news_text
stringlengths 0
312k
| title
stringlengths 0
11.1k
| hyperpartisan
bool 2
classes | url
stringlengths 20
344
| published_at
stringlengths 0
10
| bias
class label 5
classes | text
stringlengths 19
312k
| uid
int64 0
600k
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
<p>Wolverine World Wide (NYSE:WWW) revealed on Tuesday double-digit second-quarter revenue and earnings growth, lifted by strong demand across all brands in its major geographic regions.</p>
<p>The Rockford, Mich.-based footwear, apparel and accessories retailer posted net earnings of $22.96 million, or 48 cents a share, compared with $17.2 million, or 35 cents a share, in the same quarter last year.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The results topped <a href="" type="internal">Wall Street</a> views, with analysts polled by Thomson Reuters predicting, on average, a profit of 46 cents a share.</p>
<p>Revenue for the three months ended June 18 was $310.1 million, up 20.1% from $258.2 million a year ago, beating the Streets view of $294.3 million.</p>
<p>Our recent revenue performance clearly demonstrates the broad strength of our portfolio and the benefits of consistent investment in brand-building initiatives, Wolverine CEO Blake Krueger said in a statement. The outstanding financial results in the second quarter were led by strong double-digit revenue increases in all branded groups, most notably in the Outdoor Group and our Merrell brand.</p>
<p>Modest expenses also helped fuel the results, with operating costs making up 28.6% of revenues compared with 29.7% a year ago. Operating expenses were $88.8 million last period, driven by higher variable costs associated with the quarters revenue growth and advertising costs.</p>
<p>The company reaffirmed its full-year revenue estimate in the range of $1.38 billion to $1.42 billion, with earnings between $2.40 and $2.50 a share. Wall Street is looking for earnings of $2.48 a share on sales of $1.4 billion.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
|
Wolverine's 2Q Results Top Street
| true |
http://foxbusiness.com/features/2011/07/12/shoe-maker-wolverine-tops-wall-street-in-2q.html
|
2016-01-28
| 0right
|
Wolverine's 2Q Results Top Street
<p>Wolverine World Wide (NYSE:WWW) revealed on Tuesday double-digit second-quarter revenue and earnings growth, lifted by strong demand across all brands in its major geographic regions.</p>
<p>The Rockford, Mich.-based footwear, apparel and accessories retailer posted net earnings of $22.96 million, or 48 cents a share, compared with $17.2 million, or 35 cents a share, in the same quarter last year.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The results topped <a href="" type="internal">Wall Street</a> views, with analysts polled by Thomson Reuters predicting, on average, a profit of 46 cents a share.</p>
<p>Revenue for the three months ended June 18 was $310.1 million, up 20.1% from $258.2 million a year ago, beating the Streets view of $294.3 million.</p>
<p>Our recent revenue performance clearly demonstrates the broad strength of our portfolio and the benefits of consistent investment in brand-building initiatives, Wolverine CEO Blake Krueger said in a statement. The outstanding financial results in the second quarter were led by strong double-digit revenue increases in all branded groups, most notably in the Outdoor Group and our Merrell brand.</p>
<p>Modest expenses also helped fuel the results, with operating costs making up 28.6% of revenues compared with 29.7% a year ago. Operating expenses were $88.8 million last period, driven by higher variable costs associated with the quarters revenue growth and advertising costs.</p>
<p>The company reaffirmed its full-year revenue estimate in the range of $1.38 billion to $1.42 billion, with earnings between $2.40 and $2.50 a share. Wall Street is looking for earnings of $2.48 a share on sales of $1.4 billion.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
| 8,100 |
<p />
<p>I don’t, like, drink beer with John Vanderslice, but he lives across the street from one of my friends in a fogged-in outer-SF neighborhood, and he’s legendary around town for being a super nice guy, which he totally was the one time I talked to him. This of course should all be irrelevant to the actual music, but still, I get all excited when he has a new CD coming out, like, “Hooray! Go, you!” Vanderslice is a multi-instrumentalist and <a href="http://www.tinytelephone.com/" type="external">studio owner</a>, so it’s hard to characterize his sound: Beatles-y, Smoggy, Death Cabby? The title of his sixth (!) solo album, Emerald City, apparently refers to Baghdad’s Green Zone, which reflects the darkness that creeps up around the edges of these deceptively sunny tunes. I guess his French girlfriend’s visa is all tied up in Homeland Security red tape, so it’s understandable where the heartache is coming from. But on songs like “White Dove,” which asks, again and again, “what are you thinking of,” the sense of longing is rendered with delicate grace; you get the feeling Vanderslice couldn’t make an ugly song if you paid him to.</p>
<p>Emerald City is out Tuesday, July 24th on Barsuk Records.</p>
<p>( <a href="http://barsukmusic.blaireau.net/JohnVanderslice_WhiteDove.mp3" type="external">mp3</a> of “White Dove” from the Barsuk site, or listen at <a href="http://www.myspace.com/johnvanderslice" type="external">JV’s MySpace</a>)</p>
<p />
|
New Music: John Vanderslice – Emerald City
| true |
https://motherjones.com/politics/2007/07/new-music-john-vanderslice-emerald-city/
|
2007-07-18
| 4left
|
New Music: John Vanderslice – Emerald City
<p />
<p>I don’t, like, drink beer with John Vanderslice, but he lives across the street from one of my friends in a fogged-in outer-SF neighborhood, and he’s legendary around town for being a super nice guy, which he totally was the one time I talked to him. This of course should all be irrelevant to the actual music, but still, I get all excited when he has a new CD coming out, like, “Hooray! Go, you!” Vanderslice is a multi-instrumentalist and <a href="http://www.tinytelephone.com/" type="external">studio owner</a>, so it’s hard to characterize his sound: Beatles-y, Smoggy, Death Cabby? The title of his sixth (!) solo album, Emerald City, apparently refers to Baghdad’s Green Zone, which reflects the darkness that creeps up around the edges of these deceptively sunny tunes. I guess his French girlfriend’s visa is all tied up in Homeland Security red tape, so it’s understandable where the heartache is coming from. But on songs like “White Dove,” which asks, again and again, “what are you thinking of,” the sense of longing is rendered with delicate grace; you get the feeling Vanderslice couldn’t make an ugly song if you paid him to.</p>
<p>Emerald City is out Tuesday, July 24th on Barsuk Records.</p>
<p>( <a href="http://barsukmusic.blaireau.net/JohnVanderslice_WhiteDove.mp3" type="external">mp3</a> of “White Dove” from the Barsuk site, or listen at <a href="http://www.myspace.com/johnvanderslice" type="external">JV’s MySpace</a>)</p>
<p />
| 8,101 |
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>“People do not forget. They do not forget the death of their fellows, they do not forget torture and mutilation, they do not forget injustice, they do not forget oppression, they do not forget the terrorism of mighty powers. They not only don’t forget; they also strike back.”</p>
<p>Harold Pinter, Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech 2005</p>
<p>On the 17th day of a massive military offensive, Israeli Prime Minister Olmert is no closer to achieving his objectives than he was on Day 1. Olmert originally promised that he would “disarm Hezbollah” and create a buffer-zone from Israel’s northern border to the Litani River. He has accomplished neither. His violent reaction to the capturing of 2 Israeli soldiers was applauded by the Bush administration, the Israeli public, and the America media. At the time, we questioned Olmert’s ability to “disarm” Hezbollah (“Its Put up or Shut Time in Lebanon”) or his foolish belief that the invasion would be a cakewalk. Now Israeli forces are bogged down in southern Lebanon fighting a tough-minded, well-disciplined guerilla organization with no end in sight. This has forced the panicky Olmert to call up 3 more divisions and appeal to Bush for more “precision-guided missiles”</p>
<p>Additionally, Olmert has begun to back-away from his promise to disarm Hezbollah and now only talks only about “weakening” them. The Israeli PM has decided to step down from his earlier rhetoric and “move the goalposts” to suit the realities on the ground. Olmert will not disarm Hezbollah and he knows it.</p>
<p>Israeli intelligence seriously misjudged Hezbollah’s military capabilities and the dedication of its fighters to execute complex and daring operations. Yesterday’s attack on an Israeli patrol killed 9 IDF soldiers spreading a palpable sense of unease among the Israeli public. They remember the Vietnam-like quagmire which Sharon drew them into which lasted 18 years, ending only 6 years ago in 2000. The deaths of the soldiers have triggered a fierce debate among politicians, pundits and retired officers about the questionable objectives of the operation and the competence of the leadership. Olmert has shown himself to be a vain and stupid man whose ignorance of military matters has clouded his sense of judgment. He is surrounded by the “untested” Defense Minister Amir Peretz, who excels at killing unarmed women and children in the occupied territories, but cannot seem to adjust to the exigencies of real combat. The final member of the “trinity of bunglers”, is Chief of Staff, Dan Halutz, an incompetent braggart whose penchant for destruction has flattened the better part of Lebanon’s critical infrastructure, but hasn’t produced any tangible rewards. For the most part, Olmert’s War has been little more than a massive display of gratuitous violence which has failed to achieve any recognizable strategic goal. (BBC has provided a fairy comprehensive account of Israel’s calculated destruction of <a href="" type="internal">Lebanese infrastructure</a>.) It includes 3 major airports, 3 major ports, 5,000 civilian homes, 62 bridges, 22 fuel stations, 72 overpasses, 3 Dams, 4 TV and communication facilities, 3 main power-stations, 150 private businesses including a tissue paper factory and a bottle factory)</p>
<p>Israel is now planning to step up its bombing campaign in the vain hope that it will root-out and destroy the resistance. This explains why the United Nations outpost was “deliberately” leveled by an Israeli missile just yesterday. Clearly, Israel wants to conceal its orgy of carnage from the watchful eyes of international community. We should expect that more banned weaponry; cluster-bombs, napalm, lasers, bunker busters and chemical weapons will be used in the next major assault on Hezbollah strongholds. Like all desperate men, Olmert believes that he can extract himself from his present dilemma by increasing the level of violence. The upcoming week or two should be extremely perilous for Hezbollah. The Bush administration has blindly supported Olmert without assessing whether his military objectives are attainable and without considering the damage that the conflict is doing to America’s long-term interests. There’s no chance that the United States will ever be seen as an “honest broker” in the region again. Bush has cast his lot with Israel and is betting that the neoconservative strategy to reconfigure the Middle East will move ahead according to plan. From the very onset, Washington has enthusiastically embraced the war by giving Olmert the “go-ahead” to destroy Lebanon’s infrastructure and by providing Israel with additional ordinance to prosecute the air-war.</p>
<p>The Bush team has repeatedly headed-off efforts at the United Nations for a “cease-fire” and created the sense that Israel’s rampage bears the stamp of international legitimacy. The US State Dept no longer functions as diplomatic agency working out the details for political solutions, but as a franchise of the Defense Dept.; skillfully blocking negotiations, subverting treaties, and obstructing any dialogue which may lead to peace. Condoleezza Rice’s performance in Rome only underscores this point. Neither public opinion, nor the United Nations, nor the Arab League, nor Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, nor even Hezbollah can stop the ongoing conflict if Bush and Olmert want a war; and they clearly want a war. Secretary of State Rice summarized their views when she said to the world press on Wednesday:</p>
<p>“Its time for a New Middle East’. Its time to say to those who do not want a different kind of Middle East that we will prevail. They will not.”</p>
<p>Perhaps; but the members of growing resistance in Iraq and Lebanon may have a thing-or-two to say about Ms. Rice’s plan.</p>
<p>MIKE WHITNEY lives in Washington state. He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
|
Bull’s-Eye!
| true |
https://counterpunch.org/2006/07/28/bull-s-eye/
|
2006-07-28
| 4left
|
Bull’s-Eye!
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>“People do not forget. They do not forget the death of their fellows, they do not forget torture and mutilation, they do not forget injustice, they do not forget oppression, they do not forget the terrorism of mighty powers. They not only don’t forget; they also strike back.”</p>
<p>Harold Pinter, Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech 2005</p>
<p>On the 17th day of a massive military offensive, Israeli Prime Minister Olmert is no closer to achieving his objectives than he was on Day 1. Olmert originally promised that he would “disarm Hezbollah” and create a buffer-zone from Israel’s northern border to the Litani River. He has accomplished neither. His violent reaction to the capturing of 2 Israeli soldiers was applauded by the Bush administration, the Israeli public, and the America media. At the time, we questioned Olmert’s ability to “disarm” Hezbollah (“Its Put up or Shut Time in Lebanon”) or his foolish belief that the invasion would be a cakewalk. Now Israeli forces are bogged down in southern Lebanon fighting a tough-minded, well-disciplined guerilla organization with no end in sight. This has forced the panicky Olmert to call up 3 more divisions and appeal to Bush for more “precision-guided missiles”</p>
<p>Additionally, Olmert has begun to back-away from his promise to disarm Hezbollah and now only talks only about “weakening” them. The Israeli PM has decided to step down from his earlier rhetoric and “move the goalposts” to suit the realities on the ground. Olmert will not disarm Hezbollah and he knows it.</p>
<p>Israeli intelligence seriously misjudged Hezbollah’s military capabilities and the dedication of its fighters to execute complex and daring operations. Yesterday’s attack on an Israeli patrol killed 9 IDF soldiers spreading a palpable sense of unease among the Israeli public. They remember the Vietnam-like quagmire which Sharon drew them into which lasted 18 years, ending only 6 years ago in 2000. The deaths of the soldiers have triggered a fierce debate among politicians, pundits and retired officers about the questionable objectives of the operation and the competence of the leadership. Olmert has shown himself to be a vain and stupid man whose ignorance of military matters has clouded his sense of judgment. He is surrounded by the “untested” Defense Minister Amir Peretz, who excels at killing unarmed women and children in the occupied territories, but cannot seem to adjust to the exigencies of real combat. The final member of the “trinity of bunglers”, is Chief of Staff, Dan Halutz, an incompetent braggart whose penchant for destruction has flattened the better part of Lebanon’s critical infrastructure, but hasn’t produced any tangible rewards. For the most part, Olmert’s War has been little more than a massive display of gratuitous violence which has failed to achieve any recognizable strategic goal. (BBC has provided a fairy comprehensive account of Israel’s calculated destruction of <a href="" type="internal">Lebanese infrastructure</a>.) It includes 3 major airports, 3 major ports, 5,000 civilian homes, 62 bridges, 22 fuel stations, 72 overpasses, 3 Dams, 4 TV and communication facilities, 3 main power-stations, 150 private businesses including a tissue paper factory and a bottle factory)</p>
<p>Israel is now planning to step up its bombing campaign in the vain hope that it will root-out and destroy the resistance. This explains why the United Nations outpost was “deliberately” leveled by an Israeli missile just yesterday. Clearly, Israel wants to conceal its orgy of carnage from the watchful eyes of international community. We should expect that more banned weaponry; cluster-bombs, napalm, lasers, bunker busters and chemical weapons will be used in the next major assault on Hezbollah strongholds. Like all desperate men, Olmert believes that he can extract himself from his present dilemma by increasing the level of violence. The upcoming week or two should be extremely perilous for Hezbollah. The Bush administration has blindly supported Olmert without assessing whether his military objectives are attainable and without considering the damage that the conflict is doing to America’s long-term interests. There’s no chance that the United States will ever be seen as an “honest broker” in the region again. Bush has cast his lot with Israel and is betting that the neoconservative strategy to reconfigure the Middle East will move ahead according to plan. From the very onset, Washington has enthusiastically embraced the war by giving Olmert the “go-ahead” to destroy Lebanon’s infrastructure and by providing Israel with additional ordinance to prosecute the air-war.</p>
<p>The Bush team has repeatedly headed-off efforts at the United Nations for a “cease-fire” and created the sense that Israel’s rampage bears the stamp of international legitimacy. The US State Dept no longer functions as diplomatic agency working out the details for political solutions, but as a franchise of the Defense Dept.; skillfully blocking negotiations, subverting treaties, and obstructing any dialogue which may lead to peace. Condoleezza Rice’s performance in Rome only underscores this point. Neither public opinion, nor the United Nations, nor the Arab League, nor Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, nor even Hezbollah can stop the ongoing conflict if Bush and Olmert want a war; and they clearly want a war. Secretary of State Rice summarized their views when she said to the world press on Wednesday:</p>
<p>“Its time for a New Middle East’. Its time to say to those who do not want a different kind of Middle East that we will prevail. They will not.”</p>
<p>Perhaps; but the members of growing resistance in Iraq and Lebanon may have a thing-or-two to say about Ms. Rice’s plan.</p>
<p>MIKE WHITNEY lives in Washington state. He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
| 8,102 |
<p>MIAMI (AP) — A Miami federal judge on Tuesday upheld the extradition request for former Panama president Ricardo Martinelli to face political espionage and embezzlement charges in his home country.</p>
<p>U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke ruled Tuesday at a hearing that a previous federal judge was correct that Panama’s extradition request is valid. But Cooke also stayed her decision until Feb. 6 to give Martinelli’s lawyers time to file notice of an appeal.</p>
<p>Martinelli, 65, was Panama’s president from 2009-2014. He is accused of illegally monitoring phone calls and other communications of at least 150 people using an extensive surveillance system. Martinelli is also accused of embezzling $13 million in public funds linked to the system.</p>
<p>Martinelli has been jailed since his June 2017 arrest at his Miami-area home based on the Panama extradition warrant. He had been seeking asylum in the U.S., claiming the charges are politically motivated.</p>
<p>His attorneys argued Tuesday that Panama’s extradition warrant was legally insufficient because it didn’t specifically list the key charges for which he is being sought and because of a peculiar retroactivity clause in Panama’s 113-year-old extradition treaty with the U.S.</p>
<p>One of Martinelli’s lawyers, David Howard, contended that an appeals court ruling in a different case established that an extradition warrant must list at least one charge for which a person can be extradited. The Panama warrant only lists contempt of court because Martinelli did not show up at a hearing, which is not an extraditable offense under the treaty.</p>
<p>“There has to be reference to at least one charge. It refers to none. There is no other way around it,” Howard told Cooke.</p>
<p>But Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Fels said the warrant lists the Panama case number that includes the surveillance and embezzlement charges and that the State Department has concluded the warrant passes legal muster.</p>
<p>“Panama would not agree to a treaty that would hamper their ability to extradite fugitives from the United States,” Fels said.</p>
<p>Martinelli’s attorneys also renewed their claims that the extradition request runs counter to terms of an updated treaty between the two countries involving cybercrimes that took effect in July 2014, after the alleged surveillance offenses were committed. They claim those crimes don’t apply to Martinelli because Panama’s original 1905 extradition treaty with the U.S. contains a clause saying it did not apply retroactively — and that it remains in effect today.</p>
<p>Fels, however, said that clause was meant only for crimes that were committed in Panama before the treaty took effect in 1905.</p>
<p>“This language basically doesn’t have any application anymore,” he said.</p>
<p>The next step for Martinelli’s attorneys would be to appeal Cooke’s ruling to the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. There is no timetable for the appeals court to make a decision.</p>
<p>_____</p>
<p>Follow Curt Anderson on Twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/Miamicurt" type="external">http://twitter.com/Miamicurt</a></p>
<p>MIAMI (AP) — A Miami federal judge on Tuesday upheld the extradition request for former Panama president Ricardo Martinelli to face political espionage and embezzlement charges in his home country.</p>
<p>U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke ruled Tuesday at a hearing that a previous federal judge was correct that Panama’s extradition request is valid. But Cooke also stayed her decision until Feb. 6 to give Martinelli’s lawyers time to file notice of an appeal.</p>
<p>Martinelli, 65, was Panama’s president from 2009-2014. He is accused of illegally monitoring phone calls and other communications of at least 150 people using an extensive surveillance system. Martinelli is also accused of embezzling $13 million in public funds linked to the system.</p>
<p>Martinelli has been jailed since his June 2017 arrest at his Miami-area home based on the Panama extradition warrant. He had been seeking asylum in the U.S., claiming the charges are politically motivated.</p>
<p>His attorneys argued Tuesday that Panama’s extradition warrant was legally insufficient because it didn’t specifically list the key charges for which he is being sought and because of a peculiar retroactivity clause in Panama’s 113-year-old extradition treaty with the U.S.</p>
<p>One of Martinelli’s lawyers, David Howard, contended that an appeals court ruling in a different case established that an extradition warrant must list at least one charge for which a person can be extradited. The Panama warrant only lists contempt of court because Martinelli did not show up at a hearing, which is not an extraditable offense under the treaty.</p>
<p>“There has to be reference to at least one charge. It refers to none. There is no other way around it,” Howard told Cooke.</p>
<p>But Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Fels said the warrant lists the Panama case number that includes the surveillance and embezzlement charges and that the State Department has concluded the warrant passes legal muster.</p>
<p>“Panama would not agree to a treaty that would hamper their ability to extradite fugitives from the United States,” Fels said.</p>
<p>Martinelli’s attorneys also renewed their claims that the extradition request runs counter to terms of an updated treaty between the two countries involving cybercrimes that took effect in July 2014, after the alleged surveillance offenses were committed. They claim those crimes don’t apply to Martinelli because Panama’s original 1905 extradition treaty with the U.S. contains a clause saying it did not apply retroactively — and that it remains in effect today.</p>
<p>Fels, however, said that clause was meant only for crimes that were committed in Panama before the treaty took effect in 1905.</p>
<p>“This language basically doesn’t have any application anymore,” he said.</p>
<p>The next step for Martinelli’s attorneys would be to appeal Cooke’s ruling to the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. There is no timetable for the appeals court to make a decision.</p>
<p>_____</p>
<p>Follow Curt Anderson on Twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/Miamicurt" type="external">http://twitter.com/Miamicurt</a></p>
|
US judge backs extradition of ex-Panama president Martinelli
| false |
https://apnews.com/cc9a1a99f22749408284df99eae238e5
|
2018-01-23
| 2least
|
US judge backs extradition of ex-Panama president Martinelli
<p>MIAMI (AP) — A Miami federal judge on Tuesday upheld the extradition request for former Panama president Ricardo Martinelli to face political espionage and embezzlement charges in his home country.</p>
<p>U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke ruled Tuesday at a hearing that a previous federal judge was correct that Panama’s extradition request is valid. But Cooke also stayed her decision until Feb. 6 to give Martinelli’s lawyers time to file notice of an appeal.</p>
<p>Martinelli, 65, was Panama’s president from 2009-2014. He is accused of illegally monitoring phone calls and other communications of at least 150 people using an extensive surveillance system. Martinelli is also accused of embezzling $13 million in public funds linked to the system.</p>
<p>Martinelli has been jailed since his June 2017 arrest at his Miami-area home based on the Panama extradition warrant. He had been seeking asylum in the U.S., claiming the charges are politically motivated.</p>
<p>His attorneys argued Tuesday that Panama’s extradition warrant was legally insufficient because it didn’t specifically list the key charges for which he is being sought and because of a peculiar retroactivity clause in Panama’s 113-year-old extradition treaty with the U.S.</p>
<p>One of Martinelli’s lawyers, David Howard, contended that an appeals court ruling in a different case established that an extradition warrant must list at least one charge for which a person can be extradited. The Panama warrant only lists contempt of court because Martinelli did not show up at a hearing, which is not an extraditable offense under the treaty.</p>
<p>“There has to be reference to at least one charge. It refers to none. There is no other way around it,” Howard told Cooke.</p>
<p>But Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Fels said the warrant lists the Panama case number that includes the surveillance and embezzlement charges and that the State Department has concluded the warrant passes legal muster.</p>
<p>“Panama would not agree to a treaty that would hamper their ability to extradite fugitives from the United States,” Fels said.</p>
<p>Martinelli’s attorneys also renewed their claims that the extradition request runs counter to terms of an updated treaty between the two countries involving cybercrimes that took effect in July 2014, after the alleged surveillance offenses were committed. They claim those crimes don’t apply to Martinelli because Panama’s original 1905 extradition treaty with the U.S. contains a clause saying it did not apply retroactively — and that it remains in effect today.</p>
<p>Fels, however, said that clause was meant only for crimes that were committed in Panama before the treaty took effect in 1905.</p>
<p>“This language basically doesn’t have any application anymore,” he said.</p>
<p>The next step for Martinelli’s attorneys would be to appeal Cooke’s ruling to the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. There is no timetable for the appeals court to make a decision.</p>
<p>_____</p>
<p>Follow Curt Anderson on Twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/Miamicurt" type="external">http://twitter.com/Miamicurt</a></p>
<p>MIAMI (AP) — A Miami federal judge on Tuesday upheld the extradition request for former Panama president Ricardo Martinelli to face political espionage and embezzlement charges in his home country.</p>
<p>U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke ruled Tuesday at a hearing that a previous federal judge was correct that Panama’s extradition request is valid. But Cooke also stayed her decision until Feb. 6 to give Martinelli’s lawyers time to file notice of an appeal.</p>
<p>Martinelli, 65, was Panama’s president from 2009-2014. He is accused of illegally monitoring phone calls and other communications of at least 150 people using an extensive surveillance system. Martinelli is also accused of embezzling $13 million in public funds linked to the system.</p>
<p>Martinelli has been jailed since his June 2017 arrest at his Miami-area home based on the Panama extradition warrant. He had been seeking asylum in the U.S., claiming the charges are politically motivated.</p>
<p>His attorneys argued Tuesday that Panama’s extradition warrant was legally insufficient because it didn’t specifically list the key charges for which he is being sought and because of a peculiar retroactivity clause in Panama’s 113-year-old extradition treaty with the U.S.</p>
<p>One of Martinelli’s lawyers, David Howard, contended that an appeals court ruling in a different case established that an extradition warrant must list at least one charge for which a person can be extradited. The Panama warrant only lists contempt of court because Martinelli did not show up at a hearing, which is not an extraditable offense under the treaty.</p>
<p>“There has to be reference to at least one charge. It refers to none. There is no other way around it,” Howard told Cooke.</p>
<p>But Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Fels said the warrant lists the Panama case number that includes the surveillance and embezzlement charges and that the State Department has concluded the warrant passes legal muster.</p>
<p>“Panama would not agree to a treaty that would hamper their ability to extradite fugitives from the United States,” Fels said.</p>
<p>Martinelli’s attorneys also renewed their claims that the extradition request runs counter to terms of an updated treaty between the two countries involving cybercrimes that took effect in July 2014, after the alleged surveillance offenses were committed. They claim those crimes don’t apply to Martinelli because Panama’s original 1905 extradition treaty with the U.S. contains a clause saying it did not apply retroactively — and that it remains in effect today.</p>
<p>Fels, however, said that clause was meant only for crimes that were committed in Panama before the treaty took effect in 1905.</p>
<p>“This language basically doesn’t have any application anymore,” he said.</p>
<p>The next step for Martinelli’s attorneys would be to appeal Cooke’s ruling to the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. There is no timetable for the appeals court to make a decision.</p>
<p>_____</p>
<p>Follow Curt Anderson on Twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/Miamicurt" type="external">http://twitter.com/Miamicurt</a></p>
| 8,103 |
<p>Maybe oil is not hampering the Global X MSCI Nigeria ETF ( Global X Funds (NYSE:NGE) at all not with the United States Brent Oil Fund, LP (NYSE:BNO) being up 23.8 percent year-to-date and NGE being the only exchange-traded fund dedicated to equities in Africa's largest oil-producing country.</p>
<p>With Brent prices on the mend, things should be improving Nigeria, Africa's largest economy. After all, Nigeria is a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), and the government there depends on oil production and exports to fuel a sizable portion of revenue.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>In reality, things are much different. NGE is off nearly 5 percent year-to-date, good for by far the worst performance among the single-country ETFs tracking equities in OPEC member states. Rising inflation and foreign currency woes are plaguing the Nigerian economy.</p>
<p>Related Link: <a href="http://www.benzinga.com/analyst-ratings/analyst-color/16/05/8002469/credit-suisse-earnings-stats-show-continued-corporate-de" type="external">Credit Suisse Earnings Stats Show Continued Corporate Deterioration</a></p>
<p>Companies indicated that the weakness of the currency and price rises linked to the scarcity of fuel had been key factors behind inflation. The Nigerian naira has been pegged against the US dollar since March 2015, meaning that importers have struggled to access foreign exchange. Though Nigeria is a major producer of oil, it also relies heavily on fuel imports hence the recent shortages. A combination of these factors has driven prices sharply upwards, according to <a href="http://www.markit.com/Commentary/Get/16052016-Economics-Nigeria-s-economic-worries-mount-as-inflation-hits-near-six-year-high" type="external">Markit</a>.</p>
<p>Earlier this month, Nigeria narrowly escaped a <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2016/05/02/nigeria-keeps-frontier-status-for-now-at-least/" type="external">market classification demotion</a> by index provider MSCI. Nigeria is currently classified as a frontier market and demotion from there amounts to something of an index purgatory. Upon further inspection, it appears as though Nigeria dodged that demotion not because the economy there is improving, but because MSCI feared such a move would cause more harm.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>NGE wears another ominous badge this year. Of the four single-country ETFs tracking nations classified as frontier markets, the Nigeria fund is by far the worst performer despite rising oil prices.</p>
<p>Alright, so NGE's energy exposure is not large. The ETF devotes just 6.6 percent of its weight to energy stocks, good for its fourth-largest sector allocation. Consumer staples and financial services combine for nearly 80 percent of the fund's weight, indicating global investors are not enthusiastic about the prospects for the Nigerian consumer or its banks.</p>
<p>Compounding matters is the fact the Nigerian central bank is in a tough spot.</p>
<p>The surge in inflation leaves policymakers in a quandary. With year-on-year GDP growth expected to slow again when first quarter numbers are released on May 21st, the central bank is faced with the task of stimulating the economy and controlling inflation at the same time, added Markit.</p>
<p>2016 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.</p>
|
Not Just Oil Hampering The Nigeria ETF
| true |
http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/05/18/not-just-oil-hampering-nigeria-etf.html
|
2016-05-18
| 0right
|
Not Just Oil Hampering The Nigeria ETF
<p>Maybe oil is not hampering the Global X MSCI Nigeria ETF ( Global X Funds (NYSE:NGE) at all not with the United States Brent Oil Fund, LP (NYSE:BNO) being up 23.8 percent year-to-date and NGE being the only exchange-traded fund dedicated to equities in Africa's largest oil-producing country.</p>
<p>With Brent prices on the mend, things should be improving Nigeria, Africa's largest economy. After all, Nigeria is a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), and the government there depends on oil production and exports to fuel a sizable portion of revenue.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>In reality, things are much different. NGE is off nearly 5 percent year-to-date, good for by far the worst performance among the single-country ETFs tracking equities in OPEC member states. Rising inflation and foreign currency woes are plaguing the Nigerian economy.</p>
<p>Related Link: <a href="http://www.benzinga.com/analyst-ratings/analyst-color/16/05/8002469/credit-suisse-earnings-stats-show-continued-corporate-de" type="external">Credit Suisse Earnings Stats Show Continued Corporate Deterioration</a></p>
<p>Companies indicated that the weakness of the currency and price rises linked to the scarcity of fuel had been key factors behind inflation. The Nigerian naira has been pegged against the US dollar since March 2015, meaning that importers have struggled to access foreign exchange. Though Nigeria is a major producer of oil, it also relies heavily on fuel imports hence the recent shortages. A combination of these factors has driven prices sharply upwards, according to <a href="http://www.markit.com/Commentary/Get/16052016-Economics-Nigeria-s-economic-worries-mount-as-inflation-hits-near-six-year-high" type="external">Markit</a>.</p>
<p>Earlier this month, Nigeria narrowly escaped a <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2016/05/02/nigeria-keeps-frontier-status-for-now-at-least/" type="external">market classification demotion</a> by index provider MSCI. Nigeria is currently classified as a frontier market and demotion from there amounts to something of an index purgatory. Upon further inspection, it appears as though Nigeria dodged that demotion not because the economy there is improving, but because MSCI feared such a move would cause more harm.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>NGE wears another ominous badge this year. Of the four single-country ETFs tracking nations classified as frontier markets, the Nigeria fund is by far the worst performer despite rising oil prices.</p>
<p>Alright, so NGE's energy exposure is not large. The ETF devotes just 6.6 percent of its weight to energy stocks, good for its fourth-largest sector allocation. Consumer staples and financial services combine for nearly 80 percent of the fund's weight, indicating global investors are not enthusiastic about the prospects for the Nigerian consumer or its banks.</p>
<p>Compounding matters is the fact the Nigerian central bank is in a tough spot.</p>
<p>The surge in inflation leaves policymakers in a quandary. With year-on-year GDP growth expected to slow again when first quarter numbers are released on May 21st, the central bank is faced with the task of stimulating the economy and controlling inflation at the same time, added Markit.</p>
<p>2016 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.</p>
| 8,104 |
<p>Disclaimer:Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. All CFDs (stocks, indexes, futures) and Forex prices are not provided by exchanges but rather by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual market price, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Therefore Fusion Media doesn`t bear any responsibility for any trading losses you might incur as a result of using this data.</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>
|
Data breach at PayPal-owned company
| false |
https://newsline.com/data-breach-at-paypal-owned-company/
|
2017-12-02
| 1right-center
|
Data breach at PayPal-owned company
<p>Disclaimer:Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. All CFDs (stocks, indexes, futures) and Forex prices are not provided by exchanges but rather by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual market price, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Therefore Fusion Media doesn`t bear any responsibility for any trading losses you might incur as a result of using this data.</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>
| 8,105 |
<p>Scene from ‘Vow of Silence’ (Screen capture via YouTube)</p>
<p>The Reel Unity Film Series is dedicated to showcasing films for, by, and about the African-American experience, the African Diaspora, and the Same Gender Loving – LGBT communities. It is a program of the Baltimore International Black Film Festival (BIBFF), which was founded in 2014. The third annual BIBFF will take place Oct. 5-10.</p>
<p>Presented by SOGAA, Inc.—a non-profit service and social organization for men who love men — the Reel Unity Film Series is scheduled for Aug. 18 from&#160;5:30-8:30 p.m. at the Beth Am Synagogue, 2501 Eutaw Place in Baltimore.</p>
<p>Three short films representing the three pillars of the series mentioned above will be screened. They are: “Zoo,” the German film “Meeting Superman,” and “Vow of Silence.”&#160; Following each presentation, there will be an open discussion.</p>
<p>Tickets are free and can be obtained at <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/reel-unity-film-series-tickets-26847878728" type="external">eventbrite.com</a>. For more information about the film series, visit <a href="http://bibff.com" type="external">bibff.com</a>.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Baltimore International Black Film Festival</a> <a href="" type="internal">BIBFF</a> <a href="" type="internal">Reel Unity Film Series</a> <a href="" type="internal">SOGAA</a></p>
|
Film series to focus on black experience
| false |
http://washingtonblade.com/2016/08/10/film-series-focus-black-experience/
| 3left-center
|
Film series to focus on black experience
<p>Scene from ‘Vow of Silence’ (Screen capture via YouTube)</p>
<p>The Reel Unity Film Series is dedicated to showcasing films for, by, and about the African-American experience, the African Diaspora, and the Same Gender Loving – LGBT communities. It is a program of the Baltimore International Black Film Festival (BIBFF), which was founded in 2014. The third annual BIBFF will take place Oct. 5-10.</p>
<p>Presented by SOGAA, Inc.—a non-profit service and social organization for men who love men — the Reel Unity Film Series is scheduled for Aug. 18 from&#160;5:30-8:30 p.m. at the Beth Am Synagogue, 2501 Eutaw Place in Baltimore.</p>
<p>Three short films representing the three pillars of the series mentioned above will be screened. They are: “Zoo,” the German film “Meeting Superman,” and “Vow of Silence.”&#160; Following each presentation, there will be an open discussion.</p>
<p>Tickets are free and can be obtained at <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/reel-unity-film-series-tickets-26847878728" type="external">eventbrite.com</a>. For more information about the film series, visit <a href="http://bibff.com" type="external">bibff.com</a>.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Baltimore International Black Film Festival</a> <a href="" type="internal">BIBFF</a> <a href="" type="internal">Reel Unity Film Series</a> <a href="" type="internal">SOGAA</a></p>
| 8,106 |
|
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>The last bit of short-term drought was erased from the state in November thanks to near- and above-normal precipitation, and National Weather Service forecasters say record snowfall in recent days has only helped to push New Mexico further in the right direction.</p>
<p>In fact, things haven't looked this good since the fall of 2010.</p>
<p>Preliminary data released by the weather service this week shows conditions were warmer and wetter statewide through November, and although the data has yet to be crunched for December, things aren't expected to change.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>"Certainly temperatures and precipitation will be in the top 10 warmest and wettest," said Chuck Jones, a meteorologist with the weather service.</p>
<p>The data shows Clayton, for example, received more than 16 inches above its normal precipitation to mark its second wettest year on record. Albuquerque also saw above-normal precipitation and marked its seventh warmest year.</p>
<p>But 2015 didn't start out so rosy.</p>
<p>"It started with abysmally poor numbers and poor expectations and nearly dry reservoirs," said David Gensler, a hydrologist with the irrigation district that supplies farmers throughout the Middle Rio Grande Valley. "We were just kind of looking at disaster and wondering what we were going to do."</p>
<p>Then came "Miracle May," when the state received a healthy dose of snow in the mountains and rain in lower elevations. That boosted runoff and filled reservoirs.</p>
<p>The early monsoon proved fruitful too until the spigot turned off in August and September.</p>
<p>Had it not been for water stored in the reservoirs, Gensler said the Rio Grande would have likely gone dry in stretches well north of Bernalillo south to Elephant Butte Reservoir.</p>
<p>Experts say soil moisture levels - which serve as key indicators of the severity of long-term drought - have started to recover, but New Mexico is still not where it was 15 to 20 years ago.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The recent moisture has been a mixed blessing for ranchers and dairy farmers on the eastern side of the state, where last weekend's storm dumped up to 2 feet of snow in some areas, and strong winds helped to form drifts that overtook corrals and reached the eaves of barns and bunkhouses.</p>
<p>Beverly Idsinga, executive director of the Dairy Producers of New Mexico, said producers have been recounting stories about the white-out conditions and the rallying of rural communities to ensure residents and animals received food.</p>
<p>"We all knew it was coming. There was just no way to prepare for it," she said. "The wind caused a big problem. There's nothing to block the wind out here so the snow drifts would just pile up."</p>
<p>The New Mexico National Guard on Wednesday continued working with state and local emergency management officials to clear county roads so people could reach their livestock.</p>
<p>Officials said milk was flowing again at dairies that had been socked in by the inclement weather.</p>
<p>All the moisture, ranchers say, should result in plentiful forage once spring rolls around.</p>
<p>"We've just got to get out from under all this snow now," said Caren Cowan, head of the New Mexico Cattle Growers? Association.</p>
|
New Mexico finishes year with record dose of wet weather
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/698559/new-mexico-finishes-year-with-record-dose-of-wet-weather.html
|
2015-12-30
| 2least
|
New Mexico finishes year with record dose of wet weather
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>The last bit of short-term drought was erased from the state in November thanks to near- and above-normal precipitation, and National Weather Service forecasters say record snowfall in recent days has only helped to push New Mexico further in the right direction.</p>
<p>In fact, things haven't looked this good since the fall of 2010.</p>
<p>Preliminary data released by the weather service this week shows conditions were warmer and wetter statewide through November, and although the data has yet to be crunched for December, things aren't expected to change.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>"Certainly temperatures and precipitation will be in the top 10 warmest and wettest," said Chuck Jones, a meteorologist with the weather service.</p>
<p>The data shows Clayton, for example, received more than 16 inches above its normal precipitation to mark its second wettest year on record. Albuquerque also saw above-normal precipitation and marked its seventh warmest year.</p>
<p>But 2015 didn't start out so rosy.</p>
<p>"It started with abysmally poor numbers and poor expectations and nearly dry reservoirs," said David Gensler, a hydrologist with the irrigation district that supplies farmers throughout the Middle Rio Grande Valley. "We were just kind of looking at disaster and wondering what we were going to do."</p>
<p>Then came "Miracle May," when the state received a healthy dose of snow in the mountains and rain in lower elevations. That boosted runoff and filled reservoirs.</p>
<p>The early monsoon proved fruitful too until the spigot turned off in August and September.</p>
<p>Had it not been for water stored in the reservoirs, Gensler said the Rio Grande would have likely gone dry in stretches well north of Bernalillo south to Elephant Butte Reservoir.</p>
<p>Experts say soil moisture levels - which serve as key indicators of the severity of long-term drought - have started to recover, but New Mexico is still not where it was 15 to 20 years ago.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The recent moisture has been a mixed blessing for ranchers and dairy farmers on the eastern side of the state, where last weekend's storm dumped up to 2 feet of snow in some areas, and strong winds helped to form drifts that overtook corrals and reached the eaves of barns and bunkhouses.</p>
<p>Beverly Idsinga, executive director of the Dairy Producers of New Mexico, said producers have been recounting stories about the white-out conditions and the rallying of rural communities to ensure residents and animals received food.</p>
<p>"We all knew it was coming. There was just no way to prepare for it," she said. "The wind caused a big problem. There's nothing to block the wind out here so the snow drifts would just pile up."</p>
<p>The New Mexico National Guard on Wednesday continued working with state and local emergency management officials to clear county roads so people could reach their livestock.</p>
<p>Officials said milk was flowing again at dairies that had been socked in by the inclement weather.</p>
<p>All the moisture, ranchers say, should result in plentiful forage once spring rolls around.</p>
<p>"We've just got to get out from under all this snow now," said Caren Cowan, head of the New Mexico Cattle Growers? Association.</p>
| 8,107 |
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p /> CROWD (SUBTITLED TRANSL.): Come, come to the street so the fight grows.
<p />
<p />JIHAN HAFIZ: Salvador was rocked with demonstrations and violent clashes this weekend as the final FIFA Confederations Cup played Italy and Brazil in Salvador's new stadium.
<p />
<p />CROWD (SUBTITLED TRANSL.): I want, I want I, want a free pass, yes!
<p />
<p />HAFIZ: Forty-eight hours before the game, military and riot police squads were deployed throughout the city as FIFA officials warned of canceling the game.
<p />
<p />~~~
<p />
<p />FAVO, ITALY SOCCER FAN: No, we didn't see police. We didn't see any police right now.
<p />
<p />HAFIZ: Do you think they'll cancel the game? They're talking about--.
<p />
<p />FAVO: No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Game will go on.
<p />
<p />~~~
<p />
<p />HAFIZ: The planned march to cut off a major highway heading toward the stadium was announced in the newspapers and on social media networking sites. Many in the neighborhood of Rio Vermelho sympathize with the marchers.
<p />
<p />PAOLO, STORE OWNER (SUBTITLED TRANSL.): The governor, is watching, but he doesn't feel it in the skin like the people do. The people have to protest to stop with the corruption, stop with the people dying in the hospitals, enough with the ineffective transportation, enough with everything they do. They steal and nothing happens to them.
<p />
<p />SOLANGE, STORE OWNER (SUBTITLED TRANSL.): Food, health, education, recreation. It's a complaint of many years of oppression, repression, and violence. It's all one cause.
<p />
<p />NENE, UNEMPLOYED (SUBTITLED TRANSL.): That money is needed here. People here need that money. They're looking for an egg to eat but they can't find it.
<p />
<p />HAFIZ: As the march set off from the city center towards the outskirts, thousands roared past highrise buildings and the vast slums along the way, calling to onlookers to join in.
<p />
<p />CROWD (SUBTITLED TRANSL.): Come, come to the streets so the fight grows.
<p />
<p />CROWD (SUBTITLED TRANSL.): The World Cup, the World Cup. We want investment in education and health.
<p />
<p />BRUNA, BLACK MILITANT (SUBTITLED TRANSL.): We went through a lot of historical processes of oppression, which led to scaring a lot people out of joining movements to the extent that "the sleeping giant" was eternally in his cradle. But now we reach the end of the anthem, "you will see your sons do not run from a fight".
<p />
<p />CROWD (SUBTITLED TRANSL.): Salvador will be united!
<p />
<p />HAFIZ: Brazil's northern state of Bahia voted overwhelmingly for the current president Dilma Rousseff in 2010, a former leftist guerrilla who once fought Brazil's military dictatorship. Despite addressing Brazilians in a televised broadcast to keep calm, promising health care, education reforms, marchers said her words would not take them off the streets.
<p />
<p />PROTESTER (SUBTITLED TRANSL.): President Dilma said in her speech she would hire gringo doctors. And we don't want that! We want our doctors from Brazil to receive better treatment, work in better conditions, and improve our health care system
<p />
<p />HAFIZ: After six hours of marching, the peaceful protest is cut off by a police line. Suddenly, clashes erupt.
<p />
<p />UNIDENTIFIED (SUBTITLED TRANSL.): Don't throw a bomb in the middle. It's only going to make them revolt more!
<p />
<p />HAFIZ: Many pleaded the police to cease fire.
<p />
<p />Arrests were made. Protesters tried to reason with the police to release the detainees.
<p />
<p />So as the march, as it made its way toward the shopping center Iguatemi, which cuts off the main highway heading in toward the stadium, there weren't that many enforcements, military and police enforcements. And I don't know where--they just started shooting tear gas, rubber bullets. And people are taking refuge inside this mall.
<p />
<p />PROTESTER (SUBTITLED TRANSL.): We are over here, on the other side. Look over here!
<p />
<p />PROTESTER: A symbol of what Brazilian society is like. You have these massive, beautiful buildings, high-class, being heavily protected by an armed apparatus of the state. So if you turn around and look--.
<p />
<p />PROTESTER (SUBTITLED TRANSL.): "is this your democracy, Brazil? This the free state and the free will of the dictatorship! This is bullshit! This is dictatorship!
<p />
<p />HAFIZ: We're outside one of the big malls in Salvador. And as you can see, it's completely militarized zone now, military police and riot police. And a number of protesters who took cover inside the mall's garage--and they're just shooting them head-on. The air has been completely gassed out.
<p />
<p />This is what people here in Salvador are protesting against. They're not just seeing police violence here, but on an average day in Salvador there's police violence. There's violent raids. They've been implicated in shootings in the past six months. So this is one of the aspects of the Free Pass movement.
<p />
<p />So now the cops are raiding the garage area where the protesters [incompr.] and they're using live ammunition, and there are different police forces coming out in different angles.
<p />
<p />The protesters are taking cover up there. This is the garage of the Iguatemi Mall. And there are different police. But you can hear the helicopters up there. There are different police battalion roaming. You can see the riot cops are coming out right now.
<p />
<p />PROTESTER (SUBTITLED TRANSL.): Come to the streets! We have a dictatorship! Don't stay at home rooting for the team to make a goal. Come to the streets. Come out Brazilians, come out Bahianos. We're here in Iguatemi Mall. Down with the dictatorship! And they are shooting at us for what? My sign says, "No to Corruption".
<p />
<p />HAFIZ: When they started shooting at the protesters, a lot of people fled inside the mall, Iguatemi Mall. And, I mean, as you can see, these are all high-end stores selling very expensive Western products that a majority of the people in Salvador can't afford. So there's a lot of irony, because as people were being gassed outside, there were a number of people inside this mall who can afford these things watching the Confederations Cup between Brazil and Italy.
<p />
<p />UNIDENTIFIED (SUBTITLED TRANSL.): They're doing stuff with the money, okay, but it's generating jobs, generating money. But even so, I believe it's an event [the World Cup] all Brazilians want. We celebrated when they decided they would have it here. It's generating jobs, it's generating tourism from people like me from another state. I'm going to consume here. I don't believe my taxi driver was complaining about bringing me here.
<p />
<p />UNIDENTIFIED (SUBTITLED TRANSL.): Salvador looks like a city at war, police and security everywhere.
<p />
<p />HAFIZ: Jihan Hafiz for The Real News, Salvador, Brazil.
<p />
<p />Seth Hague contributed to this report.
<p />
<p />End
<p />
<p />DISCLAIMER: Please note that transcripts for The Real News Network are typed from a recording of the program. TRNN cannot guarantee their complete accuracy.
|
Salvador Protests Attempt to Disrupt FIFA Game in Brazil
| true |
http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option%3Dcom_content%26task%3Dview%26id%3D31%26Itemid%3D74%26jumival%3D10364
|
2013-06-24
| 4left
|
Salvador Protests Attempt to Disrupt FIFA Game in Brazil
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p /> CROWD (SUBTITLED TRANSL.): Come, come to the street so the fight grows.
<p />
<p />JIHAN HAFIZ: Salvador was rocked with demonstrations and violent clashes this weekend as the final FIFA Confederations Cup played Italy and Brazil in Salvador's new stadium.
<p />
<p />CROWD (SUBTITLED TRANSL.): I want, I want I, want a free pass, yes!
<p />
<p />HAFIZ: Forty-eight hours before the game, military and riot police squads were deployed throughout the city as FIFA officials warned of canceling the game.
<p />
<p />~~~
<p />
<p />FAVO, ITALY SOCCER FAN: No, we didn't see police. We didn't see any police right now.
<p />
<p />HAFIZ: Do you think they'll cancel the game? They're talking about--.
<p />
<p />FAVO: No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Game will go on.
<p />
<p />~~~
<p />
<p />HAFIZ: The planned march to cut off a major highway heading toward the stadium was announced in the newspapers and on social media networking sites. Many in the neighborhood of Rio Vermelho sympathize with the marchers.
<p />
<p />PAOLO, STORE OWNER (SUBTITLED TRANSL.): The governor, is watching, but he doesn't feel it in the skin like the people do. The people have to protest to stop with the corruption, stop with the people dying in the hospitals, enough with the ineffective transportation, enough with everything they do. They steal and nothing happens to them.
<p />
<p />SOLANGE, STORE OWNER (SUBTITLED TRANSL.): Food, health, education, recreation. It's a complaint of many years of oppression, repression, and violence. It's all one cause.
<p />
<p />NENE, UNEMPLOYED (SUBTITLED TRANSL.): That money is needed here. People here need that money. They're looking for an egg to eat but they can't find it.
<p />
<p />HAFIZ: As the march set off from the city center towards the outskirts, thousands roared past highrise buildings and the vast slums along the way, calling to onlookers to join in.
<p />
<p />CROWD (SUBTITLED TRANSL.): Come, come to the streets so the fight grows.
<p />
<p />CROWD (SUBTITLED TRANSL.): The World Cup, the World Cup. We want investment in education and health.
<p />
<p />BRUNA, BLACK MILITANT (SUBTITLED TRANSL.): We went through a lot of historical processes of oppression, which led to scaring a lot people out of joining movements to the extent that "the sleeping giant" was eternally in his cradle. But now we reach the end of the anthem, "you will see your sons do not run from a fight".
<p />
<p />CROWD (SUBTITLED TRANSL.): Salvador will be united!
<p />
<p />HAFIZ: Brazil's northern state of Bahia voted overwhelmingly for the current president Dilma Rousseff in 2010, a former leftist guerrilla who once fought Brazil's military dictatorship. Despite addressing Brazilians in a televised broadcast to keep calm, promising health care, education reforms, marchers said her words would not take them off the streets.
<p />
<p />PROTESTER (SUBTITLED TRANSL.): President Dilma said in her speech she would hire gringo doctors. And we don't want that! We want our doctors from Brazil to receive better treatment, work in better conditions, and improve our health care system
<p />
<p />HAFIZ: After six hours of marching, the peaceful protest is cut off by a police line. Suddenly, clashes erupt.
<p />
<p />UNIDENTIFIED (SUBTITLED TRANSL.): Don't throw a bomb in the middle. It's only going to make them revolt more!
<p />
<p />HAFIZ: Many pleaded the police to cease fire.
<p />
<p />Arrests were made. Protesters tried to reason with the police to release the detainees.
<p />
<p />So as the march, as it made its way toward the shopping center Iguatemi, which cuts off the main highway heading in toward the stadium, there weren't that many enforcements, military and police enforcements. And I don't know where--they just started shooting tear gas, rubber bullets. And people are taking refuge inside this mall.
<p />
<p />PROTESTER (SUBTITLED TRANSL.): We are over here, on the other side. Look over here!
<p />
<p />PROTESTER: A symbol of what Brazilian society is like. You have these massive, beautiful buildings, high-class, being heavily protected by an armed apparatus of the state. So if you turn around and look--.
<p />
<p />PROTESTER (SUBTITLED TRANSL.): "is this your democracy, Brazil? This the free state and the free will of the dictatorship! This is bullshit! This is dictatorship!
<p />
<p />HAFIZ: We're outside one of the big malls in Salvador. And as you can see, it's completely militarized zone now, military police and riot police. And a number of protesters who took cover inside the mall's garage--and they're just shooting them head-on. The air has been completely gassed out.
<p />
<p />This is what people here in Salvador are protesting against. They're not just seeing police violence here, but on an average day in Salvador there's police violence. There's violent raids. They've been implicated in shootings in the past six months. So this is one of the aspects of the Free Pass movement.
<p />
<p />So now the cops are raiding the garage area where the protesters [incompr.] and they're using live ammunition, and there are different police forces coming out in different angles.
<p />
<p />The protesters are taking cover up there. This is the garage of the Iguatemi Mall. And there are different police. But you can hear the helicopters up there. There are different police battalion roaming. You can see the riot cops are coming out right now.
<p />
<p />PROTESTER (SUBTITLED TRANSL.): Come to the streets! We have a dictatorship! Don't stay at home rooting for the team to make a goal. Come to the streets. Come out Brazilians, come out Bahianos. We're here in Iguatemi Mall. Down with the dictatorship! And they are shooting at us for what? My sign says, "No to Corruption".
<p />
<p />HAFIZ: When they started shooting at the protesters, a lot of people fled inside the mall, Iguatemi Mall. And, I mean, as you can see, these are all high-end stores selling very expensive Western products that a majority of the people in Salvador can't afford. So there's a lot of irony, because as people were being gassed outside, there were a number of people inside this mall who can afford these things watching the Confederations Cup between Brazil and Italy.
<p />
<p />UNIDENTIFIED (SUBTITLED TRANSL.): They're doing stuff with the money, okay, but it's generating jobs, generating money. But even so, I believe it's an event [the World Cup] all Brazilians want. We celebrated when they decided they would have it here. It's generating jobs, it's generating tourism from people like me from another state. I'm going to consume here. I don't believe my taxi driver was complaining about bringing me here.
<p />
<p />UNIDENTIFIED (SUBTITLED TRANSL.): Salvador looks like a city at war, police and security everywhere.
<p />
<p />HAFIZ: Jihan Hafiz for The Real News, Salvador, Brazil.
<p />
<p />Seth Hague contributed to this report.
<p />
<p />End
<p />
<p />DISCLAIMER: Please note that transcripts for The Real News Network are typed from a recording of the program. TRNN cannot guarantee their complete accuracy.
| 8,108 |
<p />
<p>Image source: Match.com</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Shares of Match Group (NASDAQ: MTCH) are down this year after delivering impressive gains in 2016, as analysts fear the company's high-growth days might be coming to an end. The Tinder parent's <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/02/09/is-match-group-losing-its-tinder-mojo.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">top-line guidance Opens a New Window.</a> of $1.26 billion to $1.31 billion for the year has raised a red flag, as Wall Street was looking for $1.41 billion in revenue.</p>
<p>The midpoint of the outlook pins 2017 revenue growth at just 5%, well below the 20% growth seen in 2016. The anticipated sale of Match's test-preparation service, The Princeton Review, will negatively impact revenue, but this cannot be an excuse for the weak guidance as 92% of Match's revenue comes from its online dating businesses.</p>
<p>The Princeton Review contributed the other 8% (under $100 million) of Match's revenue last year. An identical performance in 2017 would have kept its revenue growth at only 13%.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Match Group's paid member count increased by 1.1 million, or 23%, last year thanks to the popularity of Tinder. As it turns out, Tinder accounted for 956,000 paid members in 2016, almost 87% of total additions. The company's massive reliance on its flagship dating app, however, is hurting its business.</p>
<p>Average revenue per paying user (ARPPU) in the last 12 months (LTM). Image source: Match Group.</p>
<p>Match's average revenue per paying user (ARPPU) stagnated last year as it has kept Tinder's pricing lower than its other properties. A Match.com subscription, for instance, costs $41.99 a month at most, and only $20.99 a month for the annual package. A Tinder subscription, meanwhile, goes for as low as $9.99 a month if you're under the age of 30.</p>
<p>The service gets cheaper in emerging markets, where a user needs to shell out just $2.99 a month. This is why Match's ARPPU is significantly higher in North America, which brings us to the next problem that the company is facing.</p>
<p>Average paid-member count (PMC). Image source: Match Group.</p>
<p>Match needs to drive its paid-member count higher to offset the declining ARPPU. Therefore, the company is making a smart move by keeping prices low internationally to attract more users. In India, for instance, the Tinder Plus service can cost as little as $4.50 a month for the annual package.</p>
<p>Match's objective is to drive volume growth in India, as it estimates that there are 205 million singles in this market, far more than the 124.6 million singles in the U.S. in 2014. Brazil is also a part of the company's targeted marketing exercise as it has around 86 million singles. As it turns out, the company is taking special measures to tap the massive potential in such markets.</p>
<p>Match will ramp up its marketing spend in India, Brazil, and Turkey by 16 times in the first quarter from the prior-year period, a welcome change as compared to a virtually nonexistent campaign last year. The company has found some success with an initial investment of $100,000 in Brazil during the fourth quarter that led to user growth, though it did not get into specifics.</p>
<p>In India, Match is partnering with well-known young celebrities and film houses to grab the attention of the millions of singles present in the country. Additionally, it has been designing its ad campaigns in line with Indian sensibilities. The good news is that Match did well in this market even when it had no major branding, racking up 14 million Tinder swipes daily in April 2016 as compared to 7.5 million in September 2015.</p>
<p>Match will get a shot in the arm in these emerging markets thanks to increased marketing. Revenue gains, however, can only be expected in the longer term, as the company has ruled out any meaningful impact of its efforts this year.</p>
<p>Analysts expect Match to report stronger revenue growth of over 12% in 2018, up impressively from 2017 projections. Therefore, its growth could get into a higher gear once the emerging-market investments start bearing fruit.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than Match GroupWhen 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=4e08881e-9133-4cab-8daf-ece81fbbfe56&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 Match Group 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=4e08881e-9133-4cab-8daf-ece81fbbfe56&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/TechJunk13/info.aspx" type="external">Harsh Chauhan Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Match 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;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
|
Here's How Match Group Is Gearing Up for Long-Term Growth
| true |
http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/03/10/here-how-match-group-is-gearing-up-for-long-term-growth.html
|
2017-03-17
| 0right
|
Here's How Match Group Is Gearing Up for Long-Term Growth
<p />
<p>Image source: Match.com</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Shares of Match Group (NASDAQ: MTCH) are down this year after delivering impressive gains in 2016, as analysts fear the company's high-growth days might be coming to an end. The Tinder parent's <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/02/09/is-match-group-losing-its-tinder-mojo.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">top-line guidance Opens a New Window.</a> of $1.26 billion to $1.31 billion for the year has raised a red flag, as Wall Street was looking for $1.41 billion in revenue.</p>
<p>The midpoint of the outlook pins 2017 revenue growth at just 5%, well below the 20% growth seen in 2016. The anticipated sale of Match's test-preparation service, The Princeton Review, will negatively impact revenue, but this cannot be an excuse for the weak guidance as 92% of Match's revenue comes from its online dating businesses.</p>
<p>The Princeton Review contributed the other 8% (under $100 million) of Match's revenue last year. An identical performance in 2017 would have kept its revenue growth at only 13%.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Match Group's paid member count increased by 1.1 million, or 23%, last year thanks to the popularity of Tinder. As it turns out, Tinder accounted for 956,000 paid members in 2016, almost 87% of total additions. The company's massive reliance on its flagship dating app, however, is hurting its business.</p>
<p>Average revenue per paying user (ARPPU) in the last 12 months (LTM). Image source: Match Group.</p>
<p>Match's average revenue per paying user (ARPPU) stagnated last year as it has kept Tinder's pricing lower than its other properties. A Match.com subscription, for instance, costs $41.99 a month at most, and only $20.99 a month for the annual package. A Tinder subscription, meanwhile, goes for as low as $9.99 a month if you're under the age of 30.</p>
<p>The service gets cheaper in emerging markets, where a user needs to shell out just $2.99 a month. This is why Match's ARPPU is significantly higher in North America, which brings us to the next problem that the company is facing.</p>
<p>Average paid-member count (PMC). Image source: Match Group.</p>
<p>Match needs to drive its paid-member count higher to offset the declining ARPPU. Therefore, the company is making a smart move by keeping prices low internationally to attract more users. In India, for instance, the Tinder Plus service can cost as little as $4.50 a month for the annual package.</p>
<p>Match's objective is to drive volume growth in India, as it estimates that there are 205 million singles in this market, far more than the 124.6 million singles in the U.S. in 2014. Brazil is also a part of the company's targeted marketing exercise as it has around 86 million singles. As it turns out, the company is taking special measures to tap the massive potential in such markets.</p>
<p>Match will ramp up its marketing spend in India, Brazil, and Turkey by 16 times in the first quarter from the prior-year period, a welcome change as compared to a virtually nonexistent campaign last year. The company has found some success with an initial investment of $100,000 in Brazil during the fourth quarter that led to user growth, though it did not get into specifics.</p>
<p>In India, Match is partnering with well-known young celebrities and film houses to grab the attention of the millions of singles present in the country. Additionally, it has been designing its ad campaigns in line with Indian sensibilities. The good news is that Match did well in this market even when it had no major branding, racking up 14 million Tinder swipes daily in April 2016 as compared to 7.5 million in September 2015.</p>
<p>Match will get a shot in the arm in these emerging markets thanks to increased marketing. Revenue gains, however, can only be expected in the longer term, as the company has ruled out any meaningful impact of its efforts this year.</p>
<p>Analysts expect Match to report stronger revenue growth of over 12% in 2018, up impressively from 2017 projections. Therefore, its growth could get into a higher gear once the emerging-market investments start bearing fruit.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than Match GroupWhen 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=4e08881e-9133-4cab-8daf-ece81fbbfe56&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 Match Group 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=4e08881e-9133-4cab-8daf-ece81fbbfe56&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/TechJunk13/info.aspx" type="external">Harsh Chauhan Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Match 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;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
| 8,109 |
<p>In Massachusetts, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin and Florida, citizens voted overwhelmingly Tuesday for their legislators to pass a constitutional amendment to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling and declare that only human beings – not corporations – are entitled to constitutional rights, that money is not speech, and that campaign spending can be regulated.</p>
<p>Residents in dozens of cities had the opportunity to vote on measures calling for an end to the doctrines of corporate constitutional rights and money as free speech, and in every single town the vote was supportive. Often by an overwhelming margin.</p>
<p>In Wisconsin where all eyes were on Republican Scott Walker's victory, 12 communities voted in support of an amendment. Walker and Burke voters alike support amending the Constitution, as not a single measure garnered less that 70% support.</p>
<p>“Money in politics affects our lives everyday,” said Donna Richards, a Move to Amend volunteer of of Fond du Lac, Wis. “We pay too much for healthcare. Our taxes go towards corporate welfare and wars, instead of education and protecting our environment. Our energy policy is dictated by Big Oil, and we can’t even pass reasonable gun background checks because the gun manufacturers have bought half of Congress. This isn’t what democracy looks like.”</p>
<p>Tuesday's vote brings the total number of Wisconsin communities that have called for an amendment to 54. In total, 2.4 million people (41% of Wisconsinites) live in these jurisdictions. Across the country, 16 state legislatures have voted for an amendment, as well as almost 600 towns, villages, cities and other organizations.</p>
<p>In Mentor and Chagrin Falls, Ohio, the votes were respectively 66% and 70% support. In Alachua County, Florida, voters supported Move to Amend's campaign by 72%. The final vote count on Wednesday was still being tallied in the 18 legislative districts that voted Tuesday night, but the results were the same as in other states.</p>
<p>"Nearly all Americans share the sentiment that corporations should not have the same rights as people, and big money in politics should be removed," stated Kaitlin Sopoci-Belknap, national director of Move to Amend.</p>
<p>"It is time for Congress to pass the&#160; <a href="https://movetoamend.org/wethepeopleamendment" type="external">We the People Amendment</a>&#160;and send it to the states for ratification. The leadership of both parties need to realize that their voters are clamoring for this amendment, and we are only going to get louder."</p>
<p><a href="https://movetoamend.org/" type="external">Move to Amend</a>&#160;is a national coalition of hundreds of organizations and over 370,000 people. The organization also boasts over 150 local affiliates across the country.&#160; <a href="http://movetoamend.nationbuilder.com/petition" type="external">Sign the motion</a>&#160;to Amend the Constitution today.</p>
<p />
|
Citizens Vote To Amend Constitution and End Corporate Personhood In Five States
| true |
http://occupy.com/article/citizens-vote-amend-constitution-and-end-corporate-personhood-five-states
| 4left
|
Citizens Vote To Amend Constitution and End Corporate Personhood In Five States
<p>In Massachusetts, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin and Florida, citizens voted overwhelmingly Tuesday for their legislators to pass a constitutional amendment to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling and declare that only human beings – not corporations – are entitled to constitutional rights, that money is not speech, and that campaign spending can be regulated.</p>
<p>Residents in dozens of cities had the opportunity to vote on measures calling for an end to the doctrines of corporate constitutional rights and money as free speech, and in every single town the vote was supportive. Often by an overwhelming margin.</p>
<p>In Wisconsin where all eyes were on Republican Scott Walker's victory, 12 communities voted in support of an amendment. Walker and Burke voters alike support amending the Constitution, as not a single measure garnered less that 70% support.</p>
<p>“Money in politics affects our lives everyday,” said Donna Richards, a Move to Amend volunteer of of Fond du Lac, Wis. “We pay too much for healthcare. Our taxes go towards corporate welfare and wars, instead of education and protecting our environment. Our energy policy is dictated by Big Oil, and we can’t even pass reasonable gun background checks because the gun manufacturers have bought half of Congress. This isn’t what democracy looks like.”</p>
<p>Tuesday's vote brings the total number of Wisconsin communities that have called for an amendment to 54. In total, 2.4 million people (41% of Wisconsinites) live in these jurisdictions. Across the country, 16 state legislatures have voted for an amendment, as well as almost 600 towns, villages, cities and other organizations.</p>
<p>In Mentor and Chagrin Falls, Ohio, the votes were respectively 66% and 70% support. In Alachua County, Florida, voters supported Move to Amend's campaign by 72%. The final vote count on Wednesday was still being tallied in the 18 legislative districts that voted Tuesday night, but the results were the same as in other states.</p>
<p>"Nearly all Americans share the sentiment that corporations should not have the same rights as people, and big money in politics should be removed," stated Kaitlin Sopoci-Belknap, national director of Move to Amend.</p>
<p>"It is time for Congress to pass the&#160; <a href="https://movetoamend.org/wethepeopleamendment" type="external">We the People Amendment</a>&#160;and send it to the states for ratification. The leadership of both parties need to realize that their voters are clamoring for this amendment, and we are only going to get louder."</p>
<p><a href="https://movetoamend.org/" type="external">Move to Amend</a>&#160;is a national coalition of hundreds of organizations and over 370,000 people. The organization also boasts over 150 local affiliates across the country.&#160; <a href="http://movetoamend.nationbuilder.com/petition" type="external">Sign the motion</a>&#160;to Amend the Constitution today.</p>
<p />
| 8,110 |
|
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>That’s dramatic enough, but there is uncertainty in the science world about what would happen next. On the one hand, the researchers with Project MIDAS, who announced the growth of the rift, have published research suggesting that, in their words, it “presents a considerable risk to the stability of the Larsen C Ice Shelf.” If they’re right, it’s hard to understate how big a deal it is – Antarctica has lost ice shelves before, but not one so enormous. Not only would a loss of Larsen C change the map of the Earth itself; the shelf holds back glaciers capable of contributing about 4 inches of global sea level rise over time.</p>
<p>The rift is now largely following the second, and worse scenario from their research, said glaciologist Daniela Jansen of the Alfred Wegner Institute in Germany – if it is correct. “This calving will be a test for our calving front stability criterion,” she said by email.</p>
<p>However, other analyses have suggested that most of the ice that would be lost is so-called “passive ice” that does not play a key role in holding the glaciers behind the shelf in place. And some scientists have expressed skepticism about whether what’s happening at Larsen C is “cause for alarm.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Time, ultimately, will show who is right. But in the meantime we can sketch, a little, the kinds of things that scientists are thinking about as they watch all of this unfold.</p>
<p>First, they are very mindful that what’s happening to Larsen C could be part of a broader pattern for ice shelves both globally and on the Antarctic Peninsula – including Larsen A, which collapsed in 1995, and most of all Larsen B.</p>
<p>Much of Larsen B, located just north of C on the other side of a peninsula, collapsed dramatically in 2002 – and scientists have shown that this is probably not something that has happened in the last 12,000 years or even, perhaps, in more than 100,000 years, or since the last interglacial event. What’s more, the collapse followed closely upon a large break in 1995, a possible analogue for what is now happening to its southern cousin.</p>
<p>Larsen C has alsoapparently been in place for a very long time. And whether or not the pending loss of its enormous iceberg would ignite a fast retreat, researchers agree the event will bring it down to a size smaller than anything humans have observed before.</p>
<p>Indeed, whether the retreat is slow or fast, a number of scientists have also documented that Larsen C is changing in a way suggestive of a weakening due to a warming climate. In all ice shelves, ice flows slowly from inland glaciers out through the shelf towards the sea. But recently, the flow rate at the northern sector of Larsen C has sped up. “This is a sign of instability, akin to the 20% increase in the flow speed of Larsen B between 1996 and 2000 prior to its collapse,” noted a 2011 scientific paper by University of California at Irvine geoscientist Eric Rignot and his colleagues.</p>
<p>Larsen C is also very slowly lowering in the water. This is happening because the ice that comprises the shelf is getting thinner, whether due to melting from above or from below. The thinning process is slow enough that it would not result in any sudden loss of the ice shelf, but it’s still another sign of weakening.</p>
<p>What’s striking is that all of this is occurring even though, because it is farther south along the Antarctic peninsula, Larsen C is in a colder place than the other ice shelves that have already collapsed. Scientists have suggested that there is a kind of threshold in annual temperatures for where ice shelves cease to be feasible: a temperature above minus-9 degrees Celsius (15.8 Fahrenheit), averaged annually. Larsen C turns out to be right at the cutoff for this to happen.</p>
<p>“Larsen C is at the limit of break up, its northern side (which is not far from Larsen B) is close to the limit of viability of ice shelves,” said Rignot. “The southern side is more protected.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>So with all of that in mind, what happens next?</p>
<p>Let’s start with the argument from the researchers affiliated or working with Project MIDAS, who do think this one break could destabilize the shelf, and liken it to what happened with the Larsen B ice shelf nearby.</p>
<p>Their model of the ice shelf suggests that its front, facing the ocean, could remain in a partly unstable state after the break and lose considerably more ice afterward. The reason, they say, is that that break will remove regions of ice that were more stable because in these areas, the ice was subject to offsetting stresses and counter-stresses that had the effect of hemming it in and keeping it in place. But if some of these ice regions are gone, the argument goes, that would leave behind ice whose main tendency is to flow outward, toward the sea.</p>
<p>In addition to these balancing stresses near its front, the ice shelf also contains what scientists call a “compressive arch,” which you might think of as a line across the shelf where the stresses on the ice switch from causing it to be compressed, to causing it to stretch outward. This is further inland, but if that area is breached, the ice shelf is expected to collapse. At present, it looks like the break will cut through some of the arch, but not all of it.</p>
<p>But despite such debates, other researchers remain unsure just how badly the breakup will damage the larger shelf.</p>
<p>“We studied the current rift in the past few years, it has been progressing rather ‘normally,’ the recent acceleration in the rift progression is ‘expected’ in my opinion,” said Rignot by email. “The consequences on the rest of the ice shelf are not clear at this point. If the calving continues and goes past the compressive arch . . . then the ice shelf will break up.”</p>
<p>A recent study in Nature Climate Change, however, found that the calving event would largely remove “passive ice” from Larsen C, ice that is not doing a great deal of work to hold glaciers back, and so will be “unlikely to instantly produce much dynamic change.” Granted, that study agreed that the remaining ice shelf will have a concave shape, just as Larsen A and B did before they collapsed.</p>
<p>“These authors have results that indicate a low level of concern, but not zero,” said Richard Alley, a glaciologist at Penn State University, referring to the Nature Climate Change study.</p>
<p>If scientists are hedging a bit about what happens next at Larsen C, perhaps that shouldn’t be surprising in light of the fact that we are about to see a rare event. Moreover, it’s one whose precise effect on the shelf ultimately depends on incompletely understood and highly complex processes of ice fracture – one that the models may or may not be able to capture.</p>
<p>“The details of how any particular fracture will propagate depend very sensitively on local conditions, and the exact loading and precise distribution of flaws in the material, in ways that make it fairly easy to predict the average behavior of the breakage of a lot of things, but very difficult to predict the breakage of one particular thing,” explained Alley. “Engineers generally deal with this by designing their structures so that they do not need to predict one fracture; make the bridge or the airplane wing or other structure tough enough that it is very very unlikely to break, because if a lot of structures are close to breaking, sooner or later one will, with potentially very bad outcomes.”</p>
<p>“Exactly where the break will go on Larsen C, and how it will affect the breaks behind it, fall into the category of predicting one break,” Alley finished.</p>
|
Antarctica is set to lose an enormous piece of ice. The question is what happens next.
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/924846/antarctica-is-set-to-lose-an-enormous-piece-of-ice-the-question-is-what-happens-next.html
|
2017-01-10
| 2least
|
Antarctica is set to lose an enormous piece of ice. The question is what happens next.
