@N00/3124443099/"&gt;Kevin Dooley&lt;/a&gt;/Flickr</p>
<p>By now, it’s almost impossible to remember a time when local radio stations weren’t blasting Christmas/winter/secular-Santa music 24/7. You’ve probably heard the holiday stylings of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXQViqx6GMY" type="external">Mariah Carey</a>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8gmARGvPlI" type="external">Wham!</a>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikZUbZnftLs" type="external">Miley Cyrus</a>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hAUWyp0qzs" type="external">Alvin and the Chipmunks</a>, and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5-OC_5rksk" type="external">Gene Autry</a> enough times in the past few weeks to recall the lyrics as well as you would your mother’s maiden name.</p>
<p>And to get you through the remainder of the holiday blitz, here are seven Christmas songs that don’t in fact suck. We’ve got Ike &amp; Tina Turner, John Lennon, and oddball community college students from <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/alyssa/2011/12/09/385817/community-open-thread-annie-angst/" type="external">that NBC sitcom nobody watches</a>. In the event that you are seeking more diversity in terms of musical epochs, many apologies in advance for most of these songs being of a “classic” variety. ( <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/the-new-issue-of-rolling-stone-kings-of-leons-god-fearing-booze-swilling-rise-20090415" type="external">Kings of Leon</a> probably could’ve come up with a pretty sweet contemporary Xmas jingle, but it just so happens that they find the holiday hugely “ <a href="http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2008/12/29/kings_of_leon_find_christmas_depressing_" type="external">depressing</a>.”)</p>
<p>1. James Brown, “Please Come Home for Christmas”: This 1960 blues song by <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCxvCAxHRUw" type="external">Charles Brown</a> has been covered to death: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5qVt91Z1R0" type="external">Aaron Neville</a>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hERLpX9nlM8" type="external">Willie Nelson</a>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slTYj2h6OfY" type="external">Bon Jovi</a>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeShHAZk3to" type="external">the Eagles</a>. But the Hardest Working Man in Show Business recorded the most tastefully ragged version. (As his final act of impeccable style, the Godfather of Soul died <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6673665" type="external">on Christmas Day 2006</a>.)</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>2. The cast of NBC’s Community, “Baby Boomer Santa”: Glee aired <a href="http://poptimal.com/2011/12/glee-review-have-yourself-an-extraordinary-merry-christmas/" type="external">this Christmas episode</a> in 2011. And <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/celebritology/post/community-celebrates-christmas-by-ripping-into-glee-video/2011/12/09/gIQAj7T3hO_blog.html" type="external">this</a> Christmas episode of Community that spends 21 minutes tearing into Glee is way, way better. “ <a href="http://www.avclub.com/articles/regional-holiday-music,66270/" type="external">Regional Holiday Music</a>” features six original songs (see <a href="http://vimeo.com/33451025" type="external">here</a>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3Tiapqz-Zc" type="external">here</a>, and <a href="http://community-sitcom.wikia.com/wiki/Happy_Birthday_Jesus!" type="external">here</a>), but the genre-shifting “ <a href="http://w316.wrzuta.pl/film/a1aRy5fzj2g/community_-_baby_boomer_santa" type="external">Baby Boomer Santa</a>” holds up best after repeat listens.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lN4pFNCYYJw" type="external">song</a> posits that Jolly Ol’ St. Nick was responsible for everything in the second half of the 20th century, from fake butter to the Iron Curtain. Here’s a taste of the beautifully nonsensical lyrics: “Santa fought at Woodstock and Vietnam/And smoked a ton of acid and burnt his bra!”</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>3. John Lennon, “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)”: Lennon recorded this anti-Vietnam War song with the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gedqNpd_90g" type="external">Plastic Ono Band</a> and the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/yokoonoofficial/2892805629/" type="external">Harlem Community Choir</a> in 1971. With the <a href="" type="internal">official end</a> to the American war effort in Iraq, and with the holiday <a href="http://www.edmontonsun.com/2011/12/16/soldiers-home-in-time-for-christmas" type="external">homecoming</a> of servicemembers, the song takes on a whole new meaning.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>4. Ike &amp; Tina Turner, “Merry Christmas Baby”: Here’s another blues and R&amp;B Christmastime staple, which has been performed by every artist from <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDV0Y6UK0zs" type="external">B.B. King</a> to (ugh) <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBuY2A97ESY" type="external">Hanson</a>. With the possible exception of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEyV8gnC4aQ" type="external">Otis Redding</a>, Ike &amp; Tina Turner cranked out the best rendition. The duo’s patented gospel-stomp and funk edge are on full display here:</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>5. Keith Richards, “Run Rudolph Run”: For his inaugural single as a solo artist, the Rolling Stones guitar player swaggered-out his take on the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wfZUSw2g-4" type="external">Chuck Berry</a> Christmas classic. This is from way back in 1978, when Richards’ youthful howl was firmly intact.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>6. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town”: You’ve heard the song at least 8 trillion times since you were born. The Boss somehow managed to make it cool. When Springsteen <a href="http://www.spin.com/articles/bruce-springsteen-triumphs-bonnaroo" type="external">headlined Bonnaroo</a> in June 2009, attendees pleaded with him to perform it, to which he replied, “It’s too fucking hot for Santa.” And then the band <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeJ1ldwXQdk" type="external">played it anyway</a>, never minding the season or temperature.</p>
<p>Here’s concert footage from 2007:</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>7. <a href="http://www.georgethorogood.com/" type="external">George Thorogood and the Destroyers</a>, “Rock and Roll Christmas”: This video is really cheesy…and also perversely captivating. Don’t ask questions; just go with it.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Please recommend your favorite Christmas (or Hanukkah, Boxing Day, and Kwanzaa) songs in the comments section.</p>
<p>Have awesome holidays, MoJo readers, and remember to check out <a href="" type="internal">more music features</a>—interviews, playlists, concert reviews, and much more—from Mother Jones.</p>
| 7,555 |
<p>Pounding rains have <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/south-korea/110727/south-korea-landslides-seoul-flash-floods" type="external">turned Seoul's streets to canals</a> and left more than 50 dead or missing in South Korea.</p>
<p>That's bad enough. Compounding the problem are land mines, planted by the rival North Koreans along the DMZ.</p>
<p>According to the Korea Herald, <a href="http://www.koreaherald.com/national/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20110728000783" type="external">more than 10 mines, planted in wooden boxes, have been discovered</a> by the South Korean army after the torrential floods.&#160;North Korean mines dislodged by heavy rains actually killed a South Korean last year and left another injured.</p>
<p>The floating mines are a reminder of just how close Seoul sits to the heavily fortified demarcation line drawn after the Korean War in 1953.</p>
<p>A defense ministry official told the Associated Press that southward floating mines <a href="http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Parts-of-North-Korean-land-mines-wash-up-in-South-1632364.php" type="external">were likely accidental and not intentionally sent downstream</a> by the North Koreas.</p>
|
North Korean land mines wash into Seoul
| false |
https://pri.org/stories/2011-07-29/north-korean-land-mines-wash-seoul
|
2011-07-29
| 3left-center
|
North Korean land mines wash into Seoul
<p>Pounding rains have <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/south-korea/110727/south-korea-landslides-seoul-flash-floods" type="external">turned Seoul's streets to canals</a> and left more than 50 dead or missing in South Korea.</p>
<p>That's bad enough. Compounding the problem are land mines, planted by the rival North Koreans along the DMZ.</p>
<p>According to the Korea Herald, <a href="http://www.koreaherald.com/national/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20110728000783" type="external">more than 10 mines, planted in wooden boxes, have been discovered</a> by the South Korean army after the torrential floods.&#160;North Korean mines dislodged by heavy rains actually killed a South Korean last year and left another injured.</p>
<p>The floating mines are a reminder of just how close Seoul sits to the heavily fortified demarcation line drawn after the Korean War in 1953.</p>
<p>A defense ministry official told the Associated Press that southward floating mines <a href="http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Parts-of-North-Korean-land-mines-wash-up-in-South-1632364.php" type="external">were likely accidental and not intentionally sent downstream</a> by the North Koreas.</p>
| 7,556 |
<p>It is with as much embarrassment as pundits are able to muster that I am forced to acknowledge that the Texas Board of Education may now consider itself vindicated by none other than some school administrators in a town in what is one of the more enlightened (but for its choice of Senator) states in the country. It was but a few weeks ago that this writer mocked Texas for having adopted standards for its science textbooks that contradicted any notion that evolution had affected the board’s members.</p>
<p>Confronted by evolution and global warming the Texas board insisted that its textbooks examine “all sides of scientific evidence” which includes the notion that the earth is but 6000 years old, give or take a couple hundred. The Discovery Institute that doesn’t discover contemporary truths, trumpeted what it called a “huge victory for those who favor teaching the scientific evidence for and against evolution.”</p>
<p>Dr. Don McLeroy, a dentist and probably a very good one, who headed the Texas Board of Education at the time of this triumph of rhyme over reason described the decision as winning “the Grand Slam and the Super Bowl.” Not content with such hyperbole he went on to say that: “Our science standards are light years ahead of any other state when it comes to challenging evolution.”</p>
<p>The school administrators responsible for the Weston Intermediate School, though probably not sympathetic with the successes of the Texas board, have shown that they are sensitive to the feelings of those who are troubled by the thought that they have evolved from forms they find not pleasing to contemplate. Our teacher about evolutionary matters in the Weston Connecticut school district is Mark Tangarone, a teacher in the Talented and Gifted Program (TAG).</p>
<p>Mr. Tangarone has been a teacher in the Weston school system for the last 17 years. His last day of teaching in the district will take place on the last day of the current school year. Mr. Tangarone is leaving because of evolution. His problems with the concept began in 2008.</p>
<p>In 2008 he created a program around the fact that Lincoln and Darwin were born on the same day in the same year. A part of the program dealt with Darwin’s journey to Australia and Asia and included a discussion about evolution. Mr. Tangarone submitted an outline of the program to Dr. Mark Ribbens who was then the school’s principal.</p>
<p>Dr. Ribbens rejected the proposed program because of its discussion of evolution. In an e-mail, a medium that is an obvious result of evolution, Dr. Ribbens way gave evolution credit for being a “robust scientific theory” that nonetheless provided a philosophically unsatisfactory explanation for the diversity of life.” He went on to explain that evolution “touches on a core belief-Do we share common ancestry with other living organisms? What does it mean to be a human being. . . . I know personally that I would be challenged in leading a 10-year old through this sort of discussion while maintaining the appropriate sensitivity to a family’s religious beliefs or traditions.”</p>
<p>Dr. Ribbens concluded by saying evolution was not age appropriate for Mr. Tangarone’s students and said “TAG topics need to be altered this year to eliminate the teaching of Darwin’s work and the theory of evolution.”</p>
<p>Defending Dr. Ribbens, John Drummond and Carolyn Vinton, the Weston curriculum instructional leaders, said that the schools address evolution in what they call a “developmentally appropriate manner”. The lessons are taught in kindergarten and grades 3, 8 9 and 10, as the students themselves are evolving.</p>
<p>Mr. Tangarone appealed Dr. Ribbens’ decision to the Assistant Superintendent, Tom Scarice who rejected the appeal. On February 12, 2010, Mr. Tangarone sent a letter to the school board announcing his retirement because of the censorship of his proposed program. Jerry Belaire, the school superintendent, said that the dispute had nothing to do with teaching evolution but said the 17-year veteran teacher was a disgruntled teacher who did not like being supervised and had been disciplined for attendance issues and insubordinate conduct, charges denied by Mr. Tangarone.</p>
<p>Many Weston parents, having evolved more than the members of the administration, have expressed concern and the school board has vowed to examine the circumstances surrounding the resignation. Dr. Ritter, meanwhile, has apologized for his e-mail to Mr. Tangarone saying: “Some of the things I said were written in the heat of the moment and could be wrong. If so, shame on me.” To that one can only add shame on the administration that attempted to cover up a patently absurd decision by attempting to impugn the integrity of Mr. Tangarone.</p>
<p>As the president of the school board said, speaking of Mr. Taggarone: “On a personal note, both of my children were fortunate to have Mark, and this is a real loss for our system.” That observation suggests that Weston may yet prove itself different from, and further evolved than, Texas.</p>
<p>CHRISTOPHER BRAUCHLI is a lawyer in Boulder, Colorado. He can be e-mailed at <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>.</p>
<p />
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<p><a href="http://greentags.bigcartel.com/" type="external">WORDS THAT STICK</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p>
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|
You Say You Want to Teach Some Evolution, Well, You Know …
| true |
https://counterpunch.org/2010/05/07/you-say-you-want-to-teach-some-evolution-well-you-know/
|
2010-05-07
| 4left
|
You Say You Want to Teach Some Evolution, Well, You Know …
<p>It is with as much embarrassment as pundits are able to muster that I am forced to acknowledge that the Texas Board of Education may now consider itself vindicated by none other than some school administrators in a town in what is one of the more enlightened (but for its choice of Senator) states in the country. It was but a few weeks ago that this writer mocked Texas for having adopted standards for its science textbooks that contradicted any notion that evolution had affected the board’s members.</p>
<p>Confronted by evolution and global warming the Texas board insisted that its textbooks examine “all sides of scientific evidence” which includes the notion that the earth is but 6000 years old, give or take a couple hundred. The Discovery Institute that doesn’t discover contemporary truths, trumpeted what it called a “huge victory for those who favor teaching the scientific evidence for and against evolution.”</p>
<p>Dr. Don McLeroy, a dentist and probably a very good one, who headed the Texas Board of Education at the time of this triumph of rhyme over reason described the decision as winning “the Grand Slam and the Super Bowl.” Not content with such hyperbole he went on to say that: “Our science standards are light years ahead of any other state when it comes to challenging evolution.”</p>
<p>The school administrators responsible for the Weston Intermediate School, though probably not sympathetic with the successes of the Texas board, have shown that they are sensitive to the feelings of those who are troubled by the thought that they have evolved from forms they find not pleasing to contemplate. Our teacher about evolutionary matters in the Weston Connecticut school district is Mark Tangarone, a teacher in the Talented and Gifted Program (TAG).</p>
<p>Mr. Tangarone has been a teacher in the Weston school system for the last 17 years. His last day of teaching in the district will take place on the last day of the current school year. Mr. Tangarone is leaving because of evolution. His problems with the concept began in 2008.</p>
<p>In 2008 he created a program around the fact that Lincoln and Darwin were born on the same day in the same year. A part of the program dealt with Darwin’s journey to Australia and Asia and included a discussion about evolution. Mr. Tangarone submitted an outline of the program to Dr. Mark Ribbens who was then the school’s principal.</p>
<p>Dr. Ribbens rejected the proposed program because of its discussion of evolution. In an e-mail, a medium that is an obvious result of evolution, Dr. Ribbens way gave evolution credit for being a “robust scientific theory” that nonetheless provided a philosophically unsatisfactory explanation for the diversity of life.” He went on to explain that evolution “touches on a core belief-Do we share common ancestry with other living organisms? What does it mean to be a human being. . . . I know personally that I would be challenged in leading a 10-year old through this sort of discussion while maintaining the appropriate sensitivity to a family’s religious beliefs or traditions.”</p>
<p>Dr. Ribbens concluded by saying evolution was not age appropriate for Mr. Tangarone’s students and said “TAG topics need to be altered this year to eliminate the teaching of Darwin’s work and the theory of evolution.”</p>
<p>Defending Dr. Ribbens, John Drummond and Carolyn Vinton, the Weston curriculum instructional leaders, said that the schools address evolution in what they call a “developmentally appropriate manner”. The lessons are taught in kindergarten and grades 3, 8 9 and 10, as the students themselves are evolving.</p>
<p>Mr. Tangarone appealed Dr. Ribbens’ decision to the Assistant Superintendent, Tom Scarice who rejected the appeal. On February 12, 2010, Mr. Tangarone sent a letter to the school board announcing his retirement because of the censorship of his proposed program. Jerry Belaire, the school superintendent, said that the dispute had nothing to do with teaching evolution but said the 17-year veteran teacher was a disgruntled teacher who did not like being supervised and had been disciplined for attendance issues and insubordinate conduct, charges denied by Mr. Tangarone.</p>
<p>Many Weston parents, having evolved more than the members of the administration, have expressed concern and the school board has vowed to examine the circumstances surrounding the resignation. Dr. Ritter, meanwhile, has apologized for his e-mail to Mr. Tangarone saying: “Some of the things I said were written in the heat of the moment and could be wrong. If so, shame on me.” To that one can only add shame on the administration that attempted to cover up a patently absurd decision by attempting to impugn the integrity of Mr. Tangarone.</p>
<p>As the president of the school board said, speaking of Mr. Taggarone: “On a personal note, both of my children were fortunate to have Mark, and this is a real loss for our system.” That observation suggests that Weston may yet prove itself different from, and further evolved than, Texas.</p>
<p>CHRISTOPHER BRAUCHLI is a lawyer in Boulder, Colorado. He can be e-mailed at <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p><a href="http://greentags.bigcartel.com/" type="external">WORDS THAT STICK</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p>
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| 7,557 |
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<p>Does that include those children killed while being used as human shields by the Taliban? Where is Bergdahl’s concern for women who die from “honor killings” and for girls who are denied an education?</p>
<p>The up-front cost of this “prisoner exchange” is the release of five terrorists from the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay. Future costs could be much higher. Not to mention the fact that news of the controversial exchange knocked reports on the VA fiasco right off the front pages. Was this partly the administration’s intent?</p>
<p>Official U.S. policy has been “We don’t negotiate with terrorists.” Except when we do. Sgt. Bergdahl, America’s only prisoner of war, was reportedly in failing health after more than five years in captivity, and negotiations to secure his release were urgent and laborious, but freeing five dangerous men to secure the release of one soldier could very well put this country in increased danger. What should we have done? It depends upon the outcome one is seeking. If rescuing one man is paramount, then any price is worth it. But if that rescue leads to the deaths of others, as is likely, then the price is too high.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>In a joint statement after President Obama’s announcement of the terrorists’ release, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Howard P. McKeon (R-Calif.), and Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, spoke of “consequences for the rest of our forces and all Americans. Our terrorist adversaries now have a strong incentive to capture Americans.”</p>
<p>The five terrorists include two senior militant commanders alleged to have been implicated in murdering thousands of Shiites in Afghanistan. The five have been shipped to Qatar. President Obama says the Qatari government has assured him they will be subjected to security restrictions and won’t be a threat to the U.S. How does he know this? Even in a “moderate” Muslim state like Qatar, Islamic blood is thicker than the “water” of infidels.</p>
<p>The prisoner release is another in a growing list of executive actions that bypass Congress, which has imposed strict statutory restrictions on moving detainees out of Gitmo. These include a determination by the secretary of defense that any transfers are in America’s national security interests; that procedures are in place to substantially mitigate any future threats by the terrorists and, most importantly, that Congress receives notification 30 days before any planned release. Congress received no such notice. Once again, President Obama has circumvented the law.</p>
<p>The record of previous terrorist prisoners released from Gitmo is not a reason for confidence. According to a recent U.S. intelligence report, 603 prisoners have been freed from Guantanamo; 100 of them are confirmed to have returned to terrorism, and 74 former inmates are suspected of returning to terrorism.</p>
<p>Wayne Simmons, a former CIA operative, told <a href="http://Foxnews.com" type="external">Foxnews.com</a> what he observed during several visits to Gitmo: “These guys come in wounded, they take care of their wounds. No limbs? We give them brand-new prostheses. Turn them loose, guy goes home, picks up arms and uses that leg to help kill us.”</p>
<p>Brig. Gen. Jay Hood, who once ran Gitmo, confirmed this scenario in testimony before a House panel in 2005. About a detainee named Abdullah Mehsud, Gen. Hood said, “He came to us without one leg. … We fitted him with a prosthetic leg before he left while in U.S. custody.” The cost was reported to be between $50,000 and $75,000. After his release, Pakistani officials say he directed an attack in Pakistan that killed 31 people. Two months later, he blew himself up to avoid capture.</p>
<p>Radical Islamists are serious about killing in pursuit of their extreme objectives. Releasing their soldiers can only embolden them to take more Americans hostage. The deal for Sgt. Bergdahl may well turn out to have been a bargain with the devil.</p>
<p>E-mail: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>; copyright, Tribune Media Services.</p>
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<p />
|
Prisoner exchange a bad deal
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/410915/prisoner-exchange-a-bad-deal.html
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Prisoner exchange a bad deal
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Does that include those children killed while being used as human shields by the Taliban? Where is Bergdahl’s concern for women who die from “honor killings” and for girls who are denied an education?</p>
<p>The up-front cost of this “prisoner exchange” is the release of five terrorists from the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay. Future costs could be much higher. Not to mention the fact that news of the controversial exchange knocked reports on the VA fiasco right off the front pages. Was this partly the administration’s intent?</p>
<p>Official U.S. policy has been “We don’t negotiate with terrorists.” Except when we do. Sgt. Bergdahl, America’s only prisoner of war, was reportedly in failing health after more than five years in captivity, and negotiations to secure his release were urgent and laborious, but freeing five dangerous men to secure the release of one soldier could very well put this country in increased danger. What should we have done? It depends upon the outcome one is seeking. If rescuing one man is paramount, then any price is worth it. But if that rescue leads to the deaths of others, as is likely, then the price is too high.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>In a joint statement after President Obama’s announcement of the terrorists’ release, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Howard P. McKeon (R-Calif.), and Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, spoke of “consequences for the rest of our forces and all Americans. Our terrorist adversaries now have a strong incentive to capture Americans.”</p>
<p>The five terrorists include two senior militant commanders alleged to have been implicated in murdering thousands of Shiites in Afghanistan. The five have been shipped to Qatar. President Obama says the Qatari government has assured him they will be subjected to security restrictions and won’t be a threat to the U.S. How does he know this? Even in a “moderate” Muslim state like Qatar, Islamic blood is thicker than the “water” of infidels.</p>
<p>The prisoner release is another in a growing list of executive actions that bypass Congress, which has imposed strict statutory restrictions on moving detainees out of Gitmo. These include a determination by the secretary of defense that any transfers are in America’s national security interests; that procedures are in place to substantially mitigate any future threats by the terrorists and, most importantly, that Congress receives notification 30 days before any planned release. Congress received no such notice. Once again, President Obama has circumvented the law.</p>
<p>The record of previous terrorist prisoners released from Gitmo is not a reason for confidence. According to a recent U.S. intelligence report, 603 prisoners have been freed from Guantanamo; 100 of them are confirmed to have returned to terrorism, and 74 former inmates are suspected of returning to terrorism.</p>
<p>Wayne Simmons, a former CIA operative, told <a href="http://Foxnews.com" type="external">Foxnews.com</a> what he observed during several visits to Gitmo: “These guys come in wounded, they take care of their wounds. No limbs? We give them brand-new prostheses. Turn them loose, guy goes home, picks up arms and uses that leg to help kill us.”</p>
<p>Brig. Gen. Jay Hood, who once ran Gitmo, confirmed this scenario in testimony before a House panel in 2005. About a detainee named Abdullah Mehsud, Gen. Hood said, “He came to us without one leg. … We fitted him with a prosthetic leg before he left while in U.S. custody.” The cost was reported to be between $50,000 and $75,000. After his release, Pakistani officials say he directed an attack in Pakistan that killed 31 people. Two months later, he blew himself up to avoid capture.</p>
<p>Radical Islamists are serious about killing in pursuit of their extreme objectives. Releasing their soldiers can only embolden them to take more Americans hostage. The deal for Sgt. Bergdahl may well turn out to have been a bargain with the devil.</p>
<p>E-mail: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>; copyright, Tribune Media Services.</p>
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<p>Most of the 820 suspects were detained Sunday in raids carried out in 29 different cities, the statement said, but gave no details on their suspected ties to the Islamic State.</p>
<p>It was a believed to be the largest operation by the Turkish authorities against the militant group, and came five weeks after the Islamic State claimed links to a rampage by a lone gunman that killed dozens of people at a nightclub in Istanbul as revelers welcomed 2017.</p>
<p>Turkey has steadily intensified its anti-terror operations since December, when the country was shaken by a string of attacks that came in rapid succession. They included the car bombing of a stadium in central Istanbul, claimed by Kurdish militants, and the assassination of Russia’s ambassador to Turkey in Ankara, the Turkish capital.</p>
<p>In a scene captured by journalists, the diplomat’s assassin, Mevlut Mert Altintas, invoked the bloodshed in the Syrian city of Aleppo, as the stricken ambassador, Andrei Karlov, lay nearby.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Turkey’s own deepening military involvement in the Syrian war has led to widening political divisions at home and exposed it a growing threat of retaliation from the Islamic State. Turkish troops launched an offensive last summer against the Islamic State-held town of Jarabulus. For the last few months, the Turkish military has taken heavy casualties as it attempts to dislodge the militant group from Al-Bab, a border town in Syria.</p>
<p>Turkey’s president, Reçep Tayyip Erdogan – one of the region’s most stalwart backers of rebel groups fighting against the Syrian government – has more recently shifted course. Turkey has teamed up with Russia, an ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad, in trying to negotiate a political settlement to end the nearly six-year conflict.</p>
<p>In November, Abu Bakr el-Baghdadi, the Islamic State’s leader, released an audio message calling on followers to add Turkey to “your list of battlefields.”</p>
<p>After the New Year’s day assault on the Reina nightclub, the Islamic State released a statement framing the killings as retribution for Turkish shelling and airstrikes on the militant group in Syria.</p>
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Turkey detains more than 800 people in operation against Islamic State
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<p />
<p>Most of the 820 suspects were detained Sunday in raids carried out in 29 different cities, the statement said, but gave no details on their suspected ties to the Islamic State.</p>
<p>It was a believed to be the largest operation by the Turkish authorities against the militant group, and came five weeks after the Islamic State claimed links to a rampage by a lone gunman that killed dozens of people at a nightclub in Istanbul as revelers welcomed 2017.</p>
<p>Turkey has steadily intensified its anti-terror operations since December, when the country was shaken by a string of attacks that came in rapid succession. They included the car bombing of a stadium in central Istanbul, claimed by Kurdish militants, and the assassination of Russia’s ambassador to Turkey in Ankara, the Turkish capital.</p>
<p>In a scene captured by journalists, the diplomat’s assassin, Mevlut Mert Altintas, invoked the bloodshed in the Syrian city of Aleppo, as the stricken ambassador, Andrei Karlov, lay nearby.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Turkey’s own deepening military involvement in the Syrian war has led to widening political divisions at home and exposed it a growing threat of retaliation from the Islamic State. Turkish troops launched an offensive last summer against the Islamic State-held town of Jarabulus. For the last few months, the Turkish military has taken heavy casualties as it attempts to dislodge the militant group from Al-Bab, a border town in Syria.</p>
<p>Turkey’s president, Reçep Tayyip Erdogan – one of the region’s most stalwart backers of rebel groups fighting against the Syrian government – has more recently shifted course. Turkey has teamed up with Russia, an ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad, in trying to negotiate a political settlement to end the nearly six-year conflict.</p>
<p>In November, Abu Bakr el-Baghdadi, the Islamic State’s leader, released an audio message calling on followers to add Turkey to “your list of battlefields.”</p>
<p>After the New Year’s day assault on the Reina nightclub, the Islamic State released a statement framing the killings as retribution for Turkish shelling and airstrikes on the militant group in Syria.</p>
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<p>A popular restaurant at Trump Plaza is suing the Atlantic City casino, asking a judge to permit it to keep operating after the casino shuts down on Sept. 16.</p>
<p>The Rainforest Cafe, whose parent company owns the Golden Nugget in Atlantic City, wants a judge to force Trump Entertainment Resorts to allow the restaurant to stay open for 90 days after the closing.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>That would give the cafe time to connect its own utilities and continue operating independently of the casino.</p>
<p>Steve Scheinthal, general counsel for Houston, Texas-based Landry's Inc., says the cafe's customers enter and leave through the Boardwalk, and have nothing to do with the casino.</p>
<p>The issue has also arisen this week with HQ, a club at the now-closed Revel, which also wants to stay open.</p>
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Rainforest Cafe sues Trump Plaza, seeks to operate after casino closing
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Rainforest Cafe sues Trump Plaza, seeks to operate after casino closing
<p>A popular restaurant at Trump Plaza is suing the Atlantic City casino, asking a judge to permit it to keep operating after the casino shuts down on Sept. 16.</p>
<p>The Rainforest Cafe, whose parent company owns the Golden Nugget in Atlantic City, wants a judge to force Trump Entertainment Resorts to allow the restaurant to stay open for 90 days after the closing.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>That would give the cafe time to connect its own utilities and continue operating independently of the casino.</p>
<p>Steve Scheinthal, general counsel for Houston, Texas-based Landry's Inc., says the cafe's customers enter and leave through the Boardwalk, and have nothing to do with the casino.</p>
<p>The issue has also arisen this week with HQ, a club at the now-closed Revel, which also wants to stay open.</p>
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<p>(Connect the dots between the fact that there is coltan in Congo and the bloodshed there.) It's a mineral that can be easily mined on a low tech basis, so it can be done by anyone in the region. So the rival factions either control the coltan deposits directly or small groups of people will mine it and then the armed groups will extract taxes of pay offs. (Is this a story of blood phone?) That's an exaggeration. If you're in Congo, coltan is valuable, it's contributing to the war, but less than 2% of the world's coltan comes out of Congo. (Where in your phone do you find coltan?) it's used in something called a capacitor which is a very common component in all sorts of electric devices. Coltan is resistant to corrosion and also has a high melting point. (How important is it to Nkunda to be in control of Congo's coltan?) I think minerals in general, coltan, tin, cobolt, is the way all armies there finance themselves. (Do companies have strategies in place for dealing with receiving coltan from Congo?) This was a big issue in 2000 when there was a huge spike in the price of coltan and at that time a number of companies took steps to ensure their suppliers were not sourcing coltan from conflict regions, and they still do that today. But when the mineral has been refined it's impossible to tell where it's come from and it'd be impossible to say that some coltan is not coming from Congo.</p>
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Congo and your cellphone
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https://pri.org/stories/2008-11-21/congo-and-your-cellphone
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2008-11-21
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Congo and your cellphone
<p>(Connect the dots between the fact that there is coltan in Congo and the bloodshed there.) It's a mineral that can be easily mined on a low tech basis, so it can be done by anyone in the region. So the rival factions either control the coltan deposits directly or small groups of people will mine it and then the armed groups will extract taxes of pay offs. (Is this a story of blood phone?) That's an exaggeration. If you're in Congo, coltan is valuable, it's contributing to the war, but less than 2% of the world's coltan comes out of Congo. (Where in your phone do you find coltan?) it's used in something called a capacitor which is a very common component in all sorts of electric devices. Coltan is resistant to corrosion and also has a high melting point. (How important is it to Nkunda to be in control of Congo's coltan?) I think minerals in general, coltan, tin, cobolt, is the way all armies there finance themselves. (Do companies have strategies in place for dealing with receiving coltan from Congo?) This was a big issue in 2000 when there was a huge spike in the price of coltan and at that time a number of companies took steps to ensure their suppliers were not sourcing coltan from conflict regions, and they still do that today. But when the mineral has been refined it's impossible to tell where it's come from and it'd be impossible to say that some coltan is not coming from Congo.</p>
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<p>Shares of Hawaii-based ocean shipping company Matson Inc. tumbled 10% toward a 7 1/2-month low in morning trade Wednesday, pressuring the Dow Jones Transportation Average to underperform the broader stock market by a wide margin, after a disappointing fourth-quarter report and outlook. Matson reported late Tuesday revenue that topped expectations but missed on profit, and said first-quarter ocean transportation income is expected to be less than half of what it was a year ago. The stock's price drop of $3.63 shaved about 22 points off the Dow transports. The index was down 100 points, with 19 of 20 components losing ground, compared with a 2-point, or less than 0.1% decline, in the Dow Jones Industrial Average . Among the other biggest decliners within the Dow transports, shares of United Parcel Service Inc. slid 1.7%, of JetBlue Airways Corp. shed 1.6% and of CSX Corp. gave up 1.4%. The lone gainer was Expeditors International of Washington Inc.'s stock , which tacked on 0.5%.</p>
<p>Copyright © 2017 MarketWatch, Inc.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
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Matson's Stock Tumble Pressures Dow Transports To a Triple-digit Loss
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2017-03-16
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Matson's Stock Tumble Pressures Dow Transports To a Triple-digit Loss
<p>Shares of Hawaii-based ocean shipping company Matson Inc. tumbled 10% toward a 7 1/2-month low in morning trade Wednesday, pressuring the Dow Jones Transportation Average to underperform the broader stock market by a wide margin, after a disappointing fourth-quarter report and outlook. Matson reported late Tuesday revenue that topped expectations but missed on profit, and said first-quarter ocean transportation income is expected to be less than half of what it was a year ago. The stock's price drop of $3.63 shaved about 22 points off the Dow transports. The index was down 100 points, with 19 of 20 components losing ground, compared with a 2-point, or less than 0.1% decline, in the Dow Jones Industrial Average . Among the other biggest decliners within the Dow transports, shares of United Parcel Service Inc. slid 1.7%, of JetBlue Airways Corp. shed 1.6% and of CSX Corp. gave up 1.4%. The lone gainer was Expeditors International of Washington Inc.'s stock , which tacked on 0.5%.</p>
<p>Copyright © 2017 MarketWatch, Inc.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
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<p>Marie Yniguez’s bucket list always contained a trip to New York City.</p>
<p>Little did she know that the Food Network would send her there for an episode of “Chopped.”</p>
<p>“I was there for a few extra days,” she says. “My days were changed for the show. So I got to enjoy New York City for three cool days before I taped for the show. It’s been on my bucket list and I was able to experience the food and the culture.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Yniguez is the chef and owner of Bocadillos at Green Jeans Farmery in Albuquerque.</p>
<p>The episode of “Chopped” airs at 8 tonight on Food Network.</p>
<p>“Chopped,” is hosted by Ted Allen and the series pits four chefs against one another as they compete for a chance to win $10,000. The chefs have to create an appetizer, an entree and a dessert.</p>
<p>The episode that Yniguez appears on is titled “Raw Deal” and has the competitors work with raw fish for the appetizer, then a wonder drink and beautiful peppers for the entree and a hefty salt block for the dessert round.</p>
<p>“I had never worked with any types of these items before,” she says. “At the beginning, I heard my grandma’s voice inside my head and I just went for it.”</p>
<p>Bocadillos makes all its meals from scratch, sourcing from local businesses and farms.</p>
<p>It started selling breakfast burritos the summer of 2009, later opening a small cafe in the South Valley to cater small business meetings, weddings and other events.</p>
<p>Bocadillos currently provides breakfast and lunch for more than 500 students a day for the Native American Community Academy.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Yniguez’s time on “Chopped” isn’t her first time on TV. In 2013, she appeared on “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.”</p>
<p>“The producers put out a casting call last summer and I never finished my application,” she says. “I had got so busy and a month later they called me and I finished it up. We did a couple of Skype interviews and it finally came together.”</p>
<p>Yniguez is a native New Mexican and self taught when it comes to cooking.</p>
<p>She picked things up from her family and has worked at honing her skills.</p>
<p>At Bocadillos, she often pulls around 12 hours a day and says her time in New York helped reinvigorate her.</p>
<p>“The heartbeat of New York is much faster and it suits me well,” she says. “There was so much to see and to eat. I wanted to take it all in and just learn about different types of food. The opportunity made me strive to learn more about cultures and food.”</p>
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Bocadillos chef getting big-time TV exposure
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Bocadillos chef getting big-time TV exposure
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<p />
<p>Marie Yniguez’s bucket list always contained a trip to New York City.</p>
<p>Little did she know that the Food Network would send her there for an episode of “Chopped.”</p>
<p>“I was there for a few extra days,” she says. “My days were changed for the show. So I got to enjoy New York City for three cool days before I taped for the show. It’s been on my bucket list and I was able to experience the food and the culture.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Yniguez is the chef and owner of Bocadillos at Green Jeans Farmery in Albuquerque.</p>
<p>The episode of “Chopped” airs at 8 tonight on Food Network.</p>
<p>“Chopped,” is hosted by Ted Allen and the series pits four chefs against one another as they compete for a chance to win $10,000. The chefs have to create an appetizer, an entree and a dessert.</p>
<p>The episode that Yniguez appears on is titled “Raw Deal” and has the competitors work with raw fish for the appetizer, then a wonder drink and beautiful peppers for the entree and a hefty salt block for the dessert round.</p>
<p>“I had never worked with any types of these items before,” she says. “At the beginning, I heard my grandma’s voice inside my head and I just went for it.”</p>
<p>Bocadillos makes all its meals from scratch, sourcing from local businesses and farms.</p>
<p>It started selling breakfast burritos the summer of 2009, later opening a small cafe in the South Valley to cater small business meetings, weddings and other events.</p>
<p>Bocadillos currently provides breakfast and lunch for more than 500 students a day for the Native American Community Academy.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Yniguez’s time on “Chopped” isn’t her first time on TV. In 2013, she appeared on “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.”</p>
<p>“The producers put out a casting call last summer and I never finished my application,” she says. “I had got so busy and a month later they called me and I finished it up. We did a couple of Skype interviews and it finally came together.”</p>
<p>Yniguez is a native New Mexican and self taught when it comes to cooking.</p>
<p>She picked things up from her family and has worked at honing her skills.</p>
<p>At Bocadillos, she often pulls around 12 hours a day and says her time in New York helped reinvigorate her.</p>
<p>“The heartbeat of New York is much faster and it suits me well,” she says. “There was so much to see and to eat. I wanted to take it all in and just learn about different types of food. The opportunity made me strive to learn more about cultures and food.”</p>
<p />
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<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Newly appointed District 2 City Councilor Roxanna Meyers has killed plans to install a roundabout at Rio Grande and Candelaria.</p>
<p>Meyers said she is basing her decision in part on a recent survey that shows 60 percent of the people who filled out the online survey oppose the roundabout. She said a reexamination of studies conducted by the city also led to her decision.</p>
<p>Jack Taylor, president of the Rio Grande Boulevard Neighborhood Association, said in an emailed statement that her decision “shows enormous disrespect for a legitimate public process.”</p>
<p>Meyer’s predecessor, Debbie O’Malley, had been working on the plan for many years, gathering public input along the way.</p>
<p>Opponents say the roundabout is unnecessary and cheaper measures could be used to improve safety at that intersection. But supporters say a roundabout is the safest solution.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
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https://abqjournal.com/173092/controversial-roundabout-plans-halted.html
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<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Newly appointed District 2 City Councilor Roxanna Meyers has killed plans to install a roundabout at Rio Grande and Candelaria.</p>
<p>Meyers said she is basing her decision in part on a recent survey that shows 60 percent of the people who filled out the online survey oppose the roundabout. She said a reexamination of studies conducted by the city also led to her decision.</p>
<p>Jack Taylor, president of the Rio Grande Boulevard Neighborhood Association, said in an emailed statement that her decision “shows enormous disrespect for a legitimate public process.”</p>
<p>Meyer’s predecessor, Debbie O’Malley, had been working on the plan for many years, gathering public input along the way.</p>
<p>Opponents say the roundabout is unnecessary and cheaper measures could be used to improve safety at that intersection. But supporters say a roundabout is the safest solution.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
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<p>The nation’s largest insurer could punch a hole through the middle of <a href="/topics/obamacare/" type="external">Obamacare</a> if it pulls out of the health care exchanges, leaving more than 1 million Americans in an unhealthy marketplace with only a single option for insurance.</p>
<p><a href="/topics/unitedhealth/" type="external">UnitedHealth</a> has already said it will cut participation in three states’ exchanges. If it also ends its involvement elsewhere, it would leave 11 percent of <a href="/topics/obamacare/" type="external">Obamacare</a> enrollees with just one insurer and another 18 percent with just two choices, according to the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation.</p>
<p>Having at least three insurers offering plans is considered a benchmark of healthy competition within the exchanges.</p>
<p>“The significance of United leaving the exchange market would vary substantially by state and could have a significant effect in some markets,” the Kaiser study said.</p>
<p><a href="/topics/unitedhealth/" type="external">UnitedHealth</a> hosts a call Tuesday to detail its first-quarter earnings, but it has already sent signals of discomfort with <a href="/topics/obamacare/" type="external">Obamacare</a>, saying it lost money on exchange plans last year and hasn’t pursued new customers this year.</p>
<p><a href="/topics/unitedhealth/" type="external">UnitedHealth</a> offers plans on exchanges in 34 states but said recently that it will drop out of Arkansas and Michigan next year and partially withdraw in Georgia.</p>
<p>The company’s sour outlook is roiling the waters at a pivotal time for Mr. Obama, who wants to put his law on firmer footing before the next president takes office in nine months.</p>
<p>More than half of <a href="/topics/obamacare/" type="external">Obamacare</a>’s nonprofit co-op plans have failed, raising questions about the extent of consumer choice on the portals.</p>
<p>“When it comes to competition on <a href="/topics/obamacare/" type="external">Obamacare</a>’s exchanges, HHS looks a lot like Kevin Bacon screaming ‘All is well!’ in Animal House,” said Sen. Ben Sasse, Nebraska Republican, referring to the film character’s futile appeal to stampeding paradegoers. “This year, 36 percent of the nation’s counties only have one or two insurers to choose from, and reports like this give little reason to suggest the outlook will improve.”</p>
<p><a href="/topics/unitedhealth/" type="external">UnitedHealth</a> took a cautious approach to the exchanges, offering plans in just four states in 2014, 23 states in 2015 and 34 this year, according to Kaiser.</p>