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>That’s dramatic enough, but there is uncertainty in the science world about what would happen next. On the one hand, the researchers with Project MIDAS, who announced the growth of the rift, have published research suggesting that, in their words, it “presents a considerable risk to the stability of the Larsen C Ice Shelf.” If they’re right, it’s hard to understate how big a deal it is – Antarctica has lost ice shelves before, but not one so enormous. Not only would a loss of Larsen C change the map of the Earth itself; the shelf holds back glaciers capable of contributing about 4 inches of global sea level rise over time.</p>
<p>The rift is now largely following the second, and worse scenario from their research, said glaciologist Daniela Jansen of the Alfred Wegner Institute in Germany – if it is correct. “This calving will be a test for our calving front stability criterion,” she said by email.</p>
<p>However, other analyses have suggested that most of the ice that would be lost is so-called “passive ice” that does not play a key role in holding the glaciers behind the shelf in place. And some scientists have expressed skepticism about whether what’s happening at Larsen C is “cause for alarm.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Time, ultimately, will show who is right. But in the meantime we can sketch, a little, the kinds of things that scientists are thinking about as they watch all of this unfold.</p>
<p>First, they are very mindful that what’s happening to Larsen C could be part of a broader pattern for ice shelves both globally and on the Antarctic Peninsula – including Larsen A, which collapsed in 1995, and most of all Larsen B.</p>
<p>Much of Larsen B, located just north of C on the other side of a peninsula, collapsed dramatically in 2002 – and scientists have shown that this is probably not something that has happened in the last 12,000 years or even, perhaps, in more than 100,000 years, or since the last interglacial event. What’s more, the collapse followed closely upon a large break in 1995, a possible analogue for what is now happening to its southern cousin.</p>
<p>Larsen C has alsoapparently been in place for a very long time. And whether or not the pending loss of its enormous iceberg would ignite a fast retreat, researchers agree the event will bring it down to a size smaller than anything humans have observed before.</p>
<p>Indeed, whether the retreat is slow or fast, a number of scientists have also documented that Larsen C is changing in a way suggestive of a weakening due to a warming climate. In all ice shelves, ice flows slowly from inland glaciers out through the shelf towards the sea. But recently, the flow rate at the northern sector of Larsen C has sped up. “This is a sign of instability, akin to the 20% increase in the flow speed of Larsen B between 1996 and 2000 prior to its collapse,” noted a 2011 scientific paper by University of California at Irvine geoscientist Eric Rignot and his colleagues.</p>
<p>Larsen C is also very slowly lowering in the water. This is happening because the ice that comprises the shelf is getting thinner, whether due to melting from above or from below. The thinning process is slow enough that it would not result in any sudden loss of the ice shelf, but it’s still another sign of weakening.</p>
<p>What’s striking is that all of this is occurring even though, because it is farther south along the Antarctic peninsula, Larsen C is in a colder place than the other ice shelves that have already collapsed. Scientists have suggested that there is a kind of threshold in annual temperatures for where ice shelves cease to be feasible: a temperature above minus-9 degrees Celsius (15.8 Fahrenheit), averaged annually. Larsen C turns out to be right at the cutoff for this to happen.</p>
<p>“Larsen C is at the limit of break up, its northern side (which is not far from Larsen B) is close to the limit of viability of ice shelves,” said Rignot. “The southern side is more protected.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>So with all of that in mind, what happens next?</p>
<p>Let’s start with the argument from the researchers affiliated or working with Project MIDAS, who do think this one break could destabilize the shelf, and liken it to what happened with the Larsen B ice shelf nearby.</p>
<p>Their model of the ice shelf suggests that its front, facing the ocean, could remain in a partly unstable state after the break and lose considerably more ice afterward. The reason, they say, is that that break will remove regions of ice that were more stable because in these areas, the ice was subject to offsetting stresses and counter-stresses that had the effect of hemming it in and keeping it in place. But if some of these ice regions are gone, the argument goes, that would leave behind ice whose main tendency is to flow outward, toward the sea.</p>
<p>In addition to these balancing stresses near its front, the ice shelf also contains what scientists call a “compressive arch,” which you might think of as a line across the shelf where the stresses on the ice switch from causing it to be compressed, to causing it to stretch outward. This is further inland, but if that area is breached, the ice shelf is expected to collapse. At present, it looks like the break will cut through some of the arch, but not all of it.</p>
<p>But despite such debates, other researchers remain unsure just how badly the breakup will damage the larger shelf.</p>
<p>“We studied the current rift in the past few years, it has been progressing rather ‘normally,’ the recent acceleration in the rift progression is ‘expected’ in my opinion,” said Rignot by email. “The consequences on the rest of the ice shelf are not clear at this point. If the calving continues and goes past the compressive arch . . . then the ice shelf will break up.”</p>
<p>A recent study in Nature Climate Change, however, found that the calving event would largely remove “passive ice” from Larsen C, ice that is not doing a great deal of work to hold glaciers back, and so will be “unlikely to instantly produce much dynamic change.” Granted, that study agreed that the remaining ice shelf will have a concave shape, just as Larsen A and B did before they collapsed.</p>
<p>“These authors have results that indicate a low level of concern, but not zero,” said Richard Alley, a glaciologist at Penn State University, referring to the Nature Climate Change study.</p>
<p>If scientists are hedging a bit about what happens next at Larsen C, perhaps that shouldn’t be surprising in light of the fact that we are about to see a rare event. Moreover, it’s one whose precise effect on the shelf ultimately depends on incompletely understood and highly complex processes of ice fracture – one that the models may or may not be able to capture.</p>
<p>“The details of how any particular fracture will propagate depend very sensitively on local conditions, and the exact loading and precise distribution of flaws in the material, in ways that make it fairly easy to predict the average behavior of the breakage of a lot of things, but very difficult to predict the breakage of one particular thing,” explained Alley. “Engineers generally deal with this by designing their structures so that they do not need to predict one fracture; make the bridge or the airplane wing or other structure tough enough that it is very very unlikely to break, because if a lot of structures are close to breaking, sooner or later one will, with potentially very bad outcomes.”</p>
<p>“Exactly where the break will go on Larsen C, and how it will affect the breaks behind it, fall into the category of predicting one break,” Alley finished.</p>
| 8,111 |
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>&lt;!-- document.write( ' <a href="" type="external">'+ 'diana.penner'+ '@'+ 'indystar.com'+ '</a>' ); //--&gt;</p>
<p><a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis announced the Rev. Jack Okon's resignation this week as part of a settlement with the priest, who had been on paid administrative leave since June.</p>
<p>"We've severed our ties with him," said archdiocese spokesman Greg Otolski.</p>
<p>He said Okon, 58, was not asked to resign, and David Hennessey, Okon's attorney, termed the resignation "a mutual parting</p>
|
Accused priest resigns
| false |
https://poynter.org/news/accused-priest-resigns
|
2003-05-09
| 2least
|
Accused priest resigns
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>&lt;!-- document.write( ' <a href="" type="external">'+ 'diana.penner'+ '@'+ 'indystar.com'+ '</a>' ); //--&gt;</p>
<p><a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis announced the Rev. Jack Okon's resignation this week as part of a settlement with the priest, who had been on paid administrative leave since June.</p>
<p>"We've severed our ties with him," said archdiocese spokesman Greg Otolski.</p>
<p>He said Okon, 58, was not asked to resign, and David Hennessey, Okon's attorney, termed the resignation "a mutual parting</p>
| 8,112 |
<p>DENVER (AP) _ These Colorado lotteries were drawn Sunday:</p>
<p>Cash 5</p>
<p>11-12-17-21-27</p>
<p>(eleven, twelve, seventeen, twenty-one, twenty-seven)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $20,000</p>
<p>Mega Millions</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $40 million</p>
<p>Pick 3 Evening</p>
<p>3-4-4</p>
<p>(three, four, four)</p>
<p>Pick 3 Midday</p>
<p>2-0-5</p>
<p>(two, zero, five)</p>
<p>Powerball</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $40 million</p>
<p>DENVER (AP) _ These Colorado lotteries were drawn Sunday:</p>
<p>Cash 5</p>
<p>11-12-17-21-27</p>
<p>(eleven, twelve, seventeen, twenty-one, twenty-seven)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $20,000</p>
<p>Mega Millions</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $40 million</p>
<p>Pick 3 Evening</p>
<p>3-4-4</p>
<p>(three, four, four)</p>
<p>Pick 3 Midday</p>
<p>2-0-5</p>
<p>(two, zero, five)</p>
<p>Powerball</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $40 million</p>
|
CO Lottery
| false |
https://apnews.com/amp/54bea8c6ddf842bea204e33bb613f1d5
|
2018-01-08
| 2least
|
CO Lottery
<p>DENVER (AP) _ These Colorado lotteries were drawn Sunday:</p>
<p>Cash 5</p>
<p>11-12-17-21-27</p>
<p>(eleven, twelve, seventeen, twenty-one, twenty-seven)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $20,000</p>
<p>Mega Millions</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $40 million</p>
<p>Pick 3 Evening</p>
<p>3-4-4</p>
<p>(three, four, four)</p>
<p>Pick 3 Midday</p>
<p>2-0-5</p>
<p>(two, zero, five)</p>
<p>Powerball</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $40 million</p>
<p>DENVER (AP) _ These Colorado lotteries were drawn Sunday:</p>
<p>Cash 5</p>
<p>11-12-17-21-27</p>
<p>(eleven, twelve, seventeen, twenty-one, twenty-seven)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $20,000</p>
<p>Mega Millions</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $40 million</p>
<p>Pick 3 Evening</p>
<p>3-4-4</p>
<p>(three, four, four)</p>
<p>Pick 3 Midday</p>
<p>2-0-5</p>
<p>(two, zero, five)</p>
<p>Powerball</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $40 million</p>
| 8,113 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>But dukkah – traditionally featuring hazelnuts ground in a mortar and pestle – has gone on a bit of a globe trot recently, initially surfacing in Australia and New Zealand.</p>
<p>Check out <a href="http://MariasFarmCountryKitchen.com" type="external">MariasFarmCountryKitchen.com</a> for the story of how Maria Rodale, an independent publisher of organic health and lifestyle books, discovered what she refers to as “dry dip” during her travels Down Under.</p>
<p>Now dukkah is starting to trend in the United States: The just-released cookbook “In a Nutshell” (W.W. Norton) by Cara Tannenbaum and Andrea Tutunjian offers a recipe with an international spin, combining Brazil nuts and hazelnuts with sesame and sunflower seeds and coconut flakes.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Trader Joe’s sells small jars of the condiment. Its version has distinctive anise notes, according to the blog Eating at Joe’s. The Kansas City Star’s recipe for Spicy Dukkah uses Trader Joe’s popular Thai Lime and Chili nuts, including cashews, almonds and peanuts, for a jump start.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>To eat dukkah, dip your chip, bread or crudité into olive oil and then coat with the nut/spice mixture. Dukkah is also delicious sprinkled on everything from eggs and pasta to roasted or fresh vegetables, or swirled into yogurt or salad dressings. It is also very good sprinkled on feta cheese and hummus.</p>
<p>Why all the hoopla over dukkah?</p>
<p>It’s high in protein and fiber with minimal saturated fat, cholesterol or sugar. Plus, when you use a food processor, it’s a snap to make a batch.</p>
<p>Spicy dukkah is a healthy dip for pita and veggies. (Tammy Ljungblad/Kansas City Star/MCT)</p>
<p>SPICY DUKKAH</p>
<p>Makes about 1½ cups</p>
<p>1 cup Thai Lime and Chili Almonds, Cashews or Peanuts (see shopping tip)</p>
<p>¼ cup sesame seeds</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>2 tablespoons whole coriander seeds</p>
<p>2 tablespoons cumin seed</p>
<p>1 teaspoon salt</p>
<p>Pita bread and crudites, for serving</p>
<p>Preheat oven to 375 degrees.</p>
<p>Spread nuts in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake 7 to 10 minutes or until toasted, stirring halfway through. (Toasting intensifies the flavor of nuts and seeds, but watch carefully so they don’t burn.)</p>
<p>Spread sesame seeds in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake 5 to 7 minutes or until toasted, stirring halfway through.</p>
<p>Spread coriander seeds and cumin seeds on a baking sheet and toast 5 to 8 minutes.</p>
<p>Allow all ingredients to cool completely.</p>
<p>Place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse about 15 times to chop mixture. Mixture can be coarse or fine as you prefer, but do not overprocess or mixture will turn to paste. You do not want a paste.</p>
<p>Store mixture in a covered container in refrigerator.</p>
<p>To serve, dip the edge of pita bread into olive oil, then into dukkah.</p>
<p>To add crudites, use any vegetables, including cauliflower, carrots, peppers, zucchini, radishes and blanched green beans. Arrange the crudites around several small bowls of dukkah and olive oil for dipping.</p>
<p>PER SERVING (3 teaspoons): 48 calories (73 percent from fat), 4 g total fat (1 g saturated), no cholesterol, 2 g carbohydrates, 1 g protein, 91 mg sodium, 1 g dietary fiber.</p>
<p>– Recipe developed for The Star by professional home economists Kathryn Moore and Roxanne Wyss</p>
<p />
|
For a new taste, dip into dukkah
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/471145/for-a-new-taste-dip-into-dukkah.html
| 2least
|
For a new taste, dip into dukkah
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>But dukkah – traditionally featuring hazelnuts ground in a mortar and pestle – has gone on a bit of a globe trot recently, initially surfacing in Australia and New Zealand.</p>
<p>Check out <a href="http://MariasFarmCountryKitchen.com" type="external">MariasFarmCountryKitchen.com</a> for the story of how Maria Rodale, an independent publisher of organic health and lifestyle books, discovered what she refers to as “dry dip” during her travels Down Under.</p>
<p>Now dukkah is starting to trend in the United States: The just-released cookbook “In a Nutshell” (W.W. Norton) by Cara Tannenbaum and Andrea Tutunjian offers a recipe with an international spin, combining Brazil nuts and hazelnuts with sesame and sunflower seeds and coconut flakes.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Trader Joe’s sells small jars of the condiment. Its version has distinctive anise notes, according to the blog Eating at Joe’s. The Kansas City Star’s recipe for Spicy Dukkah uses Trader Joe’s popular Thai Lime and Chili nuts, including cashews, almonds and peanuts, for a jump start.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>To eat dukkah, dip your chip, bread or crudité into olive oil and then coat with the nut/spice mixture. Dukkah is also delicious sprinkled on everything from eggs and pasta to roasted or fresh vegetables, or swirled into yogurt or salad dressings. It is also very good sprinkled on feta cheese and hummus.</p>
<p>Why all the hoopla over dukkah?</p>
<p>It’s high in protein and fiber with minimal saturated fat, cholesterol or sugar. Plus, when you use a food processor, it’s a snap to make a batch.</p>
<p>Spicy dukkah is a healthy dip for pita and veggies. (Tammy Ljungblad/Kansas City Star/MCT)</p>
<p>SPICY DUKKAH</p>
<p>Makes about 1½ cups</p>
<p>1 cup Thai Lime and Chili Almonds, Cashews or Peanuts (see shopping tip)</p>
<p>¼ cup sesame seeds</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>2 tablespoons whole coriander seeds</p>
<p>2 tablespoons cumin seed</p>
<p>1 teaspoon salt</p>
<p>Pita bread and crudites, for serving</p>
<p>Preheat oven to 375 degrees.</p>
<p>Spread nuts in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake 7 to 10 minutes or until toasted, stirring halfway through. (Toasting intensifies the flavor of nuts and seeds, but watch carefully so they don’t burn.)</p>
<p>Spread sesame seeds in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake 5 to 7 minutes or until toasted, stirring halfway through.</p>
<p>Spread coriander seeds and cumin seeds on a baking sheet and toast 5 to 8 minutes.</p>
<p>Allow all ingredients to cool completely.</p>
<p>Place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse about 15 times to chop mixture. Mixture can be coarse or fine as you prefer, but do not overprocess or mixture will turn to paste. You do not want a paste.</p>
<p>Store mixture in a covered container in refrigerator.</p>
<p>To serve, dip the edge of pita bread into olive oil, then into dukkah.</p>
<p>To add crudites, use any vegetables, including cauliflower, carrots, peppers, zucchini, radishes and blanched green beans. Arrange the crudites around several small bowls of dukkah and olive oil for dipping.</p>
<p>PER SERVING (3 teaspoons): 48 calories (73 percent from fat), 4 g total fat (1 g saturated), no cholesterol, 2 g carbohydrates, 1 g protein, 91 mg sodium, 1 g dietary fiber.</p>
<p>– Recipe developed for The Star by professional home economists Kathryn Moore and Roxanne Wyss</p>
<p />
| 8,114 |
|
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>I was in line behind one other customer. She was eating a muffin and drinking coffee while trying to unload groceries from her cart to the conveyor belt. I’m surprised she wasn’t also on her cell phone.</p>
<p>Her cart was full of loose fruit, which she hadn’t gone to the trouble to bag or separate as she put it onto the belt. The clerk was forced to sort a jumble of oranges, lemons and potatoes.</p>
<p>Then she learned that if she had selected six bottles of wine instead of four, she would get a discount. She sent an employee to the back of the store for two more bottles. All the while holding up the line.</p>
<p>When it was time to pay, she wanted to put the bill on two different credit cards, but she could only find one of them. She went to her car to get the other while I waited in line behind her for a total of 28 minutes.</p>
<p>Seriously? Shouldn’t she have more respect for the rest of us or does the world truly revolve around her?</p>
<p>A: Most of us have had those times in the grocery store when we’ve forgotten something or left our wallet in the car, and some of us are slower or faster than others, but some of the poor behavior you describe sounds regular and practiced.</p>
<p>Having a full basket and several coupons to use is one thing. A complete lack of concern for everyone around you is another.</p>
<p>Those in line at the grocery store should devote their attention to the task at hand as a courtesy to the clerk and other customers. Put the cell phone away and secure your drinks or snacks so that you can unload your cart efficiently. If you don’t like the idea of taking home more plastic bags, group your fruit and vegetables on the conveyor belt so that each group can be weighed at once.</p>
<p>Slowdowns at the grocery store can’t always be avoided, but as a courtesy to our fellow shoppers we should work to keep those to a minimum.</p>
<p>We should be prepared for the tasks involved in buying our groceries and do our best to remember all our items and our wallets. We should do it because we are considerate in every situation and everywhere we go.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Dear Thelma: I was at dinner with a group recently and the host asked one of the guests to select the wine for the group. I was so glad he didn’t ask me because I would have had no idea how expensive of a wine to choose.</p>
<p>If in that situation, how does one know what is the right amount to spend and what to order?</p>
<p>A: As a general rule, it’s appropriate to spend about as much on a bottle of wine as you would on one person’s complete dinner. If you are in a restaurant where the average meal is $40, then spend about $40 on the bottle of wine.</p>
<p>When selecting the type of wine, ask what others at the table prefer and what they are planning to order for dinner.</p>
<p>If most are planning to order dishes best paired with a red and one guest chooses a lighter entrée, ask that guest if he or she would like to order an individual glass of white wine while a bottle of red is shared at the table.</p>
<p>Like friendships and good wine, good manners never go out of style.</p>
<p>Agree or disagree with Thelma’s advice? Post your comments or ask a question about etiquette at thelmadomenici.com. Thelma Domenici is CEO of Thelma Domenici &amp; Associates, offering corporate coaching and contemporary social skills development programs to all ages.</p>
|
Be considerate of others in check-out line
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/249272/be-considerate-of-others-in-checkout-line.html
|
2013-08-18
| 2least
|
Be considerate of others in check-out line
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>I was in line behind one other customer. She was eating a muffin and drinking coffee while trying to unload groceries from her cart to the conveyor belt. I’m surprised she wasn’t also on her cell phone.</p>
<p>Her cart was full of loose fruit, which she hadn’t gone to the trouble to bag or separate as she put it onto the belt. The clerk was forced to sort a jumble of oranges, lemons and potatoes.</p>
<p>Then she learned that if she had selected six bottles of wine instead of four, she would get a discount. She sent an employee to the back of the store for two more bottles. All the while holding up the line.</p>
<p>When it was time to pay, she wanted to put the bill on two different credit cards, but she could only find one of them. She went to her car to get the other while I waited in line behind her for a total of 28 minutes.</p>
<p>Seriously? Shouldn’t she have more respect for the rest of us or does the world truly revolve around her?</p>
<p>A: Most of us have had those times in the grocery store when we’ve forgotten something or left our wallet in the car, and some of us are slower or faster than others, but some of the poor behavior you describe sounds regular and practiced.</p>
<p>Having a full basket and several coupons to use is one thing. A complete lack of concern for everyone around you is another.</p>
<p>Those in line at the grocery store should devote their attention to the task at hand as a courtesy to the clerk and other customers. Put the cell phone away and secure your drinks or snacks so that you can unload your cart efficiently. If you don’t like the idea of taking home more plastic bags, group your fruit and vegetables on the conveyor belt so that each group can be weighed at once.</p>
<p>Slowdowns at the grocery store can’t always be avoided, but as a courtesy to our fellow shoppers we should work to keep those to a minimum.</p>
<p>We should be prepared for the tasks involved in buying our groceries and do our best to remember all our items and our wallets. We should do it because we are considerate in every situation and everywhere we go.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Dear Thelma: I was at dinner with a group recently and the host asked one of the guests to select the wine for the group. I was so glad he didn’t ask me because I would have had no idea how expensive of a wine to choose.</p>
<p>If in that situation, how does one know what is the right amount to spend and what to order?</p>
<p>A: As a general rule, it’s appropriate to spend about as much on a bottle of wine as you would on one person’s complete dinner. If you are in a restaurant where the average meal is $40, then spend about $40 on the bottle of wine.</p>
<p>When selecting the type of wine, ask what others at the table prefer and what they are planning to order for dinner.</p>
<p>If most are planning to order dishes best paired with a red and one guest chooses a lighter entrée, ask that guest if he or she would like to order an individual glass of white wine while a bottle of red is shared at the table.</p>
<p>Like friendships and good wine, good manners never go out of style.</p>
<p>Agree or disagree with Thelma’s advice? Post your comments or ask a question about etiquette at thelmadomenici.com. Thelma Domenici is CEO of Thelma Domenici &amp; Associates, offering corporate coaching and contemporary social skills development programs to all ages.</p>
| 8,115 |
<p>The real task of the NSTL (National Socialist Teacher’s League)is to create the new German educator in the spirit of National Socialism. It is being carried out with the same methods with which the movement has conquered the whole nation: indoctrination and propaganda.</p>
<p>Statement of the German National Socialist Teacher’s League, 1933</p>
<p>This past week, I had the delightful opportunity of being interviewed for a soon-to-be-released documentary, “Beyond Five Senses”, which focuses on social justice, world events, and the simultaneous, hopeful evolution of human consciousness. The interview took place on the college campus where I teach U.S. history. As the crew set up cameras near a vintage classroom building, I noticed a large display of graffiti on the corner of the building which read: “Rethink patriotism.” I smiled, not only because it reminded me of my college years in the sixties, but because this particular campus is not known for its activism. The interviewer pitched me a number of astute questions like: Why do I think the people of the United States are in such denial about their country’s demise, how do I see history currently repeating itself, how do my students respond to what I teach them about U.S. history? The camera rolled, for one hour, during which time I was told to “just talk.”</p>
<p>On this cold, gray, winter day, I bundled my heavy coat around me and warmed myself with the stream of consciousness that seemed to flow effortlessly from my heart and mind as I watched students pass by and heard the faint chimes of the clock tower behind me. At the beginning of the interview, the cameraman filmed the graffiti on the bulding wall, and at the conclusion of the interview filmed the arrival of the campus maintenance crew and their application of fresh paint over the graffiti which removed all traces of it. Perhaps it had encouraged someone, somewhere to rethink patriotism. Certainly, we all did during the interview.</p>
<p>Little did I realize, however, that on that same day, another college professor in another state who had been teaching another subject was not being told to “just talk” but rather to shut up and leave his teaching position. That professor is Ward Churchill of the University of Colorado whose comments have been taken out of context and grossly distorted and who has now become a poster boy for “terrorist professors” by the neo-con, neo-fascist thought police of the cult which journalist Seymour Hersh recently declared has taken over America.</p>
<p>However, I did not need the Ward Churchill affair nor Seymour Hersh’s assessment to deduce that higher education in the United States is dying a slow and tragic death. I relive that death every day in my classes as I witness students who are unable to define the word democracy, who tell me that “we did what we had to do in Iraq”, and who have little idea that when they leave college, they will discover that the job they now believe will help them repay the $30,000 student loan that allows them to attend college, will have been outsourced to a third-world country. As my classes have more students enrolled in them every semester as a result of hoardes of unemployed people attending or returning to college, I wonder how long it will take for unprecedented enrollment numbers to dry up as graduates realize that no professional jobs exist and as the middle class of America is destroyed. Young people will increasingly discover that there is little purpose in going to college. After all, who needs a degree to work at Walmart or Target?</p>
<p>Out of the corporation-dominated high school comes the graduate who received virtually no education but rather, learned how to pass an exit test created, printed, and administered by McGraw-Hill, or some other publishing collosus with close ties to the Bush Administration. Typically, this student despises reading because he or she never had to do much of it in school, questions virtually nothing because critical thinking and questioning were discouraged in high school, and who has little curiosity and often little interest in college except the acquiring of a piece of paper”the panacea parent-pleaser and magical employment magnet that will guarantee “infinite happiness.”</p>
<p>Increasingly, these young people will lack the funds for a college education, hence the “poverty draft” in which going to war will be the only way they can participate in higher education. When, not if, the general military draft is reinstated and these young people (men and women) hold draft cards in their hands, the horrors from which their corporation-dominated non-education shielded them will shatter their worlds.</p>
<p>Some of us who “profess” to have something to teach in higher education would like to make the demolition of these young psyches and bodies a little less traumatic by telling the truth about their world right now and teaching them how to think, question, problem-solve, and prepare for the increasingly hellish existence that their elders have allowed to evolve.</p>
<p>However, when we do so, we are called “terrorists”, “subversives”, “unpatriotic”, and “criminal.” The degree to which this development parallels the educational scenario of Germany in the 1930s cannot be overstated. Obviously, the Nazi approach was conformity or termination. Teachers who did not conform were arrested and incarcerated in concentration camps, and Jewish professors were deported. Eventually, the Nazi Party dominated the teaching profession by dictating who entered it and who got promoted. By the 1940s, the Nazis had a completely compliant cadre of teachers and professors.</p>
<p>The National Socialist Teachers, League was a professional organization for teachers to ideologically train them and make certain that their teaching conformed with National Socialist doctrine. Without membership in the NSTL, it was virtually impossible to be employed as a teacher. Ayran ancestry had to be proven, and teachers were forced to report the loyalty or disloyalty of their colleagues to the Nazi Party. Reports were then used for appointments, new positions, and promotions.</p>
<p>In 1995, Lynne Cheney and so-called liberal, Senator Joseph Lieberman founded the American Council of Trustees and Alumni. According to Roberto Gonzalez of the San Jose Mercury News, the Council’s report “Defending Civilization: How Our Universities Are Failing America,” appears to protect academic freedom but actually resembles a blacklist. “In a chilling use of doublespeak,” says Gonzalez, “it affirms the right of professors to speak out, yet condemns those who have attempted to give context to Sept. 11, encourage critical thinking, or share knowledge about other cultures. Faculty are accused of being short on patriotism, for attempting to give students the analytical tools they need to become informed citizens.”</p>
<p>“Many of those blacklisted are top scholars in their fields, and it appears that the report represents a kind of academic terrorism designed to strike fear into other academics by making examples of respected professors.”</p>
<p>“The report might also function to extend control over sites of democratic debate — our universities — where freedom of expression is not only permitted but encouraged.”</p>
<p>Only a few hours after my interview, I entered a class where we have been working on a critical thinking project on September 11, 2001. For several weeks, students have been researching both mainstream and alternative press reports of the event and the issues surrounding it. For that particular class session, I showed an excellent documentary “Hijacking Catastrophe” which carefully explains and substantiates the evidence for the Bush Administration’s political exploitation of the 9-11 event as a pretext for the Iraq War. During that hour, my students saw and heard information to which they had never been exposed in mainstream media.</p>
<p>As I approached the class for discussion after the viewing of the documentary, I noticed faces in the audience that were pale and seemingly in shock. As I invited questions, I found the students to be almost speechless. They were unable to comprehend how it was that they had never seen or heard this information in print or electronic media. It was as if the truth came flooding in faster than they could process it, and I momentarily reflected on the question asked me in the interview a few hours earlier: “Why do you think the people of the United States are in denial?” One student became visibly enraged and began pounding on his desk and cursing and almost shouting: “I want to know why we aren’t allowed to see this kind of information in mainstream news. I feel betrayed, used. I feel like my government is more dangerous than the terrorists.” Other students began sharing painful stories of friends who had died in the Iraq War or those who had come back from it psychologically decimated. Still other students expressed anger and frustration that their high schools had never taught them critical thinking skills but only required them to pass competency tests in order to graduate.</p>
<p>Each time I have this kind of discussion with students, I remind them of something else they have never been taught”what our founding fathers believed about government. Almost without exception, they have never heard that Jefferson, Madison, Adams, and the majority of the founding fathers passionately distrusted government, believing that it is a necessary evil”that government is necessary for the protection and well being of citizens, but that inevitably, it will betray them. For this reason, the fathers insisted, citizens must be educated, informed, and highly vigilant. Therefore, mistrust of government is not unpatriotic, but rather, the essence of what our founding fathers believed as they constructed our Constitution, and that very mistrust dictated the kind of Constitution they created.</p>
<p>Referring to her book America: A Patriotic Primer, <a href="" type="internal">Lynne Cheney states</a>: “It seems to me that the most important thing to do now is to look at the neglected area of American history teaching.” I couldn’t agree more, but then she adds, “When you know the story of this country, that makes it pretty clear what it is we’re standing for.”</p>
<p>Apparently, she has never read what our founding fathers actually said about government:</p>
<p>“There is danger from all men. The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with power to endanger the public liberty.””John Adams</p>
<p>“Government is not reason, it is not eloquence — it is force.” — George Washington</p>
<p>“The two enemies of the people are criminals and government, so let us tie the second down with the chains of the Constitution so the second will not become the legalized version of the first.”– Thomas Jefferson</p>
<p>“It is to secure our rights that we resort to government at all. ” — Thomas Jefferson</p>
<p>Inherent in the founding of our nation was an implicit distrust of government and the guiding principle that government should serve human beings, instead of human beings serving government. Higher education in the United States has provided an arena for the free discussion and interchange of ideas. As I frequently remind my students, college is not church. In church, we recite creeds and confess ideologies; in college we explore and discuss diverse ideas.</p>
<p>What makes higher education “higher” is that it is a venue for considering all ideas, no matter how bizarre, how ridiculous, or how blasphemous. If one wishes to guarantee uniformity and conformity in higher education, then it is no longer “higher”, and the First Amendment of the Constitution is dead.</p>
<p>The intellectual skills of questioning, critical thinking, problem-solving, and imagination are inimical to the ideology of the neo-fascist, Christian fundamentalist cultists who now dominate the current administration and American culture. I submit that they would not espouse such ideology if they permitted themselves to think critically. Whether one is a follower of Jim Jones, David Koresh, or Lynne Cheney, one cannot and will not think critically when enslaved by ideology.</p>
<p>The neo-conservative, neo-fascist standard for higher education is a mirror-image of German education in the 1930s. It is indeed time to “rethink patriotism.” It is indeed time to hear what Ward Churchill actually said. If one cannot do so, then one can neither call oneself “American” nor “educated.”</p>
<p>CAROLYN BAKER teaches at New Mexico State University. She can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
|
Ward Churchill and the Attack on American Higher Education
| true |
https://counterpunch.org/2005/02/07/ward-churchill-and-the-attack-on-american-higher-education/
|
2005-02-07
| 4left
|
Ward Churchill and the Attack on American Higher Education
<p>The real task of the NSTL (National Socialist Teacher’s League)is to create the new German educator in the spirit of National Socialism. It is being carried out with the same methods with which the movement has conquered the whole nation: indoctrination and propaganda.</p>
<p>Statement of the German National Socialist Teacher’s League, 1933</p>
<p>This past week, I had the delightful opportunity of being interviewed for a soon-to-be-released documentary, “Beyond Five Senses”, which focuses on social justice, world events, and the simultaneous, hopeful evolution of human consciousness. The interview took place on the college campus where I teach U.S. history. As the crew set up cameras near a vintage classroom building, I noticed a large display of graffiti on the corner of the building which read: “Rethink patriotism.” I smiled, not only because it reminded me of my college years in the sixties, but because this particular campus is not known for its activism. The interviewer pitched me a number of astute questions like: Why do I think the people of the United States are in such denial about their country’s demise, how do I see history currently repeating itself, how do my students respond to what I teach them about U.S. history? The camera rolled, for one hour, during which time I was told to “just talk.”</p>
<p>On this cold, gray, winter day, I bundled my heavy coat around me and warmed myself with the stream of consciousness that seemed to flow effortlessly from my heart and mind as I watched students pass by and heard the faint chimes of the clock tower behind me. At the beginning of the interview, the cameraman filmed the graffiti on the bulding wall, and at the conclusion of the interview filmed the arrival of the campus maintenance crew and their application of fresh paint over the graffiti which removed all traces of it. Perhaps it had encouraged someone, somewhere to rethink patriotism. Certainly, we all did during the interview.</p>
<p>Little did I realize, however, that on that same day, another college professor in another state who had been teaching another subject was not being told to “just talk” but rather to shut up and leave his teaching position. That professor is Ward Churchill of the University of Colorado whose comments have been taken out of context and grossly distorted and who has now become a poster boy for “terrorist professors” by the neo-con, neo-fascist thought police of the cult which journalist Seymour Hersh recently declared has taken over America.</p>
<p>However, I did not need the Ward Churchill affair nor Seymour Hersh’s assessment to deduce that higher education in the United States is dying a slow and tragic death. I relive that death every day in my classes as I witness students who are unable to define the word democracy, who tell me that “we did what we had to do in Iraq”, and who have little idea that when they leave college, they will discover that the job they now believe will help them repay the $30,000 student loan that allows them to attend college, will have been outsourced to a third-world country. As my classes have more students enrolled in them every semester as a result of hoardes of unemployed people attending or returning to college, I wonder how long it will take for unprecedented enrollment numbers to dry up as graduates realize that no professional jobs exist and as the middle class of America is destroyed. Young people will increasingly discover that there is little purpose in going to college. After all, who needs a degree to work at Walmart or Target?</p>
<p>Out of the corporation-dominated high school comes the graduate who received virtually no education but rather, learned how to pass an exit test created, printed, and administered by McGraw-Hill, or some other publishing collosus with close ties to the Bush Administration. Typically, this student despises reading because he or she never had to do much of it in school, questions virtually nothing because critical thinking and questioning were discouraged in high school, and who has little curiosity and often little interest in college except the acquiring of a piece of paper”the panacea parent-pleaser and magical employment magnet that will guarantee “infinite happiness.”</p>
<p>Increasingly, these young people will lack the funds for a college education, hence the “poverty draft” in which going to war will be the only way they can participate in higher education. When, not if, the general military draft is reinstated and these young people (men and women) hold draft cards in their hands, the horrors from which their corporation-dominated non-education shielded them will shatter their worlds.</p>
<p>Some of us who “profess” to have something to teach in higher education would like to make the demolition of these young psyches and bodies a little less traumatic by telling the truth about their world right now and teaching them how to think, question, problem-solve, and prepare for the increasingly hellish existence that their elders have allowed to evolve.</p>
<p>However, when we do so, we are called “terrorists”, “subversives”, “unpatriotic”, and “criminal.” The degree to which this development parallels the educational scenario of Germany in the 1930s cannot be overstated. Obviously, the Nazi approach was conformity or termination. Teachers who did not conform were arrested and incarcerated in concentration camps, and Jewish professors were deported. Eventually, the Nazi Party dominated the teaching profession by dictating who entered it and who got promoted. By the 1940s, the Nazis had a completely compliant cadre of teachers and professors.</p>
<p>The National Socialist Teachers, League was a professional organization for teachers to ideologically train them and make certain that their teaching conformed with National Socialist doctrine. Without membership in the NSTL, it was virtually impossible to be employed as a teacher. Ayran ancestry had to be proven, and teachers were forced to report the loyalty or disloyalty of their colleagues to the Nazi Party. Reports were then used for appointments, new positions, and promotions.</p>
<p>In 1995, Lynne Cheney and so-called liberal, Senator Joseph Lieberman founded the American Council of Trustees and Alumni. According to Roberto Gonzalez of the San Jose Mercury News, the Council’s report “Defending Civilization: How Our Universities Are Failing America,” appears to protect academic freedom but actually resembles a blacklist. “In a chilling use of doublespeak,” says Gonzalez, “it affirms the right of professors to speak out, yet condemns those who have attempted to give context to Sept. 11, encourage critical thinking, or share knowledge about other cultures. Faculty are accused of being short on patriotism, for attempting to give students the analytical tools they need to become informed citizens.”</p>
<p>“Many of those blacklisted are top scholars in their fields, and it appears that the report represents a kind of academic terrorism designed to strike fear into other academics by making examples of respected professors.”</p>
<p>“The report might also function to extend control over sites of democratic debate — our universities — where freedom of expression is not only permitted but encouraged.”</p>
<p>Only a few hours after my interview, I entered a class where we have been working on a critical thinking project on September 11, 2001. For several weeks, students have been researching both mainstream and alternative press reports of the event and the issues surrounding it. For that particular class session, I showed an excellent documentary “Hijacking Catastrophe” which carefully explains and substantiates the evidence for the Bush Administration’s political exploitation of the 9-11 event as a pretext for the Iraq War. During that hour, my students saw and heard information to which they had never been exposed in mainstream media.</p>
<p>As I approached the class for discussion after the viewing of the documentary, I noticed faces in the audience that were pale and seemingly in shock. As I invited questions, I found the students to be almost speechless. They were unable to comprehend how it was that they had never seen or heard this information in print or electronic media. It was as if the truth came flooding in faster than they could process it, and I momentarily reflected on the question asked me in the interview a few hours earlier: “Why do you think the people of the United States are in denial?” One student became visibly enraged and began pounding on his desk and cursing and almost shouting: “I want to know why we aren’t allowed to see this kind of information in mainstream news. I feel betrayed, used. I feel like my government is more dangerous than the terrorists.” Other students began sharing painful stories of friends who had died in the Iraq War or those who had come back from it psychologically decimated. Still other students expressed anger and frustration that their high schools had never taught them critical thinking skills but only required them to pass competency tests in order to graduate.</p>
<p>Each time I have this kind of discussion with students, I remind them of something else they have never been taught”what our founding fathers believed about government. Almost without exception, they have never heard that Jefferson, Madison, Adams, and the majority of the founding fathers passionately distrusted government, believing that it is a necessary evil”that government is necessary for the protection and well being of citizens, but that inevitably, it will betray them. For this reason, the fathers insisted, citizens must be educated, informed, and highly vigilant. Therefore, mistrust of government is not unpatriotic, but rather, the essence of what our founding fathers believed as they constructed our Constitution, and that very mistrust dictated the kind of Constitution they created.</p>
<p>Referring to her book America: A Patriotic Primer, <a href="" type="internal">Lynne Cheney states</a>: “It seems to me that the most important thing to do now is to look at the neglected area of American history teaching.” I couldn’t agree more, but then she adds, “When you know the story of this country, that makes it pretty clear what it is we’re standing for.”</p>
<p>Apparently, she has never read what our founding fathers actually said about government:</p>
<p>“There is danger from all men. The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with power to endanger the public liberty.””John Adams</p>
<p>“Government is not reason, it is not eloquence — it is force.” — George Washington</p>
<p>“The two enemies of the people are criminals and government, so let us tie the second down with the chains of the Constitution so the second will not become the legalized version of the first.”– Thomas Jefferson</p>
<p>“It is to secure our rights that we resort to government at all. ” — Thomas Jefferson</p>
<p>Inherent in the founding of our nation was an implicit distrust of government and the guiding principle that government should serve human beings, instead of human beings serving government. Higher education in the United States has provided an arena for the free discussion and interchange of ideas. As I frequently remind my students, college is not church. In church, we recite creeds and confess ideologies; in college we explore and discuss diverse ideas.</p>
<p>What makes higher education “higher” is that it is a venue for considering all ideas, no matter how bizarre, how ridiculous, or how blasphemous. If one wishes to guarantee uniformity and conformity in higher education, then it is no longer “higher”, and the First Amendment of the Constitution is dead.</p>
<p>The intellectual skills of questioning, critical thinking, problem-solving, and imagination are inimical to the ideology of the neo-fascist, Christian fundamentalist cultists who now dominate the current administration and American culture. I submit that they would not espouse such ideology if they permitted themselves to think critically. Whether one is a follower of Jim Jones, David Koresh, or Lynne Cheney, one cannot and will not think critically when enslaved by ideology.</p>
<p>The neo-conservative, neo-fascist standard for higher education is a mirror-image of German education in the 1930s. It is indeed time to “rethink patriotism.” It is indeed time to hear what Ward Churchill actually said. If one cannot do so, then one can neither call oneself “American” nor “educated.”</p>
<p>CAROLYN BAKER teaches at New Mexico State University. She can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
| 8,116 |
<p>WASHINGTON, D.C. — Fourteen years ago, at the height of the Balkan wars, many feared that all of Southeastern Europe could be engulfed in sectarian violence. Thankfully, bold diplomacy in Dayton, Ohio, and NATO airstrikes over Sarajevo brought an end to genocide.</p>
<p>The worst predictions of the 1990s didn’t come true. Unfortunately, neither did the vision of a prosperous Bosnia at peace with itself.</p>
<p>That job remains unfinished. As American, European and Bosnian officials discuss Bosnia’s present political problems and future integration into Europe, the transatlantic community must once again act boldly to help the country overcome its grisly past.</p>
<p>Since the Dayton Accords ended the war, the international community has spent more than $17 billion in aid. And yet the country’s ethnic Croat, Serb and Bosniak politicians squabble in stalemate as their people suffer endemic corruption. Unemployment hovers around 40 percent. The acrimony and lack of progress carry with them a haunting sense that, for all its progress, Bosnia is not quite out of the woods.</p>
<p>The way forward is clear. Bosnia must be better integrated with its European neighbors. Bosnia’s integration into the European Union and NATO promises to enhance security, reduce unemployment, eliminate travel barriers and deepen cooperation in the Western Balkans.</p>
<p>I support Bosnia’s accession to the European Union, but unfortunately that process has made little headway. NATO membership has a proven record of promoting political progress across Eastern and Central Europe, and it could do the same for Bosnia-Herzegovina, too.</p>
<p>Several months ago I introduced the “Western Balkans Support Act of 2009” in the Senate. It called on the allies to leverage the prospect of eventual NATO membership for Bosnia. Along with EU membership, this can help bring about much-needed political and institutional reforms required to meet conditions for membership.</p>
<p>American, EU and Bosnian officials recently met at Camp Butmir to seek just such an agreement. While details of the proposal remain unclear, the statements of Western diplomats suggest that a grand bargain may be in the works to remove existing international oversight mechanisms to offer Bosnia greater sovereignty in exchange for an agreement between its factions to end Bosnia’s political deadlock and agree on vitally-needed reforms.</p>
<p>In some ways, Bosnia’s political present is a prisoner of a past agreement that must be modified. The Dayton Peace Agreement that ended the war organized Bosnia as a loose federation accountable to two predominately Bosniak and Serb entities, each of which can effectively veto federal legislation. An international representative acts as a referee.</p>
<p>This system has kept the peace, but it depends on outside intervention for stability, and its entity-based voting system can discourage cross-ethnic compromise and drive the country’s politics to the extreme. Today, some ethnically Bosniak leaders call for abolishing the Bosnian Serb entity, and Serb leaders threaten to secede.</p>
<p>The international community’s final presence in Bosnia’s government, the Office of the High Representative, is scheduled to be abolished in November, pending completion of a series of agreed reforms. At this inflection point for Bosnia, steps toward NATO and EU membership are not only excellent opportunities for Europe and America to continue to provide badly needed international guidance—they are sweeteners to encourage domestic cooperation and help keep the peace.</p>
<p>Already, NATO-led defense reforms have shown results, helping Bosnia to create an integrated military that is a model for building effective state institutions and a credible partner for the alliance.</p>
<p>We made the military investment in Bosnia’s success, we have made the financial investment in her reconstruction, now is the time for a final investment of diplomacy to prevent a potentially destabilizing crisis in the future.</p>
<p>America and Europe can work together to restore our historic role as credible, impartial and committed mediators. We can encourage constitutional discussions among Bosnia’s leaders on the future of the state and hold them accountable for any irresponsible or illegal acts. But ultimately, the buck will stop with Bosnia’s leaders. They are the ones who must commit to a compromise that can propel Bosnia into a peaceful European future.</p>
<p>The entire Western Balkans will be made more stable by helping Bosnia reach its goal of NATO membership. Serbia is an important part of that process despite its tumultuous history with the alliance. As Vice President Joe Biden correctly stated during his visit to Belgrade, the inclusion of ethnic Serbs from Bosnia in NATO will help assuage Serbia’s leftover suspicion of NATO, promoting Serbia’s own Euro-Atlantic aspirations.</p>
<p>In the 1990s NATO demonstrated through its military commitments that the security of the Western Balkans is essential to the security of Europe. Now it can build a lasting peace through diplomacy. Just as it did with France and Germany decades ago, the NATO alliance can once again cement peaceful relations by turning onetime adversaries into NATO allies.</p>
<p>Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) is the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.</p>
|
Sen. Kerry: NATO membership would stabilize Bosnia
| false |
https://pri.org/stories/2009-10-15/sen-kerry-nato-membership-would-stabilize-bosnia
|
2009-10-15
| 3left-center
|
Sen. Kerry: NATO membership would stabilize Bosnia
<p>WASHINGTON, D.C. — Fourteen years ago, at the height of the Balkan wars, many feared that all of Southeastern Europe could be engulfed in sectarian violence. Thankfully, bold diplomacy in Dayton, Ohio, and NATO airstrikes over Sarajevo brought an end to genocide.</p>
<p>The worst predictions of the 1990s didn’t come true. Unfortunately, neither did the vision of a prosperous Bosnia at peace with itself.</p>
<p>That job remains unfinished. As American, European and Bosnian officials discuss Bosnia’s present political problems and future integration into Europe, the transatlantic community must once again act boldly to help the country overcome its grisly past.</p>
<p>Since the Dayton Accords ended the war, the international community has spent more than $17 billion in aid. And yet the country’s ethnic Croat, Serb and Bosniak politicians squabble in stalemate as their people suffer endemic corruption. Unemployment hovers around 40 percent. The acrimony and lack of progress carry with them a haunting sense that, for all its progress, Bosnia is not quite out of the woods.</p>
<p>The way forward is clear. Bosnia must be better integrated with its European neighbors. Bosnia’s integration into the European Union and NATO promises to enhance security, reduce unemployment, eliminate travel barriers and deepen cooperation in the Western Balkans.</p>
<p>I support Bosnia’s accession to the European Union, but unfortunately that process has made little headway. NATO membership has a proven record of promoting political progress across Eastern and Central Europe, and it could do the same for Bosnia-Herzegovina, too.</p>
<p>Several months ago I introduced the “Western Balkans Support Act of 2009” in the Senate. It called on the allies to leverage the prospect of eventual NATO membership for Bosnia. Along with EU membership, this can help bring about much-needed political and institutional reforms required to meet conditions for membership.</p>
<p>American, EU and Bosnian officials recently met at Camp Butmir to seek just such an agreement. While details of the proposal remain unclear, the statements of Western diplomats suggest that a grand bargain may be in the works to remove existing international oversight mechanisms to offer Bosnia greater sovereignty in exchange for an agreement between its factions to end Bosnia’s political deadlock and agree on vitally-needed reforms.</p>
<p>In some ways, Bosnia’s political present is a prisoner of a past agreement that must be modified. The Dayton Peace Agreement that ended the war organized Bosnia as a loose federation accountable to two predominately Bosniak and Serb entities, each of which can effectively veto federal legislation. An international representative acts as a referee.</p>
<p>This system has kept the peace, but it depends on outside intervention for stability, and its entity-based voting system can discourage cross-ethnic compromise and drive the country’s politics to the extreme. Today, some ethnically Bosniak leaders call for abolishing the Bosnian Serb entity, and Serb leaders threaten to secede.</p>
<p>The international community’s final presence in Bosnia’s government, the Office of the High Representative, is scheduled to be abolished in November, pending completion of a series of agreed reforms. At this inflection point for Bosnia, steps toward NATO and EU membership are not only excellent opportunities for Europe and America to continue to provide badly needed international guidance—they are sweeteners to encourage domestic cooperation and help keep the peace.</p>
<p>Already, NATO-led defense reforms have shown results, helping Bosnia to create an integrated military that is a model for building effective state institutions and a credible partner for the alliance.</p>
<p>We made the military investment in Bosnia’s success, we have made the financial investment in her reconstruction, now is the time for a final investment of diplomacy to prevent a potentially destabilizing crisis in the future.</p>
<p>America and Europe can work together to restore our historic role as credible, impartial and committed mediators. We can encourage constitutional discussions among Bosnia’s leaders on the future of the state and hold them accountable for any irresponsible or illegal acts. But ultimately, the buck will stop with Bosnia’s leaders. They are the ones who must commit to a compromise that can propel Bosnia into a peaceful European future.</p>
<p>The entire Western Balkans will be made more stable by helping Bosnia reach its goal of NATO membership. Serbia is an important part of that process despite its tumultuous history with the alliance. As Vice President Joe Biden correctly stated during his visit to Belgrade, the inclusion of ethnic Serbs from Bosnia in NATO will help assuage Serbia’s leftover suspicion of NATO, promoting Serbia’s own Euro-Atlantic aspirations.</p>
<p>In the 1990s NATO demonstrated through its military commitments that the security of the Western Balkans is essential to the security of Europe. Now it can build a lasting peace through diplomacy. Just as it did with France and Germany decades ago, the NATO alliance can once again cement peaceful relations by turning onetime adversaries into NATO allies.</p>
<p>Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) is the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.</p>
| 8,117 |
<p>Ted Nugent, the musician and gun rights activist who last year told an audience at an NRA conference that he’d end up “dead or in jail” if President Obama was re-elected, will attend Tuesday evening’s State of the Union address as the guest of Rep. Steve Stockman, R-Texas.</p>
<p>But rest assured, the staunch Obama critic told The New York Times that he would not be carrying any weapons to the speech. “I will go in at least 20 pounds lighter than I normally walk,” Nugent said. “I will be going in sans the hardware store on my belt. I live a well-armed life, and I’ve got to demilitarize before I go.”</p>
<p>The New York Times:</p>
<p>In a telephone interview from his ranch in Texas on Monday, Mr. Nugent said that he planned to sit in the House of Representatives gallery during the president’s speech and that he would hold a news conference afterward, an event that seemed likely to turn the decorous setting of the State of the Union into a tabloid spectacle.</p>
<p />
<p>But Mr. Nugent, an avid hunter and gun collector who once flirted with running for governor of Michigan, insisted that he would be on his best behavior.</p>
<p>“I will be there with a deep, abiding respect for the office of the presidency,” he said. “I’m not here to represent any specific cause other than freedom and independence and ‘we the people.’ ”</p>
<p><a href="http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/11/ted-nugent-will-attend-state-of-the-union-address/" type="external">Read more</a></p>
<p>— Posted by <a href="" type="internal">Tracy Bloom</a>.</p>
|
Ted Nugent to 'Demilitarize' Before Attending State of the Union
| true |
https://truthdig.com/articles/ted-nugent-to-demilitarize-before-attending-state-of-the-union/
|
2013-02-13
| 4left
|
Ted Nugent to 'Demilitarize' Before Attending State of the Union
<p>Ted Nugent, the musician and gun rights activist who last year told an audience at an NRA conference that he’d end up “dead or in jail” if President Obama was re-elected, will attend Tuesday evening’s State of the Union address as the guest of Rep. Steve Stockman, R-Texas.</p>
<p>But rest assured, the staunch Obama critic told The New York Times that he would not be carrying any weapons to the speech. “I will go in at least 20 pounds lighter than I normally walk,” Nugent said. “I will be going in sans the hardware store on my belt. I live a well-armed life, and I’ve got to demilitarize before I go.”</p>
<p>The New York Times:</p>
<p>In a telephone interview from his ranch in Texas on Monday, Mr. Nugent said that he planned to sit in the House of Representatives gallery during the president’s speech and that he would hold a news conference afterward, an event that seemed likely to turn the decorous setting of the State of the Union into a tabloid spectacle.</p>
<p />
<p>But Mr. Nugent, an avid hunter and gun collector who once flirted with running for governor of Michigan, insisted that he would be on his best behavior.</p>
<p>“I will be there with a deep, abiding respect for the office of the presidency,” he said. “I’m not here to represent any specific cause other than freedom and independence and ‘we the people.’ ”</p>
<p><a href="http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/11/ted-nugent-will-attend-state-of-the-union-address/" type="external">Read more</a></p>
<p>— Posted by <a href="" type="internal">Tracy Bloom</a>.</p>
| 8,118 |
<p>Top News: President Barack Obama's Air Force One is expected to touch down in Mumbai on Nov. 6, the <a href="http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/obamas-wanted-to-celebrate-diwali-in-india-64177" type="external">night of Diwali</a>, India's colorful festival of lights. Political topics like Afghanistan and Pakistan and even terrorism are likely to take a back seat to <a href="http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/southasia/features/article_1596300.php/Obama-looks-for-economic-opportunity-in-India-Asia-Feature" type="external">economics in the discussions</a> during the three-day presidential visit. India's Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said India is not expecting any "big bang" outcomes from the visit, though White House officials have stressed that the Obama will discuss opening up India's market to American businesses. The more Indians buying American products and services, the more the pay off for the U.S. economy <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/Shopping-For-Jobs/articleshow/6866537.cms" type="external">in terms of jobs</a>, they said.</p>
<p>Another topic expected to figure in the talks is the recently signed India-U.S. Civil Nuclear Agreement.&#160; Despite U.S. pressure, India is <a href="http://sify.com/news/india-not-ready-to-budge-on-nuclear-liability-bill-news-national-kkyvkdggiaa.html" type="external">unlikely to alter</a> an accident liability clause that its parliament recently enacted. The liability clause is making global nuclear equipment makers and suppliers nervous despite the juicy prospect of entering a $125 billion nuclear energy market in India. Another key area of interest is likely to be the opening up of <a href="http://www.deccanherald.com/content/110180/us-may-push-retail-fdi.html" type="external">India's retail sector</a> to overseas retailers such as Walmart waiting impatiently to enter the market.&#160;</p>
<p>Perhaps to mark the turn in the relationship between the two countries, the Obamas will be entertained by Bollywood's <a href="http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/sholay-s-yeh-dosti-to-be-sung-for-obamas-64170" type="external">evergreen ode to friendship</a> from the blockbuster cult classic Sholay. The song "Yeh Dosti Hum Nahin Todenge? ("We Will Not Break This Friendship") will be performed by the Shillong Chamber Choir at the presidential banquet on Nov. 8.</p>
<p>India's <a href="http://www.hindustantimes.com/BJP-slams-Congress-for-its-silence-on-scams/Article1-621374.aspx" type="external">ruling Congress Party was rocked</a> by yet another corruption scandal, this time in Mumbai. Apartments in the city's posh Colaba neighborhood, among the world's most expensive real estate, were meant for war widows and veterans. But the <a href="http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-s-creed-of-greed/Article1-621860.aspx" type="external">Adarsh Housing Society</a> soared to 31 floors flouting regulations, and then the flats were sold at throwaway prices to a bunch of top politicians, their relatives and retired generals. India's <a href="http://sify.com/news/corruption-nepotism-charges-would-be-dealt-after-due-investigation-digvijay-singh-news-national-klcukddfedg.html" type="external">defense and finance ministries are investigating</a>. Among the alleged benefactors of the largesse is the mother-in-law of Ashok Chavan, the chief minister of Maharashtra state of which Mumbai is the capital. <a href="http://netindian.in/news/2010/10/30/0008509/maharashtra-cm-chavan-offers-quit-housing-scam" type="external">Chavan, the official host</a> to the Obama couple in Mumbai, has offered to quit.</p>
<p>From one corruption scandal to another. Hundreds of tax inspectors <a href="http://www.telegraphindia.com/1101029/jsp/nation/story_13114377.jsp" type="external">raided dozens of offices across India</a> to probe allegations of corruption linked to New Delhi Commonwealth Games that concluded in mid-October. Companies contracted to provide training equipment, landscaping and sports surfaces were among those raided in New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Bangalore. The Games were fouled up by corruption, organizational hiccups, shoddy work and an inflated budget of over $6 billion. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, under pressure to act amidst public outrage, <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Noose-tightens-as-I-T-raids-60-offices-of-Games-vendors/articleshow/6830530.cms" type="external">set up a panel to investigate</a> charges of financial irregularities. Other government agencies are running parallel probes.</p>
<p>Money:&#160;Despite rising national security concerns, India <a href="http://www.h-online.com/security/news/item/RIM-averts-BlackBerry-ban-in-India-1129442.html" type="external">withdrew its threat to ban Blackberry services</a>. The country has over 1.5 million Blackberry users. India's Home ministry said the Canada-based Blackberry-maker Research in Motion has <a href="http://www.h-online.com/security/news/item/RIM-averts-BlackBerry-ban-in-India-1129442.html" type="external">agreed to an interim arrangement</a> for lawful interception of Blackberry messenger services. A more permanent solution will come <a href="http://www.berryreview.com/2010/10/13/india-extends-blackberry-ban-deadline-to-january-31st/" type="external">after January</a> next year. India and a few other countries had threatened to ban corporate email and messenger services if RIM did not allow government monitoring of these services. Besides RIM, India is insisting that all companies that provided encrypted communications, such as Google and Skype, install servers in the country to provide easy government access to users' data.&#160;</p>
<p>An Indian family of five is set to move into the <a href="http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/116301/India/mukesh-ambani-all-set-to-move-into-worlds-costliest-house.html" type="external">world's most expensive home</a>,&#160;towering 27 floors above the Arabian Sea in Mumbai and valued at $2 billion. Antilia is the new home of <a href="http://www.indiamag.in/mukesh-ambanis-antilla-is-costliest-but-not-in-forbes-list.html" type="external">India's richest man, Mukesh Ambani</a>, the head of the Reliance industrial conglomerate, his wife Nita and their three children. The building has parking for 160 cars, several floors of dwellings for <a href="http://www.favstocks.com/mukesh-ambani-builds-an-aggressively-opulent-home/0227415/" type="external">600-member domestic staff</a>, health clubs, dance studios, a ball room and a 50-seater cinema. There is even a garden with enough ceiling space to fit in small trees. The roof has three helipads.&#160;</p>
<p>India's <a href="http://profit.ndtv.com/news/show/coal-india-poised-for-super-listing-118142?trendingnow" type="external">largest public offering</a>, a record $3.5 billion, attracted investors by the million. The IPO of Coal India attracted bids for <a href="http://www.businessreviewindia.in/sectors/bombay-nse-india-india/coal-india-ipo-success-story" type="external">more than 15 times</a> the shares on offer, as investors bought into the country's top coal supplier in an economy that heavily relies on coal-fired energy. At its offer price alone, Coal India is <a href="http://www.indiainfoline.com/Markets/News/Coal-India-gears-for-grand-listing/4983221628" type="external">worth $35 billion</a>, taking it to the top 10 of India's listed companies.</p>
<p>Elsewhere:&#160;Stray animals and Indian streets go hand in hand. Drivers not only have to battle unruly motorist and pedestrians darting across the streets, but they also have to contend with stray cattle, dog, pigs, and even sheep and goats. Elephants and camels are sighted too, on occasion. Now New Delhi's police are employing monkey catchers and building 30-foot towers around Obama's hotel to protect him not just from terrorist attacks but also&#160; <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/8102597/Monkey-catchers-on-guard-for-Barack-Obamas-India-visit.html" type="external">monkey attacks</a>. The president will stay at the top-end ITC Maurya Hotel, which abuts Ridge Forest. Herds of monkeys from these jungles terrorize the capital's citizens.</p>
|
Obama in the land of Gandhi
| false |
https://pri.org/stories/2010-11-04/obama-land-gandhi
|
2010-11-04
| 3left-center
|
Obama in the land of Gandhi
<p>Top News: President Barack Obama's Air Force One is expected to touch down in Mumbai on Nov. 6, the <a href="http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/obamas-wanted-to-celebrate-diwali-in-india-64177" type="external">night of Diwali</a>, India's colorful festival of lights. Political topics like Afghanistan and Pakistan and even terrorism are likely to take a back seat to <a href="http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/southasia/features/article_1596300.php/Obama-looks-for-economic-opportunity-in-India-Asia-Feature" type="external">economics in the discussions</a> during the three-day presidential visit. India's Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said India is not expecting any "big bang" outcomes from the visit, though White House officials have stressed that the Obama will discuss opening up India's market to American businesses. The more Indians buying American products and services, the more the pay off for the U.S. economy <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/Shopping-For-Jobs/articleshow/6866537.cms" type="external">in terms of jobs</a>, they said.</p>
<p>Another topic expected to figure in the talks is the recently signed India-U.S. Civil Nuclear Agreement.&#160; Despite U.S. pressure, India is <a href="http://sify.com/news/india-not-ready-to-budge-on-nuclear-liability-bill-news-national-kkyvkdggiaa.html" type="external">unlikely to alter</a> an accident liability clause that its parliament recently enacted. The liability clause is making global nuclear equipment makers and suppliers nervous despite the juicy prospect of entering a $125 billion nuclear energy market in India. Another key area of interest is likely to be the opening up of <a href="http://www.deccanherald.com/content/110180/us-may-push-retail-fdi.html" type="external">India's retail sector</a> to overseas retailers such as Walmart waiting impatiently to enter the market.&#160;</p>
<p>Perhaps to mark the turn in the relationship between the two countries, the Obamas will be entertained by Bollywood's <a href="http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/sholay-s-yeh-dosti-to-be-sung-for-obamas-64170" type="external">evergreen ode to friendship</a> from the blockbuster cult classic Sholay. The song "Yeh Dosti Hum Nahin Todenge? ("We Will Not Break This Friendship") will be performed by the Shillong Chamber Choir at the presidential banquet on Nov. 8.</p>
<p>India's <a href="http://www.hindustantimes.com/BJP-slams-Congress-for-its-silence-on-scams/Article1-621374.aspx" type="external">ruling Congress Party was rocked</a> by yet another corruption scandal, this time in Mumbai. Apartments in the city's posh Colaba neighborhood, among the world's most expensive real estate, were meant for war widows and veterans. But the <a href="http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-s-creed-of-greed/Article1-621860.aspx" type="external">Adarsh Housing Society</a> soared to 31 floors flouting regulations, and then the flats were sold at throwaway prices to a bunch of top politicians, their relatives and retired generals. India's <a href="http://sify.com/news/corruption-nepotism-charges-would-be-dealt-after-due-investigation-digvijay-singh-news-national-klcukddfedg.html" type="external">defense and finance ministries are investigating</a>. Among the alleged benefactors of the largesse is the mother-in-law of Ashok Chavan, the chief minister of Maharashtra state of which Mumbai is the capital. <a href="http://netindian.in/news/2010/10/30/0008509/maharashtra-cm-chavan-offers-quit-housing-scam" type="external">Chavan, the official host</a> to the Obama couple in Mumbai, has offered to quit.</p>
<p>From one corruption scandal to another. Hundreds of tax inspectors <a href="http://www.telegraphindia.com/1101029/jsp/nation/story_13114377.jsp" type="external">raided dozens of offices across India</a> to probe allegations of corruption linked to New Delhi Commonwealth Games that concluded in mid-October. Companies contracted to provide training equipment, landscaping and sports surfaces were among those raided in New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Bangalore. The Games were fouled up by corruption, organizational hiccups, shoddy work and an inflated budget of over $6 billion. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, under pressure to act amidst public outrage, <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Noose-tightens-as-I-T-raids-60-offices-of-Games-vendors/articleshow/6830530.cms" type="external">set up a panel to investigate</a> charges of financial irregularities. Other government agencies are running parallel probes.</p>
<p>Money:&#160;Despite rising national security concerns, India <a href="http://www.h-online.com/security/news/item/RIM-averts-BlackBerry-ban-in-India-1129442.html" type="external">withdrew its threat to ban Blackberry services</a>. The country has over 1.5 million Blackberry users. India's Home ministry said the Canada-based Blackberry-maker Research in Motion has <a href="http://www.h-online.com/security/news/item/RIM-averts-BlackBerry-ban-in-India-1129442.html" type="external">agreed to an interim arrangement</a> for lawful interception of Blackberry messenger services. A more permanent solution will come <a href="http://www.berryreview.com/2010/10/13/india-extends-blackberry-ban-deadline-to-january-31st/" type="external">after January</a> next year. India and a few other countries had threatened to ban corporate email and messenger services if RIM did not allow government monitoring of these services. Besides RIM, India is insisting that all companies that provided encrypted communications, such as Google and Skype, install servers in the country to provide easy government access to users' data.&#160;</p>
<p>An Indian family of five is set to move into the <a href="http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/116301/India/mukesh-ambani-all-set-to-move-into-worlds-costliest-house.html" type="external">world's most expensive home</a>,&#160;towering 27 floors above the Arabian Sea in Mumbai and valued at $2 billion. Antilia is the new home of <a href="http://www.indiamag.in/mukesh-ambanis-antilla-is-costliest-but-not-in-forbes-list.html" type="external">India's richest man, Mukesh Ambani</a>, the head of the Reliance industrial conglomerate, his wife Nita and their three children. The building has parking for 160 cars, several floors of dwellings for <a href="http://www.favstocks.com/mukesh-ambani-builds-an-aggressively-opulent-home/0227415/" type="external">600-member domestic staff</a>, health clubs, dance studios, a ball room and a 50-seater cinema. There is even a garden with enough ceiling space to fit in small trees. The roof has three helipads.&#160;</p>
<p>India's <a href="http://profit.ndtv.com/news/show/coal-india-poised-for-super-listing-118142?trendingnow" type="external">largest public offering</a>, a record $3.5 billion, attracted investors by the million. The IPO of Coal India attracted bids for <a href="http://www.businessreviewindia.in/sectors/bombay-nse-india-india/coal-india-ipo-success-story" type="external">more than 15 times</a> the shares on offer, as investors bought into the country's top coal supplier in an economy that heavily relies on coal-fired energy. At its offer price alone, Coal India is <a href="http://www.indiainfoline.com/Markets/News/Coal-India-gears-for-grand-listing/4983221628" type="external">worth $35 billion</a>, taking it to the top 10 of India's listed companies.</p>
<p>Elsewhere:&#160;Stray animals and Indian streets go hand in hand. Drivers not only have to battle unruly motorist and pedestrians darting across the streets, but they also have to contend with stray cattle, dog, pigs, and even sheep and goats. Elephants and camels are sighted too, on occasion. Now New Delhi's police are employing monkey catchers and building 30-foot towers around Obama's hotel to protect him not just from terrorist attacks but also&#160; <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/8102597/Monkey-catchers-on-guard-for-Barack-Obamas-India-visit.html" type="external">monkey attacks</a>. The president will stay at the top-end ITC Maurya Hotel, which abuts Ridge Forest. Herds of monkeys from these jungles terrorize the capital's citizens.</p>
| 8,119 |
<p>Stocks that moved substantially or traded heavily Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Stock Market:</p>
<p>NYSE</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Walgreen Co., down $9.91 to $59.21</p>
<p>The drugstore operator cut its outlook after announcing it will no longer pursue a reorganization move that would have trimmed taxes.</p>
<p>Time Warner Inc., down $10.95 to $74.24</p>
<p>Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox abandoned its attempt to take over the rival media company following a rejected offer.</p>
<p>Sprint Corp., down $1.38 to $5.90</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The cellphone carrier reportedly ended its pursuit of a deal with T-Mobile US and is replacing its longtime CEO, Dan Hesse.</p>
<p>WPX Energy Inc., up $2.21 to $22.98</p>
<p>The gas and oil company reported a 57 percent jump in domestic oil production and stronger-than-expected natural gas production.</p>
<p>Nasdaq</p>
<p>Rocket Fuel Inc., down $7.70 to $17.05</p>
<p>The advertising technology company lowered its full-year revenue guidance, citing a slowdown in advertiser commitments.</p>
<p>Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp., down $6.31 to $43.67</p>
<p>The information technology company cut its annual revenue guidance, citing a weaker business market and longer sales cycles.</p>
<p>Activision Blizzard Inc., up 59 cents to $22.95</p>
<p>The video game maker reported a drop in quarterly profit that still beat expectations while also slightly raising its outlook.</p>
<p>Cerner Corp., up $1.57 to $55.91</p>
<p>The health information technology company will buy a unit from Siemens AG and partner with it to develop medical technology.</p>
|
Walgreen, Time Warner, Sprint, Rocket Fuel, and Activision are big market movers
| true |
http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2014/08/06/walgreen-time-warner-sprint-rocket-fuel-and-activision-are-big-market-movers.html
|
2016-03-06
| 0right
|
Walgreen, Time Warner, Sprint, Rocket Fuel, and Activision are big market movers
<p>Stocks that moved substantially or traded heavily Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Stock Market:</p>
<p>NYSE</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Walgreen Co., down $9.91 to $59.21</p>
<p>The drugstore operator cut its outlook after announcing it will no longer pursue a reorganization move that would have trimmed taxes.</p>
<p>Time Warner Inc., down $10.95 to $74.24</p>
<p>Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox abandoned its attempt to take over the rival media company following a rejected offer.</p>
<p>Sprint Corp., down $1.38 to $5.90</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The cellphone carrier reportedly ended its pursuit of a deal with T-Mobile US and is replacing its longtime CEO, Dan Hesse.</p>
<p>WPX Energy Inc., up $2.21 to $22.98</p>
<p>The gas and oil company reported a 57 percent jump in domestic oil production and stronger-than-expected natural gas production.</p>
<p>Nasdaq</p>
<p>Rocket Fuel Inc., down $7.70 to $17.05</p>
<p>The advertising technology company lowered its full-year revenue guidance, citing a slowdown in advertiser commitments.</p>
<p>Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp., down $6.31 to $43.67</p>
<p>The information technology company cut its annual revenue guidance, citing a weaker business market and longer sales cycles.</p>
<p>Activision Blizzard Inc., up 59 cents to $22.95</p>
<p>The video game maker reported a drop in quarterly profit that still beat expectations while also slightly raising its outlook.</p>
<p>Cerner Corp., up $1.57 to $55.91</p>
<p>The health information technology company will buy a unit from Siemens AG and partner with it to develop medical technology.</p>
| 8,120 |
<p>K-CROSSING, Kuwait, Dec 18 (Reuters) - The last convoy of U.S. soldiers pulled out of Iraq on Sunday, ending nearly nine years of war that cost almost 4,500 American and tens of thousands of Iraqi lives, and left a country grappling with political uncertainty.</p>
<p>The war launched in March 2003 with missiles striking Baghdad to oust President Saddam Hussein closes with a fragile democracy still facing insurgents, sectarian tensions and the challenge of defining its place in an Arab region in turmoil.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>As U.S. soldiers pulled out, Iraq's delicate power-sharing deal for Shi'ite, Sunni and Kurdish factions was already under pressure. The Shi'ite-led government asked parliament to fire the Sunni deputy prime minister, and security sources said the Sunni vice president faced an arrest warrant.</p>
<p>The final column of around 100 mostly U.S. military MRAP armoured vehicles carrying 500 U.S. troops trundled across the southern Iraq desert from their last base through the night and daybreak along an empty highway to the Kuwaiti border.</p>
<p>Honking their horns, the last batch of around 25 American military trucks and tractor trailers carrying Bradley fighting vehicles crossed the border early on Sunday morning, their crews waving at fellow troops along the route.</p>
<p>"I just can't wait to call my wife and kids and let them know I am safe," Sgt. First Class Rodolfo Ruiz said as the border came into sight. Soon afterwards, he told his men the mission was over, "Hey guys, you made it."</p>
<p>For U.S. President Barack Obama, the military pullout is the fulfilment of an election promise to bring troops home from a conflict inherited from his predecessor, the most unpopular war since Vietnam and one that tainted America's standing worldwide.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>For Iraqis, though, the U.S. departure brings a sense of sovereignty tempered by nagging fears their country may slide once again into the kind of sectarian violence that killed many thousands of people at its peak in 2006-2007.</p>
<p>Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's Shi'ite-led government still struggles with a delicate power-sharing arrangement between Shi'ite, Kurdish and Sunni parties, leaving Iraq vulnerable to meddling by Sunni Arab nations and Shi'ite Iran.</p>
<p>The extent of those divisions was clear on Sunday when Maliki asked parliament for a vote of no confidence against Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq, and security sources and lawmakers said an arrest warrant had been issued for Tareq al-Hashemi, one of Iraq's two vice presidents.</p>
<p>Hashemi and Mutlaq are Iraq's two most-senior Sunni politicians. The security sources said only intervention by Sunni and Shi'ite politicians had blocked Hashemi's arrest after he was linked to terrorism by four bodyguards.</p>
<p>The intensity of violence and suicide bombings has subsided. But a stubborn Sunni Islamist insurgency and rival Shi'ite militias remain a threat, carrying out almost daily attacks, often on Iraqi government and security officials.</p>
<p>Iraq says its forces can contain the violence but they lack capabilities in areas such as air defence and intelligence gathering. A deal for several thousand U.S. troops to stay on as trainers fell apart over the sensitive issue of legal immunity.</p>
<p>For many Iraqis, security remains a worry - but no more than jobs and getting access to power in a country whose national grid provides only a few hours of electricity a day despite vast oil potential.</p>
<p>U.S. and foreign companies are already helping Iraq develop the world's fourth-largest oil reserves, but its economy needs investment in all sectors, from hospitals to infrastructure.</p>
<p>"We don't think about America... We think about electricity, jobs, our oil, our daily problems," said Abbas Jaber, a government employee in Baghdad. "They (Americans) left chaos."</p>
<p>GOING HOME</p>
<p>After Obama announced in October that troops would come home by the end of the year as scheduled, the number of U.S. military bases was whittled down quickly as hundreds of troops and trucks carrying equipment headed south to Kuwait.</p>
<p>U.S. forces, which had ended combat missions in 2010, paid $100,000 a month to tribal sheikhs to secure stretches of the highways leading south to reduce the risk of roadside bombings and attacks on the last convoys.</p>
<p>Only around 150 U.S. troops will remain in the country attached to a training and cooperation mission at the huge U.S. embassy on the banks of the Tigris river.</p>
<p>At the height of the war, more than 170,000 U.S. troops were in Iraq at more than 500 bases. By Saturday, there were fewer than 3,000 troops, and one base - Contingency Operating Base Adder, 300 km (185 miles) south of Baghdad.</p>
<p>At COB Adder, as dusk fell before the departure of the last convoy, soldiers slapped barbecue sauce on slabs of ribs brought from Kuwait and laid them on grills beside hotdogs and sausages.</p>
<p>Earlier, 25 soldiers sat on folding chairs in front of two armoured vehicles watching a five-minute ceremony as their brigade's flags were packed up for the last time before loading up their possessions and lining up their trucks.</p>
<p>The last troops flicked on the lights studding their MRAP vehicles and stacked flak jackets and helmets in neat piles, ready for the final departure for Kuwait and then home.</p>
<p>"A good chunk of me is happy to leave. I spent 31 months in this country," said Sgt. Steven Schirmer, 25, after three tours of Iraq since 2007. "It almost seems I can have a life now, though I know I am probably going to Afghanistan in 2013. Once these wars end I wonder what I will end up doing."</p>
<p>NEIGHBOURS KEEP WATCH</p>
<p>Iran and Turkey, major investors in Iraq, will be watching with Gulf nations to see how their neighbour handles its sectarian and ethnic tensions, as the crisis in Syria threatens to spill over its borders.</p>
<p>The fall of Saddam allowed the long-suppressed Shi'ite majority to rise to power. The Shi'ite-led government has drawn the country closer to Iran and Syria's Bashar al-Assad, who is struggling to put down a nine-month-old uprising.</p>
<p>Iraq's Sunni minority is chafing under what it sees as the increasingly authoritarian control of Maliki's Shi'ite coalition. Some local leaders are already pushing mainly Sunni provinces to demand more autonomy from Baghdad.</p>
<p>The main Sunni-backed political bloc Iraqiya said on Saturday it was temporarily suspending its participation in the parliament to protest against what it said was Maliki's unwillingness to deliver on power-sharing.</p>
<p>A dispute between the semi-autonomous Kurdish region and Maliki's central government over oil and territory is also brewing, and is a potential flashpoint after the buffer of the American military presence is gone.</p>
<p>"There is little to suggest that Iraq's government will manage, or be willing, to get itself out of the current stalemate," said Gala Riani, an analyst at IHS Global Insight.</p>
<p>"The perennial divisive issues that have become part of the fabric of Iraqi politics, such as divisions with Kurdistan and Sunni suspicions of the government, are also likely to persist." (Additional reporting by Rania El Gamal, Suadad al-Salhy and Serena Chaudhry in Baghdad; Writing by Patrick Markey in Baghdad; Editing by Peter Graff)</p>
|
Last U.S. troops leave Iraq, ending war
| true |
http://foxbusiness.com/politics/2011/12/18/last-us-troops-leave-iraq-ending-war.html
|
2016-03-07
| 0right
|
Last U.S. troops leave Iraq, ending war
<p>K-CROSSING, Kuwait, Dec 18 (Reuters) - The last convoy of U.S. soldiers pulled out of Iraq on Sunday, ending nearly nine years of war that cost almost 4,500 American and tens of thousands of Iraqi lives, and left a country grappling with political uncertainty.</p>
<p>The war launched in March 2003 with missiles striking Baghdad to oust President Saddam Hussein closes with a fragile democracy still facing insurgents, sectarian tensions and the challenge of defining its place in an Arab region in turmoil.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>As U.S. soldiers pulled out, Iraq's delicate power-sharing deal for Shi'ite, Sunni and Kurdish factions was already under pressure. The Shi'ite-led government asked parliament to fire the Sunni deputy prime minister, and security sources said the Sunni vice president faced an arrest warrant.</p>
<p>The final column of around 100 mostly U.S. military MRAP armoured vehicles carrying 500 U.S. troops trundled across the southern Iraq desert from their last base through the night and daybreak along an empty highway to the Kuwaiti border.</p>
<p>Honking their horns, the last batch of around 25 American military trucks and tractor trailers carrying Bradley fighting vehicles crossed the border early on Sunday morning, their crews waving at fellow troops along the route.</p>
<p>"I just can't wait to call my wife and kids and let them know I am safe," Sgt. First Class Rodolfo Ruiz said as the border came into sight. Soon afterwards, he told his men the mission was over, "Hey guys, you made it."</p>
<p>For U.S. President Barack Obama, the military pullout is the fulfilment of an election promise to bring troops home from a conflict inherited from his predecessor, the most unpopular war since Vietnam and one that tainted America's standing worldwide.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>For Iraqis, though, the U.S. departure brings a sense of sovereignty tempered by nagging fears their country may slide once again into the kind of sectarian violence that killed many thousands of people at its peak in 2006-2007.</p>
<p>Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's Shi'ite-led government still struggles with a delicate power-sharing arrangement between Shi'ite, Kurdish and Sunni parties, leaving Iraq vulnerable to meddling by Sunni Arab nations and Shi'ite Iran.</p>
<p>The extent of those divisions was clear on Sunday when Maliki asked parliament for a vote of no confidence against Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq, and security sources and lawmakers said an arrest warrant had been issued for Tareq al-Hashemi, one of Iraq's two vice presidents.</p>
<p>Hashemi and Mutlaq are Iraq's two most-senior Sunni politicians. The security sources said only intervention by Sunni and Shi'ite politicians had blocked Hashemi's arrest after he was linked to terrorism by four bodyguards.</p>
<p>The intensity of violence and suicide bombings has subsided. But a stubborn Sunni Islamist insurgency and rival Shi'ite militias remain a threat, carrying out almost daily attacks, often on Iraqi government and security officials.</p>
<p>Iraq says its forces can contain the violence but they lack capabilities in areas such as air defence and intelligence gathering. A deal for several thousand U.S. troops to stay on as trainers fell apart over the sensitive issue of legal immunity.</p>
<p>For many Iraqis, security remains a worry - but no more than jobs and getting access to power in a country whose national grid provides only a few hours of electricity a day despite vast oil potential.</p>
<p>U.S. and foreign companies are already helping Iraq develop the world's fourth-largest oil reserves, but its economy needs investment in all sectors, from hospitals to infrastructure.</p>
<p>"We don't think about America... We think about electricity, jobs, our oil, our daily problems," said Abbas Jaber, a government employee in Baghdad. "They (Americans) left chaos."</p>
<p>GOING HOME</p>
<p>After Obama announced in October that troops would come home by the end of the year as scheduled, the number of U.S. military bases was whittled down quickly as hundreds of troops and trucks carrying equipment headed south to Kuwait.</p>
<p>U.S. forces, which had ended combat missions in 2010, paid $100,000 a month to tribal sheikhs to secure stretches of the highways leading south to reduce the risk of roadside bombings and attacks on the last convoys.</p>
<p>Only around 150 U.S. troops will remain in the country attached to a training and cooperation mission at the huge U.S. embassy on the banks of the Tigris river.</p>
<p>At the height of the war, more than 170,000 U.S. troops were in Iraq at more than 500 bases. By Saturday, there were fewer than 3,000 troops, and one base - Contingency Operating Base Adder, 300 km (185 miles) south of Baghdad.</p>
<p>At COB Adder, as dusk fell before the departure of the last convoy, soldiers slapped barbecue sauce on slabs of ribs brought from Kuwait and laid them on grills beside hotdogs and sausages.</p>
<p>Earlier, 25 soldiers sat on folding chairs in front of two armoured vehicles watching a five-minute ceremony as their brigade's flags were packed up for the last time before loading up their possessions and lining up their trucks.</p>
<p>The last troops flicked on the lights studding their MRAP vehicles and stacked flak jackets and helmets in neat piles, ready for the final departure for Kuwait and then home.</p>
<p>"A good chunk of me is happy to leave. I spent 31 months in this country," said Sgt. Steven Schirmer, 25, after three tours of Iraq since 2007. "It almost seems I can have a life now, though I know I am probably going to Afghanistan in 2013. Once these wars end I wonder what I will end up doing."</p>
<p>NEIGHBOURS KEEP WATCH</p>
<p>Iran and Turkey, major investors in Iraq, will be watching with Gulf nations to see how their neighbour handles its sectarian and ethnic tensions, as the crisis in Syria threatens to spill over its borders.</p>
<p>The fall of Saddam allowed the long-suppressed Shi'ite majority to rise to power. The Shi'ite-led government has drawn the country closer to Iran and Syria's Bashar al-Assad, who is struggling to put down a nine-month-old uprising.</p>
<p>Iraq's Sunni minority is chafing under what it sees as the increasingly authoritarian control of Maliki's Shi'ite coalition. Some local leaders are already pushing mainly Sunni provinces to demand more autonomy from Baghdad.</p>
<p>The main Sunni-backed political bloc Iraqiya said on Saturday it was temporarily suspending its participation in the parliament to protest against what it said was Maliki's unwillingness to deliver on power-sharing.</p>
<p>A dispute between the semi-autonomous Kurdish region and Maliki's central government over oil and territory is also brewing, and is a potential flashpoint after the buffer of the American military presence is gone.</p>
<p>"There is little to suggest that Iraq's government will manage, or be willing, to get itself out of the current stalemate," said Gala Riani, an analyst at IHS Global Insight.</p>
<p>"The perennial divisive issues that have become part of the fabric of Iraqi politics, such as divisions with Kurdistan and Sunni suspicions of the government, are also likely to persist." (Additional reporting by Rania El Gamal, Suadad al-Salhy and Serena Chaudhry in Baghdad; Writing by Patrick Markey in Baghdad; Editing by Peter Graff)</p>
| 8,121 |
<p />
<p>Global water treatment and waste management specialist Veolia Environnement (NASDAQOTH: VEOEY) reported full-year 2016 earnings last week -- and the stock promptly headed for three-year lows. To be fair, last year's performance wasn't exactly the problem. Despite continued currency headwinds, revenue rebounded in the fourth quarter and full-year adjusted net income came in ahead of expectations. Other financial metrics also exceeded the expectations of analysts and even the company itself.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The issue investors had was that management pushed back its profitability targets by one year. That is, rather than aiming to achieve EBITDA of $3.5 billion to $3.72 billion in 2018, the company now expects to hit that watermark in 2019 due to a combination of currency impacts, energy prices, and construction costs. The frustration from a seemingly endless onslaught of headwinds is understandable, but long-term investors shouldn't lose sight of the long-term goals.</p>
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>Before financial performance is discussed, it's important to briefly review the new accounting rule handed down by the International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee, or IFRIC. Essentially, IFRIC updated how concession contracts with local municipalities are recorded, specifically stating that infrastructure involved in contracts needs to be counted as an intangible asset, a financial receivable, or sometimes a combination of the two. That would seem to have a not-insignificant impact on a company such as Veolia Environnement, which generated 55% of its revenue last year from municipal activities, but the effects are actually quite minimal.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Management reviewed its financial statements dating back to the beginning of 2015 and will retroactively apply the new accounting rule, called IFRIC 12. It resulted in a slight increase in EBITDA for both years, but was offset dollar for dollar by additional expenses. While it does have a slight impact on net income (actually a $0.9 million benefit last year), it's not significant and doesn't impact items such as revenue or net free cash flow. The takeaway: don't panic when you see funny tables of adjustments made to reported earnings.</p>
<p>With that out of the way, let's dig in.</p>
<p>You can check the press release for the full financial metrics, but here are the important numbers from full-year 2016 operations. The company excluded the small impacts from IFRIC 12, and I've done the same to minimize mistakes. The numbers below also adjust for currency exchange rates, which had a negative impact on the results:</p>
<p>Data source: Veolia Environnement.</p>
<p>All in all, Veolia Environnement was able to stave off most headwinds except for currency impacts. Revenue, EBITDA, and diluted EPS were essentially flat. Net income took the biggest hit year over year, mostly attributable to financial capital losses from energy prices and the timing of construction projects. Current net income, the company's non-GAAP metric that excludes financial capital gains, increased 19.3% year over year. However, it's best for investors to stick with GAAP metrics and only use non-GAAP numbers to gauge relative progress through management's eyes.</p>
<p>Importantly for investors, net free cash flow hit a record level and exceeded $1 billion for the first time. Management has proposed to increase the dividend 10% to $0.85 per share as a result. When combined with a weak share price, the dividend will yield roughly 5%.</p>
<p>Additionally, the company exceeded its annual cost savings target by 23%, which prompted management to up its total expected cost savings from 2016 to 2018 from $637 million to more than $850 million. It's not the only change Veolia Environnement made to its financial expectations in the years ahead.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, investors will need even more patience in the year ahead. Management has labeled 2017 as a "transition year." While that's not exactly what investors want to hear, the expectations actually aren't that bad. Revenue is expected to begin growing again, EBITDA is expected to remain stable or achieve modest growth, and a revamped cost savings program will see a $265 million decrease in costs. That will be followed by more of the same in 2018, with higher growth and a further $318 million decrease in costs.</p>
<p>And finally, management expects to achieve EBITDA of $3.5 billion to $3.72 billion in 2019 -- the range originally targeted for 2018. A one-year delay is not ideal, but it also shouldn't have much of an impact on long-term investors so long as management executes. In the end, shareholders will own a sharply more efficient business with stronger earnings power and a higher dividend. When you adopt that perspective, the recent sell-off of shares seems pretty nearsighted.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than Veolia Environnement (ADR)When investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*</p>
<p>David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the <a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=9e4ceb71-7c0a-493f-bea9-5a3e538bc5ac&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 Veolia Environnement (ADR) 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=9e4ceb71-7c0a-493f-bea9-5a3e538bc5ac&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/TMFBlacknGold/info.aspx" type="external">Maxx Chatsko Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Veolia Environnement (ADR). 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>
|
Veolia Environnement's 2016 Earnings Send Stock to 3-Year Low
| true |
http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/02/28/veolia-environnement-2016-earnings-send-stock-to-3-year-low.html
|
2017-03-16
| 0right
|
Veolia Environnement's 2016 Earnings Send Stock to 3-Year Low
<p />
<p>Global water treatment and waste management specialist Veolia Environnement (NASDAQOTH: VEOEY) reported full-year 2016 earnings last week -- and the stock promptly headed for three-year lows. To be fair, last year's performance wasn't exactly the problem. Despite continued currency headwinds, revenue rebounded in the fourth quarter and full-year adjusted net income came in ahead of expectations. Other financial metrics also exceeded the expectations of analysts and even the company itself.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The issue investors had was that management pushed back its profitability targets by one year. That is, rather than aiming to achieve EBITDA of $3.5 billion to $3.72 billion in 2018, the company now expects to hit that watermark in 2019 due to a combination of currency impacts, energy prices, and construction costs. The frustration from a seemingly endless onslaught of headwinds is understandable, but long-term investors shouldn't lose sight of the long-term goals.</p>
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>Before financial performance is discussed, it's important to briefly review the new accounting rule handed down by the International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee, or IFRIC. Essentially, IFRIC updated how concession contracts with local municipalities are recorded, specifically stating that infrastructure involved in contracts needs to be counted as an intangible asset, a financial receivable, or sometimes a combination of the two. That would seem to have a not-insignificant impact on a company such as Veolia Environnement, which generated 55% of its revenue last year from municipal activities, but the effects are actually quite minimal.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Management reviewed its financial statements dating back to the beginning of 2015 and will retroactively apply the new accounting rule, called IFRIC 12. It resulted in a slight increase in EBITDA for both years, but was offset dollar for dollar by additional expenses. While it does have a slight impact on net income (actually a $0.9 million benefit last year), it's not significant and doesn't impact items such as revenue or net free cash flow. The takeaway: don't panic when you see funny tables of adjustments made to reported earnings.</p>
<p>With that out of the way, let's dig in.</p>
<p>You can check the press release for the full financial metrics, but here are the important numbers from full-year 2016 operations. The company excluded the small impacts from IFRIC 12, and I've done the same to minimize mistakes. The numbers below also adjust for currency exchange rates, which had a negative impact on the results:</p>
<p>Data source: Veolia Environnement.</p>
<p>All in all, Veolia Environnement was able to stave off most headwinds except for currency impacts. Revenue, EBITDA, and diluted EPS were essentially flat. Net income took the biggest hit year over year, mostly attributable to financial capital losses from energy prices and the timing of construction projects. Current net income, the company's non-GAAP metric that excludes financial capital gains, increased 19.3% year over year. However, it's best for investors to stick with GAAP metrics and only use non-GAAP numbers to gauge relative progress through management's eyes.</p>
<p>Importantly for investors, net free cash flow hit a record level and exceeded $1 billion for the first time. Management has proposed to increase the dividend 10% to $0.85 per share as a result. When combined with a weak share price, the dividend will yield roughly 5%.</p>
<p>Additionally, the company exceeded its annual cost savings target by 23%, which prompted management to up its total expected cost savings from 2016 to 2018 from $637 million to more than $850 million. It's not the only change Veolia Environnement made to its financial expectations in the years ahead.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, investors will need even more patience in the year ahead. Management has labeled 2017 as a "transition year." While that's not exactly what investors want to hear, the expectations actually aren't that bad. Revenue is expected to begin growing again, EBITDA is expected to remain stable or achieve modest growth, and a revamped cost savings program will see a $265 million decrease in costs. That will be followed by more of the same in 2018, with higher growth and a further $318 million decrease in costs.</p>
<p>And finally, management expects to achieve EBITDA of $3.5 billion to $3.72 billion in 2019 -- the range originally targeted for 2018. A one-year delay is not ideal, but it also shouldn't have much of an impact on long-term investors so long as management executes. In the end, shareholders will own a sharply more efficient business with stronger earnings power and a higher dividend. When you adopt that perspective, the recent sell-off of shares seems pretty nearsighted.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than Veolia Environnement (ADR)When investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*</p>
<p>David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the <a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=9e4ceb71-7c0a-493f-bea9-5a3e538bc5ac&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 Veolia Environnement (ADR) 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=9e4ceb71-7c0a-493f-bea9-5a3e538bc5ac&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/TMFBlacknGold/info.aspx" type="external">Maxx Chatsko Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Veolia Environnement (ADR). 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>
| 8,122 |
<p />
<p>Investors in ski-resort operator Vail Resorts (NYSE: MTN) wait longingly each year for the winter months to come around, because that's when the company makes most of its money. Even with a small operation in Australia, where winter comes during the Northern Hemisphere's summer months, Vail Resorts still relies on North America for the vast majority of its revenue and profit. Coming into Friday's fiscal second-quarter financial report, Vail Resorts investors had high expectations for growth, thanks to the recent purchase of the Whistler Blackcomb resort in British Columbia. Vail's results were even stronger than most had anticipated, and that helped lead the company to reward shareholders with a big dividend boost.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Let's take a closer look at Vail Resorts to see how it did and what's ahead for the resort operator.</p>
<p>Image source: Vail Resorts.</p>
<p>Vail Resorts' fiscal second-quarter results were extremely favorable. The company reported revenue of $725.2 million, which was up 21% from the year-ago period, topping investor expectations for 18% to 19% top-line growth. Vail's net income grew even faster, climbing 27.5% to $149.2 million, and that worked out to earnings of $3.63 per share. That exceeded the consensus forecast among those following the stock by $0.22 per share.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Looking more closely at the numbers, Vail Resorts enjoyed success both from the Whistler acquisition and organically. Total lift revenue jumped nearly 25% to $358.2 million, and even without the impact of Whistler, lift revenue was up more than 7% from year-ago levels.</p>
<p>Yet in some areas, Whistler was the sole source of growth. Ski school revenue climbed 26%, but it would have gained only 1% without Whistler's influence. Dining revenue excluding Whistler actually dropped 2.5% because of delays in opening restaurants in certain areas where poor early ski-season conditions weighed on local results. Similarly, retail and equipment rental revenue fell 2% organically. Yet when you include Whistler, dining revenue jumped 22% and retail and rental sales were up by a fifth.</p>
<p>Off the mountain, Vail Resorts saw more measured success. Lodging-related revenue was up only 5%, and the company said that poor conditions early in the ski season hit that segment fairly hard. The real estate segment inched higher, with the company closing a sale of one condo unit at Vail Ritz-Carlton and the last two condo units at One Ski Hill Place in Breckenridge. The company said that it has also sold two more Vail Ritz-Carlton units since the fiscal second quarter ended on Jan. 31.</p>
<p>Overall, the season has been favorable compared to last year. Using Vail's metrics on a pro forma basis that assume that Whistler was part of Vail's network last year, lift revenue is up nearly 7%, while ancillary spending climbed across the board, including a 5% rise in ski school revenue, 2% in dining, and 3% in retail and rental income. Only total visits were sluggish, down 4% compared to year-to-date figures at this point last year.</p>
<p>CEO Rob Katz was quite pleased with the results, especially in light of below-average early season conditions. "We had strong results during the holidays and the month of January," Katz said, and Whistler in particular "has benefited from good conditions throughout the season, a low Canadian dollar versus the U.S. dollar, and the outstanding brand and guest experience delivered by the Whistler Blackcomb team."</p>
<p>Moreover, Vail is excited about its future. The company announced last month that it would acquire Stowe Mountain Resort in northern Vermont, which will extend the Vail footprint into New England for the first time. By doing so, Vail should once again increase its potential penetration of season ticket sales, giving luxury skiers the opportunity to ski across the nation through some of its higher-end pass options.</p>
<p>Moreover, Vail sees a favorable year coming to fruition. The resort operator narrowed its guidance toward the upper end of its previous prediction, now expecting total EBITDA of $579 million to $603 million and net income of $196 million to $222 million.</p>
<p>Finally, Vail Resorts shared its success with shareholders through a big dividend boost. Going forward, Vail will pay 30% more to its investors, with a new quarterly dividend of $1.053 per share. The move will serve to push Vail's dividend yield back above 2%, making up for the fact that the stock price has risen so sharply in recent years.</p>
<p>Vail Resorts investors were happy with the report, and the stock climbed 3% in pre-market trading following the announcement. With Whistler doing well and new growth on the horizon, Vail has plenty of opportunities for even stronger performance this year and beyond.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than Vail ResortsWhen 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=4c8d4eb6-d929-4d3a-b7ce-d54daa70258d&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 Vail Resorts 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=4c8d4eb6-d929-4d3a-b7ce-d54daa70258d&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/TMFGalagan/info.aspx" type="external">Dan Caplinger Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Vail Resorts. 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>
|
Vail Resorts Celebrates Winter With Strong Earnings, Increased Dividend
| true |
http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/03/10/vail-resorts-celebrates-winter-with-strong-earnings-increased-dividend.html
|
2017-03-17
| 0right
|
Vail Resorts Celebrates Winter With Strong Earnings, Increased Dividend
<p />
<p>Investors in ski-resort operator Vail Resorts (NYSE: MTN) wait longingly each year for the winter months to come around, because that's when the company makes most of its money. Even with a small operation in Australia, where winter comes during the Northern Hemisphere's summer months, Vail Resorts still relies on North America for the vast majority of its revenue and profit. Coming into Friday's fiscal second-quarter financial report, Vail Resorts investors had high expectations for growth, thanks to the recent purchase of the Whistler Blackcomb resort in British Columbia. Vail's results were even stronger than most had anticipated, and that helped lead the company to reward shareholders with a big dividend boost.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Let's take a closer look at Vail Resorts to see how it did and what's ahead for the resort operator.</p>
<p>Image source: Vail Resorts.</p>
<p>Vail Resorts' fiscal second-quarter results were extremely favorable. The company reported revenue of $725.2 million, which was up 21% from the year-ago period, topping investor expectations for 18% to 19% top-line growth. Vail's net income grew even faster, climbing 27.5% to $149.2 million, and that worked out to earnings of $3.63 per share. That exceeded the consensus forecast among those following the stock by $0.22 per share.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Looking more closely at the numbers, Vail Resorts enjoyed success both from the Whistler acquisition and organically. Total lift revenue jumped nearly 25% to $358.2 million, and even without the impact of Whistler, lift revenue was up more than 7% from year-ago levels.</p>
<p>Yet in some areas, Whistler was the sole source of growth. Ski school revenue climbed 26%, but it would have gained only 1% without Whistler's influence. Dining revenue excluding Whistler actually dropped 2.5% because of delays in opening restaurants in certain areas where poor early ski-season conditions weighed on local results. Similarly, retail and equipment rental revenue fell 2% organically. Yet when you include Whistler, dining revenue jumped 22% and retail and rental sales were up by a fifth.</p>
<p>Off the mountain, Vail Resorts saw more measured success. Lodging-related revenue was up only 5%, and the company said that poor conditions early in the ski season hit that segment fairly hard. The real estate segment inched higher, with the company closing a sale of one condo unit at Vail Ritz-Carlton and the last two condo units at One Ski Hill Place in Breckenridge. The company said that it has also sold two more Vail Ritz-Carlton units since the fiscal second quarter ended on Jan. 31.</p>
<p>Overall, the season has been favorable compared to last year. Using Vail's metrics on a pro forma basis that assume that Whistler was part of Vail's network last year, lift revenue is up nearly 7%, while ancillary spending climbed across the board, including a 5% rise in ski school revenue, 2% in dining, and 3% in retail and rental income. Only total visits were sluggish, down 4% compared to year-to-date figures at this point last year.</p>
<p>CEO Rob Katz was quite pleased with the results, especially in light of below-average early season conditions. "We had strong results during the holidays and the month of January," Katz said, and Whistler in particular "has benefited from good conditions throughout the season, a low Canadian dollar versus the U.S. dollar, and the outstanding brand and guest experience delivered by the Whistler Blackcomb team."</p>
<p>Moreover, Vail is excited about its future. The company announced last month that it would acquire Stowe Mountain Resort in northern Vermont, which will extend the Vail footprint into New England for the first time. By doing so, Vail should once again increase its potential penetration of season ticket sales, giving luxury skiers the opportunity to ski across the nation through some of its higher-end pass options.</p>
<p>Moreover, Vail sees a favorable year coming to fruition. The resort operator narrowed its guidance toward the upper end of its previous prediction, now expecting total EBITDA of $579 million to $603 million and net income of $196 million to $222 million.</p>
<p>Finally, Vail Resorts shared its success with shareholders through a big dividend boost. Going forward, Vail will pay 30% more to its investors, with a new quarterly dividend of $1.053 per share. The move will serve to push Vail's dividend yield back above 2%, making up for the fact that the stock price has risen so sharply in recent years.</p>
<p>Vail Resorts investors were happy with the report, and the stock climbed 3% in pre-market trading following the announcement. With Whistler doing well and new growth on the horizon, Vail has plenty of opportunities for even stronger performance this year and beyond.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than Vail ResortsWhen 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=4c8d4eb6-d929-4d3a-b7ce-d54daa70258d&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 Vail Resorts 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=4c8d4eb6-d929-4d3a-b7ce-d54daa70258d&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/TMFGalagan/info.aspx" type="external">Dan Caplinger Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Vail Resorts. 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>
| 8,123 |
<p />
<p>Samsung Group [SAGR.UL] chief Jay Y. Lee appeared at the special prosecutor's office on Thursday on his way to a court hearing, before a judge decides whether to issue an arrest warrant over his alleged role in a corruption scandal that has engulfed President Park Geun-hye.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Lee did not answer reporters' questions as he made his way into an elevator at the office.</p>
<p>The hearing will take place at the Seoul Central District Court from 10:30 a.m. (0130 GMT).</p>
<p>(Reporting by Joyce Lee and Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Richard Pullin)</p>
|
Samsung Group leader Lee appears for hearing on arrest warrant
| true |
http://foxbusiness.com/politics/2017/02/15/samsung-group-leader-lee-appears-for-hearing-on-arrest-warrant.html
|
2017-02-16
| 0right
|
Samsung Group leader Lee appears for hearing on arrest warrant
<p />
<p>Samsung Group [SAGR.UL] chief Jay Y. Lee appeared at the special prosecutor's office on Thursday on his way to a court hearing, before a judge decides whether to issue an arrest warrant over his alleged role in a corruption scandal that has engulfed President Park Geun-hye.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Lee did not answer reporters' questions as he made his way into an elevator at the office.</p>
<p>The hearing will take place at the Seoul Central District Court from 10:30 a.m. (0130 GMT).</p>
<p>(Reporting by Joyce Lee and Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Richard Pullin)</p>
| 8,124 |
<p />
<p>_Teachers on (witch) trial</p>
<p>Mar. 21, 2000</p>
<p />
<p>While sexual molestation by teachers and coaches has long been an issue in US schools, teachers have recently voiced a concern of their own: children crying wolf, THE GUARDIAN (UK) reports.</p>
<p>Recently, Ronald Heller, a 54-year old Maryland gym teacher, nearly lost his job and his reputation when six girls and one boy — aged 11 and 12 — accused him of sexually molesting them. Two weeks ago, all the children admitted they had invented the accusations, and Heller was fully exonerated.</p>
<p>Since being cleared, Heller has become a poster-boy for teachers who fear that any physical contact, however innocuous, may become a career-threatening mistake. The Maryland state teachers’ union says its members are in constant fear of a false sexual accusation.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.newsunlimited.co.uk/international/story/0,,149134,00.html" type="external">Read THE GUARDIAN (UK) story here.</a></p>
<p>— <a href="" type="internal">JG</a></p>
<p />
|
MoJo Must Reads
| true |
https://motherjones.com/politics/2000/03/mojo-must-reads-2/
|
2000-03-21
| 4left
|
MoJo Must Reads
<p />
<p>_Teachers on (witch) trial</p>
<p>Mar. 21, 2000</p>
<p />
<p>While sexual molestation by teachers and coaches has long been an issue in US schools, teachers have recently voiced a concern of their own: children crying wolf, THE GUARDIAN (UK) reports.</p>
<p>Recently, Ronald Heller, a 54-year old Maryland gym teacher, nearly lost his job and his reputation when six girls and one boy — aged 11 and 12 — accused him of sexually molesting them. Two weeks ago, all the children admitted they had invented the accusations, and Heller was fully exonerated.</p>
<p>Since being cleared, Heller has become a poster-boy for teachers who fear that any physical contact, however innocuous, may become a career-threatening mistake. The Maryland state teachers’ union says its members are in constant fear of a false sexual accusation.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.newsunlimited.co.uk/international/story/0,,149134,00.html" type="external">Read THE GUARDIAN (UK) story here.</a></p>
<p>— <a href="" type="internal">JG</a></p>
<p />
| 8,125 |
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>“The Dark Ages: They haven’t ended yet.”</p>
<p>Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.</p>
<p>The most shocking thing about the reaction to the power outage that darkened the Northeast last week (aside from the spasm of self-congratulatory mewling of New Yorkers for surviving a whole 16 hours without electricity, as Baghdad enters its powerless fifth month) is that people were shocked that the lights went out.</p>
<p>Let’s face it, blackouts happen. There’s nothing new about that. Even New York City, whose citizens seem to view ever unsettling intrusion of reality as a test of their moral fibre as a community, goes dark with the regularity of the arrival of locusts. That’s the nature of our gridded power system.</p>
<p>Of course, some things have changed. The intervals between system crashes are getting more frequent and the outages themselves more prolonged. And the explanations are becoming more convoluted. When they bother to explain at all.</p>
<p>We are days after the latest big event and no one really knows what happened. That’s because no one’s actually in charge of the chaotic system that shuttles power to half of the nation. Welcome to the world of laissez-faire electricity. Follow the blinking hand.</p>
<p>Here’s all we really need to know: Something tripped. The current in the Erie Loop jolted backwards, feeding on itself in an act of electric cannibalism. It’s an apt metaphor for the nation’s electric system. So get used to it. Oh, yeah, and open your checkbook.</p>
<p>Some of us have been down this road before.</p>
<p>Much of the West went dark in August of 1996-though New Yorkers may have missed the great event. There seems to have been a news blackout on that power outage, which presaged the great California outages of 2002. It’s too bad the press didn’t look more closely at the causes of the 1996 blackout, which hit more than 2 million homes, because that meltdown in the power grid revealed the profound defects lurking in the system and how those inherent problems were exacerbated by the deregulatory frenzy of the 1990s.</p>
<p>You can see why the press bypassed the issue. Stories on utilities are about as exciting as a root canal. They are difficult to write and even more demanding on the readers, who are more inclined to wade through a story on genocide in Eritrea than to try to make sense of the political economy of the US electric power system. All in all, it’s easier to keep people in the dark about such matters.</p>
<p>Plus, in the go-go 1990s electricity deregulation seemed to be the great bi-partisan project, promising consumer choice, lower rates and the opportunity to plug in to greener energy. Even environmental groups, such as EDF and NRDC, went along for the ride hawking the virtues of freewheeling companies such as Enron over the public utilities, which were portrayed as palsied dinosaurs in an era of brawny dot.coms.</p>
<p>On the national political scene, Ralph Nader stood nearly alone in warning about the impending tragedy of jettisoning the system of regulatory mechanisms that had held the power companies in check for the past half-century in favor of a scheme that resembled a Vegas casino game. But with Clinton and NRDC backing the deregulatory mania, Nader was easily dismissed as a grumpy doomsayer.</p>
<p>Of course, in hindsight handing over the electrical power system to companies that have the moral sensibility of telemarketers and derivatives traders and then freeing them from most government oversight doesn’t seem like the brightest idea.</p>
<p>When George Bush finally interrupted his swing of California fundraisers to enlighten us on the crisis, he described the Northeast blackouts as a “wake up call.” For once he’s right. But he was somewhat less forthcoming on precisely what are we waking up to. Namely, an ever dimmer future of blackouts, brownouts and rising electric rates. It’s a scenario that Bush and his cronies helped broker. Pay more, get less. That’s the cruel equation of deregulation.</p>
<p>Ironically, Bush has been helped somewhat by the skidding economy. With many factories idled, the demand for power has been relatively low since 2002. If the economy ever rouses itself from the doldrums, the nation’s frail power system will be taxed even more and rolling blackouts may become a regular feature of American life, like those taunting tapes from Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden.</p>
<p>But at root this isn’t a problem of demand. In fact, there’s an overcapacity of electricity. When the lights went back on in the Northeast, they did so without one kilowatt coming from a nuclear power plant. All 9 reactors had been shut down. Let’s keep them that way.</p>
<p>No, it’s not an energy crisis we face, but a crisis of accountability. Regulated monopolies were overthrown in the 1990s and replaced by unregulated monopolies who would much rather stuff their profits into dividends and gaudy executive bonuses rather than sink them into long term investments in an aging transmission grid.</p>
<p>In his blissfully brief speech, Bush, who mistakenly referred to the Northeast event as a “rolling blackout” (ie., a planned shut off), also pointed to the anachronistic grid as a problem. “We’ll have time to look at it and determine whether or not our grid needs to be modernized,” mumbled Bush. “I happen to think it does, and have said so all along.”</p>
<p>Hold on, Mr. President.</p>
<p>Far from always saying the electric grid needs to be modernized, in June of 2001 our amnesiac leader threatened to veto a bill in congress that would have appropriated $350 million to upgrade the transmission grid. However, Bush didn’t have to resort to the veto. The Republican controlled House of Representatives voted the measure down twice, largely along party lines.</p>
<p>Bush delicately avoided any mention of the probable culprit in the grid crash: FirstEnergy, the Ohio-based utility. Bush’s discretion is understandable. After all, on June 30 FirstEnergy’s CEO, H. Peter Burg, hosted a fundraiser for Bush that netted his campaign more than $600,000. The featured speaker at the event was none other than Dick Cheney. The company’s chief operating officer, Anthony J. Alexander, is also an old pal. Indeed, he was one of Bush’s famous “Pioneers.” He contributed $100,000 of his own to the 2000 Bush campaign and raised at least another $100,000. Other executives at FirstEnergy have contributed more than $50,000 to the Bush reelection bid. That kind of money may not talk, but it sure buys silence.</p>
<p>So now we know. The system has shorted out and there’s no simple fix. Indeed, there may be no fix at all. And, more intriguingly, there’s no political mechanism to demand or oversee an upgrade of a system that nearly everyone agrees is broken. That’s because the electric power safety net, erected after the power company scandals of the 1920s, was giddily cut loose during Clintontime. Like welfare, once the regulatory framework is dismantled it’s gone for good. Score another one for Bill.</p>
<p>Today, there are scarcely any rules to follow and compliance with the few guidelines that remain is merely voluntary. There are no penalties levied when things go terribly awry. There’s not even anyone to levy the fines. In many cities, public utility commissions, which once acted to restrain the baser instincts of electric utilities, have been abolished or simply stripped of all authority. Many of the power companies are now located far out of state. In Montana, electric power is delivered by a company headquartered in Philadelphia. Here in Portland, Oregon, power was provided by a bankrupt company from Houston, Texas, lately looted by its own executives: Enron. And on and on it goes.</p>
<p>The electrical system of post-regulatory America is a Hobbesian morass of open markets, emasculated regulators and predatory corporations who are supposed to be providing a basic human service but act as if they only owe allegiance to the bottom line.</p>
<p>Across much of America (though, perhaps, not midtown Manhattan), blackouts are a regular pre-planned event, courtesy of the electric companies. In the deregulated environment, low-income families have little recourse when the bills pile up and you have to choose between paying the water bill, the doctor bill or the power bill. A 2002 report by poverty researcher Dr. Meg Powers estimates that more than 27 million low-income families in America face electricity shut-offs every year. Imagine being laid off in Bush’s wrecked economy and having to place your family at the beneficence of Enron, ConEd or Duke Power.</p>
<p>Instead of punishing the private power generators and utilities, Spencer Abraham, Bush’s goofy secretary of energy, wants to penalize the customers who were hurt most by the blackout and the failed promises of cheaper rates made by the zealots of deregulation. “The grid’s got to be upgraded and the consumers are going to have to be willing to pay for it,” warned Abraham.</p>
<p>When it comes to energy policy, compassionate conservatism means keeping the public in the dark until they pony up the money to put the power companies in the black.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
|
Blackouts Happen
| true |
https://counterpunch.org/2003/08/18/blackouts-happen/
|
2003-08-18
| 4left
|
Blackouts Happen
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>“The Dark Ages: They haven’t ended yet.”</p>
<p>Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.</p>
<p>The most shocking thing about the reaction to the power outage that darkened the Northeast last week (aside from the spasm of self-congratulatory mewling of New Yorkers for surviving a whole 16 hours without electricity, as Baghdad enters its powerless fifth month) is that people were shocked that the lights went out.</p>
<p>Let’s face it, blackouts happen. There’s nothing new about that. Even New York City, whose citizens seem to view ever unsettling intrusion of reality as a test of their moral fibre as a community, goes dark with the regularity of the arrival of locusts. That’s the nature of our gridded power system.</p>
<p>Of course, some things have changed. The intervals between system crashes are getting more frequent and the outages themselves more prolonged. And the explanations are becoming more convoluted. When they bother to explain at all.</p>
<p>We are days after the latest big event and no one really knows what happened. That’s because no one’s actually in charge of the chaotic system that shuttles power to half of the nation. Welcome to the world of laissez-faire electricity. Follow the blinking hand.</p>
<p>Here’s all we really need to know: Something tripped. The current in the Erie Loop jolted backwards, feeding on itself in an act of electric cannibalism. It’s an apt metaphor for the nation’s electric system. So get used to it. Oh, yeah, and open your checkbook.</p>
<p>Some of us have been down this road before.</p>
<p>Much of the West went dark in August of 1996-though New Yorkers may have missed the great event. There seems to have been a news blackout on that power outage, which presaged the great California outages of 2002. It’s too bad the press didn’t look more closely at the causes of the 1996 blackout, which hit more than 2 million homes, because that meltdown in the power grid revealed the profound defects lurking in the system and how those inherent problems were exacerbated by the deregulatory frenzy of the 1990s.</p>
<p>You can see why the press bypassed the issue. Stories on utilities are about as exciting as a root canal. They are difficult to write and even more demanding on the readers, who are more inclined to wade through a story on genocide in Eritrea than to try to make sense of the political economy of the US electric power system. All in all, it’s easier to keep people in the dark about such matters.</p>
<p>Plus, in the go-go 1990s electricity deregulation seemed to be the great bi-partisan project, promising consumer choice, lower rates and the opportunity to plug in to greener energy. Even environmental groups, such as EDF and NRDC, went along for the ride hawking the virtues of freewheeling companies such as Enron over the public utilities, which were portrayed as palsied dinosaurs in an era of brawny dot.coms.</p>
<p>On the national political scene, Ralph Nader stood nearly alone in warning about the impending tragedy of jettisoning the system of regulatory mechanisms that had held the power companies in check for the past half-century in favor of a scheme that resembled a Vegas casino game. But with Clinton and NRDC backing the deregulatory mania, Nader was easily dismissed as a grumpy doomsayer.</p>
<p>Of course, in hindsight handing over the electrical power system to companies that have the moral sensibility of telemarketers and derivatives traders and then freeing them from most government oversight doesn’t seem like the brightest idea.</p>
<p>When George Bush finally interrupted his swing of California fundraisers to enlighten us on the crisis, he described the Northeast blackouts as a “wake up call.” For once he’s right. But he was somewhat less forthcoming on precisely what are we waking up to. Namely, an ever dimmer future of blackouts, brownouts and rising electric rates. It’s a scenario that Bush and his cronies helped broker. Pay more, get less. That’s the cruel equation of deregulation.</p>
<p>Ironically, Bush has been helped somewhat by the skidding economy. With many factories idled, the demand for power has been relatively low since 2002. If the economy ever rouses itself from the doldrums, the nation’s frail power system will be taxed even more and rolling blackouts may become a regular feature of American life, like those taunting tapes from Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden.</p>
<p>But at root this isn’t a problem of demand. In fact, there’s an overcapacity of electricity. When the lights went back on in the Northeast, they did so without one kilowatt coming from a nuclear power plant. All 9 reactors had been shut down. Let’s keep them that way.</p>
<p>No, it’s not an energy crisis we face, but a crisis of accountability. Regulated monopolies were overthrown in the 1990s and replaced by unregulated monopolies who would much rather stuff their profits into dividends and gaudy executive bonuses rather than sink them into long term investments in an aging transmission grid.</p>
<p>In his blissfully brief speech, Bush, who mistakenly referred to the Northeast event as a “rolling blackout” (ie., a planned shut off), also pointed to the anachronistic grid as a problem. “We’ll have time to look at it and determine whether or not our grid needs to be modernized,” mumbled Bush. “I happen to think it does, and have said so all along.”</p>
<p>Hold on, Mr. President.</p>
<p>Far from always saying the electric grid needs to be modernized, in June of 2001 our amnesiac leader threatened to veto a bill in congress that would have appropriated $350 million to upgrade the transmission grid. However, Bush didn’t have to resort to the veto. The Republican controlled House of Representatives voted the measure down twice, largely along party lines.</p>
<p>Bush delicately avoided any mention of the probable culprit in the grid crash: FirstEnergy, the Ohio-based utility. Bush’s discretion is understandable. After all, on June 30 FirstEnergy’s CEO, H. Peter Burg, hosted a fundraiser for Bush that netted his campaign more than $600,000. The featured speaker at the event was none other than Dick Cheney. The company’s chief operating officer, Anthony J. Alexander, is also an old pal. Indeed, he was one of Bush’s famous “Pioneers.” He contributed $100,000 of his own to the 2000 Bush campaign and raised at least another $100,000. Other executives at FirstEnergy have contributed more than $50,000 to the Bush reelection bid. That kind of money may not talk, but it sure buys silence.</p>
<p>So now we know. The system has shorted out and there’s no simple fix. Indeed, there may be no fix at all. And, more intriguingly, there’s no political mechanism to demand or oversee an upgrade of a system that nearly everyone agrees is broken. That’s because the electric power safety net, erected after the power company scandals of the 1920s, was giddily cut loose during Clintontime. Like welfare, once the regulatory framework is dismantled it’s gone for good. Score another one for Bill.</p>
<p>Today, there are scarcely any rules to follow and compliance with the few guidelines that remain is merely voluntary. There are no penalties levied when things go terribly awry. There’s not even anyone to levy the fines. In many cities, public utility commissions, which once acted to restrain the baser instincts of electric utilities, have been abolished or simply stripped of all authority. Many of the power companies are now located far out of state. In Montana, electric power is delivered by a company headquartered in Philadelphia. Here in Portland, Oregon, power was provided by a bankrupt company from Houston, Texas, lately looted by its own executives: Enron. And on and on it goes.</p>
<p>The electrical system of post-regulatory America is a Hobbesian morass of open markets, emasculated regulators and predatory corporations who are supposed to be providing a basic human service but act as if they only owe allegiance to the bottom line.</p>
<p>Across much of America (though, perhaps, not midtown Manhattan), blackouts are a regular pre-planned event, courtesy of the electric companies. In the deregulated environment, low-income families have little recourse when the bills pile up and you have to choose between paying the water bill, the doctor bill or the power bill. A 2002 report by poverty researcher Dr. Meg Powers estimates that more than 27 million low-income families in America face electricity shut-offs every year. Imagine being laid off in Bush’s wrecked economy and having to place your family at the beneficence of Enron, ConEd or Duke Power.</p>
<p>Instead of punishing the private power generators and utilities, Spencer Abraham, Bush’s goofy secretary of energy, wants to penalize the customers who were hurt most by the blackout and the failed promises of cheaper rates made by the zealots of deregulation. “The grid’s got to be upgraded and the consumers are going to have to be willing to pay for it,” warned Abraham.</p>
<p>When it comes to energy policy, compassionate conservatism means keeping the public in the dark until they pony up the money to put the power companies in the black.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
| 8,126 |
<p>It is not just in the United States that aggressive counterterrorism measures have raised serious human rights concerns. In July, the U.K. House of Lords began debating a draft counterterrorism law that would institute a number of harmful proposals, including granting police the power to detain terrorism suspects for up to six weeks without charge. While the bill garnered a narrow government majority of only nine votes, the government managed to get it passed last month in the House of Commons (the lower house of Parliament).</p>
<p>Much of the debate around the bill so far has focused on the British government’s effort to extend pre-charge detention beyond the already-excessive 28-day period allowed under existing law. But the bill contains other worrying provisions as well.</p>
<p>In a briefing paper issued earlier this month, Human Rights Watch analyzed the draft law, focusing on those provisions that it believes are incompatible with Britain’s human rights obligations. As Human Rights Watch emphasizes, counterterrorism measures that violate human rights undermine a government’s moral legitimacy and damage its ability to win the battle for “hearts and minds” — a battle that U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown has acknowledged to be central to long-term success in countering terrorism.</p>
<p>Pre-Charge Detention</p>
<p>Human rights groups believe that the 28-day pre-charge detention period allowed under existing law should be rolled back rather than extended. Surprisingly, perhaps, their opposition to the proposed extension is echoed by a number of conservative political figures, including the former head of MI5, the U.K. intelligence agency. In her maiden speech to the House of Lords, former MI5 director Baroness Manningham-Buller argued strongly against the proposal. She emphasized that she disagreed with the government’s plan on a “practical basis as well as a principled one.”</p>
<p>Others authorities who have criticized the planned extension include current Director of Public Prosecution Sir Ken MacDonald, former Justice Minister Lord Falconer, and former Attorney General Lord Goldsmith. Faced with such criticisms, the government had offered a few concessions meant to improve pre-charge detention safeguards.</p>
<p>But the most important safeguard — robust judicial scrutiny to prevent arbitrary detention — remains wholly inadequate. The senior judge reviewing extended detention under the bill does not assess whether there are reasonable grounds to believe the person who is detained committed a terrorist offense, the ultimate issue at stake in considering whether detention is lawful or not.</p>
<p>In addition, the 42-day detention power, when authorized by the home secretary, is valid for 30 days, down from the two months originally envisioned. But after 30 days, the home secretary can immediately reauthorize a new extension (subject to subsequent approval by Parliament), raising the possibility of rolling 42-day periods of pre-charge detention.</p>
<p>This power only exists when the home secretary invokes an “exceptionally grave terrorist threat.” But the formulation is open to wide interpretation, not least because it covers attacks that are planned or executed anywhere in the world. And although Parliament needs to approve the power within seven days of the home secretary initially authorizing it, the legislature is ill-equipped to scrutinize individual detention decisions, a function that is best performed by the courts.</p>
<p>How to Remedy the Bill’s Problems</p>
<p>The Human Rights Watch briefing paper outlines several other key problems with the proposed legislation:</p>
<p>The bill allows post-charge questioning without effective safeguards against self-incrimination and oppressive police interviews. It allows the courts to draw negative inferences during terrorism trials when the defendant exercises the right to remain silent after being charged, and it fails to require explicitly the presence of a lawyer at all times when a defendant is questioned once charged.</p>
<p>The bill gives the government the power to order, on the grounds of national security, that an inquest into a person’s death be held in secret and without a jury.</p>
<p>The bill expands the U.K.’s already overbroad definition of terrorism.</p>
<p>The briefing paper also contains concrete recommendations to the House of Lords for how to remedy the bill’s problems. It urges the Lords to:</p>
<p>Reject the power to extend pre-charge detention to 42 days;</p>
<p>Improve safeguards for current 28-day pre-charge detention, until it is repealed, including the requirement that any judge authorizing extensions to detention be satisfied that reasonable grounds exist to believe the detainee has committed a terrorist offense;</p>
<p>Reject the proposal to allow adverse inferences to be drawn in post-charge questioning, and an explicit requirement that a lawyer be present all times, and Narrow the definition of terrorism.</p>
<p>As Human Rights Watch emphasizes, the third anniversary of the 2005 London bombings is a reminder that Britain faces a real terror threat. But passing dangerous and unnecessary proposals like those contained in the draft law will not improve the country’s security. The Lords should take a principled stand against the proposed legislation.</p>
<p>JOANNE MARINER is an attorney with Human Rights Watch in New York. Her piece is based on Human Rights Watch’s “Briefing on the Counter-Terrorism Bill 2008.”</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p />
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
|
Debating Human Rights and Counter-Terrorism in Britain
| true |
https://counterpunch.org/2008/08/04/debating-human-rights-and-counter-terrorism-in-britain/
|
2008-08-04
| 4left
|
Debating Human Rights and Counter-Terrorism in Britain
<p>It is not just in the United States that aggressive counterterrorism measures have raised serious human rights concerns. In July, the U.K. House of Lords began debating a draft counterterrorism law that would institute a number of harmful proposals, including granting police the power to detain terrorism suspects for up to six weeks without charge. While the bill garnered a narrow government majority of only nine votes, the government managed to get it passed last month in the House of Commons (the lower house of Parliament).</p>
<p>Much of the debate around the bill so far has focused on the British government’s effort to extend pre-charge detention beyond the already-excessive 28-day period allowed under existing law. But the bill contains other worrying provisions as well.</p>
<p>In a briefing paper issued earlier this month, Human Rights Watch analyzed the draft law, focusing on those provisions that it believes are incompatible with Britain’s human rights obligations. As Human Rights Watch emphasizes, counterterrorism measures that violate human rights undermine a government’s moral legitimacy and damage its ability to win the battle for “hearts and minds” — a battle that U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown has acknowledged to be central to long-term success in countering terrorism.</p>
<p>Pre-Charge Detention</p>
<p>Human rights groups believe that the 28-day pre-charge detention period allowed under existing law should be rolled back rather than extended. Surprisingly, perhaps, their opposition to the proposed extension is echoed by a number of conservative political figures, including the former head of MI5, the U.K. intelligence agency. In her maiden speech to the House of Lords, former MI5 director Baroness Manningham-Buller argued strongly against the proposal. She emphasized that she disagreed with the government’s plan on a “practical basis as well as a principled one.”</p>
<p>Others authorities who have criticized the planned extension include current Director of Public Prosecution Sir Ken MacDonald, former Justice Minister Lord Falconer, and former Attorney General Lord Goldsmith. Faced with such criticisms, the government had offered a few concessions meant to improve pre-charge detention safeguards.</p>
<p>But the most important safeguard — robust judicial scrutiny to prevent arbitrary detention — remains wholly inadequate. The senior judge reviewing extended detention under the bill does not assess whether there are reasonable grounds to believe the person who is detained committed a terrorist offense, the ultimate issue at stake in considering whether detention is lawful or not.</p>
<p>In addition, the 42-day detention power, when authorized by the home secretary, is valid for 30 days, down from the two months originally envisioned. But after 30 days, the home secretary can immediately reauthorize a new extension (subject to subsequent approval by Parliament), raising the possibility of rolling 42-day periods of pre-charge detention.</p>
<p>This power only exists when the home secretary invokes an “exceptionally grave terrorist threat.” But the formulation is open to wide interpretation, not least because it covers attacks that are planned or executed anywhere in the world. And although Parliament needs to approve the power within seven days of the home secretary initially authorizing it, the legislature is ill-equipped to scrutinize individual detention decisions, a function that is best performed by the courts.</p>
<p>How to Remedy the Bill’s Problems</p>
<p>The Human Rights Watch briefing paper outlines several other key problems with the proposed legislation:</p>
<p>The bill allows post-charge questioning without effective safeguards against self-incrimination and oppressive police interviews. It allows the courts to draw negative inferences during terrorism trials when the defendant exercises the right to remain silent after being charged, and it fails to require explicitly the presence of a lawyer at all times when a defendant is questioned once charged.</p>
<p>The bill gives the government the power to order, on the grounds of national security, that an inquest into a person’s death be held in secret and without a jury.</p>
<p>The bill expands the U.K.’s already overbroad definition of terrorism.</p>
<p>The briefing paper also contains concrete recommendations to the House of Lords for how to remedy the bill’s problems. It urges the Lords to:</p>
<p>Reject the power to extend pre-charge detention to 42 days;</p>
<p>Improve safeguards for current 28-day pre-charge detention, until it is repealed, including the requirement that any judge authorizing extensions to detention be satisfied that reasonable grounds exist to believe the detainee has committed a terrorist offense;</p>
<p>Reject the proposal to allow adverse inferences to be drawn in post-charge questioning, and an explicit requirement that a lawyer be present all times, and Narrow the definition of terrorism.</p>
<p>As Human Rights Watch emphasizes, the third anniversary of the 2005 London bombings is a reminder that Britain faces a real terror threat. But passing dangerous and unnecessary proposals like those contained in the draft law will not improve the country’s security. The Lords should take a principled stand against the proposed legislation.</p>
<p>JOANNE MARINER is an attorney with Human Rights Watch in New York. Her piece is based on Human Rights Watch’s “Briefing on the Counter-Terrorism Bill 2008.”</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p />
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
| 8,127 |
<p>BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Authorities in Alabama say a man accused of gunning down another man has been arrested.</p>
<p>Al.com <a href="http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/index.ssf/2018/01/suspect_charged_in_broad-dayli.html" type="external">reports</a> Birmingham police Sgt. Bryan Shelton said Thursday that 38-year-old Derrick Hampton was charged with murder in the death of 25-year-old De'Quinton Danner.</p>
<p>Officers responded to a call of shots fired at about 10:15 a.m. Saturday. At the same time, Shelton says, a woman called 911 saying her boyfriend told her that he had been shot.</p>
<p>Officers found Danner in the driver's seat of his girlfriend's burgundy sedan. He had been shot in the chest and was pronounced dead at the scene.</p>
<p>Investigators have not released a motive for the killing.</p>
<p>BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Authorities in Alabama say a man accused of gunning down another man has been arrested.</p>
<p>Al.com <a href="http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/index.ssf/2018/01/suspect_charged_in_broad-dayli.html" type="external">reports</a> Birmingham police Sgt. Bryan Shelton said Thursday that 38-year-old Derrick Hampton was charged with murder in the death of 25-year-old De'Quinton Danner.</p>
<p>Officers responded to a call of shots fired at about 10:15 a.m. Saturday. At the same time, Shelton says, a woman called 911 saying her boyfriend told her that he had been shot.</p>
<p>Officers found Danner in the driver's seat of his girlfriend's burgundy sedan. He had been shot in the chest and was pronounced dead at the scene.</p>
<p>Investigators have not released a motive for the killing.</p>
|
Man charged in the shooting death of another man
| false |
https://apnews.com/amp/8be75676f33b4333a9a4041d29fc2ddb
|
2018-01-12
| 2least
|
Man charged in the shooting death of another man
<p>BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Authorities in Alabama say a man accused of gunning down another man has been arrested.</p>
<p>Al.com <a href="http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/index.ssf/2018/01/suspect_charged_in_broad-dayli.html" type="external">reports</a> Birmingham police Sgt. Bryan Shelton said Thursday that 38-year-old Derrick Hampton was charged with murder in the death of 25-year-old De'Quinton Danner.</p>
<p>Officers responded to a call of shots fired at about 10:15 a.m. Saturday. At the same time, Shelton says, a woman called 911 saying her boyfriend told her that he had been shot.</p>
<p>Officers found Danner in the driver's seat of his girlfriend's burgundy sedan. He had been shot in the chest and was pronounced dead at the scene.</p>
<p>Investigators have not released a motive for the killing.</p>
<p>BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Authorities in Alabama say a man accused of gunning down another man has been arrested.</p>
<p>Al.com <a href="http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/index.ssf/2018/01/suspect_charged_in_broad-dayli.html" type="external">reports</a> Birmingham police Sgt. Bryan Shelton said Thursday that 38-year-old Derrick Hampton was charged with murder in the death of 25-year-old De'Quinton Danner.</p>
<p>Officers responded to a call of shots fired at about 10:15 a.m. Saturday. At the same time, Shelton says, a woman called 911 saying her boyfriend told her that he had been shot.</p>
<p>Officers found Danner in the driver's seat of his girlfriend's burgundy sedan. He had been shot in the chest and was pronounced dead at the scene.</p>
<p>Investigators have not released a motive for the killing.</p>
| 8,128 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>The Mountain West Conference confirmed Wednesday it has reached agreement on a package that will bring MWC football and men’s basketball games back to ESPN on a regular basis after a seven-year absence, starting this fall.</p>
<p>Financial terms were not disclosed, but a March 7 report on espn.com speculated that the ESPN deal, combined with the Mountain West’s existing agreement with CBS, could produce a combined $18 million per year for the league. The agreement with ESPN is for seven years and is believed to include up to 22 football games and 25 men’s basketball games annually.</p>
<p>All Mountain West schools — numbering 12, beginning in the fall when San Jose State and Utah State join the league — will share equally in the proceeds.</p>
<p>According to a Mountain West news release, the ESPN and CBS packages combined will put up to 44 football and 56 men’s basketball games on national TV each year through the 2019-20 season.</p>
<p>Six of the football games to be televised on ESPN will be Boise State home games, as per the agreement struck between Boise State and the Mountain West when BSU agreed to remain in the MWC rather than leave for the Big East.</p>
<p>Wednesday, Mountain West Commissioner Craig Thompson said conversations with ESPN already had begun in December, after CBS agreed to allow the league to negotiate with a second national network but before Boise State agreed to stay in the MWC.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“That was the key, that CBS allowed us to bring a second national network into the picture,” Thompson said. “… People are calling it the Boise State deal. Well, it is and it isn’t.”</p>
<p>Last fall, New Mexico was the only Mountain West football team that did not appear on national TV as part of the league’s package. The Lobos were coming off three consecutive 1-11 seasons. They improved to 4-9 last fall in Bob Davie’s first season as head coach.</p>
<p>The additional slots afforded by the ESPN deal, UNM athletic director Paul Krebs said, should help in that regard.</p>
<p>“But the challenge is on us (to continue to improve),” Krebs said, “and nobody knows that better than coach Davie and myself.”</p>
<p>In 2006, after being unable to agree on terms for a renewal of its contract with ESPN, the Mountain West embarked on a seven-year, $82 million deal with CSTV — later to become CBS Sports Network. From the fall of 2006 through May 2012, the Mountain West also had its own network, The Mtn. — This article appeared on page D4 of the Albuquerque Journal</p>
|
ESPN to televise MWC football, men's basketball
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/239227/espn-to-televise-mwc-football-mens-basketball.html
| 2least
|
ESPN to televise MWC football, men's basketball
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>The Mountain West Conference confirmed Wednesday it has reached agreement on a package that will bring MWC football and men’s basketball games back to ESPN on a regular basis after a seven-year absence, starting this fall.</p>
<p>Financial terms were not disclosed, but a March 7 report on espn.com speculated that the ESPN deal, combined with the Mountain West’s existing agreement with CBS, could produce a combined $18 million per year for the league. The agreement with ESPN is for seven years and is believed to include up to 22 football games and 25 men’s basketball games annually.</p>
<p>All Mountain West schools — numbering 12, beginning in the fall when San Jose State and Utah State join the league — will share equally in the proceeds.</p>
<p>According to a Mountain West news release, the ESPN and CBS packages combined will put up to 44 football and 56 men’s basketball games on national TV each year through the 2019-20 season.</p>
<p>Six of the football games to be televised on ESPN will be Boise State home games, as per the agreement struck between Boise State and the Mountain West when BSU agreed to remain in the MWC rather than leave for the Big East.</p>
<p>Wednesday, Mountain West Commissioner Craig Thompson said conversations with ESPN already had begun in December, after CBS agreed to allow the league to negotiate with a second national network but before Boise State agreed to stay in the MWC.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“That was the key, that CBS allowed us to bring a second national network into the picture,” Thompson said. “… People are calling it the Boise State deal. Well, it is and it isn’t.”</p>
<p>Last fall, New Mexico was the only Mountain West football team that did not appear on national TV as part of the league’s package. The Lobos were coming off three consecutive 1-11 seasons. They improved to 4-9 last fall in Bob Davie’s first season as head coach.</p>
<p>The additional slots afforded by the ESPN deal, UNM athletic director Paul Krebs said, should help in that regard.</p>
<p>“But the challenge is on us (to continue to improve),” Krebs said, “and nobody knows that better than coach Davie and myself.”</p>
<p>In 2006, after being unable to agree on terms for a renewal of its contract with ESPN, the Mountain West embarked on a seven-year, $82 million deal with CSTV — later to become CBS Sports Network. From the fall of 2006 through May 2012, the Mountain West also had its own network, The Mtn. — This article appeared on page D4 of the Albuquerque Journal</p>
| 8,129 |
|
<p />
<p>&lt;img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-18120" alt="Edward-Snowden" src="https://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Edward-Snowden-470x253.jpg" width="470" height="253" /&gt;</p>
<p>I spent the summer of 1961 behind the Iron Curtain.&#160; I was part of the US-USSR student exchange program. It was the second year of the program, which operated under auspices of the US Department of State. Our return to the West via train through East Germany was interrupted by the construction of the Berlin Wall.&#160; We were sent back to Poland. The East German rail tracks were occupied with Soviet troop and tank trains as the Red Army concentrated in East Germany to face down any Western interference.</p>
<p>Fortunately, in those days there were no neoconservatives. Washington had not grown the hubris it so well displays in the 21st century.&#160; The wall was built and war was avoided.&#160; The wall backfired on the Soviets. Both JFK and Ronald Reagan used it to good propaganda effect.</p>
<p>In those days, America stood for freedom, and the Soviet Union for oppression. Much of this impression was created by Western propaganda, but there was some semblance to the truth in the image. The communists had a Julian Assange, an Edward Snowden of their own. His name was Cardinal Jozef Mindszenty, the leader of the Hungarian Catholic Church.</p>
<p>Mindszenty opposed tyranny. For his efforts, he was imprisoned by the Nazis. Communists also regarded his as an undesirable, and he was tortured and given a life sentence in 1949.</p>
<p>Freed by the short-lived Hungarian Revolution in 1956, Mindszenty reached the American Embassy in Budapest and was granted political asylum by Washington.&#160; However, the communists would not give him the free passage that asylum presumes, and Mindszenty lived in the US Embassy for 15 years, 79% of his remaining life.</p>
<p>In the 21st century roles have reversed. Today it is Washington that is enamored of tyranny. On Washington’s orders, the UK will not permit Julian Assange free passage to Ecuador, where he has been granted asylum. Like Cardinal Mindszenty, Assange is stuck in the Ecuadoran Embassy in London.</p>
<p>Washington will not permit its European vassal states to allow overflights of airliners carrying Edward Snowden to any of the countries that have offered Snowden asylum.</p>
<p>Snowden is stuck in the Moscow airport.</p>
<p>In Washington, politicians of both parties demand that Snowden be captured and executed. Politicians demand that Russia be punished for not violating international law, seizing Snowden, and turning him over to Washington to be tortured and executed, despite the fact that Washington has no extradition treaty with Russia.</p>
<p>Snowden did United States citizens a great service. He told us that despite constitutional prohibition, Washington had implemented a universal spy system intercepting every communication of every American and much of the rest of the world.</p>
<p>Special facilities are built in which to store these communications.</p>
<p>In other words, Snowden did what Americans are supposed to do–disclose government crimes against the Constitution and against citizens. Without a free press, there is nothing but the government’s lies. In order to protect its lies from exposure, Washington intends to exterminate all truth tellers.</p>
<p>The Obama Regime is the most oppressive regime ever in its prosecution of protected whistleblowers.&#160; Whistleblowers are protected by law, but the Obama Regime insists that whistleblowers are not really whistleblowers.&#160; Instead, the Obama Regime defines whistleblowers as spies, traitors, and foreign agents.&#160; Congress, the media, and the faux judiciary echo the executive branch propaganda that whistleblowers are a threat to America.&#160; It is not the government that is violating and raping the US Constitution that is a threat. It is the whistleblowers who inform us of the rape who are the threat.</p>
<p>The Obama Regime has destroyed press freedom. A lackey federal appeals court has ruled that New York Times reporter James Risen must testify in the trial of a CIA officer charged with providing Risen with information about CIA plots against Iran. The ruling of this fascist court destroys confidentiality and is intended to end all leaks of the government’s crimes to media.</p>
<p>What Americans have learned in the 21st century is that the US government lies about everything and breaks every law. Without whistleblowers, Americans will remain in the dark as “their” government enserfs them, destroying every liberty, and impoverishes them with endless wars for Washington’s and Wall Street’s hegemony.</p>
<p>Snowden harmed no one except the liars and traitors in the US government. Contrast Washington’s animosity against Snowden with the pardon that Bush gave to Dick Cheney aide, Libby, who took the fall for his boss for blowing the cover, a felony, on a covert CIA operative, the spouse of a former government official who exposed the Bush/Cheney/neocon lies about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.</p>
<p>Whatever serves the tiny clique that rules america is legal; whatever exposes the criminals is illegal.</p>
<p>That’s all there is to it.</p>
<p>This article was originally published at <a href="http://www.paulcraigroberts.org/" type="external">PaulCraigRoberts.org</a> and has been used here with permission.</p>
|
Role Reversal: How the US Became the USSR
| false |
http://foreignpolicyjournal.com/2013/07/24/role-reversal-how-the-us-became-the-ussr/
|
2013-07-24
| 1right-center
|
Role Reversal: How the US Became the USSR
<p />
<p>&lt;img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-18120" alt="Edward-Snowden" src="https://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Edward-Snowden-470x253.jpg" width="470" height="253" /&gt;</p>
<p>I spent the summer of 1961 behind the Iron Curtain.&#160; I was part of the US-USSR student exchange program. It was the second year of the program, which operated under auspices of the US Department of State. Our return to the West via train through East Germany was interrupted by the construction of the Berlin Wall.&#160; We were sent back to Poland. The East German rail tracks were occupied with Soviet troop and tank trains as the Red Army concentrated in East Germany to face down any Western interference.</p>
<p>Fortunately, in those days there were no neoconservatives. Washington had not grown the hubris it so well displays in the 21st century.&#160; The wall was built and war was avoided.&#160; The wall backfired on the Soviets. Both JFK and Ronald Reagan used it to good propaganda effect.</p>
<p>In those days, America stood for freedom, and the Soviet Union for oppression. Much of this impression was created by Western propaganda, but there was some semblance to the truth in the image. The communists had a Julian Assange, an Edward Snowden of their own. His name was Cardinal Jozef Mindszenty, the leader of the Hungarian Catholic Church.</p>
<p>Mindszenty opposed tyranny. For his efforts, he was imprisoned by the Nazis. Communists also regarded his as an undesirable, and he was tortured and given a life sentence in 1949.</p>
<p>Freed by the short-lived Hungarian Revolution in 1956, Mindszenty reached the American Embassy in Budapest and was granted political asylum by Washington.&#160; However, the communists would not give him the free passage that asylum presumes, and Mindszenty lived in the US Embassy for 15 years, 79% of his remaining life.</p>
<p>In the 21st century roles have reversed. Today it is Washington that is enamored of tyranny. On Washington’s orders, the UK will not permit Julian Assange free passage to Ecuador, where he has been granted asylum. Like Cardinal Mindszenty, Assange is stuck in the Ecuadoran Embassy in London.</p>
<p>Washington will not permit its European vassal states to allow overflights of airliners carrying Edward Snowden to any of the countries that have offered Snowden asylum.</p>
<p>Snowden is stuck in the Moscow airport.</p>
<p>In Washington, politicians of both parties demand that Snowden be captured and executed. Politicians demand that Russia be punished for not violating international law, seizing Snowden, and turning him over to Washington to be tortured and executed, despite the fact that Washington has no extradition treaty with Russia.</p>
<p>Snowden did United States citizens a great service. He told us that despite constitutional prohibition, Washington had implemented a universal spy system intercepting every communication of every American and much of the rest of the world.</p>
<p>Special facilities are built in which to store these communications.</p>
<p>In other words, Snowden did what Americans are supposed to do–disclose government crimes against the Constitution and against citizens. Without a free press, there is nothing but the government’s lies. In order to protect its lies from exposure, Washington intends to exterminate all truth tellers.</p>
<p>The Obama Regime is the most oppressive regime ever in its prosecution of protected whistleblowers.&#160; Whistleblowers are protected by law, but the Obama Regime insists that whistleblowers are not really whistleblowers.&#160; Instead, the Obama Regime defines whistleblowers as spies, traitors, and foreign agents.&#160; Congress, the media, and the faux judiciary echo the executive branch propaganda that whistleblowers are a threat to America.&#160; It is not the government that is violating and raping the US Constitution that is a threat. It is the whistleblowers who inform us of the rape who are the threat.</p>
<p>The Obama Regime has destroyed press freedom. A lackey federal appeals court has ruled that New York Times reporter James Risen must testify in the trial of a CIA officer charged with providing Risen with information about CIA plots against Iran. The ruling of this fascist court destroys confidentiality and is intended to end all leaks of the government’s crimes to media.</p>
<p>What Americans have learned in the 21st century is that the US government lies about everything and breaks every law. Without whistleblowers, Americans will remain in the dark as “their” government enserfs them, destroying every liberty, and impoverishes them with endless wars for Washington’s and Wall Street’s hegemony.</p>
<p>Snowden harmed no one except the liars and traitors in the US government. Contrast Washington’s animosity against Snowden with the pardon that Bush gave to Dick Cheney aide, Libby, who took the fall for his boss for blowing the cover, a felony, on a covert CIA operative, the spouse of a former government official who exposed the Bush/Cheney/neocon lies about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.</p>
<p>Whatever serves the tiny clique that rules america is legal; whatever exposes the criminals is illegal.</p>
<p>That’s all there is to it.</p>
<p>This article was originally published at <a href="http://www.paulcraigroberts.org/" type="external">PaulCraigRoberts.org</a> and has been used here with permission.</p>
| 8,130 |
<p />
<p>I just want to add a note to <a href="/mojoblog/archives/2008/09/9655_democrats_and_respect_middle_class.html" type="external">the blog post below</a>, which points out that Republicans demonstrate a phony respect for the middle class during election season while, at all other times, supporting legislation works that works against the middle class’s interest.</p>
<p>This is how they win elections. The Republican Party has, for years, pushed policies that support the very few. That’s why they try to frame elections as questions of patriotism, of who respects and identifies with heartland Americans, of <a href="/mojoblog/archives/2008/09/9653_the_hack_gap_revisited.html" type="external">who called who a “pig.”</a> Because if elections were about whether voters got the most benefit from Democrats or Republican being in power, Democrats would win every time.</p>
<p />
|
This Is How They Win
| true |
https://motherjones.com/politics/2008/09/how-they-win/
|
2008-09-10
| 4left
|
This Is How They Win
<p />
<p>I just want to add a note to <a href="/mojoblog/archives/2008/09/9655_democrats_and_respect_middle_class.html" type="external">the blog post below</a>, which points out that Republicans demonstrate a phony respect for the middle class during election season while, at all other times, supporting legislation works that works against the middle class’s interest.</p>
<p>This is how they win elections. The Republican Party has, for years, pushed policies that support the very few. That’s why they try to frame elections as questions of patriotism, of who respects and identifies with heartland Americans, of <a href="/mojoblog/archives/2008/09/9653_the_hack_gap_revisited.html" type="external">who called who a “pig.”</a> Because if elections were about whether voters got the most benefit from Democrats or Republican being in power, Democrats would win every time.</p>
<p />
| 8,131 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>At a special meeting Monday, Bernalillo County commissioners will consider adding two advisory questions to the ballot — one asking voters to weigh in on a gross-receipts tax, the other on decriminalizing possession of an ounce or less of marijuana.</p>
<p>The election results wouldn’t be binding. It would be up to the County Commission to decide later whether to enact such a tax or support efforts to reduce marijuana penalties.</p>
<p>Complicating matters is a shortage of space on the ballot. It isn’t clear that either question will fit on the 19-inch ballot election workers are planning to use.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>And the city of Albuquerque is also asking for three other items to be added to the ballot, including a proposal to give the City Council approval authority over the hiring of the police chief.</p>
<p>Council Democrats had also wanted to ask voters about marijuana and a social-services tax, but Mayor Richard Berry vetoed an election resolution that contained them.</p>
<p>Now the county will consider similar questions, though the results would be advisory.</p>
<p>County Commission Chairwoman Debbie O’Malley, a Democrat, said the questions are worth sending to voters. They’re of particular importance to county government, she said, because the county operates an overcrowded jail that essentially serves as the largest mental-health center in the state.</p>
<p>“There’s no doubt that the public awareness is very high around this issue,” O’Malley said Friday. “What I’m hearing is, ‘we need to do something. We have a crisis in this community.'”</p>
<p>The proposed ballot question would ask whether voters favor establishment of a one-eighth percent gross receipts tax for mental-health and behavioral services. In Albuquerque, the gross receipts tax rate would climb from 7 percent to 7.125 percent, if such a tax were enacted.</p>
<p>Commissioner Wayne Johnson, a Republican, said he “absolutely” opposes the addition of advisory questions to the ballot so close to the election. The deadline to send ballot items to state election officials is Tuesday, the day after Monday’s special commission meeting.</p>
<p>“This is playing games with an already extensive ballot,” Johnson said. “… If she wants to do a poll, then do a poll.”</p>
<p>County Clerk Maggie Toulouse Oliver said it isn’t clear whether there’s room on the ballot for any extra questions. Recent judicial vacancies have added to the ballot crunch, she said, by creating more races.</p>
<p>Toulouse Oliver said she is waiting for a ballot mock-up from the state and its vendor that will show how much space is left. County officials have tightened some of their bond-proposal language in hopes of making more room, she said.</p>
<p>Lengthening the ballot to 20 inches is one possibility, but the election printers are designed for only up to 19-inch ballots. Using a two-page ballot is another idea, though it’s not clear whether that’s practical.</p>
<p>“It would be uncharted territory for all parties involved,” Toulouse Oliver said.</p>
|
Pot penalties, tax hike resurface as ballot possibilities
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/457673/pot-penalties-tax-hike-resurface-as-ballot-possibilities.html
| 2least
|
Pot penalties, tax hike resurface as ballot possibilities
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>At a special meeting Monday, Bernalillo County commissioners will consider adding two advisory questions to the ballot — one asking voters to weigh in on a gross-receipts tax, the other on decriminalizing possession of an ounce or less of marijuana.</p>
<p>The election results wouldn’t be binding. It would be up to the County Commission to decide later whether to enact such a tax or support efforts to reduce marijuana penalties.</p>
<p>Complicating matters is a shortage of space on the ballot. It isn’t clear that either question will fit on the 19-inch ballot election workers are planning to use.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>And the city of Albuquerque is also asking for three other items to be added to the ballot, including a proposal to give the City Council approval authority over the hiring of the police chief.</p>
<p>Council Democrats had also wanted to ask voters about marijuana and a social-services tax, but Mayor Richard Berry vetoed an election resolution that contained them.</p>
<p>Now the county will consider similar questions, though the results would be advisory.</p>
<p>County Commission Chairwoman Debbie O’Malley, a Democrat, said the questions are worth sending to voters. They’re of particular importance to county government, she said, because the county operates an overcrowded jail that essentially serves as the largest mental-health center in the state.</p>
<p>“There’s no doubt that the public awareness is very high around this issue,” O’Malley said Friday. “What I’m hearing is, ‘we need to do something. We have a crisis in this community.'”</p>
<p>The proposed ballot question would ask whether voters favor establishment of a one-eighth percent gross receipts tax for mental-health and behavioral services. In Albuquerque, the gross receipts tax rate would climb from 7 percent to 7.125 percent, if such a tax were enacted.</p>
<p>Commissioner Wayne Johnson, a Republican, said he “absolutely” opposes the addition of advisory questions to the ballot so close to the election. The deadline to send ballot items to state election officials is Tuesday, the day after Monday’s special commission meeting.</p>
<p>“This is playing games with an already extensive ballot,” Johnson said. “… If she wants to do a poll, then do a poll.”</p>
<p>County Clerk Maggie Toulouse Oliver said it isn’t clear whether there’s room on the ballot for any extra questions. Recent judicial vacancies have added to the ballot crunch, she said, by creating more races.</p>
<p>Toulouse Oliver said she is waiting for a ballot mock-up from the state and its vendor that will show how much space is left. County officials have tightened some of their bond-proposal language in hopes of making more room, she said.</p>
<p>Lengthening the ballot to 20 inches is one possibility, but the election printers are designed for only up to 19-inch ballots. Using a two-page ballot is another idea, though it’s not clear whether that’s practical.</p>
<p>“It would be uncharted territory for all parties involved,” Toulouse Oliver said.</p>
| 8,132 |
|
<p>Alan Cumming likes doing accents.</p>
<p>He’s played a German mutant in the X-Men franchise, a Russian Bond villain, and the venomous Washington operative Eli Gold on The Good Wife. He recalls that when he showed up on the set of Eyes Wide Shut, Stanley Kubrick chewed him out.</p>
<p>“You’re not American,” the director yelled. “You were American on the tape!”</p>
<p>Cumming took it in stride.</p>
<p>“That’s because I’m an actor, Stanley,” Cumming explained.</p>
<p>Cumming is actually Scottish — a vocal supporter of the Scottish home rule movement — and he is playing a famous Scot on Broadway right now in Macbeth.</p>
<p>In fact, he plays many Scots: the harrowing production is set in an insane asylum, with Cumming as a patient acting out the entire play by himself.</p>
<p>“There was a moment where I thought 'I can’t do this,'” he said. “It’s too much. I can’t learn a whole play. I just felt as though I’d taken on too much. But I did it.”</p>
<p>Yet his quick shifts from Macbeth to Lady Macbeth, and other moments of the play, bring some levity to the tragedy.</p>
<p>“You have to let the audience know they can laugh,” he said. “You have to let them know that’s allowed because later on when really horrible things happen both in the play and to me, as a performer, I think people need to know that if I do something funny, there’s a release for them.”</p>
<p>Cumming will soon return to Broadway as the Master of Ceremonies in the much-anticipated revival of the 1998 hit production of Cabaret, which made him a star in America.</p>
<p>He said Kurt he’s looking forward to spending his 50th birthday in that slinky role.</p>
<p>“The whole experience of what happened to me because of the show, whilst I was doing the show, was so overwhelming. I was so green. And, this time, I won’t be as scared,” he said.</p>
|
Well-known Scottish actor Alan Cumming takes all roles in new Broadway showing of Macbeth
| false |
https://pri.org/stories/2013-05-28/well-known-scottish-actor-alan-cumming-takes-all-roles-new-broadway-showing
|
2013-05-28
| 3left-center
|
Well-known Scottish actor Alan Cumming takes all roles in new Broadway showing of Macbeth
<p>Alan Cumming likes doing accents.</p>
<p>He’s played a German mutant in the X-Men franchise, a Russian Bond villain, and the venomous Washington operative Eli Gold on The Good Wife. He recalls that when he showed up on the set of Eyes Wide Shut, Stanley Kubrick chewed him out.</p>
<p>“You’re not American,” the director yelled. “You were American on the tape!”</p>
<p>Cumming took it in stride.</p>
<p>“That’s because I’m an actor, Stanley,” Cumming explained.</p>
<p>Cumming is actually Scottish — a vocal supporter of the Scottish home rule movement — and he is playing a famous Scot on Broadway right now in Macbeth.</p>
<p>In fact, he plays many Scots: the harrowing production is set in an insane asylum, with Cumming as a patient acting out the entire play by himself.</p>
<p>“There was a moment where I thought 'I can’t do this,'” he said. “It’s too much. I can’t learn a whole play. I just felt as though I’d taken on too much. But I did it.”</p>
<p>Yet his quick shifts from Macbeth to Lady Macbeth, and other moments of the play, bring some levity to the tragedy.</p>
<p>“You have to let the audience know they can laugh,” he said. “You have to let them know that’s allowed because later on when really horrible things happen both in the play and to me, as a performer, I think people need to know that if I do something funny, there’s a release for them.”</p>
<p>Cumming will soon return to Broadway as the Master of Ceremonies in the much-anticipated revival of the 1998 hit production of Cabaret, which made him a star in America.</p>
<p>He said Kurt he’s looking forward to spending his 50th birthday in that slinky role.</p>
<p>“The whole experience of what happened to me because of the show, whilst I was doing the show, was so overwhelming. I was so green. And, this time, I won’t be as scared,” he said.</p>
| 8,133 |
<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s first year in office offered head-snapping drama from the start that never let up.</p>
<p>From his early-morning tweets to his raucous rallies and Oval Office orations, the president was unafraid to flout conventions and upend the ways of Washington.</p>
<p>Trump promised during the presidential campaign that he’d act “presidential” when the time arrived — and then the former reality TV star set out to redefine just what that means.</p>
<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s first year in office offered head-snapping drama from the start that never let up.</p>
<p>From his early-morning tweets to his raucous rallies and Oval Office orations, the president was unafraid to flout conventions and upend the ways of Washington.</p>
<p>Trump promised during the presidential campaign that he’d act “presidential” when the time arrived — and then the former reality TV star set out to redefine just what that means.</p>
|
Trump’s first year in the White House in photos
| false |
https://apnews.com/0747ccfc608f4b7494156f3b873498c3
|
2018-01-18
| 2least
|
Trump’s first year in the White House in photos
<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s first year in office offered head-snapping drama from the start that never let up.</p>
<p>From his early-morning tweets to his raucous rallies and Oval Office orations, the president was unafraid to flout conventions and upend the ways of Washington.</p>
<p>Trump promised during the presidential campaign that he’d act “presidential” when the time arrived — and then the former reality TV star set out to redefine just what that means.</p>
<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s first year in office offered head-snapping drama from the start that never let up.</p>
<p>From his early-morning tweets to his raucous rallies and Oval Office orations, the president was unafraid to flout conventions and upend the ways of Washington.</p>
<p>Trump promised during the presidential campaign that he’d act “presidential” when the time arrived — and then the former reality TV star set out to redefine just what that means.</p>
| 8,134 |
<p><a href="" type="internal" /></p>
<p>Last Friday MSNBC Ed Schultz had a town hall in Alabama. He wanted to go to the Deep South and talk directly to the people. He complained about the Right Wing talking heads using a narrative of dependency as well as race bating to create a level of angst within the white community. One wonders if he expected to have two women in the audience with prescient stories that put it all in a microcosm.</p>
<p>The following is the transcript of the video that follows. The two women made explosive accusations against many white churches in the South and against local Republican Parties. While many may find what they are saying hard to believe I have had many Republicans in our local Baptist churches tell me similar stories.</p>
<p>ED Schultz: Last Friday night I did a town hall meeting in Birmingham Alabama. … This is what an Alabama public school teacher came to the microphone and said.</p>
<p>Alabama Teacher: I have been a part of public education since 1970, when the schools were first integrated. I see more hatred in the South now than I ever saw in 1970 and I will tell you why. It’s been preached in the pulpit. It’s in the White churches. They are teaching people that if you vote anything but Republican, you are going to hell pretty much.</p>
<p>ED Schultz: Oh! They are preaching it and people are buying it. One Alabama state legislator told me a chilling story about a recent attempt to segregate a local school.</p>
<p>Alabama Legislator: I got a call this week from a White female Republican. We have a school district in our county that has made an application to become independent. The reason she called me was because in the church this past Sunday, they were bullied and told you’ve got to support this school district pulling away from the county so we can minimize the number of blacks that are in our school district. Even though she was Republican she was disheartened because she says she never looked at the party from that perspective.</p>
<p />
<p>Many believe that Americans spend too much time on race issues. The reality is that it is important to do so especially now. The Right Wing’s Southern Strategy is in full vogue. What makes the women’s statement important is the context.</p>
<p>Martin Luther King said the most <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_0bNaAprZo" type="external">segregated hour in America</a> is at 11:00 on Sunday mornings, during church services. That presents several realities. It allows those of ill will to use that homogeneity to indoctrinate and to foment a false reality to be feared, a fear of the ‘the other’.</p>
<p>With the church providing the moral permission to be fearful and ‘hateful’ of ‘the other’, it is not difficult for the Right Wing hacks like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly and others to finish the indoctrination. This evil most be continuously exposed and disinfected.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /> LIKE My <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/EgbertoWilliescom/181893712536" type="external">Facebook Page</a> – Visit My Blog: <a href="http://www.EgbertoWillies.com" type="external">EgbertoWillies.com</a></p>
|
Alabama Woman: Their White Churches Preach Racism (VIDEO)
| true |
http://egbertowillies.com/2013/08/27/alabama-woman-white-churches-preach-racism-video/?fb_source%3Dpubv1
|
2013-08-27
| 4left
|
Alabama Woman: Their White Churches Preach Racism (VIDEO)
<p><a href="" type="internal" /></p>
<p>Last Friday MSNBC Ed Schultz had a town hall in Alabama. He wanted to go to the Deep South and talk directly to the people. He complained about the Right Wing talking heads using a narrative of dependency as well as race bating to create a level of angst within the white community. One wonders if he expected to have two women in the audience with prescient stories that put it all in a microcosm.</p>
<p>The following is the transcript of the video that follows. The two women made explosive accusations against many white churches in the South and against local Republican Parties. While many may find what they are saying hard to believe I have had many Republicans in our local Baptist churches tell me similar stories.</p>
<p>ED Schultz: Last Friday night I did a town hall meeting in Birmingham Alabama. … This is what an Alabama public school teacher came to the microphone and said.</p>
<p>Alabama Teacher: I have been a part of public education since 1970, when the schools were first integrated. I see more hatred in the South now than I ever saw in 1970 and I will tell you why. It’s been preached in the pulpit. It’s in the White churches. They are teaching people that if you vote anything but Republican, you are going to hell pretty much.</p>
<p>ED Schultz: Oh! They are preaching it and people are buying it. One Alabama state legislator told me a chilling story about a recent attempt to segregate a local school.</p>
<p>Alabama Legislator: I got a call this week from a White female Republican. We have a school district in our county that has made an application to become independent. The reason she called me was because in the church this past Sunday, they were bullied and told you’ve got to support this school district pulling away from the county so we can minimize the number of blacks that are in our school district. Even though she was Republican she was disheartened because she says she never looked at the party from that perspective.</p>
<p />
<p>Many believe that Americans spend too much time on race issues. The reality is that it is important to do so especially now. The Right Wing’s Southern Strategy is in full vogue. What makes the women’s statement important is the context.</p>
<p>Martin Luther King said the most <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_0bNaAprZo" type="external">segregated hour in America</a> is at 11:00 on Sunday mornings, during church services. That presents several realities. It allows those of ill will to use that homogeneity to indoctrinate and to foment a false reality to be feared, a fear of the ‘the other’.</p>
<p>With the church providing the moral permission to be fearful and ‘hateful’ of ‘the other’, it is not difficult for the Right Wing hacks like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly and others to finish the indoctrination. This evil most be continuously exposed and disinfected.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /> LIKE My <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/EgbertoWilliescom/181893712536" type="external">Facebook Page</a> – Visit My Blog: <a href="http://www.EgbertoWillies.com" type="external">EgbertoWillies.com</a></p>
| 8,135 |
<p>Via&#160; <a href="http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2014/11/isis-captures-american-high-tech-weapons-gave-moderate-rebels.html" type="external">http://www.washingtonsblog.com</a></p>
<p>We’ve repeatedly noted that giving arms to the “moderate” Syrian rebels is idiotic … as they’ll <a href="http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2014/09/war-3.html" type="external">just end up in the hands of the Islamic State</a>.</p>
<p>Even the <a href="http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2014/10/cia-study-funding-rebels-rarely-works.html" type="external">CIA told Obama</a> that this strategy wouldn’t work.</p>
<p>So we’re shocked — shocked! — that one of the biggest “moderate” rebel groups backed and armed by the U.S. has just been <a href="http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2014/11/01/245423_in-setback-islamic-state-nusra.html?sp=/99/100/&amp;rh=1" type="external">wiped out</a> … and all of their arms and bases taken by ISIS.</p>
<p>The Telegraph <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/11203825/Syrian-rebels-armed-and-trained-by-US-surrender-to-al-Qaeda.html" type="external">reports</a>:</p>
<p>Two of the main rebel groups receiving weapons from the United States to fight both the regime and jihadist groups in Syriahave surrendered to al-Qaeda.</p>
<p>The US and its allies were relying on Harakat Hazm and the Syrian Revolutionary Front to become part of a ground force that would attack the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil).</p>
<p>For the last six months the Hazm movement, and the SRF through them, had been receiving heavy weapons from the US-led coalition, including GRAD rockets and TOW anti-tank missiles.</p>
<p>But on Saturday night Harakat Hazm surrendered military bases and weapons supplies to Jabhat al-Nusra, when the al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria stormed villages they controlled in northern Idlib province.</p>
<p>Read more <a href="http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2014/11/isis-captures-american-high-tech-weapons-gave-moderate-rebels.html" type="external">http://www.washingtonsblog.com</a></p>
|
ISIS Again Captures American High-Tech Weapons We Gave to “Moderate” Rebels
| true |
http://rinf.com/alt-news/war-terrorism/isis-captures-american-high-tech-weapons-gave-moderate-rebels/
|
2014-11-03
| 4left
|
ISIS Again Captures American High-Tech Weapons We Gave to “Moderate” Rebels
<p>Via&#160; <a href="http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2014/11/isis-captures-american-high-tech-weapons-gave-moderate-rebels.html" type="external">http://www.washingtonsblog.com</a></p>
<p>We’ve repeatedly noted that giving arms to the “moderate” Syrian rebels is idiotic … as they’ll <a href="http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2014/09/war-3.html" type="external">just end up in the hands of the Islamic State</a>.</p>
<p>Even the <a href="http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2014/10/cia-study-funding-rebels-rarely-works.html" type="external">CIA told Obama</a> that this strategy wouldn’t work.</p>
<p>So we’re shocked — shocked! — that one of the biggest “moderate” rebel groups backed and armed by the U.S. has just been <a href="http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2014/11/01/245423_in-setback-islamic-state-nusra.html?sp=/99/100/&amp;rh=1" type="external">wiped out</a> … and all of their arms and bases taken by ISIS.</p>
<p>The Telegraph <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/11203825/Syrian-rebels-armed-and-trained-by-US-surrender-to-al-Qaeda.html" type="external">reports</a>:</p>
<p>Two of the main rebel groups receiving weapons from the United States to fight both the regime and jihadist groups in Syriahave surrendered to al-Qaeda.</p>
<p>The US and its allies were relying on Harakat Hazm and the Syrian Revolutionary Front to become part of a ground force that would attack the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil).</p>
<p>For the last six months the Hazm movement, and the SRF through them, had been receiving heavy weapons from the US-led coalition, including GRAD rockets and TOW anti-tank missiles.</p>
<p>But on Saturday night Harakat Hazm surrendered military bases and weapons supplies to Jabhat al-Nusra, when the al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria stormed villages they controlled in northern Idlib province.</p>
<p>Read more <a href="http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2014/11/isis-captures-american-high-tech-weapons-gave-moderate-rebels.html" type="external">http://www.washingtonsblog.com</a></p>
| 8,136 |
<p>How weird is America getting? This weird.</p>
<p>A 75-year-old Oregon man lay on his death bed; family and friends had come to visit him in his final hours. Then his ex-wife, who wasn't there in person - but called in - did what any loving family member would do: She lied and said the president of the United States had been impeached from office.</p>
<p>Michael Garland Elliott then passed to the great beyond.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/man-dies-home-falsely-told-trump-impeached-article-1.3067124" type="external">New York Daily News</a> reached out to the ex-wife, Teresa Elliott, who is called Michael’s “best friend” in an obituary published in The Oregonian:</p>
<p>“I knew it was his very, very last moments,” Teresa Elliott told The News. “I knew that would bring him comfort and it did. He then took his final breath.”</p>
<p>His ex-wife was by his side before he passed away, and the last thing she said to him was, "Donald Trump has been impeached."</p>
<p>"Upon hearing that he took his final, gentle breath, his earthly work concluded," the obituary reads.</p>
<p>She described Michael as a “news junkie” who had expressed his disapproval of the President frequently until he couldn’t communicate it verbally.</p>
<p>“He hated his effing guts,” she said of Michael’s attitude toward the President.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://obits.oregonlive.com/obituaries/oregon/obituary.aspx?n=michael-garland-elliott&amp;pid=185049741" type="external">Oregonian</a> obit is classic:</p>
<p>"Mike ran out of family long ago and is survived by his ex-wife and best friend, Teresa Elliott. Though their marriage ran aground, their friendship only grew stronger and hers was the last voice Mike heard. And the last thing she said to him was 'Donald Trump has been impeached.' Upon hearing that he took his final, gentle breath, his earthly work concluded."</p>
<p>Wrote the News:</p>
<p>Asked whether she regretted telling Michael of the false news, Teresa Elliott replied: “Oh God no.”</p>
<p>“If I could leave him with a happy piece of news then why wouldn’t I?” she said. “And maybe in the end it won't turn out to be a lie.”</p>
|
Dying Man's Family Lies to Him, Says President Trump Has Been Impeached
| true |
https://dailywire.com/news/15491/dying-mans-family-lies-him-says-president-trump-joseph-curl
|
2017-04-18
| 0right
|
Dying Man's Family Lies to Him, Says President Trump Has Been Impeached
<p>How weird is America getting? This weird.</p>
<p>A 75-year-old Oregon man lay on his death bed; family and friends had come to visit him in his final hours. Then his ex-wife, who wasn't there in person - but called in - did what any loving family member would do: She lied and said the president of the United States had been impeached from office.</p>
<p>Michael Garland Elliott then passed to the great beyond.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/man-dies-home-falsely-told-trump-impeached-article-1.3067124" type="external">New York Daily News</a> reached out to the ex-wife, Teresa Elliott, who is called Michael’s “best friend” in an obituary published in The Oregonian:</p>
<p>“I knew it was his very, very last moments,” Teresa Elliott told The News. “I knew that would bring him comfort and it did. He then took his final breath.”</p>
<p>His ex-wife was by his side before he passed away, and the last thing she said to him was, "Donald Trump has been impeached."</p>
<p>"Upon hearing that he took his final, gentle breath, his earthly work concluded," the obituary reads.</p>
<p>She described Michael as a “news junkie” who had expressed his disapproval of the President frequently until he couldn’t communicate it verbally.</p>
<p>“He hated his effing guts,” she said of Michael’s attitude toward the President.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://obits.oregonlive.com/obituaries/oregon/obituary.aspx?n=michael-garland-elliott&amp;pid=185049741" type="external">Oregonian</a> obit is classic:</p>
<p>"Mike ran out of family long ago and is survived by his ex-wife and best friend, Teresa Elliott. Though their marriage ran aground, their friendship only grew stronger and hers was the last voice Mike heard. And the last thing she said to him was 'Donald Trump has been impeached.' Upon hearing that he took his final, gentle breath, his earthly work concluded."</p>
<p>Wrote the News:</p>
<p>Asked whether she regretted telling Michael of the false news, Teresa Elliott replied: “Oh God no.”</p>
<p>“If I could leave him with a happy piece of news then why wouldn’t I?” she said. “And maybe in the end it won't turn out to be a lie.”</p>
| 8,137 |
<p />
<p>An Army program was supposed to integrate intelligence from a network of sensors and databases — and provide a common intelligence picture from the Pentagon to the farthest reaches of Afghanistan.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The $5 billion system failed to deliver on its promise of making data seamlessly accessible to soldiers in the field. But it's been a source of lucrative contracts to companies whose employees once worked for the Army.</p>
<p>There's been a revolving door between defense companies profiting from the troubled system and military commands that keep funding it.</p>
<p>Several people who worked in key roles in Army intelligence left for top jobs at those companies.</p>
<p>In the world of government contracting, that's not illegal or entirely uncommon, but critics say it perpetuates a culture of failure.</p>
|
INSIDE WASHINGTON: Revolving door between companies, Army on display in intelligence program
| true |
http://foxbusiness.com/features/2014/10/27/inside-washington-revolving-door-between-companies-army-on-display-in-intelligence-program.html
|
2016-03-18
| 0right
|
INSIDE WASHINGTON: Revolving door between companies, Army on display in intelligence program
<p />
<p>An Army program was supposed to integrate intelligence from a network of sensors and databases — and provide a common intelligence picture from the Pentagon to the farthest reaches of Afghanistan.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The $5 billion system failed to deliver on its promise of making data seamlessly accessible to soldiers in the field. But it's been a source of lucrative contracts to companies whose employees once worked for the Army.</p>
<p>There's been a revolving door between defense companies profiting from the troubled system and military commands that keep funding it.</p>
<p>Several people who worked in key roles in Army intelligence left for top jobs at those companies.</p>
<p>In the world of government contracting, that's not illegal or entirely uncommon, but critics say it perpetuates a culture of failure.</p>
| 8,138 |
<p />
<p />
<p>Actor and former teen idol David Cassidy have died at age 67 after being hospitalized for organ failure.</p>
<p>The star's publicist confirmed his death Tuesday and offered a statement on behalf of Cassidy's family, "On behalf of the entire Cassidy family, it is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our father, our uncle, and our dear brother, David Cassidy. David died surrounded by those he loved, with joy in his heart and free from the pain that had gripped him for so long. Thank you for the abundance and support you have shown him these many years."</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Cassidy first rose to fame in the 1970's show "The Partridge Family" and quickly became a singing superstar. By age 20 Cassidy was one of the biggest teen idols of his generation. He once described his love for what he did in an interview with Eyewitness News in 2000, "I love to entertain people. I love to make them laugh. I love to get them up and rocking and swinging."</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>The star knew he wanted to be an actor at age three after seeing his father, Jack Cassidy, in a Broadway musical. Cassidy had his song "I Think I Love You" spend three weeks at number one on the charts and even beat out the Beatles' for the best-selling single of 1970.</p>
<p>On Twitter:</p>
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/ErvinProduction" type="external">@ErvinProduction</a></p>
<p>Tips? Info? Send me a message!</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://abc13.com/entertainment/partridge-family-star-david-cassidy-dead-at-67/2678769/" type="external">abc13.com/entertainment/partridge-family-star-david-cassidy-dead-at-67/2678769</a></p>
<p />
<p />
<p>I woke up in love this morning, went to sleep with you on my mind.</p>
|
Patridge Family Star David Cassidy Dead At 67
| true |
http://thegoldwater.com/news/12434-Patridge-Family-Star-David-Cassidy-Dead-At-67
|
2017-11-22
| 0right
|
Patridge Family Star David Cassidy Dead At 67
<p />
<p />
<p>Actor and former teen idol David Cassidy have died at age 67 after being hospitalized for organ failure.</p>
<p>The star's publicist confirmed his death Tuesday and offered a statement on behalf of Cassidy's family, "On behalf of the entire Cassidy family, it is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our father, our uncle, and our dear brother, David Cassidy. David died surrounded by those he loved, with joy in his heart and free from the pain that had gripped him for so long. Thank you for the abundance and support you have shown him these many years."</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Cassidy first rose to fame in the 1970's show "The Partridge Family" and quickly became a singing superstar. By age 20 Cassidy was one of the biggest teen idols of his generation. He once described his love for what he did in an interview with Eyewitness News in 2000, "I love to entertain people. I love to make them laugh. I love to get them up and rocking and swinging."</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>The star knew he wanted to be an actor at age three after seeing his father, Jack Cassidy, in a Broadway musical. Cassidy had his song "I Think I Love You" spend three weeks at number one on the charts and even beat out the Beatles' for the best-selling single of 1970.</p>
<p>On Twitter:</p>
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/ErvinProduction" type="external">@ErvinProduction</a></p>
<p>Tips? Info? Send me a message!</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://abc13.com/entertainment/partridge-family-star-david-cassidy-dead-at-67/2678769/" type="external">abc13.com/entertainment/partridge-family-star-david-cassidy-dead-at-67/2678769</a></p>
<p />
<p />
<p>I woke up in love this morning, went to sleep with you on my mind.</p>
| 8,139 |
<p>In the face of a barrage of criticism over her failure to speak up for Rohingya Muslims, Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi will not attend the United Nations General Assembly.</p>
<p>A crackdown by Myanmar's army, launched in response to Rohingya militant attacks on August 25, has sent some 379,000 Rohingya refugees scrambling across the border to Bangladesh in less than three weeks.</p>
<p>The violence has incubated a humanitarian crisis on both sides of the border and piled intense global pressure on Suu Kyi to condemn the army campaign, which the UN has described as having all the hallmarks of "ethnic cleansing."</p>
<p>Related: <a href="" type="internal">Myanmar’s gruesome purge of Rohingya Muslims appears unstoppable</a></p>
<p>Bangladesh is struggling to provide relief for exhausted and hungry refugees — some 60 percent of whom are children — while nearly 30,000 ethnic Rakhine Buddhists as well as Hindus have been displaced inside Myanmar.</p>
<p>Nine thousand more Rohingya refugees poured into Bangladesh on Wednesday, the UN said, as authorities worked to build a new camp for tens of thousands of arrivals who have no shelter.</p>
<p>Suu Kyi, Myanmar's first civilian leader in decades, has no control over the powerful military, which ran the country for 50 years before allowing free elections in 2015.</p>
<p>There is also scant sympathy among Myanmar's Buddhist majority for the Rohingya, a stateless Muslim group branded "Bengalis" — shorthand for illegal immigrants.</p>
<p>But outside of her country Suu Kyi's reputation as a defender of the oppressed is in ruins over the Rohingya crisis.</p>
<p>Rights groups have pilloried the former democracy activist for failing to speak out against the army campaign, which has left hundreds dead.</p>
<p>Rohingya refugees have told chilling accounts of soldiers firing on civilians and razing entire villages in northern Rakhine state with the help of Buddhist mobs.</p>
<p>The army denies the allegations, while Suu Kyi has also played down claims of atrocities, instead blaming "a huge iceberg of misinformation" for complicating the conflict.</p>
<p>Listen: <a href="" type="internal">Aung San Suu Kyi's silence on Rohingya ethnic cleansing could be political pragmatism</a></p>
<p>The UN Security Council was scheduled Wednesday to discuss the refugee crisis in a closed-door meeting, with China expected to shoot down any efforts to censure its strategically pivotal Southeast Asian ally.</p>
<p>"The state counsellor won't attend the meeting of the United Nations General Assembly," government spokesman Zaw Htay told AFP, adding that the vice president would go in her place.</p>
<p>He did not comment further but told local media that Suu Kyi was staying in Myanmar to focus on domestic issues.</p>
<p>Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner garlanded for her dignified and defiant democracy activism under Myanmar's former junta, was once the darling of the international community.</p>
<p />
<p>Aung San Suu Kyi addresses the 71st United Nations General Assembly, 2016.</p>
<p>Carlo Allegri/Reuters/File Photo</p>
<p>She made her debut before the UN assembly last September, winning warm applause for a speech delivered months after she became Myanmar's first civilian leader following a decades-long democracy struggle under the former junta.</p>
<p>In it she vowed to find a solution to long-running ethnic and religious hatred in Rakhine "that will lead to peace, stability and development for all communities within the state."</p>
<p>In a sign of how far Suu Kyi's star has fallen since, the same rights groups that campaigned for her release from house arrest have blasted her for failing to speak up in defense of the Rohingya.</p>
<p>Sympathizers say her hands are tied by the army, which still runs a chunk of the government and has complete control over all security matters.</p>
<p>But fellow Nobel laureates have lined up to condemn her silence, with Archbishop Desmond Tutu calling it "incongruous for a symbol of righteousness to lead such a country."</p>
<p>While the US and other Western powers have criticized the military campaign, Beijing on Tuesday offered Myanmar support saying the country was entitled to "safeguard" its stability.</p>
<p>Human Rights Watch's Phil Robertson urged the council to pass a "global arms embargo" on Myanmar's military, but said he expected China to to water down any reaction.</p>