<p>It is still a relatively small player in the marketplace, accounting for 6 percent of <a href="/topics/obamacare/" type="external">Obamacare</a> customers overall.</p>
<p>Other major insurers have also taken losses but say they are ready to stick it out.</p>
<p>“Ideally, it would be better to have more competitors rather than fewer competitors in the marketplace, and I think it’s unfortunate if United is going to leave, but I don’t think these markets are collapsing,” said Timothy Jost, a law professor at Washington and Lee University in Virginia who closely tracks the health care debate.</p>
<p>The Health and Human Services Department said insurers will enter and exit the marketplace, but it has “full confidence” that the Affordable Care Act will thrive for years to come.</p>
<p>“The number of issuers per state has grown year over year,” HHS spokesman Benjamin Wakana said Monday. “With millions of Americans insured through the marketplaces, it’s clear that this is a growing business for insurers, and it’s a product consumers want and need. The marketplace should be judged by the choices it offers consumers, not the decisions of any one issuer.”</p>
<p>Kaiser said a complete exit by <a href="/topics/unitedhealth/" type="external">UnitedHealth</a> could force some <a href="/topics/obamacare/" type="external">Obamacare</a> enrollees to pay more, depending on how the company priced its plans in their markets.</p>
<p>Monthly premiums for the second-lowest-cost silver plan would be $25 to $100 higher for a 40-year-old in roughly 300 counties and more than $100 higher in 13 counties.</p>
<p>Nationwide, that popular plan would rise only about 1 percent if <a href="/topics/unitedhealth/" type="external">UnitedHealth</a> pulled out completely.</p>
<p>“Since <a href="/topics/unitedhealth/" type="external">UnitedHealth</a> often is not one of the lower cost plans, the effect nationally on premiums of an exit by the insurer would be modest,” Kaiser said.</p>
<p>Kaiser says premium increases would be most pronounced in Alabama, Arizona, Iowa, Nebraska and North Carolina, where United tends to offer lower prices than its competitors. For its study, Kaiser assumed that no other insurer would step in if <a href="/topics/unitedhealth/" type="external">UnitedHealth</a> left a given market.</p>
<p>Insurers will be filing their 2017 rate requests with state regulators over the next few months, but the administration last week said Americans should “put little stock” in the initial figures.</p>
<p>Despite the hue and cry over double-digit rate hikes in 2016, the average customer who qualified for subsidies purchased exchange coverage for $106 per month, a 4 percent increase over 2015, HHS said.</p>
<p>“Averages based on proposed premium changes are not a reliable indicator of what typical consumers will actually pay,” the agency said, “because tax credits reduce the cost of coverage for the vast majority of people, shopping gives all consumers a chance to find the best deal, and public rate review can bring down proposed increases.”</p>
<p>Copyright © 2018 The Washington Times, LLC. <a href="http://license.icopyright.net/3.7280?icx_id=/news/2016/apr/18/obamacare-premiums-would-spike-if-unitedhealth-wit/" type="external">Click here for reprint permission</a>.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
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UnitedHealth withdrawal from Obamacare would create unhealthy marketplace, study finds
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2016-04-18
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UnitedHealth withdrawal from Obamacare would create unhealthy marketplace, study finds
<p>The nation’s largest insurer could punch a hole through the middle of <a href="/topics/obamacare/" type="external">Obamacare</a> if it pulls out of the health care exchanges, leaving more than 1 million Americans in an unhealthy marketplace with only a single option for insurance.</p>
<p><a href="/topics/unitedhealth/" type="external">UnitedHealth</a> has already said it will cut participation in three states’ exchanges. If it also ends its involvement elsewhere, it would leave 11 percent of <a href="/topics/obamacare/" type="external">Obamacare</a> enrollees with just one insurer and another 18 percent with just two choices, according to the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation.</p>
<p>Having at least three insurers offering plans is considered a benchmark of healthy competition within the exchanges.</p>
<p>“The significance of United leaving the exchange market would vary substantially by state and could have a significant effect in some markets,” the Kaiser study said.</p>
<p><a href="/topics/unitedhealth/" type="external">UnitedHealth</a> hosts a call Tuesday to detail its first-quarter earnings, but it has already sent signals of discomfort with <a href="/topics/obamacare/" type="external">Obamacare</a>, saying it lost money on exchange plans last year and hasn’t pursued new customers this year.</p>
<p><a href="/topics/unitedhealth/" type="external">UnitedHealth</a> offers plans on exchanges in 34 states but said recently that it will drop out of Arkansas and Michigan next year and partially withdraw in Georgia.</p>
<p>The company’s sour outlook is roiling the waters at a pivotal time for Mr. Obama, who wants to put his law on firmer footing before the next president takes office in nine months.</p>
<p>More than half of <a href="/topics/obamacare/" type="external">Obamacare</a>’s nonprofit co-op plans have failed, raising questions about the extent of consumer choice on the portals.</p>
<p>“When it comes to competition on <a href="/topics/obamacare/" type="external">Obamacare</a>’s exchanges, HHS looks a lot like Kevin Bacon screaming ‘All is well!’ in Animal House,” said Sen. Ben Sasse, Nebraska Republican, referring to the film character’s futile appeal to stampeding paradegoers. “This year, 36 percent of the nation’s counties only have one or two insurers to choose from, and reports like this give little reason to suggest the outlook will improve.”</p>
<p><a href="/topics/unitedhealth/" type="external">UnitedHealth</a> took a cautious approach to the exchanges, offering plans in just four states in 2014, 23 states in 2015 and 34 this year, according to Kaiser.</p>
<p>It is still a relatively small player in the marketplace, accounting for 6 percent of <a href="/topics/obamacare/" type="external">Obamacare</a> customers overall.</p>
<p>Other major insurers have also taken losses but say they are ready to stick it out.</p>
<p>“Ideally, it would be better to have more competitors rather than fewer competitors in the marketplace, and I think it’s unfortunate if United is going to leave, but I don’t think these markets are collapsing,” said Timothy Jost, a law professor at Washington and Lee University in Virginia who closely tracks the health care debate.</p>
<p>The Health and Human Services Department said insurers will enter and exit the marketplace, but it has “full confidence” that the Affordable Care Act will thrive for years to come.</p>
<p>“The number of issuers per state has grown year over year,” HHS spokesman Benjamin Wakana said Monday. “With millions of Americans insured through the marketplaces, it’s clear that this is a growing business for insurers, and it’s a product consumers want and need. The marketplace should be judged by the choices it offers consumers, not the decisions of any one issuer.”</p>
<p>Kaiser said a complete exit by <a href="/topics/unitedhealth/" type="external">UnitedHealth</a> could force some <a href="/topics/obamacare/" type="external">Obamacare</a> enrollees to pay more, depending on how the company priced its plans in their markets.</p>
<p>Monthly premiums for the second-lowest-cost silver plan would be $25 to $100 higher for a 40-year-old in roughly 300 counties and more than $100 higher in 13 counties.</p>
<p>Nationwide, that popular plan would rise only about 1 percent if <a href="/topics/unitedhealth/" type="external">UnitedHealth</a> pulled out completely.</p>
<p>“Since <a href="/topics/unitedhealth/" type="external">UnitedHealth</a> often is not one of the lower cost plans, the effect nationally on premiums of an exit by the insurer would be modest,” Kaiser said.</p>
<p>Kaiser says premium increases would be most pronounced in Alabama, Arizona, Iowa, Nebraska and North Carolina, where United tends to offer lower prices than its competitors. For its study, Kaiser assumed that no other insurer would step in if <a href="/topics/unitedhealth/" type="external">UnitedHealth</a> left a given market.</p>
<p>Insurers will be filing their 2017 rate requests with state regulators over the next few months, but the administration last week said Americans should “put little stock” in the initial figures.</p>
<p>Despite the hue and cry over double-digit rate hikes in 2016, the average customer who qualified for subsidies purchased exchange coverage for $106 per month, a 4 percent increase over 2015, HHS said.</p>
<p>“Averages based on proposed premium changes are not a reliable indicator of what typical consumers will actually pay,” the agency said, “because tax credits reduce the cost of coverage for the vast majority of people, shopping gives all consumers a chance to find the best deal, and public rate review can bring down proposed increases.”</p>
<p>Copyright © 2018 The Washington Times, LLC. <a href="http://license.icopyright.net/3.7280?icx_id=/news/2016/apr/18/obamacare-premiums-would-spike-if-unitedhealth-wit/" type="external">Click here for reprint permission</a>.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
| 7,565 |
<p />
<p />
<p>Three Israeli teenagers, all students at prestigious schools, tried to hitchhike home in time for the Sabbath, which begins Friday at sundown.</p>
<p>They never made it home, <a href="http://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-israel-abduction-netanyahu-hamas-20140615-story.html" type="external">having been abducted by Hamas.</a></p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Pray for the safe return of our boys.</p>
<p />
<p>Via New York Times: <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/18/nyregion/new-yorks-jewish-groups-united-by-prayers-for-abducted-youths-in-west-bank.html?_r=1" type="external">Jewish Groups United by Prayers for 3 Missing Youths</a></p>
<p>On the windswept shore of Atlantic Beach, on Long Island, merriment was postponed as a bride and groom said a prayer on Sunday for three teenagers kidnapped late last week in the West Bank.</p>
<p>That night, a congregation in the Riverdale section of the Bronx delayed the start of its 40th annual dinner to pray for the boys. On Monday, a synagogue in Flatbush, Brooklyn, did the same at the start of its 92nd anniversary celebration.</p>
<p>Text messages spread, asking strangers and friends to recite Psalm 121, which says that God “will guard you from all evil.”</p>
<p>Jewish groups in New York, often ringing with discordant opinions, have sounded a common note as the days have passed without word of the teenagers…who were all students at yeshivas in Jewish settlements in the West Bank….</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the so-called “Palestinians” also reacted to the abductions:</p>
<p>Yes, they handed out candies in the streets.</p>
<p>Via Breitbart: <a href="http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Peace/2014/06/15/Palestinians-Celebrate-Hamas-Kidnappings-of-Three-Israeli-Children" type="external">Palestinians Celebrate Hamas Kidnappings of Three Israeli Children</a></p>
<p />
<p>Palestinians have taken to the streets of Gaza City to celebrate the Hamas kidnapping of three Israeli teenagers on Thursday night south of Jerusalem. The abductions have galvanized Israelis as few events have in recent years, resulting in unprecedented manhunts throughout the West Bank in search of the missing high school boys.</p>
<p>As Israelis recoiled in horror at news of the abductions of three teenage boys by terrorists, Palestinians responded with celebration and joy, passing out candies and sweets and taking to the Internet to wallpaper Palestinian social media sites with celebratory messages and poses of solidarity with the kidnappers….</p>
<p>And this:</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>The requests for prayers for the boys list their mothers’ names, as according to Jewish tradition, mothers’ names are included when requesting God’s mercy. (“ben” means “the son of”)</p>
<p>Yaakov Naftali ben Rachel Devorah Gilad Michael ben Bat Galim Eyal ben Iris Teshurah</p>
<p>Pray, too, for the Nigerian girls who were abducted by the Islamic madmen.</p>
<p>And pray for our country, currently led by the Gum-Chewer-in-Chief.</p>
<p>May God help us all.</p>
<p>Related:</p>
<p>Algemeiner: <a href="http://www.algemeiner.com/2014/06/17/solidarity-campaigns-for-kidnapped-girls-in-nigeria-boys-in-israel-converge-in-new-york/" type="external">Solidarity Campaigns for Kidnapped Girls in Nigeria, Boys in Israel, Converge in New York</a></p>
<p>NY Daily News: <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/israel-expands-west-bank-hunt-kidnapped-teens-palestinian-killed-article-1.1831366" type="external">Family ‘amazingly strong,’ prays for kidnapped Israeli teen Naftali Fraenkel’s return</a></p>
| true |
http://tammybruce.com/2014/06/three-israeli-boys-abducted-jews-pray-muslims-celebrate.html
| 0right
|
<p />
<p />
<p>Three Israeli teenagers, all students at prestigious schools, tried to hitchhike home in time for the Sabbath, which begins Friday at sundown.</p>
<p>They never made it home, <a href="http://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-israel-abduction-netanyahu-hamas-20140615-story.html" type="external">having been abducted by Hamas.</a></p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Pray for the safe return of our boys.</p>
<p />
<p>Via New York Times: <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/18/nyregion/new-yorks-jewish-groups-united-by-prayers-for-abducted-youths-in-west-bank.html?_r=1" type="external">Jewish Groups United by Prayers for 3 Missing Youths</a></p>
<p>On the windswept shore of Atlantic Beach, on Long Island, merriment was postponed as a bride and groom said a prayer on Sunday for three teenagers kidnapped late last week in the West Bank.</p>
<p>That night, a congregation in the Riverdale section of the Bronx delayed the start of its 40th annual dinner to pray for the boys. On Monday, a synagogue in Flatbush, Brooklyn, did the same at the start of its 92nd anniversary celebration.</p>
<p>Text messages spread, asking strangers and friends to recite Psalm 121, which says that God “will guard you from all evil.”</p>
<p>Jewish groups in New York, often ringing with discordant opinions, have sounded a common note as the days have passed without word of the teenagers…who were all students at yeshivas in Jewish settlements in the West Bank….</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the so-called “Palestinians” also reacted to the abductions:</p>
<p>Yes, they handed out candies in the streets.</p>
<p>Via Breitbart: <a href="http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Peace/2014/06/15/Palestinians-Celebrate-Hamas-Kidnappings-of-Three-Israeli-Children" type="external">Palestinians Celebrate Hamas Kidnappings of Three Israeli Children</a></p>
<p />
<p>Palestinians have taken to the streets of Gaza City to celebrate the Hamas kidnapping of three Israeli teenagers on Thursday night south of Jerusalem. The abductions have galvanized Israelis as few events have in recent years, resulting in unprecedented manhunts throughout the West Bank in search of the missing high school boys.</p>
<p>As Israelis recoiled in horror at news of the abductions of three teenage boys by terrorists, Palestinians responded with celebration and joy, passing out candies and sweets and taking to the Internet to wallpaper Palestinian social media sites with celebratory messages and poses of solidarity with the kidnappers….</p>
<p>And this:</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>The requests for prayers for the boys list their mothers’ names, as according to Jewish tradition, mothers’ names are included when requesting God’s mercy. (“ben” means “the son of”)</p>
<p>Yaakov Naftali ben Rachel Devorah Gilad Michael ben Bat Galim Eyal ben Iris Teshurah</p>
<p>Pray, too, for the Nigerian girls who were abducted by the Islamic madmen.</p>
<p>And pray for our country, currently led by the Gum-Chewer-in-Chief.</p>
<p>May God help us all.</p>
<p>Related:</p>
<p>Algemeiner: <a href="http://www.algemeiner.com/2014/06/17/solidarity-campaigns-for-kidnapped-girls-in-nigeria-boys-in-israel-converge-in-new-york/" type="external">Solidarity Campaigns for Kidnapped Girls in Nigeria, Boys in Israel, Converge in New York</a></p>
<p>NY Daily News: <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/israel-expands-west-bank-hunt-kidnapped-teens-palestinian-killed-article-1.1831366" type="external">Family ‘amazingly strong,’ prays for kidnapped Israeli teen Naftali Fraenkel’s return</a></p>
| 7,566 |
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<p>I tried and failed to come up with any commentary to add to this quote from former Arkansas Gov. <a href="http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/huckabee-dems-tell-women-they-can-t-control-their-libido" type="external">Mike Huckabee’s speech today&#160;at the Republican National Committee</a>. But I’m pretty sure it doesn’t need any.</p>
<p />
<p>Women I know are outraged that&#160;Democrats think that women are nothing more than helpless and hopeless creatures whose only goal in life is to have the government provide for them birth control medication. Women I know are smart, educated, intelligent, capable of doing anything that anyone else can do. Our party stands for the recognition of the equality of women and the capacity of women. That’s not a war on them, that’s a war for them. And if the Democrats want to insult the women of America by making them believe that they are helpless without Uncle Sugar coming in and providing for them a prescription each month for birth control because they cannot control their libido or their reproductive system without the help of government then so be it! Let us take that discussion all across America because women are far more than the Democrats have played them to be. And women across America have to stand up and say enough of that nonsense.</p>
<p>I agree on one thing, Mr. Huckabee: Let’s definitely take this discussion across the country and see how many outraged women rise up against the tyranny of being able to get affordable birth control. How dare they!</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /> <a href="https://twitter.com/mayadusenbery" type="external">Maya Dusenbery</a> is an Executive Director of Feministing.</p>
|
Mike Huckabee says Dems think women are helpless and “cannot control their libidos”
| true |
http://feministing.com/2014/01/23/mike-huckabee-says-dems-think-women-are-helpless-and-cannot-control-their-libidos/
| 4left
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Mike Huckabee says Dems think women are helpless and “cannot control their libidos”
<p>I tried and failed to come up with any commentary to add to this quote from former Arkansas Gov. <a href="http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/huckabee-dems-tell-women-they-can-t-control-their-libido" type="external">Mike Huckabee’s speech today&#160;at the Republican National Committee</a>. But I’m pretty sure it doesn’t need any.</p>
<p />
<p>Women I know are outraged that&#160;Democrats think that women are nothing more than helpless and hopeless creatures whose only goal in life is to have the government provide for them birth control medication. Women I know are smart, educated, intelligent, capable of doing anything that anyone else can do. Our party stands for the recognition of the equality of women and the capacity of women. That’s not a war on them, that’s a war for them. And if the Democrats want to insult the women of America by making them believe that they are helpless without Uncle Sugar coming in and providing for them a prescription each month for birth control because they cannot control their libido or their reproductive system without the help of government then so be it! Let us take that discussion all across America because women are far more than the Democrats have played them to be. And women across America have to stand up and say enough of that nonsense.</p>
<p>I agree on one thing, Mr. Huckabee: Let’s definitely take this discussion across the country and see how many outraged women rise up against the tyranny of being able to get affordable birth control. How dare they!</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /> <a href="https://twitter.com/mayadusenbery" type="external">Maya Dusenbery</a> is an Executive Director of Feministing.</p>
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<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Albuquerque has become the latest flash point in the abortion wars, with Operation Rescue, the Kansas-based militant group, calling the city the “late-term abortion capital of the country,” <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/05/us/albuquerque-becomes-latest-focal-point-in-abortion-wars.html?ref=todayspaper" type="external">The New York Times</a> reported.</p>
<p>This is because a private clinic, Southwestern Women’s Options, is one of just a few in the nation that offers abortions after the sixth month of pregnancy, according to Times writer Erik Eckholm.</p>
<p>A pitched political battle is under way, The Times said.</p>
<p>After failed attempts in the Democratic-controlled Legislature, abortion opponents have collected enough signatures to hold a referendum on whether to make Albuquerque the first city in the country to ban abortions at 20 weeks after conception, just as a dozen states have done, The Times reported.</p>
<p>According to The Times, no polling has been done to indicate whether the proposed 20-week ban would pass.</p>
<p>“Albuquerque has traditionally been Democratic but has turned to the right in the last few years, electing a Republican mayor and a conservative City Council, and evangelicals have joined Catholics in opposing abortion,” Eckholm wrote.</p>
<p>Courts have blocked such bans as unconstitutional in three states, and the American Civil Liberties Union has already said that if the Albuquerque ban passes, it will quickly file a lawsuit, according to The Times.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
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NY Times: ABQ the latest flash point in abortion wars
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/258174/ny-times-abq-the-latest-flash-point-in-abortion-wars.html
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2013-09-05
| 2least
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NY Times: ABQ the latest flash point in abortion wars
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Albuquerque has become the latest flash point in the abortion wars, with Operation Rescue, the Kansas-based militant group, calling the city the “late-term abortion capital of the country,” <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/05/us/albuquerque-becomes-latest-focal-point-in-abortion-wars.html?ref=todayspaper" type="external">The New York Times</a> reported.</p>
<p>This is because a private clinic, Southwestern Women’s Options, is one of just a few in the nation that offers abortions after the sixth month of pregnancy, according to Times writer Erik Eckholm.</p>
<p>A pitched political battle is under way, The Times said.</p>
<p>After failed attempts in the Democratic-controlled Legislature, abortion opponents have collected enough signatures to hold a referendum on whether to make Albuquerque the first city in the country to ban abortions at 20 weeks after conception, just as a dozen states have done, The Times reported.</p>
<p>According to The Times, no polling has been done to indicate whether the proposed 20-week ban would pass.</p>
<p>“Albuquerque has traditionally been Democratic but has turned to the right in the last few years, electing a Republican mayor and a conservative City Council, and evangelicals have joined Catholics in opposing abortion,” Eckholm wrote.</p>
<p>Courts have blocked such bans as unconstitutional in three states, and the American Civil Liberties Union has already said that if the Albuquerque ban passes, it will quickly file a lawsuit, according to The Times.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
| 7,568 |
<p />
<p>If it's not official at the moment you read this, it's likely to be soon: Tesla's (NASDAQ: TSLA) market cap surpassed General Motors' (NYSE: GM) at several points during the trading day on Monday.Once it's a done deal, that will make Tesla the largest U.S. automaker by market cap. But what does it mean?</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Tesla bulls expect the upcoming Model 3 to push the company's sales into (at least) six figures. Image source: Tesla.</p>
<p>I don't think I'll upset any of its fans by saying that Tesla'svaluation isn't exactly supported by flinty, old-fashioned Benjamin Graham fundamental metrics. Tesla sold a total of 76,230 vehicles in 2016, or one for every $669,000 of its market cap, give or take. It lost $674 million on revenue of $7 billion.</p>
<p>I'll give credit where it's due: That sales total is a genuinely impressive achievement for a start-up automaker. But c'mon: GM sold 10 million vehicles last year. (An all-time record for the General, by the way.) And under CEO Mary Barra, GM has been putting up <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/02/07/general-motors-operating-profit-drops-despite-reve.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">big profits with good margins Opens a New Window.</a>: GM earned $9.4 billion-with-a-b in net income on revenue of $166.4 billion in 2016.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Step back a minute: What the heck is going on here? How is it possible that investors think Tesla is more valuable than GM?</p>
<p>Obviously, Tesla's valuation versus GM's isn't about sales or revenue or margins or anything you'll find in a financial report. It's about the story.</p>
<p>Tesla has a truly great story. It's one of the most exciting corporate stories in years. As fans see it, CEO Elon Musk is inventing the future -- of cars, of electricity for homes, of clean energy in general -- right before our eyes. In the minds of Tesla's biggest fans, the company's future growth potential seems unlimited.</p>
<p>When I say "unlimited," I'm not kidding. Morgan Stanley auto analyst Adam Jonas, a longtime Tesla bull, issued a note last week that estimated Tesla's eventual total addressable market at $15 trillion. That's about 20% of the gross domestic product of all the countries in the world, combined.</p>
<p>How could boring old General Motors possibly hope to compete with that? (Maybe Jonas would be more impressed if Barra announced a Mars mission. Of course, then GM would just be accused of copying Tesla.)</p>
<p>Really, it's not very hard to figure out why Tesla's value is so high. Investors want to see growth. Tesla offers the possibility of truly massive growth, something that just isn't in the cards for GM.</p>
<p>GM's Chevrolet Bolt EV roughly matches Tesla's technology but not Tesla's cool factor. Image source: General Motors.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2016/08/01/why-general-motors-is-a-great-dividend-stock-and-a.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">bullish investment case for GM Opens a New Window.</a> is pretty good, at least when compared to ordinary industrial companies. It assumes that GM's annual profit will grow to something in the neighborhood of $15 billion over the next several years on a slew of incremental improvements that Barra is making to GM's businesses. Until then, you can collect a nice dividend.</p>
<p>That's not shabby at all. But the bullish investment case for Tesla assumes that it will become the largest and most profitable company in the history of humanity. And that even if it doesn't, it'll grow into a company generating hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue every year.</p>
<p>See what I mean? GM's possible growth pales in comparison.</p>
<p>The thing is, Tesla's great potential comes with great risk. Right now at least, Tesla has shaky finances, faces considerable uncertainty on a number of fronts, and -- in its core business, electric vehicles -- will soon have to deal with vastly better-funded competition (including GM) that is catching up quickly.</p>
<p>That risk makes Tesla's stock volatile, and could make for a wild ride if and when the market turns choppy.</p>
<p>GM? Well, GM's margins will come under pressure during the next economic downturn. That's how it goes in the auto business. But with low debt and a big cash reserve, GM is unlikely to face serious danger. That means that the downside to an investment in GM's shares is probably limited.</p>
<p>But to Tesla bulls, the Silicon Valley upstart's upside is unlimited. That's why Tesla's shares have soared. And it's why the company will remain richly valued -- at least, until the story changes.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than TeslaWhen 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-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=fb51971c-3c19-4e9d-b9e1-881e951a77eb&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 Tesla 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-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=fb51971c-3c19-4e9d-b9e1-881e951a77eb&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 April 3, 2017</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFMarlowe/info.aspx" type="external">John Rosevear Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of General Motors. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Tesla. 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>
|
Tesla Lost $674 Million Last Year While GM Made $9.4 Billion: So Why Is Tesla Worth More?
| true |
http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/04/11/tesla-lost-674-million-last-year-while-gm-made-4-billion-so-why-is-tesla-worth.html
|
2017-04-11
| 0right
|
Tesla Lost $674 Million Last Year While GM Made $9.4 Billion: So Why Is Tesla Worth More?
<p />
<p>If it's not official at the moment you read this, it's likely to be soon: Tesla's (NASDAQ: TSLA) market cap surpassed General Motors' (NYSE: GM) at several points during the trading day on Monday.Once it's a done deal, that will make Tesla the largest U.S. automaker by market cap. But what does it mean?</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Tesla bulls expect the upcoming Model 3 to push the company's sales into (at least) six figures. Image source: Tesla.</p>
<p>I don't think I'll upset any of its fans by saying that Tesla'svaluation isn't exactly supported by flinty, old-fashioned Benjamin Graham fundamental metrics. Tesla sold a total of 76,230 vehicles in 2016, or one for every $669,000 of its market cap, give or take. It lost $674 million on revenue of $7 billion.</p>
<p>I'll give credit where it's due: That sales total is a genuinely impressive achievement for a start-up automaker. But c'mon: GM sold 10 million vehicles last year. (An all-time record for the General, by the way.) And under CEO Mary Barra, GM has been putting up <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/02/07/general-motors-operating-profit-drops-despite-reve.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">big profits with good margins Opens a New Window.</a>: GM earned $9.4 billion-with-a-b in net income on revenue of $166.4 billion in 2016.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Step back a minute: What the heck is going on here? How is it possible that investors think Tesla is more valuable than GM?</p>
<p>Obviously, Tesla's valuation versus GM's isn't about sales or revenue or margins or anything you'll find in a financial report. It's about the story.</p>
<p>Tesla has a truly great story. It's one of the most exciting corporate stories in years. As fans see it, CEO Elon Musk is inventing the future -- of cars, of electricity for homes, of clean energy in general -- right before our eyes. In the minds of Tesla's biggest fans, the company's future growth potential seems unlimited.</p>
<p>When I say "unlimited," I'm not kidding. Morgan Stanley auto analyst Adam Jonas, a longtime Tesla bull, issued a note last week that estimated Tesla's eventual total addressable market at $15 trillion. That's about 20% of the gross domestic product of all the countries in the world, combined.</p>
<p>How could boring old General Motors possibly hope to compete with that? (Maybe Jonas would be more impressed if Barra announced a Mars mission. Of course, then GM would just be accused of copying Tesla.)</p>
<p>Really, it's not very hard to figure out why Tesla's value is so high. Investors want to see growth. Tesla offers the possibility of truly massive growth, something that just isn't in the cards for GM.</p>
<p>GM's Chevrolet Bolt EV roughly matches Tesla's technology but not Tesla's cool factor. Image source: General Motors.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2016/08/01/why-general-motors-is-a-great-dividend-stock-and-a.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">bullish investment case for GM Opens a New Window.</a> is pretty good, at least when compared to ordinary industrial companies. It assumes that GM's annual profit will grow to something in the neighborhood of $15 billion over the next several years on a slew of incremental improvements that Barra is making to GM's businesses. Until then, you can collect a nice dividend.</p>
<p>That's not shabby at all. But the bullish investment case for Tesla assumes that it will become the largest and most profitable company in the history of humanity. And that even if it doesn't, it'll grow into a company generating hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue every year.</p>
<p>See what I mean? GM's possible growth pales in comparison.</p>
<p>The thing is, Tesla's great potential comes with great risk. Right now at least, Tesla has shaky finances, faces considerable uncertainty on a number of fronts, and -- in its core business, electric vehicles -- will soon have to deal with vastly better-funded competition (including GM) that is catching up quickly.</p>
<p>That risk makes Tesla's stock volatile, and could make for a wild ride if and when the market turns choppy.</p>
<p>GM? Well, GM's margins will come under pressure during the next economic downturn. That's how it goes in the auto business. But with low debt and a big cash reserve, GM is unlikely to face serious danger. That means that the downside to an investment in GM's shares is probably limited.</p>
<p>But to Tesla bulls, the Silicon Valley upstart's upside is unlimited. That's why Tesla's shares have soared. And it's why the company will remain richly valued -- at least, until the story changes.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than TeslaWhen 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-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=fb51971c-3c19-4e9d-b9e1-881e951a77eb&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 Tesla 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-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=fb51971c-3c19-4e9d-b9e1-881e951a77eb&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 April 3, 2017</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFMarlowe/info.aspx" type="external">John Rosevear Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of General Motors. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Tesla. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
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<p>Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused the Jerusalem office of the Qatari-owned network Al Jazeera of fueling ongoing unrest at the Temple Mount and threatened to draw up legislation that would allow him to shut it down.</p>
<p>In a Facebook post Wednesday, the Israeli PM wrote that he has long sought to shut down Al Jazeera, but was unable to do so due to an insufficient legal framework.</p>
<p>Read more</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/news/397553-palestinians-violence-jewish-settlers-crime/" type="external" /></p>
<p>“The Al-Jazeera network does not cease to incite to violence around the Temple Mount. I have appealed to law enforcement agencies several times to close the Al-Jazeera office in Jerusalem. If this is not done due to legal interpretation, I will work to enact the necessary laws to remove Al-Jazeera from Israel,” Netanyahu wrote, as <a href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/233042" type="external">cited</a> by Arutz Sheva.</p>
<p>The threat comes as the Israeli authorities struggle to quell mass protests outside Al-Aqsa mosque against the new tough security measures. Those were imposed by Israel at the Temple Mount in response to the killing of two policemen outside the compound by Arab Israelis last week.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/op-edge/397605-israel-temple-mount-palestinians-conflict/" type="external">READ MORE:&#160;Temple Mount conflict: ‘Situation explosive once religion gets into political dispute’</a></p>
<p>As part of the measure, metal detectors and CCTV cameras were installed at the site, considered to be the third most sacred in Islam. The move gave rise to massive protest engulfing the West Bank and the Temple Mount, with Muslims staging prayers outside the mosque and refusing to enter the compound. Scores of Palestinians were injured and at least three died amid the scuffles, while the Palestinian Authority vowing to cut off all contacts with Tel Al Aviv until the dispute is resolved.</p>
<p>In what was seen as an attempt to defuse tensions, the Israeli security cabinet announced on Monday evening it was removing metal detectors and replacing them with security installations based on “advanced technologies” that would allow for “smart inspection.”&#160;</p>
<p>The concession, however, yielded few results, with worshipers still gathering outside the mosque for prayer on Wednesday in protest.</p>
<p>Read more</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/news/397419-metal-detectors-temple-mount/" type="external" /></p>
<p>The decision also did not sit well with an overwhelming majority of Israelis, who initially supported Netanyahu while he was boosting security at Temple Mount. A <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/poll-most-israelis-say-government-capitulated-over-temple-mount-security/" type="external">survey</a> by Israel’s Channel 2 showed that 68 percent of adult Israelis were in favor of installing metal detectors while 77 percent of the respondents likened the decision to remove them to a capitulation by the government.</p>
<p>While Netanyahu publicly voiced his intent to close the Al Jazeera office on Wednesday, there have been reports in the Israeli media that the PM instructed the Foreign Ministry and other authorities to look into the matter more closely as early as last month. At the time, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman <a href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/231067" type="external">backed</a> the idea, calling the Qatari channel “a propaganda outfit in the style of the Soviets or Nazi Germany” that is “biased and hostile” on Israel and silent on Iran.</p>
<p>By threatening Al Jazeera, Netanyahu follows in the footsteps of the Saudi-led bloc of nations in its wide-ranging conflict with Qatar, which has accused Doha of supporting terrorism.&#160;</p>
<p>Al Jazeera offices were shut down in Saudi Arabia and Jordan and its websites were blocked in several Arab countries that have joined the blockade. Shutting down Al Jazeera was initially among the pre-conditions submitted by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt to Qatar as part of a 13-point ultimatum. Later, however, the demand was dropped with the UAE minister for the federal national council, Noura al-Kaabi, <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/07/uae-minister-demand-shut-al-jazeera-dropped-170713145204324.html" type="external">saying</a> that the countries would be satisfied with a complete overhaul of the channel rather than its closure.</p>
|
Netanyahu threatens to kick Al Jazeera out of Israel for ‘inciting’ Al-Aqsa protests
| false |
https://newsline.com/netanyahu-threatens-to-kick-al-jazeera-out-of-israel-for-inciting-al-aqsa-protests/
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2017-07-27
| 1right-center
|
Netanyahu threatens to kick Al Jazeera out of Israel for ‘inciting’ Al-Aqsa protests
<p>Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused the Jerusalem office of the Qatari-owned network Al Jazeera of fueling ongoing unrest at the Temple Mount and threatened to draw up legislation that would allow him to shut it down.</p>
<p>In a Facebook post Wednesday, the Israeli PM wrote that he has long sought to shut down Al Jazeera, but was unable to do so due to an insufficient legal framework.</p>
<p>Read more</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/news/397553-palestinians-violence-jewish-settlers-crime/" type="external" /></p>
<p>“The Al-Jazeera network does not cease to incite to violence around the Temple Mount. I have appealed to law enforcement agencies several times to close the Al-Jazeera office in Jerusalem. If this is not done due to legal interpretation, I will work to enact the necessary laws to remove Al-Jazeera from Israel,” Netanyahu wrote, as <a href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/233042" type="external">cited</a> by Arutz Sheva.</p>
<p>The threat comes as the Israeli authorities struggle to quell mass protests outside Al-Aqsa mosque against the new tough security measures. Those were imposed by Israel at the Temple Mount in response to the killing of two policemen outside the compound by Arab Israelis last week.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/op-edge/397605-israel-temple-mount-palestinians-conflict/" type="external">READ MORE:&#160;Temple Mount conflict: ‘Situation explosive once religion gets into political dispute’</a></p>
<p>As part of the measure, metal detectors and CCTV cameras were installed at the site, considered to be the third most sacred in Islam. The move gave rise to massive protest engulfing the West Bank and the Temple Mount, with Muslims staging prayers outside the mosque and refusing to enter the compound. Scores of Palestinians were injured and at least three died amid the scuffles, while the Palestinian Authority vowing to cut off all contacts with Tel Al Aviv until the dispute is resolved.</p>
<p>In what was seen as an attempt to defuse tensions, the Israeli security cabinet announced on Monday evening it was removing metal detectors and replacing them with security installations based on “advanced technologies” that would allow for “smart inspection.”&#160;</p>
<p>The concession, however, yielded few results, with worshipers still gathering outside the mosque for prayer on Wednesday in protest.</p>
<p>Read more</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/news/397419-metal-detectors-temple-mount/" type="external" /></p>
<p>The decision also did not sit well with an overwhelming majority of Israelis, who initially supported Netanyahu while he was boosting security at Temple Mount. A <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/poll-most-israelis-say-government-capitulated-over-temple-mount-security/" type="external">survey</a> by Israel’s Channel 2 showed that 68 percent of adult Israelis were in favor of installing metal detectors while 77 percent of the respondents likened the decision to remove them to a capitulation by the government.</p>
<p>While Netanyahu publicly voiced his intent to close the Al Jazeera office on Wednesday, there have been reports in the Israeli media that the PM instructed the Foreign Ministry and other authorities to look into the matter more closely as early as last month. At the time, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman <a href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/231067" type="external">backed</a> the idea, calling the Qatari channel “a propaganda outfit in the style of the Soviets or Nazi Germany” that is “biased and hostile” on Israel and silent on Iran.</p>
<p>By threatening Al Jazeera, Netanyahu follows in the footsteps of the Saudi-led bloc of nations in its wide-ranging conflict with Qatar, which has accused Doha of supporting terrorism.&#160;</p>
<p>Al Jazeera offices were shut down in Saudi Arabia and Jordan and its websites were blocked in several Arab countries that have joined the blockade. Shutting down Al Jazeera was initially among the pre-conditions submitted by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt to Qatar as part of a 13-point ultimatum. Later, however, the demand was dropped with the UAE minister for the federal national council, Noura al-Kaabi, <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/07/uae-minister-demand-shut-al-jazeera-dropped-170713145204324.html" type="external">saying</a> that the countries would be satisfied with a complete overhaul of the channel rather than its closure.</p>
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<p>Lobo basketball fans might want to remember what they saw, and who they saw, during halftime of Thursday night’s North-South All-Star basketball game. One of the fans came out of the stands to partake in a dunk contest — and he might also be wearing UNM cherry-and-silver someday. Jamuni McNeace, a 6-foot-9 post from Allen, Texas, visited New Mexico’s campus Thursday. McNeace told the Journal that the Lobos said they’d like him to redshirt his freshman season. McNeace, who said he only started playing basketball two years ago, expects to redshirt wherever he goes. McNeace is a former club teammate of both Eldorado’s Cullen Neal and La Cueva’s Bryce Alford. He is expected to take an official visit to UNM in the fall. “I’m thinking about the school,” the rising senior said. “I kind of like the Pit.” He said he had a scholarship offer from Utah, and is also being recruited by West Virginia, Colorado and North Texas.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
|
All-Star game dunker visits UNM
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/241178/all-star-game-dunker-visits-unm.html
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2013-08-02
| 2least
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All-Star game dunker visits UNM
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>Lobo basketball fans might want to remember what they saw, and who they saw, during halftime of Thursday night’s North-South All-Star basketball game. One of the fans came out of the stands to partake in a dunk contest — and he might also be wearing UNM cherry-and-silver someday. Jamuni McNeace, a 6-foot-9 post from Allen, Texas, visited New Mexico’s campus Thursday. McNeace told the Journal that the Lobos said they’d like him to redshirt his freshman season. McNeace, who said he only started playing basketball two years ago, expects to redshirt wherever he goes. McNeace is a former club teammate of both Eldorado’s Cullen Neal and La Cueva’s Bryce Alford. He is expected to take an official visit to UNM in the fall. “I’m thinking about the school,” the rising senior said. “I kind of like the Pit.” He said he had a scholarship offer from Utah, and is also being recruited by West Virginia, Colorado and North Texas.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
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<p />
<p>The beleaguered San Onofre nuclear power plant north of San Diego has been idle since January 2012 after the discovery of unsafe reactor conditions. The operator is now seeking approval to restart one of the plant’s two reactors at 70 percent power for a five-month test. The plant’s license expires in less than 10 years.</p>
<p>Overlooked in the concerns about the short-term future of San Onofre are the 1,400 tons of spent nuclear fuel stored at the coastal site. Regardless of the immediate dilemma, San Onofre is destined to follow in the footsteps of nine former nuclear power plants whose reactors are long gone, but whose waste remains stranded on site. There’s nowhere else to put it.</p>
<p>This problem will only worsen. The fleet of aging U.S. nuclear reactors means that as many as 40 more reactors could be shut down in the next 15 years. Something needs to be done about the dangerous radioactive byproducts that will be left behind.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the United States’ nuclear waste program is in shambles.</p>
<p>In 2010, after almost three decades of work and more than $15 billion spent, President Obama unilaterally shut down the proposed underground repository for nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, Nev. That repository would have provided long-term disposal, as well as possible retrievability of the waste in the event that a safe and economical reprocessing technology became available.</p>
<p>Obama’s action set off a firestorm of bipartisan protests in Congress.</p>
<p>Even if a repository were approved tomorrow, it would take decades to construct and to transfer the existing waste to the site.</p>
<p>Currently, about 75 percent of San Onofre’s spent fuel is submerged in pools. As a result of the nuclear waste backlog, many U.S. pools contain five times the amount of fuel that they were designed to handle.</p>
<p>The dangers of pool storage came to worldwide attention during the 2011 disaster at Fukushima, Japan, which left operators unable to circulate water to cool the fuel or even monitor water levels in the pools. If spent fuel assemblies at a nuclear power plant are exposed to air and self-ignite, thousands of people within 50 miles of the facility could die from the radiation released, the NRC estimates.</p>
<p>Dry casks, which house the remaining 25 percent of San Onofre’s spent fuel, are less vulnerable than pools to natural disasters or terrorist attacks. At Fukushima, the dry casks survived the disaster unscathed.</p>
<p>But they are not a permanent solution. Dry casks have a 50-year design life; spent nuclear fuel remains dangerous over hundreds of thousands of years or more.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>As a geologic repository for the waste continues to recede into the ever-distant future, the NRC has considered new rules that would allow onsite storage for up to three centuries. Three centuries ago George Washington was not yet born.</p>
<p>Since 1976, California has maintained a moratorium on building nuclear power plants until a method for permanent disposal of spent fuel is assured. With 70,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel now scattered among 75 sites in 33 states, this skepticism is well founded.</p>
<p>These numbers don’t include the high-level waste from the nuclear weapons program. At Hanford, Wash., there’s enough high-level waste to fill the tanker cars of a train 26 miles long. And to top it off, more than 30 tons of excess weapon-grade plutonium at half a dozen sites across the U.S. must be disposed of.</p>
<p>It’s now more than half a century since the dawn of nuclear energy. As dangerous, long-lived nuclear waste piles up across the country, we continue to shift the burden to future generations.</p>
<p>Regardless of one’s stance on nuclear energy, it is clear that we need to take responsibility for the nuclear waste we have generated and commit to its safe disposition.</p>
<p>William Alley oversaw the U.S. Geological Survey studies of Yucca Mountain from 2002 to 2010. He and Rosemarie Alley are the authors of “Too Hot to Touch: The Problem of High-Level Nuclear Waste.” They wrote this for the Los Angeles Times. Distributed by MCT Information Services</p>
|
What to do with nuclear waste?