<p>The 1.1-million strong Rohingya have suffered years of discrimination in Myanmar, where they were stripped of their citizenship despite having long roots in the country.</p>
<p>Bangladesh does not want the group either, though it is providing the refugees with temporary shelter.</p>
<p>Many Rohingya died making the perilous journey across the border, with nearly 100 drowning in boat trips across the Naf river that divides the two countries.</p>
<p>Bangladeshi authorities want to establish a 2,000-acre camp close to Myanmar's border to house around 250,000 Rohingya and are also planning to build facilities on a flood-prone island.</p>
|
Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi to miss UN trip amid Rohingya crisis
| false |
https://pri.org/stories/2017-09-13/myanmars-aung-suu-kyi-miss-un-trip-amid-rohingya-crisis
|
2017-09-13
| 3left-center
|
Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi to miss UN trip amid Rohingya crisis
<p>In the face of a barrage of criticism over her failure to speak up for Rohingya Muslims, Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi will not attend the United Nations General Assembly.</p>
<p>A crackdown by Myanmar's army, launched in response to Rohingya militant attacks on August 25, has sent some 379,000 Rohingya refugees scrambling across the border to Bangladesh in less than three weeks.</p>
<p>The violence has incubated a humanitarian crisis on both sides of the border and piled intense global pressure on Suu Kyi to condemn the army campaign, which the UN has described as having all the hallmarks of "ethnic cleansing."</p>
<p>Related: <a href="" type="internal">Myanmar’s gruesome purge of Rohingya Muslims appears unstoppable</a></p>
<p>Bangladesh is struggling to provide relief for exhausted and hungry refugees — some 60 percent of whom are children — while nearly 30,000 ethnic Rakhine Buddhists as well as Hindus have been displaced inside Myanmar.</p>
<p>Nine thousand more Rohingya refugees poured into Bangladesh on Wednesday, the UN said, as authorities worked to build a new camp for tens of thousands of arrivals who have no shelter.</p>
<p>Suu Kyi, Myanmar's first civilian leader in decades, has no control over the powerful military, which ran the country for 50 years before allowing free elections in 2015.</p>
<p>There is also scant sympathy among Myanmar's Buddhist majority for the Rohingya, a stateless Muslim group branded "Bengalis" — shorthand for illegal immigrants.</p>
<p>But outside of her country Suu Kyi's reputation as a defender of the oppressed is in ruins over the Rohingya crisis.</p>
<p>Rights groups have pilloried the former democracy activist for failing to speak out against the army campaign, which has left hundreds dead.</p>
<p>Rohingya refugees have told chilling accounts of soldiers firing on civilians and razing entire villages in northern Rakhine state with the help of Buddhist mobs.</p>
<p>The army denies the allegations, while Suu Kyi has also played down claims of atrocities, instead blaming "a huge iceberg of misinformation" for complicating the conflict.</p>
<p>Listen: <a href="" type="internal">Aung San Suu Kyi's silence on Rohingya ethnic cleansing could be political pragmatism</a></p>
<p>The UN Security Council was scheduled Wednesday to discuss the refugee crisis in a closed-door meeting, with China expected to shoot down any efforts to censure its strategically pivotal Southeast Asian ally.</p>
<p>"The state counsellor won't attend the meeting of the United Nations General Assembly," government spokesman Zaw Htay told AFP, adding that the vice president would go in her place.</p>
<p>He did not comment further but told local media that Suu Kyi was staying in Myanmar to focus on domestic issues.</p>
<p>Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner garlanded for her dignified and defiant democracy activism under Myanmar's former junta, was once the darling of the international community.</p>
<p />
<p>Aung San Suu Kyi addresses the 71st United Nations General Assembly, 2016.</p>
<p>Carlo Allegri/Reuters/File Photo</p>
<p>She made her debut before the UN assembly last September, winning warm applause for a speech delivered months after she became Myanmar's first civilian leader following a decades-long democracy struggle under the former junta.</p>
<p>In it she vowed to find a solution to long-running ethnic and religious hatred in Rakhine "that will lead to peace, stability and development for all communities within the state."</p>
<p>In a sign of how far Suu Kyi's star has fallen since, the same rights groups that campaigned for her release from house arrest have blasted her for failing to speak up in defense of the Rohingya.</p>
<p>Sympathizers say her hands are tied by the army, which still runs a chunk of the government and has complete control over all security matters.</p>
<p>But fellow Nobel laureates have lined up to condemn her silence, with Archbishop Desmond Tutu calling it "incongruous for a symbol of righteousness to lead such a country."</p>
<p>While the US and other Western powers have criticized the military campaign, Beijing on Tuesday offered Myanmar support saying the country was entitled to "safeguard" its stability.</p>
<p>Human Rights Watch's Phil Robertson urged the council to pass a "global arms embargo" on Myanmar's military, but said he expected China to to water down any reaction.</p>
<p>The 1.1-million strong Rohingya have suffered years of discrimination in Myanmar, where they were stripped of their citizenship despite having long roots in the country.</p>
<p>Bangladesh does not want the group either, though it is providing the refugees with temporary shelter.</p>
<p>Many Rohingya died making the perilous journey across the border, with nearly 100 drowning in boat trips across the Naf river that divides the two countries.</p>
<p>Bangladeshi authorities want to establish a 2,000-acre camp close to Myanmar's border to house around 250,000 Rohingya and are also planning to build facilities on a flood-prone island.</p>
| 8,140 |
<p />
<p>Costco Wholesale Corp. is expanding its home delivery services as food becomes an increasingly competitive front in the e-commerce battle.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>This week Costco started offering two-day delivery on shelf-stable food from its own website and expanded a fresh-food delivery partnership with Instacart, a startup that delivers groceries from retailers in one day. Both services let Costco members buy food online at lower prices than available under previous options, said Richard Galanti, the company's chief financial officer.</p>
<p>The moves are a departure for Costco. The company has been slow to embrace online shopping as its members tend to spend more when they visit its cavernous stores.</p>
<p>"At the end of the day we would love you to just come in and buy and take it home," Mr. Galanti said. But, he added, "we would rather lose it to ourselves" than have other online retailers grab the business.</p>
<p>Costco's share price has fallen 7.2% since Amazon.com Inc. announced it would buy Whole Foods in early June.</p>
<p>Investors have worried that Costco's core, high-income customers overlap with Whole Foods' shopping base and could be picked off by Amazon's efforts to lower prices.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Analyst and media reports of Whole Food's price drops are overblown, said Mr. Galanti. "We [check prices at] Whole Foods twice a week in many, many markets around the country and we're kind of scratching our head," he said. Costco has seen no sign that shoppers are defecting, he said.</p>
<p>In recent years, Costco's business has fared better than many retailers, some of which are reporting shrinking sales and deep losses. On Thursday, the company said sales in existing stores rose 6.1% in the latest quarter and 4.1% for the fiscal year ended Sept. 3.</p>
<p>Profit margins in the fourth quarter fell slightly as Costco spent more to lower prices on some items and sales of low-margin gas made up a higher percentage of its business, Mr. Galanti said. Net income was $919 million in the period, which was a week longer than the year-ago period, in which it earned $779 million. Sales were $41.39 billion.</p>
<p>The new Costco.com delivery service, dubbed CostcoGrocery, will offer free shipping on around 500 products for orders of at least $75. Its Instacart partnership will sell around 1,700 grocery products like eggs, meat and fruit, with free same-day delivery on orders of at least $35.</p>
<p>Both Costco.com and Instacart previously sold some Costco groceries, but only at higher prices. Prices under the new services will still be higher than available in stores.</p>
<p>Grocers have long struggled to make food delivery profitable. Recently retailers have expanded their efforts, aiming to outmaneuver Amazon, which delivers groceries to most metro areas in the U.S.</p>
<p>Earlier this week Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said it acquired Parcel Inc., a small New York-based delivery startup that specializes in fast home delivery. The retailer plans to use Parcel to deliver groceries and other merchandise to New York City residents, Wal-Mart said.</p>
<p>By Sarah Nassauer</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>October 06, 2017 06:14 ET (10:14 GMT)</p>
|
Costco, with an eye on Amazon, expands home delivery service
| true |
http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/10/06/costco-with-eye-on-amazon-expands-home-delivery-service.html
|
2017-10-06
| 0right
|
Costco, with an eye on Amazon, expands home delivery service
<p />
<p>Costco Wholesale Corp. is expanding its home delivery services as food becomes an increasingly competitive front in the e-commerce battle.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>This week Costco started offering two-day delivery on shelf-stable food from its own website and expanded a fresh-food delivery partnership with Instacart, a startup that delivers groceries from retailers in one day. Both services let Costco members buy food online at lower prices than available under previous options, said Richard Galanti, the company's chief financial officer.</p>
<p>The moves are a departure for Costco. The company has been slow to embrace online shopping as its members tend to spend more when they visit its cavernous stores.</p>
<p>"At the end of the day we would love you to just come in and buy and take it home," Mr. Galanti said. But, he added, "we would rather lose it to ourselves" than have other online retailers grab the business.</p>
<p>Costco's share price has fallen 7.2% since Amazon.com Inc. announced it would buy Whole Foods in early June.</p>
<p>Investors have worried that Costco's core, high-income customers overlap with Whole Foods' shopping base and could be picked off by Amazon's efforts to lower prices.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Analyst and media reports of Whole Food's price drops are overblown, said Mr. Galanti. "We [check prices at] Whole Foods twice a week in many, many markets around the country and we're kind of scratching our head," he said. Costco has seen no sign that shoppers are defecting, he said.</p>
<p>In recent years, Costco's business has fared better than many retailers, some of which are reporting shrinking sales and deep losses. On Thursday, the company said sales in existing stores rose 6.1% in the latest quarter and 4.1% for the fiscal year ended Sept. 3.</p>
<p>Profit margins in the fourth quarter fell slightly as Costco spent more to lower prices on some items and sales of low-margin gas made up a higher percentage of its business, Mr. Galanti said. Net income was $919 million in the period, which was a week longer than the year-ago period, in which it earned $779 million. Sales were $41.39 billion.</p>
<p>The new Costco.com delivery service, dubbed CostcoGrocery, will offer free shipping on around 500 products for orders of at least $75. Its Instacart partnership will sell around 1,700 grocery products like eggs, meat and fruit, with free same-day delivery on orders of at least $35.</p>
<p>Both Costco.com and Instacart previously sold some Costco groceries, but only at higher prices. Prices under the new services will still be higher than available in stores.</p>
<p>Grocers have long struggled to make food delivery profitable. Recently retailers have expanded their efforts, aiming to outmaneuver Amazon, which delivers groceries to most metro areas in the U.S.</p>
<p>Earlier this week Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said it acquired Parcel Inc., a small New York-based delivery startup that specializes in fast home delivery. The retailer plans to use Parcel to deliver groceries and other merchandise to New York City residents, Wal-Mart said.</p>
<p>By Sarah Nassauer</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>October 06, 2017 06:14 ET (10:14 GMT)</p>
| 8,141 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>“Every day this runs in my life,” he told state District Court Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer at his sentencing Wednesday afternoon.</p>
<p>Gurule, 41, apologized to the families of 18-month-old Zacariah King and 42-year-old Michelle Cota, then learned from Sommer that he would spend about 13 years in jail following his conviction on two counts of vehicular homicide and one count of great bodily injury by vehicle.</p>
<p>A jury decided after a June trial that Gurule was being reckless when he crashed his Suzuki SUV on Upper San Pedro Road outside of Española in May 2010. The crash killed King and Cota and injured King’s mother, Patricia King, all of whom were passengers in the vehicle.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Cota’s family wore T-shirts bearing her picture at Wednesday’s hearing. Before the sentencing, Paula Macias, Cota’s sister, asked that Gurule be given the maximum sentence. She told Sommer that her mother refuses to celebrate her birthday because it’s on the same day as Cota’s birthday. She said her father still insists on watering the flowers and the grass at Cota’s home.</p>
<p>Patricia King told the judge that the crash took away her son, who was her best friend, heart and soul. She said her surviving son periodically asks if she thinks Zacariah is watching them.</p>
<p>“(He asks,) ‘Do you think my brother is happy with what we’re doing?’ ” she said. “… It’s hard to explain to him that he will never come back.”</p>
<p>Gurule has been in jail for about three years since the crash. He previously pleaded to driving under a suspended or revoked license. Sommer applied the 364-day sentence for that misdemeanor to one of the years Gurule already served, then sentenced him to the maximum 15 years under the felony charges. With about two years of presentence confinement credit left, Gurule will have to serve 13 years in jail.</p>
<p>Furthermore, Gurule will accrue good time at a reduced rate. Sommer ruled that because Gurule was driving recklessly, the crimes can count as serious violent offenses.</p>
<p>“You didn’t get into that tree without driving recklessly,” Sommer said, referencing the fact that when Gurule crashed the SUV, he struck a wall, a gas meter and a tree.</p>
<p>Such rulings mean that a defendant must serve at least 85 percent of his sentence before being eligible for early release. Typically, prisoners can earn day-for-day good time credit.</p>
<p>The jury did not find, as the prosecution attempted to prove, that Gurule was under the influence of prescription painkillers at the time of the crash. That finding would have exposed Gurule, who has a prior DWI conviction, to an additional 12 year sentence.</p>
<p>Assistant District Attorney Ben Schrope asked that Gurule be sentenced to all 15 years, citing a diagnostic examination that found Gurule was still using drugs, suboxone, in jail. Gurule’s defense attorney, Paul Branch, asked that Gurule be sentenced to probation and drug treatment. He said that if Gurule goes to the Department of Corrections, he would likely be placed under lockdown for his safety.</p>
<p>“As we all know, DOC cons aren’t accommodating to other cons when there is a child victim,” Branch said.</p>
<p>Gurule appeared to be saying goodbye to his family while he was being led away by deputies following the sentencing.</p>
<p />
<p />
|
Driver gets 15 years in deadly crash
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/261668/driver-gets-15-years-in-deadly-crash.html
| 2least
|
Driver gets 15 years in deadly crash
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>“Every day this runs in my life,” he told state District Court Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer at his sentencing Wednesday afternoon.</p>
<p>Gurule, 41, apologized to the families of 18-month-old Zacariah King and 42-year-old Michelle Cota, then learned from Sommer that he would spend about 13 years in jail following his conviction on two counts of vehicular homicide and one count of great bodily injury by vehicle.</p>
<p>A jury decided after a June trial that Gurule was being reckless when he crashed his Suzuki SUV on Upper San Pedro Road outside of Española in May 2010. The crash killed King and Cota and injured King’s mother, Patricia King, all of whom were passengers in the vehicle.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Cota’s family wore T-shirts bearing her picture at Wednesday’s hearing. Before the sentencing, Paula Macias, Cota’s sister, asked that Gurule be given the maximum sentence. She told Sommer that her mother refuses to celebrate her birthday because it’s on the same day as Cota’s birthday. She said her father still insists on watering the flowers and the grass at Cota’s home.</p>
<p>Patricia King told the judge that the crash took away her son, who was her best friend, heart and soul. She said her surviving son periodically asks if she thinks Zacariah is watching them.</p>
<p>“(He asks,) ‘Do you think my brother is happy with what we’re doing?’ ” she said. “… It’s hard to explain to him that he will never come back.”</p>
<p>Gurule has been in jail for about three years since the crash. He previously pleaded to driving under a suspended or revoked license. Sommer applied the 364-day sentence for that misdemeanor to one of the years Gurule already served, then sentenced him to the maximum 15 years under the felony charges. With about two years of presentence confinement credit left, Gurule will have to serve 13 years in jail.</p>
<p>Furthermore, Gurule will accrue good time at a reduced rate. Sommer ruled that because Gurule was driving recklessly, the crimes can count as serious violent offenses.</p>
<p>“You didn’t get into that tree without driving recklessly,” Sommer said, referencing the fact that when Gurule crashed the SUV, he struck a wall, a gas meter and a tree.</p>
<p>Such rulings mean that a defendant must serve at least 85 percent of his sentence before being eligible for early release. Typically, prisoners can earn day-for-day good time credit.</p>
<p>The jury did not find, as the prosecution attempted to prove, that Gurule was under the influence of prescription painkillers at the time of the crash. That finding would have exposed Gurule, who has a prior DWI conviction, to an additional 12 year sentence.</p>
<p>Assistant District Attorney Ben Schrope asked that Gurule be sentenced to all 15 years, citing a diagnostic examination that found Gurule was still using drugs, suboxone, in jail. Gurule’s defense attorney, Paul Branch, asked that Gurule be sentenced to probation and drug treatment. He said that if Gurule goes to the Department of Corrections, he would likely be placed under lockdown for his safety.</p>
<p>“As we all know, DOC cons aren’t accommodating to other cons when there is a child victim,” Branch said.</p>
<p>Gurule appeared to be saying goodbye to his family while he was being led away by deputies following the sentencing.</p>
<p />
<p />
| 8,142 |
|
<p />
<p>Tony Dyson, who built the beloved, beeping Star Wars robot R2-D2, has died at his home in Malta, police said Friday. He was 68.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Dyson's body was discovered Friday in his residence on Gozo island. Neighbors had alerted police when Dyson, a British national who had lived in Malta since the early 1990s, didn't appear publicly for several days.</p>
<p>The police said no foul play is suspected. An autopsy will be carried out to determine the cause of death.</p>
<p>The squat R2-D2 droid, a sidekick of C-3P0, became one of the world's favorite robots. He formed an important part of the Star Wars franchise and made a revived — and crucial — appearance in the latest episode, "The Force Awakens."</p>
|
Tony Dyson, Who Made Beloved Robot R2-D2, Dies in Malta
| true |
http://foxbusiness.com/features/2016/03/04/tony-dyson-who-made-beloved-robot-r2-d2-dies-in-malta.html
|
2016-03-05
| 0right
|
Tony Dyson, Who Made Beloved Robot R2-D2, Dies in Malta
<p />
<p>Tony Dyson, who built the beloved, beeping Star Wars robot R2-D2, has died at his home in Malta, police said Friday. He was 68.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Dyson's body was discovered Friday in his residence on Gozo island. Neighbors had alerted police when Dyson, a British national who had lived in Malta since the early 1990s, didn't appear publicly for several days.</p>
<p>The police said no foul play is suspected. An autopsy will be carried out to determine the cause of death.</p>
<p>The squat R2-D2 droid, a sidekick of C-3P0, became one of the world's favorite robots. He formed an important part of the Star Wars franchise and made a revived — and crucial — appearance in the latest episode, "The Force Awakens."</p>
| 8,143 |
<p>The Tuesday just gone marked the 250th anniversary of the publication of Laurence Sterne’s A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy. The first two volumes appeared on February 27th, 1768; the author died less than three weeks later in London at the age of 54 succumbing to the tuberculosis that he had battled throughout his adult life. The book’s journey remained unfinished, the Reverend Mr. Yorick—Sterne’s alter ego and sometime nom de plume—and his bumbling, bamboozling servant La Fleur, having still not made it out of France when the itinerary of the tale stopped, and the author’s life soon after.</p>
<p>At the close of A Sentimental Journey Yorick finds himself in Lyon in a single room with a lady and her maid, and is about to grope—inadvertently, of course—an intimate, if unspecified, part of the latter’s anatomy.&#160; The book ends without punctuation (or does it?): a perfect valedictory gesture for Sterne’s last work because it is the antithesis of valediction: “So that when I stretch’d out my hand, I caught hold of the Fille de Chambre’s” END OF VOL. II.</p>
<p>Sterne had definitively scuppered his already-stunted career as an Anglican clergyman less than a decade earlier in 1759 with the publication of A Political Romance—a satirical mini-epic that sent up clerical squabbles in Yorkshire where he had his vicarage. The book was promptly suppressed by the church authorities, to be published again only the year after his death. A Political Scandal marked the bottom of a long fall from ecclesiastical favor for this great-grandson of a former Archbishop of York. Sterne rebounded into the literary firmament.</p>
<p>Late in life—indeed, later than he might have hoped given his inexorable illness—Sterne had discovered his unique gifts for fiction, and that same year of 1759 he published the opening installments of the sprawling work for which he is still most famous, The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, appearing in nine volumes over the next one hundred months.</p>
<p>Sterne became an immediate literary sensation with a hit novel that was an un-novel, its “story” so serpentine and backtracking that the title character is not even born until the third volume. Restlessly, relentlessly digressive, Sterne’s undepletable humor made the meandering the point of the book, enthralling his readers with slapstick gags and risqué innuendo that alternated with witty and profound observations, one often set apart from the next by dashes, as if we are with Sterne as his imagination unspools for us in real time.</p>
<p>The strength of that presence on the printed page can be sensed in Joshua Reynolds’ portrait painted in 1760 just after Sterne had achieved his spectacular celebrity. The <a href="" type="internal">conquering literary lion</a> is pictured in his white wig and black robes, elbow propped on table armed with quill and ink and sheaf of paper, his index finger touching his temple and pointing to the brain so fabulously rich in wit. &#160;Mischievously, almost defiantly his gaze confronts the viewer. His lips are closed, but his imagination is fizzing and ready to commit to paper the abundance of ideas with the pen near at hand. The tongue, too, is ready to spring into action for, as Sterne observed in the first volume of Tristram Shandy, “Writing, when properly managed, (as you may be sure I think mine is) is but a different name for&#160;conversation.” One is held before the portrait not just because of its visual drama, but because Sterne has something witty to say and is about to say it.</p>
<p>The Sterne of the Reynolds portrait is pleased with himself too, and wasn’t afraid to crow about his success to friends like Stephen Croft, a neighboring Yorkshireman and heir to Port wine fortune; it was to Croft and his wife that the still-would-be author read pre-publication excerpts of Tristram Shandy and was prevented from feeding the pages to the fire. Sterne gloated to to Croft of March, 1761 that “One half of the town abuse my book as bitterly, as the other half cry it up to the skies—the best is, they abuse it and buy it, and at such a rate, that we are going on with a second edition, as fast as possible.” Sterne loved the attention, claiming that he wrote Tristram Shandy, “not to be fed but to be famous.” This self-satisfaction radiates from the white face among the dark garments and shadows of Reynolds’ portrayal of him.</p>
<p>The super-abundance of dashes fragmenting Sterne’s prose were like rests in a musical score parsing the melodic contours and phrases of his imagination.&#160; The musicality of his writing led to comparisons between his prose and the free-wheeling instrumental works of the great musicians of the period, including Joseph Haydn and C. P. E. Bach. Like Sterne, both were masters of the musical dash followed by the sublimely unexpected turn.</p>
<p>Not surprisingly, music figures in Sterne’s fiction. In A Political Romance one churchman slags off the other with the insult that he “knew not so much as to give out a common psalm in tune.”</p>
<p>In Tristram Shandy Sterne gives his hilarious take on the musical obsessions of Yorick—a character in the novel, who, as the public grew tired of the series of volumes, was then dispatched by the author to the continent for A Sentimental Journey. Sterne himself had made two European tours in the 1760s in an effort to improve his health. &#160;In the novel, Tristram Shandy rifles through Yorick’s sermons and is perplexed by their musical annotations:</p>
<p>“What could Yorick mean by the words lentamente,—tenute,—grave,—and sometimes adagio,—as applied to theological compositions, and with which he has characterised some of these sermons, I dare not venture to guess.—I am more puzzled still upon finding a l’octava alta! upon one;—Con strepito upon the back of another;—Sicilliana upon a third;—Alla capella upon a fourth;—Con l’arco upon this;—Senza l’arco upon that.—All I know is, that they are musical terms, and have a meaning;—and as he was a musical man, I will make no doubt, but that by some quaint application of such metaphors to the compositions in hand, they impressed very distinct ideas of their several characters upon his fancy,—whatever they may do upon that of others.”</p>
<p>Here Sterne laughs at his alter ego, riffing on his own reflection. That image is distorted through his fictional lens and accompanied by a soundtrack of random terms calling forth a welter of musical gestures and associations. Yorick’s preaching (at least according to the preacher) and Sterne’s fiction (at least according to the writer) are musical fantasias.</p>
<p>Tristram evens finds that Yorick wrote a self-congratulatory “Bravo!” on one of his pulpit performances—a brilliant persiflage of homily as aria, an inept country parson imagining himself an operatic prima donna.</p>
<p>It is not surprising, then, that in A Sentimental Journey Yorick attends the opera while in Paris. The main action, such at is, of this excursion has Yorick looking down empathetically at the travails of a dwarf in the orchestra section of the opera house unable to see the stage because of a rude and very tall German soldier standing in front of him.&#160; The frustrated smaller man threatens to cut off the pigtail of the taller. The soldier replies that he’s welcome to if he can reach it. Thanks to the discreet intervention of the old French officer who happens to be sharing Yorick’s box, the dwarf finally gets placed directly in front of the insolent German. But it is Yorick’s account of the play of emotions—his sentiments, as Sterne would put it—that gives this send-up of the scrum of festival seating its punch and pathos.</p>
<p>The human encounter in the more expensive and exalted loge above these jockeyings for position brings with it the most lasting message, one that applies not only to the practices of theatre-going but to the theatre of life.</p>
<p>When Yorick enters the box at the opera he sits beside the aged officer, who is looking at the libretto. “As soon as I sat down,” writes Yorick/Sterne, “He took his spectacles off, and putting them into a shagreen case, return’d them and the book into his pocket together.”&#160; Yorick then offers his “translation” of this deportment: “Here’s a poor stranger come in to the box—he seems as if he knew no body; and is never likely to, was he to be seven years in Paris, if every man he comes near keeps his spectacles upon his nose—‘tis shutting the door of conversation absolutely in his face—and using him worse than a German.” (This, a reference to the German tormenting the dwarf down in the parterre.)</p>
<p>Sterne’s imagination and memory then fly from the loge to his observations on the body language that shuts down human interaction on the London streets, and then to an encounter in the foyer of a concert hall in Milan where he nearly bumps into a noble lady and they then start into a choreography, each trying to pass on one side and then the other. That dance and—most importantly—the awkward feelings it elicits are captured by Sterne with the elegant economy he was master of.&#160; After this confusion is blushingly sorted out, the ballet of sentiment continues up the staircase, but quickly descends, concluding outside the opera house with Yorick offering the lady his hand and guiding her to her coach and getting in himself to be conveyed to her lodgings. “And what became of the concert, St. Cecilia, who, I suppose, was at it, knows more than I.”</p>
<p>250 years after his death, Sterne enjoins the sentimental traveler through this modern world to follow the example of the French office at the opera and close his or her laptop in the coffee shop when someone dares to sit at the same table; to pull out the earbuds and harmonize with others, to add one’s own melody to the intimate chamber music of conversation; and to do it now. Live! Feel! Be in the moment!&#160; As Yorick puts it as he leaves the Milan concert hall with the woman he’s just met: “Life is too short to be long about the form of it.”</p>
|
Laurence Sterne, the Sentimental Traveler
| true |
https://counterpunch.org/2018/03/02/laurence-sterne-the-sentimental-traveler/
|
2018-03-02
| 4left
|
Laurence Sterne, the Sentimental Traveler
<p>The Tuesday just gone marked the 250th anniversary of the publication of Laurence Sterne’s A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy. The first two volumes appeared on February 27th, 1768; the author died less than three weeks later in London at the age of 54 succumbing to the tuberculosis that he had battled throughout his adult life. The book’s journey remained unfinished, the Reverend Mr. Yorick—Sterne’s alter ego and sometime nom de plume—and his bumbling, bamboozling servant La Fleur, having still not made it out of France when the itinerary of the tale stopped, and the author’s life soon after.</p>
<p>At the close of A Sentimental Journey Yorick finds himself in Lyon in a single room with a lady and her maid, and is about to grope—inadvertently, of course—an intimate, if unspecified, part of the latter’s anatomy.&#160; The book ends without punctuation (or does it?): a perfect valedictory gesture for Sterne’s last work because it is the antithesis of valediction: “So that when I stretch’d out my hand, I caught hold of the Fille de Chambre’s” END OF VOL. II.</p>
<p>Sterne had definitively scuppered his already-stunted career as an Anglican clergyman less than a decade earlier in 1759 with the publication of A Political Romance—a satirical mini-epic that sent up clerical squabbles in Yorkshire where he had his vicarage. The book was promptly suppressed by the church authorities, to be published again only the year after his death. A Political Scandal marked the bottom of a long fall from ecclesiastical favor for this great-grandson of a former Archbishop of York. Sterne rebounded into the literary firmament.</p>
<p>Late in life—indeed, later than he might have hoped given his inexorable illness—Sterne had discovered his unique gifts for fiction, and that same year of 1759 he published the opening installments of the sprawling work for which he is still most famous, The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, appearing in nine volumes over the next one hundred months.</p>
<p>Sterne became an immediate literary sensation with a hit novel that was an un-novel, its “story” so serpentine and backtracking that the title character is not even born until the third volume. Restlessly, relentlessly digressive, Sterne’s undepletable humor made the meandering the point of the book, enthralling his readers with slapstick gags and risqué innuendo that alternated with witty and profound observations, one often set apart from the next by dashes, as if we are with Sterne as his imagination unspools for us in real time.</p>
<p>The strength of that presence on the printed page can be sensed in Joshua Reynolds’ portrait painted in 1760 just after Sterne had achieved his spectacular celebrity. The <a href="" type="internal">conquering literary lion</a> is pictured in his white wig and black robes, elbow propped on table armed with quill and ink and sheaf of paper, his index finger touching his temple and pointing to the brain so fabulously rich in wit. &#160;Mischievously, almost defiantly his gaze confronts the viewer. His lips are closed, but his imagination is fizzing and ready to commit to paper the abundance of ideas with the pen near at hand. The tongue, too, is ready to spring into action for, as Sterne observed in the first volume of Tristram Shandy, “Writing, when properly managed, (as you may be sure I think mine is) is but a different name for&#160;conversation.” One is held before the portrait not just because of its visual drama, but because Sterne has something witty to say and is about to say it.</p>
<p>The Sterne of the Reynolds portrait is pleased with himself too, and wasn’t afraid to crow about his success to friends like Stephen Croft, a neighboring Yorkshireman and heir to Port wine fortune; it was to Croft and his wife that the still-would-be author read pre-publication excerpts of Tristram Shandy and was prevented from feeding the pages to the fire. Sterne gloated to to Croft of March, 1761 that “One half of the town abuse my book as bitterly, as the other half cry it up to the skies—the best is, they abuse it and buy it, and at such a rate, that we are going on with a second edition, as fast as possible.” Sterne loved the attention, claiming that he wrote Tristram Shandy, “not to be fed but to be famous.” This self-satisfaction radiates from the white face among the dark garments and shadows of Reynolds’ portrayal of him.</p>
<p>The super-abundance of dashes fragmenting Sterne’s prose were like rests in a musical score parsing the melodic contours and phrases of his imagination.&#160; The musicality of his writing led to comparisons between his prose and the free-wheeling instrumental works of the great musicians of the period, including Joseph Haydn and C. P. E. Bach. Like Sterne, both were masters of the musical dash followed by the sublimely unexpected turn.</p>
<p>Not surprisingly, music figures in Sterne’s fiction. In A Political Romance one churchman slags off the other with the insult that he “knew not so much as to give out a common psalm in tune.”</p>
<p>In Tristram Shandy Sterne gives his hilarious take on the musical obsessions of Yorick—a character in the novel, who, as the public grew tired of the series of volumes, was then dispatched by the author to the continent for A Sentimental Journey. Sterne himself had made two European tours in the 1760s in an effort to improve his health. &#160;In the novel, Tristram Shandy rifles through Yorick’s sermons and is perplexed by their musical annotations:</p>
<p>“What could Yorick mean by the words lentamente,—tenute,—grave,—and sometimes adagio,—as applied to theological compositions, and with which he has characterised some of these sermons, I dare not venture to guess.—I am more puzzled still upon finding a l’octava alta! upon one;—Con strepito upon the back of another;—Sicilliana upon a third;—Alla capella upon a fourth;—Con l’arco upon this;—Senza l’arco upon that.—All I know is, that they are musical terms, and have a meaning;—and as he was a musical man, I will make no doubt, but that by some quaint application of such metaphors to the compositions in hand, they impressed very distinct ideas of their several characters upon his fancy,—whatever they may do upon that of others.”</p>
<p>Here Sterne laughs at his alter ego, riffing on his own reflection. That image is distorted through his fictional lens and accompanied by a soundtrack of random terms calling forth a welter of musical gestures and associations. Yorick’s preaching (at least according to the preacher) and Sterne’s fiction (at least according to the writer) are musical fantasias.</p>
<p>Tristram evens finds that Yorick wrote a self-congratulatory “Bravo!” on one of his pulpit performances—a brilliant persiflage of homily as aria, an inept country parson imagining himself an operatic prima donna.</p>
<p>It is not surprising, then, that in A Sentimental Journey Yorick attends the opera while in Paris. The main action, such at is, of this excursion has Yorick looking down empathetically at the travails of a dwarf in the orchestra section of the opera house unable to see the stage because of a rude and very tall German soldier standing in front of him.&#160; The frustrated smaller man threatens to cut off the pigtail of the taller. The soldier replies that he’s welcome to if he can reach it. Thanks to the discreet intervention of the old French officer who happens to be sharing Yorick’s box, the dwarf finally gets placed directly in front of the insolent German. But it is Yorick’s account of the play of emotions—his sentiments, as Sterne would put it—that gives this send-up of the scrum of festival seating its punch and pathos.</p>
<p>The human encounter in the more expensive and exalted loge above these jockeyings for position brings with it the most lasting message, one that applies not only to the practices of theatre-going but to the theatre of life.</p>
<p>When Yorick enters the box at the opera he sits beside the aged officer, who is looking at the libretto. “As soon as I sat down,” writes Yorick/Sterne, “He took his spectacles off, and putting them into a shagreen case, return’d them and the book into his pocket together.”&#160; Yorick then offers his “translation” of this deportment: “Here’s a poor stranger come in to the box—he seems as if he knew no body; and is never likely to, was he to be seven years in Paris, if every man he comes near keeps his spectacles upon his nose—‘tis shutting the door of conversation absolutely in his face—and using him worse than a German.” (This, a reference to the German tormenting the dwarf down in the parterre.)</p>
<p>Sterne’s imagination and memory then fly from the loge to his observations on the body language that shuts down human interaction on the London streets, and then to an encounter in the foyer of a concert hall in Milan where he nearly bumps into a noble lady and they then start into a choreography, each trying to pass on one side and then the other. That dance and—most importantly—the awkward feelings it elicits are captured by Sterne with the elegant economy he was master of.&#160; After this confusion is blushingly sorted out, the ballet of sentiment continues up the staircase, but quickly descends, concluding outside the opera house with Yorick offering the lady his hand and guiding her to her coach and getting in himself to be conveyed to her lodgings. “And what became of the concert, St. Cecilia, who, I suppose, was at it, knows more than I.”</p>
<p>250 years after his death, Sterne enjoins the sentimental traveler through this modern world to follow the example of the French office at the opera and close his or her laptop in the coffee shop when someone dares to sit at the same table; to pull out the earbuds and harmonize with others, to add one’s own melody to the intimate chamber music of conversation; and to do it now. Live! Feel! Be in the moment!&#160; As Yorick puts it as he leaves the Milan concert hall with the woman he’s just met: “Life is too short to be long about the form of it.”</p>
| 8,144 |
<p>On the third Thursday of each month, veteran medical marijuana growers and hopeful newbies gather in the old Williams Grange hall in a small rural Oregon valley long known for growing some of the best cannabis on the planet.</p>
<p>Since voters last fall made the state the fourth to legalize recreational marijuana, people have been flocking to the hall to get the latest update on lawmakers' progress on crafting rules for the new industry.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The entrepreneurs also share tips on how to produce happy and healthy marijuana plants.</p>
<p>"Why not come to the source to learn about growing?" says Gina Erdmann, director of the Oregon SunGrown Growers' Guild, as she lays out materials on the sign-in table outside the hall, now a community center.</p>
<p>While the pot law will go into effect Wednesday, it may pass without much fanfare in the state, which was the first to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana in 1973. Smoking it in public is illegal, but Portland police are discouraging residents from calling 911 to report smokers.</p>
<p>Adults will be allowed to possess and grow limited amounts of marijuana, but not to buy or sell it yet. It will be a few months to more than a year before it is legal to sell, and then only with a state permit.</p>
<p>In the old Williams Grange, expectations of pot prosperity drew about 75 people to the most recent growers' guild meeting, filling the hall. Many dropped $10 into a donation box.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Attorney Paul Loney told the gathering that if the Legislature authorizes medical marijuana growers to sell to dispensaries for retail sales starting Oct. 1, growers need to be sure they get a transfer form signed by the patient they grow for.</p>
<p>"There will be cops trolling Craigslist looking to set up people," Loney warned.</p>
<p>The Williams Valley was settled in the 1850s gold rush, and has seen eras of homesteading, timbering and dairy farming. Farms today grow herbs, vegetables, wine grapes, hay and cattle. The valley is home to about 2,000 people.</p>
<p>An analysis by The Associated Press in 2011 found that about 20 percent of residents held medical marijuana cards, the highest concentration of any zip code in Oregon.</p>
<p>The climate is ideal for growing cannabis, with long warm summers with little or no rain. The region is remote and rural, which attracted hippies looking for a little land in the 1970s who grew marijuana in secret gardens in the nearby hills.</p>
<p>After medical marijuana became legal in 1999, people brought their gardens home.</p>
<p>For years, medical marijuana laws did not allow growers to be paid for their labor. But the limits on plants and the amount a patient could possess left large surpluses, which some sold illegally. Police logs noted people from other states arrested with large amounts of pot in their trunks.</p>
<p>Just what the regulated retail cannabis industry in Oregon will look like continues to be a moving target. A bill would allow medical marijuana dispensaries to start selling small amounts to retail customers starting Oct. 1, with supplies coming from medical growers.</p>
<p>The Oregon Liquor Control Commission, which will oversee retail sales and production, plans to start taking applications from growers in January, so permits can be awarded in time for spring planting.</p>
<p>Permits for processors, wholesalers and retailers would roll out in succession, allowing retail sales to start late in 2016.</p>
<p>"It's really a hostile business environment. But things are improving," said Cedar Grey, the growers' guild president and a local homebuilder who along with his wife grow medical marijuana on a clearing in the pine and fir woods.</p>
<p>In Washington state, where recreational marijuana has been legal for two years, cashing in has proved more difficult than many expected, said Seattle attorney Christine Masse, who works with marijuana businesses and regulators.</p>
<p>"Some people thought this would be the next gold rush," she said. "On the whole, that has not been the case up here."</p>
<p>They face major economic obstacles, she said. Because marijuana is still prohibited federally, growers can't get bank loans, deposit their money, or claim tax deductions.</p>
<p>Seth Crawford, who teaches marijuana policy at Oregon State University, does not expect any surge in demand, which has been served comfortably by the black market for some 40 years, and medical marijuana since 1999.</p>
<p>Unless they can find some niche market, he expects many small growers, who typically sold about $7,500 worth of cannabis a year in 2012, to be eaten up by bigger organizations with more capital.</p>
<p>"We are moving from an era of small, backyard producers ... to a small number of enormous production farms," he wrote in an email. "There will be a lot of 'newcomers,' ranging from inexperienced to expert. Almost all of them will fail."</p>
<p>Despite the obstacles, the Legislature is trying to encourage the industry, both to strangle the black market and to help the state's economy.</p>
<p>State Rep. Carl Wilson, R-Grants Pass, campaigned against legalization last fall, but since serving on a legislative committee creating the laws to regulate it, has been converted to the idea that cannabis can be an effective medicinal.</p>
<p>He hopes a legal cannabis industry will help rural Oregon, which has struggled to find a replacement for the defunct timber industry.</p>
<p>"It is a legitimate product now," he said. "It is my interest to see it prosper, along with the medicinal."</p>
|
Oregon medical marijuana growers prepare to expand into new retail recreational markets
| true |
http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2015/06/30/oregon-medical-marijuana-growers-prepare-to-expand-into-new-retail-recreational.html
|
2016-03-05
| 0right
|
Oregon medical marijuana growers prepare to expand into new retail recreational markets
<p>On the third Thursday of each month, veteran medical marijuana growers and hopeful newbies gather in the old Williams Grange hall in a small rural Oregon valley long known for growing some of the best cannabis on the planet.</p>
<p>Since voters last fall made the state the fourth to legalize recreational marijuana, people have been flocking to the hall to get the latest update on lawmakers' progress on crafting rules for the new industry.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The entrepreneurs also share tips on how to produce happy and healthy marijuana plants.</p>
<p>"Why not come to the source to learn about growing?" says Gina Erdmann, director of the Oregon SunGrown Growers' Guild, as she lays out materials on the sign-in table outside the hall, now a community center.</p>
<p>While the pot law will go into effect Wednesday, it may pass without much fanfare in the state, which was the first to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana in 1973. Smoking it in public is illegal, but Portland police are discouraging residents from calling 911 to report smokers.</p>
<p>Adults will be allowed to possess and grow limited amounts of marijuana, but not to buy or sell it yet. It will be a few months to more than a year before it is legal to sell, and then only with a state permit.</p>
<p>In the old Williams Grange, expectations of pot prosperity drew about 75 people to the most recent growers' guild meeting, filling the hall. Many dropped $10 into a donation box.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Attorney Paul Loney told the gathering that if the Legislature authorizes medical marijuana growers to sell to dispensaries for retail sales starting Oct. 1, growers need to be sure they get a transfer form signed by the patient they grow for.</p>
<p>"There will be cops trolling Craigslist looking to set up people," Loney warned.</p>
<p>The Williams Valley was settled in the 1850s gold rush, and has seen eras of homesteading, timbering and dairy farming. Farms today grow herbs, vegetables, wine grapes, hay and cattle. The valley is home to about 2,000 people.</p>
<p>An analysis by The Associated Press in 2011 found that about 20 percent of residents held medical marijuana cards, the highest concentration of any zip code in Oregon.</p>
<p>The climate is ideal for growing cannabis, with long warm summers with little or no rain. The region is remote and rural, which attracted hippies looking for a little land in the 1970s who grew marijuana in secret gardens in the nearby hills.</p>
<p>After medical marijuana became legal in 1999, people brought their gardens home.</p>
<p>For years, medical marijuana laws did not allow growers to be paid for their labor. But the limits on plants and the amount a patient could possess left large surpluses, which some sold illegally. Police logs noted people from other states arrested with large amounts of pot in their trunks.</p>
<p>Just what the regulated retail cannabis industry in Oregon will look like continues to be a moving target. A bill would allow medical marijuana dispensaries to start selling small amounts to retail customers starting Oct. 1, with supplies coming from medical growers.</p>
<p>The Oregon Liquor Control Commission, which will oversee retail sales and production, plans to start taking applications from growers in January, so permits can be awarded in time for spring planting.</p>
<p>Permits for processors, wholesalers and retailers would roll out in succession, allowing retail sales to start late in 2016.</p>
<p>"It's really a hostile business environment. But things are improving," said Cedar Grey, the growers' guild president and a local homebuilder who along with his wife grow medical marijuana on a clearing in the pine and fir woods.</p>
<p>In Washington state, where recreational marijuana has been legal for two years, cashing in has proved more difficult than many expected, said Seattle attorney Christine Masse, who works with marijuana businesses and regulators.</p>
<p>"Some people thought this would be the next gold rush," she said. "On the whole, that has not been the case up here."</p>
<p>They face major economic obstacles, she said. Because marijuana is still prohibited federally, growers can't get bank loans, deposit their money, or claim tax deductions.</p>
<p>Seth Crawford, who teaches marijuana policy at Oregon State University, does not expect any surge in demand, which has been served comfortably by the black market for some 40 years, and medical marijuana since 1999.</p>
<p>Unless they can find some niche market, he expects many small growers, who typically sold about $7,500 worth of cannabis a year in 2012, to be eaten up by bigger organizations with more capital.</p>
<p>"We are moving from an era of small, backyard producers ... to a small number of enormous production farms," he wrote in an email. "There will be a lot of 'newcomers,' ranging from inexperienced to expert. Almost all of them will fail."</p>
<p>Despite the obstacles, the Legislature is trying to encourage the industry, both to strangle the black market and to help the state's economy.</p>
<p>State Rep. Carl Wilson, R-Grants Pass, campaigned against legalization last fall, but since serving on a legislative committee creating the laws to regulate it, has been converted to the idea that cannabis can be an effective medicinal.</p>
<p>He hopes a legal cannabis industry will help rural Oregon, which has struggled to find a replacement for the defunct timber industry.</p>
<p>"It is a legitimate product now," he said. "It is my interest to see it prosper, along with the medicinal."</p>
| 8,145 |
<p>Image: Stephan Faris</p>
<p />
<p>Sokoto, Nigeria – A little over a year ago, Safiya Huseini’s crime wasn’t even on the books. Now, the 35-year-old divorcee from a poor village in northern Nigeria faces death by stoning.</p>
<p>“Nobody is happy about this,” says her blind father, Huseini Danwanzam, 75. “There is no justice.”</p>
<p>Huseini’s sentence — she was convicted of adultery because she was found to be pregnant — is the harshest and most controversial handed out in Nigeria’s Muslim-dominated north since states there began adopting a hard line Islamic code in January of 2000. The authorities have yet to stone anyone, but they have conducted several amputations. The first execution carried out under Sharia law came last January, with the hanging of a convicted murderer.</p>
<p />
<p>Public support for Sharia law in the northern states has largely been the result of popular discontent with the country’s faltering and corrupt justice system. Ruud Peters, a University of Amsterdam expert on Islamic law who has advised Huseini on her case, says that almost all of the countries that introduced the religious codes in modern times — Libya, Pakistan, Iran and Sudan — did so as the result of a systematic campaign by political leaders looking to cement their nation’s Islamic identity. Not so in Nigeria, where the adoption of Sharia law by 11 northern states was all but forced upon often-reluctant governors by a population tired of crime and corruption.</p>
<p>“People have this idea that when you introduce Islamic law, moral standards will be higher,” Peters says. “And if you punish offenses severely, that will deter crime.”</p>
<p>The country is made of two religious blocks, which were joined by the English in the early 20th century. While the coastal south is largely Christian or animist, Islam has been dominant in northern Nigeria for centuries. Sharia codes were enforced in northern Nigeria until 1960, when they were outlawed by the country’s British government (London had banned amputation, stoning and crucifixion much earlier). While religious courts continued to hold sway in family law, it was not until 1999, when Nigeria cast off decades of military dictatorships in favor of a civilian government, that states began reintroducing the Islamic penal code.</p>
<p>“Nigeria went through 20 years of military rule,” says Sanusi L. Sanusi, a Nigerian banker and Islamic scholar. “People were looking for a reason for hope.” Then, as now, lawlessness prevailed. Armed robbers stopped cars and busses or pillaged whole city blocks. Ordinary people saw the police only at roadblocks, inspecting papers, demanding money. In the south, the public turned to brutal ethnic vigilantes for security. In the north, they turned to Sharia.</p>
<p>The states’ path toward Sharia has not been uniformly smooth. The move to adopt Sharia touched off widespread violence in the northern state of Kaduna, where more than 2,000 people were killed in several days of rioting and religious conflict. Nigeria’s president, Olusegun Obasanjo, decried the violence but has been unable or unwilling to take action to back up his criticism.</p>
<p>Recently, with Obasanjo appearing weakened by a new spasm of religious and ethnic violence, the president has finally taken aim at politicians who he says are deliberately inciting conflict for political gain, reportedly calling those involved in the fighting “foot soldiers of cynical political strategists.” Still, Obasanjo appears entirely unwilling to openly call for the northern states to modify their various interpretations of Sharia.</p>
<p>Some northern politicians initially balked at adopting the Sharia code. Others, appreciating the public appeal that Islamic law carried, were quick to embrace the public crusade. The first to do so was Ahmed Sani, the newly-elected governor of Zamfara State. Sani’s introduction of Sharia vastly boosted his popularity, allowing him to claim a spot on the national stage as its most ardent proponent.</p>
<p>Sani’s freshly-minted reputation as a champion of law and order is ironic. During Nigeria’s 15-years of military dictatorship of, Sani held several posts at Nigeria’s Central Bank. His tenure came at a time when the country’s top brass were draining Nigeria of billions in oil revenue, deepening its poverty and shortchanging its infrastructure — including the police force. And Sani’s hands were far from clean. In 1999, he described to a group of foreign journalists how he took kickbacks from military officers (he has since denied it). With the end of military rule in 1999, Sani used his ill-gotten gains to buy votes in the race for Zamfara’s governorship.</p>
<p>Now, Sani is using his new Islamic standing to further his political career. Sani has sought to discredit his fellow northern governors — all potential adversaries on the national stage — by suggesting that several have only embraced the Sharia code to further their political careers. Within Zamfara State, Sani has even used Islam — and the longstanding tensions between south and north — to move against supporters of his political opponents. One British newspaper even reported Sani threatened to wage a “jihad” against his political adversaries.</p>
<p>Not surprisingly, neither Sani nor any of Nigeria’s other famously corrupt politicians have been charged with any crimes under Sharia. And even if they were, they wouldn’t face amputation or stoning. While stealing a goat can cost you your hand, the Islamic criminal code punishes embezzlement by a public official with lashes, fines or imprisonment.</p>
<p>When it comes to daily enforcement, the decks of Nigeria’s version of Sharia are further stacked against the nation’s poor. Lashings for infractions such as drinking and disturbing the public peace are doled out daily. Huseini was convicted based on the simple evidence that she was pregnant (her partner, who she accuses of rape, was set free). Only women like her, with no access to sex education or abortions, need let a swollen belly bear witness against them.</p>
<p>Sanusi, who supported the introduction of Sharia law, is now urging restraint.</p>
<p>“Ultimately, as long as you don’t address the problems of the people, people will lose faith in the system,” he says. There are already signs that the public faith in Sharia is slipping. A goat-thief who had his hand amputated claims he deserved his punishment, but only after he was promised about $400 dollars following his operation, a large sum in a country where the average income is less than $1 a day. He continues to receive assistance. Another man sentenced to have his hand amputated has renounced Islam, hoping to escape punishment.</p>
<p>The strict social mores imposed by Sharia are also followed in a less-than-rigid manner in much of northern Nigeria. In Zamfara, women are forced to wear body-covering veils, single-sex schools have been introduced and drinking alcohol is prohibited. Yet bars in special military zones — areas administered by the nation’s powerful army leadership which are exempt from state or local laws — are sufficiently reliant on Muslims to see a sharp slump in trade during the holy month of Ramadan.</p>
<p>Suggesting that the pattern is a familiar one seen in other countries that adopted Sharia law, Peters says he expects the prosecutorial zeal to subside in northern Nigeria. Libya and Pakistan, he says, never enforced the harsher Islamic penalties, while Sudan and Iran used them only shortly after their introduction. Moreover, Peters argues that Nigeria has a strong Western legal tradition which Sharia will not completely erode.</p>
<p>Still, that softening of attitude may not come in time to save Safiya Huseini. She has appealed her sentence, and has changed the basis of that appeal from saying she was raped to attributing her pregnancy to her husband, whom she divorced two years before becoming pregnant. That tactical shift came after prompting from Peters, who notes that under Nigeria’s brand of Islamic law, a pregnancy can be concealed for up to 7 years.</p>
<p>“You have to play by their rules,” he says. “It’s difficult to undo a path of Islamization. The only thing you can do is cut off the sharp edges.”</p>
<p />
|
Religion and Justice in Nigeria
| true |
https://motherjones.com/politics/2002/03/religion-and-justice-nigeria/
|
2002-03-18
| 4left
|
Religion and Justice in Nigeria
<p>Image: Stephan Faris</p>
<p />
<p>Sokoto, Nigeria – A little over a year ago, Safiya Huseini’s crime wasn’t even on the books. Now, the 35-year-old divorcee from a poor village in northern Nigeria faces death by stoning.</p>
<p>“Nobody is happy about this,” says her blind father, Huseini Danwanzam, 75. “There is no justice.”</p>
<p>Huseini’s sentence — she was convicted of adultery because she was found to be pregnant — is the harshest and most controversial handed out in Nigeria’s Muslim-dominated north since states there began adopting a hard line Islamic code in January of 2000. The authorities have yet to stone anyone, but they have conducted several amputations. The first execution carried out under Sharia law came last January, with the hanging of a convicted murderer.</p>
<p />
<p>Public support for Sharia law in the northern states has largely been the result of popular discontent with the country’s faltering and corrupt justice system. Ruud Peters, a University of Amsterdam expert on Islamic law who has advised Huseini on her case, says that almost all of the countries that introduced the religious codes in modern times — Libya, Pakistan, Iran and Sudan — did so as the result of a systematic campaign by political leaders looking to cement their nation’s Islamic identity. Not so in Nigeria, where the adoption of Sharia law by 11 northern states was all but forced upon often-reluctant governors by a population tired of crime and corruption.</p>
<p>“People have this idea that when you introduce Islamic law, moral standards will be higher,” Peters says. “And if you punish offenses severely, that will deter crime.”</p>
<p>The country is made of two religious blocks, which were joined by the English in the early 20th century. While the coastal south is largely Christian or animist, Islam has been dominant in northern Nigeria for centuries. Sharia codes were enforced in northern Nigeria until 1960, when they were outlawed by the country’s British government (London had banned amputation, stoning and crucifixion much earlier). While religious courts continued to hold sway in family law, it was not until 1999, when Nigeria cast off decades of military dictatorships in favor of a civilian government, that states began reintroducing the Islamic penal code.</p>
<p>“Nigeria went through 20 years of military rule,” says Sanusi L. Sanusi, a Nigerian banker and Islamic scholar. “People were looking for a reason for hope.” Then, as now, lawlessness prevailed. Armed robbers stopped cars and busses or pillaged whole city blocks. Ordinary people saw the police only at roadblocks, inspecting papers, demanding money. In the south, the public turned to brutal ethnic vigilantes for security. In the north, they turned to Sharia.</p>
<p>The states’ path toward Sharia has not been uniformly smooth. The move to adopt Sharia touched off widespread violence in the northern state of Kaduna, where more than 2,000 people were killed in several days of rioting and religious conflict. Nigeria’s president, Olusegun Obasanjo, decried the violence but has been unable or unwilling to take action to back up his criticism.</p>
<p>Recently, with Obasanjo appearing weakened by a new spasm of religious and ethnic violence, the president has finally taken aim at politicians who he says are deliberately inciting conflict for political gain, reportedly calling those involved in the fighting “foot soldiers of cynical political strategists.” Still, Obasanjo appears entirely unwilling to openly call for the northern states to modify their various interpretations of Sharia.</p>
<p>Some northern politicians initially balked at adopting the Sharia code. Others, appreciating the public appeal that Islamic law carried, were quick to embrace the public crusade. The first to do so was Ahmed Sani, the newly-elected governor of Zamfara State. Sani’s introduction of Sharia vastly boosted his popularity, allowing him to claim a spot on the national stage as its most ardent proponent.</p>
<p>Sani’s freshly-minted reputation as a champion of law and order is ironic. During Nigeria’s 15-years of military dictatorship of, Sani held several posts at Nigeria’s Central Bank. His tenure came at a time when the country’s top brass were draining Nigeria of billions in oil revenue, deepening its poverty and shortchanging its infrastructure — including the police force. And Sani’s hands were far from clean. In 1999, he described to a group of foreign journalists how he took kickbacks from military officers (he has since denied it). With the end of military rule in 1999, Sani used his ill-gotten gains to buy votes in the race for Zamfara’s governorship.</p>
<p>Now, Sani is using his new Islamic standing to further his political career. Sani has sought to discredit his fellow northern governors — all potential adversaries on the national stage — by suggesting that several have only embraced the Sharia code to further their political careers. Within Zamfara State, Sani has even used Islam — and the longstanding tensions between south and north — to move against supporters of his political opponents. One British newspaper even reported Sani threatened to wage a “jihad” against his political adversaries.</p>
<p>Not surprisingly, neither Sani nor any of Nigeria’s other famously corrupt politicians have been charged with any crimes under Sharia. And even if they were, they wouldn’t face amputation or stoning. While stealing a goat can cost you your hand, the Islamic criminal code punishes embezzlement by a public official with lashes, fines or imprisonment.</p>
<p>When it comes to daily enforcement, the decks of Nigeria’s version of Sharia are further stacked against the nation’s poor. Lashings for infractions such as drinking and disturbing the public peace are doled out daily. Huseini was convicted based on the simple evidence that she was pregnant (her partner, who she accuses of rape, was set free). Only women like her, with no access to sex education or abortions, need let a swollen belly bear witness against them.</p>
<p>Sanusi, who supported the introduction of Sharia law, is now urging restraint.</p>
<p>“Ultimately, as long as you don’t address the problems of the people, people will lose faith in the system,” he says. There are already signs that the public faith in Sharia is slipping. A goat-thief who had his hand amputated claims he deserved his punishment, but only after he was promised about $400 dollars following his operation, a large sum in a country where the average income is less than $1 a day. He continues to receive assistance. Another man sentenced to have his hand amputated has renounced Islam, hoping to escape punishment.</p>
<p>The strict social mores imposed by Sharia are also followed in a less-than-rigid manner in much of northern Nigeria. In Zamfara, women are forced to wear body-covering veils, single-sex schools have been introduced and drinking alcohol is prohibited. Yet bars in special military zones — areas administered by the nation’s powerful army leadership which are exempt from state or local laws — are sufficiently reliant on Muslims to see a sharp slump in trade during the holy month of Ramadan.</p>
<p>Suggesting that the pattern is a familiar one seen in other countries that adopted Sharia law, Peters says he expects the prosecutorial zeal to subside in northern Nigeria. Libya and Pakistan, he says, never enforced the harsher Islamic penalties, while Sudan and Iran used them only shortly after their introduction. Moreover, Peters argues that Nigeria has a strong Western legal tradition which Sharia will not completely erode.</p>
<p>Still, that softening of attitude may not come in time to save Safiya Huseini. She has appealed her sentence, and has changed the basis of that appeal from saying she was raped to attributing her pregnancy to her husband, whom she divorced two years before becoming pregnant. That tactical shift came after prompting from Peters, who notes that under Nigeria’s brand of Islamic law, a pregnancy can be concealed for up to 7 years.</p>
<p>“You have to play by their rules,” he says. “It’s difficult to undo a path of Islamization. The only thing you can do is cut off the sharp edges.”</p>
<p />
| 8,146 |
<p>NEW YORK (AP) - Actress and activist Rose McGowan will be the subject of a new documentary TV series.</p>
<p>E! said Tuesday it will air the first part of "Citizen Rose" on Jan. 30, which coincides with the release of her memoir, "Brave." Four more episodes will air in the spring.</p>
<p>McGowan helped open a national public discussion about sexual harassment and abuse when she accused Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein of raping her. Weinstein has repeatedly denied "allegations of non-consensual sex."</p>
<p>With the documentary, McGowan says she hopes to "amplify my message of bravery, art, joy and survival" and to "show how we can heal through art even when being hounded by evil."</p>
<p>She will serve as an executive producer.</p>
<p>NEW YORK (AP) - Actress and activist Rose McGowan will be the subject of a new documentary TV series.</p>
<p>E! said Tuesday it will air the first part of "Citizen Rose" on Jan. 30, which coincides with the release of her memoir, "Brave." Four more episodes will air in the spring.</p>
<p>McGowan helped open a national public discussion about sexual harassment and abuse when she accused Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein of raping her. Weinstein has repeatedly denied "allegations of non-consensual sex."</p>
<p>With the documentary, McGowan says she hopes to "amplify my message of bravery, art, joy and survival" and to "show how we can heal through art even when being hounded by evil."</p>
<p>She will serve as an executive producer.</p>
|
Documentary on actress-activist Rose McGowan coming to E!
| false |
https://apnews.com/amp/5be89189cc094fb9be99635e46e5bf9c
|
2018-01-02
| 2least
|
Documentary on actress-activist Rose McGowan coming to E!
<p>NEW YORK (AP) - Actress and activist Rose McGowan will be the subject of a new documentary TV series.</p>
<p>E! said Tuesday it will air the first part of "Citizen Rose" on Jan. 30, which coincides with the release of her memoir, "Brave." Four more episodes will air in the spring.</p>
<p>McGowan helped open a national public discussion about sexual harassment and abuse when she accused Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein of raping her. Weinstein has repeatedly denied "allegations of non-consensual sex."</p>
<p>With the documentary, McGowan says she hopes to "amplify my message of bravery, art, joy and survival" and to "show how we can heal through art even when being hounded by evil."</p>
<p>She will serve as an executive producer.</p>
<p>NEW YORK (AP) - Actress and activist Rose McGowan will be the subject of a new documentary TV series.</p>
<p>E! said Tuesday it will air the first part of "Citizen Rose" on Jan. 30, which coincides with the release of her memoir, "Brave." Four more episodes will air in the spring.</p>
<p>McGowan helped open a national public discussion about sexual harassment and abuse when she accused Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein of raping her. Weinstein has repeatedly denied "allegations of non-consensual sex."</p>
<p>With the documentary, McGowan says she hopes to "amplify my message of bravery, art, joy and survival" and to "show how we can heal through art even when being hounded by evil."</p>
<p>She will serve as an executive producer.</p>
| 8,147 |
<p><a href="http://pienews.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Austin.jpg" type="external" />Texas is one of only seven states to not impose a state income tax on its inhabitants. While Texas has helped codify the state's reputation for having low taxes, they can be extremely high for certain types of people. This is generally because the state has to make up [?]</p>
<p />
<p><a href="http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-Texas/2014/06/05/Austin-Liberals-Cant-Afford-Taxes-They-Voted-For" type="external">Click here to view original web page at www.breitbart.com</a></p>
<p />
|
Austin Liberals Can't Afford the Taxes They Voted For
| true |
http://politicalillusionsexposed.com/austin-liberals-cant-afford-the-taxes-they-voted-for/
| 0right
|
Austin Liberals Can't Afford the Taxes They Voted For
<p><a href="http://pienews.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Austin.jpg" type="external" />Texas is one of only seven states to not impose a state income tax on its inhabitants. While Texas has helped codify the state's reputation for having low taxes, they can be extremely high for certain types of people. This is generally because the state has to make up [?]</p>
<p />
<p><a href="http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-Texas/2014/06/05/Austin-Liberals-Cant-Afford-Taxes-They-Voted-For" type="external">Click here to view original web page at www.breitbart.com</a></p>
<p />
| 8,148 |
|
<p>The mystery surrounding the intentions of the chief executive of AstraZeneca PLC, one of the world's largest pharmaceutical firms, remains...a mystery.</p>
<p>Two days after an Israeli news report said Chief Executive Pascal Soriot had agreed to take the top job at a rival drug giant, Israel-based Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., AstraZeneca continues to say it won't comment, labeling that report -- and more recent reports that he is staying on -- as market rumors and speculation.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>A spokesman late Friday said Dr. Soriot would host the presentation of the company's midyear financial results, expected later this month. But the spokesman declined to say whether that indicated Dr. Soriot was sticking around for the longer term.</p>
<p>A spokesman for Teva said it also wouldn't comment on market rumors.</p>
<p>Shares of AstraZeneca fell sharply Thursday, after an Israeli news site, Calcalist, reported the day before that Dr. Soriot had agreed to take the top job at Teva. They ended London trading down more than 3%. Despite the steep stock market drop, AstraZeneca has repeatedly stopped short of denying the report.</p>
<p>On Friday, shares finished lower for the second day running, falling another 0.29%, amid the uncertainty.</p>
<p>Write to Chip Cummins at [email protected]</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>July 14, 2017 18:34 ET (22:34 GMT)</p>
|
AstraZeneca's CEO? We Still Don't Know If He's Staying or Going
| true |
http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/07/14/astrazenecas-ceo-still-dont-know-if-hes-staying-or-going.html
|
2017-07-14
| 0right
|
AstraZeneca's CEO? We Still Don't Know If He's Staying or Going
<p>The mystery surrounding the intentions of the chief executive of AstraZeneca PLC, one of the world's largest pharmaceutical firms, remains...a mystery.</p>
<p>Two days after an Israeli news report said Chief Executive Pascal Soriot had agreed to take the top job at a rival drug giant, Israel-based Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., AstraZeneca continues to say it won't comment, labeling that report -- and more recent reports that he is staying on -- as market rumors and speculation.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>A spokesman late Friday said Dr. Soriot would host the presentation of the company's midyear financial results, expected later this month. But the spokesman declined to say whether that indicated Dr. Soriot was sticking around for the longer term.</p>
<p>A spokesman for Teva said it also wouldn't comment on market rumors.</p>
<p>Shares of AstraZeneca fell sharply Thursday, after an Israeli news site, Calcalist, reported the day before that Dr. Soriot had agreed to take the top job at Teva. They ended London trading down more than 3%. Despite the steep stock market drop, AstraZeneca has repeatedly stopped short of denying the report.</p>
<p>On Friday, shares finished lower for the second day running, falling another 0.29%, amid the uncertainty.</p>
<p>Write to Chip Cummins at [email protected]</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>July 14, 2017 18:34 ET (22:34 GMT)</p>
| 8,149 |
<p />
<p>SAMANTHA BEE (HOST): Fortunately for [Roger] Ailes, the job of [Donald] Trump's debate coach isn't that hard. He doesn't need to make Trump sound smart because he's spent the last 20 years making voters dislike smart people. In a way, the Donald Trump campaign is the dark harbor Roger Ailes has been sailing toward his entire career. Trump's murky blend of politics and entertainment plus a healthy dash of racist fearmongering are nothing but the cask aged distillation of a poison Roger Ailes started brewing years ago. As soon as Barack Obama began emerging as a viable candidate for president, Ailes' network began the important work of delegitimizing him, which often meant up-drafting fringe conspiracy theories into the mainstream.</p>
<p>[BEGIN VIDEO]</p>
<p>STEVE DOOCY: There is some information in Insight magazine that Barack Obama was raised a Muslim and went to a madrasa.</p>
<p>GRETCHEN CARLSON: He attended a Muslim school, a madrasa.</p>
<p>BRIAN KILMEADE: One of the rumors is that he got sworn in on a Koran. A father born in Kenya, who was a Muslim.</p>
<p>DOOCY: Gave him the middle name of "Hussein."</p>
<p>KILMEADE: He grew up in a madrasa.</p>
<p>ALISYN CAMEROTA: Right.</p>
<p>DOOCY: Financed by Saudis. They teach this Wahhabism, which pretty much hates us.</p>
<p>[END VIDEO]</p>
<p>BEE: Well I heard Obama is 40 feet tall and shoots red-hot Islam out of his eyes. Why isn't the lamestream media talking about that? On his propaganda machine disguised as a news network, Ailes exploited the fact that if a fringey falsehood is repeated often enough by people with good teeth and neutral accents, it's not considered crazy anymore.</p>
<p>[…]</p>
<p>BEE: Then in 2011, a failed QVC steak salesman named Donald Trump turned his frequent call-ins to Fox's morning show into a regular segment.</p>
<p>[BEGIN VIDEO]</p>
<p>ANNOUNCER: Bold, brash, and never bashful.</p>
<p>DONALD TRUMP: My message is a better message than anybody else.</p>
<p>ANNOUNCER: Monday mornings with Trump on Fox &amp; Friends.</p>
<p>[END VIDEO]</p>
<p>BEE: In his very first week on the show, they even featured a segment called, "What would President Trump do?" Well, yay, now we know.</p>
<p>[...]</p>
<p>BEE: How did we get from there to here? Partly because Fox News has made it normal to shit on Muslims. Take this so-called Ground Zero mosque. Fox took Pamela Geller, a no-name, bridge-and-tunnel Islamophobe, and made her a star. Without Fox, a wacko like Pam would have stayed in the underworld of typepad blogs named for Ayn Rand books where she belonged, and the construction of a totally normal Islamic cultural center would have proceeded, along with the usual two juiceries, four banks, and nine Starsbuck with banks inside therm. But then Fox News put Pam on television again and again and again and again.</p>
<p>[BEGIN VIDEO]</p>
<p>PAMELA GELLER: Why would you build a 15-story Islamic supremacist mega-mosque looking down on the graveyard of Ground Zero? Why there?</p>
<p>This is the second wave of the 9/11 attacks.</p>
<p>This will be an effort to appeal to the imam to move this Islamic supremacist mosque in a building that is Ground Zero. Not 600 feet from Ground Zero, Eric, it is Ground Zero.</p>
<p>ERIC BOLLING: It is Ground Zero, I agree with you 100 percent, Pam Geller.</p>
<p>[END VIDEO]</p>
<p>BEE: Yeah I agree with you 100 percent on whatever crazy thing you said, just, sorry, my coffee hasn’t kicked in yet. That is a supposedly credible news voice casually affirming that the First Amendment doesn't apply to Muslims. All of a sudden, the Ground Zero mosque, which should of been about as controversial as integrated schools, became a thing Americans could hate without shame.</p>
<p>[...]</p>
<p>BEE: Aw, isn’t is relaxing to just stop trying not to be racist? Ailes kept riling up the Republican base with emotional non-stories until the party itself felt it had to pivot and address their perceptually outraged demands.</p>
<p>[BEGIN VIDEO]</p>
<p>DAVID FRUM: Republicans originally thought that Fox worked for us. And now we're discovering we work for Fox.</p>
<p>[END VIDEO]</p>
<p>BEE: Well feel free to quit anytime, guys. Ailes' relationship with the Republican Party is hard to explain, but I'll try. See, like an alien pod, Roger Ailes attracted the GOP's interest, but oh no, he attached himself to the party's face and injected a lot of horrible stuff into them, and for a little while they felt fine, not realizing that Trump was gestating inside their party, until oh my God, it burst forth, killing the host and running for president. I really don’t want to see the sequel.</p>
<p>Previously:</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Fox News Doesn’t Ask Trump Adviser About Roger Ailes Helping Trump Prepare For Debates</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">During Interview With Donald Trump, O'Reilly Ignores Ailes’ Role In Debate Preparation</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Trump Is On A Crusade To Influence The Presidential Debate Moderators</a></p>
|
Samantha Bee Rips Roger Ailes’ Fox News For “Racist Fearmongering” That Built Trump’s Candidacy
| true |
https://mediamatters.org/video/2016/09/20/samantha-bee-rips-roger-ailes-fox-news-racist-fearmongering-built-trump-s-candidacy/213196
|
2016-09-20
| 4left
|
Samantha Bee Rips Roger Ailes’ Fox News For “Racist Fearmongering” That Built Trump’s Candidacy
<p />
<p>SAMANTHA BEE (HOST): Fortunately for [Roger] Ailes, the job of [Donald] Trump's debate coach isn't that hard. He doesn't need to make Trump sound smart because he's spent the last 20 years making voters dislike smart people. In a way, the Donald Trump campaign is the dark harbor Roger Ailes has been sailing toward his entire career. Trump's murky blend of politics and entertainment plus a healthy dash of racist fearmongering are nothing but the cask aged distillation of a poison Roger Ailes started brewing years ago. As soon as Barack Obama began emerging as a viable candidate for president, Ailes' network began the important work of delegitimizing him, which often meant up-drafting fringe conspiracy theories into the mainstream.</p>
<p>[BEGIN VIDEO]</p>
<p>STEVE DOOCY: There is some information in Insight magazine that Barack Obama was raised a Muslim and went to a madrasa.</p>
<p>GRETCHEN CARLSON: He attended a Muslim school, a madrasa.</p>
<p>BRIAN KILMEADE: One of the rumors is that he got sworn in on a Koran. A father born in Kenya, who was a Muslim.</p>
<p>DOOCY: Gave him the middle name of "Hussein."</p>
<p>KILMEADE: He grew up in a madrasa.</p>
<p>ALISYN CAMEROTA: Right.</p>
<p>DOOCY: Financed by Saudis. They teach this Wahhabism, which pretty much hates us.</p>
<p>[END VIDEO]</p>
<p>BEE: Well I heard Obama is 40 feet tall and shoots red-hot Islam out of his eyes. Why isn't the lamestream media talking about that? On his propaganda machine disguised as a news network, Ailes exploited the fact that if a fringey falsehood is repeated often enough by people with good teeth and neutral accents, it's not considered crazy anymore.</p>
<p>[…]</p>
<p>BEE: Then in 2011, a failed QVC steak salesman named Donald Trump turned his frequent call-ins to Fox's morning show into a regular segment.</p>
<p>[BEGIN VIDEO]</p>
<p>ANNOUNCER: Bold, brash, and never bashful.</p>
<p>DONALD TRUMP: My message is a better message than anybody else.</p>
<p>ANNOUNCER: Monday mornings with Trump on Fox &amp; Friends.</p>
<p>[END VIDEO]</p>
<p>BEE: In his very first week on the show, they even featured a segment called, "What would President Trump do?" Well, yay, now we know.</p>
<p>[...]</p>
<p>BEE: How did we get from there to here? Partly because Fox News has made it normal to shit on Muslims. Take this so-called Ground Zero mosque. Fox took Pamela Geller, a no-name, bridge-and-tunnel Islamophobe, and made her a star. Without Fox, a wacko like Pam would have stayed in the underworld of typepad blogs named for Ayn Rand books where she belonged, and the construction of a totally normal Islamic cultural center would have proceeded, along with the usual two juiceries, four banks, and nine Starsbuck with banks inside therm. But then Fox News put Pam on television again and again and again and again.</p>
<p>[BEGIN VIDEO]</p>
<p>PAMELA GELLER: Why would you build a 15-story Islamic supremacist mega-mosque looking down on the graveyard of Ground Zero? Why there?</p>
<p>This is the second wave of the 9/11 attacks.</p>
<p>This will be an effort to appeal to the imam to move this Islamic supremacist mosque in a building that is Ground Zero. Not 600 feet from Ground Zero, Eric, it is Ground Zero.</p>
<p>ERIC BOLLING: It is Ground Zero, I agree with you 100 percent, Pam Geller.</p>
<p>[END VIDEO]</p>
<p>BEE: Yeah I agree with you 100 percent on whatever crazy thing you said, just, sorry, my coffee hasn’t kicked in yet. That is a supposedly credible news voice casually affirming that the First Amendment doesn't apply to Muslims. All of a sudden, the Ground Zero mosque, which should of been about as controversial as integrated schools, became a thing Americans could hate without shame.</p>
<p>[...]</p>
<p>BEE: Aw, isn’t is relaxing to just stop trying not to be racist? Ailes kept riling up the Republican base with emotional non-stories until the party itself felt it had to pivot and address their perceptually outraged demands.</p>
<p>[BEGIN VIDEO]</p>
<p>DAVID FRUM: Republicans originally thought that Fox worked for us. And now we're discovering we work for Fox.</p>
<p>[END VIDEO]</p>
<p>BEE: Well feel free to quit anytime, guys. Ailes' relationship with the Republican Party is hard to explain, but I'll try. See, like an alien pod, Roger Ailes attracted the GOP's interest, but oh no, he attached himself to the party's face and injected a lot of horrible stuff into them, and for a little while they felt fine, not realizing that Trump was gestating inside their party, until oh my God, it burst forth, killing the host and running for president. I really don’t want to see the sequel.</p>
<p>Previously:</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Fox News Doesn’t Ask Trump Adviser About Roger Ailes Helping Trump Prepare For Debates</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">During Interview With Donald Trump, O'Reilly Ignores Ailes’ Role In Debate Preparation</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Trump Is On A Crusade To Influence The Presidential Debate Moderators</a></p>
| 8,150 |
<p>Photo Credit: Evan El-Amin / Shutterstock</p>
<p>A new poll revealed&#160;that&#160; <a href="//nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/04/trump-voters-have-no-regrets-but-his-support-still-dropping.html" type="external">98 percent</a>&#160;of Donald Trump voters said they don’t regret their choice for president. It’s a number that’s simultaneously too difficult to believe and infuriating. By any reasonable account, whether from&#160;experts in presidential history or relatively nonpartisan commentators, Trump’s first 100 days have been an endurance test for the republic. His erratic, ignorant, deeply incompetent presidency is, day by day, causing damage — to the traditions of the White House and indeed to the spoken and unspoken rules that preserve our constitutional democracy.</p>
<p>At the center of it all is a chief executive who&#160; <a href="//www.salon.com/2017/04/24/donald-trump-literally-knows-nothing-the-moronic-fiction-of-his-really-really-good-health-care-plan-is-now-obvious/" type="external">knows nothing</a>. When he desperately avoids details by rotating through his mental rotisserie of superlatives&#160;(“very, very” or “tremendous” or “terrific” or whatever hyperbolic pitchman gibberish he’s trained himself to repeat), he comes off as an uninformed dolt, conspicuously avoiding questions with more vigor than he avoids strong gusts of wind. Conversely, when Trump struggles to repeat issue-oriented details, he comes off as a scattered, barely coherent toddler attempting to repeat something he heard at the grown-ups’ table and failing badly.</p>
<p>Both aspects of Trump’s ignorance were on mind-blowing display for&#160; <a href="//www.salon.com/2017/04/24/donald-trumps-ap-interview-10-takeaways-from-his-most-jaw-dropping-statements/" type="external">his recent one-on-one interview with the Associated Press</a>. It was a journey through the Hieronymus Bosch hellscape of Trump’s brain, and not even a legendary news outlet like the AP could decipher Trump’s incoherence — peppering the interview with more “unintelligible” parentheticals than an interview with Ozzy Osbourne.</p>
<p>Let’s dig into the&#160; <a href="https://apnews.com/c810d7de280a47e88848b0ac74690c83" type="external">three worst quotes</a>.</p>
<p>Among other things, Trump delivered perhaps the best example of word salad since Sarah Palin’s&#160;“ <a href="//thedailybanter.com/2015/01/handy-guide-epic-sarah-palin-speech-ever/" type="external">broken prompter” incident</a>&#160;several years ago. In this quote, Trump elaborated on the responsibilities of the president, and whether he anticipated the gravity of the job.</p>
<p>Number One, there’s great responsibility. When it came time to, as an example, send out the 59 missiles, the Tomahawks in Syria. I’m saying to myself, “You know, this is more than just like, 79 [sic] missiles. This is death that’s involved,” because people could have been killed. This is risk that’s involved, because if the missile goes off and goes in a city or goes in a civilian area — you know, the boats were hundreds of miles away — and if this missile goes off and lands in the middle of a town or a hamlet . . .&#160;every decision is much harder than you’d normally make. [Unintelligible.]</p>
<p>This is involving death and life and so many things. . . . &#160;So it’s far more responsibility. [unintelligible.]</p>
<p>The financial cost of everything is so massive, every agency. This is thousands of times bigger, the United States, than the biggest company in the world. The second-largest company in the world is the Defense Department. The third-largest company in the world is Social Security. The fourth-largest — you know, you go down the list.</p>
<p>One of the responsibilities of being president is knowing exactly how many missiles were launched while attacking an airfield operated by a sovereign nation. Trump doesn’t appear to know for certain whether it was 59 or 79. The last time he talked about Syria, he told Fox Business Channel’s Maria Bartiromo&#160; <a href="//www.newshounds.us/maria_bartiromo_had_to_remind_trump_he_bombed_syria_not_iraq_041217" type="external">that he had bombed Iraq</a>. This is apparently something he does: He tends to forget details about whom he bombed and how many bombs were used. Incidentally, Syrian state media reported that the cruise missile strike did indeed kill a number of civilians, including&#160; <a href="//www.newsweek.com/syria-attack-children-civilian-killed-580555" type="external">four children</a>.</p>
<p>Oh, and Trump apparently thinks that the United States government, along with the Pentagon and Social Security, are “companies” — two of the three largest companies in the world. They’re not. In any way. Governments and government agencies, at least in America, are not companies; nor do they operate anything like companies.</p>
<p>Furthermore, when I repeat the phrase “Trump knows nothing,” I’m not exaggerating all that much. Take, for example, his remarks about NATO in which he admitted not knowing what NATO was or how it operated.</p>
<p>They had a quote from me that NATO’s obsolete. But they didn’t say why it was obsolete. I was on Wolf Blitzer, very fair interview, the first time I was ever asked about NATO, because I wasn’t in government. People don’t go around asking about NATO if I’m building a building in Manhattan, right? So they asked me, Wolf . . .&#160;asked me about NATO, and I said two things. NATO’s obsolete — not knowing much about NATO, now I know a lot about NATO — NATO is obsolete, and I said, “And the reason it’s obsolete is because of the fact they don’t focus on terrorism.” You know, back when they did NATO there was no such thing as terrorism.</p>
<p>“Back when they&#160;did&#160;NATO”? What? I assume he meant “when they created NATO” but what actually came out sounded not unlike when you ask a child his or her age and the kid holds up five fingers and answers “this many.” Regarding the assertion about&#160;terrorism&#160;not existing&#160;when NATO was created, it’s hard to know what to say. No, terrorism has existed since the dawn of civilization, contrary to Trump’s assumption that it’s somehow a recent phenomenon. Worse, he based his entire NATO platform — the idea that it’s obsolete and they have to pay up (for something, something, something) — on an answer he yanked out of his ass with the help of Wolf Blitzer, apparently.</p>
<p>This is the exact same reverse-engineering process Trump consistently uses as president. Here’s how it works: He blurts an array of gibberish on Twitter or during an interview, perhaps something he heard Steve Doocy say on “Fox &amp; Friends.” Then he and his staff turn said gibberish into an incoherent and ill-considered White House policy. Hence, his NATO posture.</p>
<p>Finally, if we lived in normal times and if the president were halfway normal, the following quote would have erupted into a major scandal — especially if the president was a Democrat. Trump, on the other hand, can apparently get away with madness like this:</p>
<p>Associated Press:&#160;And that’s one of the difficulties I think presidents have had is that you can have these personal relationships with people from the other party, but then it’s hard to actually change how people vote or change how people —</p>
<p>Trump:&#160;No I have; it’s interesting; I have, seem to get very high ratings. I definitely. You know Chris Wallace had 9.2 million people; it’s the highest in the history of the show. I have all the ratings for all those morning shows. When I go, they go double, triple. Chris Wallace, look back during the Army-Navy football game; I did his show that morning. It had 9.2 million people. It’s the highest they’ve ever had. On any, on air, [CBS News’ “Face the Nation” host John] Dickerson had 5.2 million people. It’s the highest for “Face the Nation” or, as I call it, “Deface the Nation.” It’s the highest for “Deface the Nation” since the World Trade Center, since the World Trade Center came down. It’s a tremendous advantage.</p>
<p>First of all, let’s be clear about something: Trump gets ratings because people tune in to hear him say crazy things. His ratings are largely due to the spectacle of watching a cartoon supervillain spouting random insults, some of which threaten to precipitate a war or worse. It’s the same reason why people slow down while passing traffic accidents.</p>
<p>That aside, bragging about having the biggest ratings since&#160;the worst terrorist attack on American soil&#160;ever&#160;should be enough to summarily drag the president’s approval ratings as close to zero as possible. If the same nonsensical blurt, culminating in the 9/11 thing, had been uttered by former President Barack Obama, he probably would have been impeached, convicted and tossed in a federal prison. One last thing, not that it matters: The ratings audience for that Chris Wallace interview Trump mentioned was&#160; <a href="//www.mediaite.com/online/fox-news-sunday-scores-second-highest-rated-broadcast-ever-with-trump-interview/" type="external">2.3 million viewers</a>, not 9.2 million. So he&#160;lied — again.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, 98 percent of Trump voters are supposedly cool with all &#160;this. It’s difficult to make sense of this other than it’s like the fandom surrounding sports franchises. No amount of losing will force superfans away from their favorite team, regardless of how awful they are. Hell, Philadelphia sports fans were mostly OK with it when the Eagles hired Michael Vick after he was caught torturing and murdering dogs for money. In the case of Donald Trump, however, the consequences are far more damaging — more than&#160;Trump voters will ever admit. But someday soon they’ll owe the rest of us an apology.</p>
<p>Bob&#160;Cesca&#160;is a regular contributor to Salon.com. He's also the host of " <a href="http://www.bobcesca.com/" type="external">The Bob &amp; Chez Show</a>" podcast, and a weekly guest on both the "Stephanie Miller Show" and "Tell Me Everything with John Fugelsang." Follow him on&#160; <a href="https://www.facebook.com/bob.cesca.7" type="external">Facebook</a>&#160;and&#160; <a href="https://twitter.com/bobcesca_go" type="external">Twitter</a>.</p>
|
A Display of Unbelievable Ignorance: In a Real Country With a Real President, Trump's AP Interview Would Destroy Him
| true |
http://alternet.org/news-amp-politics/president-trump-thinks-9-11-was-good-ratings
|
2017-04-26
| 4left
|
A Display of Unbelievable Ignorance: In a Real Country With a Real President, Trump's AP Interview Would Destroy Him
<p>Photo Credit: Evan El-Amin / Shutterstock</p>
<p>A new poll revealed&#160;that&#160; <a href="//nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/04/trump-voters-have-no-regrets-but-his-support-still-dropping.html" type="external">98 percent</a>&#160;of Donald Trump voters said they don’t regret their choice for president. It’s a number that’s simultaneously too difficult to believe and infuriating. By any reasonable account, whether from&#160;experts in presidential history or relatively nonpartisan commentators, Trump’s first 100 days have been an endurance test for the republic. His erratic, ignorant, deeply incompetent presidency is, day by day, causing damage — to the traditions of the White House and indeed to the spoken and unspoken rules that preserve our constitutional democracy.</p>
<p>At the center of it all is a chief executive who&#160; <a href="//www.salon.com/2017/04/24/donald-trump-literally-knows-nothing-the-moronic-fiction-of-his-really-really-good-health-care-plan-is-now-obvious/" type="external">knows nothing</a>. When he desperately avoids details by rotating through his mental rotisserie of superlatives&#160;(“very, very” or “tremendous” or “terrific” or whatever hyperbolic pitchman gibberish he’s trained himself to repeat), he comes off as an uninformed dolt, conspicuously avoiding questions with more vigor than he avoids strong gusts of wind. Conversely, when Trump struggles to repeat issue-oriented details, he comes off as a scattered, barely coherent toddler attempting to repeat something he heard at the grown-ups’ table and failing badly.</p>
<p>Both aspects of Trump’s ignorance were on mind-blowing display for&#160; <a href="//www.salon.com/2017/04/24/donald-trumps-ap-interview-10-takeaways-from-his-most-jaw-dropping-statements/" type="external">his recent one-on-one interview with the Associated Press</a>. It was a journey through the Hieronymus Bosch hellscape of Trump’s brain, and not even a legendary news outlet like the AP could decipher Trump’s incoherence — peppering the interview with more “unintelligible” parentheticals than an interview with Ozzy Osbourne.</p>
<p>Let’s dig into the&#160; <a href="https://apnews.com/c810d7de280a47e88848b0ac74690c83" type="external">three worst quotes</a>.</p>
<p>Among other things, Trump delivered perhaps the best example of word salad since Sarah Palin’s&#160;“ <a href="//thedailybanter.com/2015/01/handy-guide-epic-sarah-palin-speech-ever/" type="external">broken prompter” incident</a>&#160;several years ago. In this quote, Trump elaborated on the responsibilities of the president, and whether he anticipated the gravity of the job.</p>
<p>Number One, there’s great responsibility. When it came time to, as an example, send out the 59 missiles, the Tomahawks in Syria. I’m saying to myself, “You know, this is more than just like, 79 [sic] missiles. This is death that’s involved,” because people could have been killed. This is risk that’s involved, because if the missile goes off and goes in a city or goes in a civilian area — you know, the boats were hundreds of miles away — and if this missile goes off and lands in the middle of a town or a hamlet . . .&#160;every decision is much harder than you’d normally make. [Unintelligible.]</p>
<p>This is involving death and life and so many things. . . . &#160;So it’s far more responsibility. [unintelligible.]</p>
<p>The financial cost of everything is so massive, every agency. This is thousands of times bigger, the United States, than the biggest company in the world. The second-largest company in the world is the Defense Department. The third-largest company in the world is Social Security. The fourth-largest — you know, you go down the list.</p>
<p>One of the responsibilities of being president is knowing exactly how many missiles were launched while attacking an airfield operated by a sovereign nation. Trump doesn’t appear to know for certain whether it was 59 or 79. The last time he talked about Syria, he told Fox Business Channel’s Maria Bartiromo&#160; <a href="//www.newshounds.us/maria_bartiromo_had_to_remind_trump_he_bombed_syria_not_iraq_041217" type="external">that he had bombed Iraq</a>. This is apparently something he does: He tends to forget details about whom he bombed and how many bombs were used. Incidentally, Syrian state media reported that the cruise missile strike did indeed kill a number of civilians, including&#160; <a href="//www.newsweek.com/syria-attack-children-civilian-killed-580555" type="external">four children</a>.</p>
<p>Oh, and Trump apparently thinks that the United States government, along with the Pentagon and Social Security, are “companies” — two of the three largest companies in the world. They’re not. In any way. Governments and government agencies, at least in America, are not companies; nor do they operate anything like companies.</p>
<p>Furthermore, when I repeat the phrase “Trump knows nothing,” I’m not exaggerating all that much. Take, for example, his remarks about NATO in which he admitted not knowing what NATO was or how it operated.</p>
<p>They had a quote from me that NATO’s obsolete. But they didn’t say why it was obsolete. I was on Wolf Blitzer, very fair interview, the first time I was ever asked about NATO, because I wasn’t in government. People don’t go around asking about NATO if I’m building a building in Manhattan, right? So they asked me, Wolf . . .&#160;asked me about NATO, and I said two things. NATO’s obsolete — not knowing much about NATO, now I know a lot about NATO — NATO is obsolete, and I said, “And the reason it’s obsolete is because of the fact they don’t focus on terrorism.” You know, back when they did NATO there was no such thing as terrorism.</p>
<p>“Back when they&#160;did&#160;NATO”? What? I assume he meant “when they created NATO” but what actually came out sounded not unlike when you ask a child his or her age and the kid holds up five fingers and answers “this many.” Regarding the assertion about&#160;terrorism&#160;not existing&#160;when NATO was created, it’s hard to know what to say. No, terrorism has existed since the dawn of civilization, contrary to Trump’s assumption that it’s somehow a recent phenomenon. Worse, he based his entire NATO platform — the idea that it’s obsolete and they have to pay up (for something, something, something) — on an answer he yanked out of his ass with the help of Wolf Blitzer, apparently.</p>
<p>This is the exact same reverse-engineering process Trump consistently uses as president. Here’s how it works: He blurts an array of gibberish on Twitter or during an interview, perhaps something he heard Steve Doocy say on “Fox &amp; Friends.” Then he and his staff turn said gibberish into an incoherent and ill-considered White House policy. Hence, his NATO posture.</p>
<p>Finally, if we lived in normal times and if the president were halfway normal, the following quote would have erupted into a major scandal — especially if the president was a Democrat. Trump, on the other hand, can apparently get away with madness like this:</p>
<p>Associated Press:&#160;And that’s one of the difficulties I think presidents have had is that you can have these personal relationships with people from the other party, but then it’s hard to actually change how people vote or change how people —</p>
<p>Trump:&#160;No I have; it’s interesting; I have, seem to get very high ratings. I definitely. You know Chris Wallace had 9.2 million people; it’s the highest in the history of the show. I have all the ratings for all those morning shows. When I go, they go double, triple. Chris Wallace, look back during the Army-Navy football game; I did his show that morning. It had 9.2 million people. It’s the highest they’ve ever had. On any, on air, [CBS News’ “Face the Nation” host John] Dickerson had 5.2 million people. It’s the highest for “Face the Nation” or, as I call it, “Deface the Nation.” It’s the highest for “Deface the Nation” since the World Trade Center, since the World Trade Center came down. It’s a tremendous advantage.</p>
<p>First of all, let’s be clear about something: Trump gets ratings because people tune in to hear him say crazy things. His ratings are largely due to the spectacle of watching a cartoon supervillain spouting random insults, some of which threaten to precipitate a war or worse. It’s the same reason why people slow down while passing traffic accidents.</p>
<p>That aside, bragging about having the biggest ratings since&#160;the worst terrorist attack on American soil&#160;ever&#160;should be enough to summarily drag the president’s approval ratings as close to zero as possible. If the same nonsensical blurt, culminating in the 9/11 thing, had been uttered by former President Barack Obama, he probably would have been impeached, convicted and tossed in a federal prison. One last thing, not that it matters: The ratings audience for that Chris Wallace interview Trump mentioned was&#160; <a href="//www.mediaite.com/online/fox-news-sunday-scores-second-highest-rated-broadcast-ever-with-trump-interview/" type="external">2.3 million viewers</a>, not 9.2 million. So he&#160;lied — again.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, 98 percent of Trump voters are supposedly cool with all &#160;this. It’s difficult to make sense of this other than it’s like the fandom surrounding sports franchises. No amount of losing will force superfans away from their favorite team, regardless of how awful they are. Hell, Philadelphia sports fans were mostly OK with it when the Eagles hired Michael Vick after he was caught torturing and murdering dogs for money. In the case of Donald Trump, however, the consequences are far more damaging — more than&#160;Trump voters will ever admit. But someday soon they’ll owe the rest of us an apology.</p>
<p>Bob&#160;Cesca&#160;is a regular contributor to Salon.com. He's also the host of " <a href="http://www.bobcesca.com/" type="external">The Bob &amp; Chez Show</a>" podcast, and a weekly guest on both the "Stephanie Miller Show" and "Tell Me Everything with John Fugelsang." Follow him on&#160; <a href="https://www.facebook.com/bob.cesca.7" type="external">Facebook</a>&#160;and&#160; <a href="https://twitter.com/bobcesca_go" type="external">Twitter</a>.</p>