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/187132/what-to-do-with-nuclear-waste.html
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2013-04-10
| 2least
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What to do with nuclear waste?
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>The beleaguered San Onofre nuclear power plant north of San Diego has been idle since January 2012 after the discovery of unsafe reactor conditions. The operator is now seeking approval to restart one of the plant’s two reactors at 70 percent power for a five-month test. The plant’s license expires in less than 10 years.</p>
<p>Overlooked in the concerns about the short-term future of San Onofre are the 1,400 tons of spent nuclear fuel stored at the coastal site. Regardless of the immediate dilemma, San Onofre is destined to follow in the footsteps of nine former nuclear power plants whose reactors are long gone, but whose waste remains stranded on site. There’s nowhere else to put it.</p>
<p>This problem will only worsen. The fleet of aging U.S. nuclear reactors means that as many as 40 more reactors could be shut down in the next 15 years. Something needs to be done about the dangerous radioactive byproducts that will be left behind.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the United States’ nuclear waste program is in shambles.</p>
<p>In 2010, after almost three decades of work and more than $15 billion spent, President Obama unilaterally shut down the proposed underground repository for nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, Nev. That repository would have provided long-term disposal, as well as possible retrievability of the waste in the event that a safe and economical reprocessing technology became available.</p>
<p>Obama’s action set off a firestorm of bipartisan protests in Congress.</p>
<p>Even if a repository were approved tomorrow, it would take decades to construct and to transfer the existing waste to the site.</p>
<p>Currently, about 75 percent of San Onofre’s spent fuel is submerged in pools. As a result of the nuclear waste backlog, many U.S. pools contain five times the amount of fuel that they were designed to handle.</p>
<p>The dangers of pool storage came to worldwide attention during the 2011 disaster at Fukushima, Japan, which left operators unable to circulate water to cool the fuel or even monitor water levels in the pools. If spent fuel assemblies at a nuclear power plant are exposed to air and self-ignite, thousands of people within 50 miles of the facility could die from the radiation released, the NRC estimates.</p>
<p>Dry casks, which house the remaining 25 percent of San Onofre’s spent fuel, are less vulnerable than pools to natural disasters or terrorist attacks. At Fukushima, the dry casks survived the disaster unscathed.</p>
<p>But they are not a permanent solution. Dry casks have a 50-year design life; spent nuclear fuel remains dangerous over hundreds of thousands of years or more.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>As a geologic repository for the waste continues to recede into the ever-distant future, the NRC has considered new rules that would allow onsite storage for up to three centuries. Three centuries ago George Washington was not yet born.</p>
<p>Since 1976, California has maintained a moratorium on building nuclear power plants until a method for permanent disposal of spent fuel is assured. With 70,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel now scattered among 75 sites in 33 states, this skepticism is well founded.</p>
<p>These numbers don’t include the high-level waste from the nuclear weapons program. At Hanford, Wash., there’s enough high-level waste to fill the tanker cars of a train 26 miles long. And to top it off, more than 30 tons of excess weapon-grade plutonium at half a dozen sites across the U.S. must be disposed of.</p>
<p>It’s now more than half a century since the dawn of nuclear energy. As dangerous, long-lived nuclear waste piles up across the country, we continue to shift the burden to future generations.</p>
<p>Regardless of one’s stance on nuclear energy, it is clear that we need to take responsibility for the nuclear waste we have generated and commit to its safe disposition.</p>
<p>William Alley oversaw the U.S. Geological Survey studies of Yucca Mountain from 2002 to 2010. He and Rosemarie Alley are the authors of “Too Hot to Touch: The Problem of High-Level Nuclear Waste.” They wrote this for the Los Angeles Times. Distributed by MCT Information Services</p>
| 7,572 |
<p>Hillary Clinton, currently traveling the country on a book tour to tell anyone who will listen why she so badly blew the 2016 presidential election, wants everyone to know she loves the National Football League players who refuse to stand for America's national anthem.</p>
<p>Taking time from her busy schedule of signing books at warehouse grocery stores, Clinton said players who take a knee during the anthem are to be revered — and anyone who says otherwise is secretly racist.</p>
<p>"You have to resist the very clear, what we call dog whistles to that base," Clinton said at the Southbank Centre in London over the weekend.</p>
<p>"That’s what the black athletes kneeling was about. That was not against our anthem or our flag. That was actually — kneeling is a reverent position. It was to demonstrate in a peaceful way against racism and injustice in our criminal system. I think it would be a grave error for Democrats to recede from those fights and so therefore we have to stand up, fight back, resist."</p>
<p>That's right, to Hillary, those who kneel during the anthem are actually revering the flag. They love America so much — in Hillary's world — that they'll take a knee, much as one does in the presence of royalty. But wait: What about those who remain seated, or just stretch their muscles throughout the anthem? Are they being "reverent," too?</p>
<p>While Hillary continues to blame all sorts of outside agents for her 2016 loss — from Russia hackers to former FBI director James Comey to women too cowed by their husband to vote for her — it's clear the reason she lost is because she's just so out of touch with mainstream America, which overwhelmingly disapproves of the NFL protests.</p>
|
Hillary Clinton Cheers On 'Reverent' NFL Kneelers To Continue 'Resistance'
| true |
https://dailywire.com/news/22294/hillary-clinton-cheers-reverent-nfl-kneelers-joseph-curl
|
2017-10-16
| 0right
|
Hillary Clinton Cheers On 'Reverent' NFL Kneelers To Continue 'Resistance'
<p>Hillary Clinton, currently traveling the country on a book tour to tell anyone who will listen why she so badly blew the 2016 presidential election, wants everyone to know she loves the National Football League players who refuse to stand for America's national anthem.</p>
<p>Taking time from her busy schedule of signing books at warehouse grocery stores, Clinton said players who take a knee during the anthem are to be revered — and anyone who says otherwise is secretly racist.</p>
<p>"You have to resist the very clear, what we call dog whistles to that base," Clinton said at the Southbank Centre in London over the weekend.</p>
<p>"That’s what the black athletes kneeling was about. That was not against our anthem or our flag. That was actually — kneeling is a reverent position. It was to demonstrate in a peaceful way against racism and injustice in our criminal system. I think it would be a grave error for Democrats to recede from those fights and so therefore we have to stand up, fight back, resist."</p>
<p>That's right, to Hillary, those who kneel during the anthem are actually revering the flag. They love America so much — in Hillary's world — that they'll take a knee, much as one does in the presence of royalty. But wait: What about those who remain seated, or just stretch their muscles throughout the anthem? Are they being "reverent," too?</p>
<p>While Hillary continues to blame all sorts of outside agents for her 2016 loss — from Russia hackers to former FBI director James Comey to women too cowed by their husband to vote for her — it's clear the reason she lost is because she's just so out of touch with mainstream America, which overwhelmingly disapproves of the NFL protests.</p>
| 7,573 |
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<p />
<p>If it becomes a trend, that could lead to increases in insurance premiums and deductibles next year. Along with the paltry enrollment numbers released this week, officials in a few states said those who had managed to sign up were generally older people with medical problems – those with the greatest incentives to get coverage.</p>
<p>It’s unclear whether that will persist. Young, healthy people may be more inclined to procrastinate, especially given doubts about the law’s technically flawed online sign-up system. They have until Dec. 15 to sign up if they want to be covered on Jan. 1.</p>
<p>Insurers have warned that they need a wide range of people signing up for coverage because premiums paid by adults in the younger and healthier group, between 18 and 35, are needed to offset the cost of carrying older and sicker customers who typically generate far more in medical bills than they contribute in premiums.</p>
<p>The first set of enrollment data revealed that 106,000 people signed up for coverage nationwide, far short of the 500,000 initial sign-ups the Obama administration had expected. In states where officials discussed more detailed information, it also became apparent that the people who flocked to the exchanges after they opened Oct. 1 were those who were desperate for coverage.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>In California, the state with the largest uninsured population, most of those who applied were older people with health problems. In Kentucky, nearly 3 of every 4 enrollees were over 35. In Washington state, 23 percent of enrollees were ages 18 to 34. And in Ohio, groups helping with enrollment described many of those coming to them as older residents who lost their jobs and health coverage during the recession.</p>
<p />
<p />
|
Exchanges slow to attract young, healthy
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/302306/exchanges-slow-to-attract-young-healthy.html
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2013-11-16
| 2least
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Exchanges slow to attract young, healthy
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<p />
<p>If it becomes a trend, that could lead to increases in insurance premiums and deductibles next year. Along with the paltry enrollment numbers released this week, officials in a few states said those who had managed to sign up were generally older people with medical problems – those with the greatest incentives to get coverage.</p>
<p>It’s unclear whether that will persist. Young, healthy people may be more inclined to procrastinate, especially given doubts about the law’s technically flawed online sign-up system. They have until Dec. 15 to sign up if they want to be covered on Jan. 1.</p>
<p>Insurers have warned that they need a wide range of people signing up for coverage because premiums paid by adults in the younger and healthier group, between 18 and 35, are needed to offset the cost of carrying older and sicker customers who typically generate far more in medical bills than they contribute in premiums.</p>
<p>The first set of enrollment data revealed that 106,000 people signed up for coverage nationwide, far short of the 500,000 initial sign-ups the Obama administration had expected. In states where officials discussed more detailed information, it also became apparent that the people who flocked to the exchanges after they opened Oct. 1 were those who were desperate for coverage.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>In California, the state with the largest uninsured population, most of those who applied were older people with health problems. In Kentucky, nearly 3 of every 4 enrollees were over 35. In Washington state, 23 percent of enrollees were ages 18 to 34. And in Ohio, groups helping with enrollment described many of those coming to them as older residents who lost their jobs and health coverage during the recession.</p>
<p />
<p />
| 7,574 |
<p>The November issue of the magazine Marie Clare did an outstanding job of in remedying the media’s woeful lack of coverage of the impact of war on fashion. With several hard-hitting articles and a photo spread, MC gives this aspect of war reporting it’s proper due.</p>
<p>The magazine scored a real coup by getting the first print interview ever with Lynndie England since her incarceration for her role in Abu Ghraib. The first paragraph immediately gives us what we want to know,</p>
<p>Lynndie England smells like soap. She rubs her hands constantly, and her cuticles are raw and nearly bleeding. Her hair is pulled back in four tortoiseshell clips, and it’s streaked with premature gray. She is no longer the waiflike girl with a devilish grin who appeared in the infamous Abu Ghraib photos. On this warm fall afternoon, England, 23, now 30 pounds heavier, wears short-sleeve Army fatigues and black, waffle-soled boots. Her name is stitched across her chest. Dangling from her waist is a yellow-and-white badge that reads, “Prisoner.”</p>
<p>There you have it, what she smells like, the condition of her hair and nails, what she is wearing, her footgear and an allusion to Hester Prynne.</p>
<p>Fortunately, the author had the good sense to abandon the glam objectification genre after the first paragraph and the rest of the piece actually does a fine job of looking at who England is, not what she looks like.</p>
<p>But wait, there’s more, much more. A back page piece about Army Major Tammy Duckworth addresses issues first. But then, suddenly remembering the publication for whom she is writing, the interviewer asks the inevitable, “What are the fashion challenges?” Duckworth answers with a joke about her missing legs being her excuse for wearing larger size pants and that yes of course she is sad that she can’t wear the latest high-wedge heels, but that is nothing “compared to being alive.”</p>
<p>The magazine also has an interesting article about women newscasters in the Middle East, talking about a Saudi woman who went public with pictures of herself after she was assaulted by her husband. But when they interview reporter May Chidiak, who lost a leg and an arm in a car bombing in Beirut, we learn that with a cane, she can wear high heels. She can already handle 2 inch heels, her goal is the 4-inchers.</p>
<p>Finally, there is the photo spread that perhaps should have been titled, “Runway: Iraq,” in which Marie Claire features the wives of soldiers showing off the latest fashions. Kristi McCoy, wife of a soldier named James, is shown wearing a $2455 Prada dress along with a Catherine Angiel necklace prices at $1340. At least the sidebar says she is wearing this, it is apparently hidden by the baby she is holding who curiously is clad only in a diaper. As Anna Froula, a doctoral candidate at the University of Kentucky who first noticed this curious edition of MC points out, it is truly peculiar to photograph these women in clothes they could not possibly afford on the pay their spouses make in the military.</p>
<p>This sorry objectification of the role of women in the context of militarism does however illustrate the expanding number of visual archetypes that we now have of women in war. Indeed, today’s imagery goes far beyond Rosie the Riveter. The wives and sweethearts left behind, England, Duckworth, Jessica Lynch, as well as Iraqi and Afghani women have now become the feminine archetypes of militarism. As Froula makes clear in <a href="" type="internal">her research about England and Lynch</a>, we need to do some serious deconstructing of the images of these women that have been presented to us by the media and the military in order to really see the truth of how women participate in militarism and how that impacts their lives.</p>
<p>LUCINDA MARSHALL is a feminist artist, writer and activist. She is the Founder of the Feminist Peace Network, <a href="http://www.feministpeacenetwork.org/" type="external">www.feministpeacenetwork.org</a>.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
|
War Chic
| true |
https://counterpunch.org/2006/11/28/war-chic/
|
2006-11-28
| 4left
|
War Chic
<p>The November issue of the magazine Marie Clare did an outstanding job of in remedying the media’s woeful lack of coverage of the impact of war on fashion. With several hard-hitting articles and a photo spread, MC gives this aspect of war reporting it’s proper due.</p>
<p>The magazine scored a real coup by getting the first print interview ever with Lynndie England since her incarceration for her role in Abu Ghraib. The first paragraph immediately gives us what we want to know,</p>
<p>Lynndie England smells like soap. She rubs her hands constantly, and her cuticles are raw and nearly bleeding. Her hair is pulled back in four tortoiseshell clips, and it’s streaked with premature gray. She is no longer the waiflike girl with a devilish grin who appeared in the infamous Abu Ghraib photos. On this warm fall afternoon, England, 23, now 30 pounds heavier, wears short-sleeve Army fatigues and black, waffle-soled boots. Her name is stitched across her chest. Dangling from her waist is a yellow-and-white badge that reads, “Prisoner.”</p>
<p>There you have it, what she smells like, the condition of her hair and nails, what she is wearing, her footgear and an allusion to Hester Prynne.</p>
<p>Fortunately, the author had the good sense to abandon the glam objectification genre after the first paragraph and the rest of the piece actually does a fine job of looking at who England is, not what she looks like.</p>
<p>But wait, there’s more, much more. A back page piece about Army Major Tammy Duckworth addresses issues first. But then, suddenly remembering the publication for whom she is writing, the interviewer asks the inevitable, “What are the fashion challenges?” Duckworth answers with a joke about her missing legs being her excuse for wearing larger size pants and that yes of course she is sad that she can’t wear the latest high-wedge heels, but that is nothing “compared to being alive.”</p>
<p>The magazine also has an interesting article about women newscasters in the Middle East, talking about a Saudi woman who went public with pictures of herself after she was assaulted by her husband. But when they interview reporter May Chidiak, who lost a leg and an arm in a car bombing in Beirut, we learn that with a cane, she can wear high heels. She can already handle 2 inch heels, her goal is the 4-inchers.</p>
<p>Finally, there is the photo spread that perhaps should have been titled, “Runway: Iraq,” in which Marie Claire features the wives of soldiers showing off the latest fashions. Kristi McCoy, wife of a soldier named James, is shown wearing a $2455 Prada dress along with a Catherine Angiel necklace prices at $1340. At least the sidebar says she is wearing this, it is apparently hidden by the baby she is holding who curiously is clad only in a diaper. As Anna Froula, a doctoral candidate at the University of Kentucky who first noticed this curious edition of MC points out, it is truly peculiar to photograph these women in clothes they could not possibly afford on the pay their spouses make in the military.</p>
<p>This sorry objectification of the role of women in the context of militarism does however illustrate the expanding number of visual archetypes that we now have of women in war. Indeed, today’s imagery goes far beyond Rosie the Riveter. The wives and sweethearts left behind, England, Duckworth, Jessica Lynch, as well as Iraqi and Afghani women have now become the feminine archetypes of militarism. As Froula makes clear in <a href="" type="internal">her research about England and Lynch</a>, we need to do some serious deconstructing of the images of these women that have been presented to us by the media and the military in order to really see the truth of how women participate in militarism and how that impacts their lives.</p>
<p>LUCINDA MARSHALL is a feminist artist, writer and activist. She is the Founder of the Feminist Peace Network, <a href="http://www.feministpeacenetwork.org/" type="external">www.feministpeacenetwork.org</a>.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
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<p />
<p>As I stated in an op-ed I submitted on July 3 (that the Journal did not print and only partially quoted from), “…There is no question that every local and state entity must perform audits and be accountable for their budgets and financial affairs. But, the manner that the Governor is allowing DFA (Department of Finance and Administration) to carry out the requirements will hurt many small rural local communities desperate for jobs and economic boosts that capital outlay projects bring.”</p>
<p>Again, I have no issue in holding local and state entities accountable for their financial affairs. But this administration too often makes broad accusations, provides little or no information about the alleged improprieties, and then takes drastic steps to “correct” the perceived wrongs.</p>
<p>The recent behavioral health fiasco is another example of the administration using a sledge hammer as its first tool of choice.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The Journal’s editorial provided examples of the consequences of not having complete, accurate or timely audits, but it failed to acknowledge the impact the administration’s actions will have on the people dependent on the facilities or services not being funded.</p>
<p>Withholding capital outlay funds may encourage a local government to remedy an audit finding, but it definitely will not build a badly needed health care clinic in Cimarron.</p>
<p>And suspending behavioral health funding may prevent fraud, yet it will not provide services for the developmentally disabled, mentally ill or addicted members of our communities.</p>
<p>That begs the question: Who is really taking the brunt of the punishment?</p>
<p>There appears to be a double-standard when it comes to taking action against those not performing audits when the “wrongdoer” is part of the administration.</p>
<p>It is my understanding that the Department of Corrections has not conducted an audit of its contracts for medical services for several years.</p>
<p>That means Corrections pays a private company millions of dollars every month without knowing if health and psychiatric care is being provided according to medical standards, if at all.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, it is not only taxpayer money that is in jeopardy; it is also the health and safety of inmates and guards that are at risk.</p>
<p>Although the administration has been aware of the situation for several years, it has yet to bring out its sledge hammer or even its feather duster.</p>
<p>The Journal’s editorial ended by stating withholding capital outlay funding is “a small price to pay” for “safeguarding public funds.” But what is the price for safeguarding the health, safety and lives of those being punished?</p>
|
Holding money punishes wrong people
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/224151/holding-money-punishes-wrong-people.html
|
2013-07-22
| 2least
|
Holding money punishes wrong people
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>As I stated in an op-ed I submitted on July 3 (that the Journal did not print and only partially quoted from), “…There is no question that every local and state entity must perform audits and be accountable for their budgets and financial affairs. But, the manner that the Governor is allowing DFA (Department of Finance and Administration) to carry out the requirements will hurt many small rural local communities desperate for jobs and economic boosts that capital outlay projects bring.”</p>
<p>Again, I have no issue in holding local and state entities accountable for their financial affairs. But this administration too often makes broad accusations, provides little or no information about the alleged improprieties, and then takes drastic steps to “correct” the perceived wrongs.</p>
<p>The recent behavioral health fiasco is another example of the administration using a sledge hammer as its first tool of choice.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The Journal’s editorial provided examples of the consequences of not having complete, accurate or timely audits, but it failed to acknowledge the impact the administration’s actions will have on the people dependent on the facilities or services not being funded.</p>
<p>Withholding capital outlay funds may encourage a local government to remedy an audit finding, but it definitely will not build a badly needed health care clinic in Cimarron.</p>
<p>And suspending behavioral health funding may prevent fraud, yet it will not provide services for the developmentally disabled, mentally ill or addicted members of our communities.</p>
<p>That begs the question: Who is really taking the brunt of the punishment?</p>
<p>There appears to be a double-standard when it comes to taking action against those not performing audits when the “wrongdoer” is part of the administration.</p>
<p>It is my understanding that the Department of Corrections has not conducted an audit of its contracts for medical services for several years.</p>
<p>That means Corrections pays a private company millions of dollars every month without knowing if health and psychiatric care is being provided according to medical standards, if at all.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, it is not only taxpayer money that is in jeopardy; it is also the health and safety of inmates and guards that are at risk.</p>
<p>Although the administration has been aware of the situation for several years, it has yet to bring out its sledge hammer or even its feather duster.</p>
<p>The Journal’s editorial ended by stating withholding capital outlay funding is “a small price to pay” for “safeguarding public funds.” But what is the price for safeguarding the health, safety and lives of those being punished?</p>
| 7,576 |
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<p>PHOENIX — The Arizona Supreme Court has thrown out the death sentence for a man convicted of sexually assaulting and killing a woman nearly 16 years ago at her apartment in Phoenix, ruling the trial judge made an error in refusing to let jurors hear that he was ineligible for parole.</p>
<p>The court on Thursday upheld the convictions of Joel Randu Escalante-Orozco in the 2001 death of Maria Garza-Rivera, but sent his case back to a lower court for a new sentencing trial on his first-degree murder conviction.</p>
<p>The decision leading to the new sentencing trial centered on whether jurors should have been told about Escalante-Orozco’s chances of release from prison if they opted against a death sentence and instead imposed a life sentence.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The trial judge told jurors that if they decided on a life sentence, then the judge would decide whether Escalante-Orozco would have a chance at release after serving 25 years. Escalante-Orozco’s attorney argued jurors shouldn’t consider his potential for release when deciding whether to impose the death penalty.</p>
<p>The state’s highest court cited a decision made seven months ago in another death-penalty case from Arizona.</p>
<p>In that case, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that people convicted in death-penalty cases have a right to tell jurors that parole is unavailable to them in situations where prosecutors make an issue of their “future dangerousness” and acknowledge that the only alternative to a death sentence is life in prison without parole.</p>
<p>In Escalante-Orozco’s case, prosecutors argued they didn’t put his future dangerousness at issue, though a prosecutor told jurors that Escalante-Orozco had given up his right to live through all the evil that he committed.</p>
<p>Garza-Rivera’s body was found a day after Escalante-Orozco, who worked as a maintenance worker at the apartment complex, had installed flooring at her apartment. She was beaten and stabbed until she bled to death.</p>
<p>Escalante-Orozco told police that he had consumed two beers the night of the killing and that “everything went blank” until he found himself lying atop the victim’s blood-soaked body. The victim’s then-3-year-old son, who wasn’t harmed, wandered around the apartment in the aftermath.</p>
<p>The ruling said Escalante-Orozco returned to his apartment to shower, threw away his blood-covered clothes in a trash bin at the complex and took a bus to Mexico. He was taken into custody six years later in Idaho.</p>
<p>Escalante-Orozco, who denied assaulting and killing Garza-Rivera, suggested that he had been drugged by relatives who were angry at him.</p>
<p>His trial defense focused on a theory that another man sexually attacked and killed Garza-Rivera in a jealous rage because she was interested in Escalante-Orozco’s companionship.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Jacques Billeaud at twitter.com/jacquesbilleaud. His work can be found at https://www.apnews.com/search/jacques%20billeaud.</p>
|
Death sentence thrown out for man convicted in 2001 killing
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/927285/death-sentence-thrown-out-for-man-convicted-in-2001-killing.html
|
2017-01-13
| 2least
|
Death sentence thrown out for man convicted in 2001 killing
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>PHOENIX — The Arizona Supreme Court has thrown out the death sentence for a man convicted of sexually assaulting and killing a woman nearly 16 years ago at her apartment in Phoenix, ruling the trial judge made an error in refusing to let jurors hear that he was ineligible for parole.</p>
<p>The court on Thursday upheld the convictions of Joel Randu Escalante-Orozco in the 2001 death of Maria Garza-Rivera, but sent his case back to a lower court for a new sentencing trial on his first-degree murder conviction.</p>
<p>The decision leading to the new sentencing trial centered on whether jurors should have been told about Escalante-Orozco’s chances of release from prison if they opted against a death sentence and instead imposed a life sentence.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The trial judge told jurors that if they decided on a life sentence, then the judge would decide whether Escalante-Orozco would have a chance at release after serving 25 years. Escalante-Orozco’s attorney argued jurors shouldn’t consider his potential for release when deciding whether to impose the death penalty.</p>
<p>The state’s highest court cited a decision made seven months ago in another death-penalty case from Arizona.</p>
<p>In that case, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that people convicted in death-penalty cases have a right to tell jurors that parole is unavailable to them in situations where prosecutors make an issue of their “future dangerousness” and acknowledge that the only alternative to a death sentence is life in prison without parole.</p>
<p>In Escalante-Orozco’s case, prosecutors argued they didn’t put his future dangerousness at issue, though a prosecutor told jurors that Escalante-Orozco had given up his right to live through all the evil that he committed.</p>
<p>Garza-Rivera’s body was found a day after Escalante-Orozco, who worked as a maintenance worker at the apartment complex, had installed flooring at her apartment. She was beaten and stabbed until she bled to death.</p>
<p>Escalante-Orozco told police that he had consumed two beers the night of the killing and that “everything went blank” until he found himself lying atop the victim’s blood-soaked body. The victim’s then-3-year-old son, who wasn’t harmed, wandered around the apartment in the aftermath.</p>
<p>The ruling said Escalante-Orozco returned to his apartment to shower, threw away his blood-covered clothes in a trash bin at the complex and took a bus to Mexico. He was taken into custody six years later in Idaho.</p>
<p>Escalante-Orozco, who denied assaulting and killing Garza-Rivera, suggested that he had been drugged by relatives who were angry at him.</p>
<p>His trial defense focused on a theory that another man sexually attacked and killed Garza-Rivera in a jealous rage because she was interested in Escalante-Orozco’s companionship.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Jacques Billeaud at twitter.com/jacquesbilleaud. His work can be found at https://www.apnews.com/search/jacques%20billeaud.</p>
| 7,577 |
<p>Just to go out on a limb here, doesn’t supporting a constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage on the federal level represent a very real form of “judgment” about the people and relationships that are granted the official stamp of legitimacy and those that aren’t?</p>
<p>This consideration doesn’t seem to inform Sarah Palin’s stance on the issue, as evidenced by this clip from an interview Palin did over the weekend with the Christian Broadcasting Network’s David Brody. “I’m not going to be out there judging individuals, sitting in a seat of judgment telling what they can and can’t do, should and should not do,” she told Brody during their exchange, which was broadcast on Monday.</p>
<p>YouTube via <a href="http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/palin-and-federal-marriage-amendment" type="external">Crooks and Liars</a>:</p>
<p />
<p />
|
Logic Lessons With Sarah Palin: Gay Marriage Edition
| true |
https://truthdig.com/articles/logic-lessons-with-sarah-palin-gay-marriage-edition/
|
2008-10-21
| 4left
|
Logic Lessons With Sarah Palin: Gay Marriage Edition
<p>Just to go out on a limb here, doesn’t supporting a constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage on the federal level represent a very real form of “judgment” about the people and relationships that are granted the official stamp of legitimacy and those that aren’t?</p>
<p>This consideration doesn’t seem to inform Sarah Palin’s stance on the issue, as evidenced by this clip from an interview Palin did over the weekend with the Christian Broadcasting Network’s David Brody. “I’m not going to be out there judging individuals, sitting in a seat of judgment telling what they can and can’t do, should and should not do,” she told Brody during their exchange, which was broadcast on Monday.</p>
<p>YouTube via <a href="http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/palin-and-federal-marriage-amendment" type="external">Crooks and Liars</a>:</p>
<p />
<p />
| 7,578 |
<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/home/4668425-155/ap-jon-hunstman-jr-in-late" type="external">Jon Huntsman, Jr.</a> — former Governor, Utah; former US Ambassador to China Rex Tillerson–CEO, Exxon Mobil
<a href="" type="internal">David Petraeus–retired General and former CIA Director</a> Share on
<a href="" type="internal">Facebook</a>
<a href="" type="internal">Twitter</a>
<a href="" type="internal">Email</a>
|
Giuliani Out of Running for Secretary of State
| false |
http://thewhim.com/giuliani-running-secretary-state/
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2016-12-09
| 2least
|
Giuliani Out of Running for Secretary of State
<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/home/4668425-155/ap-jon-hunstman-jr-in-late" type="external">Jon Huntsman, Jr.</a> — former Governor, Utah; former US Ambassador to China Rex Tillerson–CEO, Exxon Mobil
<a href="" type="internal">David Petraeus–retired General and former CIA Director</a> Share on
<a href="" type="internal">Facebook</a>
<a href="" type="internal">Twitter</a>
<a href="" type="internal">Email</a>
| 7,579 |
<p>Every time there are investigations into voter fraud and attempts to crack down on it, the Democrats have a bad habit of wailing about it being some sort of attempt at voter suppression. For instance, columns like <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/19/opinion/donald-trump-voting-rights-purge.html?action=click&amp;pgtype=Homepage&amp;clickSource=story-heading&amp;module=opinion-c-col-right-region&amp;region=opinion-c-col-right-region&amp;WT.nav=opinion-c-col-right-region&amp;mtrref=www.nytimes.com&amp;assetType=opinion" type="external">this</a> argue that President Trump's commission investigating voter fraud is using its investigation as a pretext for voter suppression.</p>
<p>Here are five facts showing that voter suppression isn't happening.</p>
<p>1. Thus far, Trump's commission has only asked for voter data. These include <a href="https://townhall.com/columnists/robertknight/2017/07/18/untitled-n2356081" type="external">"names, voting history and other information, as permitted under state laws."</a> A total of 26 states have said they would provide data to the commission but not everything the commission is asking for, while 14 states and Washington, D.C. have refused to comply.</p>
<p>This has resulted in hysteria from organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), that claim this is some sort of violation of privacy. But as <a href="https://townhall.com/columnists/robertknight/2017/07/18/untitled-n2356081" type="external">Robert Knight pointed out</a>, the commission is simply checking if state voter rolls match up with federal records, a method that is "already codified in the National Voter Registration Act, best known as the Motor Voter Law." They're attempting to weed out ineligible voters, which is not some nefarious scheme to encroach upon privacy and implement voter suppression.</p>
<p>2. Hillary Clinton blamed her loss in Wisconsin on supposed voter suppression stemming from voter ID laws. There is no evidence that any voter suppression occurred in Wisconsin. According to <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/article/448098/virginia-voter-fraud-report-noncitizens-voted-illegally" type="external">John Fund</a>:</p>
<p>Slate — in a story headlined “Did a Voter ID Law Really Cost Clinton a Victory in Wisconsin?” — quoted several election experts who poured “a big bucket of cold water” on the idea. The reliably liberal fact-checker Snopes <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2017/05/10/the_problem_with_the_civis_study_blaming_clinton_s_wisconsin_loss_on_a_voter.htmlThe" type="external">ruled</a> the claim “unproven,” noting that even if some people lacked the ID required to vote and didn’t bother to fill out provisional ballots, it didn’t mean they wanted to vote.</p>
<p>The liberal website Vox went further and pointed out that 1) Clinton lost in key states that didn’t have new voter-ID laws and 2) her margin of defeat was too big to be explained by any suppression. Even the New York Times filed a report from Wisconsin that found that black voters were far less excited about Hillary as a candidate than they had been about Obama.</p>
<p>Clinton's excuse of voter suppression is a deflection from the fact that she didn't really campaign in Wisconsin.</p>
<p>3. North Carolina passed a bevy of measures aimed at strengthening the right to vote in 2013. The Left claimed that the measures would suppress voters, but the <a href="http://www.heritage.org/election-integrity/report/election-reform-north-carolina-and-the-myth-voter-suppression" type="external">evidence</a> suggests otherwise. These measures included requiring voter ID, abolishing same-day registration, decreasing the early voting period, and preventing those who will turn 18 by election day from registering to vote before then.</p>
<p>If these measures were truly aimed at suppressing the vote, then they failed, as there were over 2.7 million votes in North Carolina's November 2014 election, a record high for the state. Turnout as a whole increased in the state by 1.7% in 2014 from 2010.</p>
<p>If Trump's commission ends up recommending measures akin to North Carolina's 2013 bill, the data shows that it won't suppress the vote.</p>
<p>4. Voter fraud is real. For instance, according to Fund, an estimated 6.4% of non-citizens voted in 2008, which was "enough to have changed the outcome in some states." The Daily Wire reported on other instances and statistics that prove the existence of voter fraud <a href="" type="internal">here</a> and <a href="" type="internal">here</a>, which shows that investigations into the matter are not a pretext for voter suppression.</p>
<p>5. The Democrats want to win by hook or by crook. Per Fund:</p>
<p>Take Virginia, where Christian Adams, a former Justice Department lawyer who now runs the Public Interest Legal Foundation, has found that election officials routinely fail to alert law enforcement about illegal votes or registrations.</p>
<p>“At the instruction of Democratic governor Terry McAuliffe, local officials hid critical information that would have improved election integrity, while McAuliffe, a former Clinton political operative, vetoed proposal after proposal to shore up the laws,” Adams told me. The Washington Post reported that McAuliffe appointees to the state’s Board of Elections even wanted to eliminate the requirement that those registering to vote “ <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/article/421931/virginia-lovers-illegal-voting-hans-von-spakovsky-rachel-landsman" type="external">check boxes to indicate whether they are U.S. citizens or felons</a> whose right to vote has not been restored.”</p>
<p>This shows that the Democrats are more than willing to look the other way on voter fraud — and in some cases even <a href="" type="internal">gloat about engaging in voter fraud</a> — because they're willing to win by any means necessary. Their cries about how attempts to investigate or crack down on voter fraud are voter suppression is their way of distracting people from their tolerance for voter fraud that helps them win.</p>
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/bandlersbanter" type="external">Follow Aaron Bandler on Twitter.</a></p>
|
Democrats Keep Lying About Voter Suppression. These 5 Facts Show It Isn't Happening.
| true |
https://dailywire.com/news/18758/democrats-keep-lying-about-voter-suppression-these-aaron-bandler
|
2017-07-19
| 0right
|
Democrats Keep Lying About Voter Suppression. These 5 Facts Show It Isn't Happening.