| 8,151 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>On Sunday, when Denver’s quarterback regained the record against the Houston Texans, he was able to soak in the historic moment.</p>
<p>“It was very special,” he said. “Very rarely during an NFL game do you get to have a moment like that.”</p>
<p>Manning regained his record with 51 when he threw for 400 yards and four touchdowns, including three in the fourth quarter to give Denver its third straight AFC West title. He surpassed the 50 TD passes Tom Brady threw in 2007 and led the Broncos (12-3) to a 37-13 win over the Texans (2-13) that extended Houston’s franchise-record skid to 13 games.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Manning did it on a 25-yard pass to Julius Thomas with 4:28 remaining. Just 2 ½ minutes earlier, he tied the mark with a 20-yard pass to Eric Decker.</p>
<p>Manning figures Brady will overtake him again one day, especially if the NFL moves to an 18-game regular season.</p>
<p>“I think it’s a unique thing and a neat thing to be a part of NFL history, even though it may be temporary,” he said. “So I’m going to enjoy it as long as it lasts, and hopefully the Hall of Fame will send the ball back once somebody throws for more.”</p>
<p>He entered the game with 47 and his first touchdown came on a 36-yard pass to Demaryius Thomas in the second quarter. The second was a 10-yard throw to Decker earlier in the fourth period.</p>
<p>The Broncos already had a spot in the playoffs, but their victory, combined with Kansas City’s loss to Indianapolis, gave them the division crown.</p>
<p>“This only means something because it helped our team win games and we won the division today in a competitive AFC West,” Manning said. “That’s a good thing.”</p>
<p>Manning made the record-setting throw to Julius Thomas.</p>
<p>Decker picked up the ball after Thomas dropped it after the touchdown and tucked it in the side of his jersey, where it remained as he walked off the field.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Manning laughed when asked about Thomas not holding onto the ball after the score.</p>
<p>“It wouldn’t have surprised me if Julius would have went and handed it to some babe up in the stands, trying to get her phone number in exchange for the ball,” he joked. “That would be right up Julius’ alley.”</p>
<p>Thomas didn’t realize his reception set the record when he caught it.</p>
<p>“I came back to the sidelines and I’m sitting down on the bench and somebody said: ‘That was the one,'” he said. “I should have kept it.”</p>
<p />
<p />
|
Manning sets record with 51 TD passes
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/325311/manning-sets-record-with-51-td-passes.html
| 2least
|
Manning sets record with 51 TD passes
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>On Sunday, when Denver’s quarterback regained the record against the Houston Texans, he was able to soak in the historic moment.</p>
<p>“It was very special,” he said. “Very rarely during an NFL game do you get to have a moment like that.”</p>
<p>Manning regained his record with 51 when he threw for 400 yards and four touchdowns, including three in the fourth quarter to give Denver its third straight AFC West title. He surpassed the 50 TD passes Tom Brady threw in 2007 and led the Broncos (12-3) to a 37-13 win over the Texans (2-13) that extended Houston’s franchise-record skid to 13 games.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Manning did it on a 25-yard pass to Julius Thomas with 4:28 remaining. Just 2 ½ minutes earlier, he tied the mark with a 20-yard pass to Eric Decker.</p>
<p>Manning figures Brady will overtake him again one day, especially if the NFL moves to an 18-game regular season.</p>
<p>“I think it’s a unique thing and a neat thing to be a part of NFL history, even though it may be temporary,” he said. “So I’m going to enjoy it as long as it lasts, and hopefully the Hall of Fame will send the ball back once somebody throws for more.”</p>
<p>He entered the game with 47 and his first touchdown came on a 36-yard pass to Demaryius Thomas in the second quarter. The second was a 10-yard throw to Decker earlier in the fourth period.</p>
<p>The Broncos already had a spot in the playoffs, but their victory, combined with Kansas City’s loss to Indianapolis, gave them the division crown.</p>
<p>“This only means something because it helped our team win games and we won the division today in a competitive AFC West,” Manning said. “That’s a good thing.”</p>
<p>Manning made the record-setting throw to Julius Thomas.</p>
<p>Decker picked up the ball after Thomas dropped it after the touchdown and tucked it in the side of his jersey, where it remained as he walked off the field.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Manning laughed when asked about Thomas not holding onto the ball after the score.</p>
<p>“It wouldn’t have surprised me if Julius would have went and handed it to some babe up in the stands, trying to get her phone number in exchange for the ball,” he joked. “That would be right up Julius’ alley.”</p>
<p>Thomas didn’t realize his reception set the record when he caught it.</p>
<p>“I came back to the sidelines and I’m sitting down on the bench and somebody said: ‘That was the one,'” he said. “I should have kept it.”</p>
<p />
<p />
| 8,152 |
|
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>Dee Dickens, center, a professional services provider with zSpace, demonstrates the zSpace 300 3D computer consoles to Margarita Porter, left, principal of New America School and Patricia Dahlin-Dunne, right, a science teacher at the school. (Las Cruces Sun-News)</p>
<p>LAS CRUCES – When classes began at New America School in downtown Las Cruces last month, students were able to dissect an eyeball with the click of a mouse.</p>
<p>They also can feel heartbeats at their fingertips while examining a cross-section of a human heart, watch the entire life cycle of a butterfly before their eyes, and later solve a crime through the latest forensic science technology.</p>
<p>All of which was made possible through five recently purchased computers featuring technology that combines virtual reality and augmented reality to create an immersive and interactive learning experience.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Principal Margarita Porter said the new computers – the newest models by zSpace – were an ideal choice to bolster the school’s STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) curriculum.</p>
<p>“We looked at these computers and we thought this was a great way to bring the technology and the science into our classroom while keeping our students safe,” Porter said, “and they don’t have to have a large, fully equipped science lab when we can bring it just to a computer.”</p>
<p>The school purchased the computers with funds it receives from Spaceport America, Porter said. Each computer features a 24-inch high-definition, flat-screen display and comes with a stylus, 2D conversion glasses, passive stereo glasses, as well as a mouse and keyboard.</p>
<p>The computers also feature the zSpace curriculum, which includes applications and lessons in several areas of science – physical science, life science, Earth and space science, and social sciences. There’s also a creative application that allows students to create art in 3D, in addition to separate math programs.</p>
<p>About 200 students enrolled at the school are using the computers. In preparation, Porter and two other teachers were trained on the computers by a representative from zSpace.</p>
<p>“Oh my gosh, I was blown away,” science teacher Patricia Dahlin-Dunne said of her first experience using the computers. “To feel the heartbeat in the stylus when I am looking at (the heart) – and I can see what it looks like when your heart’s at rest (and) feel what my heartbeat would be doing after I’ve been exercising.”</p>
<p>She added: “You see it, you hear and you feel it. It’s just an incredible feeling.”</p>
<p>She expects that students will be “fully engaged” in learning when using the computers. “They’re not going to want to leave,” she said.</p>
<p />
|
zSpace computers immerse students in virtual reality
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/1058075/computers-immerse-students.html
| 2least
|
zSpace computers immerse students in virtual reality
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>Dee Dickens, center, a professional services provider with zSpace, demonstrates the zSpace 300 3D computer consoles to Margarita Porter, left, principal of New America School and Patricia Dahlin-Dunne, right, a science teacher at the school. (Las Cruces Sun-News)</p>
<p>LAS CRUCES – When classes began at New America School in downtown Las Cruces last month, students were able to dissect an eyeball with the click of a mouse.</p>
<p>They also can feel heartbeats at their fingertips while examining a cross-section of a human heart, watch the entire life cycle of a butterfly before their eyes, and later solve a crime through the latest forensic science technology.</p>
<p>All of which was made possible through five recently purchased computers featuring technology that combines virtual reality and augmented reality to create an immersive and interactive learning experience.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Principal Margarita Porter said the new computers – the newest models by zSpace – were an ideal choice to bolster the school’s STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) curriculum.</p>
<p>“We looked at these computers and we thought this was a great way to bring the technology and the science into our classroom while keeping our students safe,” Porter said, “and they don’t have to have a large, fully equipped science lab when we can bring it just to a computer.”</p>
<p>The school purchased the computers with funds it receives from Spaceport America, Porter said. Each computer features a 24-inch high-definition, flat-screen display and comes with a stylus, 2D conversion glasses, passive stereo glasses, as well as a mouse and keyboard.</p>
<p>The computers also feature the zSpace curriculum, which includes applications and lessons in several areas of science – physical science, life science, Earth and space science, and social sciences. There’s also a creative application that allows students to create art in 3D, in addition to separate math programs.</p>
<p>About 200 students enrolled at the school are using the computers. In preparation, Porter and two other teachers were trained on the computers by a representative from zSpace.</p>
<p>“Oh my gosh, I was blown away,” science teacher Patricia Dahlin-Dunne said of her first experience using the computers. “To feel the heartbeat in the stylus when I am looking at (the heart) – and I can see what it looks like when your heart’s at rest (and) feel what my heartbeat would be doing after I’ve been exercising.”</p>
<p>She added: “You see it, you hear and you feel it. It’s just an incredible feeling.”</p>
<p>She expects that students will be “fully engaged” in learning when using the computers. “They’re not going to want to leave,” she said.</p>
<p />
| 8,153 |
|
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — “The Santa Fe National Forest will remain closed to public access through the 4th of July weekend,” Forest Supervisor Maria T. Garcia said in a news release sent out today.</p>
<p>According to the release, the isolated rain showers received over the past week have helped to reduce fire danger and forest officials are considering which parts of the Santa Fe National Forest will be safe to open next week.</p>
<p>“Rainfall and a decrease in fires, does not mean the forest will reopen unless all conditions are safe,” Garcia said.</p>
<p>Once the forest reopens, however, fire emergency closures will remain in effect in those areas affected by the Tres Lagunas, Thompson Ridge and Jaroso fires, the release reads.</p>
<p>“Post-fire work continues in the fire affected areas and there is still a concern of flash flooding in many areas downslope of burned areas,” according to the release.</p>
<p>The Tres Lagunas Fire, 10,219 acres; the Thompson Ridge Fire, 23,965 acres; and the Jaroso Fire,11,141 acres, are now in the post-fire rehabilitation stage, the Forest Service said.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
|
Despite showers, Santa Fe forest remains closed
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/217784/despite-showers-santa-fe-forest-remains-closed.html
| 2least
|
Despite showers, Santa Fe forest remains closed
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — “The Santa Fe National Forest will remain closed to public access through the 4th of July weekend,” Forest Supervisor Maria T. Garcia said in a news release sent out today.</p>
<p>According to the release, the isolated rain showers received over the past week have helped to reduce fire danger and forest officials are considering which parts of the Santa Fe National Forest will be safe to open next week.</p>
<p>“Rainfall and a decrease in fires, does not mean the forest will reopen unless all conditions are safe,” Garcia said.</p>
<p>Once the forest reopens, however, fire emergency closures will remain in effect in those areas affected by the Tres Lagunas, Thompson Ridge and Jaroso fires, the release reads.</p>
<p>“Post-fire work continues in the fire affected areas and there is still a concern of flash flooding in many areas downslope of burned areas,” according to the release.</p>
<p>The Tres Lagunas Fire, 10,219 acres; the Thompson Ridge Fire, 23,965 acres; and the Jaroso Fire,11,141 acres, are now in the post-fire rehabilitation stage, the Forest Service said.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
| 8,154 |
|
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Supreme Court Justice Judith Nakamura has credentials voters should appreciate in any elected official: a depth and breadth of pertinent experience, glowing recommendations from all quarters, an unparalleled work ethic and a strong foundation in the law with a serious dose of common sense.</p>
<p>Judith Nakamura</p>
<p>Nakamura has 27 years of experience in the legal arena as private, corporate and government counsel. She has 17 years of experience as a judge handling civil and criminal cases on the Metropolitan, 2nd Judicial District and Supreme Court benches.</p>
<p>In her Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission rankings, “attorneys rated her positively for her knowledge of the law, punctuality in commencing proceedings, maintaining proper control over the proceedings, ruling decisively on legal matters, and for displaying familiarity with court cases through prior preparation.” Her fellow Metro Court judges recognized her organizational and supervisory skills, and elected her not once, but four times to be their chief judge, with the responsibility of administering the busiest court in the state.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Gov. Susana Martinez selected her for the Supreme Court last year from the bipartisan Judicial Nomination Commission’s shortlist of vetted candidates. And Mothers Against Drunk Driving named her its Judge of the Year for her innovative efforts to reduce DWI.</p>
<p>Nakamura, a Republican, has a reputation as a no-nonsense judge, yet her approach is always to try to get defendants on a better path. She says one of her most rewarding memories is of walking in a parade and being stopped by the mother of a defendant she sentenced – only to be hugged and told “you turned our lives around.”</p>
<p>The Journal recommends voters keep Justice Judith Nakamura’s experience, work ethic and common sense on the Supreme Court.</p>
<p>State Court of Appeals – Judge Stephen G. French</p>
<p>A long-time Albuquerque attorney, Judge Stephen G. French was appointed to the Court of Appeals in February by Gov. Susana Martinez after he was vetted by the bipartisan Judicial Nomination Commission. He replaced Judge Cynthia Fry, who retired at the end of 2015.</p>
<p>Stephen G. French</p>
<p>French, a Republican, earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of New Mexico and his law degree from California Western School of Law in San Diego.</p>
<p>After graduating in 1980, he went to work as an assistant district attorney in the 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s office, then signed up for the Criminal Justice Act panel as a federal public defender. In 1982, he went into private practice handling cases in criminal defense, civil litigation, family law and civil rights. In 1990, he was named legal bureau chief for the state’s Risk Management Division, and represented state, county and municipal governments. In 1993, he opened French &amp; Associates, mostly defending civil rights cases until he retired in 2015.</p>
<p>French is a proponent of taking politics out of judicial races. He said it makes no sense to go through a bipartisan nominating commission, be appointed and then have to run a partisan election campaign.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>French’s diverse legal career makes him a good fit for the Appeals Court. The Journal endorses Judge Stephen G. French.</p>
<p>Retain appellate judges</p>
<p>Four New Mexico appellate judges stand for retention in this year’s general election: Supreme Court Justice Barbara J. Vigil, and Court of Appeals Judges Jonathan B. Sutin, M. Monica Zamora and Tim L. Garcia.</p>
<p>All four received excellent ratings by the New Mexico Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission, which also recommended their retentions. The NMJPEC is a nonpartisan board set up by the Supreme Court in 1997 to evaluate judges and remove some of the partisan politics from the judiciary.</p>
<p>The Journal recommends that voters also approve the retentions of Justice Vigil, and Judges Sutin, Zamora and Garcia.</p>
<p>LOCAL RACES</p>
<p>2nd Judicial District Court Division 9 – Judge David Williams</p>
<p>Judge David Williams’ campaign placard introduces him to voters as “Educator. Soldier. Leader.” All three have provided Williams with the foundation to run a courtroom that he understands not only metes out justice, but also profoundly affects the lives of the people who stand before him.</p>
<p>Williams started work as a teacher of history and civics for Albuquerque Public Schools. He brings that skill set to his courtroom every day, ensuring not only that his cases run on schedule, but also that everyone knows why a decision is made. He served as a platoon leader in the First Infantry Division in Vietnam, and earned three Bronze Stars, two Air Medals, an Army Commendation Medal and the Combat Infantryman’s badge, reaching the rank of lieutenant colonel. That experience has given him an appreciation not only for the trust taxpayers have placed in his supervision of their assets, but also for the responsibility of making decisions that change lives.</p>
<p>And Williams has been a lawyer in private practice, as well as a military judge, 2nd Judicial District Assistant DA and assistant U.S. attorney for the District of New Mexico.</p>
<p>Williams was appointed to the bench earlier this year by Gov. Martinez to replace Nakamura, who moved up to the Supreme Court. He strongly believes “every litigant has a right to understand the reasoning behind a decision” and recalls the criminal defendant who spoke up during proceedings to announce to the court, “I want to thank you for giving me a fair trial.” There can be no higher praise for a judge.</p>
<p>The Journal recommends voters keep Judge David Williams in the courtroom so justice is not just administered in an expeditious manner, but one that educates, as well.</p>
<p>Metropolitan Court Division 2 – Judge Chris J. Schultz</p>
<p>Judge Chris J. Schultz was appointed by Gov. Susana Martinez in August 2015 to replace Kevin Fitzwater, who retired.</p>
<p>Schultz had been appointed to Metro Court’s Division 4 in 2014, but lost his partisan election that year. Schultz has been recommended to serve as a Metro Court judge four times by the bipartisan Judicial Nominating Commission. Before being appointed in 2014, Schultz had retired from the 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office as deputy district attorney. He has served 19 years as a prosecutor.</p>
<p>Schultz received his bachelor’s degree from Baylor University. In 1985, he went through the Albuquerque Police Department Academy to become a police officer. About seven years into his roughly 10-year career with APD, he decided to go to law school, working nights for APD and going to school during the day. He received his law degree from the University of New Mexico School of Law in 1994.</p>
<p>Schultz’s career makes him well suited to be a judge in Metro Court, which has jurisdiction over misdemeanors, DWIs and DUIs, traffic violations, preliminary felony hearings and bail hearings. The Journal recommends Judge Chris J. Schultz for Metro Court Division 2.</p>
<p>This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers.</p>
<p />
|
Editorial: Journal endorsements for judicial positions
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/873492/journal-endorsements-for-judicial-positions.html
| 2least
|
Editorial: Journal endorsements for judicial positions
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Supreme Court Justice Judith Nakamura has credentials voters should appreciate in any elected official: a depth and breadth of pertinent experience, glowing recommendations from all quarters, an unparalleled work ethic and a strong foundation in the law with a serious dose of common sense.</p>
<p>Judith Nakamura</p>
<p>Nakamura has 27 years of experience in the legal arena as private, corporate and government counsel. She has 17 years of experience as a judge handling civil and criminal cases on the Metropolitan, 2nd Judicial District and Supreme Court benches.</p>
<p>In her Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission rankings, “attorneys rated her positively for her knowledge of the law, punctuality in commencing proceedings, maintaining proper control over the proceedings, ruling decisively on legal matters, and for displaying familiarity with court cases through prior preparation.” Her fellow Metro Court judges recognized her organizational and supervisory skills, and elected her not once, but four times to be their chief judge, with the responsibility of administering the busiest court in the state.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Gov. Susana Martinez selected her for the Supreme Court last year from the bipartisan Judicial Nomination Commission’s shortlist of vetted candidates. And Mothers Against Drunk Driving named her its Judge of the Year for her innovative efforts to reduce DWI.</p>
<p>Nakamura, a Republican, has a reputation as a no-nonsense judge, yet her approach is always to try to get defendants on a better path. She says one of her most rewarding memories is of walking in a parade and being stopped by the mother of a defendant she sentenced – only to be hugged and told “you turned our lives around.”</p>
<p>The Journal recommends voters keep Justice Judith Nakamura’s experience, work ethic and common sense on the Supreme Court.</p>
<p>State Court of Appeals – Judge Stephen G. French</p>
<p>A long-time Albuquerque attorney, Judge Stephen G. French was appointed to the Court of Appeals in February by Gov. Susana Martinez after he was vetted by the bipartisan Judicial Nomination Commission. He replaced Judge Cynthia Fry, who retired at the end of 2015.</p>
<p>Stephen G. French</p>
<p>French, a Republican, earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of New Mexico and his law degree from California Western School of Law in San Diego.</p>
<p>After graduating in 1980, he went to work as an assistant district attorney in the 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s office, then signed up for the Criminal Justice Act panel as a federal public defender. In 1982, he went into private practice handling cases in criminal defense, civil litigation, family law and civil rights. In 1990, he was named legal bureau chief for the state’s Risk Management Division, and represented state, county and municipal governments. In 1993, he opened French &amp; Associates, mostly defending civil rights cases until he retired in 2015.</p>
<p>French is a proponent of taking politics out of judicial races. He said it makes no sense to go through a bipartisan nominating commission, be appointed and then have to run a partisan election campaign.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>French’s diverse legal career makes him a good fit for the Appeals Court. The Journal endorses Judge Stephen G. French.</p>
<p>Retain appellate judges</p>
<p>Four New Mexico appellate judges stand for retention in this year’s general election: Supreme Court Justice Barbara J. Vigil, and Court of Appeals Judges Jonathan B. Sutin, M. Monica Zamora and Tim L. Garcia.</p>
<p>All four received excellent ratings by the New Mexico Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission, which also recommended their retentions. The NMJPEC is a nonpartisan board set up by the Supreme Court in 1997 to evaluate judges and remove some of the partisan politics from the judiciary.</p>
<p>The Journal recommends that voters also approve the retentions of Justice Vigil, and Judges Sutin, Zamora and Garcia.</p>
<p>LOCAL RACES</p>
<p>2nd Judicial District Court Division 9 – Judge David Williams</p>
<p>Judge David Williams’ campaign placard introduces him to voters as “Educator. Soldier. Leader.” All three have provided Williams with the foundation to run a courtroom that he understands not only metes out justice, but also profoundly affects the lives of the people who stand before him.</p>
<p>Williams started work as a teacher of history and civics for Albuquerque Public Schools. He brings that skill set to his courtroom every day, ensuring not only that his cases run on schedule, but also that everyone knows why a decision is made. He served as a platoon leader in the First Infantry Division in Vietnam, and earned three Bronze Stars, two Air Medals, an Army Commendation Medal and the Combat Infantryman’s badge, reaching the rank of lieutenant colonel. That experience has given him an appreciation not only for the trust taxpayers have placed in his supervision of their assets, but also for the responsibility of making decisions that change lives.</p>
<p>And Williams has been a lawyer in private practice, as well as a military judge, 2nd Judicial District Assistant DA and assistant U.S. attorney for the District of New Mexico.</p>
<p>Williams was appointed to the bench earlier this year by Gov. Martinez to replace Nakamura, who moved up to the Supreme Court. He strongly believes “every litigant has a right to understand the reasoning behind a decision” and recalls the criminal defendant who spoke up during proceedings to announce to the court, “I want to thank you for giving me a fair trial.” There can be no higher praise for a judge.</p>
<p>The Journal recommends voters keep Judge David Williams in the courtroom so justice is not just administered in an expeditious manner, but one that educates, as well.</p>
<p>Metropolitan Court Division 2 – Judge Chris J. Schultz</p>
<p>Judge Chris J. Schultz was appointed by Gov. Susana Martinez in August 2015 to replace Kevin Fitzwater, who retired.</p>
<p>Schultz had been appointed to Metro Court’s Division 4 in 2014, but lost his partisan election that year. Schultz has been recommended to serve as a Metro Court judge four times by the bipartisan Judicial Nominating Commission. Before being appointed in 2014, Schultz had retired from the 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office as deputy district attorney. He has served 19 years as a prosecutor.</p>
<p>Schultz received his bachelor’s degree from Baylor University. In 1985, he went through the Albuquerque Police Department Academy to become a police officer. About seven years into his roughly 10-year career with APD, he decided to go to law school, working nights for APD and going to school during the day. He received his law degree from the University of New Mexico School of Law in 1994.</p>
<p>Schultz’s career makes him well suited to be a judge in Metro Court, which has jurisdiction over misdemeanors, DWIs and DUIs, traffic violations, preliminary felony hearings and bail hearings. The Journal recommends Judge Chris J. Schultz for Metro Court Division 2.</p>
<p>This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers.</p>
<p />
| 8,155 |
|
<p>Big Pharma is still relying on belt-tightening to prop up financial results.</p>
<p>Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) and Merck &amp; Co (NYSE:MRK) said on Tuesday their quarterly results were again hit by generic competition for once top-selling products and the toll of a strong dollar on overseas revenue. Controls on marketing and administrative expenses, and other costs, helped them report earnings slightly above Wall Street estimates.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>But neither company offered investors a quick return to growth based on new products, even if the worst of the "patent cliff" for best-selling drugs that have lost marketing exclusivity is behind them.</p>
<p>"We are managing our costs in order for us to meet our bottom line (earnings) guidance," Chief Executive Kenneth Frazier said on a conference call with analysts.</p>
<p>Frazier said the company continues to have faith in the value of its animal health unit and consumer healthcare business, both of which had lower sales in the quarter.</p>
<p>"If we were to view these assets as being more productive outside the company, we would consider other alternatives," he said.</p>
<p>Pfizer earlier this year completed the spinoff of its own animal health business into a new company called Zoetis, only months after selling off its nutritional products business. It aims to return billions of dollars in proceeds to investors through stock repurchases and higher dividends. But, like Merck, it is holding on for now to its consumer healthcare unit.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Pfizer Chief Executive Ian Read said the industry's best hope is a crop of new drugs and vaccines now in clinical trials that could transform treatment for cancer, cardiovascular diseases and other ailments.</p>
<p>"Certainly in the second half of this decade, I foresee significant products coming to market which will be a catalyst for industrial growth," he said in an interview.</p>
<p>The strength of the dollar, particularly against the Japanese yen, has hurt sales of many U.S. companies with extensive international business this year.</p>
<p>Merck said full-year sales were likely to be about 5 to 6 percent below last year's levels, Even so, it stuck to its full-year profit outlook of $3.45 to $3.55 per share, excluding special items.</p>
<p>Pfizer, the largest U.S. drugmaker, said second quarter revenue fell 7 percent to $12.97 billion, with 3 percent of the decline due to an unfavorable foreign exchange rate.</p>
<p>But Pfizer also trimmed costs and expenses by 3 percent and reiterated its full-year earnings forecast of $2.10 to $2.20 per share.</p>
<p>Pfizer said income, excluding special items, fell 10 percent to $4 billion, or 56 cents a share, from $4.45 billion, or 59 cents a share, a year earlier.</p>
<p>Merck earned $906 million, or 30 cents per share, down from $1.79 billion, or 58 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding special items, Merck earned 84 cents a share.</p>
<p>A LIFT FROM U.S. HEALTH REFORM?</p>
<p>"It follows along with the bigger picture in healthcare where things are OK. They're not horrible, but they're not great either," said Michael Liss, portfolio manager at American Century Investments.</p>
<p>Liss predicted that the next big catalyst for the industry would come when U.S. healthcare reform kicks into high gear next year, helping millions more Americans get insurance coverage for doctor's visits and medications.</p>
<p>"People are just waiting to get insurance and then spending will pick up," Liss predicted. "The rate of growth will improve. It's going to come from people having insurance."</p>
<p>But Pfizer's Read said the company does not expect the Affordable Care Act to significantly bolster its sales or earnings.</p>
<p>"Most of those are younger and healthy patients, so we see no near-term impact on our business," he said in an interview.</p>
<p>Pfizer's results were hurt by generic competition for its cholesterol fighter Lipitor, formerly the world's top selling medicine. Lipitor sales fell 55 percent $545 million, while Merck saw sales of its off-patent asthma drug Singulair plunge 80 percent to $281 million.</p>
<p>Pfizer shares closed down 13 cents at $29.67, while Merck fell 29 cents to $48.05 on the New York Stock Exchange.</p>
<p>Pfizer on Monday announced plans to internally separate its commercial operations into two units for branded products and a third for generics, leading to speculation that it was looking to split up the company.</p>
<p>Chief Financial Officer Frank D'Amelio told analysts on a conference call on Tuesday that Pfizer would need at least three years to consider whether to break up the company, and that the reorganization was essentially a test drive to more closely examine their respective operations.</p>
<p>"This is all about getting the three businesses to hum internally," he said.</p>
|
Pfizer Settles Marketing Case Dating to Wyeth Conduct
| true |
http://foxbusiness.com/features/2013/07/30/pfizer-settles-marketing-case-dating-to-wyeth-conduct.html
|
2016-01-25
| 0right
|
Pfizer Settles Marketing Case Dating to Wyeth Conduct
<p>Big Pharma is still relying on belt-tightening to prop up financial results.</p>
<p>Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) and Merck &amp; Co (NYSE:MRK) said on Tuesday their quarterly results were again hit by generic competition for once top-selling products and the toll of a strong dollar on overseas revenue. Controls on marketing and administrative expenses, and other costs, helped them report earnings slightly above Wall Street estimates.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>But neither company offered investors a quick return to growth based on new products, even if the worst of the "patent cliff" for best-selling drugs that have lost marketing exclusivity is behind them.</p>
<p>"We are managing our costs in order for us to meet our bottom line (earnings) guidance," Chief Executive Kenneth Frazier said on a conference call with analysts.</p>
<p>Frazier said the company continues to have faith in the value of its animal health unit and consumer healthcare business, both of which had lower sales in the quarter.</p>
<p>"If we were to view these assets as being more productive outside the company, we would consider other alternatives," he said.</p>
<p>Pfizer earlier this year completed the spinoff of its own animal health business into a new company called Zoetis, only months after selling off its nutritional products business. It aims to return billions of dollars in proceeds to investors through stock repurchases and higher dividends. But, like Merck, it is holding on for now to its consumer healthcare unit.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Pfizer Chief Executive Ian Read said the industry's best hope is a crop of new drugs and vaccines now in clinical trials that could transform treatment for cancer, cardiovascular diseases and other ailments.</p>
<p>"Certainly in the second half of this decade, I foresee significant products coming to market which will be a catalyst for industrial growth," he said in an interview.</p>
<p>The strength of the dollar, particularly against the Japanese yen, has hurt sales of many U.S. companies with extensive international business this year.</p>
<p>Merck said full-year sales were likely to be about 5 to 6 percent below last year's levels, Even so, it stuck to its full-year profit outlook of $3.45 to $3.55 per share, excluding special items.</p>
<p>Pfizer, the largest U.S. drugmaker, said second quarter revenue fell 7 percent to $12.97 billion, with 3 percent of the decline due to an unfavorable foreign exchange rate.</p>
<p>But Pfizer also trimmed costs and expenses by 3 percent and reiterated its full-year earnings forecast of $2.10 to $2.20 per share.</p>
<p>Pfizer said income, excluding special items, fell 10 percent to $4 billion, or 56 cents a share, from $4.45 billion, or 59 cents a share, a year earlier.</p>
<p>Merck earned $906 million, or 30 cents per share, down from $1.79 billion, or 58 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding special items, Merck earned 84 cents a share.</p>
<p>A LIFT FROM U.S. HEALTH REFORM?</p>
<p>"It follows along with the bigger picture in healthcare where things are OK. They're not horrible, but they're not great either," said Michael Liss, portfolio manager at American Century Investments.</p>
<p>Liss predicted that the next big catalyst for the industry would come when U.S. healthcare reform kicks into high gear next year, helping millions more Americans get insurance coverage for doctor's visits and medications.</p>
<p>"People are just waiting to get insurance and then spending will pick up," Liss predicted. "The rate of growth will improve. It's going to come from people having insurance."</p>
<p>But Pfizer's Read said the company does not expect the Affordable Care Act to significantly bolster its sales or earnings.</p>
<p>"Most of those are younger and healthy patients, so we see no near-term impact on our business," he said in an interview.</p>
<p>Pfizer's results were hurt by generic competition for its cholesterol fighter Lipitor, formerly the world's top selling medicine. Lipitor sales fell 55 percent $545 million, while Merck saw sales of its off-patent asthma drug Singulair plunge 80 percent to $281 million.</p>
<p>Pfizer shares closed down 13 cents at $29.67, while Merck fell 29 cents to $48.05 on the New York Stock Exchange.</p>
<p>Pfizer on Monday announced plans to internally separate its commercial operations into two units for branded products and a third for generics, leading to speculation that it was looking to split up the company.</p>
<p>Chief Financial Officer Frank D'Amelio told analysts on a conference call on Tuesday that Pfizer would need at least three years to consider whether to break up the company, and that the reorganization was essentially a test drive to more closely examine their respective operations.</p>
<p>"This is all about getting the three businesses to hum internally," he said.</p>
| 8,156 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>The National Council of La Raza, or NCLR, will announce Monday that it will become UnidosUS, a change three years in the making that is in response to group members who felt “raza,” meaning “the people,” was outdated, President Janet Murguia said.</p>
<p>She insists it was not a reaction to outside critics, including conservatives and others who say the term promotes ethnic exclusivity. It comes as the group gears up for a wider fight for Latino rights with many in the community seeing hostility from President Donald Trump, Murguia said.</p>
<p>His administration wants to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, has heavily stepped up immigrant arrests and targeted funding for cities and states that don’t cooperate with federal immigration authorities.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>At least one other Latino group supports the name change and agrees with Murguia that Latinos have more at stake than in the past decade, including battles over health care access and immigration.</p>
<p>“I think this is viewed as an opportunity and we see it as an opportunity to strengthen our organization, broaden our reach and expand our growth,” she said. “And that’s going to be important as we see the challenges that we’re facing at this particular time.”</p>
<p>Literally translated, “raza” means “race,” but that is not the definition of the word. The term for “the people” was coined to describe the various races Mexican people come from. Chicano civil rights activists popularized it in the 1960s and 1970s and it’s faced backlash today.</p>
<p>During his campaign, Trump criticized a federal judge overseeing a lawsuit against him by mentioning that he was a member of the San Diego La Raza Lawyers Association.</p>
<p>Other organizations have held on to their names amid criticism that they are outdated and even offensive.</p>
<p>The NAACP, which stands for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, has been criticized for keeping “colored,” which many consider offensive. The organization says it’s out of respect for its founders and history.</p>
<p>The Latino organization was founded 49 years ago and advocates for health care and for better education, housing and job opportunities for Latinos. It lobbied for President Barack Obama’s health care law and against the Republican attempt to repeal it in Congress and has focused on increasing Latino voter registration.</p>
<p>Immigration also has been at the forefront of its mission. The group is credited with coining the term “deporter-in-chief” to describe Obama’s deportation policies, which became popular with immigration activists unhappy with those policies.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>UnidosUS has a bigger battle now under Trump and has to escalate its battle for Latino rights, Murguia said.</p>
<p>“For us, the mode did shift from a lot of the building on the success to protecting and defending the gains that we have made up to this point. It’s been our primary focus in the Trump administration,” she said.</p>
<p>Murguia pronounces the “US” in UnidosUS like the abbreviation for United States but says the name is purposely missing the punctuation so that it can be interpreted as either “us” or “U.S.”</p>
<p>It’s a good idea to include the concept of unity in the name of an organization because people in the Latino community identify themselves in different ways, said Dennis W. Montoya, New Mexico director for the League of United Latin American Citizens.</p>
<p>He said the change would require aggressive outreach because the previous name was so well-known.</p>
<p>“It doesn’t just seem that the atmosphere is more hostile. The atmosphere is more hostile,” Montoya said. “Every advocacy group for Latinos and other minority groups that have been targeted feels that pressure to increase public awareness and be more active.”</p>
|
Key US Latino group says new name will help fight vs. Trump
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/1031006/key-us-latino-group-says-new-name-will-help-fight-vs-trump.html
|
2017-07-10
| 2least
|
Key US Latino group says new name will help fight vs. Trump
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>The National Council of La Raza, or NCLR, will announce Monday that it will become UnidosUS, a change three years in the making that is in response to group members who felt “raza,” meaning “the people,” was outdated, President Janet Murguia said.</p>
<p>She insists it was not a reaction to outside critics, including conservatives and others who say the term promotes ethnic exclusivity. It comes as the group gears up for a wider fight for Latino rights with many in the community seeing hostility from President Donald Trump, Murguia said.</p>
<p>His administration wants to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, has heavily stepped up immigrant arrests and targeted funding for cities and states that don’t cooperate with federal immigration authorities.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>At least one other Latino group supports the name change and agrees with Murguia that Latinos have more at stake than in the past decade, including battles over health care access and immigration.</p>
<p>“I think this is viewed as an opportunity and we see it as an opportunity to strengthen our organization, broaden our reach and expand our growth,” she said. “And that’s going to be important as we see the challenges that we’re facing at this particular time.”</p>
<p>Literally translated, “raza” means “race,” but that is not the definition of the word. The term for “the people” was coined to describe the various races Mexican people come from. Chicano civil rights activists popularized it in the 1960s and 1970s and it’s faced backlash today.</p>
<p>During his campaign, Trump criticized a federal judge overseeing a lawsuit against him by mentioning that he was a member of the San Diego La Raza Lawyers Association.</p>
<p>Other organizations have held on to their names amid criticism that they are outdated and even offensive.</p>
<p>The NAACP, which stands for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, has been criticized for keeping “colored,” which many consider offensive. The organization says it’s out of respect for its founders and history.</p>
<p>The Latino organization was founded 49 years ago and advocates for health care and for better education, housing and job opportunities for Latinos. It lobbied for President Barack Obama’s health care law and against the Republican attempt to repeal it in Congress and has focused on increasing Latino voter registration.</p>
<p>Immigration also has been at the forefront of its mission. The group is credited with coining the term “deporter-in-chief” to describe Obama’s deportation policies, which became popular with immigration activists unhappy with those policies.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>UnidosUS has a bigger battle now under Trump and has to escalate its battle for Latino rights, Murguia said.</p>
<p>“For us, the mode did shift from a lot of the building on the success to protecting and defending the gains that we have made up to this point. It’s been our primary focus in the Trump administration,” she said.</p>
<p>Murguia pronounces the “US” in UnidosUS like the abbreviation for United States but says the name is purposely missing the punctuation so that it can be interpreted as either “us” or “U.S.”</p>
<p>It’s a good idea to include the concept of unity in the name of an organization because people in the Latino community identify themselves in different ways, said Dennis W. Montoya, New Mexico director for the League of United Latin American Citizens.</p>
<p>He said the change would require aggressive outreach because the previous name was so well-known.</p>
<p>“It doesn’t just seem that the atmosphere is more hostile. The atmosphere is more hostile,” Montoya said. “Every advocacy group for Latinos and other minority groups that have been targeted feels that pressure to increase public awareness and be more active.”</p>
| 8,157 |
<p />
<p>Imagine you forget to watch a new episode of Game of Thrones the night it airs. Even if coworkers stay mum about important plot points, Twitter is abuzz with spoilers. Fortunately, there’s Twivo, a new program that allows Twitter users to censor their feeds from mentioning a certain TV show (and its characters) for a set time period. Jennie Lamere, a 17-year-old girl, invented the software last month—and won the grand prize at a national coding competition where Lamere was the only female who presented a project, and the only developer to work alone. Internet: Meet the reason we need more women in tech.</p>
<p>Lamere is a high school senior from Nashua, New Hampshire, who likes building robots, hiking, and entering “hackathon” competitions. At her all-girls school, the Academy of Notre Dame in Massachusetts, she’s the only student participating in these sorts of events. Hackathons (which have nothing to do with illegal hacking) bring together programmers, developers, and designers, who compete to code an innovative new program in a limited amount of time. Lamere entered the <a href="http://www.tvnexthack.com/" type="external">TVnext Hack event,&#160;</a>&#160;put on by the ad agency Hill Holliday in partnership with Mashery, in Boston on April 27 along with about 80 other competitors—all of them male, according to Lamere and one of the judges. (Mike Proulx, a spokesman for the event, says he believes other women participated, but didn’t present completed projects.)</p>
<p>The gender breakdown of the event “was a little weird,” Lamere tells Mother Jones. “But it’s something that I’m used to at these things.” Eliot Van Buskirk, an attendee from Evolver.fm, <a href="http://evolver.fm/2013/04/30/how-a-17-year-old-girl-won-a-hackathon-and-what-it-means-for-women-in-tech/" type="external">confirms</a> that “the only other females in attendance, that I saw anyway, were an organizer, two camerawomen, a caterer, three judges, and a participant’s wife.”</p>
<p>“We marketed the hackathon to the entire developer community, and the demographics of the participants mirror the demographics of the community itself,”&#160;Proulx, the event spokesman, tells Mother Jones. “We had a diverse demographic, but obviously the majority of the people were male.” In addition to being the only woman, Lamere was the only solo competitor in the hackathon—every other project was created by a team, Proulx says.</p>
<p>Lamere took her subcategory, “best use of sync-to-broadcast” and then the overall “best in show,” which earned her swag including iPad minis and an Apple TV. She beat out professional developers sent by the event’s sponsors, including ESPN, the Echo Nest, and Klout. She came up with the idea for Twivo the night before the competition, and it took her 10 hours and 150 lines of code to complete. It works as an extension to the Google Chrome browser: A user can type in the key words she would like to block, and for how long, and make those Tweets disappear. In the screenshot below, Twivo has blocked out Twitter references to one of Lamere’s favorite TV shows, Lifetime’s <a href="http://www.mylifetime.com/shows/dance-moms" type="external">Dance Moms</a> (the Twitter accounts that are more prominent, like the official Dance Moms account, automatically appear larger.) Once a user is done blocking the show, the Tweets reappear. Lamere says the program is still in demo form and won’t be ready for another two or three weeks, but she’s already been approached by <a href="http://www.furious-minds.com/" type="external">Furious Minds</a>, a tech company that intends to help her market the final product.</p>
<p>“We’re always interested in the convergence between TV and social media, and Jen’s hack was awesome, not to mention she did the entire thing herself,” says Ashley Swartz, CEO and founder of Furious Minds. Swartz, who was one of the judges for the competition. The&#160;other <a href="http://evolver.fm/2013/04/28/hacking-television-every-winner-from-tvnext-hack-revealed/" type="external">finalists</a> included a self-described “bunch of guys who live together” who made a program that lets you bet on what’s going to happen on a TV show, a team that “likes drinking and likes watching sports,” and two fathers designing learning programs for their kids.</p>
<p>Hackathons have been around for years, but organizers still haven’t figured out how to get a balanced gender ratio. According to <a href="http://www.girlswhocode.com/about-us/" type="external">Girls Who Code</a>, an organization that aims to provide computer science education and exposure to 1 million young women by 2020, women only represent 12 percent of computer science graduates, down from 37 percent in 1984. “Boys and girls are neck and neck academically in school until puberty, when girls tend to veer off from tech,” Swartz says. “Jen is going to be the only chick in the room for a very long time, and my responsibility is to give her opportunities that I didn’t have.”</p>
<p>When Lamere and I spoke, she was in the middle of finals week, taking AP chemistry, calculus, and computer science. She’s attending the Rochester Institute of Technology in the fall, intending to major in software engineering. She hopes to some day work for Google. Some of the other projects she’s “hacked” in her short career include an app that lets you enter your city and music tastes and find out if bands you might like are touring nearby, and “Bohemian Harpsichord,” a program that turns Bohemian Rhapsody into a musical instrument, which she worked on with her dad, who is also a developer (her two older sisters and brother are not). She says that after creating Twivo, she took the project back to her computer science class and walked her classmates through the code. “Hopefully the other girls will come to the next hackathon!”</p>
<p>Update: Mike Proulx, the spokesman for the event, told Mother Jones on Thursday that there were other solo participants who presented hacks. He also said there were four other women registered for the hackathon, but again confirmed Jennie was the only one to present a completed project.</p>
<p />
|
This 17-Year-Old Coder Is Saving Twitter From TV Spoilers (Spoiler: She’s a Girl)
| true |
https://motherjones.com/politics/2013/05/meet-17-year-old-saving-you-game-thrones-twitter-spoilers/
|
2013-05-08
| 4left
|
This 17-Year-Old Coder Is Saving Twitter From TV Spoilers (Spoiler: She’s a Girl)
<p />
<p>Imagine you forget to watch a new episode of Game of Thrones the night it airs. Even if coworkers stay mum about important plot points, Twitter is abuzz with spoilers. Fortunately, there’s Twivo, a new program that allows Twitter users to censor their feeds from mentioning a certain TV show (and its characters) for a set time period. Jennie Lamere, a 17-year-old girl, invented the software last month—and won the grand prize at a national coding competition where Lamere was the only female who presented a project, and the only developer to work alone. Internet: Meet the reason we need more women in tech.</p>
<p>Lamere is a high school senior from Nashua, New Hampshire, who likes building robots, hiking, and entering “hackathon” competitions. At her all-girls school, the Academy of Notre Dame in Massachusetts, she’s the only student participating in these sorts of events. Hackathons (which have nothing to do with illegal hacking) bring together programmers, developers, and designers, who compete to code an innovative new program in a limited amount of time. Lamere entered the <a href="http://www.tvnexthack.com/" type="external">TVnext Hack event,&#160;</a>&#160;put on by the ad agency Hill Holliday in partnership with Mashery, in Boston on April 27 along with about 80 other competitors—all of them male, according to Lamere and one of the judges. (Mike Proulx, a spokesman for the event, says he believes other women participated, but didn’t present completed projects.)</p>
<p>The gender breakdown of the event “was a little weird,” Lamere tells Mother Jones. “But it’s something that I’m used to at these things.” Eliot Van Buskirk, an attendee from Evolver.fm, <a href="http://evolver.fm/2013/04/30/how-a-17-year-old-girl-won-a-hackathon-and-what-it-means-for-women-in-tech/" type="external">confirms</a> that “the only other females in attendance, that I saw anyway, were an organizer, two camerawomen, a caterer, three judges, and a participant’s wife.”</p>
<p>“We marketed the hackathon to the entire developer community, and the demographics of the participants mirror the demographics of the community itself,”&#160;Proulx, the event spokesman, tells Mother Jones. “We had a diverse demographic, but obviously the majority of the people were male.” In addition to being the only woman, Lamere was the only solo competitor in the hackathon—every other project was created by a team, Proulx says.</p>
<p>Lamere took her subcategory, “best use of sync-to-broadcast” and then the overall “best in show,” which earned her swag including iPad minis and an Apple TV. She beat out professional developers sent by the event’s sponsors, including ESPN, the Echo Nest, and Klout. She came up with the idea for Twivo the night before the competition, and it took her 10 hours and 150 lines of code to complete. It works as an extension to the Google Chrome browser: A user can type in the key words she would like to block, and for how long, and make those Tweets disappear. In the screenshot below, Twivo has blocked out Twitter references to one of Lamere’s favorite TV shows, Lifetime’s <a href="http://www.mylifetime.com/shows/dance-moms" type="external">Dance Moms</a> (the Twitter accounts that are more prominent, like the official Dance Moms account, automatically appear larger.) Once a user is done blocking the show, the Tweets reappear. Lamere says the program is still in demo form and won’t be ready for another two or three weeks, but she’s already been approached by <a href="http://www.furious-minds.com/" type="external">Furious Minds</a>, a tech company that intends to help her market the final product.</p>
<p>“We’re always interested in the convergence between TV and social media, and Jen’s hack was awesome, not to mention she did the entire thing herself,” says Ashley Swartz, CEO and founder of Furious Minds. Swartz, who was one of the judges for the competition. The&#160;other <a href="http://evolver.fm/2013/04/28/hacking-television-every-winner-from-tvnext-hack-revealed/" type="external">finalists</a> included a self-described “bunch of guys who live together” who made a program that lets you bet on what’s going to happen on a TV show, a team that “likes drinking and likes watching sports,” and two fathers designing learning programs for their kids.</p>
<p>Hackathons have been around for years, but organizers still haven’t figured out how to get a balanced gender ratio. According to <a href="http://www.girlswhocode.com/about-us/" type="external">Girls Who Code</a>, an organization that aims to provide computer science education and exposure to 1 million young women by 2020, women only represent 12 percent of computer science graduates, down from 37 percent in 1984. “Boys and girls are neck and neck academically in school until puberty, when girls tend to veer off from tech,” Swartz says. “Jen is going to be the only chick in the room for a very long time, and my responsibility is to give her opportunities that I didn’t have.”</p>
<p>When Lamere and I spoke, she was in the middle of finals week, taking AP chemistry, calculus, and computer science. She’s attending the Rochester Institute of Technology in the fall, intending to major in software engineering. She hopes to some day work for Google. Some of the other projects she’s “hacked” in her short career include an app that lets you enter your city and music tastes and find out if bands you might like are touring nearby, and “Bohemian Harpsichord,” a program that turns Bohemian Rhapsody into a musical instrument, which she worked on with her dad, who is also a developer (her two older sisters and brother are not). She says that after creating Twivo, she took the project back to her computer science class and walked her classmates through the code. “Hopefully the other girls will come to the next hackathon!”</p>
<p>Update: Mike Proulx, the spokesman for the event, told Mother Jones on Thursday that there were other solo participants who presented hacks. He also said there were four other women registered for the hackathon, but again confirmed Jennie was the only one to present a completed project.</p>
<p />
| 8,158 |
<p>One month ago, the Belizean Grove was a quiet group of powerful women whose main activity was taking annual vacations in South American countries.</p>
<p>Today, the New York-based club finds itself caught up in Supreme Court confirmation politics, with Republican lawmakers raising questions about the group’s most famous member.</p>
<p>Federal appeals court Judge Sonia Sotomayor joined the group a year ago and went on her first trip last year to Peru. Her membership went largely unnoticed until she listed it on a Senate questionnaire in preparation for her July 13 confirmation hearings.</p>
<p>Now Republican lawmakers are raising concerns that her membership in a “discriminatory” private club violates American Bar Association ethical guidelines for judges. Judge Sotomayor this week defended the club, saying that despite its membership, it does not discriminate against men.</p>
<p>With the group’s policies now in the national spotlight, two men asked Tuesday about joining the club, said Belizean Grove founder Susan Schiffer Stautberg.</p>
<p>Ms. Stautberg, who founded the private club nine years ago, said the group is a response to the all-male clubs that have long fostered business connections and policy links for powerful men.</p>
<p>“I think we all need support in our lives,” Ms. Stautberg said. “We need time to relax; we need time to think. We’re all being nibbled at constantly all day, by e-mail.”</p>
<p>Gender politics have proved a minefield for male Supreme Court nominees. The wife of Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. broke down in tears after aggressive questions at his 2005 Senate confirmation hearings about his reported involvement in a Princeton alumni group that opposed affirmative action.</p>
<p>Justices Antonin Scalia and Anthony M. Kennedy quit all-male clubs when they were being considered for the Supreme Court in the late 1980s, and Justice Harry Blackmun resigned his membership in the exclusive Cosmos Club in 1988.</p>
<p>The only two women to have sat on the court, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and former Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, were members of the women’s networking group, the International Women’s Forum, but their memberships did not become a major issue in their confirmation hearings.</p>
<p>Ms. Stautberg started the Belizean Grove as a response to the Bohemian Club - an all-male group whose vast Bohemian Grove property in Northern California has hosted an annual midsummer gathering for presidents, politicians, corporate executives, writers and artists for 130 years.</p>
<p>“We do not seek attention nor do we want attention,” Ms. Stautberg said. “We’re just a group of women who want to be supportive of each other and help each other survive and thrive. We’re not trying to get bigger. Bigger is not better; better is better.”</p>
<p>Belizean Grove found plenty of attention after Republican senators challenged Judge Sotomayor about what they say is an incomplete questionnaire and pointedly requested more information about the club.</p>
<p>“You state that you are a member of an organization, the Belizean Grove, that discriminates on the basis of sex,” Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee wrote in a letter to the White House last week.</p>
<p>Noting that the Code of Judicial Conduct prohibits membership in organizations that “invidiously discriminate” on the basis of sex, race and national origin, the lawmakers wrote, “Please explain the basis for your belief that membership in an organization that discriminates on the basis of sex nonetheless conforms to the Code of Conduct.”</p>
<p>A member of the women’s group came to Judge Sotomayor’s defense late last week, in a letter obtained by The Washington Times.</p>
<p>“I am a Republican and disheartened by those who are finding all sorts of silly reasons to criticize the current candidate for Supreme Court justice, Sonia Sotomayor,” lawyer and consultant Joan McEntee said in a letter Friday. “The latest is that she is a member of an ‘exclusive all-woman’s club’ that promotes gender discrimination, exclusion and Lord knows what else.”</p>
<p>Judge Sotomayor, responding directly to Republican concerns, insisted Monday that the Belizean Grove “does not invidiously discriminate on the basis of sex.”</p>
<p>In a written response, she added, “Men are involved in its activities - they participate in trips, host events and speak at functions - but to the best of my knowledge, a man has never asked to be considered for membership.”</p>
<p>The male-only Bohemian Club, which owns a secluded 2,700-acre spread near San Francisco, was founded by journalists in the mid-1870s and quickly attracted a membership of the local business and artistic elite. Prominent public officials and politicians, including every Republican president since Calvin Coolidge, have become members or spent time at the site.</p>
<p>Former Chief Justice Earl Warren spent summers at the encampment. Justice Clarence Thomas twice visited the Bohemian Club, according to financial disclosure forms, although it is unclear whether he is a member.</p>
<p>“We don’t talk about our members and provide information about who our members are or are not,” said Matt Oggero, a spokesman for the Bohemian Club.</p>
<p>Because of its secretive ways, the Bohemian Club has been darkly described by conspiracy theorists as a breeding ground for collusion among the elites and by social scientists as a playground for the rich and powerful.</p>
<p>Belizean Grove members insist that the club was founded for recreation and networking.</p>
<p>Ms. Stautberg said women looking to succeed have often been shut out of the networks of power and have had to seek nontraditional networks for support. She pointed to a Harvard study that said women on Wall Street developed networks outside their firms because they had trouble cracking the fraternal networks inside their companies.</p>
<p>Ms. Stautberg, who runs an agency that places women on corporate and charitable boards, came up with the idea for the group while on a scuba-diving trip with her son in Belize, the Central American nation that gave the club its name.</p>
<p>Judge Sotomayor joined the group in 2008, on the advice of member Mari Carmen Aponte. Judge Sotomayor delivered a speech at last year’s Peruvian retreat, which was attended by the U.S. ambassador to Lima and members of the Peruvian government.</p>
<p>Members are allowed to invite their spouses, partners and children on an “after-trip” following the annual South American retreat.</p>
<p>Mrs. McEntee, who runs an international business consulting firm and was a top Commerce Department official under President George H.W. Bush, said she remembered Judge Sotomayor being “very bright and very intelligent” and having “a lot of personal and professional insights.”</p>
<p>She said Republican lawmakers are only hurting themselves politically by going after Judge Sotomayor based on her membership in the group.</p>
<p>“If a man applied and wanted to join and he met the criteria, I can’t imagine there’d be any problem,” she said, “which I think is very different from the old exclusionary country clubs.”</p>
<p>Mrs. McEntee said that although the women “grovers” connect one another with jobs and board positions, she also has sought out men for these jobs.</p>
<p>Copyright © 2018 The Washington Times, LLC. <a href="http://license.icopyright.net/3.7280?icx_id=/news/2009/jun/17/sotomayor-scrutinized-for-ties-to-womens-club/" type="external">Click here for reprint permission</a>.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
|
Sotomayor rapped for ties to women’s club
| true |
http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jun/17/sotomayor-scrutinized-for-ties-to-womens-club/
|
2009-06-17
| 0right
|
Sotomayor rapped for ties to women’s club
<p>One month ago, the Belizean Grove was a quiet group of powerful women whose main activity was taking annual vacations in South American countries.</p>
<p>Today, the New York-based club finds itself caught up in Supreme Court confirmation politics, with Republican lawmakers raising questions about the group’s most famous member.</p>
<p>Federal appeals court Judge Sonia Sotomayor joined the group a year ago and went on her first trip last year to Peru. Her membership went largely unnoticed until she listed it on a Senate questionnaire in preparation for her July 13 confirmation hearings.</p>
<p>Now Republican lawmakers are raising concerns that her membership in a “discriminatory” private club violates American Bar Association ethical guidelines for judges. Judge Sotomayor this week defended the club, saying that despite its membership, it does not discriminate against men.</p>
<p>With the group’s policies now in the national spotlight, two men asked Tuesday about joining the club, said Belizean Grove founder Susan Schiffer Stautberg.</p>
<p>Ms. Stautberg, who founded the private club nine years ago, said the group is a response to the all-male clubs that have long fostered business connections and policy links for powerful men.</p>
<p>“I think we all need support in our lives,” Ms. Stautberg said. “We need time to relax; we need time to think. We’re all being nibbled at constantly all day, by e-mail.”</p>
<p>Gender politics have proved a minefield for male Supreme Court nominees. The wife of Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. broke down in tears after aggressive questions at his 2005 Senate confirmation hearings about his reported involvement in a Princeton alumni group that opposed affirmative action.</p>
<p>Justices Antonin Scalia and Anthony M. Kennedy quit all-male clubs when they were being considered for the Supreme Court in the late 1980s, and Justice Harry Blackmun resigned his membership in the exclusive Cosmos Club in 1988.</p>
<p>The only two women to have sat on the court, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and former Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, were members of the women’s networking group, the International Women’s Forum, but their memberships did not become a major issue in their confirmation hearings.</p>
<p>Ms. Stautberg started the Belizean Grove as a response to the Bohemian Club - an all-male group whose vast Bohemian Grove property in Northern California has hosted an annual midsummer gathering for presidents, politicians, corporate executives, writers and artists for 130 years.</p>
<p>“We do not seek attention nor do we want attention,” Ms. Stautberg said. “We’re just a group of women who want to be supportive of each other and help each other survive and thrive. We’re not trying to get bigger. Bigger is not better; better is better.”</p>
<p>Belizean Grove found plenty of attention after Republican senators challenged Judge Sotomayor about what they say is an incomplete questionnaire and pointedly requested more information about the club.</p>
<p>“You state that you are a member of an organization, the Belizean Grove, that discriminates on the basis of sex,” Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee wrote in a letter to the White House last week.</p>
<p>Noting that the Code of Judicial Conduct prohibits membership in organizations that “invidiously discriminate” on the basis of sex, race and national origin, the lawmakers wrote, “Please explain the basis for your belief that membership in an organization that discriminates on the basis of sex nonetheless conforms to the Code of Conduct.”</p>
<p>A member of the women’s group came to Judge Sotomayor’s defense late last week, in a letter obtained by The Washington Times.</p>
<p>“I am a Republican and disheartened by those who are finding all sorts of silly reasons to criticize the current candidate for Supreme Court justice, Sonia Sotomayor,” lawyer and consultant Joan McEntee said in a letter Friday. “The latest is that she is a member of an ‘exclusive all-woman’s club’ that promotes gender discrimination, exclusion and Lord knows what else.”</p>
<p>Judge Sotomayor, responding directly to Republican concerns, insisted Monday that the Belizean Grove “does not invidiously discriminate on the basis of sex.”</p>
<p>In a written response, she added, “Men are involved in its activities - they participate in trips, host events and speak at functions - but to the best of my knowledge, a man has never asked to be considered for membership.”</p>
<p>The male-only Bohemian Club, which owns a secluded 2,700-acre spread near San Francisco, was founded by journalists in the mid-1870s and quickly attracted a membership of the local business and artistic elite. Prominent public officials and politicians, including every Republican president since Calvin Coolidge, have become members or spent time at the site.</p>
<p>Former Chief Justice Earl Warren spent summers at the encampment. Justice Clarence Thomas twice visited the Bohemian Club, according to financial disclosure forms, although it is unclear whether he is a member.</p>
<p>“We don’t talk about our members and provide information about who our members are or are not,” said Matt Oggero, a spokesman for the Bohemian Club.</p>
<p>Because of its secretive ways, the Bohemian Club has been darkly described by conspiracy theorists as a breeding ground for collusion among the elites and by social scientists as a playground for the rich and powerful.</p>
<p>Belizean Grove members insist that the club was founded for recreation and networking.</p>
<p>Ms. Stautberg said women looking to succeed have often been shut out of the networks of power and have had to seek nontraditional networks for support. She pointed to a Harvard study that said women on Wall Street developed networks outside their firms because they had trouble cracking the fraternal networks inside their companies.</p>
<p>Ms. Stautberg, who runs an agency that places women on corporate and charitable boards, came up with the idea for the group while on a scuba-diving trip with her son in Belize, the Central American nation that gave the club its name.</p>
<p>Judge Sotomayor joined the group in 2008, on the advice of member Mari Carmen Aponte. Judge Sotomayor delivered a speech at last year’s Peruvian retreat, which was attended by the U.S. ambassador to Lima and members of the Peruvian government.</p>
<p>Members are allowed to invite their spouses, partners and children on an “after-trip” following the annual South American retreat.</p>
<p>Mrs. McEntee, who runs an international business consulting firm and was a top Commerce Department official under President George H.W. Bush, said she remembered Judge Sotomayor being “very bright and very intelligent” and having “a lot of personal and professional insights.”</p>
<p>She said Republican lawmakers are only hurting themselves politically by going after Judge Sotomayor based on her membership in the group.</p>
<p>“If a man applied and wanted to join and he met the criteria, I can’t imagine there’d be any problem,” she said, “which I think is very different from the old exclusionary country clubs.”</p>
<p>Mrs. McEntee said that although the women “grovers” connect one another with jobs and board positions, she also has sought out men for these jobs.</p>
<p>Copyright © 2018 The Washington Times, LLC. <a href="http://license.icopyright.net/3.7280?icx_id=/news/2009/jun/17/sotomayor-scrutinized-for-ties-to-womens-club/" type="external">Click here for reprint permission</a>.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
| 8,159 |
<p />
<p>Evidence is mounting of Russian involvement in the 2016 election, but the evidence does not always fit the preconceived notion that Putin’s government acted to help Donald Trump’s campaign defeat Hillary Clinton. A new revelation that a Facebook ad purchased by the Russians promoted Black Lives Matter casts doubt on the usual narrative.</p>
<p><a href="https://amp.cnn.com/money/2017/09/27/media/facebook-black-lives-matter-targeting/index.html" type="external">CNN</a> reports the Russians bought “at least one” Facebook ad that promoted the Black Lives Matter movement. The ad appeared in late 2015 or early 2016 to audiences in Ferguson, Missouri and Baltimore, Maryland. Ferguson and Baltimore were the subject of race riots in August 2014 and April 2015 respectively.</p>
<p>The ad was purchased by what CNN refers to as “accounts linked to the Russian government-affiliated troll farm known as the Internet Research Agency.” US military intelligence has described the group as “a state-funded organization that blogs and tweets on behalf of the Kremlin.”</p>
<p>Facebook previously revealed that about 25 percent of the 3,000 ads traced back to the Internet Research Agency were geographically targeted. The Black Lives Matter ad targeted to Ferguson and Baltimore Facebook users is the first specific example of such targeting. CNN’s sources said the wording of the ad was such that it could be interpreted as both supporting and warning against the Black Lives Matter movement. The ad itself has not been released by Facebook.</p>
<p>Information on the Facebook ads purchased by the Russians seems to indicate that, at least early in the election cycle, the focus was on promoting division and anger rather than promoting a specific candidate. The Russians also bought ads with topics such as gun rights, immigration and the validity of western democracy.</p>
<p>“This is consistent with the overall goal of creating discord inside the body politic here in the United States, and really across the West,” Steve Hall, a former CIA officer and current CNN National Security Analyst, said. “It shows they the level of sophistication of their targeting. They are able to sow discord in a very granular nature, target certain communities and link them up with certain issues.”</p>
<p>Last December, the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/clinton-blames-putins-personal-grudge-against-her-for-election-interference/2016/12/16/12f36250-c3be-11e6-8422-eac61c0ef74d_story.html?utm_term=.d161b0b212ae" type="external">FBI and the CIA publicly agreed</a> that intelligence showed that Russian cyber operations during the election were aimed at supporting the Trump campaign. In July 2017, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats told <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/intelligence-director-says-agencies-agree-russian-meddling-n785481" type="external">NBC News</a> that there was no disagreement among US intelligence agencies that the Russians “are trying to undermine Western democracy,” but stopped short of stating that the interference was targeted to benefit Trump.</p>
<p>In the months since the election, many on the right have pooh-poohed the idea that Russia interfered in the election at all, attributing the claim of interference to sour grapes by the Clinton campaign. That may change as more information about Russian interference comes out, such as the recent revelation by Homeland Security that <a href="http://theresurgent.com/trump-administration-says-21-states-were-targets-of-election-hacking/" type="external">21 state election agencies were targeted by Russian hackers</a> and that the Russian goal was to stir the pot by promoting hostility on both sides of the political spectrum.</p>
<p>The biggest question about Russian meddling is what to do about it. As CIA Director Mike Pompeo told <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/intelligence-director-says-agencies-agree-russian-meddling-n785481" type="external">NBC News</a>, “This threat is real. The U.S. government, including the Central Intelligence Agency, has to figure out a way to fight back against it and defeat it. And we’re intent upon doing that.”</p>
<p>Originally published on <a href="http://theresurgent.com/russia-purchased-black-lives-matter-facebook-ad/" type="external">The Resurgent</a></p>
<p>Related:</p>
<p>If you haven’t checked out and liked our&#160; <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ConservativeFiringLine?fref=ts" type="external">Facebook</a>&#160;page, please go&#160; <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ConservativeFiringLine?fref=ts" type="external">here</a>&#160;and do so.</p>
<p>And if you’re as concerned about Facebook censorship as we are, go&#160; <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Banned-Facebook-Enables-Militant-Islamic/dp/1944212221/" type="external">here</a>&#160;and order this book&#160;(Remember, half of what we earn will be <a href="" type="internal">donated to Hurricane Harvey relief</a>):</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
|
Russia Bought Black Lives Matter Facebook Ad
| true |
http://conservativefiringline.com/russia-bought-black-lives-matter-facebook-ad/
|
2017-09-29
| 0right
|
Russia Bought Black Lives Matter Facebook Ad
<p />
<p>Evidence is mounting of Russian involvement in the 2016 election, but the evidence does not always fit the preconceived notion that Putin’s government acted to help Donald Trump’s campaign defeat Hillary Clinton. A new revelation that a Facebook ad purchased by the Russians promoted Black Lives Matter casts doubt on the usual narrative.</p>
<p><a href="https://amp.cnn.com/money/2017/09/27/media/facebook-black-lives-matter-targeting/index.html" type="external">CNN</a> reports the Russians bought “at least one” Facebook ad that promoted the Black Lives Matter movement. The ad appeared in late 2015 or early 2016 to audiences in Ferguson, Missouri and Baltimore, Maryland. Ferguson and Baltimore were the subject of race riots in August 2014 and April 2015 respectively.</p>
<p>The ad was purchased by what CNN refers to as “accounts linked to the Russian government-affiliated troll farm known as the Internet Research Agency.” US military intelligence has described the group as “a state-funded organization that blogs and tweets on behalf of the Kremlin.”</p>
<p>Facebook previously revealed that about 25 percent of the 3,000 ads traced back to the Internet Research Agency were geographically targeted. The Black Lives Matter ad targeted to Ferguson and Baltimore Facebook users is the first specific example of such targeting. CNN’s sources said the wording of the ad was such that it could be interpreted as both supporting and warning against the Black Lives Matter movement. The ad itself has not been released by Facebook.</p>
<p>Information on the Facebook ads purchased by the Russians seems to indicate that, at least early in the election cycle, the focus was on promoting division and anger rather than promoting a specific candidate. The Russians also bought ads with topics such as gun rights, immigration and the validity of western democracy.</p>
<p>“This is consistent with the overall goal of creating discord inside the body politic here in the United States, and really across the West,” Steve Hall, a former CIA officer and current CNN National Security Analyst, said. “It shows they the level of sophistication of their targeting. They are able to sow discord in a very granular nature, target certain communities and link them up with certain issues.”</p>
<p>Last December, the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/clinton-blames-putins-personal-grudge-against-her-for-election-interference/2016/12/16/12f36250-c3be-11e6-8422-eac61c0ef74d_story.html?utm_term=.d161b0b212ae" type="external">FBI and the CIA publicly agreed</a> that intelligence showed that Russian cyber operations during the election were aimed at supporting the Trump campaign. In July 2017, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats told <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/intelligence-director-says-agencies-agree-russian-meddling-n785481" type="external">NBC News</a> that there was no disagreement among US intelligence agencies that the Russians “are trying to undermine Western democracy,” but stopped short of stating that the interference was targeted to benefit Trump.</p>
<p>In the months since the election, many on the right have pooh-poohed the idea that Russia interfered in the election at all, attributing the claim of interference to sour grapes by the Clinton campaign. That may change as more information about Russian interference comes out, such as the recent revelation by Homeland Security that <a href="http://theresurgent.com/trump-administration-says-21-states-were-targets-of-election-hacking/" type="external">21 state election agencies were targeted by Russian hackers</a> and that the Russian goal was to stir the pot by promoting hostility on both sides of the political spectrum.</p>
<p>The biggest question about Russian meddling is what to do about it. As CIA Director Mike Pompeo told <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/intelligence-director-says-agencies-agree-russian-meddling-n785481" type="external">NBC News</a>, “This threat is real. The U.S. government, including the Central Intelligence Agency, has to figure out a way to fight back against it and defeat it. And we’re intent upon doing that.”</p>
<p>Originally published on <a href="http://theresurgent.com/russia-purchased-black-lives-matter-facebook-ad/" type="external">The Resurgent</a></p>
<p>Related:</p>
<p>If you haven’t checked out and liked our&#160; <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ConservativeFiringLine?fref=ts" type="external">Facebook</a>&#160;page, please go&#160; <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ConservativeFiringLine?fref=ts" type="external">here</a>&#160;and do so.</p>
<p>And if you’re as concerned about Facebook censorship as we are, go&#160; <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Banned-Facebook-Enables-Militant-Islamic/dp/1944212221/" type="external">here</a>&#160;and order this book&#160;(Remember, half of what we earn will be <a href="" type="internal">donated to Hurricane Harvey relief</a>):</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
| 8,160 |
<p>CAIRO - So what is the significance of the announcement Thursday that the Obama administration is opening the door for dialogue with Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood?</p>
<p>First of all, it's a pragmatic recognition of the obvious, that the Muslim Brotherhood is likely&#160;by just about all accounts to take the largest number of seats in the parliamentary elections expected for September.</p>
<p>And secondly, it's a sign that the Obama administration may be shifting its approach to Islamist organizations, backing away from a reflexive fear of what a government controlled by Islamists would mean for the U.S. and Israel. These organizations have deep popular support in many Arab countries and they will inevitably play a bigger role as those countries lean toward democracy. So, the argument goes, better to engage with them now and try to guide them toward respect for diversity of opinions and democratic process.</p>
<p>Brookings Institute&#160;senior fellow Shadi Hamid has been right on the money on this since the first days of the January 25 revolution in Egypt. An expert on Islamist movements in the Middle East, he has insisted all along that the toppling of Hosni Mubarak will present an opportunity for the United States to redefine its relationship with Islamist groups, particularly the Muslim Brotherhood. It will allow Washington to recognize that these groups have wide democratic support, and as the Arab world turns to democracy, that will have to be recognized.</p>
<p>So the question will be how to pull groups like the Muslim Brotherhood more toward the center. In Egypt, that process is getting underway. The Brotherhood has modified some of its policies and increasingly seems to care more about politics than religion as the elections approach. (The betting is about 50/50 that they will be delayed beyond September.)</p>
<p>A spokesman for the Brotherhood issued a terse statement saying that the organization, which dates back to 1929 and was officially outlawed as a political party by Egypt in the 1950s, would accept the invitation for dialogue with the U.S.</p>
<p>The Brotherhood may be finding an open door in Washington, but in Tahrir Square they seem to be finding a cold shoulder these days. The other parties in the wide coalition that came together to topple Mubarak say the Brotherhood has become brazenly political and some argue they are undercutting the goals of the revolution.</p>
<p>Tariq El Khouly, a spokesman for the April 6 Movement, was in Tahrir Square for the demonstrations on Friday that drew several thousand protesters back to the square. The Muslim Brotherhood was noticeably absent, hanging no banners and offering none of its leaders to speak on the stage.</p>
<p>"They aren't with the people," he said.&#160;"They are starting to do&#160;what all political groups do, which is to say what the people want to hear to get elected. But the truth is we have a lot more work to do in this revolution to be sure the corrupt and brutal institutions of the police and government are changed and reformed. ... A lot of us feel the Brothers no longer have any interest in this."</p>
|
The Egyptian revolution isn't over
| false |
https://pri.org/stories/2011-07-02/egyptian-revolution-isnt-over
|
2011-07-02
| 3left-center
|
The Egyptian revolution isn't over
<p>CAIRO - So what is the significance of the announcement Thursday that the Obama administration is opening the door for dialogue with Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood?</p>
<p>First of all, it's a pragmatic recognition of the obvious, that the Muslim Brotherhood is likely&#160;by just about all accounts to take the largest number of seats in the parliamentary elections expected for September.</p>
<p>And secondly, it's a sign that the Obama administration may be shifting its approach to Islamist organizations, backing away from a reflexive fear of what a government controlled by Islamists would mean for the U.S. and Israel. These organizations have deep popular support in many Arab countries and they will inevitably play a bigger role as those countries lean toward democracy. So, the argument goes, better to engage with them now and try to guide them toward respect for diversity of opinions and democratic process.</p>
<p>Brookings Institute&#160;senior fellow Shadi Hamid has been right on the money on this since the first days of the January 25 revolution in Egypt. An expert on Islamist movements in the Middle East, he has insisted all along that the toppling of Hosni Mubarak will present an opportunity for the United States to redefine its relationship with Islamist groups, particularly the Muslim Brotherhood. It will allow Washington to recognize that these groups have wide democratic support, and as the Arab world turns to democracy, that will have to be recognized.</p>
<p>So the question will be how to pull groups like the Muslim Brotherhood more toward the center. In Egypt, that process is getting underway. The Brotherhood has modified some of its policies and increasingly seems to care more about politics than religion as the elections approach. (The betting is about 50/50 that they will be delayed beyond September.)</p>
<p>A spokesman for the Brotherhood issued a terse statement saying that the organization, which dates back to 1929 and was officially outlawed as a political party by Egypt in the 1950s, would accept the invitation for dialogue with the U.S.</p>
<p>The Brotherhood may be finding an open door in Washington, but in Tahrir Square they seem to be finding a cold shoulder these days. The other parties in the wide coalition that came together to topple Mubarak say the Brotherhood has become brazenly political and some argue they are undercutting the goals of the revolution.</p>
<p>Tariq El Khouly, a spokesman for the April 6 Movement, was in Tahrir Square for the demonstrations on Friday that drew several thousand protesters back to the square. The Muslim Brotherhood was noticeably absent, hanging no banners and offering none of its leaders to speak on the stage.</p>
<p>"They aren't with the people," he said.&#160;"They are starting to do&#160;what all political groups do, which is to say what the people want to hear to get elected. But the truth is we have a lot more work to do in this revolution to be sure the corrupt and brutal institutions of the police and government are changed and reformed. ... A lot of us feel the Brothers no longer have any interest in this."</p>
| 8,161 |
<p>By Michael Parnell</p>
<p>The X-Men are unique in the superhero genre. They are hated and hunted, yet they do acts of heroism to save humanity.</p>
<p>X-Men have powers because of genetic mutation. Some powers are concealed and the hero looks normal. Other powers cause the hero’s visage and physical form to look different than human.</p>
<p>These powers cause fear in “regular humans,” giving rise to people like Dr. Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinklage) in the latest film of the franchise, X-Men: Days of Future Past. Trask is a weapon designer who believes mutants pose a real threat to normal humans. Consequently, he designs a robot army called the Sentinels which have the ability to identify and find mutants living among humans.</p>
<p>The movie begins many years in the future. A war is being waged between mutants and Sentinels, but normal humans are caught up in the fight. The Sentinels not only are exterminating mutants but also normal humans who may have mutant children. It has become a genocide of nearly all humans.</p>
<p>Charles Xavier/Professor X (Patrick Stewart) devises a way to end the war, but it will take sending someone back in time to stop the development of the Sentinels. He and former enemy Magneto (Ian McKellen) convince Logan/Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) to go back to 1973. Logan is to find Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) and keep her from killing Trask — the event that caused the development and deployment of the Sentinels now plaguing the future.</p>
<p>Logan is given instructions to find the Xavier (James McAvoy) and Magneto (Michael Fassbender) of 1973 and get their aid. The problem is that Xavier and Magneto are at that time bitter enemies. Magneto once worked with Charles, but now they have nothing but bad feelings for each other.</p>
<p>Logan also finds that Xavier is a drunk who has lost his way. Xavier believed that the mutants, the X-Men, should be a force for good for the sake of all humankind but events in the near past have embittered him. He now finds solace in a bottle.</p>
<p>Magneto, who is believed to have aided in the Kennedy assassination, is being held in a special cell below the Pentagon.</p>
<p>Logan has to get Xavier to believe again and spring Magneto from the most secure place on earth. This he has to do before he can get to the mission at hand.</p>
<p>X-Men: Days of Future Past is the perfect summer movie. It provides a great story, well paced and well acted, and will keep people entertained throughout.</p>
<p>As a comic book fan, I feel this is a great example of the translation of source material to the screen. It does not get all of the source material exactly right, but it does not mess with the formula.</p>
<p>The movie provides an opportunity for discussion about prejudice. Do we to want to marginalize those who are different from us? What are we do with those who do not look like us or act like us?</p>
<p>Another level of discussion is prompted by the nature of Xavier’s response to this prejudice. A key part of the story is the need for the younger Xavier to find hope again. That hope that becomes the catalyst the X-Men use to fight for all humanity, both mutant and non-mutant. Without that hope, the future from which Logan came will be darker.</p>
<p>There is a deep well of thought in the idea that the one who is persecuted rises up and blesses those who persecute. Humans need the aid of the mutants, despite human hatred.</p>
<p>It is that hatred which creates a clear dichotomy between Xavier and Magneto. Xavier believes that humans are flawed and are capable of doing all manner of wrong toward mutantkind. Yet Xavier also believes in the need of offering help in spite of the wrong inflicted. Magneto, on the other hand, believes that humans are evil, will remain evil and will always try to subjugate mutants. This means humans need to be destroyed or subjugated.</p>
<p>This easily allows for discussion about the theology of sin and the nature of humanity. Are humans flawed and sinful without any good or is there something worthwhile within them?</p>
<p>Again, this is a great summer movie, easily used to discuss key elements of the Christian faith.</p>
<p>X-Men: Days of Future Past</p>
<p>Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense sci-fi violence and action, some suggestive material, nudity and language.</p>
<p>Directed by Bryan Singer. Written by Simon Kinberg</p>
<p>With: Hugh Jackman (Logan/Wolverine), Patrick Stewart (Xavier), Ian McKellen (Magneto), Jennifer Lawrence (Mystique), James McAvoy (Young Xavier), Michael Fassbender (Young Magneto)</p>
|
Latest ‘X-Men’ film sparks discussion of sin and human nature
| false |
https://baptistnews.com/article/latest-x-men-film-sparks-discussion-of-sin-and-human-nature/
| 3left-center
|
Latest ‘X-Men’ film sparks discussion of sin and human nature
<p>By Michael Parnell</p>
<p>The X-Men are unique in the superhero genre. They are hated and hunted, yet they do acts of heroism to save humanity.</p>
<p>X-Men have powers because of genetic mutation. Some powers are concealed and the hero looks normal. Other powers cause the hero’s visage and physical form to look different than human.</p>
<p>These powers cause fear in “regular humans,” giving rise to people like Dr. Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinklage) in the latest film of the franchise, X-Men: Days of Future Past. Trask is a weapon designer who believes mutants pose a real threat to normal humans. Consequently, he designs a robot army called the Sentinels which have the ability to identify and find mutants living among humans.</p>
<p>The movie begins many years in the future. A war is being waged between mutants and Sentinels, but normal humans are caught up in the fight. The Sentinels not only are exterminating mutants but also normal humans who may have mutant children. It has become a genocide of nearly all humans.</p>
<p>Charles Xavier/Professor X (Patrick Stewart) devises a way to end the war, but it will take sending someone back in time to stop the development of the Sentinels. He and former enemy Magneto (Ian McKellen) convince Logan/Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) to go back to 1973. Logan is to find Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) and keep her from killing Trask — the event that caused the development and deployment of the Sentinels now plaguing the future.</p>
<p>Logan is given instructions to find the Xavier (James McAvoy) and Magneto (Michael Fassbender) of 1973 and get their aid. The problem is that Xavier and Magneto are at that time bitter enemies. Magneto once worked with Charles, but now they have nothing but bad feelings for each other.</p>
<p>Logan also finds that Xavier is a drunk who has lost his way. Xavier believed that the mutants, the X-Men, should be a force for good for the sake of all humankind but events in the near past have embittered him. He now finds solace in a bottle.</p>
<p>Magneto, who is believed to have aided in the Kennedy assassination, is being held in a special cell below the Pentagon.</p>
<p>Logan has to get Xavier to believe again and spring Magneto from the most secure place on earth. This he has to do before he can get to the mission at hand.</p>
<p>X-Men: Days of Future Past is the perfect summer movie. It provides a great story, well paced and well acted, and will keep people entertained throughout.</p>
<p>As a comic book fan, I feel this is a great example of the translation of source material to the screen. It does not get all of the source material exactly right, but it does not mess with the formula.</p>
<p>The movie provides an opportunity for discussion about prejudice. Do we to want to marginalize those who are different from us? What are we do with those who do not look like us or act like us?</p>
<p>Another level of discussion is prompted by the nature of Xavier’s response to this prejudice. A key part of the story is the need for the younger Xavier to find hope again. That hope that becomes the catalyst the X-Men use to fight for all humanity, both mutant and non-mutant. Without that hope, the future from which Logan came will be darker.</p>
<p>There is a deep well of thought in the idea that the one who is persecuted rises up and blesses those who persecute. Humans need the aid of the mutants, despite human hatred.</p>
<p>It is that hatred which creates a clear dichotomy between Xavier and Magneto. Xavier believes that humans are flawed and are capable of doing all manner of wrong toward mutantkind. Yet Xavier also believes in the need of offering help in spite of the wrong inflicted. Magneto, on the other hand, believes that humans are evil, will remain evil and will always try to subjugate mutants. This means humans need to be destroyed or subjugated.</p>
<p>This easily allows for discussion about the theology of sin and the nature of humanity. Are humans flawed and sinful without any good or is there something worthwhile within them?</p>
<p>Again, this is a great summer movie, easily used to discuss key elements of the Christian faith.</p>
<p>X-Men: Days of Future Past</p>
<p>Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense sci-fi violence and action, some suggestive material, nudity and language.</p>
<p>Directed by Bryan Singer. Written by Simon Kinberg</p>
<p>With: Hugh Jackman (Logan/Wolverine), Patrick Stewart (Xavier), Ian McKellen (Magneto), Jennifer Lawrence (Mystique), James McAvoy (Young Xavier), Michael Fassbender (Young Magneto)</p>
| 8,162 |
|
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;Rivera was shackled hand and foot and under heavy police guard during the short arraignment in Eighth Judicial District Court. Judge John Paternoster set bond at $2 million dollars cash.</p>
<p>&#160;Rivera is charged with shooting Sefran Lujan, 17, and Andres Aragon-Dominguez, 19, in the back of the head in a vehicle found along NM 518 south of Taos early Monday morning.</p>
<p>&#160;“The facts met with the aspects of a willful and deliberate crime,” assistant district attorney Emilio Chavez said after the hearing. Asked about motive he responded, “The only way I can describe him (Rivera) is a loose cannon.”</p>
<p>&#160;Rivera has a violent criminal history, said Chavez.</p>
<p>TAOS — Jose F. Rivera, suspected in the shooting deaths of two local teens was arrested without incident early Friday after he was found hiding in an underground well house, south of Taos, authorities said.</p>
<p>&#160;“One of the tac (tactical) team members observed a manhole – decided to look into it and found him inside the well manhole,” said Taos County Undersheriff Edwardo Romero in a KVOT radio interview. Rivera was arrested at about 12:40 a.m. on West Romero Road in Llano Quemado.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>&#160;“It (the well house) was near the residence of his girlfriend Monica Romero,” said the undersheriff. The operation was a combined effort of the sheriff’s office and the New Mexico State Police Tactical Team.</p>
<p>&#160;Jose Rivera, 18, had been sought since last weekend in connection with the shooting deaths of Sefran Lujan, 17, and Andres Aragon-Dominguez, 19. They were found early Monday in a car off NM 518. Both had been shot once in the head at close range.</p>
<p>&#160;Between midnight and 12:30 a.m. a sheriff’s deputy received a tip that Rivera was at a home on West Romero Road. “Four to six members of the State Police Tactical Team were able to talk to people (two) in the house and get them out of the house” using a p.a. system, said State Police Lt. Eric Garcia.</p>
<p>&#160;Officers began searching around the home and one officer “started flash lighting around a well house access point, took the lid off and and that’s when he saw Rivera,” said Garcia. Officers found a knife on Rivera but no firearms, said Garcia. Rivera was taken to the Taos County Jail.</p>
|
UPDATED: Taos Murder Suspect Arraigned: Two Counts First-Degree
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/8325/updated-taos-murder-suspect-arraigned-two-counts-first-degree.html
| 2least
|
UPDATED: Taos Murder Suspect Arraigned: Two Counts First-Degree
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;Rivera was shackled hand and foot and under heavy police guard during the short arraignment in Eighth Judicial District Court. Judge John Paternoster set bond at $2 million dollars cash.</p>
<p>&#160;Rivera is charged with shooting Sefran Lujan, 17, and Andres Aragon-Dominguez, 19, in the back of the head in a vehicle found along NM 518 south of Taos early Monday morning.</p>
<p>&#160;“The facts met with the aspects of a willful and deliberate crime,” assistant district attorney Emilio Chavez said after the hearing. Asked about motive he responded, “The only way I can describe him (Rivera) is a loose cannon.”</p>
<p>&#160;Rivera has a violent criminal history, said Chavez.</p>
<p>TAOS — Jose F. Rivera, suspected in the shooting deaths of two local teens was arrested without incident early Friday after he was found hiding in an underground well house, south of Taos, authorities said.</p>
<p>&#160;“One of the tac (tactical) team members observed a manhole – decided to look into it and found him inside the well manhole,” said Taos County Undersheriff Edwardo Romero in a KVOT radio interview. Rivera was arrested at about 12:40 a.m. on West Romero Road in Llano Quemado.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>&#160;“It (the well house) was near the residence of his girlfriend Monica Romero,” said the undersheriff. The operation was a combined effort of the sheriff’s office and the New Mexico State Police Tactical Team.</p>
<p>&#160;Jose Rivera, 18, had been sought since last weekend in connection with the shooting deaths of Sefran Lujan, 17, and Andres Aragon-Dominguez, 19. They were found early Monday in a car off NM 518. Both had been shot once in the head at close range.</p>
<p>&#160;Between midnight and 12:30 a.m. a sheriff’s deputy received a tip that Rivera was at a home on West Romero Road. “Four to six members of the State Police Tactical Team were able to talk to people (two) in the house and get them out of the house” using a p.a. system, said State Police Lt. Eric Garcia.</p>
<p>&#160;Officers began searching around the home and one officer “started flash lighting around a well house access point, took the lid off and and that’s when he saw Rivera,” said Garcia. Officers found a knife on Rivera but no firearms, said Garcia. Rivera was taken to the Taos County Jail.</p>
| 8,163 |
|
<p>On Mother’s Day, Ivanka Trump took the opportunity to tweet about the so-called “wage gap” between men and women – but instead of recognizing that it doesn’t truly exist, she blamed it on pregnancy and having children. Which, of course, is true, but doesn’t speak to innate sexism in the free market. It speaks instead to the fact that those who spend less time in the workplace earn less.</p>
<p>She tweeted out a piece in The New York Times that admitted as much:</p>
<p><a href="https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/05/13/upshot/the-gender-pay-gap-is-largely-because-of-motherhood.html?smprod=nytcore-iphone&amp;smid=nytcore-iphone-share&amp;referer=" type="external">The New York Times</a> piece acknowledges:</p>
<p>When men and women finish school and start working, they’re paid pretty much equally. But a gender pay gap soon appears, and it grows significantly over the next two decades. So what changes? The answer can be found by looking at when the pay gap widens most sharply. It’s the late 20s to mid-30s, according to two new studies — in other words, when many women have children. Unmarried women without children continue to earn closer to what men do.</p>
<p>Naturally, the Times suggests that public policy must be changed in order to force men to work less, push employers to cut back hours, or using the government to push paid maternity leave. Which, of course, Ivanka has been doing regularly – and which President Trump suggested on Mother’s Day, too. Trump’s Mother’s Day message stated:</p>
<p>I am committed to working with Congress to help mothers – and fathers – have paid family leave so that childcare is accessible and affordable, and to invest in the comprehensive care that women receive at community health centers. Through these reforms, and my 2018 Presidential Budget, we will enable access to the critical healthcare services women need.</p>
<p>Here’s the silliest part of all of this: if the real gap appears with marriage and children, why would we penalize single women in the marketplace by equalizing all pay regardless of female choice? And why would we penalize the men in marriages, who are helping to support their wives and children, by cutting their pay simply to satisfy the feelings of women who may end up with the same net household pay with or without regulation? Imagine, for a second, that a husband earns $60,000 per year, and his wife used to earn $50,000 – but now, after their first child, she works part-time and makes $30,000. Would it really benefit the family to push policies that would result in the husband being paid $45,000 and the wife $45,000, just so she can spend more time at work?</p>
<p>But legislation makes leftists feel good – and Ivanka is a leftist. It’s disquieting that she has so much power over her father.</p>
|
Ivanka’s Pushing Paid Maternity Leave To Cure The ‘Wage Gap’ on Mother's Day. So’s Her Dad.
| true |
https://dailywire.com/news/16439/ivankas-pushing-paid-maternity-leave-cure-wage-gap-ben-shapiro
|
2017-05-15
| 0right
|
Ivanka’s Pushing Paid Maternity Leave To Cure The ‘Wage Gap’ on Mother's Day. So’s Her Dad.