<p>Every time there are investigations into voter fraud and attempts to crack down on it, the Democrats have a bad habit of wailing about it being some sort of attempt at voter suppression. For instance, columns like <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/19/opinion/donald-trump-voting-rights-purge.html?action=click&amp;pgtype=Homepage&amp;clickSource=story-heading&amp;module=opinion-c-col-right-region&amp;region=opinion-c-col-right-region&amp;WT.nav=opinion-c-col-right-region&amp;mtrref=www.nytimes.com&amp;assetType=opinion" type="external">this</a> argue that President Trump's commission investigating voter fraud is using its investigation as a pretext for voter suppression.</p>
<p>Here are five facts showing that voter suppression isn't happening.</p>
<p>1. Thus far, Trump's commission has only asked for voter data. These include <a href="https://townhall.com/columnists/robertknight/2017/07/18/untitled-n2356081" type="external">"names, voting history and other information, as permitted under state laws."</a> A total of 26 states have said they would provide data to the commission but not everything the commission is asking for, while 14 states and Washington, D.C. have refused to comply.</p>
<p>This has resulted in hysteria from organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), that claim this is some sort of violation of privacy. But as <a href="https://townhall.com/columnists/robertknight/2017/07/18/untitled-n2356081" type="external">Robert Knight pointed out</a>, the commission is simply checking if state voter rolls match up with federal records, a method that is "already codified in the National Voter Registration Act, best known as the Motor Voter Law." They're attempting to weed out ineligible voters, which is not some nefarious scheme to encroach upon privacy and implement voter suppression.</p>
<p>2. Hillary Clinton blamed her loss in Wisconsin on supposed voter suppression stemming from voter ID laws. There is no evidence that any voter suppression occurred in Wisconsin. According to <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/article/448098/virginia-voter-fraud-report-noncitizens-voted-illegally" type="external">John Fund</a>:</p>
<p>Slate — in a story headlined “Did a Voter ID Law Really Cost Clinton a Victory in Wisconsin?” — quoted several election experts who poured “a big bucket of cold water” on the idea. The reliably liberal fact-checker Snopes <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2017/05/10/the_problem_with_the_civis_study_blaming_clinton_s_wisconsin_loss_on_a_voter.htmlThe" type="external">ruled</a> the claim “unproven,” noting that even if some people lacked the ID required to vote and didn’t bother to fill out provisional ballots, it didn’t mean they wanted to vote.</p>
<p>The liberal website Vox went further and pointed out that 1) Clinton lost in key states that didn’t have new voter-ID laws and 2) her margin of defeat was too big to be explained by any suppression. Even the New York Times filed a report from Wisconsin that found that black voters were far less excited about Hillary as a candidate than they had been about Obama.</p>
<p>Clinton's excuse of voter suppression is a deflection from the fact that she didn't really campaign in Wisconsin.</p>
<p>3. North Carolina passed a bevy of measures aimed at strengthening the right to vote in 2013. The Left claimed that the measures would suppress voters, but the <a href="http://www.heritage.org/election-integrity/report/election-reform-north-carolina-and-the-myth-voter-suppression" type="external">evidence</a> suggests otherwise. These measures included requiring voter ID, abolishing same-day registration, decreasing the early voting period, and preventing those who will turn 18 by election day from registering to vote before then.</p>
<p>If these measures were truly aimed at suppressing the vote, then they failed, as there were over 2.7 million votes in North Carolina's November 2014 election, a record high for the state. Turnout as a whole increased in the state by 1.7% in 2014 from 2010.</p>
<p>If Trump's commission ends up recommending measures akin to North Carolina's 2013 bill, the data shows that it won't suppress the vote.</p>
<p>4. Voter fraud is real. For instance, according to Fund, an estimated 6.4% of non-citizens voted in 2008, which was "enough to have changed the outcome in some states." The Daily Wire reported on other instances and statistics that prove the existence of voter fraud <a href="" type="internal">here</a> and <a href="" type="internal">here</a>, which shows that investigations into the matter are not a pretext for voter suppression.</p>
<p>5. The Democrats want to win by hook or by crook. Per Fund:</p>
<p>Take Virginia, where Christian Adams, a former Justice Department lawyer who now runs the Public Interest Legal Foundation, has found that election officials routinely fail to alert law enforcement about illegal votes or registrations.</p>
<p>“At the instruction of Democratic governor Terry McAuliffe, local officials hid critical information that would have improved election integrity, while McAuliffe, a former Clinton political operative, vetoed proposal after proposal to shore up the laws,” Adams told me. The Washington Post reported that McAuliffe appointees to the state’s Board of Elections even wanted to eliminate the requirement that those registering to vote “ <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/article/421931/virginia-lovers-illegal-voting-hans-von-spakovsky-rachel-landsman" type="external">check boxes to indicate whether they are U.S. citizens or felons</a> whose right to vote has not been restored.”</p>
<p>This shows that the Democrats are more than willing to look the other way on voter fraud — and in some cases even <a href="" type="internal">gloat about engaging in voter fraud</a> — because they're willing to win by any means necessary. Their cries about how attempts to investigate or crack down on voter fraud are voter suppression is their way of distracting people from their tolerance for voter fraud that helps them win.</p>
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/bandlersbanter" type="external">Follow Aaron Bandler on Twitter.</a></p>
| 7,580 |
<p>Oxford Union/Rex Shutterstock/ZUMA</p>
<p />
<p>Donald Trump’s former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski credited the <a href="" type="internal">FBI director’s decision</a> to notify Congress that it was reviewing newly discovered emails related to Hillary Clinton as a key turning point in the election that helped deliver Trump’s surprise victory last week.</p>
<p>“What that did was remind people that there are two different rules in Washington—those of the elites, the privileged, and those for everybody else,” Lewandowski said <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/11/17/fbis-decision-to-reopen-clinton-email-probe-enabled-donald-trump/" type="external">during a speech at the Oxford Union debating society</a> on Wednesday. “When Comey came forward with that investigation, it allowed the campaign a little spring in their step and for them to redouble their efforts.”</p>
<p>According to Lewandowski, the announcement to reexamine Clinton’s email use gave way to an “exceptionally disciplined” Trump. He also described the turn of events as “amazing.”</p>
<p>“He used a teleprompter and he did less media,” he said. “And then Donald Trump won the election campaign by the largest majority since Ronald Reagan in 1984.”</p>
<p>Comey has come under intense fire from both Democrats and Republicans who claim the decision may have inappropriately influenced the outcome of the election. Days after her shocking loss, Clinton <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/hillary-clinton-comey-letters-defeat-231280" type="external">told high-level donors</a> that she believed Comey’s letter lead to her defeat.</p>
<p>After the disclosing the discovery of the Clinton-related emails, Comey announced that the <a href="" type="internal">FBI did not find anything</a> new to change its previous conclusion not to bring charges against Clinton.</p>
<p>Lewandowski, who joined CNN as an analyst after he was ousted from Trump’s campaign in June, recently stepped down from the cable network and is reportedly angling for a high-level role in the incoming administration. But with reports of infighting dogging the president-elect’s transition, it remains to be seen which of Trump’s loyalists actually make it to the White House.</p>
<p />
|
Corey Lewandowski Says FBI’s Decision to Reexamine Email Case Helped Deliver Trump Victory
| true |
https://motherjones.com/politics/2016/11/corey-lewandowski-fbi-email-hillary-clinton-trump-victory/
|
2016-11-17
| 4left
|
Corey Lewandowski Says FBI’s Decision to Reexamine Email Case Helped Deliver Trump Victory
<p>Oxford Union/Rex Shutterstock/ZUMA</p>
<p />
<p>Donald Trump’s former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski credited the <a href="" type="internal">FBI director’s decision</a> to notify Congress that it was reviewing newly discovered emails related to Hillary Clinton as a key turning point in the election that helped deliver Trump’s surprise victory last week.</p>
<p>“What that did was remind people that there are two different rules in Washington—those of the elites, the privileged, and those for everybody else,” Lewandowski said <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/11/17/fbis-decision-to-reopen-clinton-email-probe-enabled-donald-trump/" type="external">during a speech at the Oxford Union debating society</a> on Wednesday. “When Comey came forward with that investigation, it allowed the campaign a little spring in their step and for them to redouble their efforts.”</p>
<p>According to Lewandowski, the announcement to reexamine Clinton’s email use gave way to an “exceptionally disciplined” Trump. He also described the turn of events as “amazing.”</p>
<p>“He used a teleprompter and he did less media,” he said. “And then Donald Trump won the election campaign by the largest majority since Ronald Reagan in 1984.”</p>
<p>Comey has come under intense fire from both Democrats and Republicans who claim the decision may have inappropriately influenced the outcome of the election. Days after her shocking loss, Clinton <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/hillary-clinton-comey-letters-defeat-231280" type="external">told high-level donors</a> that she believed Comey’s letter lead to her defeat.</p>
<p>After the disclosing the discovery of the Clinton-related emails, Comey announced that the <a href="" type="internal">FBI did not find anything</a> new to change its previous conclusion not to bring charges against Clinton.</p>
<p>Lewandowski, who joined CNN as an analyst after he was ousted from Trump’s campaign in June, recently stepped down from the cable network and is reportedly angling for a high-level role in the incoming administration. But with reports of infighting dogging the president-elect’s transition, it remains to be seen which of Trump’s loyalists actually make it to the White House.</p>
<p />
| 7,581 |
<p>Give peace a chance, the song urges.</p>
<p>But the United States won’t have it.</p>
<p>Olympic diplomacy seems to be working on the Korean peninsula. After a pair of South Korean envoys visited Pyongyang, they issued a promising communiqué. “The North Korean side clearly stated its willingness to denuclearize,” the statement said. Considering that the Korean crisis and a derpy emergency management official had Hawaiians jumping down manholes a few months ago, this news comes as a relief.</p>
<p>Then comes the rub. The South Korean statement continued: “[North Korea] made it clear that it would have no reason to keep nuclear weapons if the military threat to the North was eliminated and its security guaranteed [my emphasis].”</p>
<p>In other words, the DPRK is saying — reasonably — we’ll get rid of our nukes but only if you promise not to invade us. That guarantee would have to be issued by two countries: South Korea and the United States.</p>
<p>This would directly contradict long-standing U.S. foreign policy, which clearly and repeatedly states that the use of military force is always on the table when we don’t get our way in an international dispute.</p>
<p>Kim Jong-On has good reasons to be afraid of us. In a speech to the UN President Trump threatened to “totally destroy” North Korea. President George W. Bush declared them a member of the “Axis of Evil”; we invaded and currently occupy Iraq, one of the two other supposed Evildoers. After deposing and enabling the execution of Iraq’s president. Last week Bush’s UN ambassador John Bolton published a legal argument for nuking North Korea without provocation.</p>
<p>Believe it or not, this is the soft side of U.S. foreign policy.</p>
<p>For decades South Korea has tried to deescalate its relationship with the North, not infrequently expressing its desire to end formal hostilities, which legally never ended after the Korean War, and move toward the long-term goal of a united Korea under a single government. And for decades the United States has stood in the way, awkwardly trying to look reasonable as it opposes peace. “We do not seek to accelerate reunification,” a State Department spokesman said recently.</p>
<p>To say the least.</p>
<p>“South-North talks are inextricably related to North Korea-United States relations,” South Korean President Kim Dae Jung said in 2001, after Bush canceled dialogue with the North. The South, dependent on more than 20,000 U.S. troops stationed along its northern border, was forced to suspend reunification talks too.</p>
<p>The Reagan Administration pressured its South Korean ally to break off reunification talks in 1985.</p>
<p>Nixon did the same thing in 1974. After Nixon’s resignation later that year, President Gerald Ford opposed a UN resolution to demilitarize the border by withdrawing U.S. troops.</p>
<p>Even Mr. Reasonable, Barack Obama, refused to listen to South Koreans who want peace (and to visit long-lost relatives in North Korea). Celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice, Obama threatened to loose the dogs of war: “The United States of America will maintain the strongest military the world has ever known, bar none, always. That is what we do.” What Obama would not do was allow North and South Korea to sit down and work out their differences. Before talks, Obama said, North Korea would have to denuclearize. After which, of course, there would be no need for talks because, hey, regime change is fun!</p>
<p>Why, a sane person might ask at this point, would U.S. policymakers want to risk World War III over two countries that repeatedly say they want to make peace and get back together?</p>
<p>For my money a 2007 analysis by the geopolitical thinktank Stratfor comes closest to explaining what’s really going on inside the Beltway: “The basic global situation can be described simply. The United States has overwhelming power. It is using that power to try to prevent the emergence of any competing powers. It is therefore constantly engaged in interventions on a political, economic and military level. The rest of the world is seeking to limit and control the United States. No nation can do it alone, and therefore there is a constant attempt to create coalitions to contain the United States. So far, these coalitions have tended to fail, because potential members can be leveraged out of the coalition by American threats or incentives.”</p>
<p>The U.S. is the Great Global Disruptor. “As powers emerge, the United States follows a three-stage program. First, provide aid to weaker powers to contain and undermine emerging hegemons. Second, create more formal arrangements with these powers. Finally, if necessary, send relatively small numbers of U.S. troops to Eurasia to block major powers and destabilize regions.” For example, Iran is the emerging hegemon in the Middle East. The U.S. undermines Iran with trade sanctions, props up rivals like Saudi Arabia with aid, and deploys U.S. troops next door in Afghanistan and Iraq.</p>
<p>Similarly the U.S. keeps China off-balance by propping up Taiwan and setting up new U.S. bases in the region. We play India against Pakistan, Europe against Russia.</p>
<p>A united Korea would create a new power center, potentially a new economic rival, to the U.S. in the Pacific Rim. So the U.S. uses threats (“totally destroy”) against the North and incentivizes the South (free border security).</p>
<p>It would almost be funny if it wasn’t so sick. Here’s to the day the two Koreas see through us.</p>
|
Why Does the U.S. Hate Peace?
| true |
https://counterpunch.org/2018/03/09/why-does-the-u-s-hate-peace/
|
2018-03-09
| 4left
|
Why Does the U.S. Hate Peace?
<p>Give peace a chance, the song urges.</p>
<p>But the United States won’t have it.</p>
<p>Olympic diplomacy seems to be working on the Korean peninsula. After a pair of South Korean envoys visited Pyongyang, they issued a promising communiqué. “The North Korean side clearly stated its willingness to denuclearize,” the statement said. Considering that the Korean crisis and a derpy emergency management official had Hawaiians jumping down manholes a few months ago, this news comes as a relief.</p>
<p>Then comes the rub. The South Korean statement continued: “[North Korea] made it clear that it would have no reason to keep nuclear weapons if the military threat to the North was eliminated and its security guaranteed [my emphasis].”</p>
<p>In other words, the DPRK is saying — reasonably — we’ll get rid of our nukes but only if you promise not to invade us. That guarantee would have to be issued by two countries: South Korea and the United States.</p>
<p>This would directly contradict long-standing U.S. foreign policy, which clearly and repeatedly states that the use of military force is always on the table when we don’t get our way in an international dispute.</p>
<p>Kim Jong-On has good reasons to be afraid of us. In a speech to the UN President Trump threatened to “totally destroy” North Korea. President George W. Bush declared them a member of the “Axis of Evil”; we invaded and currently occupy Iraq, one of the two other supposed Evildoers. After deposing and enabling the execution of Iraq’s president. Last week Bush’s UN ambassador John Bolton published a legal argument for nuking North Korea without provocation.</p>
<p>Believe it or not, this is the soft side of U.S. foreign policy.</p>
<p>For decades South Korea has tried to deescalate its relationship with the North, not infrequently expressing its desire to end formal hostilities, which legally never ended after the Korean War, and move toward the long-term goal of a united Korea under a single government. And for decades the United States has stood in the way, awkwardly trying to look reasonable as it opposes peace. “We do not seek to accelerate reunification,” a State Department spokesman said recently.</p>
<p>To say the least.</p>
<p>“South-North talks are inextricably related to North Korea-United States relations,” South Korean President Kim Dae Jung said in 2001, after Bush canceled dialogue with the North. The South, dependent on more than 20,000 U.S. troops stationed along its northern border, was forced to suspend reunification talks too.</p>
<p>The Reagan Administration pressured its South Korean ally to break off reunification talks in 1985.</p>
<p>Nixon did the same thing in 1974. After Nixon’s resignation later that year, President Gerald Ford opposed a UN resolution to demilitarize the border by withdrawing U.S. troops.</p>
<p>Even Mr. Reasonable, Barack Obama, refused to listen to South Koreans who want peace (and to visit long-lost relatives in North Korea). Celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice, Obama threatened to loose the dogs of war: “The United States of America will maintain the strongest military the world has ever known, bar none, always. That is what we do.” What Obama would not do was allow North and South Korea to sit down and work out their differences. Before talks, Obama said, North Korea would have to denuclearize. After which, of course, there would be no need for talks because, hey, regime change is fun!</p>
<p>Why, a sane person might ask at this point, would U.S. policymakers want to risk World War III over two countries that repeatedly say they want to make peace and get back together?</p>
<p>For my money a 2007 analysis by the geopolitical thinktank Stratfor comes closest to explaining what’s really going on inside the Beltway: “The basic global situation can be described simply. The United States has overwhelming power. It is using that power to try to prevent the emergence of any competing powers. It is therefore constantly engaged in interventions on a political, economic and military level. The rest of the world is seeking to limit and control the United States. No nation can do it alone, and therefore there is a constant attempt to create coalitions to contain the United States. So far, these coalitions have tended to fail, because potential members can be leveraged out of the coalition by American threats or incentives.”</p>
<p>The U.S. is the Great Global Disruptor. “As powers emerge, the United States follows a three-stage program. First, provide aid to weaker powers to contain and undermine emerging hegemons. Second, create more formal arrangements with these powers. Finally, if necessary, send relatively small numbers of U.S. troops to Eurasia to block major powers and destabilize regions.” For example, Iran is the emerging hegemon in the Middle East. The U.S. undermines Iran with trade sanctions, props up rivals like Saudi Arabia with aid, and deploys U.S. troops next door in Afghanistan and Iraq.</p>
<p>Similarly the U.S. keeps China off-balance by propping up Taiwan and setting up new U.S. bases in the region. We play India against Pakistan, Europe against Russia.</p>
<p>A united Korea would create a new power center, potentially a new economic rival, to the U.S. in the Pacific Rim. So the U.S. uses threats (“totally destroy”) against the North and incentivizes the South (free border security).</p>
<p>It would almost be funny if it wasn’t so sick. Here’s to the day the two Koreas see through us.</p>
| 7,582 |
<p>JPMorgan's (NYSE:JPM) Jamie Dimon has prevailed over a shareholder revolt that sought to strip him of one of his titles. Dimon will retain both his chief executive and chairman roles at the banking giant.</p>
<p>A preliminary count of ballots announced at JPMorgan’s annual shareholder meeting in Tampa, Fla.. on Tuesday revealed that just 32.2% of shareholders vote to split the roles of CEO and chairman.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>JPMorgan’s shares jumped higher after news of Dimon’s victory spread. The stock was up $1.07, or 2.05%, at $53.36 in midday trading on the New York Stock Exchange.</p>
<p>.Dimon has said he would consider leaving JPMorgan if the shareholder vote turned against him.</p>
<p>The outspoken Dimon was long-considered a prince of Wall Street – if not a king – for having steered JPMorgan through the recent financial crisis with minimal negative impact. Dimon insisted that JPMorgan never needed a bailout during the darkest days of the crisis, but only took the government funds because officials demanded that he do it.</p>
<p>But all that changed just over a year ago when JPMorgan announced it had lost $6.2 billion on derivative bets made out of the firm’s London office. The massive losses were blamed on a trader who’s come to be known as the ‘London whale.’</p>
<p>Heads rolled at the firm as the debacle played out in the media and before Congressional hearings in Washington, D.C. But Dimon, 57, survived the crisis.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The fallout has primarily come among groups of institutional shareholders who want more oversight of Dimon, not necessarily to replace him. These shareholders have argued that having one person serve as CEO and chairman is a conflict of interest because the board of directors overseen by the chairman is supposed to maintain an objective view of the company’s operations. That’s not possible if the CEO and chairman are the same person, the dissenting shareholders believe.</p>
<p>Former U.S. Senator Judd Gregg (R- N.H.), in an interview with the FOX Business Network, praised Dimon as a “strong leader” and said he disagreed that Dimon’s dual roles posed a conflict of interest. Gregg was recently named CEO of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, one of Wall Street’s top lobbying groups.</p>
<p>Gregg said JPMorgan has prospered under Dimon and that the bank and its shareholders likely benefit from having a single leader.</p>
<p>One analyst has estimated that JPMorgan’s stock could lose 10% if Dimon leaves, shaving $20 billion off the firm’s market value.</p>
<p>Analyst Mike Mayo with brokerage firm CLSA said in a recent note to clients that the bank has no one lined up to replace Dimon if Dimon were to leave in the near future.</p>
<p>The shareholder proposal was non-binding, which means the bank's board of directors did not have to accept the recommendation even had the measure received majority shareholder support. Neverthless, it would have represented a clear rebuke of Dimon’s leadership.</p>
<p>JPMorgan’s board steadfastly supported Dimon and Dimon’s supporters lobbied hard for the CEO to retain his dual role.</p>
|
Dimon Retains Dual Roles at J.P. Morgan
| true |
http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2013/05/21/jpmorgan-investors-on-edge-over-vote-on-dimon-what-if-win.html
|
2016-03-05
| 0right
|
Dimon Retains Dual Roles at J.P. Morgan
<p>JPMorgan's (NYSE:JPM) Jamie Dimon has prevailed over a shareholder revolt that sought to strip him of one of his titles. Dimon will retain both his chief executive and chairman roles at the banking giant.</p>
<p>A preliminary count of ballots announced at JPMorgan’s annual shareholder meeting in Tampa, Fla.. on Tuesday revealed that just 32.2% of shareholders vote to split the roles of CEO and chairman.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>JPMorgan’s shares jumped higher after news of Dimon’s victory spread. The stock was up $1.07, or 2.05%, at $53.36 in midday trading on the New York Stock Exchange.</p>
<p>.Dimon has said he would consider leaving JPMorgan if the shareholder vote turned against him.</p>
<p>The outspoken Dimon was long-considered a prince of Wall Street – if not a king – for having steered JPMorgan through the recent financial crisis with minimal negative impact. Dimon insisted that JPMorgan never needed a bailout during the darkest days of the crisis, but only took the government funds because officials demanded that he do it.</p>
<p>But all that changed just over a year ago when JPMorgan announced it had lost $6.2 billion on derivative bets made out of the firm’s London office. The massive losses were blamed on a trader who’s come to be known as the ‘London whale.’</p>
<p>Heads rolled at the firm as the debacle played out in the media and before Congressional hearings in Washington, D.C. But Dimon, 57, survived the crisis.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The fallout has primarily come among groups of institutional shareholders who want more oversight of Dimon, not necessarily to replace him. These shareholders have argued that having one person serve as CEO and chairman is a conflict of interest because the board of directors overseen by the chairman is supposed to maintain an objective view of the company’s operations. That’s not possible if the CEO and chairman are the same person, the dissenting shareholders believe.</p>
<p>Former U.S. Senator Judd Gregg (R- N.H.), in an interview with the FOX Business Network, praised Dimon as a “strong leader” and said he disagreed that Dimon’s dual roles posed a conflict of interest. Gregg was recently named CEO of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, one of Wall Street’s top lobbying groups.</p>
<p>Gregg said JPMorgan has prospered under Dimon and that the bank and its shareholders likely benefit from having a single leader.</p>
<p>One analyst has estimated that JPMorgan’s stock could lose 10% if Dimon leaves, shaving $20 billion off the firm’s market value.</p>
<p>Analyst Mike Mayo with brokerage firm CLSA said in a recent note to clients that the bank has no one lined up to replace Dimon if Dimon were to leave in the near future.</p>
<p>The shareholder proposal was non-binding, which means the bank's board of directors did not have to accept the recommendation even had the measure received majority shareholder support. Neverthless, it would have represented a clear rebuke of Dimon’s leadership.</p>
<p>JPMorgan’s board steadfastly supported Dimon and Dimon’s supporters lobbied hard for the CEO to retain his dual role.</p>
| 7,583 |
<p>(Breitbart) – A former propaganda ‘mastermind’ for&#160;Islamic State&#160;says the terrorist group has plans for&#160;a “series of coordinated attacks across European cities” to replicate the bloody Paris attacks&#160;on other&#160;streets.</p>
<p>The plan for the coordinated terror attacks was told to authorities by&#160;a former Islamic State jihadi&#160;identified only as Harry S,&#160;reports&#160;The Express. He fled the terror group’s territory&#160;and is now being questioned by intelligence officers in Germany after having been charged with&#160;membership of a terror group&#160;— a conviction for which would result in a lengthy prison sentence.</p>
<p>He claims&#160;senior Islamic State&#160;commanders asked&#160;him&#160;and&#160;other fighters to “bring jihad back to their homeland”. The coordinated terror attacks across Europe would be the result.&#160;He explained:</p>
<p>“They want something that happens everywhere at the same time.</p>
<p>“All you need is to take a big knife, and go down to the streets and slaughter every infidel you encounter.”</p>
<p>The German jihadist&#160;— one of 700 according to estimates from Germany’s domestic intelligence agency&#160;— used to&#160;lead the Islamic State’s mass executions and weekly ideological training sessions in&#160;its nominal capital,&#160;Raqqa.</p>
<p>Earlier in the year Harry S&#160;featured in a video alongside&#160;the Islamic State flag. The film went on to show other German-speaking terrorists&#160;calling on supporters across the world to kill “infidels”&#160;and&#160;ended with two prisoners being shot dead.</p>
<p>After three months of beheadings and other executions&#160;Harry S claims&#160;he could no longer stand the&#160;brutality and escaped Syria for Germany.</p>
<p>Security services are reportedly concerned that the ongoing influx of migrants from the Middle East into Europe could set the stage for the sort of pan-European terror described by Harry S.</p>
<p>The&#160;former head of Austria’s domestic security agency,&#160;Dr Gert R. Polli, recently warned that terror groups may be taking advantage of the migrant crisis to place terrorists in Europe, as&#160;reported&#160;by&#160;Breitbart London. Wendt agreed that the possibility of terrorists and radicals coming in cannot be excluded as “borders are no longer controllable.”</p>
<p>http://www.breitbart.com/london/2015/12/19/islamic-state-plans-coordinated-terror-attacks-across-european-cities/</p>
|
Islamic State Plans ‘Coordinated Terror Attacks’ Across European Cities
| true |
http://teaparty.org/islamic-state-plans-coordinated-terror-attacks-across-european-cities-135376/?utm_source%3Drss%26utm_medium%3Drss%26utm_campaign%3Dislamic-state-plans-coordinated-terror-attacks-across-european-cities
| 0right
|
Islamic State Plans ‘Coordinated Terror Attacks’ Across European Cities
<p>(Breitbart) – A former propaganda ‘mastermind’ for&#160;Islamic State&#160;says the terrorist group has plans for&#160;a “series of coordinated attacks across European cities” to replicate the bloody Paris attacks&#160;on other&#160;streets.</p>
<p>The plan for the coordinated terror attacks was told to authorities by&#160;a former Islamic State jihadi&#160;identified only as Harry S,&#160;reports&#160;The Express. He fled the terror group’s territory&#160;and is now being questioned by intelligence officers in Germany after having been charged with&#160;membership of a terror group&#160;— a conviction for which would result in a lengthy prison sentence.</p>
<p>He claims&#160;senior Islamic State&#160;commanders asked&#160;him&#160;and&#160;other fighters to “bring jihad back to their homeland”. The coordinated terror attacks across Europe would be the result.&#160;He explained:</p>
<p>“They want something that happens everywhere at the same time.</p>
<p>“All you need is to take a big knife, and go down to the streets and slaughter every infidel you encounter.”</p>
<p>The German jihadist&#160;— one of 700 according to estimates from Germany’s domestic intelligence agency&#160;— used to&#160;lead the Islamic State’s mass executions and weekly ideological training sessions in&#160;its nominal capital,&#160;Raqqa.</p>
<p>Earlier in the year Harry S&#160;featured in a video alongside&#160;the Islamic State flag. The film went on to show other German-speaking terrorists&#160;calling on supporters across the world to kill “infidels”&#160;and&#160;ended with two prisoners being shot dead.</p>
<p>After three months of beheadings and other executions&#160;Harry S claims&#160;he could no longer stand the&#160;brutality and escaped Syria for Germany.</p>
<p>Security services are reportedly concerned that the ongoing influx of migrants from the Middle East into Europe could set the stage for the sort of pan-European terror described by Harry S.</p>
<p>The&#160;former head of Austria’s domestic security agency,&#160;Dr Gert R. Polli, recently warned that terror groups may be taking advantage of the migrant crisis to place terrorists in Europe, as&#160;reported&#160;by&#160;Breitbart London. Wendt agreed that the possibility of terrorists and radicals coming in cannot be excluded as “borders are no longer controllable.”</p>
<p>http://www.breitbart.com/london/2015/12/19/islamic-state-plans-coordinated-terror-attacks-across-european-cities/</p>
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<p />
<p>Slightly more Americans sought unemployment benefits last week, but the overall levels still remain near historic lows in a positive sign for the job market.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>THE NUMBERS: Applications for jobless aid rose 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 263,000, matching its four-week moving average, the Labor Department said Thursday. The number of people collecting unemployment checks has fallen 4.4 percent from a year ago to 2.16 million.</p>
<p>Weekly requests for jobless benefits have stayed below the threshold of 300,000 for 78 straight weeks, the longest streak since 1970. This indicates that employers are holding onto their workers in the belief that the broader U.S. economy will continue to grow.</p>
<p>THE TAKEAWAY: The job market appears to be on firm footing, because jobless claims are often viewed as a proxy of layoffs. The modest level indicates that many employers view their businesses as stable or expanding, an outlook that would lead to additional hiring as the economy continues its seventh year recovering the Great Recession.</p>
<p>With fewer workers seeking unemployment benefits, the government's employment report being released Friday is expected to show solid hiring levels in August. A survey of economists has estimated that employers added 180,000 jobs last month with the unemployment rate ticking down to 4.8 percent, according to data provider FactSet.</p>
<p>KEY DRIVERS: Job growth has remained relatively healthy, despite weak economic growth in the first half of 2016.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Employers added 255,000 jobs in July and 292,000 in June as the unemployment rate held at 4.9 percent.</p>
<p>The economy expanded at an annual pace of 1.1 percent from April through June after growing a mere 0.8 percent in the first quarter. Many economists say that growth should accelerate in the second half of the year.</p>
<p>Still, the divide between hiring and growth is potentially worrisome. It indicates that the economy is becoming less productive, as measured by the output for each hour worked. Over the past 12 months ended in June, labor productivity has fallen 0.4 percent, according to a separate government report released Thursday.</p>
<p>Falling productivity means that employers must hire more workers to sustain growth, but it also can stifle wage growth since workers are generating less value for each hour on the job.</p>
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Weekly requests for US jobless aid rise but still near lows
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http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/09/01/weekly-requests-for-us-jobless-aid-rise-but-still-near-lows.html
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2016-09-01
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Weekly requests for US jobless aid rise but still near lows
<p />
<p>Slightly more Americans sought unemployment benefits last week, but the overall levels still remain near historic lows in a positive sign for the job market.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>THE NUMBERS: Applications for jobless aid rose 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 263,000, matching its four-week moving average, the Labor Department said Thursday. The number of people collecting unemployment checks has fallen 4.4 percent from a year ago to 2.16 million.</p>
<p>Weekly requests for jobless benefits have stayed below the threshold of 300,000 for 78 straight weeks, the longest streak since 1970. This indicates that employers are holding onto their workers in the belief that the broader U.S. economy will continue to grow.</p>
<p>THE TAKEAWAY: The job market appears to be on firm footing, because jobless claims are often viewed as a proxy of layoffs. The modest level indicates that many employers view their businesses as stable or expanding, an outlook that would lead to additional hiring as the economy continues its seventh year recovering the Great Recession.</p>
<p>With fewer workers seeking unemployment benefits, the government's employment report being released Friday is expected to show solid hiring levels in August. A survey of economists has estimated that employers added 180,000 jobs last month with the unemployment rate ticking down to 4.8 percent, according to data provider FactSet.</p>
<p>KEY DRIVERS: Job growth has remained relatively healthy, despite weak economic growth in the first half of 2016.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Employers added 255,000 jobs in July and 292,000 in June as the unemployment rate held at 4.9 percent.</p>
<p>The economy expanded at an annual pace of 1.1 percent from April through June after growing a mere 0.8 percent in the first quarter. Many economists say that growth should accelerate in the second half of the year.</p>
<p>Still, the divide between hiring and growth is potentially worrisome. It indicates that the economy is becoming less productive, as measured by the output for each hour worked. Over the past 12 months ended in June, labor productivity has fallen 0.4 percent, according to a separate government report released Thursday.</p>
<p>Falling productivity means that employers must hire more workers to sustain growth, but it also can stifle wage growth since workers are generating less value for each hour on the job.</p>
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<p>The University of Southern California’s Neon Tommy takes a close look at the people, services and institutions that stand to lose the most in California’s ongoing budget fiasco. The state’s leadership is staring down a nearly $26 billion budget deficit, and even if Gov. Jerry Brown can reach agreement with the Legislature on tax extensions and renegotiated state employee contracts, drastic cuts appear imminent. One piece of good news, however, is a <a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-hiltzik-20110427,0,1097810.column" type="external">recent poll</a> indicating that voters are ready to consider tax increases. — KDG</p>
<p>Neon Tommy:</p>
<p>Neon Tommy staffers dug deep to find the people who would be hit hardest by the cuts. Services and institutions in peril include health care, courts, mental health, child care, parks and higher education ($500 million each from the UC and Cal-State systems). Brown’s pledge to spare public K-12 was contingent on the tax extensions, which is looking less and less likely.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.neontommy.com/news/2011/04/california-crisis-how-budget-debacle-screws-social-services" type="external">Read more</a></p>
<p />
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The Casualties in California's Budget War
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https://truthdig.com/articles/the-casualties-in-californias-budget-war/
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2011-04-27
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The Casualties in California's Budget War
<p>The University of Southern California’s Neon Tommy takes a close look at the people, services and institutions that stand to lose the most in California’s ongoing budget fiasco. The state’s leadership is staring down a nearly $26 billion budget deficit, and even if Gov. Jerry Brown can reach agreement with the Legislature on tax extensions and renegotiated state employee contracts, drastic cuts appear imminent. One piece of good news, however, is a <a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-hiltzik-20110427,0,1097810.column" type="external">recent poll</a> indicating that voters are ready to consider tax increases. — KDG</p>
<p>Neon Tommy:</p>
<p>Neon Tommy staffers dug deep to find the people who would be hit hardest by the cuts. Services and institutions in peril include health care, courts, mental health, child care, parks and higher education ($500 million each from the UC and Cal-State systems). Brown’s pledge to spare public K-12 was contingent on the tax extensions, which is looking less and less likely.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.neontommy.com/news/2011/04/california-crisis-how-budget-debacle-screws-social-services" type="external">Read more</a></p>
<p />
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<p>“Oh, good, it’s time for the NYTimes to ask if the book business is dead. Again,” tweeted It Girl literary agent Julie Barer recently. Barer’s tweet linked to a New York Times Magazine article about a proposed merger between Random House and Penguin that began this way: “When you see a merger between two giants in a declining industry, it can look like the financial version of a couple having a baby to save a marriage.”</p>
<p>Everyone who works in publishing read the article <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/18/magazine/penguin-random-house-merger.html?_r=0" type="external">“How Dead Is the Book Business?”</a> by NPR Planet Money co-founder Adam Davidson. Nobody liked it much, mainly because Davidson dared to compare book publishing to envelope manufacturing. His article was less notable for its brilliant insights into the industry — there weren’t many — than for its unstated assumption: Publishing, once a wood-paneled gentlemen’s club where martinis and lofty literary ideals trumped tawdry financial concerns, is just another business.</p>
<p>Many people think publishing isn’t a business at all. Book publishing is a clubby, insular world where everyone knows one another and started as an eager 22-year-old fresh out of Vassar. Publishing people have not moonlighted as gas station attendants. (There are very few gas stations in Manhattan.) They have not worked in homeless shelters or insane asylums. They have never been anthropologists in Borneo or studied raptors in Bolivia. They have, of course, read about these things, which they believe qualifies them to judge whether books written by people who actually have done them are worthy of publication. They don’t believe that outsiders understand what they do, least of all a crass business reporter.</p>
<p>The culture of book publishing is one reason for its current woes. In the long run, that eccentric nature might be the industry’s salvation. In the short term, though, it’s hard to tell whether vulture capitalism will mend publishing’s problems or make them worse. Barer was right: The book business isn’t dead. But it is changing, and the book companies that emerge will bear as little resemblance to their predecessors as the gangster who has plastic surgery and comes out looking like someone else — because he is, indeed, played by another actor. Whether you think that’s a good thing may come down to whether you own stock in the company.</p>
<p />
<p>The one certainty is that there’s no turning back. John Tayman, the founder of Byliner, an online publisher that shares profits with writers, calls it a transition from analog to digital. But it’s more than that. Shopped at Target recently? The landscape of publishing looks like America itself: a few monopolistic corporations duking it out for 80 percent of the profits, small to medium-sized presses where people do it for love but wouldn’t mind a smash hit, and tech innovators determined to prove that doing good while doing well is not an oxymoron (but if it goes belly up, they’ll still have the house in Noe Valley, the BMW and the book contract). Workers, you say? Oh, them. Workers — in this case, writers and, to some extent, editors — face narrowing opportunities, low wages and zero job security.</p>
<p>Industry boosters stave off criticism by pointing out that more books are getting published now than ever before, and trendy literary fiction has a certain amount of zing, thanks to proliferating MFA programs. But there’s no question that corporate consolidation narrows the channel for writers. In some cases, literary agents won’t approach more than one editor at a publishing house, even if there are a number of imprints under the same roof. (An imprint is a unit within a publishing company that has its own staff and identity. According to literary agent Andy Ross, Random House had 56 and Penguin 39 at last count.)</p>
<p>At a recent conference of literary writers in New York, both Barer and veteran literary agent Gail Hochman acknowledged that many good books simply don’t get published. What’s maddening is that these decisions often don’t make sense either artistically or commercially. Even a well-regarded author who violates the industry’s shibboleths may run into trouble, and those shibboleths seem as numerous, and as irrational, as the taboos on an isolated Micronesian island.</p>
<p>Take the case of Chris Beha, one of the writers who appeared at the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses conference held in New York in early November. Beha is an associate editor at Harper’s Magazine, and he is not anyone’s idea of a mediocre talent. An unassuming genius in the David Foster Wallace mode, Beha studied with Joyce Carol Oates at Princeton. Grove published his first book, a memoir titled “The Whole Five Feet: What the Great Books Taught Me About Life, Death, and Pretty Much Everything Else,” to stellar reviews.</p>
<p>But Beha is really a novelist, not a nonfiction writer. His next book was a novel about a struggling young writer living in Greenwich Village and a girl he loved in college who had abandoned her literary calling for Catholicism. “What Happened to Sophie Wilder” examines the difference between living life and writing about it.</p>
<p>Unfortunately for Beha, the novel violated the cargo cult belief among publishers that nobody wants to read about writers. (If you’re a literary type and tempted to mention that Philip Roth didn’t get the memo on that one, you wouldn’t be the first.) When “Sophie Wilder” failed to win a contract from one of the Big Six, Rob Spillman, editor of Tin House Books, jumped at the chance to publish it. The story has a happy ending: Amazon featured the book as a digital download deal of the day and it wound up No. 1 in literary fiction, selling more than a thousand copies in 24 hours. D.G. Myers, a critic for Commentary magazine, called it, flat out, the <a href="http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2012/10/10/national-book-award-2012/" type="external">best book of the year</a>.</p>
<p>Beha’s experience illustrates the real problem with the Bain Capital-inspired changes now taking place in the industry. There’s no guarantee that the corporate strategy of “bigger is better” will solve the book business’ structural problems, or even result in better sales. Economies of scale may help publishers go digital, but it’s interesting to note that the overall failure rate for mergers and acquisitions is roughly the same as the percentage of books that don’t earn out their advances: 70 percent, according to the Harvard Business Review, putting MBAs in roughly the same category as feckless English majors-turned-editors in terms of predicting success.What’s a publishing CEO to do? The industry’s problems are easy to understand. The contraption was jury-rigged from the beginning, and the business model is the equivalent of the QWERTY keyboard. Take, for example, the fact that bookstores can order as many books as they want and if they don’t sell, the stores can send them back to the company and get fully reimbursed. This arrangement is a relic of the Great Depression (the one in the 1930s, not the one we’re in now) and is often cited as the most obvious example of the industry’s longstanding structural problems. But there are other oddities. Book contracts are, in many cases, a shell game. The financial arrangement of “advance against royalties” allows publishers to subsidize writers, compensating for royalties that, in standard publishing contracts, can be as low as 8 percent for the first 20,000 copies of a book.</p>
<p>“Sometimes publishers will write a contract for a major author that says we’ll give you 22 percent, knowing it will never earn out,” publishing consultant Mike Shatzkin said. “The sharp agent negotiates a royalty that’s considerably higher than that. These aren’t always mistakes. It’s not a royalty on paper, but an advance that’s essentially a royalty.”</p>
<p>With accounting metafictions and antiquated baggage, how do publishers make money? One might well ask. The glaring inefficiencies of the business are offset by blockbuster sales. In fact, publishers operate very much like writers, who tend to use the last check from their advance to pay off a whopping Visa bill. So far, it’s worked. The Random-Penguin merger was driven not by ledger sheet losses but by the market creep of Apple and Amazon, both of which are far larger than any publishing company. But an overreliance on bailouts by next year’s “Fifty Shades of Grey” creates an atmosphere of fear and frustration that one observer called “toxic.”</p>
<p>It’s hard not to sympathize with corporate executives who are appalled by publishing’s Rube Goldberg business model. But for the last 20 years a succession of corporate players ranging from oil companies to movie studios have applied MBA logic to a business that, at its core, relies on a different kind of thinking entirely. The lifeblood of the book business consists of long-term relationships and the cultivation of talent. But the world of Big Box publishing is driven by stock prices, and if a writer’s first book doesn’t sell, she may not get another published.</p>
<p>“The most important thing that big publishers traditionally offered was transference of risk,” Shatzkin said. “The Big Six, probably 20 to 25,000 times a year, take the risk from an author onto themselves. That means the risk involved in getting the book ready for publication, making it, publishing it, distributing it. What’s happening now is the publisher is saying in this current marketplace I can’t accept this risk for myself.”</p>
<p>Publishers may improve their bottom line by ratcheting down advances, getting rid of the dreaded mid-list (books that sell less than 25,000 copies), and externalizing their costs, but Shatzkin believes this kind of tough love may weaken them over the long run. Publishing isn’t dead — really! — but in a few years, the Big Six (or Four, or the Massive Two, as one pundit predicted) may resemble a wounded mammoth fighting off a veritable Noah’s Ark of more recently evolved predators. These include not only Apple and Amazon, but feisty midsize presses and innovative startups like Byliner, which offer a direct connection between writers and their readers.</p>
<p>For now, most writers need a quicker fix: the credibility and decent-sized advances that only big houses offer. By default, the common wisdom these days is: “You just need to find the right agent,” as if the right agent will miraculously transform a shy introvert into a smooth-talking Master of the Elevator Pitch, plus get said introvert a movie deal. The right agent will find the right editor, the one who will risk losing her job in the next wave of corporate layoffs simply because she loves your book so much.</p>
<p>That’s all true, unless the marketing people use their veto power. If publishing a book is starting to sound like a sex-ed movie from eighth grade starring the plucky single sperm who outraced the other 100 million sperm (and never mind all the things that might go wrong after conception!), that’s not far from the mark.</p>
<p>One of the reasons literary agents have become more powerful than editors is their relative job security, since many are sole proprietors. But agents are realists, not revolutionaries. Book publishing historians consider them part of the problem. The literary agent was invented in the 1920s, an innovation that increased competition while failing to address the industry’s structural flaws. That dynamic intensified in the 1980s, when Andrew Wylie (nicknamed The Jackal) leveraged near-miraculous advances for his clients. Like the housing bubble, big advances were a fleeting high (most books did not earn out their advances) followed by a lengthy and decidedly unpleasant hangover.</p>
<p>These days, literary agents, though invaluable to writers, shore up the publisher’s practice of externalizing risk. They have no choice. As the bar for selling a manuscript has risen, agents do the work of editors, spending as much as a year working with a writer on revising a manuscript. Many are editors who were felled in one of the cost-cutting putsches resulting from corporate consolidation. But they don’t make any money unless the book sells, so it’s no surprise that they’ve become increasingly selective about taking on clients, which makes life even harder for writers. Some writers hire a freelance editor to get their manuscript into shape before approaching an agent. Others attend an MFA program, or perhaps two, since it can take five to seven years to write a first novel.</p>
<p>You could call it trickle down book publishing. Not only are agents taking on the risk of editing a book, but after the book is sold, writers are paying for their own marketing and publicity, as well as niggling things like rights to photographs and indexing. It’s like air travel in the age of print-your-own-boarding pass, and paying $25 per suitcase — standard-issue corporate behavior, circa 2012. But at least one writer who’s capable of adding up a balance sheet isn’t impressed with the results.Porter Bibb is one of those ageless 1960s wunderkinds who love both art and commerce, and because he sees publishing from both sides, he understands the move to digital publishing better than most. (Graphic designer Roger Black and Sports Illustrated editor Terry McDonell are among the others in this unusual group.) An investment banker who is often quoted about media and technology, Bibb attended Louisville Male High School with Hunter S. Thompson. He was Rolling Stone’s first publisher, covered Washington, D.C., for Newsweek and is the author of five books.</p>
<p>Bibb may not wear mismatched Converses or hang out in Park Slope, but when he talks about his experience as an author, he sounds like every other disgruntled hack.</p>
<p>“The last book I did was a biography of Ted Turner for Random House five years ago,” Bibb said. “I brought it in, and they said, ‘Are you gonna edit it?’ I had to go out and hire a professional. Then they said, ‘It’s 750 pages. We want to cut it down to 500.’ I said, ‘Are you selling books by the pound?’&#160;“</p>
<p>In the end, Bibb not only hired his own editor; he also sprang for his own public relations agency and marketing consultant. He sold excerpts to Newsweek and the New York Post. When he asked about foreign sales, the publisher told him the book didn’t have the potential to sell in other countries. Bibb, furious, bought the foreign rights back and sold them himself. The book was published in 14 countries, including Taiwan and mainland China.</p>
<p>“The agent basically disappeared into the woodwork, because she didn’t want to suffer the consequences of my brashness,” he said. “I just couldn’t let the book die. I said, ‘You didn’t edit it, you didn’t promote it, what do you do?’&#160;“</p>
<p>The answer, five years ago, might have been distribution. Now, not so much, with Amazon dominating distribution, Apple hard on its heels and Google playing catch up. There are, of course, other advantages to being published by a major house. Traditionally, only books from big publishers were widely reviewed. But that’s changing, too. Book critics are few and far between, marketing and promotion are evolving into new forms, and books published by independent presses are regularly reviewed in the prominent venues that still exist, including The New York Times Book Review.</p>
<p>“The reality is that the book business is going through the same trauma and disillusion that the music industry has already gone through,” Bibb said. “Twelve years ago, there were 30 or 40 independent music companies. Only three or four of them were really big, but they were all making money. Then the Internet came along and capitalized on the fact that people would rather buy one song they like without paying for the 18 they don’t care about. There are now three record companies — soon to be two. The book business has seen this coming and like everyone else in the media industry they have put their heads in the sand, and said ‘This isn’t going to happen to us.’&#160;“</p>
<p>The problem for writers is that the new models haven’t completely emerged from the primeval swamp of American entrepreneurship. Thanks to an infusion of nearly $1 million in seed funding, Byliner is evolving more rapidly than most. Tayman, a former editor of Outside magazine who co-founded the company with another Outside editor, Mark Bryant, and Ted Barnett, a Harvard Business School MBA with Silicon Valley roots, said the idea for Byliner came not from spreadsheets, but from his gut.</p>
<p>“It grew out of some frustrations I had been feeling as a magazine editor and writer and as a book writer,” Tayman said. “I had been in magazines for quite some time. I took a break and did a book for Scribner in 2007 [‘The Colony,’ about leprosy victims exiled on the Hawaiian island of Molokai]. Happily it did really well, so the publisher and agent were both saying, ‘Let’s get you going on another one immediately.’&#160;“</p>
<p>But after spending four years on the book, Tayman wasn’t ready to take on another big project.</p>
<p>“I had a backlog of story ideas I wanted to write,” Tayman said. “As I looked at them, I realized they didn’t fit into the magazine model. At the same time, they weren’t stories that would benefit from a couple years of my life and 100,000 words. They would be perfect at 10,000 to 20,000 words, and I was looking for something that could be on and off my desk in a month or two. The idea of being able to start and enjoy a story in two hours or less was appealing to me as a reader.”</p>
<p>Tayman had stumbled onto a new category of e-books called “singles” designed to be read in a single sitting. In early 2007, before the first Kindle was introduced, Tayman started sending out emails, brainstorming the idea of Byliner with friends and colleagues.</p>
<p>“Because it was before tablets were introduced, I knew there was going to have to be a different method of discovery for these stories, but that method wasn’t obvious,” he said. “I thought it should be direct, from the writer to the reader. Writers never own their relationship with their readers. I had been a magazine writer for 15 years but there was no way for me to market my book to the people who had been reading my work.”</p>
<p>Bankrolled by angel investors in Silicon Valley (yes, it has a business model), Byliner publishes original work under 30,000 words and is building “portfolio” pages where established writers can post their backlist of short stories or magazine articles. Byliner’s first release was Jon Krakauer’s “Three Cups of Deceit,” an exposé of the misuse of funds by mountain climber and “Three Cups of Tea” author Greg Mortenson. “Three Cups of Deceit” posted in April 2011, and proved to be a boffo opener: 70,000 readers downloaded a copy in the first 72 hours, before the text migrated to the Amazon Kindle store and became the No. 1 seller there.</p>
<p>“Three Cups of Deceit” was also great PR for Byliner, because it embodied the ethic of moneymaking with a gloss of social responsibility that is part of Silicon Valley culture. Not only did the story appear as a “60 Minutes” segment, but Krakauer donated his profits from the work, which later appeared as a book, to an organization fighting human trafficking of young girls in the Himalayas.Byliner didn’t charge for the download of Krakauer’s piece, but soon established a model through which writers and Byliner split proceeds from the usual $2.99 download price in half, minus 30 percent for distribution by online stores, including Amazon and Apple. Although the division made sense on paper, it is also symbolic of what publishers such as Tayman and Spillman call a “partnership” between themselves and writers, a model they say is very different from old-school publishing.</p>
<p>Byliner, with its philosophy of sharing both risk and profit, has attracted original writing from a number of well-known writers; in addition to Krakauer, Margaret Atwood, William Vollmann and Alexandra Fuller have also contributed. All are still writing books published by major houses. But a couple of years ago, profits from the stories they post on Byliner would have gone to traditional publishers of either books or magazines. Last week, Byliner landed a first round of serious financing from a lineup that includes venture capitalist firms, along with book distributor Ingram and Random House.</p>
<p>Byliner and similar online publishing venues The Atavist and Longform tend to publish established authors. Unlike Salon, the feisty Internet startup that broke major stories in the 1990s, these sites aren’t necessarily pioneering innovative content. Emerging writers are gravitating to websites that pay little or nothing at all, like The Rumpus, which helped make Portland, Ore., author Cheryl Strayed (“Wild”) a best-selling author. And some writers are choosing to keep control of their own work, betting that it won’t be long until technology advances sufficiently to make distribution as accessible as e-book publishing is today.</p>
<p>Midsize dead tree publishers such as Tin House and San Francisco-based McSweeney’s are also expected to benefit from changes in the industry. These firms are steeped in publishing’s greatest strength: quirky creativity. Tin House editor Spillman says that Barney Rosset, once called “the most dangerous man in publishing,” is his literary hero. Rosset, the founder of Grove Press and Evergreen Review, published D.H. Lawrence, Samuel Beckett, Pablo Neruda, Octavio Paz, Kenzaburo Oe, Harold Pinter, Henry Miller, William S. Burroughs, Jean Genet, Eugène Ionesco and Tom Stoppard. Five are Nobel Prize winners and several are writers whose work was banned on several continents. (One might note that having your books banned was not, in those days, a good sales ploy.) In the end, Rosset’s writers sold millions of books. But if there was a strategy on his part, it was decidedly long term.</p>
<p>“Barney Rosset invested in people like Samuel Beckett,” Spillman said. “He wasn’t worried about having one Stephen King. For a corporate publisher, if they give someone a $40,000 advance and the book only sells 5,000 copies, it’s a disaster. Whereas for us, if we sell 5,000 we’re happy. For literary publishing, the pressure to have every single book become a breakout book is kind of unrealistic. It doesn’t do for a long-term relationship.”</p>
<p>But is it still possible to operate like Rosset at a time when the cost of everything seems astronomical?</p>
<p>“Absolutely,” Spillman said. “The word nimble comes to mind. Places like Graywolf, Soho, McSweeney’s, they all have very low overhead versus a company like Bertelsmann. When you get that big, it’s very hard just to cover your overhead.”</p>
<p>The good news is not that a change is gonna come, but that it may happen sooner rather than later. Chris Anderson’s 2006 book, “The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More,” argues that our culture and economy are moving away from a relatively small number of “hits” and toward engaging a large number of small markets. In the past, small retail outlets like bookstores depended on big hits because they had limited shelf space. But when infinite shelf space (à la Amazon) is taken into account, the true shape of demand is revealed, Anderson writes, and it’s less hit-centric than we thought. Selling less of more results in just as many sales as engaging a small number of large markets. (To torture a metaphor, Monty Python fans could call it the “Every Sperm Is Sacred” business theory.) Anderson uses the music analogy: Cheap Internet distribution has allowed services such as Rhapsody and iTunes to cater to virtually any market cheaply, no matter its size.</p>
<p>But as new business models emerge, they bring new struggles for writers and publishers, as revealed in the fight between Amazon and Apple. With the behemoth Amazon discounting best-sellers to gain market share, five major publishing companies cast their lot with Apple. Apple would distribute books at a price set by the publishers, with 70 percent of the cover price going to the publishers and 30 percent to Apple.</p>
<p>In April, the U.S. Department of Justice sued both Apple and the publishers not for antitrust violations, but for allegedly colluding to raise prices. A few months later, three of the five book companies agreed to a settlement that allows Amazon to continue using best-selling e-books as loss leaders — a practice Authors Guild President Scott Turow calls predatory pricing — as long as the publisher’s entire e-book list does not lose money over a 12-month period.</p>
<p>Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303740704577527211023581798.html" type="external">protested the settlement</a> in The Wall Street Journal, claiming that it could “wipe out the publishing industry as we know it and make it much harder for young authors to get published.”</p>
<p>Reading the Authors Guild’s letter of protest regarding the settlement to the chief of the DOJ’s antitrust arm is a fascinating precis of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ brilliant if ruthless business strategy. The Authors Guild characterizes it as vertical integration: Amazon is publishing print and e-books, as well as distributing them but so far, Apple is confining itself to distribution.</p>
<p>One of the Guild’s most <a href="http://www.authorsguild.org/advocacy/guilds-tunney-act-filing-to-the-doj/" type="external">compelling arguments</a> against the DOJ’s settlement is market share. Amazon controlled 90 percent of the e-book market before Apple entered the fray; now that slice is down to 65 percent.</p>
<p>Why should writers care? If Amazon dominates virtually every aspect of book publishing, the company will be able to reduce authors’ royalties dramatically. Both established authors and self-published writers would be forced into the Amazon corral.The book industry has been consolidating for a long time, but after the settlement the pace increased as publishers reached for the next line of defense. Random House and Penguin announced their merger Oct. 29. Within weeks, industry pundits reported that merger talks were under way between Simon &amp; Schuster and HarperCollins, with Harper’s parent company, Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., slated to be the controlling owner. Soon rumors surfaced of even more mergers.</p>
<p>Someone once called alcoholism “the writer’s black lung disease.” As the pathway for publication narrows, envy has replaced whiskey as the writer’s cocktail du jour. Nobody did a better job of describing that mind-bending jealousy than British novelist Martin Amis in “The Information,” recounting the reaction of once-promising writer Richard Tull as he glares at the crowded bookshelves of his more famous friend. “What he minded were Gwyn’s books: Gwyn’s books, which multiplied or ramified so crazily now. The lambent horror of Gwyn in Spanish (sashed with quotes and reprint updates) or an American book-club or supermarket paperback or something in Hebrew or Mandarin or cuneiform or pictogram. …”</p>
<p>Writers would be better off turning their considerable energy toward sussing out the business of publishing. As recently as 10 years ago, good writers could support themselves from their writing. Now many of them can’t. Until a new ecology of publishing is invented that offers decent wages and opportunity, articles and short stories will not be written, and books that you might have loved will not get published.</p>
<p>What’s a writer to do? Agent Barer’s oft-quoted advice is: “Don’t quit your day job.” For many writers, it might be: “Don’t quit your three jobs: the one you work to make money and get health insurance, the one you work to make contacts and leverage your own writing, and, yeah, the one you do for love: writing.” In other words, raid Lance Armstrong’s medicine cabinet.</p>
<p>More and more writers are hedging their bets, writing for Big Box publishers but laying the groundwork for a career with smart, feisty new media of one sort or another. They’re not the only ones trying to figure out their next move. The Planet Money guy was right about one thing: when it comes to money, publishing is just another passenger on America’s bumpy ride into 21st century globalization. The good news is that so many of us are returning to the hardscrabble inventiveness that has defined the country’s character since the beginning, according to journalist Jack Hitt. Hitt’s recent book, “Bunch of Amateurs: A Search for the American Character,” casts the tinkerer in the garage who turns out to be Steve Jobs as a foundational American myth. Amateurism emerges when “the culture around you won’t let you out of where you are or into where you want to go,” writes Hitt. In his estimation: “The cyclical turn to the garage is happening now as Americans sense that some great turn in history has come.”</p>
<p>In “The Long Tail,” Anderson notes that the average book in the U.S. sells 500 copies. For writers and editors hoping to improve those odds, the best strategy may not be Fordism — the mass production embraced by big publishers — but a return to traditional American values; in the words of Bill Henderson of Pushcart Press, “happy, cranky individualism.”</p>
<p>(Disclosure: It would be difficult for a writer to produce a story on publishing without running up against a number of relationships. I am a member of the Authors Guild. I have written for The Rumpus. Before writing this article, I contracted with Byliner to feature the backlist of my articles.)</p>
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Reports of Publishing's Death Are Exaggerated
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https://truthdig.com/articles/reports-of-publishings-death-are-exaggerated/
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2012-12-08
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Reports of Publishing's Death Are Exaggerated
<p>“Oh, good, it’s time for the NYTimes to ask if the book business is dead. Again,” tweeted It Girl literary agent Julie Barer recently. Barer’s tweet linked to a New York Times Magazine article about a proposed merger between Random House and Penguin that began this way: “When you see a merger between two giants in a declining industry, it can look like the financial version of a couple having a baby to save a marriage.”</p>
<p>Everyone who works in publishing read the article <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/18/magazine/penguin-random-house-merger.html?_r=0" type="external">“How Dead Is the Book Business?”</a> by NPR Planet Money co-founder Adam Davidson. Nobody liked it much, mainly because Davidson dared to compare book publishing to envelope manufacturing. His article was less notable for its brilliant insights into the industry — there weren’t many — than for its unstated assumption: Publishing, once a wood-paneled gentlemen’s club where martinis and lofty literary ideals trumped tawdry financial concerns, is just another business.</p>
<p>Many people think publishing isn’t a business at all. Book publishing is a clubby, insular world where everyone knows one another and started as an eager 22-year-old fresh out of Vassar. Publishing people have not moonlighted as gas station attendants. (There are very few gas stations in Manhattan.) They have not worked in homeless shelters or insane asylums. They have never been anthropologists in Borneo or studied raptors in Bolivia. They have, of course, read about these things, which they believe qualifies them to judge whether books written by people who actually have done them are worthy of publication. They don’t believe that outsiders understand what they do, least of all a crass business reporter.</p>
<p>The culture of book publishing is one reason for its current woes. In the long run, that eccentric nature might be the industry’s salvation. In the short term, though, it’s hard to tell whether vulture capitalism will mend publishing’s problems or make them worse. Barer was right: The book business isn’t dead. But it is changing, and the book companies that emerge will bear as little resemblance to their predecessors as the gangster who has plastic surgery and comes out looking like someone else — because he is, indeed, played by another actor. Whether you think that’s a good thing may come down to whether you own stock in the company.</p>
<p />
<p>The one certainty is that there’s no turning back. John Tayman, the founder of Byliner, an online publisher that shares profits with writers, calls it a transition from analog to digital. But it’s more than that. Shopped at Target recently? The landscape of publishing looks like America itself: a few monopolistic corporations duking it out for 80 percent of the profits, small to medium-sized presses where people do it for love but wouldn’t mind a smash hit, and tech innovators determined to prove that doing good while doing well is not an oxymoron (but if it goes belly up, they’ll still have the house in Noe Valley, the BMW and the book contract). Workers, you say? Oh, them. Workers — in this case, writers and, to some extent, editors — face narrowing opportunities, low wages and zero job security.</p>
<p>Industry boosters stave off criticism by pointing out that more books are getting published now than ever before, and trendy literary fiction has a certain amount of zing, thanks to proliferating MFA programs. But there’s no question that corporate consolidation narrows the channel for writers. In some cases, literary agents won’t approach more than one editor at a publishing house, even if there are a number of imprints under the same roof. (An imprint is a unit within a publishing company that has its own staff and identity. According to literary agent Andy Ross, Random House had 56 and Penguin 39 at last count.)</p>
<p>At a recent conference of literary writers in New York, both Barer and veteran literary agent Gail Hochman acknowledged that many good books simply don’t get published. What’s maddening is that these decisions often don’t make sense either artistically or commercially. Even a well-regarded author who violates the industry’s shibboleths may run into trouble, and those shibboleths seem as numerous, and as irrational, as the taboos on an isolated Micronesian island.</p>
<p>Take the case of Chris Beha, one of the writers who appeared at the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses conference held in New York in early November. Beha is an associate editor at Harper’s Magazine, and he is not anyone’s idea of a mediocre talent. An unassuming genius in the David Foster Wallace mode, Beha studied with Joyce Carol Oates at Princeton. Grove published his first book, a memoir titled “The Whole Five Feet: What the Great Books Taught Me About Life, Death, and Pretty Much Everything Else,” to stellar reviews.</p>
<p>But Beha is really a novelist, not a nonfiction writer. His next book was a novel about a struggling young writer living in Greenwich Village and a girl he loved in college who had abandoned her literary calling for Catholicism. “What Happened to Sophie Wilder” examines the difference between living life and writing about it.</p>
<p>Unfortunately for Beha, the novel violated the cargo cult belief among publishers that nobody wants to read about writers. (If you’re a literary type and tempted to mention that Philip Roth didn’t get the memo on that one, you wouldn’t be the first.) When “Sophie Wilder” failed to win a contract from one of the Big Six, Rob Spillman, editor of Tin House Books, jumped at the chance to publish it. The story has a happy ending: Amazon featured the book as a digital download deal of the day and it wound up No. 1 in literary fiction, selling more than a thousand copies in 24 hours. D.G. Myers, a critic for Commentary magazine, called it, flat out, the <a href="http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2012/10/10/national-book-award-2012/" type="external">best book of the year</a>.</p>
<p>Beha’s experience illustrates the real problem with the Bain Capital-inspired changes now taking place in the industry. There’s no guarantee that the corporate strategy of “bigger is better” will solve the book business’ structural problems, or even result in better sales. Economies of scale may help publishers go digital, but it’s interesting to note that the overall failure rate for mergers and acquisitions is roughly the same as the percentage of books that don’t earn out their advances: 70 percent, according to the Harvard Business Review, putting MBAs in roughly the same category as feckless English majors-turned-editors in terms of predicting success.What’s a publishing CEO to do? The industry’s problems are easy to understand. The contraption was jury-rigged from the beginning, and the business model is the equivalent of the QWERTY keyboard. Take, for example, the fact that bookstores can order as many books as they want and if they don’t sell, the stores can send them back to the company and get fully reimbursed. This arrangement is a relic of the Great Depression (the one in the 1930s, not the one we’re in now) and is often cited as the most obvious example of the industry’s longstanding structural problems. But there are other oddities. Book contracts are, in many cases, a shell game. The financial arrangement of “advance against royalties” allows publishers to subsidize writers, compensating for royalties that, in standard publishing contracts, can be as low as 8 percent for the first 20,000 copies of a book.</p>
<p>“Sometimes publishers will write a contract for a major author that says we’ll give you 22 percent, knowing it will never earn out,” publishing consultant Mike Shatzkin said. “The sharp agent negotiates a royalty that’s considerably higher than that. These aren’t always mistakes. It’s not a royalty on paper, but an advance that’s essentially a royalty.”</p>
<p>With accounting metafictions and antiquated baggage, how do publishers make money? One might well ask. The glaring inefficiencies of the business are offset by blockbuster sales. In fact, publishers operate very much like writers, who tend to use the last check from their advance to pay off a whopping Visa bill. So far, it’s worked. The Random-Penguin merger was driven not by ledger sheet losses but by the market creep of Apple and Amazon, both of which are far larger than any publishing company. But an overreliance on bailouts by next year’s “Fifty Shades of Grey” creates an atmosphere of fear and frustration that one observer called “toxic.”</p>
<p>It’s hard not to sympathize with corporate executives who are appalled by publishing’s Rube Goldberg business model. But for the last 20 years a succession of corporate players ranging from oil companies to movie studios have applied MBA logic to a business that, at its core, relies on a different kind of thinking entirely. The lifeblood of the book business consists of long-term relationships and the cultivation of talent. But the world of Big Box publishing is driven by stock prices, and if a writer’s first book doesn’t sell, she may not get another published.</p>
<p>“The most important thing that big publishers traditionally offered was transference of risk,” Shatzkin said. “The Big Six, probably 20 to 25,000 times a year, take the risk from an author onto themselves. That means the risk involved in getting the book ready for publication, making it, publishing it, distributing it. What’s happening now is the publisher is saying in this current marketplace I can’t accept this risk for myself.”</p>
<p>Publishers may improve their bottom line by ratcheting down advances, getting rid of the dreaded mid-list (books that sell less than 25,000 copies), and externalizing their costs, but Shatzkin believes this kind of tough love may weaken them over the long run. Publishing isn’t dead — really! — but in a few years, the Big Six (or Four, or the Massive Two, as one pundit predicted) may resemble a wounded mammoth fighting off a veritable Noah’s Ark of more recently evolved predators. These include not only Apple and Amazon, but feisty midsize presses and innovative startups like Byliner, which offer a direct connection between writers and their readers.</p>
<p>For now, most writers need a quicker fix: the credibility and decent-sized advances that only big houses offer. By default, the common wisdom these days is: “You just need to find the right agent,” as if the right agent will miraculously transform a shy introvert into a smooth-talking Master of the Elevator Pitch, plus get said introvert a movie deal. The right agent will find the right editor, the one who will risk losing her job in the next wave of corporate layoffs simply because she loves your book so much.</p>
<p>That’s all true, unless the marketing people use their veto power. If publishing a book is starting to sound like a sex-ed movie from eighth grade starring the plucky single sperm who outraced the other 100 million sperm (and never mind all the things that might go wrong after conception!), that’s not far from the mark.</p>
<p>One of the reasons literary agents have become more powerful than editors is their relative job security, since many are sole proprietors. But agents are realists, not revolutionaries. Book publishing historians consider them part of the problem. The literary agent was invented in the 1920s, an innovation that increased competition while failing to address the industry’s structural flaws. That dynamic intensified in the 1980s, when Andrew Wylie (nicknamed The Jackal) leveraged near-miraculous advances for his clients. Like the housing bubble, big advances were a fleeting high (most books did not earn out their advances) followed by a lengthy and decidedly unpleasant hangover.</p>
<p>These days, literary agents, though invaluable to writers, shore up the publisher’s practice of externalizing risk. They have no choice. As the bar for selling a manuscript has risen, agents do the work of editors, spending as much as a year working with a writer on revising a manuscript. Many are editors who were felled in one of the cost-cutting putsches resulting from corporate consolidation. But they don’t make any money unless the book sells, so it’s no surprise that they’ve become increasingly selective about taking on clients, which makes life even harder for writers. Some writers hire a freelance editor to get their manuscript into shape before approaching an agent. Others attend an MFA program, or perhaps two, since it can take five to seven years to write a first novel.</p>
<p>You could call it trickle down book publishing. Not only are agents taking on the risk of editing a book, but after the book is sold, writers are paying for their own marketing and publicity, as well as niggling things like rights to photographs and indexing. It’s like air travel in the age of print-your-own-boarding pass, and paying $25 per suitcase — standard-issue corporate behavior, circa 2012. But at least one writer who’s capable of adding up a balance sheet isn’t impressed with the results.Porter Bibb is one of those ageless 1960s wunderkinds who love both art and commerce, and because he sees publishing from both sides, he understands the move to digital publishing better than most. (Graphic designer Roger Black and Sports Illustrated editor Terry McDonell are among the others in this unusual group.) An investment banker who is often quoted about media and technology, Bibb attended Louisville Male High School with Hunter S. Thompson. He was Rolling Stone’s first publisher, covered Washington, D.C., for Newsweek and is the author of five books.</p>
<p>Bibb may not wear mismatched Converses or hang out in Park Slope, but when he talks about his experience as an author, he sounds like every other disgruntled hack.</p>
<p>“The last book I did was a biography of Ted Turner for Random House five years ago,” Bibb said. “I brought it in, and they said, ‘Are you gonna edit it?’ I had to go out and hire a professional. Then they said, ‘It’s 750 pages. We want to cut it down to 500.’ I said, ‘Are you selling books by the pound?’&#160;“</p>
<p>In the end, Bibb not only hired his own editor; he also sprang for his own public relations agency and marketing consultant. He sold excerpts to Newsweek and the New York Post. When he asked about foreign sales, the publisher told him the book didn’t have the potential to sell in other countries. Bibb, furious, bought the foreign rights back and sold them himself. The book was published in 14 countries, including Taiwan and mainland China.</p>
<p>“The agent basically disappeared into the woodwork, because she didn’t want to suffer the consequences of my brashness,” he said. “I just couldn’t let the book die. I said, ‘You didn’t edit it, you didn’t promote it, what do you do?’&#160;“</p>
<p>The answer, five years ago, might have been distribution. Now, not so much, with Amazon dominating distribution, Apple hard on its heels and Google playing catch up. There are, of course, other advantages to being published by a major house. Traditionally, only books from big publishers were widely reviewed. But that’s changing, too. Book critics are few and far between, marketing and promotion are evolving into new forms, and books published by independent presses are regularly reviewed in the prominent venues that still exist, including The New York Times Book Review.</p>
<p>“The reality is that the book business is going through the same trauma and disillusion that the music industry has already gone through,” Bibb said. “Twelve years ago, there were 30 or 40 independent music companies. Only three or four of them were really big, but they were all making money. Then the Internet came along and capitalized on the fact that people would rather buy one song they like without paying for the 18 they don’t care about. There are now three record companies — soon to be two. The book business has seen this coming and like everyone else in the media industry they have put their heads in the sand, and said ‘This isn’t going to happen to us.’&#160;“</p>
<p>The problem for writers is that the new models haven’t completely emerged from the primeval swamp of American entrepreneurship. Thanks to an infusion of nearly $1 million in seed funding, Byliner is evolving more rapidly than most. Tayman, a former editor of Outside magazine who co-founded the company with another Outside editor, Mark Bryant, and Ted Barnett, a Harvard Business School MBA with Silicon Valley roots, said the idea for Byliner came not from spreadsheets, but from his gut.</p>
<p>“It grew out of some frustrations I had been feeling as a magazine editor and writer and as a book writer,” Tayman said. “I had been in magazines for quite some time. I took a break and did a book for Scribner in 2007 [‘The Colony,’ about leprosy victims exiled on the Hawaiian island of Molokai]. Happily it did really well, so the publisher and agent were both saying, ‘Let’s get you going on another one immediately.’&#160;“</p>
<p>But after spending four years on the book, Tayman wasn’t ready to take on another big project.</p>
<p>“I had a backlog of story ideas I wanted to write,” Tayman said. “As I looked at them, I realized they didn’t fit into the magazine model. At the same time, they weren’t stories that would benefit from a couple years of my life and 100,000 words. They would be perfect at 10,000 to 20,000 words, and I was looking for something that could be on and off my desk in a month or two. The idea of being able to start and enjoy a story in two hours or less was appealing to me as a reader.”</p>
<p>Tayman had stumbled onto a new category of e-books called “singles” designed to be read in a single sitting. In early 2007, before the first Kindle was introduced, Tayman started sending out emails, brainstorming the idea of Byliner with friends and colleagues.</p>
<p>“Because it was before tablets were introduced, I knew there was going to have to be a different method of discovery for these stories, but that method wasn’t obvious,” he said. “I thought it should be direct, from the writer to the reader. Writers never own their relationship with their readers. I had been a magazine writer for 15 years but there was no way for me to market my book to the people who had been reading my work.”</p>
<p>Bankrolled by angel investors in Silicon Valley (yes, it has a business model), Byliner publishes original work under 30,000 words and is building “portfolio” pages where established writers can post their backlist of short stories or magazine articles. Byliner’s first release was Jon Krakauer’s “Three Cups of Deceit,” an exposé of the misuse of funds by mountain climber and “Three Cups of Tea” author Greg Mortenson. “Three Cups of Deceit” posted in April 2011, and proved to be a boffo opener: 70,000 readers downloaded a copy in the first 72 hours, before the text migrated to the Amazon Kindle store and became the No. 1 seller there.</p>
<p>“Three Cups of Deceit” was also great PR for Byliner, because it embodied the ethic of moneymaking with a gloss of social responsibility that is part of Silicon Valley culture. Not only did the story appear as a “60 Minutes” segment, but Krakauer donated his profits from the work, which later appeared as a book, to an organization fighting human trafficking of young girls in the Himalayas.Byliner didn’t charge for the download of Krakauer’s piece, but soon established a model through which writers and Byliner split proceeds from the usual $2.99 download price in half, minus 30 percent for distribution by online stores, including Amazon and Apple. Although the division made sense on paper, it is also symbolic of what publishers such as Tayman and Spillman call a “partnership” between themselves and writers, a model they say is very different from old-school publishing.</p>
<p>Byliner, with its philosophy of sharing both risk and profit, has attracted original writing from a number of well-known writers; in addition to Krakauer, Margaret Atwood, William Vollmann and Alexandra Fuller have also contributed. All are still writing books published by major houses. But a couple of years ago, profits from the stories they post on Byliner would have gone to traditional publishers of either books or magazines. Last week, Byliner landed a first round of serious financing from a lineup that includes venture capitalist firms, along with book distributor Ingram and Random House.</p>
<p>Byliner and similar online publishing venues The Atavist and Longform tend to publish established authors. Unlike Salon, the feisty Internet startup that broke major stories in the 1990s, these sites aren’t necessarily pioneering innovative content. Emerging writers are gravitating to websites that pay little or nothing at all, like The Rumpus, which helped make Portland, Ore., author Cheryl Strayed (“Wild”) a best-selling author. And some writers are choosing to keep control of their own work, betting that it won’t be long until technology advances sufficiently to make distribution as accessible as e-book publishing is today.</p>
<p>Midsize dead tree publishers such as Tin House and San Francisco-based McSweeney’s are also expected to benefit from changes in the industry. These firms are steeped in publishing’s greatest strength: quirky creativity. Tin House editor Spillman says that Barney Rosset, once called “the most dangerous man in publishing,” is his literary hero. Rosset, the founder of Grove Press and Evergreen Review, published D.H. Lawrence, Samuel Beckett, Pablo Neruda, Octavio Paz, Kenzaburo Oe, Harold Pinter, Henry Miller, William S. Burroughs, Jean Genet, Eugène Ionesco and Tom Stoppard. Five are Nobel Prize winners and several are writers whose work was banned on several continents. (One might note that having your books banned was not, in those days, a good sales ploy.) In the end, Rosset’s writers sold millions of books. But if there was a strategy on his part, it was decidedly long term.</p>