<p>On Mother’s Day, Ivanka Trump took the opportunity to tweet about the so-called “wage gap” between men and women – but instead of recognizing that it doesn’t truly exist, she blamed it on pregnancy and having children. Which, of course, is true, but doesn’t speak to innate sexism in the free market. It speaks instead to the fact that those who spend less time in the workplace earn less.</p>
<p>She tweeted out a piece in The New York Times that admitted as much:</p>
<p><a href="https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/05/13/upshot/the-gender-pay-gap-is-largely-because-of-motherhood.html?smprod=nytcore-iphone&amp;smid=nytcore-iphone-share&amp;referer=" type="external">The New York Times</a> piece acknowledges:</p>
<p>When men and women finish school and start working, they’re paid pretty much equally. But a gender pay gap soon appears, and it grows significantly over the next two decades. So what changes? The answer can be found by looking at when the pay gap widens most sharply. It’s the late 20s to mid-30s, according to two new studies — in other words, when many women have children. Unmarried women without children continue to earn closer to what men do.</p>
<p>Naturally, the Times suggests that public policy must be changed in order to force men to work less, push employers to cut back hours, or using the government to push paid maternity leave. Which, of course, Ivanka has been doing regularly – and which President Trump suggested on Mother’s Day, too. Trump’s Mother’s Day message stated:</p>
<p>I am committed to working with Congress to help mothers – and fathers – have paid family leave so that childcare is accessible and affordable, and to invest in the comprehensive care that women receive at community health centers. Through these reforms, and my 2018 Presidential Budget, we will enable access to the critical healthcare services women need.</p>
<p>Here’s the silliest part of all of this: if the real gap appears with marriage and children, why would we penalize single women in the marketplace by equalizing all pay regardless of female choice? And why would we penalize the men in marriages, who are helping to support their wives and children, by cutting their pay simply to satisfy the feelings of women who may end up with the same net household pay with or without regulation? Imagine, for a second, that a husband earns $60,000 per year, and his wife used to earn $50,000 – but now, after their first child, she works part-time and makes $30,000. Would it really benefit the family to push policies that would result in the husband being paid $45,000 and the wife $45,000, just so she can spend more time at work?</p>
<p>But legislation makes leftists feel good – and Ivanka is a leftist. It’s disquieting that she has so much power over her father.</p>
| 8,164 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>President Barack Obama speaks about early childhood education, Wednesday Dec. 10, 2014, in the South Court Auditorium on the White House complex in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)</p>
<p>WASHINGTON — Declaring early childhood education “one of the best investments we can make,” President Barack Obama on Wednesday followed up on a promise to expand early education opportunities for tens of thousands of children by announcing $1 billion in public-private spending on programs for young learners.</p>
<p>Obama said that less than one-third of 4-year-olds are enrolled in preschool and blamed the high cost of these programs for essentially shutting off access to poorer infants, toddlers and preschoolers. He said studies repeatedly show that children who are educated early in life are more likely to finish their educations, avoid the criminal justice system, hold good jobs and have stable families. All those factors are good for the U.S. and its economy overall, Obama said.</p>
<p>“We’ve got kids in this country who are every bit as talented as Malia and Sasha but they’re starting out the race a step behind,” Obama said, referencing his teenage daughters. He said the investments announced at a daylong White House summit on early education will help level the playing field.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Nationwide, 28 percent of America’s 4-year-olds were enrolled in a state-funded preschool program last year.</p>
<p>“We’re not close to where we need to be,” Education Secretary Arne Duncan said during a morning panel discussion on how to pump more investment into early learning.</p>
<p>The panelists, including a local sheriff from Ohio, agreed that spending more money on early education can have significant lifetime effects such as reducing crime and teen pregnancy and increasing future earnings for those who went to preschool.</p>
<p>At the summit, 18 states are being awarded a total of $250 million in Education Department grants to create or expand high-quality preschool programs. Those states are: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont and Virginia. In all, 36 states had applied for the grant money.</p>
<p>Another $500 million from the Health and Human Services Department is being sent to more than 40 states to expand Early Head Start and child care programs for youngsters from birth to 3 years old.</p>
<p>The White House said about 63,000 children would benefit from the federal dollars, which officials said already have been appropriated by Congress.</p>
<p>On top of the federal money is another $330 million from dozens of corporations, foundations and individuals. That money is part of a new campaign called Invest in US.</p>
<p>The effort being led by the First Five Years Fund will challenge the private and public sectors to spend more on early childhood education. Among those supporting the campaign are The Walt Disney Co. with $55 million, the LEGO Foundation with $5 million and the J.B. and M.K. Pritzker Family Foundation with $25 million.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“That’s real money,” Obama said. “Even in Washington, that’s real money.”</p>
<p>Obama pushed for an expansion of early education opportunities in his State of the Union address in 2013, and again in 2014 after his call got little traction in Congress. At the summit, he called on the new Republican-controlled Congress that will be seated next year to “work with me to make pre-K available for all of our kids.”</p>
<p>During the summit, the First Five Years Fund also previewed a series of 60-second public service announcements that focus on different aspects of early childhood education, from home-based child care providers to preschool teachers.</p>
<p>Produced to highlight the importance of educating children in their first five years, actors Jennifer Garner and Julianne Moore and singers John Legend and Shakira each narrate a spot, ending with the tagline “When we invest in them, we invest in us.”</p>
<p>The Associated Press previewed the announcements before their release. They are available for viewing online at <a href="http://www.investinus.org" type="external">www.investinus.org</a> .</p>
<p>——</p>
<p>Associated Press writer Darlene Superville contributed to this report.</p>
|
Obama announces $1B for early childhood education
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/508274/obama-announces-1b-for-early-childhood-education.html
| 2least
|
Obama announces $1B for early childhood education
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>President Barack Obama speaks about early childhood education, Wednesday Dec. 10, 2014, in the South Court Auditorium on the White House complex in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)</p>
<p>WASHINGTON — Declaring early childhood education “one of the best investments we can make,” President Barack Obama on Wednesday followed up on a promise to expand early education opportunities for tens of thousands of children by announcing $1 billion in public-private spending on programs for young learners.</p>
<p>Obama said that less than one-third of 4-year-olds are enrolled in preschool and blamed the high cost of these programs for essentially shutting off access to poorer infants, toddlers and preschoolers. He said studies repeatedly show that children who are educated early in life are more likely to finish their educations, avoid the criminal justice system, hold good jobs and have stable families. All those factors are good for the U.S. and its economy overall, Obama said.</p>
<p>“We’ve got kids in this country who are every bit as talented as Malia and Sasha but they’re starting out the race a step behind,” Obama said, referencing his teenage daughters. He said the investments announced at a daylong White House summit on early education will help level the playing field.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Nationwide, 28 percent of America’s 4-year-olds were enrolled in a state-funded preschool program last year.</p>
<p>“We’re not close to where we need to be,” Education Secretary Arne Duncan said during a morning panel discussion on how to pump more investment into early learning.</p>
<p>The panelists, including a local sheriff from Ohio, agreed that spending more money on early education can have significant lifetime effects such as reducing crime and teen pregnancy and increasing future earnings for those who went to preschool.</p>
<p>At the summit, 18 states are being awarded a total of $250 million in Education Department grants to create or expand high-quality preschool programs. Those states are: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont and Virginia. In all, 36 states had applied for the grant money.</p>
<p>Another $500 million from the Health and Human Services Department is being sent to more than 40 states to expand Early Head Start and child care programs for youngsters from birth to 3 years old.</p>
<p>The White House said about 63,000 children would benefit from the federal dollars, which officials said already have been appropriated by Congress.</p>
<p>On top of the federal money is another $330 million from dozens of corporations, foundations and individuals. That money is part of a new campaign called Invest in US.</p>
<p>The effort being led by the First Five Years Fund will challenge the private and public sectors to spend more on early childhood education. Among those supporting the campaign are The Walt Disney Co. with $55 million, the LEGO Foundation with $5 million and the J.B. and M.K. Pritzker Family Foundation with $25 million.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“That’s real money,” Obama said. “Even in Washington, that’s real money.”</p>
<p>Obama pushed for an expansion of early education opportunities in his State of the Union address in 2013, and again in 2014 after his call got little traction in Congress. At the summit, he called on the new Republican-controlled Congress that will be seated next year to “work with me to make pre-K available for all of our kids.”</p>
<p>During the summit, the First Five Years Fund also previewed a series of 60-second public service announcements that focus on different aspects of early childhood education, from home-based child care providers to preschool teachers.</p>
<p>Produced to highlight the importance of educating children in their first five years, actors Jennifer Garner and Julianne Moore and singers John Legend and Shakira each narrate a spot, ending with the tagline “When we invest in them, we invest in us.”</p>
<p>The Associated Press previewed the announcements before their release. They are available for viewing online at <a href="http://www.investinus.org" type="external">www.investinus.org</a> .</p>
<p>——</p>
<p>Associated Press writer Darlene Superville contributed to this report.</p>
| 8,165 |
|
<p>GLASGOW, Ky. (AP) — A bill focused on buttressing the nation’s insurance marketplaces will be needed if the full-fledged Republican effort to repeal much of President Barack Obama’s health care law fails, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Thursday. It was one of his most explicit acknowledgments that his party’s top-priority drive to erase much of Obama’s landmark 2010 statutes might fall short.</p>
<p>The remarks by McConnell, R-Ky., also implicitly meant that to show progress on health care, Republicans controlling the White House and Congress might have to negotiate with Democrats. While the current, wide-ranging GOP health care bill — which McConnell is still hoping to push through the Senate — has procedural protections against a Democratic Senate filibuster, a subsequent, narrower measure would not and would take 60 votes to pass.</p>
<p>The existing bill would fail if just three of the 52 Republicans vote no, since all Democrats oppose it. McConnell was forced to cancel a planned vote on the measure last week after far more Republicans than that objected, and he’s been spending the Independence Day recess studying possible changes that might win over GOP dissidents.</p>
<p>“If my side is unable to agree on an adequate replacement, then some kind of action with regard to the private health insurance market must occur,” McConnell said at a Rotary Club lunch in this deep-red rural area in southern Kentucky. He made the comment after being asked if he envisioned needing bipartisan cooperation to replace Obama’s law.</p>
<p>“No action is not an alternative,” McConnell said. “We’ve got the insurance markets imploding all over the country, including in this state.”</p>
<p>Even as Republicans have struggled to write legislation they can pass, some have acknowledged that if they encountered problems, a smaller bill with quicker help for insurers and consumers might be needed. They’ve said it could include provisions continuing federal payments to insurers that help them contain costs for lower-earning customers, and some inducements to keep healthy people buying policies — a step that helps curb premiums.</p>
<p>Trump, McConnell, House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and other Republicans have all said Obama’s law is failing, citing markets around the country where insurers have pulled out or sharply boosted premiums.</p>
<p>Democrats acknowledge Obama’s law needs changes that would help curb the growth of health care costs. But they say the GOP is exaggerating the problem and note that several insurers have attributed their decisions to stop selling policies in unprofitable areas, in part, to indications from the Trump administration that it may halt federal payments to insurers that help them control costs for many customers.</p>
<p>In its report last week on the Senate bill, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said that under Obama’s law, it expected health care markets “to be stable in most areas.”</p>
<p>It said the same about the Senate legislation. But it also said under the GOP bill, 22 million added Americans would be uninsured because it would eliminate Obama’s tax penalty on people who don’t buy coverage and it would cut Medicaid, the health insurance program for the poor, disabled and many nursing home patients.</p>
<p>McConnell spoke hours after Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said the bill’s prospects were “precarious.” Speaking on San Antonio’s KTSA Radio, Cruz said the GOP’s Senate majority “is so narrow, I don’t know if we can get it done or not.”</p>
<p>Further qualms were voiced by Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan.</p>
<p>“There are people who tell me they are better off” under Obama’s law, “and I believe them,” Moran said at a town hall meeting Thursday in Palco, Kansas. Moran, who’d said he could not support the current version of the bill, said health care is “almost impossible to solve” with the slim GOP majority in the Senate.</p>
<p>Another Republican, Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, suggested it may take some time before McConnell can win enough support for the GOP legislation.</p>
<p>“We’re still several weeks away from a vote, I think,” Toomey said Wednesday during an hour-long appearance before a live studio audience at WHTM-TV in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.</p>
|
McConnell: Limited Bill Needed If GOP Senate Obamacare Repeal Bill Dies
| true |
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/mcconnell-limited-bill-needed-gop-health-bill
| 4left
|
McConnell: Limited Bill Needed If GOP Senate Obamacare Repeal Bill Dies
<p>GLASGOW, Ky. (AP) — A bill focused on buttressing the nation’s insurance marketplaces will be needed if the full-fledged Republican effort to repeal much of President Barack Obama’s health care law fails, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Thursday. It was one of his most explicit acknowledgments that his party’s top-priority drive to erase much of Obama’s landmark 2010 statutes might fall short.</p>
<p>The remarks by McConnell, R-Ky., also implicitly meant that to show progress on health care, Republicans controlling the White House and Congress might have to negotiate with Democrats. While the current, wide-ranging GOP health care bill — which McConnell is still hoping to push through the Senate — has procedural protections against a Democratic Senate filibuster, a subsequent, narrower measure would not and would take 60 votes to pass.</p>
<p>The existing bill would fail if just three of the 52 Republicans vote no, since all Democrats oppose it. McConnell was forced to cancel a planned vote on the measure last week after far more Republicans than that objected, and he’s been spending the Independence Day recess studying possible changes that might win over GOP dissidents.</p>
<p>“If my side is unable to agree on an adequate replacement, then some kind of action with regard to the private health insurance market must occur,” McConnell said at a Rotary Club lunch in this deep-red rural area in southern Kentucky. He made the comment after being asked if he envisioned needing bipartisan cooperation to replace Obama’s law.</p>
<p>“No action is not an alternative,” McConnell said. “We’ve got the insurance markets imploding all over the country, including in this state.”</p>
<p>Even as Republicans have struggled to write legislation they can pass, some have acknowledged that if they encountered problems, a smaller bill with quicker help for insurers and consumers might be needed. They’ve said it could include provisions continuing federal payments to insurers that help them contain costs for lower-earning customers, and some inducements to keep healthy people buying policies — a step that helps curb premiums.</p>
<p>Trump, McConnell, House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and other Republicans have all said Obama’s law is failing, citing markets around the country where insurers have pulled out or sharply boosted premiums.</p>
<p>Democrats acknowledge Obama’s law needs changes that would help curb the growth of health care costs. But they say the GOP is exaggerating the problem and note that several insurers have attributed their decisions to stop selling policies in unprofitable areas, in part, to indications from the Trump administration that it may halt federal payments to insurers that help them control costs for many customers.</p>
<p>In its report last week on the Senate bill, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said that under Obama’s law, it expected health care markets “to be stable in most areas.”</p>
<p>It said the same about the Senate legislation. But it also said under the GOP bill, 22 million added Americans would be uninsured because it would eliminate Obama’s tax penalty on people who don’t buy coverage and it would cut Medicaid, the health insurance program for the poor, disabled and many nursing home patients.</p>
<p>McConnell spoke hours after Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said the bill’s prospects were “precarious.” Speaking on San Antonio’s KTSA Radio, Cruz said the GOP’s Senate majority “is so narrow, I don’t know if we can get it done or not.”</p>
<p>Further qualms were voiced by Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan.</p>
<p>“There are people who tell me they are better off” under Obama’s law, “and I believe them,” Moran said at a town hall meeting Thursday in Palco, Kansas. Moran, who’d said he could not support the current version of the bill, said health care is “almost impossible to solve” with the slim GOP majority in the Senate.</p>
<p>Another Republican, Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, suggested it may take some time before McConnell can win enough support for the GOP legislation.</p>
<p>“We’re still several weeks away from a vote, I think,” Toomey said Wednesday during an hour-long appearance before a live studio audience at WHTM-TV in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.</p>
| 8,166 |
|
<p>BRAINTREE, Mass. (AP) _ These Massachusetts lotteries were drawn Friday:</p>
<p>MassCash</p>
<p>09-10-26-29-30</p>
<p>(nine, ten, twenty-six, twenty-nine, thirty)</p>
<p>Mega Millions</p>
<p>03-17-23-49-66, Mega Ball: 23, Megaplier: 3</p>
<p>(three, seventeen, twenty-three, forty-nine, sixty-six; Mega Ball: twenty-three; Megaplier: three)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $55 million</p>
<p>Numbers Evening</p>
<p>7-5-6-2</p>
<p>(seven, five, six, two)</p>
<p>Numbers Midday</p>
<p>9-6-9-8</p>
<p>(nine, six, nine, eight)</p>
<p>Powerball</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $78 million</p>
<p>BRAINTREE, Mass. (AP) _ These Massachusetts lotteries were drawn Friday:</p>
<p>MassCash</p>
<p>09-10-26-29-30</p>
<p>(nine, ten, twenty-six, twenty-nine, thirty)</p>
<p>Mega Millions</p>
<p>03-17-23-49-66, Mega Ball: 23, Megaplier: 3</p>
<p>(three, seventeen, twenty-three, forty-nine, sixty-six; Mega Ball: twenty-three; Megaplier: three)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $55 million</p>
<p>Numbers Evening</p>
<p>7-5-6-2</p>
<p>(seven, five, six, two)</p>
<p>Numbers Midday</p>
<p>9-6-9-8</p>
<p>(nine, six, nine, eight)</p>
<p>Powerball</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $78 million</p>
|
MA Lottery
| false |
https://apnews.com/amp/44a319d70c45411398e254b56594755b
|
2018-01-20
| 2least
|
MA Lottery
<p>BRAINTREE, Mass. (AP) _ These Massachusetts lotteries were drawn Friday:</p>
<p>MassCash</p>
<p>09-10-26-29-30</p>
<p>(nine, ten, twenty-six, twenty-nine, thirty)</p>
<p>Mega Millions</p>
<p>03-17-23-49-66, Mega Ball: 23, Megaplier: 3</p>
<p>(three, seventeen, twenty-three, forty-nine, sixty-six; Mega Ball: twenty-three; Megaplier: three)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $55 million</p>
<p>Numbers Evening</p>
<p>7-5-6-2</p>
<p>(seven, five, six, two)</p>
<p>Numbers Midday</p>
<p>9-6-9-8</p>
<p>(nine, six, nine, eight)</p>
<p>Powerball</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $78 million</p>
<p>BRAINTREE, Mass. (AP) _ These Massachusetts lotteries were drawn Friday:</p>
<p>MassCash</p>
<p>09-10-26-29-30</p>
<p>(nine, ten, twenty-six, twenty-nine, thirty)</p>
<p>Mega Millions</p>
<p>03-17-23-49-66, Mega Ball: 23, Megaplier: 3</p>
<p>(three, seventeen, twenty-three, forty-nine, sixty-six; Mega Ball: twenty-three; Megaplier: three)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $55 million</p>
<p>Numbers Evening</p>
<p>7-5-6-2</p>
<p>(seven, five, six, two)</p>
<p>Numbers Midday</p>
<p>9-6-9-8</p>
<p>(nine, six, nine, eight)</p>
<p>Powerball</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $78 million</p>
| 8,167 |
<p>On June 13, ANSWER has called for a national day of action in support of the extradition of Luis Posada Carriles. Actions are scheduled in at least a dozen North American cities, with the following demands:</p>
<p>No Asylum for Luis Posada Carriles Extradite him to Venezuela for Trial End the 45-Year U.S. War Against Cuba Free the Cuban 5 anti-terrorists from U.S. prison</p>
<p>The most ambitious is the one which will be held in El Paso, Texas, where Posada Carriles’ immigration hearing will be held that day; because his previous hearing was held in Miami at 7 a.m., presumably to discourage demonstrations, the demonstration in El Paso starts at 6:30 a.m. (!) Demonstrations in other cities are scheduled at more “civilized” hours. Details of all the actions can be found on the ANSWER website.</p>
<p>There are a number of reasons why the struggle to extradite Luis Posada Carriles, which might seem at first to be a peripheral issue, is of vital importance to progressives and antiwar activists in the United States.</p>
<p>First, there is a simple matter of justice for Posada Carriles’ victims. Those victims were more than just numbers (“73 dead”), or more than just a symbol (“the entire Cuban junior fencing team”) – each one of them was a real person, with a real life, and a real family, and their deaths weren’t just the single tragedy of a downed airliner, they were 73 individual tragedies. Gloria LaRiva, the national coordinator of the <a href="http://www.freethefive.org/" type="external">National Committee to Free the Cuban Five</a> and one of the leading Cuba solidarity activists in the U.S. for many years, was in Cuba recently where she interviewed relatives of those victims; here’s what the family of one of them had to say:</p>
<p>“Ricardo Cabrera, 22, was part of Cuba’s national fencing team. Fresh from a Pan-American competition in Venezuela, the entire team, women’s and men’s division, had won every gold medal in Caracas. Thrilled with their victory, they were heading home.</p>
<p>“His sister, Lilia Caridad Cabrera, still cries when she speaks of her brother. ‘I was 16 years old. They came to tell us about the plane as I was leaving for school in the morning. That day, sadness came to reside in our home. He was studying architecture. As a youth, he grew up in the process of the Revolution. As the oldest, he gave us younger siblings a lot of guidance and support. My family has never recovered from his loss. We can’t accept the idea that at only 22 years, he died from such a horrible and sad death.</p>
<p>“‘I want to ask the American people: please unite with us, don’t shelter Posada Carriles in the United States. Help us get justice. He needs to receive justice or he will continue to commit terrorism, including against the people of the United States. Please understand our feelings of sorrow that engulf us. Help us win justice.'”</p>
<p>The second reason to fight for the extradition of Posada Carriles is to expose the hypocrisy of the U.S. in its claims to be fighting a “war on terror.” The invasion of Afghanistan, even though completely illegal, at least arguably had something to do with fighting terrorists, although many would say that oil pipelines and domestic political considerations were larger motivations. The invasion of Iraq, however, had nothing whatsoever to do with combating terrorism. The truth is that those wars themselves, the decade-long embargo (and continual bombing) of Iraq which preceded the invasion of Iraq, as well as the American bombing campaign against Yugoslavia have been the most signficiant acts of terrorism to take place in the world in the last decade, and the United States isn’t fighting a war on terror, it’s fighting a war of terror, and the more people understand that, the easier it will be for us to put an end to it.</p>
<p>But the United States isn’t just being hypocritical in sheltering terrorists like Posada Carriles, it is also completely complicit in his actions (and the actions of many other anti-Cuban terrorists), and exposing that complicity is the third reason to support the campaign against Luis Posada Carriles. We already know from files that have been released that the U.S. had prior knowledge of the bombing of the Cubana airliner; other documents certainly exist which expose the U.S. role in anti-Cuban terrorism, the support for the Contras attempting to overthrow the Nicaraguan government, the recent coups against Chavez in Venezuela and Aristide in Haiti, and so many more. Demanding that the U.S. release all its files is one more aspect of the fight to extradite Posada Carriles, and exposing both the hypocrisy and the complicity of the United States is, at its core, exposing the nature of U.S. foreign policy, and weakening support for that foreign policy among the American people.</p>
<p>And last but not least, supporting the extradition of Posada Carriles is important because forcing the U.S. to extradite him will be a victory for Cuba, for Venezuela, and for all countries where U.S. imperialism has intervened and continues to intervene by sponsoring covert (and sometimes overt) actions. As a socialist, I support the Cuban revolution, and the revolutionary “process” which is taking place in Venezuela. But even if you just consider yourself a radical, an anarchist, a progressive, or even a liberal, and even if you don’t believe socialism is the “right answer” for humanity, you still have to believe that Cuba, and Venezuela, and every other country, have the right to chart both a foreign policy and an economic policy of their own choosing, free of interference (and blockades, coups and attempted coups, terrorist actions, and every other kind of pressure) from the United States.</p>
<p>Cuba isn’t hated by the United States government because of any supposed repression of its citizens; there are dozens of countries around the world who would deserve the focus of such anger that the U.S. reserves for Cuba, but most of them are U.S. allies. Cuba isn’t even hated by the United States because it’s a tiny area of the world where the capitalist system can’t extract additional profits, because the potential amounts involved wouldn’t put a dent in the bottom line of the U.S. economy. No, Cuba is hated by the United States, and has been the object of attempts to overthrow its government by military force or economic pressure for 46 years, because of the example it sets for the people of the world. The example that a country, even a small country just 90 miles from the United States, can actually chart an independent course in the world, a course involving an independent foreign policy and an economic system designed around the needs of its own people, and not around the needs of multinational corporations. And Venezuela is hated by the United States not because of any supposed affronts to “democracy”, but because it is following the Cuban example, not with an idea of slavishly duplicating the Cuban experience, but simply with the idea that the Venezuelan people should make their own decisions, in their own best interests.</p>
<p>The relationship of the U.S. government with Luis Posada Carriles is a weak link for the U.S. because it is so obvious how hypocritical they will be if they don’t extradite him to Venezuela to face justice. For that reason support for that extradition is of critical importance, and far from just the minor matter of the immigration status of one individual. Join in the actions on June 13 and help strike a blow against U.S. foreign policy.</p>
<p>Eli Stephens is the editor of Left I on the News ( <a href="http://lefti.blogspot.com/" type="external">http://lefti.blogspot.com</a>)</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
|
Posada Carriles: Why He Matters
| true |
https://counterpunch.org/2005/06/10/posada-carriles-why-he-matters/
|
2005-06-10
| 4left
|
Posada Carriles: Why He Matters
<p>On June 13, ANSWER has called for a national day of action in support of the extradition of Luis Posada Carriles. Actions are scheduled in at least a dozen North American cities, with the following demands:</p>
<p>No Asylum for Luis Posada Carriles Extradite him to Venezuela for Trial End the 45-Year U.S. War Against Cuba Free the Cuban 5 anti-terrorists from U.S. prison</p>
<p>The most ambitious is the one which will be held in El Paso, Texas, where Posada Carriles’ immigration hearing will be held that day; because his previous hearing was held in Miami at 7 a.m., presumably to discourage demonstrations, the demonstration in El Paso starts at 6:30 a.m. (!) Demonstrations in other cities are scheduled at more “civilized” hours. Details of all the actions can be found on the ANSWER website.</p>
<p>There are a number of reasons why the struggle to extradite Luis Posada Carriles, which might seem at first to be a peripheral issue, is of vital importance to progressives and antiwar activists in the United States.</p>
<p>First, there is a simple matter of justice for Posada Carriles’ victims. Those victims were more than just numbers (“73 dead”), or more than just a symbol (“the entire Cuban junior fencing team”) – each one of them was a real person, with a real life, and a real family, and their deaths weren’t just the single tragedy of a downed airliner, they were 73 individual tragedies. Gloria LaRiva, the national coordinator of the <a href="http://www.freethefive.org/" type="external">National Committee to Free the Cuban Five</a> and one of the leading Cuba solidarity activists in the U.S. for many years, was in Cuba recently where she interviewed relatives of those victims; here’s what the family of one of them had to say:</p>
<p>“Ricardo Cabrera, 22, was part of Cuba’s national fencing team. Fresh from a Pan-American competition in Venezuela, the entire team, women’s and men’s division, had won every gold medal in Caracas. Thrilled with their victory, they were heading home.</p>
<p>“His sister, Lilia Caridad Cabrera, still cries when she speaks of her brother. ‘I was 16 years old. They came to tell us about the plane as I was leaving for school in the morning. That day, sadness came to reside in our home. He was studying architecture. As a youth, he grew up in the process of the Revolution. As the oldest, he gave us younger siblings a lot of guidance and support. My family has never recovered from his loss. We can’t accept the idea that at only 22 years, he died from such a horrible and sad death.</p>
<p>“‘I want to ask the American people: please unite with us, don’t shelter Posada Carriles in the United States. Help us get justice. He needs to receive justice or he will continue to commit terrorism, including against the people of the United States. Please understand our feelings of sorrow that engulf us. Help us win justice.'”</p>
<p>The second reason to fight for the extradition of Posada Carriles is to expose the hypocrisy of the U.S. in its claims to be fighting a “war on terror.” The invasion of Afghanistan, even though completely illegal, at least arguably had something to do with fighting terrorists, although many would say that oil pipelines and domestic political considerations were larger motivations. The invasion of Iraq, however, had nothing whatsoever to do with combating terrorism. The truth is that those wars themselves, the decade-long embargo (and continual bombing) of Iraq which preceded the invasion of Iraq, as well as the American bombing campaign against Yugoslavia have been the most signficiant acts of terrorism to take place in the world in the last decade, and the United States isn’t fighting a war on terror, it’s fighting a war of terror, and the more people understand that, the easier it will be for us to put an end to it.</p>
<p>But the United States isn’t just being hypocritical in sheltering terrorists like Posada Carriles, it is also completely complicit in his actions (and the actions of many other anti-Cuban terrorists), and exposing that complicity is the third reason to support the campaign against Luis Posada Carriles. We already know from files that have been released that the U.S. had prior knowledge of the bombing of the Cubana airliner; other documents certainly exist which expose the U.S. role in anti-Cuban terrorism, the support for the Contras attempting to overthrow the Nicaraguan government, the recent coups against Chavez in Venezuela and Aristide in Haiti, and so many more. Demanding that the U.S. release all its files is one more aspect of the fight to extradite Posada Carriles, and exposing both the hypocrisy and the complicity of the United States is, at its core, exposing the nature of U.S. foreign policy, and weakening support for that foreign policy among the American people.</p>
<p>And last but not least, supporting the extradition of Posada Carriles is important because forcing the U.S. to extradite him will be a victory for Cuba, for Venezuela, and for all countries where U.S. imperialism has intervened and continues to intervene by sponsoring covert (and sometimes overt) actions. As a socialist, I support the Cuban revolution, and the revolutionary “process” which is taking place in Venezuela. But even if you just consider yourself a radical, an anarchist, a progressive, or even a liberal, and even if you don’t believe socialism is the “right answer” for humanity, you still have to believe that Cuba, and Venezuela, and every other country, have the right to chart both a foreign policy and an economic policy of their own choosing, free of interference (and blockades, coups and attempted coups, terrorist actions, and every other kind of pressure) from the United States.</p>
<p>Cuba isn’t hated by the United States government because of any supposed repression of its citizens; there are dozens of countries around the world who would deserve the focus of such anger that the U.S. reserves for Cuba, but most of them are U.S. allies. Cuba isn’t even hated by the United States because it’s a tiny area of the world where the capitalist system can’t extract additional profits, because the potential amounts involved wouldn’t put a dent in the bottom line of the U.S. economy. No, Cuba is hated by the United States, and has been the object of attempts to overthrow its government by military force or economic pressure for 46 years, because of the example it sets for the people of the world. The example that a country, even a small country just 90 miles from the United States, can actually chart an independent course in the world, a course involving an independent foreign policy and an economic system designed around the needs of its own people, and not around the needs of multinational corporations. And Venezuela is hated by the United States not because of any supposed affronts to “democracy”, but because it is following the Cuban example, not with an idea of slavishly duplicating the Cuban experience, but simply with the idea that the Venezuelan people should make their own decisions, in their own best interests.</p>
<p>The relationship of the U.S. government with Luis Posada Carriles is a weak link for the U.S. because it is so obvious how hypocritical they will be if they don’t extradite him to Venezuela to face justice. For that reason support for that extradition is of critical importance, and far from just the minor matter of the immigration status of one individual. Join in the actions on June 13 and help strike a blow against U.S. foreign policy.</p>
<p>Eli Stephens is the editor of Left I on the News ( <a href="http://lefti.blogspot.com/" type="external">http://lefti.blogspot.com</a>)</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
| 8,168 |
<p>Like any good corporate chief executive, later this month, 17 <a href="" type="internal">Federal Reserve</a> officials will start to give their own forecasts for short-term interest rates, a bit of forward guidance on how long the central bank's zero to 0.25% rate will stay in place, in the hopes that all this will spur investment and spending.</p>
<p>Pre-announcing the direction of the federal funds rate is an historic move for the bond markets, investors and borrowers. The fed funds futures market now bets a rate hike could come in the summer of 2014, not 2013 as the Fed previously indicated.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Giving Fed officials more power to forecast short term rates could give the central bank even more power over pushing bond yields in the direction the central bank wants – in turn making it easier to manage the economic recovery, the “fatal conceit” economist Friedrich Hayek warned about. Already, the Fed gives forecasts on economic growth, inflation and joblessness.</p>
<p>When will the Fed tighten? When inflation is high or the jobless rate low, or somehow, both? See below for how this tug of war on when it should hike rates under its “dual mandate” has historically put the Fed in a bind.</p>
<p>Also, 17 different forecasts from 17 different Fed officials -- five governors and 12 regional presidents -- could mean a cacophony of voices attempting to calm markets that have seen record volatility, previously unheard of triple-digit swings now commonplace.</p>
<p>“The projections for the federal funds rate will come from..members of the Washington-based Board of Governors and the presidents of the regional Reserve Banks,” the Federal Reserve said in an email to FOX Business. “So, it will be a collection of individual projections from these officials -- not a single projection.”</p>
<p>Yes, the 17 forecasts could also give ventilation to the Fed hawks like Richard Fisher or James Bullard who disagree with elements of the U.S. central bank’s historic monetary intervention.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>However, it isn’t just that the new move puts Fed officials at risk of flip flopping if they change their minds on the Fed’s discretionary monetary policies.</p>
<p>While the rate forecasts and more frequent press conferences are ostensibly about “transparency,” all of this is more about the Fed now actively managing expectations. And averting the blame for triggering future economic crises with sudden rate hikes, criticism the Fed faced notably in the U.S. in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, as well as the Mexican debt crisis of 1994.</p>
<p>The Fed's new forecasts come at a time when the Fed’s dual mandate of price stability and maximum employment (essentially a political function) has roped it into political controversies about massive government spending that has added the equivalent of two Russias to the federal balance sheet since 2008.</p>
<p>Historically, the &#160;fed funds rate is the chief lever of monetary policy, although the central bank has also expanded its balance sheet to $2.9 trillion -- about the size of Germany, and a record 19% of U.S. GDP -- to attempt to reflate assets, by buying bonds to drive down bond prices, and thus borrowing rates.</p>
<p>That policy is called, in typical government obscurantist jargon, “quantitative easing,” or QE. Translation: The Fed, with the touch of a computer button, increases reserve balances at the banks, and also buys Treasuries off of bank balance sheets. Market analysts also say this latest policy shift on new rate forecasts means the Fed could be laying the ground work for setting sail QE3 or even QE4 this year.</p>
<p>“Putting the fiat in fiat money,” as Rep. Paul Ryan acerbically notes -- money conjured up out of thin air and backed by the thin promises of bureaucrats who, by government fiat, declare their policies are trustworthy and sound.</p>
<p>It also includes a policy whereby Fed officials still stare morosely at a balance sheet that is really a storage facility for a mountain of rotten assets, like hotel or motel chains or strip malls, picked up in its bail out of <a href="" type="internal">Bear Stearns</a> and AIG. Private market debt has truly gone sovereign.</p>
<p>Historical evidence is mixed on whether quantitative easing helped Japan, whose economy is trapped in a decades-long period of slow growth and deflation due to its earlier credit excesses.</p>
<p>Such Fed rescues, and its creation of huge sums of bank reserves as well as Treasury purchases also undermine criticisms of China by the Administration and Congress, whereby U.S. officials demand that China must stop gunning its printing presses to lower the value of its yuan and cheapen its exports. Attacks that come after U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has promised to double U.S. exports by 2015, hopefully via a cheaper dollar.</p>
<p>The Fed’s low rates have also been blamed for pushing savers with low bank deposit rates into chasing yields in riskier investments, notably seniors on fixed income.</p>
<p>Savers have been plowing into emerging markets, into commodities, into gold, silver, even Nebraska or Iowa farmland, to hedge against the decline in the value of dollar assets. It’s a bet, too, on the expectation that two billion to three billion people around the world are expected to join the middle class in the next decade or so, pushing food and energy prices higher. When will this low-rate environment end?</p>
<p>Not known for now is the Fed’s exit strategy out of its historic moves to rescue the U.S. economy, or the effect of its future tightening on bank lending, &#160;borrowing rates, or the U.S. economy.</p>
<p>The exit strategy is key. When the Federal Reserve has hiked rates in the past, it’s been accused of triggering recessions and crises in emerging markets.</p>
<p>That could be another reason why Fed chairman Ben Bernanke is relying on more frequent press conferences, which is what his counterparts have been doing for some time now at the <a href="" type="internal">European Central Bank</a>, the Bank of England, and the Bank of Japan. As are rate forecasts common in Norway, Sweden and New Zealand.</p>
<p>The Fed’s exit strategy out of its historically loose monetary policies, whenever it comes, could look like this: It may first drop the “low rates for an extended period” language, then shrink its balance sheet by selling its stash of U.S. bonds to pull liquidity out of the banking system. It could also simply let its hoard of U.S. bonds mature.</p>
<p>And the Fed could also zero out the rate it pays banks to park their excess cash on reserve with the central bank, blamed for the lack of credit. Then it could hike the fed funds rate in quarter percentage point increments, more or less.</p>
<p>Remember, monetary policy operates with a six month to a one year lag, so the Fed has been criticized after the fact for all sorts of crises.</p>
<p>The Fed was accused of triggering a recession after it hiked rates from 6.5% in 1977 and then by 1979 to 13.8% to deal with an inflation crisis. From there it hiked rates to as high as 19% by 1981 to squeeze out inflationary excesses. Rates began to drop below 10% in 1982.</p>
<p>Worth noting is this move, that the Fed had already redefined inflation as “core inflation” in the ‘70s, knocking out food and energy prices as it embarked on an expansionary monetary policy to help pay for the cost of the Vietnam war, among other things.</p>
<p>In the early ‘90s, seeing core inflation dropping to below 1.5% from 2.5%, the Fed then cut rates from 1992 to 1993 to around 3%, triggering a steep yield curve.</p>
<p>But then as inflation heated up, the U.S. central bank let rates rise to more than 6% in 1995.</p>
<p>But that threw the bond market into turmoil, mortgage-backed securities began selling off, and the Fed’s rate hikes were blamed for triggering Mexico’s 1994 financial crisis, brought on by a reckless government that blew out its debt, among other things.</p>
<p>And then the Fed was attacked for fostering bubbles. The central bank did finally raise interest rates in the summer of 1999. But by the end of 1999, the <a href="" type="internal">Nasdaq Composite index</a> quintupled, from 750 to 3700. The dotcom bubble was upon us.</p>
<p>What's important here is this. The Fed has a dual mandate set down by Congress in 1978. It did not have any mandate when the U.S. government first launched the central bank in 1913 to be the lender of last resort, giving it plenipotentiary credit powers as a bank panic gripped Wall Street.</p>
<p>After the Great Depression and World War II, in 1946 the U.S. Congress dictated that the Fed’s new mandate was “to promote maximum employment, production and purchasing power.”</p>
<p>In 1978, the U.S. Congress gave the Fed this mandate, "to promote effectively the goals of maximum employment, stable prices and moderate long-term interest rates." The latter two are &#160;the same, in other words, to protect the U.S. dollar as a store of value. Today the Fed's unofficial third mandate is reflating our homes, the stock market, and 401(k)s.</p>
<p>It’s an understatement to say that maintaining a dual mandate of price stability and promoting full employment has proven devilishly hard for the Fed.</p>
<p>Say the Fed only had a “full employment” mandate. Joblessness dropped below 5% in 1997. Should it have aggressively raised rates in that year? Would doing so have stopped the coming dotcom bubble, or an incipient housing bubble?</p>
<p>Even <a href="" type="internal">Alan Greenspan</a>, former Fed chair, unwittingly noted this tug of war. In 1997 he said the Fed cut rates between 1990 and 1993 to foster “a satisfactory recovery from the recession of that period” so as to fight joblessness.</p>
<p>But then in whipsaw fashion, the Fed suddenly had to tighten in 1994 and 1995 to prevent inflation.&#160;Which is it?</p>
<p>Later, in July 2003, then Fed governor Bernanke reminded listeners to his speech that an "unwelcome substantial fall in inflation" in the early nineties was the central bank’s justification that the Fed had used to slash the fed-funds rate to 1%. At that time, the Fed was keeping rates microscopically low, to rescue the economy from recession.</p>
<p>Then the Fed waited to slowly raise rates from 1% beginning in 2004 to about 5.25% in the summer of 2006, keeping them there through 2007, when it started to slash again later that year down below 4% as the markets started to fall as the financial crisis set in.</p>
<p>But prior to the Great Recession bursting onto the scene in 2008, inflation was never higher than 2.5%, and the jobless rate was fairly manageable. The rate hikes in 2004 came three years after the jobless rate began to drop from 6.3% to 4.6% by 2005, and then hovered around there. So why raise rates, if you’re sticking to a dual mandate?</p>
<p>It could be argued that in 2004 Fed had tried to manage rate hikes smoothly, without upsetting the markets. But by then the housing and credit bubble were dangerously ballooning.</p>
<p>In its defense, Fed defenders say it can’t prick bubbles with rate hikes because it would be akin to smashing an ant with a sledge hammer.</p>
<p>But did the Fed see the bubble? The Fed focuses on core inflation, which excludes not just food and energy but home prices, and instead includes rental costs.</p>
<p>By 2004, home prices were climbing at a rate of almost 10 % a year — more than four times the increase in rents at that time.</p>
<p>The preferred core inflation index would have been over 5% had home prices been included, analysts note. Instead, the reported core inflation rate was just 2.2% because home prices were not included. They still aren't.</p>
<p>Also, can any central banker continue focusing on core inflation when India and China adding two billion to three billion new middle class consumers in the next decade?</p>
<p>For now, foreign central bankers have criticized the Fed for an incoming wall of money, saying the U.S. central bank’s easing is triggering asset bubbles and inflation in places like Brazil and China. But Mr. Bernanke has made it clear central banks around the world are responsible for the cooling or overheating of their own markets.</p>
<p>That is, central bankers there can either hike their own interest rates or let their own currencies appreciate, even though they risk slowing down their economies.</p>
<p>To avoid that, countries have instead used capital controls and the like to build a bulwark against the dollar inflow.</p>
<p>For now, all the markets can expect in the way of Fed leadership on a strong U.S. dollar is tough talk about a commitment to price stability.</p>
<p>Which is why it’s worth pointing out this irony Derek Scissors of the conservative Heritage Foundation has noted: “The biggest force undermining the dollar is the US Federal Reserve, and the $$’s biggest defender is the People’s Bank of China,” as it has been backstopping the dollar via its sizable Treasury bond purchases.</p>
|
The Fed’s New Forward Guidance
| true |
http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2012/01/04/feds-new-forward-guidance.html
|
2016-03-03
| 0right
|
The Fed’s New Forward Guidance
<p>Like any good corporate chief executive, later this month, 17 <a href="" type="internal">Federal Reserve</a> officials will start to give their own forecasts for short-term interest rates, a bit of forward guidance on how long the central bank's zero to 0.25% rate will stay in place, in the hopes that all this will spur investment and spending.</p>
<p>Pre-announcing the direction of the federal funds rate is an historic move for the bond markets, investors and borrowers. The fed funds futures market now bets a rate hike could come in the summer of 2014, not 2013 as the Fed previously indicated.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Giving Fed officials more power to forecast short term rates could give the central bank even more power over pushing bond yields in the direction the central bank wants – in turn making it easier to manage the economic recovery, the “fatal conceit” economist Friedrich Hayek warned about. Already, the Fed gives forecasts on economic growth, inflation and joblessness.</p>
<p>When will the Fed tighten? When inflation is high or the jobless rate low, or somehow, both? See below for how this tug of war on when it should hike rates under its “dual mandate” has historically put the Fed in a bind.</p>
<p>Also, 17 different forecasts from 17 different Fed officials -- five governors and 12 regional presidents -- could mean a cacophony of voices attempting to calm markets that have seen record volatility, previously unheard of triple-digit swings now commonplace.</p>
<p>“The projections for the federal funds rate will come from..members of the Washington-based Board of Governors and the presidents of the regional Reserve Banks,” the Federal Reserve said in an email to FOX Business. “So, it will be a collection of individual projections from these officials -- not a single projection.”</p>
<p>Yes, the 17 forecasts could also give ventilation to the Fed hawks like Richard Fisher or James Bullard who disagree with elements of the U.S. central bank’s historic monetary intervention.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>However, it isn’t just that the new move puts Fed officials at risk of flip flopping if they change their minds on the Fed’s discretionary monetary policies.</p>
<p>While the rate forecasts and more frequent press conferences are ostensibly about “transparency,” all of this is more about the Fed now actively managing expectations. And averting the blame for triggering future economic crises with sudden rate hikes, criticism the Fed faced notably in the U.S. in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, as well as the Mexican debt crisis of 1994.</p>
<p>The Fed's new forecasts come at a time when the Fed’s dual mandate of price stability and maximum employment (essentially a political function) has roped it into political controversies about massive government spending that has added the equivalent of two Russias to the federal balance sheet since 2008.</p>
<p>Historically, the &#160;fed funds rate is the chief lever of monetary policy, although the central bank has also expanded its balance sheet to $2.9 trillion -- about the size of Germany, and a record 19% of U.S. GDP -- to attempt to reflate assets, by buying bonds to drive down bond prices, and thus borrowing rates.</p>
<p>That policy is called, in typical government obscurantist jargon, “quantitative easing,” or QE. Translation: The Fed, with the touch of a computer button, increases reserve balances at the banks, and also buys Treasuries off of bank balance sheets. Market analysts also say this latest policy shift on new rate forecasts means the Fed could be laying the ground work for setting sail QE3 or even QE4 this year.</p>
<p>“Putting the fiat in fiat money,” as Rep. Paul Ryan acerbically notes -- money conjured up out of thin air and backed by the thin promises of bureaucrats who, by government fiat, declare their policies are trustworthy and sound.</p>
<p>It also includes a policy whereby Fed officials still stare morosely at a balance sheet that is really a storage facility for a mountain of rotten assets, like hotel or motel chains or strip malls, picked up in its bail out of <a href="" type="internal">Bear Stearns</a> and AIG. Private market debt has truly gone sovereign.</p>
<p>Historical evidence is mixed on whether quantitative easing helped Japan, whose economy is trapped in a decades-long period of slow growth and deflation due to its earlier credit excesses.</p>
<p>Such Fed rescues, and its creation of huge sums of bank reserves as well as Treasury purchases also undermine criticisms of China by the Administration and Congress, whereby U.S. officials demand that China must stop gunning its printing presses to lower the value of its yuan and cheapen its exports. Attacks that come after U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has promised to double U.S. exports by 2015, hopefully via a cheaper dollar.</p>
<p>The Fed’s low rates have also been blamed for pushing savers with low bank deposit rates into chasing yields in riskier investments, notably seniors on fixed income.</p>
<p>Savers have been plowing into emerging markets, into commodities, into gold, silver, even Nebraska or Iowa farmland, to hedge against the decline in the value of dollar assets. It’s a bet, too, on the expectation that two billion to three billion people around the world are expected to join the middle class in the next decade or so, pushing food and energy prices higher. When will this low-rate environment end?</p>
<p>Not known for now is the Fed’s exit strategy out of its historic moves to rescue the U.S. economy, or the effect of its future tightening on bank lending, &#160;borrowing rates, or the U.S. economy.</p>
<p>The exit strategy is key. When the Federal Reserve has hiked rates in the past, it’s been accused of triggering recessions and crises in emerging markets.</p>
<p>That could be another reason why Fed chairman Ben Bernanke is relying on more frequent press conferences, which is what his counterparts have been doing for some time now at the <a href="" type="internal">European Central Bank</a>, the Bank of England, and the Bank of Japan. As are rate forecasts common in Norway, Sweden and New Zealand.</p>
<p>The Fed’s exit strategy out of its historically loose monetary policies, whenever it comes, could look like this: It may first drop the “low rates for an extended period” language, then shrink its balance sheet by selling its stash of U.S. bonds to pull liquidity out of the banking system. It could also simply let its hoard of U.S. bonds mature.</p>
<p>And the Fed could also zero out the rate it pays banks to park their excess cash on reserve with the central bank, blamed for the lack of credit. Then it could hike the fed funds rate in quarter percentage point increments, more or less.</p>
<p>Remember, monetary policy operates with a six month to a one year lag, so the Fed has been criticized after the fact for all sorts of crises.</p>
<p>The Fed was accused of triggering a recession after it hiked rates from 6.5% in 1977 and then by 1979 to 13.8% to deal with an inflation crisis. From there it hiked rates to as high as 19% by 1981 to squeeze out inflationary excesses. Rates began to drop below 10% in 1982.</p>
<p>Worth noting is this move, that the Fed had already redefined inflation as “core inflation” in the ‘70s, knocking out food and energy prices as it embarked on an expansionary monetary policy to help pay for the cost of the Vietnam war, among other things.</p>
<p>In the early ‘90s, seeing core inflation dropping to below 1.5% from 2.5%, the Fed then cut rates from 1992 to 1993 to around 3%, triggering a steep yield curve.</p>
<p>But then as inflation heated up, the U.S. central bank let rates rise to more than 6% in 1995.</p>
<p>But that threw the bond market into turmoil, mortgage-backed securities began selling off, and the Fed’s rate hikes were blamed for triggering Mexico’s 1994 financial crisis, brought on by a reckless government that blew out its debt, among other things.</p>
<p>And then the Fed was attacked for fostering bubbles. The central bank did finally raise interest rates in the summer of 1999. But by the end of 1999, the <a href="" type="internal">Nasdaq Composite index</a> quintupled, from 750 to 3700. The dotcom bubble was upon us.</p>
<p>What's important here is this. The Fed has a dual mandate set down by Congress in 1978. It did not have any mandate when the U.S. government first launched the central bank in 1913 to be the lender of last resort, giving it plenipotentiary credit powers as a bank panic gripped Wall Street.</p>
<p>After the Great Depression and World War II, in 1946 the U.S. Congress dictated that the Fed’s new mandate was “to promote maximum employment, production and purchasing power.”</p>
<p>In 1978, the U.S. Congress gave the Fed this mandate, "to promote effectively the goals of maximum employment, stable prices and moderate long-term interest rates." The latter two are &#160;the same, in other words, to protect the U.S. dollar as a store of value. Today the Fed's unofficial third mandate is reflating our homes, the stock market, and 401(k)s.</p>
<p>It’s an understatement to say that maintaining a dual mandate of price stability and promoting full employment has proven devilishly hard for the Fed.</p>
<p>Say the Fed only had a “full employment” mandate. Joblessness dropped below 5% in 1997. Should it have aggressively raised rates in that year? Would doing so have stopped the coming dotcom bubble, or an incipient housing bubble?</p>
<p>Even <a href="" type="internal">Alan Greenspan</a>, former Fed chair, unwittingly noted this tug of war. In 1997 he said the Fed cut rates between 1990 and 1993 to foster “a satisfactory recovery from the recession of that period” so as to fight joblessness.</p>
<p>But then in whipsaw fashion, the Fed suddenly had to tighten in 1994 and 1995 to prevent inflation.&#160;Which is it?</p>
<p>Later, in July 2003, then Fed governor Bernanke reminded listeners to his speech that an "unwelcome substantial fall in inflation" in the early nineties was the central bank’s justification that the Fed had used to slash the fed-funds rate to 1%. At that time, the Fed was keeping rates microscopically low, to rescue the economy from recession.</p>
<p>Then the Fed waited to slowly raise rates from 1% beginning in 2004 to about 5.25% in the summer of 2006, keeping them there through 2007, when it started to slash again later that year down below 4% as the markets started to fall as the financial crisis set in.</p>
<p>But prior to the Great Recession bursting onto the scene in 2008, inflation was never higher than 2.5%, and the jobless rate was fairly manageable. The rate hikes in 2004 came three years after the jobless rate began to drop from 6.3% to 4.6% by 2005, and then hovered around there. So why raise rates, if you’re sticking to a dual mandate?</p>
<p>It could be argued that in 2004 Fed had tried to manage rate hikes smoothly, without upsetting the markets. But by then the housing and credit bubble were dangerously ballooning.</p>
<p>In its defense, Fed defenders say it can’t prick bubbles with rate hikes because it would be akin to smashing an ant with a sledge hammer.</p>
<p>But did the Fed see the bubble? The Fed focuses on core inflation, which excludes not just food and energy but home prices, and instead includes rental costs.</p>
<p>By 2004, home prices were climbing at a rate of almost 10 % a year — more than four times the increase in rents at that time.</p>
<p>The preferred core inflation index would have been over 5% had home prices been included, analysts note. Instead, the reported core inflation rate was just 2.2% because home prices were not included. They still aren't.</p>
<p>Also, can any central banker continue focusing on core inflation when India and China adding two billion to three billion new middle class consumers in the next decade?</p>
<p>For now, foreign central bankers have criticized the Fed for an incoming wall of money, saying the U.S. central bank’s easing is triggering asset bubbles and inflation in places like Brazil and China. But Mr. Bernanke has made it clear central banks around the world are responsible for the cooling or overheating of their own markets.</p>
<p>That is, central bankers there can either hike their own interest rates or let their own currencies appreciate, even though they risk slowing down their economies.</p>
<p>To avoid that, countries have instead used capital controls and the like to build a bulwark against the dollar inflow.</p>
<p>For now, all the markets can expect in the way of Fed leadership on a strong U.S. dollar is tough talk about a commitment to price stability.</p>
<p>Which is why it’s worth pointing out this irony Derek Scissors of the conservative Heritage Foundation has noted: “The biggest force undermining the dollar is the US Federal Reserve, and the $$’s biggest defender is the People’s Bank of China,” as it has been backstopping the dollar via its sizable Treasury bond purchases.</p>
| 8,169 |
<p />
<p>If black athletes in the NFL honestly think that African Americans who live under Old Glory are as ‘equally protected ‘as whites, then they should stand up during the national anthem and sing-along. But if they know&#160;that blacks aren’t&#160;getting a square deal, &#160;and that blacks&#160;can be gunned down at any time&#160;by trigger-happy&#160;cops&#160;who never face the consequences, then they owe it to themselves and their country to&#160;demand change&#160;by remaining seated.</p>
<p>I’m sorry&#160;that football players have to go through this. I’m sorry they find themselves in a situation where they’re forced to make a political statement. After all, they’re not politicians and they don’t want to be. They’re&#160;private citizens like the rest of us who just want to do&#160;their jobs, make some money,&#160;and be left the hell&#160;alone.</p>
<p>But what choice do they have now? The epidemic of cop killings around the country is forcing people to stand up and say “Enough”. So now black athletes are being asked to either stand up, sing along and act like highly-paid circus animals, or follow in the steps of Rosa Parks and Malcolm X and Mohammed Ali and the other people of conscience who put themselves at risk by acting on principal.</p>
<p>That’s the choice they’re faced with, isn’t it? &#160;Do I act like a man and stand on principal or take the easy-way-out and go along with the crowd?</p>
<p>There is no third option.</p>
<p>Football players are not going to be able to sweep the whole matter under the rug like the Seattle Seahawks did last week by standing with arms linked (while the anthem was played) to demonstrate their solidarity with the victims of police violence. That&#160;was a total bullsh** response. It doesn’t matter if you stand separately or stand and link arms; when you “stand” you are paying tribute to the flag. Period.</p>
<p>In contrast, sitting is a demonstration of defiance.&#160;Sitting is&#160;an act of protest.&#160;Sitting is an act of colossal courage. Sitting is an act of solidarity with the victims of police violence. And, regardless what anyone says, sitting is an act of supreme patriotism, the kind of patriotism that surpasses empty displays of ritual conformity and heel-clicking submissiveness. Sitting is a jarring, thought-provoking way of forcing Americans to look themselves in the mirror and ask the painful questions they try to&#160;avoid at all cost, like why are all these young, unarmed black men getting blown away with such maddening frequency, and why do these killer cops never pay for their crimes, and why is it still so goddamned hard for black Americans to get any goddamned justice in this country?</p>
<p>No one wants to talk about these things because they make us feel bad about ourselves, they tarnish our sense of&#160;“exceptionalism” and our idiot belief that we are a “post-racial” society.</p>
<p>Post racial, my ass. There’s a large group of people living in this country whose rights have always been provisional and who’ve never gotten a fair shake, and that sure as heck hasn’t changed&#160;since Obama got took office,&#160; in fact, the situation is worse than ever.</p>
<p>When living under the American flag means that everyone is protected equally from killer cops, then I’ll gladly stand for the national anthem. Until then, forget about it.</p>
|
Oh, Say Can You See the Carnage? Why Stand for a Country That Can Gun You Down in Cold Blood?
| true |
https://counterpunch.org/2016/09/23/oh-say-can-you-see-the-carnage-why-stand-for-a-country-that-can-gun-you-down-in-cold-blood/
|
2016-09-23
| 4left
|
Oh, Say Can You See the Carnage? Why Stand for a Country That Can Gun You Down in Cold Blood?
<p />
<p>If black athletes in the NFL honestly think that African Americans who live under Old Glory are as ‘equally protected ‘as whites, then they should stand up during the national anthem and sing-along. But if they know&#160;that blacks aren’t&#160;getting a square deal, &#160;and that blacks&#160;can be gunned down at any time&#160;by trigger-happy&#160;cops&#160;who never face the consequences, then they owe it to themselves and their country to&#160;demand change&#160;by remaining seated.</p>
<p>I’m sorry&#160;that football players have to go through this. I’m sorry they find themselves in a situation where they’re forced to make a political statement. After all, they’re not politicians and they don’t want to be. They’re&#160;private citizens like the rest of us who just want to do&#160;their jobs, make some money,&#160;and be left the hell&#160;alone.</p>
<p>But what choice do they have now? The epidemic of cop killings around the country is forcing people to stand up and say “Enough”. So now black athletes are being asked to either stand up, sing along and act like highly-paid circus animals, or follow in the steps of Rosa Parks and Malcolm X and Mohammed Ali and the other people of conscience who put themselves at risk by acting on principal.</p>
<p>That’s the choice they’re faced with, isn’t it? &#160;Do I act like a man and stand on principal or take the easy-way-out and go along with the crowd?</p>
<p>There is no third option.</p>
<p>Football players are not going to be able to sweep the whole matter under the rug like the Seattle Seahawks did last week by standing with arms linked (while the anthem was played) to demonstrate their solidarity with the victims of police violence. That&#160;was a total bullsh** response. It doesn’t matter if you stand separately or stand and link arms; when you “stand” you are paying tribute to the flag. Period.</p>
<p>In contrast, sitting is a demonstration of defiance.&#160;Sitting is&#160;an act of protest.&#160;Sitting is an act of colossal courage. Sitting is an act of solidarity with the victims of police violence. And, regardless what anyone says, sitting is an act of supreme patriotism, the kind of patriotism that surpasses empty displays of ritual conformity and heel-clicking submissiveness. Sitting is a jarring, thought-provoking way of forcing Americans to look themselves in the mirror and ask the painful questions they try to&#160;avoid at all cost, like why are all these young, unarmed black men getting blown away with such maddening frequency, and why do these killer cops never pay for their crimes, and why is it still so goddamned hard for black Americans to get any goddamned justice in this country?</p>
<p>No one wants to talk about these things because they make us feel bad about ourselves, they tarnish our sense of&#160;“exceptionalism” and our idiot belief that we are a “post-racial” society.</p>
<p>Post racial, my ass. There’s a large group of people living in this country whose rights have always been provisional and who’ve never gotten a fair shake, and that sure as heck hasn’t changed&#160;since Obama got took office,&#160; in fact, the situation is worse than ever.</p>
<p>When living under the American flag means that everyone is protected equally from killer cops, then I’ll gladly stand for the national anthem. Until then, forget about it.</p>
| 8,170 |
<p>TENNESSEE TITANS (0-1) AT JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (1-0)</p>
<p>KICKOFF: Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, EverBank Field. TV: CBS, Spero Dedes, Adam Archuleta.</p>
<p>SERIES HISTORY: 45th regular-season meeting. Titans lead series, 24-20. Last time there was a series sweep was in 2008. Last year’s two games produced double-digit wins by both teams on their home fields. The previous six games were all decided by eight points or fewer. The biggest game between the two teams came on Jan. 23, 2000, when the Titans scored 23 unanswered points in the second half for a 33-14 win the AFC Championship Game before 75,206, the second largest home crowd in Jaguars history.</p>
<p>KEYS TO THE GAME: The Titans got away from their supposed identity Sunday in losing to Oakland, throwing the ball 41 times and running it only 21 times for 95 yards. The Titans have to be concerned about the Jaguars’ defense, which had 10 sacks and forced four turnovers in hammering the Texans. The Titans’ offensive line is better than Houston’s, but the Titans still need to run the ball more efficiently with <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/DeMarco_Murray/" type="external">DeMarco Murray</a> and <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Derrick-Henry/" type="external">Derrick Henry</a> and use play action to help neutralize the Jaguars’ pass rush.</p>
<p>No need for the Jaguars to change the game plan from a week ago. They went into the Houston game convinced they could run the ball right at defensive end <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/JJ-Watt/" type="external">J.J. Watt</a>, and they did. They churned out 155 yards on the ground and took the pressure off quarterback <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Blake-Bortles/" type="external">Blake Bortles</a>, who did not need the big play through the air to win. Look for another heavy dose of <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Leonard-Fournette/" type="external">Leonard Fournette</a> with adequate relief from <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Chris-Ivory/" type="external">Chris Ivory</a> as the Jaguars strive for a 160- to 180-yard rushing attack.</p>
<p>The Jags must contain talented Titans quarterback <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Marcus-Mariota/" type="external">Marcus Mariota</a>. They are not likely to match the team-record 10 sacks they had last week, but they will need to put enough pressure on Mariota to minimize his time to find open receivers.</p>
<p>MATCHUPS TO WATCH:</p>
<p>–Jaguars LT <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Cam-Robinson/" type="external">Cam Robinson</a> vs. Titans LB Brian Orakpo. Robinson may think he deserves a week off after passing the test with flying colors against Houston’s solid defensive front last week. Robinson and others helped hold J.J. Watt to just one tackle and very little pressure on Blake Bortles. While that was a successful debut for Robinson, there isn’t any time for a let-up as Orakpo will be a challenge. The outside linebacker likes to blitz and he’ll be coming right through Robinson. His ability to contain Orakpo and open holes on the left side for Leonard Fournette and Chris Ivory will go a long way toward determining whether the Jaguars can make it two wins in a row over divisional foes.</p>
<p>–Titans Pro Bowl LT Taylor Lewan vs. Jaguars DE <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Calais-Campbell/" type="external">Calais Campbell</a>. Lewan and the Titans’ offensive line did OK in pass protection last week, but they probably would prefer not to pass block 41 times a game like they did against Oakland. When the Titans do pass, they must account for Campbell, who had four sacks last week. He can line up inside, meaning OG Quinton Spain and C <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Ben_Jones/" type="external">Ben Jones</a> might be responsible for him in certain looks. Lewan, with his athleticism, is the Titans’ best pass blocker and, even if he needs help, the Titans need to keep Campbell off Mariota.</p>
<p>PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: Titans WR Rishard Matthews. While much of the attention was on the new weapons that Mariota has at the receiver position in <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Eric-Decker/" type="external">Eric Decker</a>, <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Corey-Davis/" type="external">Corey Davis</a> and Taywan Taylor, it was clear that Mariota still was plenty reliant on Matthews. The 2016 free-agent signee, who had 65 catches a year ago, caught five passes for 71 yards against Oakland. His 24-yard catch was Tennessee’s biggest gain of the day.</p>
<p>FAST FACTS: Titans QB Marcus Mariota passed for 256 yards and rushed for a TD last week. He has six passing TDs vs. one INT and 126 rushing yards in the past three meetings. He has not thrown an interception in four straight division games. … Titans RB DeMarco Murray has eclipsed 100 yards rushing in two of the past three meetings. Since 2013, he leads the NFL with 37 rushing TDs and ranks second with 4,999 yards rushing. … Titans LB Brian Orakpo has two forced fumbles and a sack in two games at Jacksonville. … In the last three meetings, Jaguars QB Blake Bortles has thrown for 984 yards (328 per game) with nine TDs and no interceptions. … Jaguars rookie RB Leonard Fournette rushed for 100 yards and a TD last week and is the first RB in franchise history with100 yards rushing in his NFL debut. … Titans CB <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Jalen-Ramsey/" type="external">Jalen Ramsey</a> had a pick-six and four passes defensed in the last meeting. He has 16 passes defensed, two picks and a forced fumble in the past six games.</p>
<p>PREDICTION: This will be a game in which either Mariota or Fournette decides the outcome. They will both make the game watchable, but Mariota seems due to have a breakout year despite a slow start vs. Oakland.</p>
<p>OUR PICK: Titans, 24-17.</p>
<p>— <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Frank-Cooney/" type="external">Frank Cooney</a></p>
|
Tennessee Titans vs. Jacksonville Jaguars: Prediction, preview, pick to win
| false |
https://newsline.com/tennessee-titans-vs-jacksonville-jaguars-prediction-preview-pick-to-win/
|
2017-09-14
| 1right-center
|
Tennessee Titans vs. Jacksonville Jaguars: Prediction, preview, pick to win
<p>TENNESSEE TITANS (0-1) AT JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (1-0)</p>
<p>KICKOFF: Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, EverBank Field. TV: CBS, Spero Dedes, Adam Archuleta.</p>
<p>SERIES HISTORY: 45th regular-season meeting. Titans lead series, 24-20. Last time there was a series sweep was in 2008. Last year’s two games produced double-digit wins by both teams on their home fields. The previous six games were all decided by eight points or fewer. The biggest game between the two teams came on Jan. 23, 2000, when the Titans scored 23 unanswered points in the second half for a 33-14 win the AFC Championship Game before 75,206, the second largest home crowd in Jaguars history.</p>
<p>KEYS TO THE GAME: The Titans got away from their supposed identity Sunday in losing to Oakland, throwing the ball 41 times and running it only 21 times for 95 yards. The Titans have to be concerned about the Jaguars’ defense, which had 10 sacks and forced four turnovers in hammering the Texans. The Titans’ offensive line is better than Houston’s, but the Titans still need to run the ball more efficiently with <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/DeMarco_Murray/" type="external">DeMarco Murray</a> and <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Derrick-Henry/" type="external">Derrick Henry</a> and use play action to help neutralize the Jaguars’ pass rush.</p>
<p>No need for the Jaguars to change the game plan from a week ago. They went into the Houston game convinced they could run the ball right at defensive end <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/JJ-Watt/" type="external">J.J. Watt</a>, and they did. They churned out 155 yards on the ground and took the pressure off quarterback <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Blake-Bortles/" type="external">Blake Bortles</a>, who did not need the big play through the air to win. Look for another heavy dose of <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Leonard-Fournette/" type="external">Leonard Fournette</a> with adequate relief from <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Chris-Ivory/" type="external">Chris Ivory</a> as the Jaguars strive for a 160- to 180-yard rushing attack.</p>
<p>The Jags must contain talented Titans quarterback <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Marcus-Mariota/" type="external">Marcus Mariota</a>. They are not likely to match the team-record 10 sacks they had last week, but they will need to put enough pressure on Mariota to minimize his time to find open receivers.</p>
<p>MATCHUPS TO WATCH:</p>
<p>–Jaguars LT <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Cam-Robinson/" type="external">Cam Robinson</a> vs. Titans LB Brian Orakpo. Robinson may think he deserves a week off after passing the test with flying colors against Houston’s solid defensive front last week. Robinson and others helped hold J.J. Watt to just one tackle and very little pressure on Blake Bortles. While that was a successful debut for Robinson, there isn’t any time for a let-up as Orakpo will be a challenge. The outside linebacker likes to blitz and he’ll be coming right through Robinson. His ability to contain Orakpo and open holes on the left side for Leonard Fournette and Chris Ivory will go a long way toward determining whether the Jaguars can make it two wins in a row over divisional foes.</p>
<p>–Titans Pro Bowl LT Taylor Lewan vs. Jaguars DE <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Calais-Campbell/" type="external">Calais Campbell</a>. Lewan and the Titans’ offensive line did OK in pass protection last week, but they probably would prefer not to pass block 41 times a game like they did against Oakland. When the Titans do pass, they must account for Campbell, who had four sacks last week. He can line up inside, meaning OG Quinton Spain and C <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Ben_Jones/" type="external">Ben Jones</a> might be responsible for him in certain looks. Lewan, with his athleticism, is the Titans’ best pass blocker and, even if he needs help, the Titans need to keep Campbell off Mariota.</p>
<p>PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: Titans WR Rishard Matthews. While much of the attention was on the new weapons that Mariota has at the receiver position in <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Eric-Decker/" type="external">Eric Decker</a>, <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Corey-Davis/" type="external">Corey Davis</a> and Taywan Taylor, it was clear that Mariota still was plenty reliant on Matthews. The 2016 free-agent signee, who had 65 catches a year ago, caught five passes for 71 yards against Oakland. His 24-yard catch was Tennessee’s biggest gain of the day.</p>
<p>FAST FACTS: Titans QB Marcus Mariota passed for 256 yards and rushed for a TD last week. He has six passing TDs vs. one INT and 126 rushing yards in the past three meetings. He has not thrown an interception in four straight division games. … Titans RB DeMarco Murray has eclipsed 100 yards rushing in two of the past three meetings. Since 2013, he leads the NFL with 37 rushing TDs and ranks second with 4,999 yards rushing. … Titans LB Brian Orakpo has two forced fumbles and a sack in two games at Jacksonville. … In the last three meetings, Jaguars QB Blake Bortles has thrown for 984 yards (328 per game) with nine TDs and no interceptions. … Jaguars rookie RB Leonard Fournette rushed for 100 yards and a TD last week and is the first RB in franchise history with100 yards rushing in his NFL debut. … Titans CB <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Jalen-Ramsey/" type="external">Jalen Ramsey</a> had a pick-six and four passes defensed in the last meeting. He has 16 passes defensed, two picks and a forced fumble in the past six games.</p>
<p>PREDICTION: This will be a game in which either Mariota or Fournette decides the outcome. They will both make the game watchable, but Mariota seems due to have a breakout year despite a slow start vs. Oakland.</p>
<p>OUR PICK: Titans, 24-17.</p>
<p>— <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Frank-Cooney/" type="external">Frank Cooney</a></p>
| 8,171 |
<p />
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Shares of filtration company CLARCOR Inc. (NYSE: CLC) jumped as much as 17.7% on Thursday after an announcement the company was being acquired by Parker-Hannifin Corporation (NYSE: PH) for $4.3 billion. As of 12:10 p.m., shares were still up 16.9% for the day.</p>
<p>Parker-Hannifin will pay $83 per share in cash for CLARCOR in a deal it believes will improve its strategic position in the marketplace. Expected annual synergies of $140 million are also seen to justify the purchase price.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The acquisition will be financed with Parker-Hannifin's cash on hand, as well as new debt, and is expected to close in the first quarter of the company's fiscal year 2018.</p>
<p>Given that shares of CLARCOR are trading at $82.40 as of this writing, there's not a lot of upside if the acquisition goes through as planned. Investors should consider taking some, or all, of today's gains off the table because betting on a higher offer in the future is really the only upside right now, especially when you consider that the offer is an all-cash one.</p>
<p>It's also possible the deal falls through, which could send shares tumbling, so reducing risk by selling is a wise move today.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than CLARCOR When investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*</p>
<p>David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the <a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=e6d009f1-535c-4298-9ffe-cc95a49f6b05&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 CLARCOR 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=e6d009f1-535c-4298-9ffe-cc95a49f6b05&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</a> to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of November 7, 2016</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFFlushDraw/info.aspx" type="external">Travis Hoium Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=isiedilnk018048&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://www.fool.com/knowledge-center/motley.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
|
Why CLARCOR Inc.'s Shares Popped 18% Today
| true |
http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/12/01/why-clarcor-inc-shares-popped-18-today.html
|
2016-12-01
| 0right
|
Why CLARCOR Inc.'s Shares Popped 18% Today
<p />
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Shares of filtration company CLARCOR Inc. (NYSE: CLC) jumped as much as 17.7% on Thursday after an announcement the company was being acquired by Parker-Hannifin Corporation (NYSE: PH) for $4.3 billion. As of 12:10 p.m., shares were still up 16.9% for the day.</p>
<p>Parker-Hannifin will pay $83 per share in cash for CLARCOR in a deal it believes will improve its strategic position in the marketplace. Expected annual synergies of $140 million are also seen to justify the purchase price.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The acquisition will be financed with Parker-Hannifin's cash on hand, as well as new debt, and is expected to close in the first quarter of the company's fiscal year 2018.</p>
<p>Given that shares of CLARCOR are trading at $82.40 as of this writing, there's not a lot of upside if the acquisition goes through as planned. Investors should consider taking some, or all, of today's gains off the table because betting on a higher offer in the future is really the only upside right now, especially when you consider that the offer is an all-cash one.</p>
<p>It's also possible the deal falls through, which could send shares tumbling, so reducing risk by selling is a wise move today.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than CLARCOR When investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*</p>
<p>David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the <a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=e6d009f1-535c-4298-9ffe-cc95a49f6b05&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 CLARCOR 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=e6d009f1-535c-4298-9ffe-cc95a49f6b05&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</a> to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of November 7, 2016</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFFlushDraw/info.aspx" type="external">Travis Hoium Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=isiedilnk018048&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://www.fool.com/knowledge-center/motley.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
| 8,172 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>The conservator in a controversial court case involving the matriarch of a well-known Albuquerque family is defending his actions, challenging complaints made by family members and others in a Journal series late last year on adult guardianships involving private professionals.</p>
<p>Blair Darnell figured prominently in a Journal series last year about families who are critical of the state’s adult guardianship system. (SOURCE: Darnell Family)</p>
<p>Among his claims, attorney Darryl W. Millet, of Albuquerque Advocates, says the estate of Blair Darnell wasn’t worth anywhere close to $5 million when he was put in charge of finances – as family members allege, and as reported by guardianship industry professionals to the judge in the case. Those filings were filed under seal but obtained by the Journal.</p>
<p>The Darnell guardian/conservator case was prominently featured in the Journal series by journalist Diane Dimond, who reported family complaints that the estate dissipated from about $5 million to about $750,000.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>In addition to challenging the initial value, Millet also cited “expensive” costs to the estate of $14,000-$16,000 a month to provide professional care for Blair Darnell during her six-year guardianship. Some family members attribute the high costs to the court’s appointment of for-profit professionals rather than allowing them to care for Blair Darnell, who remained in her own home.</p>
<p>Albuquerque Attorney Darryl Millet was appointed the conservator and trustee in 2010 in the case of Blair Darnell, who died in 2015.</p>
<p>Millet wouldn’t comment last year about specifics of the case in which he served as conservator/trustee for Blair Darnell, who died in November 2015 at the age of 85. He cited New Mexico law that seals most records involving court-appointed conservators and guardians from public view.</p>
<p>But Millet wrote an eight-page letter to the Journal, dated April 9, 2017, in which he said he was now able to offer previously confidential information for two reasons:</p>
<p>First, he said members of the Darnell family and the Journal “have destroyed any privacy” a sequestration order in the case might have provided to the late Blair Darnell. And, he wrote, he could now speak because the rules of professional conduct governing lawyers allow attorneys “to reveal confidential information to the extent necessary to refute allegations against themselves.”</p>
<p>Millet was appointed to administer Darnell’s finances after she was deemed by an Albuquerque state district judge in 2010 to be mentally incapacitated.</p>
<p>Mary Darnell.</p>
<p>In addressing the Journal series, Millet took issue with several statements. Among them:</p>
<p>Estate value</p>
<p>Millet challenged the statement that the Darnell estate “dissipated from $5 million to $750,000 during the six-year court-ordered guardianship.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>He cited a funding schedule prepared in August 2001 by a lawyer who drafted the Darnell Trust. The schedule listed a total value of $1.7 million for the Darnell trust, including real estate, stocks, bank accounts and an LLC that was defunct by 2010, Millet stated.</p>
<p>The stock holdings and bank accounts were nearly depleted by the time the guardianship began, Millet wrote in his letter to the Journal. During the guardianship, care for Blair Darnell helped to diminish the value of the trust assets to approximately $750,000, Millet stated.</p>
<p>The Darnell homestead, which included this house that sat abandoned last November, was purchased by the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish in 2015. (Dean Hanson/Albuquerque Journal)</p>
<p>Millet wrote that the farm property – a 16-plus acre horse ranch with buildings – wasn’t worth $5.1 million, as reported by the Journal. He wrote in his letter that the “farm property was never appraised at anywhere near that value.”</p>
<p>He furnished a one-page “summary appraisal report” that put the “as is” market value as $1.315 million as of October 2012. The summary page didn’t offer a financial breakdown nor say how many acres were included in the appraisal.</p>
<p>Darnell and her husband, Casey, who died in 2001, started Alamo Farm, a quarter horse and thoroughbred breeding &amp; training facility, in the 1950s on the west bank of the Rio Grande, south of Corrales.</p>
<p>Millet said in his recent letter to the Journal that Mary Darnell, one of Blair Darnell’s daughters, once proposed developing the property into large lots for homes, and estimated the value of the land at around $3 million after roads, utilities and other major costs of development were expended. But that development never occurred.</p>
<p>The value of the estate is addressed in two documents provided in 2010 to state District Judge Beatrice Brickhouse, who ultimately appointed Millet and a professional guardianship company to administer Darnell’s affairs. Both were filed under seal but obtained by the Journal.</p>
<p>One of them was a January 2010 petition for guardianship/conservatorship filed by Kristin Darnell-Kreger, another of Blair Darnell’s four children, which stated Blair Darnell was the beneficiary of a trust that held 16 acres of Albuquerque real estate, including a house and building.</p>
<p>“The value of this land is believed to exceed $300,000 per acre,” stated Darnell-Kreger’s attorney, Gregory W. MacKenzie, in the petition. At $300,000 per acre, the value of the 16 acres alone would be $4.8 million. Millet sold the property in 2013 for about $80,000 an acre in a transaction harshly criticized by some family members.</p>
<p>The second document was a follow-up interim report filed in February 2010 by Decades LLC, the temporary conservator appointed by the judge, which provided another estimate of the value. The “estimated value ranges from $4-$5 million, but there has been no recent appraisal,” the report stated.</p>
<p>Decades LLC stated the Darnells’ Alamo Farm was comprised of 22.6471 acres.</p>
<p>Realtor</p>
<p>Millet disagreed with any implication that he didn’t have a Realtor when he put the Darnell property up for sale in 2013. He furnished two agreements with Signature Southwest Properties.</p>
<p>The agreements show he engaged a Realtor beginning in March 2013. Millet soon had a buyer for the property, but some of the Darnell family believed that proposed sale price of $1.54 million was too low and they became concerned the property – which fronted the bosque – hadn’t been widely advertised to the public.</p>
<p>In July 2013, an Albuquerque attorney with whom Mary Darnell consulted, raised questions about the prospective purchase. An email from the attorney, John Lieuwen, to Mary Darnell noted, “It is blackletter law that a trustee owes a fiduciary duty to both the present income beneficiary and the remaindermen (Darnell’s children) … .”</p>
<p>“Also, the trustee is legally obligated to choose the beneficiary’s interest over his own. For that reason, the ‘sale’ of the land seems suspect. Ideally, Mr. Millet should have engaged a realtor who was clearly an independent 3rd party.”</p>
<p>Lieuwen died in July 2016.</p>
<p>CPA</p>
<p>Millet said that, contrary to information in the Journal series, a certified public accountant hired by the Darnell family backtracked on criticism of Millet’s accounting of how Darnell’s money was being spent.</p>
<p>In an affidavit filed in court on March 11, 2014, the longtime CPA concluded that Millet, as the conservator, had submitted insufficient documentation of Blair Darnell’s expenses. “The documents submitted by Mr. Millet, if they are to be a financial accounting, are inaccurate and substantively deficient,” the affidavit said. “These pages are nothing more than the printout of a register, similar to a checkbook register,” his affidavit stated.</p>
<p>Millet countered in his letter to the Journal that the same CPA testified at a hearing in the case and “admitted he hadn’t been given substantial supporting documentation previously made available to the family, and that his opinion would likely have been different had he seen all the documentation … .”</p>
<p>In a recent Journal interview, the CPA said he stands by his affidavit, adding that Millet’s characterization of his court testimony is incorrect. He said he never backpedaled on his conclusion and added that a proper financial accounting by Millet should have included more information, such as the beginning assets on hand. He reiterated that Millet’s accounting records should have been consistent with national accounting standards and formats.</p>
<p>Eviction</p>
<p>Millet elaborated on the circumstances surrounding his termination letter ordering Mary Darnell, her partner and her young son to leave the guesthouse on her mother’s property. Mary Darnell and her partner were originally appointed by Millet and the guardian company as daily caregivers for her mother.</p>
<p>Millet said in his letter to the Journal that “it was obvious to the guardian that Mary wasn’t “providing proper care, was defying instructions from the guardian, and was upsetting her mother.”</p>
<p>Mary Darnell, in a recent Journal interview, denied Millet’s assertions. She said Millet was merely trying to get her off the property so he could sell it.</p>
<p>In the March 2011 caregiver agreement, the couple was assigned 35 separate caregiving tasks and was prohibited from criticizing the guardian or conservator in front of Blair Darnell. Millet sent her a termination letter in April 2011, ordering her to leave the property. She appealed in court and lost, Millet said.</p>
<p>Millet in his letter to the Journal also stated that when she was evicted, Mary removed a washer and dryer from the guesthouse that was paid for by her mother. A large quantity of wire fencing material also disappeared, he stated.</p>
<p>Mary Darnell told the Journal she bought the washer and dryer herself, while her mother had another set purchased from a different company. Mary Darnell said the fencing was used and was donated to a 4H group.</p>
<p>Neighbor</p>
<p>Millet disputed the account in the Journal series from Darnell neighbor Denny Gentry, who said he saw Millet loading Blair Darnell’s inoperable Jeep onto a trailer to have it hauled away. Gentry reported seeing Millet push away an upset Blair Darnell as she was kicking him in the shins.</p>
<p>Millet acknowledged that Blair Darnell was upset when she saw the vehicle being loaded. And he acknowledged that she “flailed” at him but calmed down when he told her the old Jeep was going to charity.</p>
<p>But Millet contended he didn’t help load the Jeep, and stated that Gentry wasn’t present when the incident occurred.</p>
<p>In a recent interview with the Journal, Gentry said he saw what happened while driving by the property that day.</p>
<p>“The conflict was occurring as I drove by very slowly. Obviously I was not going to stop,” Gentry said.</p>
<p>“Guess it is possible that he (Millet) did not see me doing the slow drive-by. He did have his hands full about that time,” Gentry added.</p>
<p>In another incident, Millet challenged the statement in the Journal series that he gave Gentry one minute to get off the Darnell property. Gentry, who has identified himself as a longtime family friend, told the Journal he stopped to check on Blair Darnell after he noticed a security guard at the property. Millet denied he ever told Gentry that he’d “call the law,” if Gentry didn’t leave immediately, as reported by the Journal. Gentry recently told the Journal he didn’t recall the exact wording, but “he (Millet) was pretty direct that I needed to leave immediately or he would have me removed.”</p>
<p>Property offer</p>
<p>Millet challenged the statement in the Journal series that the neighbor, Gentry, “was prepared to offer” $1.7 million for the Darnell property on Alamo Farm road in 2013. Millet contends Gentry didn’t provide a formal offer, only an affidavit of his interest in the property dated April 8, 2013. That came after Gentry learned that Millet had put the property up for sale.</p>
<p>Millet contends the property was already under contract for $1.54 million to another buyer at the time. A month earlier, the Realtor agreement Millet signed stated the listing price as $1.82 million.</p>
<p>Millet provided the Journal a copy of a mutual termination agreement signed by the prospective buyer, Jay Rembe, on Sept. 17, 2013. The termination agreement cited “continual interference by family members with the sale.”</p>
<p>Millet contends Gentry later refused to make a formal offer and he believed Gentry was a “straw buyer” put forward by Mary Darnell in a successful effort to kill the pending sale.</p>
<p>Gentry stated in his April 2013 affidavit filed with the court that “I am confident I can provide the simplest and best offer” for the property.</p>
<p>“Without knowing what the listing agreement describes I can only make an offer to buy the property on the normal conditions …”</p>
<p>Gentry acknowledged to the Journal he was acting on behalf of another potential buyer, but said it was not at the request of Mary Darnell. In fact, he said Mary Darnell scuttled his potential deal by “gossiping.”</p>
<p>Millet’s letter to the Journal stated that he had not met either Rembe or the eventual buyer, Tom Stromei, prior to the listings of the property.</p>
<p>Settling the estate</p>
<p>Millet elaborated on why he dropped the listed purchase price to $1.55 million in September 2013 after the first deal fell through and sold the property to Stromei for $1.4 million a month later, in October 2013. Millet described it as a “desperation sale.”</p>
<p>The Journal reported that Stromei resold the property less than two years later for $2.8 million to the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish.</p>
<p>Millet told the Journal that Stromei spent “hundreds of thousands of dollars” demolishing old corrals and structures, and cleaning up and fixing up the property. He noted that Stromei resold the property “in a stronger real estate market.”</p>
<p>At that time, Blair Darnell “was virtually out of money for her care, and the Stromei cash purchase saved her from insolvency and Medicaid ineligibility,” Millet’s letter stated.</p>
<p>One of the reasons there was about $750,000 left in the Darnell trust, Millet wrote, was that he sued Mary Darnell and recovered more than $186,000 from her that she had taken from her mother prior to the guardianship case being filed. Mary Darnell told the Journal recently that money represented a partnership investment involving her mother.</p>
<p>Millet also stated the Darnell family “was given every opportunity to put forth any complaints about the actions I took as conservator or trustee, decided not to pursue any claims, and signed a settlement agreement.” That agreement included a “nondisparagement” clause that the family has since repeatedly violated, Millet contends.</p>
<p>Other matters of dispute</p>
<p>Millet took issue with the Journal’s characterization – based on accounts from family members – that Blair Darnell’s house during the guardianship was surrounded by a 6-foot chain link fence that “trapped and isolated her.” Millet acknowledged he had the fence installed but said it was for her own safety and to prevent her from walking away and becoming lost, as is common with Alzheimer’s patients.</p>
<p>He said family members had an access code for the electric gate – and added that “ironically” Blair Darnell later scaled the fence but was quickly found and returned home.</p>
<p>Millet also complained that the Journal incorrectly blamed hired caregivers for instigating the switch to TV satellite at Blair Darnell’s residence. Millet said he made that decision for the benefit of Blair Darnell, and said it wasn’t to enhance the caregivers’ viewing experience, nor at their request.</p>
<p>Millet also elaborated on two unrelated cases mentioned in the Journal guardianship series.</p>
<p>He said he emailed the daughter of a deceased mother in one trust case that she was prohibited from coming to his office. He told the Journal he did so because the “daughter had inundated me with increasingly argumentative and demanding emails” and he knew that “any direct contact with her would lead to a confrontation … .”</p>
<p>Millet also disputed a report in the Journal series that he denied a different woman access to her father after she demanded a forensic accounting. Millet said the accounting in question wasn’t ordered until two years after her father’s death, and the guardian earlier had imposed supervised visits because the daughter had “outbursts” and subjected the father to “continuing emotional abuse” during her visits.</p>