<p>“Barney Rosset invested in people like Samuel Beckett,” Spillman said. “He wasn’t worried about having one Stephen King. For a corporate publisher, if they give someone a $40,000 advance and the book only sells 5,000 copies, it’s a disaster. Whereas for us, if we sell 5,000 we’re happy. For literary publishing, the pressure to have every single book become a breakout book is kind of unrealistic. It doesn’t do for a long-term relationship.”</p>
<p>But is it still possible to operate like Rosset at a time when the cost of everything seems astronomical?</p>
<p>“Absolutely,” Spillman said. “The word nimble comes to mind. Places like Graywolf, Soho, McSweeney’s, they all have very low overhead versus a company like Bertelsmann. When you get that big, it’s very hard just to cover your overhead.”</p>
<p>The good news is not that a change is gonna come, but that it may happen sooner rather than later. Chris Anderson’s 2006 book, “The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More,” argues that our culture and economy are moving away from a relatively small number of “hits” and toward engaging a large number of small markets. In the past, small retail outlets like bookstores depended on big hits because they had limited shelf space. But when infinite shelf space (à la Amazon) is taken into account, the true shape of demand is revealed, Anderson writes, and it’s less hit-centric than we thought. Selling less of more results in just as many sales as engaging a small number of large markets. (To torture a metaphor, Monty Python fans could call it the “Every Sperm Is Sacred” business theory.) Anderson uses the music analogy: Cheap Internet distribution has allowed services such as Rhapsody and iTunes to cater to virtually any market cheaply, no matter its size.</p>
<p>But as new business models emerge, they bring new struggles for writers and publishers, as revealed in the fight between Amazon and Apple. With the behemoth Amazon discounting best-sellers to gain market share, five major publishing companies cast their lot with Apple. Apple would distribute books at a price set by the publishers, with 70 percent of the cover price going to the publishers and 30 percent to Apple.</p>
<p>In April, the U.S. Department of Justice sued both Apple and the publishers not for antitrust violations, but for allegedly colluding to raise prices. A few months later, three of the five book companies agreed to a settlement that allows Amazon to continue using best-selling e-books as loss leaders — a practice Authors Guild President Scott Turow calls predatory pricing — as long as the publisher’s entire e-book list does not lose money over a 12-month period.</p>
<p>Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303740704577527211023581798.html" type="external">protested the settlement</a> in The Wall Street Journal, claiming that it could “wipe out the publishing industry as we know it and make it much harder for young authors to get published.”</p>
<p>Reading the Authors Guild’s letter of protest regarding the settlement to the chief of the DOJ’s antitrust arm is a fascinating precis of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ brilliant if ruthless business strategy. The Authors Guild characterizes it as vertical integration: Amazon is publishing print and e-books, as well as distributing them but so far, Apple is confining itself to distribution.</p>
<p>One of the Guild’s most <a href="http://www.authorsguild.org/advocacy/guilds-tunney-act-filing-to-the-doj/" type="external">compelling arguments</a> against the DOJ’s settlement is market share. Amazon controlled 90 percent of the e-book market before Apple entered the fray; now that slice is down to 65 percent.</p>
<p>Why should writers care? If Amazon dominates virtually every aspect of book publishing, the company will be able to reduce authors’ royalties dramatically. Both established authors and self-published writers would be forced into the Amazon corral.The book industry has been consolidating for a long time, but after the settlement the pace increased as publishers reached for the next line of defense. Random House and Penguin announced their merger Oct. 29. Within weeks, industry pundits reported that merger talks were under way between Simon &amp; Schuster and HarperCollins, with Harper’s parent company, Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., slated to be the controlling owner. Soon rumors surfaced of even more mergers.</p>
<p>Someone once called alcoholism “the writer’s black lung disease.” As the pathway for publication narrows, envy has replaced whiskey as the writer’s cocktail du jour. Nobody did a better job of describing that mind-bending jealousy than British novelist Martin Amis in “The Information,” recounting the reaction of once-promising writer Richard Tull as he glares at the crowded bookshelves of his more famous friend. “What he minded were Gwyn’s books: Gwyn’s books, which multiplied or ramified so crazily now. The lambent horror of Gwyn in Spanish (sashed with quotes and reprint updates) or an American book-club or supermarket paperback or something in Hebrew or Mandarin or cuneiform or pictogram. …”</p>
<p>Writers would be better off turning their considerable energy toward sussing out the business of publishing. As recently as 10 years ago, good writers could support themselves from their writing. Now many of them can’t. Until a new ecology of publishing is invented that offers decent wages and opportunity, articles and short stories will not be written, and books that you might have loved will not get published.</p>
<p>What’s a writer to do? Agent Barer’s oft-quoted advice is: “Don’t quit your day job.” For many writers, it might be: “Don’t quit your three jobs: the one you work to make money and get health insurance, the one you work to make contacts and leverage your own writing, and, yeah, the one you do for love: writing.” In other words, raid Lance Armstrong’s medicine cabinet.</p>
<p>More and more writers are hedging their bets, writing for Big Box publishers but laying the groundwork for a career with smart, feisty new media of one sort or another. They’re not the only ones trying to figure out their next move. The Planet Money guy was right about one thing: when it comes to money, publishing is just another passenger on America’s bumpy ride into 21st century globalization. The good news is that so many of us are returning to the hardscrabble inventiveness that has defined the country’s character since the beginning, according to journalist Jack Hitt. Hitt’s recent book, “Bunch of Amateurs: A Search for the American Character,” casts the tinkerer in the garage who turns out to be Steve Jobs as a foundational American myth. Amateurism emerges when “the culture around you won’t let you out of where you are or into where you want to go,” writes Hitt. In his estimation: “The cyclical turn to the garage is happening now as Americans sense that some great turn in history has come.”</p>
<p>In “The Long Tail,” Anderson notes that the average book in the U.S. sells 500 copies. For writers and editors hoping to improve those odds, the best strategy may not be Fordism — the mass production embraced by big publishers — but a return to traditional American values; in the words of Bill Henderson of Pushcart Press, “happy, cranky individualism.”</p>
<p>(Disclosure: It would be difficult for a writer to produce a story on publishing without running up against a number of relationships. I am a member of the Authors Guild. I have written for The Rumpus. Before writing this article, I contracted with Byliner to feature the backlist of my articles.)</p>
| 7,587 |
<p>House Speaker Paul Ryan backed off months of promises that the Republicans' tax plan won't add to the nation's ballooning deficit, declaring Wednesday in an AP Newsmaker interview that the most important goal of an overhaul is economic growth.</p>
<p>Asked twice whether he would insist the emerging tax plan won't pile more billions onto the $20 trillion national debt, Ryan passed up the chance to affirm that commitment. GOP leaders made that "revenue neutral" promise in a campaign manifesto last year and many times since.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>"We want pro-growth tax reform that will get the economy going, that will get people back to work, that will give middle-income taxpayers a tax cut and that will put American businesses in a better competitive playing field so that we keep American businesses in America," the Wisconsin Republican told Associated Press reporters and editors. "That is more important than anything else."</p>
<p>Ryan's comments signaling possible retreat on a core GOP commitment came amid quickening action on taxes, which Republicans view as their last, best chance to notch a significant accomplishment to take to voters in the 2018 midterm elections following the collapse of their "Obamacare" repeal drive. Yet even as President Donald Trump hunted for Democratic votes for a plan that's not yet taken shape, and GOP leaders laid out an aggressive timetable to lawmakers, significant hurdles remained.</p>
<p>A major one is the GOP's failure, thus far, to pass a federal budget, which under legislative rules is a prerequisite for a tax plan that can avoid being stalled to death by Democrats in the Senate.</p>
<p>Others involve the contents of the tax blueprint itself, which Ryan and his lieutenants envision as a far-reaching reform plan that would significantly lower rates for corporations and individuals while cleaning up the loophole-ridden code. One problem is that every tax deduction has its own constituency, and Ryan has already ruled out eliminating some of the most popular ones, including deductions for home mortgages and charitable giving.</p>
<p>Objections also threaten from the GOP's seemingly shrinking ranks of deficit hawks if Ryan, Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell do try to move forward with a tax plan that could cost hundreds of billions of dollars, without paying for it with cuts in federal spending or some new sources of revenue. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, issued a statement earlier this week calling the debt the "greatest threat to our nation," greater than North Korea, Russia or the Islamic State group.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Ryan made his comments on taxes as he discussed a range of issues with the AP, including immigration, where he pledged to find a solution for the nearly 800,000 immigrants brought to this country as children and now here illegally. He declared that removing them all is "not in our nation's interest," though he declined to reaffirm his past support for eventual citizenship for the "Dreamers."</p>
<p>He said any immigration solution must include border security measures, though he said a wall along the entire southern border, which Trump has repeatedly urged, doesn't make sense.</p>
<p>On taxes, Trump himself added to the complications when he surprisingly declared, at a meeting with a bipartisan group of House members, that taxes on the wealthy would not go down under the GOP plan and might even go up. Although the administration has not provided specifics on its plan, House Republicans have embraced an approach that would lower the top individual rate from 39.6 percent to 33 percent, which would be enormously beneficial to the wealthiest Americans.</p>
<p>Still, Trump declared, "The rich will not be gaining at all with this plan. We are looking for the middle class and we are looking for jobs — jobs being the economy."</p>
<p>Trump reiterated that he hoped to lower the top corporate tax rate from 35 to 15 percent, something Ryan has already ruled out as impractical — and an idea the president himself has backed off from, according to people with knowledge of a meeting he held Tuesday night with bipartisan senators.</p>
<p>The president added, improbably, that the individual rate would be even lower than that.</p>
<p>The long list of difficulties has led some analysts to conclude that Congress is likelier to settle on straightforward tax cuts than on full-blown reform — if it passes anything at all.</p>
<p>But Ryan rejected that approach, telling the AP, "It's not just narrow cuts in taxes that will do the job."</p>
<p>Referencing tax cuts signed by President George W. Bush, Ryan said, "You can't just do what Bush did in 2001 and 2003. You have to overhaul the system itself to put American businesses and the American economy in a much more competitive situation."</p>
<p>Earlier Wednesday, Ryan and House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady met behind closed doors with GOP lawmakers to lay out a timetable on taxes, pledging a detailed blueprint from top congressional Republicans and administration officials in the final week of September. The goal, which Ryan reiterated Wednesday, is to send Trump a bill to sign before year's end.</p>
<p>The challenges were immediately apparent as House Republicans left the meeting with Ryan and Brady complaining they still didn't know what was going on. And some conservatives were voicing concerns about Trump's newfound fondness for making deals with Democrats, as he did last week on the debt ceiling with House Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California.</p>
<p>After Schumer and Pelosi had dinner at the White House Wednesday night, they said they had reached agreement with Trump to protect the DACA immigrants and fund some border security enhancements — not including Trump's long-sought border wall.</p>
<p>No Republicans were present at the dinner save the president, who was once a Democrat.</p>
<p>"The problem here is we don't have a clue what's in the tax plan," said Rep. Dave Brat, R-Va. "Now Trump is talking about doing bipartisan stuff with Chuck and Nancy on taxes. And I don't want to open the door to that until we see what this tax plan looks like."</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Richard Lardner, Stephen Ohlemacher and Catherine Lucey contributed.</p>
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AP interview: Ryan opens door to tax cuts adding to deficit
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http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/09/13/ap-interview-ryan-wont-say-tax-cut-wont-raise-deficit.html
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2017-09-13
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AP interview: Ryan opens door to tax cuts adding to deficit
<p>House Speaker Paul Ryan backed off months of promises that the Republicans' tax plan won't add to the nation's ballooning deficit, declaring Wednesday in an AP Newsmaker interview that the most important goal of an overhaul is economic growth.</p>
<p>Asked twice whether he would insist the emerging tax plan won't pile more billions onto the $20 trillion national debt, Ryan passed up the chance to affirm that commitment. GOP leaders made that "revenue neutral" promise in a campaign manifesto last year and many times since.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>"We want pro-growth tax reform that will get the economy going, that will get people back to work, that will give middle-income taxpayers a tax cut and that will put American businesses in a better competitive playing field so that we keep American businesses in America," the Wisconsin Republican told Associated Press reporters and editors. "That is more important than anything else."</p>
<p>Ryan's comments signaling possible retreat on a core GOP commitment came amid quickening action on taxes, which Republicans view as their last, best chance to notch a significant accomplishment to take to voters in the 2018 midterm elections following the collapse of their "Obamacare" repeal drive. Yet even as President Donald Trump hunted for Democratic votes for a plan that's not yet taken shape, and GOP leaders laid out an aggressive timetable to lawmakers, significant hurdles remained.</p>
<p>A major one is the GOP's failure, thus far, to pass a federal budget, which under legislative rules is a prerequisite for a tax plan that can avoid being stalled to death by Democrats in the Senate.</p>
<p>Others involve the contents of the tax blueprint itself, which Ryan and his lieutenants envision as a far-reaching reform plan that would significantly lower rates for corporations and individuals while cleaning up the loophole-ridden code. One problem is that every tax deduction has its own constituency, and Ryan has already ruled out eliminating some of the most popular ones, including deductions for home mortgages and charitable giving.</p>
<p>Objections also threaten from the GOP's seemingly shrinking ranks of deficit hawks if Ryan, Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell do try to move forward with a tax plan that could cost hundreds of billions of dollars, without paying for it with cuts in federal spending or some new sources of revenue. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, issued a statement earlier this week calling the debt the "greatest threat to our nation," greater than North Korea, Russia or the Islamic State group.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Ryan made his comments on taxes as he discussed a range of issues with the AP, including immigration, where he pledged to find a solution for the nearly 800,000 immigrants brought to this country as children and now here illegally. He declared that removing them all is "not in our nation's interest," though he declined to reaffirm his past support for eventual citizenship for the "Dreamers."</p>
<p>He said any immigration solution must include border security measures, though he said a wall along the entire southern border, which Trump has repeatedly urged, doesn't make sense.</p>
<p>On taxes, Trump himself added to the complications when he surprisingly declared, at a meeting with a bipartisan group of House members, that taxes on the wealthy would not go down under the GOP plan and might even go up. Although the administration has not provided specifics on its plan, House Republicans have embraced an approach that would lower the top individual rate from 39.6 percent to 33 percent, which would be enormously beneficial to the wealthiest Americans.</p>
<p>Still, Trump declared, "The rich will not be gaining at all with this plan. We are looking for the middle class and we are looking for jobs — jobs being the economy."</p>
<p>Trump reiterated that he hoped to lower the top corporate tax rate from 35 to 15 percent, something Ryan has already ruled out as impractical — and an idea the president himself has backed off from, according to people with knowledge of a meeting he held Tuesday night with bipartisan senators.</p>
<p>The president added, improbably, that the individual rate would be even lower than that.</p>
<p>The long list of difficulties has led some analysts to conclude that Congress is likelier to settle on straightforward tax cuts than on full-blown reform — if it passes anything at all.</p>
<p>But Ryan rejected that approach, telling the AP, "It's not just narrow cuts in taxes that will do the job."</p>
<p>Referencing tax cuts signed by President George W. Bush, Ryan said, "You can't just do what Bush did in 2001 and 2003. You have to overhaul the system itself to put American businesses and the American economy in a much more competitive situation."</p>
<p>Earlier Wednesday, Ryan and House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady met behind closed doors with GOP lawmakers to lay out a timetable on taxes, pledging a detailed blueprint from top congressional Republicans and administration officials in the final week of September. The goal, which Ryan reiterated Wednesday, is to send Trump a bill to sign before year's end.</p>
<p>The challenges were immediately apparent as House Republicans left the meeting with Ryan and Brady complaining they still didn't know what was going on. And some conservatives were voicing concerns about Trump's newfound fondness for making deals with Democrats, as he did last week on the debt ceiling with House Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California.</p>
<p>After Schumer and Pelosi had dinner at the White House Wednesday night, they said they had reached agreement with Trump to protect the DACA immigrants and fund some border security enhancements — not including Trump's long-sought border wall.</p>
<p>No Republicans were present at the dinner save the president, who was once a Democrat.</p>
<p>"The problem here is we don't have a clue what's in the tax plan," said Rep. Dave Brat, R-Va. "Now Trump is talking about doing bipartisan stuff with Chuck and Nancy on taxes. And I don't want to open the door to that until we see what this tax plan looks like."</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Richard Lardner, Stephen Ohlemacher and Catherine Lucey contributed.</p>
| 7,588 |
<p />
<p>It will cost more than $25 billion to complete a Georgia nuclear power plant, according to a new estimate released Wednesday, raising new questions about whether the sole remaining nuclear facility under construction in the U.S. will get built.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The disclosure from utility Southern Co. comes two days after Scana Corp. pulled the plug on a similar nuclear plant in South Carolina following years of delays and rising costs that also put final completion of that facility above $25 billion.</p>
<p>The escalating expenses, which have nearly doubled over the past nine years, have heightened concern that what was supposed to be a rebirth of the nuclear power industry in the U.S., driven by Westinghouse Electric Co. reactors, is becoming a costly failure.</p>
<p>On Wednesday morning, Southern released a preliminary estimate that indicated overall costs for its Vogtle Electric Generating Plant have risen to at least $25.2 billion. In 2008, when it first proposed building the plant's two reactors, it said it expected to spend $6.4 billion for its 45.7% stake, meaning the entire project would cost roughly $14 billion.</p>
<p>The company also said the earliest the reactors could be operational would be February 2021 and February 2022. Previously, the company said it expected them to be in service by 2019 and 2020.</p>
<p>Southern said it would make a recommendation to Georgia regulators later this month about whether it would proceed with the project. Thomas A. Fanning, Southern's chairman and CEO, is expected to talk to investors Wednesday afternoon on a conference call to discuss quarterly earnings.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>A company spokesman confirmed the latest figures on the Georgia plant, but declined to comment on its future.</p>
<p>Earlier this week, Santee Cooper, a state-owned electric utility that was a part owner of South Carolina's V.C. Summer Nuclear Station along with Scana Corp., said total costs of that facility had swelled to $25.7 billion, more than twice the original cost of $11.5 billion proposed in 2008. The utilities decided to cancel the project on Monday, citing the higher costs and anticipated additional delays.</p>
<p>Both Southern and Scana tried to shield investors from the risk of escalating costs by negotiating fixed-cost contracts with Westinghouse, the plants' designer and contractor. But cost overruns forced Westinghouse to seek bankruptcy protection earlier this year, a situation that threatened the financial health of its Japanese parent, Toshiba Corp.</p>
<p>Construction at the Georgia facility is 44% complete, compared to 35% for the South Carolina plant. What's more, Southern negotiated a $3.7 billion financial settlement with Toshiba Corp., which sought to cap its exposure to higher costs from the Westinghouse projects by cutting deals with the utilities.</p>
<p>Vogtle is the only nuclear power plant under construction in the U.S., and the first to be started since the 1980s.</p>
<p>The soaring costs of building new plants are reminiscent of the 1970s and early 1980s, when rising costs contributed to a total halt in new nuclear construction. In 2008, Westinghouse proposed a new design that was intended to be easier to build on time and on budget. This has not turned out to be the case.</p>
<p>The troubles with building new plants come at a time when the idea of generating electricity from nuclear power has received a boost. Some environmentalists have supported nuclear plants as a way of providing power that doesn't emit carbon dioxide. And President Donald Trump said earlier this summer he wanted to "revive and expand our nuclear-energy sector."</p>
<p>Southern said on Wednesday morning that it posted a $1.38 billion loss in the second quarter of the year, compared to a $623 million profit in the same period a year earlier.</p>
<p>The change was almost entirely due to a $2.8 billion pre-tax charge the company took related to an expensive, and ultimately unsuccessful, attempt to build a power plant In Mississippi that could cleanly burn coal and capture much of its carbon-dioxide output.</p>
<p>In June, Mississippi regulators said they were unwilling to pass any additional costs onto to electricity customers. The plant cost $7.5 billion and seven years to build, but Southern couldn't get the carbon dioxide technology to operate properly for extended periods.</p>
<p>Write to Russell Gold at [email protected]</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>August 02, 2017 12:41 ET (16:41 GMT)</p>
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Tab swells to $25 billion for nuclear-power plant in Georgia
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2017-08-02
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Tab swells to $25 billion for nuclear-power plant in Georgia
<p />
<p>It will cost more than $25 billion to complete a Georgia nuclear power plant, according to a new estimate released Wednesday, raising new questions about whether the sole remaining nuclear facility under construction in the U.S. will get built.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The disclosure from utility Southern Co. comes two days after Scana Corp. pulled the plug on a similar nuclear plant in South Carolina following years of delays and rising costs that also put final completion of that facility above $25 billion.</p>
<p>The escalating expenses, which have nearly doubled over the past nine years, have heightened concern that what was supposed to be a rebirth of the nuclear power industry in the U.S., driven by Westinghouse Electric Co. reactors, is becoming a costly failure.</p>
<p>On Wednesday morning, Southern released a preliminary estimate that indicated overall costs for its Vogtle Electric Generating Plant have risen to at least $25.2 billion. In 2008, when it first proposed building the plant's two reactors, it said it expected to spend $6.4 billion for its 45.7% stake, meaning the entire project would cost roughly $14 billion.</p>
<p>The company also said the earliest the reactors could be operational would be February 2021 and February 2022. Previously, the company said it expected them to be in service by 2019 and 2020.</p>
<p>Southern said it would make a recommendation to Georgia regulators later this month about whether it would proceed with the project. Thomas A. Fanning, Southern's chairman and CEO, is expected to talk to investors Wednesday afternoon on a conference call to discuss quarterly earnings.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>A company spokesman confirmed the latest figures on the Georgia plant, but declined to comment on its future.</p>
<p>Earlier this week, Santee Cooper, a state-owned electric utility that was a part owner of South Carolina's V.C. Summer Nuclear Station along with Scana Corp., said total costs of that facility had swelled to $25.7 billion, more than twice the original cost of $11.5 billion proposed in 2008. The utilities decided to cancel the project on Monday, citing the higher costs and anticipated additional delays.</p>
<p>Both Southern and Scana tried to shield investors from the risk of escalating costs by negotiating fixed-cost contracts with Westinghouse, the plants' designer and contractor. But cost overruns forced Westinghouse to seek bankruptcy protection earlier this year, a situation that threatened the financial health of its Japanese parent, Toshiba Corp.</p>
<p>Construction at the Georgia facility is 44% complete, compared to 35% for the South Carolina plant. What's more, Southern negotiated a $3.7 billion financial settlement with Toshiba Corp., which sought to cap its exposure to higher costs from the Westinghouse projects by cutting deals with the utilities.</p>
<p>Vogtle is the only nuclear power plant under construction in the U.S., and the first to be started since the 1980s.</p>
<p>The soaring costs of building new plants are reminiscent of the 1970s and early 1980s, when rising costs contributed to a total halt in new nuclear construction. In 2008, Westinghouse proposed a new design that was intended to be easier to build on time and on budget. This has not turned out to be the case.</p>
<p>The troubles with building new plants come at a time when the idea of generating electricity from nuclear power has received a boost. Some environmentalists have supported nuclear plants as a way of providing power that doesn't emit carbon dioxide. And President Donald Trump said earlier this summer he wanted to "revive and expand our nuclear-energy sector."</p>
<p>Southern said on Wednesday morning that it posted a $1.38 billion loss in the second quarter of the year, compared to a $623 million profit in the same period a year earlier.</p>
<p>The change was almost entirely due to a $2.8 billion pre-tax charge the company took related to an expensive, and ultimately unsuccessful, attempt to build a power plant In Mississippi that could cleanly burn coal and capture much of its carbon-dioxide output.</p>
<p>In June, Mississippi regulators said they were unwilling to pass any additional costs onto to electricity customers. The plant cost $7.5 billion and seven years to build, but Southern couldn't get the carbon dioxide technology to operate properly for extended periods.</p>
<p>Write to Russell Gold at [email protected]</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>August 02, 2017 12:41 ET (16:41 GMT)</p>
| 7,589 |
<p />
<p>Procter &amp; Gamble (NYSE: PG) executives last week presented at an analyst conference to update shareholders on their cost-cutting plans while laying out why they believe they're right on track to begin snatching back market share after two years of disappointing declines.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Here are a few highlights from the consumer goods giant's presentation.</p>
<p>P&amp;G recently raised its full-year sales growth outlook after its fiscal second-quarter results came in <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/01/20/procter-gamble-co-earnings-give-investors-somethin.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">better than expected Opens a New Window.</a>. Sure, the outperformance was modest, but it fits an encouraging pattern for the consumer goods giant: Organic volume growth trends have improved from sharply negative to solidly positive over the past 18 months.</p>
<p>Image source: P&amp;G.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>That shift is even more impressive when stacked up against rivals. Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB), which competes against P&amp;G in the key diaper category, has seen its organic sales growth pace slow to 2% from the 4% it initially targeted. If both companies hit their latest growth forecasts, P&amp;G will outgrow its smaller peer for the first time in years.</p>
<p>P&amp;G may be done transforming its product portfolio, but it has only started reaping the benefits from its many cost-cutting initiatives. Executives have sliced an average of $1.4 billion out of its cost of goods sold in each year since 2012 and are targeting a <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2016/11/16/procter-gamble-cos-plan-to-save-10-billion.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">further $10 billion Opens a New Window.</a> of cuts over the next five fiscal years.</p>
<p>Image source: P&amp;G.</p>
<p>The simplification of its business is making that cost-cutting task much easier. As just one example, management highlighted the laundry division, which now counts 40% fewer chemical formulations, half the number of manufacturing sites, and half the number of packaging solutions. That complexity-shedding strategy is being applied to every area of the operations, including advertising and supply chain, and should result in a flexible, more profitable enterprise.</p>
<p>Image source: P&amp;G.</p>
<p>Executives highlighted P&amp;G's improved profitability, with gross and operating margin each climbing by roughly 2 full percentage points since fiscal 2013. The company is <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/02/13/3-ways-procter-gamble-co-is-beating-the-competitio.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">solidly ahead of most rivals Opens a New Window.</a> on this metric now. Its latest 22% operating margin, for example, beats Kimberly-Clark's 18%.</p>
<p>Thanks to these gains, P&amp;G is on track to boost profits in 2017 after two consecutive years of earnings declines.</p>
<p>Image source: P&amp;G.</p>
<p>P&amp;G can't just cut its way to sustainable growth, and so management is aiming to spur accelerating organic sales gains through innovation. Its performance has been mixed on this score lately, which left the door open for rivals like Unilever's (NYSE: UL) Dollar Shave Club to chip away at its market share.</p>
<p>In response, P&amp;G has reshaped its Gillette shaving portfolio to better capture demand across all price points. The market share trend hasn't turned positive yet, but the company is inching closer to that happy result.</p>
<p>Image source: P&amp;G.</p>
<p>The company's early experiments with a ramped-up trial program have been encouraging. P&amp;G has blanketed hospitals with free diaper samples for new moms, helping the Pampers brand widen its market share lead. While these trials carry concrete costs today and only the potential for sales growth in the future, executives are confident that the sampling program is creating millions of loyal customers, which is why the company plans to allocate more cash to the initiative this year.</p>
<p>P&amp;G's stock recently crossed $90 per share on optimism that its two-year growth funk is about to end. That encouraging prospect, coupled with <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;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">hefty cash returns Opens a New Window.</a> and improved profitability, points to a much better fiscal 2017 for shareholders than they've seen in years.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than Procter and 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>
<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=af7c0ba0-b912-466f-ab50-154fbe0a3518&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 Procter and Gamble 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=af7c0ba0-b912-466f-ab50-154fbe0a3518&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</a> to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of February 6, 2017</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFSigma/info.aspx" type="external">Demitrios Kalogeropoulos Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Kimberly-Clark and Unilever. 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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5 Must-See Slides From Procter & Gamble Co's Investor Presentation
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http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/02/28/5-must-see-slides-from-procter-gamble-co-investor-presentation.html
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2017-03-16
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5 Must-See Slides From Procter & Gamble Co's Investor Presentation
<p />
<p>Procter &amp; Gamble (NYSE: PG) executives last week presented at an analyst conference to update shareholders on their cost-cutting plans while laying out why they believe they're right on track to begin snatching back market share after two years of disappointing declines.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Here are a few highlights from the consumer goods giant's presentation.</p>
<p>P&amp;G recently raised its full-year sales growth outlook after its fiscal second-quarter results came in <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/01/20/procter-gamble-co-earnings-give-investors-somethin.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">better than expected Opens a New Window.</a>. Sure, the outperformance was modest, but it fits an encouraging pattern for the consumer goods giant: Organic volume growth trends have improved from sharply negative to solidly positive over the past 18 months.</p>
<p>Image source: P&amp;G.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>That shift is even more impressive when stacked up against rivals. Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB), which competes against P&amp;G in the key diaper category, has seen its organic sales growth pace slow to 2% from the 4% it initially targeted. If both companies hit their latest growth forecasts, P&amp;G will outgrow its smaller peer for the first time in years.</p>
<p>P&amp;G may be done transforming its product portfolio, but it has only started reaping the benefits from its many cost-cutting initiatives. Executives have sliced an average of $1.4 billion out of its cost of goods sold in each year since 2012 and are targeting a <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2016/11/16/procter-gamble-cos-plan-to-save-10-billion.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">further $10 billion Opens a New Window.</a> of cuts over the next five fiscal years.</p>
<p>Image source: P&amp;G.</p>
<p>The simplification of its business is making that cost-cutting task much easier. As just one example, management highlighted the laundry division, which now counts 40% fewer chemical formulations, half the number of manufacturing sites, and half the number of packaging solutions. That complexity-shedding strategy is being applied to every area of the operations, including advertising and supply chain, and should result in a flexible, more profitable enterprise.</p>
<p>Image source: P&amp;G.</p>
<p>Executives highlighted P&amp;G's improved profitability, with gross and operating margin each climbing by roughly 2 full percentage points since fiscal 2013. The company is <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/02/13/3-ways-procter-gamble-co-is-beating-the-competitio.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">solidly ahead of most rivals Opens a New Window.</a> on this metric now. Its latest 22% operating margin, for example, beats Kimberly-Clark's 18%.</p>
<p>Thanks to these gains, P&amp;G is on track to boost profits in 2017 after two consecutive years of earnings declines.</p>
<p>Image source: P&amp;G.</p>
<p>P&amp;G can't just cut its way to sustainable growth, and so management is aiming to spur accelerating organic sales gains through innovation. Its performance has been mixed on this score lately, which left the door open for rivals like Unilever's (NYSE: UL) Dollar Shave Club to chip away at its market share.</p>
<p>In response, P&amp;G has reshaped its Gillette shaving portfolio to better capture demand across all price points. The market share trend hasn't turned positive yet, but the company is inching closer to that happy result.</p>
<p>Image source: P&amp;G.</p>
<p>The company's early experiments with a ramped-up trial program have been encouraging. P&amp;G has blanketed hospitals with free diaper samples for new moms, helping the Pampers brand widen its market share lead. While these trials carry concrete costs today and only the potential for sales growth in the future, executives are confident that the sampling program is creating millions of loyal customers, which is why the company plans to allocate more cash to the initiative this year.</p>
<p>P&amp;G's stock recently crossed $90 per share on optimism that its two-year growth funk is about to end. That encouraging prospect, coupled with <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;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">hefty cash returns Opens a New Window.</a> and improved profitability, points to a much better fiscal 2017 for shareholders than they've seen in years.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than Procter and 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>
<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=af7c0ba0-b912-466f-ab50-154fbe0a3518&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 Procter and Gamble 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=af7c0ba0-b912-466f-ab50-154fbe0a3518&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</a> to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of February 6, 2017</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFSigma/info.aspx" type="external">Demitrios Kalogeropoulos Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Kimberly-Clark and Unilever. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
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<p>WASHINGTON, Ill. (AP) — When a cluster of violent thunderstorms began marching across the Midwest, forecasters were able to draw a bright line across a map showing where the worst of the weather would go.</p>
<p>Their uncannily accurate predictions, combined with television and radio warnings, text-message alerts and storm sirens, almost certainly saved lives when rare late-season tornadoes dropped out of a dark autumn sky. Although the storms howled across 12 states and flattened entire neighborhoods within a matter of minutes, the death toll stood at just eight.</p>
<p>By Monday, another more prosaic reason for the relatively low death toll came to light: In the hardest-hit town, most families were in church.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“I don’t think we had one church damaged,” said Gary Manier, mayor of Washington, Ill., a town of 16,000 about 140 miles southwest of Chicago.</p>
<p>The tornado cut a path about an eighth of a mile wide from one side of Washington to the other and damaged or destroyed as many as 500 homes.</p>
<p>Daniel Bennett was officiating Sunday service before 600 to 700 people when he heard a warning. Then another. And another.</p>
<p>“I’d say probably two dozen phones started going off in the service, and everybody started looking down,” he said.</p>
<p>What they saw was a text message that a twister was in the area.</p>
<p>Bennett stopped the service and ushered everyone to a safe place until the threat passed.</p>
<p>A day later, many in the community believed that the messages helped minimize the number of dead and injured.</p>
<p>“That’s got to be connected,” Bennett said. “The ability to get instant information.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Another factor was forecasting, which has steadily improved with the arrival of faster, more powerful computers. Scientists are now better able to replicate atmospheric processes into mathematical equations.</p>
<p>In the last decade alone, forecasters have doubled the number of days in advance that weather experts can anticipate major storms, said Bill Bunting of the National Weather Service.</p>
<p>But Bunting, the forecast operations chief of the service’s Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla. said it was not until Saturday that the atmospheric instability that turns smaller storm system into larger, more menacing ones came into focus.</p>
<p>Enter another key piece of the weather predicting equations: Observation.</p>
<p>Information coming from weather stations, weather balloons, satellite imagery and radar told scientists that there was more than enough moisture — fuel for storms — making its way northeast from the Gulf of Mexico.</p>
<p>Despite Sunday’s destruction and at least eight deaths, 2013 has been a relatively mild year for twisters in the U.S., with the number of twisters running at or near record lows.</p>
<p>So far this year, there have been 886 preliminary reports of tornadoes, compared with about 1,400 preliminary reports usually received by the weather service office by mid-November.</p>
<p>Similar slow years were 1987 and 1989.</p>
<p>An outbreak like the one that developed Sunday usually happens about once every seven to 10 years, according to tornado experts at the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center and National Severe Storm Lab in Norman, Okla.</p>
<p>There were similar November outbreaks in 1992 and 2002, with the 1992 one being even bigger than this year’s, said top tornado researcher Harold Brooks at the storm lab.</p>
<p>The outbreak occurred because of unusually warm moist air from Louisiana to Michigan that was then hit by an upper-level cold front. That crash of hot and cold, dry and wet, is what triggers tornadoes.</p>
<p>Like most November storms, this one was high in wind shear and lower in moist energy. Wind shear is the difference between winds at high altitude and wind near the surface.</p>
<p>Because it was high in wind shear, the storm system moved fast, like a speeding car, Brooks said. That meant the storm hit more places before it petered out, affecting more people, but it might have been slightly less damaging where it hit because it was moving so fast, he said.</p>
<p>About 90 minutes after the tornado hit Washington, rain and high winds slammed into downtown Chicago, prompting officials at Soldier Field to evacuate the stands and order the Bears and Baltimore Ravens off the field. Fans were allowed back to their seats shortly after 2 p.m., and the game resumed after about a two-hour delay.</p>
|
Better forecasts, church services saved lives in Midwest Sunday thunderstorms
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/303487/better-forecasts-church-services-saved-lives-in-midwest-sunday-thunderstorms.html
|
2013-11-18
| 2least
|
Better forecasts, church services saved lives in Midwest Sunday thunderstorms
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>WASHINGTON, Ill. (AP) — When a cluster of violent thunderstorms began marching across the Midwest, forecasters were able to draw a bright line across a map showing where the worst of the weather would go.</p>
<p>Their uncannily accurate predictions, combined with television and radio warnings, text-message alerts and storm sirens, almost certainly saved lives when rare late-season tornadoes dropped out of a dark autumn sky. Although the storms howled across 12 states and flattened entire neighborhoods within a matter of minutes, the death toll stood at just eight.</p>
<p>By Monday, another more prosaic reason for the relatively low death toll came to light: In the hardest-hit town, most families were in church.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“I don’t think we had one church damaged,” said Gary Manier, mayor of Washington, Ill., a town of 16,000 about 140 miles southwest of Chicago.</p>
<p>The tornado cut a path about an eighth of a mile wide from one side of Washington to the other and damaged or destroyed as many as 500 homes.</p>
<p>Daniel Bennett was officiating Sunday service before 600 to 700 people when he heard a warning. Then another. And another.</p>
<p>“I’d say probably two dozen phones started going off in the service, and everybody started looking down,” he said.</p>
<p>What they saw was a text message that a twister was in the area.</p>
<p>Bennett stopped the service and ushered everyone to a safe place until the threat passed.</p>
<p>A day later, many in the community believed that the messages helped minimize the number of dead and injured.</p>
<p>“That’s got to be connected,” Bennett said. “The ability to get instant information.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Another factor was forecasting, which has steadily improved with the arrival of faster, more powerful computers. Scientists are now better able to replicate atmospheric processes into mathematical equations.</p>
<p>In the last decade alone, forecasters have doubled the number of days in advance that weather experts can anticipate major storms, said Bill Bunting of the National Weather Service.</p>
<p>But Bunting, the forecast operations chief of the service’s Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla. said it was not until Saturday that the atmospheric instability that turns smaller storm system into larger, more menacing ones came into focus.</p>
<p>Enter another key piece of the weather predicting equations: Observation.</p>
<p>Information coming from weather stations, weather balloons, satellite imagery and radar told scientists that there was more than enough moisture — fuel for storms — making its way northeast from the Gulf of Mexico.</p>
<p>Despite Sunday’s destruction and at least eight deaths, 2013 has been a relatively mild year for twisters in the U.S., with the number of twisters running at or near record lows.</p>
<p>So far this year, there have been 886 preliminary reports of tornadoes, compared with about 1,400 preliminary reports usually received by the weather service office by mid-November.</p>
<p>Similar slow years were 1987 and 1989.</p>
<p>An outbreak like the one that developed Sunday usually happens about once every seven to 10 years, according to tornado experts at the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center and National Severe Storm Lab in Norman, Okla.</p>
<p>There were similar November outbreaks in 1992 and 2002, with the 1992 one being even bigger than this year’s, said top tornado researcher Harold Brooks at the storm lab.</p>
<p>The outbreak occurred because of unusually warm moist air from Louisiana to Michigan that was then hit by an upper-level cold front. That crash of hot and cold, dry and wet, is what triggers tornadoes.</p>
<p>Like most November storms, this one was high in wind shear and lower in moist energy. Wind shear is the difference between winds at high altitude and wind near the surface.</p>
<p>Because it was high in wind shear, the storm system moved fast, like a speeding car, Brooks said. That meant the storm hit more places before it petered out, affecting more people, but it might have been slightly less damaging where it hit because it was moving so fast, he said.</p>
<p>About 90 minutes after the tornado hit Washington, rain and high winds slammed into downtown Chicago, prompting officials at Soldier Field to evacuate the stands and order the Bears and Baltimore Ravens off the field. Fans were allowed back to their seats shortly after 2 p.m., and the game resumed after about a two-hour delay.</p>
| 7,591 |
<p><a href="http://wp.me/p3bwni-6hh" type="external">21st Century Wire</a> says…</p>
<p>The ancient Indus Valley Civilization had developed a number of firsts – the first urban planning,&#160;technological advances in civil life, sanitation and&#160;hygiene. Most importantly, however, it saw major advances in written language.</p>
<p>The genealogy of our language is important because in it also lies the provenance of our thoughts. Language is the programming interface for our brains.</p>
<p>How much do we really know about our own language?</p>
<p>Language is everything…</p>
<p><a href="http://www.brasschecktv.com/videos/out-there-1/our-secret-ancestors.html" type="external">Brasscheck TV</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.brasschecktv.com/videos/out-there-1/our-secret-ancestors.html" type="external" />Most European languages can be traced back to a language that was developed in India specifically to be used by the scientists and priests there thousands of years ago.</p>
<p>There are many words in Sanskrit that describe states of consciousness, or ‘mentation’ (the process of thinking) and cosmology.</p>
<p>Sanskrit was first re-introduced back to the West just 150 years ago.</p>
<p>There’s still a lot to learn…</p>
<p />
<p />
|
Our Secret Ancestors: We use their numbers – and their words
| true |
http://21stcenturywire.com/2014/01/31/our-secret-ancestors-we-use-their-numbers-and-their-words/
|
2014-01-31
| 4left
|
Our Secret Ancestors: We use their numbers – and their words
<p><a href="http://wp.me/p3bwni-6hh" type="external">21st Century Wire</a> says…</p>
<p>The ancient Indus Valley Civilization had developed a number of firsts – the first urban planning,&#160;technological advances in civil life, sanitation and&#160;hygiene. Most importantly, however, it saw major advances in written language.</p>
<p>The genealogy of our language is important because in it also lies the provenance of our thoughts. Language is the programming interface for our brains.</p>
<p>How much do we really know about our own language?</p>
<p>Language is everything…</p>
<p><a href="http://www.brasschecktv.com/videos/out-there-1/our-secret-ancestors.html" type="external">Brasscheck TV</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.brasschecktv.com/videos/out-there-1/our-secret-ancestors.html" type="external" />Most European languages can be traced back to a language that was developed in India specifically to be used by the scientists and priests there thousands of years ago.</p>
<p>There are many words in Sanskrit that describe states of consciousness, or ‘mentation’ (the process of thinking) and cosmology.</p>
<p>Sanskrit was first re-introduced back to the West just 150 years ago.</p>
<p>There’s still a lot to learn…</p>
<p />
<p />
| 7,592 |
<p>TRANSCRIPT:</p>
<p>LIMBAUGH: And the way the Republicans are looking at it is that they think that Hispanic immigrants are made-to-order conservatives. For some reason, culturally, they think that they're invested in hard work. And using the Cuban exile model, they're exactly right. But the Hispanic demographic, if you will, or population, has shifted. And the Cuban exile model is no longer the dominant model. The Mexican immigrant model is. And that -- they arrive with an entirely different view of America. And I'm sorry if this is offensive, but it's true.</p>
<p>And I'm not just asserting it. The scholarly research from academia is out there. A full 75 percent of voting Hispanics believe that prosperity is the job of government. And so they'll vote for the party that espouses those beliefs. [It] happens to be the Democrats. And so we sit here, and we think it's a lost cause to favor amnesty, illegal immigration, simply to get voters.&#160;&#160;</p>
<p>Previously:</p>
<p><a href="/video/191273" type="external">Rush: Cubans Aren't "Popular In The Overall Hispanic Group" Because They're Not "As Dark" And Are "Oriented Toward Work"</a></p>
<p><a href="/video/191824" type="external">Rush Limbaugh: Dem Party "Wants Minorities Thinking That They Don't Have A Chance Unless The Democrats Are Their Champions"</a></p>
<p><a href="/blog/2012/03/07/the-20-worst-racial-attacks-limbaughs-advertise/184776" type="external">The 20 Worst Racial Attacks Limbaugh's Advertisers Have Sponsored</a></p>
|
Limbaugh Stereotypes Latinos: "Cuban Exile Model" Of "Hard Work" Has Shifted To "Mexican Immigrant Model"
| true |
http://mediamatters.org/video/2013/01/30/limbaugh-stereotypes-latinos-cuban-exile-model/192469
|
2013-01-30
| 4left
|
Limbaugh Stereotypes Latinos: "Cuban Exile Model" Of "Hard Work" Has Shifted To "Mexican Immigrant Model"
<p>TRANSCRIPT:</p>
<p>LIMBAUGH: And the way the Republicans are looking at it is that they think that Hispanic immigrants are made-to-order conservatives. For some reason, culturally, they think that they're invested in hard work. And using the Cuban exile model, they're exactly right. But the Hispanic demographic, if you will, or population, has shifted. And the Cuban exile model is no longer the dominant model. The Mexican immigrant model is. And that -- they arrive with an entirely different view of America. And I'm sorry if this is offensive, but it's true.</p>
<p>And I'm not just asserting it. The scholarly research from academia is out there. A full 75 percent of voting Hispanics believe that prosperity is the job of government. And so they'll vote for the party that espouses those beliefs. [It] happens to be the Democrats. And so we sit here, and we think it's a lost cause to favor amnesty, illegal immigration, simply to get voters.&#160;&#160;</p>
<p>Previously:</p>
<p><a href="/video/191273" type="external">Rush: Cubans Aren't "Popular In The Overall Hispanic Group" Because They're Not "As Dark" And Are "Oriented Toward Work"</a></p>
<p><a href="/video/191824" type="external">Rush Limbaugh: Dem Party "Wants Minorities Thinking That They Don't Have A Chance Unless The Democrats Are Their Champions"</a></p>
<p><a href="/blog/2012/03/07/the-20-worst-racial-attacks-limbaughs-advertise/184776" type="external">The 20 Worst Racial Attacks Limbaugh's Advertisers Have Sponsored</a></p>
| 7,593 |
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<p />
<p>Greece has been struggling for months to conclude negotiations with its creditors on spending cuts and reforms demanded by European creditors and the International Monetary Fund as part of its third bailout program. It hopes to reach an agreement in time for a Monday meeting of eurozone finance ministers.</p>
<p>Government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos noted the country had exceeded its bailout targets for the primary surplus — the budget excluding interest rates — and therefore no further austerity should be imposed on the Greek people.</p>
<p>A deal should be reached “without additional burdens, without additional cost for Greek society,” Tzanakopoulos said. “Our aim, therefore, continues to be for a deal without a single euro’s worth of additional austerity measures.”</p>
<p>Greece has relied on billions of euros from international rescue loans since 2010. In return for the bailouts from the IMF and other eurozone countries, successive governments have had to push through deeply unpopular reforms, increasing taxes and slashing spending, including on pensions and salaries.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Without an agreement, Greece will not be able to tap into the next installment of bailout funds, and it faces a debt repayment hump in July.</p>
<p>Athens insists the problems in its negotiations stem from the intransigence of some of its creditors.</p>
<p>“The key to there being a positive development on Feb. 20 remains the return to reality both by the IMF and by Germany’s finance ministry,” Tzanakopoulos said. Athens has long maintained the IMF’s predictions for the Greek economy are too pessimistic, and Germany’s demands for high primary surpluses too harsh.</p>
<p>The IMF should “finally adopt the reality of the figures for the Greek economy’s performance until now and make more reliable and realistic predictions for the following years,” Tzanakopoulos said. “We also expect the German Finance Minister to have more realistic assessments about the size of primary surpluses in the mid-term.”</p>
|
Greece’s plea: No more austerity under the bailout deal
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/951160/greeces-plea-no-more-austerity-under-the-bailout-deal.html
|
2017-02-16
| 2least
|
Greece’s plea: No more austerity under the bailout deal
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Greece has been struggling for months to conclude negotiations with its creditors on spending cuts and reforms demanded by European creditors and the International Monetary Fund as part of its third bailout program. It hopes to reach an agreement in time for a Monday meeting of eurozone finance ministers.</p>
<p>Government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos noted the country had exceeded its bailout targets for the primary surplus — the budget excluding interest rates — and therefore no further austerity should be imposed on the Greek people.</p>
<p>A deal should be reached “without additional burdens, without additional cost for Greek society,” Tzanakopoulos said. “Our aim, therefore, continues to be for a deal without a single euro’s worth of additional austerity measures.”</p>
<p>Greece has relied on billions of euros from international rescue loans since 2010. In return for the bailouts from the IMF and other eurozone countries, successive governments have had to push through deeply unpopular reforms, increasing taxes and slashing spending, including on pensions and salaries.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Without an agreement, Greece will not be able to tap into the next installment of bailout funds, and it faces a debt repayment hump in July.</p>
<p>Athens insists the problems in its negotiations stem from the intransigence of some of its creditors.</p>
<p>“The key to there being a positive development on Feb. 20 remains the return to reality both by the IMF and by Germany’s finance ministry,” Tzanakopoulos said. Athens has long maintained the IMF’s predictions for the Greek economy are too pessimistic, and Germany’s demands for high primary surpluses too harsh.</p>
<p>The IMF should “finally adopt the reality of the figures for the Greek economy’s performance until now and make more reliable and realistic predictions for the following years,” Tzanakopoulos said. “We also expect the German Finance Minister to have more realistic assessments about the size of primary surpluses in the mid-term.”</p>
| 7,594 |
<p><a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-95517259.html" type="external">Shutterstock</a></p>
<p>Numbered footnotes, with hyperlinks, appear at the end of this article.</p>
<p>My attitude toward becoming a vegan was similar to <a href="http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Augustine_of_Hippo" type="external">Augustine’s</a> attitude toward becoming celibate — “God grant me abstinence, but not yet.” But with animal agriculture as the leading cause of species extinction, water pollution, ocean dead zones and habitat destruction2, and with the death spiral of the ecosystem ever more pronounced, becoming vegan is the most important and direct change we can immediately make to save the planet and its species. It is one that my wife — who was the engine behind our family’s shift — and I have made.</p>
<p>A person who is vegan will save 1,100 gallons of water, 20 pounds CO2 equivalent, 30 square feet of forested land, 45 pounds of grain and one sentient animal’s life1 every day.</p>
<p />
<p>Animal agriculture is responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions than all worldwide transportation combined — cars, trucks, trains, ships and planes.3 Livestock and their waste and flatulence account for at least 32,000 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year, or 51 percent of all worldwide greenhouse gas emissions.4 Livestock causes 65 percent of all emissions of nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas 296 times more destructive than carbon dioxide.5 Crops grown for livestock feed consume 56 percent of the water used in the United States.6 Eighty percent of the world’s soy crop is fed to animals, and most of this soy is grown on cleared lands that were once rain forests. All this is taking place as an estimated 6 million children across the planet die each year from starvation and as hunger and malnutrition affect an additional 1 billion people.7 In the United States 70 percent of the grain we grow goes to feed livestock raised for consumption.8</p>
<p>The natural resources used to produce even minimal amounts of animal products are staggering — 1,000 gallons of water to produce 1 gallon of milk.9 Add to this the massive clear cutting and other destruction of forests, especially in the Amazon — where forest destruction has risen to 91 percent10 — and we find ourselves lethally despoiling the lungs of the earth largely for the benefit of the animal agriculture industry. Our forests, especially our rain forests, absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and exchange it for oxygen: Killing the forests is a death sentence for the planet. Land devoted exclusively to raising livestock now represents 45 percent of the earth’s land mass.11</p>
<p>And this does not include the assault on the oceans, where three-quarters of the world’s primary fisheries have been overexploited and vast parts of the seas are in danger of becoming dead zones.</p>
<p>We can, by becoming vegan, refuse to be complicit in the torture of billions of animals for corporate profit and can have the well-documented health benefits associated with a plant-based diet, especially in the areas of heart disease and cancer.</p>
<p>Richard A. Oppenlander in his book, “ <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Comfortably-Unaware-Choose-Killing-Planet/dp/0825306868/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1415490934&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=comfortably+unaware" type="external">Comfortably Unaware</a>: What We Choose to Eat Is Killing Us and Our Planet,” draws the terrifying scenarios that lie ahead unless we change what we eat. He notes that we can save more water by refusing to eat a pound of beef — which takes more than 5,000 gallons of water to produce12 — than by not showering for a year and that half the water in the United States is used to sustain livestock. He writes:</p>
<p>Your contribution to pollution begins with what you decide to purchase to consume. It’s not just with the occasional purchase; it’s with every food item you eat, every day. With meat and animal products, the pollution associated with your choice is massive. In order to raise that animal for you to eat, there is baggage that silently comes along with it — silent to you, that is, although it speaks loudly elsewhere. In the United States alone, chickens, turkeys, pigs, and cows in factory farms produce over five million pounds of excrement per minute. These are the animals raised each year so that people can continue eating meat, and they produce 130 times more excrement than the entire human population in our country. This manure sewage is responsible for global warming, water and soil pollution, air pollution, and use of our resources. The waste produced by the animals raised for food includes with it all the antibiotics, pesticides, herbicides, hormones, and other chemicals used during the raising and growing process. Accompanying this is methane released by the animals themselves, as well as the carbon, nitrous oxide, and additional methane emissions produced during the whole raising, feeding, and killing process.</p>
<p>On any given acre of land we can grow twelve to twenty times the amount in pounds of edible vegetables, fruit, and grain as in pounds of edible animal products. We are essentially using twenty times the amount of land and crops and hundreds of times the water, as well as polluting our waterways and air and destroying rainforests, to produce animals to kill and eat … which is unhealthier than eating the plant products we could have produced.</p>
<p>The animal agriculture industry has used the excuse of national security, public safety, trade agreements and the need for business secrets to pass what are known as ag-gag laws in about a dozen states and, on the federal level, the Animal Enterprise Protection Act, all enhanced with anti-terrorism laws to criminalize anyone who investigates or challenges the industry. It is illegal under the Patriot Act to issue statements or carry out actions that harm the profits of the animal agriculture industry. Radical change, as with every challenge to the power of our corporate state, will have to be built outside the structures of power, including the leading environmental groups, which have refused to confront the livestock industry.</p>
<p>Six members of the group Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC) were found guilty in federal court in Trenton, N.J., in 2006 for using their website to incite attacks on Huntingdon Life Sciences, an animal-testing laboratory. They were charged with conspiracy to violate the Animal Enterprise Protection Act. One of those charged, Andrew Stepanian, who has since been released, was held in isolation in a federal “communication management unit.”</p>
<p>Given the slew of recent laws that prohibit the photographing or filming of how we handle our livestock, don’t expect to see very many pictures from within the vast warehouses where animals are kept in atrocious conditions as they await slaughter. Don’t expect politicians, bought off by agro-business money, to advocate for a diet that can have a massive impact on global warming. And don’t expect the mass media, which depend on advertising dollars from the industry, to inform us about what this industry is doing to the planet.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.cowspiracy.com/" type="external">“Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret,”</a> a new documentary, examines the power of the animal agriculture industry, which is one more massive piece of the puzzle in the corporate strangulation of the common good. The film attempts to let the public know not only about the environmental effects of animal agriculture but what is being done to and put into the food we eat.</p>
<p>“The animal agriculture industry is one of the most powerful industries on the planet,” journalist <a href="http://willpotter.com/" type="external">Will Potter</a> says in “Cowspiracy.” “Most people in this country are aware of the influence of money and industry on politics. We really see that clearly on display with this industry in particular. Most people would be shocked to learn that animal rights and environmental activists are the No. 1 domestic terrorism threat according to the FBI. … They, more than any other social movements today, are directly threatening corporate profits.”</p>
<p>The film opens with Bruce Hamilton, the conservation director of the Sierra Club, laying out the dire future ahead of us. “The world’s climate scientists tell us that the highest safe level of emission is around 350 parts per million of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases in the atmosphere,” he says. “We are already at 400. They tell us that the safest we could hope to do without having perilous implications as far as drought, famine, human conflict and major species extinction would be about a 2 degree Celsius increase in temperature. We are rapidly approaching that and with all the built-in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere we are going to easily exceed that. On our watch we are facing the next major extinction of species on the earth that we have not seen since the time of the dinosaurs disappearing. When whole countries go under water because of sea level rise, when whole countries find that there is so much drought they can’t feed their populations and as a result they need to desperately migrate to another country or invade another country, we are going to have climate wars in the future.”</p>
<p>“And what about livestock and animal agriculture?” asks Kip Andersen, who co-directed “Cowspiracy” with Keegan Kuhn. “Uhh,” Hamilton responds, “well — what about it?”</p>
<p>The refusal by major environmental organizations, including Greenpeace, 350.org and the Sierra Club, to confront the animal agricultural business is a window into how impotent the activist community has become in the face of corporate power.I reached Kuhn in Berkeley and Andersen in San Francisco by phone.</p>
<p>“So many more people have a connection to animal agriculture, both in society and government, than have a direct connection to the oil industry,” Kuhn said. “The oil industry employs, relatively speaking, a very small percentage of people and is controlled by a very small percentage of people. The agricultural industry, both animal agriculture and commodity grains fed to those animals, involves a much bigger demographic. Politically it is a lot more challenging. Corporations such as Cargill, one the largest commodity food corporations in the world, is able to create U.S. policy. The government says it needs to have affordable food, which means giving massive subsidies to these corporations. The belief is that we have to eat animal products to survive. It is not something that is even questioned. The fossil fuel industry is more easily challenged with the argument that there are alternatives. People do not feel there is an alternative to eating animals.”</p>
<p>“Why would we want to create laws that make it harder for us to know how our food is produced?” Kuhn asked. “No consumer wants that. They want greater transparency. This shows how in-bed this industry is with the government. They can shape and dictate legislation that does not benefit us or the planet.”</p>
<p>“Hiding the animals, hiding the farms, hiding the entire issue is a marketing tool that is used by the industry,” Kuhn said. “Their attitude is, if you can’t see it, it’s not there. There are upwards of 10 billion farm animals slaughtered every year in the United States. But where are these 10 billion animals? We live in a country with 320 million humans. We see humans everywhere. But where are these billions of animals? They are hidden away in sheds. It allows the industry to carry out these atrocities, whether it’s how they treat the animals or how they treat the environment.”</p>
<p>“You also have the marketing of grass-fed animals on smaller farms,” Andersen said, “and while it initially appears better, it is actually worse. The factory farming is horrific for the animals, but it is better for the environment than pasture-fed beef because of methane emissions, feces excretion and all the horses and wolves that are killed so cattle can graze on public land, which we pay for with our public dollars. We didn’t focus in the film on the factory farms. Everyone knows about that. We wanted to look at these so-called sustainable farms, as if this so-called humane farming is the answer. In most situations, these farms are worse for the environment, although it is better for the animals.”</p>
<p>“If we had a different timeline, or if we had 1.5 billion people on the planet, then there might be halfway measures we could take,” Kuhn said. “The situation we are dealing with ecologically, however, means there is no way left but an immediate shift to a plant-based lifestyle.”</p>
<p>“How can we best use our resources?” Oppenlander asks in “Comfortably Unaware.” “What foods will have the very least effect on our planet? Which foods best promote our own human health and wellness, and which are the most compassionate? Do we really need to slaughter another living thing in order for us to eat? Or, sadly, is it because we want to?”</p>
<p>We have only a few years left, at best, to make radical changes to save ourselves from ecological meltdown. A person who is vegan will save 1,100 gallons of water, 20 pounds CO2 equivalent, 30 square feet of forested land, 45 pounds of grain, and one sentient animal’s life13 every day. We do not, given what lies ahead of us, have any other option. — — — Footnotes:</p>
<p>1. <a href="http://www.waterfootprint.org" type="external">“Water Footprint Assessment.”</a> University of Twente, the Netherlands.</p>
<p>2. <a href="http://www.epa.gov/region9/animalwaste/problem.html%20" type="external">“What’s the Problem?”</a> United States Environmental Protection Agency. <a href="http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/a0701e/a0701e00.HTM" type="external">“Livestock’s Long Shadow: Environmental Issues and Options.”</a> Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 2006.</p>
<p>3. <a href="http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/a0701e/a0701e00.HTM" type="external">Ibid.</a></p>
<p>4. Goodland, R; Anhang, J. <a href="http://www.worldwatch.org/node/6294" type="external">“Livestock and Climate Change: What if the key actors in climate change were pigs, chickens and cows?”</a> WorldWatch, November/December 2009. Worldwatch Institute, Washington, D.C., USA. Pp. 10-19.</p>
<p>5. <a href="http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/a0701e/a0701e00.htm" type="external">“Lifestock’s Long Shadow: Environmental Issues and Options.”</a> Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 2006.</p>
<p>6. Jacobson, Michael F. <a href="http://www.cspinet.org/EatingGreen/pdf/arguments4.pdf" type="external">“More and Cleaner Water.”</a> In “Six Arguments for a Greener Diet: How a More Plant-Based Diet Could Save Your Health and the Environment.” Washington, D.C.: Center for Science in the Public Interest, 2006.</p>
<p>7. Oppenlander, Richard A. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Comfortably-Unaware-Choose-Killing-Planet/dp/0825306868" type="external">“Comfortably Unaware: What We Choose to Eat Is Killing Us and Our Planet.”</a> New York City: Beaufort Books, 2012.</p>
<p>8. Ibid.</p>
<p>9. <a href="http://water.epa.gov/learn/kids/drinkingwater/water_trivia_facts.cfm#_edn11%20" type="external">“Water Trivia Facts.”</a> United States Environmental Protection Agency.</p>
<p>10. Oppenlander, Richard A. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Food-Choice-Sustainability-Buying-Eating/dp/1626524351" type="external">“Food Choice and Sustainability: Why Buying Local, Eating Less Meat, and Taking Baby Steps Won’t Work.”</a> Minneapolis, MN: Langdon Street, 2013. Margulis, Sergio. <a href="https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/15060" type="external">Causes of Deforestation of the Brazilian Rainforest.</a> Washington: World Bank Publications, 2003.</p>
<p>11. Thornton, Phillip, Mario Herrero, and Polly Ericksen. <a href="https://cgspace.cgiar.org/bitstream/handle/10568/10601/IssueBrief3.pdf" type="external">“Livestock and Climate Change.”</a> Livestock Exchange, No. 3 (2011).</p>
<p>12. Pimental, D., Pimental, M. <a href="http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/78/3/660S.full.pdf+html" type="external">“Sustainability of meat-based and plant-based diets and the environment.”</a> American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 78, 660s-663S, September 2003.</p>
<p>13. <a href="http://www.waterfootprint.org" type="external">“Water Footprint Assessment.”</a> University of Twente, the Netherlands.</p>
|
Saving the Planet, One Meal at a Time
| true |
https://truthdig.com/articles/saving-the-planet-one-meal-at-a-time/
|
2014-11-10
| 4left
|
Saving the Planet, One Meal at a Time
<p><a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-95517259.html" type="external">Shutterstock</a></p>
<p>Numbered footnotes, with hyperlinks, appear at the end of this article.</p>
<p>My attitude toward becoming a vegan was similar to <a href="http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Augustine_of_Hippo" type="external">Augustine’s</a> attitude toward becoming celibate — “God grant me abstinence, but not yet.” But with animal agriculture as the leading cause of species extinction, water pollution, ocean dead zones and habitat destruction2, and with the death spiral of the ecosystem ever more pronounced, becoming vegan is the most important and direct change we can immediately make to save the planet and its species. It is one that my wife — who was the engine behind our family’s shift — and I have made.</p>
<p>A person who is vegan will save 1,100 gallons of water, 20 pounds CO2 equivalent, 30 square feet of forested land, 45 pounds of grain and one sentient animal’s life1 every day.</p>
<p />
<p>Animal agriculture is responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions than all worldwide transportation combined — cars, trucks, trains, ships and planes.3 Livestock and their waste and flatulence account for at least 32,000 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year, or 51 percent of all worldwide greenhouse gas emissions.4 Livestock causes 65 percent of all emissions of nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas 296 times more destructive than carbon dioxide.5 Crops grown for livestock feed consume 56 percent of the water used in the United States.6 Eighty percent of the world’s soy crop is fed to animals, and most of this soy is grown on cleared lands that were once rain forests. All this is taking place as an estimated 6 million children across the planet die each year from starvation and as hunger and malnutrition affect an additional 1 billion people.7 In the United States 70 percent of the grain we grow goes to feed livestock raised for consumption.8</p>
<p>The natural resources used to produce even minimal amounts of animal products are staggering — 1,000 gallons of water to produce 1 gallon of milk.9 Add to this the massive clear cutting and other destruction of forests, especially in the Amazon — where forest destruction has risen to 91 percent10 — and we find ourselves lethally despoiling the lungs of the earth largely for the benefit of the animal agriculture industry. Our forests, especially our rain forests, absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and exchange it for oxygen: Killing the forests is a death sentence for the planet. Land devoted exclusively to raising livestock now represents 45 percent of the earth’s land mass.11</p>
<p>And this does not include the assault on the oceans, where three-quarters of the world’s primary fisheries have been overexploited and vast parts of the seas are in danger of becoming dead zones.</p>
<p>We can, by becoming vegan, refuse to be complicit in the torture of billions of animals for corporate profit and can have the well-documented health benefits associated with a plant-based diet, especially in the areas of heart disease and cancer.</p>
<p>Richard A. Oppenlander in his book, “ <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Comfortably-Unaware-Choose-Killing-Planet/dp/0825306868/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1415490934&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=comfortably+unaware" type="external">Comfortably Unaware</a>: What We Choose to Eat Is Killing Us and Our Planet,” draws the terrifying scenarios that lie ahead unless we change what we eat. He notes that we can save more water by refusing to eat a pound of beef — which takes more than 5,000 gallons of water to produce12 — than by not showering for a year and that half the water in the United States is used to sustain livestock. He writes:</p>
<p>Your contribution to pollution begins with what you decide to purchase to consume. It’s not just with the occasional purchase; it’s with every food item you eat, every day. With meat and animal products, the pollution associated with your choice is massive. In order to raise that animal for you to eat, there is baggage that silently comes along with it — silent to you, that is, although it speaks loudly elsewhere. In the United States alone, chickens, turkeys, pigs, and cows in factory farms produce over five million pounds of excrement per minute. These are the animals raised each year so that people can continue eating meat, and they produce 130 times more excrement than the entire human population in our country. This manure sewage is responsible for global warming, water and soil pollution, air pollution, and use of our resources. The waste produced by the animals raised for food includes with it all the antibiotics, pesticides, herbicides, hormones, and other chemicals used during the raising and growing process. Accompanying this is methane released by the animals themselves, as well as the carbon, nitrous oxide, and additional methane emissions produced during the whole raising, feeding, and killing process.</p>
<p>On any given acre of land we can grow twelve to twenty times the amount in pounds of edible vegetables, fruit, and grain as in pounds of edible animal products. We are essentially using twenty times the amount of land and crops and hundreds of times the water, as well as polluting our waterways and air and destroying rainforests, to produce animals to kill and eat … which is unhealthier than eating the plant products we could have produced.</p>
<p>The animal agriculture industry has used the excuse of national security, public safety, trade agreements and the need for business secrets to pass what are known as ag-gag laws in about a dozen states and, on the federal level, the Animal Enterprise Protection Act, all enhanced with anti-terrorism laws to criminalize anyone who investigates or challenges the industry. It is illegal under the Patriot Act to issue statements or carry out actions that harm the profits of the animal agriculture industry. Radical change, as with every challenge to the power of our corporate state, will have to be built outside the structures of power, including the leading environmental groups, which have refused to confront the livestock industry.</p>
<p>Six members of the group Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC) were found guilty in federal court in Trenton, N.J., in 2006 for using their website to incite attacks on Huntingdon Life Sciences, an animal-testing laboratory. They were charged with conspiracy to violate the Animal Enterprise Protection Act. One of those charged, Andrew Stepanian, who has since been released, was held in isolation in a federal “communication management unit.”</p>
<p>Given the slew of recent laws that prohibit the photographing or filming of how we handle our livestock, don’t expect to see very many pictures from within the vast warehouses where animals are kept in atrocious conditions as they await slaughter. Don’t expect politicians, bought off by agro-business money, to advocate for a diet that can have a massive impact on global warming. And don’t expect the mass media, which depend on advertising dollars from the industry, to inform us about what this industry is doing to the planet.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.cowspiracy.com/" type="external">“Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret,”</a> a new documentary, examines the power of the animal agriculture industry, which is one more massive piece of the puzzle in the corporate strangulation of the common good. The film attempts to let the public know not only about the environmental effects of animal agriculture but what is being done to and put into the food we eat.</p>
<p>“The animal agriculture industry is one of the most powerful industries on the planet,” journalist <a href="http://willpotter.com/" type="external">Will Potter</a> says in “Cowspiracy.” “Most people in this country are aware of the influence of money and industry on politics. We really see that clearly on display with this industry in particular. Most people would be shocked to learn that animal rights and environmental activists are the No. 1 domestic terrorism threat according to the FBI. … They, more than any other social movements today, are directly threatening corporate profits.”</p>
<p>The film opens with Bruce Hamilton, the conservation director of the Sierra Club, laying out the dire future ahead of us. “The world’s climate scientists tell us that the highest safe level of emission is around 350 parts per million of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases in the atmosphere,” he says. “We are already at 400. They tell us that the safest we could hope to do without having perilous implications as far as drought, famine, human conflict and major species extinction would be about a 2 degree Celsius increase in temperature. We are rapidly approaching that and with all the built-in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere we are going to easily exceed that. On our watch we are facing the next major extinction of species on the earth that we have not seen since the time of the dinosaurs disappearing. When whole countries go under water because of sea level rise, when whole countries find that there is so much drought they can’t feed their populations and as a result they need to desperately migrate to another country or invade another country, we are going to have climate wars in the future.”</p>
<p>“And what about livestock and animal agriculture?” asks Kip Andersen, who co-directed “Cowspiracy” with Keegan Kuhn. “Uhh,” Hamilton responds, “well — what about it?”</p>
<p>The refusal by major environmental organizations, including Greenpeace, 350.org and the Sierra Club, to confront the animal agricultural business is a window into how impotent the activist community has become in the face of corporate power.I reached Kuhn in Berkeley and Andersen in San Francisco by phone.</p>
<p>“So many more people have a connection to animal agriculture, both in society and government, than have a direct connection to the oil industry,” Kuhn said. “The oil industry employs, relatively speaking, a very small percentage of people and is controlled by a very small percentage of people. The agricultural industry, both animal agriculture and commodity grains fed to those animals, involves a much bigger demographic. Politically it is a lot more challenging. Corporations such as Cargill, one the largest commodity food corporations in the world, is able to create U.S. policy. The government says it needs to have affordable food, which means giving massive subsidies to these corporations. The belief is that we have to eat animal products to survive. It is not something that is even questioned. The fossil fuel industry is more easily challenged with the argument that there are alternatives. People do not feel there is an alternative to eating animals.”</p>
<p>“Why would we want to create laws that make it harder for us to know how our food is produced?” Kuhn asked. “No consumer wants that. They want greater transparency. This shows how in-bed this industry is with the government. They can shape and dictate legislation that does not benefit us or the planet.”</p>
<p>“Hiding the animals, hiding the farms, hiding the entire issue is a marketing tool that is used by the industry,” Kuhn said. “Their attitude is, if you can’t see it, it’s not there. There are upwards of 10 billion farm animals slaughtered every year in the United States. But where are these 10 billion animals? We live in a country with 320 million humans. We see humans everywhere. But where are these billions of animals? They are hidden away in sheds. It allows the industry to carry out these atrocities, whether it’s how they treat the animals or how they treat the environment.”</p>
<p>“You also have the marketing of grass-fed animals on smaller farms,” Andersen said, “and while it initially appears better, it is actually worse. The factory farming is horrific for the animals, but it is better for the environment than pasture-fed beef because of methane emissions, feces excretion and all the horses and wolves that are killed so cattle can graze on public land, which we pay for with our public dollars. We didn’t focus in the film on the factory farms. Everyone knows about that. We wanted to look at these so-called sustainable farms, as if this so-called humane farming is the answer. In most situations, these farms are worse for the environment, although it is better for the animals.”</p>
<p>“If we had a different timeline, or if we had 1.5 billion people on the planet, then there might be halfway measures we could take,” Kuhn said. “The situation we are dealing with ecologically, however, means there is no way left but an immediate shift to a plant-based lifestyle.”</p>
<p>“How can we best use our resources?” Oppenlander asks in “Comfortably Unaware.” “What foods will have the very least effect on our planet? Which foods best promote our own human health and wellness, and which are the most compassionate? Do we really need to slaughter another living thing in order for us to eat? Or, sadly, is it because we want to?”</p>
<p>We have only a few years left, at best, to make radical changes to save ourselves from ecological meltdown. A person who is vegan will save 1,100 gallons of water, 20 pounds CO2 equivalent, 30 square feet of forested land, 45 pounds of grain, and one sentient animal’s life13 every day. We do not, given what lies ahead of us, have any other option. — — — Footnotes:</p>
<p>1. <a href="http://www.waterfootprint.org" type="external">“Water Footprint Assessment.”</a> University of Twente, the Netherlands.</p>
<p>2. <a href="http://www.epa.gov/region9/animalwaste/problem.html%20" type="external">“What’s the Problem?”</a> United States Environmental Protection Agency. <a href="http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/a0701e/a0701e00.HTM" type="external">“Livestock’s Long Shadow: Environmental Issues and Options.”</a> Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 2006.</p>
<p>3. <a href="http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/a0701e/a0701e00.HTM" type="external">Ibid.</a></p>
<p>4. Goodland, R; Anhang, J. <a href="http://www.worldwatch.org/node/6294" type="external">“Livestock and Climate Change: What if the key actors in climate change were pigs, chickens and cows?”</a> WorldWatch, November/December 2009. Worldwatch Institute, Washington, D.C., USA. Pp. 10-19.</p>
<p>5. <a href="http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/a0701e/a0701e00.htm" type="external">“Lifestock’s Long Shadow: Environmental Issues and Options.”</a> Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 2006.</p>
<p>6. Jacobson, Michael F. <a href="http://www.cspinet.org/EatingGreen/pdf/arguments4.pdf" type="external">“More and Cleaner Water.”</a> In “Six Arguments for a Greener Diet: How a More Plant-Based Diet Could Save Your Health and the Environment.” Washington, D.C.: Center for Science in the Public Interest, 2006.</p>
<p>7. Oppenlander, Richard A. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Comfortably-Unaware-Choose-Killing-Planet/dp/0825306868" type="external">“Comfortably Unaware: What We Choose to Eat Is Killing Us and Our Planet.”</a> New York City: Beaufort Books, 2012.</p>
<p>8. Ibid.</p>
<p>9. <a href="http://water.epa.gov/learn/kids/drinkingwater/water_trivia_facts.cfm#_edn11%20" type="external">“Water Trivia Facts.”</a> United States Environmental Protection Agency.</p>