<p>Millet also challenged a comment in the Journal series by Mary Darnell, who said her mother told her to “get these laws changed so this doesn’t happen to another family.” Millet stated in his letter that Blair Darnell “did not have the ability to make complex statements like that … .”</p>
<p>Reporter Diane Dimond contributed to this story</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p />
<p />
|
Darnell conservator disputes claims
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/999816/darnell-conservator-disputes-claims.html
| 2least
|
Darnell conservator disputes claims
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>The conservator in a controversial court case involving the matriarch of a well-known Albuquerque family is defending his actions, challenging complaints made by family members and others in a Journal series late last year on adult guardianships involving private professionals.</p>
<p>Blair Darnell figured prominently in a Journal series last year about families who are critical of the state’s adult guardianship system. (SOURCE: Darnell Family)</p>
<p>Among his claims, attorney Darryl W. Millet, of Albuquerque Advocates, says the estate of Blair Darnell wasn’t worth anywhere close to $5 million when he was put in charge of finances – as family members allege, and as reported by guardianship industry professionals to the judge in the case. Those filings were filed under seal but obtained by the Journal.</p>
<p>The Darnell guardian/conservator case was prominently featured in the Journal series by journalist Diane Dimond, who reported family complaints that the estate dissipated from about $5 million to about $750,000.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>In addition to challenging the initial value, Millet also cited “expensive” costs to the estate of $14,000-$16,000 a month to provide professional care for Blair Darnell during her six-year guardianship. Some family members attribute the high costs to the court’s appointment of for-profit professionals rather than allowing them to care for Blair Darnell, who remained in her own home.</p>
<p>Albuquerque Attorney Darryl Millet was appointed the conservator and trustee in 2010 in the case of Blair Darnell, who died in 2015.</p>
<p>Millet wouldn’t comment last year about specifics of the case in which he served as conservator/trustee for Blair Darnell, who died in November 2015 at the age of 85. He cited New Mexico law that seals most records involving court-appointed conservators and guardians from public view.</p>
<p>But Millet wrote an eight-page letter to the Journal, dated April 9, 2017, in which he said he was now able to offer previously confidential information for two reasons:</p>
<p>First, he said members of the Darnell family and the Journal “have destroyed any privacy” a sequestration order in the case might have provided to the late Blair Darnell. And, he wrote, he could now speak because the rules of professional conduct governing lawyers allow attorneys “to reveal confidential information to the extent necessary to refute allegations against themselves.”</p>
<p>Millet was appointed to administer Darnell’s finances after she was deemed by an Albuquerque state district judge in 2010 to be mentally incapacitated.</p>
<p>Mary Darnell.</p>
<p>In addressing the Journal series, Millet took issue with several statements. Among them:</p>
<p>Estate value</p>
<p>Millet challenged the statement that the Darnell estate “dissipated from $5 million to $750,000 during the six-year court-ordered guardianship.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>He cited a funding schedule prepared in August 2001 by a lawyer who drafted the Darnell Trust. The schedule listed a total value of $1.7 million for the Darnell trust, including real estate, stocks, bank accounts and an LLC that was defunct by 2010, Millet stated.</p>
<p>The stock holdings and bank accounts were nearly depleted by the time the guardianship began, Millet wrote in his letter to the Journal. During the guardianship, care for Blair Darnell helped to diminish the value of the trust assets to approximately $750,000, Millet stated.</p>
<p>The Darnell homestead, which included this house that sat abandoned last November, was purchased by the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish in 2015. (Dean Hanson/Albuquerque Journal)</p>
<p>Millet wrote that the farm property – a 16-plus acre horse ranch with buildings – wasn’t worth $5.1 million, as reported by the Journal. He wrote in his letter that the “farm property was never appraised at anywhere near that value.”</p>
<p>He furnished a one-page “summary appraisal report” that put the “as is” market value as $1.315 million as of October 2012. The summary page didn’t offer a financial breakdown nor say how many acres were included in the appraisal.</p>
<p>Darnell and her husband, Casey, who died in 2001, started Alamo Farm, a quarter horse and thoroughbred breeding &amp; training facility, in the 1950s on the west bank of the Rio Grande, south of Corrales.</p>
<p>Millet said in his recent letter to the Journal that Mary Darnell, one of Blair Darnell’s daughters, once proposed developing the property into large lots for homes, and estimated the value of the land at around $3 million after roads, utilities and other major costs of development were expended. But that development never occurred.</p>
<p>The value of the estate is addressed in two documents provided in 2010 to state District Judge Beatrice Brickhouse, who ultimately appointed Millet and a professional guardianship company to administer Darnell’s affairs. Both were filed under seal but obtained by the Journal.</p>
<p>One of them was a January 2010 petition for guardianship/conservatorship filed by Kristin Darnell-Kreger, another of Blair Darnell’s four children, which stated Blair Darnell was the beneficiary of a trust that held 16 acres of Albuquerque real estate, including a house and building.</p>
<p>“The value of this land is believed to exceed $300,000 per acre,” stated Darnell-Kreger’s attorney, Gregory W. MacKenzie, in the petition. At $300,000 per acre, the value of the 16 acres alone would be $4.8 million. Millet sold the property in 2013 for about $80,000 an acre in a transaction harshly criticized by some family members.</p>
<p>The second document was a follow-up interim report filed in February 2010 by Decades LLC, the temporary conservator appointed by the judge, which provided another estimate of the value. The “estimated value ranges from $4-$5 million, but there has been no recent appraisal,” the report stated.</p>
<p>Decades LLC stated the Darnells’ Alamo Farm was comprised of 22.6471 acres.</p>
<p>Realtor</p>
<p>Millet disagreed with any implication that he didn’t have a Realtor when he put the Darnell property up for sale in 2013. He furnished two agreements with Signature Southwest Properties.</p>
<p>The agreements show he engaged a Realtor beginning in March 2013. Millet soon had a buyer for the property, but some of the Darnell family believed that proposed sale price of $1.54 million was too low and they became concerned the property – which fronted the bosque – hadn’t been widely advertised to the public.</p>
<p>In July 2013, an Albuquerque attorney with whom Mary Darnell consulted, raised questions about the prospective purchase. An email from the attorney, John Lieuwen, to Mary Darnell noted, “It is blackletter law that a trustee owes a fiduciary duty to both the present income beneficiary and the remaindermen (Darnell’s children) … .”</p>
<p>“Also, the trustee is legally obligated to choose the beneficiary’s interest over his own. For that reason, the ‘sale’ of the land seems suspect. Ideally, Mr. Millet should have engaged a realtor who was clearly an independent 3rd party.”</p>
<p>Lieuwen died in July 2016.</p>
<p>CPA</p>
<p>Millet said that, contrary to information in the Journal series, a certified public accountant hired by the Darnell family backtracked on criticism of Millet’s accounting of how Darnell’s money was being spent.</p>
<p>In an affidavit filed in court on March 11, 2014, the longtime CPA concluded that Millet, as the conservator, had submitted insufficient documentation of Blair Darnell’s expenses. “The documents submitted by Mr. Millet, if they are to be a financial accounting, are inaccurate and substantively deficient,” the affidavit said. “These pages are nothing more than the printout of a register, similar to a checkbook register,” his affidavit stated.</p>
<p>Millet countered in his letter to the Journal that the same CPA testified at a hearing in the case and “admitted he hadn’t been given substantial supporting documentation previously made available to the family, and that his opinion would likely have been different had he seen all the documentation … .”</p>
<p>In a recent Journal interview, the CPA said he stands by his affidavit, adding that Millet’s characterization of his court testimony is incorrect. He said he never backpedaled on his conclusion and added that a proper financial accounting by Millet should have included more information, such as the beginning assets on hand. He reiterated that Millet’s accounting records should have been consistent with national accounting standards and formats.</p>
<p>Eviction</p>
<p>Millet elaborated on the circumstances surrounding his termination letter ordering Mary Darnell, her partner and her young son to leave the guesthouse on her mother’s property. Mary Darnell and her partner were originally appointed by Millet and the guardian company as daily caregivers for her mother.</p>
<p>Millet said in his letter to the Journal that “it was obvious to the guardian that Mary wasn’t “providing proper care, was defying instructions from the guardian, and was upsetting her mother.”</p>
<p>Mary Darnell, in a recent Journal interview, denied Millet’s assertions. She said Millet was merely trying to get her off the property so he could sell it.</p>
<p>In the March 2011 caregiver agreement, the couple was assigned 35 separate caregiving tasks and was prohibited from criticizing the guardian or conservator in front of Blair Darnell. Millet sent her a termination letter in April 2011, ordering her to leave the property. She appealed in court and lost, Millet said.</p>
<p>Millet in his letter to the Journal also stated that when she was evicted, Mary removed a washer and dryer from the guesthouse that was paid for by her mother. A large quantity of wire fencing material also disappeared, he stated.</p>
<p>Mary Darnell told the Journal she bought the washer and dryer herself, while her mother had another set purchased from a different company. Mary Darnell said the fencing was used and was donated to a 4H group.</p>
<p>Neighbor</p>
<p>Millet disputed the account in the Journal series from Darnell neighbor Denny Gentry, who said he saw Millet loading Blair Darnell’s inoperable Jeep onto a trailer to have it hauled away. Gentry reported seeing Millet push away an upset Blair Darnell as she was kicking him in the shins.</p>
<p>Millet acknowledged that Blair Darnell was upset when she saw the vehicle being loaded. And he acknowledged that she “flailed” at him but calmed down when he told her the old Jeep was going to charity.</p>
<p>But Millet contended he didn’t help load the Jeep, and stated that Gentry wasn’t present when the incident occurred.</p>
<p>In a recent interview with the Journal, Gentry said he saw what happened while driving by the property that day.</p>
<p>“The conflict was occurring as I drove by very slowly. Obviously I was not going to stop,” Gentry said.</p>
<p>“Guess it is possible that he (Millet) did not see me doing the slow drive-by. He did have his hands full about that time,” Gentry added.</p>
<p>In another incident, Millet challenged the statement in the Journal series that he gave Gentry one minute to get off the Darnell property. Gentry, who has identified himself as a longtime family friend, told the Journal he stopped to check on Blair Darnell after he noticed a security guard at the property. Millet denied he ever told Gentry that he’d “call the law,” if Gentry didn’t leave immediately, as reported by the Journal. Gentry recently told the Journal he didn’t recall the exact wording, but “he (Millet) was pretty direct that I needed to leave immediately or he would have me removed.”</p>
<p>Property offer</p>
<p>Millet challenged the statement in the Journal series that the neighbor, Gentry, “was prepared to offer” $1.7 million for the Darnell property on Alamo Farm road in 2013. Millet contends Gentry didn’t provide a formal offer, only an affidavit of his interest in the property dated April 8, 2013. That came after Gentry learned that Millet had put the property up for sale.</p>
<p>Millet contends the property was already under contract for $1.54 million to another buyer at the time. A month earlier, the Realtor agreement Millet signed stated the listing price as $1.82 million.</p>
<p>Millet provided the Journal a copy of a mutual termination agreement signed by the prospective buyer, Jay Rembe, on Sept. 17, 2013. The termination agreement cited “continual interference by family members with the sale.”</p>
<p>Millet contends Gentry later refused to make a formal offer and he believed Gentry was a “straw buyer” put forward by Mary Darnell in a successful effort to kill the pending sale.</p>
<p>Gentry stated in his April 2013 affidavit filed with the court that “I am confident I can provide the simplest and best offer” for the property.</p>
<p>“Without knowing what the listing agreement describes I can only make an offer to buy the property on the normal conditions …”</p>
<p>Gentry acknowledged to the Journal he was acting on behalf of another potential buyer, but said it was not at the request of Mary Darnell. In fact, he said Mary Darnell scuttled his potential deal by “gossiping.”</p>
<p>Millet’s letter to the Journal stated that he had not met either Rembe or the eventual buyer, Tom Stromei, prior to the listings of the property.</p>
<p>Settling the estate</p>
<p>Millet elaborated on why he dropped the listed purchase price to $1.55 million in September 2013 after the first deal fell through and sold the property to Stromei for $1.4 million a month later, in October 2013. Millet described it as a “desperation sale.”</p>
<p>The Journal reported that Stromei resold the property less than two years later for $2.8 million to the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish.</p>
<p>Millet told the Journal that Stromei spent “hundreds of thousands of dollars” demolishing old corrals and structures, and cleaning up and fixing up the property. He noted that Stromei resold the property “in a stronger real estate market.”</p>
<p>At that time, Blair Darnell “was virtually out of money for her care, and the Stromei cash purchase saved her from insolvency and Medicaid ineligibility,” Millet’s letter stated.</p>
<p>One of the reasons there was about $750,000 left in the Darnell trust, Millet wrote, was that he sued Mary Darnell and recovered more than $186,000 from her that she had taken from her mother prior to the guardianship case being filed. Mary Darnell told the Journal recently that money represented a partnership investment involving her mother.</p>
<p>Millet also stated the Darnell family “was given every opportunity to put forth any complaints about the actions I took as conservator or trustee, decided not to pursue any claims, and signed a settlement agreement.” That agreement included a “nondisparagement” clause that the family has since repeatedly violated, Millet contends.</p>
<p>Other matters of dispute</p>
<p>Millet took issue with the Journal’s characterization – based on accounts from family members – that Blair Darnell’s house during the guardianship was surrounded by a 6-foot chain link fence that “trapped and isolated her.” Millet acknowledged he had the fence installed but said it was for her own safety and to prevent her from walking away and becoming lost, as is common with Alzheimer’s patients.</p>
<p>He said family members had an access code for the electric gate – and added that “ironically” Blair Darnell later scaled the fence but was quickly found and returned home.</p>
<p>Millet also complained that the Journal incorrectly blamed hired caregivers for instigating the switch to TV satellite at Blair Darnell’s residence. Millet said he made that decision for the benefit of Blair Darnell, and said it wasn’t to enhance the caregivers’ viewing experience, nor at their request.</p>
<p>Millet also elaborated on two unrelated cases mentioned in the Journal guardianship series.</p>
<p>He said he emailed the daughter of a deceased mother in one trust case that she was prohibited from coming to his office. He told the Journal he did so because the “daughter had inundated me with increasingly argumentative and demanding emails” and he knew that “any direct contact with her would lead to a confrontation … .”</p>
<p>Millet also disputed a report in the Journal series that he denied a different woman access to her father after she demanded a forensic accounting. Millet said the accounting in question wasn’t ordered until two years after her father’s death, and the guardian earlier had imposed supervised visits because the daughter had “outbursts” and subjected the father to “continuing emotional abuse” during her visits.</p>
<p>Millet also challenged a comment in the Journal series by Mary Darnell, who said her mother told her to “get these laws changed so this doesn’t happen to another family.” Millet stated in his letter that Blair Darnell “did not have the ability to make complex statements like that … .”</p>
<p>Reporter Diane Dimond contributed to this story</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p />
<p />
| 8,173 |
|
<p>Michelle Holley of Fort Lauderdale holds a photograph of her daughter Jaime Holley, 19, who died of a heroin overdose in November 2016. <a href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Opioids-Cycle-Of-Fraud/d3321ee9fb0d40e9b0c551e5d743fd1f/55/0" type="external">Lynne Sladky/AP</a></p>
<p>About 64,000 Americans died from drug overdoses last year—a staggering 21 percent increase from the 52,404 in 2015—according to the first <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/health_policy/monthly-drug-overdose-death-estimates.pdf" type="external">government estimate</a> of drug deaths in 2016. Overdoses now kill more Americans than HIV did at its peak in 1995, and far more than guns or cars do today.</p>
<p>The numbers, released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, are provisional and will be updated monthly, according to the agency.</p>
<p />
<p>Fueling the rise in deaths is fentanyl, a synthetic opioid up to 100 times more potent than morphine, and fentanyl analogs, or slight tweaks on the fentanyl molecule. This has not always been the case: As the chart below shows, the drivers of the opioid crisis have changed from prescription painkillers to heroin, and then to fentanyl.</p>
<p />
<p>As Dan Ciccarone, a professor at the University of California-San Francisco School of Medicine, recently&#160; <a href="http://www.ijdp.org/article/S0955-3959(17)30181-0/fulltext" type="external">wrote</a>&#160;in the&#160;International Journal of Drug Policy:</p>
<p>This is a triple epidemic with rising waves of deaths due to separate types of opioids each building on top of the prior wave.&#160;The first wave of prescription opioid mortality began in the 1990s. The second wave, due to heroin, began around 2010 with heroin-related overdose deaths tripling since then. Now synthetic opioid-related overdoses, including those due to illicitly manufactured fentanyl and fentanyl analogues, are causing the third wave with these overdose deaths doubling between 2013 and 2014 .</p>
<p>The epidemic is straining the capacity of <a href="" type="internal">morgues</a>, emergency services, hospitals, and&#160; <a href="" type="internal">foster care systems</a>.&#160;Largely because of prevalent drug use and overdose, the number of children in foster care nationwide increased by 30,000 between 2012 and 2015.</p>
<p>This spring, President Donald Trump created a commission led by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to advise the administration on how to respond to the epidemic, but the administration has <a href="" type="internal">yet to act</a> on its&#160; <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/whitehouse.gov/files/ondcp/commission-interim-report.pdf" type="external">recommendations</a>.</p>
|
The Latest Jaw-Dropping Numbers From the Opioid Crisis
| true |
https://motherjones.com/politics/2017/09/the-latest-jaw-dropping-numbers-from-the-opioid-crisis/
|
2017-09-06
| 4left
|
The Latest Jaw-Dropping Numbers From the Opioid Crisis
<p>Michelle Holley of Fort Lauderdale holds a photograph of her daughter Jaime Holley, 19, who died of a heroin overdose in November 2016. <a href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Opioids-Cycle-Of-Fraud/d3321ee9fb0d40e9b0c551e5d743fd1f/55/0" type="external">Lynne Sladky/AP</a></p>
<p>About 64,000 Americans died from drug overdoses last year—a staggering 21 percent increase from the 52,404 in 2015—according to the first <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/health_policy/monthly-drug-overdose-death-estimates.pdf" type="external">government estimate</a> of drug deaths in 2016. Overdoses now kill more Americans than HIV did at its peak in 1995, and far more than guns or cars do today.</p>
<p>The numbers, released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, are provisional and will be updated monthly, according to the agency.</p>
<p />
<p>Fueling the rise in deaths is fentanyl, a synthetic opioid up to 100 times more potent than morphine, and fentanyl analogs, or slight tweaks on the fentanyl molecule. This has not always been the case: As the chart below shows, the drivers of the opioid crisis have changed from prescription painkillers to heroin, and then to fentanyl.</p>
<p />
<p>As Dan Ciccarone, a professor at the University of California-San Francisco School of Medicine, recently&#160; <a href="http://www.ijdp.org/article/S0955-3959(17)30181-0/fulltext" type="external">wrote</a>&#160;in the&#160;International Journal of Drug Policy:</p>
<p>This is a triple epidemic with rising waves of deaths due to separate types of opioids each building on top of the prior wave.&#160;The first wave of prescription opioid mortality began in the 1990s. The second wave, due to heroin, began around 2010 with heroin-related overdose deaths tripling since then. Now synthetic opioid-related overdoses, including those due to illicitly manufactured fentanyl and fentanyl analogues, are causing the third wave with these overdose deaths doubling between 2013 and 2014 .</p>
<p>The epidemic is straining the capacity of <a href="" type="internal">morgues</a>, emergency services, hospitals, and&#160; <a href="" type="internal">foster care systems</a>.&#160;Largely because of prevalent drug use and overdose, the number of children in foster care nationwide increased by 30,000 between 2012 and 2015.</p>
<p>This spring, President Donald Trump created a commission led by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to advise the administration on how to respond to the epidemic, but the administration has <a href="" type="internal">yet to act</a> on its&#160; <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/whitehouse.gov/files/ondcp/commission-interim-report.pdf" type="external">recommendations</a>.</p>
| 8,174 |
<p>MINSK, Belarus (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin says his country does not oppose ex-Soviet states seeking closer ties with Western countries, but has criticized them for not taking Moscow’s interests into account.</p>
<p>Leaders from the 11-member Commonwealth of Independent States met Friday in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, to discuss closer ties. The president of Ukraine — which is facing the most violent conflict in post-Soviet history, between government troops and pro-Russian insurgents — did not attend.</p>
<p>Putin lashed out at the European Union for “not considering it necessary ... to discuss the risks” of political and economic integration with post-Soviet countries. Ukraine’s decision to sign an association agreement with the EU in September provoked complaints from the Kremlin that it would hurt Russia’s economy.</p>
<p>MINSK, Belarus (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin says his country does not oppose ex-Soviet states seeking closer ties with Western countries, but has criticized them for not taking Moscow’s interests into account.</p>
<p>Leaders from the 11-member Commonwealth of Independent States met Friday in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, to discuss closer ties. The president of Ukraine — which is facing the most violent conflict in post-Soviet history, between government troops and pro-Russian insurgents — did not attend.</p>
<p>Putin lashed out at the European Union for “not considering it necessary ... to discuss the risks” of political and economic integration with post-Soviet countries. Ukraine’s decision to sign an association agreement with the EU in September provoked complaints from the Kremlin that it would hurt Russia’s economy.</p>
|
Leaders of ex-Soviet countries discuss closer ties
| false |
https://apnews.com/1387cf6b001a4033b3b487000385990c
|
2014-10-10
| 2least
|
Leaders of ex-Soviet countries discuss closer ties
<p>MINSK, Belarus (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin says his country does not oppose ex-Soviet states seeking closer ties with Western countries, but has criticized them for not taking Moscow’s interests into account.</p>
<p>Leaders from the 11-member Commonwealth of Independent States met Friday in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, to discuss closer ties. The president of Ukraine — which is facing the most violent conflict in post-Soviet history, between government troops and pro-Russian insurgents — did not attend.</p>
<p>Putin lashed out at the European Union for “not considering it necessary ... to discuss the risks” of political and economic integration with post-Soviet countries. Ukraine’s decision to sign an association agreement with the EU in September provoked complaints from the Kremlin that it would hurt Russia’s economy.</p>
<p>MINSK, Belarus (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin says his country does not oppose ex-Soviet states seeking closer ties with Western countries, but has criticized them for not taking Moscow’s interests into account.</p>
<p>Leaders from the 11-member Commonwealth of Independent States met Friday in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, to discuss closer ties. The president of Ukraine — which is facing the most violent conflict in post-Soviet history, between government troops and pro-Russian insurgents — did not attend.</p>
<p>Putin lashed out at the European Union for “not considering it necessary ... to discuss the risks” of political and economic integration with post-Soviet countries. Ukraine’s decision to sign an association agreement with the EU in September provoked complaints from the Kremlin that it would hurt Russia’s economy.</p>
| 8,175 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Collision between train and car kills two people in Albuquerque’s South Valley on Friday, Oct. 10, 2014.</p>
<p />
<p>State Police say safety gate was down. (Friday, Oct. 17, 2014) <a href="" type="internal">Read more</a></p>
<p>Screen shot of car crossing tracks before being hit</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
|
Rail runner video of fatal accident
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/484649/rail-runner-video-of-fatal-accident.html
|
2014-10-23
| 2least
|
Rail runner video of fatal accident
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Collision between train and car kills two people in Albuquerque’s South Valley on Friday, Oct. 10, 2014.</p>
<p />
<p>State Police say safety gate was down. (Friday, Oct. 17, 2014) <a href="" type="internal">Read more</a></p>
<p>Screen shot of car crossing tracks before being hit</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
| 8,176 |
<p>There has been much speculation about the importance of the presidential debates, with politicos and voters alike placing increased weight on the debates this election cycle.&#160;While all eyes have been on the presidential candidates as the November election nears, Fox News Channel host Bill O’Reilly and Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart plan to take the stage to participate in their own spectacle, debating the merits of Mitt Romney vs. Barack Obama.</p>
<p>Here’s the trailer for&#160;The Rumble 2012, aka the reason Al Gore invented the Internet:</p>
<p>Not airing on national TV, the debate will be live-streamed online for $4.95 on Saturday, October 6 at 8 p.m. This 90 minute&#160;spectacular will take place in the “air-conditioned” confines of the George Washington University auditorium and will be “the&#160;first time the ideologically divergent pundits will spar for an extended period of time,” <a href="http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-bill-o-reilly-jon-stewart-debate-in-washington-20120918,0,6873997.story" type="external">notes</a> the Los Angeles Times.</p>
<p>Commenting on the event, Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” host Jon Stewart said,&#160;“I believe this will be a very enjoyable night for fans of our programs, political junkies, partisans and people who just enjoy yelling.”</p>
<p>Fox News’ “The O’Reilly Factor” host introduced the debate on his Monday night&#160; <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/oreilly/index.html#/v/1846032217001/oreilly-to-debate-jon-stewart/?playlist_id=86923" type="external">show</a>, warning bystanders,&#160;“it better be cool in there because Stewart is going to be taking some massive heat.”</p>
<p>What TV personality would you pick to represent third party candidates?&#160;</p>
<p />
|
Bill O'Reilly, Jon Stewart Take the Stage
| false |
https://ivn.us/2012/09/18/bill-oreilly-jon-stewart-take-the-stage/
|
2012-09-18
| 2least
|
Bill O'Reilly, Jon Stewart Take the Stage
<p>There has been much speculation about the importance of the presidential debates, with politicos and voters alike placing increased weight on the debates this election cycle.&#160;While all eyes have been on the presidential candidates as the November election nears, Fox News Channel host Bill O’Reilly and Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart plan to take the stage to participate in their own spectacle, debating the merits of Mitt Romney vs. Barack Obama.</p>
<p>Here’s the trailer for&#160;The Rumble 2012, aka the reason Al Gore invented the Internet:</p>
<p>Not airing on national TV, the debate will be live-streamed online for $4.95 on Saturday, October 6 at 8 p.m. This 90 minute&#160;spectacular will take place in the “air-conditioned” confines of the George Washington University auditorium and will be “the&#160;first time the ideologically divergent pundits will spar for an extended period of time,” <a href="http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-bill-o-reilly-jon-stewart-debate-in-washington-20120918,0,6873997.story" type="external">notes</a> the Los Angeles Times.</p>
<p>Commenting on the event, Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” host Jon Stewart said,&#160;“I believe this will be a very enjoyable night for fans of our programs, political junkies, partisans and people who just enjoy yelling.”</p>
<p>Fox News’ “The O’Reilly Factor” host introduced the debate on his Monday night&#160; <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/oreilly/index.html#/v/1846032217001/oreilly-to-debate-jon-stewart/?playlist_id=86923" type="external">show</a>, warning bystanders,&#160;“it better be cool in there because Stewart is going to be taking some massive heat.”</p>
<p>What TV personality would you pick to represent third party candidates?&#160;</p>
<p />
| 8,177 |
<p>In the last month or so, three of my close friends have gotten engaged. Meanwhile, I haven’t had a serious relationship for three years. For some reason, whenever I tell people that another one of my pals has a ring on her finger, they get a sad, sympathetic look on their face, like they’re afraid I might start crying or go into a deep depression. They shouldn’t be concerned, though, because I’m not the least bit jealous.It’s not because I’m against marriage or men or love that I don’t care that my friends are engaged and I’m not. In fact, I couldn’t be happier that things have worked out for them. I’m close with all of their fiances, and the couples have been together so long that it was only a matter of time before they tied the knot.</p>
<p>In all three cases, my friends had always said they would get married “someday” and talked about it amorphously. They might have moved in with their boyfriends and gotten a dog together, but they never felt they’d get engaged any time soon. It never seemed to be a priority for them, something they needed to check off their to-do list in order to be happy. They were just going about their lives until one day, things fell into place.</p>
<p>And that’s the way it is with me, why I’m unbothered and completely psyched about their upcoming weddings, where I will whoop it up — possibly alone, but maybe not. My friends have set a good example about love and life. When you focus too much on what you don’t have, whether it’s a diamond ring, a boyfriend, or a Barbie Dream House, you don’t get to enjoy the other stuff you have, like a cute apartment, an interesting job, and friends who don’t judge you when you drink way too much bubbly at their engagement party. So, if things fall into place for me at some point, great! But if not, I won’t feel like a failure. My friends think a promotion at work or a new crush is just-as-big news, and they ooh and ahh appropriately.</p>
|
All My Friends Are Getting Married, And I’m, Well, Not Even Close
| true |
http://thefrisky.com/post/246-all-my-friends-are-getting-married-and-im-well-not-even-close/
|
2018-10-04
| 4left
|
All My Friends Are Getting Married, And I’m, Well, Not Even Close
<p>In the last month or so, three of my close friends have gotten engaged. Meanwhile, I haven’t had a serious relationship for three years. For some reason, whenever I tell people that another one of my pals has a ring on her finger, they get a sad, sympathetic look on their face, like they’re afraid I might start crying or go into a deep depression. They shouldn’t be concerned, though, because I’m not the least bit jealous.It’s not because I’m against marriage or men or love that I don’t care that my friends are engaged and I’m not. In fact, I couldn’t be happier that things have worked out for them. I’m close with all of their fiances, and the couples have been together so long that it was only a matter of time before they tied the knot.</p>
<p>In all three cases, my friends had always said they would get married “someday” and talked about it amorphously. They might have moved in with their boyfriends and gotten a dog together, but they never felt they’d get engaged any time soon. It never seemed to be a priority for them, something they needed to check off their to-do list in order to be happy. They were just going about their lives until one day, things fell into place.</p>
<p>And that’s the way it is with me, why I’m unbothered and completely psyched about their upcoming weddings, where I will whoop it up — possibly alone, but maybe not. My friends have set a good example about love and life. When you focus too much on what you don’t have, whether it’s a diamond ring, a boyfriend, or a Barbie Dream House, you don’t get to enjoy the other stuff you have, like a cute apartment, an interesting job, and friends who don’t judge you when you drink way too much bubbly at their engagement party. So, if things fall into place for me at some point, great! But if not, I won’t feel like a failure. My friends think a promotion at work or a new crush is just-as-big news, and they ooh and ahh appropriately.</p>
| 8,178 |
<p>It was the day that a powerful congressional committee was supposed to get answers about a botched ATF/DEA gun-running operation that resulted in the 2011 ambush murder of an ICE agent 200 miles north of Mexico City.</p>
<p>Instead, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee spent two hours blasting the director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms for allowing two of his supervisors to ignore requests to testify at a hearing Thursday over events resembling the Fast and Furious scandal of Obama’s first term.</p>
<p>“You’ll notice there are five seats there and only two have bothered to show up,” Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) told acting ATF Director Thomas Brandon. “When the House invites you to testify, it’s not optional, it’s not whether it’s convenient.”</p>
<p>Missing were Ronald Turk and William Temple, ATF supervisors with jurisdiction over the Texas area where a cache of semi-automatic weapons was purchased – two of which were ultimately used in the slaying of Jaime Zapata as he passed through a toll booth on a Mexican highway in an SUV bearing diplomatic plates. Fellow agent Victor Avila was also shot but survived.</p>
<p>Eight men belonging to the Los Zetas crime syndicate fired 89 shots using AK-47s and AR-15s, according to a report by the Department of Justice Inspector General. The Inspector General’s investigation involved 70 interviews and review of 40,000 pages.</p>
<p>Assistant U.S. Attorney John Craft also didn’t attend, but Chaffetz didn’t note it. The U.S. Attorney’s Office was responsible for the early release of a defendant in a drug case who went on to organize the fatal gun trafficking incident.</p>
<p>Chaffetz grilled Brandon as to when he received the Inspector General’s report so his team could adequately prepare for the hearing. Brandon said he only received it a month ago; however, the Inspector General said it was available in December.</p>
<p>To that, Chaffetz replied, “That you didn’t have time is a load of crap and you know it."</p>
<p>Chaffetz continued: “Six years after we had an agent killed, you still don’t get it. You all try to dress it up so you come to Congress and have the best picture and we want the raw truth of what those men and women deal with on the front line.”</p>
<p>Brandon said he advised the men to skip the hearing after asking ATF attorneys whether he could speak for the department. The hearing, titled “Reviewing ATF Failures in the Death of ICE Agent Jaime Zapata,” would not be eagerly attended by agents.</p>
<p>In hindsight, he said he didn’t know that an invitation to testify was mandatory and he meant no disrespect.</p>
<p>To that, an angry and incredulous Chaffetz signed two subpoenas directing Turk and Temple to appear in lengthy depositions on March 21 and 22.</p>
<p>Democrats criticized Brandon as well, including ranking member Elijah Cummings (D-MD), who bashed the agents for only notifying the committee of their absence the night before.</p>
<p>“We’ve got the boss who says you don’t have to show up, that sends a hell of a message,” Cummings said.</p>
<p>The hearing did not dissect some of the more damning aspects of the Inspector General’s report: that two brothers, Otilio and Ranferi Osorio, who trafficked the guns, were caught buying 50 high-powered weapons a year before Zapata was murdered and then allowed to continue their enterprise. Another 78 guns were then purchased, including the two weapons used in the killing.</p>
<p>The DEA and ATF had formed a task force, with the DEA claiming to be in charge.</p>
<p>According to the report:</p>
<p>The DEA was investigating a drug dealer and learned about delivery of 50 high powered weapons between Dallas and Laredo on Nov. 2, 2010. The ATF was notified and the delivery was allowed to go through to gather more intelligence. The ATF assumed that the DEA was going to handle the case. The DEA said they would be arresting the couriers but never told the ATF to stop investigating the Osorio brothers.</p>
<p>Another 78 firearms were acquired by the brothers after this, including the guns that killed Zapata.</p>
<p>An ATF supervisor stated that the matter was the DEA's case and that "[w]e were going to wait and move when they were ready for us to move,” the report said.</p>
<p>The DEA did not want ATF to take actions that would jeopardize the DEA's case and ATF had been asked to "stand down" by the DEA, the report said.</p>
<p>The ATF did not initiate an investigation of the Osorio brothers until late February 2011, following Zapata’s murder.</p>
<p>Cummings voiced some sympathy for the ATF.</p>
<p>“The ATF has been treated like a stepchild,” he said. “There are some, if they had it their way, would get rid of you guys immediately. Fast and Furious…gave some the justification to treat you the way that they did.”</p>
<p>Some 1,400 weapons were lost by the ATF in Mexico under "Fast and Furious," which was part of a larger Justice Department operation to track weapons back to gang and drug kingpins in Mexico. One of the trafficked weapons killed Arizona Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry in 2010.</p>
<p>“The ATF of 2017 is not the ATF of 2010,” Brandon responded.</p>
|
ATF Grilled In House Hearing Over Fatal Fast And Furious II Debacle
| true |
https://dailywire.com/news/14293/atf-grilled-house-hearing-over-fatal-fast-and-tori-richards
|
2017-03-09
| 0right
|
ATF Grilled In House Hearing Over Fatal Fast And Furious II Debacle
<p>It was the day that a powerful congressional committee was supposed to get answers about a botched ATF/DEA gun-running operation that resulted in the 2011 ambush murder of an ICE agent 200 miles north of Mexico City.</p>
<p>Instead, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee spent two hours blasting the director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms for allowing two of his supervisors to ignore requests to testify at a hearing Thursday over events resembling the Fast and Furious scandal of Obama’s first term.</p>
<p>“You’ll notice there are five seats there and only two have bothered to show up,” Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) told acting ATF Director Thomas Brandon. “When the House invites you to testify, it’s not optional, it’s not whether it’s convenient.”</p>
<p>Missing were Ronald Turk and William Temple, ATF supervisors with jurisdiction over the Texas area where a cache of semi-automatic weapons was purchased – two of which were ultimately used in the slaying of Jaime Zapata as he passed through a toll booth on a Mexican highway in an SUV bearing diplomatic plates. Fellow agent Victor Avila was also shot but survived.</p>
<p>Eight men belonging to the Los Zetas crime syndicate fired 89 shots using AK-47s and AR-15s, according to a report by the Department of Justice Inspector General. The Inspector General’s investigation involved 70 interviews and review of 40,000 pages.</p>
<p>Assistant U.S. Attorney John Craft also didn’t attend, but Chaffetz didn’t note it. The U.S. Attorney’s Office was responsible for the early release of a defendant in a drug case who went on to organize the fatal gun trafficking incident.</p>
<p>Chaffetz grilled Brandon as to when he received the Inspector General’s report so his team could adequately prepare for the hearing. Brandon said he only received it a month ago; however, the Inspector General said it was available in December.</p>
<p>To that, Chaffetz replied, “That you didn’t have time is a load of crap and you know it."</p>
<p>Chaffetz continued: “Six years after we had an agent killed, you still don’t get it. You all try to dress it up so you come to Congress and have the best picture and we want the raw truth of what those men and women deal with on the front line.”</p>
<p>Brandon said he advised the men to skip the hearing after asking ATF attorneys whether he could speak for the department. The hearing, titled “Reviewing ATF Failures in the Death of ICE Agent Jaime Zapata,” would not be eagerly attended by agents.</p>
<p>In hindsight, he said he didn’t know that an invitation to testify was mandatory and he meant no disrespect.</p>
<p>To that, an angry and incredulous Chaffetz signed two subpoenas directing Turk and Temple to appear in lengthy depositions on March 21 and 22.</p>
<p>Democrats criticized Brandon as well, including ranking member Elijah Cummings (D-MD), who bashed the agents for only notifying the committee of their absence the night before.</p>
<p>“We’ve got the boss who says you don’t have to show up, that sends a hell of a message,” Cummings said.</p>
<p>The hearing did not dissect some of the more damning aspects of the Inspector General’s report: that two brothers, Otilio and Ranferi Osorio, who trafficked the guns, were caught buying 50 high-powered weapons a year before Zapata was murdered and then allowed to continue their enterprise. Another 78 guns were then purchased, including the two weapons used in the killing.</p>
<p>The DEA and ATF had formed a task force, with the DEA claiming to be in charge.</p>
<p>According to the report:</p>
<p>The DEA was investigating a drug dealer and learned about delivery of 50 high powered weapons between Dallas and Laredo on Nov. 2, 2010. The ATF was notified and the delivery was allowed to go through to gather more intelligence. The ATF assumed that the DEA was going to handle the case. The DEA said they would be arresting the couriers but never told the ATF to stop investigating the Osorio brothers.</p>
<p>Another 78 firearms were acquired by the brothers after this, including the guns that killed Zapata.</p>
<p>An ATF supervisor stated that the matter was the DEA's case and that "[w]e were going to wait and move when they were ready for us to move,” the report said.</p>
<p>The DEA did not want ATF to take actions that would jeopardize the DEA's case and ATF had been asked to "stand down" by the DEA, the report said.</p>
<p>The ATF did not initiate an investigation of the Osorio brothers until late February 2011, following Zapata’s murder.</p>
<p>Cummings voiced some sympathy for the ATF.</p>
<p>“The ATF has been treated like a stepchild,” he said. “There are some, if they had it their way, would get rid of you guys immediately. Fast and Furious…gave some the justification to treat you the way that they did.”</p>
<p>Some 1,400 weapons were lost by the ATF in Mexico under "Fast and Furious," which was part of a larger Justice Department operation to track weapons back to gang and drug kingpins in Mexico. One of the trafficked weapons killed Arizona Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry in 2010.</p>
<p>“The ATF of 2017 is not the ATF of 2010,” Brandon responded.</p>
| 8,179 |
<p>BEIRUT (AP) — Syria’s dominant Kurdish party on Wednesday called on the U.N. Security Council to act quickly to ensure the safety of Kurdish-controlled territories in the country’s north, including an enclave that Turkey has threatened to attack.</p>
<p>Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he will launch a military offensive in the coming days against territories controlled by the dominant Syrian Kurdish militia in northwestern and eastern Syria, and in particular the enclave of Afrin, where an estimated 1 million people live.</p>
<p>Turkey views the US-backed Syrian Kurdish forces as terrorists, and an extension of the Kurdish insurgency raging in its southeast. It has criticized the U.S. for extending support and arming the Kurdish forces as part of the campaign that drove the Islamic State group from large parts of Syria.</p>
<p>The Kurdish militia, which forms the backbone of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, now controls nearly 25 percent of Syrian territory. It is the U.S.-led coalition’s chief ally in the campaign against IS in Syria.</p>
<p>The U.S.-led coalition recently said it is planning a 30,000-strong Kurdish-led border force, further angering Turkey.</p>
<p>Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said he told U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson that those plans were a “perilous” step that would “seriously endanger ties.” The two met in Vancouver Tuesday.</p>
<p>“Such a development would damage Turkish-American ties in an irreversible manner,” the state-run Anadolu Agency quoted Cavusoglu as saying on Wednesday.</p>
<p>Erdogan said the imminent military operation is to “purge terror” from near its borders. Along with Afrin, Erdogan has also threatened Manbij, a town the Kurdish-led SDF seized from IS in 2016.</p>
<p>The Kurdish Democratic Union Party, or PYD, the political arm of the main Kurdish militia, said that if Turkey launches an operation against Afrin, the world will bear responsibility for the lives of people residing there. The PYD called on the Security Council to “move immediately” to ensure the security of Kurdish-controlled areas in Syria.</p>
<p>“Such a responsible behavior will lead to the desired result in finding a resolution for the Syrian crisis,” the PYD said in a statement.</p>
<p>The Syrian government of President Bashar Assad has meanwhile accused the SDF of being “traitors” for cooperating with the United States.</p>
<p>On Monday, Erdogan accused the United States of creating an “army of terror” in Syria along the border with Turkey, a reference to the plans for the border force. He vowed to crush the border force and called on NATO to take a stand against the United States, a fellow ally.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Syrian activists said Turkish military activities near the borders with Afrin have continued, as well as shelling of the outskirts of the town. Tanks amassed near the border with Syria, while Turkish media reported that medical personnel in Kilis, a Turkish town across the border from Afrin, were asked not to take leave, apparently in anticipation of military operations.</p>
<p>Turkey’s private Dogan news agency quotes Turkey-backed Syrian rebels as saying they are awaiting Turkish orders to launch the Afrin operations. It says some 3,000 fighters are ready to participate in operations against Afrin and Manbij.</p>
<p>_________</p>
<p>Fraser reported from Ankara, Turkey</p>
<p>BEIRUT (AP) — Syria’s dominant Kurdish party on Wednesday called on the U.N. Security Council to act quickly to ensure the safety of Kurdish-controlled territories in the country’s north, including an enclave that Turkey has threatened to attack.</p>
<p>Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he will launch a military offensive in the coming days against territories controlled by the dominant Syrian Kurdish militia in northwestern and eastern Syria, and in particular the enclave of Afrin, where an estimated 1 million people live.</p>
<p>Turkey views the US-backed Syrian Kurdish forces as terrorists, and an extension of the Kurdish insurgency raging in its southeast. It has criticized the U.S. for extending support and arming the Kurdish forces as part of the campaign that drove the Islamic State group from large parts of Syria.</p>
<p>The Kurdish militia, which forms the backbone of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, now controls nearly 25 percent of Syrian territory. It is the U.S.-led coalition’s chief ally in the campaign against IS in Syria.</p>
<p>The U.S.-led coalition recently said it is planning a 30,000-strong Kurdish-led border force, further angering Turkey.</p>
<p>Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said he told U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson that those plans were a “perilous” step that would “seriously endanger ties.” The two met in Vancouver Tuesday.</p>
<p>“Such a development would damage Turkish-American ties in an irreversible manner,” the state-run Anadolu Agency quoted Cavusoglu as saying on Wednesday.</p>
<p>Erdogan said the imminent military operation is to “purge terror” from near its borders. Along with Afrin, Erdogan has also threatened Manbij, a town the Kurdish-led SDF seized from IS in 2016.</p>
<p>The Kurdish Democratic Union Party, or PYD, the political arm of the main Kurdish militia, said that if Turkey launches an operation against Afrin, the world will bear responsibility for the lives of people residing there. The PYD called on the Security Council to “move immediately” to ensure the security of Kurdish-controlled areas in Syria.</p>
<p>“Such a responsible behavior will lead to the desired result in finding a resolution for the Syrian crisis,” the PYD said in a statement.</p>
<p>The Syrian government of President Bashar Assad has meanwhile accused the SDF of being “traitors” for cooperating with the United States.</p>
<p>On Monday, Erdogan accused the United States of creating an “army of terror” in Syria along the border with Turkey, a reference to the plans for the border force. He vowed to crush the border force and called on NATO to take a stand against the United States, a fellow ally.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Syrian activists said Turkish military activities near the borders with Afrin have continued, as well as shelling of the outskirts of the town. Tanks amassed near the border with Syria, while Turkish media reported that medical personnel in Kilis, a Turkish town across the border from Afrin, were asked not to take leave, apparently in anticipation of military operations.</p>
<p>Turkey’s private Dogan news agency quotes Turkey-backed Syrian rebels as saying they are awaiting Turkish orders to launch the Afrin operations. It says some 3,000 fighters are ready to participate in operations against Afrin and Manbij.</p>
<p>_________</p>
<p>Fraser reported from Ankara, Turkey</p>
|
Syrian Kurds appeal to UN as Turkey prepares to attack
| false |
https://apnews.com/f5bf25fc8e604b51b605295519675d0d
|
2018-01-17
| 2least
|
Syrian Kurds appeal to UN as Turkey prepares to attack
<p>BEIRUT (AP) — Syria’s dominant Kurdish party on Wednesday called on the U.N. Security Council to act quickly to ensure the safety of Kurdish-controlled territories in the country’s north, including an enclave that Turkey has threatened to attack.</p>
<p>Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he will launch a military offensive in the coming days against territories controlled by the dominant Syrian Kurdish militia in northwestern and eastern Syria, and in particular the enclave of Afrin, where an estimated 1 million people live.</p>
<p>Turkey views the US-backed Syrian Kurdish forces as terrorists, and an extension of the Kurdish insurgency raging in its southeast. It has criticized the U.S. for extending support and arming the Kurdish forces as part of the campaign that drove the Islamic State group from large parts of Syria.</p>
<p>The Kurdish militia, which forms the backbone of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, now controls nearly 25 percent of Syrian territory. It is the U.S.-led coalition’s chief ally in the campaign against IS in Syria.</p>
<p>The U.S.-led coalition recently said it is planning a 30,000-strong Kurdish-led border force, further angering Turkey.</p>
<p>Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said he told U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson that those plans were a “perilous” step that would “seriously endanger ties.” The two met in Vancouver Tuesday.</p>
<p>“Such a development would damage Turkish-American ties in an irreversible manner,” the state-run Anadolu Agency quoted Cavusoglu as saying on Wednesday.</p>
<p>Erdogan said the imminent military operation is to “purge terror” from near its borders. Along with Afrin, Erdogan has also threatened Manbij, a town the Kurdish-led SDF seized from IS in 2016.</p>
<p>The Kurdish Democratic Union Party, or PYD, the political arm of the main Kurdish militia, said that if Turkey launches an operation against Afrin, the world will bear responsibility for the lives of people residing there. The PYD called on the Security Council to “move immediately” to ensure the security of Kurdish-controlled areas in Syria.</p>
<p>“Such a responsible behavior will lead to the desired result in finding a resolution for the Syrian crisis,” the PYD said in a statement.</p>
<p>The Syrian government of President Bashar Assad has meanwhile accused the SDF of being “traitors” for cooperating with the United States.</p>
<p>On Monday, Erdogan accused the United States of creating an “army of terror” in Syria along the border with Turkey, a reference to the plans for the border force. He vowed to crush the border force and called on NATO to take a stand against the United States, a fellow ally.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Syrian activists said Turkish military activities near the borders with Afrin have continued, as well as shelling of the outskirts of the town. Tanks amassed near the border with Syria, while Turkish media reported that medical personnel in Kilis, a Turkish town across the border from Afrin, were asked not to take leave, apparently in anticipation of military operations.</p>
<p>Turkey’s private Dogan news agency quotes Turkey-backed Syrian rebels as saying they are awaiting Turkish orders to launch the Afrin operations. It says some 3,000 fighters are ready to participate in operations against Afrin and Manbij.</p>
<p>_________</p>
<p>Fraser reported from Ankara, Turkey</p>
<p>BEIRUT (AP) — Syria’s dominant Kurdish party on Wednesday called on the U.N. Security Council to act quickly to ensure the safety of Kurdish-controlled territories in the country’s north, including an enclave that Turkey has threatened to attack.</p>
<p>Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he will launch a military offensive in the coming days against territories controlled by the dominant Syrian Kurdish militia in northwestern and eastern Syria, and in particular the enclave of Afrin, where an estimated 1 million people live.</p>
<p>Turkey views the US-backed Syrian Kurdish forces as terrorists, and an extension of the Kurdish insurgency raging in its southeast. It has criticized the U.S. for extending support and arming the Kurdish forces as part of the campaign that drove the Islamic State group from large parts of Syria.</p>
<p>The Kurdish militia, which forms the backbone of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, now controls nearly 25 percent of Syrian territory. It is the U.S.-led coalition’s chief ally in the campaign against IS in Syria.</p>
<p>The U.S.-led coalition recently said it is planning a 30,000-strong Kurdish-led border force, further angering Turkey.</p>
<p>Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said he told U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson that those plans were a “perilous” step that would “seriously endanger ties.” The two met in Vancouver Tuesday.</p>
<p>“Such a development would damage Turkish-American ties in an irreversible manner,” the state-run Anadolu Agency quoted Cavusoglu as saying on Wednesday.</p>
<p>Erdogan said the imminent military operation is to “purge terror” from near its borders. Along with Afrin, Erdogan has also threatened Manbij, a town the Kurdish-led SDF seized from IS in 2016.</p>
<p>The Kurdish Democratic Union Party, or PYD, the political arm of the main Kurdish militia, said that if Turkey launches an operation against Afrin, the world will bear responsibility for the lives of people residing there. The PYD called on the Security Council to “move immediately” to ensure the security of Kurdish-controlled areas in Syria.</p>
<p>“Such a responsible behavior will lead to the desired result in finding a resolution for the Syrian crisis,” the PYD said in a statement.</p>
<p>The Syrian government of President Bashar Assad has meanwhile accused the SDF of being “traitors” for cooperating with the United States.</p>
<p>On Monday, Erdogan accused the United States of creating an “army of terror” in Syria along the border with Turkey, a reference to the plans for the border force. He vowed to crush the border force and called on NATO to take a stand against the United States, a fellow ally.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Syrian activists said Turkish military activities near the borders with Afrin have continued, as well as shelling of the outskirts of the town. Tanks amassed near the border with Syria, while Turkish media reported that medical personnel in Kilis, a Turkish town across the border from Afrin, were asked not to take leave, apparently in anticipation of military operations.</p>
<p>Turkey’s private Dogan news agency quotes Turkey-backed Syrian rebels as saying they are awaiting Turkish orders to launch the Afrin operations. It says some 3,000 fighters are ready to participate in operations against Afrin and Manbij.</p>
<p>_________</p>
<p>Fraser reported from Ankara, Turkey</p>
| 8,180 |
<p>I called my 80-year-old Afghan mother in Fremont, California, last night. She was watching TV, ongoing coverage of the Orlando shooting, the largest shooting massacre committed by a man in modern American history. She kept repeating the shooter’s name: Omar Mateen. He was of Afghan heritage.</p>
<p>“Mateen” means serene in Arabic and in Farsi. His actions were anything but.</p>
<p>My mom lives in the Fremont neighborhood known as Little Kabul. “What’s going to happen to us? Is the police going to come door to door and search our homes?” she asked.</p>
<p>Her questions conveyed the fear and shock we’re all feeling. The Afghan-American community that I belong to is small, maybe 300,000 with the majority living in California. We’re refugees who escaped the Soviet invasion, the Mujahideen’s civil war, the Taliban brutality and the latest violence committed by nefarious groups including ISIS. We’re defined by trauma and resilience. But we don’t commit massacres in America.</p>
<p>My social media feed is filled with soul-searching from Afghan-Americans, and apologies to LGBTQ people. But it’s also filled with denial and deflection: He was just a lone wolf, a mentally ill lunatic, and there’s no need for Afghans to even acknowledge his heritage. If a white man commits the crime, all white Americans don’t take responsibility. Why do we have to?</p>
<p>Well, because he wasn’t a white man. He had an Afghan, Muslim name and parents who came from Afghanistan; a father with a community TV program who even after the shooting said God will punish homosexuals —&#160;so his son shouldn’t have.</p>
<p />
<p>Bernie Woodall/Reuters</p>
<p>Mateen fits the picture of a modern jihadist: an alienated, unstable second-generation Muslim who knew little about Islam but associated with ISIS and their bigotry. We as a community didn’t turn him into a homophobic jihadist, but we looked away while he became one. So did law enforcement, by allowing him to purchase automatic weapons.</p>
<p>This was the first time a man of Afghan heritage took so many lives on American soil. And it must be the last. One way we can prevent more members of our community from becoming gun-toting killers is to confront our demons of homophobia and religious intolerance.</p>
<p>The other is obviously to lobby for gun control.</p>
<p>Our community took the spotlight for the first time after September 11, 2001, when most of us supported the US-led war against the Taliban. The media coverage showed Afghans as the victims, not the perpetrators. The narrative has changed 15 years later. We’re clumped together with the rest of the Muslim-American community, often tagged with extremist and intolerant labels.</p>
<p>Most Afghans are almost too tolerant. The homophobes and radicals exist but we refuse to acknowledge them. We look the other way; don’t ask, don’t tell. If Mateen had won an award, we would have claimed him as ours. But now that he’s a mass murderer, he is viewed as an outsider. Disowning him and many others like him allows us to shun the responsibility of confronting our demons.</p>
<p>In many Afghan American homes, homophobia is normal. If a son or daughter is gay, it’s a well-kept secret, one that could ruin the family name if it’s revealed.</p>
<p>Several of my friends are gay but scared to come out — they fear dishonoring their families or being beaten or ostracized by them. One of my high school friends in Fremont was hospitalized after a group of Afghan American men found out he was gay. I never saw my friend again.</p>
<p>Muslim Americans in general have become so defensive, so fearful of Islamophobia, that we’ve curtailed critical discussions within our own communities about social issues like homophobia and domestic violence. The accepted view has become to keep our dirty laundry to ourselves because our communities have become targets of hate in mainstream America.</p>
<p>But keeping secrets is disempowering, and creates more intolerance on all sides.</p>
<p>As soon as I heard the news on Sunday, I posted this on Facebook:</p>
<p>The Orlando and LGBTQ community, I'm devastated and beyond sad for your loss. I have always supported and written about the LGBTQ community and stood up against the bigotry they face in our own communities.</p>
<p>Afghans in America, this is going to be a hard day, a very bad day for our community but nothing compared to what families of the victims will go through. One of us has just committed one of the worst mass shootings in America. He was an Afghan-American, he was Muslim with radical leanings, he was a bigot. We're not all the same, but we're a small enough community to know each other. It could've been a white man, but it wasn't. Condemn him and his ideas. Stop making excuses. Stop your prejudice and bigotry against gays. Whether he was mentally ill, ideologically driven or just a homophobe, it doesn't matter. What matters is that we unite against bigotry and radicalism.</p>
<p>I hope this doesn't ensure a Trump presidency now.</p>
<p>The response was a mix of support and anger. An Afghan friend who’s gay and out to most of his family and friends responded, but was too fearful to reveal his name. I don’t blame him. The anonymity is telling that being Muslim and gay makes you a target of homophobia and Islamophobia.</p>
<p>My opinion is that, rather than talking about this guy being a mentally ill abuser and "not a Muslim," the real conversation is how common hate speech and homophobia is in the Afghan community. As I said before, he has a context and it's one we all know well. By being silent we are enabling people like this to develop into cancers like this man. I'd rather live in a world where "we are all responsible" rather than "he was just a crazy, so let's not talk about it."</p>
<p>Fariba Nawa is an Afghan American journalist, speaker and author based in Turkey.</p>
|
Omar Mateen was Afghan American. Our community needs to own that.
| false |
https://pri.org/stories/2016-06-13/omar-mateen-was-afghan-american-our-community-needs-own
|
2016-06-13
| 3left-center
|
Omar Mateen was Afghan American. Our community needs to own that.
<p>I called my 80-year-old Afghan mother in Fremont, California, last night. She was watching TV, ongoing coverage of the Orlando shooting, the largest shooting massacre committed by a man in modern American history. She kept repeating the shooter’s name: Omar Mateen. He was of Afghan heritage.</p>
<p>“Mateen” means serene in Arabic and in Farsi. His actions were anything but.</p>
<p>My mom lives in the Fremont neighborhood known as Little Kabul. “What’s going to happen to us? Is the police going to come door to door and search our homes?” she asked.</p>
<p>Her questions conveyed the fear and shock we’re all feeling. The Afghan-American community that I belong to is small, maybe 300,000 with the majority living in California. We’re refugees who escaped the Soviet invasion, the Mujahideen’s civil war, the Taliban brutality and the latest violence committed by nefarious groups including ISIS. We’re defined by trauma and resilience. But we don’t commit massacres in America.</p>
<p>My social media feed is filled with soul-searching from Afghan-Americans, and apologies to LGBTQ people. But it’s also filled with denial and deflection: He was just a lone wolf, a mentally ill lunatic, and there’s no need for Afghans to even acknowledge his heritage. If a white man commits the crime, all white Americans don’t take responsibility. Why do we have to?</p>
<p>Well, because he wasn’t a white man. He had an Afghan, Muslim name and parents who came from Afghanistan; a father with a community TV program who even after the shooting said God will punish homosexuals —&#160;so his son shouldn’t have.</p>
<p />
<p>Bernie Woodall/Reuters</p>
<p>Mateen fits the picture of a modern jihadist: an alienated, unstable second-generation Muslim who knew little about Islam but associated with ISIS and their bigotry. We as a community didn’t turn him into a homophobic jihadist, but we looked away while he became one. So did law enforcement, by allowing him to purchase automatic weapons.</p>
<p>This was the first time a man of Afghan heritage took so many lives on American soil. And it must be the last. One way we can prevent more members of our community from becoming gun-toting killers is to confront our demons of homophobia and religious intolerance.</p>
<p>The other is obviously to lobby for gun control.</p>
<p>Our community took the spotlight for the first time after September 11, 2001, when most of us supported the US-led war against the Taliban. The media coverage showed Afghans as the victims, not the perpetrators. The narrative has changed 15 years later. We’re clumped together with the rest of the Muslim-American community, often tagged with extremist and intolerant labels.</p>
<p>Most Afghans are almost too tolerant. The homophobes and radicals exist but we refuse to acknowledge them. We look the other way; don’t ask, don’t tell. If Mateen had won an award, we would have claimed him as ours. But now that he’s a mass murderer, he is viewed as an outsider. Disowning him and many others like him allows us to shun the responsibility of confronting our demons.</p>
<p>In many Afghan American homes, homophobia is normal. If a son or daughter is gay, it’s a well-kept secret, one that could ruin the family name if it’s revealed.</p>
<p>Several of my friends are gay but scared to come out — they fear dishonoring their families or being beaten or ostracized by them. One of my high school friends in Fremont was hospitalized after a group of Afghan American men found out he was gay. I never saw my friend again.</p>
<p>Muslim Americans in general have become so defensive, so fearful of Islamophobia, that we’ve curtailed critical discussions within our own communities about social issues like homophobia and domestic violence. The accepted view has become to keep our dirty laundry to ourselves because our communities have become targets of hate in mainstream America.</p>
<p>But keeping secrets is disempowering, and creates more intolerance on all sides.</p>
<p>As soon as I heard the news on Sunday, I posted this on Facebook:</p>
<p>The Orlando and LGBTQ community, I'm devastated and beyond sad for your loss. I have always supported and written about the LGBTQ community and stood up against the bigotry they face in our own communities.</p>
<p>Afghans in America, this is going to be a hard day, a very bad day for our community but nothing compared to what families of the victims will go through. One of us has just committed one of the worst mass shootings in America. He was an Afghan-American, he was Muslim with radical leanings, he was a bigot. We're not all the same, but we're a small enough community to know each other. It could've been a white man, but it wasn't. Condemn him and his ideas. Stop making excuses. Stop your prejudice and bigotry against gays. Whether he was mentally ill, ideologically driven or just a homophobe, it doesn't matter. What matters is that we unite against bigotry and radicalism.</p>
<p>I hope this doesn't ensure a Trump presidency now.</p>
<p>The response was a mix of support and anger. An Afghan friend who’s gay and out to most of his family and friends responded, but was too fearful to reveal his name. I don’t blame him. The anonymity is telling that being Muslim and gay makes you a target of homophobia and Islamophobia.</p>
<p>My opinion is that, rather than talking about this guy being a mentally ill abuser and "not a Muslim," the real conversation is how common hate speech and homophobia is in the Afghan community. As I said before, he has a context and it's one we all know well. By being silent we are enabling people like this to develop into cancers like this man. I'd rather live in a world where "we are all responsible" rather than "he was just a crazy, so let's not talk about it."</p>
<p>Fariba Nawa is an Afghan American journalist, speaker and author based in Turkey.</p>
| 8,181 |
<p>Israeli telecom company Bezeq is capitalizing on President Trump's recent visit to The Holy Land by releasing a humorous ad that may even get a chuckle out of The Donald himself.</p>
<p>In the clip (below), a man played by Israeli actor Gidi Gov is taking a tour of The White House when he suddenly finds himself alone in the Oval Office, staring at what appears to be Trump's hair piece and his suit. Things escalate "tremendously" after that:</p>
<p>As the man tries on the wig and wardrobe, he's quickly swept up into a national security emergency.</p>
<p>He does his best to play the part by pouting his lips and repeating the words, "tremendous," "China," and even squeezing in a "Crooked Hillary."</p>
<p>After delivering his spiel promoting the Bezeq's new secure internet service called Smart Net, the imposter is outed when the real Trump shows up in his bathrobe and asks, “What the hell is going on?” in what appears to be actual Trump audio.</p>
<p>As the actor is being pulled away from the room, he tells them “not the hair, not the hair!” in Hebrew.</p>
|
Video LOL: Trump Advertising For Israel's Leading Phone Company
| true |
https://dailywire.com/news/16915/video-lol-trump-advertising-israels-leading-phone-chase-stephens
|
2017-05-26
| 0right
|
Video LOL: Trump Advertising For Israel's Leading Phone Company
<p>Israeli telecom company Bezeq is capitalizing on President Trump's recent visit to The Holy Land by releasing a humorous ad that may even get a chuckle out of The Donald himself.</p>
<p>In the clip (below), a man played by Israeli actor Gidi Gov is taking a tour of The White House when he suddenly finds himself alone in the Oval Office, staring at what appears to be Trump's hair piece and his suit. Things escalate "tremendously" after that:</p>
<p>As the man tries on the wig and wardrobe, he's quickly swept up into a national security emergency.</p>
<p>He does his best to play the part by pouting his lips and repeating the words, "tremendous," "China," and even squeezing in a "Crooked Hillary."</p>
<p>After delivering his spiel promoting the Bezeq's new secure internet service called Smart Net, the imposter is outed when the real Trump shows up in his bathrobe and asks, “What the hell is going on?” in what appears to be actual Trump audio.</p>
<p>As the actor is being pulled away from the room, he tells them “not the hair, not the hair!” in Hebrew.</p>
| 8,182 |
<p>Sen. Mitch McConnell / AP</p>
<p>BY: <a href="" type="internal">Lachlan Markay</a> April 16, 2013 5:00 am</p>
<p>Allies of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) say a series of attacks and ethical complaints leveled against him are part of a coordinated campaign by left-wing activists, political operatives, and journalists to prevent his&#160;reelection in&#160;2014.</p>
<p>Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), a left-wing watchdog group, filed an ethics complaint against McConnell on Thursday, <a href="http://www.citizensforethics.org/legal-filings/entry/crew-fbi-ethics-complaints-mitch-mcconnell-kentucky-misusing-official-staff" type="external">alleging</a>&#160;he improperly used Senate resources to support his reelection effort.</p>
<p>The charges were based on a recording <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/04/mitch-mcconnell-ashley-judd-secret-tape-senate" type="external">released</a> earlier in the week by Mother Jones. Allegedly recorded by two members of Democratic Super PAC Progress Kentucky, the tape captured McConnell discussing campaign strategy with several aides.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, a poll released <a href="http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/2011/PPP_Release_KY_040913.pdf" type="external">Tuesday, April 9</a> by the Democratic polling outfit Public Policy Polling (PPP) showed low favorability ratings for McConnell.</p>
<p>McConnell’s campaign says the confluence of these events suggests coordination.</p>
<p>"When you see in the same week cooked polling, illegal recordings and a series of inter-related attacks from four different groups with strong Democrat Party ties, all then tied up in a bow and flanked by party mouthpieces, you don't need a team of rocket scientists to see the coordination of this effort," campaign manager Jesse Benton told the Washington Free Beacon in an emailed statement.</p>
<p>Mother Jones, CREW, and Progress Kentucky have denied collaborating on the McConnell recording. PPP also <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/wp/2013/04/12/mother-jones-and-mitch-mcconnell-assessing-the-charges/" type="external">denied any coordination</a> and said it regretted the timing because the results were "overshadowed" by the news of the recording.</p>
<p>However, representatives from Mother Jones, CREW, and groups with ties to Progress Kentucky all attended a December meeting of the Democracy Initiative, a coalition of left-wing groups that <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/01/democracy-initiative-campaign-finance-filibuster-sierra-club-greenpeace-naacp" type="external">discussed</a> efforts to unseat McConnell.</p>
<p>Additionally, Progress Kentucky has ties to a number of other organizations that also attended the meeting and have openly worked to promote their anti-McConnell efforts.</p>
<p>One of those groups, Public Campaign, released a report the month after the meeting criticizing McConnell for taking part in Republican filibusters. Progress Kentucky executive director Shawn Reilly joined local affiliates of the AFL-CIO and Common Cause, which also had representatives at the Democracy Initiative meeting, at a <a href="http://www.progresskentucky.com/index.php/campaigns/action-blog/14-groups-blast-sen-mitch-mcconnell-for-filibuster-abuse" type="external">press conference</a> touting the report.</p>
<p>Reilly previously <a href="http://leoweekly.com/news-features/major-stories/features/what-me-worry-inside-growing-movement-oust-sen-mitch-mcconnell" type="external">worked</a> for an anti-war group sponsored by Americans Against Escalation in Iraq, a coalition that included the group Americans United for Change (AUC). That group launched an ad last week <a href="http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2013/04/and-now-mitch-mcconnell-compared-al-qaeda/64178/" type="external">linking</a> McConnell to al Qaeda for his support for the Second Amendment.</p>
<p>Democratic National Committee communications director Brad Woodhouse, the former president of AUC, has also <a href="https://twitter.com/woodhouseb/statuses/321686206444367872" type="external">attacked</a> McConnell over the recently released recording.</p>
<p>Despite Reilly’s ties to AUC—and his <a href="http://www.democrats.org/2012-convention-delegate-list" type="external">work</a> as a Democratic Party delegate last year—Woodhouse <a href="http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/04/14/Shawn-Reilly-Unheard-Of-By-Communications-Director-AT-DNC" type="external">claimed</a> he had never heard of Progress Kentucky before the recording was released.</p>
<p>Progress Kentucky staffer Curtis Morrison allegedly recorded McConnell’s conversation with aides after an invitation-only event. Reilly has cooperated with the FBI in its investigation of the incident and <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/senate-races/293501-progress-kentucky-director-denies-illegal-activity-in-mcconnell-bugging-case" type="external">denied any wrongdoing</a>, but admitted that he was present while the meeting was recorded.</p>
<p>The McConnell campaign says all of these connections suggest behind-the-scenes collaboration by a network of groups looking to oust the Kentucky senator.</p>
<p>"The far left has openly said they will stop at nothing to beat Sen. McConnell, and now we know what they meant," Benton said.</p>
<p>David Corn, Mother Jones’ Washington bureau chief and the author who first wrote about the recording, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/wp/2013/04/12/mother-jones-and-mitch-mcconnell-assessing-the-charges/" type="external">told</a> the Washington Post that allegations of coordination were absurd.</p>
<p>"This is tin-foil stuff," Corn said. "I had no knowledge that these other developments were afoot. There was no contact, no conversations and no coordination. We are journalists and do not coordinate our coverage with partisan outfits."</p>
<p>Matthew Vadum, senior editor at the Capital Research Center, said Corn’s denial is not proof-positive that the other organizations did not take advantage of his magazine’s publishing the story.</p>
<p>"If we take Corn at his word, just because he wasn't necessarily aware of every plot being hatched behind the scenes doesn't mean that plots weren't being hatched behind the scenes," Vadum said.</p>
<p>CREW executive director Melanie Sloan said she remembered discussing McConnell at the Democracy Initiative meeting, but denied that CREW representatives or other attendees planned a coordinated attack.</p>
<p>"It’s not like this was a day about how to go after Mitch McConnell," she <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/wp/2013/04/12/mother-jones-and-mitch-mcconnell-assessing-the-charges/" type="external">told</a> the Post.</p>
<p>Some Republicans remain unconvinced. GOP strategist Rick Wilson insists that the ties between CREW, Mother Jones, Progress Kentucky, and other liberal groups targeting McConnell clearly suggest coordination.</p>
<p>The goal of the campaign, Wilson said, was "to give their allies like CREW a chance to extend the story into new domains."</p>
<p>"It's a form of political smear-laundering that a growing constellation of billionaire-funded liberal groups, party committees at the state and national level and a far left ‘media’ apparatus are devoted to in the age of Obama," Wilson said.</p>
<p>Update, 4/16, 9 AM: The story originally reported that Progress Kentucky was at the Democracy Initiative meeting.</p>
|
Questions of Coordination
| true |
http://freebeacon.com/questions-of-coordination/
|
2013-04-16
| 0right
|
Questions of Coordination
<p>Sen. Mitch McConnell / AP</p>
<p>BY: <a href="" type="internal">Lachlan Markay</a> April 16, 2013 5:00 am</p>
<p>Allies of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) say a series of attacks and ethical complaints leveled against him are part of a coordinated campaign by left-wing activists, political operatives, and journalists to prevent his&#160;reelection in&#160;2014.</p>
<p>Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), a left-wing watchdog group, filed an ethics complaint against McConnell on Thursday, <a href="http://www.citizensforethics.org/legal-filings/entry/crew-fbi-ethics-complaints-mitch-mcconnell-kentucky-misusing-official-staff" type="external">alleging</a>&#160;he improperly used Senate resources to support his reelection effort.</p>
<p>The charges were based on a recording <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/04/mitch-mcconnell-ashley-judd-secret-tape-senate" type="external">released</a> earlier in the week by Mother Jones. Allegedly recorded by two members of Democratic Super PAC Progress Kentucky, the tape captured McConnell discussing campaign strategy with several aides.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, a poll released <a href="http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/2011/PPP_Release_KY_040913.pdf" type="external">Tuesday, April 9</a> by the Democratic polling outfit Public Policy Polling (PPP) showed low favorability ratings for McConnell.</p>
<p>McConnell’s campaign says the confluence of these events suggests coordination.</p>
<p>"When you see in the same week cooked polling, illegal recordings and a series of inter-related attacks from four different groups with strong Democrat Party ties, all then tied up in a bow and flanked by party mouthpieces, you don't need a team of rocket scientists to see the coordination of this effort," campaign manager Jesse Benton told the Washington Free Beacon in an emailed statement.</p>
<p>Mother Jones, CREW, and Progress Kentucky have denied collaborating on the McConnell recording. PPP also <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/wp/2013/04/12/mother-jones-and-mitch-mcconnell-assessing-the-charges/" type="external">denied any coordination</a> and said it regretted the timing because the results were "overshadowed" by the news of the recording.</p>
<p>However, representatives from Mother Jones, CREW, and groups with ties to Progress Kentucky all attended a December meeting of the Democracy Initiative, a coalition of left-wing groups that <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/01/democracy-initiative-campaign-finance-filibuster-sierra-club-greenpeace-naacp" type="external">discussed</a> efforts to unseat McConnell.</p>
<p>Additionally, Progress Kentucky has ties to a number of other organizations that also attended the meeting and have openly worked to promote their anti-McConnell efforts.</p>
<p>One of those groups, Public Campaign, released a report the month after the meeting criticizing McConnell for taking part in Republican filibusters. Progress Kentucky executive director Shawn Reilly joined local affiliates of the AFL-CIO and Common Cause, which also had representatives at the Democracy Initiative meeting, at a <a href="http://www.progresskentucky.com/index.php/campaigns/action-blog/14-groups-blast-sen-mitch-mcconnell-for-filibuster-abuse" type="external">press conference</a> touting the report.</p>
<p>Reilly previously <a href="http://leoweekly.com/news-features/major-stories/features/what-me-worry-inside-growing-movement-oust-sen-mitch-mcconnell" type="external">worked</a> for an anti-war group sponsored by Americans Against Escalation in Iraq, a coalition that included the group Americans United for Change (AUC). That group launched an ad last week <a href="http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2013/04/and-now-mitch-mcconnell-compared-al-qaeda/64178/" type="external">linking</a> McConnell to al Qaeda for his support for the Second Amendment.</p>
<p>Democratic National Committee communications director Brad Woodhouse, the former president of AUC, has also <a href="https://twitter.com/woodhouseb/statuses/321686206444367872" type="external">attacked</a> McConnell over the recently released recording.</p>
<p>Despite Reilly’s ties to AUC—and his <a href="http://www.democrats.org/2012-convention-delegate-list" type="external">work</a> as a Democratic Party delegate last year—Woodhouse <a href="http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/04/14/Shawn-Reilly-Unheard-Of-By-Communications-Director-AT-DNC" type="external">claimed</a> he had never heard of Progress Kentucky before the recording was released.</p>
<p>Progress Kentucky staffer Curtis Morrison allegedly recorded McConnell’s conversation with aides after an invitation-only event. Reilly has cooperated with the FBI in its investigation of the incident and <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/senate-races/293501-progress-kentucky-director-denies-illegal-activity-in-mcconnell-bugging-case" type="external">denied any wrongdoing</a>, but admitted that he was present while the meeting was recorded.</p>
<p>The McConnell campaign says all of these connections suggest behind-the-scenes collaboration by a network of groups looking to oust the Kentucky senator.</p>
<p>"The far left has openly said they will stop at nothing to beat Sen. McConnell, and now we know what they meant," Benton said.</p>
<p>David Corn, Mother Jones’ Washington bureau chief and the author who first wrote about the recording, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/wp/2013/04/12/mother-jones-and-mitch-mcconnell-assessing-the-charges/" type="external">told</a> the Washington Post that allegations of coordination were absurd.</p>
<p>"This is tin-foil stuff," Corn said. "I had no knowledge that these other developments were afoot. There was no contact, no conversations and no coordination. We are journalists and do not coordinate our coverage with partisan outfits."</p>
<p>Matthew Vadum, senior editor at the Capital Research Center, said Corn’s denial is not proof-positive that the other organizations did not take advantage of his magazine’s publishing the story.</p>
<p>"If we take Corn at his word, just because he wasn't necessarily aware of every plot being hatched behind the scenes doesn't mean that plots weren't being hatched behind the scenes," Vadum said.</p>
<p>CREW executive director Melanie Sloan said she remembered discussing McConnell at the Democracy Initiative meeting, but denied that CREW representatives or other attendees planned a coordinated attack.</p>
<p>"It’s not like this was a day about how to go after Mitch McConnell," she <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/wp/2013/04/12/mother-jones-and-mitch-mcconnell-assessing-the-charges/" type="external">told</a> the Post.</p>
<p>Some Republicans remain unconvinced. GOP strategist Rick Wilson insists that the ties between CREW, Mother Jones, Progress Kentucky, and other liberal groups targeting McConnell clearly suggest coordination.</p>
<p>The goal of the campaign, Wilson said, was "to give their allies like CREW a chance to extend the story into new domains."</p>
<p>"It's a form of political smear-laundering that a growing constellation of billionaire-funded liberal groups, party committees at the state and national level and a far left ‘media’ apparatus are devoted to in the age of Obama," Wilson said.</p>
<p>Update, 4/16, 9 AM: The story originally reported that Progress Kentucky was at the Democracy Initiative meeting.</p>
| 8,183 |
<p>Berlin.</p>
<p>So here it is, mid-September, and it looks like Trump is still in this thing. Which is pretty amazing when you think about it. Despite the Hitlerization of this clown by more or less every major organ of the mainstream media throughout the spring, and his Russification throughout the summer, and his racism, narcissism, and blatant idiocy, he’s polling within a couple points of Clinton.</p>
<p>This was not supposed to happen. Neoliberal elites are panicking. It’s not that they’re worried about Trump himself as much as this “populist backlash” thing, which appears to be spreading throughout the West, and is screwing with stuff like the TPP, the European Union, and Great Britain, and so on. Which means, from now until November 8, the liberal media will be deploying every emotionally manipulative weapon in their arsenal to guilt-trip you into voting for Clinton, as if democracy and life itself depended on it. Here are some examples from the weekend papers …</p>
<p>The New York Times, having already done the “Trump-is-Hitler” thing to death, broke out the Klu Klux Klan analogy, proclaiming Trump the <a href="" type="internal">Grand Wizard of Birtherism</a>. The Guardian reported <a href="" type="internal">he called</a> on his brownshirts to assassinate Clinton at a rally in Miami (although they went back later and toned down their headline, which even for The Guardian was over the top). Washington Post, after conducting an in-depth analysis of three or four of Trump’s tweets, agreed that he was raising “ <a href="" type="internal">the specter of violence</a>.” And, following Jimmy Fallon’s hair-mussing incident, Slate announced that from this point on “ <a href="" type="internal">there is no longer a non-partisan space</a> … there are no Switzerlands in the 2016 election.” You’re either with Clinton or you’re a Hitler-lover.</p>
<p>The problem is, it isn’t working (or it isn’t working well enough), the tried and true “Hitlerization” tactic. Perhaps it’s the fact that Trump is an American. Hitlerization works much better on foreign “Hitlers,” like Ho Chi Min, Noriega, Milosevic, or Saddam Hussein. Or maybe they’ve just used it too often. I mean, sure, you can trick people into believing that someone is a “modern day Hitler” six, maybe seven times running, but eventually they start to feel like suckers who keep falling for the same crap over and over. Norman Solomon <a href="http://www.alternet.org/story/23735/%27this_guy_is_a_modern-day_hitler%27" type="external">wrote a book</a> about this, back in 2005, I believe … but whatever, this is no time for history or critical thinking. There’s too much at stake.</p>
<p>With that in mind, as a loyal American, I feel it’s time to dispense with satire and contribute to the effort to help the Democrats, and the Clintons, and their friends at Goldman Sachs, and the entire transnational capitalist ruling class, save the world from the coming Trumpocalypse. I intend to do that by scaring you shitless, because I can’t really think of any other reason you’d want to buy into this mockery of democracy and actually go out vote for Clinton … and, apparently, neither can she or her people, because the fear thing seems to be all they’ve got. So no more pussyfooting around. Here it is, the nightmare scenario. Vote for Clinton, or this is what you get.</p>
<p>Friday, January 20, 2017</p>
<p>Immediately after being sworn in as President, so right there on the Capitol steps, as a horrified nation watches on TV, Trump declares a National State of Emergency “to deal with the illegal immigrant threat,” dissolves the U.S. Congress, suspends the Constitution, and appoints himself “Leader of the Western World.” He orders the military to assemble its troops in football stadiums with corporate names and swear an “Oath of Allegiance” to him personally. He orders NORAD to go to DEFCON 3, for reasons he refuses to clarify. Global markets plunge precipitously. The entire American “Deep State” nexus (DOD, DHS, NSA, CIA, DOJ, NSC, CFR, Wall Street, et al.) have no choice but to follow his orders, because they have to respect the election results. In spite of the fact that Trump clearly intends to strip them of their enormous power, and establish some sort of megalomaniacal fascist empire and take over the world, they surrender, and do whatever he says.</p>
<p>Saturday, January 21</p>
<p>Trump appoints David Duke both Director of the Department Homeland Security and Chief of Staff. Duke promptly orders the DHS logo to be revised to prominently feature “Pepe the Frog.” Meanwhile, the Clintons, and most of the Democratic Party leadership, are arrested by Trump’s personal “Security Forces,” charged with sedition, and spirited away to an undisclosed location. Trump closes the United Nations headquarters in New York, nationalizes the Wall Street banks, unilaterally abrogates every international trade deal the U.S. has ever signed on to, and orders “persons of un-American ethnicity” to report to their local DHS office for “processing.” Again, nobody is able to stop him, because “he won the election fair and square.”</p>
<p>Sunday, January 22</p>
<p>By Sunday morning the spirited but strictly non-violent anti-Trump protests that erupted overnight around the country have been brutally crushed by the U.S. military, which just mindlessly follows the obviously insane orders of recently unretired General Michael T. Flynn, Trump’s Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Wisps of smoke rise from the National Mall, where David Duke and his Department of Homeland Security stormtroopers, most in full Klu Klux Klan regalia, conducted some sort of mass cross burning during the night. Trump nationalizes the television networks. He nationalizes the Internet and names Kellyanne Conway “Internet Czarina.” He closes the airports and seals the borders. The global economy completely collapses. Hording, rioting, and looting is rampant. The entire world is powerless to stop this, because, after all, “he won the election.” The global capitalist ruling classes tremble in fear in their yachts and mansions, wishing they weren’t bound by “the rules” to respect the people’s choice this one time.</p>
<p>Monday, January 23</p>
<p>America wakes to finds its streets occupied by Russian soldiers, most of whom are clearly drunk. Trump and Putin appear together on the lawn of the White House, both of them shirtless, looking like they’ve been up all night, and announce a new bilateral arrangement whereby the two of them will rule the world “with iron fists of decisive greatness.” The Russian invasion is only temporary. They all fly home at the end of the day, and immediately invade the European Union, for reasons that make no sense to anyone. India and Pakistan nuke each other. NORAD goes to DEFCON 2.</p>
<p>Tuesday, January 24</p>
<p>The Anschluss of Mexico and Canada begins … and ends victoriously three hours later. Trump, out of “an abundance of caution,” goes ahead and takes Central America, and orders a wall built on the Colombian border. Europe, at this point, has been reduced to rubble. Brussels and Berlin have been tactically nuked, rumor has it by Nigel Farage, who has somehow assumed control of Great Britain. Marine le Pen, who is running France, has been frantically trying to get through to Trump and find out who to surrender to, but unfortunately all the hot-lines are down. Meanwhile, back in the USA, David Duke, and a handful of other racist losers you’ve never heard of, have gathered in a villa on the shores of Lake Pontchartrain to sketch out “a solution to the Mexican problem.” Israel, figuring “oh, what the hell,” goes ahead and nukes Iran. Putin, relaxing in his Black Sea dacha with a bevy of bimbos and Edward Snowden, watches it all unfold on TV, laughing demonically as democracy burns. Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman, who has somehow miraculously survived thus far, emerges from hiding to scold millennials for stubbornly refusing to vote for Clinton, the only person who could have prevented all this.</p>
<p>Wednesday, January 25</p>
<p>China nukes Russia. Russia nukes Japan. The U.K. nukes Brussels, which has already been nuked. Israel nukes Saudi Arabia and Egypt. North Korea nukes South Korea. France, apparently, nukes itself. Trump, consummate showman to the end, stages a enormous Riefenstahlian rally in honor of Wotan in Central Park, proclaims himself “the one-eyed God,” and orders all Americans to poison themselves with a mixture of cyanide and Peach Mango Kool-Aid, the trademark for which he has recently acquired with a loan from some no-name bank he nationalized … all of which could have been avoided if people had just shut up and voted for Clinton.</p>
<p>Thursday, January 26</p>
<p>The Trumpocalypse … the end of all life on Earth. This is Humanity’s final punishment for ignoring the warnings of neoliberal pundits and refusing to vote for Hillary Clinton. Trump, sensing the end is nigh, and (like every other megalomaniac) wanting to take all of Creation with him, launches his remaining nukes at Putin. He does this from the open bomb bay of a Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit. As Putin launches his retaliatory strike, cursing the soul of his former puppet, Trump rides the snow white B83 thermonuclear gravity ordnance, Slim Pickens-style, down out of the heavens, wearing a “Make America Great” cap to keep his hair from looking silly … Shantih … shantih … shantih …</p>
<p>N.B. The preceding was a work of political satire intended for mature audiences only. As a former New Yorker who had to live in physical proximity to Donald Trump, and read his name in big gold letters protruding from the facades of various buildings on a daily basis for fifteen years, and given the current political climate, I feel it necessary to reiterate here my previously expressed contempt for Mr Trump, whom I consider a disgusting, self-aggrandizing charlatan, not to mention a racist, misogynist pig. I do not support him or any of his activities. I wish him, and all those like him, ill. So take it easy on the tweets and emails.</p>
|
The Rise and Fall of the Trumpian Reich
| true |
https://counterpunch.org/2016/09/21/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-trumpian-reich/
|
2016-09-21
| 4left
|
The Rise and Fall of the Trumpian Reich
<p>Berlin.</p>
<p>So here it is, mid-September, and it looks like Trump is still in this thing. Which is pretty amazing when you think about it. Despite the Hitlerization of this clown by more or less every major organ of the mainstream media throughout the spring, and his Russification throughout the summer, and his racism, narcissism, and blatant idiocy, he’s polling within a couple points of Clinton.</p>
<p>This was not supposed to happen. Neoliberal elites are panicking. It’s not that they’re worried about Trump himself as much as this “populist backlash” thing, which appears to be spreading throughout the West, and is screwing with stuff like the TPP, the European Union, and Great Britain, and so on. Which means, from now until November 8, the liberal media will be deploying every emotionally manipulative weapon in their arsenal to guilt-trip you into voting for Clinton, as if democracy and life itself depended on it. Here are some examples from the weekend papers …</p>
<p>The New York Times, having already done the “Trump-is-Hitler” thing to death, broke out the Klu Klux Klan analogy, proclaiming Trump the <a href="" type="internal">Grand Wizard of Birtherism</a>. The Guardian reported <a href="" type="internal">he called</a> on his brownshirts to assassinate Clinton at a rally in Miami (although they went back later and toned down their headline, which even for The Guardian was over the top). Washington Post, after conducting an in-depth analysis of three or four of Trump’s tweets, agreed that he was raising “ <a href="" type="internal">the specter of violence</a>.” And, following Jimmy Fallon’s hair-mussing incident, Slate announced that from this point on “ <a href="" type="internal">there is no longer a non-partisan space</a> … there are no Switzerlands in the 2016 election.” You’re either with Clinton or you’re a Hitler-lover.</p>
<p>The problem is, it isn’t working (or it isn’t working well enough), the tried and true “Hitlerization” tactic. Perhaps it’s the fact that Trump is an American. Hitlerization works much better on foreign “Hitlers,” like Ho Chi Min, Noriega, Milosevic, or Saddam Hussein. Or maybe they’ve just used it too often. I mean, sure, you can trick people into believing that someone is a “modern day Hitler” six, maybe seven times running, but eventually they start to feel like suckers who keep falling for the same crap over and over. Norman Solomon <a href="http://www.alternet.org/story/23735/%27this_guy_is_a_modern-day_hitler%27" type="external">wrote a book</a> about this, back in 2005, I believe … but whatever, this is no time for history or critical thinking. There’s too much at stake.</p>
<p>With that in mind, as a loyal American, I feel it’s time to dispense with satire and contribute to the effort to help the Democrats, and the Clintons, and their friends at Goldman Sachs, and the entire transnational capitalist ruling class, save the world from the coming Trumpocalypse. I intend to do that by scaring you shitless, because I can’t really think of any other reason you’d want to buy into this mockery of democracy and actually go out vote for Clinton … and, apparently, neither can she or her people, because the fear thing seems to be all they’ve got. So no more pussyfooting around. Here it is, the nightmare scenario. Vote for Clinton, or this is what you get.</p>
<p>Friday, January 20, 2017</p>
<p>Immediately after being sworn in as President, so right there on the Capitol steps, as a horrified nation watches on TV, Trump declares a National State of Emergency “to deal with the illegal immigrant threat,” dissolves the U.S. Congress, suspends the Constitution, and appoints himself “Leader of the Western World.” He orders the military to assemble its troops in football stadiums with corporate names and swear an “Oath of Allegiance” to him personally. He orders NORAD to go to DEFCON 3, for reasons he refuses to clarify. Global markets plunge precipitously. The entire American “Deep State” nexus (DOD, DHS, NSA, CIA, DOJ, NSC, CFR, Wall Street, et al.) have no choice but to follow his orders, because they have to respect the election results. In spite of the fact that Trump clearly intends to strip them of their enormous power, and establish some sort of megalomaniacal fascist empire and take over the world, they surrender, and do whatever he says.</p>
<p>Saturday, January 21</p>
<p>Trump appoints David Duke both Director of the Department Homeland Security and Chief of Staff. Duke promptly orders the DHS logo to be revised to prominently feature “Pepe the Frog.” Meanwhile, the Clintons, and most of the Democratic Party leadership, are arrested by Trump’s personal “Security Forces,” charged with sedition, and spirited away to an undisclosed location. Trump closes the United Nations headquarters in New York, nationalizes the Wall Street banks, unilaterally abrogates every international trade deal the U.S. has ever signed on to, and orders “persons of un-American ethnicity” to report to their local DHS office for “processing.” Again, nobody is able to stop him, because “he won the election fair and square.”</p>
<p>Sunday, January 22</p>