<p>10. Oppenlander, Richard A. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Food-Choice-Sustainability-Buying-Eating/dp/1626524351" type="external">“Food Choice and Sustainability: Why Buying Local, Eating Less Meat, and Taking Baby Steps Won’t Work.”</a> Minneapolis, MN: Langdon Street, 2013. Margulis, Sergio. <a href="https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/15060" type="external">Causes of Deforestation of the Brazilian Rainforest.</a> Washington: World Bank Publications, 2003.</p>
<p>11. Thornton, Phillip, Mario Herrero, and Polly Ericksen. <a href="https://cgspace.cgiar.org/bitstream/handle/10568/10601/IssueBrief3.pdf" type="external">“Livestock and Climate Change.”</a> Livestock Exchange, No. 3 (2011).</p>
<p>12. Pimental, D., Pimental, M. <a href="http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/78/3/660S.full.pdf+html" type="external">“Sustainability of meat-based and plant-based diets and the environment.”</a> American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 78, 660s-663S, September 2003.</p>
<p>13. <a href="http://www.waterfootprint.org" type="external">“Water Footprint Assessment.”</a> University of Twente, the Netherlands.</p>
| 7,595 |
<p><a href="" type="internal">MP3 Link</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" />This week on CounterSpin: The Movement for Black Lives has never relied on corporate media to get their message out. But the coalition’s newly released policy platform does provide an opportunity for journalists—sometimes given to ponder what black activists are for—to engage those ideas. We’ll hear about <a href="https://policy.m4bl.org/" type="external">A Vision for Black Lives: Policy Demands for Black Power, Freedom &amp; Justice</a> from Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson, an organizer with Project South and with Concerned Citizens for Justice, and part of the policy table leadership team of the Movement for Black Lives.</p>
<p>Transcript: <a href="" type="internal">‘We’re Trying to Transform How Policy Looks in the 21st Century’</a></p>
<p />
<p><a href="" type="internal">MP3 Link</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" />Also on the show: &#160;“When American firms dominate a global market worth more than <a href="http://fas.org/sgp/crs/weapons/R44320.pdf" type="external">$70 billion a year</a>, you’d expect to hear about it. Not so with the global arms trade.” That’s the lead on a recent article by William Hartung. He’s director of the Arms and Security Project at the Center for International Policy and author of, most recently, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Prophets-War-Lockheed-Military-Industrial-Complex/dp/1568586973?ie=UTF8&amp;ref_=nosim&amp;tag=tomdispatch-20" type="external">Prophets of War: Lockheed Martin and the Making of the Military-Industrial Complex</a>. We’ll ask him how it is that we hear so little about an industry that’s so big.</p>
<p>Transcript:&#160; <a href="" type="internal">‘You Don’t Get the Full Picture of What a Devastating Trade This Is’</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">MP3 Link</a></p>
<p>And a brief look back at recent press, including voting restrictions overturned and Michael Bloomberg at the Democratic convention.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">MP3 Link</a></p>
<p>Subscribe: <a href="" type="internal">Android</a> | <a href="" type="internal">RSS</a></p>
|
Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson on A Vision for Black Lives, William Hartung on US Arms Trade
| true |
http://fair.org/home/ash-lee-woodard-henderson-on-a-vision-for-black-lives-william-hartung-on-us-arms-trade/
|
2016-08-05
| 4left
|
Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson on A Vision for Black Lives, William Hartung on US Arms Trade
<p><a href="" type="internal">MP3 Link</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" />This week on CounterSpin: The Movement for Black Lives has never relied on corporate media to get their message out. But the coalition’s newly released policy platform does provide an opportunity for journalists—sometimes given to ponder what black activists are for—to engage those ideas. We’ll hear about <a href="https://policy.m4bl.org/" type="external">A Vision for Black Lives: Policy Demands for Black Power, Freedom &amp; Justice</a> from Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson, an organizer with Project South and with Concerned Citizens for Justice, and part of the policy table leadership team of the Movement for Black Lives.</p>
<p>Transcript: <a href="" type="internal">‘We’re Trying to Transform How Policy Looks in the 21st Century’</a></p>
<p />
<p><a href="" type="internal">MP3 Link</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" />Also on the show: &#160;“When American firms dominate a global market worth more than <a href="http://fas.org/sgp/crs/weapons/R44320.pdf" type="external">$70 billion a year</a>, you’d expect to hear about it. Not so with the global arms trade.” That’s the lead on a recent article by William Hartung. He’s director of the Arms and Security Project at the Center for International Policy and author of, most recently, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Prophets-War-Lockheed-Military-Industrial-Complex/dp/1568586973?ie=UTF8&amp;ref_=nosim&amp;tag=tomdispatch-20" type="external">Prophets of War: Lockheed Martin and the Making of the Military-Industrial Complex</a>. We’ll ask him how it is that we hear so little about an industry that’s so big.</p>
<p>Transcript:&#160; <a href="" type="internal">‘You Don’t Get the Full Picture of What a Devastating Trade This Is’</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">MP3 Link</a></p>
<p>And a brief look back at recent press, including voting restrictions overturned and Michael Bloomberg at the Democratic convention.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">MP3 Link</a></p>
<p>Subscribe: <a href="" type="internal">Android</a> | <a href="" type="internal">RSS</a></p>
| 7,596 |
<p>NANTUCKET, Mass. (AP) — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is announcing a voluntary speed restriction zone south of Nantucket to protect a group of rare whales.</p>
<p>The federal agency said Tuesday that the restriction for mariners will be in effect through Feb. 5 to protect a group of 22 North Atlantic right whales seen south of Nantucket on Tuesday.</p>
<p>Right whales are among the most endangered marine mammals, and are coming off of a year of high mortality and low reproduction.</p>
<p>NOAA Fisheries says it’s asking mariners to either travel around an area 30 nautical miles south of Nantucket or transit through the area at 10 knots or less.</p>
<p>Right whales were decimated during the whaling era and are the source of longstanding conservation efforts.</p>
<p>NANTUCKET, Mass. (AP) — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is announcing a voluntary speed restriction zone south of Nantucket to protect a group of rare whales.</p>
<p>The federal agency said Tuesday that the restriction for mariners will be in effect through Feb. 5 to protect a group of 22 North Atlantic right whales seen south of Nantucket on Tuesday.</p>
<p>Right whales are among the most endangered marine mammals, and are coming off of a year of high mortality and low reproduction.</p>
<p>NOAA Fisheries says it’s asking mariners to either travel around an area 30 nautical miles south of Nantucket or transit through the area at 10 knots or less.</p>
<p>Right whales were decimated during the whaling era and are the source of longstanding conservation efforts.</p>
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Feds ask mariners to slow down to protect right whales
| false |
https://apnews.com/9b5ee63069af406c87162bf56ac176fa
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2018-01-23
| 2least
|
Feds ask mariners to slow down to protect right whales
<p>NANTUCKET, Mass. (AP) — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is announcing a voluntary speed restriction zone south of Nantucket to protect a group of rare whales.</p>
<p>The federal agency said Tuesday that the restriction for mariners will be in effect through Feb. 5 to protect a group of 22 North Atlantic right whales seen south of Nantucket on Tuesday.</p>
<p>Right whales are among the most endangered marine mammals, and are coming off of a year of high mortality and low reproduction.</p>
<p>NOAA Fisheries says it’s asking mariners to either travel around an area 30 nautical miles south of Nantucket or transit through the area at 10 knots or less.</p>
<p>Right whales were decimated during the whaling era and are the source of longstanding conservation efforts.</p>
<p>NANTUCKET, Mass. (AP) — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is announcing a voluntary speed restriction zone south of Nantucket to protect a group of rare whales.</p>
<p>The federal agency said Tuesday that the restriction for mariners will be in effect through Feb. 5 to protect a group of 22 North Atlantic right whales seen south of Nantucket on Tuesday.</p>
<p>Right whales are among the most endangered marine mammals, and are coming off of a year of high mortality and low reproduction.</p>
<p>NOAA Fisheries says it’s asking mariners to either travel around an area 30 nautical miles south of Nantucket or transit through the area at 10 knots or less.</p>
<p>Right whales were decimated during the whaling era and are the source of longstanding conservation efforts.</p>
| 7,597 |
<p />
<p>At $727 and change, a share of Amazon.com stock is one of the most expensive things you can buy on the stock market today. But according to one banker, Amazon stock could also be one of the best bargains on the market today.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Earlier this morning, analysts at Oppenheimerraised their price target on already-buy-rated Amazon stock to $930 per share. That in and of itself is not news. Analysts shift their target prices on dozens of stocks every working day -- <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2007/11/29/beat-the-street-with-25-cents.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">and they're usually wrong Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>What's more interesting are the reasons that Oppenheimer has given in justification for its new and improved enthusiasm over the stock. Here are three things you need to know.</p>
<p>Image source: <a href="http://library.corporate-ir.net/library/17/176/176060/mediaitems/93/a.com_logo_RGB.jpg" type="external">Amazon.com Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>The thing Oppenheimer likes best about Amazon stock is the company's Amazon Web Services (AWS) business, which provides cloud-based computing, storage, and database services to companies, government, and academic institutions. Currently Amazon's smallest division at just $8.9 billion in annual revenue, AWS is far and away the company's fastest-growing business, having nearly tripled in size over just the past couple of years.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p><a href="https://www.capitaliq.com/" type="external">S&amp;P Global Market Intelligence Opens a New Window.</a> currently pegs AWS for a 25.6% operating profit margin, which is about 10 times more profitable than the rest of Amazon. In fact, according to data from S&amp;P Global, tiny AWS accounted for nearly $0.75 out of every $1 in profit that Amazon earned over the past 12 months.</p>
<p>Oppenheimer looks at these numbers and declaresthat AWS is delivering "even higher profitability... than previously expected." And how.</p>
<p>"But wait!" you say, "Doesn't Amazon also sell books and stuff?" Indeed it does, and Oppenheimer doesn't ignore this biggest part of Amazon's business. In a write-up covered on <a href="http://thefly.com/news.php?symbol=AMZN" type="external">TheFly.com Opens a New Window.</a> this morning, Oppenheimer argues that the already enormous Amazon is still expanding its e-commerce business in areas it views as "fragmented."</p>
<p>We've already noted Amazon's expanded offerings of <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2015/10/31/heres-why-amazon-may-launch-a-clothing-line.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">private-label clothing lines Opens a New Window.</a>, for example, and Oppenheimer highlights clothing as one of several categories where Amazon thinks it can grab market share. Another is "consumer packaged goods," which includes such non-perishable items as soft drinks, processed foods, and over-the-counter drugs that are easily shipped and unlikely to spoil during transport.</p>
<p>You might not expect such incremental expansions to move the needle much on a business as big as Amazon, which sells more than $100 billion in goods and services annually. But in fact, last year, e-commerce revenue grew 17.5%.</p>
<p>Even if e-commerce isn't as fast-growing as AWS, 17.5% is a very respectable rate of revenue growth. And according to Oppenheimer, e-commerce is also "set to benefit from easier margin comparisons in 4Q, setting the stage for sustained momentum" in profits as well.</p>
<p>Operating profit margin in e-commerce averaged 3.2% last year, up from 1.4% in 2014. While these are still small numbers, when applied to the much bigger number that is Amazon's revenue stream from e-commerce sales, they tend to produce very large numbers on the bottom line.</p>
<p>Speaking of bottom lines, we haven't yet discussed the real bottom-line issue for investors considering buying shares of Amazon.com. Sure, Oppenheimer might be right about the stock going to $930 at some point -- but is its present price too high to buy?</p>
<p>With Amazon.com stock currently selling for nearly 300 times trailing earnings, the price certainly seems high. But consider this: That price-to-earnings ratio is derived from the stock's "accounting profit," which under GAAP standards is currently calculated at less than $1.2 billion for the past 12 months. Amazon's actual free cash flow for the past year, however, was about 5 times that GAAP profit number -- $6.4 billion. That means that, when valued on its actual cash profits, Amazon stock costs "only" about 54 times free cash flow.</p>
<p>Now admittedly, 54 times FCF is itself a pretty big number. It's huge, in fact, except when viewed in the context of Amazon's projected profits growth rate. Combine the growth of Amazon's e-commerce profits with the supersized growth from AWS, and analysts who follow this company predict a 54% long-term earnings growth rate for Amazon over the next five years.</p>
<p>As scary as the numbers may seem, one could argue that paying 54 times FCF for a 54% growth rate makes Amazon.com stock a great stock selling for a fair price. Oppenheimer is right to recommend it.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/06/07/buy-amazoncom-for-a-200-profit-3-reasons-amazon-st.aspx" type="external">Buy Amazon.com for a $200 Profit? 3 Reasons Amazon Stock Could Go to $930 Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p>Fool contributor <a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFDitty/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Rich Smith Opens a New Window.</a>does not own shares of, nor is he short, any company named above. You can find him on <a href="http://caps.fool.com/?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Motley Fool CAPS Opens a New Window.</a>, publicly pontificating under the handle <a href="http://caps.fool.com/ViewPlayer.aspx?t=01002844399633209838&amp;source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">TMFDitty Opens a New Window.</a>, where he's currently ranked No. 309 out of more than 75,000 rated members.The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Amazon.com. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://wiki.fool.com/Motley?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/help/index.htm?display=about02" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
|
Buy Amazon.com for a $200 Profit? 3 Reasons Amazon Stock Could Go to $930
| true |
http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/06/07/buy-amazoncom-for-200-profit-3-reasons-amazon-stock-could-go-to-30.html
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2016-06-07
| 0right
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Buy Amazon.com for a $200 Profit? 3 Reasons Amazon Stock Could Go to $930
<p />
<p>At $727 and change, a share of Amazon.com stock is one of the most expensive things you can buy on the stock market today. But according to one banker, Amazon stock could also be one of the best bargains on the market today.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Earlier this morning, analysts at Oppenheimerraised their price target on already-buy-rated Amazon stock to $930 per share. That in and of itself is not news. Analysts shift their target prices on dozens of stocks every working day -- <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2007/11/29/beat-the-street-with-25-cents.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">and they're usually wrong Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>What's more interesting are the reasons that Oppenheimer has given in justification for its new and improved enthusiasm over the stock. Here are three things you need to know.</p>
<p>Image source: <a href="http://library.corporate-ir.net/library/17/176/176060/mediaitems/93/a.com_logo_RGB.jpg" type="external">Amazon.com Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>The thing Oppenheimer likes best about Amazon stock is the company's Amazon Web Services (AWS) business, which provides cloud-based computing, storage, and database services to companies, government, and academic institutions. Currently Amazon's smallest division at just $8.9 billion in annual revenue, AWS is far and away the company's fastest-growing business, having nearly tripled in size over just the past couple of years.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p><a href="https://www.capitaliq.com/" type="external">S&amp;P Global Market Intelligence Opens a New Window.</a> currently pegs AWS for a 25.6% operating profit margin, which is about 10 times more profitable than the rest of Amazon. In fact, according to data from S&amp;P Global, tiny AWS accounted for nearly $0.75 out of every $1 in profit that Amazon earned over the past 12 months.</p>
<p>Oppenheimer looks at these numbers and declaresthat AWS is delivering "even higher profitability... than previously expected." And how.</p>
<p>"But wait!" you say, "Doesn't Amazon also sell books and stuff?" Indeed it does, and Oppenheimer doesn't ignore this biggest part of Amazon's business. In a write-up covered on <a href="http://thefly.com/news.php?symbol=AMZN" type="external">TheFly.com Opens a New Window.</a> this morning, Oppenheimer argues that the already enormous Amazon is still expanding its e-commerce business in areas it views as "fragmented."</p>
<p>We've already noted Amazon's expanded offerings of <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2015/10/31/heres-why-amazon-may-launch-a-clothing-line.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">private-label clothing lines Opens a New Window.</a>, for example, and Oppenheimer highlights clothing as one of several categories where Amazon thinks it can grab market share. Another is "consumer packaged goods," which includes such non-perishable items as soft drinks, processed foods, and over-the-counter drugs that are easily shipped and unlikely to spoil during transport.</p>
<p>You might not expect such incremental expansions to move the needle much on a business as big as Amazon, which sells more than $100 billion in goods and services annually. But in fact, last year, e-commerce revenue grew 17.5%.</p>
<p>Even if e-commerce isn't as fast-growing as AWS, 17.5% is a very respectable rate of revenue growth. And according to Oppenheimer, e-commerce is also "set to benefit from easier margin comparisons in 4Q, setting the stage for sustained momentum" in profits as well.</p>
<p>Operating profit margin in e-commerce averaged 3.2% last year, up from 1.4% in 2014. While these are still small numbers, when applied to the much bigger number that is Amazon's revenue stream from e-commerce sales, they tend to produce very large numbers on the bottom line.</p>
<p>Speaking of bottom lines, we haven't yet discussed the real bottom-line issue for investors considering buying shares of Amazon.com. Sure, Oppenheimer might be right about the stock going to $930 at some point -- but is its present price too high to buy?</p>
<p>With Amazon.com stock currently selling for nearly 300 times trailing earnings, the price certainly seems high. But consider this: That price-to-earnings ratio is derived from the stock's "accounting profit," which under GAAP standards is currently calculated at less than $1.2 billion for the past 12 months. Amazon's actual free cash flow for the past year, however, was about 5 times that GAAP profit number -- $6.4 billion. That means that, when valued on its actual cash profits, Amazon stock costs "only" about 54 times free cash flow.</p>
<p>Now admittedly, 54 times FCF is itself a pretty big number. It's huge, in fact, except when viewed in the context of Amazon's projected profits growth rate. Combine the growth of Amazon's e-commerce profits with the supersized growth from AWS, and analysts who follow this company predict a 54% long-term earnings growth rate for Amazon over the next five years.</p>
<p>As scary as the numbers may seem, one could argue that paying 54 times FCF for a 54% growth rate makes Amazon.com stock a great stock selling for a fair price. Oppenheimer is right to recommend it.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/06/07/buy-amazoncom-for-a-200-profit-3-reasons-amazon-st.aspx" type="external">Buy Amazon.com for a $200 Profit? 3 Reasons Amazon Stock Could Go to $930 Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p>Fool contributor <a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFDitty/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Rich Smith Opens a New Window.</a>does not own shares of, nor is he short, any company named above. You can find him on <a href="http://caps.fool.com/?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Motley Fool CAPS Opens a New Window.</a>, publicly pontificating under the handle <a href="http://caps.fool.com/ViewPlayer.aspx?t=01002844399633209838&amp;source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">TMFDitty Opens a New Window.</a>, where he's currently ranked No. 309 out of more than 75,000 rated members.The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Amazon.com. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://wiki.fool.com/Motley?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/help/index.htm?display=about02" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
| 7,598 |
<p>Throughout its thousands of years of history, Akko has never been an Israelite town.</p>
<p>Even according to the mythological story of the Bible, the Israelites did not conquer the city, which was already an ancient port. The first chapter of the Book of Judges, which contradicts much of the description given in the Book of Joshua, states unequivocally: “Neither did [the tribe of] Asher drive out the inhabitants of Akko. (Judges 1:31)</p>
<p>Only a few of the world’s cities can boast such a stormy and checkered history as Akko (Akka in Arabic, Acre in French and English), the main port of the country. It was a Canaanite-Phoenician town, traded with Egypt, rebelled against Assyria, confronted the Jewish Hasmoneans, was conquered by the Crusaders, served as a battle-ground for the legendary Saladin and the no less legendary Richard the Lion-Hearted, was the capital of the semi-independent Arab state of the Galilee under Daher al-Omar and withstood the siege of Napoleon. All these periods have left their traces in Akko, in the form of buildings and walls. A fascinating town, perhaps the most beautiful – and surely the most interesting – after Jerusalem.</p>
<p>During some of these periods, there existed in Akko a small Jewish community, but it never was a Jewish town. On the contrary: among the rabbis there was an ongoing discussion whether Akko, from the point of view of religious law (Halacha), belonged to Eretz Israel at all. This was important, because certain commandments apply only to the Land of Israel. Some rabbis believed that Akko did not belong, while others asserted that at least a part of the town did. (That did not prevent us in our youth from singing “Akko, too, belongs to Eretz Israel” – meaning the old Crusaders’ fortress on the sea-shore, where the British held prisoners from the Jewish underground organizations.)</p>
<p>In the 1948 war, Akko was occupied by the Israeli forces, and since then it has lived under Israeli rule: 60 years out of a history of 5000 years and more.</p>
<p>This is the background of last week’s events in Akko. The Arab inhabitants consider Akko as the town of their forefathers, which was forcibly occupied by the Jews. The Jewish inhabitants consider it a Jewish town, in which the Arabs are a tolerated minority – at most.</p>
<p>For years the town was covered by a thin blanket of hypocrisy. Everybody praised and celebrated the wonderful co-existence there. Until the blanket was torn, and the naked truth was exposed. I am a very secular person. I have always advocated a complete separation between state and religion, even in the days when that sounded like a crazy idea. But it has never entered my mind to drive on Yom Kippur. There is no law forbidding it, no law is necessary.</p>
<p>For a traditional Jew, Yom Kippur is a day like no other. Even if one does not really believe that on this day God makes the final decision about the life or death of every human being for the next year and writes it all down in a large book, one senses that one has to respect the feelings of those who do believe. I would not drive on Yom Kippur in a Jewish neighborhood, just as I would not eat in public during Ramadan in an Arab neighborhood.</p>
<p>It is difficult to know what the Arab driver Tawfiq Jamal was thinking of when he entered a predominantly Jewish neighborhood in his car on Yom Kippur. It is reasonable to assume that he did not do it out of malice, as a provocation, but rather out of stupidity or carelessness.</p>
<p>The reaction was predictable. An angry Jewish crowd chased him into an Arab house and besieged him there. In a distant Arab neighborhood the loudspeakers of the mosques blared out that Arabs had been killed and that an Arab was in mortal danger. Excited Arab youngsters tried to reach the house of the besieged Arab family but were blocked by the police. They gave vent to their feelings by wrecking Jewish shops and cars. Jewish youths, reinforced by members of the extreme right, burned down the homes of Arab inhabitants, who became refugees in their own town. In a few minutes, 60 years of “co-existence” were wiped out – proof that in the “mixed” town there is no real co-existence, only two communities who hate each other’s guts.</p>
<p>It is easy to understand this hatred. As in other “mixed” towns, indeed as in the whole of Israel, the Arab public is discriminated against by the state and municipal authorities. Smaller budgets, inferior education facilities, poorer housing, crowded neighborhoods.</p>
<p>The Arab citizens are the victims of a vicious circle. They live in crowded towns and neighborhoods that have turned into neglected ghettos. When the standard of living of the inhabitants rises, there is a desperate demand for a better environment and better housing. Young couples leave the neglected and underfunded Arab neighborhoods and move into Jewish areas, something that immediately arouses opposition and resentment. The same has happened to African Americans in the USA, and before them to the Jews there and elsewhere.</p>
<p>All the talk about equality, good neighborliness and co-existence goes up in smoke when Arab families live in a hostile Jewish environment. Reasons are always to be found, and the incursion of Tawfiq Jamal was only an especially grievous example.</p>
<p>Such a situation can be found in many places on earth. Religious, nationalistic, ethnic or community sensitivities can explode at any time. It took a hundred years after the emancipation of the slaves in the US until the civil rights laws were enacted, and during those years there were regular lynchings. Another 40 years passed before a black candidate could come near the White House. The police in London is notorious for their racism, citizens of Turkish origin are discriminated against in Berlin, an African can play football for the French national team but has no chance of becoming president.</p>
<p>In these respects, Akko is no different from the rest of the world.</p>
<p>Jean-Paul Sartre said that each of us contains a little racist. The only difference is between those who recognize and try to overcome it and those who give in.</p>
<p>As chance would have it, I spent Yom Kippur, while the riots were shaking Akko, reading the fascinating book by William Polk, “Neighbors and Strangers”, which deals with the origins of racism. Like other animals, ancient man lived from hunting and gathering. He roamed around with his extended family, a group of no more than fifty people, in an area that was barely sufficient for their subsistence. Every stranger who entered his territory was a mortal threat, while he tried to invade his neighbor’s territory in order to increase his chances of survival. In other words: the fear of the stranger and the urge to drive him out are deeply embedded in our biological heritage and have been for millions of years.</p>
<p>Racism can be overcome, or at least reined in, but that needs conscious, systematic and consistent treatment. In Akko – as in other places in the country – there has been no such treatment. In this country the racism is, of course, connected with the national conflict which has been going on already for five generations. The Akko events are just another episode in the war between the two peoples of this country.</p>
<p>The Jewish extreme right, including the hard core of the settlers, does not hide its intention of driving out all the Arabs and turning the entire country into a purely Jewish state. Meaning: ethnic cleansing. It looks like the dream of a small minority, but public opinion research shows that this tendency is gnawing at a much wider public, even if only in a half-conscious way, hidden and denied.</p>
<p>In the Arab community, there are probably some who dream about the good old days, before the Jews came to this country and took it by force.</p>
<p>When Jews carry out a pogrom in Akko, whatever the immediate reason, it becomes a national event. The burning of Arab homes in a Jewish neighborhood at once arouses fear of ethnic cleansing. When the Arab young people storm into a Jewish neighborhood in order to save an endangered Arab brother, it immediately evokes memories of the 1929 massacre of the Jews in Hebron – which, at the time, was also a “mixed” town.</p>
<p>There is reasonable hope that at some future time we shall end the national conflict and reach a peaceful solution that both peoples will accept (if only because there is no alternative.) A Palestinian state will come into being side by side with Israel, and both peoples will understand that this is the best possible solution. (The Akko events should give rise to second thoughts in the mind of anyone who believes in the “One-State solution”‘ where Jews and Arabs would live in brotherhood and equality. Such a “solution” would turn the entire country into one big Akko.)</p>
<p>But peace, based on two states living side by side, will not automatically solve the problem of the Arab citizens in Israel, a state that defines itself as “Jewish”. We must be ready for a long, consistent fight over the character of our state.</p>
<p>The extreme rightist Avigdor Liberman has proposed that the Arab villages on the Israeli side of the Green Line should be attached to the Palestinian state, in return for the Jewish settlement blocs beyond the Green Line that would be attached to Israel. That would not affect, of course, the Arab inhabitants of Akko, Haifa, Jaffa, Nazareth and the Galilee villages. But even in the villages near the Green Line, no Arab agrees to this idea. Although Liberman proposes to turn over the entire villages to the Palestinian state together with all their lands and properties, not a single Arab voice has been raised in agreement.</p>
<p>Why? The million and a half Arab citizens in Israel do not like the government’s policies, the flag and the national anthem, not to mention the treatment of the population in the occupied territories. But they prefer the Israeli democracy, the social progress, the National Insurance system and the social services. They are rooted in the life and mores of Israel much more deeply than they themselves recognize. They want to be citizens in this state, but on terms of equality and mutual respect.</p>
<p>The Jews who dream of ethnic cleansing do not understand how large a contribution the Arab community makes to Israel. Like the other inhabitants of Israel, they work here, they contribute to the GNP, they pay their taxes like everybody else. Like all of us, they have no alternative – they pay value-added tax on everything they buy and they, too, get their salaries only after income tax is deducted.</p>
<p>There are many questions that have to be recognized and discussed, and from which conclusions must be drawn. Is it desirable or not desirable, at this stage, for Arabs to live in Jewish neighborhoods and Jews in Arab neighborhoods? How can the Arab neighborhoods be elevated economically to the level of Jewish neighborhoods, in practice and not only in talk? Should every Jewish child learn Arabic and every Arab child learn Hebrew, as the mayor of Haifa proposed this week? Should Arab education receive the same status and the same budgets as, for example, the independent but government-funded Jewish Orthodox education system? Should autonomous Arab institutions be established? Finding solutions to these problems, or at least to some of them, is a vital part of the fight against racism – attacking its roots, and not only its symptoms.</p>
<p>Actually, there is no alternative: the citizens of Israel, Jews and Arabs, are “condemned” to live together, whether they like it or not. But, as the Akko events have shown again, the joint fabric is still weak. In order to change this, we must all have the courage to look the problem in the eye, to see it as it is, without hypocrisy or falsification. This is the only way we can find solutions.</p>
<p>URI AVNERY is an Israeli writer and peace activist with Gush Shalom. He is a contributor to CounterPunch’s book <a href="http://www.easycartsecure.com/CounterPunch/CounterPunch_Books.html" type="external">The Politics of Anti-Semitism</a>.</p>
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Is Akko Burning?
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https://counterpunch.org/2008/10/20/is-akko-burning/
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2008-10-20
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Is Akko Burning?
<p>Throughout its thousands of years of history, Akko has never been an Israelite town.</p>
<p>Even according to the mythological story of the Bible, the Israelites did not conquer the city, which was already an ancient port. The first chapter of the Book of Judges, which contradicts much of the description given in the Book of Joshua, states unequivocally: “Neither did [the tribe of] Asher drive out the inhabitants of Akko. (Judges 1:31)</p>
<p>Only a few of the world’s cities can boast such a stormy and checkered history as Akko (Akka in Arabic, Acre in French and English), the main port of the country. It was a Canaanite-Phoenician town, traded with Egypt, rebelled against Assyria, confronted the Jewish Hasmoneans, was conquered by the Crusaders, served as a battle-ground for the legendary Saladin and the no less legendary Richard the Lion-Hearted, was the capital of the semi-independent Arab state of the Galilee under Daher al-Omar and withstood the siege of Napoleon. All these periods have left their traces in Akko, in the form of buildings and walls. A fascinating town, perhaps the most beautiful – and surely the most interesting – after Jerusalem.</p>
<p>During some of these periods, there existed in Akko a small Jewish community, but it never was a Jewish town. On the contrary: among the rabbis there was an ongoing discussion whether Akko, from the point of view of religious law (Halacha), belonged to Eretz Israel at all. This was important, because certain commandments apply only to the Land of Israel. Some rabbis believed that Akko did not belong, while others asserted that at least a part of the town did. (That did not prevent us in our youth from singing “Akko, too, belongs to Eretz Israel” – meaning the old Crusaders’ fortress on the sea-shore, where the British held prisoners from the Jewish underground organizations.)</p>
<p>In the 1948 war, Akko was occupied by the Israeli forces, and since then it has lived under Israeli rule: 60 years out of a history of 5000 years and more.</p>
<p>This is the background of last week’s events in Akko. The Arab inhabitants consider Akko as the town of their forefathers, which was forcibly occupied by the Jews. The Jewish inhabitants consider it a Jewish town, in which the Arabs are a tolerated minority – at most.</p>
<p>For years the town was covered by a thin blanket of hypocrisy. Everybody praised and celebrated the wonderful co-existence there. Until the blanket was torn, and the naked truth was exposed. I am a very secular person. I have always advocated a complete separation between state and religion, even in the days when that sounded like a crazy idea. But it has never entered my mind to drive on Yom Kippur. There is no law forbidding it, no law is necessary.</p>
<p>For a traditional Jew, Yom Kippur is a day like no other. Even if one does not really believe that on this day God makes the final decision about the life or death of every human being for the next year and writes it all down in a large book, one senses that one has to respect the feelings of those who do believe. I would not drive on Yom Kippur in a Jewish neighborhood, just as I would not eat in public during Ramadan in an Arab neighborhood.</p>
<p>It is difficult to know what the Arab driver Tawfiq Jamal was thinking of when he entered a predominantly Jewish neighborhood in his car on Yom Kippur. It is reasonable to assume that he did not do it out of malice, as a provocation, but rather out of stupidity or carelessness.</p>
<p>The reaction was predictable. An angry Jewish crowd chased him into an Arab house and besieged him there. In a distant Arab neighborhood the loudspeakers of the mosques blared out that Arabs had been killed and that an Arab was in mortal danger. Excited Arab youngsters tried to reach the house of the besieged Arab family but were blocked by the police. They gave vent to their feelings by wrecking Jewish shops and cars. Jewish youths, reinforced by members of the extreme right, burned down the homes of Arab inhabitants, who became refugees in their own town. In a few minutes, 60 years of “co-existence” were wiped out – proof that in the “mixed” town there is no real co-existence, only two communities who hate each other’s guts.</p>
<p>It is easy to understand this hatred. As in other “mixed” towns, indeed as in the whole of Israel, the Arab public is discriminated against by the state and municipal authorities. Smaller budgets, inferior education facilities, poorer housing, crowded neighborhoods.</p>
<p>The Arab citizens are the victims of a vicious circle. They live in crowded towns and neighborhoods that have turned into neglected ghettos. When the standard of living of the inhabitants rises, there is a desperate demand for a better environment and better housing. Young couples leave the neglected and underfunded Arab neighborhoods and move into Jewish areas, something that immediately arouses opposition and resentment. The same has happened to African Americans in the USA, and before them to the Jews there and elsewhere.</p>
<p>All the talk about equality, good neighborliness and co-existence goes up in smoke when Arab families live in a hostile Jewish environment. Reasons are always to be found, and the incursion of Tawfiq Jamal was only an especially grievous example.</p>
<p>Such a situation can be found in many places on earth. Religious, nationalistic, ethnic or community sensitivities can explode at any time. It took a hundred years after the emancipation of the slaves in the US until the civil rights laws were enacted, and during those years there were regular lynchings. Another 40 years passed before a black candidate could come near the White House. The police in London is notorious for their racism, citizens of Turkish origin are discriminated against in Berlin, an African can play football for the French national team but has no chance of becoming president.</p>
<p>In these respects, Akko is no different from the rest of the world.</p>
<p>Jean-Paul Sartre said that each of us contains a little racist. The only difference is between those who recognize and try to overcome it and those who give in.</p>
<p>As chance would have it, I spent Yom Kippur, while the riots were shaking Akko, reading the fascinating book by William Polk, “Neighbors and Strangers”, which deals with the origins of racism. Like other animals, ancient man lived from hunting and gathering. He roamed around with his extended family, a group of no more than fifty people, in an area that was barely sufficient for their subsistence. Every stranger who entered his territory was a mortal threat, while he tried to invade his neighbor’s territory in order to increase his chances of survival. In other words: the fear of the stranger and the urge to drive him out are deeply embedded in our biological heritage and have been for millions of years.</p>
<p>Racism can be overcome, or at least reined in, but that needs conscious, systematic and consistent treatment. In Akko – as in other places in the country – there has been no such treatment. In this country the racism is, of course, connected with the national conflict which has been going on already for five generations. The Akko events are just another episode in the war between the two peoples of this country.</p>
<p>The Jewish extreme right, including the hard core of the settlers, does not hide its intention of driving out all the Arabs and turning the entire country into a purely Jewish state. Meaning: ethnic cleansing. It looks like the dream of a small minority, but public opinion research shows that this tendency is gnawing at a much wider public, even if only in a half-conscious way, hidden and denied.</p>
<p>In the Arab community, there are probably some who dream about the good old days, before the Jews came to this country and took it by force.</p>
<p>When Jews carry out a pogrom in Akko, whatever the immediate reason, it becomes a national event. The burning of Arab homes in a Jewish neighborhood at once arouses fear of ethnic cleansing. When the Arab young people storm into a Jewish neighborhood in order to save an endangered Arab brother, it immediately evokes memories of the 1929 massacre of the Jews in Hebron – which, at the time, was also a “mixed” town.</p>
<p>There is reasonable hope that at some future time we shall end the national conflict and reach a peaceful solution that both peoples will accept (if only because there is no alternative.) A Palestinian state will come into being side by side with Israel, and both peoples will understand that this is the best possible solution. (The Akko events should give rise to second thoughts in the mind of anyone who believes in the “One-State solution”‘ where Jews and Arabs would live in brotherhood and equality. Such a “solution” would turn the entire country into one big Akko.)</p>
<p>But peace, based on two states living side by side, will not automatically solve the problem of the Arab citizens in Israel, a state that defines itself as “Jewish”. We must be ready for a long, consistent fight over the character of our state.</p>
<p>The extreme rightist Avigdor Liberman has proposed that the Arab villages on the Israeli side of the Green Line should be attached to the Palestinian state, in return for the Jewish settlement blocs beyond the Green Line that would be attached to Israel. That would not affect, of course, the Arab inhabitants of Akko, Haifa, Jaffa, Nazareth and the Galilee villages. But even in the villages near the Green Line, no Arab agrees to this idea. Although Liberman proposes to turn over the entire villages to the Palestinian state together with all their lands and properties, not a single Arab voice has been raised in agreement.</p>
<p>Why? The million and a half Arab citizens in Israel do not like the government’s policies, the flag and the national anthem, not to mention the treatment of the population in the occupied territories. But they prefer the Israeli democracy, the social progress, the National Insurance system and the social services. They are rooted in the life and mores of Israel much more deeply than they themselves recognize. They want to be citizens in this state, but on terms of equality and mutual respect.</p>
<p>The Jews who dream of ethnic cleansing do not understand how large a contribution the Arab community makes to Israel. Like the other inhabitants of Israel, they work here, they contribute to the GNP, they pay their taxes like everybody else. Like all of us, they have no alternative – they pay value-added tax on everything they buy and they, too, get their salaries only after income tax is deducted.</p>
<p>There are many questions that have to be recognized and discussed, and from which conclusions must be drawn. Is it desirable or not desirable, at this stage, for Arabs to live in Jewish neighborhoods and Jews in Arab neighborhoods? How can the Arab neighborhoods be elevated economically to the level of Jewish neighborhoods, in practice and not only in talk? Should every Jewish child learn Arabic and every Arab child learn Hebrew, as the mayor of Haifa proposed this week? Should Arab education receive the same status and the same budgets as, for example, the independent but government-funded Jewish Orthodox education system? Should autonomous Arab institutions be established? Finding solutions to these problems, or at least to some of them, is a vital part of the fight against racism – attacking its roots, and not only its symptoms.</p>
<p>Actually, there is no alternative: the citizens of Israel, Jews and Arabs, are “condemned” to live together, whether they like it or not. But, as the Akko events have shown again, the joint fabric is still weak. In order to change this, we must all have the courage to look the problem in the eye, to see it as it is, without hypocrisy or falsification. This is the only way we can find solutions.</p>
<p>URI AVNERY is an Israeli writer and peace activist with Gush Shalom. He is a contributor to CounterPunch’s book <a href="http://www.easycartsecure.com/CounterPunch/CounterPunch_Books.html" type="external">The Politics of Anti-Semitism</a>.</p>
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