<p>By Sunday morning the spirited but strictly non-violent anti-Trump protests that erupted overnight around the country have been brutally crushed by the U.S. military, which just mindlessly follows the obviously insane orders of recently unretired General Michael T. Flynn, Trump’s Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Wisps of smoke rise from the National Mall, where David Duke and his Department of Homeland Security stormtroopers, most in full Klu Klux Klan regalia, conducted some sort of mass cross burning during the night. Trump nationalizes the television networks. He nationalizes the Internet and names Kellyanne Conway “Internet Czarina.” He closes the airports and seals the borders. The global economy completely collapses. Hording, rioting, and looting is rampant. The entire world is powerless to stop this, because, after all, “he won the election.” The global capitalist ruling classes tremble in fear in their yachts and mansions, wishing they weren’t bound by “the rules” to respect the people’s choice this one time.</p>
<p>Monday, January 23</p>
<p>America wakes to finds its streets occupied by Russian soldiers, most of whom are clearly drunk. Trump and Putin appear together on the lawn of the White House, both of them shirtless, looking like they’ve been up all night, and announce a new bilateral arrangement whereby the two of them will rule the world “with iron fists of decisive greatness.” The Russian invasion is only temporary. They all fly home at the end of the day, and immediately invade the European Union, for reasons that make no sense to anyone. India and Pakistan nuke each other. NORAD goes to DEFCON 2.</p>
<p>Tuesday, January 24</p>
<p>The Anschluss of Mexico and Canada begins … and ends victoriously three hours later. Trump, out of “an abundance of caution,” goes ahead and takes Central America, and orders a wall built on the Colombian border. Europe, at this point, has been reduced to rubble. Brussels and Berlin have been tactically nuked, rumor has it by Nigel Farage, who has somehow assumed control of Great Britain. Marine le Pen, who is running France, has been frantically trying to get through to Trump and find out who to surrender to, but unfortunately all the hot-lines are down. Meanwhile, back in the USA, David Duke, and a handful of other racist losers you’ve never heard of, have gathered in a villa on the shores of Lake Pontchartrain to sketch out “a solution to the Mexican problem.” Israel, figuring “oh, what the hell,” goes ahead and nukes Iran. Putin, relaxing in his Black Sea dacha with a bevy of bimbos and Edward Snowden, watches it all unfold on TV, laughing demonically as democracy burns. Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman, who has somehow miraculously survived thus far, emerges from hiding to scold millennials for stubbornly refusing to vote for Clinton, the only person who could have prevented all this.</p>
<p>Wednesday, January 25</p>
<p>China nukes Russia. Russia nukes Japan. The U.K. nukes Brussels, which has already been nuked. Israel nukes Saudi Arabia and Egypt. North Korea nukes South Korea. France, apparently, nukes itself. Trump, consummate showman to the end, stages a enormous Riefenstahlian rally in honor of Wotan in Central Park, proclaims himself “the one-eyed God,” and orders all Americans to poison themselves with a mixture of cyanide and Peach Mango Kool-Aid, the trademark for which he has recently acquired with a loan from some no-name bank he nationalized … all of which could have been avoided if people had just shut up and voted for Clinton.</p>
<p>Thursday, January 26</p>
<p>The Trumpocalypse … the end of all life on Earth. This is Humanity’s final punishment for ignoring the warnings of neoliberal pundits and refusing to vote for Hillary Clinton. Trump, sensing the end is nigh, and (like every other megalomaniac) wanting to take all of Creation with him, launches his remaining nukes at Putin. He does this from the open bomb bay of a Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit. As Putin launches his retaliatory strike, cursing the soul of his former puppet, Trump rides the snow white B83 thermonuclear gravity ordnance, Slim Pickens-style, down out of the heavens, wearing a “Make America Great” cap to keep his hair from looking silly … Shantih … shantih … shantih …</p>
<p>N.B. The preceding was a work of political satire intended for mature audiences only. As a former New Yorker who had to live in physical proximity to Donald Trump, and read his name in big gold letters protruding from the facades of various buildings on a daily basis for fifteen years, and given the current political climate, I feel it necessary to reiterate here my previously expressed contempt for Mr Trump, whom I consider a disgusting, self-aggrandizing charlatan, not to mention a racist, misogynist pig. I do not support him or any of his activities. I wish him, and all those like him, ill. So take it easy on the tweets and emails.</p>
| 8,184 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>Armando Chavez, 52 (MDC)</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A 52-year-old man was arrested and charged with kidnapping Monday after police say he grabbed a preteen girl walking in&#160;the&#160;neighborhood near Broadway and Avenida Cesar Chavez SE, attacked her, and punched her in the head.</p>
<p>According to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court, the 12-year-old told police she was&#160;going to the bus stop on William and Romana SE Monday morning when a man later identified as Armando Chavez started following her.</p>
<p>“(The girl) told me she was walking to her bus stop when a male subject grabbed her by the hand,” the officer wrote in the complaint. “(The girl) advised she was afraid of the male subject so she attempted to get away from him but was unable to due to him overpowering her.”</p>
<p>Chavez then held her around the waist from behind and rubbed his hand over the girl, groping her, and she said she was afraid he was going to rape her, according to the complaint.</p>
<p>The girl told police as she was trying to get away from Chavez he punched her in the head.</p>
<p>“(The girl) advised she was able to get away from the male and ran into the backyard of the first house she saw,” the officer wrote in the complaint. “She called her mother and told her she was attacked.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>They called the police and officers searched the area for the offender. They spotted Chavez at the nearby intersection of Broadway and Gibson SE and they said the girl identified him as the man who had assaulted her.</p>
<p>Chavez requested an attorney for his interview with detectives and he was booked into the county jail. The District Attorney’s Office has filed a motion asking&#160;Chavez to be held in jail until his trial.</p>
<p>A hearing will be held on the matter in the next couple of days.</p>
<p>It’s unclear from online court records who his attorney will be.</p>
<p />
<p />
|
Man charged with kidnapping in attack of 12-year-old girl
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/1102360/man-charged-with-kidnapping-in-assault-of-12-year-old-girl.html
| 2least
|
Man charged with kidnapping in attack of 12-year-old girl
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>Armando Chavez, 52 (MDC)</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A 52-year-old man was arrested and charged with kidnapping Monday after police say he grabbed a preteen girl walking in&#160;the&#160;neighborhood near Broadway and Avenida Cesar Chavez SE, attacked her, and punched her in the head.</p>
<p>According to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court, the 12-year-old told police she was&#160;going to the bus stop on William and Romana SE Monday morning when a man later identified as Armando Chavez started following her.</p>
<p>“(The girl) told me she was walking to her bus stop when a male subject grabbed her by the hand,” the officer wrote in the complaint. “(The girl) advised she was afraid of the male subject so she attempted to get away from him but was unable to due to him overpowering her.”</p>
<p>Chavez then held her around the waist from behind and rubbed his hand over the girl, groping her, and she said she was afraid he was going to rape her, according to the complaint.</p>
<p>The girl told police as she was trying to get away from Chavez he punched her in the head.</p>
<p>“(The girl) advised she was able to get away from the male and ran into the backyard of the first house she saw,” the officer wrote in the complaint. “She called her mother and told her she was attacked.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>They called the police and officers searched the area for the offender. They spotted Chavez at the nearby intersection of Broadway and Gibson SE and they said the girl identified him as the man who had assaulted her.</p>
<p>Chavez requested an attorney for his interview with detectives and he was booked into the county jail. The District Attorney’s Office has filed a motion asking&#160;Chavez to be held in jail until his trial.</p>
<p>A hearing will be held on the matter in the next couple of days.</p>
<p>It’s unclear from online court records who his attorney will be.</p>
<p />
<p />
| 8,185 |
|
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - Federal prosecutors say a Shiprock man will be sentenced to six years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder.</p>
<p>The U.S. Attorney's Office says the charge against 39-year-old Alvert Miller stems from an April 2013 drunken-driving accident in which a passenger was killed.</p>
<p>Milled pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque on Wednesday. His sentencing hasn't yet been scheduled.</p>
<p>The accident occurred near Littlewater on the Navajo Nation.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
|
Shiprock man pleads guilty to second-degree murder
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/388905/shiprock-man-pleads-guilty-to-second-degree-murder.html
| 2least
|
Shiprock man pleads guilty to second-degree murder
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - Federal prosecutors say a Shiprock man will be sentenced to six years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder.</p>
<p>The U.S. Attorney's Office says the charge against 39-year-old Alvert Miller stems from an April 2013 drunken-driving accident in which a passenger was killed.</p>
<p>Milled pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque on Wednesday. His sentencing hasn't yet been scheduled.</p>
<p>The accident occurred near Littlewater on the Navajo Nation.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
| 8,186 |
|
<p>SKOPJE, Macedonia (AP) — Macedonian authorities have made public transport temporarily free for all in the capital Skopje, as part of a batch of emergency measures to fight high air pollution levels.</p>
<p>The government said Monday that pollution in Skopje was recorded at more than four times above safety levels and that it has decided to ban heavy vehicles entering the city center. It has also excused pregnant women and people over 60 years of age from work.</p>
<p>Skopje has severe air pollution problems every winter, as a result of industrial emissions, smoke from wood-burning stoves and exhaust fumes from old cars.</p>
<p>The measures will remain in effect until pollution levels drop.</p>
<p>SKOPJE, Macedonia (AP) — Macedonian authorities have made public transport temporarily free for all in the capital Skopje, as part of a batch of emergency measures to fight high air pollution levels.</p>
<p>The government said Monday that pollution in Skopje was recorded at more than four times above safety levels and that it has decided to ban heavy vehicles entering the city center. It has also excused pregnant women and people over 60 years of age from work.</p>
<p>Skopje has severe air pollution problems every winter, as a result of industrial emissions, smoke from wood-burning stoves and exhaust fumes from old cars.</p>
<p>The measures will remain in effect until pollution levels drop.</p>
|
Macedonia takes emergency measures against air pollution
| false |
https://apnews.com/928252b732a644f5a94643d926469d59
|
2018-01-08
| 2least
|
Macedonia takes emergency measures against air pollution
<p>SKOPJE, Macedonia (AP) — Macedonian authorities have made public transport temporarily free for all in the capital Skopje, as part of a batch of emergency measures to fight high air pollution levels.</p>
<p>The government said Monday that pollution in Skopje was recorded at more than four times above safety levels and that it has decided to ban heavy vehicles entering the city center. It has also excused pregnant women and people over 60 years of age from work.</p>
<p>Skopje has severe air pollution problems every winter, as a result of industrial emissions, smoke from wood-burning stoves and exhaust fumes from old cars.</p>
<p>The measures will remain in effect until pollution levels drop.</p>
<p>SKOPJE, Macedonia (AP) — Macedonian authorities have made public transport temporarily free for all in the capital Skopje, as part of a batch of emergency measures to fight high air pollution levels.</p>
<p>The government said Monday that pollution in Skopje was recorded at more than four times above safety levels and that it has decided to ban heavy vehicles entering the city center. It has also excused pregnant women and people over 60 years of age from work.</p>
<p>Skopje has severe air pollution problems every winter, as a result of industrial emissions, smoke from wood-burning stoves and exhaust fumes from old cars.</p>
<p>The measures will remain in effect until pollution levels drop.</p>
| 8,187 |
<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — Most of the states that first endorsed the Common Core academic standards are still using them in some form, despite continued debate over whether they are improving student performance in reading and math.</p>
<p>Of the states that opted in after the standards were introduced in 2010 — 45 plus the District of Columbia — only eight have moved to repeal the standards, largely due to political pressure from those who saw Common Core as infringing on local control, according to Abt Associates, a research and consulting firm. In Oklahoma, Gov. Mary Fallin signed a bill to repeal the standards in 2014 less than six months after defending them in a speech. She said Common Core had become too divisive.</p>
<p>Twenty-one other states have made or are making revisions — mostly minor ones — to the guidelines. Illinois kept the wording while changing the name. In April, North Dakota approved new guidelines "written by North Dakotans, for North Dakotans," but some educators said they were quite similar to Common Core. Earlier this month, New York moved to revise the standards after parents protested new tests aligned to Common Core, but much of the structure has been kept.</p>
<p>"The core of the Common Core remains in almost every state that adopted them," said Mike Petrilli, president of the conservative Thomas B. Fordham Institute.</p>
<p>Launched in 2010 by a bipartisan group of governors and state education chiefs, Common Core sought to bring scholastic standards to the same high level nationwide. The standards quickly became controversial when the Obama administration offered states federal dollars to nudge them to adopt it. States' rights activists cried foul, saying the effort undermined local control. Meanwhile, some teachers criticized the standards as confusing and out of synch with students' needs, while others feared that non-fiction would crowd out the works of Shakespeare.</p>
<p>President Donald Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos spoke out against the standards, but the issue has been largely out of their hands. A 2015 law prohibits the federal government from promoting any set of standards, including Common Core.</p>
<p>A national survey by Education Next, a journal published by Harvard's Kennedy School and Stanford University, found that support for nationwide academic standards rose over the past two years, as long as the name Common Core was not used.</p>
<p>Measuring the direct impact of Common Core is difficult. A study last year by the Brown Center on Education Policy with the Brookings Institution showed that adopters of Common Core initially outperformed their peers, but those effects faded. It's also unclear if the gains were caused specifically by Common Core.</p>
<p>"I think it was much ado about nothing," said Tom Loveless, the author of the report. "It has some good elements, some bad elements. Common Core nets out to be a non-event in terms of raising student achievement."</p>
<p>Petrilli, who advocated for Common Core, is convinced the standards resulted in more rigor and better tests.</p>
<p>"We are now following a much better recipe for student achievement, but the cake is still being baked, so we don't yet know if it's going to taste as good as we hope," Petrilli said.</p>
<p>In the District of Columbia, traditional public schools saw a 7 percent gain in the number of students proficient in English and 6.5 percent gain in math since 2015, when the Common Core standards were fully implemented.</p>
<p>Eric Bethel, principal at Turner Elementary School, says the new guidelines push students to learn "not only the how, but also the why behind the mathematics."</p>
<p>"Students are learning more and what's expected of them is much more rigorous than before," Bethel told AP. As he walked around the school, a walkie-talkie in hand, wide-eyed kindergarteners strolled slowly down a hallway in a neat line, while older students ran around laughing.</p>
<p>Under Common Core, first-grade teacher Amancia Hanna reads her students more non-fiction books than fairy tales and says they find it easier to relate to real-life characters and enjoy reading more.</p>
<p>"That helps them persevere and they see a real person doing it," said Hanna. "Whereas in Cinderella, there is magic, there is fairy tale, you are waiting for somebody to come along and fix this problem for you."</p>
<p>One of Hanna's students, Zakai Winchester, 6, reflected on a lesson he learned from reading. "You should be kind to others and be nice to your friends — you have to listen to each other," he said.</p>
<p>Hanna says Common Core provides instructors with the necessary structure and guidance, which is especially important for new teachers. She said it also seeks to give all students an equal shot.</p>
<p>"I don't care if you are in Minneapolis, I don't care if you are in New York, Florida, wherever you may be — every child deserves that same, equal excellent education and opportunity and I think that the Common Core provides that for all students across the board," Hanna said.</p>
<p>Others disagree. Kristen Brodie, an elementary school teacher in Houston, says the new standards are too rigorous and require analytical skills that young children may not be ready for. She also believes that non-fiction should be introduced in later grades.</p>
<p>"When you've got brand new readers, fiction tends to be the better tool," Brodie said.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press reporter Dave Kolpack contributed to this story form Fargo, North Dakota.</p>
<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — Most of the states that first endorsed the Common Core academic standards are still using them in some form, despite continued debate over whether they are improving student performance in reading and math.</p>
<p>Of the states that opted in after the standards were introduced in 2010 — 45 plus the District of Columbia — only eight have moved to repeal the standards, largely due to political pressure from those who saw Common Core as infringing on local control, according to Abt Associates, a research and consulting firm. In Oklahoma, Gov. Mary Fallin signed a bill to repeal the standards in 2014 less than six months after defending them in a speech. She said Common Core had become too divisive.</p>
<p>Twenty-one other states have made or are making revisions — mostly minor ones — to the guidelines. Illinois kept the wording while changing the name. In April, North Dakota approved new guidelines "written by North Dakotans, for North Dakotans," but some educators said they were quite similar to Common Core. Earlier this month, New York moved to revise the standards after parents protested new tests aligned to Common Core, but much of the structure has been kept.</p>
<p>"The core of the Common Core remains in almost every state that adopted them," said Mike Petrilli, president of the conservative Thomas B. Fordham Institute.</p>
<p>Launched in 2010 by a bipartisan group of governors and state education chiefs, Common Core sought to bring scholastic standards to the same high level nationwide. The standards quickly became controversial when the Obama administration offered states federal dollars to nudge them to adopt it. States' rights activists cried foul, saying the effort undermined local control. Meanwhile, some teachers criticized the standards as confusing and out of synch with students' needs, while others feared that non-fiction would crowd out the works of Shakespeare.</p>
<p>President Donald Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos spoke out against the standards, but the issue has been largely out of their hands. A 2015 law prohibits the federal government from promoting any set of standards, including Common Core.</p>
<p>A national survey by Education Next, a journal published by Harvard's Kennedy School and Stanford University, found that support for nationwide academic standards rose over the past two years, as long as the name Common Core was not used.</p>
<p>Measuring the direct impact of Common Core is difficult. A study last year by the Brown Center on Education Policy with the Brookings Institution showed that adopters of Common Core initially outperformed their peers, but those effects faded. It's also unclear if the gains were caused specifically by Common Core.</p>
<p>"I think it was much ado about nothing," said Tom Loveless, the author of the report. "It has some good elements, some bad elements. Common Core nets out to be a non-event in terms of raising student achievement."</p>
<p>Petrilli, who advocated for Common Core, is convinced the standards resulted in more rigor and better tests.</p>
<p>"We are now following a much better recipe for student achievement, but the cake is still being baked, so we don't yet know if it's going to taste as good as we hope," Petrilli said.</p>
<p>In the District of Columbia, traditional public schools saw a 7 percent gain in the number of students proficient in English and 6.5 percent gain in math since 2015, when the Common Core standards were fully implemented.</p>
<p>Eric Bethel, principal at Turner Elementary School, says the new guidelines push students to learn "not only the how, but also the why behind the mathematics."</p>
<p>"Students are learning more and what's expected of them is much more rigorous than before," Bethel told AP. As he walked around the school, a walkie-talkie in hand, wide-eyed kindergarteners strolled slowly down a hallway in a neat line, while older students ran around laughing.</p>
<p>Under Common Core, first-grade teacher Amancia Hanna reads her students more non-fiction books than fairy tales and says they find it easier to relate to real-life characters and enjoy reading more.</p>
<p>"That helps them persevere and they see a real person doing it," said Hanna. "Whereas in Cinderella, there is magic, there is fairy tale, you are waiting for somebody to come along and fix this problem for you."</p>
<p>One of Hanna's students, Zakai Winchester, 6, reflected on a lesson he learned from reading. "You should be kind to others and be nice to your friends — you have to listen to each other," he said.</p>
<p>Hanna says Common Core provides instructors with the necessary structure and guidance, which is especially important for new teachers. She said it also seeks to give all students an equal shot.</p>
<p>"I don't care if you are in Minneapolis, I don't care if you are in New York, Florida, wherever you may be — every child deserves that same, equal excellent education and opportunity and I think that the Common Core provides that for all students across the board," Hanna said.</p>
<p>Others disagree. Kristen Brodie, an elementary school teacher in Houston, says the new standards are too rigorous and require analytical skills that young children may not be ready for. She also believes that non-fiction should be introduced in later grades.</p>
<p>"When you've got brand new readers, fiction tends to be the better tool," Brodie said.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press reporter Dave Kolpack contributed to this story form Fargo, North Dakota.</p>
|
Common Core used widely, despite continuing debate
| false |
https://apnews.com/amp/ff30a1e74c9a4d18b09f00ed9eb207df
|
2017-09-19
| 2least
|
Common Core used widely, despite continuing debate
<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — Most of the states that first endorsed the Common Core academic standards are still using them in some form, despite continued debate over whether they are improving student performance in reading and math.</p>
<p>Of the states that opted in after the standards were introduced in 2010 — 45 plus the District of Columbia — only eight have moved to repeal the standards, largely due to political pressure from those who saw Common Core as infringing on local control, according to Abt Associates, a research and consulting firm. In Oklahoma, Gov. Mary Fallin signed a bill to repeal the standards in 2014 less than six months after defending them in a speech. She said Common Core had become too divisive.</p>
<p>Twenty-one other states have made or are making revisions — mostly minor ones — to the guidelines. Illinois kept the wording while changing the name. In April, North Dakota approved new guidelines "written by North Dakotans, for North Dakotans," but some educators said they were quite similar to Common Core. Earlier this month, New York moved to revise the standards after parents protested new tests aligned to Common Core, but much of the structure has been kept.</p>
<p>"The core of the Common Core remains in almost every state that adopted them," said Mike Petrilli, president of the conservative Thomas B. Fordham Institute.</p>
<p>Launched in 2010 by a bipartisan group of governors and state education chiefs, Common Core sought to bring scholastic standards to the same high level nationwide. The standards quickly became controversial when the Obama administration offered states federal dollars to nudge them to adopt it. States' rights activists cried foul, saying the effort undermined local control. Meanwhile, some teachers criticized the standards as confusing and out of synch with students' needs, while others feared that non-fiction would crowd out the works of Shakespeare.</p>
<p>President Donald Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos spoke out against the standards, but the issue has been largely out of their hands. A 2015 law prohibits the federal government from promoting any set of standards, including Common Core.</p>
<p>A national survey by Education Next, a journal published by Harvard's Kennedy School and Stanford University, found that support for nationwide academic standards rose over the past two years, as long as the name Common Core was not used.</p>
<p>Measuring the direct impact of Common Core is difficult. A study last year by the Brown Center on Education Policy with the Brookings Institution showed that adopters of Common Core initially outperformed their peers, but those effects faded. It's also unclear if the gains were caused specifically by Common Core.</p>
<p>"I think it was much ado about nothing," said Tom Loveless, the author of the report. "It has some good elements, some bad elements. Common Core nets out to be a non-event in terms of raising student achievement."</p>
<p>Petrilli, who advocated for Common Core, is convinced the standards resulted in more rigor and better tests.</p>
<p>"We are now following a much better recipe for student achievement, but the cake is still being baked, so we don't yet know if it's going to taste as good as we hope," Petrilli said.</p>
<p>In the District of Columbia, traditional public schools saw a 7 percent gain in the number of students proficient in English and 6.5 percent gain in math since 2015, when the Common Core standards were fully implemented.</p>
<p>Eric Bethel, principal at Turner Elementary School, says the new guidelines push students to learn "not only the how, but also the why behind the mathematics."</p>
<p>"Students are learning more and what's expected of them is much more rigorous than before," Bethel told AP. As he walked around the school, a walkie-talkie in hand, wide-eyed kindergarteners strolled slowly down a hallway in a neat line, while older students ran around laughing.</p>
<p>Under Common Core, first-grade teacher Amancia Hanna reads her students more non-fiction books than fairy tales and says they find it easier to relate to real-life characters and enjoy reading more.</p>
<p>"That helps them persevere and they see a real person doing it," said Hanna. "Whereas in Cinderella, there is magic, there is fairy tale, you are waiting for somebody to come along and fix this problem for you."</p>
<p>One of Hanna's students, Zakai Winchester, 6, reflected on a lesson he learned from reading. "You should be kind to others and be nice to your friends — you have to listen to each other," he said.</p>
<p>Hanna says Common Core provides instructors with the necessary structure and guidance, which is especially important for new teachers. She said it also seeks to give all students an equal shot.</p>
<p>"I don't care if you are in Minneapolis, I don't care if you are in New York, Florida, wherever you may be — every child deserves that same, equal excellent education and opportunity and I think that the Common Core provides that for all students across the board," Hanna said.</p>
<p>Others disagree. Kristen Brodie, an elementary school teacher in Houston, says the new standards are too rigorous and require analytical skills that young children may not be ready for. She also believes that non-fiction should be introduced in later grades.</p>
<p>"When you've got brand new readers, fiction tends to be the better tool," Brodie said.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press reporter Dave Kolpack contributed to this story form Fargo, North Dakota.</p>
<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — Most of the states that first endorsed the Common Core academic standards are still using them in some form, despite continued debate over whether they are improving student performance in reading and math.</p>
<p>Of the states that opted in after the standards were introduced in 2010 — 45 plus the District of Columbia — only eight have moved to repeal the standards, largely due to political pressure from those who saw Common Core as infringing on local control, according to Abt Associates, a research and consulting firm. In Oklahoma, Gov. Mary Fallin signed a bill to repeal the standards in 2014 less than six months after defending them in a speech. She said Common Core had become too divisive.</p>
<p>Twenty-one other states have made or are making revisions — mostly minor ones — to the guidelines. Illinois kept the wording while changing the name. In April, North Dakota approved new guidelines "written by North Dakotans, for North Dakotans," but some educators said they were quite similar to Common Core. Earlier this month, New York moved to revise the standards after parents protested new tests aligned to Common Core, but much of the structure has been kept.</p>
<p>"The core of the Common Core remains in almost every state that adopted them," said Mike Petrilli, president of the conservative Thomas B. Fordham Institute.</p>
<p>Launched in 2010 by a bipartisan group of governors and state education chiefs, Common Core sought to bring scholastic standards to the same high level nationwide. The standards quickly became controversial when the Obama administration offered states federal dollars to nudge them to adopt it. States' rights activists cried foul, saying the effort undermined local control. Meanwhile, some teachers criticized the standards as confusing and out of synch with students' needs, while others feared that non-fiction would crowd out the works of Shakespeare.</p>
<p>President Donald Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos spoke out against the standards, but the issue has been largely out of their hands. A 2015 law prohibits the federal government from promoting any set of standards, including Common Core.</p>
<p>A national survey by Education Next, a journal published by Harvard's Kennedy School and Stanford University, found that support for nationwide academic standards rose over the past two years, as long as the name Common Core was not used.</p>
<p>Measuring the direct impact of Common Core is difficult. A study last year by the Brown Center on Education Policy with the Brookings Institution showed that adopters of Common Core initially outperformed their peers, but those effects faded. It's also unclear if the gains were caused specifically by Common Core.</p>
<p>"I think it was much ado about nothing," said Tom Loveless, the author of the report. "It has some good elements, some bad elements. Common Core nets out to be a non-event in terms of raising student achievement."</p>
<p>Petrilli, who advocated for Common Core, is convinced the standards resulted in more rigor and better tests.</p>
<p>"We are now following a much better recipe for student achievement, but the cake is still being baked, so we don't yet know if it's going to taste as good as we hope," Petrilli said.</p>
<p>In the District of Columbia, traditional public schools saw a 7 percent gain in the number of students proficient in English and 6.5 percent gain in math since 2015, when the Common Core standards were fully implemented.</p>
<p>Eric Bethel, principal at Turner Elementary School, says the new guidelines push students to learn "not only the how, but also the why behind the mathematics."</p>
<p>"Students are learning more and what's expected of them is much more rigorous than before," Bethel told AP. As he walked around the school, a walkie-talkie in hand, wide-eyed kindergarteners strolled slowly down a hallway in a neat line, while older students ran around laughing.</p>
<p>Under Common Core, first-grade teacher Amancia Hanna reads her students more non-fiction books than fairy tales and says they find it easier to relate to real-life characters and enjoy reading more.</p>
<p>"That helps them persevere and they see a real person doing it," said Hanna. "Whereas in Cinderella, there is magic, there is fairy tale, you are waiting for somebody to come along and fix this problem for you."</p>
<p>One of Hanna's students, Zakai Winchester, 6, reflected on a lesson he learned from reading. "You should be kind to others and be nice to your friends — you have to listen to each other," he said.</p>
<p>Hanna says Common Core provides instructors with the necessary structure and guidance, which is especially important for new teachers. She said it also seeks to give all students an equal shot.</p>
<p>"I don't care if you are in Minneapolis, I don't care if you are in New York, Florida, wherever you may be — every child deserves that same, equal excellent education and opportunity and I think that the Common Core provides that for all students across the board," Hanna said.</p>
<p>Others disagree. Kristen Brodie, an elementary school teacher in Houston, says the new standards are too rigorous and require analytical skills that young children may not be ready for. She also believes that non-fiction should be introduced in later grades.</p>
<p>"When you've got brand new readers, fiction tends to be the better tool," Brodie said.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press reporter Dave Kolpack contributed to this story form Fargo, North Dakota.</p>
| 8,188 |
<p>Fresh Expressions expands scope with launching for first learning community in D.C. New Jersey</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>RICHMOND — Fresh Expressions, a movement which aims to help churches engage postmodern culture through new creative communities of faith, has taken the next step in its development with the launch this month of its first learning communities in the United States.</p>
<p>The two communities, called Mission-Shaped Ministry, are based in the Washington and Trenton, N.J., metropolitan areas. More than 50 people gathered Jan. 18 for a combined initial retreat at a church north of Baltimore.</p>
<p>An earlier pilot project paved the way for the first communities, said Chris Backert, national director of Fresh Expressions US.</p>
<p>The learning communities are networks of ministers and laypersons seriously exploring “fresh expressions” of church during a year-long process that includes two weekend retreats and several Saturday sessions every six to eight weeks. Teams explore the theological foundations of Fresh Expressions, interact with practitioners and have access to coaching for the duration of the community. Participants will join a continuing peer learning network when the process is completed.</p>
<p>Four denominations are represented in the initial MSM communities — the Baptist General Association of Virginia, the American Baptist Churches of New Jersey, the Anglican Church in North America’s Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic and the Church of the Nazarene’s Mid-Atlantic District.</p>
<p>“I was encouraged that so many from such diverse traditions and contexts could gather for substantive dialogue about the nature of God’s mission and the Church,” said Ben Jamison, director of training and operations for Fresh Expressions US.</p>
<p>Gannon Sims, director of networking and communications, said the “age and ethnic diversity was amazing.”</p>
<p>Fresh Expressions is the American franchise of a movement begun nearly 10 years ago among Anglicans in the United Kingdom.&#160; It caught the attention of Baptist General Association of Virginia leaders, who believed North America’s mission challenge resembles Britain’s. Eventually the BGAV developed Fresh Expressions US, which now receives additional support from Anglican, Nazarene, Presbyterian and other groups.</p>
<p>A denominationally-varied governing board of trustees, which reports to the Virginia Baptist Mission Board’s executive committee, was organized last fall.</p>
<p>In addition to Backert, Jamison and Sims, two contract workers flesh out the staff roster: J.R. Briggs, Northeast regional coordinator, based in Lansdale, Pa., and Stan Graham, mission strategist and trainer, based in Forest Hill, Md.</p>
<p>Much of Fresh Expressions’ strategy is centered on Vision Days — one-day awareness events — and on the MSM learning communities.</p>
<p>A Vision Day set for Feb. 1 at First Baptist Church in Greensboro has sold out with about 150 registrants. The event is hosted by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina, the national CBF, the Center for Congregational Health and the BGAV.</p>
<p>“The overwhelming response indicates the need for another Vision Day in North Carolina later this year,” said Backert.</p>
<p>Sims said an interested person’s engagement with Fresh Expressions typically begins with a Vision Day, where the concept is introduced.</p>
<p>“If there is interest in learning more, they would take part in the year-long learning community process,” he said. “It’s the 2.0 version of Fresh Expressions — a little more depth.”</p>
<p>Though the Washington and Trenton MSM communities are the first in this country, Jamison said about 70 are currently running in Australia, Barbados, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and the United Kingdom.</p>
<p>The Jan. 18 retreat was a “poignant moment,” said participant Mia Chang, pastor of NexGen Church near Princeton, N.J.</p>
<p>“Many of our ABCNJ teammates lifted prayers on behalf of our un-churched and de-churched friends and neighbors, and for our commitment to the mission of God for our region,” Chang said on an ABCNJ web post. “It was truly a spirit-filled gathering and a hopeful beginning for our Fresh Expressions journey.”</p>
<p>Robert Dilday ( <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>) is managing editor of the Religious Herald.</p>
|
Fresh Expressions expands scope with launching for first learning community in D.C. New Jersey
| false |
https://baptistnews.com/article/freshexpressionsexpandsscopewithlaunchingforfirstlearningcommunityindcnewjersey/
| 3left-center
|
Fresh Expressions expands scope with launching for first learning community in D.C. New Jersey
<p>Fresh Expressions expands scope with launching for first learning community in D.C. New Jersey</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>RICHMOND — Fresh Expressions, a movement which aims to help churches engage postmodern culture through new creative communities of faith, has taken the next step in its development with the launch this month of its first learning communities in the United States.</p>
<p>The two communities, called Mission-Shaped Ministry, are based in the Washington and Trenton, N.J., metropolitan areas. More than 50 people gathered Jan. 18 for a combined initial retreat at a church north of Baltimore.</p>
<p>An earlier pilot project paved the way for the first communities, said Chris Backert, national director of Fresh Expressions US.</p>
<p>The learning communities are networks of ministers and laypersons seriously exploring “fresh expressions” of church during a year-long process that includes two weekend retreats and several Saturday sessions every six to eight weeks. Teams explore the theological foundations of Fresh Expressions, interact with practitioners and have access to coaching for the duration of the community. Participants will join a continuing peer learning network when the process is completed.</p>
<p>Four denominations are represented in the initial MSM communities — the Baptist General Association of Virginia, the American Baptist Churches of New Jersey, the Anglican Church in North America’s Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic and the Church of the Nazarene’s Mid-Atlantic District.</p>
<p>“I was encouraged that so many from such diverse traditions and contexts could gather for substantive dialogue about the nature of God’s mission and the Church,” said Ben Jamison, director of training and operations for Fresh Expressions US.</p>
<p>Gannon Sims, director of networking and communications, said the “age and ethnic diversity was amazing.”</p>
<p>Fresh Expressions is the American franchise of a movement begun nearly 10 years ago among Anglicans in the United Kingdom.&#160; It caught the attention of Baptist General Association of Virginia leaders, who believed North America’s mission challenge resembles Britain’s. Eventually the BGAV developed Fresh Expressions US, which now receives additional support from Anglican, Nazarene, Presbyterian and other groups.</p>
<p>A denominationally-varied governing board of trustees, which reports to the Virginia Baptist Mission Board’s executive committee, was organized last fall.</p>
<p>In addition to Backert, Jamison and Sims, two contract workers flesh out the staff roster: J.R. Briggs, Northeast regional coordinator, based in Lansdale, Pa., and Stan Graham, mission strategist and trainer, based in Forest Hill, Md.</p>
<p>Much of Fresh Expressions’ strategy is centered on Vision Days — one-day awareness events — and on the MSM learning communities.</p>
<p>A Vision Day set for Feb. 1 at First Baptist Church in Greensboro has sold out with about 150 registrants. The event is hosted by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina, the national CBF, the Center for Congregational Health and the BGAV.</p>
<p>“The overwhelming response indicates the need for another Vision Day in North Carolina later this year,” said Backert.</p>
<p>Sims said an interested person’s engagement with Fresh Expressions typically begins with a Vision Day, where the concept is introduced.</p>
<p>“If there is interest in learning more, they would take part in the year-long learning community process,” he said. “It’s the 2.0 version of Fresh Expressions — a little more depth.”</p>
<p>Though the Washington and Trenton MSM communities are the first in this country, Jamison said about 70 are currently running in Australia, Barbados, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and the United Kingdom.</p>
<p>The Jan. 18 retreat was a “poignant moment,” said participant Mia Chang, pastor of NexGen Church near Princeton, N.J.</p>
<p>“Many of our ABCNJ teammates lifted prayers on behalf of our un-churched and de-churched friends and neighbors, and for our commitment to the mission of God for our region,” Chang said on an ABCNJ web post. “It was truly a spirit-filled gathering and a hopeful beginning for our Fresh Expressions journey.”</p>
<p>Robert Dilday ( <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>) is managing editor of the Religious Herald.</p>
| 8,189 |
|
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>“Overall, I think we’re starting to make an impact,” Rael said.</p>
<p>Complete annual property crimes statistics were released Tuesday at a meeting of the city Public Safety Committee.</p>
<p />
<p>ARRESTS FOR BURGLARY, RECEIVING/TRANSFERRING STOLEN PROPERTY Adult Arrests 2011 2012 Increase/ Decrease Burglary 80 76 -5% Transferring/Receiving 26 67 +158% Juvenile Arrests 2011 2012 Increase/ Decrease Burglaries 14 12 -14% Transferring/Receiving 5 1 -80% Total All Arrests, Adult and Juvenile 125 156 +25% Source: Santa Fe Police Department</p>
<p>Residential burglaries went up from 781 incidents in 2011 to 802 incidents in 2012, an increase of about 3 percent.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>But commercial burglaries – at stores or other businesses – fell from 233 to 186 incidents, a drop of 20 percent.</p>
<p>Residential burglaries were at near-epidemic proportions the first few months of 2012. The numbers peaked in May with 124 burglaries, one of the worse months ever.</p>
<p>But home break-in incidents began to drop off in the months that followed, as the Santa Fe police implemented a new anti-burglary program called “Operation Full Court Press.”</p>
<p>September saw the fewest home burglaries with 34 cases and from then on there were between 40 to 48 residential burglaries for each of the remaining months of 2012.</p>
<p>For years, Santa Fe has had among the worst burglary statistics in the country, based on annual FBI national crime reports.</p>
<p>The problem was highlighted last year with a tragic February murder during a break-in on West Alameda.</p>
<p>Rael said the figures for the second half of 2012 show that “Operation Full Court Press” is effective.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Parts of the program include keeping officers in high-crime areas, prioritizing reports that have the best information and serving outstanding warrants on people who have a history of property crimes in the city.</p>
<p>The chief said the program was reviewed recently and the department will make some adjustments.</p>
<p>One of those adjustments will be moving more people over to the property crime division on a “long-term temporary basis.”</p>
<p>Rael said this would be a change from officers carrying out parts of the initiative while on overtime.</p>
<p>The chief said transferring manpower to the property crimes division instead would allow the officers to become more familiar with neighborhoods and the various crime-prone “players” in various areas.</p>
<p>The figures released Tuesday also showed an upward trend for arrests on burglary-related charges.</p>
<p>In 2012 there were 143 adult arrests on charges for burglary or for receiving or transferring stolen property, up from 106 in 2011 and 88 in 2010.</p>
<p>Adult burglary arrests fell by four in 2012 compared to 2011 but there were 41 more arrests for receiving stolen property in last year.</p>
<p>There were 13 juvenile arrests for burglary or transferring or receiving stolen property in 2012, compared to 19 in 2011 and 24 in 2010.</p>
|
Residential Burglaries Increased Last Year
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/160675/residential-burglaries-increased-last-year.html
|
2013-01-16
| 2least
|
Residential Burglaries Increased Last Year
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>“Overall, I think we’re starting to make an impact,” Rael said.</p>
<p>Complete annual property crimes statistics were released Tuesday at a meeting of the city Public Safety Committee.</p>
<p />
<p>ARRESTS FOR BURGLARY, RECEIVING/TRANSFERRING STOLEN PROPERTY Adult Arrests 2011 2012 Increase/ Decrease Burglary 80 76 -5% Transferring/Receiving 26 67 +158% Juvenile Arrests 2011 2012 Increase/ Decrease Burglaries 14 12 -14% Transferring/Receiving 5 1 -80% Total All Arrests, Adult and Juvenile 125 156 +25% Source: Santa Fe Police Department</p>
<p>Residential burglaries went up from 781 incidents in 2011 to 802 incidents in 2012, an increase of about 3 percent.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>But commercial burglaries – at stores or other businesses – fell from 233 to 186 incidents, a drop of 20 percent.</p>
<p>Residential burglaries were at near-epidemic proportions the first few months of 2012. The numbers peaked in May with 124 burglaries, one of the worse months ever.</p>
<p>But home break-in incidents began to drop off in the months that followed, as the Santa Fe police implemented a new anti-burglary program called “Operation Full Court Press.”</p>
<p>September saw the fewest home burglaries with 34 cases and from then on there were between 40 to 48 residential burglaries for each of the remaining months of 2012.</p>
<p>For years, Santa Fe has had among the worst burglary statistics in the country, based on annual FBI national crime reports.</p>
<p>The problem was highlighted last year with a tragic February murder during a break-in on West Alameda.</p>
<p>Rael said the figures for the second half of 2012 show that “Operation Full Court Press” is effective.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Parts of the program include keeping officers in high-crime areas, prioritizing reports that have the best information and serving outstanding warrants on people who have a history of property crimes in the city.</p>
<p>The chief said the program was reviewed recently and the department will make some adjustments.</p>
<p>One of those adjustments will be moving more people over to the property crime division on a “long-term temporary basis.”</p>
<p>Rael said this would be a change from officers carrying out parts of the initiative while on overtime.</p>
<p>The chief said transferring manpower to the property crimes division instead would allow the officers to become more familiar with neighborhoods and the various crime-prone “players” in various areas.</p>
<p>The figures released Tuesday also showed an upward trend for arrests on burglary-related charges.</p>
<p>In 2012 there were 143 adult arrests on charges for burglary or for receiving or transferring stolen property, up from 106 in 2011 and 88 in 2010.</p>
<p>Adult burglary arrests fell by four in 2012 compared to 2011 but there were 41 more arrests for receiving stolen property in last year.</p>
<p>There were 13 juvenile arrests for burglary or transferring or receiving stolen property in 2012, compared to 19 in 2011 and 24 in 2010.</p>
| 8,190 |
<p>Charlie Neibergall/AP</p>
<p />
<p>Jim Webb needed to make a splash at Tuesday night’s Democratic presidential debate, and his chance to do it arrived early. As the rest of the field sparred over the Iraq War and use of force in Libya and other countries, Webb tried to interject. It was time for the former Marine infantryman, the only person on stage with military experience, to lay the hammer of his combat experience and Pentagon leadership down on the rest of the field.</p>
<p>But when he finally got a chance to speak, Webb’s answer was more of a lecture than a smackdown. He wandered from ethnic divisions in Iraq to a nuclear Iran before unexpectedly diving into the issue of China’s rising power, one of the former Virginia senator’s pet themes. He then finished by picking the first of many fights with moderator Anderson Cooper over his speaking time.</p>
<p>It’s those moments, which came off as petulant, that may define Webb among voters who know little about him. That, or for his jarring answer to the final question of the night, where he said the enemy he was proudest of making was one he killed in Vietnam:</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Outside of that, Webb’s debate performance was mostly soft. He was seen as the “wild card” in the days before the debate, an intelligent and unpredictable candidate whose straight talk could catch Sen. Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton off-guard. But during the debate he was more often heard demanding airtime than he was seen on camera. When he was, his answers tended to be discursive, with essentially no big moments like Sanders’ “ <a href="" type="internal">damn emails</a>” line or effective policy shots like <a href="" type="internal">Clinton’s jabs at Sanders’ gun record</a> that might grab the attention of media or voters.</p>
<p>His finest moment was a respectful exchange with Sanders, in which Webb gracefully declined to take shots at Sanders’ status as a conscientious objector during Vietnam and Sanders praised Webb’s service and key role in passing the Post-9/11 GI Bill. Both men came off as thoughtful and humane, and Webb got a competitor to talk about his biggest political achievement. But in a debate that was generally civil and substantive, it wasn’t enough.</p>
<p>The question for Webb was always one of organization: Even if he did turn in an outstanding performance, would his small campaign have the resources to make something big of that moment? After tonight’s debate, that question seems less relevant.</p>
<p />
|
Jim Webb Misses His Moment
| true |
https://motherjones.com/politics/2015/10/jim-webb-democratic-debate/
|
2015-10-14
| 4left
|
Jim Webb Misses His Moment
<p>Charlie Neibergall/AP</p>
<p />
<p>Jim Webb needed to make a splash at Tuesday night’s Democratic presidential debate, and his chance to do it arrived early. As the rest of the field sparred over the Iraq War and use of force in Libya and other countries, Webb tried to interject. It was time for the former Marine infantryman, the only person on stage with military experience, to lay the hammer of his combat experience and Pentagon leadership down on the rest of the field.</p>
<p>But when he finally got a chance to speak, Webb’s answer was more of a lecture than a smackdown. He wandered from ethnic divisions in Iraq to a nuclear Iran before unexpectedly diving into the issue of China’s rising power, one of the former Virginia senator’s pet themes. He then finished by picking the first of many fights with moderator Anderson Cooper over his speaking time.</p>
<p>It’s those moments, which came off as petulant, that may define Webb among voters who know little about him. That, or for his jarring answer to the final question of the night, where he said the enemy he was proudest of making was one he killed in Vietnam:</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Outside of that, Webb’s debate performance was mostly soft. He was seen as the “wild card” in the days before the debate, an intelligent and unpredictable candidate whose straight talk could catch Sen. Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton off-guard. But during the debate he was more often heard demanding airtime than he was seen on camera. When he was, his answers tended to be discursive, with essentially no big moments like Sanders’ “ <a href="" type="internal">damn emails</a>” line or effective policy shots like <a href="" type="internal">Clinton’s jabs at Sanders’ gun record</a> that might grab the attention of media or voters.</p>
<p>His finest moment was a respectful exchange with Sanders, in which Webb gracefully declined to take shots at Sanders’ status as a conscientious objector during Vietnam and Sanders praised Webb’s service and key role in passing the Post-9/11 GI Bill. Both men came off as thoughtful and humane, and Webb got a competitor to talk about his biggest political achievement. But in a debate that was generally civil and substantive, it wasn’t enough.</p>
<p>The question for Webb was always one of organization: Even if he did turn in an outstanding performance, would his small campaign have the resources to make something big of that moment? After tonight’s debate, that question seems less relevant.</p>
<p />
| 8,191 |
<p>FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Gov. Matt Bevin has ordered budget cuts of 1.3 percent this fiscal year to meet a shortfall.</p>
<p>The Consensus Forecasting Group earlier this month revised the estimate of tax receipts this fiscal year and projected that General Fund revenues will be $156 million less than previously budgeted.</p>
<p>State Budget Director John E. Chilton’s office said in a news release Thursday that the cuts are less than Bevin requested earlier this year because the order can’t be used to replenish the state’s Rainy Day Fund. Bevin previously proposed cutting state spending by more than 17 percent this year.</p>
<p>Chilton’s office said protecting spending on programs such as public education and corrections will be difficult in the next budget with additional expense expected, such as pension funding and Medicaid.</p>
<p>FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Gov. Matt Bevin has ordered budget cuts of 1.3 percent this fiscal year to meet a shortfall.</p>
<p>The Consensus Forecasting Group earlier this month revised the estimate of tax receipts this fiscal year and projected that General Fund revenues will be $156 million less than previously budgeted.</p>
<p>State Budget Director John E. Chilton’s office said in a news release Thursday that the cuts are less than Bevin requested earlier this year because the order can’t be used to replenish the state’s Rainy Day Fund. Bevin previously proposed cutting state spending by more than 17 percent this year.</p>
<p>Chilton’s office said protecting spending on programs such as public education and corrections will be difficult in the next budget with additional expense expected, such as pension funding and Medicaid.</p>
|
Kentucky governor orders cuts of 1.3 percent to cover gap
| false |
https://apnews.com/ad41b0f7b4264e2fb9e691ec26ae03a1
|
2017-12-28
| 2least
|
Kentucky governor orders cuts of 1.3 percent to cover gap
<p>FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Gov. Matt Bevin has ordered budget cuts of 1.3 percent this fiscal year to meet a shortfall.</p>
<p>The Consensus Forecasting Group earlier this month revised the estimate of tax receipts this fiscal year and projected that General Fund revenues will be $156 million less than previously budgeted.</p>
<p>State Budget Director John E. Chilton’s office said in a news release Thursday that the cuts are less than Bevin requested earlier this year because the order can’t be used to replenish the state’s Rainy Day Fund. Bevin previously proposed cutting state spending by more than 17 percent this year.</p>
<p>Chilton’s office said protecting spending on programs such as public education and corrections will be difficult in the next budget with additional expense expected, such as pension funding and Medicaid.</p>
<p>FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Gov. Matt Bevin has ordered budget cuts of 1.3 percent this fiscal year to meet a shortfall.</p>
<p>The Consensus Forecasting Group earlier this month revised the estimate of tax receipts this fiscal year and projected that General Fund revenues will be $156 million less than previously budgeted.</p>
<p>State Budget Director John E. Chilton’s office said in a news release Thursday that the cuts are less than Bevin requested earlier this year because the order can’t be used to replenish the state’s Rainy Day Fund. Bevin previously proposed cutting state spending by more than 17 percent this year.</p>
<p>Chilton’s office said protecting spending on programs such as public education and corrections will be difficult in the next budget with additional expense expected, such as pension funding and Medicaid.</p>
| 8,192 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>The projects had a total size of 23,137 square feet and value of $1.36 million:</p>
<p>• 2801 Westside Blvd. SE; 11,238 square feet; $735,639 valuation; Parks Construction Management.</p>
<p>• 4500 Arrowhead Ridge Drive SE; 1,985 square feet; $125,000 valuation; Southwest Telecom &amp; Tower Inc.</p>
<p>• 1050 NM 528; 45 square feet; $1,500 valuation; San Juan Signs.</p>
<p>• 2400 Unser Blvd. SE; 3,369 square feet; $450,000 valuation; out to bid.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>• 2801 Westside Blvd. SE; 6,200 square feet; $30,000 valuation; Parks Construction Management.</p>
<p>• 1565 Stephanie Road SE; 300 square feet; $20,000 valuation; Nexius Solutions Inc.</p>
<p>The first property on Westside is “Cabezon Storage,” according to the city. The construction on Stephanie involves a cell tower. Tenant improvements will occur at the other places.</p>
<p>In April, the city issued six permits for non-residential construction, which totaled 8,316 square feet and were valued at $1.62 million.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
|
Construction continues
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/414119/couple-not-expected-to-survive-crash-new-unm-west-faculty-bariatrics-accredited-construction-continues-2.html
| 2least
|
Construction continues
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>The projects had a total size of 23,137 square feet and value of $1.36 million:</p>
<p>• 2801 Westside Blvd. SE; 11,238 square feet; $735,639 valuation; Parks Construction Management.</p>
<p>• 4500 Arrowhead Ridge Drive SE; 1,985 square feet; $125,000 valuation; Southwest Telecom &amp; Tower Inc.</p>
<p>• 1050 NM 528; 45 square feet; $1,500 valuation; San Juan Signs.</p>
<p>• 2400 Unser Blvd. SE; 3,369 square feet; $450,000 valuation; out to bid.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>• 2801 Westside Blvd. SE; 6,200 square feet; $30,000 valuation; Parks Construction Management.</p>
<p>• 1565 Stephanie Road SE; 300 square feet; $20,000 valuation; Nexius Solutions Inc.</p>
<p>The first property on Westside is “Cabezon Storage,” according to the city. The construction on Stephanie involves a cell tower. Tenant improvements will occur at the other places.</p>
<p>In April, the city issued six permits for non-residential construction, which totaled 8,316 square feet and were valued at $1.62 million.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
| 8,193 |
|
<p />
<p>It was surprisingly subdued. In reviewing more than 100 Web sites from the night President Bush announced the start of the Iraq war, I was struck by the almost boring typographic treatment.The cynic in me wonders whether anyone thought about how these front pages would look at the start of this historic conflict.&#160;My realist side says that typography hasn't found its place within the lexicon of Web site design.&#160;And that's a shame.Typography is not just about "looks," it is about content.&#160;Good typography provides visual information.&#160;It makes a statement; it sets the tone.&#160;And typography can provide this content even before a single word of the story&#160;is read on a page or the&#160;screen.While Web usability gurus continue to correctly beat the drums for fast downloads, a small typographic treatment shouldn't impact the speed of getting the information onto&#160;the screen.&#160; Given the almost rigid template formats that some sites are locked into, strong typography signals that what's on the page is special.&#160;And Wednesday night's event, while not unexpected, was special.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
|
Let Typography Speak
| false |
https://poynter.org/news/let-typography-speak
|
2003-03-21
| 2least
|
Let Typography Speak
<p />
<p>It was surprisingly subdued. In reviewing more than 100 Web sites from the night President Bush announced the start of the Iraq war, I was struck by the almost boring typographic treatment.The cynic in me wonders whether anyone thought about how these front pages would look at the start of this historic conflict.&#160;My realist side says that typography hasn't found its place within the lexicon of Web site design.&#160;And that's a shame.Typography is not just about "looks," it is about content.&#160;Good typography provides visual information.&#160;It makes a statement; it sets the tone.&#160;And typography can provide this content even before a single word of the story&#160;is read on a page or the&#160;screen.While Web usability gurus continue to correctly beat the drums for fast downloads, a small typographic treatment shouldn't impact the speed of getting the information onto&#160;the screen.&#160; Given the almost rigid template formats that some sites are locked into, strong typography signals that what's on the page is special.&#160;And Wednesday night's event, while not unexpected, was special.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
| 8,194 |
<p>Republicans are looking like they've finally figured out how to govern.</p>
<p>The GOP's first months in control of both chambers of Congress were marked by high-profile stumbles and a near-shutdown of the Homeland Security Department. But this week, the party celebrated important successes.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Republicans in both the House and the Senate came together to pass boldly conservative and balanced budgets, and House leaders struck a bipartisan deal on Medicare that passed on a huge vote and is expected to clear the Senate once lawmakers return from a two-week spring break.</p>
<p>"Don't look now but we're actually governing," said Rep. Renee Ellmers, R-N.C</p>
<p>Emerging from the week of triumphs, lawmakers were cautiously optimistic that it was a sign of things to come. On the budget, House Speaker John Boehner brought unruly conservatives who've defied him on past votes into line, while Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell kept his Republicans largely united despite the presidential ambitions of at least four members of his caucus and pressures on Senate Republicans who are up for re-election.</p>
<p>On the Medicare deal, Boehner forged a rare alliance with House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi to solve a problem that has bedeviled Congress for years, producing a result widely embraced in both parties.</p>
<p>Yet Republicans stopped short of declaring that they had tamed Capitol Hill.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Several noted that some of the specific conditions that helped grease the budget and the Medicare deal are not likely to surface on other issues. In the Senate, for example, special rules governing the budget allowed Republicans to approve it with a simple majority, not the 60 votes required for most legislation, meaning they could push it through on a party-line vote without Democratic help.</p>
<p>"The 51-vote threshold is what is very helpful," said Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss. "What we need to find out going forward is if some of the Democrats who have been shedding crocodile tears about the lack of consensus in moving legislation actually match their rhetoric with action."</p>
<p>In the House, under a complicated process barring filibusters on deficit-reducing budget bills, passing a budget was the only way to allow Republicans to craft a bill to repeal the president's health care law that could actually make it to President Barack Obama's desk. That provided powerful incentive for some conservatives to swallow their aversion to deficit spending and go along.</p>
<p>It remains to be seen whether the successes of this past week can translate into victories on other issues, and those tests will start to come soon.</p>
<p>Lawmakers will need to come up with a deal on highway spending by May 31, when authority to spend money from the highway trust fund expires.</p>
<p>At the end of June, temporary authority expires for the Export-Import Bank, a government agency that provides loans to help foreign buyers purchase American-made products. It's a top priority for business, but conservative groups are opposed, saying it amounts to corporate welfare.</p>
<p>Then at some point in the fall, Congress will be faced with having to raise the nation's borrowing limit, something that's produced major conflict in the past.</p>
<p>Add to that, the House and the Senate will have to get together after their spring break to pass a combined budget, something that last happened in 2009. Harder still will be translating that nonbinding blueprint into actual spending bills that have the force of law, send them to Obama and finalize government spending for the 2016 fiscal year by the time it begins on Oct. 1.</p>
<p>At a news conference this week, Boehner passed up the opportunity to take a victory lap, declaring it a good week for Congress and the country but saying: "We've got a lot of tough issues to deal with here in the Congress. We didn't get elected just to come here and sit on our rear ends. We've got work to do."</p>
<p>Some of the conservatives who were in the minority voting "no" this week said they didn't feel much had changed, and they still intended to register their opposition. Yet several acknowledged that after starting off the year on weak footing with historical defections in his leadership election, Boehner emerged strengthened.</p>
<p>And other members of the rank and file in both House and Senate said it felt good to notch some real accomplishments after several frustrating months: GOP leadership was forced to give up the fight to undo the president's executive actions on immigration - though not before coming within hours of a partial Homeland Security Department shutdown; senators gridlocked over a bill to combat sex trafficking and House leaders pulled back bills on education changes, abortion and border security in face of rebellions.</p>
<p>"This has been, I think, a stabilizing week. It's one to show that everything and everyone's calmed down," said Rep. Gregg Harper, R-Miss. "We have a responsibility to govern. We're the party in the majority, and I think this indicates that we're capable of doing that."</p>
|
Budget gives congressional Republicans a chance to regain their footing after early stumbles
| true |
http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2015/03/28/budget-gives-congressional-republicans-chance-to-regain-their-footing-after.html
|
2016-03-09
| 0right
|
Budget gives congressional Republicans a chance to regain their footing after early stumbles
<p>Republicans are looking like they've finally figured out how to govern.</p>
<p>The GOP's first months in control of both chambers of Congress were marked by high-profile stumbles and a near-shutdown of the Homeland Security Department. But this week, the party celebrated important successes.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Republicans in both the House and the Senate came together to pass boldly conservative and balanced budgets, and House leaders struck a bipartisan deal on Medicare that passed on a huge vote and is expected to clear the Senate once lawmakers return from a two-week spring break.</p>
<p>"Don't look now but we're actually governing," said Rep. Renee Ellmers, R-N.C</p>
<p>Emerging from the week of triumphs, lawmakers were cautiously optimistic that it was a sign of things to come. On the budget, House Speaker John Boehner brought unruly conservatives who've defied him on past votes into line, while Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell kept his Republicans largely united despite the presidential ambitions of at least four members of his caucus and pressures on Senate Republicans who are up for re-election.</p>
<p>On the Medicare deal, Boehner forged a rare alliance with House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi to solve a problem that has bedeviled Congress for years, producing a result widely embraced in both parties.</p>
<p>Yet Republicans stopped short of declaring that they had tamed Capitol Hill.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Several noted that some of the specific conditions that helped grease the budget and the Medicare deal are not likely to surface on other issues. In the Senate, for example, special rules governing the budget allowed Republicans to approve it with a simple majority, not the 60 votes required for most legislation, meaning they could push it through on a party-line vote without Democratic help.</p>
<p>"The 51-vote threshold is what is very helpful," said Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss. "What we need to find out going forward is if some of the Democrats who have been shedding crocodile tears about the lack of consensus in moving legislation actually match their rhetoric with action."</p>
<p>In the House, under a complicated process barring filibusters on deficit-reducing budget bills, passing a budget was the only way to allow Republicans to craft a bill to repeal the president's health care law that could actually make it to President Barack Obama's desk. That provided powerful incentive for some conservatives to swallow their aversion to deficit spending and go along.</p>
<p>It remains to be seen whether the successes of this past week can translate into victories on other issues, and those tests will start to come soon.</p>
<p>Lawmakers will need to come up with a deal on highway spending by May 31, when authority to spend money from the highway trust fund expires.</p>
<p>At the end of June, temporary authority expires for the Export-Import Bank, a government agency that provides loans to help foreign buyers purchase American-made products. It's a top priority for business, but conservative groups are opposed, saying it amounts to corporate welfare.</p>
<p>Then at some point in the fall, Congress will be faced with having to raise the nation's borrowing limit, something that's produced major conflict in the past.</p>
<p>Add to that, the House and the Senate will have to get together after their spring break to pass a combined budget, something that last happened in 2009. Harder still will be translating that nonbinding blueprint into actual spending bills that have the force of law, send them to Obama and finalize government spending for the 2016 fiscal year by the time it begins on Oct. 1.</p>
<p>At a news conference this week, Boehner passed up the opportunity to take a victory lap, declaring it a good week for Congress and the country but saying: "We've got a lot of tough issues to deal with here in the Congress. We didn't get elected just to come here and sit on our rear ends. We've got work to do."</p>
<p>Some of the conservatives who were in the minority voting "no" this week said they didn't feel much had changed, and they still intended to register their opposition. Yet several acknowledged that after starting off the year on weak footing with historical defections in his leadership election, Boehner emerged strengthened.</p>
<p>And other members of the rank and file in both House and Senate said it felt good to notch some real accomplishments after several frustrating months: GOP leadership was forced to give up the fight to undo the president's executive actions on immigration - though not before coming within hours of a partial Homeland Security Department shutdown; senators gridlocked over a bill to combat sex trafficking and House leaders pulled back bills on education changes, abortion and border security in face of rebellions.</p>
<p>"This has been, I think, a stabilizing week. It's one to show that everything and everyone's calmed down," said Rep. Gregg Harper, R-Miss. "We have a responsibility to govern. We're the party in the majority, and I think this indicates that we're capable of doing that."</p>
| 8,195 |
<p />
<p>In fiscal year 2017, the cost to taxpayers for illegal immigrants reached a new record at $135 billion, the <a href="http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/record-135-billion-a-year-for-illegal-immigration-average-8075-each-25000-in-ny/article/2635757" type="external">Washington Examiner</a>&#160;reported on Wednesday.&#160; That’s a lot of money.&#160; That figure includes medical, education and assorted other expenses paid for by the state and federal government and comes out to $8,075 a year on average but in New York state that cost rises to over $25,000.</p>
<p>Now, pro-illegal immigration liberals like to claim that illegals actually add money to the economy through their taxes.&#160; So how much do illegal aliens pay in taxes to the states and to the federal government?</p>
<p />
<p>I could be wrong but that looks like a lot less than $135 billion dollars a year.&#160; Am I mistaken?</p>
<p />
<p>So, net we are paying about $116 billion a year on illegal immigrants.&#160; And that’s not including the tax returns by illegal aliens who get a child credit of $1,000 dollars a year and you also have to add in up to $3,000 a year for the Earned Income Tax Credit.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/record-135-billion-a-year-for-illegal-immigration-average-8075-each-25000-in-ny/article/2635757" type="external">From The Washington Examiner</a></p>
<p>&#160;State and local governments are getting ravaged by the costs, at over $88 billion. The federal government, by comparison, is getting off easy at $45 billion in costs for illegals.</p>
<p>President Trump, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and conservatives in Congress are moving aggressively to deal with illegals, especially those with long criminal records. But their effort is being fought by courts and some 300 so-called “sanctuary communities” that refuse to work with federal law enforcement.</p>
<p>The added burden on taxpayers and the unfairness to those who have applied to come into the United States through legal channels is also driving the administration’s immigration crackdown.</p>
<p>The report, titled “The Fiscal Burden Of Illegal Immigration on U.S. Taxpayers,” is the most comprehensive cost tally from FAIR. It said that the costs have jumped about $3 billion in four years and will continue to surge unless illegal immigration is stopped. It was provided in advance exclusively to Secrets.</p>
<p>“Clearly, the cost of doing nothing to stop illegal immigration is far too high,” said FAIR Executive Director Dan Stein. “President Trump has laid out a comprehensive strategy to regain control of illegal immigration and bring down these costs,” said Stein. “Building the wall, enhancing interior enforcement and mandating national E-Verify will go a long way in bringing these ridiculously high costs under control,” he added.</p>
<p>Over 68 often shocking pages, FAIR documents the average $8,075 in state, local and federal spending for each of the of 12.5 million illegal immigrants and their 4.2 million citizen children.</p>
<p>Since many illegals don’t speak English, the cost of educating them could be as high as $12,000 a year and much more when they go to college at taxpayer expense.&#160; Here again, it depends on where they live.</p>
<p>The three top spending states on illegal aliens are California at $23 billion a year, Texas at $11 billion a year and New York at $7.4 billion a year.</p>
<p>One other item isn’t taken into account. &#160;Some thirty-five percent of all illegal aliens work off the books and pay no taxes at all but still collect federal benefits.&#160; If Americans held those jobs, they would be paying income taxes.</p>
<p>Related:</p>
<p>If you haven’t checked out and liked our&#160; <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ConservativeFiringLine?fref=ts" type="external">Facebook</a>&#160;page, please go&#160; <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ConservativeFiringLine?fref=ts" type="external">here</a>&#160;and do so.</p>
<p>And if you’re as concerned about online censorship as we are, go <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Banned-Facebook-Enables-Militant-Islamic/dp/1944212221/" type="external">here</a> and order this book (Remember, half of what we earn will be <a href="" type="internal">donated to Hurricane Harvey relief</a>):</p>
|
The Ever-Spiraling Cost of Illegal Aliens Reached New Record in Fiscal Year 2017
| true |
http://conservativefiringline.com/the-ever-spiraling-cost-illegal-aliens-reached-new-record-in-fiscal-2017/
|
2017-09-28
| 0right
|
The Ever-Spiraling Cost of Illegal Aliens Reached New Record in Fiscal Year 2017
<p />
<p>In fiscal year 2017, the cost to taxpayers for illegal immigrants reached a new record at $135 billion, the <a href="http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/record-135-billion-a-year-for-illegal-immigration-average-8075-each-25000-in-ny/article/2635757" type="external">Washington Examiner</a>&#160;reported on Wednesday.&#160; That’s a lot of money.&#160; That figure includes medical, education and assorted other expenses paid for by the state and federal government and comes out to $8,075 a year on average but in New York state that cost rises to over $25,000.</p>
<p>Now, pro-illegal immigration liberals like to claim that illegals actually add money to the economy through their taxes.&#160; So how much do illegal aliens pay in taxes to the states and to the federal government?</p>
<p />
<p>I could be wrong but that looks like a lot less than $135 billion dollars a year.&#160; Am I mistaken?</p>
<p />
<p>So, net we are paying about $116 billion a year on illegal immigrants.&#160; And that’s not including the tax returns by illegal aliens who get a child credit of $1,000 dollars a year and you also have to add in up to $3,000 a year for the Earned Income Tax Credit.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/record-135-billion-a-year-for-illegal-immigration-average-8075-each-25000-in-ny/article/2635757" type="external">From The Washington Examiner</a></p>
<p>&#160;State and local governments are getting ravaged by the costs, at over $88 billion. The federal government, by comparison, is getting off easy at $45 billion in costs for illegals.</p>
<p>President Trump, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and conservatives in Congress are moving aggressively to deal with illegals, especially those with long criminal records. But their effort is being fought by courts and some 300 so-called “sanctuary communities” that refuse to work with federal law enforcement.</p>
<p>The added burden on taxpayers and the unfairness to those who have applied to come into the United States through legal channels is also driving the administration’s immigration crackdown.</p>
<p>The report, titled “The Fiscal Burden Of Illegal Immigration on U.S. Taxpayers,” is the most comprehensive cost tally from FAIR. It said that the costs have jumped about $3 billion in four years and will continue to surge unless illegal immigration is stopped. It was provided in advance exclusively to Secrets.</p>
<p>“Clearly, the cost of doing nothing to stop illegal immigration is far too high,” said FAIR Executive Director Dan Stein. “President Trump has laid out a comprehensive strategy to regain control of illegal immigration and bring down these costs,” said Stein. “Building the wall, enhancing interior enforcement and mandating national E-Verify will go a long way in bringing these ridiculously high costs under control,” he added.</p>
<p>Over 68 often shocking pages, FAIR documents the average $8,075 in state, local and federal spending for each of the of 12.5 million illegal immigrants and their 4.2 million citizen children.</p>
<p>Since many illegals don’t speak English, the cost of educating them could be as high as $12,000 a year and much more when they go to college at taxpayer expense.&#160; Here again, it depends on where they live.</p>
<p>The three top spending states on illegal aliens are California at $23 billion a year, Texas at $11 billion a year and New York at $7.4 billion a year.</p>
<p>One other item isn’t taken into account. &#160;Some thirty-five percent of all illegal aliens work off the books and pay no taxes at all but still collect federal benefits.&#160; If Americans held those jobs, they would be paying income taxes.</p>
<p>Related:</p>
<p>If you haven’t checked out and liked our&#160; <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ConservativeFiringLine?fref=ts" type="external">Facebook</a>&#160;page, please go&#160; <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ConservativeFiringLine?fref=ts" type="external">here</a>&#160;and do so.</p>
<p>And if you’re as concerned about online censorship as we are, go <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Banned-Facebook-Enables-Militant-Islamic/dp/1944212221/" type="external">here</a> and order this book (Remember, half of what we earn will be <a href="" type="internal">donated to Hurricane Harvey relief</a>):</p>
| 8,196 |
<p>TULSA, Okla. (AP) — A homeless man has died after a space heater he was running inside a truck to keep it warm caused a fire.</p>
<p>Tulsa firefighters said the blaze erupted early Saturday morning at an auto repair shop.</p>
<p>Authorities said the unidentified man was sleeping inside the vehicle and using the heater to keep the truck warm. The heater was attached to an extension cord that ran to another building.</p>
<p>The fire broke out around 2:30 a.m. and spread to another vehicle.</p>
<p>Firefighters said the owner of the lot told them he was letting the homeless man sleep on the property.</p>
<p>The blaze was among several firefighters worked overnight as a strong cold front sent temperatures plummeting.</p>
<p>TULSA, Okla. (AP) — A homeless man has died after a space heater he was running inside a truck to keep it warm caused a fire.</p>
<p>Tulsa firefighters said the blaze erupted early Saturday morning at an auto repair shop.</p>
<p>Authorities said the unidentified man was sleeping inside the vehicle and using the heater to keep the truck warm. The heater was attached to an extension cord that ran to another building.</p>
<p>The fire broke out around 2:30 a.m. and spread to another vehicle.</p>
<p>Firefighters said the owner of the lot told them he was letting the homeless man sleep on the property.</p>
<p>The blaze was among several firefighters worked overnight as a strong cold front sent temperatures plummeting.</p>
|
Man using space heater in SUV dead after vehicle fire erupts
| false |
https://apnews.com/amp/a83a7b7d0d07453d8e2d817df1a9f3a2
|
2018-01-13
| 2least
|
Man using space heater in SUV dead after vehicle fire erupts
<p>TULSA, Okla. (AP) — A homeless man has died after a space heater he was running inside a truck to keep it warm caused a fire.</p>
<p>Tulsa firefighters said the blaze erupted early Saturday morning at an auto repair shop.</p>
<p>Authorities said the unidentified man was sleeping inside the vehicle and using the heater to keep the truck warm. The heater was attached to an extension cord that ran to another building.</p>
<p>The fire broke out around 2:30 a.m. and spread to another vehicle.</p>
<p>Firefighters said the owner of the lot told them he was letting the homeless man sleep on the property.</p>
<p>The blaze was among several firefighters worked overnight as a strong cold front sent temperatures plummeting.</p>
<p>TULSA, Okla. (AP) — A homeless man has died after a space heater he was running inside a truck to keep it warm caused a fire.</p>
<p>Tulsa firefighters said the blaze erupted early Saturday morning at an auto repair shop.</p>
<p>Authorities said the unidentified man was sleeping inside the vehicle and using the heater to keep the truck warm. The heater was attached to an extension cord that ran to another building.</p>
<p>The fire broke out around 2:30 a.m. and spread to another vehicle.</p>
<p>Firefighters said the owner of the lot told them he was letting the homeless man sleep on the property.</p>
<p>The blaze was among several firefighters worked overnight as a strong cold front sent temperatures plummeting.</p>
| 8,197 |
<p>A few days ago, Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia called upon the “conscience” of the American people to help the Palestinians. The Emir of Qatar went one step further in self-abasement. The Arabs, he said – and he apologised for using the word – had to “beg” the United States to use its influence on the Israelis. Truly, when such words are uttered, it is the very pit of Arab desperation.</p>
<p>Beg? Conscience? Washington may still turn down Ariel Sharon’s request to break all relations with Yasser Arafat, but President Bush has long ago forgotten his “vision” of a Palestinian state – produced when he needed Arab acquiescence in the bombardment of Afghanistan but swiftly buried once it had served its purpose – and Arafat’s role now is to remember his job: to protect Israel from his own people.</p>
<p>From his office in Ramallah, surrounded by Israeli tanks, Arafat fantasises about his derring-do during Israel’s 1982 siege of West Beirut, but it is difficult to underestimate the degree of shame with which many Palestinians now regard him. Last Christmas, Arafat insisted that he would march to Bethlehem to attend church services. But when the Israelis refused him permission, he merely appeared on Palestinian television and preposterously claimed that Israel’s refusal was a “crime” and an act of “terrorism”.</p>
<p>Why, the Arabic daily Al Quds al-Arabi asked, was there no explanation for this “bizarre and incomprehensible” performance by Arafat? Why did he not march out of Ramallah with the Christian clerics who had come to give their support until physically stopped by Israeli troops in front of the television cameras? The more he talks about Israel’s “terrorism”, the less we examine his own record of corruption, cronyism and brutality.</p>
<p>In the meantime, Israel’s own mythmaking goes on apace. In New York, Shimon Peres announces the presence of Iranian Revolutionary Guards in Lebanon and the arrival of 8,000 long-range missiles for Hizbollah; now there hasn’t been an Iranian militiaman in Lebanon for 15 years, and the “new” missiles don’t exist – but this nonsense is reported in the US media without the slightest attempt to check the facts.</p>
<p>The latest whopper came from Sharon. He regretted, he said, that he had not “liquidated” Arafat during the 1982 siege of Beirut, but there had been an agreement not to do so. This is rubbish; during the siege, Israeli jets five times bombed the buildings in which Sharon, then Israel’s defence minister, believed Arafat to be hiding, on two occasions destroying whole apartment blocks – along, of course, with all the civilians living in them – only minutes after Arafat had left. Again, Sharon’s untrue version of history was reported in the American press as fact.</p>
<p>Indeed, all the participants in the Middle East conflict are now engaged in a game of self-deception, a massive and fraudulent attempt to avoid any examination of the critical issues that lie behind the tragedy. The Saudis want to appeal to America’s “conscience”, not because they are upset at Arafat’s predicament but because 15 of the 11 September hijackers were themselves Saudis. Sharon’s attempt to join in the “war against terror” – the manufacturing of non-existent Iranian enemies in Lebanon, for example, along with some very real enemies in the West Bank and Gaza – is a blatant attempt to ensure American support for his crushing of the Palestinian intifada and for the continuation of Israel’s colonisation of Palestinian land.</p>
<p>Similarly, Mr Bush’s messianic claim that he is fighting “evil” – “evil” now apparently being a fully-fledged nation-state – and that America’s al-Qa’ida enemies hate America because they are “against democracy” is poppycock. Most of America’s Muslim enemies don’t know what democracy is – they have certainly never enjoyed it – and their deeds, which are indeed wicked, have motives.</p>
<p>Mr Bush knows, and certainly his secretary of state, Colin Powell, does, that there is an intimate link between the crimes against humanity of 11 September and the Middle East. After all, the killers were all Arabs, they wrote and spoke Arabic, they came from Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Lebanon. This much we are allowed to reflect upon.</p>
<p>But the moment anyone takes the next logical step and looks at the Arab world itself, we step on forbidden territory. For any analysis of the current Middle East will encounter injustice and violence and death, often the result – directly or indirectly – of the policies of the United States and its regional allies (Arab as well as Israeli).</p>
<p>At this point, all discussion must cease. Because if America’s own involvement in the region – its unconditional support for Israel, its acquiescence in the Jewish colonisation of Arab land, the sanctions against Iraq that have killed so many tens of thousands of children – and the very lack of that democracy that Mr Bush thinks is under attack suggest that America’s own actions might have something to do with the rage and fury that generated the mass murders of 11 September, then we are on very dangerous territory indeed.</p>
<p>When a crime has been committed – even the most banal domestic killing – the first thing the cops do is look for a motive. But with this most terrible of all crimes, normal procedures are not permitted. Motive is the last thing we can search for. To do so, to discuss the environment from which the murderers came, then becomes “anti-American” or “anti-Semitic” – and thus, of course, a taboo subject. Which it is meant to be.</p>
<p>And oddly, the Arab regimes go along with all this. The Arab people do not – they know full well what lies behind the dreadful deeds of 11 September – but the leadership has to pretend ignorance. It supports the “war on terrorism” and then asks – begs – America to recognise a difference between “terrorism” and “national resistance”. The Saudis wilfully ignore the implications of their own citizens’ involvement, howling instead about a “Jewish conspiracy” against Saudi Arabia. Arafat says he supports the “war on terrorism” and then – let us not kid ourselves – permits his acolytes to try a gun-running operation on the Karine A.</p>
<p>And Sharon, hopelessly unable to protect his people from the cruel Palestinian suicide bombers, concentrates on presenting the intifada as “world terror” rather than the nationalist uprising that it represents. After all, if it’s about nationalism, it’s also about Israeli occupation and, like American policy in the region, that is not to be discussed.</p>
<p>At the end of next month, the Arab presidents and princes are to hold a summit in Beirut. They will issue ringing declarations of support for the Palestinians and almost equally earnest support for a war against “terrorism”. They cannot criticise US policy, however outrageous they believe it to be, because they are almost all beholden to it. So they will appeal again to America’s conscience. And they will do what the Emir of Qatar did a few days ago. They will beg. And they will get nothing.</p>
|
Arab Nations Lost in a Pit of Desperation
| true |
https://counterpunch.org/2002/02/16/arab-nations-lost-in-a-pit-of-desperation/
|
2002-02-16
| 4left
|
Arab Nations Lost in a Pit of Desperation
<p>A few days ago, Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia called upon the “conscience” of the American people to help the Palestinians. The Emir of Qatar went one step further in self-abasement. The Arabs, he said – and he apologised for using the word – had to “beg” the United States to use its influence on the Israelis. Truly, when such words are uttered, it is the very pit of Arab desperation.</p>
<p>Beg? Conscience? Washington may still turn down Ariel Sharon’s request to break all relations with Yasser Arafat, but President Bush has long ago forgotten his “vision” of a Palestinian state – produced when he needed Arab acquiescence in the bombardment of Afghanistan but swiftly buried once it had served its purpose – and Arafat’s role now is to remember his job: to protect Israel from his own people.</p>
<p>From his office in Ramallah, surrounded by Israeli tanks, Arafat fantasises about his derring-do during Israel’s 1982 siege of West Beirut, but it is difficult to underestimate the degree of shame with which many Palestinians now regard him. Last Christmas, Arafat insisted that he would march to Bethlehem to attend church services. But when the Israelis refused him permission, he merely appeared on Palestinian television and preposterously claimed that Israel’s refusal was a “crime” and an act of “terrorism”.</p>
<p>Why, the Arabic daily Al Quds al-Arabi asked, was there no explanation for this “bizarre and incomprehensible” performance by Arafat? Why did he not march out of Ramallah with the Christian clerics who had come to give their support until physically stopped by Israeli troops in front of the television cameras? The more he talks about Israel’s “terrorism”, the less we examine his own record of corruption, cronyism and brutality.</p>
<p>In the meantime, Israel’s own mythmaking goes on apace. In New York, Shimon Peres announces the presence of Iranian Revolutionary Guards in Lebanon and the arrival of 8,000 long-range missiles for Hizbollah; now there hasn’t been an Iranian militiaman in Lebanon for 15 years, and the “new” missiles don’t exist – but this nonsense is reported in the US media without the slightest attempt to check the facts.</p>
<p>The latest whopper came from Sharon. He regretted, he said, that he had not “liquidated” Arafat during the 1982 siege of Beirut, but there had been an agreement not to do so. This is rubbish; during the siege, Israeli jets five times bombed the buildings in which Sharon, then Israel’s defence minister, believed Arafat to be hiding, on two occasions destroying whole apartment blocks – along, of course, with all the civilians living in them – only minutes after Arafat had left. Again, Sharon’s untrue version of history was reported in the American press as fact.</p>
<p>Indeed, all the participants in the Middle East conflict are now engaged in a game of self-deception, a massive and fraudulent attempt to avoid any examination of the critical issues that lie behind the tragedy. The Saudis want to appeal to America’s “conscience”, not because they are upset at Arafat’s predicament but because 15 of the 11 September hijackers were themselves Saudis. Sharon’s attempt to join in the “war against terror” – the manufacturing of non-existent Iranian enemies in Lebanon, for example, along with some very real enemies in the West Bank and Gaza – is a blatant attempt to ensure American support for his crushing of the Palestinian intifada and for the continuation of Israel’s colonisation of Palestinian land.</p>
<p>Similarly, Mr Bush’s messianic claim that he is fighting “evil” – “evil” now apparently being a fully-fledged nation-state – and that America’s al-Qa’ida enemies hate America because they are “against democracy” is poppycock. Most of America’s Muslim enemies don’t know what democracy is – they have certainly never enjoyed it – and their deeds, which are indeed wicked, have motives.</p>
<p>Mr Bush knows, and certainly his secretary of state, Colin Powell, does, that there is an intimate link between the crimes against humanity of 11 September and the Middle East. After all, the killers were all Arabs, they wrote and spoke Arabic, they came from Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Lebanon. This much we are allowed to reflect upon.</p>
<p>But the moment anyone takes the next logical step and looks at the Arab world itself, we step on forbidden territory. For any analysis of the current Middle East will encounter injustice and violence and death, often the result – directly or indirectly – of the policies of the United States and its regional allies (Arab as well as Israeli).</p>
<p>At this point, all discussion must cease. Because if America’s own involvement in the region – its unconditional support for Israel, its acquiescence in the Jewish colonisation of Arab land, the sanctions against Iraq that have killed so many tens of thousands of children – and the very lack of that democracy that Mr Bush thinks is under attack suggest that America’s own actions might have something to do with the rage and fury that generated the mass murders of 11 September, then we are on very dangerous territory indeed.</p>
<p>When a crime has been committed – even the most banal domestic killing – the first thing the cops do is look for a motive. But with this most terrible of all crimes, normal procedures are not permitted. Motive is the last thing we can search for. To do so, to discuss the environment from which the murderers came, then becomes “anti-American” or “anti-Semitic” – and thus, of course, a taboo subject. Which it is meant to be.</p>
<p>And oddly, the Arab regimes go along with all this. The Arab people do not – they know full well what lies behind the dreadful deeds of 11 September – but the leadership has to pretend ignorance. It supports the “war on terrorism” and then asks – begs – America to recognise a difference between “terrorism” and “national resistance”. The Saudis wilfully ignore the implications of their own citizens’ involvement, howling instead about a “Jewish conspiracy” against Saudi Arabia. Arafat says he supports the “war on terrorism” and then – let us not kid ourselves – permits his acolytes to try a gun-running operation on the Karine A.</p>
<p>And Sharon, hopelessly unable to protect his people from the cruel Palestinian suicide bombers, concentrates on presenting the intifada as “world terror” rather than the nationalist uprising that it represents. After all, if it’s about nationalism, it’s also about Israeli occupation and, like American policy in the region, that is not to be discussed.</p>
<p>At the end of next month, the Arab presidents and princes are to hold a summit in Beirut. They will issue ringing declarations of support for the Palestinians and almost equally earnest support for a war against “terrorism”. They cannot criticise US policy, however outrageous they believe it to be, because they are almost all beholden to it. So they will appeal again to America’s conscience. And they will do what the Emir of Qatar did a few days ago. They will beg. And they will get nothing.</p>
| 8,198 |
<p>Newt Gingrich prepares to speak outside the state house in Columbia, South Carolina.Tim Dominick/The State/ZumaPress</p>
<p />
<p>As a service to our readers, <a href="" type="internal">every day</a> we are delivering a classic&#160;moment from the political life of Newt Gingrich—until he either clinches the nomination or bows out.</p>
<p>As <a href="" type="internal">we’ve documented previously</a>, shortly before kicking off his presidential campaign last spring, Gingrich deleted much of his Twitter archive. Prior to that point, @NewtGingrich had offered a snapshot of his soul—a cornucopia of restaurant reviews, musings about dinosaurs, and condemnations of Sonia Sotomayor. And, for a week-long period in 2010, a space for Gingrich to vent about President Obama’s hand-off approach to the Somali pirate menace.</p>
<p>Obama, according to Gingrich, was guilty of appeasing the ruthless corsairs. As he <a href="http://washingtonindependent.com/38278/newt-gingrich-solves-the-pirate-crisis" type="external">put it</a>: “The correct answer to piracy is to destroy it not negotiate with it Seals can retake the lifeboat Track every boat leaving somalia” (sic). Gingrich argued that Obama needed to outline “the rules of civilization” and make clear that the United States wouldn’t be pushed around.&#160;This sequence, <a href="http://www.politicsdaily.com/2009/04/12/caught-on-twitter-newt-gingrich-ruthlessly-exploits-somali-pira/" type="external">flagged</a> by Tommy Christopher, was typical:</p>
<p>And then <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=7321378&amp;page=1" type="external">this happened</a>.</p>
<p />
|
Your Daily Newt: Pirates!
| true |
https://motherjones.com/politics/2012/01/your-daily-newt-pirates/
|
2012-01-13
| 4left
|
Your Daily Newt: Pirates!
<p>Newt Gingrich prepares to speak outside the state house in Columbia, South Carolina.Tim Dominick/The State/ZumaPress</p>
<p />
<p>As a service to our readers, <a href="" type="internal">every day</a> we are delivering a classic&#160;moment from the political life of Newt Gingrich—until he either clinches the nomination or bows out.</p>
<p>As <a href="" type="internal">we’ve documented previously</a>, shortly before kicking off his presidential campaign last spring, Gingrich deleted much of his Twitter archive. Prior to that point, @NewtGingrich had offered a snapshot of his soul—a cornucopia of restaurant reviews, musings about dinosaurs, and condemnations of Sonia Sotomayor. And, for a week-long period in 2010, a space for Gingrich to vent about President Obama’s hand-off approach to the Somali pirate menace.</p>
<p>Obama, according to Gingrich, was guilty of appeasing the ruthless corsairs. As he <a href="http://washingtonindependent.com/38278/newt-gingrich-solves-the-pirate-crisis" type="external">put it</a>: “The correct answer to piracy is to destroy it not negotiate with it Seals can retake the lifeboat Track every boat leaving somalia” (sic). Gingrich argued that Obama needed to outline “the rules of civilization” and make clear that the United States wouldn’t be pushed around.&#160;This sequence, <a href="http://www.politicsdaily.com/2009/04/12/caught-on-twitter-newt-gingrich-ruthlessly-exploits-somali-pira/" type="external">flagged</a> by Tommy Christopher, was typical:</p>
<p>And then <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=7321378&amp;page=1" type="external">this happened</a>.</p>
<p />
| 8,199 |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.